Hatare
My first instinct was to scold Byr for giving away the reasons for our presence in the Optorion capitol. But then, my second instinct was to come to the same conclusion he already had – we needed some help. I knew we needed to meet with King Jendrish, but I had no idea how to go about getting that meeting.
Still, five hundred was quite a bit of money to pay somebody who knew a man who knew another man. There was no promise that we would actually get that meeting with the king and I wasn't keen on throwing away that sort of money.
“That's five hundred,” he said. “I'll take payment up front, if you don't mind.”
My laugh was dry. Why did everybody think I was a fool? Why did everybody underestimate me? Was it because I was young? A woman? Both, perhaps? Even though I'd never before been out of Kinray, I knew that I was far more knowledgeable and worldly than other girls my age. I'd had a fantastic education with some of the best tutors – tutors who'd provided me with an education about matters not always found in books.
Oh, I read plenty of books. It was one of my favorite things to do, after all. And initially, my tutors had demanded I stick to those books for my education. But I demanded more. I demanded an education that wasn't prepackaged and spoon fed to me.
I wanted to know everything. And though I was smart enough to know I didn't know everything and was ignorant to a good many things, I wasn't completely naive or gullible. At least, nowhere near as much as some people apparently believed me to be.
“That's five hundred,” I said. “When we meet with your contact and set up an actual meeting with the king.”
The man smirked at me. “I'd heard Unduthians didn't trust others very easily,” he said. “Probably comes from all of that backbiting and backroom political dealing.”
I shrugged. “Perhaps,” I said. “But there is a difference between a lack of trust and simply being a fool. And I am no fool. No offense to you, but I'll hold on to my money until we can meet with your contact.
The man looked annoyed and cast Byr a look of derision, as if he should be controlling me or something. Byr looked back at him, his expression neutral, but his body was tense and his jaw was firmly set. There was an air about him that said he would act if the man stepped out of line.
Byr was a big, strong man. Still young, and no doubt, lacked the training I'd been fortunate enough to get, but I thought he could handle himself well enough in a fight. And I got the sense that the man realized that too as his expression slightly softened and he backed down.
“Fine,” he said. “Be back in this very spot when the second moon is at its zenith. And be sure you have the money.”
The man got up and walked away without another word. We'd clearly upset him – which told me we'd been right to withhold payment until his end of the bargain was met. Having just gone through what we'd gone through with Wyn and Wyk, I felt justified in being a bit – skeptical.
But, if the man could come through and deliver for us, get us a meeting with the king, it would have been money very well spent.
I looked over at Byr who was looking around, a very uncertain look upon his face. “What is it, Byr?”
He sighed. “I'm suddenly not sure what's going to happen,” he said. “I guess with everything happening so quickly, I'd never really given much thought to the future. To what comes next. I mean, my mother and siblings are still in one of those camps. What will happen to them?”
I nodded slowly. I'd heard about the camps they put some of the prisoners in – it was separate and apart from the normal prisons that housed common criminals. The camps were for political prisoners, seditionists, and traitors, among others. It was one of those not-very-well-kept secrets in Unduth. While never officially acknowledged, it was still pretty well known that we had camps for people that fell into those categories.
That knowledge was proliferated as a warning and a cautionary tale – cross the Unduthian government, and you too could disappear behind one of those tall, thick walls. And so far as I knew, nobody that went in had ever come out again. Being locked away in one of those camps was a virtual death sentence.
“Perhaps, we can petition the king for their safe release and transport here,” I said hopefully.
Byr gave me a tight smile. He probably knew about the camps. Knew that the likelihood of a happy reunion was incredibly slim. But, there was always hope.
“You know,” I said. “When I ran away from home, I vowed to build a new life. A new world for myself. I vowed to become the person I wanted to be, rather than the one everybody else expected me to be. And I did all of that with nothing more than hope guiding me. As long as there is life, Byr, there is hope. And we will do everything we can to get your family out of the camp and here to Optorio with us.”
He nodded, but I could see that hope was a commodity in short supply with him. It probably had much to do with the fact that hope was in short supply on the fringes. I didn't know much, but I knew they lived a rough life out there. I knew that their existence was hand to mouth and they didn't have the luxury of dreaming about the future – a better future.
Their life was day to day and moment by moment. As I sat, staring into Byr's eyes, the luxury and privilege I'd enjoyed throughout my life – and had often taken for granted – was never more clear. The difference between my life and somebody like Byr had never been more stark.
And it broke my heart to see. Oh, I knew that inequality existed. I knew that people lived lives of deprivation and desperation. But it had always been something of an abstract concept for me because I'd been cocooned in such – well – wealth and privilege.
It was something that not even the tutors I'd had, who'd imparted such worldly lessons upon me, had ever been able to truly convey. But sitting there with Byr, a man who'd lived that sort of life on the fringes, made it profoundly more real for me.
But I also knew that nothing I said in that moment was going to get through to him. Nor would it make him feel any better about the situation. And I didn't want Byr to feel that I was condescending to him, either. Instead, I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze.
