Page 29 of Captive

He was Varai. The embodiment of cruelty and darkness.

Except, even as she tried to convince herself, she knew that wasn’t true. Whatever was true of the rest of his kind, she knew that he wasn’t evil. She could not lie to herself about that. She couldn’t relieve herself of her guilt over what was about to happen.

But she knew what she had to do. The resolution was physically painful, a pricking of nerves in her chest and fingertips.

She wondered if she and Aruna might have been friends if they had not been from opposite sides of the border. But that didn’t matter now. It had not mattered since they’d first met and he’d made her a prisoner.

They kept walking in silence that had become heavy as lead. Every step became purposeful. Every breath she took seemed to be leading up to something. She felt every stone underfoot, and every echo of their footsteps was loud in her ears.

They passed the skeleton of a building, and she paused to stare into the rubble in the shadows beyond the door. The back end of the building was gone, and she could see the forest beyond it.

She caught up with Aruna and tapped his arm, then made a gesture like she was writing in her palm. He pulled the notebook from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Need bathroom,” she scribbled, her hand shaking ever so slightly. What a stupid excuse. He’d never believe that. But it was all she could think of at the moment. Her thoughts were vibrating and simultaneously slowed by whatever the ruin’s magic was doing to her.

A crease formed between his eyebrows. He took the book and the pencil from her. Novikke watched him write. It felt like it took a lot longer than usual.

“Here?”

She stared at him, waiting to see suspicion in his eyes. There was none. Surely he guessed that she would try to escape, with her city in sight?

She shrugged. The movement felt stiff with her nervousness, but she couldn’t tell how much of it showed and how much was just in her mind.

He waved her off, unconcerned. She hesitated, then turned and slipped into the building behind them. Aruna took the opportunity to set his pack on the ground and start adjusting its straps.

Inside the building, she moved out of the doorway, out of his line of sight. Her mage torch cast a soft green glow on the pile of broken stones. Picking through them, she found a palm-sized rock with a sharp edge.

It would be better to kill him now than to wait until he inevitably chased her down. He could see better in the dark—he’d find her if she ran. If she went back to him now, with the rock hidden on her, when he wasn’t expecting an attack…

She had an overwhelming urge to throw up, and had to stand still, breathing slowly, until the urge subsided.

She held the rock behind her back and leaned to look out at Aruna. He was standing a dozen paces away from the doorway, not quite looking in her direction, and—

Novikke blinked. There was someone else with him.

She thrust her light into her pocket and peered out from behind the door frame. The two were looking at each other, but not speaking. The stranger was a human woman, with hair that was messy from lack of maintenance, muddy boots, and travel-worn clothes.

The woman slowly raised her hand and touched Aruna’s face. The tiniest of frowns crossed his face, as if in fear or confusion, but he was staring at her like he’d been hypnotized.

The woman’s head tilted, and Novikke saw her face.

She choked on a gasp.

Aruna’s head jerked up at the sound. The woman turned to look in her direction, and Novikke was face-to-face with… herself.

It was the most unnerving thing she’d ever seen. She took a quick step back and nearly fell into a pile of rock.

Aruna’s eyes went wide with horror. The not-Novikke gave an inhuman screech and struck out at him with an arm that was swiftly growing long and dark and misshapen.

A shade.

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