The Spade Chronicles Book 0: Eagles Rising

The next day we quietly made our way to the stables. We had to use the tunnels because the guard patrols had increased in number since the attack. Once we had mounted our horses and filled their saddlebags, Atalanta tried to open to portal while Kennedia distracted the stablehands. Atalanta pressed her fingers into various symbols and illustrations on the ground, and Kennedia chatted with the workers as they cleaned tack.

“So you all are Muses?” Kennedia sweetly inquired, to which they all nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, we all like to read the same books and talk about them while we work.” Explained the head stable hand, Gregory. They were talking about the latest Jared Bane novel when Atalanta finally activated the portal. In a flash of light, we found ourselves in front of the trees that marked the end of a newcomer’s Trial. Instead of going around like we normally would, we rode right into the dense wood. I gazed at the line of trees, glad to finally be off but having a feeling of having forgotten something.

“Kennedia said that the quickest way would be through the west side of the forest.” Robin said, and lead the way through. We rode until the sun sank into dusk, and we made camp.

“You seriously spent your Trial in the trees?” Robin asked as I made my bed in the boughs above.

“Pretty much. I didn’t know how to make a fire when I first arrived, so Kyrie suggested I keep to the trees to avoid predators.” I answered, settling in a fork in the branches.

“So is it just a habit for you know? Frolicking through leaves?” Daedalus called sarcastically from his place preparing dinner on the ground.

“It’s never steered me wrong.” I responded while I arranged my cloak as padding. Kyrie settled on a smaller limb to the right of my head, preening her feathers. I stroked her feathers before dropping down to the ground to eat with the others.

“How long until we make it to the Valley?” I questioned while taking a sandwich of cheese and basil. I took a bite while Atalanta studied the map.

“We should be able to make it before the week ends, but I would be expectant of unforeseen delays, given what Allie and Lance experienced during his trial.” She informed before packing the map away carefully and taking a sandwich for herself. I ground my teeth.

“Any number of things could happen to him in that time. Isn’t there a way to get to him faster?”

“Not realistically.” Daedalus answered solemnly. “The best we can do is regularly try to contact him through the communicators to see if he picks up. It just looks like a piece of metal to an outsider, so there’s a chance that they left it on him, albeit a small one.”

I rammed my fist into a tree somewhere next to me.

“It’s not enough.” I growled. “He could be dead by the time we reach him, and it would be all my fault.”

“Allie, you can’t blame yourself-” Robin began.

“Of course I can!” I snapped, and he recoiled. “I knew he needed help! I knew it, but I couldn’t be bothered to do more than take down one of them! I should have been with him! Everyone was counting on me to lead them, to keep them safe. It was my responsibility but they took him right under my nose! How can I lead an army but not keep one of my generals from harm?”

“Allie!” Atalanta raised her voice, and I stopped to look at her. “You made a mistake because you’re still learning. We all are. It’s unfair to judge yourself so harshly when you haven’t had any training. Step back and look at what you’ve done. You convinced the entire student body to follow you in forming an army, and that army accepts your leadership without question. Together we were able to defend against a planned attack, despite the fact that we didn’t receive any formal instruction. Lance may have been captured, but not a single civilian suffered a wound. If nothing else, hold your head high knowing that.” She finished as Daedalus walked over to my side and clapped a hand on my shoulder.

“She’s right Allie, what you’ve done is pretty impressive. Besides, we’re all out here looking for him. You haven’t failed yet.”

Despite the circumstances, I smiled.

“Thank you, but I could only do those things with your help. Give yourselves some credit.”

“Oh we do,” Daedalus quipped, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back a bit. “I for one, know you would all be lost without my fabulous inventions.” We all laughed, and with the mood restored, finished our meals and settled in for the night. I took first watch, so I sat gazing at the clear sky above me, legs dangling idly.

“Hey Kyrie?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we’ll find Lance okay?”

“I think his captors should draw up their wills before you can get at them.”

“I’m being serious, Kyrie.”

“As am I. Whatever their plan is, if they were smart they would have left you lot out of it. Now that you’re involved, you’re bound to foil whatever dastardly deeds they have in mind.”

“You seem to have a lot of faith in us.”

“You six prevented a plot to injure and saved the Festival, it’s not so far fetched to believe you are capable of rescuing one of your own.” She tucked her head in her wing when she saw me relax, and drifted to sleep.

“Thank you, Kyrie.” I said softly, and watched over the camp until my shift was over. Then I dropped down silently and tapped Robin’s shoulder. He stirred and sat up, nodded to inform me he was alert. Then I crept back up into the branches, careful not to put too much strain on my injured calf. Once I was curled up in my cloak, I fell asleep before I could process the events of the past couple of days.

