by Clara Woods
It clicked again, and Lenah felt a few moments of panic, awaiting the pain. And then it came.
She screamed just as the voice spoke once more. “Lenah, you’re being manipulated by mind magic. Fight it.”
Lenah knew the voice, but she couldn’t think beyond that, not with the panic and pain blocking any other thought.
A girl, no, a Bartoc, no, a furry serpent leaned over her. Lenah blinked, tears streaming down her face, but she couldn’t determine what is was. The different faces where overlapping, like many transparent layers, one behind the other, yet none in front. “Akakakakak,” it said.
And, somehow, Lenah’s mind had no problem translating the words.
“Cease your attack.”
She blinked up at the multi-layered monstrosity. How was she attacking? She was tied up. Helpless, unable to move.
“Lenah,” the familiar voice from before insisted. “Come back.” The voice broke. “Push against the mind magic.”
Lenah wondered what that meant. Come back where? Though she couldn’t remember how she’d gotten to this place, she clearly was here now.
She stared up at the thing in front of her, could focus for a moment on the Bartoc and saw her own body reflected in its black eyes. Then it morphed, looking mostly like a child with red hair. It looked a lot like the girl who had summoned Olonka Bren. Was Lenah dreaming? The girl’s lips moved. “Cease your attack,” she said.
Lenah wailed, pure panic overcoming her. What was going on? “I’m...not attacking anyone,” she bit out through trembling lips.
The girl shook her head, then morphed again, this time into a furry snake, then a Bartoc.
Lenah stared at it towering over her.
Another click.
Lenah’s heart pounded, and she thought that she was losing her mind.
“Use your mind magic!” the shrill voice in her ear insisted. “The white ball of power within you. Pleeease!” The pleading was what piqued Lenah’s attention.
Mostly to divert her attention from the incoming pain and the terrible multi-layered creature before her, Lenah closed her eyes.
Yes, there was something there, right at the edge of her consciousness. Something bright and pulsing.
“Use your power. Come back to me,” the shrill voice said.
Use it? Lenah took a tentative step closer. Come back where?
She focused on the voice, on why it was familiar to her. It belonged to an ally. Someone she liked, even though their relationship had been rocky. Someone small and…She remembered Zyrakath.
Lenah leaped at the light, let it encase her just as the machine clicked around her again. She threw herself with all her might.
Darkness encased her. And screaming. Several voices screaming.
One of them, she realized, was her.
The yell died in her throat.
Someone with a tiny hand was shaking her arm.
Lenah coughed, trying to get control over her shivering body. “I’m back, Zyr,” she ground out, then leaned over, throwing up the meager contents of her belly.
* * *
“Akakakakak.” Lenah heard once more and somehow knew that the Bartoc outside had repeated the same command. “Cease your attack.” Only, she could no longer understand the words, it was just Bartoc-gibberish to her.
She realized she was holding onto her power, sending streams toward the guard. She dropped her mind magic.
A moment later, so did the Bartoc.
Persia and Cassius stopped screaming.
It got very quiet in the room. Then Persia started to sob. Cassius groaned, and his cuffs rattled.
Lenah lay there, exhausted, unable to believe what she had just gone through. And it had all been in her mind. The Bartoc—why had it changed shape in the vision?
Even now, Lenah could feel the same presences surrounding it. It was as if they all were part of the Bartoc guard, representing a piece of his mind.
Corinna yelled again, and Lenah hoped her suffering was mental only. As bad as that was, it was better than to be actually tortured. Lenah swallowed bile and tried to sit up and even her breath.
She crawled toward Persia and found her lying on the ground, shivering. “It’s fine, Persia,” Lenah said, trying to sound soothing, but her voice, betraying her, trembled and broke. “It was only in our minds.” She turned her head. “Are you okay, Cassius?”
“Fine,” he croaked.
“Zyr?” Lenah asked.
“Yes.”
“Thank you for helping me get b—” Lenah broke off when the door clicked.
