Apollo raised a hand. “I have an idea.”
“You do?” I eyed him with curiosity. Were the Atlanteans finally going to give us a helping hand?
“Do you see those carts coming out of that road over there?” Apollo gestured to an opening to the right. “There is a crossroads that connects this alley to the main road, just shy of that passageway’s entrance. It is probably where we would have to exit the alley network, anyway, as this path does not lead any closer to the palace. Indeed, we would be killing two squids with one harpoon.”
“It’s birds where we come from.” I smiled.
Apollo squinted in confusion but continued. “If we go to that crossroads, we can ambush the guards escorting one of the carts and switch places with them. I will teleport the driver away while you deal with the rest.”
I grinned at him, taking back every time I’d thought of him as a puffed-up lapdog. “That’s crazy enough to work.”
“That does sound somewhat ludicrous, but it is our only option at present,” Thebian added. “It may also be our only way into the palace, as there will be guards stationed at every entrance and exit.”
“Which is where you come in.” Apollo gave me a subtle nod. “I have not forgotten your Mimicry, Finch. Do you think you could use it upon all of us at once?”
I made a tentative flex, checking that the crackling electricity still rippled through me. “As long as this boost holds out, I could probably lay my Mimicry down on everyone in that boulevard.”
“Then we should act before it fades,” Nash announced, taking the role of leader and military expert firmly out of Thebian’s hands. “Apollo, since you know these alleys best, lead us to the crossroads.”
Apollo nodded and set off down the shadowed passageway while the rest of us rushed after him. I stayed close to Lux, secretly panicking that the Child of Light might not be able to hang on to Ryann’s body if the astral projection had taken too much out of her. I never thought I’d be worrying about Lux staying inside Ryann, but when we crossed paths with Ovid again, we’d need all the supernatural help we could get.
Five minutes later, we arrived at the crossroads. Sure enough, carts were waiting patiently for a slot on the main boulevard. Fortunately for us, even in a traffic jam, these Atlanteans were polite to a fault. A decent space between each cart divided them up, and one had parked right in front of the gap that led to the alley. I counted two guards flanking the cart and an ordinary Atlantean up on the cart’s bench, driving the Kelpies.
We crouched low in the darkness to add details to our plan. “Apollo, you take the driver first. I’ll use a lasso of Telekinesis to drag the guard closest to us into the alley. Melody, is there anything you can do with the one on the far side?”
She giggled and tapped the side of her head. “There’s one transformation spell that I’ve been wanting to use. I suppose now is as good a time as any. I just hope it doesn’t spook the Kelpies. They’re not known for being jittery, but you never know.”
“Why would it spook the Kelpies?” Thebian asked, alarmed.
She shrugged. “They might not like mice. I call it the ‘Gus Gus’ spell—you know, after the chubby little mouse in Cinderella—though it has a more professional name.”
Ah, Winchester, you terrifying, wonderful, strange young woman. Even when she was threatening to turn someone into a mouse, she made it sound cute. I was just glad not to be on the receiving end.
“Pardon?” Apollo frowned, confused by Melody’s Disney knowledge.
“It’s a surface thing. Don’t worry about it.” I replied, before bringing the focus back to important things. “As soon as the guards and the driver are dealt with, we’ll have to slide into position as quickly as possible.” I looked at Luke. “If you can whip the helmets off the guards, then Apollo and Thebian can use them as a disguise.”
“What about the rest of us?” Lux interjected.
“I’ll gussy myself up as the driver and put Mimicry on anyone who’s left to make them look like guards.” I peered down at Huntress. “As for this beastie, I’ll have to take her up onto the cart with me and make her blend into the wood. I’d Mimick her into a Kelpie, but I doubt we could take down one of those death horses.”
The group rumbled their begrudging agreement, leaving us with only one thing to do—get into the palace to keep Ovid from raising Atlantis. Easy, right?
“Apollo, Luke, Melody—I need you to do your parts simultaneously with me. Think synchronized swimming, but with Chaos instead of nose-pinchers and latex caps.” They nodded, though I sensed Apollo had no idea what that meant. I stole a look to make sure the cart was still there. The Kelpies pawed at the ground, agitated by the hold-up.
