The Emerald-Opal Heir - 12

A Chapter by A.L.

The Survivor

Newt lost Baelle in the hordes of people. He could sense her life force fading into the hum of everyone else’s.

He could still feel her presence, like the rolling of thunder in the far off distance. It blended with the other sounds and sensations of the party, but it still stood out enough for Newt to track her.

“I’m going after her,” he said to no one in particular.

“You can’t kill her,” Morgan reminded him, immediately at his heels. “Only Emmeline can.”

“We can subdue her,” Bethany offered, keeping pace with her brother. “At least until Emmeline is strong enough. The others will hold off the crowds and the guards.” She said it as though everything was already decided.

Newt didn’t respond to either of them, insteading focusing on the disappearing traces of Baelle.

The crowd was sparse at this point, most of the nobles fleeing at the first sight of danger. Villagers struggled against the soldiers pouring into the room. Newt tried to push away the screams and the chaos, his broken Blessing latching on to the last of Baelle’s trail.

He was vaguely aware of his friends’ life forces pulsing at the edge of his mind, a constant pressure he was forced to ignore.

Baelle’s imaginary footsteps led Newt straight towards the front courtyard of the castle where they had entered earlier. It was full of carriages, if he recalled correctly, and there weren’t many places to hide.

Maybe that’s what she wants, he realized. Maybe Baelle had lines and lines of back-up in the courtyard. Maybe it was filled to the brim with soldiers.

Or maybe it was empty.

Newt skidded to a stop after throwing open the doors to the courtyard, Baelle’s soul ringing loudly like an out-of-tune church bell right in his ear.

There she was, standing in the center of the stone circle on the ground. Her back was to the door and Newt drew his sword, his breathing heavy. His magic reached out for her life force but he held it back to the best of his ability.

When Baelle finally turned to face him, her face was a mess of black ink and blood. Emmeline had done a good deal of damage with her shadow pen. The black and red mixed together as it dripped down Baelle’s face, flowing over her eyes and down onto her dress. Her mouth broke into a smile and Newt’s heart picked up pace.

He pictured Emmeline’s terrified stare when he’d run to her side after Baelle attacked. She didn’t know who he was, and Newt had no doubt that Baelle had meddled in her mind. The thought flooded his body with anger so powerful that his limbs trembled.

Baelle’s demented grin grew. “You can’t kill me,” she hissed, blood spilling from her lips. “I nearly killed you once, little boy, and I won’t fail this time.”

Newt’s magic swirled in the back of his mind, pleading and begging to be used. He knew his friends were spreading out behind him, their weapons at the ready. They moved to be at his side, forming a line on the stairs of the palace. Calli, with her palm glowing and staff in hand. Rae and Brooke standing shoulder to shoulder, trying to appear like they knew what they were doing with their tiny swords. Morgan, Margot, and Bethany forming a powerful trio with their fancy outfits and their gleaming blades.

“Last time I was alone,” Newt said, his voice a guttural snarl. “This time, my friends are at my side.”

Baelle’s facade flickered as her eyes dropped to his arms. Their pale markings were hidden by his sleeves, but Baelle knew they were there. And for some reason, the thought of Newt being abnormal struck fear in the goddess.

He didn’t wait for her to attack.

Newt ran for the goddess, his sword a feather in his hand. He aimed a hit for her stomach but Baelle twisted to the side, mist pouring into the courtyard as though her white dress was leaching into the air.

He could barely see now. Sounds of clashing weapons echoed throughout the courtyard. Someone let out a pained scream, but Newt didn’t know who it was.

He darted back into the mist, focusing solely on Baelle’s presence in his mind. Her power was like a beacon, drawing him closer like a moth to flame. Newt saw something move to his right and stabbed at it.

“Watch it!” came a squeal and Calli emerged from the mist, her hair a disaster.

“Sorry,” Newt mumbled, exhaling once. “Do you think you can do anything about this mist?”

“I can try,” Calli said. Her brow crinkled in concentration and she raised her arms to the sky. The mist around them rippled.

