by Blooding, SM
And then the stars and the asteroid belt blinked out as Sang rose.
The docks arose in chatter.
It was time for me to find my bed.
I made it to our inn with little trouble, walked undisturbed through the common room, which was busier now than it had been earlier, and slipped quietly into our room.
Haji picked his head up off his pillow to glare at me. “You took your own sweet time getting back.”
I shrugged, unlaced my boots and slipped into the bed with him, pushing him out of the center so I could have a little room. He threw a patched blanket at me and rolled over. His snores quickly followed.
Sleep found me with little resistance. Blissful, wonderful, beautiful sleep.
Scratching, knocking, whispering.
I pulled myself out of sleep just enough to assess what was going on, but my ears heard nothing.
So I let myself slip back into blissful darkness.
I was back in Sky City, back where I belonged. Happy. I was happy. And loved. Yes. I was loved. And needed. So needed. Yes. I was content.
Are you there?
I reached out in question with my mind. Who?
Who else? Came the reply.
Something lurched inside of me. I knew who that was.
Something slimy latched onto me. Varik.
I pulled myself out of sleep and shot straight up in the bed, slamming the shields of my mind into place. I had no idea how much he’d been able to glean or if he would be able to track me through that sky-felled connection. I slipped out of bed, grabbed my boots and sword and headed to the window, all the while trying to calm myself. After all that training, I would slip while sleeping? Would I ever be free of Nix if I couldn’t even relax enough to sleep?
However, the next morning, it seemed as though I’d stayed up all night for no reason.
Keeley decided that she would go to the market and gather supplies. Since she was supposed to be deaf, Haji thought it would be best if we both went with her.
If Varik was sniffing our trail, I needed to stay close to them. We might have to escape rather quickly.
The market was two stories up, and the air was cleaner. Keeley ordered several things, food mostly, and some other things. We grabbed some meat rolls. The bread around the outside was crisp and gooey at the same time. I had no idea how they’d managed that feat, but it was amazing.
We finished and were about to head back to our lethara to check the loading of our supplies when a chill went through me. Varik was here, and he was close.
I scanned the crowd as I shuffled Keeley through the market, pulling her away from vendors she’d meant to visit after the “work” was done.
She twisted around and frowned, signing something.
I bent down, put my lips to her ear and murmured, “Varik.”
She straightened, on high alert.
Haji looked at me in askance, not hearing what I’d told Keeley, but after reading something in my eyes, he said nothing and turned his gaze outward, cutting a path through the thick press of people with ease.
We’d managed to make it to one of the rope bridges that led down to the next level. There was a group of guards crossing it, their expressions intense, their walk brisk. They were on a mission.
I tugged on Haji’s shirt and pointed to the other rope bridge that led to the platform on the same level, just another trunk away.
He nodded and cut a swath through the crowd.
The guards were stopping everyone in the market, demanding to see their papers, but they were also pulling the shirts off of some of the men to bare their chests. They were searching for my Mark.
We were so screwed.
We tried to hurry without appearing to do so, pausing briefly at booths to look at this or that. The path to the bridge remained clear. One more booth and the bridge was ours.
We pushed forward, a feeling of relief and hope swelling in my chest as we made it onto the bridge and then past the midway point.
A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, stopping me and twisting me around.
I pushed Keeley forward.
She started to protest, her eyes widening as she turned.
Haji took her hand and pulled, never looking back.
I swallowed and came face to face with Varik.
He grinned, his beetle eyes gleaming. “It’s time to come home.”
Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap!
“The queen wants her pet home where he belongs.”
I tried to keep my breathing even, which was hard. “I don’t think so.” That actually came out sounding solid, confident.
“You don’t think so?” he asked, his expression slipping from overly confident to mortally confused. This season hadn’t been kind to him. His black hair was riddled with gray and his face leathered.
I shook my head and shrugged, stepping out of his grasp. I was no fool. If he wanted me, he could still get me. “No.”
“What about the compulsion?”
I laughed. “I’m not compulsed.”
“Yes, you are. I’ve seen it for myself. How do you think I’ve been able to track you?”
Sky-felling dirt. I raised my eyebrow, knowing this was just a bluff, but hoping beyond hope that it would be good enough, that Keeley and Haji would have enough time to escape, to get to the docks. “Well, I guess I’m just stronger than that.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Apparently not.”
His lips twitched. “We will overpower you. You are coming home.” Each word was followed by a step closer.
That I followed with a backward step of my own. “I guess we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?”
He clenched his leather clad fist. “I will break you.”
I cleared the bridge and pulled out my sword. “You’ll have to catch me first.” With one swing I managed to cut one and a half of the four ropes.
Varik’s face was livid as he scrambled to remain on the bridge. The rope I’d partially severed unraveled quickly. He slipped, falling to the abyss below. His hand latched onto the bridge, pulling himself up.
I severed one of the remaining two ropes.
