Blood of Decusia

Chapter Nineteen

I woke up from a dreamless sleep to see that Marcus and Warner were already awake. The sun was peeking through the trees and in a space of trees, I noticed something I hadn't yesterday: a mountain. It was dark and looming, even in the morning sun. The longer I looked at it, the more warmth left my body, leaving behind goosebumps on my arms.
"We should leave soon," Warner said, snapping me out of my daze, "if we're lucky, we can reach Tenebris before nightfall, camp out and then climb in the morning."
"No," I said.
"What?"
Warner turned to me.
"We do it," I said, "Tonight."
"Clove-" Marcus started.
"We've lost so much time," I said, standing up, "If we're going to do this, we're doing it tonight."
I expected an argument, but Warmer and Marcus just exchanged a look. After a moment of silence, Warner sighed and hefted the bag at his side.
"You both are going to get me killed."
We walked in silence for a long time, Warner leading the way, with Marcus trailing behind me. We stopped a few times to drink and snack on some of the other food they had taken from the castle.Warner and Marcus tried to talk to me a few times, but I was unresponsive.
A dark cloud had come over my mind and the thoughts were muddled. By the end of the day, I would face him. The man who murdered my parents, my aunt, who imprisoned my brother. This man has taken everyone from me, everyone I had ever cared about.
I could feel Marcus's presence behind me. I could even feel the humming of power from the dagger that hung on his side. It was calling me, begging me to take it. To take it and drive it through the heart of anyone that stood in my way. I shook it off, my head clearing slightly.
"Hey."
Marcus's voice caused me to flinch. He was right beside me now, his hand inches from my own. For some reason, I wanted to grab it. I clenched my fist and slowly turned to face him. Just like last night, I felt his eyes pulling me. Like I was going to drown in the stormy sea that was brewing. 
"You ok?"
His face was serious, like when we first met. I still felt his hands on me, pulling me behind the tree. Like me, he had lost so much, but yet, he had so much to live for. Lupidium, that was who he fought for. I knew it killed him to leave them behind.
I tore away from this gaze and looked toward Warner's back. He had also left people behind, a brother, parents. He had so much more to lose than Marcus and I, but he had chosen to come with us.
Both of them had chosen to come, to leave their home in its most vulnerable time to embark on a suicide mission. Because they cared about me, believed in me. I was fighting for them, for their families, for the people who I knew and didn't know.
They needed to live. More than me, they needed to come home. I told myself that if it came down to it, I would die if it meant they could live. They would leave that mountain. I knew that either of them would lay their  life on the line for this mission, otherwise they wouldn't  have come. It wouldn't come to that, I wouldn't let it.
"Clove?"
I turned back to him, swallowing a lump in my throat. I grabbed his hand and squeezed. He looked down and then back at me, frowning as if he could read my thoughts. He opened his mouth to say something.
"Holy shit," Warner said.
Marcus and I turned away from each other to face him. Warner had stopped dead in his tracks. We had reached the end of the forest and before there were no more trees, only the towering of the mountain. I could feel the air escape from my lungs as the chills ran down my body.
"Dominius," Marcus breathed.
It was right out of a grim fairy tale, or a nightmare, the sun was dipping behind a single peak. Above, I could see winged creatures flying high above, but something told me those weren't birds: not normal kind anyway.
Suddenly I could feel a slight heat in my chest. I reached for the stone and saw Marcus put a hand to his side, but didn't remove the dagger. We exchanged a worried look.
"He's up there," I said.
Warner noticed our movements and turned back to face the mountain.
"It's probably been centuries since they were all in the same place," he said, referring to the stones.
"We're losing daylight," Marcus said, "We need to leave now if we want a shot of getting to the top before it's too dark."
The sun was probably ¾ of the way down, quickly disappearing behind the peak. It was going to be close. I knew there were creatures that lurked in that mountain that came out of hiding at night.
We approached the base. There was no set path, it barely looked scaleable. Warner reached into his pack and pulled out a wrapped length of rope. He unwound it and wrapped the middle around my waist and tied it tight so there were two long ends, about 4-5 feet long on either end. He tied one end around his waist, while Marcus did the same with the other end.
"No way," I breathed, "no, no."
"It's our only option," Marcus said, not looking at me as he put his left foot in a hold in the black rock of the mountain that I hadn't noticed.
"I don't know how to climb," I said.
Warner sighed and put a hand on my shaking shoulder.
"Clove," he said, "You can do this."
He didn't say it, but I knew he meant I had to do this. This was the only way in, we had no choice. I felt a slight tug at my waist and saw Marcus had already started up the mountain.
"Just try to follow Marcus," Warner said, softly, "Mirror his movements."
