by Candy Crum
The knife wasn't very long, only a few short inches, but it was plenty long enough to pierce his trachea. She heard him struggling to breathe, and she leaned over and placed her face only inches from his.
"I just wanted you to take a moment to appreciate this, because I am. I promised you earlier after your gracious offer that it wouldn’t be me choking on anything, but you. I said I’d shove your dick down your own throat after what you said to me," she then smiled and wrapped her hand around his on the hilt before whispering, "but this is just as good."
Amelia jerked her hand back, pulling his hands with it. His eyes widened as he began choking even worse on his blood. Within seconds, his body crumpled to the floor, as his life ended.
Amelia looked to her left and saw Marie sitting on the floor with wide eyes. "You okay?"
There was a pause before Marie nodded her head. "I was just scared. Luckily, they didn't do anything to me."
Amelia pointed to the man she’d just killed. "Yeah, well, that probably wouldn't have been the case for very long. That one right there was a little handsy."
Elon walked over and extended his hand, and Marie hesitantly took it. He was surprisingly gentle as he helped her from the floor, placing his hand on the small of her back and helping her walk.
"Officer Dickhead over there probably let slip what he had planned. They won't come looking for him for at least half an hour, I would say. At the very least, they would have assumed he'd run into issues with one or more of us. So, we have some time, but not much. We need to get across the city to Elon's mentor."
Marie gave Elon a quick, reassuring smile as she took a step forward. "Tunnels were built under the city to control flooding. They run directly under the Capitol. If we can get to one of the access points, we should be able to move anywhere we like within the city."
Amelia sighed, a slight grimace on her face. "I really hadn't thought about that, but I suppose it's our only option. I'm surprised you know about them. I didn't even know about them until I took over as Chancellor and saw the city records. Of course, I'm sure Adrien played a part in that."
Elon nodded. "Would you want to let people know there was a way to sneak in and out of the city and bring it crumbling down if you were an evil, narcissistic, asshole dictator at serious risk of a mutiny?"
Amelia thought for a moment before finally nodding. "Good point. I can see why he kept it quiet, though it doesn't make me any less annoyed. Probably could've saved a lot of lives. Anyway, did I mention that I hate rats and snakes? Because I imagine there are a lot of both down there."
Marie and Elon led the way, since both had studied the blueprints of the city at one point or another—no doubt for different reasons. Arcadia sat in one of the deepest areas of the Valley, putting it at risk of flooding when heavy rains fell.
The tunnels had been small when the city was first built, just as the city itself had been small, but as it grew Adrien had them expanded. He took no chances that his great city would be destroyed by something as simple as a flood.
Elon's Master, Waylon, had designed them with a secondary plan in mind—safety. If ever the city was attacked, the citizens could access the tunnels at multiple points to escape, and many could be saved. He'd kept that to himself, though he'd told only one other person: Elon.
One by one, they quietly made their way down the front steps of the Capitol building. They were ready for a fight, but hoped one wouldn't come. Amelia's earlier assumptions had been that no guards were in the immediate area, though she had no doubt they would soon be on their way.
They ran around the back of the Capitol building and found what looked to be doors leading into a cellar. Pulling tools out of his pocket, Elon quickly picked the lock and opened the doors to find steps down into the darkness.
"All other entry points were barred by Adrien's Hunters, though I think there might be at least one more open because a rebel… Uh… I mean, one of your friends was able to sneak into the city. Adrien planned to only keep this entry and the one behind the Academy open in case the city was ever attacked and he needed to go below," Elon said.
"That's disgusting," Amelia exclaimed with obvious disdain in her voice and expression.
A guilty look crossed Elon's face. "That was partially my fault. Back when Arryn's parents were alive, he'd worried that a successful coup might be staged. I opened my big fat mouth and told him the purpose of the tunnels, a secret my mentor had told me that I was supposed to keep to myself in case the citizens ever needed to escape."
Marie's brows furrowed. "You really have a lot to make up for, don't you?"
Elon pulled the doors the rest of the way open and shook his head. "You have no idea."
Without another word, Elon jumped inside, quickly making his way down the stairs until he was standing ankle-deep in water. Amelia was the last one down, and she made sure to close the doors behind her.
After Elon put his hands together and pulled them apart, several little balls of light hovered in the air. He tossed them over his head to illuminate the area. "Waylon placed magitech lights down here long ago, and I even replaced them once, but they've long since burned out. We'll have to go through using magic."
"This is really gross," Marie said as they walked through the water that soon came up almost to their knees.
"This is where the wastewater goes," Elon informed them. "It hasn't rained in a long time, but it's been a cold winter. Most of this was more than likely ice, but now it's melted. Come summer, this will be much lower. Unless it rains, of course."
It seemed to take forever to wade through the water and the tunnels, but they finally approached a vertical grate at the top of the wall, but even with the street.
It had been locked shut from the inside, but Elon had his tools ready to pick the magitech lock. They soon heard the familiar click, and he pulled the lock free before throwing it into the water.
Elon grunted as he pulled hard several times to free the grate from the position it had been in for so long. They had nearly been sealed in by Father Time, but the engineer finally managed to open it.
