by Nick Cook
Melissa and I stepped through the gaping hole, our sparks already lit to deal. The debris was crowding my X-ray vision so I shifted into the infrared spectrum and saw the man’s body sprawled on the floor opposite. As the dust began to settle, I gazed around at the room.
Every surface had been filled with strange-looking symbols scrawled in red chalk.
We both edged towards the unconscious man with our hands extended. I recognised him as Reece Johnson – one of the people we’d seen when we’d visited the house within Ember. As Melissa knelt down and checked his pulse, I got ready to blast him if he so much as twitched.
Melissa shook his head. ‘He’s dead.’ She pointed to the chalk in his hand. ‘Any idea what those symbols are?’
I took my phone out and pointed it at the walls. ‘Sentinel, can you tell us what these are about?’
‘They appear to be Shade runic symbols used to create dark magic spells,’ the AI replied in my eBud. ‘And when I say spells, I mean the Shade’s ability to manipulate energy.’
‘So you’re saying Reece Johnson is another Shade Immortal – like Mathews?’
‘Exactly. However, fortunately for us, you interrupted whatever spell Johnson was trying to cast here. It was probably responsible for those tremors. Now he’s been neutralised, you can recover the Lodestone.’
‘On it.’ I picked my way across the strewn rubble towards the cube, Melissa beside me.
I placed both hands on the Lodestone but snatched them away as an Arctic chill bit into my fingers. ‘Wow, that thing’s freezing.’
‘Sorry, I should have warned you,’ Sentinel said. ‘Shade Lodestones contain superconductors running at absolute zero, hence the chilled surface temperature.’
‘Here, use this,’ Melissa said, pulling a dust-covered rug from the floor.
I wrapped my hands in the material, insulating my fingers as well as I could, and tried again. Although I still felt the cold from the cube, this time it didn’t seem as though my fingers would drop off from frostbite. I began to lift the Lodestone and let out a small groan as my muscles trembled with its weight.
‘Heavy?’ Melissa asked.
‘Yep, it feels as if I’m trying to lift a car rather than something the size of a football.’
‘That’s another thing that I should probably have warned you about,’ Sentinel said. ‘The atoms making up the cube are densely packed together, hence its increased mass.’
‘I’d would have worn a weightlifting belt if I’d known,’ I replied through gritted teeth as I slowly stood upright with cube between my hands. ‘Anyway, the sooner we teleport back to Eaglehurst, the sooner I’m not in danger of ripping a few muscles.’ I turned to Melissa. ‘Ready when…’
My words drifted away as I spotted a trail of blood scraped across the floor where Johnson’s body had been. He was now on the other side of the room, reaching up with the piece of red chalk and scratching a final symbol onto the wall to close the only gap between the two adjacent characters. As Melissa extended her hands and I lit my sparks, the Shade agent turned his lifeless eyes towards us.
Johnson’s voice echoed around the room. ‘Prepare to die, Awoken.’
I blasted my fireball straight into Johnson and he instantly fractured into shadow crows. Melissa spidered her fingers, sending electricity leaping up from the sockets in the room to blast each and every one of the shadow crows to ashes. As the cinders from them settled, the red chalk rolled away from where Johnson had been standing.
A humming sound came from all around us and I exchanged a confused look with Melissa. The chalk runes on the wall started to glow ruby red and, with a growl of grinding rock, the room began to shake.
My gaze locked on to the tiny pinprick of darkness that had appeared in the dead centre of the room. Then the air all around began shrieking past us towards it.
‘What the hell is that thing, Sentinel?’ I shouted over the screaming wind. No answer came from my eBud. ‘Shit! Whatever this is must be affecting communications with Sentinel.’
‘Could it be a tiny portal to the Void?’ Melissa asked.
‘Possibly, but let’s get out of here before we find out for sure. Are you ready to teleport back to the tower at Eaglehurst?’
Melissa nodded.
I pulled up the photo of Eaglehurst’s tower on my phone. We both stared at the picture of the marker on the mezzanine floor.
