Page 20 of Twins for the Barbarians

We’re all quiet.

I will not weep for those who died today. They were mindless monsters, foolish and desperate and cocky enough to think they could get away with yet another atrocity. They would’ve destroyed me—my spirit first, and then my body.

Helios and Kharo saved me.

11

Kharo

Red Rock is a volcanic wasteland, but I’m glad we made it here. Few people dare to venture out this far. Its dark history lingers in the air, and the volcano’s occasional spewing of smoke and spurts of lava doesn’t inspire confidence, either.

We came too close to losing Alicia earlier.

I got to see a side of Helios I’d not seen in a long time. It will take him a little while to come back to us. But I’m relieved he allowed himself to go to the dark side, so to speak. It was the only way for us to save Alicia. There’s something about her that pulls us toward her. I don’t regret a single drop of blood spilled in order to keep her safe, and neither does Helios. We just need to make sure we’re not caught off guard like that again. We thought Pan was harmless. Clearly, no one can be trusted in these parts.

“It’s completely uninhabited, isn’t it?” Alicia asks as Kingo drives the buggy higher up the mountain road. The heat is dry but bearable. Traveling will be easier at night. The desert has a way of cooling off when the three moons rise.

“Uninhabited for decades,” I say.

We drive past abandoned villages and cabins. This place used to be bustling with vacationers in the hottest months of the year before the plague destroyed everything. These cabins were used for hunting, yet now the boars and the deer roam freely, so far removed from people that I doubt they even know what we are. It’ll make hunting them a whole lot easier during our stay, at least.

“Do you think the volcano will erupt anytime soon?” Alicia asks, giving me a worried look.

I shake my head slowly. “It’ll take a few years before it bursts again. It rumbles like this for decades, usually. And should it prepare to erupt, there will be plenty of signs beforehand.”

“Our volcanoes tend to release clouds of toxic gas and fair amounts of lava before the big load,” Kingo adds. “From the looks of it, Red Rock will be tranquil for at least another year or two.”

“Good. It means we can gather as many samples and survey the mountain as much as we can,” she concludes, nestled in my arms and soft as a ripe plum. “Where will we rest our heads, then?”

Helios points farther up ahead, where Red Rock Town rises along the red stone ridge. In the decades since it was abandoned, it has gathered thick layers of dust and dirt, but some of the houses have intact roofs. Besides, the alleys are narrow and sinuous enough for us to hide in them in case any other marauders are insanely bold enough to make their way out here.

“There’s Red Rock. We’ll spend our nights there. A half-mile up, just below the lip of the volcano, is Elian Daron’s research station.”

The shadow of a smile flutters on Alicia’s tanned face, beads of sweat glistening on her temples.

She’s content. I’m relieved to see her smiling after what she just endured. Her resilience is beyond admirable, but it’s up to Helios and me to make this woman feel safe, protected, and cherished in our presence. What happened with the marauders must never happen again.

I’m terrified of losing her. Our bond has become stronger, our hearts connected by invisible strings that can never be broken. I only hope she feels it and accepts it, too.

Otherwise, we’ve got our work cut out for us.

It takes us a while longer, but we settle in a house on the northern edge of town. It’s secluded enough to keep us out of sight and close to the trail leading up to Elian’s research station. We can light a fire in the backyard without drawing attention—even from the base of the mountain, they won’t spot us. It’s the safest it’s going to get in these parts.

“We can stay here for a few days, even weeks if needed,” Helios says, coming out of the house.

He dropped the bags inside, assigning Kingo to his room while the three of us will take the master bedroom. Alicia surveys the backyard, and I can almost imagine a life with her in a similar place. A nice house with a sprawling garden, children running barefoot while we try not to get our legs tangled, trying to make our way to the fire. Wishful thinking, for now.

“We’ll gather as much evidence as we need before we head down to Opal City and Kaos Volcano.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Alicia replies, giving him a soft but wary smile. “I do wonder what we’ll find up there.”

“Let’s see what we find around here first,” Kingo chimes in, wiping some of the dirt from his face. He has spent the better part of an hour clearing as much of the dust and the cobwebs from inside the house as he could. “The people left Red Rock in such haste that we’ll have our hands full before we even make it up to Elian’s station.”

It’s not the first time Kingo turns out to be right. I hope it won’t be the last, either.

We eat some of our dried meats and bread for lunch, then take a few hours to explore the town with its many corners and dark streets before the suns slowly descend behind the mountain’s western slope. Blackwood trees and ancient pines grow tall and dark around the town, casting long shadows against the scarlet sunset. We only have the light of our torches to guide us, given that the energy network that once powered the mountain settlements was disabled long ago.

“It’s sad,” Alicia mumbles as we walk toward the town square. “So many lives were destroyed, so many futures snuffed out.”

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