by M. J. Haag
“You didn’t really sleep on there, did you?”
He glanced at the bed.
“Yes,” he said, meeting my gaze.
“We must seem like a bunch of marshmallows to you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Soft and weak.”
He feathered a finger over the curve of my cheek.
“Soft, yes. Not weak. Fragile.”
I turned my head to kiss his hand.
“Good answer.”
He grunted, set the lantern aside, and sat beside me. Leaning into him, I stared at the stone slab, and imagined all the nights he’d lain there. How long would I call his place home?
“I might never see a real bed again,” I said quietly. “All those bombs...I wonder if they’ll really stop with the cities. Will it be towns next? What will be left when they’re done?” I exhaled heavily. “Probably piles of stone and ash. And, I bet there will still be infected.”
“Yes. But I will keep you safe.”
Of course he would, because we’d be together up there. I patted his leg and lifted my head, looking around at the few items resting on the opposite bench and hung from pegs protruding from the rock. Three hardened gourd looking things hung from a leather strap. Several woven baskets were stacked upside down underneath them.
There wouldn’t be much to leave behind when we left.
“Has this place always been your home?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have much. Not that it’s a bad thing, but you’ve been here a long time. I thought you would have collected more stuff.”
“I don’t need anything more than what I have right now.” He said the words while sliding his fingers up my arm.
I smiled slightly and leaned against his shoulder once more. His considerate attentiveness made my chest ache in a sweet way. Yet, as much as I wanted to return the sentiment that I had everything I needed, I couldn’t. Although I did need Drav, I also needed to get back to the surface, too. I wouldn’t just abandon my family.
A yawn broke through, and Drav suggested I lay down.
“I will look for some covers and return soon.”
I went to the bed and lay down on the hide. The barrier didn’t cushion me from the stone, but it did stop the cold from seeping into my bones.
Closing my eyes, I willed my partial headache away, along with the thoughts of Kristin, Dawn, Mom and Dad, and Ryan.
Sixteen
A howl penetrated my troubled dreams. In that place between asleep and awake, I thought it just my imagination and snuggled more closely to Drav. Then, I heard it again. Long and low, the howl echoed nearby. I jolted upright with a gasp.
Baying and barking began in a frenzy. Drav sighed and sat up with me.
“Did they get inside?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“No. They are outside the wall.”
Focusing beyond my racing pulse and panting breaths, I listened. Those hounds didn’t sound outside the wall. They sounded like they were only yards away.
“How do you know?” I whispered.
“Because we aren’t dead.”
I smacked him.
“That is not reassuring.”
A horrible scraping reverberated through the stone near my head. I squeaked and looked at the wall. The scraping, snarling, and howling grew louder.
“They’re right on the other side, aren’t they?”
Drav ran a soothing hand down my arm.
“Yes. They have very sharp hearing.”
“Shit.”
“I’m sorry, Mya. I didn’t mean to frighten you. They truly are outside the wall and can’t get in.”
I could barely think over all the noise they were making.
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll show you.”
He picked me up and had me outside before I could say“no, thank you.” With a leap, he jumped onto his hut’s roof. A rackety looking scaffolding, made out of branches the size of my wrist, extended up to the top of the wall.
“Would you like me to carry you over my shoulder or climb by yourself?”
I swallowed my first choice of answer—neither—and said I would climb.
He followed closely, his fingers brushing my ankles and guiding me to the next secure footing. At the top, I stood on the lashed branches and peeked over the edge. I couldn’t see a thing at first. Then Drav uncovered a lantern that had been placed on the thick stone ledge.
Yips and yowls sounded below as dozens of hellhounds retreated into the darkness beyond the lantern light.
“We can leave this lantern uncovered until the city crystals brighten again.”
As he spoke, red dots moved in the distance like a swarm of angry fireflies.
“There are so many out there,” I said softly.
“Not so many, but enough. They must be returning from the surface, as well.”
I frowned as I considered what that meant. My family would be safer with the hounds down here, but how would we possibly make it back to the surface now? Drav remained quiet a moment when I voiced my concern.
“Returning will be difficult,” he said.
“But we’re still returning, right?”
He stared out at the sea of red dots for a long while before answering.
“If it is safe, we will return to the surface.”
“What? Bullshit. Not‘if it is safe.’ It will never be safe again if you guys don’t get your asses up there and do something about the mess those things made,” I jabbed a finger in the direction of the hellhounds, ignoring the throb of pain growing behind my eyes. “I am going back to the surface, Drav, as soon as it’s light again.”
However, that didn’t happen. The next time the cavern’s crystal brightened, my head hurt too much to move more than a few steps on my own.
For two rest periods, we stayed at Drav’s village. Not that I got much rest. With mournful howls and aggressive snarls, the hounds rallied outside the wall each time the city crystals dimmed. Drav brought more of the crystal lanterns to line the wall, but it only stopped them from scratching the stone near my head. They knew we were there and wanted in.
