Chapter 22

Hope was present in every single person within my home after those words had been uttered by Gabriel. We had all been looking at the upcoming mission as just a partial success, we would have saved the people at one location while leaving those at the base in Wales to suffer at the hands of their captors.

"So are we all clear on the plan? Gabriel, you and your team will convene at the site in Wales while I'll lead the other team up to the Scottish site."

There was a few muttered grumbles from Zeke so I pinned him with a glare.

"What? I don't want to get hit by the toll bridge. You know who will end up paying don't you? Me!"

Folding my arms across my chest, I stared up at him in disbelief. "Are you being serious? You're complaining about a toll bridge?"

When Zeke's only answer was to nod his head, I threw my hands up in the air. "You're being ridiculous. They have to pay for the restoration to the country somehow. Their capital was completely devastated by the Horsemen. But hey, if the toll charge is too much, I can give you the money for it."

Now the grumbling amped up a gear and he finally refused the offer for me to pay.

"I hate being guilt tripped." He muttered, before swiping up the half of Star's map for the base in Wales.

Lucius had cut the original sheet of paper in half and had made several copies of both star maps so that we could all have one each. Considering only he and Gabriel were able to read the maps it was a bit of a fruitless exercise but I didn't want to the gesture back in his face.

Instead, I accepted my paper and waited at his side. Several minibuses were waiting outside of my house and despite the fact that my face was currently front page news and on every news channel in the country, the reporters were strangely absent from the streets. I took it as a positive omen as any dealings with the press were best left to another day.

Caspar came reached out to take a piece of paper but I knocked his hand away.

"No, Caspar." I murmured.

Instead of allowing me to dictate to him, the boy immediately set his shoulders back and lifting his chin in a stubborn gesture of defiance. "I am going with you. It is my right."

"Do you mean it's your right to get killed?" I responded immediately, my voice calm and collected. "You do not have the training that we all have. Allowing you to come along would be allowing you to walk to your death."

"Allowing me?" Casper replied quietly. I winced. There was an underlying thread of anger to his voice and I knew with those words I had completely blown any chance I had at getting him to walk away. "Have you not heard of free will? You may be some all-powerful immortal and I may just be a human but this is my decision, my choice. I deserve the right to face those who killed my sister. Yes, I killed the man responsible but until they are all gone I will not be able to rest. I am going with you and that is final."

Reaching out a hand, he snatched a sheet of paper from a quiet Lucius while I just stood there staring at the place where Caspar had been stood only moments before.

"He's right, Savannah. You may want to protect him but he is a man not a child you need to protect." Lucius advised, wrapping his hand around mine.

I closed my eyes and took comfort in the gesture. No matter what anyone said to me, I would never be okay with sending Caspar into battle. He had been through too much. He deserved some peace after suffering through so many hardships.

"He's been through so much. I don't want to see him come to anymore harm. He's finally starting to get somewhere with Francesca, I can feel it."

"It's his decision. He has to save himself. You can't do it for him, no matter how much you may want to."

Resting my head on his shoulder, I sighed loudly. "I hate what you're right."

Lucius laughed. "You must really hate life because I'm always right."

I rolled my head and pushed him towards the front door and the minibus which waited for us.

It took several painfully long hours to pass through the border and enter Scottish Territory. The closer we got to our destination, the further away from public highways we went and the more perilous our journey became. At one instance we were one skid from taking an icy slide off of the side of a road and down a fifty foot embankment. The conditions were less than ideal and the weather was only worsening.

"Why didn't we go to Wales?" I asked, one hand covering my eyes while the other braced against the dashboard.

"Because we are the heroes of the story and it is our duty to take on the most perilous location." Lucius responded cheerily as the vehicle lurched once more.

I squeaked and peaked through my fingertips before quickly hiding behind them again when I saw the path laid out for us. It was just getting worse. Rocks were strewn over the narrow road forcing Lucius to weave the minibus around the natural obstacle course.

"It's not that bad Savannah," Lucius chirped, laughing when I released my head grip on the dashboard in order to blindly attack him with my hand. "We'll be there soon and this will all be a distant memory."

I growled at him. "Not really. We will still have the journey back. Or do you not intend to survive either the rest of the drive of the ensuing battle."

"I plan to live. I was just trying to be positive."

Growling at him once more, I resumed my death grip on the dashboard and prayed for our survival. The next time we planned a road trip to save the world, there was no way I would be going with Lucius. No way, I was going to sit on the other bus.

"How much further do we have to go?" Castiel asked, leaning forwards so that his upper body was resting in between the seats.

