Chapter 27

KHLOE GILES

After making sure everyone understood what they were supposed to do and had the proper means to do it, I made my way into the room Owen was locked in. I eyed him quietly for a moment and he returned a steady gaze.

"Do you really want to help us?"

"Yes." His answer was stern, certain. Quick.

"You understand that if I find out you are lying to me, I will kill you myself?" I asked calmly.

"Yes." He replied with the same quick, stern response.

"Here's the deal. We're going to stop Maxx. Or rather the thing that is possessing Maxx." I informed him, "In order to do that, we need my sister. You're going to help me break her out. Understood?"

"That's almost impossible." Owen said, though he is smirking.

"You’re going to help me break her out." I repeated.

"I didn't say I wouldn't." He replied, still grinning, "But I can't do it from here."

I nodded in agreement.

"You will be under my protection the entire time. Understood? If you make a move to hurt one of my people, I will give them orders to kill without question."

"Yes ma'am." He nodded in agreement, "I guess I should consider myself a prisoner of war?"

"Yes. You should." I agreed, though I didn’t like the term itself.

"Alright. When do we begin?" He asked.

"Wait here. Let me find a guardian to watch you." I told him and walked back outside. Keith and Seth were talking quietly, I supposed that Seth was helping Keith figure out his part of the job. I cleared my throat to make them aware of my presence and they both looked up.

"Seth. Do you have someone who can stand watch beside Owen? He is going to be helping me find a way to break Abbey out. I would like him guarded until we can be sure that we can trust him." I explained. Seth nodded.

"Will and Sonia will do fine. I'll call them and let them know." He said.

"Thank you." I nodded as he wonders off to find the guards, turning to Keith, "How's the preplanning going so far?"

"We have some places to start. Scotty is digging through the library to find the books we need." Keith told me, crossing his arms.

"Good. That's great. Wes, Owen and I will be in the back room, going over blue prints." I told him.

"Do we have blue prints of HQ?" Keith asked, lifting a brow.

"No. But we have four people who know HQ like the back of our hands." I gave him a little smile.

"Right. Good idea." He nodded, grinning back.

"Please have someone move the chalk board into the back room. We'll be needing it to scribble on." I told them.

"Yes ma'am." Keith agreed. Seth came back with a young boy and girl. They looked a year or two younger than me and it was obvious they were twins and foreign.

"Khloe, this is Will and Sonia Dearing. They are two of the most powerful guardians we have. Their parents were killed by Inquisition officers when they were children." Seth introduced us.

"Pleasure to meet you." I said, shaking their hands.

"The pleasure is ours Miss. We are honored to assist the Queen of the witches in any way possible." Sonia bowed.

"We are young, but we are strong. Especially when we stand together. We have fought many battles and have many more to fight." Will said, also bowing.

"That is good. I have a very important job for you two. I have a man who needs to be guarded. He may be a traitor and needs special attention. Any sudden movements and I give you my orders to kill him." I told them.

"Yes ma'am. We can do that." Will said, looking excited.

"Good. He is in Cabin four. Take Wes Evergreen and bring them both to the back room." I told them. They bowed together and then wondered off to follow orders.

"Cute." I murmured, grinning at Seth.

"But sad." He agreed, nodding.

"Very." I nodded, "Thank you for your help Seth."

"Anytime, my queen." He grinned, lifting a brow before going back to his conversation with Keith. I laughed and made my way to the back room where I was shortly followed by Wes, Owen, and the guards.

"First move is to lay out the blue print for the HQ." I told them. "I think I can do it with a spell. Just give me a minute."

"Please allow me to try miss." Sonia said.

"Sonia is great at casting spells." Will nodded in agreement.

"Okay." I stepped back. Will and Sonia look at each other, as if having a silent conversation. Will nodded and they took each other’s hands, stepping up to the black board.

"Aperire domum inferi." They said, both placing their hands on the black board. There was a white light that covered the board, but it was gone as quickly as it came and the blue print for HQ was drawn in chalk on the board.

"That is so cool." Owen said, almost sounding jealous.

"There's an entrance point at the basement." Wes said, pointing at a spot on the map. Sonia tapped the spot and it turned into a red circle.

"Excellent." I grinned at her and she beamed.

"Thank you miss." She bowed.

"We have the front entrance and the back entrance." I pointed out.

"Those will make for easy distraction targets." Owen agreed. "We also have the doc at the basement where they bring in the bodies."

"That'll be an easy entrance for the target party. Luis and Leonna will be glad to let us on their team."

"Yes, they are very supportive of you and your family." Owen agreed. "So we will enter from Broadway Street at the loading docks. Just at the elevator doors. Sonia, can you mark that? I asked.

"Yes ma'am." Sonia raised a finger and marked the location.

"We'll travel the hallways until we get to the secure door here." I marked the spot on the map. Sonia followed my fingers and behind hers the spots turned red, marking our path. "Abbey could be in any of these cells below. We'll have to search until we find her."

"And then how do we get her out of the cages?" Wes asked.

