Kartega

“General,” the squeaky guard said when they shuffled back into position.

“Soren,” the general replied, “Clive, good to see you two again. I hope this one hasn’t been giving you too much trouble.”

“Oh, no! We can handle her!”

Their voices carried into the hole and Sid found herself rolling her eyes at every word. She couldn’t believe she had to spend her last few hours listening to these fools small talk. She started to hum a tune in her head but was interrupted by Abbot’s deep chuckle.

“I wouldn’t be so sure. I’ve spent some time with her and she is a handful to say the least.”

“I’d like to use my handful to break all your teeth,” Sid muttered under her breath.

Abbot said something softly and she tip toed closer to overhear. The words sounded foreign to her and jumbled thoughts raced in her mind, threatening to overtake her sanity. She pressed her ear to the door and took a deep breath in, holding it against her rib cage.

“Oh, we couldn’t!” One of the guards exclaimed, “The queen wouldn’t approve.”

“Please,” Abbot said. “I insist.”

“Are you sure, general? It gets spooky here after a while.”

“Believe me, I’ve seen worse.” Abbot replied and laughed again. “Consider it an order if anyone asks.”

Feet trailed off outside, loud at first then softer and less pronounced. The guards were leaving! Abbot had sent them both away! The thought of spending time alone with him unnerved her to the core. No doubt he’d have questions, so many questions. She wasn’t prepared to answer them. All Sid wanted was a few more quiet moments and maybe a chance to close her eyes. Why was it so hard to get that?

She leaned against the cool metal of the door, jumping back when a low hum sounded behind her. The door slid open and a fluorescent barrier stayed in its place; a previsionary measures in case the locks gave out. Sid stared at Abbot through the shield, his face contorted and his eyes as sharp as razors. He was oddly fit for someone his age, though she supposed that would be expected of a Citizen. Most of all, an NSO general. The old fool likely never had to spend days starving or locked away in a hole.

“Hello again, Sid.” He said and grinned.

“What are you doing?”

“Just paying you a visit.”

His hand slid across the scanner on the wall and the barrier disengaged. Abbot stepped into the hole. Slowly, like a predator taunting prey that’s already been caught.

Panic filled her. She reached for her magic, fists white-knuckled and full of sweat. He sent the guards away. Not for their benefit but for his own. He was here to end her. She didn’t know why or what she had done to instill such rage in the general but if he was here to end her life, she might have gotten a lucky break. There would be no need to try and trick the queen into killing her. Abbot would do the job just as well.

She took a step forward and raised her chin. “Get it over with.”

“Oh, my!” Abbot snorted. “You really are fiery. Colton wasn’t kidding.”

As quickly as it had come, the panic dissipated, replaced by confusion and distress. Her brows cringed and she could taste the lack of understanding under her tongue. It tasted like the dusty pores of a red leaf.

“Colton? Colton told you about me?”

“Of course Colton told me about you! You think that mucker could pull off a stunt like that on his own? Stealing a kid is one thing, stealing an un-chipped kid and shooting her off into space is an operation. Operations need structure. Colton was more heart than head.”

“Colton told you about me?” She wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating or if he was simply toying with her before slicing her throat open with the point of his blade.

The general stepped forward, not by much, just a boot-sized worth but it was enough to send the hairs on the back of her smooth neck into a fluster. She backed up, her back pressing against the cold surface of the stone wall. With her hands still balled, Sid tried to will her magic to flow out. There were a few sparks jumping off her skin but she was still too weak to cause any real damage. Forget about the trick Dalrak taught her to weaponize the electricity, she’d be lucky if she could tickle Abbot into a laugh from where she stood. But he might not know that. Sid tightened her lips and took a defensive stance.

“Relax, kid. I’m here to get you out,” Abbot said. “And put those things away before you hurt yourself.”

She shook her head.

“You’re going to drain the little power you have left and I can’t very well carry you out of here.”

Sid shook her head again, this time desperately.

Abbot sighed and raised his hands in the air. “What’s the number one rule, Sid?”

Her head swam. Those words — Colton’s words — didn’t seem right hanging off the general’s lips. How had he gotten hold of them? Did Colton really tell him about her? Did he know this entire time? She didn’t know what to do, what to say, how to act. She didn’t know up from down anymore. Colton told someone about her. He trusted someone with information that could get him killed. Did get him killed in the end. He trusted Abbot. Not his son but Abbot; the new general.

“What’s the number one rule?” Abbot repeated.

“Never use your magic. Especially if you’re not alone,” she whispered. “He told you? About the rule?”

“Told me? Ha! I made him give you that rule!” Abbot howled. “Half the reason you’re alive is because of me. If it was up to Colton, he’d have dragged you back down here ages ago and stars know where we’d be then.”

“Other than a hole in the Queen’s Tower, you mean?”

“Ah! A sense of humor! Wonderful. I love a sense of humor on a rebel fugitive I’m about to break out,” Abbot said dryly and she got the very distinct impression that there was nothing he liked about humor on anyone at all. “Now, let’s go. We don’t have all night.”

