Page 69 of Dead Wrong

“Madame,” Renata said, stepping toward the imposing woman, then shrinking back. “It’s not safe for you. Please allow us to?—”

“I am sick of your failings,” Mother retorted, pushing up the sleeves of her emerald-shaded jacket. “There is not a Magi alive who can best me, so I would cast your fears elsewhere. Now,move.”

Searing heat washed over me, stirring my body into motion. Looking around the room, everyone but the Cardinal—and, more surprisingly, Lorelei—did the same, our bodies locking into step behind Mother as she charged through the open doors and into the smoke-filled hallway. Shouting quickly overtook us, the soldiers moving to flank Mother and Renata while Cirian, the Cardinal, and I brought up the rear.

“This is madness, Adoranda,” the Cardinal spat, raising her voice above the din of chaos. Being so close to her, the strength of her aura, wrapped tightly around her body, sent electric trills across my skin.

Mother let out a sharp laugh as we rounded the corner. “If you’re frightened, Sancha, you can see yourself out.”

The smoke cleared a bit when we reached the foyer, the high ceiling allowing a better vantage. The large table where the map had been sprawled earlier was overturned, papers scattered across the marble flooring, and there were several gouges taken out of the stairs leading up to the second floor as if some large-mawed creature had taken bites from it. Renata shouted orders to the lingering soldiers, giving instructions to sweep the first and upper floors for Unseen staff and bring them down the cellar. Cirian glanced at me, his expression grim, and I knew immediately we were of one accord. If we let Mother do this, we would be just as guilty for the slaughter.

We had to do something.

As if he had read my mind, Cirian nodded slightly, holding up a single finger as if to tell me to wait for his signal. My hand clasped the stone in my pocket, the surge of warmth it provided steeling my nerves.

The time had come. We would see what this Anima stone could do.

The group of us moved from the foyer then, heading towards the kitchen which would lead to the cellar entrance. As we reached a branch in the hallway, Cirian suddenly cried out, staggering to the side as he struggled against an invisible force.

“Get it off!” he shouted, hands grasping at the air in front of him.

This was the interruption I’d been waiting for. As the group erupted into chaos—soldiers running over to Cirian, only to be bowled over by him turning wildly and slamming into them, the Cardinal producing a blade the length of her arm from within her robe that she brandished with ease, Mother watching on with an amusement that only came from violence—I took the opportunity to slip down the opposite direction, knowing that it would take a while for anyone but Cirian to notice my absence.

Now that I was free of the others, I tore down the familiar halls, throwing open door after door in search of any staff.

Mother was unmoored. Her years of animosity toward the Unseen seeming to have concentrated into a miasma that now filled the hallways. I couldn’t let those who had done no wrong bear the brunt of her wrath. As I neared the conservatory towards the back of the chateau, a soldier shouted, his voice carrying down the corridor.

“On the ground! Now!”

Peering around the corner, I spotted the two soldiers, their weapons—one, a long, narrow blade, the other a short club—drawn against the huddled group of Unseen. They outnumbered the soldiers two-to-one, but it was apparent they were scared out of their wits, cowering against the wall of paned glass, their bodies flickering in and out of the ethereal as their magic spiked with fear.

One of the Unseen—Eustace, the chef from the kitchen—stepped in front of the others. “Why are you doing this?” he questioned. “We’ve done nothin’!”

“Madame’s orders,” replied the soldier with the club, stepping forward and jamming the base of the handle into Eustace’s gut. The air left his lungs in a wheeze as he doubled over, and that was all I needed to see.

Clasping the stone so tightly I thought my skin would break, I charged the soldiers, propelled by the jolt of warm magical energy that infused my muscles. The soldiers were trained for combat, but I had the element of surprise. I ran full force into the soldier with the blade, knocking us both to the ground and sending their weapon clattering away. The soldier recovered quickly, landing a glancing blow across my face, knocking the mask off. It was obvious I wasn’t going to overpower the soldier physically, so I gripped onto their uniform, pulling them close to me as I enveloped him in my aura, crushing the meager defenses he tried to raise around his mind.

“Get up and go home,” I issued the Command, a searing heat rolling off my words like molten honey. Another flash of pain in my hand, but I ignored it.

The soldier's body went slack, his struggle abating all at once. With a grunt, he clambered to his feet, shuffling off down the hall without another word. I rolled onto my side just in time for the other soldier to kick me in the ribs, pain ricocheting through my body as my breath sputtered. They reared back again, but I quickly projected my aura around them, their walls crumbling like a sandcastle under pressure.

Fear filled my mind, echoing off the soldier, but I pushed it away, staggering onto my feet before giving the Command, “Smell the roses.”

The soldier’s panic faded as my orders set in, burning in my throat like a hot coal. They walked calmly over to the other side of the conservatory, where rows of rosebushes waited for them, bending down to take in a deep inhalation.

My hand ached, and for a moment, I thought I had lost hold of the stone. But when I examined my palm, my stomach turned. The gem had embedded itself into my hand, the smooth facets protruding from it, refracting light.

There would be time to worry about that later.

Rubbing my bruised ribs, I turned back to the Unseen, who watched me with mixed expressions. “You need to leave,” I told them, reaching down to retrieve the soldier’s blade from where it was discarded on the ground. It was heavier than I was used to wielding, but I would make do. “Adoranda suspects all Unseen of betrayal and has ordered you be rounded up.”

“That’s insane,” Eustace replied, the other Unseen murmuring to each other. “We’ve got nothing to do with the rebels!”

“It doesn’t matter any longer. If you stay here, they will take you. And you need to believe me when I say that she won’t hesitate to kill each and every one of you.”

Eustace ran a hand through the shock of hair between his ears. “We don’t have anywhere to go….”

“That’s not entirely true. The rebels are here. They can help get you to safety.”

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