by Hanna Peach
Please, he begged to the nothingness around him, don’t let her be dead.
“Israel,” a familiar voice came through the darkness. The slim figure of the Elder pushed through the mist. His green eyes twinkled in a face that appeared of a man not more than his late thirties, although Israel knew the Elder had seen the dawn of time. Hell, the Elder probably was the one to wake “time” up. The Elder moved towards him; he did everything seamlessly, graceful like the wind and light as air.
The Elder stopped in front of him and spoke, a serious look on his face. “We have got to stop meeting like this. Alyx might get suspicious.”
Israel raised an eyebrow. “Did you just make a joke?”
He laughed. But it quickly faded. “Jokes aside…I know about your predicament, Israel. I know Michael has you.”
“How is it that you always know what is going on before anyone else does?”
“I just do.”
“And Alyx? What of her? Is she…” Dead? Please say anything but dead.
“Alyx is preparing to go to war for you right at this very minute. Lives will be sacrificed to save you. She will need your help to defeat Michael.”
Israel let this all wash over him. The gravity of it sank into his very bones.
“Are you ready, Israel?”
“Ready for more training?”
“This isn’t just training. It will be the most important thing you will ever learn in your life so that you can do the most important thing you will ever have to do.”
“No pressure,” Israel muttered.
The Elder waved his hand and this nowhere-place suddenly filled with light. Candlelight. Hundreds upon hundreds of candles. Perhaps even a thousand. Israel remembered the last time the Elder made him train with candles when he was with the Elder at his monastery home in China.
Israel looked down at the single candle in front of him, then around him. The flame before him was still alight. But about half of the candles around the room had been extinguished.
“I did it,” Israel said, and he felt a little bubble of joy well up inside him.
“Did you?”
“I did. I accessed the power. I accessed my gift.”
“Of course. It is part of you. But now see,” the Elder spoke from behind him. Israel turned to face him. “See how anger causes you to use that energy inside you.” The Elder waved his cane around the room.
Israel felt the bubble of joy dissipate in exasperation. “So I didn’t snuff out that one stupid candle. But look at how much power I was able to create. Look at how many other candles I was able to extinguish.”
“Imagine that the candle in front of you was someone you had to fight against and the candles around the room were those you love. What say you now?”
Israel felt the blood drain from his face when he realized what the Elder was saying. He stared at his hands. He noticed the veins showing through the paler skin on his wrists. His veins, filled with demon blood. And now that demon power he had unleashed was uncontrollable. What if he unleashed it on someone he cared about? Like Mason and the boys. Or Alyx?
“How...how do I fix this?”
“There is a greater power than anger. And unlike anger which controls you, this power is given strength through your direction. You must learn to use that instead.”
“What is it? What is this power? Knowledge? Truth?”
“I cannot tell you. You must learn it for yourself.”
Israel came back to the present when the Elder spoke. “Blow out that candle, over there.” The Elder pointed to one of the hundred or so candles in this nowhere-place.
“I can do more complicated magic than that.”
“Regardless. I just want one blown out at first.”
Israel nodded. So practiced was he that he didn’t even have to lift his hands now to perform magic. He just thought the air around the candle to blow it out, and it did. A thin wisp of smoke rose from the blackened wick.
“Now two at the same time. This one and that one.” The Elder pointed out his targets.
Israel commanded the air around the two small flames. Again they blew out without disturbing any of the other flames around them. The Elder continued to increase the complexity of his exercises in blowing the candles out. Israel did each task without questioning and without a mistake.
“Good,” the Elder said finally. “You’ve been practicing.”
Israel beamed, pride making his chest feel full. “I have.” He wiped the few beads of sweat from his forehead.
“Now, this candle,” the Elder pointed to one right in front of Israel. “Instead of snuffing the candle out, I need you to breathe into it.”
“What?”
“Infuse it with your energy, your magic. If you’ve done it right the flame will grow bigger.”