‘Good to go when you are,’ Melissa said.
‘OK…’ I closed my eyes and focused my attention. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see Melissa staring back at me, her expression wild.
‘Why can’t we teleport out?’ she asked.
‘Probably everything to do with whatever that point of darkness is.’
A chair began to scrape over the floor towards the pinprick of darkness, until it shredded into tiny pieces as it was sucked inside.
‘Get…away…gravitational bomb…house will be destroyed,’ Sentinel suddenly said through bursts of static in my eBud.
More radio noise.
‘Johnson…trying…stop…Lodestone…being…captured,’ he continued.
A large table spun up on its legs, crumpled in on itself and flew into the tiny hole.
The wind clawed at my body. ‘We need to get as far from that dot as possible.’
‘I’m not arguing with that,’ Melissa said.
With the Lodestone clutched in my arms, we staggered out into the corridor as the manor house shook all around us. A vase tumbled past us, shattering as it flew, the debris sucked straight into the room we’d just left.
My arm muscles screamed – the Lodestone felt as if it were getting heavier the further we moved away from the point of darkness. A howl came from somewhere ahead of us in the house.
A painting broke free of its hanging pin and disappeared into the growing vortex of destruction behind us as the walls started to crumble into the room too.
Sentinel’s voice came through again but this time clearer. ‘Good, you’re far enough away from the disruptive effect of the gravitational bomb. You should be able to teleport now.’
‘Thank god,’ Melissa said.
But ahead of us a wolf skidded round the corner of the corridor and planted its legs apart to resist the pull of the wind whistling away into the room at our backs. The creature stared straight at me with its grey eyes.
‘Fancy running into you here, Gavin,’ I shouted over the cry of wind.
The wolf snarled at us, spittle drooling over its teeth.
I hoisted the cube towards Melissa. ‘Here, you take this. I need my hands free to deal with him.’
‘Jake, you can’t single-handedly protect everyone all the time. You need to let the rest of us step up and do our part every so often.’
I knew she had a point, but this wasn’t the time. ‘No, you’re coming with me,’ I told her. ‘This is no time for needless heroics. Neither of us need to worry about him right now.’
‘OK, let’s jump then, and quickly.’
As Gavin braced himself, ready to leap and tear us to pieces, I started to focus on Eaglehurst, a world away from all this madness. Then everything went white and with a brief spin of vertigo I was back in Eaglehurst’s tower. I dropped the cube with a thud that shook the whole mezzanine floor.
‘Hell, that was close, Melissa.’
She didn’t reply.
I turned round, but she was nowhere to be seen. My stomach began to churn. ‘Sentinel, where is she?’
‘She is still in the manor house,’ he replied.
‘Shit!’ I focused my mind back on the corridor.
‘Jake, stop!’ Sentinel shouted. ‘It’s already too late. The gravity bomb has just destroyed the entire house. I’m patching in a live feed from Gem’s camera now.’
Sentinel’s head was replaced by an aerial view of the countryside.
Bile rose to the back of my throat. There was a huge black crater where the manor house had been a moment ago. Around it the vehicles of the military conv
oy had been reduced to burning wreckage. Gem’s angel landed next to Hammond and Williams, who were staring at the scene ashen-faced, along with Captain Jacobs and the remainder of his squad. Chloe and Ethan were nearby, finishing off the last few shadow crow stragglers.
‘Melissa?’ I whispered.
‘I’m so sorry, Jake,’ Sentinel replied.
The back of my nose stung as pounding footsteps came up the spiral staircase. My heart squeezed as Daniel, breathing hard, appeared on the mezzanine.
‘I just heard that you guys headed out on a mission with Melissa. I can’t believe you let her go and not me, Jake. Anyway, what happened…?’ His words faded away as he took in the look on my face. ‘What’s wrong?’
I forced myself to meet his gaze. ‘I…I don’t know how to tell you this, Daniel, but…’
A shadow filled Daniel’s eyes.
‘Melissa.’ I pointed at the huge crater on the screen. What else could I say?
