He grabbed Thorne’s hand and pressed it against his waxy skin. She recoiled, and he noticed his body, the surface dull and hard. He had started to change, but what had they sacrificed? He forced her hand back to him as she pulled away.
Canis kept his head down, still looking at his chest, still with Thorne’s hand in his. “You both have to trust me. I know you’ll never love me once this is over, but you have to trust. Trust that I have the people of Blackrose at heart. My life is a small price to pay. Just like Mortalo’s.”
Vann trembled in the cold. “I believe in you,” he said, placing his hand on Canis’ shoulder. “But there are limits. I’ll stop you if I have to. I’ll rip that thing out of you before I see you become another Mortalo.”
“Thank you.” Canis relaxed. “So, you’re with me?”
“Always brother.”
“Thorne?”
“I don’t understand you, Canis Rayne. You’re two people. And if this Bane is affecting you this much, I cannot trust you, but I’d rather keep you close. I won’t lie; I feel safer knowing where you are.”
“You’re right. And I’m sorry. I think Bane will have pushed too much by the time I’ve learned to fight back, but I promise you I only have the safety of Blackrose in mind.” Canis loosened his grip on her arm.
Thorne glared at him as he let her go but didn’t say anything more. Canis placed his hand over Vann’s before walking toward the hosts. The Scourge were covered in blood, dismembered bodies strewn at their feet.
Some of them looked to Canis, whilst others stared at the cobbled streets as if waiting for something to arrive. Canis gazed in the same direction and tried to remember the steps needed to get to Mortalo’s citadel. Were the Scourge doing the same, weighing up their next target? Or were they waiting for the Fallen to come to them?
Canis prayed for clarity, prayed for a return to a time where Bane wasn’t a constant headache. If it weren’t for your scheming, we might actually get on.
“Scheming?” Bane sounded unsure. “All I want is for us to be friends,” it said.
I trust you about as much as Thorne trusts me.
As Canis walked toward the Scourge, he felt that same sense of fear they had regarded him with before. It flowed through him. Why they feared him, he didn’t know. They stared at Vann and Thorne as if they were pieces of meat, their teeth dripping with saliva.
The bald Scourge nodded to him from over his shoulder. He couldn’t be sure, but he guessed Bane was still relaying thoughts, the nod a confirmation his friends were alive because of him.
The clock tower rang out. I’ll kill you all if you turn on them.
Chapter 25
Belloch Storme stuck to the back of the room, edging closer to the window. He had managed to find and convince Telsa Reinhart and Aurora Heart to meet with Vek Tarosh at Mortalo’s old citadel. They were greeted by Teller Redmaw, who, instead of fighting them off, welcomed them on behalf of Canis Rayne. Canis wasn’t there, but everyone knew it was on his order that they were kept safe.
Aurora, Beatrix Thorne’s mother, was older than he would’ve thought, but her gaze was everywhere and noticed everything. She leaned on her Imperial staff—the Star Screamer—its ether energy running through the same kind of tubes decorating Tarosh’s Paws of the Dead.
“If we let Teller take the lead for now, let them take the brunt of the Scourge force, we can finish them off,” said Tarosh.
“We can’t use muscle alone,” said Aurora. “There’s not enough in this city!”
“She’s right,” added Reinhart, pointing his own Imperial weapon at Tarosh.
“Get that sword out of my face, boy!”
The two men lunged at each other. Aurora struck her spear against the stone floor. A high-pitch sound screeched through the room and everyone, except the old woman, cowered with their heads in their hands.
She rested on her spear again. “If we’re going to make sure Canis doesn’t take over Blackrose, then we’re going to have to kill him. He’s united half the city already, and we’re few on numbers. Let the fools do the work for us, but we can’t wait for him to become the hero they believe they want.”
“How do we kill him then?” asked Reinhart.
“He’s travelling with my daughter, Thorne. If I can get near her, then I’ll be able to convince her of our plan.”
Someone knocked on the door. Tarosh gestured for Belloch to answer. He shuffled over and opened it as the three Company leaders stood in grey silence. Teller Redmaw’s twisted face peered at him.
