Tabitha Chirrick - Overshadowed

“Well that’s just great.”

Shy nudged Tayel’s arm and nodded to the guards just ahead.

Tayel noted their bulky, white armor as she stepped through the doorway into the main hall. Recruits funneled through another, smaller door ahead.

Aside from those guarding the entrance outside, more guards followed the procession. Doors opened to unknown pathways at the far left and right of the hall, but Tayel didn’t know how she could reach them unseen. Her heart pounded. If Shy had been correct about this being a trap, then the Rokkir had caught them both.

“Excuse me, miss.” A person wearing a long, black robe approached from the left.

Tayel only just stopped her jaw from dropping. The man was a Varg . Even though she’d never seen a member of the race in person before, his tall stature, snout, paws, and trailing, furry tail were unmistakable features.

“I need to speak with you.” The Varg withdrew a council insignia from his robe.

Tayel’s heart iced over. Running wasn’t an option now. There were too many people. She exchanged a look with Shy and stepped out of the line of recruits.

Shy followed.

The Varg stiffened. “Erm, I’m sorry, but this is to be a private conversation.” His voice went down an octave from before, like he was trying to speak in an accent not his own. “O-on Council authority, I must ask that you join the rest of the recruits, miss.”

“She’s my best friend,” Shy said. “We’d like not to be separated by this process.”

“If possible. Um, sir,” Tayel added.

The rest of the procession disappeared into the next room. A booming voice indicated the start of a welcome speech. Tayel surveyed the rest of the hall behind them. Two guards in that bulky, honorific armor stood watch by the main door. They kept so still they could have been statues, and they may as well have been, in gear like that. If she and Shy made a break for it, surely they could escape.

The Varg huffed. “It’s an issue with your application to join the Elshan forces, Miss Evanarb. You and your friend will be reunited once we have a word.”

“Why her ?” Shy asked. “What’s wrong with her application?”

He cleared his throat. He turned away from them and walked a few paces before putting his paw against the side of his hood. “There’s… Would it be acceptable if I brought another person along? I—”

Shy lurched forward. She landed a kick square in his lower back, and he planted face first into the tiled floor. He yelped, tail tucking between his legs.

Tayel gaped.

“Hey!” a guard shouted. He stepped off the wall with his fellow soldier and unsheathed his sword.

“Tayel!” Shy snapped.

Another pair of armored men ran out of the room the recruits had gone into, weapons drawn.

Tayel didn’t need another warning. She darted after Shy through the far left archway and into the labyrinth of halls beyond.

Ruxbane sat in in his office, a quiet, comfy room near the top of the Floating Isle’s tallest spire. Its walls were bare, its desk drawers empty, its scent must and lingering cleaning fluid. He’d never considered this his workspace. The bright, white spaciousness of the labs were all he needed, but not today. Today, he would have a guest, and it was necessary to make a charming impression on her.

The labs would likely invite immediate suspicion, where this office might be more familiar. Avoiding a struggle would be easier if he presented himself first as a person and lastly as a scientist who, in worst of terms, needed her for his own ends.

At a hasty knock on the door, he took a deep breath. “Come in.”

Iselglith shuffled inside, his face wavering with dark wisps of aether which appeared whenever a Rokkir began to heal their shape.

Ruxbane’s fingers curled around the armrests of his chair. “Where is she?”

“I — I am so sorry, sir. I pulled the girl aside as you asked, but the raider princess stepped with her. I hadn’t thought to request a guard escort for a task so simple, and—”

“What do you mean ‘the raider princess stepped with her’?”

“The princess claimed the girl — Tayel — was her friend.” Iselglith winced as the aether cleared, leaving behind a normal Varg snout. “They refused to separate.”

Ruxbane sat forward, knitting his hands together. He leaned his elbows on the desk.

“I — I was calling for help, but she — she kicked me. The princess, I mean. I fell, and…” He rubbed his nose. “The girls took off toward the western wing of the castle. I — I sent the guards.”

The princess and the girl knew each other. Ruxbane squeezed his head.

Iselglith squirmed. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ve failed you.”

Two humans made to be called, each of some importance to the Rokkir, now working together to delve deeper into the council stronghold. Why had the two of them run off together? What were the odds of them even meeting in the camp?

Too many pieces of the puzzle were missing for it to be solved, but Ruxbane would find them. He would not let Tayel or the princess escape his grasp. Not until he had all the answers.

“Sir?” Iselglith asked.

“Come, Iselglith,” Ruxbane said. “We need to search, too.”

He lifted his hand, spread his fingers wide, and opened a portal to Castle Aishan.

The bright white lights of the hangar bay snapped on, and row upon row of shadow between parked ships disappeared in an instant. Guards ran over the viewing bridge above, barking orders to spread out and stay alert. If Tayel and Shy couldn’t get out of the hangar bay soon, they’d be caught and imprisoned. Or worse.

Tayel peeked out of her hiding space between the underside of a ship and its fuel rig. “Can you hurry up?”

“Alhyt, Tayel.” Shy ran her hand along the fighter class’ model code. “I need to find a compatible ship. We can’t just take any FTL drive.”

A pair of guards jogged across the main path less than a hundred yards away. Shy slipped into cover with Tayel, the men’s quick glances scanning where she’d stood a second before.

“Are they even in here?” one of the guards asked.

“Here or the armory, but the council sent a special task force there.”

Tayel closed her eyes as the guards ran past their hiding place. She held her breath.

“Xite, I’d rather have the armory,” the other man said. “How the hell are we supposed to find them if they’re in here? It’s huge.”

Footsteps clinked away, taking whatever the reply had been with them.

Shy leaned out of cover for a half-second and looked back to Tayel, eyes wide. “Tayel, listen, that Varg in the main hall—”

Guards stomped over the viewing bridge directly above them. Shy ducked — close enough Tayel could catch the must of sweat and dirt wafting off her.

“What about him?” Tayel whispered.

“You’re not hiding anything from me are you?”

“ What? No. Why would I? I don’t even know what that was about.”

Shy’s eyes narrowed.

“Why?” Tayel asked.

“Never mind. Just keep your head down. You’re going to get us both caught.”

“ Wha— ?”

Tayel clamped her mouth shut. Guards ran past the end of the row.

While Shy checked the next vessel in line, Tayel lowered her head to the cement. She scanned for movement. In between landing gear and fuel rigs, guards got on their hands and knees, and began looking under ships. Her heart thudded to a stop. A sharp whining sound built in her ears, like a siren telling her to run. Her body complied, muscles tensing with a sudden rush of adrenaline.