Smoke Rising: Book III

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Emery

The blackness hugs us in cold, welcoming arms as we drift through the frosty land. There are only about sixty of us. A few new Casters that have the most control over their power. The half-bloods that wanted to join us, and a few of Blue's goons. She, however, stayed behind for this venture. If something were to happen to us, she needs to be safe to organize the rescue plan. Not that I'll let anything happen to us, but Eli insisted.

He doesn't think this is a good idea. "They are a maximum security Sector. You know how it was when you were in prison there. They send the cruelest, most violent soldiers there."

"That's exactly why we have to go there. If we take their base, no one will doubt us."

He continued to try and talk me out of it, but he should have known better. I don't change my mind easily. I think it's hard for him not to be in control, but he's going to have to get over it.

Our feet move over the white tipped grass, crunching quietly under the weight of our boots. There is a large wall surrounding the base, due to the prison on the west side of the sector. I remember being brought here. It was this time, two years ago. They spent the first few days starving me in darkness. I'm almost excited to pay the Warden a visit.

As we approach the gate, I think of blood I spit on his office floor. How I hoped it would stain and remind him of me every day for the rest of his service. I wanted him to remember me, that way he knew how he never broke me. The things I could do to him once we take this base fuel me, drive me forward, make me focus that much harder.

Although I don't believe taking this place will be as hard as Eli believes, I don't think it will be easy. The plan is to use a forcefield—either from the shields Bug engineered or magic—as we break through the front entrance. Then we hit whatever attacking soldiers come at us with a series of sleeping potions that have been prepared. After that, we storm the building, Huxley will cut the power to the building, and we've already surrounded it with trapping stones. The ones I'm not exactly sure how I knew how to make. I don't remember reading them in my family's spell book, but maybe the memory was just lost in a sea of information.

As soon as we step inside, I'll say the spell and cut off communications while also trapping everyone inside. We'll refrain from killing anyone we can, but this is a revolution, and no revolution was ever won without bloodshed. We all know this. We're all prepared to be the shedders, and be the one shedding.

We come around the corner, and pause at the edge. I look over my shoulder, leading a small team of ten. There are other teams, or squads as Jackson calls them, spread out all around the base. Some of them are waiting to secure the perimeter, making sure no one is coming. Some are planning to climb over the walls, and some are going to use magic to dig a hole under the wall. But my squad is the first one in, which means I have to get my timing exactly right for the trapping spell, in risk of locking some of our people out.

Eli looks confused. "It's too quiet... and dark," he whispers.

What if they're expecting us?

"I guess we'll just have to find out why inside," I whisper back, and then I turn on my heel, pivot around the corner of the wall and run for the gates as fast as I can. The team trails behind me quietly, following my lead.

But as we approach the gate, I immediately realize that something is wrong too. The gates are wide open. I step into the opening, ready to put a forcefield up if need be, and I expect to be rained with bullets. Instead, there are soldiers lining the road up to the main building. They stand silent and still as their heads all begin to turn to face me.

"Emery..." Eli warns, touching my shoulder and flooding me with caution.

I ignore it, and continue walking down the road. I pass two soldiers, then ten, and I'm about a quarter way down the road before I stop. The team stops with me, aiming guns and glowing golden palms at the soldiers waiting for us.

I shake my head and shrug. "What's going on?"

"We've been waiting for you," a woman says from down the road. She stands beside a chair with a prisoner sitting with a bag over his or her head. I walk closer, gesturing for Eli and the others to stay put. As I grow closer, the soldiers begin to whisper and murmur.

Who is the person sitting in the chair? It's not Ella, the body is too big. It can't be anyone else I care about, because I know for a fact they're safe. What is going on here? "Why have you been waiting?" I ask suspiciously, afraid I've fallen right into a trap.

The woman standing tall with her chin in the air leans over and pulls the bag off the prisoners head, revealing the warden bloody and bruised face. "To join you."

Something happens inside of me. A light blooms. A fire ignites. A hundred sparks of electricity zap gently in my chest. And all the memories of being in prison flood through me.

The beatings.

Starving.

Being lost in darkness for days.

Feeling the cold creep inside my bones and settle in for hours and hours.

The boiling hot water burning my lungs as he drowned me for fun.

"Emery White?" He mumbles, lifting his head to meet my gaze. "I—I'm so sorry—" he sobs.

And my body takes control of my mind and my hands lift to his forehead as I twist his neck and send a thousand bolts of electricity into his brain, liquefying the contents inside his skull.

I look up at the woman who has hand delivered the warden to me and smile darkly. "Welcome to the revolution."