“Abbot?” She asked and waited for him to face her. “Was he ever planning on bringing me back down?”

The question, though simple and honest, hung in the air like a pod drifting in zero gravity. Loaded with the weight of a thousand untried tears. She found the general’s eyes and stared, waiting for the heartache to come.

“Sid,” Abbot sighed. “Did you honestly think he’d keep you up there forever?”

She nodded which made the general smile.

“Yes, kid. He always planned on bringing you back down. He really cared about you, you know? Like you were his own. But it was hard.”

“Why?”

“Because once he brought you down…” he waved a hand around the hole suggestively.

“Right. I’d start a revolution.”

“So you understand why he waited so long,” Abbot smiled again and this time she believed it. “He was keeping you safe. But you had to go and chase after him, didn’t you?”

Sid laughed under her breath. “Couldn’t help it.”

The general moved to the door and she started to follow him but stopped short. “Wait!” She yelped.

“Now what?”

Their eyes met and she made sure to keep her head up. She’d once read somewhere that if you ever found yourself in a battle situation with someone who is larger and stronger than you, the way to show authority was with a straight face and a lack of blinking. Her eyes almost watered but she kept Abbot’s gaze until she was sure he was listening to every word.

“I’m not leaving without my friends.”

* * *

“This is a bad idea, Sid!” Abbot yelled.

His arm sliced through the air as he whipped the back of his blade against a Starblade’s head. The boy’s body twitched, then fell forward with loud thud, knocking his blade out of his hand. The weapon rolled across the floor, stopping when it bounced against the limp leg of the second guard Abbot had taken out.

They’d made their way to the fourth floor of the holes, leaving a stream of unconscious guards in their wake. Well, in Abbot’s wake. Sid was still weak and useless and spent most of the time hiding behind the general as he cleared the path.

“We need to get out of here! Now!”

“We’re almost there!” She hissed. “We can’t leave without them.”

She bent over to pick up the abandoned blade, twisting it around in her hands. “How do I turn this thing on?”

“You don’t. Each blade is tailored to the guard and Starblade.” Abbot nodded at the sleeping guard who looked almost peaceful if it wasn’t for the large bump already swelling on his forehead. “You need his hand.”

Sid’s eyes darted from the guard to Abbot.

“Do you have a knife I can use?”

“What? No! Are you sure you’re right in the head?” Abbot’s face looked wild and frantic. “Just put his finger on the center console. Stars!”

“Oh,” she said and followed the instruction. The blade lit up in her hand and though she was sure she was imagining it, it felt heavier somehow. As if the energy coursing through it weighed it down. Sid knew a thing or two about the heavy weight of magic. She smiled and got a better grip on the weapon. “This is nice!”

“Let’s go. This way.”

They stopped at a right turn and Abbot motioned for her to hang back while he took the first look around the corner. She wasn’t sure why; with the blade in her hand, she felt invincible. Her renewed confidence was short lived when she tried to twirl the blade and follow the general only to stumble and nearly drop it on the floor. She caught the weapon by mere centimeters, exhaled briskly and decided to follow Abbot’s orders after all.

The next corridor was free of guards. The general winked at her and they exchanged a smile of relief before marching forward. Dalrak’s hole was a few doors down and she could already sense his agitation despite the layers of stone and aluminum between them.

Abbot swiped his palm in front of the lock console and she half expected the warrior to come charging toward them, furious and full of magic. Like an angry creature from one of Colton’s stories. Instead, she found him crouched on the floor, his arms crossed and a tooth-filled grin on his face.

Of course. He knew it was her. He could feel her just like she could feel him.

“Thanks for ruining my surprise entrance, Dee. You’re no fun!” She laughed and ran towards him.

His arms opened to greet her and she fell on her knees in front of him, rushing in for the embrace. Sid buried herself in his hard chest, tears streaming down her face in relief. He was alive. Her friend was well and alive. Dalrak tightened their embrace and she could feel the bones in her body tremble from his strength. It felt like a ship engine had fallen on her but she let him squeeze her tighter, happy to be back with someone she trusted. The warrior’s magic surged under his skin and it didn’t take long for his electricity to find hers. There, on the floor of a prison hole, their bodies were aglow with power. She closed her eyes and let his magic fill her to the brim, the strength returning to her like a wayward ship coming home to dock.

“Whatever that is, you need to hurry up,” Abbot said sternly behind them.

The warrior, grinned against her forehead and she smiled.

Sid pressed her palms to his chest and got up, waiting until he followed. Her hands were tingling with renewed strength and she brought them up to her face. Energy swirled around her. Palpable and furious; fast and destructive. Her skin was brighter than ever and for the first time, she didn’t care about the most important rule. She didn’t care about any of it. There was no one else in this stardamned place like her and she was tired of trying to fit in. She didn’t need to fit in. What she needed was to be different and fierce. She needed to be stronger than all of them. Stronger than the Freedom Runners, stronger than the queen and stronger than the ring itself.

“One down, one to go,” she said to Abbot.

She was going free them. She was going to free them all.