Chapter 10
(/Mare/)
The day after Evangeline and Shade left, the compound was charged with more energy than I could ever hope to put into a bolt of lightning. Hector had roamed the compound, whispering in everyone's ear that Evangeline had turned Shade, that she had him in her pocket, and that they two of them were never coming back. For the sake of everyone in the compound, and for my own mental health, I told them that that wasn't true. He vanished though, and no one could say where he or his close band of followers had gone. People had started listening to him more and more though, as they realized that the war was starting to drag out a little too long. I couldn't have agreed more with them. We had to stop hiding and trying to take the little bases. It was time to start striking at the heart of the Silvers, to take Air Bases again, and to start attacking the Palaces. We'd let Maven get away with too much, it was time to deal some blows of our own. I wouldn't dare say that I was essentially preaching exactly what Hector had been saying for the past few months.
With a sigh, I pulled my hair back into a loose knot at the top of my head. It was high time that I cut it, but in the past when I had laid next to Cal, he had run his fingers through it, and I had loved the feeling of his fingers trailing along the bottom of my shoulder blades. I forced the tight clench of my stomach away at the thought of him, at the thought of how desperate I was to lie in his arms again and feel the soft puff of breath that he expelled with each exhale.
I wouldn't think about it, I wouldn't think about the cold glares we threw at each other like they were weapons. But sometimes, it just happened, and my heart would clench in pain every time. I was a masochist though, and I continued to let myself feel the pain.
Slowly, I pushed the tent flap out of the way and stepped inside of the critical tent. It was louder in there today, with both the cries of the dying, and the weeping of the living as they cried over the dying. It was a pitiful spectacle, and I tried to avoid meeting anyone's eye as I made my way to the back where they kept Maggie. She was kept in a stable condition, with me and Cal alternating over watching her. We'd kept a safe distance from each other, and had tried to avoid each other at all costs. It was hard though, with the tight quarters of the tent, and us constantly coming to get the other and relieve them of duty.
When I reached the small alcove in the back, I lifted the thin curtain that had been put up for privacy and stepped inside. Maggie was curled up under three blankets, but I could still see her body shaking with fever underneath them. The only sign of her was the mass of curls that poked out from underneath the blankets. She had been sleeping most of the day and night, but when she was awake, she was delusional, spouting off about the thoughts that were going through other's heads at the moment. We tried to keep her calm, but she had no control over her ability, and she had actually on one occasion forced the medic to put the IV drip into his own arm. After that, she was sedated heavily, to keep her from making anyone else do something foolish.
Next to her, Cal was sitting back against one of the beams, his head lolling to the side as he slept. The lines that had come to dominate his face weren't as prominent when he slept. Sometimes, when I'd woken up in the middle of the night, and rolled over to look at him, I would see the handsome Silver prince again. I would see the boy who had smiled in moonlight rooms, and who had handed me two tetrarchs and listened to the story about a poor Red girl who was too good of thief for her own good. He would open his eyes though, and even though his features were heavy with sleep, he would became the General that the Scarlet Guard needed. The change was so merical now, that I sometimes missed it.
Slowly, I crouched down in front of him, and set my hand on his shoulder softly. He sniffed at the touch and shook himself awake, then with a tenuous movement, he reached up and ran his hand down his face. I pulled my hand away quicker than I really meant to, but it was the better alternative to him knowing that it was me who woke him up. He must have fallen asleep hours ago if this was his condition, but at the moment, I didn't have the heart to reprimand him. After he had rolled his shoulders back and stretched for a second, he straightened up and massaged the back of his neck, taking in my crouched form in front of him. He looked me up and down for a few seconds and then sighing, whispered, "How long was I asleep?"
"I have no idea, I just came in to tell you that you're done for the day." I replied, a little stiffer than I meant to. His eyes snapped to me at the end of the sentence, as if he were holding onto the edge of every word I said. I wouldn't be surprised if he was doing that either. He had been trying to read me for weeks, and had been unsuccessful as far as I knew. At times, I wished he would stop, and just ask me what I was thinking about. Other times, I wished that he would continue doing it, that he would look me up and down like a puzzle that was missing the most crucial piece. When he did that, I felt like the world slowed, and we could see the auras that danced off of us and merged into a portrait in the space between us. The colors smashed together in the most violent, passionate way, but that was the way we were. I had learned to accept that we were a volatile mix, one that was bound to make a bomb one day, but I had never thought that it would explode so suddenly, or so ferociously.
He was quiet for a moment, and then he broke eye contact, and grumbling something under his breath, he rose. I prickled in anticipation, and twisting my lips, I whispered, so that I didn't wake Maggie, "What?"
My words seemed to freeze him, although there was no ice, or fire, in them. I was tired of the childish games, even though I'd started them. I'd been wrong, or maybe we'd both been wrong. Was it too late to go back, to fix the broken ties, and rebuild the bridge? Had we stepped so far over the line that it could never be drawn again?
He only sighed at my words though, and crouched down to shift Maggie's blankets slightly so that he could give her a once over. She was still sleeping, and Cal reached out to run a tired hand over her hair, smoothing it down. Then glancing over his shoulder, but not meeting my eye, he replied, "I just said that I was going to check on her."
I wished that I didn't think he was lying, but it was so hard these days to tell whether or not he was. I watch him closely, hoping to draw the truth out, but he doesn't say anything else. Instead, he rose from his crouch and left to wash his hands and face in a bowl on a small table off to the side. He had a sheen of sweat on his neck, that I hadn't noticed earlier, and he looked rather pale in the low light. He wiped the sweat away before I can ask him about it though, and I end up rising as well, but remaining a few steps away from him. As he wiped his face, I whispered, "We need to talk."
He chuckled darkly, and I remember that a month ago, he had told me the exact same thing. How could one month make such a difference? In my heart of hearts though, I needed to talk with him, and take back what I said. I would swallow my pride for a few minutes if it meant bringing him back and keeping him again. It would not be the same though, glue and tape did not fix everything.
He tossed the towel down and turned to lean against the rickety table and meet my eye. Crossing his arms in a show of being at ease, he raised his brow and said bitterly, "Very well, let's talk."
"Not here," I replied softly, and glanced down at Maggie for emphasis. She shifted in her drug induced sleep and stretched her hand out, as if she were reaching for something through the haze of her fever dreams. She'd been whispering about her father all night while I was watching her. At first she's just whispered for him, and then she's started crying, begging him to come back, or to not leave, until eventually, she fell to silence once wasn't much that I could do except just sit with her and rub her back, trying to soothe her. It was hard when she was locked inside of her own head though, and I had given up trying to console her after an hour or two.
Cal glanced down at her at my mentioning, and then nodded, and started out of the small alcove. I followed him on his heels, and pulled the curtain closed behind me. One of the nurses looked up from her patient and watched us walk by, her eyes on Cal suspiciously. My stomach curled upon seeing her narrowed eyes and twisted lips. It had been so long since one of the reds had looked at Cal like that. They all loved him and admired him as much as he had come to do the same. Hector's words were like poison though, and they were pumping through the compound like the virus pumping through everyone's veins.
We stepped outside of the medical tent, and he turned to face me, his eyes waiting and watching expectantly. The words froze in my mouth though, and I looked away quickly to avoid his eye. After a few seconds of this, he throws his hands up and then running them back down his face, he says, "Talking usually involves people speaking, Mare."
"I'm trying to think about how to phrase it." I spit back, and I get the pleasure of seeing him raise his brow in surprise. His next words prick at my heart though like needles.
"Well that'll be a first for you." He grumbled bitterly as he stepped out of the way to let a nervous medic pass between the two of us. The tension was broken for a moment, and he sighed before rubbing at the back of his neck and wincing. He stretched it for a second and then grumbled about it, before meeting my eye and saying, "This whole talking thing isn't working anymore, Mare."
I stiffened and finally turned to meet his eye. He looked so tired, and I saw the white flag in his irises. I reached out to take his hand, to pull him back, but he pulled his hand away and took a pointed step backwards. His implication was clearer than crystal, there would be no easy out for me this time. I pull my hand back at that thought, and end up biting my nail to hide how much his movement hurts me. I drop my hand quickly though, I will not show him weakness. I will not be the one to give in. It just wasn't in my being to wave the flag yet.
We stood like that then, until he glanced over my shoulder when someone walked by. I turned to see Kilorn watching us with a quirked brow near the path between the medical tents. He was normally a part of Hector's main gang, so it was little strange to see him wandering around by himself. Especially in the medical area, where he had no business being. No one he knew was dying at the moment, at least, not that I knew of.
