Elurra felt hollow. Even though days had passed since her fight with Terrin, she felt the loss like she was missing one of her organs. But she had done what she knew she had to. It was time to leave Tipet, but she couldn’t seem to pull herself away from Zurgth. She sighed and looked out across the miles of grassland outside her window. She would miss Tipet, even though the climate was much too hot for her. She blew a kiss to the view she’d grown to love and started making a list of things she needed to do before she left.
I will need to say goodbye to all the maids, Finila, Garen, Lira, and Raeya. I need to ask Lira to share images of places along the way to Amora so I can travel in bursts instead of one big leap. I do not think my nanites can take that kind of strain again, and none of the Magic bunkers are within convenient distance. Two or three jumps with a day’s rest between is the best way to travel. It is too late to write to Rowan. I will have to drop in unannounced.
Two hours later, she had her worn travel bags packed. She visited the kitchens and gathered enough food for her journey without answering too many questions. She made it back to her room with her load and dropped it on her bed with a sigh.
Who should I visit first?
She whispered the locate command, and within seconds, the map of the castle appeared over her vision. Her eyes darted to the brightest dots on the map. She watched Terrin move through swarms of gray dots a few hallways away, and her heart ached. She forced her mind’s eye to focus on the other pinpricks of light. She located Garen, Raeya, and Lira immediately. Lira was with another dim dot, but Garen wasn’t in the vicinity of any other blip. She was about to transport to his location when something odd caught her eye.
A dimmer, golden dot was walking quickly through the outer circle toward one of the bridges connecting the inner castle. The person was a foreigner, and their number started with a two like hers.
What is another Lur Alavian doing here? she wondered, perplexed. How did he manage to stroll into the inner rings of the castle?
As she watched the dot progress, she had an eerie premonition. She wanted to get a glimpse of the foreigner, but she didn’t want to approach them. She remembered Lira casually mentioning she kept cybugs around the castle for surveillance.
“If I could access one of the cybugs and give it his nanite signature, I can view him without him knowing he is being watched,” Elurra mumbled to herself, already searching for the command.
“Ĉom źek grití huolo reċ Getȅ lo 2794 tork nobi.”[i]
Nothing happened.
Did I make a mistake?
Her vision blacked out, then a hallway in the second ring of the castle appeared before her eyes. The view was strange. She was looking down at everything, and her view was slightly curved, like she was looking through a sphere. The mechanical insect buzzed along swiftly, passing the humans below until it came to a dark figure traveling at a brisk pace. He was dressed in a guard’s attire, so castle staff gave him a wide berth and other men-at-arms saluted as he passed.
A rock settled in her gut. The cybug drew closer, and she could see the irregularities in his skin tone around his fingers and eyes. In passing, he looked like a Tipettian, but under closer inspection, she saw he was covered in makeup. He closed in on the bridge to the third circle, his strides stiff and purposeful.
If Nitiri sent him, did he come for Lira’s Kutsal Stone? How will he find it? Will he kill Lira?
Dread gripped her. Elurra knew she couldn’t get to Lira in time. She’d never tried telepathy over a distance, but decided it was best to give it a try given the circumstances. She pictured Lira’s number and sent her an urgent intruder warning. She repeated the message a few times and waited for a response. Seconds turned into minutes, and Elurra paced her room restlessly.
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Did she get my message? Where is the intruder?
She repeated the complex command, and the faux guard appeared again. Elurra held her breath as he approached Lira’s location. The third inner ring was used to conduct business and was full of meeting rooms, the private dining room, the throne room, and various other spaces where large groups of people could come together. Lira was in a meeting and would be wearing a fake crown for trivial day-to-day affairs. Elurra assumed her real crown was in the royal tower at the center of the castle. Her eyebrows drew together as the man turned away from the meeting rooms and toward the innermost ring.
