“A few weeks after her march through the city, the Keeper swooped in with metal dragons. There was fire and destruction, much of our city was destroyed. He had more marlita at his disposal than I had ever seen. Victor Cross was powerless against the keeper, who stormed the castle and killed many of the guards. Chaos erupted in the city after that, and the children were rounded up and escorted here.”
“I have no memory of that, but I do remember you, Aila. The day you came.”
She nodded to him. “Before that, this was an orphanage, and the Keeper destroyed it to make this.” She motioned around her.
“But why the children?” I asked. “And the Keeper, according to the text, is the queen’s brother. Why wouldn’t he just take the throne without all this nonsense?”
Aila and Sebastian shared a look, and I didn’t like it.
“The Keeper is a smart and cunning man, though he may not seem that way.”
“There’s a little crazy sprinkled on top,” I added.
“He must have something against children,” Sebastian alleged. “I just don’t know.”
“Ugh!” I was so frustrated I pounded my fist on the old manuscript. “There’s no way for us to get out of here!”
“This might help,” said Aila, stepping forward. She pulled out a handful of small blue stones from her skirt pocket.
“Starlita!” Sebastian exclaimed, “Where did you get those?”
“You have weapons and you’re still stuck here?” I turned toward her. “Why not just use the stones to blow a hole in the wall, and escape? Get these kids out of here?”
Aila threw the stone on the table hard, and it bounced. I winced and squeezed my eyes shut. When nothing happened, I opened one eye and looked at him. “Why didn’t it explode?”
“We have no idea how to activate it,” Aila sighed.
I thought on that for a while, wondering if there was an on switch. I retrieved the blue stone from the rough cave floor and examined it. It was translucent, as small as a marble, but oval shaped, it reminded me of a picture I’d seen in school of an opal. I handed it to Sebastian. “Are these stones like the marlita?”
“Nearly, but not as powerful,” Sebastian said. “Marlita can only be found on the shores of Lake Transcent, near the Zespar village. Remember?”
I nodded. “That’s what Dinga was doing the day I met him. They trade the marlita for copper and silver miners in the area for goods.”
Sebastian examined the starlita. “I’ve never seen one up close, they are rare.”
“And useless,” Aila sighed. “We’ve tried for years, but it’s hopeless.”
“It’s not.” I stood. “I came here for a reason, and I know somehow, if we work together, we can fix it.”
Sebastian gazed up at me with admiration, a smile fixed on this face.
“Well, first, how is it that all the children are here, and the townspeople don’t seem to know, nor care? Actually, they seem happily oblivious. That isn’t strange to anyone?”
Sebastian mused on that. “The Keeper is a powerful magic user, we know. His influence on the people is very strong.”
“Why didn’t it affect Victor, my mother, the people of the order?”
“I think, in a weird way, the key protected them. Shielded them, somehow.”
“Then it will shield us,” I said, and he nodded in agreement.
“I must go make my rounds again,” Aila interrupted, “the children’s work is very dangerous, and my days are filled with helping them survive in this dangerous mine. You’re welcome to take any bunk and rest; the children won’t be allowed to return to their beds for hours yet.”
She ducked around the corner and out of view, before I could ask any more questions. We sat there for an eternity, finishing the gritty water in my cup, and nibbling on the last crumbs of bread. My mom was a traveler – flipping from this world to the one I’d grown up in. She was royalty, who gave her heart to another, my father, even though she had a good man, here. If only she had stayed here.
Then I would have never been born. But if she had stayed with me, Edwin wouldn’t have been sired. And maybe he wouldn’t have betrayed us.
But maybe I would have never come here – and never met Sebastian.
The ‘what ifs’ and ‘have you’s’ plagued my mind until my vision was blurry. Tiny eruptions of pain shocked me over and over, followed by the chilling heal, as I sat in the great room surrounded by the remnants of forgotten children.