"Okay so we will send a team in from Fifth Street as a distraction." I pointed out the location on the map, "And then from the back entrance here."

Sonia marked the locations easily.

"Hades office is here." I marked Maxx's office on the map. "We need to expect retaliation from there."

"Right." Owen agreed. "We'll probably face more resistance from the back entrance, since it is where the van loads."

"So send extra fire power there." I nodded in agreement.

"Can you mark that Sonia?" I asked, she nods and double taps the spot. It turned bright orange.

"The basement should face less resistance. Leonna refuses to allow guards there, so there shouldn't be any problem getting in." I nodded.

"We need the most fire power at the front entrance and back." I marked the spots for Sonia.

"We can definitely do the most damage there." Wes agreed. "And set up command centers here and here." He marked the lobbies and break rooms that officer’s use.

"Excellent idea." I nodded in agreement. "Hades will fire from above, so we need to set up a defense from the back hallway." I Noted.

"Do we even know how many people will be fighting?" Owen asked.

"Enough. Elona is putting out a call for every witch or magical creature to gather here." I explained. "Dad is setting up all of the teams we need."

"Great." Owen nodded.

I looked over at Wes and noticed he looked a little pale. I frowned. "Are you alright?" I asked quietly.

"Fine."

"Let's get these maps to Keith and dad. They will be our main point of operation." I told Sonia who nods.

"A Creta in Charta quam ego tibi praecipio." She commands. There is another flash of lightening and a flutter of what sounds like wings. On the desk appears a stack of papers with the maps.

"That is so cool." I mumbled, picking them up.

"I'll hand them to everyone who needs a copy." Wes said, holding his hand out for a copy. I nodded in agreement, passing them to him.

"Sonia, Will, take Owen back to Cabin four and watch over him until further notice." I ordered.

"Yes ma'am." They both agreed. I watched them walk off with Owen trailing behind.

"Do you really think we can trust him?" Wes asked, lifting a brow at me.

"No idea." I replied honestly, "But he's all we have to go on." I sighed.

"I don't like it." He announced.

"I Know. I don't either. Too many things likely to go wrong." I frowned. He nodded in agreement.

"Are you okay?" I asked once again, looking up at him. He paused slightly and then sighed.

"I don't know." He mumbled quietly.

"You don't know what?"

"I don't know if I can do this Khloe. I don't know if I can kill my father." He mumbled weakly. I frowned.

"Hades isn't your father." I informed him, "Maxx Evergreen is your father."

"I know." He sighed. "But Hades is wearing my father’s face and has been for who knows how long. He's the man who has raised me. I've already had to kill one person who betrayed me. I don't think I can handle killing anyone else I love."

"What're you going to do? We're in the middle of a war." I told him, sighing heavily.

"I know. I just don't think I'm ready for battle yet." He frowned.

"So, you're saying you aren't going to go with us?" I asked quietly. He paused for a moment and then nodded.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. I'm not going with you." He hung his head. “I know. It makes me a coward.”

"What are you going to do Wes? It isn't like this is just going to go away." I argued.

"I don't know, Khloe. I'm really sorry, but I don't know. I just know that I can't stay here and watch this happen, watch everything I’ve known for the past eighteen years be destroyed." Wes sighed.

"I know it's all bad and I know what Hades is done is wrong, but it isn't something I can just change overnight. I was a witch hunter and now I'm a witch, I don't know how to process that, and I need time. I'm not like you, I can't just jump into battle and know what's right. I have to deal with it."

"And I'm not dealing with it? You think that this is what I want?" I asked, laughing, but the sound was bitter. "You think I want my sister in prison and an angry god after me?"

"No, I think you like fighting. I think you are a soldier and battles are what you do best. But I'm not Khloe, I never was. I don't know my place here and I have to figure it out." He sighed heavily.

"So what? You're going to go away?" I asked quietly.

"Yes." He hung his head. "That's the only option I see. I know, it makes me a coward. And I don’t know where I’m going to go. I can't promise I'll be gone forever Khloe, but I can't promise I'll come back either."

"Fine. Go. Do whatever it is you need to do." I sighed, rubbing my temple. “But I know you’ll be back. The prophecy said so.”

"I'm sorry Khloe." He breathed quietly.

"Whatever." I shrugged. "Talk to Elona and Keith before you leave. They can give you things that'll help protect you wherever you go."

Wes nodded.

"Please don't be mad at me." He whispered softly.

"I'm not mad. Frustrated? Yes. But not mad. I don't want you to go Wes." I sighed, leaning against him.” I feel like I just got you back and I'm going to lose you again. It isn’t fair."

"I know. I'm so sorry." He mumbled. I leaned up, wrapping my arms around him and giving him a hug that he returned.

“Take care of yourself.” I whispered quietly. He nodded.

“You to. Please be safe.” He mumbled and kissed the top of my forehead. I nodded, leaning up to press our lips together.

“Bye Khloe.” He said when he finally pulled back. I forced back tears and offer him a thin smile.

“Bye Wes. Good luck.” I whispered quietly and walked away.