Page 128 of Even Angels fall
Angélique
Anna finally reported back when I was in the air, so I’m obviously the last one to know what’s going on.
Marcus broke his holo when he entered the basement under Blois’s castle. It would be okay if it only had been that, but he also has been taken by the people guarding the castle. It was two days ago and Anna has spent every single second since in her animal form to try to find Marcus. Any normal teammate would have reported back as soon as Marcus was taken, but Marcus and Anna aren’t just teammates, they’re lovers, too. So, there was nothing anyone could have ever done to make her act differently. She’s still not back at Notre Dame. After providing all the intel we need to sneak in, she stayed there with the certainty she would be part of the team rescuing Marcus.
Elhyor isn’t happy about this. He thinks she took unnecessary risks by going on her own and that it probably jeopardized the whole extraction mission, because as soon as Michaël’s men took Marcus, he must have been warned. And they’re eitherexpecting us there with another trap, or it’s just a matter of time before they move their prisoners again.
Hence why Notre Dame is so active now. We can’t lose another minute or there is a chance we might never find Brice and his men ever again.
There is also a high chance that Michaël let us find out in the hope that we would all go there and leave Notre Dame unattended. So, half of us are getting ready to go free, Brice, Marcus, and the rest of the team. The other half is arming themselves to the teeth in case it is indeed all a ploy to get us to leave.
I’m part of that second half. Elhyor, too.
I would have loved to join and be on the team that liberates the prisoners, but there were two conditions to do so: being a small shifter and being able to fly for a long time. The only entrance Anna found that led to the dungeons is part of an old sewer system and not even someone in their human form can enter it, so it ruled out Elhyor from the beginning. But it wasn’t the only limiting condition. This entrance is on the border of the city and the castle is right in the middle of it, and Blois might be far from being the size of Paris but it’s still a long distance to fly with almost no visibility because—of course—there will be no light.
“You’re staying here with me,” Elhyor repeats for what feels like the thousandth time.
I’m not even arguing with him. He made his point when I arrived. I listened without even paying attention because I had already taken everything into account.
I’m not a good flier yet and I can’t see in the dark like the bats.
I’m not stupid; I would be a hindrance to any team I would join in these conditions.
I shake my head because Elhyor is still rambling about why I shouldn’t go.
I go on tiptoes and forcefully grab his hair at the back of his neck while looking him in the eyes.
“Listen, you stubborn dragon. If you had been listening to me for the past five minutes, you’d know that I have no intention to go rogue and leave with the recovery team. I know what my strengths are, and I know that I’d, hypothetically of course, be more useful here. I’m a fighter, a damn good one, but I also know that I’m a bad shifter.”
I can hear his rebuttal without him even voicing it.
“Don’t do that Elhyor, don’t minimize my failure at doing what is basic knowledge for shifters. I know what I’m good at and what I’m not, and it’s not going to change just now.”
I see the comprehension in his eyes, and it makes the rest of what I have to say easier.
“I’m going to stay here, but you should go,” I tell him.
I’m not surprised to see all the comprehension that was shining on his face disappear with that announcement.
“Why? I can’t follow in the cave network,” he starts to stay, so I cut him off.
“I never said you should take part in the mission or even stay away,” I say with a wink, “but I guess that would be interesting to be the one greeting my father once again.”
87
Angélique
Interesting isn’t the word I should have used. Waiting for Michaël to show up is anything but interesting—it’s dreadful.
Elhyor left with the recovery team half an hour ago, and I’m already wondering if we didn’t mess up something or even if I was right about the fact Michaël was trying to lure us out.
I’ve been taught things in tactics, and I know that would be the sensible things to do if I were him. He wants Notre Dame and since he can’t manage to kill Elhyor—or more exactly since the person he sent aka me, refuses to do it now—the best way to do so would be to take the building when the big bad dragon isn’t there anymore.
This is why I told Elhyor to leave.
If we want a chance at beating Michaël, we need to strategize and catch him at his own game.
But it’s been half an hour since Elhyor left and still, nothing happened.
