Rythe eventually grows bored with me and moves out of the back of the carriage, leaving me on my own. I look to the machine sitting on a bench a few feet away from me. I could probably figure out how it worked, but what if I wasn’t able to see through Klef’s eyes again? For all I know it could have been random chance that I saw through him. And if I did find him, could he hear me? Or was it just coincidence that he looked around for me when I yelled at him. I grind my teeth and look around. “Iridescence,” a voice whispers.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWuvBNzWtE
I look around, seeing no one. “Up,” the voice says.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1tJratptP
Glancing up, I come face to face with Magic. “The world is in danger, Iridescence, you have to save it,” she murmurs.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2IDlcYvsd
“I know I have to do something, but what?” I ask. “And what can I do that you can’t?”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vlyLnwY8I
“They’ve trapped me in their Doomsday device, I’m only here in your mind. Please, you have to do something. I have no power left in me.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCO8aVdvRv
“What can I do when I’m chained to a carriage and forced around like a show pony?” I ask in agitation. “No, tell me, what can I do? Because I have no idea, and unless you’re offering up plans, I have absolutely nothing!”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Eaw8h5ckc
Magic looks disappointed in me. “The fact that you saw Kleftis was not a coincidence Iridescence, give yourself a little more credit,” she scolds.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXsrekr118J
I clench my jaw. “Strong words from a prisoner of a war we didn’t even know we were fighting.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3PAHXUpJv
Magic offers the barest flicker of a smile. “Now that is the girl I know,” she says approvingly. “Find Kleftis again, tell him that you’re being taken to the Islands of the Mermaids. They’re the ones who started this whole disaster.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPto93RbUsj
“I don’t want to put him in danger,” I tell her. “It’s important to me that he doesn’t wind up in danger.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmksGlgcsP
“He will be in more danger if you do not warn him where you are going and what they will do if they get their hands on you,” Magic says gravely. “The risk of coming after you and rescuing you is lesser than going into hiding until all the humans are destroyed.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZfPrdm22z
That sounds like a fair point, but the though of Klef being in trouble still bothers me.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPLLtei9ft
“He will always be in trouble, Iridescence, don’t be ridiculous,” Magic says, floating down to sit next to me. “That’s what you and him have done, ever since you were born. He may not have the Sight that you have, but his father was good with spells, and made sure that he knew how to use them as well. Ever since you two were children, I’ve been watching you, and I must say that to be quite honest, sometimes I wish you were never born at all, for all the trouble you cause.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnfp3JOu3N
I snort. “Couldn’t you have stopped that, or something? My Sight for the longest time could only perceive you, and when I died you could have changed me into something that would never have been a threat, and I could have gone home and we could have avoided all of this.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCsPbpZ46P
“Ah, but the Crusaders have been working on this for decades, and it was only a matter of time before they succeeded. I needed to create a champion; someone I could root for to stop their evil scheme.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyek9qz2t9
“And you chose me,” I sigh. “Brilliant. You know how many people have died because of me? How many people are now in their Deuxlives, or have completely died, because you chose for me to be your champion? I couldn’t see what was going to happen! I couldn’t protect them! And now I’m on my way to die in a scheme of genocide all because you chose the worst possible person to fight this war for you!” I’m practically screaming now, I’m so agitated. “And now we’re both stuck, and the humans are going to die! The world is going to be completely free of any intelligent life within the next few centuries, because people in their Deuxlives can’t have kids! The world has ended, Magic, you know this as well as I do! Misery loves company, right?! That’s all I am now, misery’s company!”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3Dda12kas
Magic bows her head. “I am sorry. I did not know you felt this way. I will leave.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcU2bSnjJl
I blink, and she’s gone, so I do what I’ve been dying to do since this started: I scream.