After pulling himself out, Elon looked around before sticking a hand back down and helping both women out. "We don't have far to go. My mentor's house is just down the street."
They ran behind him, following Elon as closely as possible as he led them through backyards and kept as close to the shadows as possible. It was strange for Amelia to be working with him after all he'd done, but right now he was also doing all he could to save the city.
In just a few minutes they came to a large backyard behind a massive two-story noble home. Even without Elon’s announcement, Amelia would have known this was an engineer's house. The backyard was full of trinkets and sculptures and other interesting things she'd never seen before.
"I used to collect portraits and paintings from before the Age of Madness. I was introduced to things from that era because of him. Some of these sculptures are replicas of things he's seen in recovered books or other such pictures," Elon told them as they made their way to the back door.
Amelia grabbed Marie's hand and held it, giving her a reassuring smile before letting it go. They both stood back and waited for the once-Master Engineer to knock and announce their presence. Within moments, a man with shoulder-length snow-white hair and a long beard to match answered the door.
Though he looked incredibly old—and Amelia imagined he was—he appeared to be quite fit and healthy. His back was straight, his shoulders broad and pulled back. He stood with a noble’s confidence.
The old man beamed as he looked Elon over before greeting Amelia and Marie. "Boy, I never thought I'd see you again. I heard what you did. If you're here with the Chancellor—at my back door, no less—I suspect that the city is in danger and you've joined the winning side. Well, the good side, at the very least."
Elon nodded. "You'd be guessing correctly. Tell me, do you have a stash of amphoralds handy?"
The old man's smile grew. "Do you even have to
ask? Of course, I do. Now, get your asses inside before someone sees you. We have a lot to talk about."
***
Maddie carefully made her way through the city, being as quiet as possible and as invisible as possible, just as Amelia had instructed in her letter. The Chancellor had been arrested and thrown into the Capitol dungeon for a crime she never would have committed. She and Elon had escaped and were coming to the defense of the city.
Amelia had known it was a risk when she'd allowed Cella’s Governor to bring his people in, but so had he. They'd made the arrangement knowing the worst could happen. As far as both were concerned, it was less dangerous than a remnant attack.
Now, Amelia needed Maddie to call on the governor for his aid and to secure the services of his Guard. Not only that, but to warn him that he needed to get his people out of the city before morning. Amelia had instructed Maddie to take the governor and his Guard and whatever other people he could manage to the entrance behind the Capitol building and through the tunnels. She'd read the letter twice to make sure she got it right.
M,
This is the last letter I can send for now. The worst has happened—I've been arrested for a murder I didn't commit, which was Scarlett’s doing.
The city now believes I'm just as guilty as Arryn, and they'll turn to Talia. You must warn the governor of Cella. He and his son need to get his Guard and as many of his people he can round up out of the city before the sun rises.
Have them take the tunnels behind the Capitol building. It's wet down there, but it's a straight shot outside the walls according to Elon. I'd forgotten, but Parker once said he used those tunnels to sneak in and out of Arcadia. Get them to safety. Get yourself to safety.
I'm heading to the Dark Forest. Meet us there. I've heard it's a dangerous place, so make sure they're ready. The druids will welcome us, and I have faith Cathillian will see us to safety.
Please take care of yourself.
- A
Maddie was small, and capable of sticking to the shadows. It took quite a while, but she reached the home where the governor was staying without any fuss. She knocked on the door, looking over her shoulders and nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other. As soon as the governor opened the door, Maddie ran inside.
The governor closed the door and Maddie held out her hand, the letter between her fingers.
"What is this?" the governor asked.
"It's from Amelia. The city has fallen. You need to get your people out of here and head to the Dark Forest."
The governor's eyes went wide. "The Dark Forest? Did I hear you correctly? I've never seen one myself, but the druids—"
Maddie waved her hands in front of her, shaking her head as she interrupted him. "Forget all that. The Dark Forest is dangerous, but not nearly as dangerous as Arcadia is right now. Amelia and I have friends there. Well, Amelia has friends there. My druid friend has been kidnapped and taken out of the city. She was born here but raised in the Dark Forest from the age of ten, so I know they aren't entirely bad. Besides, it's the safest place we could go right now. Talia has control of the Arcadian Guard, and if she believes for an instant you aren’t on her side, she will have all of you arrested—or worse. Right now, your Guard are the only hope we have."
The governor sighed, then took the letter and read it. After several moments, he looked up and nodded. "I'll get my son. We’ll ride out tonight."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Talia had been awakened in the middle of the night by the Guard, who informed her what had happened with Amelia. Scarlett had promised she’d take care of her, but she didn’t specify how. The guard seemed to have no idea, having been convinced it truly had been Amelia that killed the guard, Mattias, but the Dean knew better…
It had been Scarlett.
Her mood had begun to improve when she’d heard that Amelia was out of the way and locked away in the dungeon. She hadn't been able to sleep for the rest of the night, but was smart enough to stay home so she didn't appear too eager. Just after dawn broke, Talia got up, took a shower, made herself presentable, and went straight to the Capitol building.
