by Kristen Pham
I wish it were not so, but I am afraid the time has come for you to put away such thoughts. Though you never sought it, leadership is in your blood, and it is time to embrace it.
“I was thinking—hoping—that maybe if you came with us, people would turn to you and Gideon. And no one is better at leading than you, surely.”
Azra’s laugh in her mind had a wistful note. You do not see how alike we are. Neither of us wishes to lead, which is perhaps why we are so well suited for it. In you I see a bud that will flower into a leader to inspire us all.
“But not yet!” Valerie said, her panic rising and hating the desperation in her voice.
Azra stepped closer to her. I had hoped to shield you from such a burden for a time. It weighs on my heart that I cannot join you on this quest. But this is how it is meant to be. I trust you to find a strength and confidence in yourself that will enable you to lead us all into a better future. And you are not alone.
“I know,” Valerie said, but dread was forming in the core of her being and it would swallow her up if she let it.
Though I cannot fight this battle with you or for you, I am still here to support you. Please believe that, and forgive me.
Impulsively, Valerie threw her arms around Azra’s neck and buried her face in her mane. If she shed a tear, it didn’t show in her iridescent hair. “There could never be anything to forgive. I’ll make you proud.”
You already have.
Henry’s mind briefly touched hers as she left the Capitol building, and she knew that she would find him with Gideon, Kanti, and Cyrus at the Lake of Knowledge. She hurried to them, knowing that they had to break Sanguina out of the Knights’ holding cell today if they were to have any chance of saving Darling and Oberon before the Excision.
“They transfer Sanguina from the Knights of Light to the Justice Guild today,” Gideon said after Valerie arrived. “We need to grab her in transit, because the Justice Guild is completely impenetrable. No one awaiting trial has ever escaped.”
“This is what we planned for,” Kanti said. “Are we ready?”
Valerie saw that they were all looking at her, and she remembered her promise to Azra. “We can do this.”
The mood lightened with her words, and she knew that she had said the right thing. They really did trust her. It was a heavy responsibility to carry.
“Who’s guarding Sanguina when they transfer her?” Cyrus asked.
“Myself, Kellen, and two other Knights whom he trusts,” Gideon said.
“I don’t want any Knights getting hurt to save her. She’s not worth it,” Henry spoke up, unable to keep his bitterness from his voice.
“It would help if we could alert her to when the escape will be taking place. But I cannot speak to her again without creating suspicion,” Gideon said.
“We could send her a message,” Valerie said, turning to Henry.
Henry turned pale. “It would mean touching her mind.”
“You don’t have to do it,” Kanti said quickly. “We can find another way.”
“Kanti’s right,” Valerie agreed. This was no time for Henry to become unhinged.
Two bright red spots appeared on his cheeks. “I can do this. The Empaths encourage us to face what we fear most.”
“If you’re sure…” Valerie said, wishing now that she had never suggested contacting Sanguina’s mind.
“I am,” he said, and abruptly opened his mind to her.
Valerie absorbed his panic and tried to keep a tight hold on her own self-control in hopes that it would rub off on Henry. He took a shuddering breath and the level of his fear dialed down enough for them to concentrate.
Locating Sanguina’s mind was harder than it had been finding Jet or Chrome. Even though they both knew Sanguina as a vampyre, they had never really understood her as a person. Henry searched for the dark, twisted mind he knew too well and didn’t find it.
Valerie forced herself to send him other images, of Sanguina sending Oberon to help her against Reaper and apologizing for what she had done. Henry didn’t want to let these contradictory thoughts in, but she kept nudging him, reminding him of how Sanguina had yelled at her to duck so that Zunya could be chased off by Oberon’s lightning. Henry had witnessed that himself.
Finally, a glimmer of Sanguina’s mind flickered in the corner of their consciousness. Once they spotted it, they drew closer. Her mind was confused and angry, and there was still darkness in it. But she didn’t have the crazed, almost maniacal hatred emanating from her that they both associated with her presence. Her mind was tortured. Sanguina had known pain, both physical and emotional.
