‘What?’ She sits up straighter.
‘Skinner told me. He reckons Prince Luca won the battle and took Ebony to Skade, but I don’t believe him. Thane won’t let anything happen to Ebony. It’s just that …’
‘Just that what?’
‘Skinner sounded so sure we wouldn’t see her again.’
‘Adam’s full of crap. There’s no way Nathaneal will lose Ebony. No. Way.’
I shove my hair back from my face with both hands, and my jacket sleeves ride up. She sees my burnt wrists and shrieks. ‘Oh my God, what happened to your wrists?’
She reaches for them but I lower them to my lap, tugging the sleeves down, then tell her how Prince Luca had me chained to a rock wall inside the cave where they had Ebony stashed. ‘They drugged her, put her inside something called a lamorak, to protect her in the Crossing because she can’t fly, and took off, leaving me for dead.’
‘How did you get out?’
I can’t tell her Adam Skinner seared the cuffs off my wrists with his bare hands. Besides making me promise not to tell anyone, the fact that he rescued me might elevate Skinner to hero status in Amber’s eyes. The less she knows of him, the more likely she’ll stay away from him. The dude works for Prince Luca. I don’t want him anywhere near Amber.
She pats my hand. ‘It’s OK. You don’t have to tell me.’ Her hand lingers like she’s giving me a moment to figure out if I wanna hold it. Her eyes tell me she wants me to take it, to keep it warm. When I don’t, she pulls it away in awkward little movements.
So we wait and the forest floor grows moist, releasing the smells of fungi and mould into the air as the afternoon wears on.
Hours pass. It grows dark. We get hungry and I share a protein bar Skinner shoved in my pocket before he dropped me off. Amber breaks out a chocolate bar, giving me half. Food never tasted so good. Night arrives and brings the cold with it. Just how cold takes us both by surprise. Eventually Amber falls asleep on my shoulder. The stupid girl didn’t even bring a jacket. I slip mine off and she grumbles under her breath as I move her around to wrap us both inside it. She settles then, snuggling into my shoulder. I get a whiff of her perfume. Man, how can she still smell so good after being in a damp forest all day and half the night?
Eventually I must have nodded off, because when I open my eyes the stars are fading. Soon the sun is painting the sky a crisp, clear shade of blue and birds take to the air.
Amber stirs, causing the coat to slip off her shoulders. She shivers and I make her put it on properly, despite her obstinate protests.
She pulls the sides together over her – um – ample chest and settles back against the rough bark. Drowsy, with eyes half open, she looks up at me. I can’t stop staring at her face. It’s like a kids’ picture book, open, honest, and so interesting you wanna keep reading because you know you’re gonna find something new. Her honey-brown eyes have a navy-blue ring round the outside edge that I never noticed before. Staring up at me through dark lashes, her face framed by messy blonde hair, her pink mouth parting with each breath she draws in and blows out in her dreamy state, she’s like sweet and sexy at the same time.
‘Jordan?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Sure. Anything.’
Sudden noises from inside the portal interrupt whatever’s on her mind. But it’s not until a gust of icy wind blasts over us that I drag my focus from her eyes.
Three soldier angels, glowing and moving in such perfect sync they appear as one, burst from the entrance. They don’t see us. They don’t stop. They weave through the trees like a speeding train. By the time I’ve got to my feet they’re already gone.
Amber stretches up on her toes for a better look as the group heads in a south-easterly direction. ‘Was that them?’
‘I couldn’t tell. They were too fast.’
‘Did you recognise any of them?’
‘They looked like soldiers from Gabe’s unit.’
‘Should we follow them to see what they know?’
I return to the blackbutt tree, shoving a dead log up against it to sit on. ‘I’m gonna stay right here until I see Ebony.’
She joins me on the log, and after sipping from our water bottles we go back to waiting.
Hours pass before we hear noises again. We scramble to our feet fast, determined not to miss whoever comes through the portal this time.
Isaac staggers out first. I hardly recognise him for the grime he’s wearing like a second skin. His clothes are all torn; hair matted, and while it’s usually bright copper, now it’s streaked dull red from congealed blood.
