THE KEEPERS RISE

Chapter 15 - Black Sheep - Part 3

*Remember to click the play button to listen to the soundtrack as you read!*

Ivy's pointed ears perked up, and Velda jumped and slammed herself against the wall. "Did you hear that?"

Ivy looked down the left hall placidly. "It seems as if someone else is here," she said. "I'll go investigate." Ivy left Velda cowering against the hallway's edge, and suddenly alone in the near-complete darkness, Velda was struck by uneasy fear. She huddled down into a ball, trying to ignore it. The deep golden light from Ivy's stone faded into the distance and stopped near a door.

They heard another sound, louder and definitely humanoid, and Ivy scanned her key card. A figure's torso drooped out of a doorway, and with lightning-quick reflexes, Ivy caught them before they hit the floor, pulling them out of the room and propping the person up into an unsteady sitting position. Their head flopped onto one shoulder, shifting an object under their clothes. Ivy found a chain around their neck and pulled it to reveal a Dark, circular Magistone, shaped like a skipping stone.

Curiosity overpowering her terror, Velda crept towards Ivy. The mage had long, strikingly ginger hair and was holding her sword with an arm that was nearly torn apart by a blade wound. She was dressed in black, so was most likely an officer of Quin or Trycho's. Velda looked closer and saw dark blue accents on her intact sleeve, pants, and shoes. She'd never paid enough attention to the Dark officers' clothes to notice them before. A few were shaped like lightning bolts. Thick blood dripped onto the floor as Ivy knelt to examine the mage. "This looks bad," she said eventually, sounding unusually anxious. "She's alive, but barely."

The mage moaned again. She clearly wasn't an anthrod or kathumis, and she looked remarkably human, but her dark clothes suggested otherwise. "Reuben?" she muttered. She suddenly came to and edged away from Ivy and her Powerstone's light. "Who are you?" Then, realization dawned upon her face. "You're two of the Keepers, aren't you?" She leaned back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling with an angry, defeated expression. "Fine, finish the job if you must. I can't stop you."

Ivy glanced at Velda nervously. "We're not here to hurt anyone," Velda said. "Even Dameon swore to not harm any Dark officers."

The elf nodded and hesitantly released a stream of her magic. "Let me help you," she said, reaching for the mage's arm. She was too weak to resist the Keeper's touch and looked sullenly away as Ivy's orange magic wrapped around the open wound. "What happened?"

The mage's eyes looked unfocused. "The Red Wolves stormed the ship," she mumbled. "They tried to kill me and Reuben. He's probably gone, or dead. Maybe both. I thought I saw him come in there with me, though," she said, words beginning to slur together. Ivy gently held the mage's head up and continued her work with a concerned gaze.

Velda stepped past them and into the room, and Chalchiuitl emerged from her stone again to examine the area with her. It seemed like some sort of meeting space, but it was in complete disarray. A few long tables and plenty of chairs were scattered around the edges of the room, though most of them were collected in a pile in the back. She walked up to one of the upturned tables thoughtfully. "The Red Wolves made quite a mess if that mage was telling the truth."

Cha suddenly gasped, "Keeper, here!" Velda looked to where Cha was floating. Under the largest of the tables was another Dark humanoid, face speckled with blood despite no obvious large wounds being visible. She gathered her courage and reached for her magic, levering the desk off of him in a flurry of green light. She held her hands up, ready to face the now freed man, but he didn't stir.

Velda found that the man was much heavier than she expected, and made use of her magic again to pull him into the middle of the room. He wore a long royal blue cloak over his black uniform, and Velda noticed a Magistone embedded in the cloak's fastener. His hair was also rather long and a vibrant ginger color. Holding a few fingers to his neck, she found a pulse, but it was weak. "Ivy," she called shakily, "there's another one."