"We're about a mile out from the destination but we need to get this vehicle off the road. I think a covert approach is going to be our only chance of success."

Pulling my hand away from my eyes as the vehicle levelled out, I stared out of the windows and frowned. "We're in the middle of nowhere. Where do you expect to hide a bloody minibus? It's not as if there is a convenient rock formation or a high hedge you can part behind."

The only thing surrounding us were acres of open land covered in wild grasses which fought against the brutal Scottish weather in the higher elevations. There were no signs of recent human activity. The road we were on was a small rocky and overgrown trail with meandered through the landscape.

"That's why I brought the camouflage." Lucius stated, his lips forming a smug smile.

I rolled my eyes. "I have to see this."

"And you will my dearest Savannah. You will." Lucius replied a second before turning the steering wheel sharply.

The entire vehicle teetered for a moment on two wheels as it struggled with the abrupt movement. The wheels skidded as they struggled for grip on the rocky surface. Then they caught and the vehicle shot forward before slamming back down onto four wheels as he careened off road. I was thrown around my seat over and over again as the minibus bumped and juddered its way over the terrain.

"Don't you think you should have thought about an off-road vehicle? This bus isn't meant for this kind of terrain." I shouted over the sound of the bus's straining engine. "We're going to be end up stranded up here if you keep going like this. Trust me when I tell you I'm not going to be impressed if I get stuck up here."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist. We're here." Lucius advised. The air suddenly empty now that the minibus's engine had been turned off.

Staring out of the window, I felt like we had been here before. We were in the middle of nowhere, totally exposed with the enemy in close proximity. And I could see no signs of them at all.

"Where now?" I asked, reaching for the handle.

"First we cover the bus and then we head in that direction about half a mile." Lucius pointed his hand in the direction of nothing but more grass and a bleak horizon.

Huddling inside my thick jacket, I opened the car door and braced myself against the cold air. I was supposed to be getting better at coping with extreme temperatures but when an icy wind whips around my body and attacks my skin through the clothing my humanity comes rearing back to the forefront and I can't help but shudder as the cold seeps through into my bones. Why can it never be warm and sunny when we head out to fight? Why is it always cold and dreary?

Huddling further into my coat, I turned my attention to the landscape. It was all rather plain and unassuming. There weren't even any wildflowers amongst the grass. No doubt they had lifted their heads for a single moment, felt the cold wind and decided to huddle back down and hibernate until the warm weather returned. It was a sound plan.

There were no signs of any movement other than the sway of the grass as the wintery wind blew across the flat landscape. There were no signs of an enemy waiting to strike. Turning back around, I snorted.

Lucius and the men stood proudly before the bus which was now covered in a khaki net with faux leaves woven into the surface. It might have worked well in the middle of the jungle but here on such an open landscape it was just ridiculous.

Unable to stop it, a giggle escaped my lips. Even Binah, who had decided to join in on one more rescue mission before her 'retirement', had to press her lips together to stop herself from grinning.

"Stop laughing, I would like to see you do any better." Lucius pouted defensively. "It doesn't have to be perfect. They're going to know we are here soon enough."

"I'm sorry," I replied, my lips twitching as I spoke. "You guys did a great job."

Binah let loose a small giggle. The gesture was strange but I couldn't stop myself from smiling widely at the sight of such a human emotion. She would be gone soon and these moments were going to become non-existent.

Ignoring the pair of us, Lucius marched off ahead of the group. Once he was about ten feet ahead of us, he shouted over his shoulder. "Why are you all standing around? We need to get going."

One by one we all fell into procession behind Lucius and began our trek across the uneven terrain. No one spoke. It was something we had all done without having to communicate with one another.

Caspar had fallen into line before me. Someone had given him weapons. There was an ordinary steel sword attached to his back and a pair of guns holstered on his hips. Hopefully he could actually aim those weapons properly otherwise those firearms would probably do more harm than good. Reaching out a hand, I tapped his shoulder. He glanced back even as he put one foot in front of the other.

"Are you okay?" I mouthed, daring not to speak in case there was anyone within hearing range.

His face was grim as he nodded his head. Then without another word, he looked away and the matter was closed.

I couldn't even figure out how long we had been walking before the chain came to an abrupt stop. I paused just before I ran into Caspar's back but the people behind me weren't so lucky and all too soon I was falling forwards. We all went down like a set of dominoes, one crashing into the other so that we went crashing to the ground. Only Lucius, who was stood a distance away from the rest of us, was safe.

Cussing, I fought my way out from the tangle of limbs and rolled to the side. I could feel new bruises forming on my knees where I hit the floor.

