"My mother is underground. She didn't care for me, either," Rell said.
"But that's the problem. My mother cares for me." Torsten kicked a rock. It flew for a moment, landing in the sand just as they had only moments before. "At least she used to. We were close. The woman we saw up there... I don't know her."
A bright flash in the sky drew their eyes upward. Oranges and reds and yellows burst in the darkness of space, drowning out the light of the stars. Streaks fell to Phoenix, setting the night alight in ribbons of color.
"We're lucky we got out when we did," Torsten said.
"The gods saved us. It wasn't our time to die,” Rell said.
"Rell... It's some kind of tech you don't understand. Just like the invisible doors in the metal hallways. And the spaceship. You can't explain it, but that doesn't mean it's some kind of supernatural force." Torsten's forehead crinkled. "You've just been in space! How can you cling to your gods now?"
"My gods," she said quietly, "control all of that. The space. The ships. Our lives. How can you not see it? They saved us, Torsten. A believer and an unbeliever. You should be grateful."
"If the gods loved us, what did they do to my mother?" He stabbed the air with his finger, pointing up at the burning fire in the sky. "Why didn't she save us? Why did she treat me like a stranger?"
"It is not for us to know. The gods have their reasons—"
"The gods don't exist, Rell. Damn it, why can't you see that?"
Rell turned her back on Torsten, walking a few paces away.
He forced himself to calm down, taking slow, even breaths. He hadn't grown up like her. He didn't know what was in her heart. Still, she chose to hang on to childish notions. There were no gods.
“I can’t be around you anymore,” Rell said. “Your blasphemy will get us killed. You need to go back to your tower. Be with others like you. There is nothing here for you.”
"I just need one thing from you, and then we can part ways.” Torsten tried to control his expression so she wouldn’t see how much pain she was causing him. He didn’t want to be away from her. Not ever. Despite her beliefs, he really liked Rell. If they could learn how to be with each other without constantly fighting over religion, they might have a chance of being more than friends.
"What?" she asked, her back to him.
"I need to know what the Key is, and how I can find it." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You claimed it’s real. Let’s find it. Together. Maybe it will stop this war."
Rell took a long pause. "I can't."
"Why not?" Torsten could see Rell was struggling. Maybe she was feeling the same things he was. Maybe she would be willing to try.
Rell turned slowly, her arms crossed over her chest. “Fine. Let’s go. I’ll take you to the Key.”
Torsten was taken aback. “Really? You know where it is? I thought…”
“Don’t think. Just follow.” Rell walked away.
Torsten scrambled in the sand after her.
Chapter Nineteen
Rell's stomach threatened to leap out of her mouth.
She’d given him every chance. She'd even revealed some of the greatest secrets of the Menelewen Dored. And he refused to believe. He wouldn't even try.
It wouldn't happen again.
"Are you coming?" She whirled around, offering him a small smile.
Torsten smiled back, as genuine as always. So he believed her.
Her smile was another lie, building on top of the first.
"Coming!" Torsten took one final look at the sky. “How did we get from Phoenix to the ship, and back again?”
Rell's eyes followed his. As a solider surrounded by technology, he would have to take a gift from the gods and find an earthly reason for it. That was the weakness of unbelievers. Despite his height and his muscles, Torsten was weaker than she. The trouble was in his spirit. He questioned too much.
The fire was dying down. Soon the sky would only host the stars and moons, just as it always had. The ship they had been on was gone.
This mission had been a test for her. Could she deny her desires in order to please the gods? She shuddered, thinking of what she might have done with Torsten if she’d invited him into her bed. How she could have ruined herself forever.
"Let's go." Torsten stood next to her, keeping his hands to himself. Just as he'd promised. Just as he'd done before the ship began to implode.
"This way." Rell stalked back toward the church. It stood in the dark night, barely a shadow illuminated by stars. It held the closest entry to the tunnels. The second closest entrance was in Hadar. Rell didn't want to go anywhere near the smoldering buildings.
