A sunlit mountain peak,

A shadow filled sea.

Rise up from the sea to the peak.

TOP!

I have fun making these. 

Part VIII

Lianna took a deep breath, telling herself to concentrate. “Raymond,” she said, her eyes closed. “What?” he asked, sounding rather startled. “Where are we?” she asked. “I know just as well as you do, Lianna,” he said, with just a little bit of acid in his voice, “that we are lost.”

“No, we’re not. We’re just not where we are supposed to be,” she told him, opening her eyes. He scowled. “Stop talking in riddles.”

Lianna sighed. “I’m not talking in riddles. Do you know where we are?” 

“Well, yes, but I don’t know how we’re going to get to the front door.” 

“Where are we then?”

“In a hallway. With lots of doors. Someone’s snoring in one of them. Everyone else walking here is looking at us funny. I think we’re in the servant’s quarters.”

Lianna grinned. “Yes. I agree. So, they will know where the front door is, right? We need to ask one of them.” Raymond raised an eyebrow. “Sure. But if it doesn’t work, it isn’t my fault.” Lianna looked at him, and smiled humorlessly. “You think it won’t work,” she observed. He nodded, answering immediately, “No, I think it’s an awful plan.” 

Shrugging, Lianna stopped the first person she saw. “Excuse me, ma’am, but do you know how we could get to the main door?” she asked. The woman gave a short bark of laughter. “How did you get here, then? This is about as far away from there as you could possibly be,” she deadpanned, with a slight accent.. Raymond grinned at Lianna, whispering, “I told you so!” She ignored him.

“We’re not from around here,” she excused herself. The woman gave an unimpressed look. “We’re from Malandrife. I’m Annali, and this my brother, Ray. We’re art school exchange students, and we are very interested in… er… doors… and wanted to see the main one, because we’ve heard it’s quite amazing to behold.” 

The woman didn’t buy it. Lianna could tell, but she kept going, a little uncertainly. “Someone in the lobby gave us directions, but they’ve clearly sent us on a wild goose chase.”

The woman sighed. “You don’t look Malandrifan,” she said with an even stronger accent, which Lianna could place now. 

It was Malandrifan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Khaira gasped. Taz’s face appeared over the branch she’d just fallen off of. “I told you so,” he mouthed. “Are you okay?” he asked. Khai rolled her eyes. “Fine. Just the wind knocked out of me…” she said, hauling herself up to a sitting position. And then nearly fell back down again. 

Because standing directly in front of her, not where Taz could see, was a tall man. “Hello,” she said nervously. He nodded a greeting. “Kazadahn?” he asked her. When she nodded yes, he shook his head, tisking. “You ought to have better judgement than to go climbing such large trees!” he told her. 

She looked up at Taz, who was shaking with silent laughter and mouthing “I told you so”s. Khai gave him a look of what she hoped was utter disdain. Then she turned back to the man, who was an older one, with dark skin and grey hair. “I’m fine, though,” she assured him, “and it’s not that big of a tree.”

He nodded ilke he didn’t believe her. Khaira didn’t push it, though. “Well, now I’d better go, as I’ve made sure you’re okay. It’s been nice meeting you, Khaira of Kazadeh.” And with that, he left. But as he did, Khai thought she noticed a thing bronze chain sparkle in the sunlight…

“Well. That was a close one,” said Taz from far above. “Yeah…” she replied, sounding even to herself dazed. “Are you okay? And did you know that man?” he asked, sounding sincere for once. 

Khaira shook her head, clearing it. “Oh! Yes, I’m fine. And no, I didn’t know him. What made you think that?” 

“He knew your name. When he left, he said ‘Nice meeting you, Khaira of Kazadeh,’ and you didn’t tell him your name was Khaira.”

Khai’s mouth fell open, and she sat down again. She felt winded, like she’d just fallen from another tree. “ Wha- ho-” she asked. “How- What- Why,” she tried again. “How odd,” she finally said.

Taz looked at her incredulously. “‘How odd?’ That’s all you have to say?!” 

She shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doors? Really, Lianna. DOORS?! Of all the things she could’ve chosen, she’d chosen doors. Raymond felt like laughing, but held it in. The woman wasn’t buying their story, and laughing wouldn’t help. He turned back to the conversation, hearing the woman tell them they didn’t look Malandrifan. Oh great. Now he had to step in.

He widened his eyes, trying to look offended. “We’re adopted,” he said shortly. Lianna looked murderous. Raymond wondered why. The woman still looked skeptical. “You don’t even sound Malandrifan,” she pointed out. Oh. That was why Lianna looked murderous. Oops.

The woman shook her head, traces of a smile playing on her lips. “But I’ll help you anyways,” she decided. “And anyways. It’s not like you could just force your way into the palace…” she assured herself. “Follow me,” she instructed. They did.

“My name’s Lorrelai. I actually am Malandrifan,” Lorrelai said with a smile. “And the person who gave you those faulty instructions was probably Celia- she enjoys doing that to visitors. I’ll speak to her about it,” she told them, sounding as though she didn’t really like this Celia person. “Oh no, it’s fine,” Lianna said hurriedly, “I’m sure it was all in fun.” 

Lorrelai gave them a sideways glance. “Huh. You and Annali sound very laid-back, Ray. Most people are very upset about Celia’s antics,” she said to Raymond. “Oh?” he said politely, and rather uncomfortably too. 

Suddenly, Lorrelai turned a sharp corner, her long red braid whipping through the air. Raymond looked at Lianna, smirking. “Doors? We’re very interested in doors?” Lianna blushed, and retaliated with, “And you weren’t so clever either, talking in your most definitely NOT Malandrifan accent!” 

Raymond had nothing to say to that, so he followed Lorrelai down the corridor to avoid further embarrassment. By the time Lianna had caught up, she no longer grinning triumphantly, which was a relief to Raymond.

Or it was until she told him why…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luila sighed, annoyed. It was already Friday, and she and Delilah had split up, pretending to drop money and telling people to keep it (it was actually a flyer), pinning slips of paper to people’s shirts, pasting flyers on every bulletin board and tree they could find… it was exhausting. 

But also satisfying. It had only been two days, and she was already catching snatches of conversation: “Did you get one of those flyers?”

“No, why?”

“It was interesting. Here, I’ll go get you one,” and then that person rushed off to grab one off the nearest tree.

So yes. Luila was proud of herself. And now, she had to meet up with Delilah. “Red cloak…” she muttered to herself. “Red cloak with gold trim. Red cloak, gold trim…” Her eyes moved up and down the crowds, searching…

Aha! There! Luila broke into a run, with the uncomfortable feeling someone was watching her. She kept her head down, so she couldn’t see what was in front of her, causing her to run smack into Delilah. 

Which made them fall over in the middle of the marketplace. Again. Delilah groaned. “What is wrong with you?” she hissed at Luila. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Luila moaned, wringing her hands. “We’re fine!” she shouted to everyone else.

The two girls stood up, not bothering to put their hoods back up. Delilah muttered something about irresponsible fourteen year olds. “I thought someone was watching us, so I was hiding my face!” Luila excused herself. “Well, next time LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING!” Delilah scolded, but laughing.

“Anyways, how’s it going on your side of the market?” Luila asked, lowering her voice. “Oh, fine,” Delilah said nonchalantly. “Mm. Well, on my side it’s going great,” Luila said, a little more enthusiastically.

“Excuse me, Aelaanians,” said a deep voice. The two girls whirled around. “Um- I’m not Aelaanian,” Luila said tentatively. “Oh?” the man said, surprised, “You look it, though.” Luila was mildly intrigued, but didn’t mention it. “Well,” the man continued, “I was just wondering what your views on the matter were.” He produced a wrinkled sheet of paper, which, on closer inspection, was a flyer. “Oh, that?” Luila said, trying and failing to sound uninterested or bored, “I’m all for it. I get what they’re saying, and I think it’s our duty as part of the war effort.” 

