Chapter 4
The Adversaries
“Father, whatever you do, don’t rile Marcus up,” Vivian said when she turned from the window. Her father, naturally, was stomping his way over to the front hall, pushing aside the chairs in his way. He didn’t bother to dodge around any of them, and Max swiveled himself out of the thundering man’s path. There was no way he was going to listen to his daughter, but Vivian attempted to raise her voice all the same. “Father! Listen to me!”
“Stay out of this, Viv. Don’t tell me how to handle Marcus Arrant from Nowhere.”
“He’s not the man you think. I thought I made that clear when I returned home,” she shouted. Victor didn’t stop, but he also hadn’t made it to the doors. Nimble on her feet, Vivian raced to intercept her father and put a halt to the rage inside his shrunken pupils, before he could do something he’d regret. He did stop there, but Vivian could see his hand on the rise, as if to slap her aside. “If you anger him, he will not hesitate to destroy the entire manor and everyone inside. He did it to Corps Castle, all just to break a comrade out.”
“So?” Victor questioned. His hand raised, all right, but he took his daughter by the shoulder and shoved her aside. “He’s just trash, like the rest of them. Only his pointless credentials allowed him to rise to the top. Well, now, I’m the one with the cards. So, know your place, Viv.”
He managed to get her out of the way and tossed the doors open, stampeding to his own front door, where a butler was waiting to open it and allow their guests through. Vivian felt like she was blowing steam through her own nostrils from her irritation. “He’s going to get us all killed to satisfy his insane ego trip.”
“Your father is one to handle himself,” Max said, his nervous chuckle trying to hide his knocking knees. Vivian pursed her lips, eyes sliding towards the door leading to the Bow. She had been ready and anticipating this, but if her father was to piss off Marcus, she knew any chance of success was slim. Granting, she was surprised that Marcus hadn’t come in stronger, blowing the place to smithereens just for a chance to nab the Bow. He certainly had no problem in the past with trampling over everyone else.
“Is mother at the manor today?” Vivian asked of Max, keeping her eyes on both the room she was in and the entranceway beyond.
“No, she’s currently in town. Your former friends-” Vivian scoffed at the notion. She hadn’t had any friends from this hell. Just people paid for by her father to remember that she was, as always, his. “Er, your former peers? Well, she’s visiting them and their families.”
“Surprised she was willing to get down in the muck, though she’s always been a tad better than father,” she said, puffing a breath out. The term Max had used made her lips twitch, remembering who her real friends were. Not that she had seen them…and it was tearing her apart. “Well, that’ll make things better. Max, everything is…”
“As requested, Lady Vivian. You’re sure of this? He won’t be happy…”
“I really don’t give a damn if he’s happy or not. I’m not his,” she snarled. Max nodded, his hands sparking with heat as he rubbed them together in worry. Vivian inhaled and exhaled slowly, smoothing the folds of her finer clothing. It was time to face the Reaper.
At long last, she stepped out of the drawing room, just as the front doors swung wide. The burning sunset flooded the hall, casting the trio’s black shadows spilling across the marble entryway. Vivian found herself tensing, her breath catching in her throat. There he was, the man that had toppled the Corps, and the one that helped him do it, standing as though they owned Lacroix Manor. No one had tried to stop them, and Vivian knew that was for the best; they wouldn’t have succeeded. Marcus was too strong.
Fear instilled itself within her, and Vivian recalled that day. Of Meredith’s broken legs, and the absolute beast of strength he’d shown against his own commanders. He had even competed with the most powerful, dead soul she’d ever seen (not that she’d seen many until that day). Even now, he was in full confidence with his strides, dwarfing her father.
Victor, of course, didn’t see it.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Arrant. The news seems to believe you dead, but my daughter told me otherwise,” he said, standing tall. Marcus walked into the hall, flanked by Maria and Raymond. His usual presence as the Reaper was felt in full, in a way that Vivian realized she never felt before. Her eyes swept the hall, locking with each of the few servants that retreated. Max had informed them well, but her father was oblivious. He wasn’t even paying attention to Marcus’s entourage. “What might you be here for?”
“I think we both know the answer to that, Victor. Mind if we sit down?” Marcus seemed as genial as ever. His eyes, though, were sharp when Vivian looked into them, and his face held the cold disdain that the Reaper always had. The chief commander, as she’d known him, was gone. She moved over to Raymond. The captain watched her, questions in his eyes, but she pointedly faced away.
