by Day Leitao
“Don’t worry. I will.” She sounded calm and complying.
“Really?” Karina asked.
Cayla grimaced. “Are you kidding me? Of course not! We’re going to the castle. I mean, I’m going. You don’t have to go.”
Karina exhaled, relieved.
Cayla continued, “But I need to find a way to get there.”
That sounded like a terrible idea. “Why don’t you wait? It’s dangerous going there. Especially alone.”
Cayla shook her head. “It isn’t. My father’s army wouldn’t harm me. I don’t think these insurgents would harm me either. I mean, at least I’m sure they won’t kill me.”
Maybe she had a point. Karina then remembered what Lylah had told them. “Can’t you teleport?”
“What? No.”
“How come you came to my place then, and brought me?”
“There was a portal already opened. And I didn’t do anything. Odell had it all set up. I mean,” she snorted, “now that I know who actually did it, it makes a lot more sense.”
“But Lylah just said we could teleport if we were just in two.”
Cayla shrugged. “I have no idea what she meant. Maybe she forgot you threw the shoes or something.”
It could be. Or maybe not. “But don’t you, I mean, don’t you have some power, considering who you are?”
“That’s not something you’re born with.”
“But you know magic, right? I mean, you cast a light in my room—”
“Well, that… Fine, it was magic. Odell taught me a little. Just a little. The thing is, whenever you go to another dimension, you’re more powerful, so I was testing.”
“And what was the result?”
Cayla shrugged and snorted. “Some light. Not very useful.” Cayla looked down at the horizon far away. “I think I know how to get there. Come, follow me.”
She ran to the place where they had fought at night.
“What do you want to do?” Karina asked.
“They might have dropped something.” She looked down to the floor. “Something we could use to communicate. Help me find it.”
“What should it look like?”
“It’s usually silver. But it could be different. If you find anything unusual, let me know.”
Her tone was urgent. Cayla really believed she would find something. Karina tried to look. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to find anything, though. The whole idea sounded dangerous.
Cayla looked behind Karina and smiled. “You can stop looking.”
Karina looked at that direction and saw a lift coming in their direction. Great. “You think this is good?”
“Well, if it’s the rebels, they’ll take us to the castle. If it’s the army, they’ll take us to the castle. Easy, right?”
“Take you maybe. I’d rather hide.”
“But you want to go home, right? You can only teleport from the blue tower, and you know where it is.”
Karina shrugged. “I can wait.”
“Fine. Wait then, but if it takes a month, don’t blame me.” Cayla crossed her arms, but then she got calmer. “There’s something else you can do. Hide. See what happens. If they are friendly, you come with me. How’s that?”
“And if they aren’t?”
“You find a way to ask for help.” Cayla sighed. “And, if by any chance, we don’t see each other again, I want to—”
“Stop it.” Karina was not ready for any goodbye. “Everything will be fine. I’m sure they are friendly and I’ll come with you.”
At least that was what Karina hoped. Cayla smiled. Still, Karina went to the middle of the bushes, while Cayla stood out in the open, waiting. Karina sat on the floor, and waited for some two or three minutes, until she heard the sound of a door opening. She ran to Cayla because she decided she didn’t want to leave her alone, especially if the people were not friendly. There was a lift in front of Cayla. Two young men stepped out of it. One was very tall and thin, with wavy dark hair, and the other had average height and blond hair. The blond boy wore a similar uniform to the one he’d seen Darian and Zayra wearing. The tall boy wore civilian blown clothes, with leather-looking pants and a black shirt.
The taller boy glanced at Karina before turning to Cayla. “Hey, sis!”
Cayla crossed her arms. “Don’t call me that.”
“Fine, Princess Cayla.” He gesticulated in an exaggerated way, while smirking. “I had no idea we were back to such formalities.”
“Knock it off, Sian,” Cayla said.
Sian seemed to know Cayla well, so it was safe to assume that they were not planning on imprisoning her or anything. He was a little weird, though.
“Hey, I came to help you,” Sian said. He noticed Karina. “And may I have the pleasure of your name?”
“Karina. I’m Cayla’s friend.”
He stepped closer to her. “I’m Sian.” He spread out his arms, then bowed. “At your service.”
He was more than a little weird.
Sian then pointed to the blond boy. “This is Lee.”
“Hey,” Lee waved his hand.
Sian turned to Cayla, smug smirk on his face, “And to what do I owe the pleasure of coming to your rescue?”
“The castle. I need to go there.”
He laughed. “You’re kidding, right?” Sian stared at Cayla. “Nope, not kidding. That’s too bad. As much as I’d love the honor of escorting you back to the castle, the place is, let’s say, kind of messy right now. We wouldn’t make it past the siege. Nobody could take you there, except… Have you tried my sweet little brother?”
Cayla stared at him in silence.
Sian frowned. “Oh, not even he’ll take you. That’s too bad. What’s the problem, your beloved’s too busy betraying your father?”
Cayla stepped close to Sian. “I asked you to knock it off. I did it nicely.”