My headache and poor mood grew worse. Drav patiently rubbed my head or back through the worst of it and removed the lights from the hut so we sat in the dark. Usually, it helped. But it never lasted.
“I think something’s wrong with me,” I said in the dark. The city lights hadn’t yet dimmed so I lay in the warmth of Drav’s arms, relaxing as he played with my hair.
“What do you mean?” With each new headache, his worry for me had only increased.
“I’ve never gotten headaches like these before. Not one right after the other. I think being down here is making me sick. Humans are supposed to have sunlight. It keeps us healthy.”
“You’re not eating much,” he said. “Perhaps that is the reason.”
“I’m not eating because I’ll throw up if I do. My head hurts too much.”
“Does it hurt now?”
“Not as much when we’re laying in the dark. It hurts a lot when I try to move around, or we would have left already.” I sighed and tried not to think about the passing time. Instead, I focused on the feel of his hands on my head.
“It feels good when you run your fingers through my hair.”
He grunted and kept doing it. I didn’t know how his arms never tired, but I sure appreciated his stamina.
“Close your eyes and rest before the hounds come.”
* * * *
The pain in my head pulsed in time with the beat of my heart before I even fully woke. Groaning, I gagged and rolled to the side just in time. Nothing came up but bile because I hadn’t eaten since the prior resting period. I lifted my head and tried to open my eyes. The light from a crystal the size of three basketballs pierced my skull. I closed my eyes and swallowed back another urge to gag. That light needed to go.
Through sheer determination, I lifted myself from the slab, dragging a blanket with me. Step by pain
ful step, I approached the mini moon in the center of the hut.
My attempt to flip the blanket over the crystal threw me off balance, and I fell forward and landed against the crystal. Pain lanced through me like a thousand needles had pierced me at once. I screamed.
* * * *
“Mya! Mya!”
Drav’s voice pulled me from the darkness into the excruciating light. My skin felt raw and bruised, and the touch of his arms when he attempted to lift me made me want to die.
“Stop,” I begged with tears burning my throat.
“Please don’t cry. Tell me what’s wrong.”
I swallowed a gag and panted in pain.
“Take the crystal out,” I managed between breaths.
He immediately set me on my side of the bed. Every movement, no matter how gentle, hurt. He made soothing sounds, and the light disappeared. Curled in a ball of misery, I breathed in and out, focusing on the cool rock beneath me. A hot spot on my side where I landed on the crystal was flush against the rock, easing the sting a miniscule amount.
“Mya?” Drav said softly. “Are you hurt?”
His fingers gently smoothed over my hair.
“I hurt all over.”
“Can I bring a lantern in to check you?”
“No.” The idea of being near a crystal made my stomach turn. “No more crystals. Every time I’m near one for too long, the headaches get worse. I accidently touched the big one and thought I was going to die. They’re making me sick, Drav. I need to leave.”
“Are you sure it’s the crystals?”
“Yes.”
He stroked my hair for several quiet minutes before speaking again.
“We need to return to the city.”
I groaned. The idea of going anywhere just now made me want to puke. Yet the idea of waiting longer filled me with a certainty that I was going to die down here.
“Why? Why can’t we just leave?” My eyes started to tear up. “Why are you doing this?”
“We will need help.”
He slid his arm under me, attempting to pick me up, and I cried out. He immediately stopped.
“Can we wait a little while?” I panted. “How much time until the hounds get here?”
“Not long.”
“Let’s rest until then.”
He lay beside me, his heat warming and soothing me. With a sigh, I relaxed against him and waited for the throbbing in my head to ease up.
It never did.
Drav’s fingers rubbed the base of my skull. The kneading movement had eased some of the pain before, but it didn’t help now.
“Drav,” a voice called from outside.
I groaned at the sound. The voice called again, and Drav slipped from the bed.
“I will be back.”
He left and spoke softly to his visitor.
The howls of the hounds started and pierced my skull. Knowing that it would be time for us to go soon anyway, I slowly sat up. My body ached all over. My stomach rolled as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I paused to take a few steadying breaths.
“Mya.” Drav stepped back into the house, his body silhouetted the entrance way. He rushed over when I pushed off the bed, trying to get to my feet.
“How do you feel?”
“Terrible.”
I shivered. Drav frowned, and I brought my hand to his cheek.
“I need to get away from the crystals,” I said. “I need to go home.”
“Yes. Ghua has returned from the surface. He will accompany us to the city.”
“I thought we could skip that part,” I said, glancing at Ghua, who had followed Drav in.
“No, Mya. We need help to reach the surface safely.”
Of course. He was right. How could he defend me from a hound when he had to carry me?
“Okay, we can go. But, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stand up.”
Drav didn’t waste another second before he had me in his arms. He looked down at me, gauging my reaction to being held. I ached but tried not to show it.
“I’m fine,” I said.
Drav’s gaze swept over my face once more before he stepped out of the hut to where Ghua now waited for us. Ghua had a couple of scratches on his arms that were healing and a multitude of scrapes and bruises on the exposed skin of his shirtless chest.
