Veil of Shadows

Chapter 67. Complications

"Come on." Equinox murmured, making an attempt to stick to the shadows, even though the palace was sufficiently lit. He still managed to blend in somewhat, partly due to his shadow magic. So far, Wraith's information had proved true - there were fewer guards than expected, and they hadn't run into any major setbacks. "This way. Take out every guard you see. Quick and quiet. Red, that means no tormenting people."

Red, who had been distracted by the texture of a nearby tapestry, looked back over at him. "Fine," she said, not bothering to lower her voice. Unlike the others, she went nowhere near the darker sections of the hallways.

Whether it was because she didn't care for stealth, or because she hated the dark in any form, no one would ever know.

They fell silent when they heard heavy footsteps up ahead. Pro stepped forward, bounced on her heels a few times to loosen her body, then, without warning, vaulted herself up onto the ceiling. Her hands and knees stuck to the ceiling, and she crawled over so that she was directly above the guard.

Even Ranger winced when Pro dropped down from the ceiling and landed on top of him, crushing him before he could cry out or call an alarm.

"Whoa," Wolf said quietly. "Those are some...pretty useful slime powers, actually."

Pro yanked and unstuck her arm from the guard's armor. "Yeah, you say that now only because I can injure people with it." She made an effort to keep her voice down, but she was just naturally loud, so it had little effect.

Equinox pointed down an adjacent hallway. "Keep going from here. You should know how to get to the throne room now that we've reached this point. I'll be right back. Keep an eye on each other," he said, then slipped off into the shadows.

While the rest kept going, Equinox branched off by himself. Now that nobody else was nearby to observe, he concentrated, contacting Patch through the tether. "How are you holding up?" He asked, sensing a new sort of resolve in her already, even before she spoke.

"Fairly well," Patch responded. "The other apprentices are sparring. The rebels are pretty eager to see the results. They've been working towards this moment for so long. Oh, and I found someone who can see spirits, so I'm not entirely alone."

Equinox hummed, thinking over what she'd said. "That's good. Let me know if anything goes wrong. Or, for a change, if something good happens. For instance, if Shadow's Generals arrive like they said they were going to. If something happens over here, I'll try to let you know. Keep me updated and I'll do the same for you. Any movement from the castle?"

"Nothing so far," Patch said. "All clear. Whatever that shipment was, it's got Notch's palace well and truly preoccupied, luckily for us. Don't waste much more time."

"As long as everything stays clear, this might work," Equinox said, more to himself than to Patch. Then he ended the connection and kept walking, knowing that he'd catch up to the Hero Squad soon if he went a certain way. A twinge in his core brought him to a temporary halt, and for a while, he was still.

All he did was breathe, staring straight ahead. He knew that feeling.

But he just kept walking. There was no way Equinox was going to stop now, especially when they'd gotten this close. No guard was going to keep him from this. Nobody could.

Equinox drew the weapon he personally favored, the rapier, and rounded the bend, plunging the guard into darkness, blinding him. Before the guard could scream, Equinox clamped a hand over his mouth and ran him through with the sword from behind. The darkness dissipated, leaving Equinox standing there, the only thing propping the guard up.

He leaned the dead guard against the wall and kept going, knowing that it had been lucky to catch a loner by surprise. The rest would probably be traveling in groups of two or three to prevent attacks like the one Equinox had just made from being successful.