Chapter 30
Chapter thirty
The Plan
Early the next day, I was summoned to Mireth’s office. Kael and Darion were by her side, discussing something in hushed tones. They looked my way as I approached.
A strange twist of irritation batted at my insides, seeing Kael and Darion next to each other. Not exactly jealousy, but a reminder that Kael knew parts of Darion’s life that I didn’t. I wasn’t used to that feeling, and I didn’t like it in the least. It clung to me like sap.
“Cassian,” Mireth said. “I mean, Cas. Thank you for joining us. We have an important matter to discuss. Please have a seat.”
She took out a familiar leather-bound book, the one from The Butcher’s study many weeks ago—the first time I saw Darion, and the moment my life took on a new trajectory.
“You recognize this book, I assume,” she said.
“Hard to forget.”
“And you’ve heard about how Tarnasau is corrupting Emberborn? How he turns them into Sentinels?”
“I’ve heard rumors,” I said. “It’s still hard to fathom.”
“I agree,” Mireth said gravely. “This book contains detailed information about how that corruption happens. The Kingdom created a serum that alters the mind. We think we can reverse it, but we’re missing one key ingredient.
We need a compound called Emberbane to make an antidote, but it is only available in two locations that we know of.
We need you to sneak into one of them and steal it. ”
“And where exactly are these locations?” I asked, not sure I wanted the answer.
“The first is the king’s private citadel at Thornfell Keep, but that’s next to impossible to enter, so it’s off the table,” Mireth said.
“What’s the other option?” I asked.
“The alchemist laboratories at Pyrehold.”
I felt the blood drain from my face, remembering the place where I’d encountered that horrible darkness.
“That’s the easy option?” I said flatly.
“This is no easy task,” Kael said, clearly missing my sarcasm.
“Pyrehold is where the kingdom locks up its worst offenders. Its defenses are substantial. Those laboratories conduct experiments on the prisoners, second only to Thornfell Keep in sheer horror. We’ve long suspected that this was how they learned to corrupt the Emberborn. ”
“Why would you send me?” I asked. “Surely you could send someone with a powerful Ember like Chronothene. They could just stop time and walk in and out.”
Mireth looked directly at me. “What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“Recently we’ve noticed a disturbing phenomenon.
It appears to be related to what you experienced during your visit to Pyrehold with Darion.
A passage in this book has shed some light on the situation.
” She tapped the book’s spine. “Some of our Emberborn members have found it harder to draw on their Embers in certain places. Sometimes they can’t at all.
This book discusses an experiment—a serum that enables Sentinels not only to detect Embers but to nullify them.
They drain the energy in the Embersphere so Emberborn can’t draw on it. They call it a null field.”
“And you believe that experiment was successful,” I said.
Mireth nodded. “You noticed all the Sentinels surrounding Pyrehold, correct? We believe those Sentinels are creating a null field. We believe that’s what you encountered when you reached out with your Veilsense.”
The memory sent a shudder through me—the darkness that seemed to embrace me still lingered in my mind. I let out a humorless laugh. “So you need a good old-fashioned thief.”
“Exactly,” Mireth said. She looked deadly serious. “This is of the highest importance. If Tarnasau perfects this, the Order will fall without a single sword drawn. We’ll be defenseless.”
It also meant Elena would be trapped here without her Ember to protect her, and Darion would be powerless.
“I understand,” I said, with all the weight that the moment required.
Was this what had tipped the scales in my favor with the council? Had Kael voted for me to join the Order despite his objection because he knew they needed my skills? Was I simply a lamb being sent to the slaughter?
“The security inside must be rock solid,” I said. “I assume there’s a plan?”
Kael cleared his throat. “I have a contact at the prison. He’s a spy for the Order and has agreed to help once you are both inside.”
“Both?” I said.
“They won’t let you just walk through the door,” Mireth said. “That’s where Darion comes in.”
My stomach dropped as I turned toward Darion. The look on his face was complex—a combination of I’m sorry I got you into this and We can do this together.
“I’ve got a plan for how to get us in,” Darion said. “And Sprocket has a plan for getting us out.”
“I don’t like it,” I said to Darion after he’d walked me back to my chambers. “So much could go wrong.”
“There are a lot of risks, but we’ve been over everything, and this is the only plan that might really work.”
