Path of the Heretic (The Beholder Book 2)

by Ivan Amberlake

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he barked.

  “We feed on dark feelings: fear, misery, despair. The more dark feelings are accumulated around us, the stronger we are. These feelings are easy to induce. We can make Unsighted shake like aspen leaves and we thrive on it, especially when there are lots of people in one place. Killing does not have the same effect.”

  “Why’s that?” he asked, a spark of interest lit in his eyes.

  “When you kill, you quench your thirst for a short while, but also deprive yourself of a valuable source of Energy, which makes you vulnerable.”

  Björn’s lips curved down. “I thought the more you kill, the more dark Energy is released?”

  “That’s how it works with the Lightsighted, but not with the Unsighted.”

  The door swung open, startling Catherine, and Pariah stormed into the room. He paced frantically towards his desk, passing her and Björn as if they weren’t there. His lips curved down in displeasure as he fiddled with a vial in his right hand. Catherine rolled her eyes. He never lets go of it, Catherine thought as she stood at the window and waited.

  “You said the heretic was going to appear,” Pariah said.

  Catherine turned her back on Pariah. She knew he glared at her; she couldn’t get used to the fact that he was the one she both feared and loved—if that was the right word for a Darksighted to use.

  “I said I thought he would appear.” The way Pariah had been treating her lately infuriated her, and still she didn’t dare snap back at him. “He used to when great injustices were being done to the Unsighted. What we did last night certainly qualifies as one, doesn’t it?”

  “It does,” he said, rolling the vial with his fingers with more vigor, “but then how did those bastards react so quickly? As if they knew we were going to attack. And how come Walker wasn’t there? How could he leave his friends unprotected?”

  “I have no idea,” she said. “Someone might’ve tipped them off, and probably Walker decided to get out of there.”

  Pariah knitted his brows. “I don’t buy it. He would never leave his precious friends for one moment. I’m sure he’ll be furious when he finds out about the Eve girl dying.” A smirk distorted his face, the corners of his lips curved upwards.

  “I think I know what might be going on,” Catherine said.

  There came a knock on the door and both swiveled their heads. Exasperated by the interruption, she turned away, swearing to herself.

  “Come in,” Pariah snarled.

  The door opened, and Sean Cryer entered the room. “I found him.”

  Pariah squeezed his hands into fists, the vial still clutched in his fist. “Excellent. Where is he?”

  “Downstairs, in the library.”

  “Fetch him here, Sean. And tell Damien I want to see him here as well.”

  Cryer gave a curt nod and left the room, then Pariah turned to Catherine. “You’ll tell me everything you know when we’re alone.”

  “But it’s urgent,” she almost pleaded. “What I have to tell you … it can’t wait—”

  Pariah eyed her from under his eyebrows, with the stare that told her to never disobey or contradict him. Another word might push him to hurt her, and she was sure the vial would be his first way of punishing her.

  “Okay, okay, it can.” She bit the inside of her cheek, disappointed.

  “You are in for a surprise, my dear,” he said with a smile. “Someone is finally back with us. Someone who always belonged to the dark.”

  The door opened, and she forgot her frustration as soon as she laid eyes on Tyler.

  “Wha—? You? How—?” Somehow she swiveled her head at Pariah, unable to hide her surprise.

  “Shh!” He coiled his hand around her waist, pressing her to him.

  She couldn’t let it sink in; instead of that demonic silver light that had always been driving her crazy, crimson tongues of Energy swirled around Tyler. She’d never seen such drastic overnight transformation of a Lightsighted into a creature of Darkness.

  “I assume you were expecting me?” Tyler said, his eyes as black as tar focused on Pariah.

  “Isn’t that the same guy who was trying to kill you?” Björn who had been quiet all that time said.

  “I’d say yes to both your questions,” Pariah replied. “Come in and make yourself at home, Tyler. I’ve been waiting for you for a few years now, but better late than never.”

  Tyler proceeded into the room and took a seat in a chair next to Björn’s.

