"You are going to want to get your hair and face too," Alicia told her, "I found it best to submerge yourself and then let me help you go through your hair."
Nodding, Penny took in a deep breath of air, closed her eyes, and sank down into the past. She felt it clog her nose and cover her face. When she came back up for air, she had to remind herself to breathe. Alicia was there with a small, long device with cotton on one end that she used to clear the paint from her nose, ears, and eyes.
"How does it look?" Penny asked, feeling the paint drip from her.
Alicia took a small brush that she'd been using on the others as well and dipped it into the black paint, "You look terrifying, Lady Belmonte." She began to brush the paint through Penny's red hair to change it more permanently to black, "I have a black make-up kit in the drying room that we will use on you all to make sure there are no spots left uncovered."
"Thank you," Penny said, swishing the paint around with a hand. Even her nails were black.
Alicia nodded and then gestured, "You don't have to stay in too long. Come out and head to the drying room."
Penny sighed as she stood up, feeling the paint run off herself. She glanced down and saw her entire body was still inky black. Shauni had not been lax in creating the perfect adhesive.
Alicia led her into the room that she'd used to fight with Eldrin every day in training. They had dozens of lamps set up everywhere to promote the heat. She could see splat son black paint all over the floor.
"It should take no longer than ten minutes," Alicia informed her, "During that time, "I'll be getting the boys make up down. Joanna is soaking now."
Penny nodded and stood in front of one of the lamps, turning every few seconds.
Alicia walked away but not out of the room. Penny watched her and blinked a few times. The men were standing across the room with their back towards her. None of them were dressed yet. She quickly averted her eyes but not before smothering a laugh.
After ten minutes had passed, Alicia led Joanna to the lamps and then came back to Penny and tested her paint with her fingertips. "You're dry," she declared, "Now it's time to get you dressed. Hopefully you can do it faster than those boys. They spent over five minutes comparing the way that certain body parts looked while covered in paint. I swear!"
This time, Penny burst out laughing. Alicia gave her a completely indignant look and then offered out the black tunic that Penny would be wearing.
"Take it easy," Penny said with a smile, "It's a stressful day. At least they're attempting to have fun."
Alicia merely shook her head, helping Penny to dress. By the time she was fully dressed, Penny felt incredibly dark, dangerous, and sexy. She had been given a tight leather tunic that hugged her curves, pants that were tight enough on skin, boots that came nearly up to hr knee, and fingerless gloves that were armored with small, sharp spikes. Alicia had also taken dark makeup and applied it to the spots on her face that had peeled the paint when she smiled or talked. The final touch had been lipstick that left her lips feeling heavy.
"You look amazing," Eldrin said suddenly, coming up behind her. He was accompanied by George, Kevin, and Ryan. All three of them were dressed in the same outfit as herself. There was not a splash of color anywhere on them. It was frightening to behold.
"Thank you," Penny said, glad that her red face could not be seen beneath the paint. Alicia looked between them and beamed.
Minutes later, Joanna joined them. She looked even more beautiful than Penny felt. She wore the dark color well and with her slender frame, she seemed almost to glide. Everyone stared at her, but Joanna didn't seem to notice. She stepped up next to Kevin, and then took his hand.
Kevin looked surprised. Joanna said nothing. Penny understood though. Contact was all that was needed sometimes.
Eldrin turned to the five, his white teeth flashing oddly against his skin, "Let's get our weapons and go. The group is waiting for us. They sent word ten minutes ago."
"The path is clear?" Ryan asked.
"As far as I know," Eldrin confirmed. They had planned out a route that would lead them to a home three blocks from the soldiers' headquarters without being seen.
The six of them made their way through Penny's home, stopping to get their weapons from the dining room.
Penny hesitated before she got to the door, looking back at the others. "Are you ready for this?"
All of them nodded.
"Let's go then," Penny said, breathing in deeply. With her black clad hand, she reached out and turned the door knob of her house.
