Red Lake Castle retained less than a third of its occupants from the previous day. Emiliana had known that a lot of people would be leaving all at once, but even still, the sudden change was a little unsettling, especially when she considered that many might not return.
These last few days, she'd been trying to stop being so reclusive, trying to get to know more of the people who were laying down their lives to protect her family, but now, it seemed like too little too late. There were so many servants whom she'd barely even met, and only a handful of them had stayed behind. Aunt Joana was still here, thankfully, as were a few of the Redwater servants and the apparently well-known Dimas Sebolt, tasked by Lord Abel Sebolt with protecting the Elroy children while the strongest Rainlords were away.
Emiliana was surprised to see that so many of the non-servants had accompanied Octavia and the others to the battlefield.
'They'll leave the fighting to the servants, of course,' Chergoa explained. 'Instead, they'll provide operational support. Things like keeping civilians away from the battle, maintaining supplies, organizing teams and strategies--that sort of thing. Normal people can be particularly helpful when they observe the battle from a distance and feed information to the combatants via radio. Signal jammers are often deployed as a disruptive countermeasure, and then it usually becomes a contest of which side can neutralize the others' jammers first. And that's because in a fight between two forces of roughly equal size and strength, the more organized one almost always wins.'
Emiliana couldn't help wondering something as she listened. 'How many battles have you been in?'
'Enough to make me stop counting.'
That made her think of another question. 'Why did you decide to be my reaper?'
Chergoa paused. 'Well, you and I were supposed to join the Vanguard. That was my reason for wanting a new servant. It was less about you specifically. I did observe you for a little while, though. You seemed nice enough.'
'That is it? We're bound together for the rest of my life, and that is all the thought you put into it?'
'What can I say? I'm not very picky. So long as you're not a violent psychopath, I'm not bothered about it.'
'Wow... then, why did you decide to join the Vanguard?'
'Ah. It was Axiolis who convinced me. He'd been trying to convert me for ages. Finally wore me down.'
'You must be regretting it now.'
'Pfft, no. Maybe it's hard for you to believe, but I'm glad I'm here with you.'
Beneath her dark mask, Emiliana's expression distorted. 'Why?'
'Well, if you didn't have me, you could've ended up stuck with some dumbass who gives horrible advice. And then what would you do?'
'Are you... making a joke?'
'Yes, Emiliana. Yes, I am. Good catch.'
'I was hoping for an actual answer...'
'It WAS an actual answer,' said Chergoa. 'And it was also a joke. Multitasking, you see.'
'I don't understand...'
Chergoa gave a faint laugh. 'Holy shit, girl. I'm saying that I'm glad I can be here with you while you weather this storm of bullshit. Don't think for a moment that I regret taking you on as my servant.'
Emiliana wasn't sure she believed Chergoa. The reaper didn't seem like she was lying, but all the same, it was difficult to tell what went on in the mind of someone thousands of years old.
She tried to go about her day as normal, but it was impossible. Knowing that the siege of Rheinhal was beginning today left her in a constant state of worry. There would be no meditating, she realized, so she spent her time just trying to stay close to Marcos and Ramira. She wasn't letting them out of her sight. Not today.
Collectively, the Elroy children ended up mostly hanging around Diego Redwater or Dimas Sebolt, as Marcos had taken a liking to them both due to their relative fame among the Rainlords.
In a very short time, Emiliana had come to know more about the distribution of power among her brethren than she ever had before. According to Shenado, the title of the strongest living Rainlord was a matter of dispute with four possible candidates: Octavia Redwater, Rayen Merlo, Melchor Blackburn, and Xuan Sebolt. Strangely--at least to Emiliana--Melchor and Xuan did not serve as the heads of their families, instead yielding the responsibility to their younger cousins.
Including those four, Shenado proceeded to rattle off the names of the strongest twenty servants, and while Emiliana didn't remember most of them, she'd taken particular note of her father being ranked as eighth. Dimas Sebolt, Diego Redwater, and Joana Cortes had been ranked as tenth, eleventh, and fourteenth, respectively. Emiliana wondered where Shenado would have ranked her mother, but she didn't have the heart to ask.