It squeaked on its hinges, and she felt a brush of stale air sweep over her face. A bright light turned on, completely blinding Lenah. She blinked away her tears.
A human silhouette stepped through the doorway, small and fragile. It was carrying something in its hands, something that looked like a plate. Lenah blinked again and confirmed her suspicion. A yellow stew and vegetables.
The person behind the food came into focus. She was a young woman, maybe twenty years old. Yet her face had already lost all semblance of youth. Her green eyes shone with a seriousness that Lenah associated with someone three times her age.
The door fell shut behind her.
She knelt and put the food on the floor. She was quite different from the other humans she’d seen here. Not just the clothing. This girl was wearing a beige tunic, barely reaching her knees, and with short sleeves. The whole thing looked more like a sack than a garment that someone had cut holes in for its arms and neck. Her red hair was tied into a careless bun at the back of her neck, and she had a small tattoo—nine little dots in a square shape—on her chin just under her lips. There was something sad and haunted about this girl. Not the entitled face that the others here had shown them.
Through her inner eye, Lenah could see that the girl had her mind magic ready, yet she was holding it around her as if to merely protect herself. Lenah, feeling tired and sluggish, did the same. She waited for the girl to make a move.
She didn’t. Instead, she said, “I’m Penelope Striker.” Her eyes bore through Lenah. “I’ve come to rescue you.”
Lenah was surprised how well her G-Standard was, not the chopped-up, barely understandable version of Olonka Bren.
Upstairs, Corinna gave another horrifying scream that went through Lenah’s every bone. Penelope’s eyes went up, then she focused on Lenah again. “You not have a lot of time.” She fumbled inside her robe, then produced a key from a pocket. “I get you out of here.” She held out her hand, presenting the key.
Lenah almost leaped at the key to take it from the young woman.
“Is the key to this door,” Penelope said. “I will distract Master outside when I leave, take him upstairs. You have two minutes.” She looked at Cassius still tied to the wall. Her gaze darkened. “I’m sorry but I can’t help you.” She blinked, as if that meant something to her, then turned back to Lenah.
“Don’t take right stairs, don’t try to help her.” Her hand pointed at the ceiling. “Me and my brother wait upstairs for you.”
A clank came through the door. “You have two minutes,” she repeated. With a last nod, Penelope turned to leave.
“Wait!” Lenah pleaded. “I’m not leaving here without Cassius.” She pointed at him.
Penelope shot her a painful glance, then she shook her head. “We don’t have access to chains. That’s only Masters.” She pointed her chin outside to indicate the Bartoc guard. “You have to fight Master.” Penelope shuddered.
Lenah squared her shoulders. “How do I fight it?”
Penelope’s eyes darkened. “You have to sneak by all Splits. Find true soul.”
“True soul?” Lenah asked at the same time Cassius said, “Go without me.”
“Cassius, shut up,” Lenah hissed. “We’re not leaving without you and you better start accepting that.” She turned to Penelope again, eyeing the girl from head to toe.
Penelope eyed her right back.
“Why should we
trust you?”
The girl squared her thin shoulders. “You have to. My family and me not like them. We not live in underground palace.” She pointed at the tattoo on her chin. “We’re the Wailing.”
Outside, the clicking of Bartoc feet on the metal floor announced the approach of the Bartoc guard.
“You hurry, is now or never. Come find me and my brother at top of stairs,” Penelope said with urgency in her voice, then she turned.
“Wait,” Lenah pleaded. “What’s the Wailing?”
But Penelope had already vanished out the door. It clanked shut behind her thin form, the lock clicking into place once more.
29 Of Escape and Failure
The light turned off, and they were left in darkness.
“Persia, take Zyr, and be ready to open the lock. Once you’re out, count down the two minutes and when they’re over, don’t wait for us.” Lenah felt in the darkness until she found Persia’s fingers.
“And you?” Persia asked but accepted the key from Lenah.
Lenah grimaced in the dark. “I’m getting the key to Cassius’s chains from this Master.”
“Le—” Cassius said.