“We’ve sent a group to The Herald’s Ravine,” Teller said, “and the rest of us will be heading for the great bell tower in two dongs of the clock. Make sure they’re ready or you’re on your own.”
Belloch shut the door and waited for the Company leaders to begin arguing, but Tarosh nodded. “If you go now, Aurora,” he said, “you might be able to convince Thorne. Reinhart and I will lead from the rear. Belloch has already begun recruiting behind Teller’s back, but Canis has to die, and it has to be at the right time. Take Belloch with you.”
Belloch Storme started to blurt his objection to Tarosh’s order, but looked out the window instead and let the Company leaders talk amongst themselves. He watched the Scourge filling the streets and wondered how Aurora would be able to find Thorne, but something in those eyes made him believe.
Maybe I can escape and use the Flame for myself, Belloch thought, but Tarosh looked at him as if he was privy to the betrayal. I hope Reinhart makes you choke on your own scat.
Chapter 26
The Scourge prowled the streets. Canis Rayne had never seen them so organizeorganized; the mere idea of them being intelligent consumed his every thought. He had given no command to hunt the Fallen or humans and wondered who pulled the strings. When they spoke, they spoke as one, some of the new hosts only able to form basic words. The spears had been distributed by the bald one and they kept them close to their sides. Canis shivered.
What’s his name? Canis asked Bane.
“He has no name. They are one,” Bane replied.
They. You make it sound as if you’re not part of it.
“I’m closer to you than I am to them. We can do great things together, you and I.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
Bane ignored him, and Canis locked the bald one in his sights. He stormed to it and gripped the thing by the throat. It made no move to resist him, nor did the others move in to intervene. Its throat dented and deformed in his hands, collapsing under his grip.
“You tell the rest of your Scourge-freaks,” Canis growled. “Tell them any humans, Fallen or not, are to be rounded up and kept alive.”
The Scourge around them spoke as one. “They will trick you.”
Canis screamed. His sinews tightened, and he embraced the changes from Bane. The bone beneath his muscles ached as he tensed his arm. He coiled his fingers around the host’s neck. Vertebrae and gristle popped. The man’s face went lax. Canis shoved the body to the ground.
“Which one of you is the leader?” Canis roared.
“We are one,” they said, a circle forming around him.
He held the Butcher’s Cleaver in front of him. “Which one of you bastards is the leader?”
They stood as still as the perfect statues they so resembled, without reply, the green glow from Canis’ axe highlighting their faces. Canis swung his weapon and buried it in the stomach of the Scourge nearest to him. Black ichor gushed from its mouth before it fell dead onto the ground.
“This is not productive, Canis,” Bane said. “You must stop.”
I will when they tell me who’s leading. I want to know they won’t harm any more people.
Bane squeezed around his spine. “Don’t you see? You’re the leader, Canis.”
The thought of leading them, and the pain caused by Bane, cut through him. His axe lashed out at the Scourge-freak nearest the body. Another Scourge dropped at his feet.
>
“I don’t care how many of you there are! I’ll cut you all down myself!” A red haze filtered into his vision, and he felt ready, if not completely willing, to lose control, his teeth clattering together.
Bane sent a surge of something into him. It glided through his body, kissing his limbs with comfort. He tasted mooncap in his mouth and swallowed his saliva, savoring it. His gums tingled, and he swayed, but he was able to hold himself upright and pointed at the horde around him.
“You won’t kill humans,” he slurred. “You won’t kill them. They’re mine.”
There was a scream from behind the group surrounding him. His senses sharpened, and his blood pumped again.
“Canis!” Vann Xan shouted.
“Vann, help them!” Canis replied. His brother slammed through the crowd, Thorne at his heels.
The hollow faces stared at him, the blacks of their eyes eating away at his soul. Acid strings of control snaked into his limbs as Bane steadied him, but he managed to resist it and ran after Vann, using his shaking legs to carry him forward. If I can beat the urge to not take mooncap, I can beat you!
