by Hanna Peach
Sebastian and Elise attempted to kidnap their daughter, however, failing this, they fled Michaelea. There have been subsequent kidnapping attempts by Sebastian and Elise which have all failed.
* * *
Alyx slammed her fist against the door. Symon answered, his dark pants sitting just under his hip bones, his warrior’s chest and stomach on display. His face registered surprise to see her there, then drew to concern. “What’s wrong?”
“The Elders have been lying to me.” Although her voice shook with contained emotion, the rest of her was numb.
“What are you talking about?”
“My parents.”
His face grew dark. He stepped aside to let her in.
The walls of Symon’s pod were covered in a dewy moss and a delicate fern with leaves like pale green snowflakes; among them was a water feature, a trickle of water that dropped through a series of exposed bamboo pipes. Taking up part of one wall, a possession shelf held a myriad of Threads and a display of antique Seraphim weapons. Alyx stared at the Challenger’s sword sitting prominently in the center, the pommel a fine golden ivy-like guild curling into a handle of brushed gold and sapphires. Her head was spinning so much that she couldn’t even remember the story about how he won that sword.
She heard Symon’s voice behind her. “What’s going on, Alyx?”
“My parents. They wanted to leave Michaelea with me but they were betrayed. They didn’t abandon me. They tried to take me with them.”
“Who told you this?”
“They wanted me. But they were betrayed. By their friend, Symon. Their friend.”
“Who told you this?”
“Are you even listening to me? My parents wanted me.” Alyx spun to face Symon. There was something in his face that she wasn’t expecting to see...guilt. The realization made her sick. She could barely get the words out, “You knew.”
“Whoever told you these things is lying, trying to make trouble.” Symon clasped her shoulders with his hands as desperation joined the guilt.
She wrenched herself free of him. “No, you’re lying. I found it in the Archives, in the restricted section. I found the truth.”
“What the hell were you doing in the restricted section? How did you even get in?”
“Stop changing the subject. Why did they lie to me? Why did you lie?” Her voice dropped into a whisper, “You of all people.”
His face crumpled. “I didn’t want to. But the Elders…they said it was for the best.”
“The Symon I know would have told me anyway.”
“If I had told you, you would have tried to follow them. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have. You would be a Rogue too. A Rogue, Alyx. With no status, no community, living out there like a savage with other goddamn Rogues. And with mortals and the Darkened, for Christ sakes. Out there, without the protection of our society.”
“I trusted you.” Her raged breaths shook her whole body. Her numbness was crumbling. “I trusted you and you knew this and you kept this from me.” The vision of her trainer, her friend, the figure closest to a father as she had ever known, blurred behind tears. “Did you know about Jovanna? Did you know it was her that betrayed them?”
His shoulders sank. “Don’t be angry at her. She didn’t realize what would happen.”
A sharp pain went through Alyx, causing her to buckle at the stomach. “You knew.”
“Jovanna came to me afterwards. She was so upset. Elise never told her about Sebastian and they shared everything, like sisters. I think Jovanna loved Sebastian too, so when she found out...it was a betrayal for her. That’s why she went to the Elders.”
“A betrayal for her?” Alyx’s voice rose, “A betrayal for her? I’ll kill her.”
Symon grabbed her arm as she tried to push past him. “You can’t confront her. They’ll know that you’ve been digging around in restricted information. It will be the end of your life here.”
“Is that a threat?”
“I’m not the threat.”
Alyx’s head spun. Symon was on their side. “You’re supposed to be my friend, on my side. You’re supposed to help me.”
“I am trying to help you.”
“By telling me to just carry on like normal? To pretend like I don’t know the truth?”
“That’s just what you have to do if you want to stay here and live your life.”
“Live. My. Life?” She drew back from him as if he had suddenly turned into a snake, slimy and hissing. How could he say these things to her? How could he tell her to forget? Tell her to pretend? Alyx backed away, shaking her head. “No. I won’t.”
“Alyx, be reasonable.”
“No.”
“Alyx−”
“I don’t know you.”
She shoved past him, fleeing from his pod, ignoring his calls for her to stop.
Chapter 16
Alyx pushed past the guard into the RaceKeeper’s tent.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the guard called from behind her, his voice distorted from holding his bloody nose. “She wouldn’t−”
“Leave us,” the RaceKeeper commanded from the shadows. There was a moment of silence as the guard retreated and the RaceKeeper took a long toke of his shisha pipe. “So my magic Bullet,” Alyx cringed at this nickname for her, “what brings you to my humble abode? It’s not a race night.”
“I’m looking to trade.” She held up a handful of pouches, all full of gold.
The RaceKeeper made a noise under his breath. “And what might I have that you would be interested in? You aren’t looking to trade for the little Sparrow again, are you?”
“I want information.”
“What kind of information?”
“I know you have Rogues in this crowd.”
He made a noncommittal noise.
“Which means you must have access to their community. I want to know…” Alyx paused, taking a breath, “I want to know where my parents are.”
