Chapter 6 Emilio
EMILIO
As far as terrible ideas went, this one was particularly terrible.
Emilio Córdova was already mentally rehearsing his apology as he reluctantly followed Masika and Olivier out of the Healing Bay and into the seemingly never-ending corridors of the Resistance’s manor.
Just act natural, he told himself, nervously tugging at the hem of his shirt.
The plan is simple. We’re just going to waltz right into the most guarded area of the manor. What’s the worst that can happen?
“Emilio,” Masika whispered through gritted teeth. “Stop breathing like that.”
“Like what?” Emilio whispered back, awkwardly nodding at a passing scholar who regarded him with suspicious eyes.
“Like you’re about to have a panic attack,” muttered Olivier through a nervous chuckle.
Emilio whimpered. “I am about to have a panic attack.”
Members of the Resistance swarmed the corridors.
The Healing Bay sat at the heart of the Resistance’s base, the connecting hub for all the various wings that made up the large and expansive manor.
Emilio hadn’t explored the entire base. It wasn’t just that he’d spent most of his time forced to participate in the rigorous training routine imposed on all Resistance members, but it was nearly impossible to explore the entire base with its magically expanding corridors.
The place was massive. Emilio hadn’t the faintest idea how many floors there actually were.
He’d attempted counting once and had accidentally ended up stumbling into a supply closet and locking himself inside.
He hadn’t tried again.
“How did you manage to get the key to Catherine’s office, again?” Olivier asked in a hushed whisper. A pair of combat trainers stalked by, shooting the trio a puzzled look. Olivier simply bowed his head, tipping an invisible hat. “Good evening, comrades! Lovely day for a stroll, isn’t it?”
The combat trainers rolled their eyes and kept walking.
Masika cleared her throat. “How I got the key isn’t important.”
Not exactly a surprising response. Masika had been awfully secretive about Catherine since they joined the Resistance, never once broaching the subject of their tangled past. Though it didn’t take a genius to deduce that whatever had happened between the two of them had clearly left a scar far deeper than the one Masika now wore on her face.
Emilio didn’t blame her. He understood the feeling well.
He’d spent months at Blackwood yearning for a crumb of Olivier’s attention.
Longing for the day the other boy might turn around and confess he felt the same.
And though they’d expressed their feelings to one another near the end of the Decennial, Emilio still couldn’t help but feel… wounded.
Olivier’s worsening condition was an ever-present storm cloud dampening their blossoming romance.
How could Emilio even begin to think about kissing Olivier when he might lose him?
Olivier had sworn up and down that the healers were making progress, but Emilio wasn’t quite sure he believed him.
It was something about the way Olivier looked at him. A sadness in his eyes.
And Emilio couldn’t quite decipher whether kissing him would make that sadness disappear, or simply tear their hearts in two.
Because the truth was simple: Emilio was embarrassingly, pathetically, desperately in love with Olivier.
Which was an absolute problem.
“All right, wait.” Masika came to an abrupt halt, reaching her arm out to stop them in their tracks. Emilio fumbled, flushing as he pushed the thoughts of kissing Olivier out of his mind for the time being.
“What is it?” Olivier whispered, glancing around.
Masika pointed farther down the corridor. “The entrance to the Southern Wing is coming up.”
“What exactly is our strategy here?” Emilio craned his neck to get a better look. As anticipated, two guards were patrolling in front of the arched double doors that led to the Southern Wing, each of them carrying corporeally infused weaponry. “Beguile them with our charm?”
“You mean my charm,” Olivier corrected.
Emilio scoffed. “You don’t think I’m charming enough?”
“Oh, you have plenty of charm, my love, but I just happen to be an expert on the subject.”
“Hey,” Masika snapped. “There will be no charming of any kind, all right?”
“Then what is your grand plan?” Olivier asked. When Masika hesitated, Olivier’s face fell. “You do have a plan, right?”
“Well…” Masika gnawed on the inside of her cheek, clearing her throat. “Yes. Kind of.”
Olivier pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re doomed.”
Emilio couldn’t lie—he was starting to panic as well.
“Just give me a second.” Masika inhaled a deep breath, shaking her arms out. “I’ve been doing some research. Practicing. And there’s something that might work.”
“Have you done it successfully before?” Olivier asked.
“Do you want the real answer?”
Olivier sighed. “No. Probably not.”
