by Laury Falter
By the end of the practice, sweat dripped down my body and I was bent over in exhaustion, my palms braced against my shaking knees. Gershom stood beside me, waiting for me to recover.
“It’s about time for me to go back,” I said, glad for it.
“Then you’ll be learning whether the prison has been compromised,” he stated.
“I expect to.”
“I truly hope that is not the case,” he said warily, looking off in the distance.
“What are you remembering, Gershom?” I asked with the distinct feeling it had happened once before.
He was shaken from his thoughts then and turned to answer me, his expression ominous. “It happened during the 1300’s. Only one Elsic escaped but that is a minor detail in comparison to the amount of damage, the number of deaths it caused. The destruction was almost incalculable. It was one of the first prisoners so there was no longer a single shred of humanity or human characteristics in it. It started in Germany and worked its way through Europe until it reached London. It fed off the dead, who were dying at an alarming rate due to a plague-”
“The Black Plague,” I muttered.
He glanced at me with a quirky expression. “That’s correct. Because of the plague, bodies were easy to find and still fresh. But then it became…bored, for lack of a better explanation, and it began to prey on the living. They, the Fallen Ones or the Elsics, don’t need to eat. They enjoy it…the tearing of flesh.” He shivered in memory of it. “And then it was killed on a London street by a single guardian.”
I nodded. “Eran…”
Gershom’s eyebrows lifted. “Eran was the guardian?”
“I saw it during a visit to my past life. The Elsic was hunting me in the streets and Eran intervened just before it attacked.”
“I’m not surprised.” He laughed to himself. “I always wondered which guardian had the technical aptitude to kill an Elsic on his own. Should have known it was Eran. No one else has ability equal to the task.”
The very sound of his name made me wish for morning so I could see his striking face again. As if the universe had heard my wish, still harboring this longing, I felt the familiar tug back to my body on earth.
When I awoke, I noticed that a thick fog had rolled through the streets of downtown New Orleans. The peaks of rooftops across the street were gone. The tree tops had disappeared. In their place was a wall of grey mist.
Immediately, I sat up in bed looking for Eran.
“He’s not back yet,” informed Campion, tightlipped and irritable. He was slouched in my wingback chair; his elbow bent on the arm to prop his chin. He looked tired but far more worried.
I got up and went to the French doors, pulling them open.
“He’s been late before,” I called back attempting to be optimistic but my voice gave away my fears.
Campion was beside me in less than a second. Not bothering to answer, he simply stared across at the grey embankment surrounding our house.
Quietly then, he leaned forward, tilting his head so that one ear faced the fog in front of us. “I hear something,” he stated quietly.
Then I heard it too.
Fluttering.
More importantly, I felt it: The hair rising up on the back of my neck.
Slowly, steadily the now familiar flap of wings grew louder.
Then Campion said the very words that I was thinking. “That’s more than one set of wings.”
“And Eran isn’t with them.”
Campion’s head snapped in my direction, his eyes wide and alert. A second later he was back facing the fog.
The flapping grew closer and then slowed.
Out in the fog the moist air began to churn and the outline of dark figures appeared. There were a dozen of them, lingering just beyond the point of visibility. Careful to avoid stirring the fog further and clearing their concealment, their wing movements were so slight they were almost unnoticeable.
I wanted to tell them that their attempt at obscurity was unnecessary. It had failed. I already knew they were our enemies. The hair on the back of my neck told me so.
“Maggie, inside the house,” Campion ordered.
I remained in place.
Instead, I squinted, peering in to the fog for a better look.
“Maggie,” Campion warned.
Still, I didn’t move.
In unison then, as if on command, their wings bolted to their full length. They were preparing to attack.
“MAGGIE,” Campion shouted furiously, his own wings snapping out, tearing the shirt from his body, and preparing for flight.
He crouched and raised his arms, hands facing our attackers.
It was then that I noticed the change in me. While my radar, the hair at the base of my neck, danced in reaction to the attack now coming, the panic that usually accompanied it was dismal. I barely noticed it.
My training had paid off. I was no longer consumed by my fears and was now able to focus on handling the danger in front of me.
I was ready to fight.
Stepping forward, everything moved in slow motion then. Campion’s head turned towards me, his mouth moving at a sluggish pace as he called for me to cower behind him; the beings in the mist curved forward in to a hunch and prepared to fulfill their attack; and then suddenly, without any warning, bright white lights fled in from every angle, the fog slowly swirling around them.
The figures scattered, darting off in varying directions, the white lights in pursuit. In an instant, I knew this was Eran’s army leaving their posts to protect us.
Campion stepped back, now at a normal pace, his arms lowering and extending behind him to come around me as a form of shelter.
The fog was empty now, the morning quiet again, eerily quiet.
We waited, listening.
The fluttering returned.
Campion’s wings stretched farther, forming a wall between me and the fog while again preparing for an assault.
I struggled to see over his massive wings, while hearing the other set approach.
A muffled sound and slight vibration told me that it had landed on the balcony.
