A mysterious past, an unrequited love, and a desperate need to find himself, fifteen-year-old Kalyn has enough to occupy him without being on the verge of a massive societal upheaval. Join Kalyn and his friends as they explore what it means to come...
There is no knowing how long the attack persists. I drift in and out of consciousness as my flesh is torn. A shrill whistle, and my assailants begrudgingly retreat. The wolves would have eaten me whole, if left to their own devices. I am certain of it. The mangy pack is almost is as ragged as the people of Balai. Corsa was not exaggerating to assert that Dager has been just as cruel to his followers.
My arm is lifted, and I am dragged without concern for my life or comfort, into a cell. The metal doors click shut with finality, but I am strangely grateful for it. I am tired. So very tired and so cold. I slip into a delirious unconsciousness without a care beyond my current pain and how I might put an end to it. The rends in my flesh plague me even as I dream.
I dream I am on fire in a bed of razors. I dream I am back in the desert. I dream that the Inteans have used their entire arsenal of weapons against me. It hurts to move. It hurts to sit still. Mab seems like a distant idea. She could be on a different planet for all the good we might do each other. Her predicament is the least of my concerns as I lie bleeding on the pavement.
We have lost. My family will starve along with the people of Balai. I curse her for trusting her wicked sire. I curse myself for letting her convince me. I curse Kov for not trying harder to talk sense into us. Now we will all die.
I wonder what has become of Ohna. With any luck, she is safe, still, at the farmhouse with Teak, though Dager will be looking for them. Who knows what Mab has told him. The bitterest parts of me fear that she has told him all, betrayed us for a chance at her own salvation. A darker part of me worries that this is what I would have done if given the chance.
I simply cannot think through this misery. It colors everything I do. I pray for the blanket of unconsciousness, for at least that dampens my feeling somewhat. My memory is a flicker of days and nights. Of gruel and questions. I couldn't talk if I wanted. My voice is lost to screaming.
Some kind soul presses water into my hands, washes it over my wounds with their hand to my mouth to prevent me from shrieking. It occurs to me that they should not be here. I allow them to help me without resistance, even though it is no hope. We have lost.
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"Wake up," Kov demands one night from the cell next to mine. I do my best to ignore him. The fight has gone out of me. I want nothing more than to wallow. Still, he presses.
"Wake up, Kal."
"What?"
"You have to summon him."
"Who," I say dimly, unable to even muster a question.
"Wart."
"Wart," I repeat. "I can't."
"Sure you can."
"No, really. I have never been able to communicate with him the way the others do." I shut my eyes. For all I know, he's flown off somewhere better. I wouldn't blame him.
"I haven't with Grif, either," he admits. "I don't even know if he is still alive. Those wolves really went after him." I hear a choked sound. "What did Agan say, though? You just... have to try to find them...? In your mind?"
"I'm too tired, Kov. Please. Just leave me alone."
"Okay," he snarls. "I guess we should just give up, then."
"That was my plan," I tell him as my eyes drift shut once more. There is a rattling of the bars that causes me to jump. I can feel my wounds split open at the movement.
"You are so pathetic, Kal," he tells me, and I want to assure him that I know. "You know all of those years I picked on you...?"
"How could I ever forget?"
"I did it because I couldn't stand the way you acted. Always quiet. Always afraid. Even when you knew the answer, you would let some other kid take credit. You always shied away from playing with the other kids, even though... I've seen you in the fields. You probably could have taken me if you'd ever put your mind to it. But I knew you wouldn't. Because you're weak. Not in your body, but in your mind."
I blink at the dripping ceiling, unsure how this is supposed to rally my mood.
"You have friends. You have family. And they need you. You spend all this time feeling sorry for yourself. You're so alone. You're so helpless. Well, you're not. And, I hate to tell you this, but it's a double-edged sword, Kal. If you can do something, you have to do something. You don't think I would rather crawl into some abyss? You don't think I wish there weren't people out there who needed me to be strong? It's exhausting, but it has to be done... because if I don't do it, no one else will. Well, now it's your turn, Kal. Time to do what needs to be done. Time to save the day."
My silence infuriates him.
"We're all tired. Please. Wake up."
I hear him fall in a heap.
"You know what? Fine." He huffs into the emptiness. After some time, I hear the imitation of a howl. Kov is trying to find Grif, wherever he is... Incite him for help, if he can... but there is no answer.
