“She was captured by the Free Chanters. I saw them cuff her and drag her out when they fled.” Dian said, lying as smoothly as he had to, because they must believe him.
“That answers that,” Chirped Sparks, ready to be done with this whole debacle. He was itching to leave, though how they would manage their own escape Dian wasn’t sure. But a part of him hoped Riker got lost in the process. Even if he felt a twinge of guilt about wishing ill over a fellow Legionnaire.
“And you’re sure you saw her?” Riker repeated, this time he spoke directly to Dian.
“I’m certain.” Dian lied. “She’ll be at the Free Chanters’ mercy, now.”
“You realize the penalty for lying about this?”
“You realize the risk should your version not be accurate? That light could’ve meant anything or even nothing.”
“Oh, it means something,” Riker continued, his lips were thin and pale turning his grin predatory and reptilian. “We may not be sure what, but Jade Avaris is a person of interest until we can be sure.”
“Jade who, now?” Sparks barked, bristling at their back and forth.
Riker continued, his tone remaining civil and calm, “This will be reported to Queen Havinnia. Will you tell her the same story?” Riker narrowed his eyes and Dian met that cool gaze with detachment of his own. Riker knew Dian was lying.
“I will swear it in front of the Queen herself, yes.” Dian replied, and deep down he knew he would. If it would keep Jade safe, he’d lie to the Queen. He’d lie to Ysmeria. It was a calming realization. He had always done his duty, but never what he wanted. He’d followed paths and dreams that belonged to someone else, because it was easier than trying to think of his own. But he wanted something now, for himself, and he found it easy to throw away the rest of it.
But Riker was a problem. He had seen, he was smart, and he was a threat. For now, Dian would remain where he was, go to Azlemaine, get his new orders, and do his best to control this situation. That’s what was best for Jade now, allowing her time to get out of Vacua. He would buy her as much as he could.
Riker smiled, easy and wide. “Excellent, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Yes, yes, we can worry about our report once we’ve escaped the city,” Sparks said, “I don’t suppose anyone has any bright ideas?” Riker remained silent, clearly picking and choosing when he whispered into the Commander’s ear. Dian made a note to look into his background as soon as they were free of Ceol. Lt. Silas Riker might have a weakness worth discovering.
Dian set his hands behind his back while the rest of the envoy decided on a course of action. It was nice not to be in charge on this one. Because he still felt her lips on his. Felt the cool, strands of her hair in his hands and the warmth of her pressed into him. The wild, strange mix of spiced perfume and her lingered on his shirt. And the pain in her eyes when he had to leave. All of it was piling up in his head, crushing him with the uncompromising fact that she was gone. A new goal was just what he needed, a new focus. Otherwise, the gnawing pit in his chest might have killed him.
6
The backdoor had been left unguarded in the scuffle, the back alley also empty. There was some noise carrying from the street, but nothing like Meraton. Ceol was already Chanter territory, though Jade hadn’t known that when she chose it. Any ‘battle’ here would have been over before it started.
Their small group wove carefully through the alleys until they spotted a vehicle across the street. They remained in cover, crouched behind some dumpsters, to discuss the plan for getting to it when Gideon hopped upright.
“My shop is just around the corner,” she chirped, “I can make it the rest of the way.”
Kirst shot to her side, grabbing her arm to stop her from waltzing into the street. “That’s not such a good idea, sweetheart.”
Gideon looked at the hand on her arm then back at the road. “I’ve done the job, but now I need to go home.”
Kirst took a deep breath. Jade had never seen him this sober or serious. “There’s a war going on right now. It’s not safe to go back to your shop.”
Gideon shook her head, adjusting the heavy bag on her shoulders. “No. No, no. I have to go home.”
Kirst ran his hands through his hair and then held up a ‘one minute’ gesture to the rest of them. Jade was ready to leave the two of them behind. Kirst inched toward the opening of the alley, glancing around the corner before pulling Gideon with him.
“That’s your shop, just down there?”
“Ye…” Gideon looked around her, then back up the street. “Yes, that…” Her eyes moved back and forth quickly, body going rigid. Kirst drew her back into cover and held her arms gently.
“Chanters don’t need enchantments. Not from corsairs or otherwise.”
Her eyes still moved quickly, her head shaking a repeated ‘no, no, no.’
“Hey, darling? Look at me.” His finger tilted her chin, but her mouth stayed firmly shut. “Your shop is gone. I’m so sorry, but it’s gone. There’s nowhere to go back to.”
She just kept shaking her head.
“I’m going to fix this for you,” He assured her, though Jade had no idea why, she was glued to the scene like a cheesy play. “Hey, you still with me?”
Her head went back and forth. Back and forth. No. No. No.
Then he started to sing something. It was very quiet, too quiet, but Gideon could hear him. Her head stopped shaking.
“That’s my girl,” he released her and looked to the rest of them, “What’s the plan? How do we get across the street?”
“And how do we get that thing out of here?” Jade asked, shaking her head. “We’re not going to be able to drive out like Meraton. This city has been overrun for hours, they’ll be stopping vehicles attempting to leave.”
“Could you do a lift enchantment?” Kirst asked.