He met my eye and then shrugging, put his hands in his jacket pockets and walked away. I watched him go, suddenly wishing he were standing next to me, with his snark aiding mine, just like we used to when we were kids. When I look back at Cal though, his jaw is set tight and his eyes are far away, as if he's thinking about something else other than the present in front of us. He and Kilorn had been even more volatile lately, and I think I had only stroked those flames by spending more time with Kilorn. My best friend had been so much easier to talk to lately though. He was an open book that I had no trouble reading and manipulating him, even though the latter caused me more pain. I missed the simple days, when he and I were just two kids, trying to outrun time. It had caught us though, and laughed in our faces as it threw me down a path that he couldn't follow. These days, I wasn't sure if it was for the best that I had discovered my ability. Somedays, I wish I had just gone to the front lines and died like every other Red. But if I had done that, the Guard wouldn't be here, Cal would probably have been killed in his bed, and Maven would still be King. At least I had a chance to fight, and a chance to win, no matter how slim it seemed.
"You've been spending a lot of time around Hector and his group." Cal whispered, as he tucked his hands in his pockets and tried to avoid meeting my eye. I shuffled my feet for a second, wondering how he knew that. When I wasn't in the tent with Maggie, I was generally eating with them, or listening to what they had to say, and I had not crossed paths with Cal while I was doing that.
It was said that if you knew the enemy, you could kill it that much easier. But what had originally been me just dipping my toe into their ideals, had become a full emersion. The more time I spent with Hector and his group, the more I started to realize that perhaps, they were right, and that maybe, just maybe, we were in the wrong. The Guard had been getting slower, and had been falling apart. There were too many secrets, too many people above us that knew too much, and too many doors that remained locked. It was only a matter of time before we were overrun and killed.
"I like what they have to say, their views are practical." I replied carefully, picking my way around his obviously bad mood. I would watch my temper this time around, I wouldn't say anything I'd regret. Not that I completely regretted what I had said. I had spoken the truth when I said that he reminded me of his father sometimes, but I hadn't meant to spit it like a curse. He took the bad that his father had been and made it good. He was becoming the dutiful king that wanted the best for his people, and not just the ones that shared his blood.
His lips pulled into a tight line at my words and he growled, "What views? That we should just march out and get everyone killed? Screw the lives of every person in the Guard, as long as we get even a glimpse a potshot at a Maven?"
"It's better than just sitting around here doing nothing." I replied hotly. This was not the direction I wanted the conversation to go at all. Here we were though, going around in circles again, ripping at each other's throats. Maybe that was all we were destined to do?
"Nothing?" He barked with laughter, and then gesturing to the compound around us he hissed, "We're doing nothing? We're barely staying alive! We're taking care of our wounded, and our sick. We can barely put together a party to go get supplies, let alone a full strike team!"
I straightened up and then pointing my finger at him threateningly I replied, "We're sitting around like pigs waiting to be slaughtered! There are plenty of people who can go out and take more medical centers and steal supplies."
"And who would that be Mare, is it Maggie, you, me? Shade and Evangeline are out there right now risking their lives to bring back whatever they can get their hands on. We're outgunned though, we need to sit back and try to recount our numbers to do damage control-"
"We don't have time to do that! Every second we waste sitting and counting, is another New Blood dead, another Red kid killed in the Choke! It's another baby starved to death, another man whipped for Maven's amusement!" I shouted at him as I went toe to toe with him again. The air in between us became charged with electricity, and I narrowed my eyes at him as he squared his shoulders for a fight as well. We stood like that for a few seconds, neither of us calming down or backing down for that matter. His next words only charged me up even further though when he said, "And what does Hector propose we do, Mare? Since you seem so keen to follow other people's ideas instead of your own now."
I felt the sparks on my fingers and clenching my fist, I whispered coolly, "We need to go out and hit back, we need to fight."
He pulled back and laughed, his eyes rolling as he replied, "And who are we going to fight? Who are we going to destroy?"
His words sounded like an accusation, and my blood ran cold as I realized that once more, he was picturing Maven standing before him, and not me. I fell to silence at that, unsure of how to respond. Who did we fight? We couldn't get close to Maven, and we couldn't touch Archeon without losing the entire Guard. I couldn't bear to think about what would happen then. The blood that would pour into the streets would stain them for years, and Maven would finally have his victory. He would hand me and Cal from the gates and let the entire country see what had become of their Little Lightning Girl, and their Traitor Prince.
Cal latched onto my hesitation when it stretched out for too long, and continued, his voice rising in magnitude and tension as he spoke, "We can't just destroy everything! We have to preserve some form of order, or else there will be anarchy. And I refuse to be the King with the blood of his people soaking the throne room on his coronation night."
He spoke with such fire that I was surprised it didn't leap off of his tongue. The air in between us was charged with heat and electricity though. There was enough of it that I wouldn't have been surprised if we set the world on fire in that moment. When he had finished speaking though, he reached up and massaged the bridge of his nose, and I noticed a bead of sweat run from his hairline down to his temple. We stood so close that I could see the veins standing out in his neck, and how pale his face looked.
I set my jaw, refusing to back down though, there was an argument that I had, and I was completely prepared to say it. Before I could though, Cal closed his eyes and rocked back onto his heels for a second before correcting himself and resting his head in his hand. I watched in morbid confusion as he wavered on his feet again and then collapsed forward.
I screamed his name in horror as I caught him. His weight knocked me to my knees, and I barely held him up as he leaned against me. He was limp in my arms for a heartbeat, before his body tensed and he coughed harshly. I held him tightly, and felt his chest heave as he tried to breath around the hacking cough that racked his body. He shifted to press his fist against his mouth to stop the air from touching me and infecting me, even though nothing had infected me in the first place.
Eventually he stopped long enough to pull away from me slightly, and look at his hand. Across the back of his hand and palm were sprinkles of bright silver blood, and when I looked up at his face, I saw that his lips were coated in it too. My heart raced at the sight of so much blood, and I grabbed at his face immediately to feel his temperature, and felt the heat that rolled under his skin. I had thought it was just his ability raising his body temperature as he became more and more frustrated with me, but this was another kind of heat. It was so hot, that I had to pull my hands away with a yelp, revealing the skin of my palms which was bright red.
Cal rocked on his knees, and almost collapsed forward again, only for me to catch him and support him. He continued to look down at his hand in fury though, as if it disgusted him, and then with a croaking whisper he said, "Dammit."
With that though, he collapsed completely into my arms, his body limp. I looked around wildly for anyone to help me and then shouted for a medic. His body shook in my arms, and then he started coughing again. I could feel the effort it took for him to breath in between each fit, and it terrified me.
I cried his name once more, but all he could do to respond, was grab my arm and clutch it tightly, like I was a lifeline and he had been set adrift in the middle of a storm. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, and holding him close I whispered in his ear, "It's okay, I'm here, it's okay…" I trailed off as hot tears rolled down my cheeks and landed in his shirt. This couldn't have been happening, he hadn't gotten sick before, he had been fine. Why now, what had changed?
The medics arrived then, and pulled him away from me. I screamed at that, and tried to kick at them, to grab onto him once more. They held me back though, telling me that it was okay, that I needed to sit still. They started to rip my jacket off, and anything of mine that had been in contact with Cal. I could still feel his hand on my arm though, like the imprint of his fingers had been burned into my skin. When I looked down, I saw that the skin was bright red and starting to bubble with blisters in the shape of his hand. He'd never burned me like that, and the nurses looked at it in surprise before calling for a cold compress.
All I could do was watch as they dragged him into the medical tent, and shouted for IV's and medication. I reached out desperately for him, before the nurses working with me grabbed my outstretched hand and started scrubbing at it feverishly with a sponge and towel. I barely noticed though. The world was spiralling out of control, and my heart was pounding so fast in my throat that I thought I would throw up. All I could think about was the last things I had said to him, that he was like his father, that he was no better than any other Silver, that he was wrong and that his way of doing things was stupid. Would he die and go to an icy grave thinking I didn't love him? I had almost said it too the night before. I had almost said that I didn't love him anymore. That would have been a lie though. I needed him, I loved him, and if he died in that medical tent, then I wasn't sure what would be left in the world to keep me tethered to it.
(/Evangeline/)
I sat, perched up on top of one of the many roofs near the main medical center in Archeon. Below me, children played in the street, their brightly colored winter clothing and scarves marking the time of the Winter Festival. The streets were strung up with lights, and everyone was rushing through the snow to finish their errands so they could rush home and start preparing for the evenings entertainment. If I were Queen still, I would have been in the palace, preparing for a ball, or organizing the massive dinner for the families of Piedmont that came to visit and renew ties. As much as I missed the glamour of the season though, something behind me kept me much happier.
