“Then we gather all the information we can, then disrupt their little meeting and get out,” Alaric says.“We make sure we can slip away unhurt, though, so maybe we just set fires after ourselves.”
It’s clear he isn’t planning much for this possibility.Alaric wants Selene to be there.He wants the chance to kill her and slip away, putting an end to her new empire before it can even begin.If I have concerns about that, I swallow them for now.This isn’t a mission where we can hesitate, even for a moment.
I lead the way through the dark.My enhanced senses let me pick out a couple of snares left in the woods that might be there for game, or might be there to keep out unwanted visitors.I can see the villa ahead, a large, square structure with white painted walls and a roof of dark slate.It’s designed so that the main building surrounds a central courtyard, and through the senses of a passing bat I see that central space is already filling up with people lounging on couches and sipping wine.
“We need to move faster,” I whisper.“The guests are already arriving.”
I lead the resistance past the lines of snares, moving closer to the house.It means passing by the kennels where the villa keeps its dogs at night.I can feel them starting to stir but I send a flicker of magic out towards them, willing them to go back to sleep and ignore us.I tell them that we’re friends, familiar smells, nothing they need to worry about.
No barking comes as we approach, but I sense a second threat as we get closer: the Salis family keeps geese within the outer walls of their villa.Clearly, they aren’t the physical threat that trained hunting hounds might be, but they’re still an effective alarm system for the house.I reach out for them, the way I did with the hounds, sending them to sleep and hoping they’ll stay that way.
The resistance and I make our way along the stream, getting closer to the walls of the villa.There are guards patrolling, so we wait in silence, barely daring to breathe as one passes by above.Alaric slips from my side, moving up behind the guard like a shadow and I wince, thinking Alaric’s about to kill him.
Instead, Alaric’s arm goes around the guard’s neck pulling him back as he strangles the other man into unconsciousness.The resistance swarm up the walls, Thalia stopping to bind the unconscious guard and push him out of sight.I see her powers flickering over him.
“He’ll sleep longer now, and wake without harm,” Thalia whispers.
Alaric nods, looking satisfied.
“Split up,” he orders.“Thalia, you and half the rest hold our exit route.The rest of you see what you can find.Lyra… be careful in there.Don’t let yourself get distracted by Marcus’ presence.This is about Selene, not about whatever we may feel personally.”
Is he warning me against going to talk to Marcus, or trying to attack him?Would I really want to do either?
There’s a brief space between the outer wall of the villa compound and the inner house.I watch to make sure there are no guards approaching, then slip down and cross the space between the two.I borrow a touch of climbing skill from the spiders that lurk in corners of the house and start to climb up the side of the structure.Even with that, it’s difficult going, not made easier by the part of my mind that now insists I should have twice as many limbs as I seem to.
I let go of what I’ve borrowed from the spiders as soon as I’m on the slate roof, and let go of the owl’s sight, too.I don’t want to risk holding onto too much for too long, especially not when I’m also using my powers to hold the guard animals of the villa in sleep.
I pad over the roof, knowing Alaric and the others will be slipping into the villa in their own ways.It’s light inside, which means they’ll all be able to see, but it also means they’ll need to be careful not to be spotted.By going over the roof like this, I hope to avoid being spotted by servants and guards.I keep low, making my way over the roof and watching for any signs I’ve been spotted.
I can hear voices ahead, in the courtyard, along with music and laughter.I drop to my belly now, crawling forward over the roof, determined to see everything I can.
The inner courtyard of the villa comes into view.It’s lit by a series of glowing braziers around the edges, illuminating those who are gathered and providing some warmth in the cool night air.There are couches set out there, along with tables of food and wine.Servants move between the nobles and merchants lounging there, while a couple of musicians entertain the crowd with a harp and lute.
I recognize plenty of those attending.There are senators, including Olivia and Octavio.There are merchants.There are a couple of priests and others wearing the robes of the scholars.
And Marcus is there too.
Even though I knew he would be here, it still makes my heart ache to see him.He’s smiling and laughing with the others.Briefly, I wonder if he might have been controlled by Selene’s psychomancy, but I can’t feel any traces of that power around him.
I can feel the emotions of those here, thanks to my powers.I can feel enjoyment and excitement, a sense that this party is building up to some big moment.I can feel a mixture of emotions from Marcus: excitement and trepidation, worry and too many others to pick apart.
Is this building up to the moment when Selene will appear?Is she coming out to address the crowd?Tension builds in me just at the thought, and at the prospect of the violence that might follow.If she appears, I have no doubt Alaric will leap out from some shadow at her, and I must be ready to help.
The prospect of a fight in the courtyard terrifies me, mostly because of the carnage it might cause.Servants and nobles will be caught up in it, and there’s the potential for deadly magic to fly in every direction.How many people will die in that chaos?
It’s enough to make me wish I could tell Alaric to call this off, but I can’t even see where he is right now, and I certainly can’t call out to him.It’s possible that he’s down there somewhere, using illusions to make himself look like one of the guests.All I can do is wait for the moment when Selene will appear.
Except she doesn’t.I wait in silence, feeling the beating of my heart like a drum, but she doesn’t step out into the courtyard.There’s no sign she’s here at all.Instead, as the musicians fade into silence, it’s Marcus who steps forward to speak.Just that is enough to make it feel as though my heart has stopped.
Then he starts to speak.
“My friends, thank you for coming.I know some of you were hoping to see Selene Ravenscroft tonight, but sadly, she can’t be everywhere.”He smiles as he makes his apology, and that smile only adds to my pain and shock.He isn’t some fringe figure, here to observe, isn’t here to be persuaded.Marcus is at theheartof this.
“Butweare here, and now we have an important opportunity.Some of you here were supporters of the empire, who lost power when the Republic rose.Some of you are crucial figures in that Republic.You’re all welcome here.”Marcus looks around and I will him not to look up.I’m sure that, if he does, his eyes will somehow find mine and he’ll know I’m here.
But he’s too busy talking to the assembled collection of nobles and merchants.
“We need to talk about the changes that are going to come,” Marcus says.“Selene wants to create a new order within the Republic, wants to change everything about our city and the lands beyond.The question is how it happens.We can smooth that transition, because the last thing Aetheria needs is another round of blood soaking its streets.”
