Plague of Mybyncia (9 page)

“And she’ll know where to take us?” I ask.
“She’ll go straight there?”

“She knows,” Princess Ariana confirms,
pressing her hand between Mimi’s eyes. The Stancimis lets out a
deep bellow. “Go ahead,” she motions us to board Mimi, “be careful
with your Enidd’s.”

After we all apply our headgear, Werzo and
Booker climb on first, then Jace and Reid. He extends his hand to
me, pulling me up and securing me on Mimi’s back next to him.
Tucker ascends last, keeping closest to Princess Ariana and Mae,
who stand on the wet, rocky ground next to Mimi.

“Keep quiet and move swiftly. Perio will not
expect you so it will buy you some time.”

“Will you be okay here?” I ask.

“We will be fine. Just save your friend. They
will not keep her alive much longer… you need to go now.”

“We’ll be back soon,” Tucker gazes at her.
I’ve never seen him look at anyone like that, and judging by Reid’s
surprise, neither has he.

The princess blushes under the fierce gaze,
forcing her focus to the Stancimis. “Mimi, go.”

Holding onto the carved handles, I clutch
them with all my strength. I’m stretched out and my feet are
secured in similar craters, hooked into place just as the Stancimis
begins to lower. Reid is next to me with Tucker on his other side
and Jace on mine. Werzo and Booker are higher up, near her
fins.

Under the water in seconds, Mimi plunges deep
into the city’s depths, exploring the thick blue universe. She
steers us far from Pryncybia’s lights—and fast—my hands gripping
her as if my life depended on it. Because it does. The other
Stancimis, Gala, didn’t go this fast last time. But Mimi is racing,
like she knows we need to hurry.

Just hold on with everything you’ve got.

I twist my head to look at Reid. He’s already
watching me through his headgear, his eyes burning into mine with
fear. Protection. It gives me the strength I need to hold on, to
keep myself secure to Mimi, who’s left the glowing city far behind
us. We’re going
far
. Farther than I’d thought, farther than
I realized the Muskos could be hiding. How could Pratt have
survived this journey? They must have put her in a suit. Either
that or she’s dead. The thought brings bile to my throat and
suddenly it’s hard to breathe.

I’m not sure how long we’ve been traveling
when Mimi finally slows, approaching a dark silhouette in the
distance. As we near it, it takes the shape of a misshapen tear
drop formation, bulky and secluded at the bottom and growing
independently tall into the black waters. Mimi sails low to the
left side and comes to a full stop beneath the rock’s swollen
bottom. We’re about ten feet below the solid structure.

I look up.

A large oval opening hangs above, just like
the Holding and Docking Stations have. I turn to Reid but he’s
already swimming up. Tucker follows and then it’s Jace and me,
Booker and Werzo. Reid hovers below the oval opening, waiting for
us and once we’re all gathered, he presses a finger over his lips
on the outside of his helmet. He ascends, slowly popping past the
water’s surface and Tucker and Jace follow.

I’m next.

Bringing the top of my head to the surface, I
find Reid and the two others hiding beyond a great, dark rock to
the left. Booker and Werzo pop up behind me and silently, we make
our way toward them, Reid positioning me in the center of the
Rogues. Through an opening between the rocks, we all peer out at
the terrifying scene ahead.

Pratt is strapped between two boulders, her
bloodied wrists bound with rope and her feet hanging far from the
ground. Her head is collapsed to one shoulder, waves of light brown
hair shielding her face from us. A miyon paces the island of smooth
rock around her, commanding the room with fast, furious words.

Perio.

He’s built tall and strong like Kendal, who
stands cross-armed behind Pratt as the purple haired leader calls
out to the others—an audience of miyons sitting atop uneven slabs
of stone that jet through the murky black waters in the globular
cavern.

“
She
is the enemy, my brothers,” Perio
cries, “
she
, and all the foreigners who have disgraced us
with their presence. Who thought to come to
our
homeland and
lay harm to
our
mayans,
our
families. How dare they?”
he spits at Pratt with rage-filled eyes. “Did they think they could
get away with this?” he looks to the hissing crowd of miyons. “Did
they think we would sit back and do nothing?”

Miyons roar in response.

