Blaze, page 16
I paled at his words. Overdose? Just like that, every organ in my body buzzed with urgency to find her. “Come with me,” Vas said and we slid out of the pod. He went to get Sven and then the three of us began searching for Maya. We came up empty until I realised exactly where she would be. I grabbed Vas’ arm.
“The cave. It’s quiet and secluded. I think that’s where she would’ve gone.”
Vas nodded and we hurried to the cave, past the food stalls where some people were already having their morning soup. As soon as we neared the cave my steps faltered. Something wasn’t right. I felt it in my bones. I tugged on Vas, a lone tear falling down my cheek. He wiped it away. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I just have this terrible feeling that if we go in that cave we’re going to find something truly awful,” I said, vaguely aware of Sven going on ahead of us.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat, watching as he entered the cave then re-emerged a few moments later. He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck, a bleak look on his face. I wept as soon as I saw that look, because I knew, I knew…
Sven turned our way, closing the small distance between us.
“She’s in there,” he said, his voice breaking a little on the words. “But she’s…she’s gone.”
14.
In the end I forced myself to go inside the cave. I’d only known her briefly but Maya deserved that much. Her small body lay prone on the cave floor. Self-recrimination threatened to drown me. Why hadn’t I talked to her for longer yesterday? I could’ve gotten through to her better, convinced her we really were going to get out of the Blaze.
Then my thoughts went to Demi. What were we going to tell her? And who would protect her now with her big sister gone?
I knelt next to her, passing my fingers over her eyelids to close them. Sadness and frustration and anger all mingled within me. I wanted someone to pay for this, someone to blame. Did I blame the woman who gave her the drugs? No. She was only a symptom of a greater disease. To really get revenge for Maya’s death, someone needed to take the entire structure of this place down, and not just Red Armand. Every single High Demon who would take his place needed to be vanquished, the entire system that the city of Treyu thrived on destroyed.
“I’ll take care of Demi for you,” I whispered. “Rest now, sweet girl.”
“I’ve witnessed so many deaths down here,” Vas said, standing next to me. “It never gets any easier.”
I rose to my feet. “She didn’t want to die.” My voice was little more than a whisper. “She just wanted to make the pain stop for a while.”
“That’s all any of us wants.”
“We need to bury her before the demons find her body,” Sven said. “She deserves better than to be tossed into the hole.”
“We can’t bury her until we tell Demi,” Vas argued. “The poor child has no one now.”
“She has us,” I said and he nodded solemnly.
“Yes, she has us,” he agreed.
Several beats of silence passed. I lifted my chin, looking Vas square in the eye. “What’s the point of us getting out of here if all these people remain trapped?”
“The point is us living our lives freely, Darya. There’s suffering everywhere. You can’t fix it all.”
“No, but we can fix this.”
“Look, we have a plan. Let’s just stick to it.”
“I have every intention of sticking to the plan, but I’m not sure I can stop at Red Armand. This place needs a full scale revolution.”
“Are you’re the one who’s going to start it?” he questioned in disbelief. “You’re not even from this realm. You don’t have a stake in any of this.”
“For crying out loud! Maya is dead, and all because she wanted to take some drugs to feel some relief. I have a stake in this. I’ll do it in her name.”
“You’d start a revolution for a girl you knew for two whole days?”
“Maybe. It was prophesied that I would one day lead. I never understood how it could happen, but I think I understand now.” I stared Vas down and he stared right back at me. We’d locked horns and neither one of us was prepared to back down. Ever since I first learned of Oreylia, and this city where anyone who wasn’t a full-blooded demon was indentured and brought lower than any living being should ever be brought, a spark had lit within me. That spark had since grown into a flame and it was in danger of turning into a full blown inferno.
“Bloody hell, you two can fight this out later,” Sven said in exasperation, interrupting our stand-off. “Right now she needs to be laid to rest.”
