The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

After handing half of The Other's Voice to Fir, Noble explained the situation as they began to move. He seemed to catch up quickly.

'Thanks for coming back for me even though I wasn't part of the plan,' he gave a faint smile.

'I wouldn't think of doing anything else. I just hope we don't run across any more survivors. My Ability will be stretched to its limit lifting all of you out of here.'

Noble was a strong Master, but she had learned her limits on what she could carry and for how long. Lifting all of them out would be a close call, especially with an additional passenger. Any more people and Noble would need to start making some unpleasant decisions.

Fir shook his head.

'There are no others. If there were, surely they would have tried to make it to the barrier by now. I spent most of the night walking around it, looking for any way out. No one joined me until you. The rest of the city went on as usual.'

Noble had to agree with his assessment. To conserve essence, she had only been widening her scope periodically to search for other survivors, but her search had come up empty.

More than that, no one else had called the government or anyone else for help. Any sane person would reach out when a dome cuts them off from the rest of the world.

Right?

The only reason that Fir was presumed dead was because he hadn't communicated with headquarters after he lost his gear. Unless Noble found someone else in her search, she would have to be content knowing that she saved everyone that she could.

Holding up his fist, Coy brought them to a halt. It was time to move away from the barrier and turn up one of the streets. Unlike Jet, they couldn't turn into mist, so the only way for them to pass unnoticed was on foot.

The Masters checked their armor and Memories.

Chip touched a small lamp at his waist.

"What is that?" Noble whispered.

"It should reflect what the person expects to see back at them. So as long as no one is seeking us, it will help keep us hidden." Coy nodded. "I use it with my Ability."

The professor resisted the urge to ask if the Memory and Ability just naturally complimented each other or if Coy had some special attribute that made them coincide. It was an interesting prospect, but not the proper time.

Noble would just have to see how it worked in action.

Setting out, the group slipped between buildings and down narrow alleys as they moved down the street.

'Was it this easy when you ran away?' Noble asked Fir about his last experience inside the city limits.

'The monsters all went quiet as they looked at the sky. They didn't pursue me when I fled. Even when I slowed down to get my bearings, they went back to their usual tasks like nothing was wrong. The most I had was a guy cutting his grass wave at me.'

'Interesting.'

Noble had seen a man wave at her also, or at least wave at Jet. It was as if the Skinwalker was letting them know that they had been spotted and was intentionally letting them go about their day.

The monster was toying with them.

That somehow felt worse than if they were being hunted.

The smooth trek to the government facility only strengthened Noble's bad premonition. The only hiccup they had was when they passed a small grate in the earth and a blast of air nearly blew the lantern from Coy's waist.

Fortunately, it wasn't any nefarious trap.

The subterranean railway simply passed by as it always did at two on the dot.

The system had been dug out and constructed during the dark ages when people feared traveling above the surface, and somehow it still ran like clockwork.

Human engineering was truly impressive...even when Nightmare Creatures were the ones now running it.

Noble shook off the thoughts and did a final search as they neared a large building that she recognized from the pictures in the brief. Only there were no people were around them like in the photos, only Nightmare Creatures.

The professor tried not to panic that she could not feel Ternan and his father. They were in a safe room with the security measures armed. If she couldn't sense them, then hopefully the Skinwalkers hadn't either.

The government courthouse was relatively quiet. With everyone sharing one mind, there wasn't any need for lawsuits or judicial proceedings. The only people that could be seen were six soldiers stationed on the steps.

Lonzo and Teran had been staying in the guest quarters behind the house before being advised to seek shelter. Now they resided below the building waiting to be rescued. 

Noble finished her silent count.

Five, four, three, two, one...

Nothing happened. 

Jet was late. She hated being late. Either she had difficulty locating the Mayor and his wife or something had happened. 

Noble reached down, debating if she should try to contact Jet on the device at her hip. The men had turned theirs off to prevent feedback, and Noble had her volume as low as it would go. 

Perhaps they had missed Jet leaving and the diversion hadn't worked. 

Noble reached for the small box attached to her belt. She lifted it to her mouth. Contacting the base was risky for a number of reasons, but she needed to know. 

"Now!" 

Jet's word was almost lost in the static of the communicator. But the results were visible to everyone. The cloudy dome wavered for the briefest moment, making the sound like a popped bubble before reforming.

The six Skinwalker soldiers looked up as one, studying the sky with dubious expressions. All of them hissed, joined by the outrage of a million other voices.

The sound filled the air like a giant snake, and for a moment Noble felt like the Hydra had returned. 

She shivered. No, this was worse than the Hydra...much worse. 

In the next moment, a string of explosions rattled the far side of town. One after the other, balls of fire filled the air, shaking the ground and shattering the windows of the buildings around them.

Noble's eyes opened wide. Jet had only intended to blow up the Mayor's home to hide his disappearance and create a diversion. 

The Saint had succeeded but in the process created a chain reaction. An entire portion of the city was now in flames. 

'I guess Jet used her time well while waiting for us,' Noble mused. 

She refused to believe that such a catastrophic failure had happened purely by luck. 

The six soldiers all looked at the plumes of smoke and flames with the same expression. Then, without a word, four of them ran to investigate. 

All around them, citizens left their homes and offices, feigning different levels of shock and horror. Multitudes of people swarmed the street, all of them heading toward the conflagration across the city. 

When the dust settled, only the two guards on the steps remained. 

"You don't suppose they will let us just waltz into the building, do you?" Chip scratched his head.

"Only one way to find out," Coy answered with a smirk. 

Before anyone asked what he meant, the man stepped out of the safety of the shadows. 

Fir's scream filled Noble's head through the Memory. 

'What is he doing?!'