No Light (31 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Deathly Echoes

             
"Take her."

             
Sarah heard the rustle of footsteps in the grass behind her. A large hand gripped the back of her neck the moment the king released her. She tried to turn her head to see who held her, but their grip tightened.

             
"Come human," an unfamiliar voice ordered.

             
The fingers tightened until she let the Dem lead her from the tent. The number of Dems seemed to have grown in the short time she had spent in the king's tent. What looked like tens of thousands crowded into the valley. The hand at her neck jerked her forward when she paused.

             
"Do not gawk at that which does not concern you."

             
Her eyes searched the faces, as they walked, but Farran was not among them. A twinge of real fear tightened a knot in her stomach.

             
"General Farran-" she started, only to be cut off.

             
"This does not concern the general."

             
"But I'm his-"

             
"Soon you will have no connection to him," he grumbled.

             
"What do you…" She trailed off to see all of the Dems staring at her. They whispered amongst themselves in their native language, but she swore she could hear Farran's name.

             
She tore her eyes away from their curious stares to look up at the swirling sky, almost directly above them.

             
"Where are we going?"

             
The Dem ignored her, increasing his pace until she stumbled along in front of him. Her neck began to throb from the pressure of his fingers, but she refused to show her discomfort. She fastened her eyes on the tall platform just ahead of them.

             
"What is that?" she asked, as the crowd parted.

             
As she watched, as group of Dems appeared in the middle of the large, metal stage in full body armor. She narrowed her eyes at the weapons they held. Shaped like guns, but with no visible moving parts or trigger. The soldiers seemed to take a moment to orient themselves, before they descended the steps to the field to join the others.

             
"Are they coming from your…planet?" she asked quietly, as he pushed her up the steps. She tried to ignore the combination of curious and hostile stares the soldiers gave her.

             
"No. A base in beta-verse," he snapped.

             
She paused at the edge of the platform. "What-"

             
"It does not concern you, human," he snarled, and shoved her.

             
She fought to keep her balance in front of all the Dems staring at her. She sent him a short glare.

             
He ignored it and grabbed her neck. "Be still. It would be a shame if I had to harm you."

             
She bristled at his warning tone. "Hurt me? You think that grip isn't painful?" Her eyes widened the second the words left her mouth. She tensed for his reaction, but he just scoffed and jerked her to a stop.

             
"Go." His fingers released their vise-like grip on her neck.

             
She glanced at the Dem to see him gesturing to something ahead of her. She slowly followed his arm to look at a strange contraption. She tipped her head to the side.

             
"Go," he said louder.

             
She frowned and took a step toward it. Four metal poles rose from the corners of a square, stone base. Each pole was several feet taller than her, and made out of a dark metal. She looked over her shoulder.

             
"What is it?"

             
"You try my patience, human," the Dem growled at her. His brows drew down into a dark scowl.

             
She inched toward the strange machine. Her skin began to tingle. The feeling increased the closer she came to the stone base. She paused at the edge of it, and looked down. Blue veins crossed the ebony stone, and continued up the metal poles. She looked back at the Dem.

             
"What does this do?" Something about the blue reminded her of The Corridor. It made her skin crawl.

             
"Willing or unwilling, it makes no difference to me."

             
She flinched at his words, but set one foot on the stone. The tingle under her skin increased. It felt wrong, somehow. She glanced over her shoulder.

             
The Dems watched her with interest. As she scanned the faces, she saw more pity than contempt. Goosebumps broke out across her skin. She looked back at the machine to see the air become hazy between the poles on three sides. Everything in her screamed at her to run. Her muscles tensed.

             
"Human," the Dem said in warning. His tone promised pain if she did not comply.

             
She took a deep breath and threw herself forward into the middle of the stone base. The air immediately became hazy behind her, the four walls forming a box of energy. She looked up to see the same haze. It was a cage. Her eyes widened in panic.

             
She reached out to touch the wall closest to her and jerked her hand back, instantly. She stared down at her numb fingertips in confusion.

             
"I see you are beginning to understand the situation, human."

             
She looked up to see the king climb the stairs. His lips curved into a pleased smile.

             
"What is this?" she asked quietly, rubbing at her hands to get the feeling back. It did not work.

             
He paused just outside her cage and seemed to be admiring it. "The answer to our little predicament." His eyes darkened, as they landed on her.

             
"Me?" she whispered.

             
His smile widened. "My brother's only weakness."

             
She shook her head in denial. "No, it's not-"

             
"You have clouded his mind, human," he continued loudly, cutting her off. "My brother may be captivated by your humanity, but I am not." He made a quick motion with his hand.

