Everyone double-checked their gear, double-checked their neighbor to see who all was left, and all too soon, our break was over and it was time to head down into the tunnels.

  Ferro made a sweeping gesture for everyone to move in, “Gather round everyone, let’s have a quick brief.” He announced.

  Ferro looked around to see who was left of his men, who was left of our team—what we lost to make it here. He let out a weary sigh, “First, I’d like to offer a brief moment of silence for the brave souls who gave their lives to allow us to make it this far; they’re flying with the sky goddesses now.” He said somberly, then bowed his head, and most of the vyranes joined him.

  I was never really religious, my grandparents were in the classic Americana way, and I heard a lot of sermons while I was growing up. I definitely believed there was something more out there, I just never developed a personal relationship with whatever it was. But here, down in these tunnels, surrounded by all that death and fear, for the first time in a long time, I thought it would be a good time to pray.

  Once the moment of silence passed, Ferro looked around at his troops once more.

  “From here on out things will be much calmer; we’ve made it our mission to keep these sewers secret from the separatists, so we don’t have to worry about ambushes down here. However, the journey to the capital is long, dark, and confusing, so we’ll need to stay focused and move with a purpose to make it there before sundown. If we follow along the right path, shouldn’t take more than six hours. We can take a few breaks along the way but can’t be too indulgent.” He turned around, his cape billowing behind him, and started off towards the far-left tunnel in a series of eight entryways, “Let’s move out.”

  Our pace was certainly more relaxed now, a simple march even Kianna could easily maintain. We followed along the same line as usual, with us in the rear just in front of our two remaining power armor soldiers. Ferro’s men were scattered throughout our group, ready to deploy their repulser barriers and help facilitate our escape if needed I would imagine. Lobae and Vinnago were up towards the front with Kotlokk, and then Ferro led the company with Seash, Bryx, Gryme and even Almana.

  Almana still wouldn’t look at me—didn’t surprise me at all. I wanted to say something, try to fix things, but honestly it seemed like an impossibility at this point; might be better to just let it go.

  Maybe it was selfish of me, maybe it would just give her more pain. Maybe it was time to end that friendship—same as I had to end my friendship with Lobae and Vinnago, although for significantly different reasons.

  Was it me, was I the problem? Was this my future, the inability to keep or maintain friendships? Well, if anyone was to blame it would be Eve; was this what she wanted, for me to have no one else in my life, no friends, no companions, just her?

  The fucked-up thing was in that moment, the first thought in my mind was that I didn’t need anyone else in my life, I would only ever need Eve; she would be my friend, my companion, my immortal lover. I knew that wasn’t healthy, it definitely wasn’t normal, but whoever said anything could be normal when dating an impossibly powerful, possessive Outsider god?

  Shit, I really couldn’t think about this now, not while on the mission. I was still absolutely in love with Eve, but I was beyond pissed with her too; my emotions were more turbulent and confusing than ever before, and considering our lives were all on the line, it was definitely not an appropriate time to dwell on it.

  Eve for her part must’ve known I wasn’t okay with what happened, but she acted like everything was fine; she held my arm and made mild conversation while we walked, even bringing Kianna into our talks occasionally. I knew she wasn’t dumb, so I didn’t think she was just oblivious to what was going on, instead I was pretty sure she was purposefully acting like we were all normal still.

  Honestly, with what we were dealing with now, that was probably for the best.

  The tunnels were winding and dark, and even though they had that framing lighting on the walls, it kept everything so dim it seemed like we were in a dungeon. Everyone kept their mounted armor lights on, but that just threw elongated shadows on the wall, somehow making everything seem even more nightmarish.

  Most of the sewer tunnels were on some metal grated catwalk over rushing water, and I was thankful to the sky goddesses it didn’t smell like a sewer. It was fucked up, but I wondered if the fact all the vyranes in the city had died or fled helped with that; no one left to make waste. That, or the treatment plant was just much more sophisticated than anything I would understand.

  Some of the tunnels were surprisingly long before they met up in another junction with some filtration or pump station, and every time we came across one Ferro would stop us as he went over the map data with his men, making sure we were following along the right path.

  Aside from not having a good sense of direction, I honestly had no idea how far we’d travelled down in those dark tunnels; every tunnel was a different length, every junction was a different size, and our pace changed too much for me to even keep track of my own footsteps. Once again, I was totally and completely lost, and there was absolutely no way I would be able to get out of the sewers on my own.

  Thankfully, worst case scenario, Eve could just fly us straight up and through, so at least there was that to help alleviate my concerns.

  A couple hours passed in the dim sewers, and when we made it to another junction, Ferro stopped us all abruptly.

  “Shit.” He hissed, looking at a collapsed tunnel in front of our company.

  “Not supposed to be blocked?” Seash reasoned.

  Ferro shook his head, moving forward to inspect the tunnel, “No, this was to be our way forward.”

