Once It Gets Dar

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CHAPTER 16--RELÁMPAGO

"Mama?"

"Anna? Do you know what time it is?"

"It's late; I'm sorry."

"What's that noise? Are you outside? Get back to the apartment!"

"No! I mean yes, but here's something I wanted to tell you.

...

Are you still there?"

"Is everything alright, sweetheart? You're scaring me."

"I'm fine. I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to uni at the moment."

"What? Anna, we told you several times..."

"Stop. I'm not going to uni because I'm working as a translator for... for General Tsul Vo'ren.

...

Hello, are you still there?"

"Are you drunk? No call from you for weeks, and now just for a sick joke in the middle of the night! Are you taking drugs?"

"No! Switch on the news. Everything is okay; I'm good. He's treating me well."

...

"Anna-Mäuschen..."

"I have to go, Mama. I'll call you again tomorrow night."

I woke up with a start. The drawn-out blaring of a siren reverberated through the entire camp, and, for a second, I thought that it was the alarm system back at my parent's house that I was still in my dream replaying that phone call from two nights ago. Then I remembered where I

really

was.

Panicked, my eyes flicked around the tent while they adapted to the dark night around us, searching for him. A flash of blue light illuminated the tent as the fabric covering the exit was pushed aside and Vo'ren stepped in, dressed in full battle gear, weapons--knives and firearms--strapped to his belt.

I jumped up. "What's happening? Are we under attack?"

I felt the unshakeable urge to nestle into his strong arms for protection, to close my eyes, and lock out the entire world while he made everything right again. He stopped midway towards the wooden chest, where he had stored Peace Bringer when we went to sleep last morning, and turned towards me.

"There has been an attack, but not here. You are not in danger, sweetness."

I exhaled shakily and took a few steps towards him. "What's going on?"

"The Counsel has finally approved my request to use full force against the insurgents." He smirked, almost as if he were happy. "We are deploying south."

My heart stopped for a second. "South? Where in the South?"

"Baden-Württemberg." He said casually and added, when he saw my widening eyes, "It is where the attack happened, so we will take down the rebel cells there first."

"I'm coming with you." I grabbed my uniform from the floor next to the bed and clumsily hopped up and down as I tried to pull the pants over my butt; my heart was racing.

Vo'ren let out an amused huff. "You are, most certainly, not."

I tried to simultaneously put on my shirt and glare at him. "You said yourself that there are benefits to having me close."

"There are, but not in war. You are staying here." His tone was dismissive, and he didn't even look at me while he strapped the scimitar around his waist with a quick and practiced movement.

"Make me," I hissed, tied my boots, picked up my own blade, and set off to walk towards the exit. I would not,

could not

stay locked in here while he let destruction rain down over my home state.

He was next to me, grabbing my arm tightly, before my hand even touched the door flap.

"Oh, I can make you, Annatz'in. I can have you tied to this very pillar with two dozen soldiers watching you night and day, if that is what you want." He pulled me closer to him. His strong fingers digging into my skin and his breath on my face were making me want to close the remaining centimeters, lay my lips on his, and feel his body against mine. "Or you can promise me to behave and wait for my return with all your current freedoms and comforts. But you must have turned insane if you think I will take my untrained, pregnant woman into open battle with me."

For a second I held his glare, looking at his hard, beautiful face, but then my shoulders dropped. He was right, of course. I nodded, and he ran his thumb gently over my wrist before he let go of my arm. I felt a lump growing in my throat as I watched him step out of the exit, and for a second I just stood there in shock, staring at the emptiness he had left behind, before I braced myself and followed.

Outside, I was blinded by the blue glow of the magic dome around our tent--it was the new ward, installed on Vo'ren's orders two nights ago, when we had come back from the tunnels--a kind of compromise so he wouldn't feel the need to have me permanently surveyed by guards. It had been chilling and fascinating at the same time to watch the technicians set it up by channeling the magic out of the surrounding air and anchoring it into the ground around our tent using bones--of what or whom I didn't want to know--that had been sprinkled with drops of his and my blood, making us the only two people able to pass.

