ShadowSong [Book 1 & 2: Complete] [NaNoWriMo16/17]

Chapter 67 - Advice

After a quiet, quick discussion, Banshee and Cryo had a plan.

Or at least, they had a plan of how they were going to get a plan.

At his signal, Banshee threw her hands up in the air and did her best to look exasperated, which really wasn't hard. She was so very done with Manifested and Serpents right now. "Look, Cryo, we don't need to plan out every freakin' detail! Obviously it's somewhere in one of these buildings, let's just go!"

Cryo reached out towards her as she stalked towards the edge of the beam. "Banshee, wait--"

Banshee hesitated just long enough to turn back towards him and touch two fingers to her forehead. "Not waiting anymore, Cryo. I wanna sleep. Can't do that til we find it."

With that, she turned her back to him and leapt off the marketplace beam they were perched on. Her shadow shift ensured she made it all the way to a nearby open window on one of the surrounding buildings. Clinging to the ledge with about three and a half fingertips, she lifted herself up and inside the building.

Her boots hit the carpet inside with a puff of air. They'd picked this window specifically because out of all the ones left open, this one seemed the least likely for someone to be watching them from. Even so, after stepping out of the window's line of sight, Banshee waited for a moment, feeling through the shadows for any sign of life.

When she figured herself alone, Banshee ran down the corridor, heading towards a particular wall to her right.

Reason number two why they'd picked this building, it was the closest one to the temple.

As she was about to hit the wall, Banshee jumped and fell deep into her shadow shift. For a flash, the world around her was starstone. Cool night air took its place, and with it surrounding her, she solidified herself a little and caught the top of a starstone-lit lamp post, swinging herself up and over. She remained there only long enough to point herself towards the temple before she was off.

Banshee kept off the rooftops and off the streets, finding hand and footholds in the middle ground between them. Window ledges, wall decorations, she used everything she could to stay close to the shadows and out of sight. Unlike Kaladrel, Aeledrae didn't have a nightlife. It only made the few people she did pass, Liaisers in their hands, hoods pulled up over their heads as they wandered they streets seem that more suspicious.

Stealthing took her a little longer than it usually would, but Banshee jumped the canal into central Aeledrae and soon after, crossed the second one onto the golden starstone of the temple.

She landed half way up the outer wall of the temple's outmost ring of buildings, scaling it in a few seconds with ease. On top of the roof, she stayed low, clinging to what shadows remained with the light of the Core blazing out from the inner ring. There wasn't a whole lot of people out and about, just the usual temple guards and a few random Speakers doing whatever it was that they did.

Banshee made her way around the outer ring of temple buildings using various handholds just below the rooftops but still above the windows of the topmost floors. With the sheer number of carvings in the golden walls, it was significantly easier, and it wasn't long before she pushed herself off the wall and landed in front of the individuals guarding the entrance to Ella's holding cell.

"Good morning, guys!" she said, touching two fingers to her forehead. "I'm a little bit of a hurry but I needed to see Ella like five minutes ago."

"Of course, Banshee," said one of the guards. A Frostpillar, if the colours and ice motif was anything to go by. "Follow me."

The guard was far swifter of foot than any of those who escorted Olivia had ever been. It made sense, but it still irked her--probably more because she was tired than any actual reason. He collected the keys without the usual fuss the guards made about paperwork or security briefings.