She raised her knee toward his groin. He blocked her and stepped back. Cayla tried to punch him and he blocked. At the same time, Lee stepped behind her and put a cloth on her face. This was all too fast, so Karina had no time to warn her friend. Cayla fainted. Maybe the boys weren’t friendly after all. Lee advanced towards Karina, but Sian said, “Leave her. She’s harmless.”
Karina was somewhat relieved and wondered when and how tales of her lack of bravery had reached him.
Sian looked at Cayla on the floor. “Brat.” He turned to Karina while pointing at Cayla. “What she did was attempted murder. She might have killed my future children.” He shook his head. “No love for her future nephews and nieces.”
Karina wasn’t sure if he was serious or not, so she refrained from laughing.
Lee said, “More lifts might come. We need to take them somewhere safe.”
“Of course,” Sian said. He then got close to Lee and put a cloth in front of his nose and mouth. Lee fainted. Sian held him careful so that the boy would not fall on the floor, then said, “But I make the decisions.”
20
About Sian
Sian had just betrayed his companion. Karina’s heart raced. She had no idea what to expect from him. He noticed and waved the gray cloth on his hand. “You want to take a nap too?”
Karina didn’t reply.
“I wasn’t serious,” he said. “You should’ve laughed. Are my jokes that bad?”
Well, yes, but Karina wasn’t going to say that. She just stared.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” He smiled. “I like it! My favorite type of conversation partner. I can hear more of myself.”
This was annoying. “What are you going to do to us?”
“Am I supposed to answer? Do you want to hear all my evil plans?”
“Yes, of course.”
He grimaced. “This one doesn’t work when you reply. There’s no evil plan. I’ll take you somewhere safe. Lee here has connections with the rebels. I don’t trust him, that’s why I had to do this.”
That meant Sian was not with the rebels. Karina wondered why he’d make Cayla faint
then. Was it because she’d tried to kick him?
“Let’s go,” Sian continued. “More lifts could come, although most of the rebels are around the castle now.”
Sian then dragged Lee and Cayla to the lift. Karina followed, because she didn’t want to leave her friend. This lift was entirely different from the other ones. It had no division, and it had what looked like one weapon on each side, like cannons or something. Karina sat by Cayla, on the back, where there were two rows of seats.
Sian went to the front, then turned back, “Hey, why don’t you come sit by me? The view is great.”
Karina preferred to stay in the back with Cayla. “Thanks, I’m good here.”
She looked down at Cayla sleeping, wondering where they would be taken, and unsure on which side and for whom Sian was fighting. Karina then heard a sound and looked up to see Sian crouching in front of her.
“You don’t understand, do you?” Sian said. “I’m only keeping you alive cause it’s boring to make sarcastic remarks when there’s nobody to hear them.” He smiled as he said that.
Karina could also smirk when she wanted to. “Maybe I’d rather die.”
He tilted his head, curious. “Some people would agree with you. You owe me your life, you know?”
“Really? How so?”
He shrugged and said matter-of-factly, “I didn’t kill you.”
Karina snorted. “Wow, am I supposed to be flattered or something?”
He became serious and looked down. “No.” For the first time, he looked anything like Darian. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I just want to talk to you.”
His eyes were hazel with long eyelashes, and from that distance they were really beautiful, but Karina shouldn’t be noticing that. She asked, “For what?”
His smirk was back, which was good, because then he looked more annoying than anything. “We can exchange some information. How’s that?”
Karina did want to learn where she was going and also wanted to figure out the mess she’d gotten into. She also wanted to check how those things moved. After a deep breath, she got up and sat in the front. His hands with long, thin fingers passed over the panel, and it became light blue, with black lines over it. Sian slid his hand over a strip of green light and the lift took off. They moved in a direction opposite of the meeting of the rivers. Karina saw lakes, the Black River, and even the ocean beyond the castle and the silver river. The view was indeed great.
Sian asked, “You’ve met my little brother Darian, haven’t you?”
Karina remained silent, wondering where he wanted to take this conversation.
Sian laughed, “Oh, don’t worry, I know you met him. I don’t really need that kind of information from you. I know who the insurgents are, I know what they are planning, and I’m aware they are trying to take the castle right now.”
“Good for you.” She turned her face away from him and looked at the window.
“So, back to my sweet brother. I bet he never mentioned me, did he?”
Karina didn’t reply.
“See? That’s how much he cares about his family. But that’s not my point. He thinks he got part of the army to follow him. I’ve been tracking all his steps. His rebellion will go nowhere.”
Karina wasn’t supposed to say anything, but she felt she had to. “He’s not their leader.”
“He convinced you of that? What did he say? No single leadership? People coming up with ideas on their own? He doesn’t pose as their leader, but he gets them to do what he wants.”
“He’s too young.”
“But that’s the thing: young, idealistic. Quite catchy, you know?”
Karina wasn’t sure if what he was saying was true or not, or even if he believed it.
Sian pointed to Cayla. “And that’s why she’s the perfect hostage. We’ll ambush the insurgents once they are tired, but, if things go wrong, she might be useful. With her, we can get the king, and we can get Darian. It’s just perfect. So you know why I’m doing this.”
Karina felt a chill down her spine. She thought about Lylah. Cayla was too perfect as a hostage. But something he said didn’t make sense. “The king? I thought you were protecting him.”