“Can…can I do that?”
The Elder gave him a look containing so much gravity that Israel felt the weight of it on his shoulders. “You can. And you must.”
Chapter 32
While Alyx was in her bedroom preparing her battle gear, she heard a soft knock on her door. She looked up from stitching a tear on her old warrior’s jacket to find Jordan standing there.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
Alyx swallowed. It didn’t turn out so well the last time she and Jordan had been alone. “What do you need?”
Jordan held up several vials of blood. “Moloko was too tired from the blood donation and she wanted to lie down. I said I’d bring her MirageWeaver to you.”
“Oh. Of course. Come in.”
Jordan moved to her bedside where he placed the vials on her table, right on Israel’s copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. Alyx stood up, shoving her jacket aside, because it felt strange to have him standing so close while she was sitting on her bed. The bed that Israel and she shared.
“You should have more than enough MirageWeaver here,” he said.
“Great. Thanks.”
“I have something else for you.” Jordan held out another vial of deep red blood to her. “It’s mine.”
Alyx knew what he meant instantly. He had donated his own blood, his own magic, to her. Her stomach twisted the way it did when Jordan did anything nice for her. She never knew whether she should accept it. What did he mean by this gift? Did he mean to guilt her? Was he trying to win her over again? “Oh gosh. You shouldn’t have.”
“I wanted to.” When Alyx didn’t take the vial Jordan pulled his hand back and placed his DreamWalker on the bedside next to the MirageWeaver. “I labeled the vials so you don’t get them mixed up. I hope this helps you get to Michael and Israel in time.”
Alyx studied Jordan’s smile. It looked genuine. She found no bitterness in Jordan’s words or tone. Could he really be moving on? She smiled in return. “Thanks, Jordan.”
“No problem.”
“And not just for this.” She indicated the vial on the bedside. “Thanks for supporting me with the DreamWalkers.”
“Anytime.”
The air went still between them. The ghost of a feeling fluttered through her heart before it faded behind a strong thudding heartbeat that she knew beat in time with Israel’s. Alyx made an awkward clearing noise in her throat and turned away. “I should keep getting ready.”
“Alyx, before I go I want…”
Alyx froze. Dear God please no. Please don’t make me turn you down again. Please don’t force me to defend my love for Israel again.
Jordan tried again, “Before I go I want to call a…a reset between us.”
“A reset?” Alyx stared at him, trying to decipher the meaning in his words from his expression, but his expression was guarded and she found she couldn’t read him. Not anymore.
“Yes,” he said slowly. “Can we hit the reset button on our friendship? Go back to being the way it was before…before…you know?”
Alyx swallowed hard and looked away. She loved Israel with everything she was. But her brief affair with Jordan was still uncomfortably fresh in her mind. Bei
ng around Jordan, even as a friend, just reminded her of what she did to Israel. The guilt was too much. “I…I don’t know,” she managed.
“Please.”
She was about to refuse him, when she saw a slip of pain underneath Jordan’s expression. Oh God. How selfish and self-centered she had been. She had been so wrapped up in her own feelings of guilt and awkwardness that she hadn’t even stopped to consider what Jordan was feeling. Her feelings for Jordan had been displaced, having not been strong enough to displace the ones that were true. But he would still be trying to move on from her. Her guilt would be nothing compared to what he had to deal with. How brave of him to ask for her friendship. She would not refuse it.
Her guardedness faded. She resolved to stop avoiding Jordan and to mend their friendship. There would be no more awkwardness between them, at least not from her.
“A reset. That sounds great.” She stuck her hand out. “Friends?”
* * *
“Friends?” Jordan heard Alyx say.
And there it was. The death knell. The final bell toll for their “almost was but never should have been” romance, bright, brief and fleeting, like a shooting star. Maybe that’s all it was ever meant to be.
Jordan gave her a lopsided smile and took her hand. “Friends.”
