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!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvkWWq2zDr
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.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgUswg6ywt
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!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXy9DA5CyTS
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.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBfrYl2u4I
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!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwDGzAUxpx
Everyone who still can, runs, but Hibiscus starts sobbing. “I can’t move!” they yell. “I’m stuck!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCmp3ifG9M
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.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzD01XWL2q6
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!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftX5fDBzbe
Where is he? He has to be here, he couldn’t have been hit. “Klef!” I scream.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9meSUOOef
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!1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PkGhL31HK
“They’ve got guns!” I exclaim, panicked.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtsc8MEiL0
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.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IcHusURpC
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!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxbbbeYgtO
“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!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbxKezmNCM
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!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsCTxDGNi2
Someone behind me grabs my arms and twists them painfully. “A-ah! No! Nnn… no!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwB1zimT8Z
There’s a prick in my neck and everything starts swimming faster. “N… no… no…”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4eMvkulUR
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.
1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6tZmvUFbY
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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LwTnEvrPo
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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYZgijuUoo
“Screw you,” I rasp, before coughing.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnAtT00hL4
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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQxitEcbVh
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?”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvZlE4YISn
“I knew you were in the ensuite, I was trying to kill that pesky little boyfriend of yours.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxTjXZCd82
“Somehow, that’s not reassuring,” I snark.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfQcGBIhA2
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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9C0TJbneY
I lean back into the wall behind me, staring up at Rythe with disgust. “And how are you going to do that?”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZZKtL8AqH
“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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDDEmX6qzF
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.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuhXTUKzPy
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.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSAcxKK0w4
“Is everyone okay?” his voice asks.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhojxAZF8D8
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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFjJ3NHA2d
Hibiscus. “Hibiscus, I am so sorry,” Klef says.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡob9F3DXQNn
The dragon smiles. “Don’t worry about it. I’m more concerned about Rides’ parents. Has anyone seen them?”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi848xyhJwI
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.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPwFgq4wR4
Klef turns and runs over to him. “Have you seen her mother? Please tell me she’s okay!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCStFZiHeXR
Dad sighs. “Well, she’s technically still alive…”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrV1xpSAZs
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.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdO8I08DhOz
“That’s not necessary, really, it just takes a bit getting used to,” Klef assures her. “Has anyone seen Rides, though?”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5oJoixN3S
Everyone turns solemn. I can feel Klef’s panic in his head. “Someone has seen her, right?! She’s not gone?!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3i1fJHmpvj
Hibiscus stretches their wings. “I saw someone grab her and carry her out as I was dying. I’m sorry.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9v6LqSkwXq
“We have to find her!” Klef exclaims. “Form a search party! We have to find out where she’s gone.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJo8HJ9KSj3
“No, Klef, don’t be an idiot!” I scream. “They’ll just kill you too!”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcwQA1ihIW
Klef’s head whips around. “Ride?” he whispers.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCOlsoodH4
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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1tWGNKLPL
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?”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tfmeq29XS
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.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5lNa08XNd
“‘I was angry at my friend,1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSpEUeqWCv
“‘I told my wrath, my wrath did end.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2JT524Y85
“‘I was angry at my foe,1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHCyZ4dNaQ
“‘I told it not, my wrath did grow,” I mutter.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0n8ZpgYsEq
“‘And I watered it in fears,1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYF8WWX21Er
“‘Night and morning with my tears.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ST9oTeTuy
“‘And I sunned it with smiles,1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RggyKgSsa
“‘And with soft, deceitful wiles.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIcxHougUn
“‘And it grew both day and night.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEQv0PlNzA
“‘Till it bore an apple bright.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFD3CbkPro0
“‘And my foe beheld it shine,1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbPPx01oLL
“‘And he knew that it was mine.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yDbCsBMPh
“‘And into my garden stole,1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFBpecAhYb
“‘When the night had veild the pole;1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsocoJZlI91
“‘In the morning glad I see;1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Oh5LKmrFe
“‘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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkW2EzWWM2
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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmV5AqL2XO9
Rythe smirks. “Feisty like her, too.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqywUZQ7Bs
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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdV2ZsA6Wwr
“You had Flo,” I point out. “Wasn’t she enough for you?”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyuxcbp35F
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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghGPcfCwDz
I swallow and drop my eyes.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMgBhygcOl
“‘Course, I would never have anyone but myself kill her. Only the best for my love,” he sighs.1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77onftqZBx
“You’re a monster,” I growl. “Nothing more than a monster.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQv90KTJXj
“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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrIQqbZ7N6
My eyes sting. “Shut up,” I growl. “You don’t talk about the dead like that.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLOw0A9xaC
“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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YlEIN9KZU
“I’m going to die anyway, what’s the point?”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjoBUXcZ14
“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.”1025Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERdziATWr6
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.
