Nova awoke to the sound of screams.
She leapt out of bed and ripped her door open to find people running down the hallway in various states of undress. They pulled on their clothes as they belted swords around their waists.
Nova sprinted away from her room to the guards' quarters where she heaved a sword off the wall. Her heart raced in her chest and her fingers shook. This could be her chance for escape, she just had to grab hold of it. If she could get down to her companions and free them then they'd be one big step closer to freedom.
She jogged from the guards' quarters towards the gardens. The screams grew louder and new voices joined in. The garden was alight with the flickering glow of a fire, casting flickering shadows against the walls.
Nova burst into the open air and slammed into a wall of heat. She backed away from the flames that licked the thin walls, raging towards the house.
"Put it out!" bellowed Omi, tussled hair hanging loose over a silk nightgown. He held his sword in hand and sweat dribbled down his face. "Put it out, you good-for-nothings!"
Omi's soldiers sprinted in every direction with wicker baskets leaking water that they hurled at the flames. The fired hissed and leapt in defiance. Shadows danced up the trees and across the walls as the household desperately tried to put out the flames.
More screams came from the village. Nova ran to the unguarded gate and looked down.
The town was aflame.
Figures darted between the buildings and metal glinted in the flames. Nova watched as a man sprinted out from behind a burning building and slashed his knife across a running woman's neck. She collapsed to the dirt, convulsing.
Nova's stomach dropped. Her friends were down in the village, almost weaponless.
"The village is under attack!" she yelled.
The soldiers and Omi ignored her, focused on putting out the flames overrunning the mansion.
Nova took her chance and sprinted out of the garden, down the winding path. She bounded down the hill with all the speed she could muster, her eyes scanning the chaos for any sign of her friends. She ignored the flaming houses as heat licked up her arms. She raced to the edge of the village where Aart and the others were held. The guards outside their door were nowhere to be seen.
Her heart fluttered.
This could be the chance that she'd been waiting for. She dashed for the door and ripped it open. Gus jumped on her the second the door moved, his knife pressed against her throat.
"Nova!" he said in surprise, dropping his hand to his side.
"What's going on?" Aart said, dashing to the door, peering at the chaos.
"The village is under attack," she said between breaths. "Now's our chance. We can break free." A part of her felt bad for leaving Meeka behind, but she was safer on Chindo than the Hunters.
"Hell yes," Aart said.
He darted back inside followed by Gus. They returned a second later with Orion held between them. Tanguin and Tyra were right behind, make-shift knives clasped in their hands.
"We head to the forest," Nova said. "Once we're away from this damned place we can come up with a plan to find our ships."
The others nodded. They moved as a group away from the small hovel and towards the closest edge of town. The fire leapt between the houses, sweeping through the village faster than anyone could put it out. The paper screened houses made the perfect kindling.
The Hunters made it to the shadow of the next building when three hooded men sprang at them from the shadows. They wielded sharpened swords and inexplicably, guns. The glowing plasma pistols were unmistakeable in the gloom.
Nova darted forward and swung her sword.
The man in front of her could have blown her head off three times by the time she reached him, but instead he raised his sword.
She swung her blade at his head, but it was blocked by his own and the ring of metal on metal echoed through the night. He ducked and thrust his blade at her belly. She rolled to the side, and came up in a low crouch. She risked a glance at the others, the two attackers circled the other Hunters. Gus had his knife ready.
The sharp blade swung at Nova's neck and she had to roll again to avoid being decapitated. She lunged to her feet and pushed forward; swinging left and right with her blade. It sliced through the air with a satisfying whoosh that sent her attacker stumbling back. From beneath his hood she could make out a leering smile.
He lunged at her. She tapped his blade away. He lunged again; this time she stepped to the side so that he sailed past and kicked him in the back. He stumbled forward. She dove after him and with all her strength she drove her sword into his back, severing nerves and muscle.
A fountain of blood spewed out of the wound and coated Nova's arms and face. She rolled out of the stream as quickly as she could, taking the man's gun with her. She struggled to her feet, wiping the blood from her eyes. The other two hooded figures were locked in close combat with Tyra and Gus. Aart didn't have a weapon but he was doing his best to punch, kick and disarm Tyra's attacker.
Nova darted in while they were distracted and dispatched the men with two quick shots from the pistol. They crumpled to the ground at her feet in a pool of their own blood.
Aart looked up at her, eyes wide. "Nova, we—"
"Halt!" Aart's words were cut off by a sharp bark from behind Nova's left shoulder.
