Attack on Phoenix (13 page)

Rell sat on the ground long after Torsten left. Part of her wanted to chase after him, but another part ordered herself to stay put. She cried silent tears until her eyes were as dry as the desert sand above the caverns. She ignored exhaustion and hunger as the hours wore on.

With her arms wrapped around her knees, Rell wouldn't take her eyes off the ledge leading to the volcano. The place where Mellok had fallen. Where he had died. At her hand.

A tortured laugh bubbled out of her throat, choking her. She stayed where she was, not because the gods urged her to do so. No, she stayed because she knew, beyond a doubt, if she were to follow Torsten he would also end up dead. She couldn't stomach it. Not after how kindly he'd treated her.

Rell held her hands out in front of her and studied them. A light flickered, then sputtered to life. The flame danced between her palms. Yellow, orange, and red melded into each other and broke free again. Mesmerized, Rell watched her magic ebb and flow. Magic. Funny she thought of it that way. Magic was an antiquated term from Earth used to describe anything humans didn’t understand. Like a dancing ball of fire in her hands. But she knew it wasn’t magic.

It was her secret, the one thing proving the gods were real and she was special to them. No one else could do what she could. She'd asked others once. Their strange looks said her experience was unique. She kept it to herself after that day. And the guard didn't bring it up. Why he remained silent, Rell didn't know.

But from that day on, she knew she had been chosen for something important. The gods had given her a gift. So far, it had only brought pain and destruction, despite all of her efforts to do the right thing. She followed the teachings of the Menelewen Dored. She prayed six times a day. She offered all she had, and yet she hadn't learned how to use her gift for good.

If Rell couldn't harness her power, she couldn't be around anyone she cared about. Not again. She would live as a hermit in the tunnels. She'd steal food from the stores and wash in puddles.

Perhaps that was her destiny all along.

Rocks scrabbled outside the cavern. Rell clambered to her feet, running and hiding in a cleft in the wall. Her heart pounded. She swallowed her annoyance. Torsten had come back after all. She would do her best to pretend she'd left. Maybe then he would give up on her.

As the footsteps approached, she heard two people talking, their voices hushed and furtive. It wasn’t Torsten! Rell's brow wrinkled as she strained to hear their conversation.

"They were aboveground in the church. Someone brought them down. It's been almost a year since the last sacrifice. Better them than our own people." The first voice, deep, a man's, was slow and sure.

The second voice was higher, more melodious, and familiar to Rell. Her mother. "The attack above may have had little to do with us."

"They are looking for the Key," he said. "You know as well as I do. If we sacrifice to the volcano, it will assure our protection. The dragzhi haven't breached our safeguards, yet. I believe the sacrifice is why. The council—"

"Are fools," Rell's mother interrupted. "Stop talking about them as if you believe the lies they sputter."

Rell closed her eyes. Her own mother didn't believe? Then why did she live underground? Why didn't she leave? Why had she subjected Rell to years of ridicule over her unworthiness? Her heart hung heavy in her chest. She thought she had understood Torsten's confusion over finding his mother in the spaceship. Now, she knew exactly how he felt.

"We must keep the Key safe," the man said, his voice insistent. "You know as well as I do the Menelewen Dored only tolerate us because they are looking for the Key. If they should find it..."

"Then we're all in danger. I know." Her mother's answer was muffled by the sound of pacing over the dirt floor. "I positioned Rell to be sent away for a reason. I didn't think she'd come back."

Her mother was the reason she'd left? But the council said it was the gods' will.

"You had to protect her." The man's voice was gentle.

The more they spoke, the less their words made sense.

"I love Rell, but she is the secret we must hide."

"Kennor would be proud. He loved that girl so much," the man said.

Grief bloomed in Rell's throat at the mention of her father.

"He would, and he wouldn't have sent her away as I did. He would have kept her close. It was foolhardy. The council would have realized the thing they sought was right under their noses the whole time. Kennor was weak where Rell was concerned. It was his insecurity about her biological father. He always wished she was his,” her mother said.