He grabbed the platform instead and pulled himself up glaring over the abyss at me. “I will destroy this city trying to find you.”
I shook my head, grinning fiercely. “You’ll only be doing my job for me.”
I didn’t have any more time. I turned and hightailed it out of there.
CHAPTER 31
DESTROY! DESTROY! DESTROY!
Guards were everywhere, making a stealthy escape problematic. I tried to keep my calm, to keep walking away in an orderly manner, but I was out of time. Varik was going to destroy the city and if he stayed true to his past actions, he was going to use his explosive devices that poisoned the oceans. That would make any attempts to rescue survivors almost impossible.
The word must have gone out because people were walking briskly, their eyes alert. Too many people were still clueless. I stopped at a couple of booths, telling people they needed to vacate the city, but they weren’t taking me seriously.
I took off the scarf and bared my Marks.
That got people’s attention. The cry went up. Synn Primus was in the city. People scrambled all around us, yelling for their loved ones, grabbing what they could.
That made it harder for me to get to the docks because that’s where everyone was going.
I met Keeley and Haji at one of the bridges heading to the platform below. They were crammed in the press of people, pushing the restrictions of the rope and sea flax. Haji waved to me, his expression open.
This wasn’t going to work. There were too many people, and the escape routes weren’t designed for a stampede. I needed to find a way to buy everyone more time. I closed my eyes. Dirt. I’d just gotten away from the man.
Haji turned and saw that I was fighting the crowd. It was too noisy to hear what he shouted at me. He sent me a look in question.
I shook my head
and took a step back.
His lips flattened, his nostrils flaring as he was shoved and pushed through the funnel of the bridge taking him and Keeley to the lower level.
I nodded once.
He shook his head, but turned away.
A sinking dread filled my chest as I battled my way through the crowd, trying to find someplace that was at least quieter. I knew how to draw Varik to me. He could track my compulsion, which meant I’d have to take my shields down. I’d battled so hard to get these shields in place. Taking them down wasn’t going to be easy, but trying to find some place that wasn’t filled with people, terror spreading worse than a plague, was difficult.
I pushed my way through the crowd, discarding the idea of trying to cross a bridge to another platform, and leaned against the hard dried sea flaxen wall of a short hut of a building. I closed my eyes and listened to the noise around me.
A mother called for her child, her child shouting for her until they were reunited. I hoped they’d make it out. For that matter, I hoped I would make it out.
A man shouted at a thief.
A girl whimpered close by, scared and forgotten.
A woman stopped at the alley entrance, muttering, “What do they expect us to do? There aren’t enough life boats.”
“We need to try to get on an airship.”
“There’s the airboat,” another said as they were pushed with the crowd away. “We could go there.”
“You honestly think the Hands will allow us on their boat?”
They were no longer within hearing range.
There was just so much noise. People scrambling, crying, shouting.
A large group of people screamed, the din rising in alarm. One of the bridges must have given out.
Oh Sky!
I blinked each of them out, turning my ears off one noise at a time until it was just me and my inner turmoil. I was scared. Scared I wouldn’t get off this city. Scared that I’d be stuck swimming in the ocean. It was intimidating, especially when I knew that Varik was planning to poison it. How many would survive? How many would perish?
But I couldn’t concentrate on that. I needed to let the shields…there. Yes. That shield. It needed to slip away, to…yes. Like that. Now, just…
Fear. Loathing. Contempt.
Longing. Need…Love.
I closed my eyes for strength and let the shields drop.
I was overwhelmed, my mind filled with the voice of Queen Nix, remembering the feel of her hands against my face, her breath against my lips. I shivered in need and repulsion. I pushed away the need to turn myself in.
No. I just needed to be found.
There. An alarm. Shouting. People grumbling.
Guards. Yes. They were coming.
Queen Nix was the only thing I could think of. I missed her scent. She smelled like myrrh and roses. I longed for the touch of her silky skin. How could I have stayed away for so long?
No. I had to stop that. I had to get my mind back.
Why? Why did I have to? It hurt to stay away. Everything would be so much better if I just turned myself in, went back to my queen.
It took everything I had to pull myself out of that sinking feeling. The guards were on their way. The alarm had risen. Varik would be here soon.
I needed to find a clear space where I could do the least damage, but still stood a chance of keeping him entertained long enough for some of the citizens of Egolda to escape.
Sweat broke out on my forehead. All I needed to do was build a shield between me and the bond I had with Queen Nix. I just needed to be seen by Varik, but I didn’t need all the crap that came from Nix.
I want you back, Primus, came her silky voice over the bond.
No. But everything in me was saying yes.
I know. I know. Her voice sounded like she really cared. Why do you fight me so?
I refuse to be owned. My conviction wasn’t quite as solid as I’d hoped.
Just come back to me. I can make all of this stop. I can tell Varik to save the city.
Calm filled me as I leaned against the wall of the tight alley. So tempting.
Just come back. Let me care for you, complete your training.