Vann held an old woman by the wrist, her red hair crusty with blood. She followed as Vann dragged her to him. A spear half the size of a normal one was tied to her back. It had the same green tubes as Canis’ axe and it glowed brighter. A man scurried behind her.
“Belloch, is that you? Didn’t you find the citadel?” Canis asked, drawing his gaze away from the spear. “Where are the rest of you?”
“Don’t believe anything that snake says,” said Vann. “I remember him now; he tried to sell Mortalo news of you.”
Belloch hid behind the old woman as she grabbed Canis’ arm. “Those giants have been hunting us! Please help us fight back!” she begged.
“Mother!” said Thorne.
“Thorne!”
Mother and daughter embraced. Canis’ eyes swelled and an ache dug deep into his chest. It was as if he could remember how it felt. Aurora whispered something into Thorne’s ear. Thorne looked up at Canis from the embrace, her eyes narrow and her mouth open. Did they doubt his protection?
“I’ll help you fight them. I promise,” said Canis as his gaze darted in every direction. “I just need to, I mean, I need to know who I can trust.”
Aurora judged him with a frown. One of the Scourge dragged her away with unchecked force, and Thorne drew her dagger.
“Go,” Canis said to the Scourge. “Round the survivors up. Take Aurora and keep her safe. Vann, you come with me.”
“Where are you two going? We can’t leave my mother,” Thorne pleaded.
“To the clock tower.” He turned back and faced her. “I’ll look my brothers in the eyes and know for myself if they’re Fallen or not. I don’t want these things near me anymore. Thorne, you go with her. Make sure they do as I say. Make sure they don’t kill anyone.”
“She has to come with us. The Dusk Raiders stick together.” She looked to her mother.
Canis shook his head and moved in close so only Thorne could hear. “She’s too old and tired. Look at her. She’s broken. You’re the Dusk Raider’s leader now, but this isn’t about your Company. It’s about all the Companies. It’s about Blackrose. And they need us.”
“All the Companies…” Thorne said as she stared through Canis.
“I trust you,” he said. “Keep her safe. Now, go!”
Thorne ran after the host who had taken her mother, Belloch Storme close behind.
“You don’t want to do this,” said Bane.
“Vann,” said Canis, ignoring Bane. “I can’t trust myself. I don’t know if it’s me acting or if it’s this thing inside me.”
Bane coiled around his spine again, and the crippling pain spread through his body. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand straight. Vann Xan moved to try to help, but Canis shoved him away.
Pressure continued to build, and he felt like smashing his head against stone to end it. Blood trickled from the corners of his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He laughed as the parasite inside him shook too, its thoughts and feelings withdrawing from his own.
“Vann,” Canis continued. “When I die, you have to lead.”
Vann said nothing.
“Did you hear me? You must lead when I’m dead.”
“Lead who? These Scourge-freaks listen to no one but Bane and you know it. Everyone will be infected or die as they cower in the shadows. It all ends with you. You’re the only one strong enough to resist them. You’re the only person strong enough to fight back against them and the Wardens.” Vann wiped away the bloody tears from Canis’ face. “But, you’re not going to die, are you?”
“I’d rather die than live like this.” He smiled, but it faded. “I’ll die in this city. There’s no changing that, but you must make sure the people do not. Vann, they need a leader who isn’t clouded by grandeur or driven by illusions.”
“I’m no leader, Canis! I’m a coward. If I was any kind of man, I’d have stolen us away from Mortalo long ago, but his tricks and lies kept me bound by fear. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t ever aplogize to me. And if not a leader, then you can be their guide. I’m sure Thorne is only using us to gain power. Let her lead, but make sure you’re there to show them the right path.”
“You really think you’re going to die, don’t you?”
“I do…if only to be free of this thing inside me.” Bane hovered on the edge of his thoughts, but Canis pushed back, digging in his mental heels.
Vann breathed faster. “But you’re the only one who can lead us out of here. Mortalo saw it in you, and so do I.”
“It’s survivability, nothing else. He would’ve found it sooner or later. He wanted it for himself, the fool. Just so he could stroke his ego. I can feel his disgusting touch all over me.”