Her father, Kennor, wasn’t her biological father? Then who was? And why hide it? Rell considered leaping out of the cleft to confront them. But she remained hidden. If her mother hadn’t told her any of this before, it was likely she’d dismiss demands for answers now.

"The Key must be kept safe at all costs," he said.

"I agree. But those fools, those grounders, don't need to be brought down here. It'll only cause trouble. It's been a very long time since we've taken grounders captive. Even then it was only to bring them over to our cause. The council may question our motives."

"We can't have them up there talking about Rell. Rumors will spread." His voice became more insistent, almost angry.

Rell still didn't understand what made her so special to them.

"They will never guess. Rell herself doesn't even know. I've made sure of that. I had to break the girl down, instill fervent faith in her, let her think everything good about her came from the Menelewen Dored. If she knew the truth, she'd never believe in them again..."

A loud rumble from the volcano interrupted the speakers.

"Come, Ticia,” the man said. “Let me hold your hand for a moment. Kiss your lips. We can't be together in the pod, but here..."

Their voices stopped. Rell wrinkled her nose at the kissing sounds.

Torsten had been right all along. Her belief in the gods had been false. It was only a manipulation by her mother. And the man she’d loved so much, whom Rell had believed was her father, wasn’t really. Maybe it was the man who was with her mother now. Acid burned in her throat.

"Let's get back before we're missed," the man said.

Their footsteps grew softer as they moved out of the cavern.

Rell ran from the cleft, emptying her stomach into the volcano.

It was all a lie. Her whole life was a carefully constructed story. Anger burned in her chest.

Had her father known the secret they withheld from her? Rell had another reason to regret killing the one person who had loved her, even if he wasn’t her biological father. He may have had secrets he would have one day told her. Answers to questions she'd never thought to ask until this moment.

Now she was flooded with them. So many her head hurt.

Then she remembered what they’d said about the defenders. Torsten! They were going to sacrifice him to the volcano. Her mother wanted them out of Rell's life. She wanted them dead.

All to protect their secret. Rell steeled her fists at her sides. She had to learn the truth. No matter what they were hiding, she needed answers.

For now she would have to pretend she knew nothing.

Rell stood at the volcano's edge. Her eyes closed, she started to say a prayer—then stopped.

It wasn't real. The Menelewen Dored didn’t exist.

The fear holding her in a tight grasp her entire life slowly melted away by the heat of the volcano's lava. The basis for her faith had been a fraud.

Rell waited a while longer, not wanting to be discovered in the tunnels. She stared at the lava, watching it bubble and roil, matching the feeling inside her stomach. Then she turned on one heel and stalked out of the cavern.

Another set of scrabbling feet approached. Since when was this cavern so popular? Rell flattened herself against the wall, trying to disappear into the darkness. Whoever was coming didn't have a torch. They were just as blind as she was.

"Rell?" a voice yelled as it ran past her, bursting into the cavern.

Rell stepped out from behind him. Instead of Torsten, she saw someone in a long, white robe with a braid down to their ankles. “Torsten?”

He jumped, spinning around.

Rell ran toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck. It felt good, right, to touch him. She'd yearned for the gods to give her permission. Now, she would give herself permission.

Torsten stood as still as a statue, his back stiff.

"It's okay," she whispered in his ear. "You can hug me back."

A moment later, tentative arms wrapped around her waist. Torsten pulled her closer. She could feel his heart beating against hers.

"You're okay?" he asked, his voice muffled in her hair.

Rell pulled out of the embrace. "I am. I think." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Something happened... did you pass two people in the tunnels?"

Torsten threw the wig on the ground, and wrestled his way out of the robe. "I hid in an adjoining passageway when I heard them coming. They were so quiet. For a moment, I thought they'd caught me, but they didn't. After they were gone, I made my way here. I was afraid." He looked down at her, his brown eyes wide. "I was afraid for you."

