~March 21st, x800~
When the moon is full and sits at the highest point of a clear sky, the gate enclosing the Gaius Mansion glows red. The light it casts is so bright that it paints the whole town crimson. It's been this way for five years now, but tonight is the first time Claudia Gaius is experiencing it from down below.
She stands near the edge of the woods. She's not quite able to make herself stare up at what used to be her home. Even though they don't reach her here, the screams of the damned echo in her ears still. In her hands, she clutches her string of worn wooden prayer beads. They, too, were once red, but the color has long faded. With trembling fingers, she kneads them gently, mumbling words of salvation and safety.
She doesn't know if the mages will survive this -she's never even heard of Phoenix Refuge, after all -but they're her last hope. Her last chance for absolution. All she can do is pray for them and the children.
A sob escapes her as she falls to her knees—rocks digging into her flesh through her skirt.
"Please," she begs the night. "Don't let it be too late."
"Claudia," Mr. Clark calls behind her. "Get inside. We need you to renew the spells, and the Rune Knights are gonna try to storm the place any minute now."
Slowly, Claudia rises to her feet. She finally lets her eyes gaze upon the house she has lived in for years. She still remembers the butterflies she got in her stomach the day she first saw it. What a shame the outside is so beautiful when the inside contains such horrors.
"No one will get in or out till daybreak," she says. "He cast his most powerful spell on that gate."
Mr. Clark puts his hand on her shoulder, and Claudia lets him lead her away and back into the pub. It's quiet, everyone's gaze fixed out the windows.
Watching.
Waiting.
Slowly, the wind dies down. Catie takes all the broken pieces inside her and brushes them aside. They'll no doubt resurface later, but for now, she can function. She tries to stand, and when she can't quite manage it on her own, Bors and Henry help her to her feet. Her head feels too full, like a balloon about to pop, and her bandages have leaked.
Bors makes her sit on the desk and rummages through the drawers searching for something to redress her wounds. Meanwhile, Henry begins to inspect the screen. There's something about the way it's fitted into the wall that doesn't quite make sense. Both searches prove fruitful; Bors finds bandages, and Henry finds a hidden door behind the screen.
While Bors re-wraps Catie's arms, Henry opens the door. The light of the lab illuminates the darkness behind the screen. An array of machines are aligned in a way that looks familiar to him. Along the walls are giant pods filled with green liquid. Body parts belonging to humans and animals float inside. One of them is cracked; jagged glass lines the floor, and it crunches beneath Henry's shoes.
He runs his hands over one machine, scrutinizing it. Using his mechanical hand, he rips into it, pulling out wires and gears to get to the core. He knows this design; the machine is used to drain magic.
"Dammit!" Henry shouts as sparks fly towards him.
"What is it?" Bors comes running, wielding his sword.
"These damn machines are from the Magic Council!" Henry kicks the machine over and over until a dent forms in the metal. "Those bastards were funding this whole operation! Didn't they learn anything from Face? When will they stop messing with Magic they have no business messing with!?"
"You are certain?" Bors asks, trying to look past Henry into the machine.
"This isn't standard, run-of-the-mill stuff! It may all be in shiny, new containers, but the technology inside is all recycled!" Henry Makes a hammer and starts pulverizing as much of it as he can. "The guy who built it doesn't even work for them anymore! It's irreplaceable! Dammit! They probably sent the Knights here to retrieve it all! Iron Make: Shrapnel!"
Henry continues smashing into the machines, hitting them where he knows it'll cause the most damage. To his surprise, Bors takes his sword and joins in. No words are spoken between them as they work to decimate the machines. Bors can tell that somehow, for Henry, this is personal. Maybe he's appalled that technology would be used in such heinous ways. Maybe it's something else. For now, it doesn't matter.
If he can't take out his anger on Gaius, he'll instead take it out on this room.
Catie hears the destruction and tries to stand. The room spins around her, and she grabs the edge of the desk to steady herself. A part of it breaks off into her hand.
She examines first the piece, then the desk, and discovers a small, secret compartment no bigger than a softball. She peeks inside, and the glimmer of a gold key greets her. Fingers shaking, Catie takes it and holds it close to her face.
She scrutinizes the room: it doesn't go to any animal cages or any of the drawers on the desk. She runs her hand along the walls. It seems Gaius had a propensity for hidden doors; she finds the keyhole blended into the design on the wall of the opposite side of the room. The key slides in perfectly, and when she turns it, part of the wall disappears, revealing a small library and the terrified face of a little boy with bright brown eyes.
