An errand is getting a tank of gas or picking up a carton of milk or something. It is not getting chased by flying purple pyromaniac gorillas hurling incendiary poo!"

Blood Rites, by Jim Butcher

My question hung in the air for a few moments, the silence growing thicker with each passing second.

Malach and Luc couldn't answer for obvious reasons, but Hugo and Tanya finally shook their heads. I felt a sense of pessimism building up inside me, but there was not much I could do about it ... but, wait.

In a funny way, it was like we had been ready for it for centuries. Dash kept trying to track Jace and the others on his phone, while Tanya, Hugo and I did our best to take care of the others, making dressings and whatever was necessary. Tanya had a green paste that seemed to be miraculous, although the smell made me want to run the heck away.

We worked efficiently together, and it made me smile. Who knew that the girl who never had a single adventure, who lived trying to please everyone and always had her nose in a book, could have so many friends in one place?

I felt necessary, accepted, part of a team...

I felt loved.

It was strange to think of it this way, but I was happier in this new life as an Initiate than I had ever been in my life as a human.

Although a thousand different thoughts bubbled in my head, there was a part of me that kept looking at the door. I wanted Natalia to come in smiling, to say something silly about all the work she was going to have to clean the trail of transparent blood on the floor or to criticize me for not having eaten anything yet.

Malach groaned loudly, which made me jump and drop the cotton ball I was using to treat a long wound on his arm. He turned to look at me slowly, his dead eyes focusing on me as a missile focused on its target.

Even banged up, Malach managed to scare me more than Frankenstein.

"Go to your old home," he told me, his voice extremely hoarse. "Steal the Mirror. Save Natalia and the others."

As I tried to process what Malach had just said, Tanya seemed to get the message right away.

"Are you crazy, Malach? She cannot just enter enemy territory and steal something from them, they will kill her!"

Taking a deep breath, which seemed to be really painful, Malach turned to face Tanya.

"We have no choice."Turning to me, he added. "The Mirror of the Damned, that's what it's called. It was stolen ages ago and we've been looking for it ever since. I saw it yesterday in Izak's hands, before—"

When he started coughing, Tanya gave him some water and turned to look at me.

"They say that the Mirror gives you everything you want, as long as you pay the price for it. They say it's cursed because the price demanded has always been very high."

"We can't know exactly what Izak asked for, but we know it can't be a good thing. The price asked for the Mirror is also unknown, but it certainly has something to do with Joanne trying to sacrifice Ingreth and Jace."

I frowned.

"At the moment, if you're right," I started, looking sideways at Dash who was still trying to get in touch with the others. "they have Ingreth, Jace, Miss Savannah, and Natalia in their possession. What would they need Savannah and Natalia for?"

"I don't know, but honestly Maisie, it must not be for a very good reason." Malach coughed again, taking a few minutes to recover. "We have to get them out."

Tanya sighed and offered me a tired smile.

"Okay, Malach, but I didn't sacrifice my peace and my freedom just so we could take Maisie and hand her over to Izak. We have to save them, yes, but we need a plan for that.

"I have a plan," Malach began, his voice weak and thick. Taking a few more sips of water, he took a deep breath and turned to us. "but it won't be anything simple."

"Nothing has been exactly simple for us, Malach," Hugo intervened, approaching us with more gauze and cotton. "Luc will recover, but he is completely screwed. My desire is to go there and hit everyone who hurt him, but I'm here talking to you ... Few things are going to be more difficult than that."

"We need to free Aline."

"What?"

**

And that is why, less than three hours later, we are here ready to commit yet another crime to add to our long, long list.

"I can't believe I'm going to do that," Tanya murmured beside me, adjusting her hat to cover her face.

"If we survive this," Hugo murmured from the other side, a mischievous smile on his lips that hid his worried look. "we can rest easy, because we've surely become immortals."

