Once she had gotten Azvalath through the door, Kolo took off on her own. Whatever was going on with Aza made her necklace tremble and burn as if it were alive. The sensation was familiar, but she didn't know why.

Gods be damned, she was tired of not knowing why.

Kolo went to the girls' room. It was the only place she could think to go in that moment. Channei wasn't there, but Lalek was. The muscular woman sat and stitched a torn blanket. Her enormous hands seemed unsuited for such delicate work, but Lalek seemed content. She hummed a tune until she noticed Kolo. "Why the hustle, little devil?"

Kolo paced around the room. "Where's Channei? Is she back yet?"

"She went to help Azvalath, I think. Why'd you leave him hanging like that?" Lalek nearly poked herself with the needle.

"You're not helping him either," Kolo pointed out.

"Maybe I oughta." Lalek sighed. "You know, sometimes I feel like the most useless person here. No one ever wants my help with anything, and I get fed up even though I like everyone."

"Why don't you leave, then? Or at least take a little break?" Kolo shrugged. "Go camping for a few nights, maybe."

Lalek chuckled. "Camping?" She set the needle down. "Well, they say we're allowed to leave, but..."

"But what?" Kolo stopped pacing.

"Are we really, though?" Lalek leaned back against the wall. Black hair fell in her face. "I don't even really want to leave. I just want someone to..."

"Hey Lalek!" Channei yelled from the hallway. "We need your muscles, sis."

Lalek smiled. "I'll be back, Kolo. Don't break anything."

"No promises." Kolo meant for that to be funny, but she couldn't even smile. All she could think about was how her necklace had burned next to Azvalath when he had gotten sick. Why did she know that feeling? It was all shut away somewhere, surely.

Kolo sat down on Channei's bed and tried to remember, but it was all shut away behind a door that didn't exist. She pictured the hallway like the one where she had seen all those animals painted on the wall. There was no door.

She imagined herself punching that wall with all her might, breaking its will to hold her mind captive. Instead of shattering, however, the wall erupted in white sparks.

Then there was a door where none had been there before.

Kolo reached out to open it but found herself hesitating. What would she find? Was it better left unknown? Her heart hammered in her chest. It was the heart of both a god and a child, she realized. How was that possible? How was she possible?

That was a question she couldn't leave unanswered. Kolo cracked the door open. A gust of wind swept her white hair back. Beyond the threshold was a vast tundra shrouded in flurrying snow and dimly lit by either the first or last rays of sun.

An outburst of caws and shrieks greeted her. Kolo looked up and saw a flock of pale-feathered ashcrows fly past. Their presence drew her forward. Following the ashcrows had always kept her alive. It was one of the few certainties in her strange life.

The door slammed shut behind her and vanished along with the wall. Kolo barely noticed as she ran after the birds. Nothing mattered but the promise of one more day.

She ran until she tripped on a stone and tumbled down a steep slope. Her head smacked against cold rock. The impact knocked the breath out of her and made her vision blur for a second. Kolo sat up and rubbed her forehead. Her eyes widened when she saw an emaciated looking dog standing in front of her.

Cautiously, Kolo extended a hand for the dog to sniff. It pushed its wet nose into her fingers, then grinned. Its expression looked so human that Kolo's skin crawled. Her necklace started to burn. Then, in a rush, she remembered.

Kolo clutched her temples and screamed as the horror of that night came back to her. She had been right all along. Some things were best left unknown.

Someone shook her. "Kolo, wake up!"

Channei's voice snapped Kolo back to reality. She bolted up from her roommate's bed and fought to catch her breath. "The dog," she gasped. "That dog ate all of my doors."

"Bad dream, I'm assuming?" Channei patted Kolo's shoulder. "Take a deep breath."

"That was real." Kolo rubbed her eyes. "That's why there's a hole in my memory."

The shapeshifter raised an eyebrow. "Now I'm curious, but you'll have to explain later." She went to her wardrobe and pulled out her armored vest. "Master Qila wants everyone on the ground who's able at the moment. It's a whole mess. Probably best you're not involved."

"Where have you been, anyway?" Kolo crossed her arms. "You disappeared for a while. Didn't say anything and no one told me anything."

"And I'm not supposed to tell you anything either." Channei fastened the armor and came over to her bed. She sat down next to Kolo. "I'm going to tell you anyway, though, because I think it's not safe or fair to keep it a secret."

Kolo looked up. "Hm?"

"I was out monitoring a few outsider Ferash Therall that Qila told me might pose a threat to you in particular." Channei's voice dropped to a whisper. "There was one man in charge, he's completely sick and twisted. I managed to rescue his battered lackeys, though. Brought them both here. That's when you came back with Aza, and that's a whole disaster in itself."

"So someone else is hunting me?" Kolo's eyes widened. "I had a feeling Aza wouldn't be the last one." And he wasn't the first one either. She kept the last part to herself.

"Yeah, about that..." Channei frowned. "I really think we should keep our focus on protecting you, but Master Qila's pitching a fit right now. Wants us to hunt down Ami after she poisoned Aza and Master Xigon. So you're going to have to keep yourself safe, understand?"

Kolo bit her lip. "Xigon got poisoned too? How?"

"Just promise me you'll keep yourself safe, all right?" Channei patted her shoulder again. "Whatever that looks like for you."

Kolo gave a cautious nod.

"All right." Channei gave her a sad smile and stood up. "Lalek and I could be gone for a while. Room is all yours. Don't trash it."

