Zov’ha had rested and recovered in the past two nights since she and Efiros had been trapped in Lüstravyr’s dungeons with Marana. The Mechanov had spoken truthfully — Zov’ha’s ankle had healed within the hour of treatment, but she was still cautious while walking. 

The laboratory comprised one of the five chambers accessible to Marana. One of the other chambers was a library that Zov’ha had seen earlier. Of the other three rooms, one contained empty prison cells, another was Marana’s retiring quarters — where Zov’ha did not dare venture, and the third was a public shower and sanitation chamber — the plumbing of which was surprisingly still in working condition. 

Marana’s enormous laboratory was fully automated. One quadrant was dedicated to a greenhouse, where a few herbs grew alongside a vegetable patch that produced only parsnips and potatoes. 

‘Everything is recycled,’ Marana had said. ‘It’s a typical Aerozan way of living.’ 

Efiros had enjoyed the stews manufactured by the greenhouse food manufacturing unit, but Zov’ha ate little. A famished body is more aware — another lesson from her time in the wilderness. 

Caring though Marana was, Zov’ha had no reason to trust her. Could she have been lying about the monstrous woman in the caste? Could it have been her up there that Zov’ha had fought against? No. The monster above was taller and muscular — Marana was petite. If Marana had bad intentions she would have killed her already. And Efiros seemed to be comfortable around Marana.

She was surprisingly friendly and in good spirits for someone who had spent years alone in a dungeon. She was extremely intelligent — anything she said had an air of brilliance and her words were suave and delicately picked. However, she spoke in the colloquial Aerozan manner, with quick-witted words and short forms. Both these characteristics were contrasting and gave an interesting touch to her mannerisms. 

Zov'ha spent her time contemplating Frost Ash. Why was it so weak? She did not understand enough about Autoichorium to decipher the cause. The only thing she could conclude was that maybe Frost Ash worked better in colder temperatures. When she was fighting the punks outside Aeroz, trying to protect Sinovan, it had been cold — everything was covered with hoarfrost.

She remembered her dream. The boy… his frost blade felt and looked exactly like the manifestations of her blood. She remembered it all vaguely… vapour on the hilt… snow being absorbed from the surroundings. Blades so cold that they could burn anything they touched… turning everything to ash. 

She visited the crumbling library to look for books that mentioned Autoichorium or anything that was written about those who wielded it. All she could find were historical reports about the pre-war period. Disappointed, she made it a point to ask Marana the next time they spoke. 

Three more days went by in the dungeons — Zov’ha spent those days planning an escape. After revisiting every corner of the dungeon, and finding nothing, she was disheartened. The only exit was a door at the end of the laboratory, which was locked shut. When she was not exploring the enclosed space, she spent most of her time poring over old books. Efiros was bored, so he followed Zov'ha around. And when Zov'ha slept, he followed Marana around the lab. 

Marana joined them for their meals, and though Zov’ha had been hostile towards her host in the beginning, she was beginning to feel pity for the Mechanov. Their conversations unfurled stories about Aeroz, about Marana’s past, and even a little about Zov’ha’s fragmented memories. At one point, they even talked about the events of the Divine Purge, of which Zov’ha knew little and was merely a listener. 

‘Have you heard of Autoichorium?’ Zov’ha asked Marana during one of their meals. 

‘Sure have,’ Marana replied, slurping from a big bowl of machine-made stew. Zov’ha wondered if she needed to eat at all — she could have sent all the nutrients straight to her gut. ‘I never got my hands on any of the stuff. Don’t even think it exists anymore. Why ask?’ 

‘I came across some during my travels. I thought someone like you would know about it,’ Zov’ha replied, careful not to mention anything about Frost Ash. ‘Maybe a tale for another time.’ 

Marana chuckled, ‘Take your time with it, love. You don’t have to tell me everything.’ 

Zov’ha barely touched her food. She was watching Efiros lap his stew from a bowl near the greenhouse. She walked up and poured her food into his bowl, which he gleefully consumed.

‘So,’ Marana said, her eyes fixed on her meal, ‘Can I ask about you? I mean, you seem to have fur on your face, which makes me think you’re Poban. But you don’t have the rotund body type of one. And you don’t have spurs or mechanical embellishments or anything. Makes me think you’re some kinda sub-human. But there haven’t been any since… I don’t know. What’s your deal?’

‘I don’t know what I am,’ Zov’ha answered truthfully. ‘I’m still trying to pick up the pieces of my past. Until I fully understand it, I can’t say for sure.’ 