“There is no way he can trick the guards in the tower,” she mumbled to herself, her mind working furiously as she tried to guess his plan. “He may be able to fool people in passing, but the royal guards know each other. They would kill him in a heartbeat.”
When the man crossed and entered the fourth and final ring of the castle, he didn’t turn toward the bridge connecting the center tower as Elurra expected. He turned left, toward the guest rooms. Toward Elurra’s room.
He came for me.
She pushed down her terrors and calmed her mind. She couldn’t help but grin grimly.
Here I was about to come to Nitiri, and she sent someone to fetch me.
The grin froze on her face, then widened as a crazy idea came to her. An insane idea. If Terrin knew what she was planning, he would’ve scolded her for being reckless. The only difficulty was her strategy banked on the man capturing her alive.
What if Nitiri sent him to kill me?
If it came down to it, she would have to fight him. She pictured using the surging power in her veins and felt a chill run down her spine. She imagined transporting behind the man and sending a heat pulse through him or blasting him with electricity. She shook her head, clearing the violent thoughts.
There is a price to pay when you command such power, and I do not think I am ready for it, she thought gravely. Would she send him to kill me and take my bracelet? Could she have found out somehow? It is more likely she wants to interrogate me. Nitiri enjoys controlling the situation. That is why she went to Amora instead of sending someone to kill Kai, and why she took Terrin to the slavers herself. She likes making it personal. I am betting this man is here to kidnap me.
The disguised man was only a few minutes from her door. She had to act. She quickly stuffed some food into a makeshift pocket concealed in the folds of her dress and scrawled a note on a piece of parchment. With only a second’s debate, she left it under her pillow for her maid to find. She hesitated when she saw her sword lying on the bed. It was a vital resource if she was ever going to take on a Demon, which was bound to happen soon. She grabbed the weapon and a strip of cloth and bound the scabbard to her side. Thankfully, it didn’t cause an obvious lump.
Should I send a message to Terrin?
She shook her head to cast away the ridiculous notion. He would be happy she was gone, and her abrupt departure would fuel his animosity. She heard footsteps coming down the hall and hastily walked around the bed. She made it to her hiding place as the door opened. Elurra looked up and saw the man standing in the doorway, his hand raised.
“Ŵarņ slet ijine.” [ii]
A projectile shot out of his palm, but Elurra was ready for the attack. She grabbed her arm and dropped to the floor with a cry of alarm as if the sleeping dart had hit her. The real miniscule dart struck the wall and harmlessly bounced to the floor, where she kicked it under the bed.
As soon as she was out of sight, she breathed, “Nenjavi ńai.” [iii]
Panic rose inside her as her limbs went numb and her vision flickered, but she pushed down her terror and her body shut down. Footsteps approached, and the man grunted in apparent surprise.
“I coulda sworn I missed ’er.”
She heard cloth unfolding and guessed he was either stuffing her in a sack or rolling her in a bundle. The man grunted, and blood started to rush to her head.
At least I will be able to tell when I am lying on the ground and when I am thrown over his shoulder from the headache.
“Elurra, where are you?” Lira asked urgently. Her abrupt demand startled Elurra.
“I am currently being kidnapped, but I am in control of the situation.”
“Excuse me?”
“I believe Nitiri sent someone to get me. He tried to knock me out, but I tricked him and put myself in stasis. I do not know how he will travel, though. If he teleports, I will be gone soon. I left a note for you under my pillow.”
“I will read it. Remember, if he does use a sleeping dart on you, you can counteract it by putting yourself in stasis before losing consciousness. Additionally, Nitiri may try to manipulate your nanites, as she has before. You can stop her by switching your nanites’ controls so they only take your commands.”
“How?”
Before Lira could answer, the kidnapper uttered the transportation command. Elurra felt the shift. Her thoughts scattered as they became incorporeal for a moment before the world solidified again.
It seems I am on my own now.
She cringed as she contemplated the weeks of darkness ahead of her and everything she had just left behind.