The Column Racer (36 page)

When Areli awoke the next day, she looked over to her right. Fides was still there, sleeping, curled peacefully, her body intertwined with her white and yellow gold comforter. Areli moved off the bed and towards the window. The sun lined the drive and parkway, giving them their natural color. But it all seemed so abstract to her. They didn’t mirror her emotions. It seemed as if the rest of the world was bright and beautiful, while her heart and every muscle in her body were struggling to keep themselves together.

Areli looked back at Fides. She wanted to stay until she woke up. But she couldn’t. She needed to find Yats. Coordinate with Brynn and Finn. She needed answers. Not at the end of the week. Not after tomorrow. She needed them today. She was even thinking about breaking into Sofi’s home and not thinking twice of reprimanding Sofi’s parents, especially the Emperor’s brother. She was prepared to do anything for Sofi’s location and the location of her informants.

Areli walked over to the dark brown desk in the far corner of the room and removed a sheet a paper and a small container of ink. She wrote to Fides, saying she would be back later that night, and she had a wonderful time last night, and she loved her.

Areli then walked downstairs after she kissed Fides on her forehead. Her friend grumbled and reached for her. Areli tucked the arm back close to Fides body and lifted the blankets so they gently covered her shoulders. When she reached the lower level, Areli asked the estate manager if she could send for her carriage. The woman nodded her head and sent off after Areli’s driver.

As she waited, she looked around at the elegant paintings covering the foyer. All of them were dark and depressing, as they chronicled the dragon wars fought with the advantage to only one side. Edsel was right. A fight against the Emperor was pure suicide. Voice’s carried through the large hallways towards her. Areli looked at the men talking heatedly, passionately. They looked up at her. One was the strong muscular figure that had forced her into the study that night when she should have been asleep, and the other was Edsel. Degendhard. They just looked at her, and then they went into the study.

Areli wondered if she should go in after them, but the heels of the estate manager bounced off the walls as she came gracefully towards her, telling Areli that her carriage was waiting for her outside. Areli nodded at her, allowing the estate manager to open the front door. Areli walked out onto the limestone steps and into her carriage.

She smiled towards the estate manager as her carriage started off towards the drive. She focused her attention out the windows, towards the green of the hedges that were brought to life by the sun and the faces of the statues that seemed to smile.

Areli looked up towards the front as her carriage started to pull over to the side of the road. The estate drives were constructed in such a manner as to always be wide enough so that carriages could move easily in both directions. Carriages are never supposed to stop.
Never.

Areli continued to look out the windows as she saw a black cloud start to take up most of the width of the drive. Horses and carriages. Soldiers came flooding into the drive. Fully armoured soldiers, swords on their backs. It was a steady stream. Horse. Carriage. The last men following after them already had their bows in their hands, their quivers full of gold tipped arrows.

Areli stepped out of the carriage. The people coming past her seemed like giants. Seemed inhuman in their glowing gold armour. As they moved past her, they tore the air from her lungs and her heart matched the swiftness of the hooves that wanted to pummel dents into the limestone surface. Areli’s eyes widened, tears escaping them like water off a cliff. She turned to her driver and demanded that they go back.

She jumped back into the carriage and slammed her door, causing a crack in the shape of the roots of a tree to spread across it. Her driver motioned the horses back. Areli opened the door and shouted for him to hurry.

“I’m going as fast as I can, Miss Roberts.” She wanted to slap him. It was Fides in there. Fides! She needed her. She didn’t know what she was going to do, or if there was anything that she could do. But she was going to do something. As the carriage neared the house, Areli opened the door, readying herself to jump out the moment the carriage came to a halt.

When the carriage slowed, she thought she heard her driver let loose some profanity as she cleared the cab, almost falling over when her bare feet slapped against the limestone slab. The sight they had come upon was horrific. The house was completely surrounded by guards, making a river of gold around the boundaries. Smoke billowed towards the sky, as parts of the house were on fire. There was screaming. Such horrendous screaming.

