A New Ally, Part II

---Indigo---

"Don't move." Muttering spells under her breath, Rachel set her magic to work healing him. A few minutes later, the young man was gaping at how he didn't even have scars from his wounds.

"You really are part of the Rosewood Seven!"

He was about to scramble to his feet, but Rachel and Lucian had their swords out and on either side of his neck. If he made any suspicious actions, he would be dead within a second. I crossed my arms and stared him down. "Convince us that we should trust you and not kill you."

Unafraid of the blades by his neck, the young man slowly got to his feet, his eyes holding my stern gaze. Rachel and Lucian's swords followed his every move. I found myself staring into his dark brown eyes and finding a sense of familiarity in them. His eyes reminded me so, so much of Aaron's. His height and built were also similar to Aaron's; I had no doubt that I would confuse this stranger with Aaron if I only looked at his silhouette.

"My name is Lionel Atwood." The young man spoke. "I'm the only son of a rich merchant named Daniel Atwood."

Four months ago, Lionel said, his parents were out on a business trip when Lord Victor's army attacked the town they were at. No one survived the slaughter. Thus, at the mere age of nineteen, Lionel inherited his father's trading business and property. But Lionel was not going to let his parents die in vain. He vowed revenge on Lord Victor, and dedicated his entire inheritance to supporting and raising rebel groups to fight against Lord Victor. Using his trade contacts across Crystallea, Lionel created a network of messengers and soldiers in almost every major town and village. If Lord Victor made a move, Lionel would be the first to know.

"I can help you," Lionel insisted again. "You can use my network of communication to learn about Lord Victor's whereabouts. My men will fight alongside you. All I want to do is to avenge my parents. You three are my best chance at defeating Lord Victor."

I glanced at Lucian and Rachel. "What do you two think?"

"I think my family did business with the Atwoods before," Lucian said slowly. "They were pretty trustworthy people."

"He appears to be telling the truth," Rachel added. "I don't sense anything from him. He seems like an honest person."

I stared down Lionel, thinking. He stared back, refusing to look away. "I've pleaded my case. If you still don't believe me, I can take you to my base in Dewsbury and show you all of my operations. There's three of you and one of me, and you all have magic. There's no way I would be able to defeat you even if I tried."

After a few moments, I agreed. We helped Lionel bury the dead bodies—some of his soldiers, he told us—and gathered everything back onto the cart. We were still slightly distrustful of Lionel, but Lucian was confident he could fry Lionel to a crisp if Lionel made even the slightest suspicious action. Like Lionel pointed out, he was outnumbered and no match for the Destined Three.

We set off for Dewsbury and arrived shortly after sunset. Lionel gave us a brief tour of his large manor house and then led us into a secret room hidden behind a bookshelf in the parlor. Inside, we found maps, various documents, books, and battle plans. This guy wasn't lying when he said he was raising an army.

"Lord Victor established a temporary base at Devil's Peak about eight weeks ago." Lionel pointed to a red dot marking a location on a huge map hanging on the wall. "According to my spies, he didn't do much except set off a bomb in the forest below. Do you guys know anything about this?"

I stared at Devil's Peak on the map. Memories flashed in my mind—our camp, my last farewell to Aaron, the explosion…I closed my eyes, taking a trembling breath to steady my emotions. Lionel watched me curiously. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine." I turned to look at Rachel and Lucian, my only friends left. We can't defeat Lord Victor alone. "Lionel, I think we'll take you up on your offer."

* * * * *

"Indy?" A voice jolted me out of my thoughts. Turning from the window, I looked up into the concerned face of Lionel. Behind him, Lucian and Rachel looked at each other and quietly left the room. His chocolate-colored eyes peered at me worriedly, and I smiled slightly.

"Hello, Lionel. I'm assuming you heard the news too?" I pointed at the stack of documents on my desk. Lionel nodded gravely.

"Yes. The death tolls are alarming. I didn't expect Lord Victor to move this fast." Lionel studied me, his brow creasing. "Indy, you've been losing sleep again."

I sighed, nodding. It still amazes me how this guy whom I've only met two months ago can read me better than my closest friends. I looked up at Lionel, my gaze raking over his tousled jet black hair, his dark brown eyes, and his broad shoulders. 'He reminds me so much of Aaron…'

"I can't stop thinking about the past lately," I admitted quietly. "Every time I think about what we're going to do, the memories come flooding back."

Lionel placed his hands on either side of my shoulders. "Indy, I know it's hard for you. I suppose it's like what I felt after I lost my parents. But we can't let the grief and pain drag us down. We're turning those emotions into power so we can dedicate ourselves to our cause and focus on defeating Lord Victor. Think about the civilians of Crystallea, and how they will also grieve over their loved ones if we don't stop him."

"I know, I know. I'm not sulking. It's just…" I looked away and sighed. "Every time I see you, I think I see him."

Lionel was quiet for a few seconds. A couple of weeks ago, when Lionel and I had gotten closer and I felt comfortable opening up to him, I told him about our quest so far and about Aaron. Lionel opened his mouth to reply to me, only to be interrupted by a loud clamoring outside. "Lio! Is Lio here?" someone shouted.