Shade was crouched behind me in the notch between the window and the roof, rubbing his hands together and blowing warm air into them every so often. His breath was like a puff of smoke every time he exhaled, and he grumbled about the cold every few seconds. I would smile every time too. This had been his idea, and it was funny to watch him curse at outside things that he had no control over.
Lowering my binoculars for the first time in what felt like hours, I glanced at him over my shoulder and teased, "Cold feet, Barrow?"
"Shut it, Blondie." He spit as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his thick jacket and huddle closer in the crevice. I laughed softly and then turned back to the building lifted up my binoculars again.
The compound wasn't as heavily guarded as I thought it would be, at least on the outside. There were only a few guards patrolling the walkways along the top, and the only gate in had a single guard that was doing a poor job of checking the truck that was about to go in. I watched him open the back doors and climb in to check the cargo, before lowering my binoculars again and sitting back to think about how to get around him. The compound only had one exit and one entrance, which happened to be that gate. We didn't need to worry about an exit strategy so much as an entrance one, but I wanted to be safe. I didn't want to go along on one of Shade's jumps unless I absolutely had to.
I lifted up my binoculars one more time and watched the guard wave the truck in. It pushed through the snow, and I set my jaw tightly as I tried to think about how we were going to get past the guard.
As I was looking through, Shade's eye appeared in my field of view, magnified almost a hundred times, and he said mockingly, "Do we have a problem?"
I dropped the binoculars, and pushing his face out of the way, I said, "We will if you keep asking stupid questions."
Huffing in annoyance, he sat down in the snow next to me, apparently forgetting the cold long enough to continue saying stupid things. "We've been watching the building for three days now, everyone's going to be dead before we even get back with the medicine."
Narrowing my eyes at his tone, I packed my binoculars away in the satchel I had and replied coolly, "If we don't plan this well, then they will never get the medicine because we'll be dead." I stood after that and, slung the bag over my shoulder before picking my way along the rooftop carefully. Shade scrambled after me, kicking snow down the roof that would probably fall on the unsuspecting Silver children below. He caught up to me as I approached the door that lead into the top room of a bar and inn. I brushed the snow away with a gloved hand, and silently cursed the thin material as the snow bit at my fingertips. The latch came into view, and grabbing it tightly, I yanked the door up and then grabbed onto the ladder and started climbing down. Shade followed, still jabbering away as usual, and completely unaware that I wasn't listening.
He shut the door above us and then climbed down in the semidarkness, saying, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalling."
I crossed my arms in reproach at his comment, and then waving my hand in a flourish I replied, "Ah yes, congratulations, you've figured out my whole plan."
He jumped the last de rungs and with a shrug at my comment, he nudged me as he passed and winked. Then flipping the brim of my snow cap backwards so that I fell off, he said, "I've been told I've very observant Blondie."
As I bent down to grab my hat, I dusted it off and said, "The only thing you're going to be observing in the next few seconds, will be my fist rapidly approaching your nose."
He chuckled, and waved away my threat before starting out of the room and down the stairs. The sounds of the bar downstairs were loud and the crowd was especially rowdy tonight. No doubt the Reds had gotten off work early due to the Festival and were celebrating by downing as much of a bitter, vile drink as they could. Shade had pointed out that our best source of intel would be the Silver guards that sometimes drank in the taverns too, and for that reason we had trudged through five miles of snow every morning to stake out a spot in the tavern. Shade would sit there the whole day then, watching people or looking out the frosted window at the streets. I had taken to scouring the streets for information, while staking out the medical center. It had surprised me at first when he had told me to go alone. Apparently he trusted me more than he let on, because if I were him, I would have never let me go. I could easily go to a guard and put in an anonymous report that he was there, not that I would do that. That was the Evangeline who had first come into the Guard, bitter and resigned to her fate.
I followed him down the stairs, removing my gloves and lifting my collar to hide my more prominent features. No one had noticed me yet, but there was not a doubt in my mind that someone was bound to look over and tilt their head at a certain angle and then nudge their friend and say that I looked suspiciously like the traitorous Queen.
Shade took a seat at the bar, and then gesturing to the stool next to him, held up his hand up for two drinks and then threw me a smirk and wink as I sank onto the stool. I rolled my eyes and pulled my hair out of the braid to let it fall across my face and hide my features. The barmaid dropped two glass in front of Shade and then a bottle of something. She gave him a soft smile and then leaned against the bar to ask him something. Her body position made me sit up straighter and set my jaw tightly. She leaned close to him and asked if there was anything else he needed, but Shade gave her a gentle smile and said that there wasn't before putting a few small coins on the table for payment.
She pouted at his dismissal, and then left in a huff, taking the money with her. I refused to relax as I glared secret daggers at her back. There was plenty of metal around for me to bend into knives, but doing so would completely ruin the mission, and I wasn't going back to that compound empty handed.
Taking the small glasses in his hand, Shade poured some of the clear liquid into them and handed me one of them. I glared at it, until he nudged it toward me and said, "It's one drink Blondie, it won't kill you. Besides, you need to loosen up a little."
I took the glass from him, spilling a little bit of the liquid on my hand. I shook it off, and Shade smiled as he held up his own glass and whispered, "One toast if you don't mind your Highness, to the red dawn, may it be a little faster in coming than your plan."
He laughed at his joke and then clinked his glass against mine before placing it against his lips and tipped it back until all of the contents had gone down his throat. I frowned as I swirled the liquid for a few seconds and then said, "You're not worried at all that the Guard will die out or fracture?"
Sighing, he poured more of the liquid into his glass and shaking his head softly he murmured, "You ask too many hard questions."
"You mean, I ask about what you don't want to think about." I replied stiffly before setting my glass down and glaring at it. Alcohol was not something I was partial too. Wine was fine, I could sip at a glass as I had done plenty of times before at parties, but stuff like this that burned as it went down my throat and sat in my stomach, made me sicker than a dog in the middle of summer. Shade smiled at my words and then setting his own glass down, he looked at me sideways and asked, "Alright, may I ask a hard question then, since you get to ask all the time and I never do?"
"I asked you a question first."
"This isn't exactly twenty questions." He said with a grin before picking up his glass and downing the second one. He squeezed his eyes shut, and swallowed before setting the glass down again. He shifted so that he was leaning against the bar, and looking out at the crowd around us. I followed his eyes, but kept my back to the crowd, determined to keep my existence a secret.
After few seconds, Shade tilted his head in my direction and asked, "What do you see when you look at us? What do you really see, and I want the truth here, not the bullshit you spew to keep your skin on your back."
I shifted uncomfortably, and then running my fingertip along the rim of the glass, I looked at the crowd in the dirty mirror behind the bar. If I was being kind, I would say that I saw a bunch of drunken men who were hip deep in prostitutes and alcohol, but Shade didn't want "kind". Shifting to look at me, he raised his brow expectantly, and I ran my fingertip along the rings in the bar top to avoid his eye.
"I see a people who has been beating to its knees for so long that it doesn't want to get up anymore, and who has come to accept the fate that had come upon it." I looked up at the mirror as I said this, and Shade turned with a sad expression on his face to meet my eyes in the mirror. We looked at each other in the dirty reflection for a second before he said, "I asked you what you saw in the people around you, not yourself."
My hand closed in a fist, and I looked away before getting off the stool. I hadn't meant to be soft in that moment, and I had been honest about what I said. I couldn't afford to let him under my shields. I grabbed my hat and gloves and said, "I'm going back to the airship, I'm tired."
"Blondie-" He began but I put my hat on and pulled my scarf tight, I shouldn't have said anything in the first place. I put my gloves on and then glancing at him with narrowed eyes I said, "Try not to be back too late, we might be up early again tomorrow."
He reached out to grab my arm but I had already started through the crowd. I hugged my elbows close to my chest as I squeezed through the crowd, and kept my head down. I glanced over my shoulder to see if Shade was following me, but he was still sitting at the bar, deep in thought. I set my jaw tightly, and then pushed open the door, cursing him silently as I stepped out into the frigid air. The cold immediately bit at my nose, and I squeezed my eyes shut to keep them from watering. The sun had been setting as we'd climbed off the roof, and by now, it was completely dark outside.
There were a few Silver guards heading down the street as I exited the tavern, and gasping softly, I tugged my scarf up to hide my features and ducked into the tiny alcove next to the doors. They all come down the walkway, laughing and sharing stories. They looked older, possibly older than my father, which wasn't exactly surprising. Although younger bodied men made good soldiers, it was the old men in a young man's profession that were dangerous.
