by Day Leitao
“No way,” Jax protested. “She’ll go all evil on us with that dagger and free the princesses.”
“That’s not a bad proposal,” Darian said.
“For a traitor,” Jax replied. “You want to protect them, that’s what you want. We should tie you again.”
Darian offered his hands close together and shrugged. “If you think I’ll be useful as a hostage, I don’t mind.”
Jax just crossed his arms.
Darian lowered his hands and said, “Look, your initial plan was to take the four of them. Here we go. We can take them. Without a fight.”
Jax thought for a moment, then replied, “I guess you’re right.” He then turned to Nia. “Let Rose go.”
“I’m not coming with you,” Cayla protested, grabbing a twig from the floor. “You want me; you’ll have to fight.”
The girl didn’t stand up, though, but rather fell on the floor. Nia had “air stabbed” her. Everyone looked surprised. Darian was still unfazed.
“Oh, she’ll be up and fine in ten minutes,” Nia said. “Let’s go.”
The rebels walked to the edge of the mountain, on the opposite side of where they had been, where three lifts were waiting for them. They agreed on having Karina and her friends on a lift with Darian, Jax, two other guys, two other girls Karina didn’t know, and Zayra. At least Cayla was passed out and didn’t know that she would have her as a travel companion. Travel. Where? This lift was even bigger than the previous one Karina had seen. Zayra went to the front, with the other girl. Karina and her friends were on the back with four people watching them. Or five, if one were to count Darian. Nia held Cayla, who leaned on her shoulder. None of their bags had been brought with them, as someone had decided to confiscate their things. A good thing the shoes were safe on Karina’s waist. The lift took off.
Nia addressed everyone, “Listen, we are not on the king’s side. You won’t benefit from keeping us. Just leave us at the valley. We might even be able to help you.”
“Why don’t you two go,” Darian said looking at Karina and Nia, “and leave them here?” He gestured towards Cayla and Ayanna.
“Are we going to change plans again?” Jax asked.
“If it’s for the best, yes,” Darian replied.
Nia whispered to Karina, “Why not?”
“Cayla needs to go too,” Karina replied.
“Yes, it might be safer. But I thought you had a plan,” Nia said, then looked at Darian’s direction. “Or that he had a plan.”
“I think his plan is to keep Cayla close by,” Karina replied.
Nia looked down. “While they might take the castle.” She then addressed Jax, “You’re smart, you know?”
The comment was odd. He seemed surprised and was about to reply when Nia got up, pulled her dagger and air stabbed everyone except Darian, who looked astonished.
“What are you doing?”
“Going all evil with my dagger.” She pointed to Jax. “It was his idea.”
Darian seemed upset. “Stop it. You know I don’t mean to hurt you. I’m even willing to help you go where you want to go. You know that.”
Nia ignored him and banged on the door to the front. The noise called the girls’ attention. Zayra opened the door and looked back. In less than a second, she and the other girl lay motionless.
“Great,” Darian said. “Now I have to go to the front.”
He carefully pushed Zayra out of her seat and sat there. Nia also went inside and sat in the middle. Karina and Ayanna stood at the door.
Nia turned to the younger girl. “Go back and hold your sister.”
Ayanna looked disappointed but went to the back and sat by Cayla’s side. Nia looked at Darian. “Now, will you take us to Lylah?”
The boy was exasperated. “Nia, I told you, that is reckless and useless, there’s no point.”
Nia pointed her dagger at him.
“That’s stupid,” he said. “Who’s going to control this if I pass out?”
“I could just hurt you,” Nia replied.
Darian didn’t look upset. “I know you won’t.”
“Fine,” Nia said, now holding her dagger close to Zayra, the way she had done to Rose. “What if I hurt her?”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“I would. For my son,” Nia replied.
“I’ll do my best to make sure your son is unharmed,” he said. “What’s better than to check on me in person?”
“I still want to go to Lylah.”
“As I said before, I’ll take you there, or close to there.”
Karina had to press her point. “Cayla needs to go too.”
“No, she doesn’t,” he replied. “Why would she need to go on a pointless and dangerous mission?”
Nia pressed again her dagger on Zayra, who was unconscious. “I don’t care about your opinion. I’ll hurt her.”
“Knock it off,” he said. “You’re not that kind of person.”
“Let’s see, then. And there are five more, in case I go too far.”
She pressed her dagger on the girl’s arm. A drop of blood dripped.
Darian looked upset. “Stop it.”
“So she is important,” Nia said.
“Just because I don’t want her to be hurt?”
“And why did you defend her when we were fighting?”
“You just don’t hit someone when they’re already down,” he said. “I understand Cayla was mad, but still.”
“You know, you really have to make up your mind.”
“What?” Darian seemed confused, then his eyes widened. “Stop it.”
Nia narrowed her eyes. “Let’s try something different. Cayla is about to wake up. Since you like to pretend to care about her—”
“Not pretend. We’ve been friends for a long time.”
Nia sighed. “Well, since you care about her, why don’t you try to take her side, and take her where she wants to go? This is your chance to redeem yourself.”
