Kartega

Days and nights overlapped until Sid could no longer tell the difference between them. A few days ago, she was able to get glimpses of the outside when Tazmin came in for her usual tormenting rituals. Now, Sid found herself unable to see anything but the flashes of electricity that sparked behind her eyelids. Her body vibrated, magic fueled blood rushing just under her skin. It was as though she had been swallowing all of Tazmin’s magic, getting fuller and fatter with it without any way of letting it out. She wished she could release the energy, wished she could vomit the magic right out of her system but she couldn’t even move her legs.

Her shoulders had long given up on her from having her hands tied behind her back for days on end. When it came to movement, Sid had become as useless as a rock buried underground. Stationary, static, and very, very heavy.

A flash of light sparked in her peripheral and she snapped her teeth, trying to catch it on her tongue. The light levitated before her face, multiplying until she was surrounded by the glow of magic. Her dry eyes blinked rapidly as she tried to make sense of the scene unfolding before her.

“What is this?” She whispered; her voice hoarse from screaming.

The sparks twirled in a hurricane of light, trailing one after the other like a flock. They moved up and down and side to side and Sid jerked her head in each direction as fast as she could to keep up. “Come closer,” she beckoned and the lights obeyed. They floated majestically in her direction, changing shapes and sizes the closer they got.

When they were right in front of her, they flickered faster and brighter and she had to narrow her eyes to keep the glare out. They spun one more full turn before changing shape again. This time, the lights banded together into a form, one that didn’t look like much at first. At least not until Sid stopped squinting and let her eyes focus.

The more she stared, the more she realized the lights weren’t random at all. In fact, with all of them crumbled together, they looked a little bit like her — if she was made entirely of electricity. Sid watched in awe, the same way she used to watch the hologram lessons Colton sent for her. She followed the shape as it floated from one side of the hut to the other and landed back in front of her. As if it was trying to get her attention.

“I see you,” she said and the light paused.

A few sparks separated and started to form another shape nearby. This one spread out as high as the ceiling in three sharp points. The towers.

Sid watched her twin of light float to the towers, slowly at first then faster and faster until she was barreling toward them at an unbearable speed. She wanted to reach out and grab it before the two collided but her twin only moved faster and Sid still had no use of her arms.

“Wait! Stop!” She shouted.

Screaming was a futile point. Her electric twin crashed into the towers before she even finished yelling. Sparks of light exploded, covering the hut in brilliant flashes of magic. Sid shut her eyes tightly. When she opened her eyes again, the lights were gone and the hut was as still as ever. There was not one sign of magic in the air and some of her sight had started to return.

“What was that?” She asked the empty hut. “Was that real?” Grounding her legs, she pushed herself to roll over until she was flat on her back. Every small movement made her body cry out as the magic pressed into her very cells. “Was that a sign?”

Maybe the high priestess was right and Sid should stop trying to help the humans. She still wasn’t sure why she wanted to protect the people that created the domes and had kept so many of the Al’iil chipped and trapped in their own bodies. And Leona was the reason her parents were dead so maybe taking her out of the equation wasn’t such a bad idea.

Sid could be in and out without anyone noticing. She could sneak in just as she did before, find the Arcane, reason with them to shut down the ring then use her magic to destroy the towers. In and out. No problem.

Except there was one problem she couldn’t quite get out of her head. Ashlan and the other Citizens; they didn’t deserve to die for this.

She closed her eyes and pictured his face. His blue eyes locked on hers, teasing her about something completely unimportant. In the dream, she teased him back, punched his shoulder and furrowed her brow as though she was as mad as ever. But she wasn’t mad at him, not now. She would trade anything to get teased by him in that moment. To feel his strong shoulder push against her small fist in an assuring way, like he was a mountain she tried to tip over.

But what could she do? A few more sessions with Tazmin and she’d be so full of magic that she worried her entire body might explode into a billion pieces and she’d be nothing more than a light show, similar to the one she’d just witnessed. Although she still wasn’t sure if that was even real.

