The Realm Protectors

Chapter 24 - Nikolina

I rub my hands together, breathing on them to try and fight off the chill. I push aside the tent flap and enter our temporary base of commands at the gateway collapse sight. It's colder here than in the city, probably because and any all light that was here last night was sucked into the void of the collapsed gateway.

It was a massacre.

When the tunneler dropped us off at the gateway a few hours ago, the Five Star General, Officer Alexxi, and the Chief of Intelligence behind us, we were met with the sight of bodies and a black ring of burnt grass.

When the gateway was still functioning, it was one of the most beautiful places in Capital. It was placed a little ways outside of the city for protection, but it was still a sight to behold. There was a guard post lining the road, and a giant white stone circle on the ground was at the end of it. Eight giant pillars, each carved with a symbol of a High Arch position, surrounded the rip in the air, outlined with an arch of white marble.

Now there's nothing there but a pile of bodies and a thin, shimmery scar. The smell of death lingers on the air. It reminds me of the graveyards in Mork. They all reek of decay – both from the humans buried there and from the deteriorating stone walls, tombstones, and all the various flora.

The tent is slightly warmer, since there are two fire elementals inside keeping the room warm. A circle of folding chairs surrounds a bulletin board full of pictures and papers, pinned up and connected with yarn. Nile is staring at it like he's interrogating it. Avani is reclining in a folding chair, sipping hot chocolate. We all changed out of our Coronauguration outfits pretty much as soon as we got here, opting for thermal leggings or sweatpants and warm sweaters.

"All of the people in the surrounding area have been interviewed by Alexxi, his team, and I." I tell Nile. He nods, never looking away from the board.

"Tell me again how many soldiers were lost." He turns to Avani. She makes him wait while she takes another sip of the steaming liquid.

"Sixteen guards that were posted around the gateway are missing." Avani recites. "Another eight were inside the guard post, and all eight were found with unconscious. Three died before they could reach the hospital, four are in critical condition, and one is already in recovery."

"Have we interviewed him yet?" Nile asks me. I shake my head.

"Last I checked, he wasn't awake." I remind him.

Nile huffs and turns back to his board. He looks at the pictures of the guards that the Chief of Intelligence pulled from the files. Twenty-four men and women who are fighting for their lives or MIA.

The tent flap opens and the Chief of Intelligence walks in. He nods his head in greeting.

"Arch Aquino, any news?" He asks.

"None yet, Chief Carmichael." Nile replies. "Could this possibly be a hate crime against Capital?"

"Hate crime?" Avani asks. Her voice is weird, choked up with emotion.

"There are some old-fashioned elementals out there who aren't fans of a blended country." Chief Carmichael explains to her. "There hasn't been anything like it in decades, maybe even a century."

"What have you found?" I ask him.

"Officer Alexxi's teams have thoroughly searched the surrounding area, as you know Arch Voronkova." Carmichael says. "No one saw anything. They were all paying attention to the broadcast of the dance, if they were home at all."

"Well, you can't say this wasn't a planned attack." Nile huffs. "The timing is too perfect. They used the broadcast of the ceremonies to their advantage."