Gold as the Crown Chapter 11

(/Mare/)

I woke to the sound of Maggie crying. When I sat up, I realized that Cal was missing from the bed. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to figure out why she was crying, only for the ground to shake around me, making the bed rock and the dirt above my head rain down onto my head. I gasped at that, and then shouted, "Down! Everyone down!"

Julian made a strangled sound of surprise at my scream, and I saw Shade pulling Evangeline out of bed, and grabbing their mattress before placing it on his back and crouching down with her, making sure that whatever happened, they were covered in case the ceiling caved in. Not that that would do much for us, considering the fact that there were miles of rock above our heads that would kill us if it collapsed on us.

I leaped from the bed, landing on the floor in a crouch. Looking around for Cal, I saw him underneath the table, clutching Maggie to his chest while she clung to him, crying softly. I threw myself under the table as another bomb hit us and rocked the room. A blaring siren suddenly sounded, and Maggie covered her ears and cried harder. I struggled underneath the table with Cal. His arm wrapped around me and pulled me close, so that my face was buried in his shirt. I looked out at Shade who had pushed Evangeline underneath the bed, and had tucked himself underneath with her. She clung to him tightly, and I saw her lips moving quickly as she told him something, her eyes watering from the dust. Underneath the other bed, Sara and Julian was trying to cover their noses and mouth to keep from inhaling too much of it.

The shaking went on for what felt like an hour, but when it finally stopped, the alarm continued to sound, and I saw a red light above the door flashing. I crawled out of Cal's arms, and out into the open, looking up at the ceiling where there was a large fissure in it. I coughed around the dust in the air, and then looked back at Cal who crawled out from under the table with Maggie, who was sobbing into his neck. I stumbled to the door, and then opened it. The hallway was filled with people shouting for their friends and family, crying for help because someone was injured. I took all of this in, and then saw the soldiers running through the crowd, pushing people out of rooms, calling for them to leave to make their way to the trucks. We were under attack, I realized, my next thought was to realize that it was Samson. He was here.

Behind me, Cal was urging everyone up and to grab bags, to grab all of our things. I turned quickly and grabbing my boots which were by the door, pulled them on and tucked my pants into them before grabbing the first jacket I could find. Cal was helping Maggie into her boots while Shade helped Evangeline from underneath the bed, her legs shaking slightly as he grabbed their bag that they had transferred all of their things into.

I hurried across the room to Julian and Sara who were grabbing their bags as well. I didn't care what I grabbed as I started throwing things into my bag. I grabbed Cal's things, and my things, just trying to shove as much as possible into the bag.

A soldier appeared in the doorway and began shouting for me and Cal. I looked up at the young man standing there, his forehead bleeding from a cut he had probably gotten from falling rocks that he hadn't been able to avoid.

"You're needed in the Hive." He shouted over the sound of the alarm, and Cal met my eyes over the space before handing Maggie to Shade who took her and set her on her feet. She clung to him, and then watched as Cal and I both turned and hurried out of the room, following the soldier who was leading us to the Hive.

The hallways we passed through were packed with people panicking and shouting and trying to make their way to the trucks. I glanced around at all of them and then choked, "There's not enough transports."

Cal looked at me then, his eyes burning as he replied, "I know."

What were they going to do, send the remaining people on foot? I couldn't afford to think about that though, because dammit I had to hope that they would get Maggie and Evangeline out. They would have too. Shade would find his way as best he could, and hopefully take Sara and Julian with him. I could only hope for that.

We climbed the stairs two at a time until we were in the Hive. The entire place was spilling over with people shouting orders and curses as they worked feverishly on computers. The soldiers guided us through the crowd and down the ramp that we had gone down before. In the pit, the Colonel was spitting instructions into his radio, while Westin was sending orders to other soldiers, telling them to ready transports to take people to a set of coordinates and prepare them to leave for Montfort. We were shoved down into that, and were absorbed into the chaos.

The Colonel took us in, standing at the base of the ramp, looking lost among the people running around, and then gestured for us to get across the room and join him. His expression was pained as he shouted something else into the radio and then turned to the massive table behind him. Schematics for the compound were spread out in front of him, and we pushed our way to the table to join him in looking them over. He grimaced as he looked at something and the lifted his radio to say, "Take them through the south most tunnels, we'll regroup in the hangar there and head for the airship fields. Get everyone in an airship, I don't care if they are overweight, we'll fly low and deal with it."

He turned to look at us then, and narrowing his eyes he asked, "How willing are you both to hold a line?"
"Very," I answered, and felt Cal set his hand on my shoulder in reassurance. The Colonel looked the two of us over and then said, "You two will be in a group with a few other New Bloods, bringing up the back and picking up any stragglers that fall behind the main group."

Cal squeezed my shoulder and then asked, "How close in are they?"

"They haven't hit the residential areas yet, but they're getting close, and... we've already lost a whole squadron. Samson… Samson Merandus is here."

