by Devan Skyles
“You can hit me all you want,” he replied. “I’m never going to give you anything.”
“Well, at least we’re past the pretense that you lost the timepiece. That’s certainly an improvement.”
“Your plan’s not going to work anyway, even if you do get your hands on it. Corvus will never have his troops kill innocent people.”
Redwing smirked and replied, “Ah, yes, him. Well, I think you’ll find that many of his senior officers’ loyalties can be bought. Besides, I don’t need to kill all the humans. The collapse of their world will cause enough casualties; soften the target if you will. And then I will be there to restore order to their world, while simultaneously restoring prosperity to our own.”
“I won’t let you do it,” he stated flatly.
“And how exactly do you plan to stop me, hanging there like a field-dressed cliff ram? It’s over! You’ve lost!”
“Maybe. But so have you, because I’ll die before I’ll tell you—”
Redwing, red with fury, punched him hard in the face mid-sentence.
Rhydian, despite his agony, threw his head back and laughed feebly, something that surprised both himself and Redwing. It was not the reaction he had intended, but it just sort of slipped out of him. This, of course, only made Redwing angrier.
“WHERE! IS! THAT! TIMEKEEPER?!” he bellowed between punches.
Rhydian continued to laugh despite himself.
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” He screamed in a frustrated rage.
Rhydian said nothing.
Redwing collected himself and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Perhaps we’re going about this the wrong way.”
He went outside and returned with a black, leather case. He opened it and pulled out a pointed needle, about six inches long.
Placing the point of the needle against Rhydian’s arm, he leaned in close. “Are we feeling talkative yet?”
Rhydian remained stoic, though his heart was racing.
“Very well,” he said, and he drove the needle deep into Rhydian’s arm.
Rhydian clenched his teeth and groaned against the biting pain. He endured multiple more punctures on various parts of his body, but each time, he simply took his mind away from the pain and turned his thoughts to Ellie. The needle went through his other arm, but in his mind, he was relaxing in the stream with her. His wing, and he was holding her close. His hand, and they were skydiving.
Redwing, all the while grew more and more frustrated. Finally discarding the needle, he picked up a heat stone with a pair of tongs and poured ilïmbalm over it, causing it to sizzle and glow.
Bringing the stone close to Rhydian’s face, he said, “How about now, Gideonson?”
Rhydian could feel the sweltering heat on his cheek. Redwing looked chilling and menacing through the torrent of heat waves that rose from the stone.
“Thanks,” Rhydian groaned. “It was getting a bit cold in AAHHHHHH!”
Redwing pressed the stone against his neck, the stench of searing flesh filling the air. Rhydian took his mind to the blissful memory of Ellie’s lips pressed against his cheek, but no matter how much he tried to distract himself from the pain, the torment was just too overwhelming to ignore.
“OKAY! STOP!” he screamed at last.
Redwing smiled and pulled the stone away. “You’re ready to talk, then?”
He hung his head in defeat, then lifted his gaze to meet Redwing’s. He had to do something to stop the torture. “I— I left the timekeeper…” he trailed off, feeling faint.
“Yes? You left it where? Where did you leave it Rhydian?” he said, grabbing him by the hair and forcibly raising his head.
“…somewhere you’ll never find it.”
Redwing burned with fury and pounded on him with both fists, wailing in frustration until Rhydian hung by the chains, unconscious. He stormed from the hut, swinging the door wide.
“Get him down from there and give him some food!” He ordered the guards. “I need him conscious if he’s going to talk!”
Rhydian later woke to find himself on the damp, wooden floor with his hands now chained to the wall. A plate of bread and a meager cup of weak ilïmbalm sat on the floor beside him, which he bolted down eagerly.
He overheard the guards outside grumbling about long shift hours and something else he couldn’t quite discern. Then he heard one of them say something unmistakable.
“Have you heard all this stuff going around about ‘Auram’s word’?”
Rhydian’s heart raced and he shifted closer to the door to listen better.
“Bunch of nonsense if you ask me,” the other guard said. “But if it is true, I say it’s about time. Something’s got to be done about the ilïmbalm shortage.”
