As Mira stepped past the gates of the recuperating city, the angry mob erupted into screams of displeasure at her. She wasn’t surprised. If they thought she was connected to the wraith that burned down the duchy, then they had a reason to be angry. The beginning of night brought anger out of the mob with the scent of alcohol and rotten food in the air.
“Back up!” Thesson yelled and the other guards held shields to keep the rocks from hitting her, “We will arrest you!”
“Thesson, it’s fine,” She said flatly, “They are angry. Let them be.”
“Killer!” A man screamed and his rock bounced off Mira’s shoulder.
“Treason!” Varies shouts echoed through the crowd.
Mira held her head high as the rocks, rotten produce, and clumps of dirt flew at her. She killed nearly every notable person in the duchy almost a year prior. They still mourned their previous life. She knew this.
“They should fear you,” Encante hummed in her mind, “Why are you acting so casually?”
Mira thought of the chance Isaan hunted her as she did him. It was high, but she wasn’t sure of what his plan was. She just knew it needed to be stopped.
As they walked through the cobbled streets of Berkshire, she knew that her followers paced behind the mob that followed her. Mira faked a stumble as Thesson pulled the chain. He looked down in shock as she looked up with a smirk at him. A chill ran down his spine and he continued walking. The crowd cheered when she stumbled to her knees. She felt a foot connect her ribs and threw herself from the kick. When the town uproariously cheered at the act, she took a deep breath. This was, after all, just a show.
Amethyst then understood why Mira wanted to be alone when she entered the city – it made her look weak. If she knew no better, she would pity the poor woman lynched by the city. She knew that Mira was, in fact, smarter than she seemed at first. When the woman hunkered and made herself smaller, it made her look weaker.
When Mira pulled her aside earlier to talk about how to handle Bo, she suggested convincing him to join them. Mira just didn’t know exactly what Amethyst’s plans were now but gave her free reign over the issue. Amethyst knew the fiery Vessel would make a fine warrior queen after seeing her fight physically and now politically.
“Let us handle her!” A woman from the crowd yelled.
“Hang her!” A man yelled.
Echoes of violence flowed through the crowd. Cheers for her head rang through the buildings as Thesson’s men pulled her towards the prison. The city guard joined them to protect Mira from the increasingly violent crowd. She callously walked without looking at the mob around her. Anger bubbled under her skin as she felt more things pelt down on her. She only had to remain calm.
“Wretch!” A rock struck her face.
Mira looked up as blood ran down her face. The forced tears washed some of the dirt and trash from her face.
“Enough!” A man stepped from the prison and held a crossbow towards the crowd, “I will take it from here.”
The crowd grumbled in dismay as the man stepped from the prison steps. He grabbed Mira’s face and yanked it to look at him. The crowd cheered as he slapped her.
“Pitiful,” He sneered, “Put her in the cell.”
“Duke Wenston,” Thesson bowed, “Thank you for answering our summons.”
“I want her gone in the morning,” The older dwarf groomed his short beard, “And at least three men keeping an eye on her at all times.
“My men are more than capable of –”
“Three of my men,” He corrected the guard, “I don’t care if you’re from the capital. I do not know or trust you.”
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Thesson looked to Mira and saw a small nod. He bowed to the new duke and waved his men on. Mira felt the chains around her tighten as they dragged her into the prison. He leaned to whisper in her ear as they stopped to open the door.
“Please,” He pleaded, “Do not kill them. It will only make you look worse.”
She smiled mischievously. It almost looked unnatural on her face. She let her red curls hang from her scalp messily as they threw her into the cell and locked it behind them. The guards sat on the other side of the small room at a table. Thesson gave her one last look before he left the small room.
Mira studied her surroundings for a moment before she made her plan to escape. She wouldn’t stay in the cell all night, but she would be back before morning. The barred cell only took up a third of the entire room. She stretched on the wooden bench for a moment and listened to the three prison guards talk casually with each other.