“I suppose I can extend the courtesy. You’ll be out on your ass soon enough. I don’t suffer trash in my house except by no other choice.” Vivian’s father whistled sharply, informing all servants there to meet them in the drawing room. Maria’s trademarked grin brought Vivian to observe her. They hadn’t come here without a plan, but no one elaborated before they were seated, Vivian with them and facing the door opposite. “You know my daughter, of course.”
“A pleasure to see you again, Miss Lacroix.” Marcus’s emotionless tone made Vivian’s cheek twitch, and she swallowed the building saliva in her mouth. He was acting as if he hadn’t done anything extraordinary, and it made her stomach turn. “My compatriots, Raymond and Maria.”
“What’s up?” Maria asked, a mock salute in Victor’s direction. Vivian knew that would anger her father, but for the moment he kept a cool head, allowing Marcus to speak. A servant bustled up to the table, carrying a tray of tea, cookies and apple slices.
“Yes, the news loves reporting on my supposed death. A period of mourning,” Marcus spoke, taking a cup and some small cookies to dip them. Once he bit in, he continued. “They needn’t worry. My death is…exaggerated. As is the Corps. I intend to rebuild it, when the dust settles. Raymond has been doing a fine job laying the seeds of my intentions and will for the world moving forward.”
“Is that so?” Victor asked. His lips were a sneer, and Vivian shared the emotion with her father, loathe as she was to admit it. “You’ve always had a habit of thinking yourself better than others, Marcus, even as a cadet. It’s no surprise you think so now, trash as you are.”
“Mm,” Marcus vocalized, drinking his tea. Raymond was still watching Vivian as Maria played with her own cookies, juggling them in the air. They were acting like they weren’t here on a mission, and it made Vivian’s hair stand on end. She wondered how many other members of the Order they had brought, or where their skyship was hiding, if they had brought one. Marcus eventually finished, keeping her father in suspense while he dabbed the corners of his lips. “Well, I’d rather be trash than nothing at all, like you, Victor.”
“You always were a blunt little shit.”
“Then allow me to be even more blunt,” Marcus said. He placed the cup down, eyes all business. His body was sharp and prepared for combat. Vivian found her fingers twitching, watching him and his more frivolous subordinate with suspicion. “I’m here for the Bow of Torrents.”
“Are you? Then why not use your force to take it?”
“Because I’m not an animal like you. I actually have principles, Victor.” True to form, her father stood, the lines of rage popping from his face. “Oh, sit down. You shouldn’t take offense to such a petty insult.”
“This guy was a captain in the Corps?” Maria asked, cackling while one of the cookies was tossed into her mouth. The others plopped into the tea, spilling it about the tray.
“In his prime,” Marcus answered. The way he phrased it made Vivian scoot her chair back a little. Every word Marcus spoke was an intent to needle her father. He may have been here to negotiate in good faith, but just like his attack on his own former Corps, he planned on doing whatever it took to get what he wanted. “So, Victor, I’m here to talk. I intend you to hand it over peaceably.”
“Do you, Marcus?” Victor hissed. His eyes were as slits of anger, the insults making his blood boil. “Well, if you think you’ll get it so easily, you’ve forgotten more than a few details.”
“Oh, did I?” the former chief commander said. He crossed his legs, his armor clanking while he did. The man never took his eyes off Victor. “I never said I wasn’t armed, and as you so love using your strength to make a point, like it’s important, you should be aware that I’m more than prepared to take it by force. I’m only here on good faith as a fellow, former Guardian.”
“You can take your good faith and return it to the trash heap,” Victor spat. Marcus didn’t react to the water hitting his face, even if an imperceptible sigh left his lips. “You enter my house? Demand things of me? And then try to threaten me? You’re very mistaken, Marcus.
“See, you want the Bow of Torrents, but it’s mine. It’s always mine. My heirloom. My weapon. My choice. If you want it, then you’re mine as well. That’s what it means to be a Lacroix.”
“Oh, you’re such a boor…” Marcus groaned. Victor’s twitches told Vivian she didn’t have to worry about Marcus getting riled up. At this point, her father was the bigger issue, as evidenced by him knocking the tray of tea on to Marcus’s lap, as well as that of Maria’s. Marcus genuinely didn’t care, continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened. “Must you always think in such ways. As if your name means anything to anyone. Though I suppose I could be to blame. I did allow such nepotism to run rampant in the old Corps. But a Weapon of that caliber is not for a fool like you to play with.”
