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“Open up!”
If Sithren is surprised to find me knocking on his front door in the middle of the night, he doesn’t show it. He looks down at me with a long-suffering expression.
“What’s wrong, human? Forgot your teddy when you ran away?”
That’s a very specific reference I will have to quiz him on later. First, I need to save his stupid life.
“There are about a hundred soldiers and brigands, maybe more, coming to attack your house, and they have the blessing of someone called Hypthin. They know you don’t have wives. They’re coming to take Tethys as a bride for Hypthin, and they’re going to kill you. Congratulations, such a progressive culture you’ve got here. Ow!”
I curse as he cuffs me around the ear, then grabs me by the arm and pulls me indoors.
“Follow me,” he says. “And stay quiet.”
It would seem that this is not entirely unexpected. He moves like a man who is prepared to take action. He wakes Tethys and orders her to dress warmly. In his room — I knew I was never in his room — there are three backpacks standing ready. One fits him. The other, me. The third is obviously for his baby bear, Tethys. He planned to take me with him if things ever got bad. Interesting.
He does not call his soldiers or alert his guard. We avoid them as the three of us make our way through the house to the old harem. The hole in the corner has not only not been fixed, it has been enlarged slightly. This isn’t a mistake. He knew it was here all along. He intended for it to be used in case of emergencies.
Tethys is sleepy, barely aware of what is going on. She is holding onto her father’s hand with impeccable trust as we stand at the precipice of two disasters.
This time the void before us does not seem as threatening. This time it promises escape.
“These packs have a cord with a winged contraption attached,” he tells me. “Pull the rip cord after ten seconds. Watch me and do it when I do it if you cannot count. Okay?”
I nod. I’ve done jumps before, plenty of times. I haven’t done them into pitch black abysses of unknown horror, but there’s always room for new experiences in my world.
Sithren jumps, taking Tethys with him. I follow.
The three of us plummet into the darkness with barely a sound. All I can hear is the rushing of atmosphere against my ears, the wind I am creating by falling through it. Has it been ten seconds? I think it has been only three. I can’t watch Sithren. We are all cast in complete darkness. It occurs to me in one brief, terrifying moment that I may just have obediently committed suicide at his order. I don’t know that there is actually a parachute in this thing. I don’t know anything.
I pull the cord.
Nothing happens.
I wonder how many seconds of life I have left before I hit the ground and then, FWOMP! The parachute opens, my descent slows, and my fear recedes.
8
“You saved my life. You saved my daughter’s life.”
We are sitting at the very bottom of a very large cave. Tethys was right. There are trees down here. Trees, waterfalls, surprisingly lush pastures, and in the distance, an opening leading out onto what looks like a rich valley. Tethys is sleeping on the ground next to a fire we lit. She’s exhausted after a night of excitement.
“I chose not to let atrocities happen.”
“You could have begged your way onto a freighter and never known or cared what became of us. You gave up your freedom for Tethys, and myself. For a second time, may I add.”
“Yeah. Well.”
“I owe you thanks,” he says. “A deeper and more full thanks than I am capable of giving. My daughter lives because of the decisions you made. I will forever be in your debt.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I say. I don’t know quite why I say that, probably because it struck me at the time that there was no other choice to make. Tethys is an annoying brat, but she is Sithren’s annoying brat, and she is far too young to be taken by some power hungry Dinavri lord who smells weakness. As for Sithren, yes, he survives too. I suppose I am quite happy about that.
I am less happy about the fact that I don’t see any way back up to the city from here. Getting a shuttle off this planet just got a whole lot harder.
“Is there a way back up?”
“Where we are now is the cursed lands.”
“They don’t look particularly cursed.”
"This is where our kind came from. Humans descended from the trees. Our ancestors emerged from the caves. Ancient versions of ourselves sunned on rocks and thought little of what might be made of themselves. But we fell into territory keeping, mate owning, building, commanding, dominating. And that has been our glory, and our shame.”