“We are Mybyncia—the greatest of the Three
Worlds! She,” he points at Pratt, “is bile! Excrement! A waste of
life!” he spits on her again, jerking her hair back to reveal an
unconscious face. “She is far from enough to wipe clean the blood
that they have wasted, but I offer her to you tonight as a gift—the
first of three.”

Perio nods to Kendal who retrieves something
from the top hem of his cobalt loincloth. It’s a long dagger with a
coral handle and a sleek black blade. As he makes his way towards
Pratt’s hanging figure, Reid silently draws his Enidd. It breaks
the surface of the water just as Kendal pauses for further
instruction from Perio.

“Tomorrow you shall have the two other human
females. Perhaps,” Perio shrugs to himself, “the Fychu and the rest
will leave. Perhaps they will realize that though Queen Ravan is
obligated to provide hospitality, they are not truly welcomed. This
is Mybyncia,” he raises his arms as his voice echoes throughout the
enormous cavern. “The greatest of the Three Worlds!”

The room erupts in thunderous cheers and
shouts, demanding their gift from their leader. Perio appeases them
with a smile, offering a nod to Kendal who raises the dagger. But
before he’s able to bring it down, striking into Pratt’s limp form
as intended, a loud crack sounds through the space, throwing him
back to the ground, the dagger dropping to his side.

Reid cocks the Enidd again.

Perio’s furious eyes dart about.

Tucker, Jace, Werzo and Booker are already
positioned the same as Reid, their eyes just above water level and
their Enidds barely breaking the surface. With Kendal unmoving on
the ground, Lolin leaps from his stone seat, grabbing for the
dagger. He runs over to Pratt, attempting to complete the action
but Jace pulls his trigger, sending Lolin flying.

The miyons suddenly scramble, pulling daggers
free as they race toward our side of the cave. The boys let go,
firing as the Muskos leap from stone slab to stone slab, dropping
them by a ten foot radius. Even Perio has joined the raging fleet,
abandoning the stage to come annihilate us.

At his change in goal, I inch farther down
the right, away from the Rogues. None of the miyons see me as I
swim to the very edge of the rocky stage down by Pratt. Climbing up
quietly, I rush towards her, my heart racing at the sight.

We can’t be too late. We
can’t
be.

I try unknotting the rope around her wrists
but they’re too tight, blood escaping from where it’s rubbed her
skin raw.

“Oh God, Pratt, just hang on,” I try for the
other wrist but it’s the same thing. There’s no undoing her
restraints—not here at least. Offering a quick glance at the action
on my left, I confirm that everyone is focused on the intruders and
not us. Aiming my Enidd, I shoot through both ropes, catching her
just before she hits the hard ground. A soft moan escapes and as I
swipe back her hair, my breath catches in my throat. Her face is
swollen and bloody, like she’d been hit a couple times. After a
speedy examination, it looks like that’s all. No broken bones, no
stabs or burns.

Thank
God
.

“Come on,” I throw her arm around my shoulder
and grip her waist next to mine.

To the right, Mimi rises under the boys’
feet, pushing them higher, giving them an advantage as the Muskos
attack. The Stancimis has joined
our
cause, flapping her
bus-length tail and sending waves of water crashing over the slabs
of rock seats, deterring the rushing mob of raging miyons. From the
top of her back, Reid, Tucker, Jace, Werzo and Booker pick off each
of the impending Muskos, keeping their space safe.

I need to get Pratt over there. But she
doesn’t have a suit—how will she breathe? We should have brought an
extra one for her.

What were we thinking?

Maybe she can use mine and then—

Something hard slams into me, sending me into
a solid wall for the second time tonight. Dizziness consumes me,
but through the fog I can still see Pratt skidding across the stone
stage and into the water. She’ll drown. If I don’t get to her now,
she’s dead.

Something trickles down onto my suit.

It’s blood from Kendal’s wound. He’s standing
over me, a black dagger in his free hand, his livid orange eyes
narrowed into blazing slits. I reach for my Enidd, but it’s been
kicked away, far out of reach. Fury boils in my blood at what they
did to Pratt. I want to
kill
him. But I’m at a disadvantage.
Trying to think clearly, my mind races with the dire
situation—Kendal is about to kill me and Pratt is drowning.

What do I do?

