Path of the Heretic (The Beholder Book 2)

by Ivan Amberlake

  The twelfth name in the third column on page 243, he thought.

  His eyelids drooped, and he thought he wouldn’t be able to open them another time. With his eyes closed, he opened the register and thumbed forward, then forced himself to open his eyes and take a look. He’d got the wrong page. He thumbed a few more pages.

  Focus, Jason, he told himself. You’re nearly there. Page 243. Check. Third column. Check. The twelfth name…

  His finger slid with effort down the page as he counted.

  “Aaron Sloane,” he said, and then realized breathing got a bit easier, and his light grew a bit brighter. Somewhere in the dark, stone gritted against stone. The door is open, Jason realized.

  Alice propped herself on one elbow and sat up, her head hanging low. She yawned, cupping her mouth with her hand.

  “Why are you on the floor? It’s dirty,” she said.

  “I know. I thought I’d take a rest while you were asleep.”

  “I fell asleep?”

  “Just for a few moments.”

  Alice cowered, clutching at her legs, trembling as if from cold. Jason came over to her and pulled her up. She was shaking, her head pressed against Jason’s chest.

  “Don’t be scared,” he soothed her, stroking her beautiful hair. “Everything’s okay now.”

  “Why would Emily do that to us?” she asked.

  “Good question. She never does anything just because she wants it her way. She gave you the key, and then she led us to the name that helped us get out of here. Have you ever heard of Aaron Sloane?”

  Alice shook her head.

  “Well, then we’ll have to find out who he is,” Jason said.

  The door on the other end of the room remained open, inviting Jason and Alice into the darkness beyond. Hand in hand, they left the room to be immediately cloaked by an unsettling void.

  It reminded Jason of the time he and Emily had visited a similar room with almost no light.

  When standing there, Jason imagined his senses sharpening, so that each sound echoed in his head.

  Aaron Sloane. The name just couldn’t get out of his head. He must be someone important, right? There was something about it that Jason couldn’t put a finger on. It seemed to ring a bell, something he was about to grasp, but it always slipped away from him.

  Alice squeezed Jason’s hand. “I can’t see anything.”

  Jason tilted his head to where Alice’s voice came from, then stretched his free hand forward, creating the projection of the place in front of them.

  His glinting energy clung to the walls like fabric, spreading forward and upward. The contours shimmered like bluish embers, and Jason raised his eyes higher and higher as his Energy lit the walls.

  “Holy sh—!” he stopped himself before he cursed, taking a cursory look at Alice.

  “Wow!” the girl breathed. “I’ve seen it before!” Alice exclaimed, pointing her finger upwards. “I saw it in my dream!”

  The skyscrapers stood tall and proud, just like New York City skyscrapers at night. As Jason and Alice moved deeper down the endless maze of streets, Jason noticed that lots of the buildings were far from their prime condition. Cracks snaked their way along the walls and foundations; some of the windows missed glass, entranceways had no doors, and even Jason’s projection couldn’t make them look less depressing.

  “Jason, you just made it shine.” Alice giggled, her eyes glinting with amazement. “Let’s go see it.” She let go of his hand and ran forward without waiting for Jason’s response.

  Jason smiled as she swirled, waving her hands like a butterfly. He was so consumed by the sights around him he didn’t realize Alice had gone too far away.

  “Alice, wait!”

  The girl stopped, not because Jason told her to, but rather on account of a marble pedestal in front of her.

  Jason came closer to see a plaque wafting in the air without any support. In fact, there were four plaques facing in different directions. In the Sight, thick threads of Energy propped them and didn’t let them fall.

  “Welcome to the City of Tranquility,” Jason read.

  “We’ve found it!” Alice exclaimed.

  He went round the place to take a look at the other plaques. All of them said the same thing.

  As he peered to the left, he noticed a flicker of light, weak and unsteady at first, but growing stronger with each second. Then a similar radiance appeared to the right and ahead, a slight tremor running through his legs and up his body.

  “What’s this?” Alice asked.

  “Someone’s coming. And there are lots of them,” Jason said.

