by Alyson Noel
No, Dace is still in there. Exerting whatever control he has left.
Question remains—how much longer can he keep the beast contained?
All along, Dace understood the nature of the beast far better than I did.
Held no illusions to the sort of power it would wield.
Then again, he’s lived with it for much longer than I first realized. Making its debut on New Year’s Eve, when Dace connected with the snakes and convinced them to attack Suriel. Which, in effect, turned out to be his first kill. The one that served to whet the appetite of what’s grown into an insatiable bloodlust.
With each dark deed, the darkness inside Dace increases. Like fertilizer, feeding and strengthening a beast that’s meant to destroy us.
And now, with Gabe dead, Dace’s initiation into the dark arts is secured. Next time we meet, he’ll be fully transformed.
With a terrain of charred earth underfoot, a blazing red canopy of clouds drooping overhead, and the agonized screams of sprit animals and guides called to battle, I follow the trail of carnage. Reminded of the story Paloma once told me about the day my father was buried—how the funeral unfolded under a crimson-scorched sky.
Funny to think I may end under similar circumstances.
With the stone nearing the point of freezing, I better my grip on the blowgun and push my legs harder, until I’m sprinting up a grueling trail littered with random switchbacks and bends that grows increasingly narrow and steep with each passing turn. Ultimately leveling off to a place where the atmosphere thins, the clouds that once drooped overhead now sag below, and the dirt gives way to a slab of rugged red rock.
I make for the edge of the cliff and peer into the void. The toes of my boots teetering precariously over the ledge, when I realize a moment too late that everything about this scene—the dress, the ring, the surrounding landscape, even Cade standing behind me—perfectly mimics the dream.
Did he lure me here?
Did he plant the dream in my head?
Or did the ring merely lead me to my destiny and demand it be met?
“Don’t jump!” Cade calls, half serious, half in jest. “Odds are, I won’t save you this time.”
“So, you had the dream too.” I turn to face him. “I’ve always wondered about that.” My gaze roams the length of him, taking in his perfectly groomed façade—the pristine tux, the freshly shined shoes, the triumphant grin on his face. Three worlds have fallen into a state of absolute devastation, and, as usual, he looks as impeccable as ever.
But at least I know what happened to Raven.
“Dream? What dream?” His eyes flash. His tongue works the inside of his cheek. As I switch my focus to poor Raven—locked inside a gilded cage, a gleaming tourmaline stone hanging from a black silk cord at his neck, while Coyote lurks beside him, licking his chops as though he can’t wait to devour him. “Though, now that we’re on the subject, I guess I should thank you for making my biggest dream come true. After all, I’m finally here in the Upperworld, and I couldn’t have done it without you. Told you we make a good team, and yet, you never seemed to believe me.”
The Upperworld?
That’s where this is?
Though my time there was brief, the surrounding landscape is nothing like I left it. It’s completely unrecognizable. This is even worse than I thought.
“Yes, the Upperworld, Seeker.” He grins, seemingly thrilled by my failure to conceal my shock. “Wasn’t like this when I first made the climb. And though it took some doing, I must admit, I’m quite satisfied with the results. I like this look a lot better. It was a little too heavy on the sparkle and greenery before. This new landscape is much better suited to Coyote’s needs.”
Rugged barren mesas, treacherous cliffs, only trace amounts of shrubbery, and absolutely no viable place for the spirit animals and guides to take cover—I can see why Coyote approves. They’ve never liked a fair fight.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, the Richters have tried to breach this place for centuries, millennia actually, but never once had a hope in hell of succeeding until I came along. I can’t wait for Leandro to acknowledge all I’ve accomplished.” His face glows with the prospect. “I’ve surpassed every Richter who came before me. And the funny thing was, it was so easy! You and your band of idiots really took to your roles, played it straight by the script. You’ve all done such an amazing job, it’s a shame there’s no one left among you to appreciate it.” He slaps a hand to his mouth and makes an exaggerated mock-guilty face, as my gut churns in trepidation of what he’ll say next.
