by Travis Bughi
“Gavin,” she said. “Do you realize what we could do with all this?”
She waved her hand at the room, her mouth still open in awe. Gavin looked around, as if seeing the money for the first time.
“No,” he said and shook his head slowly, “I have no idea what to do with wealth like this. Now, come on, let’s get out of here.”
As he stepped out, he grabbed Emily by the wrist and pulled her away. She resisted him slightly and looked back at the vault with longing. She wanted desperately to run back and grab some, even just a handful. Surely it couldn’t hurt, she thought.
Suddenly, the greed of her thoughts hit her, and she blinked herself awake. She’d come here to save Lucifan and lure Heliena out into the open, she thought, not help herself. Truly, Quartus hadn’t given her a second life just so she could scavenge a living by stealing things. He’d be ashamed if he could read her thoughts right now. This was no way to honor an angel’s sacrifice, and yet her mind could not let it go. She struggled to hold herself back.
Gavin grabbed the vault door and began to pull it closed, while Emily stood at the entrance to soak in every last second of the marvelous treasure before her. Her heart sank a bit as Gavin finished and she heard the heavy click of the lock being set into place. Emily stared at the vault for a few more moments, even as Gavin sprinted past her, and sighed heavily.
Finally, she turned around to see the knight had reached his pegasus and was securing the bag to its harness. As he tied it tight, he looked to the door, then back to the bag.
“Borgan must have paid that ogre in advance,” he said. “There’s no way he didn’t hear that scream.”
“Well,” Emily sighed. “Let’s get out of here then. Adelpha!”
Adelpha, who had wandered off towards the bank’s door, turned at the sound of her name. Her face was no longer wreathed in fury but instead calm annoyance. Emily jerked her head at the rope, and Adelpha nodded in reply.
“Let’s make only two trips,” Gavin said. “You first.”
Gavin swung up onto his mount and reached an arm down to Emily. She reached up to take it and pulled herself onto the pegasus behind him. The mount’s feathered wings brushed against her leg as they unfolded.
“I’ll be right back for you, Adelpha,” Gavin called out.
“I’ll be waiting up top,” Adelpha replied and started to climb the rope.
Gavin applied pressure with his heels, giving the pegasus a jerk with the reins, and the creature leaped into the air. They soared up and through the hole, back behind the bank, and touched down safely on a predetermined roof out of the way. Emily dismounted, and Gavin turned back to the bank. As expected, Adelpha crested as Gavin landed on Borgan’s bank. Once both ropes were rolled up and secured, Adelpha hauled herself onto the flying beast, and moments later, she was beside Emily.
Gavin dismounted, too, and stood next to the women. Together they looked out at the bank, which they’d just robbed, and soaked in the magnitude of what they’d done.
“By Ephron,” Gavin said.
“We did it,” Emily finished.
Another quiet moment of silence passed between them.
“I can’t believe that worked,” Gavin said, turning to the others.
“Damn!” Adelpha suddenly yelled.
She slapped a hand to her forehead, and her two companions jumped in shock.
“What?” Emily and Gavin shouted together.
“I forgot to kill that leprechaun when you two flew away!” Adelpha slammed a fist into an open palm.
Gavin frowned.
Emily laughed.
* * *
Gavin took the crowns with him.
As agreed earlier, Emily and Adelpha would meet up with Mariam and Abe back at the orphanage. Abe and Mariam would head there directly, taking the shortest route to get off the roads and out of the market square as soon as possible. Emily and Adelpha, on the other hand, took the long way around by sticking to back alleys on Lucifan’s outer rim. Borgan would not stay asleep forever, and when he woke, he’d raise an alarm faster than a centaur could dodge an arrow. As Emily and Adelpha slipped through the less traveled neighborhoods, Emily couldn’t help but wish she had thrown the leprechaun into his own vault before they closed it. That would have bought them an enormous amount of time as Borgan would have spent hours shouting through that metal door for help, and he would have had to reveal his secret vault code in order to open it.
She smiled at the idea of it all, the greedy leprechaun having to ask for help, trapped by a device of his own making. That would have been a really sweet treat on top of the robbing they’d just given him.
