Chapter 10
The Fires That Cleanse had ruined this planet.
What I could see of it, anyway. More prepared for the vicious frozen winds this time, I scanned the short distance in front of me through tinted goggles.
Pink sand whipped through the air in every direction.
If my boots weren’t planted firmly on the ground, I wouldn’t know up from down.
My heart certainly didn’t know up from down.
Silver and I had grown so close over the last month that I’d thought we’d become friends.
At least on his end. I’d sailed past friendship the first time we’d watched a movie together.
A Boola friend would’ve shared their life source without a second thought.
I longed for Silver’s blood, though drinking from him didn’t even compare to sharing blood with friends and family.
Vibrant and rich, the liquid gold that ran through Silver’s veins came with the urge to pin him down and lick every inch of his body.
“Well, Silver isn’t a blanting Boola, is he?” I kicked the ground, sending a cloud of sand into the swirling vortex around me. Why had I gone and got myself so attached? Better yet, why hadn’t I explained my desperate need beyond a quick “I need blood, fresh meat should help”?
I scanned the topography grid on my wristport. The contours on the map indicated a steep drop-off ahead, but my gut instinct told me this was the way. Blind in the storm, I’d have to be extra careful with my footing.
After parting the fabric around my lips, I sucked the straw on my water container, but it did nothing to satisfy my need. No amount of water would quench the thirst thrumming through my veins. I’d waited too long.
The arrows rattled in my quiver as I trudged closer to the cliff’s edge. Would there be a safe route down? I twisted a length of rope, looping it around each leg before wrapping it around my waist in a makeshift harness, then tied it to a large black boulder.
“Sola”—I lifted my face to the swirling sky above me—“if you give me safe passage, I’ll be forever in your debt.”
On my next step, a wave of lightheadedness sent my foot over the narrow edge.
“Blant, blant, blant!” I whispered, braced against the rock face, body trembling as loose rocks tumbled from the ledge.
My ears strained, trying to hear them land, but with fear ringing even louder, I had no idea how much farther I had to go.
Only an idiot would initiate a hellfire suicide mission like this. But I’d convinced myself the reward would be worth it. That a blood bank might be waiting for me at the bottom.
What seemed like an eternity later, but according to my wristport amounted to only half a sun, I’d reached the bottom. Despite the dizziness and the thirst eating up most of my awareness, I did a little happy dance. In the darkest of times, small wins should be celebrated.
Beyond exhausted, I scanned the topo map on my wristport for any sign of shelter. A low area not too far ahead looked like it might be out of the wind. I plunged forward, surprised when the pink sand and ebony rocks I’d been walking on for so long gave way to stalks of graneth grass.
The long blades rustled against the leather protecting my legs, and I smiled as I plucked off a handful of ripe seed heads.
Black and blistered, the Fires That Cleanse had mutated them.
But every third or fourth seed was ripe, round and healthy.
I shook them loose and closed them in my fist, whispering a blessing over them before tossing them into the air.
According to the information C had sent me, where there was graneth grass, there would be mantu.
My steps turned lighter as I walked down the grassy hill.
The overwhelming thirst driving me abated for a moment, replaced by hope.
A few steps away, a lake rippled in the slight breeze.
At the shore, visible to even the untrained eye, hooves had churned the soft mud.
Perfect. I would make camp here. After putting up my basic shelter in the springy grass under a low, rocky shelf, I stretched out on a blanket. But despite my fatigue, I couldn’t stop worrying about Silver.
What if he got hurt? Stuck in one of those nasty places in between floors where most of his work took place. I’d forgotten to tell him that the newly planted d’ew seeds would need watering twice a day until the second leaf formed. Had he finished the pie I’d made him yet? Had he liked it?
My eyelids grew heavier as I stared at the rippling water ahead of me. Exhaustion set in, and I drifted to sleep with thoughts of Silver’s rich blood on my tongue.
A series of deep lows jerked me awake. Through the morning’s mist, a mantu with a calf drank from the watering hole. Heart racing, I reached for the quiver of arrows and, without a sound, slung my launcher over my shoulder. Keeping low, I moved into range.
Numbing venom leaked from my fangs along with the taste of his hot blood on my tongue.
But as the fog lifted and the animals came into full view, my stomach plummeted.