“I’m sure you’ve heard about Chay and Leftfoot, right?” He pauses, waiting for me to respond, but when I continue to glare, he goes on. “Don’t look so sad, they were practically elderly. It’s not like they had loads of time left. I did them a favor by sparing them the humiliation of dementia and adult diapers that inevitably comes with old age.”
“Why are you trying to sell it?” I study him carefully, noting how he’s taking credit for acts committed by Leandro and Dace, never mind his need to explain. The old Cade delighted in mocking and taunting—he practically lived for the chance. Never once did he try to justify his acts, or soften the blow.
“I’m not trying to sell it!” His fists curl at his sides as his eyes narrow on mine. “You just happened to look saddened by the news, and—”
“And that bothers you?” I take a step toward him, chancing a quick look at Raven, ensuring he’s more or less okay, before I return to Cade. “My sadness makes you feel the need to defend your actions?”
His features sharpen, his face darkens, but that’s as far as he gets. As far as he’s capable of getting. And we both know it.
“I thought I made myself clear. You’re not the one running the show here, Seeker. That would be me. And just so you know, your friends aren’t faring so well either. Believe me—” He grabs the dome of Raven’s cage and dangles it so precariously Raven lets out a long, gurgling croak as his purple eyes roll back in his head, and his claws clutch the perch in a fight to stay upright. His distress so palpable I’m about to intervene, when Cade lowers it to the ground and says, “Your little bird here is getting off easy. As for your friends, well, Lita was a lot better off when she was with me. But now, thanks to you, Seeker, Lita’s all on her own. Though it’s not like I didn’t warn her. Just like I predicted, Axel didn’t waste a second to ditch her once the three worlds opened wide. Didn’t think twice about trading her in for the glowing girls back home. And to think all he left her with was an eagle feather, as though that could possibly help. My guess is she became demon bait not long after. But don’t look so glum. You’ll be happy to know that Xotichl and Auden are alive and well, and, as it turns out, Coyote’s to control for all of eternity. Seems they fell for the oldest trick in the book. It was almost too easy. Amazing what people will sacrifice for a taste of popularity. Of course, Lita knows a thing or two about that. Or, should I say, did. Lita did know. Lita’s not present tense anymore.”
I keep my face neutral. He’s trying to get a rise out of me, and I won’t take the bait. I’m just hoping his failure to mention Jennika is because she managed to slip under his radar, and not because he’s saving the juiciest bit for later.
“Let’s face it, you failed, Seeker, in every conceivable way. You failed your friends, your ancestors, your Raven.” He nudges the cage with his foot, moving it closer to Coyote, who thumps his tail in approval. “You’ve failed everyone. But most of all, you’ve failed yourself. And now, I’m afraid you’ve lasted way past your expiration date. You’re beginning to smell a bit . . . fowl, as they say.” He laughs heartily at his joke as I make a point of rolling my eyes. “Anyway, enough of that. It’s time for me to finish what I started. Which means it’s time for you to reunite with your ancestors.”
The gap that separates me from the next gorge easily spans six feet, if not more. Still, I’m pretty sure I can nail the leap if it should come to that.
But only if it comes to th
at.
“So how do you plan to do it?” I ask, stalling for time as I get a better grip on my blowgun, remembering how he loves a good monologue.
“What? And wreck the surprise?” He kneels beside Raven’s cage, giving firm instructions to Coyote to wait for the signal, before returning to me. “What happened to your mask?” He places his hands on his hips and frowns as though he just now noticed it was missing. “I always imagined you wearing it when I snuff the light from your eyes and Coyote devours your spirit animal.”
“Guess you’ll both have to improvise. Besides, I don’t see you wearing your moon and sun.”
“I have no need for symbols when it’s about to be done.”
“Is it?” I take a step toward him. “Is that what you think?”
“That’s what I know. Shadow is about to eclipse Sun, which means you, Seeker, will fall. I’ve rescinded the offer to rule alongside me. Turns out, you’re not up for the task. And, for the record, I saw right through your façade. Your clumsy attempts at flirting and feigning interest in me were painful at best.”
