by Peach, Hanna
Alyx stood up, slipping her teacup onto a side table. She stepped up to Mason and placed her hands on his shoulders. “It’s okay, Mason. I understand. We’ll find another way.” Alyx turned to Israel. “We should go. The longer we stay in Saint Joseph the more dangerous it is for us.” Then, turning back to Mason, “Thanks for telling me. You didn’t have to. I’ll protect your secret with my life, don’t worry about that.”
But Israel didn’t follow her to the door. “They’ve already started killing them, Mase. Alyx’s people have already started dying,” said Israel quietly.
“This true, Alyx?” Mason asked as Alyx placed her hand on the door handle.
“It’s not your problem, Mason. Israel, let’s go.”
“No. Wait,” said Mason. “Perhaps we can come to some sort of compromise... some sort of mid-way where I can still help you but I don’t have to do the dirty work myself.”
Alyx let out a breath. “Only if you’re sure, Mason.”
Mason nodded. “For you, my dear. Only for you.”
“Thank you.” Alyx smiled. Mason had given her a sliver of hope in this crazy suicidal plan. “Anything you can do to help. Anything.”
Mason nodded. “Take me to your base of operations. I need to see what we’re working with.”
Chapter 28
After Mason agreed to help them, Alyx dropped Israel off at Aradale and told him to prepare Tobias and the others for Mason’s arrival. Alyx then returned for Mason, who agreed to meet her at a particular street corner of Saint Joseph in exactly two hours. This gave Mason enough time to organize an excuse for his leaving and make preparations to leave his command in proper hands.
Mason now stood with Alyx on the streets of Saint Joseph as she blindfolded him.
“Kinky,” he said, his folded arms showing her his mild displeasure. “Is this really necessary?”
“I’m sorry, Mason,” Alyx said, “but the sanctuary location is supposed to be kept secret. The others will be more accepting of my bringing you there if you don’t actually know where it is.”
“They don’t know I’m coming?”
“Well, I told Israel to make preparations for you, but no, they don’t know exactly that you’re coming...”
“Great. Walkin’ blindfolded into a community of supernaturals,” he mumbled.
Flying actually, Alyx thought. “Hang on then.” She guided his hands around her shoulders and rocketed them both up into the night sky.
* * *
Less than an hour later, Alyx landed them both in the courtyard garden in the middle of Aradale. Most of the building was dark.
“We’re here,” she said.
Mason took off his blindfold and looked around. He wobbled a bit on his first step. “Some flight that was,” he said. Then a grin broke out over his face and he ruffled Alyx’s hair with his large hand.
“Hey, quit it,” Alyx ducked out of his reach.
“Jesus, lass, risking jail time was bloody worth that flight alone. Christ! I don’t know how you can stand to walk, having the power of flight like that.”
Alyx laughed. “You liked it, huh?”
Mason’s enthusiasm threatened to spill out far into the night.
“Calm down, Mason,” said Alyx, grabbing at his arm. “You’ll wake the neighbors.”
“Aye, lassy.” Mason straightened up and forced a serious look to his face. “Take me to your leader.” He maintained his serious expression for another few seconds before bursting out into laughter again. “Take me to your... oh Christ...” more laughter, “...I’ve always wanted to say that.”
Alyx shook her head. “Come on.”
There were few Seraphim up at this early hour. The dawn was just cracking the horizon as Alyx and Mason entered the Aradale building through the back door, which Alyx unlocked with her allocated key. They passed through to Tobias’s office uninterrupted.
In Tobias’s office, the usual group was already there, gathered around the round desk, some of them nursing cups of steaming dandelion and honeydew tea. The room was warm and smelled sweet from the tea. It smelled just like the early morning post-patrole debriefing sessions in Michaelea, where Alyx and her warrior-flock nursed mugs of steaming drink, gathered like a family around Symon, their flock leader… Alyx felt a spear of loss so sharp that it brought a tear to her eye and a soft hiss to her lips. Memories of the smiling faces of her old warrior friends filtered through her mind, finishing up on one bright-eyed, expressive face with pink cheeks like a cherub.
Elysia.
Alyx pushed these images away. This pain would be the mortar to harden her resolve. I’ll get them. I’ll get all of them. For you, Elysia.
Israel sprung forward to greet Mason and begun introducing Mason to the others around the room. There was an extra chair, she noted, placed next to Israel, leaving two empty chairs between what had been Israel’s chair and where Jordan now sat, watching. Alyx took the seat next to Jordan so that Mason could sit between Israel and her.
Jordan leaned towards her and his lips brushed her ear, “Who is this... Mason? Can he be trusted?”
As Mason and Israel reached their chairs, Israel had a small frown pressing at his eyebrows as he watched Alyx.
Alyx spoke quietly so only Jordan could hear. “Mason and his men saved us from two lightwarriors. I trust him and his men implicitly.”
Alyx could see Jordan pulling back from her ear just enough to study Mason, who was lowering himself into what had been Israel’s chair. That left the seat next to her for Israel. Great.
