Attack on Phoenix (12 page)

Torsten turned and left the cavern.

Rell wanted to follow him, but she couldn't. Instead she went to the edge of the volcano. Peering down, she saw nothing but churning lava. "I'm sorry, Mellok. I am truly sorry. It was an accident."

Tears slid down her cheeks and fell into the hot liquid. It swallowed her forgiveness, delivering it to Mellok in the afterlife. With her eyes closed, she could almost see him standing with her father.

Both angry and unforgiving. Both waiting for her to fail again.

The lava bubbled, bursting forth briefly and falling back again. Just as it had right before Mellok had plunged into its fiery depths. Almost as if something inside the volcano had assisted in his murder.

Weary, Torsten emerged in the dark church. The heavy, even rhythm of breathing during sleep caught his ear. Good. At least Leila had been able to fall asleep.

It gave Torsten more time to decide what to tell her, if anything. Their mother was alive but obviously wanted nothing to do with him. It was possible Andessa and Mellok’s parents had been up on the spaceship, too. He hadn’t even had the chance to tell Mellok before he died. Rell was dead inside, unable to let herself love anyone without permission from her gods. After all they'd seen, Torsten didn't even know how she could still believe in them. The gods hadn't saved them from being killed in the tunnels. Dragzhi portal tech had.

Torsten would never understand how Rell was able to twist reality and find religious meaning in it. If only she could see what was in front of her. The control the Menelewen Dored had over her life. The dragzhi ship. Torsten's faith in her.

As long as she blinded herself, he couldn't get through to her. Giving up wasn't in his nature, but Torsten knew when a battle was over. He’d walked away, leaving Rell by the volcano. He'd told her where he would be... but he didn't expect her to come.

In the morning, he, Leila, and Andessa would venture out to Hadar to look for survivors. If they couldn't hide underground, they would face whatever waited for them outside.

Torsten had one final hope. If they were captured by the dragzhi, perhaps his mother could free them. If she had been freely living on one of their ships, maybe she would help her children.

Torsten's emptiness consumed him as he staggered to the closest pew. He lay down, his arm cradling his head on the wooden bench, weariness blanketing him.

***

Torsten sat up with a start, rubbing his eyes with the back of his fist. He glanced toward the stairs, as if he expected to see Rell there. She wasn't.

Sighing, Torsten stood and looked around the church. Leila and Andessa each slept on a pew, their cloaks draped over their prone bodies.

He ambled over to the double doors in the back of the church. With a gentle tug, he opened one just a crack. Torsten peered outside. The sand whirled close to the ground. The wind had died down enough he could see Hadar in the distance.

Smoke continued to rise from the ruins. Buildings that had stood five or six stories high were now in rubble. Torsten squinted, trying to see across the city to the tower, but the clouds were too low. He didn't know if his military home still stood. The defenders were the only hope against the dragzhi. If they had been defeated, too, Torsten feared the dragzhi would find them eventually and kill them. If they weren't already dead from starvation.

They were marooned in the church, with no hope for rescue.

Torsten closed the door, pushing hard to ensure it latched. At least they had shelter from the sand and the sun within the church walls.

"Tor?" a groggy Leila said.

Torsten strode over to his sister and crouched down. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I had nightmares about Mellok all night." Leila sat up, rubbing her forehead. "What are we going to do now?"

"We have to see if the tower is still standing. It looks like the city was demolished. The tower is our only hope of survival. The military has weapons. Barricades. Access to the ships." Torsten sank down to the floor, his head resting in his hands. "The ships. They've probably already left. That would explain the exploding dragzhi ship."

"What are you talking about?" Andessa sat up fluffing out her short, dark curls. "We've either been underground or holed up in this church. How would you know if a ship exploded?"

"It was before Rell and I came back to the church. When we found you here. Before she promised..." He didn't finish. There was no need to. They knew what came next. Torsten's blind trust in her which lead to Mellok's death.

None of it should have happened that way. If only they could have put aside their differences and worked together. Then maybe the five of them would still be together, and closer to a solution.

Instead, Torsten, Andessa, and Leila were on their own. Perhaps permanently. If the dragzhi had wiped out Hadar, maybe they were all that was left of humanity. Except the buried. They were still underground, hiding.

"We can't do this alone," Torsten said, turning back to his sister and Andessa.

"No!" Andessa leapt to her feet, pointing at the floor with an angry finger. "If you think for one moment I am going back down there, you're crazy. The tunnels almost collapsed once. Then Rell tried to kill us."

"I think she was just trying to scare us,” Torsten said with a drawn-out sigh.

"You have a soft spot for lost causes.” Andessa shot him an angry look. “At some point, you need to realize not everyone can be rehabilitated. Rell is crazy. Maybe she thought she wanted to scare us, but we saw what happened. She used her fire to force Mellok into the volcano. She killed him." Andessa stalked away.

