The next few days of theirs were spent in the wilds. On the night of the third day, though, Ayela could see the motel sign peering over the tops of the trees along the roads. It was a relieving sight. She didn’t particularly like sleeping in the woods with nothing more than a hood to keep small insects and sticks out of her hair, but they made it work. Kamille had packed snacks for them to munch on along the way so, at the very least, they wouldn’t starve. To the dancer, every little bit counted. She exhaled in relief that the motel was just ahead, which meant warmth for them, good sleep, and cleaning off all the dirt and grime they accumulated.

  Small talk filled their time when they weren’t wary of their surroundings, and she enjoyed it. Kamille had become her closest friend over the last two years. She was there when Ayela was able to properly grieve over Rhaja, not to mention that she helped her regain control over her emotions when she found out who killed her late lover. She was even her introduction into the darklings. Most importantly, though, she and Karinth helped Ayela settle into a semi-regular life.

  “I’m ready for a soft bed,” Kamille sighed as she stretched her arms. The grassy ground with roots and branches certainly didn’t make for a good night’s sleep.

  Ayela snickered. “Or a shower,” she added. “A shower, and perhaps a nice meal. You think Asher arranged that for us as well?”

  “Most likely. He’s a cold bastard, but he’s not heartless.”

  “One could hope. How many times have you met Asher?”

  “At least twice,” Kamille revealed. “He’s the only sort of leadership that’s been appointed to the darklings besides Ruat. He meets with all the other cells across the country and relays information. We’ve done work with the branches in Metralonia and Ifnir to expose several corrupt politicians. The ones bribed their policemen to target any elf of color?”

  “I remember seeing that on the news!” Ayela exclaimed.

  “Yeah, that was us. We’ve leaked a few important pieces to the public. Our actions have done some decent work exposing the corruption in our government. Their influence on the public is definitely weakened, but it’s not enough. We need something big. Finding out what’s going on behind these attacks on congregations will be a crippling blow to the empire. This wreaks of conspiracy like the modern world has never seen.”

  “…I have a feeling that it’s even bigger than that…” Ayela said as she looked up at the stary night sky. She said a silent prayer in her heart, hoping for some relief along the way of a seemingly perilous journey. She knew within the depths of her consciousness that there was something greater than nations and politics going on. The Kult was a doorway into a greater war going on behind the scenes that everyone else was blind to. A cosmic war of ancient gods and the warriors they called upon.

  “Let’s keep our minds from going there. The last thing we need to do is despair,” Kamille said, pulling her back to reality. “We’re here.”

  Ayela looked up and noticed the light peering through the trees, and finally saw the break in the wall of forest to make way for a large, empty parking lot save for a couple older cars. At the rear, stretching nearly to the road on the left, were all the motel rooms built side-by-side. Dim lights on the inside and stained walls, it had the appearance of an old stay-in that had certainly seen better days. The dark night with ominously tall trees made it seem like it wasn’t safe, but she knew that the bright lights illuminating the dreary setting were engineered to keep the dangerous creatures of the Wilds at bay. Even the ones atop the cliffs had been known to venture onto the roads and into reman settlements sometimes…

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  …As long as the bigger ones stayed deep in the forests they dwelt.

  A bell rang from above the door to the check-in office as then entered, filling the near-silence with obnoxious clanging that pierced their ears. A man sat behind the desk reading an old-style print newspaper, cliché in every manner of his appearance. He wore a yellow and red button-down flannel with stained jeans and worn boots. The sleeves were rolled up to reveal arms covered in dark hair, and his pointed ears drooped from his old age, and the depression he likely carried with him.

  “How many nights,” he said plainly.

  Kamille cleared her throat and waited for him to lower his paper.

  “How many damn nights?” He spat, angrily tossing the paper aside. Only after he saw him did his expression change from frustration to anxiety. “Shit- Sorry, ladies! They told me you’d be coming. Your room is number four, and you’re cleared for as many nights as you need. There’s some things left there for you by your contact, and here’s a key to that six-wheel drive sitting out front, by the room.”

  They followed his finger as he pointed out the window at an older car that sat all by its lonesome in front of a red-curtained window. The only thing that looked kept on it were the six shiny tires on its wheels – three on either side. Most cars that people drove through the wilds were required by law to have the tires and headlights up to date, lest they have an issue on the road and are subject to the horrors in the trees.

  Kamille sighed. “At least it runs… I assume…” She said.

  “Oh, and your contact told me to give you a message; Stick to the shadows, you huddled foes, and in the shadows, your secrets’re known,” The clerk added. They smiled awkwardly at him as they took the keys to the room and car, and quickly left. Ayela felt like she’d seen enough stained yellow from that office to make her sick.

  The room wasn’t much better, but it was clear their contact did what they could to accommodate them with whatever they needed. The room smelled clean, the walls looked as though they were scrubbed, and the furniture at least had the appearance that it was kept up. Of course, Ayela would have preferred if they’d just came and picked them up on the side of the road, but they were the closest cell to them that could reach them in time, and they had their own objectives they had to complete in the town they were located in. She understood why, at the very least.

  On the bed were two duffle bags that looked as though they were packed to burst. “Plenty of gear to get us through with our objective, yeah?” Kamille remarked, giddily rushing over to them. Ayela closed the door and sighed in relief.

  “I’m just glad to have some kind of bed and shower,” She said, leaning against the door.

  Kamille wasted no time opening her bag and pulling out the items. Among the clothing, ration packs, money, and boots, there was also a rifle folded up at the bottom. Ayela felt her skin go numb at the sight, but she kept from showing it on her face. There’s a reason for it, she thought to herself. We aren’t trying to kill anyone… Right?

  “You likely have the same things in your bag,” Kamille said, setting the rifle down with the same apprehension in her movements that Ayela felt in her heart. “Right, let’s settle in for the night. There’s a reason Asher sent us all this gear, so we better trust his educated opinion.”

  Ayela raised an eyebrow as her friend made her way to the bathroom. After everything that happened in V?r, she analyzed everything she saw and heard like it was second nature, looking for hidden messages in everything. She knew she could trust Kamille, but she couldn’t help but feel as though there was something she wasn’t being told. Given the nature of the darklings, she wasn’t entirely surprised – if one of them were captured, secrets could be shared that would do more than compromise their little mobile cell… But for any of their plan to work, she needed to trust and be trusted. As she set her duffle bag off to the side, she couldn’t help but wonder…

  …What are you hiding, Kamille? What did Asher tell you…