No Light (30 page)

             
She whirled away from him. "Leave me alone!"

             
"No need to be so unfriendly," another voice called from behind her.

             
She spun and crashed into someone. They let out a grunt of pain, as she fell to her knees. The bodies moved in, the circle closing until she could barely breath. Boots surrounded her, some of them nudging at her ribs, at her hips, anywhere they could reach.

             
"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," a voice called.

             
She threw herself backwards, as hard as she could, away from the grasping hands.

             
"Hold her!"

             
She kicked wildly, breathing hard and jerking at the ropes that bound her wrists. Warm, sticky blood slid between her fingers. The hands were everywhere. Fingers tangled in her hair, jerked at her heavy jacket.

             
Suddenly, she heard screaming from beyond the press of bodies. Deep voices bellowed foreign words. For a moment, she thought Farran had come for her, but the voices were unfamiliar. Boots kicked her in the rush to flee the approaching Dems.

Screams of pain mingled with the wet ripping of flesh. She jerked her hands hard, trying to see through the flurry of running city guards.

              "Please don't kill me! Please don't-" a pleading voice cut off with a gurgle.

             
She struggled to her feet. Between the bodies, she caught a glimpse of several Dems in full armor. Blue cloth peeked from beneath the metal plates. She recognized the color. The king's guard. Another yell of pain jerked her out of her thoughts.

             
She had to hide. Her eyes flicked from the Dems to the tree line at her left. Someone bumped her roughly, and she took several steps forward to keep from falling. She clenched her jaw and raced for the trees. She ignored the yelling from behind her, speeding up once she reached the shelter of the forest.

             
The trees whipped past her as shadows in the semi-darkness. She wove between thick trunks, ignoring the thin branches that snapped at her cheeks and snagged in her hair. Her wrists burned, both from the tightness of the binding and the rough rope.               Something crashed through the undergrowth behind her. She could hear the loud steps over her frantic breathing. She scanned the trees for any place to duck out of sight. There was nothing.

             
"Human!"

             
Goosebumps popped up on her arms at the roar. She leapt over a fallen branch, and heard the Dem behind her clear it a moment later. He was gaining far too fast. She gasped for breath. A large hand seized her elbow and she screamed, as her momentum jerked her wrist painfully.

             
The unfamiliar Dem towered over her. His lips twisted in a mix of amusement and disgust.

             
"Human," he said, his tone implying an insult.

             
She stared up at him, unable to look away from his face, even when his eyes scanned her. He gave her a dark smile.

             
"Marked of General Farran."

             
It was not a question, but she nodded.

             
His grip did not loosen. "Follow."

             
She stumbled along behind him, as they retracted their steps. The journey back to the clearing seemed far shorter than her panicked escape. The stranger's hand was painfully tight on her upper arm. He did not slow down when she tripped, merely jerking her back to her feet.

             
They paused at the edge of the clearing. She scanned the field quickly, before she dropped her eyes to the ground at her feet, choking back a gasp of horrified disgust. Bodies covered the ground, their blood slowly sinking into the black soil. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the sight of mangled limbs and faces frozen in terror.

             
The hand tensed on her arm a moment before the Dem pulled her with him across the clearing. She kept her eyes fastened on the group of Dems, rather than the dead city guards. One of the king's guards called to them, as they approached. The foreign words washed over her, a healthy dose of derision in the tone.

             
She did not look away when they sneered at her. One of them muttered under his breath and she thought she heard Eitad's name tossed between them. Their expressions took on an interested air. The same one jerked his head to the left and turned to walk away.

             
"Come, human." The Dem's hand loosened enough for the blood to return to her fingers, but the rope continued to chafe at her wrists.

             
"Ms. Mackenzie," she said quietly. She felt their eyes fix on her and lifted her chin.

             
"Ms. Mackenzie," the Dem leaned down to snarl in her face, before he tugged her behind him.

             
She clamped her mouth shut and stared straight ahead. The space between the trees grew larger the further they moved from the city. The sun slowly moved down behind the tree line.

             
Her hands and wrists were blissfully numb and she could not feel the sticky, dried blood between her fingers anymore. The Dems spoke to each other in their language. Every few minutes, one of them glanced at her. She ignored them.

             
The trees fell away suddenly and they stepped into a wide clearing. When the Dems moved from in front of her, her eyes widened. What looked like thousands of Dems filled the field. A cluster of large, metallic tents stood in the center of the open space.

             
"What's happening?" she whispered.

             
The Dem's head turned toward her, but he did not answer. He dragged her through the crowd of towering soldiers, as she struggled not to trip in the knee-high grass. Her eyes rose from the army to the sky overhead.

             
A vortex of bruised purple and blue clouds filled the air just above the encampment.

             
"What is that?"

             
The Dem ignored her, until the whirling mass was directly overhead. She dug her heels into the ground and jerked against his grasp.

