36. Ohara

Iwas exactly where I didn't want to be.

Down in the bowels of Ikmal prison. In the cells on either side of me was a psycho and a crazy. One liked to scream at the top of his voice in pathetic, desperate pleading tones, and when his voice finally gave out, his buddy in the cell on my other side did likewise, forming a duet that drilled into my head and threatened to overtake my own sanity.

Who knows, maybe this was how they ended up that way. Surrounded by loons.

And I was already on the edge.

I ran my fingers through my hair, gripping tight, and knew that everything that was going to happen next was my fault. Lily would be victimized — either by the Supervisor or other inmates.

And now that I was in the belly of the prison, there was zero chance of escape. My cell was tiny, barely wide enough for my broad shoulders. My bed wasn't a bed at all but a soiled roll of foam that I could roll up and place in the corner, giving me at least some space. Enough to pace, at least.

And maybe that was their main weapon down here. They wanted me to think and go around and around in my head, driving myself insane.

I had a small window (although to call it a window was an insult to windows everywhere). It was really a small square of light three times my height above me. When I arrived, I jammed my elbows out to either side and scaled the wall. I managed to reach the window. As I peered out, I saw it was half covered by red sand.

Even if I managed to break the window and get it open, I would be sentencing myself to death by drowning as the sand would flow in, filling my room like an hourglass.

There was no way I could squeeze through such a small opening and as for chipping away at it, widening it somehow? Well, I had no tools. The walls were so thick it would have taken me a hundred years to get through it anyway.

Flies buzzed around a cracked bucket and as the room was so small, there was no possible way for me to escape the smell. The worst thing about it was I hadn't even used it yet.

But I didn't feel sorry for myself. The truth was, Lily would be far worse.

As news of our attempted escape spread throughout the prison, and no matter how hard the Supervisor might try to suppress it, it would spread, those in charge would seek to make us an example to anyone else who attempted an escape.

I would attempt to convince them that I was the sole one responsible and should receive all the punishment. But I would not fool myself. They would not be lenient on her.

I thought over all the mistakes I'd made over the past five years. I shouldn't have listened to Cayggod. I should have extended my sentence with one act of antisocial behavior after another.

It wasn't perfect but at least I could have spent more time with Lily and avoided missing her so much during those five years.

After I had placed Lily in the container, I stood back and watched from the shadows as it was loaded onto the transport ship. Then I headed to the upper decks. Now that the riot had been dealt with, there was no further need for us at the prison.

I had also discovered the cause of the riots in the first place and, along with my little white lies, could enjoy a little retribution on Druin at the same time. Everything was back in order at Ikmal and the Lead Guard and his men could return to the barracks.

It felt good to be on the same transport ship Lily was now stowed away on. And better still, no one would ever know what happened. Once we reached the barracks, the ship would be unloaded. I would be there to take possession of that single cube, hijack a ship, and take Lily away.

Then we would fade away like the morning mists over the floating mountains of Rijaat 7.

By the time anyone noticed we were missing, it would be too late. The fighting pit championships would have restarted, the barracks would be taking inventory after our successful mission, and no one would be any the wiser.

Initially, the female Prizes might think it unusual Lily was not in her cot when they awoke, but with the recent meetings she'd had with the Supervisor, they might suspect she was with him. If not, they were free to make up their own reasons.

I rejoined my men on deck ten and told them to fall in. I should have noticed something was up when they did so with less attention than usual. I picked up on a few funny looks but convinced myself I was being overly suspicious.

As I stepped forward to inspect them, that's when they jumped me. They pinned me down and stripped me of my armor. I yelled at them to stop, threatening that they would be court marshaled.

One soldier grabbed my helmet and began to unfasten it. I was glad. I would use my ability to plant commands in those not wearing their helmets. They would fight amongst themselves and I could get away.

"Don't remove his helmet!"

The Supervisor strode in, a contingent of four bodyguards orbiting him like satellites.

"We don't need any more trouble now, do we?" he said, fixing me with a glare of disgust.

He crouched before me. "You fooled me. But you will fool me no longer. You will do the hardest time. You will spend the rest of your days in the depths of Ikmal prison, surrounded by madmen and traitors. You will not fight and you will not struggle. If you do, that pretty little Prize of yours will suffer an even worse fate than the one you have already put her in."

My heart thudded loudly in my ears. "Please, don't hurt her. She's done nothing wrong. I'll do everything you ask. Anything—"

"Yes, I know you will. You cannot give me what I already have. Lily will be returned to the Prize Pool for the champions to Claim. And each day that they do not choose her, I shall Claim her. She will be run ragged each and every day of her life. And it will be because of you. It will serve as a reminder to the other inmates not to fall in love with the Prizes, not to break the rules, and to never make a mockery of our security protocols."

