Siara regarded the rift warily, but with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"You know," she said, "this might be the first time I've actually seen one of these things up close."
"You should count yourself lucky," Cassandra told her, sounding less than impressed. Jacquelyn was clenching her fist by her side, trying her best to hide the discomfort she was feeling. Though all of her compatriots could tell there was something up. Siara had to admit that it was somewhat impressive that even with whatever sensations that mark caused Jacquelyn to feel, the Inquisitor was still an extremely dangerous fighter.
"Should I?" Siara asked, pulling out a couple of daggers that she'd had hidden as the other members of the party pulled out their respective weaponry, "I have very limited experience fighting demons, and all I've got are nug-stickers."
"Perhaps you should stand back then," Vivienne suggested, only a little condescendingly. Siara smiled at her.
"Oh, please," she said, twirling the blades in her hands, "I'll forgive you this once, Vivienne. But please note that even when the odds are stacked heavily against me, I am not the type to walk away from a fight."
Siara turned back to where the Venatori were surrounding the rift, adjusting her weight slightly so she wouldn't be caught off guard. Dorian took place next to her.
"Don't worry," he told her, "I've got your back."
"I wasn't worried, but thanks."
It was then that Florianne appeared on the balcony above the small courtyard.
"Inquisitor! What a pleasure!" she said. "I wasn't sure you'd attend."
Jacquelyn silently moved her flickering marked hand behind her back, watching Florianne with an almost bored expression on her face as she listened to the duchess continue her speech.
"You're such a challenge to read. I had no idea if you'd taken my bait."
"I had a feeling that you were somehow caught up in all of this," Jacquelyn told her. Siara wanted to roll her eyes, but didn't. It was entirely possible that Jacquelyn had suspected something, afterall, but Siara wasn't completely convinced of that.
"Such a pity. You could almost be Orlesian. If you were just a little quicker. It was kind of you to walk into my trap so willingly. I was so tired of your meddling."
Siara looked at Dorian and rolled her eyes.
"Why do they alway monologue?" she muttered, turning her attention back to Florianne as Dorian scoffed, half smirking.
"Corypheus insisted that the empress die tonight, and I would hate to disappoint him."
"I will not let you get away with this, Florianne," Jacquelyn told her, raising her chin determinedly. Florianne just laughed slightly.
"Mm. But I already have," she said, looking like a cat with a bowl of cream, the perfect image of smugness. "In their darkest dreams, no one imagines that I would assassinate Celene myself. All I need is to keep you out of the ballroom long enough to strike. A pity you'll miss the rest of the ball, Inquisitor. They'll be talking of it for years."
Siara was very glad that she'd managed to catch up with Anders before rejoining setting off with Jacquelyn, however brief it was. She knew that Anders would be keeping a close eye on Celene, no matter who got near to the empress. By now Florianne was moving away from the edge of the balcony, headed back to the ballroom.
"Kill her," she said casually, "and bring me her marked hand. It will make a fine gift for the master."
"And here we go again," Siara muttered, eyeing up the nearby Venatori, "Seems like Venatori are all I'm killing these days."
Jacquelyn neatly dodged a small volley of arrows and extended her hand, a shaft of light connecting her hand to the rift in the centre of the courtyard as she opened it.
A few demons found their way out through it, acting to distract the Venatori from being able to concentrate solely on fighting the Inquisition members. Siara took full advantage of this, aiming her attacks at the Venatori while doing her best to avoid the demons where possible. She could work on them later, once she had better weapons than a couple of daggers. Dorian seemed to be concentrating his attacks on any demon that got too close to Siara, noticing that she was going after the Venatori.
A male Venatori charged towards her with his sword raised high, yelling out his war cry. Siara adjusted her weight so she'd be better balanced when the blow came for her, waiting until the last possible moment before darting under the sword and coming up under it. Her dagger was neatly inserted under his helmet and into his neck, slipping the dagger in her right hand away as she used her momentum to fling herself around behind him, the dagger in his neck being pulled around with her as she went. The sword started falling from his hand, and Siara grabbed it just as another Venatori came charging up behind her. She wrenched the dagger from her first victim's neck, darting out of the way and slamming the pommel of her new sword into the iron front of the next man's helmet, dazing him for long enough that Siara could kick him back into Cassandra's raised sword.
Siara gave Cassandra a quick nod as the seeker drew her sword back out of the now lifeless Venatori, then looked around at the courtyard. If nothing else, the small Inquisition party was definitely efficient. Vivienne and Jacquelyn were just dealing to the last couple of Venatori, and Dorian was blasting lightning at a couple of pale green, wispy demons.
A pool of glowing green light appeared between Siara and Cassandra. Cassandra saw it and got out of the way, but Siara didn't, a terror demon leaping out of the ground and sending Siara sprawling to the ground. She managed to catch herself just before her head hit the stone, rolling over and flicking her knife over in her hand. The terror loomed over her, coming ever closer with an outstretched hand. Siara didn't have time to stand up, just pushing herself along the ground as she prepared for the attack. The terror screeched, shooting forward with an outstretched hand, and Siara rolled out of the way before stabbing into the hand. It shrieked in pain, Cassandra stepping forward to finish the job before turning to Siara and helping her to her feet.
"Thank you," Siara said, the demon disintegrating back into the Fade as Cassandra quickly checked to see if there was any more danger.
Jacquelyn was standing with her hand outstretched once more, the rift getting promptly closed.
"You're welcome. Are you hurt?"
"Nothing that I can't walk off."
The courtyard was, at last, peaceful. Bodies of the deceased Venatori lay scattered around the place, blood soaking the grass and pavement. Small piles of Fade detritus sat where some of the demons had been defeated. And off to the side stood the man that Siara assumed was Gaspard's mercenary captain, but she hardly paid him attention, turning instead to Jacquelyn.
"We need to get back to the ballroom," she said, plain and simple.
Jacquelyn looked past Siara to Gaspard's mercenary captain briefly before locking eyes with Siara, shaking her head ever so slightly.
"The empress can wait a moment," she said, "we need more information."
Siara looked at Jacquelyn incredulously as she walked past.
"You're actually going to let Celene die, aren't you?" she asked, not wanting to believe it but also being a bit unsurprised by this. Jacquelyn only half turned to face Siara.
"I need more information," she repeated, "as I believe that Gaspard could do more to assist us in the situation that we find ourselves in. We need someone with military know-how on our side, not someone who allowed a country to turn to civil war."
Siara scoffed, shaking her head as Jacquelyn turned back to Gaspard's man. A small sigh escaped her and she turned away and strode off.
"Where are you going?" Cassandra asked her, drawing Jacquelyn's attention.
"You lot do what you think is right," Siara called back, exiting the courtyard, "I'm going to do what I think is right."
Jacquelyn turned to Cassandra as Siara picked up the pace, casting aside the sword she'd commandeered as she ran out of the courtyard.
"Get what information you can from him," Jacquelyn commanded, "I need to go after Siara."
Cassandra nodded, turning to the mercenary as Jacquelyn hurriedly sprinted after Siara. Dorian and Vivienne shared looks, Vivienne staying where she was to support Cassandra if needed and Dorian hurrying after the Inquisitor and The Blade.