A Citadel of Captives Read online

  Varga hugged Claudia and Yuri, all three bursting into tears as they kissed one another, thrilled and relieved to be together again.

  “Jovi, please tell me you were the only one on the fleet!” Xavier said as he and Victoria took Jovi and Anjani in a tight embrace. “I know I’m terribly selfish right now, given how many of our own have been lost, but I need to know.”

  “Grandpa, it’s fine. It was just me,” Jovi replied, then looked at Lucas and Marion, and Derek and me. “Avril is on Persea, with Heron. They’re on another mission. Harper, Serena, Phoenix, the others, too, they’re okay. One of the Faulties who delivered our food earlier told us that the third ship stayed back. That’s where most of our lieutenants were, the Nikolovs included.”

  Tears came up to my eyes, but I blinked them away, unwilling to get emotional. I knew, deep down, that if I started to cry again, I wouldn’t be able to stop. Corrine hugged Jovi, then gripped his face firmly.

  “What about Kailani? Arwen? Mona, Kiev, Shayla? Talk to me! We’ve been on edge since we heard about the attack!” she said.

  Jovi gave her a weak smile in return. “Mona and Kiev are on their way back from the Witches’ Sanctuary. Shayla and Arwen were on the third ship, so they’ll be okay. Kailani is on Strava,” he said, lowering his voice so as not to be heard. Ta’Zan was busy talking to Amal, anyway, occasionally checking us out.

  Corrine frowned, then looked at Ibrahim, who was equally troubled.

  “What do you mean she’s on Strava?” Ibrahim whispered.

  Jax took a deep breath, then took the reins from Jovi, who seemed quite overwhelmed. For good reason, too, since this was well beyond what we’d initially expected from Strava.

  “About twelve hours after you guys didn’t come back, we prepared a search mission,” Jax murmured. “I’ll give you all the details once we sit down and catch up without the gray-haired chief around, but, in short, Rose and Ben have been on Strava for a couple of days now, with Elonora, Kailani, Vesta, Zeriel, Nevis, Hunter, and Ridan, looking for you. We saw Perfects attacking them—”

  I gasped. My heart stopped.

  “What happened?” Claudia croaked, the color draining from her face.

  “They made it out alive, but Ridan was injured and had to separate from the group,” Jax replied. “We didn’t know what they were dealing with at the time. Comms aren’t working, and neither is Telluris. We only had the telescope feeds. We brought three ships over, with about eight hundred agents. Harper’s ship, the smaller one, stayed back and didn’t breach the atmosphere, just to check whether our updated comms systems were working. They had about a hundred agents of their own there. By the time they had prepared to go in, our two other ships were already under attack.”

  “None of us saw this coming,” Hansa added. “It was over in minutes. We were in over our heads.”

  A couple of deep breaths later, I realized we had a clearer picture of what had been going on outside. GASP had been cautious at first, sending only a small team to look for us. There was a painful pang in my stomach as I thought of Ben and Rose still out there, running and fighting for their lives while looking for us.

  “Derek, we have to do something,” I mumbled. “This… all this… it needs to stop. We have to stop it.”

  “Right there with you, sister,” Heath sighed, holding his side. He was pale and quite weak, one hand wrapped around something that looked like an IV bag. “At least my boy wasn’t on our two less fortunate ships. I’m taking comfort in that. I know many families won’t see their loved ones again because of this, but I’ll take the majority we’ve got left over nothing, anytime!”

  Derek turned around to look at Ta’Zan, who gave him a flat smile, then walked out, accompanied by Amal. As soon as the door closed behind us, Jax sighed and pointed at the figures moving around outside the diamond dome.

  “We’re heavily guarded by Perfects,” he said, then pointed at his collar. “And we’ve got these nasty things on. It’s not looking good for us.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We all need to sit down and compare notes,” Derek replied firmly. “You’ve got outside knowledge, and we’ve gathered some info from our interactions with Ta’Zan’s Faulties in here, as well. We need to figure this place and these people out.”

  They all nodded, including the GASP survivors who gathered around us.

