FF Chapter 32

Rallying all his allies, Alex heads for Luck's base.

Chapter 32

      Gaius had put the city on lockdown, but Captain Johnathan was nowhere to be found, along with over half the royal guard. He agreed to the Hands’ plan, especially since it included keeping him alive.

      Future and his group returned to the library, where Future explained to Alex “Whoever has the princess can get control of the city.”

      Lo interjected. “That’s not exactly how it works.”

      Future waved the point aside. “I know I know; I’m simplifying it for the boy. The important thing is that if Gaius dies, Luck could take over the city, or at least throw it into civil war.”

      “Then she's going to attack Gaius!” Alex exclaimed.

      “Exactly. That’s where we’re headed. You, on the other hand, will remain here.”

      “Why?” He demanded

      “Because if Luck gets a hold of you too, it’s game over. Stay here, where it’s safe.”

      “But what about Eira?”

      Future went quiet. “We can’t enter Luck’s base any more than she could enter ours. We’ll try to bargain for her, but right now she’s a lost cause.” He hung his head. “Alex, Frey, Indol; you stay here. Winchester, you’re with us. I have a feeling we’ll need you for this.”

      The old man smiled, and slowly followed Future, Lo, and Erald out the side door and back to the castle.

      As they left, Lo turned to Future and said “he’s not going to stay put, you know that right?”

      Future smiled “Of course he isn’t, but you can’t force someone to be a hero. Alex needs to decide to fight on his own” Future stared at the ground “and I have no right to order him into such a dangerous place.”

      Erald mumbled. “Are you certain this is a wise decision?”

      “No, I’m not.” Future whispered to himself. “But he’s our only chance; I hate leaving things to chance.”

 

      At the Lucky Dice casino, up on the top floor, Luck entertained her newest guest.

      “Comfortable, Princess?” She smiled.

      Eira maintained a civil air of absolute hostility. “As comfortable as I can be in a prison.”

      “Prison? This is my own room I’m lending to you. Now, I’ll leave you in the care of Deese, while I attend to other matters. Behave yourself for him.” She smiled and waved on her way out.

      “Of course.” She smiled spitefully as the Hand left her alone with the butler.

      “Hello Ms. Yarlden.” He bowed. “I’m terribly sorry about all this, but I will do my best to make your stay as enjoyable as possible.” He wheeled in a cart with sandwiches, cakes, a pot of tea, and a jug of water. “I hope this will be enough, if you require anything else just ring this bell and I’ll come to assist you.” He smiled and departed, leaving a silver bell behind on the cart.

      Eira waited a few moments after he left before checking the door. It wasn’t locked! She opened it to see a hallway filled with dralgs, and Deese himself sitting at the end, reading.

      He put his glasses back on and smiled. “If you need something, ring the bell. These dralgs have been ordered to keep you inside the room, and they will do so by any means necessary.” His glasses reflected the light of the hallway, giving his words a sinister glint.

      She slowly closed the door, and leaned against it. Her legs gave out, and she slid to the ground with her head in her hands. She screamed in frustration. Fate must be mocking me! After trying her whole life to fight against being just a ‘princess’, she was now being held prisoner in a tower. She cursed Fate, and declared that she would escape on her own…she just didn’t know how.

      Luck returned upstairs, and checked in with Deese. “How’s she doing?”

      “Still struggling to accept reality.” Deese explained, looking up from his book.

      “Her and half the world.” Luck smirked.

      “Malent returned a while ago.” Deese glanced at his mistress.

      “I know, she also squealed about myself and Johnathan to my brothers. I sent her on some fool’s errand to keep her out of my hair.”

      “So what’s next?”

      “We wait and see what the others do. I finally have the upper hand; I refuse to lose it so easily.” With that, she descended to the second floor, where she’d gathered her allies among the cities’ elite. She’d promised to protect them from the coming war, and make them even more insanely wealthy, in exchange for their allegiance. She smiled at the gathered crowd. She was winning.

 

      Back at the library, far from Eira’s struggles, the question ‘how’ was annoying another group of kids.  Barely ten minutes had passed between Future leaving and Alex planning to rescue Eira, but they didn’t know how.

      “We need someone who knows where Luck’s base is, and how to get inside.” Indol realized.

      After a pause, Alex said what they were all thinking. “Jack.”

      Frey nodded. “He does work for Luck.”

      “IF what Evil said was true.” Indol was quick to defend her old friend.

      Alex thought for a moment. “Evil had no reason to lie, and either way it’d be good to go to Yanus Academy and warn everyone about what’s happening.”

      “I suppose so.” Indol agreed.

      Indol grabbed supplies from her lab while Frey used her position as royal bodyguard to secure them some horses.

 

      They arrived at Yanus, barged through the front gate, and didn’t stop until they reached Ms. Jensing’s office. They explained all that had happened, and the headmistress was furious that her little girl was missing. She pledged her support to the group, and told them Jack should be back at the arena, since no one had seen him leave.

      Word of what was happening spread like wildfire, and as they left Ana rushed up to them and asked “Is it true? Did Eira get kidnapped?”

      “Yes, but we’re going to get her back.” Frey declared.

      “I’d like to help, but…I think I’d just be in the way.” She said timidly.

      Alex smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay Ana; you’ve done more than enough already. Right now we need to see Jack.”

      “He’s at the arena.” She confirmed.

      “Thanks, keep an eye on things around here for us.” With that they headed to the southern end of the island, where Jack was waiting for them.

