by J. McSpadden
"Here," she replied weakly, her head bobbing several feet behind him, just out from beneath the fall of water shooting from the tunnel. His heart hammering in the cavity of his chest, Theo heaved a sigh of relief.
He swam toward her, his arms and legs wind-milling easily through the water despite the heavy weight of terror still ricocheting through his body. Reaching her in a few seconds, he grasped her face and kissed her soundly, his legs kicking wildly beneath the surface to keep them afloat. "Dear Ma'Nada, I thought I'd lost you."
She smiled as their lips parted, the heat of her breathe fanning across his cheeks. "I thought I'd lost myself," she replied with a blue-lipped grin. His fingers entwined in the thick mat of her hair as he yanked her to him, their bodies sliding against each other beneath the surface of the water. He felt her chatter and twitch, but she clung to him as he did her for a few minutes of needed reassurance. They weren't lost; they had each other.
"I'm here," Theo found himself repeating, his cheek pressed firmly to hers as he held her. "I'm here."
She pulled back, lips quivering, and smiled at him. "Perhaps we should keep moving?"
He nodded, almost regretful to leave the fleeting moment, but they had little time left and needed to be moving if they were going to survive the night. They swam to the edge of the lake, the temperature of the air not much warmer than the water they moved through. Several torches lit the underground space, but it was sparse and dim, leaving their surroundings in shadow with nothing more than a sliver of orange to guide their way. Inky water sloshed against the ground as they emerged, the distant expanse of the lake disappearing into shadow behind them and jagged, angry stone teeth leering at them from overhead.
"Are we still in the compound?" Camille asked, shaking her limbs dry and ringing out her hair. Water pooled in black puddles on the stone around her feet as she shivered.
Appearing like a shadow on the ground at her feet, Neeko sidled up to her legs, entwining his body around her ankles as he cooed a sound of relief at the sight of her. Bending down, her face and hair dripping water all over his fur, Camille pressed her nose into the crook of the cat's neck and kissed him soundly several times before running her fingers over his ears again and again.
"I'm glad to see you can swim, too," Camille said with a brilliant smile, her straight white teeth a pearly glow in the dim torchlight. Despite Theo's slight pang of jealousy over the cat's immense fondness and reciprocated affection he had with Camille, he smiled at the intimacy. She may not outwardly show him love, but it was a relief to know that she could. Her memories of him might be few and far between, and she may never remember who he was or what they had been, but at least he knew her ability to show love had not been taken from her.
She was there—somewhere inside the broken membrane of her fractured self—and he would do whatever it took to find her again. Theo fought the urge to cradle her close and warm her up as he watched her fingers tremble while righting her weapons and hoisting her soggy pack onto her back. He knew the luxury of touching her wasn't something he could afford, despite how much he needed it.
Neeko shook out his coat, emitting a low purr as he headed toward the cave opening.
"Still underground, and still in danger," Theo said, his voice clipped and as straight-forward as possible. She glanced at him, her mouth open in a pout-like bow, seemingly on the verge of saying something, but she remained silent. "Come on, we need to keep moving."
Camille nodded, ducking her head and eyes to the ground as she moved past him in pursuit of Neeko. Theo shook the droplets from his own hair and checked that he still had all his weapons, then took off at a jog up the steep slope of the cave after them. They had precious little time before the compound would collapse, and he didn't want to be underground when it did.
Chapter Sixteen
Defiance
It wasn't a quick slaughter; it was a bloody, drawn-out battle. The first round of Chimera ripped past their hunkered positions, blasting through the tall grass like battle rams through thin sheets of paper into the main square of the village. After the Chimera came the Equestrians, and though Vesyon led his troops around behind them, their efforts were unnecessary—most of LeMarc's forces filed straight into the village like flies to a buzzing lamplight.
The truth remained, however, that there were just too many of them. The Equestrians scuttled across the damp ground, their boots marking out endless paths of forward motion like the ever-persistent march of ants. It seemed impossible to knock down their lines. Even if they decimated several hundred soldiers during the explosion, the Rogues would still be vastly outnumbered.