Lily's fate was worse than I expected. At least as a regular Prize, she could have had days off, could have avoided being Claimed. Now, she would know no peace.

But her being Claimed even once was too much for me to bear. Thinking of her with another inmate touching her, caressing her, entering her…

I struggled against my restraints. They were magnetized handcuffs and there was no way out of them. But if I could wrestle the guards aside, find a little slack and take advantage of it…

I knocked one guard aside, then a second. But as I rose to my feet, a third and fourth guard tackled me to the floor. Half a dozen others leaped on me.

They pressed their weight onto me, driving my helmet hard against the floor. My back ached and I thought my arms were going to snap. And if they did, I doubt I would have even felt the pain. Nothing could compare to the intensity of my breaking heart.

The Supervisor smiled at my reaction. "Oh, yes. I almost forgot. I have a gift for you. Something one of my predecessors left in storage. Although this might not be its original purpose, perhaps it might be of use in this particular situation."

The Supervisor turned and one of the guards handed him something. As he lowered it into my vision, my heart rate spiked even higher.

It was a helmet. No, not a helmet, but some kind of mask — an iron mask. It was a solid lump of barely tempered metal in only the vaguest shape of a Nor head.

There was a single tiny hole for the mouth and a pair of slits that gave only the barest view of the outside world. I could already feel the claustrophobic effect of it.

The Supervisor held it up. "It reminds me of something I read in a human book once. There's nothing advanced about it, nothing that can break. And better yet, it will keep your little ability to yourself. You will never escape from your cell. You'll never again see the open sky or touch your beloved Lily. Although, you may rest assured that many, many other males will."

I struggled once more but with the press of the guard's knee on my neck along with the others resting on my other limbs, there was no chance of escape.

The Supervisor left, along with all those not wearing helmets. As they took my helmet from me, I lashed out at them — both physically and with my ability. Neither made contact.

They removed my helmet and placed that gaudy monstrosity on my head.

Then they dragged me to this cell.

I shook my head of the memory. I had relived it a hundred times in the past hour alone.

My cell door creaked as it swung open. Several large inmates marched into my cell, turning sideways as I had to.

I got to my feet and balanced my weight to spring forward and attack — attack was always the best defense.

They were likely there to beat me down — another part of my daily punishment. But they stopped, leaned to one side, and let a bulbous figure waddle into the room between them.

Seeing him sent my blood cold.

He peered at the narrow walls, the bucket in the corner, and the tiny shaft of light from the window above. He nodded. "Finally," he said, "you are where you belong."

Druin grinned at me through his broken teeth and chuckled. None of the other inmates joined him.

"What do you want?" I said.

Negotiation was the only card I had left to play, and I wasn't sure I had much to offer. But sometimes the things you considered worthless could be priceless to others.

"I wanted to come see you were being well taken care of," Druin said. "I can see I needn't have worried. Oh, and you might be interested to hear I've decided to take part in the championship. I'm the favorite to win too."

It took only a moment for me to realize what he was saying. The truth was, no one would stand up to him — not when he held the reins of power in the crime syndicate. He would pass straight to the finals and walk into the Prize Pool and Claim her…

Claim my fated mate.

My stomach roiled and I felt myself growing sick. "Don't do this. Whatever happened between us, it has nothing to do with Lily. Protect her. Keep the pledge Thillak made me."

Druin snorted. "And why should I do that?"

"Because word of your honor would spread among the inmates. They would respect you."

"They already respect me!" he spat.

I nodded. "Respect you even more. More than any other boss."

It was pathetic, but stroking Druin's ego was something he'd always liked. And when you were in my position, with nothing left to lose, you tried everything you could think of.

Druin took a moment to consider my words before shaking his head. "Look how low you've fallen. No, I won't abide by the promises of my predecessor. Instead, I will cut her, beat her, enough so that everyone will see the bruises on her face and treat her as the human garbage that she is. I might even arrange for you to come and watch."

Druin grinned with glee at the thought of it before turning on his heel and marching out of the cell.

His men folded in behind him. I caught a glimpse of Cayggod at the back, looking at me through his broken spectacles, a lost and forlorn look that might have been a reflection of my own.

I sent him a message with my pleading eyes, hoping he would somehow understand what I was begging him for: to give me a way out, the same way he had all those years ago with his advice. It hadn't worked out but maybe, just maybe, this time, it might.

He lowered his eyes, closed the door, and the lock snapped shut behind him.