“I agree,” Delilah added, nodding vigorously, her voice shaking from barely contained laughter. 

“Oh! Well, in that case, I might be interested in finding out more. Maybe I’ll contact the person on the flyer…”

And with that, he ambled off.

The two girls looked at each other and shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jena waited anxiously in front of the big door, waiting for Raymond and Lianna to get there. She hoped they hadn’t gotten lost. “Well, how do you like the door?” someone asked. Jena turned around to see Lianna and Raymond- looking grim- and Lorrelai, leading them. How had they met Lorrelai?

She ran over to meet them. Lorrelai stepped forward, and nodded her head in respect. “Celia gave them directions,” she explained. From behind her, Lianna shook her head and mouthed, “We got lost.” 

“They ended up in the servant’s quarters. Apparently they are Malandrifan art students interested in doors. They wanted to see this one,” Lorrelai continued. From behind her, Raymond and Lianna were frantically mouthing “Just go with it!”

Jena held back snickers. “Oh! Thank you, Lorrelai. I actually know Lianna from when she did boarding school here, about eight years ago, before I lived here. So I’ll take them from here,” she smiled. 

Lorrelai frowned slightly. “The girl said her name was Annali.” 

Jena nodded understandingly. “Oh yes, Lianna is her middle name, which she usually goes by. Annali is her, as she puts it, business name.” 

As understanding dawned on her, Lorrelai ducked her chin once in respect and ran off. Jena turned back to Lianna and Raymond. “Doors. Really?” she shook her head.

None of them laughed. “Jena. We’re being followed.” 

She turned around to face them. “Take these. Khai gave them to me before we separated, and I believe she sent Raymond with his own.” She handed Lianna a dark purple cloak, and donned a gold trimmed white one. Raymond produced a cream colored one from somewhere and hurriedly put it on. Jena beckoned with her hand and the three cloaked figures slipped through the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Delilah was thinking. She knew she was supposed to be working, but what that man had said. He’d called them both Aelaanian. And yes, she knew that Luila had come from a nameless town in the middle of a lake. And… yes. She had noticed that Luila did look Aelaanian. But she wasn’t. Right?

This was making her brain hurt. She turned it back to the task at hand. She and Luila were seeing how many people were carrying flyers. So far, everyone Delilah had seen was carrying one, talking about one, or looking at one. 

It was a good start. If the majority of the people shopping here were reading flyers, she and Luila could start phase two of the plan. 

Delilah’s eyes were starting to ache from searching the crowd. She was about to leave her post to find a new spot when someone walked up to her. It was a boy, about her age. “Excuse me, do you know what that piece of paper everyone is carrying?” 

She smiled to herself. He’d said “everyone one was carrying!”

 “Yes! They’re flyers. Would you like one? I have one I’ve already read.” The boy reddened. “Er- no thanks. My father wouldn’t like it.” 

“You seem interested, though. How ‘bout I’ll let you read this and then give it back to me?” she offered.

“Thanks,” he said gratefully, taking the flyer and scanning it with his eyes.

Success. And look! It’d already been fifteen minutes. Time to meet Luila…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taz was happy. They’d made progress- already more than half the people in the marketplace were carrying flyers. Which, granted, wasn’t many people. But considering all the mishaps they’d encountered, it was rather impressive, he thought.

Khaira, as it had turned out, was okay, even after falling off that branch. And the stranger hadn’t made another appearance, so while a little bit wary, Taz didn’t really think it was anything to worry about. And they were a little bit behind on schedule, but it didn’t really matter because there weren’t even that many people shopping here- they were too scared to shop at a marketplace founded by a Likhan.

Which was ridiculous.

Taz had almost tripped over his brown cloak at least ten times, proving him right about the cloaks just being a nuisance. He frowned as he almost tripped again, but turned his eyes back to the sparse crowd looking for Khaira. He spotted a figure cloaked in green, and walked faster. 

When he caught up, she stopped. “Everyone has a flyer. What next?” he asked quietly.

“They do?” asked a surprised, silvery voice that wasn’t Khaira’s.

