Chapter 8 #2
“I guess there will be no incense or sweets in any of your honor,” I mutter. It’s probably for the best. I never was very religious, even before Da died. I would have probably forgotten and brought down the wrath of the pantheon on myself instead. All to avoid a conversation with my best friend.
“What was that?” Dom asks, leaning closer.
“Nothing.” I scrub a hand over my face.
Dom pries my hand away from my eyes and holds it gently. I study the dirt lining his cuticles rather than look him in the eye.
“I know last night was a lot. I’m sorry about that.
I didn’t want it to go like that. But I’m scared, Ollie.
There are runners coming and going from my aunt’s house at all hours, first and second shift.
And there’s a council meeting tomorrow. If this is going to work, the union has to happen before they can accuse you.
I need to tell my aunt so she can head this off quietly.
” Dom clutches my hand tight, like if he lets go I’ll go careening down a crevasse—
Two thick leaf-wrapped packets slam onto the table. I quickly withdraw my hand.
“I don’t remember inviting you to join us.” Caius towers over Dom.
“Captain,” Dom says, raising his chin.
“Leave,” Caius growls.
“This is a public space—”
“And you are in my seat.”
Dom kicks out the seat beside him. “Why don’t you take another, Captain?”
Caius plants his hands on the stone table and leans down until he is nose to nose with Dom, his anger so palpable that the shadows around him appear to tremble. “Do not forget who you are talking to.”
Dom stands, pressing into what little space remains between them. “I never forget the monster you have become, Caius.”
Caius moves so fast I swear he blurs, grasping Dom’s collar. He shoves Dom back into the wall and raises a fist—
“No!” I scream, jumping over the table and grabbing Caius by his clenched fist before he can deliver the blow.
Caius’ breath comes in rapid succession, the muscle in his jaw feathering as if he is biting back words.
When his eyes shift to mine, they are swallowed in shadow.
He presses his eyes closed, appearing to shake the dark thoughts from his head, and when his gaze lands on me once again the illusion cracks, leaving only the pale green of a summer storm cloud, any darkness erased, a trick of the light.
Slowly, I lower my hand, bringing Caius’ fist to his side.
“Ollie, let’s go,” Dom grabs my elbow, and I feel Caius tense, his fist still held in mine. I pull away from Dom.
“Dom, you should go,” I say gently.
Hurt flashes in Dom’s eyes. “Ollie, we have to decide—”
“I’ll come by your place tonight,” I say quickly.
Dom’s face softens. “Okay.” He then gives Caius a glare that says their business isn’t done before he slips away through the crowd.
I feel Caius’ gaze burning through me as I watch Dom go. It’s only then that I realize I’m still holding his fist, cradled between my palms, my thumb stroking soothing circles over the back of his hand. He stands completely still, as if he’s just as interested in what I will do next as I am.
I clear my throat and shove my hands into my pockets, falling back into my chair.
“Did you have to go off on him?” I ask softly.
“Tell him no.” Caius’ hands are balled into fists so tight his knuckles blanch.
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about my union with Dom.”
Caius grunts and slides into the seat in front of me. “That was before he interrupted my meal.” Caius unwinds the twine that holds the leaf-wrapped packet sealed, then slides one over to me before moving on to the second.
“So we’re not going to talk about what just happened?”
Caius nudges my meal closer, refusing to answer. “Rice cake, with green onions and preserved meat.”
I want to rage at Caius. This is my decision to make, not his. But with him refusing to engage, I resign myself to pulling back the leaf wrapping.
Caius looks up at me tentatively.
“Stop doing that,” I snap as I take a bite.
The gooey rice is saturated with a subtly sweet earthy taste from the leaves; a sharp pop and a spicy note from the green onions hits my tongue and the salt of the meat makes me melt—literally.
I lay my head on the table, cold stone pressing against my cheek, and I close my eyes to savor the medley, nearly forgetting what had just happened between Dom and Caius. Nearly.
Caius chuckles, “Dom can’t get your food order right every time.”
“I bet he could,” I say, even though I know it isn’t true. Dom is many things—kind and gentle, smart and funny—but observant isn’t one of those things. Unless you happen to be a plant.
Caius shakes his head with one of his half-grins. “No, he can’t.” He takes a bite of his own food, though his gaze remains solely on me. He licks his lower lip, eyeing me like he might take a bite.
“Caius, stop looking at me like that.” I wish my words carried more of a bite in return.
Caius leans forward and lowers his voice. “There are other things I know he can’t do as well as me.”
“Oh my gods, Caius, shut up.”
Caius leans back and smirks at me. “I think you like it.”
“What is with you today? Did that little cock-measuring competition bolster your already over-saturated ego?”
Caius’ grin turns feral, and I regret making a comment that mentioned his cock, but at least he has the good sense to keep quiet for the rest of the meal.
I don’t have it in me to deal with Caius today.
If he pushes me too far, I just might snap.
What am I going to do? This was already a bad situation, trapped as I am by the council, but I thought I had time.
The project is far from complete. But they never intended for me to finish, did they?
There was no need. They knew there was nothing wrong with the aqua infrastructure.
My father may have been labeled a traitor, but his only crime against these people was possessing forbidden magic.
Magic that he had used to make this city the greatest in The Below.
I sniff back tears. Caius glances at me out of the corner of his eye as he walks me back to my cavern.
I’m grateful when he looks forward again rather than commenting.
Caius is as much a problem as Dom and the council.
