"Until The Fall" - 40/48
Title: Until The Fall
Author: Rissy James
Characters: DG, Cain, Azkadellia, Jeb, Glitch, Raw, Tutor, the Queen, Ahamo, and some old & new OCs
Pairing: Established Cain/DG; established Jeb/Az
Rating: M
Summary: Sequel to " Of Light". After an annual of living in the O.Z., DG sets out to complete the task given to her by the Gale. Soon, she must learn that there is always more to everything than first meets the eye.
Extras: Cast Page on livejournal.com
Author's Note: I owe a lot to Queen Isabella; a conversation about plot lines while I was finishing up "Of Light" has led to this climax. So thank you, thank you, a hundred times thank you.
Chapter Forty
The threat of the royal army had Catticalisa's soldiers on edge. Cain could read it in their eyes.
The first patrol group they had encountered had been easily subdued. The men were so unnerved at being outside the protection of the shield that their attention was divided. Cain and Glitch were able to sneak up on the pair and wrestle them down. A few well-placed thumps on the head had them swimming into oblivion. Cain had tossed the bound and gagged soldiers into the thickest, darkest copse he could find. With any luck, they'd be devoured by a kalidah before mid-morning.
It wasn't long before they ran across an abandoned section of the Brick Route, one that seemed so arbitrarily placed that he needed to take a second glance to see if he wasn't finally beginning to crack. There was barely enough light to make out the pale golden colour of the bricks, but he knew that feeling beneath his boots. More familiar than anything else he'd encountered in the past few days.
“We need to keep headin' north,” he told his friends.
“The magical charge from this shield is giving me a headache,” Glitch said faintly, touching the scar that peeked out of his hairline.
“Aye,” Cain affirmed, realizing he had the beginnings of his own hurt pulsing in his temples. One glance at Raw told him the Viewer was well past feeling too much of the shield's influence. So much magic. He heaved a sigh; they had no choice but to go on. “Let's go.”
“Wait,” Raw said quietly. In the dimness cast by the shield, Cain watched the slow silhouette of the Viewer bend to pick something up off the path. Whatever he held in his hands, he brushed off and handed to Cain.
The softness of it surprised him. As Cain turned it over and over in his hands, it didn't take him more than a moment to realize what it was. “DG,” he muttered, gripping the velvety brim of the cloche. “What did you see?” he asked Raw, knowing that touching the object would have brought the Viewer a flash of the girl.
“Too stubborn to be scared,” Raw said. “Days ago. Still alive, but... losing hope. Like pulse. Comes again and again.”
Cain dropped the hat; he couldn't cart it with him and thoughts of DG would only haze his thinking. The mess she'd gotten herself into, the mess she'd asked him to willingly watch her bury herself in with his promise to help her out of it again. He couldn't let her down.
“Move,” he snapped at Glitch and Raw.
The three left behind the section of road they'd come across, continuing deeper into the forest. The northern path that ran the outside perimeter of the shield became a little wider, enough for a cart or wagon to pass easily with little trouble. It was quiet, and he knew above his head, the suns were beginning to rise. The twins would brighten a day that he wouldn't see, and maybe perhaps he wouldn't live until their setting.
He was beginning to wonder why they hadn't run across a second patrol when the sounds of men making their way toward them reached his ears. Beside him, Glitch visibly stiffened, taking his most defensive stance. Cain himself hadn't taken his hand off his revolver since long before the first patrol.
This, however, was not the time to fight. The shield illuminated sections of wall within its barrier - the beginnings of the fortification at Shadow's Passage. They'd reached their destination.
“Stay where you are!” the first soldier shouted as he raised his weapon. The second followed suit quickly.
Cain stopped in his tracks; the others stayed uneasily behind him. He lifted his hands in surrender, letting his duster fall back into place with a quiet rustle. He was surprised at how unbelievably heavy his arms seemed.
The two soldiers staring at him down their sights weren't so readily pacified.
“You boys get lost?” the first asked. “Carriage break down on the way to Finaqua?”
Cain resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and settled for a stern look. There had been a time in his life when he could slip about unnoticed, just a shadow and an echo. The past annual had rightly fixed that for him. How had Jeb managed so long with his connections to the Resistance and the royal family?