“Really? How about when I clocked you and sent you spinning on your ass—how’d you feel then?”
“Nice try, Seeker. Trying to distract me from the task. You’re outmatched. The game was never yours to control. Don’t believe me? Take a good look around. The prophecy is in motion and there’s no way to stop it. Oh, and just so you know, I won’t miss you when you go.”
“No, I don’t suspect you will. But not for the reason you think.”
He quirks a brow, cocks his head to the side.
“I’m not going anywhere, Cade.”
“You’re funny.”
“I’m a lot of things. As you’re about to see.”
I raise Dace’s blowgun. The one he insisted I use on him, and aim straight for his brother. Confident the beast will spare Dace’s life like it did on New Year’s Eve.
“You’re not going to use that relic against me?” Cade smirks, not taking me the least bit seriously. Unfortunately for him, it’s a mistake he won’t live long enough to regret.
I close an eye, center my aim, and shoot.
Watching the dart soar straight for its target. The moment I’ve been imagining about to come to fruition.
Until Cade ducks, the dart breezes over his head, and the next thing I know, the top of Cade’s head is barreling into my gut.
My feet fly up from beneath me, my back smacks hard on the slab, and my head quickly follows. The blow so unexpected it knocks the breath out of me.
I squint into the space, struggling to see past the constellation of tiny white stars blurring my vision. Just barely able to make out the sight of Cade looming over me, fist raised high, ready to strike.
“Say goodbye, Seeker.” He grins, about to nail the same spot his father had a go at, when his eyes meet mine and, once again, I catch a glimmer of my own reflection staring back.
That’s twice now. And the thing is, Cade’s eyes never used to reflect.
While they used to glow red when he was in full-blown demon mode, they never mirrored. They could only absorb like the abyss that they are.
It’s what enabled him to control people by changing their perception—he absorbed their energy until they were his to control.
He’s just about to make contact, when I jump to my feet and catch him by the wrist. “You sure you want to do that?” I twist his arm until he grimaces. “Cos it kind of seems like you don’t.”
“Keep dreaming,” he grunts. Though his tone, like his face, is full of bravado, there’s something off about him. Something more than just the strangeness of his gaze.
For one thing, if he was serious, he would’ve pushed me away and punched me already. My grip’s not that tight.
But instead, his fingers flex uncertainly. As though he’s purposely leaning into me, only pretending to try to free himself from my hold, while secretly enjoying the contact of his skin on my flesh.
Just like his brother, he’s reluctant to make good on his threat.
Until Leandro’s voice rumbles from across the divide.
THIRTY-EIGHT
DAIRE
“Enough, Cade! What’re you waiting for? A goodbye kiss?” Leandro’s voice booms from across the canyon. “Kill her already. If you have any hope of redeeming yourself, do it now! You’ve failed at every single thing you’ve set out to do. Kill the Seeker, Cade, or I’ll come over there and do it for you!”
Cade wrenches free of my grip. Looking between Leandro and me with a conflicted gaze, his body involuntarily twitches and shakes, while his creepy Coyote snarls and yelps beside Raven, who clings to the backside of his cage.
“I didn’t fail!” Cade screams. His face, like his voice, is choked with rage. “I’m the reason you’re here! I’m the one who opened the portals! Me—not Dace!”
He slaps a hand over my throat, tries to squeeze his fingers around it, but doesn’t get very far before he lets go and approaches the ledge.
“The role you played was minor at best,” Leandro yells. “Now go ahead and do it. Kill the girl, and be done with it!”
Leandro continues to berate him, as Cade paces precariously close to the edge. Twitching and mumbling to himself as I scramble to my feet, retrieve my gun, and take aim.
Just about to shoot when Cade whirls on me and says, “Dammit, Seeker, put that thing down! Do not make me choose!”
Choose?