“You…” he breathed. “Where did you get Khaira’s cloak?” 

The person flipped back the cloak to reveal Khaira- but not Khaira. “I am her,” the silvery voice said again. Khaira-but-not-Khaira stared blankly at him. He grabbed her shoulders and shook them- hard. “Stop,” said the silvery voice. And it came from… her shoulder? Wait. What?

He shook her again, and grabbed her left shoulder, covering the place where the voice came from. There was something there. He pulled on it. “NO!” the silvery voice screamed. “THIS IS NOT THE LAST YOU WILL HEAR OF THE EMPRESS, TAZ MEINDOR!” 

He twisted the knob. It fell off into his hand, disintegrating into purple dust as Khaira fell to the ground. “The empress?” he asked himself.

Khaira groaned. “Wha- what happened?” 

“I think it was that man, the one who helped you up when you fell from the tree. Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

“Yes, but why does everything always happen to me?” she complained.

He shrugged and helped her up.

EEK sorry this is so late!

Part IX (yes we’re already at 9! How did that happen?)~

One week later, on the Saturday deadline~

“All clear? Really? Already?”

“Yes, already, Lianna!”

“Sorry Khai, it’s just impressive.”

“Thanks.” 

Even over multi-purpose pendant, Lianna could tell Khaira was flattered. “See you at Ashei’s camp.”

“You too.” 

She hung up. “Jena! Raymond! It’s all clear!” she called around the giant pine tree she was leaning against. “Really? I didn’t think they’d make the deadline,” Raymond said, surprised. “Don’t tell them that,” Jena suggested. “You’re probably right,” Raymond reasoned.

“Come on, Raymond,” Lianna said. It was kind of sad to be leaving this place, even though its gigantic-ness was positively confuzzling. She’d be the first to admit she’d be lost without Jena’s somehow perfect internal map. But they did have to get back to Ashei, Khai, Taz, Delilah, and Luila to prepare for and put Phase 4 of the plan into action- the hardest part, too.

Phase 1 had been to  hand out flyers, Phase 2 was convincing people the flyers were right, Phase 3 was to hold a vote. And finally, Phase 4: infiltrate the Likhan Empire, and destroy the Vulture and her wake.

And if you couldn’t tell, it was also much harder than it sounded. 

Lianna looked at Jena and smiled. “You’ll be able to get Phase 3 done okay?” she asked. When Jena nodded, she laughed. “Make sure you let Lorrelai know we enjoyed the door and are heading to art school.”

Jena grinned. “I will.” 

Lianna nodded her head in farewell. Then she turned on her heel and exited through the front door, her cloak billowing out behind her in the sudden rush of wind from the now empty lobby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Khaira trudged through the mud and leaves on the forest floor. It was raining. Taz was behind her, complaining loudly. “Will you just be quiet for five minutes?” she asked, a little more than annoyed. 

He closed his mouth for five seconds-  Phew. Peace and quiet- then started complaining again. Never mind.

Khai sighed. It was hopeless. She kept her eyes on the mud, trying not to step in any unbearably sticky spots. It was too bad these cloaks weren’t waterproof- she and Taz were both soaked. Her bare feet were caked with mud and it was gross. 

So yes, she was miserable. And the background noise of Taz’s complaining REALLY wasn’t helping things. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine she wasn’t walking through a muddy forest. 

Which was why she didn’t notice Delilah and Luila coming down the path. Or, that is, until they collided. “OUCH!” she yelled, trying to extract herself from the tangle of arms and legs which were Delilah and Luila. “Luila! This is the THIRD time!” Delilah groaned. 

“It was your fault this time, Delilah,” Luila protested. Taz, meanwhile, was laughing his head off. Khaira groaned. “Seriously, why can’t something bad happen to you once in a while?” she asked, but he was too busy laughing to answer her. 

She stood up, muddy and annoyed. By this time, Luila and Delilah had sorted themselves out, and were standing up. “Oh!” Luila said. “Sorry…” Delilah trailed off. They looked at each other. “Luila, you need to stop knocking into people, especially me,” Delilah said to Luila, “and Khaira, this is the third time this week she’s done something like that.” 

