by J Gaines
Jasmine moved with a deadly speed, and the helpless soldiers were unable to defend her attacks. She’d already killed ten, and the tide had begun to turn as Sophia and the remnant of the altéré picked off Kaden’s forces from their refuge. Amias threw himself into four other soldiers, shooting one of them at point blank range and using the knife on the others. When the last soldier had fallen, he stopped and looked at the blood-covered face of Jasmine. She stared at him with an intensity that shocked him, and he was unsure of how to respond. He was about to speak when he felt somebody take hold of his arm gently.
Sophia looked at Jasmine nervously, and then back to him. “Jasmine’s given us our chance to escape. We need to go now, though.” She was joined by another seven altéré who armed themselves and awaited Amias’s response.
“I’m in.” Max joined the small group, blood trickling from his forehead as he re-loaded his weapon.
Amias turned to Jasmine, studying her for a few moments before he turned back to Sophia. He began to feel the sudden pressure of expectation on him. “There’s another entrance to this building. We can make our escape there. If we can make it to the fence, then we’re in open country. A mile or so from here there’s a large wood; we can hide there.”
Sophia nodded, and Max motioned towards Jasmine. “What about her?”
Amias turned to Jasmine. “You need to come with us.” He waited for what seemed like an eternity before, to his amazement, she nodded in agreement.
“Let’s go.” Within moments he was running through the corridors towards the exit. Jasmine and the others ran in front of him at his own request, and he turned to look back nervously as he heard voices and footsteps close behind. “Keep going,” he whispered, as the group increased their speed.
They didn’t check their pace at the exit to the building, bursting out into the rainy night, heedless of whatever was waiting for them. To Amias’s surprise, their escape route was clear, and they sprinted across the concrete paths and onto the grass that led to the perimeter fence. Running up a hill, Amias stayed at the rear and stopped; he raised his weapon and turned back, peering into the darkness to make sure they weren’t being followed. From his place on the hill he could see the building they’d just exited.
“Amias?” Max whispered his name and he turned to see him standing alone in the darkness. “What are you doing?”
“I need to go back for Olivia,” he said, checking his weapons ammunition before he shot a resolute look at Max. “Go with the others and help them get to safety. I’ll meet you at the wood if I can.”
Max nodded before turning and disappearing into the darkness.
Amias sprinted across the wet grass as the main gate came into view again. He stumbled up another slope to get a better view and then stopped, dropping his rifle at the scene before him. A few hundred soldiers stood in the rain, silhouetted by the large floodlights, all looking in the same direction. In their midst, in a large space hollowed out between them, Olivia faced Kaden, her sword raised and held across her face. Even from a distance and in the darkness Amias could see she was tired. Her usually perfect form was gone, replaced with a defensive posture. The tall figure of Kaden rose above the other soldiers and he was as still as a statue, his sword lowered and held in one hand. Olivia suddenly surged forwards and threw weary strikes, holding her sword with both hands as Kaden whipped his sword up and across to parry the strikes. He stepped aside and lowered his sword again as Olivia turned to face him once more.
Suddenly he saw her turn and look at the people surrounding her as if she were looking for something. Her head turned towards where he was standing, and he frowned, unsure of what she was doing. As he watched her his heart began to thump and he wanted to shout out. An undeniable realisation hit him, and he understood she knew he was watching. He was frozen as he watched Kaden step forward and thrust his sword through her chest. Amias dropped to his knees in the same instant as Olivia did. Kaden towered over her, his hand still holding his blade. Amias watched and anguish filled his body as Kaden ripped the sword free, letting her drop to the wet concrete. In another instant, he’d turned and walked through the crowd of soldiers who made a tunnel as he strode towards the building where Jasmine had saved them.
He watched helplessly as the soldiers dispersed, a large group of them following Kaden, and many of the others filtering into groups and moving throughout the facility. His eyes turned back to Olivia, alone and still in the rain. Pain surged through his stomach and he knew he couldn’t leave her. He got to his feet, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, half running, half stumbling down the slope. It seemed like an age before he picked her up in his arms, along with her fallen sword. She was lighter than he’d expected, and he looked down to see a dark patch of blood welling in her chest. He looked at her sadly and then gripped her tightly and began to run as gunfire sounded and he saw the turf in front of him churned by the bullets. There were shouts and more gunfire as he put his head down, striding up the hill, expecting the impact of a bullet at any moment. As he looked up he saw two figures appear and drop to one knee; they held rifles and he readied himself for the end. He saw the flash from their weapons as they pulled their triggers, but to his surprise he was still running. He reached the summit of the hill and Max and Sophia got up, followed quickly by Jasmine.
He gasped. “She’s alive.”
Chapter 22
As they ran Amias could hear the heavy breathing of his companions, broken only by the sound of distant gunfire. They were free of the facility and running through corn that rose a couple of feet above their heads. Amias carried Olivia in his arms, using his head and forearms to project them through the wet stems and leaves, ignoring the whip of the small husks and grateful for the cover. He glanced down. Olivia’s eyes were looking up at him blankly; she blinked occasionally as rain streamed into her face. Her breaths were shallow and becoming less frequent.