She turned slowly and came face to face with Bitami.
"Omi thought you might try to use this to your advantage," Bitami said. "I've been instructed to bring you back to the house."
Nova's hand tightened around the gun. Bitami had six guards around him. While she'd been fighting, the battle raging around her had changed. The cloaked attackers had disappeared and instead of running and screaming, the villagers were calmly throwing buckets of water on the flames. The fire at Omi's house had died down to a soft red glow and his soldiers walked the streets, helping the villagers.
She considered making a break for it but they'd never make it past six guards with Orion in his condition. She pointed the gun at the ground.
"I wasn't using anything," she said. "I was just checking on my friends and helping with the defence."
She pointed her gun at the three dead men.
Bitami grunted. "Your friends will be returned to their shelter. It was undamaged. You will come with me back to Omi."
Nova bit her lip. "Of course."
She turned to her companions, putting her back to Bitami and his guards.
"He's taking me back to the mansion," she said. "And you back to your house. Don't do anything rash. This is a good thing; it might be the break we've been waiting for."
"Check them for weapons," said Bitami.
The two guards ran their hands over the Hunters, taking a pistol each from Nova, Aart and Tyra, and six from Gus.
Nova raised an eyebrow; she hadn't even seen him take them.
Dark clouds surged over Gus's face but he followed the others back to their dwelling while Nova turned to face Bitami. Two of his guards followed after the Hunters.
"Good," he said.
Together they marched back up the hill to Omi's mansion. As they drew closer the full extent of the damage became clear. The fence around the side of the mansion had become a blackened pile of ash on the ground. The trees both inside and outside of the fence formed blackened stumps while the piles of half-burnt wood and debris glimmered with the water that had been thrown in an attempt to put out the flames.
Nova stopped at the gate and looked at Omi's house, her mouth hanging open. The side closest to the fence was burnt black and had collapsed to one side, the roof caving in on the rooms below. The paper sliders that made up the walls had been completely incinerated, along with most of the support poles. The other side of the house remained intact; Omi's guards had managed to stop the flames before they spread too far.
Omi yelled at a group of guards near the charred side of the house while others dragged the burnt pieces of the mansion away. They'd already created a sizeable pile of burnt rubble. The rest of the household stood in tight circles and gazed at the ruins with horror-struck faces.
Sia stood apart from the others, one hand firmly placed on Zen's shoulder, the knuckles white from her tight grip. Her face made a stony mask as she surveyed the damage. Zen on the other hand looked close to tears, but he wasn't looking at the house. Nova followed his gaze to two figures laid out on the ground. The wizened medicine man from the village was bent over them so that Nova couldn't make out their faces.
She jogged closer to get a better look and stopped short, her hand clapping over her mouth.
Meeka's small frame was unmistakeable as the doctor leaned close to her chest, head tilted. Her eyes stayed closed in her pale face.
Ree lay beside Meeka, her small body hidden under a white sheet with just her head poking out the end. She looked serenely asleep, as if she would open her eyes and get up at any moment.
Nova ran to the doctor's side and knelt next to Meeka's head. The onlookers gasped at her sudden approach and the doctor glared at her.
"What happened?"
She cast her eyes desperately over Meeka but there was no sign of life.
"The servant was caught in the fire," the doctor said. "Meeka ran in to save her and they were both caught."
"Are they going to make it?" Nova whispered.
He gave her a stern look and leant over Meeka, pulling the corner of Ree's sheet up to reveal the body underneath.
Nova fell back as bile rose in her throat. "No."
Where Ree's body should have been there was a charred ruin. Her arms and legs had become blackened stumps that ended in twisted knobs that looked nothing like hands or feet. The burns went all the way to her neck where miraculously they stopped. A few blisters and redness on Ree's chin was the only sign of the fire.
The medicine man dropped the sheet.
Nova's eyes raced away from Ree and back to Meeka. She couldn't help but think of their time together. Meeka had helped her and together they'd faced Omi's wrath. Seeing her lying, on the verge of death, made hot tears sting the corners of Nova's eyes.
Hot anger seared through her veins as she looked around for someone to blame.
Omi's round face came into view as he yelled at his guards to clear the burnt ruins of his house away. He hadn't even glanced at the little village, which had been brutally attacked. Nova wondered if any of these guards had family down in the village and whether they even knew if their loved ones were still alive.
Nova sprung to her feet and marched at Omi. She managed to wrangle her rage enough not to yell but it burned in her chest like a raging inferno.