“Excuse me, Delilah, but I only knocked into you once. The other time we both tripped over the curb. And this time, YOU were the one who tripped over a vine, knocking me into Khai,” Luila countered.

“I don’t care who knocked into who! Just please don’t do it again,” Khaira said, laughing even though she was wet, cold, and mud spattered. 

“Come on. We’re all going to the same place, and plus, I need someone to help me ignore that one’s-” she jerked her head in Taz’s direction- “complaining.” 

She noticed Luila didn’t look so excited at that prospect, but they agreed. So they went off again, this time with Delilah and Luila in front, so they couldn’t bump into anyone. “We’re about halfway there, but I told Lianna we would get there before them, so let’s hurry,” Khai urged.

She hadn’t told Lianna any such thing, actually, but she wanted them to get there quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raymond quickly shouted, “See you!” back at Jena, and then ran after Lianna, feeling the rain start to come down in sheets, soaking their most definitely NOT waterproof cloaks. The wind blew violently, causing the trees to sway. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered whether the huge pillars would be hurt by the rain that was coming down almost horizontally. The roof of the pavilion-lobby hybrid was no longer protecting anything inside of it.

But then he stopped thinking about pillars and started thinking about getting back to Ashei’s headquarters. Which was harder than it was supposed to be, because the wind and rain was turning the dirt into mud and the trees into branch flinging machines.

“Um. How are we going to get through?” Raymond asked. Lianna’s eyes were narrowed in concentration. “Follow me,” she said confidently.

And with that, she promptly clambered onto the wooden benches lining the formerly dirt, now mud, road. He followed her, not really knowing why the fence helped in the least.

It was easy to balance on the wide plank that was nailed to the tops of other planks, because the wind blew them forward. Unfortunately, this caused raindrops to pelt their backs, feeling like sharp pebbles melting into their cloaks and skin.

As Raymond hurried to keep up, a branch cracked above him, falling down toward his head. “Raymond! Jump off the bench!” Lianna yelled. He stared up at the branch, frozen. It felt like slow motion. The branch tumbled through the air… and suddenly Lianna’s words got to his brain. He jumped off the fence, diving under it. 

The branch banged onto the fence, warping the wood and bouncing away into the rain. “Are you okay?” came Lianna’s anxious voice from somewhere above the plank protecting him. “Yes, I think so!” he called back, a little shakily. “Well, thank goodness my plan worked,” Raymond heard Lianna mutter under her breath.

He stood up, and continued balancing on the bench, a little more carefully this time, but still quickly. Soon they got to the end of the road. “Won’t there be more falling branches?” he asked, a little nervously. “No,” Lianna explained, “there’s less wind here, I think.” Which there was, Raymond noticed.

“Well, if there’s no more worries about being smashed by branches, let’s go!” he said. Lianna nodded, looking wary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luila gasped in surprise. “What? The Empress? Here?” she said incredulously. Khai was filling them in on her and Taz’s adventures in the other marketplace. “Yes, here,” Khai said. “If it wasn’t for Taz, I’d probably still be under her control,” she shuddered. “Really? Him?” 

From behind them, Taz snorted. “What, you don’t think I could?” he asked in mock offense. Luila blushed. “No! I mean, yes, but no, but…” she trailed off. Taz shrugged and went back to complaining about the weather and the mud. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” Delilah said, ending the conversation.

They walked in silence for a while. Sometime in the middle of the silent stretch, Luila regretfully took off her sandals- they were sucked into the mud with each step, and the mud was steadily growing thicker. Soon, her sandals would be stuck in the bog forever. 

After they’d been walking for at least twenty minutes more, Luila leaned over towards Delilah. “Are we lost?” she asked. “I’m not sure. Khaira? Are we lost?” Delilah asked in answer, raising her voice so Khai could hear the last part. “Um… not necessarily,” Khaira replied distractedly. Delilah turned back to Luila. “We’re lost,” she said with finality and a trace of a smile.

