Ki Book One (6 page)

He attempted to wake her a few more times,
but it would not work.

Which was a very bad thing. They were still
rising through the air, and he had no idea how to stop it. He might
not understand the technology that was causing this, but he knew
one thing. Air got thinner the higher up you went. There was less
and less oxygen at higher altitudes. Go high enough, and there
won’t be sufficient to breathe.

“
Ki,” he shouted in her ear.

She didn’t respond.

He could see the whole village below him
now. Make out the central square, the Guard post, even the
school.

They had to be almost 100 meters up.

If the levitation powers of that device
cut out, they would fall to their deaths. No question.

He had no options. Drop the crystal and
they’d fall with it. Ki was his only hope.

Trying to stir her by pushing his arm up
into her torso, it achieved nothing.

He could see past the village now, make out
the pastures and woods that surrounded it.

“
Ki,” he shouted louder.

It appeared there was no way to wake
her.

Allowing his desperation to overcome him, a
cold sweat picked up along his brow.

Then he stopped. There was a way.

It was risky, but worth a try.

He pried the stone from her fingers. The
second he removed it, they started to drop.

There was no warning.

He screamed, but didn’t let go of her or
the device.

In free fall, with her sleeves and hair
whipping against his face, he tried to twist around so he could
keep an eye on the ground.

He had to time this perfectly.

The ground was rushing up so fast his eyes
could hardly adjust.

They’d drifted on their trajectory, and
thankfully were not heading back to the farmhouse. If he had to
guess, they would land somewhere beyond the woods in the high
terrain that led up to the mountains. Far enough away from the
soldiers for a head start.

The sound of the air rushing against his
ears was almost deafening. The sensation of falling enough to send
him into shock. He held on though, right until the end.

As the ground loomed, less than ten meters
away now, his heart stopping in his chest, he thrust the device
back into Ki’s hand.

His gamble paid off. Their free fall ended
instantly. There was no translation of force; their bodies didn’t
slam into reverse, cracking their spines and breaking their limbs.
Their fall simply cut out and that light sensation returned.

He grabbed the device out of her hand
again, forced it back into her grip, then grabbed it from her one
final time.

Then they fell to the ground. Not from a
crippling height. From less than a meter. He rolled easily, trying
to absorb the fall so Ki wouldn’t have to.

With the grass and dirt against his back,
and Ki limp against his chest, he let out a delayed scream. It rang
through his chest. When it was over, he slammed a hand over his
eyes, closing them tight.

He’d just floated into the air and fallen
down again. Soldiers with weapons that were not possible had
attacked his home. And lying in his arms was the woman who had
started it all.

Eventually pushing himself up, he stared
down at her. It was the longest he’d looked at Ki without his face
turning up in derision.

She was probably a couple of years younger
than he was, her skin smooth save for the tattoos that covered it.
He recognized them as an outdated written form of Tarkan. They were
on the backs of her hands, around her throat and on each of her
fingertips. If it had been any other language, it would have been
an intriguing, almost beautiful sight.

Sitting up, he shifted her off his chest and
onto the grass. He was far gentler than he had been before.

Ignoring his shaking knees, he stood up,
the device still in his hand. He stared around him.

They’d landed on a grass hill just behind
one of the woods that surrounded the town. As he stared behind him,
he saw the mountains draw up into steep, snow-covered peaks.

Shielding his eyes, he saw the sun peeking
out from behind them. They would have less than four hours of
sunlight.

Looking back at her, he tried to figure out
what to do.

Any Ashkan would be able to recognize the
symbols over her body.

Shifting one hand onto his hip, he brought
the device up and examined it under the sun.

It possessed abilities that should not
have been possible. Levitation, a blue light that moved like
water
– he knew enough
science to realize this could not be real.

The problem was, however, he’d just lived
through it.

Pushing his hand down his face and sighing
into his palm, he pocketed the device.

He had two options as far as he saw it. Go
back to the village to try to find help, or head into the
mountains.

If those soldiers had been telling the
truth, they would think nothing of turning over the town to try to
get their hands on Ki. If he took her back there, it would put
everyone at risk.

Could he really take her into the mountains
instead? And then what? Head around Paladin’s Pass to the capital
city?

Staring along the closest peak, he spotted
the pass. It was long, steep, and treacherous. It would also be
deep with snow by tonight. It may only be mid-autumn, but those
mountains were far colder than the plains. He could see thick
clouds gathering towards them too.

Shaking his head, he clenched his teeth,
pushing a breath through them.

She caught his gaze again. For someone who
had given him so much trouble, she looked entirely peaceful now.
Her long black hair lay in bunches around her chin and over her
chest. Those dark, thick eyelashes were resting against her warm
cheeks.

He shook his head again.

There was another option. Leave her.

This wasn’t his fight. He didn’t know this
woman. She was Tarkan anyway.

Stepping back from her, just to prove it was
possible, he grated his teeth together, feeling the tension in his
jaw lock the muscles in his neck and chest.

Walking away was the sanest, most reasonable
plan. Those soldiers would do anything to get her back, and he knew
there was nothing the Ashkan Guards could do to fight them. Risking
himself and his people for a Tarkan was ignoble suicide.

Wiping his suddenly sweat-covered fingers on
his pants, he took another step back.

He would warn the Guards, explain what had
happened, and try to help them figure out who those soldiers were
and where they’d come from.

A soft breeze picked up, swaying through the
long grass and brushing at Ki’s loose hair. Though it was still
sunny, and the hill was basking in it, the wind had a cold edge
that made him shiver.

