Mia
There was no one more dangerous in all of Resta right now than Amelia Gold, as far as she was concerned. With vengeance on her mind and the terrible night’s sleep she’d had last darkening her mood, she moved through the streets with an unusual gait. She was no longer the calm hunter she was trained to be, but a beast that hungered for blood. She had spent the last night huddled in the grounds of the capitol’s Salican Temple. A few weeks ago, she would never dare to return to the scene of one of her crimes, but she wanted to be close as she could get to where she had last seen Mario alive. As she awoke with the unfamiliar sensation of a tear-streaked face, however, she was immediately consumed with rage toward the source of her grief.
She prowled through the city while scanning her surroundings hungrily. She might have known that there was almost no chance of finding her prey this far from the castle, but her logic was completely overpowered by her grief. Fortunately for her, the city streets weren’t anywhere near as crowded as they usually were. Most of the citizenry of the capitol would already be making their way to the Gilded Keep Courtyard for the Festival of Chaos. What better time for a murder than a festival in the spirit of the War God?
A small bit of sense kicked in as she realized she would be walking into a thick crowd. She needed to blend in, to at least try to mask her intentions. She knelt into an ally and tried to shake the anger out of her arms and head. Calm down! Calm down! Calm down!
She sighed and continued along her way, willing herself to come up with a plan. If Anthony Clark was as savvy as he appeared, he would remain sequestered in the castle until he was ready to initiate Project Lighthouse. Getting to the castle would be the hardest part with so many prying eyes. While the ground floor was usually open to the public, the guards would probably bar entry until the festival was over.
What she needed was to find a blind spot in the guard; some entrance that she could slip into or some guard she could fool or dispatch. If she was going to case the castle, she was going to need to blend into the festival’s celebrants. She looked around for somewhere to find some clothes and found a store advertising a summer festival sale. With a sigh, she counted her chips and walked inside.
She stepped out several minutes later adorned in a modest, blue, one piece swimsuit and a pair of shorts in a matching color. In the guise of a summer reveler, she found that some measure of her usual self had returned. She was still a Starling and, now that she was settling back into her element, she could see how her emotions were holding her back. She cursed herself for her weakness as she resumed her trek to the castle. She could shut her own heart to the violent deaths of her own parents while the stabbing of another Starling sends her into an obsessive spiral of revenge? Ridiculous!
Upon reaching the courtyard, she let the Starling take over and drive her casually into the festive din. There, among the many people stuffing their faces with fried crab and swimming in the courtyard pools, she found a small crowd had formed around two street magicians who seemed to be putting on a display of moving fire and water. She watched for a moment as a phoenix made of flames and a kraken made of water clashed on the cobblestone before turning away. She couldn’t waste time enjoying herself now; she needed to focus.
She wandered around the grounds, gazing at the Gilded Keep’s main entrance. Five guards stood in front of the massive double-doors. She would have to try going around the back. Since the ground floor of the castle was usually open to the public, its layout was no secret to the Starlings. There was a ranch behind the castle that supplied an additional entrance through an adjoining slaughter room. Perhaps she could sneak her way past the servants there and infiltrate the castle through the kitchen.
She strolled past the RGT tent, which appeared to be hosting a queue of potential participants. Why anyone took pleasure in watching violence was beyond her understanding, but she was glad it was there. Once the tournament started, everyone would be inside, leaving fewer eyes in her way.
Into the grounds behind the castle she strolled, wandering past the thinning crowds. As she found herself surrounded by fewer and fewer people, her confidence grew. She no longer had the cover that the crowd offered her, but no one seemed to be paying attention to her. Nobody was actually forbidden from visiting the ranch, so her presence there wasn’t particularly suspicious. The assassin slunk into the cow pen and stalked one of the ranchers until she got him alone inside a barn. Then, with a casual application of pressure to his throat, she knocked him out and dragged him into an empty stall before stealing his clothes and tying up with some of her wire.
Now dressed as a rancher, Mia stuffed her hair into her newly acquired hat and strode casually into the slaughterhouse. There, she gave the same treatment to a butcher to acquire a disguise that would allow her into the kitchen. She waited there for a castle servant to knock out and finally stepped out into the main hallway in her dress. Three wardrobe changes in less than an hour! I’m on a roll today!
The kitchen was located close to the staircase. This was it. Somewhere in the level above, she would find Anthony Clark waiting for the kiss of her blade. If you’re a man of faith, now would be a good time to pray.
Before she could reach the stairs, however, she walked into a familiar face. The Serene cleric that had captured her before stood across from the hall, accompanied by someone with long hair.
“Maya, please go tell the others I found her,” Sara said to the other with a stoic calm in her expression.“
“Will you be okay?” the other woman asked with a look of concern on her face. “She’s dangerous, isn’t she?”
“With Serenity’s protection, I will be okay,” Sara replied without taking her eyes of Mia.
That arrogant bitch! Mia wasn’t going to let her get in her way again. She came to kill, and she didn’t care how many bodies she had to cut through to spill her prey’s blood.
“How did you get in here, anyway?” Mia spat impatiently.
“The Holy Matron of Serenity was able to impress the importance of my purpose on the guards,” Sara responded patiently. “I saw you sneaking in and I had to see you.”
Mia glared at the cleric as Maya gently tapped her forehead. They shared a look before the stranger ran away. Mia stared at the interloper as a familiar feeling overtook her, causing her hair to stand on end.
“Get out of my way before I hurt you again.”
Sara shook her head and said, “I need you to slow down and listen to me. I think we’re supposed to be allies. But I can’t stand back and let hurt anyone else.”
WIth a snarl, Mia threw her hands forward and struck her with another bolt of lightning. Her face tightened as she watched the other woman bouncing with the force of her new rage-filled magic. This went on for a few more minutes before the energy faded. Sara slumped to the ground, motionless as Mia let out a sigh.
“It’s regrettable that you were too late to learn this lesson: stay out of my way.”
With that, he walked past the electrified woman and made her way to the stairwell. Before she was clear, however, she felt a hand closing around her ankle. What the hell?
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