The Breed Series 2: Shadow

I said it in such a way that I almost believed it myself.

Cyrus would even be proud. Before I could utter another word, she grabbed ahold of my arm and flew up in the sky.

Her wings extended and flapped with power as we ascended. Her grip on my arm was painful, but I was too consumed with her ability to hold onto me with ease with one arm as we flew in the sky, to really take notice. She was much stronger than I would have ever anticipated, and the feeling of being lifted into the air and flying like an ancient bird was surreal and extremely frightening for me. I had to close my eyes to fight the sudden feeling of vertigo that began to overcome me. She flew to a cage that was empty except for one woman, who was sitting at the far end of the space. She landed just outside of the cage, on a wooden perch that attached to the outer edge of the cage. It swayed from our movement.

“Hold on,” she commanded.

She pointed to a brass bar extended above my head. Just as I grabbed ahold of it, she let go of me. If I didn’t have a firm grip, I would have lost my balance and most likely stumbled on the unstable perch and taken a dive to the ground underneath. Even though it hadn’t seemed like the cages were very high up, it was clear I had been completely wrong in my calculations. I took another deep breath in.

My Breed wasn’t very good with extreme heights.

I watched as she placed her hand over an electronic security panel. There was a whistle, then rattle and part of the cage door opened. Just enough for a person to get through.

“You can let go of the bar now,” she said and motioned for me to enter. “Please, get inside.”

I followed her first request but refused to do the same for the second.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because this is how we process Others.” Her voice was hard and unapologetic. “This is the law of our Kingdom.”

“You keep humans in cages?”

“Yes,” she felt no shame.

“It’s archaic—” I was outraged.

“It’s the law.”

“But why do the Others have to be kept in cages?” I was unable to stop myself. “Like criminals or beasts. There is a descent way, a human way—”

“These are our customs,” she held up her hand and cut me off. “Do you want to be born to Kingdom B or not?”

Born to Kingdom B?

There was much meaning behind those words. In our studies, we were never told there would be such a custom when we entered the Kingdom. This definitely didn’t feel as accepting as we had believed. I realized I needed to throw out everything we read on Akasha and just learn by example. My experiences so far on Earth were far different than what the school courses had taught me.

“How long do I have to wait in the cage?” My voice was cold. I knew there wasn’t any other option for me.

“As long as it takes,” she said, then nodded toward the cage. “Other. Aliud. Whatever you prefer, I am not going to wait here all day.”

“What I prefer is, Siren.”

She stared back at me blankly, offering nothing. I was an Other here as well. A stranger. A creature they could barely abide. I knew I had no other choice but to get in the cage, like a good little bird.

I slowly let go of the bar and made my way to the prison’s entrance. I kept eye contact with her the entire time, and I could tell by her expression that she was impressed by my boldness. But I would never cower before any of the other breeds.

That was the one truth I knew above all.

When I stepped inside and looked up at the sky and saw the bars above me and all around me, I felt a wave of panic as a I stare across at another woman trapped in this cage. This was a prison. One of ancient times. Different than the cell Dr. Novak had put me in and held Michael. There was something less feral about Dr. Novak’s den in OM. Less demeaning. But this—the way the bars even looked…up close I could see how worn they were—and the barrier…the true inability to escape, just dangling in the air at a Kingdom’s mercy—at another Breed’s pleasure, it was incredibly frightening.

And it was the helpless kind of fear. The kind you cannot escape.

“Wait!” I spun around and yelled to her.

She didn’t look very happy with my tone, but she waited and nodded for me to speak.

“I have news,” I rushed out quickly. “I have very important news from OM—from Larsa—that I must share at once—”

“Then share it with me.”

I shook my head.

I had to find a way out of the cage, to speak to someone that mattered. This Bird Hybrid was only a soldier or an “Other processor” or whatever it was they called her job—I needed to get in front of someone who could make an army move.

“No,” I said, and my voice was solemn. “I cannot.”

“Why can’t you?”

“It must be your leader.”

She didn’t look like she believed me.

“Think about the state of my attire,” I said calmly. “My injuries. The way I came into your Kingdom—”

“How did you come into our Kingdom?” She cut in and asked.

“From the sea,” I answered softly.

Her eyes rounded even more.

With how remarkable the Breed’s sight was, I knew she could see my aura as well as I could see hers, and she knew that I was not lying. Her own aura remained steady.

“I have urgent news. I am not lying.” I continued in a steady voice. “Please.”

She looked me over again and didn’t say a word. She then abruptly turned and flew to another ledge where she grabbed what looked to be two blankets. She flew back and handed them both to me.

“Thank you.” I was grateful.

She didn’t bother to answer.

She shut the cage door, leaving me to wonder what would become of me. I had no idea if she thought I was crazy or if she would actually return and take me to their leader.

I could only hope.

I clutched onto the blankets and moved to the opposite area of the woman. She was in her human form so I could not tell what breed she hailed from. But she didn’t come across as threatening. I moved toward the edge of the cage and looked down—which was not a good idea. I could feel my fear of heights begin to overcome me, this sudden overwhelming nausea threatening to make my Shadow flicker.

