The guys let out a nervous round of chuckles, slowly overcoming the icy wave that the older officer instilled in them.
“I’m glad I’m not Fletcher,” Creason said, shaking his head and staring at the kitchen door.
“Me too, but it’s got nothing to do with ol’ icy-stare back there,” Kade joked.
“He wouldn’t really horse-whip you guys, would he?” Norabel asked, her eyes wide with concern.
“Nah,” Kade waved his hand in dismissal.
“He did it to Emmett once,” Finn added quietly.
Norabel spun to where Emmett stood. He had his head hung to the floor, and his cheeks were turning pink.
Kade, seeing that his friend was growing uncomfortable, decided to change the subject, saying, “Well, we should really get you home, Norabel. Don’t want any of our other crusty officers walking in here and yelling at you.”
She gave him a smile and then promptly went to the oven to take out the sweet bread for Delia’s present. Handing it to Creason, she instructed him on how to handle the bread and the sugar domes until it was time to light it.
Kade then offered to escort her back home, when Emmett cut in, saying, “Hey, you had your turn!”
“There’s no turns here!”
“Well let me remind you who it was that met her first.”
“Oh, you’re pulling that card, are you!” Kade said, playfully cuffing him over the head.
Emmett shoved him back, but Kade relented to him a moment later.
“Alright, Emmer. Go on and get her home safe.”
Emmett straightened his shirt, ruffled his hair back in place, and turned to Norabel, who was trying not to laugh at the boys’ interaction.
“Norabel,” he said, giving a gentlemanly sweep of his arm. “Will you allow me to escort you home?”
“I’d be honored,” she told him, giving him a smile.
He led the way out of the kitchens, choosing not to link arms with her as the more confident Kade would have done. When they were walking along the hallway, away from the noise of the other officers, Emmett glanced over at her and commented, “You seem to have a real knack for helping people.”
“It’s an addiction, really,” she said, referencing to the first time they met.
Emmett motioned for her to follow him down a north-ward facing hallway, leading her to a part of the castle she hadn’t been to with Kade and the others. As they walked in silence, Norabel couldn’t help but wonder what kind of suffering Emmett must have gone through when he was horse-whipped by that angry man. It must be horrible, she realized, having a job in which your boss was allowed to physically hurt you if you made a mistake. She wanted to ask him about it, but she knew it would only make him more uncomfortable.
A minute later, Emmett led her to a door that opened out to a courtyard in back of the stronghold. From here she could see the grate that led underneath the castle, and her stomach tightened at the thought of it, hoping she wouldn’t have to use that entrance in the future.
“So uh,” Emmett stuttered, coming out of his silence. “H-how did you say you knew Creason’s girl again?” He ran a hand down his hair as he spoke, self-conscious of how it might be sticking up in the back.
“We both work at the Potter’s Workhouse,” she answered.
“Oh, you’re a potter,” he said, nodding. “Sounds interesting. So what do you make, like pots and mugs?”
“No, just bowls.”
“Oh, just…” he trailed off and stopped walking. “Bowls,” he said, his shoulders falling in disappointment.
“Is something wrong?” she asked. Emmett seemed to have come to a realization that did not make him happy. But she didn’t know how her making bowls could have triggered it.
“You’re the bowl maker,” he whispered under his breath, shaking his head.
“Is that bad?” she asked, concerned.
He finally looked up to her and offered her a sad smile. “No, I just…remembered something is all. Come on,” he said, starting to walk once more. “Let’s get you home.”
When Emmett escorted her to her street, he made sure to stay out by the dirt of the road as she walked to her front door, respecting her privacy. Then, giving her a wave and bidding her a goodnight, he headed back down the road. She watched him go and then turned back to her home, glad that Fletcher had not been waiting for her. Though Emmett was a Pax official, she didn’t want to mix him up in her problem with Fletcher. If he tried to stand up to him, Fletcher would probably end up making his life a nightmare.
However, as she entered her house, ready to go to bed early, she noticed that a candle was lit inside her living room. At once, her heart shot up in her throat. It was too dark to see anyone inside, but she knew that he was waiting for her. Though her short interaction with his boss earlier filled her with pity for him, it didn’t make her any less afraid of him. Glancing back to the open doorway behind her, she wondered if she should just go and leave him to himself.
Before she could decide, Fletcher’s voice called out, “Shut the door, Norabel.”
She took in a shaky breath and closed the door with a quiet thud. Now it was even darker inside. The single, flickering candle in the living-room seemed to only enhance the darkness of the night.
“I know what you’re doing,” he said. A chair squeaked, and she realized he was getting to his feet. “Walking home with Emmett,” he mocked.
The floor moaned as he drew closer to her. Norabel didn’t know what to do other than to stay by the door. At least it offered her a means of escape if she needed it.
Fletcher’s smug laugh danced through the house and sent shivers down her spine. “You think that a little boy like Emmett can stop me?”
“I don’t know what,” she started to say, but gasped when Fletcher leaped out of the shadows, pinning her to the door.
