Adelaide rubbed her jaw, willing it to heal like the rest of her broken body. She had found by a pack of bloodthirsty AIA agents. Word had spread across the radio like wildfire: Adelaide had been hiding under the roof of the AIA headquarters all this time. It was chaos. Before most people knew what was happening, doors were bolted down. Every inch of the headquarters was searched. It was only a matter of time. But Adelaide was ready.
It was quite dim-witted, attacking her in her own room, where all her weapons were. Fools must've been desperate – they give it their best shot. But if throwing a few punches and attempting to corner the culprit was their best shot, the criminals in Amiticia could sleep easy tonight.
Adelaide easily escaped their capture; ducking and thrashing and slashing. Slashing not stabbing. Adelaide wanted to make sure the next person she killed deserved it.
Once she jumped down the spiral staircase, she wondered where she would go next. There was agents prowling the streets and this very building. The price for her head was ridiculous, almost as much as Erebus himself. The fact she herself was an agent seemed to make no difference. Adelaide was wanted - dead or alive.
She had to get to the airship. Even though her body ached, she knew the agents who attacked her were worse than she was. The realisation gave her a sick sense of pride. Adelaide blended into the shadows and made her to the landing deck outside.
She thought she was alone, the only person in the corridor but a scream of agony sent her running.
"I told you, I don't know where she is" a familiar voice shouted.
No. It couldn't be.
Adelaide peeked out from the corner. To her horror she spotted Kiyan lying on the ground in a curled position. A group of men were standing around him. She only recognised one. Raymond.
"He's lying. He's been hiding her all this time and he's still hiding her" Raymond said.
Adelaide's stomach lurched as Raymond kicked Kiyan in the stomach.
"Dominic wants him in one piece" one of the other guys said.
A scream tore from Adelaide before she could stop herself. The group turned their attention to her. A spark flew up her legs telling her to run. But she couldn't.
"Don't let her get away" Raymond shouted.
Adelaide bounded towards Raymond and threw him against the wall. Her elbow jammed against his throat and the air seeped out of him.
"You're the one who ratted me out" Adelaide screamed. "I trusted you. We all trusted you".
Raymond's lackeys pulled her away from the gasping Raymond.
"Dominic should've killed you when he had the chance" Raymond choked.
Adelaide felt her rage bubble up and explode into fireworks. All her anger was directed at Raymond. She felt the familiar tingle of power at her fingertips, fuelled by anger, and brought it down on Raymond's head in a lightning strike that erupted. As soon as Raymond dropped to ground, his lackeys dropped their grip on her and ran.
Adelaide scrambled over to Kiyan who had blood running down his face.
"Kiyan" she said softly.
He turned over and his shirt was covered in blood.
"Heaven's above, Kiyan" Adelaide whispered.
"The airship's here" he said.
"I know" Adelaide said. "We have to go quickly".
Kiyan tried to stand but ended up staggering and falling. Adelaide put his arm around her shoulder and her arm around his waist, steadying him as they walked down the stairs. Adelaide could only hope she wasn't caught.
"We're almost there" Adelaide said to reassure herself rather than Kiyan.
Kiyan didn't say anything. He grew limp.
"Kiyan. You have a head injury. It's very important that you stay awake" Adelaide said shakily. "Please. You have to stay awake".
Adelaide pushed the door open with a mighty shove. Just a little further.
The wind whipped Adelaide's hair across her face. The wind speed seemed to rise rapidly. Then Adelaide realised the wind was being generated by something. She looked up and spotted the airship overhead. With a sigh of relief she rushed up to it. The door opened to revel Rosaline standing in the doorway.
"Addie" she squealed. Her face changed when she saw Kiyan. "What happened?"
"Raymond happened" Adelaide said as she, along with Nicholas, helped Kiyan onto the deck. "Take him through to the royal suite".
"Oh I could just kill that Raymond" Rosaline said.
"He's already dead" Adelaide said flatly.
Victoria's mouth parted and she gasped.
"How are we going to explain this to the AIA? You killed a fellow agent" Victoria said.
"I was defending an unarmed citizen" Adelaide protested.
"He was the one that tipped off the AIA" Rosaline concluded.
