Rout of the Dem-Shyr (The Ascendant Series)

  “Ya need ta be careful out there,” Hope said once they were ready to head out. Her hands were clenched together.

  “No need ta worry,” Barto assured her. “We got the equivalent of our own Peace Keeper now.”

  Ty now understood why Barto was apparently taking them into a dangerous area. He had seen Ty fight and assumed he’d be able to protect them if they were attacked. It was a foolish assumption, given that Ty was unfamiliar with the environment and the fighting abilities of his possible opponents. Not to mention that he was only one male.

  He didn’t say anything as they walked out and armed themselves. If Barto wanted to take him into a likely deadly battle, he’d go.

  On the plus side, his new gear fit him perfectly. The new goggles he wore offered him more visibility on either side. The pieced-together armor allowed for freer movement. All in all, considering he was now supposed to work it off by risking his life, he was satisfied with it.

  “Barto, I was thinking it might be helpful to take Freshy to a spot where he could get more familiar with Harvesting first,” Reider said as they climbed into the rover. “That way, if there’s any trouble by the mill, he’ll be better prepared for it.”

  Barto nodded. “That’s a damn good idea, Reider. Shoulda thought of that myself. We’ll visit the old depository first. Ain’t much ta Harvest out there, but we’ll see what we can see.”

  Ty couldn’t help but marvel over the fact that Barto sounded loud even through his ventilation mask. Mentally shrugging, he started to move back into the spot he had occupied the day before. Reider nudged him with his boot, making him glance over. When he received Reider’s nod, he understood. He gave a brief nod back.

  “That’s my spot, Freshy,” Orran said, planting himself where Ty was about to stand.

  Not caring in the least, Ty moved over to the other side and set up position. Barto took them out, skimming over the pink landscape in near-silence. The air really was much clearer at this time of day. Ty could see farther in any direction than he had yesterday.

  He settled into scouting. Unlike yesterday, he saw no signs of life. No conflict at all. Maybe it was too early in the day for anyone else to venture out.

  They traveled for quite a distance. He wasn’t entirely sure how fast the rover was moving, but he thought he had a reasonable estimate of their distance from the Harvester homestead once they finally stopped. He mentally stored the information for future reference. One never knew when it might come in handy.

  “All right,” Barto said once they all disembarked. “Freshy, yer with me. Orran, ya take that sector, and Reider, ya take that one. We’ll be over here.”

  The other two males nodded and moved off to their designated areas with their sacks and weapons. Ty followed Barto.

  “Listen up,” Barto said. “It’s simple. Ya don’t want bone unless it’s fresh. Ya don’t want wood unless it’s free of all insects and wormholes. Ya don’t want metal unless it’s free of pock-marks or bucklin’. Ya basically don’t want anythin’ that’s shite, which is mostly what ya find out here. Anythin’ with tajeria—anythin’ at all—ya grab that bastard.”

  Ty nodded.

  “And keep an eye out for trouble,” Barto thought to add.

  Although that was a given, Ty nodded again. He got to work, scanning the ground as he went. The depository looked like a large sand pit. Upon closer inspection, he spotted some things poking out of the dirt and rubble. Barto started rummaging through it, so Ty moved forward and did the same.

  It was almost all bone, he realized. He pulled out bones of many sizes. Skulls grinned at him as he pulled them out and cast them aside. He couldn’t help but think they were mocking him. None of them would ever experience pain again.

  They worked long enough that he noticed the shadows lengthening. Despite the passage of time, his sack held only a jeweled ring he found on a skeletal finger and a nearly-intact air canister that Barto said would just need refilling. He was already hot and sweating in his gear. The level on his canister read more than half-gone. He began to understand why Harvesting was such a thankless job.

  A scream interrupted them. Barto looked at Ty.

  “That’s Reider,” Barto said. “Come on.”

  They both started running. The moment Ty knew that Barto wasn’t paying him any attention, he veered off.