“If you trust him, then I do too.” Jordan spoke loud enough that Alyx had no doubt Israel had heard him. She could feel Israel flinch as he lowered himself into the seat next to her. Alyx chanced a glance at Israel, but he was refusing to look at her, his eyes staring unblinkingly at Tobias.
Tobias began, “Thank you, Mason, for coming and agreeing to help us. Every second is precious in this situation, so forgive me if I skip the extended formalities.”
“That’s fine,” said Mason, his voice taking on a more proper tone than Alyx had ever heard from him. “What kind of information do you have on the sculpture and its location?”
“Jordan and Alyx did some reconnaissance work, which we will show you now. Feel free to stop it at any point or to ask any questions.” Tobias nodded towards Dianne and she directed a MemoryViewer in one hand towards the large screen against the far wall. An image of the front of the Galleria appeared from Jordan’s eyes.
“Just keep in mind that this memory is a copy, hence it is in a mirror image,” Jordan said.
“I’m not gonna ask how you managed that,” Mason mumbled as the memory played through and Jordan commentated.
When the memory stopped, Mason was silent for a moment. “I think I can help you with their security system... but the rest of it...” Mason held up his palms. “I can’t get involved.”
Tobias smiled, “That’s more than enough. We will take whatever help you can offer us.”
Mason nodded. “I can create a small device that, if installed into the security system properly, will allow you to bypass the system when it is activated remotely. It will deactivate any alarms as well as freezing any video streaming so that you don’t show up on any cameras.”
“How long will it take until we can get this device?” asked Alyx.
“Four, five days, maybe. Maybe less.”
“We don’t have that much time,” grumbled Marin. “More of us are going to die.”
“Can you have it done by tomorrow morning?” asked Alyx. “That’s a bit longer than a day.”
Mason sniffed. “You’re pushing it. It would help if I knew what kind of security system we are dealing with.”
“If I could get that information for you?” said Alyx.
“If you could, I could get it done in a day, two, tops...” he winked, “just for you, lovey.”
“How are we going to do that, Alyx?” asked Jordan.
“I have an idea. But... I’ll need you
r help.” Alyx looked at Jordan.
“Of course,” Jordan said.
“And I’ll need... your help, Dianne.” Alyx turned to the seraphelle with as much humility as she could on her face. If they could just put their differences aside and work together, they could make this work.
“Me?” Dianne said. She looked as happy at the prospect of having to help Alyx as the prospect of stepping into a pit of agitated brown snakes.
She looked ready to protest, but Marin spoke quietly, “For Zia, Dianne.”
Dianne’s face crumpled, and for a moment it looked like she would burst into tears. She shook herself, and a fierce determination replaced whatever softness was on her face. Alyx couldn’t help but feel a little respect for Dianne at that moment.
“Alright,” Dianne said. “I’ll help.” Alyx exhaled in relief. “But wait,” Dianne said turning to Mason. “Did you say it needs to be installed properly? What does that mean?”
“It means that you need to have it hooked up to the main security switch,” replied Mason. “This means you need to get access to their security room.”
“How the hell are we going to do that?” wailed Dianne.
Mason shrugged. “Hey. I’m just the IT guy. Getting into this place is not my forte.”
“We can work out getting in later,” said Alyx. “So let’s say we figured out a way in and we installed your device. Then what?”
“Then you come back when the galleria is closed, figure out a way to circumvent the guards—”
“I can take care of that,” said Jordan, cracking his knuckles. DreamWalker. Of course.
Mason shook his head. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Anyway, you deactivate the security system, get in, get the statue and get out. Easy.”
There was a weighty hush that settled around the room. Easy. Mason made it sound easy, but there were so many details that still needed to be worked out to perfection. How would they get in? The doors? Then how would they pick that lock? Or perhaps it would be pin-locked. Then what about the mortals who would see them get out? Then what of the fall-out when the mortals have discovered that their precious Michelangelo sculpture had been stolen?
“The Darkened will know,” said Alyx, suddenly realizing a glaring problem. She saw the confused looks on everyone’s face and explained further. “It’ll be on the news the next day, a robbery that big.”
Some of them were still looking confused.
“We’ll tip them off,” said Israel nodding. He understood. “Which means... we need to hit all three locations in one night.” He leaned forward over the map of the world that had been laid out across the table. “We’ll time it with the night as it crosses the time zones.” As Israel moved his hand across the map, Alyx couldn’t help but notice the muscles of his forearm rippling. “Saudi Arabia, Florence, then Lima.” Israel said something else, but Alyx didn’t catch it. She was mesmerized by how his scar was moving as he spoke and the growling authority to his voice.
Israel glanced over at Alyx and she averted her eyes, hoping the flush to her cheeks wasn’t so obvious. He had caught her ogling him. Alyx noticed the hint of a smile on Israel’s lips before he turned to the map. “Saudi Arabia. If we go with Alyx’s plan we’ll need a FireTwirler, which, Tobias, you said you knew.”
He nodded. “I’ll send out a swallow today.”
“Great. And you’ll be the Alchemist.”