“Your parents? I see. But why are you so interested now?”
“That is none of your business.”
“Hmmm.” The RaceKeeper took a long languid puff from his pipe and blew smoke rings towards her face. She gritted her teeth and instructed herself not to react. She needed his information. “You’ve discovered the truth about them, have you?”
Her world stopped. He knew too. Had he known all along? Did everyone know but her? “You…you know about them?”
“My dear, I never accept competitors for my races without a full investigation into their past. You do have some interesting demons in your closet, don’t you? Poor Symon must have a rough time keeping you under control.”
Alyx clenched her fists. What else did he know about her?
“I will pay you for what you know.” She threw the pouches at the RaceKeeper’s feet.
The RaceKeeper poked them with his pipe. He picked one up with his chubby fingers, shook it, opened it and pulled out a coin. He lifted the coin to his face and it disappeared into the shadows. He pulled it back out to study it. There was now a small mark on the coin where he had bitten it. He had been checking that it was pure gold. Pure gold is so soft that teeth can dent it.
“You don’t trust me, RaceKeeper?”
“Just business, my dear. Don’t take it personally.”
He pulled out another coin, bit, studied, and pulled out another. He did this with all of the coins.
Finally he put down the last pouch. “Is this all your parents are worth?”
Alyx struggled to hold down the bile that rose in her throat. She pushed her fist into her jacket pocket and pulled out her last four pouches. She threw them on the pile at his feet – all of her savings.
“Holding out on me, I see?” The RaceKeeper laughed. “I accept your offer.” He took another toke of his pipe. “Now, I have good news and I have bad news for you. Which one do you want to hear first? I recommend the good news.”
He was enjoying this. Alyx wanted to kick him in his flabby gut, which was spilling
out over his purple drawstring pants, but she restrained herself.
“The bad news.”
“Alright, your choice. Your father, Sebastian, is dead.”
This hit Alyx like a blow to the stomach. Dead. “No.”
“Oh yes. He was killed trying to rescue you from Michaelea. How touching. How tragic.”
Alyx could feel her jaw start to shake from the loss of the father she never knew. She held the tears back as she had learned long ago how to do. She wouldn’t cry in front of the RaceKeeper. “And the good news?”
“Elise, on the other hand, is alive, or was the last I heard. Living in a Seraphim community somewhere in Egypt.”
Alive. Her mother was alive. Alyx didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. But Egypt…so big a country. “Where in Egypt?”
“That I don’t know exactly. This particular community keeps itself very well hidden.”
“Not good enough. Where is she?”
“My dear, I honestly don’t know. You may not think much of me but what I am is a businessman. I always hold up my end of the deal. The deal is for what I know. I have told you what I know. Now leave before you start crying. I simply abhor tears.” He waved his hand in a dismissal. “Guards.”
Alyx was too stunned to resist the hands that grabbed either arm and led her from the tent.
Outside, some way from the tent, the guards let her go. Alyx stood for a while gazing at the dark forest in front of her, the moonlight dancing down between the leaves, the air fresh and smelling of pine. Her body was numb again.
Her father, dead. Her mother, if she was even still alive, was somewhere in Egypt. What should Alyx do now? If she left Michaelea to search for her mother, she could never return.
Return to what? she thought bitterly.
Alyx started to float through the trees towards where she knew there was a stream, having flown over it on her way here. Perhaps cold water on her face would help her to think.
As she approached, Alyx could hear a soft grunting over the sound of running water. It was Sparrow. He was wrestling with a bucket of water almost the size of him.
“Here, let me help,” she said as she approached him.
“I don’t need no one’s help,” said Sparrow and pulled again with both hands at the handle. Alyx couldn’t help but smile. That sounded like something she would have said.
“Then do you mind if I come with you for a bit? I don’t like being out here on my own at night.”
Sparrow narrowed his eyes at her before saying, “Suit yourself.”
He was only able to float a couple of meters before having to put the bucket back down and take a break. Alyx drifted along by his side, pausing when he did.
“He calls you Bullet,” Sparrow said.
“Yes.”
“But that’s not your real name.”
“No. My name’s Alyx.”
Sparrow scrunched up his nose. “I prefer Bullet.”
“He calls you Sparrow. What’s your real name?”
“Don’t have one.”
“Everyone has a real name.”
“Not me. I was never given one.”
“What did people call you before you started working for him?”
“You. Or Boy. I got Boy a lot.”
“Where were you before?”
“I lived with an old lady and her son. Mortals. She was okay. She just yelled at me a lot. Her son…” Sparrow shivered. “I didn’t like him.”
“Mortals?” Alyx said in surprise.
“Yeah.”
“How did you come to work for the RaceKeeper?”
Sparrow shrugged. “He just came by the house one day. Said it was time to hand me over.”
“Do you like it here?”
“Don’t have no choice, do I?”
Alyx swallowed the knot in her throat. “You always have a choice.”
