Mercy

“Mercy,” Faith called, and Mercy’s face went tight, her heart beating a little quicker even though she knew it shouldn’t.

“Yes, Captain,” Mercy nodded, and Faith jerked her head towards the edge of the clearing, the light in her eyes cold, the paint around them making them look darker than Mercy had ever seen them before.

Mercy’s mouth went dry as she followed her. Faith stopped just short of the trees, her forehead lining in a crease as her eyes darted to look back at the others in camp, but then they flicked back to Mercy and that crease went deeper.

“Listen,” Faith said, her voice quiet, her face stiff as she clasped her hands behind her back and nodded at Mercy. “You turn back now. That’s an order.”

Mercy’s eyes went wide, her mouth going even drier as she stared up at Faith. “Did I do something wrong, Captain?”

“It’s not up for debate, Mercy, pack your things and head back.”

Mercy shook her head, slowly at first but then much quicker. She tried to stand as tall as she could, but even then she only came to Faith’s shoulders. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry, Captain, and I’ll take the first and second watch to make up for it.”

“You’re going home.”

“Why?” Mercy asked, her forehead lining in a crease. “Please, Captain, I want to be here.”

Faith’s face went tight, almost scrunching up in a scowl before she shook her head again, her eyes darting to the others in the group. “Go home, Mercy, we don’t need you and you’re too young to be on a mission like this.”

Mercy stared at her, almost waiting for Faith to shake her head again and to tell her that this had all been a joke, but Mercy couldn’t remember ever hearing Faith make one before. “The General said I-,” she started, but then Faith’s face went even tighter.

“I know what he said,” Faith cut in. “But I’m leading this mission and I’ve decided you’re going home. Question me again, Mercy, and I’ll make sure you don’t go on any missions for the rest of your life.”

Mercy’s mouth went drier still, her heart thundering in her chest as she looked back at the others, but then she shook her head. “I’m a part of this team,” she said, and only then did Faith’s face soften, her shoulders dropping a little.

“And you still will be when we get back,” Faith nodded. “If we get back,” she added. “You understand what I’m saying, Mercy?”

“I know what I signed up for,” Mercy stood strong. “It’s alright, I know and I don’t-,”

“Have you been alive long enough to even understand what it means to die, hmm?” Faith cut in. “You have someone back home waiting for you? Someone to pass your name to?”

Mercy stared up at her, just wanting to shake her head and have something other to say than, “The others don’t either.”

“They’re twice your age,” Faith shook her head. “Live another century and then I won’t stop you.”

Mercy looked down at her boots, her damned, heavy boots, the leather stiff and uncomfortable, her hands coming to fiddle with the tassels hanging off her vest. Her face scrunched up in a scowl then. She’d come all this way, put these foolish, ugly clothes on, and at the last moment, she was being sent home. She stared at the others, knowing without knowing that none of them would hold it against her for turning back now and knowing she would rather die with the rest of them, than have to be the only one left alive.

They only needed one mortal hour, all of them, one mortal hour and they could all leave together.

“I have a cousin,” Mercy said, her eyes flicking back to Faith. “We share names, I’m not the last. There’s no reason for me to go back now.”

“I gave you an order,” Faith fired back, voice sharp and stern.

“I already have my orders,” Mercy argued, an edge of her own to her voice that lasted until her face scrunched up in a wince. “Please, Faith,” she whispered then. “Please, don’t send me back now. I don’t want to go, I want to be with you, with all of you. I know… I know I’m not that good, but I’m trying and I’ll do better. I just-,”

“There’s nothing wrong with your performance,” Faith sighed, her shoulders dropping a little. “That’s not what I meant when I said you’re not needed… You are needed, Mercy, you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t, but you’re not needed that much. You don’t need to die for this. There’s-,”

“I don’t want to die and I don’t want any of you to either. Let me come, we stand a better chance all together and you know it… I’m a part of this team.”

“Of course, you are. That’s not what I meant.”

“We only need one hour,” Mercy begged. “One hour. It’s the shortest mission we’ve ever been on.”

“It’s the most dangerous mission we’ve ever been on and the fact that you’re still arguing with me only shows that you don’t understand how dangerous it really is.”

“I understand,” Mercy nodded. “I mean it, Faith, I’ve thought this through. You just have to trust me.”