I took a deep breath and slowly followed Marcus up the mountain. Every time my hand or foot found a ledge, I waited for the moment where I plummeted down the mountain, but it never came. Every couple of minutes, Marcus would freeze, whipping his head back and forth, as if he sensed something.
We climbed in silence for what felt like hours. The sun was almost completely gone, the sky above us turning into a inky black with no stars in sight. My hands were aching and bloody, I was panting and my legs were shaking.
I was about to say I couldn't make it anymore.
"There's a cave!" Marcus called, pulling himself up and over a cliff ledge. 
I could feel the tension of the rope as he basically pulled me up and alongside him. I collapsed, exhausted, as Warner climbed up behind me. The three of us sat there for a moment, silent except for our heavy breathing. The cave behind us was somehow even blacker than the sky above, as if it would swallow any kind of light. I shivered, thinking about what lurked inside.
Marcus and Warner untied the ropes around their waist. I tried, but my hands were too sore. Without a word, Marcus reached over and untied the knot for me. He then grabbed my hands and turned them palms up. There were scrapes and blood all over my palms. He took the canteen and poured some of the water on them. He then did the same for himself and handed the canteen over to Warner.
He then stood up and walked over to the edge of the cliff. He craned his neck, looking up, squinting as if he was looking for something.
"You see anything?" Warner asked, taking a swig of the water before passing it over to me.
The cold water felt amazing in my dry mouth. I then dumped some in my face and rubbed hard enough until I thought I had removed most of the makeup Polli and Olivia had put on.
"No," Marcus scowled, turning back to us, "It must be in the mountain itself."
"How are we supposed to get in?" I asked, passing the water to him.
He took a long drink, as if he was contemplating.
"That's not our biggest problem," he said, taking another swig.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
Getting in is our top priority and if we can't do that-.
"Notice how quiet it's been?" Warner asked, his face darkening.
"Quiet?"
"No monsters, no creatures, nothing to try and stop us from coming," Marcus said.
I realized I had been so concerned with not falling off the mountain, I realized that we hadn't really met any obstacles. Instinctively, I reached a hand to my neck, the stone cold and cool against my skin.
If Marcus and I had felt the power from the stones' proximity, there's no way Dominius didn't. That thought left my mouth dry again, my heart seemed to stop. He knew we were coming. He was letting us come without obstacles. Which means-
"It's a trap-," I breathed.
Their grim expressions confirmed it. I swore under my breath. We were idiots to think that the element of surprise was on our side.
"What do we do?" I asked, "He knows we're here."
"Give me a second," Marcus said, pacing.
"We need to split up," Warner said, not looking at either of us.
"No," Marcus said, whirling on him, "Are you serious?"
Warner sighed and stood up, facing his friend.
"He's backed us into a corner," Warner explained, "If we separate, it will be harder to pick us all off."
"No, we're dead if we don't stay together," Marcus argued.
"If we get caught," Warner said, slowly, "Then we're giving him both of the stones. You two need to be as far away from each other as possible until we can corner him."
I could see on Marcus's face that he knew Warner was right. And as much as I didn't want to split up, I also knew he was right. It was the only way we even remotely stood a chance.
I stood up, my legs still a little shaky and laid a hand on Marcus's arm. He turned to me and without thinking, I placed a hand against his cheek. He sucked in a breath, his skin warm against my palm.
"It's ok," I said, "We need to do this."
He nodded, and I quickly pulled my hand away. Warner was trying not to look uncomfortable and failing. I stepped away from Marcus and turned back to Warner.
"What do we do?" I asked.
Warner looked up toward the peak.
"One of us should keep climbing," he said, "Someone should maybe go down a little lower and see if we missed a way in."
He craned his neck trying to look up and down the length of the mountain before turning toward the entrance of the cave. Marcus and I knew what he was thinking at the same time.
"You've got to be kidding me," Marcus breathed, following Warner's gaze into the cave.
    "Ok," I said, taking a deep breath, "I'll take the cave."
    "No," Marcus said, "You're not going in alone."
    "We have no choice," I said, "I can't climb as well as you two can."
    Marcus looked furious, but didn't say anything. Warner continued to avoid looking at us.  After a long moment, Marcus finally sighed.
    "Fine," he acquiesced, "When we find a way in, stay hidden. Try and make your way into the dungeons."
To free Sage, I thought.
"Once he's free, don't leave unless absolutely necessary. Do not advance until we're all together."
We all knew he was waiting for us, he knew we were here, why we were here. We could do all the planning in the world, but the moment we found our way in, we were doomed.
"Let's do this," Warner said.
He went to the side of the rock and started to climb up, much faster than when it was the three of us. I turned to make my way into the cave, but Marcus grabbed my arm. I turned to face, his eyes once again, drawing me in.
