Sunset (Pact Arcanum)

by Arshad Ahsanuddin

  Take looked at her. “Do I know you?”

  “You do not, though I know you. I am Layla Magister Curallorn, called Nemesis, the Prince of Wrath. I have been tracking your movements since the day you first opened your eyes, hoping you would lead me to victory.”

  “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” said Take irritably. “It’s been a long night. If you’re not going to attack, stand aside and let us go.”

  “You will not leave, Sentinel!” Layla’s voice was fierce. “Not until you give us your news. Where is Jiao-long?”

  Take tensed. “He got in my way, and now he’s dead. Are you going to get in my way, Nemesis?”

  A whisper spread out around them as the Nightwalkers reacted, shocked by his words, but they retained their discipline and held their places. Layla’s eyes widened, and her laughter pealed out around them. “You are the first Sentinel in more than a millennium to have slain one of the Firstborn, Takeshi Nakamura. Shadowhunter, I name you.” She turned her attention fully on Take, her eyes glowing red.

  “For five hundred years, I have waited for a Sentinel strong enough to eliminate my greatest enemy. Jiao-long forced me to divide North America into two territories, one on each side of the Great River, but neither of us was satisfied. I have used various proxies to feed you and your predecessors intelligence on House Jiao-long for centuries, thinking one day you might annihilate my opponent for me.”

  She grinned at Take’s surprise, her fangs visible. “Did you think your string of successes was due purely to your own devices? Your tactical skill has brought about the endgame much faster than I anticipated, but surely you realize there was a greater game at work. You are to be commended for playing your part so well, Shadowhunter. A lesser strategist would have surely failed me.”

  Anaba’s eyes flashed with anger. “You broke my wards to let Jiao-long’s scions capture Rory, didn’t you? And you weakened their psychic shields to allow me to follow them here.” Her knuckles showed white on her crystal staff. “I thought it was just a lucky break that led us to Jiao-long’s base, but it was a set-up. All of it.”

  “Is that what you think this was?” Take asked, grinding his teeth in frustration. “A game for your amusement?”

  “That is exactly what this was, mortal.” Layla fixed Take with a level gaze. “And in any game, there comes a time to separate the players from the pawns. I am a player. Jiao-long was a player. You could have been a player, but you were not motivated enough to deal with Jiao-long.” She glanced at Rory, who stood behind Take. “I merely arranged the proper incentive by allowing your lover to be taken.” She sent a silent command to her scions, who simultaneously took a single step forward, tightening the ring around the Sentinels. “And now, at the end of centuries of planning and manipulation, when all of my stratagems have finally come to fruition, it seems a greater power has taken an interest.”

  She glanced at the crater behind them. “We felt the sunrise and the release of great magic. We saw the light of the incursion. We were watching when you entered Jiao-long’s fortress, and we know it originated there.” She glared at Take, her bloodlust sharpening. “Tell me what transpired. What has Jiao-long done to draw the attention of another plane?”

  Take stepped sideways slightly, covering Rory’s body with his own. Noticing the movement, Layla turned her full senses on Rory. “What is this?” she demanded. “A Sentinel cannot be turned!”

  Take raised his swords. “You can’t have him.”

  Layla scowled. “If he is the threat, then you will not keep us from him, Shadowhunter. Do you think a single triad can hold us all at bay, no matter how powerful?” She issued a silent command. All around them the Nightwalkers took another constricting step forward.

  Rory reached out to touch Take’s shoulder. “It’s all right.”

  “I won’t let them take you,” Take growled.

  “Takeshi, this was the price.”

  Lowering his swords, Take turned to face Rory in disbelief, a look shared by Anaba.

  Leaning close to Take’s ear, Rory whispered, “I love you. Please forgive me someday.” He kissed Take’s cheek and walked past him toward Nemesis. Stopping a few feet away, he held his clenched fists straight out to his sides and opened his hands, allowing the white light of the cruciform brands on his palms to spill out into the darkness.