“Insulting me in my own home. My own turf!” Victor stood closer, and at this point, Marcus was on his feet in a flash. The servants had moved in, putting some space between the two while they cleared away the tray. Vivian stared through them, and noticed as one of the chairs suddenly became empty in the bustle of it all. “You will not get the Bow of Torrents from me. Only by my dead body, and even then-”
“I have no problem with a couple fallen fools,” Marcus insisted. His snap in tone forced Victor to stand back.
“Sir…” Raymond said, his first word, but effective enough. Marcus laughed, but his smirk remained.
“I don’t wish to exude such violence. Not now. But the Bow of Torrents will be mine, either way.” Vivian saw his hand drift to his blade, and she stood. From that position, she could see that Maria’s chair was, indeed, empty. She didn’t need three guesses to figure out where the young woman had gone. “If I have to step over you to do it, or if you give it to me, I don’t care. You can’t control me or that force of nature like you do to your daughter. It’s the reason you’ll always be unfit for my new Corps.”
Vivian didn’t want to hear it, the reminder of what a puppet she still was to her father. Biting her tongue, Vivian left them, proceeding along the length of the drawing room to where Maria had disappeared. The shouting match was still heard either way.
The fact the two were discussing her in some aspect, more than they were the actual reason Marcus was there, disgusted her. As if these things hadn’t been on her mind, separated from those she cared about and back with the unfeeling bastard that was her father. They had lost so much more than most even cared to realize, and Vivian felt too alone to deal with it all.
She hoped that now would be the end of it.
The door closed behind her, and some of the candles flickered, letting the shadow of the expected person inside dance against the walls. Vivian let her steps be heard, drawing the occupant to her.
“You can shed the disguise, Maria,” Vivian called out. Before the Bow was someone that looked like one of the servants in their household, tilting her head to Vivian. She was acting like she didn’t know what was being spoken of, but when Vivian was before her, hands on her hips, the woman couldn’t stop a chuckle from escaping. “It’s unflattering.”
“Don’t I know it! How’d you guess I came in here during that whole argument?”
“Because you’re a snake. You slither away to do the dirty work.” Maria cocked her head and shoulders, in agreement with the assessment before her disguise was shed. “Did you really think I wouldn’t keep an eye on you?”
“Hey, at least it means you’re learning!”
“Something you never seem to do.” Raymond’s harsh voice echoed around the room, and into the darkness. The door was closed behind him, and to Vivian’s own despair, his own weapon was out. For all his protests of leading Marcus in negotiation, he had come here for a fight. “Maria, we agreed to not pull crap like this.”
“Come on, Ray, we’re all friends here. We’re not stupid, either.” Maria leaned back, her earrings ringing about the room as the tension became thick enough to cut. Vivian wasn’t sure where to put her attention between the pair that belonged to Marcus. “Victor Lacroix is dumb as an oaf. It’s not long before he comes charging at us. I was stacking the deck for us. You asked for no violence, and I wasn’t planning on it.”
“That seems unlikely…” the former captain said. Vivian decided to focus on him, her mouth twitching with hatred towards the man. Burning anger came to rest inside her, but she tried to restrain its appearance on her face. Raymond lowered his sword a bit, and smiled to Vivian. “It’s been some time. How’s Me-”
“Say one more word and I’ll lop your head off. No regrets,” Vivian said. Raymond blinked, but Maria’s response was far more predictable. She laughed, her cackles bouncing back at them. “You care about your sister? You chose the wrong side.”
“There’s no side in this,” Raymond said. His sword raised an inch higher, and his leg was a foot closer. A predatory gleam surfaced on Maria’s face. “Just the saving of our world, from everything that corroded it.”
“Boy, are you brainwashed.”
“Is daddy’s little girl seriously the one saying that?” Maria said, her cackles increasing in volume. Outside the room, Vivian could tell things had gotten to a boiling point. Her gaze flicked to the side, into the shadows before she nodded. Neither member of the Order noticed. “During the Games you were oh, so desperate for his attention. Who was the brainwashed punk then?”
“Still the both of you, blathering on about your goddess and making a new world.”
“Vivian, what Marcus wants has…some difficult to accept methods, but can you really say anything different would work,” Raymond implored of her. She gave him no quarter to worm himself inside her mind. He was even closer now, just a couple feet from her and Maria, to where the Bow of Torrents waited. “Even during the Games, you needed to defeat Rico just to get the point to him.”