Adelaide nodded and walked through to the royal suite. She then grabbed a chair near the bedside. Adelaide assumed Kiyan was asleep but he turned his head when she walked in.
"I'm sorry I can't access magic this high up. We're too far from the earth. I can't heal you until we get to Shinama" Adelaide said.
"That's okay. It doesn't hurt that much" But even as he said it he grimaced in pain. Adelaide winced. She couldn't stand to see people in pain. It was one of the reasons she could never be a healer like her parents had wanted.
Victoria walked in and closed the door quietly behind her.
"How bad is it? I heard from Rosaline that-"
"Get me a sedative" Adelaide interrupted.
"A sedative? Adelaide, they're for emergencies" Victoria protested.
"This is an emergency" Adelaide shouted.
Victoria slipped out the door.
"Adelaide, am I going to die?" Kiyan's shaky voice said.
"No. Of course not" Adelaide cried.
"I thought doctors weren't supposed to lie" Kiyan smiled weakly.
"I'm not a doctor and I'm not lying" Adelaide said. "The sedative will just put you to sleep – so you won't be in any pain. All you have to do it make it through the night. And you will".
Victoria came back through to the room with a syringe.
"You know, people who are given this in hospital are closely monitored" Victoria said.
"I'm not going anywhere" Adelaide said.
Adelaide rolled up in his sleeve and injected the sedative into his arm. The effect was almost immediate: Kiyan's eyes fell shut and his arm slumped to the side. It reminded Adelaide too much of the lethal injection for her liking. Adelaide glared at Victoria as to say: Did you give me the wrong needle? Victoria mistook it as her cue to leave.
Kiyan's breathing seemed normal for someone in deep sleep. Adelaide had to trust that Victoria would never risk losing Adelaide's trust.
Adelaide was jolted awake by the airship landing. Pushing herself out of her chair, she glanced behind her. Kiyan was still sleeping soundly. Adelaide marched through to the sitting room where the rest of the Falcons had re-joined the group.
Maxwell was the first to notice her. He gave a look that was a mixture of disbelief and disdain.
"So it's true" Maxwell said. "You did escape from Amiticia's high security prison".
"Please, save your gushing for some other time. Right now I want to know about the tracking spell" Adelaide replied.
"Yes of course" Maxwell said. "Will Cecelia and Raymond be joining us shortly?"
Adelaide looked over at Victoria, who coughed and turned away. Rosaline pretended as if she didn't hear it. Adelaide took an unsteady breath.
"Raymond has been selling information to Dominic" Adelaide said.
"That's impossible" Maxwell shook his head. "I've known him for years. He wouldn't do that".
"It's true" Nicholas piped up. "I know, it's hard to believe that Raymond betrayed us".
"Did you arrest him?" Maxwell said.
"No I...I killed him" Adelaide said quietly.
There was a collective gasp in the room.
"You killed him? You could go to jail without proof he was a traitor" Nicholas exclaimed.
"Thanks for the insight, Nicholas. Like I didn't already know the whole country wants me hanged" Adelaide snapped.
"Oh, don't worry – you'll escape the noose. People like you always do" Maxwell said. "Queen Adelaide, everyone loves you. Doesn't matter who you slaughter – people will always forgive you. Her majesty can do no wrong".
Maxwell stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened. "What happened to Cece?"
"She was killed during a raid, I'm sorry" Adelaide said.
Maxwell sank down on the couch and buried his face in his hands. He seemed to be chanting no over and over again.
"This is the work of Erebus and his people. We can't blame others, especially not the very people working so hard to stop him" Nicholas said.
"You should've killed him when you had the chance" Maxwell yelled at Adelaide. "You should've killed Dominic instead of Raymond. But you didn't. You're a coward"
But you're still the pathetic coward you always were.
Suddenly Adelaide wasn't looking at Maxwell's angular grief-ridden face but Dominic's cold unnerving face. Adelaide stormed forward, ready to pummel some sense into Dom-Maxwell. Victoria stepped in between them, which nearly earned her a black eye. But Victoria could anticipate Adelaide's next move and caught her mid-swing.