You think my training isn’t complete?
You’re still fighting me, love. I almost felt her caress. When I’m done with you, you won’t feel the need to fight me. You’ll be loved and had.
Yes.
Varik is almost upon you.
Relief. I had been running for so long. I was tired of fighting her, fighting who I had become.
Yes, my love. I will save you. And then you can bring all the Families to me where they can all be safe.
Alarm. I pushed off the wall, the world around me focusing, the moment of “now” filling me, breaking the curtain of calm that had fogged my mind. The area outside the alleyway had gotten surprisingly quiet.
Dirt.
Primus, her voice sang through my mind, bringing with it the fog of content again.
The near silence outside the alley filled me with dread. I don’t have time for this, Nix.
Come back to me. The feeling of calm leeched through my mind like a poison.
I pushed her out of my head.
You fight me to save the city, Synn, she said harshly, fighting through my shield. I can save the city. I only want you back.
Tempting. I erected the shield, shushing her, and peered through the alleyway.
It was clear of citizens, but I could hear the people on the other platforms. They were still trying to evacuate the city. I had time. I just needed to buy them more of it.
Guards blocked the bridges, but I couldn’t see Varik anywhere.
Think. I needed to think. What did I hope to accomplish? What was the plan?
Buy time. I just needed to buy time.
How?
I had no idea.
Varik stepped into my line of sight, slipping his long leather trench coat off his shoulders and letting it fall to the ground, his shirt sleeves missing, his Mark trailing up both of his forearms.
Impressive. Well, if I was going to buy time, this might be the way.
“Synn,” Varik barked. “Come out of hiding.”
I swallowed. I could do this.
“Are you scared, little boy?”
Why, yes. Yes I was, but I had to stop thinking that way. I’d practiced for this day. I knew what I was capable of. I had one of the strongest Marks ever known, and he had no idea the potential I held.
“Your queen wants you back, boy!”
“She’s not my queen,” I growled, ripping the shirt over my head and baring nearly all my Marks. The ones snaking down my legs throbbed with fire, scorching my pants as I stepped out, my fists clenched.
Varik stood in the middle of the platform. His eyes flared as he evaluated my Mark.
It was just a fancy tattoo without the power to raise it. I closed my eyes, turning the fear to hate, morphing the doubt into a driving force. I didn’t have the luxury to be weak. The people of Egolda City needed my Mark. It flared in lightning fire around me, lifting from my arms, back, chest, snaking out from under my waistband to crawl off my legs.
The guards flinched, backing away.
“You’ve grown, boy,” Varik said quietly. “Your queen will be pleased.”
I let out a long breath, letting the rage fill me, allowing reason to fill my head.
Varik popped his neck. “Well, let’s just see how much you’ve learned, shall we?”
I had to remember to keep a few things in my arsenal from Varik. I didn’t want him to tell Nix all the things I was capable of doing. I only had to keep him busy long enough for the city to clear out. I had no idea how to save the lethara if Varik tried to destroy it.
His Mark flashed from his arms in whips of orange fire. He was the House of Wands. Not the Family of Ino, just a renegade Mark born to an unsuspecting Family, and a worthy prize.
But it was just fire and I knew how to deal with that.
The
lightning fire prancing around me was just for show and distraction. What I really needed was water. Good thing we were surrounded by it.
I reached out with my power source, keeping my lightning fire pointed at Varik, and heated the ocean waters, drawing them up in swirls of wind and clouds.
He lashed out with his fire.
I wasn’t too worried about it. I’d heal. Instead of shielding myself, I lashed out with each bolt of lava I had.
His little whip caught me across the cheek.
My lava hit him in so many places. He fell backward, his knees crumbling, his hands raised to his face. His hair and beard were on fire, as were his clothes. He was writhing on the ground. His Mark flailed around him, beating at the flames, but only succeeding in building them higher.
The cloud sat heavy at the platform ceiling, waiting for my command.
The guards had fallen back in fear. Most of them were halfway across their bridges.
Varik just kept screaming.
I couldn’t take it anymore. The power of my lava wasn’t dying on his skin. Something about him seemed to keep it alive. I released the power of the cloud, the fat drops landing on him with hisses.
The city was almost quiet. There didn’t seem to be any more footsteps from the platform above me. I could still hear voices far below. I let out a sigh of relief.
Varik’s screams quieted and he laid still.
I walked up to him, the cloud still pouring around us, sizzling in the air, my footsteps splashing in deep puddles.
He was a mess. His skin was black in spots where the lava had hit him and in lines where his own Mark had backfired. His grey eyes stared up at me, as steam rose from and around him. He was irate.
I kept the calm within my mind, the fury rushing through my chest. “She’s not my queen, Varik. She’s yours.”
Contempt rippled across his ravaged face as he reached into his pocket.
The button! I rushed him, a chill running through me.
But before I could get to him, he pulled something silver and cylindrical out of his pocket.
