by Kyle Prue
Darius pulled a flask from the inner pocket of his cloak and took a large gulp. “You’re talking to a wall, Vapros. I’m done. So is Michael.”
Neil was unfazed. “We could always use your help, and so could your family.”
Darius growled, “Don’t try to guilt me into this, you little bastard!”
Neil pressed on. “I’m not. But you have to make a decision soon. You can drink yourself to death, or you can help save your family and right the wrongs that have been done. The feud ends here, Darius. We can end it.”
“My God,” Darius said as he took another sip. “What the hell are you talking about? You sound like a preacher.”
“I am preaching,” Neil said confidently.
“Listen, kid,” Darius mumbled, fumbling with his flask. It slipped between his clumsy fingers and hit the ground, but didn’t break. “One day, you’re gonna give up hope just like I have. And when you do, I invite you to grab a drink with me. Maybe I’ll let you buy me a round.” He looked excited by the prospect. “But until then, get out of my face with your damn hope. It’s making me feel sorry for you. I don’t give a damn about the feud. I was born hating your kind, but now I don’t care.”
Neil stood up and looked down at Darius’s pitiful, hunched form. “In three nights,” he said, “we will be at the First Church of Enlightenment deciding on a plan of action.” He had decided on the meeting place based on their encounter with the preacher so many months ago. The Man with the Golden Light was the one who gave them the powers that started the feud; it was fitting that his shrine was the place for the feud to end. “I think we are going to find a way beyond the wall. You can either be a part of that or not. But we’d love to have you. At least think about it. We don’t need to interact ever again after we get through. We could go our separate ways forever.”
Darius scoffed and stowed his flask in his pocket. “Night, kid,” he said and rolled over.
“Think it over. Goodbye, Darius.”
Darius waited for Neil to exit the alley before pulling out his flask again. He knew that it was inscribed with his family crest’s motto, “Iron Flesh and Iron Will.” He stared at it wistfully, remembering when it had been the source of his greatest pride instead of his greatest failure. He remembered what it felt like to be so sure that he would be with his family again. He felt sorry for Neil. The Vapros boy had been right about one thing: the two of them, in spite of being from different families, weren’t so different at all. Nobody stayed hopeful forever. Darius was sure Neil would soon give up and find a place in the gutter next to him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CELERIUS HIDEOUT
LILLY CELERIUS
Jonathan stumbled up the stairs with a box twice as large as he was. “Did we have to settle on the top floor of a building, Miss?” he asked from behind the box.
Lilly stood at the top of the staircase, examining the cargo her small army had accumulated. “This is discreet and out of the way. Don’t complain. Just be happy we have a place at all.”
“Yes, Miss,” he said, finally reaching the top step and dropping the crate with a sigh of relief. “It’s just . . . I fear each one of these steps is half as tall as I am. I just wish we didn’t have to buy everything and move it in when it’s the middle of the night.”
She smiled for the first time in days. “You’ll get used to it.”
He sat on the crate and arched his back, trying to stretch out his aching muscles. “Are we still rich?” he asked hopefully.
Lilly gave him a distracted nod. She was inspecting cargo. “We’re armed, too,” she murmured a minute later. “We’ve been lucky.” She turned to face her tiny army of Celerius guards. There were five of them left; they proudly wore their armor even though they were caked with mud to hide their original blue and gold colors. They all looked as exhausted as Lilly felt. Sleep had been scarce over the last two months. But things were finally turning around for the fugitives. With a heavy amount of bribery, Lilly had procured the attic above a bakery. It wasn’t very big, but it had enough room for all of them to sleep comfortably on the floor. The owners of the place turned a blind eye to the fugitives’ comings and goings.
“So,” Lilly said to her guards, “here we are. We have a place to live, and we still have enough money from the treasury to afford weapons. I think the next step is obvious: recruiting. We have to make our army bigger, and I say we start in the slums.”
The guards looked uneasy. “With all due respect, Miss,” one of them said, “the slums and the Celerius aren’t on good terms.”
