The night was coming alive. Perched atop one of the various towers of the Sanctuary, Avery could feel the energy sweep through each lane and alley. This part of Wolfrun had been scrubbed clean and freshly painted. In the fresh light of the full moon, fine clothed strangers, complete with top hats and frilly parasols, sauntered through laneways and alleys in awe at the spectacle the village had put on for their annual Harvest Festival.
Avery looked out over the bustling courtyard beneath her, shielded from view by a crumbling, stone gargoyle that had been tortured resemblance of a hound. Patrons funneled in from the various laneways and alleys, all celebrating, stopping to spend gold and coin at the makeshift stands. The merry merchants, strangers to the town, thriving. It seemed that everything was on sale tonight, from the traditional decorative lanterns and sweet mooncakes in the brightly lit courtyard, to Wolfrun's usual supply of re-appropriated goods and flesh in the dank warehouses hidden behind the Sancturary's shadow. The desperate and hungry residents hoping to pocket any coin they could tonight. She scanned the crowd, her breath creating fog in the cool Autumn air, gold and silver flashed of the people gathered below like tiny stars flickering off the moonlight.
She glimpsed the luminescent statues that lined the courtyard, eleven in total and each one representing a different Guardian, except notably the Serpent. Evenly spaced each about a couple yards apart the feminine statues watched the celebrations. Each statue wore a silver mask bearing the mark of their Guardian on their faces. White lace covered their shoulders, revealing the marble skin beneath. A sheer fabric skirt flowed to the floor in various pools depending on how their limbs had been arranged. The silver embellishments on the skirt glimmered, drawing attention to the exposed skin of their thighs.
Avery touched three fingers over her heart and bowed her head, whispering a silent prayer to each Guardian, she shifted silently to the edge of the roof, adjusting the bag strapped to her shoulder. The black fabric of the bag blended seamlessly in with her dark cloak. Her face and hair were hidden in her hood allowing her to melt into the shadows. Waiting.
A cheer rose in the courtyard as the large, oak doors to the Sanctuary opened. Avery frowned but quietly slipped over to the rooftop for a below for a closer view. The bag around her back squirmed, she placed a firm hand on it and murmured at it softly, gently moving the bag around to cradle it in her arms. The movement stilled and Avery crouched closer to the edge, eyes still and focused on the celebrations below.
The crowd parted with a cheer as a handful of masked, male drummers descended the grey stone staircase. Each beat matched their steps down towards the courtyard. She bit her lower lip as she watched them. Compared to the crowd, gathered in their layers of petticoats, the four masculine drummers were near nude. They were dressed in similar garments as depicted on the Guardian statues, but the white silk was fashioned into a loincloth that barely covered what was necessary. The reflective silver lace over their worn chests drew attention to the width of their shoulders and detailed every sculpted muscle as they beat their large metal drums, the sound reverberating through the courtyard.
On impulse, she shifted to the left, leapt up to the apex of the Sanctuary's roof and drew her gun. Her finger poised to use the trigger, Avery had the pistol aimed to where she was just perched. Aimed at a lanky shadow. A cool breeze swept up his cloak, revealing the long lines of a black tailored suit. His appearance was neat and sharp, until Avery saw his face looking up at her and she couldn't stop her smile. His hair was ridiculous, dark and messy as it fluttered against the wind. "You should be better than this Chase."
"I should be." He said with a shrug, "I'm sure that someone, somewhere once tried to teach me not to creep around on rooftops. But where's the fun in that?" His smirk widened, blue eyes dancing. Avery's gun was still pointed at him. "Does he know that you're here?" She flicked a look over his shoulder, the courtyard lit and barely visible. The incessant drumming masking the sound of their voices from the crowd below.
"Does Gallus know that you're here?" Avery countered, cocking her head to the side.
"Does he ever know what I'm up to." Chase huffed, uncrossing his arms to place a hand on his hips, "Are you going to put that thing away or shoot me?"
"Making you nervous?"
