Lucidity

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Build Up

Kosa Sommer had been having a terrible week.

Since Caitlyn had been responsible for dealing with most interactions with Timothy Crayver and Imperon - that tyrant had been for a couple of visits - it meant that Kosa was left in charge of the body for any war meetings. She had to feign Caitlyn's interest while all she wanted to do was walk the bustling streets with Natalia. But as Caitlyn kept oh-so-helpfully reminding her, everything was going better than planned. Crayver had managed to reinstate Caitlyn, not as a Sequor, but as his future wife. While in general this would be deemed unnecessary, there was one valuable quirk: He'd managed to delay the weapon's premiere to the day of their wedding, for what greater gift was there than genocide.

To be honest, as much as I hate Crayver, it's a sweet thought. Imagine somebody ending a war for you.

"Imagine ending a war you have nothing to do with," grumbled Kosa, yanking off the sparkly engagement ring. She hated it so much. Normally she would have enjoyed such a precious artifact, but it stood for a bond she wanted no part in.

Within moments, she had to put it back on and get back off the soft bed. Somebody had knocked. Who knew who this was, but whoever it was, they might find it odd that the blushing bride to be was almost passed out on a bed and looked miserable. Fortunately, it turned out to be Natalia.

The redhead handed her a note. "Kosa or Caitlyn?"

"Kosa, but Caitlyn seems pretty aware of what's going on."

Natalia sighed, irritated, "Of course she's listening." Her attention returned to the note. "I guess I needn't have written it with you being alone and all. Oburon and a kid are here. They said you'd know what for?"

Kosa nodded, unfolding the note anyway. "Your penmanship is so pretty."

"Mm, well, a pretty note for a pretty lady."

Kosa blushed slightly, almost cursing. She had no way of hiding it, so she was forced to accept that Natalia would see. The pretty woman smirked, then left, letting her hand brush against Kosa's. That had to have been deliberate, right? That girl clearly wasn't straight, yet Caitlyn didn't think so.

Can you quieten your thoughts, please? We have a man to poison.

Right.

Thankfully, Natalia had written where they were waiting in the note. In Kosa's flustered state, she'd forgotten to ask. Natalia had that sort of effect on her, especially since Caitlyn had paid for the hair dye. She was right; red hair suited her. Then again, Kosa doubted anything didn't suit Natalia Lax.

By the time she reached the alley they were waiting in, Caitlyn had taken over. The moment she saw Oburon, she burst out laughing. Instead of his standard robes, he was in a loose white shirt. He looked like your standard local peasant.

"You look so different," she hummed.

"I didn't want to stand out," he replied, looking around cautiously. Being seen together was dangerous. It had meant she'd had to refrain from kissing him, even though she'd have loved to. Instead, she interlaced Kosa's bony fingers with his.

Only then did she notice Jacob, who was wearing a blue cloak over a beige shirt and loose umber pantaloons. He handed her a bottle of violet liquid and smiled. "Pour this into your soup. Imperon will insist on the two of you switching, so try to convincingly sell that he thrawted you, but not enough for Crayver to pick up on it. That way his magical abilities will be compromised and he'll have no way of seeing our plans."

"What's that?" Oburon had lifted her hand, revealing her engagement ring.

Caitlyn tensed up slightly, uncomfortable at the prospect of telling the boy she loved that she was engaged to the man she was trying to thwart. "Turns out Crayver is more gullible than we thought. To be honest, it's a good thing you're here. The weapon will only be launched on our wedding day in two weeks."