Chapter 164 This One's For Bram

Chapter 164 This One's For Bram
Elyndra

Serafina raised a hand. "Wait."

The rebels slowed, but they did not lower their weapons. Swords remained pointed at my chest.

I smiled anyway.

Serafina folded her arms. "Before anyone ties you up..." She held my gaze. "...tell me why you're here."

I shrugged. "To save your lives."

Aldo barked out a harsh laugh. "We're supposed to believe that?"

I shook my head. "You don't have to." I glanced past him toward the refugees scrambling to prepare for battle. "I've already accomplished what I came to do."

Serafina frowned. "Warn us?"

I inclined my head. "You've seen the panic. Without warning, your people would still be scattered throughout the forest. My brother would've butchered them before sunrise." My eyes drifted toward the mountain. "...And the survivors would spend the rest of their lives trapped inside that pitiful mountain."

No one answered. Because they knew I was right.

Serafina's expression remained unreadable. "Then answer me this." She stepped closer. "If you truly came to save us... what were you planning to have us do?"

At last.

A question with substance.

"The only way you're going to defeat my brother's army..." My gaze drifted toward the towering trees surrounding the Sanctum. "...is by surprise."

Murmurs spread through the camp.

Aldo scoffed. "Surprise? We're outnumbered."

"Hopelessly."

"We're poorly armed."

"Embarrassingly so."

"We have children."

"Far too many."

His face reddened. "Then why are you smiling?"

"Because you're preparing for the wrong battle."

The camp erupted in hushed whispers.

I slowly turned, taking in the sharpened spears, hastily stacked arrows, and frightened faces.

"You're fortifying the entrance to the Veiled Sanctum." I shook my head. "That is exactly what my brother expects."

Serafina watched me carefully. "Go on."

"If you stand here..." I pointed toward the mountain. "...you become a fortress." My eyes shifted to Aldo. "And every fortress can be surrounded." I looked toward the black wolf at Serafina's side. "Wolves can move." Then toward the ancient canopy. "So can forests."

Understanding flickered across several faces.

"My brother commands soldiers. Disciplined. Predictable. They obey formations, marching orders, and horns. You command none of those things."

I swept an arm toward the refugees.

"You have wolves. Wild beasts. An Arboran who speaks to the trees. A creature every animal in this forest obeys."

Finally, I looked at Serafina and Lio.

"And a Celestial my brother believes is dead... and another he believes is lying unconscious in Arcanis."

The murmuring grew louder.

"Use that." I looked directly at Serafina. "Don't meet his army. Break it. Split the columns. Lead them into the deepest parts of the forest. Strike their officers. Destroy their machines. Disappear. Then do it again."

I looked up into the ancient canopy.

"By nightfall..." I said softly, "...every Arcanian soldier should believe the forest itself wants him dead."

No one spoke. Even Aldo seemed to be thinking.

Serafina finally broke the silence. "And if Vaelric himself enters the forest?"

I smiled. "Then you've already won."

Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"My brother has spent centuries believing he controls every battlefield." I folded my hands behind my back. "The moment he abandons command to chase a single enemy..." I met her eyes. "...he becomes predictable."

The camp fell quiet.

I reached into my pocket and withdrew a leather pouch.

"There is another strategy. Head for Aetheria now."

Serafina tilted her head, confused.

"I'm guessing you're wondering how you could possibly reach Aetheria before nightfall."

I loosened the drawstring and tipped several polished white travel orbs into my palm.

Gasps rippled through the refugees.

"Black-market travel orbs," Helga murmured.

I nodded. "Enough for a small strike force."

Serafina frowned. "You want us to assassinate Vaelric?"

I laughed. "You lack imagination, Celestial." Closing my fingers around the orbs, I looked from face to face. "I don't want you to kill my brother. I want you to do something he'll never expect."

Every eye remained fixed on me.

"Break into the Penitentiary..." I said softly.
"...and free Azerath."

Aldo stared. "You can't be serious."

"I've rarely been more serious."

Serafina raised a hand. "It's worth considering. Although I don't need the orbs to—"

"How can you even consider this?" Aldo shouted. He rounded on her before glaring back at me. "She's trying to trick us!"

"Am I?"