He walks past us, and then stops and slowly turns. ‘Jordan? Jordan, you’re safe!’ He glances up at the canopy with a look on his face like finally something’s going right. ‘Are you well, lad?’
‘Where’s Ebony?’ I ask.
Silence stretches between the three of us. There’s not even a twitter from the flock of Aracals sleeping in the trees. Everything seems uncannily still. The only movement comes from the flick of Isaac’s silver eyes to the portal, once, then again.
Others are coming. They’re not far behind him. Maybe they got separated. It easily happens in the Crossing. Oh, God, let this be good news. Amber squeezes my hand and immediately lets go.
Thane walks out. He looks even more haggard than Isaac. His eyes are glazed and surrounded by dark smudges. It’s as if he’s not inside his body, that he’s somewhere else and this is only his shadow.
He looks exhausted and tortured and empty.
And I know: he doesn’t have her.
He glances around as if searching for something he expected to be here, and looks disappointed that it’s not. But beneath this momentary disappointment is a face I hardly recognise. I look at the portal again, waiting for a miracle. Panic swirls inside me. Amber catches my eye. She’s verging on panic too. To see Thane here without Ebony destroys the last morsel of hope we were carrying. I nod and lift my open palm at Amber as if to say, Leave this to me. I start walking towards Thane with one thought in my head. I blast it straight at him. Where is she?
But Michael runs out of the portal right in front of me. He sees Thane and turns to him, missing me even though he’s only a step away.
‘What’s going on?’ I ask.
Michael jumps at the sound of my voice. ‘Jordan. I didn’t see you.’ He runs a hand, discoloured with dried blood and dirt, down his shirt as if he’s about to offer it to me to shake. ‘Good to see you’re all right. You had us worried.’
Thane says, ‘The contingent is not far behind us. And Gabe says the cages will arrive any minute.’
Michael exhales. Something weird is going on. Not that I care. There’s only one thing I want. ‘Where is Ebony?’
Thane’s eyes go black, his irises opening and closing. He’s struggling to maintain control over his emotions. Shit. Shit! This is not good.
Michael glances at Thane without answering. So that’s three of them who won’t tell me where Ebony is. Is it guilt that’s struck them mute? Thane swallows deep in his throat, licks his parched cracked lips, opens his mouth to say something but closes it again. It is guilt. It’s on his face. It’s in his body language. But by now I don’t care how choked up he is, how shaken or caked in blood or … or anything.
Because now I’m scared. ‘Where is she? Somebody tell me!’
Michael says softly, ‘She’s gone, Jordan.’
‘What?’ It’s Amber, screeching. ‘What do you mean, gone? Gone where?’
Isaac says, ‘The Dark Prince took Ebony to Skade.’
‘Nathaneal, are they saying you don’t have her? That we don’t have Ebony any more?’ Tears well in Amber’s eyes as this news chokes her up. She brings her hands to her mouth. ‘Oh my God! Oh my God!’
I take her hands and pull her close, wrapping my arms around her. Over her head I stare at Thane. ‘What happened? Why couldn’t you save her? Did you use your powers?’
‘I us
ed everything I have,’ he says.
Michael explains. ‘We walked into a trap. Nathaneal sheltered Ebony with a protective shield but they ambushed us, kept his team from reaching them in time.’
‘He pulled her out of my wings,’ Thane says, as if he can’t believe it himself.
‘Shit. Shit!’
‘We gave chase, but the gates came down between us.’
‘She’s really gone?’
‘Yes,’ he says, his face bleak, eyes glassy and dazed.
‘I still don’t understand one thing. Why aren’t you in Skade right now looking for her? What are you doing here?’
‘Jordan,’ he says in a voice that’s so empty it doesn’t even sound like his any more, ‘I will explain everything soon, but for now there is work to be done.’
‘Work? What work? What can be more important than rescuing Ebony? You know, as soon I heard that you were with her, I thought, That’s it. She’s safe now.’ I hear the tremor in my voice and give myself a shake. ‘I really believed that you would find a way to get her back. I thought you loved her enough to do anything to save her.’