"He's not worth it" Victoria hissed. "Now we're all going to go outside and Adelaide is going to do the tracking spell because right now we have more important things to worry about than Adelaide's verdict".
Adelaide breathed out and let her anger seeped out. She knew they were more important things to worry about but Maxwell had called her a coward.
The Falcons walked out the airship and stopped at the entrance to the mountain caves. The sky was a dusky orange, the sun just peeking through the gap between the mountains. The mountain seemed to ooze magic. A legend about them claimed that the first five Enchanters to be blessed with magic still lived dwelled within the cave. Five immortal beings. Adelaide shuddered at the thought.
"There's one problem" Nicholas said. "We need something that was Dominic's. Something with his fingerprints all over it".
Me Adelaide immediately thought. If Adelaide was a portraiture painting Dominic was the vandalism. He was her torrential rain to her sunny day, her pollution to her tranquil waters.
"Would my ring work?" Adelaide said.
"Yes that could work. Now you have to place the object in front of you and picture a map in your head" Nicholas said.
"A map of the Peaceland kingdoms?" Adelaide asked.
"I would assume so" Nicholas said.
"Then what?" Adelaide asked.
Nicholas and Maxwell exchanged glances.
"The page had been torn out. The Enchanters didn't know the rest of the spell" Nicholas explained.
"Great. Half a spell" Adelaide murmured.
Adelaide knelt to the ground, flung the ring to the ground and closed her eye, willing the imagery map to tell her where Dominic was. In her mind's eye, she saw the giant land masses that were Concordia and Amiticia, joined together only in the physical sense. And then there was Shinama, a small dot near the top right corner, just a small sliver of ocean away from Amiticia. And then finally Arugaia, a collection of farmlands below Concordia. It was useless. No countries stood out to her. Adelaide didn't even know what kind of magic to draw out from the earth.
"I don't know what I'm doing" Adelaide said.
"Maybe the ring has been yours for too long" Rosaline suggested.
"I doubt it would matter" Adelaide said.
"Do you have anything else that belonged to Dominic?" Victoria asked.
"No why would I?" Adelaide exclaimed.
Why would she need something of his when everything reminded her of Dominic? Adelaide wanted to let her past go, she feared she wouldn't be able to until Dominic was dead. She'd came close last time she'd seen him. So close, but he'd still managed to survive. Adelaide could still feel his blood splatter her jacket....
"There's still some of Dominic's blood on my jacket. I couldn't get it all off" Adelaide said.
"Try that" Rosaline said.
Adelaide slipped the ring back on her finger and shrugged her jacket off, placing it where the ring was. Adelaide tried to picture the map again but the map burst into flames and a terrible pain struck her head. It felt like a burning hot iron, wrapping itself around her forehead. The ground under Adelaide's palm splintered and spider webbed across the ground. She backed away, suddenly terrified she'd did something wrong. The cracks formed a shape that seemed familiar to Adelaide.
"What is it?" Nicholas asked.
"It looks like a map" Victoria observed.
"It's Arugaia" Rosaline exclaimed. "There's Ironfield and that's Arlsburrow".
"So Dominic is in Arugaia?" Nicholas said.
"Where in Arugaia? It's a big country" Maxwell said.
Adelaide stepped forward and placed a hand on the map. Images flitted across her vision. A maze. Imps in a field. A warehouse.
"I see a warehouse" Adelaide said.
"There are millions of warehouses in Arugaia" Maxwell said irritably.
"This one has a faded red logo on the side. A pig's smiling face" Adelaide described.
"That's the Candorbury slaughterhouse. It's just outside the capital" Victoria said.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go" Maxwell said.
The Falcons boarded the airship. Adelaide felt a strange sense of exhilaration. They were going to defeat Erebus. The Peaceland kingdoms would stop suffering.
Adelaide walked through to the royal suite, intent on telling Kiyan the good news. He was perched on the end of the bed. His wounds didn't look half as bad with blood wiped away.
"Good news. We know where Dominic is now" Adelaide said.
"Really where?" Kiyan said excitedly.
"Arugaia" Adelaide said as she sat next to Kiyan.