“People don’t change without something extreme. I think an overhaul of the soul’s willpower can do it.”
“Really? Well, then, you’re plenty mistaken, Maria, Raymond,” Vivian said to them. She grinned, her teeth showing. They thought nothing of it, other than Raymond’s body tensing for all of a second. “See, the world’s soul…our souls…they’re stronger than you give them credit for.”
“Ha ha! Yeah, right!” Maria stopped leaning, putting her own foot forward, slowly. She was stalking Vivian, ready to beset upon her while the blonde waited. Both were nearly bathed in the candlelight. “Tell me, what has the Corps been up to the last month? I hear they’re holed in Lumarina when not trying to gather up the pieces of their broken reputation. Yeah, that’s some real will right there. Not that you’d know. Prissy little princess returned home instead.” Vivian let her face twitch, her eyebrow moving with it. To Maria, who finally took the step forward she needed, it was a sign of rage bubbling beneath. “Angry? You gonna fight me because it’s the truth? Take up daddy’s bow and all?”
“No, I’m not.”
“That’s right. You’re not. ‘Cause you’ve given up, just like the rest of your Corps.” Maria looked so smug, but Vivian remained rooted. She took a small breath. “So much for that will. You’re just little puppets, same as you were to your father. But we’re not. I’m no one’s puppet.”
“You might’ve misheard me, Maria,” Vivian said, her annoyance creeping through as her voice raised. The Deceiver stopped, both her and Raymond so close that Vivian could feel their breaths. “I just said I wouldn’t fight you. Never said anything about anyone else.”
Both captain and cultist had a split-second to react. The blade of wind came out of the shadows, right for Maria. The woman leapt over it, only to be charged by another pair of men that bowled her over and tackled her right into a pillar within the room. From where the wind blade came was another man, his near-silver hair creating a streak effect through the room. Another sword of wind preceded him, and Raymond moved to block it. Jay emerged from the darkness, clashing with his former captain as they whirled around, before the lieutenant slashed at his arm. Maria began to recover from where she stood. Vivian’s fingers glowed blue, ready to act at a moment’s notice.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“So, it’s true. Our former captain, who we trusted above all else…a traitor,” Jay said. Two of his solid wind blades were twirled in his hand. He was growling, a force to be reckoned with while he circled his captain. Raymond watched, saying nothing. “So, did you sell us up the river before or after the capture, Ray?”
“I would never betray you. Just following a different set of ideals, Jay. I hoped you would understand,” Raymond said. Maria was back on her feet, scowling at the pair of Bruce and Trent, fist-bumping one another at their successful endeavors. “Looks like you can’t.”
“Different ideals, my ass.” Jay pounced, spinning with his blades to clash against Raymond’s; his magic filled the room with oxygen at every collision. Raymond’s sword sparked, beginning to change shape, and Vivian readied the first spell she’d sling in the skirmish. “You joined with the Reaper. With Marcus and his insane vision for a new world! You left us all in the dust! Raymond!”
“So, it was a sting!” Maria said. Her face conveyed that she had just figured it out, looking impressed. “Well, whaddya know? The Corps has some backbone, after all! But a couple angry soldiers isn’t gonna break us!” Bruce and Trent turned in her direction.
The whips of water extended from Maria’s hands, just as Raymond’s blade also became a whip. They clashed with the Guardians of Tempest Squad, driving them towards the center of the room, where Vivian waited. The three males pushed her close, shielding her with their bodies while Raymond and Maria lunged forth.
“I didn’t leave you, Jay. You can still join the new Corps.”
“Let me think about it, Ray,” Jay said. Vivian didn’t need to be Meredith to know what he was thinking or feeling. His elbow touching to hers communicated all she needed without giving anything away. “Go to hell.”
“Max-def!” Vivian yelled. She plunged her hands downward. When they touched the floor, a shield of honeycombs, glowing a bright blue, appeared around her and the three members of Tempest Squad. Maria’s rush of water bounced off it, like a jettisoning mirror that struck the Bow and sent it flying. Raymond stepped back, transforming his whip into a spear that he jabbed at the shield with.
“Maria, get the Bow. The less violence, the better.”
“Too late for that, Ray. You decided the course the second you and that traitor of a chief commander stepped foot here. Thanks for falling for it.” Vivian refused to drop the shield, even with the force of Raymond’s strike against it. Watching Maria go for the Bow offered her a moment of hesitation, but Bruce and Trent grinning down to her reminded her that they just needed to hold for a little. “Phase Two!”
