MakiaVi: The Frozen King - Chapter Seven (Patreon)

 
Riza, Zan, Bellatrix and Edion were walking to the dining hall. “When can we go out on another mission?” Zan groaned. “It’s been almost a week. I’m getting bored of just sitting here.” 
“We have to take it easy.” Bellatrix replied. “Elise fears someone may attack our base soon. It’s the first time a death threat actual had some real gravity to it.” 
Zan scoffed. “This city is impenetrable. Many have tried and all have failed.” 
“You haven’t dealt with my father before.” Edion said.
There was a huge crowd gathered in a circle down the road. “What’s going on over there?” Bellatrix said. Some people in the crowd were rushing to grab supplies and were talking about some people being injured. Edion pushed his way through the crowd. Once they made it to the center, Edion saw Crea and Serada lying limp on the ground, covered in cuts and bruises.
Edion rushed to their side. “What happened? How did they even get here?”
The citizen that was wrapping their wounds answered him. “They just fell out of the sky. Thank the gods they landed in my hay bales.” 
Bellatrix caught up with Edion. “Do you know these people?” 
“They are my sisters. They look like a tornado hit them.” Edion gathered himself and took a closer look at their injuries. “Stand back.” The citizens shuffled a few paces as Edion took a deep breath. He stretched his hands out towards his sisters as he exhaled. Edion channeled viren into the palms of his hands and hovered them over their injuries. One by one, each cut slowly closed up. The bruises faded but only slightly. There was only so much he could do on his own. “Help me take them to the hospital.” He said. The crowd helped carry them into one of the townspeople’s wagons. Edion, Bellatrix, Riza and Zan sat in the back with them.
Once they got to the infirmary, the white mages took over and brought Crea and Serada into one of the healing rooms for proper treatment. Edion and his team sat just outside of the room, waiting for news of their condition. Edion’s mind was racing. It was all starting up again. He thought he could escape the madness of his family but it just managed to follow him. Edion always hated Crea for what she did but hated her even more now for dragging Serada into it. Out of all of his siblings, Serada was the kindest. For Crea to risk her life like this, it was unforgivable.
Bellatrix patted Edion on the back. Her touch snapped him out of his trance. “They will be fine. I’m sure of it.” she said.
Soon enough, Crea and Serada walked out of the healing room. Edion ran up to Serada and hugged her tightly. “I’m so glad you are ok!”
Serada hugged him back. “I wouldn’t have made it without Crea.” 
Edion glared at Crea. It was probably her fault in the first place. 
Crea sighed. “I know the last time we saw each other, it wasn’t on great terms.” 
“You tried to kill me!” Edion said.
“I didn’t come here for you to forgive me. I came here because we need your help.” 
The angry glare still lingered on Edion’s face. “Why would I help you?” 
“Not me but all of Zekul. If you don’t come with me, I fear the entire province will fall apart.”
The room was dead silent. Zan was the one to break it. “Care to explain?”
Everyone took a seat as Crea began her story. “After Edion fled the castle, father put a curse on the royal family that blocks us from using viren. He allowed a few to keep their strength so that they could impose his will upon the land. Citizens have been disappearing and the entire province is on the brink of rebellion. We need your help!”
“Sounds like you came to the right place.” They all turned to see Elise and Brakon walking down the hall. 
“What are you two doing here?” Zan asked. 
“The mages wanted Elise to check in to make sure she’s alright after the blast.” Brakon said.
“They are a bit paranoid.” Elise said. “I’ve told them a thousand times that I’m fine. This mess in Zekul is way above Edion or any of you for that matter.” 
Edion stomped up to her in frustration. “This is my family, my responsibility. If anyone is going to take down that smug bastard, it’s going to be me.” Edion punched the palm of his hand.
“This is a class C threat at least. Brakon, I want you to grab Amaria and head for the Zekul province as soon as you can. Scout it out. If it proves to be more than you can handle, send word for back up. Don’t take any chances with this one.” 
Brakon saluted. “Right away boss.” He rushed out of the room.
“What about me?” Edion said. 
Elise poked his chest.“You will stay right here. If I see you leave this city, you’ll be sitting in the dungeons until the bars rust away. Do I make myself clear?” 
