chapter Twenty-Two
Another week had passed since the meeting with his grandmother, and Mathieu was back home. Jo was still mad at him for not returning the next morning, but everyone had understood their need for a short break. As it was, evening was well on its way to falling, slowly darkening the landscape. Mathieu sat on the edge of the cliff, Avian's statue at his back. Before the invasion, he wanted to see his mother once more. He wondered if he could. Closing his eyes, Mathieu took a few deep breaths, reaching out for those he'd lost. This time, he pushed out of his body with ease and slid through the encroaching darkness into the light.
Anita and Avian were waiting there for him, as was Nathan. The three smiled, his mother coming to hug him. She smelled like lilac, coffee, and sunshine.
"Hey, mom. How are you?" He looked her over.
She patted his hair, "I'm wonderful. And I like the hair." He had cut it the day before to his jaw, giving it a feathered look.
"Thanks. Erik cut it. I didn't want it to get in the way once we start fighting." Mathieu turned to greet Nathan. "How are you doing?"
The redhead grinned lazily. "Ah, better than you. Have you slept at all, lately?"
"Between getting your son to open up, my father, and my relationship with Solomon, on top of the invasion, I haven't really had time." He smiled. “Lione is a good kid, you know.”
Nathan laughed heartily, patting his shoulder. "You're doing fine, kid. And yeah, I know. He is my son, after all."
Avian plowed passed the others and nearly tackled him to the floor, "Don't take so long to come see me, jeez. I missed you. And I saw that grandmother of yours. She was a real bitch."
"Agreed, but she's going to help ensure our victory." He hugged her fiercely, "Narrie says hello, just so you know. As does Grandpa."
"I miss them. But that's not what's important. Why are you here?"
"I just wanted to see my family before..."
"Before the fighting." Anita said in an understanding way. He found it hard to be mad she abandoned him since she was dead.
Mathieu nodded slowly, "I don't know when I'll have the time to see you until after the invasion. And I didn't want you guys to feel like I'd forgotten you."
"You better not forget me!" Avian said, putting him into a headlock.
"How could I ever do that?" He relaxed into her hold.
Anita rolled her eyes, "Break it up, you two. I want to see my son while he's here."
"Thanks, Ma. Listen, I can't stay much longer because they'll be expecting me for dinner, but I love you. Erik and I really miss you, so much."
She hugged him again, "I miss you, too. I wish we could have known each other. You better be careful, okay? Don't get hurt while you're fighting. Watch your father's back."
"Yeah, yeah." They both smiled, their faces mirrors of each other. "I should get going soon." Even these short moments with the ones he had lost were worth it.
"Could I have a minute before you go?" Avian said, seemingly shy.
He nodded and kissed his mother's cheek before following his best friend a few feet away. Once out of earshot, she turned to him.
"So, I have a favor to ask. You can say no, but I at least need to see..." She looked at the ground, tapping her foot on the ground in a nervous way. "With this invasion, I know you're one of the ones who will take the castle. I also know that you won't spare my father, and he doesn't deserve it, but...if you have it in you...could you maybe spare my mother? I mean if you can't, I'll understand, but if you can...I mean..."
He punched her shoulder lightly, "For you Avian...anything. I wouldn't dream of hurting your mom. She was always good to me when I was there, and it meant everything to me. I love you, Sis. But I got to go. I'll be seeing you, alright?"
She slammed into him with a hug before pulling away and pushing his arm hard. "See ya." Then she tripped him backwards, sending him falling back into the darkness and into his body.
Mathieu sighed and opened his eyes. The whole exchange had probably taken less than five minutes, but he felt calmer now. It took him a moment before realizing someone was just behind him.
Lione'a voice floated over his shoulder, "Are you back? I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but Enak wanted me to get you, and some scraggily kid is out front, claiming that he's here in response to the word you sent. I'm sorry if I bothered you...."
"It's no issue. What's the kid's name?" He said as he got out of his seat.
The raven thought for a moment, then said, "Vincent, I think."
"Ah. I'm going to go see Enak, would you let Vincent in and get him something to eat if he's hungry?"
"Oh, okay. Enak is upstairs." Lione stood there awkwardly for a moment before heading back for the headquarters.
Mathieu followed and they parted way at the stairs; he went upstairs to find the god child. "Enak, you up here?"
"Ow, yes." There was a thud, then Enak crawled out from under the desk, grinning. "I see Lione found you. Did you know Jo is mad at you? Well anyway, I want you to try summoning my power again."
He rolled his eyes. "You've had me do it every day since I got back. I think I can do it just fine."
"Humor me." The boy said.