I felt the slight electric pressure of the force field as I stepped through it and onto the fresh, windy air of the clearing. The whole base was in motion, with soldiers in full gear loading trucks and taking down tents. The siren had stopped, but my ears kept ringing and my head felt fuzzy; I still hadn't even started to process what was happening.

Like a statue, he stood not far from me, unmoving in all the bustle, a commanding figure overlooking the preparations, his arms crossed behind his back and his feet slightly parted in an at-ease stance, sizzling with power. I wanted to go over to him, grasp him by the uniform, pull him back into our tent, into our bed, and kiss him and let him fuck me until all that pent-up tension left his body. But with the position as his consort also came the responsibility to behave myself, to have my General's back and not embarrass him. He would not allow me any other behavior either way. So I just walked up to him silently and took my position, standing chin up and outwardly calm slightly behind him at his right hand side.

"Kirtim Shenk,"

he said, and even though he was not shouting, his voice carried effortlessly over the whole clearing--a natural leader.

My hair stood up, and all his gruesome warriors fell into formation in a synchronized and unsettling movement.

He started speaking, some motivational words, I guessed, and remembered that Suchil Tem had once made a snide comment about how Vo'ren's eloquence was wasted on a soldier--he could not have been more wrong.

As General Tsul stood in front of his men, ready to lead them into battle, he spoke so naturally, so full of conviction that even though I only caught snippets of its meaning, I could feel the power of his speech resonate inside my chest.

I listened to him, marveling at his magnificence, the clarity of his pronunciation, and the unbendable strength of his conviction. He didn't need binding marks; I was sure each and every one of his soldiers would have followed him to their deaths based on the power of his will alone. I wished I had been able to understand it all. Where was Paul? My eyes scanned the crowd for my translator. Vo'ren had finished raising the morale and battle spirits and started giving what I thought to be strategic instructions about how the operation was going to be carried out. I would have really liked to hear more details, but the interpreter was nowhere to be seen. I cursed my deficient knowledge of the Veril language as I tried, and failed, to learn my General's plans.

"Rushushvesh tsirununveshich!"

he concluded, and all of the Kirtim Shenk repeated his words, their united voices echoing as one over the park and the city around us. The leaves of the trees rustled in the wind, and like icy water, cold fear ran down my back.

For trees and stars

. Such an unfittingly romantic battlecry for an army of demons; I would have expected something more along the lines of

your worst nightmare

, or

the terror in the darkness

. My whole body clenched in panic as I imagined them unleashed on the beautiful hills and river valleys of my home state.

The soldiers started mounting their vehicles--vans and trucks--they were armed to their teeth with assault rifles, guns, bows, spears, and magic, glowing around their weapons, their cars, and between their fingers. There were so many of them on this base alone, and I was sure they would be joined by more troops as well as the General's tanks and aircrafts down south. Using the full force of the Kirtim Shenk against the rebels seemed like shooting a bazooka at an ant hill. He would crush them under his boots. And with a sting in my chest, I thought of Elis, who had seemed like a decent man, fighting bravely against the unjust Treaty and our oppressors.

I looked over to Vo'ren, the oppressor himself, still supervising the preparations. He turned around to me, and when our eyes met, I was suddenly gripped by a pain so big, I thought my heart had stopped beating as my conflicting feelings were threatening to overwhelm me. This was all happening way too fast, and now the father of my child was leaving--

going to war

.

I knew I was expected to be strong, to encourage my warrior to fight bravely and give him a reason and return in victory, or some chauvinistic bullshit like that. But all I wanted was to scream.

I sobbed and turned away quickly so he wouldn't see me cry, but he tenderly placed his finger under my chin, lifted my face, and wiped away the wet trail my tear was leaving down my cheek. In his dark battle gear and weapons, he looked once more like war incarnate, and his gentle demeanor stood in a strange contrast to his monstrous appearance.

"Stay inside the tent, mishtz'in. I will see that the matter is resolved as swiftly as possible, and then we shall finally be able to return to my city."

