I curled under a tree as Vladimir and Belial discussed about our plan of attack. Luci, Levi and Grigori were huddled in a corner, talking in hushed tones.
We had been on the move for a few hours, not without encountering small squads of sentries. And like the others, they smoldered into ashes before they knew what struck them.
Amyr sat beside me, elbows on his thighs. "They're already dead anyway."
He knew me so well I despised it.
"They don't even do it because they want to," I murmured to my knees. "Those dead people have families too. Defiling corpses and using them like this is just... sick."
"Tell that to Hector," he groaned. "Honestly, I'm not sure how we can through this anymore. Y'know, with just... us."
I looked around. I could see how even Amyr's unlimited supply of optimism ran out. There was just too few of us.
Besides the Elementals-Antoinette the werecat and Louise the fruit bat-there were a few addition to the group such as Kyoshiro and his three familiars, a huge guy with the Santa beard and a pale skinny brunette in tight leather cat suit.
"When the three of you left, Max and Alex spearheaded the attacks. Those two?" He shook his head smiling. "They're the bomb. Literally. With Max's explosives and Alex's brain, we totally wreaked big time havoc in the castle. We got halfway down the dungeons and freed tons of captives. They've sided with us."
He craned his neck westward, towards the direction of the abyss where an ancient monster lurked. "Speaking of which, the old man should be here by now for the briefing." He flexed his neck and stretched a shoulder. "But after Hector's gone to the Grandmaster's side, it's been hard, Noob. They sent too many sentries around the labyrinth. Lots of 'em ended up with the Ethereals." He winced. "But there's like a gazillion of them. One night, they just... caught us outnumbered. Took us by surprise. Captured the Herondales. You should've at least brought Flynn with you."
"Yeah..." I smiled apologetically. "I thought it's going to be hard for him to return to his... old self."
I gave Amyr a briefest version of the story. How I broke my deal with Hector. The escape to Halja. Byron Flynn's transformation. I left out that part about Sathariel's secret though. If Vincent must know the truth, it had to be from Sathariel's mouth.
"Vincent knows, doesn't he?" My eyes strayed deep into the woods. "About Rosario."
In silence, Amyr nodded.
"And what did he say?"
"Nothing." He looked down. "Not a word since."
A twinge of pain awakened in my chest, but before I could wallow in it, Amyr got up patting the dirt off his pants. He shrugged on a leather jacket that very much wanted to be leather armor and offered me a hand.
"He's here," said he, tipping his chin towards an approaching form.
From behind the trees emerged a familiar old man. I remembered him from the castle dungeons when I rescued Vincent. He was the first one to get out of the cell and rally the other prisoners to beat up the sentries pursuing us.
Vladimir and Belial looked up from the diagrams they had drawn on the dirt. Archie motioned at the others to gather into a circle.
"Manu," Vladimir acknowledged the old man. "Are your troops ready?"
Manu's beetle-black eyes glinted as he grinned, revealing a set of mottled teeth. "Jush give de ordersh, Young Mashter. Deesh low-lives have awaited hundreds of yearsh for dish."
Two men followed Manu. They introduced themselves as Kiran and Ajit. The three of them were Pilgrim's familiars who were assigned as Amarah's guards. You could say Amarah was Sileas' partner in crime in trying to overthrow Pilgrim way back. Alessandra killed them both, by the way. Once their mistress was dead, Manu and many others were considered accessories to the crime and were imprisoned.
"They have gathered near the borders," announced Ajit, bowing low. "Our scouts estimate about a thousand sentries headed by the Eighth and the First."
Archie stepped behind Vladimir and cleared his throat. "I propose a postponement, Master, as we are greatly outnumbered. With sixty-one against an army of a thousand, our probability of success is very much unlikely."
Kyoshiro blurted out something in Japanese, his slanted eyes narrowing. "It's not impossible. If we plan this well, we can at least save our brothers, retreat and plan a better strategy for another attack."
"There is no retreat, Kyo-Nii," Vladimir answered, his voice barely a whisper. "The sentries are slowly taking over the whole labyrinth. We'd be sitting ducks here. It's either we end it now or die trying."
"We can offer all of you refuge in Halja," Luci offered with a sincere-looking smile. It was her first time talking to the others but I was sure she had noticed how they threw strange glances at her. "But first, I'll have to ask permission from Abum."
All the Helions in the group threw meaningful looks at each other. This was screaming bad idea and they knew it. It was bad enough we had to drag them into our fight. The last thing we needed was war between Hell and Halo.
Groaning, Kyoshiro shook his head. "Since we're all stuck in this rut, might as well make it bigger to make room for others."
The enormity of what would soon take place reflected on Vladimir's face. "Prepare yourselves. We are commencing the attack shortly."
Everything that happened next was a blur. Scouts came in and out, relaying secret messages to Manu. Luci and Grigori hurriedly took their leave. Vladimir with Belial and Kyoshiro brainstormed over the plan. Amyr left with Levi and his men to set up traps along the borders. Archie and Kyoshiro's adult familiars-Eun Jae and Miu-set out to divide the troops into assault and back-up parties.
In minutes, the clearing had become a makeshift headquarters. And I was left out of all the happenings. I caught a little of the tactical stuff and understood almost nothing.
I sat in a corner and rummaged my satchel for the Helcium. Sathariel said it wanted to protect me. Although, I wasn't sure how it would help us now. As I took it out, a small piece of folded parchment fell on my lap. It was the note I found in Rosario's old room. I didn't have the chance to read it I almost forgot about it.