"Clove," he said, "I just want you to know, um, if we don't make it out-."
He rubbed the back of his neck, struggling with the words.
"Thank you," I jumped in, trying to save him, "For everything. You both saved my life, multiple times."
I opened my mouth to say more, but all of a sudden his lips were on mine. For a brief moment, I froze, but then I began to kiss him back. At first, there was a sense of desperation behind it, but then his hands were in my hair and mine were around his neck, it became deeper, more passionate.
My heart was beating so fast, I thought it was going to explode. A warmth that had started on my lips had worked its way all the way down to my toes. Every negative thought had left my mind, replaced with him. I wanted him, needed him.
Just as soon as it happened, he broke away. His face was red and I could only imagine what mine looked like.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he murmured, his hands moving from my hair to my face.
"Was that a goodbye?" I whispered, looking up at him.
He smiled at me, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. Instead of responding, he gave one more brief, but gentle kiss. He then turned back toward the edge, his eyes meeting one more time before he climbed down and disappeared.
I stared at the place where I had seen him. I put a hand to my lips which were still tingling. I took a deep breath, the warmth still filling me and turned to face the cave.
I was immediately swallowed by the darkness. I ran my fingers along the cool rock, feeling for something, anything. There had to be a way in, or I was just walking into even more danger. As my fingers ran over a notch in the wall, heat began to rise in my chest.
I froze and backed up, trying to find the same place as before. I found it and this time when I pushed against it with my finger, I heard something click. I put my other hand on the wall and pushed. It shifted slightly. It was a door.
It was heavy. I pushed as hard as I could, but it only opened slightly. I threw my weight against it. Pain shot down my body, but I gritted my teeth and did it again. Again. Again.
On the fourth try, it swung open and I fell flat on the ground. Groaning, I propped myself on my elbows and shakily got to my feet. The light was dim, but I could make out that I was in a cell. Immediate panic set in as I turned back towards the door, but there was only a bare dirt wall behind me.
I turned back to the cell bars and pushed. It swung open easily with a loud creak. I breathed a sigh of relief. I stepped out and looked around. There was a line of cells running along both walls. I started down the hall, looking through the cells. They were empty, but I half expected someone or something to pop out.
The further I went down the hall, the darker the shadows that casted across the cells. I finally reached the end and heard something shift on the dirt floor.
"Hello?" I whispered.
I waited. Silence.
"Sage?" I whispered.
I waited again. Silence. I was about to call again, when I heard it. A small groan.
"Sage!" I whispered again, more frantically.
The groan came again, louder this time. I quickly ran to the door and pushed. Just like the cell I came in through, it swung open easily. His cell was unlocked. Which meant-.
I pushed that thought out of my head and rushed inside. He was bent over on his knees, so I couldn't see his face. He had chains on his wrists that ran to the wall. I put a hand on his back, his white shirt dirty and covered in stains that looked like blood. He flinched and tried to shift away, but groaned.
"Hey, hey," I murmured, "It's ok, it's me."
He slowly lifted his head to face me. It was all I could do not to gasp. One of his eyes was swollen shut, while the other had a giant cut above it that was bleeding. He had a split lip, a broken nose, and two large bruises on either side of his jaw.
Despite the state of his face, I knew this was my brother. It had been 10 years and he was now the spitting image of my father, especially that picture from the camp. He had the same dark blonde hair and light brown eyes.
I cupped his face in my eyes, the tears stinging my eyes.
"Sage?" I whispered.
His good eye squinted at me.
"Mom?" he murmured.
I almost choked on the sob that came out. I pressed his forehead against mine as the tears came streaming down my face.
"No," I whispered, "It's me, it's Clove."
"Clove?"
"Yes," I sobbed, "Yes, it's me, I'm here."
"Clove," he breathed, and I could hear his voice catch.
We stayed in that position for a long time. Finally, I slowly moved away and focused on his chains. I could feel the burn in my chest from both the necklace and the rage inside me. I placed my hand on the chain that held Sage to the wall.
My hands started glowing and within seconds, the metal had melted. Sage's arms collapsed and he let out a groan.
"Can you stand?" I asked, kneeling down next to him.
"Yeah," he murmured, "Just give me a second."
I grabbed his arm and slowly, he got to his feet. I put an arm around his waist, but he shrugged me off.
"I can walk," he winced.
I nodded and was about to head toward the door, when he touched my arm and enveloped me in a hug.
"When did you grow up?" he asked.
"I was alone," I said, sounding harsher than I meant, "I had to."
The look on his face immediately changed. Even through all of the cuts, bruises, and everything, I could see him cringing.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I just-."
He was interrupted by a loud crash from somewhere beyond the cells and the male scream that followed sent chills down my spine