Two of the larger warships held back, firing with everything they had, killing Rogues and Equestrians alike. Bodies became the only barrier against the incoming swarm of beasts and cannon fire, a wall of matted, bloodied fur or tender flesh in uniforms painted the bright red of freshly drawn blood. There was no hope of winning; they just needed to push as many into the compound as possible before running like mad in the opposite direction and hoping to survive the night.
Vesyon pivoted toward an incoming Equestrian and flayed the man's chest wide open, spraying the ground with crimson. He watched as the soldier fell backward, mouth agape, his final gasping breath and familiar wide eyes of unbelieving shock locked on Vesyon's face. It made little sense to Vesyon—most of these men were young soldiers, barely old enough to have experienced war, let alone a battle of such proportions. The men dressed in black and red were little more than moving bodies at this point, flinging themselves at Vesyon's sword and him powerless to stop their trajectory toward death. He wondered if the men were genuinely loyal to the crown or if the High King, being a manipulative ruler, dangled the prize of their lives over their naïve heads. The outcome; one more body in a pack of pure innocence.
The pang of loss struck him across the chest as another soldier swung wildly at his head, missing by more than a foot. Vesyon scanned the mountain line where Camille and Theo were to exit for the millionth time, but they were nowhere to be seen. He knew that if she had appeared on the battlefield, she would have been noticed by now—a red beacon in the center of chaos.
A black stallion covered in blood charged toward him, his owner no longer seated across the top but draped to one side, his head gushing blood over its front flank. Sharp black eyes peered manically at Vesyon as the beast reared up, dislodging its owner to the ground in squelching splat.
"You!" Phillip bellowed to a soldier just right of Vesyon. "Take that stallion and ride to White Wall. Langhorn isn't prepared for this. Not if we are to follow. Send word to Sierra Village as soon as you get there. We're going to need back up."
"General, the frontline is broken," the soldier replied in a sharp bark. "I'm needed there to hold the line."
Phillip shook his head vehemently. "No soldier, I need you to warn White Wall. Langhorn needs to be prepared if the fight moves his direction and I have a feeling this won't be the end of it."
The young soldier gripped his sword with grim acceptance, grabbing the blood-slicked reigns from Phillip's hand before hoisting himself up into the saddle. Vesyon watched the soldier's back as he rode past the line of fire and straight out of the battle as though nothing could touch him. Perhaps one of them would live, Vesyon thought optimistically, but as the swarm of Chimera closed in on his location, his thoughts returned to Camille.
"Where is she?!" Vesyon asked himself as his blade cut a wide arc, severing multiple limbs from screaming Equestrians. His rising kill number was starting to weigh on his conscience much more than it usually did. It was one thing to decimate a herd of Chimera, but far different when they were weak, ill-experienced Asperians.
"Camille or Charlie? I haven't seen either of them," Phillip grunted, sinking his sword into an unusually large Equestrian’s throat.
It was impossible to keep the mention of Camille from sending Vesyon's stomach into knots. There was no not thinking about her—she was everywhere. He should trust that Theo would k
eep her safe, but it felt like he'd released a child into a burning forest hoping they'd survive intact.
Vesyon turned as another Equestrian charged toward him. His fist connected with the soldier's nose, sending a shiver of impact through his arm as he smashed the bone up into the man's skull. The soldier went rigid and continued forward, falling straight onto his shattered face in the mud.
Beyond the trees just behind their battleground, Vesyon's gaze was pulled toward a glint of light. He saw Charlie charging toward a pack of Chimera, unconcerned about the sharpness of their fangs and claws as she raised her twin handguns high, firing with everything she had. "I see Charlie!" he shouted at Phillip, pointing with the tip of his sword. He was becoming increasingly worried about the sheer number of beasts surrounding them—never in all his years of fighting had he seen so many.
