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Chapter 12

The commander's cabin was small, located off a wing branching from the main building on the island. Regulus and I went through his desk while the others slipped through the portal. It had been simpler than the mirror I used to infiltrate the High Overseer's mansion, having only one point of exit.

"Cozy." Adler arrived last after the Marchese sons.

I slipped a logbook found atop his desk in the back of my leather waistbelt holding an arsenal of sheathed knives. The front was embossed with an eagle spread across my stomach—the sigil of the OIC. The same symbol decorated the back of our robes. Once everyone was through, I pocketed the ring sitting on a stool still projecting the portal across a tapestry lined wall.

"What can you tell us, Regulus?"

Still wearing the skin of Commander Angelo, Regulus braced his hands on the black desk. The hem of a cloak draped his arms from silver shoulder gauntlets. He'd changed since I saw him last. The new style of his robes appeared more like armor. "We were briefed before docking. There's a ceremony of some sort tonight, something in the tower. They moved the prisoners to new cells in the main building, and all staff besides those authorized for the ceremony must remain guarding the prisoners. No one is allowed out of their cells for any reason. They want the hole quiet—whatever that is."

I nodded along. "The cells are underground, hence the hole. Why are they clearing the tower?"

"I asked and was told those details were a need-to-know basis. Those who needed to know, already knew," he said. "There's a locker room down the hall, you'll want to update your uniform, Nico. Only commanders get into the tower. Get a helmet while you're at it. It's apparently the new style here." He grabbed a facemask made of shiny black metal. The only features engraved in the flawless sheen were two slits where the eyes should be.

"Do you know anything else about this ceremony? When is it happening?"

"Soon. They're sending all the guards down into the hole as we speak—"

A knock sounded at the door. Everyone stilled. I looked to Regulus, beckoned for him to answer, to say something to make the visitor leave. He only stood there with his mouth hanging open, taking far too long to choose his words.

"Angelo?" the visitor spoke through the door. Through the frosted glass of the privacy window, the outline of a guard appeared to cross its arms. If we could see his form, he might be able to see ours.

Regulus cleared his throat. "One moment."

I looked at Finn and nodded. He was too small in his watchman's robes to fool anyone. Even with the layers of uniform to thicken his build, the Watch would never take someone of his lithe stature. If he hadn't been essential to getting a quick map of this place, he'd be better classified as a liability.

Regulus started towards the door while I slowly slipped my revolver into my hand, eyes trained on the door. He opened it for the visitor, standing to the side so his body concealed the rest of the room. When the watchman was inside, his spine straightened to appear more alert.

"What's going on here, who are all of you? Angelo?"

Commander Angelo locked the door, pushed his towering frame between the other watchman and his escape. "They have some questions for you, Commander Seamus."

"Sit down," I said.

His eyes narrowed on the gun in my hand. "Put that down! We don't have time for this nonsense. I should report you all to Delilah and the Grand Commander. She'll have you all discharged from service for disregarding orders. I'll shout for aid right now—"

"Try it. I dare you."

His mouth opened to call for help, yet not a sound passed his lips. The air had been stolen from his chest, and it was then he realized exactly whom he had walked in on. Not a group of his comrades, but a gathering of vengeful descendants.

My gun fell as my arm slacked, hanging at my side. Luther and Adler slowly made their way to either side of the man, who glanced at them nervously. I gestured to an armchair in front of Finn. "I'll tell you again nicely. Sit down. Do as I say and you will be rewarded."

His steps were stiff, but he conceded to my first order, sinking into the worn leather seat. I smiled and released my remnant on the man, who inhaled a large gulp of air.

"Good man." I smiled at his obedience.

"Fucking descendants," he spat. "How could you betray us, Angelo?"

"Probably because I'm not Angelo, Seamus. Though I do hope we can still be friends after this."

Seamus didn't seem to reciprocate the sentiment.

I interrupted their exchange. "Enough. I need you to give us a map of this place. Where they are holding each prisoner, where the guards are stationed, how to get to the tower, all of it."

He gripped the arms of his chair as if to lunge. Luther pressed the barrel of his gun into the man's temple to make him still.

"There's not enough air in my lungs for you to steal to make me tell you anything. Fuck off, Bender." The veins in his forehead strained ash he spoke.

"That's fine. Do your work, Finn. Gideon, make a rough sketch of whatever he tells you."

"Ready," my cousin called from behind the desk, pen in hand.

"What is this?" Seamus asked as Finn stepped forward. The Mirth remnant cocked his head and concentrated on something I couldn't see, wincing as he shifted through memories.

"Alright, Finn?"

He nodded with a single jerk of his chin. "There's a lot to go through, and not all its pleasant to sift around. I'm almost there, though. He's trying to suppress the information."

