Please Sithis. Please Sithis. Please Sithis. A mass of black and red scooped me from the sky right before I was flattened to Oblivion. Thank you Sithis.
"Are you mad?" Cicero scolded me. He had come. I had never wanted to kiss him or punch him as much as I did right now.
"Are you? I told you to stay put!"
"Since when did I start taking orders from you?"
"Since I became the Listener." He only shrugged. He was feisty today. Feisty with the confidence of a finished Dark Brotherhood contract. "Cicero it was all a set up. We need to get to the sanctuary, the Falkreath sanctuary, now. Astrid, she-" Sensing my urgency, he whipped Shadowmere's reigns, forcing him into a speed I didn't even know was possible. We zipped past forests and mountains, all of it a blur around our four lightening hooves. If Sanguine was following us, he was nowhere close to catching up.
"That bastard," Cicero spoke through gritted teeth. He had tears in his eyes, from the wind whipping around us or the fatality that was surely befalling the sanctuary right now, I couldn't tell.
The pine forest was coming into view, as were the half dozen soldiers guarding the door to death itself. I dismounted my horse before he had even stopped, putting my dagger to which ever guard dared stand close enough. Cicero followed my lead, slashing away at the human barrier. The first member of the Penitus Oculatus received a swift slit to the throat. His body fell with a thump. There was no mistaking it, Cicero was no longer the Keeper. Not if that required an unbroken oath. Together we mowed through the men as if they were made of bloodgrass. Together we were unstoppable. Before we opened the door to the sanctuary, a figure to the right caught my eye. The thin figure of an elderly mage attached to the tree with arrows as if he were a pin cushion. I felt nothing. I couldn't. Mourning would have to be done later.
"Which one was the rat?" A gravelly voice spoke once we passed through the Black Door. Cicero and I crouched into a sneak and peaked into the first room. Everything was ruined and glowing with fresh embers. Two men stood in the foyer. They were not wearing typical Penitus Oculatus garb but brightly colored robes I had seen somewhere before. But where?
"Dunno. One of these corpses," one of the robed men kicked the charred body in front of him. Veezara. His scales were torn to shreds, the flesh underneath a blackened mass. Tears and bile rose quickly before I buried them again. How many more of my friends would I have to see like this? "Does it matter?"
"Suppose not," the other man said before letting out a ragged cough. "But what's taking the others so long? The sooner we get out of here, the better. Smoke's getting bad. This place'll be raging soon."
"Arcturus took some men deeper in, wanted to be sure. We should maybe assist them."
"You assist all you like and get roasted for your trouble. I'll guard the exit." Before either of the men could move, Cicero planted two arrows in each of their foreheads. They fell without another word, although it looked as if one of them had attempted a healing spell on their descent to the floor. We worked our way into the main hall, following the fire. Arnbjorn let out a garbled howl as his werewolf form fell dead to the floor. Another man in robes pulled his mace from the belly of the beast before turning it on Nazir.
"If I am to die today, so bet it." Nazir spat as the mace-wielding man forced him to his knees. Cicero was already on the move. He was already something when protecting me from the wilderness but seeing him like this was something new. He was like a weapon of mass destruction. A machine built by the dwarves that's only job was to be silent and to kill. "But you'll not soon forget the Dark Brotherhood." Cicero thrust his dagger through the man's back and out the other side. Nazir stood, dumbfounded, but grateful none the less. "You." He turned away from the not so foolish fool to face me. "So, you are alive. I was starting to wonder."
"The Emperor-" My breath caught in my lungs. If I told him who had sent them, would he really believe me. "If it was all a trap. We were set up."
"Considering most of us are now dead, I assumed as much. And before you ask, no, I don't think it was you. Well, maybe I did, but the two of you saving my sorry hide just now sort of erased any doubts. So, thanks." As happy as I was to see Nazir alive, I was unsure of how many more of my friends I would rejoice in seeing that was as well. The smoke was starting pile high, and fresh air was becoming less and less of a commodity.
"We need to get out of here."
"You've got that right. Only a matter of time before we're roasted alive. Come on." We turned towards the exit just in time for an avalanche of rock to block the way. All I could see was smoke and fire.
"Damn it! There's got to be a way out of here!" Nazir rammed his shoulder into the rock barrier, but to no avail.
"Listener. I am your only salvation," the Night Mother's voice rang strong and clear in my ear. Normally I would be comforted, but all I could feel were my lungs collapsing in on themselves. "Come. Embrace me."
"Innocence?" Cicero took my head in his hands and forced my eyes to his. My vision was swirling.
"The Night Mother – She –" I was starting to see black but pushed through the anguish. We had to get her out of here. I fell to my knees and desperately attempted to crawl.
"Follow me," Cicero ordered Nazir. He scooped me into his arms, gentle as ever, and together we made our way to the Night Mother's coffin. He pushed apart the stony doors and helped me to my feet next to our dear mother.
"Cicero, you have to –" I hacked, spewing an unhealthy amount of soot. "Get her – get her out of here." He smiled a pleading smile and closed the doors. I tried to reach out to him.
"No…" I croaked.
"Sleep."