They walked side by side in silence. Rell had nothing more to say. She no longer wanted to be his friend. She had no interest in teaching him. She only wanted to go home.
Torsten tugged open the door to the church. The hinges creaked with age. Rell hurried through, and Torsten slipped in behind her, closing the door with a thud.
"Are we going underground again?" Torsten asked.
Rell held out her palm said a quick prayer, and flame sprang from her palm. "Yes. Try not to fall this time." It was meant to be a joke. Torsten laughed, but Rell couldn't bring herself to give more than a half-hearted smile.
"I'll be more careful. I promise," Torsten said.
"Don't believe him." The voice came from the other side of the church.
"Lei?" Torsten called out.
"Yes, it's us." The bored voice was the other girl. Andessa.
"When we left you down below, we thought you'd died down there. The tremors calmed not long after we surfaced aboveground. The volcano wasn’t prepared to blow.” Mellok came into view, holding out an arm. “It’s good to see you."
Torsten grabbed it, his hand gripping Mellok's forearm. "I'm glad to see you made it out alive, too. Did you try going back into Hadar?"
"Yes, but the fires were too strong. We couldn't even get into the city to see if anyone needed our help." Leila threw herself into Torsten's arms. "I was so afraid I'd lost you, too."
"So we came back here." Andessa stood off to the side, leaning on a pew. "We were planning to head out in the morning. Look for survivors. Maybe go back to the tower and see if they'd let us back in."
"Will you come to Hadar with us?" Leila asked. "I don't want to be separated from you again, Tor. After everything we've lost, I can't lose you, too."
Torsten looked over at Rell. He shook his head ever so slightly.
Rell turned to Leila. "Actually, we're headed back underground. I've promised Torsten I'll help him find the Key."
Torsten let out a frustrated grunt. "Rell!"
"Leila has every right to come with us. So do Mellok and Andessa. They were sent on the same mission as you, weren't they? You began together, and you should finish together." Rell gestured with her lighted palm toward the others. "Where would you have them go, Torsten? Back to the tower? Do any of you really want to return there?"
Mellok shrugged. "The military is my life. I have nothing else. What would I do without it?"
"The dragzhi have burned the city. Surely they have already advanced on the tower. There is nothing left for any of you out there. I have a place you can go. Trust me." More lies. This was what the gods wanted, though. Rell needed to honor her faith. The Menelewen Dored had given her everything. Now she would repay them.
"She's right, Tor." Leila grabbed her brother's hand. "We should stick together. Rell has shown us so much kindness. We should all go with her. Maybe if we find the Key, and it really does exist, we can use it to defeat the dragzhi."
Rell turned her back on the group, weaving through the pews toward the entrance to the underground. "We should go now, before anyone finds us here. Friend or foe."
Footsteps echoed behind her. Rell smiled. Good. Then there was no more discussion to be had. She held them in the palm of her hand.
Rell descended the stairs. At the bottom she opened the cave wall by sticking her hand in a dark hole and tur
ning a wheel. It was a clever trick they used underground. It kept unwanted visitors out. The others made it down, this time without any injuries.
Rell thought back to the dragzhi attack on Hadar. She never should have invited these defenders underground in the first place. If they’d died aboveground, it would have been the will of the Menelewen Dored. If only she’d been patient and listened to the gods, instead of following the foolish whims of her heart, she never would have strayed from her path.
At least now she had a chance to make things right.
She led them into the tunnels. Instead of turning left like they had the previous time, Rell went right. These were tunnels she knew all too well. Her first visit had been when she was only four years old. Her father carried her most of the way. Her chubby little legs couldn't keep up with the adults, even though their procession was slow and deliberate. All of the other children were forced to walk. Rell felt she was special because her father carried her. He had coddled her, treated her with too much kindness.