Sighing, Mathieu looked at the phoenix on his wrist, staring at it until the metal was a fiery gold, the warmth inside him building easily until it spread along his body from the point of the bird. All of his senses heightened and the air around him became hazy with power. Then he let his concentration go, the power dissipating as quickly as it had come. "Good enough?"
"Why yes, it is. You can go. Oh, and if you see my shoe, will you let me know? Thanks." Enak crawled back under the table, another thud sounding.
You've got to be kidding me... He sighed mentally, leaving the room. Enak was such a weirdo, and he asked for the most random thing. Mathieu was just glad it hadn’t taken long. Down below, he could hear voices arguing, which hastened his steps.
Erik's voice was the first he could distinguish, "Kiev, leave him be."
"A mysterious teen showing up the day before the start of our attack? That's so suspicious it's making me itch." She responded.
Mathieu rounded the corner to see his father and Kiev both holding one of Vincent's arms, their hands like steel traps. "Let. Him. Go." Three pairs of eyes snapped to him before apologies were spilling from the guilty parties. Vincent was thin and willowy, with dark eyes too big for his head. He had a perpetual half-smile on his face, and his strawberry blond bangs fell into his eyes often.
Vincent skittered off his stool to hide behind Mathieu, eyes wide. "Crazies..."
Lione looked up at him from where he was petting the wild cat, next to a pouting Jo.
"Sorry, Vincent. Listen, thank you for coming on such short notice. And for not eating Niveus."
"Like nothing..." He smiled vacantly.
Mathieu motioned to a stool, "I'm glad you came. I have a question or two before tomorrow." At the blank nod he received, he continued, all the while wondering if Vincent was touched in the head. "So the army Anastasie is forming...is it definitely going to be ready?"
Suddenly, Vincent’s eyes came into focus and his voice was clear as a bell. "Of course it will be. It's always alive, just waiting in the labyrinth to be called upon. She will send it out with Banin tomorrow, and follow soon after."
"Wait, Banin is coming to this thing?" Asked Erik.
"Yes, Uncle. But my father wants you to know that he won't take his vengeance because Anastasie has given him orders, but someday you will answer to him." Vincent took a sip of water.
Mathieu looked at him, confused, "Vengeance?"
"Yes. Erik betrayed my father when he ran away to be with Anita. The things he was responsible for fell to Banin, including purging our family."
"Purging?" Mathieu prompted.
Vincent nodded, "Yes.” The teenager’s eyes became glossy again and a confused smile came over his face.
"Vincent? What was that about purging?”
“No idea.” Vincent said lazily.
Studying the teen for a moment, Mathieu shook his head, "I was wondering if we could possibly incorporate one of your…guys into each of my units?"
"Probably. I'll be in your group, 'cause my change is the fastest. Banin, Anastasie, Chadwell, and Luca are the other ones that can become wolves." Vincent's tone was becoming more and more absent, as was his gaze.
Mathieu decided that was enough questions for now, and patted the boy's head. "Eat, drink, do whatever you want. Our home is yours."
"Of course. I'd like to sleep if that's possible..."
"I'll do it." Jo said, getting to his feet.
Mathieu sighed as Jo brushed passed him, dragging Vincent with him. Mathieu then turned to the others, "Has anyone seen Enak's shoe...?"
Erik grinned at him, "Haven't seen it. Did he lose it? Poor kid." It was clear that he didn’t feel bad in the slightest.
"Okay, I know you have his shoe, but I don't want to know why. So I'll settle for knowing where Solomon got to." Mathieu said.
Lione pointed to the door, "He went outside a few minutes ago. He and Mina were going to do some training, I believe."
He looked out the window with concern. Their backyard area now had a forest, where he was fairly sure his beau was currently. "Damn it, I wanted to talk to him."
"Then go find him, jeez." Kiev said.
"He hates his time with Mina being interrupted." Mathieu said simply. "But it's fine. Erik, why did you take Enak's shoe?"
"Because he's being a twit. He spent all last night barking at me. Literally, barking. Annoyed the crap out of me until he fell asleep. So I took his shoe."
Mathieu gave his father a blank look, "I'll pretend that made some form of sense. Let me ask you something."
"I'm going to smoke. Come with me." Erik led him onto the back porch, then lit up a cigarette, "Shoot on your question."
Mathieu leaned against the headquarters and struggled to stifle a yawn. "It's about Anastasie. Solomon says she started in Giath, hunting people like him. Is that true?"
"Yeah.” Erik said with surprisingly less struggle than Mathieu had expected. “Anastasie is an elder of our clan. Their 'gift' gave her eternal youth, so she's looked like that for a very long time. I think she was born close to eighty-five or ninety years ago." Erik said in a controlled way, betraying nothing.
"So Solomon wasn't lying...." He sighed softly. "I really thought he was..." Pinching his brow, he sighed.
