Endure (22 page)

After the doorway was a long stairway disappearing into an abyss of darkness, and as Kithra walked down, small glowing lights appeared low on each step. The stairs were made of the same material as the door, filled with swirls of random color.

We followed the stairwell down until it turned sharply to the right and a bright light came through another clear wall. Kithra repeated the steps with his pendant and when the wall opened, a cool breeze washed over us. When we were all through, Kithra shut the door and locked it. Hydraulics sounded again and the corridor filled with sand like the bottom of an hourglass. In seconds, the door was soon gone, leaving only a tempered wall that held back the red and brown grains on the other side.

I pulled my wet, heavy hoodie over my head, and the air gave me a welcomed shiver. We stood on the edge of a cliff with a massive city laid out before us. Large columns led up to impressive buildings, reminding me what it would have been like to live in Rome long ago. There was no sky. Instead, glass walls were built up around the city in a dome, and on the other side was the sand that covered the world above. I couldn’t tell where the light came from. A yellow hue hung on the air, giving off bursts of warmth. It reminded me of the light that surrounded the tree in Stonewall. Rai jumped off my shoulder and dove down over the cliff, disappearing in a blur of white.

Kithra didn’t wait for us to admire the view. There was a single path leading down the cliff and toward the city, and he was on it, ignoring the rest of us. On one side of the path stood a glass wall with sand behind it. On the other, a long fall to a shallow creek a few hundred meters below. The walkway was wide enough that two of us could be comfortable beside one another, and Rayna and I spent most of our time admiring the city. There were no trees, but bird-like creatures fluttered over the rooftops, making horrendous and annoying wails from sharp black beaks. When a small flock came closer, I saw they were more like giant rats with wings.

The shallow creek at the bottom was actually a slow moving river. Water ran against the side unobstructed, and tiny ripples moved over a shallow area near the end. The water came and went through a tube within the dome, and small creatures flickered beneath the surface, but they moved too quickly to see what they were.

The end of the path opened to a wide road where demons walked the dirt streets. Many looked like Kithra, while others reminded me of the market in Drakar. Colorful skin decorated in dark ink, horns, and a variation in size. Some had strange animals in tow, leading them along the road with rope around their necks, and others carried pails of water on their shoulders from the river. Those who looked like Kithra stalked the streets like police officers. They didn’t do much except pace an imaginary border, watching everyone.

There were a few half-demons with human-like appearances. Scars littered their bodies and they looked void of life, even as they walked. They had ropes around their necks like the animals, and their owners tugged forcefully when they didn’t move fast enough. There were two without ropes who moved between the guards. On command, they would run to the river and return with a cup of water, only to be shoved away once they had finished.

Smaller demons with undeveloped spikes growing from their skin threw fist-sized rocks at one another. Their fangs were short and immature, their voices high but still rough. A sound I imagined was laughter came from their lips, but it was almost terrifying.

Tiki grabbed Vincent’s arm and slowed his pace until we were all walking within close proximity to one another. “Do not look at the guards, the larger demons that look like Kithra…rather, do not look at anyone. Keep your eyes down and stay close to me.” Tiki’s eyes were intense as he looked at each of us.

“I thought your mother was the Queen?” Vincent asked. “You would lower your gaze to peasants? You are royalty.”

Tiki shook his head. “I am a half-breed—an abomination of my people. I do not think I need to remind you of Drakar, Vincent Taryk. Should you choose not to listen, this will be far worse. Kithra conceded to you in our world, but here, he will not. Once we are in the Great Hall, I can protect you, but until I have been formally welcomed back by the Queen, I can do nothing for you out here.”

A rumble started in Vincent’s throat and Tiki gripped his arm. “Please, if you wish to leave this place sooner than later, or at all, you must listen.”

“Or at all?” Vincent sounded surprised. “I am
not
staying in this…bubble a moment longer than absolutely necessary.”