“You know he saw us,” Adelpha said, breaking the silence between them. “At least Gavin, I’m sure he saw Gavin.”
“More than likely,” Emily said. “But what does it matter? He’s already trying to kill us. And we’ve already lost the element of surprise, as Drowin so clearly informed us. And Gavin was there with me then, too, so we’ve lost nothing we hadn’t already.”
“Oh, I’m not arguing with you,” Adelpha said. “I’m just saying that we’ve pissed off the manticore. They’ll be after us with a fury now, so you had better be ready at all times.”
“Don’t worry,” Emily replied, tapping her bow and her hunting knife. “I already learned my lesson the hard way, and I think I have an idea of how to infuriate our enemy more.”
They were nearing the orphanage. Adelpha stopped at the corner of the last street and put a hand out to stop Emily. They leaned their backs up against the wall, and Adelpha cautiously poked her head around the corner. She saw nothing to concern her though, so she relaxed and turned the corner. Emily followed.
“And how do you intend on doing that?” Adelpha asked, looking at Emily and cocking an eyebrow. “We’ve already shot a vampire in the face, taken the blame for killing a prodigy samurai’s brother, and robbed a powerful leprechaun. What else did you have in mind to further infuriate an enemy we cannot fight?”
“We don’t fight them,” Emily smiled broadly in the face of Adelpha’s pessimistic words. “We’ve already slapped them in the face, so now we disappear and leave them fuming. They’ll be searching for us desperately now, spending a great deal of effort to find us. So if we’re not here, if we disappear, it’ll infuriate them more. It will anger them, make them take more risks. We’ll wait just long enough that maybe Heliena will rear her treacherous head, and then maybe we can finally put an arrow through her eye.”
Adelpha stopped outside the orphanage and turned swiftly on one heel to face Emily fully. She was not at all pleased with Emily’s plan.
“Disappear?” Adelpha asked. “As in, leave Lucifan?”
“Yes,” Emily said.
“For how long?”
“A week, perhaps?” Emily shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“So we come here to kill my sister, avenge our mother,” Adelpha was starting to grit her teeth, “and instead we rob a leprechaun and leave without even finding out where the wicked wench is?”
Emily paused before answering.
“I hadn’t really thought about it like that,” Emily said, diverting her eyes. “I was actually—”
“There seems to be a whole lot you haven’t been thinking about lately,” Adelpha accused. “Starting with why you’re trying to wage a war for a city that’s never done anything for you! Who cares who rules Lucifan? Or if the rich get richer while the poor get poorer? It doesn’t affect us! We’re amazons, our home is Themiscyra, and that’s where we belong!”
“No,” Emily whispered. “No.”
Adelpha stopped mid-rant to see Emily’s head hanging low. Adelpha mistakenly took this as a sign of guilt for fighting the wrong battle, but Emily was about to reveal the real reason she felt heartsick. Adelpha’s eyes widened as she sensed the truth.
“Themiscyra isn’t my home,” Emily said, “and I’m not going back there. I . . . I don’t even know if I’m an amazon. Sure I have a bow an
d wear the armor, but deep down? I’m just a plains girl, Adelpha. I’m just a farmer who learned to fight. And, if you must know the truth, I’m okay with that. All through our trip to Themiscyra I tried to be like you, like Chara, like Iezabel, and it killed me inside. I felt like I was trying to be something I’m not.”
“Emily, what are you saying? Of course you’re an—”
“No, Adelpha! Stop! I don’t belong there. Was it great? Yes, of course. I had fun at the tavern. It was a thrill fighting alongside you all, learning from you, helping you and getting help from you, but none of that makes me one of you. I’m not grounded to the jungle like you are. I’m not grounded anywhere yet. Once Heliena pays for her crimes, I’m taking the first ship that will take me out to sea, and I don’t know if I’m ever coming back.”