They shook. In that solemn ritual a line was drawn in the sand between “what could have been” and “what was”. There would still be a long way to go to move their friendship back to the way it was, but at least now it felt like they had made a good start.
As Jordan left Alyx in her room to prepare for battle himself, he realized that his heart didn’t ache as he expected it would. Instead there was a kind of release, a relief, which lightened his heart. Odd. Perhaps all he needed was closure. Perhaps he was truly getting over her.
* * *
“I know what I’m doing, Piki,” Sparrow said as he moved through the halls of Cleo’s mansion. Piki fluttered around him, fussing as usual. “You’re always doubting me, but you’ll see. They’ll all see.”
Piki responded with twittering.
“She will. She’ll say yes.”
Piki let out a curt chirp. Even Sparrow could hear the doubt in it.
Sparrow stopped at the entrance to Alyx’s room. He knocked on her door even though it was half open. Alyx was standing inside looking like a warrior goddess in her battle gear: black pants teamed with her black warrior’s jacket with feathered and barbed shoulders and two white armbands.
She turned. “Oh, come in, Sparrow.”
“I want to come with you,” he announced as he stepped into her room.
Alyx recoiled. “Sparrow, no. War is not for…not for you.”
“But I have powers.” They were completely out of his control or nonexistent at best, but she didn’t need to know that. “I can help.”
“I know you want to help but the best way that you can help is by staying here and guarding the other young ones.”
“That’s not a warrior’s role.”
“You’re not a warrior yet. You’re too young.”
He pouted. “I’m not too young. I’m almost as old as you were when you started fighting.”
“Sparrow, this isn’t training. Some of us won’t make it back.”
“But I need to come.”
“Sparrow, I know you feel guilty about Israel. But it’s not your fault and it’s not your place to rescue him. It’s mine.”
“You’ll need my help. I can come with you.”
“I already have Vix coming with me. Sparrow, please, you need to stay behind.”
“Fine,” huffed Sparrow. Behind his back he had his fingers crossed.
“Thank you,” Alyx gave him a quick squeeze. “I would hate if anything happened to you.”
For a second Sparrow was flooded with so much guilt he almost gave up on his plan. But a greater gnawing need overtook it; he needed to prove he wasn’t just a coward. I’m going. Alyx can’t stop me.
“You can borrow one of the books if you like to keep you occupied while we’re gone,” Alyx said. “Go on, have a look at my shelf. It’s not a big collection but it’s growing.” She indicated the fireplace mantle in her room. “I’ve got to see Vix. I’ll find you and say goodbye to you before I leave, okay?”
Alyx disappeared out the open door and Sparrow plopped down by the bed. Piki landed on his shoulder.
“I’m going, Piki.”
Piki fluttered.
“I know what Alyx said but I don’t care. I have to help.”
Piki seemed to get more distressed, fluttering in his face.
“No, Piki, I’m not discussing it anymore. I’m going.” Or else he couldn’t live with himself. He didn’t want to be a coward. It was the worst feeling in the world. He would rather die than to keep feeling this gnawing hollow pit in his stomach.
“If you tell Alyx, then I won’t ever speak to you again.”
Piki let out a small chirp of shock, landed on his shoulder and rubbed his head along Sparrow’s neck.
“I know it’ll be dangerous. If you want to help me, figure out a way for me to help Alyx without being seen.”
Piki chirped and flew off his shoulder, landing somewhere on the bedside table.
Sparrow tapped his chin. “I just don’t know how.”
Piki hopped up and down.
“I need…I need…magic. Yes, MirageWeaver magic. I’d be invisible then.”
Piki hopped more frantically and began to twitter at him.
“Cut it out Piki, I’m trying to think. If only I knew where to get MirageWeaver magic.
Piki opened his beak and let out a loud musical call.
Sparrow nearly rolled his eyes. Damn attention-seeking bird. “What do you want, Piki?” He turned his head. His eyes landed Piki, then on the vial of blood that Piki was standing on. It was labeled MirageWeaver.
