by J. McSpadden
Glancing over his shoulder down the hall, he looked for the sleek shape of Neeko before he turned back to Camille. "It's quite fitting for the moment, actually. It means 'to the stars through difficulties.' It was our guiding force before the rebellion began and became something of a battle call for us Praetorians and Rogues. For us heathens," he said with a sly smile. "It was a way of saying that nothing could stop us; that we would push through to the very end no matter the consequences."
Her eyes glittered with unshed tears, and her voice stuck in her throat. They had been the last words Peter said to her before she left Sierra Village. The intention of his meaning to her became incredibly clear and an overwhelming desire to smile as much as cry crashed into her. He'd been giving her permission to go, to find her true purpose with the words of their cause as his final gift to her. She may not have had a choice in the matter, but she wouldn't have chosen a different route to where she stood.
Glancing up into the gentle depths of Theo's azure stare, she knew that despite the pain of not remembering everything about the man, she wanted to know who he’d become. A single tear slipped down her cheek in a quick hot trail, and she swiped it away with a flick of a finger. "You won't lose me," she said with marked surety.
His hand slid around the back of her neck, and he jerked her to his mouth, bruising her lips with a quick, passionate kiss. He pulled back, but only slightly, their breaths mingling together as he held her face close to his. "I won't let anything happen to you, okay? Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
Neeko mewed, a soft noise meant to gain their attention that snapped between them like a firecracker, effectively splitting them apart. Her heart thumped against the cavity of her chest, the tingling of Theo's kiss still warm on her skin.
Standing with him as he moved, they crept toward the greenhouse at the end of the hall. Without questioning her instinct, Camille abruptly halted, her nose twitching with the incoming scent. "Theo," she said, her heart hammering in her chest. "Do you smell that?"
"I do," he whispered as they reached the cracked open door of the greenhouse. "Gunpowder."
Their time was running out; the Royal Air Fleet had arrived.
Chapter Fifteen
The Traitor
Theo didn't just smell gunpowder; there was something else. It was sweet and difficult to identify, but as his mind focused on the varying notes his nose picked up, he couldn't seem to concentrate on anything past the horrid stench of the Chimera. Rotten and musky, like a dead fish after months of sunbathing: there was nothing else like it.
They moved as one unit down the empty hall, their steps silent across the stone.
As Theo opened his mouth to ask Camille if she smelled it also, a rush of warmth whooshed down the hall toward them, rumbling the ground with a jolting shake. The fleet had arrived, and, as Theo expected, Romeo wouldn't hold up for long beneath the pressure of constant cannon fire. They would need to find Acher and escape quickly before the crumbling weight of the compound crushed their only exit.
Neeko remained perched just outside the greenhouse waiting for Theo and Camille. His sleek form was a mere silhouette in the bright shaft of moonlight emitting from the cracked door. The greenhouse was a vast cave used initially for access to the underground river, but in the past eight years a man-made dam was built to enable a slower flow of water and promote the growth of crops. Several angled mirrors kept the room lit naturally, sending a tinge of brilliant light through the dappled layers of trees, vegetable crops, and wheat.
Acher was there, Theo could smell his presence through the open door, but he wasn't sure yet where he was. The greenhouse wasn't small by any means, and it left many locations to hide amongst the growing crops. Sounds of battle filtering through the open airways at the top of the cave were unmistakable: they were running out of time.
Theo readied himself and Camille before nudging the door open with the toe of his boot. The heavy metal door swung silently on its hinges, revealing a quaint picture of blue-tinted trees and silver strands of wheat swaying in the swirling breeze. A moonlit cobbled path led them from one garden block to the next, with wheat rows laid out in perfect lines to their right and vegetable patches to their left almost naked by comparison, the treasures having been picked during the harvest several weeks prior.
Heavy sounds of artillery and cannon fire boomed from above. In the secluded confinement of the greenhouse, Theo almost felt safe—or would have if not for the red glowing eyes of Chimera lurking near the river edge.