A thunderous explosion rent through the air just behind them as cannon fire struck one of the main buildings of the village. Red and orange flames billowed into the sky, a blast of heat and smoke so acrid it made Vesyon's eyes water. He felt the reverberation through the ground at his feet, a terrifying shake warning him of what was to come. Most of the buildings in the village square that weren't made of stone or brick had caught fire, sending billowing black smoke trails up to the thick grey clouds that hung low and bloated, belching a constant mist of frigid water on their heads.
"We can't wait for her any longer, Captain. We need to evacuate!"
As the moon shifted behind the layers of clouds, dipping below the horizon, the lights of Romeo Village flickered on full blast. The last beacon of hope surrounded by catastrophe.
Glancing around at the remaining troops on hand, he couldn't argue with Phillip's logic, despite the heavy weight of terror careening through his insides like a hungry eel. "The warning alarm hasn't gone off yet Phillip, we can't abandon our hold yet!" He knew Phillip understood his true meaning: he couldn't leave until he saw Camille. Having kept a close eye on the path down the mountainside, and in proximity to where Theo would lead her away from the line of fight, Vesyon was ready to go the second he saw her. His plan had worked as well as it was going to and Phillip was right, they needed to leave.
"We don't have a choice," Phillip replied, taking on two Equestrians that charged his direction. Vesyon grabbed one of the soldiers by the back of his head before plunging his sword straight through his back, low enough to plow past the ribs and straight up through the kidney. The Equestrian slumped in a heap at his feet, face slackened and dead on impact.
The lights of the village flickered again in a zip of color—orange, red, and yellow—before dying out completely. It was too late. Their count down and fuse would never go off without electricity to send the final message to detonate.
"We'll have to set it by hand," Vesyon barked loud enough for Phillip to hear.
The General’s eyes flicked to the compound and back to Vesyon, his face a ragged mask of confidence. That facade shattered as his gaze flew to the ridge over Vesyon's shoulder. Vesyon turned in time to see Charlie's body fly several feet before crashing into the rocky hillside by a ravenous Chimera.
"Go!" Vesyon commanded Phillip, who had charged toward his daughter immediately.
"Get to the compound, Captain! Set the fuses! As soon as you're out, I'll call for the evacuation!" he called over his shoulder before disappearing amongst the mayhem.
Vesyon hesitated, glancing around at the mass destruction of the village and the many soldiers nearest him. He should stay and help the Rogues force more Equestrians into the area before they abandoned the grounds, but he had to ensure the explosion would happen—even if he were caught in the crossfire.
Vesyon raced toward the south side of the village, his boots slipping and sliding through the mud and snow-slicked ground. He felt unbalanced and uncoordinated, using his sword to steady himself as much as he could manage. He charged down a steep slope just east of his destination, hoping to loop around the back side and slip in without notice. He was relieved to find his path wasn't yet crawling with Chimera or Equestrians. Sliding through a narrow passageway along the outskirts of the square, he was in the compound within a few minutes.
Glowing orange lamps lit his way in the black corridor, his heavy boots skidding to a halt just outside the electrical room: a small closet filled to the brim with fuses connected to the entirety of Romeo Village. Each wire had a purpose and sent electricity to a specific location. He'd rigged the room several months ago with the fuses needed to set off the compound—each would fall in line after the countdown was complete. Without the countdown ticking away the seconds, however, Vesyon would have to set the delay switch off by hand. It would give him little time to escape the surrounding village—fifteen minutes if he calculated correctly.
Trying not to think of Camille stuck in the depths of the compound, Vesyon yanked the wires out, fumbling through the multi-colored metal pieces careful not to touch any of them with his bare hands. Locating the one he needed, with dagger poised to cut the wire, he stopped moving as he heard mumbled voices approached just outside the door.
"What do you mean you failed?!"
"I went to collect the Ephidra Lily, as the King Regent requested, but it wasn't down there. I sent the Chimera after them both, but they escaped," Acher said, his voice clearly distinguishable through the hollow door.
"It's a vault—how many exits can there possibly be?"
