Devils | ONC 2023 SHORTLISTER

ten

"Absolutely not," Mordino said again, his mouth set in a firm line.

They had been arguing back and forth for the past ten minutes with him. Elena wanted to throw something at the Commander's head. Why can't he see that this might be the only way? Yes, Elena didn't trust Nella either but this was not the time to debate whether they trusted each other or not. Maverick had tried to point that out to no avail. Commander Mordino refused to even let Nella breathe the air outside her cell and he won't be budged. Now, he was pacing behind his desk while Elena sat tensely in her chair. 

"But Father, this is our only chance," Maverick threw up his hands. "The only thing we know is it's in the Lost City and nothing more. What are you planning to do? Search the whole city? That will take us weeks—months even. That's too long."

"You have to trust Alden, Commander," Kaz said. "Before this whole," He waved his hand around, leaning back against the wall next to the window. "mess, she was a good agent. And if we really think about it, she has no reason to do something like that."

Elena remembered that Kaz never called Mordino Father or Dad. It was like the two of them refused to acknowledge they were related even though Kaz was the Commander's spitting image.

"We have to trust Nella on this one, Commander," Elena leaned forward in the chair. "We have no other way."

"There's always another way, Elena," Mordino snapped, momentarily stopping his pacing to glare at her.            

Elena glared back.

"Then what is the other way?" Kaz's voice had a slightly challenging tone that if Elena didn't know him she wouldn't have even noticed it. "If you know another way to do this, Commander, we'll gladly follow that rather than freeing Alden. So what is it? Except, of course, running around the Lost City like dogs that forgot where they hid their bones."

No one dared to say a word. Elena was afraid to even breathe because that would shatter the tense silence that had fallen over the room. Only Kaz dared to challenge their Commander. Not even Maverick dared to question their father. Mordino was looking at Kaz like he was someone who had committed a very serious crime. Kaz didn't look away either; He was looking up at his father with the same stubborn determination Elena remembered from the first months he was here. Maverick was looking back and forth between them, unable to say anything without escalating a fight.

"Fine," Mordino hissed surprising everyone. "The full responsibility falls upon you three. Do not let Nella escape. I don't want to waste my time catching her again."

"We won't let her escape, Commander," Elena stood up, her back straight. "We will make this right."

* * *

"So, you are saying you cast a spell on the statue to track it down?" Elena asked, awkwardly hovering at the door of the Commander's office for the second time that day.

Nella, who was freed and currently sitting cheerfully in a chair, shrugged. "Well, I had to be sure I knew where it was. But the problem is the only spell I could manage was that I'd be signalled if something about the statue changed."

"Like it was activated?" Elena asked slowly.

Nella nodded. Mordino sighed heavily, leaning back against his seat. Elena dragged a hand down her face in frustration. "Alden. You are unbelievable."

"What else was I supposed to do?" She asked, having the audacity to look offended. 

"So, there's no way we can find it?!" Elena threw up her hand.

"Please, stop shouting," Mordino sighed again. "We can start by searching the places where most smugglers are. That seems like the only thing we can do."

"If the statue was activated," Elena started. "what will happen then? We have only the legend to say it will destroy the Lost City. It could be even more dangerous or it could be nothing at all too."

"I don't think it's wise to wait and find out, Elena," Commander said.

"Now that we are working together," Nella stood up, her expression grim. "I think you should know the reason I stole it."

Both Commander and Elena raised their eyebrows. Elena had wondered why Nella had stolen it. She had no reason to steal something simply.

"I heard rumours that something was brewing from the inside. I couldn't trust any of you. My family has protected that statue for generations," Nella crossed her hand across her chest. "It was our legacy. I couldn't just let it get stolen. So I stole it first."

"You might be telling the truth," Commander inclined his head. "But I can't fully trust you yet, Alden."

"And I'm not asking you to, Commander," Nella shook her head, her face tight. "Can't you see we had the same target but we were too stubborn to acknowledge it and took different paths? It's my fault too, I admit. I was willing to kill any of you if I had to. I won't let my family's legacy go down now."

"Your pride will get you killed one day, Alden," Commander stated.

Nella smirked, "Maybe, it will. Who knows?"

Elena shook her head in disbelief. She didn't know there was a reason why Nella was the leader of the troop that was responsible for the artefact's safety. She didn't know there was a story behind it. So, that was why Nella smuggled it away. But if Nella is not the inside source, who was it? Was it someone they knew? Were they still there or had they taken off? What if everyone is just chasing their own tails while a potentially dangerous artefact is on the loose, with no protection? Maybe they will all die before they found out anything at all. Perhaps all of this was for no use.

That was a lot of questions and a lot of maybes.

"Don't mess this up again," Commander Mordino said as Elena and Nella exited the office.

Nella's high-heeled boots made her almost as tall as Elena when in reality she was barely over 5'3". To Elena, she had never looked small. She had such a powerful personality that you will forget that this is actually a tiny woman. Nella always drew attention where she went. There was a time when Elena was a little jealous of the confident way Nella held herself. Elena could never do that. She always worried she would say something wrong or disappoint someone. But, at least, she disappointed people confidently. 

"Wait," Nella said suddenly, and Elena skittered to a halt. Nella was holding up her ring which was giving a faint and unusual reddish glow that blinked.

"What the hell is that?" Elena questioned squinting at it.

"That's the signal," Nella breathed. "That's the tracking spell."

Elena felt as if someone was squeezing her inner organ. Dread clawed at her chest with its icy claws. "You mean..."

"Yes," Nella closed her fist around the ring. "Someone activated the artefact. We'll soon find out if the legends are true or not."

total word count 13,175