The Fadian Escape Page 6

“No, I know those woods very well. We’re somewhere closer to the settlement.”

  “What? Get us out of here!”

  “All right!” Egoly bit back. “Give me a moment. Something threw us off. I think it is Kaleigha, she’s waking up and sending out her own power.”

  “Then we should rest for a moment,” Mantua took back his previous statement. “Get her up and oriented before she sends us into the river and we all drown.”

  “I don’t quite feel safe here,” Egoly said, but there was no other option. He placed her on the ground and took a brief sweep of the area to reorient himself. He noticed Mantua I did the same. After a while, they both came to the agreement that they were indeed closer to the settlement than they were to Ilma’s camp. This wasn’t a bad thing, but it did throw them off by several miles. Egoly knelt beside Kaleigha used his power to wake her up.

  She sprang to her feet in a panic, but when she recognized them, her heart rate went back to normal.

  “Where are we? I had the most awful dream.” Kaleigha said as she stumbled away from them and then towards them.

  “We’re definitely in a nightmare, my dear,” Mantua said. “Have a seat and get some rest we’ll have to walk the rest of the way.”

  But before Kaleigha could take him up on his offer, the air filled with dust and the rumble of a stoner.

  “Take cover!” Egoly shouted. He and Mantua headed into the treeline for the cover of denser foliage, but Kaleigha stood there, staring up at the sky.

  “Kaleigha, come on!” Egoly bellowed.

  “The stoners will crush you if you’re out in the open like that,” Mantua waved at her.

  She didn’t acknowledge their shouting.

  The rumbling grew louder as the pieces falling from the ship grew larger.

  Mantua sprinted back out into the clearing, pushing her out of the way just as a boulder came at her. He was not so lucky. The boulder clipped his his legs and flung him like a rag doll into a pile of debris.

  Kaleigha screamed and crawled her way over to Egoly.

  Once the ship passed, they both sat there, afraid to see Mantua’s face.

  “He’s dead isn’t he ?” Kaleigha asked, hyperventilating quietly

  " I can’t feel him,” Egoly answered. “But we have to go and make sure.

  Before they could take action, Ilma and her personal guard swept into the clearing.

  “Leave him,” she commanded. “You already know he’s gone. We haven’t got time to waste Felder is up to something.”

  Chapter Eight

  Half an hour later, they were back in Ilma’s camp. Although Kaleigha’s coordination improved with each passing minute, Egoly fought a silent battle to resist supporting her every step. The attitude at the camp was cheerful and Egoly dares to let his guard down for a moment.

  “Kaleigha, what do you remember from the time you were under?” Egoly whispers.

  “You were there and you were not there,” Kaleigha frowned at him. “I always reached out, but you never answered until you were ready.”

  “So you do remember me?” Egoly’s stomach dropped.

  “Yes, but I also remember before,” Kaleigha gave him a tight smile.

  “What do you mean before ?”

  “I just remember the pain and giving up and Felder telling me that I was alone. And I was. Where were you then?”

  “I was fighting my own battles,” Egoly evades her question, but he wonders if he should confess before Ilma or Amina has a chance to rat him out.

  “I see.” Kaleigha looks away. “I wish I had gotten my cards before we left.”

  “I have them,” Amina appears before them and fishes the deck out of her pocket.

  “Oh, thank you,” Kaleigha doesn’t seem to recognize her cousin, but she smiles anyway.

  “No, Miss, the only way you’re getting these is if you come with me.”

  “Excuse me,” Ilma and Egoly flock to Kaleigha’s side.

  “There’s a shiny new pardon waiting for me back at the tower if I bring in ghost girl,” Amina smiled as if she’d escaped the maw of the beast instead of laying down on its tongue. “You can come to Egoly, but he’s not really interested. You’ll just be a bonus.”

  “You did what, now?” Ilma screeched.

  “I can’t trust you all. We’ve lived out in the shadows for generations, and all you’ve ever cared about is taking over the city. So let’s see how it feels to be strictly out for what I can gain from those assholes in the tower. Now, you’ll get a taste of your own medicine.”

