Angelfire (Dark Angel)

by Hanna Peach

  “Yeah, well... I want to hear it from her.”

  “I don’t know any more than you do,” Alyx says. “I only arrived not minutes before you.”

  “Why don’t I believe you?”

  “I don’t care what you believe. You’ve had it in for me since I took your damn title off you. We won. You lost. Get over it. I’m going to keep looking around.”

  Alyx stalks off into the alley again towards the body. She can hear Lutando and Symon behind her, restraining Yael from coming after her.

  Her body shakes from her outburst and she has to take several deep breaths to calm herself. She knows she is being watched by the others so she makes it seem like she is looking for more clues up and down the alley.

  Her head spins as her eyes glaze over the dirty ground. There are too many unanswered questions that she just can’t ignore anymore. She has to find answers. But she isn’t sure who to trust. Anyone who she involves will have to carry the burden of her secrets, and she can’t bind her friends like that. No, she will have to find answers by herself.

  She has to find a way inside the Archives’ restricted section.

  Chapter 22

  The Elder-dome stands at the head of the city and near the highest point of the mountain. Flanked by two Elderguards Alyx moves through the internal corridor that coils around the inside of the dome. Neither of them will speak to her apart from a few clipped answers. Alyx has stopped trying to talk to them. She almost has to rub her wrists to remind herself that she isn’t being held captive. Yet.

  This is the first time she has ever been summoned to an Elders chambers, the first time she has ever been in the Elder-dome.

  Perhaps if she wasn’t so preoccupied with her thoughts she would have taken more notice of the paintings that unfurled in one long mural along the corridor walls; a seraph fighting hand-to-hand with a mortal in the desert, Elder Michael with a babe in his arms, an army of Seraphim cowering under falling stars, a seraphelle burning at a stake. These scenes all slip past her notice.

  Finally the corridor spills into a small waiting space on the highest level of the Elder-dome. The only door remains closed. Alyx swallows and it sticks to her throat.

  She is made to wait.

  Keep it together, she instructs herself. Stick to your story.

  Michael's chamber is a fully enclosed space, the heart of the building. The walls wing gently around then soar up to the roofline making this room feel larger then it is. Seating, adorned with thick coral pillows, cling up the walls like colored mushrooms growing off a trunk. The rest of the walls are covered in shelving that holds pottery or strange mechanical equipment but mostly Threads; rolled Threads sitting in vases, worn patchwork Threads pressed carefully between thin sheets of glass, single Thread-strips tucked in glass tubes held in delicate iron holders.

  An impatient squawk directs Alyx’s eyes to the wedge-tail eagle sitting on its perch, unenclosed, unencumbered, except for the Animale bracelet around its leg. Tikara, Elder Michael’s familia. Her mind flashes back to the eagle that was outside Mayrekk’s hut. Could they be one and the same?

  Varian and Symon are both standing in front of an oak desk, obstructing her view of Elder Michael. One for her, one against.

  “What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Symon and Varian step aside. Elder Michael is seated behind his desk. He doesn’t so much as sit behind the desk as he commands the space behind it with his presence. His thick hands splay in front of him. His pale blue eyes are like ice.

  Alyx takes a breath and she details the story she has prepared. When she speaks she becomes aware of the guiltless silence in between her every delivered word. Should lying to an Elder feel this easy?

  She finishes speaking and stands still. Now is the most dangerous part, the part where most people lose their nerve and confess. She forces herself to keep breathing and to hold Elder Michael’s gaze.

  “You feel that this is reason enough to break protocol?”

  Alyx pauses before replying. “I made a decision at the time based on what I felt was the right thing to do.”

  A slam shudders through the oak desk causing Alyx to jump, Michael’s fist in the centre of the reverb.

  “Protocol is there for a reason. Protocol is there to ensure the right process is followed, every time. You broke protocol. You made the wrong decision.”

  Alyx sucks her bottom lip between her teeth to keep herself from yelling back.

  “I have no choice,” Michael eases the tips of his fingers together, slow, deliberate, “but to suspend you from lightwarrior duties.”

  Alyx and Symon cry out in unison.

  “For how long?” demands Alyx.

  Elder Michael glares at her, drawing out the wait. She can hear the blood pumping behind her ears.

  “Four weeks.”

  “Four weeks?” Her voice rises. In four weeks she will lose her lightwarrior status completely. “But that’s―.”

  “Elder, if I may,” says Symon stepping in front of her. “Alyxandria is one of our best warriors and with our numbers decreasing as they have been lately, four weeks is a long time to be down a warrior.”

  “What will it look like if I let a warrior break protocol without repercussions?”

  “It was with the best intentions, Elder.”

  “No. It won’t happen. It will set a precedence. She will not go unpunished.”

  Symon bows his head. “Then a lesser sentence perhaps?”

  Elder Michael stares for a long time at Alyx. She swallows her pride enough to allow some pleading to filter through to her eyes.

  “Fine. She will be relegated to ward patroles only for the next four weeks. She is not to leave the city.”

  Alyx opens her mouth to protest but Symon is already pulling her backwards from the room, his grip a warning around her forearm. “With deepest gratitude, Elder. Thank you. Your leniency is beyond generous.”

  Alyx has gone numb. She can’t feel Symon’s grip around her arm anymore, yanking her through the corridor. She can’t feel her legs.

  So that’s it. She is suspended from official lightwarrior duties until she is entwined to Daniel. Her time as a lightwarrior is, basically, over. Everything her life stands for, her whole purpose, has been taken away.

  Through the numbness Alyx feels a part of her break free. She realizes...

  …there is a power, a freedom, in having nothing left to lose.

  Chapter 23

  An owl hoots in the hour before dawn. Alyx lands on the small ledge before the entrance of the Archives. She glances around again. Still alone. But she has to hurry.

  Alyx steps up to the large door and touches Elijah’s pick around her wrist. She says a silent thank you to Elijah, wherever he may be now. Alyx stretches her hand towards the door and the shield withdraws.

  Inside, Alyx makes her way into the depths of the Archives. With the halolights turned off the Threadcases make an eerie house of cards around her.

  Soon she is standing in front of the restricted section. Time to test Elijah’s pick on something bigger.

  Alyx stretches her hand towards the shield. It crackles and large sparks shoot from her wrist. The green circle flows out but the shield waivers as if it is fighting back. This is a strong shield. The ripple slows until it reaches an impasse with the shield, leaving only a small opening.

  If Alyx is careful, she may be able to fit through it. If she doesn’t do this right and the shield retracts it will cut her in two. She takes a big breath, intending to calm herself, before she lifts her legs off the pod floor and tucks them up near her body. Now or never.

  Alyx slips her feet through the opening first. She slides her body through, taking her time, keeping the pick as close to the shield as possible. Once she is inside she pulls her hand away from the shield. It snaps shut behind her.

  In here, the air is cooler, it settles on her skin like silk. No doubt AirWhisperer magic has been employed to keep the temperature in here lower than the outsi
de, preserving the Threads better.

  Each Thread is held by its own delicate iron-wrought holder. They seem thicker and more colorful than normal Threads. Some even have gold running through their patterns. The only other thing in here being a small glass table.

  Alyx reaches out and begins to run her fingers along the Thread title-ends. Titles flash across her mind like moving pictures. Until one catches her attention: An International Census of Rogues. Jordan. Maybe Jordan is in here?

  Alyx pulls this Thread from its holder and rolls it out onto the table. She runs her open palm across the gold and lavender weaving. The thoughts from the Thread flood into her mind, one after the other.

  Until, there it is.

  Jordan Bonaven of Michaelea ~ Rogue as of Spring, 2004th year.

  Jordan Bonaven of Michaelea was eighteen winters when he turned Rogue by choice. Jordan was a direct descendant from Elder Adrian Bonaven and Elder Delfina Bonaven.

  According to his parents, Jordan had always been a child of highly independent thought. However, he exhibited the first serious signs of defiance after he was involved in an unfortunate incident on the night of the Announcement Ceremony in the 2003th year.

  Due to the sensitivity of the incident and the Seraphim involved, it remained unpublicized despite Jordan’s vocal arguments that there should have been a public trial. Jordan was instructed to remain silent on this matter by the Chief Elders.

  After this occasion Jordan became despondent and highly aggressive as reported by his teachers and fellow Castus. Jordan became increasingly outspoken in class, disrupting lectures by questioning and arguing against the teachings of the Elders.

  After it became apparent that Jordan’s behavior was not alleviating naturally it was decided it would be best if he were removed from public for a time to undertake re-education until he could be safely reintroduced to Seraphim society.

  Jordan reacted strongly against this order and escaped from his keepers fleeing Michaelea. A search party was established to locate him however he was not found.

  Alyx blinks rapidly. An unfortunate incident? Unpublicized? Removed from public? Re-education? The whole thing leaves an odd taste in her mouth.

  She keeps her hand moving. The Thread-thoughts keep falling into her mind like a stack of cards.

  Another passage enters her mind like an invader. Alyx snatches her hand from the Thread as if it burns. She stares at the Thread. There must be a mistake.

  With shaking fingers She reaches out again towards that patch of Thread.

  Voices.

  Her hand halts mid-air. Who would be entering the Archives at night?

  The voices, muffled, are getting closer. Alyx rolls the Thread back up and puts it back in its place. On the other side of the restricted section Alyx disrupts the shield with Elijah’s pick and slips through. She dives over a low Threadcase and rolls into the alcove behind it just as two figures appear from the maze of Threadcases. Alyx peers out from her hiding place.

  “...looks too much like the Blood Prophecies. And the timing is right,” Elder Bezebel is saying to Elder Michael.

  “I know. I have eyes watching her for the moment.”

  In front of the restricted section Elder Michael pulls a chain from within his robes, a keye on the end.

  “She is asking about the Blood Prophecies in class, Elder. Someone is feeding her information. And Elder Cornelius told me that she was in here demanding to see information about a Rogue.” Alyx has to restrain a gasp. They are talking about her.

  Elder Michael turns his head to look at Elder Bezebel, Alyx in his line of sight. She ducks her head behind the Threadcase. Her breath hitches. Has she been seen?

  There is a great silence and Alyx feels prickles roll across her neck. She has been seen. Any second now she will be hauled out from her hiding spot by the scruff of her collar. Any second now...

  Will she fight? Will she dare fight an Elder?

  “Perhaps it is time to step up the plan,” Alyx hears Elder Michael say. “I don’t think we are ready but if the signs are clear then...” The shield of the restricted section closes behind them and their voices become muffled.

  The threads of her sanity are starting to unravel, everything she has just heard and learnt flashing over and over in her mind. Her breath shakes as it travels past her lips. No. She has to keep it together. She has to keep it together long enough to get out of here, uncaught.

  Alyx can’t say how long the two Elders were in the restricted section. When they leave Elder Michael and Elder Bezebel hold several Threads in their arms. Whatever else she may have learnt is being carried away with them.

  She almost wishes that she didn’t see the last Thread-thought in the International Census of Rogues.

  What has been seen cannot be unseen.

  Chapter 24

  As Alyx grew up the other younglings never let her forget about her parents. After the especially cruel days, Symon would send Alyx to sleep with kinder versions of the stories about them. About when her parents were young and untainted by their later mistakes, about their time as warriors. Symon had also told her once the story of how they became Rogues.

  They had been in love. Love. Two Seraphim lightwarriors of no gifts, of no prominent bloodline had dared to fall in love. They had been able to keep their relationship a secret. Until Alyx’s mother, Elise, had fallen pregnant with her.

  The couple applied to the Elders to be entwined while keeping their growing reason a secret. The Elders had said no. Their bloodline was too ‘diluted’ to produce anything useful. They were more valuable as lightwarriors.