“I doubt she’s going to do much,” One grumbled, “I mean, look at the wee thing.”
“Are we supposed to feed her?” Another scoffed, “I don’t plan to.”
“We only have to watch her until sunrise,” The last said, “One of us can always sleep and the other two watch.”
“Or we could play cards,” The first grinned and three a deck of cards on the desk on the other side of her cell.
The other two agreed and Mira pulled the hood of her cloak over her face. She closed her eyes and listened as the cards shuffled across the table. Mostly, she listened to and spoke with the disembodied voice in her mind.
“So, you wanted to practice?” He chuckled, “What exactly is your idea?”
“A good scare to begin with.”
He saw her plan manifest in her mind and laughed at the creativity. Mira smiled as he agreed and stood on the wooden bench to look out the barred window.
“Hey!” A guard announced, “Get down from there!”
Mira turned to face them and held a hand in the air. She looked at the torches behind them and smiled. With a snap, all of them extinguished. In the sudden darkness, she gripped the bars off the window and pulled them towards her. They shouted at the crashing noise and scrambled to relight the room. Mira jumped from the bench and gracefully wormed her way from the window. Once she hit the ground on the other side of the prison, her last night of freedom began.
“We must figure out a better way to work together,” He sighed, “We could have easily killed them.”
“We escaped,” She shrugged and pulled her hood up over her auburn curls, “Now, we sneak around.”
Mira stretched her arms and legs for only a moment before she pushed energy into them and sprang onto the prison’s rooftop. She watched as guards burst from the building and ran to the nearby alleyways to search for her. She felt the twinkle of magic spread across her skin as her quiet steps quickened and she leapt to a different building. Half the city slept silently, and the other half angrily awaited the chance to assault her again. Her trek into the city favored the silent side. When she no longer heard guards sprinting through the streets, she dropped from the rooftops and walked along casually. As long as she kept her hood up, she could blend in easily.
Mira walked towards the docks of the city to see how much destruction she truly caused. As she stepped into the ruins of the late duke’s mansion, she pursed her lips. It looked worse than she remembered. Only stone pillars and some walls still stood. She sifted through the rubble until she found a chunk of marble the size of her hand. She pocketed it and kept walking along the burnt courtyard.
Never again would he force her to do this destruction.
Berkshire was one of the larger cities in the east. Travelling along the shore that led into the frothy sea, she breathed in the salty air. She missed the quiet. Now, all anyone ever wanted to do was talk. Even the voice in her mind knew when to be silent. She silently thanked him for that and heard a grunt in return. She peered into the fog around the docks and saw a small sandbar at the edge of the port. The torches along the shipping port stopped there. That’s where she wanted to go.
“Care for a swim, then?” Encante chuckled.
Mira walked to a nearby rickety dock and looked over the water. She tied her cloak to a post and kicked off her boots. Then, she dove into the water. She felt magic push into her limbs as she swam beneath the surface. Her eyes cleared and she could see clearly. She had a thought before Encante confirmed.
“Yes, I can,” He chuckled, “We have to learn to coexist.”
As she surfaced, she noticed that she made nearly half the distance to the sandbar. Her strokes carried her further into the water. As she stepped up onto the sand, she focused on her skin and felt the water sizzle away as she forced a fire’s heat to dry her off.
“Do you want to try that?” Encante commented on her thoughts, “I believe it would work.”
She felt the intoxicating buzz of magic flood her body. As it filled her veins with energy she sighed heavily. Nothing compared to the blissful feeling.
“Remember,” He warned, “I am but a well. Fill only a few buckets for yourself, but do not dive in. You could drown.”
She thought the analogy interesting, and nodded, “How can I control what I pull?”
“That’s the hardest part,” He chuckled, “But if you lose control, give it to me.”
Mira nodded and held out her hand. A spear appeared in an instant and she swung it. After a few practice drills, she stretched. She held out the spear and felt the energy adjust in her body. She waved her free hand towards the torch light, and it snuffed out.
“Let’s try this first.”