She swung it fully open before realizing who was standing right outside.
Sixteen Lamonte soldiers stood there fully armed and ready. Two in the back stood stoically beside a shaking Erin. Another was holding Robert by the hair.
Penny felt her heart sink.
"Penelope Belmonte, Craig Dalton, Ryan Remmus, George Simons, Kevin Bishop, Joanna Whitetree?" The soldier in the front spoke for them, his voice commanding authority. "Your rights are being suspended. You will come with us without struggle or you will be killed immediately without questioning."
"What are you arresting us for?" Penny asked, her eyes widening in shock. She could see similar expressions on the faces of her comrades. The whites of their eyes were even more prominent than usual. It frightened her.
The soldier met her gaze calmly, "Treason."
FORTY-SIX
Soil Our Addition
"DO YOU WANT TO HEAR OUR REPORTS?" Aeliana and James Luther approached Stini together. He was sitting alone, staring up at the moons. It was waning and hardly visible. Soon it would disappear completely.
The night was clear and stars speckled the sky. There were nights like this in Serjya that Stini had once enjoyed. He'd enjoyed sitting out on his porch and just looking up. It was such an expansive thing, the sky. The world.
It had never made him feel so small before, though.
Stini glanced at them, trying not to feel disgust. For a moment, he was silent. Then he shook his head. "No," he flapped a hand at them, "Not really."
"Stini," Aeliana said. The word was breathed out through gritted teeth and it was just barely polite, "Arthimur. I think you should hear this."
"Not now," Stini told her. He didn't want to hear her accusations anymore. She never made them out loud, but he could still hear them. They were there, in her voice, just under the surface, "Can't you see that I'm busy, Jehryme?" he nodded down at the cup in front of him. It was full of amber liquor. "Go away."
Aeliana turned away.
James tried this time, "Commander, everyone is asking for you. We've achieved a very difficult feat. You should be proud. We've managed to convince an entire military brigade, not a large one, but still, to surrender to us. They're joining our division. They'll be replacing what we lost last week in the incident with--"
"Great," Stini said, "Good job. Keep it up. No time for pep talks though. What are they looking for? Some kind of pat on the back?"
"This is the entire point of the Lost Brigade," Aeliana hissed out, "This is what you told the men to fight for. So we could get Lamonte men to surrender to us. This is a huge victory for us."
James frowned and cut her off, "They don't want a pat on the back," he said. He gave an uncomfortable shrug, "They just want you to welcome them. They want to feel like they're part of us."
Stini thought about it for a moment and then sighed, pushing away his drink, "Great," he muttered, "Just wonderful. Alright, well, fine. I suppose I can do that. I'm a welcoming man, Luther. Show me the way."
"So. You want to be part of the Arinford Guard. Part of my Division," Stini stared over the Lamonte soldiers, speaking in a listless voice, wishing this was over with already. Since he'd sent men out to infiltrate, he'd sunk into a deep depression. He wanted nothing more than to go home.
That wasn't an option, of course. Aeliana was angry at his attitude, and Carl had stopped coming with her to give reports. He couldn't blame them.
"
We do." This came from a tall, handsome man in the front of the group, "That is, if you'll have us. We've heard of your men. The Lost Brigade. The Lost Division. We want to help. This seems like the best place for that."
Stini stared at him for a moment and then gave a low chuckle, "Of course you want to help. What happens if you don't? We kill you. Wise men surrender, saves their necks for another day."
The man opened his mouth, his face flooding with color, "That's not fair. You know damned well that--"
"Stini!" this came from Aeliana. She was glowering at him, speaking low but drawing his attention from the ranting man. He shrugged at her.
"Fine," Stini said, turning back towards the men and cutting the one in the front off in the middle of his speech, "Fine. You can join our forces if that's what you want. I imagine you'll understand my hesitation on sending you lot out on the field though. For now, you can work in the camp. My officers can assign you the work that they think you're best suited for."
