by Cait Ashwood
This isn’t your first big battle. Stop freaking out. But maybe that was the point. The first one had been too shocking. She could either react or die. This one? She’d had months of anticipation to deal with, and plenty of time to worry. Compartmentalizing wasn’t something that was going to happen this time around.
The column moved forward, the Ravens moving ahead as advance scouts. If Deuce's intel were accurate, there would be a large opening ahead. From there, two paths would lead them to the main barracks of Zaddicus' forces. One went through the cafeteria, the other directly to the place he had called 'the Pit'. Whatever that meant, Audrey was sure she wasn't going to like it.
The Ravens ahead stalled; they'd reached the corridor. They waited for the rest of them to catch up. Audrey couldn't see around the tall bodies in front of her, instead keeping her eyes on Zeche to judge his reaction. Of course, he still has the same height issue I do.
Slowly, the column moved forward once more. Quad stood at the mouth, directing each soldier to one side or the other. We're splitting up. It was all according to plan, but Audrey had felt relatively safe with their large column moving through the halls. Now, half seemed like such a dreadful reduction in size and she couldn't keep her anxiety in check. This was going to be the trickiest part of the exercise. She'd practiced protecting two separate groups, but managing to pull it off during the fighting worried her. For that reason, the further group was made mostly of Ravens and city guard volunteers. While no less susceptible to corruption, they were less dangerous and easier to eliminate than a rogue Seeker.
The mixed group headed off down the path to the cafeteria. This was almost easier than the few that had gone off down the side path before; the larger the group, the easier they were for her to sense. Only two Seekers were in this group, and they were there mainly to help Audrey stay connected with them. While not of her bloodline, as best they could determine, the power of the Order still dwelled in their veins. Like, it seemed, always called to like.
Audrey missed Quad's hand signal to move out, only getting the memo when Griff bumped her shoulder to get her moving. She shuffled forward, the remaining men surrounding her honor guard as they headed straight into the Pit. I can just pray they're friendlier than the pits of hell. They moved slowly, allowing the cafeteria team time to work their way around the longer route. They did encounter some resistance, Audrey holding up her hand as their progress halted.
Zeche was in charge of relaying her signals to Quad, but she was scarcely aware of her physical environment. She couldn't sense any of the taint wielders attacking the others, but she couldn't let her guard down. After an eternity of seconds, she lowered her hand. They'd worked their way free and were moving again.
Both teams approached the Pit from either side. Audrey had been shocked to have to step over a few corpses along their path. The Raven scouts were apparently as deadly as they were silent; she'd not heard an alarm sounded, or even as much as a gasp. Bile rose in her throat and she was suddenly grateful she'd been too nervous to eat breakfast. The last thing she needed was to spoil their silence with her retching.
This time she could see Quad's gaze clearly. He was waiting on her signal to charge into the room. Audrey took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She was to identify any taint users in advance so they could be targeted and eliminated first. The thing was...there didn't seem to be any. She checked again, and a third time, not understanding the lapse.
"What is it, Leaf? You're making the men nervous." Zeche's voice was a harsh whisper in the darkness.
"I can't find a single taint user. They're all tainted, but only enough to allow them to be controlled." She frowned, biting her lower lip. "Did Deuce say if the officers dwelled elsewhere?"
Zeche shrugged, elbowing his way up to the front to confer with Quad. Audrey waited with baited breath as the men spoke in hushed whispers. He made his way back to her, his gaze on her guard serious. "We're going in blind." They responded with grim nods, as if nothing else needed to be said. His heavy hand landed on her shoulder. "Check one more time for me, Leaf."
Not that I think it'll make any difference... Nonetheless, she did as he asked, even extending her awareness as far as she could and keep the men covered. She was ready to report in when something else caught her attention. The woman was nearly blinding to her sight, and next to her was the aura of a Seeker. He seemed not to be tainted, but how was that possible? Audrey forced herself free of her sight, gasping.
"Two approaching from the rear, a Leaf and a...Seeker."
