Chapter 33
I metaphorically drum my fingers while Willow stacks more wood by the fire.
“Breathe, Theo.”
Easier said than done. They’ve been gone more than two hours. Why is it taking so long? “I’m spiraling about the guys and I’m out of my head worried about leaving Wes. What if his parents decide to take him.”
Willow pauses, her arms full of kindling. “You have to have faith in Naomi.”
I know that.
I can still see her face when we cornered her in the library before we left. We’d been blunt. I’d told her we were going away to do something important, something that could get us all expelled, or worse. And that we needed someone to be Wes’s shadow while we were gone.
“Why me?” she’d asked, her eyes darting between me and Willow.
“Because Willow trusts you,” I replied. “And more than that, I believe you would take a stand against the Conclave if you could.”
The silence that followed was heavy. We all looked over our shoulders, making sure no one was in earshot.
Eventually, Naomi nodded. “I’ll be there every day.
I’ll make sure the healers treat him well.
I don’t know your secrets, but if you are involved in something that brings about change, then I’ll help. ”
“Naomi will watch him like a hawk and call us if his folks appear.”
“Yes, you’re right. But I hate leaving him in the pit of snakes.”
“Gods, I know. I feel that way about my cousin.”
“The one in the reform school? Tell me about it. What’s his name?”
“Taliesin.” She pronounces it Teh Lie Sin. “What do you know about Ashgrave, Theo?”
“Uh, nothing? I’m from the UK, remember. My world geography is shit.”
My friend leans back against the stone wall, the firelight casting long, flickering shadows around the cabin. “Ashgrave is where dreams don’t die, it’s a place where they’ve never even existed.”
“That’s poetically awful.”
“Seriously,” she sighs. “Fifty years ago it was a manufacturing hub for Anther-glass.”
My expression shows my ignorance.
“It’s glass imbued with magic, and the only kind that can be used for potions.
Anyway, the Anther-glass industry moved down south, and Ashgrave was left with empty factories and a massively unemployed population.
The WMO turned the main factory into a youth prison, then washed their hands of the place.
Rival gangs are destroying the city even further. ”
“Sounds grim.”
Willow nods. “My Aunt Opal is a healer there. She runs a clinic for low-income families. She’s the best person I know. I truly think it’s the best place to take the kids. The authorities don’t pay any mind to what’s happening up there.”
“And your uncle is equally cool?”
“Uncle Gareth? Yeah, he’s great. He never complains about his legs. There was an incident with one of the old smelting sites, he got crushed. Aunt Opal saved his life, but his legs were too far gone.”
“I’m sorry, Willow, that sucks.”
“It does. Hopefully you’ll meet him on Sunday, all going well.”
All going well.
A sudden, sharp vibration rockets through my body.
—Theo!— Alexis’s voice is frantic and breathless. —A patrol is in your area. They just hit the repulsion wards…stay calm, but don’t make any noise. They can still hear and smell, even if their eyes keep turning away from the cabin—
I grab Willow’s hand, heart hammering. —Guards are close. Keep quiet—
Then, through the cracked glass window, I see sweeping beams of light, from both flashlights and magic globes.
Willow and I duck instinctively.
—What’s the plan if they find us?— Willow asks.
I think hard for a minute then squeeze her hand even tighter. —We’re just two fools in love, having a romantic weekend in the snow—
Footsteps crunch through the frozen crust of snow, sounding impossibly close.
“I can still smell it,” a gravelly voice mumbles. “A campfire somewhere around here.”
“Forget it, Miller," a second man replies. “We’ve scouted the whole area and there’s nothing.
A beam of light shines through the window once again. Willow’s fingers dig into my palm. —They’re moving away, listen—
She’s right, I can hear the outside footsteps receding. After a minute, the distant rumble of a snowmobile engine turning over signals the guards leaving.
—I think it’s OK now—
Alexis returns to the conversation, his voice sharp—All of us regroup back at the cabin and we can discuss what we’ve learned—
I get up and put a heavy iron kettle on top of the glowing logs. “You said you had instant coffee, and chocolate?” I ask Willow.
She nods, and starts gathering the chipped tin mugs that were at the back of a cupboard. “Good idea.”
By the time the kettle boils, Donovan and Ludo are back.
Placing a mug of coffee in Ludo’s hands, I kiss his cold cheek. “You OK?” I whisper. I can’t imagine how hard it must be, returning to this place.