His fingers dug into the skin on her shoulders as he said, “Or maybe you’re waiting on someone else to come riding in to save you.” He shook her, causing her head to bang roughly into the wood behind her. “Well, it isn’t going to work. Once he gets back, he can’t do a wretched thing to stop me. And if he tries, then he better sleep with a sword in his hand, because I’ll run anyone through that tries to stop me.”
Through the terror coursing through her, she tried to make sense of what he was saying. Could he be talking about Hunter? Was that why she hadn’t seen him in a while? Because he had been gone on a trip? But how would he know that she and Hunter knew each other?
“I-I know,” she stuttered out, “I know about your boss, a-about w-what…”
“What do you know!” he growled. “You don’t know anything!” He lifted a hand up and held the side of her face, whispering, “You have no idea about me and my life.”
His hand stroked her cheek, and Norabel tried to turn her face away from him, straining her head so far that her cheek was pressing into the door.
“Please stop,” she whispered. She shut her eyes and imagined Mason charging through the door, ready to fight this man off her. But she knew it was just a fantasy. Mason wasn’t coming. He was no more a part of her life than a boss was to a worker.
She moved her hand to reach for the knob on the door, but Fletcher saw it, taking his hand away from her face to seize it. In her chest, she could feel her lungs tightening up. She didn’t know which would be worse right now, facing Fletcher, or an attack from Jotham’s.
“Listen Norabel,” he said, pressing his lips to her ear. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. You can carry on as you were, talking about beams of light in the morning and the smell of wet clay. I like all that talk.”
“Then what do you want?” she asked, feeling the skin on her ear burn from where his hot breath scorched it.
He finally pulled away from her and grabbed her chin so that she would face him. “Compliancy,” he answered in a single, decisive and sickening word. “So next time, make sure you’re home when I come calling. Because I don’t like to be ignored.”
&n
bsp; Then, keeping her hand pressed to the doorknob, he twisted it and opened the door. Norabel nearly collapsed as the support behind her was taken away. Her knees fell to the outside dirt, and she looked up to see Fletcher standing over her.
“I’m just telling you now,” he said, shaking his head. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked away. “I don’t want you to get hurt in the future,” he called out over his shoulder. A thin smile curved up his face, and a glint flashed in his eyes that said he was very much looking forward to the coming days.
The second that he was far enough down the road, she scrambled to her feet and ran back inside, shutting the door behind her. Her hands shook with silent sobs as she rushed to lock the door. Then her strength gave out, and she allowed herself to give into her tears as she crumpled into a ball on the floor.
“Please help me,” she cried softly, reaching her hand out to the wooden floor behind her. “If you’re there.” She looked blindly to the dark room in front of her. “Please make this stop.” She sniffed and wiped at the slick skin underneath her eyes. “I know you’re real…but I could do with a little more proof right about now.” She sniffed again and waited. “Please,” she squeaked. “Just this once.”
But the little shack on the western edge of Breccan was silent, and suddenly Norabel felt as if she had made a very big mistake, not following her parents back home. They had never seemed so far away from her, and she had never felt so alone.
Chapter 17
The sun had nearly disappeared behind the mountain cliffs when Norabel arrived at the rocky meadow. A small fire had been lit on a bare patch of dirt, but her team was not gathered around it, waiting for her in quiet conversation. Instead, they were all four in the middle of the meadow, paired up and engaging in what looked like hand-to-hand combat. In the dancing flicker of the fire and the dying light of the sun, Norabel saw Logan try to take a swing at Archer, while a few feet away, Ashlin sent Mason flying to his back. She winced at the harsh impact, but Mason promptly got to his feet and threw Ashlin a smile as if he had rather enjoyed the experience.
“Uh, guys?” Norabel called out, taking a few cautious steps towards them.
“Norry!” Archer exclaimed pleasantly. “You’re just in time to see me pummel Logan to the ground!”
The two boys circled each other for a moment, readying their fists for action.
“I think the more accurate term,” Logan said, lunging out for Archer’s arm, “is getting your sorry backside kicked!”
Logan managed to twist Archer’s arm behind his back, but Archer broke out a second later and tried to swipe at Logan’s feet. Neither of them were very successful in making contact, and they continued on in this futile manner for several moments, having quite forgotten about Norabel.
“I-I snuck into the stronghold last night,” she offered, raising her voice slightly so they would be able to hear her over the grunting of their fight.
“Great,” Mason commented in a strained voice. He tried to lunge out for Ashlin, but she ducked out of the way. “Why don’t you tell us what you found?”
Norabel blinked at them in confusion, wondering if she was supposed to tell them all while they were still fighting.
“Oh, okay,” she said. She stepped back as Ashlin suddenly flipped through the air, landing close to where she had been standing. She hoped they wouldn’t ask her to practice fighting. She wouldn’t be able to last a minute in her condition.
Trying to speak over the sounds of both their fights, she began to recount to them everything she had learned about the stronghold’s layout. She let them believe that she had entered the castle through the water grate, and gave them only tactical information, labeling rooms and corridors, and describing where they were located. However, she wasn’t sure if they were really paying attention. She was almost tempted to tell them that a giant chicken enrobed in a velvet cloak laid at the heart of the stronghold, just to see if they would notice.