My inhale was sharp and I knew that the Colonel must have heard it, but he turned his gaze to Westin and then said, "Get your people out."

"What about you?" I asked stiffly, and he turned those bright blue eyes on me, eyes so like Farley's it was almost painful. He looked away then and said, "Someone has to remain behind and open the hangar doors from within the Hive. There is no way to do it from the hangar."

And even though he had been an ass for almost the whole time that we had known him, I knew that this was a price that was hard to pay. I shook my head and said, "You can't, Farley… she-"

"Diana knows what must be done. She left with the early group to make sure the transports were ready. She knows the cost." He murmured, and then turning to us, he narrowed his eyes at me and said, "I have not been her family for a long time, but you all, you have been and must continue to be. Do not let her down."

I took a step back then with the weight of that statement, feeling Cal pull me softly away. Westin grabbed her bag from behind the table, and patting the Colonel's arm softly she whispered, "Thank you… for your sacrifice and your service."

He followed her form with his eyes as she took off out of the Hive, a few people following behind her. His head slowly lowered then until he was looking at the maps again, and Cal tugged on my arm again, whispering that we had to go. I looked at the Colonel for a long moment though, and then whispered, "Whatever happens… I'm sure she'll be proud to call herself your daughter."

He looked at me for a moment, and underneath that hard exterior, I saw the man that might have once been a father, but who had been hardened by years of battle and loss. That was gone as fast as it came though, and he straightened his shoulders and said, "You two need to go, that's an order."

I nodded, fighting to urge to stay with him until the end, and turned with Cal to leave. We left the Hive at almost a sprint, and I was shocked to feel my eyes burning. I blinked a few times to push the tears down and then forced myself to a full sprint to keep up with Cal. The Colonel, regardless of how he had acted towards me and Cal and the others in our group, was still Farley's father. Like anyone else, she would mourn, and we would have to help her through that. So many losses in such a short time, especially for her. I wondered how she was able to take it all in stride. I was already fracturing under the weight of everything I had survived and gone through.

The hallways we sprinted down were almost empty, and as we went, I sent a prayer to whatever gods still existed that we would be able to get everyone out, and the no one else would have to make an impossible sacrifice. If we lost anymore numbers, I feared we would have nothing left to put up a fight with.

We rounded a corner and ran into a small group of Lakelander soldiers. Hissing in surprise, Cal dug his heels in, but they had already seen him. With a sweep of one of their hands, the rocks near our feet rocketed toward us at blinding speed. I managed to leap over the largest one, and threw myself into a roll before coming up to avoid the others, my lightning racing along my arms as I came up from my roll and into a crouch. Throwing a bolt in the direction of the group, I split it down the middle, taking out three of them in a row. They collapsed to the ground, withering masses of human beings, and the others hollered in anger as they advanced on us then.

I looked back at Cal, who hadn't been as fortunate as me to avoid the vast majority of the rocks. I watched him struggle to his feet, his hand reaching down to touch his knee, which seemed to shake for a fraction of the second. He glanced at me through narrowed eyes and with gritted teeth said, "I can handle it, it's fine."

I rose from my crouch, and called another bolt of electricity to hand, feeling it race up and down my arm as I threw up a shield to keep the soldiers from following us. Cal finally managed to right himself, and throwing his hand out as well, he ignited my shield, pushing flames along the bottom so that whatever sparks leaped off of my shield became bright blue flames. We edged along that shield, pushing it toward the soldiers, who were slowly being joined by reinforcements as the seconds ticked by. I watched them out of the corner of my eye, letting my shield lash out at whoever got too close. Cal kept an eye on the other hallways.

Another group came flying down one of them, and I hissed at that as I shouted, "Cal!"

He flipped around, throwing a ball of fire that didn't catch, not it hit the ground. It exploded into a massive flower of flame as soon as it made impact, and it sent the soldiers screaming as they covered their eyes from the heat and the light. I took that chance then to throw a bolt down the hallway, taking one of them out. My lightning was being drained quickly by my shield though, and I didn't have much power behind the throw. Before I could say anything though, Cal threw another ball of fire, this one hitting one of the Silvers. He screamed in agony and ran into his counterpart while trying to douse the flames. Soon they were all struggling to contain the blaze that their partner was spreading. I smirked at that and then looking over my shoulder at Cal who had pulled a pistol from his belt, I shouted over the snap and crackle of my shield, "We need to move towards the other group at the southern tunnels."

He nodded and then pushing his wall fire toward the group we were still holding off, he hissed, "Drop your shield, I'll follow behind after I push them back and give us a head start."

"Don't you dare lie to me," I snarled, as I watched his fire push the Silvers back. He turned to me and then said with fire flaring off every word said, "I wouldn't lie about this! Go and I will follow behind."

I chewed on the inside of my lip for a second before saying, "Fine, but you better keep up with me."

His lips pulled up into a grin as he said, "Alright short legs."