It was his love that had made Rell think she could convert Torsten, rather than do what she'd been sent to do. Just like her father, she had bent her beliefs to mirror her own desires. Torsten's rejection forced Rell to look inside herself and see who she had become in only a matter of days.
Inside, she tore at herself, angry she'd given in so easily to the outside world. Renata told her she'd quickly become accustomed to it. Rell had believed, so arrogantly, she was immune to such things. Perhaps even that she was above Torsten and his friends.
In the end, she was no different than anyone else. Her father's love was a burden, not a blessing. He should have been distant with her, just as all the other parents were with their children. He had made Rell weak.
No longer. She would be strong. She would fix her mistakes. She would do what needed to be done.
Part of her wanted to thank Torsten, to honor him for showing her how far she'd strayed from her path. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be given that luxury. He would meet the same fate as the other three.
"How much longer?" Mellok asked, his voice the plaintive whine of a child.
"Quiet," Torsten said. "Just follow Rell's lead."
Torsten had an unending list of questions and a lack of patience when it came to getting answers. She'd seen it with his mother, how it pained him to know so little. Rell remembered the way Yasmin treated him, and she emulated it. Torsten needed to feel answers awaited him if only he listened. The manipulation was too easy, and Rell almost felt guilty for treating him that way.
Torsten had shown he would never be a believer. He would never stop looking for answers. It was a dangerous combination. If only he would give up, she wouldn’t have to force him into this situation.
The walls changed the farther they went. Instead of dark, thick dirt, packed with the roots of plants and scuttling bugs, the dirt changed to a light brown. Veins of gold, silver, and turquoise ran through the walls. The slope of the tunnel took them farther underground, deeper than most people had ever been.
Rell's heart pounded. Gentle vibrations under her feet told her she was getting closer. "We're almost there," she said, coming to a stop. "Before we go any further, there is something I need to tell you."
Torsten, Leila, Mellok, and Andessa focused on Rell.
"The Key is not what you expect. All of the rumors are lies. Anything you think it could be is wrong. When we walk into the chamber, you need to withhold all judgment. Can you do that?" Rell let her gaze rest on each of them, and every one of them returned her question with a nod. They were silent. Perhaps even afraid.
"Follow me around this corner. Whatever you do, stay behind me." Rell waved them on.
Instead of confident steps, their feet shuffled on the dusty ground behind her.
Rell quieted the fluttering in her chest. She'd been here before, multiple times. Each time, she had survived. The sacrifice had always fallen to others.
She led them into a cavern. One by one, they filed in behind her. Once Andessa brought up the rear, Rell stuck her hand into a hole in the wall and turned the wheel within. The opening behind them closed.
"What are you doing?" Mellok asked. He leapt for Rell, but Torsten grabbed him by the collar.
"Don't. If you can't trust her, trust me." Torsten held onto Mellok until he ceased struggling.
"Fine." Mellok shrugged off Torsten. "But, I swear, Torsten, if you're wrong, I will fry your ass."
"It's okay, really. Rell wouldn't hurt us." Torsten smiled at her.
For a moment, her knees went weak. She remembered how she'd felt when she believed the gods had put them together for reasons beyond her mission. How she'd longed to be like everyone else who lived aboveground. Rell snapped her eyes shut. No! Her mission was to stop them from finding the Key. Nothing else mattered.
Nothing!
If Torsten wouldn't believe, then they were not destined to be together.
"This way." Rell took off, heading toward the other end of the cavern. It wouldn't take them long to cross.
Once they did, she could end this.
Chapter Twenty
“It's down there." Rell pointed to the chasm yawning in front of them. Blood red bubbles churned, mixing with the yellow stream of violent liquid. Steam rose, a sour scent invading her nose. Sweat trickled, drop by drop, down her face.
Torsten leaned over the edge, holding on to Mellok's shoulder. "Where? I don't see anything." He righted himself and looked at Rell. "What am I looking for?"
"The Key is in there." Rell swept an arm out to the side. "If you know how to control it, the molten lava will rise from the chasm and burst forth, burning anything in its path."
