Champion of Midnight

by Debbie Cassidy

  An intersection loomed and voices echoed through the tunnels behind us. “This way. They came this way,” they said.

  Shit. They’d found us.

  I began to jog, and then something grabbed the back of my shirt, halting my progress.

  I flailed. “What?”

  Killion dragged me toward him. “We are in your debt for saving our lives, and if you survive, we will pay. But for now, we need a diversion.”

  He gripped my arm, and then a crack resounded through the tunnel. For a moment, I wondered at the sound, at what could make such an awful noise of finality, and then the pain hit—slugging me in the chest and squeezing my lungs in an iron grip. My scream was an involuntary shriek. Killion shoved me away, and I slid to the ground, burning with agony, unable to think, to move. Their bootfalls were a receding echo as they made their escape.

  Get up. Serenity, get up. The enemy approaches. Get up and you can still be free. Get up or Drayton will have died for nothing. You killed him. You’d have killed him for nothing.

  Drayton’s face flashed before my eyes; his words echoed in my ear. He’d wanted me to live. He’d made me promise. The Breed was close—their whoops and howls filtered toward me. If they caught me… There was no waiting to find out. Cradling my broken arm, I pulled myself to my feet and ran. Every step, every beat of my soles on the ground was a jarring movement that sent fire through my arm, but stopping meant more pain. Stopping meant death. Through the tunnels, rising upward with The Breed at my back, I ran. The air grew cold, and then a breeze bathed me in a welcome chill as I slid up a chute. My aching sobs were a symphony to my determination as I pushed at the earth and the sand to slide free onto rock.

  They were behind me.

  Using my knees and the toes of my boots for purchase, I propelled myself out.

  Cover it, pack in the dirt. Do it now.

  Holding my broken arm close to my chest, I kicked the dirt back into place, rocks and sand and more rocks. Finally, it was done. I had to go, get back to the mansion. The others needed to know what had happened, they needed to know…

  Where was I? How far from home was this place? Leaving the chute behind, feet slipping and sliding in a stumble over the stony terrain, I rounded a large, dark rock. The sea air slapped me in the face, and my questions were answered.

  Midnight stared back at me from across an expanse of water. The lights of The Deep lay far to my left. The rocky ground underfoot made sense now. I’d seen this place from the shore. I was trapped on Desert Rock.

  “The Breed will come. They’ll find me. There is nowhere to run and I can’t swim, not like this.”

  My body had gone numb, the pain a dull thing in the background of the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

  Ambrosius was silent.

  “Ambrosius? Are you there?”

  His absence was an empty cavern. I was alone. My resolve almost cracked, but once again Drayton was with me, in my mind, in my heart, urging me on. Whispering, think, think, Harker. How to get across. How to call for help.

  Call for help?

  The kelpies… Cassie had called them with rocks.

  Rocks were aplenty here.

  I picked one up and, biting back a scream of pain, flung it into the sea. I didn’t wait to see if they came, but picked up another, and another, flinging them as fast as I could. They’d come. One of the kelpies would come.

  They had to.

  And then a head broke the surface of the water about three or four meters out.

  “Help! Help me, please.”

  The head began to move toward the island, and my heart lifted with hope. A shadow fell over me, blocking out the moon for a moment before releasing it from its clutches. What was it? A bird? I raised my chin to scan the night sky, which stared back at me, twinkling with innocent stars.

  “Hello, little neph.”

  A fist of fear clamped itself to the nape of my neck. I knew that arrogant tone. I turned slowly to face the Black Wing.

  Abigor smiled, and then his gaze fell to my arm, held close to my chest, and his brows snapped down. “What happened to you?”

  Would he help me? If he knew what The Breed were doing, would he do something to stop them? Maybe he’d get Drayton out.

  “There’s a chute back there.” I jerked my head. “I was underground. The Breed had me and Drayton … Drayton is still down there. They kidnapped us.”

  He considered this for a moment and then shrugged. “Maximilian has a severe dislike for Drayton. You’re lucky you escaped.”