“Come,” I said. “Let's take a look at Tochasea.”
The smile he gave me was forced, but he stood and followed me out of the plaza and into the city.
Chapter Nine
I'd seen plenty of pictures of Tochasea, but seeing it live and in person was a completely different experience. There were so many sounds and smells that could never be conveyed in a picture that brought it to life. We stood before one of the many temples scattered throughout the city. Carved out of a shimmering blue stone I'd never seen before, it was intricately detailed and absolutely gorgeous. I'd seen a picture of it before, but this – it was breathtaking.
The contrast between this building – a temple I knew to be ancient – and the modern, bustling city around it was striking. And it somehow made it more beautiful to me.
“What is this?” Byr asked, his eyes wide.
“It is an ancient temple,” I replied. “Dedicated to one of Optorio's old sea gods. It dates back centuries. There is still an order of priests who live and work inside the temple. Though Optorio isn't necessarily a religious society anymore, there are still those who dedicate themselves to the ancient ways.”
Byr nodded. “It's a beautiful structure,” he said. “I've never seen anything like it before.”
“There are still a few temples like this in Kinray,” I said. “But nothing anywhere near as elegant or beautiful.”
The day passed into evening, and we'd walked around much of the city, enjoying a sampling of Optorion delicacies and learning more and more about each other. Tochasea was a busy city that never seemed to slow down. There were people everywhere and no shortage of things to see or do.
Byr was a good man with a good heart. I was enjoying my time with him and it made me feel less strange about being so comfortable in his presence.
“What do you think will happen to us?” Byr asked as we sat on a bench in one of the
many parks in Tochasea, enjoying a creamy, frozen treat. “If we're granted asylum. I mean, I assume that means we begin a new life here, right?”
I nodded. “That is the plan.”
“But – what are we going to do?” he asked. “I mean, how do we even start building a new life?”
I sighed. It was yet another part of the plan I'd not had time to think all the way through. But there just hadn't been time to consider all of the different scenarios and ramifications. I'd had to act and act quickly.
“I suppose we can start by finding work,” I said. “Optorio doesn't seem to be much like Unduth. It seems that most people work. From what I understand, it's not about family houses or lives of privilege because of your name. You get by on your own merits. We'll have to start from the bottom, of course, but we can work our way up. We can be whoever we want to be and build our lives the way we want them built. Our lives are in our own hands.”
As I spoke, I realized that I was using the word “we” a lot. It was as if I'd simply expected Byr to be a part of my life permanently or something. The strangest thing about that was that it brought me a lot of comfort. I couldn't explain it, but somehow, believing that Byr was going to be with me and part of my life brought me not only comfort – but something a little more. Happiness? Joy?
It was something I couldn't readily identify. But the mere thought of him not being there sent a wave of sadness rolling through me.
The first moon was already beginning its descent and the second moon was rising to its peak. I cleared my throat and tried to banish all of the thoughts from my head. Tried to focus on the present. The here and now.
“We should probably go,” I said. “We need to get to the plaza.”
Byr nodded and we headed off to our meeting – and for whatever reason, I couldn't stop looking at Byr and smiling. Nor could I ward off the ominous feeling swirling about in my belly as we walked through the streets of Tochasea and headed for the plaza.
Chapter Ten
Byr
The night was dark – darker than I was used to. Optorio only had two moons and even at that, the light they cast seemed somehow dimmer than back home. Murkier, somehow. The pockets of shadows that were seemingly everywhere seemed darker, more sinister.
Maybe I was jumpy and seeing ominous shadows because, for the first time in my life, I was outside of my village. Really outside of my village. I'd never gone farther than Kinray proper, let alone to a foreign planet. I'd never even really dreamed of seeing another world.
And yet, there we were.
Hatare seemed utterly unfazed by it all. In fact, she seemed to be reveling in it. There was a part of me that wished I could be so nonchalant about it all. Perhaps her education had helped prepare her for something like this. I would have imagined that being exposed to different worlds – even if only through books and vidscreens – would make it easier to adjust to being on another planet. Even if only a little.
And maybe because I was already jumpy, I was a little more paranoid than normal. But I would have sworn that we were being followed and watched. I didn't know where they were – or who they even were – but I just felt eyes on us as we walked. It was a tingling up my spine and the back of my neck, but it was strong – and getting stronger.
“You okay?” Hatare looked at me with a smile.
I nodded. “Yeah, I'm fine.”
“It's all a little overwhelming, isn't it?”
My laugh sounded dry and nervous, even to my own ears. “Yeah, a little bit.”
“Don't worry,” she said. “Everything is going to be okay.”
I gave her a small smile I hoped didn't look as false as my laugh had sounded. “Sure,” I said. “It will be.”
And that was the problem – I didn't know that everything was going to be okay. Hatare was a remarkable girl. Obviously, very well able to take care of herself. But there was something in me that wanted to protect her. That wanted to stay by her side and make sure that she was okay. I didn't know what it was and knew how insane it sounded because we barely knew one another.