"Well," Acher squeaked, "there's more than one obviously."
A loud huff of frustration was followed by a harsh slap and a moan of pain. "Where?!"
Acher didn't respond at first, but another heavy blow got him talking. It sounded like knuckles crunching into delicate cartilage. No doubt Acher had a broken nose by this point.
"In the river tunnel," Acher mumbled through what sounded like a mouth full of blood.
"Soldier," the Equestrian barked at his comrades. "Take this pathetic traitor into the village square."
Hunched silently in the claustrophobic space, Vesyon had half a mind to duck out of the door and wring Acher's neck himself. The traitorous bastard deserved it no less, but as his fists bunched together, he thought better of it. Acher would be going to the village square—good riddance. It would go up in smoke and flame and crumble beneath his feet. Hopefully, it would be the last of him.
"To the King Regent sir?"
"No, the Night Raves will be there shortly and will know what to do with him."
Vesyon had no idea what a Night Rave was, but a nagging sense of dread burned like fire on his skin, sending a ripple of heat across his flesh. The horrid floral scent of an unknown origin screamed through his olfactory memory, and he froze in terror. He didn't want to believe it, didn't want to admit that he'd been wrong. Vesyon had created the lie of Ephidra Lily to entice LeMarc, to force him into the light again. Perhaps he'd been wrong to push so hard. If he was right about what a Night Rave was, they were in far deeper waters than he'd initially thought.
Vesyon waited a few beats for the men outside to walk farther away before digging the sharpened edge of his dagger into the wire he'd wiggled away from its confinement. He had little time to escape, but it was possible. His fastest time was three minutes and twenty-three seconds from the wire room to the door, and then he would have less than ten minutes to escape the village altogether. Taking one final, deep breath, Vesyon yanked the blade backward, effectively slicing the wire in two.
He crept out of the room with haste and turned toward the exit, immediately finding himself cornered by three Chimera.
"Shiat," he muttered. "Perfect timing, as always."
They growled in response, heavy spittle and drool slipping off their protruding jowls before splattering against the floor.
It's now or never, he thought as he dove forward, sliding between the legs of one Chimera to gain purchase on the opposite side.
Vesyon took off running, the three hungry Chimera on his tail. The hallways seemed longer and windier as he sprinted from narrow passage to nar
row passage, zig-zagging his way through a maze of rock, stone, steel, and tile. Any second, the lights inside would blink off, and he'd be a goner, trapped inside the compound until it imploded on itself. His legs churned wildly at the idea, propelling him through the corridors at a rapid pace. Vesyon located the exit door at the end of the hallway. Blocking the door was another Chimera, swatting at the closed metal door as if trying to break through the four inches of steel. The Chimera whined pitifully, a sound Vesyon had never heard before.
"Hey!" Vesyon said as he ran closer, trying to get the Chimera's attention. "Come get me beast, I'm here for the taking!"
The Chimera snarled but didn't move.
For Vesyon to make it out alive, he needed to get through that door, and there was no way this Chimera was going to stop him. "Move, you big lump!"
That kicked the Chimera into gear. It reared up, lunging wildly at him as Vesyon launched himself around the beast's body. One solid front paw grasped hold of Vesyon midair, inadvertently flinging him toward the metal slab door. Vesyon braced for the impact of heavy steel against his Praetorian body, praying the collision wouldn't knock him off kilter so that he might not be able to escape.
***
Her clothing stuck to her body, and yet she wasn't cold in the least. She felt a thrumming warmth as they walked through the silent confines of the cave together, arms brushing against each other as they moved. There was no way to say what it was that she felt, but the minute her face had broken the surface of the lake below the compound, the first thought in her mind had been, where is Theo?
There was no sense lying to herself about the torrent of emotion boiling through her. Theo was not to be ignored, nor were the memories that flooded into her system. Glancing over at him as they walked, she explored the angles of his face, and the lines of worry etched into his brow. Her fingers itched to press down the creases of concern at the edges of his eyes, but she clenched her fists and kept them at her sides.