Intermix Nation

Nazirah begins to rise, wiping her red eyes.She’s distracted by a dark object protruding from the hole in thesand before her. Eyebrows knitting in confusion, she pulls it outslowly. It’s black and supple and all too familiar. A pair offingerless gloves. Nazirah shakes, watching as something falls outfrom inside one of the gloves, small and delicate, glittering inthe dying Eridian sun. Nazirah stares and stares and stares andstill doesn’t understand.

It is Adamek’s amnesty pendant.

Chapter Eighteen

The train ride from Krush to Rubiyat dragson, hours wasting away. The night paints the landscape in murkyblack, stars hidden behind rolling, navy clouds. The allies shareone cramped train compartment, bribed for at the last moment.Aldrik, new eye patch secured, snores loudly next to Adamek. Droolhangs from his chin in thin strings, pooling and puddling along hisdirty collar.

Nazirah sits across from them, uneager toreturn. The overwhelming, suffocating crimson dust, the poverty andprison, the first time she met Adamek … none are memories sheparticularly cares to relive. The silver lining is that Nazirah mayget to see Cato – but she has no idea where he’s stationed or howto contact him.

Nazirah guiltily thinks of Caria’s locket,now safely tucked inside her bag. Cato should have been the one tovisit Rafu, not her. There is nothing for Nazirah there but bonesand stale memories and bitter emptiness. Cato still has a living,breathing family. Like Cander said, Cato’s entire life revolvesaround Nazirah. And she takes him for granted.

What if she is holding him back?

“Staring won’t make me burst into flames,”Adamek says, startling Nazirah out of her thoughts. “Unfortunatelyfor you.”

“I was thinking about everything thathappened today.”

“You mean in the slums?” he askspointedly.

“Of course.” Nazirah is thinking about theslums, how could she not? She still has the burns on her arms andthe grit in her hair as reminders. But she is also thinking aboutafterwards. There was a promise made, a pendant surveyed.

“You’re a shit liar, Nation.”

He’s a liar too, only he’s better at it.Adamek said he forgot to put the pendant on this morning, but hehadn’t. At some point yesterday, he came into her home, into herroom. He visited the graves of her parents, leaving the chain andgloves behind.

Why?

The pendant now hangs around Nazirah’s neck,out of sight, a lingering reminder. For reasons beyond hercomprehension, Nazirah did not leave it in the sand with hisgloves.

Why?

She has no answers for anything,anymore.

“I’m not lying,” she mumbles. “I just don’twant to talk about it.”

Adamek interlocks his hands casually behindhis neck. Nazirah sees a brief flash of a small tattoo on hiswrist, one she’s never noticed before. It is four digits, followedby a strange character. Nazirah doesn’t dare ask him what it means.She wonders why that number is so important to him, why it is thepassword he uses for everything.

“I bet if I were Caal sitting here,” hesays, “You wouldn’t be so quiet.”

Nazirah shoots him an odd look. “But you’renot.”

“Do you see me complaining?”

“I don’t tell Cato everything,” shesays.

“Clearly,” Adamek replies. “Otherwise, he’dhave tried to kill me several times by now.”

The train slows as it nears the Rubiyatstation, whistling shrilly somewhere ahead. Adamek lazily drums hisfingers on the silver suitcase. Bribing the Eridian fishermen wasapparently easy. Aldrik has said they will certainly need theIluxor in order to convince the Red Lords, show them exactly howmuch the Medis keep from the territories.

“Morgen?”

“Nation.”

“What are you pla

“Are you seriously asking me what I want tobe when I grow up?”

“I guess so,” she says, shrugging.

“Ladies first.”

“You’re avoiding my question,” she says.

“I’m evading your question,” Adamekcorrects. “There’s a difference.”

Nazirah crosses her arms. “Fine,” she huffs.“I don’t know what I want to do. You?”

“That’s not a real answer.”

“Yes it is!” she argues. “Idon’t have a plan! Intermix have never had many options. Die fromdisease or die from starvation … or die from you. That’s about it.”

His eyes narrow. “But you will once thewar’s over,” he points out.

“So they say.”

“You don’t think your brother wants intermixequality?”

“Of course he does!” she says. “But at whatsacrifice?”

“Like I said today, there’s always aprice.”

Nazirah shakes her head. “So many of thoseintermix we met today, regardless of if they join us or not, willdie in this war … a war that we’re basically forcing upon them!It’s sad that they will have no future.”

“Why are you so afraid of being right?”

“Come again?” she asks.

“Everything you said to Cayus was true,”Adamek tells her. “And now you’re shying away from it. The onesthat do survive … think of the future they will have.”

Nazirah does. She thinks of Cayu, of a worldwhere he could grow up beyond the slum. A utopia where he wouldalways have enough to eat, where he and Caria could be bestfriends, living together in toothless harmony, infamy. And no onewould care except their mothers.

It seems like a dream.

The train rolls to a stop at the Rubiyatstation and Adamek moves to shake Aldrik awake. Nazirah is entirelyaware that Adamek has successfully evaded her question. “I’m tiredof fighting,” she sighs.

“You can’t be tired already,” he repliesquietly. “The fight hasn’t begun yet.”

#

Rubiyat comes to life at night, after thescorching sun has set. In the small hours of the morning, thickwomen in long, layered skirts walk through caked streets. Theybalance empty jugs on their heads and set off for the city wells,waiting in line for hours to receive their daily ration of water.Young boys and girls dance languidly on flat rooftops to the soundof drums and tambourines. The scents of sweat and perfume and sexpervade the air. Yet everything here plays second fiddle to thedust.

Aldrik steps off the train platform,unimpressed and sweating profusely. Thick, pearly white marblesroll down his face. “From what the Commander told me a few hoursago,” he says, “we should have a car waiting for us somewhere …even though we were forced to move our plans up last minute.”

Nazirah’s wide eyes wander over the fray,absorbing every sight. She spots a familiar face in the crowd,sporting a closely cropped haircut and several earrings danglingfrom each ear. “I’ve got it,” she tells the others, smiling.“Follow me.” Nazirah grabs her bag and finds Adamek has alreadylifted her remaining luggage. From the stiff look on his face,Nazirah can tell he recognizes the man as well.

Nazirah weaves through the crowd towards theru

Nazirah scurries inside first. She’sinstantly greeted by the cherubic, joyful face of Solomon Salaahi.“Oh, Miss Nation!” exclaims Solomon, attempting to bow low evenwhile sitting down. “It is wonderfully refreshing to see you again,although you have arrived a bit earlier than anticipated! Earlybird gets the worm!” Solomon’s hands tenderly grasp one ofNazirah’s as Adamek and Aldrik enter.

Aldrik spots some ice chips chilling in anearby bucket and greedily scoops them up to rub over his sweatyface. Nazirah cringes. Aldrik drops the now-melted chips into anempty glass beside him. He pulls out a flask from his pocket, fillsthe glass up, and then downs the sweaty-spirit concoction in onegulp.

“Er,” Solomon says, “please make yourselves… comfortable.”

Aldrik belches, eyes darting between Nazirahand Solomon suspiciously. “You two know each other?” he asks,waving his empty flask.