I tried not to huff at the comment, but still, my lips pulled up in a smile as I turned back to my shield which was starting to falter. Narrowing my eyes, I gave it one last burst of energy, watching it scream and then explode out, sending sparks and bolts everywhere. The Silvers cried out, and only a few were smart enough to put up some sort of shield with their abilities.

Immediately after my shield had fallen though, Cal pressed his advantage, pushing the Silvers back until they were almost thirty meters behind us. I turned on my heel and sprinted after I was certain that the Silvers were not going to follow me right away. My bag bounced off my back as I went, and my feet pounding on the floor too, creating a hollow echo that bounced around my head and the hallways. There was no sound in the hallways except for that and my breathing which come out in rasps as I tried to push my legs faster, to propel me down hallways like a runaway train. I had no idea what was waiting for me with the other group. It might be Samson himself, or it might be no one. The rest of the group might have already retreated, or maybe, they had already been slaughtered. I forced the second thought from my mind. I couldn't afford to think that way, not as I was charging into battle.

I looked over my shoulder only once to make sure that Cal was behind me, and sure enough, he was. I could see the limp he was trying to hide, and trying to suppress as he tried to keep up with me. He waved me forward, shouting at me to not look back. I couldn't promise that though, especially as we rounded the corner and entered in to the middle of a massive fight between the Lakelander soldiers and the few New Bloods that had remained behind to fight. It was chaos on all sides. People screaming and fighting, Silver soldiers shouting orders to everyone around them. It was a symphony of noise over top of the clash of steel on steel and the cries of the injured and the dying.

To my right a group of Silvers had cornered a young New Blood, who sneered at them and then slowly tried to bend the shadows behind her into a cloak to hide herself behind them. An illusionist, I realized, instantly recognizing Chelsea's gift. I launched myself at those Silvers, letting out a furious cry to draw their attention away from her. They all turned, their faces hidden behind metal masks that only had eye holes. I sent a bolt of lightning in their direction. One of them, a Captain by the looks of his uniform shouted orders to corral me backward and deeper into the thick of battle. I hissed and set my feet to face them, but before I could prepare my depleting reserves, a shadow flashed behind them, and one of the soldiers cried out in pain before collapsing, a knife jutting out of his neck. A spurt of silver blood exploded out and the soldier next to him tried to alert the others, but I sent a bolt at him. His metal armor acted as the perfect conduit to my electricity and he collapsed, paralyzed.

The others in the group began to disband then, trying to escape the two front attack we had initiated. Their Captain tried to order them to remain in place to fight, but the girl came up from behind him and wrapping her knife around his neck, she sliced it like a piece of fruit. He collapsed then, his mouth parted in a final order to his men, who cracked immediately upon seeing their Captain on the ground. They backed away from us, and she and I picked the last of them off as they tried to run from us.

She came up to me then, her lips pulling into a smile as she put her back to mine so that we were covering each other's backs. Heaving for breath she said, "Impressive Little Lightning Girl."

I nodded, keeping my eyes on the new group that had arrived, before saying, "You're more of a Shadow than an Illusionist."

She let out a breathless laugh as she created an imaginary fissure in the floor, that made the Silver soldiers cry out in surprise and try to back up, only to run into the line of New Bloods that finished them of quickly.

"I learned most of what I can do from a Red sympathizer when I was young. She had been kicked out of the Royal Court for disobeying an order. She found me hiding on the street and took me in."

"Sympathizer?" I asked incredulously, my eyes narrowing as I picked off a Silver that was trying to get around the line and make his way into the tunnels. She nudged my back, and I turned to allow her access to the side I had been working on. I grabbed the hem of her jacket and dragged her down into a crouch as a Shiver threw a blast of ice shards at us though. She hissed as a few pieces cut at our cheeks and broke the skin. I sneered at the Shiver that had initiated the attack, and then threw a blast of lightning in his direction. He hollered in agony and I smirked as he tried to throw himself into the fray again to avoid more of my advances.

"Yes, sympathizers, like that easy on the eyes prince that you seem to have attracted to your hip." She said with a laugh as she made two Silvers turn on each other, each thinking the other was the enemy. As I watched them fight on another, I felt a shiver of worry run down my spine. I stiffened as the girl's description of Cal ran through my mind again, and then looking around wildly, I choked, "Cal."

I couldn't see him in the fray, and my heart pounded as I began to wonder if perhaps one of the New Bloods that didn't recognize him, mistook him for a Lakelander soldier. Before I could break away from the girl, I spotted a blast of flame, and following that, I found him. He fought back to back with a New Blood, the two of them fighting with fire and ice. Where his flame fell, shards of ice exploded out to slice at whatever Silvers were still standing.

His eyes seemed to find me across the space, and he nodded before returning to his battle, forcing Silver's back to make room for New Bloods to drag their injured partners into the tunnels to make their way to the hangar. We were starting to retreat; I could see it. We were starting to let them back us into the tunnels. I wondered if that was because we were losing, or if we were running because it was just time we turned our backs and cut our losses to protect the hangar more.

