A Dome of Blood Read online

  “Yeah, not my biggest injury so far,” I replied, then glanced at Sofia. “Are you okay?”

  Sofia scoffed, shaking her head in dismay. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

  “I wasn’t going to let you die, Mom. None of us were willing to do that,” Rose said. I could almost feel her anguish, as it was clearly imprinted on her face.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Ben added.

  He couldn’t say much else, given that we were surrounded by hostiles who kept giving us sideways glances. The air felt so thick between us that a mere flinch could trigger them. I kept my cool as they led us down the massive hallway.

  The diamond dome doors opened wide. The Perfects motioned for us to go in. We obeyed, calmly walking into our temporary new home—a hopeful emphasis on “temporary.” Derek and the others quickly gathered in the middle of the massive hall, then rushed toward us.

  “Sofia!” Derek gasped, then darted forward and took her in his arms. “Honey… You’re okay!”

  She nodded briskly, then showered him with kisses. A few seconds later, the other prisoners reached us. It was reunion time, and it wasn’t easy to keep my eyes dry as I watched them hug and kiss each other as if tomorrow might never come.

  “Sweetie! We were hoping we would never see you here!” Claudia exclaimed as she and Yuri wrapped their arms around Elonora.

  “We had to come,” Varga replied.

  Claudia measured Elonora from head to toe, as if checking to see that she was okay, before shifting her focus onto Varga. “You surrendered. You shouldn’t have.”

  Jovi and Dmitri hugged, quickly joined by their grandparents, Xavier and Vivienne. Avril was nearly suffocated with kisses from her parents—Lucas and Marion were beside themselves.

  Ben and Rose put their arms around Derek and Sofia, taking turns to kiss them and whisper kind words, thankful to be together again. Claudia and Ibrahim were practically shaking when Kailani came out of our group and hugged them.

  It was good to see everyone together again. But at the same time, this wasn’t how we’d planned it. We’d seen ourselves coming in victoriously, opening the diamond dome doors and smilingly telling them that they were finally free.

  Heath came out from the prisoner crowd and gave me a bear hug that nearly suffocated me. “Good to see you, Brother. Though I would’ve loved it if we’d reunited as far away from this wretched place as possible.”

  “I know, I’m thinking the same thing,” I answered.

  “Please tell me there’s a plan here,” Claudia said, looking at us.

  Varga chuckled. “Of course, Grandma. You know we don’t surrender so easily.”

  “Yet, here you are,” Sofia grumbled.

  She’d been away from Derek’s group, so she didn’t know what we’d planned.

  We’d told Derek everything, but he’d chosen to keep most of the details to himself until we got in with the scrambler device. We’d agreed that we couldn’t risk anyone, especially Ta’Zan, overhearing what we were about to engage in. Corrine and the others knew the general gist of things, and they were obviously hyped and eager to learn the rest—the devilish little things that were going to make all the difference between us getting out of here and getting ourselves trapped for good… or dead.

  We hadn’t survived until now to get ourselves captured so foolishly.

  “Mom. I told you, we weren’t going to let you die!” Rose said.

  “My life is worth nothing if we lose this fight!” Sofia replied, tearing up.

  Derek put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Honey, we talked about this. Ben and Rose didn’t just surrender. They most certainly had a plan, but they asked me not to share until they could make sure we weren’t being spied on, in any way,” he said, then looked at Claudia. “You know Elonora wouldn’t just give up, guys. Neither would Varga. Not after all the sacrifices made to keep them free.”

  “Ah… In hindsight, that makes sense,” Claudia said, a grin lifting her cheeks.

  “How are you, my little pot-sticker?” Corrine asked Kailani, clearly worried about her granddaughter.

  “There’s something very different about you,” Ibrahim added, gently tracing the contour of Kailani’s face with his index finger.

  Kailani sighed. “A lot has happened since we last saw each other,” she replied, wearing a weak smile.

  “She’s transforming,” Lumi said, stepping forward. “She’s fusing with the Word, though the apprenticeship conditions are not what we’d hoped for.”

  “What do you mean?” Corrine asked, suddenly alarmed. The witch’s instinct was undeniably strong.

