Sunset (Pact Arcanum)

by Arshad Ahsanuddin

  “Scott went to tell Michelle the truth. It didn’t go well. She demanded to come here and confront all three of you together. Scott turned off the internal security sensors after they arrived, but the screaming was pretty intense if what leaked through the soundproofing on the outer door was anything to go by. Anyway, since they were in the doghouse down here, they headed up to the Citadel so Nick could tell his family the truth.”

  Ana frowned. “The Citadel? Why not here?”

  “Because it’s the smallest of the Hidden Cities and is predominantly populated by Daywalkers. It was the easiest for him to get the local Nightwalkers to evacuate.”

  “Oh, Christ, I forgot about that. Is he finally going to test them? It’s been six years, for God’s sake.”

  “I know. He’s trying to be careful in case either of them is actually latent. He told the Nightwalkers of the Citadel that if one of his siblings kindled due to their presence, he would consider it a personal affront to his honor. They cleared out pretty fast after that. It hasn’t been that long since the last time they had to rebuild the city because of him.”

  “What’s he going to do if they are latent?”

  “I don’t believe he’s thought that far ahead.”

  “If either of them turns up positive, it would absolutely destroy him, Take.” Ana rubbed her eyes tiredly. “At least, it would have yesterday. I hate to admit it, but Jeremy did us all a huge favor by giving Nick something to believe in again. It was a horrendous risk—and almost went so completely wrong—but Nick just might find a new balance now, with a bit of light to even out the darkness.”

  “Rory thinks so, too.” Takeshi pushed himself away from the filing cabinet and sat in the chair across from Ana’s desk. “Forgive me for saying what we’re both thinking, but Nick does have a knack for making life difficult for the rest of us.”

  Ana sighed. “You’ve got that right.”

  “Are you ready to get to work, Special Agent Nizhoni?” Takeshi asked.

  “Yes I am, Director.”

  “To begin with,” Take said, lacing his fingers behind his head, “we need to discuss a change in your duties as Lead Agent on Nick’s security detail.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “It is the unanimous decision of the Triumvirate, following the events of this evening, that Nick be reassigned to new diplomatic duties. We’ll find someone else to be our liaison with the Court of Shadows. We want him to fill a new position we’ve created, and I’d like your input on the best way to set up the logistics of supporting that role.”

  “What new position?”

  Take met her eyes gravely.

  “Ambassador to Humanity.”

  CHAPTER 8

  “Are you serious?” Ana asked incredulously. “You want to open diplomatic relations with the human governments?”

  “Yeah.” Takeshi shrugged. “We’re exposed now. The safest course is to be proactive about releasing information so the humans don’t start making up whatever they want to believe. We’ll retask the Washington, Ottawa, and Mexico City chapterhouses to serve as embassies. He can rotate between the three governments as needed. We can even set up another base of operations for him at the chapterhouse in New York City, in case he ever needs to address the United Nations.”

  “Why Nick?”

  “Because he’s already out in the open, and he has a track record with being in the human media spotlight.” Take looked at her with a grim expression. “And because he’s strong enough to make him hard to kill. That’s why we let him deal with the Los Angeles situation. Aside from Rory, he had the best chance of protecting himself if he was caught in the blast.”

  “How do you want to do this, Take?”

  “We’ve already started upgrading the fixed, non-lethal defenses in the new embassies. If the humans decide to attack, we’ll be able to hold them off. The upgrades should be complete in about a week. In the meantime, we think you three should start brainstorming how to make initial contact with the human governments. They’ll be resistant, so you’ll have to find a way to get them to acknowledge our legitimacy.”

  “That’ll be difficult,” said Ana, turning her head to look at the hologram hovering in the center of the opposite wall: an image of all four Winds together, the strongest Sentinels in the world. “We’re a challenge to their authority. They won’t be willing to share power.”

  “Then you’ll have to figure out a way to make them listen. We’re out in the open now, and we’re not going to disappear.”