  “We have to stop them, no matter what,” I said.

  “We can only do it from the inside,” Hansa said. “We’ve already tried a direct approach. As evidenced by all of us here, it didn’t work.”

  “We’ll find something else,” Vivienne interjected.

  At least we weren’t on our own, stuck in those glass boxes anymore. There wasn’t much of a solution in sight, either, given the tight and nearly literal leash that Ta’Zan had on us. But there were possibilities, and that was a good starting point.

  I wasn’t sure whether Ta’Zan was aware how much stronger we all were together, but, given that he considered all of us inferior, I felt like it was safe to assume he was basically underestimating us. Good. It gave us the time and space we needed to put our heads together and figure out a way to get the Faulties on our side.

  From there, we could gather info on the Perfects and Ta’Zan’s operations and technology. Once we understood how everything and everyone functioned, we could better assess our options. Either we swayed the Perfects and the Faulties to stop this madness before they spilled out into the In-Between, or we found a way off the planet before GASP had it destroyed.

  Time, however, wasn’t exactly on our side, as long as Ta’Zan was racing to achieve space travel. Once his ships were built and were ready to take flight, the whole universe was screwed.

  Rose

  You could’ve cut the tension in the air with a knife.

  Amane looked stunned to see us here. And she had every reason to be, since she hadn’t heard us coming, thanks to Toris’s advice and Kailani’s little magic tricks, the latter muffling the sounds of our footsteps through the palm tree forest.

  My heart swelled as I quickly measured Ridan from head to toe. He was alive and surprisingly well, though wrapped in large palm leaves and tied to a tree. I caught the scent of a mixture of plants and oils coming from underneath the leaves—some kind of healing potion, for sure, as I specifically remembered seeing Ridan get severely injured by Araquiel during our first “official” encounter with the Perfects.

  “How did you find me?” Amane asked, claws extending slowly from her slim fingers—long, black, and dangerously sharp. Something told me I wouldn’t want to get in their way. Ever.

  Nevertheless, I stood my ground and kept my chin up, with one hand clutching my sheathed sword. The others followed my lead, fanning out slowly. Zeriel and Vesta moved toward Ridan. Toris was still and helpless, under Kailani’s control and totally unhappy about it.

  “Your friend here helped us,” I replied.

  “He’s not my friend!” Amane said, visibly angered.

  Toris didn’t seem to like her either. “I see you’re still a lone traitor.” He sneered at her.

  “If I were you, I’d tone it down with the snark,” Nevis replied dryly, keeping an eye on Toris. “Pretty sure those claws could easily turn you into ribbons.”

  “I didn’t hear any of you coming,” Amane murmured, frowning as she looked around. “You’re not the quietest of creatures. Something changed.”

  Kailani smirked. “Yeah. We started figuring out how you people operate,” the young witch said. “All I had to do was muffle our footsteps. Nothing too complicated, but quite essential once Toris explained how sensitive your hearing actually is.”

  “And yet, I’m the traitor,” Amane said, glowering at Toris.

  “Put those claws away, Amane,” Ridan interjected, as Vesta and Zeriel cut the ropes off. “You’re outnumbered, and we really need to talk.”

  Amane shook her head, but did as she was told, her claws withdrawing. “There’s nothing to talk about. And, while I may
be outnumbered, it doesn’t mean I’m helpless,” she replied, her tone clipped.

  “We mean you no harm,” I said to her. “We don’t mean anyone any harm. We’re purveyors of peace, wherever we go.”

  She chuckled, the bitterness in her voice making my stomach hurt. “Yeah? How’s that working out for you?”

  “Not that great,” Elonora retorted. “We’d appreciate some help.”

  Amane narrowed her orange eyes at Elonora, then exhaled and crossed her arms. I took a step forward, prompting her to move back in a defensive fashion.

  “We don’t want to hurt you,” I said. “We just want our dragon back.”

  “Well, you got him. Now, get out before I call the Perfects on you,” Amane replied.