Almost as soon as they sensed her, she tried to push them out of her mind. Quickly, Valerie sent her an image of their faces, and the resistance stopped. She ran through the basics of the plan she and Gideon had developed to help her escape, showing her at what point she should run.
As soon as the message was delivered, Henry cut their contact with Sanguina. As Valerie refocused on the world around her, she saw that the color had drained from his face again.
“She’s different than I thought she’d be. That makes it worse, somehow,” Henry said.
“What do you mean?” Valerie asked.
“In a weird way, it was comforting to think she was psycho. But she isn’t, and she did what she did to me anyway.”
“I think she was crazy when she was a vampyre.”
Henry shrugged, doubtful. Kanti took his hand and squeezed, and he managed to give her a brief smile.
“Henry, you gave us a distinct advantage today,” Gideon said. It was the right thing to say, because Henry’s shoulders relaxed. “Do you all know where you’re supposed to be, and at what time?”
Everyone nodded.
“What about the rest of the group?” Cyrus asked. “We should touch base with everyone who will be joining us to double check that they know what they’re doing.”
“Agreed,” Valerie said. “And if you can get some rest, do it. The next time we’ll all be safe and sound could be awhile.”
Despite the advice she had given her friends, Valerie knew that she couldn’t rest—yet. Even though she would rather be burned with a hot iron, she had to talk to Thai. She settled herself on a rock beside the lake after her friends had left. She decided to give herself one minute, and only one minute, to give in to the pain.
Anguish blasted through her body, leaving her trembling, as she absorbed the fact that she had lost him. She would never hold his hand or kiss his lips or lie with him under the stars again. Then came the anger at his betrayal, which brought a kind of dark relief from the torture of missing him. When the minute was over, she felt a little better.
She had her pride and wouldn’t let him see the extent of the damage he had caused. With her emotions tightly reined in, she touched Thai’s charm in her pocket.
Thai sat on a twin bed in a small room, and thankfully he was alone. He was reading a large calculus textbook. He must be visiting or attending the university in America that had accepted him. What a wonderful coincidence that Logan was either at the same school or close enough to visit him.
Thai set his book down next to him on the bed when he saw that she’d arrived. His jaw muscles were tense, and his eyes were wary.
“I thought you might never visit me again,” he said, and his voice sounded a little rough. “I’m sorry you had to see that yesterday.”
“I’m not here about you and Logan. I get it, and there’s nothing to talk about. I came to tell you that Midnight and I have done our best to buy you and Tan time to make your decision about whether or not you want to come to the Globe, but you’ve only got six days.”
“What happened?”
“The Grand Masters are worried that the Fractus are going to come back to Earth at any moment. They didn’t even want to wait a week.”
“Then why did they? Not for my sake, I’m guessing.”
“It doesn’t matter why. I wanted you to have as much time as possible to
decide.”
He seemed to be struggling to say something, but when he opened his mouth he sounded cold. “Thanks for the heads up.”
She nodded, but the distance in his voice made her flinch.
He took an involuntary step toward her, and color rushed into his cheeks. “Valerie, I swear—”
The door opened, and Tan stepped in the room. “Hey bro, let’s get going or we’ll miss class,” he said to Thai. Then he noticed Valerie. “Oh, she’s here. Again.”
“You’ll tell Tan what he needs to know?” Valerie asked, not sure she could stand another minute in Thai’s presence. He nodded.
It was a sweet relief to let her mind return to the Globe and to wrap herself in the numbness that was allowing her to function. Even her terror about leading this enormous mission seemed smaller now. It might be wrong, but she was thankful that she had so many distractions from the hole in her heart.
Chapter 35
Gideon sent a message that Sanguina would be moved an hour before dark, so Valerie hurried to her hiding place behind a large statue of a chimera, a creature that was part lion, part snake, and part goat. It stood in front of the Disguises Guild, which was next door to the Knights, and offered her a perfect view of Sanguina being transferred as she was led to the Justice Guild.