BOOM!
The shot was even faster than Vivian expected. It ripped through the brick walls of Lacroix Manor, providing a hole to the outside courtyard in the middle of the manse. Maria was hit first, barely managing to get a shield of water up before she was blasted into the opposite wall. The Bow was lost to her efforts, clattering on the floor. Raymond was a little faster. He ducked behind one of the other pillars in the room, though even that didn’t last long, and he joined his comrade on the other side, groaning.
Vivian found her own strength wavering, sweat breaking out on her skin as she strained to hold the shield in place. The sweat dripped into her eyes, blurring the sight of the skyship in the courtyard, once cloaked, but now ready for combat. Bruce and Trent were laughing.
“Even when it’s not the Defender, that thing is strong!”
“Skyships win battles!”
“Shut up,” Jay snapped. The two men let the admonishment roll over them, and as the fire of the blast faded, Vivian dropped to a knee, allowing her shield to fade. The trio of Tempest Squad moved to surround the two Order members. “This time, we don’t take prisoners.”
“Pretty quick to pull the trigger,” Maria coughed out, stumbling on her feet. Through her heaving breaths, Vivian could see burn marks on the woman’s skin, and some blood dribbling down her chin. “Some Guardians.”
“Is that the direction of the old Corps…under Amelia?”
“No.” Jay created a swirling collection of wind-blades, each held in a direction that would impale those before him. “It’s my decision as captain of Tempest Squad. Guess we both fall a long way, huh, Ray?”
Vivian picked her knee up, making certain she had the strength to stand before she dashed for the Bow. The door that led inward quivered, and Vivian knew how little time she had, diving for it and clasping her family’s heirloom in hand. Part of her felt sick to hold it, knowing all it meant to her father, but she wasn’t about to let it fall into enemy hands.
“He’s bluffing, captain,” Maria said when Vivian popped back up. She kept the Bow tight to her figure, watching the door, waiting for what she knew would come through it. If there was one thing they had learned about Marcus, it was the care he had for his subordinates and their uses. “He doesn’t have the stomach for a killer’s work. None of the Guardians do.
“But our Reaper does.”
It worked like a summon charm, or that was how Vivian saw it.
No sooner had Maria spoken the name of her leader, than the door, left unguarded, buckled and cracked, breaking into the room as a body flew through it. Vivian wasn’t surprised to find it as that of her father. Cuts ran along his body, his left arm limp and useless as it twitched, his eyes and nose convulsing over whatever Marcus had done to him. Said man walked through, his armor a clashing of cymbals that announced his arrival.
“I told you, Victor. Power isn’t power. Prestige and legacy aren’t strength. Will is.” He stopped, barely visible through the dust, but Vivian could see the glint of a blade, held above her father. The older man was struggling to pull himself away from the Reaper, but to no avail. Vivian’s hands trembled on her bow. “My will.”
“Since when…did a trash like you…”
“Goodbye, Victor. You struggled where you needn’t have.” The dust was clearing, and now Vivian didn’t need to see the shine. She saw the blade itself, plunging downward. Memories, unbidden and unwanted, flashed through her.
Her father was about to die, unable to escape from his perch, even as it crumbled beneath him. He was abhorrent, and she hated him. She hated what he had made her suffer for. Made her strive for. Yet, in that moment, remembering their few times of positive interaction, and seeing the intent of malice before him, Vivian raised the Bow of Torrents, and created a rippling, red arrow on its string. Marcus halted.
“Well, it would seem you have some feeling for your father, after all, Miss Lacroix,” he said. Vivian swallowed, and attention was turned to her from her comrades and enemies alike. Outside, the skyship was priming itself, enough for Victor to hear and look out at the courtyard with confusion. Vivian didn’t dare look. “What a man he must have been to twist you so.”
“Shoot him, Viv. End this trash!” Vivian’s arrow pulsed, but she didn’t fire. Couldn’t fire, somehow. She wanted Marcus to stop; she knew that much. Yet still, the thoughts lingered, bringing a leer to Maria’s face and a chuckle from Marcus.
“You know, don’t you, Vivian?” His blade stayed his hand and he kicked her father, stepping over him to approach Vivian. “You know that if you save him with his weapon, you’ll be no more than his puppet, forever and ever. I can tell. Your soul is crying it. But hand it to me, and you’ll be free of his burden.”
