The first explosion rocks the entire building, and people are immediately scrambling to the trees for the cover. I make the mistake of breathing and cough up smoke. Stumbling to the edge of the roof, I look down, and my stomach lurches. On the ground, in full armor with weapons, is an army. And Rythe is the one leading it. Scrambling backwards, I look around to see what’s going on. Alar has disappeared, but weapons are being chucked up through the hatch to the roof, so I’m assuming he’s the one arming us. Ama is casting spells and her aura is getting more solid and blacker by the second. Klef is speaking to Mom and Dad. Flo is looking around, calling Rythe’s name. Hibiscus is trying to dodge the fires that are sprouting up from falling branches and damaged parts of the roof. I stick two fingers in my mouth and whistle the best I can. They all look to me. “It’s Rythe!” I scream. “Rythe is down there leading the attacking army! If he comes up here, do not let him ‘help’ you!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVouswPpZsm
Everyone stares at me in shock. Ama is the first to recover, unleashing a primeval scream before her chants pick up speed and suddenly there are dozens upon dozens of bones flying in the air from all around us, swarming at her. She sweeps one hand toward the madness below. “Attack!” she screeches, and the bones go flying.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28N1yJZCyE
The leaders of the Crusaders are grabbing bows, pickaxes, swords, daggers, guns, whatever is being tossed up the hatch. Klef throws me a bow and a quiver of arrows, and I run to the edge of the roof, notching those suckers as fast as I can. Years of practice has made me an excellent shot, and I’m aiming to kill. One by one enemies are falling, dropping to the floor. But for every one that falls down, two are brought in to replace them. And Rythe is just standing there, a smirk on their face. “Still think you can win, do you?” he calls up, as if he’s just talking about the weather. “Give up, little Iri, you know you can’t win! You know how this ends!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85K0rk1hox
I swallow. I had sort of pieced together what was about to happen, but that didn’t mean I was going to accept it. I notch another arrow and aim it straight at their eye. I release, and the arrow flies true to course, but gets smashed by a kind of magic I’ve never seen before. They smile up at me, waving their hand, where a charm is dangling from their wrist. I growl. Clearly, this is not going to be easy.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVGWBKczvV
Something behind Rythe draws my attention, and I see a giant ball of flame in a catapult, ready to fire. “Back! EVeryone, back! They’re about to burn us all to a crisp! Get back!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFGlxHvGWd
Everyone who still can, runs, but Hibiscus starts sobbing. “I can’t move!” they yell. “I’m stuck!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLVmZ64zLB
My stomach drops. No. Hibiscus? After all they’ve been through, they can’t die. I run for them, but fire explodes in the corner of my eye, and suddenly we’re falling.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyXBgguXbk
I sit up, not daring to groan. My vision is swimming. Fire. It’s all around me. It’s what I’m almost breathing in and what I’m choking on. I hear someone yell, “Shelter! We have to get to shelter!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeuyVAckwE
Where is he? He has to be here, he couldn’t have been hit. “Klef!” I scream.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9veMyGztb
Coughs erupt 3 feet away from me. I reach out and grab a hand. Klef’s hand. He squeezes it, and we struggle out of the immediate fire. BANG!931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJuQitOFWM
“They’ve got guns!” I exclaim, panicked.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlZmYHWZQm
We’re sitting ducks, trapped in the base by fire. No way out this time. I look at Klef and he looks at me. There’s desperation in his eyes, and I have no doubt it’s in mine as well. And in what feels to be our final moments together…we kiss.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckZ6jS7tCm
There’s footsteps running up to the now gaping opening of the base, and Klef and I break apart. “You have to hide,” Klef orders. “Go!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhPcJyX51y
“No way I’m leaving without you!” I exclaim. “Don’t you dare tell me to go hide and be safe while you’re out here being stupid!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN598XB9yy7
There are blurry shapes walking through the flames, approaching fast. One reaches out an appendage and slams into the back of Klef’s head, causing his eyes to widen in shock before they close and he falls face- first to the floor. I scramble backward but the same appendage grabs onto my ankle and refuses to let go. “No!” I scream, kicking wildly. “Let me go! No!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuaddzDqxt
Someone behind me grabs my arms and twists them painfully. “A-ah! No! Nnn… no!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnb94oWSpbu
There’s a prick in my neck and everything starts swimming faster. “N… no… no…”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5f1niBnqM
The last thing I can clearly see is Klef lying there on the floor, and I can only imagine the panic he’ll feel when he wakes up, before my vision fades to black.
