by Hanna Peach
It happened only a few weeks ago while Elijah was on patrole. Despite the lightwarriors being trained so well, it happened. An occupational hazard. A Seraphim’s healing powers could heal so many wounds. But not all.
Elijah had been cremated the next day in a small Mourning Ceremony. Alyx remembered the heat of the fire on her face, the dark outline of Elijah’s body within the flames as he disappeared to dust and ashes. After the Ceremony it was as if the cloak of a heavy winter had fallen upon the city. No one sang or spoke too loudly for the remainder of the day. Even the birds knew to stay silent. It was a stark reminder to them all that angels were no longer immortal. Two days later, another lightwarrior died.
“Announcement is tomorrow,” Passar said.
She had forgotten about Announcement, the annual ceremony where the Elders announced who of the Seraphim would be Entwined. But it wasn’t hard to forget something she was never going to be a part of. She was a warrior. Warriors were almost never Entwined.
“Do you think you’ll be announced?” he asked, his voice sounding faded.
Alyx snorted. “Hell, no.”
“Not even after your…vision.”
She made a face as if she had just tasted something sour. “Oh yeah. That.”
Passar gave her a sideways glance. “I heard some people were giving you a hard time about it. Are you okay?”
“It’s nothing I can’t deal with.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I believe you.”
“Thanks, Passar.”
His face creased at the brows. “I made an application to be considered for Entwinement.”
“Really?” Alyx asked in surprise. Passar had never mentioned before that he wanted to be Entwined; to have a partner, to be allowed to have children.
Passar nodded.
“Entwinement would mean you’d have to give up being a lightwarrior.” Alyx elbowed him gently and tried to keep her tone light. “You’d have to give up having your butt kicked by me in training every day.”
“What kind of life is this, Alyx?” Passar asked quietly.
* * *
The Announcement Festival started at dawn and went all day until the Announcement Ceremony at dusk. The Heart, the largest dome in Michaelea, was where the Announcement Ceremony would be held. It was where the Seraphim usually had their meals, the Elders up on the top balcony, the Castus occupying the middle balconies and the warriors on the floor, but now the tables and chairs had all been cleared away and the Heart decorated with silk strands of glow-cocoons strung across the rafters like stars.
The clearing outside the Heart had been turned into a vertical fairground overnight, with hanging stalls and covered platforms awash with bright colors and banners and wheels. Alyx, Xavier and Elysia wandered through the stalls and past the performers on hanging platforms. Passar had given his excuses and would stay in his pod until the compulsory Ceremony. Alyx had been worried about him until the excitement of the Festival had taken over.
On one platform, an air-capella singer stood in a dress of icy blue lace that cascaded over the sides of her small stage. She used her Air magic to affect the singing coming from her mouth, splitting and twisting the notes out into the air, folding them back on each other to create different melodies. The result was an eerie and haunting opera.
On another platform a young girl, an Animale, was directing a cloud of royal blue butterflies into swarms of vibrating sculptures that melted and changed into other things like clouds across a sky. As Alyx and her friends passed, the butterflies created the moving images of a seraph chasing a seraphelle. He caught her and the two lovers kissed. The performer acknowledged the round of applause with a slight tilt of her head.
Everywhere the air was rich with the smell of delicacies from each of the Seraphim cities. Candied pearls, chocolate shells and crab cakes from Urielos. Daffodil-floss, red lily cupcakes and little bowls of moss and wild mushroom soup from Gabriela. Sugared snow-flowers, nut brittle and wild berry salad from the surrounding forests of Michaelea. Alyx and her friends ate until they were stuffed and their fingers were sticky. Then they ate some more.
They made their way to the Castus competitions to watch the gifted Seraphim compete using their magic. Alyx’s favorite was the Alchemists’ Challenge. Here, competitors stood in front of a long table. In front of each competitor were four glass bowls, all empty except for the first bowl, which was filled with water. Alyx recognized Ferrum, her steelforger, in the line-up. She caught his eye but he didn’t acknowledge her.