"I know you're down here, Acher! Come out and surrender and I won't be forced to harm you," Theo bellowed out, no longer caring about a surprise attack. They needed to grab Acher and head up top before the entire compound went up in flames. He didn't have time to be delicate or sly. Right now, he just wanted to be above ground, and he wasn't going to let Acher get in his way of escaping. It was tempting to forgo the plan entirely and just run for cover, but Theo wasn't one to back down or turn tail, even if the task at hand seemed utterly ludicrous. He would give the traitor one chance to surrender, and if he didn't come quietly, he'd move on to plan two: punch said traitor in the face and run like hell out of Romeo Village. The idea of hearing the pop and crunch of cartilage under his knuckles as he connected his fist to Acher's face made him smile, filling his entire body with a calm sense of determination.
The Lieutenant materialized from behind a tree, his jacket removed, and his sleeves yanked up haphazardly past his elbows. His hands were covered in dirt, his knees equally as dirty. To Theo's surprise, he appeared unperturbed and slightly drunk with self-imposed importance. His chin snapped upward, giving his head a slightly backward tilt, forcing him to glare down his nose at them as they moved toward him.
"Didn't realize that you were such an avid gardener," Theo said with an impish grin.
Acher snarled in response, his face slick with sweat. "Where is it? I know it's down here; tell me where it is!"
Theo sidestepped in front of Camille, his heart blasting out a rapid pace against the confines of his chest as four Chimera assembled behind Acher like trained dogs. It was something he'd never seen before; the beasts had always been wild and unteachable. It struck him not only as strange but intriguing—in a very worrisome way.
"I don't think I can tell you," Theo replied in a smooth, confident tone. He'd never liked Acher, but it was possible he could be wrong about the man. Despite Theo's ability to read people, he tried to not assume personality defects until he saw them in action. Acher was a seeker of power and glory; nothing more.
A fire raged above them, Theo could smell the sharpness of pine and singed wood wafting down the open airway with an alarming heat. The plan of securing Acher and getting out of the compound alive was becoming less of a viable outcome as the seconds ticked by.
"Figures Vesyon would tuck her away down here, with her watch dog no less," Acher said, taking another step toward them, his eyes darting back and forth around them as though the plant he was desperately seeking would appear suddenly. Neeko lurched out in front of Camille, hissing and spitting wildly as he clawed the open air. Acher glanced at him like a cute pet before ignoring him completely.
Theo snorted, backing up a step, his hand securely enveloping his dagger's hilt. "And I suppose you chose to miss all the action up top just to chat with us?"
Acher's face immediately contorted, his brow receding downward in a mass of furrowed wrinkles. "I will be rewarded for capturing you and finding the Ephidra Lily. Unlike you—both of you will be punished for your deceit and treason."
Theo let loose a mocking guffaw. "You're a moron."
Acher's eyes flashed as he whipped his arm downward, a long black cylinder sizzling with electricity in his hand. All four Chimera growled in response, seemingly controlled by Acher's weapon. "You need to watch your mouth, Praetorian. Always pranced through Romeo Village like you owned the place—but you don't. You're nothing but Praetorian scum, a broken and useless soldier. You both will get me what I want, and then—t
hen—I'll let the beasts devour you for supper. Or you defy me, and I kill you now. Either way—you die."
He wasn't sure if it was Lieutenant's manic expression or the aggressive stare he was slinging in Camille's direction, but Theo decided then and there that he was going to murder Acher Greeves at the first opportunity and to hell with capturing him. The bastard could rot beneath the rubble of the compound for all he cared.
"Don't you get it, Acher?" Camille yelled at him. "There isn't any Ephidra Lily!"
The greenhouse was slowly filling with a toxic amount of smoke, and Theo would've taken off if he'd been confident Camille would follow and the beasts would leave them to their business. Looking over his shoulder at the open tunnel at the edge of the river bed, he was sure they could get to the opening in quick succession, but unlocking the gate halfway down the shaft would be a problem if they were being chased by four Chimera.
"What do you mean?" Acher barked, stepping out of the shadows of the tree line, his eyes blazing with panic.
