by M. D. Laird
Jack prowled the warehouse were the rebels were encamped to assess the final preparations. The battle would begin the following evening. They had a plan, everyone knew where they should be and when. They had enough arms and, with their new allies, they had enough people. Despite this, Jack could not feel confident. Despite their preparation, some of his team were going to die. He might die. If he did survive then some of his friends, who he had been close to for many years, would no longer be at his side.
A maelstrom of nausea churned in Jack’s stomach. Part of him wanted to forget the whole thing and carry on as normal. Maybe the Amaryan Brotherhood could manage without the rebels? The angels and demons could take on the king’s armies single-handedly. They did not need the rebels.
But they had prepared for this for too long. It was not working exactly to plan. They would not have the republic they intended. But life would be better for the Axandrian people. That was all they had ever wanted. Their sacrifice would mean that future generations would have a better life than they did.
Jack sighed and strolled away from the weapons store towards the corner of the warehouse they had fashioned as the mess hall.
This might be our last night on earth. We should make the most of it.
Eleanor entered her cabin later that night. Thomas was already in bed.
“Why weren’t you at supper?” he asked.
“I wasn’t hungry,” she said, undressing. Thomas eyed her anticipatorily. She turned away from him.
“Are you still sulking?” he grumbled.
“He wouldn’t accept my help. He doesn’t want me to sell my horse,” Eleanor replied, sliding underneath the bedcovers, and lying with her back to Thomas.
“Well, you tried,” he said, rolling towards her, and kissing her neck.
She shrugged him away. “I’m not in the mood.”
He huffed as he pulled away from her. “Are you just planning to sulk until you get your own way?”
“I’m not sulking.”
“You are. You have that same smell that you have when I don’t want to go shopping. It goes as soon as I give in.”
She sighed. “He won’t let me give him the money because I would have to sell my horse, but perhaps you could lend him the money, and he would pay you back.”
“No.”
“Why? You’ll get it back.”
“In dribs and drabs over the years.”
“What difference does it make?”
“No.”
“Well, what if I sell my horse and give you the money to lend to him? He doesn’t need to know I’ve sold my horse,” she said, frustrated.
“Fine,” he said. “If it will stop you complaining.”
“Thank you,” she said, pulling the covers around her.
Thomas growled. “You’re still sulking.”
“I’m not. I’m going to sleep.”
I am going to miss that horse.
She had owned the horse for mere hours but was sad that she would have to part with her. She had been looking forward to getting to know her when things were less hectic.
“You still smell.”
“I’m not sulking, but I can’t help being unhappy about selling my horse. I’ll get over it.”
Thomas snarled, rolled over and lay with his back to her. “Perhaps you can sell yourself back to your father, and then you can keep the damn horse.”
Calab had perched himself on the crosstree of the Fortitude’s mainmast. He had taken a goblet of wine from the mess hall and was sipping it slowly whilst enjoying the night air. There was no one on the deck of the ship but the guards, and aside from the occasional mutter of their conversation, the night was peaceful. The only sounds came from the water against the hull of the ships as the fleet cut through the ocean.
Calab took another sip of wine. Amarya had wooden goblets like those in the fae realm. Thinking of the fae realm made him think of Genevieve. It made him think of how much she loved it there. He thought back to the concert in the realm when he arrived to collect her after the Imperator was defeated. Calab had been rude to Genevieve later that night. He had told her he did not want to be her friend.
Genevieve had been enthralled by the concert, by the music, the magic, and the colours. Calab had been enthralled by Genevieve. He had barely heard the concert as the girl had captivated him. She had stirred thoughts in him. Thoughts and feelings that were unfamiliar yet terrifyingly natural.
Calab had hated the feelings. He pushed them away and pushed Genevieve away. He was still pushing her away now.
He had barely spoken to her recently and now they were going into battle. What if something went wrong? He might never speak to her again. The very idea that he might never see the woman he loved again frightened him.
If we survive this, things need to be different. I need to be different.
Calab took another sip of his when before resting his head on the mast and staring up at the stars.
Eve lay beside the little campfire staring up at the stars. The night was peaceful; the only sounds were from crickets chirruping in the grasses and the occasional hoot of an owl or howl of a distant wolf. It did not seem like the night before a battle.
Eve would unlikely to be fighting but people she knew would be fighting. Innocent people would be fighting. Calab would be fighting.
She closed her eyes. She needed to sleep. She needed to rest and recharge before she had to use her alchemy again tomorrow, but she could not turn off her thoughts. She could not stop her mind imagining that she might lose Calab. That she might never see him again.
Finding her thoughts too unbearable, she took a remedy from Sariel and escaped into a dreamless abyss.
Eleanor and Thomas had slept apart the previous night, and Eleanor left their room before Thomas woke to find Maol. Eleanor guessed that Maol was still avoiding Amarya and would be up early. She was right and found him pacing the deck.