Once I unfolded the parchment, it started burning all of a sudden. I gasped and the flame made its way to my nostrils and into my lungs. For a few seconds, I was suffocating. And then, the parchment was gone.
Panting, I stared at my hands. "What the-"
"It's just me, scaredy-cat," said a voice. A very familiar voice.
"Rosario?" I mumbled under my breath.
"So... I'm really dead, aren't I?" she chuckled dryly. "That's why you're reading a part of my Memory Tome."
My eyes watered and I couldn't breathe.
"Ugh, crap! Stupid Girl's crying. Are you for real? This doesn't make me hate you less, you know. So suck it up."
I bit my lip. Once I closed my eyes to force back the tears, I saw her. Standing. In the darkness. In that empire-cut Nysmic dress she always wore.
I could feel the steady stream of tears down my face. "You keep picking a fight, but seriously, I'm just so glad to see you."
She crossed her arms, raising a brow. "Okay... But it doesn't change the fact that I'm still dead."
"I'm-"
"Don't. Even. Go there." She raised a finger at me. "Just try to apologize one time. Just one time and I'll pull all your hairs out and peel off your face. Everything I did, I did for the people I love and not for you. Don't think for a second that you're special."
"Then why did you choose to talk to me?"
She rolled her eyes. "Because, Stupid, Vincent doesn't listen to me. But unfortunately, he does to you. I knew I was dying anyway. If I can't heal myself, nobody else could. So I did what any sensible healer will do: I saved the one with the better chance of survival. You owe me your life. Now it's payback time."
"What do you want?"
She walked up to me, draughting boots clacking against nonexistent floor. With a devilish grin, she lifted a hand and pressed her fingers on my forehead.
Images flashed before my eyes. Treasured memories that Rosario placed in my care. Hundreds, thousands I could not begin to comprehend them. Not until I heard a small voice.
"Rosario," said a child with eyes like blue glass, tugging Rosario's kirtle as they stood in front of the Door with the inverted cross; the portal to Halja. "Shall Mother ever return from there? Does she despise me so that she had to leave?"
"No, Niño. Madame Roselle is away because of her desire to save you from harm." She sounded like she just learned English yesterday. "Once you are immortalized as the mistress wishes, everything shall be better."
The boy shook his little head, pouting. "But Father detests me and so do my brothers. For that, I do not wish for immortality."
Bending over, Rosario tweaked the strands of dark hair covering his eyes. "Then what is it that you yearn for, Vincent?"
Vincent shrugged. "Acceptance."
In a blink, I was transported into a dark room. I could sense nothing but the silent whimpers coming from a corner.
A sliver of light unrolled from the opening door.
Rosario's face reeked of fear as she entered. "V-vincent? I came to help you."
As the light from the hallway filled the room, I made out a much younger version of Vincent slumped in the corner of his bed. His eyes were wide with terror as he stared at himself.
Smoke wafted from his reddened skin. Reptilian scales covered his left arm, neck and half his face. His crimson eyes glowed in the dark like that of a fierce animal. The sheets had been burned, the bedposts wrecked. The whole room itself smoldered like a little piece of hell.
"What is happening to me?" he cried quietly.
Doors closed. Shutters were pulled down. Tension was palpable in the air inside the study.
Mistress Roselle sat at the end of the table, eyeing Vladimir, Mei and Rosario.
"I have... persuaded Pilgrim to immortalize Vincent," said she, clutching the armrests. "The Binds of the Reapers might limit his... condition."
Vladimir slammed his hands on the table. "But it's not a definite solution, Mother! We have to get help from Halja. Surely they have the knowledge on how to control it."
The mistress shook her head in regret. "I am afraid, they cannot be of aid. The Binds of Halja prevent them from doing such. Immortality is our last hope."
The floor beneath my feet collapsed like a trapdoor. As I got up, smoke scalded my lungs. The drawing room was on fire. Vladimir lay beneath a collapsed pillar. Beside him, Mei sprawled unconscious.
Rosario was on her stomach, crawling. "No..."
Before us was a monster who used to be Vincent. Those bloodshot eyes blazed. I couldn't see any trace of him left in that crimson shell.
Blood was all over the place. All over him. And to his feet, Mistress Roselle's dead body lay.
The snap of Rosario's fingers made me open my eyes.
"And... cut," she whispered.
I was back to reality. People moved to and fro in urgency. A giant crossbow with lots of wires attached to it was being transported into the woods.
"Why did you show all that to me?" I murmured, wiping off the tears with a trembling hand.
Rosario snickered. "Now that you know everything... The tragedies that broke his soul. His pain. I want you to do something even I failed to achieve."
"And what is that?"
"Acceptance," she answered and then, she was gone.
"What do you mean?" I knitted my brows. "Rosario! I don't understand. How do I do it?"
No answer came. The essence of her soul that was somehow imbued in the Memory Tome's cinders had run out. I was left with one word without a single clue as to how to go about it. Still, I wished I could have said goodbye.
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There are 8 things to watch out for in the next chapter. 1)The Attack 2)Vincent 3)What is acceptance, really? What did Rosario really want? 4)Kick-ass action 5)Possibility of romance. (Gah. I said it! Possibility though, not probability) 6) Alex 7)Vincent 8)Vince--Oh... I already said that. XD So yeah. Enjoy reading. Vote. Comment. Share. Please share. Like seriously. Share the story. :) It would mean the world to me. And the whole of Andromeda. Even part of Centaurus A. Puhleeease... share it to your friends. Force them. No don't. Okay. Shutting up now! :)