"She means you're down here for no reason, idiot! There isn't any Ephidra Lily, and there never was!"
In a matter of seconds, Acher seemed to understand the ploy, and his expression morphed from irritation to full-blown rage.
With a sharp flick of his wrist, Acher jerked the black, cylindrical weapon so that it shot a spray of sparks upwards. The Chimera lurched into action, barreling past him toward Theo and Camille.
Neeko charged in front of them, his tiny cat paws digging into the ground as six-inch claws, sharp and menacing, emerged through his fur. His slim feline body exploded with cords of muscle, lengthening and growing before their eyes. Camille's jaw dropped in shock as the cat she’d known since arriving at Sierra Village transformed in seconds into a sleek, terrifying jaguar. The cat was well known for his quick change of form and knack for timing, and Theo guessed by the look on Camille's face that this was the first time she'd witnessed a Felius Metamorphi shift since her induced memory loss.
"Kill them," Acher said, his voice low and coolly detached.
The Chimera rocketed toward them, mouths opening with a roar.
In that frozen second before the imminent attack, Theo felt Camille's hand press into the small of his back, a gentle touch, a promise of trust and determination to stick by his side. He sighed in relief, an exhalation of pent up panic he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It was a small dose of his Camille reaching out to touch him, to make sure he knew she was beside him. Despite the loss of her memory, she was giving him crumbs of her former self—even if she didn't realize she was doing it.
Acher expected a blood bath, Theo was sure by the way the Lieutenant turned away from the fight to continue searching despite what they'd told him. It wouldn't go the way Acher expected. In seconds the Chimera beasts lay in a mass at their feet, the ground stained black with the remnants of their blood. It hadn't been brutal, but quick—several expertly sliced jugulars and it was done. Neeko growled at Acher, his shadowed form still and silent in the shade of the treetops.
"We don't have time, Acher! Enough of this. Admit defeat and come with us. Phillip will show you mercy if you come quietly," Theo barked over the growing chaos above their heads.
Acher ambled toward them, pulling out his gun as he moved. "I would never act against the High King. You can take your pardon, you piece of scum, and shove it up your—" Acher’s bellow was cut off by a thunderous explosion overhead.
Rocks and metallic debris rained down on them, pummeling the cobbled stones and vegetable patches in a deadly spray.
"Let's go!" Theo said, snatching Camille's hand and pulling her away from the mass of falling rock.
"We can't leave him!" Camille gasped, watching as Acher dove back into the trees to duck away from a huge, tumbling rock. "I swore to Vesyon we would collect him."
"We aren't going to retrieve Acher; I don't care what Vesyon told you. My job was to ensure your safety by keeping you away from the battle, and if that meant killing Acher or detaining him, fine. But right now, I need to get you to safety, and there is no way I am risking that just to bring that bastard along. Now, come on!"
Theo yanked her down the cobblestone path littered with broken branches and twisted metal toward the river bank. Neeko dashed forward, his form small once again, hopping from one flattened, exposed rock in the river to the next before reaching the narrow tunnel space and disappearing down into the darkness of the water runoff.
Another explosion overhead boomed into the cavity of the greenhouse, the echo momentarily deafening Theo as he pulled Camille through the thigh-deep water toward the tunnel head. Camille's hand jerked out of his, and he looked back, not realizing that she was screaming at him until it was too late.
The fortified wall of the underwater river cracked into fissures, water dribbling out as a warning of release. There was no other way out; they wouldn't reach the main door to the greenhouse in time—nor could they escape the compound through the way they'd come before it crumbled beneath them. Grabbing her hand in a rush of hysteria, hoping that he could get them through the escape tunnel before the wall collapsed, Theo lunged forward as fast as possible through the water. Camille stumbled along behind him, screaming at him, but he heard nothing more than the loud blast of rock and metal raining down from above.
