by Narro, B. T.
“Interesting,” Hejel said. “They must not like the stink of Krepps.”
Zoke let out a long sigh before dragging his feet out of the cluster of begardeens. Each plant leaned away from him as he went. “I’m used to sleeping on the dirt by now anyway,” he muttered.
“It from your bad luck,” Vithos said in his thick Kreppen accent, laughing. “Remember, Fjallejon said. You must kiss someone.” The Elf made a loud kissing sound three times. Steffen felt a laugh burst out of him and then he noticed the others laughing as well.
Zoke spat at that, though Steffen thought he could see a hint of a smile at the corner of his long mouth.
Chapter 63: We Think We Know
EFFIE
After an hour of phasing in and out of sleep, Effie was wide awake again. She sighed and pushed herself to sit upright. The begardeens rose with her back and held her there. She felt a tickle along her inner thigh. Glancing down curiously, she saw one of the begardeens had come through her legs to kiss the hand resting on her lap. She twitched her fingers to play with it, and it twitched right back.
The only light within their nook was a faint glow from the dimly lit caregelows outside. It was just enough for her to see the shadowy outline of Alex and Steffen next to her. They were each deeply asleep, breathing in a calm, rhythmic flow. As her eyes found a resting place upon Alex, some of the shadow peeled away so that she could see his features. She let out a soft giggle when she realized he was sleeping on his stomach, for the begardeens had latched onto his face, squashing his cheeks to cause his features to mush together. She couldn’t believe he found it to be comfortable, but he was asleep and she wasn’t.
Startled by sudden footsteps of someone entering, she aimed white light from her hand in their direction. It was just Zoke. He held up a claw to cover his eyes before continuing to the corner, where he rested with his back against the wall.
Effie swam her way out of the begardeens and cautiously went over to join him.
“Can’t sleep?” she asked, sitting down beside him.
“Just needed to urinate,” he answered. He closed his eyes as if disinterested in her company.
For a while they sat together in silence while Effie listened to his breathing. He let out air so slowly he took one breath for every two of hers. The tranquil sound made her feel like she was floating on the body of water just outside. She might even have been asleep when Zoke finally asked her, “You don’t like the plants?”
“They’re fun, but nothing compares to my bed at home.”
Zoke seemed to be nodding. His golden eyes were open now, staring absently at the sharp claws on his long feet stretched out before them. “I have no home,” he whispered.
Zoke told his tale of exile after the battle on the Fjallejon Mountains. The way he told it made it seem like he was marked as a traitor and then had no options other than to really become one. It made her wonder how many Humans had been forced down a certain path simply because of how they were labeled.
“You ever feel lost?” she asked.
“Vithos knows Ovira well. We never get lost.”
Sometimes Effie forgot common tongue was the Krepp’s second language. He spoke it very well. “By lost, I mean do you ever get confused when you think about who you were before compared to now? Like you feel as if you’ve lost who you are?”
Zoke didn’t respond. At first Effie thought she had confused him or given him a question he didn’t want to answer. But after a few breaths, he muttered, “More recently, yes.” His head turned slightly to glance at her from the side. “This happens to Humans?”
“At least to me it does,” Effie whispered. “Just last year I thought I knew everything about myself, about my future, and the type of person I would be in it. I thought I would go to the Academy, excel in my classes, become a recognized mage in three years, and find a job I love. It was all so simple. But the older I get, the more I realize there’s nothing simple about it. I’m not even the same person I was a month ago.”
“A month ago.” Zoke paused to grind his tongue against his teeth. “I was different as well. My fears and troubles back then seem trivial now.” He spat away from her. “Now everything matters.”
“It certainly feels that way, doesn’t it—that the smallest choice can change our lives. Sometimes I wish I could go back to childhood, when the only decisions I needed to make were what to do with my free time.” She laughed as she remembered something. “Every night as I fell asleep back then, I hoped to wake up ten years into the future, when I would be grown and ready for my life to begin. I was so eager to get older, but only because I thought most things would stay the same.”