They passed by me without so much as a glance, but I still caught snippets of their conversation as they walked by. One of them was talking about a large shipment that was coming in later that night. Samson Merandus' name was thrown around once or twice, and they all seemed rather agitated that he was supposedly coming at all. My skin crawled when I heard that, but they dropped the subject after one of them nudged the others and gestured to a Red man coming out of the tavern. They let him pass and then continued whispering again. This time, it seemed that fate was going to smile upon me and throw me a bone after leaving me to starve for so long.
The shipment was coming in during the early hours of the morning, right before dawn to be exact, and would be coming in a massive caravan bearing cargo. My stomach turned and my heart raced at what that could mean. If Shade and I could somehow get in with that caravan, there would be a time when everyone would be so busy unloading and checking the cargo, that they wouldn't notice two stowaways. As I listened closer, hoping to find out how many guards would be with the shipment, and how many trucks as well, they dropped the subject matter altogether and disappeared into the tavern.
I cursed softly and then running tired hands down my face, I exhaled harshly through my nose and tried to force myself to relax. After that, I took one more deep breath to center myself, and then realized that Shade was still in the the tavern completely unaware that the guards were coming in. I panicked as thousands of scenarios involving him being caught and tortured ran through my mind, causing me to dash back into the tavern. The minute I did though, I sensed the change in the atmosphere. There was less shouting, and most of the people at the bar had turned to face forward and we trying to drink and mind their own business. The spot that Shade had occupied was empty though, and I stiffened in terror as I looked around and noticed that he was nowhere to be found.
The guards were walking around though, obviously here for more than drinks from the looks of it. I remained frozen in the doorway, unsure of what to do, if I tried to leave, I would be stopped and my identification would have to be checked. We had tried to avoid this situation as much as possible though, because we hadn't brought the proper documents to fake an identity. At the moment though, the big problem was that Shade wasn't in the room, which meant that he had either left through a backdoor or was hiding. If he hadn't gotten out though, then I was certain that my heart would shatter, never mind the fact that I could never go back to the compound without him. Just the thought of being without him at the moment was enough to make my palms sweat and my heart race.
Backing away quietly to avoid being noticed, I tucked myself into a small crevice created by a thick post and the door. As I backed into the shadows, a hand slipped out and wrapped around my mouth, before someone pulled me farther in. I was flipped around so my back was to the wall, only to meet Shade's eye as he kept his hand over my mouth and raised his finger to his lips in an order for silence. I pushed his hand away and then hissed, "We need to leave, there are guards."
"Keen observation skills there Blondie, did they teach you that in princess school?" Shade replied with an eye roll and a glance over his shoulder to see where the guards were. I pulled back slightly, and ended up bumping into the wall which forced me back toward him. He glanced down at me and then asked softly, "Any other observations you want to discuss?"
I wanted to punch him in the throat and say that yes, there was one more. He was much too close to me, and I was much too frazzled by that fact. I held back though, and curling my fingers into a tight fist, I set my jaw and didn't respond. Shade only smiled though, and chuckling to himself, he pulled me farther along the wall, until we were hidden behind heavy cloth shrouds that were meant to keep the chill out. As he pulled me behind him, he looked back and whispered, "You never cease to surprise me."
I opened my mouth to say something to him, but he yanked a drape aside to reveal a door in the wall. Yanking it open to the cold night, he gestured outside and I slipped into the freezing air once more. He followed and shut the door behind us, then burrowing his hands in his pockets he offered me a teasing grin and said, "Are you going to tell me why you stormed out of there in the first place?"
Huffing in irritation, I turned on my heel and started in the direction of the medical center. Shade had to step quickly to follow me, and eventually he did catch up, and the minute he did, I didn't give him a second to ask any more questions or speak.
"There is a giant shipment coming in at dawn, and we are getting into the medical center with it." I announced as we trudged through the ankle deep snow. Shade grabbed my arm though and pulling me to a stop he said, "And how do you plan on doing that exactly? That shipment convoy wasn't on the manifest you checked this morning. Who's to say if it's even real?"
"Samson Merandus is on it." I replied coolly, and then yanking my arm out of his grip I started back down the road again. Shade threw his arms up and then storming after me, he shouted, "And how is that any better?"
Flipping around on him, I stepped as close to him as I could, and glared up at him, until he swallowed. I watched his Adam's apple bounce up and down as he did that, and I turned away to avoid meeting his eye as I watch it. He was made of something else, something from the deepest part of the universe that had come down and consolidated in human form, just to tempt me and drive me up the walls insane. I wasn't sure how much more I could take before I broke, the cracks were already starting to show up in the framework. It was only a matter of time until I shattered completely and at the most inopportune time.
"It's better because people are afraid of him, and because of that, they'll make little mistakes, the kind that wouldn't normally happen. They won't check all the cargo, or they won't inspect every single person that comes in Samson's entourage. They will want him in and out of that facility as quickly as possible, which means there will be slip ups, we just have to be one of those slip ups." I growled as I met his eye again. We were standing in the pool of light from a hanging lamp above our heads, and his eyes were illuminated by it. In that moment, I couldn't help it, I stared. I marveled and wondered how someone like this could be considered below me because of their blood. He was beautiful, and like a sun he glowed from the inside out, bathing everyone in his ambiance. Sometimes, I felt like someone was dragging nails down a chalkboard when he did that around me, but it was only because I knew deep down that I didn't deserve that light. I didn't deserve to be basking in his solar flare, not with the things I'd done. But when I stood there, next to him, or near him, I felt like I was being filled with the same light. It was as if a piece of it had detached itself and ended up in me. It was the faintest glow, but I felt it none the less. I felt like when I was with him, I could be a good person, that I could wipe my leger and start over. At the moment, I would have done anything to clean the red and silver that was dripping from my past.
"Alright well, we'll just have to figure out a way to get in then. I assume we'll have to scout out the convoy..." he trailed off as he noticed my staring, and I snapped back from my moment of clarity. I pushed a loose hair out of my face and looked away to avoid his eye. He must have known, he had to have known by now that my stares were too frequent, and too obvious. I was like a child again that had no idea who to navigate my first ball, with my mother clutching my shoulder and forcing me to stay by her side and appear proper while the other children ran amuck. I could feel my family's stares behind my back even now, all of them denouncing me as I slowly began to fall further and further into the web I had stepped into. I had chosen to jump though, I'd made a vow to the Guard, I'd singled Shade Barrow out, and I had let my feelings for him cloud my better judgement. I should have known better, I wasn't strong enough, I had never been strong enough. Who was I to think I could have been Queen? I would have been murdered in my bed by the monster masquerading as my husband. My husband, the child king, that would slaughter all of his people as long as he could put his fingers around his brother neck and squeeze just so that Mare Barrow would be forced to watch.
"Are you sure we'll be able to pull it off?" Shade asked softly as he craned his neck to look down and meet my eye at the odd angle. I straightened up at his question, and meeting his eye, I whispered, "Without a doubt."
(/)
We had waited for the convoy to arrive, and it arrived right on schedule. Over seven trucks, with Samson riding in the front, his royal robes obvious in the breaking dawn. The trucks all rolled to a stop in front of the gates, and a guard came out to greet Samson. The last one in the line was resting in front of us, and the driver looked impossibly bored as he rested his chin in his hand.
Shade was crouched next to me, and after looking the trucks up and down a few times, I said, "There's no way we're getting into one of those."
He chuckled, and then adjusting his gloves he whispered in my ear, his breath stirring the baby hairs there, "You've obviously never had to spend a day on the streets in your life."
My heart accelerated at his close proximity, but I met his eye cooly and replied in an equally sarcastic tone, "You've obviously never learned to assess a situation properly."
With a shrug and a wink that would have made even silver ladies go weak at the knees, he slipped out from behind the mound of snow that had been our hide out for the past few hours. I gasped in surprise, but watched as he sprinted across the snow, only to drop down in a slide that took him under the belly of the truck. My head snapped toward the gates, but the Guard was engrossed in conversation with Samson, and hadn't noticed Shade's daring stunt. Expelling a sigh of relief at that fact, I looked back at Shade's hideout. He had poked his head out from underneath the truck, and giving me a wide, mischievous smile, he motioned for me to join him.
I glanced back at the gates, before I slowly edged out from my hiding place. The guard was stepping away from the truck and was motioning the convoy forward. With a strangled cry, I took four long strides to the truck at a sprint and then threw myself down into the snow and slid under to join Shade. I slammed into him just as the truck rumbled to life above our heads, and spit black smoke out. It engulfed us for a second, but Shade grabbed onto my hands and guided them to two pipes. I grabbed on, and then morphed them into two handles. He settled below me, and then wrapping his legs with my own, he pulled us up toward the bottom of the truck.
