The room spun and its windowless walls seemed to close in on him. He took a step backwards.
Shai's footsteps sounded on the stones as she approached him. "Aliah, you don't look well. You should go lie down." She pulled on his sleeve.
He walked slowly to the door with her then stopped, and put the lantern back on the table. With one hand still on the door he put his other hand on her back and pulled her to him.
He kissed her forehead then pushed her away. She stumbled backwards a few steps looking surprised. He moved into the hall, then swallowing past the lump in his throat, he shut the door and locked it. He couldn't risk that she might leave while he was gone.
"I have to keep you safe...I'm sorry." His hoarse whisper punctured the silent hall. Heat flooded his chest as he ran.
Her cries echoed down the hall after him.
CHAPTER 21
Shai
Aliah's footsteps thundered down the hall then faded. Shai's stomach churned and her head ached. She pulled on the door handle, twisting it back and forth then kicked the door. Burning pain seared her throat from screaming his name over and over.
After several attempts to break open the door, she looked around the room at its sparse furnishings: a large bed near the door, a low wooden table beside it, the lantern Aliah had carried in, a metal bucket near the bed, and a willow rocking chair tucked into a corner by the fireplace at the opposite end of the room.
The long, narrow room felt more like a meeting hall, not a bedroom, which made the furnishings seem out of place.
Tremors seized her and made the room tilt and spin, so Shai made her way to the bed to sit down. She shivered as cold waves of fear washed over her. Thoughts of Eliana and Sileas crowded into her mind, but she pushed them away. Eliana was right. Strong emotions led to dangerous behavior.
Her stomach cramped and rumbled violently. What if Aliah left her here for good? She'd die all alone. She could almost feel the icy kiss of Death on her skin. Its poison oozing into her bloodstream and taking over every cell, every organ. Crushing the life out of her.
Fear robbed her of breath. She slid off the bed and dropped to her knees then retched into the metal bucket until her stomach emptied. She shook and shivered, weakness stealing strength from every limb until she slumped into a heap on the cold floor.
A soft knock on the door startled her and she nearly tipped the bucket. Zev entered without waiting for her invitation. He carried a small plate and a pitcher, which he put on the low table near her. She sat up as he began to back out of the room. Her eyes met his. He stopped and crouched next to her. His fine-featured face held no expression. Large grey eyes flecked with the same color as his hair, looked steadily at her. He was thin and wiry but she could make out the bulge of his muscles beneath his tunic. He looked similar in age as her.
She touched his hand. "Please, let me go. Aliah never meant to lock me in here. He hasn't been acting right. It's a mistake."
Zev stood and narrowed his eyes. "My assignment is to watch you."
She threw herself towards him as he backed out the door, but he slammed it before she reached him. No! Please! When the sound of his boots on the stone floor could no longer be heard, loneliness crawled up her stomach and into her throat. She was sick again in the bucket, the bitter taste of bile burned her mouth and throat.
She pushed the vile bucket away then eased herself up onto the bed again. A shiver prickled her skin. She looked around for something to start a fire. A scratchy brown blanket from the foot of the bed would keep her warm for now. She wrapped it around herself before making her way to the fireplace.
This end of the room was similar to the other side with its high ceilings and smooth, stone floors. A small mantel protruded over the arched fireplace on one wall. The hearth and mantel were a darker, smoother stone than the walls and the fireplace. Using the lantern light she inspected the area for kindling and matches, but came up empty-handed. The fireplace was empty too except for a metal grate; even the ashes had been swept up.
She sat down cross-legged in front of the fireplace with the lantern in front of her. Now what? It really seemed she would be stuck in this room. She wished she had her pendant right now; she'd empty it herself and let Death come for her. In a way she envied Sileas.
The lantern's flame flickered and danced, casting its lazy light into the dark recesses of the fireplace.
Suddenly the lantern sputtered, scattering the shadows. Plunging the room into total darkness.
CHAPTER 22
Aliah
When he reached Lael, the pale sun had set and there was no time to try and break into the vault to get Shai's pendant. That would have to wait until after the raid.