  The surrounding Nightwalkers reacted immediately to the presence of a Pure Draw, staggering away from the light. Dazed, Nemesis stared at him. “You are not what you were, Sentinel. How did Jiao-long make you a scion?”

  “He didn’t,” said Rory. “He made me a vessel to travel the planes.”

  Nemesis hissed in shock. “Pact Arcanum!” she cried. The other Nightwalkers backed up in terror. “Jiao-long is a fool! How could he dare to bring such magic back into the world?”

  “He paid the price for it,” said Rory.

  “Not enough,” growled Nemesis, her eyes fiercely red and her fangs exposed. “The Court would have ordered his entire house expunged for this crime!” She focused her attention on Rory. “Did you bargain on his behalf, Traveler?”

  “No,” said Rory. “I bargained on my own, with an agent of the Light.”

  “And what power did you receive?”

  “The power to call the soul back to the physical body and fill it with the White Wind.” He stared into Layla’s red eyes, watching her grasp the implications of his words. “If the soul is welcomed back, the White Wind will displace the Red.”

  “This cannot be,” Layla whispered in disbelief. “Our damnation is eternal. We are lost forever. The Creator could not possibly seek to reclaim us now.” Takeshi and Ana stared at Rory with similar expressions of surprise and disbelief.

  “Yes,” Rory said quietly. “I think maybe He could.”

  Layla gathered her wits and considered his words skeptically. “You would offer us redemption, Traveler? I am too old to believe in miracles.”

  “You underestimate yourself, Nemesis. What price would you pay to step into the sunrise again without fear?”

  Nemesis studied him. “If you would have us take refuge in this fantasy of forgiveness, I ask that you touch me with your power first, so that I may testify that your claims are true.”

  “I’d like to, but I’m not sure exactly how.” Rory chewed pensively on his lower lip. “Honestly, Nemesis. They didn’t give me an instruction manual.”

  Nemesis smiled, genuinely amused. “My experience with the higher powers is similar. They are not fond of sharing details.” She looked at the glowing white brands on Rory’s hands. “Perhaps touch?”

  Rory reached out and took her hand. Nothing happened.

  “It seems forgiveness will take some time.” Nemesis sighed.

  Rory nodded sadly. “Redemption can be a hard thing to wait for.” Reaching up, he put his hand on her shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I forgive you.”

  Instantly, a flash of white light burst from his hand where it touched her shoulder, spreading outward in a spherical shock wave before fading away. Rory staggered backward and collapsed. Nemesis, her eyes white and shining, stood frozen. A hole was burned through her cape, exposing a glowing white cross emblazoned on her shoulder. As the power spread throughout her body, Nemesis’s skin and hair glowed from within, her brilliance lighting up the surrounding Nightwalkers. Then, all at once, it ended. The light faded abruptly and she fell, shuddering, to the ground.

  Running to Rory’s side, Take dropped to his knees and cradled his triad brother’s head in his lap as the Nightwalkers watched in confusion. “Rory! Rory, can you hear me?”

  Tears of blood trickled from Rory’s eyes and he shivered as he stared at Nemesis.

  Ignoring Rory and Takeshi, Ana walked forward slowly to stand before Layla. After studying the prostrate vampire for a few moments with her mystical senses, she reached up to the cross that hung around her neck and lifted the pendant over her head. With the crucifix loose in her hand, she uttered an activating word of p
ower. The cross shimmered with radiant blue light. Layla flinched from the holy magic, and raised her right hand to ward it off.

  “Layla Magister Curallorn,” Ana said deliberately. “I am Sentinel Anaba Nizhoni, called the Wind of Fire, and my words are true. By virtue of the Sentinel Gift of Fire, I can detect no trace of the Red Wind upon you. You are clean.” Layla lowered her hand and stared at Anaba over the blue light of the glowing cross. “If you wish to prove your fealty to the Light, reach out and take this holy symbol from my hand.”

  Layla swallowed in fear and hesitantly raised her hand to touch the cross, expecting it to burn her, but there was nothing, only the cool touch of silver. She grasped the cross and drew it slowly out of the Sentinel’s hand. Standing, she turned to face the assembled Nightwalkers, holding the glowing cross aloft. “The Long Night is ended!” she screamed, her voice thundering over the crowd. “The Dawn has come at last!”