Chase smiled. Avery ignored the warmth behind it, keeping her face straight, her heart racing. His sun-kissed skin, flawless as he was perfectly balanced on the edge of the roof. "Should I be?" He took a few steps towards her. Avery stood still, keenly aware of her own breathing as she was engulfed in his scent of new rain on crushed maple leaves. Chase leaned over and Avery peered up at him, his bushy eyebrows were raised. The tip of her gun pressed into his lower ribs. "Just between you and me, I really don't want to ruin this suit. You know how hard it is to get blood out." The blue of his eyes darker than she remembered. "And this is my best suit after all... That is apart from my birthday suit." He raised a dark eyebrow at her and Avery felt her heart start to race.
"Good to know we both came dressed in our finest." She dryly, forcing herself to breath.
"I hardly call that your finest." She wore a short pair of black overalls underneath her cloak. The denim had been cut off at her thighs, revealing the skin of her legs just until her knee-length grey socks came into view. These were stuffed into a tall pair of black boots, laces done up at meticulously. An ivory ruffled shirt hid beneath the bib of her overalls. Her black leather bolero kept the white ruffles in check. Chase rubbed his fingers on his chin, "If I recall correctly, you used to get all dressed up in layers of lace and silks."
In one smooth motion, she holstered her gun but kept her eyes locked on his. "I was five Chase." The weapon sitting snug on her thigh in its holster. His eyes followed every movement. Blue like the clear night sky with flecks of silver like stars decorated around his pupils. Avery swallowed.
"So, now you're all grown up" He ran a hand through his hair, looking away, "Lurking about the rooftops." Chase turned, his arm almost touching hers. Standing side by side, she could feel his heat through her thin cloak. Avery's pulse hammered in her ears and her face felt warm against the breeze. She couldn't tell from his tone if he had meant to insult her, or if he was simply questioning himself.
Avery shrugged, she took a shaky breath and kept her attention on the performance below them. A few people had started to dance, swaying in a drunk attempt to move to the staccato rhythm of the drumming. Chase moved towards her, and reached into her bag. They both jumped apart.
Chase swore loudly, "Avery Volkuris, what have you taken this time?" He stood shaking his hand, then sucked the back of his palm. Avery peeked over her shoulder at the courtyard. She could clearly see the courtyard, it didn't seem like anyone had looked up, yet. She grabbed his arm, she felt him flinch at the cold metal of her left hand, and dragged him over the other side of the steeple. Watching over the cold backstreets of Wolford, here no one would look up. No one would see the two hooded figures standing on the Sanctuary roof and if they did, they wouldn't care. "Well?" He continued, "What do you have in there?"
"None of your concern." She answered flatly. Avery stalked heavily to the edge of the roof and stepped off. She landed softly on the roof below, another level of the Sanctuary.
"My concern," Chase said, as he thumped down next to her. "Whatever you have there, it bit me. Should I be worried? I mean last year it was a pup, the year before a rat."
"It wasn't a rat." She corrected, sitting down on the tiled roof, Avery shifted the bag into her lap. "The year before last, it was a rabbit."
"A rodent anyway." Before Avery could correct him again, Chase sat down beside her, long legs swinging off the edge. "So, what is it this year? A tiger cub?"
Avery shrugged off her hood, the black fabric pooling at her neck. Chase was close, her shoulder touching his chest. She lifted her chin towards the warehouses and the back alleys, grateful for the breeze touching her cheeks. She closed her eyes, "Take your best guess." She doubted that he could name all twelve Guardians now. Chase had spent the better part of the last five years in Pyrene. Gallus had made sure of that.
He looked closely at the bite on his hand. Blood welled around the two puncture marks. "Well if there's venom in this, you're sucking it out."
She nudged her shoulder firmly into his chest. "Do you seriously think I could have stolen the Dragon."
"Oh, I'm not one to ever accuse you of theft," He grabbed her bag, " But did you see the size of that lizard?" Avery nodded, she hadn't missed the iron cage that had taken up half the hall inside the Sanctuary, nor the large black reptile within. It was fat and took up most of its enclosure, thorny tail protruding from the cage. Two large, pink scars had ripped down across the scales on its back where they had amputated its wings. The dragon's fangs were missing too. It sat on its haunches, awkwardly and lazily eat a leg of goat thrown in from the crowd gathered around the bars.
