Black and White

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

Chapter Twenty Seven.

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[Riley’s POV]

                Night had fallen, and I could barely see the outline of Dimitri standing in front of me.  He had flashed us to about half a mile outside of the compound where the queen was being held, and we could see the obvious glare of floodlights peeking over top of high stone walls.  Buildings of varying heights could be seen, some with guards standing silently atop them.  This was going to be a nightmare.

                “You know what you’re doing, right?”

                I shot Dimitri a withering stare, though his back was to me. “Of course.”

                “Just checking.” He turned to flash me a grin. “You know those movies about the agent who gets himself into and out of these crazy situations? What are they called?”

                “Mission Impossible?” I answered grimly, still focused on the impenetrable fortress before us.

                He snapped his fingers. “That’s it!  This is your Mission Impossible moment, Riley.  Get in, get the girl, and get out.  Simple.”

                I laughed quietly.  “Get the girl?”

                “Oh, you know what I mean.” He waved a hand dismissively. “You have to channel your inner Tom Cruise.”

                “Except I’m better looking.” I smiled.

                Dimitri eyed me. “And taller.”

                “And sane.” 

                “Right,” he laughed, “So you shouldn’t have any problems.”

                There was more than one reason I had to do this alone, but only one reason it had to be me.  Over the years, Sophia Messina had acquired more than one unusually gifted individual.  In this case, the only one that mattered was a girl who could sense other Gifted at a distance and short out their powers, like some crazy radar scrambler. Because my own gift was so backwards, odds were I’d be invisible to her. 

                From Carlos, I knew the layout and the patrol of the guards, but I didn’t know where in the compound the queen was being held, and she was my first priority.  At least, according to the king.  I would bet my life’s blood that the queen would rather have me save her daughter, but I had no way of knowing for sure and I didn’t really like the idea of telling the king that I’d just left his wife in the clutches of her enemies.

                I let out a slow breath, and clasped Dimitri’s shoulder. “See you on the other side.”

                He gave me the thumbs up and blinked out of existence.  Quickly and silently, I made my way to the edge of the ring of light cast by the floodlights of the compound.  There was a stretch of nearly fifteen feet completely flooded with light before I would reach the shadow of the wall.  After an agonizing few minutes of waiting, the guard turned his gaze away and I sprinted for the shadows. 

                I hit the wall with a muffled thud, taking care to keep my breathing as quiet as possible.  Slowly, I crept along the wall until I reached one of two entrances besides the main gate.  The door was solid iron, with massive old fashioned hinges that I could only pray had been oiled in the last decade.  It took a moment to pick the lock, and cautiously, I eased the door open.