Inferno

by Nancey Cummings

Chapter Twelve

  Amber

  The storm was finished by dawn. Amber packed up their camp while Pel climbed the cliff to search for Kira. He returned nearly an hour later. He delivered the news that he found no trace of Kira. The blizzard obscured any trail. If she was injured, he found no blood. If she was lost, he hoped she found her way to E’Lek.

  Amber hoped so, too.

  “We’ve lost half the morning,” Mishal said. “Let us go. Perhaps we will find Kira’s trail on the way.”

  “I sincerely hope so,” Amber said. Kira had known the dangers, but Amber couldn’t shake the heavy feeling of responsibility. Kira was one of her people. She didn’t let her people wander off in the forest and she didn’t want to accept that Kira simply vanished.

  The bright sun glared harshly off the fresh snow. Amber shaded her eyes with a hand but she couldn’t do so for long before her arms ached and burned with fatigue. She took a few experimental steps with the snowshoes. She sank into the snow a few inches but nothing she couldn’t deal with. “How far to E’Lek?”

  “If we encounter no complications, we shall be there by sundown,” Pel said.

  They walked for-freaking-ever.

  Okay, about three hours, but her thighs burned and her feet hurt from walking oddly due to the snowshoes. Still, aching feet were better than fighting through knee-high snow drifts. Pel stopped frequently, claiming that sitting in the sun helped keep him warm. She knew it was for her and didn’t care. A rest break was a rest break.

  Two blue figures appeared in the distance. Amber squinted against the bright sunlight. As they approached, she could discern the finer details.

  “Stay behind me,” Pel said, pushing her behind him.

  Up close, she saw the difference between the two types of valo. Color was the obvious one. Pel and Mishal were dark like charcoal and ashes. These unknown valos—she supposed they were Northern Valos—were a wintry blue. Their glowing blue eyes and small, bee-sting noses fascinated her. She never thought that her guys had particularly big noses, but they looked massive in comparison. Was the larger nose something the Creators altered? Perhaps, considering how the Fire Valos needed a constant intake of air.

  “Greetings! Are you the human Amber and her two Fire Valos?”

  “We are,” Pel replied.

  “Excellent news! Kira told us to expect you. Come. The tribe is waiting.” The Northern Valo spoke a language close to the Fire Valos’ tongue but different. Her translator stumbled over a few words.

  “Kira?” Amber slipped around Pel’s outstretched arm. “Did you find Kira? Is she okay? Can I see her?”

  The male on the left turned his head, and Amber noticed the long, dark braid in the back of his head. “She left with Duke this morning. We do not know when she will return.”

  “But she was okay when you last saw her? And what’s a duke?”

  The male tossed a perplexed look to his partner. “Perhaps we can deliver you quickly to the tribe.”

  He waved his hands toward his feet and snowboards made of ice formed on the ground. The other valo did the same. They motioned for Amber and the guys to join them. “This will travel over the snow rapidly. We will be at E’Lek in an hour.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Amber said, moving to the closer disc.

  Mishal clamped a hand down on her shoulder. “We can walk.”

  “No doubt you can, but you will walk all day and into the evening. Or you can bring your female to E’Lek and safety in a matter of moments. Your choice.”

  “Getting there fast is important, right?” Amber placed her hand over Mishal’s. “Lots of people are waiting for us back home.”

  Amber nearly flinched at the word home. All these months she’d been on Sonhadra, but she never thought of it as home. She liked the idea of having a place to belong, though.

  “Show me how this will work,” he grumbled.

  The Northern Valo gestured for Amber to join him on the board. He placed an arm around her waist. Pel and Mishal immediately protested. “It is safe, but we will be traveling fast. You need to be secure,” he said.

  “How about I sit?” Amber sat cross-legged on the board.

  “That will work.” The board shifted under her, widening into a sled. A bar formed in the front, as a handhold.

  The other valo said, “I can carry one. Is one of you able to make your own board?”