  “What took you so long to get here?” Pariah asked.

  “There were some complications.” He shifted in his seat as if not pleased with what he’d had to deal with. “I have questions and I want answers to them.”

  “Sure, sure.” Pariah nodded. “You’ll get what you want, but a bit later if you don’t mind.”

  Absentmindedly, Catherine took a few steps back, clinging to the wall for support. She knew Pariah kept a lot of secrets from her. From everyone. He often did things on a whim. She’d got used to his impulses. But she would never expect this to happen.

  When there came another knock-knock-knock on the door, everyone swiveled their heads—Catherine included—and then Damien entered, Cryer in his wake. The self-confidence and calm Damien usually exuded evaporated as soon as he spotted Tyler.

  “What’s he doing here?” Damien asked.

  “He’s with us now,” Pariah said with a smile. “Now that everyone’s here, we can start. This,” he pointed at Björn, “is our new member, and I would like one of you to teach him everything you can. The faster, the better.”

  “I’d love to—,” Catherine volunteered.

  “I don’t think so.” Pariah grimaced and raised an index finger.

  “What? Why not?” Catherine fumed.

  “I need you for another mission.” He smiled mysteriously.

  “Then who’s going to teach him?” Catherine asked, her hot temper softened a bit by the fact that Pariah needed her.

  “Damien.”

  Damien shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

  “Björn is a gifted one, and I’m sure you’ll make him one of the best, Damien.”

  Damien gave a curt nod.

  “Sean, Catherine, and Tyler, first thing tomorrow morning you’re going with me.” Pariah tilted his head to the door. “We need to remind our friends that the Darksighted are to be taken seriously. Now all of you go get some rest. The same applies for you, Damien and Björn. Tomorrow will be a hard day for you, too.”

  Everyone nodded and started leaving the room. To Catherine’s immense pleasure, Damien gave Tyler another disbelieving look. She measured Damien with a glaring stare, then exited the room, Damien and Björn following in her wake.

  Chapter 21

  When Damien was woken by his cell phone, he considered letting it ring, but whoever called didn’t give up easily. Damien knew he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep at this point, so he leaned on one elbow and grabbed the phone from the low bedside table. The alarm clock showed 4:11 a.m. He rolled his eyes in exasperation then hit the reply button. “Hello.”

  “Pariah wants to see you,” a rough voice sliced through his brain. “Says it’s urgent.”

  “Cryer?” Damien asked. No answer. The guy kept getting on Damien’s nerves. “Tell him I’ll be in half an hour.”

  The man cleared his throat. “What part of ‘it’s urgent’ don’t you get, Bale?”

  Damien was thinking of an excuse, but everything sounded lame in his head. He’d hoped he’d have a chance to visit the City of Tranquility early this morning. It was to meet Jason Walker, tell him about Emily, and reveal his true identity. He’d got fed up with playing the spy. Keeping so many secrets unnerved him. Everything had gone too far. Now it felt as if Pariah knew about his plans.

  “Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Cryer hung up.

  Did Catherine report to Pariah that he was elsewhere during their attack? It wouldn’t surprise him
if she did.

  He put on his trousers and picked up his black jacket, feeling the pockets. He found what he needed: a piece of a faded photograph torn on both sides. Three months back he had been roaming the forest together with Cryer looking for the place where Emily Ethan’s estate was supposed to be. Pariah was intent on finding it and sent them to search the woods for a way in.

  Damien still had no idea how he’d managed to find that tree—the Ethan tree as Pariah called it. It appeared of its own accord, and pinned to it was the photo that was now clutched in his hand. A white-haired middle-aged man with an impressive paunch smiled at him. Creases marred the surface of the photo that had probably been taken a while ago, and then for some reason torn into several pieces. A letter ‘H’ was scrawled on the back of the picture. A mystery Damien still hadn’t figured out.

  It was luck that Cryer hadn’t spotted him with the photograph, otherwise Pariah would have found out about it.

