"What time did you see the Alchemist doing his testing?"
"A few hours before sunrise," I said.
"So, we only have half a day to do this, at best."
I nodded solemnly, my eyes finding the serum. If I didn't get it to Ignimitra, I would lose my dragon partner. I had already lost so much. I wouldn't let them take her from me too.
I'm coming, angel. I'll save you; I promise.
Avek took my hands.
"We will help her, Kaos." He leaned over the table to kiss me on the temple. "You have my word."
I loosened my hands from his to wrap my arms around his neck. I didn't know if he could even make a promise like that to me, but I hung on to every word. I would get to Ignimitra, one way or another. Even if it meant I had to die trying.
"Can we make a short pit-stop before we go see Jules?" I asked when we had broken apart.
He quirked an eyebrow at me. "Sure, I guess."
"I need to move some things from Betheka's house to mine. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling that those books would come in handy somehow. And it was just a matter of time before whoever ransacked her place came back.
"Let's get a move on, then."
TWO ROUND-TRIPS LATER, we had safely stowed Betheka's belongings in my closet and were rushing to Jules' house.
She lived in a part of the Administrative District that I had never been before. The neighborhood was tucked away behind the Orientation Station, and overlooked the Pyr Mountains. The road we took sloped downward gently, and had an odd luminance to it. I wasn’t sure what kind of stone it had been made with.
"I've never been here before," I mumbled to Avek as we passed the houses.
They were bigger than the other houses I had seen, even the ones in Avek's neighborhood. The front yards of these houses were nearly as big as my backyard, and some of them even went up another floor.
"This is where the higher-ranking soldiers live," He said, looking over at me with a smirk. "She's a rank above me, Aerial Command Lieutenant."
"So, you're going to move here when you get promoted?" I asked.
His smirk grew. "If I want. There are always other places I could live."
Heat gathered in my cheeks then, and I was so happy that he had looked away. He probably wasn't talking about what I thought he was.
We walked in silence for the rest of the trip. Jules’ house was almost on the edge of the neighborhood, her backyard sloping into the grassy valley of the Mountain. It was two-stories tall and made entirely of charcoal-colored bricks. The house was one of the more elaborate buildings in the neighborhood—it had a grand balcony on the second floor and huge single pane windows. All of a sudden, my heart was in my throat. Our plan depended heavily on her. If she said no...
Avek squeezed my hand quickly as we approached her door. It was like he could read my thoughts. He wore an encouraging smile, looking entirely unlike a man who was planning to commit treason for me. Again.
He knocked on the heavy white door. Jules wasn't the one who opened it.
Standing in the doorway, dressed in a frilly white robe was Sergeant Vera. Her salt-and-pepper hair was caught in a frizzy bun atop her head. Her face twisted in surprise at the sight of us, intertwined hands no less. I tried pulling my hand away, but Avek’s grip tightened.
"Oh! I thought it was the milkman," she exclaimed, stashing the coin pouch she held in her robe. "Avek, Kaos," she greeted us warmer than I expected her to. "How can I help you?"
"Is Jules in?" Avek said, smiling. I tried to mimic his expression. Hopefully my anxiety wasn't showing.
Sergeant Vera nodded, "She just got in," she said. "Let me get her for you."
A few minutes later, Jules was leading us out to the gazebo in the farthest corner of her back yard. The white wood structure looked like it had seen better days—the paint was stripping and the roof shingles looked like they'd be ripped off with the slightest wind.
The three of us settled into the rickety wooden chairs beneath it.
"Didn't imagine I'd get you two visiting me today," Jules said, smiling at me.
She looked relaxed. Her hair was pulled back from her face, and instead of her dragon guard uniform she wore a simple tunic with her slacks.
Avek didn't beat around the bush. "We need your help, Jules."
She hiked one leg over the other, putting her interlocked fingers over her knee. "Shoot," she said, not at all surprised by this. It seemed like this wasn’t the first time Avek was coming to her for help.
