Flux

considered leaving Ennek there and going off in search of food or water, but there was only an hour or so left of daylight at that point, and he didn’t fancy making that journey in the dark. So he ignored his thirst and hunger, instead spending the last of the light shaving off Ennek’s beard and combing out the snarls in his hair. When darkness fell, Miner cuddled up close to him and fell asleep.
    Miner awoke when the first rays of sun crept over the surface of the sea. They illuminated Ennek in golden light, coloring his pale skin, making him appear like some precious relic. Miner stroked Ennek’s cheek with his fingertips, then stood and stretched. His tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth. It was maddening to see all that water and know he couldn’t drink it. His skin was crusty with dried salt and the soles of his feet stung with every step. But he was alive and Ennek was alive and they were together, and Miner even managed to smile at the horizon.
    But his smile disappeared a moment later, when a seagull flew over and began to circle overhead, calling its harsh cry as it did. “Leave him alone!” Miner yelled at it. “You leave him be!”
    Not surprisingly, his shouting had no visible effect on the bird. But on the sand beside him, Ennek stirred under the blanket and moaned very quietly. Miner quickly knelt. “En? Are you all right?”
    Ennek’s eyes fluttered open and when they focused on Miner, Ennek smiled softly. “It wasn’t a dream. You’re here.”
    “I am.”
    Ennek’s brows drew together in a frown and he began to struggle into a seated position. Miner helped him. “They hurt you, Miner.”
    “I’m fine now.”
    “But they branded you!”
    Miner sighed. “It wouldn’t be fair if you got all the interesting marks and scars, now, would it?”
    Ennek wasn’t amused by Miner’s small attempt at levity. “Gods, it’s barbaric, treating a human like that.”
    “I didn’t have the worst of it. There were women there—no, girls, hardly more than children, and they raped them. Others were beaten….”
    “They didn’t….” Ennek’s face had grown dark with anger and Miner thought he could detect a hint of fire in his eyes.
    Miner set a calming hand on Ennek’s shoulder. “They didn’t,” he said firmly. “Aside from the brand, they hardly touched me. Mostly ignored me, in fact. The worst I suffered was humiliation, and that’s not fatal.”
    “They shouldn’t have done that to you.”
    “Of course not. But owning people, that’s always wrong, no matter what. Even if they’d given me fancy clothes and rich foods and…I’d still have been a slave.”
    Ennek nodded glumly. “What we do to them in Praesidium, it’s not much better, is it? I never really thought about it. Not until you.”
    “Well, it’s not something we need think about now anyway. We’re trapped on a beach, En.”
    For the first time, Ennek looked about himself. “Oh. I’d forgotten. Well, no worries. I can call a boat and—” He stopped suddenly. “Oh, gods,” he moaned.
    “What? What is it?”
    “The wave. I almost destroyed the entire city.”
    “Yes. You were…upset.”
    “Upset?” Ennek wobbled gracelessly to his feet. “Upset is when someone scuffs your new boots. Miner, I almost obliterated an entire city! How many thousands of people would I have murdered?” Then he looked up at the jagged rocks where, until the previous afternoon, a hill had stood. His legs shook and he collapsed to his knees. “How many did I kill?” he rasped.
    “I don’t know. But you didn’t destroy Donghe, En. You stopped.”
    Ennek shook his head. “You stopped me.”
    “I couldn’t have stopped you if you hadn’t listened. You’re too powerful.”
    A strange look passed over Ennek’s face. “I am. You’re absolutely right. I’m too powerful. I shouldn’t— Nobody should have this much force at his disposal. I shouldn’t even exist.”
    “No, that’s not what I meant! I meant—”
    “I know what you meant.” Ennek took a deep and shuddering breath. “I need to stop myself before…before I hurt more people.”
    “You did stop,” Miner insisted.
    “This time. What about next? It’s so bloody easy to give in to it. It feels so good.” He rose again and stumbled across the sand toward the bag. Miner realized his intention just as Ennek reached into the bag and pulled out the knife. With a desperate cry, Miner threw himself at Ennek, knocking him to the ground. The knife