  There were rocks and dirt and some large pipes that barricaded the tunnel, totally preventing anyone from going through.

  “At least it looks like structural collapse, not sabotage or anything.” Ferro reasoned.

  “You’re sure?” Seash pressed.

  Ferro nodded, “Yeah, we’re actually at a higher elevation point here, probably collapsed due to some top-side damage—an explosion maybe.” He pulled up the map on his tablet, “Luckily we can just skip around the next junction and we’ll be back on track, and there’s three tunnels here that can do that.” He looked at the collapsed tunnel again, “Problem is if we run into another collapse, don’t want to have to double-back multiple times.”

  “Send a few teams to scout ahead.” Kotlokk offered.

  Ferro nodded once more, “Best option at this point.”

  Almana stepped forward and pulled out her tablet, “I’ll take one of the tunnels, I have the mapping data all up-to-date.”

  “Me too, I can take another.” Gryme offered.

  Lobae stepped forward, “We have your mapping software updated as well, Vinnago and I can take the third.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Ferro seemed pleased, “Everyone should go in pairs; I know we weren’t expecting any company, but it’s always best to be cautious.”

  Without even thinking, I moved away from my group to the front of the line, “I can accompany Almana.” I offered.

  Almana’s eyes grew wide, and she looked like she was about to protest, but then her expression quickly reverted to neutrality, “That’s fine.” She said flatly.

  “I’ll go with Gryme.” Bryx added.

  Ferro nodded along again, “Right right, keep your comms on and check-in every 10 minutes; I’ll send you the rotating codes to use to confirm nothing’s happened.”

  Everyone split off from there, and Almana refused to look at me when we started down our tunnel.

  ~Behave yourself, and make sure she behaves, otherwise I really will kill the cunt~ Eve communicated in a sickly-sweet voice through the inner-ear bone vibrations.

  Same as Almana refused to look at me, I refused to look back and see what Eve was doing.

  And honestly? I had no idea what the fuck I was doing either.

  ***

  We walked down the tunnel in complete silence, not a word spoken between us for a solid 10 minutes now, the only sound our echoing footsteps and the rushing sewer water beneath us.

  As usual I was running around without thinking anything through, letting my dumb human emotions take over, no plan at all in mind—no idea what I could even say to start things off.

  “Almana—”

  “Don’t, just don’t Adam; I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to think about it. Once this mission is over, we never have to see each other again, and that’s absolutely fine with me.” Almana said sharply.

  I sighed, but I complied and kept my mouth shut. Seriously, I had no idea what I was even thinking.

  “Seriously, what were you even thinking? You were just going to apologize, and everything would be fine between us—we could be friends again like nothing happened?” Almana pressed.

  I rubbed at my eyes in a frustrated gesture, “Dude, I don’t know! I wish it never happened, and I wish I could do something to make it right. But yeah, I really have no idea what to do—tell me what I could do to make it right.”

  For the first time since everything went down, Almana finally looked at me, “Adam, there’s nothing you can do to make this right.” She said coolly, then placed her hand over her chest—over the brand Eve had put on her.

  “Almana, shit, I’m sor—”

  “I’m not even going to let you apologize at this point, it does absolutely nothing for me.” She said, her words crisp and biting.

  I groaned in frustration, but again there was nothing I could say, so I was silent once more.

  A couple minutes passed in silence between us, and eventually Almana let out a long, weary sigh, “You know what’s really fucked up with all this? Even though I was humiliated and tortured and fucking branded, I can’t help but feel sorry for you.”

  I looked down at her, “What do you mean?”

  Almana stopped abruptly and planted her hands on her hips, then fixed me with a glare that said she thought I was beyond stupid, “Seriously? You really don’t see it?”

  I waved my hands out in a frustrated gestured, “See what?”

  Almana smiled, even chuckled a little, but clearly wasn’t really amused, “Adam, what you have with Eve is not love; she’s dangerous—she’s evil, and she’s manipulating you so badly you can’t even see it.”

  I crossed my arms and glared at Almana, “Look, I know my relationship with Eve isn’t exactly healthy, but—”

  Almana barked out a bitter laugh, “Understatement of the millennium right there.”

  My glare didn’t relent, “But, what else can you expect when you’re in a relationship with a godly being?”

  Almana rolled her eyes, “A relationship, I’m so fucking sure…”

  I let out a quick, angry sigh, wondering why I felt the need to defend what I had with Eve, “Our bond goes beyond mortal comprehension—beyond my comprehension most of the time. Eve’s immortal and all-powerful, and we’re going to be together forever—literally forever.” I waved down at her, “You mentioned your people have folklore involving mortals and gods in love, you think those relationships were simple either?”

  Almana looked at me like I was simple, “Those stories are some of the most romantic, fantastical stories in Vryane history, standing the test of time and surviving through every age. They certainly don’t involve raping a supposed lover while forcing a supposed friend to watch and then torturing them afterwards.”

