Sona X Draven Chapter 8

Please comment, I love to read them. I have been addicted to writing chapters today, so here is another!

VIII The dark gates of Noxus loomed in front of Draven. A deep breathe slipped from his mouth as he prepared himself for the confrontation ahead. The gates opened like a great maw to welcome home Noxus’ beloved brothers. The putrid air of the downtrodden streets spewed forth and coated them immediately. Strolling towards the command center in the Spire towards the middle of the city, Draven gazed around at the excitement radiating from the people. The attack on Demacia was the talk of the town, but no one looked to him while mentioning it. At least his role in it was not public… yet. Waving to the occasional fan and signing autographs while he walked, it felt good to be home again. Say what you would about Noxian politics, leaders, or nature, but its masses did love their glorious executioner. And that was all it needed for Draven. On his way up the black steps to the mouth shaped door of the spire he gave one last wave to the crowd in the plaza who gazed at him. Striking a couple of poses and shouting, Draven took a moment to appreciate home before Darius dragged him inside. “Get it together, fool.” “Lighten up good brother.” “I’ll lighten up after Swain executes you” he growled. “You are a buzz kill. Lighten up! I know smiling takes muscles, but I didn’t know you shirked off a workout. That must be why Garen is better!” Darius ignored the bait and kept walking resolutely towards Swain’s private council room. Leblanc emerged from the heavy steel doors as they approached. Followed by four cloaked figures staring down, she brushed past them commenting “Nice work handsome.” Draven shuddered as the words dripped with vile poison. But he didn’t miss the cheery tone that was unexpected. A familiar voice floated into the hallway, “Come in.” In the small room Swain hunched over a circular table sporting the map of Valoran with various flags and markers for troop positions of various forces. Swain mused quietly as the doors closed behind the brothers. “I debriefed Talon and Kat’s intel before you arrived, take the long road home? They arrived nearly four hours before you though you had departed our Demacian safehouse nearly a whole hour before them.” Darius spoke first, “I needed time alone with Draven.” Swain nodded, “Fair enough. If it wasn’t for the great deal you have done for me Darius and your fierce loyalty I would kill you both, you know that. Getting caught murdering soldiers, and Draven sets the bloody palace on fire to cover Kat’s tracks.” “Well if she didn’t get caught in the first place…” Draven interjected. Swain stopped him with a raised hand, “I don’t care for the tattling. You couldn’t have just run with hoods up?” Draven shrugged. “Precisely, but Darius seems to be ignored by most reports besides Talon’s, mostly because your exploits were larger Draven, but you did not get caught.” “Most reports?” Darius inquired, “there should only be three. Kat, Talon, and Urgot from his over watch.” “Noxus has eyes everywhere, Leblanc’s Black Rose agents kept their tabs on you during the trip. She just debriefed me.” Darius was still confused, “You sent us as the lie detectors for Katarina and Talon’s reports, why would you do that if Leblanc also had agents in play who could have told you that anyway?” “I don’t trust her either. A backup is nice, but two backups are much better. If Katarina and Talon lied, then Leblanc told a half truth, and you told me all that you saw, I can piece together a perfect picture.” Swain paced to the minibar in the corner and fed his Raven a dry cracker from a crystal dish. Leaning heavily on his cane as he pivoted back to face the brothers, Darius noticed Swain looked suddenly exhausted. He let out a sigh and began to speak, “There are no reports from Demacia about who did the attack. Sona must not have told them. We spotted her on the road back to Ionia after she left the guard’s headquarters in Demacia. Our agents reported Garen and Xin Zhao still following any lead they could muster after her departure. Your gamble paid off barely. Demacia has suspicions of our involvement, but these should be eased soon as we have given them full access to Noxus to conduct an investigation, but they will find nothing. For now no disciplinary action will be taken through the military against you both. But I assure you I will give you enough crap jobs that the message will stick with you when I say blunders of this scale will not be tolerated. Are we clear?” Both answered yes in unison. “Good, now debriefing will commence so I can fact-check the others. If