Erik chuckled deeply, smoke puffing out of him like a chimney. “Don't get so upset. You haven't slept well in days."
"That's because I want everything to go well!" He said defensively. "If I don't do this right...I'll let everyone down..."
Erik stuck his cigarette between his lips and put both of his hands on his son's shoulders, looking him square in the eyes, "Mathieu, we are the only stick by which we can be measured. Your mother used to say that." Then he let Mathieu go, "May I tell you something about her?"
"...Yeah."
"Your mother was a feisty, smart, beautiful woman. I met her when I was just a kid. She, Darcia and I all lived in the Outer Zone."
Mathieu's jaw dropped, "Darcia?"
"Yeah. Good ol' Darc. When we were twelve, he started living with Zanika and Zerieve. But that isn't the point. There was a village at the base of our mountain back then, and I liked to go down there. Darcia lived in an orphanage, like you, while your mother lived in the streets. She did alright, though.
"The first time I met her, she was wearing this blue dress with a white sash. We were six. I was all but obsessed with her, even as a kid. I started sneaking food out of our home for her and I used my family name to bully some people into giving her somewhere to live.
"We got older, and she was mine. I loved her more than the suns love each other. I was already planning on marrying her when she told me she was pregnant. I had never been happier in my life. I was almost eighteen. But I knew that you and her were all I was going to need out of life."
Erik sighed softly, lost in the past, "We tried to hide it from my mother, but word travels fast. You were the first of your generatiom in our family, Vincent the second. I told my mother to give your gift to Vincent, which is what happened anyway. But at the time, Anastasie said she'd hunt us down and take you by force.
"Anita and I were terrified, but I swore to her that I'd find a way to protect her. Where I was going, however, she couldn't go because she was pregnant. I took her into Unith and hid her Zurn. Somehow, though, I knew something was wrong. I never should have gone. But Darcia and I went anyway, going to find Enak." His finished, his tone clipped now.
"Ma sounds pretty amazing..."
Erik gave a short quirk of the lips, "She was. Mathieu, I've wanted to ask you something for a while now..."
"Okay."
"It's just that...I've wondered...do you hate Anita and I? I heard from the others about the orphanage and then living with Avian..."
Mathieu gave a shake of his head, "No…I don't hate either of you. I thought I did, but the first time I saw Mom, I could have cried. She was so beautiful, and she was my mother. All I felt was sadness and love when I saw her. And then you. For a long time I blamed you for how I turned out. But seeing you interact with the people here, and getting to know you, it's really helped me understand. I get it, losing Anita wasn't easy, and I was gone, too. I know that if I lost Solomon, a part of me would go with him. So no, I don't hate you. Not as Erik, and not as my father." Mathieu didn’t point out that he wasn’t sure how close they could become, though.
"That means a lot to me, Son. It really does." Erik ruffled his hair, "The hair is growing on me, by the way." Then he went inside.
It was only a moment or two later when Mina and Solomon emerged from the forest, making a beeline for him. Mina gave him a polite nod before going in, but Solomon hung back, wrapping his arms around Mathieu.
"We didn't want to interrupt," he said, "it looked like you and Erik were having a pretty serious conversation."
"What can I say, we were discovering that I never really hated my parents." He laid his head against the hard muscles of Solomon's chest.
The blond held him like he was a glass figurinre, "I would go into hiding like he did if I lost you.”
"Thanks, Sol. But we should head in and get some sleep." He twined their fingers together, smiling. Since they had mated, all of their squabbles and spats had dulled, seeming stupid and pointless. All that mattered was that they were together.
~*~
It was less than an hour until darkness fell on the day that the invasion was set to start when Banin finally arrived with the army at the meeting place just outside of the Outer Zone. They were nothing like Mathieu had envisioned, nearly four hundred in number.
Mathieu had thought that perhaps the army would all be hulking men like Banin, or maybe a pack of wolves. But they weren't; however, it was difficult to say exactly what they were. From afar, they looked like a group of teenagers milling about, all thin and lanky. But up close, their eyes had a dead quality to them and their movements were just slightly off, as if they had to think about every move before they did, or their reactions were slowed. Also, their hands were clawed, and if you stood near one, you could hear its joints clicked as they moved.
He couldn't be sure what they were but they put him on edge. He stuck close to Solomon, although his attention was on Banin and Erik. The tension between them was palpable as they waiting for dark and Anastasie.
The boats were ready to go, the plan being to sail up the river through the Outer Zone and take Zurn first, along with the guard outposts. Mathieu watched as Vincent, who had been standing by his father, turned towards him, making his way in a swaying fashion. His cousin came to stop in front of him, his body slowing after his feet.
