Shifting Isles Box Set (Books 1-3): The Prisoner, S.P.I.R.I.T. Division, and Return to Tanas

by G. R. Lyons

  “So I guess we're not getting any stories today,” one prisoner mumbled.

  Benash fought to hide his own disappointment as he stopped with his hands on his hips and glanced across the cavern. “I guess not.”

  It was several hours before Vorena showed any signs of movement.

  The cavern had remained oddly silent all morning, with only the occasional mutter as to whether Vorena would ever wake up, but as soon as she stirred, a chorus of whispers carried around the room, drawing Benash's attention straight to her cell.

  From his place at his desk, he could just see her as she struggled to push herself up into a sitting position.

  Kalos be praised, he told her with an inward sigh. Are you alright?

  Never better, she groaned, spitting on the floor.

  Vorena…

  She dragged herself up onto her cot, turned around, and leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily.

  I'm alright, she said wearily.

  Can I do anything?

  It was difficult to tell from a distance, but Benash thought he saw a slight smile tug at her lips. Yeah. Get me an Agori doctor and get me off this thrice-damned Isle.

  He heard laughter in her voice, but her sarcastic request shot right into his heart and filled him with grim determination. He rose from his desk and made a slow circuit of the room, pausing occasionally to glance at her and better assess her condition.

  You have my word.

  The mental laughter ceased abruptly, and Benash stopped his pacing, leaning casually against a pillar and crossing his arms over his chest as he snuck another glance at her.

  Since when did the Hawk get a sense of humor? she asked, though her voice lacked its usual mirth.

  I was serious.

  Vorena snorted. Yeah, right.

  He narrowed his eyes, looking intently at her, and she straightened up, clearly startled by the determination in his gaze.

  I will find a way.

  With that, he spun on his heel and returned to his desk, wracking his brain and throwing up his mental defenses as he thought, There must be a way.

  Chapter 32

  WHEN HIS shift came to an end, Benash hurried home, all the while desperate to talk to Ashyn. She was the only person he could safely talk to about Vorena, and with his head so full of the need to rescue the prisoner, he couldn't wait to tell her about his insane idea.

  Holding it inside all day had simply consumed him.

  He had no idea how he was going to manage it, but somehow he had to get Vorena out of that prison and off the Isle. It seemed an impossible task, but Benash knew that he had to try.

  He rushed through his dinner, took a quick shower, and called Ashyn to his room.

  As soon as the door was shut, though, Ashyn shook her head.

  You need to throw me out, she insisted.

  What?

  Throw me out, she repeated. Benash frowned at her, confused by her request, until she explained, I have my mooncycle, and they know it. She nodded to indicate the room across the hall. If you keep me in here tonight, they'll grow suspicious.

  Benash sighed with disappointment. Very well. I suppose you're right. He threw open the door, then grabbed Ashyn by the arm and barged into the women's room, tossing the girl into the midst. He tried not to wince as she stumbled and was caught by Suned, but Ashyn sent him a quick mental thank you for making it look real.

  Clenching his jaw, he let his eyes roam over the other women, as though he were considering one of them in Ashyn's place, then huffed out a sigh and stormed from the room, slamming first their door and then his own.

  At least that last action hadn't required any pretending whatsoever.

  * * *

  BENASH WOKE early and paced his small room until prayers were over, all the while wracking his brain for a solution.

  How am I going to get her out of there? he thought, and glanced toward his door, wishing he could talk to Ashyn. Seven help me, how am I going to pull this off?

  The path to the prison went by unnoticed while Benash was deep in thought, running through the daily routines of the underground facility and trying to come up with any way possible to sneak a prisoner out without getting caught.

  “Someone's in a damned awful hurry this morning.”

  Benash looked up from unlocking the cavern door and saw Garl leaning casually against the rough wall, glaring at him.

  “Mind your own duties and leave me to mine,” Benash murmured.

  “Ah, but you see,” Garl began, strolling casually toward him, “a true patriot is always mindful of those who aren't behaving in ways the Elders have decreed. If I'm not mistaken, you've been acting awfully strange lately.” He paused, and added with a sneer, “Sir.”

  Drawing himself up, Benash intentionally looked the man in the eyes, and felt a deep-seated satisfaction when Garl flinched and averted his gaze.

  “Perhaps my behavior is at the Elders' command,” he taunted. “Did you ever consider that?”

  Garl opened his mouth to reply, but seemed at a loss for words. Benash waited, and finally Garl clenched his hands into fists and growled, “I've got my eyes on you, no matter what you say.”

  With that, Garl turned and stormed away, and Benash waited until he was alone before he let out the breath he was holding.

  Benash walked slowly through the cavern, his eyes riveted to Vorena's cell. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes and breathing heavily.

  She looked pale and exhausted, so Benash passed her cell without saying anything, not wanting to disturb her if she needed rest.

  At the other side of the cavern, he found the separated lovers once again asleep on the ground, their fingers entwined beyond the bars of their cells.

  Without thinking, Benash pulled out his truncheon.

  Then he froze, and slowly lowered his arm, staring at the clasped hands. He took a step back, watching the two men sleep, holding on to one another despite the law and the barriers between them.

