I moved around, not completely thinking as I looked for things I'd need. Cady said I should take only a few things, but I needed them all for my mental health.
"Are you done?" I heard, turning to see her walk in. "I told you we have to travel light until we get out of the palace," she said.
"But…" I tried protesting, but she didn't listen.
"Get rid of these things and meet me at the entrance. If you see any of those people…" she said, throwing a sheathed knife at me, "stab their head."
I stared at the knife and sighed. What am I supposed to do?
I walked out after dropping most of the things I was holding. Some of the sick people approached me, and I knew I had to fight back and protect myself, but I hesitated.
What if they're not dead? What if there's a chance they'd go back to normal?
"Let's go," Cady shouted, snapping me back to reality.
How is she so calm?
I climbed onto the horse she was with, and she hit it to make it move.
"From the top of my head to my fingertip," I said and released an attack.
Was that aura or magic?
I glanced back and saw her slice through all those people with ease. For some reason, it looked beautiful and bright. I really admired her.
We reached the gate, but it was locked and clear.
Did the others get away?
"Open the gate," Cady shouted as we approached.
"Do you have a permit?" one of the guards asked.
"Get out while you can and lock the gate so that they won't get through," she said, looking back.
"Who? What are you talking about?" he asked.
"The palace has been attacked, and people are acting like beasts. Get out while you can," she said.
No one would believe that; they'd probably think she was speaking nonsense.
"What nonsense are you saying?" he asked, looking back.
"Open the gate," I said, trying to sound authoritative but failing.
How does Krysen do it?
"Your Highness, but…" he was about to argue but stopped when he noticed them. "What's wrong with them?"
"Open the gate," Cady shouted. "Let's go," she shouted. We ran out, but they were already close and began attacking the guards. "Close the gate," she shouted.
Why is this happening?
"Wait, don't leave me… ahh…" one of the guards shouted as he got eaten alive. Cady ran back to their aid.
To my surprise, she broke the chain and locked them in. I thought she was going to help them. She jumped over the gate to the pillar and helped the people inside.
Did she just use magic?
"What's going on?" one of the guards asked.
"I don't have time to explain. Just make sure you don't get bitten," she said, climbing her horse.
"Wait, are you leaving? You can't leave us here," he said.
Can we help them?
"There are two horses and eight of us. How will that work?" she asked coldly. "Find your way to safety. I'm not obligated to save you," she said, hitting her horse. But one of them stepped in front of it, causing the horse to stop and throw her off its back.
"I'm sorry, but you'd have to give up those horses," he said, pointing a dagger at her.
She stood up, dusted her clothes, and checked on her horse. She was still calm, even with a dagger pointed at her.
"I don't want to kill you, so move aside," she said, reaching behind her.
They ran at her, but she didn't seem fazed. She moved quickly, inflicting several injuries on them.
I wanted to stop her, but I couldn't.
They kept charging at her, and for a second, I felt fear for them. I just knew she'd do something terrible—and she did.
…
I couldn't get the image of those dead bodies out of my mind. They were normal. She could have left quietly; she didn't have to kill them.
"You didn't have to kill them," I said, unable to hold in my thoughts any longer.
"I did," she replied, not bothered by what she did.
"No, you didn't. You could have…"
"That naive mentality will get you killed, Your Highness," she said, standing up. "Rest up; we'll go to the Bureau of Knights in the morning," she said, and all I could do was nod.
Naive? She's the one that killed those people. Is that what being in the special forces is about? There was still a chance they'd listen… right?
…
"Your Highness, I think it got here too," Cady said once we arrived.
"What do we do?" I asked.
"We'll still go inside, but be careful. Be ready to run at any moment," she said.
It was eerily quiet. I didn't think going in was a good idea, but I followed quietly. I let my thoughts wander, trying not to pay attention to our surroundings.
"Shit, let's get out of here," Cady shouted. I looked up and saw an even larger group approaching. Behind us was the same.
We were trapped.
"Hey," someone shouted, and the group turned their attention to one of the buildings. "Come over here," he shouted.
