“Fuck off,” Betrayal muttered, but a smile pulled at his lips.
“What are you two laughing at?” Death questioned when he entered from the living room.
They shared a glance. “Nothing,” they said at the same time.
Death, apparently unconcerned, glanced to the stairs. “Is Daria ready?”
“She will be soon. She’s—”
“Right here,” she called out, coming down the stairs. “I’m ready.”
“Uhm, I don’t think you are,” Betrayal answered, and pulled the short sword from underneath his shirt. “This is your new weapon. Hold onto it.”
Hope almost stopped him, told him it was too much for Daria to carry the one weapon that their entire mission hinged on, but then he spied the determination in Daria’s eyes. Whatever she’d stayed up on the roof to do or say to herself, it must have worked. She nodded with no hesitation and stepped forward to accept the gold sheath from him.
If it bothered her to handle the weapon, she didn’t show it, and a hint of pride flickered through him.
“Are you guys ready?” Daria inquired, and she surveyed each of them. Her gaze landed on Hope last, and she offered a smile, one that was small but genuine.
As he studied her, he realized there was something lacking in her gaze—fear. She wasn’t afraid of what they were about to do. If she had anxieties about the reconnaissance, she hid them well.
“Ready when you are,” Betrayal answered confidently, and Daria nodded.
Death led the way, and then they were piling in the car.
The drive was quiet, the town familiar, and Hope marveled at the many different ways Maleston was involved in their little war.
Were they just lucky or was something else going on that they didn’t know about?
Putting that troubling thought aside to worry over later, Hope glanced out the window as the car slowed down. As far out as they were, the unpaved road was empty, the woods bordering the gravel path dark and looming like a threat all on their own.
Pulling the car over to the side, Death put the car in park and took the key out of the ignition.
“We can walk from here,” Death said, and after murmurs of agreement, they exited the car as quietly as possible and began the trek.
Hope noted the distinct lack of security. No fences, no gates, no cameras, or checkpoints.
At least not until they drew closer to the factory. Its structure loomed tall and threatening in the distance, and with the clouds passing over the moon and shading its light, it seemed as if just a large shadow awaited them.
“Kinda spooky, right?” Daria muttered. Instead of a nervous lilt to her voice, humor colored her tone, and Hope cocked his head to the side.
“Yeah. Kinda feels like a horror movie,” Betrayal added. “You know the really bad ones?” he blabbered. “Where the group of friends go away to stay for a weekend, and it turns out the place is ran by a serial killer?”
“Yes, Betrayal, we all know,” Death grumbled exasperatedly.
Daria chuckled, and Betrayal sped up to walk alongside her, throwing his arm over her shoulder. “So, if we were in a horror movie, that means you’re most likely going to sleep with one of us before we die. Who would you pick? It’d be me, right?” he asked.
With a snort, Daria shoved him away. “No! The one the girl sleeps with always dies first! I’d be doing you a favor if I kept it in my pants.”
Shaking his head, Hope hid a smile against his shoulder. If joking about movies was what kept Daria’s worries at bay, he could play with the best of them.
“It wouldn’t be the worst way to go,” he interjected.
Daria turned to gape at him over her shoulder, and Betrayal shot a fist into the air as if to cheer him on. Yeah, man! Hope could almost hear him say.
“He’s not wrong,” Betrayal remarked. “If I was gonna die, getting killed a few minutes after doing the deed would be one of the top three ways I’d wanna go.”
“You have a list of ways you wanna die?” Daria asked, shaking her head.
“And you don’t?” he shot back.
“I guess I’ve never really thought about it.” She frowned as if deep in thought and shrugged. “And now I don’t have to.”
Betrayal rolled his eyes. “That’s a cop-out.”
“Well, what’s the rest of your list?” she challenged, but Hope didn’t think she expected him to have an answer at the ready. Hadn’t she learned by now?
“Getting killed after having sex lands at the bottom, number three. But dying during the deed ranks at number one, doesn’t matter how. Suffocation from face sitting?” He shrugged. “Then that’s how I go. Won’t hear me complain. Number two would be dying from exhaustion after doing the deed. All nighter? Sign me up.”
Daria turned her head to the side to glare at him just as her foot clipped a stray root sticking out over the ground. She tumbled forward, and Hope reached out and framed her waist with his hands just as her arms flailed. He set her back to rights, and even though her cheeks were aflame, she offered him a smile in return. “Uh, thanks,” she murmured. “Just for the record, tripping has nothing to do with my ability to hold onto the xiphos. Just saying.”
“It could have been worse,” Death teased. “At least you didn’t die this time.”
“Har-har,” Daria responded without an ounce of humor.
Hiding his smile, Hope released her and followed behind at a close distance.
“Maybe I should hold the sword,” Betrayal mumbled, and Daria reached over and slapped his arm.
“Ow!” he cried out, and jerked away, rubbing the abused arm with a frown. “I was just kidding.”
“You big baby,” she muttered, and shook her head as they continued on.
As they drew closer, the building loomed larger than ever. They stuck close to the trees and walked alongside the thick forest. Dirt piles were dispersed around the site, as if construction had been abandoned. Plants and weeds dominated the piles, making them seem larger than they actually were.
They would make for great cover though, and stealthily, they used the piles to hide behind as they moved closer to the first entrance.
“We’re not going inside, right?” Daria asked him. Death and Betrayal had already moved onto the next pile.
“No, we’re not going inside,” Hope promised. That wasn’t in the plan.
She reached down and squeezed his hand. “Thanks.”
Then, she followed Death’s cue and ran to meet them.
Please let this all go to plan.
DARIA
The hilt was cold against her back where the sheath was tucked into the belt at her waistband. Her cheeks still burned from tripping, but she focused on the cues from Death and followed as they hopped from one pile of dirt to the next. They moved closer and closer to the front, until some of the entrances were visible.
Daria hoped nothing went wrong, but she was prepared for the worst. Ready for action. Ready to greedily take that next step and find herself that much closer to defeating Pandora.
Her chaos sat content in her chest, like a purring cat left to its own devices. It was a comforting presence and eased her nerves as the cover of darkness surrounded them.