  “A swamp witch needs peace and quiet, zero distractions, and a calm mind to undergo this apprenticeship, this fusion with the Word,” Kailani explained, her voice shaky. “I’ve had none of that, so… I guess we can say that my apprenticeship has been a little bit bumpy.”

  “Define ‘bumpy,’” Corrine shot back, her tone clipped and her brow furrowed.

  “Her connection to the Word is unstable, but the process continues to unfold,” Lumi said. “The Word hasn’t rejected her yet, but—”

  “Wait, yet?!” Corrine snapped. “Somebody please tell me my granddaughter didn’t sign her own death sentence when she took on this swamp witch magic thing!”

  “She’s fluctuating,” Ibrahim observed, carefully eyeing Kailani, as if he could see right through her. “There’s energy flowing through her, pure and of atomic proportions, but she’s yet to learn to control and harness it. She’s a walking bomb, isn’t she?”

  Lumi’s lips were pressed into a thin line. “One could say that.”

  Corrine went pale. I didn’t have children or grandchildren, so I could only imagine how worried she had to be, but I understood her distress, maybe more than I would’ve thought.

  “What’s going to happen to her?” Corrine asked, her voice barely audible.

  “We’ll have to wait and see,” Kailani replied, trying to keep her grandmother’s temper in check. “I’m doing my best to stay calm and go with the flow. I can’t turn back now. The process has already started, so the best I can do is ride it out and make sure no one gets hurt in the process.”

  Corrine pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes for a moment. Ibrahim squeezed her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her distress.

  “We have enough things to worry about, already,” Corrine murmured. “My granddaughter’s life shouldn’t be one of them.”

  “I’m okay, Grandma,” Kailani said. “I’ll get through this. I’ve got strong genes in me, remember?” she added with a weak smile.

  Lumi nodded. “That might actually work in her favor,” she replied. “None of us were natural-born witches when we fused with the Word. Kale’s body might be stronger than ours, in the end.”

  “Then, what were you? Or are you?” Taeral asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I’m something that no longer exists, I’m afraid,” Lumi said. “My species has been extinct for about two thousand years. I’m a pixie.”

  “A what now?” Varga croaked, his eyes wide. This was new information to everyone, clearly.

  “I told you, a swamp witch isn’t born. She’s made. Long ago, Calliope and Persea were the only two planets in Eritopia that were home to pixies. Tens of thousands of years ago, we used to roam the woods, but we gradually died out. Mostly due to fertility issues. Anyway, that’s a story for another time. The point is that Kale is strong enough to get through this. There’s no doubt in my mind. But she needs us all to have faith in her.”

  Corrine blinked several times, as if trying to wrap her head around what Lumi had just said. Taeral didn’t want to let go just yet, though.

  “Hold on. No, I want to hear more of this,” he said. “What does a pixie do? What is it, exactly?”

  Lumi let out an exasperated sigh. “Good grief, you’re a stubborn one. We were known as protectors of the woods! Okay? We have slim, iridescent wings, and we can compress our bodies into a smal
ler version of ourselves. From a certain distance, we look like incandescent fireflies. We’re gifted with the earthly element, with the growth of natural things, in general. We used to nourish the forests, help the trees grow and the flowers bloom.”

  “Now I want to see those wings,” Taeral shot back with a smirk.

  “You picked a weird time to do this,” Bijarki muttered, crossing his arms.

  “Hey, man, this is new and valuable information. I, for one, have never heard of pixies, and, since we’re going to be here for a while, I need to know more,” Taeral retorted.

  Varga shrugged. “To be honest, I’m curious, too.”

  “I second that,” Dmitri chimed in.

  Looking around, I saw that the rest of our crew was equally fascinated. Frankly, even I wanted to see her wings.

  “I think you could show us the wings, at least,” Kailani said, grinning.

  “I haven’t used them in a very long time. At least ten thousand years,” Lumi replied. “I was one of the last of my kind. I couldn’t find a male pixie with whom to conceive and continue my line. When I turned to the Word and became a swamp witch, I sort of left all that behind me, including my pixie nature. I had no need for wings with swamp witch spells readily giving me flight and more power than I’d ever dreamed of.”