She’d thought much about what Alex had told her that night she’d rolled into his arms, realizing he was right about everything. And now, she had enough knowledge to admit something she never would have believed earlier.
“I still can’t help but think of the future as I fall asleep these nights, but now it makes me so anxious I can barely breathe.”
Zoke turned his indifferent glance to her bare, outstretched legs beside his. Effie wondered how much he cared to hear of her issues, if at all. When Zoke had described the tribe of Krepps, he’d made it seem like they lived to endure life, not to enjoy it. They’re far too different, she thought. He probably just thinks I’m weak.
But she was pleasantly surprised when Zoke lifted an eye to her and said something she would have guessed only a Human would say.
“We think we know our future as children,” Zoke said. “We think we know everything about ourselves, but we don’t. We change.” He lowered his gaze back to his feet, and then he curled his toes.
“That’s right,” Effie said. “It seems that the older I get, the more I realize I don’t know, not only about myself but about my future.”
Zoke’s hand rested on the dirt between them. She wanted to run a finger down his claws, just to see what they felt like. As she stared and thought about how he might react, he squeezed his hand together so that his claws dug into the ground.
“So follow what you believe,” Zoke said, letting his head relax against the wall and closing his eyes. “Stay with what feels right. That’s what I’m doing.”
Effie found herself nodding. She felt as if she’d learned something about herself but was too tired to figure out what it was. “All I know is that I’ll be tired tomorrow if I don’t sleep.”
“That’s all you need to know this moment. Tomorrow, we’ll know something new.”
With that, her anxious thoughts finally quieted, and the soothing sound of Zoke’s slow breath in and out was all she heard until she fell asleep.
Chapter 64: Collapse
EFFIE
The next day, Queen greeted them on the edge of the lake. Bright, white light had returned to each of the caregelows, giving the vast cavern a robust glow that made it seem like the sun should be found in the sky. However, there was no sky to find. Whenever Effie looked above her, all she saw was the hard ceiling and the tops of clay pillars that held it in place.
“I thought about your proposal for many hours, Terren,” Queen began. “I have decided that we do have a number of resources you may find useful. I have prepared many fertile seeds for each of you to carry back to Kyrro. Please come collect them.”
She waved a claw at a number of pouches beside her. Terren stood motionless.
“What am I to tell our king?” he asked. “Will you be fighting with us?”
“While we do wish to help, we are not safe above ground. You overestimate our ability to assist you. Yes, Hejel told me of your little mage and her ability to cast from the Bastial Energy we transferred, but that would require we stand next to your mages during battle, huddled around them like scared children clinging to their parents. We are more likely to be in your way than do any good. Our place is not there but here where we are safe.”
Terren’s mouth was flat, his eyes hard. “What of your Dajrik? If you’re safe down here, have him fight for you by
sending him with us.”
“We are safe down here because of him, and not for his ability to fight. Just like the maze leading into our home, there is a maze leading out of it. If we ever come under attack, we will all hurry to the exit maze, and the Dajrik will remove the wood that holds many rocks. They will fall and block the path so that we cannot be followed. Once we are out of sight, the Dajrik will cave in the correct path, leaving only hundreds of false routes. We need him to make our escape if the day ever comes.”
Terren’s face was pinched now. Effie could feel the same tension in her chest.
“Surely if you’re attacked, you can’t expect all Slugari to make it into the exit maze before the Dajrik needs to block the path,” Terren said.
“Unfortunately, that is correct. Many are likely to die, but that is still far better than all of us.”
Silence came over them.
Steffen walked toward her to collect a pouch. Zoke and Vithos followed.
Effie was waiting for Terren to do something before she moved. This can’t be it, she thought. Say something, Terren. Convince her she’s wrong.
His arms were crossed, one hand touching the hilt of his sheathed sword. He opened his mouth to talk but closed it before any words were spoken. His eyes were slits deep in his skull.
