For three days Soliyah was left alone in a dark room, with no communication, and little to no food and water. She could almost feel herself wasting away. She felt weak and tired, and a continued desire to simply sleep. She’d never been given word on Zerik. Though she knew it was unlikely his situation had changed, for she still couldn’t communicate with him.
On the fourth morning, the door to her room opened, but she hadn’t enough energy to look up, let alone stand. The silhouette of a man filled the doorway as she slowly turned her head to look.
“What’s the meaning of this?” He asked though she couldn’t see anyone with him. He turned his head to the side. “Are we trying to kill her?” He leaned over, pulled a guard to his side, and pointed to Soliyah. “Have you not been feeding her?”
“Keeper Loreda instructed us as to her care,” the guard answered and the man threw him back.
“By the stars, we are simply holding this woman until we can be certain she’s not the one we’ve been hearing about. To our knowledge, she’s done nothing wrong.” He paused. “Go and get her some food. Now!” The guard nodded, turned, and walked off. The man watched him and then turned to his other side. “Fetch some water,” he ordered and Soliyah heard footsteps recede. The man turned back to her and slowly walked toward her. She looked up and could finally see a face. He was smiling, a pair of soft and kind eyes looking down at her. He was about to speak when a guard walked in with a water skin in hand. Without looking at Soliyah, he handed it to the man, turned, and backed away. The man quickly opened the water skin, knelt to her side, and held it out to her. Soliyah wanted to hesitate, but couldn’t help but reach for it immediately. She hadn’t even realized how thirsty she was until she’d heard him say water. She threw the skin against her lips and began gulping it back. It tasted sweet and brought her some relief. “Easy,” the man urged her, but she didn’t listen. She could feel water spilling down her neck and shirt, but she didn’t care. When she felt she’d had her fill she pulled the skin back, swallowed, and sighed. She could almost feel the energy coming back to her. She held the skin out to the man and he took it. Without looking, he held it out behind him. “Refill it,” he ordered, and the guard stepped forward to do his bidding. “I’ll have some proper food brought to you shortly,” he promised, his voice low and calm. He knelt down to her. “I must apologize for the way you’ve been treated. It’s unacceptable and I should have intervened sooner.”
“Who are you?” Soliyah finally asked. Her voice sounded strange, unlike her own. It was low and raspy. She cleared her throat as he stood.
“My name is Arlinx, but my friends call me Linx.”
“Are we friends then?” He smiled.
“We could be,” he explained.
“I should think it difficult to be friends with someone who locks me up without reason.” Arlinx laughed.
“That’s fair,” he agreed. “And that’s why I’m here. To talk.” Just then, a woman entered, holding a chair. When her eyes fell on Soliyah, she tried to hold back a gasp, but failed. In recovery, she smiled at her. “This is Mergana,” the man pointed to her and she nodded. “I’ve asked her to join us as a witness.” He turned to Mergana and smiled. “Where are the other chairs?” Mergana was about to speak when a man came in carrying two more. Arlinx smiled at Mergana and instructed the man where to put them. He had them set facing one another, almost in a triangle shape. Satisfied, he dismissed the man and ushered Mergana to take a seat. He then moved over to stand in front of Soliyah and reached out his hand. “Please,” he said. Soliyah didn’t want to take his hand and so refused. Though it took longer than usual, she got to her feet and walked over to one of the chairs. Before sitting, Arlinx walked over to the door. “Where’s the food and water?” He shouted and then closed it. He smiled as he made his way over to his seat. “Now,” he started. “You know our names. May we know yours?”
“Vedra,” Soliyah lied and Arlinx nodded.
“Vedra,” he repeated. “I’ve not heard that before. Is it common where you’re from?”
“No.” She wanted to keep her answers as simple and short as possible. She also wanted to try and get them to ask as little as possible. “What do you want from me?”
“Can you tell me what you’re doing in Kolrest?” Mergana pulled some papers and a writing tool from inside her robe and opened it to a blank page.
“Passing through.” Arlinx nodded.
“You and your friend?” Soliyah didn’t answer. “Because your friend originally told us he was traveling alone.” Soliyah didn’t move or break eye contact. “Why did he lie about that?”
“He didn’t.”
“Didn’t he?” Soliyah shook her head, no. “You mean to tell me it was a coincidence you arrived here, in Kolrest the day after he did?” Soliyah shook her head, no. “Then please, explain.”
“We were separated. A short time ago. He didn’t know I was close behind, catching up.”
“Separated. Where? Why?”
“I don’t recall the name of the village. They all look alike. I fell ill.”
“And your friend left you behind?” Soliyah nodded.
“We didn’t think I’d recover so quickly. Once I did, I aimed to catch up…”
“Where are you headed?” Linx interrupted.
“To High Counsel,” she thought it best to stay as close to the truth as possible. Linx’s eyebrows shot up.
“High Counsel? Why?”
“We wish to join the army. Fight against enemies to Serenia.” Linx nodded, accepting her response, though he continued studying her. “Where are you from?”
”Kelir,” she told him. “Zerik and I grew up there. Together.”