"So," the handsome man said, "you're going to use us as your laborers? Make us cook? Clean?"
Someone behind him spit on the ground in obvious disgust at the idea.
Stini just sighed. "You've got the general gist of it, yeah. I have to make sure that when you're out there, on the field, you're not going to turn around and sink a sword into one of my men. Those boys and girls are your country men and it's not easy to put a blade in them. Trust me, I know.
"So for now, you're going to cook, and clean, and take care of our armor, and work with our newer recruits to make sure they're properly trained. You have a problem with that, go find another division to join."
The man muttered something.
"What's your name?" Stini demanded. He took a step towards the fellow, nearly stumbled, and caught his balance. "Huh?"
The man stared at him, "Are you drunk?"
Stini shook his head, "Answer the question, soldier. What's your name?"
"Carmile," the man said, "Carmile Spencer, and I've just committed treason against my king, and my home, so I could support the Arinford Guard and join your troops. A little respect would go a long way."
Stini took another deep breath and let it out slowly, "Fine, Carmile. You want to do more than cook and clean? You can work with my officers. Give them any information they'll find relevant. Help them strategize. Work with them. That's your job. You can collect information from the rest of your men that you think is useful and report that too."
"They're not my men," Carmile said.
Stini shrugged, "They are now."
"I want to leave to go search for the Prince," Rafinnel said. He was standing with Deyneth in her strategy room. He clasped his hands behind his back, "I will take a small charge and try and break into the castle dungeons. I will rescue him and bring him home. If something happens to King William, we need his heir. He should never have left."
Deyneth stared at Rafinnel for a long time. Sometimes, she didn't know how she felt about the man. It was pointless to state what they shouldn't have done in the past. The future was all that mattered. She let out a low sigh. "No."
It was clear he hadn't been expecting that answer. "No?"
"No," Deyneth repeated. "You will not go to Lamonte and attempt to break him out. If Prince William is still alive, and if he is in the cells, it will be next to impossible. You are speaking of a suicide mission and you are too valuable an asset to this kingdom."
"Not as valuable as Prince William," Rafinnel pointed out, "Arinford needs the Prince. Certainly that is not something that you have missed."
"We will pick out a task force dedicated to this, if you cannot be swayed," Deyneth said, "but you will not be involved. It is foolhardy and I have strong doubts that these men will return with their lives intact. Besides that, you will soon have new deployment orders."
Rafinnel raised an eyebrow.
"Your responsibility is with the Arinford Guard," Deyneth said, "You are a capable officer and you have been in the castle for far too long. You are wasted here, Battle-Master Rafinnel. I have drawn up papers for your return deployment. The Division that Arthimur Stini is currently leading needs men, and a firm hand."
Rafinnel shook his head, "The man is more than capable."
Deyneth shrugged, "He may be. I do not know him though. I feel that it would be more productive to the Arinford image to have a battle-master in the field, and I do not wish to send Marius, and Ker has more knowledge in defensive tactics than offensive. You will leave in the morning."
Rafinnel's posture was as stiff as his voice, "I need time to prepare. I would also like time to properly draft my proposal of the mission for the rescue of the Prince."
Deyneth opened her mouth to argue.
"If I have to, I will go to the king and ask his permission myself," Rafinnel said.
Deyneth's face flushed with color and Rafinnel realized he'd made a mistake. She cleared her throat, "You would go over my head, Battle-Master?"
"No," Rafinnel said, "That is not my intention, Warlord Delanu. I have great respect for your command and leadership. You know this. I feel, however, that Prince William is an important asset to this war. I wish to find him. You are making this very difficult for me."
Deyneth was silent for sometime. She shifted her eyes to the large map on the wall, staring at it. When she spoke, her voice was calm and collected, "King William will listen to what I have to say, as he always had. The only thing that you will gain by seeking his audience is to drive a wedge between the three of us. You would invoke his anger, and my displeasure.
"We work well together, Contras. I do not wish to get rid of you."