  By the gods, she was right, he thought. What harm are they doing anybody?

  He shook his head and turned away, and found Vorena watching him with tired eyes.

  She gave him a slight smile.

  Well done, Hawk, she murmured to him, then lowered herself back down onto her side and fell back asleep.

  Benash went to his desk and sat down, stretching out his legs and crossing his arms over his chest as he let his eyes roam the cavern. He looked at each prisoner in turn, trying to recall their crimes, and thinking over each one separately as he remembered Vorena's words about none of them harming anyone with their actions and choices.

  Many of his thoughts that morning went against everything he knew, but the more he analyzed each prisoner, the more he knew Vorena was right: Not one of these men could be considered truly criminal. They were merely law breakers, but that by no means meant what they had done was wrong.

  Shaking his head, he glanced over at the lovers just in time to see them squeeze one another's hands as they came awake, quickly withdrawing back into their separate cells, looking frightened at being caught.

  Strange as the sight had always been to him, Benash suddenly felt his chest tighten in pain, knowing he was in the wrong for keeping these men locked up behind bars.

  Knowing the whole system was wrong.

  I must get us out of here…

  * * *

  “WHAT ARE you going to do?”

  Benash looked over at Ashyn and shook his head with a sigh. He'd spent the past few days analyzing the prison—a place he'd always just accepted and taken for granted—but could think of no way to get Vorena out without getting them both killed.

  At least she'd rallied in health the past day or so. The weak haze in her eyes had finally faded, and Vorena had spent most of that day vibrantly telling her stories.

  “I don't know,” he murmured. “Every plan has a major obstacle. I have no idea what to do.”

  A
shyn took his hand and offered him a smile.

  “I have faith in you,” she whispered.

  Benash patted her hand and forced himself to smile in return as he sent her to bed, but didn't get much sleep himself as his mind still swirled around the hope of escaping the prison.

  He hurried to work the next morning, relieved to find Vorena up and smiling. She launched right into a story when requested, and Benash leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on her, not caring if anyone noted it.

  A DULL rumble filled the cavern, interrupting Vorena's story.

  “What is that?” one prisoner asked.

  “By the gods, is that a Collision?”

  Benash stood up, listening as he glanced around the cavern. The noise grew, but there was no motion to the ground.

  “Keep silent,” he ordered, pulling out his keys and a gun. He let himself out, locked the door behind him, and held the gun ready as he crept out toward the main cavern.

  He found the records clerk and several other officers standing at attention, and when he looked toward the main tunnel, he saw the light beyond the outside gate almost fully obscured by a mass of people descending the tunnel.

  Led by an Elder.

  Benash quickly holstered his weapon and dropped to one knee, bowing his head.

  “Officer Benash,” Elder Rethil greeted. “You may stand.”

  Benash rose and stood at attention, keeping his eyes on the ground.

  “The Council have decided to have these prisoners relocated here,” the Elder explained, waving a hand at the line of men chained to one another behind him. “If you would be so kind as to oversee their distribution into the cells here–”

  “But my lord,” the records clerk blurted out, “as you must know from our last report, Sonekha is at full capacity already and–”

  “Silence!” Benash barked over his shoulder. “We will, of course, do as our Elders command.”

  The Elder gave Benash an approving nod and gestured toward him.

  “We'll start over here,” Benash said, heading to the first cell cavern on the left and ordering the officer in charge there to let them in.

  A new prisoner was added to each cell in that cavern, doubling their occupancy, and then the group moved on to the next cavern, repeating the process.

  Last, they came to the cavern over which Benash was in charge.

  This is bad, he thought. This is very, very bad.

  Sonekha was small and crowded enough as it was. Doubling the occupancy of each cell would only make things worse—the noise, the resources required, the smell of unwashed bodies—but Benash had a sinking feeling that those things would be the least of their worries.

  As he approached the first cell on the left side of the cavern, Benash quickly scanned the room, taking in the curious or frightened expressions of the prisoners, adding to his sense that the presence of the newcomers did not bode well for any of them.

  He had no idea what the Elders were up to, overcrowding the prison this way, but he surely wasn't about to ask.

  The first cell in his cavern received its new second occupant, and the door shut with a rusty clang before Benash secured it and moved on to the next.

  Looking ahead as he opened the second cell door, he saw the separated lovers clinging to their bars, their knuckles turning white as they held on, standing as close to one another as the wall between their cells allowed.

  Benash spared another glance for the crowd, and made a quick decision.

  Vorena?

  Ah, the great Hawk, came her amused response. To what do I owe the honor?

  I need a diversion.

  He heard her laugh through their mental conversation. The Hawk asking favors? Now there's a neat trick. I never thought I'd see the day when–

  Quickly, Vorena! he pleaded, locking the second cell.

  You could at least say 'please', for the gods' sakes–

  Please, Vorena! I promise, you'll thank me later.

  A pregnant pause overwhelmed his mind as Benash approached the next cell, until finally Vorena replied, Alright, then. In that case…

  “Oy!”