Torsten sat on a bench, his fingers tangled in his hair. "I don't know what to do. If we go out there, we'll probably be killed. Underground doesn't seem much safer. We can't stay here, either. There's no food or water." He looked up at his little sister. Torsten had fought to protect her since the day their parents died—or left them—and he didn't know how to save her now. He also didn’t want to tell her he’d seen their mother on the dragzhi ship. Until he knew more, he wouldn’t upset Leila.

"What are we going to do?" Leila asked, her voice quiet. True, she could beat Torsten in hand-to-hand combat. She could outshoot him with a gun. But they both knew Torsten was the sibling with the ideas.

And right now he didn't have any.

"Oh no!" Andessa yelled, running back toward them. "Not again!"

Torsten stood, looking over Andessa's shoulder. Two people in white robes stood at the top of the stairs. Their hands were folded in front of them, their faces grim. Long braids hung down their backs, the tips sweeping the floor.

Torsten squinted. He couldn't tell if they were men or women. He imagined Rell must have looked much the same before coming aboveground.

"We know of your plight," the first said, the voice deep and sonorous. A man, likely. "We have come to offer you sanctuary underground."

"Over my dead body," Andessa said. She pulled Leila closer. The two women looked to Torsten to agree.

Torsten strode forward, his hand up, fingertips spread. Neither returned the gesture, and Torsten awkwardly dropped his hand down to his side. "We've met your people before. We know what's expected of us. We don't believe in your gods."

The two looked at each other, then the second spoke in a high-pitched voice. "We are aware. Rell told us."

"She explained you would need assistance." The person with the low voice cocked their head. "Is that true?"

"Yes," Torsten said at the same time Andessa yelled, “No!”

"Which is it?" the other person asked.

"Yes." Torsten turned around, glaring at Andessa. They had no other option. Heading back into Hadar was too dangerous. At least underground, they would be fed and given shelter. They could take time to figure out their next move. Then, Torsten realized something he'd forgotten.

When Rell first appeared in the church, she'd briefly mentioned she'd taken the tunnels all the way from the city. If Torsten could find someone down there to show them how to get back to the city through the tunnels, then they wouldn't have to stay underground long.

"Trust me," he said to a narrow-eyed Andessa. "Please."

“The last time I trusted you, Mellok died,” Andessa said, looking to Leila. “What do you think?”

Leila squeezed her eyes shut. “Torsten would never hurt me. Besides, we’re basically stuck here. Maybe moving is better than staying put?”

Andessa crossed her arms. "Fine. What else am I going to do?"

The robed figures turned and descended the stairs. Torsten was relieved to be taking action again. Sitting in the church would have only frustrated him more as each moment passed.

If his mother was alive, maybe his father was, too. And what did that mean for Andessa's parents? Were they also among the people on the dragzhi ship? He held in a sigh. And the ship. He hadn't even begun to try to explain the spaceship. How could he?

All Torsten knew was he and Rell had discovered some sort of tech that transported them to the ship. He was curious, even excited, to investigate it again. But what if the tech only led to one particular ship, and now the ship was gone?

It wasn't a risk Torsten was willing to take. He didn't want Andessa or Leila to try, either. And until he knew more about his parents, he didn't want to involve Leila. It was his job to protect her.

Torsten pursed his lips, determined to keep the secrets to himself until he knew more. Maybe if he could find a way into Hadar, or even the tower, he could learn more about what had happened out there. If the dragzhi had won, and destroyed the humans, he wasn't sure he'd ever have a life aboveground again.

They walked down familiar passageways until the two buried in front of him moved to the left instead of the right. Torsten couldn't help it. He peered down the hall, thinking, foolishly, he might see Rell. The hall was empty, and he quickly snapped his head back in the direction he was walking.

If Rell had told her people Torsten, Leila, and Andessa were trapped in the church, it meant she had returned to her pod. Though why she'd have them brought back down, he wasn't sure. She'd made it very clear she wanted them gone, no matter the cost. It didn't make sense. Then again, Rell hadn't ever made sense to him. Everything she'd done had been based on her faith, and her beliefs were erratic. One moment she wanted them gone, the next she saved Torsten, and then she killed Mellok.

Even though he was glad he'd held back from kissing her on the spaceship, Torsten knew if he had, things might have turned out differently. If Rell had felt someone was on her side, Mellok might not have died.

She was always so isolated, so lost in her faith, she couldn't even understand how Torsten could like her without sharing her beliefs. If they'd had more time, maybe he could have convinced her. Perhaps they would have become friends. Maybe they would have become more.

A poke on his arm jerked Torsten back from his thoughts. "What?" he said to Leila.