She wondered if perhaps that was the priestess’s plan all along; fill her up to the brim and point her straight for the towers. A Sid-shaped magic bomb ready to obliterate everyone in sight. And if it was, what could Sid do to stop her? Her body was not her own anymore and she couldn’t trust her mind to be honest. She was falling fast and reckless into a pit she couldn’t crawl out of.

She was falling and no one was there to catch her.

Another spark flashed over her head and illuminated the fabric covered ceiling of the hut. “Not again. Stop! Please!” She begged, not ready to see more visions of what might come to pass. The spark hovered for a moment then shot out in the direction of the hut’s entrance. Groggily, Sid’s eyes followed its bright trail to the rustle of the fabrics.

She expected Tazmin. She expected pain. She expected death.

Instead, three figures entered the hut. Sid squinted her eyes, trying to make out who was there with her when one of them ran to her side.

“Sid! Stars help us! What did they do to you?”

“Ash?” She asked, confused. “Is this a trick? If this is a trick, I-” Her words faltered. What could she possibly do if it was a trick? She couldn’t even move.

Before she could say anything else, the figure reached behind her and she could feel the cold point of a blade across her wrists. This is it. I die now, she thought as the blade sliced across.

The ropes holding her fell to the ground and the figure was already at her feet, cutting off those restraints as well. She wanted to yank her arms forward but the second figure reached for her, helping her sit up slowly. “Careful, move slow,” he said and she cried out in relief.

Tann — she would know his voice anywhere.

“You came. You both came,” she whispered. Her words more of a question than she meant them to be.

“Of course we came,” Ashlan said, his finger parting the fabrics to inspect outside the hut. “You’ve been gone weeks, Sid. What did these monsters do to you?” He was almost shouting, yet careful to keep his voice low enough so they didn’t get spotted.

“They’re not monsters. It’s Tazmin.”

“Who is Tazmin?” Tann asked.

“The high priestess, she has some,” her mind raced for an adequate word, “drastic ideas.” She said finally. Then her gaze shifted between Ashlan and Tann, eyebrows arched and mouth wide open. She pointed a weak, frail finger between the boys. “Wait, what is going on here? Why are you two here together? How are you two here together?”

Her eyes swam, “It’s not real. You’re not here. I’m imagining things again!”

A strong hand squeezed her shoulder. Tight enough that she could feel the warmth of real skin on hers but light enough that it didn’t send quivers of pain through her body.

“You’re not imaging anything. We’re here. Both of us,” Ashlan said.

“But how?”

“We have a lot to tell you.”

“Not right now. Right now, we have to get you as far away from this place as we can. Can you walk?” Tann asked.

She nodded though she wasn’t sure she could. “I might need some help.”

Ashlan tapped his fingers on something beyond her sightline and the sound of metal grinding filled the hut. She didn’t need to look to know who came with them. “Fred! You brought Fred!” She yelled, stretching her arms to the droid. It dropped down, cradled its glowing forearms beneath her body and hoisted her into the air. The quick rise made her slightly nauseous but she would put up with much more if it meant she could finally be free of Tazmin’s hold.

They slowly stepped through the fabrics. Ashlan went first, followed by Tann, then the droid with her draped in its arms.

“How did you know where to find me?” She asked quietly when they were outside.

It was dark and there was a chill in the air that wasn’t there a few weeks ago. Sid trailed her gaze over the nearby huts and the jet black that coated them. Night had swallowed the camp and she wondered exactly how many nights she’d missed so far. More importantly, if it was this late, where was Tazmin?

Ashlan pointed to his right, “This one here sent Tann a message.”

She followed his finger and, for the first time since they walked out, noticed another person in the group. Dalrak puffed out his chest but his dark eyes looked away from her, as though she could burn through him with a stare alone. “A message? How? He doesn’t even speak your language,” she prodded, never taking her eyes off the warrior.

“He didn’t have to. Serryl found me, panicking. Looks like someone messed with one of her shipments,” Tann shot Dalrak a sideways grin, “needless to say, she was after blood until she found your interface box in the wreckage.”