"Mathieu. Father and I have talked it over. I shall go into the thicket and change before we set off. Okay?"
"Sure, Vincent. That's fine." Mathieu found it was easier to just give the kid what he wanted.
"And I was supposed to tell you something..." Vincent begun to away again while he thought, "Oh yes, Luca is already with your unit labeled 'Rear', so he will not be joining us..."
"Thank you for telling me, Vincent."
"Okay." His cousin gave off a little giggle before skipping off to the thicket. By the look of those nearest to the bushes, his change was just as grotesque as Banin's had been. It took Vincent far less time than his father to finish his change, emerging as a greyish wolf with a black stripe that started with his left ear, went down his neck, side, and left leg, then ended at his paw. He nearly came up Mathieu's waist.
Lione whistled lowly, and Jo gasped, "That's amazing!" Vincent shook out his fur before trotting over, curling up around Mathieu's ankles.
"Uh...good boy?" Inquisitive golden eyes peered up at him, but he shook his head. Vincent snorted and put his head back down. It wasn't long before Solomon nudged his shoulder, nodding toward the west where two figures were slowly growing larger on the horizon."That'll be Anastasie." Mathieu said and stretched upward, his shoulder popping.
Erik yawned, "Then we can get this show on the road. Once that cow gets here, you can explain the plan to her, then we'll go."
"Yeah, good idea." Mathieu yawned. Night was coming quickly. He closes his eyes and the next time they opened, Anastasie was waiting for him.
"You're awake."
He grunted first, then let lose another yawn. "Yep.I 'm up. Listen, we're about to leave."
"That is fine. My army and I shall follow you."
"About that, you're going need to divide your forces into three. One to follow the river up and take the mountain towns, one to cross the Hills of Hart, and one to go south into the Desert of Denk."
Anastasie nodded, making a short hand motion. "It will be done. We shall also help you take the capital. How long until you reach it?"
"Hm...we'll meet in Thorn and Rosen to take them the third morning, rest, then go for Ateri on the morning of the fifth day."
"That is sufficient. We will see you then." Anastasie gave Erik and Solomon each a look in turn, one promising death while the other promised violence.
"Phenomenal." Mathieu rolled his eyes and turned away from her, snapping once to get Vincent's attention. "Everybody, load up!" He took Solomon's hand and headed for the boat at the front. His unit climbed into it, Jo sitting at the back with the small motor. It wasn't silent, but Mathieu would be able to wrap them in energy and dull the sound.
Once his squad and Avanon's started the attack, silence wouldn't matter any longer. "All right, forward we go." Mathieu sat back and leaned against Solomon. He had never been on a boat, but the moment it pulled away the bank, swaying slightly, he knew that he hated it.
He groaned as it rocked, closing his eyes. "Sol, tell me when I need to work."
"I've got you." Solomon's arms tightened around him. "No worries."
Mathieu was quickly discovering that whether his eyes were open or closed, his was equally nauseated. Taking deep gulps of air, he did the math and realized that he'd be on this boat for nearly an hour. If that wasn't making him panic, the realization that the invasion was actually happening, and the sheer impossibility of it would. In his infinite wisdom, he had decided that Zurn was the best place to start because it was accessible by river, isolated by the dense forest around it, and was the main supply line for the officer outposts in both resources and people. What he hadn't thought of was the practicality of it. Zurn had the second largest population in Unith, it was an impacted city due to the restrictions of the forest and river, it had one of highest concentrations of military personnel. Taking it with only seven fighters would be completely undoable; but they had to.
Turning slightly in his seat, he could see Avanon's group in the boat behind them. While they waited for the suns to rise in the forest, the forward group would use the cover of night to approach Zurn while Avanon’s unit would position themselves around Dirve with a group of Anastasie’s fighters. A separate force of Anastasie's would take the lower guard posts. In theory, all three attack points would be hit at once, crippling Unith's military force and leaving their rear flank relatively secure against surprise or retaliatory attacks.
Solomon touched his shoulder as the first guard post came into view.
Mathieu nodded and stood, lifting a hand into the air to signal Ayame to cloak the boat he was on, then planted his feet, wrapping their boat in protective energy. They moved against the far bank, but slowed slightly to help dull the motor further.
The guard post was about halfway to their disembarking point. Fortunately, this level of energy manipulation was simple and mind-numbing for Mathieu now, making it easy for him to stay alert as they passed. Enak reached out and put a hand on the boat, muttering softly under his breath. Mathieu wasn't sure what the boy did, but the boat began to cut through the water faster with no change in the noise level.
They kept the boats cloaked until they were a fair distance passed. Sighing, Mathieu sat back down beside Solomon, still not liking the way the boat swayed.