She pointed ahead, and his eyes followed.

The tunnel opened into a large cavern. Unlike the cavern with the volcano, this one was well-lit. People bustled about, the hems of their white robes sweeping along the dirty ground. One by one, they stopped to stare at Torsten, Leila, and Andessa.

The three moved closer together. Not one person smiled. Not one nodded in greeting. Instead, their eyes were hostile, and the sneers on their faces did not bode well.

"I swear, Torsten," Andessa whispered in his ear, "if we get out of this alive, I'm going to kill you."

Torsten swallowed the lump in his throat. "If I were you, I'd feel the same way."

They followed as the two led them to a cell. Torsten, Leila, and Andessa walked in. There was no other choice. They couldn't fight their way out of this. They were severely outnumbered. Still, they were alive. And as long as Torsten could breathe, he wouldn't give up.

Torsten let Andessa and Leila choose food from the plate. He took what was left over. He bit into the mushy tuber. It was the first time he'd eaten since leaving the ship. He'd choose anything over krullers. He shuddered just thinking of the mealy little worms squirming over the plate.

He hadn't lied when he told Rell he'd learned to eat krullers in the military. He had lied when he said he liked it. Torsten detested krullers. He'd eaten it because he knew he could force himself to. Then Rell didn't have to worry about sharing her bread with him. She could eat enough to keep strong.

Torsten looked between the cell bars, watching the people go about their business. Few bothered to look at them, and the ones who did made it clear Torsten, Leila, and Andessa were hated.

The buried blended together in their androgynous clothing and hairstyle. Most of them had mousy brown hair, too. He wondered how often they'd gotten aboveground to breed. Ever? Were they all related?

Andessa and Leila had squirreled themselves in the back of the cell, as far away from the bars as they could get. Torsten stayed close. He watched the buried. Mostly he watched for Rell. Even if they'd forced her out of her leather and into a robe, her pink hair would stand out. So, Torsten kept vigil. Even after the lights had dimmed and the majority of the people had retired for the evening, Torsten sat, awake, waiting for her.

Despite his best efforts, Torsten's eyelids began to flutter, and he drifted off. Mellok haunted his nightmares, as his death played out over and over again. Torsten couldn’t just sit there. He needed to get out. To see Rell. To try to understand everything that had happened to them.

"Anyone out there?" he yelled into the darkness.

Silence.

"Tor, shut up," Leila mumbled from the back of the cell.

"Rell?" he called out.

"Oh no. Not again," Andessa said. "He needs to find another girl to obsess over."

Torsten ignored Andessa, listening for any other sound in the darkness.

Suddenly a hooded figure appeared in front of Torsten. "If you want to see Rell, stay quiet."

Torsten started, then leaned in closer to the bars. "Can you take me to her?"

"Yes. She wants to see you very much, but she was afraid you would not want to see her." The feminine voice was confident, almost too sure.

Apprehension spread over Torsten. He shivered. Even if Rell wanted to see him, she would never admit it to anyone. She was too guarded with her emotions. "Who are you?" he asked.

“A friend. You can trust me," the voice said.

Torsten hesitated. Rell hadn’t mentioned friends. It hadn’t even occurred to him she might ask a friend to help them. “Is she okay?" he asked.

"Of course. She is back in her pod. I can take you."

“All of us?” Leila asked, scooting up behind him. “Because I’m not so sure I want to see her again. Tor, you have to let this go.”

"Please, take us to her," Torsten said, letting Rell's friend hear his urgency. He knew how Leila felt, but he’d already gotten them trapped in a cell. He believed Rell would help them get aboveground. That’s what she wanted—for Torsten to go away.

The sound of tumblers falling into position echoed in the silent room. Torsten, Leila, and Andessa slipped out of the cell as soon as she moved the bars.

"Take this." The woman slipped a length of rope into his palm, keeping hold of one end.

Torsten looped it twice around his hand, the rope digging in. Then he passed it back to his sister. As he followed the robed figure into the darkness, he counted the steps and the turns. If he got out of this mess, he wanted to remember where everything was.

He couldn’t wait to see Rell again. This time he wouldn't leave her. He needed one more chance to convince her to come with them. She didn't have to give up her faith. She just needed to learn to trust people.

They walked silently in the darkness for what seemed like an eternity. It was obvious the woman had lived underground for a very long time. She navigated the twists and turns without a hint of light. She paused, then made an abrupt left. She yanked on the rope, pulling Torsten into a pod behind her. Leila stumbled behind him, and Andessa let out a quiet “Oof!”

A lock clicked behind him. A torch sprang to life. The woman lowered the hood from her head and pulled off a long, braided wig. Torsten was greeted by a shock of bright blue hair.