The group of hooded Watchers that had gathered at Lael's fence-line extinguished their torches when Aliah and Ellersly arrived. A tall figure stepped forward. His hood concealed his face like the others, but the moonlight caught a glint of silver at his throat. He wore a thick chain full of empty pendants: his trophies. It’s Akan. Samael’s right-hand man. Aliah’s stomach clenched. Why is he joining our group tonight? He pushed the unsettling knot of fear aside.
Something else bothered him. When did Samael become the Leader? Was Zev right when he said Elchai was dead? The thought that Aliah could've been working for the ruler of Death all along made him shudder. No. Samael's message was to bring Shai to him and not to Elchai. Elchai must still be alive. He bit the flesh on the inside of his lip. Aliah realized Akan was giving instructions.
"Tonight we raid the West quarter. Go in pairs. Take a sack for your goods and meet back here at the signal." His voice barely rose above a whisper.
A small voice asked, "What's the signal, sir?" A pale kid with orange hair, who was barely thirteen, leaned against the fence. Aliah recognized him as Sol from the last Reading.
Akan turned and walked through the cut portion in the fence. He spoke to Sol over his shoulder. "The signal isn't relevant for you, kid. My orders are to leave you in the Borderless overnight."
Someone poked Aliah in the back as everyone moved through the cut in the fence into the Borderless beyond.
"Poor kid. I guess he's not recruited, just receiving punishment." A soft voice said in his ear.
Aliah looked down into a dark face with even darker eyes. He smiled and shook his head.
"Yeah, Rhys. After this he'll probably never want to be recruited." Aliah kept his tone even, hiding the apprehension gnawing at his stomach.
"Well, I'll keep my eye on him,” Rhys said. “See that he stays behind when we come back and doesn't try to follow us. If we don't enforce the Laws and follow up with punishment, what good are we?" Rhys ran ahead leaving Ellersly and Aliah to catch up.
The path the Watchers took wound through the dense woods of the Borderless. Every so often the hooded group would cut across a campsite occupied by the Borderless people, huddled around a fire. Sad eyes set in sunken faces stared at the Watchers as they passed. The homeless wanderers posed no threat to Aliah and his group since they were the aged, the frail, and law-breakers exiled from Lael. Minds fractured by fear and years of pain, they only waited for Death. Some even poured the Essence out of their own pendants before the Watchers came. Most sat shivering under a tree, waiting for Death. Aliah turned his face away. These were his mother's people, and now they were Eliana's.
Akan's bird call signaled the group to stop. Three of the Borderless sat in a semi-circle around a small fire passing a rusty can around. The one closest to Aliah sat with her legs crossed, a grey Laelite blanket around her head and shoulders. She pushed a stick into the can, scooped some mush onto the end of it then nibbled at it, her eyes flicking to Aliah's. The two others stared into the fire with flat expressions. She set the can on the ground then folded her hands in her lap.
Every muscle in Aliah's body tensed as Akan left the front of the line and walked back. He pointed at the Borderless woman.
"You! Hand over that Laelite property. The blanket and the pendant." The
flames mirrored in Akan's dark eyes danced, making him appear more sinister. The rest of his face remained hidden in the shadow of his hood.
The woman glanced at Aliah again before looking back into the fire. She didn't move. Why is she refusing? A shudder rippled along Aliah's back. She didn't know what Akan was capable of. He stepped between Akan and the woman then slapped her face with the back of his hand. His knuckles stung with the contact. The woman gasped and fell sideways, her hand holding her cheek.
Akan laughed. "You want the trophy, Ace? She's all yours."
Aliah grimaced at Akan's nickname for him. Aliah ripped the chain from the woman's neck as she cowered on the ground. Her eyes fixed on his. He stared at her until she looked away. If she didn't appear submissive Akan would kill her. He popped the top off her silver pendant and tipped it into his palm, keeping his thumb over the opening without anyone noticing. He made a display of blowing on his hand while the woman, still her holding her face, whimpered on the ground.
