Hey guys! I hope you're all having a good day. I have decided to post an extra chapter to 'celebrate' my birthday, now the only question is would you rather I post 2 chapters at the same time next Friday, or should I post the extra chapter earlier, like this Sunday or Tuesday for example?
I have officially finished Blood Ties(wordcount of about 23,000), and have sort of started Fire and Ice. I say sort of because I'm adding an original chapter before they start their journey north, so I haven't really started the rewriting. Then, I take notes on each chapter, so I don't need to be looking at the book itself every two seconds, and I'm almost done with Against the Tide for note taking!
Thank you to the reviewer who wished me happy birthday! It was really appreciated especially as this week I got the horrible news that my dog probably won't make it more than 6 more months.
Again, I hope you like the chapter, and let me know what you think for the bonus one!
-owl
"If you don't want to tell us where you're going," Devin was saying as he paced in front of the cells that Conor and his friends were caged in, "we'll just have to convince you to do so." As he finished his thought, his gaze turned towards Lucette.
The woman raised one unimpressed eyebrow. "Are you insinuating you're going to torture me?"
The boys looked to each other before the boy Conor didn't know shook his head. "Not necessarily. How about we see how well you can handle our animals."
There was a flash of light and the mark disappeared from Devin's arm as the black wildcat took form in front of them.
As the cat prowled along the bars like Devin had been doing, towards Lucette, she started to laugh. "My spirit animal may be a dog, but my brother's spirit animal is a cougar. If you think that your cat is going to scare me, think again."
Devin frowned. "Maybe you aren't afraid, but Conor doesn't like large cats, do you, Conor." The end of his statement became a question mockingly aimed at the blond boy.
Elda began to stalk towards Conor and he backed up as much as he could. While he had gotten used to having Briggan, a wolf, around, he was still wary when it came to large cats. He knew that neither Uraza or Diata would attack him on purpose, nor would Abeke or Nicolai ask either of them to do so. Conor didn't trust either Elda or Devin.
Lucette must have seen the concern and terror on his face, because she gave in with a shout. "Fine! I'll tell you where we're going. Just, please, call Elda back." Once the cat had returned to its mark on Devin's arm, Lucette sighed. "There are rumors that Rumfuss is in Glengavin. That's where we're going."
Devin and the other boy smirked at each other before they left the room.
"Did you hear that?" Rollan asked suddenly, his eyes darting up to the barred window in the outer wall, only a foot below the ceiling.
"Hear what?" Conor hadn't heard anything.
"There was a scream, like something was wrong."
Whatever Lucette was about to respond with was drowned out by a piercing shriek from Essix, now perched at the window.
"Need a little help?" Finn asked, bursting through the door that Devin and the other boy had left through.
"Finn!" Rollan and Conor cheered.
Finn smashed the lock of Lucette's cell. "Be ready, you'll probably have to fight your way out."
As Finn was speaking, water began to pool at Conor's feet. "Where's the water coming from?" he asked.
Finn moved to work on the lock on Conor and Rollan's cell. "The water tower." Then he hit the lock like he had with Lucette's, but it didn't work. The iron stayed strong. "It must be newer than the other," Finn mused.
"I'll help them, Finn, you go free the others." Lucette commanded as she let Bryer out of passive state.
The tattooed man nodded as he left. Lucette took his place, but wasn't able to do anything more to break the lock than Finn had done. She was, however, successful in picking the lock. It fell from its place, useless, as she backed away.
Rollan tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. As the water rose farther and farther up their legs, Lucette began to pull while the boys pushed the door.
"We need more weight!" Conor grumbled when nothing happened.
"You boys are idiots!" Meilin exclaimed as she joined them in the room. "You have more weight! Release Briggan!"
Conor almost smacked himself, why hadn't he thought of that? There was a flash and the wolf was next to him. Briggan shot Conor a look as he lifted his paws one at a time from the water, but followed the boys' lead and jumped at the door as they pushed the door again while the girls pulled it from the outside. Finally the door was forced open with a groan of the metal.
"Where's Tarik?" Meilin asked, drawing Conor's attention properly. Her eyes were shining, probably from the heat of the fight and her clothes were entirely sodden.
Conor shook his head. "The guards, we need—"
"The guards are busy. I knocked over the water tower."
"Knocked it over? You can't just knock—"
"I can and I did. Now let's go." Meilin gestured towards the door.
Outside was pure chaos. Animals, green-cloaked figures, and Trunswick guards were brawling in nearly a half foot of water. Abeke, Finn, and Uraza appeared suddenly.
"Let's go. They won't be able to cover us for much longer."
"Cover us?" Conor asked in shock. "We need to help them!"
Lucette shook her head. "No, we need to go. The four of you need to get the talisman."
Conor sighed but nodded in reluctant agreement. "Fine, but we're not going to run like cowards. We'll help on our way out."
The blond boy led the way as the six of them began to fight their way towards the outer wall of Trunswick. Conor brandished a broken board he had found on the ground. Rollan pulled a knife out of his clothes while Lucette carried a sword taken from a fallen guard. Finn had his own sword, Abeke had an arrow in each hand as she struck with her fists, and Meilin was fighting with just her hands and feet. Bryer, Uraza, Briggan, Essix, and Jhi accompanied them.
They had been doing fairly well, staying together as a single unit, at least until Conor's cloak was caught and he was pulled away from the others, into an alley. One of the Trunswick guards stood over him with a sword in hand. He raised it to swing, then fell flat on his face before he got the chance to carry through.
Behind the fallen guard stood a woman covered in a cloak. In her hands was a broken board, much like what Conor was holding himself. "Are you alright?" she asked.
And, in those three words, Conor recognized her as his mother. "Mom? I got your letter. I'm sorry I made everything worse, I—"
She covered his mouth with her hand. "It's OK, Conor, the world needs you, it needs Briggan. Now, go, get out of here. I'll be OK."
Conor nodded tearfully before pushing his way to rejoin his friends. They continued to fight their way to the wall until a clear, haughty, voice silenced the entire crowd.
"Give up, Greencloaks. Otherwise this one will be spending a lot of time in the Howling House in the near future." The Earl of Trunswick was sat astride a horse, Finn's arm locked in his grip. Was this how their great escape would be foiled? By the earl taking Finn? "We can still burn this troubled bond out of you yet, Finn Cooley."
Then, before anyone could react, a blaze of light and heat burst into being right in front of them. The fire burned hot and strong as it wove through buildings and over them. In the midst of the chaos, Finn broke free from the earl's grip and he along with the four children and Lucette fled the city. Conor looked back once, hoping to see his mother, but instead saw Dawson, Devin's younger brother, hiding behind a house, a still smoldering torch in his hands.
Their eyes met and Dawson nodded to Conor, mouthing, 'go.'