Niah

I stare at the solid darkness in front of me. Tye is trapped with a dozen Stalkers on the other side. I slam my fists in the door trying to make it open again. "Tye!" I scream. "Tye!"

On this side, the wall is smooth. Even the sounds from the street are muted by the wall between us.

"Tye?" I cry again, hammering the wall until my arms ache. I lean my head against the wall and try to imagine him surviving. Are they hauling him away? Is he lying on the ground, vicious lances of seared flesh torn through him by their plasma weapons? A tear strays down my cheek.

I rest my head against the cold wall. My breath slows as minutes pass. Eventually, I suck a breath into my lungs and force myself to push away from the wall. I glance around. The darkness is pitch.

I try to remember the shape of this corridor, the directions and lines. I bite my lip, then remember the glowing blue screen of Hart's interface. I reach down to pull the device from the satchel that's still sitting against my hip. The screen lights up, casting a soft blue glow around me. The light bounces off the smooth chrome walls.

The odd text still scrolls. Amongst the data from the recent stream I recognise some symbols. They remind me of the interior bitdata language I've seen in Elixr's base command. "Shield?" I gaze at the device, then at my hip. "No!"

I scroll back through the text and see the word again. Beside it, is the strange jumble of non-dimensional data. I gasp, realising why I can't understand the linear design of the data. I sit down with my back against the wall and bury myself in the code, typing in new commands to create a user interface that more accurately represents the information streaming through the telemetry sensors of the device.

As I execute the final command, I smile and watch the stream of strange words and commands as it scatters and staggers into a three-dimensional representation of the city in multiple layers. Icons and images drop into place. Among the glowing dots scrawled across the screen, I notice one marked with a special symbol. "What is that?"

I zoom the screen to look at the icon more closely. It's the same logo that marked the Elixr. I narrow my gaze then zoom out again, examining the surrounding area and the unmoving dot. "No!" I gasp. I stand and start walking along the channel of the chamber. The dot begins moving.

I freeze and run my gaze over the other dots on the screen, searching and searching until I see it. Far to the north, at least three furlongs, is an echo of my own dot. Barely moving, confined to what looks like a large room, and vastly, significantly, alone.

"Wish!" I pull back the map and scan for a route. The strange caverns between the buildings and below the city wind like a maze, but among the twists and turns is a way to reach her. "I'm coming, Wish. I'm coming."

I hold the tablet close and walk down the corridor, following the winding twists. My head pounds and I use the wall to steady myself. I pause to check the device regularly and as I get closer and closer to Wish, I feel a small burst of energy. My body is exhausted, but every breath of my being strains to reach her. So, I keep pushing onward.

***

Wish

The room around us flickers as if the walls are made of the iridescent flames of a blue giant. The hopeful spark that flashed in Bellamy's eyes fades and he closes his eyes. "You should both go if you can. He is coming."

"What do you mean?"

"GO!" He shouts.

I grab Casper's hand and we dash to the door but it's too late. The door flies off its hinges. I freeze in place, face to face with my doppelgänger. "Oliver," I whisper. His eyes narrow and he glares at me.

Beside me Casper hisses. "It's LORD Oliver, Wish." I swallow, realising my mistake.

The Lord strolls into the room. He pats Casper on the shoulder as he passes between us and moves to stand, making a square with equal distance between the three of us. "Well, well, what have we got here? I don't recall permitting you to have visitors, Brother."

Bellamy scowls but says nothing. Lord Oliver turns to look at him. He fixes a gaze on him so glowering that I shiver. Bellamy swallows. "They came upon me. I had nothing to do with it."

My jaw drops at his betrayal. There's so much of Niah in him that my heart aches as if she betrayed me herself. A part of me knows his words are the truth, but knowing it doesn't stop the pain.

"Indeed?" The Lord raises an eyebrow and looks at me.

I drop my eyes, not sure how to respond. Then, growing angry at my own lack of response, I lift my chin and glare back at him. "Where is my sister?"

He lifts his hand to his chin. "Sister?"

I flinch, realising Lord Oliver still doesn't know that the person they mistook for the real Captain Bellamy is actually Niah. I swallow back the swell of fear in my throat.

"Come now, child. I would gladly help you find your sister. If you know where she might be, we could perhaps both be reunited with our siblings."

I shake my head. "I don't know where she is."

His gaze narrows. "No, I suppose you don't." He pauses, paces the room and then turns back to me. "But you do know something about the ship, don't you?"

The Bellamy beside me grimaces, then says, "Leave her alone, Oli. She's just a kid."