With everyone gathered in the Red Den, Emiliana chose to stand in the corner with Chergoa, looking through the panoramic windows that made up the chamber's eastern wall. They offered a clear view of the endless rain and flood waters, while the windows on the other side of the room displayed the vast cityscape of Aguarey.
"Is it true that you once took on thirty Abolishers all by yourself?" Marcos was asking.
"...Yes," was all Dimas said. He was a statue of a man, tall and solidly built and always wearing a dark suit with a black tie. Whenever Emiliana saw him, he never spoke unless spoken to, which translated to him only speaking when Marcos and Ramira pestered him with questions.
"And you beat them all?" said Ramira.
"...Yes."
"Was it scary, fighting so many servants at once?" asked Marcos.
"...A little."
"Why did you have to fight them?" asked Ramira.
Dimas turned to his reaper, the blue wisp floating over his shoulder.
'Don't look at me,' said Iziol. 'If I tell the story, Ramira won't hear it.'
Dimas' face remained entirely unreadable as he turned back to his young audience. "...They were attacking a village. I stopped them."
'Wow,' said Iziol. 'I think they were hoping for a bit more detail.'
"...It was snowing."
They waited in vain for him to continue.
"What a conversationalist," said Diego Redwater. He lay on the couch across from Dimas with his hands behind his head.
Dimas had no retort.
Diego was a man of his early thirties, if appearance was to be trusted, sporting a simple blue t-shirt and gray shorts. He was one of the very few Rainlords with red hair, which he kept in short curls. His reaper hovered over him. Yangéra was her name, but Emiliana hadn't heard her say a single word so far. Not that the reaper needed to. Diego was vocal enough for the both of them. "C'mon, Marcos. Why don't you ask me about some of my great deeds? I've got all sorts of stories."
Marcos smirked and looked back at Dimas. "Do you think you could beat up Diego?"
"...Certainly."
Diego sat up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa..."
Their conversation gained a bit of vigor after that, but Emiliana had already lost interest and stopped listening. Instead, she just let her mind wander as she stared out across the waves in the dreary blue horizon.
Her thoughts drifted to the monster she saw before. Or hallucination. Or whatever that thing was. She'd asked both Chergoa and Shenado about it, but neither one could tell her anything. She was still trying to decide if she should ask someone else, trying to decide if she really wanted to know the answer.
The more troubling possibility had certainly crossed her mind. She might genuinely be going crazy. The mutation ability could do that, couldn't it? She could have accidentally mutated a part of her brain when her power manifested. The horns on her face--two of them were right there on her forehead. It seemed entirely possible that they might have grown not just out from her skull but also into it. And if that was the case, then the horns could have done... something to her brain. Changed it. Broken it.
It was horrifying to think about. And confusing. She didn't feel different. Not really. But then again, there was that emptiness, that pit in the back of her mind. But that was just... loss. Wasn't it? Psychological. Not physical, surely.
She was beginning to dread finding out.
Perhaps it didn't matter, though. She hadn't seen the monster again. Perhaps she never would. Perhaps it was just a one time thing. A freak event of some kind.
Wishful thinking, she decided. She wasn't sure optimism suited her, anyway.
'Hey,' Chergoa said privately, pulling Emiliana out of her daze. The reaper's glowing eyes pointed her toward the others.
Everyone had stopped talking, Emiliana realized. At the heavy silence, she stepped closer.
Dimas and Diego both stood.
"Is something wrong?" Emiliana adjusted the edges of her hoodie to make sure she could hear them, but Shenado was the one who responded.
'We have an unexpected guest at the front gate. He seems to be alone, apart from his reaper. I sense Joana moving toward them.'
Chergoa drifted up behind her servant. 'You recognize them?'
'It's Melchor Blackburn,' said Shenado.
Emiliana understood the sudden tension in the room now. The Blackburns had been the only one of the ten who hadn't joined in the campaign against the Vanguard. And that name. Melchor. It hadn't been very long since she first heard it.
Without warning, Iziol brushed up against Dimas and then bolted from the room, phasing straight through the glass wall.
'Where's he going?' said Chergoa.
"...Only being cautious," was all Dimas said.
Emiliana watched Iziol shrink into the horizon.
'Joana is bringing Melchor here,' informed Shenado.