Adelpha didn’t say anything at first. She just stared at Emily as if she’d never heard such blasphemy. Finally, she realized Emily was speaking the truth and looked away. The two of them stood there looking just as embarrassed as they felt while trying to avoid each other’s gaze. Emily rubbed a hand up her own arm, and Adelpha frowned.
“I . . . I’m sorry I didn’t tell you soon—” Emily started.
“So, to your home?” Adelpha cut her off.
“What?”
“You want to disappear, right?” Adelpha said. “Hide from Drowin, Katsu, and the rest? What better place than the Great Plains?”
“Well, yeah, but,” Emily said and stopped rubbing her arm.
“It’s settled then,” Adelpha said, turning around and heading to the orphanage door. “We leave the moment after Gavin tells us he’s dropped the loot off safely.”
Emily tried to reply, but the words got caught in her throat. By the time she’d worked them free, Adelpha already had the door open, and the loud shouts of playing children cluttered up the air. The big amazon stepped inside and shut the door behind her, leaving Emily standing alone in the street and feeling strangely cold.
Having nothing else to do, she said the words that came too late.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered to the wind. “I know how much our friendship means to you. It means more to me than you can even imagine. Just know that, no matter what, you’ll always be my sister. My only sister.”
Emily swallowed and bit her lower lip. She closed her eyes for moment and took a deep breath. Then she let her face relax, tried to forget everything that had just happened, and walked inside.
Chapter 13
Mariam was beyond glad to be heading back home. Not only did she miss her husband dearly, but she couldn’t wait to remove her children from the violence she had reluctantly released them to. In her honest opinion, there wasn’t even a need to wait for Gavin.
Abe took the news with a pensive frown and apparent absentmindedness. Emily wondered if he was sad and asked him what was wrong. He shrugged before speaking.
“Does that mean we’re finished?” he asked. “You and Adelpha will be going your own way?”
“No, no,” Emily said as her brother trailed off. “We’re not done here. I’m not leaving yet, Brother. Cheer up.”
“Oh good,” he sighed. “It’s just, Adelpha looked upset when she came in, and then you appeared distracted, so I thought . . .”
He trailed off, and Emily just shook her head and gave his upper arm a hard slap with her open palm. His expression revealed surprise, and Emily, too, popped her eyes open as she realized she’d never done that before. A rough gesture like that was something Adelpha would do.
Emily tried to brush the awkward moment off.
“Better pack up your things,” she said with a smile.
“Yeah, okay,” Abe replied back, his face still confused, and then walked off.
Gavin never came by, but Duncan—who seemed relieved, like the worst of a storm had passed though the wind still howled—appeared at the orphanage instead. He insisted Emily step out with him.
“I don’t trust the children to keep away,” he explained. “I’d prefer a bit of solid wood between us and them.”
“Understandable,” Emily said.
“Especially that little ogre child,” Duncan continued. “Angels alone know why Madam Sweeney keeps a brute like that.”
“I’m sure she has her reasons,” Emily waved the comment past, not wanting to reprimand the knight for the same discrimination she’d been guilty of. “What of Gavin?”
“All is fine,” Duncan said. “Mark has found a generous donation to the knighthood from a wealthy merchant who wishes to remain anonymous. The letter explaining it was written very formally and thus seems genuine. It is clearly not the same money that Borgan will report missing.”
“Clever,” Emily smiled. “I didn’t know Gavin was capable of such penmanship.”
“He’s not.”
“Then who?” Emily blinked as the realization came to her. “You! Of course. Your father would have taught you—”
“Sshh!” Duncan glared.
“Oh.” Emily covered her mouth. “Sorry. You know I’m quite sure we’re alone.”
“Yes, yes, that’s very comforting,” Duncan said with deep sarcasm. “And might I say, for someone whose goal is to commit theft and murder, you’re surprisingly naïve.”
As the knight’s insult struck her hard, Emily’s eyes narrowed and her jaw set out at the swift blow to her ego. The worse part was that she had invited it.
“Tell Gavin to keep hidden,” she said in a lowered voice. “I’m sure Borgan saw him.”
