Page 17 of Twins for the Barbarians

“Thank you,” Alicia says with a warm smile. We have some food. Would you like a piece of bread and some dried meat for the road? I don’t know where you’re going now, but maybe you could use the sustenance.”

“That would be most appreciated,” Pan says, watching her with sparkling interest as she rummages through the bags and produces a satchel filled with food for him. It won’t affect our own resources since there are plenty of animals to hunt along the southern riverbed, and an act of kindness might sway the universe closer to our favor. “May the suns shine smilingly upon you all.”

“Be safe, Pan,” I say.

We climb back into the buggy and drive off, leaving the old man behind. I keep glancing back at him, though, a knot tightening in my stomach. The stories he told are a grim reminder of what will happen to the rest of Sunna if we don’t get to the truth, if we don’t stop this war from destroying everything. What happened to Diamond City will happen to the other cities, too. Within a decade, chaos and mismanagement will leave every structure in shambles and the few survivors killing one another for a piece of stale bread.

In retrospect, we knew such days would come. We thought we had prepared for them. But it’s one thing to theorize and hear tales, and it’s a whole other thing driving a buggy right into the eye of the storm. I’m not at all comfortable with this journey and the risks it involves, but we cannot sit on our hands any longer. As much as I hate to admit it, Alicia was right to do this. We need the truth. We need to change public opinion and open the eyes of our world.

What the Sky Tribe and the Fire Tribe have been trying to do for decades now isn’t working. It has only made things worse. It’s time for a different approach, no matter how perilous.

Otherwise, Sunna will die.

9

Alicia

The heat of the south is infinitely harsher than farther up north. It is just as dry, but being out in the suns for so long is starting to have a negative effect on my brain. The air ripples around us, the redness of the sand hills turning incandescent against the ruby sky. My eyes sting, and my lips feel cracked, though we have plenty of water.

We’ve been driving for hours along the same road, and we can see Diamond City rising to our right. Its silvery towers glisten in the sunlight, its walls as white as powdered sugar. It’s a shame for a place to inspire such purity and yet be filled with nothing but corruption, mayhem, misery, and murder. Just looking at it gives me the heebie-jeebies. Knowing how rotten it is on the inside sort of reverberates on the outside.

“Someday, it will be ours again,” Helios says from behind the wheel with Kingo as his co-pilot while I rest in Kharo’s strong, welcoming arms. “Until then, we must keep our distance.”

Loud, popping noises echo from somewhere behind us. My head snaps around to look back, but I can’t see anything except the red dust rising in our wake. “What was that?” I ask hoarsely, my throat dry.

“Marauders, most likely,” Kharo replies. “Far enough away, though.”

We approach a cluster of blackwood trees that flank a tiny tributary of the Sun River that’s flowing to our left. They’re smaller than the ones growing up north, with few leaves and thin, swirling branches. I assume we’ll stop here to refill our water flasks, just in case. Red Rock Volcano is looming in the distance, a giant rumbling mountain with a thick plume of smoke rising from it, causing tremors to shake the ground ever so slightly.

“We can’t stay here long,” Helios says as he pulls the buggy over.

“I’ll move fast,” Kingo replies. Then he jumps out and rushes to the back where we keep our supplies. He grabs two of the empty canisters and makes his way down to the water, light on his feet as he constantly looks around.

Something doesn’t feel right, though. I can’t put my finger on it, but I have a lingering feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me we’re not alone.

Kharo’s ears twitch. “Shit,” he says.

Helios growls, having sensed them long before I could hear them coming. “Kingo, get back here now!” he shouts.

But it’s too late.

A dozen Sky Tribe mercenaries emerge from behind the trees, grinning like hungry devils and aiming their laser weapons at us. Kingo freezes on the tributary’s edge, and one of the marauders kicks him hard in the chest. The kid falls back with a grunt and tries to get up, but the nuzzle of a laser weapon is pressed against his forehead.

“What do we have here?” the mercenary says while the rest of us freeze. Too many weapons point at us. “Look at that, boys. We just bagged ourselves a human woman!”

My blood runs cold. This is the one scenario we’d hoped to avoid before getting to Red Rock.

“We don’t want any trouble,” Helios says, attempting to reason with them.

But the mercenaries’ eyes glimmer red with excitement—the kind of excitement that adds an extra layer of uneasiness to my frayed nerves. Kharo’s grip on my shoulder tightens as he seeks to silently reassure me, though we both know there’s no certainty here, no promise of escape.

There is a gun under the seat, and its battery has enough firepower to kill at least half of these mooks before Helios can get the larger gun under the passenger seat. It’s a matter of seconds, but with so many weapons trained on us, we need a distraction.

“Yet here you are,” the first mercenary and apparent ringleader says. Tell you what. Give us your food and your woman, and we’ll give you enough fuel for the road back to Sapphire City.”

“That’s mighty honorable of you, but I’m afraid we’ll have to refuse,” Helios replies calmly. “I’m sure you’re aware that Sapphire City has a cease-fire agreement with your supreme leader, Shaytan Hull.”

“Buddy, look around you. Is this Sapphire City?” another mercenary asks, prompting the others to snicker maliciously. “Hand over the woman, and we won’t slit your throats. It’s that easy.”

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