"I'm okay. Really. Those two were in here talking. None of what I heard makes sense." She reached up, her hand resting on Torsten's cheek. "But they did change how I feel about the gods."

Torsten's face softened. "Rell, you are who you are. I respect you and your faith."

She knew he meant it. Torsten had never tried to stop her beliefs, only get her to see his side and respect it, too. "Thank you."

Now she wasn't even sure what she believed. Her faith had brought her hope when she'd needed it. Comfort when she missed her father. To lose all of that would be devastating. And yet... was any of it real to begin with?

"I need to tell you something." Rell grabbed Torsten's hands, leading him over to a nearby rock. She pushed him gently, urging him to sit. "There's a secret they're keeping about me. I don't know what it is, but I need to find out. It has something to do with my father and the Key. Will you help me?"

Torsten shifted on the uncomfortable rock. "We need to get to safety. Renata is waiting for us. She's going to take us aboveground so we can escape your people. The buried want to kill us."

Rell bit her lip. She wanted to know what her mother had been keeping from her. But Torsten would be in danger every moment underground. She couldn't subject him to that. It would be too selfish. She'd lived eighteen years without knowing the truth. A little longer wouldn't hurt.

"Do you think anyone is alive above?" she asked.

He nodded. "Renata said there were pockets of survivors. If we can get to them, we have a chance of making it, too. I want to get back to the tower. If there are answers to be found, the military will have them. The dragzhi may have attacked. They may have burned our city, but if Renata speaks the truth, we may still have a chance at survival."

"Are there ships that can take us into space?" Rell asked. "Can we get up to the dragzhi? Find out why they have people aboard their ships, working with them?" She thought of Torsten's mother, and of Fortina, who had brought them their wretched food.

"We have quite a few unanswered questions," Torsten said. "I think it's time we demand answers. Our survival depends on it."

Rell smiled. She would go aboveground with him. Once they were safe, she could confront her own people. Now, she only needed one answer from him. "Why did you come back?"

That crooked smile of his appeared. "I couldn't leave you behind. I know I told you I'd wait for you in the church. When you didn't show, I had to try one more time. Your people just happened to take us hostage and bring me closer to you." Torsten's thumb feathered over her skin.

She looked at his lips, wondering what it would feel like when they did eventually kiss. Rell bit her lip. "We need to go. Get to Renata."

Torsten stood. "I'm ready. Are you?"

Rell nodded. She slipped her hand into his. Finally, she was ready. It was time to see how many others had survived the dragzhi attack.

Torsten left his disguise stuffed in the crevice Rell had been hiding in, and they crept into the dark tunnels. Rell's fingers brushed Torsten's. Touching him didn’t make the walls and ceiling crumble. Nor had it made the volcano erupt, drowning them in fire. She shook her head, annoyed at her naiveté.

Rell had believed what her mother and the others around them had told her, to the point of fearing everything that went against their teachings. Why hadn't she noticed others didn't follow all the teachings and were fine? They mated, and it didn't kill them.

It was an uneventful trip through the tunnels. They'd expected trouble, but found none. Torsten shut the door to the abandoned pod behind them. She sank to the ground.

"Now we wait," Torsten said. "Renata told me she'd get the girls to safety with the other survivors aboveground. Then she'd come back for us."

Rell rubbed her forehead. "And what if she doesn't come back?"

"She will," Torsten said. "She has to. Renata said the survivors are hiding in the tower, but I don’t know where the dragzhi are. We can't go without her."

"And on the off chance she doesn't return?" Rell didn't enjoy pressing him. His crinkled nose told her he didn't like it either. She had to ask, though. They'd be safer if they considered all possibilities.

"If she doesn't show, we have to make a decision. Stay here and face your people, or take our chances with the dragzhi." Torsten sat next to her, keeping a respectable distance.

“Can you tell me more about the aliens we’re fighting? I know they have been trying to kill us for decades, but I’ve never seen one. Have you?” Rell asked.

