Chapter 121: Chapter One Hundred Twenty One

The shadow constructs were surprisingly stable to stand on. I'd  expected them to be shaky but my footing was steady as a rock as we  mounted the first platform. It was three sided, one below, one behind,  and one to the side, leaving the front and back open so we would be able  to advance. Once we stepped up on the first one Callie conjured a  second about a foot higher and we stepped onto it, leaving the last one  behind.

We'd figured out the least draining way for her to  manage this was to slide the preceding construct around under the one  we were on to arrange it ahead of us. It obviously wasn't free from  power usage, but it was cheaper than conjuring a fresh one every time we  took a step. Unfortunately it required extreme concentration and a slow  and steady hand, so we had to wait a bit after each step up the castle.

Despite  how much power we had and Leaf in the Winds ability to get us safely  down though, it was...disquieting to look out behind us and see a  massive drop as we started to ascend. By the time we hit around a  hundred plus feet I decided to wrap my arm around Callie's waist to keep  her close in case the construct faded and I needed to get us down. "How  are you doing over there babe? Pacing yourself? Don't worry about  falling, I've got us, so if your energy gets too low just drop the  construct. We can always try again later."

Her snicker was  much more distracted than usual. She was obviously straining, but she  did her best to reassure me. "I'm fine, Shane. I could use a distraction  though. This isn't exactly a walk in the park and focusing on it isn't  making it any easier. Take my mind off the process will you?" I figured  she was giving me something to do to keep me busy as well as herself,  but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It  took me a second to figure out what to talk about, but I figured since  it was just us we could talk about...well, us. "So I was thinking about  trying to find a nice restaurant to take you to to celebrate after the  hunt. I have a whole bunch of meals to replace in your memories. I know  how much those mean to you, even if the points mean a bit more. If  you're up for some company." I'd been wanting to take Callie out to eat  for a while, but before we got together it felt suspiciously date like  and I felt weird about asking.

She smiled, straining a bit  but still obviously amused. "Yeah, obviously you dolt, I think dinner  together sounds nice. I was also thinking about maybe taking a trip back  to Velan when we have some free time. I..." She paused, and I thought  there might have been a problem with the ascent until I realized she was  blushing. "I wanted to introduce you to my mom. I might have mentioned  you once or twice and she's been bugging me to meet you. If that's cool.  Not that it's a big deal or anything, no pressure-"

I  laughed, reaching out to physically cover her mouth to cut off the  babbling. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one who got nervous  about things. "That sounds nice Callie. I'd love to meet her. I've been  wanting to introduce you to Maria anyway. She's kind of like the little  sister I never had and repeatedly considered trading in for a less  annoying model. I think you'll like her though, and she and Jessie have  something going on, so I'm sure our healer would be happy to see her  again."

Speaking of our teammate, I was still feeling the  blaze of life energy flowing through me. Callies normally blue eyes were  blazing green too, and it absolutely needed to last. This would protect  us from detection once we got past the Gargoyles. Something about being  in physical form made them much more sensitive to things like this than  the spirits according to Sarah, so we would need to avoid them.

Callie's  smile was softer, though still tinged with strain. "That sounds nice.  Maybe I can get mom to invite everyone over for dinner. Her cooking  isn't as good as yours, but it's still pretty amazing, and I think  you'll really like her. She's pretty much the sweetest person ever." She  stared ahead for a bit, seeming unsure of herself. "So...do you  remember anything about your mom. I know you've been thinking a lot  about her since Aiden told you the truth, but you don't talk about her  much."

She was careful to speak softly, clearly willing to  drop it if I was bothered, but honestly she was right. I had been  thinking about my mom a lot. "Nothing much honestly. I remember she was  blonde. Like...platinum blonde. Her eyes were hazel, like this really  bright gold color, and she was really tall, though that might just  because I was a little kid. She had a really warm voice though, and she  was always hugging me. This was so far back I don't even know how old I  was at the time. My first really clear memory was of living on Callus  with Zeke, so who can even say."

She reached out and  grabbed my hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "It sounds like she wasn't  the kind of person to abandon her son. Maybe she had a good reason for  leaving." I couldn't tell her the truth. That I suspected my dad had  forced her to leave to make sure I was alone except for Zeke, who he  could control. I didn't want her to have to deal thinking that. I wished  I didn't have to deal with thinking it. Regardless her tone was firm  when she said. "It doesn't matter. We can ask her in person. We're going  to find her and you can talk to her about it yourself ok?"