‘Tell ya what,’ Marana replied, after downing the soup from her bowl. ‘If we get out of here, I’ll help you find out the truth. Deal?’ 

Zov’ha smiled and nodded. 'If we get out of here,' she continued, 'how are we going to prove you're innocent?' 

'Footage,' came the reply. She retrieved a digital pad from her desk, which produced three holographic screens. Two of the screens were replaying video recordings of Jeshka from a top view. 'I got recs of all my experiments. I have the footage of Jeshka escaping my clutches and her dumping my ass in here. I have more recs of her dragging in bodies of the poor chums she bagged. But I only got stuff up to last month… she found the security cams and smashed them to bits.' 

'Do you have access to Aeroz's city-net?' Zov’ha suggested. 'We can send the footage to the Confederate and ask them to send help.' 

'City-net doesn't get this far,' Marana said, shaking her head. 'I tried to mooch off the old sat-tower here but that's busted. There's no outgoing comms. I tried to build a one-way mayday radio message, but there's only so much you can do with stuff found in an old lab. Didn't work.'

Zov'ha knew that Aeroz's city-net would not be available so far. She had to download the data onto her wristband before she left the city. So, there was really no way out? 

Just as they were about to wrap up the meal, there was a loud crash from the other end of the lab. Light flooded in through the door that had been flung open. 

‘It can't be,’ Marana mumbled. From a nearby cabinet, she nervously produced a handgun, which looked like it was centuries old, and Zov’ha wondered if it would still work. She walked up to Zov’ha and whispered, ‘That’s the main exit.’ 

Zov’ha readied herself, grabbing her lance and standing in front of Marana. Next to Zov’ha, Efiros took his place, already snarling under his breath. A shadow appeared, blocking the light, coming closer, slowly making its way downstairs. 

‘It’s her,’ Marana hissed, her voice shaky, ‘It’s definitely her.’ 

‘Go around,’ Zov’ha whispered, pointing towards the other end of the laboratory. ‘Bait and I’ll cover.’ 

Marana quickly nodded and scampered away, while Zov’ha and Efiros made their way towards the exit door. They silently braced themselves against the wall, a few metres away in the shadows. They could see Marana at a distance. This was a good set up.

Leap, spin, and strike… the Crescent Step… for maximum damage.

She cannot miss it this time — she must not! Jeshka walked in through the passageway, her eyes fixed on Marana. She did not see the ambush waiting behind her as she stepped forward. 

Before Zov’ha could make her move, Efiros pounced on Jeshka from behind and tried to pin her down. ‘Efiros!’ Zov’ha screamed. Jeshka did not fall this time, she took the bear's weight on one leg, her strong mechanical thighs holding her up. She swung around and flung Efiros away. He hit the ground, but swerved and was back on his feet again, growling at her. 

Zov’ha saw her opportunity and performed the Crescent Step, but Jeshka somehow sensed the incoming attack. She whacked the lance away from Zov’ha’s hand and caught her by the neck, strangling her. Gasping for breath, Zov’ha peered into the red glass helmet and saw the face of an innocent looking little girl. Her eyes were wide with anger, and she bared her sharp teeth. What had Marana done to her? 

Zov'ha heard Marana’s scream — she seemed paralysed with fear. Efiros tried to pounce on Jeshka again, but she held the bear away with one leg. She was too strong for them. Zov’ha saw an advantage through her peripheral vision — a sizable cold storage machine in the corner to her left. 

Maybe Frost Ash worked better in colder temperatures.

Heaving for air, she stretched a hand to gesture towards it, hoping Marana would realise that their only chance now was for her to open the freezer doors. Through teary eyes, Zov’ha could make out a figure moving towards the machine. The last of her breath had been used up — she could no longer hold up and felt her mind swirling. But then a cold air wafted from her left and she suddenly felt a pinch on her arms. 

Sharp icicles protruded from Zov’ha hands impaling Jeshka in several places. Marana had done it! She had opened the freezer doors and had saved their lives. It had been so sudden that Jeshka had no time to react. The mechanical monster twisted and squirmed trying to break free of the icicles.

The hand around Zov’ha’s throat loosened and she pushed Jeshka away with a kick, steadying herself with a quick reverse somersault. Jeshka crashed onto the floor, screaming and writhing in pain — white ash was forming around the puncture wounds caused by Zov’ha's frosty weapons. Zov'ha picked up her lance and sprung towards Jeshka, jamming the lance into her red helmet. Jeshka twitched for a while and then fell silent. 

