The Catalyst

Chapter 26

If historians ever told the tale of the coup on the Veicira Castle, Dharkan's name would surely be left out. Although, Dharkan did make one tiny contribution. After hearing his peculiar retelling of the failed coup in Laethi, Matt had decided that the Rebels had a nice ring to it.

Matt's rebels spent the day gathering all the weapons they could find. They rendezvoused at nightfall in Blackhill Cemetery. Skirting West-Veicira, this cemetery was home to many crypts and mausoleums in which royals and noble families rotted away in fancy coffins.

The rebels comprised roughly one hundred men . . . and one woman. A young, feisty girl from Veicira, Ivy had her auburn hair in a long braid, she was cloaked in black and armed with a long straight dagger. She claimed she had damn good reasons to fight and they shouldn't try to stop her.

"If Tessa Nightvale allows women in her army, then why shouldn't you?" Ivy had pointed out. To Noah's knowledge, no one had argued with that.

Noah quite liked Ivy and walked beside her now. Their boots sank in mud as they trudged along the path, tombstones lining either side. Noah kept glancing at the carved names, but in the darkness he couldn't read them very well.

"Someone you know was buried here?" Ivy asked.

Noah recalled the soft voice of Victor Starborn's apprentice. He was taken to Blackhill Cemetery this morning.

"Something like that."

They walked at the front of the long procession, with only Matt and Kemon leading the way before them. That kid Ron and his friends were just behind Noah and Ivy, with everyone else crowding after. There was one other familiar face among them.

Noah saw him as he glanced over his shoulder, a pace or two behind Ron. Alik from the Bayou, hefting a wood cutting axe. Noah remembered him and his daughter.

"Came as soon as I heard the news of Matt's escape," Alik had told Noah earlier. "I'm ready to fight. If something happens to me, I know my wife will take care of Fey."

Sinister trees flanked the path, stark branches jutting over the first row of tombstones, hooting owls making the men start and dart their eyes upward. The moon was at its third quarter but frequently shrouded in clouds. Noah turned back around, his breath coming out in white smoke. Ivy pulled her black cloak tighter against a wind that smelled like snow.

The men who weren't carrying too cumbersome a weapon had brought lanterns, but Kemon had advised against lighting too many of them before entering the tunnel. The light might betray their presence.

"We're almost there," Kemon announced.

Soon the halo of one dangling lantern revealed a pale stone crypt surrounded by godly statues. Kemon pushed open the door. Matt, Noah, Ivy and Ron crowded in after him, their boots stirring so much dust that Noah sneezed, startling the others.

"Sorry!" Noah whispered.

They passed rows of sealed coffins with carvings on them, the accumulated dust making it difficult to decipher anything.

"Down there," Kemon said through a cough.

Ron was carrying the lantern, so he stepped closer to Kemon now, shedding light on dark stone stairs with only blackness at the bottom.

"Fun!" Noah said before he went down the stairs after Kemon and Matt.

Kemon examined the smooth stone wall in front of him. "This is it." Too tall for the low ceiling, Noah had to bend his head to join him in the narrow space. Ron and Ivy stood back on the last steps, watching intently over their shoulders.