The Chancellor was no longer housed in Adrien's office. Her office was in the Capitol building in the heart of the city. As Talia made her way into the building, she saw the blood spatter on the walls and floor. Her brows creased as she wondered exactly what had happened.
Annoyance began to overtake her triumphant mood as she slowly began making her way to the building. Talia walked through the receiving area to a door that led downstairs, and she shook her head as she briskly descended the stairs toward the dungeon. The magitech lighting clicked on as she stepped into the large room.
As she looked into the first cell, she realized Elon was no longer in residence. Her nostrils flared as anger threatened to overwhelm her. She stomped through the rest of the room, looking in each cell but coming up empty. Even Jackson and Caydon were gone.
"Fuck!" she shouted. “Where the fuck is everyone?”
"Trouble in paradise?" Scarlett inquired from the entryway.
Talia turned. If looks could kill, Scarlett would have died a thousand deaths. Talia stomped over to Scarlett with her fists clenched at her sides and her face full of anger.
Without warning, Talia lashed out, slapping Scarlett right across the face. Scarlett's face turned with the blow, but her expression revealed nothing. No shock. No anger. Not even pain. Talia didn't care to dissect her reaction… or lack thereof.
"I have no patience for your stupid shit right now. She's gone. Where the fuck is she? The boys, too." Talia demanded.
Scarlett moved her jaw gingerly, causing a loud pop to echo through the dungeon. Her eyes blinked slowly, lingering shut for just a moment before she fully turned her face back to Talia. Though the Dean couldn't see any anger in her expression, she could certainly see the rage in her eyes.
"Jackson and Caydon are dead. As per your orders. As for the fucking Chancellor, how the hell would I know, my Queen?" Scarlett asked, her voice full of scorn.
Talia took a step closer, ignoring her smart comment. Her nose was almost close enough to touch Scarlett's. "Find out. Because if you don't—"
Scarlett's eyes flashed white, causing Talia to jump back. The Dean continued to retreat as Scarlett moved forward. "What? What will you do?"
When Talia didn't answer, Scarlett continued, "Let me tell you what's going to happen. You will never strike me again. If you do, you and I will be right back here in this dungeon. I will bring a dull, serrated blade, and I will give it to you. When I do, you'll smile at your gracious host. You will sit down in that corner right over there, and I will sit in that chair just to your right. I will watch as you cut away parts of yourself, piece by tiny piece.
“I won't let you scream—it would only give me a headache. But I will gladly watch you cry. Believe me when I say that whatever convoluted torture you could imagine in your own mind, is nothing compared to what I can force you to do. It would be nothing compared to what I can come up with, mostly because I have already envisioned it. Do you understand me?"
Talia swallowed hard, nodding as she did. She'd never seen Scarlett quite so angry, and it wasn't until that moment she realized just how strong and how demented the mystic was.
Scarlett smiled, her eyes still white. "Good. Because I've put up with a lot of your shit. Let's not forget… You may be able to set me on fire, but I promise you it won't be fast enough. I can overwhelm you before you even finish arcing your hands over your chest. You're only in your current position because I allowed you to be. Fuck with me again, and I'll make sure to rectify that problem. Now, if you're quite finished with this pissing contest, your adoring fans await."
Talia blinked a few times, doing her best to shake away the chill moving through her body. "My adoring fans await?"
Scarlett nodded. "Quite a few people saw the Chancellor arrested last night. Word spread fast. They know you're here, and they're turning to you for answers. It's time for y
ou to seal the deal. Get out there and claim your throne. No one set up a proper line of succession after Adrien died. No governor was elected. The next most powerful person in the city is the Dean—you. They're expecting you to speak to them, since you’re their new Chancellor."
Talia nodded, nervously plucking at her shirt. "Well, let's go address them."
As Talia passed her, Scarlett put her hand out, placing it on Talia's chest and stopping her in her tracks. "There's one more thing."
Talia looked down at the hand on her chest before glancing at Scarlett. She didn't look angry, and her eyes were no longer white, but she didn't look happy either. "Yes?"
"I'm leaving the city tonight. I wasn't planning to tell you, but now I don't really care," Scarlett said.
Talia had no idea what to think at the moment. Something in the back of her head told her this was the beginning of the end. All her paranoia had pointed to this very moment. Or had it?
Talia tried to convince herself that Scarlett was loyal, that she was only acting this way because Talia had wrongfully struck her. It made sense, and Talia would've reacted in the same way had the roles been reversed.
But that nagging feeling in the back of her mind—be it paranoia, intuition, or some kind of genetic mental disorder she'd inherited from her father, Adrien—told her to watch her back. The end was coming.
***
Scarlett stood silently to the side and watched as Talia made the announcement that she was taking over as Chancellor. The city was mixed in its reaction. Some screamed for joy, crying out for justice for the lost guards Amelia had been accused of murdering. Others wanted peace. They were angry, and didn't seem convinced Amelia was capable of such a thing without good reason.
Scarlett alone didn't have the power to force these people to believe what she needed them to swallow, but she soon would. Four of her friends would be arriving, and with their help she would be able to convince the city of anything she wanted.