“You think this is the route to Central City?” the second asked, chuckling a bit at his own cleverness.
Azkadellia would have hanged soldiers as undisciplined as this during the height of her power - and possession. As it was, Cain could see how it would be all too easy for Zero to march up to the gate, holding a princess out in front of him as an offering - and damned good protection, if it came down to it.
Cain sent up a prayer to his patron, and then said quite clearly, “We want to talk to your mistress.”
The first soldier shook his head, amused with Cain's brass. “We're under orders to shoot royal army soldiers on sight.”
Frowning, Cain gestured to his worn old travelling clothes, to Glitch's frock coat, and Raw's shaggy vest. “We look like royal army? You know who we are, just take us to the Lady and none of this hasta get ugly.”
The second soldier raised his rifle and set his sights. “We're under orders!”
“But these ain't no ordinary soldiers,” the first argued. He wasted no time putting the three intruders under arrest; that they put up little fight or resistance went unnoticed, if his smug gloating was any indication.
Cain had endured worse treatment on more occasions than he cared to remember; as it was, the 'Coats weren't so stupid as to keep from expecting trouble. And Cain had to admit that the threat of a barrel pressed into his back never grew stale.
It was only a few hundred paces to the gatehouse. Behind him, Glitch was watching everything with wide-eyed wonder. “This is magnificent technology!” he exclaimed, admiration clear on his face as he got a good look at the mechanisms that kept the shield running. “You know, you really need to get up close to appreciate the -” He was interrupted by a hard shove between the shoulders, one that nearly knocked him into Cain.
With a great deal of show, a section of the shield tailored to the size of the gate was disengaged, and Cain was shoved first through the small portal and narrow lane. The crumbled remains of what was once a great defence were far from abandoned. The courtyard was crowded with Longcoats; an officer stepped forward, shaking his head with a nasty smile.
“I don't recall nothing about taking on prisoners,” he said, nodding his head to Raw. “A Viewer, maybe, but this trussed up fool?” His eyes landed on Glitch, and he smirked.
Princess, you'd better appreciate all this, Cain thought with a frown as he counted the Longcoats in the courtyard. Glances up at the wall as they'd passed by told him that the perimeter was overly secure. His annual working with the army, hunting down what 'Coats they could, had taught him that while Catt's force was numerable, she was far from having man-power to spare, especially against the royal army in full force.
“You'd best be takin' us to your lady,” he said, a keen edge in his voice, a distinct bite that caused the advisor behind him to raise his eyebrows, impressed.
The officer crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet. “Captain Cain,” he said dryly. “If you've come to save your little princess, I'm afraid it's my sad duty to inform you that -”
The flash reached them first; the brightest green Cain had ever seen near blinded him. There was no time to prepare for the blast, and most were thrown to the ground with the sheer force of it. There was a great deal of sparking and smoke as the shield began to short; it died mere seconds after the blast itself, letting in a rush of cold air and knocking the breath from Cain's lungs.
“That came from the camp,” the officer shouted to his men. He directed six of his soldiers to remain behind with the prisoners. “Kill them if they so much as breathe too loudly.” He nodded to the remainder of his regiment, leaving Cain at gunpoint as he ran toward the camp and the source of a magical surge so powerful, it had knocked out the shield.
***
DG had never expected to get very far. After their narrow escape from the prison cells, letting Zero go, and now the Emerald's stubborn persistence to continue pulsing faintly, it was safe to say her expectations were dwindling rapidly.
Still, to find Catt's men waiting outside the temple doors for them was downright disappointing. She hadn't even bothered to fight; horribly outnumbered and at gunpoint, DG and Zee had lifted their hands before them; it occurred to DG that she probably had enough focus in her to do some damage, but draining herself would do little good if she'd just end up at Catt's feet anyway.
Jeb wasn't as lucky to receive the delicate handling DG and Zee were subjected to. He was roughly brought down to his knees by his feet being swept out from underneath of him, another soldier beating down against his back to make sure he stayed down.
“Hey!” DG exclaimed, watching as Jeb grunted and hit the ground hard. She wanted to close her eyes and look away, but some part of her brain forced her to watch what happened to others because of her.
