The moon, a perfect orb of illumination tonight, at its fullest and brightest, shined down on the broken farm. The sky sparkled with millions of stars, perfectly visible this far from city lights. I breathed in the crisp spring air, and sighed. These moments made me perfectly happy never to leave Omaha again.
Gabriel walked over from cleaning up the meal of roasted hotdogs and s'mores. Our community now consisted of almost thirty, and Aunt Syl took over planning meals and assigning chores, which I found a bit ironic since it was nothing like how she ran her own household.
She took a leave of absence from work to spend as much time with me as possible before we left again. I hadn't told her about the mission yet, but she knew we wouldn't stay in Omaha for long. I decided that when I got back from Romania, she would need to quit her job altogether. I couldn't be leaving her alone, unprotected and vulnerable, while I was off trying to save the world. Whether, Lucan respected Angelica or not, he would not stay his rage once I brought Avalon home; and then, Aunt Syl would be in serious danger.
For now though, I was simply thankful for her, thankful for this time we could spend together, for her love and understanding., and her listening ear, an ability that very few people grasped with such grace.
I didn't know what the other end of this mission held for me. If I was honest with myself, I admitted that there was a greater chance that I was not coming back than rescuing Avalon and escaping alive. But, I repressed the doubt; there wasn't any substantial reason to believe it. We had a good plan, a capable team and vengeance was on our side.
Gabriel sat down slowly next to me, always in his priest's outfit. He was characteristically moving his fingers sequentially over his rosary beads, as if perpetually in prayer. He had been reluctant to leave my side at all after he saved me in India and so I was used to his quiet presence, his worn prayer beads and his fiery eyes.
“I think it's time to call Silas,” I whispered, hesitantly, not wanting to interrupt the perfection of the night with talk about missions and death.
“Should he leave tonight?” Gabriel asked, not questioning my motives.
“Yes, if he can,” I answered, hoping he was ready for what I was going to ask him to do. I hoped everybody was ready for what I was going to ask them to do. I swallowed the oppressive guilt and premature anguish; people would die on both sides for this cause, and for Avalon. It was a heavy cross to bear. Even if they were Titans, they were still my people and I struggled with sacrificing even one life.
“And then will you tell us our mission?” Gabriel the wise warrior could feel the task ahead even if there were no specific orders yet.
“Yes, Jericho will hold a briefing,” I replied.
“It should come from you. You are the leader, and we are all here to follow you,” he whispered with the strength of a thousand men.
“You're right,” I sighed, reminding myself of the resonating truth of his words. I was the reluctant leader, hungry for vengeance, blinded by erratic emotions. Avalon was the real leader, he built the Resistance, he was wise and discerning, and he never questioned his cause or doubted his intuition. My heart fluttered wildly in my chest, and my blood flared with determination. I had to get him out, no matter the price; the rebellion needed him if we wanted a hope of winning this war, more than they needed me with my tragic past and ties to their enemies.
Gabriel stood up to call Silas. And I stood up to find Aunt Syl and Lilly. They were sitting together on some of the gathered debris picked up from around the farm. Lilly leaned against Aunt Syl, they were laughing quietly and enjoying the night. I slowed down for a moment, taking in the sight of them. They were my best friends, and Aunt Syl was the only mother I had ever known. I wanted to remember them like that forever, happy, healthy, and laughing.
“Hey!” Lilly called, sitting up when she saw me approach. “What are you up to?” she patted the seat next to her, inviting me to join them.
I took it gratefully, treasuring the moments of peace we had tonight. “I should probably gather everyone together and have a meeting,” I mumbled, dreading every upcoming minute.
“Oh, are we going on a mission?” Lilly asked, trying to act surprised.
Jericho and I decided to keep the exact specifics of the mission quiet until closer to departure, so few details about my parent’s whereabouts and plans were floating around. We trusted the Resistance completely, but certainty in our situation was never a guarantee. Titans could sweep in at any moment to start conflict and if someone were kidnapped, Lucan would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
It was actually a miracle that the Titan Guard hadn't hunted us down by now. We weren't exactly hiding. Jericho thought they were too busy preparing for the wedding and now that the entire royal family was safe behind the walled Citadel, we hoped they felt isolated and protected.
Besides, we were yet to be much of a threat. Lucan had Avalon, the date was set, and I was warned. An obnoxious nagging feeling sat at the base my neck that Lucan expected me, and he stayed his Guard for that reason. Why waste resources when in a few days I would be coming to him?
And he would be right. I would be coming to him. Only I wouldn't be coming alone.
Even though Jericho and I kept the details of the mission secret, the mission itself wouldn't be much of a surprise. Everyone knew about the wedding date and about Avalon. It wasn't hard for them to put two and two together.
“Oh yes, we are going on a mission!” I tried to be excited, but it came out sarcastically.
