Bridgeworlds: Deep Flux by Randy Blackwell Page A

the Kalat culture was. She always had to start the battle
for the souls of lost Kalat with violence even though she detested it these days.
In the past she had spoken to the Shepherd and confirmed her methods. “They
are rough but necessary. Sometimes when a sheep keeps leaving the flock a
shepherd must break the leg of the sheep. He does this with love. He breaks
that lamb’s leg and then the lamb has to rely on the shepherd. He sets the bone
to heal and from that day on the Shepherd does everything with that lamb over
his shoulders. The lamb learns to take comfort in the shepherd’s voice. To some,
this would seem horrible; but is it, compared to the fate the lamb would face if
wondered off alone and eaten by wolves?” Kasey sighed, thinking of this lesson.
It was something she knew in her gut, but the Shepherds words were always
wise beyond anything she could express . I have broken her pride, now I will
spend my days with her and show her who I really am. Who He is. As she walked
away the others guided Misia back to her prison and tended to her burns.
3
In Trouble… Again
No light. How long has it been? I’ve lost count. Weeks, months.
    Myles sat in complete darkness. He found himself in some kind
of stone holding cell. He had tried to teleport out which did not work.
He had tried to make light with his mind but it didn’t work either. Myles
had lost control. What is this place?
    The stench of his urine and fecal matter was almost unbearable,
but the darkness was what would likely drive him mad. Everything was
black. What he would not give for a ray of sunlight. It might be blinding
at this moment but he did not care. He missed the feel of sun on his skin
and the smell of fresh air.
    Myles tried to exercise in his small cell but there was little room
for that and the rock of the cell was jagged. It was barely comfortable
enough to sit or sleep on. Most nights he found himself sleeping against
a wall because it was more comfortable than lying down.
    His jailors came only when he slept. How can they know when I
sleep and when I am awake? Too many questions nagged at him. Where
did Haylale send me? What hell is this place? How can I get out?
    “Hello, can anyone hear me?” he yelled again. No answer but an
echo with the faint sound of dripping water. If it had not been for the
water trickling into the side of his cell which was only a five foot cubic
cell, Myles would be very thirsty by now. But he had not eaten on
purpose in at least five days. He was hoping to starve himself to a point
where his captors would show while he was awake. Besides, the food
made a man want to starve himself to death. It was slimy and
sometimes in the dark as he ate… it moved. Myles swallowed in disgust
as he thought that he had eaten some mysterious living thing in
desperation. He had killed it first, in the dark. It shrieked horribly and
splattered everywhere when smashed it violently against the wall. After
that it was three days before he would actually eat it. Pockets burst in
his mouth and strange tasting juices came from them. Organs . Myles
dry heaved thinking of it again.
    There was no lock to his cell. Only bars in the stone. He had
shaken each one, hoping he could loosen them. Myles would have been
glad for a lock. Locks could be picked. Instead it was just him and the
bars and the constant drip of water that had first made him sick for
some time and then given him headache after headache. Sometimes he
sang in hopes of drowning it out.
His mind drifted to the poison he had stored in the heel of one
of his boots. No, I just need to find a way out, there has to be a way out.
    Myles still had some flash paper hidden in his hat but he knew
that what light it gave would be momentary and it would not be enough
for him to make out his surroundings. Besides he had felt his way
around and there was no secret way out. Haylale had teleported him
into this prison.
Finally, Myles heard footsteps. It must have