Lich's Mate

Chapter 1

Meera

Just another day, I guess. 

My throat’s dry.

My limbs hurt.

Worst of all, the hunger pangs from last night still linger as I wake up. 

The gruesome chill of the morning breeze still sweeps through my bedroom.

It was all worth it though, I think, feeling my empty stomach still distracting me.

Last night, we didn’t have enough food for everybody at dinner time. Because he was going to do without otherwise, I offered my meal to my little brother, Kai. 

He needs it. He’s a growing boy. 

Sighing, I rub the sleep out of my eyes and get out of bed. Someone needs to tend to the crops outside. And if I’m nice to Miss Umelda when I pass her house, maybe she’ll spare some eggs for breakfast.

“Meera?” My mother’s voice calls out for me outside my bedroom door. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Yeah,” I reply softly. 

She enters my bedroom before I’m finished with my sentence, then looks at me discouragingly as I prepare my bags. 

“I’m heading out to the field. Then I’m going to talk with the neighbors to see if they have any spare grain.”

My mother’s shoulders droop as her eyes pass over my form. She shrinks the distance between us to place her hand on my cheek. 

She’s warm, and her presence is always a comfort. She smells like our small bakery. 

“I’m worried about you,” she says, halfway trying to block my exit. “You’re eating less and less these days. And your eyes are glazed over.” 

I shake my head. 

“I’m okay,” I say.

She sighs. 

“Okay. Just keep your head down.” 

She steps aside to allow me to leave, but I can tell she immediately regrets it. 

“The xaphans are getting restless,” she adds, following me gingerly on my way out. “And I don’t want you getting hurt. I can’t lose you too.”

But she needs to let me grow up. It’s been years since I came of age. 

I politely brush aside her concerns, sticking a piece of stale bread into my mouth and doing my best to chew it without breaking my jaw.

I push open the door. It’s darker and drearier than most days. 

“Hey, Meera!” 

I turn. 

On the makeshift porch of the next-door hovel, Rosalyn and Natalie sit and study me. In their hands are chipped tea cups, stained slightly from neglect. 

“Where are you going?” Rosalyn perks a brow. “To the fields?”

I nod.

“It’s way too early for that!” Natalie exclaims, leaning back in her rocking chair and setting her tea down. “Come here. We can feed you a plate of meat and eggs. It looks like you need it.”

“No thank you.” 

My stomach is screaming at me. But I can’t be selfish. 

I can’t take food away from them. Not when there’s work to do. 

“I need to gather some grain and fruits. We’ll starve without it.”

“Your loss,” Rosalyn remarks, offering a dry laugh. Then, she gestures to Natalie. I can already feel my cheeks going red. 

“See? What’d I tell you? You can’t say I didn’t try to help her.”

“And you were doing so good, Rosie,” Natalie replies, shaking her head. “Why do you keep bullying her?” 

“Because she’s weird.” 

I’m already gone by the time they glance my way. With a small basket in my hand, I trudge all the way to the fields. There’s a small shed at the field entrance, filled with tools and supplies. I pick up a rusty watering can, filling it up in the spring. 

With no one looking, I take a few sips of the cold water for myself. It’s an unwritten rule around here to not take the water for yourself, but the dehydration on top of the hunger is making my head feel weird.

I get to work promptly, spreading water on top of the plants that still need it. It’s going to be a bountiful season this time around, which is exciting. 

No more hungry nights. 

No more dreaming about food. 

All of our plates are going to be filled with hearty meals. And most importantly, no one will go without.

Despite the hunger, I feel the hope motivating me, giving me energy I don’t have.  There are some fruits and vegetables nearby, too. I grab a bit of everything, but make sure to leave enough.

I start to feel my mind poking at me, as though urging me to pay attention. 

At first, I’m convinced that it’s just hunger pulling at my survival instincts. There have been times when I’m so hungry that my vision will go black if I try to stand up too fast or move too quickly. 

But then, I stop moving. 

And I listen. 

I focus on the passing breeze… the swaying of the crops. 

Then, my eyes narrow as I see a running figure in the distance. It’s familiar.

“Kai,” I whisper to myself, confused as to why he’s running my way. He doesn’t care about the fields. 

He and his friends are usually playing in the woods at this time. 

“Kai?”

“Meera!” His scream sounds anguished and desperate. “Meera!”

“Kai, what’s wrong?” I ask, making my way over to my panting little brother. I move his hair from out of his eyes and see pure terror behind his gaze. “What’s going on? Where are your friends? Are you hurt?”

“Meera, we saw… I saw… The xaphans. The mean ones! They’re… they’re flying outside of the village right now! And they’re hurting people!”