“Thomas has agreed to lend you the money you need,” she told him.
Maol shook his head, “I can’t do that.”
“Why? You’ll pay him back.”
“I need to find my own way.”
“What if you can’t raise the money in time? Just let me help you. If you let me help you, you can buy your freedom and get a house and everything ready for the baby’s arrival without having to worry about running out of time.”
“I will figure it out. I don’t want to be in anyone’s debt.”
“You can pay Thomas back with interest, that way he’ll will make money out of you.”
He considered her proposal and shook his head. “Fine,” he said, exasperated. “Thank you.”
She smiled broadly. “Will you let me help you take care of the baby? I can look after it when you’re working.”
Maol frowned. “You’re not going to drop this, are you?”
Eleanor smiled guiltily. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to put pressure on you but I can see a way for me to help and I don’t want you to turn me away to save your pride.”
He sighed. “I guess I don’t really have much of a choice. I’d appreciate that. Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” she said. “I’m going for breakfast, are you coming?”
They both walked to the mess; Maol left Eleanor to join Amarya and give her the news and Eleanor collected her breakfast before making her way towards Thomas who was seated in the far corner of the mess hall away from everyone else. Thomas had complained that he had to eat surrounded by other people. He had considered ordering Arakiel to take his meals to their cabin but decided against it when he saw that his brothers were using the mess hall. He didn’t sit with his brothers, though. He still preferred to eat alone. Eleanor gave a slight smile knowing, despite their argument, he would still welcome her to eat with him.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Good morning,” he replied. “I assume he has accepted your offer?”
“Yes,�
� she replied. “He’ll need money for a house and to set up his life too.”
Thomas glowered.
“The horse will fetch enough money to cover it.”
“Fine.” He growled.
“When will we arrive in Axandria?”
“This evening, I believe.”
“Then the battle will begin,” she said nervously. “Are your demons ready?”
“They’re waiting on my word.”
She nodded. “I will join the rebels in Rexalis. Can you fly me there?”
“You’re going to be killed.”
“You’ll still get your money,” she said. “You can still sell my horse.”
He glared at her. “I should have accepted your father’s offer. I could have had my money back, now I’ll just have a dead wife.”
She gritted her teeth and, pushing aside her plate, she stood.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Yes, you are. I’ve just heard your stomach.”
“I don’t feel like eating anymore. I’ll go and pack. When you’ve finished, can you fly me to Rexalis?”
“They’re not expecting you until after dark, why do you need to go so soon?”
“Because I need to speak with them to affirm our plans before we move into position.”
“I’ll come to the cabin,” Thomas grumbled. “I may as well make the most of having a wife whilst I still can.”
She raised an eyebrow. His bluntness still surprised her on occasions, but she softened and followed him to their cabin.
Eve exchanged energy, body heat and even her body weight in order to burrow under Lord Amarya’s Cloak at the location she had given Calab. It was a lot of work, Amarya’s Cloak was much stronger than the king’s alchemist’s, but she eventually broke through.
She felt exhausted and dropped to her knees. Leliel was on hand with glucose, and her demons helped restore her body heat. She felt weak and frail, her clothes were suddenly loose on her frame from the weight she had sacrificed.
I can’t make a habit of that. This power could kill me.
After taking some time to recover, Eve explored the store. There were many kinds of alchemical rocks, and Eve had no clue what she would do with any of them.
There is so much I need to learn.
She located the lolites with the help of her guards. Amarya did indeed have a large store including some enormous lolites that she would need two hands to hold.
“Where on Earth would she get these?” Eve asked.
Leliel shrugged. “These must be the rocks she used to Cloak her island.”
“Do you think they’re overkill for penetrating the king’s Cloak?”
“Perhaps a little,” he said. “Maybe you should work on building your own store.”
“Yes. I need to study alchemy. I don’t know what any of these other stones are for. I’ll take the lolites for now.”
Eve took a few sizes of stone and decided against taking one of the larger rocks. They were too big and too heavy. Even with Eve’s increased strength from extra training, she found she could barely carry them. She never did gain the thorian strength. Her guards would have no trouble carrying the rocks, but they seemed unnecessary.
She had no trouble Cloaking the store with the lolites to aid her and barely noticed that she used her magic.
I could get used to this.
She and her guards then returned to Rexalis, under the cover of Eve’s channelled Cloak, to pay another visit to the king of Axandria.
Eve spotted Prince Thomas and Princess Eleanor flying towards Rexalis. She pulled them into the Cloak.
Thomas almost dropped the princess. “What on earth?” he exclaimed.
Eve smiled. “Where are you going?”
“I’m dropping Her Highness at the rebel base so she can march to her death in battle.”
“Why are you so certain I won’t survive? I have trained,” Eleanor replied defiantly.
“Not much. Not as much as you should have, and not as much as everyone else.”