"Octavian?" She whispers.
The boy scrambles away, whimpering. The loud crashes and bangs not too far away do nothing to make him less afraid.
Catie makes herself as small as possible.
"It's alright, Octavian," she says. "I'm here to help. Your mother sent me."
He looks up at that, and when his eyes land on Catie's face, he gasps.
"Lydia?" He asks, his voice so quiet it's hard to hear. His hands shake as they reach out to her, and Catie scoops him into her arms without hesitation. The boy wraps around her like a monkey. He's so thin, and he's crying so hard. Catie buries her fingers in his dirty hair and shushes him.
"You came for me." Octavian hiccups. "Daddy said you were gone, but I knew you'd come! I knew it!"
She can't speak past the lump in her throat and simply squeezes the boy as tight as she dares. She doesn't know how long she sits there, but eventually, the sounds of destruction fade, and she carries the boy back to Henry and Bors, crooning as she rocks Octavian back and forth.
"So," Catie whispers, "how are we going to get out of here." Octavian has somehow fallen asleep in her arms, and she's doing her best not to wake him.
"We'll need to figure out a way to get back up the elevator shaft," Henry says.
"I can probably propel us with my magic," Catie says, "but then we're going to have to fight those creatures again."
"With the child, it is not ideal. We are in need of a proper strategy." Bors says.
"He had to have some other way of getting out of here. I doubt he wanted to deal with those... things just to get back to his mansion."
"He must have been able to control them, somehow," Henry mumbles. "No. Wait. Didn't Achilles say Gaius used Shield Magic? It was probably easy for him to walk right past those things if he was strong enough."
They fall into silence, each of them contemplating their situation. Catie gazes down at Octavian, and her throat clogs once more. Lydia Marsh's body is presumably still there, amongst the creatures. If they have to get past them, they'll have to get past her as well, and who knows how Octavian will react upon seeing her. She doesn't want to find out.
"Maybe you two should go without us and find help," Catie says. "We'll probably only end up slowing you down, anyway."
"Impossible," Bors says at the same time Henry asks, "Are you stupid or something?"
Catie tries not to bristle at the immediate shutdown, but not only is her head still killing her, but it's also been one of the worst nights of her life.
"Why not?" She asks, her voice laced with irritation.
"What are you gonna do if those things get down here? Can you defend yourself and protect the kid at the same time? Your magic sucks in enclosed spaces."
"You're injured, as well." Bors skims his fingers over the back of Catie's head, and she hisses. "You should not be fighting."
"Well, what should we do then?" Catie snaps.
Octavian whimpers and opens his eyes.
"Don't fight," he mumbles. "Daddy doesn't like it."
"We're not, Sweetie." Catie shushes him. "We're just having a disagreement."
"Hey Kid, I don't suppose you know how your dad got back upstairs, now do you?" Henry asks, ignoring Catie's glare.
"Daddy goes through there." Octavian points to the blocked elevator, and the three of them let out a collective sigh. "But sometimes he goes through there."
He points to the hidden library.
"Can you show us how?" Bors asks. Octavian nods.
"But we can't leave the others."
Catie's breath catches. She almost doesn't dare to hope. Her heart pounds in her chest.
"Where are they?" She asks.
Octavian points to the desk. Or rather, the floor beneath it.
Bors stands and shoves the desk out of the way with all his strength. It scratches the marble, and most of the scrolls tumble to the ground. Henry kneels, pressing his ear to the floor. Using his mechanical hand, he taps gently. Listening. Moving when he hears nothing until finally, an echoing ding.
"It's hollow here." He stands, Making a hammer once more. "If there's anyone down there, DUCK!" He shouts before slamming the hammer into the floor. The marble cracks and crumbles away, and when the dust clears, a pair of eyes shine in the light.
One by one, they pull the children from the dark hole.
Catie hates to think how long they've been down there, but judging by the way they shy away from the light, it's been far too long. Eleven of the children stand before her, the next one thinner and dirtier than the last. Despite the grime, however, their frocks remain pure white. Each of them wears an identical robe with gold trim; the only difference is the words embroidered on their backs: heart… lungs… kidneys… bladder… liver… stomach... spleen... blood... bone... muscle... skin...
Brain. The final child emerges from the hole, gripping Bors' hand with all the strength she can manage.
