White Chess Pawn [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPd7TBH1dbzDfKrALrn1C-2brHhHLiO4hWLO47OZeAbv5yueY0K4Mu6k8HAW35yAPL7l0h-7OpZy7jxOtyVUJcYwzUa1COYNHppXw_a_BKL9OYd4BuwtHTg0zf_G-ReBUT98kne6XhnV8t1sIWoFpku=w639-h958-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Phoenix understood now just how dangerous things were, not for her but for everyone she cared about. The wrong word, too sudden of a movement, or reacting instead of thinking would just get someone she cared about killed.
She tried to remain silent and let Dazien do the talking for her. He was better at reading situations like this, better at knowing the right words to say. So she was appalled when it looked like he was getting ready to sacrifice himself for their cousin.
There was no way she could lose her brother to the whims of a mad cultist.
Phoenix reached out to grab at Uriel’s tunic and begged him not to kill either of her family members, “Uriel. You can’t kill them.” There had to be another option. They couldn’t just let the evil guy win.
Their captor dashed her hopes, however, when he pointed out the unfair ultimatum they were in, “He’s either killing one with his own hands or all the rest because he chose to be a coward.”
Someone was dying before he would leave the room. She realized then that while she might not be able to stop one of her friends from dying in the next few minutes, she might be able to save the rest.
Phoenix realized that Uriel had a weapon. Something that could kill her! If she could only signal to him somehow that he should kill her instead. She didn’t want to tip the guy off that she wanted to die —well, fake-die— so she needed to give a hint without actually giving her intent away.
The only problem was that she was terrible with words, especially the subtle kind that relied on hidden interpretations. If she couldn’t ever pick up on them herself, how could she even make one that would be obvious to others?
She found herself wishing she could hear Tala’s voice through the Silencer. Maybe her Familiar would have a better way with words… probably not, though. The obsessed bird would probably just complain about her killing them again and beg for more shinies as recompense.
Before she could think of what to say, her brother spoke again.
It broke her own heart to hear Dazien actually tell Uriel that he loved him. She had never heard either of them say that before, even in their more private moments. While it had been obvious to her when she actually started looking at them in that light, it had a finality to it that felt like a punch to her gut when he said it now.
Then Dazien gave a command that she knew Uriel wouldn’t disobey —knew that he couldn’t fight.
Her best friend took a step forward to obey, and she used all of her Sapphire Caste Strength to yank on his tunic, causing him to stumble and turn into her.
She couldn’t have planned it better if she had actually tried to as the dagger in his hand plunged into her heart with ease. The only thing she regretted at that moment was the horrified look on Uriel’s face as they stared at each other, their faces only a few inches apart.
His eyes were wide as he stammered, “N-no, I—”
“It’s okay,” she whispered through the pain, “Just wait for me.”
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Uriel’s emotions felt like a steak being fought over by a pack of hungry frolf pups, getting chewed up, pulled in every direction, and pieces ripped from the rest of him. First, by the brief thought that he would have followed Dazien’s command and then again by killing his best friend. The only thing keeping him together was Phoenix’s hidden promise: “Wait for me.”
He could do that.
She would get help. She could save them all; he just needed to buy time. Phoenix had become the sacrificial pawn, and now he needed to be the distracting court mage in this new game of Monarch’s March.
Uriel turned back to look at their captor, whose face contorted into an angry snarl as he shoved the other two out of his way and replaced Uriel’s hand on the dagger, “Shit. Don’t you dare die, bitch.”
“Bet your boss isn’t going to be happy with you now, is he?” Uriel taunted.
Blood-red eyes fixed on him for a moment before a fist sent him to the floor with a broken jaw.
This could work, he thought. Then he spat out the blood in his mouth and managed to mumble, “Coward.”
The cultist growled and deliberately pulled a fist back again to deal another blow.
“No, Senesh!” Dazien shouted. The Defender was at his side the next moment and crouched over him protectively with a palm raised to his attacker, “Stop! He’s the Destroyer’s Chosen, remember?! Don’t hurt him!”
“Should I kill you in his place then?! ‘Cause he just cost us a fortune if she—”
Phoenix’s body disintegrating into blue ash interrupted his words as the weight of her vanishing released the dagger, and the cultist cursed again, kicking at the now-empty cage in anger. When the Emerald Caster turned to kick him instead, Daze shouted, “Your boss needs to know! You know that if you wait longer, it’s going to end up worse, and you’ll look like a traitor who killed the Saint. You’re willing to risk killing two Chosen and losing even more money?”
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The cinderen let out a roar of nonsensical rage before grabbing Dazien’s collar again and dragging the gemite back to the cage he had originally occupied.
Padma beat the man to the order by ducking into her own cell and shutting the door behind her, not needing extra encouragement.
Before Uriel could even stand up properly, the cultist punched him again, and he heard a rib audibly crack as he cried out from the pain, “That’s for killin’ the whore.”
Another spike of pain rushed through him as his hand was crushed under a boot, “That’s for spoilin’ my fun, and this is for all the Bits I lost because of you.”
Then Uriel’s left eye was decimated as an Emerald Caste fist shattered the socket, and he saw only blackness before passing out.
