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!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IhI2t8RzN
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.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnm62Yn2wJ3
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!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrw6g5OSD2
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.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPkpZy8XvE
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!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLutfjqwUr
Everyone who still can, runs, but Hibiscus starts sobbing. “I can’t move!” they yell. “I’m stuck!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhi2yaIYm5
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.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPj5AaUT9G
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!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnq4N57ZT4u
Where is he? He has to be here, he couldn’t have been hit. “Klef!” I scream.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYULhWPEjhF
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!898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7dt7dB98i
“They’ve got guns!” I exclaim, panicked.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBD8vt7rwY
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.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJCdMENOEs
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!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPaM2ITVab
“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!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4VgfYjhRC
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!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxVBXRUJ86
Someone behind me grabs my arms and twists them painfully. “A-ah! No! Nnn… no!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrn21H6mj3r
There’s a prick in my neck and everything starts swimming faster. “N… no… no…”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6XbQFNCbq
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.
898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRS5Yf1PZmv
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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKJCTr9cTI
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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDH7T0y6wM7
“Screw you,” I rasp, before coughing.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZi8b8fBqXK
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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9mzzqVFEf
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?”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaX8aBEScH9
“I knew you were in the ensuite, I was trying to kill that pesky little boyfriend of yours.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZfiGIrGwm
“Somehow, that’s not reassuring,” I snark.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWPpGFsRpp
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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9k7TFbvaov
I lean back into the wall behind me, staring up at Rythe with disgust. “And how are you going to do that?”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqn0DPU4Hhr
“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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJljtxP1vk
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.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3I9RfTScWQ
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.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5o8oKOCGdS
“Is everyone okay?” his voice asks.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCl2Rr0FSgT
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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvcOiYeLDR
Hibiscus. “Hibiscus, I am so sorry,” Klef says.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAvOhaZ0Fi
The dragon smiles. “Don’t worry about it. I’m more concerned about Rides’ parents. Has anyone seen them?”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPLfX2rnhy
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.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvd2NKont9k
Klef turns and runs over to him. “Have you seen her mother? Please tell me she’s okay!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI497HW1361
Dad sighs. “Well, she’s technically still alive…”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkInVdqm7m
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.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrKLQEx2bV
“That’s not necessary, really, it just takes a bit getting used to,” Klef assures her. “Has anyone seen Rides, though?”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZiZBPNXYh
Everyone turns solemn. I can feel Klef’s panic in his head. “Someone has seen her, right?! She’s not gone?!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDqGX2YIVi
Hibiscus stretches their wings. “I saw someone grab her and carry her out as I was dying. I’m sorry.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zvR2hBIhu
“We have to find her!” Klef exclaims. “Form a search party! We have to find out where she’s gone.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5x46l8zSxM
“No, Klef, don’t be an idiot!” I scream. “They’ll just kill you too!”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9rni1ZCnJ
Klef’s head whips around. “Ride?” he whispers.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tM0Y3xNVx
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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfbzxCEK2V
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?”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeOpEKq6vX
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.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fXV2nLGaX
“‘I was angry at my friend,898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzndQRTTwH
“‘I told my wrath, my wrath did end.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsh9g63psnn
“‘I was angry at my foe,898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2nzjwWUSo
“‘I told it not, my wrath did grow,” I mutter.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqyfFvAa4h
“‘And I watered it in fears,898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5FpLGs4rC
“‘Night and morning with my tears.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRalR1Fry8G
“‘And I sunned it with smiles,898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT36CiYBJ6n
“‘And with soft, deceitful wiles.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mEY2TnvLV
“‘And it grew both day and night.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3XcjDnlUx
“‘Till it bore an apple bright.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEIA6NRYH1
“‘And my foe beheld it shine,898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRqcpmu8pb
“‘And he knew that it was mine.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9pmD8gAzE
“‘And into my garden stole,898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZfxzWb3df
“‘When the night had veild the pole;898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZq5K39x0hu
“‘In the morning glad I see;898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CuDRPzGQn
“‘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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULMRLsJXeK
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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJShK3RfUnt
Rythe smirks. “Feisty like her, too.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hnacAiWPI
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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlONo5xnJ8
“You had Flo,” I point out. “Wasn’t she enough for you?”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRbhswYjJY
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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGh3uL73sF3
I swallow and drop my eyes.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvF5ULor7jt
“‘Course, I would never have anyone but myself kill her. Only the best for my love,” he sighs.898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QsbPEJyde
“You’re a monster,” I growl. “Nothing more than a monster.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8BHtxWpte
“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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGt95c7ZcIQ
My eyes sting. “Shut up,” I growl. “You don’t talk about the dead like that.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZ5xOkmRm0
“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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMcqeWEv9P
“I’m going to die anyway, what’s the point?”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7v6VHsUE9C
“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.”898Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlURxtQWun
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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