Chapter 42: Chapter FOURTY TWO

Mia spent the next hour on Taure's back, which again made her feel useless in the expedition. Three of them weren't lucky enough to have night vision, but one could transform into an owl and the other's spells were relatively necessary for the good progress of the group. In other words, she had no use other than her primary bait role, which Ethan would probably play better than her. Part of her mind was secretly relieved that no one was relying on her to fight, but her pride as a human and as an individual was still taking a big hit.

Especially since she had spent the trip with the anguish of only vaguely distinguishing the silhouette of the trees and nothing else. Her brain was having a hard time accepting that her body was touching Taure's soft, silky fur, but her eyes were only showing her the image of the ground blurred by the Concealment Charm. It was as if she was floating in the air, all alone in this vast dark forest. There was only the sound of their footsteps and the few wild animals that had resumed the course of their lives after the death of the wendigos.

At least it puts me in the mood for the next of the expedition, she thought wryly. 

When they finally arrived in the forest bordering the Arena gardens, Zerkan stopped. Mia did not see it, but Taure had understood the message and had stopped on her own. That meant they had arrived. They were only a few hundred meters from the building, close enough to feel the magical spring climate that reigned there. It was a familiar feeling that relaxed the blonde somewhat. She had grown accustomed to the Arena being her home, after all, although she would never have imagined going back in such conditions.

"The wyverns are coming with us," Zerkan said quietly so his voice wouldn't echo through the trees. "We'll leave them at the entrance to the underground, in the arena. They will be more discreet there, and they will be useful for us to escape. Andrei, how long will your spell last?"

"Three-quarters of an hour, I'd say," he replied after thinking quickly. "It will dissipate if you are attacked and get a blow, like a broken mirror."

"Then our baits have thirty minutes to reach the Vila district and get Solomon's attention," he said seriously.

"That's assuming there are no unforeseen events," added Ethan, skeptical that they could really carry out their mission.

"We won't. We've had enough with the wendigos, we've had enough bad luck," he ended without appeal.

It's not as if we could choose, she didn't dare to say it aloud. Now was not the time to seek conflict.

Mia gently climbed down from Taure's back, careful not to trip. When Ethan grabbed her arm to help her since she couldn't see where she was going, she jumped in surprise, but quickly realized that it was her soul mate.

"Let's go," Andrei's voice rose as a small ball of light appeared in what she guessed was his hand. "I'll turn it off when I get out of the forest, moving forward will be too complicated for us otherwise."

The light was relatively discreet, but, combined with that of the moon, it allowed them to see where they were stepping. The trio advanced in a tight formation to take advantage of the magic lamp, quickly crossing the last few meters that separated them from the edge of the forest. There, in the small gardens that surrounded the Arena and would lead them to the infirmary door, the lunar star was enough to light their way, so Andrei abandoned the alternative lamp. Mia could even see the outlines of the castle and the many flowers growing abundantly in the beds in front of them. They had bypassed the building to arrive directly in front of the door of the infirmary, thus avoiding the guards of the main doors. This also allowed them to have only a few meters to travel between the forest and the interior of the castle, thus reducing their risk of being noticed while crossing the gardens.

"There are two guards outside the door," Ethan noted quietly after the group stopped to look around, something he was the only one able to do correctly. "The gardens do not seem to me to be supervised, but I would not dwell on them."

"Then you have the honor, Mia," exclaimed the wizard, slipping a small vial into her hands. "If they're attentive to magical auras, they won't see you coming."

The vial looked very much like the ones she had in her pockets, and the powder was the same color and consistency. She therefore quickly deduced that the magician wanted her to put the guards to sleep. Was he expecting her to come out and blow the powder on them? Because he was going to be greatly disappointed if he expected her to have the courage to perform such an act.

Something clicked in her brain when she remembered that they still had the cloaking charm making them nearly invisible. She didn't know how detectable she was under the moonlight when the guards were supposed to pay attention to their surroundings and could very well detect the outlines of her figure, but she quickly figured that would be enough to get in close and throw the vial somewhere around them.

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When Ethan didn't question the task given to his soul mate, she resigned herself to moving slowly after inhaling and exhaling deeply. If even the Vila thought she could do it, then she was capable enough. It was time for her to make herself a little useful, especially since she had seen with her shooting sessions that her improved sight allowed her to aim easily when she was still and focused.

Slowly, she walked noiselessly the first fifty meters of the hundred separating her from the guards who were both leaning against the wall of the building on either side of the wooden door, their arms crossed and their heads resting against the stone. Judging by their position, they weren't really paying attention to their surroundings, and she even ventured to think that they might be taking a nap with impunity.

She stopped in the middle of the path, judging that she couldn't miss her shot at this distance. Yet, before tossing the vial, doubt assaulted her mind, her anguish paralyzing her ability to think and making her fingers tremble. Was she supposed to throw the container at their feet on the ground lest the vial break? Or did she have to aim squarely at their bodies to make sure the powder landed close enough for them to breathe?

Stop thinking and shoot, she told herself to calm the neurotic tumult in her brain.

Her arm shot back and, the next second, the vial flew through the air and crashed against the wooden door. The sound of breaking glass sounded, immediately waking up the guards who breathed in the cloud of powder that had exploded from the small vial and whose tiny volatile particles were beginning to fall very slowly to the ground after having twirled all around the two individuals. Within seconds, their sleeping bodies crashed to the ground causing a noticeable sound that no one had obviously thought of.

A wave of relief mixed with pride at having accomplished her mission relaxed her muscles and she even allowed herself a small smile, happy to have finally been able to make herself useful, even if the two men surely could have done it very well in her place too.

"Won't that get us noticed?" Mia whispered as the two young men joined her before heading for the door.

"Considering how they slept, answered Andrei on the same volume, I think they don't–"

The end of the wizard's sentence died in his mouth and the trio froze in urgency as the door to the infirmary opened slowly when they were only five meters from the entrance. If any other lookouts had heard the crash of the two bodies crashing to the ground, they were fucked from that distance. There was no way they couldn't make out the outlines of their silhouettes so close. The trio threw themselves against the castle walls in hopes that the person would ignore their presence and focus more on the sleeping bodies of the soldiers, Andrei and Ethan ready to intercept the enemy if needed.

"Who's there?" whispered a voice that Mia immediately recognized with relief.

"Elisa?" the young human called out while Andrei deactivated the concealment spell by realizing that it was a fairy who had opened the door.

"Mia?" she exclaimed, her surprise deepening when her eyes fell on Ethan and Andrei. "What are you doing here? You should leave immediately, Solomon has set a trap for you!"

"We know, we came to walk right in it!" Mia said as if they weren't risking their lives for a plan that seemed stupid.

The fairy's big eyes and incredulous pout confirmed to the blonde that what she had just answered sounded incredibly stupid. However, that was the reason for their coming here and the condition for the rest of the operation to run smoothly.

Or else we simply are plain stupid to have agreed to such a plan.

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