Rafinnel cleared his throat. The last thing he wanted was for her to dismiss him from duty. As his commanding officer, he knew that she alone had the power to do just that. He also knew that despite her calm exterior, Deyneth was not a woman that you wanted to anger.
"As you wish, Warlord," Rafinnel said, "I will let the manner drop. I deploy tomorrow then?"
"Yes," Deyneth said. They spoke for a few more minutes and then Rafinnel left. Deyneth stayed in the room by herself for a time longer, her eyes glued to map on the wall. After she'd been alone some time, she let out a relived sigh. Despite what she'd told the battle-master, she didn't know that the king would listen to her.
It was a good thing, then, that she as great at bluffing.
FORTY-SEVEN
I Have Bad Dreams
"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE," Janice told Sean. He almost laughed.
"Of course we do," he told her, "But we're in a bit of a pinch. I'm not sure how we're going to get out of this one, Janice."
"Craig will come back for us," Janice said. "Hopefully in time. I don't know why they haven't killed us or sent us back to Lamonte yet though."
Sean considered for a moment and then shrugged, "It makes sense. They don't want the King to know they almost had the prince, and that they let him escape. What are they supposed to say? Sorry King Sullivan, there were twelve of us, and three of them, and they were unarmed, but we still let a sixteen year old get away?"
Janice laughed. It was a nice sound to hear in the darkness. Most of time time, there wasn't much to laugh about. They had been questioned plenty but it wasn't as though they had any information with sharing. That didn't stop the man in charge from questioning them anyway though. He was a cold man, emotionless.
One day, he'd stopped coming though and he'd been replaced by the commander in the area. The man was named Peter Sterling, and he'd refused to continue torturing them. That had been a nice break. But it didn't mean anything. Janice wasn't about to trust the man.
She'd told him she'd kill him someday. The Lamonte commander had given her a small, sad smile that had said he didn't believe she'd ever do any more killing, and then he'd left her there.
"Do you know who he was? Craig?" Sean asked. He tried to twist around to see her, but he couldn't. The ropes were too tight. He hadn't looked at her face in what felt like ages.
"Did y
ou?" Janice asked.
Sean thought about it for a moment. He was almost positive he knew who the soldier with Penny had been. He wondered if she knew. He thought it likely. "I might have," he said, "I don't know for sure."
"I don't either," Janice said with a sigh, "But he'll come back. That much, I believe. But it has to be soon. Will needs us. You know that, right? We don't belong in this war. We belong beside him, helping him."
"I know," Sean agreed. He thought about the prince, and of the time he'd shared his dream with them. There had been so many emotions, and so much turmoil, but the underlying message had been enough. Will had a mission in Cartharia, and it had nothing to do with Richard Sullivan and his war.
Janice shifted in her binds, "Do you think he's alright?"
"He has to be," Sean said, "He's probably made it home by now. They wouldn't have told us if he had, of course. But they haven't recaptured him. Or he'd be here with us, and we'd be on our way back to Sullivan. When we get out of here, we need to head to the capitol."
Janice made a sound of agreement in her throat.
"I think we're going to be okay," Sean said, "In fact, I think we're going to be great, Janice. Just great."
He couldn't see her, but he was sure Janice was smiling. He could almost envision it. The thought filled him with warmth. He loved her. That was all. He just loved her.
Will woke from another dream, his eyes wild and frantic. He turned to look for Sean and Janice before remembering they'd been captured. His eyes burned with unspilled tears. He missed them.
He stared forward, angry. He was angry that Sean had sacrificed himself to save Will. Suddenly, without warning, the tree in front of him burst into flames. It quickly began spreading.
Will stumbled back, shocked. He didn't know what to think, or do. He knew that somehow the fire had come from him. He also knew the basics of manipulation. Somehow, he'd just used fire manipulation, which didn't make any sense. He'd never been trained in it.
Revolution (Cartharia Book 2) Page 47