  He had noticed the tunnel while they were Harvesting and headed right for it. The map that Reider had shared with him during the night took shape in his mind, becoming clearer as he noted the position of the sun.

  Debt or no debt, he was getting to the mine. He had no supplies, no food, and very little knowledge about the Dark Lands, but he was going to bring Vycor down…no matter what it cost him.

  Chapter 33

  I don’t like it, Kyr.

  Sighing, Kyr paced back in Sem’s direction. I know you don’t. If I’m being honest, I don’t like it either. But this is the only way we can prevent Vycor from getting Ty’s abilities.

  Sem was leaning against one of the walls in Gren’s bedroom, eating a piece of fruit. He had watched her pace and listened to her sketch out her idea, and now he tossed the core he was holding into a refuse container and reached out to stop her in mid-stride.

  You can’t try to pull Ty’s abilities from Shaya. Not after everything you’ve already done today. You didn’t see yourself after you were done with Mycah, Kyr. You looked…

  She couldn’t help but respond to the pain in his eyes. I’m sorry, Sem. Sorry to both of you, she thought, glancing over at Gren standing near the bedroom window. I know I’m putting you through a lot of stress. We’re all risking a lot right now. But you need to remember that I’m not just a quick healer. I came back from the dead.

  Sem exchanged a look with Gren and released her. I still can’t believe it.

  It’s only been a day, she pointed out. I don’t think even I believe it yet.

  Kyr, we both appreciate your abilities, Gren said as she resumed pacing. We can’t begin to grasp the things you can do…the things you’ll be able to do. And this was my idea. But Sem’s right. You’re going to have to regain your energy before you attempt it.

  She frowned. If it wasn’t for the fact that she felt like a well-used gym sock, she would have argued further. But she had to admit that they had a point. Sem had only been back from Vycor’s chambers for a short while. It wasn’t even time for the evening meal yet. While she wanted to rush out and confront Shaya so she could hurry up and get to Ty, she’d have to be smarter about it.

  Okay, she conceded, flopping onto the bed. I’ll rest from now until Shaya is asleep. Thank Yen-Ki my parents sleep separately. We’ll sneak into her bedchamber once she’s asleep so I can try to pull Ty’s abilities from her.

  I’m concerned that she’ll wake up during the attempt, Gren said. If you have to use your abilities to subdue her as well as harness Ty’s abilities…

  I’ll have to drug Shaya, Sem thought.

  Kyr’s eyebrow lifted. She and Gren both weighed the idea and gave their mental approval. They spent some more time hashing out the plan. Once they were satisfied with it, Sem and Gren left to see to some of their duties so Kyr could rest.

  Rather than just try to sleep, Kyr put herself into a restorative hypnotic state. She shut her mind down and kept her abilities tempered. The result was the equivalent of a sensory deprivation chamber for her mind. By the time she heard Gren return, she felt completely rejuvenated.

  Good, Gren thought, studying her as she sat up. You have more color now. I brought you some broth to eat. It will add to your energy.

  Thank you.

  She scooted back so she could prop herself against the headboard. He handed her the bowl of fragrant broth and a spoon. She started sipping it as Gren went into the water closet and closed the door. The broth was rich and flavorful, filling the void she hadn’t noticed in her stomach. She was very fortunate to have such thoughtful friends…friends who were genuinely concerned about her.

  Once ag
ain, she thought of her Kyndred and her best friend, Avana. None of them knew she was alive. It felt horrible not to tell them. They were surely grieving. But it was safer for all of them if they didn’t know.

  You’re right, Kyr, Gren assured her as he returned to the bedchamber. The fewer who know, the better.

  She appreciated his support. He sat with her until Sem came to collect her. As she rose to go, a glimmer of fear worked its way into her mind. What if she couldn’t do this? She had no idea how the Guardians used their abilities. Was it all in the mind, like she assumed? Was it something unique in their DNA? Or was it something else entirely that allowed them to store Ty’s power?

