Page 88 of Akur

Akur snarled, grunting as he forced his body to go on.

“You didn’t tell us you had an Arois.”

The Tasqal didn’t pause. “You cannot know too much. Not about me. Not about anything. The Arois might seem unresponsive, but his mind can still reach far.”

Kon-stahns glanced up at him, eyes searching his, and the worry within hers was clear, even though she didn’t say anything. But he understood what the Tasqal meant. If the Arois was working for the Tasqals, even being forced to, any information that passed through these walls would get back to them.

They pushed on, the Tasqal leading them through what seemed like endless identical hallways, occasionally pausing to check for guards or his kin.

“How much farther?” Kon-stahns whispered. “Akur is bleeding out.”

“Not far,” the Tasqal replied. “The ship is waiting in a landing bay two levels up.”

The corridor ahead stretched endlessly, each step an eternity of pain. Worse, his vision kept fading in and out. Only Kon-stahns’ grip kept him upright, her determination flowing into him, giving him the strength he needed. Even when his legs trembled with each step. Blood dripped steadily from his wounds, leaving a trail he knew would eventually betray them. But he kept moving, one foot in front of the other.

They reached a junction and the Tasqal froze, lifting a hand in warning. Voices echoed from around the corner.

He could feel Kon-stahns stiffen even as he looked for somewhere to hide. But they were in a stark white corridor. There was nowhere to go.

The Tasqal’s four-fingered hand tightened into a fist. “Stay here,” he whispered. “And be silent.”

Before they could protest, he straightened his robes and strode purposefully around the corner. His voice, when it came, held all the imperious authority of his high station. “What are you doing in this sector?”

“High One!” The Hedgeruds’ response was immediate. “We are to relieve the ones guarding the jekin and the rebel.”

“They are locked away. They are no longer a priority.” There was a pause and Akur could almost feel Kon-stahns’ pulse pick up. “Every moment you waste here is a moment that other rebel draws closer to escape. Head to the barren lands immediately!"

“Yes, High One! At once!”

The sound of heavy footsteps heading in the other direction made Akur release a breath. Kon-stahns sagged underneath him.

“Come,” the Tasqal whispered. “The lift is ahead.”

They carried on. Turning another corner, the doors to the lift finally came into view. Even seeing it now, so close, it felt like a million leagues away.

Come on. You can do it. Don’t give up now.

The words filtered into his mind like a comforting mantra. One that didn’t sound like his inner voice till he realized it was the female beneath him saying the words over and over again.

“Come on, Akur. You can do it.”

And for her, he would.

Just as they neared the lift, an alarm began to wail. Only, it didn’t sound like it was coming from the walls or even above. It was coming from the Tasqal’s arm.

“What’s that sound?” Kon-stahns asked.

“Nothing good.” Akur forced his legs to move faster, ignoring the way his wounds reopened, the warm trickle of fresh lifeblood down his chest. Ignored the way his one arm hung limp and useless. He wasn’t healing. Not fast enough. Didn’t feel like he was regenerating at all. “Have to reach…the bay…before things get worse.”

The Tasqal lifted his arm, looking at a device strapped there.

“Citizen alert,” the Tasqal said. “They must have realized you’re missing. Hurry!”

They crowded into the lift; the Tasqal putting in a code that caused the lift to rise as Akur sagged against the wall, his legs finally giving out. Only Kon-stahns’ grip kept him from collapsing entirely.

“Stay with me,” she whispered. She was so close now, those bright eyes searching his face. “We’re almost there.”

Qrak.

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