The Princess of Wrath

Echoes from the Past - The Gray Death, Part II: Black Op.

Lucy suddenly woke up and her body reacted in an instant: her left hand tightly grasped the wrist of a hand that was inches from touching her masked face, while with her right she pulled out a runite blade from inside her uniform and draw the sharp tip against the side of the neck of the person crouched in front of her.

It did not take long for her to realize that this person was her Master, testing her subconscious reflexes.

"Excellent, my apprentice," he congratulated her, warmth permeated in his voice that made Lucy imagine a smile peeking out from the shadows that must have been inside his demonic mask. "There will no longer be anyone who can threaten you while you rest, very well done."

"Thank you, Master."

She released the Wraith and returned the blade to the company of her sisters. Around her, only the light of a campfire dimly illuminated the interior of the small cave with reddish rock walls and devoid of moisture. She felt the roughness of the protruding rocks on her back with some discomfort, but she had not had trouble sleeping after two days and two nights surveying the land.

"Here, you better eat now: the security shift change will happen in two hours, we must be ready." The Master Wraith handed her three bread rolls and a vial of a penetrating reddish liquid, similar to high-quality wine. "Your legs must still be fatigued, drink half Vitae."

Nodding, Lucy took what he offered her, got up from the ground and left the cave, leaving her Master alone as he gave a last review to some rustic documents with topographic drawings, engineering schematics, and some little vials with green emerald powder...

The cold of the Reykanite Desert at night was challenging for the inexperienced. From the height that the plateau offered, Lucy had at her disposal an unparalleled view of the two luminous sources that broke with the monotony of the arid, gloomy nature: one was the city called Ralkutan, large enough to occupy a large part of the horizon and partially turning night into day, while several kilometers closer, the lights of the military laboratory located in the middle of nowhere attracted the attention of explorers unfortunate enough to encounter the deadly security forces patrolling the limitations.

Master and apprentice had arrived in Reykana eight days ago without any cons or complications. That plateau on which they had decided to take refuge was being ignored by the local militia very incorrectly, with all the advantages it offered. In a very short time they obtained valuable information that made the operation quite promising.

"I was expecting a longer mission ..." Lucy thought as, covered by the shadows of the night, she slightly raised her mask and took a small bite of the bread roll, which tasted good compared to the bitter and powerful taste of the Vitae, a regenerative tonic highly toxic to ordinary, non-trained humans.

As she chewed and contemplated the recommendation of one of her superiors to "enjoy" worldly pleasures while she could, Lucy's eyes were focused on Reykana's capital.

Imperials and Reykanites had lived together for more than a century in peace and harmony, and in a single year all the hatred and resentment towards the conquerors exploded like a pressure boiler. What she had heard about the revolution had been so horrifying that she had a hard time believing the level of frenzy and madness that spread so rapidly through the local citizens without fear of inevitable reprisals.

The rebels had executed the High Lord, Demetrius Margules, in his own house... They had raped and dismembered his wife in front of their two children before decapitating them and hanging their heads at the entrance of the stately home, and then setting it on fire to its foundations...