"I couldn't get you in here without lying to you. For that, I'm sorry. I haven’t seen Rell. I only listened in on the rumors. But when I realized you were the defenders who’d been sent to find the Key, I had to rescue you. You should be aboveground with your people."

“There are others alive?” Leila smiled. “Where?”

“In the tower. They’re hiding there for now. The ground is crawling with aliens. Things I’ve never seen. Huge rock formations moving of their own volition with scaled beasts on leashes.

She flopped down in a chair in the far corner. "My name is Renata. I met Rell above, and I changed her from a buried girl to a grounder woman."

A million questions flooded Torsten's mind, but only one was important enough to ask first. "Where's Rell?"

"I don't know," Renata said. "I was hoping you could tell me about the last time you saw her. I found my way back down after the dragzhi attacked the city. Somehow the buried knew you three were in the church above, and you were connected to Rell, but beyond that, no one has said anything I didn’t already know."

"Wait." Torsten held up a hand. "When they brought us down here, they said Rell had told them about us."

Renata shook her head. "It can't be true. Rell hasn't been seen since she left."

Torsten's hands formed into fists. "I need to find Rell. Something happened—it was an accident—and I'm worried about her. I left her behind because I thought she needed time. But then we were brought here, and if she went aboveground to find me, she's all alone."

"Calm down. We'll find her. Where did you see her last?" Renata asked.

Torsten hesitated. He didn't know if he could trust this woman. "Can you help my sister and her friend escape first?”

Renata nodded. "We need to get away quickly. It's better in the dark, where hopefully no one will see us."

"Why did they take us from above only to imprison us?" Andessa asked. "Why not leave us to die up there?"

"Oh no," Leila said, her hand clenching her stomach.

"Are you sick?" Torsten asked.

Leila answered by vomiting. She sank to her knees, vomiting again. Andessa leaned over, rubbing Leila's back.

"They need you for the ritual," Renata said, her eyes locked on Leila. "And she will be first."

"Ritual?" Torsten asked. Then he remembered something Rell had told them. "The volcano. They mean to sacrifice us to it?"

"Did they feed you?"

Torsten nodded.

"And what did she have?" Renata nodded at Leila.

"She had the meat," Andessa said. "We were going to share it, but then I decided I didn't want any."

"It was poisoned. Soon, she will fall into a deep sleep. They will carry her to the volcano and then awaken her with a spicy scent. She will hallucinate, and then she will walk into the volcano in search of a false image beckoning her. It is a kind way to sacrifice."

Leila flung her hair back and glared at Renata. "There is nothing kind about it."

Renata shrugged. "Better to go in willingly, than to be knocked in."

None of the three responded, Mellok's death still on their minds.

"What if I don't go into the volcano? Will I die from the poison anyway?" Leila rushed the words out before retching again.

"No. You'll have a very strange reality for a few hours, and your memories will be hazy. You won't die." Renata's nose wrinkled as the sharp smell of sick wafted through the room. "I need to get the three of you out of here. I can get you aboveground. There are others who survived. You should be with them. Not down here."

"I agree," Andessa said. "Get us out of this place as fast as you can. I don't want any of these sicko robed freaks sacrificing Leila to the volcano."

"Neither do I," Torsten said. "Take them, please."

"Them?" Andessa planted her hands on her hips. "You're coming, too."

"I am," Torsten said, "but first I need to find Rell. I have to give her one more chance to come with us."

Andessa rolled her eyes.

"Tor, I can trust you, but not Rell. Not again. Even if Mellok’s death was an accident," Leila said before she leaned over, losing more of her dinner to the floor. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Take this." Renata thrust the robe and the wig at Torsten. "I'll lead them above. Then I'll come back for you and Rell. We can meet here. It's an old, abandoned pod. They won't look here. Just hurry, because once they realize you're gone, they will begin searching, and trust me, you don't want to be found. They will kill you, and it will be painful. Leila would have been lucky to die, drugged, in the volcano. They won't be so kind to you."

Torsten shrugged into the robe, pulling the wig over his hair. The heavy braid tugged his head backward. Torsten regained his balance, drawing his neck forward to keep the braid from yanking him again.

"Get them out of here," Torsten said to Renata. "I'll find Rell. I kept track of all the turns we made down here. I think I know how to get to the volcano."

"Tor," Leila said weakly, "be careful. Don’t be so blinded by your feelings that you lose track of what’s right."

"I won’t." Torsten watched Leila slowly pull herself to standing. He gave his sister a gentle hug. “I'll see you soon."

The three women left, and Torsten followed them out. They turned left and he went right. Torsten laid his fingertips on the dirt-caked wall and began his trek. He counted each step, each passageway, as he made his way back to the volcano, where he hoped he'd find Rell waiting for him.