‘Jordan, I understand you’re hurting. This is killing me too.’
I need him to stop talking. To stop giving me excuses. I run at him to punch him in the face as hard as I can, but he grabs both my wrists and holds them out to the sides, so I yell instead, ‘But you don’t get to die, do you?’
Behind me I hear Amber choking on sobs. I glance back and see Isaac helping her up from the ground where she must have tumbled after I let her go. I’d forgotten I was holding her. Damn! She draws in a trembling breath. Her eyes are liquid and draining out of her. She’s swimming in pain. Ebony was Amber’s best friend. They were like sisters. And now they will never see each other again. I understand Amber’s pain. It cuts into me, makes me even angrier with Thane. My lips curl and my voice makes a vicious snarling sound like an attack dog.
I step back and he releases my fists, and before thinking the thought, I charge at his gut with my head.
Before I make contact he grabs both of my shoulders. ‘Are you trying to break your neck?’
‘I hate you for being so strong I can’t even hit you.’
‘Listen to me, Jordan, you’ll only hurt yourself if you try. Last time you hit me you broke five fingers. Remember?’
‘I hate you! And d’you know why? Because you did this to me. You should have just let me die like I was supposed to that day Skinner bottled me in the gut. You promised that my life would get better, and all you’ve brought me since is pain and anguish. And if I hadn’t found Ebony for you, she’d still be here!’
He grabs my arms. Looking me in the face, he pushes my jacket sleeves up above the burns. ‘Who did this to you?’
Yanking my arms free, I stumble backwards. Thane probes my mind, but I scramble fiercely. He peers at me with a penetrating look of remorse. ‘I’m sorry, Jordan.’
I hold my wrists up and yell, ‘These are nothing. Just tell me why you bothered to come back here when you don’t have her? Why aren’t you in Skade right now rescuing her?’
He takes a deep breath. ‘He sealed the gates … for … for …’
Isaac finishes when he can’t, ‘A hundred years.’
Amber gasps. ‘Oh my God!’ She bursts into tears and runs into the forest.
‘Amber! Amber, wait up!’ She doesn’t stop. I turn back to ask Thane, ‘Can’t you open them?’
He exchanges a look with Michael. ‘I tried.’
‘And failed? You fail her all the time.’
He glances at the ground.
‘Can anyone open them?’
Michael says, ‘We’re not sure. That’s one of the things we have to find out.’
Gabriel runs out of the portal with a bunch of soldiers. He assesses the scene in a flash but says nothing. He nods at me. At the same time the soldiers who passed through earlier, along with a dozen Brothers from the monastery arrive with open-backed trucks loaded with rattling cages that could fit elephants inside them. My eyes boggle as I wonder what they need them for. Inside the first cage are heavy chains, iron poles and hundreds of cuffs, similar to the ones in the cave that gave me my scars. The sight makes my stomach drop. ‘W-what’s all this for?’
Uriel, Sami and a host of other angels in armour burst through the portal followed by an army of enemy soldiers, some so big they gotta be those Thrones that Thane mentioned were crucial to Luca’s plan to steal Ebony.
Gabe’s soldiers and the Brothers herd the prisoners into the cages, ten in a row, ten rows per cage, with each prisoner cuffed and a pole driven through their chains and attached to both the top and bottom of the cage.
The whole process takes a while, but eventually they’re on their way to the monastery.
Isaac and Michael tag on at the end of the convoy and cast a glance at Thane, who doesn’t appear to want to move yet. ‘I’ll be there soon,’ he tells them, and watches the last of the prisoners leave before he turns to me.
He runs his fingers through his tangled matted hair, shoving it off his face. Standing in front of me, he lifts my hands and studies my weeping blistered wrists. ‘What happened, Jordan?’
‘Luca had me chained to a wall in the cave where he was holding Ebony. You won’t believe how close to your place and the monastery it was.’
Shifting his hands to the burns, he attempts to initiate healing, but I break away. ‘I don’t want your help.’ I take a step backwards. ‘Haven’t you damaged my life enough already?’