Daniel’s face twisted. It was like watching the man standing before me shatter into splinters. A numbness swept over me, a sense of utter powerlessness, as Daniel collapsed to his knees and began to sob.
Chapter Eight
I sat on Allan’s bench trying to look anywhere but at the grey frigate sat offshore in the darkness, its outline edged with yellow lights. It was just another uncomfortable reminder of our government’s interference.
My mind felt like glass, brittle and numb beyond pain.
I still couldn’t believe it. One moment Melissa had been by my side and the next I’d as good as left her to die. It was something I had a disturbing track record for doing to people I cared about.
My hands clawed the wood of the bench and I tipped my head up at the stars in the clear summer’s night sky.
I don’t know if I can do this any more…
And that was the truth of it. With every death, it was hard not to feel it was directly my fault, because of something I hadn’t done.
Melissa…
Daniel’s grief-filled face rose to the surface of my mind – the reason I was out here by myself trying to catch my breath as the world imploded around me.
From the encampment, the murmur of morning conversation and music floated towards me as people began to wake.
So many lives, each and every one of them at risk of the same fate as Melissa. And could I really ask them to do that? If my heart shattered like this over one death, what would happen if it the death toll became hundreds…thousands even?
Footsteps crunched over the track and I was relieved to see it was Chloe rather than Ericsson. He would no doubt be wanting to rip into me for launching an unauthorised Awoken mission.
Chloe gestured towards the seat. ‘May I join you?’
I shrugged by way of a reply.
She sat next to me. ‘You look like a man weighed down, Jake.’
‘Yes, I am.’
Chloe sighed. ‘Look, I pretty much know how your mind ticks, not to mention how you love to beat yourself up given any excuse. But you have to stop doing that right now, because none of this is your fault.’
I opened my mouth to try to deny it, but she was right. Like always. Instead, I flapped a hand dismissively at her.
Chloe placed a finger under my cheek and turned my head to make me look at her as if I were a naughty child she’d found raiding the cookie jar. ‘Jake, you need to start realising that being responsible for these people comes with a certain price…basically a huge guilt trip when things go wrong. It’s called leadership. We all feel it: Ethan, Gem, me – all of the group leaders. But this is what being in charge feels like.’
‘Well, it sucks big time,’ I replied.
‘Yes, it does. But if I were one of the new recruits, I’d much rather follow someone like you who feels this way about the people they lead. Caring as you do and as much as you do is a good thing, especially because it means you won’t get careless with their lives. To you, every person who has joined us here is equally important. And don’t you ever dare change that attitude, or I promise I’ll thump you.’ She gave me such a hard look that I was pretty sure she wasn’t joking.
I managed a small smile for the friend who’d done this so often throughout my life – be the anchor when stormy seas threatened to drown me. ‘I’ll do my best.’
‘Glad to hear it.’
Over her shoulder, I spotted Daniel striding towards us, his hands clenched into fists, shoulders hunched forward. No mistaking that sort of body language.
Chloe sprang up immediately. ‘Let me talk to him, Jake.’
‘No, this comes with the territory of me being leader, and this is my mess to clean up.’ I stood, planting my feet slightly apart, ready for whatever came as Daniel bore down on me.
‘So this is where you’ve been bloody hiding yourself, you coward,’ Daniel said.
‘I’m so sorry.’ I raised my hands in surrender. I was pretty certain anything I said would simply tip Daniel over the edge.
‘You mean sorry about how you let my sister go on that mission even though she hadn’t finished her training?’ he said, spittle flying from his mouth. ‘What the hell were you thinking, Jake?’
‘Whoa there, Daniel, lower that attitude,’ Chloe said. ‘I know how much you’re hurting, but you’re not being fair. It was Melissa who insisted on going. Jake tried to stop her, but she went anyway. Sentinel told me all about it.’
Daniel glowered at her and crossed his arms. ‘So when she did turn up, tell me why His Majesty here didn’t send her back, huh? I tell you why: because he loves to gamble with other people’s lives, that’s bloody why.’