931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUnH1GgUn3
When I wake up, there’s something cold against my wrists and ankles. I sit up, blinking rapidly, trying to clear the swimming in my head. “Good morning, Oracle,” a voice says across from me. “You’ve been out quite a while.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHy9mADmJ25
I frown and blink more, and slowly the blurry form of Rythe comes into view. I lunge forward, or at least try to, but the cold on my wrists is holding me back. They chuckle. “Don’t try and fight, little Iri, you know how this is going to end as well as I do. Not well for you, I’m afraid.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppy8WfXxtW
“Screw you,” I rasp, before coughing.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnMTcoKqCE
A glass of water comes into my line of sight and I scowl at the hand offering it, which quickly retreats. Rythe waves a hand dismissively, and shrugs. “I can understand why you don’t want my help, Oracle, but I want to make sure you are in top condition.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMip445hccU
I laugh. “You shouldn’t have tried to kill me, then. Or weren’t you the person who threw the grenade in the bedroom at the base?”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjemTJcMLsY
“I knew you were in the ensuite, I was trying to kill that pesky little boyfriend of yours.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWickMuIjH
“Somehow, that’s not reassuring,” I snark.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBH2fOiNHus
Rythe rolls his eyes. “Yes, well. I’m afraid we won’t be talking for much longer. You see, your Sight is rather… unusual. I suppose you now know that you were in my head in your dream? Thing is, I never even felt it. I felt heightened paranoia, perhaps. The feeling I was being watched. But I didn’t know who, or how. And I want to see if we can harness that power.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKCMtJEWOE
I lean back into the wall behind me, staring up at Rythe with disgust. “And how are you going to do that?”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAEdby5L2K
“Simple,” Rythe says, waving a hand. A fairy starts connecting wires to my fingers and hands, and clips glass circles to my eyes and around the back of my head. “We’re going to force your magic to conduct itself while you are awake, and see what you can see through a screen.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡook4hFo0QO
Something starts buzzing and I arch my back in pain. It feels like my entire body is on fire, and that my soul is being split from it. Slowly, images start to take form.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1OYzfyJz4
Sharp, blackened shapes that stretch into the sky. Rubble all around, and dead bodies of people in their Deuxlives scattered about. Fresh deaths are just starting to rouse with groans and gasps. The head I’m in doesn’t stop looking around, and sighs. I know that sigh. Klef, I realize.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGXF9a2w1i
“Is everyone okay?” his voice asks.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmg2A7mlN5y
Someone is crying. Another person is calling out names of people they care about. One giant shape in the rubble stands up shakily. A new dragon. They look down at themselves and smile. “Well, if I had to go some way, I’m glad I got to be a dragon.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnKDBGTLJc
Hibiscus. “Hibiscus, I am so sorry,” Klef says.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEY02cdXSzx
The dragon smiles. “Don’t worry about it. I’m more concerned about Rides’ parents. Has anyone seen them?”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJihOAnOWjU
A lump forms in my throat. Mom might still be alive in her Deuxlife. But if Dad died… he has no way of coming back this time. “I’m here,” Dad calls.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtnpI7TGne
Klef turns and runs over to him. “Have you seen her mother? Please tell me she’s okay!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9T1hznJpN
Dad sighs. “Well, she’s technically still alive…”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHD0F0UESEQ
My heart skips a beat. Mom died. It’s all my fault. She walks into view, rubbing her shoulders. “Klef, I never realized how complicated it is to have wings. I’ll be making some adjustments to our house rules, to better accomodate you.” Tawny yellow wings stretch out from Mom’s back.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj9GddjwOE
“That’s not necessary, really, it just takes a bit getting used to,” Klef assures her. “Has anyone seen Rides, though?”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOoQyan3ZD
Everyone turns solemn. I can feel Klef’s panic in his head. “Someone has seen her, right?! She’s not gone?!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGlIXByA7N
Hibiscus stretches their wings. “I saw someone grab her and carry her out as I was dying. I’m sorry.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrayJLS9CYr
“We have to find her!” Klef exclaims. “Form a search party! We have to find out where she’s gone.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BtsI7KbiP
“No, Klef, don’t be an idiot!” I scream. “They’ll just kill you too!”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbNZS7exIF
Klef’s head whips around. “Ride?” he whispers.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB70JC6lIdT
Before I can say anything else, I’m disconnected from the wires that let me see him. I want to scream in frustration, but I refuse to give Rythe the satisfaction. “See your boyfriend, did you? How sweet,” they coo. “Hope you said goodbye.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRya8hQDdc