He led them quickly through the field in the direction of the wood in which he’d agreed to meet the others, a dim shadow suddenly appearing on the horizon as they approached the tightly knitted oak trees. They didn’t stop running when they reached the tall trunks, standing like sentinels in the night as they sprinted deeper into the darkness. They ran quickly down a slope where the trees became less dense, and in the light of the moon Amias noticed a strange blue tinge to the woodland floor.
“Amias.” The strained voice of Olivia whispered through the trees and darkness in-between. “Amias, please put me down.”
He stopped. “It’s not safe yet, we need to get to the others, and then get you to a hospital.”
She gently touched his face. “Please.” He nodded and lowered her carefully down next to her sword. Sophia handed him her jacket, and he placed it under Olivia’s head, before kneeling by her side. The others stood silently watching.
Rain fell through the branches of the tree and echoed around them. Olivia looked up at Amias as she ran her hands in circular motions over the ground. “These are bluebells. They are late. I bet this is a beautiful place on a sunny day. Have you been here before?”
He nodded and smiled distractedly. “Yes, once.” He turned to look back in the direction they’d come. “We need to keep moving, Olivia.”
She smiled weakly. “We have some time, but not much.”
“Time for what?” Amias was growing more uneasy by the second. He looked at the others, who looked back at him sadly.
“To talk.” She winced and closed her eyes, before opening them again and smiling. “What do you remember about your parents, Amias… your real parents?”
He frowned again. “We don’t have time for this.”
“This is all we have time for… please tell me.”
He hesitated, still fighting what he knew deep down was an inevitability. “I don’t remember anything about them… I was too young to remember. Sometimes I think I dream about them, but I’m never
sure if it’s really my parents, or somebody else I’ve noticed somewhere… but don’t remember.”
“I wish I could tell you everything about them. But I fear I’ve left it too late. There isn’t much time for either of us.”
Amias’s eyes widened and he leaned forward, his heart thumping. “You knew them?”
“Yes. I knew your father. He was the most beautiful man I’ve ever met, he was so much like you that it’s like he’s kneeling in front of me now… except, you don’t have his eyes.” She took a sharp intake of breath and winced again, before relaxing. “You have your mother’s eyes.”
He choked on the words that burst from his chest. “You knew my mother as well?” A pain began to swell inside him, and a sadness like he’d never felt before brought on a torrent of tears. A sharp pain in his forehead made him grimace slightly and he lowered his head. “Please tell me.” He raised it again and saw Olivia was also crying. As he looked into her blue eyes he recognised a truth, and saw his eyes.
“Your mother’s real name is Grace, my real name. It’s cruel you’re finding this out now. I’ve wanted to tell you so many times since I’ve found you again. Please believe that.” She was struggling to speak, and he watched as she desperately tried to suppress her pain. “I’ve found you,”
“Found me?” he replied.
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time… for such a long time. To try and make right what I did wrong. And then I found you and I wasn’t sure how or if I should tell you.” Each sentence seemed as if it caused her pain, and she shifted uneasily on her makeshift bed.
A tear rolled from Amias’s eye and fell onto the bluebells below. “Why did you leave me?”
She took a deep breath and spoke quickly, as if each word might be her last. “Your father and I… we loved each other very much. We were young and we’d both been identified as altéré at a young age. It’s all we’d ever known, until we met each other. When I was ten years old I was sent to Paris to train with the same mentor as your father. We grew close over the years that followed and we fell in love. We’d been taught about the altéré ways, and that two of our kind were unable to have children together, but we didn’t care. All we wanted in the world was to be together.” She clenched her jaw in pain and closed her eyes. “At sixteen we packed a bag and we left our mentor forever… to be together. We left France and kept moving through Europe until we were sure we were free. It wasn’t unusual for altéré to reject the expectation of their elders, but we wanted to be left alone to live our lives, free of the responsibilities of the altéré. It had only been a year, and although we were happy, your father missed France, so we returned to live near a small commune called Najac. It was there everything changed.”
“Rayane,” whispered Amias.
His mother opened her eyes and looked at him sadly, but without surprise. “Kaden told you his name.”
Suddenly, the full realisation of what had happened hit him. “Kaden. He did this. But he told me–”
“He knows you’re his brother,” replied Olivia. Amias heard an intake of breath from behind him where the others were standing, but he didn’t turn.
“Did he know?”