I woke up to a buzz coming from somewhere in my cloak. After a few seconds of fishing through the thick silky fabric I managed to pull out the Eagle communicator. Kennedia’s face filled the smooth metal.

“What’s up?” I mumbled, still groggy.

“Don’t you ‘what’s up’ me! Do you have any idea how my morning has been?” She exclaimed, voice almost hitting a shriek.

“Wha’ happened!?” Robin shouted as he bolted up. He looked a bit ridiculous, eyes wildly searching with his hair sticking up every which way. I waved him away to get back to Kennedia.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, slightly concerned.

“Oh sure, everything’s just swell! Except you forgot your calling compact, so when your mom called this morning guess who had to go into your room and pick it up!”

“Uh . . . you?”

“That’s right me! Can you imagine what it’s like to have the first thing you have to face in the morning be your tiger mother who wants to know why her daughter isn’t home? No you can’t, you want to know why? Because you’re not me so you’ll never know the horror! I thought she was going to come out of the compact just to come at me with a knife!”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, bewildered.

“You better be! Now send Kyrie to get this stupid thing before she calls again because there is no way in Spade I’m going through that again!” She hung up without waiting for a reply, and I made a mental note to never, under any circumstances, cross Kennedia Amaryllis.

“Well at least I know what I forgot,” I mumbled, before turning to Kyrie, “Could you-”

“Yeah I heard.” She said before brushing my cheek and taking flight to the north. I turned my attention back to the camp to see Robin looking at me intently from the base of me tree.

“Is she okay?” He inquired with a worried brow.

“She’s fine, just a little miffed she had to deal with my mom first thing in the morning.” I replied with a yawn, and reached into my pack for a quick breakfast. I had tied it to one of the branches my hammock hung off of, so I only had to reach a little ways to pull out a green apple. I bit into it with a crunch. Atalanta woke up with a gentle rustle of her cloak and bedding. She looked around, and upon finding Daedalus still asleep, went over to him and lightly kicked him awake. He sat up with a grunt, rubbing his side.

“Blades, Atalanta, why don’t you break my arm while you’re at it?” he complained, eyeing her foot warily.

“Maybe next time I will,” she responded in a deadpan before brushing her hair out to put it in a quick ponytail. While their banter continued I hung my cloak on the branch above my head so I could change before strapping it on and folding up the thick cloth I used as a hammock and stowed it in my pack. Once I was done I made my way down, landing besides Belladonna, who extended her legs in a stretch. Peppermint noted my descent and walked over to my side so I could attack my pack to a leather strap he wore to carry travel bags.

“Let me check that leg of yours, Allie.” Robin called, and and sat down on one of the tangles of roots at the base of a tree. I waited patiently while he gently unwrapped the bandages binding the wound on my calf. While there was still a visible laceration, it was much less severe after being treated by Galen’s ointments.

“It’s doing a lot better,” Robin mused. “Especially since Peppermint did yesterday’s walking for you, I would leave off on walking for a little while longer.” He pressed a bit of his magic into my wound and rewrapped my calf before helping me mount Peppermint. By the time I was settled, Atalanta and Daedalus were ready on their mounts. Daedalus and Robin made their way to the South when Atalanta came beside me.

“I’ll take up the rear this time.”

“What?” I asked taken aback, I had always ridden in the back mostly so I could make calls and lead while having all of the Eagles in my line of sight.

“One of the reasons you take the back is so you can deal with any attacks from behind, right?” She asked, and I nodded, it had been a part of my reasoning. I remember reading somewhere that wolves had a similar system when they traveled, and thought it might be applicable to when we traveled.

“But I’ll have the most notice if something happens.” I protested, bringing my hand to my dragon to emphasize my point.

“You’re injured, so if we do get attacked, you’re already at a disadvantage, it would be problematic if you’re taken too. You’re our leader, and as such you have a responsibility to survive.” I hesitated, but I knew I couldn’t argue with logic, so I reluctantly urged Peppermint forward and it her fall into step behind me. It wasn’t so bad, although I couldn’t see Atalanta, Peppermint was so outrageously tall that I could see over both Daedalus and Robin’s heads to make sure the path ahead was clear. Which might be necessary, because Robin, who was in front, was engrossed in his communicator, deep in conversation with Kennedia. I pulled up my communicator, tapping the small eagle picture on the bottom. The metal flared to life, showing six icons, five for the other Eagles, and one for the Queen. She insisted that she have a way to contact me at all times after the Festival.

