"Are you sure about this?"
"Nope."
"But you're ready, right?"
"Not at all."
"Could you at least try to lie?"
"No."
"Not even for me?"
"Not even for you, Winston."
"You wound me, Darius. Really."
"For Saint's sake," Kat sighs, walking to join us at the top of the hill just outside of the city. "You'll be fine. You have each other and you have magic."
"I don't," Winston points out.
"Then you're fucked," she says simply.
"What-"
"Kidding. Saint's you're uptight. Maybe you should chug some of whatever your brothers are having over there." We look over to where the rest of my questionable friends all down a bottle of whatever alcohol they stashed away in Ozzie's saddlebag. Based on their faces after they take a swig, I'd say it's a strong one they stole from the wine cellars back in Fernweh. Leave it to them to steal what I'd be perfectly fine giving them.
"Good idea." He walks over to them and takes the offered bottle.
I debate going over to take some myself, but then I remember what happened the last time I had something strong and decide against it. I kind of need my common sense if we're all to make it out alive tonight.
"It's too pretty for the ugly that lies inside," Kat says, staring out at the white-lit castle. It does look like it's from a fairytale. Its walls sparkle from the stone with which it's built in the moonlight, and the ends of the tower reach towards the dark star-filled sky. At least it's not cloudy. That would be ominous.
"Indeed it is," I agree. "Unlike a strong-willed red-head, I know."
She gives me a look as if to say, nice try. Look at that. I'm so desperate for reassurance that I've resorted to flattery.
"Do you know if she's going?"
My eyes go straight down to the tent still surrounded by wolves, all of which now sleep. I can't tell if it's a good or bad thing, but the Andrastrian woman - Rina - is still in there with her. I can't hear her words either, but they're both in there, and they were still for most of the time, but then they started moving, and now they're still again. Sitting on a couch if my powers tell the truth.
"I don't know," I answer honestly. "I can't hear what they're saying, and I don't think she'd appreciate it if I were."
"Probably not, but you wouldn't have to if she would just talk to us." I turn to look at Kat when hearing the strain in her voice.
She's angry with Clarice, which isn't a surprise, it's just weird to see her finally let it show hours after she had tried to get to Clarice herself. It does hurt to know that a total stranger was the one that got through to her in the end. We're her friends, her family. Why is it so hard for her to share things with us? We share things with her all the time, and I had thought we could trust each other.
"You know what to do?" I ask Kat, taking note of Lance strolling up the hill. He's the last of us aside from the Ginerva, but they've all been doing a last sweep of the city and should be back within the next few minutes.
She turns away from the tent and the castle and reaches up to straighten a few things on my attire only her eyes could catch as crooked. "I know what to do. Roseia will be glued to me like a barnacle. Now do me a favor and make sure you all come back. I don't care about the pretty castle or the nice flowers. Leave it if you have to. Just get everyone back safe."
"Yes, ma'am." She rolls her eyes.
Smirking, I kiss her cheek and leave her and Lance to have their moment alone.
I don't like her or Clare's idea of giving up the city. Getting everyone home safe, yes, but this is someone else's home. It's the home to hundreds, to its King and its Queen who have always shown nothing but kindness and welcomed anyone and everyone to their harbors. Can I really leave their homes to be destroyed and left until it's all over? What if it was Vandaria? I wouldn't just leave it and watch it crumble and fall. He's already taken one kingdom and burned it whole with its people still trying to defend it. Those who survived were forced to watch it burn and then wonder what was to become of them on this new land that may not even survive itself.
I don't want to bestow that same fate onto another, and despite their arguments that there would be more lost during this war, I can't bear to watch it happen. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't live without my friends and family, and I'd do anything to save them, but - Gods and their Saints there are friends and families all around us, and I can't save them all.
"You're drifting." I turn to find Lance at my side, Kat descending the hill to where Thomas walks to meet her. They'll be packing up here and then getting ready to play their part. I don't worry for them if only because Melody trots over to them as well. His mother has one hell of a tough soul.