Kellen was the first to emerge from the arches of the Knights’ Guild, and she was surprised to see that there were five guards flanking Sanguina, including Gideon, which was more than there were supposed to be. From the tightness in Gideon’s step, she could see that he was worried about the change in plans.
Two of the Knights Valerie recognized. Mira, who she had met at her test, had the ability to change his form, and Claremont had magic similar to her own—fighting. The other two Knights she had seen around, but didn’t know much about. They were both tall, burly men, the kind you would expect to find in the Knights of Light. But this was the Globe, so who knew what kind of magic they wielded in addition to being expertly trained fighters. She noticed that one had a sword strapped to his side, and the other carried a bow and arrow.
Before Valerie could even consider calling off the plan, she saw that Kanti was already walking down the colored path with a little sway in her step. From the grumpy frown on her face, she wasn’t very happy about being a distraction—or bait, as she referred to her role.
Kanti stepped respectfully aside as the group came past, and Valerie saw that the two large Knights were staring at her. She gave them a little wave, and they both grinned. Valerie had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She was beginning to understand why Kanti found the attention so irritating.
Then Kanti raised her arms and an explosion of red flower petals burst from her palms. “Oops!” she said with a giggle.
“It’s a trick!” Kellen shouted angrily. “Get your heads together!”
Everyone was stunned—except for Sanguina and Gideon, who knew what was happening. Sanguina began to run toward the meeting point—the fountain at the center of The Horseshoe. Her hands and feet had been tied with a strange, glowing rope, so she wasn’t moving quickly.
One of the large Knights chased after her, knocking Kanti to the ground in the process. Her head hit a rock.
Chrome sped across the green lawn and pounced on the Knight with the bow and arrow. They were a blur of fur and fists, but knowing how much rage was fueling Chrome, Valerie wasn’t worried about him.
Gideon turned to Kellen, trying to swat the fairy out of the air. But he moved so quickly that even Gideon’s lightning reflexes didn’t stand a chance. Before Valerie had even made it to the melee, Gideon had collapsed in a strange, glittering cloud of brown dust that had burst from Kellen’s fluttering wings.
“Get away from him!” Valerie shouted as she launched herself at Kellen. The hum of magic was strong, but she reached out with her mind to find Henry, who was racing toward Kanti. They bombarded Kellen’s mind, trying to confuse and overwhelm him. But they couldn’t sense him at all—it was as if he didn’t exist.
“You won’t get in that way,” Kellen sneered. Valerie guessed that fairies minds must be blocked like the Illyrians’ were.
Kellen wasn’t their only problem. Cyrus was keeping Claremont at bay—barely—by using flashes of light to temporarily blind her. He landed a few punches, but even without her sight, she was much more powerful than he was.
In Henry’s mind, Valerie could see that he was testing his ability to mentally shove Kellen the way he had done to Ani. His magic hummed loudly, and Valerie suspected that his protective instincts were fueling his abilities. He was standing in front of Kanti, who was conscious but bleeding from her temple, and Valerie knew with certainty that Henry wouldn’t let Kellen through, even if it killed him.
She saw that Sanguina had been dragged back, and the Knight hauling her kicked her so she fell to the ground. Once Sanguina was subdued, the Knight turned to Valerie with fierce determination in his eyes. Next to him was Mira, who transformed himself into Zunya again, which had the desired effect of freezing Valerie with fear. Her lapse was all that the other Knight needed to land a stunning blow to her right shoulder. But the resulting pain was a blessing, focusing her and flooding her with magic.
Sanguina took the opportunity to run again, and the large Knight growled and tackled her.
Seizing her chance, Valerie launched herself at Mira and they collapsed to the ground. They wrestled, shoving each other’s faces into the dirt. He managed to get on top of her, pinning her to the ground.