I had to relax or all would potentially be lost. I still knew nothing about the people of Kingdom B—other than, like our primitive ancestors, they hung people in cages outside of fortresses. I looked at the other cages dangling in the sky. They were filled with people. I could not believe Kingdom B practiced such a barbaric custom.

The wind came in strong at that moment and caused the cage to sway, only adding to the general unpleasantness of my situation. But how could I even complain when there were people practically on top of each other in the other cages. I couldn’t pretend that what I was going through was somehow worse. Instead, I would focus on my mission and how I had to try everything in my power to help OM.

“You better put that on,” the woman warned me. “It gets cold up here real fast.”

I looked over at her in surprise. I couldn’t believe she was actually speaking to me, let alone giving me advice—no one in OM had ever been so friendly.

“Thanks,” I said.

I held out one of the blankets in front of me. There was a long hole through the center. The other was exactly the same. I didn’t understand it so I ended up just wrapping it around my body as best I could.

“No,” the woman shook her head and laughed. “Let me show you.”

She stood up and made her way over to me. I handed her the blanket and watched as she put it over her head then took it right off and gave it back to me.

“The ancients called it a poncho. It warms your bones fast,” she said and then gave me a smirk. “It was one invention they made that worked out well for humans.”

Her sarcasm was not lost on me.

“My name is Nisira.” She surprised me again when she held out her hand.

When I first arrived in OM, no one wanted to have anything to do with me—in fact, they were overtly offended by my presence.

Not Nisira.

I wondered if it was only our shared circumstance that made things different. Was it because we were going through the same journey that we could tolerate one another? If not for this, would mistrust and apathy rear its ugly head?

“I’m Siren,” I said as we shook hands.

Something about her drew me in. She was mysterious, but warm—and alluring. She was older than I was but young, probably in her late twenties, with features that looked as though her human ancestors descended from the Scandinavian region. She had thick, straight blonde hair and large green eyes that glistened with hints of amber. She was wearing a long, flowy orange skirt with a matching fitted orange sweater. Like the people of OM, she was dressed monochromatic. But she was covered from her neck down.

Nisira was a beautiful woman.

“You don’t look OM,” she said as she studied my face curiously. I knew she had overheard the conversation I had with the Bird Hybrid.

“Is there a way my people are supposed to look?” I asked curiously.

“The OMs have certain features,” she was unapologetic. “Just as the Bird, Reptile and Amphibian breeds do.”

“Then I guess you haven’t wondered upon many people from other Kingdoms,” I returned quickly. “Breeds do come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and with different features.”

“Then you have seen many of the other breeds before.” She didn’t ask, she stated this.

“Some,” I said with a shrug.

She watched me for a moment.

“Have you ever seen a Reptile?” Her voice was dangerously soft.

“A few.” I met her gaze.

“And what was your impression?”

“It’s a complicated answer,” I said quietly.

“Why?”

“Because of the vastly different experiences I’ve had between the ones I met and spoke to and—”

I hesitated for a minute, unsure if I should continue.

“And?”

“The ones who were trying to eat me.”

Nisira’s eyes flashed in surprise, but she did not flicker.

I waited for her to ask another question—to ask about the ones who wanted to consume me. But it did not come.

“Why did you want to know?” I asked her instead. I assumed it was because she must have had a similar encounter as well.

She smiled.

“Because I am a Reptile.” She lifted her chin when she said this. Her gaze was confident.

I was surprised. Again.

Knowing Michael, I had no right to judge the Reptiles as a whole, but after being chased by a group in the ocean that was ready to consume me for lunch… I wasn’t feeling very magnanimous.

But like Michael, Nisira was nothing like the Reptiles from the morning. She was the opposite.

“You look like you don’t believe me,” she said, right before half of her face flickered into a king cobra. Her golden hued skin changed to light yellow with black scales, morphing together. Both her eyes glowed with yellow, black and green.

“I believe you,” I said.

She stayed like that for a long while before she flickered back to her human form.

“You have nothing to say for your people?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“What would you like to hear?” She wondered.

“Something,” my tone was cool. “To express some type of horror. If the tables were turned, I would—”

“Do not begin to compare our Kingdoms,” her voice was harsh. There was an arrogance in her tone. “We come from vastly different breeds.”

“OM don’t eat their own, nor any Others,” I returned fiercely.

“Kingdom R’s criminality is out in the open,” her voice was powerful. “It’s honest.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Your Breed…you are the ones to really fear,” she said. “You plan in secret, pretending to be friends, plotting in a Faustian manner to achieve the pinnacle of your greed. Betrayal inevitably comes with your ~Kind~.”

“You sound like you have firsthand experience.”

“Perhaps,” her look gave nothing away. “But I’m also a connoisseur of history. And as I recall, OM wiped an entire Breed from the face of the planet, all while pretending to be the greatest of friends and allies.”