Torsten rubbed his temples. “I haven’t seen one, but I have read about them. The dragzhi take on two forms.”

“Male and female? Like us?”

“No. Two physical forms. One is liquid, and the other is rock. Despite finding a crashed dragzhi ship years ago in the desert, we have never captured a specimen, living or dead. The little we know was gleaned from intelligence gathered during battles in space.” Torsten pulled down on his tunic.

“I guess we’re about to learn more,” Rell said with a nervous laugh.

They spoke quietly about what had happened in the cavern. Mellok's death. Rell's hand in it, and her shame at killing him. She told Torsten what she'd overheard while hiding in the cleft. She told him she'd attempt to keep an open mind about her religion, though she hadn't abandoned her belief in the gods. Perhaps adjusted her expectations.

He seemed to understand, nodding at all the right places and uttering an occasional comforting noise. Rell had never confided so much of herself to another. It felt good, like a weight she hadn't even been aware she'd been carrying had been lifted from her heart.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Renata barged in, closed it behind her, and sank to the floor. Her mouth slack, she whispered something Rell couldn't understand.

"What?" Rell moved closer to Renata. The woman's chest was rising and falling, her ragged breaths coming in rapid succession.

"Run." Renata sputtered it out. Her eyes closed, and she slumped down.

Torsten jumped to his feet. He grabbed Renata's shoulders, pulling her toward him. A gaping wound wept blood from her back, falling in a light waterfall to the floor.

Rell gasped. Torsten gently laid Renata to the side. "She's gone," he said. "We should do what she said. Let's go."

"But who killed her?" Rell asked. "My people or the dragzhi? Where do we run to?"

"My sister." Torsten stared into Rell's eyes. "Is there anyone here you want to see? If not, I need to find Leila."

Rell didn't even need to think about his question. "Then, let's go." She opened the door and stuck her head out. No noise. No movement. She gestured for Torsten to follow. They crept down the dark tunnel.

Rell knew many entrances to the world above them. Three immediately came to mind. The first was the tunnel she'd used to enter Renata's home. The second was the church where she’d found Torsten. And the third place her father had taken her to see the stars when she was a child.

Rell chose the third. The first was too close to the active pods. As a child, she had wondered why her father had taken her to an exit so far from their pod. Now she knew. He was trying to avoid detection.

She didn't need to see to know where she was going. In the years following her father’s death, Rell had found comfort in the tunnel. She'd often snuck out of her pod during sleeping cycles to sit in the dark tunnel. Somehow it had made her feel closer to him, as if she might be able to bring him back from the dead if she wished hard enough.

Torsten followed, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. As they ran through the darkness, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over Rell. Her whole life, she'd believed she was under the protection of the gods as long as she followed their rules. Now, knowing she had been manipulated, Rell felt lost. She had no one to protect her. Just herself. And Torsten. Though she knew, and understood, his sister would always come first. Family was all they had.

Now that his mother was alive and her allegiances unknown, Torsten would protect Leila not only from the world, but possibly also her own mother. Rell cursed herself for dominating the conversation while they hid in the pod. Torsten had problems, too. Instead, she'd allowed her worries, her story, to tumble from her lips the whole time.

Rell's fingers brushed the wall, her fingertips crusted with dirt as they bumped over roots. The sweet smell of wet earth permeated the air. There was a waterfall at this entrance. The walls swelled with moisture.

She took two more turns, then stopped. "We made it." Rell's hands fumbled over the dirt until she found the hole in the wall. Sticking her hand in, she grasped the wheel, turning it. The wall moved to the side, revealing a set of stairs carved into the earth, dimly lit by rays of light from aboveground. Rell pulled Torsten through the entrance and closed the wall behind them.

She held out a hand, and a ball of light sprang to life. "I didn't want to do this in the tunnel for fear someone would see us."

"I think it's best you extinguish it when we get to the surface. We still don't know who killed Renata, or why." Torsten peered up to the top of the stairs. "Where does this emerge?"

