Page 70 of Dead Wrong

“We’re not soldiers,” Eustace replied. “We can’t fight for them.”

“We won’t ask you to,” came a deeper voice from behind me. I turned to see another Unseen shimmer into existence. He wore the same militia outfit as the Adored soldiers but was missing the hat, revealing hair of deep navy cut short and a pair of pointed ears, much like Azzy’s, the left one with a chunk missing out of it.

The other Unseen bristled, huddling further into the corner, but the blue-haired man held his hands out to them. “My name is Kaine, and I’m with the Rebellion. Rest assured, we only require what you are willing to give. Nothing more. Whether you see eye-to-eye with us or not, let me get you to safety first. The rest can follow.”

Eustace looked back at the other Unseen, then turned to Kaine. “Alrigh’, we’ll go with you. But we make no promises.”

Kaine moved in a blur, suddenly standing beside Eustace and offering him a small, silver blade. “Cut off the collars. They’ll try and kill you the moment you step outside the door.”

The cook blanched at this but nodded, quickly severing the band of leather around his own neck before moving to help the next.

Kaine gave a nod, then directed his attention to me. “You must be Tobias. I was told you’d be around. Are you looking for others?”

“Yes. I’ll do my best to convince them to leave.”

He handed me another of the small silver blades from a holster at his side. “Get the collars off, then get them outside, and we’ll take it from there.” Turning back toward the others, he leveled his stare at each of them. “With me. Move quickly, and don’t get too comfortable. The militia have spyglasses that see through our magic, so don’t assume you’re safe till we’ve made it far from here. Are you ready?”

They looked frightened out of their minds but nodded along, gathering around Kaine in an uneasy clump. Together, their magic caused the air to shimmer like a mirage as each of them disappeared from sight, the sound of their soft steps drifting down the hall.

Leaving the remaining soldier with their head buried in a bush full of thorns, I headed back down the hallway and toward the opposite end of the chateau. I hid the blade I carried as militia soldiers ran past, shouting back and forth. None I met seemed to have taken any of the Unseen captive, so that was a small relief.

Upstairs, in one of the guest bedrooms, I pushed open the door to find another small group of huddled Unseen. One of them lunged at me, wielding a poker from the fireplace, and I quickly deflected it with the blade I’d taken, then put some distance between us before holding up my hands.

“Master Tobias?” the Unseen asked, the poker falling to the ground in a clatter. A yelp sounded from the wardrobe, and the other adult opened the door to comfort two younglings concealed inside. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to get you outside,” I told them, checking over my shoulder down the hall before shutting the door behind me. “Mother has taken leave of her senses. It isn’t safe for you here anymore.”

“They’ve already taken so many of us,” the Unseen closest to me said. “We can’t—We can’t leave them behind.”

“The Rebellion is here. They’re going to do their best to ensure everyone is freed. But right now, we need to get you out. Are there any other Unseen on this floor?”

“No, they’ve already fled or been taken.”

“Understood. The collars you wear need to be removed.” I handed them the small silvered blade.

They took it with shaking hands, quickly cutting the band from their neck as I checked the hallway. Smoke still clung to the ceilings, but otherwise, the bulk of the conflict seemed to have migrated to the main level.

Once their collars had been removed, the two adult Unseen scooped the younglings into their arms.

“How will we get through the soldiers?” one of them asked.

“Leave that to me.”

Our egress from the chateau was quiet, for the most part. The bombastic sounds of the clash between Adored and Unseen had drifted to the far corners, and by the time we made it down to the main level and through the desecrated foyer, the tension in my gut was primed to burst. Pushing open the heavy wooden door, the daylight from outside was blinding. I paused, listening for any signs of the conflict before waving for the others to follow me.

I heard it before I could see it, the whistling sound that sapped every bit of warmth from my blood. The bolt of light streaked into sight just as I turned to those following me, shouting, “Down!”

We all hit the ground, a streak of fizzling magical energy zipping just over our heads and colliding with the stairs, carving out a hole the size of my fist. The younglings began to cry as the adults whispered strained comforts.

I cursed under my breath, rolling to try and get a better view of where the bolt came from. Since when did Mother’s militia have access to long-range magical weaponry? Those were instruments of war.

We were out in the open now and the closest cover was the gardens at least thirty yards away. There was no way I could cover that distance with the others before they’d fire on us again. I could try and cast a ward to catch the projectile, but I was never very good at physical shields and this didn’t seem like the best time to be testing out the limits of my borrowed magic.

So, I took the only option left.

“You need to run as soon as I tell you,” I said, digging my fingers into the pavement and tensing my muscles in preparation. “I’m going to dash straight ahead and draw their fire. You need to make it over to the hedges. From there, keep moving through the garden till you hit the edge of the property. Hopefully, the Rebellion will find you before you get too far.”

“Master Tobias,” the Unseen said, his eyes wide with fear. “Thank you.”

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