Kartega

The vaulted, glass ceiling of the tower was nearly in pieces and Sid found herself dodging around broken glass which seemed to have shattered across every part of the dark, steel floor. She jumped over another large piece, careful not to step on the etchings that spanned from the center of the room all the way to the edges. Something about the markings felt familiar and she felt stupid for not recognizing them sooner. They were the same marks Dalrak and the Al’iil had over their bodies. Except these were intricately stacked and positioned, making her wonder if someone had spent a little too much time figuring out the pattern. From what she knew of the beliefs of the Al’iil, precision was not the thing that made them feel connected to Kartega. The light of the moons danced across the room, drenching the shards of glass in a silver gleam that made the destruction Sid had caused look almost beautiful.

She glanced over the detailed metalwork that formed the arches above them. Of course, the attention to detail must have been a human thing.

It seemed the queen read her expression because she jerked herself away from Dalrak’s hold and ran to walk by Sid’s side.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked.

“It’s something alright,” Sid noted, hating the fact that she did find the place beautiful.

Leona waved a hand in front of three tiers of metallic rings, all with the same intricate designs and arranged in cascading order to the open ceiling above. A chandelier of sorts except there was no source of light within it. “It’s the one thing my mother actually got right.”

“So what do all of these mean?”

The queen shrugged, looking away from her. “I wish I could tell you. I would ask your large friend though, seems to me he is the closest to these symbols out of all of us.”

“Forget it! I’ll just the Arcane.”

Sid glanced back at Dalrak, who looked to be as intrigued by the signs as her. His usually straight stance was replaced by an uncomfortable hunch as he studied the lines and circles that covered the top floor of the Queen’s Tower. His lips were moving slowly, trying to read the symbols. Every once in a while, he shook his head in frustration, making Sid realize he’d be no help at all. He was as clueless as Leona when it came to the meaning behind them. In front of them, Ashlan and Tann ran ahead to take in the details of the domed space. Ashlan tapped Tann’s shoulder periodically, pausing to point up at something new they’d discovered and Sid wished she could be as excited as they were about this place. All she felt were knots in her stomach and a lingering scream in her throat. Something about the place felt haunting, like it was built on death itself.

“Might want to get on with it, kid!” Serryl shouted from the intricately decorated entrance doorway. She had hung back to stand watch in case more guards showed up. Though Sid doubted that to be the case. Whatever her magic did to the tower, it wreaked enough havoc to keep them safely out of reach. The elevators were all down and Dalrak tripped every lock as they passed through to make sure no one else could follow. For better or worse, they were alone.

She saw Leona start to smile from her peripheral and turned to glare at the queen. She was captured and it was over for her. Soon, they would have all the answers they sought to help them shut down the ring and free the domes for good. What in the star did she have to smile about?

“What are you grinning about?”

“You’ll see, darling,” the queen smirked, venom coating the words. “You’ll see.”

“Enough games! Where are they? Where are the Arcane?”

Leona’s smile deepened and she pointed her lacquered, jewel covered fingers to a dark doorway on the other side of the room.

“I don’t see anything! Where are they?” Sid roared impatiently.

“Ladies!” The queen beckoned, “Don’t be shy. Come on out. Your queen demands it!”

There was a rustle of metal from the darkness ahead and Sid followed the sound, starting to walk toward it. Behind her, Dalrak jumped forward, grabbing her elbow and pulling her back. His other hand glowed with magic as he stood defensively by her. Ashlan and Tann stopped their chatter and joined them, blades powered up.

She wrestled her arm away from the warrior and gave him a look that told him not to worry. These were the Arcane. Natives of Kartega just like them. They had nothing to fear from them. They would jump at the chance to free their people; she was sure of it!

Sid could taste all the answers she needed on the base of her tongue and smiled, waiting as the sound of metal got louder and louder until it was nearly in view. So close she could hear the mix of small footsteps that were entwined in it.

“They’re here!” She yelled and bolted forward. She was halfway to the sound, right in the middle of the room, her head directly under the dim glow of night that trickled in over the chandelier above. The warm glow of her body pulsed, casting shadows on the walls that danced slightly when she took a breath. “You can come out. We won’t hurt you. I’m here to help.”

At the sound of her voice, the footsteps slowed but didn’t stop, and soon she could see a figure emerge from the dark doorway. Sid strained her eyes to make out who it was when another figure emerged, then another. She stood as still as she could, trying her best not to startle the people coming forth to meet her. When the figures were close enough to see clearly, she looked over them and gasped, understanding the sound of the metal. Before her stood three women, pale and thin in gold, chain-link gowns that trailed to the doorway from which they’d appeared. Sid’s mouth dropped open when she realized that the women were chained by their own dresses. Their bodies covered from neck to toe in metal that was so heavy, she could hear their skin burn under it in agony. The women’s heads were shaved and there was no life or light in their eyes. They were barren of existence, stripped of anything a person might process to be rendered alive. The women walked closer, their fogged eyes never blinking, eyes that bore a similar shape to hers. Wide, with thin long pupils down the center. Domer eyes.