Newt took the moment to pinpoint Baelle’s soul again. It danced against the barriers of his mind, just a few feet behind him. He spun around as quickly as he could, blade at the ready. Something sharp grazed his forehead and Newt ducked instinctively.

The fog rippled again and he spotted a bright form approaching him from the side. His muscles froze. His sword dropped to the floor. Newt fell to one Newt, gritting his teeth as his head unleashed its fury upon him. Goddesses. Claws were tearing at the sides of his brain, digging into the flesh on his arms.

Dizziness washed over him and he clutched at his head. Something warm dripped from his nose. What was-

He heard a loud thud from beside him and a figure in a white dress tumbled to the ground in front of him. The agony in his head ended abruptly, cutting off with a final screeching that sent his stomach reeling.

Baelle scrambled to her feet, reaching for Newt’s sword. He snatched it from out of her grasp, lunging for her a second later. His blade sliced off a chunk of her dress and fabric drifted to the ground.

The goddess disappeared into the mist and Newt heard her footsteps until …

Silence.

It consumed the courtyard, eating all of the sound. He couldn’t hear the others or the screams from the castle or even his own breathing.

The mist thickened again.

Was Calli down? Newt’s stomach panged at the thought of losing another person he knew. He kept his sword gripped tightly in both hands, whipping around wildly.

And then he felt breath on his ear. His body froze again.

“This is all your fault, little ghost. You brought this upon yourself when you looked into death’s face and said no.”

Then the mist turned to darkness and evaporated into the night.

All Newt could hear was his own ragged breathing. He hated the blindness that came with the endless dark before him, hated being weak and at the mercy of Baelle. His sword hung in his hand, a comforting but useless weight.

“Hello?”

The voice made him jump and he glanced to his left, where the sound had come from. Nothing but black.

“Is anyone there?” This time Newt detected a hint of fear in the voice and recognized it as Rae’s.

“I’m here,” he called out, sounding hoarse and broken. His thoughts drifted to Emmeline and her terrified expression, her face pale...

“Newt? I don’t know where I am and I can’t see and-”

“It’s alright, Rae. I can’t see either - I think Baelle is using an illusion. The blindness isn’t real. Why don’t we focus on finding each other?”

“Follow the sound of my voice,” added Margot from across the courtyard. “If we can all find each other-”

“There are walls,” Morgan shouted back. “The courtyard has been turned into a maze-”

“There’s a pit of snakes!”

“Goddesses, I just twisted my ankle and I don’t think I can walk!”

Newt closed his eyes, fingers on his temples as he tried to block out all of the frantic yelling.

This had to be an illusion - there was no way Baelle could construct an entire maze in a matter of minutes, complete with death traps and everything. He sheathed his sword and reached out a tentative hand, brushing it against the wall of the “maze”.

The stone was cool against his skin, but as Newt flattened his palm, he felt it give a little bit. As solid as this illusion was, it wouldn’t be able to hold forever.

“Everyone shut up!” he shouted as loud as he could. The other voices fell silent. “This isn’t real, guys. Baelle is trying to trick us, to trap us here until she’s powerful enough to take us prisoner. We can still escape if we work together.”

“What should we do?” Margot called back.

Newt thought for a moment, his magic prickling at his senses. “I’m going to use my Blessing to find all of you - so stay put. The traps aren’t entirely real, but they can probably still hurt you. Keep talking so we know none of you disappear, but keep your voices low enough that I can focus.”

He knew it was a longshot. For all he knew, he could be completely wrong about the traps. Newt wouldn’t put it above Baelle to install an entire maze in her courtyard just to spite them.

Without another moment of hesitation, he dove into the recesses of his power, feeling it surround him. His mind locked onto the presence of someone nearby, their soul different from what Baelle’s had been. He kept one hand on the stone of the wall, slowly taking a step forward. And another.

His toe dipped over the edge of what had to be a hole in the floor. Newt reached out a leg and found the floor on the other side of the pit and carefully pulled himself over.

Mere moments later, he felt the warm contact of another body.

“Who is this?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet so as to not mix with the others that mingled far above.

“It’s Bethany,” an equally hushed voice mumbled back. Her gentle fingers locked into his, clutching tightly. “Newt, are you sure you have this under control? I trust you, but…” Her voice trailed off as her voice dipped unevenly, her unspoken fear filling the air with a hint of iciness.

