Ch. 34: Zerhea's Revelation

Zayex snarled and wriggled around in Strubin’s grip, hissing. To my surprise a low, throaty voice emanated from his mouth. “...Traitor…” The aetyr growled, soulless eyes fixed on me. “...Master has been looking for Mace. Master has been tricked.”

Strubin closed in a giant hand around his throat before the slave could say any more, and the aetyr went limp in his grip. “Be quiet!” He barked. “Aven, are we being followed?”

“...It seems so,” I said quietly, shivering as I watched the bedraggled aetyr cautiously. “But I don’t understand. It’s not even sunrise.”

“What do you think I should do with him?” Strubin asked, holding up Zayex. “Kill him?”

I grimaced. “I’ve witnessed enough death for one night, thanks.” I looked Zayex over and came to a realization. “...But if we let him go, he’ll go back to his Master and tell him everything. Then we’re screwed.”

“You don’t have to watch,” Strubin said gently. “I’ll snap his neck. Quick and painless.”

“WAIT! Don’t kill him!”

An unexpected voice sent us grinding to a halt, and we both turned to face the perpetrator. The elegant golden aetyr stood there, horror etched on her face as she balled her fists. “...Don’t.” Zerhea repeated, emotion trembling in her normally confident voice.

Strubin and I stared at her wildly. “...Zerhea, he’s one of the Baron’s slaves. He’s going to kill us if we let him go.”

“I thought you were the logical one out of us,” Strubin added, narrowing his eyes.

“You don’t understand.” Zerhea stepped forward, a resolute gleam in her eyes as she locked gazes with the prisoner. Zayex hissed weakly but made no move to escape Strubin’s grip.

“Zayex… Is that you?” To my horror she reached out a slender golden hand. “After all these years?”

Zayex stopped growling and went silent, something resembling curiosity flashing in his soulless eyes.

“I’ve missed you,” Zerhea continued gently, an unusual softness emanating from her as she came closer. “You and… Azuhren. It’s been so long…”

The bedraggled golden aetyr watched her with a cold fascination.

Zerhea reached out to touch his forehead. “Don’t you remember me?”

Just as she was about to touch him, suddenly Zayex sprang back into action and snapped, snarling and writhing in Strubin’s grip with renewed vigor. “Pathetic rodent!” The slave hissed, scrabbling at Strubin’s hands. “Come here so I can rip your heart out! I’ll shove it down your throat and make you eat it!”

“SHUT UP!” Strubin launched a sucker punch at his head and it was lights out for the slave. An uneasy silence filled the air.

Zerhea stared at Zayex mindlessly, her expression unreadable. Before she could say anything, Strubin took the initiative. “ZERHEA!” He roared, barely holding back his anger as he turned on her. “What were you thinking?! He’s not a real aetyr anymore! He’s a monster! He’d kill us all if he had the chance!”

“I KNOW what I’m doing!” Zerhea snapped, squaring up to him. “You don’t! You have no idea who he is, do you? Wouldn’t you give someone you loved a second chance?”

Guilt flashed through my mind as she said that. Arius.

But this was different. Arius was blinded by misplaced guilt and anger. Zayex was under the control of Dorai’Kur. He had no way to think for himself.

But that begged the question… who exactly was he?

I tuned back in to hear Strubin retort, “If he’s so special to you, then who is he?”

Zerhea stopped and paused, her voice choked with emotion. “...He is… Zayex is my brother. I lost him years ago. I thought he was… dead.”

Strubin’s face immediately softened. “...Zerhea, I… I’m sorry.” Gingerly he placed Zayex and Arius on the ground and bent over to comfort Zerhea. A tear rolled down her beautiful face as he embraced her, soothing her with a hug. As she sniffled, Strubin caught my eye and motioned for me to join him.

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her. “Shh, shh, it’s okay,” I murmured.

“But it’s not okay!” Zerhea cried. “He’s met a fate worse than death, and there’s nothing I… I can do.”

Her despairing words caught me off guard, even more so than her sudden revelation. Normally she was so stoic, so reserved, so confident… and yet since yesterday, she had started to tear at the seams. She crumbled under an unknown pressure. Was it because she felt that she finally had someone to confide in? Or had she reached her limit, after all those years of facing it alone?

Arius had spent most of his life trying to bottle up his emotions for fear of being shunned. I had managed to help him, even if he had a long way to go in being accepted back into his own society. But was it my place to give Zerhea that same help?

Where was Maceren?

Strubin and I finally pulled away from Zerhea, and she stood there, trembling. She sniffed and rubbed her nose, then took a few deep breaths before returning to her usually reserved demeanor with a breathy sigh. Yet it was obviously a mask.

She avoided looking at Zayex and Arius slouched on the ground together and instead looked around. “Where is Maceren?”

As if on cue, we heard scrabbling from under the roof. Immediately Strubin tensed.

“Hopefully Zerhea doesn’t have another brother coming up here to kill us,” He quipped, even as a snarl faintly crossed his lips. He pushed Zerhea and I back before he leaned over the side of the roof, looking down. Instantly his eyes widened.

“There you are!”

A faint smirk gleamed in the darkness before a familiar figure flung himself over the side, landing nimbly even as he carried two bodies, one slung over each shoulder as if they weighed nothing. He set Kirune and another figure down nimbly before taking a bow. “Much obliged to save you, my merry friends.”

“What’s wrong with Kirune?” I asked, stepping forward tentatively.

Maceren shrugged. “This other bother of an aetyr went ahead and bit him. Its fangs were laced with poison. But do not worry!” He added, holding up his hands. “I’ve healed him. He is simply regaining his energy.”

“Who’s the other creature you brought up?” Strubin asked, narrowing his eyes.

Maceren chuckled. “Oh, nothing much. Just my fa- I mean, the Baron’s slave. He never plays by the rules. Rather than waiting for sunrise, he wanted a head start.” He kicked the slave’s side experimentally. To my surprise, I saw that his soulless eyes were wide open. I was under the impression that he was unconscious.

“I managed to disable the Baron’s offensive tactics he had ordered this slave to do, as well as the tracking magic he has on them, but he is still under a binding spell. As of right now he cannot function properly. He is simply a ragdoll.” Then Maceren caught sight of Zayex, crumpled up on the floor. A grin crossed his face. “Let me take care of this one.”

As he strode over to the remaining slave, Zerhea scampered forward to kneel by the prisoner that Maceren had taken. “Azhuren…” She whispered, stroking his mane.

“Is that your other brother?” I asked gently, sitting beside her.

She turned to me and nodded, holding back tears.

“It’s going to be okay,” I murmured. “Maceren will fix them.”

Suddenly she pricked her ears, twitching them in multiple directions before leaping to her feet and pointing to the sky. “He’s here!”

“The Hycross?” Strubin stood and narrowed his eyes, squinting into the sky. “I don’t see it. Whoa!” Suddenly a harsh wind hit us, nearly knocking me off my feet. The sound of wings flapping filled the air as something huge steadily descended upon us.

HONK.

A booming, nasal cry emanated from the Hycross’ depths, and it leaned over to nuzzle Zerhea affectionately. She patted it reassuringly and whispered a few words to it.

Meanwhile I turned to find that Maceren had seemingly finished temporarily healing Zayex. He caught my eye and a frown crossed his face. “...I want to take these slaves with us,” He admitted. “Meredith can help them.”

Strubin looked like he was going to object when he glanced at Zerhea. Her eyes pleaded, help them.

They’re everything I have.

“All right,” I answered for Strubin. “They can come with us.”