After shifting out of his other form, Ari slipped away from the party and went to explore the halls. Usually, Ari would expect a place like this to be highly guarded, but there were guards dotted here and there.
Ari snorted to himself.
He slipped into a bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He transformed himself into a round pre-teen with baby fat and hair as orange as a carrot stick, freckles dotting over his nose.
It had been the perfect disguise, though no one recognized him or his 'parents' who were an illusion. He gave an excuse that he and his family were hardly around because his father ran secret missions for the king overseas.
That blonde girl -Britt - had been the hardest to convince of their status. The strangest thing happened when Ember and that other girl came over.
His head began throbbing and black stars dotted his vision as though he were going to black out, so to keep his mind off of the pain, he stuffed his face with as many sweets as he could.
Ari had never been fond of sweets, but it was the only excuse he had to keep his age averted from the duo.
Once he had changed his form back to his regular form, he slipped on a dark cloak and pulled it over his head, then he reached into the folds of his shirt and pulled out a black mask that would hide the lower part of his face.
When Ari felt ready, he slipped from the hall and slipped, running smack into a metal statue of a guard, the sound rattling through the empty hallway. Ari flinched and ducked behind a plant as a guard came around the corner.
So much for stealth.
He made his way through the halls slipping along and jumping into hiding places whenever it was necessary.
Just as he was rounding the corner, the girl with the patch from earlier was running down the hall her eyes bleary from sleep and her brows drawn together in confusion. Her head was whipping back and forth as though she were looking for something.
She must have heard the statue he'd run into.
Ari gritted his teeth and jumped back leaping behind a plant right before she stepped into view. Just like before, his head began throbbing and black dots flashed across his vision.
He gripped the sides of his head with his hands swallowing back a groan of agony.
Two more figures came racing down the hall, one taller than the other. Their faces were hidden by shadows. The girl jumped, whirling around, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Who's there?" she hissed. "Show yourselves or I'll alert the guards!"
The two figures stepped into view and Ari's heart dropped to the ground and splattered at his feet. Bella? Aniya?
"Who are you?" the girl looked them up and down. She reached for something on her leg. "You're Scavengers, aren't you?"
Aniya held her hands out in front of her. "Wait. Please. We're not here to hurt anyone or save anyone - well- we are actually, but it's not who you think."
"You have less than two seconds," the girl hissed, pulling out a small blade. "Why are you here?"
Bella sighs. "Your brother."
The girl faltered, then shook her head slightly, her grip tightening around the blade. "My brother."
Without another warning, she charged Aniya, who dodged and tripped her. "Emily, chill. We don't want to hurt you! We're trying to help!"
Bella pushed Aniya behind her and took on a defensive stance as she glowered down at Emily crouched on the floor. Her choppy hair fell in her face, blocking her expression from view but Ari got the feeling she was glaring at them.
"What do you know about my brother?" Emily growled. "Is he still alive?"
Bella swallowed. "Yes and no."
Emily jerked her head up and pushed herself to her feet. "And what is that supposed to mean exactly?"
"Yes, he's alive but doesn't remember anything about his past. He doesn't remember you, your mother, or his name." Bella replied. "His name was Eli, yes?"
Emily's eyes widened and she gave a slight nod.
"Our father turned him into a feelingless monster, our little brother." Aniya choked.
"What happened to your brother?"
"He died from the Flare," Bella said, licking her lips. "Anyways, your brother is now Ari and was sent here to rescue the Scavenger that attacked you. I need to speak to the king."
The next things that the three of them discussed had Ari's head spinning. His name wasn't Ari?
Who's Eli?
That was his sister? No. No way.
What happened to his mom?
What's going on?
Ari gritted his teeth and backed up into the wall, running into a vase that fell over spilling dirt over the floor. He jumped, turning slowly toward the girls' direction.
Aniya moved toward him. "He's here!"
Ari took off in the opposite direction, pulling his hood tighter around his head. Guards came around the corner, he muttered a spell and the two guards collapsed to the ground twitching.
One came from a dark hallway and tackled him to the ground. Ari heard Bella, Aniya, and Emily running towards them. Emily was screaming, "It's him. That my brother, Eli!" Bella was shouting. "Don't let him go!"
Ari kneed the guard in his private; pulled a blade from his boot and sank it into the man's fleshy gut up to the hilt. He pushed the man off him and took off dodging incoming guards and killing any that got in his way.
He turned down an empty hallway and slipped into a room where he changed his form. Once his look was in place he stepped back into the hall where the guards were running past.
One grabbed him by the arm and pressed him against the wall. "What are you doing here?"
Ari made a face like he'd just bitten into a sour lemon as the man's breath hit him. It was like a collision of coffee and meat that should never have happened outside of a culinary disaster show. "My parents were visiting the king."
"Have you seen a boy in all black run by here?"
Ari was grateful that he stripped off his cloak and tucked his mask away. "Yes. He went that way." he pointed in the opposite direction of the dungeons. "I think he was wielding a weapon. Be careful."
"Don't worry, kid. I've got years of experience with this," the guard assured him as he firmly patted his shoulder. "Find a safe place, alright?"
When Emily, Aniya, and Bella came into view the guard ran toward them and explained what Ari had just told him. Emily was staring at him through narrowed eyes.
Ari looked down at the ground and wrung his hands together. When he glanced up they had vanished down the hall he pointed out.
Ari slipped down the hall and hurried down to the dungeons, thankfully no guards were in sight because he sent them on a wild goose chase.
The dungeon was damp, cool, and dimly lit. the cages that lined the wall were full of people who looked worse than corpses with sunken eyes and cheeks, their clothes were hanging off their bodies and their hair had large patches in it as though they had started yanking it out.
Ari hurried through until he spotted Vlad in his cage hanging from the top and doing pullups. Vlad stopped when he spotted him and jumped down. "That look doesn't work well, Your Highness."
Ari shifted forms and wrapped his palms around the bars, the metal began to glow red and melt away. When enough had melted away for Vlad to slip out Vlad summoned a portal and they both slipped through and disappeared.