“Hey, Ghua. What the hell happened to you?” I asked.
“Hounds.”
Just more evidence of how much help we would need to travel through hound infested caverns.
“Why did you return so much later than everyone else?” I asked.
Ghua smiled, his canines flashing. He had a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, but not before his smile dropped and sorrow replaced it.
“There is much news.”
“Come. We will return to the city, share the news, and see who will join us,” Drav said, leading the way with me in his arms.
He and Ghua spoke softly in their language as we traveled. It didn’t bother me anymore. Nothing bothered me but my head, stomach, and the clawing need to get back to the surface.
Ghua glanced at me a couple of times, his gaze filled with sympathy and worry.
“Mya, okay?” Ghua asked.
“No, not really.”
The pain and sickness grew progressively worse the closer we got to the city due to the lanterns that lit the pathway every ten feet. My stomach began to cramp so badly I wrapped an arm around my middle. Drav caught the move and watched me with increasing concern.
“Just get us there and get us help,” I said softly.
Within the towering timbers, the city seemed to be a flurry of activity. Others hurried past us, some nodding in acknowledgement, some carrying weapons and travel bags over their shoulders. A few stared at me, curious, but most seemed to have become accustom to my presence. I could have sworn I even heard a couple say a few things in English.
Drav and Ghua quieted as we drew near the common area. The low tones of Molev’s distant voice drilled into my brain. I rested my head against Drav’s chest, my achy body tired and demanding more sleep. I didn’t sleep, but I shut my eyes in the hopes that the pounding in my head would calm. Or even that my stomach stopped twisting in knots. Anything to give me some type of relief.
“Mya,” a familiar voice said, much too loudly.
I opened my eyes to see we’d reached the lantern lit common area. Molev stood in the center of a large gathering and waved us forward through the crowd, closer into the heart of the poisonous light.
Although packed with hot bodies, the area felt cold. Cold enough that I exhaled to test if I could see my breath. Struggling not to shiver uncontrollably in Drav’s arms, I closed my eyes briefly and swallowed down my bile.
“You do not look well, Mya,” Molev said.
“She’s not,” Drav said, answering for me. “The crystals are making her sick. She needs to return to the surface.”
“Are you certain it’s the crystals?” Molev asked.
“Just coming here has made her worse. Before this, she accidentally touched the large guard crystal I’d taken inside the hut before bringing it to the wall. She fell over after touching it.”
“I think I’m dying,” I whispered.
As if reacting to my words, shivers wracked my body.
“We need more time,” Molev said. “Another rest for those who just returned to be ready.”
“We don’t have more time. Look at her. We need to leave now.”
Molev grunted, and Drav held me more firmly to his chest.
“Those who are ready,” Molev said loudly,“will leave now. Those who are not ready will meet us on the surface in one rest. We also need men to stay and guard the city. If the humans do not welcome us as Mya has, we will need a place we can return to.”
“What of Merdon and Ririn, and the four who have not returned?” Ghua asked.
“We will search for them when we reach the surface and hope our brothers aren’t gone, and the traitors are.”
A universal agreement ran through the crowd.
“Drav, please,” I rasped. Everything hurt so much. Talking. Thinking. Even breathing.
“We leave now,” Molev said. “The return of the hounds will make the journey dangerous. Be ready.”
The crowd, who had been quiet, broke out in a hub of noise.
The racket added to the pain, and I whimpered. My stomach cramped painfully, and a gag caught in my throat.
“Mya?”
“I don’t feel well, Drav,” I mumbled. “It’s so cold here.”
His lips touched my forehead.
“You are not cold. You’re hot,” he said.
Figured. Fever in hell. Part of me frowned at that thought. Not hell. Drav’s home.
“You’re hotter than you’ve ever been. Your heart is racing.”
I gagged again.
“What do I do, Mya?”
“Fevers need to be cooled. But it won’t help. We need to leave. It’s the crystals.”
Drav ran.
Seventeen
Each stride rattled my teeth, despite my clenched jaw. Never in my life had I felt so cold or hurt so much. I could barely think past the pounding in my skull. It just needed to end. Now.
“P-please, just r-rip my head off,” I stuttered to Drav.
“No, Mya. You will die.”
“I’m already dying.”
He growled fiercely and ran faster. I burrowed my face in his shirt, desperate for some heat. Some relief. Tears gathered as I thought what would happen if I died. My family would be left always wondering what had happened.
We suddenly stopped moving.
“I’m sorry, Mya.”
That was all the warning Drav gave before he jumped. Icy spears lanced through me as we plunged into the river. The shock of it kept me from gasping until our heads popped back up.
I choked on a curse and shivered uncontrollably.
“Just a little longer,” Drav whispered in my ear, holding me when I would have flailed in the direction of the bank. “We need to cool you.”
If I’d thought the air cold before, the water robbed me of every ounce of heat, sucking my energy until I could barely cling to Drav. His lips brushed my forehead, cheek, and mouth.