"Why the heck do we even listen to Malach?" Tanya asked, pushing me out of a guard's way. "He never committed a crime, never, ever. Suddenly, in less than six months, he commits three and is encouraging us to commit a fourth. We should suspect that he was replaced by a double or something."

"His plan is good," I explained, but it sounded strange even to me. "Aline knows Izak better than anyone. She will surely be able to distract him."

"Yes, she knows him well, but she is in love with him. Why do only I care about that part?" Tanya looked up and took a deep breath.

"It's not just you who cares about that part, Tanya, but the fact is that we are desperate." Hugo retorted, offering a weak smile at a guard who seemed to be paying a lot of attention to us. "Desperate times require desperate measures."

"Is it like being chased by the Army and breaking into their home to free a prisoner using a bunch of faux disguises? Honestly, I'm surprised that Malach didn't get us a fake mustache like that of Dick Dastardly, because it would suit the theme wonderfully."

"He did," Hugo's fake smile widened "I was the one who refused to use it. A guy has to have limits."

"Fine," I said, trying to focus on the situation. "So let's see, what's the plan again?"

"There is no plan," Hugo explained, waving to a woman who was passing by. The woman smiled uncomfortably and waved back, the way you do when you don't recognize someone but don't want to be rude. "We'll go there and look for Aline's cell. At least Malach knew it was the only cell on the third floor, so just go up the stairs and get there. We take the stairs because it is easier to escape by the stairs than by the elevator, more space to run."

"How comforting." Tanya retorted, making Hugo frown at her. Tanya was clearly not cooperating with him.

Tanya stuck out her tongue.

"Moving along," he stuck his tongue out to Tanya as well. "We have to get to the third floor. Once there, we have to free Aline, and come back here with her. After that, we only need to leave."

"Only." Tanya laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Only that. Basic thing."

"Well, if you're finding it difficult, feel free to elaborate."Hugo's smile widened. "Really free. Completely free. Because I have the distinct impression that that group of Guards over there is coming towards us."

Tanya unleashed a bunch of insults that would make any sailor proud, arranging the disguises Malach had managed for us in a way that clearly denounced her nervousness.

"Try to relax," Hugo murmured, pushing me away from him. "If everything goes wrong, run to the exit and I'll run to the stairs."

"And Tanya?" I mumbled back, to which Hugo shrugged.

"We pray for her." seeing my disapproving expression, Hugo sighed. "No, really. What do you want me to do? She will get caught, so will we. The only thing I can offer to do is Malach's voodoo doll for getting us into this, and I don't even think I can do that because I understand his side too. We had no choice!"

We watched in despair as the group of guards approached us, each one of us doing our best to try to appear unsuspecting.

Which, of course, screamed that we were suspicious. Born to be a spy, I wasn't. I didn't have the nerves for that.

"If I get caught now," Hugo murmured beside me, his hands shaking slightly. "my brother kills me as soon as he sees me. Luc would be fine here, even hopping off with one foot tied at his back."

I swallowed. Yeah, Malach was going to kill me too.

"Let's have a double funeral," I replied to him and Hugo gave a grimace.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I intend to survive." Tanya smiled, throwing her shoulders back and lifting her head. "If someone is going to die here it will be Malach for having this terrible idea."

"We agreed—"

"That's not the point, Maisie." Tanya's voice was full of stubbornness, her eyes sparkling. "Come on, let's greet these guards as if they were our best friends for years, and walk straight towards the stairs."

I was ready to wish Tanya good luck and go hide behind Hugo when I realized that we really didn't have much choice. The guys were coming towards us, just right at us.

And if there was one thing that this whole story was teaching me, it was that sometimes it was better to puff up your chest and face your destination than to run away from it as if the devil himself was chasing you.

It is impossible to escape from fate.

But it is completely possible to face it with courage because it is only by facing it that we can shape it the way we want it to be.

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Hi everyone!

How are you doing? Me, I'm staying home still, trying to keep my sanity lol. Any suggestions on how to do that? I'd love to hear from you!

Originally published: May 1st 2020

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