They waited. The two men took up positions facing the Red Den's northern door, Dimas in front of Marcos and Ramira while Diego covered Emiliana.
At length, the door opened, and Joana entered first, followed by a long-faced man whom Emiliana didn't recognize and a host of Redwaters whom she did.
Joana started them off. "Lord Melchor says he has received word of an imminent assault on Red Lake. So he has come to help us guard the children."
"How generous of you," said Diego. "Who told you they were here?"
"No one," said Melchor with his reaper right behind him. He had a hard voice, the kind that carried easily through the air and bit at one's ears. "We merely guessed that you would be keeping them here."
"Lucky guess," said Diego.
"Not really," said Melchor. Like Dimas, Melchor also wore a suit, though his wasn't quite so dark, and he'd left the jacket unbuttoned to let his tie dangle freely. "I've known your aunt for many years, Diego. She considers this castle to be the safest place in Sair. And if it were fully occupied, herself included, I might agree. But since that is not the case, I am certain that Red Lake is too vulnerable a place for the Elroy children at the moment."
Having taken up a position between the two bodyguards, Joana responded for the group. "I suppose it just depends on who is coming to attack us."
Melchor paused to look over his audience, letting his emerald eyes do most of the work while his head hardly moved.
The man's reaper spoke up for him in a flat, dry voice. 'We're sensing a bit of hostility.'
"It's nothing personal," said Diego. "The Elroys have had a touch of bad luck with unexpected visitors, lately. You'll have to excuse us if we're not entirely thrilled to see you right now."
'Of course,' the reaper said. 'However, Melchor and I did come here by ourselves. If we wanted a fight, we would have brought backup.'
"We appreciate that," said Diego. "And yet, here you now stand, in the middle of our castle with your eyes on the children. Perhaps you're under the mistaken impression that you're strong enough to kidnap them and fight your way out on your own."
"Rather than that," said Melchor, "we were hoping you would all return with us to Luzo. House Blackburn will protect the children while the siege is underway."
"A generous offer," said Joana, "but I think we will remain here at Red Lake."
'Please reconsider,' said Melchor's reaper. 'We have reason to believe that Captain General Parson Miles will be here within the hour with a siege party of his own.'
That left an unsettled quiet in its wake.
'You do not have the strength here to repel him. But with the full might of the Blackburns behind you, he will be no threat.'
"Why would Parson be coming here when Rheinhal is under attack?" asked Joana.
'I cannot rightly say. Perhaps it is a testament to how badly the Vanguard wants to capture the Elroys, or perhaps they have reinforcements already en route. We have sent word to Octavia as well, so I'm sure she will be prepared for whatever happens.'
Shenado was the one to speak up next. 'If you have proof of your claim, then present it now. Otherwise, fuck off back to your marshes.'
Everyone looked at her.
Emiliana was more than a little surprised by the reaper's aggressive language. She'd barely heard anyone use the f-word before, and Shenado had just dropped it in front of Marcos like it was no big deal.
'Have we done something to offend you?' asked Melchor's reaper.
'Yes,' said Shenado. 'If you wanted to look after the children, you should have discussed it with Octavia, Rayen, and Xuan beforehand. Instead, you decided to come here while they are busy defending the Rainlords' honor--something your family elected not to participate in.'
'There was no time. We only received word of Parson's assault twenty minutes ago. We would have called, but we feared it being intercepted.'
Emiliana watched Shenado's burning eyes narrow.
'I understand that you may be suspicious of us,' the other reaper went on, 'but please, try to see reason. Don't allow Mariana's death to cloud your judgment. The children's lives--'
The flames of Shenado's cerulean body flared up. 'I have already asked you to provide proof. Seeing as you have not done so, when will you be fucking off? I hope it is soon.'
"We are only trying to help," said Melchor.
'If that's true, then you can wait outside the castle,' said Shenado. 'And when Parson arrives, you will be close enough to assist us.'
'You're being unreasonable--'
'I do not believe I am.' Shenado looked to one of the Redwaters behind Melchor. 'Send word to Octavia of this supposed assault. Let's see what she and the others think about it.'
The servant nodded and made for the door.