  The Nightwalkers fell to their knees. One by one, they began to sing the ancient hymn of thanksgiving from the end of the First Age.

  Rory reached for Takeshi’s hand. Not caring whether Layla heard him, he said weakly, “Take, I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough.”

  “Then we’ll do it together,” said Take. “I’ll be beside you every step of the way.”

  “You said you wouldn’t stay with me if I brought you back,” answered Rory. “You said you’d walk into the sunrise the first chance you got.”

  Take pulled Rory close. “I lied.”

  Huddled against him, Rory said nothing. They watched as Layla turned away from the singing Nightwalkers and knelt before them. “Redeemer,” she said, awestruck. “We are yours forever.”

  Rory took a deep breath. “I have conditions, Nemesis.”

  “Name them, Lord.”

  “The angel told me that the bloodlust and thirst for violence would only be partially sated by this power, and that choice will be restored. You must consciously choose to bind yourself to the Light to be worthy of redemption.”

  “What must we do to receive this touch of Grace, Lord?”

  Rory thought for a moment. “You will all swear to take no human life.”

  Layla didn’t even blink. “Agreed.”

  “You will not kill, except in self-defense or defense of another.”

  Layla frowned, hesitating. “My Lord, if I may, only one thing has held our natures at bay since the First Age when the Court of Shadows first imposed structure on our society. For thirty thousand years, our civilization has held to the strictures of honor to keep the demands of the Red Wind in check. I fear for the future if you strip us of honor’s restraint.”

  Rory considered that. “If I allow you to defend your honor, will that be sufficient?”

  “Yes, Lord.” Layla was relieved. “Would you have us swear allegiance to you, as well?”

  “No. I need no followers. You may continue to lead your people as you have before, as long as you hold to my conditions.”

  “As you wish, my Lord. Is there anything else you require?”

  “No.”

  “Then we must speak of more practical matters.” Layla’s mind snapped into razor-sharp clarity as she considered the strategic implications of this change. She stood and fixed Rory with an intense stare. “Traveler, we will defend you with our last drop of blood, but I fear the Court of Shadows will move quickly to destroy you. My house and your triad will not be sufficient to keep you secure.”

  “What do you suggest?” asked Takeshi, standing as well, then helping Rory to his feet.

  “You must recruit others of your kind to the Redeemer’s defense, and we must do the same. Only then can we keep him safe.”

  Ana snorted in derision. “An alliance? Between vampires and Sentinels? Are you nuts?”

  Layla focused her attention on Rory. “My Lord, you have opened the door to a new age. We have agreed to your conditions. Others of our kind will as well, for the chance to touch the Light.” She turned to Take. “Sentinel, your kind fight to defend the humans from us.”

  “We fight because we are forced to by the Gift,” Anaba said bitterly from behind them. “The safety of humanity is merely a convenient justification for killing you.”

  “Then what if that justification were removed?” argued Layla. She spread her arms wide to indicate the kneeling Nightwalkers. “If we all agree to the Redeemer’s demands and refrain from hunting you or the humans, there is no need for us to battle, unless you attack us directly. Would your people not be willing to take the risk of trusting our honor for the chance to give up the sword?”

  “A truce,” said Rory, looking around uncomfortably at the Nightwalkers, who gazed back at him with adoration, hope naked in their eyes. “That might be possible. If it holds, an alliance might actually be something they would consider eventually.”

  “This is madness,” scoffed Take. “No Sentinel would ever be willing to turn his back on a Nightwalker. It just won’t work.”

  “It will,” said Layla, snapping the trap closed, “if you yourself support it.”

  Take froze in surprise. “Me?”

  “You are first among the Four Winds, Shadowhunter,” Layla said with inexorable logic. “Your authority is written into the very being of the Children of Twilight. They have bowed to the leadership of the Wind of Earth for more than thirty thousand years. You must step forward to command your race as a people. If you agree to a truce, your words will carry weight and credibility.”