In my distraction, I felt a knife cut my arm. I hissed in pain, and then reached up to touch the wound. Flipping around I desperately I tried to find the thrower. I could only pray it was a random Lakelander soldier, and not who I thought it was. If Ptolemus Samos was close enough to throw a knife, then he was close enough to kill, and he was just trying to get my attention. Like a cat, he liked to trap his prey before killing it. I looked around wildly though the crowd, looking for the familiar armor, or maybe even a flash of platinum blond hair. There was no sign of him though, and I panicked as I looked for Cal then.

I found him throwing a Silver to the ground, and finishing the job with a knife from his own belt. He knelt over the soldier, panting and heaving for breath. His New Blood partner had already moved on apparently. Behind him, I saw the flash of dark, obsidian metal moving through the shadows thogh. My heart leaped into overdrive and everything dimmed until I could only see that sword flashing in the light of the dimming blubs. I had seen it flash once before in dim lighting. It had been used then to behead a king, and now, it would be used to kill the son.

I dashed toward Cal then, shouting his name. He looked up at me in confusion, his chest rising and falling heavily. He looked to his right and left as I shouted at him, screamed at him. He finally looked forward again, and when he saw where my eyes were looking, he flipped around in surprise. Ptolemus' sword barely cut across Cal's cheek as he threw himself out of the way. Gathering a bolt of electricity, I threw it at the magnetron. He caught it on his sword though. With a swing he dispelled it and smirked at me, his dark eyes like chips of onyx. I froze in my track, shock radiating off of me. I should have known that by now, Ptolemus was a lot smarter. He would not simply let me throw him back with bolt after bolt of electricity like before.

Cal swung his leg and took Ptolemus' knees out from behind, making him scream in agony and swing the sword. It cut through Cal's thigh, and he cried out in pain, as he rolled away, leaving a trail of silver blood. I screamed in fury then, and launched myself at Ptolemus, a spitting ball of energy and hissing anger, ready to remove him from the equation all together.

He swung the sword again, and I jumped out of the way to avoid it. He sneered at me then, as he spat, "Here to defend your prince, little lightning girl?"

"He doesn't need me to defend him." I hissed as I let my lightning fill my right hand. He brought the sword tight into his body at that and then growled as he demanded, "Where is my little sister, so I can finally cut her from my family before she can soil our name more with that thing inside of her."

I squeezed my hand into a fist and replied with a smirk, "She's safe, and so is her baby. You're not going to be able to touch her."

He hissed at me, and then circled me slowly. Looking me up and down, he searched for a break in my resolve, I could only hope that he didn't see on. But I had been revived with fresh anger and the necessary adrenaline to take him on. I had sent him running before, and I could do it again. I brought my fists up to fight him then, lighting dancing off of my right first as I prepared to throw another blast. He eyed that fist closest, watching as my fingers curled and uncurled, and my sparks danced in the space between. I smirked again at that, felt my body twitching to fight, the burning in my lungs coming from the buildup of electricity and not the need for air.

With blinding speed, he swung the sword at the middle of my chest and I had no choice but to tuck and roll to avoid the silver blade. I came up in a low crouch. I spotted Cal's knife still embedded in the soldier's body, and I grabbed it quickly. I pulled it out of the soldier, and it made a sickening sound as it left his body, and then brought it up to defend myself as Ptolemus brought his sword down. I caught it on the blade of the knife, and choked as he leaned all his weight into the blow, making the blade of my knife slide along the sword's. The grinding of steel on steel made my ears ache and I was forced to put my hand down behind me to support myself. I grunted with the effort of holding him off, and then hissed as he started to push my arm down so that the blade of his sword came closer to my cheek. I could almost see the edge out of the corner of my eye, and I looked up into his furious eye as he grinned wickedly and then sneered, "Looks like you're out of options."

My eyes widened and I looked down at his stance, seeing his legs planted and wide. I squirmed until one of my legs was more free, and hissed as I had to take more of his weight on my arms to prevent that stupid sword from coming any closer to me. I hooked my foot around his knee and then yanked forward, spinning out of the way as he hollered in surprise and fell forward with his moment. I panted, shocked that that worked and then gripping my knife, I drove it down into the spot right behind his shoulder blade. He screamed in pain, and I backed away before looking for Cal. A New Blood had pulled him over to the side and was trying to tie a handkerchief around the wound. I stumbled my way to them and then crouching down I bent over the wound to assess the damage.