Eve frowned. “Are you joining the angels and demons assisting the rebels, Thomas?”
“Myron is in charge of that company,” he replied. “I am in charge of those at the beach.”
“I am going back to the king,” said Eve. “Lord Amarya wants me to take him captive. I shall spy on him for a while first and see if I can learn anything useful before taking him prisoner. We will likely take your brother prisoner as well.”
“I should join you,” replied Eleanor.
“What about your rebels?” asked Thomas.
“I will speak with them first. My father may say something useful. I may be able to help.”
“Fine,” he said gruffly, handing the princess to Kyriel. “I’m going back. Can you let me out of this shield?”
Eleanor looked a little disappointed as Thomas was released from the Cloak and disappeared into the midspace without another word.
Eleanor, carried by the angel, flew towards Rexalis with the queen and her guards.
“Can I see the rebels first?” she asked. “I will be quick.”
“Yes. Just briefly,” replied the queen. “Show us the way.”
Eleanor led the party into the sewer system underneath the base Jack had told her they planned to group at on Rya’s ship the previous day. It was not one of the houses they had used before. Instead, it was a large warehouse where all the rebels could meet rather than the select few who met during their meetings.
Eleanor encountered Jack’s temper yet again when she showed up, unannounced, at the rebel base.
“What are you doing, Elea?” he snapped. “You know better than to come in daylight. How do you know you weren’t followed?”
“I wasn’t,” she said. “Jack, I’m joining the angels and demons going to arrest my father. We may be able to learn something useful if I go.”
“If you can get anywhere near him.”
“We have a plan. I can join you later to fight after my father has been arrested.”
“Fine,” he said. “Our plans haven’t included you anyway. You haven’t exactly been around.”
“I can’t be everywhere at once.”
“Whatever. Take your weapons now. We are not returning to this base after we leave in the next hour or so.”
Eleanor collected her armour, which consisted of thick leather chest and shoulder plates, and gauntlets, and her sword and dagger. She sheathed the sword and was already regretting not training more. She felt nervous.
Thomas is right. I am going to die.
Ignoring her thoughts, she wished the rebels good luck and re-entered the sewer and the queen’s Cloak.
“Are you ready?” the queen asked.
“Yes,” said Eleanor, allowing Kyriel to lift her into his arms. “We can get out of this stinking sewer now.”
The queen grinned, and they left the sewer for her former home.
As the queen’s Cloak did not let them pass through walls like midspacing did, the group had to get through the heavily guarded doors of the guild without being detected.
“They’ve increased the guard,” said Barakel. “This is going to be tough.”
“I know another way in,” said Eleanor.
“Of course, your tunnels,” said the queen. “Where are they?”
Eleanor led the way. The guards couldn’t see the group, but, even with the Cloak, they couldn’t get through easily without disturbing the flowers. They arrived at the tunnel and found that it, too, was heavily guarded.
“I have two arcanus in my bag, if you wear them on your person, then you can move undetected. There is also another arcanus in the tunnel unless it has been found by the guards who arrested me.”
They used a combination of the queen’s Cloak and Eleanor’s arcanus stones to take turns moving through the tunnel entrance. Half of the guard remained outside, hidden in the midspace around the
guild out of range of any midspacers amongst king’s guards, to stay in vox contact and ready to give warnings if necessary.
“Which way?” asked the queen when they were all inside.
“I think we should head for my father’s bedroom,” replied Eleanor. She looked for the stone where she had dropped it and was disappointed that she could not find it. “I doubt it will be guarded when he is not inside and once we are out in the hall, there will be fewer doors to pass through.”
“The king was holed up in the throne room when we came the last time. We should try there.”
It was slow progress making their way through the doors unseen. The angels and demons couldn’t midspace inside the Cloak so they could not see what was on the other side of closed doors. Thankfully, the angels and demons did have super-sensitive hearing and could hear a heartbeat through the wall. To be as certain as they could be, the queen released some of her guards from the Cloak so they could sense if anyone were hiding in the midspace or in any detectable Cloaks.
Once they were certain they could move unseen, they made their way out into the hall and to the ground floor.
One of the guards hid behind furniture as the queen released him from the Cloak. Once re-Cloaked he confirmed that he sensed a Cloak from the throne room. The queen set to work weaving her own Cloak within the king’s alchemist’s Cloak.
Getting into the throne room was tricky, though the door was frequently opened to let in the king’s men and Eleanor, the queen and her guards were able to slip through as the door was opened. The guards were fast and were able to move quickly, even carrying Eleanor and the queen, and it wasn’t long before they were nestled in the throne room.
Eleanor felt rage in the pit of her stomach upon seeing her father and Victor talking with her brother. Her hand drifted to the pommel of her sword.
“Easy,” said the queen. “We need to observe him. We may learn something that could help the Crown’s armies or your rebel friends.”
“I’m going to kill him.” Eleanor snarled. “I hate him.”