Luila felt a sense of dread growing in the pit of her stomach. They were lost. How would they get back to Ashei? She pulled her pendant out from under her tunic and gripped it so hard her knuckles turned white. “Hello?” a voice said. Luila started and looked up. No one was there. “How was the mission?” the voice asked. It seemed to be coming from… her fist?

Oh! Of course. Multi-use pendants. “Fine,” she replied, feeling her mood lighten despite the rain, wind, mud, and cold. “Is this Luila?” Ashei asked.

“Yes. Yes, it is Luila. And we’re lost,” she said.

“Oh? And who is ‘we?’” she asked. 

“It’s me, Delilah, Taz, and Khai,” she explained. 

“Mmm. You took a wrong turn at the big pine tree where the road forked. Goodbye.” 

And with that, she disconnected. “Khai! Taz! Delilah! Ashei said we took a wrong turn at the big pine where the road forked!” she called. Khaira reddened. “I was about to say that,” she muttered. “No you weren’t,” the other three chorused, and then they all laughed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jena stood, looking out the window of her bedroom. It was time. “Lorrelai.” 

“Yes?”

“Please go get Mbila- er, Mr. Mbila.”

“Yes’m,” and she exited the room.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on her door. “Come in,” she said quietly, trying her best to sound dignified, authoritative. The large wooden doors swung open, and Mbila entered the room. Jena glided to meet him, the silk of her dress rippling in the slight breeze coming through the open window. 

“So. I hear you have something to discuss with me?” he said coldly. “Yes. I have been thinking about our last discussion, a week ago,” she responded, just as coldly.

“I thought we had settled that,” Mbila pointed out, hinting that he didn’t want to be having this conversation. Jena decided to have it anyways. “No. I think we should hold a vote,” she proposed. She knew he couldn’t object to that without looking tyrannical- and Morris Mbila was all about images and reputation. 

“Fine,” he said, through clenched teeth. Jena got an odd satisfaction from this. “Good. You are dismissed,” she said coolly. He glared and walked out. As soon as the door had banged shut, she smiled a secret smile to herself.

One week later~

“Ashei! It worked! It actually worked!” Jena squealed in a very undignified way she would probably be ashamed of later. “Yes. It did,” Ashei agreed, a triumphant smile forming on her lips. They were in Ashei’s makeshift headquarters, celebrating the completion of Phase 3 of the plan.

Several other members of the Heilona, including Khai, Lianna, Taz, Luila, Raymond, and Delilah were there. The six of them were sitting in a corner, reviewing plans for Phase 4, the hardest part of all. Jena wasn’t exactly sure what needed to happen, but they did, and weren’t celebrating much.

Jena walked over to them. “That was impressive,” she admitted. Taz snorted. “Except for when Khaira fell out of a tree.” “And when Luila bumped into me!” Delilah laughed. “Excuse me, but you were the one who knocked into me,” Luila disagreed. Before they could argue more Raymond chimed in, “Also, when Lianna made that excuse about doors!” 

Soon, all of them were laughing. “Excuse me!” Ashei yelled over the noise. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room fell silent. Delilah felt weirdly jittery, like on the first day of school- which was odd, because this wasn’t the same thing. At all. “Khaira, pass me that paper,” Ashei ordered, pointing to the thick roll of tracing paper propped against a tree next to Khai. Delilah watched as the roll of paper left Khai’s hands as she tossed it and landed in Ashei’s.

She twirled the paper like a baton as she paced, her eyes searching for something. Delilah raised her eyebrows quizzically at Luila, who shrugged right back. Delilah frowned. Oh! Now she remembered. Quickly jumping up from her seat, she grabbed the whiteboard hidden behind a large pine and lugged it over to where Ashei stood. Then, she scurried back to her seat and waited. 

