“The locals call them lighthouses, but they are really just fortified towers. They’re staffed by teams of Fire Mageia responsible for protecting the harbor,” Elex added. He was trying to sign and speak at the same time but struggled a little.
He had backed off the overprotective brother routine in the last few days a little. Something about imminent death or capture seemed to put things into perspective for him I guess. I knew he still didn’t trust me or think that I was capable of fully protecting his brother, but I could only overcome his concerns with time. I was glad he was at least giving me a chance because I knew Luke had been struggling with the tension between us.
“So how do we get by them?” I asked.
“We’re not going to,” Betts responded with a grin. “Illyrians have been sailing these waters for thousands of years. We know them inside out. There’s a bay a few miles west of the city that I’ve visited dozens of times. We’re going to come in under the cover of darkness. We’ll row you guys in on one of the dinghys to a cove just west of the city. Me and my crew will wait nearby to extract you.”
“How will we get into the city?” Luke asked.
“You’ll be meeting up with one of our agents on the highway. He’ll be responsible for getting you into and out of the city,” she responded. “From there, you will need to play it by ear.”
I nodded; the irony of the hearing challenged person “playing something by ear” not lost on me. I felt Luke’s grip on me tighten reassuringly.
“We can do this,” he said. I nodded in response. We had to.
Chapter 30
Luke
It was a moonless night, and the wind whipped across Luke’s face. So far things had gone according to plan. They’d left the Betts and theChrysalis’dinghys in the small cove, and were waiting for the arrival of our contact, the agent who was going to be responsible for getting us into and out of Alexandria.
He’s lateI signed to Rhu. We were all hidden along the road, our black clothes blending into the pre-dawn darkness. I spied Elex tugging at the knit hat covering his shock of white hair.
It’s okay,he responded.It’s still within mission parameters.
I worried at my lower lip. The sun would be coming up soon, and there would be a lot of traffic on this road. It led into the lower city serving the working-class people of Alexandria.
Rhu closed his eyes for a moment, his hand placed firmly on the ground. His eyes popped open, and he began signing excitedly.
Someone’s coming.
Elex shook his head, then looked at Hel. I saw Hel cock his head sideways, listening for a moment.
I don’t hear anything,he signed.
Rhu tapped the ground and continued signing.
I can feel footsteps. An animal, I think. Feels like… a horse maybe. And a wagon of some kind.
I sent my Earth power searching through the ground and nodded at my Bonded in confirmation.
I can feel it, too,I signed.
Our time in Alexandria had almost made me forget that most travel in Alexandria was by animal or wagon. Only the very wealthy and connected had access to Mageia-powered vehicles, and they really didn’t have gasoline powered engines at all. Alexandria didn’t have much in the way of oil reserves or refining, unlike Illyria. The power of Alexandria was definitely in its Mageians and not itstechnology. I’d spent hours reading on their internet. The information available was overwhelming.
In speaking with Erix, I had discovered that previous War Leaders had focused their time and money on purely defensive technology. It had kept Illyria alive, but not in the best position to attack. When Erix took over as War Leader he had pushed for money and manpower to support their offensive tech.
We crouched in the ditch along the road. In the distance I could see a wagon coming over the horizon, a figure swathed in a large cape walking alongside the wagon. The wagon was—unique. Enclosed on all sides, it’s paneled walls were painted a deep scarlet, a stylized letter B emblazoned on the side in gold leaf. The shrouded figure walking alongside led the horse along the road, sometimes leading it around a particularly rutted area of highway. The smooth surfaces in Illyria had spoiled me.
He stopped at the crossroad and guided the horse to the side, pausing to pull up a hoof as if looking for a stone. He hummed and sang part of a song, and while the tune sounded oddly familiar, the deep baritone voice I absolutely recognized.
“Release the truth, all shalt be freed…”he sang.
“By the sons of Hecate,” I supplied from my hiding place.
The large man turned to look at me, his dark brown eyes wide in surprise.
“Master Tarek!” I exclaimed, rushing forward to hug my old mentor.
