The Broken Kingdom (21 page)

Adila entered Andalla’s palace, escorted by
his golden servants. The King had directed her here with his usual
laugh. He seemed to think the whole thing was one big joke, which
to him, it was.

Andalla sat on a throne behind a richly
decorated table. At his side sat a woman.

Adila stared, suddenly going pale. Dressed
in an ugly white dress, jewels and a heavy crown, it took Adila a
moment to recognize Riley. The only thing recognizable about her
was her hair. Brilliantly black and wild, with hidden life
sometimes shining through. But her skin was all wrong, heavily
white and dead. To Adila, Riley looked as though she was dying. But
why were her lips so red?

‘Andalla.’ Adila greeted him. ‘Thank you for
allowing me into your Kingdom.’

Andalla frowned down at her from his throne.
‘What do you want?’ he demanded.

Adila gestured towards Riley. She was
utterly still, but her eyes were intent on Adila. Adila wondered
then, seeing life and anger raging in her eyes. Why was it her face
looked so very wrong? And then it came to her in a flash and she
relaxed. She was wearing makeup! She was not dying, the life and
otherness from her valkar blood was just hidden beneath all that
paint!

‘You have this woman here. I have been asked
to return her to her world.’

‘She is my wife. She likes it here.’ Andalla
said, almost sulkily as he crossed his arms over is chest. ‘Don’t
you?’ he turned his head to Riley then.

Riley glanced at him. ‘Yes. This is a
wonderful place. So… so magnificent. I am… very happy here.’

Andalla smiled and leant back in his chair.
‘See?’

Now that Andalla’s eyes were off her Riley
was mouthing silently at Adila, ‘
help me.’

Adila paused. ‘Yes, I see that. Is there
something I can offer you in exchange for her?’

‘Why?’ suspicion clouded his eyes. ‘She is
happy here, why would you want to take her away?’

‘Because she is not worthy of you.’ Adila
said sorrowfully. ‘And it pains me to see someone as glorious as
you with someone as unworthy as her.’

Andalla, smiling, relaxed again. ‘Yes, I can
see how that would be painful. But,’ and he waved his hand, ‘you
will have to suffer. You are a mere valkar, what could you give me
that I could not take for myself?’

Riley’s eyes were going wide as she stared
hard at Adila.

Adila glanced at her. ‘Perhaps I may speak
with her in private?’

‘Hmm…’ Andalla narrowed his gaze for a
moment. ‘My wife will show you about my gardens. It is a task
unworthy of myself.’ and he stood.

Out in the gardens, Riley spoke in a hurried
whisper to Adila, ‘you have to get me out of here!’

‘I can’t. If I take you away he’ll just come
get you again. I… I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.’

‘Why kidnap me, Adila? I’m not even a real
valkar!’

‘I have heard Andalla kidnapped a daughter
of one of our Queen’s long, long ago. But she died soon after, and
so he hasn’t done it again. He likely wouldn’t have taken you if
the King hadn’t kidnapped you first. But if Andalla tires of you
the King will as well.’

Riley stared at her in disbelief. ‘She died?
What if I tell him I don’t want to be here?’

‘That’s not a good idea. I don’t know what
he would do, but it wouldn’t be good.’

‘So I just have to stay here, traded between
Andalla and the King?’

‘I’m sorry. It might not be forever. If
Andalla gets tired of you, the King likely will as well.’

‘How long?!’ she demanded.

‘I don’t know. I’m sorry. Is there anything
you’d like me to tell your friends?’

Riley stared at her in anger and shock.
‘No!’ she shouted. She gathered her gown in her hands, turned and
stormed off.

When Adila returned Vann leapt up, hope
blossoming. It died as soon as he saw the look on her face.

‘I’m sorry.’ she said as she approached.
‘They won’t let her go.’

‘How are we going to rescue her?’

Adila shook her head. ‘We’re not. They’re
too powerful, and there’s nothing we have that we can trade for
her.’

Vann stared. ‘You’re saying we just… leave
her there?’

Adila nodded. ‘Eventually, I think they will
let her go. But I don’t know when that will be. It could be a few
weeks, it could be years.’

‘There has to be something.’ he insisted
firmly. ‘Even if it’s dangerous.’

She shook her head again. ‘Vann, not even
the valkar can fight him. And you cannot enter their worlds.’

‘But you can.’ he pressed.

‘I won’t help you with that. If you sneak in
and rescue her they will just come take her back, and likely punish
you for stealing from them. No Vann, I am sorry, but there is
nothing we can do but wait and hope.’ she held his gaze
intently.

Vann broke it off first. He ran his hands
through his hair. Then he put his hands on his hips. He turned,
paced. He caught Karesh’s eye and stopped.

