Kayla beats me to him. She knocks him down, whimpering and clinging to his back, even upon impact. He reaches back to grab her by the hair, but I latch on to his wrist before he’s able to make contact with her.
Anger burns me while desperation cools me off. I’m one hundred percent conflicted about my next actions. Even still, I yank, pull the man out from under her and stomp on his head until he’s as limp as spaghetti noodles.
I’m panting as I approach Kayla. “You all right?”
“Yeah,” she says, but she doesn’t meet my eyes. “I think so.”
I maintain my calm facade as I look back at Reed. His opponent is motionless, as well. He’s crouched beside the tongueless boy, who is just as motionless. Hemorrhaged already?
All for nothing! my mind screams.
I lift a mental chin. Salvaging my conscience—worth it. Worth all this.
The prisoners in the cages are buoyed and cheer for us, even when we shhhh them.
“If another guard comes, I won’t have a chance to free you,” I say, and finally they go quiet.
I work on a lock for one minute, two, the seconds agony, but there’s no keyhole and I can’t find another way.
“I’m sorry,” I say. I have to get Reed and Kayla to safety. “I’ll come back.”
Next move?
Five times four times three, and that is where he’ll be.
I do the math. Five times four is twenty and twenty times three is sixty. Sixty and that’s where he’ll be. He who?
Since Lina created the song especially for me, she would have known which wall I’d end up climbing when the guards arrived. She would have known my instincts. And my instincts are screaming to climb up sixty flights of cages.
I hate my instincts. “Climb,” I say, returning to the spot I abandoned.
Kayla moans, shakes her head. “I don’t think I can.”
“Don’t think, do.” A motivational speaker I’m not. “It’s the only way.”
“You can do it,” Reed tells her, giving her a boost. “You will.”
We begin to climb...and climb...and Reed and I have to pull Kayla up several flights. A few times, one of the prisoners gathers the strength to grab hold of one of us and beg for help. Once again, I’m struck by the need to do what I can. I want to do something so badly I’m crying by the time we reach the thirtieth level. Only halfway. These people, they are emaciated, and they are filthy. They are injured and without hope. Every so often I stop to try to unlatch a few of the locks, but each time I fail, and it zaps even more of my strength.
Two I’ll save, I’ll be brave, brave, brave.
Right. Stick to the plan. Get Reed and Kayla to safety, come back for the others.
By the fortieth flight, I’m shaking uncontrollably. By the fiftieth, I’m ready to give up. I give myself a pep talk. Been through worse, but came out stronger on the other side. So close to the end of the song—to victory.
At the sixtieth level—I did it, I really did it!—my happiness is short-lived. I find myself staring into Killian’s eyes.
Horror fills me, but so does elation, and I gasp his name. “What are you doing here?”
He grabs hold of the bars, his dirty fingers ghosting through mine. He’s still in his Shell, a shiny golden collar wrapped around his neck, but I’m a spirit. “You died. How did you die? Damn it, Ten. I wanted you to live.”
“Not my fault. My aunt kind of murdered me.” Enough about me! “How are you here? You—”
“When did you sign with Myriad?” he demands.
“I didn’t. You—”
“You must have. You’re in the outermost part of the realm. The Kennel.”
“No. And stop interrupting me!” Desperation gives my tone a sharper edge. “I’m in the Realm of Many Ends, same as you, and I want to know how you got here.”
“This is Myriad, lass.”
The two are connected through the lake?
“How do I get you out of here, Killian? Help me help you. Please.”
A feminine hand shoots out the cage next to his, and Elena says, “You’re the one I blame for this.”
Zero! I can’t leave without her, either.
“She isn’t to blame.” More agitated by the second, Killian says, “You need to leave, Ten. Keep climbing. There are only twenty levels to go, and you’ll reach the top.”
Only twenty? I whimper. “I’m not leaving without you. Reed! Kayla! Help me free him.”
As we work (unsuccessfully) at the lock, Killian scrubs a hand down his face. “The Realm of Many Ends is connected to Myriad. I’d heard rumors, but I never believed them. How could I be so blind? But it makes sense, doesn’t it? Why else would Myriad say it’s better to remain Unsigned than to sign with Troika?”