Edion looked to the floor. “Crystal.”
“Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I must oversee the rebuilding of my office.” Elise stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Once she was gone, Edion punched one of the chairs in the waiting room, shattering it to pieces. The concrete floor below had a large crack in it from his strike. He sulked in the debris with tears running down his face. 
Riza sat next to him with an arm around his shoulders. “Hey don’t worry. They will sort all of this out.” 
“That’s not the point!” Edion yelled. “I knew this would happen and all I did was run away like a coward.”
Zan crossed his arms. “What are we going to do about it then?” 
Bellatrix stepped in between them. “Oh no. You heard Elise. If she catches us-” 
“She won’t catch us then.” Zan said. “We will leave late tonight and sneak out of the city. Once we take down Edion’s father, Elise will be so impressed with our work that she won’t even think about punishing us.” Zan reached his hand out to Edion. “So are you with me?” 
Edion grabbed his hand as Zan helped him to his feet. “Yeah. I’m in.” 
Riza stood up. “I want to come too. I can’t just sit back when innocent people are suffering.” 
Bellatrix sighed. “I guess I’m coming too. Someone has to keep you idiots alive.” 
“Don’t forget about us!” Crea said. 
“Yeah this is our family too.” Serada added. 
If Kardon is still up to his old tricks, Edion would need all the help he could get. Still, he did not want anyone else hurt for his sake. If the king had a shred of honor left in him, there was a way Edion could take the throne while keeping his friends safe. It was unlikely, but it was their only shot.
It was midnight when Edion arose from his bed. He had not slept for even a moment. Zan on the other hand, was out like a light. Edion stood up and lightly shook him on the shoulder. “Get up. We have to go.”
Zan groaned, “Come on, just five more minutes.” With a wave of his hands, Edion conjured a few ice cubes. He lifted Zan’s shirt and dropped them onto his back. Zan jolted up to his feet with a scream and shook until the ice was set free. 
Zan gave Edion an angry stare. “I’ll remember that.”
“I hope you do. Next time you’ll get up. Let’s get going. The girls are probably waiting for us.” 
They both got dressed, grabbed their bags and headed out of the room. The hallway was cloaked in darkness save for the small slits of moonlight that made it through the windows. Zan snapped his fingers to bring a small flame to his thumb. They snuck down the hallway and caught Bellatrix as she was walking out of her room. “Good, you guys are up.” she said. They walked down the stairs and out the back door to the garden. The moon shone brighter out here, illuminating the trees and shrubs around them as they made their way towards the center fountain. There they found Crea, Serada and Riza sitting next to the water. Riza was blowing smoke rings to pass the time. She looked over to Edion and waved to him.
“Good. Everyone is here.” Crea said. 
“So what’s the escape plan?” Serada asked. 
Edion pointed to the wall in the distance. “We just need to get over the wall without being spotted. If anyone sees us leave, they will surely send people after us.” 
“When you say it like that, it sounds like we are prisoners.” Riza said. 
“Technically, we count as soldiers.” Zan replied. “Unauthorized leave can land us in hot water.” 
Bellatrix pointed to a different spot in the wall. “There is a blind spot there in the guard patrols. If we hug the wall as we fly up, we can get to the top without any problems. Once we are over, the forest will cover us.” 
“Sounds like a plan.” Zan said. “Everyone ready?” The team nodded and began making their way to the wall. They ran in the dark spots of the city’s side streets, staying out of sight of any guards on their way. Jumping onto rooftops, ducking into alleys, they did anything to stay out of sight. Once they were all at the wall, they slid up it making sure to produce as little sound as possible. 
At the top, Riza peeked over the ledge to see two guards in their way. “We need to distract them somehow.”
“I’ve got it.” Edion said. He made a small icicle and chucked it to the top of the wall. It shattered within earshot of the two guards and they both left to investigate the noise. “Let’s go.” Edion said. They flew over the wall and fell to the other side. The team disappeared into the dark forest as they quietly celebrated their success. The first hurdle was conquered. Too bad it was the smallest.
From the top of the deployment center, Elise looked out of the hole in the wall that used to be her window. She took a sip of whiskey from her glass as she stared at the city below her. “Good luck kids.”

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