Chapter 30:
After that, things were different.
“I thought the Rajas were on top. Why do they let this happen to themselves?”
Vek was leading the way through a narrow corridor. He stopped at a crossroads and pulled out his map. Mayah handed the lightstick over to him when he gestured for it. After a minute of close scanning, he pointed to the corridor turning right. “That way. I think. And it’s not the Rajas doing it, it’s the Golden Castle.”
“What’s the difference?”
Vek gestured vaguely into the darkness that surrounded them. “The Golden Castle is, uh, it’s the system, it’s like the way everyone does things, even if it’s bad, even if it’s bad for the people on top.”
Mayah frowned, parsing through Vek’s explanation. “Like a bad habit? It’s bad for you but you keep doing it anyway?”
“Uh… yeah, sure.”
Okay, that made a little more sense, although Mayah still wanted to know how such a terrible habit had gotten developed in the first place. Vek seemed distracted though. She’d been peppering him with questions, and while his answers at first had been funny and engaging, they were no longer nearly half as clear. Maybe he was getting tired. Come to think of it, Mayah was pretty tired herself. Walking endlessly through this dripping maze was not exactly her idea of a refreshing time.
“There’s got to be a way out of here,” Vek muttered. Mayah wasn’t sure at first whether or not he was talking to her, but then he turned and addressed her directly. “I mean, I’ve heard stories of servies who’ve escaped the Temple. So I know it’s possible. Especially because we have a map! None of the other Rajas-serf pairs have one of these. Sorry, give me a second.”
He paused again. Mayah took the moment as an opportunity to lean against the nearest wall and ease the pressure on her feet. “How did Sukren get out?”
“Huh?”
“Sukren was disappeared. How did he get out of the Temple?”
Vek still seemed confused. Then all at once he was grinning at her. “No, the Temple’s not how they deal with doctor-priests. He went a different way. Like a way just for doctor-priests. He’s fine though! He’s not in any trouble at all.”
Mayah smiled. She was glad to hear it. Sukren would have hated the Temple. He liked things neat and clean. She understood a little better now why Sukren had washed himself so much while they lived in the village. Everyone else had done it once a week, tops, but Sukren had tried to daily. That was because he was from a castle, first! And in the castles everyone went to the baths all the time.
Actually, Mayah wouldn’t have minded a bath herself right then. It was very dirty in the Temple.
“So why do they do it?” she asked, as Vek gestured her forward. “Even though it’s bad?”
“You mean the disappearances?”
“Yeah.”
“I think it’s some population control thing. The Prophetess Darshana wrote that Rajas who could no longer fulfill their reproductive purposes had to be sacrificed.”
Mayah shuddered a little. She didn’t like hearing that. She knew she didn’t have to follow the Rajas’ rules anymore, but she didn’t like hearing that she was going against something the Prophetess Darshana herself had said. Making a face, she continued to follow Vek down the empty pathway when a puddle caught her, full-footed. Oh, yuck! Now her shoes were all wet. Sarana, it was really gross inside here.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
She was about to ask Vek if she could take a look at the map, too, when she felt him stiffen just ahead of her. “Something’s coming,” he whispered.
A splash sounded up ahead. Mayah swallowed. She watched, heart suddenly pounding, as Vek plunged his hand into his knapsack and pulled out a blowpipe. He offered it to Mayah, but she shook her head. She’d never even touched one before! Vek didn’t push her. He dropped it back into the sack and pulled out for himself a small bow, and a case of darts. The lightstick he returned to Mayah, who held it out so Vek could see better. She could do that much, at least. She could – Holy Sarana – another splash – and something growling – madmen and animals –
“Relax,” Vek whispered. “Remember, you’re special. And I’m a pretty special serf too. They didn’t pick me to go with you for nothing.”
Mayah edged closer to Vek. She was glad he was so confident. It made it easier for her to feel safe with him. Especially with that snapping, snarling growl echoing up ahead.
“Steady,” Vek was saying in a low voice. “Steady, steady.”
Especially with the sound of a man’s shout traveling around the corner…
To her surprise, Vek leapt forward. “Hanjan!” he cried out. Then he was gone, darting down the dark corridor. Not sure what else to do, Mayah followed. The corridor opened up almost at once into a wide, shallow pit. She arrived just in time to see Vek fire several darts at a dirty, mangy beast with hideously large canines. The creature growled and made as if to turn on Vek, but it was too late. Another dart from Vek, and it whimpered and stumbled to the ground.
“Vek?” A man, clutching his bleeding arm, looked up at them through dirty goggles.
“Hanjan!” Vek lowered his bow. “Yes, it’s me!”
Mayah looked at the dead beast, her heart palpitating under her flimsy Rajas frock. She placed her hand over her chest. There were several lesions on the animal’s flank. The blood trickling from them was dark and red. It mingled on the floor with the blood gushing from the serf’s arm and side.
“He needs to stop the bleeding,” Mayah said, the words coming automatically from her mouth. “He needs to put pressure on his wounds for at least ten minutes, or he’ll die of volume shock. It would be best if we could get him out of the Temple to tend to him, since it’s not terribly sanitary in here, but if that’s not possible, can we at least get him out of this hole?”
Vek stared at her.
“What?” Mayah said, wary of Vek’s look. Was he mad at her? “I’m sorry. Sukren taught me some stuff, so I thought…”
“Why are you sorry?” Vek asked. “Hanjan, can you walk? We’ll take you to the bunker.”
“Maybe,” Hanjan said. “Come help me up, then let’s get out of this hole, as the princess put it.”
Happy that they were going along with her, Mayah scurried to pick up Vek’s pack off the floor. Sukren had been her biology tutor in the village, and she was glad too now that he had also forced her to learn first aid, despite her original protestations. After asking Vek to show her where the bunker was on the map, Mayah led the way fairly quickly through the twisting corridors until they reached a portion of wall that revolved open to reveal an enclosed space behind it.
Inside, two hammocks swung from wall to wall. In one corner was a trunk. “Put him in one of those,” Mayah ordered, pointing at a hammock. “And get me bandages, and as much water as you have. He’s going to have to drink a lot to replenish the liquid in his body.”
“You talk like a doctor-priest,” Hanjan murmured.
“I’m a Rajas,” Mayah replied, wondering how many bacteria had been on the animal’s teeth. “A doctor-priest taught me some stuff, that’s all.”
A stone pocket in the bunker’s wall seemed like a good place to put the lightstick, so she did. After checking her hands under its glow to make sure they did not have any scratches, Mayah peeled back one of the torn shreds of Hanjan’s shirt. Ragged fang marks scored his arm. She drew in a sharp breath.
“I’m going to die, aren’t I?” Hanjan asked, closing one eye in a wince.
“Shut up, Hanjan,” Vek replied, as he returned from the trunk. Water bulbs were tucked into his arms; bandages were in his hands. “He’ll be fine, won’t he?”
“I can stop the bleeding and clean the wounds, but he’s going to have to get out of the Temple to rest and recover.”
Vek’s goggles failed to obscure the look of worry on his face. “Do your best.”
Mayah nodded. She took the bandages Vek handed to her and pressed them down on Hanjan’s wounds. A part of her was relieved. Bad as the situation was, it felt good to be doing something. To be in control. To not be waiting in the darkness for something to attack. Walking around in the Temple searching for a way out was a little too much like being a princess in a castle.