I watched their exchange silently.
"We need to find Ignimitra," Avek began. "They've taken her to use in their experiment, and we need to find her before the experimentation actually starts."
Jules glanced between us. "How do you plan to stop it?"
"Betheka made a serum," I piped up then. "If I give it to Ignimitra before they use theirs on her, it will counteract it." Then I added, "she died making it."
Jules' mask of unaffectedness faltered, her brows drawing together.
"Well, do you know where they've taken her?" She began, and then said, "and how exactly do you think we'll be able to break into a government testing facility?"
"That's where you come in, to help us find her," Avek said. He held her gaze for a few moments before he started talking again. It was brief, but it felt like some understanding passed between them—an understanding I wasn't privy to. "We're going to make it look like a sleeper agent attack."
Her eyes widened, "What?!" She exclaimed. Then her eyes were on me. "You told her about that?"
"Yes," Avek said quickly, "I told her how our flight plan had been leaked to the Astraphotians, and how the Headmaster has been suspicious of moles in our rank for years."
That seemed to calm her, I think. Her anger faded, replaced with something that looked like annoyance. She huffed a breath, her glare softening. A hand kneaded her temple.
"Will you help us?" It seemed like the right time to ask.
She was quiet for a long minute. So long that I felt my heart fracturing with each second that ticked by. Without her, our chances of finding Ignimitra were slim, and that was if I was able to convince Irikai and Solra to join us.
"Fine," she said, scowling. "I hope you two know just how bad things will be if we get caught."
"We'll die. I know," I said simply.
I had been staring down death from the moment I stepped foot at the Academy. This would be no different. The odds had always been death.
Jules laughed humorlessly; her eyes darkened.
"Death would be better," she said softly. "The Headmaster will have us begging to die."
Her words chilled me to my toes. The weight of her words passed between us.
"Let's go back to Kaos' house to plan," Avek offered, rising to his feet. He didn't have to say it, but I was distrustful of Sergeant Vera too. Slade lay on the other end of the yard, asleep with Phobos. If he heard what we were planning, it was over before it began.
"You two go on without me," I said. "I'll get Irikai and Solra."
It felt opportunistic to be asking for their help so soon. Would they think my motives for rekindling our friendship were selfish? But I didn't have much of a choice. Silently, I hoped that they would be receptive.
THEY WERE.
"When do we leave?" Solra said, already shuffling to her closet.
I couldn't help the tears that sprung free from my eyes. I had done nothing to deserve this level of kindness, but they extended it to me without judgement.
"Titan would never forgive me if I didn't help Ignimitra," Irikai said. He was sitting cross-legged on Solra's bed. "And I wouldn't forgive myself."
Solra nodded, smiling. "Yeah, we kind of do owe you and Ignimitra this.”
"Guys, I..." This kind of happiness was so foreign to me. "I don't know what to say but...thank you. Thank you so much."
Wiping the tears with the back of my hand, I rushed over to hug them—Irikai first, then Solra.
"We're friends,"
Solra said, when I hugged her. "That's what friends do."
Chapter 17
Our team of five worked in two groups to prepare.
Solra, Irikai and I got to work on securing nondescript clothes for everyone—something that didn't scream that we were Pyralian if we were seen, and masks that obscured our identities well enough. Avek and Jules spent their time identifying where Ignimitra was being held. We rendezvoused at my house when night fell.
We found Jules and Avek sitting in my kitchen, an aging map unfolded on the table between them.
"Any luck finding my girl?" I asked, a tendril of anxiety shaking my throat. The happiness of making progress towards rescuing her was overshadowed by the idea that we might have already been too late.
Avek's eyes met mine, a reassuring look on his face. Almost instantly, I felt the knot in my stomach ease.
"We think so," Jules said without looking up from the map. There was a line of concentration between her brows. "This is the only place I know of where they could hide a dragon as big as she is."