I opened my mouth, but the lump in my throat was so big, I was unable to say a single word; instead, I dug my fingers into the pockets of his uniform as if I would be able to hold him back, to keep him from leaving. I could feel the familiar warmth of his skin underneath the coarse fabric; the pull towards his strong body so near me was unbearable, and I couldn't help but to give in, to lean against him, and bury my face in his shoulder, deeply inhaling the comforting smell of leather, and plants, and

him

. He laid his arm around my waist, and for a moment we just stood like that, holding each other.

I let his scent and his warmth envelop me, and slowly his presence calmed my panic, just like it always did, and all that remained was an ache so deep I felt it in the marrow of my bones. I tried to seize this final moment to keep it from passing and make it last for an eternity. But his muscles tensed, and I felt him slightly retreat. I instinctively tightened my hands into his clothes, but then I let go, realizing how childishly I was behaving.

I inhaled shakily and looked up at him. "Don't get killed," I said, wanting to make light of the moment in an ill attempt at cynicism, but when I heard my own words out loud, I flinched at their brutality.

"I will try my very best." He gave me a lopsided smile, and right away my tears started flowing again.

"Don't kill anybody else either," I sniffed.

He huffed joylessly. "Unfortunately, that is not how battles work, my sweet."

The ache his words caused was physical, piercing my skin like little daggers. I closed my eyes, and for the first time, I realized with all clarity that it would break me if he didn't return.

I inhaled a couple of times before I looked up at him again, grasped the straps of his leather armor, and pulled him towards me. "You have to stay safe, Vo'ren. Promise, you'll come back to me!"

The pain in my wrist hit me so hard, I gasped.

He bared his pointy teeth, but his eyes, deep and golden, had a sad look in them. "I have gone to war so often, I lost the ability to count, and every time I went to battle, I was prepared for it to be my last." He shook his head almost incredulously. "I am a soldier; it is my fate to die in combat, but tonight, for the first time, I depart hoping that the goddess will grant me one more return so that I may look upon your face again."

"That's not very encouraging," I whispered, and he chuckled.

"Do not despair, my sweet. I command one of the mightiest armies in the realms. I have fought and won against much more formidable enemies--it is unlikely that a few human terrorists are the ones who will finally do me in."

I wiped my cheeks and nodded, then I remembered something and began digging around the many pockets of my uniform until my fingers touched a choppy surface.

"I never gave you a present for our binding," I said, my voice trembling as I handed him the carved figurine I had made sitting in the sun two nights ago--a small wooden bear with chubby paws, round ears, and a button nose.

It was far from perfect, but I thought it had turned out pretty good.

He looked at me in complete surprise, swallowed, and inclined his head deeply before he took the little animal delicately with both of his hands, as if it were alive, and gently put it in his front pocket. I thought that maybe this was the first time I had seen Vo'ren truly at a loss for words.

"May the strength and courage of the great creature enter your body and bring you back to us unharmed." I gave him a shy smile and placed his hand on my belly.

Vo'ren let out a surprised laugh, and it made me feel as if a thousand suns were warming my heart from within. In one fluid movement, he slung his arm around my waist and closed my mouth with a bittersweet kiss of goodbye. As I pressed my lips against his, I felt the rough cut where I had bitten him, and I realized that for some reason, unlike the bite wound on my neck, he had never made the medic heal it.

He pulled away; his eyes were running over my face, as if he wanted to memorize every detail of it. "Anna, I..."

"Sheniktz'in." Vik Ichel, a rifle strapped to his back, had stepped in front of us, saluted, and the thunk of his fist hitting the leather armor on his chest burst the little bubble around us.

Vo'ren instantly straightened up and gave a short nod to his second in command, then he bared his teeth, grabbed my hair on the back of my head, and pulled me into one more rough and quick kiss.

"Stay in the tent," he ordered, before he turned and left towards his vehicle.

I watched him go to war against my people. For a second, I had to lean down. I pressed my eyes shut and held my belly in a bout of nausea and despair. There was a sudden pressure in the atmosphere, like a shiver that went through the very roots of the universe, and when I looked up again, they were gone.