  You can do this, Kyr, Sem thought as he led her from the room. Just because I don’t want you to risk yourself like this doesn’t mean I don’t have confidence in you.

  I know. Thank you.

  Were you able to sedate Shaya? Gren thought to Sem. He was walking fifty paces behind them.

  Yep. Assigned myself to her security detail for the evening meal. Pretty easy to slip something into the tea that you’re assigned to taste first.

  Kyr smiled at the arrogance in his tone. Sem was enjoying every minute of this.

  Of course I am.

  They stuck to private hallways to minimize the risk of being seen. Kyr was prepared to use her abilities to keep anyone from spotting them, but fortunately, it was late enough that the halls were empty.

  She did have to use her abilities on the guards at Shaya’s secondary entrance, though. Vycor would be able to read their minds and learn that Sem had been involved if she didn’t. So as soon as she entered their line of sight, she brought forth her power and influenced their minds so they couldn’t see her. She hurried up to them and took each of their hands.

  Your shift is over, she conveyed. Your replacements have arrived. You’re going to your chambers and going to sleep.

  As soon as she released them, they both turned and walked away.

  Handy, Sem thought as he joined her.

  She was too nervous to smile. He opened the door and led her inside. Gren would take up position in the hallway. She was glad they were both with her.

  The chambers were dark and quiet. A soft glow came from one wall sconce in the receiving area, allowing them to reach the doors to Shaya’s bedchamber without incident. Kyr’s heartbeat vibrated in her throat as Sem opened the door and she stepped inside.

  Her gaze fell on the huge, draped bed in the center of the room. It was nearly pitch black in the bedchamber, but Kyr saw well enough as she approached the bed with Sem right behind her. Buried among the heavy blankets and soft pillows, Shaya looked small and fragile. An unexpected flash of guilt tugged at Kyr, but she quickly crushed it by reminding herself what the Guardian had put her through.

  What she had put Ty through.

  She climbed onto the bed. She remembered that when her parents first gave Ty his abilities, each of them had held one of his hands. Considering that, she reached for both of Shaya’s hands.

  She took a deep breath and opened her mind, drawing on her abilities to guide her. Shaya’s consciousness was subdued thanks to the sedative Sem had given her. That allowed Kyr to identify Vycor’s alarm system like a glowing beacon in her mind. She’d never encountered anything like this before. It was highly sophisticated…too sophisticated for a normal Mynder to create. Had Shaya given Vycor some of Ty’s abilities in the past? Was that how he could do something like this?

  The answers weren’t going to magically appear and help her get around it. She moved carefully through Shaya’s mind, trying to edge around Vycor’s influence to avoid alerting him.

  She couldn’t do it.

  It was frustrating to admit as much, but whatever Vycor had done, she couldn’t undo it. The longer she tried, the more her energy drained. She wasn’t going to have anything left to recover Ty’s abilities.

  Screw it, she thought. And dove through the barrier.

  She had to work fast. Vycor was probably already waking up and trying to mentally connect with Shaya. When he couldn’t, he’d head right for her chambers.

  She pushed all of that from her mind. All that mattered was getting Ty’s abilities. For a moment, she panicked. Shaya’s mind was actually more difficult to navigate while she was unconscious than Kyr had anticipated. After a moment of blind searching, she calmed herself and focused on her connection to Ty. He might not physically be there, but she knew part of him was with her.

  Her abilities directed her to a deeply buried part of Shaya’s mind. She knew that she’d found the right place. Tightening her grip on Shaya’s hands, she accessed the store of power and tried to figure out how to collect it.

  Before she could reason through it, Ty’s abilities surged into her like they were finding their way home. She scrambled to collect and store the building power, but her mind hadn’t ever experienced anything like this. It was coming too fast, a flood that she had no hope of controlling.

  She should have done more to prepare. Her overconfidence was going to destroy them all.

  They had gone through all of this effort for nothing. Vycor would be there any minute. There was no way they’d ever escape.

