Empyrean 27: The Show Must Go On (Patreon)

Amelia, here! :) Please enjoy a new chapter of Empyrean's Flight.

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“Where is he?” I asked a little breathlessly.

“In a Racoon safehouse,” Urfak explained. “He is safe.”

“Was there any word about my brother?”

The dwarf shook his head slowly. “No,” he said solemnly. “I’m sorry.”

I gave him a curt nod before searching the room for Odenna. The elf had not moved from the position I had left in her in at the table. I walked toward her, picking up another bun to chew on.

“So, when do we leave?” I asked her with a mouth full of bread.

“In the next thirty minutes,” she replied. “You should get your things ready.”

Without responding, I returned to my room for a moment. Soren had to be with Eoman, I knew he had to. Or, at least, that’s what I needed to believe.

I was surprised that Odenna didn’t plan to leave under the cover of darkness, but I wasn’t about to challenge that. The sooner I could be reunited with Soren, the sooner I could move on.

Scanning the room to make sure I left nothing behind, I walked back to Odenna and Urfak. I took some bread from the table, wrapped it in a cloth, and put it carefully in my bag. I wasn’t sure what the situation was at the Raccoon base, but I could at least make sure Soren and I had some food.

I looked at the dwarf. “Thank you, Urfak, for your hospitality,” I said. “And I’m sorry for my behavior last night.”

He gave me a tender look. “You have nothing to apologize for, girl,” he reassured me. “And it was my pleasure. I will also pass the message to Margaret when she returns.”

A smile creeped across my face for a few seconds. The last few days had been, for lack of a better word, difficult. I was not deluded enough to believe that I had a hold on my emotions, but I was also not ready to face them just yet. I had plans that needed realizing, and nothing would take priority over that for now.

But I was thankful for the help I had received along the way.

Odenna said her goodbyes and wrapped her head in a cloak. “Let’s go, Elana,” she said hastily. “We have to do this quickly.”

With a last nod to Urfak, we walked out the door and back into the city. I followed the elf, who I assumed would have a better idea of where to go without getting caught. As we tread ground, I realized that Insurgence had thought through their place in the city more than I would have cared to notice. We took back alleys and pathways that were completely empty, devoid of any kind of trouble—I hoped—until we reached the sewers.

Our journey back through the tunnels was peaceful but bereft of conversation. Odenna was quiet, so I assumed I should stay that way too. Adalinda, as well, did not say anything. It gave me time to take stock of my surroundings, truly taking in ways I could move around Mesina without being noticed.

Once we opened the grate to the poor quarter, the elf stopped to look at me. “We should be safe now,” she said. “Well, safe from Arinna’s spies.”

“We still have the Devils to contend with,” I reminded her. “I assume they’ve taken over the quarter.”

“We shouldn’t take too long to reach the safehouse,” the elf said, ignoring my warning. And, as I would soon learn, she was right. It took us less than ten minutes to come before an unassuming wooden building.

It looked just like all the other houses in the poor quarter. From this perspective, it was actually difficult to tell them apart at all. Odenna knocked on the door and we waited.

Minutes passed, and then a booming voice erupted from behind it. “Who is there?”

“Odenna,” the elf said plainly. “We are here for Eoman.”

We were met with seconds of silence before I heard what sounded like bolts being moved around. The door opened to a large man who was carrying an axe at his side and had tattoos all over his bare chest. When he smiled at the elf, he showed less teeth than he should have had.

“Come in,” he said.

Odenna and I stepped inside swiftly. The entrance was tight and led into a small corridor with stairs into a lower level of the house. Leaving the large man to guard the door again behind us, we walked downstairs and found ourselves in a large room—not unlike the one in the Insurgence safehouse.

But there was no large table with food and no fireplace. Only small torches slightly lighting the room. In their illumination, I noticed five bodies lying on the floor. If they did not shift periodically, I would have thought they were dead. They must be who survived the battle, I thought. There were some others standing around and talking. It looked like the last members of the gang.

I scanned the room—if a little frantically—looking for my brother. And there, among the remaining Raccoons, I saw him.

✵ ✵ ✵

My eyes growing slightly wet, I ran toward him. “Soren!”

He turned to look in my direction, slightly confused at first, but a broad smile crossing his face as he saw it was me. We hugged for a long time. I pulled back, wiping my face, and held onto his shoulders. “Are you okay?” I asked, inspecting him.

“I am fine,” he said. “Where have you been?”

“Looking for you,” I said. “I’ll catch you up on everything later. But Soren, listen—”

“Alon has gone missing,” he interrupted. “I am trying to get a search party together to look for him. Do you want to come with?”

I felt my face drop into darkness as I stared at my brother. “Soren…”

Panic grew evident in his eyes. “What is it?” he asked tentatively.

“Alon is dead.”

Soren said nothing, clutching his chest and staring me down in what I could only describe as disbelief. He dropped to his knees, trying to talk, but only indescribable sounds escaped.

“Soren,” I started, before kneeling next to him. He wept, and I couldn’t help but follow suit. We held each other, and just cried, not having to talk about what this meant to us.

