Heirs to a Nothing Throne

Chapter 8

At breakfast the next morning, Angelique asked the obvious question.

"Right, so... What was it that happened yesterday?" she said.

"I suppose that's how Qaddej are made," I said.

"From people?" Jasmine said, glancing at me.

"What if they make us into Qaddej?" Eva asked nervously.

It's what we were all thinking. "I'm sure they won't," I said, trying to sound reassuring, though I had spent much of the night worrying about the same thing. "If they were going to, I don't see why they wouldn't have already."

"But why?" Angelique asked, gazing away thoughtfully. I never thought I'd see her look thoughtful.

"Maybe..." I said thoughtfully. "Maybe because Verwarr will rule them eventually, they don't want to upset him any more than necessary. You know, for their own safety."

Jasmine nodded. "Fits with how well they treat us, too."

"Well? You think they treat us well?" Andrey asked, incredulous. I had to second him on that.

She looked at our faces. "Well, 'well' given the circumstances. I mean, the food isn't bad."

"What about how they..." Angelique began a sarcastic tirade but stopped, realizing it was pointless.

I turned back to everyone. "Maybe Verwarr doesn't know what they do to us?"

"We can ask him the next time we get to talk to him," Eva suggested.

"What about that... thing that turned that man into a Qaddej?" Jasmine asked. "What was that?"

"I have no idea," I said with a downtrodden shake of my head. "Nor do I have any idea about that bird-man down the hall." Angelique, Eva, and Andrey nodded while Jasmine looked confused.

"Bird-man?" She cocked her head.

"I saw it too," Andrey confirmed. "Tall guy with wings and a beak down the hall."

"I... I hate it here." Eva shuddered. "I can't stand this place."

At that moment, the table, chairs, and food fell into the ground. We picked ourselves off the floor, used to this by now, and sat around on the beds. Eva, surprisingly, took the initiative to change the subject, telling a story from her childhood that I didn't really pay attention to. Eventually, a Qaddej came to fetch us, and that day we didn't dare speak a word in his presence.

Two days later, we were allowed another meeting with Verwarr and Raven. As soon as the guards closed the doors, Eva asked in a hushed tone, "So did you know they whip us while we work?"

He opened his mouth a few times, at a loss for words.

"Okay." I tried starting over. "Did you know that they make us work every day?"

"Yeah," he responded. "Manual labor, right?"

"Alright. Did you know that they whip us to make us keep working?"

He sighed. "Yeah, I did. I'm... so sorry. I wish there was something I could do about it. But there isn't. I'm so sorry."

Raven took his hand above the table and gave it a squeeze. She spoke very little during that meeting.

At the end of our time, he said to us, "I... really am sorry about the work, but there's nothing I can do. Don't worry; if I'm correct, you won't have to tolerate them much more."

All of our faces lit up with hope, a hope we prayed wouldn't be disappointed. We all spoke at once, asking what he meant by that.

"Guys," he said excitedly. "I believe I may have found a way out."

We rejoiced without getting too loud, although I was slightly skeptical on the inside.

After a few seconds, we tried to calmly listen to what he was saying.

"Okay, you know how, every morning, your breakfast falls into the floor as if the ground isn't really there? I've learned a bit more about that from Qaddej who don't think very hard about what they tell me. The ground beneath the table and chairs really does become intangible for the split second, while the actual items are drawn downward. However, the area of ground which changes is very specific to the table and chairs, so anything sticking out won't be drawn down. This is why you aren't sucked in also when you're sitting on your chairs. Anyway, the general idea is that, if we all get on the table so that no parts of us, not even a finger, are sticking out, we will be taken down as well.

"Now, my father can see anything in this entire facility, but not all at once. He can only see a room if he focuses on that room specifically, so he may not be looking into your room at all. Also, he can't hear that room, so that is why I know I can have this conversation without risk of being found out. He may have been able to see more in the past, but he's pretty weak right now—I'm not really sure on the details. The only areas that his gaze does not stretch to are what are called the Veins of this place. These area network of storage areas and small access hallways that are built into the walls of the main halls and rooms. The table and chairs sink into one of these storage areas.

"Now, I have a map of this place, and so I know my way through the Veins. Through them, we can access storage areas which will give us plentiful supplies, everything we may need. Also, there is an exit that can only be accessed through the Veins."

The whole time he'd been eyeing the door, like he expected us to be interrupted; now he looked right at us, determination in his gaze. "So that's pretty much it."

I wanted to scream, I was so happy. We might escape. We might finally be out of here. We might get to leave.

All the others celebrated likewise. Jasmine and Eva gripped each other's shoulders with jubilant hope on their faces. Angelique mumbled something about how wonderful it was, making a halfhearted effort to conceal her elation, and Andrey just smiled. Verwarr and Raven (who I assumed already knew) watched our reaction happily.

"So what do we do when we're out?" Angelique said, her joyful tone still a little noticeable.

Verwarr's smile weakened. "We don't really have much choice except to try to stay alive on the island until we can reach the shore. Then, there may be a chance that we can leave. If we can get a boat and go out into the ocean each day, eventually we may be spotted by a plane or a boat or something."

I tapped the table, reality setting in a little. "Uh... the second half of this plan doesn't sound as, well, planned as the first half. What if there are Qaddej or something in the veins and we get caught?"

Verwarr sighed. "Then that will be the end of that plan. There's nothing I can do to keep others out of the Veins that won't make them suspicious of us. We will have to risk it."

"Well, that's right," Jasmine agreed. "We have to. I don't want to turn this away, even if there is just a small chance we will escape."

"Then it's decided," Verwarr said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I will ask my father if Raven and I may eat a meal with you all in your room sometime. That is when we will execute the plan."

"Wait," I interrupted, "do you think you could do it without letting Timore know? That way, he's less likely to spy on our room specifically."

Verwarr thought, and Raven nodded. She actually answered, "I think we could work that out. Timore seems busy most of the day, a lot of planning, it seems. The Qaddej mostly handle our schedules."

Nodding, Verwarr finalized the thought. "We'll work out a time sometime soon, and last-minute so Timore won't know."

"That's when we'll escape, then," I said with conviction. "And then we'll be free."