  “I believe I can. It will not be ice,” Mishal said. He crouched down and concentrated. Steam curled across the surface of the snow and a fiery disc emerged. He flattened and elongated it with a gesture. The board hovered for a moment before crumbling in a mess of ash and steam. “Perhaps not. It is an interesting idea. If a large envelope of fabric captured hot air, it could lift a container.”

  “I can carry two.” The valo gestured to the sled with Amber. “We are losing the light. Let us go.”

  The valo stretched a palm out and blasted ice, propelling the sled forward with a lurch. The snowboard gained speed rapidly, zipping off to the horizon. The sled obviously had more weight and took longer to build up speed. As it crested the first rise, Amber’s heart lurched with worry just before the sled barreled its way down a smooth hill. The cold air stung her eyes, but she whooped with joy.

  With the flat and open terrain, they made, what she assumed, was good time. Bright sunlight combined with the sting of the cold made her eyes water. Amber pulled her hood up and tucked her head down, skipping the sightseeing. The wind numbed her nose, and despite her layers, she felt the chill from the board and the handlebar. She flexed her fingers, trying to bring back some feeling.

  Mishal touched her gloved hand and warmth infused the fabric.

  Wonderful. Her own personal heater.

  Eventually, the sled decreased speed. Amber raised her head to see a tall statue just beyond a hill and the tip of a pyramid-shaped building.

  The sled came to a complete stop at the foot of the statue. As Amber stretched, the sled dissolved. She lurched for a moment, but Mishal steadied her with a touch to her elbow.

  Offering a flower blossom, the statue was familiar to Amber. First, the female figure was clearly a human. She did not look like either the Northern or Fire Valos. Her limbs were not elongated enough to be a Creator, if the statues in the City in the Caldera were anything to go by. Second, Amber knew her. Not just as a fellow human, but she knew her.

  “I know her!” She clapped her hands together in excitement, despite not really knowing the woman depicted in the statue. They never spoke, but passed each other in the corridors of the Concord as they were ushered to and from the labs.

  Their escorts exchanged a look but said nothing. “The tribe is waiting.”

  They climbed a flight of stairs that emptied onto a plaza. The city sprawled before them, ornate buildings of white stone and a stepped pyramid at the focal point. Houses and pillars lined the wide streets, along with stone and ice statues that gleamed in the sun. Intricate patterns were carved on the most mundane of surfaces. Care and pride had gone into E’Lek, and it showed in every detail. This city was a home.

  Amber couldn’t help but compare it to the oppressive atmosphere of the City in the Caldera. The buildings were designed to be functional and not to please the eye. Filled with luxuries, the apartments and houses were sterile. The wide streets were lined with statues just the same as the streets of E’Lek, but those statues cruelly sneered at the beholder. Amber was glad they’d pushed those offenses against art and good taste into the lava. Perhaps a city clinging to the inside of a volcano could never be charming and inviting, but only ever a reflection of the severe environment.

  Amber slipped her hand inside Mishal’s. He looked at her with surprise then smiled. “I’m glad we’re building a new village,” she said. “We should try for something like this.”

  They were escorted to the central plaza. A crowd of at least fifty dusky-blue skinned people waited; the tribe, Amber assumed. Both male and females wore loincloths similar to what her guys wore, minu
s the showing everything part. However, the females also wore beaded necklaces over their bare, flat chests. Amber searched the crowd for Kira and any other human faces. The tribe created an effective wall of blue flesh. Whoever was back there was well hidden.

  No one looked particularly happy to see Amber and the Fire Valos. Perhaps they worried about an attack. Pel said the Creators made the tribes battle and commit atrocities on each other. Those type of wounds did not heal easily.

  “I have brought the human Amber and her Fire Valos,” their escort said in a voice loud enough for the entire audience to hear.

  The tribe parted to reveal a female valo, her proud bearing indicating that she was the tribe leader. Next to her stood a male valo and a visibly pregnant brown-skinned human woman, dressed in a burnished gold tunic. Clearly, life with Northern Valos agreed with her. Amber wondered if that man was her mate.

  “Kira said you would come,” the female said. “I am Jaankeln.”