"Is he tainted?" Griff's voice was strained as those within earshot turned towards the back of their column.
"No." But what did that mean? Had Gwyn's team already been in position, and was this all that was left?
As if reading her mind, Zeche clapped his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her into him until they were staring eye to eye. "You don't know what it means. Wait here."
He melded into the shadows like a wraith, and though Audrey strained her ears, she couldn't track his passage. The other Ravens seemed to be able to keep him in their sights a bit longer, but soon even they gave up. Every sense was on high alert, so when a testing probe of the taint bounced off her shield, Audrey was ready for it, responding with a repulsing blast like the one she had inadvertently shot at Hound. It didn’t seem to have any effect. Time for plan B.
Audrey’s fingers brushed against the feathers of her arrows, grasping one and pulling it over her shoulder, notching it on the bowstring. She honestly wasn’t sure how well this was going to work, seeing as Gretta had managed to turn an arrow to dust, but the woman attacking her men couldn’t be allowed to live. She knew the Seekers would attack on her orders, but she felt a personal obligation to this woman to be the one to do the deed.
Zeche came back into her field of sight and narrowed his eyes upon seeing her armed. He turned slightly, glancing at the two figures behind him. His weapons appeared in his hands and he jerked his head toward the side. Griff, who had been standing between Audrey and the newcomers, moved to the side, giving her room to sight her target.
“Audrey, no, wait!” A man with a familiar voice leapt in front of the second figure, arms out wide.
“Deuce?” Technically, she’d known he was down here, but the shock at finding him was still enough to make her pause, unsure. He couldn’t be the one attacking, could he? Further complicating matters, the attack on the shield halted, sliding away. Audrey gritted her teeth, her jaw muscles clenching so hard they threatened to lock on her. She’d been holding out hope that Deuce was on their side, but if he was defending the attacker, Audrey wouldn’t have any choice but to cut him down.
That’s what she told herself, but as she raised the bow to draw, her arm shook. Deuce had never been anything but kind to her, an excellent listener, understanding if not kind. He was the closest thing she had to a friend before Zeche came along.
Deuce’s hands moved forward, palms facing her. “Let me explain. Please.”
Audrey opened her mouth to fire back a rebuttal, but then something changed with her shield. Instead of suffering an attack, it was getting stronger. That doesn’t make any sense… Audrey hesitated, confused, until Deuce shifted the slightest bit, revealing the glowing green eyes of the woman behind him. First she attacks, and now she’s helping me? What is she playing at?
Audrey lowered the bow, uneasy.
I didn’t mean to alarm you. The voice sounded in her mind, though they weren’t physically connected.
Attacking my men is damned alarming. Audrey was too off-balance to be able to censor her thoughts and the words came out before she could think to moderate them.
Apologies. Sometimes, it is easier to see the shape of a thing by outlining it. I only meant to assist you. Whoever the woman was, she sounded sincere.
“Leaf? What are we doing, here?” Zeche’s voice was strained and insistent.
Audrey blinked, pulling herself out of her head. “We let them explain.”
“S
o, we’re not fighting?” He raised an eyebrow.
Audrey frowned. “I didn’t say that.”
Zeche nodded, as if her words confirmed his own thoughts. He waved them forward, letting them get much closer before holding up a hand to halt them. Around her, Audrey’s guards shifted, most holding bare blades at rest, though one of the twins held a nasty looking club.
“Make it quick, Deuce. We’re already burning time.” Zeche was the surliest Audrey had ever seen him, his gruffness more reminiscent of Hound than his own normal satirical sense of humor.
Deuce glanced at the woman, who moved to his left side and spoke directly into that ear.
“Right.” Deuce took a second to collect himself. He was speaking rather loudly, a fact not lost on Zeche, who waved for other Ravens to spread out and help secure their position.
Deuce gestured to the woman. “This is Amelina. She’s a half-breed, assigned to me by—that doesn’t actually matter. We were in my quarters when the world caved in. Officers live separately, and we’ve killed everyone we’ve seen on the way here.”