“They’re poor,” Lilly said. “We’re rich. We can offer them money to help us. I don’t see the problem.”
The guard answered, “That is the problem. They won’t be sympathetic to our cause. Your family turned a blind eye to their suffering. They’ll be glad to return the favor.”
“Anyone can be bribed,” Lilly insisted, but the guards still looked troubled, so Lilly refined her plan. “The military, then. We’ll see if anyone abandoned the army when the emperor attacked us. There could be allies there, right?”
The men nodded and Lilly smiled. “Fine,” she said. “Tomorrow, we will start our recruitment. And in no time, the emperor will be dethroned!”
The men cheered half-heartedly and wandered toward the beds on the floor. Lilly went back to inspecting cargo. Weary as she was, she couldn’t afford to sleep yet. There was planning to be done.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
VAPROS HIDEOUT
NEIL VAPROS
Neil awoke with an idea. He groaned as he sat up and looked around for his brother. His new room consisted of a mat on the floor with a dusty pillow. Rhys was across the room, sleeping soundly on another mat. Their “house” consisted of an empty abandoned building they found in the working district. So far, it had sufficed as a suitable base. Neil walked over and lightly nudged Rhys with his foot. “Hey,” he said. “Get up. I think I have a way to find Lilly Celerius.”
Rhys didn’t open his eyes or react to the nudge, but replied immediately, his voice clear of any hoarseness that usually accompanied waking up. “How do you know she’ll come with us?”
Neil stared at his brother’s motionless form. “Were you even sleeping?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes, until you kicked me.” Rhys finally rolled over and looked up at his brother. “How do you know Lilly will come with us? Darius didn’t want to. And I’m not even sure we should be looking at them for allies.”
Neil turned to the closet and fished out his cloak. “Darius will come around if he sees other people joining us. After Lilly, we can look for his brother, Michael.”
Rhys closed his eyes. “Michael’s still in the markets,” he said. “Someone told me he’s all over the girls there. More than usual, he’s trying to breed more Taurlum.”
Neil raised an eyebrow. “How is he running around the markets and not being captured? That doesn’t make any sense. Who told you that?”
“I don’t remember,” he said. “My brain needs a few moments to operate correctly. I was sleeping a few seconds ago, remember?”
Neil smirked. “Keep that brain operating; it might be the only thing keeping us alive.”
Rhys smiled and opened his eyes again. “So, Lilly Celerius ….” He got up and stretched. His hair stood out at funny angles, and Neil bit back a grin. “You think you can find her?”
Neil began fastening his cloak. “Rumor has it Lilly escaped with some guards.”
“And?”
“Lately, someone has been buying weapons and armor from our arms dealer friend in the working district. Do you remember what was sold out the last time we went to buy knives?”
“Rapiers?” Rhys said with a smile.
“Rapiers.”
Rhys grabbed his cloak from the closet. “I’ll get Jennifer up,” he said. “It’s a good theory, Neil, a really good theory.” He reached beneath his pillow and pulled out a knife. “Last time we saw her, Miss Celerius wasn’t a big
Vapros fan,” he said, stowing the knife in his pocket. “I hope she won’t hold a grudge.”
Neil mused, “Tragedy has a way of erasing past relationships.”
Rhys gave him a half-smile. “I think that’s a truth we can all appreciate.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CELERIUS HIDEOUT
LILLY CELERIUS
“Jonathan,” Lilly said for the third time. “Do not touch the grenades.”
Jonathan pulled his hand away from the weapon. “But Miss,” he said dreamily, eyeing the grenade with fascination, “if I could learn to use one, I could help your army.”
Lilly gave him a glare, and he snapped out of his trance. “I’m not a soldier, of course, Miss,” he said sadly, “so I’ll stop touching the grenades.” He gazed at the crate longingly, but stopped when Lilly cleared her throat at him.
“Was it just me,” she asked. “Or was the arms dealer who sold us these unbelievably creepy.”
“Well, Miss, I don’t wish to be vulgar, but that man is referred to as the Pig.”