"The outfits are here," Irikai announced, entering the room. He carried a bundle of clothes that almost hid his face from view.
"Hopefully everything fits," Solra said with a tight smile.
Our humor had evaporated the moment we all agreed to this plan. It felt strange to smile right now, when we were on the cusp of undertaking something so life-changing, so dangerous. We placed the clothes on the floor and joined them around the table.
Jules finally looked up, pinning me with a dark glare before giving everyone else the same treatment. Her aura was stoic, serious even for her. It was as if all the other parts of her had melted away, leaving a woman determined to accomplish her mission. It seemed like a common thread in the Guard.
"We're taking a huge risk," Jules began. "If we're caught, they won't even give us a trial. We'll disappear, just like that." She snapped her fingers.
Irikai's jaw was set. Was he remembering the soldier from his village that supposedly disappeared without a trace? A bubble of nausea rose in my throat. They were doing this for me. Their deaths would be on my shoulder.
"But if we're successful," Avek spoke up. "We'll be saving Ignimitra, and slowing down an inhumane testing process." His coal eyes were warm as he looked at me. "This time it's Ignimitra, but what's to stop it from being Zelkor the next time, or Titan, or Nurik—"
"Or Phobos," Jules added solemnly. "We're doing more than just helping Kaos, we're helping the Dragon Guard. History will favor us." She slammed her fist on the table.
"We don't need convincing," Irikai spoke up.
Solra nodded, "Yeah, we're in."
My heart felt full of something that I couldn't quite place. It was warm and gooey, and made the corners of my eyes dampen. I didn't trust myself to speak out of fear of ruining the moment, so I let Jules continue. She directed our attention to the map.
"Before the Academy became what it is today, this mountain was the Royal City," she began. "And here"—she pointed to a spot in the Academy district, just beyond the Assembly Hall—"is where the old Royal Militia barracks used to be."
I thought of how the Assembly Hall building looked so old, as if the forest had been reclaiming it.
"In the barracks they had a detention chamber," Avek placed a fragment of yellowing paper over the spot Jules had pointed out. It fit right in the empty space of her map, depicting the barracks they spoke of. "It was underground, and big enough to hold almost ten full-size dragons."
"They demolished most of the buildings to make way for the Academy District, but I think the chamber is still intact. It's the only place on this mountain they could be keeping her out of sight."
I was in awe. How were they able to pull this together so quickly? Solra asked the question on my lips.
"How did you figure this all out?" Her voice was filled with admiration.
Jules lips quivered, and she glanced at Avek before looking at Solra. "I'm in Intelligence. Knowing this sort of thing is my job."
Irikai was still staring at the map fragment, pensive.
"We're going in blind," he said. "An underground chamber means low visibility. One entrance, one exit."
"That's why this is so risky," Jules agreed. "We've worked out our strategy, but we still have to be on guard."
"It’s going to get physical," Avek said. "Are we all in?"
My heartbeat sped up. No wonder getting caught would get us “disappeared”. A premeditated attack on another soldier was worse than treason in the eyes of the law. Mercy was out of the question if we were planning to attack guards.
Solra was the first to place her hand on the table, resolve steeling her posture. "I'm in."
"What she said," Irikai grinned, putting his hand on hers.
Mine came next, "For Ignimitra," I said.
"For Kaos," Avek, pulled a small smile, the warmth of his hand enveloping my own.
Jules gave us each a cursory look before she put her hand on top of his, completing the pile, "For the destruction of that horrid program."
Now that we had decided, there was no going back.
EACH OF US TOOK A DIFFERENT route to the expansive forest just behind the Academy District.
It was a risk for anyone to see us together before the attack, so we carried our change of clothes in our rucksacks and stuck to the shadows of the night. An ominous wind followed me as I trekked to the meeting point, but it could've been my haze of anxiety. I had gooseflesh all over, my throat dry. Ignimitra dominated my thoughts—was she suffering? Did they have her sedated? Was I already too late?
