CH 277: Facing Reality

Claire’s plan to have a relaxing night of sleep went out the window after her conversation with the Goddess. While there was a bit of happiness about naming Her, it was dwarfed by the feeling of dread and fear creeping upon her. The Goddess seemed truly scared for their safety. That was unlike anything Claire had seen before. A God showing fear.

Claire rubbed the spot She had kissed in her dream. It still tingled. She glanced to the side to find Samira, still asleep. Behind her, the glowing red eyes of Ursa. She rose from behind Samira and tilted her head.

“Bad dream?” Ursa whispered. She glanced towards Jasmine, who was already stirring.

“Yeah, She visited me again…” Claire lowered her hand. “The situation is dire. She even suggested taking over my body again.”

Ursa took a deep breath. “Fuck.” She glanced at the slumbering lamia. “We’re too far from her village. I might have been able to contact the warriors sent there. But the journey would take weeks, not days.”

“Yeah,” Claire leaned against the bedpost. “We have to hope Victoria succeeds. Otherwise, we could get overwhelmed.” “That, I am worried about.” Jasmine appeared beside her. “I want to trust her, but she did everything in her power to make me not.”

“Yeah,” Claire chuckled. “She was not helping her own case. I wanted to believe she had a reason for lying and acting that way. Otherwise, I would have immediately sided with you to send Ursa’s wolves to verify her intel.”

“I know,” Jasmine rested a hand on her shoulder. “Just feel so uneasy being forced to trust her now.” Jasmine moved closer to Claire. In the low light of the early morning, she got close to Claire’s face. She examined Claire’s cheek. “Is that lipstick?”

Claire blinked. Her hand returned to the tingling sensation on her cheek. “Here?”

“Yeah, it’s a bright red…” Jasmine tilted her head. “Kind of like what Toni uses, but a different shade.”

“That’s where the Goddess kissed me in my dream…” Claire smiled as she rubbed her cheek. “I guess She imprinted it on my physical body.”

“She marked you?” Jasmine giggled. “That’s interesting.”

“Could be how you invoke her,” Ursa yawned. She stretched out her arms and settled back into the bed. “Like one of our tattoos or brands.”

“True,” Jasmine examined the kiss mark closer. “Or it’s just a way to lighten the mood.”

Claire nodded. Rubbing her cheek did feel oddly satisfying. Made it hard to focus on the panic and fear threatening to take over. “Still, we need to be prepared. Any chance the others found some secret weapon for us to use?”

“Doesn’t seem like it.” Jasmine glanced at Lily, who was still asleep. “They may be able to learn about the magic enchantments set here, but that’s about it.”

“That sounds quite helpful.” Ursa perked up. “Does it not?”

“They’ve deteriorated over the millennia and changed, so we’d know their original function.” Jasmine shrugged.

“Still, it’s better than nothing.”

“We’ll have to see.” Jasmine sighed. “Maybe we can weaponize them to our advantage, but it’ll only work while we have the element of surprise. Once they know it’s trapped, they’d follow our movements.”

“They could be stupid.” Ursa rubbed her chin. “We can hope for that.”

Jasmine couldn’t help but laugh. It caused the rest of their party to begin to stir. “I doubt it. But we can only hope.”

Claire was thinking deeply while they were talking. She was slowly going over their current plan. Let them enter the first level of defense, the outer wall of the fort. Let them roam and stumble into the traps set out. Hopefully, the fort claims one or two of them, then they’d meet them before the second line of defense.

The outer door of the fort.

Bait them into a more enclosed area for Elsie to unleash her magic on. The main entryway was a long hallway, with a second story overlooking it. Elsie can safely sit up there and rain magic down upon them. If any get close, Jasmine would be close by. Ana would be further behind with Samira and Toni, who were to continually move back. Claire, Hannah, and Ursa were to meet them in a hit-and-run style fight. Stall for their backline to retreat, then retreat themselves.

If all went to plan, Elsie and Jasmine could whittle them down for the frontline to kill. Hit them with as much long-range damage as they can, then finish them off. If all else fails, they have the barracks completely fortified. They could hole up here and make a final stand.

If Claire were to channel her Goddess, it would happen here. When their backs were against the wall.

