Gemma’s gaze trailed over the village folk, all watching her with hopeful gleams in their eyes. And then, she realised exactly what they were asking of her.
‘I- I’m no teacher. I’m impatient and harsh and will probably yell,’ Gemma said.
‘That’s okay,’ the woman chuckled. ‘We can take it.’
Gemma’s mouth opened slightly as she again took in the village. They wanted her to train them to fight. To go to war and possibly die. What if she didn’t train them well enough? How much time did they have before they had to leave – before Laura was ready? Would it be enough time to prepare them for the war?
She realised that if she didn’t train them then they would be entering the war blind. At least if she showed them the basic strategies of attack and defence they wouldn’t be completely out of it. And they had their gifts too. They could use that as much as a sword.
Gemma met the woman’s gaze and nodded. ‘When do you want to start?’
The woman smiled. ‘How about right now?’
Chapter Four
The Pain Of Hope
‘They think he’s close,’ Tarim told the group as he snuck back into the dark, dank attic.
Leo pressed in after him, hair matted to his forehead and glasses cracked. It had been a long two weeks of searching, tracking, hoping and fighting as Leo, Stella’s four brothers and Leonardo Senior scoured the world for Estella. Archer had sustained a stomach wound during a surprise attack and had been forced out of action while he healed. They’d held up in an abandoned farmhouse, hiding in the attic and sneaking out in twos to gather information in the little town close by.
Archer was at last up and around again, which meant they could move out. But it also meant Stella had been held captive for over two weeks. Who knew what condition she was in? Or even if…
Leo cut himself off before he even allowed the thought to cross his mind again. Because it had crossed his mind. Of course it had. Erebus was holding Stella hostage. He thought she was the key to finding Laura. But Stella didn’t know where Laura was. And as soon as Erebus realised that, there would be no reason to keep her around any longer.
‘How close? A few hours or a few days?’ Archer said, grunting as he moved into a sitting position and snapping Leo out of his grim thoughts.
The bandages were stained with blood, but the wound was healed. Leo had managed to scrounge up ingredients to make one of Stella’s salves which had helped. He was still sore, but that wouldn’t stop him. It wouldn’t stop any of them.
‘A day’s walking. Less if we can steal a car,’ Leo offered, dumping his pack in the corner and pulling the tins of food from it that they’d managed to steal while out.
‘And how do you think we can do that? Just waltz on up to a Wicked and ask for the keys?’ Leonardo Senior snapped.
‘Steal usually implies taking, not asking,’ Leo growled back, chucking a tin of soup at his father then readjusting his glasses.
He’d been nothing but a source of negativity since the moment they’d set off. Why he’d bothered to come, or even offered to help for that matter, was a mystery. Regardless, it had been thanks to his tracking knowledge that they’d made it as far as they had. Leo would not ignore that, no matter how much he despised him.
They were hiding out in a small town near Mount Bain in the country or Porcht, which was north-west of Alast. Their journey had led them across three countries so far, until finally they’d caught whispers that Erebus had a hide out in the Bain Mountains. Thus, they set off for their next destination. As they’d crossed the border from Blaime into Porcht however, they’d been attacked by a border patrol, which was how Archer had been injured. They’d only just escaped, killing and wounding the Wicked. It had been a hell of a fight though. They’d been operating on lack of food and little sleep for over a week at that point and hadn’t been ready for the battle. Nonetheless, they escaped with their lives and fled further into Porcht.
It was soon they realised that the war had come to Porcht and Blaime didn’t even know. Or, if they did, they were too busy sending their forces to Lastrala to even think of their bordered country. Enchanted were still fighting back against some of the invaded towns in Porcht, but the Wicked were infecting the country, which only led the group to believe they were on the right track to finding Erebus.
With Archer hurt, they found the closest hide out to the Bain Mountains as they could and buckled down, having remained there ever since. However since Archer was almost better, that meant it was time to complete their mission and track down Erebus, once and for all.