  Ridan chuckled. He didn’t seem as wary of her as I would’ve thought. The rest of us were on edge, but Ridan’s eyes were practically smiling whenever they settled on the Faulty. She was a marvel to look at, though. Her long white hair, in contrast with the blazing sunset in her eyes and her amber-colored scales, were worthy of admiration. I couldn’t, for the life of me, understand why Ta’Zan considered her kind to be “faulty” in any way. The hybrid characteristics added flair to her looks, in my opinion. They made her unique.

  “Come on, Amane, I thought we were becoming friends!” Ridan said, a grin slitting his face from ear to ear.

  “Why would you call the Perfects on us? What did we ever do to you?” I asked.

  “You did nothing. But I’d be putting you out of your misery if I brought them in. You people really need to understand that there’s no way out of this,” Amane said. “Ta’Zan has already started building his perfect world, and your civilizations won’t be a part of it. It’s over.”

  “You’ve seen enough of us by now to understand that we’re not the kind who quit before the fight,” Ridan said.

  That statement caught my attention. “What do you mean by that?” I asked him. “What do you mean she’s seen enough of us? Has she been following us?”

  “She saw us at the colosseum,” Ridan briefly explained. “She witnessed enough to know that we fight for ourselves and what we believe in.”

  “Oh, please! You’re just baffled there are creatures out here that are stronger than you. Your resistance is pointless. You’re all going to die!” Amane said, breathing heavily.

  She was getting angry, though I wasn’t sure why. I looked at Elonora, hoping she might be able to shed some insights with her sentry reading abilities.

  “She’s scared,” Elonora murmured, staring at Amane. “She’s masking it with anger, but… she’s scared.”

  Amane blinked several times, taken by surprise. We didn’t know much about the Faulties, but they didn’t know much about us. It felt nice to be able to shock them once in a while.

  “What are you talking about?” Amane replied.

  “I can see your emotions,” Elonora said. “Like ribbons of color rippling out of you. I see fear, bright and yellow, though I’m not sure what exactly it is that you’re scared of. My guess is it’s not us.”

  “Of course not,” Amane replied. “I could take you all down in an instant if I wanted to.”

  “Meh, not all of us,” Ridan said, wiping the paste from his upper body with a handful of leaves. His wounds had healed, leaving behind soft, brownish lines. He wore a fabric loincloth around his waist, parts of it covered in dried blood. “Maybe two or three, before Lenny or Rose here sink their teeth into you.”

  Amane sighed, as if giving up on the debate altogether. “You don’t understand, do you?” she sighed, and I could almost feel the sadness in her voice. “This isn’t about peace or progress. Your wishes for a tranquil world won’t fly with Ta’Zan and the Perfects. They’re engineered for war and destruction. Their sole purpose is to cleanse the world of all the creatures they deem inferior. They pretend they want peace, but they don’t want anyone on equal footing with them, and no one would succumb without a fight. That’ll be the Perfects’ pretext for utter annihilation. They’re growing in numbers and strength every day. They can’t be stopped.”

  “Is that why you left?” I asked. “Because you gave up?”

  She glowered at me. “No. I left, of my own free will, because I don’t want to have anything to do with their plans. I refuse to get involved in the carnage, in any capacity.”

  “Have you tried, I don’t know, maybe talking to Ta’Zan?” Ben replied. “You obviously think he’s wrong. Or did you just scamper off before anyone could blame you for anything?”

  “No, I just don’t want anything to do with it,” Amane insisted. “I don’t care who blames me for what. I’ve made my peace. I’m good.”

  I motioned for the others to stand back, while Elonora and Kailani put their swords away. An aggressive stance wasn’t going to help us get more information out of Amane. I chose to try to reason with her, instead. Her jaded cynicism wasn’t the first I’d seen, and I was positive that I could get through to her, eventually. She seemed smart as a whip, despite her defensiveness and vague statements. She knew a lot more than she was telling us.

  “She knows where Derek and the others are,” Ridan interjected.

  My senses flared, and, for a second, I grappled with lightheadedness as the revelation sank in.

  “Say what, now?” I replied.

  “It’s best if you cut your losses and leave.” Amane sighed.

