by Hanna Peach
“Siana, please. You’re asking me to leave behind everyone I know for you. Until now I didn’t even know you existed. I need a day, just one. I know to be on the lookout for the Elders now. But I won’t need to because they don’t know anything about tonight. No one does. Nothing will happen to me this time.”
Siana sank her face into his neck and melted against him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “You promise?”
“I promise.”
* * *
Stantanople peered down at Yael and Siana from the building’s roof as the wind carried their conversation up to him. He growled low in his throat. He knew something had been up with Yael tonight. He knew it. And there in front of him was his proof. Damn that Siana. That sneaky little bitch was back and messing with Yael’s head. And after this long? Why after this long? It had been almost twelve winters since he and Do’hann had saved Yael from making that stupid mistake with her.
Now it looked like he had to do it again. He would have to deal with Yael tonight. And tomorrow he would come back here himself when Yael and Siana next agreed to meet, pretending to be Yael, to make sure that Siana was actually dead this time.
He whispered something to the familia, a small sparrow on his shoulder. The sparrow chirped once and flew off to Michaelea to deliver his message. Stantanople stayed in the shadows and watched as Yael and Siana said their goodbyes.
* * *
Siana had the worst feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched Yael fly away. I shouldn’t be letting him go back to Michaelea.
She remembered waiting at this spot only several days ago. She had waited for him and he didn’t show up. Do’hann did.
Do’hann told her that Yael hadn’t loved her anymore. He told her that Yael had betrayed her and that there were warriors coming after her and that she should fly away, far away. She should forget about Yael and never come back. She hadn’t believed him at first. She had hidden from sight just in case.
But he was right. Lightwarriors had come for her. Yael had not been one of them. Luckily they didn’t find her.
She had almost leaped out in front of the warriors and begged for them to take her life. But she didn’t. There was a small voice inside of her that said that Yael could never betray her.
And he hadn’t. Tonight was proof that he hadn’t. The Elders had done something to his memory that had made him forget who she was.
But that meant that someone had betrayed Yael…and it had to be someone close to him. Dammit. Why hadn’t she thought about this before she let Yael fly off? And what if…the memory loss was connected with Michaelea? What if, the minute he stepped back into the city, he would forget about her again?
She had to warn Yael. She had to give him some way of making sure he would come back to her no matter what.
The soulglobe.
It had been forgotten in the fountain. Siana flitted over to the fountain and searched the still water, but she couldn’t see the glass globe, now rendered invisible in the clear water.
She tsked at herself. She didn’t need eyes to see in the water. She was a WaterBearer. She pressed her palm to the surface of the water, closed her eyes and let her magic spread out. She felt the edges of the fountain as it curved around. She felt the thin skin of the water against the air on its surface. She felt the restless stagnancy of the water that had nowhere to go. Finally she felt the curve of the globe-shaped object at the bottom of the fountain.
With her eyes closed, she reached in and grabbed the globe. Without caring that it was dripping wet, she slipped it back into her cloth bag and flew into the night towards Michaelea.
* * *
Yael’s head was spinning as he flew swiftly through the forest towards Michaelea. Towards home. No, he thought, Michaelea wasn’t home anymore. Siana was.
God. What just happened?
His life had just been turned upside down. In one fell swoop he had found out that he had a woman who loved him and risked everything, giving up her Castus status to be with him. He had found out that the Elders had betrayed him, taking his memories away so he wouldn’t leave them.
But…how did they find out about Siana and him? He halted in the air, suddenly not wanting to get any closer to Michaelea. He hadn’t even thought about this until now. He wouldn’t have told the Elders. So who did?
A small prickle grazed at the back of his neck as the faces of the two seraphs who were closest to him came to mind. The two people he was returning to Michaelea to say goodbye to and explain that he was leaving. Do’hann and Stantanople.
No. He shook that thought out of his head. They wouldn’t betray him. They couldn’t. Could they? But reality was becoming clearer to him. The more he thought about it, the truer it felt. If they betrayed him once, they would do it again.
He had to turn around. He had to get back to Siana. She was right. He had to leave Michaelea tonight. He just had to hope that Siana was still at the fountain. But if not, he would hide out in Saint Joseph somewhere and meet her tomorrow night as they had planned.
Before he could turn, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, then everything went black.
* * *
Siana was about to call out to Yael when a figure fell on him, striking him in the head. She jolted behind the first tree trunk and clasped her hand against her mouth to keep from screaming. Slowly, she peered around the trunk.
Yael had fallen to the forest floor. She watched as the seraph who had attacked him took a length of rope from his belt and begin to tie Yael up. Her eyes filled with tears. No, this couldn’t be happening. The Elders had found out. How did they find out already?
They must have been keeping tabs on him. Now they’re taking him away again. He would forget her again. Her heart burned with pain. She couldn’t lose him, not now that she had just gotten him back.
Oh God. What was she to do? What was she to do?
The seraph’s hood shifted back as he looked up. Siana recognized his profile immediately; Stantanople, one of Yael’s closest friends. So he had been the one to betray them. She had never liked him.