I wonder… Kaya had explained that my affinity with gargoyles was some latent Bestial power. If I’d gotten it to work on those ugly, loveable blobs, maybe I could get it to work on the Kelpies, now that I had this extra oomph in my veins. The last thing we wanted were stampeding death horses.
“Okay, then. One… two… three!” I hissed. In perfect harmony, the four of us unleashed our Chaos. Luke whipped away the helmet of the far guard at the exact moment Melody’s transformation spell whacked him in the chest. The guard disappeared behind the cart, only to scuttle out from under it a few seconds later, squeaking pathetically in his tiny new form. Meanwhile, Apollo evaporated and reappeared beside the driver, vanishing again—all in the blink of an eye. And I lashed out with a lasso of Telekinesis, dragging the unsuspecting guard into the alley before he could so much as yelp. Thebian immediately took care of him, clapping a hand over the sentry’s mouth and gripping him in a sleeper hold so strong, the poor guy conked out in seconds.
Apollo swirled back into the alley, the driver nowhere to be seen. “Apologies for the slight delay. I left the driver atop the National Library to make sure he does not raise the alarm anytime soon.”
“I like your thinking.” I gave him an appreciative nod. “Come on, let’s take this cart.”
I closed my eyes and felt the familiar rush of Mimicry slide over my skin, the transformation happening faster than ever before. Another perk of whatever Gaia had done, or hadn’t done—wink, wink. Opening them again, I sent out a wave of Mimicry that enveloped Melody, Luke, Nash, and Lux, the four of them morphing into guards in fluid motion. Wherever this juice had come from, I wouldn’t have minded a lifetime supply. Admiring my handiwork, I waited a second longer while Apollo and Thebian donned their helmets, before scooping Huntress up into my arms and ducking out into the main road.
Wrangling a heavy dog and trying to clamber up onto a bench wasn’t as simple as you’d think, but I managed it without drawing any attention from the cart behind. The driver appeared to be snoozing, and the guards flanking him were doing the Atlantean equivalent of checking their phones—i.e., staring blankly off into the middle distance. It gave the others the opportunity to slip into position on either side of the cart, the Mimicry making it impossible to decipher who was who. I supposed that was a good thing.
“Hold still,” I whispered to Huntress. With her on my lap, I decided against blending her into the wood. Instead, I held my hand against her fur and Mimicked her into a hessian sack, complete with lumps and angled bumps to make it look like a bag filled with blood bottles. Now for you two… I took up the Kelpies’ reins and closed my eyes for a second. Before I was ready, two subtle tendrils of Chaos zapped out of my palms and slithered down the leather straps, into the dripping death horses. Their heads lifted, and their agitated pawing stopping immediately. Their demonic red eyes stared dead ahead, like they were awaiting orders. I wasn’t sure what I’d done, or how, but the Kelpies appeared to be under my control. Yeah… I could really get used to this additional power.
As I settled into the driver’s seat, the flow of traffic started to move. I barely had to touch the reins before the Kelpies stepped forward, trotting into the main boulevard to join the rest of the carts. Being surrounded by so many guards did not a comfortable Finch make, but
I did what I could to ignore the rising fear and focus on maintaining so much Mimicry. The others were likely crapping themselves even more than I was, since their safety rested in my hands.
Twenty-Eight
Finch
Twenty minutes later, our cart rattled up to the checkpoint, with my Kelpies having picked the proverbial fast lane. Even so, I’d never endured a more nerve-wracking ride in my entire life. But we’d made it. Now all we had to do was get through the gates.
I opened my mouth—a whole speech prepared—but the official just waved me through. “Go on, follow the rest of the carts, and drop your cargo.” He sounded like he was bored out of his tree, and who wouldn’t be, after waving through hundreds and hundreds of carts? He’d probably been doing this all night while we’d been in prison. Though one would think that the still-screaming siren and bells would inspire more caution.