“I’m not familiar…”
“It’s a small village in the East. Of no note. There are hundreds like it.” Linx nodded and then took a deep breath. He was about to speak when a guard walked in carrying a plate of food. He held it out to Linx who looked up at him and then nodded to Soliyah. The guard held it out to her and she quickly grabbed what she could from it. A large piece of bread, some nuts, and a few overripe pieces of fruit. The bread was stale, and the fruit was close to bad, but she didn’t care. As soon as she swallowed her first bite, she felt relief from the pangs of hunger she’d been plagued with. The guard allowed her to take the remaining items from the plate before he walked away.
“Hopefully that helps you to feel better,” Linx said and she nodded. “Now, I need to ask you some more questions, and I need you to think before you answer. I need to be sure you are answering honestly, and correctly.” Soliyah nodded slowly, unsure of what to think. “Did you meet others on your travels?” Soliyah paused and acted like she was sorting through her memory though she was trying to discern what the correct answer would be. She finally shook her head, no.
“Beyond villagers and merchants, no one,” she told him.
“You’re certain?” She shook her head, yes. “No… youngers?” Soliyah bunched up her face in confusion.
“Youngers?” He nodded.
“Perhaps another man and woman with them?” Soliyah shook her head, no. Just then, Mergana cleared her throat and Linx looked over at her. Something passed between them and Linx turned back to Soliyah. “You mentioned you’d seen magic before.” How did he know that? She’d only said so, very quickly, in front of Delig and Conly. Had one of them told the counsel about it? Is that why they were interested in her? “Vedra?” She looked at him and shook her head, no. “So, you’ve not seen magic before? You lied?” She shook her head no again.
“No, I’ve seen it, but long ago, when I was very small.”
“Please tell me.” She couldn’t be certain why he wanted to know, but she needed to keep it simple, and realistic.
“It was long ago. I don’t even really remember.”
“Try.”
“It was during a Time of No Shadows. A traveling group came to our village. They were performers. Singers, dancers, storytellers. But the final performance was one of magic. She could make things disappear, play with people's minds, even play with fire.” Linx nodded, urging her to continue. “For her final display, she created a ball of light as big as the sun. It allowed for everyone to carry a shadow, even just for a moment. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen.” Linx released his breath as though he’d been holding it and nodded.
“I’ve seen something similar,” he told her. “It must have left quite an impression on you,” he smiled at her. She nodded. It seemed he was believing her display of a naive young dreamer from a small village in the middle of nowhere.
“Our village healer also saved a man from a broken chest,” she widened her eyes. “Saw his chest repair right in front of my eyes as he started to breathe again after a wagon had collapsed on top of him. It was unbelievable.” She wanted to push home the narrative she was pretending. Linx smiled and nodded. He continued staring at her, and she worried because she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“Zerik,” he started. “Can he speak?” She immediately shook her head, no. “It’s not a choice?” She shook her head no, again.
“Has never spoken a word his whole life,” she lied. “When we were younger, we would try and scare him, see if he could at least scream,” she laughed and Linx and Mergana joined her. She shook her head. “Never a peep out of him.” Linx continued staring at her, expressionless. Under these circumstances, anyone else would have felt fear, or at least nervous, but Soliyah remained calm. She had to. Finally, Linx took a deep breath and sighed.
“Well,” he started and looked at Mergana. “I’m satisfied. Are you?” Mergana shrugged and then nodded.
“May I ask what this is all about?” Soliyah asked. Linx stood and looked down at her.
“We’ve heard word of two very dangerous travelers headed this way. A man and a woman.”
“Fitting our description?” Soliyah asked, confused. Linx tilted his head from side to side.
“Not exactly. You appear the proper age and such, but we were told the woman had flaming red hair.”
“Soliyah? Where are you?” Zerik’s voice suddenly interrupted. Linx continued speaking but Soliyah ignored him.
“Zerik? You’re alive! You’re ok?”
“I’m fine,” he told her. “What’s happened?”
“They took me into custody. They’ve been holding me for the last few days.” Though he didn’t respond, she could sense his anger. “I’m fine,” she told him.
“Vedra?” She could hear Linx trying to get her attention but couldn’t be bothered, she was so relieved Zerik was ok.
“We need to get out of here,” he said.
“Agreed.” She looked back at Linx who looked at her very confused. “I’m sorry,” she started. “I’m weak from the lack of food and drink. I’m finding it difficult to stay on task. What were you saying?”
“Soliyah! They’ve come for me.” Linx began responding but she couldn’t hear.
“What? Who?”
“The guards. They’re taking me into custody.” She wanted to curse under her breath but took a deep breath instead. She looked at Linx. Perhaps he could truly be an ally.
“My friend, Zerik, has his situation changed? Has he woken?” Linx hesitated, confused, but then shrugged.
“I’m not certain,” he confided. He looked to Mergana who gathered her things and moved for the door. “Why don’t I go check on him for you?” He moved toward the door as Mergana left.
“Linx,” she called after him. “Am I not able to be released?” Linx turned back to her and smiled.
“Soon,” he promised, and he walked out the door. Two guards entered to remove the chairs and the door closed behind them.
“We must get out of here,” Soliyah whispered to Zerik.
“I’m working on it,” he told her and then went silent.
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Ⓒ April 2023. Beki Lantos. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission of the author.