The argument was persuasive, and pervasive. Her breaths were becoming pants, the blood rushing into her ears and blocking all noise while she stared down her pitiful father. The father who had put so much stock in his lineage, including the bow in her hands, had been reduced to nothingness. She wasn’t sure what to think against the conflicting emotions as Marcus held his hand out, seeming so reasonable.
But what about Eddie?
Reason returned to her, and she stepped back, out of the Reaper’s reach. Marcus frowned, and he prepared to advance before he froze.
“Your Worship!” Maria yelled, and Raymond yelled with her. It was an anomaly. That much was clear. Marcus had faltered, gripping his chest with his free hand at something going on inside him. Vivian blinked, but she could sense it in there: something was rebelling inside Marcus, his magic power fluctuating with pain.
“Eddie…?”
“Not…now!” Marcus stabbed at the ground, the tip of his sword touching to it. The entire floor glowed red-hot, and Vivian could feel the soles of her feet starting to burn, as if Marcus was going to immolate them all just to get at the Bow. Vivian reached out, a whisper on the air, telling her to move, telling her it was offering her a chance.
“Commander! Now!” Jay yelled, and Vivian snapped back to her senses.
She clutched the Bow and tossed her own hand up, shields wrapping about her and her three companions before a squall of storms, rain included, burst inside the room. The crack of thunder exploded, breaking apart pillars and more of the wall. Steam rose from the already scalding water touching what Marcus had heated, providing them with cover. Seconds later, Jay had abandoned Maria and Raymond, leaving them for the finale as he grabbed Vivian and started dragging her over to the hole in the wall. Bruce and Trent were there, too, hauling her father up while they jumped out into the courtyard.
“I have no idea what that was about, but it buys us what we need. Let’s get out of here,” Jay said, his words breathy and quiet while he dragged Vivian. Once they were on solid ground, he let go of her, letting her walk of her own volition.
“Viv…you…you planned this?” her father gasped out.
“Shut up, father. Get him to the ship,” she ordered to Bruce and Trent. The two were cocky, but obeyed her orders despite her rank. She was still shaken by all that had happened, and she looked back as the steam was cleared away. In the center of it was Commander Amelia Chavez, her blonde hair flying around as she sent cyclones about the near-demolished room. At her side was Brynn Taylor of the Home Guard, providing a scalding shield of watery support against Maria, who was mimicking the same type of magic. That only left…
The whip, its metal liquid, came flying out of the mist towards Vivian. Jay jumped in front with his windy blade, the attack cutting his shoulder. The man grit his teeth before he was thrown by the next hit, on to his back. Vivian grimaced, transforming her bow into the shape of a sword, thrumming with a red glow. The whip struck again, Raymond walking slowly out of the steam. Vivian slashed, blocking one hit, and then another. Its weight felt heavy, her own body rebelling against the idea of using this weapon. That momentary distraction allowed Raymond the upper hand, and his whip locked around her sword, putting the two of them in an unmovable stalemate.
Vivian pulled, hoping to break the Bow free, but finding it quite stuck. The slightest change in her grip would spell the end. Jay pushed to stand, while from the mist, Amelia was whipping wind to hold Marcus in place for as long as she could.
“Vivian, I don’t understand. You could have solved this more peacefully with us!” Raymond shouted. He was tugging on his whip, the rivulets of metal sparking while it tried to return to its base form. “We didn’t come here to fight. Just negotiate. Is what we’re choosing so wrong?”
“Don’t you talk to me about right or wrong!” Vivian groaned. Jay hobbled up to her, hands on her shoulders as he leveled daggers of wind at his former captain. “Your whole idea of a world according to Marcus is messed up!”
“How else do you think we can save it, then? You’ve seen your own father’s heart! He’ll never change! He’ll never let you change!”
“Yeah, so what?” Vivian felt Jay’s hands put a solid hold on her arms, though the twisting shape of Raymond’s blade made both dig their feet into the grass, kicking up dirt while they did so. “I’ll make my own change, and it won’t be according to you! So, you can stuff your ‘save the world’ bullshit straight up your ass! Because you’re just lying to yourself!”
Raymond gave a final tug, and the lightning of his changing metal flashed out. One bolt struck Jay, forcing him to let go. The other strike of lightning struck to Vivian’s forearm, burning it. She tried to keep holding fast, but her grip faltered, and the Bow of Torrents was taken from her, soaring through to Raymond’s grasp. His whip became a sword again, which he pointed at her.