“He was a monster…”
“So am I, but it’s not too late.” Canis grabbed Vann by the side of his face, pushing his forehead against his own. “We can still save these people. All we need are our brothers. Let’s see if Thaddeus was telling the truth. And if we’re not too late, help them force their way into the clock tower.”
Canis looked at the child trampled on the ground. The fragile body was imperfect, ordinary. He was human. They had been murdered, accused of being something they weren’t. Bane had lied to him for the last time, and he cursed his own weakness for letting it control him. He plunged his fist into the boy’s stomach and ripped the skin apart. Only blood greeted him. No parasite.
Flashes of every decision made since he had been infected crossed his mind. He saw how Bane fueled a side of him he thought had died with Mortalo, how he manipulated the bond between the abuser and abused. Bane tried to give him power by way of strength, to turn him into something less than a man.
The clock tower donged, and he ran toward the sound. He had to get as far away from the Scourge as he could. And, with his brother by his side, he would find a way to eradicate them all, Fallen or not.
He felt Blackrose’s heartbeat, the vibrations following the echoes from the clock. It beat in rhythm with his own, as if it gave him its blessing. Windows and stone became a blur as he sped through the streets.
Vann trailed behind. Canis slowed, making sure he was right next to his fellow man. There was no sign of the Fallen Wardens they had escaped from, no sign of the Fallen that had started it all. No sign of anyone.
Bane. Where are they?
It did not answer.
Tell me.
“I don’t know,” it said.
You do know. You know exactly where they are.
“They must be infecting as many people as they can. It wouldn’t be effective if they were all in one place.”
But to be nowhere in sight?
“Blackrose is a big city, and the people will’ve fled to the farthest parts in an attempt to escape capture.”
Something doesn’t feel right. They should’ve resisted more. It was to
o easy.
“I couldn’t begin to imagine how their minds work. The corruption of the machine must be harder to crack than that of a human.”
We’re not something to be cracked, parasite. He rolled his fingers into a fist. We’re to be feared. You’ll learn your place.
Canis forced Bane from his mind, but the look on Thorne’s face from earlier filled the void. Her hatred and revulsion for a man she thought she could trust. I’m doing this for people like you, Thorne. Whether you see it or not, I will show you what Blackrose means, what fulfilling Mortalo’s dream will mean for everyone.
The sound of clashing metal teased his senses, and the ground shook with the footfalls of a Warden. Canis Rayne and Vann Xan ran in the open, no longer forced into the shadows, but actively showing any survivors they must fight back.
They ducked and weaved through alleys and streets, the sounds of battle snapping at their heels. They burst out of a passageway, colliding with a Fallen Warden. The colossus spun to attack the new prey, but another Warden sprung from the darkness, the clumsy attempt to get at the same target causing them to crash together. Their armor split and black fluid spurted out; insides working their way to the surface.
The two masses of metal toppled to the ground, their bodies filling the small open space. Canis jumped on one of them and rammed his axe into the Fallen Warden’s eye and glass shattered at his feet.
Vann climbed onto the other and slid the blades protruding from his gauntlets under its chin, splitting the gauze in two. The ground was covered by the body parts of the two Fallen Wardens. Canis stood proud, steam rising from the broken parts beneath him, the black liquid pouring out, tainting its panels.
He inspected the alley leading to the heart of Blackrose. The boy had been telling the truth, and he watched as more of his brothers, led by Teller Redmaw, stormed the clock tower and overran two more Wardens by sheer force with no less than eighty men. They were joined by more people; survivors fighting for a place in the mad scramble for safety.
The cogs and wires of the Fallen Wardens crumbled beneath them as they ran to join the others. Canis recognized most of the faces as those he had rescued. They spotted him and chanted his name as they imitated his triumphant stance atop the remains of their enemy. He had been told of their admiration, that the lips of Blackrose’s populace moved to his name, but to see it was strange. He remembered being shy of his body back in Mortalo’s citadel. That he could deal with, but the eyes of his people burned into him.
A Thousand Eyes Page 16