“And you rushed here, not to your brethren?” Zeche’s question appeared to be for the woman.
“We help them the best by killing those who would keep them here.” She had a small voice, but it was laced with steel.
Rustling behind them made Audrey glance back in time to see Quad emerging from the ranks. “What’s going on?” His eyes narrowed on Deuce, his hand going for his blade.
Zeche raised one eyebrow slightly at Audrey. She bit her lower lip, making a split-second decision. “They’re joining us. Take Deuce up with you—I want the Leaf with me.”
“But…he can’t hear!” Amelina was immediately distressed at the impending separation, wringing her hands anxiously.
“He answered me well enough,” Zeche grouched, crossing his arms over his chest.
Deuce was squinting at them, his eyes resting on speakers’ lips. “Left ear only. I’m deaf on the right.”
Quad stared at him, suspicion clear on his features. “You’ll stand on my right, then.”
Deuce nodded, grimacing at the movement and stilling in pain. He barely turned his head to the side, speaking to Amelina. “Audrey will take care of you.”
Amelina shuffled over to her, looking lost. Audrey said nothing as the column slowly started moving again, waiting for the sound of their movements to give her some cover. “You understand the shield, now?” She wasn’t exactly feeling friendly, and was in fact feeling violated. No one had joined with her mind before without being physically connected.
A quiet nod was her only answer.
“Good. Set up your own, outside of mine. We’ll give them two layers of defense that way.”
“Two weak defenses are not as good as one strong one.” The woman didn’t look at her as she objected, her attention seeming to rest on the members of Audrey’s guard around them.
“Meaning no offense, but I can’t allow a taint user in their final line of defense.” This woman had trained her entire life in skills Audrey had only possessed for less than two years. She would be no match if the woman decided to twist the shield into an agent of the taint.
The woman turned sharply, eyes wide with outrage. “You would accuse me of—”
Audrey cut her off. “I accuse nothing. These men are my responsibility, and you’re an unknown. Take it or leave it.”
“Keep moving.” Zeche’s order was low, but it was clear he wasn’t going to tolerate any more delays for drama.
Amelina stared at him a moment before resuming their march, her spine so straight it gave her a certain stiffness. A moment later, Audrey felt the woman withdraw her presence from her shield. Whether she put up her own or not, Audrey wasn’t sure, and honestly didn’t care. She had the potential problem removed from her own, and that was good enough.
Shouts echoed back at them from the front of the column. They had finally reached the Pit. Here goes nothing.
18
Gwyn stood in the one place she’d never wished to return. The smells were at once familiar and different, the damp earth a cloying reminder of her captivity. It hadn’t taken her long to get used to the fresh air and moving currents on the surface. She’d never thought she’d see the day when she’d trust a man again, but being surrounded by the surface Seekers was the only thing keeping her from losing her ever-loving mind.
Unlike Audrey’s squad, she and her guards were at the front of the column behind a single line of Seekers, Ace in the lead. I still don’t know why they’re not together. Ace seemed so protective of her, and it was odd that they were apart in what could well be their last hours.
She moved forward with the column, in a kind of daze. She was peripherally aware of men rushing at them from either side, but they were cut down quickly. Zaddicus’ Seekers were in a state of disorganized panic, but that wouldn’t hold out for long.
“Gwyn?”
Gwyn blinked, taking half a step back from Ace. “Yes?”
His eyes narrowed. “I asked left or right, here. Which one is ‘yes’?” The blood spray across his vest and arm was almost artistic, his blade held naked at his side. Not his, then.
Her state of detachment should have been alarming, but it enabled her to do one thing well: not panic. The downside to this was that nothing seemed entirely important, either. She couldn’t ignore the bloodshed and screams and care about their group simultaneously. Gwyn shook her head vigorously, trying to feel something, anything. A small spark of anxiety manifested in her chest, but it would have to do. “Left.”