The start whistle sounded. Alyx kept her eye on Ferrum, being the favorite to win.
Ferrum scooped his hands into the first bowl, cupping the water. Holding his hands over the second bowl, he let the liquid pour through his fingers. It came out thick and red and gave off a sharp fruity smell. Wine.
He then scooped his hands full of wine and released it over the third bowl. Shavings of metal fell from his fingers, tinkling against the sides of the glass. Iron.
Finally, he scooped his hands into the bowl of iron shavings. By this stage the crowd was chanting and calling his name. He was clearly in the lead with the other competitors at various stages of the iron conversion. One Alchemist was still struggling with his wine conversion.
Ferrum held his cupped hands over the last bowl, a look of concentration on his face. He released his hands and a shower of gold fell into the bowl like grains of sand. A huge grin burst across his face and the crowd roared. He had won again.
Finally the trumpets called for the Official Announcement Ceremony just as the sun was leaving its final kiss on the underside of the sky. As everyone filed into the Heart, Alyx began to slip the other way.
Xavier grabbed her arm. “Aren’t you going?”
Alyx raised an eyebrow at him. “What? And stand in the crowded Heart full of sweaty Seraphim listening to a stuffy old Elder read out a bunch of names? No, I have a better idea.”
* * *
While the Announcement Ceremony went on below, Alyx and Xavier sat on one of the rocky ledges of a mountain near Michaelea. It looked like the night sky had been laid down as carpet from up here. Clear globes of dancing fireflies strung along the trees and bushes lit up the paths between the city buildings. Glow-algae scooped into more globes had been released onto the Great Lake, sailing forth like little boats, their reflections creating water-fractured twins beneath them. Every so often cheers would float up from the Heart below.
Alyx’s fingers played absentmindedly with a few blades of grass at her side. She had been watching the horizon beyond, dusty with artificial lights from Saint Joseph. He was out there somewhere.
“Your visions, this magic − it isn’t part of you.”
“If it’s not a part of me then what is it?”
“I can’t help you. You have to figure it out.”
Mayrekk knew something, but he made it clear he wasn’t going to help her. She thought about this Soulsight that Mayrekk had instructed her on how to access. She had never even heard of this kind of magic.
This Rogue would have answers for her then. She just had to find him. She knew that the bright soul she had seen, that had stood out to her from all the rest, had been him. All she had to do was sneak out of Michaelea and use this Soulsight and it would lead her to him. Her stomach churned when she thought that she might actually meet this Rogue soon. She knew how he felt, knew what he thought, knew what he dreamt at night but she didn’t know what he looked like. Or even his name.
“Alyx?” Fingers waved in front of her face.
She blinked at Xavier, who was looking at her with a raised brow. “Sorry, what?”
“I was asking how your visit with Mayrekk went.”
“Oh, um…” Get out now and don’t tell anyone you’ve been here, Mayrekk’s voice echoed in her head. Don’t trust anyone… If the Elders find out… “I haven’t been to see Mayrekk,” she lied. Instantly she felt horrible. That damned Mayrekk was making her paranoid. Xavier was her friend. She could tru
st him. Right?
“I thought Symon told you to go?”
“He did.”
“And you haven’t been yet? Alyx, you’ll get−”
She didn’t get to hear the rest of his sentence. She felt her body tumble as if she was being pulled forward. Everything turned dark.
She was proving harder to kill than the last one.
He had found her trolling a street corner of Tarragon Alley, a red light district of Saint Joseph. She had pretended to be a good-time girl, he had pretended to be looking for one. He had followed her to this dark, empty alley squeezed between a mess of gin and flesh halls.
The she-demon ducked out of the reach of his knife. The face underneath her human facade was green and grotesque as they all were. Her thick, scaly tongue lolled out from between sharp lips and even sharper teeth, pointed like pine needles.
He swung at her again with his knife. She blocked him, then lashed back with her dagger. He cried out when the edge of her blade bit into his forearm. It was only shallow but the blood started to ooze out.
