Theonis had no idea where his friends were. Aylmer’s workers… soldiers… crew… Aylmer’s goons had thrashed the campsite pretty badly and then set up their own tents. It was a much larger operation, with at least two dozen people. Though he’d scoured the campsite, Theonis couldn’t find his friends anywhere. They were being held somewhere else.

Myrova could send messages telepathically. Theonis sat on the steps as the sun sank toward the horizon, waiting to hear her voice again. Surely she’d have some kind of plan.

There wasn’t much that Theonis could do, sadly. Someone always had an eye on him. Usually, it was Eiscilla herself glaring at him in between barking orders at her crew. The staff was always strapped to her back, well out of Theonis’ reach.

Theonis! came a hiss in the back of his mind.

Myrova!

I don’t have much time. The guards keep me under tight scrutiny. We’re being held in a building. There’s no way out for us. It’s up to you to come up with a plan.

What am I supposed to do? Theonis asked. Nobody will let me out of their sight.

I can’t solve this for you. Don’t worry; I’ll contact you at the next opportunity. Have to go.

Her presence was gone. Theonis sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. What was he supposed to do? He didn’t have his dagger anymore; Aylmer had confiscated it. He did have the mendacious ring. Perhaps that would be useful? But it was so small compared to what Eiscilla could do.

Theonis had two goals: save his friends and drive out the villains. That meant he needed to find where his friends were and plan their escape. Then, one way or another, he had to convince Aylmer to leave. The second goal would lead to the other if it were done first.

A lot of equipment was set up outside of the capitol building. There were crates of tools: pickaxes and shovels and pegs and ropes. But in addition, there were large big wood and metal machines with a lot of cogs and wheels and cranks. This form of archeology looked a lot more destructive than what Theonis was used to.

There were a lot of screws and bolts in this equipment. It was difficult using just his hands, but with what limited finger strength Theonis had he was able to loosen a few things. If he could remove and hide enough of these, the equipment would be useless. It would slow Aylmer down considerably.

“What are you doing?”

Theonis jumped and spun around, falling back and hitting the ground. Eiscilla was glaring from just a few feet away.  Clearing his throat, Theonis stood up and wiped his hands off on his shirt.

“Just checking out the equipment,” he lied.

Eiscilla stepped closer, circling around Theonis.

“You’re still a prisoner here, girl,” she warned. “Don’t forget that, even if Aylmer has for some reason.”

Theonis kept his eyes on the staff behind her. If he could get his hands on that, she’d be effectively powerless. He could simply force everyone off the island. But as long as she held it, Escilla was absurdly dangerous.

She said, “I’m still watching you, kid. You step out of line for one moment, and I will have you bound and gagged until we’re back on the ship. You may be Aylmer’s favorite new toy, but I’m in charge on the ground. You understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Theonis replied, expression hardening.

“Good. Now, back to camp.”

Eiscilla walked closely behind Theonis, her gaze boring into him. He sat down next to the fire pit, which was full of fresh logs but not burning. Getting around Eiscilla to do anything was going to be a pain.

“Theonis.” He looked away from the fire pit to see Aylmer, who smiled and said, “I’d like you to have dinner with me, in my tent.”

He held out a hand and, after a moment’s hesitation, Theonis took it. Aylmer helped Theonis up but didn’t let go. Instead, he led Theonis over to the largest, nicest looking tent out of all of them and brought him inside.

A small table with two plates of food was sitting in the middle of the tent. There was a proper metal bed frame and mattress on one side of the tent, and two large chests on the other. The tent was lit by an oil lamp above their heads.

“Eiscilla and I have the cook prepare us proper meals instead of the rations that our men receive,” Aylmer explained, sitting Theonis down in one chair. “It’s only fitting that you should get to share in the experience.”

Once he had taken his own seat, Aylmer picked up his flatware and began eating. Theonis followed suit. He had no idea what this meal was, but the meat and vegetables were bland.

“You see, Theonis,” Aylmer continued, “I don’t want you working alongside the regular crew. You deserve a prestigious position by my side, where you will be treated with the respect that you deserve.”

“What exactly will I be doing?” Theonis asked.

