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!”704Please respect copyright.PENANAmLiMvwMzze
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.704Please respect copyright.PENANAd97rDGvIAI
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!”704Please respect copyright.PENANAf89y2UN8tn
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.704Please respect copyright.PENANA8Ex1V4yKm9
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!”704Please respect copyright.PENANAqwb9c6RQIi
Everyone who still can, runs, but Hibiscus starts sobbing. “I can’t move!” they yell. “I’m stuck!”704Please respect copyright.PENANA3GV3laNnEA
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.704Please respect copyright.PENANAOYxEAeR8y8
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!”704Please respect copyright.PENANABONYatFfez
Where is he? He has to be here, he couldn’t have been hit. “Klef!” I scream.704Please respect copyright.PENANAG69efmUdNg
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!704Please respect copyright.PENANAbmC7wXytiH
“They’ve got guns!” I exclaim, panicked.704Please respect copyright.PENANAM1gJh4ymwn
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.704Please respect copyright.PENANAOANwTjdhNF
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!”704Please respect copyright.PENANARopUFhIai1
“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!”704Please respect copyright.PENANAyVjU7UtRmm
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!”704Please respect copyright.PENANAL8WsbmzIYQ
Someone behind me grabs my arms and twists them painfully. “A-ah! No! Nnn… no!”704Please respect copyright.PENANAqwXXOD6ubN
There’s a prick in my neck and everything starts swimming faster. “N… no… no…”704Please respect copyright.PENANARgrehWbZ4h
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.
704Please respect copyright.PENANAKbEBaFVHdh
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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAbkeT9KlNMD
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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAC39y2egL9L
“Screw you,” I rasp, before coughing.704Please respect copyright.PENANAjYJNnvQtvm
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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAtLOf9c1c9E
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?”704Please respect copyright.PENANAgCtxD5BRmx
“I knew you were in the ensuite, I was trying to kill that pesky little boyfriend of yours.”704Please respect copyright.PENANA9IoSeIyaOr
“Somehow, that’s not reassuring,” I snark.704Please respect copyright.PENANAFDGvrvynxe
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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAGCqHAjwWbI
I lean back into the wall behind me, staring up at Rythe with disgust. “And how are you going to do that?”704Please respect copyright.PENANAN3yOLIrqnS
“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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANA0w2lnSMxJw
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.704Please respect copyright.PENANAnZ88nV4X5e
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.704Please respect copyright.PENANAhqP9ZDuAKt
“Is everyone okay?” his voice asks.704Please respect copyright.PENANAxgJ3KoCdpa
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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAZJVmzpPOqV
Hibiscus. “Hibiscus, I am so sorry,” Klef says.704Please respect copyright.PENANAMqaJOO4Ofu
The dragon smiles. “Don’t worry about it. I’m more concerned about Rides’ parents. Has anyone seen them?”704Please respect copyright.PENANA47lfw9Z9m4
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.704Please respect copyright.PENANAY3X7h5wPXA
Klef turns and runs over to him. “Have you seen her mother? Please tell me she’s okay!”704Please respect copyright.PENANAg5mGu5cvmD
Dad sighs. “Well, she’s technically still alive…”704Please respect copyright.PENANA1HWBurVihU
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.704Please respect copyright.PENANAgFFkksQOug
“That’s not necessary, really, it just takes a bit getting used to,” Klef assures her. “Has anyone seen Rides, though?”704Please respect copyright.PENANAG4B3YIMORp
Everyone turns solemn. I can feel Klef’s panic in his head. “Someone has seen her, right?! She’s not gone?!”704Please respect copyright.PENANAWbM2Jiol4s
Hibiscus stretches their wings. “I saw someone grab her and carry her out as I was dying. I’m sorry.”704Please respect copyright.PENANANrAhk5e0dE
“We have to find her!” Klef exclaims. “Form a search party! We have to find out where she’s gone.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAU2raGuqcVm
“No, Klef, don’t be an idiot!” I scream. “They’ll just kill you too!”704Please respect copyright.PENANAurYkR6f08u
Klef’s head whips around. “Ride?” he whispers.704Please respect copyright.PENANALfV971QbyU
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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANACJYZgr38Bf
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?”704Please respect copyright.PENANAjydD7UX66W
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.704Please respect copyright.PENANAEyweiXnWj9
“‘I was angry at my friend,704Please respect copyright.PENANApTx5KRqQCP
“‘I told my wrath, my wrath did end.704Please respect copyright.PENANAKiqupaTW3l
“‘I was angry at my foe,704Please respect copyright.PENANAkB7HkjhVDF
“‘I told it not, my wrath did grow,” I mutter.704Please respect copyright.PENANA02aZKTbKHt
“‘And I watered it in fears,704Please respect copyright.PENANA0xXrJjxKNx
“‘Night and morning with my tears.704Please respect copyright.PENANAqkGS0D757P
“‘And I sunned it with smiles,704Please respect copyright.PENANAEKYZrtnVip
“‘And with soft, deceitful wiles.704Please respect copyright.PENANAziBlXl1aqt
“‘And it grew both day and night.704Please respect copyright.PENANA3NtCgoxTej
“‘Till it bore an apple bright.704Please respect copyright.PENANAQvW0XBBIoI
“‘And my foe beheld it shine,704Please respect copyright.PENANAHWTmWcMJoC
“‘And he knew that it was mine.704Please respect copyright.PENANA06yXgx757c
“‘And into my garden stole,704Please respect copyright.PENANAfzzbVr6gsJ
“‘When the night had veild the pole;704Please respect copyright.PENANAvPR3gOu49H
“‘In the morning glad I see;704Please respect copyright.PENANAK820RFrU2L
“‘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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAqK4r9dMDnS
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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANA2sxHl3f9ky
Rythe smirks. “Feisty like her, too.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAOh8P0ysZvi
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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAAFidfJAjFi
“You had Flo,” I point out. “Wasn’t she enough for you?”704Please respect copyright.PENANANBj1MAuGAY
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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAobbwpiNEsu
I swallow and drop my eyes.704Please respect copyright.PENANANac82LxBRP
“‘Course, I would never have anyone but myself kill her. Only the best for my love,” he sighs.704Please respect copyright.PENANAtirvIUhnl1
“You’re a monster,” I growl. “Nothing more than a monster.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAOOqqpckqmR
“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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAZ1Nvtm1adP
My eyes sting. “Shut up,” I growl. “You don’t talk about the dead like that.”704Please respect copyright.PENANApciRX7J3xl
“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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANArjjdnKXBgO
“I’m going to die anyway, what’s the point?”704Please respect copyright.PENANA1NqkeabFYv
“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.”704Please respect copyright.PENANAczI7Eq6RUx
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.