“I’ll distract them.” He must have seen her fear in her eyes. “I’m just going to argue with them,” he continued, looking directly at her, “and tell them I’m going to leave. I won’t mention you, and will go alone by sea when it’s done… hopefully they’ll come after me if they’re going to so I can lead them away…”
She wasn’t comforted by that thought at all. “Come after you?” Her voice rose an octave or two. She felt Demitri’s arm tighten around her, and Phineas’ hand landed on her shoulder.
Phineas spoke softly, as if fearful she might panic. “Don’t worry. Once he’s at sea, there will be little they can do. At worst they will delay and distract him. I’ll go as well, between the tw-”
“No.” Thelios stated firmly, cutting him off. “No.” He straightened his shoulders, making him look all the more imposing, and all but impossible to contradict. And who would dare? She wondered with an uncomfortable mixture of consternation and pride.
“But–” Phineas began… falling off when a slow shake of her master’s head gave him pause.
“You go with them. If you get away cleanly, then you’re welcome to come play, but until then…” She watched them exchange looks, and felt the unspoken subtext deeply, even if she couldn’t fathom its meaning.
Phineas straightened as well and nodded, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. All three men were standing in stiff silence, their faces dark and, unless she was mistaken, very determined. She felt as if something important had been decided and agreed upon without her, and unnervingly, that she was somehow at the center of it.
She turned to Demitri with a question in her eyes. He was already looking at her, but only nodded. “Come on then. There’s no time for messing about.” She wanted to argue again, demand an answer for her unasked question… but something in his own eyes changed her mind. Or rather, changed her heart. If they were determined to do whatever it was, then she would be to. Or be determined at least to help in whatever way she could.
She nodded firmly, setting her jaw and expression to match theirs, commanding her heart to steel itself and her stomach to leave off its fearful quivering. Now was not the time to be wretched, it was time to act, and she was determined to acquit herself well, both for her own sake and her Lord’s.
She shot Thelios a final look as they turned for the door, and felt a pang as she suppressed the urge to run back and throw her arms around him. “Be careful.” Was all she said. He nodded and watched them go.
Demitri was good on his word and was surprisingly adept at slipping them through the halls and rooms without being seen. The nature of the halls and rooms shifted dramatically from the gilded, palatial luxury of the main rooms, to the less glamorous and far more functional spaces where the unattractive work of feeding and housing so many went on, to plain, stoney passages which reminded one that they were, for all that gilt and silk, under a mountain… in a cave.
It was only on the last leg that they encountered a problem.
They were slipping out some back passage- part of a system of caves which lead out of the underground palace and left them, she imagined, on the opposite side of the island from where they’d entered- when a painfully familiar voice called out to them.
She turned to see her least favorite person on the blessed green earth marching angrily toward them, his minions in tow. She recognized at least two from the incident with Thelios in the hall. From that day when they’d arrived and which felt as if it hd been ages ago, though it wasn’t more than a few weeks.
Oddly she felt far more annoyance than fear at the sight of them. Truly, if it had been anyone else, she might have quailed. However, he inspired far different feelings in her, and whats more her usual irritation with this crude, foolhardy man was being quickly bolstered by the cruel smirk which appeared on his face as he neared them. The fact that his left arm was still in a sling and that he still bore the scratch from when she’d cut him only made it worse. It was hard not to despise him as an idiot. He inspired only derision.
She balled her hands on her hips and faced them fully, letting them come. “Should I count this as lucky coincidence, or are you actually a vengeful harpy, haunting me for some past wrong.” She spat sardonically.
“Hold your tongue woman, or I’ll cut it from you.” He snarled back. His vehemence, and the look on his face concerned her… it bespoke a confidence born of righteousness. “You’re harboring a traitor and you’ll be punished. Believe you me.”
Ah. There was that, wasn’t there.
She had no time to respond as the group was already upon them. Demitri had stepped forward to defend her, though he wore no sword. She wondered how he intended to do it. She didn’t have to wait long to find out.
The man was beginning to raise his sword arm, and was halfway through another obnoxious declaration when Demitri’s fist planted itself squarely in his face. It had been so fast, and so brutally hard that no one had seen it coming until they were looking down at the man as he sprawled on his back before them.
He wasn’t moving… no one moved. His fellows were gaping down at his still form, she was gaping at Demitri, and he was staring hard at the other men, as if daring them to take their leader’s place.
But the shock passed, and one of the men lunged forward. Demitri seemed to catch him by the arm and turn into him, somehow disarming him and giving him a blow to the middle which bent him in half. A second man had his sword parried away a moment later, and Calliope blinked, jumping to action herself and snatching up the grounded man’s sword. She leveled it in front of her, using it to hold two more at arms length and buy Demitri time by watching his back. The men hesitated, eying her warily, but didn’t stop completely. She hoped silently that Demitri would be make quick work of the other men. She might be able to avoid getting hit with some grace, but she knew nothing of real sword play.
“That will be enough of that.” Murmured a soft voice from behind them. She and all the rest turned as one, and gasped. Phineas was standing there, his eyes glowing with eerie white light. His hands, held palm up at his sides, seemed to glow with similar light. “Calliope, Demitri, step behind me please.”
His voice was so even, so soft, but she didn’t think she’d ever moved so fast to obey a request or command in her life.