The hair at the back of my neck was still bristled but was now slowly lying down. I couldn’t be certain whether this was due to my ability to control my panic or because I no longer felt threatened by them.
Either way, I was already prepared for the attack.
Then Campion’s wings fell, his defenses folding, and Eran stood on the other side.
“Eran,” I sighed and raced around the tip of Campion’s wing to launch myself into his arms. But it wasn’t fear driving me there. It was relief.
“You didn’t go,” I stated enthusiastic.
“To the prison?” he said his chin on the top of my head, his arms around me. “No, I didn’t get the chance.”
Drawing back, ready to scold him for being too eager, I caught sight of his expression. It wasn’t disappointed, it was leery.
Eran’s voice was strained when he asked, “I felt your radar go off.”
Campion’s lips briefly tightened in anger. “I believe Maggie’s life was in danger just now.”
“By whom?” Eran asked, alarmed.
“I couldn’t be sure. They were obscured by the fog.” While Campion explained, Eran turned to face the balcony searching for any sign of danger. “There were twelve of them.”
“That rules out Marco,” said Eran contemplative and quietly furious at the same time.
“They were positioning for assault when the regiment stepped in.”
Even with Eran’s back to me, I was able to sense a smile from him, pride in his combat unit.
“Twelve…” Eran muttered, again deep in thought. “Could they have been Elsics?”
Campion didn’t respond immediately so I instinctually turned my head towards him. He was deeply apprehensive. “I-I couldn’t be certain.” He stepped forward, hesitantly. “Sir…has the prison been compromised?”
“We’ll have the answer to that
shortly. Magnus made the decision to investigate the prison on his own…A courageous but irresponsible judgment for an older Alterum.” He released a heavy sigh, clearly concerned for Magnus’s well being. I, however greedy, was comforted by the fact it was not Eran who would be doing the investigation.
Eran pulled away from me then, his attention on Campion. “I’ll need to check in with the regiment before classes start,” he announced. “Will you watch over Magdalene?”
I rolled my eyes at that request. Despite the odds of the situation, I certainly felt capable of defending myself – especially after the training I’d been through.
“Magdalene,” Eran cautioned, having seen the roll of my eyes. “I can focus better if I know you are safe.”
I sighed. “Fine.”
Eran, whose wings were still out, leaned forward and cupped my cheek with his hand. “Thank you,” he whispered. He then stopped to stare intently in to my eyes before brushing his lips lightly against mine.
Then, in one fluid motion, he turned, crouched, sprang into the air, and flew into the grey fog.
“Magdalene,” Campion shouted.
“What?” I spun around, aggravated and wondering why he was shouting. “What?”
“Sorry but you didn’t answer me the first three times I said your name so I had to do something to get your attention.”
He called my name three times? “I didn’t hear you,” I replied.
“I figured,” he said, trying to keep from grinning at my fascination with Eran. “You should get ready for school.”
“Right…” I said, peeking back over my shoulder. Already, I missed Eran.
Campion waited on the balcony as I changed, keeping an eye on the fog and any potential returning threats.
By the time I was strapping on my boots, I heard Eran’s voice beyond the French doors.
“They couldn’t be sure either. They moved like Elsics but…they couldn’t get close enough.”
Campion muttered something unintelligible to which Eran replied, “No, we’ll wait to hear back from Magnus. In the meantime, the regiment is on alert.”
I was standing by the time Eran pushed the French doors open and stepped into my bedroom. Although I knew he was waiting for me to ask about his plans, I didn’t bother. They were already clear to me.
He would await news from Magnus before determining his next steps.
This was just what he did. For the next several days, we encountered no further attempted assaults. In the evenings, I practiced with Ms. Beedinwigg on earth and with Gershom in the afterlife while Eran left for Germany and any word from Magnus.
Each night passed without any sign from Magnus and Eran grew more worried with each hour.
The weekend came and I decided against taking messages in The Square. There was no time for them. I was too busy preparing for a battle that - now clear to all of us - would be arriving shortly.
Then came Monday morning.
I had spent the night being chased through my jungle training grounds by fabricated Fallen Ones and woke up feeling nearly as exhausted as when I’d gone to sleep. But it was nothing compared to Eran.
His polished image was gone, wrecked havoc during the nights he’d spent awake and the days staying alert in order to protect me. Now, he was hunched over the wingback chair, his hair disheveled, his clothes rumpled, and bags beneath his eyes.
My chest tightened when I saw him.
Slipping out of bed, I kept my eyes on him. He was breathing slowly, his eyes were closed, his lips slackened. I slid silently across the floor towards him to kneel at his feet.
Despite being unkempt, he smelled fresh and earthy. His face was still so handsome my breath caught in my throat and his body, firm even when at ease, still sent pleasure humming through me.
Usually it was him watching me sleep. This, I knew, was a rare treat.
We stayed this way for several minutes, each one I adored more than the next, and then his lips moved.
“Do you think you’ll be finished staring any time soon?”