Melinda Mendez's hair can't be longer than an inch, with bald patches scattered across her scalp. Her face, covered with white marble dust, carries a gray sheen in the light. Her lips are pale and chapped, and her cheekbones threaten to break through her skin. Her eyes are the prettiest, warmest shade of brown Catie has ever seen, but there's an empty look to them she recognizes from long ago.
Catie approaches Melinda, and gently, as if gathering water in her palms, she cups Melinda's face in her hands. The girl looks up at her, and maybe there's something in Catie she recognizes as well because a bit of life returns to her eyes.
"I think it's time you went home," Catie says. "Your mother is waiting for you."
Melinda doesn't cry, but she buries her face in Catie's chest and breathes in stuttered pants.
Mostly, the children flock to Catie like ducklings, except for a couple of the older ones. The three-year-old, a little boy named Malik, begs to be picked up, and she cuddles him close.
Melinda grips the back of her nightgown.
Octavian grabs her hand. Catie smiles down at him.
"Are you ready to show us out?" She asks. He nods and leads the way to the library, tugging her forward. The children follow closely as they step inside, Henry and Bors not too far behind.
"He went through that." Octavian points at the bookshelf.
"Let me guess: moving one book opens the secret door," Henry says, and Octavian nods. "You know which one?" Octavian shakes his head. "Alright then, let's get to work." Henry pulls books off the shelf and tosses them to the floor.
Catie and Bors follow suit. Book after book lands on the floor, some of them so dusty it's like Gaius never touched them. One book, however, catches Bors' eye; it's a simple, brown leather book that can't be more than a hundred pages long. It looks as though it's been read often, however, as the spine is broken in several places and the pages are dog-eared. None of this catches his attention. Many of the books are exactly like this. No, what draws him to it is the fact that the cover has a single word printed in the dark ink: "Cinerus."
He tucks it into his shirt for later.
In the end, Henry is the one to find the book. It has a thin, black spine, and "Les Immortels" written in golden filigree. He pulls it, and it sticks to the shelf, a small 'click' signaling its activation. The bookshelf shakes and slides into the wall adjacent. A tunnel opens before them. Stone steps lead up, and lanterns line the wall.
It's only when they step inside that Catie notices the bodies.
In glass cases, the kind a person would use for a trophy or memento are young women's preserved remains. Some of them are torsos, some limbs, some of them nearly a full-body, everything intact but the head. The creatures Gaius made only had parts of the women, after all; this is where he put what he didn't use.
"Should we search for another path?" Bors asks.
"I doubt we'll find one," Henry says.
"We have no choice, then. Everyone, come here." Catie lines the children up in front of her. One by one, she rips off the sleeves of their robes and ties it around their eyes until she's sure they can't see. When she gets to Melinda, the girl stops her.
"I want to look," she whispers. Catie shakes her head.
"You don't want those images in your mind."
"Please. I need to know what he did. I need to know." Melinda grips Catie's wrist with what little strength she has. Catie doesn't think she could deny her anything.
The children hold hands, with Melinda in the lead. Malik cries until Catie picks him up again, and Octavian settles himself in the middle of the line. Bors and Henry take up the rear.
"Keep your blindfolds on and don't let go of each other. Just keep listening to my voice, and everything is going to be alright." Catie takes a deep breath and sings.
"Your eyes, my love, are clear and green,
Sweet as honey and warm as spring,
Their color being all I know,
To the Beyond, I'd gladly go."
Her voice echoes off the walls, the reverb filling the space. She keeps her eyes focused on the top of the stairs and away from the women. There's a light at the end. They just have to keep going.
"Your smile, my love, is bright and true,
It rivals the Sun and outshines the Moon,
Its beauty being all I know,
To the Beyond, I'd gladly go."
Her throat hurts. She never sings so loudly. Usually, her garden is her only audience. Her arms ache with the strain of holding a child and reaching back to guide Melinda. Black spots swim at the edge of her vision. It's hard to breathe. They're about halfway there.
She keeps singing.
"Your heart, my love, is brave and kind,
It's beat like music... like... music..."
She fades off and stops walking.
This case is unlike the others. The woman inside is perfectly intact. Her eyes are open, and they're a shade of green she's only ever seen on two people; Evander and Mama Lina. She's so young, too. She can't be older than Ria, and her curly dark hair cascades around her shoulders.
Her face is frozen in a moment of fear. What did she witness before she died?
In Catie's arms, Malik whines. She can hear the restless shuffles of the children behind her. She's scaring them.
She opens her mouth, trying to sing again, but no sound escapes. She can hardly breathe.
