Magic and Gold

21: Conditionally

Perspective of Alix

I felt Codie's forehead for the third time in the last five minutes. She was burning up and her skin was blotchy red in places. She had been sleeping a lot more than usual and had a high fever. When she woke up, she cried until she went back to sleep, which was usually soon after.

I was so worried that I had spent many long nights wide awake, trying to come up with a solution. She was in so much pain, and there was nothing I could do. I did not have access to a doctor even if I had the money. I did not have the magic to heal even her fever, let alone broken ribs. She cried so much, and even though I tried to stay strong, I ended up crying with her more than once.

I kissed her forehead and pulled the blankets up around her. I left her in sleep, hoping she would not wake up until she returned. It had taken me days to even leave her bedside, but after a while I realized I could not hurt her any more by leaving. This was important, and Codie would not miss me while asleep. I had something important to do on this dark, moonless night. I scaled down the rungs extremely carefully. I was more cautious now that I had seen disaster strike. I second guessed every move and worried that I would fall. I had climbed this ladder several times a day for most of my life, but never had seeds of doubt been planted in my mind quite like this.

I headed for the old hotel with my hood pulled low over my face. They were making good progress on excavating the tunnels, but the sturdiness of the structure was more important than the speed in which it was finished. They had to be completely sure that the roof would not cave in once we started business again. I agreed that not being buried with dirt was important in a business.

I met Key at the entrance of the hotel. She hated the haunted place almost as much as I did. She was pulling on fingerless gloves that went up to her elbow, having not seen me yet. She finally realized she needed to pull her hood up to cover her hair, so I could no longer see her trademark brown ponytail. "Where's Copper?" I asked.

"Inside, making sure we have what we need. Uniforms have to be up to snuff or else we're done before we've began." She tried to smooth down her hair but ended up running a hand over her hood. I could tell she was nervous. Our plan was by no means foolproof, but I believed in it. We would go in undercover, try not to draw attention, and do our best to get to Guin.

I had convinced my friends in the Magia to help me liberate Guin because they were loyal friends, and I explained what a good person Guin was. They also believed that Ralphus was doing a terrible job at ruling, so he needed to be replaced.

Key was the only one from the Department of Stealth, and even she was a new recruit. Scrap would have been good for this job with her stealth and magic, but she still had never showed. She had either run or died, and I did not like to think of her doing either. Maybe she was so embarrassed because I rebuffed her that she never showed her face again. I hoped that was not true. She had more spine than that, but the other options seemed unlikely too.

More important right now was Guin. Her wedding had been ages ago. This was my only chance to get her out, and who knew what mental damage had already been done, trapped in a cage for so long. I did not know who she would be when we pulled her out, but I was willing to risk everything to see. Even my pride.

Copper walked out of the hotel. He was an analyst, slightly fidgety and wiry because he was from the Department of Planning. Since I had so few friends outside of my own Department, he would have to do. He carried a garment bag which he was stuffing into a duffel bag. "Ready?" he asked.