  They’d entered the estate and searched the house for clues. Pariah yearned to find Emily and make her suffer after the humiliation he’d gone through because of her.

  Except for the small scrap, Damien had found nothing there. He kept it to himself and never showed it to anyone. He’d still had hopes this small, seemingly insignificant clue might help him get his wife and daughter back. That white-haired man was someone important, Damien was sure of that. When he and Cryer returned there to show Pariah where they’d found the estate, they couldn’t find it.

  Damien emerged in front of the estate’s wrought-iron gate and trundled down the path, gravel crunching beneath his feet.

  As usual, Cryer loitered at the entrance, his hands buried in his pants pockets. Damien passed him by, and Cryer turned to follow him, his lacquered shoes pattering behind Damien.

  Walking up the stairs, he was thinking of a way to explain his temporary absence from Piccadilly Circus—Catherine must be ecstatic right now—when he got distracted by a new, unfamiliar aura. It burst into unsteady flames as if the Sighted didn’t know how to handle it or was inexperienced with it.

  Has Pariah brought a new Darksighted? Another one? Was he going to have another attack so soon? Damien had to admit it was a logical move for a Darksighted. Pariah was furious that the Lightsighted arrived at Piccadilly Circus so fast.

  Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and entered, the newcomer’s aura faintly familiar for some reason. When he looked at the person exuding this kind of Energy he nearly staggered. His jaw dropped for a moment.

  “What’s he doing here?” he asked.

  “He’s with us now,” Pariah said with a smile.

  He looked around the room. Pariah, Catherine, Tyler, and the Swede. Too many people for an ordinary meeting.

  “Now that everyone’s here, we can start,” Pariah said.

  Most of what happened next came in blurs for Damien. Pariah introducing Björn Iwers. Catherine bickering with the Dark One about something. Pariah’s words then made him snap out of his thoughts.

  “I need you for another mission,” he told Catherine.

  “Then who’s going to teach him?” Catherine asked.

  “Damien.” Pariah’s answer made him cold inside. Rearing even more darkness than there was in the world. In a world where his lover and daughter lived and sought happiness.

  “Björn is a gifted one,” Pariah went on, smiling, as if reading his mind, “and I’m sure you’ll make him one of the best, Damien.”

  All Damien managed was a curt nod.

  “Sean, Catherine, and Tyler, first thing tomorrow morning you’re going with me.” Pariah tilted his head to the door. “We need to remind our friends that the Darksighted are to be taken seriously. Now all of you go get some rest. The same applies for you, Damien and Björn. Tomorrow will be a hard day for you, too.”

  Damien didn’t move, waiting for the others to leave. Catherine’s lips curved in a triumphant smile as she passed him by. Damien followed her, thinking over what his next step should be.

  Chapter 22

  Jason was certain things couldn’t get any worse after Emily had betrayed him. He would never experience anything like that again. With Tyler turned into a Dark One and gone, he felt crushed, desperate and disgusted that the evil had taken a good friend away from him, and at himself for not being able to protect Alexei, Debbie, and … now Tyler.

  Jason thought that he’d never be able to stand up and go on in this fight. He’d never manage to take another step and struggle against the Dark.

  Drained. I feel drained. For a moment he even wished Debbie would not come out of her coma-like state. It was crazy to think that way, but what he’d just seen of Tyler’s world terrified him to the core.

  What will she say when she finds out that there’s no more Tyler? At least not in the way he used to be.

  Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself up and dragged himself to the underground entrance.

  The hatch was still there; to Jason’s relief, it opened and he stepped onto the platform that carried him slowly back to the City of Tranquility. As he glided downwards, he thought of his life before Emily appeared, before the nightmares left indelible scars on his subconscious and made him wake in the middle of the night, drenched in cold sweat. A carefree life that was long over.

  He could see the rupture in the tunnel getting closer. The platform slowed down and stopped right next to it. Jason took a step beyond, past the rippling veil that again felt like a cold shower, and the bright colors stung his retinas. He squinted and soon his eyes adjusted to the vivid palette of colors around him, soothed by the silver shimmering that prevailed there.