His Jade suit always looks so cool in the dark. He literally looks like a part of the darkness, and his damn eyes stick out like a predator's, wanting nothing more than to run chills up your spine.
"When am I not drifting?" I ask, turning back to watch the castle.
"Touché."
"I don't suppose you have any reassuring words?"
"On the bright side, there are no clouds in the sky." Great. The entirety of our night lies in the hope that the sky stays clear. That's just fucking fantastic.
"Thanks," I say blandly.
"This night is going to hurt either way, so I don't see why you're looking for warm comfort."
"Maybe because I'd like a little hope here and there."
"It would be nice, wouldn't it? By the way, where are the Ginerva?" The nine women appear behind us before I can answer. There's no sign of them having fought anything, which does give me some resemblance of hope.
"Good news?" Lance asks them.
"We didn't find anything," Rohana answers.
"So bad news," I conclude.
"We won't know anything for sure until we get into the castle."
"And tonight's going to hell either way, so..." Gods these women are just as hopeless as Lance. I appreciate Tanith's smile, but she could've gone without saying what I've already thought and said myself.
"Will the Mater be joining us?" Nilsa asks.
I avoid glancing down at the tent this time and instead look up to the stars. I wish I knew how to read them. Maybe they'd give me the hope I'm searching for. "That remains to be unseen."
"Will we wait then?"
"We're already an hour and a half past the start of the ball," Garrison says, walking over with the others in tow. "The other rulers will grow wary, and it won't help our case to hold off any longer than another half an hour. Those who have yet to make a decision will have taken our extended absence into consideration and made their decision by then."
"So no?" Inna prompts.
I rub the growing sleepiness out of my eyes and try to think this through without damming us all. "One of you will stay here and wait outside her tent for her. If she decides not to come by the time things go to shit, then get her out of here and back to Fernweh. I don't care what you have to - wrestle her, pin her down, call Willa to do it - just do it. She can have all the confinement she wants back at the castle where she's safe." I look to Lance, waiting for a disagreement, but he just nods decision made.
"We'll wait twenty minutes in one of two of the hidden balconies over the entrance to the ballroom in case she does decide to show. Otherwise, we'll go in without her and resort to plan B unless she shows up on her own. Just give us a fair warning that she is so that we don't look completely unprepared and uncoordinated. The Kings and Queens will notice and base their decision off of that too," I tell them.
"I'll stay," Mak volunteers. "The rest of you should go now. It'll piss Xaxias off the longer you wait in that room without entering."
"Visha too," Tsillah adds with a crooked smirk.
"Anyone else want some before we leave?" Henry holds out the bottle in offering but no one takes it.
"Oh, great, you've all been drinking. We're definitely doomed." I'd argue with Rohana, but I know how many mouthfuls each of them took, and I'm not too confident in some of their stomach strengths.
Henry doesn't release his eye contact with her as he lifts the bottle to his lips and drains the rest. Him I'm not so worried about. He could drink us all under the table and be the only right-minded man left standing. He's the only reason I made it back to the castle safely every time we went out.
"Let's pray that they won't puke on you," I joke. I watch the women tentatively take their hands, eyeing each man for any signs of tipsy stomachs.
Nilsa was the smart one, instantly stepping to stand between me and Lance and claim us for herself. Garrison makes the same decision as her, and then we're gone and flying into a closed curtained room, the sound of music and voices dancing off of the walls and into our ears. The others join us, and to my disappointment, none of them hurl up their guts. They actually look more clear-eyed than they did a second ago.
I throw up a barrier around us, the sound of the ball turning to silence as it cuts off every sound within and without.
"Take a look," I say to no one in particular. Rohana, Nilsa, Garrison, and Lance all end up heading to the curtain and peeking out. "Do your counts and draw your maps. We have twenty minutes to get a feel for the room and as much of the castle as we can. The rest of you go find a nearby hallway to put an eye and an ear to. Come back in fifteen."