I clung to whatever hope I could find, and all of it was in the vial that Betheka had left for me. It was small and fragile, but I clung to it nonetheless. Ignimitra had to be okay, if she wasn't...
Shaking the thoughts from my mind, I slunk towards where we were supposed to meet. Jules had chosen an enclave of thick trees a short walk from the entrance to the underground chamber. The towering expanse of trees were so thick that the space beyond them looked black, their limbs interlocking to block out the faint traces of moonlight.
Quickly, I ducked into the trees.
Avek and Jules had already arrived and changed into their clothes, the faint flicker of a glow-stick illuminating them in the darkness.
We had done a good job of procuring our disguise—it was only because I knew their eyes and build that I had been able to identify them so readily. They were covered from head to toe in black—skin-tight shirt and pants, gloves, boots. The face covering only left their eyes exposed, covering their nose, mouths, ears and neck.
"I almost didn't recognize you guys," I joked, beginning to change into my own matching set of clothes. It had been sheer luck that we had been able to lift them from the laundry in the Academy District—after a charcoal rinse and a few alterations, the clothes were unrecognizable.
Jules eyes narrowed slightly, "That's good then."
Avek didn't respond, only turned his back to give me privacy I assumed. By the time I was starting to fix my head scarf, Irikai joined us. Solra was a few seconds after him.
They got dressed in silence.
The solemnness was a knife pressing into my abdomen.
"We know our roles, we know our goal," Jules said. "Simple. In and out."
Avek was rustling with something in a straw bag while she spoke.
"Leave your weapons here and take these," He said, producing a sword from the bag. "We can't bring our Guard-issued swords."
I took it from him.
The sword was similar to the one we carried as Dragon Guard soldiers. Instead of a dark metal blade, this one glinted almost white, as if it was smelted from ore the color of ivory. Its hilt was bound simply with tan leather, a thin long ribbon bound at the base.
The one Solra got was bound with blue leather, Irikai's gray. Jules took one the same color as mine. Avek's was green. Before I could ask my questions about the origin of these weapons, Jules had taken over again.
"Stay fluid," with a hand on his chin, she swiveled Irikai's head around. "Keep your eyes open, and if somebody falls behind, leave them." My gasp must have been audible, for she turned to me then. "If we can’t escape, we keep the guards occupied so somebody can."
On one hand, I understood exactly what she meant. It was always better to lose one or two people than the entire team—it was the very decision I made when we escaped from the Astraphotians a few months ago. But as I glanced around the room, there was nobody I wanted to part with. Not even Jules.
We had to avoid that at all cost.
"Let's do this." With her words, we fell into single file and started on our trek towards the underground chamber.
WE STUCK TO THE TREES and the darkness, keeping our steps light and our eyes open.
Jules headed the line, while Irikai brought up the rear. Avek was a step ahead of me. The night was eerily still, as if the entire forest was holding its breath along with me. Our destination was supposed to be only a few meters away, but it felt like miles. The landscape had changed completely by the time Jules signaled that we were nearing the chamber. The trees were bending toward the ground, vines and gnarled branches knotting together to form a treacherous canopy above us. We parted waist-high grass and dodged drying tree husks. Eerie was an understatement; this place looked like it hadn’t been touched for centuries.
The five of us stopped behind a hedge that seemed to be the reclaimed foliage of a fallen tree. At first glance, it seemed we were looking at an empty clearing circled by trees, like the kind that we had our training classes in.
Jules pointed to a spot in the ground close by that was devoid of grass.
That was supposed to be the entrance.
My heart was in my throat. There was no way to know what we were walking into. My only consolation was the fact that there were no dragons around. If there were soldiers here, they wouldn't have the heightened strength and senses of their fusion bond. But that also meant that neither would we. It was a clash of wits, skills and strength.
Panic soured my mouth when it dawned on me that I wasn’t sure we could win.
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