A few minutes later, the door creaked open. Rhydian looked up, expecting to see Redwing, but instead, in walked the old man, Nicodemus, a solemn look upon his face.
“It was never meant to come to this,” he said.
Rhydian shook his head. “Of course it wasn’t. Are you going to tell me you feel bad for me now?”
“Your father was a brave man, Rhydian. I just came to say that I’m sorry I did not do more to help him when I could, and I’m sorry that I now cannot help you.” He turned and laid his hand on the door latch to leave.
“That’s all?” Rhydian blurted out. “How about an explanation? Why are you helping Redwing? I know what he’s planning, and I know he can’t do it without you.”
Nicodemus’s shoulders slumped and he hung his head. “No, he cannot.” Without another word, he opened the door and left.
Rhydian was perplexed by the visit. Had he really come to apologize, only to leave without helping him at all? Somehow, that made the apology seem a lot less sincere.
Redwing made frequent visits to try new methods of interrogation, each one more horrifying than the last. By the end of the third day, Redwing entered with a look of newfound confidence.
“You know, Rhydian, I’m impressed with your fortitude. I was actually beginning to think I might never find a method for extracting information from you. And then this morning, as I was pondering the predicament, I discovered something quite by accident that I think will motivate you more than pain.” He turned and shouted, “Bring her in, boys!”
The door swung open and in came two guards dragging someone between them. Rhydian gasped as he looked and beheld his own mother.
“Let me go! I’ve done nothing wrong!” she shouted. Then, seeing her son chained to the wall, her outrage turned to tears. “Oh, my boy! What have they done to you?”
“Mother!” he shouted. “I thought you’d gone up north. What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t hear from you for the last week and I got worried.”
“Yes,” Redwing said, dismissing the guards. “We found her on her way back into town. What a convenient happenstance, wouldn’t you say, Rhydian?”
“This is low, Redwing, even for you,” Rhydian said through clenched teeth.
“Yes, I suppose it is a bit dark,” he admitted. “Regrettably, though, you have left me with very little choice.”
His mother gasped as Redwing grabbed her by the arm and jerked her over to him forcefully. He then drew a dagger from his belt and put it to her throat.
“Wait! Don’t!” Rhydian pleaded tugging at his chains.
Redwing, reveling in his new position of power, dug the point of the dagger into her shoulder slightly. She clenched her teeth and sobbed.
“I swear, I’ll kill you, Redwing! Stop!”
“I’d be only too happy to, Rhydian. As soon as you tell me what I want to know.” He now grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back, placing the point of the dagger under her chin. “It’s nothing personal.”
Rhydian was powerless. A tear fell from his eye as he shuddered in defeat. “I hid it in a cave.”
Redwing smiled. “Can you be more specific?”
“Down the canyon, on the north—”
Just then, he was interru
pted by a commotion outside. The sound of steel on steel rang like a bell and a thud, like a very heavy weight falling, came from just outside the door. A moment later, it burst open and in came Auram, sword in hand. Behind him were ten armored soldiers, one of whom he recognized as Sergeant Taya.
Redwing spun around in alarm, still holding the dagger to his hostage’s throat.
Auram froze when he saw the scene, his sword prone.
“One more step and I’ll cut her throat!” Redwing threatened, his voice breaking slightly in panic.
“Let her go, you piece of filth,” Auram said darkly. “You know this won’t end well for you.” The soldiers accompanying him fanned out into the room slowly.
“So,” Redwing said tensely, “seems rumors of your death have been a bit overly exaggerated.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard the more recent rumors,” Auram retorted.
A skinny, young man toward the back of the group shouted, “Sir, more soldiers are coming!”
“How many?” Auram asked, not taking his eyes off Redwing.
Rhydian was puzzled. Had he just referred to Auram as ‘sir’?
“At least ten,” the young soldier replied.
Redwing smiled darkly. “Looks like this won’t be as easy as you thought.”
“Good,” replied Taya, flourishing her sword expertly. “I was hoping for a challenge today.”