“You seem to have a way with the other students,” She had explained. “So if another situation arises that includes a large group of them, I’ll be looking to you for an explanation.” Luckily Daedalus had an extra communicator from back when he was still working on the design. It was only a prototype though, so he could only connect it to one communicator. Technicality aside, if I was to be responsible for their behavior, I wanted to know what went on in my absence. Because of this, I had asked Kennedia to maintain the Sparring Nights and use that time to check in with the other years. As it was, I tapped the dragon icon, hoping that Lance would pick up.

Nothing.

The day dragged on, and since we could trust our horses to keep on course, we didn’t have to stop for lunch, eating as we rode instead. We took short breaks anyway to stretch our legs, check the map and have my leg examined. By the time the sun set I had tried to contact Lance thirteen times, each failed call drove another wedge of guilt into my stomach. As we made camp, I decide to call Kennedia for her status report instead.

“Hey Allie, how’s traveling going, have you guys been attacked yet?” She quipped as soon as she answered, and I laughed.

“No, not yet, I just called to check in, how are the Dragons?” I inquired when I remembered my reason for calling.

“Everything is going smoothly, although many people asked where you ran off to. As of now we are certain that there were no casualties, the Vipers are being detained and interrogated. There were twenty five injured Dragons, but all of them are expected to make a full recovery by the end of the year. The Queen requested every Dragon write up a report of their experience during the attack, including all of us. There is also a survey being conducted among the civilians attending the Festival.” She gave her report in a quick, but concise manner that I appreciated given the circumstances. Travel days are long, but they could be made longer if you have a dull informant. I was about to ask her about the nature of the survey when I remembered the events of the morning.

“Kennedia, what exactly did you tell my mom when she asked where I was?”

“Oh, that.” Her face immediately fell when she recalled her earlier confrontation. “There’s a conversation you never forget. I didn’t know how much she knew about the whole ‘head of an army’ thing you’ve got going on, so I just told her you were out in the woods. I tried to be as vague as possible, but I think she got the impression that it’s an assignment you have to do for school.”

“Okay, you’re right, though, I don’t really want her to know just yet.” I mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? It might be bad if she finds out you hid it from her.”

“I know.” I admitted. “But I don’t want her to worry. It’s not like I’m lying to her or anything, I just want to wait until this is over. That way, the danger will have been passed and she won’t have as much to worry about.”

“She might be blades-cutting mad though.” She pointed out, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

“That’s true, but at least then I will have accomplished my task and I can be grounded in peace.”

“If you say so, it’s your funeral. Kyrie picked up the compact this afternoon, by the way. She said she should be back by midnight.”

I thanked her and hung up, curling up into my cloak to eat dinner.

“You’re seriously comfortable like that?” Daedalus called up incredulously. “You actually enjoy living in trees?”

“Cozy as can be!” I called down with a smile. He let out a huff and began to gather his bedding.

“If it’s so wonderful, why don’t you share the knowledge with the rest of us so we can partake in the joys of tree-top camping?” He challenged mockingly, and I hopped down to help him pick out a tree.

“This is going to be so stupid.” Atalanta mumbled around her dinner, watching Daedalus clumsily make his way to the spot I pointed out to him. After he tied himself down, he eased his way onto the fabric. We all waited with bated breath as he settled.

He lasted a few seconds before one of the knots came undone and he crashed to the ground, causing the camp to erupt in hysterical laughter.

“You guys are the worst.” He grumbled, brushing the leaves out of his hair.

“Sorry Dae, but it looks like you just claimed that title for yourself.” Atalanta wheezed out, still curled on the ground in laughter. After Robin calmed down enough to check him for any serious injuries, Daedalus climbed back up and redid the hammock under my supervision. This time he managed to fix it properly so he didn’t plummet to his eternal humiliation a second time.

With everyone settled, I took first watch again. I never really used watch to talk to anyone, but I still missed Kyrie’s absence. The hours dragged on, and I lost track of time. I was so focused on watching over the camp I didn’t notice Kyrie fly near until she landed on my shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Blades, Kyrie you scared me half to death.”

“Some watchman you are.”

“Hey it’s late cut me some slack.”

“If you say so. Although I’d wake up were I you. I was handed a missive from the Queen when I picked up the calling compact. I believe it’s safe to assume it’s urgent.”

I rummaged through my pack, eventually pulling out a glass sphere of glow sand and lighting it up just enough to read by. I opened the letter as quietly and I could, not wanting to wake any of the Eagles. The letter was short, barely a few sentences.