‘Right. So we know he’s close. But do we have the entrance to his underground?’ Sully asked, pulling back the tin lid of his can and digging into his vegetable soup.
‘Not yet,’ Tarim replied. ‘But I suspect the closer we are, the easier it’ll be to find. This place is swarming with Wicked. They won’t be expecting anyone to be watching them.’
‘Exactly. They’ll be getting cocky and in turn, sloppy,’ Martin agreed.
‘All right. We should set off as soon as night falls,’ Archer decided.
‘Sure. Because moving at night helped us so well in the past,’ Leonardo Senior muttered.
Leo dumped his empty tin loudly on the floor and stood. ‘I’ll take first watch.’
With that, he left his father’s bitterness behind and emerged into the last of the sunset. The sky was lit with brilliant shades of red and yellow and orange. He would have found it beautiful if he hadn’t felt like crap.
He made his way across the roof, settling into the sentry seat they’d created, mostly concealed by the chimney which made it hard to spot them from the ground. He rested his sword over his knees and stared out at the land before him. It was quiet in the country, and there were no Wicked for miles. Be that as it may, they’d taken turns keeping watch to ensure no one caught them unaware. They’d been lucky, which was a relief considering how down on their luck they’d been in the past.
Leo’s thoughts soon ran away with him, and he found himself wondering about Stella again. Was she thinking of him? Was she still herself? Or had she lost all memory of her previous life? And her will to live? She’d always been courageous and strong. But if anything could break her, it would be the thought that everyone she loved was dead. She’d have no way of knowing that they’d all escaped. Erebus could be feeding her all sorts of lies to convince her of telling him where Laura was.
There was a scuff of boot against tile and Leo’s head jerked up.
‘Lucky I’m not a Wicked. You’d be dead if I were,’ his father commented.
‘You may as well be one,’ Leo responded coldly, leaning back in his seat.
Leonardo Senior came around the chimney and sat beside him on the roof tiles.
‘What do you want?’ Leo asked, unsure as to what his father was doing there.
They’d barely spoken throughout the whole trip except out of necessity. What could possibly have made him think that sitting alone with him would be a good idea? Unless he planned on killing his own son. Considering his past, and his hatred for him, Leo wouldn’t put it past him.
‘The sunset’s nice tonight,’ Leonardo said.
Leo ignored him.
‘You must be happy knowing Stella is so close.’
‘If she’s even alive.’
Leonardo shifted beside him. ‘She is.’
Leo ignored him again. What did he know?
‘She’s a good one. You did well.’
Leo scoffed. ‘What are you doing? You don’t care about me or Stella. Stop acting as if you do. I only allowed you to come because we needed your tracking skills. You’re not going to suddenly become the father I always wanted. As soon as we get her back, you and I are done.’
‘Son-’
‘Don’t call me that,’ Leo growled.
‘Okay, okay.’
He fell silent, and Leo tensed. Why wasn’t he leaving? He’d spent his whole life hating him. He’d made their journey to find Stel
la miserable.
‘What I’m trying to say is, Stella seems like a lovely young woman. She has a good soul. I’m… I’m pleased to see you’ve found someone who could show you the love you’ve always deserved. Never let go of her.’
Leo flinched. ‘Never let go. Letting go is exactly what I did. And now, she might be dead.’
‘She’s not. I feel it.’
‘How could you feel anything?!’ Leo snarled. ‘You killed your own wife!’
It was Leonardo Senior’s turn to flinch, and Leo saw it. He paused, the rage bubbling within remaining below the surface of his skin, ready to burst from him at any moment.
‘You don’t get to do that. Act hurt. You. Murdered. Her,’ Leo said quietly, his voice deadly.
‘You don’t know anything, son.’
‘I do know! I know you set light to that house and watched it burn! I know you left her in there, screaming for help! And I said don’t call me son! I will never be your son.’
With that, Leo stood, slamming his sword into its scabbard.