“Then a team of us will hit the Galleria,” said Alyx, launching to her feet and leaning across the table. Her gaze locked with Israel’s. She had almost forgotten how deep the chocolate of his gaze was. The sides of her periphery faded until his face seemed to be the only one in the room. Israel smiled out of one corner of his mouth and nodded slightly as if to say, go on. Alyx took a deep breath. “Luce from Florence is a med-grade MirageWeaver. She can hold up a mirage at the front door where we’ll have a van waiting. Israel can pick the lock. We get in and get out that way while the security system is deactivated. Jordan can take care of any guards with DreamWalker.”
Israel grimaced and shook his head. “No. The front door is usually the worst way to get into a place like this. Too open, too many chances to be seen, and usually the doors are separately alarmed. They’re too thick to blast through and difficult to just straight pick open.”
“Well, the only other way in is through the windows from above, and they’re too small to let the sculpture out.”
Israel and Alyx both paused for a moment, eyes locked on each other. The only sound Alyx could hear was Israel’s rhythmic breathing. She noticed that his breath matched her own. She suddenly realized how close their faces were. They had been leaning closer and closer together across the table. Alyx cleared her throat and pulled away a little.
“This may have the art lovers up in arms, but could we cut the sculpture up into pieces?” Israel suggested.
Alyx gasped. “Yes. Perfect. I have part of both AirWhisperer and FireTwirler bloodink marks left. I can use Fire to melt the side of the glass so that we can remove the whole piece. We’ll go in, cut the sculpture up with Tobias’s Fire-infused blade and transport the sculpture out the same window in pieces.”
“After which you’ll reset the glass back into the window frame and seal it back up with Fire again,” said Israel.
“Exactly,” cried Alyx, the excitement in her voice evident even to her own ears. “Genius.” Alyx bit her lip. “What about Lima?”
“As the surveillance footage shows, we don’t have to worry about security as much during our small window of opportunity between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Our issue will be the priests that are constantly walking around the cathedral. We don’t want to hurt them or give them cause to alert the authorities.”
Alyx worried her bottom lip. “But MirageWeaver won’t work. The priests will only have to walk through the mirage skin to see underneath. And that door is the only way to get the crucifix out. We don’t have time to chop that crucifix up into pieces like in Florence.”
Israel grinned. “Well, they say that sometimes the best solution is to hide in plain sight.”
His grin was contagious to Alyx. “You have an idea, don’t you?”
“Some friends of mine use this trick sometimes... park a moving van clearly marked outside a house, then pack the van with the required goods. Everybody thinks you’re meant to be there. Voila. Daylight robbery.”
“But a moving van won’t work for a cathedral... what about a repairman’s van? Then we could drive the crucifix statue all the way to the Cajatambo FreeThinker community near Lima.”
Israel beamed at her. “Perfect. We’ll make a sinner out of you yet.” Alyx felt a blush of pleasure warm her cheeks. Israel smiled. For a moment Alyx let herself believe that they might just be okay.
A clapping noise startled Alyx out of her thoughts.
“Bravo.” Mason was grinning at Israel and her as he clapped a few more times. “That was just brilliant. Like poetry.”
It was then that Alyx remembered that Israel and she weren’t alone. That this room was filled with Seraphim. And that they were all watching Israel and her with a range of emotions on their faces. Shock, pride, suspicion, curiosity.
“Well,” said Jordan, clearing his throat and shuffling in his seat. “It looks like you guys have got it all worked out then.”
“I’ll need supplies to create the device,” Mason said.
“Please leave your list with me, and I’ll try to accommodate you as best I can,” said Tobias. “Israel, as the only mortal here, can I seek your assistance in acquiring some of these items?”
“Sure thing.”
Alyx chanced a look at Israel. He was still watching her even as he spoke to Tobias. Israel’s smile had faded, but at least now he wasn’t scowling at her.
“Alyx, you said you were going to go about getting the security system details that Mason needed?” said Tobias.
“Yes, right.” Alyx tore her eyes away from Israel and focused on outlining her plan for Jordan and Dian
ne.
When she finished, Jordan sank back in his chair, nodding. “It could work.” Dianne looked nervous as hell. “Are you going to be okay, Di?”
Dianne visibly swallowed. “I guess.”
Alyx and Jordan shared a look. It was all up to Dianne. If she couldn’t keep it together…
Alyx smiled confidently at Dianne, trying to reassure her. “You’ll be great. Jordan and I will be right there with you. The museum opens at 9 a.m. Florence time, which means...” Alyx paused for a moment while she calculated the difference in time zones and also calculated the flight time to get to Florence, “we have a few hours until we have to leave. Can we meet back here in two hours? Why don’t we all get some rest in the meantime?”
Tobias adjourned the meeting.
“Alyx, lovey,” Mason said. “Could you escort me to a guest room where I can lay my head down for a bit? It’ll be good to catch up with yer as well.”
“Sure thing,” said Alyx.
“Oh, and Israel,” said Mason. “I’ll need yer to walk with me, too. So I can go through some stuff with yer.”
Alyx couldn’t help but narrow her eyes at Mason’s back as he turned to Israel. If she didn’t know any better, this old dog was fixing to make sure that she and Israel were left together.
* * *
After Alyx and Israel made sure that Mason had settled in, they stepped out into the corridor and Israel closed the door to Mason’s room.