“Come on,” Sebastian said, standing, “It’s been a long day. We should rest, while we figure out this starlita.” He pocketed the stone and offered his hand. I followed him back to the dingy mat in the adjacent room, and we lay down. His arms wrapped around me, warm and comforting. He drifted to sleep, but I could not.
All around me was the constant clang of machines, the stomps of robots that shook pebbles from the cave ceiling, the sharp ping of pickaxes. I heard the crack of an electric whip, and then a child’s scream, shrill but agonizing, crashed across the air that penetrated the walls and the broken wooden door.
I shivered. My own house had been a prison, trapped there with feelings that I would never be free. I had suffered black eyes, broken bones, and crushed spirits. I knew what these children suffered, constantly worried escape would never come.
But what could I do? I was no one, nothing. I was the product of my mother’s rebellion, her mistake with a violent man she never fully knew. I didn’t want this royalty. I didn’t want this kingdom.
Victor had sent me here to kill the Keeper, armed with a demon sidekick, a light spinner, and a mysterious dagger with matching key. And all I had left was my light spinner, and even he was damaged. The Keeper was a world away, locked in his palace, but his evil had spread, even to these depths.
But these children? I wouldn’t let them lead the life I had. I was going to set them free.
The chaos of the last three days seeped through my bones, and my eyelids drooped. Constantly running for our lives was exhausting. “Sleep well,” I whispered to Sebastian. “When you awake, we have a rebellion to start.”
Chapter Twenty-Two: A Way Out
THE FAMILIAR CRACKLE of light and sparks of electric hue greeted me when I finally opened my eyes. Sebastian’s head still rested in my lap, but his eyes were open, and he held his hand out in front of him, a ball of yellow shimmer floating over and under his palm. It rolled down his forearm, and with a flick of the wrist he sent it tumbling in the other direction.
“I see you’re feeling better,” I rubbed by eyes and struggled to sit up but was caught with shooting pain down my arm. “Well, maybe not entirely a hundred percent,” I mumbled, wincing.
He moaned when I moved. “You feel that?” he said softly.
“Yeah, I do.”
He shifted so I was able to get to my feet. “The Zespar binding.”
“Remember the ceremony?”
“Yes, the Anual said we would be ‘connected in every way.’ I didn’t know he meant literally.” He turned and winced at his shoulder pain.
I flexed my fingers, wishing I could toss the pain away. “I can’t see the benefit of this.”
“I can’t either.”
Aila’s head poked through the door. “You’re awake.”
Sebastian pulled himself to a sitting position.
“Come, the children have many questions.”
Sebastian glanced at me and tried to shrug. He must have seen the look of pain that crossed my face, because he cradled his arm to avoid causing either of us discomfort.
“Come on,” I nodded, and I slipped my arm around his waist to help him to the main room.
Every bunk in the room was filled, some with two or three children. At the head of the table, Aila was dishing out gray, thick rice into bowls and handing them to Wyatt, who was dispersing them throughout the bunks. The room was filled with the noisy eating of the famished.
When Sebastian took a seat next to Aila at the table, I could almost feel every e
ye locked on us. They were all so skinny. Starving. The din in the room diminished. No more clattering of spoons against clay bowls, no more slurping, and the clamor of chewing ceased.
“Hello, Wyatt,” Sebastian greeted the boy from yesterday. Boy? I changed my mind, more like a man. He was our age, maybe a few years younger. Fifteen? Sixteen?
Aila looked down into the huge cauldron of food in front of her, a flush on her pale cheeks. What was that about? Where was the sagely mother from yesterday?
“Bash,” Wyatt nodded. “How is life on the outside?”
“It was pleasant,” Sebastian replied, but offered no other details.
“Yes, what was it like?” A little girl with brown curls like Sebastian’s spoke up. “Was the sun ever so beautiful?”
“Do the ekel’s still grow by the south gate of the city?” A boy only a few years older piped up. “They used to be so sweet.”
“And what of Bailia, the baker? Her sweet rolls were a slice of God’s heaven,” an older girl begged from the far side of the room.