“No, he didn’t know I was his mother. But I knew that in the end it was my destiny to face him, whether I wanted to or not. You’ve both travelled different paths, but they are paths I’ve set you on. Although you’re twins, you’ve become your own men.” She tried to sit up, but Amias pushed her gently backwards as she coughed. “I need to finish. When we returned to France I became ill. We were unsure why, and too scared to seek medical help, so I lived with it… until it became clear there was something seriously wrong. Rayane sought out one of the altéré who had medical experience, and we were sure we could trust. He came in the night to examine me and we found out I was ten weeks pregnant. In all the years our kind have been aware of their abilities, a birth between two of our kind together has only ever been told in stories. We knew then that we were no longer safe if we wanted to remain free. We trusted the man who examined me, and that was our biggest mistake.” She gripped Amias’s hand tightly. “They came that very night to take me. I’m unsure of whether they wanted to hurt me or just take us, but it wasn’t what your father and I wanted. Rayane fought them and allowed me to escape. He told me he would follow me, but he never did. They killed him.” She fell silent. Amias’s eyes fell to the dark stain on her chest.
“I was pregnant and alone. And I was scared that if I tried to leave the country I would be found, so I continued to move, never stopping until one night I had to. The night you were born was a night much like this one.” She stared past Amias. “And a woman who had nobody checked into a hospital where nobody knew her, and gave birth to twin boys… and then was gone in the morning.”
Amias shook his head. “How did you manage?”
“It’s amazing what a mother will do for her children, Amias… and to protect them. It had only been a few months and I was preparing to return to England, where I was born. But they found me. Ten of them came to take me; I killed all of them. But I didn’t stop there… anger took control of me, and I couldn’t escape from it. I decided then that I wanted to be free of the constant threat of the altéré coming for us, but I know now that it was revenge I sought.” She closed her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks. “I left you both with a friend, and I travelled to the man’s house who’d discovered I was pregnant. My fury was unlocked, and I killed him… and his wife. They were both altéré, and died with swords in their hands. I was about to leave when I heard crying. I then found a young boy, around three years old. I could tell he was also altéré, and later I found out he’d been fostered by the couple. I took the boy in my arms and the realisation of what I’d done was almost too much to bear. The need of that boy and my responsibility to you and Kaden was all that brought me back to you. I had to take the boy with me… and I named him Blaise.”
Amias let go of her hand and she looked at him sadly. “I ruined four lives that night, and I’ve lived with it ever since. But I was young, Amias… and losing Rayane was too much pain to bear. When I returned to you I continued with my plan and travelled to England. I knew that unless we were separated, you would never be safe. I then made a decision I’ve thought about every day since I made it. I had to separate you and Kaden, so I left you and Blaise in a hospital in the south of England and travelled to the north with Kaden. I waited for as long as I could to make sure you were all taken into care and then I got as far away from you as I could. I travelled to Japan. I knew even I couldn’t know where you were.”
“Stop speaking,” Amias growled through tears. “We need to get you to a hospital now.” He moved to pick her up, but a gentle hand from Olivia stopped him. Even in the darkness he could see her blue eyes watching him intently.
“He took your sword. You need to take mine.” She reached for it blindly, and he placed the hilt into her hands. She pushed it towards him. “It’s a Mashima sword. It’s the sister sword to the one Kaden has taken. Only I knew that Master Mashima had made two. It’s yours now, you’ll need it.”
Amias took the sword and studied the blade. “He’s my brother.”
“He is, but you have to accept, as I have… that he is also something very different now. It’s my fault, and I wish I could change what has happened. I couldn’t kill my son, but you must face him. I have to believe there’s still good in him.” She suddenly cried out in pain and coughed, blood trickling from her lips and down her cheek. “Attached to my belt is a knife; it was your father’s. Take it – he would want you to have it.”
He nodded slowly, and his mother pulled him closer, using the last of her strength and speaking only to him. “There’s more. The headaches you have… they are more than just headaches. When I returned to find you, I felt them when I was near you and Kaden. I’m sure it’s our bodies’ way of telling us that one of us is close.
I learned to master them, and they become less painful… I’m not sure if Kaden is aware of it. Use this to help you in any way you can.”
Amias’s eyes widened. “You felt them when you were near me? But how long have you been watching me?”
She stared at him sadly. “I found you again with the help of Virgil, after you were released from the young offenders’ institute. I wanted to be close, but I couldn’t reveal myself with Kaden watching you.” Suddenly she looked tired. “I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t know what to do,” replied Amias.
“I have faith in you.” She reached out painfully and ran her fingers down his forehead and onto his cheek. “Everyone’s fate lies in your hands. Because of who and what you are, you’ll always be hunted by our kind. You have a gift which every single altéré would kill for.”
Tears rolled down Amias’s cheeks. “What if I fail?”
Olivia strained painfully before her eyes began to close. “As your trainer, I can tell you that you need to hold your will, keep your calm and control, and channel your energy.” Her voice began to trail off, but she sucked in a long breath, desperate to finish her sentence. “But as your mother I will tell you that if you’re still breathing, don’t ever stop fighting… ever. Put your trust in your love, Amias.” Her eyes closed, and the only sound was the rain falling through the branches of the trees.
Chapter 23
Amias felt a hand on his shoulder. “We need to keep moving.” He could sense the trepidation in Sophia’s voice. They’d heard more than he wanted them to, but he didn’t feel like giving explanations now. Slowly, he bent down and picked up Olivia once again.