“I’m not. I’m striving for a better world with my chief commander. I know you’ve seen it, too. The cowardice that led the Corps to fall. The selfishness that the people are acting with in its absence. Your father is proof! Marcus would still accept you!”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Vivian said, gasping as she touched to the burn on her arm. Regardless, she lifter her venomous eyes in the man’s direction. “But I wonder if you could say that to Mera’s face? I wonder if you could tell all that to Eddie. ‘Cause from here, you’re just a loyal lapdog waiting for his master’s scraps. I’m done with all that.”
“Vivian!” It had been a simultaneous call from two different sides of the courtyard. One from Jay, stumbling back towards their skyship, and the other from Brynn. The pink-haired girl came twirling out of the steam, tossing her knives at Raymond while he was distracted, her eyes flashing with the same warning as Jay’s words. The captain moved, blocking the strike, but his movements had grown sluggish. Brynn landed, spouting off more of her scalding water to race forward. “Get going! We have a tight window here!”
“Tight window…?” Raymond was flabbergasted by Brynn’s words. The cogs were turning in his head, his brow furrowed while Brynn got close. Vivian knew it was just a matter of time before he figured it out, and she dashed for the skyship. Her eyes fell on the Bow of Torrents, her fist forming as she was forced to let it go. “You knew we’d…come for the Bow…that this was the only place…Mar-!”
Brynn’s heated water burst as a globe upon his face, knocking the captain to the ground from surprise. Vivian bid farewell to the Bow, making a promise to reclaim it all too soon, not for her family, but for the soul she knew was inside it. She leapt on the ramp, nearly bumping into a fretting Max.
“Everyone here, Max?” He nodded fervently, and she grinned to him with a thump on the back. “Are we ready for liftoff, Sal? Kenny?”
“Look at you, giving orders!” the skyship’s pilot called, her bushy hair bouncing while she flicked a few switches that finished fully decloaking the vehicle. The engines revved. They lacked the power of the Corps’ usual skyships, but Vivian knew they didn’t need to worry about the usual firepower. “Kenny, keep up that distracting fire when you get to the air. I’ll make sure to get us close to the commander. Let’s try to end this now.”
“It’ll be a longshot. Marcus is tough as they come.”
“We can hold them off from us, though,” Vivian assured Jay. She tried to stop the trembling in her hands as she held to the wall. The skyship was rising, slowly making the courtyard below small and empty, as was the rest of the manor besides the silent duel for containment taking place amidst the flames. “Besides, we got a free piece of information. That’s something in the fight ahead.”
“Then let’s make sure we make it to that next fight,” Jay insisted, slapping her back. “Your house staff and father are on board. Time for some fireworks. Light it up, Lacroix!”
“Max, ready?”
“As ever, Lady Vivian.” Lady and attendant took hands, and Vivian felt her power flowing through, the maximum amount of strength she had left. Her father’s disapproving gaze was on her, but she didn’t care while their skyship headed for the fight, a breeze lifting up to indicate the gotten message. Max’s body glowed a full red. She slipped her hand out of Max’s and watched as her ever faithful companion clapped his together. Then he released, and from within were fireflies that spread on the air, falling as ash to the very base of Lacroix Manor.
“Good riddance to this hellhole…” Vivian whispered under her breath. Then, the fireflies made contact.
From below, it started with a rumble, cracking the earth of the courtyard. Vivian lifted her hand, and to the border of Lacroix Manor, a shield was applied, keeping all out. At the far end, fire spurt forth, consuming a wing of the manor in a conflagration that stretched to the sky. Another happened moments later, the chain going off in a series of explosions that Max had caused under her maximum enchantments. Vivian almost slipped, propped by the man, watching as flames and explosions consumed Lacroix Manor.
“Taylor! Now!” Amelia’s voice yelled over the booms. The member of the Home Guard flipped back from where she’d been holding Raymond, tossing knives at the floor in multiple directions. They formed a box around all three Order members, and Vivian could see the young woman contemplate grabbing the Bow in her efforts. That second delay sent Maria running her way.
An explosion went off next to the brown-haired priestess, but was held off by Marcus, frowning at the current events. Amelia ran for Brynn, a gust issuing from her palm to give some halt to their enemy. Brynn opened her hands, and where the knives had fallen, a torrential downpour of her scalding magic came, hammering all three. A plume of fire shot up right next to their skyship, indicating the danger, but Amelia didn’t pause. She snapped her fingers, a great air current lifting her and Brynn up to the skyship, where they rolled on the ramp and looked down.
