The Air Out Of [Wattys2018 shortlist]

33

"Guys." Jess paused, Leo shot her a cautious glance eventually doing the same, "What if he's using us to lead him to it. We should follow Avine, and not lead him there by heading to the hideout first."

"You're right. That theory, at least." Aspyn's weak voice spoke from behind her, "But I'm afraid Avine was not bluffing. Warriors downstairs have alerted me of his presence."

"What about Luphoria? Has she been evicted by the location."

"In a way." she nodded, "But not a method I would prefer."

Quietly, the group headed towards the second entrance to Luphoria's location for the purpose of reaching Avine much more quickly.

Leo took it upon himself to be able to slide into the crack that Aspyn had so easily fit through as quietly as he could muster. After all, the last thing they needed was Avine's dagger against their throats.

The others followed suit.

Now, the navigation. Ellie took charge of this. Apparently, once you were on the inside, everything, including yourself, became a vulnerability. Inside the location was what could be the simplest ordeal Leo had ever seen. There were four rooms and a corridor, and he simply assumed that the Queen was in one of them.

But boy was he wrong.

From the side, Ellie opened a hidden door and walked through the path Aspyn had instructed her to follow, "The four-room ploy was only a distraction." she notes. Her boots create a soft clanking noise as she descends the metal-varnished steps. She seems perfectly comfortable with the environment, but the grip her hands have on the handrail tells Leo otherwise. He might be wrong, so he ignores this.

It gets quite boring for Leo at this point, there was a lot of rounding corners, long, elongated paths, and even to the point where Ellie had managed to make him delusional. An exaggeration, of course, but this was just about as much as he could take.

"Where are we?" Scar demanded, finally. "The damn hideout had five doors, and who knew that the fifth, which happened to be hidden, would lead to a hundred more of them."

"Quiet." Aspyn hissed.

They entered a room which was almost too silent. Leo caught it, a dark figure moving amidst the shadows. He hadn't prepared himself for what to expect, but this wasn't the same Leo that existed almost a full month before the present.

Now, he knew what he had to do, and he was no longer afraid. At least that's what his semi-disoriented mind had decided to tell him.

Nevertheless, he moved closer to the figure just as Jess reached out her hand to stop him. She missed but shot him a cautious look.

Leo was still moving forward, little by little when he noticed a surface reflecting a small amount of light jerk before him. It was a weapon. He stumbled backward, falling onto the ground while his hands took care of steering himself backward.

Aspyn flipped the light switch at the perfect time.

He was still crouched on the ground when the light had flashed brightly. He snuck a peek at the mysterious figure looming over him. It wasn't Avine, but in his place, a member of his council. The three seemed to be in disarray lately, and for once weren't in the same position. Only one stood before him, and he was holding a knife, ready to kill.

The figure moved closer, but not before Leo lurched out to him, grabbing him by the neck and knocking him out cold. It had to be done. Somehow, they would have to commit crimes worthy of criminals if they ever wanted to leave.

The guy wasn't dead, in a fatal condition, yes, but not dead. In fact, Aspyn motioned one of the Covian guards to bring the limp creature to one of the Covian cells. They were not only trespassing but causing a commotion and committing murder.

Luphoria was in the room, her skin pale, eyes dilated. She seemed like she was living in another world, she muttered softly, "Leave," she instructed.

"Absolutely not!" Aspyn sat on the tip of Luphoria's bed. "Do you have any idea how big the target on your back is by now?" she spoke furiously.

"Leave, Aspyn."

"No," Her cry came in the form of muffled sobs. "I can't- I won't."

"Go protect Covia," her mother continued, "I'm done for," her voice started to constrict, "But you can still save them - everyone." And only then did Leo notice the blood seeping onto her shirt. The puddle of blood seemed to be accumulating more by the second. Aspyn had let out a massive shriek. Queen Luphoria held her daughter's arm, and all seemed wrong at the moment.

"Go." Her mother said softly, everyone knew it was her time to leave. They were too late.

Luphoria's eyes shut tight, and they never opened again.