  I smirked at that, “Forgetting Eve and me for the moment, your people must have much nicer folklore than humans; if you heard our legends about Greek and Roman gods, you’d think the humans were all crazy.”

  Almana smiled too, “Considering you’re the only human I know, I already think that.”

  Despite the insanity and everything that happened between us, I felt the wall crumble then, and while I was sure Almana would never forgive me, at least in that moment I don’t think she hated me.

  Almana let out another weary sigh and continued down the tunnel, and I followed along after her.

  “Whatever happened between us, so long as you free our planet from the other Predazoan, I guess we can call it even.” She turned to glare at me, “Don’t expect an invite to that afterparty though.”

  My smile was soft and genuine in response, “Thanks Almana, and really, I’m so—”

  Almana held up her hand again, “I told you, I’m not going to let you apologize; it doesn’t do anything for me, and you don’t deserve it to help make you feel better. The guilt you feel should be your punishment.”

  I chuckled at that but didn’t have a response. Honestly, I really did feel guilty, and I was surprised how good a punishment that was.

  “But seriously, you need to get clear of Eve; doesn’t matter what she promises you now, doesn’t matter how much she says she loves you, if anything changes between the two of you, what happens then? What happens when she says you betrayed her? That kind of power imbalance cannot be maintained, and you’re putting more than just your life at risk.” She gestured to the sewer around us, “Look what just one of those monsters did to our entire planet! Is this a game you’re really willing to play? Is it worth the risk?”

  Despite my guilt, the second Almana asked if Eve was worth it, my immediate thought was yes—she was beyond worth more than just risking my life.

  I would do anything for my Eve despite the fact she was a monster.

  Almana could clearly see the answer on my face, and she just rolled her eyes, “Whatever lover-boy, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  I chuckled and shook my head, “Trust me, plenty of people already have.”

  Almana studied me for a few silent seconds, as though trying to catch me in a lie, “And you’re really happy with her? Remember what I said before, how she seemed to be neglecting you for so many days on end. So really, you’re happy?”

  My smile fell, “Like you figured yesterday, the Empire has us working against our wills, and while I’m very unhappy with that arrangement, Eve is the only thing that makes me happy working for the Empire.”

  Almana grew quiet again, thinking over my words.

  I couldn’t help but grow curious about something else that was said yesterday too, “Was what Eve said true? Are you really in—”

  “Stop, don’t ask me that Adam, not now.” Almana said seriously, a severe expression on her face.

  Shit, why would I even ask that? Absolutely no reason I needed to know, and it would only hurt Almana to think about.

  “I’m so—I mean, never mind.” I said quickly.

  An awkward silence filled the air between us as the tension built, and once again all we could hear was the sound of rushing water and our footsteps.

  “Yes…” Almana said in such a small voice I could barely hear, then she looked up at me with wide, sad eyes, “I still am.”

  My guilt exploded in my chest, and I felt like the biggest piece of shit in the universe.

  “Almana, I’m so fucking sorry, you really didn’t deserve any of this.”

  Almana shook her head slowly, a sad smile on her face, “I told you I didn’t want you to apologize.”

  “I don’t care, I just need you to know how sorry I really am, how I wish I could take it all back. And I promise, whatever control I have on Eve, I won’t let her do shit like that again.” I insisted.

  Almana didn’t seem comforted by my promise, instead she straight-up ignored it, “Let me just say this; I love you Adam, really I do, and I love you in the way a normal person loves. And if you ever realize what you’ve gotten yourself involved with, and if you’re ever able to break free of Eve’s control, come back and visit me on Vyrane sometime.” She offered. It was sad and without hope, but I could see Almana needed to say it all the same.

  I knew I would never stop loving Eve, so there would never be a future for Almana and me, but I wished her the best all the same—wished she would be happy and healed from the damage Eve caused.

  “And…” Almana held up a finger, “You don’t have to worry about me telling anyone about the Predazoans; I assume my life literally depends on keeping that secret.”

  I tilted my head back and forth, “In so few words, yeah, basically.”

  Almana smiled then, and it seemed like pretty much everything that needed to be said was said.

  Things weren’t necessarily healed between Almana and I, and honestly I didn’t think it would be possible to completely repair the damage that had been done, but I believed we left things was well as they could be, and I would hope once we left the planet—once Vyrane was free, Almana would be able to get on with her life, and that it would be a happy one.

  I cleared things up with one of the alien women causing drama in my life, next I’d need to settle things with Eve, and of course, I had no idea how to even start with that.

  Still, one thing at a time, first we would need to free a planet from an impossibly powerful Outside god, then I could deal with my relationship issues.

  What can one young, stubborn Bremorian do without magic?

  A fantasy set in 1930s, filled with magic, murder, and secrets.