But I wasn’t about to argue with simplicity. As I gave the reins a light snap, the Kelpies pressed on through the gates and into the palace grounds. Ahead, the carts formed a trail up to one of the service entrances. Those that had delivered their cargo carried on to a different set of gates that had been opened for the occasion, while the rest patiently waited their turn. But patience was a luxury we couldn’t afford.
I know you can’t hear me, guys, but I hope you have the sense to go when I go. Letting the cart trundle up to the side of the palace, I spotted a small door in the wall. A servant leaned against the doorframe, puffing on a pipe, having propped the door open with a statue of a goddess I didn’t know. I guessed the news that smoking was bad for you hadn’t reached down here, but it provided the access point I’d been looking for.
Time for the performance of a lifetime. I leapt down from the bench, carrying my “sack of bottles” with me. Huntress hadn’t made a peep the whole sluggish journey, and she still didn’t. I mean, we’d have gotten funny looks if a sack had started barking.
“Special delivery for the crown.” I bowed to the servant.
He frowned at me, his pipe poised. “Huh?”
“I was tasked with bringing the Sanguine blood of Nash Calvert to the palace, from the prison. I’m already late because of this traffic.” I waved a hand back at the crammed boulevard. “Do you think I could slip in this way, so I don’t get in trouble? I’ll pay you to watch my cart while I’m gone, and I’ll be back as quickly as possible.”
The servant’s eyes lit up, as I’d hoped they would. “Pay me, you say? What sort of price are we talking?”
“Would this do?” I showed him the ring that Erebus had given me. “I’ll give it to you as soon as I’m back, so long as everything is here as I left it.”
The servant gave a low whistle. “You have yourself a deal. I’ll take care of these Kelpies like they were my own.”
“Thank you. You might’ve just saved my head.” I reached out to shake his proffered hand before gesturing to the others. They’d come to join me at the door, no doubt wondering what I was playing at. I lowered my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “These fine fellows have been sent to guard the blood, to make sure nothing happens to it. Where I go, they go.”
The servant shrugged. “I don’t care, so long as you cough up that ring on your way out.”
I dipped my head to him and headed through the door into the palace. Unlike Orpheus with his Eurydice, I didn’t look back to check that the others were with me. I heard their footsteps echoing through the halls, and that was good enough for me. At least until we were out of sight of the servant.
“Everyone all right?” I paused just around the next corner.
“I’d rather walk through a pit of snakes than do that again,” Nash—or who I presumed was Nash—replied. It just… felt like him.
I smiled. “You’re a regular Indiana Jones.”
“How are you smiling?” That had to be Melody. “I thought I was going to pass out from anxiety! Of all the ideas we’ve come up with, that was definitely the worst. If your Mimicry had glitched for even a second, they would’ve descended on us like flies!”
“But it didn’t, and now we’re back in the palace.” I dropped my sack of bottles on the floor and drew the Mimicry sheen away from Huntress. I couldn’t carry her the whole way. There was some serious weight beneath that fluff. Plus, she was the only one who could sniff out Kaya.
“Huntress, can you find Kaya for us?” Nash had read my mind.
The husky tilted her head, as if to say, “Are you really asking me that?” She flared her nostrils, taking in a good old whiff. A moment later, she darted forward. It looked like we were running again.
After trailing her through the labyrinth of hallways, we came to a halt outside the familiar doors of the throne room. They were tall and imposing, and I was surprised to find that one of them lay open. Voices drifted into the corridor, tense and distinctly familial—the kind of passive-aggressive tone you’d find at any good Thanksgiving table.
I grabbed Huntress and turned her back into a sack of bottles, passing her along into what I hoped were Nash’s arms.
“What are you doing? I thought we were just going to assess the situation.” That sounded like Luke.
“We have assessed it, and now we’re getting closer to the action,” I replied, putting on a more fitting disguise. A servant would’ve stood out. A guard wouldn’t. And how ironic that we’d be infiltrating the throne room in exactly the same way that Ovid had—give or take a bit of Mimicry.