Auram’s group turned toward the door, awaiting the attack. Auram kept his eyes on Redwing.
“You won’t get out of this alive, boy,” Redwing said. “You don’t think I looked up your record? You’re a pathetic excuse for a soldier. Barely passed your combat qualifications. Haven’t advanced in rank even once. Your only chance of surviving this is by helping me get out. Do that, and I’ll make sure you’re pardoned. I’ll personally see to it that you are promoted.”
Auram laughed. “You think I can be bought? The only reason you’re bargaining right now is because you know you don’t stand a chance!”
“Here they come!” the young man announced. A moment later, several soldiers burst through the door, sending him flying backward like a ragdoll. Blood spattered his companions as he crumpled to the floor.
Steel clashed as the opposing groups engaged each other. Redwing nervously backed into a corner with his hostage while Rhydian watched helplessly from the sidelines.
Auram was forced to turn and help his companions, two of whom had already fallen. Taya was energetically lunging in and out, her sword flashing like lightning. In a matter of seconds, two of her adversaries were dead before they even hit the floor. One of them stumbled through the room and landed heavily at Rhydian’s feet.
Looking down, he saw a ring of keys hanging from the soldier’s belt. He reached for them, thinking one of them might unlock his shackles, but they were just inches beyond his reach.
Auram engaged one of the soldiers, parrying a blow and quickly retaliating. He was too slow, however and took a grazing cut to the arm. Bounding back, he raised his sword and swung wildly at the opponent. Casting the man’s sword aside, he crossed his wrists and brought the sword down through the neck, dropping him instantly. In another instant, however, another man swung up from beneath and slashed Auram diagonally across the face, sending him sprawling back, clutching his wound.
“Auram!” Rhydian exclaimed. Horrified, he shifted around and pinched the dead soldier’s keys between his feet and pulled them off his belt. Scrambling to pick them up, he tried key after key until one finally worked and the shackles fell free.
He leaned heavily against the wall and climbed to his feet, his legs shaking. He felt exceedingly weak and frail. Letting go of the wall, his head swam and he nearly fainted. The fray of battle was a blur to him, but he managed to grab a discarded sword from the floor.
“Auram, are you all right?” he called.
“Never better!” his friend called back, blood pouring down his face from a deep gash. He was just climbing back to his feet again when another soldier advanced on him. This time, Auram caught the foe’s blade by the cross guard of his sword, deflecting it harmlessly upward, and lunged in as the man walked right into the point of his weapon.
Redwing took advantage of the chaos and made a mad dash for the open door, casting Rhydian’s mother aside in his haste. Rhydian tried to run after him, but his legs failed him and he toppled to the floor, his head swimming.
“No!” he screamed in frustration as he watched Redwing dart out the door and take wing into the night sky.
Rose
Bodies lay strewn across the floor in the silent shack, blood staining the wooden floorboards. Four of Auram’s followers had lost their lives, but they’d won the fight.
Rhydian’s hands shook violently as he turned to his mother, who was sitting silently in the back of the room, tears streaming from her eyes. He tried to help her up, but he was so weak that he was barely standing himself. She instead rose and held him.
“Oh, my dear sweet boy,” she sobbed, looking over his many injuries.
“I’ll be fine, mother,” he said feebly. “You need to get out of here.”
“I’m not leaving you again!” she insisted.
“I’m leaving too,” he explained so only they could hear. “I’m going to the other side. There’s a secret threshold down the canyon no one knows about. That’s where I’ve been getting the ilïmbalm, mother. I’m sorry I lied to you.”
She shook her head. “Well, if there are any other admissions you’d like to divulge, now is the time to tell me, because I can’t possibly be angry with you right now.”
“Oh, so you told her about your girlfriend, huh?” Auram asked while Taya dabbed blood from his face.
“Girlfriend?” his mother questioned.
Rhydian gave his friend a stern look. “Yeah, well I’ve been kind of seeing someone. Um, like, someone on the other side.”
Everyone but Auram seemed shocked by the revelation.
“Wait, seriously?” said Taya.
