Blade(Part 1): Dawn

Chapter 17: Shala

A solid month of meticulous planning went into both infiltrating Lord Nouzari's mansion and killing him. Shala, Dameon, and the rest of the Blades of Midnight have documented every single detail of the building, the movement of the Skaolan soldiers, and also Nouzari's schedule. He was surprisingly careful, but it made sense. His paranoia might have come from a gathering of the other Skaolan lords of the colonies that were coming to the mansion. There were extra guards, including Undying. There was also no doubt that his guests would bring their own personal guards. Executing two Guardians would make anyone paranoid, as if massacring thousands wasn't bad enough. Nouzari had about a hundred soldiers all over the mansion, and even more in the farms where his slaves were being worked to death under the blazing sun. Shala began to sense a feeling of anger from Dameon as they staked out the southern side of the house. He remembered every second of what he did on those fields. He had seen friends he made die from exhaustion or dehydration, or only exposure to the elements. If none of those killed them, then they were killed only for the pleasure of it. Shala's best way to comfort him was laying a hand on his shoulder, just as he did with her when they met. It worked. Dameon's anger died down a bit.

"It seems smaller," the assassin sighed. "Smaller than last I saw it."

"I can imagine," said Shala. "Well, hopefully, this will be the last time you have to see it."

"It will be," Dameon swore, then he turned on his radio and said, "Silas, there's no movement in the southern yard."

"Nothing in the north or east, either," said Silas.

"Or the west," Tashira added.

"Well, let's regroup," Silas ordered. "Meet up on the road to the courtyard."

"Yes, sir," said Dameon. He and Shala found Silas, Sentia, and Tashira on the road to the manor between the fields on the farms. They were on a turn that hid them from the view of the mansion.

"Well, if we're to do this, we have to do it before the gathering tonight," Dameon suggested. "His guests will bring their own guards to post around the perimeter. If they don't, they'll be vulnerable, too, if the chance arises."

"As much as I would like to, Dameon, it is in our best interest to only kill Nouzari tonight," said Silas. "And we'll have to do it at the gathering. Killing him now will only raise suspicions."

"Not only that," Tashira corrected. "Nouzari has been ordered by Aziz to deploy forces to attack Acran from the south."

"Every one of his lords has," Sentia reminded.

"But Nouzari has the largest army out of all of them," said Dameon. "Ahead of Riahi. If Aziz were to attack Acran, Nouzari's the one he would command to do so."

"Is there a chance that we could go to this gathering as guests?" Shala suggested. "We could slip past Nouzari's defenses undetected."

"Well, would Nouzari recognize you?" asked Silas.

"Our paths never crossed," Shala assured. "I doubt it."

"And you?" Silas asked, to Dameon.

"He only saw me once in my entire life," said Dameon. "And I seriously doubt he remembers what I look like."

"We may not have to hope for that," Tashira concluded. "Silas, what if Shala and I went undercover as mother and daughter, while you, Sentia, and Dameon find information about Nouzari's war plans?"

"It could work," said Silas. "You will have to monitor the situation in the party very closely." It made perfect sense. Shala and Tashira's skin colors were nearly identical, and whoever looked at them might assume that Shala had inherited her father's looks. They would monitor the party while Dameon, Sentia, and Silas would sneak into the depths underneath the mansion and search for strategies and battle tactics that Nouzari had planned to put to use. A week ago, they had intercepted a messenger of Lord Nouzari who was carrying the summons to his mansion for tonight. It didn't seem relevant until now. By nightfall, nine glamorous cars that carried Aziz's colonial lords and ladies were rolling into the courtyard of the large house. Shala and Tashira were in one of them, with Sentia driving the vehicle in the disguise of a Skaolan driver. Shala wore a dark, sleeved dress with her radiant crystals that generated her aura shield sewn into the end of her sleeves, her shoes, and her necklace that was hidden in the dress itself, and had her hair hanging down, even though she wanted to keep it in a bun. Tashira wore a red, sleeveless one and had a golden circlet around the top of her head, similar to what a Skaolan noblewoman would wear.