  Egoly sprang to his feet. Something about her betrayal cracked a dark place within him and all of his rage spilled out. But not in some wild, uncontrollable fashion, instead he lifts a single finger and flicks it at Amina. As she dissolves from flesh to ghost, then into bright lights that float into the darkening sky a dead silence falls over the camp. The pack of cards falls to the ground and lands at Kaleigha’s feet.

  “I never knew you had it in you,” Ilma is the first to recover.

  Egoly doesn’t answer her instead he picked up the pack of cards and hands it to Kaleigha. “Thank you,” Kaleigha’s voice quivers as she takes the cards and holds them to her chest. “You’ve used them!” Her tone is confused but slightly accusatory.

  “Yes when I was alone and my thoughts were filled with you, they were the only way I knew to communicate.”

  “Egoly, that means so much to me,” Kaleigha beams.

  “Easy there, love birds. We have company,” Elma quickly gestures to her minions, who form ranks and aim themselves at a gap in the treeline.

  To Egoly’s surprise, all five of the elders emerge from the darkness and strutted into the camp as if they weren’t on Ilma’s hit list.

  “We have minutes to pull ourselves together before Felder arrives and takes us all prisoner,” Karen announces, with actual fear in her eyes.

  “I don’t take prisoners, Karen. You should know that by now,” Felder appeared from the opposite side of the camp. He paused, relishing the gasps and outright cries of terror, before continuing, “I can’t believe you all really thought that you could defeat me! I’ve known of your deception all along. In fact, I instigated it. I love seeing you all trip over yourself trying to be the hero, but I’m the only person who will survive this night.”

  And with no further fanfare, he lifted a crystal wand constructed from the same material that held Kaleigha captive and swung it in an arc.

  The effect was immediate and spectacular.

  The ghosts fell first, bursting into dazzling sparks that nearly blind Egoly. The humans go next, evaporating into a fine mist that sizzles when it meets the sparks.

  “This is your only chance,” Felder levels the wand at the elders.

  “We will not surrender,” Hailmon declares. “Carry out your revenge and know that we can never be truly gone as long as this world exists.”

  Felder smiles. “I was counting on you to say that.”

  With a twist of his wrist, the elders wink out one by one.

  “This world is mine, Ilma. And as long as I breathe, there is nothing you’ll be able to do to destroy it . That also means you’re mine. So get comfortable with the idea of never returning to the world beyond dreaming.” He paused, adjusting the wand in his hand before continuing. “I’ll make a one-time offer: come live in the tower. Return to a peaceful sleep and I promise the rest of your days will be filled with safety and security.”

  “That can never happen, Felder,” Ilma’s voice turned icy. “You know the terms of this experiment. It has to end. You’ve done what you could, but now you’ve got to give up.”

  “I’ve already won,” Felder laughed. “It’s just a matter of endings.

  Felder threw the wand over his shoulder and took off into the forest at a leisurely pace. “I’ll expect you three by morning,” he called and disappeared into darkness.

  “We still have a chance,” Ilma sprang into action, but Kaleigha dissolved into tears. Egoly’s heart clenched a
t the sight of her defeat.

  “We have to go back. We have to go back,” she said between sobs.

  “No, stupid girl,” Ilma snapped. “We’ll stay here and fight as we always have.”

  “We will not,” Egoly hoped his voice sounded final and didn’t shake like his soul. “That’s your fight we’re going back to where we have some amount of safety. Felder is evil, but he tried to keep his word.”

  “He did not!” Ilma’s exclaimed. “I know you’re not going to lie to me when you just saw that man confess he orchestrated the whole thing.”

  “You’re right and perhaps we deserved it, but this is no life for Kaleigha,” Egoly helped Kaleigha to her feet and put an arm around her waist. “We’re going back and will broker what deals we can with the devil himself.”

  “You’ll regret this,” Ilma called as they follow the path back into the city.

  Chapter Nine

  Morning arrived and it was if nothing had changed.

