Veil of Shadows

Chapter 61. Debts Repaid

I AM SO SORRY GUYS. SCHOOL AND REAL LIFE BOOKS AND OTHER THINGS TOOK OVER MY LIFE. I AM SO SO SO SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN MONTHS. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME. I WILL GET BACK ON TRACK EVENTUALLY.
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The last few days had passed with maddening inactivity. Red, surprisingly enough, hadn't murdered anyone, although she "accidentally" punched people on a daily basis, which resulted in more death glare contests between her and Midnight.

Salia's messenger had returned, with news that the forged message from Shadow had been received and approved by the Generals, and that reinforcements were on the way for a final decisive strike. Blaze had grinned for a day straight, proud of her own ability to believably forge handwriting, and that it had finally come in handy.

The entire camp was tense, constantly ready for any attack that King Notch's men might make. They posted guards at the makeshift entrance day and night, rotating every three hours to make sure no one fell asleep on duty, which would result in disastrous consequences.

Equinox's cover had been blown during the initial attack, so he'd been forced to join up with the rebel's camp. He'd tried to make himself useful as best he could, going on scouting missions to report on any visible activity from Notch's guards. Thus far, all was still and silent.

After a day or so, the smug pride that had filled Blaze had mostly faded, and she was rummaging through the satchel she carried at her side, going through the contents once more to ensure that nothing was missing or broken.

A hand clamped over her mouth before she could scream, and she was yanked into the space between two hurriedly-pitched tents.

"I need you to listen, and not try to kill me, or call your friends. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for the destruction that will occur afterward." Wraith whispered.

Blaze glared at the Wither Hybrid over her shoulder, but didn't do anything. Just glared. "Good." Wraith said, removing her hand. "Right, I know that you have no reason to trust me-"

"Trust you-" Blaze began indignantly, but was cut off.

"-but I didn't sign up for a war. And as far as I've seen, you people are capable of quite a lot. You might be able to stop this madness. King Notch is planning to blow up this camp with TNT cannons. I told him that I'd provide him with coordinates. I'm going to give him the wrong coordinates. Whether you choose to believe me or not, I don't care. But this is my apology for trying to kill you. We're even now, and I don't owe you a thing. We are done - we have no quarrel with each other. I do not care about you, or anyone else in the Hero Squad. I just want this mess cleared away. Understand?"

"So what the devil made you change your mind-"

"I asked if you understood. Yes or no?" Wraith asked, already stepping away, fading into black mist.

"Yes." Blaze replied irritably. "But why would you-"

But Wraith was gone, and Blaze was left to wonder why the Wither Hybrid had decided to help them out, just this once. Instead, she resorted to glaring at the ground. And it was only then that she noticed a small envelope on the hard-packed earth, with a glass vial or clear liquid resting on top of it, as if to stop it from blowing away in the wind.

Kneeling down, Blaze picked up the envelope and the glass vial, ripped open the envelope, and was unsurprised when she found a note inside.

"Hero Squad-
I stole this from the royal healers. This will help return the Prince of the End to consciousness within a few hours. And tell the one you call Salia that she has my eternal respect for having the guts to throw a lamp at Notch's head.
                            ~ W"

Blaze's scowl deepened. Something was definitely not right here. Why would Wraith suddenly start helping the Hero Squad secretly? Did she had an ulterior motive? Was there some hidden purpose they weren't yet aware of?

"I'm honestly surprised you didn't murder her." Blaze said without turning around.

Ranger stepped out of the shadows. "I do have to repay her for putting a dagger in my heart. You have any idea why Wraith is suddenly playing nice?"

"Heck if I know." Blaze muttered. "So how are things going with Red?" She asked, changing the subject, knowing that they wouldn't get anywhere wondering about the motives of the strange assassin.

"Now that she's out of my head, she seems a bit more tame. That being said, do not, under any circumstances, tell her I just said that." Ranger replied, and Blaze smiled faintly.

"How many times has she annoyed Midnight?"

"More than I care to count. If I wasn't here, they likely would have killed each other by now. Red just doesn't know when to shut up, and Mid is not amused by that fact."

Wolf's head popped out from behind the tent. "That makes two of us. The not knowing when to shut up part, I mean."

"Yes. We are all aware of that."

Wolf crossed her arms, glancing once at the vial, then looked at Blaze, as if in question. Blaze shook her head almost imperceptibly, and Wolf understood, not pushing the matter. "So. TNT cannons. We all knew that Notch was going to make his attempt at an attack eventually."

"If Wraith holds true to her word - which I doubt - we might be safe. But considering her current track record with us, I'm not really in the mood to start trusting her." Ranger replied. "I say we take no chances."

"And if we somehow alert King Notch that we know of his attack, and in the process give away our location, we'll definitely be in for a lot of trouble. I'm not all that surprised that Wraith did what she did. She said that she didn't sign up for a war - so she's giving us the opportunity to crash it before it starts. In the process, she's indirectly apologizing for what she did in the hope that we'll just leave her alone afterward." Blaze blinked.

"Leave her alone? Good luck with that." Ranger frowned slightly. "But what's the glass vial for?"

"Long story." Blaze replied, turning to walk to the far side of the camp. "I'll need to go and see the camp healer. You'll find out what it's for soon enough, trust me."