"Who are your generals?" Dorian asked.
"Reshi, Kono. I offered positions to Charrek and Arlonne, but they told me they prefer being scouts. They make a great team. There's a few you won't recognize because they were refugees from the sanitarium. They'll certainly remember you, though." Bravi smiled wryly. "They were a bit disappointed to arrive and realize that the legendary prison-breakers had vanished. You'll meet them in the war room when you give every single detail of your wild adventure.”
I was amazed and yet nervous for the interrogation that lay ahead. There was so much to explain, so much that we couldn’t say. Guilt crawled over me like a thousand marching ants. Surely, everyone could see the blatant shame pinned to my face. Dorian kept close to me. He was turning something over in his mind. We’d barely discussed how we could tell our friends about Ruk and Sen. Hopefully, Sen wouldn’t object to whatever improvisation came to us. I just hoped she knew enough about the Immortal Plane to go along with our lies.
Beyond the mess hall, I recognized the partially destroyed barracks that the shrieking decay attacked when we first arrived. Thankfully, there were three other barracks, and they were all intact. Bravi pointed out buildings as people glanced at our tour group moving through the camp.
“Meeting rooms, armories protected by forcefields, and the wall’s changed a bit but you saw the defense system,” she listed. “Ah, that old rectangular building was a storeroom. It was very dreary and dungeon-like when we first came across it, but everyone worked on it to turn it into a workshop. We use it to build weapons and tools. You’ll usually find Reshi tinkering away in there. She stole a Bureau engineer from the Mortal Plane before the tear got too bad. His mind has been blown, apparently, which he assured me meant he was very impressed with our technology.”
I stifled a laugh. This was incredible. “You guys did amazing.”
“Definitely.” Dorian nodded passionately alongside me. “What’s your hierarchy like? You said you usually process newcomers.”
“More flexible than the Bureau wanted at first, but they yielded to us in the end. We have a malleable hierarchy with positions that involve both warriors and non-warriors within the entire Coalition. We have meetings to decide on strategies, which community members can attend. Then our leaders vote on how to proceed. It’s similar to how the Hive operated but with more input. We have to get a majority before we do anything, but when battle comes, then it’s every fighter to arms.” She lifted her chin confidently. “It works for us.”
The sheer number of bodies milling about astounded me. Clearly, the fall of the sanitarium had continued to send people their way. Although there were a ton of Bureau humans running around, there were twice as many vampires, wildlings, and makers than we left them with. In some of the passing vampire faces, I saw haunted looks as they eyed us. A few of them whispered to each other.
“Is that them?”
“The ones who disappeared?”
Bravi snapped her fingers. “Just like that, you’re the talk of the camp. We had plenty of other allies join us as they moved up the coast and heard about the training camp. They all came to help take down the Immortal Council. We’ve had other vampire groups pop out of nowhere too. Apparently, the Hive wasn’t the last haven, but it was the most sophisticated. Most were just surviving, like we did when we were hiding in the Canyonlands.”
The prison break seemed like years ago, at this point. More vampire groups? Dorian’s parents were in the Immortal Plane somewhere, according to the window we saw in the Higher Plane, but they must not have made it to the Coalition. Bravi would’ve opened with that news if they had.
“What happened in the city after we escaped?” I asked. When we originally connected with Juneau and Laini after the initial escape, we’d learned a few things, but I had no idea what really went down.
“It was mass chaos, according to the survivors. Plenty of freed vampires attacked the rulers, but they also worked to free any enslaved Immortals they ran across. When the bound servants saw their chance to escape, many of them jumped to take it. We’ve earned several fighters among our ranks thanks to that, but we had vulnerable groups and plenty of vampire refugees fleeing with their families. There were quite a few reunions between escaped prisoners and their families when they reunited with us at the camp. We sent the most vulnerable back through the tear to Scotland, but then the tear got too bad for that.”
I surveyed the numbers and shook my head in awe. “So we’ve got groups from the sanitarium fallout, hidden groups, and the Mortal Plane? Impressive.”
“Well, there was also a wildling-led community somewhere up north that sent us several members. It’s a commune of sorts, for all castes other than rulers, but they don’t want to fight. Most are content to hide from the rulers, but some have come around to our line of thinking. They send non-fighters as support, but they’re an invaluable help to supply production.” She brightened for a second. “I’ve managed to convince a few of the vampires who tried to renounce their violent ways as much as possible to a path of restorative justice through fighting. It’s a work in progress.”
More impressive than the numbers of people inside the camp was the way they all fully threw themselves into work as soon as the battle ended. I admired the sight of makers as they immediately began repairs on the destroyed barracks as we passed them. There were a few buildings still in the process of being constructed, which workers hastily returned to now that the battle had died down. My eyes caught on some sort of corral being protected by a magical forcefield. The forcefield was a faint amber color, but I could see through it to make out the towering figures of… rulers?
“You have rulers here?” The incredulous question flew out of Dorian before I could get my thoughts in order.
Bravi gave an awkward cough. “Funny story about that. They’re not evil, I promise. They’re dissenting rulers like Juneau, but they never had the strength to resist until the sanitarium fell. They’re currently in isolation until we can figure out what to do with them. The forcefield stops them from hearing any planning, and our valiant prison warden keeps watch over them.”
“Prison warden?” I pictured a tough-faced maker with a badge.
Bravi smirked. “Well, Juneau is the only ruler who has been allowed free access to the camp, since he’s demonstrated his loyalty. Warden is a strong word. He’s been a great help, but mostly he goes to engage the rulers in conversation to make sure they’re legitimate. He thinks they could be useful, once they prove we can trust them.”
They were right to be suspicious. It was plausible that a ruler might be willing to submit him or herself to the mercies of the Coalition as a spy under Irrikus’s directions. It was possible, but something told me Juneau was onto something.
We looped back around the medical tent. It was fully warded in case of another attack, Bravi explained. The makers we’d seen casting forcefields ensured that the shields held. I waved to Sylas and saw that he was helping to clean the cuts of another person I recognized. Lily smiled softly at me, and I called a greeting to her, but I didn’t want to bring my dirt-covered self into the tent.
We asked if we could help with the cleanup while Bravi checked in with Reshi on the comm. The warriors turned us away, saying they had all the help they needed. Fortunately, it seemed the Coalition had only suffered a handful of casualties. I hated that I didn’t know them, but I whispered a silent wish for them to find peace in the afterlife.