It would only get worse as the sun dropped.
Tonight it would be freezing.

If she did not wake by then, she could
succumb to hypothermia, or worse.

“
She’s Tarkan,” he reminded himself through
bared teeth. Her people had done everything they could to
exterminate the Ashkans.

Lilly, his fiancée, had died at their
hands. Four years ago, at the end of the last war, she’d been
sniped by an enemy soldier just after the ceasefire had been
signed. The order to stop shooting had not filtered out to all
Tarkan troops, apparently. He would never believe that
though.

The memory steeled him. He turned from her,
heading down the hill.

He did not get very far
– barely three meters until his conscious
caught up with him.

She claimed to be a priestess. She’d said
the Zeneethians had kidnapped her. If she was right, she was an
innocent caught up in this.

If a Tarkan could ever be classed as
innocent.

He stood there as the wind picked up,
blowing at his pants and shirt as his morals battled against his
duty to his people.

The only thing that shifted him was a
gasp.

He turned to see her move. Her head lolled
to one side, her lips brushing open.

If he wanted to walk away, he’d have to do
it now. If he let her wake, no doubt she’d start shouting at
him.

She groaned, turning her head from side to
side restlessly, her hair a mess over her face.

The wind picked up louder, that cold edge
harder now. It made him shiver as he stood there, body directed
towards the town, yet head still turned towards her.

She trembled against it. Bringing her legs
up and pushing her hands over her arms, she groaned again.

She would be freezing. When she’d clutched
that device into his hand, her palm and fingers had been like
ice.

She began to sob. It was the final
straw.

He turned and walked back to her, despite
the fact he was Ashkan. He leaned down and rested a hand on her
shoulder gently, despite the fact she was Tarkan.

Her restless fits continued, sobs escaping
her lips as she turned her head and pushed it into the grass.

“
You’re alive. We landed... safely.” Though
he could swear he’d bruised his side, she didn’t need to know that.
There was only one thing she would want to hear. “Those soldiers
are back at the farmhouse. It’s almost 20 kilometers from
here.”

She faced him, eyes opening. Pupils dilated,
she blinked against the sunlight, but did not look away.

“
Ki, you are safe.”

Breathing steadying, she tried to sit.

He helped her up.

Lips loose, cheeks slack, eyes filled with a
dead, fatigued look, she stared at him.

Then, like a wave, recognition seemed to hit
her. She jolted back.

“
I’m not here to hurt you,” he put his
hands up.

Was that a lie? He had no idea what had
compelled him to stay, but it was too early to promise
anything.

“
Where’s the device?” she searched the
grass around her. When she couldn’t find it, she planted her hands
on the ground and pushed towards him, stopping less than 30
centimeters from his face. “Where is it?”

“
I’ve got it.” He swallowed through his
words, straightening up.

“
Give it to me,” she reached her hand out.
“Please, give it to me.”

Backing off, he got to his feet, staring
down at her. He shook his head.

“
You have to give it to me. It’s the only
way to get away from them. Hand it over,” she tried to stand, but
her arms shook and buckled as soon as she put pressure on
them.

To her credit, she did not give up. She kept
trying and kept falling.

His lips crumpled with an expression
uncomfortably close to compassion. “You’re weak, stay
down.”

“
Give me the stone. I have to get away from
here.”

“
You use that stone again, and you’ll die.
I’m the only reason we got to the ground safely. You blacked
out.”

“
I’ve got to get away,” frantic, more tears
traced down her cheeks.

He hated seeing them. Every time she cried,
the tension in his gut twisted tighter and tighter.

“
You’ve done enough. Just give me the
device. I saved you, please, it’s the least you can do,” she could
not stand, no matter how hard she tried. That did not stop her from
begging though.

“
I saved you. We would have died up there.
We’d have run out of oxygen.”

“
I saved
you
from the scouts. They would have killed you. They’d have
destroyed your house, maybe your whole village. You should have
listened to me. You brought this on yourself. Now give me the
device.” She held her hand out to him, her arm shaking
wildly.

That cold sensation in his gut twisted
harder. He practically lurched forward. “You brought them to my
town.”

“
I didn’t bring them anywhere. I escaped.
You tried to capture me just because I’m Tarkan. I warned you who
was after me. You would not listen,” she spoke her words slowly,
and the effect was chilling.

Because it was true.

He hadn’t listened. He hadn’t let himself
believe a word she’d said. It had been easy to dismiss her wild
allegations, far easier because of who she was.

“
You think I brought this on you, then
fine, leave. They won’t go after you. They’re only going to
concentrate on me. Just give me a chance – give me the device.” She
did not drop her hand, even though her arm bucked wildly, her
shoulders shaking as she apparently used her last strength to hold
it aloft.

They wouldn’t go after him.

“
Your village will be safe. Just, just give
it to me,” she burst into tears, letting her hand finally
drop.

They wouldn’t go after his village.

He’d been right. Those futuristic soldiers
would only concentrate on Ki.

He could safely walk away and put this
incident behind him.

He tried to sit with that possibility, but
he could not.

It struggled
against his attempts to control it.

If he left her, he would never find out her
secret. He would never find out who those soldiers were and where
they came from.

He was meant to be a scientist now. He’d
left the army four years ago.

Could he really walk away from this?

Clearly tired and overcome, Ki withdrew,
pulling her legs up and latching her arms around them, burrowing
her head between her knees.

He relaxed. The tension that had seized him
at her allegations finally drifting away with the wind.