“Here’s the thing,” Jade said, “I’m not actually any good at this Chanter thing. I’m not sure I could manage something that— ”
“I can do it.” Gideon’s voice was small, melodic. She turned a dead stare on them as she spoke, “I can do the lift enchantments. But I’ll need time. At least twenty minutes.”
Kirst nodded. “Then we will get you twenty minutes. Can you enchant anything at all?” He asked Jade, and it occurred to her that it was odd for Kirst to be taking control of the situation. Maybe this is just who he really was when he was sober.
“I can try.”
“Great. Enchant something, anything, and do it out in the open. You’re a Chanter, you just need to show them and we’ll be left alone by proxy. If you can enchant something big, it’ll give Gideon cover.”
It was a solid enough idea. Jade stepped into the road and immediately caught the attention of a passing trio of Free Chanters. They were about to question her when she stepped up to a street sphere and touched it, willing it to glow like her hairbrush. Once again, there was a burst of light and then the glass shattered. It was enough to ease the suspicion and instead the Chanters carried on with a chuckle. Dicks. Enchanting wasn’t as easy as they made it look.
Everyone filed out and gave Gideon the cover for her to work. Jade was able to fend off suspicion with some poorly executed and non-specific, often explosive, enchanting. Though not too many happened by them. The city was unusually quiet. When Gideon finished they piled into the vehicle, which was already enchanted to hover as was the newest trend, but would now fly like an airship according to Gideon.
“I can fly it,” Caprice offered, stepping into the pilot’s seat and hitting buttons with purpose and efficiency. Soon they were in the air and leaving Ceol behind them.
“We don’t have long,” Gideon said, “I didn’t have enough Glint for a long enchantment. We need to land in the next thirty minutes.”
“Just enough time to reroute in a different city. Hopefully, one not under Chanter control.” Kirst said, casting a wide grin around the cabin. There were seats facing each other in the back, but the pilot’s seats faced fr
ont. Kirst squeezed in on Gideon’s side, though she gave no indication of noticing as she gazed out the window
Liam sat with Caprice in the front and Minoza had settled himself at the back, sour and silent the entire way.
“Give me a second,” Liam’s voice carried to Jade as he rose from his seat, he was talking to Caprice, “I need to talk to my sister for a second.”
Sister? He never addressed her as ‘sister’ before. He crouched and worked his way to Jade in the back, sitting next to her quietly.
“We can talk when we land,” he started, “When it’s less crowded.”
She looked at him, grateful that he wasn’t angry.
“Okay.”
“Why do you look so down? I thought you wanted to go to Rosewall?”
Jade lost her fight with her tears. They rolled down her cheeks. Her thoughts replayed her last moments with Dian, bashing her with all the words she hadn’t said. Because she’d been too scared. Tears dripped over her lips, down her neck, splashed the exposed skin of her chest. She’d never have the chance to say them now.
“Do you not want to go?” Liam pressed.
She swiped the tears with her palm.
“Of course I want to,” Jade lied.
THEIR STORY WILL RESUME IN BOOK II: FALLOUT
Acknowledgement
This book would not exist without the dedicated help of my beta reader. Audrey was just the catalyst I needed to take this novel from a collection of pages with a semi-formed plot into a completed story. Thank you for reading each chapter and all the feedback and fangirling.
To my brother/Not-So-Silent Cartographer asking the real questions like how fast far can a person reasonably travel in one day in this world? And are any of the travel scenes you wrote even realistically possible? Who then insisted on spacing the cities roughly “to scale” and for the natural formations to be “accurate.” Like anyone would notice if forests grew on the wrong side of mountains. Who also listened to my rambling and despite not being much of a romance enthusiast, helped sort out the glitches with the enchanting system.
Thank you to my parents who always said I could do anything.
And last, but not at all least, to my family. My wonderful husband who considers me one of his favorite authors (I sadly don’t write Warhammer novels and my name isn’t Dan Abnett) and who has always believed I could do this even when I didn’t. Your support gets me through the quiet moments of frustration and self-deprecation. My thanks go far beyond an acknowledgement in a book. My wonderful, strong-willed, toddler going on forty. You made the writing of this book an obstacle course. Forced me to prove my dedication to being published by demanding all my free time so that any spare second had to go to writing and not the new release of Outer Worlds. I can’t say you’re the reason that this was written, but you’re the reason I want to succeed as an author. Thank you for telling mommy her map was very beautiful. Finally, my cats. For sitting on the keyboard. You’re the reason I missed some typos.
About The Author
Solstice Locke
Solstice was immersed in stories before she could walk, began crafting them herself in early middle school. Now, she spends her days playing freeze dance, searching for blue's clues, and being the mommy kitty with a strong-willed intelligent toddler. After bedtime, she returns to fantasy realms full of characters, magic, and romantic subplots.
A fanatic consumer of fantasy, sci-fi, and romance gives her work a balance of adventure, world-building, and fake-married tropes. She threads these aspects together with a quick wit and dynamic characters. She invites you to join her in these worlds for a spell, maybe find a new favorite character on the way.
Free time is spent with her husband, toddler, their many pets, and gaming.
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