I couldn’t argue with either of those statements. But I still didn’t like it.
“I don’t trust Kael,” I said.
“Kael is an old friend,” Darion said. “I know he’s not always the easiest person to like, but he means well, and there are few people in the Order whom I trust more than him.”
“But does he trust you? He almost didn’t vote me into the Order even though it was you who invited me.”
“You absolutely deserved to be voted in. But Kael may have had a point—I was too close to you. He was right to question it. And in the end, you convinced him you belong here.”
I wanted to argue my point further. I wanted to explain that there was something about Kael that bothered me and that thus far he’d done little to earn my trust. But I didn’t think saying that would accomplish anything.
Plus, Kael wasn’t my only worry. I was simultaneously happy and concerned about Darion helping me on this mission. I knew from experience that he and I worked well together, and that was comforting, but I loathed the idea of putting him in peril.
Even now that I knew the details, there was little about this mission that I liked.
Breaking into that hulking beast of a prison, especially one guarded by a null field and a small army of Sentinels, seemed like a terrible idea.
It also meant I’d have to trust Kael’s contact once we got inside.
I never enjoyed depending on other people, and what with my lingering concerns about Kael, I was more than a little on edge.
So later that day, I did what I always did: I prepared.
I stopped by the kitchens and grabbed a handful of bright red cliffberries, then headed topside. After only a few moments on the rooftops, the sound of flapping wings came from above.
“Hello, Zephyra,” I said as she landed on my shoulder.
What is that smell, little Cas?
“Here you go, girl,” I said, holding my hand out. Zephyra delicately but efficiently nibbled at the marble-size berries.
Thank you! This helps Zephyra forget the taste of filthy rats.
“It’s the least I can do,” I said, feeding her more berries. “Hey, Zephyra, how do you feel about a secret mission?”
Zephyra chirped.
Zephyra loves secret missions. Tell Zephyra! Tell Zephyra!
“I need you to fly to Garrick. I need all the information I can get on Pyrehold. Tell him to meet me tonight at our normal meeting place.”
Pyrehold is bad. Why would little Cas want to know about it?
“It’s very important for me to know this information. It could end up saving my life.”
Zephyra is not happy about this. But Zephyra likes little Cas very much, and little Cas brings Zephyra berries, and Zephyra would hate to see little Cas harmed, so Zephyra will do this.
“Thank you,” I said, stroking her head one last time before she took to the sky.
That night, at the stroke of sixth bell, Garrick and I met at our designated spot.
“So my secret is out,” he said in a gruff voice. “That I can hear animals.”
“Zephyra told me. But your secret is safe with me.”
“That loud-mouthed bird,” he said, but then he opened his arms and smiled. “Ah, bother. It’s so great to see you, Cas.”
“Likewise,” I said, matching his smile and embracing him.
“What I’m not happy about is this nonsense about Pyrehold. Please, please tell me you’re not considering breaking in.”
The look on my face told him everything he needed to know.
“This feels familiar,” Garrick said. “You looking for trouble, and me agreeing to help you for some reason. You’ll send me to an early grave.
Or yourself.” He took a packet of papers out of his cloak and handed it to me.
“Here’s everything you’ll need: a map, maintenance schedules, and prisoner transfer dates and times. ”
“I can’t thank you enough, Garrick,” I said, holding out a little brown pouch.
“Bah! Keep your damn coin. You’ve done far more for me than I could ever repay.”
“I could say the same,” I said, swallowing hard.
“We’re getting soft in our old age,” Garrick said with a laugh, and in the torchlight, I saw dampness at the corner of his eyes. “But just do me one favor.”
“Name it,” I said.
“Since the Royal Guard stepped up its patrols, there have been rumors swirling around that something big is about to happen. Watch out for yourself and your sister.” He grabbed me by the shoulder and spoke in a tone so serious that it startled me.
“And watch your back. Know who you can trust. Always have a backup plan.”
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” I asked.
“Nothing specific. Just trust your instincts and remember that there are bad people everywhere, even in the Order of Emberlight. Spies and double agents. People who would do you harm.”
My stomach turned over as Garrick confirmed my suspicions.
“Have you ever heard of Kael Marrick?” I asked.
Garrick’s eyes narrowed. “The name is familiar. Noble-born, if I remember correctly. Why?”
“Just trusting my instincts.”