  “Takeshi,” Ana said after a moment of silence, “do you ever wish things were different? That your life could just go back to the way things were before the Gift?”

  Takeshi’s expression was inscrutable. “No.”

  “Was that a completely self-serving lie to get out of answering my question?” Ana asked with a smirk.

  “Yes.”

  Ana stopped smiling and straightened the framed photograph of her husband on the desk.

  “Whatever happens next is going to be a nightmare, no matter how we slice it. This isn’t the first time Nick’s gotten us thrown to the wolves, and I’m betting it won’t be the last. Rory’s just as bad. I mean, you saw how he turned on us when Jiao-long made him a Nightwalker. What could possibly make this all worthwhile?”

  Takeshi closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “You know my grandmother raised me. She was from a traditional background and she tried to give me the same upbringing. To her, in the end everything came down to giri and ninjo. One is self-sacrifice, duty, and obligation, versus the other, which is emotion, compassion, and love. Yes, Rory killed me, but that was his nature at the time. He fought against it—even gave me the opportunity to escape with my life or to join him in the darkness. I couldn’t bring myself to do either. Running away would have meant living my life without him, and staying with him would have meant becoming the kind of monster I spent half my life killing. So instead, I died. I let him kill me to break the deadlock.

  “That should have been the end of it, but Rory wouldn’t let it go. He faced the same choice I did—living as a monster in the darkness without me, or entering the service of heaven for the power to bring me back. He accepted the Grace and bound himself to being a slave to the Light, quite possibly until the end of time, unable to die until the Grace releases him. He did that for me, Ana. I owe him my continued existence, and everything in my life after that is a tribute to him.

  “My duty belongs to him, and so does my heart. There’s no conflict between giri and ninjo for me anymore, between honor and desire. No matter what happens with the rest of my life, I will be content with him beside me.” He opened his eyes and turned to face Ana. “Does that answer your question?”

  “Yes,” Ana said, her expression thoughtful. “Thank you for answering me.”

  There was a knock at the door; Takeshi stood. “Good luck with your new job.” He gave Ana one of his rare grins. “Don’t forget, poker night is at Scott’s tomorrow.” He spoke to his AI and teleported away.

  “The others are back,” Michelle Phillips said curtly when Ana opened the door.

  Ana followed her into the outer office. Scott and Jeremy stood together, looking uncomfortable. Michelle took her seat again on the couch, next to her son. There was a distinct demarcation between the two groups, as if an uncrossable moat divided them.

  Ana approached Scott, noticing, as she did so, that Jeremy was now sporting a black eye. Good. He deserves it.

  “Where’s Nick?” she asked.

  “The Court of Shadows Embassy in Icehaven, so he could give their Ambassador a message,” said Jeremy.

  “What message?”

  “He wanted to warn them off of Toby,” Scott told her.

  Michelle looked up at that. “What does Toby have to do any with this?”

  “He’s Sentinel latent,” Scott said.

  His wife’s face paled as she looked fearfully toward their own child.

  “It’s all right. He’s fine.” Sco
tt hastened to reassure her. “I already tested him to make sure he was safe. You haven’t inherited the Gift, so your children won’t ever be part of it.”

  “Well, thank heaven for that,” Michelle said. “As soon as Nick gets here, I have something to say to you all.”

  Ana looked at Scott, who was watching his wife with concern. “All right,” she said. “We’ll wait.” She extended a psychic probe to Scott and felt the Water Sentinel respond in kind, forging a temporary link. “What is Nick doing?”

  Scott unmasked his link to Nick and looked through the Daywalker’s eyes. He saw another young man with spiky black hair and pale skin sitting opposite Nick: Lorcan Primogenitor Diluthical, the Court of Shadows Ambassador to the Triumvirate. He was dressed casually in a green T-shirt and black slacks, and held Nick’s hands in his own. The Nightwalker talked quietly to Nick, his expression troubled.