Areli ran into the barrier of soldiers, all of whom were looking towards the awful sight. Areli moved past horses, past gold covered men, and moved like water dropped into a crack, traveling through whatever opening she could. She broke through the front. She had one step until she completely broke through, but then she was grabbed from behind. She screamed as a guard had wrapped his arms around her.

“LET ME GO!” yelled Areli, “LET ME GO! FIDES! FIDES!” A string of servants came out of the house. They were shot down by arrows, making a pile of dead bodies. The once grey steps began to run red. Bodies were thrown through windows, in which they would land awkwardly onto the ground below, causing bones to break and blood to pool. “NO. NO. LEAVE THEM ALONE!”

Three figures were pulled out of the front door. Areli recognized the white silk dress, the thin straps around the shoulders. “FIDES! LET HER GO! PLEASE, SHE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING. SHE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING. WHAT DID SHE DO? WHAT DID SHE DO?” Fides and her family were put into separate carriages. Areli continued to try to kick herself free. And then they were gone, disappearing into a sea of gold. The guard let her go. She collapsed onto the ground, crying so hard that she was unable to lift herself up. She screamed. A guttural scream, like that of a dying animal.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
thought Areli,
How did he know? How did the Emperor know?
She knew it was obvious, but she didn’t know how it came about. How did Sofi finally figure it out?

Areli didn’t know how she got home. She could barely remember the hands lifting her off the pavement. She could barely remember seeing the commander’s face. The one who had brought her there. The good one. His lips telling her it was going to be okay. She didn’t know how she got into her bed. She didn’t know what time her mother had come into her room or how long she had sat by her side. All Areli could think about was that it was over. Fides life was over. Her family’s life was over. Hope had just been stripped from the Empire. And Fides would forever be the greatest rider to not have won a World Race. But as she layed there, another thought came into her mind. Talon. The last time she saw him he was in the house. Her heart sunk even lower as she thought about the last conversation she had with him, and the real possibility that he was dead. Her mind raced back to the bodies thrown through windows. Their screams as they fell to their deaths. The fire. The smoke. Talon was dead. She was sure of it.

When her mother was relieved by Yats, he held Areli’s shaking body in his arms. He cried just as intensely as her. She screamed into his shirt. She screamed and sobbed into his chest. Areli blamed herself. If only she had acted quicker. If only she had told Fides from the beginning, then maybe she could have run. Maybe she could still have a chance to live. She was a fool to think she could keep her from the Emperor’s grasp. She was a fool to think she could deter Sofi. Areli was too late. She didn’t have any information she could use to barter for Fides safety. She was helpless. She was hopeless. She was lost.

“How do you think . . . how do you think he found out?” asked Areli. Yats cleared his throat. His chest shook violently as he dragged in a breath of air. “Yats? Yats, what aren’t you telling me?” She sat up in bed. Yats tried to wipe the tears flooding from his eyes. “YATS? YATS? YATS! LOOK AT ME!” said Areli, yanking his chin so his eyes would meet hers. “Tell me you didn’t tell anyone. Yats, please, tell me you didn’t tell anyone.”

“W-what was I supposed to do, Areli?” said Yats, his voice choked up.

“Who? Yats, who did you tell?”

“We don’t even know if it’s him,” said Yats, “I know it wasn’t him. It couldn’t be.”

“Yats, tell me,” said Areli, “who did you tell?”

“Brynn,” said Yats, “he came to me. The day you told me about the tunnel. He said we were holding stuff from him. He was pissed, Areli. I never even knew he could be that angry. He wanted to know what we knew. He threatened to pull off his surveillance on Aniya. What was I supposed to do, Areli? I had no idea. I’m so sorry, Areli. I’m so sorry. I . . .”

She slapped him in the face. Then she slapped him again. Then she used her fist like hammers and pounded them down into his body. Screaming. Crying. Swearing.