what we have discovered is true, then Demacia is fully ready for war should we slip up even once and attack an ally of theirs. This is good to know, or we could have faced a war on two fronts, which would be a fatal step without victory in any scenario.” The debriefing was short and they were dismissed. Draven bumped Darius “See? Tiger instincts never fail!” Darius grunted, “Shut up. It was luck.” “All talent on this end!” Draven flexed and kissed his biceps as they emerged to the plaza once more. He screamed to the shoppers “I am bulletproof!!! Who’s ready for the return of your entertainer and hero DRAAAAVVVEENN?” The cheers rose to a deafening roar and Darius left the spectacle to sort itself out. The trip had worn him out. Not physically worn out, but mentally and emotionally. The stress was not his forte. Kill this, fight here, do that. Simple orders were underappreciated. He knew the purpose of espionage, but it was best left to smaller, more cowardly people. As he turned onto a small side road to his house, a pompous voice that radiated authority and confidence called to him, “Well, well. Terrorism is below you! Even for a Noxian.” Darius glanced over his shoulder to confirm what he already knew. The tall, well armored form of Jarvan IV stood in the middle of the street, lance planted firmly on the rock beneath him. Seemingly at ease, his stance tried to convey a calm, but Darius’ seasoned eyes could easily spot the tightened grip on the spear and the slightly bent knees ready to move in any direction. The prince was ready to fight should he need to. Xin Zhao also stood at ease… if anyone could call it that. The man lived ready to pounce. Demacians were as close to zealotry as Noxus was, though they’d never admit it. Darius kept his tone neutral, “You mean the fire? A real shame. Nice house.” “It was, not everything is burnt and charred. The stone held of course, we are built to last. My father says there is no proof yet you did it, but I can see through you. You did this! Cowards can never claim actions as their own.” Darius took two steps forward. Xin steeled himself to leap. “You know what I do on the battlefield and in the Institute of War, and you know I am no coward. So believe me when I say that I was not the one who burned your beloved palace, nor did I see the fire start.” Technically not a lie. Draven was there. Jarvan relented, “Those responsible cannot escape justice. If it weren’t for my father’s temperance and patience, we would be here not with an inquiry commission, but with an army to purify the stench of this rotten place. Keep that in mind vermin.” Darius grunted and walked away. Not bothering to respond to the prince’s goading. Once reaching his humble home, a great black hound lifted its muzzle to inspect the intruder, but upon seeing its master, the hound jumped up and ran to greet him. Darius knelt to greet him, “Leeroy! How are you champ?” The dog slobbered shamelessly on his silver armguards. An elderly woman came from the house and greeted him formally. “Milord, the house is cleaned as instructed, and your mail is in the study. Leeroy is fed and has been walked this morning and went for a run at noon.” Darius nodded and thanked her. She shuffled down the street and he proceeded inside, dog close at hand. The house lacked any features of a home. The entryway had a small table in the center, barren of any decoration. Noxian banners hung on the walls, and a small closet was off right. Stairs led to the upper floor, topped by a locked door. One could not be too careful. The kitchen and weight room lay past the stairs on the first floor. Once there was a living room, but Darius saw no need for such a waste of space and moved the coach and armchair out to make room for his weight racks. She trudged up the stairs and retrieved the key under the fifteenth stair. Opening the overly large lock, he breathed deeply in the comfort of his private study. Three rooms arranged in a triangle with no doors greeted him. Left was his desk, the back housed the bedroom proper, and right was his armory. Boards creaked under his armor’s mass as he crossed the room to grasp a letter. He didn’t get much mail, and the white envelope was crisply folded to perfection. It simply said “Darius.” He opened it and removed the contents. Two tickets fell out of a note within. “Thanks for believing, thank Draven too. If he lives, give him one of these. The other is for you. The Noxian brothers have surprised me, so I wanted to surprise them back. You have my thanks. –Sona” Darius eyed the tickets to the next Pentakill concert. He rubbed his chin as he contemplated how Draven would take the news.