  “I’m surprised they’ve still got their clothes on,” Ana said on a private level of their psychic link.

  “Yeah, well, I’m sure they’ll get around to that eventually. They always do,” thought Scott, his tone edged with disapproval. “Nick still insists they’re just friends.”

  “Nick is an idiot,” Ana said as she watched Lorcan stand and walk out of the room.

  “He’ll see through Lorcan eventually,” thought Scott. “Personally, I can’t wait.”

  The two felt Nick turn his attention to their joined minds.

  “Welcome back, Ana.”

  Ana laid her psychic touch on Nick’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear about Toby.”

  “You were right.” Nick’s grief echoed along the link. “I should have tested them years ago.”

  “What’s he going to do?” asked Ana.

  “They’re all going to spend the night at my place at the Citadel. Toby still wants to do the overseas concert tour with his band in the fall, despite the danger. That’s assuming they don’t cancel on him after all of this comes out. Lorcan will warn the Nightwalkers around the scheduled venues that Toby is to be left strictly alone, but there’s always a risk someone won’t get the message.” Nick’s psychic voice grew brutally cold. “I told him they would all pay dearly if anything happens to my brother. Lorcan says he’ll make sure the Court understands the cost of making a mistake.”

  “Nick,” said Ana, “Michelle says she has something to tell us when you get back here.”

  She felt him stiffen and then slump again, resigned. “Might as well get it over with then.”

  A moment later, a soft chime rang in the outer office and Nick appeared in a white haze. Ana and the two Journeymen lined up facing the couch, ignoring Jeremy for the moment, who simply stepped out of the way. Michelle stood to confront them.

  “You lied to me,” Michelle accused Scott. “Betrayed me. You never even gave me the chance to be a true partner in your life. You had every opportunity to trust me with your secrets. Instead you chose to keep me in the dark while you placed yourself in danger over and over again, without any regard for how it might affect me and your son if something happened to you.”

  She turned to Nick. “You, I can understand. You don’t have anyone depending on you. But Scott and Ana have families.” She glared at Ana. “You’re supposed to put us first, but neither of you even tried to give up this life for our sakes. Neither of you has any courage in your convictions.” She looked directly at Scott, whose face was contorted by anguish and remorse.

  “Tell me, if you had to do it over again,” she asked, “would you do anything differently?”

  “Michelle,” Scott pleaded, “please don’t ask me that.”

  “Answer me, Scott! Tell me the truth—for once.”

  “No,” he said, his voice breaking. “I would have done everything the same. You were never born to this world. I was. I never had any choice about what I became. You’re my Light. How could I drag you down to join me in the darkness with the monsters?”

  “That’s probably the most honest thing you’ve said to me in five years.” Michelle’s expression softened as she stepped forward and took his hands. “I vowed to stay with you for better and for worse, Scott. If this is God’s plan for you, then we’ll walk the road together, you and I. But you have to tell me the truth. No more secrets.”

  He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her.

  “No more secrets,” he whispered in her ear.

  * * *

  As Nick watched his dyad brother try to mend his family, he suddenly felt a presence in his mind. It had forged its way between the inner and outer ring of his mental shields, where no one but he could detect it. Resisting the urge to turn, he reached out a tendril of thought to the presence. “What do you want, Jeremy?”

  “Magic requires sacrifice,” Jeremy said.

  “That’s what the angel told Rory when they bargained for the Grace,” Nick answered silently. “Did you see his memories I carry when you saw my life in the Faith Ward?”

  “No. The Light only showed me you. But I did see you say the words to each other many times. I know what it means.”

  “Every bargain has a price.”

  “What’s my price, Nick? I damaged their family relationships when I forced them to come forward and expose what they were to save you. They have every right to hate me, and I understand that. But you’re different. You said we owe each other nothing. I gambled with your life, and you still brought me here. What do you want from me?”

  Nick felt the tangle of Scott’s regret seeping through the link. “Why did you tell my family what I said to the Court of Shadows all those years ago?”