Lenah cut him off. “I’ve already said my share. Now let me concentrate.”
He didn’t argue again. Persia scooped up Zyrakath. The drone had been very quiet since he’d brought her back from the Bartoc’s influence, and he didn’t complain now.
Lenah closed her eyes and watched the Bartoc’s many presences. His true soul. Several dozen presences were doing a constant dance around him. She should find his real one, the girl had said. They all looked real to Lenah.
She parked all questions to the back of her mind while she watched, looking for anything that would jump out at her. The minds were of different shapes, and Lenah thought they had a different feel about them. One right in front of her reminded her of the little girl she’d seen in the Bartoc’s vision, soft and good-natured. Others were muted, like minds of non-sentient species. There was a mix of them, some feeling calm, and others brimming with aggression. One mind that felt especially feral stood out to Lenah. Could that be the Bartoc? Or maybe it was the one behind, where intelligence seemed to battle with a fierce instinct to dominate. Its shape was a cloud with many curves, only partially visible through a maze of other minds. It certainly was well protected.
Lenah swallowed, trying to forget where her last use of magic against this Bartoc had taken her. She tried to be brave, but her reach toward the creature was tentative at best. She stretched forward little by little, aiming for the mind that had reminded her of the little red-haired girl. Lenah touched it with all the emotion she felt for freeing Cassius.
Suddenly, Lenah was surrounded. The Bartoc’s minds had snapped around Lenah, encircled her, and cut off her way back. Like many little arrows, they were approaching. Lenah scrambled to build a wall to protect herself from the incoming attack.
The lights turned on, and she was back in the torture room. But it was different this time. Lenah knew. She could still remember where she was. Ignoring the image of the little girl in front of her, Lenah snapped her eyes shut, remembering also Zyr’s instructions. She found her power, and she pushed.
Darkness fell once more around her. She was back in the cell. Something clicked.
The door opened.
A low stream of light fell into the room, and Lenah could see Persia’s silhouette sneaking out.
Lenah was too late to warn her of the Bartoc’s approach.
Persia yelled, and something crunched outside. The yell died down abruptly, replaced by the sound of Bartoc feet on the metal floor.
Lenah pulled her power, throwing all she had against the creature. There was a small hole in its defenses, and as if through a bottleneck, part of Lenah’s magic pierced toward the mind she identified as the young girl. Let go of Persia!
Outside, Persia groaned, and to Lenah’s surprise, her magic wasn’t attacked by the Bartoc’s other minds.
Lenah held still, watching, listening.
The Bartoc’s mind pushed against the wall Lenah still had up for her own defense. Even though it was numerous minds, Lenah started to think that each individual mind was weaker than her. If she could just fight one after the other.
She carefully poured more magic through the hole she was still penetrating, moving slowly toward the mind next to the girl’s. One of the semi-sentient ones. Lenah sent the message to cease attacking.
The thin tendril of magic that was contributing to the Bartoc’s overall strength extinguished as it was swallowed by Lenah’s power.
Lenah waited.
Nothing happened.
She tried again with a little more power this time and quickly engulfed three more minds. Like a cancer, she was getting closer to the center of the Bartoc’s presences to where the most aggressive ones sat.
Two more.
Lenah engulfed another one, soft and innocent.
And another one, hard and cruel but with only weak magic.
Then, Lenah pushed hard. Her power penetrated through the surrounding wisps like a knife cutting through soft meat.
She heard a growl, realized it was her, and ignored it.
The two aggressive-looking minds encountered her, reacting quickly. Lenah imagined tearing through them until they were no more than shreds under her control. Free Cassius. Leave.
They met each other hard, and Lenah fell. She barely noticed the pain in her hand, instead kept pushing against the Bartoc. It had realized now what Lenah had done, where she was, and it was thrashing to get her out.
Free Cassius. Leave.
It shrunk slightly, and Lenah pressed on, intensifying her pull on the idea. She could feel it now, a mind that perfectly encapsulated the Bartoc spirit. Dominant, cruel, self-centered.