Faith stared at her, her eyebrows rising, her eyes unblinking, and for a long moment Mercy thought that this was all still over. Faith looked away then, her back going straight, her hands clasping behind her back. “Captain,” she corrected. “Address me incorrectly again, Mercy, and you’ll be on all the watches.”

Mercy bit back a gasp, her shoulders rising, her heart racing as she tried not to smile. “Yes, Captain,” she nodded, and she didn’t linger to say anything else when Faith jerked her head back towards the others and sent Mercy away.

Mercy raced for her pack, opening it up and grabbing the last of the things she planned on taking with her. She tried to fit them into the sorry excuse of a pocket in her short skirt, hating that there were none on her slip of a shirt or on that tasselled vest that would do nothing against the cold, but then again, where they were heading it would be anything but.

“Captain tried to talk you out of it?” Joy asked, a smirk on her lips as she closed up her own pack.

“Something like that,” Mercy sighed, fitting a switchblade into her pocket and realising that she wouldn’t be able to take anything else. “How do I look?” she asked, standing up, her face already scrunching up in a scowl in anticipation of the answer.

“Like a demon,” Joy nodded, and Mercy felt her stomach begin to boil, but Joy only laughed, shaking her head and getting to her feet. Joy stuffed her hands into the pockets of her shorts, her top bare save for a thin strip of material around her chest. “Don’t let them pick on you, Sparky.”

“You’re the only one who picks on me,” Mercy said, but Joy snorted, wrapping her arm around Mercy’s shoulders and giving them a shake.

“How could I ever pick on you?” Joy beamed. “It wouldn’t be fair. You could never put up a fight.”

“I don’t need to be tall to beat you, Joy,” Mercy answered, and Joy let her go, the corners of her lips twitching like she was fighting back a grin.

“I’m glad you stayed,” she said, stuffing her hands back into her pockets and stepping backwards towards the others. “Tonight we cut the head off the snake. Wouldn’t want you to miss it.”

“Round up,” Faith said before Mercy could say anything back, the ten members of their team gathering around what was left of their campfire, all dressed in black, their faces or hair painted in some terrible tar. “You have everything you need, Candour?”

“Yes, Captain,” Candour nodded, his hands going to the pockets on his trousers.

“Well, check again, this is your last chance,” Faith ordered, her face tight and the light in her eyes grim. “All of you,” she added. “There’s no turning back from here on out, so make sure everything you leave behind is something that you can live without. Take your pills as soon as you enter the castle and whatever you do, make sure you tell no one your real name or show your wings. Spread out, but try to keep an eye on each other. Joy, what do we do if we engage personally with the target?”

“Assess the situation, Captain,” Joy nodded.

“Wait for the signal,” Faith said. “Keep an eye on each other and assess the situation. We need him distracted for one hour, not to give ourselves up. You see a member of our team in need, you step in. Check in with your partner every fifteen minutes and we leave no one behind, is that understood?”

“Yes, Captain,” they all said, and Mercy felt her skin tingle, a smile breaking out on her lips though she tried to stop it.

They could do this. They had to do this. All they needed was one mortal hour.

“Do something with your hair, Mercy,” Faith said. “You look too much like an angel.”

Mercy stopped smiling then, eyeing the others around them with patches of their hair covered in that thick, black tar and not wanting it anywhere near her own.

Joy laughed, wrapping her arm around Mercy’s shoulders and tugging the tie out of her hair. “Be free, Mercy, you’re supposed to look free,” she said, ruffling her fingers through Mercy’s hair and pulling away with some blonde strands still stuck between them. “There,” Joy smirked. “Looks like you’ve been in bed with a mortal.”

“Joy!” Mercy gasped, cheeks blazing.

“Enough,” Faith cut in. “Get in your places. Your watches synchronised?” she asked, and Mercy pulled away from Joy, looking at that mortal watch on her wrist and checking it against the others. “Good,” Faith nodded. “Partner-leads make sure you check in with me after your fifteen minute marks… The Authority keep you in His prayers.”

“Yes, Captain!” they said, and Mercy felt her skin tingling again.

This time she looked at the others around her, watching them smile back. One mortal hour. In and out and they will have ended the insidious, treacherous reign of a king who'd turned mortals away from the light.