I exhaled, finally dragging my eyes away from Vas. “You’re right,” I said, folding my arms, not looking forward to what came next. “I’ll go talk to Demi.”
With that, I went, leaving Vas and Sven to decide where they’d bury her.
***
Demi cried in my arms, her tears soaking my T-shirt but I didn’t care. She could drench the whole thing through if she wanted. Eventually, I offered for her to see her sister’s body before she was buried. I told her she didn’t have to but she said she wanted to see Maya one last time.
Ren held the girl’s hand as we walked to the cave. When we got there Vas and Sven had dug a deep hole. Maya’s body had been placed inside it and she almost looked peaceful there. Demi wailed when she saw her, and after consoling her for a few minutes we left her alone to say her final goodbyes.
Standing outside the cave, I spotted Jalio and two other men walking our way. Jalio’s attention went to Vas and he must’ve sensed something was up because his thick, dark eyebrows drew together.
“Everything okay, Vasilios?”
Vas ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “Maya overdosed on lava dust. She didn’t make it.”
At this Jalio’s features seemed to harden while fury burned in his eyes. They were the only part of him that showed his outrage. “What the fuck? You said you were protecting her.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I couldn’t watch her twenty-four seven,” Vas retorted. “If she was going to take those drugs she would’ve found a way with or without my protection.”
“Where is she now?” Jalio’s voice was a low rumble.
Vas motioned inside the cave. “We’ve already buried her. Her sister is inside saying her goodbyes.”
Jalio gave a stoic nod, his features remaining stony while his eyes were wild. “Do you see now how something needs to be done?”
“What can possibly be done?” Vas asked and Jalio glanced at the two men on either side of him.
His voice was low when he replied, “We can kill the Dicteps, take over the Opal Palace. Establish a new order.”
There was that word again. Dicteps. I noticed something odd flash in Vas’ gaze when he heard it. “An admirable plan, no doubt. There is the slight problem of the army that protects him night and day.”
“There are ways to get past the army,” Jalio said, his voice still low.
“Is that so? Well, in that case I hope you succeed.”
Jalio frowned. “You don’t want a part in this?”
“I escaped and was recaptured. I’ve since lost my appetite for mutiny.”
“Or perhaps the rumours are true,” Jalio said, pausing a moment before he continued. “Though if my own grandfather left me to rot in a mine for a century I’d be more than happy to slit his throat.”
I blinked. Wait a minute. Was he saying what I thought he was? The Dicteps, ruler of Treyu, was Vas’ grandfather? I thought back on what he’d told me of his mother and how she came from a ruling family who disowned her when she began a relationship with Vas’ father, Theodore. I hadn’t considered that they might be the top ruling family.
“Exactly,” Vas replied finally. “If those rumours were true I’d be the first to join your ranks. Unfortunately, there is no truth to them.”
With that, he turned and walked away. I glanced at Jalio then hurried to catch up with Vas.
“What was all that about?”
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
“He just insinuated that the Dicteps is your grandfather? That’s the ruler of Treyu, right? Basically, some kind of king?”
He cast me a cutting, censorious glare. “The rumours are false, Darya. Don’t bring it up again.”
He kept walking and I fell back, smarting a little from his detached tone. I understood why it was a touchy subject. Being left to rot in a mine by your own family is one of the most horrendous things I’d ever heard. Jalio was right. This city needed to be overthrown, a new order put in place. As I thought about it, I considered that perhaps neither Vas nor I needed to be the ones to stage the revolution. Maybe Jalio was the man for the job. People certainly regarded him with a healthy dose of fear and respect.
It was difficult to turn up for my shift in the mine after the morning I’d had, but it wasn’t like I had a choice. I kept Demi close by my side and picked up the slack for her because she didn’t have it in her to work very hard. She was still too much in shock over her sister’s death.
