Page 70 of Shifter King
Oh. There was probably at least one way in which she could by Zorna's standards. But she might succeed by her own.
"You're doing the right thing,"the Ki Valo Nakar reassured her."That Vawtrian will only be afraid for a moment, and her soul will make you stronger."
She ignored it, focusing on keeping her breaths and her pace even. The rushing roar of the river below echoed in her ears, making the music little more than faint notes.
The walkway had no railing. The mist from the surging churning waters below soaked the reeds that formed the flooring. The Vawtrian woman watched her, her arms clasped behind her back and her gaze darting from the reeds to Amelia's feet and then away.
It was much darker out here, the torchlight making the throne box and the people sitting in seats on the far sides of each wall seem quite far away. Up above, she noticed several dark-winged eagles sitting on roosts carved from stone in one of the peaks of the natural dome roof of the cave. They would have been large for birds of prey on Eiram or even Reltux, but here they seemed almost too small. Certainly not friendly though. Half shrouded in mist and smoke, they stared down with glittering amber and green eyes.
Shuddering, she turned her focus back on the woman. Up close, she looked even more like a specter. "What's your name?" Amelia asked.
"Eskiatlo." The woman spoke in a low husky voice, refusing to look at her.
She stopped within arm's reach of the woman. Up close, the horrors of her treatment were even more obvious. "You know what they want me to do?"
She nodded tightly, the muscles standing out in her neck and arms. "Break my mind so I can be put in the pit and used however it is seen fit." She rubbed her arms, shivering all the more as she cast one desperate glance toward the throne box. "For the greater good."
"Do it,"the Ki Valo Nakar insisted. "She does want this."
"She doesn't!"
"She would rather it than the alternative."
She tightened her stance. "I can't imagine wanting this, but…is that what you want? Or do you want to die? I'm sorry to ask so clumsily. I've never done anything like this before."
Eskiatlo at last turned her gaze to her face, her dark-brown eyes wide. A flare of fire strengthened her gaze. "No," she said. "No. I don’t. I don't want my mind broken or my life ended. They have taken everything from me but my will and my life. But I'd rather die than lose my mind. There is no point in asking though. What I want does not matter in any of this and never has."
"You have to do this,"the Ki Valo Nakar hissed."It isn’t even a choice. You have to do this or else we will suffer."
"I understand." Amelia nodded as she pressed the Ki Valo Nakar back.
Everyone stared, the drums and flutes playing the same refrain over and over. They seemed so far away now, the roar of the river below drowning out almost everything. There really was only one good solution. "Can you swim?" Amelia asked.
"Yes..." Eskiatlo frowned.
"That lever over there. Please don’t look. Just answer me. All I have to do is pull it and the floor drops out and puts us into the river. Does that river leave here?"
"Yes. The waters are dangerous though. It joins with the Ten Sisters and becomes the Sutinko River, but no one gets through. Many—maybe all die."
"If I don’t do this, they will kill or destroy you. Unless...you aren’t here anymore." Amelia set her jaw as she steadied herself. "I won't break your mind or rip out your soul if that isn't what you want. But I might be able to get you your freedom. Even though you'll probably get hurt."
The Vawtrian woman nodded then, her eyes hardening. "Yes. This would be better."
"You can't do this!"the Ki Valo Nakar raged. It surged within her mind, blanking her vision for a moment."You can't even run. You think you can swim?"
"There probably won't be much swimming for awhile."
The Ki Valo Nakar screamed at her, but she blocked it. "Just stay ready, Eskiatlo." She held her hands out before her, her index fingers nearly touching as she formed a loose diamond shape. Then she circled the Vawtrian woman twice, tapped her on the shoulder, and moved back.
The crowd shifted in their seats. Zorna leaned closer, gesturing with her arm and saying words Amelia couldn't catch right away. The queen's words circled around a few seconds later, echoed out by the curved stones, "What is she doing? What is the Neyeb girl doing? Is she dancing? Why is she dancing?"
The mood had shifted from tenuous fear to morbid curiosity. She circled Eskiatlo a third time and then backed away to the lever. Waving her hands back and forth in time to the music, she then sent as focused a blast of thought as she could manage out to Naatos. The image of the river. Her. Eskiatlo. The Sutinko River. Then she flung herself on the lever.
The great doors beneath the platform screeched as they dropped open. Eskiatlo plunged out of sight.
Amelia flung herself forward. She sliced through the air, the wind shrieking at her face. The river's spray coated her face and soaked her.
Sharp whistles screeched through the air as the arena erupted in chaotic shouts and yells. Hot pain tore into Amelia's shoulder and she lurched up and back.