  “Come on, let them out,” Taeral said, his eyes glimmering with excitement.

  Lumi exhaled sharply, then gave Kailani a small knife. “Do me a favor,” she murmured. “Cut open the back of my dress. I need to give them a little bit of room.”

  “And when you shrink, do your clothes shrink with you, too? Or do you lose them, like the dragons and the werewolves?” Dmitri asked.

  Lumi scowled at him. She definitely wasn’t in the mood to answer such questions. Her pixie heritage seemed to make her uncomfortable, and I had a feeling it was connected to their collective passing. She was already the last of the swamp witches, after she’d survived the extinction of the pixies. That kind of grief never really went away, and I got that. Dragons had, until not long ago, been close to a complete wipeout, as well.

  Kailani did as asked and cut through the back of Lumi’s dress. Lumi then took several deep breaths and quivered, as if relaxing her muscles. She grunted softly, before a brief flutter made me freeze. Four wings snapped out from her back—long and slender, similar to those of earthly dragonflies. The light got trapped in their iridescent nerves, visible across the thin, almost transparent membrane of her wings. They fluttered quickly, making a soft buzzing sound, much like a large flying insect.

  “That is so cool!” Taeral exclaimed.

  “Glad you like it. Now, get back to the order of business before you ask me to shrink and grow a tree, too,” Lumi shot back.

  “You could do that—” Dmitri tried to suggest it, but Lumi raised a hand and motioned for him to keep quiet, as her wings retreated behind her shoulder blades.

  Derek clapped his hands once, demanding our attention.

  “Enough with the distractions. We clearly have a lot on our hands, both individually and collectively,” he said, as we all gathered around him. “But we must focus on what’s most important right now. Ending this… before it ends us.”

  He grimaced from the discomfort caused by his collar. We had to be careful in our choice of words, so as not to heat ours up too much. The codes that Amal had given us were for our escape, and only for special emergencies. We still had Perfects watching us from the outside. We didn’t want any attention, for the time being.

  “Like we told Dad, we do have a plan,” Ben replied, running a hand through his messy hair. “This isn’t a surrender, per se. It’s more of an infiltration.”

  Sofia shook her head. “I still don’t like it.”

  “Mom, for the last time! I wasn’t going to let you die. Get that out of your head!” Rose shot back. I had to admit, I found their mild bickering somewhat endearing. I also understood where they both came from, but I was definitely with team Rose on this one.

  “Sofia, none of us would’ve come here if we didn’t have something in mind,” I said. “If it makes you feel any better, we would’ve sacrificed you if there was no other way. But there is. So, we’re doing this, whether you like it or not.”

  Sofia was genuinely befuddled by my statement, even taken aback. The shadow of a smile flickered across Derek’s face, while Ben and Rose stared at me in disbelief. I offered a shrug in return.

  “What? We all thought about it. Let’s not spare any feelings here, since your mother was obviously eager to die in order to save you. To save us,” I added, then shifted my focus back to Derek. “I know none of you like the thought of having us here.”

  “You can say that again,” Corrine muttered.

  “But! There’s a method to our madness,” I continued. “And yes, there is a well-defined plan we set into motion the moment we walked through the colosseum’s gates. Most importantly, Ta’Zan has absolutely no idea how badly he’s going to get screwed in this scenario.”

  “We’ve got Araquiel on our side. Ta’Zan doesn’t know he’s alive,” Ben said.

  Sofia gasped. “Oh… You’re absolutely right. He told me that, a few hours back. And who else?”

  “Herakles, one of the Faulties, and his band of merry rebels. The Draenir. Plus, Calliope is sending the four Perfects they have there to help us,” Rose replied. “Nathaniel, Uriel, Angelica, and Deena.”

  “On top of that, Amane and Amal are in here, too, supposedly loyal to Ta’Zan. Amane, not so much, since he put a collar around her neck, but Amal is in the clear,” I added. “She even helped us with a tiny scrambler to stop anyone from eavesdropping while we lay out the crucial stuff for everyone here to know. Rose has it. Hence the secrecy. We know what we’re doing.”