He lifts the dagger but before he can bring
it down, I roll to my other side, dodging it. The blade hits the
wet rock and he tries again. I roll out of reach again, and he
misses for the second time. Enraged, he goes for his third attempt
but grips my neck with his free hand, holding me in place. I’m
trapped. Pratt is drowning and this is it.
This
is when I’m
going to die. Kendal lifts the dagger and just when I expect to
feel the sharp sting, his gut-wrenching cry fills my ears
instead.

What?

Reid is behind him, knocking into him over
and over and finally flipping Kendal by his wounded shoulder, Reid
slams the miyon to the hard, solid ground. Another bellowing cry
erupts as the Musko reaches for the black blade, aiming to bury it
into Reid’s leg, but he knocks it to the side, stomping on Kendal’s
shoulder instead. Kendal roars again until Reid kicks him across
the face, silencing the Musko for good. He comes for me but I point
to the water.

“Get Pratt!”

Just as he’s about to dive for her, Sampson
rises from the black water with Pratt secured in his arms. Behind
him, Clarence, Qippert, Chancellor Keller and Salva arrive, a fleet
of miyon guards spilling over the stone slabs and towards the
attacking Muskos. Tucker, Jace, Werzo and Booker manage to pick off
any who come close, but some have dodged, making their way up
Mimi’s back. One launches himself at Jace and the two go tumbling
back into the water.

It all happens so quickly—Salva leaping onto
a pair of dagger-drawn Muskos while Qippert launches himself behind
her, initiating strike after strike and immobilizing all impending
opponents. Clarence stands at the top of the Stancimis’s back,
clearing the way for the boys to reload before diving into the dark
waters after Jace. He reappears moments later with Jace just as
Salva gets knocked into the waters.

“ENOUGH!” Chancellor Keller roars, his deep
voice echoing along the rounded walls. Everything halts as the
chancellor surveys the room with blazing orange eyes, settling on
Perio in the audience of stone slabs. “Muskos of Mybyncia, you are
under arrest for violating her majesty’s interests.
Guards!
”

The fleet of miyons surround the Muskos who
look between them and the chancellor. This has never happened
before. Surely, he’s lying? But Salva reemerges and climbs atop the
stone slabs, quick to bind the befuddled Muskos who glance around
at each other, and then at their leader.

“It is for
Mybyncia
,” Perio hisses as
one of the guards moves for him, “you must know this.”

“You have done us a great disservice, Perio,”
Chancellor Keller shakes his head. “More than you realize.”

I’m still on the ground, watching through the
fog as the guards disappear into the murky waters with the bound
Muskos. I blink and lightning strikes my head, ripping it awake
with an intense split. Thank God I had my headgear on. I would’ve
been dead from the impact without it. But I’m alive. And Pratt is
alive.

Reid kneels at my side, his face etched in
worry. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” I try to stand.

But before I make it to my feet, Reid sweeps
me into his arms. I’m tempted to stay like this, secured in his
scent and comfort. But I can’t right now. There’s too much going
on. After a minute of quick protest, he places me on my feet next
to him but wraps an arm around my side, pinning it to his.

We make our way towards Sampson who’s
cradling Pratt in his arms like a baby. She’s awake, but really out
of it, her swollen eyes half open and her lips busted with red.

“Hey…” I smile down at her. “You alright,
kiddo?”

She nods once with a crooked smile. “I’ve
survived worse.”

It sends a sharp stab through me, her past
words ringing in my head again.

Turns out I didn’t have much of a life to
return to…

“Do you have a suit for her?” I ask Sampson,
who’s masking a lot of anger.

“We brought one, yes.”

I want to thank him, but the look in his eye
says it’s not the time.

“Is there any Vilbrees left?” Reid asks.

“At the headquarters—yes,” Sampson exhales.
“We have a lot to discuss when we get back.”

Reid nods. He knows like I do that this won’t
be good.

Pratt coughs, drawing our attention back to
her. “Thanks for coming for me.”

“How is she?” Princess Ariana jets over. The
princess is dressed similarly to Salva and her guard, with a tangle
of thick green seaweed covering her breasts, lining her hips and
dipping to cover the junction between her thighs.

“Princess Ariana, wait!” Salva calls. “You
must be careful! If your mother knew you were here…”