Bors rests his hand on her shoulder, and Catie breaks her gaze away from the woman. When did he make his way past the children?
Although he doesn't know the words, the melody is simple enough, and Bors begins to hum her song. He nudges her forward gently, and breathing is no longer hard for her.
Catie continues her song, Bors' bass voice accompanying her.
"Your heart, my love, is brave and kind,
Its beat like music that echoes mine,
Its love being all I know
To the Beyond I'd gladly go."
Catie doesn't let her fear and sorrow creak into her voice after that and lightly scratches Malik's head.
"You take my hand and softly whisper.
Words so sweet into my ear:
'Do not yet go to that Beyond,
For our lives here have just begun.'"
They reach the end of the stairs, and a pair of wooden doors sit at an angle above them.
"So I won't go to that Beyond,
For our lives here have just begun."
Bors kicks the doors open, and the flood of light blinds them. Climbing out, they end up outside on the mansion's grounds.
The sun is shining down on them.
What happens next is a bit of a blur: one minute, they're helping the children untie their blindfolds; the next, they're surrounded by a squadron of Rune Knights.
Commands are barked. Answers are demanded.
Bors brandishes his sword.
Henry shouts retorts and explanations that go ignored.
The children press close to Catie. There's an energy in the air, the kind that makes birds swarm on the cusp of a storm. The ground sways beneath her feet like she's on a ship. Beside her, Octavian covers his ears and tightly closes his eyes. Malik clings to her legs and cries. Melinda trembles in Catie's embrace.
Her head is throbbing.
The wind picks up. At first, it's just a small breeze gathering the levees off the ground. Then it's a high wind, pushing against the Rune Knights. It picks up and a branch breaks off one of the many trees surrounding the Gaius property, nearly falling on two of the Rune Knights.
Everyone's attention lands on Catie as the wind swirls around her and the children. One Rune Knight stomps towards them despite the wind doing everything it can to keep him back. It knocks the helmet off his head, and Catie recognizes him as the same Knight who heckled them in town. He bares his teeth in a smile and snatches Melinda's arm, yanking her like a rag doll. The girl screams; it sends a jolt of rage straight down Catie's spine. Before she can think, she acts.
"Wind Scythe!"
The wind strikes the Rune Knight in the chest. He falls to the ground, wheezing for air. Melinda runs into Catie's arms. The imprint of fingers is blooming into a bruise on her skin.
The wind erupts into a cyclone.
A red stripe of blood stains the front of the Rune Knights uniform, seeping into the earth, and Catie blocks everything out but the pain in her head and anger in her veins.
March 22nd, x800
When Catie comes to, she's in a room with no windows and a single door. It's empty, except for the wicker chair she's handcuffed to. She calls on her magic but is only met with the feeling of jumping into a pool of ice water.
"I'm afraid we've had to use Magic Nullifying Cuffs on you, Miss Tempête," a hoarse voice speaks behind her. "You were causing quite a ruckus."
"... That's not my name," Catie says. The cuffs clatter as she yanks on them.
"As you were never formally adopted by Ajax Cinerus, I must insist on addressing you by your legal name. Or would you prefer I call you 'Catie' like your friends?" He scoffs and circles to stand in front of her. He's a thin man with wiry limbs. His black hair is slicked back and matches his equally black eyes. His skin is so pale; it looks like all the color has been drained from him. He wears a Rune Knight uniform, but it doesn't sit right on his body. "So unrefined. Why mutilate the name your mother gave you? She must have chosen it with such care. Do you know what the name 'Catrina' means?"
"I don't."
He bends down, so their faces are level.
"It means 'pure.' What high hopes she had for you." His gaze flickers down, and he sneers. "What would she think if she could see you now?"
Catie feels her ears grow warm but refuses to let the blush spread to her face. She's in her nightgown still, and she knows it's tattered. It can't be leaving much to the imagination. She keeps her chin raised high and her shoulders straight.
"What do you hope to accomplish by antagonizing me? Who are you anyway?" She asks.
The man twists his lips into a mockery of a smile.
"No one important. I was simply asked to ensure you were properly secured." He takes a fistful of Catie's hair and yanks. She yelps as her eyes tear up. The man releases her and stares at the few strands he ripped from her head. He throws them back in her face like garbage. "Based on your lack of retaliation, I'd say my job is done. Have a pleasant evening Miss Tempête." He opens the door and offers her a small wave. "Someone will be in to interview you shortly. I advise you to be honest with your answers. They won't be as nice as I was."
