Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I can almost guarantee I dislike the fact more than you do. Anyway, since you've waited so long, I thought you should see some action this time! Enjoy!
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A day of hard riding brought us from Stellum to the bounds of the Protectorate. We crossed into the sprawling city, letting the horses slow to a walk now that we were here. We would deal with getting back into Solangia tomorrow, through the infamous Bandit's Pass. It would be too much to expect an easy journey home. But for now, we were relaxed and cheerful, though tired.
"I think I heard once that Guardians are immortal," Gal volunteered to our conversation. He sounded so eager to dredge up this rumor that I considered humoring him for a little while, but Dell didn't give me the chance.
"That doesn't help us. We can't fake immortality."
"Isn't that what you do everyday?" Nick asked me. I tried to kick him across the space between our horses, and only succeeded in irritating both of them.
"Well, we don't get much information at the university," Gal said, obviously crushed. He'd tried so hard to contribute helpfully during the unending trek from Stellum. Hard to believe this eager-to-please puppy of a boy had fought like the Black Knight he was when the princess's guards attacked us two weeks ago.
Thinking of that, I looked over my shoulder warily. We'd seen no trace of the princess's elite guards, and I didn't really expect them to still be hanging around, but that didn't mean I was right, or that the city was safe.
Of all people, it was Joshua who attempted to soothe Gal. "That's a good reminder that we should have people start spreading that rumor around, though. It can only help the plan. Who's keeping the list of things to do when we get back to Maenar?"
"I am," Wes sighed. "And I put that down the first time it came up. Do you know how hard it is to write while you're riding a horse?"
"You're the one who bragged about your penmanship," Dell said.
"Bad move," I put in. "I only ever brag about how bad my handwriting is."
Joshua twisted around in his saddle to glare at me. "You brag about so many things so often, I think that might be the biggest lie you've ever told."
"Impossible," I said. "I've told way bigger lies, lots of times, because I'm a great liar and no one ever catches me at anything."
He groaned and faced forward again as Nick laughed. "I think you're worse when he's around to egg you on."
"I am perfectly capable of irritating you on my own." I swept another look around the streets, checking for anything suspicious. So far, we were the most suspicious thing around, and I wanted it to stay that way.
Dell snapped her fingers for attention. "Can we get back on topic? False Guardian theories and rumors, anyone."
"I think we've gone through all the ones we know," I said. "And we still have the book Ari lent me to look through." I could tell it hurt her to let the book on Guardians leave her library, but she let me take it when I promised she could have her pick of the royal library if the rebels won.
Surprisingly, despite her strong opinions on the Emorian revolution and her dire warnings on the fate of the Guardians if the Solangian revolution continued, Ari didn't seem that concerned with stopping me from helping to end the monarchy. She'd issued her warning, shared her knowledge, and was now interested only in her research.
"If you win," she'd said, "I might come to Solangia to study the long-term effects on the Guardian Cycle."
That was a scary enough promise that I'd made a mental note to send her every interesting book the royals had to keep her busy for the next fifty years.
Dell didn't look convinced. "It's a terrible plan. We need to work on it as much as possible to have even half a chance of succeeding."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." I scanned the street again. "Are we close to the inn?"
"Almost. Stop looking so jumpy."
"What's the matter?" Nick asked. "Guardian senses tingling?"
We grinned at each other. Nick had been the one to remember the legend that Guardians could have a sixth sense for danger — which Joshua had then objected was a real thing, if it was a sense for getting intodanger.
"Maybe," I said. "Maybe it's my supernatural Assassin sense. I sense that someone is going to be assassinated tonight. Probably Joshua."
"That's not how it works," Joshua said.
"Oh, thanks. I needed advice on how my nonexistent foreseeing powers work."
Nick leaned closer to whisper, "It doesn't take foreseeing powers to guess someone's going to get fed up enough to murder him."
"That's true. It's a constant possibility lingering just on the horizon." I flung out my hand dramatically to encompass the vast horizon of Joshua-murdering possibilities that were out there.
And looking just past my fingertips, I saw an all-too-familiar face.
A beautiful girl waited on the street corner, her features very similar to another girl I knew, her face framed in deep red curls of hair. She was watching us intently, so she was probably a little less surprised than I was to lock eyes.
I stared at Galatea's sister. Crap. I'd forgotten about her.
"Uh, Joshua," I began. After all, he was the other one who'd run into her the last time we were in the Protectorate. He should have to weigh in on what to do about her seeing us.
But before I could get any further, she raised an arm and then slashed it down in what was obviously a signal. A dagger appeared in her hand as she darted forward.
Someone in the street drew a weapon, I couldn't see but I heard a shriek of surprise. Dell's horse spooked as someone made a grab for it, causing a chain reaction of upset horses and undoing our knot of riders.
There were two more Englians coming in from the sides. Gal yanked his sword from its sheath. A knife from Joshua flew in a blurred arc.
Another two from the back as I threw a glance over my shoulder — they were all in ordinary street clothes, hard to differentiate from the crowd that was yelling and trying to scramble away from us as they pushed toward us.
Chaos. It was well-planned. Some brave and stupid person tried to slip between out horses and was trampled by hooves.
I kicked one Englian in the head as they grabbed for me, and they fell back, but another took a running jump at Nick and then he was fighting to get her off and stay on his horse, being drawn away from me by his horse's nervous shuffling.
I tried to stand in my stirrups to get a better view, but Dell being thrashed around by two attackers and her coward of a horse kept my sense of the battle in pieces. The knives I had instinctively grabbed were hard to aim in this mess of bystanders.
Cyrus screamed as he was dragged from his horse, but the woman who had him only dropped him on the ground, vaulted over his now rider-less horse, and lunged at me. I dropped heavily back into the saddle as I fended her off. Knives were not good for this, they had too short a range.
"Morane!" Joshua yelled. I could barely spare a glance for him as this woman attacked me. He had been driven away from the group by other attackers, but now that he was away they had no interest in him, and were running towards me.
My senses, on overload, registered the emptiness at both my sides — Gal had been separated from me by the two attackers who had chosen him as their target, and Nick had been pulled to the ground, his horse taking off down the street.
The woman snarled as she nearly got me. I dropped a knife to get a hand on the reins and drag my horse away. It was a short-term solution, the street was blocked by the crowd at both ends and she came after me.
"Morane!" Joshua yelled again, and I saw something coming toward me from the corner of my eye.
Instinctively I reached out and grabbed the sword from midair by the hilt, and brought it down on the woman's arm.
Her scream pierced the air like arrows falling from the sky. Before I could feel pleased at the battle turning in my favor, arms grabbed me from the other side.
I struggled and yelled, feet catching in the stirrups as I was dragged sideways. The sword slashed the air and went flying.
My knife was useless with the world turned on its side, hands wrenching my head back by my hair.
There were horse hooves on cobblestone, more hands grabbing me, the sky whirling. I was free from the saddle but nails dug into my skin as I thrashed to free myself. Red hair, a shining dagger. Someone grunting as my elbow rammed into their stomach.
"Nick!" I yelled.
"Now," someone too close to be Nick demanded.
Metal hit my head with a flash of light. I dropped.