Melchor's reaper vanished into his body. The man's eyes became silvery marbles, dark with a metallic luster, and in an instant, the floor and walls were all covered with metal. "We did not come here to fight," said Melchor, apparently still quite conscious. His voice, however, was suddenly different, because it wasn't just his. Emiliana could hear his reaper speaking in unison. Two voices, one aloud and one in her head. "Please reconsider."
The metal beneath her feet was whiter than that of the man's eyes, she noticed, and after a moment, she realized that it was frozen.
'Mercury,' Chergoa assessed privately, calm as ever. 'Get to Ramira. It'll be hazardous to her if it melts.'
Emiliana moved to do what Chergoa said, but Marcos was closer and reached Ramira first. With a bit of help from Shenado, the boy lifted his little sister off her feet. Ramira didn't seem to appreciate being carried, but Emiliana was too distracted by the adults in the room to keep watching.
"Why are you doing this?" Diego asked, all sense of leisure gone from his voice now. He'd taken a wider stance, half-crouched with his arms hanging loosely in front of him.
"Duty," said Melchor and his reaper. "We will not harm the children. We simply need them to come with us."
"But why?" said Joana.
"Old mistakes," was all Melchor offered.
"That's not good enough," said Diego. "This is your last chance, Melchor. Either explain yourself or leave peacefully."
The Lord Blackburn did not move.
The ensuing silence was perhaps the heaviest thing Emiliana had ever experienced. Everyone remained perfectly still, even Marcos and Ramira. Emiliana counted seven Redwaters standing behind Melchor. Not a single one of them looked pleased to be there. Emiliana flexed her one clawed hand unconsciously.
'Get ready to run,' came Chergoa's echoing voice.
'There's nowhere TO run.' So long as the chamber remained covered in Melchor's soul-empowered mercury, even the reapers wouldn't be able to leave, Emiliana knew.
'That's why you need to be ready when there is,' said Chergoa. 'And don't resist. If Diego and the others lose, just surrender.'
'I can fight.'
'You can't fight THAT.'
Melchor's mercurial eyes had not changed, but his skin flashed intermittently between pale normalcy and waves of shining metal. Flesh one moment, metal the next, and then back to flesh again. If the man meant the display as some kind of warning, it didn't seem to be working.
And then, everyone moved at once.
Diego's reaper Yangéra vanished into his body as well, which caused Melchor to lunge for him. But Melchor's movement wasn't anything human. Instead, the man's whole body turned to liquid mercury and surged forward as if expelled from a fire hose. His suit still stuck vaguely to him, giving an uncertain sense of where his body might be in the middle of that lustrous glob.
Diego didn't need to protect himself, however. Dimas did that for him, putting both hands forward and shoving Melchor's liquid mass entirely off course from across the room.
Emiliana had heard about Dimas' fearsome alteration ability: gravitation.
Melchor was not long delayed. The Redwaters all pounced on him at once, their mixture of powers accumulating into a confused frenzy of attacks. Their varied crystals and metals and gases all combined and ignited, engulfing the man's liquid body in flames while simultaneously bombarding him from every conceivable direction.
And Melchor ignored them. He pressed through their combination attack as if it were nothing more than smoke. He went for Diego again.
Diego was ready for him, though. Emiliana knew his power as well: nitrogen transfiguration. A surge of mercury came for his head, but Diego ducked right under it and gripped Melchor's amorphous body with both arms, going for a ride as Melchor kept leaping across the room like a wild bull. Emiliana could see him attempting to slow Melchor down with a bath of liquid nitrogen as he flailed, struggling to hang on.
Dimas took the opportunity to rear back from across the room and punch a hole into the south wall. Emiliana saw the air visibly distort as the impact shattered Melchor's frozen mercury. "Go!" the man yelled.
Emiliana turned to run, only to find Joana already pulling her and Marcos along. But it made no difference. Before they could reach the hole in the wall, the mercury filled back in, leaving them still trapped in the room with everyone else.
The group of Redwaters moved to attack again, but two broad pillars of mercury converged on them, one down from the ceiling and the other up from the floor, meeting each other like the teeth of a giant's jaw. Emiliana could hear their bones crunch and see their blood go flying as the frozen mercury claimed five servants at once.