"With that same logic, the larger animal idols would never fit into this bag, so that rules out the Oxen, and the Doe-" The corner of his lips lifted, "And I'm sure it's been a lot harder smuggling them out after a certain someone galloped out of the Festival on the Stallion four years ago." He gave her bag a firm shake, smiling like a boy trying to figure out what surprise he got for his name day.
"Be gentle with Noodles!" She reached for her bag, the black fabric of the bag squirming in protest.
"Noodles? You gave it a name?" Chase's smile widened as he plonked the bag back into her lap.
Avery gripped onto the fabric before the bag could roll. "Him. I gave him a name." She looked down across the town. The full moon well behind them. She tapped her fingers on the metal of her left hand. "Are you going to make your guess soon?"
"What's the rush to get back?" He teased "Don't you like spending time with me anymore?" Avery gave him a small kick. "Okay," Chase said, holding up his both hands, "I mean who am I kidding, everyone wants to spend time with me." Chase slide an arm warm and inviting around her side and Avery was suddenly very aware of just how much of their bodies were touching. His shoulder on his chest with her head was almost tucked under his chin.
She shifted her weight away from him into the cold. She breathed deeply through her nose, his scent was overpowering. She turned her face into the breeze again taking in the faint smell of food from the Festival, as the wind changed her nose wrinkled at the sour hints of garbage and the slight bitter note from unwashed bodies. This contact was too much. But this was also Chase. This amount of contact was probably normal for him. Despite Chase's misgivings regarding Gallus, he did receive quarterly reports of him at the Academy. Including aspects of Chase's social life. His very social life.
Avery looked at her lap, trying not to stare at his long fingers as he counted, "Out of the eleven, I think I'm left with either the Monkey, Boar or Fowl and whatever he is, he didn't sound like a bird." She began peeling away the layers of her bag. "Piglet." Chase said, "With all the ham and pork dishes in the hall, no one would miss the little piggy."
Chase's smile fell as the final layers revealed the creature in her bag. His mouth opened in silent question. The moonlight glittered off its pale scales as it slithered around her right arm, seeking a way under the sleeve of her shirt. The golden, neat repeating pattern of diamonds across its body mesmerizing. Chase swore.
"All those fancy lessons have certainly improved your vocabulary." Avery flatly complimented.
He snorted. "I'm sure that's the real reason Gallus has me chasing the Pyrenese brats around Lynnaeus." The name of the esteemed Academy rolled, warmly off his tongue. Chase's accent crashing over the vowels. It was the only hint, the only give away that Chase was not entirely Pyrenese. "What's the Serpent doing here?"
Avery shrugged, out of all the Guardians, the Serpent was never mentioned, represented and definitely not worshipped in Pyrene. "Enjoying the sunshine in the catacombs."
"In the Sanctuary?" Chase asked, he pointed to the building below them for emphasis. "I think you have the sun mixed up with the sheen coming of the Monroe's head." Avery remained silent, watching the little snake. The scales were soft and smooth against the skin of her right arm. Her chest tightened as Chase pulled her closer. "Why do you do this Ree?" His breath tickled her ear. The hair on the back of her neck rose. Her left hand was now sitting on his thigh, the fingers curled into a metal fist. Noodles hissed softly, his muscles tightening like a cord around her wrist. She looked away from Chase.
Her jaw clenched as his eyes steadily watched her. She held her arm out, Noodles curled around her wrist, raised its head, flicking a tongue at Chase. "Somebody has to."
The snake's black eyes watching him. Chase offered a finger to pet his head. "The Serpent? Ree, the others they might not care about. But the Serpent..."
Avery pushed away from him, cradling Noodles to her chest. "What difference does it make?"
Chase said nothing. Avery knew that he meant his silence as reply. He would never stay silent for any other reason then to make a point. Chase turned to look behind them, the continued drum rhythm, louder.
"Whatever you say about the Pyrenese." He sighed, chin on his chest. "They may have renounced their Guardians, but they'll still show up to a party." He looked up at her, "I wish you could have been there at the Academy. The gala they threw for the Prince's Name Day-"
A loud crack spilt the air.