The seven remaining women take seven of my men with them to do as I ask. The remaining six take spots around the room, covering exits and hiding in the shadows of the secondary balcony that allows you to overlook the foyer and see who enters. No one's in there now but a few of Xaxias's mortal followers, and they all seem to be bored out of their minds.
I stay in the center of the room and close my eyes, focusing my other senses as I release another damper on my power. I can feel all the flames throughout the castle waking at my touch, the small breeze twirling around my fingers and giving me the layout of the rest of the castle. Guards line the walls, a few beasts prowling beneath the moonlight but doing nothing more than that. I can feel some life in the towers, but most are beneath or around the ballroom. The servants work to keep the guests satisfied with food, drinks, and entertainment. The sound of their feet creates rhythmic patterns against the stone floors, the heat from the ovens and stoves keeping their brows slick with sweat that tastes of fear just as much as it does fatigue. I can feel the weakness in their movements from malnourishment, and how some cling to a counter to catch their breath and restore their vision that just went dark.
They're mainly in one place, which means it'll be easier to get them all out of here as a group. The hard part is getting them all to touch so that the Ginerva don't have to try and explain and waste their time doing so over and over again. I can smush them altogether if I get the chance, but that's only if I get a moment to do so, and Gods know that Xaxias likes to keep Clare and me busy.
That's if she shows.
I pull my power back, having felt Xaxias's power start to drift towards my own. I know he knows that we're here and what we're doing. That's the point.
"What do you have?" I ask the four of them, opening my eyes.
"There's a lot more people than we anticipated," Lance starts, lowering his hood to run a hand through his hair. I'm tempted to remind him that Kat had it looking nice and he just ruined it, but I keep it to myself and turn to Rohana.
"Nearly double our estimate of one-fifty," answers.
"It's still doable," Nilsa reassures. "We'll just need a bigger distraction."
I take a deep breath, feeling around the ballroom and trying to come up with a big idea for a big distraction. "Shouldn't be too hard, but you'll still have to be quick. What else?"
"The rulers are all against either side of the walls in their own small part at their own corner or table, none interacting with anyone else outside of their party," Garrison answers.
"At least they listened to that part," Benny chimes from where he stands on the other balcony.
"And everyone else?"
"Doing normal ball stuff. Dancing, drinking, laughing...completely unaware of the guards that watch them." Nilsa's fingers start drumming against the hilt of a knife at her hip. She's antsy for a fight.
"And Xaxias?"
Lance answers, casting a glance at the thin green curtain that hides us from everyone else downstairs. "He stands in between King Cyrus and Queen Aria who sit on their thrones, but neither seemed to relax. They both seem to wear black strings around their neck, hidden beneath their clothing. I'm assuming it's his way of keeping them in line."
"And their health?" I ask. Despite the recon last night, no one could find where the King and Queen of Adaeric were being kept, and I was left to assume the worst.
He shakes his head. "They're both too pale, clearly tired and worn, and have gotten very little food. The Queen's dress doesn't fit her completely right - a small difference but big enough for us to notice but not anyone else. He's had them for longer than we though, likely even when we came here in search of Clarice. No one approaches the dais, but I don't think it's because of him or Visha who stands behind the Queen in the shadows. Something else keeps the people away, but I can't see what it is."
He looks at the two women, asking the silent question. Nilsa has her focus elsewhere for the moment, leaving Ro to answer. "He likely makes them turn around with his mind without them knowing. Tanith is the only one who could fight him off, but she can't do it for everyone and mist them out."
"Then just get them out. Anything else?"
"All the guards in the room seem to be human. Mortal," Nilsa says. "I can't feel demons nearby, but I doubt they're not close and just awaiting a summon."
"So kill the guards quickly and move on," Rohana decides. The others nod, all in agreement.
"Okay, then. Let's get your sisters back in here and see what roams the halls," I tell her.
Everyone returns without injury or bloodstains. I'm not sure if it's a concern or a comfort.