  “That’s it? That’s all you have to say? Aren’t you going to stop them? You’re a fucking Black Wing. Do something.”

  His eyes were suddenly alight with an inner fire and his lips turned down. “There is nothing to do, because everything, everything, is pointless. Everything except the daggers etched into your pretty skin.”

  “Just leave me alone.” I took a step away from him.

  “There is nowhere to run, neph. Despite Bane’s assurances to keep you safe, I find you in trouble yet again. I believe that forfeits his deal with Abbadon. At least I’m sure I can convince Abbadon of that.”

  Where was the kelpie I’d summoned with the pebble? Had it landed yet? “Have you been stalking me?”

  “No. For if I had, you would not have been in trouble. I simply keep my ear to the ground, and I heard about the accident. I heard you were missing, so I took a short flight.” He cocked his head. “Now it’s time for us to take a flight together.”

  “Look, I just want to go back to the mansion. If you can take me there, back to Bane, then I’m sure he’ll be very grateful.”

  “Grateful? Bane?” Abigor snorted. “I’m more likely to see a sunrise in Midnight.”

  He began to amble toward me slowly, at his leisure, because, heck, he had all the time in the world. Even if that kelpie had landed, it was unlikely to go up against a Black Wing.

  Abigor was going to take me. There was no getting away from that.

  “Are you going to hold me prisoner in your clifftop mansion?”

  He smiled. “You’ll be very comfortable there.”

  “If you take me, then it’s against my will. I want to go back to Bane. Back to the Protectorate, where I belong. If you take me by force, they’ll search for me, they’ll find me.”

  “They will search, no doubt. But no one comes to the mansion without an invitation. No one would dare.”

  Please, let the kelpie have heard this. Please …

  He held out his arms. “Now, do you wish to remain here in the cold, with a broken limb, or will you come with me? I can take you by force, but I imagine with that arm at such an angle, it could prove painful.”

  There was no choice, no other way off the island.

  I stepped into his arms.

  Chapter 9

  Abigor held me tight, but at an angle so as not to cause me too much pain. I buried my head in his chest and bit back tears of frustration. Drayton’s body was in The Breed’s possession. What would they do to him? I needed to get back and tell the others. We needed to mount a search and retrieve him and strike back at The Breed for what they’d done. Had Killion and Leo made it out successfully? Would they tell someone about Drayton? Probably not; they’d broken my arm and left me to die, not exactly something to confess to. If I’d left them to their fate, I’d have been able to swim to shore and maybe avoided Abigor. If I could go back and do things differently… I sighed. I’d still have helped them because that’s who I was.

  Damned Abigor and his obsession with the daggers. We landed lightly and Abigor released me. I stumbled back and sucked in a breath between my teeth as fresh pain lanced up my arm. My head throbbed and exhaustion tugged at my mind. We were on a balcony overlooking the tumultuous ocean.

  “This will be your room,” Abigor said.

  Like hell I was staying here. “Where is Abbadon?”

  Abigor smiled smugly. “Not here. And he won’t be for several days.” He canted his head. “You thin

k you can influence him? Convince him to take you back to the Protectorate?”

  I shrugged, then hissed as fire raced up my arm.

  His face darkened. “You are in much pain.”

  “Well, a broken arm can do that.” I didn’t hold back on the sarcasm.

  He nodded and then strode off the balcony. I trailed after him, into the room he’d allocated to me, but he was already gone. A quick inspection of the two doors showed one to be the ensuite bathroom and the other the locked exit. It was an unremarkable space. A small double bed, dresser, and wardrobe. There were no flourishes or extraordinary decorative features, but the carpet beneath my feet was soft and thick.

  I perched on the edge of the bed. It was only a matter of time before someone came for me. Even if Killion and Leo kept their mouths shut about my fate, surely the kelpie, who I’d summoned, would say something? He or she must have heard my conversation with Abigor. Someone would come for me. They had to.

  My chest throbbed, and my arm burned. It was getting harder to focus as the pain took over.

