The next morning, Ellis and Lyra left his Victorian house for what could be the last time. They headed along to the park at the end of the street where he had already agreed to meet the other soldiers. It was still early, around five o’clock in the morning, and from previous experience and research, he had found that the park was deserted and out of view of humans until around nine o’clock. That gave them plenty of time, for all hundred of them to disappear from Somerhalder and appear in the middle of the forest clearing right outside Ellis’ cave.
It didn’t take much more than five minutes for them all to appear on The Island and get themselves into order. The field where his men trained was audibly busy with men practicing their fighting. When he ventured past the guard house to check on his men, even Lyra was astounded at the amount of men they actually had to fight with.
To Lyra’s surprise, she had appeared still in the jeans, sweater, and trainers she had put on that morning. In fact, she wasn’t the only one still in her other-world clothes, but then she recalled that anything could be sent and brought through from the other world with enough concentration. She realized that she should have known that all along. She should have thought about how her gifts and the army’s weapons had been brought through and it would have explained everything. But while she thought quietly to herself, Ellis inspected his men.
He seemed to like what he saw. His father’s army, including Clarke, who stepped forward to introduce himself and his mission in the war, had arrived only a few hours before him, according to island time. He was glad to see that they had put that time to good use. Aylmer had taken to Clarke enough to let him venture with a few scouts toward the village with the vampire Captain. They hoped to get a glimpse of the main commanders of the islanders’ army. And sure enough, they had come back with intelligence, saying that the army was training at the back of the castle, pretending not to exist. And still loud bangs and the clatter of metal on metal could be heard miles away.
“First things first. We need to keep the women, the infirm, and the children here, out of harm’s way before we head off,” Ellis decided. It didn’t take long to gather them all together and send them off into the maze-like tunnels of the caves. There they would be safe and able to defend themselves if Walter’s army reached them. Lyra, of course, refused to leave him. She clung to his hand desperately and refused to be taken away, even when Clarke took hold of her and tried to physically lift her off her feet. With a sigh, Ellis told Clarke that he would take care of her and sent him off to check on the provisions that would be left to sustain the women and children if they had to wait for word of victory or defeat. “Lyra, this is war. This isn’t where you belong,” he insisted, trying to loosen her grip on his arm just enough so that someone could take her to safety, but she refused to move. She held on tightly with pleading eyes filled with tears. A quiver on her lips made him feel for her.
“I want to be with you. If anything happens to you…” Her words broke off into a sob that she only just managed to hold back. She put the back of her hand to her lips as if trying to gather the courage to speak, but it was difficult. Lyra had always been independent and strong. She had never fallen to pieces the way she did when she worried and missed him. It was incomprehensible the way she suddenly felt all the time. She couldn’t control it. “I would rather be there with you to take care of you than find out that no one did anything to help you and that you could have lived if I were there,” she rambled, sounding heartbroken and utterly devastated by the thought of being separated from him. Ellis had no choice but to give in to her wishes and allow her to stay with him. He could see that Aylmer disapproved, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t stand there and watch her cry when he could so easily make her happy again.
“You’ll be safe with me. As long as you do what you’re told,” he warned, cupping her face as he soothed her tears with a gentle kiss. She was an absolute wreck, but he had never seen her look so beautiful or vulnerable before.
“Can we not talk with my father one more time?” she pleaded with him, hoping for a safe and easy solution…one that didn’t put Ellis at risk. But he had to put his foot down. It was the time for action alone. He wasn’t going to have his father’s best, strongest men, removed from him and the clan house when war from the humans loomed, all for nothing.
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that, darling. This war has been coming for years. Even if we were to tell your father about us, there is no guarantee that he would care,” he explained. He took her hand in an effort to impress upon her the importance of her staying by his side, unless he was fighting. She was to stay with Clarke, whose job it was to look out for his and Edward’s safety, from a distance where he himself could stay safe. Clarke didn’t like standing in the background, where it was safe. He longed to fight and show his worth. But he knew how important it was to save Ellis and Edward, and he wasn’t going to go against an order from the Master for anything. But, much against his and Lyra’s protests, Ellis was adamant to lead the men to war in a few hours time, charging up the front with the Captains.