Sian laughed. “The king is bonkers. That’s another reason the rebels haven’t been caught until now: they are doing the dirty work for my father. I, unlike my brother, care about family.”
“You’re doing this so that your father takes the kingdom?”
“No. Maybe I’m doing this because I think it’s right. Whyland needs a better ruler.” He smiled. “One with a charming older son. Who’s better than Keen?”
Karina remembered escaping him, and then remembered what she’d heard from Darian and the rebels. “But he’s cruel.”
Sian waved his finger in the air. “You have to consider who told you this.”
Maybe he had a point. But then maybe he didn’t. Karina thought about Lylah and Nia. And how Sian didn’t know about them. Lylah. Sian had no idea about her, and that could be the factor that changed everything. “Are you leading this ambush?” Karina asked.
“What do you want to hear? That no, I have nothing to do with it? Sorry but I’m not humble like my brother.”
“Surrender then. Get your people to surrender, strike a deal, something. You can’t win this.”
He smiled. “Of course. I’ll surrender just because you’re telling me so. You’ll need a lot more than a sweet smile if you want to tell me what to do.”
Karina thought it was better to be honest. “Lylah. We freed her. And Nia. They’re powerful. You won’t beat them.”
“I think I can deal with two ladies. So Lylah was freed? And she was alive?” He laughed. “Thanks for the info, by the way.”
“Use the information then. Cancel this attack, ambush, whatever.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think Lylah can make any difference.”
“She brought down two lifts. I saw it.”
He raised his eyebrows, puzzled or incredulous, then laughed. “If she does,” he pointed at the back, “I still have the perfect hostage. Unlike my pathetic brother, I happen to know who Cayla’s mother is.”
Bummer. Karina tried to argue, “I don’t think you’re a bad person. Why are you doing this?”
He smiled and his eyes brightened. “You don’t think I’m a bad person? That’s a great start.” He got serious again. “Now, you want to know why? For order, peace. This insurgence could lead us into chaos.”
“You’re doing this for power.”
Sian smirked. “Same thing as my brother.”
“He means well.”
“I mean well too. I know you’re not from here. I have no idea where you’re from, but let me ask you something: how much do you know about Whyland?”
Uh, close to nothing? The question caught her. Maybe he had a point. But Karina remembered the rebels on the hill, and how they said that they were fighting brutality, she remembered what Darian had said, what Lylah had said. She knew that Sian was on the wrong side. She wasn’t sure how much he knew, though, and whether his talk of taking power was real or some kind of joke.
Karina said, “I got to know people here, people who believe in what they are doing, and I believe in them.”
“I also believe in what I’m doing! Get to know me! Did they give you a guide or anything? A book?”
“Well, no, but—”
“How sad. I’ll get you a book. And you should believe me.”
“Why do you care what I think?”
“Well isn’t it obvious?”
“No.”
“I’m just a guy trying to impress a pretty girl.”
Karina hadn’t expected that, but she tried not to show she was surprised, and looked around. “Where? I don’t see any.”
He looked at her intently. “Cause there’s no mirror here.”
Her face got hot. Was it some kind of joke? Anyways, he was just teasing and trying to get her confused. Maybe he thought she would get wobbly knee
s, feel out of air and stop thinking. Karina rolled her eyes. “I haven’t brushed or washed my hair for five days.”
“That explains the wild look.”
She looked out the window.
He changed his tone. “I’ll give you a better explanation, then.” He pointed at Cayla. “She’s a brat. I don’t know how my brother can stand her. But somehow she trusts you. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but of course I’ll want a deal with my brother. Of course I want him by my side. That’s where Cayla comes in. You might be able to help me.”
“Strike a deal now. That’s what I told you.”
“See? We’re coming to an understanding. If you knew me, you’d know I never fight when I can negotiate. But I need the upper hand.”
“What do you want from me? Should I tell her that you mean well? That you’re nice? You expect she’ll listen? She doesn’t listen to anyone.”
He looked down. “I know.”
“Why then?”
“I already told you, and now it’s your turn to find an alternate explanation. Go on.”
Karina didn’t understand what he hoped to accomplish by treating her like that. She looked out the window.
He said, “So, I’ve told you all my secrets. What about you? What brings you to Whyland?”
Karina’s story was so absurd she decided to tell it. “I came to bring a pair of shoes.” He looked at her with an eyebrow raised. That was entertaining. She suppressed a smile and continued, “To Lylah.” He looked at her in disbelief so she continued because she thought it was funny, “it was a pair of magical shoes. I thought they’d destroy Lylah, but they freed her.”
If he lifted his right eyebrow any higher it would touch his hair. “Magical?”
“You guys are weird. You have interdimensional teleporting, but get all skeptical about magic?”
He frowned. “What do you mean interdimensional teleporting?”
“See? Weird.”
“Tell me.” All his smirking and attitude was gone. There was only curiosity and even some pleading. “I need to understand.”
Guess who had the upper hand now? She smirked. “Halt the attack and I will.”
He looked away, then looked at her, thoughtful. “Odell set it up. I mean, not the magic and everything, but having Cayla free Lylah.”