Just as his foot hit the metal grate of the tunnel and he lifted Camille out of the water, the wall behind them split open, and a flood of water jetted toward them. "Run!" Theo bellowed, but it didn't do them much use. The wall of water crashed into them, ripping their legs out from beneath them and hurtling them down the path without care of elbows, fingers, and face; ramming, colliding, and scraping against the edges of the tunnel.
Theo reached the locked gate first, his entire body slamming into the bars with a sickening thud. Camille crashed against him, the water pressing them with unrelenting force into the gated bars.
"What do we do now?" Camille yelled over the rush of water. It cascaded past them in a mad dash for release, the height of the water just above Theo's waist and nearly to Camille's chest. He needed to unlock the gate, but he wasn't confident he could open the bars against the restraining weight of water.
"I need to get the door unlocked."
"It's locked?" Camille shrieked, her eyes wide with panic.
The water began to rise, the pressure increasing on them as Theo made for the lock along the right side of the bars. Camille clung to the gate over his shoulder, trying to keep her head above the roaring rush when the water threatened to pull her under.
Locating the chain and lock wrapped around the bars, Theo tried to pull the metal links apart but struggled to get enough leverage with the water pressing into his back.
"Help me with this!" Theo barked, jerking madly at the stubborn links.
"Move!" Camille said, her voice shaking with a tremor of chill. The water was icy cold and it billowed past them at a rapid speed, leaving their bodies to take the surge of ice against their backs with unrelenting force. Reaching out for the lock, Camille maneuvered herself between Theo and the gate, allowing her to move without having to hold onto the bars for support.
He watched her hand slip into her pack and deftly pull out a small pin, her fingers grasping it in a death grip. She took a deep breath and disappeared beneath the surface of the water as the level of rushing water rose to Theo's upper chest. With her back pressed against his abdomen, he felt her move, shoulders bunched and neck taut.
After what felt like five minutes, she jolted upward, her face breaking the surface with a gasp of air. "I got it. Help me with the chain," she panted as she bobbed up and down in the water, her feet no longer reaching the ground.
The chain came loose from the bars in a clang of metal, the links disappearing in the rush of water. Theo pushed against the bars to wrench open the passage, his arms straining with effort. It wouldn't budge. Camille braced her foot on the wall next to his, and together they shoved against the stubborn metal as the water rose even further. His h
ead bumped along the roof of the tunnel, and he took a final gasp of air as the rushing water engulfed them and the bars twitched apart.
Without any remaining headspace, they heaved apart the bars, forcing the hinges to move. With a mere foot of space to squeeze between, Theo grasped Camille and wrapped her legs around his middle before they plunged through the opening, the surge of water shooting them down the tunnel into the depths of the passageway.
The water was cold—downright frigid if Theo allowed his brain to register the icy fingers encircling him. He could feel the bump and tremor of shivering shakes emulating from Camille's petite form, and he clutched onto her in reassurance. They catapulted in wild circles, his elbows, head, and back scraping against the lining of the tunnel with unforgiving force. Despite the blur of water surrounding them, he could see a brightness at the end of the passage, and his lungs burned with the need to breathe. When they reached the tunnel end, the current shot them through a narrowed archway and into the open stillness of a vast underground lake.
Their bodies flew several feet through the air before crashing into the surface of the lake, sending them through the inky water at a breakneck speed. Disentangling their bodies, Theo swam toward the surface, desperate for air. His face broke the surface, and he gasped with relief as air surged into his burning lungs. He gulped it greedily, for a moment dizzily unfocused and unable to think past breathing and keeping his head above water.
"Camille!" He bellowed on a gasp of oxygen, his mind and focus returning to him in a sudden pang of terror. Treading water in the expansive, inky lake, he desperately searched for her in every direction. Dread crept over his skin, and his mouth immediately went dry in panic. Bitter cold water surrounded his furiously churning limbs as he called for her again, "Camille! Where are you?"
"CAMILLE!" Theo screamed, his voice hoarse with dread.
A stitching pain stabbed into his abdomen as his panic shifted into high gear. What if she'd collided with the edges of the tunnel and hit her head? She could be beneath the water, struggling to breathe and yet unaware that she was about to drown.