Leonardo Senior forced a sigh. Leo paused, whirling on him.
‘What?’ he snapped.
‘Nothing.’
‘No, you obviously have something to say. So say it.’
Leonardo shook his head.
‘Tell me!’ Leo shouted, that very rage beginning to reveal itself.
If his father wasn’t careful, he might end up hurt.
‘I didn’t kill your mother, Leo,’ Leonardo said calmly.
‘I know you did.’
‘No, you don’t.’
Every muscle in Leo’s body was screaming at him to leave, to simply turn and walk away. But something within his heart was telling him he had to hear what Leonardo was going to say. Because somehow, for some unbeknown reason, Leo wondered if his father was telling the truth.
‘So tell me, then. What don’t I know?’
His heart was hammering in his chest, his body vibrating with the effort to remain collected.
‘Son, your mother was very unhappy. After my accident, I changed. I won’t deny that, and I won’t excuse my role in her decline. I’ve never forgiven myself for the way I treated her,’ Leonardo ran his one hand through his hair, ruffling it. ‘She continued to spiral, and I did nothing to help her. I could see her getting worse. But I didn’t go to the healers like I should have,’ Leonardo paused, eyes searching the sky as the last of the setting sun disappeared and the stars began to shine. ‘And then I came home from my check up, you know, those annual one’s I had for my arm?’ He raised his stub of an arm, and Leo could see he was really avoiding what he was going to say.
Leo said nothing. Just watched his father with cold eyes.
‘Well, smoke was bellowing from the house. Flames shooting from the windows. I ran inside, shouting for your mother. And I found her in the bathroom,’ he stopped, eyes falling to his one hand as he clenched and unclenched it.
Leo knew. He knew what his father was trying to tell him. Knew what he was saying. And despite how much he wanted to ignore it, he couldn’t help but believe him.
‘She’d taken her life, set the fire just before she... I tried to drag her from the house, tried to bring her back, but my stupid arm wasn’t strong enough. I couldn’t lift her properly, and… well anyway. You don’t need to know the details.’
Leo remained still, air rushing through his ears and his heart in his throat. His mother had been spiralling, he knew that. He remembered how she’d come home crying some nights. How she’d lock herself in her room and demand they left her alone. He remembered it all.
‘Why-’ Leo’s voice came out strangled and he swallowed quickly. ‘Why…’ He didn’t know what he wanted to ask anymore.
‘Why did I let you believe I killed her? Why did I take the fall?’
Leo nodded once.
‘Two reasons I suppose. I blamed myself. I deserved punishment for my part in her downfall. But also, I didn’t want you to know the truth. I knew our relationship had always been strained. I never knew how to be a father, and I never made the effort to be a good one either. I knew you hated me. I knew you idolised her. So I knew it would only hurt you if you understood the truth. I didn’t want you to spend your life thinking you weren’t enough for her or blaming yourself. Because she loved you with all her heart. I wanted you to grow up to become the man I could never be. The husband and father I never was. And you’ve done that. And I hope you continue to do that. Your mum did love you, no matter what choice she made. She never wanted to leave you, son.’
Leo could feel his throat closing up as his eyes welled with tears. He forced them back, refusing to cry in front of his father. It made sense. It all made sense. He didn’t want to believe him. He wanted to continue to hate him for how cruel he’d always been. But he couldn’t ignore the pang in his heart, informing him it was all true.
‘Thank you for telling me the truth,’ Leo said, turning away from Leonardo Senior.
‘We will find her. Your Stella. I promise you. She is alive.’
Leo glanced over his shoulder at his father, confusion, confliction, all battling within him. His feelings could never shift. He’d spent his whole life hating his father, and while he knew the truth, it didn’t change the fact that his dad had never been kind to him. Had never been a father to him, the role model he needed, the man who loved him unconditionally. He would never have that relationship. Too much time had passed. Too many things had been said and done. Yet he believe him when he said they would find Stella.
Leo inclined his head in appreciation, and left.