"It's not that bad," Cal grunted through his clenched jaw. I looked up at him and then back down at the gash though. The handkerchief was already staining silver, and against the red fabric, it looked strange. Setting my hand on either side of his thigh, I tried to squeeze the wound together to see how deep and wide it was. He hissed in pain and tried to squirm away from me. Shaking my head, I let go of his leg and said, "There's no way you'll be able to run like this…"

"Then we better get a move on to the hangar if we're going to be walking." He snipped, as he grabbed the wall behind him and heaved himself to his feet. The New Blood stands up in surprise at the power behind his movement, and I leap up as well. Cal leaned onto the leg and then cried out as it almost collapsed out from under him. I caught him and then grabbed his arm and wrapped it around my shoulders. He gripped my shoulder tightly, and gingerly tried to put weight on his leg. "We'll take it slow," I began but he squeezed my shoulder even tighter and said, "No, take it at a slow jog."

"Cal you can hardly stand." I bit out, trying not to sound like I was worrying too much. I knew how strong he was, how far he could push himself, but this wound was not something he could simply shake off and pretend didn't exist.

"Either you start moving, or I will drag myself to the hangar." He ordered as he took a staggering step and began to make his way toward the tunnels. I tried to support him as best I could, but he was so much damn taller than me. I shifted him as we made our way into the tunnel, leaving the majority of the battle behind. A few New Bloods followed us, and behind them more came, leading more injured people behind us. I could taste the iron from the blood in the air, and as I looked down at Cal's leg, I grimaced as I took in the dark stain on his pants from his own blood. It just kept coming and wouldn't stop. It pumped out of him like it was water, and it didn't look like it was clotting or stopping any time soon. He was getting paler too, which meant he was losing more blood than he was letting on. I set my hand on his chest and whispered, "If we need to stop we can."

"We're almost there, I'm fine." He wheezed, as we rounded the corner. There was another set of stairs that people were rushing down, shouting at each other. I pulled Cal off to the side and then breathed, "We'll wait for an opening so you can get down these stairs a little slower."

"We don't have time for me to be comfortable, Mare." He growled as he pulled away and grabbed the railing and began to make his way down. I hissed in annoyance and then took off after him, dropping my head under his arm to support him again. He almost slipped on the last two steps, but I managed to catch us on the other railing before pushing him upright again so that we could start at a slow jog. The rest of the soldiers followed behind them, I saw one or two teleporters bringing the rest of the injured down behind us, but they were getting tired, and I noticed that they were taking longer and longer to bring people down.

Forcing my attention forward, I hurried Cal into the hangar, feeling him sag a little in relief when we saw our group waiting by one of the transports. Sara stood up immediately as we arrived and I slowly helped Cal sink down so he was leaning against the massive wheel of the truck. Sara sank down next to him and looked over his leg as she whispered, "You've lost a lot of blood, you're lucky they missed the major artery though, you would have been dead before you could have taken a step."

"Good to hear," Cal hissed in pain as Sara began to stitch up the wound, forcing new flesh to form over the torn muscle until she could work at that. Julian appeared though and said quickly, "No time for that right now, Sara love, we'll have to do it in the truck. We have to go."

I looked up and over his shoulder, searching for the rest of our party. I hadn't really seen Maggie, or Shade, or Evangeline. As I searched, I caught sight of my brother, standing behind the truck. He was looking around wildly, his eyes searching everywhere. I stood up then and grabbing his arm I hissed, "Where's Evangeline?"

I hadn't seen her when we had arrived, but I'd assumed she was in the truck, along with Maggie. Shade wouldn't look this worried if she was with him though.

He turned panicked eyes on me and whispered, "She went back for something, she said she forgot something, and she couldn't leave without it."

"She what?" I shrieked, and our entire group turned to look at me. I looked around wildly for her, remembering Ptolemus's demand and his threat. He hadn't found her before he had fought me, but that didn't mean someone else hadn't. And that baby, I could only think about the image Shade had shown us of his child, floating in a sea of black, safe from the outside world. I could only see those tiny fingers curled into a fist, and a sword piercing that little cocoon of safety.

Glaring at Shade, I hissed, "Stay here." Before the words had even left my mouth I had started a sprint toward the doors that I had just passed through dragging Cal behind me. He choked and shouted after me, forcing me to dig my heels in and stop, "Where are you going?"

"Ptolemus is here, and Samson! I'm going to find her. If I'm not back in ten minutes, leave without me!" I shouted at him as I turned to back pedal. He took a step toward me, but I waved him off and then took off toward the doors. I pushed my way through the throngs of people coming through, who all shouted at me that I was going the wrong way, but I couldn't stop. If Samson got ahold of Evangeline, he would turn that baby into a monster the same way Elara had done to Maven. I couldn't bear for that to happen to that baby, to my brother's baby. It deserved the chance to make its own life. That was why I was fighting this war in the first place, to get rid of the monsters like Samson, so that the children of tomorrow would stop asking their parents to check under the bed and in the closet at night.

I sprinted up the stairs, my lungs and legs burning for air as I took off down the hallway. Had she gone back to the rooms? Maybe, but wouldn't we would have seen her, when we were making our way to the hangar? Had she gone to the medical center? I paused for a moment standing in the crossroads between the two locations. I closed my eyes for five seconds, and then whispered, "Come on Evangeline, where did you go?"
I set my hand on the wall, and reached through the rock, searching for an energy signature that shouldn't be there, maybe a light on where it should have been off. Sure enough I felt it. Medical center, she was there.