“Surrender and stand trial for the crime of treason,” Mira said, out of breath.
In response, Valerie hooked her leg around Mira’s and experienced a guilty pleasure in seeing Zunya’s likeness crumple to the ground. She followed up with a swift elbow to his head, and his eyes closed. As soon as he was unconscious, Mira returned to his small brown form, and Valerie hoped that she hadn’t caused any serious bruising. He was only doing his job.
Without turning around, Valerie knew that the other Knight was racing toward her. He must have restrained Sanguina. She let her magic whisper to her, and, sensing his position, threw herself forward while reaching up to grab the Knight. She used his momentum against him and he tumbled over top of her head and hit the ground, hard.
Valerie was ready to press her advantage, but that was when she realized what the Knight’s power was—he was a Master swordsman. He drew his sword from its sheath and she barely had time to draw Pathos before he charged her.
His dark brown eyes were filled with anger and confusion, and Valerie’s guilt was a disadvantage, dampening her magic. The Knight had no idea why Valerie and her friends had attacked.
Valerie was completely on the defensive, barely blocking each of his strikes. Still, she could see surprise replacing some of his confusion. Her skills as a vivicus were well known, but not everyone was aware of how well she fought.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Henry had somehow forced Kellen into the cloud of dust he had created to incapacitate Gideon. It didn’t knock him out, but Henry appeared safe, and was turning his attention to Cyrus and Claremont. But first, his eyes connected with hers, and his confidence in her ability to win her battle blasted away her guilt.
With renewed energy, Valerie let her magic fill her. Her thrusts and parries came more quickly, and the Knight’s muscles strained to meet her blows. Pathos flashed in the sun, and when Valerie brought it down with all her might, the Knight’s sword shattered under the force of her blow. He threw the useless hilt at her, and it bashed into her forehead.
She barely registered the pain. Instead, she let her magic guide her to use exactly the amount of force she needed to hit the nerve beside his neck with the heel of her hand. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, but she knew he wouldn’t suffer much when he woke up.
Sanguina was struggling to her feet nearby, and Valerie helped her.
“Your sword will cut these bonds,” Sanguina said, holding out the glowing ropes that bound her hands.
“Go to the meeting point,” Valerie commanded.
“I can help,” Sanguina said, and Valerie could sense how badly she wanted to participate in the fight. Which was the very reason why she wouldn’t let her.
“No. Go now,” Valerie commanded, picking up the sliced ropes and giving them to Sanguina. Sanguina took the ropes and raced toward the fountain.
The worst of the fight seemed to be over. The Knight fighting Chrome was bloody and unconscious, but breathing. Claremont was on her knees, glaring at Henry, who was holding her back with the telekinetic power he used against Kellen and Ani. Claremont struggled against his invisible restraints, but his concentration was focused. Still, Valerie came over and executed the same move she had used on the Knight she had just defeated, and Claremont collapsed to the ground.
The cloud around Kellen and Gideon had dispersed, and thankfully Gideon was returning to consciousness.
“You’re all traitors and will stand trial for what you’ve done,” Kellen said, his voice filled with rage.
“We’re not the only ones with things to answer for,” Valerie replied. The little fairy turned a dark, angry red, and flew away toward the Knights’ Guild.
“Let’s get out of here,” Kanti said wearily. “We need to be gone before he gets reinforcements.”
Henry tenderly wiped away the blood on Kanti’s temple. He shot an angry glance at the Knight Valerie had just defeated. “I’ll make that oaf suffer for doing that to you.”
Kanti gave him a half smile. “You’re too late. Valerie already did. Besides, it was an accident.”
Cyrus and Valerie helped Gideon to his feet, but he still seemed unsteady. Chrome flashed an image in her mind of the tall tree in the forest where the rest of the group was gathering for their journey. With the permission of the People of the Woods, Chrome would lead them to their meeting spot in Dunsinane. He raced across the courtyard and was out of sight.
