Coil of Worlds

Harto demanded, “What city are you from?”

When she didn’t answer as fast as Tave expected, the tip of his dagger pressed into her throat, and Lara felt a trickle of warmth drip down her neck.

“I’m from Areth. I’m from the city Areth.” Since Skye and she had landed in front of Areth’s gate directly from Earth, she couldn’t tell them how to reach the city, so the people were safe.

“Why were you at the Tal’Ai training school?”

She cleared her throat, jerking her body away from the weapon. Ha! As if she’d tell them the truth. “A friend and I requested a place to rest. We intended to leave the school this morning, but you attacked us.”

Tave interrupted, “Was your friend the blond-haired warrior?” An unnamed emotion from the Malirran swept down her chest, and she hesitated. Did he know Skye was from Pyran? And if he knew the features of a Pyranni, why did he not know what Kurites looked like? Granted, if they knew what Kurites looked like, she’d never be mistaken for one.

“No,” she gritted out, “the blond-haired warrior was there before I reached the school. I saw him last night at dinner, but I don’t know his name.”

“So, you do know he is a Pyranni. Why would Kurites and Pyrannis become allies? What did you overhear?”

Apparently her fear of dying a horrible death made her a liar extraordinaire. She just had to remember every word she spoke to keep her facts straight. God, if she pulled this off, she deserved an award. “I don’t know, and I didn’t ask. I make it my mission to stay away from Pyrannis. I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them.”

“What does that mean?” Harto asked with suspicion.

She flinched when the blade pushed deeper into her neck. She flicked her gaze up to look at the Malirran standing by the table and sneered. “It is a saying Kurites use. It means Pyrannis are our enemies. There is nothing any Pyranni could do to ever gain my trust. They are filth, evil.”

“The Kurites hate the Pyrannis, and Pyran hates Kureto. No wonder King Lukar invaded the kingdom of Pyran. It is ripe for conquering,” Harto muttered.

Tave grunted. Trailing his weapon up and down Lara’s face, he said, “You will tell us everything you know about your kingdom. You will tell us all about Areth, but I am more interested in Malkese. How many people live there? What are the defenses?”

Having made his point, the man stood back up to lean against the table. She scrambled for something, anything about Malkese. She squinted, mulling around an idea. What if she gave them the truth about Malkese? It might buy her some time.

“I’ve only been to Malkese once, but I don’t know that much about the city. The city’s officials arrested me and placed me on trial.”

Their surprise felt like a wave cresting and splashing down around her. Tave said, “A trial? Why were you on trial? What crime could you have committed?”

“They thought I had betrayed Kureto, but it was a misunderstanding.” Lara made certain the fear she had felt at the time of the trial flashed across her face.

“And what would happen if you were found guilty of betraying your kingdom?” Tave’s sudden interest chilled her, but she answered him anyway.

“The decision was life or death. I either lived or died on how they voted.”

With a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach, Lara realized the impetus for Tave’s question. He thought it gave her an incentive to betray Kureto for real this time. If ill-treated by the Kurites, most people would seek revenge against the authorities; however, her situation was rather unique.

She didn’t fit in with the Kurite people, looking nothing like them with her brown, curly hair and brown eyes. They looked upon her as a necessary evil. Etheme’s acknowledgement of her and Skye’s magical abilities allowed them a reprieve from death. Truth be told, the Kurites had no idea what to do with either Skye or Lara. They were the ultimate wild card.

And Lara had to agree, especially if the Lan’Ai bond ended up strengthening their magic to the extent they expected. Although the Kurite leaders recognized the need for their magic, it did not mean they accepted Skye and Lara as one of their own. Because they were both marked as outsiders by their features, most Kurites, though polite and helpful for the most part, were wary of their every move. It took hours, if not days and weeks, before their reticence disappeared.

Because of the coil, Lara was stuck on Aradun. She had met Chion, a Kurite scout, on one of her first forays into the underground nation of Kureto. Because of Skye’s bond with Eiren, the Pyranni warrior could never return home. Despite their cultural differences, the four of them had banded together, becoming close friends in the process.

Her friends. Did they survive the attack? With her captured, what did they plan to do? She had no doubt that Chion would track her down, but what about Skye and Eiren? She almost smiled. Of course, they would come for her. She’d do the same for any of them. With that knowledge, Lara’s determination grew. She’d survive in any way she must.

Days, weeks, months. It didn’t matter, for her friends would rescue her.

She returned her attention to the two men. They spoke in their own language.

“I thought you crazy for capturing a weak woman, but now I see why Semnac had you capture her.”

“Yes,” Tave grinned, looking like a wolf with a prize. “Semnac pushed at me until I ran across her fighting with Joi. The woman is a treasure find. If we do this right, she’ll turn against her own people.”

“Why not torture her for the information as we planned? She’ll tell us what we want to know. I don’t have the time to deal with her once we land. I must debrief the councilors and the king.”

A scowl was shot in her direction, and Lara hunched closer to her legs, wrapping the arm not locked to the wall around her knees. She strained to hear what they said next, though she kept her eyes downcast, staring at the knots of wood in the floorboards.

“You and I both know torture works only half the time, Captain.” Tave growled in irritation. “The men and women hold out as long as they can. When the pain becomes too much, they will beg and lie to save themselves.”