"Nothing but a few guards," Vanya reports. Three others all found the same thing. An empty hallway save for a few bored-looking guards, much like the ones in the foyer below.
"Oh, well we found explosives," Kathika says.
"What?"
"Where?" I demand at the same time as Rohana.
"Northeast tower. There was a whole pile of them and the rest of the guards were taking them and distributing them into boxes. From what we heard, they're all going to be placed about the castle for later."
"It's likely the last part of his trap," Vlad adds. "And we're the trigger. One wrong move and he could kill everyone in here before we can save them."
"Or it's a distraction," Lance counters.
Serephina shakes her head. "That's too big of a gamble to risk."
"Is it? You said that one of those explosives, alone, took out an entire town when Branka faked her death. He'd only need a few carefully placed ones to bring this whole castle to the ground, not a whole pile. He's been here for at least two cycles, he would know the entire layout and blueprint of the grounds and know exactly where to hit it to make it fall."
"Yes, but a whole pile results in a bigger statement and spreading fear," Dee argues.
"What's more impressive and fear striking? A whole stack of them to take down a large castle, or only a handful? If he wanted a statement he'd use five put beneath the castle to corrupt the foundation and take out its legs - and it would give people inside time to get out before it does. If everyone who is currently here died, there'd be no one to tell the story of what happened and how he did it. Fear is spread through the stories of those who lived through it. Why do you think he let Willa escape with three ships and more full of Thralians he could've easily killed?"
He's right. Xaxias would hide the explosives so we couldn't find them, and he'd use less to ensure we couldn't feel them before its too late. If he wanted us to fall and fail, he'd have us fall and fail, but that doesn't mean those explosives aren't going to be used. They still could be.
"There's only one person who knows what the explosives look like." I turn back to Kathika and Ozzie. "Grab one and take it to them. See if they have anything to say about it and get back in five."
They both nod and I turn back to Lance before they mist out. "Where would those five explosives be?"
He draws a rough map out with his words, listing the spots one by one slowly so that I can find them and feel for anything that's not stone or dirt. I can't feel anything, but my abilities only go so far. As far as I can tell he hasn't put anything there, but one can never be too sure.
"How much longer do we have?" I ask Garrison, letting the voices go and the wind run its own course.
"Two minutes."
"Can we gain anymore?"
He shrugs, glancing at the ballroom. "Ten, but that would be cutting it close with the royals."
"Double check those spots and see if you can leave a ward or two to alert you if someone goes near them." Five of the women disappear, and the rest of us wait anxiously in silence. A minute has gone by when someone returns.
It's just Kathika.
"She said that the explosive is a fake."
"She's sure?" Lance questions doubtfully.
"The sticks in the device that hold the explosive powders were empty. I took a few more at random from the pile to make sure, and they're all empty."
"As much as that's good news," Mal says. "It only means that the powder is somewhere else, and wherever it is-"
"That's where he plans to lay his waste," Alex finishes.
"Where would he keep it, though?"
"The city?" Vanya prompts.
"We wouldn't have been looking for it during recon or our last sweep," Tsillah agrees.
"He won't put it in the city." Once again we all look to Lance in question. "He's got his ears around every corner in every shadow. He knows we're trying to unite the kings of Ker against him, and he knows which ones still haven't pledged to do so. If we succeed in doing so, then he has a smaller chance of succeeding himself, so he wants to make sure that doesn't happen."
"What does this have to do with the powder?" Alister asks him.
"What better way to ensure they don't than to put the powder in a place he can lure the one person who controls fire and get them to light the match for him?" The other five women return just then, all shaking their heads. "He doesn't need those explosives-"
"Not when I'm already a lit fuse." Lance gives me an apologetic look, continue.
"If Darius is the one to bring down the castle, then we'll lose the support of the other kingdoms and make the ones who have pledged to stand alongside us question their choices. He'll do anything and everything he can to get Darius to use the element and make his plan work."
"Then we need to find that powder, and fast," Rohana declares.
You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net