by D P Rowell
Ace hung his head in defeat over the fae’s point. Once a thought rushed through his mind he popped his head back up again. “Rio used to be stationed in Oola. He even had friends at an Indie base in Myrka. When I first got to Heorg, we were greeted by a friend of Rio’s who was stationed in Thraun. He mentioned many other hunters stationed all over Yutara. Who knows how many bases the Indies have!”
Kareena squinted one eye. “What exactly are you saying?”
“I’m saying half the work is done for us. If we can convince the Indies to join our side and accept the elyr as good again, we can send word to the bases and start recruiting faes all over Yutara.” Ace’s posture grew more proper the longer he spoke of it.
Kareena’s smile grew wider as well. “See, Ace!” He’d never heard her get so excited about something before. “We can renew the Indie movement. Make it so faes all over Yutara can be free to practice the elyr again!”
“Renew,” Ace said, “I like the sound of that.”
“Then that’s what we’ll call it,” Kareena said with a wide smile. “The Israh.”
“Call what?” Ace said.
“Our team. Our movement. Vision, if you will.”
Ace smiled and nodded. The Israh, he thought, translating it to the common tongue as the Renewing. He turned his head down at the sight of a flickering light. He then noticed their hands were still held together, but this time the flame of the elyr wrapped around them.
“The elyr must like our idea,” Kareena said.
Ace looked back into her eyes. “That’s good. Now, how are we gonna convince your father?”
CHAPTER NINE
The Witch at Indie Castle
Kareena stood and sighed. She turned to face the water and fidgeted with one of the torches. After a moment, she turned back and faced Ace again. “I don’t think we should tell him.”
Ace scanned Kareena’s face, puzzled.
“My dad won’t like the idea of getting the Indies’ help. I just know it.”
“But he tried to talk to Sebastian before we left.”
“And did you see how Sebastian responded?”
Ace folded his arms. “What do you suggest we do? Just march up to Headquarters and ask for a little chat?”
Kareena shrugged. “Why not?”
Ace threw his arms down and stood to his feet. “That’s insane. Remember what happened to me last I was there? They threw me in the cellar, Kareena.”
“But you proved to them you weren’t guilty.”
“No, I proved to them Keele was guilty. Ihana doesn’t trust me and Sebastian doesn’t trust anybody now.”
Kareena stepped forward almost as if she were gliding across the surface of the grass. “I don’t believe that. I think Sebastian just needs a nudge in the right direction.”
Ace dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “You don’t know him like I do. He’s never liked me. Rio had to spend a long meeting convincing the elite I was even Marty’s descendant. And now—especially once they find out Rio is a parcel—they have every reason not to trust me.”
“Ace,” Kareena said with a slight roll of her eyes, “you’re forgetting that you just revealed one of their own is a witch. The drake is gone and hasn’t returned. If there were ever a time when they were liable to change, it would be now.”
Ace rubbed his hands through his hair. Its oil and new length told him of his lack of daily hygiene in recent weeks. “How would we even get into Headquarters?”
Kareena grinned. “Walk right up to the front gate.”
“What? They wouldn’t let me in.”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
“Because Sebastian kicked me out!”
“He’s had plenty of time to think now, though. Just asking can’t hurt. Besides, I’m sure we can find some way to get in.”
Ace pondered the plan for a moment and paced over the grass. He didn’t like it. His stomach churned at the thought of going behind Tharuach’s back and displeasing him. The fae already didn’t like him. He stopped his pacing and turned to face Kareena. “I don’t like this idea.”
Kareena’s face went still. “We’re running out of time. If we tell my dad, we’ll risk him saying no. Then, our chances of us getting away with this will be even more slim.”
Ace looked to the sky and rubbed his hands on his face. He sighed and looked back at the fae. She had stepped much closer. He was about to offer another counter argument. Tell her going to Headquarters without Tharuach’s approval would end badly. But the way the yellow moonlight shone along the curve of her jaw and glossed over her silver hair had him speechless. Her skin popped with color and complimented the stillness of Shywater.
She gently touched the edge of his hand as she stared at him with a plea in her eyes. “We can do this.”
Ace caved at the breath of her whisper against his cheek. He hung his head, sighed, and looked back into her eyes. “We need a ride. Gathara is a long walk from here.”
Kareena smiled from ear to ear. “I have a better idea.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the pathway leaving Shywater. The needles prickled his skin and the leaves brushed him like a cloth. Ace noticed a change in the skyline between the spaces in the leaves. The darkness of the sky had gone from black to dark blue and melted into an orange line on the horizon. They had been talking into dawn. The fae pulled him free of Shywater and they found themselves standing next to the moat just before the bridge leading to Indie Castle. They made their way to the road in front of the bridge. Carriages rolled along the street next to riders on horses and several dozen people were dressed and heading to start their day. The early morning rush had just begun.
“How did you know Shywater would take us here?” Ace said.
Kareena turned to face him. “Shywater will bring you were you need to go. I trusted in this plan and knew we needed to be here. Apparently the Light agreed with me.”
