Devils | ONC 2023 SHORTLISTER

nine

Elena, Kaz and Maverick stood in front of the cell that held Nella. One wall of it was glass, enchanted so it cannot be broken from either side of it or the prisoner can see what is going on on the other side. It could be opened from a simple spell but only from the outside. They had taken Nella's ring and the moonstone into custody. Elena shuddered thinking about what that tiny red stone can do. She had no intention of experiencing it again. She still felt a bit sore and she could tell Kaz was in exactly good condition either. He still looked a bit pale. But then he was always pale.

"You sure she can't see us?" Kaz asked, frowning at the glass.

Elena had a little doubt about that too. Nella was sitting cross-legged on the narrow iron bed, a smug smirk twisting her lips. But her eyes were fixed somewhere between Elena and Maverick, so she guessed Nella was just trying to look unbothered if anyone looked. To be honest, she kind of a mad woman.

"She's just bluffing," Maverick said, mirroring Kaz's frown.

"Has she said anything yet?" Elena looked up at Maverick.

He shook his head. "She refuses to talk to anyone."

"What if we try?" Elena asked.

Maverick ran a hand through his golden curls. "I don't know..."

"What's the worse that can happen?" Kaz shrugged. "Either she will talk or she will just stare, grinning like that purple cat from some cartoon I can't remember the name of."

Elena snorted in amusement. Maverick ducked his head to hide a smile.

"Well, it's this or nothing," Elena pointed out, trying to stop her grin.

"Alright then," Maverick placed his palm on the glass. "If you insist."

His ring glowed lightly as the glass rippled and settled down. Nothing looked different for them but Elena knew Nella could see them now. The woman's smile faltered, her eyes filling with momentary hatred before she found her composure. She uncurled her legs, placing them firmly on the floor and leaned forward, elbows on knees.

"What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you three here?" 

"We need answers, Alden," Maverick demanded, clasping his hands behind his back. He reminded Elena of Commander Mordino suddenly. The way he held himself: Confident and unwavering. Hard to please.

Elena had known him for six years. She knew him enough to know though he appeared cold, he did care. That was what made him different from his father. That, and his patience. He was patient with her when she first came here, never following any order; Stubbornly refusing to train. He was patient with Kaz when he was an angry child who had only ever known how to survive. The Commander had none of that patience. In that way, Kaz was like him. He had patience with anything either. But he never abided by the rules, he never seemed to care much about pissing off his father. They were so alike and so different at the same time: The father and his sons.

"I've told you, Maverick," Nella rolled her eyes. "I won't tell you anything."

"Is that because you don't know anything?" Kaz narrowed his eyes at her.

Nella glowered at him. "I know everything. But I won't tell anyone anything."

Kaz raised his chin. "Oh, please. As you like to remind everyone all the time, I'm an expert in that field. A liar knows when someone is lying. And you are lying now."

Nella looked like she might burst into flames. Kaz gave her a steady smirk.

"Is that so, Alden?" Maverick asked, his voice calm.

Nella hesitated for a moment. Her dark eyes flicked between the three of them. "Yes," She said finally. "I don't know anything. I was hoping she would," She jerked her chin at Elena.

"I do know something. But not everything," Elena admitted. "Why would you be clueless, Nella? You stole the artefact."

"Yes, and that idiot Barnabas stole it from me and sold it to someone before I could get my hands on him," Nella spat at the floor. "I was aiming that damn bullet for you, Lendorr, but you turned in the last second. I kept you alive thinking you'd know something useful. Apparently, you don't either."

Elena felt cold all over. She felt Maverick stiffen beside her. She didn't know that bullet had her name written on it. She wondered what would have happened if she simply did not turn. What if the bullet did strike her? She would be dead and Barnabas would have spilled everything to Nella. This could have gone very very wrong. Even more wrong than it already is.

"We are wasting time," Maverick stated. "This is not getting us anywhere."

Nella looked thoughtful for a moment. Elena could see the gears turning in her head as she stared intently at the glass wall. Maverick raised his hand to return the glass wall to its previous one-way state and Nella straightened abruptly. "Wait!"

Maverick hesitated. Kaz looked suspiciously at Nella. 

"What?" Elena asked the woman.

"I can help you," Nella grimaced as if saying that physically hurt.

"I'm sorry, what?" Kaz blinked at her in mock confusion.

Nella gritted her teeth. "You heard me right, kid. I can help you."

Maverick reluctantly lowered his hand, his brow furrowing. "How, exactly?"

"There's a lot you don't know," She stood up. "Not even Commander Mordino knows. I'm not the bad guy here. We want the same thing here, don't we? To destroy the statue?"

No one answered her. All of Elena's senses told her to shut the damn wall in Alden's face and forget everything. Their primary intention wasn't even to destroy the statue. It was sort of a Plan D kind of thing. Destroy it if you have no other choice. But then again, they actually had no clear idea about why Nella stole it in the first place. Everyone assumed she did it for the money. Elena knew it made little sense; Nella was a well-paid, well-respected agent. 

"Give us a moment, Alden," Maverick said finally, looking torn between storming off and taking his chances. He let the glass wall become a mirror on Nella's side.

"What if she's telling the truth?" Elena whispered even though she knew Nella couldn't hear her. Kaz remained silent, his eyes travelling between his brother and Elena.

"I can't trust her, Elena," Maverick's eyes bore into hers. "Not after everything she had done. She would have killed you. It was dumb luck you missed the bullet. She was going to use you as a way to find the artefact. She hurt you. She hurt my baby brother."

Kaz seemed to be struggling not to make a face at Maverick at being called baby brother. Maverick ignored him. 

"But what if this is the only way?" Elena questioned, her hands clutching at Maverick's sleeves. "What if this our only chance?"

Maverick looked at Kaz. "What do you say?"

He shrugged speechlessly. "I'm not keen on trusting her, but... What if she can actually help?"

Maverick ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Okay, then."

He turned toward the cell letting the spell drop again. Nella raised a curious eyebrow at him. "So...?"

"If we are doing this," Maverick stated, carefully picking words. "Father has to know about this. I'm not throwing myself or anyone of us under the bus if you escape. We are doing this with the Devils' knowledge. Okay?"

"If this goes right, I get total freedom," Nella looked at each of them in the eyes. "I get my job back."

Maverick's jaw ticked but he nodded stiffly.

Nella seemed to contemplate her options. And then she grinned. "Fine. Do we have a deal?"

"I guess we do," Kaz muttered. "I guess we do."

total word count 11,982