"THIS IS JUST a diversion," Caelan said. His voice was scarcely above a whisper, caught within the gentle afternoon breeze. "But I don't see a way through it. Except, well, through it."
Ravenna surveyed the horde of crimson-colored soldiers standing in formation before them. The tainted ice-soldiers were as still as statues, only their glowing eyes pulsating with faint signs of life. It appeared as though the soldiers were watching and waiting. It was as if they had been ordered to maintain a firm barrier until either Ravenna or Caelan made the first attack.
Another gentle breeze brushed past them, catching in Ravenna's hair and lightly kissing her sunburnt cheeks. Then it died and the world around them stilled.
An unnerving calmness washed over them — a mere hint at the storm that was yet to come.
Her calculating gaze shifted toward the old diamond-marble bridge, and two potential ideas immediately sprung forth within her mind.
The first idea was fairly simplistic in nature, and almost a little barbaric. The bridge stood on heavy, glittering white support pillars. Each pillar appeared to be constructed of the very same diamond-marble as the rest of the Capitol, and very sturdy in nature. In theory, if those supports could be destroyed or weakened, then the bridge would collapse — taking a large amount of the tainted soldiers with it.
The stones hardly seemed weak with age, however.
She wasn't sure how easily the bridge could be destroyed, even if they went at the support-pillars with everything that they had. Nor did she know how long it would take. It could potentially be a massive waste of power and energy. She knew that Vyses would be watching. If he noticed that the odds were tipping against him, she was certain that he would attempt to leave before they could reach him.
And Vyses could not be allowed to escape.
Her other idea was somewhat borrowed. The sun shone unforgivingly above their heads, its rays clashing against the ancient diamond-marble stones — casting a blinding amount of glittering rainbows against the earth on either side of the bridge. From her current perspective, the space immediately beneath the bridge appeared to be empty — a chasm of nothingness waiting to swallow it whole.
But throughout her time within the palace walls, she had learned a lot about the inner workings of the Capitol. Including the multitude of security concerns that existed with the waste management system.
Similar to Zeporia, a network of underground tunnels existed beneath the Capitol, filled with murky water. Each tunnel connected into one major tunnel that drained directly into the river that encircled the Capitol. A river that happened to run directly beneath the bridge in front of them.
If she could locate the drain, Ravenna and Caelan could sneak into the Capitol through the tunnel system — just as she and Vyses had snuck into Zeporia.
All she needed was something to distract Vyses and the crimson-colored soldiers in front of her.
She turned her attention fully toward Caelan. "Do you think that he will attempt to escape?" she quietly asked.
Caelan's typically stoic expression appeared to darken. "If it appears as though we are winning," he answered grimly. "Yes, I do believe that he will."
Her lips pressed into a wrinkled line. Knocking down the bridge supports was out then — as it could easily knock out a good chunk of the soldiers at Vyses's disposal, making it seem as though they were winning.
Watching Caelan, she said, "So then we don't win."
His eyes shot toward her, wide with surprise. "What?"
Her lips tugged back into a coy grin and she did not immediately answer. Instead, she focused her magic into her hand. A glowing sword appeared.
"Follow my lead," she instructed.
Ravenna darted forward. Her fingers curled tighter around the hilt of her glowing sword. A sea of daggers materialized around her head, following her every movement.
The tainted soldiers braced for her attack. She lunged and dodged the crimson-colored swords that sliced at her head. As she fought, Caelan easily matched her pace. He fought through the soldiers surrounding, a glowing white broadsword clutched within his hands.
Ravenna took care with each step that she made. She allowed the tainted soldiers to back her toward one of the balustrades that stretched along the side of the bridge. As her back pressed against its smooth edge, she blasted several soldiers with pure ice — knocking them over the bridge.
She waited, patient. A soldier bolted forward, its sword arcing high. She jumped upward and grabbed the soldier by its breastplate, throwing it over the balustrade. Another soldier fell. Then two more. Another tainted ice-soldier threw itself at her.
With a single blink of an eye, a clone separated itself from her, sword slicing through the air.
The real Ravenna tumbled backward, over the side of the bridge, and into the nothingness that awaited below. Ice-soldiers rained down upon the river beneath her, shattering against the torrents of rampaging water below. Air blistered her skin as she fell.
Her sword vanished. She extended her hand upward. A clawed hand caught her.
Ravenna felt herself being pulled upward into the air. The grip on her vanished and she felt herself falling again. She twisted her body around and braced herself.
With a heavy thunk, she found herself seated atop the back of a medium sized dragon. Her hands grasped at the scales that covered the dragon's neck — scales that reflected the world around them like a mirror, rendering him invisible to the naked eye. She noticed a thin reflective spell covering her as well.
"Now, what is your plan?" she heard Caelan ask.
She did not verbally respond. Instead, she leaned forward and pointed at a glimmer of metal embedded within the side of the mountain. Caelan instantly understood. He flew lower, ducking beneath the bridge, and rammed through the metal grate that barred the main waste drain.
Once inside the drain, Caelan's dragon form slowed to a stop, murky water squelching beneath him. A bright glow blinded Ravenna and she felt his body vanish from beneath hers. Before she could splash into the waste below, two arms appeared around her.
"We will not be able to use magic from this point forward," Caelan warned. He cradled Ravenna carefully within his humanoid arms. "Otherwise Vyses will be able to detect us."
"I know," Ravenna said.
Caelan hesitated for a moment and then lowered her gently, allowing her to stand. Ravenna grimaced. It took all of her strength to ignore the nauseating way the muck beneath her boots squished.
"I wonder where Vyses will be waiting for us," she heard Caelan mutter under his breath.
"You know exactly where he is going to be," she said. Sarcasm dripped heavily from each word. "The throne room."
"He did always have a flair for the dramatic," Caelan said, an annoyed sigh escaping him. He held out his hand and turned toward the depths of the tunnel that awaited them. "Shall we?"