What I don’t tell him is that I need to feel this pain. This pain I can handle. But without it I would get the full brunt of the other pain, the pain of missing Ebony, and I’m not ready for that yet.
‘Where are you going?’ he asks as I step into the forest.
I keep my back to him. ‘To find Amber. In case you didn’t notice, she was shattered by your news.’
He’s quiet for so long I think he has nothing more, but when I start walking he says, ‘There’s a meeting at the monastery in ninety minutes.’
Without turning, I ask, ‘What for?’
‘To plan how we’re going to get Ebony back.’
I take this in for a moment. A small spark of hope ignites inside me. ‘Don’t start without me.’
7
Ebony
I wake in a strange bed, disoriented, not sure if it’s morning or night, or even what day it is. But it doesn’t take long for reality to sink in, for me to realise that Prince Luca kidnapping me didn’t happen in a dream.
Last night I didn’t notice how cold it is in Skade. I didn’t notice much at all. My brain was full to capacity and couldn’t take in any more. But now my heart is thudding in my chest, pounding against the palm of my hand as I look up at an unfamiliar ceiling inhaling frosty air.
Mela comes to my door and I instantly feel my heart rate slowing down. She has a sympathetic smile and a compassionate look in her eyes that resemble Jordan’s so much that I know I’m right – Mela is Jordan’s mother. But what is she doing here, in this palace, with him?
‘Good morning, Ebony. Did you sleep well?’
‘Like the dead,’ I murmur, then gasp, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Mela, how tactless of me to say that when you’re surrounded by death here.’
‘It’s all right. I’m used to the souls now,’ she says. ‘I admit, sometimes I’ve wished death for myself. I even begged him once.’
‘Forgive my ignorance, Mela, but I thought only souls came to Skade, not the living.’
She comes closer, and I see that she’s breathing, her skin has colour, her heart is beating at a regular human rate, pumping blood around her body, but it’s the brief glance I catch into her eyes that reveals the burning flame of her soul and I know absolutely. ‘You’re alive.’
‘Death is not the end, Ebony. But here –’ she glances over her shoulder, checking the door behind her – ‘dead or alive makes no difference.’
‘Are there any other living human beings in Skade?�
�
‘I’ve travelled to every province and haven’t met one like me yet.’
‘It must be horrible to be the only one of your kind.’
She smiles, placating me, trying to make me feel better about her plight. ‘I’ve found my place here. And you have enough to deal with, so please, don’t think of unpleasant things today.’
‘I’ll try not to.’ Instead I’ll think of ways to escape.
Even if it’s true that Luca has sealed the gates for a hundred years, it doesn’t mean I can’t escape him. Or his palace. That will take some planning and perfecting of my powers, and hopefully my wings will appear soon. But I have time. It’s more than a year until I turn eighteen, the golden age of maturity when angel law allows couples to marry.
Mela has a calming presence, and talking to her keeps the anxiety at bay. It’s almost possible to imagine I’m in Jordan’s company.
And since I’m still here, Nathaneal can’t yet have found a way through the gates. He would have come for me if he could. So maybe Luca is telling the truth.
The thought makes my stomach roll. And roll. ‘Argh … Mela, I think I’m going to be …’
She runs off, returning quickly with a ceramic bowl she holds under my chin. In the most undignified way possible I bring up the contents of my stomach, which are mostly liquid. It hurts and I want to die, but since I can’t do that either, I settle for crawling back under the quilt, curling into the foetal position and wishing I could sleep for the next hundred years.
Like they do in fairy tales.
Like my daydreams when I was eleven and twelve, when I used to ride Shadow into the wooded hills at the rear of our property and pretend I was meeting my beautiful prince.
Oh, Nathaneal, where are you? What are you thinking?
I take a deep breath and wipe away the tears soaking into the pillow. Crying will do me no good. I’m not giving up on Nathaneal finding a way into Skade, but escaping is going to be top of my agenda every minute of every day until I’m out of here.
Mela strokes my forehead as you would a child with a fever. I want to scream at her to leave me alone. But that’s just because I’m angry and scared. And lashing out from my fears and frustrations will get me nowhere. I will have to be clever to get through this.
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