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She  sounded so sure of herself it was hard not to be comforted, and I  leaned down to kiss her. Just a quick peck so I didn't distract her. We  mostly just chatted the rest of the way up, something that became  infinitely more necessary the higher we went. Finally, we managed to get  close enough that we could see the peak of the wall, a feat that took  WAY longer than expected, but at the very least Callie's eyes were still  glowing pretty steadily. As we got close enough to see the edge we both  stepped back under the cover of the shadow construct to talk out our  next move.

We kept our voices  down, I wasn't sure if Gargoyles could hear, but it seemed like a stupid  thing to risk for no reason so whispering was probably the best move.  "Ok, so I can get us up over the edge with mistwalking like I mentioned  before, but I think stealth is going to drain you more than we should  risk. I'm hands down the more energized, you should let me pick you up  and carry you past them in stealth. My skill isn't as high as yours, but  it synergizes really well with mistwalking in any case."

Callie  was looking pretty pale. The life energy was keeping her topped off,  but not getting tired didn't actually eliminate the consistent mental  strain of work like this, and I was a bit worried about her. Mental  exhaustion and physical tiredness weren't the same thing, but the former  still took a toll. She seemed a bit unsure, but clearly understood that  concept as well as I did. "Alright. But we need to find the perfect  spot. Use Seek Hidden and get me positions on the closest Gargoyles so  we can pick out point of entry."

I  didn't bother questioning, just triggered the skill, trying to locate  any nearby Gargoyles. I spotted several above us, and reported their  positions to Callie. It took some maneuvering to get to a spot on the  wall where there was a gap we could exploit, and once we were below it I  told her to stop where she was. "Alright, this is a good place to  start. Just hold us still. Once mistwalking covers us I'll let you know  and you can dissolve the roof of the construct. Then I'll scoop you up  and carry you to safety."

I  made sure to say that last part in as pompous a voice as possible so  she knew I was teasing. She just rolled her eyes, then gave me a  saccharine smile before saying sweetly. "Yes, you get to carry me  literally, like I've been carrying you figuratively since we met." Her  tone was innocent, but the sparkle in her eye made it clear I wasn't the  only one doing some teasing.

I  actually choked out a laugh, though I had to muffle it because of the  enemy. "Ouch, you get mean when you overuse your powers. I leaned in for  another quick kiss, replacing my mask right after as I triggered  mistwalking. I had to flex a bit to make sure it covered a large enough  area, but with a bit of effort I had it done. I stepped up to whisper to  Callie. "Ok, dissolve the top only." I reached down and picked her up,  and as the shadowy ceiling above us vanished into smoke I activated Leaf  on the Wind and pushed off the construct into a short leap.

I  made sure not to put too much into the jump, not wanting to  accidentally screw up and leave the mist. Leaf on the Wind made it  possible to control my descent a lot more thoroughly than would normally  be feasible, so when I touched down I was able to erase my traces with  stealth. None of the Gargoyles seemed to notice me at all as I landed,  the mist covering both Callie and I as I began to slowly sneak toward  the nearest opening in the castle parapet that we could use to access  the depths of the fortress.

It  was easy enough to find a set of stairs down into the main area of the  castle from the roof, and I crept slowly down, being careful not to make  a sound as I snuck us down a short stone hall to the first door I  spotted. I'd been wondering about the inside because of the ghosts and  the lack of an entrance, but apparently that was either a gimmick or  ghosts felt more comfortable in places that reminded them of being  alive, because there were doors and halls and everything, though they  were lit with glowing blue flames, and there were no windows at all.

We  stopped at a door that looked unused and I set Callie down, letting her  open the barrier with her much higher stealth skill to make sure we  best avoided making any noise. I wasn't sure if life force stopped  ghosts from hearing us too, but it seemed better to be safe than sorry.  We slowly eased the door closed, and once it was done we both slumped  down on the floor to rest a bit.

We  weren't physically tired, but being on edge for literal hours was  hardly the most relaxing activity, and some time to just decompress out  of the way of any watchers was appreciated. Once we finished Callie  grinned excitedly at me. "Well, looks like we made it through so far.  Now we just need to track down where they're keeping any materials, and  I'm guessing they're all going to be together, or at least most of them.  So...you ready to raid the treasury?" Despite the dire situation I  couldn't help but be happy I'd come along for this. I loved seeing her  so excited. Seriously, best date ever. How did I get so lucky?

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