“She’s going to be upset either way. What’s the difference? At least she won’t be in danger.” He looked down. “Like last time.”
Karina was annoyed that the conversation wasn’t leading anywhere, at least not anywhere near Lylah. But the mention of “last time” gave her an idea. She turned to Darian, “If you’re only worried about Cayla’s safety, why don’t you come with us? That way you can protect her.”
He listened.
Karina felt encouraged to continue. “So even if Cayla is upset at you, she’ll know you never meant to betray her. And you’ll get to spend time with her.” Somehow that last part seemed to matter.
He looked down, thinking, then replied, “But they’ll see we’re straying from our regular path. We might bring attention to us. It could be someone still loyal to the king.”
Karina thought that was just an excuse, and argued, “Perhaps you could leave your lift far away, or something, not to draw attention.”
He stroked his non-existent beard, then looked back. “But then they’ll know I protected her.”
Nia rolled her eyes. “As if nobody noticed. But I’m sure you can come up with something. I take back what I said; you’re an excellent liar.”
He looked down, embarrassed, thinking, or both. The silence was the perfect opportunity for Karina to ask Nia a non-related question she was too curious to hold, “How do you know how long they’ll sleep? Do you have a timer or something?”
Nia was surprised at the question. She thought for a moment, then answered, “No. I just, when I stab them, from a distance, I know. If I have to do it too fast, I only knock them out for a couple minutes, though.”
Darian snorted. “Some magical object you have there. To bring down all the people you did, in a matter of seconds. Of course, it must take a lot of practice.”
Nia looked down, which was odd for her. “No. I had never used it before. I didn’t even know it could do this.”
Karina was astonished. “What about the guards?”
Nia
shook her head. “That was different.”
Darian was also astonished. “You’re saying you had no practice? Can you imagine what you could do with if you did?”
Nia snorted. “Maybe I don’t want to imagine that.” She faced Darian. “Now, will you take us to Lylah’s castle?”
He sighed. “If that’s what she wants…” He looked at his sleeping companions. “I’ll leave them at the mountain, then we’ll go. But I’m coming with you.” He looked back where Cayla was. “Regardless of what she says.”
Karina smiled. “Thank you.”
The lift indeed changed course. Karina felt relieved, and happy that her idea had worked. Karina looked back and noticed that Cayla slept on the side couch, and so did Ayanna, who must have been tired, since they hadn’t slept much.
Nia looked back, then turned to Darian. “She’s going to wake up soon, and I have to ask you something.” She then narrowed her eyes and observed him. “Why did you come to the mountain last night?”
“To help Cayla. And you all.”
She still looked at him attentively. “It wasn’t to lead the rebels then?”
“Why would I climb? I could have gotten there much faster.”
“I have no proof you climbed,” Nia said. “I don’t mean to judge you, I understand this, uh, cause, means a lot to you. And that you think you can keep us all safe.”
“No,” he sounded offended. “I have no idea how they came, or how they knew where you were. I didn’t tell anyone, and I took a lot of care not to be followed.”
“How did they find us then?”
“I don’t know.” He stopped for a moment, then continued, “Unless, either someone heard me, but, I took a lot of care, or they put something on my things, to locate me. But again, I checked everything. Or else they knew how to locate you. I wasn’t involved in any of this. Didn’t you see I was tied? That Rose threatened to hurt me?”
Nia laughed. “That was fake, wasn’t it?”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t. Rose was furious.”
“How did you escape then?”
He looked down, then glanced towards Zayra. “She untied me.”
Nia narrowed her eyes looking at the girl, then at him.
Darian continued, “She was afraid they’d hurt me.” As Nia kept her probing expression, he looked defensive. “It’s not at all what you’re thinking.”
She looked puzzled. “You don’t even know what I’m thinking. But let me ask, then. So she freed you, then you just walked out telling everyone what to do?”
“You took down Rose. She was the problem. And I didn’t tell anyone what to do, I just tried to mediate things, and luckily it worked out.”
Nia rolled her eyes. “Listen, I can see you care and worry about Cayla. But, see, she’s like a daughter to me—”
“I know, that’s why I talked to you.”
“Well, what if you’re such a good friend to her, you know, just because of who she is?”
“Of course it’s because of who she is.”
Nia stared at him, jaw dropped.
He seemed puzzled for a second, then looked disgusted. “Oh, Nia please. You mean because she’s her father’s daughter? I didn’t mean that, I meant the person she is. That has nothing to do with where she lives or who her parents are. You know, you’re sounding just like her father. What are you going to do? Forbid me to ever see her?”
“No, but I can talk to her.” Nia sat sideways, winked at Karina then said, “Still… Cayla, I love her, but she can be a little, uh, fierce, and, somewhat rough on the edges, if you know what I mean. And I don’t see her treating you very well. So, well, I wonder why you care about her.”
The boy seemed furious, and Karina wondered if, so close to landing, it was a good time to annoy him.
But Darian kept looking straight ahead as he replied, “Do you even know her? Really? If you did, you’d know her rough edges, as you’re saying, are just on the outside. And what’s wrong if she’s fierce? What’s the problem? I can deal with that. And you have no right to judge how she treats me, because you don’t even know it.”