Tiki looked back at me, his eyes pleading. I gave him his usual response to me—I shrugged. I’d given up trying to talk sense into Vincent.

Kithra waited at the bottom of the slope. His orange eyes were bright, and the scarred skin where his eyebrows should’ve been seemed permanently furrowed. “Tikimicharnikato, I assume you remember the way? You lead; the rest of you, follow him.”

Tiki didn’t question him or hesitate. He took the lead and glanced back, urging us forward with a wave of his hand. Rayna and I went first, with Vincent behind us and Kithra following at the end.

“If I so much as feel your breath on my neck, you’re too close,” Vincent glared up at the massive demon.

“Silence, half-breed.” Kithra shoved Vincent forward and he stumbled into us. “Your arrogance is not tolerated here.” I stopped as Vincent’s eyes went black. Dark veins rippled beneath his skin, but before he could move, four guards came to Kithra’s side with serrated glass blades drawn.

“Problem, half-breed?” Kithra asked, a smirk pulling at his thick lips.

A growl rumbled in Vincent’s throat and I pulled at his arm. He glared at me and before he took another step, a fist-size rock smashed into the back of his head. Vincent turned, a malicious roar screaming from his lips. The small demons jumped and screamed, disappearing down an alleyway with demonic laughter. The tip of three blades poked at Vincent’s throat. Each guard stood silently at the other end, orange eyes looking for an excuse to pull it across his neck.

“Let it go,” I said.

Heavy breath came from Vincent’s fangless mouth. He looked back at the demons before shaking his head and pulling back his demon. The dark veins disappeared, but the anger did not. He shoved past me and continued walking.

“This isn’t good,” Rayna whispered.

I looked back at the guards and sighed. “Not good at all.”

Tiki led us down a wide dirt road. Massive buildings lined both sides with small alleyways that branched off. Small, shack-like buildings that had people bustling in and out filled the long corridors on the left. From the right, rows of housing stacked on top of one another had people glaring at us from their balconies.

Tiki stopped in front of a huge building and Kithra shoved his way to the front and went inside. It wasn’t long before a group of human-looking demons came out from behind the building pulling a wooden cart. Tiki wasn’t kidding when he said half-breeds were looked down upon. Kithra commanded we all get in, and with the slash of a whip, the half-breeds began to pull the cart through the city.

After twenty minutes of riding in silence, watching sweat and blood run down the backs of the half-breeds pulling the cart, the road turned into a steady incline. Partway up the hill, the alleyways and side streets veered off into nicer developments with well-maintained homes. The higher we moved from there, the larger the columns on the buildings became, and the alleys now led to small communities of architecturally beautiful homes. When we reached the top, a single building made entirely of glass overlooked the entire town. Glossy steps lead up to a pyramid-shaped structure, the color changing as it rose into the air. The main level was built with a frosty-white glass and thick columns held up the floor above it. Each level had a different color or design to the material, and a yellow light that hung on the air made the building sparkle.

After getting out of the cart, we started up a massive staircase that eventually led us to two guards on either side of an open archway. Long spears with glass tips were held out in front of them and they kept their eyes straight ahead. Some of the white bones that stuck out of their arms were broken and thick scars marred their caramel skin. Kithra pushed past us to the front of the line and the guards didn’t acknowledge us.

I looked out over the city, trying to get a glimpse of Rai, but when I didn’t see her and she didn’t come to my call, I was forced to go on without her. I knew she could take care of herself, but I didn’t know what to expect in this world.

A long and narrow room stretched out past the entrance. At the end was a colossal staircase with two more guards on either side. The towering walls were frosted, with lines of red and brown swirling through them like an abstract painting. The hall was bare of furniture except for wooden pedestals lining each wall. They were evenly spaced with a clear glass case on top. Inside sat the preserved heads of different demons. The first few demons looked like they belonged to Tiki’s tribe. Although most of the demons’ heads sat upright and looked pristine, the first head was weathered, stained with blood and sand, and upside down in the case. I stopped to study it but was urged along by Rayna. We passed more and more heads that all resembled Tiki’s clan, but after nearly a dozen, they changed abruptly. All of these heads were black with white lines decorating their faces in a unique design. There were close to fifty of them and the creatures’ eyes shone a disturbing blue. Four teeth curled from their mouths like elephants’ tusks. I expected one of them to move and start screaming at any moment.