  Felder sat at the head of the dining room table, taking reports from his captains on the damage done by Ilma’s raid. Egoly caught Jim’s name in a list of casualties and wished him peace. The only difference, besides Jim’s absence, was Kaleigha’s presence.

  She sat at the breakfast bar, shuffling and reshuffling her deck of cards. It was almost meditative. He sat there a few minutes listing to the sound of the deck.

  Egoly watched her as she pulled three cards repeatedly as if looking for some answer that eluded her.

  “Egoly.” Felder called on him to report. Egoly pulled himself together long enough to report the destruction of the settlement and the village, the loss of Mantua, and his inability to capture Ilma.

  “Excellent job,” Felder said glossing over the fact that he and Kaleigha had shown up in the middle of the night to surrender themselves back into his custody. They were given rooms in the penthouse and with no further fanfare and left to their own devices.

  “Be there in the morning to give a report,” Felder had said to him before disappearing into his own suite.

  Egoly was struggling to pay attention to yet another report when Kaleigha whispered his name. He looked over at her and she seemed more alive than she had since he broke her out.

  With a brief nod to Felder, who didn’t acknowledge him, Egoly got up to see what she was talking about.

  “I found it,” she said, her eyes glowing. “I found the way out!”

  “What are you talking about?” Egoly looked at Felder who appeared not to be paying attention but had probably heard the whole exchange.

  “The crystals they’re the key,” She looked at him with great expectation.

  “I think you might be feeling the effects of last night,” Egoly grinned at her as if it was a wonderful joke. “Perhaps I can take you to the room.”

  “No, I’m fine!” She said a little too loud. Her protest drew a few stares from the people at the table.

  “Okay, Okay!” He tried to keep her calm. “Show me what you see.”

  “Right here,” She pointed. “Follow these to the world beyond dreaming.”

  He looked at the layout. It was an ace of diamonds, a nine of diamonds, and a jack of hearts. Openings, endings, and a foolish heart?

  “Let’s take your cards and go somewhere more private,” Egoly said.

  Kaleigha nodded and gathered the deck before following him to the dining room.

  “We aren’t leaving, Kaleigha,” Egoly whispered once they were in the hallway “We accepted the Union’s protection.”

  “We only said that to get closer to the lab,” Kaleigha scoffed. “But we have to get away from Felder before he figures that out.”

  “If you’re thinking it, then he already knows.”

  “Get me into the lab. I can’t explain it any better. I’ll just have to show you.”

  Egoly looked back at the dining room. He cursed the tiny bud of excitement that sprouted the moment he saw the spread.

  “Ok, but they probably won’t let us in.”

  They took the elevator down to the lab and found it unguarded. They quickly jogged down the hall and entered the lab. Two new crystal caskets were arranged in a square with the original two, boxing in the translucent figures of the elders.

  “What are you all doing here?” Egoly asked.

  “We’re his prisoners,” Alya said. “Without our bodies, he can command us to do as he pleases.”

  “I don’t understand I thought you were human,” Kaleigha asked.

  “You really are stupid,” Hailmon said. “We are fadian,too. We’re just not as developed as you are. Our powers match yours just not as advanced. We are not easy to dispose of like the ghost or even other duds.”

  Kaleigha squinted and held up the nine of diamonds.

  “You see! do you see it?” She tapped the card.

  Egoly did not, but he nodded all the same. He was far more concerned with the fact the elders were fadian, too.

  “We have to reverse the polarity and we’re out of here.” She was cheerful for someone who’d just been called stupid.

  “What makes you think we’re going to let you out of the lab?” Hailmon and his sisters drifted higher in their prison.

  “Don’t get in our way, Hailmon,” Egoly stepped closer to Kaleigha. “I’ve had enough of you for a thousand lifetimes.”

  “You’ll have to hold them off,” Kaleigha retreated behind him and began work. The deep thrum of her power made him dizzy. “There’s no way I can fight them and reverse the crystals, too. "

  “If we’re stuck here, you’re stuck here as well,” Delaine said. “No one gets out.”