Noodles bit him. Chase swore and stood up pulling Avery up by her wrist, with the unfortunate reptile pulled taut as a rope between them. The snake let go. Red sparks flashed across the night sky behind them. Fireworks. Noodles dropped, Avery going to her knees in attempt to catch him, but he slipped through her fingers. The small, pale snake slithered across the tiles and away. Avery threw Chase a quick glance, he stood sucking on his finger, and raced off after the snake.
Noodles could move. Avery flew from the Sanctuary and dashed across the warehouse roofs, keeping up with the reptile and out of sight from the crowd below. They were fast approaching the end of the row of warehouses. Avery slide to a halt, left hand sparking along the roof as the metal grinded across the tiles, grasping for a hold. Her boots scraping across and cloak whipping out behind her as she swiveled around, putting her head first staring down the side of the building wall, hands gripping the gutter. Noodles raced down along the drains moving down. Fireworks rained down above her. She pushed herself up, taking a few steps back, Avery clenched and relaxed both hands. The metal of her left fingers warm as they dug into her palms. She jumped, aiming for the verandah below.
She couldn't breathe. Avery felt herself being hauled upwards, she clawed at the clasp of her cloak, fumbling for release. She fell, landing heavily on the edge of the veranda, the momentum carried her forward and she stumbled. She twisted and leapt towards the ground, knees protesting as she landed. She stood as another burst of light shot overhead, painting the alleyway in red, Avery took a quick look at her surroundings. The buildings in this part of Wolfrun were made from rusted steel and dirty, brown brick. The ground beneath her flattened dirt from use. No sign of Noodles anywhere.
Chase landed besides her, her cloak bunched up in his hand. His eyes dark and staring at the large gap in the warehouses. She reached for her cloak and he threw it aside. "What the-". He dragged her towards him, her back against his chest and clamped a hand over her mouth, her lips against his calluses.
"Evanesce." He hissed the command at her ear. "Now." Chase released her and she turned to see his lips taut and face pale. His eyes were still focused on something distant. "Ree, please."
She nodded and closed her eyes, breathing steady. He smelled so strongly of rain, of fresh turned dirt on the forest floor and new pine. The scent so full of promise and memory. A tear trickled down her cheek as Avery found the familiar chill within herself. She pictured it as a cold, dark silk and she wrapped it around her core. The hair on the back of her neck stood as she let the cold out, spreading it out to her limbs. She opened her eyes, the air around her shimmered and darkened. Her ivory blouse fading to translucency, the black leather vest over it going with it. Avery disappeared.
Her chest felt tight when she heard them. Solid wood rattling, leather whipping and the thunder of hooves. Carriages. Chase straightened out his tie and shirt, casually arranging himself in front of the wall of the warehouse. He ran his long fingers through his hair, in what Avery assumed was an attempt to tidy it. Arms by his side he bowed as four black horse drawn carriages approached.
Each carriage was distinguished from one another by an emblazoned seal painted on its door. The first in a forest green, a simple image of a tree in full bloom. It was followed closely by the second. The carriage, decorated with three dark blue lines swirled together like a wave about to break. The deep blue of the crest made the next emblem almost appear white, but in the clear light of the full moon, she could make out that it was an image in brilliant yellow. Up close, it almost appeared like a smattering of ill-conceived dots, but Avery knew from afar, they were arranged as a gust of wind.
The final carriage approached but she knew the image before it even came into view. The sigil of the ruling family of Pyrene, a ruby flame encircled by gold. She stood by Chase, almost touching him, and watched the scarlet curtains flutter past. The tightness in her chest eased as the last carriage proceeded to continue past them, making their way to the Sanctuary's courtyard, leaving them in a cloud of dust. Chase wrapped his hand around hers. Even through the gloves she could feel the warmth of his hand against the cold of the metal. Her skin gave off a faint luminescent glow in the dim alleyway as her body became corporeal.
"Forget him Ree." Chase grabbed her cloak, and threw it over her, "We need to leave now." He threw a backward glance towards the racing carriages and grabbed her arm, it slid through her slightly and she hid her