             
"What is that?" she asked louder.

             
"The portal," the Dem answered impatiently. He scanned the other soldiers who watched them with interest. "Be silent."

             
She nodded, not taking her eyes off the sky, until they passed through the doorway of the largest tent.

             
"I see you have located my brother's human," a familiar voice drawled.

             
She scowled around the room, until her eyes landed on a chair near the back. The king rose from the chair so gracefully, it reminded her of Farran. The thought made her swallow hard. She wondered if he knew she was missing.

             
"General Farran will be pleased to know you have been recovered," he continued, answering her unasked question. "And in one piece." His eyes left her to look at the Dem gripping her arm. "Leave us."

             
The Dem nodded. She watched him stalk to the door and vanish into the mass of soldiers.

             
"What's happening?" she asked when she turned back to the king.

             
He smiled slightly, but there was no humor in it. "What do you think it is about you that has my brother so enthralled?" he asked, ignoring her question.

             
She frowned. "I don't know what you-"

             
"And believe me, human, he is most certainly enthralled." His eyes darkened to black as he studied her, as if he were trying to figure out what held Farran's interest.

             
She licked her lips nervously. "There's nothing about me-" she started, only to have him interrupt again.

             
"No, there really is not, is there." He smiled slightly and rose from his chair. "You are neither smart, nor brave, nor useful," he murmured. He circled around her. "Weak, frail," he whispered at her. "Nothing of consequence, and yet, my brother speaks of you as he has never spoken of another."

             
"I-"

             
"If I did not know any better…" he trailed off and shook his head. "Well, I am sure in time he will come to forgive even this." He turned his back to walk back to his chair. "My brother's men say you tried to sacrifice yourself for one of his soldiers."

             
Sarah ignored his scoff. "I did."

             
He sank into the chair and smirked at her. "You seem to almost be capable of loyalty," he mused. "Of course, that is like saying man is capable of flight. It's possible, but unnatural."

             
Her eyes rose from the floor to stare at him.

             
"I admit, you do have a certain attractiveness about you." He tipped his head to the side. "But that alone is not enough to interest my brother. I have seen him slaughter entire civilizations. Males, females, offspring."

             
Sarah looked away from the cold amusement.

             
"His name was the word for death on over a dozen worlds." His tone was almost wistful. "Then, he found Earth," he muttered darkly.

             
She twitched when he suddenly stood and began pacing.

             
"Your contemptible, primitive race." He paused and his eyes narrowed at nothing. "He became obsessed with your development, teaching you what little information your tiny brains could comprehend."

             
Sarah watched the emotions flit across his face. She twisted her arm behind her back and her wrist slid free of the rope.

             
"He could not see what our father so clearly saw. You began fighting amongst yourselves, eventually fighting against him. You rebelled and still he would not follow our king's direction."

             
She slipped her other hand free and let the rope fall at her feet. The king was too caught up in his thoughts to notice her movement. She took a step back.

             
He continued to speak, unaware of her actions. "Father told him to destroy them. He refused." His eyes snapped to her, and she froze. "Are you proud of your history, human?"

             
She stared at him silently.

             
"Are you pleased with the city of Ameritat? The city created for the sole purpose of imprisoning my brother." There was something almost unhinged about his expression.

             
"No."

             
His lips curved up into a mockery of a smile. "Liar." He stalked toward her. "You think you are so different from the other humans? You, who were content to leave them to rot in that prison. You are as worthless as those who subjugated them."

             
"That's not fair," she whispered, as he stopped in front of her.

             
He glared. "You were a mistake," he hissed. "Farran never intended to mark you. If you and the rest of your revolting race had the grace to die, he would never have defied our father."

             
She raised her chin and took a deep breath. "He was right to do what he did." For a moment, she thought he would strike her.

             
His eyes flashed. "Of course, you would choose your own. You are-"

             
"I don't say it out of loyalty to humanity," she interrupted. "I say it out of loyalty to Farran."

             
His eyes narrowed at her casual use of his brother's name. "What do you know about loyalty? About sacrifice?"

             
To see a face so similar to Farran's twisted up in such fury, made her stomach clench. She fought to keep her breathing even.

             
"I may not be as old as you are. I may not have seen what you have seen." She let out a shuddering breath. "But, I know the only one responsible for Farran's imprisonment is the abdicated king."

             
The king's eyes widened in outrage.

             
She rushed to finish her thought before he escaped his momentary shock. "And you, Your Majesty, are hardly one to talk about loyalty. With the way you sided with your father and left Farran to-"

             
He grabbed her by the throat and squeezed. "I should choke the life out of you," he hissed. "I could crush you without trying."

             
"That's true," she whispered past the pressure on her airways. "You could." She knew she should be terrified, but the fear would not come. Her eyes met his. "But it would not make me any less right."