Chapter 4

We’re behind the stone only a moment before we hear an odd slithering sound adding itself into the creaking of the trees. I peek out, cautiously, to see three creatures emerge from the forest. I clamp a hand over my mouth to suppress a gasp.

Quick, and oddly graceful, they’re something in-between a centipede and a ferret. The heads look mostly mammalian, with stretched snouts and white markings around their eyes. Sleek brown fur, with an occasional white splotch, stretches down the length of their bodies. The middle one is a pure white, and its fur gleams in the sun. Their bodies are long. Very, very long. Despite their nearing proximity to us, I still haven’t seen where they end. Tiny, sturdy arms stick out everywhere, all ending with a hand full of long, thin fingers. Though they walk on some, they use others to press open the convoluted tree trunks, which move as if they’re filled with liquid. The creatures, now fearfully close to the stone, finally stop, and riders rise from their backs. For a moment my breath catches and I freeze, convinced we’re going to be seen, but the riders focus on the tower behind us, and my eyes focus on the middle rider.

Though it’s necessary to shield my eyes to look, I can see she’s a woman: white-hot, as if she’s come straight out of a forge, wearing both a silver crown and silver armor. Her face is a collection of harsh, sharp features, but I sense that she would be beautiful if her face wasn’t so mangled by hatred and disgust. She has a petite nose and large eyes, like my mother, and no one had ever called her anything but beautiful. Something about this woman is very different, though, some cruelty in her movements and expression that suggests she regrets little. The woman’s crown and armor are covered with inlaid designs and set with rubies and diamonds, which gleam as if they’re little demon eyes that are searching for enemies to torment. I shiver and duck a little further behind the stone, bumping Beth a bit, who’s also stuck her head out to look. She grabs my shoulder to steady herself but doesn’t let out a peep.

The other two creatures have riders, too, but they seem, in some ways, to be her opposites. They’re completely covered in black, glass-like armor and draped in furs, like we’re in the Arctic instead of underneath a beating-hot sun. The bigger one shifts his fur cloak off his arms and I see that precious gems run up them, tiny blades poking out from the armor at his wrists, which is substantially thicker than the rest, layered on almost so that he looks like he has on cuffs. His movement’s allowed me to see the large, metal canisters which I assume are strapped to both men’s thighs. Hoses are connected to the containers and snake up to a utility belt, where they attach to long-barreled guns. Wiring runs along their armor, too, especially around the legs and arms, which makes them both look like a combination of a knight and an elaborate, extremely expensive, circuit board.

Beth’s apparently seen enough because she ducks back behind the stone while letting out the faintest of whimpers. I can’t stop staring, though. Their visors are up and, even though their features are human, their skin is strange. It’s dark, tanned, but the texture is rough, making it look almost like they have scales.

The one on the left, who’d shifted his cloak, is older, maybe in his fifties or sixties. His hair is beginning to gray and his skin wrinkle, but in no way does his age seem to have weakened him. He’s a giant, rippling with muscles. His armor seems only barely big enough, and, though the creature he’s on is much larger than the others, it seems to struggle beneath his weight. He holds himself rigid, alert, and the crease between his eyebrows tells me that this serious demeanor is normal.

The other soldier is younger, smaller and much lither. His eyes glint in a way that makes him look as though he’s not quite sane, the long scar that runs from his cheekbone to his mouth only solidifying this conclusion. His smile is more like a grimace, but the way he shows his teeth makes it very clear that he’s pleased. Perhaps he, like the woman beside him, might be attractive, but the touch of insanity makes it impossible to tell for certain. I shiver, my eyes drawn back to the gleaming woman. Something about her, even next to these men, makes my blood run cold.

Beth tugs on my arm and I slink back behind the stone. I’ve had more than enough of a look. Anything else and I’ll press our luck. I turn to see that Beth’s eyes are wider than I’ve ever seen. She hasn’t released my arm, and her grip is tight, as if I’m anchoring her to the world. She raises her other hand and places a finger to her lips. As if I need to be told to keep quiet. I just give her a small nod. Alyssa, next to Beth, is shaking her head, brow furrowed. Whether she’s rationalizing this place or convincing herself it’s not real, I’m not sure.

I look past them at Hombre, wondering if he has some kind of answer, but instead he looks pale, panicked one moment, frustrated the next. His eyes keep shifting colors: blue to red to blue to purple to blue. He seems to be restraining himself, mouthing over and over, as if the words are some spell, “The golden woman can’t be destroyed, remember your duty, the golden woman can’t be destroyed, remember your duty, the golden woman . . .”

I frown. What does that mean? He knows her?