The poor mata was a mess of open sores, and the calf had an extra limb.
They clearly hadn’t made it out unscathed from the Fires That Cleanse.
It might take a few generations before the mutations worked themselves out.
No matter how desperate I was, I couldn’t risk ingesting their life source.
It might be toxic. The full moon shone beside the sun in the sky, mocking me.
Visible despite the daylight, it seemed to be counting down the time remaining until my sanity left me.
Soon I’d be nothing more than a beast, driven to find blood, no matter the source.
I prayed I would make it back to Silver before the blood fever took over. In time to beg for help.
“Best get on with it, then.” I strapped the quiver tightly to my side, rolled up my blanket and shelter and placed them in my pack. The mantu strip rolled around in my mouth like a choking paste.
Anchored in dread, I stared up at an endless expanse of ebony volcanic rock twisted and flattened into layers.
“Blant! How in the hellfire did I descend that cliff blind?” My wristport map showed a slight dip in the rock wall ahead, and I skirted the base, praying for a better way up.
What had I been thinking? That I’d just casually stroll through the storm, take down a healthy mantu, satisfy my need for blood and find my ship’s communicator? I snorted.
When a path opened among the rocks ahead and wound itself up the cliff face, I grinned so widely my fangs pierced my lower lip. The sweet taste of blood nearly buckled my knees.
I plodded up a trail no wider than my boot, worn from annums of agile mantu hooves.
What seemed like suns later, heart pounding, fangs aching, my feet skidded onto a solid black mass spanning the trail.
Warped and unnatural looking, it had to be a product of the extreme heat generated during the Fires That Cleanse.
I leaned against the crumbling wall, bracing myself while I gulped water. A sheet of glossy rock about the size of my parents’ swimming hole was nestled between two giant volcanic pillars in front of me. Should I turn back?
The wind picked up again, and despite the sweat trickling down my temples, I shuddered at the icy chill. At the far end, something flashed in the moon and sun’s light.
Quicker than I thought possible, I lurched toward the object.
When I finally stopped just staring at it like I’d conjured it from thin air, and admitted it was real, I fell to my knees.
My eyes blurred with tears as I picked it up, assessing the damage with the utmost care.
The blue light at its base flashed, and though the antenna twisted at an odd angle, it was intact.
I’d found the communicator.
Bless the goddess Sola. I cradled the lost treasure in my arms for a moment, then punched in the retrieval code. Biting my lip, I watched as the communicator light flickered and turned green. Message sent.
Message blanting sent!
My brother’s coming to get me. To get us.
In less than a rotation, I’d be off this planet and back with my family, sharing blood communally. With no shame. Without having to beg.
Fizzy and light, I jumped to my feet. The ground began to shake, rocks rattling loose around me, and the ebony sheet of rock, much too thin to stand on, shattered like glass. The communicator flew from my hands as I scrabbled to find purchase. But with nothing beneath my feet, I fell.
An image of my family’s last Lifesgiving holiday dinner flashed before my eyes. Around the long table, my mata and fata beamed while my brother’s wife shared a bowl of whisper berries with her daughter. My siblings elbowed each other, and I smiled, despite being the object of their joke.
When I clenched my hand, I looked down, surprised to find pale fingers intertwined with my own. A familiar crisp, clean scent filled the air. And as I gazed into Silver’s blue eyes, he leaned in and kissed me on the nose.
“What’s going on with you, silly? It’s like you’re somewhere else?”
Silver’s smiling face morphed into wavy black walls. Head spinning, I clutched my temples between my hands and closed my eyes. Silver kissing me on the nose and calling me silly—that could only be my imagination.
What the hellfire had happened?
I remembered the ground shaking, the communicator flying and the glass-like surface shattering beneath my feet.
When I looked up, the moon and sun high overhead lit the space I’d fallen into brighter than a lamp.
I’d landed in a small cavern. Walls worn shiny and smooth trickled with water from which seams of moss burst.
How far had I fallen? It only looked about four body lengths. I patted my arms and legs. Nothing hurt too badly.
I flipped my pack over, reaching for the rope—it should be a simple matter to get out of here—then froze when I remembered I’d left it tied to the top of the rock face.
How in hellfire’s blanting luck would my brother find me down here?