“Follow my lead,” was all he said, afraid to promise anything else.

Gently, he led Bethany forward, locking on to another life force. He repeated the process he had to find Bethany, testing each step and keeping one hand on the wall while Bethany held on to his other hand with all of her strength.

They quickly discovered Margot, Rae, and Morgan. When Newt finally made his way to Calli, he had an entire train of people trailing behind him.

“She’s unconscious,” Morgan muttered after a few moments of trying to get a response out of Calli. “It has to be either the fog or Baelle’s handiwork. I can carry her, but Rae will have to hold on tighter to me.”

Newt felt nagging like there was something missing, but as he searched for any other signs of life, his power came up empty. No one else was in the courtyard.

“How do we get out of here?” Margot asked, a bit breathless. “Newt’s Blessing doesn’t extend to sensing a way out, does it?”

“No,” Newt answered automatically. “But push yourself up against the wall.”

He dragged his group to the nearest wall and leaned his back against it, hearing them do the same. “Dig one of your elbows or something into the wall. Do you feel it gives just a little? The wall isn’t real - we can break through.”

“How?” The question came from Morgan. “Calli is unconscious and she’s the only one who knows how to use magic.”

Newt smirked, feeling a swell of pride rise up inside him for coming up with the crazy idea that would get them out of here. “Baelle is a goddess. The only thing that can beat a goddess is another goddess.”

“Our Patrons,” breathed Bethany at his side. “We have to pray.”

Newt nodded even though he knew the others couldn’t see him. “Dixral, Quiglin, Farosha, Zachryona, even Maconil. Combined, their power should be enough to take out Baelle’s illusion.”

Margot offered a few complaints about praying to her patron, but they all reluctantly fell silent.

Newt closed his eyes even though it didn’t make a difference in his vision.

Dixral, I don’t know if you’re actually listening, he began, sending out the prayer as loudly as he could. He wondered if Dixral still even considered him one of her people now that his Blessing was broken. We really need your help. If you don’t want your throne occupied by Baelle, then help us break through her illusion. Thanks.

He knew that Dixral might not react well to no praise, but he was done following the goddesses when they did little for him in return.

Luckily it seemed that the goddesses were on their side because Newt heard a crack pierce the night air and the wall shattered at his back. He stumbled backward, falling onto his back on the ground.

Immediately his vision blurred with the starlight providing enough illumination to actually see. He noticed the vague forms of his friends rubbing their eyes as well.

“Are we all here?” Morgan asked, helping Newt to his feet a moment later.

“I think so,” Margot mumbled, wincing as she put weight on her ankle. She glanced over the mismatched, injured group before her, taking a mental tally. Her eyes narrowed. “No, we’re missing Brooke.”

Newt’s stomach sank. “She’s … she has to be gone, guys. I never sensed her in the maze and I knew I was forgetting someone…”

How could he forget Brooke? She was the youngest of the group, and Newt felt a sense of responsibility for taking care of her without Forrest or Clara there. Had she been with the others when they first attacked Baelle? Or had she slipped away to find Forrest and Clara?

“We can’t go back in,” Rae said reluctantly, glancing towards the large patch of black fog that hovered threateningly in the center of the courtyard. “We have to hope she’s with Clara and Forrest and Emmeline…” Her voice broke and Newt saw her eyes welling with tears. Of all of them, Rae was probably the closest to Brooke.

“When we come back, we’ll make sure that we rescue her,” Newt promised, though it sounded empty. “For now, we should focus on getting out of here.”

The others nodded solemnly, as if they knew running was their only option.

Newt knew Emmeline was in good hands with Clara and Forrest - or at least he hoped so. He helped Morgan pull a still unconscious Calli onto his shoulders, despite Newt’s protests that he could take the weight for a little while.

It turned out that trusting Clara and Forrest with Emmeline was a mistake, though.

Because moments after Newt and his friends trudged outside the castle courtyard and made their way just outside the village walls, the glass of the castle shattered with a screech and half of the Silver palace crumbled to dust.

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