Ace waved his hand, the front lines surging forward. He remained in place, a stone in the river of men, blocking her passage. “I need you present for this. If you can’t do it, tell me, and we’ll turn back now. I’m not sending my men in there on a suicide mission without protection.” His voice was low, a menacing hiss in the darkness. Eerie green light from multiple sets of glowing eyes lit the hall, giving everything an otherworldly feel.
I should answer him. The need to reply was tugging at her, but the disconnect made it hard to even remember the question.
Then her world was twisting, spiraling down and to one side. She threw out her arms to catch herself on the wall, but wasn’t fast enough to keep her face from smacking the hewn passage. One of her guards had separated from the group and was shaking out her hand, as if it hurt.
“What…?” Her cheek stung, the one that hadn’t hit the rock. Had the woman hit her? Something about the thought got Gwyn’s blood up. Her heart finally started pumping at an elevated rate, her vision sharpening. Noises she’d been blocking out now were loud in her ears, competing for her attention. She truly saw the tunnel around them and for the first time, really knew where she was.
“Are you with us, now?” The slightly accented voice of the woman was neither masculine nor feminine in nature.
Gwyn looked up in time to see Ace’s arm across the woman’s throat, backing her against a wall. “You act on my orders, you hear me? You’re not to lay a hand on her unless I say so.”
The woman tugged at his arm, trying to get enough room to breathe. “It…worked.” She stammered the words out.
Ace shoved once more, making his point. She clawed at his arm and he finally released her. “To the surface with you. I have no use for you here.” She retreated into the ranks, sending a daggered glare at him over her shoulder. Ace didn’t seem to care, didn’t even look after her for any sign of rebellion.
Gwyn turned back toward the rest of her guards, all of whom stood focused and alert. None of them seemed to harbor any ill will over what had happened to the disgraced woman.
“Is the shield still up?” Ace’s eyes swept over his men, the corners squinted with anxiety.
Most of the column had passed them by this point, and Gwyn felt the need to be back at the front. “Yes. We should go.”
Ace nodded briskly, but suddenly she couldn’t wait for him anymore. Something was coming, something big, and she had to be there fo
r it. Pulled by this unknown force, she broke into a jog, then a flat-out run, her guards hard-pressed to clear the Seekers in front of her in time to give her access to the front of the column. Ace followed in their wake, which was good. Why, she couldn’t say.
They were nearly to the prison, now. The women inside would be useless to help their cause unless Blaise could find a way to crack the iron cage surrounding them. The Order had been gone from the surface for so long that they could no longer feel their tie to it. Even Gwyn, with her year above ground, would be hard-pressed to keep her connection to the heart of growing, living things if she re-entered the prison. They had to break through.
There was one thing Gwyn hadn’t brought up in all the meetings. Audrey had come close to thinking of it on her own, but hadn’t quite connected all the dots, for which Gwyn was thankful. Audrey had been worried that the women might not choose to help the Seekers. What hadn’t occurred to her was that the women might help Zaddicus. He could control the half-breeds through the taint, and Gwyn knew she couldn’t stand against them if he did. She wouldn’t have the strength. Gwyn had to get to them before Zad did, convince them to aid the right party. If the master of the taint got there first—
A shadow swooped in front of her and she skidded to a stop, her guards fast interspersing themselves between her and this newcomer. All forward movement stopped as opposing Seekers entered the hallway from a hidden side-door, filing in behind their leader. She could feel the taint pouring off him, coating the men he called his own, bending them to his will. The ooze slid towards her charges and she bolstered the shield, letting him test her. She had to save her strength for the main attack, and pray that Blaise listened to her.
“I see the lost dove has returned to the nest at last.” Zad waved a hand in a conversational manner, as if they weren’t in the middle of a battle. His eyes glowed a sinister plum color, seeming to simultaneously absorb and emit light. He wore no armor, just a black drape of cloth with a hood partially covering his head and a pair of leather pants. A sword hung at his side, locked in its scabbard.