The following day, the news spread throughout the city. It was as if the entire world was told the truth all at once. It was as if everyone’s ears were connected to the Emperor’s mouth. The trial was to be quick. As justice was going to be served. Justice was going to be swift. Everything went by in a blur leading up to the proceedings. The Emperor had his entire army of battle dragons surround the arena, preventing any attempts at heroics. Areli watched from her front row seat within the coliseum, her hands finding anyone’s who were near. Her heart sank below the Earth as the royal family was escorted to the stage to bear witness to the Emperor’s judgment. The sight of Sofi sickened her. But what
killed
her was that her arm was wrapped around none other than Brynn. He had betrayed them. He used them to get ahead. Why had they trusted him? Why had Yats confided in him? Areli couldn’t help but blame both herself and Yats for Fides death. Every one of the column racers were in tears, except Tegan. Areli wanted to slap Tegan’s secret smile straight from her face. She wanted to beat Tegan until she couldn’t smile ever again.

The Emperor’s words were just murmurings to her, like something from a distant dream half remembered. In the center of the arena was a large gold stage, and on it stood the Emperor, dressed in all gold with white gold dragons covering his chest. Chained up next to him, bloody, bruised, and broken, was Fides, her father and mother, and off to the side was her dragon.

“I have searched every cave,” said the Emperor, “I have turned over every rock, dredged every ocean, derooted every tree. I never thought – I never even suspected that my most dangerous adversary was looking right at me. Shaking my hand in the mornings. Shaking my hand in the evenings. A man who had the audacity to call me friend. A man whose whore of a wife would bestow upon me sympathies. Whose slut of a daughter would race for my team. Laughing at me. Mocking me. Leading me astray. But who is laughing now? Who is laughing now Degendhard, or Edsel, or whoever you are?” The Emperor’s speech wasn’t long, it wasn’t even elegant. It was only ruthless words from a ruthless leader. He brought out a whip and lashed them repeatedly. Toying with them. Using them as both entertainment and as a message. Areli couldn’t bear to watch. Her entire body shook so hard that she felt like her bones might rip from her skin. She covered her ears to drown at Fides screams as the whip tore into her skin, searching for her bones.

Areli’s best friend was getting tortured right in front of her, and there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t scream out against the Emperor actions unless she wanted to join the stage next to them. She hated herself because she couldnt’t yell for the Emperor to stop. She hated herself for being afraid of death.

After Fides clothes were ripped to shreds, her back cut open like a slaughtered animal, the Emperor finally put down his whip and wiped away the sweat perforating from his brow, along with the spatterings of blood.

“YOU MONSTER,” yelled Fides mother, “YOU SICK AND TWISTED F . . .” The Emperor hit her. Closed fist. Cracking her jaw. Areli wished she would have stayed down. He hit her again. Again, Fides mother tried to resist fading into unconsciousness. The Emperor struck her again and again, over and over, until Fides mother no longer had the sense to disobey. He finished with a brutal kick to her midsection, but her body didn’t even move. Wherever she was, she wasn’t there.

The Emperor then unsheathed his dagger held at his belt and fell to his knees. He fell in front of his former friend. His former confidant. His most hated and persistent enemy. He held the crying man by his cheeks, pressing the knife to one side of Edsel’s face. The Emperor made a wall between him and the rest of the world. He didn’t want anyone to witness the tears pricked in his eyes or hear him whisper the word
why
into Degendhards ears. He didn’t want anyone to see him plant a kiss on top of the old man’s forehead. But he did make sure that they saw him raise his hand. The knife gripped tightly in its fingers. The dagger caught the suns stare and winked, and then it was shoved down. Cutting through flesh and muscle, and imbedding itself into Edsel’s leg. His scream was unbearable as the Emperor pulled away. Guards had to come and gag his mouth shut. Areli almost puked.

The Emperor took a scroll from one of his lovely whores, rolled it out, and faced the crowd.