He gasped. “Piki, you’re a genius.”
Piki tutted at him and waggled his little head as if to say, duh, of course.
Sparrow stared at the vial. Could he? He glanced at the door. Alyx wouldn’t miss it if he borrowed a bit…
Chapter 33
The Dades Valley was a wild landscape. The two sides of the valley rose in craggy steep sides of pale orange-brown. A line of green trees marked the valley floor, a thin oasis stretching through this sunburned area dusted with sand. Behind Alyx were the FreeThinkers of their community and the communities across the globe. In the pale light of the full moon, she could make out Michael’s army, a black stain of ink across the valley and mountains. The sea of black-clad warriors grew as the warriors of the three Seraphim cities arrived.
When she scanned her army behind her, they looked like a field of snowdrops, pale beacons of hope glowing under the full moon. She swallowed. Their rows of white warriors were still greatly outnumbered by the vast sea of black on either side of the mountains that guarded the valley and the Gate. Have faith, she told herself, not everyone is here yet.
All the Seraphim were coming; this was too important for them not to come. An entire race of Seraphim would stand and choose which side they would raise their swords and magic for. Black or white. Each side shifted, a growing restlessness and tension building between two armies, so thick that Alyx thought they might have to wade through it when it finally came time to attack.
She noticed Lukas dropping down from the tree that they had been using as a kind of crow’s nest. His eyes were bright and focused. He must have news. Tobias and Jordan, who were standing at her side, noticed him too. Lukas spotted the trio and hurriedly approached.
He wasted no words when he reached them. “Our swallows have passed on this message. Michael left Michaelea with his convoy several hours ago. They should be joining the main army soon.”
“Does he have Israel with him?” Alyx asked.
“The swallows say that they saw what looked like a body under a sheet being carried. I daresay it’s him. I’ve got to get back to my post just in case more messages come thr
ough.” With that Lukas disappeared back into the trees.
“It’s time,” Alyx said. “We must attack now.”
Jordan grabbed her arm and pulled her close. “What are you doing?” he hissed. “We’re severely outnumbered. We should wait to see if more Seraphim chose our side.”
“You think Michael is going to wait for us to get our defenses together before he decides to open that Gate? No. We have to attack now. We have no choice.”
“You want all these FreeThinkers to rush to their deaths? Alyx, this is suicide.”
Her mouth suddenly went dry as she glanced out over the Seraphim who had decided to fight with her. Could she sound the command to attack now? While they were outnumbered?
It’s for the greater good, she reminded herself as guilt twisted its way up her chest. “The rest of the Seraphim will be here soon,” she said. “I need to get to Michael now before he opens the Gate.”
Jordan dropped her arm, a stunned look on his face. “No, you want to get to Israel. You need a distraction. We’re your distraction.”
“That’s not true.”
“You would let an entire community of Seraphim die just so you can save him.”
“My feelings for him are irrelevant in this decision,” Alyx lied. “Our first priority is to stop Michael from opening that Gate. Otherwise Michael’s dark army outnumbering our FreeThinkers is the least of our problems. It wouldn’t just be a few who are…sacrificed, it’ll be this entire planet.”
“Tobias, please talk some sense into her.”
“I’m afraid,” said Tobias, “I agree with Alyx.”
“Tobias!” Jordan said, his shock evident.
“Making difficult choices is one of the curses of being a leader.” Tobias turned his eyes towards Alyx. There was a gravity to his stare that caused Alyx’s mouth to go dry. “You made your choice. Make sure you can live with it.”
* * *
Jordan pushed through the field of FreeThinkers waiting to attack. Where was she? Behind him he heard Alyx begin her pre-attack speech. His body buzzed with desperation and he began to shove FreeThinkers aside harder than he should have. He had to find Cleo now before it was too late. He had to find her.