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Dazien felt the wrench in his heart as he helplessly watched Phoenix get murdered in front of his eyes… again. He honestly didn’t feel quite as distraught as he had the last time, or the time before that, or before that, which bothered him more than he thought it should.
He didn’t like the idea of getting used to seeing his sister die over and over again, but logically, he knew that in this moment, it was their best chance of survival. He wished he had thought of that.
Dazien had been ready to die for the others. To rejoin his mother and hopefully give Uriel a new and better reason to live and fight than for just his sake. Now, it just looked like Phoenix’s martyr complex was wearing off on him.
When their captor looked like he was going to murder Uriel next, he had tried to talk the man down instead. Logic would hopefully help. He hated calling Uriel “Destroyer’s Chosen,” but he knew that mutually assured destruction might be the only thing that could help keep his partner alive.
He was tossed back into the cage like an animal, his antlers catching on the short meter-tall cage again before he stumbled to the ground. Then, the sadist proceeded to beat Uriel half to death.
“You’re gonna kill him, and then we’ll all be dead!” Dazien shouted at the enraged cultist. Who fixed him with a glare before pulling out a runekey to unlock the cage that Phoenix had been in. He grabbed Uriel by the collar and tossed him into it, kicking up Phoenix’s ashes in the process, but Dazien was more concerned about the sickening thud as his partner collapsed against the cell floor.
“He’s a Caster. He’ll live,” the cultist spat before slamming the cage door shut and moving to storm out of the room.
They were all startled when the door opened and a new voice came from the doorway, one that Dazien recognized, “Where’s the Wayfarer, Vas?” the runeforged man asked in annoyance as he looked around the room.
The newcomer was dressed in the same red cloak as the others, but Dazien still recognized the face of Ramir Mirimel, the AOA functionary who had stopped him from requesting an investigation into the kidnappings and gave him this cursed mission. It was clear to him now why that was, and he internally chided himself for not going above the man’s head sooner.
The sadistic cultist Ramir had called Vas crossed his arms defensively and retorted, “Died. Turned to ash due to the Destroyer’s Chosen goin’ and killin’ her.”
The AOA traitor raised a brow and glanced over at the barely moving form of Uriel as he lay unconscious in the cage, “A Silenced Crystal Caster somehow managed to kill an equally Silenced and caged Sapphire? I don’t think Mister Lumeris is going to believe that without some obviously missing details.”
“Hey, the boss said I could play a game with them to pick dinner,” he retorted, “Who in their right mind would think killin’ the flippin’ Saint is what her party would choose?!”
Ramir looked unimpressed as he gave the other cultist a flat look and said, “We serve the Maniac, and you question their sanity? I think you’ve gotten a bit too deep into the faith side of this if you’re already that insane.”
Vas scoffed, “You know I’m just like you and here for the promise of power… it’s a bonus that they taste good.”
The administrator glanced around the room again, pausing as he took in Padma and Camilla’s trembling figures, and said, “I think you’re enjoying a bit more than just the power and snacks. You belong in the cult. I’m the one keeping my head and making sure you all stay hidden from the AOA, remember? It’s brash moves like that which risk our exposure.”
“Yer just lucky that this area is part of an actual Sanctuary. Yer lil plan wouldn’t have worked without the Maniac’s influence keepin’ these Chosen hidden!”
Ramir’s gaze returned to Uriel for a moment before sliding to Dazien’s, “I should have guessed the chained shadow by your side was just as voidtouched as this degenerate,” he said, gesturing to his cultist companion. “It looks like my low opinion of you is even higher than you deserve if you’re keeping a Destroyer’s Chosen as a pet.”
Vas gave a snort of laughter, “Turns out he’s a bit more than a pet. More like a love slave,” the sadistic grin reappeared as the cultist looked at him and asked, “Do you keep the chains on in bed, too?”
Dazien did not deign to respond. He wouldn’t bite the verbal bait this man obviously enjoyed using on his prey.
Their captor scowled and glanced over at Saiya, “Should I finish picking one of the red shirts to take with me? Maybe keep me company tonight instead?”
“Now Vas, I know for a fact Mister Lumeris has told you not to spoil dinner. Nobody here wants to eat that, especially from you,” Ramir said with a look of disgust. Then the traitor stepped to the side and pointed out of the room, “Instead of messing things up even more than you already have with your games, go tell Lumeris what happened here… With details.
The sadist scowled again and spat on Dazien before stalking past the runeforged and out of the room. He hoped the man wouldn’t return again.
Ramir watched Vas leave before turning to look directly at Dazien and gave the sneer he was most familiar with, “I told you this would be a waste of time and resources, Mister Smithson. You should have listened to me.”
Dazien glared at him silently as the cold fury built deep within him. This traitor was the cause of all of this. Was the reason so many Casters had died and gone missing, and nobody seemed to know about it. How many others had been in their position, asking for help to investigate, only to be sent into a trap?
The runeforged scoffed at the silence, “And you’re usually always so quick with pretty words to go with the pretty face. Your noble Wayfarer —the one who lifted you up from the dirt— just died in front of you, and now is when you have nothing to say?”
When Dazien finally spoke, the ice in his voice made even his friends shiver and look at him with worry as he promised the traitorous AOA official with infused words he hadn’t intended to empower, “I’m going to deny your request when you beg me for mercy.”