Lilly laughed. Jonathan looked confused and slightly hurt. “Jonathan, I don’t think referring to a man as a pig is considered vulgar by any standard.”
Jonathan loosened his collar. “But don’t you want to know how he got that name?”
Lilly laughed again. “I think I can infer, Jonathan. Thank you very much.”
“Just be careful of him,” he said. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Jonathan, that is truly adorable. I’m a Celerius. I have nothing to fear from a perverted merchant.”
Jonathan slumped. “I’ve just heard stories, Lilly.” Her eyebrows shot up. He had never used her first name before. “Miss Celerius,” he amended quickly, reddening as he realized his mistake.
“I’ll be careful,” she promised. His gaze strayed to the grenades again. “You know,” she said hurriedly, and he looked at her again, “you’ve gotten quite protective of me lately.”
He gave her a sad smile. “You tend to become protective of someone when you realize that they’re the only thing you have left, Miss.”
“Lilly,” she said clearing her throat. “You can call me Lilly if you want to, Jonathan.”
CHAPTER FORTY
THE MARKETS
NEIL VAPROS
The Pig smiled, revealing a mouthful of rotting, yellow teeth. “Gee,” he said smugly, “I’m not sure if I’ve sold anything to Lightborns. That would be illegal.”
Neil rolled his eyes. “Now, we both know that’s a lie. Don’t play games with me. Have you seen Lilly Celerius or not?”
The Pig said, “I mean, maybe I saw her. I just can’t seem to remember. Maybe some coin would get me thinking.”
Neil dropped a pouch on the counter. The Pig snatched it up, squealing greedily. “Have you seen her?” Neil repeated through gritted teeth.
“She picked up twenty boxes of weapons just last night. She had a few guards and a comically small servant come pick them up. They were on foot. Had to make a couple trips. The little one could barely carry one crate,” the Pig chortled. Neil waited for him to finish. “And between you and me, Mr. Vapros….” The Pig looked around dramatically and leaned in to share his secret, "she was quite enticing. You Vapros are gonna kill her, aren’t you?”
Neil wrinkled his nose as the Pig’s breath hit him. “What?”
“You’re going to hunt her down and kill her, yeah?”
“No,” Neil said thoughtfully. “Something else is going on. Hopefully she won’t kill us. Thanks for your help."
“So if you’re not gonna kill her then why are you looking for her?” the Pig asked while obviously pretending to be nonchalant.
“Why do you care?” Neil asked.
The Pig overdramatically winced in emotional pain. “Why are you being so rude Raven?” He was almost spewing fake tears. “That’s the problem nowadays. People don’t understand that sometimes I’m just trying to be courteous or that I’m just a friendly chap.”
“I hear from the women in town that you’re a bit too friendly,” Neil said.
The Pig gasped in horror. “Stop it!” he wailed. “I’m as delicate as they come!”
Neil raised his eyebrows. “We’re going to get a group together and leave the city,” he said, finally giving in. It wasn’t like the Pig had any reason to share that information with anyone.
The Pig’s eyes sharpened. “So you won’t be buying any more weapons?”
“I’m afraid not,” Neil said.
The Pig patted Neil on the shoulder from across the counter. “Well, at least let me leave you with a parting gift!” the Pig said as he lumbered out from behind the counter and over to a small cabinet by the backdoor of the shop. “You Lightborns were great customers.”
He pulled a small pistol from the cabinet and shoved it in Neil’s face. Neil backtracked a step and the Pig followed. “But now that I can’t count on your business I think the reward will do well enough.”
Neil groaned, “You are a spectacularly terrible human being.”
The Pig shook his head vigorously. “I’m just a good businessman, kiddo!”
“Same thing,” Neil murmured under his breath.
“Keep your social commentary out of my kidnapping, brat,” the Pig demanded. “And no using your special little powers.”
“Okay,” Neil said. “Any other demands?”
“You bring your sister with you today?” the Pig asked.
