Flame (Fireborn) (22 page)

As if she senses my
thoughts, Chloris whispers, "You'll get used to it."

I'm afraid I won't
because the further we go in, the less I feel of myself. Darkness is
all around us, and my thoughts are evaporating into air. Soon I think
nothing, feel nothing, see nothing, but black shadows all around.

I don't know we've
stopped until I bump into the person in front of me. She doesn't
acknowledge what I do, so I don't say sorry. We're moving slow, and I
wonder why. Someone is handing out helmets with a light attached.
It's weak, but it's better than nothing. Putting it on, I'm grateful
when the faint beam flashes ahead. We keep walking, and I'm suddenly
glad I ate the disgusting soup from this morning because I have a
suspicion what we'll be doing in this cave is work.

We start going down on
a slope, then we walk down a flight of stairs. It's as dark as before
so I don't know if we're underground. The silence is deafening, and I
want to turn back so bad. I don't, and even though my mind is afraid,
my body isn't, and it keeps moving even when I'm too scared to. We
keep walking and walking and when we finally stop, I'm a little
breathless. I don't doubt we're miles from the cave entrance.

A pair of glowing eyes
light up a feminine face, and she stands on a chair above us. The
light on her helmet is a little brighter, and she aims it over our
heads. "
This
is what we are looking for." She holds
something small between her fingers, but no matter how my eyes strain
I can't see it. "If you are new, raise your hand and I will come
closer so you can see it." She pauses, but no hands rise.

Chloris's tail touches
my ankles, and she shakes her head.

I already know.
I'm
not dumb enough to declare myself a newbie,
I say with my eyes.
I'd be fresh meat for those bastards.

"Crystals,"
Chloris murmurs so softly I almost think I imagine it.

"This cave is
vast. This area is rich with Braxi. It should not be hard to find."
She pauses, staring hard at us. "You only have to
dig
for
it." She throws a shovel to the person in front of her, and she
falls, knocking down the person behind her. The Saguinox female makes
an annoyed sound and jumps down. Her hand lashes out. The slap echoes
around us, followed by desperate weeping and begging.

"Get up," she
snarls. "I have no time to waste on your useless human tears!"
She slaps the girl again, and we jump back, making room for her to
come through. Her hand brushes against mine as she moves by, and I
feel a chill that has nothing to do with the cave temperature.

"The shovels are
up ahead," Chloris informs me when the Saguinox footsteps can no
longer be heard. She shows me the way. The tools are dirty and
smelly, but I know better than to complain. There are a few guards
with us, but they don't seem too alert. There are more than fifty
prisoners down here, and only a handful of Saguinox, yet they are
unafraid. One is dozing off as I walk by.
Why don't we revolt?
I think.
The odds are in our favor.
I turn back to where we
got the shovels. From where I'm at I can see carts and carts full of
shovels, brushes, wedges and sledgehammers. Suddenly, I feel
something inside; it's pounding beneath my skin.

"I want the
sledgehammer," I say to Chloris.

She looks at me like
I'm crazy. "We're looking for
crystals
, Kenna, not
breaking a wall. Trust me, shovels are best."

I don't say more
because I need time to think through what I want to do. I'm so close
behind her I have to be careful not to step on her tail. "Chloris."

"Hmm?" She's
maneuvering around the other prisoners, going in deeper.

I hesitate for just a
moment. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you?"

"Shape shifter."

This time I stumble
behind her, falling onto my knees. Unfortunately, there's also a rock
underneath me, and the edge connects with my bone. I hiss, but don't
make a loud enough sound to catch the guard's attention.

"Kenna! Are you
okay?" She sounds anxious. I rub my knee.

"Just… not
expecting that."

She gives me a smile,
and her eyes are gentle. "There's a lot humans don' t know
about."

I'm reminded of
Lenora's conversation with me earlier.
You're just a baby planet,
she'd said.

"Yeah, I'm
learning that."

She helps me up. Her
hand is like mine, but green and with longer nails.

"Do you come from
a different planet, too?" I ask, wiping my bottom.

"My ancestors a
long time ago, probably. But I'm an earthling like you, born and
raised." She has my shovel in her hands, and she hands it back.
"Come on."

