Page 64 of Return of the Nine

“There are also recent bruises on Hiska’s arms, and based on position, I am guessing that her piloting in was done under duress, because Darku didn’t want to take responsibility for the crash. Her hands on the controls would shift blame if scans were done. Funny thing. No scanners work here.”

Teyha loaded the next flare and kept it at her side. “We have twelve hours to get me home or alarms will sound all over the planet. The last thing you want is to try anything out here Nosku. You are not the only adult Shadow Folk here, and Ekinar is looking none too impressed.”

She grabbed a ration pack and bottle of water. “Okay, I am moving, so come with me if you want to get out of here.”

Hiska moved up just behind her and spoke quietly. “How did you know?”

“The bruises? You tried to cover them up in the cave, but they were already blue-black. They had been there a while.”

“No, about Darku.”

Teyha kept hiking. “Gaians have teenage boys too. They press every advantage they can and have even been known to pull some ridiculous moves to win the attention of their chosen girl.”

Hiska nodded. “How can you see us? I mean our faces. We have always been told that if one not of our folk saw our face, they would fall in love with us and pine until they died.”

“Really? From what I see, you folk are like statues. Pale and perfect but with little exposure to a reality outside your folk. You don’t even interact with the others of the Nine, do you?”

Hiska shook her head. “No. Same reason though. We don’t want to dazzle them.”

“You may want to test that in controlled environments. Can you drop the shadows at will?”

The young woman frowned. “I don’t know. I know it fadeswhen we sleep, so it could be a learned behaviour.”

“We accept the reality with which we are presented. Make sure you are safe but experiment at will. Don’t tell Ekinar or your brother that I told you to though. That is a conversation I am not interested in having.”

Hiska giggled, and for a moment, she was relaxed and her face did have an unearthly beauty.

Two more hours and a short break. Everyone was exhausted, but they were only two hours from seeing the plains ahead of them.

When they all staggered to their feet, Teyha led the numb march through the hills, pausing to let a shale slide run its course before slowly and carefully making her way over the small shards of rock. “Be careful. This stuff is sharp.”

She heard one of her party cry out, but it was only one, and as Nosku helped his nephew over the slide, she saw the telltale blood on Darku’s hand.

She set her pack down and retrieved a medical kit. With even motions, she took his hand, rinsed it, applied a standard antiseptic and wrapped the palm carefully to keep pressure on the wound.

“Why did you do that if I am such a monster?”

She sighed. “You are a teenager. Your hormones dictate most of your actions, but you have to take responsibility for those actions. Shoving responsibility off is the act of a child. If you want to be seen as an adult, act as an adult.”

He looked at the bandage on his hand and back to her. “What if it changes my life?”

“Then, it makes the change and alters the man you will become. A future built on a lie and the act of a coward will definitely have an effect on your reality. You made a mistake, own up to it. You took a chance, bear it proudly.”

He nodded and there was a shy smile. “Thank you for yourrepeated rescue. It seems that there are some Gaians who are not simply pathetic sheep waiting for the Nine to save them.”

Shaking her head, she snapped the kit together and put it back in her pack. “It just goes to show you, anyone anywhere can be exceptional. They only need a chance.”

She shifted her pack back into position and kept going. When she put the pack in, she had pulled the bolt gun out, and she led her small party through the stone, keeping her senses honed for any sign of predators attracted to blood.

The moment that the rock face ceased and the plains opened before them was so sudden that even Teyha gasped, and she had known where they were.

With wobbling knees, she made it down the graded slope. The transport was right where they had left it, and a chunk of metal had never looked so welcome.

She climbed into the back, sat with a thud and waited for the rest of her party. Hiska sat next to her, holding onto her arm tightly. Ritgar sat next to his sister, exhaustion and relief on his features. Darku sat with his uncle, and Ekinar took the controls.

With no other words between them, the transport lifted, turned and raced back across the plains.

Teyha nodded off, but when Hiska shook her arm, she woke. “Damn. I need to get back to town.”

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