The Devil's Tear

Chapter 27- Risky Tactics

Alexei hurried towards a pale and motionless Cytheria anxiously. Her half-open eyes lit up slightly when she saw Alexei approaching. Her breaths were quick. She pulled herself up, politely rejecting Alexei’s assistance.

“What did they do to you?” Alexei felt anger boiling in his chest. Cytheria shook her head, her signature impassive expression returning to her face. “I refused to eat or drink until I got to see you.”

Alexei glared at her, but couldn’t help but feel content at her touching reason. “Come, let’s go.”

The striking woman tilted her head to the side. Alexei nodded reassuringly, taking her gently by the arm out of her cell and down the damp, dark halls. With every step, they heard the wet crunch of the damp bricks under their feet. Alexei halted; there was something he’d forgotten. He faced the way they had come from, catching the fleeting glint of the crystal key Vesta had given him to free Cytheria. He rushed towards it, splashing a small puddle along his way, and carefully picked it out of its socket. Its million faces and incandescent beauty both struck and baffled him. He inspected the keyhole. There were two, with the little dent that the crystal fit snugly into below the actual keyhole.

Cytheria’s footsteps grew louder. “Is something wrong?”

“Hold on,” Alexei murmured, dashing to the barred cell opposite Cytheria’s. He studied the keyhole: there was only one. He briefly stroked his fingers along the metal plate just to make sure. Frowning, he turned back to Cytheria.

“Shall we leave?” He asked politely.

“The Queen is just… letting us go?” Cytheria demanded, clearly bewildered at the drastic turn of events. Comprehension showed itself on her face when she scrutinized Alexei up close. She didn’t need to state it, so she simply stayed quiet. It was a huge blow for Alexei, who had treasured the dragon as a partner more than a tool.

“Can’t we stop her?” Cytheria asked quietly. The blonde-haired man gave her a look of helplessness. “There’s nothing we can do right now, the state we’re in.”

Quietude fell over the two, with the icy air adding the effect. Alexei hesitantly broke the silence, “Cytheria, did Vesta ever tell you anything about any battle she was fighting?”

The woman stared back at him hopelessly.

“I thought so,” Alexei sighed, “I think she may be a different person from what we know her to be.”

“She is different,” Cytheria rolled her eyes, “That mask of mercilessness… it’s only to cover her fear of being overtaken by her own people.”

Alexei dropped the subject; she wouldn’t understand until she was exposed to Vesta the way he had been. He waved his hand for her to follow, to which she obediently complied.

-

As Artemis watched from the branch of a high tree that constantly littered leaves over her head, she lost almost all hope of Alexei’s well-being. The dragon was a beauty, Artemis acknowledged, but it was not the time for her to be sitting around aimlessly admiring it. She had to do something, but what could she do? Allegra and Demetri balanced on the long, dark brown branch opposite hers, with unfathomable and similar expressions on their faces.

“I hope Irma got back alright,” Allegra tried to lighten up the mood. She recoiled when a shadowy purple mist obscured the expanse the dragon was stationed in. Artemis scratched at the wood of the trunk in desperation. The mist slowly covered the entire area to the point where neither of the three could make out whether there was a dragon or tea part beyond the mist.

“Should we try to break through?” Demetri suggested.

Cornelia, what should we do now? Artemis inquired in her head, hopefully waiting for a response. None came.

“We should retreat,” Allegra concluded, “We can do nothing now. If we oppose Vesta, her entire army will be thrown at us. We could barely handle ten skilled soldiers and mages as opposed to ten thousand.”

Artemis pondered over her conclusion. It was clearly rational. Alexei was already long gone, and Cytheria’s treachery would have earned her a worse punishment than the dragon’s vessel himself.

But she didn’t want to abandon the place so easily. She would regret the decision later, her mind nagged. She inhaled. “We’ll try to the best of our abilities, to intercept the ritual. If even for a few days, we would still have tried! Besides, it isn’t like we’re going to die.”

“But the pain of wounds is possible tripled than that of a living being,” Demetri argued, “The pain alone will make us wish death upon ourselves.”

Artemis chewed on her bottom lip, ignoring the pain passing through it when she bit too hard. Allegra folded her arms over her chest. “We’ll try, for a set period of time. If we can, we shall free the Bahamut.”

Artemis and Demetri’s jaws fell open. “Are you mad?” Demetri demanded. “He’ll probably do more damage if set loose than the Exedras twins themselves!”

“Remember, the dragon only attacks when restrained or agitated,” Allegra raised her finger in argument. “I doubt he’ll attack anyone or anything but the ones who restrained him so cruelly. And he surely won’t attack the ones who freed him.”

“How are you so sure?” Artemis narrowed her flat black eyes.

“That Bahamut is cleverer than most beings can ever be. He knows what he does,” Allegra shrugged.

“What if Vesta exposes him to that article of clothing again?” Demetri challenged sourly. Clearly, he was against Allegra’s scheme.

“What article?” Artemis and Allegra asked simultaneously.

“The one she used to capture Alexei,” Demetri clarified, “She only had to show it to him, and the dragon went mad inside Alexei.”

Allegra frowned, “We’ll have to take the risk, Brother. If we can set him free while Vesta is absent or restrained, then he’ll naturally travel back to the place he was exiled.”

“Bahamut’s Lair,” Artemis nodded understandingly. Demetri racked his brain for more excuses. “Suppose he goes all out over the city?”

“We tried,” Allegra glared. “And we’ll set up as much protection as we possibly can. Some sort of fire repelling barriers?”

Artemis squeezed her friend’s arm gratefully. Allegra only winked, and Demetri finally surrendered to their risky plan. The chance of failure definitely overruled the probability of success. But he understood his sister’s method of thinking. Even if they failed, they could live knowing that they’d tried.