  As the platform slowed into the city, he spotted a small crowd huddled around someone, arguing.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, pushing his way through the crowd.

  “He’s hurt,” someone said. “But he doesn’t let anyone help him.”

  It was Dave lying and wincing in pain.

  “I’m all right,” Dave retorted. “The bastard got at my shoulder is all.” Jason crouched beside him and stretched his hand to the wounded shoulder. “No! Don’t touch it,” Dave warned, grimacing another time. “I can’t stop this kind of Energy from hurting me, but touching it hurts.”

  “Okay, I’ll just take a look.” Jason tilted his head to inspect the wound that flared with red and ripped through Dave’s silver aura. It glowed like embers in the wind, eating at Dave’s flesh.

  “We’ve never seen Energy acting this way,” another man from the crowd said. “At least never with a Sighted One.”

  “Is it true that Woods is a Dark One now?” the first man asked.

  “I’m afraid yes,” Jason said. Murmur erupted around Jason. He looked at Dave. “I think it’s best for you to take a rest.”

  Dave nodded vigorously, as if pleased with Jason’s suggestion. “What I told them.”

  “Take a rest? That’s it? Dave’s in pain,” a man next to Jason said. “Aren’t you going to help him? You’re the Beholder for crying out loud.”

  Jason stood up straight. Everyone stared at him in expectation. “For now, the only way to help is to stay away from Dave and let him rest.” The group exchanged worried glances. “If you want to help,” Jason went on, “listen to what I say. My or anyone else’s interference will only cause further harm. Is that what you want?”

  No one answered.

  “Great. Now get him to his apartment and leave him alone.”

  Jason turned and paced fast to the building where he was staying. He needed to check if Matt, Debbie, Violet, and Alice were all right.

  Chapter 23

  Years before

  Tyler took gulps of chill air as he ran down the street. His cheeks burned in shame he’d never experienced before, and even the cool drops of pouring rain could do nothing to make the burning go away.

  They’d humiliated him again. Drake Connor, Ryan Coy, and Zack Johnson. He’d pretty much gotten used to it, after a year of picking and bullying, but that day was diffe
rent. Lizzie Finnegan, the girl he’d fallen in love with at first sight, had seen them beat him and then roll him in the pool that often appeared at the crossroads near her house during a rain.

  Water dripped down his chin and the tips of his long fair hair. His bare feet stomped the pools, water splashing in all directions. His bleeding lip throbbed and he swept the sleeve of his worn-out checkered shirt across his mouth, staining the grimy sleeve even more.

  Going home wasn’t an option. His father was always wasted, and had a knack for coming up with a reason to beat Tyler up. As if he hadn’t had enough humiliation these days.

  He bit his lower lip, feeling bitter that he had nowhere to go. Mom had died giving birth to him. That must have been the reason Dad started drinking in the first place. Tyler didn’t blame him. He’d somehow put up with his dad’s attitude towards him, if not for the boys who turned his life into a nightmare. Each time they caught him and made fun of him, he swore he’d pay them back. They’d regret ever touching him.

  When he looked into Lizzie’s eyes that moment, he saw the worst thing in her eyes: sympathy. Tyler wished the ground would swallow him up. Lizzie’s appearance distracted the bullies and he took his chance to run for it.

  The nearby forest was the only thing that could give him safety, provide him with shelter. He climbed on old oak tree, his hands and legs working fast. When he was high enough for no one to see him, he sat on a crooked bough, breathing heavily. His cheeks burnt, but he felt cold and miserable, cowering and shivering with humiliation. Tyler promised to himself that he was going to change the mess he was. And one day Drake Connor, Ryan Coy, and Zack Johnson would regret treating him that way.

  ***

  Now

  Tyler strolled through the dark forest, glad to be finally left alone. Alone with his memories. They came pouring, after all those years, and it was hard for him to believe those things had actually happened to him. He had lots to think about, and anyone’s presence would only distract him.