Dear Allie Sage,

Spade thanks you for your efforts in preventing tragedy at the Festival. You’re bravery is noted and will be remembered for decades to come. However, given that you have established and accepted a leadership position among the students, you no longer have as much opportunity to leave Eagle Bastion. You are to return to Lailoria immediately to resume your duties as soon as you receive this missive.

Go with bravery,

Queen Rhiannon Achillea

I dropped the sand sphere, and it shattered against a root below, causing everyone to wake.

“Blades cut it Allie, there’s a time and a place to read, and in the dead of night isn’t one of them.” Daedalus grumbled from his tree.

“I agree, the use of light compromises your night vision and makes our location more noticeable.” Atalanta added with a huff.

“Careful about the glass guys.” Robin warned before sitting up.

“I have to go back.” I said numbly.

“What? Now?” Atalanta questioned, squinting in the scattered light of the glow sand.

“Yes now!” My voice rose. “The Queen’s ordering me back to Eagle Bastion, so now instead of fixing my mistake, I have to live it up in Lailoria like nothing happened.”

“You’re making it sound worse than it is,” Robin noted after a while. “Just because you’re going back to the palace doesn’t mean you’re just going to sit around and do nothing. Queen Rhiannon probably needs you back there for a reason, and you can help Kennedia with gathering information.”

“I suppose,” I admitted. “I just feel like I should be on the front lines.”

“You can do good behind the scenes to, Allie,” Daedalus reassured in a rare moment of sincerity. “After all, not everyone can be a hero.”

“Are you going to leave in the morning?” Atalanta asked, still a bit groggy.

“No, I’ll leave now, the letter clearly states that I’m to leave as soon as I get it.” I clarified while packing up my hammock.

“I highly doubt she expected you to get it in the middle of the night though,” Robin protested.

“Besides, shouldn’t one of us come with you?” Daedalus asked.

“No I can make it on my own. Besides, I want all of you to continue your search. Just watch your communicators, I’ll call you if need be.”

“All that is well and good but how are you going to go even a mile in the dark?” Atalanta pointed out, though I wasn’t concerned. When I came to Ivaline, I had noticed I could see more in the dark than I had before. Not only that, I was confident that with Peppermint to to carry me and Kyrie to guide me I couldn’t go wrong.

I guided Peppermint through the trees idly, keeping an eye on Kyrie as she flew above the canopy to make sure we were still on course.

“We should make it back to the border by tomorrow afternoon, provided you wake up on time for once.” She quipped, landing on my shoulder.

“One time! One time I sleep through a school day and you never let me forget it!”

“It took Belladonna, Atalanta, and Kennedia to get you out of bed just so you could go to the Observatory.”

“I was reading a good book the night before okay? It’s not like I was out partying or something.”

“You’re right, why would I be worried about that? You don’t get invited to parties, you’re too busy organizing them.”

I couldn’t think up a good comeback to that so I didn’t say anything. Instead, I busied myself with scanning my surroundings. The Forest of Trials had seemed to be a foreboding place when I first stepped foot in it, but now that I felt at ease, almost at home riding through it. It didn’t seem quite as dark, either, with more moonlight coming through the leaves than before.

I was shocked out of my thoughts by the warning red vision of twelve Vipers on horseback hot on my trail.

“Run Peppermint, try to lose them if you can!”

“Got it.” He gasped before taking off at a breakneck gallop.

Peppermint thundered through the woods, twigs and branches snapping at my face. Out of the corner of my eye I could make out the silver streak of Belladonna’s fur as she wove her way through the trees. I headed west hoping to find the road at the edge of the forest. I looked behind me trying to make out the faces of my attackers but they all wore masks to hide their identities. I turned back around, only to find we were running right toward a ravine. Peppermint immediately made to stop but the momentum remained. The sudden stop had caused me to fly right over Peppermint’s head to fall into the chasm below.

For a moment, a split second I couldn’t believe what had happened. It just didn’t process. I felt weightless, almost dreamlike before the unforgiving force of gravity dragged me down to the unseen bottom of the ravine.

“Allie!” Belladonna called, snapping me out of my trance. I looked around frantically, trying to find some impossible way to survive the situation. Grasping at straws, I formed a chain scythe and hurled one end toward the ravine wall. It stuck, and I was yanked toward the stone surface with the violent jerk of a chain pulled taut. For a moment I thought I had made a mistake, and I was about to be smashed against the rocks. I caught sight of the ravine floor, and was relieved to see that my distance from the ground looked survivable before I smacked against the stone wall and blacked out.