All Is Fair In Love And War

Chapter 34

"Okay," Steve thought out loud. "If I were a bloodthirsty god bent on world domination, where would I hide my kids?"

"I'm not sure if that's helpful right now, Steve." Jim said, glancing around as they slowly made their way down the hall.

"Sure it's helpful!" Steve defended. "Think like our enemy, beat our enemy. Works all the time."

"In what? Sports? You're a little out of your element here."

"That's low, Lake."

"Guys," Douxie's voice was tired and exasperated. "Focus, please?"

"Right, sorry." Jim pursed his lips. "You okay?"

Douxie sighed, keeping his eyes fixed ahead of him. "No."

Jim shared a look with Archie, who was perched on Douxie's shoulders. "How will we know how to find him?"

Douxie's hands were shaking. "I don't know," he admitted softly. "I don't know, Jim. I'm really just working off hope right now."

"We could split up?" Jamie offered. "Cover more ground."

"That might work." Aanya agreed.

"Mmm," Archie sounded unsure. "First, we should have a way to break Carter out of his father's control. Otherwise whoever finds him first might just be signing their death warrant."

"What?" Steve asked weakly.

Douxie stopped, turning to face his friends. "You all don't realize just how often he holds back. How easily he could kill people if he wasn't careful."

Claire's eyes widened. "Oh."

Archie raised a brow. "Claire?"

She wet her lips, wringing her hands together. "When we crashed the party in New York-"

"Thanks for that by the way." Aanya cut in.

Claire ignored her. "He elbowed what we thought was a human guard in the face."

"What happened?" Jim asked.

"The guy's face caved in."

Jim's eyes widened with horror. "And that was Carter holding back?"

Claire seemed at a loss. "Yeah."

Douxie's expression was troubled. Anxious. "That's my point. With Vameus controlling his mind... he won't be holding back. When we find him... we have to be ready to fight for our lives."

"Alright," Jim let out an anxious breath. "Then how do we snap him out of it?"

Douxie held up a hand, magic sparking off his fingertips. "Leave that to me."

*~*

A million voices screamed as one, crying, calling to be set free. To be let go. Saved. Put out of their misery.

A million voices begged for mercy, but mercy did not come. Mercy could not hear their cries.

Muffled by blood, by pain, by war, a million voices cried out. But no one heard.

A million voices sobbed for freedom.

And freedom did not answer.

Freedom did not come.

*~*

They ended up splitting up.

Too many people in one place did not equal stealthy. So they had to split up. Aja, Steve, Aanya, Jamie, and Aarrrgghh went to check near the arena. Krel, Toby, Laura, and Fenris went off to track down Vameus to find out what he was planning. Douxie, Jim, Claire, Blinky, and Archie were left to search for Carter near the throne room.