  That was her last thought before Ty’s abilities completely consumed her.

  Chapter 34

  Ty made his way across the Dark Lands, sticking to the route in his mind. The map that Reider had sketched and shown him the night before had been impressively detailed. It hadn’t taken Ty long to memorize it. Reider had even highlighted where he thought Ty might find people willing to help him.

  But the hand-drawn map couldn’t prepare Ty for the reality of running on foot through the Dark Lands. It couldn’t tell him where there might be people hunkered down with weapons, hoping for unsuspecting prey to happen by. It couldn’t show him where the ground was rotted away by the toxic air, waiting to open up under his feet and swallow him. It couldn’t prepare him for the horror of passing dead bodies, including those of children, lining the ruins.

  Reider had warned him that he’d need something to trade if he was going to get safe passage to the mine. He had no food or water, no shelter, and a limited air supply. There was no way he’d reach the mine on the far reaches of the Dark Lands without assistance.

  From what he’d determined based on Reider’s prepping and Barto’s brief lessons, the used air canister and ring he had found weren’t all that valuable. If he was lucky, they might get him a meal or place to stay the night. He could possibly try to find some of the Harvesting centers Reider had told him about and look for more items, but that would take more time than Ty was willing to spend. He also wanted to avoid any of the places Barto and the others might go.

  His first priority had to be getting a back-up air canister. He was using the one he had worn back from the Tinkers’ dwelling the day before, which meant it was getting low. To acquire a canister, he needed something valuable to trade. Fortunately, Reider had told him of something that would open up every door in the Dark Lands if he got his hands on it.

  Of course, the act of getting it would more than likely kill him.

  That fact didn’t stop Ty. His choices were limited, and he wasn’t particularly worried about the danger. The worst thing that might happen was that he ended up in the land of the Great Yen-Ki…with Kyr.

  He paused in his run as he reached the remnants of an abandoned storage silo. The lip of the doorway offered him enough protection that a passing vessel wouldn’t see him. It also provided him with a solid surface behind his back, so he didn’t have to worry about someone catching him from behind.

  His breathing stabilized quickly, considering how long and fast he had run. His Dem-Shyr abilities had always allowed him to run faster than anyone else and hardly break a sweat. It appeared that his exceptional strength and endurance hadn’t been completely taken from him, much like his healing abilities.

  Why was that? he wondered. How could all of his mental abilities be gone, but his physical abilities still lar
gely be intact? Had the Guardians somehow screwed up when they imposed their painful punishment?

  That thought had him flashing back to the memory of kneeling in Kyr’s room as they stripped him of his power. It was as stark a difference from the esteemed honor of ascending to the role of Dem-Shyr as one could get.

  His parents had been allowed to attend the ceremony when he assumed his abilities. It was one of the only times they had been invited to the palace, even though Ty had lived there from the time he returned from his life lessons. He still remembered his mother fretting about not having a nice gown to wear, and his father surprising her with one the day before the ceremony. He remembered how proud they both were of him.

  Now, they were living with the belief that their only child was a convicted rapist and murderer.

  Thinking of how devastated his parents must have been when they received the news had Ty’s fist clenching. Vycor had taken everything from him. His position. His reputation. His power.

  The woman he loved.

  At first, Ty had wondered why Vycor hadn’t taken his life. Now, he knew the answer. Vycor wanted him to live with the knowledge that he had lost everything.

  What Vycor hadn’t considered was that now, Ty had nothing to lose. And he would make Vycor suffer ten times worse.

  His silent vow pushed Ty away from the silo. He picked up his run, sticking near structures and shadows as much as possible. Whenever he saw signs of life, he avoided the area and took a different route. There were sadly few such signs, however. The closer he got to his goal, the scarcer the signs became. By the time he stopped at the nondescript grate covering the man-sized hole in the ground, Ty felt like he was standing in a burial field.

  I suppose that’s why they call this Death’s Door, he mused, staring down at the seemingly harmless grate.