It rolled forward, and I felt his arms shift to cradle my weight more as we rocked side to side with the movement of the truck. His breath was hot on the back of my neck and I was suddenly self-conscious to the fact that his entire body was pressed against mine. I could feel the heat rising up in my cheeks at that fact, and I swallowed heavily to force the knot in my stomach down. Shade grunted as he shifted his position to better accommodate his own weight, and I cursed my bodies response to that sound, before pulling myself up higher.
My arms started to shake as we approached the gate, and Shade's breathing was coming in faster and harsher as he struggled to hold on as well. His lips brushed against my ear as he whispered, "Almost there."
"We have to get inside," I hissed softly, but I wasn't sure if he heard me over the roar of the engine above us.
The truck rolled through the gate, and through a mound of snow that funneled its way underneath to us. I felt Shade's grip loosen as the snow buffeted us from all directions, and with my eyes squeezed shut against the exhaust and frost, I wrapped my hands around his and forced the metal to fold in a sheet around our hands to keep them in place. The frozen metal cut into my wrists, and I gritted my teeth against the sharp sawing that came with each rock of the truck. As much as it was excruciating, the thought of being crushed under the wheels or being discovered seemed a thousand times worse at the moment.
As soon as the snow assault had started, it stopped, and we rolled across the threshold of a massive hangar sized door. The temperature had risen almost ten degrees, and I could hear the grinding of the machinery, as the massive door slid to a close behind us. We came to a stop a few feet away, and I shifted my head slightly to listen to the conversations of the guards as they passed by. Farther away, doors slammed, and boots marched passed our hidden space. I tensed as one of the guards paused next to us, and for a moment, it looked like he was going to crouch down to check underneath the truck, only for someone to call for him. He huffed in annoyance and then kept walking.
We remained in our position for a few minutes before I dropped the metal sheets and let us collapse to the floor. Shade grunted underneath me as I landed on top of him, but with a soft laugh, he whispered, "Thanks for the support, I would probably be roadkill out in the middle of that courtyard if it wasn't for you."
I grinned wildly at his grateful comment, and hid it by wiping at the frost on my cheeks and lips. I rolled off of him slowly and onto my front, with my elbows underneath me, propping me up. At that point, I forced my features to a neutral stage, and said to him, "Well, I couldn't have done this mission on my own, and I'd rather get it over with quickly. I don't want to spend more time around Samson than I have to." With that I started to crawl out from under the truck.
"Is he really that terrifying?" Shade asked mockingly, as he followed me, his shoulder only a hairbreadth away from mine. With a grin, I looked back at him and replied, "About as bad as me on a good day."
He at least had the decency to smile, but I could see the worry behind his eyes. Samson was a whisperer, neither of us was prepared to fight someone like that. The only person capable to fighting such a person was a little girl that was lying on a bed dying of a disease that we were trying to get a cure for. Even then, there were rumors that Samson was even stronger than his sister had been. But a rumor was a rumor, and I knew first hand how deceiving those could be.
Shade's smile fell quickly as he peeked out from under the truck next to me. We both observed the hangar sized space we were in, and at the few guards that were stationed above our heads. They walked around, pretending to be at the ready, but their overconfidence was their weakness. They thought that after the Guard's first failed attempt to take Archeon, that they wouldn't dare try anything again. How very wrong they were.
After they had all migrated to the other side of the hanger, I tugged on Shade's jacket, pulling him after me and toward the shipping containers that had just come in on the barges from Harbor Bay recently. I ducked behind the first one, and Shade followed, slipping the bag off of his shoulders and dropping onto one knee so that he could dig through it. I stood above him, until he tapped my leg with the butt of a pistol. I took it gratefully and then crouched down like him and observed the catwalks above our heads. The guards had paused on the other side and were chatting idly, while their partners took the stairs down to check the floor. I nudged Shade and whispered, "Two coming, should be coming from the right."
He nodded, and handed me a belt with a grappling rope attached. We had done our research this time before going into this mission, since he and I weren't too keen to climb up a lift shaft again. This time, we would have to go down though, since the majority of the compound was buried underground and into the cliff face. After talking it over before leaving the compound, we had decided against pretending to be guards, and had decided to grapple down one of the shafts. The only problem with that was knowing when the shaft was clear. If a lift came up at the time we were going down, we would be completely exposed, and would eventually just become splattered body parts on the shaft walls.
I took the belt from him, and striped off my heavy jacket before yanking my snow pants off as well to reveal the tight combat outfit I had on underneath. Shade did the same next to me, and against my better judgement, I glanced at him as he removed the extra shirt he had worn under his jacket. He pulled the clothing off in one fluid movement, and shoved it into a crevice with mine. After that, he snapped his belt on, and then stepped up to take my place as a point man while I put my own belt on and pulled my hair into a tight braid. I watched the back of his head for a few seconds, wondering if he would turn and glance at me like I had. He never did though, and I swallowed the burning desire in the pit of my stomach that had reached up into my throat. Even though I tried to ignore that burning feeling, it still bubbled up as I took my scarf and tied it on to hide my features behind a curtain of red.
As soon as I was ready, I nudged him again, and he nodded as he grabbed the bag and tossed it back on. We started to make our way toward the lifts after that, picking our way behind storage containers while trying to remain out of sight. The guards didn't seem interested with anything but the conversation they were having, which made it easier to move from space to space. Ahead of me, Shade had paused and was waiting for a group of guards to pass. I paused right behind him, and he grabbed my hand in his own in case he had to jump suddenly. I squeezed his fingers gently, letting him know that I was ready at any second.
His hand felt warm in mine, and I couldn't stop myself from running my thumb along the inside of his hand to feel the callused skin there. It had come from years of hard labor, and it felt like dried riding leather to me as I tried to caress it without being noticed. The grooves of his palm were hard against my own, and suddenly I wanted to touch every inch of his hand to see if it was the same texture. Before I could though, he slipped his hand out of mine. My skin crawled as I realized that he had probably felt me running my finger along his skin. But he had only pulled his hand away to take the pistol out of his leg hollister and say, "Stay here for a few seconds, I'm going to check out the lifts and see what we have ahead of us."
As he went to teleport though, I grabbed his arm, causing him to turn and look at me curiously. Before he could protest, I yanked him farther back as an entourage stopped right next to the shipping container we were hiding behind. At the point of the group was an older general, and the devil himself, wearing the Merandus house colors with the insignia of a high ranking member of the court decorating the front. Samson stood with his shoulders back, and a snake like glint in his eyes as he looked down at the general next to him, who was trying his best not to squirm under the Whisperer's gaze.
"The Crown will not be pleased to hear about this set back," Samson said with a smile as he clasped his hands behind his back. The general shifting his weight for a second, as if he were chewing on his next words before he said them. Eventually he turned back to the lift and said, "I understand Sir, but to ask us to move such a large quantity of the serum on such short notice is impossible."
"Impossible is such a bad word to use General Macanthos, the word itself has the word 'I'm possible' in it." Samson said with a disappointed look that would have sent most of the Silver Court running with their tail between their legs. Even though he wasn't giving the look in my direction it still made my skin crawl and my stomach turn like I had swallowed something sour. It was terrifying to think that he had that effect on people, especially with Maven in such an emotionally and mentally compromised condition. There was no telling if he was manipulating Maven into doing things, or if he was playing the card deck just waiting for his turn to draw an ace. It wouldn't have surprised me if that were the case either. Samson was a manipulative as he was handsome, and he knew how to work a room with a few carefully placed words, or maybe even thoughts.
Shade glanced at me over his shoulder and with shadows dancing on his face, he asked softly, "What is the serum they're talking about?"
"I have no idea," I breathed in reply. It wasn't entirely a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. It had been mentioned in court once or twice while I had been Queen, but anyone who mentioned it was usually removed quickly. Any investigation into the matter usually turned up the fact that there were sufficient funds going into a project that was highly classified, with anything beyond that being impossible to find. Maven had never spoken of it either, but sometimes he had had papers in his office that had come in from Delphie that mentioned a testing of a serum.
Frowning at my response, Shade leaned forward slightly to look out and see if there was anyone waiting to get in the lifts after the group in front to us. As soon as he stuck his head out though, Samson cleared his throat, and I yanked Shade back by the collar of his shirt in panic. We collapsed in a heap, since I was off balance, and I scrambled underneath him as I tried to right myself in case we needed to run. In front of us though, Samson announced in a annoyingly superior tone, "May I ask why the lift is taking so long?"
Shade sat up in that moment, and rolling off of me, he asked if I was okay. I pushed him away though, and then crawled forward to listen to what the general had to say. Macanthos shifted again, and then replied in a tone feigning a casual air, "This lift has to be manually operated by magnetrons at the bottom, Sir. We've been experiencing power deficiencies with the storms."
