Chapter 24

Ithink I open my eyes, but nothing changes. It's dark. Almost, somehow, darker than it was with them closed. My head throbs with every beat of my heart. I groan as I push myself up onto my elbows. A wave of nausea comes. I wait for it to pass before finishing sitting up.

I'm sitting on something hard. I fun my hands under my butt and decide it must be stone. It's cool to the touch, so much so that the chill is soaking into my bones. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Perhaps the pain would be worse if I wasn't so cold.

I put my hand in front of my face but can't see a thing. I don't want to risk hurting myself further, so I crawl with one arm thrust out to find any obstacles. It doesn't take long to have the scope and understand that I'm in a cell. I knock over what feels like a bucket, and it rattles loudly, echoing off the stone walls.

A voice calls out when I do. I freeze in place, afraid to attract the wrong kind of attention. The voice speaks again, in Urr'ki, but it sounds different than what I expect. It takes me a moment to think through the pain and realize that it's not a male voice.

"Hello?" I say in Zmaj. "Who is that?"

"You speak Zmaj," the voice says.

It's definitively female. It's easier to recognize it as such in a language that is less harsh than the Urr'ki's.

"Yes, yes," I say, excitement building, but then I wonder if it's a guard. Or if this is some kind of trap and fear follows in the wake of that. "Are you, uh, are you a guard?"

"No," she says, but there is a rueful note in her voice. "Far from it."

"Oh," I say.

I shift myself around and hold my head between my hands trying to control the throbbing pain. A whimper slips before I can squash it. The pain is really, really bad.

"Are you okay?"

"No," I say then the tears break loose.

"I understand," the voice says, speaking softly. "What is your name?"

"Gweneth," I answer.

"Hmm," she muses. "That is not a Zmaj name, nor an Urr'ki."

"No," I say, making the mistake of shaking my head which causes the pain to explode. I whimper and squeeze the sides of my head in an attempt to keep it from exploding.

"Tell me, are you one of the Star People that joined the Zmaj?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," I say. "You know about us? How long have you been here?"

"I do," she says, and I hear her moving. Her voice gets a little louder. "As for how long, I am not sure. Time is hard to measure here."

"I bet," I sigh. "What's your name?"

"You can call me Rani," she says.

"Rani, that's a pretty name," I say.

"Thank you," she says. "It was my grandmothers."

"What can you tell me of what is happening outside? How are my—the people? The quake, did it cause much damage? Do you know how many people were hurt?"

"I don't know much," I say, but something tugs at me making me feel suspicious. I try to think what it is that is bothering me, but my head hurts too much to focus on it. "The Maulavi have kept me with a guard, and I've barely been outside his house."

"Who?"

"Huh?"

"Who was your guard?"

"Oh, uhm, Khiara, but his brother Dilacs was helping him out. But the quake did do a lot of damage. I did go out after it and there was a, well a lot."

"Oh," she says and the sadness in her voice is palpable.

We sit in silence for a moment and I'm pretty sure I hear her sob. It's quiet, suppressed, but I think that's what it is.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I am far from okay," she says. "But tell me more. I only know what they feed to me and that is only done to torture."

"Torture?" I ask, my voice cracking.

Why? It's not like I should expect anything less. The Shaman is as evil as they come. Gershom, that poor bastard, couldn't hold a candle to this guy.

"Let us speak of happier things," she says.

"Yeah," I say, choking the word out.

"Tell me of these brothers," she says. "Their names sound familiar."

I clear my throat, wipe my tears, and tell her about them. It passes the time here in the dark and takes my mind off every other terrible thing. When something shuffles across the floor I yell and leap to my feet then I yelp because of the pain in my head.

"What the?—"

I can't finish the words. It seems to be gone but I'm so revolted and nervous because I can't see what made the sound.

"Do not worry," she says. "It's only a cuha. Scavengers. Harmless," she pauses for a long breath then adds, "as long as we are alive."

"Cheery thought," I say.

"I am sorry," she says and the sadness in her voice is not only clear, but almost overwhelming. "I have been here a long time. Please, continue the tale of the brothers. Hearing of them brings joy to my heart."

Before I can continue there is the scraping of a door opening followed by footsteps. They're coming closer. A lump is in my throat and my chest feels tingly as fear builds.

This is it. They're going to torture and kill me now.