His words felt like actual punches and I took a half step back. But Daniel wasn’t done yet and he jabbed his finger into my chest.
Despite the martial arts training I’d received from one of the Ericsson’s soldiers, I did nothing to stop Daniel. I deserved all of this: black eye, broken teeth, whatever he chose to dish out.
He pressed his finger harder into my sternum. ‘I’m going hate you as long as I live for killing my beautiful sister, do you hear me?’
Chloe slapped his hand down as she forced herself between us. ‘Because I know how upset you are, Daniel, I’m going to cut you some slack here. Take yourself off for a long walk and cool down before I kick you onto your arse.’
He sneered at her. ‘Oh, I promise you, Jake hasn’t heard the half of it. None of you have.’ He pointed his hand over the cliff and clamped his fingers into a ball. A column of water exploded upwards, as if a mine had exploded beneath the ocean, showering the beach with spray.
A spotlight on HMS Iron Duke instantly blazed into life, swinging swung towards the boiling surf as the spray splashed down onto the surface.
‘That’s exactly what I’d like to do to your head, Stevens,’ Daniel said. He spun round and stalked off into the darkness.
‘Ignore him, Jake – he’s not thinking straight,’ Chloe said.
‘How can I, when he’s basically right about everything?’
My oldest friend peered into my face. ‘No, he bloody isn’t, Jake. Look, you need to develop some thicker skin and not let him get to you like this.’
‘Easier said than done, Chloe.’
She sighed. ‘Yeah, I know.’
Behind us the sound of rotor blades grew steadily louder. We both turned round to see a military helicopter, a Merlin, approaching low and fast. It passed the frigate and began to turn towards the upper field as it came in to land.
‘Bit early for visitors. It must be important,’ Chloe said.
‘It’s General Hammond,’ Sentinel said through our eBuds. ‘He says he needs to talk to you both.’
My neck muscles tensed. ‘That’s good, because I’ve got plenty I want to say to him too.’
By the time we reached the top field, passing Kelly’s bronze stag next to a medical tent and an emergency muster point indicated by a painted X, the helicopter’s rotors had started to slow.
As soon as the Merlin landed, General
Hammond emerged carrying a silver briefcase, Williams beside him, unloading a heavy-looking crate onto a wheeled trolley. Keeping their heads low, they headed over to us.
‘If you’re here to tell us we’ve broken the rules, I really don’t care at the moment,’ I said.
Hammond shook his head. ‘Yes, you did break the rules, but that’s not why I’m here.’
‘Why then?’ Chloe asked.
‘Because I need to debrief you after the success of the mission.’
‘Oh my god – you seriously think that mission was a success?’ I replied. ‘Based on what criteria exactly?’
‘Based on the fact that a major Shade spy cell, one that’s corrupted our government and been operating in this country for a significant amount of time, has been completely wiped out. Make no mistake, this was a serious blow against the Shade – yesterday was a great day in our battle against them.’
Chloe winced and placed her hand on my shoulder. ‘Jake, don’t—’
I knocked her hand away. ‘Oh, I have a very different view of that same mission, General. A truly amazing person called Melissa lost her life last night. Not to mention the fact that Captain Jacobs lost at least half his squad. If that’s your definition of success, then you know where you can stick it.’
Hammond’s eyes tightened on mine. ‘Yes, that was deeply regrettable, but it doesn’t change the fact that the mission was a success on so many other levels. Captain Jacobs would be first to tell you that his soldiers accepted that risk when they signed up to the SAS in the first place.’
I hissed through my teeth. ‘May I never bloody ever become like you, Hammond. You think people are expendable if it gets the job done. But that’s not what really gets to me. No, it’s the fact that you make us jump through hoops before we can start any operation, meanwhile you and the government get to do whatever you like and stuff the consequences. If you had just stopped for one moment and bothered to check in with us first, we could have planned this mission together. But no, you love the idea of being the bloody cavalry and charging in with your new toys, guns blazing, don’t you?’