Samson huffed, and then motioned for one of his men to step forward. As he did, I caught a glimpse of the man's face as he turned to listen to what Samson had to say. I flipped around and bit my knuckle to keep from throwing up after that. Ptolemus was here, my brother was here. I should have known that though, he had always been a member of the Elite guard, his friendship with Cal buying him that position at a young age. What would he do if he saw me? It had to be the moment of truth, I supposed; to see if his loyalties laid with our family, with his own blood, or with the king who had almost ordered him killed. I wondered if Ptolemus even knew what my marriage to Maven had bought him. I'd ordered his life spared, that he have immunity in everything he did, and Maven had waved his hand and granted it like I had only asked for a glass of water. I hadn't been able to believe my luck. I'd bought Ptolemus' children and the rest of my family that immunity as well, but apparently I hadn't been smart enough to grant myself that same blessing.
Shade grabbed my shoulder in fear, and then looked forward and saw my brother turn and start down the hallway in the direction that the party had come. He wore the sword that Maven had granted him from among Cal's belongings, with his hand gripping the top of the hilt tightly like it was the only thing keeping him from lashing out with the thing. I used to see him sitting outside on a bench in the garden cleaning the sword in the early hours of the morning, while he watched the sun rise. He'd appeared to clean it like he was going to give it back, as if he would see Cal again someday and hold out while dropping to a knee like he would have at his friend's coronation. I wondered if he still believed in that future, or if it had blown away like smoke on the wind like all of my dreams.
"It doesn't change anything Blondie, we can still go through with the mission." Shade whispered into my thoughts, and I looked forward to meet his eye. He had cupped my face softly and was giving me a pitying glance. He understood at least what seeing Ptolemus meant for me. I was once more struck by how different my people were from his. If I had hesitated under Ptolemus or any other Silver General, I would have been shunned and sent back. Shade knew what it meant though, what blood meant, and how hard it was to look your sibling in the eye knowing you would have to fight and possibly kill them.
I shook myself out of my reprieve and then pulling my face out of his comforting touch, I whispered, "I know, let's just get this over with."
The group had left a few seconds ago, and Shade slipped out of the shadows ahead of me only to dropping into a crouch in the doorway of the lift. He drew his pistol while I went to work on the door, opening it piece by piece so that no one would notice our presence. The pieces slid to the side like a complex puzzle, and when I had created a gap big enough for both of us, I nudged Shade and stepped inside. He followed me, and once both of us were on the inside of the ledge, he handed me a glow stick that I broke and tucked in between my teeth. It cast an eerie green glow over everything, and using that light, I fashioned hooks for us to attach our grapples to out of two metal tubes sticking out of the wall above our heads.
I tied mine off first, and Shade followed suit before sticking his glow stick into the breast pocket of his jacket. I tucked mine into my back pocket, and then glanced down the shift. Below us, I could feel the lift dropping like a weight in my stomach. The magnetrons were taking their time to bring it down as gently as possible, which would give us plenty of time to catch up to it, and remain a safe distance away. I glanced at Shade, who looked like a comical ghost in the light of his glow stick, one last time before closing the gap I had created in the doors, shutting us in darkness. As soon as the light had vanished I heard him push off and start repelling down the shaft. I followed suit, praying that the magnetrons at the bottom didn't send the lift back up while we were still on top.
(/)
We had reached the bottom of the lift with minimal problems, and after waiting for a few tense seconds, we had dropped into the lift, surprising the two magnetrons inside that were working it. We had knocked them out easily, and disposed of them in the corner. After that it had been a few easy steps outside onto the platform, and at that point we ran into our first problem.
Our source on the inside had told us that reaching the medical capsule would be no problem, as long as we got identification, and Shade had assured me that he could try and teleport us inside if that didn't work. What we hadn't accounted for was the massive chasm that stood between us and the glass tube that housed all the medical supplies and vaccines.
Shade whistled as he saw it, and dragged his fingers through his sweaty hair. I almost turned around and left, but as I went to leave, I looked up and saw a single magnetron walking across on a bridge that he was fashioning out of metal plates that folded out. My eyes widened as I recognized Ptolemus, and also our only way across. Shade saw it at the same time as me, and then with an irritated twist of his lips he inquired, "Is it too much to ask if you can do that too?"
"Of course I can do that," I snipped in reply, "Do you think I'm twelve?"
Shade shrugged, at my reply, but before he could reply, I creeped toward the edge of the platform to watch Ptolemus land on the other side and stroll toward the glass center. A door opened for him and he stepped inside. Farther inside, I could see Samson standing and looking out the opposite way while he listened to what the General and Director of the center had to say.
With a huff, I looked down at the endless chasm below my feet and then reached out and summoned the metal. It creaked under my feet for a moment, but then bent under my coercion, and folded out into another plate. Shade whistled again behind me and breathed, "Neat party trick."
Grinning back at him, I started out, creating each piece ahead of me as I stepped. Shade followed behind me quickly, since I was breaking the plates behind us as I moved forward one step at a time. The chasm yawned beneath us, and I forced myself to look forward instead of down, trusting my ability to not fail as we went across. It was slower going than Ptolemus, but I couldn't leave Shade behind. He followed dutifully though, offering me encouragement every so often, which brought a smile of pleasure to my face.
We arrived at the other platform unscathed, and Shade leaped for the door. He took the key card we had taken off one of the magnetrons in the lift, and swiped it. The door hissed open, and he stepped inside while I remained outside. He watched me with a cautious expression, but I pulled my scarf down and gave him an encouraging smile, before stepping into crevice near the door. With a nod of understanding, he walked inside, letting the door hiss shut behind him. I watched him from the outside as he opened his bag and walked along the aisles. Near the back, he paused, and then started dumping bottles into his bag. My heart soared, and I pulled my scarf up to hide my smile as he practically danced along the shelf grabbing as much as his bag could carry. We wouldn't be going back empty handed then.
As soon as I thought that we were in the clear though, there was a heavy thud near my hiding place. I straightened up in surprise and drew my pistol off my belt. It was a flimsy thing at best, but it was something to defend myself with against multiple attackers. The heavy steps stopped after a few seconds, and I forced my adrenaline racing heart to slow as I turned the safety on my gun off.
After a few second of tense silence, the person standing on the other side of the wall from me said, "It appears we have some trespassers."
My stomach dropped as I recognized Ptolemus' bored drawl, and my finger shook on the trigger of my weapon as I lifted it up towards my chest. I knew how tall he was by heart, and I knew exactly where to place the gun so that when he came around the corner it would be directly over his heart. Could I do it though, could I pull the trigger and kill my only brother in cold blood?
"Don't play games with me Evangeline, we're told old to play games." He growled, and even though he tried to be quiet about it, I still heard him draw his sword. Swallowing past the knife in my throat, I croaked, "You know how much I like games, Ptolemus."
He was silent for a few seconds and then with a sneer that I could hear in his words he hissed, "And you know how much I hate to lose."
He spun around the corner in that moment, taking me completely off guard. I swung the pistol around to try and fire, but he knocked it from my hand with the blade of his sword, sending it spiraling into the abyss. I backed away from him then, unsure of how to proceed. He glanced inside at Shade though, who had taken notice of what was happening outside and was making his way toward us. Ptolemus laughed at him, and then drove the hilt of his sword into the mechanism that locked the door. It exploded in a shower of sparks, and Shade tried in vain to swipe the card and open the door. With a triumphant grin, Ptolemus watched as he tried to teleport out too, also in vain.
With a wicked grin, Ptolemus met my eye and knocked on the glass. "Reinforced diamond glass, with an infusion of Silencer Stone, just enough to knock the juice out of you while you're inside."
I backed up in panic, realizing that in a few seconds I would be completely outnumbered. Ptolemus turned to face me then, and pointing the tip of his sword at me, he shouted, "Do you have any idea what you've done? How devastated our parents were? What kind of position you put me in?"
I swallowed my retort, he was too buried in the lies for me to try and dig him out. I could only watch as my brother looked at me like I was a stranger. In that moment though, I didn't seen a vicious killer, I saw a little boy dressed in a suit that looked a little too small on his too broad shoulders, smiling and showing me a trick that he had learned that day.
"I won't fight you Ptolemus," I whispered as I took another step away from him and held out my hands to show him that I had no other weapons on me. I felt my knife burning a hole in the back of my shirt though. I'd taken to wearing it on my lower back where no one could find it. If I reached for it now though, Ptolemus would leap and I would have no choice but to fight him.
He looked disgusted at my comment though, and for a moment, I thought he would lash out at me for my comment alone. Instead, his sneer fell, and he lowered his sword for a second, his eyes glazed with what looked like tears as he choked, "Then you're not my sister. She would never be so weak."