“Oh, wait, what shipments?”

“Serryl doesn’t exactly just deal in magic,” Tann said as if that explained everything.

She shrugged her shoulders, “What was supposed to be in the box, Tann?”

“Fruit, water, weapons. Serryl and the priestess have an,” he sighed, “understanding. Have for years.”

“Years? Why didn’t I know about this?”

“Because you knew us all of five minutes. Everyone gets to have secrets.”

The way he looked at her made her uneasy. He knew all of her secrets. Well, almost all of her secrets, except now that Ashlan was also here and they were working together who knew. Why were they were working together? It couldn’t be just to save her. “And why are you two here? Together?” No point dancing around the topic now.

“When I realized the box was yours, I knew the Al’iil had you. Nothing good can come out of being around them. No offense.” He looked at Dalrak again who only shrugged in response. “There was no way for me to get out of the dome to get you out. At least not on my own.”

“So you went to Ash for help? Seriously? Do you have a death wish or something?”

“Ha! If you think I can be bested by one Starblade, you don’t know me at all!” He laughed. Ashlan rolled his eyes next to him. “I needed help, and I was hoping he cared enough about you to offer it.”

“And you did?”

To say Sid was shocked was an understatement. She didn’t know how Ashlan felt about her, but she never would have guessed that he cared enough to work with a Domer. Especially not a Domer that was one of the Freedom Runners. Did he know about them? All of them?

“Like I said before, we have a lot to tell you later. Right now we have to get out of here before the priestess comes back.”

“Where is Tazmin anyway?”

“Your large friend here sent her off, told her to take a break. Guess she trusts him.”

“You don’t say,” she sighed deeply and let herself relax into the droid’s stoic embrace. “Let’s go then.”

They were already halfway to the next hut over when she realized that Dalrak wasn’t moving from the entrance. His chest still strong and stiff but his gazed was on her now, watching her be carried away. She held her hand up in protest, “Wait! We can’t leave without him!”

“He won’t go, Sid,” Tann said. “He won’t leave his people.”

“I’m his people,” she answered stiffly and climbed out of the droid’s metal arms. Her back screamed and her legs were so wobbly she thought she’d fall right over but step by step, she made her way back to the warrior. “Come with us, Dee.”

He was quiet but when his eyes met hers, she knew there was so much they still had to say to each other.

“I’m not asking again. Let’s go!” She tugged at his arms. It was useless. She had better luck dragging a mountain. “Dee, what the muck!”

“Ken sunto kira,” he said, eyes trained on her.

“No, you fool. This is not your home. The whole mucking star is your home! Let’s go!”

The warrior stood still but she would not give up. She wasn’t leaving here without him. Once Tazmin found out that he was behind her escape, he was as good as dead. She’d probably feed him to Kartega like a Qualin. There was no way Sid was going to let that happen.

“Please, Dee. I need you!” Her heart felt like a crack had started to form right down the middle of it. Another tug and the whole thing would shatter into so many pieces she would never be able to be whole again. He was her friend. Even when she thought he’d deserted her; he found a way to get her out of this place. He was always on her side and now she had to be on his. “I need you!” She pleaded, looking for the right words. “Il runtok sum.”

She stretched a hand and nodded, her eyes swimming as she begged him to choose her. Begged him not to stay behind. When his own hand reached back she grabbed hold so tight she thought she might rip his fingers off. Without waiting for him to change his mind, she pulled him behind her to the others. The magic that threatened to tear her into pieces bumbled at her fingertips and she let a bit of it escape into him. He gave her hand a squeeze to let her know that it’s alright. Little by little, jolt by jolt, she fed him the excess energy that was stifling her for days. This wouldn’t be enough to heal her; they both knew it. But as they walked hand in hand through the deathly quiet of the camp, she felt her body cool down, her hearing become clearer, and her body become lighter.

They weren’t out of danger yet and maybe they never would be. The important part was that there was a ‘they’ for her to hold on to.