~
‘It appears to have been a failure, but we won’t write it off until we know for sure,’ Creshan was saying as Erebus paced the length of his underground office.
Since The Sargent’s death, Creshan had stepped up to take his place as head of the experiments and Erebus’s right hand man. Unfortunately for Creshan, it didn’t appear to be going well. The experiments were failing which angered Erebus. Stella was still refusing to speak about the girl and the war wasn’t progressing as they’d hoped, which enraged him.
Losing The Sargent had had an enormous effect on the war. Those who had stepped up to take over his training were nowhere near as skilled, and without his information on the Enchanted, Erebus had grown blind to their tactics. The vast majority of Erebus’s war decisions had been run past the Sargent first who would often input ideas or pass on valuable information about the Enchanted. Without him, all that was lost. And Creshan could barely remember his former life, so he was no help either.
Erebus often wondered why he bothered keeping the imbecile around, but then again, he was a shining example for all other converted Enchanted. Proof that they should work for Erebus as they would indeed be repaid for their efforts.
‘…but perhaps that could be because back when you created the initial experiment, you used Holy blood, or Angel blood. That’s why it may have led to the creation of Enchanted every the time after your own transformation. Because while Holy blood allows your soul to be swayed to the good or evil side, it still ties us both together as one in some sense. Of course it could also be…’
Erebus tuned out again. He already knew everything Creshan was telling him. He knew he’d used Angel blood when he’d first created the Enchanted and the Wicked. He knew the soul then swayed to good or evil. He knew, thanks to the experiments that Demon blood made no difference. The connection between good and evil was still there. The soul could still sway to the God’s or the Devil’s.
If The Sargent was still alive, he would know what to do. He’d have thirty possible ideas lined up to pitch. Erebus only wished he knew who had killed him. Because then, at least, he would have had an outlet for his frustration. He could have destroyed them, taking pleasure in tearing them apart, one limb at a time. But as Creshan had explained, he and the Wicked hadn’t arrived in time. He’d only found the body, shattered glass, and the Humans missing.
Somehow, someone had snuck undergr
ound, murdered The Sargent and freed his prisoners. Then, they’d escaped the island. How they’d done so, Erebus didn’t know.
His eyes settled on Creshan as he spoke.
‘Did you have Dante searched?’ Erebus asked, interrupting whatever he was saying.
Creshan paused, mouth still open. His eyes rose from his report.
‘Yes sir. And Elis. No sign of the humans anywhere.’
‘Hm,’ Erebus said, pausing mid pace.
‘Do you want me to continue with the report?’
Erebus shook his head and waved a hand at the door.
‘I’ve had quite enough for today. Begin the new experiment as you please.’
Creshan watched him for a moment, then nodded and bowed awkwardly before leaving.
Erebus took a seat at the desk, pulled a piece of paper from the draw and grasped a pen in his fingers. He wasn’t sure why, but part of him wondered if the boy was lying to him. For what reason, and for whom, he did not know. But he would find out.
~
Stella shivered uncontrollably as she tore a fresh patch of her shirt free. It was the cleanest part of her clothes she could find, and she scrubbed it with her good hand in her water bowl to ensure it was as sterile as possible. Then, shaking with cold and agony, she removed the old bandage from her finger.
She bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying out in pain as the scrap of cloth peeled away from the missing end of her finger. It was cut of just above the knuckle, and the end was infected and bloody. The skin was dead around the area, and she knew that if she didn’t find help soon then blood poisoning would set in and she’d lose the whole hand.
Her only saviour was Creshan, who on occasion would bring by fresh water or a bandage. If he hadn’t, she would probably have died days ago. But it had been a long while since his last visit. Too long. And the infection had at last set in.
She grit her teeth as she wrapped her finger in the cloth. She was unable to use the hand, so it was a slow, excruciating and difficult task. She took her last bandage and tied it around her fingers to keep the wound secure. Then, cradling her hand to her chest, she sat back and cried.
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