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After a while, I fall asleep. I’m not sure how or when, but when I next wake up it’s late afternoon and we’re in more familiar territory, though nothing so familiar as my hometown. I sit up, looking around. Rythe is nowhere to be seen, and neither is the fairy from before. I didn’t have any new dreams, or any dreams at all if I’m remembering correctly. All I know is that one minute it’s early morning, the next it’s late afternoon, with no recollection of what happened in between. My head is throbbing and my entire body aches.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzldzZGxrG
Outside there are children playing and laughing, and my stomach sinks as the thought hits me that pretty soon, it’s likely they won’t be playing anymore. I swallow thickly, and listen for anything else that might take my mind off it, but there’s nothing. I curl in on myself, desperate for something to do, to think, to say. The carriage stops, and I blink. What’s going on?684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4UkEWhV8N
The back door opens and I peer outside to find no one in sight. I stand up, hunched over from the chains and shuffle to the edge of the opening. No one is waiting outside, unless they’re behind the door that was keeping me in. A vampire walks into view. “Ah, this our newest prisoner?” they ask.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cZagtO58O
“That it is,” Rythe says, walking out from behind the door, a truly wolfish grin on their face. “If you can believe it, they were working toward acts of genocide against humans!”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtrvog7LJl
“What?! That’s a lie, that’s what they’re doing!” I protest.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3wVrRKPPj
“I think she’s… missing something upstairs, if you get what I’m saying,” Rythe says with a bit of glee. “I have to go around and round the others up, but you’ll get her on the transport, won’t you?”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGAVpYXygf
“That I will,” the vampire says. “Thank you, Rythe. Watch out for the humans, you know how they feel about werewolves.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcs9vQkxuxT
“I will,” Rythe says, walking off.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjDq9zP5rv
The vampire jumps into the back of the carriage with a key. “Now young lady, I’m going to remove the chains from the wall. But if you make any move to escape, I will have to incapacitate you. Do you understand?”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhmEVksnrA
I glare at them with my arms crossed. “How can you believe that liar?” I ask in disgust. “I wouldn’t wish genocide on any species, least of all humans.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaBkqDYADt
The vampire shakes their head. “They have proof you’ve been working with this group, the… Crusaders, or something like that. They’re not welcome around these parts. All they bring with them is death and hate.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQFwUf4n5P
“That’s not true!” I protest. “Lots of Crusaders are the reasons we have hospitals, and electricity, and even a lot of technology we take for granted, like running water!”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ278iOqf5li
The vampire laughs. “Those things were given to us by the aristocrats, not the Crusaders. Now, stop talking and let me move you or I’ll have to take more drastics measures to ensure your cooperation.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUcyq2ijTP
“You’re making a big mistake,” I warn them. “You’re giving me over to the people who will destroy us all!”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotArdPWj41
“I’m giving you over to transport, which will take you to a dungeon, where you will be held the rest of your natural- born life, as is the punishment for such grievous crimes as you were planning,” the vampire explains calmly, undoing my chains. “I’ve dealt with your kind before. You will do anything to ensure that you have your way, and I won’t have it.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPEjKgnBcy
I stop trying to protest, knowing it will be useless, and let them drag me out of the carriage and to a larger one, filled with 9 people already, all staring at me. I stop a few feet away from the opening. I was going to be riding with these people, and for all I knew, they could be working with Rythe and the other Crusaders who want the humans dead.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BYHytjfan
“Move it,” the vampire growls, shoving me forward to the carriage, where the other prisoners grab me and pull me in against my will.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPJWACuzsS
The door slams shut and the carriage starts to move, with me still being held onto by several people. “Hey, any of you got knives we can use?” a naphtilan asks.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6UIU3uDVl
Someone shuffles around and passes the shadow of a knife over to the person who asked. “Thanks,” they say.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPAFNS8O0s