Torsten stroked his chin. "I can feel the heat, so I believe in its powers, but how could it help in a war against the dragzhi? Unless we could lure them all down here, I'm not sure the Key is the weapon mythology says it is."
Rell backed away, one step at a time, as the others peered into the volcano. This unstable piece of nature had carved the tunnels many years before the humans crashed on Phoenix. The buried didn't worship it, but they did respect it. Once a year, they gave it a human sacrifice, in hopes it would stay calm, leaving their homes safe.
Rell raised her hands, creating a wall of fire between herself and the four defenders. She wouldn’t kill them. Just frighten them.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Mellok stalked toward her. He ran to the edge of the wall, nearly running into the fire. He fell backward, falling to the ground. Mellok rolled around until the flames on his pants were smothered. He stood, a pained look on his face.
"Rell?" Torsten asked. "What's going on?”
"You're not allowed to find the Key. None of you." She stood firm, her knees locked and her eyes strong. She hoped they couldn't hear the wavering in her voice, or they’d know she was bluffing. "Now, back up."
Leila's eyes grew wide. "You don't mean this. Rell, we're friends."
"Friends? We hardly know each other." Her eyes flickered to Torsten and back to Leila. "I just met you a couple of days ago."
Rell lowered her fingers slowly, the fire wall tightened around the four, pushing them closer to the edge of the volcano. "Do the right thing. The gods don't want you anywhere near the Key. I tried to convince you to leave more than once. I even thought I could convert Torsten, make him understand, but he wouldn't see the truth."
Rell looked to him again, this time trapped by the look in his eyes. His lids were half-closed, his eyes immensely sad.
"Don't do this," Torsten said. "If you hate us, fine. But don't do it because you think your gods want you to."
"You don't know what the gods want," Rell spat back at him. "You don't even believe in them."
Torsten stepped closer to the fire, a hand out toward Rell. "I don't believe in the gods, you're right."
"Torsten!" Mellok bellowed. "Don't make it worse!"
Rell heard Mellok, but she didn't see him. She focused solely on Torsten as he walked closer. If he walked into the
fire, he'd be burnt just like Mellok. She swallowed hard, waiting for him to back away.
"Rell, I know you believe in the gods. I can't believe they would make someone as kind as you do their dirty work. If they wanted us dead, wouldn't they strike us down where we stand?" Torsten raised his arms to the ceiling of the cavern. "Come on, gods! Kill me! Do it now!"
Rell heard sobs in the background. Probably Leila. Or Andessa. Not Mellok. She could hear him grumbling about Torsten's stupidity.
Torsten waited. Rell wondered if the gods would indeed act for her.
Nothing happened.
Sweat dripped down her forehead. Rell tried rubbing her face on her sleeve while still holding up her arms, but she couldn't quite reach without dousing the fire.
Torsten dropped his arms to his sides, his shoulders hunched. "Rell, they don't want us to die. If your mission is simply to stop us from finding the Key, we'll leave. We'll go aboveground and never return. You can live down here in peace."
It was what she wanted. Finally, they were listening. All they had to do was agree to leave.
"Please, Rell." Leila's voice wavered. "Let us go. I don't want to die like this." Tears streamed down her cheeks, falling onto the rocky ground.
"Do you believe in the gods?" Rell asked her, truly curious. She'd only discussed it with Torsten. Maybe some of the others had faith.
"I want to say yes so much," Leila said. "But I honestly don't know. I've never been exposed to your gods. To me, they were mythology. I never stopped to think about whether or not they're real. I swear, though, if you let us live, I will learn more about your gods. I'll be open to believing." Leila scooted closer to Andessa. The two held on to each other with trembling hands.
Rell wanted to believe Leila. Torsten's sister had been kind since the moment they met. True, she'd picked on her brother, but Rell could see the love between them. Leila didn't seem to be a liar. Perhaps she could be taught, even if Torsten couldn't.
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