Rude pounced, sprinting for the unaware Octavia only a few feet away.
I yelled, “HEY! RUDE! STOP!” It wasn’t enough to distract him from his target, but it was enough to alert Octavia. Without looking, she ducked and swung herself out of the way, dodging both the guard’s sword swipe and Rude’s clawed fingers in one go.
“You holding on?” I whispered to Aurora. I felt her nod against my back. Her legs dropped as I went for the green gem, gripping it tightly and yanking it off my wrist.
Rude turned to glare at me, tail flicking with irritation. “STOP!” I shouted at him over the sounds of battle, flashing him the green gem. He froze on the spot.
In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose. “Help us, then wait for more orders!!” I ordered. It was like I had flipped a switch. His face went blank, but he did as he was ordered with devastating efficiency.
Between August and Rude, the two super-powered chimeras, as well as Faust, Octavia, and Aurora, the nearly twenty guards dwindled fast. The guards who’d been left at the wall added to the number, attempting to intervene, but were cut down just as quickly. The archers were removed from the field in a similarly brutally effective manner, the chimeras spreading their wings and swooping down at the weapons.
In minutes, the battle had ended, and we had survived.
I huffed out a laugh, a bit hysterical. When we’d been surrounded initially, I’d thought we were done for. Rude stood frozen by Octavia, unsure of what to do. Octavia ignored him and approached, a wild smile I was sure matched mine and Aurora’s faces. She laughed and said, “I can’t believe we survived that! You’re crazy!”
To August and Faust, she said, “Thank you for your help…”
“August.” August walked up behind Octavia, cautious and eying me with suspicion. Making sure he saw, I disappeared the green gem back into my sleeve. It was too useful to destroy yet. Once we escaped, I’d smash it before his very eyes. He caught the movement, and his face relaxed.
Faust stopped his sword-wiping motion to smile at her. “Faust.”
Aurora spoke up from behind me, “I’m Aurora.”
“Octavia. Nice to meet you.”
Aurora’s hands relaxed a little around my neck, though she still held the knife in her right hand. I eyed it but figured she knew what she was doing.
“Where did you get that?”
She shrugged against my back. “No one bothered to check me for weapons.”
Beside me, Faust finished wiping his sword, then sheathed it, tossing the bloodied cloth on the body from whence it had come. “You did pretty well for yourselves!” Faust exclaimed, “Well done!” To Octavia in particular, he continued, “If you ever want a place in the Princess’ personal guard, I’ll be sure to recommend you for training, miss.”
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Surprised, she froze for a second, then gaped like a fish. “The princess’s personal guard?! Don’t they get paid insanely well?!”
He gave her a conspiring grin. “We do. And more, besides.”
“And you’re sure I could make it?!” She demanded, rounding on him.
“Guard’s honor. If It’s something you want to do, I’ll do everything I can to get you there. You have potential, and you care for your companions. Those two things aren’t found together as often as people think.”
She perused her lips together, thinking. “I’ll hold you to that, Faust.
To Aurora, he said. “I’m sure we could find something for you as well.” Aurora responded with a noncommittal “hmm.”
“Is that where we’re going next? To meet the princess?” Octavia interjected.
Faust and August exchanged unsure glances, shifting the responsibility to answer to me. Octavia followed their gaze. Right, this whole thing had been my plan. My thoughts arranged themselves into order. “We have something to do first. After that, we’ll reunite with the princess if you two want to come?” I asked hesitantly.
Octavia was far less hesitant. “I’m in.”
Aurora was far more. “If I’ll be allowed,” she said eventually, her voice tactful.
Faust turned to her warmly. “You will.”
“Then so am I.”
There was a long, sad meow from the tree above me, and I reflexively looked up. Sitting there in a branch above my head was Ani.
“Ani!”
“Mrrow!” He cried back. He stood up on the branch, ears flattening with concentration. Seconds later, he was suddenly by my feet, showering me with affection and claiming my leg as his territory once again. If I could have, I would have pet him in return. As it was, I pushed back with my leg.
Octavia looked shocked. “What is that thing?”
“Ani? He’s my cat.”
“Cats can’t do what that one did.”
I shrugged. “Ani can. He’s my familiar.”
She looked to Faust and August for help, to reassure her sanity. They couldn’t.
I jerked my head in the direction of Rude. “What should we do with him?” I asked them.
Instantly, Augustus said, “Kill him. He’ll only cause trouble if you let him go.”
Octavia and Faust agreed. Rude still stood there, frozen in the thrall of the green gem. My heart twisted uncomfortably in my chest. Rude was a jerk, but this felt wrong.
“Send him away,” Aurora said, “we can deal with him if he shows up again. It’d be wrong to kill him when he’s like this.”
“It’s not that easy,” Faust explained patiently, “He’s already proven himself to be a nuisance. If we let him go and he hurts someone, that blood falls on our hands.”
Aurora argued, vehemently shaking her head against my back. “No! If we let him go and he hurts someone, that blood is on his hands. Not ours.” I could feel her glare from over my shoulder, and my neck prickled with the force of her conviction. “I don’t know what Hayden did to him, but he can’t even think for himself right now. Killing him while he’s like this would take away any chance he has to change.”
August and Faust, the two most experienced fighters of our group, exchanged a glance at her words. A silent conversation passed between them, but it was easy enough to read: ‘you break it to her.’ ‘no, you.’ ‘I already tried.’
“People like him don’t change,” August stated.
“Oh? Just like people like me can’t fight?” She gestured over my shoulder to the guard she’d stabbed.
Before this very uncomfortable argument could derail further, I interjected, “He hasn’t actually injured anyone of his own free will yet, that we know of.”
Faust and August pulled faces that said they wanted to argue but would defer to me. Having someone’s life in my hands like that was a unique experience. Perhaps if I was a different person, I might have enjoyed the power. As it was, I wanted to absolve myself of that responsibility–and the guilt I’d feel no matter which option I chose– as soon as possible. “Octavia, since he attempted to attack you, I’ll let you decide. Will you kill him or let him go?”
She thought about it for a minute, looking uncertainly between us. She sighed reluctantly. “Let him go.”
I fished for the green gem again and flashed it at his unseeing gaze, “Return home,” I ordered. Rude did as he was told, life returning to his body. I doubted he would make it far by the time we smashed the gem, but hopefully, he’d at least get far enough away not to bother us anymore.
Once he’d disappeared, Octavia said, “That reminds me, you promised me an explanation.”
Nervously, August replied, “Later. We’ve been talking here way too long. We’re lucky the rest of the guard hasn’t come after us. We need to go now.”