             
Sarah leaped back from the walls, as what looked like lightning bolts began to snap across the surface.

             
"My brother has always come to my aid in my time of need. I must aid him now. Protect him from himself." He took a step closer, reaching out to almost touch the wall of energy. "I will cut you off." His eyes met hers. "Like a diseased limb."

             
"What do you-" she gasped out, wrapping her arms around herself.

             
His eyes narrowed. "I will not hear you, human. I will not be diverted from my duties like my brother."

             
Her eyes moved past him. The troops organized into groups of what appeared to be several hundred.

             
"I will stage an attack on this planet of yours," he said softly, leaning forward to stare at her. "But I will not go to war without my strongest general at my side."

             
The tingle under her skin increased to faint itching. She rubbed at her arms.               "What-"

             
"I will end this pull you have over him. I will return what is rightfully his. What he never intended to give."

             
Sarah dropped her eyes to the floor, unsure why his words cut her so deeply. Of course, the marking was unintentional. She swallowed hard and forced herself to meet the king's eyes.

             
A small smile curved his lips, as his eyes searched her face. "This unnatural fondness is returned." He huffed a laugh. "Why am I not surprised?"

             
She raised her chin.

             
"No matter. The ator that fills your body is not rightfully yours. I will rip it from you with all the power at my disposal."

             
Sarah's eyes widened. "You can't-"

             
"I am king!" he snarled. "I can do anything I please."

             
"Farran will be angry at your disrespect," she whispered. He would be happy not to be tied to her anymore. She dropped her head.

             
"Farran may have soft feelings toward you, but he will forgive me in time."

             
Her chest seized at the thought. She slowly backed away from him. The sparks shot along the walls faster, until they became a swarm of bright blue light.

             
"You are nothing without the marks," she heard the king call from the beyond her cell. "Soon you will be less than that."

             
The itch blossomed into a light shock. She flinched away from the walls, drawing in on herself. A strange dropping sensation started in her stomach, as if she were falling. She stumbled forward to press her palms against the energy field. Her fingers fumbled against it, searching for any edge or break. There was nothing.

             
The static feeling under her skin became thousands of sharp stings. She rubbed at her arms, even as her stomach lurched. She fell to her knees.

             
"You are experiencing how separation feels to a Dem," the king's voice murmured from somewhere nearby.

             
Pain speared into her chest like a knife. She barely bit back a scream.

             
"Does it hurt, human?"

             
Her skin burned, as if flames lapped at her body. She scooted to the middle of the stone base. Her lungs seized violently.

             
"Is it agony?" he purred.

             
She nodded, unable to hold back soft sobs. Each breath rattled her lungs, more difficult than the last. Every nerve ending screamed, until the act of kneeling made tears trail down her cheeks. She slowly spread out on the cool stone. Tears slid into her hair, but she could not raise her hand to wipe them away. Foreign words whispered in her mind frantically.

             
"Farran," she whimpered.

             
"He is not here. By now, he can feel his ator returning to him. I am sure he is relieved." The king's voice got closer as he spoke. "To not be tied to your weakness," he hissed.

             
She barely heard his spiteful words through the pain. A high-pitched keening filled the air. It took her a moment to realize it came from her. Her mind filled with a haze of shouted foreign words and fading blue light. She stared up at the top of the cell blankly. Her body seemed to separate from her mind, finally relieving the agony.

             
"He does not care for you, human. Not truly." The king's venomous words seeped into her, echoing inside her head.

             
She blinked hard, forcing her eyelids to rise each time. Something happened outside the walls of blue, but she could not turn her head to look. Loud roars split the air, whispers to her ear. Her eyes fell closed and she could not open them again. For a moment, she thought she heard Farran's voice.

             
A trick, her tired mind murmured. She mentally nodded, as her last breath shuddered out of her tortured lungs. The steady thump that filled her ears came further and further apart, until it stopped with one last echoing beat.

…

              "General?" Motlin sent him a questioning look.

             
He shook his head. "I thought I felt…" he trailed off. "Continue."

             
Motlin continued with his report.

             
He felt his second staring at him, but most of his attention was on the strange feeling in his chest. It was unlike the separation pain, but not the dull ache he felt when thinking of Sarah. He scowled.

             
"…appears to be a massacre of Keane's group."

             
Motlin's words jerked him out of his thoughts. "Survivors?"

             
"None."

             
He smirked. "Welcome news. It appears thanks are warranted."

             
"The king has spared us the trouble of eliminating the human irritants," Tradis said.

             
"Though, your marked was not recovered," Motlin said carefully.