  The entire crowd—Elder Rethil, officers, and prisoners—turned at the sound of Vorena's shout. Benash kept his eyes studiously upon his task while all attention was directed elsewhere, and unlocked another cell door while no one was looking.

  VORENA STEPPED up to the bars of her cell and casually hung her arms through as she took in the crowd of faces looking at her. She could just make out Benash shoving someone into a cell, but couldn't discern the particular faces through the crowd of new prisoners still mingling in the middle of the room, waiting to be distributed.

  The Elder broke away from the group and slowly approached her cell, an incredulous expression on his face.

  “So this is the woman?” he asked, staring at Vorena.

  Vorena stepped back, sketched an elaborate bow, and returned to her casual stance at the cell door, giving the Elder a cheeky grin as he came closer.

  “Gods,” the Elder breathed as he gave Vorena a thorough once-over. “How did you come to be here?”

  “Well,” Vorena began, “first we came through the front gate, then down the long tunnel, and through another gate, and–”

  The Elder slammed the palm of his hand against the bars. “Mouthy bitch. I meant, what is your crime?”

  Vorena raised an eyebrow at him. “I should think that quite obvious.”

  The Elder narrowed his eyes, his hands fisted at his sides. A mental assault slammed against the barrier in her mind, but she saw it coming long before the Elder even began to reach toward her.

  Her defenses up, she slammed back against his own mind with even greater intensity.

  And had the distinct pleasure of seeing the Elder flinch and step back.

  With a wordless roar, the Elder planted his feet and glared at her, returning the assault, pressing against the walls she'd built up around her mind, and Vorena strove back, watching him tremble as he failed to penetrate any of her defenses.

  She had just enough spare thought to catch the curious expressions on the faces of officers and prisoners while Benash continued distributing new inmates around the cavern, studiously avoiding a glance in her direction.

  Just outside the bars of her cell, the Elder took a deep breath and attacked again. Vorena grabbed onto the bars to steady herself, but still had the upper hand, gleefully watching the Elder tremble and sweat as he tried to force his way into her mind.

  BENASH HEARD murmurs break out around the cavern as he continued to work, forcing new prisoners into cells while everyone was distracted by Vorena and the Elder. When there was only one new prisoner remaining—held securely between two other officers—and only Vorena's cell still holding a single occupant, he turned to watch as the Elder gasped and stumbled.

  “Did you see that?” someone whispered.

  “That's not possible…” came another voice.

  “She bested an Elder.”

  “She's stronger than an Elder.”

  “How did she do that?”

  The whispers carried around the cavern as the whole crowd openly stared at the Elder while the man braced himself on his knees and caught his breath. Benash looked up at Vorena and saw her face was slightly pale, but she was still smiling.

  Benash looked back at the final prisoner, knowing the only place for the man was in Vorena's cell, but not wanting to put him there. His blood boiled at the thought of any man being alone in that tiny space with her.

  Shaking himself, Benash took a step forward to address the Elder, but the great leader turned, yanked a gun away from the nearest officer, and leveled it at Vorena.

  “NO!” Benash cried as the crack of a gunshot echoed around the room, completely overpowering his voice.

  A collective gasp followed the explosive sound, and Benash saw Vorena standing perfectly still, her body strained with focus as she slowed the bullet with her mind. It came to a stop just an inch from her forehead, float
ed there for a moment, and fell uselessly at her feet.

  The Elder stared at her, wide-eyed, while every man in the room held his breath.

  With a wordless roar, the Elder leveled the gun and fired again several more times, but all that came out was a series of lifeless clicks.

  “Bah!” he yelled, tossing the weapon aside and lunging forward, shoving an arm between the bars and grabbing Vorena by the throat.

  Benash moved to interfere, but the steely determination in Vorena's eyes stopped him. There was no fear on her face, and she wasn't struggling, so he forced himself to stay put and watch.

  “You are a disgrace to your sex,” the Elder snapped at her, his face turning red as he shook. “You disgusting bitch, you ought to be ashamed! If you survive the Collision this month, I will see you publicly tortured!” His lip curled into a sneer as he continued, “Perhaps I'll let the officers have their way with you, and then I'll give them free rein to beat the life out of you. You will set an example, and show women what happens when you misbehave. A woman must know her duty and obey!”

  With that, he thrust her away so she fell to her backside, and Benash clenched his fists as he watched her take a few slow, deep breaths.

  She looked up at the Elder with a smirk.

  “Bitch!” the Elder spat one more time before he turned and stormed away.

  Benash watched Vorena calmly stretch out her legs before he turned to follow the Elder, who was stopped by the two officers still holding the last prisoner waiting for a cell.

  “Shall we put him in with her?” one officer asked.

  The Elder clenched his fists. “No! Much as she could use a good forced bedding to put her in her place, I won't let this man have an unfair advantage over the others. Stuff him somewhere as a third or kill him.”

  The Elder strode toward the door and waited to be let out while an officer asked, “Kill him? But, sir, I–”

  “Are you questioning my orders?” the Elder roared. “Put a fucking bullet in his brain and be done with it!”

  The two officers looked at one another over the head of the prisoner between them, both hesitating and earning themselves a red glare from the Elder.