  Pel stepped forward. “Is Kira well? We were separated in the storm and searched for her.”

  Jannkeln nodded. “She found safety in an old tunnel and was discovered by our Hunters.”

  “I am pleased to see you have your heartstones whole and returned,” Pel said. “It is good to see another valo tribe freed from the shackles of the Creators.”

  “We hope we can feel the same.”

  Amber didn’t have time to puzzle over the ambiguous statement. The woman stepped forward. “I recognize you—” The valos shifted to block the woman from Amber.

  “My Lydia, they could be dangerous,” the male next to her said.

  Recognition of the name jolted through Amber. This was Lucie’s Lydia, the woman Lucie wanted to find and make amends with.

  “Seriously? The entire tribe is here. What could they do to me?” Lydia put a hand on her hip, waiting for an answer.

  At length, he nodded, and the wall of blue muscle shifted, allowing Lydia to approach. She paused at the midpoint, with a warm smile and held out her hand. Amber crossed the distance and met her in the middle. She took Lydia’s hand without hesitation and found herself pulled into a hug.

  “I’ve gone months without seeing another human, and now I’ve met two in two days,” Lydia said.

  “We didn’t expect to find anyone here,” Amber said. “We found a body in the river, but I didn’t think anyone could actually make the trip. Not with the extreme cold.”

  A playful smile tugged at Lydia’s lips. “Well, I’m not just anyone.” She extended a hand, and it went from a coppery brown to covered in frost and then back to normal.

  Well, damn. The highly illegal and inhumane research conducted on board the Concord had results.

  “That was so cool,” Amber breathed.

  “I’m not the only one,” Lydia said.

  “I know. I mean, I’m sorry. I mean, I don’t know what I mean,” Amber stumbled over her words. “I saw you before on the, um, ship.”

  “You’re the computer girl,” she said in a neutral tone.

  Amber nodded. “Kira? She was here?”

  “She was. Duke found her. They left this morning.” Lydia absently rubbed her belly as she spoke.

  Amber’s shoulders sagged with disappointment. They’d missed each other by hours. “Where did she go?”

  The crowd tensed.

  Okay. Touchy subject.

  “They can understand us?” Amber asked, suddenly aware that she and Lydia spoke in English.

  “Enough. If we want to include everyone, I think the valo dialects are similar enough that they can understand each other.”

  “Yes, let’s do that.” Some ambassador of goodwill she turned out to be.

  “Can we sit?” Lydia asked Kai, flawlessly in the language of the Northern Valos. In a matter of moments, a bench made of ice materialized. Lydia sat with a sigh of relief and patted the spot next to her.

  Pel touched Amber’s elbow as she moved forward. She gave him a reassuring smile before joining Lydia on the bench.

  “Kira told us the Fire Valos would come seeking aid,” she said. “I’ll be frank. The tribe is not inclined to help those who helped Lucie.” Lydia frowned as she said the name, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

  Lucie. It always came down to Lucie. Amber wasn’t Lucie’s biggest fan either, but she didn’t hate her. Then again, Amber hadn’t been a research experiment, and she knew Lucie worked with one of the scientists. Against her will, as Lucie later explained. The prison had coerced her the same way they manipulated Amber.

  “Will the tribe allow us to speak before making a decision?” Pel asked.

  Kai hesitated, glancing toward Lydia.

  Amber fought to keep her expression and tone neutral. “No one was a good person on that ship.” Lydia opened her mouth to protest. Amber continued, “You couldn’t be if you wanted to survive. We all did things we’re not proud of. I had access to the computers and could have sabotaged the life support or released all the cells and caused a riot.”

  “Why didn’t you?” Lydia asked, voice rising. “Or were you safe and comfortable enough that you didn’t care what happened to anyone else?”

  Amber had struggled with that very question since stumbling out of the wreckage of the Concord. Why hadn’t she done anything? “You’re right. I was selfish and a coward. I hated Lucie because of what I saw her do to the prisoners, to you, but I never thought to do anything to help. I’m sorry.”

  Lydia’s eyes gleamed. With rage or tears, Amber couldn’t say.