If Effie knew what to say, she wouldn’t hesitate, but nothing came to mind. We were supposed to convince the Slugari to fight with us. We can’t have come all this way just to be sent home with seeds.
“I can see you are not pleased.” Queen spoke with quiet empathy. “But you must consider our position. We have taken extreme measures for the Krepps not to find us. Going to battle would be undoing generations of work.”
Hejel came shouting from behind them. “Queen! There’s heavy movement above us. Krepp foot patterns, and our halendan have just reported the sounds of digging.”
Both of Queen’s eyes shrank like a pupil burned by the sun. “How could they have found us?” Suddenly her eyes not only came back to size but doubled what they were before. She raised a claw at Terren. “You brought them here!”
Krepps, here? Terror seized Effie’s heart.
“We did no such thing!” Terren pointed back with two fingers, as if one wasn’t enough. “We’re your allies.”
Vithos raised his hand as well. “Allies. Here to help.”
“Seshala!” Queen yelled. Effie could tell it was some sort of curse by her tone. “Then prove it and help as many of us escape as we can. We do not have time to discuss this. Hejel, give the order to flee. You all, come.”
With hot panic overwhelming her body, Effie and the others hurried after Queen to the tunnel of the exit maze in the next room. There were two Slugari already there who slithered to Queen quickly when they saw her. She said something in Slugaren, and they hurried off. Panicked Slugari were already flooding past them and disappearing into the turns of the maze.
“You say you can fight Krepps, then do so,” Queen told them. “Stand ahead of the exit and kill any that try to chase us into it. They must not follow us.”
“Where is your Dajrik to seal the exit?” Terren asked, not giving any sign as to whether or not he would help.
Queen’s eyes dimmed. “I am about to find out.”
A Slugari stopped beside Queen, wheezing for breath. When he spoke, Effie realized it was Hejel again.
“I have an update. They have broken through our ceiling. They pushed a tall mound of dirt down the opening to break their fall. There are hundreds. They dropped near the center of the colony.”
“Tell me our Dajrik is on our side of the breach!” There was such desperation in Queen’s voice it seemed as if the wrong answer was the same as death.
“Yes, he will be here soon, but as you can expect, all those on the other side of the Krepps surely will not make it.”
Queen’s claws and mouth tightened. “I hope their end is swift and painless,” she uttered.
“Doe is with them,” Hejel said, “and even greater in size than we last saw.”
“Seshala! We must be long gone before he arrives. His magic is strong enough to blast away the rocks.”
“One more dreadful thing.” Hejel glanced at Terren with sunken eyes, his mouth straight with terror. He turned back to Queen. “We know how they found us. It was not the Humans.”
Queen was silent as she waited for Hejel to gather his strength for the words. He wheezed and struggled for breath.
“They have chamolines.”
Queen was petrified. Only her eyes moved, shrinking back to nothing again. “I was told we had found all the chamolines.”
“We must have missed some…”
For a moment it looked like Queen had given in to defeat. Her flesh sagged around her body. Her head lowered. Her tail stopped. Suddenly, she shot a glance at Terren as if she’d just remembered he was there.
“You wish to ally?”
“That’s why we came.”
“Then we will fight with you. We can no longer hide if they have chamolines.” Queen shook her head slightly as she spoke. “It has come to war. But our battle will not be here. There are too many Krepps and too few Humans. Will you help us flee?”
The shaking ground suddenly grabbed Effie’s attention. She was thankful to find it was just the Dajrik coming around the turn.
There were so many fleeing Slugari, hundreds of them must already have passed into the exit maze by then. The Dajrik found his place just beneath its entrance. It was a thin tunnel, just wider than the giant’s shoulders. The fleeing Slugari filed in between his legs. Queen’s eyes remained on Terren, who watched the Dajrik with folded arms.