Her voice suddenly snakes across the tiny glade, “I want to kill those pit dinths this time. All of them. Not leave a single cowardly, disgusting specimen alive.”

We’re all frozen behind the pillar, not daring to move a muscle, and Darien’s face has gotten even paler. I don’t know what a pit dinth is, but from her tone I can tell it’s an insult.

Another voice, one of the men, introduces itself, the words very distinct and clear: “Creator Vehnia willing, we will eradicate them, Leader Iifa.”

I’m not sure what or who Vehnia is, either, but I’m pretty sure the only people they can be talking about are the ones in that tower. The ones Hombre told us we need to get to, the ones who are supposed to be able to help us.

The other man chuckles, “As we would say in Farah, nothing quite rivals blood when working up a sweat. We’ll be warming ourselves in their death soon.” His voice is incredibly deep, like the thrum of the earth, and from his manner of speaking, I know it has to be the man with the crazy eyes. His words are tinted, slightly, with a strange accent that resembles nothing back on Earth.

Darien reaches for my bracelet on my wrist. I snatch my arm away, glaring at him. He frowns, but mouths: “Hide it.” I hesitate, but if he’s worried about it, I think I should listen. I release the clasp and then pause, not sure where to put it, before stuffing it into my bra. I look over at Hombre and he nods, satisfied that it’s out of sight.

“Don’t be vulgar,” the first man is telling the other, his proper speech filled with disgust. He must be the large, brutish man, but the way he speaks is contrary to what I would’ve expected. Thinking of the way he held himself, though, somehow it seems to fit.

“Are you afraid of blood, Veren? We drank it when I was fighting in the south. We preferred to recognize who and what we were, rather than claiming we only killed for duty. Tell me, do you truly hate seeing the look in the eyes of the dying as they witness you as their killer? Or are you just afraid it makes you like me?”

A chill runs up my spine, and Beth’s fingernails cut into my skin. Veren retorts, his voice dripping with loathing, “I’m not like you. I wasn’t forced to join the army or to come to this place because I’d committed too many monstrosities. I chose this fight and this cause. When I return, my family will be proud, and my people will honor me. When this war ends, they will kill you �" if you are still alive.”

The woman’s voice cuts in, “Stop your quarreling. Veren, whatever Chul’s background, so long as he obeys my orders, it is forgiven. We have not enough men to only accept saints.”

“Yes, Leader Iifa,” Veren sounds respectful, but a certain bite to his words tells me that he disagrees.

“Wipe that sneer off your face, Chul,” Iifa snaps, “I understand you’re new to command and your skill has earned you it, but I need a leader, not some petulant child looking to provoke fights. Our enemy is in that tower, not here, and I need you to be focused on fighting them. Why do you think I brought you here? I’m not the only one who sometimes needs a reminder.”

Her words hang in the air for a moment, before Chul, reluctantly, says, “If you command it, Leader Iifa.”

“Good. What was the name of the young man they just named to command, here?”

“Ki,” Veren answers.

“Ki?” Iifa snorts, “Sounds like the name of a friend. Hopefully his watchers have gotten sight of me by now. Even if my presence doesn’t make him nervous, his people will be thrown into nervous fervor. It’s been a long time since I fought for this tower.”

“Maybe they’ll let us in the front door,” Chul remarks.

The response seems too flippant, and I imagine her shooting him a glare as she replies, “That would be a welcome change. We must head back, now. There are other matters we must attend to.”

I hold my breath as I hear them retreat into the trees. Beth releases her death-grip at last and I glance around the stone to make sure the soldiers are gone. I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see the clearing’s empty.

Alyssa’s next to me, now, staring at the tree line and muttering to herself, “I don’t get this. How was she glowing like that? And those things they were riding �" how does something like that exist?”

 “Darien? What’s going on? Who were they?” Beth asks, much more serious than usual. She shivers, “That one man . . .”

Hombre is tense, his voice strained, as he states, “We have to get out of here.” Before any of us can say anything, Hombre’s hurrying to the edge of the clearing. He pauses at the edge, looks down, and then looks at us. “You need to come with me. I don’t think I need to convince you that it’s dangerous to stay here, right?”

I find myself shaking my head, slowly.

He turns back around, inhales, and then leaps, landing on the wall before he turns back to us. He insists, “We need to go. Now.” His expression tells me that he expects one of us to argue, but none of us protest. Whoever’s in that tower seems far preferable to staying out here and getting caught by those people.

I bite my lip and step away from the stone and toward the edge of the clearing, Beth on my heels. Alyssa’s not far after, her lost expression turning into one of determination. As I hurry forward, for a moment I think that gleaming, pristine water fills the space between the circular wall and the tower, but then I notice the lack of waves and my stomach drops. Instead of water, the tower is surrounded entirely by a glass pane, placed a good two stories down. I bite my lip, trying not to imagine plummeting down onto it, and instead focus on getting to the wall in the first place.