“I’m two steps ahead of you already,” Duncan replied, having already forgotten his previous comment. “The drill lessons with Mark this morning seemed to have enlightened me on how better to discipline the rebellious tendencies of those under my command. Gavin has been suspended from the knighthood for a yet-to-be determined period of time—without pay, of course. Mark is deeply pleased, and Gavin will likely disappear for a while as he contemplates things.”
“Looks like everything is in order,” Emily said. “We’ve prodded the behemoth, so now all we have to do is wait for a clear shot at its eyes.”
“What are your plans now?” Duncan asked.
“Don’t be so naïve. I’m not going to tell you out here. Someone could be listening.”
Duncan’s lips parted, and Emily smirked. She then opened the door, stepped inside, and slammed it closed. Her smirk disappeared.
“Jerk,” she sighed.
Mariam, hearing the door slam shut, came walking down the hall to Emily. She had everything packed and slung over her shoulder, just waiting for the moment. She smiled a very warm smile that was not entirely unheard of but still relatively rare. It was as if all this dangerous activity had shed Emily’s mother of her cloak of callousness, and Emily found such a thing a blessing all of its own.
“Is everything well?” she asked.
“Yes, Mother.”
“Good,” Mariam said. “Let’s get the others.”
They turned and walked down the hall together, making frequent stops as children sprinted up and down the halls, through doorways, and into bedrooms. The constant shouting discouraged Emily from striking up a conversation or asking any personal questions of her mother.
It seemed like the perfect time though. As Emily walked side by side next to her mother, she began to feel something that had eluded her throughout her entire life: equality.
To Emily, Mariam had been a beacon of confidence and knowledge. Mariam’s standards were high, but she never demanded from others what she couldn’t do herself. Emily’s mother had always been, and she always strove to be, an expert at anything she set her mind to do. All her life, Emily had wanted to be just as strong as her mother, though deep down she’d thought such a goal unobtainable. But now, walking side by side as warriors both, Emily felt her own confidence growing, her own skills emerging, and her own knowledge thriving. She felt for the first time in her life that she was truly her mother’s daughter. And, as Emily glanced sideways to catch Mariam’s eye, Emily knew the fee
ling was mutual. Mariam may not be happy with the life Emily had chosen, but there could be no denying that it had matured her daughter in a way that a quiet life on the farm never could have.
They exchanged silent smiles and then stepped to the side as, down the hall, Little Clyde came running between them, rubbing his head again. He was coming from the direction of their room, and it seemed he’d once more run afoul of Adelpha. Emily chuckled quietly, and Mariam shook her head. The two continued to walk down the hall and turned the corner expecting to find Adelpha in a rage.
Instead, they found Adelpha and Abe standing in the center of the room. Abe’s arms were wrapped around Adelpha’s waist, and Adelpha’s hands were tangled into Abe’s hair as she pulled him closer, their eyes tightly shut as each drank of the other’s company in a passionate kiss.
Emily’s jaw fell open with a gasp.
Mariam screamed.
* * *
“My brother?” Emily asked for the fourth time as they reached the top of the basin above Lucifan. “Really, Adelpha? Really!”
Adelpha wouldn’t even meet her friend’s gaze. She looked away, down at her feet, up at the sky, in the weeds, even up ahead where Mariam was quietly berating her son, but never at Emily. Her cheeks were a shade of red, denoting a state of embarrassment that seemed to have eluded the queen all her life. Had Emily not still been shaking off her shock, she would have capitalized on it.
“I can’t believe this,” Emily continued. “No, wait. Yes, I can. It all makes sense now. Back in the Banshee’s Wail Tavern, when you and Abe came to save me from Drowin, that’s why my mother wasn’t there. You and Abe were meeting together! I can’t believe this.”
Emily threw her arms up in frustration and looked away. Adelpha continued to look straight down at her own two feet, and her jaw kept twisting back and forth between an angry jut and some awkward attempt at making sound. Emily looked ahead towards her mother and brother.
They were maybe fifty paces out, just far enough for any words to be scattered by the wind. Mariam was seething, flailing her arms about like she always did when in a rage. Abe looked like Adelpha: head down, feet dragging, and embarrassed.