“What?” I whisper. 

I feel like I must have misheard him. It’s true that they can be cruel for no reason, but usually not when there’s nothing for them to collect. And tax season is weeks out. 

“Kai, this isn’t a game. You can’t joke with me like that.”

“I’m not joking, I swear! You have to come help!” 

In my frenzy, I drop the basket of grains and fruits that I had picked for my family. I’m still not sure I believe him, but I go with him because I haven’t seen him this upset. 

As the grass crunches under my feet, I realize that I hear screams. 

They’re incoherent. They’re heart-rending. 

I run. 

I feel like I should be running away from this, not towards it. 

But I can’t desert them, even if it means my death. 

My brother’s running fast for being so short. I find myself winded, trying to keep up. 

A group of xaphans burst down Camille’s home. 

One of them goes in and drags out a screaming Camille by the hair as she tries to fight back. 

Her husband, Manuel, lunges at the xaphan grabbing her, but a different xaphan’s sword strikes him across the face. 

I want to cover Kai’s eyes. 

There’s no struggle left in him. 

He’s just dead. 

My trembling hands find my brother’s shoulders. 

I’m not thinking coherently. But as I look at Kai, I see hope for our village’s future. 

I see a boy who’s lost a lot, who deserves to live. 

And I’m not going to survive this. That much suddenly becomes clear to me.  

“You need to run. Now. Get away from here.”

He fights as I push him away, gripping onto me and wailing. They’ve started setting fire to one of the houses. It blows out nearby windows. 

I can only hope whoever lived there escaped. 

“But I… I don’t want to leave you,” he wails, snot dripping on my arm as he squirms, desperately trying to cling to me. “Please! Let’s get Mom and Dad, and we’ll—” 

“No,” I reply, huddling into him. 

The world is blowing up around me. I’m seeing people I cared about succumb to their wounds. They’re running out of flaming buildings, reduced to charred husks with little life left in them. 

They almost don’t resemble themselves anymore as they fall to the ground. 

“Listen, I’m not meant to survive this,” I whisper. “I need to stay behind and help.” 

He sobs harder, and I lean in to comfort him, bringing his hair against mine. 

“But you’ve got so much life in you, and you’re so brave,” I whisper, tilting his chin up so he’s looking at me. “So please be the brave boy I know you are, okay?” 

He struggles, not sure what to say. 

“Now, go!” 

I all but shove my little brother back towards the fields. If he continues southeast, he might be able to find the other human villages nearby.

The screams around me are overwhelming. 

They’re killing the men, but plucking the women from their dwellings. There are a few dead bodies littering the dirt paths that connect our homes to one another. 

I try to rush forward through the wreckage, stepping over flaming debris. 

I need to get home and find my parents. 

Just as I see my home in the distance, I see two xaphans standing near my front door. They’re talking to one another, gesturing towards my home.

And I realize why they’re there. Smoke billows from out of the building. 

If my parents were there, I’m too late. 

One of them catches my eye, giving me a wicked grin. 

Not today. 

The adrenaline makes my legs start moving before my mind has a chance to catch up.

My mind is screaming at me, telling me to go back and fight. 

I curse myself as I run away, not sure if they’re following me. 

I start running for the outskirts of the village, towards the heavy trees and foliage that encapsulate the forest nearby. 

Maybe if I’m fast enough, I’ll be able to lose them in the bushes. The xaphans are huge and imposing, but I’m small enough to mask myself.

But they’re fast. I can hear their wingbeats causing gusts. 

My legs ache and burn. 

My lungs work tirelessly to provide me with enough air. 

Still, one of the xaphans lunges into my back, launching me into the ground. 

I can’t see anything except the dirt in my face. 

“Stupid little bitch,” the xaphan spits, pinning his knee against my back. “Did you really think you could outrun us? Huh?”

“Don’t damage the property, Yarne.” 

“What? She tried to escape!”

I squirm but feel the pain in my back intensify. 

“Yeah, and we caught her. She’ll make a nice profit when she’s sold in the auction house.”

“Let go of me!” I yell, thrashing against their hold.

I feel searing pain and a dull muscle ache as one of them binds my wrists together.

“You belong to us now,” he says. 

I feel a sharp pain, the head of a dagger or a knife clearly jutting slightly into my back. 

“I told you not to damage the breeder!” 

“The bitch can take it,” Yarne says. 

I feel the pressure on my back lessen, a thud telling me Yarne was probably pushed off of me. 

I struggle to stand to my feet, my wrists still bound. 

“We’ve got plans for you, little human,” the other xaphan says, a wicked grin on his face.

And I’m nudged forward into a caravan of other women, looking back toward the ruins of my villain.