  A distant murmur added to the tremor in his limbs, and soon Jason knew it was not somewhere in the distance. The hum was inside his head. Thoughts. People’s thoughts.

  He took Alice by the hand so that she wouldn’t run from him.

  “Who are you and what are you doing here?” a voice behind them said.

  It didn’t sound friendly, mostly irritated. Jason spun around. In front of him there stood a blond man in his forties, his broad shoulders making him look imposing. His eyes suddenly widened. “Jason? Jason Walker?”

  “And you are?” Jason raised an eyebrow.

  “Dave. Don’t you remember me?”

  Jason stared at him then shrugged without saying anything.

  “My friends and I helped to get New Yorkers away from that office building where you work, right before your fight with Pariah.”

  Jason’s memories of that night were a blur, so he wasn’t surprised that he didn’t remember Dave.

  “What are you doing here?” the man asked. “And who is this girl?”

  “I was at King’s Cross and found her there.”

  “You were in London?” Dave asked, a shade of disbelief in his voice.

  “Yes, why?”

  In the Sight Jason could feel lots of feeble auras approaching them from behind.

  “Don’t you know?” The blond-haired man shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “The Darksighted attacked London an hour ago.”

  ***

  After a half-hour walk along Central London streets, Matt, Debbie, Tyler, Violet, and Alexei found themselves in Piccadilly Circus, mingling with the tourists who thronged the place.

  Tyler still kept going ahead of them, watching out for a possible attack, but it didn’t prevent him from listening to Debbie and Matt’s conversation.

  “What’s wrong with you, Matt? Do you really think Tyler has something to do with Jason’s disappearance?” Debbie said in a hushed tone.

  She obviously didn’t want Tyler to overhear her, but she wasn’t aware Tyler would be able to hear her whisper even if the people around them started hollering.

  Debbie’s words made him uncomfortable. Though he had things to hide from her, he certainly didn’t want to disappoint Debbie. I hope Jason’s all right, he thought. If Damien did as he’d promised, Jason should’ve landed at King’s Cross by now.

  Everything should be going according to the plan. Tyler had no idea why Emily wanted him to end up there, but the message Alexei had delivered from her was enough to make him sure Jason’s arrival at King’s Cross was all-important.

  I just hope no one’s going to consider me a traitor after everything’s over. The only reason he decided to send Jason there alone was that the idea of Debbie or anyone else getting hurt terrified him.

  “I know,” Matt grouched, and Tyler focused on Matt’s voice now. “It’s just weird that we are here and Jason’s somewhere else.”

  Matt hugged Debbie, and she reciprocated. Of that Tyler got very much aware, but just clenched his teeth and picked up his pace.

  “Tyler, wait,” Debbie called out. She let go of Matt and sped towards him. She clasped his hand, her vivacity running instantly through his body.

  He smiled a crooked smile at her.

  “Why are you smiling?” she asked, her blue eyes so vivid in the grayness of London streets.

  “’Cos you’re with me,
” he replied, giving a soft chuckle. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to your boss’s meeting?”

  It took Debbie a few moments to answer. “No, thanks.”

  He smiled. “Good.”

  Then he turned around to face the others. “Wait.” Everyone ground to a halt. He squinted at Alexei. Without words both knew something was wrong.

  “Can you hear it?” Alexei asked.

  Tyler nodded. A faint humming sound, then rumbling somewhere in the distance.

  “What’s going on?” Debbie asked.

  They looked around, trying to see where the noise was coming from. At first it seemed distant, but with each second it grew stronger, rolling over the skies and getting closer to them.

  “They know we’re here,” Tyler said, shielding Debbie with his body.

  Damien couldn’t have betrayed us, could he? Tyler asked himself.

  People nearby stopped laughing to point at the sky turning darker, talking amongst themselves in agitated voices.

  Another peal of thunder rumbled much closer, and Debbie’s hands trembled. To Tyler’s amazement, nothing was happening in the Sight. Not yet, he thought.

