Page 63 of Bright Soul

“We won’t lose. We can’t,” Roe said, punching her palm.

“We won’t,” I echoed, turning my head to look over Cress’s head at Geo. He raised an eyebrow back. “We need to gather some resources before this fight.”

“Such as?” he prompted.

“Armor, weapons, food, water. I would strike out on my own, but I need Cress with me,” I said.

A dangerous rumble sounded from the gargoyle’s throat.

“Which means you need to come too,” I concluded.

“Count me in,” Roe said. Not to be left out, as always. “Where are we going?”

I drew a folded map out of my pocket. I’d nicked one from a tourist display that was running low on them since most were pinned on the wall of the makeshift war room. Unfolding it, Ipinched its corners with a few tendrils of shadow and floated it between us. “Highfall’s Mall. Too far away for us to walk there. I know you want to help, Roe…but this is a mission for the three of us. If we run into danger, Cress and I can blend into the shadows, while Geo can fly.”

“Hey, what about me?” Ben called. He sat with Wren, the two of them bent over a set of paper notes covered in basic celestial witch runes.

“And we carry Ben along to manage the stream,” I added.

Wren bit the inside of her cheek, and Roe shifted uncomfortably at my suggestion. But we were simply too large of a group to cover the ground I wanted to see tonight.

“If you break my phone, I’ll break you,” Wren grumbled.

I chuckled. “We will bring back as many new phones as we can carry.”

I reached down to take my other piece of bacon, and my thumb skimmed three. Cress stole a quick glance my way and covered her lips with her fingers, a subtle enough tell as to where they’d come from.

I curled my tail tip around her calf for a teasing caress. I wished we had time for more than mere teases.Soon,I told myself.

Hopefully she and the other two men would be willing to go along with the rest of my plan once we were en route.

“Are you sure about this?” Cress asked, stealing glances upward. Myuna’s foul bird creatures lined the roofs, watching our truck drive by with unblinking white stares.

Geo could’ve flown ahead of us and chased them off, but fool that I was, I wanted her to know who was in our truck and where it was going. At my request, he remained in human form in the seat behind Cress. She drove. When our options were her or Ben, her caution was the preferable choice.

Our allies had lent us one of the largest flatbeds for what they thought was a supply run. Highfall’s Mall was right outside the territory that hadn’t been searched for survivors. It sat at the edge of the pocket dimension, a mega-sized structure sure to already be looted and occupied.

The truck hit a bump in the road, jostling us. I stifled a growl, already disliking the confines of this cabin. “Myuna has a special interest in you and me. If she is aware we have split off from the rest of the group, there’s a higher chance she will send her strongest servant after us.”

Ben said through gritted teeth, “Garroway.”

“You want to use me as bait again?” Cress asked dryly.

“We are both bait this time. If we are out after nightfall in a prominent public place, we can compel Myuna to send him,” I said.

Geo’s frown deepened. “I did not agree to this trip to put Cress in danger.”

“Wait, Geo, put that aside a moment,” Ben said, turning in his seat to look at the gargoyle. “This is our chance to finally turn Garroway into ash.”

The look of disapproval slowly morphed on Geo’s face. He blew out a slow sigh. “As always, it seems I am the only one saying no to a reckless plan,” he grumbled. “But I have wondered why we have not yet seen Garroway and the Hunger. They could decimate the survivors we’ve gathered in the hospital if given half a chance.”

“They will once there are no easier options to steal and deliver to Myuna. She is still acting like her old, predictable self, going for the lowest-hanging fruit first,” I said.

“Once we evacuate survivors through the ocean gate, there won’t be many of those left,” Cress said.

“Exactly. There is no better way to fight him than on our own terms.”

And this time, I would snuff out the Hungering Darkness completely. I had hesitated too many times before, seeing it as the remains of my brother more than the shade that’d murdered and consumed hundreds of innocents. It was time I ripped its remaining soul in half…see how it failed to cope with such a devastating wound.

---