—I am—
The door bangs open, and Max and Alexis spill inside, bringing a wild air of shifted beast with them.
“Welcome back, coffee? Chocolate?” Willow asks, as they shuck off their wet, cold outwear.
Alexis’s eyes move around inside the room. “No Drakeward yet?”
“No. I’ll contact him.”
—Cosmo?—
—Five minutes out—
“Dude, I saw you on the ridge,” Donovan says, turning to Alexis and grinning widely. “Your flying lion is totally awesome. Who knew those puny little wings could lift such a fat body.”
“I do not have a fat body,” Alexis growls.
I stifle a giggle at the look of outrage on his face.
“Of course you don’t,” Donovan agrees, patting Alexis on the stomach. “It’s just your winter coat, right, big boy?”
Willow passes Lex a mug. “You probably want black coffee if you’re cutting calories?”
Alexis closes his mouth into a hard line, keeping a cutting reply behind his lips, but the rest of us crack up.
It’s good to lighten the atmosphere.
Ludo clamps his arms around my body, holding tighter as Cosmo comes in, shaking the snow off his jacket. “This isn’t going to be easy.” His face is bleak and worried. “I didn’t see any obvious flaws in their security.”
We all settle on the floor in front of the fire.
“Unfortunately, I agree,” Alexis says.
—There is always a weak spot—
I lean against Ludo, and hope he’s right.
—Ask them what the roof looked like—
I repeat Ludo’s question.
“There is a hatch which must be used for maintenance,” Alexis replies. “That could be a possibility. If Theo dropped the wards, then Cosmo and I landed on the roof. But the internal system would still be alarmed.”
Max narrows his eyes. “Can we cut power to the whole compound? An electrical surge spell could work?”
—Most buildings have back-up power in case of system failure—
“So we have to fry two systems,” Max replies after I share Ludo’s thought. He turns to his cousin. “You have to have been in situations like this before. How did your team handle raiding unknown buildings.”
“With speed, shock and a lot of force. And I don’t see any other possibility here. But it’s not the wisest tactic if you don’t have heavy fire power. I’d rather find a way to get inside before any action starts.”
"I’ve an idea," Donovan interjects. He leans forward, placing his hands on the floor.
“While I was safety-scouting earlier, I told you I overheard some guards, but there were some other deets.
They're expecting a new kid tomorrow, an eleven-year-old girl. Can we hijack the transport and then Trojan horse our way in?” Dono turns to me.
“Trojan horse is the thing with people hidden in a wooden horse, right?”
I nod. “Exactly, and that’s a really good idea.”
Alexis’s eyes flare with interest.
“But we’ll be putting the child at risk,” Max sighs.
Something occurs to me.
“Willow can bring the kid back here, and I’ll ‘be the child’. I’m probably small enough to pass for an eleven year old.”
The room goes dead silent. Ludo squeezes my waist. —No.
“It’s too dangerous," Cosmo snaps, getting up and beginning to pace around the small space. “Plus the fact that everyone will be distracted trying to protect you, rather than focusing on the mission.”
“Oh shit, yeah, Tee. We can’t have you in the middle of a war zone.”
Alexis doesn’t say anything. I look at him, cocking my head to one side. “You think it’s a good idea, don’t you?”
He sighs. “I think it makes the most tactical sense.”
“Fuck off, Feniks,” Donovan scowls. “Theo is our priority.”
The Lumina in my veins hums, giving me courage, giving me certainty. “No, I need to do this. And having me inside with you is needed. Whatever you come up against, having me to boost you is going to help.”
Ludo turns me around to face him.—The risk…—
“I know," I whisper, stroking a hand down his face. “But we have to save those kids.”
I turn back to the room. “Amirene told me to follow my instincts, and this is me doing what she said. It’s more than just my gut saying do this. It’s like the Lumina knows it’s the right thing to do.”
Alexis looks around the room then sighs, shoulders dropping. “It’s the best plan we have," he admits reluctantly. "But the moment—the second—something feels off, we abort. Clear?”
“Clear," I agree. “So, any idea when this transport will arrive, or do we need to stake out an ambush all day?”
All eyes turn to Donovan and he grins. “Happily, the douchebag guards actually gave us a time. Tomorrow morning at nine.”
Max stands up and stretches. “Great, so we can eat and sleep before then. I am lacking in both those departments.”
“And…this is where I come in,” Willow grins. “I may not be a fighter or tactician, but I know how to pack a mean picnic.”