The door closes with a quiet click. Catie stares at it, her breathing growing heavier and heavier the more her anger builds. She yanks on the cuffs, and the metal bites into her skin.
Before long, the door reopens. Two Rune Knights enter, one of them the man she cut. His uniform is on to expose the bandage wrapped around him.
He looks at Catie like a bug he'd like nothing more than to squash.
"Ready to have some fun?"
March 23rd, x800
Sweat drips off the tip of Bors' nose and splatters on the concrete floor as he goes through the repetitive motions of a push-up. It's been about twenty-two hours since the Rune Knights detained them and brought to the inn.
After Catie knocked down the Rune Knight, they lost any chance of settling the matter peacefully. The other Knights seemed to take it as a personal insult and charged, screaming. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a fair fight. But the three of them were exhausted, and they needed to protect the children. One of the Rune Knights smashed their staff against Catie's head, and with her injury, it was enough to knock her unconscious.
The battle was over then.
His sword was confiscated, and the last he saw of Catie, the Rune Knights were dragging her limp body up the stairs. They corralled him and Henry into this empty room, and a man had been waiting for them.
"Mr. Garneau, Mr. Gaheris." He smiled. "Thank you for joining me. My team appreciates your cooperation."
"Who the hell are you?" Henry had asked.
"Where's Catrina?" Bors demanded.
"No one important, I assure you. As for your friend," he held up his hands, and an image of Catie shimmered to life. She was handcuffed to a chair, and her head dangled forward in a way that must've been painful. "As you can see, she's fine. We just have a few questions for her. This entire process would have gone much smoother if she didn't have the audacity to attack a Rune Knight."
He clapped his hands, and the image vanished.
"Now, someone will come to collect your statements eventually, and I trust you'll stay put till then." He walked past them like he had all the time in the world and slowly opened the door.
"And if we don't?" Henry asked.
"I'm afraid Miss Cinerus will end up bearing the punishment for your misconduct."
They've been alone since then.
They're both unrestrained. A myriad of spells keeps the door secure, but it seems lax to Bors.
Henry paces along the far wall like a beast in a cage too small to contain it. He's grumbling to himself and eventually goes up to the door to fiddle with the doorknob. It stings his hand a little, but the pain isn't bad enough to keep him from turning it. It's not even locked.
"Those bastards are messing with us," he says, releasing it. His mechanical hand flexes open and shut involuntarily. "Do they really expect us to just wait around like good little boys until they decide we're worth their time?"
"We must be patient." Finishing his rep, Bor moves into a side plank. He focuses on his breathing and lets his mind clear. "When someone comes, we will ambush them. They will take us to Catrina, and we will deal with everyone after."
"Dammit." Henry stomps away from the door and returns to his pacing. He recognizes the logic of Bors' plan; they don't know where Catie is, and taking the time to charge through the place looking for her would only put her at risk.
Silence fills the room, only interrupted by Henry's mumblings and the sound of Bors' heavy breathing as he exercises every part of his body. Another hour passes, and finally, the men hear footsteps approaching the door. Henry Makes a hammer. Bors inscribes the rune for "Steel" onto his body to strengthen himself. In silence, they position themselves.
The spells on the door dissipate, and the knob wiggles a little before being fully turned. It slowly swings open, and Henry and Bors charge at the person in the doorway.
Wren shrieks in surprise as the two men barely keep from hitting her. She falls back into Titus, holding a hand to her heart.
"I can not believe you two just tried to murder me!" She yells. "I thought we were friends! Titus! We should leave them here until they learn Friends Don't Murder Friends!"
"Please calm yourself, Wren." Titus helps her right herself. "We don't have the time."
Wren huffs and smoothes the wrinkles from her uniform. "You guys are just lucky we're in a hurry." She stomps away, not bothering to check if they follow behind her.
"You'll have to forgive her," Titus says. "We were helping to clean up the mess at the manor. It put her in a foul mood."
Wren and Titus lead Bors and Henry up two flights of stairs past several Rune Knights in full uniform and brandished weapons. Obviously, they don't want to let their group pass, but they have no choice; Titus and Wren outrank them all.
On the top floor, at the very end of the hall, is the room containing Catie. A silencing spell has been placed on the door, but there are no other security measures.
The door slams against the wall as Wren kicks it open. The two men in the room jump back from Catie, who is doubled over in her chair and coughing.
"Sorry to interrupt," Wren says, "but Captain Achilles has requested Miss Cinerus' presence."