  The door to the room opened, and a Black Wing I’d never seen walked in. He was slightly shorter than Abigor, lithe rather than built, and his face was etched in concern.

  He stopped a meter away from me. “I sense a clean break. I can heal you. Would you allow me to heal you?”

  “Who are you?”

  “My name is Malphas.” His smile was warm and genuine. “Will you permit me to heal you?”

  Pride had no place here. I nodded. “Please.”

  He approached and crouched by me. “This may sting a little, but please remain still.”

  He raised his hands to hover over my broken arm. They began to glow with a soft, buttery light, and then my arm was on fire. A scream lodged in my throat, and then darkness claimed me.

  ***

  Consciousness stole over me like the comfort of a blanket, and I made out the voices of Abigor and Malphas. I was half tempted to feign sleep for longer, but what if they simply locked the door and left? How could I convince them to let me go if they weren’t even in the room?

  “Is she all right?” Abigor asked.

  “She will be,” Malphas said.

  I opened my eyes. “I’m fine.” The pain was gone and my arm was whole again. I sat up on the bed. “I thought you said it would hurt a bit. That was … something else.”

  Malphas winced. “Black Wings have a high pain threshold. To us, that would have been a slight stinging sensation.”

  Wow. “Well, it sucked, but thank you.” I flexed my arm and made a fist with my hand. “It feels as good as new.”

  “You’re welcome.” Malphas gave me another warm smile, and my tense muscles relaxed.

  “Did Abigor tell you I’m here against my will?”

  Malphas looked to Abigor in confusion. “What does she mean?”

  Abigor grimaced. “We do what we must to keep the daggers safe.”

  Malphas rubbed his temples as if fending off a headache. “This goes against everything we stand for. How could you?”

  Abigor clenched his teeth. “Would you rather I’d left her to die? To be taken by The Breed again? Or dragged to the bottom of the ocean by the kelpies?”

  No way. He was not making it out as if he’d rescued me. “The kelpies were coming to help me. I summoned them.”

  “Oh, they would have helped you, all right. They would have helped you to kiss the seabed.”

  “Bullshit. I’m Protectorate. They wouldn’t have harmed me, especially not when I told them that two of their own had been held by The Breed too.”

  Abigor’s brows shot up. “The Breed was holding kelpies?”

  “Yes.”

  Malphas and Abigor exchanged glances. “What in the world would they want with the sea dwellers?”

  I crossed my arms under my breasts. “Take me back to the Protectorate now.”

  Malphas opened his mouth to respond, but Abigor cut him off.

  “No. You belong here. We can keep you safe.”

  But I needed to go back, needed to be with the others and tell them about Drayton. I needed to cry, grieve, something, because breaking down here was not an option, not amongst these strangers who didn’t give a damn about what I’d lost. To stem the tears, I summoned rage until it was hot lava boiling in my stomach.

  I stood, hands fisted at my sides. “Take me back, or I swear to you, I will make you pay. I will find a way, and I will hurt you.”

  Abigor laughed.

  “Abi, come on. This isn’t how we operate. We cannot keep her prisoner. It is wrong. Abbadon—”

  “Is a fool!” Abigor snapped. “His tolerant approach is what got us into this mess in the first place. He made the deal with the White Wings. He trapped us all here, and now we wait to fail.”

  What was he talking about?

  Malphas shot me a panicked glance. “Abi, please.”

  Abigor ignored him and focused on me. “You want to know the truth, little neph? Well, here it is. This whole place—the city of Arcadia—is a fucking prison. A grand test for humanity, and guess what? They’re failing, and the only thing we have that the White Wings don’t are those daggers. It was Abbadon’s idea to hand our only advantage to the Protectorate. And then those daggers chose you, and ever since they did, you’ve been getting into trouble, scrapes that could result in your demise and lead to the loss of the daggers. I am not letting them out of my sight again, which means you stay. Here.” He spun on his heel and exited the room, slamming the door behind him.

  “What is he talking about?”

