Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 179

Chapter 179: An uneasy standoff
Several days passed, and the time intensified the group’s anticipation as the Count’s inevitable arrival drew closer. Emily spent time on the surface with Trace’s father, looking far and wide for any sign of arrival.

If there was any, she was the one who could get word into the cave fastest. It was also a way to give her as much time outdoors as possible.

Seth returned, bringing with him all the materials and supplies Trace had asked for. To Anaisa’s amusement, her husband’s prediction about the conversations amongst his family went almost exactly as described.

Seth wanted to get powers. Sarah had forbidden it. He intended on doing so anyway, and his father talked him out of it, at the cost of getting himself pulled into the mix. The only variable that Trace had not counted on was that his mother would insist on doing so if her husband was.

They were married, she reasoned, so all things would be done together. And so, Anaisa found herself married into a suddenly much more magical family than before.

Anaisa was perplexed by her father in law’s new power. In all her guesses about what it would turn out to be, this was not something she had imagined.

For his part, Trace’s farther was rather pleased with its potential future use in farming, but was having some trouble making it particularly relevant to the plan they had come up with. It took some brainstorming to fold his abilities into what they hoped to achieve.

Trace’s mother received a more subtle power to manipulate sound, magnifying or dampening it. She shrugged nonchalantly, saying that at least she could always make sure the men heard the dinner bell from now on.

Trace warned them that Sanders would see whatever powers they used, and if asked directly, he wouldn’t be allowed to lie to Oakdown. Even so, they hoped the man could conceal most of what was going on here.

Still, the evil man seemed very likely to ask Sanders whether any of them were using the tree to get powers, and if so, what kind of powers they got, so it was good that neither Trace’s mother or father got something directly useful to their trap, lest the man guess it too easily.

Finally, on the fifth day, They spotted a storm to the North.

Emily reported it immediately. Trace’s father observed that it didn’t roll in, but sprang up in a rather unseasonal way.

The atmosphere livened as everyone finished an abbreviated meal and took their places to await Oakdown’s arrival.

Those deeper in the cave were in trepidation, perhaps Deborah most of all as she bore the dual responsibilities of using her powers and staying alive so that Ewan could be fed another meal.

Anaisa stayed near Trace, with his parents and Calvin alongside them. Seth was at his designated point, hiding himself and the supplies he’d brought.

A shiver rolled down her spine as Trace’s mother magnified the sounds coming from outside the cave entrance.

Marching.

How many or what manner of soldiers Oakdown had brought with him, Trace could guess. Royal guards, most likely, in sufficient number to ensure their destruction.

Thankfully, with the cave entrance so small, there was quite a bottleneck as the initial soldiers came through with torches flaming and bows drawn.

Trace knelt behind a barricade of sorts, far enough into the cave to hopefully draw them all in.

As soon as the first footsteps were inside the cave, Trace’s mother stopped amplifying the sounds, and instead focused on making the cave eerily silent and creepy to the newcomers.

Anaisa squeezed Trace’s hand and moved back to her place. He was the touchpoint, the one whom the soldiers would encounter first… so long as Seth had remained undetected outside.

The marching slowed to a crawl as the soldiers made sure to check around every corner, in every nook and cranny for threats. To make sure they wouldn’t get blindsided and surrounded by an ambush that jumped out from the darkness.

When they reached the place where the cave’s temporary residents had set up a barrier at the fork in the tunnel, they stopped completely.

“Come out!” The first one shouted. “Whoever’s there, surrender!”

“Whoever?” Trace questioned. “Oakdown didn’t even tell you who you were coming to attack?”

“I am at King Harold’s command,” the soldier replied, lowering his spear and aiming it towards the sound of Trace’s voice, which conveniently echoed off the walls and made him hard to precisely locate. “You Foundrel invaders must leave immediately. This is our territory!”

“Foundrel invaders?” Trace scoffed. Anaisa almost heard laughter in his voice. “We are not foreigners, this is all part of the Count’s plot to take the throne and then the world! We know the information that would stop him, and he fears us.”

Anaisa squinted, though she dare not look around the corner at the soldiers.

“You are liars.” The soldier said with derision. “Surrender now and you will be imprisoned, but not killed.”

“As if Oakdown would let us live when we know his secrets,” Trace kept up the conversation, and Anaisa hoped he could get through to the soldiers. “He has magic, you know. He can command someone to do anything he wants, and right now, he has the king under his thrall. Why else do you think the princess would be forced to marry his blithering son?”

The soldier nearly growled at that, jabbing his spear with emphasis into the semidarkness as he spoke again.

“Our princess willingly does what is best for the kingdom, and the king has assured us all they are madly in love.” The guard insisted, and others grunted their assent behind him. “We will believe nothing you say, when we have seen the royal couple for ourselves, smiling and waving. They are happy in the city preparing for their wedding as we speak.”

Anaisa swallowed and dreaded what threats they had made against Sapphira to make her play along with the ridiculous notion that she was in love with Denholm. She had to act quickly… improvise a little, as Trace so often did.

“If I was so happy with that rat Denholm,” She said haughtily, stepping out from her hiding place and into view, “Then why would I run away?”