I felt like he had shoved a knife into my already bleeding heart. He had no right to accuse me of being weak. He had no idea how hard it was to pretend like I didn't miss my family, didn't miss my status, didn't miss everything about my previous life. It was just that though, a previous life, and I was living a new one now. I felt a hundred times stronger than I had been before, but he could never understand that. He didn't know what it was like to sleep on nothing but a semi-thick mat for months, he didn't know what it felt like to have bruises from training that couldn't be healed immediately, and he especially didn't know what it felt like to want someone so desperately that it made your bones ache.
I was completely distracted by my thoughts, so when Ptolemus leaped at me, I almost missed my window to get out of the way. He brought his sword down with so much force that I felt the wind from it as I somersaulted out of the way. He hissed in fury, and then swinging the sword back to try and cut me from behind, he howled in fury. I came out of my tumble and into a crouch, which allowed me to watch as his blade passed over my head, almost cutting the tips of my hairs off. In that moment, I saw the openings that Shade had pointed out to me in my own fighting style. Ptolemus had sacrificed his balanced position for power in his swing, and that had left him completely exposed at the back. Seeing this, I swept my leg in a side kick to the back of his knees. He cried out at they buckled under the force of my kick, and he collapsed forward onto his hands and knees. As I leaped up to try and pin him down, he rolled over andbrandished the sword wildly, forcing me back a few steps to avoid the blade.
He rolled to his feet, and bringing the sword up again, he panted and growled, "I won't fight an unarmed man."
Even though he was my brother, and I had tried to tell myself that I could talk him out of fighting me, I would not accept being belittled or underestimated. I set my jaw tightly, and then yanking my scarf down, I glared at him and said, "Don't underestimate me Ptolemus, you should know better than that."
He only laughed and swung the sword again, and I pushed back, arching my back to turn the movement into a back handspring. Although my brother had the element of strength in this fight, I was smaller and more agile. I could defend longer than him, and when he tired himself out, I could counter.
I landed in another crouch a few steps away from him, and when I looked over his shoulder, I saw Shade moving things in front of the glass. The rest of Shadow Legion appeared behind Ptolemus though, and started to advance on us. Ptolemus barked at them to stay back, and then glaring at me, he shouted, "She's mine."
He turned back to sneer at me, and I reached under my shirt and pulled my knife out of its holster. The blade gleamed in the bright light, and I spun the hilt into a backhand grip before forcing the metal to elongate. It morphed into a staff that I had become accustomed to fighting with, and I stood up to show him that I had a weapon of my own now. He pursed his lips when he saw my choice, and then growled, "Look how weak they've made you, it's almost pathetic."
"You've been too busy sleeping with Helene, and not practicing, it shows." I fired back, mostly to soothe my ego. My comment ignited the exact reaction I had anticipated though, and with a roar, he leaped at me. I spun out of the way as he thundered by me, and then brought my staff around to crack him across the back. He howled and then spun around to face me again. His blade clanged against my staff, and with a grunt he pushed me back. I set my feet though, refusing to be moved. He was stronger though, and as much as I hated to admit it, he had always been stronger. First born, eldest son, he had sometimes rivaled Cal in hand to hand combat training, but he was a brute and all he had was brute force. At the moment that was giving him the victory though. I could feel my many missed meals in my muscles as I struggled to hold him off. My arms shook violently, and my legs didn't fare any better, and as he pushed harder, my back arched uncomfortably as I tried to keep from giving ground.
He stood over me then, his eyes like steel as he whispered, "It's over Evangeline, surrender."
I growled, and tried to push back, my arms straining to push against his weight. I couldn't surrender, not now, not after I had come so far and set myself on this path. I couldn't leave Shade to a fate worse than death, not if it was at the hands of Ptolemus.
Just as my grip started to slip on the staff, the glass behind Ptolemus exploded out, and the ground shook, forcing him back. I stumbled and fell, covering my head as glass from the floors above us rained down. The legion members cried out and screamed in agony as shards of glass ripped at their uniforms and tore at their skin. The platform rattled underneath me, and my teeth rattled in my skull as I tried to look up and locate my brother. He was a few steps away, trying to remain on his feet. Above our heads, a claxon of alarms exploded, and I felt the heat of fires as the damaged equipment also exploded.
After the shaking stopped, I stumbled to my feet, the world spinning around me as I tried to get my bearings. I gripped my staff tightly and tried to see through the haze of dark smoke that was pooling out of the room next to me. At the back of my mind, I was trying to figure out what had set off the explosion in the first place, but my attention was completely absorbed with finding Ptolemus. My skin crawled as I tried to find him, and he remained elusive. He must have been as shaken as me, and trying to recover.
The smoke parted in front of me, and I swung my staff to catch Ptolemus across the temple, but he caught the end. He smiled at me and then using the momentum from my swing, he threw me out over the abyss.
I tumbled through open air for a moment, cursing myself excessively for thinking that move would work. As I fell though, I heard someone scream my name in panic, jarring me to reality again. I turned over to face downward, and reached out for the metal around me, begging it to come to my aid. And like the trusted friend it was, it didn't disappoint. The plates ripped off of the platforms on both sides and slammed together to form a makeshift platform below me.
I slammed into it at full force, even though I tried to tuck and roll to absorb most of the impact. Rolling along the platform, I tried to stop myself, but I ended up almost rolling off the edge. I caught it with my fingertips and watched as my staff fell past me and toward the depths. As I looked down through the wild hairs that had escaped my braid, I saw it plop into the massive pool of water that was at the bottom. I exhaled softly in relief, and then started to pull myself up. With a heave, I pulled my body up onto the platform and collapsed in a heap, laughing in relief for my quick thinking. I'd never thought I'd be so thankful for the training exercises that Arven had put us through.
My relief was short lived though. Ptolemus leaped off of the platform thirty feet above me, and using metal plates as a ramp, he slid down to me and leaped onto my platform. I struggled to get up, but he drove his foot into my side, successfully knocking all the air out of my body and rolling my onto my back. As I tried to inhale around my spasming diaphragm, he stepped on my stomach and putting all his weight on that foot he growled, "I can't let you get away Eve, he'll take everything from me then."
"He already has Ptolemus, he has you like a dog on a leash." I choked, as I clawed at his shin. But the padding he had there was littered with tiny shards of glass, and they ripped at my fingers, drawing blood that soaked into his pant leg. Seeing my struggle he pushed down harder, which caused me to throw my head back to try and get even a whisper of air. My eyes sought his, and with regret, I saw that he had streaks of tears running down his face as he shouted, "You don't understand, you don't know what he does to the dissenters! He has your family killed while you watch, and then leaves you to Samson, to rip your mind apart piece by piece!"
I tried to struggle against him one last time, as black spots started to appear on the edge of my vision. I closed my eyes against the dizzy, world spinning feeling I had, and choked around my constricted ribs, "Ptolemus… please…"
"You were my baby sister! I was supposed to protect you, not kill you! You gave me no choice!" He cried as he lifted his sword up above his head with shaking hands to bring it down in a blow that would surely decapitate me. I squirmed underneath him, my eyes filling with tears as I realized that he wasn't going to hesitate. My brother's love only went so far, and for some reason that pained my very soul. I had always thought that no matter what, he would stand by me, that he would always be there for me. He'd told me exactly that after a training session during which I'd failed miserably. He'd found me crying in the back of my closet, and had pulled me close and told me to never let them see me cry, that everything would be okay. If someone had told me back on that day that this was what the future held, I would have laughed in their face. Sitting here now though, waiting for the end, I couldn't help but think about all the times that I had been able to rely on Ptolemus.
The killing blow never came though. Instead, Ptolemus grunted as he was hit by a projectile from the side. I inhaled sharply as I was freed, but when I rolled over to see what had happened, I was halted by a sharp pain in my side. I grabbed at it, and gasped in pain as I realized that some of my ribs might have been broken either in my fall, or under Ptolemus' weight. As I craned my neck up though, I saw Shade backing away from Ptolemus slowly, with a knife in his hand that he was gripping completely wrong. Ptolemus seemed to realize this too, because he spun his sword at his side for a second with a wicked grin on his face. He would lash out any second, and Shade would not know how to defend against a sword, unless he just kept teleporting. He would get tired eventually though, and we needed him to save his strength for one more jump out of the compound.
I tried to push myself up again, because without a doubt, Ptolemus would finish what we had started a year ago and I refused to let that happen. Shade had saved my life, and he had given me something even greater after that, it was time to return the favor. Gritting my teeth against the fire that seared down my side, I pushed myself to my feet. Shade had taken a step back, and Ptolemus was circling him like a vulture, his eyes looking Shade up and down to try and decipher a weakness. He wouldn't find many, but the one's that he did find were the one's that I knew about. Shade favored his right side in attacking, and he would lash out with quick blows that were hard to counter, but easy to slip around. He had been trained to fight dirty, but sometimes, the rules were what allowed someone to win. Shade would not have any answer to Ptolemus' strength or size, and the fight would be entirely one sided.