She began to hiss to herself with pleasure. “Oh, I do like it when they fight back. It makes taking their life all the more fun.”
She lunged for him.
As Xavier’s face came into view, the pain in Alyx’s arm subsided. No, it wasn’t her pain. It was his. “He’s hurt,” tumbled from her mouth.
“Who’s hurt?”
“I had another vision. I have to...” She had to, what?
Protect him.
Why would she think that? He was a Rogue. It was her duty to capture him and take him back to the Elders. Not before he gives me answers. “I have to go.”
Xavier grabbed her arm before she could take off. “You can’t go alone. We must tell the Elders, prepare a patrole unit...”
If she waited any longer she may not get to him in time. Her arm throbbed with the memory of his pain and her resolve hardened.
“No time.” Alyx twisted out of Xavier’s grasp and flew off despite his protests. “Tarragon Alley, Saint Joseph,” Alyx yelled back to him. “Tell the patrole unit to meet me there.”
Alyx burst through the Michaelea ward and towards Saint Joseph, praying that she wouldn’t be too late.
Chapter 9
Alyx floated over the dark labyrinth of Tarragon Alley, cluttered with the criss-cross of fire escapes. Her heart tightened with panic. Where was he? She couldn’t see him.
But she would be able to find his soul.
Alyx closed her eyes and opened her Soulsight. It came easier this time, her body fading into the familiar fog and the light of souls appearing below her. She found his easily, like finding the North Star, the brightest in the sky. It tugged at her. She opened her eyes, and Tarragon Alley appeared before her again, buildings falling into alleys below like the ravines of the Valle de la Luna.
He was close. Alyx flew in his direction, her heart thrumming in her chest. She flew through the crack in the buildings into the alley where she knew he was. Please don’t let me be too late.
The alley was bathed in shadows. Down the far end, a fallen figure was scuttling away from the she-Darkened that towered over him. His back hit the chain link fence that turned this alley into a dead end. He had nowhere else to go. The Darkened laughed as she raised a sword high above her head.
Alyx was just in time. She dropped like a stone towards the ground as she hurtled her kris at the Darkened. The dagger flew from her fingers and sighed as it cut its deadly path through the air. It embedded in the Darkened’s back, thick blood spilling from the wound. The Darkened froze, sword in the air, and looked down. She gave out a cry, choked once and in a final act she brought her sword down.
“No!” Alyx cried.
He moved, rolling to the side as the demonsword cut for him. It missed him, just. The blade cracked against gravel. The Darkened’s body hit the ground, Alyx’s blade handle rising out from her back. He sprang out of his roll, took to his feet and faced her, his face still half-hidden by shadows.
From the stillness, a valley of angelflies all took flight at once, creating a fluttering, exquisite mess inside her stomach. She was looking at him instead of seeing from behind his eyes. She took in his tall sure figure, plain black shirt clinging to wide shoulders, his golden skin across taut muscle. It was him. The Rogue, who had plagued her mind for days. Him.
She had found him, a long lost friend, a friend she knew intimately. Her entire body drew towards him, begging her to close the distance. She pulled up short when she realized, I know him, but he doesn’t know me.
She glanced at his arm where the Darkened had cut him. “You’re hurt.”
“I’ll live.” His deep voice rolled over her. It sounded exactly as the voice of his thoughts and it resonated within her. He stepped forward, his face moving into light, and their eyes met for the first time. He had light brown eyes, almost hazel, rimmed with thick dark lashes. Dark messy hair fell across his forehead and curled around his ears. Her heart thudded in her ears. She knew she was staring but she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
“Who are you?” he asked. There was no fear, no shock in his voice, just curiosity.
I’m Alyx. I’ve seen your soul. It’s beautiful. “I’m…” Her eyes rested on the single imperfection on his face; a scar that marked his thick top lip. A scar. Alyx felt like she has been struck across the face.