I took off down the hallway, sprinting around dead Silver soldiers and New Bloods. My heart hammed in my ears, and I skidded across a hallway before taking one of the branches and sprinting down that hallway. The lights were dimmed, and as I sprinted down, the earth shook around me from another bomb. I cried out as I slammed into the ground. I tasted blood, and shook my head out when I saw stars.

Another bomb overhead rained dirt down on me, and I scrambled to my feet, feeling my lip ache from my teeth biting it. I wiped my jacket sleeve along it, and when I pulled my arm away, I saw the smear of blood on the grey fabric. I grimaced at that and then continued down the hallway.

The medical center was at the very end, and I could see the lights on inside. Another bomb went off though and I stumbled into the wall this time to catch myself as the ground beneath my feet trembled. I looked up and watched as the lights started to flicker in that room. I hissed at the ache in my head that the shaking continued to perpetuate, and then made my way to the doorway. I caught myself on it as another bomb went off. They must be trying to smoke us out, I thought as I looked around inside the room, desperate to find Evangeline. I couldn't see her anywhere, but it looked like the place had been overturned by an earlier search. My heart hammered in my ears that the thought, had they found her before me? What if they were using her as bait, to lure me or Shade in? That was a very high possibility, but at the moment, I was willing to risk it, even though my lighting was almost a dull murmur in my blood. It didn't even carry half the power it had when I woke up.

The lights flickered overhead and I could feel the power starting to fail in this side of the compound. The Colonel must have been shutting everything unnecessary down, which meant all power was being transferred to open the hangar doors, and I was running out of time. My stomach dropped to the floor as I rushed into the room and screamed, "Evangeline!"

I heard the whimpering from a corner, after I screamed for the second time, and I stumbled toward it and pulled away a shelf that had been fallen in front of the small space between two counters. She must have pushed it in front of the opening to hide herself. I grunted as I dug my feet in and strained to push it away. It groaned and then gave, sliding to reveal the little space Evangeline had hidden herself in.

She was sitting with her knees tucked into her chest, and her hands on her stomach. I almost cried in relief as I bent down and choked, "We have to go, the others, they're waiting for us."

She shook her head and then hissed, "I cant…I can't."

"Why?" I demanded as I looked over my shoulder for soldiers, worried someone had heard my screaming. I looked back at her, making sure to put the power of the Silver that had been foraged in me in the Burner Court behind my words as I spat, "We have to leave! They will not wait for us."

"Barrow, I can't," She shook her head, and that was when I saw the sweat on her brow and the tears in her eyes, "The baby, I think the baby's coming. I felt contractions."

"That's not possible!" I cried, as I felt to my knees, and reached out to set my hand on her stomach. My mother had taught me years ago how to feel for contractions. I didn't feel anything, but I doubted Evangeline would lie about that. If she thought she was in labor, then she probably was."

"You can't move?" I asked quickly as I looked over my shoulder again. She nodded, and then looked over my other shoulder to check for anyone else hiding in the room. I sighed and hung my head. I had told Shade to leave, to make everyone leave if we weren't back in ten minutes. I wondered if he would listen, or it he would ignore me. I looked at Evangeline and then whispered, "Alright, I'm going to get in there with you, and we're going to wait this out. You'll pull the shelf-"

I paused as I heard it, a soft clicking noise. I shook my head and then tried to continue, "You'll pull the shelf over the opening behind me…"

The clicking returned, but this time, it was almost like it was at the base of my skull. It was getting louder too, like a bee buzzing near my ear. I shook my head again, but the sound didn't leave.

"Mare," Evangeline asked, her voice rising with panic as she grabbed my arm. I pulled away, and then cried out as I covered my ears. That sound, it was getting louder. My eyes watered at the sound, and I looked around wildly trying to determine where it was coming from. There was no sign of anyone though, and that sound, it was only getting worse.

I cried out in agony again, as I fell back to my knees, trying to cover my ears even more to stop the sound. It wouldn't though. I opened my eyes in panic as I realized that it wasn't coming from around me, but inside me. Evangeline has crawled out of her opening to grab my arm and pull me into the hovel. "What's wrong?" She kept shouting, but it just made it worse.

Clickclickclickclick

It wouldn't stop. It was getting worse, and the clicking, it was getting closer together. I looked up at Evangeline but her eyes widened and she pulled her hands away from me. I could see the flash of my lightning on the edge of my eye sight, and I cried out as I felt the burn of my lightning for the first time. I flung myself away from Evangeline, terrified of hurting her and her baby. She tucked herself back into her corner, and I looked at her in panic and pain as I felt my lightning arching along my arms and back. I strained against it, and tried to bury it, but it wouldn't listen to me. It continued to arch and explode out of me.