Nia chuckled, which was weird.
Darian frowned. “I don’t think I said anything funny.”
Nia became serious. “No. Sorry. Just get us on the ground, then you can look behind you.”
“What?” he said, then turned back.
Karina also looked. Cayla stood near the door, strangely silent, almost beside Karina. Darian was paralyzed for a moment.
“Watch out!” Nia yelled.
The lift hit the ground with a loud noise and tilted. Karina lost balance and almost fell. Why did Nia upset him right when they were about to reach the ground? Why?
Nia turned to Darian, “I told you not to look.”
Sian turned off the comm. Found him—his brother. Quite confusing account, frankly. Still, the girls were with his brother, on their way to the insurgents not-so-secret hideout. Trying to take the girls from the insurgents would be foolish—and needless. There were bigger pieces about to be moved. It was time to prepare for the final strike. His curiosity would have to wait.
17
Time to Turn Around
Cayla felt dizzy. From the crash, from having passed out, from so much information she didn’t quite understand. Darian walked to the back to open the door and passed her without meeting her eyes.
Ayanna came to the front, rubbing her eyes. “What happened? Did we crash?”
“No. Just a bad landing,” Nia replied.
Cayla asked Nia, “Where are we going?”
“To Lylah’s castle,” Nia replied.
Cayla exhaled in relief while looking at the sleeping bodies of the people who’d wanted to imprison them. Maybe she’d been wrong, and Darian had been on her side, but he seemed to be on their side as well.
She turned to Nia. “He’ll drop us off?”
“He’s coming with us.”
Coming with us? No. That had not been the plan. Nia got up and went to the back, where Darian and Karina were carrying some people out. Cayla noticed a person on the pilot seat and all her anger against Darian boiled up again. Still, she helped them carry a couple people outside, landing them carefully on the grass, even if they didn’t deserve any decent treatment.
Without any enemies on the lift, they were ready to take off.
Nia put her hand on her shoulder. “Cayla, go to the front, so you can learn a little how to pilot this. It could be useful.”
Still somewhat dizzy and confused, Cayla found herself in the front compartment. Alone with Darian. The first time in such a long time. Her heart was racing and she had trouble breathing, but she tried not to think about it. He’d been with those people—on their side—and her stupid heart would have to shut up.
He looked at her as if waiting for a reaction. Afraid? Curious? Unsure?
She stepped away from him. “For the record, I changed my mind about what I told you last night.” She looked away. “No infinite nothing.”
He sighed. “I figured.”
“I just wanted to make sure, you know? No misunderstanding.”
He shook his head. “None.”
So that was it? It wasn’t as if he cared.
He said, “You need a hand.”
“What?”
He pressed his hand on the right top corner of the panel. “For the lift to fly. You need someone authorized.”
The panel lit up. It annoyed her to know that they would never have taken off without him.
He continued, “The person needs to be alive, but could be sleeping, and not everyone is authorized for every lift.”
“How can you turn this one on?”
“I have authorization for every lift in the army.” He looked down. “My father.”
She sighed. “Darian, I need to know. Whose side are you on?”
“Your side.”
“Are you saying you support my father? That you were just pretending?”
He looked away, sighed
, then looked directly at her. “It’s more complicated than that. I have to play both sides. But I always consider you. I do think about the wellbeing of the kingdom, Cayla, and your wellbeing as well. Always.” His eyes had been locked in hers, open. He then stared ahead, while the lift took off, distancing itself from the summit.
His words and the way he’d said them put her at ease. She trusted him. But there was one thing still bothering her. “Why did you defend her?”
“Zayra? You were going to kick her face. She was already down.”
“I wasn’t. What do you think I am? And we were fighting.”
“You’re a better fighter, Cayla.”
“So you had to protect her precious pretty face. Nice.”
He glanced at her, then back ahead. He had a little smile on his face. A smile? Cayla wanted to punch him.
He glanced at her again. “Are you…” A pause. Another smile. “…jealous?”
Cayla looked away. “What a stupid question.”
“Was that the problem that night?” Darian scoffed. “Were you jealous of Zayra?”
Laughing. He was laughing! A pity he was piloting because she really did want to punch him. “You’re so hilarious.”
Darian shook his head. “No, you are. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“You’re the one who said it! No wonder it’s ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous and absurd.”
“Absurd, right? It’s not as if I had been locked in the castle, while you were flying around and living wonderful adventures with your pretty partner.”
He frowned. “She’s not pretty. What about you? Going to balls in the castle. Having a prince after you. I never, ever, ever thought anything about it. Ever.”
“Well, the Arlenia prince is creepy and old, that’s easy.”
“He’s nineteen. That’s not old!”
“He’s not like…” What was she even going to say? She lost her thought. And she was wasting time with stupid things when the most important mission in her life was ahead of her. “You’re going to drop me off and let me do what I have to do, right?”
“Yes, but I’m coming with you.”
That was terrible. He’d mess up everything. “Then I’ll just ask Nia to make you sleep.”