  Jeremy’s inner voice was unapologetic. “Because you were afraid to let them see what you were, and Scott wasn’t willing to force you to be honest. I didn’t want you to end up like him, hiding your face out of fear. So I gave you a push in the right direction, to do what you knew you had to do.”

  “Scott thought you were just being presumptuous. You made him hate you even more.”

  “I know.” Jeremy shrugged mentally. “I don’t care about his opinion of me.”

  “Then what do you care about? Why do you keep doing these things for my sake?”

  Jeremy’s telepathic voice was silent for a moment. “My parents died when I was seven. I lived in foster homes until I was eighteen, never staying more than a year with any family. I have no real friends. Medusa recruited me because she thought I was an easy mark—bitter and vulnerable, looking for a parental figure. She played on my insecurities to give me a false ideal to believe in. She became my whole world. You don’t know how deeply it tore me up inside to see what she really thought of me.”

  “Am I your parental figure now?” Nick’s inner voice was neutral, without judgment.

  “No. You’re the only person who has ever looked at me and actually seen someone worth saving.”

  “And you’re the only person in a long time who’s had the guts to cut through all of my bullshit and force me to confront the truths I needed to see.” Nick turned around finally to meet the Sentinel’s eyes, letting his own irises glow red. “Keep doing that, Jeremy. That’s my price.”

  Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “You want me to be your conscience?”

  “You’re a new voice in an old chorus. I want your insight, and I think I can trust you never to hold back the truth for my sake. Are you up for it?”

  Jeremy’s gray eyes stared into Nick’s red ones. “Yes. If that’s what you want.”

  “Then welcome to the team, Sentinel.” Nick turned back around to face the others, letting his eyes fade back to blue.

  “What was that all about?” Scott asked over the link, turning part of his mind away from comforting his wife as he picked up his son.

  Nick gave Scott and Ana the complete memory of the conversation without comment, letting them digest the information.

  When Ana raised her inner voice again, it was distinctly amused. “First Lorcan, and now Jeremy. You really do like to collect strays, don’t you, Nick?”

&nb
sp; “Fuck you, Ana,” Nick said silently, without any particular emphasis.

  “Seriously,” thought Scott, “he’s still in shock, betrayed by Medusa. He’s traumatized, though he doesn’t fully realize it. Are you going to stick with him while he works through that? Because if not it would be kinder to cut him loose. He doesn’t need another betrayal.”

  “Jeremy will be fine,” answered Nick brusquely. “I’ll be here for him if he wants a friend, but I need an outside perspective to measure myself against, and he’s it. I can’t afford to slide into despair again, especially now.”

  “We should have done something sooner, Nick. I’m sorry.”

  “You couldn’t have helped me, Scott. I have seen too much, and nothing was ever going to get better. It’s all part and parcel of who we are. I needed something drastic to break the cycle, and Jeremy gave it to me.”

  “He did,” agreed Ana. “But I still think he’s a prick.”

  Nick smiled. “Maybe he is. But he’s mine now, and I’m keeping him.”

  “Strays,” Ana thought again.

  Nick stepped forward. “Excuse me,” he said aloud. The others turned to look at him. “It’s late, and we’re all tired.” He addressed Michelle. “If you want to continue this discussion, I’m sure you’d rather do it in private. The three of us maintain apartments in the city, and there’s probably a media circus at your home by now. You might want to consider spending the night here. Maybe in the morning we can all get together and decide what to do next.”

  The Sentinels separated to their homes, with Ana agreeing to help Jeremy find the quarters the city’s central AI had assigned to him. Nick teleported directly back to his apartment after they had all left. Grabbing a bottle of Double Voice out of storage, he pulled off his boots and sat in his living room. Reaching out with his mind to the compact stereo on the bookcase nearby, he turned on some quiet jazz from Toby’s latest album and then settled into the slate-blue leather couch, staring morosely at the scale model of the Citadel on the glass coffee table.