For several seconds they were wrangling over control, then her knife-shaped command sliced through. It went easier than she had expected, and suddenly, the cell was fully illuminated. Bartoc feet clicked on the floor right next to Lenah.
She heard Persia whimper outside but couldn’t drop her concentration enough to check on her.
Cassius was perfectly quiet when the Bartoc approached him.
Lenah rolled over and watched the creature pull a large metal stick, intricately carved, from a pouch on its neck.
It touched Cassius’s chained wrist and leg, and the cuffs sprang open. Within a second, he was standing, ready to attack the guard. He looked at Lenah, his eyebrows raised in question.
Weakly, Lenah nodded, and Cassius jumped forward.
With a crunch, his metal arm connected with the plated skin of the Bartoc. Even though the creature must weigh more than Cassius, it tumbled backward from the impact. Cassius followed up and came at it from the top. Something cracked ominously, and the Bartoc’s legs gave out. All of its presences snapped off.
Lenah, who had still been pushing her control at it with all her strength, stumbled forward. She would have fallen into the corpse had Cassius not caught and straightened her.
Upstairs, Corinna gave another scream. Cassius let go of Lenah, and together, they sprinted to the door. He reached it before her, and she found him kneeling next to Persia. She’d fallen just outside the entrance, and blood was running out of her nose and mouth.
“Can you walk?” Cassius asked.
She nodded, causing some blood to sprinkle over Cassius. Not commenting, he pulled her up gently. Lenah picked up Zyrakath, observing the corridor.
There was only their cell, but two staircases lead up in opposite directions.
“Lenah, we have to go,” Cassius urged. He grabbed Lenah’s arm and pulled her behind him up one flight of stairs.
Lenah, who had been engaging in a mental battle coming down here, wouldn’t have been able to tell which one they would have to take. At the top of the stairs, Cassius slowed down, now treading more carefully through the passageway.
Persia, blood still spurting out of her mouth but otherwise steady, crouched in front
of a half-open door. Staring back at Lenah and Cassius, she urged them closer.
When she reached the door, Lenah got a clear view of Olonka Bren sitting in his chair and looking down on Corinna lying at his feet. She didn’t appear conscious.
Behind them, a row of four Bartoc had replaced the humans, and on each side of the room stood three guards holding knife pistols in their long arms. Each was wearing a large belt with many more knives hanging from it.
Lenah readied her power and reached a thin tendril out to Corinna, influencing the other woman to make a fist with her hand. Holding her breath, Lenah waited until, several moments later, Corinna’s hand formed into a fist. It seemed to cost her great effort, but she was conscious.
Lenah noticed how Olonka’s mind magic was reaching toward Corinna. “Tell who know,” he barked down at her. His power got stronger, and Corinna’s body buckled off the ground. She screamed again.
Lenah shot out with her own power, trying to create a barrier between Corinna and Olonka. Beady eyes snapped toward the door, looking right at Lenah.
Something shot toward her, and Lenah’s vision blurred as she tried to block the mental attack by the Bartoc. Cassius and Persia rushed by her and into the room.
All Lenah could do was fight the incoming stream of mind magic, dozens of minds in a swirl disorienting her.
She bundled all her magic up into one thick bundle, pushing back with desperation. She gained momentum quickly, but a second Bartoc joined the first, doubling the minds pushing at Lenah.
Persia had grabbed one of the knife pistols and was swinging it at her adversaries, five remaining guards. Every time they threatened to overtake her, she launched herself into a backflip, made even more impressive by the blood spurting all over with each round. The guards, however, seemed to be sufficiently confused by her behavior. They stopped and gaped at her.
Persia’s knife slit through two of their throats, and with gurgling noises, they went down. The remaining three hissed, then all jumped toward Persia at the same time.
Cassius had approached the Bartoc, three of which were pushing at Lenah, but before he could reach them, he stumbled, then dropped to the floor under a painful groan.
Lenah doubled her effort against the attacks directed at her.