I was in a little bit of shock myself. I’d seen a few dead bodies at this point, but like Vas said, it didn’t get any easier. The demon watcher, the one I despised and whose name I’d since learned was Lorenzo, stopped by, asking where Maya was.
“She overdosed,” Vas told him plainly and the demon spat on the ground with disdain.
“Bloody junkies. This place is riddled with them.” It took everything I had not to punch him out. I’d yet to have an encounter with this guy where I didn’t want to hurt him in some way. Luckily, he didn’t stick around, continuing his surveillance of the workers.
By the time our shift ended Demi was so exhausted that she collapsed into my arms.
“Give her here. I’ll carry her back to her pod to sleep,” Ren said and I gently handed her over to him. She was so thin and frail from a life of poverty that she barely weighed a thing.
“She needs blood,” I said and Ren nodded.
“I’ll feed her.”
He went and I trailed behind Vas and Sven as they joined the queue for food. My stomach gurgled and I realised that I hadn’t eaten anything all day. Discovering Maya this morning had stolen my appetite. I was so weak, in fact, that I stumbled over a bit of loose gravel. Vas, who seemed to have a sixth sense, reached behind to catch me before I fell.
“Whoa there, are you okay? You look faint.”
I swallowed thickly. “Just hungry. I forgot to eat breakfast.”
He sent me a disapproving look. “You can’t forget to eat doing this kind of work. Do you want to keel over like that poor man the other day?” His voice was chiding, but I thought there was a small sliver of concern there, too. His hand found mine and he interlaced our fingers. “Let’s get you fed.”
He held my hand the entire time we waited in the queue. I leaned against him and he offered me some water from his flask that he’d generously been letting me share. I took a long gulp then handed it back to him. It was nice just to have a peaceful moment between us where we weren’t at loggerheads with one another. I made a mental note not to bring up the subject of his rumoured grandfather again.
Dinner was a solemn affair. The three of us ate in silence, not forgetting to bring some food back for Ren and Demi. I felt like I could sleep for a decade. More, even. The hours and days went by like a slow march. I wished more than anything that I could bring Maya back, that I could erase the hollow look in Demi’s eyes.
Vas continued to hold me at night when we slept, but we didn’t speak and I didn’t try to bite him again. I was growing hungrier for blood as the days went by, but I stifled it. I couldn’t allow my brain to become foggy with bloodlust when we had an escape plan to prepare for.
The day of the Star Festival arrived and I noted the thinner presence of demon watchers. Vas had been right about there only being a skeleton crew on hand to supervise the miners. Our plan was to finish our shift and wait until they completed the count, that way we’d have the entire night before they noticed we were gone.
Then, something unprecedented occurred. We were lying in our pod, my body next to Vas’ when shouting broke out down below. We shared a glance then shifted forward to peer out. Dozens of demon watchers were scurrying about in a panic, warning everyone not to leave their sleeping chambers.
“What the hell is going on?” I murmured.
A man in the pod two tiers below ours replied, “Jalio and about twenty others have gone missing. The watchers only noticed when they started doing the count just now.” He sounded giddy at the idea of people escaping and I didn’t blame him.
Vas and I shared a look. It appeared we weren’t the only ones with a plan to escape on the night of the Star Festival. “What should we do?” I whispered.
His blue eyes glowed with determination. “We stick to our plan. Jalio’s escape might work in our favour. The demons will be so distracted searching for them it’ll take longer to notice our absence.”
“Okay, yes, you’re right,” I said, swallowing thickly.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Vas whispered, his eyes moving back and forth between mine.
I pushed down my nerves and bobbed my head. “I’m ready.”
Vas nodded, his expression grave. “I’ll get Ren, Demi and Sven out first. Then I’ll come back for you. Wait here.”
He left and my worries hurtled forward. What if something happened while he was getting the others out and he couldn’t come back for me? I lay there, fretting over all the things that might go wrong, until suddenly, he was back and relief flooded me.
“You okay?” he asked, studying me as he crawled back into the pod. “You seem jumpy.”
