Page 1

Before

The slate of cold metal stung in Aly’s hands. The tablet—as best as she could call it— flashed on its screen a torrent of words, some big, some small, all readable in her language; comprehensible. But only sixteen words, one sentence, got Aly’s full attention:

ASSIGNED LOCATION FOR REFUGEE ALY SMITH: LETHE MAWS: MINING CITY SECURED ON SYSTEM SARITIUS, ORBITAL UNDEREM.

Her hands didn’t shake. She didn’t feel the sting of tears. She was numb, in fact. Completely numb. Just as she had been since the beginning.

Three months since she had been abducted and she had no use for crying. For anger. The universe didn't answer her desperate prayers. At least not in this dimensional plane.

She sat quietly, thinking. Then, after a long pause, she set the tablet carefully down beside her. She looked up at the oracle that had been watching her patiently nearby.

“Do you understand the terms, Smith, Aly?” It spoke in an oddly realistic tone. Its expressionless eyes somehow regarded her, even under its white shroud.

Aly licked her dry lips. “How long?” Her voice cracked.

“The length of time is unknown. Tests and examinations are still being performed. Once they are complete and we have a better understanding of your kind, and of your unique situation, we can proceed forward to—”

“To take us...home?” Aly blurted.

The oracle paused, gazing at her. “Perhaps. We will try.”

That’s what they always said. She was beginning to theorize that one of the silions programmed them to say that and nothing more.

Somehow, Aly still managed to nod her head. “And the others?” she asked.

“Your group will be joining you. You will be given your own units as well as all necessary supplies.”

Aly nodded again, only, this time, she frowned as well. “I don’t suppose a nice, cushy office job was available, huh?”

The bot only looked at her, saying nothing. Aly couldn’t help but smirk. For all their intelligence, they couldn’t comprehend sarcasm. Then again, the silion scientists didn’t understand it either. Maybe it was a trait they lacked.

Still, the frown returned, but Aly couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth and argue. What good would it do? She was helpless. She had been helpless ever since she had been taken. They were going to send her where they liked, even if it was to the very pits of hell.

Because that’s really what the Lethe Maws were. Like hell in the real world. Only not hot but cold. Just as dark, just as full of horrors. The silions didn’t get it. Or, likely, they didn’t care. Maybe they thought humans were pests that they had been forced to deal with. The enforcers had dropped the humans in their laps, forced the silions to complete experiments (which they didn’t seem to mind as much), and then ordered them to house the humans where necessary.

The Xolis Emperiom had an obligation to keep order and balance on this side of the universe, or at least in this galaxy—this realm—that they ruled within. All outsiders had to be assessed and placed accordingly. Many went to prisons, and most were forced into slave labor. If you weren’t a silion or a nillium, you weren’t considered a citizen. You had to earn that right.

The Xolis—the so-called Galactic Council—had been “generous” enough the last three months, but that generosity only went so far. It was a miraculous wonder that Aly and the others were even being given their own housing units and supplies. They had tried to talk to them—to reason with them—and the Council had listened. But the humans were in their territory now, in their world. What hope they had of returning to human territory was slowly diminishing.

And now, with the final blow of being sent to the mines, Aly truly began to think it was time she let that hope die. She could ask the oracles (or even the silion scientists) a dozen times, but the answer would always be the same.

‘Time you let it go, Aly,’ she thought. ‘This is your life now. Home is far away.’

An image of the night sky through a hole in a cave shot through Aly’s brain. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath that turned into a quiet, shaky laugh.

“Are you in distress?” asked the oracle.

Aly opened her eyes. “No.”

“Then your examination is complete,” the bot said in a lifeless tone. It took the tablet from beside Aly then walked over to the door. The door opened. “You may proceed down to the waiting dock for further instruction. All your necessary supplies will be transferred over and arrive in a timely manner. Safe travels, and may you be in Nihl's sight.”

Aly rose. She passed the bot without a glance and left the room.

***

The blast was impressive, to say the least. Dust and bits of rock sprayed in all directions, hitting the sides of the cave wall then scattering over the floor. A light tremor shook the earth, and Ryziel was certain it would be felt all the way to the top, but, for that, he didn't worry. What he cared about now was what lay hidden on the other side of the wall they had just blown through.

As the dust settled, he looked to Nar, who still gripped the detonator tight. When Nar nodded his head, Ryziel stepped through the thick wall and came out the other side. He held up a metallic sphere in his hand and twisted it soundly then flung it into the darkness. The orb flew up and flared into a brilliant blue light, swallowing the dark as it hung effortlessly in the air.