The Hornet's Nest: Part 10

Caolinn didn’t like to think of herself as someone who often needed saving. In fact, ever since she’d first left The Grove, she’d prided herself on her self-sufficiency. She was a fighter, a spy, and most of all a survivor. She might choose to work with others, from Darr onward, but needing them was a different matter.

Faced with the onslaught of the Nightmare Court, though, she was willing to change her mind. The Courtiers had flooded the camp, assailing it from all sides; either Torwen’s message about granting mercy hadn’t got through to them, or he’d simply lied. In that moment, for the first time in her life, Caolinn had truly considered what it might be like to die. The thought had almost swallowed her whole, and she’d been prepared to let it. It didn’t seem likely this day would end any other way.

And then she’d heard the warhorn, and Darr had murmured Amber’s name. This time, Caolinn would swallow her pride, allow herself to be saved, if it meant living.

The Nightmare Court surged across the camp like the tide, though this time there was an edge of panic to their movements. Caolinn couldn’t be certain what was happening, but it was clear they’d finally lost the upper hand.

Which meant someone else had gained it.

The melee surged around her and Darr again, nearly throwing the asura off his feet. Caolinn grabbed his arm, holding him upright, until they managed to stagger towards the shelter of the camp’s outer wall.

“What’s happening?” she asked, having to shout above the din. Where before the Courtiers had fought in silence, now frantic shouts and cries of pain rose from their midst.

Darr might nearly have been crushed to death in the scrum, but he was still grinning. “You didn’t think I’d come all this way without back-up, did you? They know how to pick their moment, though.”

“Is it really Amber?” The thought brought a twinge of dismay to Caolinn, bordering on panic. She’d never intended to hide from the thief indefinitely, but they hadn’t exactly parted on the best of terms. If they had to meet again, these weren’t the circumstances Caolinn would have chosen.

“Amber and that guild of hers,” Darr replied. He glanced at her, suddenly shrewd. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Caolinn was saved having to reply by a renewed assault: a pair of Courtiers seemed to have decided climbing over the vine wall was their best option for escape. Darr threw himself at one, Caolinn at the other, thrusting them back into the battle. The pair vanished into the melee, but it was clear they wouldn’t be going far. Whatever allies Amber had brought, they seemed to have arrived at both gateways to the camp, trapping the now desperate Courtiers inside.

Darr tapped Caolinn on the arm. “Come on. Let’s get the lie of the land.”

She followed him into the press, Darr darting ahead eagerly. Caolinn let him go. It was safer to stick together, but she couldn’t bring herself to share his enthusiastic. It wasn’t just that she wasn’t keen to run into her former allies. Whatever happened here, the Nightmare Court had already been successful – Torwen had taken Nairne and made his escape. The outcome for the rest of them was of little consequence.

She ducked away as a throwing axe came spinning towards her head, almost colliding with a Courtier who was shielding himself from a flurry of dagger blows. Caolinn smacked the sylvari in the back of the head with the hilt of her own dagger, watching him crumple to the ground – and coming face to face with his attacker.

She’d seen Amber in many guises, ranging from exuberant to despairing, but some things about the asura never changed. She was always in the thick of the action, for one thing, and it was obvious combat gave her a calm and a focus that nothing else could match.

Those grey eyes fixed on Caolinn as the battle swirled around them. Amber grinned. “I should have known if we ever ran into one another again, it’d be in a place like this.”

“A warzone, you mean?”

“Well, I’m not the only one with a knack for getting into a tight place, am I? Good thing Darr insisted we come.”

Uneasiness stirred in Caolinn’s chest again. She glanced sideways, but the fighting had almost died away, and there was nothing she could use to distract herself from this conversation she didn’t want to have. “How long have you been working with Darr?”

“Since Rata Sum – once he’d had enough of chasing the Syndicate, anyway.” There was that same shrewd look Darr had given her, the one asura were so good at. “He hasn’t joined the guild – that isn’t really his style. Call us… collaborative partners.”

“How many of you are here?”

Amber made a casual gesture towards the south of the camp with one sticky dagger. “Erin, of course – she’s head of the guild. Ivar, too, if you can believe it. Spark and Weir are off on manoeuvres elsewhere. They were instrumental in following your trail, though.”

Caolinn winced. “My trail?”

“You didn’t think you could get away without one, did you? Spark tracked you to the Order of Whispers. Darr reported you were safe and engaged in your own business, so for a while we decided to let you go your own way. When all this madness flared up, though…”

Caolinn’s unease was abruptly replaced by anger. “You ‘decided’ to let me go? Who gave you the right to do that?”

Amber winced. “Sorry. That wasn’t very tactful, was it? Erin says I need to work on that. You’re always free to do what you want, Caolinn – you always have been. That’s why I didn’t stop you leaving Rata Sum. I just meant… There’s a place for you. In the guild. With us. It’s waiting, whenever you’re ready for it.”

In that moment, there was nothing Caolinn wanted more than to flee. She couldn’t take this earnestness, not on top of everything else that had happened that day. She still couldn’t be sure whether she could trust Torwen, or Nairne, or even Darr for that matter. What was she to make of Amber now? There were too many voices, too many faces, each of them pulling her in a different direction. Could she be certain of a single one of them?

A shout turned Amber’s head away, then caused her to curse. A handful of Courtiers had taken up position on one of the camp’s vine ramps, and were holding at bay a number of Valiants. Even as Caolinn watched, the Courtiers made a break for freedom, charging into the Valiants with the force of a battering ram.

Amber swore again, then shadowstepped away. From the other side of the camp, Caolinn could see more movement, including a pair of extremely tall blond heads that could only belong to Erin and Ivar. The Courtiers might make their last stand, but it was only a matter of time before they were subdued; Caolinn had seen the members of this new guild in action too many times to believe otherwise.

For several heartbeats, she hesitated. Something was being offered to her here, something she’d never experienced before. It wasn’t just the prospect of joining a guild – it was that someone, anyone, would want her there. Would hold a space open for her, for as long as she needed it. The thought was so alien to Caolinn that it made her head spin.

She shook the prospect away. This was too much, and too sudden. She still wasn’t sure whether she could trust Darr, and by extension, that meant she couldn’t be certain of Amber, either. Besides, Torwen and Nairne were still out there. Caolinn might not know who to believe, but at least one of them had to be a traitor, and she wanted to be there when they met their end.

Before the fighting could abate again, and with no eyes to watch her, Caolinn turned away. The north gate of the camp was unguarded now – it was easy enough to slip past the few Valiants who remained, and out into the jungle.

She went with only the slightest pang of regret. She needed time to work out her next move, and the only way she could do that was alone.