“There will be time for that, later. And we’ll have plenty of time together once we’re done with this mission. I can’t wait to show you the rest of the world, Theonis. Though, of course, it will take some time to hammer out the small-minded idealism that your friends instilled in you.”

He placed his hand on Theonis’, giving it a little squeeze as he continued, “If you want to get anywhere in life, you’ve got to learn how to take what you want, without worrying too much about other people.” He gave Theonis’ hand a squeeze and smiled. “Happiness only comes to the people who work hardest for it, after all.”

Theonis pulled his hand away and placed it in his lap.

“Thank you,” he said. “That’s certainly something to think about. What is this, by the way? It tastes great.”

Aylmer replied, “This is scous. Lamb, carrots, and onions. One of my favorites. I’m glad you enjoy it.”

Theonis forced himself to smile and nod. After that, he kept his hands close to himself. He even forced himself to finish off the plate. Once dinner was over, Theonis quickly excused himself and made his way back to the nearby tent that had been given to him.

There were little pieces of rope at the mouth of the tent to tie together, which Theonis did promptly. Then he laid out on his own metal bed and sighed. Whatever positive feelings Aylmer used to inspire were gone, thankfully.

Theonis took the ipseity pendant out from under his shirt and held it up. This belonged to him, right? Everyone said it belonged to him. But what Aylmer had said bothered Theonis: it was more important to take what you want than to care for other people. That just felt wrong.

Even though he didn’t always feel like he fit in, Theonis was Pelakevian. He lived in this nation, and he was technically born within its borders. The pendant was part of his culture. It belonged to him as much as it belonged to any other citizen.

Like Nikoris.

They’d seen the inside of the businessman’s vault where he kept dozens upon dozens of Apositan artifacts. Things that he kept to himself when they should have been available to everyone. And the pendant, which could give anyone their ideal body, would do a lot more good if it weren’t in Theonis’ hands.

Theonis was roused from his light sleep a little after the sun had set. He wasn’t sure what had done it at first. Then Myrova’s voice started playing in his head.

I have a few minutes before the guards start to get suspicious, Myrova said. Do you have any news?

I got caught trying to sabotage the equipment, Theonis replied. But I do have a new plan. Nobody knows I have the ring or what it does. But I’ll need some help. He filled her in quickly. How does that sound?

I like it. I’ll tell the others.

She was gone. Theonis sighed and curled up under his blanket. Hopefully, this would work.

The next morning, Theonis sat around the smoldering fire pit and watched people mill about. He took a long, deep breath, then stuck his hand into his pocket. The ring would glow when he did this, so he couldn’t afford to be seen.

He’d promised himself he’d never use the ring this way.

Nearby, someone wheeling a car of rubble stopped, confused. Then he started swiping at himself, fighting some unseen tendrils. He started to cry out and draw attention to himself, and Theonis added an audible component to the hallucination.

“Get off me!” the man cried as several other workers swarmed to try and shake him out of it.

Theonis let the hallucination drop and the man glanced around, completely white in the face, utterly confused at what had just happened. He started relaying the experience to the men around him, who all started to look worried. Theonis perked up his ears to listen in.

“It wouldn’t let go of me!” he cried. “Said we were desecrating sacred land!”

“Get a hold on yourself, Geodin!” someone snapped. “There was nothing there!”

“I felt it, you moron! Don’t go telling me it wasn’t real!”

With that test a success, Theonis mostly milled around for the rest of the day, not leaving camp but occasionally choosing a victim or two. He paid special attention to anyone he saw walking out of the capitol building. Each one got a hallucination warning them that they were unwelcome on the island and that they should leave. A few people actually refused to go back into the building after their experience.

By lunch, everyone was nervous. Theonis sat around the fire with the others, eating the cheap rations of bread and dried meat that they were given. Nobody really looked at him, though. They were too busy chattering about the ghosts.

“I overheard the prisoners talking about it this morning,” one person said. “Said some kind of vengeful spirit lives here and only the locals knew how to protect from it. Said we were all going to die. I laughed it off as superstition, but—”

“But nothing!” a booming voice rang out, causing Theonis to jump. Aylmer was storming up the gathered workers with Eiscilla in tow. She fixed her gaze on Theonis while Aylmer continued, “You are all a bunch of superstitious morons, the lot of you! One night of bad gin and you all start hallucinating! I should have your heads for slowing down the operation with this nonsense! Now get back to work!”