She's moving, but I'm
rooted to the floor, stunned. She'd been
born and raised
here?
How's that possible? How many others are out there?

"Are there more
like you?" I whisper.

"Some like me.
Some not."

My mind's racing with
questions. Her words echo in my brain.
Some like me. Some not.
What does that mean? Is she referring to different species of aliens?
Is she the good guy, and the others are bad? More importantly, can I
trust her? Chloris turns back, waiting for me to catch up.

Do I follow?

I look around at the
other prisoners whose gaze refuse to touch mine. I turn back to
Chloris. Her eyes are curious.

She's the only one
willing to help.

I don't have a choice.
Not really. Not if I want to escape.

Chloris takes me to a
spot more secluded from the others, and shows me how to dig.

"The Braxi
crystals are small and white. Try to dig without cracking them.
They're no use broken or cracked. They need to be perfect." She
demonstrates, shoveling a handful of dirt each time. She's careful to
not push too hard, and wiggles the tool, rather than pushing it in. I
imitate her, but it isn't natural. The shovel is so heavy I want to
use its weight to push down, but I have to resist, and use my arms to
make it light. She has to crouch every few minutes, and use her hands
and the light on her helmet to search for the small crystals. It
takes a long time, but when she finally gets one, she shows me. I
adjust the light, and stare in awe at the perfect white crystal. It's
oval shaped, and glitters. I take it in my hand. It feels warm. I
make a fist around it, and when I feel something, my eyes shoot up to
Chloris.

"It's
vibrating
,"
I breathe.

"They're used to
store energy and magic," she informs. A small smile lights up
her face. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

I'm in shock, but I
agree. Shape shifters? Crystals that store magic? "How has all
of this stayed
hidden
?" I don't just mean the crystals
and she seems to understand that.

"Humans see and
hear what they want to see and hear. Arrogance can make you blind."

Still bewildered, I
shake my head. My fists close around the Braxi again to feel the
pleasant sensation. "What do they need these crystals for?"

"Evil." She
says it quietly, but with such sadness I'm speechless.

The Saguinox don't
mean to join us.

"They mean to
conquer us." My whispered realization is met with silence.

Chloris and I stare at
each other. Her eyes are large and sad. Hopeless.

Discouraged, we don't
talk anymore. For a long time there is only silence as we work. She
demonstrates how to use the shovels to dig the cave walls. My stomach
is rumbling, and I'm thirsty. Chloris takes me to a small water stand
and a worker hands me a little cup.

"Don't drink too
much," she warns me. "There's nowhere to relieve yourself."
I'm angry when I drink. "We're just animals to them." I
watch a guard as he casually leans on a worker, using her head to
lean on.

"Yes,"
Chloris affirms.

I turn angrily to her.
"How can you just accept this?"

Her eyes are wide, and
she sneaks a glance at the worker before shaking her head. I bite my
lip. "Come on." She gestures and we go back to our
stations.

I try to talk, but she
doesn't want to anymore. I rebuke myself for letting my true feelings
come through. I need her to give me information. I find the
sledgehammers and shovels. I dare not stare at them too long, but my
heart is racing with determination again. I can't stop myself from
getting closer.

"Switching
shovels," I murmur to Chloris, and leave before she can argue.
It doesn't feel right, but I try to soften my loud feet. That doesn't
work, and I'm thankful that like in the real world, no one seems to
notice me much here.
I hope Chloris won't notice how long I'm
gone.

I'm the only one near
the sledgehammers, and I pick one up, feeling the weight of it in my
hands. I admire the rusty metal head, and a certain handsome face
with glowing eyes flitters in my head.
Yes, this will work
just
fine.

I clutch it tightly in
my hand and casually walk forward, away from Chloris and the other
workers. I try to move slowly so as not to arouse suspicion. I move
past more prisoners, their scarlet attire more visible with their
helmet lights. For the first time, I wonder what the red dress means.
Rhys and Lenora had referred to it as "the offering".
Maybe
the Saguinox have some ritual where people are "offered" to
an alien god.
It doesn't sound far-fetched, and feeling a deep
apprehension, I keep walking.