“Let’s worry about that later. For now, shut up and help me.”
He reaches through the bars. “No. You need to leave—”
“Ten four.” Reed starts climbing again. “I don’t need to be told more than twice.”
Killian’s golden eyes beseech me. “At the top go left, left, right, left, right and kill anyone who gets in your way. Don’t hesitate. You follow those directions and you’ll reach a shimmery doorway. When we pass through it, we’re taken to the Land of the Harvest. Because your spirits are unbound, I’m not sure where you’ll end up.”
Any place is better than this one, but I vehemently shake my head. “I told you I’m not leaving without you, and I meant it. You either, Elena.” Hurried, a bit clumsy now, I wind the wire from my bracelet around the metal lock and begin sawing. Sparks fly.
“We’ll be let out soon enough.” He traces a fingertip over my knuckles. “We always are. You need to go.”
“I’m making progress at last.”
“Not fast enough.”
He’s tearing me up inside. “Killian, I can’t—”
“You can. You will.”
“Unless you’re captured today, so you don’t have time for this,” Elena interjects. “Just do what he says.”
Even as I shudder, the last of the song plays through my head. Two I must save, I’ll be brave, brave, brave. The one I adore, I’ll come back for.
Lina foresaw even this. She knew the difficult situation I would face.
There isn’t another way, is there? “Okay. All right,” I say, the words yanked out of me. “I’ll go. I hate this, but I’ll go.” I unwind the wire as tears stream down my cheeks. “I don’t believe in fate, but I think I believe in destiny.” The path set before me, if only I make the right decisions. “I’m coming back for you.”
He looks at me as if he wants to grip the back of my neck and kiss me. “The Generals now agree with Pearl. You’re better off dead than signed with Troika. But if you sign with Myriad, Ten, you’ll be one of us. You’ll be protected. And you and I...we can be together.”
I want that. I want to be with him. He isn’t a boy, he’s a warrior. He isn’t someone I can push around, and I’m glad for that. When he looks at me, he sees who I am and he isn’t scared. Because we’re a match. We burn together—and he only wants me to burn hotter.
Anger burns me while desperation cools me off. I’m one hundred percent conflicted about my next actions. Even still, I yank, pull the man out from under her and stomp on his head until he’s as limp as spaghetti noodles.
I’m panting as I approach Kayla. “You all right?”
“Yeah,” she says, but she doesn’t meet my eyes. “I think so.”
I maintain my calm facade as I look back at Reed. His opponent is motionless, as well. He’s crouched beside the tongueless boy, who is just as motionless. Hemorrhaged already?
All for nothing! my mind screams.
I lift a mental chin. Salvaging my conscience—worth it. Worth all this.
The prisoners in the cages are buoyed and cheer for us, even when we shhhh them.
“If another guard comes, I won’t have a chance to free you,” I say, and finally they go quiet.
I work on a lock for one minute, two, the seconds agony, but there’s no keyhole and I can’t find another way.
“I’m sorry,” I say. I have to get Reed and Kayla to safety. “I’ll come back.”
Next move?
Five times four times three, and that is where he’ll be.
I do the math. Five times four is twenty and twenty times three is sixty. Sixty and that’s where he’ll be. He who?
Since Lina created the song especially for me, she would have known which wall I’d end up climbing when the guards arrived. She would have known my instincts. And my instincts are screaming to climb up sixty flights of cages.
I hate my instincts. “Climb,” I say, returning to the spot I abandoned.
Kayla moans, shakes her head. “I don’t think I can.”
“Don’t think, do.” A motivational speaker I’m not. “It’s the only way.”
“You can do it,” Reed tells her, giving her a boost. “You will.”
We begin to climb...and climb...and Reed and I have to pull Kayla up several flights. A few times, one of the prisoners gathers the strength to grab hold of one of us and beg for help. Once again, I’m struck by the need to do what I can. I want to do something so badly I’m crying by the time we reach the thirtieth level. Only halfway. These people, they are emaciated, and they are filthy. They are injured and without hope. Every so often I stop to try to unlatch a few of the locks, but each time I fail, and it zaps even more of my strength.
