Chapter 1 #2
I’m also young and easy to overlook—too small to threaten the Zmaj or intimidate the Urr’ki, too human to be momentous. My pulse pounds.
“You want me to go out there,” I say softly. “Alone.”
Calista holds my gaze with gentle but unyielding strength.
“There was a time when we humans had no choice but to step into danger. You’re not a child anymore, Lia. You’re one of us. One of the few who can blend with every group, every faction.”
“No one listens to me,” I argue weakly.
“They don’t need to listen,” Calista says. “You only need them to ignore you.”
“Comforting,” I mutter.
Jolie squeezes my shoulder.
“You don’t have to accept. We can send someone else.”
But the thought of someone else dying because I hesitated makes bile rise in my throat. I look at the sick hunters. Think of the dying plants. Of the aching tension in the camp pulling us apart like seams about to rip. Tajss has been through enough. We all have.
“Tell me what I need to find,” I say.
Relief breaks across Calista’s face. Jolie’s eyes soften, warm with pride.
“First,” Calista says, gesturing to the vine sample in my basket, “we analyze this. Then we pack you provisions. You’ll need at least three days’ worth.”
Jolie adds, “Stay near shaded formations. Avoid the deeper valleys. And… Lia—”
I meet her gaze.
“Stay alive.”
A lump forms in my throat, thick and heavy. “I intend to.”
Brook lingers behind, looking uncomfortable. “You really think it’s that bad out there?”
“It’s Tajss,” I say. “It’s always that bad.”
Brook snorts, but Calista nods.
“It is always best to be cautious. Nothing is ever as it seems—or at the end. There are—”
Jolie grabs her shoulder. It’s subtle, and I don’t think Brook notices, but I do, because Calista doesn’t finish the thought. Calista never leaves a thought unfinished. Ever. I look between the two of them, curious.
“Many dangers in the desert,” Calista finishes, but there is no doubt in my mind that is not what she was going to say.
“I did bring back a sample,” I say, nodding to the bag at my hip.
“Good, let’s examine that,” Jolie says. “Maybe this trip won’t even be necessary.”
We leave the infirmary and return to the tent where they’ve put together what serves as a makeshift laboratory.
It takes half the day to study the plant properly.
By the time Calista and Jolie finish, the suns are dipping low.
Evening shadows stretch long across the dunes, and crimson bleeds into the sky.
The sick Urr’ki are worse. One is unconscious, the other barely responsive.
Around the camp, Zmaj warriors pace like caged beasts, anxious and furious.
Humans gather in small groups, whispering fears.
The Urr’ki retreat into their own groups.
Tensions rise, and it is only a matter of time before violence breaks out between the factions.
Contamination equals starvation equals death.
Calista calls me to her worktable inside the botany tent.
“We ran chemical scans and can say with certainty that whatever’s causing this is not natural.”
“What is it?” I ask.
She hesitates. “We think… a leak.”
“A leak from what?”
Jolie’s voice is soft but firm. “A ship.”
The ground feels like it sways under me.
“A crashed one?” I whisper.
“We think so,” Calista says. “Metallic traces are very similar to the alloys used in the generation ship, but the composition isn’t a perfect match.”
“So something else.”
Jolie nods grimly. “Possibly.”
My heart slams painfully. “You think it’s some other ship? Some other… species? One we haven’t encountered before?”
“Whatever it is, we know it is releasing toxins into the soil,” Calista says, meeting my eyes. “And if we don’t find it, everything within miles will die.”
The vine. The animals. The hunters. Us.
“So I need to track the contamination,” I say.
“Yes,” Jolie says, squeezing my arm. “And you’re the only one who won’t draw attention before we’re ready.”
“Lucky me,” I murmur.
Calista lifts a small cloth pouch and hands it to me.
“Supplies. Dried fruit, water vials, emergency salve, minor antidotes. And your maps.”
I swallow hard. “When do I leave?”
Calista hesitates only a moment. “Now.”
Brook’s voice pipes up from behind. “Now? It’s almost dark!”
“That’s why she needs to go,” Jolie says. “Whatever is leaking… it’s spreading fast.”
Calista looks at me with steady determination. “The longer we wait, the more we risk.”
I nod slowly. “Okay.”
Brook stares at me like I’ve grown extra heads. “You’re insane.”
“Probably,” I say, tying the pouch to my belt.
Calista shifts closer and grips both my shoulders.
“Fear is good, Lia. It keeps you alert, but don’t let it rule you.”
“I won’t.”
Jolie touches my cheek, motherly. “You are ready.”
The words hit something deep inside—something small and half-hidden that has never quite believed I’m anything more than background noise. Younger. Smaller. Quieter. Not the first pick for anything. Yet here they are, choosing me. Because they believe in me. And that belief is a terrifying gift.
Brook lets out a breath. “If you die, I’m going to be really pissed. So… don’t.”
I huff a laugh. “I’ll do my best.”
Calista steps back, giving me the space to move.
“Three miles south is where the hunters fell ill. Start there. Look for plants that resemble your sample. Follow the pattern. It will lead you to the source.”
“And if it’s a ship?”
She hesitates, and that alone is terrifying.
“Then don’t go inside,” she says. “Not until you return with reinforcements.”
I nod. “Got it.”
Jolie hands me my pruning knife, recently sharpened.
“Stay alert, keep to the dunes’ shadows, and Lia—”
“Yes?”
She smiles, small but warm. “Make us proud.”
The knot in my chest loosens just enough to breathe.
“I will.”
As I step out of the tent, the first stars sparkle in the red twilight. The dunes glow faintly beneath the moon rising overhead, casting the whole desert in soft silver and crimson shadows.
Behind me, the settlement murmurs with worry. Zmaj growls, human whispers, Urr’ki grunts—all blended into a single trembling chord of fear.
In front of me, Tajss stretches vast and endless. Harsh. Deadly. Beautiful.
Something is poisoning this world. And if I don’t find it, it will kill us all. The desert wind brushes my cheek, carrying heat even in the dark.
“Okay, Tajss,” I whisper. “Show me what you’re hiding.”
And I step forward into the night.