  “We didn’t come here empty-handed, so to speak,” Draven chimed in.

  “I didn’t expect anything less from my brother,” Jax replied, smiling at Heron.

  “You sly devils, you,” Lucas quipped, then hugged Avril again.

  It was good to see everyone again, I had to admit. Derek and Sofia, Xavier and Vivienne, Cameron and Liana, Corrine and Ibrahim, Claudia and Yuri, Aiden and Kailyn, Lucas and Marion… Not to mention Jax and Hansa, Jovi and Anjani… Even grumpy ol’ Heath. I felt better just by looking at them, watching them stand, alive and well before me.

  “That being said, we’ve got our work cut out for us, if we’re to succeed in what we’ve planned,” Heron said, then looked at Jax. “Oh, and just so you know, if we get out of here alive, I’m not relinquishing the Lordship back to you.”

  Jax laughed, but Heron kept a straight face, until the now-former Mara Lord realized that his brother was dead serious. “You’re joking,” he breathed.

  “I don’t think he is,” Avril answered, visibly amused. “He likes having your wards follow us around everywhere.”

  “They’re my wards, now,” Heron replied, grinning.

  The nine wards were clearly embarrassed by the exchange, which made it even more difficult for me not to laugh at this unexpected development.

  “Let’s talk about this again after we get out of here,” Jax concluded, keeping his cool. “We have enough on our plates, already.”

  “Yeah, that’s why I thought I’d get this Lordship thing off your back altogether,” Heron retorted. Avril nudged him with her elbow, quietly asking him to cut it out.

  “Okay!” Hansa cut in, stepping between the two Mara brothers. “What’s next, then, regarding Strava? Remember, we can’t be too explicit in our words, or the collars will burn.”

  Elonora rested an elbow on Nevis’s shoulder, smiling. “We wait.”

  Our job, for the time being, was done. It was up to Amal, Amane, and our Perfect allies to do their part, before we could proceed with the next stage of our plan. I worried we might fail, but I couldn’t let that pull me back or bring me down in any way. I had to stay positive, because it was the only way I could see Amane again.

  And there wasn’t anythi
ng else that I wanted more in this world than to hold her and kiss her and be by her side, for as long as we both lived. For that, Ta’Zan had to be out of the picture.

  Amane

  Ta’Zan took us to one of the main creation labs—specifically, the one where Amal and I had devised the core blueprint for the Perfects. Not that much time had passed since I’d last been here, but it still felt like ancient history. A lot had changed since I’d left this place, most of it inside me. I was no longer the person who’d worked here, who’d served Ta’Zan willingly, thinking he was the only one who could lead us.

  That Amane was dead. The one standing in front of him now was filled with anger and resentment, all of it aimed at Ta’Zan. The collar made it difficult for me to say or do a lot of things, but it wasn’t a real impediment, since Amal had given me the codes.

  From this point forward, I had to be careful. Ridan’s life and wellbeing—not to mention the lives of the others in Rose and Ben’s crew—depended on me. They were like family. I couldn’t let them down.

  Ta’Zan stood in front of us, blankly staring at a screen with his back to us. He didn’t say anything for a while. Both my sister and I waited for him to speak. Knowing him, this added a dramatic effect to what he was about to say. Ta’Zan sure loved his theatrics once in a while.

  The silence was almost deafening. I occasionally glanced at Amal, who didn’t miss any opportunity to give me a reassuring wink, as if telling me that everything was going to be okay. I didn’t want to disagree with her, but Ta’Zan had a way of ruining everything, intentionally or otherwise.

  “I’m extremely disappointed in you, Amane,” Ta’Zan finally said.

  “Yeah, you’ve said that before,” I replied, unwilling to let him have this small victory. I didn’t want him to think he had any power over my mind, since that was never in my nature. He would’ve taken it as deceit, and the last thing I wanted was for him to think I was playing some kind of game. I had to be myself, unapologetic and unafraid, ready to get my ass kicked if needed.

  “Things will be different from now on,” he declared. “I didn’t want it to be like this, but you and your outsider friends didn’t give me another choice. I would’ve thought you were wiser than what you’ve shown, so far.”