The Necklace: The Trial Realm

Chapter Twenty Six: Abort Mission

The moment they're gone I turn my attention fully on Opall. "You really think you can do this?" I ask her and she nods.

"As I told you, I was only in the Ring for a short period of time, I mostly grew up here in Utopia. I know the rules, where everything is, and exactly how to blend in. Which right now we aren't."

"Um," Brynlynn cuts in. "I can't help but notice I sort of stick out."

I look at her long flowing bright blonde hair and those striking red eyes. "You're right." I agree, then turn to Max. "You're not much better, being as huge as a building and all. And you." I add, looking up at Raven.

He shields his eyes from the light, squinting and wincing every time the sunlight touches him. "Doing my best." He says and I know what he means. We are all just flying with the wind here, letting our instincts lead us. I can only hope that a Demon, Caster, Two Utopians, and a....

I wrack my brain only to find I've never found out where Maxum was from before he came here. "What are you?" I blurt. "I never asked."

He laughs lightly, flicking a bit of my hair off of my shoulder. "Shifter. Thought it was obvious."

Gods, Yael is going to flip when I tell him. We thought Bob was our only shifter friend. I just hope I make it back and get a chance to tell him and grill Maxum for his own shifter stories, because right now isn't the time.

"Right now they'll be at masses," Opall says, leaning around the sparkling building. "The timing couldn't be more perfect. We would have had a much more difficult time of things if we'd gotten here at any other time of day. Utopians are very specific, they'd notice anyone out of place." She pauses to look at the others. "and you all look out of place."

"So what's your plan?" I ask, feeling antsy with a time limit looming over our heads. "Do we just run wherever and get them out and then come back here?"

"Uh, no." She looks at me like I'm an idiot. "That would never work."

I hold in my snips about not knowing as much about moving around in Utopia since I wasn't one of the Worthy who bless this enchanted land, but it's hard. Lives are on the line here and we don't have time for group spats, so I keep my mouth shut and listen.

Opall pulls back her wiry brown curls and smooths them out over her scalp, securing them in a neat tight bun on the back of her head before moving behind me to run her hands through the length of my hair and doing the same. "You and I are the only two who can go inside, anyone else will throw off all kinds of alarms and we will be caught in less than a minute."

"So you don't even need us then?" Maxum asks, almost sounding disappointed to be being left out of the fight.

Opall laughs, obviously hearing the same thing as me. "I didn't say that." She winks at him. "Here's what we're going to do." She takes one deep breath, checking her time once before diving in. "We move carefully up the back roads to a few building to the East, then Max, since you're the best with the horses, you'll sneak around to where the buggies and horses are kept and get them ready for us. Once the buggy is ready, the rest of you will get in while Mali and I go into the chapel and sneak out a few robes." She looks back to Brynlynn, Max, and Raven. "You guys will hide in the back of the buggy and Mali and me will sit up front so if anyone sees us, we don't raise any suspicions. The holding building is just a little ways up the road."

"The holding building?" I ask, not liking the sound of Tawny and Mags being held anywhere. But then deciding that being held is worse than not being anything at all, so I chose to air on the side of positivity for once.