My mouth fell open in embarrassment…and annoyance. “How long were you aware I was here?”
“Since you woke up.”
His eyes opened, glossy with fatigue, but lightening a little when they landed on me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded, still embarrassed.
“Because you needed it…and I needed the rest.” He explained it with such blunt logic I didn’t bother trying to dispute it.
Then he made an announcement I couldn’t reject disagreeing.
“I needed the rest, Magdalene, because I’m going to the prison.”
He then watched me for a reaction.
I felt my lips pinch closed, but this was very brief. My mind swirled with thoughts, gathering points to use in arguments against his decision but only one stuck out loud enough to be heard clearly. I said the words aloud without even realizing it.
“But you’ll be exposing yourself to imminent danger.”
He nodded. “That’s possible.”
“No,” I whispered and then repeated it with far more force. “No.” I stood up. “I forbid you.”
His eyebrows immediately rose up but I didn’t care if he was insulted.
“As my guardian, I demand that you stay.”
“That’s not how this works, Magdalene,” he said in warning. “You know that.”
“Your singular goal in existence is to protect me,” I retorted. I realized, but quickly pushed it aside, that in any other situation I would have delivered those words with great affection. There was not a hint of it in my voice now. “I will not allow you to leave me without your protection.”
His brow creased in confusion at me but he remained silent.
“Do you understand me?” I said, emphatic and absolutely unwavering even while deep inside I knew two things with equal clarity. One, I had never pulled this kind of authoritarian command before, and, two, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to listen anyways. His response confirmed it.
“I won’t leave you without protection. You know this.” He held up his hand just as I was about to cut him off. “You know this and so I’m reasoning that you are making this demand of me simply out of fear…fear for me and for what I might encounter. I respect and understand that but I cannot allow it to direct my actions.”
“You don’t have a choice,” I retorted.
He was silent for only a brief moment and then he stood, his hands lifting from his sides to gently place them on both of my cheeks. “What would you have me do?” he asked quietly, filled with remorse I didn’t understand until he went on. “I haven’t heard from Magnus since he left for the prison…a mission I was meant to go on. He’s clearly in trouble now. What would you have me do, Magdalene?”
I was torn and without a response. Stay, I wanted to tell him, beg him. There was only one problem with that request. It would mean that he would never forgive himself if Magnus was in danger, and without having to say so I knew we both believed that was the reality.
I stepped back, moving out and away from his hands. “Go…I mean it.”
Eran nodded, not at all basking in the glory of winning this particular argument.
We stared at each other in silence then, neither one knowing what to say to comfort each other. There were too many words and not enough time.
Unable to condense all the emotions – dread, sadness, longing – in to a single sentence I settled on verbalizing something else entirely…something that had planted itself inside me long ago and had kept me full of life and hope throughout the centuries. It had given me inspiration to move forward during my bleakest moments and made me fight harder than I ever thought possible during battle.
It had given me purpose.
Despite it all, it was far more challenging to articulate than I ever thought it would be. Not because I had any inhibition in the meaning behind them but because the deepest part of my soul feared that it would be the last time I could ever tell him i
n person.
Because of that fear, every emotion I felt for him came through as I spoke the words.
“Eran…I’m in love with you.”
His breathing stopped, he closed his eyes, and then he swallowed. “Say them again,” he whispered.
“Eran, I am in love with you,” I repeated with the same intensity.
He drew in a shaky breath.
Now it was me who placed my hands on his cheeks. They were firm and I could feel his jaw tightening as he struggled to hold back his emotions.
Leaning forward, I felt our lips meet. The touch was delicate at first but grew stronger, deeper. When we held each other, it was not like the times before. There was comfort in our embrace now and it told me that no matter what happened from this point forward we would be able to accept what came our way because the love that had grown from us had made us each stronger.
When we pulled apart, when our kiss had satiated us, we remained only inches apart.
“Those words from you…they always give me strength,” he admitted.
I smiled gently. “They do the same for me…And that is why I am going with you.”
Pulling away from him, I began collecting my clothes, selecting ones that were tight enough to allow ease of movement and loose enough to conceal weapons.
“Did I…I’m sorry…Did I hear you correctly?” he asked, thoroughly confused.
“Yes, I’m going with you.”
“Magdalene,” he began to oppose but I didn’t let him finish.
“I’m not letting you go there alone. You need someone to watch your back.”
“Magdalene,” he stated again, grabbing my shoulders so that I couldn’t finish collecting my clothes. “I appreciate your offer but-“
“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and I just might be of some use to you too,” I nearly shouted.
“I realize that,” said Eran calmly. “What I was going to say is that I can slip into the prison undetected. With you there, it would make it harder to do so.”
“Then I’ll wait at the entrance,” I declared. “In case you do need my help.”
He began to oppose me so I spoke more forcefully. “Let’s calculate this…Magnus left for the prison alone and no one has heard from him. Now you’re going to the prison alone. What happens when we don’t hear from you?”
