“Yeah.” I brushed away a strand of hair stuck to my eyelash. “About the plan. I don’t think we should have the weaker adults and children leave by way of the Talpar tunnels. It’s not safe. If the Tetrad creates earthquakes, the tunnels could collapse. I think we hide them in the woods behind the cliffs.”
“That is a better plan,” he said. “What other thoughts do you have?”
I smiled at his reassurance. “The women gather something called bimcord. They use it to make indestructible rope. Maybe we get the locals to make a net or something out of it. We can use it to snare the Tetrad. If anything, it might slow the creature down.”
“Another great idea.” He put his sword and stone down and picked up one of his sandwiches.
“Those are just things I would do if we’re staying here.”
“You believe we should go after the Tetrad,” he said.
“Stop the creature, and we’d have a better chance against Conemar.” I unwrapped my other sandwich. “Once we get rid of Conemar and the Tetrad, we have to take down the council.”
“I can present this plan to Lei.”
“Good.”
After Royston destroyed the Tetrad, I would search for Bastien. I had to find him, bring him home for his mother and for his people. But mostly, for me. I couldn’t live with the knowledge that he was out there somewhere—dead or alive.
Arik reached over and removed another strand of hair that had stuck to my eyelashes. “One day, we’ll feel less awkward around each other.”
“One day, you’ll tell Emily you have feelings for her.”
He stared down at his sandwich. “One day,” he repeated.
…
Jaran and I jogged along a trail that circled the lake. It felt good to stretch my muscles. I was growing stronger. Two days had gone by since losing Bastien—the same number of days we’d been on alert for an attack from Conemar and the Tetrad.
The last televised news report was yesterday. The Tetrad had caused several “natural” disasters in the human world. It was part of Conemar’s plan to make the human world weak so he could take over. He’d already brought many of the covens to their knees—both Greyhill and Darkton had surrendered.
The article Afton and I wrote for the Mystik Observer exposing the council’s corruption had circulated wildly. I just hoped when war came, the covens and our allies in the havens would join the fight with us.
High wizards loyal to Conemar now ruled the havens. Taxes and tariffs had increased by nearly 30 percent. The Mystiks and the people in the havens were growing poorer every day. Curfews and travel restrictions had been put into place.
I welcomed Conemar’s arrival to Barmhilde. The sooner he got here, the sooner we could be done with this.
Jaran rounded the corner and noticed it first. Barmhilde’s green and red flag with a large sunburst in the middle was at half-mast. We picked up our speed and ran to the other side of the lake and past the outdoor showers. When we’d made it to the fire pit in the middle of the camp, The Red, Edgar, and Arik were speaking to the crowd gathering around them.
“I’ve just come back from Esteril,” Edgar was saying. “Conemar’s forces and the Tetrad are there. Your plan to burrow in and wait for him to come to you is careless. To win this fight, we must go on the offensive. Keep them away from here. Away from your loved ones.”
I pushed my way to the front. “There isn’t a way to get an army through the libraries without the Monitors sensing it.”
“We don’t need an army,” Edgar said. “We have you and Royston. We just need to get you to the Tetrad.”
“That’s suicide,” Lei said. “We must draw the Tetrad into the open. Distract it so Gia and Royston can have a chance of destroying it.”
Edgar walked along the group. He had dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept for days.
“Do you not see?” he asked. “If you bring the beast here, it will cause destruction and death you could never imagine. Not only was I in Esteril. I was there when the creature attacked Darkton.” He lowered his head and scratched the blond stubble on his scalp. “It was horrible.”
The Red patted Edgar’s back. “That’s enough. You need to rest, my friend. Your concerns are noted. Our leaders will meet and discuss what you have told us.”
Edgar raised his eyes to him. “You’re pacifying me. You believe your way is the only way. Do as you wish. Kill your people.” He walked off, following the row between the tents.
I charged after him with Jaran on my heels. “Edgar, hold up.”
He turned and waited for me to reach him.
“I think you’re right about going to Esteril.”
“You do, huh?” He rubbed his chin. “Lei will go along with whatever The Red decides, which means her Sentinels will have to follow suit.”
Jaran darted a quick look over his shoulder before saying, “She’s coming.”
“We need to meet,” Lei said, approaching our group.
“There isn’t time for it,” I said. “We should go to Esteril and stop the Tetrad before it gets here.”
Lei nodded as she processed what I’d said.
“What’s going on?” Arik asked, coming around the corner of a tent with Demos.
“We’re going on the attack tonight,” Lei said. “Get your gear ready.”
Arik turned to Edgar. “Are you with us?”
“The moment you said ‘going on the attack,’ I was with you.” Edgar headed down the row between the tents. “Meet me in the library at two.”
In the morning? Why did every nefarious thing have to happen so early, when a person should be sleeping and not dancing with death.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Not wanting to alert The Red’s men or the villagers of our departure, we took different routes through Barmhilde. Royston and I kept to the shadows as we moved swiftly across the uneven road to the library.
“Cadby was not pleased that I made him stay behind,” Royston said. “The old bird won’t know what to do without me.”
“Why did you make him stay?”
Royston watched his feet. “He would die trying to protect me from the beast. Might even get in the way. Seems like a waste. Will you care for him once I’m gone? He is an excellent guard.”
“Of course I will.”
I looked like a Ninja Turtle with my shield strapped to my back. The sheath holding my borrowed sword bounced against my side. The French Sentinels had given us a mismatch of Sentinel gear. The helmet was too big, so I left it on the mat in my tent.
Arik and Emily were already at the entrance when we arrived.
The others soon joined us, and Arik spoke the charm to open the entrance. The dark wood-paneled wall shimmied to the side, and we crept inside the library. Emily kept close to Arik. She had a horribly knitted scarf wrapped around her neck and a size too small jacket on.
“What is she doing here?” I asked. “She isn’t coming with us. It’s too dangerous.”
“Oh please. I am, too,” she snapped. “I’m a witch. I can help.”
I gave Arik a scolding glare, and he shrugged. “She followed me. And she’s stubborn, like someone else I know.”
I knew he was talking about me, but I ignored it. Having her along with us made my anxiety rise another notch.
“Don’t worry,” Deidre said. “I’ll stick with her.”
Emily smiled at her. “Yeah, see? With her fighting skills and my magic abilities, we’ll be like one Sentinel.”