“Edsel Bird – for crimes committed against the Empire, you are sentenced to Death. For your crimes of treason – your wife, Aglaja Bird, is sentenced to death. For your crimes of conspiring against your Emperor – your daughter, Fidelja Bird, is sentenced to death. For your crimes against the will of the people – your daughter’s dragon, Faina, is sentenced to death. Your executions will be carried out at first light tomorrow. There will be no guiding words. No funeral. You nor your family will ever find your way to the stars.” The Emperor gave the scroll back to the woman and motioned the guards to carry the Bird family off the stage. Areli knew they would be beaten further. They would be further tortured. Fides and her mother raped repeatedly, harshly and mercilessly. Edsel emasculated. They would be made to wish they were dead far sooner than the planned executions.

There was not a dry eye in the entire coliseum. Everyone’s faces puzzled.
How could this have happened?
their eyes were saying.
Is the Emperor sure he has the right one?
said others.
Of course he does
, defended more, even though their eyes showed it killed them to say it. Many might not have cared if it wasn’t for Fides and Faina. The entire Valley was infatuated with them. The whole Valley had places in their hearts occupied by them, and in each of those hearts, tears flooded into the chambers.

Once the stage was cleared, the spectators were herded out of the coliseum and deposited onto the lonely streets. Not many words were shared. Not many words were said. Tomorrow was the execution of a rider. Tomorrow was the execution of Degendhard the Great.

Areli sat outside, crying by the pool in the back of her house. Yats was next to her, holding her to him. She again screamed endlessly into his shirt. She screamed at him. She screamed at herself. She screamed at the stars. She felt like death. She failed. She failed her friend, her sister. She felt like she didn’t deserve to live. She didn’t think anyone deserved to live – not after today.

There would be no final words. No Goodbyes. No rescue mission. The Emperor had Fides and her family locked away high up in the mountains. A fortress protected by a hundred of his most ruthless soldiers and the entirety of his battle dragon army. Areli wished the stars could grant Fides her freedom, but she knew they couldn’t. Her sister was going to be taken from her. And there was nothing she could do about it.

The following day, in the middle of the square in the center of Abhi, another gold stage was constructed. Senators, advisors, and riders were positioned in front of the crowd that seemed to be stacked on top of one another as eyes tried to get a good view. The Emperor insisted the execution take place in the square instead of the arena because he intended to leave the bodies there to rot, and then he would take them on a tour around the Empire, to each sector, as a reminder of what happens to people who threaten his rule.

From within a building, the Emperor’s guards escorted the Bird family. Edsel in the front, Fides mother in the middle, Fides, and then her dragon. Areli could tell the Emperor had them patched up with ointments, serums, and creams. He wouldn’t want anyone to pity them.

Each was marched up to the gold platform. The Emperor stared hard into each one of their eyes. He wanted them to remember who ended their lives. Each person was escorted by six guards, two in the front and back, and one on each side. The guards in front walked off to the side of the stage when they got up there.

Areli had a hard time looking at Fides. She wished she could tell her she was sorry. She wished she could tell her goodbye. She wished she could tell her she loved her, one last time. Fides remained emotionless. She was so brave. So courageous. She kept her eyes forward, as if waiting for death with open arms. Out of nowhere there was a scream. A yell.

Areli looked over to the sound of the pained voice. It was Amer. Guards had him captured, wringing his arms as if they were water soaked rags.

“NO!” he managed to squeal out, “NO . . . FIDES – NO!” Areli looked back at Fides, who kept her attention forward, but Areli thought she could see a single tear escape her sister’s hard demeanor. The rest of her face stone, her blue eyes, cold.

“SILENCE HIM!” yelled the Emperor to the guards. They hit him hard across the face with a closed fist, again and again, until Amer could probably no longer use his jaw.

The Emperor walked over to Edsel and whispered something into his ears, a gross grin formed onto his face when he pulled away. He motioned with his fingers to have Fides dragon brought forward. Areli thought she saw Fides eyes flinch in her dragon’s direction. Faina’s head was laid onto the gold slab and the chains around her neck were tied into a gold circle held to the floor.