Aila turned and held up a hand. “Children, they aren’t here to reminisce about the old days.”
Wyatt crossed his arms across his bare chest. Though young and thin, he projected the image of the man he was becoming. His eyes narrowed, and a sideways frown painted his face. “Then why are they here? To torture us with tales of light and fantasy? To remind us how truly bad it is down here?”
Hundreds of children murmured, a few cried. “I want to see the sun,” a little girl in the corner yelled. “I want my mother.”
My heart was breaking for them. A hush fell over the room, as dirt-streaked faces locked eyes with mine, a silent plea for help.
The silence was broken by the clanging of a metal drum. A flurry of activity burst about the room, as children flung down from the bunks and scurried about.
Older children grabbed hands of the smaller ones and rushed out of the great room.
Aila hoisted the cauldron with a grunt, Wyatt coming to her aid.
He tossed a look over his shoulder as they tried to hurry with their burden. “You’re out of time, whatever you have come for.”
The clanging was so loud I covered my ears and looked at Sebastian. “What’s the awful sound?”
He was covering one ear as well, his eyes shut tight. “It’s first call.” He gritted his teeth. “It’s the summons for the children to start their long day of work.”
I couldn’t let them face another day. I ran to catch up with Aila and Wyatt. “Wait! Bring back the cauldron to the table. I want to try something.”
Aila looked at Wyatt, who’s stony face said he wasn’t going to listen to me. I put my hand on his shoulder. “Please, I have an idea how we might be able to get out of here.”
He nodded to Aila and they turned to carry the cast iron bowl back to us. When they set it on the table, I took the blue stone from the previous night out of my dress pocket and laid it among the remnants of the gruel at the bottom.
“What are you doing, Alayna?”
“Wait,” I held up a hand, and as if on cue, I heard the whir of the robots spinning to life in the next room. The din was enough to drown out the sounds of the children.
“Sebastian, light, please.”
He looked at me, his head turned to the side. A slight smile crossed his face. “What are you thinking?”
“I think she might be a genius,” Aila spoke up. “I forgot about your talent, Sebastian.”
Sebastian grinned. “This idea is either awful or great.” Without another word, he spun a ball of light into his hands and dropped it into the cauldron.
All four of us dived under the table, covering our heads with our hands.
The explosion rocked the table around us, louder than anything I had ever heard. I turned and peeked to see the legs lift off the ground a few inches, as pieces of cast iron rained down on all sides. The bottom of the pot blew off, burning a perfect smoldering circle into the table. The remnant fell through and crashed to the floor.
“Are off your rocker?” Wyatt jumped up from under the table, hopping on one foot as he touched the red-hot remainder of the pot. “What was that?”
Aila slowly emerged. I felt Sebastian’s pain as he struggled to stand with his wounded arm.
“I don’t understand why I can’t just blast the robots with my light.” Sebastian frowned. “I mean, wouldn’t it accomplish our goals quicker?”
I looked at him. “Really? Just shoot one ball into one robot, there’s what, four or five out there?”
“Three,” Wyatt quipped.
“Still, that’s two too many, Sebastian,” I said, “You could fry one of them but the others would attack, right? Plus, the children. How would we keep them safe?”
Wyatt was nodding. “She has a point; escape is a better plan, at least at this point.”
I looked at Sebastian. “Even if you use your light invisibility spell?”
“I can’t disable the robots and hide all those children at the same time,” Sebastian shrugged, defeated, holding his injured shoulder.
We all nodded in agreement.
Aila picked up some smoldering black shards from the table, and tossed them from hand to hand, finally dropping it. “Do you know what this means?” Her dark eyes were bright with promise.
“Aye, I do,” said Aila, her eyes sparkling. “Alayna discovered a way to get us out of here. With your help, of course, Sebastian.” She smiled and looked down.
Sebastian nodded, and with his free arm, he it swung around my waist and lifted me off the floor. “Alayna, you’re amazing. With those rocks and my power, we can surely make a way out!” Before I knew what was happening, he pressed a quick peck to my lips.
