Waterfalls

Chapter Seventy-Seven

We are all gathered in a large room. The walls are white with decorations of silvers and the floors are marble. We sit at a long table, myself at the head of it. Around me are all the Royals and generals of the lands. 

"We all know the King is here. He already has many warriors and more are on the way. To make things harder, we have no idea where he is hidden. His magic is too strong to be able to try and locate it," I sigh, running a hand through my hair. There is a silence for a few seconds before Oliver says something.

"Do we have a plan to locate them?" he asks. I look at him.

"I may have an idea. But before that comes into action, we need to make sure our people are safe and our soldiers ready for battle."

"We could evacuate all the villages and farmers into all the cities. Leaves some soldiers and all the shifters with shield magic to protect the cities if we lose," Maryanne says. I nod my head.

"That could work," I say. "That way we can make sure that the NightShades don't get to the people if we lose."

"But what about food? If they stay trapped in the cities then how are they going to get food?" Daniel asks. I sigh again.

"I have something," Tanya says, her voice soft. I look at her. She looks as fierce as always, her eyes blazing with anger and pain.

"Serenity," she gulps and I feel my eyes prick with tears. "Serenity," she starts again. "Was working on something in case of evacuations." She pulls out a small bean. "This provides an endless amount of crops which grow back as soon as they are harvested," she says. My eyes widen. Why didn't Serenity tell me this? "She made enough to be planted in every city in Shadow." Tanya sits down again, daydreaming.

"That could work," I say with a gulp. "Everyone needs to go back to their lands and get all of this sorted. Any soldiers and volunteers that want to fight are to march here. We can set up camps at the bottom of the bridge, the fields are big enough."

"How are we going to stop NightShades from sneaking into the city or finding out these plans? They could have spies anywhere," Andrea says.

"We get this done quickly," I say. "So that if any spies hear of our plans, the cities will be locked down to late for the King to do anything. Any soldiers that march here are to do it together.  They wouldn't attack a full army of thousands," I say.

"If you all leave as soon as possible, to get it done quickly. I want all your armies on our doorstep within the week and all cities locked down by tomorrow. Once that is done and our people are safe, we can start searching for the NighShades." Everyone nods and leaves ready to go.

"Daniel, Oliver, can I borrow you for a moment?" I ask. They nod their heads and I lead them through the palace to the dungeons.

"Like we did with Darcy," I say. "If he sees you then he may try and lie through his thoughts. If you hear him lying in his mind, give me a tap on the shoulder," I tell Daniel.

"Okay," he sighs as Oliver grabs hold of his arm and the two disappear, turning invisible. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Be strong, Isla.

I walk down the dark spiral staircase which are lit by small candles. There is a thick wooden door at the bottom which we enter. There is a long corridor. The smell assaults my nose as the stench of mould and blood fills the air. The stone is wet with trickling dirty water. There are lines of wooden doors against one of the walls. I head to the first one and open it. Inside is a small room. The walls are complete stone, wet and cold. There are no windows or light apart from the torch that I had picked up and carry in my hand. I spot Eric. He hangs from the wall, chains wrapped around his wrists holding him up. His skin is matted with blood and he shivers from the cold. Hatred burns within me as he looks at me with teary eyes. More tear stains run down his muddied face, clearing clean lines in his face.