Lord Oliver swings toward him and Bellamy flinches back as if afraid to be struck. My heart aches at what must have become a conditioned response. Bellamy never seemed to be so spineless in the Elixr's recordings of him. Maybe that Bellamy was changed from his narcycles is space, but surely a captain that could jettison himself and his crew for his home world, was built with a courageous soul. How had this Bellamy become a shadow of that?

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With a snarl, the Lord lifts a hand, forming a fist. Bellamy drops to his knees. He raises his arms, as if trying to shield himself from a crushing pain, and whimpers. Lord Oliver's hand relaxes and Bellamy's shoulders droop. Tears streak down his murky cheeks.

"Did you say something, Brother?" Lord Oliver asks. His voice is quiet with a cutting edge of volatile rage. My breath catches, instinctively stilling to avoid setting off the violent explosion of his anger. "Do I not have the right to ask a simple question in my own Palace? In my own world?" He raises his hands as if inviting us to admire the wonder of his creation. Around us, the walls, floor, and ceiling flicker through a thousand settings. Vast mountain ranges, sprawling oceans, flower-studded fields, crystal temples, vibrantly alive rainforests, and a thousand other sights, both Nar and beyond. Some include hints of scenes I remember from my before thoughts, as if they were shaped in my dreams. My mouth drops open.

Beside me, Casper reaches out as if to touch the lands flashing by around him. "Wow, Mis– I mean, Lord Oliver. You have so many programs!"

I reach up to capture Casper's hand and bring it close to me instead. I step in front of him to prevent the Lord from fixing his eyes on the boy. The edge of the Lord's lip tips up as he observes my movement.

He steps around me and takes Casper's hand from mine. "Hello there, and who might you be?"

Casper blinks up at him, eyes wide with awe. "Me, sir? I'm Casper." Casper steps forward, close to Lord Oliver's ear, he leans in and whispers. "I'm not supposed to be here."

The change in the Lord's features is radiant as he gives his first genuine smile. "Is that so?"

Casper shakes his head. "But I wanted to come visit the Palace. Muma said I'm not s'posed to, that I'm aposta only do the study levels. But I done them already and I wanted to see the Palace. 'Sides," he whispers again, "I'm gonna visit your puppy."

"Really? You're a charming young man." Lord Oliver lifts his eyes to mine. "Don't you think?"

I square my chin and meet the Lord's fixed gaze but say nothing.

The breath bursts from my lips as a sting of pain radiates from my cheek, through the bones of my jaw, and up to my eyes. I blink back tears. My hand lifts to my stinging cheek and I glare at the man who delivered the bruising blow.

Bellamy steps forward but the Lord raises a hand at him and he freezes in place. Lord Oliver's eyes, still fixed on mine, narrow on me with a stark, brutal scowl. "Dare you defy me?"

I bite my lip and shake my head. Lord Oliver snarls and spins on his foot to pace the cell. When he turns, he fixes a gaze first on Bellamy, then on me, and back again.

"What am I going to do with you both?"

When neither of us venture a word, the Lord's lips curve up in a smile.

"Perhaps you all would like to play with Chortessa. I did say your friends would have more time, but I assume they don't intend to deliver Jacob to me, so is there really any harm in changing the timeline? Besides, I'm sure I could encourage Chortessa to take her time with you. Four factors in the pit might loosen your tongue."

I swallow, remembering the vicious beast he called Chortessa. I glance at Casper; he's smiling too. "Puppy? Can I go too?"

Lord Oliver tilts his head and looks down on the boy as he considers the request. "I suppose you can. Come then."

The Lord clicks his fingers and the room around us shimmers and changes again. This time, Bellamy, Casper, and I stand together in an open-skied corridor that seems to stretch endlessly in either direction. I frown, looking first one way then the other. A piercing howl echoes off the walls around us.

Bellamy groans. I glance at him and see his eyes squeezed closed. "No, not the labyrinth! He glances up the wall. Lord Oliver sits on a raised dais, looking down on us. Either side of him, beautiful Narians attend him with fans, fruits, and fetish touches.

"Come Brother, do you not like to play games of strategy?" The howl of the beast sounds again, closer now. The Lord glances down the corridor and a smile curves his lips. "Better get moving. She's coming."

My heart races as I begin to understand the game he's playing with us. Instead of an invisible box, we have a chance to put walls between us.

"What's the point?" Bellamy snarls up to his brother. "You never let me win. I might as well let it end quickly."

Lord Oliver's face darkens, his brows come together in his fury. "You will play! Trust me, Jacob. While you are right, you will never be free of the games I play, I can offer you an incentive. The girl and boy can walk away forever if you all escape the beast."

