Sage

Sage

A cacophony of shrill screams erupted from the house as Bob’s massive body wiggled inside.

“You didn’t have to literally send him in,” Minx said behind her.

Sage shrugged, “I want them to grasp the gravity of the situation.” Bob made an awful wrenching noise, followed by several screams of disgust. Within seconds, several women came rushing out, screaming. Some were half-clothed, struggling to throw on skirts or shirts as they followed the others.

Sage felt the twinge of Minx’s gift behind her. Thick, vicious-looking rose bushes burst around the hall entrances, blocking them. Minx had left just one untouched- the pathway Wraza had chosen as their best option to leave open.

The fleeing concubines scrambled to avoid the rose bush and its thorns, then doubled back to the only exit they had.

Gabriela came running from the house, panting as she hid behind Minx.

“That thing is unholy.” She gasped.

Sage held back her laughter. She’d picked Bob only because she loved the movie, and a part of her always found the marshmallow man hilarious.

“He’s harmless,” Minx said just as Bob vomited acid at a wayward group trying to run in a different direction. Minx winced, then asked, “Is everyone out?”

“All clear,” Sage announced just as Bob emerged from the house. Somewhere in the distance, an alarm bell rang.

“Right on time,” Minx said, glancing up at the sun high overhead. She flexed her hand, and the same thrum of magic spread across the palace. She’d dropped seeds throughout the palace as they made their way to the center, and now she’d created a labyrinth for the Hands and concubines to escape.

Sage cracked her whip and Bob waddled towards the hall they’d taken earlier. Minx dropped the rose bushes, letting him pass through while they followed behind. The halls were already filled with Hands scrambling to regroup and respond to the alarm bell. But the moment they saw Bob, they froze.

Sage cracked her whip and Bob roared- a garbled, dry cry that spewed sand into the air. Brandishing their weapons, the Hands rushed at him with impressive confidence. One stabbed him with a spear- which went right through the sand. The Hand looked momentarily confused as the weapon was sucked into Bob’s body, disappearing.

Bob faced another Hand, and with a violent hiccup hacked the spear up, impaling them. The Hand fell to the floor with a garbled cry.

“You should run,” Sage suggested, giving them a dry smile. She snapped the whip again when they refused to move, and Bob spit out an orb of power. It slammed into the group, exploding with such force the very ceiling above them groaned.

“Careful,” Minx warned. “We don’t want it coming down just yet.”

“Whoops,” Sage said sheepishly.

They stepped over the groaning Hands and into the smoking garden where several concubines had already fled. The remaining stragglers were huddled in a corner, too scared to move. One saw Bob and fainted, causing the group to panic.

“Leave!” Minx shouted to them. “Go that way and leave the palace!” She pointed to the only exit remaining. Bob let out a roar as if to get her point across. The group of concubines let out a collective scream that echoed through the halls. They immediately sprang into action- bolting towards the exit with urgency while dragging the unconscious one with them.

The girls watched as the remaining Hands fled with them, fervently trailing their skirts. Once the smoking garden was clear, they made their way to the vaulted chamber- the main receiving area.

The moment Minx dropped the roses into the hall, they were rushed by a dozen Hands. Sage cracked her whip and Bob spewed an orb of magic that exploded in the center of the group. Hands went flying in all directions.

Minx pointed to the remaining exit. “This is your only chance to leave in one piece.”

A few fallen Hands stumbled to their feet and ran for the exit- the rest wobbled towards them, pointing swords and spears at Bob.

Sage smirked, “Your funeral.” A jolt of power erupted from her, headed for Bob. The sand monster made a garbled, choking noise, then coughed up a fountain of acid. It splashed the nearest Hands who dropped their weapons screaming in pain as the flesh on their arms was burned.

They all ran to the exit after that.

The vaulted chamber was full of people rushing out of the main entrance. Bob let out a wall-shaking roar, prompting them to move faster. Minx pressed a palm to one of the walls, reaching out to the seeds and plants she’d dropped along the way.

“Well, it worked. No concubines remain in the palace.” She said.

Sage scoffed, “Too easy.”

“To be fair, the Hands here live a life of luxury compared to the ones we’ve dealt with in the past,” Minx said.