The slope is moving
upward, and there are no workers beyond this point. It's careless to
keep going so I stop. I dig, using the sledgehammer and my hands.
I
should've brought the shovel too,
I think. My heart's dancing
wildly in my chest.
Please stay invisible, please stay invisible.

It takes time, but I
finally get it. The hole is big and deep enough to hide a
sledgehammer. I glance around, careful to look nonchalant. When I'm
sure no one is watching I shove it in, and frantically cover the
sledgehammer with hardened dirt, and any other materials I can find.
I take in air, and it smells like dirt and metal. I'm so busy
breathing I don't notice the body until my head connects with an
elbow. I gasp, turn around, and instantly fall back.

Her glowing eyes are
cold, and scrunched in anger. I can't help but stare back with wide
eye panic.

"Where did
you
come from?" she snarls. Her short hair is spiked up like a
boy's, and she's looking menacingly at me. "Answer me."

"I-I…" For
a second my mind is blank. She looks so threatening and so terrifying
that my mind is frozen. I can't feel the sledgehammer underneath me,
but my heart's beating violently.

"Don't you know
how to talk?" She wrinkles her nose. "You're not one of
those mute humans, are you?"

I shake my head. "No."

Suddenly her hands lash
out, and she has the back of my head. She carries half my body off
the ground, pulling painfully at my hair. "Don't think I didn't
notice you here by yourself. Did you think you would get away with
that?"

I can't talk. I can't
breathe, and she jerks me to my feet. "Lazy scum. You humans are
the worst." She pulls me by my hair, dragging me like a bag so
hard I cry out. I'm pushed against something hard. The metal tub
connects with my shoulder blade, and my skin instantly tears. The
pain burns.

Out of nowhere I see a
flame in my mind. It's exquisite, and it's swaying gently, ready to
go where I need it to go. I know exactly where it needs to shoot, but
before I can, a voice shouts in my head.

No!
The voice
sounds alarmed.
No flames, take it out!

I shriek.

The voice is back in my
head.

Something hard is
shoved into my arms. A shovel.

"Everyone works in
the caves," the Saguinox guard informs me coldly. "You're
no exception. If I catch you slacking off again, you'll be given to
the crystal. Do you understand?" She pushes me back. "Do
you?"

I nod, but I don't look
at her. I'm shaking. My mind feels numb, like something heavy's
inside. I'm so focused inside myself that I can't look at her. She
takes it as a sign of submission. I wait, and even when the sound of
her footsteps has disappeared, I can't move. My insides feel jumpy,
and I'm anxious, and tense and fearful, and all of it twists in my
gut like a cyclone.

I'm trembling so bad I
don't notice the smell of burning metal underneath my fingers until
my eyes sting from the smoke.

I drop the shovel and
jump back.

It's smoldering.

* * *

It's dark when we're
allowed back outside. My back aches, and I'm glad to walk with my
head low, because it hurts to straighten my body. Supper is comprised
of the same disgusting soup. It tastes like what I'd imagine liquid
roots would taste like. Even though I'm starving my hunger isn't
enough to drown out the revolting taste, so I sip at it, each
mouthful worse than the last.

Chloris is ignoring me,
although I catch her shooting me an empathetic look when she hears me
gag on the food. No one talks. No one moves unless told to, and I
actually feel relieved to go back my cell.

When the door closes
blackness envelope me. I try to sleep, but pictures of my parents
churn in my mind like a broken movie. I miss my dad, and if I breathe
deeply enough I can smell past the perfume of alcohol on his clothes,
to the woodsy scent of his skin. I wonder if he's searching for me.
When I think about how lost he must be, I feel a hot rage inside, and
it's all I can do to not pound against the walls, screaming. But I
don’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me do that, so I
pull my knees to my chest instead.

My mind wanders back to
what happened in the caves earlier, but I shut my eyes, refusing to
acknowledge it. I'm so cold, and a memory of mom, dad and I sipping
hot chocolate during a wintry night drifts into my mind. I remember
the warmth, and I sigh, pretending that it's here. I hear the
fireplace in my head. I see the dark orange blaze, twirling like
dancers over and under the logs. The flames bend, swinging in a
contained space and I imagine touching it, feeling it through my
body…