Face to face (2)

Everything went by very quickly in the last two minutes of our countdown. The prince was ahead of me, my gun behind his back. He had the reluctance of a hostage deprived of his sight, which was very annoying. Generously, the velvet red carpets showed us the way in an oppressive silence.

Despite our desire to free the best possible route to our victim, Justine had not been able to access another, closer window such as those in the royal bedroom. They had direct exposure to the courtyard and the royal orchard where the guards made their rounds continuously.

To go through there would have been too costly and dangerous, especially without magic. So it was a long way to our escape window, in front of a large old tree.

The movement was felt on the palace grounds, I had obviously overshot my deadline. Soldiers were rushing from the stairs through the corridors from which we had come, only they were going in the opposite direction. They just missed us, running towards the empty room.

At a bend in the alleyway, I saw shadows on the floor: I tackled my hostage to the wall to stop him, though he did not know why his mouth muzzled by my glove. The shadows continued in another direction until they disappeared. Thus I released the prince, to resume our compromised escape.

“Come on, move on! If we get caught because of you, I'll kill your guards, no matter how many there are,” I urged him shamelessly.

The barrel of my gun touched his right shoulder, ready to fire if it made the slightest sound too loud for my liking.

We reached the corridor where I had neutralized the two guards. In the final stretch, we ran with heavy steps, approaching the open window where Justine was waiting.

Is she going to punish me for stepping out of line? Justine has never really punished me, she is too afraid to hurt me.

The woman who was sitting on the external windowsill poked her head out of the frame when she noticed us. She couldn't keep her fingers from suddenly tensing up. With a steady gaze, the chief communicated all her anger to me. Murderous waves emanated from her frozen posture.

She hoped she was hallucinating, that seeing me with our target, still alive, was just a trick played by her tired eyes. If only that were the case... I wouldn't have had to read the wrinkles forming at the end of her left eye. It was always the first to twitch in frustration, just before she curled her lips like a defensive Dougat. As much as Justine hated me and was worried sick, I knew she was in no position to stop me, even if I was in the wrong.

As partners, our first priority was to complete our mission and go home alive. Despite my disobedience, Justine had to help me no matter what she said because I had her volatile treasure. My mentor would have plenty of time to lecture me later.

As long as I bring back the money, I'm half forgiven...

Constrained, the terrifying accomplice welcomed us without comment. Through the icy silence, her gestures burned with rage. She was the first to come out, then we were pulled out in turn with a powerful grip. Then I was whipped by the wind that seeped through my clothes and tickled my neck.

My hood never stops coming off...

As for the prince, he was barefoot, which he seemed to regret: being exposed to the open air could only help him regain his lucidity. He was wearing light pajamas in dull colors.

In spite of his delicate situation, the boy began to speak again. “Who’s this one-urgh? Your pa’tner in crime? She's not crazey, is she?

The ‘pa’tner in crime’ felt deeply insulted.

He's completely brainless, he wants to die, it's not possible otherwise!

Unable to hit him, I stomped on his foot, making sure to be as cruel as possible. I had been dying to do this since he was being particularly disruptive in my presence. Now that we were outside, there was nothing to stop me from using magic spells. With a small movement of my finger, the first sounds of his groan of pain were silenced. The prince covered his throat, confused and unable to make another sound. And so a long, oppressive silence fell between the three of us.

Without wasting any more time, our group cautiously made our way to the old big tree that had served as a ladder. We led the limping prince all the way, pulling him by the arms.

At the end of the tiled driveway, we harnessed the large branches to escape through the Hiven Forest, which overlooked the east of the royal garden. This huge forest covered most of the southern part of the region and gave its name to the royal palace.

With a bit of incantation sand, everything went like clockwork: Justine cast a spell by scattering a handful of fluorescent green sand.

This essential magical commodity can be used to activate a spell of varying degrees of power depending on the quality and quantity used. It is the key to mastering magic, a national pride.

In response to his act, the great tree twisted like a trained snake to play a trick on us. A thick branch stood before the three of us, beckoning us to take our seats. As the prince was reluctant to approach the wood, I gradually pushed him until he took small uncooperative steps.

The branch lowered to the ground when we were all on it. Once on the ground, the tree returned to its original position, as if nothing had ever happened.

I had thought this was too easy a way to infiltrate when I created the escape plan. Anyone with technological weapons could do it for us. After this reflection, I remained very suspicious.

Such an easy mission can only be a trap.