“Thanks,” Ashei said. “Now, we’re here to discuss our plan for Phase 4 of this plan, right?” As murmurs of assent spread through the crowd, she pinned up the paper. “Jena?” Ashei asked. Stepping forward, Jena rolled her eyes. “I know, I know, I’m technically not part of this group, so I have to leave, and I can’t join, because I have a duty to the people of Halieka,” she groaned resignedly. “Yes,” Ashei said firmly.

As Jena stalked away, Delilah caught her eye and grimaced sympathetically. When Jena was gone, Ashei spun around. “Now. The plan. I haven’t decided who’s going yet, but all you who’ve been on infiltration missions before- whether or not they were successful- can clear out, because you’re not going,” she said sternly. Delilah watched in amazed silence as about a quarter of the people there teleported out using their pendants. ALL of those people had been on infiltration missions! She realized that every. Single. One. Of these people were heroes- in one way or another.

When only three quarters of the crowd were left, Ashei spoke again. “I’m sending a group of six, so goodbye all you independent workers-” about six people left- “and diversion specialists, I need you for a different part of the plan-” several people were gone- “and the rest of you may volunteer to go, or leave,” she finished. “Oh, and if you are already in the middle of a job or scheme, you aren’t allowed to volunteer,” she added as an afterthought. Two thirds of the remaining three quarters teleported away.

“Well, that concludes our process of elimination,” Ashei said with a smile. Delilah leaned forward in her seat- which was actually a large rock. The plan! She would hear it- finally. As they formed a line, Ashei whispered information into each person’s ear, rapidly pointing to different points on the piece of tracing paper pinned to the whiteboard. As the line neared her turn, she glanced around nervously, thinking she could hear rustling noises- like someone was listening. She shivered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taz stood behind Delilah, feeling like someone was watching them. Since this wasn’t a secure base, he thought Ashei’s strategy of telling each member individually was a good one. He noticed that several people heard the first sentence and left- they weren’t cut out for that kind of mission, according to them. Soon, a group of six was standing to the left, muttering among themselves. Khaira and Lianna were standing to the side, glaring suspiciously at them. Ashei was whispering to Luila and Raymond, and then it was Delilah and Taz’s turn. “You won’t know the whole story,” she whispered. “Each of you will be given one instruction- one part of the entire infiltration plan.”

Taz nodded, impressed. He understood why the third team of six had left. This was top secret. They wouldn’t know the whole plan until they had to. That meant it was possible- likely, even- you would get captured. “And, after the chosen group has the plan… my mind will be wiped of it,” she added. Well, that’s another reason people didn’t want to be a part of this. If they forgot their bit of plan, the entire mission would go up in smoke.

Delilah swallowed hard. “I’m in,” she said. “Me too,” Taz added, “I wouldn’t want to miss out on any fun.” He winked. Ashei and Delilah both rolled their eyes. “Now shoo,” Ashei waved them away, laughing. Taz and Delilah hurried and stood next to Khai, Lianna, Luila (who were all glaring at the other group of volunteers), and Raymond. “What’s up with them?” Taz asked out of the corner of his mouth to Raymond, who shrugged. “I’m just as confused as you two. I think they’ve met before?” he said. Taz smirked. Understatement of the year. “You think?” 

Before Raymond could come up with a good retort, Ashei called them to attention. “I’m going to ask you random questions to choose which group will be doing this. You will not learn why you were or were not chosen. There are no rules to this game, and you may not be kept in the groups you are standing in. Keep that in mind. I will be asking each of you a question in turn, and each question will be different from everyone else’s question. Understood? Good. The order will be in which you are standing: Theia, Klio, Jacob, Sarabeth, Rowan, Lilia, Khaira, Lianna, Luila, Raymond, Delilah, Tazandyr.” She paused for a moment, and in that moment two people shouted. “It’s Taz!” corrected Taz. “Jack,” said Jacob. Delilah and Lilia both rolled their eyes. Khai, Lianna, Luila, Theia, Klio, and Sarabeth were still too busy glaring at each other to notice.

What was up with them? 

Why didn’t I see this sooner?  So sorry for the delayed reply, Luminescence.  You’re doing great, keep it up!  It get’s better every section.