I hold my breath in my cheeks, delaying the shot. So caught off guard by the words, I’m not sure how to react.
Did he really mean choose between Leandro and me?
“Clock’s ticking, Cade—do it already!” his father shouts, as Cade seems to visibly crumple before me. His shoulders sagging, his head bent, gaze downcast. He digs his knuckles into his eyes. Pinches hard at his cheeks. All the while mumbling a string of unintelligible words under his breath. Making him appear deranged and distorted, like a person gone completely unhinged.
“What the hell have you done to me?” His eyes are shadowed and bloodshot as he glares at me accusingly.
And suddenly, with that one simple question, it all falls into place.
The reflection in his eyes.
His reluctance to kill me.
It all makes sense.
And it proves Dace was right! There’s only one force more powerful than evil—love.
Cade is a perfect example of that.
He’s changed by love. It’s the love in his heart that won’t allow him to kill me.
“I haven’t done anything. You brought this on yourself,” I say, reminded of something Phyre said the day we discovered her in possession of Dace’s soul. When she saw the piece of darkness in Dace, and wondered if Cade contained a piece of his light.
At the time, I was too worried about saving Dace’s soul to pay much notice to her philosophical musings, but now I realize her suspicions were right.
“When you fed off the love Dace and I shared by using it to strengthen yourself, what you failed to understand is that darkness cannot exist in the same space as light. The love you ingested obliterated your darkness, it changed you from the inside.”
A look of pure horror crosses his face, but little does he know, that’s only part of the story. What I fail to voice is my suspicion that when Dace made the soul jump into Cade to steal a chunk of his darkness, he left behind a piece of his light.
Just like the dream, their connection is no longer relegated to the mystical, it’s veered into the physical.
Part light, part dark.
The yin and the yang.
Connected.
Bound.
Each containing a piece of the other.
Leandro continues to rage from across the gorge, which only serves to confuse Cade more.
“Don’t listen to him.” I raise my voice in an effort to drown out Leandro’s. “There’s nothing wrong with you. In fact, it’s pretty miraculous if you think about it. You’re getting a second chance to do the right thing
and redeem yourself. Don’t fight it, Cade. Don’t fight me . . .” I lower the blowgun to my side and approach him slowly. He’s so unstable there’s no telling how he’ll react.
“Back off, Seeker!” He swerves out of my reach and looks across the canyon with a face full of longing. “And stop looking at me!”
I do as he says. Holding perfectly still until he relaxes enough for me to chance another step toward him. “Cade, don’t you recognize what’s happening here?” I gesture to the surrounding landscape. “This is just like the dream. I know you had it too. It’s where you came up with the idea for the dress.”
He rakes an agitated hand through his hair. Shuffles his feet uncertainly.
“And look, I’m even wearing the ring.” I lift my hand, urging him to see. Watching his features grow blunted, his eyes glazing at the sight of it. “But it’s not as bad as you think. You’re not in love with me. You’ve just never experienced such a strong emotion before, and you’re so overwhelmed by its power, you’re projecting it onto me. You once claimed that true magick exists only in the darkest of men. And maybe you’re right. But the thing is, you’re no longer that guy. If you allow your light to shine, you’ll be capable of the kind of miracles that’ll make your magick now look like the work of a third-rate birthday-party magician.”
His shoulders soften. His pacing slows. And I breathe a little easier knowing I’ve managed to reach him.
Until Leandro hurls another long stream of insults, and Cade rushes toward me, fully intending to harm—only the light now illuminated inside him won’t allow him to strike.
Won’t allow him to do the only thing required to make his father proud.
It’s Leandro he loves.
It’s Leandro he lives to impress.
He’s spent the last sixteen years in a desperate bid for his father’s approval, only to be eclipsed by the twin they both once despised.
Even when Cade was at his darkest, it was the one bit of humanity that managed to survive.
I could kill him in a second. And yet, knowing what I know, it no longer feels right.
No longer a monster, the light has rendered him human. And like the Bone Keeper said, killing humans is not the Seeker’s game.