They are all puzzle pieces that don’t fit together quite right, and if I can’t figure it out, it’s my body that will burn on the sky pyre.
I leave Caius at the cavern entrance without a word. He’s not my salvation, but neither is Dom. If my father, with his magic and wit, could be brought low by these people, what chance did boys playing as men have? No, if I were going to survive this, I would have to save myself.
I pause outside my mother’s door, yearning for her to cradle me in her arms, to make everything right as only a mother can.
But I’m no longer a child. The monsters I face are not figments in the dark.
I am the one who must save her from this place, save all of us.
The magic is fading, and instead of fighting for solutions, Councilman Amarala will pin this on me, on my father’s legacy. He will lead us all to ruination.
The stone is cool under my fingertips as I climb slowly to my dwelling, pressing my hands into the bedrock of my home.
Please send me answers, I beg as I collapse to my knees before my bed.
I consider sending a prayer, seven prayers, begging each of the gods to shine their favor on their people of The Below.
But I dismiss the thought as soon as it’s formed.
My gods couldn’t even protect me from a conversation with Dom.
I am alone.
I fold over, wrapping my arms around myself and choking on my sobs to keep the sound from carrying.
Bat butts his head into my ribs with a rumbling purr as he rubs against my thigh.
I scoop him into my arms and nuzzle my face into his fur.
In return, he rubs his head against my jaw, then taps my father’s leather cuff, wrapped around my left wrist, hiding the brand beneath.
I scratch him behind the ears, but he continues to tap at the cuff.
“What do you want, boy?”
Tap, tap, tap.
The cuff…I slowly unbuckle the fastener and let the leather fall into my lap. Bat cocks his head to the side with his single-tooth grin. The mark stands out like a brand against my skin, glowing softly in the dim light.
The dragons…the dragons. “Bat, you beautiful genius!”
Bat mews and settles into my lap, satisfied that I have figured out his cues.
The dragons, my mind races. We live underground because the dragons rule The Above.
But if my father’s stories were true, if there was even a grain of fact in the fairytales, this wasn’t always so.
There was a time when dragon riders ruled as far as the eye could see.
Dom’s plants were thriving in The Above.
It was only the crops in The Below that were failing.
If we could claim enough land in The Above to feed Bǎodela, we could save the city.
If I could bond a dragon, maybe that would be enough to save our home, or at the very least buy more time.
I push out a long breath. It’s a long shot.
I wasn’t even certain where the hatching grounds were.
All I had to go off was a silly nursery rhyme my father used to tell me…
and yet, his stories always had the ring of truth, always told in hushed voices in empty caverns, a secret shared between the two of us.
“This is crazy…tell me this is crazy, Bat?”
Bat gives me a look that says: you are the one talking to a cat.
My mind races, trying to see any other possibilities…
but there are none. Even if I united with Dom to save myself, Bǎodela would still fall.
If I trusted in Caius to protect me, he may fight for me, kill for me, but still Bǎodela would die.
There was no scenario in which Bǎodela did not fall, no scenario except the wisp of a crazy dream.
When there are no possibilities left, that is when the line between sanity and insanity blurs.
I set my jaw and grab my pack. This is it.
I will succeed and clear my family name, or I will die on my own terms.
Bat mews, butting his head into my calf.
“You’ll be just fine without me.” I bend down and scratch under his jaw.
“You already hunt your fill.” He rolls over, and I rub his round belly.
“In fact, you could probably do to eat a little less.” He cocks his head at me.
“Who am I kidding? Mama is going to spoil you with all the treats you can eat while I’m gone.
When I come back, I bet you’ll be too fat to even climb up to our home.
” If I come back. My throat constricts at the thought.
Because it is if. There are no guarantees, especially in The Above.
I scoop Bat into my arms. He purrs loudly, and I hold him tight and kiss his head before I let him go.
Moving like a whirlwind, I stuff items into my pack: bedroll, wool-lined jacket, a change of clothing, cricket bars, water flask, and an antique cylindrical brass lighter my father gave me. I flip the lighter open and closed, mentally running through my packing list before tucking it away.
I need to be out of the caverns before Dom comes looking for me. Guilt twists my gut at leaving him behind without an explanation. I can’t leave things like that, not when he was willing to give me his whole life, to sacrifice his own dreams. I quickly scrawl an apology:
Dom,
I know you think a union is the only way to save me.
But I just might be crazy enough to save us all.
I think the answers lie in The Above and if I'm right, you'll be able to tend your crops yourself in the sunlight when this is all done.
You've always been a brother to me. One I don't deserve.
Thank you for always having my back. Now it's time I have yours.
Ollie
PS if I'm right you owe me a honey stick.
Tears cloud my eyes and I blink them back with a chuckle. It will have to be enough. I write a second letter, this one to my mother. I don’t want her to worry. I ask her to watch over Bat and know that he will be the one looking over her.
I seal the letters and leave them on the stone table chiseled from the wall, next to an ornate dagger, the handle carved from white jade, inlaid with prasiolite and wrapped in dyed black leather, worn soft and supple from years of use.
Nestled in a black leather scabbard stitched with matching jade and prasiolite stones.
My fingers brush over the hilt, hesitating.
It’s been mine for a long time now, longer than it was ever his, and yet I consider leaving it behind, not wanting to take any piece of Caius with me.
But in the end, I am weak. I wrap my hand around the hilt.
The leather feels like home, and I finally feel complete once it’s placed at my hip where it belongs.
Then there is nothing left to do but leave.