37. Chapter 37
Chapter 37
I t’s at dusk that Nuala takes us to that secret Pull Chamber Dryden mentioned, which turns out to be none other than the Brothers Grimm statue. She has us all — Alaric, Dryden and myself — use it to travel to the Chamber closest to the Academy grounds, taking cover in a nearby grove.
Courtesy of Alaric’s inside info, the plan is to intercept the eight soldiers returning to the Academy from a regular supply run. It’s in fours that Cain’s troops operate, he tells us, so once we get to Graf Hill, our team will be able to separate and make swift work of finding the Aesir iron.
But the first thing we need to do is check whether the compass still works and whether we were right about where it will point.
I take it out of my uniform pocket and lift it for everyone to see. It does, but it makes my eyebrows shoot up when the dial doesn’t point at Graf Hill.
Goddamn it. I look up at the people gathered around me. “It’s not pointing at Graf Hill. It’s pointing at the Sobbing Lake,” I state the obvious.
Everyone seems taken aback. No one more than Alaric, though. “The water ?”
Nuala frowns. “It does make sense. Metal can be sourced from lakes as well. If the man wanted to hide it where it couldn’t easily be found…”
There’s a moment of somber silence before Alaric demands, his whisper turning into a hiss, “Can anybody just tell me whether we’ll really have to go under the bloody water?”
Remembering his fear, I throw him a sympathetic look. “We will, yes.”
He swallows visibly. Then he seems to think of something, turning dead serious. “But that means the entire plan is shot. It’s not like I can walk up to Cain and tell him, hey, man, why don’t you let the four of us go for a stroll by the lake. You know, for no reason whatsoever.”
“You’ve got a point there,” Nuala agrees.
Nodding thoughtfully, I try to find a way out of the sudden mess. “Alright,” I finally say, lifting a hand to start listing, “there are three problems we need answers to. How do we get to the lake without raising suspicion, how do we stay underwater long enough to find the metal, and what do we do about the mermaids?”
“Fuck,” Dryden curses, “the mermaids.”
I choose not to linger on that for now, because there’s an idea forming in my head. “For problem number one, we can still use the original plan.”
Alaric shakes his head. “I guess I haven’t made myself clear enough.With some luck, that will get us inside, sure. But the original plan was to go straight back to Graf Hill, which is exactly what these soldiers are supposed to do in the first place. Your new plan implies disobeying direct orders , Anna, and if there’s one thing that can be said about Cain, it’s that he runs a tight bloody ship.”
“Bear with me, please.” I turn to Dryden. “Once we’re at the lake, Dryden, could you use Tension Magic to allow me to breathe underwater?”
He takes a second to mull it over. “It would require a tremendous amount of energy, so you’d have to be real quick about finding the metal. But yes.”
All the while, Jaeger has stayed disapproving but silent. Now she cuts in with worry in her voice, “That doesn’t solve the problem of us getting made and murdered before we even get to the lake.”
“It does if we anger the mermaids,” I say, my idea finally becoming clear to me. “We’ll need to be sneaky about it, but if we succeed, we’ll only need to tell the other four soldiers we’re going to the lake to see what’s going on. And , as an added benefit, not even Cain will dare approach singing mermaids without giving the whole thing a second thought, will he?”
I see surprise on everyone’s faces, and terror on Alaric’s. “Pissing the mermaids off and then diving straight into their murderous claws?” he demands with an incredulous look on his face. Then he grits his teeth. “That’s your brilliant plan?”
“Anyone have any better ones?” I ask, looking around.
The others think for a moment, then Dryden looks me in the eye with sheer determination in his gaze. “I think we can do this.”
Nuala gives me a sharp nod, and to my surprise, even Jaeger makes it clear she’s on board.
I turn to Alaric, watching the terror in his eyes get switched out for cold, hard resolution. “Alright,” he says in a low, firm voice, “then let’s do it.”
My heart swelling with pride, I give him a quiet clap on the back just as my wolf’s ears prick up.
The soldiers. They’re returning from the supply run.