She watched as a second figure appeared from the trees. Siana recognized Varian, Yael’s brutish flock leader.
“I came when I received your message,” Varian said. “You said that she returned.”
“Yes,” Stantanople said. “I saw them together.”
Varian cursed. “Take him straight to Belzec. He needs to be re-educated again. I shall tell Elder Michael. He will decide what to do with him after that and what the official story shall be. Then deal with the girl.”
“I shall enjoy killing her.”
“Wait…perhaps Elder Michael will want her to be taken to Ravensbruck. He is always in need of more breeders.”
Stantanople scowled. “She’s trouble and better off dead.”
“That is not your decision to make. You shall await your instructions.”
“Of course, Leader.” Stantanople bowed towards Varian before Varian turned back towards Michaelea.
Stantanople threw Yael’s limp body over his shoulder and flew in the opposite direction. He was taking Yael somewhere. Somewhere called Belzec. She would follow him. She would not let him out of her sight. If she did, she may never see Yael again.
Chapter 26
It was almost midnight. The groups of FreeThinkers were positioned around the walls of Darkwood Mansion. Each group was a mixture of warriors and ex-Castus. Vix and Israel were put in one group, and Vix had promised Alyx that she would guard Israel with her life. This made Alyx feel a little better, but she was still nervous as hell.
As she moved down the chilly tunnel towards the cellar of Darkwood Mansion, she touched the two small FireGlobes in the pouch hanging from her belt. The FireGlobes were one of Tobias’s creations, essentially FireMagic pressurized into delicate glass orbs. Jordan followed behind her, but they had barely spoken all night except for tactical purposes.
“You have your ’Globes, right?” she called back to h
im.
“Yes.”
“Enough bloodink?”
“Alyx, relax.”
Aaban was waiting for them at the end of the tunnel. He had his hands on the ground before the wall. “I can’t feel any footsteps moving around in the cellar next door,” he said. “I think you’re clear for the moment. You ready to go?”
Alyx touched at the MirageWeaver marks on her arm and nodded. “Do it.”
Aaban stood up and placed his hands on the earthen wall. Alyx felt the air heat up with energy. The earth crumbled away, revealing a small hole; on the other side was the Darkwood Mansion cellar. Alyx peered through the hole. Seeing no one, she motioned for Jordan and they both slipped into the cellar.
In the dim light, Alyx could see the strange shapes of the stolen Black Stone statues cut up into smaller pieces so they could fit in this room. This was obviously where they were being stored before making them into swords.
Aaban gave Alyx one end of a piece of string. They laid it taut along the ground across from the tunnel into the cellar. The rope would act as a form of communication between the two sides after the earthen wall was put back in place. When Alyx would tug on her end in a pre-selected series of tugs, then Aaban would reopen the wall.
“Close it,” whispered Alyx. The EarthWeaver held his hand down to the ground and the mounds of crumbled earth began to shift back into place, leaving Alyx and Jordan alone in the dim cellar.
Alyx and Jordan held hands so they wouldn’t lose each other, then activated their mirages drawn from the marks on their arms. Alyx tried to ignore the pang of guilt she felt with her hand in Jordan’s.
They moved through the cellar towards the stairs that led to the servants’ quarters. What used to be the large servants’ kitchen had now been turned into a work area to convert the Black Stone statues into weapons. Metal hooks hung off metal bars that spanned the length of the kitchen ceiling. Off these hooks, where pots and pans would have normally hung, were the finished and cooling Black Stone blades.
On one side of the kitchen was a large walk-in pantry. Here the usual cans, jars and bottles of sauces and spices had been thrown out and in their place stacks and stacks of Black Stone blades were kept. Once they had retrieved Mini, they would set off the FireGlobes in the pantry, destroying the Darkened’s stockpile of weapons and sounding the alarm for their FreeThinker army to attack.
Alyx led the way out of the servants’ quarters and they slipped into the corridors of the main building, her heart thudding in her ears. She had memorized the entire floor plan and knew exactly where they needed to go to find Mini. Alyx flew quietly along the ceiling, pulling Jordan along with her, holding her breath every time they flew over a Darkened walking down the corridor.
* * *
Passar tried to seem as innocent as possible as he ambled down the corridor of Darkwood Mansion. He knew that the FreeThinkers planned to attack soon and that Alyx was probably already inside these walls. He had to hurry.
Back at the castle, he had wanted to tell Alyx that he had made a terrible mistake. He wanted to tell her that he couldn’t keep his end of Samyara’s blood contract anymore, even if it meant his own end when Samyara found out. But he knew Alyx wouldn’t believe him if he told her. Why would she? He had already betrayed her once, tried to kill her, and had thrown the knife at Adere, hitting Israel instead.
Even remembering his conversation with Samyara days ago, after his failed attempt to kill Adere, made Passar sick to his stomach.
“What the hell am I going to do with you?” Samyara glared at Passar, a small snarl twitching at the right side of his top lip. “You not only fail at every task I give you, but you almost kill the most important thing…the one damn thing that will bring this whole plan together.” Samyara wiped his hand across the spittle that was gathering on his lips. “I should just call in the blood contract and watch you die.”