The group scrambled and Aylmer walked off in a huff. Eiscilla remained still, not taking her eyes off of Theonis. He waved to her with the hand his ring was on, knowing she had no way to prove it was him. After a moment, she scowled and stormed away.

Theonis frowned into his rations. The workers were too scared of Aylmer to give up easily. He would have to escalate the matter, maybe even target Aylmer and Eiscilla directly.

In his tent, Theonis mulled over the possibilities in front of him. Eiscilla seemed like the obvious target—she was the most dangerous. But Aylmer wasn’t likely to retreat if Eiscilla was hurt or indisposed. Eiscilla might call a retreat if Aylmer was dealt with first, but targeting him with Eiscilla already wary of Theonis would be more difficult. The other possibility was a revolt, but overcoming the collective fear of Aylmer would be difficult and Eiscilla still posed a physical threat to anybody who rose up against them.

Theonis!

He jumped slightly at the sound of Myrova’s voice.

Myrova?

We have a plan to escape. We can take care of the guards, but we need you to draw attention away from the building where we’re being held. Can you do that for us?

I can, Theonis replied. Give me an hour and a half. I’ll strike when everyone is eating.

Once again, Theonis had to eat with Aylmer, though this time Eiscilla was eating with them. There wasn’t much room at the table. Aylmer spoke at length, Theonis and Eiscilla only replying to agree with him. They would not stop glaring at each other.

After dinner, Theonis returned to the fire, where many of the workers were still gathered. Everyone was slowly picking at their rations. Someone passed Theonis a small piece of bread. He thanked them, then started nibbling at it while he stuck one hand in his pocket.

A pained moan filled the air, startling everyone out of their discussion. The air nearby shimmered as if heated, and slowly the pale shape of a face started to form in the air. It had white eyes and sharp jagged teeth, mouth open in a gnawing gesture.

“Leave this place!” came a loud, strained voice. “All those who desecrate this sacred ground are to perish!”

The men started to scramble. Even Theonis stood up and started walking away from the fire. Eiscilla passed him, though, and from her staff launched a blast of green energy that hit the illusion and dispelled it.

“Someone is messing with our heads,” she said, turning to face Aylmer and the assembled workers.

Aylmer just nodded, expression flat. Theonis took another bite of bread and shifted his focus. A nearby man cried out in horror and collapsed to the ground, clutching his head. Eiscilla quickly dispelled the magic affecting him, but Theonis had already moved on to his next target.

“Who is doing this?” Eiscilla demanded, raising her staff and emitting a blast of blue light. Divination magic. Theonis' heart skipped a beat, but Eiscilla simply scowled and turned to Aylmer. “There aren’t any magic users or any magical devices—aside from mine—nearby.”

“No magic users?” Aylmer asked. “What about the prisoner?”

There was a sudden rush of cries and movement. People grabbed their weapons and followed Eiscilla and Aylmer to where the prisoners were supposed to be. Theonis followed, stuffing the bread into his mouth. Eiscilla was the first  person in the building, and she cursed loudly. Theonis was only barely able to see what was going on through the crowd.

“What’s going on?!” he asked.

One of the workers answered, “The guards are unconscious. Their weapons are gone!”

Theonis let go of the breath he’d been holding. He started walking away before Eiscilla could confront him. No doubt she’d blame him for this, somehow.

As night fell, Theonis sat at the opening to his tent, watching Aylmer pace back and forth. He looked pissed. Eiscilla stood by, waiting for some conclusion. Theonis’ heart sank when Aylmer turned and walked up to him.

“Theonis,” he said, kneeling down, “do you have any idea what happened to your friends?”

“No,” Theonis insisted.

To his surprise, Aylmer nodded.

“I guess they really don’t care about you as much as they claim to.” Aylmer stood up. “Get some rest.”

Theonis nodded and pulled himself into the tent. As he tied the knots to seal the door, Theonis marveled at Aylmer’s willingness to trust him. It appeared that he couldn’t conceive of Theonis lying. Was he that confident in his sense of control over Theonis?

QuillRabbit

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