Chapter 22 #2
He moved to the rear of the room, turning his back to us. I heard the tinkling of glass before someone slid into the chair directly next to mine.
“I’m Raine Ampere.” She spoke under her breath, shooting a look over her shoulder to make sure the Lieutenant was still distracted.
“Finally, a breath of estrogen. Brace yourself for an overdose of male wisdom and debates on the superior focus. You may just be my savior. And most importantly, ignore Baelor. The rest of us do.” I huffed a laugh but was silenced by Lieutenant Mercer walking back towards the front of the class with a clear glass of water and what seemed to be an inkwell.
He held up the glass in one hand and the inkwell in the other.
Slowly, he poured the ink into the water. The thick liquid blossomed out into a dark void of shapes inside the clear glass, billowing into smoke-like patterns.
“This is what we’re up against,” he said, voice sharp and direct. “Recently, there have been a series of direct attacks on our Western bases from creatures that look just like this.” Mercer took a breath before continuing.
“We call them Wraiths. They move through darkness and shadows, and are practically impossible to catch.” He observed the cup in his hand before setting it aside.
I saw a hand shoot up out of the corner of my eye. It belonged to the one boy who had yet to make a sound. He seemed much smaller than the other recruits, and his raven hair was in a state of disarray.
“Yes, Draven?”
“Where did they come from?” he asked nervously.
“There is a lot we don’t know. Considering they appeared out of nowhere, we assume they are not from our world. Perhaps they created some gateway into Sídhe, a tear in the fabric of reality. We know little of their kind.”
I shifted in my seat, looking around the room to see if anyone else was concerned about Wraith-like creatures spilling in through a tear between worlds or if this was more of a normal occurrence.
The room was silent. I swallowed hard. No, this did not seem like a normal occurrence.
Everyone was on the edge of their seat, save for Baelor, who was now twisting a quill casually through his fingers in an easy recline .
“We must assume they are here to try to take something vital from our land or worse, try to take over Sídhe as a whole.”
“So how do we exterminate them?” Baelor interrupted.
The Lieutenant hummed to himself, “Yes, how does one kill a void of imperceptible speed and darkness? Weapons seem to do little to nothing against them. A large reason for General Ashford to amp up such a special unit.”
Baelor scoffed. “So no one has been able to kill one yet? It has been some time since a Soleil fought on the frontlines. They won’t be able to escape my flames.”
“Mm, yes, the focus of the Soleil family line burns brightly in you. I’m sure General Ashford has similar hopes,” Mercer said flatly.
Baelor sat back in his seat, taking the compliment.
Raine raised her hand before speaking, “You mentioned having an idea of what they were after?”
“We have our suspicions. It seems they crave power. They’re drawn to it, at least.” Mercer crossed his arms. “Has anyone heard of arcanite?”
I slowly raised my hand.
“It’s a conductor for Essence, right?” I asked, voice not as confident as I would have liked. Baelor sighed from a few seats over, loudly shifting his weight.
“That’s correct. We house large stores of the rare crystal along the Western strongholds, and it seems to be of great interest to the creatures.
Obviously, if they were to take it into their possession, Esprithe only knows what devastating effects it would have on Sídhe.
We’ve never been rid of it before. There’s a chance that, without it, our focuses would be rendered useless. ”
Mercer slid his hands into his pockets before continuing, “As of right now, the Wraiths' strengths seem to be limited to the West. One of our theories is that their powers weaken as they move further away from their homeland. We have defended our resources from many of their attempts to obtain it. Another fear, of course, is that securing the arcanite would allow them to gain enough power to move freely throughout the Isle, perhaps even reaching Luminaria.”
A cold chill rushed down my spine at the thought of an unknown creeping darkness wreaking havoc on the city I called home. On Osta, and Ma.
“The attacks seem to be increasing. We think they’re becoming desperate. We have already lost too many guards and with nothing to show for it.”
He looked past us, his eyes fixed on the back wall as if recalling a memory.
“It’s like fighting smoke in pure darkness, all while hearing the whispers of its form twisting around you.
You can’t see, you can’t breathe, and it happens so fast you barely have time to think.
Once it has you in its grips, you are as good as dead.
” His jaw clenched. “I hope none of you will have to face this anytime soon.”
He pursed his lips and exhaled sharply before looking each one of us in the eyes.
“You’re sure as Conleth not ready for it.”