Passar squeezed his eyes shut. Just do it. Put me out of my misery.
“You are lucky that I have one more use for you.”
Passar’s eyes flew open in shock, half relieved, half despairing at the thought that he would live one more day. “You want me to find Adere?”
“Adere is not important anymore. She won’t speak to those infuriating Rogues. She’s too terrified and weak-minded. No, I have something much more…fun for you to do.”
Fun? Passar swallowed as he caught the glint in Samyara’s eye. Whatever his new task was, he knew that the last thing it would be was fun.
“We may not have the keye, but we have the next best thing. Bring in the girl,” Samyara called.
The door behind Passar opened and two Darkened stepped in pushing a small terrified girl. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her small hands were fisted across her chest. Jesus Christ. It was the girl that Alyx had rescued from the Hollows. A horrifying feeling was churning in the pit of Passar’s stomach.
When he turned back to face Samyara, he had the most terrible smile on his face. “She is half-demon, half-mortal. All I need is for her to give birth to a child with Seraphim blood.” Samyara stepped close so that Passar could smell his rancid breath. “You have one week to make her pregnant.”
Passar choked on his own horror. Samyara wanted him to… Oh God. “You can’t be serious.”
“Deadly. Take them to their new room so that they can get acquainted,” Samyara instructed the Darkened.
Rough hands grabbed his arms and dragged him away. And the sounds of the little girl crying followed him to this new hell.
What do you do when you are faced with two horrible choices? How do you decide which choice you will make? Who you will hurt?
Refuse to destroy her and die himself? Or was bringing back the life of someone he loved worth the cost? And could he live with himself if he did what he was told to do?
In the room, alone with the girl, all these questions vanished when Passar looked into her innocent eyes. His shoulders sagged. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t hurt her. He couldn’t even bring himself to touch her.
Passar neared the corner of the corridor and slowed. There were no cameras on the corridor he just came from so he was hidden for now. He checked that no one was around one more time before he drew in the MirageWeaver bloodink he had tattooed on his thigh. In his mind he held the image of the thing he hated the most: Samyara.
Passar felt the mirage contort his body in a thick itchy skin. He straightened up and strode around the corner. He knew the face wasn’t quite right but he didn’t need it to be perfect, just close enough.
He hadn’t taken two steps down this corridor when a Darkened named Alzeke appeared at the other end. Passar’s step almost faltered. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be Samyara. He thrust his chin in the air and continued striding down the corridor, praying that Alzeke didn’t stop to chat. His heart pounded in his chest. He tried to ignore it by glaring at the Darkened servant.
“Master.” Alzeke stepped to the side and ducked his head as Passar strode past. Passar didn’t acknowledge him, he just kept walking. He heard Alzeke’s footsteps continue on after a pause. Partway down the corridor he looked back in time to see Alzeke disappear around the other end.
Jesus. That was close.
Passar stopped in front of a metal door. He lifted up his fist and pounded on the metal, glaring up at the security camera that he knew the Darkened inside would be monitoring. The door opened immediately.
“Master,” the Darkened said, “we weren’t expecting−”
“Move,” Passar growled, emulating Samyara’s rough voice.
The Darkened stepped back, giving Passar just enough space to step inside without touching him. The door closed behind him. The security room was small, just big enough for these two Darkened to sit at a panel of monitors linked to the cameras all over the mansion. Passar suspected that the mansion’s security system was also manned from here.
The Darkened closest to him narrowed his eyes at his face. “Wait a−” Passar slid a thin stilet
to knife into the base of his throat before he could finish his sentence. When he pulled his blade out, the Darkened slid down the wall with a wet choke. The second Darkened looked around from the monitors and met Passar’s bloody weapon between his eyes. The second Darkened died without as much as a whimper.
For the first time since he left Michaelea, Passar felt good. He felt renewed. Somewhere in the last few months he had lost himself, buried under the rubble of his anger and his loss. It still hurt that Elijah wasn’t alive and with him. But at least now, he knew Elijah would be looking down at him and smiling. And it wouldn’t be long till he joined him…but before he did, he would do this last right thing.
Passar flew up to the first monitor showing a shot of part of the front lawn and smashed it in, before progressing down the line.
* * *
As they moved through the mansion, all Alyx could think was, thank God for these ridiculously high ceilings. Alyx and Jordan had plenty of room as they flew over the few Darkened moving around the mansion. As expected, most of them were feasting in the Great Hall.
Alyx and Jordan stopped when they reached one of the corridors on the third floor. Outside Mini’s room was a bored-looking Darkened guard slouching in a chair against the wall. Jordan tugged on her hand and indicated the camera above, pointing at the length of the corridor.
How would they get past the guard without being caught on camera?
Jordan made a motion with his hand. Stay here.
He let go of her and disappeared under his mirage. Alyx remained where she was against the ceiling, eyes darting around. From the direction of the guard, she felt a pulse of thick DreamWalker magic. She watched as the guard flinched, barely, as if someone was holding him still. Then he didn’t move anymore. She frowned. Was something moving against his shirt? She couldn’t be sure.