It hurt to see them paying so little attention to her when she had risked her neck to get this information. More than that, she wondered how the team was planning on getting around the stronghold if they didn’t listen to her directions.
Things suddenly became clearer when Ashlin looked over to her in between attacks, saying, “That’s really great, Belly. Course, you’ll need to be with us when we do the job.”
“What?” Norabel asked, her hands feeling very cold in the evening air.
“Well yeah,” Ashlin said, expertly grabbing Mason in a head lock. “I mean, it’s one thing to be given a map, it’s another…” she let Mason go and readied her hands, “…to have actually been there before.”
“I thought you wanted to be let in on more jobs,” Mason said, avoiding a punch from Ashlin and grabbing her arm in the process.
He managed to lock her arm behind her back, and she threw him an encouraging smile, saying, “That’s good! You’re getting it!”
“Only cause you let me,” he pointed out, wiping away the sweat from his forehead.
“Well, I guess I could come,” Norabel murmured. Her shoulders drooped when she saw that no one was paying attention to her.
“There is one thing that’s bugging me,” Archer commented. Logan had managed to link up both of Archer’s arms, and had them awkwardly flapping in the air as he tried to speak.
Looking over to their fight, Mason stifled a laugh. “And what’s that?” he asked.
Logan comically moved Archer’s arms up and down as he said, “What I don’t get is how we’re going to release this sleeping powder without, you know, falling asleep ourselves. I don’t really want...will you!” Archer exclaimed, trying to wriggle free from Logan’s grip. “I don’t really want to be found…” he wriggled even harder, struggling in vain to get free, “…to be found curled up like a baby in a…Ah ha!” he shouted when he finally broke free.
“Don’t worry Archer,” Mason said, stepping away from his own fight. “We’re not powdering ourselves.” He reached his hand inside his pocket and took out a small metal tube. “We’re gonna use these to delay the release.”
He threw the object towards Archer, who held it up to his face in inspection. “And what exactly is this?” he asked, skeptical that this small tube would save him from harm.
“We use a form of this at the steel works,” Mason explained. “It’s for when we want to light a furnace, but we want to be far enough back beforehand. Inside the tube is a type of low-burning Snapper. You light one end, and it burns slowly to the other end, where there is a higher grade of Snapper. When it hits that point, then a bigger spark ignites. In this case, it will set the FPS on fire. I’ve cut a series of vents on top of the box for the smoke to escape when it does.”
“How long are you giving us before it starts smoking?” Logan asked, smoothing his hair down from where Archer roughed it up.
“About an hour. We need that long in order to plant the rest of them throughout the castle and be out before the first one goes off.”
“I think we should hit the officer’s spire first,” Ashlin said. “Work our way from the top to the bottom. That way we can sneak out easily enough when we light the last one.”
“Sounds good,” Archer nodded, bending over to catch his breath. “Probably the best way to do things.”
“And I think we should go tomorrow night,” Ashlin announced, playfully coming up from behind Mason and wrapping her arms around his middle.
“So soon?” Norabel asked, careful to avoid looking at where their arms were linked together.
“The guy I contacted about getting the Sleeping Powder just came back to me today with them,” she said. “So, the sooner the better.” Ashlin then stepped away from Mason in order to address her more directly. “But I am gonna need you to find out a few more things for me. What I want to know is where Chief Auberon’s rooms are. Because if we don’t get the chief, then this whole thing is for nothing. And I’m also gonna need you to find us a feasible way to sneak inside. A side door or a t
unnel or anything.”
She waited for her response, and Norabel nodded obediently.
“Right, well, I think we covered everything,” Mason said, moving their meeting along remarkably fast considering what they were planning. “Tomorrow after work everyone should meet at my place so we can go over it again with more information.”
The group all agreed, and Archer was about to walk away, when Ashlin called him back.
“Before you all go,” she said, “I feel I should tell you something.”
“What is it?” Logan asked apprehensively.
Ashlin looked over at Mason, and he reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Taking a deep breath, Ashlin announced, “What you’re doing, with the raid on the stronghold, and even before with the stables and the manifesto and the summer festival…well, the truth is, none of it was really my idea. At least not originally. Every single idea actually came from my parents.”
The group was silent as they watched her pinch the bridge of her nose, trying to compose herself. When she looked back up, she bore the face of a stoic warrior once more.
“A few years back, my guardians helped me find out exactly who my parents were. They put me in touch with one of their old friends. And, when I met this man, he told me that the reason my father had been killed and my mother had been sent to Arkadiak was because they had wanted to start a rebellion. They never got to accomplish much, but he said that they had thought it all out, planned every step they would need to take in order to overthrow Amias and the Pax.”
Ashlin looked down to where Mason’s hand was clasped around hers and rubbed her thumb over his knuckles.
“I may not have known my parents,” she continued. “But at least I can know them through this. And they may have been killed, but at least they can live on through this. So I want to thank each one of you,” she said, looking around their group and making eye-contact with everyone, “for giving me this. For giving the kingdom this.”
She took a step forward and raised her hand so that it was hovering at waist-height. “For Galerance,” she said, looking out at all of them once more. “For freedom.”
Chasing Shadows (Saving Galerance, Book 1) Page 21