 

      The gambler was leaning against the arena door with his cards in his hand. “I was wondering when you’d come for me.” He sighed.

      “So you do work for Luck.” Alex confronted him.

      “Technically.” He groaned.

      “I imagine there’s a story there.”

      “Not much of one to be honest. My parents racked up a debt with Luck, and I’m forced to work it off. I’m supposed to be her informant, but I’ve never told her anything important. She has no other source, so she’s forced to believe everything I say.” He smirked.

      “So you hate her?” Indol asked.

      “I’d have used the word ‘despise’, but yes, ‘hate’ works too.”

      “So will you help us?” Frey pleaded.

      Jack shook his head. “Yeah, I’m not risking my neck for that princess. No offence.”

      Before Frey could say anything, Indol interrupted her. “How about a deal? If I can guess how you always pull the jack of spades from your deck, you’ll show us where her base is and help us rescue Eira; if I’m wrong, I’ll pay your debt to Luck.”

      Jack laughed softly. “I appreciate the thought, I really do, but we both know you have nowhere near the money I owe…still, I’ll humor you. If you can guess my trick I’ll help you stick it to that witch.” He smirked.

      “You mean it?” Indol smiled

      “Promise.” Jack laughed, confident.

      “You have a beast gift.” Indol answered immediately.

      Jack paused for a moment before his smile washed away. “What did you say?”

      “You have a beast gift.” Indol repeated.

      Alex looked at her puzzled. “Indol, Jack doesn’t even have a beast mark. Just look at his arms.”

      “Maybe not, but he uses a rigged deck of cards, and I stole his jack of spades years ago.” She locked eyes with him, and watched his face light up with surprise. “What? I’m one of the smartest people on the island; you didn’t think I’d notice your cards were unique? I’ve been using that jack as a bookmark for a while now, and I’ve never had to hide it since you’ve never visited me. Not only that, but the way you’d nonchalantly deal with marked students, especially the ones in the arena; that’s beyond bravery or disinterest. You could be so fearless around them because you could overpower them, since having a beast gift requires three marks and they all had one. Tell me I’m wrong.” She looked him in the eye and smiled.

      Jack smiled, and hung his head. His arms themselves appeared to dissolve away. Behind the painted veil, red lines appeared. “I can cast illusions.” He admitted. “I’d pick a random card and make it look like the jack of spades.” He pulled out an ace of clubs, and before their eyes it turned into the jack of spades. “You know, not even Luck knows about my power. I’d thought I’d managed to fool everyone.”

      Indol smiled “Almost everyone. So, will you help us?”

      Jack shrugged. “Not much point in gambling if you don’t pay up. I’ll lead the way.”

      The group, now four strong, rode back to The Capital.

 

      Jack led them towards Luck’s base using the back roads, but they were stopped dead by a stone wall completely blocking the path. While Jack puzzled at the strange construction, another sprouted behind them. They were trapped!

      “So, you chose to gamble on Alex again!” Malent cried from above them. Using her beast mark she summoned a rock to carry her down. She looked haggard; her hair was a mess, her eyes red and puffy.

      “Malent!” Frey spat.

      “You…” She growled at Alex. “Everything was fine until you came along.” She smiled fiendishly. “But you’ll be my ticket to a better life. Luck said all I had to do was bring you in and she’d take me away from here…but she didn’t say what condition you had to be in.” She cracked her knuckles.

      Frey stood between them and spoke over her shoulder to the others. “I’ll take her. You guys go save Eira.”

      “You’ll ‘take’ me?” Malent was insulted, but Frey smiled.

      “I have three beast marks now. Meaning, as far as power is concerned, we’re equals.”

      “Maybe, but can you do THIS?” She cried, and summoned her power to shake the earth, both the floor beneath them, and the stone walls caging them in.

      “She’s gonna bury us!” Indol cried.

      “She’ll alert everyone we’re here.” Jack grumbled.

      “Either way we need to stop her!” Alex readied for a fight, but it never came.

      Frey charged forward, wrapped her arms around the startled Malent, and soared into the air. Without her direct command, the ground returned to its passive state.

      Jack watched them fly into the air. “Well that solved that problem nicely.” He chuckled. “Let’s go.” They left the horses behind without concern, as the animals had been trained to return to the stable on their own. The trio of Alex, Indol, and Jack smashed through the stone wall and continued to make their way towards Luck’s casino.

 

      High above the city, Malent tried to wrestle out of Frey’s grip, until she realized that would leave her alone, high in the air, with only a very hard landing to look forward to…it almost seemed like a metaphor for her entire life.

      Malent hung limply in her arms. Frey noticed the abject sorrow in her eyes and felt pity for the poor girl. “Are…are you okay?”

      “NO! NO, I’m not okay! Why do you idiots have to ruin EVERYTHING?” She turned away in a hopeless attempt to stop Frey seeing the tears welling in her eyes. “All I wanted was a home, a family. I had two chances, and you’ve ruined both of them.”

      Frey held Malent tighter. “I’m sorry.” She smiled, as Malent began to calm down.

      Malent started to crack. “Why, why do you forgive me? You and Alex; I hate you both, why can’t you hate me too?” She yelled, her voice cracking.

      “We can’t hate you when it’s not your fault.” She hugged Malent tighter.

      In that moment Frey became what Malent had been denied her whole life; a mother. The wall she’d spent years building around herself broke down, and her eyes flooded with tears.

      Frey kept them afloat. “Shhhh…it’s okay, it’s okay. Let it all out.” She cooed, as Malent sobbed in her arms.