What it had done to our family.

There, in the middle of what was left of the Raccoons, we were finally able to come to terms with everything that happened. What it had culminated in.

Our friend was dead.

Soren looked up at me and sniffed. “How did it happen?”

I pulled him up and walked toward a corner, a little away from everyone else, so I could tell him everything in peace. And I did. How Alon had come back to fight against the Devils, and that he found me and saved my life instead. How the assassin chased after us, and that Cantos had sent him after Alon. That I couldn’t save him in time.

As I spoke, I saw a myriad of emotions cross my brother’s face. But mostly, he had a sadness in him I had not rightly seen since our parents’ death. He held his hand to his chin, deep in thought, and when I was done, he just looked at me.

“I’m sorry,” I said, gulping back more tears. “I’m so sorry.”

Soren pulled me into another hug and held my head against his shoulder. “It’s not your fault,” he said. “I know you think it is, but it’s not.”

My brother knew me well enough that I didn’t argue with him. I just stayed where I was, taking in that—at least—he was safe. Now that I was here and I had made sure he would be okay, even if just for a short while, I could act.

I could kill Cantos.

A hand other than Soren’s touched my shoulder. Jerking back a little, I looked behind me to find Eoman.

“Elana, it’s good to see you,” the leader said. “Thank you for helping Odenna.”

The elf, who was standing next to him, gave me a nod and a small smile. “It was my pleasure,” I said.

“Odenna has filled me in on everything,” he said. “I believe I owe you the same. Come, let’s find a better place to speak.”

I followed the Raccoon leader and the elf to a door just to the left of the main room. He opened the door, gesturing me to walk inside. I turned around to my brother. “Coming with?”

He shook his head. “I need some time,” he said softly. “We can catch up afterward.”

Without another word, I stepped into the room. From what I could see, it looked to be Eoman’s personal chambers.

“Take a seat,” he said. “Wherever you can find one.”

I looked around and pulled a chair closer to the bed, where Eoman had sat down. It was very different from when we first met at the Raccoon base.

“As you can see, we have taken some heavy losses,” the leader started. I noted resentment in his voice. “The Devils knew our plans from the start, it seems. I have no idea how, or why, but they were one step ahead. We lost the battle. They have taken the poor quarter.”

Eoman’s appearance was significantly more dishevelled than I knew it to be. His slicked back hair was rougher, and his face had a new scar to it. The war was taking its toll.

“We have lost everything,” he concluded, clearly dejected.

I didn’t know what to say. He was right, of course. The Devils had taken over the poor quarter—that was clear even when I left the battle. But, among all the mess, I saw an opportunity to get what I wanted.

“Not quite,” I said. “You can send me in to take Cantos.”

“And what will you do?” Eoman snapped.

“I will kill him,” I said plainly.

The Raccoon leader’s face became difficult to read. His eyes, while deadened, sparked a little at the idea, I thought. But I still couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“How do you plan to do that?” he finally asked.

“Well, he believes he has won, right?” I confirmed. “Now is the perfect time to ambush him. He doesn’t feel threatened anymore, so he won’t be in hiding. If I can get close enough, I believe I can end him. For good.”

“That’s a good point,” Eoman said, holding his hand to his chin. “If I told you where to find him, do you think you could pull it off?”

“Yes,” I said, almost immediately. I sat forward, waiting for more information.

“Cantos has a house, to himself, just across the Devil’s lair,” Eoman said. “If you can infiltrate it, I believe you will have him caught.”

I bit my lip.

“But, beware, he will still have people looking after him,” Eoman warned. “You will still have to be careful.”

“I will be,” I said, balling my hands into fists. I could barely contain myself. I needed to leave now.

“You can take the time you need to prepare, then, but please be swift,” he said. “We have no idea what he is planning to do next.”

I nodded and stood up, holding my hand out to shake the Racoon leader’s. He took it, standing himself, and gently held his palm against my shoulder. “This is our last chance,” he said, his familiar put-together manner coming back.

Without responding, I walked out the door and almost walked into my brother. I raised my brow at him. “Were you listening in?”

He held his hands behind his back and looked down to the floor. “Perhaps,” he said. “I just wanted to know what you were talking about.”

I chuckled at him and filled him in on what Eoman and I caught up on. Then I told him that Eoman was sending me in to kill Cantos.

“I’m coming with you,” he demanded.

“No,” I said simply. “You are to stay here.”

“Elana—”

“No,” I growled, not letting him finish. “I am doing this alone. You will not come with me. We have already lost Alon, I will not lose you too.”

Soren looked at me, slightly horrified. I didn’t reassure him. At this point, I felt no need to explain myself, or try and argue why it would be better that I go and do this alone. He was smart enough to know why it needed to be this way.

“I also want revenge, sis,” he said gently. “But you can’t—”

“Soren, stop. I will not hear this. I am going alone, and that is final.”

I walked away from my brother before he could say another word. The last dregs of my energy were pointed to one specific task, and now that I knew Soren was safe, I could only focus on that.

I could only focus on what it would feel like to drive my knife through Cantos’ heart.