I released a tense breath, my confession slipping out. “I got stuck on the idea that you might not come back for me.”
Something softened in his gaze, his hand cupping my jaw. “I wouldn’t abandon you.”
“Even after all I’ve done?” I whispered.
“Even after all you’ve done.”
I stared into his eyes, a little lost for a moment. Vas dropped his hand then, clearing his throat. “I left the others on the outskirts of the city. That was about as far as I could manage since I need to conserve my magic for getting us in and out of the ball. It will take them a few hours to reach the portal site. That gives us more than enough time to complete everything on our end.” His eyes ran over me. “Do you have the dagger?”
I patted my jeans pocket. “Right here.”
“Good.” He opened his arms and I shifted closer, allowing him to take me into his embrace. “Just close your eyes and breathe. This will be over in a moment.”
The world went out from under me, whizzing by at lightning speed. A small wave of nausea hit, like it always did when I was teleported. Vas was right though, it was over in a heartbeat. Between one deep breath and the next, my feet were on solid ground. Vas’ arms were still around me. The sheer comfort of being out of the Blaze and above ground was all consuming. I sucked in a deep breath, savouring the cleaner air then glanced about.
I frowned. We were in one of the lower sectors of the city. “I thought you were going to bring us closer to the palace,” I said as Vas took my hand and led me toward a small house. No lights glowed within.
“I’m trying to conserve my magic. We can walk from here, but first we need some better clothing,” he said, motioning to our soot stained jeans and T-shirts. He was right. If we walked around as we were we’d stick out like sore thumbs.
Vas cast a small spell to unlock the door to the house and we crept inside. As expected, no one was home. It was a small, modest dwelling. Vas opened a wardrobe and began pulling out clothes. “Put these on,” he ordered briskly.
I did as he said, eager to get out of the clothes I’d been wearing for days. Vas kept his head turned while I changed, and I endeavoured to do the same, though I couldn’t help when my gaze flicked to him for a second when he pulled off his T-shirt. His back was turned to me as he drew it over his head. I had just enough time to take in the wide expanse of his shoulders, his skin rough and scarred from decades of hard labour.
A wave of lust washed over me.
It was the mark, I told myself. Just the mark.
Forcing my gaze away, I finished dressing then was struck with a feeling of familiarity. I knew this place. It took me a moment to remember but then it hit me. This was the house from Sarasin’s vision, where Vas and I had been looking out the window at the city that was so strange to me.
Feeling guilty for stealing the clothes of the people who lived there, I removed the bag of dolmens from the pocket of my discarded jeans then placed it on the mantel. This was a small, basic abode. It didn’t seem fair to take from people who had so little.
Vas arched an eyebrow. “Such a kind heart you have.”
I shrugged. “If all goes to plan we’ll be back in Tribane soon. I’ll have no need for those coins when I’m home.”
Vas walked to the window and peered through the curtains.
“Will the others be okay? What if they’re caught?”
He glanced at me. “They won’t be caught. Sven knows this place like the back of his hand.”
I went to join him and looked out the window, too, peering at the city that still boggled my mind, so different from the cities back home.
“Have you ever been up there?” I asked, noticing his attention was focused on the Opal Palace. I hadn’t brought up the subject of the Dicteps and the possibility he was Vas’ grandfather in days, mostly because I didn’t want him to get mad at me again.
“No,” he replied, and there was something in his voice, something solemn. “Never. The vast majority aren’t allowed past the eighty-seventh sector.”
“It’s so unfair. How can they justify keeping so many down in the mines?”
Vas brushed some of my hair over my shoulder, and the mark welcomed his touch, buzzing away happily. “I honestly don’t think they care enough to justify it.”
“I hate them.”
“Good. Let that hate fuel you. You’re going to need it for the path that lies ahead.” Vas moved away from the window then and headed for the front door. “Come. We need to get going.”