  “But she did help us. She brought us food and supplies when we were starving in the forest. She didn’t have to. She had her valos. She could have ignored our suffering like I ignored yours.”

  “Kira also defended her with the same arguments you are presenting, but are we supposed to believe she’s all rainbows and light? I’m sorry, but that’s a hard pill to swallow,” Lydia said.

  “I’ m not her biggest fan, either, but she didn’t send us,” Amber said. She didn’t know what else to add. The Northern Valos judged them based on Lucie’s actions on the Concord. Lucie had participated in horrible acts, and their indignation was justified, but to withhold help to an entire tribe based on the crimes of one person seemed petty. She didn’t know how to express that without undermining their mission. Keeping her mouth shut was the best course of action.

  “Please allow us to explain before reaching a decision,” Pel said, tone far more diplomatic than Amber could manage.

  “Speak, then,” Jaankeln said.

  “It is true there is a human named Lucie in the Fire Valos tribe,” Pel said. Lydia folded her arms over her chest but said nothing, eyes bright and looking for all the world like she struggled to hold her tongue. “She unlocked a vault and gave our heartstones back to us. True, I have only second-hand knowledge of this, but the valo who returned my heartstone swears it is the truth. His triad has taken Lucie as their mate.”

  A murmur went through the crowd.

  “And this is the cause of our cold welcome. The Fire Valos have aligned themselves with a human Creator,” Jaankeln said with a cutting tone.

  The anger from the Northern Valos was almost palpable.

  Lydia held up a hand to calm the crowd. “Someone very wisely told me that everyone gets a clean slate on this planet. Yes, Lucie hurt me but she had been forced by those in charge. We were both harmed. We should only judge her based on her actions on Sonhadra, where she is fully responsible for herself.” Lydia paused and smoothed the fabric over her belly. “We should listen to everything they have to say. After all, the life of other valos is in the balance,” she said, looking at Jaankeln for her approval.

  Jaankeln slightly bowed her head in agreement then turned to Pel. “Please tell us more.”

  He pressed his heels together and gave a sharp nod. Amber recognized it as the same gesture he gave Sarsen. “Through Lucie’s actions, we have restored the heartstones of many in our tribe, but an equal number of heartstones have been damaged.”

/>   Mishal held up the fractured heartstone. The sickly yellow fault in the crystal glowed like an infection in the bright sunlight. “This belongs to our triad brother Flin. His body has not yet decayed, but he cannot be revived.”

  “We have some hope that if we replace the faulty heartstone with another of the same material, we can revive the fallen members of our tribe. But there is more. The caldera threatens to consume our city. As we were much altered by our Creator, the caldera itself was altered. It will no longer be contained. We must move to a new home.”

  “And you want the heartstones before you move,” Lydia said.

  “Yes. We cannot leave our brethren to be consumed by the caldera, yet we dare not move them in their current condition, lest we damage them,” Pel said. “Our tribe would forever be grateful to yours.”

  The crowd murmured, but their faces remained stoic and cold. Amber’s stomach sank. They weren’t going to help.

  Mishal

  Pel failed to win the crowd.

  Unable to remain silent, Mishal placed a hand on Pel’s shoulder and stepped forward. “Your anger and mistrust are understandable, but please do not allow my tribe to perish because of it. We seek your help to right a wrong done to us—all of us—a thousand years before the humans arrived.”

  Lydia smiled warmly, but Kai’s expression remained cold.

  “It is clear to me that your tribe adores Lydia,” Mishal said.

  “She saved us!” someone in the crowd called out.

  “She rescued our heartstones at the risk of her own life!” another shouted.

  “Lucie helped our tribe. She unlocked the vault that hid our heartstones. Hers was the first human face I saw,” Mishal said. “I do not know the crimes she committed before arriving here, but I know the good she has done for my tribe and her own people.”

  Mishal took Amber’s hand and placed it over his heartstone. A gasp went through the crowd. “She brought my mate to the tribe, and I will remain forever grateful to her.”

  Amber stretched up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.