  More and more people slowed down, craning their heads at the changing skies. Thunder ripped the temporary silence that settled over Piccadilly Circus.

  Then they saw it. Charcoal ripples spread over the skies so fast that people gasped in horror, the blackness sprawling in a gigantic wave from all sides, about to converge right above them. A few more seconds, and the sky was going to turn into an impenetrable pall of blackness.

  “Oh my God! What’s going on?” Debbie pressed herself to Tyler, clawing at his clothes.

  Shocked, Tyler didn’t know what to do. He’d never considered the Dark Ones would be that bold. He had never seen them do such a thing. Cold sweat beading his forehead, he realized there was only one thing left to do.

  “Run!” he said. When no one moved, he yelled, “I said run!”

  He grasped Debbie’s hand, perhaps too tight as she let out a whimper, but there was no way he’d risk her life. They’d barely made a few steps towards the nearest building when the blackness covered the rest of the sky, darkness falling like a heavy curtain.

  The crowd was freaking out. The rumbling stopped, and silence settled. It seemed to pacify the crowd.

  “Is it over?” a man somewhere in the thick of the crowd called out.

  Tyler caught words like ‘apocalypse’ and ‘judgment day’ said in hushed tones. It certainly looked like both, only Tyler steeled himself for a much worse scenario.

  Total darkness settled over Piccadilly Circus. Someone in the crowd switched on their mobile phone, and others followed, but the dark was so intense it seemed to absorb the light, making them glow like fireflies.

  “I can’t see anything!” one of them cried.

  Then Tyler heard someone moan and topple to the ground.

  “Violet!” Debbie knelt beside her. “Violet! What’s wrong?”

  “What happened?” Matt asked.

  “I don’t know. She just fell. Oh my God, she’s so cold, and shaking all over.”

  Tyler took the girl’s hand. It indeed felt like a piece of ice. The others crouched nearby, holding their mobiles and illuminating Violet’s pale face.

  Tyler put his palm above Violet’s head, trying to stop her suffering, but it just didn’t work.

  “Did anyone see what happened?” Matt asked.

  “No,” Debbie said.

  “Shit! This is totally getting out of hand,” Matt cursed.

  “They—” Violet stirred, her lips trembling. “—have come,” she whispered.

  Debbie gasped. “What?”

  Violet expelled a few more shuddering breaths. “They’ve come to take him. Darkness is here.” Then she coughed hard, her body convulsing as she curled in the fetal position.

  “What is she talking about?” Debbie looked up.

  Tyler got to his feet, peering into the darkness. The Dark Ones were there, but where?

  What if? “They’re above the blackness,” he said. “Damn it, we have to get out of here!”

  The first flash of light struck around the place where the first man had used his cell phone, and a thunderous roar followed, coupled with shrieks from the nearby crowd. It was so close to them it vibrated through Tyler’s chest. The violent blast wave whisked a few people away like moths, and they dropped to the ground, moaning.

  Tyler stared at them, incredulous, when another bolt of lightning lashed. Everyone scattered in all directions, shoving each other and trampling those lying on the ground.

  “This way! Come on!” he yelled, picking up Violet and taking flight from the square. He hated himself for not fighting against the Dark Ones, but at this point the life of the girl in his hands and of those running beside him mattered so much more. He had to make a choice in this cruel game.

  One after another, the charges scarred the ground, blinding, relentless, phenomenal. Tyler had never seen anything close to it. Surprisingly, none of the flashes killed a person. People lay writhing on the ground, unable to get up, pleading for help while the others ran for it, at times stomping those who needed their help or tripping over them.

  They aren’t killing people; they are crippling them, Tyler thought. Lancing their souls with indelible scars.

  He pushed through the crowd, dizzy from the flashes of light, haunted by moans of the people struck by the vicious light or of those happening to be in the vicinity. Their pain reverberated painfully in his chest.

  The nearest building was close, and he had to keep going as those two dozen yards didn’t guarantee safety for Debbie and the others. When he ran into the building it was already overcrowded. He put Violet on her feet, then Matt took her over from him.