‘The Master will escape.’ Karesh said in
heavily accented Astarian.

‘How is she going to do that?’ Vann replied
in Plains speech. ‘If she could, don’t you think she would have
done it already? Do you really think Riley would have let the King
carry her off if she could do anything to stop it?’

Karesh shrugged. ‘Maybe not use strength.
But the Master will escape on her own. She has to.’

‘There has to be something, Karesh. I can’t
just sit here and do nothing.’

‘If that’s what you want, we’ll try.’ Karesh
said hesitantly.

Vann frowned. ‘I understand if you don’t
want to help.’

‘We follow your lead. My… my suggestion is
to wait. Give the Master time to escape on her own.’

‘You’ll follow my lead?’ Vann stated. Karesh
often asked Vann for his opinion, but he’d thought the gemeng was
just trying to be polite and include him.

Karesh nodded.

Vann’s frown did not disappear. That didn’t
quite fit right. But he would deal with that later. The thought
that he somehow might be forcing the others into something
dangerous led Vann to say, ‘for now, we’ll do as you suggest,
Karesh. We’ll wait.’ the words tasted bitter to Vann. Wait. How was
that going to help?

‘I suggest… we should stay here. When she
escapes, she will know where to find us.’

‘Fine.’ Vann replied, not able to keep the
acid from his tone. ‘We’ll wait here.’

Chapter 26

I
t was dark. It was
always
dark. Suddenly he could hold on no more and let out a
shriek of despair.

‘Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!’ the wail bounced off
the walls of the cavern, echoing away into the forever night of the
bowels of the mountain.

‘Brother! Shh!’ His sister, Secondgirl,
grabbed his hand. ‘Why are you yelling?’

‘Everyone, halt!’ a firm, female voice
called.

Firstboy fell silent and heard the heavy,
confident footsteps of Galis the Strong, one of the few adults
among them.

‘What is this, Gurak’s boy? Why are you
yelling?’

‘It’s so dark.’ He sobbed. ‘There’s no way
out, we’re
stuck!
’

‘It is dark.’ She agreed. ‘Tell me, boy, did
you often go up to the surface before?’

‘No… f-father did not often take us, it was
dangerous.’ His voice broke and fresh tears spilled down his cheeks
as he thought of his mother and father, dead or trapped like they
were.
Most likely dead
, a little voice in the back of his
head said.
They’re all dead, and now you’re going to die down
here too.

‘Yes. So why are you so upset? How different
is this from our life before, hmm?’

‘I miss my mummy and daddy!’

‘Brother!’ Secondgirl hissed. ‘Don’t be a
weakling!’

‘I don’t care, I miss them!’ Despite all the
other worries he had, he felt a spark of annoyance at being called
‘Brother’. He’d been about to take the Warrior’s Trial, he’d chosen
a name for himself (Meguk the Strong), and he was ready to be more
than ‘Brother’ or ‘Firstboy’.

He heard his fellows, other children, the
few adults, murmuring. Many were ridiculing him, others were adding
their own distress to his.

‘Yes.’ Galis said sombrely. ‘Yes, boy, I
know. My mate is gone too. Bulag was a great warrior, and I will
remember him. You remember your father, Gurak, and your mother,
Ekrag.’

‘Wh-what’s going to happen to us?’ he
sobbed. ‘Our home is gone, our Master and everyone is dead.’ They
had to be dead. He knew they had to be dead. He’d been in the
deeper caverns, safe from the monstrous creatures his parents
fought. Then came a horrendous sound, like the whole world was
breaking apart. He’d thought he was going to die as the world shook
and groaned. He hadn’t died though, but they’d been trapped. When
they tried to get to the surface, they found the way blocked. Galis
had quickly taken the lead, and marshalled the children and few
other pregnant women to find a way out. Weeks passed, and they
never found anything. They walked deeper and deeper. He was
tired.
Every day they walked in the horrible, pressing
darkness, deeper into the mountain. They never got anywhere, they
never met anyone else.

‘I am Master now, Gurak’s boy, and I lead.
We will continue as ever, we have water and food. One day, we will
find a way out.’

No
, he thought,
we won’t. No one
knows we’re here, the whole world is dead. I’ll never take my own
name, I’ll never be warrior, and we’ll never escape. We’ll die down
here.

Chapter 27

R
iley was kidnapped every
few days. She consented without complaint. At least, once they had
kidnapped her they mostly ignored her. And then Riley would talk to
the Dragon or the Andallites.

And then she’d be kidnapped again.

‘Is all the world like this?’ Riley asked
the Dragon as she reclined in his cave.