Sid studied their faces, trying to find some hint that the women were conscious, that they knew where they were. Some hint that she could talk to them, ask them for their help. Tears and bile rose within her when her gaze settled on their mouths. No! No! No! She shouted in her head. The Arcane couldn’t help them. They couldn’t tell them how to shut the ring down or guide them in the right direction. They couldn’t tell her anything at all. She stared in horror at the women in front of her, each one with nothing but a layer of skin where her mouth should be.

“What the muck is this?” She shouted, her eyes burning through the queen who was now laughing uncontrollably.

“Whatever do you mean?” She asked and tried to stifle another laugh, unsuccessfully. “You wanted to meet your precious Arcane, and now you’ve met them. Don’t tell me? You’re not impressed.”

“What did you do to them?”

“I’m sorry, do to them?”

“Yes! Where are their mouths?”

Sid was furious. She was sad and disgusted but mostly, she was furious. She should have known better that Leona wouldn’t just lead them to the Arcane so easily. Of course she brought them here! Why wouldn’t she? From the moment they’d seized her tower, she didn’t do anything to fight back. The Starblades, the guards, the Magistras — it was all just a game to her. A game she knew she would win because even if Sid got through to the Arcane, she couldn’t get them on her side. How do you convince someone to hear your point of view when they’re not even alive enough to understand you? The Arcane weren’t the women she heard stories of, the brave three that chose to give up their lives and magic for the ring. They were nothing but sacks of bones and helplessness. Prisoners of their own bodies.

Sid reached over to cup the face of the woman closest to her and gulped when she didn’t recoil at the touch. She simply swayed slightly from side to side, in unison to the other women, their metal dress prisons ringing lightly like some eerie lullaby. “Where are their mouths, Leona?” She said sternly, never taking her mind off the Arcane.

“Oh, they’re in there somewhere, I’m sure. After my mother died, they spent so much time shrieking and crying. I never understood why but it was quite bothersome. It made coming here unbearable. All that noise.”

“What did you do?”

“I did nothing, of course. I simply had the scientists find some way to make the screaming stop. You know, this is one of my favorite places in the city. This room is the only place I loved as a child. It was so peaceful. I loved spending time here and believe it or not, the ladies loved seeing me. They used to spend hours on end telling me stories. About my mother; about the ring. They just knew so much.” The queen walked over and ran a finger across the chain-link of one of the Arcane. “I couldn’t very well have them spill all their secrets to anyone who would listen.”

“So you, what? Chained them up and shut them up?” Sid yelled.

“What else would you have me do? They threatened to leave, to shut the ring down and just leave. I couldn’t have that. I had to protect the Citizens!”

“You turned them into,” She couldn’t say the words, “into-”

“Oh, stop your babbling!” Leona snapped, tugging at the woman’s dress and making her buckle back. The queen twisted her head, revealing the scar of her chip and Sid noticed that the Arcanes’ chips were glowing a bright blue. “I turned them into the keys they are. Nothing less, nothing more.”

“They’re not keys,” she spat. “They’re people!”

The queen chuckled and let go of the woman’s head, “Not anymore.”

Sid jumped at Leona. Her hands wrapped around the queen’s throat as she pushed her back. The queen stumbled and reached for Sid’s fingers, clawing at them with her perfectly manicured nails. Scratches covered Sid’s hands but she didn’t care. She wanted this monster gone. She wanted her dead.

Magic danced its way to her palms and she squeezed, letting the current jump into Leona’s body. As her body convulsed under Sid’s grasp, she smiled, noticing for the first time a hint of fear in the queen’s eyes. I will end you!

“Sid! No!”

Someone grabbed her arm and pulled but she didn’t budge. She kept squeezing, watching as Leona’s face turned blue, as her eyes started to bulge out uncomfortably far. Another grip tightened around her and whoever had her pulled her arms apart. They dragged her back, back, back. So far that she couldn’t reach the queen, couldn’t finish what she started.

“Nooooo!” She screamed as Leona’s body fell to the floor. Unconscious but breathing, “She needs to die! She needs to pay for what she did!”

“Not by your hand,” Dalrak said and wrapped his arms around her.

“Then by whose?” She yelled, choking on her own spit and tears. “Yours? Theirs? Who will make her pay for this?”

The warrior didn’t answer at first but his grip lessened, just enough for her to slide out. “Kir solkita, Sid,” He said quietly. “Another way.”

“There is no other way, Dee. We’re done for. They were our only hope.”

She searched his eyes but they were as empty as her own. No, this was wrong. She wouldn’t stop! She couldn’t! They came this far and they could still figure this out. She just needed a minute to think. Sure, the Arcane were barely breathing but that didn’t mean she couldn’t persuade them to help. Maybe if she talked to them. Or brought the Freedom Runners. Muck! She could show them the rest of the domes if that’s what it took. She had to wake them up! She had to!

Dalrak had grown silent. Why is he always a mute when I need answers? She needed to tell him that there was still hope. That she would come up with a plan and they would pull this off. She needed all of them to hear it and believe her. To believe in her. Sid turned to face him and the others and froze.

They weren’t alone in the room anymore.