  “Once you leave, the experiment will be over.” Danesha’s voice was softer, but the threat was still there.

  Egoly wasn’t sure what was going on but if Kaleigha said to do it, he was going to try his best. His power was easier to muster this time.He thought back to all the horrible things he’d suffered at their hands over the decades and how they’d gladly put him back in that ghastly twilight of existence. The power released from his hands in undulating arcs of light that glittered charmingly beneath in cold light of the lab. The elders did not recoil so it surprised Egoly when his lazy bolt slashed the elders into ribbons that dissolved into nothing. And just like that, Egoly was free.

  But Kaleigha wasn’t doing as well. The crystal knew her and fought her hard. He reached out, trying to add his energy to hers, but the room spun and everything in it trembled.

  “I don’t think we’re doing this right,” Egoly said, but Kaleigha disagreed.

  “Keep going, we’re almost there!” After a few more moments of struggle, a white blot materialized above the caskets. It shimmered and grew in time with the rumble of the lab. For a second, it seemed like they would soon be free.

  “No!” a childish voice came from somewhere nearby. “You cannot leave.”

  It was Corbin. The child that Egoly saved from total annihilation.

  “You can come with us,” Egoly offered. “You don’t have to stay.”

  “I’m not going to the world beyond dreaming,” He said, shaking his head. “You will die there. I’ve seen it.”

  “I’ve seen it, too, and it’s not the same,” Egoly said. “We have a place there and people who are waiting for us.”

  “They’re going to kill, Egoly. You need to stay and cooperate.” Corbin reached out for them, closing his hand into a fist and pulling.

  It shocked Egoly that the child was strong enough to drag them away from the portal they created.

  “I don’t think you understand,” Egoly planted his feet and threw his arm around Kaleigha’s waist. “If we stay here, Felder will keep us captive and put us in these caskets. We will never get to leave the lab.”

  “That isn’t true!” Corbin shouted. He lost his rational, level demeanor. “You’re not even supposed to be in this room. If you comply, you’ll be fine. If you give yourself space, you can stop thinking of yourself as special and better than everyone else. You can al
low yourself to get along and work with Felder to keep this entire city alive.”

  “I’m sorry little man,” a sour taste bubbled up in Egoly’s mouth. “This is not something I can do anymore. I spent years underground, powering the very City you’re striving to save. And I would still be there if it hadn’t been for Kaleigha. We’re leaving you can come with us or you can stay.”

  “I won’t let-“ Egoly didn’t let the child finish the sentence. Egoly reached for his power and aimed directly at the child’s head.

  He regretted it almost immediately as his powers bounce off of the child and ricochet around the lab shooting sparks. It’s enough to annihilate them all.

  “Here we go!” Kaleigha shouted. The blot enfolded them, putting a hazy sheen between them and the lab.

  “Come back here! Come back here!” Corbin cried. “You’re making a mistake. Please, I’m begging you don’t go to the world beyond dreaming. "

  The last thing Egoly heard as the lab disappeared was Felder’s angry bellow.

  Chapter Ten

  Egoly came to and sat up straight. Kaleigha was still tucked in arms and she moaned from the sudden motion.

  “Kaleigha,” he shook her gently, “We’re here, love. Wake up!”

  Egoly looked around trying to take in their surroundings as quickly as possible, but there was no perceivable threat. They were in a large, windowless room where the only natural light came from a large metal door with a long rectangular window. The area was divided into a number of plots and each plot contained some interesting configuration. A young woman sat cross-legged next to one of these configurations on the far side of the room, tapping on a datapad. She looked up when Kaleigha moaned a second time.

  “Hello!” She waved, “How was the transition?”

  “It was,” Egoly looked down at the woman in his arms and touched her face. Kaleigha’s eyes fluttered, but she did not wake up. “Where are we?”

  “You’ve completed your tutorial and are now at basecamp,” the woman got up but did not approach them. She seemed to be waiting for a reaction.