  “Is everyone here?” he shouted over the rumbling that made the earth beneath their feet quake.

  They looked around, Debbie’s forehead lined with concern. “Alexei’s not here!”

  “Damn it!” Tyler cursed. “I have to go back!”

  Debbie shook her head; her face lost whatever color it had. She clutched at the collar of his jacket. “No! It’s too dangerous.”

  “Don’t worry, Debbie. I’ll find him and return.”

  He planted a soft kiss on her lips and ran out of the building, nearly bumping into a few people rushing towards haven. He veered past them and moved on. Piccadilly Circus was littered with people who kept wailing from pain. The bolts of lightning stopped ripping the skies, and an eerie semidarkness settled. A small group of cloaked men and women descended from the skies and landed, standing tall and proud around the fountain with the statue of Eros that missed its wings and right hand.

  “Well done, my friends. Our mission is almost over.” The voice was sickeningly familiar to Tyler. Pariah himself was here, which meant something important was due. It had been a while since a Lightsighted laid eyes on him. “There’s someone who keeps getting in our way too often these days.”

  “It’s time to do away with him at last,” a female voice responded, too enthusiastic and wicked at the same time.

  “Catherine,” Tyler hissed.

  Pariah turned his head to look Tyler in the eyes, his stare chilling the blood in Tyler’s veins. For the first time he felt helpless, terrified of what was about to happen.

  “Not yet,” Pariah said. “He’s got a few secrets we need to know.”

  Without warning, Pariah lunged at him and sent a punch at his head with the back of his hand. Tyler was quick enough to duck, but the next moment Pariah’s kick hit Tyler’s chest, catching him off guard. Tyler toppled to the ground and landed next to someone’s twitching body.

  With a wave of his hand, he created a silvery dome around himself. Even though it made most of the Dark Ones back off, Pariah kept making confident strides towards him, stepping over his victims, his lips twisted in disgust. He sent a crushing punch at Tyler’s shield and it crumbled, then he kicked Tyler hard in the stomach, and soon Tyler lost
count of the number of times Pariah’s feet hit the target. He cowered in a fetal position, trying to protect himself and then convince himself that the pain wasn’t real, when Pariah’s toe hit his solar plexus and he could breathe no more.

  Pariah seemed satisfied as he stopped thrashing Tyler. He came up to him and laid his palm on Tyler’s head. “You are not going to surrender, are you?”

  Panting, Tyler had only one word for Pariah. “No.”

  Pariah knelt closer to him and whispered, “It’s time for you to return, Woods.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  The Dark One kicked him another time. “You don’t remember, do you? You’ll see it soon. Now tell me where I can find Emily.”

  “I don’t know. No one knows where she is,” Tyler gasped.

  “All right. What about the Transcendent?”

  “The what?”

  “Don’t be an idiot. You know who I’m talking about. Who’s helping you?”

  “No one,” Tyler spat.

  Pariah let go of him and paced away.

  In the distance, someone started yelling at the top of their voice. Tyler craned his neck. Pariah kicked someone a few times, then grasped his new victim by the hair. Tyler recognized the boy. It was Alexei. Pariah pulled him towards Tyler.

  Trying to get away from Pariah’s grip, Alexei wriggled, his nose broken, blood dripping down his chin. He scratched Pariah’s hand, trying to set himself free. Pariah caught his hand and squeezed it, making Alexei’s fingers crunch. Tears flowed from his eyes as he thrashed in pain.

  “Either you tell me or he’s going to die,” Pariah growled.

  To Tyler’s disgust, the Dark One’s eyes were filled with nothing but arrogance.

  “There’s no one. It’s true,” he nearly pleaded.

  “Wrong answer.” Pariah coiled one hand around Alexei’s head while laying the other on the boy’s chin. Alexei’s eyes widened in terror. As Pariah thrust Alexei’s head to the side, the young man’s neck snapped, and indelible horror froze in his eyes forever. Pariah let go of him, and he dropped to the ground, facedown.

  The skies above erupted, shafts of silver light breaking through the blackness.