The two men glare at their group.
"We're not finished with our interrogation." One of them says, cracking his knuckles.
"I'm afraid you are." Titus steps close to him and adjusts the man's uniform with a smile that's a little too sharp and wide. "If you have any complaints, be sure to take them up with Admiral Jones." He roughly pats the man's cheek, then pushes him aside. With quick hands, he uncuffs Catie from the chair. "Come along now, Miss Cinerus."
Using Titus' hand for support, Catie lethargically rises to her feet. She's visibly shaking, and when she lifts her head, a fist-shaped bruise is on full display on her jaw. Bors makes to charge the two men at the sight, but an invisible force keeps him from entering the room.
"Sorry, but unfortunately, I can't let you murder them," Wren says. Her hands are glowing a light purple, and it's obvious she's responsible for the barrier. "Don't worry, though. They'll get what's coming to them."
Bors' brows narrow, and his lips grow thin as he clenches his fist. His glare is piercing as he stares down the men.
Meanwhile, Titus drapes his uniform coat over Catie's shoulders. He lifts her wrist to remove the Magic Nullifying Cuffs, but she yanks them back.
"Leave them, please," she says.
"Are you sure?" Titus asks.
"I don't know what I'll do if I have access to my magic."
Catie lifts her chin to meet his gaze, and the burning fury in her eyes shocks Titus.
What he and the others had mistaken for distress and fear was barely contained rage.
"Very well," he says and escorts Catie from the room.
Wren reinforces her spell on the door to ensure the men can't leave, then turns to Catie with a small smile.
"Would you like to take a shower before meeting with the captain?" She asks. Catie simply nods.
With damp hair and a borrowed a change of clothes, Catie joins Henry and Bors in Captain Achilles' quarters. The two men have also taken the opportunity to clean up, she notes, taking a seat between them. Wren and Titus stand guard at the door. The Magic Nullifying Cuffs buzz against Catie's skin.
"Thank you for coming," Achilles says once they're all settled. He rubs the back of his head and clears his throat. "First things first, I'd like to offer my most sincere apologies. I wasn't aware of what Gaius was doing, and I would never have gotten you involved, had I known." Achilles sighs. "We three are part of a special task force known as the Veritas Division. Our duty is to uncover corruption amongst the Rune Knights, and for some time, I had been aware that Julius Gaius was at the center of a great deal of that corruption. I suspect that all the Knights here, besides those of us in this room, were under his payroll."
"When you had us meet with those two earlier," Henry starts, pointing to Wren and Titus. "That wasn't so the town's people didn't know we were working with you then? It was so the other Rune Knights wouldn't know."
Captain Achilles nods.
"It is true that the people weren't cooperating, but Titus and Wren have excellent people skills. They would have been able to gain a semblance of trust from them. However, the other Rune Knights never would have let them infiltrate the Gaius Mansion on their own and would have destroyed the evidence you three were able to unearth. The truth would have been lost, and justice would remain unserved."
"What happens now?" Catie asks.
"There will be an investigation into the negligence of the Rune Knights stationed here, and exactly how great a role they played in… Well, everything, I suppose. Gaius' misdeeds and misuse of magic fall under our jurisdiction, you see, and he was allowed to do great misdeeds."
"Will you still investigate his murder?" Bors asks.
"Yes. I suspect a few Rune Knights were responsible. Currently, my team members have sequestered the mansion, so you'll need to wait at the pub for Titus and Wren to fetch your things. You'll be paid in full, of course, but afterward, you're free to head home. There isn't much else you can do."
And just like that, their mission is finished.
The first thing Henry does upon entering the pub is sit at the bar. Mr. Clark serves him a drink without a word, and he throws it back as fast as he can. Bors goes to join him, but Catie hangs back at the entrance. The whole town is here again, and it seems they've been informed of what happened. There's a tranquility in the room that wasn't there the other day. Several people buy Henry and Bors drinks and food.
The children they saved are in the center, surrounded by their family and friends and neighbors, as if they lose sight of any of them, the children will once more vanish.
Melinda Mendez looks up from the table she sits at with her mother, and their eyes lock. Catie isn't sure what she's expecting to see -relief, anger, despair- but Melinda's eyes are empty and resigned. It's unlikely she'll ever fully recover from this.
Catie has to look away.
She leaves the pub and just wanders around for a while. Her mind feels a mess. Somehow finds herself standing at the edge of the woods. She stares up at Gaius' mansion. The sun is already beginning to set, and the whole building is bathed in an orange glow. It's almost beautiful. It makes her sick.