Through his eyes she had seen the demon’s true face glimmering behind the human facade. That’s why she had assumed he was a Seraphim Rogue. But this man was...
“Mortal,” it tumbled from her mouth before she could stop it. “I mean, Alyx. My name is Alyxandria, but call me Alyx.”
She tried to keep her face calm but inside her mind was a whirl. Mortals couldn’t see the demon faces. They couldn’t see their true faces. But this mortal could.
He gave her a lopsided smile, lightening the intensity of his dark features. “Well, Alyx, I feel like I should let you know that I would have gotten myself out of this mess even if you hadn’t come along.”
Even in her shock, Alyx had enough sense to look dubious.
His smile widened. “Eventually.”
“Yes, you looked like you had it all under control.”
“But I’m glad you did. Come along, I mean.”
He knelt by the creature and pulled at the handle sticking out of her back. He wiped the blade along the Darkened’s skirt to clean it of blood. He stood back up, peering at the carvings along the handle, fingers tracing it.
Normally Alyx would be quick to anger at watching someone else touch her blade, but now, in his hands, she felt…nervous. Please like it.
“This is unlike any dagger I’ve seen before,” he said as he turned the kris over in his hands. “Where did you get it?”
“I had it designed specifically for me.”
“Well, it’s beautiful,” he said, presenting the blade, handle out, to her.
She stepped closer to him, like a wild bird approaching an open palm of seeds. She noticed him gazing at her, his head tilting like a curious child.
“You seem...familiar,” he said. “Have we met before?”
“No, we haven’t met.” Not exactly a lie.
Alyx took the kris from him.
“Are you sure? I feel like…I know you from somewhere. I just can’t place where.”
“No. We’ve never met before.”
“True. I don’t think I would forget you so easily.”
A strange heat rolled up her stomach as he continued to watch her, his gaze so careful, so full of intent, like the tips of fingers trailing across her cheeks, moving down her until he reached her feet, then traced up her body again to finish upon her face. All the while a smile pulled at one of the corners of his lips. She felt completely stripped. Naked. It was all she could do not to shiver.
“I would ask what a beautiful young woman like you is doing in the wickedest part of town handling a knife like a trained assassin...”
Beautiful.
&nbs
p; “...but I don’t suppose I’d get a proper answer, would I?” He raised an eyebrow as if to punctuate his question with a challenge.
What could she tell him? I had a vision that you were in trouble and I found you by following your soul. Yes, that would go down well. “No more than I would get an answer if I asked you what you’re doing in the wickedest part of town trying to take on a demon by yourself.”
“Demon. Is that what she was?”
Alyx stepped back, her throat tightening in horror. Already she had said too much. This was why friendships with mortals were forbidden.
“Your being here is no coincidence, is it?” His eyes narrowed. “What are you?”
“What a silly question,” Alyx said, trying not to let her panic show. “I’m a mortal just like you.”
He grinned and she felt like she had been caught. “Firstly, a real mortal would never call herself a ‘mortal’. Secondly, real mortals don’t come falling out of the sky to land delicately on the ground. Real mortals break bones doing things like that. Just keep that in mind when you try to pass yourself off as one of us next time.”
“I didn’t…” Alyx’s breath stuck in her throat, letting out a strangled sort of cry.
It only seemed to amuse him further. “Yes, I saw you drop down to the ground before you knifed that thing. Scaring the living hell out of me, I might add.” He glanced up at the buildings that loomed over them. “What is that…five stories that you just jumped down from? Neat little trick. You obviously aren’t human and you don’t look like one of them, unless your horns happen to be hidden.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you have horns?”
“No horns,” Alyx said automatically, her mind still trying to process all this.
“So the next question is...what are you?”
“It’s dark. You shouldn’t have seen me fall.”
“My night vision is fantastic.” He shrugged as if in apology. “Okay. Maybe ‘what are you’ is too personal a question to ask so soon after we just started our friendship?”
Alyx felt like a maypole and he was holding all the ribbons. What was she supposed to make of this? Of him? Of…them?