“The kings and queens who reigned before Mother,” Tiki whispered. “Those other creatures are from the
Darkonian
clan. They held rule over Lavinos before my family took over in a Death Throne thousands of years ago.”

“Silence!” Kithra snapped. He had stopped in the middle of the room where the glass floor had an intricate circular design beneath its surface. Kithra glared at us with both his thick arms crossed. “Tikimicharnikato, you come. Mother awaits you.”

“I will not leave them here.”

“You will do as you are told, servant.”

“I am no servant here. Not any longer. I earned my freedom.”

“You are here because you’ve been beckoned by our Queen. The Death Throne ceremony is to take place in two days and until it is over, you are a slave to it. Your freedom and your life must be earned once again.”

“What’s the Death Throne?” Vincent leaned in to me.

“What would make you think I know?” I snapped, trying to pay attention.

Tiki stepped forward and stared up at his brother. “You are mistaken, Kithra. As per Suriattas clan laws, when the Death Throne begins,
all
participants are slaves to it until a predecessor has been chosen. It has not yet begun, therefore my freedom and my status remain.”

“That does not change what you are—an abomination.” Globs of white spit spilled from Kithra’s mouth as he said the last, but even as a drop splattered on Tiki’s cheek, Tiki didn’t flinch.

Tiki wiped the spittle away. “And you will respect
this
abomination, for I have earned it. Or you may challenge me. Do you need to be reminded that our father and eldest brother challenged me once? Or is seeing father’s head eternally disgraced while on display not reminder enough?”

Kithra tried to hold his angry gaze, but he pulled away and pointed toward us. “Father was weak and they have not earned respect.”

“They have earned
my
respect. They are my guests and as per clan law, my status extends to them. I have been gone a thousand cycles, but it is not so long that I have forgotten our ways, brother.”

Kithra mumbled under his breath and turned his back to Tiki, walking up the stairs. Tiki maintained his calm demeanor and urged us to follow him once again.

“I have no idea what’s happening,” I said.

“Me either, but it’s intense. I’ve never seen Tiki like this,” Rayna replied.

After sixty steps, the staircase forked. We went left, but I lost count of the stairs after that. My legs felt weak and rubbery when we reached the top and I shivered.

“You okay?” Rayna asked.

“Yeah, I’m just cold.”

“How can you be cold?” Vincent spit out the words without looking behind him. “It’s unbearable in here.”

“Not as much as it was up top. My shirt is still soaking wet. I can see why nobody around here wears them.”

“Then take it off and quit your incessant whining.”

I shook my head. “I can’t. We need Rayna focused.”

Rayna’s elbow jabbed into my side and she didn’t look amused.

“What’s that supposed to…” Vincent sighed. “How amusing. I’m so interested to know how you can make jokes at a time like this.”

I knew it wasn’t the best time to try and break the tension, but it had been hovering around us long enough. “Somebody needs to distract the rest from your bitter attitude. What’s your problem anyway?”

Vincent stopped in the middle of the hall and glared at me. “It’s hot, I’m tired, I’m starving, and my patience ran dry about the time we got into this bubble. Care to open a vein to keep me sated?”

“Get going,” I said, pushing him forward.

The corridor was constructed of two panes of white glass on either side. Intricate portraits had been designed with dozens of shades of sand trapped between the two panes. Full battle scenes led to individual portraits, and later into full-out scenic landscapes. If I hadn’t been scared of getting lost among the dozens of different corridors, I’d have stopped to admire the work.