Our employers had assured us that there would be little human supervision tonight, as all the staff was mobilized to rush the king to an intensive care center in the capital. His sudden attack of who-knows-what had caused chaos in their ranks, opening the way for us.

By half past midnight we had left the headquarters and the next hour Justine had prepared the ground thoroughly before climbing to the rooftops. The first step was to find the electrical room where the cables that powered the east wing of the palace ran. I had obediently waited for her while she wandered through the maze of trimmed hedges, forced the locks, and cut the right cables.

She had disabled the infrared detectors and the palace cameras. In order to prevent the guards at the security center from noticing, she had to ask for help from an undercover accomplice. I let her keep her little tricks a secret, always amused by her comical interventions.

In a few minutes, we escorted the prince to the edge of the forest. The grass of the large flowerbeds we were walking on was perfectly cut and retained the humidity of the night. Annoyed by his spasms with each gravel path he had to tread, I finally levitated the heir with a simple spell.

A high grey wall decorated with golden spikes finally blocked our path. This was what our hostage must have thought at first sight.

Think again, this palisade is in no way an obstacle to our crossing. Giving up your privileged life to go to hell is as simple as stepping over a low garden wall.

As we had observed on the outward journey, the protection disintegrated in a small ray after Justine touched the wall. The inconsistent image recovered itself once we had crossed it.

The wall was in fact a well-thought-out spell. It gave the image of a supposedly rigid and impassable obstacle, but this appearance was only an illusion. I knew that if we hit the magic force field instead of going through the main entrance, the magicians who took turns manning the palace security checkpoint would have been directly warned and the culprits caught on the spot. Unless deactivated within a certain perimeter by an undercover accomplice, the barrier held back those who crossed it like a mortal spider's web.

“I did the right thing by bribing that freak who was in charge of managing the magical protections at that hour! Now he's going to be in big trouble when we find out he was our accomplice. I kind of forced his hand with a self-destruct seal, but anyway, he would have visited the new recruits without me... You can always count on these people. Will do anything to hide their little crimes,” my mentor sang in a hypocritical tone.

She obviously had a problem with rapists, because she punished them all very severely when she came across them. 'Freaks' as she called them.

The slender blonde woman was telling the prince all this story in order to scare him. I doubted whether he listened to her, especially when I saw him lose his balance at times. I stimulated him by shaking his body to keep him awake.

Nearby I saw our two steeds, which had not moved since our arrival in the area. In Asyria, we rode horses, as electric cars were ridiculously expensive. Moreover, most of the roads in the country were not suitable for these machines.

In this kingdom, the market for modern technology had been nipped in the bud. Prices became unreasonable for simple electrically conductive materials. This is explained by the scarcity of the raw materials essential for this advanced technology in the underground of Asyria. In particular, the famous ‘technological ore’, which is the basis of all this science. ‘Geographical misfortune’ they say...

In order to obtain it, it was necessary to buy everything from other countries, which inevitably drove up the price. Our neighbors saw the perfect opportunity to embargo us and weaken us. This was a blow to our economy, but we adapted our technology so that it no longer depended on this mineral.

Nowadays, acquiring electronic devices is unthinkable if you come from a lower class. For the richest, it is a futile luxury. As a result of this crisis, which has lasted for decades, we have become the 'country of magic'.

I addressed the boy before attacking him. “Our journey ends here, my prince.”

He did not have time to understand that he collapsed in my arms after a big and well-deserved slap. His body bent heavily over me as I canceled my levitation magic. Thus, his head lodged in my neck. This position made me feel like I was consoling Big Brother when he was in pain.

What was he suffering from, again?

How could I have erased this boy from my memories? I had to know more, every detail of his story, everything. To make him my own, studying this prince was necessary. ‘Know your target better to destroy it better’... this saying summed up my modus operandi very well.

Justine relaxed when she saw the boy unconscious. “You should have punched him out long before! Come on, help me hoist him onto your horse!”

I grabbed an old cloak from my pet's saddlebag and wrapped it around our hostage's weary shoulders. The dark green fabric blended in perfectly with the night and kept him warm.

We managed to keep it on my horse's withers. I wrapped my arms around him, holding the reins as we dashed away. The ferns stirred as we hurried past, then slowly subsided until they returned to their original position.

At Hiven Palace, the Killer Wind has blown, an element that passes by without ever leaving a trace. Like a mysterious shadow, we sank into the depths of the forest on this absorbing night.

~~~~

That night was the first mistake I made, sparing the prince, deflecting the course of fate. My next mistakes would be far worse than this one. And I could no longer erase the traces of my imperfection.