Chapter Sixteen

The time is finally here. It is a cold, dark, dreary night in the Capital, as it often is at night. Ed sits in the book store waiting for his plan of overthrowing the Elder to unravel. Shelly,Emily, and Lucas wait at the prison to let out the prisoners. They have the plan of lifting Lucas in through a duct in the back, while Emily causes a distraction out front. Garret and Amanda are in the town square, and Elijah waits outside the Elder's city hall. The Elder is just arriving back home from her talk with Snake and Sabri. She notices Elijah. This could be it. This could be the whole plan thrown out the window. All because one person wasn't in the right place at the right time. 

"You there. Curfew was an hour ago. Get home now." says  Elder Sarah not seeing it was Elijah through the cape of darkness the moon provided.

"Yes, your majesty. I apologize." says Elijah shrouding himself further into the darkness.

The Elder's carriage continues inside the gates, and before they close Elijah sneaks inside behind the carriage. Elijah makes his way into the palace part of the city hall, past many officials who aren't used to seeing anyone on their nightly routes. Elijah walks into a room in the far back of the palace and picks up an artifact. Elijah, an expert of black magic and thievery, picks it up and puts it in his bag.

"Hey sneak thief! Put it back!" yells a guard.

"Silence!" says Elijah trying not draw any alarm among other guards and the Elder herself. Elijah sees a cat on a window sill, he picks up the cat and Elijah's eyes turn red.

"A hostage have you?" says the guard with a cocky swagger to his speech and movement.

"Not really." says Elijah, snapping the neck on the cat. Just as the cat's neck is snapped, the guard's neck snaps as well, and the guard's body drops. Elijah sets the cat's body down and moves the guard's body out of the way. Elijah then pickpockets what is left of interest in the room.  Elijah makes his way from room to room, taking what looks of value and leaving what looks of zero value. Elijah, now with a satchel full of valuables, waits for his cue to make the right move at the right time.

The Black Widow's position could be the most important of all. In the town square, it is her job to cause the distraction to start the fire while she escapes into the darkness to meet the group back at the palace. The Black Widow makes her way through the town square keeping her face covered. Besides the guards she is the only one in sight. She takes the first step to the wooden stage in which Elder Sarah publicly executed her family. Chills. Chills run up and down her spine from the time of the first step to the second. Three, then four steps. Then a wooden board connected to so many more. The stage. Wooden blocks of stage. She put her hand on the guillotine. The one that killed her family. The blood of many Necromancers before them stained into the wood of these boards. Garret and Amanda watch carefully as the Black Widow makes her way across the stage. Garret ready to take fire to the wooden monstrosity. Amanda holds his hand silently waiting to launch the attack on the largest city in the Pagan world. Three guards approach the Black Widow.

"Hey lady, it's way past curfew. Go home, before we take you in." says the guard in the front, a big and burly man.

"I am the Black Widow you fool. Fear me." says the Black Widow, ripping off her cape, and raising her hands. 

This started the unraveling of the plan. Two guards drew their bow and arrow and one his sword. Amanda prepared her bow and arrow, drew back the bow, and then Garret took a match to the arrow. Amanda shot the arrow at the wooden stage, knowing it would take a minute but the wood of the stage would eventually catch, and catch fast. Amanda quickly draws another arrow and fires, shooting one of the guards in the back. The Widow takes a blade from the loop of her belt and begins fighting in close combat with the guard who didn't draw a bow. Amanda draws the quiver of her bow again and fires, hitting the last bowman in his neck, dropping him dead. Garret looks at Amanda and nods, knowing the next part of the plan involved them running to meet Shelly,Emily, and Lucas at the prison. The small flame that started at the wooded stage, has now turned into a giant blaze that cannot be tamed. Guards keep coming, and coming. Just as they planned. Attract all the guards to one place to overthrow the Elder.

"Elder Sarah, a few thugs have burnt your stage. One claims to be the Black Widow." says a guard walking into Elder Sarah's throne room and bowing to one knee. 

"Clear the streets of civilians, if this is the Black Widow we need to catch her. Make the announcement to clear the streets. Anyone still on the streets in fifteen minutes is considered an enemy of the Capital." says the Elder, stepping off of her throne.

"We have some business to attend to." continues the Elder as she reaches for her staff, that she uses as a walking stick.