Akan laughed again then signaled the group to move forward. Aliah hung back. When the Watchers were out of earshot he shoved the woman with the toe of his boot. She looked up at him.
"Eliana, hide that blanket. And don't stay so close to the larger camps next time. You're right in the Watcher's pathway. I wanted to tell you that Shai is… she’s okay. She’s safe."
Eliana sat up and took her hand from her face, revealing a red wheal. He pocketed her necklace and pulled the hood away from his face a little. Her eyes widened and she nodded. The other two, a man and a woman, never moved.
"And… sorry about all that." His voice cracked. He turned and ran to catch up with his group.
CHAPTER 23
Shai
She had no idea how long she had been laying in the dark. How dare Aliah abandon her in this room with no fire and only a few hours-worth of lantern fuel.
With her hands stretched out in front of her she had criss-crossed the room over and over trying to discover a use for the key Remiel had given her. Now it seemed silly to waste her energy.
She had long since stopped straining to hear the sound of someone in the hallway.
Had she been there for a few days or just a few hours? The bread and cheese on her plate had gone hard long ago but she had eaten them anyway. She had sipped at the water in the pitcher, but it now stood empty. The metal bucket overflowed with fetid waste, but with nothing in her stomach now, her bladder and bowels were empty. She sucked at the blood seeping from her cracked lips but it was never enough to moisten her mouth and throat.
She slid her legs over the edge of the bed and stood. Her head pulsated with pain and she stumbled as she tried to take a step. If she held her hands out in front of her she could make her way over to the door without crashing into anything. When her fingers found the smooth wood she pressed her face against the door and inhaled the pungent scent of the oil rub. She scratched at the door with her fingernails only to hear the sound it made. Anything to break the silence that was so heavy it threatened to crush her.
Dizziness washed over her and she swayed; her fingers slipped against the cold metal doorknob and she fell. The floor jarred everything in her body and something pricked her thigh. She pulled it out of her flesh and threw it across the room in fury.
Ping ping ping. It bounced along the stone floor. Such a pretty sound. Soft and metallic. She scrambled after it, sliding her hands along the floor until she found it. She closed her fingers around it. A bent nail. She tossed it again, listening for its metallic ping then scooted around until she found it again.
She played her new game to keep her mind from breaking. Warding off the threat of madness that gripped her throat, choked off her breath, and fogged her mind. Hours melted into each other until time seemed meaningless. Every second felt like eternity.
Footsteps echoed in the hall. She scooted over to the wall near the door and pressed her back against the cool stones, the nail between her fingers. When the door opened the smell of warm bread filled Shai's nose.
In the light spilling from the slightly open door, she saw Zev enter, carrying a plate and a lantern. He set the plate on the table then turned back toward the door. Shai's heartbeat pulsed rapidly in her neck making her feel light-headed. She curled her toes in her boots and lunged at Zev as he passed. She jammed the nail into him until she felt it pierce his flesh with a slight pop. He yelled and twisted, trying to throw her off his back. She pushed the nail in further with a twist and he dropped to his knees.
She snatched the piece of warm bread from the plate and ran, weaving and wobbling down the hall. It wasn't until she was outside the Manor that she realized she didn't know where she was going.
The moonlight slanted through the trees and illuminated a path that wound behind the Manor and disappeared through the woods. She ran across the yard and through the trees. Her ears ached in the wind and her lungs burned, but the crisp air revived her. She reached a fence-line and stopped to lean against it, chest heaving. Only then did she realize her right hand was sticky and wet with Zev's blood.
CHAPTER 24
Aliah
Adrenaline pumped into Aliah's blood. The Borderless camp Akan had chosen for the raid was more permanent than most. Where most camps had temporary dwellings, this one had houses built with bricks, wood, and stone. They had never been on a raid to a place like this before. It seemed more like Lael than he cared to acknowledge. He needed to focus on what mattered: completing the assignment and getting out. He could worry about his personal convictions later.
His fingertips tingled, his heart thundered in his chest. Darting in and out of shadows he ran with Ellersly. They separated and Aliah crouched behind a rain barrel and gave Ellersly a thumbs up. No movement in the streets or outbuildings except for the other Watchers, crouching and sneaking.