"This way," Cady said, hitting my horse to make it run fast. "Go," she said, dismounting hers, which then bolted away.
What is she thinking?
"Come on, come on," he kept shouting.
The sick people went after his voice, but some still followed me.
"Hey, don't turn around, come on."
I kept looking back at Cady as she ran towards me. She made those stunts look easy. I didn't notice I was being attacked until the horse neighed and threw me off.
Cady forced me onto her horse, and it rode off.
"Hey, hey," the person on the roof kept shouting, buying me time to get away. "Go to the training ground," I heard faintly.
His voice is really loud.
We circled around, but I forced the horse to turn back. It refused, and it took extra work to make it go.
It's a really sassy horse.
Cady stood in front of a large group of people with her sword drawn, but she turned when the horse neighed.
She grabbed the person on the ground and helped him up before climbing onto the horse. "Go," she shouted, and the horse obeyed.
We managed to get away in one piece and met other knights.
"Who's in charge here?" Cady asked, looking intimidating.
"Captain Adger," someone replied.
"Come with me," she ordered.
We walked to the tent set up in the center of the large grounds and entered.
"Captain," she called as we stepped in, and the people inside turned in unison.
"You're still alive?" a man asked, and from his tone, I could tell they didn't like each other.
"Sorry to disappoint you," she replied, putting her hands in her pockets casually. "What happened here?" she asked.
She doesn't have to act rudely to get her point across.
When someone puts their hands in their pockets while talking, it can be seen as disrespectful. It's like spitting in someone's face.
"We're handling everything just fine," he said, turning back to the people at the table. "For now, we need to send people to contact the magic bureau," he said to them.
"Why don't you go yourself?" Cady asked, sitting on the table.
"I'm taking care of things here," he replied.
"How did they die? I thought it was only the palace," she asked, ignoring him.
"The trainees who had late dinner suddenly convulsed and started attacking others," one of the people at the table said.
"It was in the food? No wonder," she said, standing up.
Would the same have happened to us if we ate? Father's toxic dinner saved us.
"Some knights left for the palace when we got the emergency signal—special forces—but they haven't returned," he continued.
How did they know?
"So what's your plan, Captain?" She turned her attention back to him.
"I just said what the plan was," he said.
"That won't work. First, get the prince to safety. At least one member of the royal family should survive," she said, taking off her armor. "We'll secure the armory and prepare for battle. These things must have reached the towns by now. Until we connect with the generals, I'll be in charge," she said, looking him in the eye. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"No," he mumbled.
She outranks him? Why is she my knight?
"We're doing a full cleanup. Operation Undead. Whether you're special forces or a trainee, it doesn't matter. These things are already dead, so put them out of their misery," she said. "Hit their head and they'll die for real. Relay this to the others. Remember, your duty lies with the empire—let's save as many lives as possible," she said and walked out.
"What about the magic bureau?" one of them asked.
"We'll go there after securing the armory," she said.
Cady sat by the corner with her jacket over her face.
"What was that chant you kept saying?" I asked, sitting next to her. I'd heard it once, but I was curious and just making conversation.
"It's nothing," she replied.
"Does magic work that way? Aren't you supposed to use the determined magic circles to create attacks?" I asked. I'm not even sure if it's magic or not.
"Some people break the rules, I guess," she said, removing the jacket from her face. "Okay, I'll show you," she said, taking off her gloves and rolling up her sleeves.
This is the first time she's acknowledged me or responded when I made small talk.
There was a magic circle on both of her hands. I study magic circles for no particular reason, and I've never seen one like it, not even among ancient or forbidden circles.
"This is what makes it possible for me to break the rules," she said. "There's a larger one on my back. I have an affinity for magic, so this makes it easy to use. It transforms my words into commands that make this one circle do what all the others can," she explained.
"That's amazing. How did you come up with it?" I asked.
"That's enough information," she said, covering her face again. "Don't go blabbering to people that I use magic, or I'll cut off your tongue," she threatened, and I believed she could.
"I won't," I said, content with the short conversation.