"That figures. There's hundreds of abandoned warehouses there"
"If you knew why didn't you tell us, you little prophet?" Adelaide said in a joking manner, then she grew serious. "Have you had any more dreams?"
Kiyan shook his head. "No, and I hope I never have to dream again".
"Why? Don't you realise what an incredible gift you've been given?" Adelaide said.
"I never asked for this gift" Kiyan said.
It irked Adelaide when people snapped at her as if she was a common servant but this time she let it slip. His ability to dream the future was a touchy subject for Kiyan.
"You don't get to choose what you are in life, but you do get to choose how you deal with it" Adelaide said. "If you let your fear control you, then you're ultimately going to be unhappy with life".
"I know. I'm just so scared. I don't know what it is I have or what it would mean if anyone found out".
Adelaide wanted to reassure Kiyan that nothing would happen to him, even if he did carry a rare kind of magic. But she couldn't. Oh, she wanted to say everything would be alright. But that would be a lie.
"Can I tell you a secret?" Adelaide said, as she moved an inch closer to Kiyan.
"Of course"
"I'm scared all the time"
Kiyan did a fake gasp. "Not Adelaide Sarscoshi. Not a warrior queen".
Adelaide nodded her head. "It's true but I don't let it get to me. I carry on regardless. I know you don't want to talk about it, but with your talent, you'd be a great help for the AIA"
"I've had second thoughts about joining the AIA" Kiyan admitted.
"Really? Why?"
"It was after you killed Raymond without a moment's hesitation"
"And I would do it again" Adelaide said quickly.
"I don't think I could be that...ruthless"
"Do you want me to say I'm sorry I did it, because I'm not. He could've killed you" Adelaide reasoned.
"I know, and don't think for one second I'm not grateful for what you did. It's just seeing that made it a reality. What I would have to do if I did going through with being an agent".
"Whatever you choose to do, I won't be disappointed in you"
"Thanks that means a lot" Kiyan said and walked over to the window. He tried to pretend as if he wasn't in pain, but Adelaide knew. "I really want to help you defeat Dominic. I've never hated anyone so much in my life. And I know it's a dangerous life...but it's also kind of thrilling".
Adelaide thought about her training. When she'd begged Victoria to take her on a mission with her. She remembered the thrill of the anticipation before the mission. And then tracking down a man responsible for human trafficking. Although they ended up searching an opium den and a bandit made off with Adelaide's ring (not for long) – it had been an eventful night. One which Adelaide would never forget.
"Alright. You can come with us into Dominic's lair but you're not going to be any help to us when you're in so much pain" Adelaide said.
"It's not that bad" Kiyan protested but stopped when Adelaide held up her hand.
"I've been there. You won't even be able to hold a bow and arrow" Adelaide said, taking vial of dark blue syrup out of her jacket.
"Is that morphine?" Kiyan asked.
"It's kind of like morphine in that it dulls the pain, but instead of making you feel drowsy it has the opposite effect" Adelaide said.
Kiyan took the vial and examined it. "Are you sure I should be taking this?"
"It's...frowned upon in some countries. But I've taken it a few times before and I was fine. But remember Metraproxiphine is only for emergencies" Adelaide said.
Kiyan nodded and gulped the syrupy medicine. Adelaide had to snatch it out of his hands.
"That's enough" Adelaide hissed. "Do you want to become addicted to it?"
"Of course not" Kiyan said. "So how long until the side effects kick in?"
"There were no side effects with me"
"Maybe the side effects were just the norm to you" Kiyan said. "A quick temper, a lack of patience and a heightened ego"
"Hey" Adelaide cried and threw a pillow at him. "And to think I was going to get you a birthday present".
"My birthday was last month" Kiyan pointed out.
Adelaide reached under the bed and pulled out a black bow and arrow. The string and the arrow heads were golden – and not lead tipped.
"I guess you don't want this then" Adelaide said.
Kiyan stared at it as if it were a gift sent by the angels. He looked almost scared to touch it, as it would break easily.
"Take it. It yours" Adelaide said handing the weapon.
"Adelaide...it's beautiful. I don't know how to repay you" Kiyan said.
"Don't get killed" Adelaide said.
Was Adelaide wrong to kill Raymond, even if he was working with Erebus?
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