  Malphas sighed. “I suppose there is no harm in making you aware. There are only a handful of residents of Arcadia that know the truth. Bane is one of them.”

  “That it’s a prison? So there is an outside world?”

  “Oh, yes, Serenity. There’s a big wide world with many oceans and cities, deserts and forests. It is a most beautiful, wondrous thing.”

  Hadn’t Arcahne intimated the same when she’d said she’d come from outside? That she’d travelled into Arcadia through a breach? She’d said there were more creatures being drawn here, but for some reason the concept of a big wide world just hadn’t sunk in, not until now.

  He indicated the bed. “Sit and I will tell you.” I perched on the edge of the mattress, and he pulled up a chair. “A long time ago, not long after the dawn of man, God left. We don’t know where he went or why, he was just gone, leaving the winged to watch over his creation. To watch over man. Over time, two factions grew. One that believed that man didn’t deserve to retain its free will, and another that worked to preserve it at all costs, claiming that it had been God’s intention to gift man free will.”

  “The White Wings, they wanted to take free will…”

  “Yes. And the Black Wings, we wanted to preserve it. Although back then we all had White Wings, it was only when the larger faction cast us out of heaven that our wings turned black. Once we lost the connection to the divine plane, we were cursed to never return. But we fought from here on earth. Hiding in plain sight and encouraging man to make his own choices. We fought the White Wings, and they knew that as long as we were alive, they would never win. So, they sought to kill us.”

  “Wait, I thought winged couldn’t be killed?”

  “You thought right. Only God can unmake one of the winged. But God was gone. However, he left behind a drop of his grace, just a tiny amount, and the White Wings used it to create five weapons—weapons that could kill a Black Wing. They gave these weapons to a mortal man who they blessed with strength, agility, and power.”

  Five weapons. “Are you talking about King Arthur? No, he’s just a legend … a myth.”

  “Oh, he was very real. Although the tales of his round table and his knights have been twisted into something entirely different. In truth, Arthur was a violent, bloodthirsty warrior who hunted Black Wings on the instruction of the White Wings. And he killed many of us, so many, in fact, that our numbers began to dwindle. In the end, we had no choice but to strike back.”

  “You killed him?”

  “No.” Malphas shook his head. “We would never take a mortal life.”

  “So, what did you do?”

  “We went to his confidant, his friend, and his ally, Merlin. We told him the truth. We told him what was at stake. Now, Merlin was no mortal, he was a man born of the union of Black Wing and human, one of the nephilim. Our blood coursed in his veins, and once we opened his eyes, he was able to finally understand his prophetic dreams.”

  “Wait, are you saying it was Merlin who killed Arthur?”

  He nodded slowly. “Merlin took the weapons. He ran and hid. And he has been hiding ever since.” He reached for my hands and turned them over to expose my wrists. “These daggers are the only thing he left behind—enchanted to remain in stone, resistant to all who tried to prize them out. Until you…”

  I stared at the tattoos on my arms.

  “We found them before the winged could. As far as we know, they aren’t even aware of their existence. It is our only advantage against them, because, you see, we believe the daggers are a clue to Merlin’s whereabouts. To the whereabouts of the weapons, and we must never let the White Wings get their hands on them, because if they do, the killing will begin again, and if the Black Wings are wiped out, there will be nothing standing in the way of the White Wings and humanity’s free will. They will take it. They will take it all.”

  My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it. “And Arcadia? Why are we here?”

  “After Merlin absconded with the weapons, the winged factions were at a stalemate. Our Morningstar, our leader, Lucifer, petitioned for a meeting with the powers.”

  “Powers?”

  “Heaven has a hierarchy of its own—three spheres, to be precise. Angels were separated according to their principal function. The powers are part of the second sphere—warrior angels responsible for making sure that the cosmos stay in order. Lucifer was once a power, and so he sought to speak to his brothers, but they refused to meet with him. And then … Lucifer disappeared.”

  “What do you mean he disappeared?”

  Malphas’s face was a map of sorrow. “He was gone. Just like God before him. We searched far and wide, but there was no sign of him.”

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