But there was something inside of me profoundly attached to her already. I knew it was something I needed to rein in only because women from the upper classes never mingled with men from the lower classes. It was just a fact of life on Unduth. Knowing that, I knew I needed to keep from getting too attached.
But there was some small spark of hope within me that remained. And what was it she'd said earlier? As long as there is life, there is hope?
Before I could even take the time to sit down and process all of the mental and emotional debris swirling around inside of me like a windstorm, we needed to survive everything happening. We needed to meet with this King Jendrish and convince him to grant us asylum. It was something I wasn't feeling overly optimistic about.
“We need to cut through this park up here,” Hatare said.
The lighting was dim and the pockets of shadow even deeper. I had a bad feeling about setting foot in there, but I wasn't going to give voice to it. I wasn't going to give in to my paranoia. It wasn't long though, before I regretted that decision.
“Hatare, stop,” I said, catching movement out of the corner of my eye.
I moved closer to her, standing protectively in front of her – although, given her fighting prowess, it probably should have been the other way around.
From out of the shadows came half a dozen men in dark clothing and armor. I felt the knot in my stomach tighten as they raised their weapons, training them on us. They stepped closer and I felt Hatare's body tense, as if she were preparing to attack. Reaching down, I took her hand in mine and squeezed it gently.
“Don't,” I said softly. “I will not have you getting yourself killed.”
“We have to do something,” she whispered.
“Just wait,” I replied.
Shoulder mounted lights flared to life on the men approaching us, making the both of us wince. I held a hand over my eyes to shield them from the worst of the glare. It was then that I noticed the odd symbol on their armored shoulder plates – it was the same symbol I'd seen on the men who'd raided the factory where I'd worked. These were government soldiers.
I felt my heart sink and my level of anxiety go through the atmosphere. They were here for me.
The men closed in and formed a half-circle around Hatare and I. They all very nearly simultaneously raised a hand to their helmets and pushed a button that raised their darkened visors. With weapons still trained on us, the soldiers moved in behind us, the barrel of their weapons against the small of our backs.
I looked over at Hatare and could see the fear in her eyes. But also the anger and defiance. She wanted nothing more than to fight, I could tell. But it was a fight she was going to lose. And I wasn't about to watch her die right in front of me – so, I tightened my grip on her hand.
“General Gravus,” said the man in the middle of the half-circle, obviously speaking into his helmet's comm device. “We've acquired the target. There is an additional liability. Requesting instructions.”
I looked at the soldiers surrounding us. Trying to figure out how we were going to get out of this – and honestly, not seeing how we would. We were surrounded by men with large weapons.
“Understood, sir,” the man said into his comm device.
He looked at one of the soldiers behind us and nodded. I felt a sharp pain in the small of my back as the butt of the soldier’s weapon was driven in to me, forcing me down to my knees
“The General says this one's of no consequence,” the man obviously in charge said. “Execute him and let's get the girl back to the ship.”
“No!” Hatare screamed before the soldier behind her clamped his hand over her mouth, silencing her.
She fought and struggled in his grip, but another soldier moved forward and put the barrel of his weapon flush against her forehead. Her eye markings flared with her anger and outrage – as well as her fear. I wanted to stand up, to go to her and comfort her. And most o
f all, to get that weapon out of her face.
I was so concerned about Hatare that I was oblivious to my own plight until the soldier in front of me stepped up and put the barrel of his gun inches from my face. It was then I realized I was going to die. I looked up at Hatare and saw tears in her eyes as she looked at me. She was powerless to stop what was going to happen and she knew it.
I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing just how terrified I was.
“In the name of King Jendrish, you are ordered to lay down your weapons.”
The voice boomed through the park, shattering the relative stillness of the night air. My eyes flew open and I watched as men in red and blue armor – two dozen of them, maybe more – advanced into the park, in a ring around the Unduthian government soldiers.
The man who'd been holding the gun to my head spun suddenly, and squeezed off a shot. The blue laser streaked across the open space and hit its mark, knocking one of the Optorion soldiers to the ground, where he lay completely still and lifeless. But he then took at least six shots to his body, green lasers slicing through his flesh. He fell to the ground beside me, thick, blue blood pouring out of him – more blood than I was comfortable seeing.
“Drop your weapons to the ground or you will suffer the same fate,” came the voice again. “You have three seconds to comply.”
The Unduthians looked at one another and then to their leader. With fury in his eyes, he ordered his men to lower their weapons. They dropped them on the ground at their feet – at which point, the Optorion soldiers moved in and secured them all with sonic binders.
The soldiers led them away, leaving Hatare and I standing there with who I took to be the Optorion commander. He looked from Hatare to me and then back again.
He shook his head. “Mercenaries,” he said, not bothering to hide the disdain in his voice. “You two should be flattered – a private army like that is costly. Somebody wants you back on Unduth very badly.”
I looked from the bodies on the ground back to the large man before me. “And who are you?”
Mated to a Bear (Legends of Black Salmon Falls Book 3) Page 84