“Then yes.” Masika beamed.
And with that, she closed her eyes and called upon her magic.
Streams of amethyst light whirled out of her palms, trickling down to the floor in thin wisps.
Illusionary magic, Emilio noted as the familiar sweet, syrupy smell flooded his senses.
Something was forming inside the light, a hazy mass of limbs and fur.
It was difficult to discern what it was at first, as though Olivier were staring at it through a warped mirror.
But after a few more seconds, the features began to solidify, the purple mist clearing.
“Is that”—Emilio blinked in astonishment—“a puppy?”
It certainly looked like one. The creature had the shape of a small dog, its fur a mismatch of different shades—browns and blacks intermingling with white tufts. But something about it seemed a bit…off. Its ears were pointy, almost batlike, and its eyes were a startling shade of red.
“Not technically,” Masika said, staring down at her work in satisfaction.
“It’s a type of illusion. I’ve essentially infused it with something else…
hidden it within.” She looked between the two of them with a sigh.
“Think of it like a nesting doll. The outer layer is an illusion, but the inner layer is what’s really important.
” She rubbed one of the creature’s pointy ears and frowned.
“Though…I’m not so sure what happened to its ears and eyes.
I think I might have slightly messed up the spell. ”
“What exactly is the inner layer?” asked Olivier warily, flinching as the puppy tried to nip at his ankles.
“An immobilizing powder. When inhaled, it freezes both your mind and body. You’re essentially an unconscious statue for about…oh, I don’t know…thirty minutes?” Masika must have noticed their twin looks of confusion, shrugging as she added, “I stole the powder from the strategist’s archives.”
“How does it release the immobilizing powder?” Emilio asked, bending down to pet the strange creature, which was currently attempting to chase its own tail.
“It’s on a timer.”
Olivier blinked, horrified. “Oh my God. You’ve created a bomb. A slobbery little bomb.”
“And on that note…” Masika picked the puppy up, bringing it to eye level. “It’s time to see if you work.”
The second she set it back down on the floor, the little creature sauntered toward the entrance to the Southern Wing with surprising confidence.
As expected, it didn’t take long for the two guards to notice the puppy prowling down the hall.
The pair glanced up in bewilderment, heads tilting in sync.
“What the hell—” The guard to the right unsheathed her saber, sparks of corporeal magic flashing in warning.
But before she could even make a move, the puppy let out a high-pitched bark.
It was in that exact moment that a sparkling pall drifted out of its mouth, the dark cloud instantly shooting toward the two guards.
The second they inhaled the pall, both guards became expressionless and rigid, their eyes glazing over.
Emilio let out a shuddering breath. “Did it…did it work?”
Masika straightened her shoulders. “Only one way to find out.”
She stepped forward and charged down the corridor. The puppy, which was currently nibbling at its own paw, turned to look at her with a crooked grin. It yelped in delight when she approached it.
“Good dog.” Masika gently scooped the creature into her arms. She glanced over her shoulder and called out to them. “All right, boys! You can come out!”
Emilio and Olivier joined Masika at the entrance to the Southern Wing, awkwardly sidestepping the frozen guards. The immobilizing powder had done its job. From a distance, the guards simply appeared composed and attentive. But up close, there was a nothingness behind their eyes…a void.
“Ready?” Masika asked.
He supposed they had no other choice. Emilio looked over at Olivier, who managed a feeble nod.
“Ready.”
As soon as Masika opened the door, the trio cocked their heads in unison.
It was clear they had all been expecting the same thing.
Every other wing in the base consisted of expansive corridors—rooms upon rooms that were scattered upon multiple floors.
But on the other side of the door to the Southern Wing, there wasn’t a corridor. There wasn’t even a hallway.
It was just a single room.
An office.
They stepped inside, the double doors shutting behind them.
A shimmering candelabra illuminated the room, the warm flicker of candlelight casting hazy shadows across the walls. The mutant puppy barked in Masika’s arms, squirming to break free. She placed him gently on the floor, allowing the creature to roam beside them.
As they ventured farther into the room, taking in the dimly lit space, Emilio noted that it was rather desolate, containing nothing but a wooden desk with some journals stacked atop it.
The walls were made of stone, sparsely decorated with a couple of sconces and a wide blueprint of the manor’s various halls.
“I don’t understand…” Olivier rubbed at his forehead. “I thought the key was for Catherine’s office.”