The who carriage is dusky, with the only light coming in from small air holes needed to keep us breathing. I don’t dare move as the naphtilan leans over me and fiddles with the knife above my wrists. I hear a click in one shackle and carefully the naphtilan moves it off and away from my arm. “That’s it, keep still, we’ll get you out of these soon enough.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gZOiDSWBG
I hold still as my other arm in released, and then my legs. I sit up when they’re done and rub my wrists, which I have no doubt are red from agitation. “Thank you,” I murmur into the darkness.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfonc5VDdnE
“It’s all good,” one of the prisoners with a silhouette like a yeti says. “We’re pretty sure you’ve been wrongfully accused of crimes like we were, too. We were all told we were being taken to the Islands of the Mermaids, and then we would arrive here, be arrested, and got locked in this carriage ‘awaiting transport’. If you’re actually a serial killer, let us know and we’ll give you your space.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIrkZJlZMY
“Not a serial killer,” I say. “Though I suppose that depends on who you ask. I was accused of genocide, and while I know why, it’s not strictly untrue, I suppose.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIltoTTA5RM
“We’re not going anywhere any time soon, why don’t you explain to us what you did?” a high voice pipes up.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ283yyY9VFj
“It’s… it’s sort of what I’ve always done…” I say shakily. “See, my mom is… was… whatever tense is right… an engineer. And since I’ve been old enough, I’ve been her messenger, conducting deals and bringing back things for her to fix. Sometimes we’d work for the rich, but most of the time we would work for the Crusaders. Now, that was all well and good for several years, until some people noticed that I was getting a bit too good at my job of negotiator and my mom was a bit too good at her business for the aristocrats to have their special luxury items away from everyone…”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGRhC8d5b1
I tell them everything I can, from the day I was murdered to when I got my revenge with Klef, and how that only encouraged us to continue our work at a faster pace, and I explained how my Sight warned me about a Doomsday where the humans would be wiped off the face of Melisma. Everyone was shocked when they realized that the rumors they had heard about an Oracle were true.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65pPCyUOIP
I spoke of the traitors throughout the Crusaders, and my journey to the base in the Ancient Ruins, and the startling realization that the Crusaders who were doing good were the ones who betrayed everyone else. Everyone gasped when they heard that Rythe was one of the traitors, and they asked tons of questions when I said that someone could force my Sight through a machine. I couldn’t answer half of them, but by the time I was done with my story they were angry and shocked that something so horrible could happen in this day and age. “...And so when they charge me with acts of genocide, they aren’t wrong. I was unwittingly aiding and abetting, and because of me, everyone I know is going to die.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4pY2RyCJg
“That’s not going to happen, dear, we won’t allow it,” the high voice says. “We’ll make sure that you’re safe.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmvjZ4yDJ6
“And we know why they’re taking us, now, they must need us to work on their device to make it work, or need something that we have on us that would finish it. And if it’s at all in our power, we won’t let that happen,” the Yeti says.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBNIKZX4R3
“If it’ll help at all, I will fight,” a deep voice that sounds like rumbling thunder says. “I may not be good at fighting, but I will if necessary.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFG506CueH
My eyes sting. “Thank you,” I whisper. “But at this point all I want is for this to be over one way or another.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXn1PFGFe3
“I know the feeling,” the high voice says, and someone pats me on the shoulder. “But you are stronger than they are. You killed the meanest and nastiest assassin on the face of the world!”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvyOV8ZYjR
“Technically her boyfriend did,” the yeti points out.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeUg2HJ7EJ
“Shut up!” the naphtilan says. “That’s not important in the purpose of this moral support!”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8haWJHPvAm
I laugh. “Thank you for trying to cheer me up, really,” I say. “But at this point? All I really want to do is sleep.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmvkZ1Cdav
“We can help you with that, too,” the Naphtilan says. “Let me help you to the back of the carriage.”684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyB4QQlb7VT
I let myself be led to the back and lay down on the floor. “We will not let you go if we can help it,” they assure.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOUImEsncy
“Thank you,” I murmur.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tsH4yaANw
The naphtilan smiles and I drift off to sleep.