I screamed in agony as the clicking became incessant, and seemed to occupy every corner of my mind. I looked up through tear filled eyes then and saw a shadow slowly passing by me. Evangeline screamed on the edge of my senses, but her scream was cut to silence suddenly. I looked in her direction and saw her lying against the wall, slumped, like a puppet with its strings cut.

My breath came in and out in ragged gasps as I looked over my shoulder. Around the arcs of my lightning I could see the dark pants and polished boots that passed by me again. They stepped around me, and then slowly crouched down in front of me, and my stomach rebelled as I almost lost everything in it.

Samson smirked at me, a cat gleeful at finding a fat mouse for dinner, as he said, "Hello Miss Barrow, it's been a while."

I gathered up the saliva in my mouth to spit it at him, but he held his hand up and slowly pushed a button on the device in his hand. The clicking increased in volume, and I screamed as my back arched. My lightning's energy grew stronger and I tried to force it down again, but it was as if I had no control over my own ability, no control over my own senses.

He looked at the device in his hand and then back at me, as he said softly, "Do you like this new little toy of mine? We developed it with you in mind, and you specifically."

I sneered at him, and then barely managed to grasp some of my lightning. Feeling it's power thrum through me instead of around me, I tried to lash out at him with it. Instead of seeing that bolt hit him between the eyes, it lashed back at me, and I screamed as I felt every volt rush down my spine. He laughed at me as he rose and stood over me.

"It's a nifty little thing. I wanted to test it to see if it would work. Apparently it does, and better than I expected." Samson laughed as he reached through my lighting to cup my chin. The hair on his arm rose as he did so, but he held tight to me and leaned close to whisper, "It works like the scramblers we have on our boats to fight the Lakelander vessels. I figured, why not develop it to stop you from working? I had no idea it would let me turn you against yourself though, and this is impressive to see."

His lips curled up in a wicked grin as tears fell in rivers down my face. My vision was starting to spot from the pain, and I could barely make him out as he dropped my face. He turned the device over in his hand and then said, "I wonder how much more do think you can take?"

He pressed the button again, and I let loose a blood curdling scream as I felt my lightning arch across my skin. Was this what every soldier I had ever killed felt like? They only screamed for a second before they died though. This was taking eternity to kill me. Maybe I was immune to it enough that it couldn't kill me? I couldn't tell. I just wanted it to end. Either he turned off the device, or it killed me. Either way, I was beginning to pray for it to just end.

Samson pressed the button again though, and I opened my mouth in what should have been a scream but it only came out a wheeze as I struggled to get enough air in to my lungs to scream. I was going to die, I realized then. I was going to die, and then he would kill Evangeline. Samson would string me up in Archeon, or maybe he would leave my body on the steps somewhere, for someone to find and for them to choke over seeing me. Would he use me to draw Cal out? To bring him out of the shadows so he could kill him too? I felt burning tears run down my cheeks at the thought. The last thing I had said to him… forgotten gods what was the last thing I'd said to him? It was probably inconsequential now. Had I told him I loved him today? Last night? Yes, I thought with a blinding wave of relief, I'd told him before falling asleep. Had been asleep then? Had he heard? I had no idea, and for once, I wished that I was a whisperer that could send the thought to him, to tell him a hundred times before I died. I would be no more than a charred husk of a human when Samson was done. I was certain of it, and if I was unrecognizable, I wanted Cal and the others to remember me as I was. I didn't need them to mourn ashes, there was no point to that.

My vision started to spot again, but this time, it got dimmer on the edges and continued to creep to the center. I watched Samson as he grinned wickedly and pushed the button one more time. The last thing I saw was his face as he leaned toward me and whispered, "It's been fun playing this game with you, but I'm afraid it's not over yet."

My vision went dark, and I went under so quickly, that I never felt my body hit the ground.

(/)

"I can't… I can't do anything about those."

"What the hell could have done something like that?"

"Samson, he was there, he did this to her."

"Everybody stop yelling, she's waking up!"

I groaned in agony. It felt like someone had smashed a sledge hammer into the side of my head and then drugged me. I opened my eyes, seeing Sara's face first, and then Maggie's above mine. I tried to look to my right, but my vision swam and I cried out in pain as I reached up to touch my forehead. My skin pulled painfully in my shoulders and I was forced to stop. I looked up at Sara then, who had reached out to keep my arm at my side. She hushed me and then disappeared for a second before returning with a cup for water. She lifted my head a bit, and I felt the skin there pull painfully as well. I opened my mouth and accepted the water though, trying to empty the cup as she tipped it back. She didn't let me though.

Setting it back down she whispered, "Do you remember anything?"

I squinted up at the lights and then croaked, "Where are we?"

"On an airship," Magge replied in awe, "it's huge Mare, bigger than anything we ever had!" She looked around, and I shook my head to try and dispel the foggy feeling there before looking at Sara and whispering, "Cal?