I didn’t miss the look on Aila face when Sebastian set me down. Her brown eyes were alight with a fire I didn’t expect from such a demure girl.
Wyatt was the voice of reason. “I’m surprised the Bots didn’t hear that commotion! If they catch us, it will be weeks in the cage for sure!”
“Cage? What is he talking about?”
“Never mind that,” Sebastian interrupted, “They make such a racket that we can easily hide a few explosions a day, to blow our way to the surface. They’ll never catch us.”
“It’s risky,” Aila murmured. “I don’t like it.”
“It’s better than anything we have tried so far,” Wyatt pointed out. He took a seat and stretched out his legs. “I really think it will work.”
“Come on now, Wyatt,” Sebastian pleaded with his old friend. “Put the past behind us, and we can work together. What do you say, old friend?” He offered his good arm in a handshake, and I wondered what exactly Sebastian was talking about.
Wyatt unfolded his arms, and for a minute I thought he would turn and leave. Finally, he shook Sebastian’s hand. “I’m with you. I don’t like it, but I’ll do anything to get out of here.”
“I’m scared,” Aila said, moving closer to Wyatt.
“We can do this. I know we can.” Wyatt wrapped and arm around the girl. “But for now, we need to find your place in the crew, so you aren’t missed.”
“What about the pot?” Wyatt asked.
I thought about that. “Tell them the bot stepped on it and it was crushed on your way to deliver it.”
“That might work,” Wyatt mused.
Aila pulled away from Wyatt. “I have to go,” she whispered, “or I’ll be missed.”
Wyatt nodded, and she hurried out of the room.
When she was gone, Sebastian turned to Wyatt. “Now, where are more of those stones?”
“Follow me, I know how to get to the storeroom without alerting the bots,” Wyatt started toward the back of the room.
Sebastian grabbed my hand, and this time I didn’t shake it off. I was exhilarated at the thought of what we were about to do. We were going to free them. We were going to free the children.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Freedom
I COVERED MY EARS AS another explosion rocke
d the cave wall. “It doesn’t seem like we are making any progress,” I told Sebastian. “We’ve been at this for two days, and we’ve only cleared a few feet of the wall.”
Sebastian pulled a pocket watch out from his vest. “We have to wait for the bots to make their rounds, or we risk getting discovered.” He snapped the lid shut.
I hadn’t seen the watch before, and I noticed an ornate dragon carved on the golden cover. “Hey, where did you get that?”
He shrugged. “Wyatt gave it to me. The bots make their rounds every quarter hour, so we have to time it precisely.” He rummaged in the pack at his waist. “Alayna, sneak over to the store room and grab us more bread? I’m famished.”
My stomach rumbled. It had been a long few days, with grueling hours spent whittling away at this cave wall, the one we thought would be closest to the surface. I nodded and ducked out of the tiny area.
The kitchen area was rather bleak. It required exiting the living quarters, going down a narrow, low hall, and into another room that was barely big enough for a stove, chimney, and two shelves.
Aila would be there, helping with the meal for tomorrow, which was likely more mashed oats and bread. Sometimes one of the children managed to find root vegetables in the excavations to add to the soupy dish. I had never seen blue potatoes, but they tasted just the same.
“Aila? Sebastian sent me to—oh, my god.”
As I rounded the corner, Aila was sitting on the table, her dress pushed off her shoulders, locked in a passionate embrace with Wyatt. His kisses were covering her face, neck, and shoulders. They seemed not to even notice me.
Aila’s arms flailed behind her, knocking a fresh loaf of flattened bread from the counter. I reached out and caught it.
“I’ll just, uh, take this and be on my way,” I offered.
They pulled apart and looked at me. Aila scrambled off the table, pushing Wyatt away, and struggling to straighten her tattered dress. “Alayna! We were just, uh...”
I smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll just get back, Sebastian’s hungry.”
“He was hungry for me, once.” She looked down.
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