"Stop messing around. We're here." He muttered, his feet sweeping aside dead grass and sticks to reveal a small metal hatch buried into the ground.

"Why is it always underground?" I murmured, looking at the hatch with dismay.

After everything I had endured, the very thought of going back underground willingly was a nightmare I was going to have to endure. I had already done it once for the police and the reality of the situation was I would have to endure it wall again if I wished to save others from the fate I had endured.

Caspar, who had managed to drag himself off of the floor, held his hand out to me. "We can do this you know. For them we can do this."

I stared at the chalky white skin of his hand, marred with a crisscross of scars. Reaching out, I wrapped my hand around his and allowed him to pull me to my feet.

"We can do this." I murmured, for my own reassurance than his.

Lucius knelt down beside the metal hatch. There was no lock securing it. It appeared that the part where the hatch should have been secured had been melted off.

"Star," Lucius murmured, his fingers smoothing over the warped metal.

Digging his fingers under the edge of the metal, he glanced up at us. We all drew our weapons and took up positions around his so that the entrance was covered from every angle. And then he pulled.

The metal lid slid open with only the slightest hint of protest, groaning lowly on its hinges before it gave way and swung open. I held my breath while expecting something or someone to come jumping out of the hole. But there was nothing.

Stepping forwards, I allowed my sword to form within my grasp and then pointed the tip into the hole so that its glow could light the space below. There wasn't much to see. It was just a long shaft leading down into a deep and dank tunnel.

"I'll go first." I stated, my eyes focused only on the end result. If I didn't go first, I didn't think I would have the courage to go down there. It was a now or never kind of situation.

There were several protests from the men but I ignored them and instead crouched down beside the hole and dangled my feet inside until I caught onto one of metal rungs fixed on to the inside of the rung. At least they were dry but they were old and bits of rust had stared to flake off in places. Hopefully they would be able to endure under the weight of fully grown men packing an arsenal of weapons.

Not bothering to look down I just progressed downwards at a slow and steady pace, making sure to keep as quiet as possible. I only knew I had reached the bottom when there were no further steps and instead my feet splashed in the ankle deep water. Backing away from the ladder, I turned to survey the space around us.

There were several rats running around on the higher ledges, their little feet pattering over the concrete as they did so. They scurried away as the light of my sword fell upon them, retreating to the safety of the shadows.

"Gross," I muttered, turning away with a shudder.

Caspar, who was next down the ladder, laughed good naturedly at my side. "They're just rats."

I shook my head. "No what they are dirty disease ridden beasts who will happily chew your face off if they get hungry enough."

Casper chuckled so I just scowled at him before turning my attention back to the shadows. As much as I wanted to prove otherwise, I was afraid. I was afraid for Caspar, afraid for Lucius and afraid for the safety of my friends. I didn't care much about my own safety. What was the worst they could do? Kill me. I had been there and done that. I wouldn't even say that death scared me in this moment. Being alive and in their hands was much worse. Besides, I had been dead before and the experience was rather forgettable.

Once we were all down the chute, Lucius quickly took over leadership once more. He moved around the edges, his fingers dancing along the walls and his feet kicking through the water. We were at a junction with three possible routes. The man didn't seem perturbed by this. Instead, his eyes were scanning over every available surface.

"This way," he stated, his fingers following some pattern I could see before leading us off to the right.

The tunnel disappeared into darkness, hiding unknown foes. There were no attempts at lighting the way which told me the route was unused and probably forgotten. Then again, who would even think about looking in the middle of the nowhere for a hidden torture chamber?

I hated the way everything echoed as we walked. Our footsteps, the sound of our breathing, and the rustle of our clothes all combined together to make an eerie soundtrack to our trek. Still I carried on and on in the darkness, blindly following Lucius with nothing more than a dim glow which was emitting from my sword to show me where to put one foot in front of the other.

We walked for so longer, following the dark haired self-appointed navigator as he led as through twists and turns. We could have walked for miles and I wouldn't have known any different. There was something timeless about walking through the dark, allowing someone else to show you the way.

And then we turned a corner and in the distance we could see light up ahead.

We all paused wordlessly. "This is it."

Even without him saying it, I could feel it. The dread over what was to come. Fear, both old and new lingered on the air, rippling through the air as if it was something tangible. It made goosebumps form all over my skin.

"Arm yourselves everyone." Lucius ordered as his hand moved out to the side so that his beautifully vicious looking sword could take form. It appeared silently with little fuss into his strong grasp whilst he pulled a smaller more innocuous blade form his belt. "No matter what happens, it had been an honour."

"An honour," everyone else chanted as they also pulled out their weapons.

And then, as one, we all headed into battle.