I ran at the door and beat at it with my fists, kicking and clawing, kneeing and elbowing, and put not a single dent in it. It had been built from the hardest material in the known galaxy and could withstand anything a prisoner might throw at it.

Exhausted, I slid down the door and burst into tears. They couldn't escape my mask and formed a shallow puddle beneath my chin.

The worst had happened and Lily was going to pay for it. And that, more than anything, was what killed me the most.

* * *

I hadno idea when I had slipped into the welcome arms of sleep. It was the only way to escape for me now. My eyes felt rough and grainy like someone had poured sand into them.

I immediately peered up at the small shaft of light from my tiny window that had grown dimmer but had not yet turned to darkness.

How long had I slept? I wondered. Had I slept the entire day? With how exhausted I felt, how much my body ached, it was possible.

Had the worst already happened? Had Lily already paid for my mistakes?

Maybe not if I had only slept for a short time. After my nap, my mind had become clearer and I put it into considering what to do next.

After all, there was a way out of every situation. All you needed to do was have the right idea, say the right thing at the right time, mutter the magic words… and the problem would resolve itself.

But what was it? What was the solution?

I was trapped in the depths of Ikmal prison and Lily would suffer a rough and grisly fate if I failed.

What did I need to do? What could I say? And to whom?

I paced back and forth, searching out one solution after another. They all depended on the same thing: Getting out of this damn cage.

And that meant somehow bypassing the door and its security system. I approached it and ran my hands over it. Perhaps there was some weakness in it, some way I could force it open…

I felt at its edges and tried to slip my fingers between them. As I did, I felt something very strange.

I hooked my fingernails around the door's edge and pulled. And, incredibly, unbelievably, the door began to open.

This can't be happening, I said to myself. This wasn't real…

I stepped into the hallway, and peered up and down it. I saw one guard lying unconscious halfway down the hall.

I peered back at my cell and then the door. Someone had opened it for me and left it open.

Had that been what had awoken me? The soft thunk of the lock as it snapped into place? Now that I thought about it, there had been a sound that had shaken me from my sleep.

But I wasn't sure. When you were in the throes of deep sleep, it was hard to distinguish between the waking and sleeping worlds.

But someone had unlocked the door and taken out the guard. Someone was helping me.

I didn't know who and I didn't know for what purpose, and that made me nervous.

Maybe the Supervisor had ordered it done? Or Druin? As some way to make me feel hopeful? Was someone toying with me? Did they want my hopes to be raised only to be dashed the moment I turned the corner and found a squad of guards there to beat me into submission?

I wouldn't waste this chance. I had nothing to lose.

I pressed on, turning one corner after another, ignoring the howls of defeat from the crazy inmates.

Or maybe it had been Cayggod? He had been the last one to touch my door. Had he left it unlocked somehow?

But he would be sacrificing himself too and would turn the Supervisor, Druin, and all the guards against him. Although he had helped me in the past, it had, ultimately, been of benefit to him too.

Maybe something had changed in him, maybe serving Druin had pushed him over the edge?

His motivations didn't quite fit… but yet, who else was there?

I steadily rose through the hallways of the prison. As I did, I heard the roaring rush of excitement of the crowd that always came before the pit fighting championship took place.

The pits were my only chance now. Although I doubted they would allow me to claim my Prize if I won, I would at least get to see Lily one last time… and that made it all worthwhile.

The upper prison hallways were empty too, save for alien inmates rushing to get to the competition in time.

I followed behind and found the sign-up desks were still active. I slapped my hand on the first desk.

"Name?" the inmate sat at the desk asked without looking up.

"Ohara."

The inmate began to scribble my name when he paused and looked up at me. With the rumor circulating in the prison, there was no way he couldn't have heard the gossip about me.

He saw my ugly iron mask, blinked, and leaned over to whisper in another volunteer's ear. "Just a moment."

I slammed my fist on the desk. "No. No moments. No hesitations. I'm here to sign up and I will be put on the roster."

"I have to check with my superior first. This stuff is… unusual."

"You know the rules," I said before reciting the exact paragraph and subsection from the protocol guidebook. "That means I can enter the competition and no one can stop me. As long as a spot is available, you can't deny me."

There was a commotion as the crowd parted, revealing not the Supervisor as I'd expected but Druin. He looked my bedraggled appearance over and appeared stunned. At least that ruled him out as being the one involved with setting me free, I thought.

He eyed the inmates surrounding us warily before his fat flabby face split into a grin. "Let him enter. Those are the rules, after all. If he wants to get himself killed, so be it."

He turned and headed back into the champions' antechamber.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing," the inmate behind the desk said, tearing my name from a piece of paper and attaching it to the board.

So do I, I thought. So do I.