Ignoring everyone’s response, Rhydian addressed his mother. “Look, I need you to go somewhere safe and stay there until I send for you. This should all be over as soon as we get word to General Corvus. Please, Mother.”
She fell silent for a long while, her lips pursed, then finally nodded her head. “Only if you promise to leave now and stay gone until this is all over.”
“I will,” he promised.
Nodding again, she took her son in her arms and wept.
Auram turned to two of his followers. “You two, will you escort her to the northern colonies and make sure she’s safe?” They nodded and followed her out the door.
Rhydian followed Auram to the grotto where he’d been hiding out and slept soundly for the first time in days. He woke to the smell of breakfast and looked over to see Auram cooking over a small pile of heat stones in the center of the grotto, meat sizzling in a pan.
“That smells great,” he groaned as he sat up, blinking in the bright morning light.
Auram brought him a plate of food and some fresh-squeezed olüri juice. “Sorry there’s no more ilïmbalm. Taya said she’d bring some more this afternoon. The others will be meeting here soon, too.”
“Which others?” he inquired. “You mean the ones who helped you rescue me last night?”
“You won’t believe this,” he laughed, “but that’s just a handful of them. Corvus has been out on mission, so we haven’t been able to get word to him yet. But we managed to get a few people on our side.”
“How many is a few?”
“About a hundred,” he replied.
“Wow! How did you manage that? I heard the guards saying something about ‘Auram’s word.’ What did I miss?”
“Well, Sergeant Taya and I just started telling people about Redwing’s plan, and word just kind of spread. We’re still horribly outnumbered, but it’s a start.”
“Yeah, Redwing said something about paying off some of Corvus’s officers to get them to lead the charge against
the other side. I’m guessing you won’t win them over.”
“Hopefully we won’t have to. Corvus should be back any day now, and then it’ll be out of our hands.”
“So, you’re like the leader of this movement, huh?” Rhydian said.
He shrugged. “I guess so. I never intended on leading anyone. It just kind of happened that way.”
“Looks like you found your higher purpose after all.”
Auram smiled sheepishly, forgetting the gash across his face and wincing in pain.
“You should have that looked at.”
He nodded. “Taya said she’d stitch it up when she gets back. She has some field medical training.”
“So, what’s that all about? Are you two getting sweet on each other or something?”
Auram laughed. “Are you joking? We only tolerate each other!”
Rhydian shrugged. “She seemed awfully eager to join your little revolt, that’s all I’m saying.”
“Trust me, she hates me. She just knows a just cause when she sees one.”
“Okay. Whatever you say. I should get my father’s timekeeper and get it to the other side. Redwing already knows it’s in a cave somewhere. By now he’s probably got people searching every known cave in the canyon.”
“I’ll get some guys to escort you there, in case Redwing’s spies are still out that way.”
“Thanks,” he replied, hugging his friend goodbye.
Six of Auram’s followers escorted Rhydian down the canyon, and when they were nearly there, he dismissed the men, thanking them for their help. They offered to follow him the rest of the way, but he felt uneasy revealing the entrance to the threshold to people he didn’t know, and he insisted that they leave.
Entering the cave, he anxiously dug the mud and rocks that obscured his timekeeper away and reached inside. He was discouraged at first when he didn’t feel it, but then his fingers touched something cold and hard. Grasping the timepiece, he pulled it out and breathed a sigh of relief. Fastening the chain around his neck, he wound it only once, the hand on the face spinning to the second jewel. He wouldn’t need more than a day this time.
Making his way through the energy of the threshold, he felt his injuries disappear as his body shifted and changed. He stepped through to the other side, relieved to be rid of the discomfort. When he pushed through the brush on the other side, he looked down at the timepiece in his hand. The cogs and gears spun energetically within the face of the device, counting down the time until he must return, or never return at all. Breathing a sigh of calm reconciliation, he placed his thumb on the winder and pressed down firmly. As the button clicked, the hand spun back to the first jewel and the hardware within slowed to a stop. That was it. Ilimíra was now forever in his past.