Harto walked over and ran his palm over her bowed head. “You think she will tell us what she knows.”

“If we provide her with the right incentive, yes.”

“Semnac brought her to us for a reason. A gift from the Goddess herself, unbelievable. I will not refuse Semnac’s gift. Have food and drink brought to her. Keep her chained to the wall, but do not hurt her more than necessary.”

“Your orders will be followed to the letter.”

Harto nodded, “I must change our course. We sail to Gharra.”

Stunned, Lara stayed frozen after they both left the room. This change of fortune was more than she expected. They weren’t planning on torturing her for information? How did they plan to make her change allegiance? By being nice? She snorted, eyeing the brown ooze hovering a couple of inches above her body. Although she didn’t need the ominous sign to show her their evil, it left her with no doubt about their corruption.

Her leverage, which she thanked God for right then and there, was her understanding their language. So, Lara now knew their plan, and she couldn’t find fault with their new strategy. For any other individual who had been wrongly accused and put on trial, revenge was a strong motivator.

Their destination was Gharra. Did the Malirrans already control the Pyran stronghold? What happened to the people living there?

She twitched as another thought hit her. What about Skye’s family? She hoped they still lived. Skye would carry the guilt of their deaths otherwise. It didn’t matter that he was banished from Pyran, stripped of his family and his honor because of his accidental bonding with Eiren, before the Malirrans showed up on the horizon.

She shook her head. Surely, God would never be that cruel to Skye. He had already lost so much. Although she missed her parents, Lara was now grateful they lived on Earth, safe from harm and safe from the Malirrans.

Taking her to Gharra gave her a chance—a small one. Skye had grown up and trained within the city’s walls. He knew the layout of Gharra, making it easier for him to find her. But then her hope stuttered and turned to ash. If the Malirrans had overrun the city walls, the environment inside was now that of a war-torn country. If they controlled the city, it meant Pyran’s government had fallen.

She tried to remember what happened to countries on Earth that were conquered by an invading army. Lara grimaced and rubbed her hand up and down her leg, the rough texture scratching her palm. The women and children were at the mercy of the soldiers. The Pyranni soldiers still alive after the battle were as good as dead.

Pyran was basically hell on earth. A battlefield littered with pain and despair. Forget about the ship’s evil—the dark emotions would swarm her the second they docked at port. Oh God, why did her bond with Chion give her such a useless magical ability?

She jumped when the door swung open. A bowl of food was brought to her, but the water that sloshed over the brim of the wide cup made her realize how dry her throat felt. As much as she wanted to snatch the cup out of the Malirran’s hand, Lara restrained herself. Her suspicion would sell her act.

Tave smirked and pushed the cup toward her, forcing her to grip it unless she wanted a bath. When she sniffed the cup’s contents, he chuckled. “Drink, Kurite. It is not drugged.”

“So you say. You expect me to take you at your word?”

He shrugged and said, “Drink, eat, or not. Your choice, but it is a waste of food.”

Lara stared longingly at the water, but she set the cup on the floor. Glaring at the man, she asked, “What do you want with me? Why kidnap me?”

The bowl of food slammed down onto the floor, the food jumping at the sudden movement. The slap across her face sent alarm skittering through her. He had moved so fast she didn’t see the hand coming before it hit her. Her ears rang with the sound, and pain bloomed on the right side of her head.

Tave’s loose interpretation of not injuring her was far different from Lara’s. He hit her because he could. The pleasure he derived from causing her pain sickened her. The Malirran was practically salivating at the mouth. Helpless to do anything else, she glared at him. If she ever got free, he was dead. She’d kill him herself.

“You know why we took you. You were told what would keep you alive. It is simple, really.”

In the silence that followed his statement, she fought against the rising tide of sludge beckoning her. She raised her flimsy shield, praying it would be enough to save her.

Thinking he had cowed her, Tave grunted and left the room again, though the door remained open. In a sheer act of self-preservation, she flung a mental blast of water toward the contaminated substance around her. It was nowhere near enough, but it gave her a little more breathing room.

What would help her cause the most? Eating or going hungry? After the battle and the drugs, her body needed fuel. But as much as her stomach howled, she fought a long-term battle against the Malirrans. If she yielded too soon, Tave and the ship’s captain might grow suspicious of her sudden change of heart.

Lara sighed. She hated it when she rationalized going without food. The food was out, but her body would succumb to pain and illness if she rejected the water too. Then again, drugs were more easily distributed in liquids.

With an internal growl, Lara swiped the cup off the floor and tilted the contents down her throat. With the last gulp of water, she leaned her head against the wall. God, she was thirsty. Her body required another cup—or five. Her tongue peeked out, wetting her cracked lips. Ignoring the bowl, she looked out the cabin door.

Evening painted the sky red, pink, and orange. A full day had passed, and she was still alive. As it grew darker, the men working on the ship’s deck turned into shadows. Lara determined their movements by sound alone. The ship creaked in the wind, the water rocking the ship, back and forth, side to side. The deck cleared of all but a few men when what sounded like a cowbell rang out.

When night descended, and she was left alone, some of her tension dissolved. Lara listened for the thuds of feet striking the deck and the sounds of calm, low voices. It was what eventually lulled her to sleep.