Areli found the tears free flowing now. She couldn’t watch. She closed her eyes as Faina gave a soft moan. Areli knew she was radiating the feelings that Fides was feeding her. Her death was quick. A guard took the tip of his sword and shoved it deep into Faina’s chest, reaching, and then protruding it through her heart. Two guards then hacked away with golden axes that looked as if they had never been used before this day, gleaning off Faina’s head with ease. It then lay on the gold block, like that of a pig’s you would serve at a feast.

When they removed the dragon’s head, Fides was being kept up by the hands of the guards around her. The buildings in the square echoed off the only voice in the square – Fides. It shot off the wall in the most terrible scream that carried with it loss, remorse, regret . . . hate. Her composure was gone. Her eyes no longer cold, but red, her features no longer frozen, but wet from her tears. If the Emperor were going to kill her, he already had.

Fides head was then thrust onto a small gold rectangle. Areli couldn’t stop her shaking. She could no longer contain the tears making crude black streaks down her cheeks. Fides continued to scream. An agonizing scream. An unbearable and heartbreaking scream. There was no blessing to help guide her to the stars. Just a raised axe. And a scream – that was no more. Areli closed her eyes as she saw Fides head start to fall from its body. Areli hated herself. She hated the Emperor. She hated this life. This world.

Fides mother was killed afterwards. She trembled up to the gold block, the blood of her daughter still fresh against the gold surface of the block, her head on its side, eyes closed, mouth askew, and her body resting peacefully. Fides’s mother didn’t fight. She was ready to join her daughter. She was ready to leave this world. They placed her gently against the stone. Her shoulder’s never ceased to shake, until they would shake no more. Her head lying next to her daughter’s.

Edsel was then pushed to the rectangle. He walked to the gold block with the eyes of a dead person. The body of his wife laid to his left. The body of his daughter to his right.
You didn’t protect them
, thought Areli with spite curling around her teeth,
why didn’t you run? Why didn’t you hide?
She tried to shoot these thoughts at him, hoping they could reach him.
It’s your fault they’re dead. I blame you. I will always blame you.

The Emperor took Edsel’s head away from his body by himself. But he didn’t stop there. His rage fueled him to keep swinging, to keep raising and lowering his axe. He continued his rampage until his axe was only hitting against gold. He breathed heavily, his entire body covered in Edsel’s blood. He stood with his bloodied axe, admired his work, and then turned to face the people. He raised his arm in victory, axe in tow. Then, an arrow penetrated his neck, as if pinning him to air. Blood came sputtering out of the Emperor’s mouth. There was a collective gasp, and then there were screams. And then panic. Areli couldn’t believe what had just happened. Everyone was rushed out of the square as soldiers tried to secure the area. Guards rushed over to the Emperor, making a solid wall around his body. Areli knew he was dying. She saw it in his eyes.

Later that day, rumors circled around the streets as if carried by the wind to every household. It was said the killer was one of the Emperor’s own soldiers, and that he had slit his own throat before he could be captured. News filtered through the windows that the Emperor was fine and the damage was negligible. But no one standing in the front row would believe that rumor. Especially Areli. She saw where the arrow had struck. She saw the blood that had already began to decorate his perfectly gold armour, mixing in with Edsel’s. Mixing in with Degendhard’s. What a fitting death.

Sofi had accomplished what everyone knew she was plotting, but everyone was too afraid to admit it. Areli shook the image of Sofi from her mind, as it brought too much resentment and pain. But Degendhard’s status wasn’t the only rumor circling around. The other had been spread only as a whisper, as if saying it out loud somehow made it true. As of that day, the other half of the column racing season had been cancelled. But Areli was hurting to much too care. She knew she was filled with too much hate to race.

She imagined the Emperor lying on his bed, awaiting his own death. Areli wished it could have been her hand that let go of that arrow. The Emperor got off easy in her mind. He should have had to suffer. He should have had to scream. He should have felt the loss that Fides felt.

Yats stayed with her as long as she permitted. Later that night, staring out into nothingness, Areli told him he should go to his parents. His mother would need comforting. He should check on Amer and find out as much as he could about the Emperor’s health from his father.