  Take was silent, considering it. He glanced at Ana, who shrugged. He turned his attention back to Layla. “If I agree to this, how do you think we should go about it?” he asked grudgingly.

  “Seek out your allies and get them to listen. We will do the same. Bring them here, to this place, in manageable groups, and we will show them that the Children of the Dawn are no threat to them—that the possibility of peace exists. We will give them hope for the future…something they have all forgotten.”

  Take nodded, obviously warming to the idea that had seemed so ludicrous only minutes before. “Hope has been a rare commodity so far.” He looked between Layla and Rory. “So we’re agreed? We try to recruit others to join us and bring them here so the two sides can work out their differences.”

  “Agreed,” answered Layla. “This place will be our anchorpoint, the lynchpin of the new alliance. If we act swiftly, we may yet have a chance to marshal a defense before the Court of Shadows moves to obliterate us.” She held out her hand to the two of them.

  Take reached out to grasp it, and Rory laid his palms over their clasped hands, the light from the cross brands shining between their fingers.

  “God help us if we screw this up,” Rory said. “Because if your people don’t kill us all, then ours certainly will.” Then he turned to face the kneeling Nightwalkers, and one by one, began his work.

  May 2040; Armistice Security Headquarters, Anchorpoint City, Grand Mesa, Colorado; Four months after public exposure

  As Nick wrapped up his meeting with the President, Layla turned away from the shielded view of the city and regarded Scott with an unreadable expression. “Thank you, Scott. You are dismissed.”

  Scott bowed slightly, and then stepped to the teleport gateway and jumped back to the Washington Embassy to meet up with Nick and Ana.

  Taking her seat across from Takeshi, Layla said, “Nicholas is taking significant risks with this level of disclosure.”

  Take shrugged. “We knew he would have to trade information. So far he hasn’t done anything that gives me cause to doubt his judgment.”

  “You are far too generous. There were any number of ways he could have dealt with the situation in Los Angeles without completely exposing us, not to mention his compromising relationship with the Court Ambassador.”

  Rory sighed at her harsh tone, and continued to pace. “He knew Medusa intended to detonate the bomb no matter what happened, Layla. He needed a way to keep her off balance until she gave him an excuse to intervene.”

  Layla
regarded him coolly. “He did not need to offer one of the terrorists asylum. That decision has had political ramifications that have only made his job more difficult.”

  “He acquired a Fourth Order telepath,” Take reminded her. “Jeremy will be a very useful resource if we can find a way to bind his loyalty to us.”

  Rory finally stood still and folded his arms as he glared at Layla. “Frankly, I fail to understand your hostility toward Nick. He’s performed admirably under the circumstances.”

  “I despise weakness. He was a broken man, lost in his own despair and self-pity until after Los Angeles,” Layla said scornfully. “We only appointed him Ambassador to the Court because it was too dangerous for either you or myself to enter the Court’s sphere of influence, and he was the only other Magister under our control.”

  “He’s not under our control, Layla,” Rory protested. “He’s not a pawn.”

  One of her eyebrows arched delicately. “Isn’t he?” She stared intently at Rory. “We appointed him Ambassador to Humanity for a specific purpose. Have you forgotten that?”

  “No.” Rory didn’t meet her eyes. “No, I haven’t.”

  “I know you love him, but it’s blinding you to his faults. Nicholas is not ready for the task we plan for him. It is up to us to make sure he becomes so, before it is too late. We are the crucible that will fire his spirit. If you are unwilling to do what must be done to mold him into the man we need him to be, you should stand aside and let Takeshi and me handle him.”

  Eyes downcast, Rory sighed and nodded. “All right,” he said finally.

  Take stood and squeezed his lover’s shoulder lightly before facing Layla, his expression hard. “How do you think we should proceed?”

  Layla looked at Rory silently for several seconds. Then she turned to Takeshi and began laying out her plans.

  PART IV

  DECEIT

  CHAPTER 17

  July 2040; Anchorpoint City, Grand Mesa, Colorado; Six months after public exposure