Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 32

"We have the location of the headquarters of the White Sand. Now we just need you seven to go there, today, on a reconnaissance mission. You'll leave in a few hours. We need anything we can get, video, audio, some of their coms or weapons, anything. Just stay away from anyone and stay out of sight. If you are spotted, they will kill you."

Luna took in a few shuddering breaths as she nodded. It wasn't that she was scared of failing, or dying, she was scared of losing the people she cared about. There was no way they could fail, not this early anyway. And dying was the last of her worries. But when she looked around the room, her stomach clenched.

"Luna, are you alright?" Cleo asked, her tone gentle.

She nodded with a shudder. "I'm okay. I'm just worried."

"Don't be worried, you'll be okay."

"I'm not worried for myself, I'm worried for all of them. I'm not worried that they aren't capable... I'm just worried..."

"Don't be worried for us, Luna," Lily said softly. "As long as we stick together, we'll be alright."

"Do you promise?" Luna looked up at her.

Lily nodded. "I promise."

"Okay."

Grant cleared his throat. "Thanks to Sylvia's input from what she remembers of where she was when she had been taken, we have almost exact coordinates. They have been loaded into your coms, so it shouldn't be difficult to find the Castle."

Lloyd snorted. "He has a castle?" He asked with a weirded-out look.

"It's an underground base, it's just called that. There are some old castle ruins scattered around out there, but it's impossible to know which of it is linked to the White Sand."

"If you have an idea of where it is, why haven't you tried to take them out before?" Lily asked.

"They use some tech that has made it impossible to find the exact location. It's protected land, so we can't just go out there and blow stuff up. That's why it's your job to go out there."

"But the Castle?" Lloyd asked again, his tone almost accusatory.

Cleo's mouth opened and closed. She shrugged, throwing up her hands in defeat. "I don't really know why he has a castle, he's always been on the psychotic side... I suppose it makes him feel powerful. In any case, the place is crawling with his men."

☆★☆

The group flew over the town, ducking through clouds and around electricity poles in their attempt to stay out of sight. They were heading for the headquarters of the White Sand, the Castle of The Eye. Luna was leading them, staring at her wrist as the red light indicating how close they were flashed steadily.

They ducked back below the clouds as they passed the Rostle Slums, passing over a half dead forest and dry empty grassland. At first, all Luna saw was a thick cluster of trees, but as her vision focused, she could see that they had made it. It was a small clearing, the grass coated in a patchy layer of white stones, leading up to a lump of a castle that sat shrouded in night. It was just a pile of ruins, two towers rising from the ground and a squat pile of yellowing grey stone. It covered half the field, the pebbles stopping at the trees. There was a lake behind it all, the water dark and mysterious, the pit almost endless. Overall the sight looked just like the countless other ruins scattered around the forest, but Sylvia continued insisting that this was the one.

There were security cameras in a few places, Luna noticed as she touched down, her wings folding and dissipating. The others landed behind her, each analyzing the castle in their own way. They stayed behind a group of trees, keeping them hidden from cameras.