"I'm right here." I heard his voice from near my head and looked up to see him sitting against the side of a crate. His legs were stretched out in front of him, and it was then that I realized he was softly running his fingers through my hair. I tried to reach up and grab his hand, but the skin in my shoulders protested again. I cried out in pain and let my arm fall back to the blankets I was resting on. He grimaced at my pain and then whispered, "You'll have to not do that for a little while. Whatever Samson did to you, it… it left scars."

"Scars?" I croaked and I saw the soft look he gave me before he reached underneath my head and softly traced the skin on my neck. I felt it then, the soft raised edges that he traced over.

"It looks like lightning on your back." Maggie whispered, her eyes wide in sadness. I looked down at her and then back up at Cal, tears welling up in my eyes. He bent down, and Sara made what sounded like cry for him not to do so. He still did it anyway though, the stubborn ass, and pressed a soft kiss on my forehead before whispering against my skin, "It's going to be alright, I don't mind them."

My chest hitched and he smiled down at me before whispering again, "We're heading to Montfort now."

"Samson… he was there, in the compound," I said loud enough for everyone to hear, but my voice still sounded weak, "he had this thing. My lightning, it was like it wasn't mine."

"That explains the scars," Sara murmured, before looking at Julian. She shook her head and I looked around for a moment, before almost sitting up. I cried out at the feeling of my skin pinching all along my back, and was forced to freeze. It felt like I would tear everything if I moved any farther. Cal forced me back down so that my head was resting on his thigh as he asked, "What? What's wrong?"

"Evangeline! She, she was in labor." I looked around wildly as I tried to find her, but I couldn't see her anywhere in the area we were all congregated in. I did see a large number of people though, most of them huddled together and trying to mind their own business. Almost all of them were succeeding, except for the few that had turned to look at us when I had cried out in pain.

Sara set her hand on my arm before I could ask another question, and whispered, "She wasn't in labor. It was Samson. He made her believe she was. He was waiting for you to come. It was a ruse."

I grimaced as Cal continued to softly stroke my hair softly to calm me down. "Should have known that," I grumbled, as I closed my eyes and tried not to move again. Cal sighed, and I felt him shift slightly underneath me before whispering, "He was waiting down the hall for you to show up. Shade was the one that found you and knocked him out. He didn't have time to do much more because he thought you were dying."

"It was that bad?" I asked softly, before craning my neck to look up at him. His expression was pensive, but I could see how the past few hours, or however long it had been since he had last seen me, weighed on him. Nodding slowly, he whispered, "When he brought you back to the transports, you were barely breathing, and those scars, they were getting longer and more prominent. We weren't sure if you were going to wake up."

I could hear and see the words that he struggled to get out. It had looked as if he were choking on them, and I sighed as I whispered, "You all should really stop underestimating me. I kicked death to the curb once before, what makes you think I can't do it again?"

He laughed softly at that, but then fell to silence as the ship bucked slightly underneath us. Sara looked up from the bag she is digging through, her eyes slightly wide as she glanced around us. For a moment, it seemed as if she was trying to see through the metal of the airship to what was around us. Julian looked up as well, before edging to one of the small windows in the side. He stared out of it for a moment and then mouthed something softly.

"What is it?" Cal asked, his hand stilling in my hair. Julian turned to us slowly, his expression filled with both awe and nerves. He looked back out the window for a moment before saying, "We're here."

"Montfort," I whispered softly, the word strange on my tongue as I look up at Cal. His face drained of color, and he looked down at me as well before whispering, "Hopefully our allies here are more willing to listen to us."

I could only hope he was right, and that whatever waited for us here, was far better than what we had left behind. Something told me that what we would face in those walls, would be a new kind of war though. Montfort had managed to remain free from all the courts and the other countries, even though it was a massive sprawling territory according to Julian. I wonder if they had done that through sheer will alone, or if they had a way of remaining hidden that even we had not thought of. It was Westin's home, that much I knew. I doubted she was the only mysterious snake in the grass there. Had we exchanged one court of snakes and shadows for another?

I searched for Cal's hand and found his fingers. He gripped my hand tightly and I relished in his warmth, wondering if this would be the final stand that we made together.

A/N

AAAAAAHHHHH WAR STORM IS OUT AND I'VE READ THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS? I'm not gonna say anything other than I cannot wait for my book to officially arrive so I can absolutely demolish it in a day XDDDDD. As for this, here we are, pumping out chapters. I want to get the next one out before the end of the week. We'll see how it goes. ((((: Also, the Sounder is back for a revenge in this story since it literally got used once and then never again? Maybe Victoria brings it back in War Storm? I don't know, but hey, it's back here and it's gonna be a huge thing. Also the scars, I can't deny that Mare having those scars is kind of badass, and they may be a super ya know… thing in a later chapter with Mare and Cal.*insert Rihanna winky face gif here*

Question Time!

What do you guys think awaits the group in Montfort? It's definitely not the Montfort we know in the books, so get ready. (((: