by Hanna Peach
Mayrekk smiles wearily. “I can’t use bloodink. It doesn’t work for me. My gift draws power away from the other magics.”
“So, your bloodink disrupts other bloodink?”
Mayrekk nods. “It’s powerful ink and very dangerous.”
“Do you have any of your own bloodink spare?”
“No. The Elders use all of it.”
“For what?”
“They paint the inside walls of the cells of the Hollows with it. You can’t use magic inside the cells. They become like a magical black hole. So, don’t step inside one if you don’t have to.”
“But why can I still contact Israel in the cells?”
“Your bond with him isn’t magic. It’s beyond magic.”
Beyond magic.
“I’ll come back for you,” she says. “I promise.”
He shakes his head. “Focus on stopping the prophecy, Alyx. Do it for all of us.”
“But those guards... they’ll know you’ve helped me. Mayrekk, I can’t just leave you here.”
“They can’t kill me. They need my gift. Without me there is no more bloodink.”
“But they can punish you.”
“I’m prepared to take it,” he says, though his face is grim. “You are more than worth it.”
The weight of his sacrifice cloaks her. Alyx throws herself against his body, burying her face in his chest to hide her tears. His arms close around her shoulders as he returns her hug.
Then he pulls away. “Time to go.”
“Thank you. For everything,” Alyx says. A whisper.
“I would do it all again, in a heartbeat.”
The EarthSifter
First level magic.
The EarthSifter is able to manipulate and control the element of earth.
EarthSifters can shift the earth and cause minor tremors. Remember that the laws of gravity will apply and any shifting of earth will cause a corresponding gravitational reaction.
EarthSifters can also ‘feel’ the components that make up a surrounding area of ground including voids, the composition of the soil, and the pressures that are being applied to the earth. With practice the model lightwarrior can increase this area.
The Lightwarrior’s Protocol
Chapter 61
Alyx eyes the entrance to the Hollows, a dark gaping mouth in the base of the mountain. There are no guards at the entrance. She is not sure what awaits her. When she touched upon Israel’s mind earlier she saw only darkness.
“I can come with you, you know,” Jordan says.
For a moment Alyx is tempted to say yes. But she shakes her head. “It’s better if there is only one of us sneaking around in there. Plus, if I’m caught, you are my lifeline.”
Jordan nods but he doesn’t look happy. “I’ll meet you at our meeting point in half an hour. Hopefully you won’t need that long. I’ll keep connected to the DreamPlain just in case.”
“See you soon.”
“Don’t get caught.”
Jordan touches her shoulder as if he has more to say, but without another word he turns and disappears through the bushes.
Alyx eyes the mouth of the Hollows and takes a deep breath.
Inside the entrance Alyx finds herself in a tunnel. It is dark. It smells damp and old, like stepping into a long-sunken ship that has just been pulled from the sea.
Alyx places one hand on the ground. From within her she reaches for the EarthSifter ink. A comforting warmth spreads through her chest. She can smell the fresh scent of rich, wet earth.
The magic pours out from her palm like sand and her consciousness expands into the earth around her. She can sense the thickness and texture of the dirt, clay and rock of the surrounding mountain, the wetness of underground water, and the swelling of roots. Most importantly, Alyx can now feel the voids carved out of the earth, the tunnel and the cells, which make up the Hollows.
The tunnel travels along deep into the mountain. At the end of the tunnel are thirteen cells, six each side and one at the very end.
The EarthSifter magic stops at the edge of the cells. She can’t feel anything or anyone inside the cells. No pressure of feet. The cells feel empty. Not just voids of earth, but black voids. Nothingness.
Israel is in one of those cells.
She can’t sense any pressure of feet along the tunnel either. No guards? But she needs to make sure. Alyx pulls her hand off the floor, crumbs of EarthSifter falling from her fingers.
She draws in her hidden AirWhisperer bloodink. It feels like a cool winter breeze through her body, smells like salty air. Before it can dissipate, she gathers it in her palm, a tiny hurricane.
She wipes the Air with her fingers, spreading the magic into a curtain that stretches to the widths of the tunnel. She pushes the wall of Air down the tunnel until it can’t go any further, then she draws it back. There has not been any disturbance in the Air. There is no one in the tunnel. Why are there no guards?
Alyx draws the demonsword that she brought with her. She pulls out a small halolight that Mayrekk gave her and hangs it round her neck. She begins to make her way down the tunnel.
Deep in the Hollows, Alyx approaches the first set of cells. Her halolight makes long-limbed shadows that fall off the bars into the bleak holes.
The cells are like the gaping mouths of beasts with rows of iron teeth. Sets of iron clamps protrude from the dark shimmering cell walls. Dark shimmering bloodink. Mayrekk’s bloodink. So much of his blood.
Alyx’s ears prick. She can hear a soft voice like a child’s, singing a lullaby. But it doesn’t sound right. There is a harshness to the voice, a strange eerie timbre that makes the hairs on Alyx’s neck stand.
Alyx moves to the next set of cells. The singing cuts off. A gasp. Alyx looks into the cell to her right. A huddle of rags darts into a corner and the thing makes itself as small as it can.
“Don’t be scared,” Alyx says, moving closer to the cell and lifting her halolight so that she can see better. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
Two eyes, doe-like, appear in the huddle.
It is a girl, a young mortal girl, maybe fourteen winters, cheeks still with a sliver of puppy fat.
Who is she? Why is Michael keeping her down here? How long has she been in here?
“I’ll be back for you, okay?” Alyx says. “I promise.”
The girl says nothing, her eyes fixed on Alyx as she moves past.
As Alyx nears the end of the tunnels her halolight reflects off an irregular mound in the far cell.
It is Israel, lying on the ground bound with rope, a rag tied around his mouth. Alyx feels a release of the pressure that has been around her heart since Israel went missing. The relief is so intense it is almost painful.
His eyes widen when he sees her in the halolight. He begins to wriggle wildly in his ties, moaning through the rag.
“It’s okay. I’m coming.” Sheathing her demonsword, Alyx places her hands on two neighboring bars of his cell.
This time she reaches within herself for the Alchemist ink. It shifts and warps through her body, tasting like the sharp tang of metal. Her consciousness pushes out into the bars. She can feel the individual elements within the iron bars, the molecules linking hands like lines of dancers.
As if directing an orchestra, a sort of music flows through her and the molecules start to move in a strange choreography. They let go of their partner’s hands and they spin and dance and turn until they find their new partners and make new links.
This silent song come to an end and each molecule is realigned exactly where Alyx wants them to be.
Alyx shakes off her metal skin and feels her consciousness recapture within her body. She opens her eyes. The two bars are now shining a brilliant gold. Pure gold. Soft gold.
She makes two chips in the golden bars, one higher, one lower, with her demonsword. She sheaths the demonsword back to her hip then kicks at the middles of the bars. They break along the cuts and the two rods of gold fall to the floor leaving a
meter-tall gap. Wide enough for her to fit through.
Alyx pauses – don’t go in there unless you have to – before slipping inside. Israel is struggling furiously as she kneels beside him.
“It’s okay, Israel. I’m here.”
She cuts the ropes around his wrists and pulls the cloth down from his mouth.
He gasps. “It’s a trap.”
Time seems to slow for Alyx. She is now aware of the presence behind her. The presence that has been there, waiting for her. Watching patiently, silently.
Of course. It had been too easy. The ease in which they penetrated the wards, the absence of guards in the Hollows... they had been waiting for her.
Alyx starts to turn, starts to grab for her sword. But it’s already too late. She is imprisoned within several strong arms. She recognizes the hard faces of the lightwarriors who hold her, Stantanople and Do’hann.
They drag Alyx from the cell. Their hands are rough on her.
“Let her go,” Israel is yelling. “If you hurt her I’ll kill you.”
More hands drag him too.
Chapter 62
Alyx is dragged into a cell, Israel is locked into the cell opposite from her.
She is searched and stripped of her weapons. They take her halolight and they take all her jewelry: the pirate’s cuff, Elijah’s pick, Jordan’s ring… she almost cries when they take Raphael’s charm. But there is nothing she can do.
The iron key in Do’hann’s hand turns with a clank inside the lock.
There is barely any light. Only the dim halolight coming from Stantanople who is standing on guard some meters away.
Israel presses up against the bars of his cell. “You came for me.”
“Of course I came.” Alyx moves to her own bars. It is torture to be this close to him to be unable to touch him. Her skin aches for him. “Did they hurt you?”
I’ll kill them if they hurt you.
“No. Not really.”
A second light comes towards them through the tunnel. Do’hann has returned. With Elder Michael.
“Consorting with mortals.” Michael’s face screws up in disgust. “Leave us,” he yells to Do’hann and Stantanople.
Their halolights disappear down the tunnel. Elder Michael stops in front of Alyx’s cell. He pulls his fist from his cloak and thrusts it open towards her. Her heart leaps to her throat. There in his palm is the pirate’s cuff, Elijah’s pick, Jordan’s ring and Raphael’s charm.
“What are these?”
Alyx shrugs and tries to look nonchalant. If she can just convince him... “They’re just bits of jewelry.”
“You’re lying to me. Which one leads to the missing piece of the amulet?”
The Trinity Amulet. It exists. Is that what Raphael’s charm leads to?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Michael’s face twists. “You expect me to believe that?”
He pushes her jewelry back into his clock and pulls a sword from his belt. It is the demonsword that Do’hann and Stantanople confiscated off Alyx.
“Are you going to try and tell me you don’t know about this as well?”
Alyx is silent.
Michael waves the point at her. “Where did you get Black Stone?”
“It’s not mine.”
“Liar,” his voice echoes off the tunnel walls. “You think you can lie to me? I’ll make you talk. Guards.”
As the two guards return, Michael removes his cloak and begins to rolls up the sleeves of his dark shirt.
“Chain her up.”
Alyx backs away from the bars as Do’hann pulls an iron key from around his neck and begins to unlock her cell. Her eyes flick to the set of iron clamps on the rock wall. Her heart begins to pound.
Israel has begun to yell, “What are you doing? Get away from her.”
“Shut up mortal or you’re next.”
“Israel, please be quiet,” Alyx pleads. “You’re not helping.”
Israel slams his bars with his palms but remains silent.
Alyx struggles as the two guards grab her by the arms but she is no match for their collective strength. They push her against the wall, pull her arms straight out from her shoulders and slot her wrists into the clamps. They close the clamps around her wrists and they push the long sharp nails through. Alyx cries out as they pierce through each wrist, pinning her to the wall in a cross.
The guards exit the cell and stand on either side of the door, their backs to Alyx. Michael enters and stands before her.
Now that he is cloakless Alyx can see that he wears several things on his belt. A blade. A whip. Several short lengths of barbed chains. His fingers tease back and forth across the items on his belt. Which one first?
His fingers find the whip. He draws it from his belt.
“You will tell me everything.”
Alyx closes her eyes, bites her lip. She will not scream. Will not scream. She hears the whip lashing, feels it opening up her skin.
She begins to bleed.
Chapter 63
“You are beginning to bore me,” Michael says, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. His fingers are stained red.
Alyx can barely hear him. Her ears are fuzzy, filled with the internal noise of her body screaming. She doesn’t have any energy left to stand so she hangs from her wrists, still bleeding.
Michael wipes the blood off each side of his small blade against her cheek. Her head lolls back against the wall.
“I am done here, for now.”