As I stumbled toward them, Ptolemus swung, taking an opportunity. Shade tried to drop step and avoid the blade, but the tip of it cut into his thigh. Crying out in agony, Shade dropped the knife and fell to one knee, while his hands scrambled to stop the blood from flowing out of his wound. Ptolemus stood above him then, the sword raised and ready to descend upon Shade's neck.
Shade would not be defeated so easily though. He picked up the knife in his blood stained hand and pushing off of one leg, drove it into Ptolemus' leg, twisting the hilt and possibly ripping muscle. Ptolemus howled in agony and kicked out with his good leg, catching Shade across the side of the head. The force of the blow was so strong that I saw Shade's neck snap back, and his back arch as he tried to duck away from the blow. His body rolled with the momentum though, and he tumbled toward the edge of the platform. I struggled toward him, and then falling on top of him, I tried to shove him up, crying, "Shade, we have to jump Shade. Shade jump us!"
He tried to stumble up, but his leg gave out under him, and I looked over my shoulder in terror to see Ptolemus struggling as well, leaning on his sword as he pulled the knife out of his leg. It was stained red and silver, and for a moment, I remembered a nightmare from long ago, of red and silver blood dripping into a pool and creating a flood. Shade grabbed my arm for support and whispered, "I can't… I can't jump."
My hands shook then, as I heard Ptolemus roar and yank the knife out completely. He crushed the blade in his hand, and then turned his furious eyes on me. No doubt his vision was tunneled and all he would see was me on top of Shade, protecting him it seemed. I panicked in that moment, and then glancing over the edge at the drop below us, and the water there as well, I made up my mind. I pulled Shade toward the edge and then holding him up as best as I could, I whispered, "Let me do the work, just hold your breath."
My side protested at his weight, but I pushed through the pain, setting my jaw tightly against it. There would be time later to get medical attention, but if I didn't get us out now, then there would be no need for that attention, because we would both be either dead or in chains.
Ptolemus seemed to sense my thoughts, because he let out a strangled cry and began to try and sprint toward us. I took a few decisive steps though, and without looking back, I threw myself over the edge. Ptolemus screamed in fury and pain as he reached out to try and grab the back of my shirt, but I felt the fabric slip through his fingers. I clutched at Shade as we fell, and I felt his arms wrap around my middle as we plummeted headfirst toward the water.
I hit the water first, and the freezing cold liquid washed over me and swallowed me whole. It stole the little bit of air I had been able to squeeze in around my burning lungs, and I watched it escape in silvery bubbles. Shade floated down next to me, the impact having thrown us apart. I reached out for him, and closed my fist around his shirt, and pulled him close to me. His leg wound left a trail of dark blood in the water behind him, and I felt his dead weight as I pulled him toward what was hopefully the side. My precious air supply was running out though, and Shade wasn't helping me at all. I could not surface for air though, if I did I would give away our exact location. At least like this, they would have to at least search for us, which could give me a few more seconds to find an escape route.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I felt a sharp tug from the current, and I looked to the side in the direction it was taking me. There was a massive dark hole that almost all the water was being sucked into. Before I could really assess the idea, the current took complete hold of me. I struggled for a few seconds, unsure of where the piping system would deposit us, but it was too late. The current had us, and Shade's dead weight took us along for the ride as well.
The last thing I saw before I fell unconscious from the pain in my side, was the darkness swallowing us as we entered the tunnel.
(/Medical Laboratory: Archeon/)
Ptolemus watched from the main platforms as nymphs searched the waters below him for his sister and her accomplice. He shouldn't have let them escape, but as he'd stood over his sister with his sword raised, he'd been searching desperately for something to make him hesitate. The Red that had attacked him had been the perfect opportunity. He'd thought that Evangeline would just run though, and not try and help the man escape. That had been one of his misinterpretations, the other had been that Evangeline would come quietly. He should have known better.
Behind him, Samson cleared his throat, and Ptolemus glanced at him with what he hoped was a stoic expression of calm. The older man tilted his head to the side and with a tight smile he said, "Anything to report Lord Samos?"
"Nothing at the moment Sir, if the nymphs find anything, you'll be the first to know."
"I should hope that I would be the first to know," growled a much younger voice, that preceded Maven as he appeared from the lift. Ptolemus set his jaw tightly, and tried not to grimace as he bowed deeply next to Samson who only had to bow his head. When he stood up again, Ptolemus swallowed his pride and said, "I apologize Your Highness, we were under the impression that you were still touring in Delphie."
Maven huffed, and then brushing an invisible speck of dust off of his coat, he snapped, "you should expect Your King at all times, and at the moment, I want a status report."
Samson stepped in front of Ptolemus immediately, successfully cutting into the conversation, and making a very obvious statement. "Of course Your Highness, at the moment we are trying to apprehend Evangeline Samos, and Shade Barrow, who broke into the compound and stole some of the medication we had developed specifically for the recent outbreak."
"How much did they take?" Maven growled as he ground his teeth. If Evangeline had taken some of the medicine, that wasn't a problem, it was a problem if they left Archeon with it. He needed Evangeline for information, and knowing her, she would tell him everything he wanted to know as long as it kept her alive. Not to mention the fact that having Shade Barrow would be an added bonus. Mare would come running like a moth to light if she knew that he had her beloved brother. He'd send her a message like he had planned to do if he captured Cal or Mare herself. He'd initiate a little torture, just enough to make them beg for mercy, and then he'd record it and send it out to the Guard. Mare would come within days, and Cal would be right behind her. He'd have both of them then, finally, and he'd get rid of his brother and have Mare. She'd do anything for him too, as long as Cal's head was on the chopping block, along with everyone she knew.
"They didn't take any of the serum though, Your Highness." Ptolemus announced from behind Samson, as he tried to step back in front and take control of the situation. Maven only sneered though, and spit, "I couldn't care less about the damn serum, I care about Shade Barrow, and Evangeline Samos. I want the two of them in chains, in my throne room, at my feet by midnight tonight, or I will take my frustration out on someone else."
With that, he turned on his heel, and left with his cape snapping behind him. Ptolemus felt his spine stiffen in terror, Maven was a man of his word, he would take his frustration out on someone else, most like Ptolemus or his wife Helene. That was unacceptable though, which meant he had twelve hours to find his sister and Shade, or he would feel the wrath of the king with more blood on his hands than his ancestors combined. Maven did not know mercy, and he would not learn what it was in twelve hours. That left very little time.
As he was about to turn around and bark orders at the nymphs to start searching the pipes, Samson grabbed his shoulder and whispered, "Remember our deal Ptolemus, get whomever isn't looking for Evangeline to move the serum into the trucks, and I will personally make sure that you and your wife escape this fiasco unscathed."
Ptolemus hung his head, and then with gritting teeth, he glared at the man over his shoulder and replied, "Yes, Sir."
Although he was reluctant to speak the title, Samson was his superior, and he had promised him his allegiance as long as Samson kept him safe. So far he had done so, but anyone could betray anyone, and Samson was known for his two faced actions. If only the king could see how he was being used, but deep down, Ptolemus knew he was no different. For that reason, he kept Samson at arms length, only doing as he was told, and following the rules. He'd didn't give Samson a reason to turn him in, or go back on their agreement. Ptolemus knew that he was small fry compared to some of Samson's other enemies and partners. He was a pawn, and for that reason, he kept his mouth shut.
But Ptolemus prided himself on the fact that he knew a winning horse when he saw it, and Maven was not the winning horse anymore. As much as Cal was like a brother to him too, he was not the horse to put all his money on, so he would bet high stakes on Samson, and he would sit back and wait for the pay out. For now, he would pull people off of his sister's tail, and he would let them escape. For some reason, that made him less guilty than betraying his supposed King.
A/N
Hello everyone, I'm so sorry that this has taken forever. This chapter is literally over 16000 words though, and I had a lot of trouble chipping away at this. This has been a really hard transition for me from high school to college, and now that I'm a college athlete, it's even harder. Please understand that I'm going to be trying as hard as I can to finish this story. I'm so excited that so many people are really excited about this story, and I hope you all stick around. The updates may be a little slow, but please stay with me. Your reviews and comments really keep my going. I love you all so much, and I'll see you in the next chapter which will either be this long or a little shorter.
QUESTION TIME!
What did you think of Shade and Evangeline's mission and what happened? (Sorry if it flet short and rushed, I had to crank it out)