The white-haired girl managed a halfhearted chuckle.

Lalek shoved the door open. "Was that Kolo screaming?"

"I'm fine." Kolo stood up on shaky legs. "Just a bad dream," she lied.

"What took you so long, sis?" Channei went over and yanked Lalek into the room.

"Hey, putting armor on a sabretooth cat isn't easy. Getting a cat to do any damn thing isn't easy, even if it's Jai-Lag." Lalek showed a row of scratches along her arm. "She's fussing about Azvalath."

"He'll be fine." The shapeshifter rolled her eyes. "Somehow, he always ends up being fine, no matter what kind of muck he gets stuck in. Now where are my gloves?"

"Check your pockets." Kolo shrugged as she walked over to the door.

"Where are you going?" Channei asked.

Kolo paused. She wasn't entirely sure herself. "A walk."

Lalek called after her as she left. "Stay outta Aza's room, little devil!"

She found that order more than a little bit odd and made a mental note to visit Azvalath's room as soon as she could.

Kolo ran down the stairs and jumped the last two steps. Jai-Lag paced up and down the hall, snarling at something Kolo couldn't see. The sabretooth cat, she noticed with some amusement, was wearing crystalline armor. When Kolo passed by, Jai-Lag looked up at her and bared her teeth in an expression that almost looked like a smile.

Kolo backed up against the wall, shuddering violently as she remembered the last predator to smile at her. There was no doubt in her mind that somewhere, the dog was still sniffing her trail.

Jai-Lag took a step back and chuffed softly.

"What's the big deal?" Kolo smoothed her white hair. "Don't want to go out?"

The cat flicked her tail and skulked away.

"Someone's overdramatic." Kolo rubbed her eyes and kept going. She tried Azvalath's door as she passed by it, but to her disappointment, it was locked. Then she stumbled upon something that made her stop in her tracks.

Xigon's wheelchair sat empty in a corner.

She looked around, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Don't you need this?" she called.

No one answered.

Cautiously, Kolo pulled the chair out into the hallway. It was lighter than she had expected, but still awkward to navigate. One of the smaller front wheels clicked and caught on a crack in the floor. Kolo yelled again. "Xigon? I have your chair!"

Still no answer.

Curious now, Kolo circled around and sat down in the master's abandoned wheelchair. Her toes didn't even brush the footrest. It made her feel even smaller than she was. She reached down and tried to turn the wheels, but they weren't as easy to move as Xigon always made them look. He navigated the wheelchair so effortlessly it seemed like part of his body.

At that thought, Kolo's cheeks flushed and she got down from the chair. Now even touching it seemed indecent. She used her invisible hands instead to push the chair to Xigon's study, hoping to find him there.

When she arrived, the door was shut, and she heard Rizval's voice inside. She couldn't make out what they were saying. Kolo knocked. "Crocodile, where's Xigon? I have his chair."

Rizval didn't answer.

"You're ignoring me?" Kolo swung the door open and strode in. What she saw made her stop in her tracks.

Azvalath and a boy she didn't recognize were asleep on the floor off to one side. Rizval sat on the rug next to Xigon, who lay completely still and silent, not even breathing, as far as Kolo could tell.

Rizval must have seen the panic in her expression. "He's not dead! And I'm not ignoring you either, I'm just...sorry, it's a lot. Azvalath's sleeping it off. Hope I gave him the right medicine. The kid there's one of the two Channei dragged in. Xigon is torpid, but I think he's starting to come out of it."

Kolo left the chair outside and came to crouch next to Xigon. "What's torpid?" She stared down at his closed eyes. "Is he going to wake up?"

"He's already awake, actually." Rizval said it like it was obvious. "Torpor is what happens when Xigon gets hit with something that would kill anyone else. He gets locked up in his body like this. Nothing to be done about it. I'm just keeping him company until it's over." Rizval looked down and frowned.

Not sure what to say, Kolo went over to Azvalath. His arm was still a ravaged bloody mess. Something burned deep inside her. A prickling sensation crawled down her arms, all of them, physical and invisible.

Rizval looked over at her. "What are you doing?"

A strange muscle memory took over as Kolo grabbed Azvalath's maimed arm and white sparks erupted from her hands. Azvalath jolted awake with a scream. He yanked his arm back, then relaxed somewhat when he saw Kolo. Both of them stared in wonder at the newly formed flesh where an ugly wound had once been. Kolo smiled wide and couldn't hold back an excited yell.

Azvalath wasn't looking at her, though. His eyes locked immediately on his torpid master. He pushed Kolo gently to the side and crawled over to Xigon. She watched Azvalath pull Xigon into his arms and then freeze up. Tears spilled down the warrior's cheeks.

Rizval tried to reassure him. "Hey, kittycat. He's going to be all right. He always is, you know."

Azvalath didn't seem to hear any of it. He clutched Xigon's head to his chest and sobbed. Rizval sighed and came to sit next to Kolo.

Kolo stared at Azvalath, perplexed. "I was under the impression Aza was scared of him."

"He is." Rizval cast their eyes down. "Even so, Azvalath loves Master Xigon more than he's ever loved anyone."

Kolo's eyes burned. Had she ever loved someone like that? It felt as if she had, but whoever it was, they were still locked away behind a door that didn't exist. Though she knew she could command that door into being, she wasn't sure she wanted to. She watched Azvalath cry and panic over his unresponsive master and wondered what in the world could ever be worth that kind of pain.

[23] Kolo: Locked In

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