Smoke curled from the chimneys of the houses, their brightly colored doors glowed in the pale light of the moon. The contrast between here and Lael was obvious just by the use of color: green fences, orange houses with blue roofs, and multi-colored flowers lined the walkways.
Laughter poured into the streets from inside the yellow house that Aliah pressed himself against. Across the street, the purple door of a rectangular wooden building opened and a young woman stepped outside, her slender body a silhouette against the open door. She balanced a basket of laundry on her hip and paused, her face turned up to the sky.
Aliah caught Ellersly's eye and shook his head. Ellersly had crawled along the side of the building, marked ‘Wash House’ and would've collided with the girl if he had come around the corner. Ellersly ducked behind a stack of split firewood. The young woman walked to a green house next door and disappeared inside. Aliah nodded and Ellersly entered the Wash House. It would be good to have a few new linens to replace Lael's old patched-up and threadbare ones.
He waited for several minutes; his back began to ache from pushing against the wood siding. What was taking Ell so long? He looked up and down the street then ran across and darted inside the Wash House. Ellersly was shoving a fistful of white socks into his burlap sack.
"C'mon, Ell. I saw their Supply House on the way here where we can get lanterns and fuel before Akan gives the signal."
The door opened behind Aliah and Ellersly's face flushed crimson in the lantern light. His hood had twisted in his haste to grab linens; he yanked it down.
Aliah spun around. The same young woman stood with the empty basket against her hip. She frowned then caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Long dark hair hung to her waist in a single braid. She set the basket on a counter beside a large washtub and leaned against the door frame. Eyes the color of celery framed in dark lashes glanced from Aliah to Ellersly then back again.
"Why don't you just ask, boys?" Her voice betrayed no fear. She grabbed the basket and shoved it at Aliah, narrowing her eyes. He grabbed her wrist with one hand and handed the basket to Ellersly with the other. The girl blanched momentarily then recovered.
"You W
atchers don't scare me. Those Laelites might be fooled by you, but our Sector knows better." She twisted out of Aliah's grasp and he noticed a letter branded into the flesh on the inside of her wrist: C.
The girl smirked. "What? Never seen a Sector brand before? The Conley Crescent." She exposed her wrist again, laughing. "Oh, right. You don't believe we exist. Well the Division of Edan is alive and well."
Aliah felt the color drain from his face. The Sectors exist? How many of them? And who was this self-assured young woman?
His mother's words from long ago echoed in his mind. Only Sector leadership branded their children on the exposed parts of their bodies: wrists, necks and even cheeks. The rest branded their children's chests or backs to keep their identities hidden.
Aliah caught Ellersly's eye. This had to be the daughter of the leadership here. They had to get out. Now. Ellersly threw his sack into the basket then pushed past Aliah and the girl.
She grabbed a stack of folded towels and flung them at Aliah as he followed Ellersly. "Next time trade for them like everyone else, Ace!"
He stopped, heart racing, but didn't turn around.
"That's what they call you, isn't it?"
He left the towels and ran to the Supply House.
CHAPTER 25
Shai
Flattened grass, broken sticks, and a partial boot-print in the mud marked the path. She travelled slowly, eating hunks of bread and keeping her eyes on the ground.
The glow of several campfires dotted the ground in the distance. The Borderless. Prickles of fear ran up her arms. She had been taught to fear them. Their empty eyes, slack jaws and hollow cheeks. The moans she heard at night, she'd been told, were the souls of the Borderless departing. The Watchers came and collected their pendants, emptying the Essence of the weak and forsaken on the ground; leaving their souls to wander aimlessly.
Shai's stomach clenched when she thought of Eliana being exiled to live here.
She retched. The last piece of bread stuck in her throat and refused to go down. She spat it out then wiped her mouth on her sleeve. It was silly to fear the unknown simply because she'd been told to. The Borderless was now her home too. She couldn't return to Lael. She pushed her shoulders back and trudged forward.