Page 42 of Aubade Rising
Her wolfish grin returns, canines catching on her bottom lip.
My hackles rise.“Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Clearly you know all my experiments end the same way at the moment. We know the same as each other.” I fold my arms over my chest angrily, disgusted at her bloodlust.
“No, that’s not right. Our intelligence said something had changed, that you’d made huge progress. You need to show me what you can do. Or do we need to make another visit to your captain?”
I wonder if she means using the Gallos principals to imbue the magic, but Dervla suggested that weeks ago.
I scrabble to think of something to buy time; I need to stall. I survey the landscape. The mist is too thick and I don’t fancy our chances down a rocky cliff edge leading to nowhere. I need another way out.
“I’ll need to channel first. I’m spent.” Getting her to show me another way out of the tunnels might be my best option.
Her jubilant grin returns. “Fine, come with me.”
Chapter 42
We return through the tunnels, climbing this time. There’s no chance to scuff my shoe on the intersections to help with my mental map, as Kitto is practically running ahead in excitement. We reach the top and I’m out of breath. A tall metal ladder is hammered into the rock ahead of us, each rung slanted and uneven. Kitto goes first, wrapping her arm through a rung and hanging on at the top while unlocking a trap door at her head.
Pure, brilliant daylight streams in and I turn my head, blinded as the trapdoor opens. I haven’t seen sunshine since we left Cathair and my heart lightens as the warm light bathes the tunnel walls above me. I go to climb up the ladder behind her.
“Oh no! You haven’t earned that privilege. I’ll let you see the view when you’ve impressed me. You can channel from down there.”
Irritatingly smart woman. Quietly seething, I settle for raising my hands into the small rays above me and summon the light to me. My magic revels in the light, expanding and filling my chest. How I’ve missed this. The flood of warmth spreads from my fingers through my whole body, rejuvenating me and soothing any lingering exhaustion.
The trapdoor snaps shut, hurtling us into darkness and Kitto leads us back to the laboratory. I stay silent, meticulously cataloguing the twists and turns. Right now, the trapdoor is my best option for escape. If it’s high enough for sunlight, I might even be able to see Tanwen or the edge of the Haag from the top of the tor.
Kitto takes a set of keys from her pocket and unlocks the door to a small antechamber connected to the main laboratory. In itare shelves of serpentine, neatly categorised by size. She selects a small crystal, closes and locks the antechamber door, and places the serpentine on the bench.
“Now I want to see you try.” She waves me forward, crossing her arms.
My mind races and my eyes dart round the room, looking for a way to buy more time to think. In the cells with Eskar yesterday, I would have done anything to stop his torture. But last night, I was haunted by the screams of terror I witnessed when Dervla and I escaped from Athnavar. How can I be complicit in helping the rebels to injure more innocent people?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Kitto’s sneer makes my skin crawl. “You don’t want to help us. You’d rather sit back and let the Mordros continue to exploit and restrict us. You’d rather be their pet, praised for your research and living a comfortable life of luxury in the palace while the Concord continue to vote against the rights of everyday people.”
My attempt at protest dies and thin tendrils of shame clutch at my throat. She’s wrong. My research will make the Concord listen. Dervla and I will make a difference and no one needs to get hurt. I reject the tiny seed of doubt Kitto is trying to plant in my brain. Diplomacy is better than violence. I just need to get us out of here and back to Pentargon in one piece.
Bracing as far from the crystal as possible, anticipating another explosion, I start. She watches the magic flow from my hands with interest. I can’t help noticing the change in my wielding since practising the Gallos. It’s no longer possible for me to hurl my magic out at once. Despite not fully mastering all the principles, I can control the flow so I don’t overwhelm this new material. Even so, I pray that Kitto hasn’t seen an Aubade wield before and that she attributes the slower flow of magic as an Aubade weakness, not a show of control.
The crystal emits a different, softer glow when I’m done. It’shard to explain but I can sense when the crystal isfulland I know not to push it further. My magic feels more at home with the serpentine compared to the experiments in my laboratory. I sense it settling in within the crystal, making itself at home. The thread of Mordros magic still writhes in my chest, reluctant to come out and play.
Kitto rings the same bell again and we follow the assistants back out to the platform to wait for the explosion. The previous scorch marks have been scrubbed clean and Kitto produces a small, sand hourglass from her pocket, making a note of the time until detonation. I hope the hourglass shatters from the impact.
We wait. My body cracks with tension as I anticipate the explosion, flinching at every noise and rustle. Kitto is the opposite: each time she turns over the hourglass to reset the timer she becomes more gleeful. An hour passes and she declares it a success and gestures for us to leave. Was it that simple? Does it have to be Aubade magic and serpentine together? What about properly mastering the Gallos? I have so many questions.
“Let’s seal up now. One of the guards will remain on the other side of the door and will hear when it detonates. I’m satisfied with the progress today.”
Her voice shakes me from my reverie. Now I know serpentine is the missing piece, it complicates our escape. I can’t return empty-handed. I have to get Eskar, myself and a bag of those crystals out of this place.
I count the turns back to the laboratory, noting the turning that leads to the trapdoor and the way out. I add another scuff to that junction, just to be sure.
Chapter 43
The next morning does not go as well. The guards that escort me back to the laboratory inform me that my attempts exploded sometime overnight.
When I reach Kitto’s laboratory, she is already there and waiting, anger radiating from her.
“Why aren’t my experiments working?” she shouts. I hedge, evading her question which infuriates her further.
“I copied everything you did yesterday, I even used less magic like you did. The crystals didn’t last anywhere near as long as yours did before they exploded!” Her normally pale face is blotched and red, mouth thinned in a tight line. I blink through her rage and make a stark realisation: when Kitto gets what she wants from me, I’ll be put in a cell next to Eskar. Both of us trapped underground and at the mercy of the rebels. Adrenaline courses my body as she stalks menacingly towards me.