  “You’re joking, right? Is that what Ta’Zan taught you? To leave your family behind and not give a damn about what happens to them?” I snapped, raising my voice. My blood simmered beneath the surface. She knew where my parents were. “My parents are Ta’Zan’s prisoners, and don’t think for a second that I’ll just stand by and let that happen.”

  “We sent our families here for a vacation,” Ben added. “We didn’t know your people were sleeping in pods. We didn’t know what Ta’Zan had planned. We’ve lived our whole lives fighting for love and freedom, and so have our parents. I don’t know what kind of childhood you had, but, where we come from, we take care of our people!”

  Amane listened quietly, scanning each of us with her inquisitive orange eyes.

  “You say you’ve made your peace,” I said. “But how can that be? What peace do you think you’ll have if you allow your creator to practically ruin the entire universe?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think he wants to ruin it?”

  “What else would you call it?” I retorted. “Killing millions, stealing our homes, our planets? Destroying our culture, our worlds? We’re part of the natural order, Amane. Just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Just as water helps life grow and develop. Just as fire burns and turns everything into ashes. We’re part of nature, Amane. We’re part of life. Ta’Zan is going against the natural order. He’s clearly under the impression that he can do better. Normally, no one would have a problem with that. You and the Perfects are entitled to life. But so are we!”

  “You see, by destroying the species that already exist, Ta’Zan is messing with the natural order of things,” Ben further explained. “We’ve been crossing genes with different creatures for decades. Most of our children and grandchildren are hybrids of one kind or another. But we live in peace. We tolerate each other. We respect everyone’s right to live, no matter how weak or strong they are. That’s the natural order. Not Ta’Zan’s idea of a ‘perfect world.’ That is an aberration.”

  Amane thought about it for a few moments. Elonora kept her gaze fixed on the Faulty, most likely analyzing her emotions. I gave her a quick sideways glance, and I caught the shadow of a smile fluttering across her face. She’d seen a change in Amane for sure—something that could maybe turn the tides in our favor.

  I decided to keep going. “All Ta’Zan wants to do is kill innocent creatures simply because he deems them inferior. Millions and millions of them. How is that perfection, Amane? Frankly, I think that both the Perfects and the Faulties deserve better lives. A healthier mentality. A more tolerant outlook
. You guys could create the most amazing society on your own, without someone making you spill blood because he thinks you’re the only ones allowed to live. Ta’Zan isn’t the force of nature, nor the chaos of the universe. He’s not even a god. He’s just a guy with skewed views of genetic supremacy. In our world, he’d be locked up for this kind of crap. Who the hell is he to decide whose lives are worth living, huh?”

  “You could build an incredible world here, all of you,” Ben chimed in, following my lead and reasoning. “Perfects and Faulties, respecting and accepting one another, like you should. You have that freedom, you know. You have the choice to be whatever you want to be. But you have no right to go out and destroy the lives of innocent creatures simply because you think you’re better. That’s downright idiotic.”

  Elonora cleared her throat, staring at Amane. “I see a thread of hope in you. Perhaps we’re all on the same page here, and you were just waiting for someone to share your thoughts about all this?”

  Amane cursed under her breath, then took a couple more steps back. She wasn’t going anywhere, but she clearly needed to put more distance between us. I figured the truth of what was happening was starting to get to her, and she didn’t like it.

  “Listen, take your dragon and get the hell out of here,” she replied, her voice low. “I want nothing to do with you. I thought Ta’Zan might find the dragon useful, but I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to get involved in any of this.”

  Ridan groaned, rolling his eyes. “Oh, come on. Even you don’t believe the words that are coming out of your mouth.”

  “That’s nonsense!” Amane said, clenching her fists at her sides. “I just can’t be involved. You’ve got targets on your backs, and I’ll be damned if I put myself in the crossfire because of your naïve idealism!”

  Toris then snickered, narrowing his eyes at her. It drew our attention. “She doesn’t want to deal with you because she knows it’s only a matter of time before Ta’Zan finds you,” he said, giving me a brief smirk. “He’s looking for her. He wants Amane back.”