Her wrists sting as her throat burns with the desire to yell. She crouches, wrapping her arms around her legs, and breathes. All she has to do is push everything down - her thoughts, her anger, her fear- and she'll be fine.
I want to go home.
She doesn't know how long she sits there, alone, but eventually, she hears footsteps approach from behind. She looks up as Bors takes a seat beside her.
Catie opens her mouth to say... anything, but nothing comes out.
Bors places a steady hand on her shoulder, and Catie relaxes. Together, they sit until the sun disappears, and the manor disappears into the dark of night. They walk to the pub in silence, where Wren and Titus have gathered all of their things. Henry searches through his bag until he pulls out a handful of lollipops. One goes straight in his mouth; the others, he stuffs in his pocket.
Titus removes the cuffs from Catie's wrists. The skin is red and raw, and she winces.
"Here," Wren says. She wraps her fingers around Catie's wrists, and a cooling band seems to wrap around them. "That'll protect you until you can see an actual healer."
"Thank you," Catie says.
"You three should take off now," Titus advises. "The last train will be here soon."
The train whistle blows as Henry, Bors, and Catie board. By this time tomorrow, they should be back home.
"Miss Cinerus!" Claudia Gaius runs onto the platform. She holds Octavian in her arms. A string of worn prayer beads is wrapped tightly around her fingers.
"You guys go ahead," Catie says, hopping back down. "I'll catch up."
"You better make it quick. The train leaves in ten minutes."
"I know, Henry."
"Be careful, Catrina," Bors says.
Catie smiles at him, and it even feels almost genuine. "I will be."
She walks to meet the older woman. Despite Claudia's sprint, Octavian is sound asleep, curled into her chest.
"I just wanted to thank you," she says. "For saving my son. You've no idea the depth of my gratitude."
"There's no need to thank me. I didn't do much." Catie sighs. "I just wish we could have done something more."
Claudia takes one of Catie's hands in her own, the one with the beads wrapped around it. They buzz against Catie's skin.
"What more could you have done? Traveled back in time to stop all of this from happening in the first place? Please. The burden of guilt does not lie with you. Don't take on the weight."
Catie doesn't know what to say to that. Claudia squeezes her hand. The beads sting a little in a way she finds very familiar.
"Are these Magic Nullifying?" Catie asks. Claudia smiles.
"Only in the moonlight. They're a relic of my hometown and a wedding gift from my grandmother. She couldn't stop crying when I moved away," she says, weaving the beads around Catie's fingers. "...When I was a little girl, my father often took me duck hunting with him. He taught me everything he knew, and I became so good that I made nine out of my ten shots."
"That's nice?" Catie says, confused. Claudia squeezes her hand tighter and trembles. The beads burn a little.
"When I married Julius, though, he put an end to my hunting. He was afraid of guns, you see. He was afraid of many things, actually: snakes, spiders, disease... What he feared the most, however, was death. He feared it so much that he was determined to find a way to live forever. He became obsessed, reading all he could about immortality. Every year, as he grew older and slowly saw his body age, he grew more and more desperate. And he took desperate measures."
"I lived with the screams in the basement. I ignored the blood on his clothes and endured the stench leaking from his pores. I told myself our maids and nannies simply grew tired of our small town and went home without warning. And when the children went missing, I refused to acknowledge even the possibility that he was involved. Still, I made sure Octavian stayed in his playroom, and whenever a new nanny came, I made myself ignore everything the last one left behind. But the night Octavian and Lydia disappeared, I knew I could no longer remain willfully ignorant."
"My husband was a monster, and I was a monster for letting him get away with it for so long." Claudia sobs and cuddles Octavian close.
"So I went into town, and I told them all the truth. But it wasn't enough. No one would help us. Some men wanted to storm the manor, but Julius' Shields would never have let them in. We were stuck under the thumb of a monster, and there was nothing we could do. Then, a miracle happened. Julius came into town willingly, by himself, and called everyone for a meeting. He spoke of a new world order and the coming of a man he only referred to as his master. He said by morning, he would be a being death couldn't touch. It was our last chance. So when he went outside, we followed. I don't remember grabbing the gun off the wall, but it was in my hands when I left the pub."
"... Claudia," Catie whispers, even though no one else is on the platform with them. "What happened?"
The widow shakes her head.