“Allies always help,” he finally answered. “We’ll defend you as long as we can. But the moment we become overwhelmed we’ll retreat to the maze so that the Dajrik can cave in the rocks.”
“I will tell the Dajrik to wait. We are allies, now and forever.” Queen touched her claw to Terren’s arm. “We have more to discuss on the other side, but for now, thank you.” Queen lowered her head for a breath, Terren lowering his as well. Then Hejel escorted her to the exit.
The moment they were out of sight, Effie realized how alone she felt. Not one Slugari will stay with us?
“Listen, everyone.” Terren huddled them together with his long arms.
This all felt too fast to Effie. Must they fight again so soon after the last battle? When she thought of war, she thought of knowing days in advance that an army was marching to meet them, not unexpected battles one after the next. She thought of hundreds standing shoulder to shoulder, not seven.
More expectations I’m going to have to change, she thought, remembering what Alex had told her: “It’s up to each of us whether or not we grow into our expectations, change our expectations, or stay confused.” She looked at him to find his eyes were already on her. She smiled and he returned it.
Terren took a breath and shared a quick look with each of them. It seemed as if he already knew what he wished to say but wanted to give the rest of them a chance to prepare for it. Effie squeezed Reela’s hand and took a calming breath to ready herself as best she could for whatever would happen.
“We’re going to form a wall at that bend.” Terren pointed ahead where the wide tunnel narrowed into a turn. “That’s the only way in here. Shoot, burn, cut, stab, use psyche, do whatever it takes to make sure they don’t get through. They won’t expect us to be waiting for them as they come around. Use that to our advantage. When there are no more Slugari coming through, it means we’re about to be overwhelmed and it’s time to move to the exit. I’ll give that command. Now, ready your weapon and yourself. Protect each other. Trust each other. Keep each other safe. We can’t save every Slugari, but no Human, Elf, or Krepp will be left behind.”
Effie felt the same rush of adrenaline as when she was at Redfield and Terren had finished making the announcement of war. She drew her wand with the burning eagerness of a child about to play with a new toy.
“Well said,”
Alex echoed.
Zoke finished translating for Vithos, and then the Elf put his hand on Terren’s shoulder with a light but firm grin. The motion reminded Effie so much of Reela it sent a chill down her spine. She didn’t know what she was witnessing, but it felt strangely profound.
“We fight,” Vithos said.
Terren formed them into a half circle twenty feet before the turn that led to their tunnel-like room—the last room before the exit tunnel where the Dajrik stood. Terren, Alex, and Zoke would be seen first by Krepps coming through because the three of them were directly in front of the turn. To Zoke’s side was Vithos, and next to Alex was Reela. Then Terren put Effie and Steffen even farther out to the sides so that they faced each other, becoming the diameter of the half circle. She and Steffen were out wide enough that no Krepps coming through the turn would notice them unless they stopped to look over their shoulders.
For what felt like too long, no Krepps came, and Effie’s boiling adrenaline had begun to cool. A thousand Slugari must have run by before someone finally spoke. Effie was surprised to find that it was herself.
“Steffen,” she called to him.
His nervous eyes seemed to relax as they shifted to her.
“If you think you like Gabby, then you should be with her.”
“Where’s this coming from?” he asked. The arrow latched to his string came loose and fell. He hurried to pick it up.
Ignoring his question, she continued. “If it doesn’t work out, she’ll get over it. I was silly to think one failed attempt at a relationship could destroy anyone, especially her. We all need to go through trials, and some we will surely fail—that’s part of becoming an adult, and she’s one now. The sooner she realizes that, the better.”
Steffen tilted his head. “Are you saying our relationship would surely fail?”
Effie didn’t mean to imply that, but given the question, she took the opportunity to think about it before answering. It was only during that brief, quiet moment when Slugari finally stopped passing through. The rate of them storming around the turn had slowed in the last few minutes, but this was the first that there were none. She noticed it but didn’t consider what it meant.