Ace chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck. He wondered where the path would’ve taken him if Kareena hadn’t brought him free of Shywater. For he didn’t trust in the plan at all; and as they stood before Headquarters, the plan in full motion, his thoughts took him to the different possibilities of Tharuach’s punishment for him. He hardly felt the strength to move on.
“Ace,” Kareena said, “do you have any sort of hunter ID or anything? How did you get into the castle before?”
Ace startled himself back to reality and responded to the fae, “Oh, I have no idea where it is. It’s been lost since before I was in the cellar. Besides, having it won’t matter too much. I’m sure all the guards know who I am and won’t let me in.”
Kareena shrugged. “We’ll see.” She went to nudge him along the bridge but stopped at the sound of several footsteps pounding the street at once. They turned to face a group of young hunters traversing the road to Indie Castle. Ace and the fae looked at each other, then ran to the brick road intersecting the main street before the bridge, only to find dozens more hunters heading to the castle.
“Well,” Ace said, “guess the Indies are still up and running. All the trainees and senior hunters are heading to work.”
Kareena placed her hands on his shoulders. “This is perfect. They offer a great distraction.”
Ace squinted at the fae. “How can we sneak by them? I’m in a t-shirt and sweatpants and you’re in a fae robe.”
Kareena yanked Ace into an alleyway between to wooden buildings. It smelled like rotten fruit and horse manure. “We aren’t going to sneak by them at all. You are.”
“What? You don’t want to come with me?”
“No. They won’t believe me. I’m an unscathed fae. Probably why they didn’t listen to my father either. They’re only gonna listen to me if you convince them the elyr is good first.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Distract them.”
“Wait, whatever happened to just walking up to the gate and asking them?”
Kareena chuckled. “Well, that�
��s less likely to work. I wasn’t expecting a huge distraction to be handed to us on a silver platter. They’re going to leave the gate open to let in the mass of workers. It’s the perfect opportunity for you to rush in.”
Ace crossed his arms and lowered one of his eyebrows. “You knew asking them wouldn’t work, didn’t you? You were planning this.”
Kareena smacked her teeth. “Ace, I had to convince you to come here. This is the only way we’re going to have a chance in this war. We need Gathara on our side.”
Her dishonesty simmered his nerves, sending a stinging pain through his gut. “I don’t like this at all, Kareena.”
“I know you don’t.”
“How are you planning on distracting them?”
“With the elyr, of course.”
Ace dropped his arms like noodles and backed away. “Are you crazy? You’ll end up in the cellar with Keele!”
Kareena combed her hair over her right ear and stepped closer to Ace. She placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on the right side of his face. “I know what the risks are, Ace. The only way for us to fight back against Rio is to start a revolution. We need the Indies to do this. You have to convince Sebastian.”
Ace gripped her wrists, hoping to keep her in case she decided to slip away, which appeared more likely the longer she spoke. “No. Absolutely not. I won’t let you do this. You don’t know what it’s like to be in that cellar. I can’t let you do this.”
Kareena half-frowned. “I’m not asking for your permission.”
“I'm not asking for yours either! I'm not letting you do this!”
Kareena turned her head as the hunters continued past the alley. The cool, morning wind, carried their laughter and small talk. “The gate will be opening any minute. You should sneak by and get close.”
“Did you not hear me?” Ace said, “I’m not letting you do this.”
Kareena turned to face him again. “You’ll know what the distraction is when you see it.”
Ace squeezed her wrists even harder. “Kareena!”
“Get close to the gate. Run in when I give you the signal.” White fire came to the palms of her hands and consumed them up to her wrists. Ace glanced at the pale flames, unable to see her hands in the midst of it. He tightened his grip to the point where his knuckles were turning yellow, but it didn’t do any good. The next moment she pulled free and the pale flames remained in Ace’s palms, free of her wrists. He stood in shock for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Somehow, she’d transferred the energy from his grip on her wrists, to the the elyr around her wrists, and slipped free. Ace let go and the elyr disappeared. He turned to find Kareena running from the alley.
“Kareena, no!” He shouted. Some of the hunters looked down the alley when he shouted this. They quickly dismissed it and carried about their routine. Ace rushed to the alley's mouth and stumbled into the crowd of hunters heading to Headquarters. He spun around and stretched his neck, but Kareena was nowhere to be found.
Oh no, oh no, Ace thought. Tharuach is gonna kill me. What is that girl thinking? His heart beat against his rib cage and his knees quivered. He lowered his chin and joined the hunters in their walk to the castle. Every step, he’d peer around the hunters to look for Kareena. He never found her. The hunters began giving him strange looks and whispering among themselves. He rubbed his palms together and puffed some air over them. The hunters' eyes slowly grew more suspicious toward him making his confidence dive. Halfway across the bridge, he nearly began to hyperventilate. The guards at the front of the gate were checking hunter IDs as they made their way to the castle. The doors to the front remained opened. He stepped closer.
The elyr came down over the bridge in a sea of white fire. The Light blinded Ace for a moment and he nearly fell to the ground. Hundreds of voices yelled, following the the elyr coming down.
“Witch!”