Looking down, it seems that all the support and ground that’s supposed to be in between the wall and the clearing has just vanished into an abyss. It’s not too wide a hole, but I still feel my heart in my throat. The glass is maybe looking like a better option.

“I dunno if I can make that,” Beth says, next to me, shifting anxiously.

“We have to,” I tell her.

She shifts again, glancing back at the trees, as if weighing her options.

Before I can start to reassure her, though, Alyssa vaults over the pit, landing easily on the wall. Beth and I stare at her, and when she turns to us, she sees our surprise, rolls her eyes, and just says, “Come on.” I guess her enthusiasm to get out of here has over-ruled her shame at agreeing with Hombre about something.

I inhale deeply, back up, and then hurl myself off the edge of the clearing. There’s a moment where it’s almost like I’m flying, and then my foot connects with the hard rock of the wall. The landing sends a jolt of pain through my knee, but other than that, I’m fine. I breathe a sigh of relief, though I can’t help but still feel nervous. Now that I’m here, the fall down to the glass looks just as bad as falling into the black hole on my right.

Beth lands beside me and latches onto me to steady herself, inhaling sharply. I stumble a bit, but keep my footing, grabbing onto her so she doesn’t fall down either side.

I look back at her and smile, trying to be reassuring, “You’re alright.”

“This thing isn’t wide enough for me to be ‘alright.’” She mutters. “Let’s just go.”

I turn and see that Hombre and Alyssa have already taken off. Beth’s already pushing me forward a bit, clearly anxious to be off the ledge. I hate running, but this isn’t the time to complain. I start off after them, Beth right behind me.

I try to ignore the drops on either side, especially as my feet keep sliding on the smooth stone. I almost go down twice in the first few strides before I adjust and can push myself forward with a little more confidence. We’re not far from the clearing, but my muscles are already tight. Annoyed with my body, I push myself to keep going, trying not to think about that man, Chul, and how Iifa could be capable of controlling someone who’s so clearly a sociopath. Who is she? And why does she seem to make Hombre both furious and terrified at the same time? I redouble my efforts. She said she was leaving, but I’m not sure I should trust her word.

My body’s insistence that I shouldn’t be running only gets more persistent as we approach the bridge to the tower. Years of tennis have made running second nature to Alyssa, and Hombre doesn’t seem to have any problems, either. I start to feel panicked. If that woman comes after us, Beth and I are screwed. I keep charging forward, but my breath is beginning to tear up the back of my throat, and my bracelet is now stabbing my b**b. I wrap my arms around my chest and keep running, terrified that my lack of fitness will result in my death. From the raggedness of Beth’s breath, behind me, I don’t think she’s doing much better, but at least we’re now halfway there and I still haven’t heard those creatures come up behind us.

Far ahead of Beth and me, Hombre and Alyssa reach the bridge to the tower. My vision’s beginning to go a little fuzzy at the edges, and I feel light-headed and thirsty. The loss of vision makes my stomach roll, as now I imagine the woman or one of her minions sliding out onto the wall in front of us, or throwing some deadly weapon from one of the clearings we pass. I imagine losing my footing and falling to either side, my last gasps ending in terror and pain. Images of my death parade themselves through my mind. I try to ignore them, focusing on my body’s discomfort as a way to distract myself.

We finally reach the bridge, and, though it’s still a long ways from the tower, I can feel some of my panic suddenly subside. Behind me, I hear Beth round onto it, too, and the fear I’d been feeling evaporates almost completely. I wonder if it’s due to the humming I hear from below, drifting up from beneath the glass. Sounds of life and hope seem contained below it, drifting up to reassure me. I see Hombre and Alyssa are now at the door, pounding on it and yelling, and I muster up the last of my strength to cover the bridge.

I finally reach them and I drag myself forwards, eagerly reducing my pace to a crawl. Beth, behind me, has already done so, and I hear her gasping for air. The door is now beginning to open, though too slowly for comfort. I glance behind us, trying to mask just how sweaty and out of breath I am. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of movement in the trees behind the clearing.

As I glance back, wiping my forehead with my shirt, I catch her white, hot gaze. I pause, petrified. For a moment she just stares, but I swear that, even at this distance, even with how blinding she is, I can see a smile creep up her face to transform her, for a moment, into something beautiful. I blink, confused, and then squint to try to make her out better, but she’s already sinking back into the trees. Beth grabs my hand and pulls me through the large doors into who-knows-where.

Author's Note

Thank you for any input!