but a ring of slick rock glistening under the candle.
No other light broke the gloom, and I could smell only long-wet
stones and the blood on my own face.
“ Who are you?”
I jumped so violently that the metal rings
bruised my wrists again. I could have sworn the Ungulion had left
me alone. The breathy voice wreathed through the dark silence,
echoing off the walls, so that I couldn’t tell which direction it
came from.
“ Who are you ?” I
asked.
I peered blindly into the shadows as I
spoke. Pain erupted across my cheek. A metal cuff, striking me so
hard that my ears rang and my mouth filled with an acrid, coppery
taste. I spat, then gagged. Blood. I was still trying to gather my
senses when I realized I was staring into two eyes, not six inches
from my face. They reflected the feeble candlelight, or maybe they
glowed with their own hellish light. I jerked my gaze away, closed
my eyes. Wished I hadn’t asked.
“ Who are you?” the Ungulion
asked again.
This time I caught the glint of the bracer
as he raised his arm. I flinched.
“ Merelin!”
I regretted it as soon as I had said it.
Sixteen-year-old girl or not, I had to do better than that. I
thought of Yatol, bleeding in his cell. What had he gone through? I
couldn’t imagine he had given up any information that easily, or at
all. I could do it for him. Could be strong for him. I had to.
“ Merelin,” the Ungulion
rasped. “That is only a name. Who are you?”
“ I’m nobody. I’m just a
girl.” My breath came shallow. “I ran away! I got lost, and now I’m
here.”
“ You were in the Perstaun . Nobody comes to the Perstaun by
choice.”
Two breaths. Steady. I struggled to stand a
little taller.
“ Maybe I came looking for
you.”
I clacked my jaws shut, but too late. The
words were already out there. Brilliant, Merelin. Provoke the
thing. What are you thinking?
The candle flickered with a sudden grinding
of stone on stone. No new light appeared, but I could hear more
footsteps – another Ungulion. My interrogator went to join the
newcomer, the two of them standing so that they blocked my view of
the candle.
“ Has she said
anything?”
“ Not yet. She’s insolent,
and useless. Let me kill her and be done with it. We have the
other. We can break him eventually.”
“ Did you search
her?”
“ She had nothing. Strange
garments, but nothing of interest.”
One of them came over to me. I felt more
than saw it beside me. Their voices sounded similar, but somehow I
knew that this was the new Ungulion looming over me, so close that
if it had been a person, I would have felt its breath. Not feeling
anything terrified me. Even worse, a rotten stench drifted around
its lipless mouth as it spoke.
“ Where are you
from?”
My thoughts raced. They certainly wouldn’t
believe I was nobody if they knew I’d come from Earth. But I didn’t
know anything at all about this place. No names, no geography,
nothing. I didn’t even know how the people lived. All I’d seen was
the camp, but I couldn’t imagine everyone here lived like
nomads.
“ From…my village,” I said.
“It’s, uh, near the desert.”
“ How do you know
Yatol?”
I swallowed hard. “Who’s that?”
For a moment neither of them spoke or moved.
I wondered if I’d fooled them, but my optimism was short-lived. I
suddenly got that feeling again, like their nails were picking into
my thoughts. I screamed in fury and jerked against the chains, but
couldn’t raise my hands to my head to block out the sensation. When
a surge of electrifying pain shot through my head, my head snapped
back and hit the stone with a sharp crack. My stomach churned. I
shook my head violently, willing away the memories. I couldn’t let
them see what I knew. Wouldn’t.
Seconds or minutes later they abruptly
ceased their efforts. With the soft clap of metal soles on stone
they retreated to the far side of the room.
“ Was she this much trouble
when you brought her?”
“ Yes.”
The
No other light broke the gloom, and I could smell only long-wet
stones and the blood on my own face.
“ Who are you?”
I jumped so violently that the metal rings
bruised my wrists again. I could have sworn the Ungulion had left
me alone. The breathy voice wreathed through the dark silence,
echoing off the walls, so that I couldn’t tell which direction it
came from.
“ Who are you ?” I
asked.
I peered blindly into the shadows as I
spoke. Pain erupted across my cheek. A metal cuff, striking me so
hard that my ears rang and my mouth filled with an acrid, coppery
taste. I spat, then gagged. Blood. I was still trying to gather my
senses when I realized I was staring into two eyes, not six inches
from my face. They reflected the feeble candlelight, or maybe they
glowed with their own hellish light. I jerked my gaze away, closed
my eyes. Wished I hadn’t asked.
“ Who are you?” the Ungulion
asked again.
This time I caught the glint of the bracer
as he raised his arm. I flinched.
“ Merelin!”
I regretted it as soon as I had said it.
Sixteen-year-old girl or not, I had to do better than that. I
thought of Yatol, bleeding in his cell. What had he gone through? I
couldn’t imagine he had given up any information that easily, or at
all. I could do it for him. Could be strong for him. I had to.
“ Merelin,” the Ungulion
rasped. “That is only a name. Who are you?”
“ I’m nobody. I’m just a
girl.” My breath came shallow. “I ran away! I got lost, and now I’m
here.”
“ You were in the Perstaun . Nobody comes to the Perstaun by
choice.”
Two breaths. Steady. I struggled to stand a
little taller.
“ Maybe I came looking for
you.”
I clacked my jaws shut, but too late. The
words were already out there. Brilliant, Merelin. Provoke the
thing. What are you thinking?
The candle flickered with a sudden grinding
of stone on stone. No new light appeared, but I could hear more
footsteps – another Ungulion. My interrogator went to join the
newcomer, the two of them standing so that they blocked my view of
the candle.
“ Has she said
anything?”
“ Not yet. She’s insolent,
and useless. Let me kill her and be done with it. We have the
other. We can break him eventually.”
“ Did you search
her?”
“ She had nothing. Strange
garments, but nothing of interest.”
One of them came over to me. I felt more
than saw it beside me. Their voices sounded similar, but somehow I
knew that this was the new Ungulion looming over me, so close that
if it had been a person, I would have felt its breath. Not feeling
anything terrified me. Even worse, a rotten stench drifted around
its lipless mouth as it spoke.
“ Where are you
from?”
My thoughts raced. They certainly wouldn’t
believe I was nobody if they knew I’d come from Earth. But I didn’t
know anything at all about this place. No names, no geography,
nothing. I didn’t even know how the people lived. All I’d seen was
the camp, but I couldn’t imagine everyone here lived like
nomads.
“ From…my village,” I said.
“It’s, uh, near the desert.”
“ How do you know
Yatol?”
I swallowed hard. “Who’s that?”
For a moment neither of them spoke or moved.
I wondered if I’d fooled them, but my optimism was short-lived. I
suddenly got that feeling again, like their nails were picking into
my thoughts. I screamed in fury and jerked against the chains, but
couldn’t raise my hands to my head to block out the sensation. When
a surge of electrifying pain shot through my head, my head snapped
back and hit the stone with a sharp crack. My stomach churned. I
shook my head violently, willing away the memories. I couldn’t let
them see what I knew. Wouldn’t.
Seconds or minutes later they abruptly
ceased their efforts. With the soft clap of metal soles on stone
they retreated to the far side of the room.
“ Was she this much trouble
when you brought her?”
“ Yes.”
The
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