and magicians cheered from the wall. Malja quieted them down and made sure they were prepared for an attack. They waited and watched. To her relief, Brother X called back his soldiers. He brought the magicians out front again and had them start the arduous task of creating new lava-spitters.
"We've got a little time," Malja said to her men. "Ready your weapons for another strike. When the time comes, they won't do the same attack. They'll storm the walls, give us much more to deal with, so we can't shoot out their spitters. Get ready. The real battle is coming."
Owl
Owl, Tommy, and Fawbry trailed the old man through the winding halls and down several flights of stairs until they entered an underground bunker. Two rooms and a bathroom. A large table and four chairs. Nothing else.
Master Kee pressed a button next to the door and a tube mounted in the ceiling lit up. It cast a pale light upon the room. "We still have a few storage cells left and a handful of magicians to recharge them, if needed."
Fawbry said, "This is how you survived the Queen's first attack?"
Master Kee raised an eyebrow. "Many of us. Yes."
"It's hot," Owl said as he removed his coat and tossed it on the table. "You fit everyone in here?"
"No," Master Kee said. "If we had, more people would have survived. Some refused to come down, insisting on fighting. Some found other safe places to be. Most died."
"It'll be perfect," Fawbry said, taking a chair and leaning back enough to put his feet on the table. "So, let's figure this out. What exactly did the Chief Master tell you?"
The others each took a chair and settled in — Owl and Master Kee on opposite sides and Tommy on the end. Owl's voice caught as he recalled those final moments. Though it hurt to discuss, he detailed Chief Master's death.
When he finished, Master Kee stretched across the table, placed a hand on his shoulder, and closed his eyes in prayer. It was unorthodox to share a prayer, and awkward in this position, but Owl didn't mind. Part of him actually found comfort in it.
Fawbry scratched his head. "You said this was the first time Chief Master took you out as his escort?"
"That's right," Owl said.
"Did you ever spend much time with him before that?"
"No. That's part of what made it so odd. Usually he assigned Brother X to be his guard. But, of course, Brother X was busy betraying us this time."
"Do you think Chief Master knew that?"
"Knew Brother X had betrayed us? I can't see how he'd know," Owl said. He remembered the horrified look that twisted Chief Master's peaceful face into one of sheer disbelief. "No. He couldn't have known."
Master Kee said, "But he did. I remember just a few days before the meeting when a messenger from Queen Salia's court came to the Order — a young girl with striking gray eyes."
Sweat beaded on Owl's forehead. "I remember her, too."
With a chuckle, Master Kee said, "I suspect all of the Order noticed her. We have females in our ranks, but not many."
"I'm glad I never joined then," Fawbry said.
"She arrived to request the parlay in the Great Field that we know now was a delaying tactic and a trap," Master Kee continued. "I rushed to Chief Master with the news. Tensions between the government and the Order had been so high that I honestly thought this was a crack we could exploit to bring peace about Penmarvia. But when I opened the door to Chief Master's study, he merely nodded and waved me off."
"He knew?" Owl said.
"I think he suspected. And he looked sad, I think. He looked like he had been expecting the news all along but had also been hopeful that it would not come. Sort of resigned."
Owl's hands covered his stomach as if he had been punched. "When he saw Brother X at the Great Field, the betrayal became undeniable. He knew the whole time but only then was it real."
Fawbry said, "That's when he knew you were being set up."
"I just don't understand why," Master Kee said. "If he knew Brother X had betrayed us, if he
"We've got a little time," Malja said to her men. "Ready your weapons for another strike. When the time comes, they won't do the same attack. They'll storm the walls, give us much more to deal with, so we can't shoot out their spitters. Get ready. The real battle is coming."
Owl
Owl, Tommy, and Fawbry trailed the old man through the winding halls and down several flights of stairs until they entered an underground bunker. Two rooms and a bathroom. A large table and four chairs. Nothing else.
Master Kee pressed a button next to the door and a tube mounted in the ceiling lit up. It cast a pale light upon the room. "We still have a few storage cells left and a handful of magicians to recharge them, if needed."
Fawbry said, "This is how you survived the Queen's first attack?"
Master Kee raised an eyebrow. "Many of us. Yes."
"It's hot," Owl said as he removed his coat and tossed it on the table. "You fit everyone in here?"
"No," Master Kee said. "If we had, more people would have survived. Some refused to come down, insisting on fighting. Some found other safe places to be. Most died."
"It'll be perfect," Fawbry said, taking a chair and leaning back enough to put his feet on the table. "So, let's figure this out. What exactly did the Chief Master tell you?"
The others each took a chair and settled in — Owl and Master Kee on opposite sides and Tommy on the end. Owl's voice caught as he recalled those final moments. Though it hurt to discuss, he detailed Chief Master's death.
When he finished, Master Kee stretched across the table, placed a hand on his shoulder, and closed his eyes in prayer. It was unorthodox to share a prayer, and awkward in this position, but Owl didn't mind. Part of him actually found comfort in it.
Fawbry scratched his head. "You said this was the first time Chief Master took you out as his escort?"
"That's right," Owl said.
"Did you ever spend much time with him before that?"
"No. That's part of what made it so odd. Usually he assigned Brother X to be his guard. But, of course, Brother X was busy betraying us this time."
"Do you think Chief Master knew that?"
"Knew Brother X had betrayed us? I can't see how he'd know," Owl said. He remembered the horrified look that twisted Chief Master's peaceful face into one of sheer disbelief. "No. He couldn't have known."
Master Kee said, "But he did. I remember just a few days before the meeting when a messenger from Queen Salia's court came to the Order — a young girl with striking gray eyes."
Sweat beaded on Owl's forehead. "I remember her, too."
With a chuckle, Master Kee said, "I suspect all of the Order noticed her. We have females in our ranks, but not many."
"I'm glad I never joined then," Fawbry said.
"She arrived to request the parlay in the Great Field that we know now was a delaying tactic and a trap," Master Kee continued. "I rushed to Chief Master with the news. Tensions between the government and the Order had been so high that I honestly thought this was a crack we could exploit to bring peace about Penmarvia. But when I opened the door to Chief Master's study, he merely nodded and waved me off."
"He knew?" Owl said.
"I think he suspected. And he looked sad, I think. He looked like he had been expecting the news all along but had also been hopeful that it would not come. Sort of resigned."
Owl's hands covered his stomach as if he had been punched. "When he saw Brother X at the Great Field, the betrayal became undeniable. He knew the whole time but only then was it real."
Fawbry said, "That's when he knew you were being set up."
"I just don't understand why," Master Kee said. "If he knew Brother X had betrayed us, if he
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