Lilly laughed at me, throwing her arm around my shoulders, “Do you know that I never doubted you?” she turned serious, her emerald eyes shining with sincerity, “I always trusted you would come for me. After they took us that night, we weren't allowed to talk of course, but if something was said, if anyone dared to speak up, it was to promise the others that you would come for them. Everyone believes in you, Eden, everyone. The Titans are scared of you and even Lucan will not tolerate your name spoken in his presence.”
“That cannot be true,” I whispered, trying to find some reason I had given people to fear me.
“It is true, you frighten them. Whatever this mission is about, you have the upper hand just by being you!” She was so sweet, so honest that I had no choice but to believe her.
“Well, that's a start, I guess,” I agreed, deciding that it was great that people were afraid of me, but right now I needed them to want to follow me and that was an entirely different matter.
“I'll get everyone together,” Lilly offered. Her out-going manner surprised me. She had become a completely different person than when we met, not even a year ago. She used to be shy and timid, suffering in a life that demanded she hide her identity. Even if she was still a little bashful now, she had grown to be assertive, brave and decisive. Her parents were imprisoned, her life just as much ripped from her as it had been from me. Yet revenge did not engulf her, she simply believed in her convictions and stepped forward with determined action.
I watched in awe as she flitted from group to group, giving them instructions and holding short conversations with almost everybody. She knew the team members infinitely better than I did. I wondered if I would always be a loner.
“What are you thinking about?” Aunt Syl asked, offering another voice in my head. She scooted closer to me, replacing Lilly's arm with her own.
“Oh, I don't know,” I smiled, not wanting to get into my real thoughts; they were not nearly as deep as Aunt Syl expected them to be.
“When will you leave?” she pressed, her voice husky and strained.
“Two days,” I suddenly had a hard time finding my voice as well.
“Well, Jericho has claimed you tomorrow night, but tomorrow, during the day, I want you all to myself, Ok?” When I nodded, not completely understanding her meaning, and fighting back the tears, she continued, “We are definitely going to need pedi's, right? You cannot go into battle with unpainted toes!”
I laughed at her, wondering when the last time we had actually really laughed together was. It had been a very long time and I couldn't help but hope that tomorrow would be full of it. If things didn't work out in Romania, I wondered if I would ever get the chance to laugh again.
The teams gathered around one lone barn light, the only one still working, shining down like a spotlight. Jericho walked to the front, pulling me aside and out of the light.
“Before we get started, I just wanted to ask you.... I mean, do you have plans tomorrow night?” He asked softly, blushing from the collar of his shirt to the top of his forehead.
“Nope, no plans,” I replied. This must be what Aunt Syl was talking about and if he was going to ask me on a date, I was going to make him actually ask me.
He smiled at me for a moment, as if searching for the right words, “Then, would you like to go on a date with me? I mean, I know it might seem kind of pointless the night before we leave for a mission and maybe even a little silly, but I just thought it would-“
I cut him off with a finger to his lips. “I would love to go on a date with you.”
“Good.” His hazel eyes smoldered and the color from his blush enhanced his perfect skin. He was absolutely charming and I was thankful for the opportunity to look forward to something. “Well, then, I’d better start this meeting.”
“Actually, would you mind if I explained everything?” I mumbled self-consciously, hoping he would, but he turned and smiled, backing out of the light and giving me complete authority.
I cleared my throat nervously and then began, “So, most of you have probably figured out by now that we are planning something for the royal wedding. Lucan has decided the perfect wedding gift for his son would be the meaningless murder of my brother,” I spoke up loudly, finding strength in the anger of my sizzling blood. “Avalon doesn't even have any magic right now, so the whole thing is obviously a ploy to get us to react. Well, ask and you shall receive, because we are sure as hell going to give him a reaction.”
I paused for a few moments, surprised by the clapping and whistling from the crowd. I glanced at Jericho nervously, but he just smiled encouragingly and nodded for me to go on.
“Our plan is simple and straightforward. We are going to rely some on the reaction from our enemies, but mostly we are trusting in your skill and experience. Getting into the Citadel unnoticed will be the trickiest part, the entire Guard will be there, or what's left of them,” more cheering from the crowd and I had to laugh at that. “They will have every exit and entrance watched. I will meet my parent’s hours before the rest of you arrive, we will break into the Citadel without magic before the ceremony starts and find Avalon. The Citadel will no doubt be crawling with Titans from every direction. Jericho is going to lead the rest of you into the wilderness outside the walls and create a diversion. Your goal is to draw out as many Titans as possible, distract them to the outside, while we take what is ours, from inside. Let me remind you that we are not there to enjoy the party or stick around. This is simply a get in, get out situation. Our goal is Avalon, not anything else. Once, we have him out safely, you have to get out of there just as fast. The Titans will not be playing around; but don’t worry about them, just get yourselves out of there as safely and as quickly as possible. Any questions?”