In short order, two of Catticalisa's soldiers descended on both girls, wrenching their arms behind their backs to restrain, but not to bind. The hard-squeezing grip on her wrist was enough to make DG want to retaliate with her magic, but she kept it all welled up inside.
The trip through the poppy field was less pleasant when pushed. The heady scent of the flowers seemed to affect her more, causing her brain to spin dizzily, drunk from too much perfume. Leaving the poppy bed and following the remnants of Brick Route from the temple through the center of the camp left her chilled; she looked over at Zee, marched along beside her, and saw that her newest ally had been similarly affected by the blossoms. She seemed dazed, blinking away the haze as her head cleared.
The draping panels of Lady Catt's pavilion were drawn back for them to enter; DG felt as if she were being swallowed up. The inside of the tent was ablaze with lamps; a gathering of five or six of her soldiers stood around the edges of the tent, nearest to the shadows. In the center was the same table on which had lain the book, but it was now clear of all papers and maps that had been scattered across it. The tabletop was bare, but for an oddly shaped object covered over with a deep red cloth.
“You've been scheming, Princess,” Catt said accusingly, glaring hard at DG. “Plots seem to be unravelling no matter which way you turn. Isn't that right, Lieutenant Cain?”
Jeb was hauled off his knees by one of the soldiers that intercepted them at the temple. With his limited free motion, he gave her an exaggerated mock-bow, which only infuriated her further.
“My camp is full of spies,” the lady muttered, “among my men and lurking above their heads.” In a swift, graceful movement, she pulled the red covering off the object on the table - revealed to be a cage. The falcon sat as still as a statue, and if it weren't for the single golden eye that trained directly onto her, DG would have thought him stuffed and mounted. Her stomach began to twist itself.
“Hass,” she said quietly to herself, and then more loudly to the witch, “Let him out of there!”
The lady's lips curled into a dangerous smile. “So he can fly to your sister with the news that you're caught with a knife to your throat?” She shook her head. “I don't think so, sweet pea. I want your sister to think you're being treated with all imaginable courtesy.”
“Then release him,” DG said, trying to keep her voice even as she nodded at the cage. She hated how vulnerable Hass was, locked in a cage in his shifted form. She'd seen enough people get hurt because of her, she wasn't about to let another person suffer right before her eyes.
“I should have these spies put to death; both of them,” the lady continued to threaten. “I should have them tortured.”
DG stiffened. Jeremy Hass was one of the few true friends she'd managed to make in her first tumultuous annual as a proper princess, and Jeb was Cain's son. She couldn't let anything happen to either of these men.
“My men will not be harmed,” DG said firmly, struggling to emanate Az's dominating presence.
Behind her, Zee whispered faintly, “DG, don't. Please don't.”
“Your sister is encroaching on my borders,” the lady said, her eyes cutting through the air to land on DG; she stared down with both admiration and disgust, which twisted her features until they were hardly handsome any longer. She looked purely evil, and it was only the heavy pounding of DG's heart that reminded her of her courage and her purpose and stopped her from retracting.
The lady turned to one of her generals, a handsome man who had the sneer of a Longcoat permanently placed on his face. “Cole,” she snapped coldly, and the young general raised his eyes to DG. “I think it's about time we returned the princess to Her Majesty.”
Cole seemed to know he wasn't understanding correctly, because he hesitated. “My lady?”
Calm resolution settled over Catt's face. “I may be forced to hasten my decision,” she said, her eyes flicking from one dark haired princess to the other, “but it is my choice nonetheless. Lost chances have been regained, I only need to proper leverage. And you - ” she said, looking sharply at DG, “- are just that.”
“No!” Zee shouted.
“Conniving little monster,” the lady said disdainfully, her eyes finally turning onto Zee, her lost princess. “Without the Emerald, you're just another pretty, useless face. You hold no right to the throne without the stone.”
DG twisted out of the grasp that held her to see Zee chew on her bottom lip; a long second ticked past, and then another, and as time sifted away, DG realized that the girl wasn't about to betray that the Emerald of the Eclipse, the one thing the witch desired more than both girls and their privileged faces, was tucked away unprotected into DG's jeans.