  Eventually their shame was revealed as Elise’s stomach grew too big to hide. The Elders sheltered Elise and Sebastian until Alyxandria was born. As a mark of their shame Alyx was not allowed to take a surname.

  Disgraced, the couple snuck out of Michaelea forever leaving Alyx behind.

  It had been a shock to see their names written out in full.

  Sebastian Urban of Michaelea and Elise Perrin of Michaelea ~ Autumn, 1994th year.

  An unsanctioned and incorrectly managed sexual relation led to Elise Perrin falling with child. Elise and Sebastian did not advise the Elders of the pregnancy instead submitting an application for Entwinement. They were denied.

  Jovanna Terris, a lightwarrior known to the couple, advised the Chief Elder of the unsanctioned relationship, the pregnancy and of the couple’s plan to leave Michaelea with their unborn child. Both Elise and Sebastian were captured and detained for the remainder of Elise’s pregnancy.

  The baby Alyxandria was born in Autumn, 1994th year. Elise and Sebastian were stripped of their parental rights with the child to be raised by the city. Alyxandria was stripped of a surname.

  The couple were forbidden to continue their relationship or to attempt a relationship with Alyxandria. They were to be re-educated prior to returning to lightwarrior duties.

  Sebastian and Elise attempted to kidnap their daughter, however failing this, they fled Michaelea. There have been subsequent kidnapping attempts by Sebastian and Elise which have all failed.

  Symon answers his door, sleepy and half dressed, his dark pants sitting just under his hip bones, his warrior’s chest and stomach on display. His face registers surprise to see Alyx there, then draws to concern. “What’s wrong?”

  “The Elder’s have been lying to me.” Although her voice shakes with contained emotion, the rest of her is still numb.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “My parents.”

  His face grows dark. He steps aside to let her in.

  The walls of Symon’s pod is covered in a dewy moss and a delicate fern with leaves like pale green snowflakes. A trickle of water drops through a series of exposed bamboo pipes, a water feature. Taking up part of one wall a possesionshelf holds a myriad of Threads, and a display of antique Seraphim weapons. The Challenger’s sword sits prominently in the centre, the pommel a fine golden ivy-like guild curling into a handle of brushed gold and sa
pphires.

  “What’s going on Alyx?”

  “My parent’s. They wanted to leave Michaelea with me but they were betrayed. They didn’t abandon me. They tried to take me with them.”

  “Who told you this?”

  “They wanted me. But they were betrayed. By their friend, Symon. Their friend.”

  “Who told you this?”

  “Aren’t you listening to me? My parents wanted me.” Alyx spins to face Symon. There is something in his face that she isn’t expecting to see... guilt. The realization makes her sick. She can barely get the words out, “You knew.”

  “Whoever told you these things is lying, trying to make trouble.” Symon clasps her shoulders with his hands. Desperation.

  She wrenches herself from his arms. “You knew. All along, you knew.”

  “Alyx, whoever told you these things is lying.”

  “No, you’re lying. I found it in the Archives, in the restricted section. I found the truth.”

  “What the hell were you doing in the restricted section?”

  “Stop changing the subject. Why did they lie to me? Why did you lie?” Her voice drops into a whisper, “You of all people.”

  “I didn’t want to. But the Elders… they said it was for the best.”

  “The Symon I know would have told me anyway.”

  “Alyx, if I had told you, you would have tried to follow them. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have. You would be a Rogue too. A Rogue, Alyx. With no status, no community, living out there like a savage with other goddamn Rogues. And with mortals and the Darkened, for Christ sakes. Out there, without the protection of our society.”

  “I trusted you.” Her raged breaths now shake her whole body. Her numbness is crumbling. “I trusted you and you knew this and you kept this from me.” The vision of her trainer, her friend, the figure closest to a father as she had ever known, blurred behind tears. “Did you know about Jovanna? Did you know it was her that betrayed them?”