I ignore Rythe in favor of looking around where I’m being held. It’s a carriage, but it’s one of the ones usually reserved for escorting prisoners. No ammount of yelling for help is going to get me anywhere, but I do recognize the rock patterns outside on the hills from pictures I’ve seen of places in west Argentor. “Do you want to see your hometown?” Rythe asks casually. “I’m sure all your friends would love to see you carted away like the criminal that you are. But then again, someone such as yourself probably doesn’t have any friends, am I right?”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUbv27Lu93
They’re trying to rile me up, but I stay silent. I’m not willing to give them the satisfaction of interacting with me anymore than they force me to. They sigh. “This is going to be a long ride,” they sigh.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FXTUB7tV7
“‘I was angry at my friend,931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5J7QCECp51
“‘I told my wrath, my wrath did end.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIrra2jsDPN
“‘I was angry at my foe,931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkG7jju20o
“‘I told it not, my wrath did grow,” I mutter.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxf6GC5KJqP
“‘And I watered it in fears,931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf87LU78f4A
“‘Night and morning with my tears.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKnJ5f0LuD
“‘And I sunned it with smiles,931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSE6IIRCAA
“‘And with soft, deceitful wiles.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOe2putnLMB
“‘And it grew both day and night.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfP39TbJ5t
“‘Till it bore an apple bright.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6qyEVHSjc
“‘And my foe beheld it shine,931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JNZLcklMF
“‘And he knew that it was mine.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYArfs2y1jB
“‘And into my garden stole,931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufpAQDNqF2
“‘When the night had veild the pole;931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5RTNnauCx
“‘In the morning glad I see;931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3tZ0WDHNB
“‘My foe outstretched beneath the tree.’ Nice poem,” Rythe finishes. “One of our founders was fond of it as well. She actually used that to motivate herself to get things done, a lot like you.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQL6mtudknh
I feel a little sick at the comparison. “You don’t get to say who I am and am not like. I’m my own person, and expect to be treated as such.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAQJRNsUJU
Rythe smirks. “Feisty like her, too.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6k2MdhAse
I stand as best I can with the shackles on me and spit in their face. Rythe blinks, before laughing. “Definitely fiesty,” they say. “I really like you. If we weren’t on opposing sides I’d like you to be my partner in crime.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgYmlkRg6P
“You had Flo,” I point out. “Wasn’t she enough for you?”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSziMWvBfnp
Rythe shrugs. “She was nice, true, but she was a means to an end. We needed a Crusader base in the Werewolf Territory. And she was the most likely to start it. Shame what happened to her last night.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlqW8pE4tT
I swallow and drop my eyes.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaQ6C63Yx1
“‘Course, I would never have anyone but myself kill her. Only the best for my love,” he sighs.931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZwnciKU5w
“You’re a monster,” I growl. “Nothing more than a monster.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefQkGIkoHJ
“Want to know how she died? With honor, maybe? It was pathetic, I’ll tell you that much. Told me that if I stopped now we could still have a chance. I smiled and shot her. Never saw it coming, dropped to the ground. I would have laughed, if it weren’t so tragic.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgI7JGqTLzA
My eyes sting. “Shut up,” I growl. “You don’t talk about the dead like that.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7GDknRbSY
“Maybe you don’t, but I do,” Rythe says with a satisfied grin. “Oh, you’re stuck here, my dear. May as well get used to my brand of humor.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmg3WZJRD5
“I’m going to die anyway, what’s the point?”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCAD2joVav
“Die? No, no, no, no. You’re not going to die. The machine we need you for won’t kill you, we’ve made sure of that,” Rythe laughs. “You’re simply going to destroy the humans. And the grief will drive you mad when we kill the Crusaders who aren’t with us, starting with your precious boyfriend. But we need your dreams. We’re not going to kill you. We’re going to break you.”931Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwMF65VgZb
I bite my lip and look at the outside world. It wouldn’t take that much to break me at this point, to be honest. Flo is dead. Hibiscus died. Mom died. Klef is stranded without me. And I’m going to be instrumental in genocide. I sit back sullenly and watch the scenery go by. For all I know, it could be my last time seeing it.
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