Two I’ll save, I’ll be brave, brave, brave.
Right. Stick to the plan. Get Reed and Kayla to safety, come back for the others.
By the fortieth flight, I’m shaking uncontrollably. By the fiftieth, I’m ready to give up. I give myself a pep talk. Been through worse, but came out stronger on the other side. So close to the end of the song—to victory.
At the sixtieth level—I did it, I really did it!—my happiness is short-lived. I find myself staring into Killian’s eyes.
Horror fills me, but so does elation, and I gasp his name. “What are you doing here?”
He grabs hold of the bars, his dirty fingers ghosting through mine. He’s still in his Shell, a shiny golden collar wrapped around his neck, but I’m a spirit. “You died. How did you die? Damn it, Ten. I wanted you to live.”
“Not my fault. My aunt kind of murdered me.” Enough about me! “How are you here? You—”
“When did you sign with Myriad?” he demands.
“I didn’t. You—”
“You must have. You’re in the outermost part of the realm. The Kennel.”
“No. And stop interrupting me!” Desperation gives my tone a sharper edge. “I’m in the Realm of Many Ends, same as you, and I want to know how you got here.”
“This is Myriad, lass.”
The two are connected through the lake?
“How do I get you out of here, Killian? Help me help you. Please.”
A feminine hand shoots out the cage next to his, and Elena says, “You’re the one I blame for this.”
Zero! I can’t leave without her, either.
“She isn’t to blame.” More agitated by the second, Killian says, “You need to leave, Ten. Keep climbing. There are only twenty levels to go, and you’ll reach the top.”
Only twenty? I whimper. “I’m not leaving without you. Reed! Kayla! Help me free him.”
As we work (unsuccessfully) at the lock, Killian scrubs a hand down his face. “The Realm of Many Ends is connected to Myriad. I’d heard rumors, but I never believed them. How could I be so blind? But it makes sense, doesn’t it? Why else would Myriad say it’s better to remain Unsigned than to sign with Troika?”
“Let’s worry about that later. For now, shut up and help me.”
He reaches through the bars. “No. You need to leave—”
“Ten four.” Reed starts climbing again. “I don’t need to be told more than twice.”
Killian’s golden eyes beseech me. “At the top go left, left, right, left, right and kill anyone who gets in your way. Don’t hesitate. You follow those directions and you’ll reach a shimmery doorway. When we pass through it, we’re taken to the Land of the Harvest. Because your spirits are unbound, I’m not sure where you’ll end up.”
Any place is better than this one, but I vehemently shake my head. “I told you I’m not leaving without you, and I meant it. You either, Elena.” Hurried, a bit clumsy now, I wind the wire from my bracelet around the metal lock and begin sawing. Sparks fly.
“We’ll be let out soon enough.” He traces a fingertip over my knuckles. “We always are. You need to go.”
“I’m making progress at last.”
“Not fast enough.”
He’s tearing me up inside. “Killian, I can’t—”
“You can. You will.”
“Unless you’re captured today, so you don’t have time for this,” Elena interjects. “Just do what he says.”
Even as I shudder, the last of the song plays through my head. Two I must save, I’ll be brave, brave, brave. The one I adore, I’ll come back for.
Lina foresaw even this. She knew the difficult situation I would face.
There isn’t another way, is there? “Okay. All right,” I say, the words yanked out of me. “I’ll go. I hate this, but I’ll go.” I unwind the wire as tears stream down my cheeks. “I don’t believe in fate, but I think I believe in destiny.” The path set before me, if only I make the right decisions. “I’m coming back for you.”
He looks at me as if he wants to grip the back of my neck and kiss me. “The Generals now agree with Pearl. You’re better off dead than signed with Troika. But if you sign with Myriad, Ten, you’ll be one of us. You’ll be protected. And you and I...we can be together.”
I want that. I want to be with him. He isn’t a boy, he’s a warrior. He isn’t someone I can push around, and I’m glad for that. When he looks at me, he sees who I am and he isn’t scared. Because we’re a match. We burn together—and he only wants me to burn hotter.