"The first thing they teach us in training," the man said, teeth clenched with effort. "Is how to protect our thoughts from your kind." He struggled against Finn's intrusion, but resisting a Mirth remnant as it traveled through the mind triggered crippling headaches. If he was already squirming, Finn would break him.

"And you can't even do that properly," Finn said. "Alright, I think I found it. Saints, this place is massive."

"Keep it quick and general—we've got to move."

"Right, well, for starters, we're on the main level. There's a pair of doors that lead to the hole, which basically looks like it sounds. Corridors branch from a large pit. Prisoners are behind the walls, though it might be hard to find them. There looks like there is a marking on the walls outside of a cell, a symbol apparently for each kind of remnant, so they can keep track of what's occupied and what's empty."

"Can you find out how the guards move?"

It took him another full minute to answer. "Two in each corridor, only ten of them are used currently, though some stem deeper into the pit. Some of them are way down there, Nico. Seven hells, I don't know how they breath..."

"Focus, Finn. What else? What about the tower?"

He gulped. "Take the hall across from this one in the main room. There's a passage that brings you to an open space in front of a tower. It's straightforward from there. No one's stationed in front of it tonight since everyone is inside. You should be able to slip in unnoticed. Except..." He grunted. "You'll need to wear a mask like Regulus has. They're all wearing masks tonight in the tower."

"Fine. If that's all—"

"It's not." He sucked in a breath. "They're going to take something from a prisoner tonight. Seamus here thinks it's a bad idea, as do the rest of the guards. They talked. They sent word to a family—"

"Shut your fucking mouth and get the hells out—"

"They sent word to a family in the city to warn them." Finn raised his voice above the guard. "They didn't need extra men at all. It was just a ruse to send a message."

A family on the Isle. Most likely the ones that paid their pockets. The Firenzes were the Society's biggest donors, coincidently the same branch of the Watch that worked the prison.

If they'd sent for the alchemists, then the family could very well be here tonight as well.

"Where are those damn masks, Regulus?"

My cousins tookcare of the guard, killing him quietly and disposing of his body in a locker in the commander's office so he wouldn't tip off the rest. Regulus guided me to the small armory they kept, quickly showing me the right cape to adorn and how to wear the mask so I could still breathe.

"Keep the hood over your head. You shouldn't see any part of your skin," he instructed. "And be careful of the gloves. I almost blew my cover getting scalded by them. The inside is fine, though."

True to his word, I barely skimmed the leather and felt the familiar burn of glint. Slipping them on to complete the uniform, I felt like an ominously colored peacock beneath all the layers of platinum and black decoration. "Anything else?"

He looked me over once and gave a nod of approval. "You look like a commander. Should be good enough to let you in the tower, now that there's a space to fill."

We met the men back in the hall. I ran over the plan with Luther and the rest of my family and our men before splitting from the group. They'd follow Luther's lead and the map Finn helped sketch for them while the Mirth remnant hung back with Aramis. A few of our men would escort them to the docks and clear the way to the ship, then have it prepared for a quick escape if necessary.

Regulus stood behind the Marchese sons.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "We need you to help take down the guards in the hole."

"My job was to get you in, Attano. I'm not going to be left behind. Where the Marcheses go, I go. At least I know you'll watch out for them."

Gritting my teeth, I dismissed him. Every argument was just another wasted breath keeping me from the reason I came here. "Fine. Once I have Milla, I'll check on the main building and the hole progress. From there, all bets are off. Get everyone out as quick as possible, shoot anyone in your way, and get to the ship. Understood?"

Clear as fucking mud, the way none of them responded. I'd done my best to prepare them for what lay beneath the surface of this island. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Luther trailed me until we reached the end of the corridor, passing empty offices with darkened windows. The main building was empty. Whoever was to transfer from the tower must have already done so. Obsidian stone sealed shut the entrance to the hole.

My cousins pulled their hoods over their heads, and I fitted the silver mask over my face, hiding my identity. "According to Angelo's logbook, there are forty-seven prisoners in the hole, a few more than we expected. Make sure each one comes out."

Luther stepped before the wall which concealed the main hall leading into the hole. With a sweep of his hand, the stone lurched to the side, slipping into a pocket discreetly. He cocked his gun with a crooked smile. "Don't worry about us, boss. Just another day on the job."

The rest of the group followed close behind, weapons out, each one disappearing under the cloak of darkness. Part of me wished I could split myself in two, could be everywhere at once. I wished to join them, to protect my cousins, to make sure they walked out with the forty-seven as well.

Since the day Milla came into my life, I knew a time would come where I'd be forced to choose between my new family and my old. The choice wasn't easy but clear as the day I'd prepared to make it. I started down the opposite corridor.

It was time to get my wife back.

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