“Take us out, Sal!”
“Aye, commander! Heading for home!” The throttle was gunned, their ramshackle skyship changing course for the south and shooting off, over the blazing inferno that was now Lacroix Manor.
People in the town below were screaming, their voices heard on the rising heat in the air, but none dared approach. Perhaps it had been the death of a symbol to them, but Vivian felt comparatively little. Or if she did feel something, it was…elation.
Watching her home burn, it felt as though she’d taken another step to freedom, the chains lifting off her for a moment. The reminder of her austere upbringing had turned into the remnants of a choice she’d made, and a plan she’d helped come up with. That was enough to let her bid farewell in peace, the ramp closing and cutting them off while Lacroix Manor, and the three they had momentarily outfoxed, burned. The skyship sped up, the grinding and moaning of the gears indicating the ship entering a cloaked mode, and soon they were off over the ocean.
Vivian fell to her butt, only to find Amelia standing over her.
“We lost the Bow, huh?” the commander asked. She didn’t stand on ceremony for long, collapsing on the other side. “I don’t blame you. It took what I had just to hold Marcus. He’s a beast.”
“Mm…but he’s still beatable…” Vivian reasoned to her commander and mentor. Amelia raised an eyebrow, leaning forward to converse amidst the already lively ship. Brynn kept a close eye on them, her arm bleeding from her earlier tussle with Raymond. Though it wasn’t the man himself, it told Vivian just what they had escaped. “He doesn’t know where the Abyssal Blade is…and I think…I think all the souls he absorbed…they’re fighting back.”
“Montgomery included?”
“Maybe. But it’s a burden on him.” Vivian didn’t know how else to put it, but she couldn’t help what was rising in her breast. “Commander, he might walk away from that trap we set, but we just learned he’s not all-powerful. All we need to do is wear him down, and beat him to the Blade first.”
Amelia smirked, glad to hear the information in spite of their best-laid plans going awry. “Then, the race is on, huh? Guess we’ll need someone who can confirm it for us. Time to head back for Lumarina.”
They’d found hope.
----------------------------------------
Marcus’s body burned all over, the pain infecting his very veins. It should have been from the fire and remains of Lacroix Manor around him, but he only wished that were the case. Instead, it came from within, threatening to rip his body apart from the inside.
“What the hell happened out there? Did you know they were waiting for us?” Maria’s screeches echoed in the burning courtyard as she shook her ashen cloak on to the grass. A radius of cold surrounded them, protecting them from the flames while they regained their wind. It hadn’t been easy to protect his people. “Marcus!”
“I heard you, Maria. And no…I didn’t.”
“What happened to your oh, so powerful Soul Magic, then? You practically gave out in the middle of tempting Lacroix.”
“Give it a rest,” Raymond snapped, tired of hearing the woman blather on. Marcus was grateful, taking the respite to allow himself a rejuvenation of his strength, bringing the souls within under his control again. He needed more time. Or perhaps just more souls. “Sir, are you all right?”
“Just some momentary issues. That man was certainly worth his title.” His comrades shared a glance, shrugging when they had no idea what he was talking about. All Marcus saw was the Bow of Torrents, held in Raymond’s hands. One step closer. “Well, we may have been blindsided, but I daresay we walked away with the greater prize. They’ll be scrambling to recover from this.”
“It also means we’ll be gunning for the same thing.”
“So, what? Winner takes all?” Maria asked, laughing. She was treating it as a game, just as always. Marcus grimaced at the thought, his body coming fully under his command. He was going to need to be careful. “What’s the plan, then, Mr. Reaper?”
Marcus twitched while he stood, staring at the smoke-filled night sky while the manor burned around them. He grinned. “A game of cat and mouse. We’ll not afford another surprise from them any time soon. Not now that we have but two to go.”
“How do you mean?” Raymond watched him, but Maria already knew what he was talking about. Her face stretched in a Cheshire grin, and her Mimic Magic took form as she called a winged beast forth, just as Caleb did. It was weaker, but enough for the three to climb aboard.
“Spread the birds out wide, captain. What else do you think?” With another smirk, a jangle of her earrings and quick “hi-yah!”, the beast they were upon sped off and vanished in the night sky, carrying the Order’s hope along with it.