His nostrils flared. "I'm busy, stranger."
Nova took a deep breath, pulling her voice under control, and bowed her head. "What happened, Lord Omi?"
Omi's jaw tensed. "Buta."
Nova twitched. "What does that mean?"
Omi shoved her out of the way and kept talking to his guards. They formed a tight circle that Nova couldn't break into, leaving her standing on the outside, fuming.
She gritted her teeth and went to help clear the wreckage, hoping they didn't find any more bodies. She watched Omi and his guards out of the corner of her eye. Every so often a group of guards would break off. Sometimes they'd join the clean-up, other times they ran out of the gate and disappeared into the lightening dawn.
Nova waited until Omi was alone and then made to approach him. Before she could take two steps three guards were on her, holding her arms at her sides.
"He doesn't want to talk to you," Bitami said. "He's busy."
"I want to know what is going on!"
"It's none of your business," Bitami said.
By the time the guards let her go, Omi had long since disappeared into the side of the house that remained standing. The rest of the household were also moving inside.
Already new screens had appeared beside the broken half of the house and were being erected over the charred remains. At the rate they were working there would be no sign of a fire by the end of the day.
Two guards carried Ree's body away from the mansion towards the village whilst Meeka was carried inside followed by Yana. Nova went after them. Meeka had been her only friend in this hell-hole and she wasn't going to give up on her now.
The guards carried Meeka to her room and laid her out on her own bed. Doctor Yana knelt beside her mattress and reached into the bag at his side.
"I'll need warm water for tea," he said.
"I don't know where it is," Nova said, surprised that he was talking to her.
"Then you'd best find it. I don't think anyone else will try to save this girl. What do you think?"
Nova swallowed hard and dashed from the room. She ran down the corridor to the kitchen where Ree had forbidden her from entering. A pang of sadness rolled through her as she thought of Ree's fearful face. She shook her head and looked around, there was no time to mourn Ree, and she had to focus on saving Meeka.
Over by the far wall stood a stove with a small fire burning underneath it. A pot of water was already sitting on top, bubbling. Nova breathed a sigh of relief and loaded the pot onto a tray. She carried it through the house as fast as she could to Meeka's room.
Yana didn't acknowledge her as she lay down the water. Instead he pulled a small glass jar filled with crushed green leaves from his bag. He took a pinch of these and dropped them into the tea, swirling the pot and then letting it sit. The colour leaked out of the leaves and turned the water a murky brown.
"You'll try to save her?" Nova asked.
Yana didn't respond, pulling another jar from his bag.
"Even though she's… cursed with misfortune?"
Yana's hand's paused and he looked up at her through thick eyebrows. "I take care of all my patients equally. It's my job to do my best and save them all. If I fail them, their souls will weigh down on my shoulders long after I die."
Nova's mouth hung open but any reply she might have had died in her throat.
"But you'll have to help," Yana said. "No one else will risk being cursed by saving her.
"Anything you need," Nova said in a whisper.
Yana took her at her word. For the next twelve hours she was rushed off her feet fetching things. He sent her down to the village three separate times to collect things from his shop and then she had to get water from the stream and boil it every half an hour so that he could make teas and poultices. She was also sent scrounging for pieces of cloth to use as bandages. She wished that Crusader was nearby, one can of New-Skin-O and all of Meeka's injuries would be sealed.
At first glance, Meeka's burns didn't look so bad. There was a line on the back of her hand and one of her toes was bleeding profusely but apart from that she looked normal. It wasn't until Yana pulled back her coat that the real damage became clear. A huge bruise covered Meeka's chest and stomach, surrounded by blisters and blackened pieces of skin.
"One of the beams fell on her," Yana said as way of explanation.
Nova's mouth hung open and her chest constricted, squeezing the air out of her. She couldn't believe Meeka was still alive after an injury like that.
"And here." Yana lifted Meeka's head, revealing a pool of bright blood.
It seemed to Nova that no matter how many bandages she placed under Meeka's head, they kept coming away soaked in blood.
It went on like that well into the night. The rest of the household had fallen into restless sleep by the time Yana leant back on his haunches and wiped the sweat from his brow. "It's up to her now."
Nova nodded, resolved on staying by Meeka's side until she woke up.
"Give her a cup of tea with two pinches of this every hour," Yana said, handing her a jar of dried leaves.
Nova nodded and clutched the jar close to her chest. Yana shuffled out of the room and slid the screen shut behind him.