Swallowing hard, DG tried to figure out what she was going to do. Her eyes skipped to the falcon, who watched her from his prison. She couldn't read anything in his quick, golden eyes. She tried to turn to see Jeb, but the soldier that held her forced her to look forward by burying a hand in her hair and directing her head like a puppet.
A magic surge rippled through the tent as the lady stepped closer to DG. With the soldier restraining her, she could barely move and had no choice but to watch every slow, predatory step that the lady took. The indulgent smile that slipped onto the lady's lips made DG feel as if she were about to be devoured. She felt wholly exposed, and struggled against the 'Coat that held her, going as far as to try an outward surge of her own magic, but she was too tense and anxious to focus properly. She was rewarded with a hard yank on her hair and the soldier's second arm closing around her torso like a vice.
“Leave her alone!” Zee all but screamed; another magical charge shot through the entire tent, weaker and less focused and ultimately ineffectual.
The witch's face had already begun to shift; the change was subtle, and it wasn't until the two women were face to face that DG was able to see the slight stretchy greyness to her skin. It wasn't long at all before the witch's face was twisted in a grimace of pain. She was no longer beautiful or stately. Despite herself, DG pressed herself back against the Longcoat that held her, wanting to get herself as far as possible from the dessicated old woman that separated herself bodily from the tall red-head that had stood there, solitary, a moment before.
The old witch was surprisingly balanced on her two feet as the red-haired woman she'd previously possessed fell back and landed on the ground, gasping and holding her head. If DG hadn't seen such an event take place once before, atop the Tower during the Eclipse, she might have wondered if she were having a terrible nightmare.
As it was, things didn't hesitate to get worse. The witch made a dismissive gesture at the woman she'd previously been. One of her generals stepped forward, his back to DG. A moment later, a gunshot rang out, and DG screamed, her eyes snapping shut.
“Look at me,” croaked the old witch; it took to the count of three before DG could convince herself to open her eyes. This close, she tried not to flinch at the grey, translucent skin that stretched taut over the old witch's bones. She was nowhere near as ancient as the hag that had been released from the cave when DG was only five years old. This didn't make DG feel any better, however, as the glimmer in the witch's eyes brightened as she caught and held the princess's attention. “You and I will be good friends, girl. Just wait and see.” Then she laughed coldly, reaching out to place her clammy hands on DG's cheeks, cupping her face. She turned DG's head from side to side, studying every feature.
“Yes, you'll do nicely,” the old witch decided. “Daughters born of your body will be just as beautiful; one of the many curses of the Gales.” She rolled her eyes. All others in the tent had fallen completely silent; DG felt as if she'd been abandoned. Regret was coursing through her body, as she realized how many wrong turns she'd taken over the course of the past annual, how much she'd taken for granted and how much she'd sacrificed for nothing.
Her mind flashed back to her memories of the day at the cave, when this exact fate had befallen her sister because she'd done nothing more than never leave DG's side. As the old witch reached out to take DG by the shoulders - another witch and another Daughter of Light in DG's frantic mind - a curious thing happened, one that jolted DG out of her daze and brought her crashing back to her reality.
The charge that came from the witch's hands was a strong red light, but her hands and their light were unable to settle on DG as they'd done before. The witch's hands met with a shield that protected DG's chest from the assault of possession, and it took a shake of her head and a hard blink of her eyes for DG to realize that the shield was made up of not her own faint white light but a brilliant emerald green.
DG seized her only opportunity. What little focus she could muster was concentrated on the Longcoat that held her; he was thrown back, knocking down one of the generals that stood near the door. She turned and found Zee, struggling with her own captor. With a hard outward shove of her hand, there was a streak of pale green light as DG forced the soldier away from Zee.
The old witch had begun to shout orders to her men, but they weren't able to wrench the girls apart before they'd clasped hands. “The stone,” she said, her eyes wide with greed.
A shield of dazzling green encased the two girls; stuck inside a bubble skewed DG's perspective of the world. She didn't know how much of this was her, Zee, or the Emerald, but she could feel the sure and steady drain of all her senses as the shield was hit by another red-tinted blast of light from the witch.
