NOVEL NEXT Chapter 104: Lies and Lockets
Northmont paused, giving her another sweeping gaze. "Keep your secrets if you wish, but know that when you're dead, your Fulminancy will go to your next-of-kin. I'm sure we'll find your brother much more agreeable. Perhaps before your execution, though, you'd like to make a deal for those friends of yours. The location of the lockets for their lives sounds like an excellent trade in my estimation. Think on it."
He left the room, and Conal dragged her the rest of the way to her feet. When he handed her off to the guards, however, Kess heard a sliver of a conversation behind her—the faint remnants of Northmont's voice as she was hauled away.
"…keep them close, for safekeeping." Northmont's voice, distant and muffled from around the corner.
"Shouldn't we hide them?" Another familiar voice—this one belonging to the man who'd announced Oliver's ascension.
"Better to have them on our persons when the moment arrives than have to fumble for them."
The lockets, Kess realized as she gritted her teeth against the pain. They're talking about the lockets—keeping them safe, even. The conversation sputtered and died as Kess and her entourage turned the corner, Kess mostly hauled forward by her broken arm.
Kess's vision blackened at the sides and eventually darkened entirely, but she came to as soon as she hit the stones of her cell. She lay there for a few moments, arm aching fiercely, dizzy and sick, then forced herself to take stock of her situation.
Before, she'd been fighting for her own life. Now, she found herself in possession of knowledge that she needed to escape with. Mariel always wanted me to release Fulminancy, but she never said how, Kess thought as she mentally ran through her next steps. Still, Northmont had given her an incredible clue. His relief, stark and evident, had been one. We would have felt something, he'd said. A sense of release—a scattering.
Those same words had boomed in Kess's head that night at the gala. And he'd mentioned keeping them around for safekeeping. The lockets were the key—the final piece to a puzzle she'd been unable to solve. If she could destroy them, then maybe she could stop the storm—or at least slow it down.
Kess worked quickly and quietly in the dark, undoing the screws on her cot to grab one of the legs. She drew a ripped piece of her shorts from the corner of the room, using it to tie the flimsy cot leg to her broken arm, splinting it. The pain ebbed only slightly, but at least it wouldn't be flopping around uselessly as she fought. She looped her locket back around her neck and sat in her customary spot by the door, reaching deep inside for that familiar and comforting warmth.
The storm perked up, curious, swirling around her far outside. In a way, she could see the path out of this place. She only had to clear the way.
Kess's guards stood too close to the door—they'd always done that. Whether it was because they were commanded to, or because they had nothing to fear from a small, unarmed girl with no powers, she didn't know.
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It didn't matter in any case.
She drew up Rowan's Fulminancy and channeled it through her hands, imagining the guards' Fulminancy as little wells of power. Then she reached out with both hands—broken arm be damned—and latched her fingers around their ankles. One swore, and she threw Rowan's Fulminancy forward with brutish force.
Kess was not a subtle woman—both guards immediately collapsed with a thud, and Kess pulled one of them towards her, grabbing the keys. She unlocked the door with a wince at the noise, grabbed a sword, then ran on bare feet as fast as she could manage, adrenaline keeping her going when her body should have collapsed long ago.
The storm rejoiced, whirling around, and Kess swore there were storm clouds around her body as she moved, giving her speed and energy. Those thin wisps of vapor led her through passageways, stairwells, and tunnels, each more abandoned than the next. Kess wondered where all the soldiers had gone—surely they'd have more than the ones who'd been guarding her, or perhaps even a contingent of Blockers.
Regardless, she counted her blessings as she smelled the earthy mist that indicated she was close to the outdoors, the storm practically pushing against her as she flew towards the exit.
She skidded to a halt where two guards stood, their faces aghast as they turned to stare at her bloodied, bruised figure. Kess didn't hesitate; she grabbed the first one, plunging her Fulminancy into him, and he collapsed. Kess wove where she stood, trying to clear her head of the dizziness. She reached for the other guard, but her power fizzled and died, mostly spent.
The sword only just missed her. Kess flung herself to the side, then drew her own sword level with the guard. Down a long thin hallway, wet rock, rain, and earth beckoned. If she could just get around this man—
He swung at her, and Kess met the blade at an angle, deflecting it away. Her movements were shaky at best, and the simple action made her dizzy and sick. She wouldn't have the strength to use direct attacks, so she judged her distance as Rowan had taught her, watching for a mistake to capitalize on. Eventually, the man made it, overextending and hoping his reach would be enough to take her out.
Kess closed the gap instantly, knowing it would be the only chance she got. She plunged her sword into him and felt the life leaving his body, his muscles going slack, the light fading from his eyes as he sunk to his knees. Sobbing, Kess pulled the sword free, and took one look at the blood coating it. She dropped it with a clang.
She ran.
She hoped she lived to see Rowan again, because she owed him an apology for her comment about swordplay so long ago.
Overhead, the storm whirled, whipping her partially bound hair around her face, its breeze and cloud cover a strangely exultant force as she tore her way through the city. Kess didn't remember much of the flight back. She didn't know how she had the strength to continue with so many injuries, or how she wasn't stopped. She only remembered arriving at the manor, seeing it surrounded by the bodies of Blockers and Witchblades alike, and almost collapsing right there.
She stood at a corner, the rain distant for once, staring at what had been her home. What had happened to everyone? Were they dead? In hiding? There was no way of knowing. Kess sunk to her knees, not sure what to do next. She'd escaped against all odds. She'd killed another man, and she wouldn't be executed tonight. She'd been given a second chance. But what about Rowan and the others?
"Get up," a voice said. Kess turned her head towards the voice and nearly sobbed again as she saw Rae. The woman was bandaged around the middle, but otherwise looked healthy. "They're fine," she said, then frowned. "Much better than you, actually." She walked around to Kess's good side and hauled her to her feet. "Let's go home."
They wandered through the city together, Kess half conscious, before Rae spoke again. "I told Rowan you didn't know when to quit."
Kess smiled.