I tossed one of the travel orbs into the air. It spun once. I caught it.

"My brother believes you'll defend the forest." Another toss. "He believes you'll make your final stand here." Catch. "So while his entire army marches into the Cursed Forest..." I smiled wider. "...you send a handful of your finest warriors into the heart of his capital."

Even Serafina didn't interrupt.

"Free Azerath, Celestial. My brother built an empire upon certainty."

I closed my fist around the orb.

"So take certainty away from him."

\----------

Helga

I hated admitting it.

But the old bat had come up with a bloody good plan.

She was still a snake. Just... a clever snake.

I looked around the camp.

The idea was spreading faster than wildfire. I could see it in their faces. Slip into Aetheria. Break into the Penitentiary. Free Azerath.

One dragon could change a war.

Slowly, I curled my fingers around the haft of my axe behind my back.

"Now that..." I said, nodding thoughtfully. "...I like."

Elyndra's smile widened.

"Breaking Azerath out of prison?" I grinned. "That'll surprise the bastard."

The Dark Emperor's sister practically beamed. She actually thought she'd won me over.

Poor woman.

I casually stepped behind her. "How many travel orbs do you have?"

"About a dozen," she replied without hesitation. "Enough to send a small strike force into the Penitentiary, with enough left over to bring everyone back once Azerath is free. Each orb can only be used once."

I gave an exaggerated whistle. "You can't possibly have that many. They're rarer than honest politicians."

"They are." She tossed me the leather pouch. "See for yourself."

It landed in my palm with a satisfying weight. I loosened the drawstring and peeked inside.

Black-market travel orbs. Real ones.

I looked back at her. "I'll be damned. I'm impressed."

Her chin lifted just a little higher. "I thought you might be."

I grinned, shifting my grip on the axe. "Almost forgot." I tilted my head. "This one's for Bram."

"What—"

Thwack!

The flat of the axe slammed into the side of her head. The smile vanished from her face.

For one wonderfully satisfying heartbeat, confusion replaced it. "Damn you, Hel—"

Her eyes rolled back. She crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut, collapsing into the dirt.

A collective gasp rippled through the camp.

"I may be gullible," I muttered, "but I'm not that gullible. I'm not trusting the sister of the man trying to wipe us all out."

I turned toward Florian. "Well?"

He adjusted his coat. "Yes?"

"You're either with us or against us. Choose."

For a long moment, Florian simply looked at Elyndra lying in the dirt. Then he looked toward Serafina.

Finally, he sighed. "I'm with you."

"Smart answer." I knelt beside Elyndra. "She's far too devious to carry only one trick."

I began searching the hidden pockets sewn into her gown.

First came a slender dagger. Then a heavy purse filled with gold. A pouch of silver silt. A tiny silver key. Then my fingers brushed cool glass.

I frowned and carefully withdrew a small glass case. Inside floated a tiny doll suspended in clear liquid.

I turned it over in my hands, searching for a latch. "What in the seven hells is this?"

"Don't." Florian's voice cut through the silence like a knife.

Every eye turned toward him.

"I don't know precisely what Lady Elyndra intended to do with it," he said quietly, "but I do know she protected that case more fiercely than anything else she carried."

I looked it over, then slipped it into my pocket. "Must be important." I shrugged. "Mine now."

Before anyone could say another word, footsteps echoed from the forest.

Ryven emerged from between the trees with Jehan beside him. Several paces ahead of them walked the shadow turned mortal, his hands bound tightly behind his back.

I blinked. "I thought you were inside the Sanctum."

Ryven shook his head. "I've been keeping an eye on Veylorn. He betrayed the Celestials once. He can do it again." He jerked his chin toward the bound man. "Instead, we found the shadow who became mortal."

Jehan gave him a shove. "He wasn't difficult to recognize."

Ryven looked down at Elyndra's unconscious body. "When we found him, I figured Elyndra couldn't be far away."

"You figured right." I tossed him the pouch of travel orbs.

Ryven caught it one-handed and frowned. "What's this?"

"Our way into Aetheria."

He loosened the drawstring and peered inside. His eyes widened. "Travel orbs?"

I grinned. "We've got ourselves a dragon to break out of prison... again."