“What do we do?” DG wondered aloud with a small laugh. The brilliance of the dome over her head was hard to look at, but she couldn't very well look away. No one outside the shield seemed to want to come near it; DG could only make out the faint outlines of the Longcoat soldiers. Only the form of the stunted old witch was mostly discernible, her features distorted by magic.
“Just -”
Both girls ducked away from the next spell that hit the shield; DG's head was beginning to pound.
“Just hold on,” Zee told her. “Keep it grounded.”
Easier said than done, DG thought as she flinched away from another spell. She tightened her grip on Zee's hands, interlocking their fingers and pressing their palms together. As their palms connected, there was a moment of perfect, clear silence, and both girls turned to one another, eyes wide and uncertain. Then, the outward explosion of green light threw them apart, a rush that sounded like the surge of surf knocking everyone in the tent off their feet.
DG spent a long moment on her back, blinking dazedly and trying to hold her focus onto one thing. Her head swam with a thousand voices and images, and she was simply lost in it all, at the mercy of the next wave that came crashing in. Slowly, she fought her way to sitting, knocking the broken pieces of shelf and table off as she then struggled to her feet. She was the first; all the others were still coming to their senses. A quiet murmur had struck up as DG looked around; both Zee and Jeb were moving, but the table in the center of the room had been overturned.
She scanned the small area for the witch, but all she could see was a deep scorch mark on the ground and a black substance slowly oozing outward. Right before her eyes, a snaking shoot of green grew out of the ground, it's head bursting into the crimson beauty of a poppy.
DG laughed out loud; she couldn't help it. The wicked witch is dead.
Without the danger the witch presented, DG tried to force her muddled brain to prioritize. Urging her feet faster than she was sure she should be moving at the moment, DG ran around the other side of the table, ignoring the three soldiers that were groaning and pushing themselves onto their hands and knees. The cage was on its side on the floor; the falcon screeched indignantly as DG righted it on the ground and opened the door.
“Hey, it's okay,” she soothed as she reached in to guide the dizzy falcon out of the cage, “everything is all right.” He stayed remarkably still, and she was glad because her hands were bare.
“You check on a bird before you check on me?” came Zee's choked, incredulous voice; she sounded close to unhinged laughter. Peeking over the upended table with her hands still firmly holding the falcon, DG placed him on one of the suspended table legs, gently releasing her grip when he got his footing.
It was then that DG noticed something curious; where had once been tattooed the crest of the Gales, to guide her on her quest to find the Emerald, now the symbol was cut deeply into her palm where her skin had pressed against Zee's. As she stared at it, the edges of the wound, of every line carved into her skin shone brightly, cauterizing and turning into a deep red scar.
Huh, she thought with a shake of her head, that's gonna hurt later.
DG turned her back on the falcon as she went to help Zee to her feet; a moment later, there was the whooshing of Hass' transformation, and he was coughing behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught him holding his ribs with a grimace on his face as he stumbled over to her.
All around them, the Longcoats were coming to their complete faculties and hauling themselves to their feet. Wearily, DG realized their fight wasn't yet over; she felt sapped of all her energy, and her body ached all over to sleep. Her heart was still pounding, her head still ringing, and she didn't want to fight any more.
The youngest general, the one the lady had addressed as Cole, came forward, his eyes not watching DG but concentrated on the burned soil, the spiky fingers of black reaching out in all directions, and the single poppy that had sprung out of the ground. Haltingly, he raised his boot and carefully toed the gooey black mass that seemed to be both hardening and soaking into the ground with a faint hiss.
DG felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Jeb at her back. He had his weapon out, and seemed ready to aim it at the first 'Coat that came at them. The Longcoats, however, seemed more absorbed by the remains of their leader. Of the eight soldiers, only the three generals turned their eyes on DG, harsh and accusing. She wanted to stammer out an excuse, but words wouldn't come; she only stumbled back into Jeb and waited.
She didn't have to wait long; it was almost instant. The three generals approached her, their faces worn and defeated, and in the next moment, lowered themselves to one knee before her. The remaining 'Coats quickly followed suit, falling to their knees and bowing their heads in surrender.
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