Neil didn’t answer. As the Pig squealed in delight, he absently lowered his gun a fraction of an inch. Neil used the minor distraction to materialize behind the Pig. Before the Pig could turn around Neil had his knife pressed against his neck. “I want to renegotiate,” Neil said.
The Pig growled, “You’re making a big mistake, brat.”
“No, I think you’ll have to get by without that reward,” Neil said.
Before the Pig could respond, Neil felt a cold bar of steel come in contact with the back of his head. He fell to the ground with blurry vision and ears ringing. The Pig laughed loudly and sneered at Neil’s nearly unconscious body. “Stupid kid!” he taunted. “I’m the richest guy in town! You don’t think I’ve got guys watching my store?”
Neil rolled over and realized his assailant was one of the Pig’s employees wielding a metal club. Neil wanted to fight the vertigo but his attempts to roll over only made it worse. “Boys! Get out here!” the Pig yelled.
A crew of out of shape men assembled in the main shop room. None of them paid Neil any mind. One of them belched. The Pig didn’t bother to look disgusted. “The Vapros kid’s siblings are nearby,” he said, with a belch of his own. “Check all the nearby alleys and bring me whoever you find. Try to keep the girl from getting dinged up. I want her in mint condition.”
Neil rolled over and tried to stand up. The Pig placed his fat foot on Neil’s chest. “After we get them, then we should search the surrounding buildings for Lilly Celerius. The Vapros thinks she’s nearby. Let’s find her.”
The men looked confused. One spoke, “You want us to kidnap a Celerius girl?”
The Pig nodded. “She’s tiny. She won’t be so hard. Knock her out while she’s sleeping.” He ran a hand over his bald scalp. “Just think,” he said gleefully, “by the end of the night, I’ll have a Celerius girl and a Vapros girl tied up in the back of my shop!”
The bell over the front door rang, signaling that a customer had arrived. The Pig glared at his men. “Go!” he mouthed, and they disappeared out the back door. He rushed around to the counter and put on a cheery grin. “Welcome!” he said.
The customer was a tall man in a mask. The customer didn’t seem to care that Neil was nearly passed out on the floor. As he approached the counter, the Pig craned his neck back to meet his eyes. “Nice mask, guy,” the Pig said. “What’s that made of, steel?”
The man behind the mask just stared at the Pig. It even made Neil feel uneasy. He had a bow over his shoulder. “What’s that bow made of?” the
Pig asked. “Could you be convinced to sell it?”
“I heard the conversation with your men,” the man in the mask said softly.
The Pig raised his eyebrows and looked at the door. “No way you could have heard that through the wall,” he said stupidly. “You were outside the shop when we were talking.”
The man pulled the bow off his shoulder. “Nevertheless,” he said quietly, fitting an arrow against the string.
The Pig looked around anxiously. “What the hell are you doing, guy? Vapros! Help me!”
“Pig,” the man said. “You have posed a danger to the one I am sworn to protect. For that, I am afraid you must die. I hope you find peace in the end.”
Before the Pig could react, an arrow fired straight through his eye and he fell to the ground like a mason’s sack of bricks. Neil wanted to stand and face the attacker but he couldn’t. The masked man slung the bow back over his shoulder and exited the shop, leaving the arms dealer to rot behind the counter. After a couple of minutes Neil stumbled out of the shop after him. He stopped and put up the closed sign on the door. No reason to alert people to the Pig’s demise while they were still in the area. He trotted across the street to the alley where his siblings had been waiting. Jennifer was standing near the entrance. When Neil got closer he realized there was a pile of bodies lying behind her. She didn’t look phased in the slightest. Rhys looked slightly frightened. “So I assume the Pig wanted to make some coin?” Jennifer asked, gesturing toward the bodies.
Neil said breathlessly, “Yes, but he’s taken care of. Some guy shot him.”
“Someone we know?” Rhys asked.
Neil started to shake his head, but the pain stopped him. “I don’t think it had anything to do with us.”
“So what about Lilly Celerius?” Jennifer asked as she methodically turned the bodies to small piles of ash.