The Curse's Breath

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Call." Celni murmured.

"Four guards on the perimeter, three on the north gate."

Celni gently pushed her earpiece in farther as the voice buzzed through her ear. "Breeds?" she questioned.

"Two fire, one venom at the gate, and one fire, one venom and two forest on perimeter. I don't see any water dragons."

Celni nodded. "Thanks, Rozanel."

"No problem. Hyden and I will be watching your guys' backs, but we can't do much when you're inside. So try not to die."

She smiled. "Will do."

A second voice came into her ear. "Remember, this is just a spying mission. I don't want you attempting to rescue any of the prisoners. If anything goes wrong, your group is getting picked up right then and there."

Celni gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing with all her might that Jahier didn't have to be the one watching over their mission. "Yes, sir." She breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't say anything else.

She turned to peer over the boulder she was hiding behind. The abandoned city of Inua lay a couple hundred yards in front of her. Its previously tall buildings and formidable walls had been damaged by battles, time, and nature. Green ivy clung to every structure and trees had sprouted wherever they pleased, their power of growth alone tearing up years of human strength and progress. Celni could spot the faintest forms of dragons walking along the wall. Like Rozanel had said, there were three standing guard by the north gate, the main entrance into the city.

Celni shifted back around so her back was against the boulder. "Well, what do you think?" she asked, turning her head to look at Srenya, Dyfar, and Keran, who were sitting beside her.

Srenya raised up on her knees and cast a quick glance past the boulder. "There's no way we can get in through the front gate," she said dryly. "Too many chances of getting noticed."

Dyfar's blue eyes showed no emotion of either fear or confidence. "Side entrance," he said simply. "East side."

Celni nodded in understanding. "Hyden, I need eyes on the east gate."

"Already ahead of you," his voice said. "Looks like there's a venom along with two water dragons patrolling over here. And... two chameleons hiding in the bushes just outside the gate."

Celni sighed. "Clearly we can't get past there, either."

"Keran lived here when he was a kid," Srenya piped up. "He might know something."

Keran smiled at Srenya before looking at Celni and nodding. "When the attack happened and we had to leave, I was very young, but I still remember it pretty well."

"Do you remember if there were any other ways to get into the city? Secret gates, tunnels, even sewers?" she questioned.

His dark brown eyes were thoughtful for a moment before he shook his head. "I'm sure we have sewers somewhere, but I don't know where the entrances would be."

She pursed her lips. "Then we'll have to scale the wall."

"That's insane," Srenya snapped. "There's no way we'll be able to do that. Do you see how tall that wall is?"

"Well, we can't exactly waltz through the gates, now can we?" Celni looked at Srenya with a firm gaze. "It's the only option, Srenya."

"She's right," Keran added softly to her. "You know she is."

Srenya sighed and folded her arms. "Fine."

"Alright. Let's move." Celni moved so she was resting on the balls of her feet. "If we get caught, split into twos and try to lose them. Do not engage."