“Are you insane?” I couldn’t quite place that voice. Thebian’s, perhaps.
I smiled at him. “We’re all mad around here.”
“I really must protest. You know that I admire courage, but this does not seem like a sensible idea.” Two specks of light through the eyeholes of her helmet gave Lux away.
“Then you can wait here.” I slipped into the throne room without another word and blended into the cluster of sentries who’d gathered to defend their new-old king from his daughter’s temper. The others came in after me, apparently siding with my no-guts-no-glory approach. Nobody even noticed us. Ovid definitely didn’t. He was too busy getting an earful from Kaya, who stood in chains on the dais.
“I refuse! I will not relinquish a single street of this city to you, nor will I abdicate because you have decided to manipulate our laws!” she raged. “I am the rightful ruler of this nation, no matter what you have done. You no longer have a legitimate claim, and no citizen of this queendom, other than the ones you have bought or coerced, will accept you as king! You are nothing but a seditious cheater, and I am appalled, to the point where I wonder if I ever knew you at all!”
Faustus sat on Ovid’s right, watching with disinterest. He was practically horizontal in his chair. And I could’ve sworn I saw him roll his eyes at Kaya’s speech. I guessed he wasn’t enjoying himself.
Aww—is being Ovid’s gofer not quite what you expected? I had nothing but hatred for the guy.
“The citizens of Atlantis will adore me once they realize what I can offer them. I am living proof that resurrection can succeed without risk or harm.” Ovid stretched out like a cat in his stolen throne. “I will grant the privilege to researchers first, so that we may begin work upon perfecting the resurrection process on a mass scale, with the hopes of extending life in perpetuity. With Davin’s assistance and our recent procurement of Sanguine blood, of course. Together, we shall ensure that Atlanteans need never fear death again. Tell me they will shy away from my leadership once they discover that!”
The Necromancer himself sat at the back of the dais, with a face that couldn’t have been more dissimilar to Faustus’s—Davin was enjoying every second. Of course he was. He had a king lauding him for his attributes. This was the stuff Davin’s dreams were made of.
“Have you lost all sense of morality?” Kaya’s eyes bugged out of her head. “When did you turn into this self-serving wretch whom I do not recognize as my father? It defies nature to cheat death in this manner.”
Ovid snickered. “Is that not somew
hat hypocritical? Were you not also planning to utilize Davin and his Necromancy for your own purposes?”
Ah… he has a point there. I watched intently, wishing I had popcorn. This was melodrama at its finest.
“Any thought I had regarding that has long gone. Moreover, it was only ever a thought. I did not put it into vile action!” Kaya spat back, cheeks crimson. “I took the time to think such things through, where you evidently have not. It was foolish of me to consider the notion for even a second. There is no call for such greed!”
Ovid lunged out of his seat and got nose-to-nose with his daughter. The room was silent with rapt attention. “I should say there is more reason now than there has ever been. So do not imply that I am a fool.” His cheeks turned the same shade of red, revealing a family trait. “You and I both know that the spell to raise Atlantis will strip our citizens of their lifespans. It will take away Ganymede’s gift. That is why it is vital to work on a solution with Davin, so that our people might find a way to live forever—a gift far grander than our founder could offer.”
Kaya believed in the moral limits of Chaos and the natural course of things. She might’ve been the one to suggest taking over the surface world, but only due to what she perceived to be the guidance of a higher power. Ovid wanted to be the higher power.
“And what if Chaos decides to punish you for trying to cheat death eternally? There must be order, or there will be catastrophe.” Kaya yanked at her chains, but they stayed rooted to the floor.
Ovid grasped her by the shoulders and shook her, hard. “Chaos does not intervene. It cannot. And why should Chaos and its Children live forever, while we shrivel and die? I do not care what that surface-dwelling nuisance said about the afterlife. I do not want to be a wisp of nothingness, floating without physical form until the end of days. I enjoy living with a beating heart, breath in my lungs, and the joys of every sense.”
Harley Merlin 16: Finch Merlin and the Blood Tie Page 25