Rell closed her eyes, pushing away the memories. Her father's arms around her as he climbed the steps, bouncing her on his hip. She had been so excited to see the stars. When the lights in the dark night sky winked at her, Rell wanted nothing more than to burst into space. She'd promised herself one day she'd find herself among the stars.

Then she had, however briefly, with Torsten. Knowing she might go there again left a lump in her throat. The dragzhi ship hadn't been the fantasy she'd spent many nights dreaming of. They'd almost died, and no one had thought to save them before abandoning ship.

"We'll come out underneath a waterfall," Rell said. "As we get closer to the top, you'll hear the rushing of the water. It sounds like thunder, but a thousand times louder."

Rell took the first stride, heading up the stairs without hesitation. The closer they got to the top, the wetter the carved steps became. Rell's boots squished and sank into the moist ground, and she pushed on harder until she reached the surface.

Mist sprayed her face as Torsten pulled up next to her. "Do you know where we are in relation to Hadar?" he asked.

"We're just to the east. The tower isn't far from here." Rell's eyes landed on boot prints in the mud. "Look." She pointed.

Torsten knelt down, examining them. "Looks like three sets headed away from here. Do you think this is where Renata brought Leila and Andessa?"

Rell looked to the left. "There's another set coming toward us. I think this is where they emerged." She smiled. "We're lucky. We just have to follow the prints."

"I hope it's that easy," Torsten said, a grimace on his face.

"It won't be." Rell pointed to a dark maroon spot next to the boot print. "Blood."

"This means whoever killed Renata is out here." The color drained from Torsten's face as he straightened out his tunic.

Rell rested a hand on his arm. "You have to believe Leila is alive. We'll find her. And Andessa."

"Is that a promise?" Torsten asked.

"It's a wish," Rell said. "I'm good at making them."

"And how often do they come true?" Torsten asked.

Rell swallowed the lump in her throat, thinking of her father and all the times she'd wished she hadn't killed him.

"It's okay." Torsten attempted a smile. "We're going to do our best to find them. Alive."

"We need to stay alive, too," Rell said. "Let me take a look on the other side of the waterfall."

"No." Torsten stepped in front of her. "I'm going to do it."

Rell planted her hands on her hips. "I'm perfectly capable of scouting ahead."

Torsten pointed to her hair. "And your hair is pink. You'll stand out. Mine is brown, I'll blend in with the surroundings."

Rell opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. Torsten walked away, skirting the rock behind them as he got closer to the side of the falls. Then he disappeared between the water and the wall.

Rell bit her lip, waiting. She tapped her foot and paced as she waited for Torsten's return. Giving up, Rell stalked to the edge of the falls. Just as she was about to put a foot through the water, Torsten came flying through the falls, crashing into her. They fell backward. Torsten wrapped his arms around Rell's head, softening the blow when they hit the ground.

Rell opened her mouth to protest, but Torsten's hand was over her lips.

"Shh," he whispered in her ear.

Rell nodded. Torsten slowly unwrapped himself from her body. They sat side by side on the ground. The wetness pooled under Rell's leather pants, but didn't permeate the smooth fabric. Torsten's pants, however, were soaked. That wasn't what concerned her, though.

Torsten stared at the falls, his eyes locked on the water, and his shoulders tense. She wanted to know what he'd been running from. Instead, she waited silently, knowing he'd tell her when he could.

Her hand found its way into his, and Torsten squeezed her fingers so hard she thought they might bruise. Finally, his grasp relaxed. Their hands fell away from each other.

Torsten stood, brushing off his pants. He turned to Rell, who was still on the ground. "I don't think they saw me."

"Who?" she asked, standing.

Torsten looked over his shoulder at the falls. The water fell in regular lines, a barrier between them and whatever lurked on the other side.

"The dragzhi. They're everywhere, searching in the bush. They're hunting," he said.

She didn't have to say it. They both knew. The dragzhi were coming for them. It was either back down to the buried, or stay and face the aliens who had wiped out Hadar in one day.