I took a tentative step back towards the glowing dome around our tent, but then I changed my mind. Before retreating into the lonely confinement of our empty bed, I had to warn my family. Maybe there was still time to get out of state or at least take safety precautions. I set off and walked with long strides towards the opposite end of the clearing, heading for the tech tent, from which I had called them last night after we had gotten back from our appointment at Doctor Günaydin's practice.

So far, I had spoken with them twice. The first time had been in the car two nights ago, right after we had gotten out of the tunnels. My heart broke for the repeated time as I remembered the tone in my mother's voice when she had finally understood what I told her. I had tried to soften the truth, of course, saying that I had been employed as a translator, but my parents were no fools.

Anna-Mäuschen

, it was the endearment she used for me when I was a child, and there had been so much pain in those words that I'd had to bite down on my knuckles to keep myself from crying. Had I stayed on the phone for a second longer, I would not have been able to keep my sobs at bay. At that moment, I had hated him with all my heart.

The second time I called them had been last night from the very tent I was heading to right now. It had been my dad who answered. Without a word, he had passed the phone to my mother, and she had been brief as well, just a few reminders about staying safe and trying not to anger the General.

"Don't read the news," she had added before we hung up.

My stomach clenched. He would see to their safety, Vo'ren had told me, but now I regretted never asking him what exactly he had meant by that. What measures was he taking? And were those measures still in place now that his primary mission was to eradicate the rebels for once and for all?

The grass on the clearing had been flattened from the steps of thousands of boots, and on many parts I could feel the raw earth that lay bare and uneven under my soles as I picked up pace. Despite the fresh wind, I was sweating. I had never seen the camp so empty. Except for the sentinels watching over the base, there were only a few scattered soldiers carrying boxes to the center of the clearing. In the distance, I already saw new vehicles approaching us on the road coming from the main entrance.

Suddenly there was a distortion in the darkness as two unknown Shadow Guards manifested in front of me. They were carrying swords and rifles, and both of them wore their hair in shiny braids, only half the length of Ichel's one. I stumbled a little as I stopped abruptly to keep from bumping into them. They were here to bring me to the tent, and a few weeks ago they would have simply grabbed me and yanked me back with them, but, somehow, in a process that I didn't really understand either, my position in the Kirtim Shenk and their respect for me had grown over the last nights. So instead, they just saluted and blocked my way--maybe that meant they could be persuaded to let me make a quick phone call before I would be a good little wife and retreat to my room, warming my warrior's bed for his return.

I straightened my back and tried to channel as much of Vo'ren's commanding demeanor as I could muster, making sure my left sleeve was pulled up just enough to reveal my mark, their General's name--my name.

"Ruk'iltz'invun rimin."--

I speak with my family.

I gestured towards the tech tent; it was an order, not a question. I directed my gaze slightly over their heads as I spoke to them and kept my tone low but firm.

And, to my surprise, it worked. They gave a quick nod and stepped to my sides, flanking me. Fearing they could change their minds, I walked us off with long, self-asserted strides, having to hold myself back from straight-up running.

The tech tent was smaller than the ones used for housing. Its interior was stuffy, dark, and filled with the low whirring that I had come to associate with magic-powered appliances. Just like their cars, the Veril technical equipment was strangely familiar and alien at the same time. A large black console with many buttons and speakers stood on a low table in the center of the room. The intricately carved wood of the furniture made an absurd contrast to the hard-edged, unadorned metal, as if they belonged to two different worlds--none of them from this dimension.

There were human gadgets as well--of course they needed to be familiar with the tech their enemy was working with. My eyes scanned the room until I finally found the phone I had used last night, plugged into a strange glowing device that I assumed was some kind of generator. I quickly picked it up and dialed my parents' number.

Beep--beep--beep.

My heart was hammering in my ears as I tried to put together what I wanted to say while I listened to the drawn-out sound repeating over and over again. They were not picking up. I could feel the dread starting to push down on my skin, tightening up my chest. It was after sundown--they should be at home. I tried again.