"I don't know for sure. Somehow, my beads wound up in Julius' fist. Maybe he snatched them from me. Maybe I threw them at him. After that, well… There were several gunshots that night... It was very dark... And it's hunting season, you see."
She stops talking and waits for Catie's response, but the young woman can't think of anything to say. They stare at each other until the train whistle blows and Octavian stirs.
"It's time for me to go," Catie says, pulling away. Whatever trance fell upon them broken.
"Yes. I hate to ask this of you. You've done so much already, but please..." Tears in her eyes, Claudia cradles her son close. On her hip is a small velvet bag, and she unties it, holding it out to Catie. "Take this with you."
Catie looks inside the bag. She gasps, cinches it close, and nods.
Just as she steps back on the train, Catie lets out a deep breath.
"You really shouldn't be out at night by yourself during hunting season," she says. "Accidents are bound to happen."
Claudia sniffles.
"I'm glad you understand."
"Stay safe, Claudia."
"You as well, Miss Cinerus. I wish you nothing but the best."
The doors slide close, and Catie turns to watch Claudia and Octavian become tiny dots in the distance. In her hand, Claudia's beads have twisted around her fingers. They burn.
Catie tucks them away into her pocket and goes to join Henry and Bors. When she finds their compartment, Bors smiles at her, and Henry points to the bag.
"She give you a reward or something?"
"Or something." Catie clutches the bag to her chest. "... Do you guys mind if we make a stop?"
Overlooking the town and the manor from a nearby hill, a man stares at the train as it pulls away. Clenched in his fists, the strands of Catie's blond hair wave in the wind. They almost glow in the moonlight.
"I see you were successful in getting the sample," a woman says as she joins him. She's tall, with short grey hair and grey eyes that stand in stark contrast to her dark skin. In her hand is a dark red rose. The thorns pierce into her flesh, but she doesn't seem to mind.
"Of course I was. I had to make sure our time here wasn't wasted." The man sneers. "I knew Gaius was a weak-minded fool. He really believed he was invincible, didn't he?"
"That's to be expected, Viper. He thought he could make a Phoenix, after all. He should have just quit after that first botched attempt. At least, he was entertaining, and his garden was lovely." The woman sighs and takes a small sniff of the rose. Below them, a loud boom like the crack of thunder sounds from the manor. Flames and smoke rise into the night, and they watch as the remains of the building burn.
"I'm glad to see you were also successful, Adder," the man says.
"Naturally." She bows at the waist. "Should we go meet Bandy and Krait, now?"
"I suppose so. Our purpose here is finished after all." Viper waves his hand, and a black abyss opens in the ground. "After you."
Adder takes one more deep breath of the rose, then tosses it behind her as she jumps into the blackness. Viper dives in after, and the ground sews itself back together as if they were never there.
March 24th, x800
Tallgrass tickles Catie's arms as she, Henry, and Bors walk along a small, gentle river. The velvet bag Claudia gave her feels heavy in her hands.
"This isn't a stop," Henry says. "This is going in the opposite direction of home."
"So you keep saying." Catie rolls her eyes.
"That's 'cause you don't seem to be listening."
"You could have just gone home without me."
"He is worried for you," Bors whispers conspiratorially. "He does not want to admit it, though."
"Stop running your mouth, Brent."
"We're here," Catie says, kneeling by the river. The waxing moon reflects in the water.
Henry scowls.
"We've been in the middle of nowhere, walking along this river for hours, and you couldn't stop before now because?"
Catie points up to a lone mountain in the distance.
"As the snow melts off the peak, it flows down the mountain and merges with the river. The waterline from the river rises, and the speed increases. It actually gets pretty dangerous, and this area becomes off-limits during Spring and Summer. Right here is the start of a sharp decline in the terrain as the river races to join the ocean on the southern coast."
"Why is this important?" Bors asks.
Catie opens the bag and dumps out the contents on her palm. Bors and Henry lean over to see what they are.
"You have to be careful here. If you drop something in the river, it'll be swept away and lost to the sea."
A small rifle, shotgun, and pistol sit on Catie's palm just for a moment before she tilts her hand and lets them fall into the water. They drift, slowly at first, until they hit the decline and speed away. Claudia's spell will wear off in the next few hours, but they should be far from the coast by then.
Catie folds the bag up and tucks it into her pocket with the beads. She dusts off her knees as she stands, avoiding Bors and Henry's eyes until the last second. The men are silent, but their eyes reflect their understanding.
And their acceptance.
"Let's go home."
*Edited February 7th, 2021*