Michael exits the cell. Do’hann and Stantanople enter and pull the nails from her wrists. She drops into a pool of her own blood. She can smell the tang of it, taste the salt of it from her split lips.
Do’hann and Stantanople lock her cell door behind them.
Michael is looking at her through the bars, his eyes cold. “You know, you could have a place in my army, Alyxandria. As a flock leader. If you just cooperate.”
“Never.” Alyx’s lips crack as she struggles to speak. “I will never cooperate with a monster like you.”
“Me? A monster. No. It is the mortals who are the monsters. Look at them. Look at them, killing each other, poisoning our earth, destroying our planet. Look at them now, all of them so susceptible to the Dark. They have become the monsters. They need to be cleansed. And like the Great Flood we will cleanse this earth.”
“Who gives you the right to pass judgment?”
Michael leans his face close to the bars, his eyes cold. “God does.”
A chill runs though her spine. He really believes it. He really believes that God is on his side.
Michael turns to leave. “Next time I’ll use Black Stone.”
Unable to cope with the pain anymore, Alyx passes out.
“Alyx please. Wake up.”
The voice, faraway, is familiar. She wants to be close to it so she lets it pull her towards wakefulness. But with wakefulness the pain returns.
No. Not yet. Don’t wake yet.
Alyx resists. It saddens her to move away from the voice but she can’t wake yet. It hurts too much.
The voice fades.
Alyx feels herself waking. With her eyes closed she tests her fingers, then her arms. Her body feels stiff and weak but at least she is no longer in pain. Her skin feels whole, the wounds have closed themselves, but her body feels tacky. Her blood.
She opens her eyes. The single halolight from the guards further down the tunnel just reaches her cell. She can barely see Israel sitting there, watching her from his cell.
“Oh thank God,” Israel says. “I thought he had killed you.”
She struggles into a seated position. Her head spins and she has to close her eyes. “I’m okay.”
“I’m so sorry I took off without you. I thought I was doing the right thing. I was so stupid. The demon Adere, she tricked me. She found a way into my dream.”
“Your sword. The Darkened from the den had the sword you were carrying,” Alyx says. “What hap
pened?”
Israel tells Alyx about his relationship with Adere, about the dream, about his leaving the warehouse to meet her, about the trap.
“You see,” he says, “I had to try and save her.”
Cold realization wraps around Alyx’s body. Israel had been in love with Adere when she was human. And he still loves her. That’s why he has been so desperate to save her. Everything has been for her. How did Alyx not see it?
She has been a fool.
An image of his hands on Adere’s body flashes through her mind. The same hands that then touched her. How easily she gave herself to him.
Alyx feels sick, dirty. She was just a distraction until he got Adere back.
Fool.
Alyx turns away from Israel and lies herself back down on the ground, flaking with her dried blood. She stares at the back wall and allows the silent tears to roll down her cheeks. She wants to scream. So badly, she wants to scream. She should have known better.
Her hands find her stomach. She can’t tell Israel.
God-willing, she doesn’t have his child growing inside her. A surge of despair almost causes a sob to escape her. What a horrible person she is for wishing this. She prays silently to God, if he can hear her, to forgive her. But she just doesn’t know whether she could love a child who bears the face of her biggest mistake.
“Alyx? Say something? Does this mean you hate me? Please tell me you don’t hate me.”
It doesn’t matter how I feel, we are bonded. If you die, I die.
Alyx keeps her voice even, “It’s okay. I don’t hate you.”
“Thank you.” His voice gushes with relief.
“I’m tired,” she says, her voice empty.
She pretends to fall sleep so that Israel will leave her alone. She has nothing more to say to him. What is there to say anyway?
Don’t love her... love me.
Chapter 64
The waiting is the worst. Not knowing when Michael will return. Not being able to sleep in case he does.
Every figure approaching down the craggy tunnel sends Alyx’s heart into a whirlwind and causes Israel to jump to his feet. So far it has just been another lightwarrior who has come to relive a guard of their duty.
