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!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5lw2Yb2EY
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcXqgDUJeS
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!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImdiWH5jwe
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCD37yzKdt
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!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2kPxXQe7Y
Everyone who still can, runs, but Hibiscus starts sobbing. “I can’t move!” they yell. “I’m stuck!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotxjDpsdxd
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGISNNqAo3
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!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81ng26HLbV
Where is he? He has to be here, he couldn’t have been hit. “Klef!” I scream.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlfeiM7OWY
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!449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYT6Nb4f5ca
“They’ve got guns!” I exclaim, panicked.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZF6xYUAem
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpu0F5szc2E
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!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkRtZsWUL3
“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!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbdjIyYmPf
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!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0L1htjN2tC
Someone behind me grabs my arms and twists them painfully. “A-ah! No! Nnn… no!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZunVKsoZF
There’s a prick in my neck and everything starts swimming faster. “N… no… no…”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VGomc3BLo
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.8964 copyright protection445ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFFSdD7JYX 維尼
449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaVQra5UHQ
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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlpGBD9Ox9
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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0M3dswtGX
“Screw you,” I rasp, before coughing.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdy6jIjFiM
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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJ5oG95Zw9
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?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYBzVqodZR
“I knew you were in the ensuite, I was trying to kill that pesky little boyfriend of yours.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzU0lXykToe
“Somehow, that’s not reassuring,” I snark.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOomxq4eKiN
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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCM7Mst7ST7
I lean back into the wall behind me, staring up at Rythe with disgust. “And how are you going to do that?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hnVVH4xId
“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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlSEd1bI9G
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnRXuR2GRh
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzOcsSzV5X
“Is everyone okay?” his voice asks.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqVRX4Z9Lm
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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUWi1IObho
Hibiscus. “Hibiscus, I am so sorry,” Klef says.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLnhLJyAXa
The dragon smiles. “Don’t worry about it. I’m more concerned about Rides’ parents. Has anyone seen them?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42zLs0aZqQ
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0lVtPWp7x
Klef turns and runs over to him. “Have you seen her mother? Please tell me she’s okay!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6b15S6Igff
Dad sighs. “Well, she’s technically still alive…”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1llLRdYhT2
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTepCsmlxy
“That’s not necessary, really, it just takes a bit getting used to,” Klef assures her. “Has anyone seen Rides, though?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2Tf5yvceV
Everyone turns solemn. I can feel Klef’s panic in his head. “Someone has seen her, right?! She’s not gone?!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIvXyz6VnM
Hibiscus stretches their wings. “I saw someone grab her and carry her out as I was dying. I’m sorry.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEnIgK0B7Z
“We have to find her!” Klef exclaims. “Form a search party! We have to find out where she’s gone.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjzU3mkDjP
“No, Klef, don’t be an idiot!” I scream. “They’ll just kill you too!”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaknoci47Z
Klef’s head whips around. “Ride?” he whispers.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0s0V3pl0p4
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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7832Rpw3BR
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?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeLIoNd75p
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqVPTcLDzY
“‘I was angry at my friend,449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zp9giOczX
“‘I told my wrath, my wrath did end.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVpL4yoL1f
“‘I was angry at my foe,449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfe2mGpanj
“‘I told it not, my wrath did grow,” I mutter.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlugGyguNp
“‘And I watered it in fears,449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0pnkZZywz
“‘Night and morning with my tears.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79Yjdj92G4
“‘And I sunned it with smiles,449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkg17j4GjgN
“‘And with soft, deceitful wiles.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hUy3bd8VD
“‘And it grew both day and night.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRElFweiYTx
“‘Till it bore an apple bright.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIBrENdzje
“‘And my foe beheld it shine,449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtPsCJMDVH
“‘And he knew that it was mine.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRbKUSsMzX
“‘And into my garden stole,449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0kXXOd8vJ
“‘When the night had veild the pole;449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfu8W9RLPC
“‘In the morning glad I see;449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAfX0fWiza
“‘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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oAVu1l5qK
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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3zO9eQDnS
Rythe smirks. “Feisty like her, too.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiV2RF2ziFs
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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIOp7QZoA8
“You had Flo,” I point out. “Wasn’t she enough for you?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlCDohBs5V
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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2LtZ5WrJ2
I swallow and drop my eyes.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSIzPYTDEy
“‘Course, I would never have anyone but myself kill her. Only the best for my love,” he sighs.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HEoVUy9Pn
“You’re a monster,” I growl. “Nothing more than a monster.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWgX8rbBn0
“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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPqdexSKVi
My eyes sting. “Shut up,” I growl. “You don’t talk about the dead like that.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEn5sOL57F
“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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGqhMXSODo
“I’m going to die anyway, what’s the point?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Bzcbt7t3H
“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.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy5PqM5XeW
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.8964 copyright protection445ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1dSSAUmpH 維尼