Then there’s the wildcard, Victoria. They don’t know what she’ll be doing exactly, so they planned as if they’d get no help from her at all. If they did, great; if not, they weren’t screwed over. If she returned heavily injured, or not at all, they’d still have a plan in place. They just hoped Victoria wouldn’t be out of commission.

Claire shook her head. She heard her name called and realized she’d been in her thoughts for too long. “Huh?”

“Time for breakfast,” Samira giggled. She was awake now, surprisingly. “You’ve been spaced out for a while.”

“Just thinking,” Claire exhaled. She didn’t realize the entire party had left the room. “How long was I like that?”

“Five or so minutes.” Samira slithered off the bed and offered her hand. “Jasmine called out to you. It’s what woke me up.”

“Damn, I didn’t realize.” Claire took her hand and was hoisted to her feet. “Have a lot on my mind.”

“I noticed.” Samira guided Claire towards the door. “Your body temperature is a bit lower, and your hand is sweating.”

“The situation is a lot worse than we originally thought.” Claire let herself be pulled towards the smell of food. “My Goddess wants me to channel Her.”

“That is dire,” Samira squeezed her hand. “I was even considering using my magic. Maybe I can manipulate the-”

“Don’t. That magic has brought you nothing but suffering.” Claire cut her off and stopped. It felt stupid not to use every resource available to them, but still. Samira’s magic had brought the Lamia so much suffering. “We’ll figure something out.”

“That’s sweet, Claire.” Samira pulled on Claire’s hand. “But I’m afraid we don’t have the luxury to cater to my mental state.”

“Still, I’d hope it doesn’t come to that.” Claire felt the pit in her stomach grow. “I hope we don’t force you to use that magic until it’s purified.” “And I hope you don’t have to channel a literal Goddess.” Samira smiled back at her. She was in a surprisingly good mood when compared to the rest of them. “I can only imagine the strain that puts on your body. We’d both be making sacrifices.”

Claire shook her head. She wanted to prevent Samira from using it, but couldn’t argue with her either. They should be considering every available option, even if it made her sick. Except for using Toni as bait. That was way too far even for an idea. She shuddered at the thought of ever needing to go to that.

“Claire?” Samira was staring up at her, mere inches from her face. “You’re spacing out again.”

“Sorry,” Claire mumbled and felt her face burn up. “I have-”

“A lot to think about, I know.” Samira giggled and continued to pull her along. “We’ll get through this together. I believe in you.”

“I wish I could be optimistic, but I can’t.” Claire’s nose filled with the smell of food. The knot in her stomach slightly eased as her craving for food took over. “Starting to look like we’d need a miracle…”

“What? Like a God channeling you?” Samira joked before she pulled her into a hug. “We may not need miracles. We just need to fight smart.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Claire mumbled. She clung to the Lamia for a moment before parting from their embrace. She sat next to Jasmine as they waited for their food to be served. “We will only know once Victoria returns.”

“That’s true,” Jasmine rested a hand on Claire’s shoulder. “I didn’t want to interrupt your thoughts earlier, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Claire stretched. She glanced at Samira, who settled next to her. “I think I’ve come to terms with how far we may have to go.”

Samira had a flash of darkness cover her face before it disappeared. “I hope we aren’t forced to either.”

“Enough of the downer talk,” Hannah exhaled exaggeratedly. “Stressing about it won’t do us any good either. You fight better when you are confident. I choose to believe in the plan and you.”

“I agree,” Jasmine leaned back and thanked Elsie as she set a plate down for her. “It’ll be rough, but I have a good feeling.”

“I don’t,” Elsie muttered as she walked back towards the rest of the food. She made one comment before returning to her kitchen duties. “Love the lipstick stain on your cheek, Claire.”

“Thank you. And I’m getting conflicted feelings,” Claire smiled and finally let herself relax. “I hope we’re wrong and you two are right.”

Jasmine furrowed her brow and tensed up. She glanced back towards the entrance as Ursa perked up. The two waited a moment before glancing at one another. “One person?” Jasmine asked in a low whisper.

Ursa nodded. “I smell blood.”

Toni stood up. “Is it Victoria?”

“If it is, she’s gotten extremely sloppy.” Jasmine dashed for her gear. “Ursa, with me. Rest of you get ready.”