I turn to Bellamy. "We can do this, Bellamy. There's a chance for all of us."

The familiar face of the captain looks down on me. His eyes are pale with a haunted hopelessness that makes me shiver. He gives a weary nod.

"I can't promise he will keep his word but, if either of you have a chance to make it out of this, I will do all I can to help you. Come on, this way."

I take Casper's hand and turn to follow Bellamy but Casper tugs on my arm, refusing to move.

"But," Casper whines, "I want to see the puppy!"

I turn to him. "Maybe we can play with her later, Casper. Right now we're going to try to solve the labyrinth. The exit is this way!"

I urge him to run with us instead of pulling away and we fall into step jogging behind Bellamy. He leads the way down the corridor and away from the growing growls and howls of the approaching chortessa.

We run what must be several furlongs before the corridor splits in a three way fork. A cackle of laughter sounds around us, echoing through the maze. "Eagrim's beak!" Bellamy swears. "It always changes."

Casper peers down each of the three paths. "Should we split up?"

My heart jumps. "No!" They both glance at me so I say more calmly. "We should stay together. The Lord said we only get out if we all get out together."

Bellamy nods. "Then which path?"

I bite my lip and gaze down each of the routes. Beside me, Casper falls silent and then points down the path to the right. "That way."

I turn to him. "Really? Why?"

"Because that's the way out."

I blink and gaze down the path he indicated. "How do you know?"

He shrugs. "The program says so."

A low growl behind us startles me and I spin to see down the long corridor. A pair of glowing eyes closes the distance between us.

"Any path is better than standing here," Bellamy says, charging down the lane Casper selected.

We continue weaving through the maze of corridors. At each intersecting point, Casper guides us through the next choice. The labyrinth continues in twists and turns. It seems unending. Behind us, Chortessa continues tracing us. She lingers, stalks, almost as if toying with us. We race forward, fleeing, rather than attempt to face her.

At yet another split in the path Bellamy stops in place and stares down each route. I pull up behind him. My breath is fast and gasping. My lungs ache. I lean my hands on my thighs as I pause to rest. Beside me, Casper seems to wilt. His face is pale and his little legs quiver with exhaustion. Even as tired as he must be he points down the path we should take.

Bellamy shakes his head. "It's hopeless, endless. There aren't any openings or anything, it just goes on and on."

Casper shakes his head. "You ain't lookin' right. It's full of openings, it's just you ain't seen 'em."

"What?" I ask, glancing around as if one might jump out at me. "Where are they?"

"There's one just across there, right in front of us." He points to one of the walls that separate the intersections. Each wall section is about three feet wide. They divide the maze into a series of corridors. I reach out and touch the wall Casper's pointing at but it's solid. It's dressed with intricate carvings that make a play of shapes in every direction but there doesn't seem to be anything unique or interesting about this particular section.

I shake my head and turn back to Casper. "But there isn't an opening."

"Course there is! It's written in the program. See?"

I turn back and watch the wall. "What? There's just a wall! There's no way through."

The low growl of the Chortessa makes my stomach tremble and Bellamy glances behind us. A nervous tick jumps in his cheek. He swallows and glances at Casper. "If it's an opening, how do we go through?"

Casper blinks. "Oh! Well you have to open the door." He steps past us both and places his fingers on a marking. The panel of wall slides down into the floor and beyond it, a long dark corridor stretches into the distance.

Bellamy's mouth hangs open as he gazes at the chamber. "How–" He turns to me and Casper. "How is that there? I've never seen it before."

I shrug. "I guess things are not always what they seem in this place."

Casper grins. "Can't take anything for granted. It's Virreal, everything is a program."

I stand at the entrance to the long dark corridor. "Will this get us out of the labyrinth?" It looks like a darker version of the labyrinth. If it's the interior wall of the maze it might share it's endless twists and turns.

Casper seems to grow distant again. Before he responds a low growl sounds right behind him and the hulking form of the chortessa stalks toward us. I yank Casper forward, pulling him into the chamber. There doesn't seem to be any way to make the door close and with the chortessa so close, I can't see how we can outrun her.

"GO!" Bellamy shouts at us. Then he turns and faces the beast.

"But," I shout back, "we all have to escape or none do."

"Casper's right, it's a program! You're not really here. I'm the only one who is. You just have to figure out how to wake up before she catches you. Go!" He steps toward the beast. She snarls at him. Her ears lay flat and she bares her teeth in a growl. "Chortessa's guts, girl! RUN!"