Gabriela nodded in agreement. “This posting is highly sought after.”

Sage took a moment to take in the room. Pillows and tables piled high with sweets and goblets of wine overflowing could be seen everywhere. She tried to picture the place she’d read about in her books- the airy, beautiful palace that housed the Halifax family and stood as the lifeblood for Veer.

But she couldn’t.

She understood Wraza’s need to tear it all down. Even if she did decide to return here and reclaim the palace as her birthright, it would be far too late. The magnificent palace, once a symbol of opulence and grandeur, now bore the scars of the Hands’ vices, tarnishing its once-flawless reputation as the Diamond of the desert.

“Showtime,” Sage sang out as they made their way to the square.

Sage threw up a shield before they stepped out into the sunlit square. A small army of Hands stood in a half circle before them. They raised their weapons, prepared to battle. A crowd had formed behind them- a mixture of concubines, thugs, and merchants watching the spectacle.

Before the Hands could make a move, a giant root shot out of the sand like a viper, blocking them. Minx gave Gabriela a slight nod.

Gabriela hesitated, her eyes darting from them to the Hands as a blush crept up her neck.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to do this,” Sage said softly. “But don’t doubt your abilities. You can do it if you want.”

Gabriela chewed her lip as her fingers teased her braid. “I have to do it. I have to prove I’m with you- otherwise, Wraza won’t trust me.”

“She doesn’t trust anyone but Rhea,” Minx said quickly. “Don’t do this for her- do it for yourself. Tap into the gift the Goddess gave you- for you, and you alone.”

Gabriela looked up towards the sun, high over their heads as noon waned.

“He never let me use it. He acted like he didn’t know about my power, but I could always tell by the way he watched me when he thought I didn’t know. Like I was about to grow a second head. I was careful, so careful, to never let them slip. I was sure he’d either send me to Leox to burn or find some way to use me.” Her braid slipped over her shoulder, swaying behind her back as she gazed at the sky.

It hit Sage then that Gabriela had only recently been able to sit beneath the sun and sky. She’d been locked in the library her entire life with only books as her friends.

Sage shuffled closer to her, then weaved her hand into Gabriela’s. A shock wave ran through them as their gifts mingled. They ignored the shouts and threats from the Hands trapped behind Minx’s root as they turned to face the palace.

“I’ve got you,” Sage said, squeezing her hand. “Remember- I’m the screw-up of this group, not you.” She winked.

Gabriela laced her fingers with hers, then took a deep breath. Sage felt the air vibrate with magic as Gabriela gathered her gift around them. The sand beneath their feet began to shift and drift as the air moved, kicking up Gabriela’s braid and teasing Sage’s hair.

A gasp erupted from the crowd. The sky had darkened with thick, black clouds that blotted out the sun. Lightning laced through the blackness, cracking and snaking through the clouds as the wind kicked up.

Gabriela raised a hand, and the clouds moved with the wind- churning and spinning until a massive cyclone formed over the palace. Sage heard the crowd screaming behind them but didn’t dare look. She couldn’t take her eyes off the forming cyclone. It reminded her too much of the storm she and Kami brought down in the wastes.

At the time, she’d attributed it to their combined powers, but now she knew it for what it was. Kami’s family had been secretly siphoning the powers of the other families for years to grow stronger. Kami had held all that stolen power, unknowingly, and when needed, she had used it.

The cyclone they had made came from the power stolen from Gabriela’s family. Sage couldn’t explain it, but she felt the similarities between them as the cyclone grew and grew.

And now Vinciei held that same power.

Gabriela dropped her arm, and the cyclone fell into the palace in a whirl of screaming wind. The top of the palace was ripped clean off before the cyclone even touched the ground, but the moment it did, the palace was shredded. Chunks of wall and earth were ripped up and sucked into the sky, where they disappeared behind the dark clouds.

Within a matter of seconds, the palace was completely torn apart.

Gabriela twisted her hand, and the cyclone was raised back into the clouds where it disappeared. Sunlight returned as the sky cleared up.

“Where did it all go?” Minx asked in awe.

Gabriela pulled her spectacles out, slipping them over her nose.

“Where it all came from. The mine.”