“It’s a witch!”
“Weapons out!”
“Run, run, run!”
Ace rubbed his eyes and his sight returned to him.
Oh man, she’s really done it.
The bridge became a scattered anthill of hunters. The guards had reached for their weapons and were aiming to the sky. Ace looked above to notice Kareena, hovering in the sky by the elyr thrusting from her feet. He faced ahead of him and took off running. The sound of AMRs and AMHBs filled the chaotic sky. He jumped over one hunter, ducked under another, squeezed through several hunters piled together, and bolted forward once he was free of the madness. Before he knew what had happened, he realized he was inside the castle's outer courtyard. He dove into the bushes lining the wall on his left. Hundreds of hunters came rushing from the Great Hall ahead to help the fight. Sirens echoed and panic surged through the air. Indie Castle went mad, and Kareena had caused it. Ace hid away in the shrubs until the hunters passed. When the coast was clear, he sprinted from the bushes to the door leading to the Great Hall. He opened the giant double doors and immediately rushed to the first door he could find. It led to a closet on his right. He shut himself in and waited for a moment. All sounded calm outside. He hadn’t even given himself a moment to see who occupied the Great Hall. Hopefully no one saw him come in. Most hunters had probably rushed out to help the fight already.
He fought to keep his excessive breathing quiet, lest a hunter walk by and hear. His brain pulsed against his skull with every mimic of his heart. He rubbed his palms together and calmed his breathing, best he could.
“Okay, okay,” he whispered to himself. “No big deal, Ace, no big deal.” He took another deep breath. “If you don’t find Sebastian and convince him to completely restructure the Indies in favor of a ‘magic’ they’ve hated for years, it’ll only be the end of the world. Kareena will end up in the cellar right next to you and Keele, and Tharuach will probably vote to have you executed.” He exhaled again. “Right. No big deal.”
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took one last deep breath. The sound of footsteps echoed through the hall once again. Once they passed and exited the large, double doors, he opened the closet door and peered outside. The Great Hall lay void of persons. He dashed across the hall and turned to his right. He burst open the conference room door to find it entirely empty, the TV not even turned on. He shut the door and looked around the Great Hall.
Where would he be? Where would he be? He snapped his fingers, Ah! If they thought the city was being attacked by witches again, they’d be in the City Watch Room! Just like last time. Ace turned along the hall with the double doors which led to the second courtyard. He ran across the finished marble floor and stopped just before he opened the door. He turned to his right at the smaller door off to the side. The door jolted him back to horrid memories. Beyond the door lay a winding staircase of stone, spiraling downward into the very cellar he’d spent months waiting to escape. If this spontaneous, crazy plan of Kareena’s failed, the cellar would be his home again. He shook his head free of his frightful trance and turned to face the double doors again. His will to succeed became evident. He opened the courtyard doors and froze solid.
Ihana stood in the middle of the courtyard, an AMR pointed at him, the switch set to plasma. Two other, non-elite hunters, accompanied her, one on each side, also with plasma rifles. Ace turned around at the sound of of footsteps. Dozens of hunters approached him from behind as well. All with rifles aimed at him. Completely surrounded. Trapped. His heart plummeted and all feeling in his body drifted away. He slowly raised his hands and faced Ihana. The water drake had a sharp eye and a twitching trigger finger. She snarled to the point where her sharp teeth showed perfectly under her black gums.
“Ihana, listen,” Ace said.
“No, you listen,” she said, “all these hunters have their anti-magic turned off. You hear me? This is real plasma in here. I’m not taking any more chances with you.”
Ace’s eyes grew wide and his gut burst. “D—don’t do this, please, please. Listen, just listen for one second. I just came to talk to Sebastian.”
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“Well, you made quite an entrance for someone who just wants to talk.”
“I had no control over her, I tried to stop her! I didn’t want it to go down like this!”
“Enough!” Ihana shouted. Her voice had fire in it. “I told Sebastian not to trust you, but he wouldn’t listen. I knew the second he gave in to your deception, you’d use it against us and come after us.”
Ace’s lip quivered. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb. You know he and George went to go talk with you and Tharuach at his house this morning. We doubled down on security. I had a suspicion you’d use the weakness of one elite in Headquarters against us.”
Ace closed his eyes and fell to his knees, his hands still in the air. What could he do now? How would he ever convince Ihana it was all a big misunderstanding? He grit his teeth. “Ihana, l—listen. Don’t shoot.”
Ihana shook her head, “Sorry, kid. You’re not going to deceive anyone anymore.”
“Ihana, no!”
White fire rained from the sky once again. This time twice as much as before. Ace fell to the ground and buried his head in the grass. Once moments passed without any shooting, Ace lifted his head. Tharuach flew from the sky and landed in the courtyard, throwing tsunamis of the elyr at the faces of the hunters. Ace turned around to find the other hunters scattered on the floor and rubbing their eyes from the blinding light. Tharuach ran by and disarmed the hunters he could reach.
“Stand down! Stand down!” Shouted a voice. Ace squinted behind him to find Sebastian and George running to the courtyard.