“Not me.” Sparrow almost dropped the bucket this time. He pulled up one leg of his pants. There was a silver bracelet around his ankle.
“An Animale bracelet. But…” Alyx couldn’t believe it. “They’re supposed to be for birds…animals.”
“Supposed to be. Last servant got too big for the bracelet. I think that’s why I’m here. I’ll get to stay till I get too big for my bracelet. Lucky me.”
Sparrow picked up the bucket again and continued on another few meters. Alyx floated along beside him, silent, until they were almost in sight of the tent. She wanted to stay longer. There was something about this youngling that reminded her of herself. But she couldn’t stay. She had to get back to Michaelea before anyone knew she was missing.
“I have to go,” Alyx said, “but I’d like to come back and visit you sometime. Is that okay?”
“Suit yourself,” Sparrow said without looking at her.
“Okay. Well, see you then. Take care of yourself.”
Alyx turned and sped off into the night. She didn’t see Sparrow gazing somberly after her.
Chapter 17
The next night Alyx lay restlessly in her bed. Earlier that night she had to watch her warrior flock fly away to patrole without her. Without her. Michael had stationed guards outside her pod at night “for her protection”. But she knew it was so she wouldn’t be tempted to sneak out.
She was a prisoner now.
Michael wanted to control her, but why? Alyx kicked off the sheets. Turned to her side. Turned to the other. She was about to give up on sleep when…
“Alyx?”
She bolted upright, her heart in her throat. Israel’s luminescent figure was lying next to her.
“What are you doing here?” Alyx cried, scooting to the far edge of her bed. “By the angel’s breath, I’m going crazy.”
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here?”
“This is my room.”
“But... I’m in my room.”
Alyx peered closer at Israel. She could almost see through his body, which he had stretched out over her bed. What was going on?
He was also studying her. “Is it really you?”
“Of course it’s really me. Who else would I be?”
“An extremely real manifestation of one of my daydreams. Or perhaps I have fallen asleep and don’t know it. Pinch me.”
“What? Why?”
“Okay, I’ll pinch myself. Ow. Okay, so we know I’m awake. I wonder...” He reached out and pinched her arm.
“Ow.”
“I can feel you.” His eyes widened. “And you can feel me.”
Alyx rubbed where he had pinched her. “Obviously.”
“Well, you did say you wanted to see me again. I guess I’m your wish come true.”
“I didn’t say that! You did.”
He laughed as he rolled onto his side so that he was facing her. “Maybe you didn’t say it, but you thought it.”
“Whatever.”
“How are you doing this?”
“I’m not.”
“This isn’t some supernatural magic thing that you do to sneak poor unsuspecting boys into your bed at night?”
“No. I don’t know how this is happening.”
“Weird. And I was just thinking about you…”
Was just thinking about you… Alyx looked away, not being able to hold his gaze. “So…what do we do now?”
“I don’t know. I guess we could just talk or something. Hang out until whatever this thing is stops? It’s been a while since I’ve had any real company.”
“I guess that would be okay.”
“But let’s not talk about demons or anything like that.”
A soft laugh came from her. “Deal. No demons.”
Alyx slowly dropped to her elbows and eased herself to her pillow. She clasped her hands across her stomach. There was little space between them. What little space there was, was currently humming with a kind of electricity. “So…what do we talk about if we don’t talk about demons?”
He laughed.
“What?” she said. “I’m serious. I mean
, look at us. We couldn’t be more different.”
“I don’t think we’re that different.”
She pointed between them as she spoke. “Girl, boy. Seraphim, human. Trained warrior, lucky idiot.”
“Hey,” he protested, “I’m not that much of an idiot. Besides, those are all superficial differences.”
“Oh really.”
“Really.”
“I bet that there’s not a single thing you can find that we have in common.”
“We’re both badass demon killers.”
She snorted. “One dead demon does not a badass demon killer make.”
“How many have you killed, then? Seven? Eight?”
“That seems like a typical night.”
Israel’s eyes bugged out of his head. “You kill seven or eight of those things a night?”
She shrugged, feeling slightly uncomfortable under his awed gaze. “On a slow night.”
He whistled long and low. “Damn. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“Anyway, I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about demons.”
“Sorry, we weren’t.”
“So…apart from demons, we have nothing in common.”
“Just give me a second here. I barely know you. I bet I can find something…”
“Go on then.”
“Tell me something.”
“The sky is blue.”
“No, I mean something about you.”
“I like moonlit swords and fighting on the beach.”
“Are you always this easy to talk with? Tell me…what books you like.”
Alyx felt herself lighten. Books she could talk about forever. “Where do I start?”
As they talked time seemed to distort around her. She barely noticed the night slipping away. They spoke about books, their childhoods, the cities they grew up in, their lives, and more books.
“So,” said Israel, “we figured out that we’re both good with heights.”
“I can fly. I kinda have to be good with heights.”
“We had the same favorite childhood toy.”