Marana was shocked with everything that had happened. She walked slowly towards Zov’ha, her hands cupping her mouth as she looked at the dead body of her former partner. Sobbing, she buried her face into Zov’ha’s shoulder, while Efiros sniffed the helmet to make sure Jeshka was really dead. 

‘It’s over, Marana,’ Zov’ha whispered. Marana was now weeping in earnest. ‘You’re free now.’     

The rancid smell from the outside was now polluting the air. After a while, when it was unbearable, Zov’ha motioned for them to gear up. Marana put on a red glass helmet pulled from a suit rack and knelt in front of Jeshka, caressing her bionic hand. 

‘I can’t believe…’ she whispered to no one in particular, ‘... after all this time...’ 

Zov’ha left her there. She was free now. The only thing on her mind was to get everyone far away from Lüstravyr. She could see moonlight coming in through the door, and she did not want to wait till dawn. Marana could come back to her lab another day. Right now, the best place for her would be Aeroz. 

She walked back to the library to retrieve her mask and backpack. Just as she picked them up, she heard Marana call out to her urgently. She ran back to where Jeshka’s body lay. Marana was looking at the corpse intently, standing at a safe distance away from the body, one hand holding Efiros back. 

‘What is it?’ Zov’ha asked, jogging up to them. Marana pointed towards the body. Zov’ha had to squint against the glare of the light from the outside to notice a glow coming from her lance where it had pierced Jeshka’s helmet. Zov’ha walked up and yanked the lance out. To her surprise, the crack in the helmet was lined with the same crystals that she had seen on Segran’s wound. It was the same crystals that Sinovan had tried to take back to the Office of the Knights of Evalon. She remembered the explosion in the city that the crystals had caused. 

The glow faded for a while and then lit up again, brighter, as if the crystals were pulsating. She could even hear the low hum now. She twirled her lance and took a good look at the blade — a bone blade that had slits within its ragged edges, into which were embedded thin dark slates. Those weren’t slates! Were they Autoichorium crystals? 

‘Marana…’ Zov’ha muttered, her voice caught in her throat. ‘Marana, we have to leave. We need to leave Lüstravyr now!’ Just as she said that the crystals started blinking faster. ‘Run! Now!’

The bear cub and the two women ran up the passageway as fast as they could. Half way up Marana caught Zov'ha's hand to stop her. 

'My pad!' She cried, eyes wide open. 'The evidence!' 

Zov'ha nodded, 'Go ahead, I'll get it.' 

Marana did not argue. Zov’ha was clearly more athletic than her. The party split up; Zov’ha ran back down to collect the pad, and Efiros and Marana made their way up. 

Zov'ha found the pad on the desk where Marana had left it. She grabbed it and ran back up the passageway. On her way out she caught a glimpse of the crystals — there was still time. She easily caught up with the other two, bounding three stairs at a time. 

When they were out on the first level, Zov’ha recognised it as the classroom she had entered through on the first day. She led the way towards the tall windows, this time crashing into it to allow all of them to rush through. The three of them were just out into the courtyard when there was a loud explosion behind them, which threw them ten feet forward. 

The last thing Zov’ha heard before she lost her sense of hearing was Marana’s high-pitched scream. For the next few minutes the trio were struggling to make their way out of the courtyard. Debris showered upon them and the area was filled with so much dust that they could not see anything in front of them.

The ground shook beneath them as large chunks of the castle continued to fall upon the ground. Efiros narrowly missed a massive slab of stone that came tumbling from the sky. Deafened — they could only use their sight to stay together, which was not entirely reliable as the dust cloud thickened. 

Zov’ha was heading the way she came through, but Marana had other plans. She turned to her left and gestured to the others to follow her. Dodging everything that fell from the crumbling towers behind them, they headed to a structure that looked like a garage. Once inside, Marana switched on the lights. Several hover-buggies were parked neatly within. 

Marana jumped into one of them, and Efiros and Zov’ha followed her into the backseat. Marana turned around and said something, which Zov’ha couldn’t hear, but thought she said, ‘hold tight.’ Marana backed the buggy out, swerved and raced it out the other end of the building. Dust and debris continued raining down upon them as they sped downhill. It was several minutes before they were in the clear, heading towards X13 station. 

Zov’ha looked back one final time, before they were too far away. Lüstravyr — the age old prison fortress — was crumbling down like a sand castle. Out of the five smaller towers only three remained. The central tower had all but dilapidated. A full moon shone that night as they made their way towards Aeroz.