The truth behind her words jolted me back to the Siren I was when I first embarked on my journey to Earth. What Nisira said was accurate. It had fueled the anger inside my soul for almost my whole life, but now, after living among the people of OM, after knowing them intimately, I felt very different. The OM I knew would never take part in such horror.

The majority of the people, at least.

But the other side of it was—Milo easily swayed a crowd against me in the marketplace…even in Aedan’s home. He didn’t have to do anything but cleverly craft his words. History told us that it only took one message that resonated, one message to trigger a people into committing the most heinous of crimes.

The wind rattled the cage hard.

Nisira looked at me in dread and moved back to her area. She quickly sat down as she rubbed her arms.

I looked out at the horizon. The sun was setting. It would be dark soon.

“This is when you just have to pray you fall asleep fast,” she told me. “The cool wind here in this Kingdom is brutal. It makes your bones hurt.”

I noticed she had more than two ponchos on the ground. There were a few laid out on the floor to sit on, and the others, I was sure she would wear. I followed her example, sat down on the poncho and it quickly warmed me up. The swaying of the cage was much easier to handle, sitting down. I looked out on the sunset and thought of OM.

This time yesterday, Gaia was dressing me up for the Praetor’s party. I had been so nervous to see Aedan…to say goodbye…I was…

In less than twenty-four hours my life had completely changed. Here I was, in another Kingdom, with another Breed, wondering how everything had turned upside down in the blink of an eye, even though it felt like a million years ago.

I was forced to start all over again when all I wanted to do was run back to OM. I didn’t even know what awaited me outside this cage. What kind of Kingdom—Breed—would allow this? I hoped this wasn’t a sign of what was to come once I had been “processed.”

The rumble in my belly brought me out of what was sure to become a very depressing reverie.

“Will they feed us?” I asked Nisira, assuming she had been here for more than one night.

“The Cage Keepers do—that’s what they call them—they’re the ones who take care of the Others,” she explained. “What they feed you here is atrocious. I can’t believe they are known for their superior food.”

“I’m assuming it’s a vegetarian diet.”

“Correct,” she grimaced. “Bread, grapes, nuts and berries. If you’re lucky you’ll get a piece of synthetic fish. And water for days.”

That sounded perfect to me. But not for an OM.

“Awful,” I pretended to be very unhappy with the turn of events. “I’m just so hungry, anything will do.”

Nisira rubbed her arms and shivered, then slipped on her poncho.

“Well, I promise it’ll get old fast,” she grumbled.

“How fast?”

“Eight days, fast.” She looked over at me with a cocked brow. “But it’s still better than the alternative.”

I wanted to know what she meant, but I didn’t want to pry.

“You’re not very good about being nosy,” she looked amused.

“I’m trying to be polite.”

“Consider the alternative,” she said. “I haven’t had a conversation with a person in eight days.”

“Why did you leave your Kingdom?” I followed her direction.

“I was escaping an arranged marriage.”

My eyes rounded. “You must be kidding.”

“No,” she shook her head bitterly. “As archaic as it is, it is the way of the upper class in my Kingdom. You marry within your bloodline. And the closer you are to The First, the more the choices become…less appealing. And when there are none that are of at least a respectable age, my family will choose another blue blooded option.”

Michael was a direct blood descendant of The First, Niall. The first child injected with the Reptilian Soul Particle. The First of his Breed.

“They wanted me to marry an ancient lizard,” she looked out on the sunset in anger. “A lizard!”

Her shoulders shook in outrage.

“There was absolutely no way,” her voice vibrated with passion. “There was no way that would ever happen.”

“I didn’t realize such customs even existed,” I said. “I’m very surprised.”

“So am I,” her smile was grim. “But I am more surprised by my father’s greed. His ability to sell his own flesh and blood to the highest bidder.”

The concept of having a father was completely foreign to me. Let alone one who arranged a marriage. What role did a father even have in a life? What did he do? Or say? How impactful was he? My mother had been both—all I have ever known. And though I’d had moments of longing for the mysterious “father energy,” I had never even known what that energy meant. And this did not sound like a father I would want to have. One good mother was enough.

“You couldn’t just refuse him?” I asked.

Her eyes began to glow.

“No one refuses Ado,” she said what I assumed was her father’s Akkadian name. “He is the head of what we call, Nimrod’s Army. He is the most powerful military figure in Akkad. Nothing happens without my father’s approval. Nothing. He is both revered and feared among my people.”

My heart stopped.

I thought back on my conversation with Michael in Dr. Novak’s laboratory prison. What he had revealed to me.

“I was betrayed,” Michael had said in fury.

“Your own people did this?”

“Yes. I was drugged, taken out of Kingdom R and given to Milo...”

Was Nisira’s father responsible for Michael’s imprisonment?

“But you have a ruler…” I said quietly.

“Sargon?” She actually laughed. “He has become a puppet. From the moment his precious only son and heir, Michael, went missing, there has been talk of his removal.”

“But he is your King,” I tried to look unaffected, even though I was startled she had said Michael’s name. “He is of The First.”

“If there is no other living direct descendant of the Reptilian First Line, then the royal house in power must fall. And a new one must rise.”