by Hanna Peach
Alyx recognizes all the guards as part of Varian’s warrior flock. Mostly they keep their distance and refuse to speak back to her when she tries to talk to them. But Yael and Do’hann call her names and taunt her when they stand guard.
Alyx tries to DreamCall Jordan but without his ring she isn’t sure that it has worked.
She tries to use her Alchemist bloodink on the bars but the magic just dissipates in the air as if blown away by a strong wind.
Alyx touches the walls of her cell. All of this is Mayrekk’s blood. All that blood. And now her blood had been added.
It is hopeless.
Alyx is curled in a corner of her cell when a voice comes through the tunnels, “I’ve been sent to take your place, Mauro.”
She knows that voice. Alyx rolls around and up to her feet. A small glimmer of hope rises in her when she recognizes his face. Passar. His eyes widen for a moment upon seeing her.
Mauro frowns. “Where is Quade? Why isn’t he relieving me?”
“Quade said something about a thing with a seraphelle. Said he couldn’t find anyone else from your flock. Asked me to take his place.”
“I didn’t realize that you and Quade were such good friends.”
“Oh yeah. Quade trusts me. I’m here aren’t I?”
Mauro looks at Alyx then his eyes narrow at Passar. “Didn’t you used to train with her?”
He nods. “Making her betrayal even more vile. I can’t believe I used to fight alongside her.” Passar’s face screws up. “I heard you found a demonsword on her, proving her allegiance to them.” Passar turns to Jerome, the other lightwarrior on guard. “Didn’t you lose a warrior to the Darkened last week?”
“Austine,” Jerome says. “She was a good warrior.”
“My best friend was killed by the Darkened.” Passar pulls out his kris and points the blade at Alyx like an accusing finger. “In siding with them she may as well have cut that final blow, don’t you agree?”
The three of them turn their eyes to her.
Alyx’s heart drops. No, not Passar. He was her friend. He was supposed to be on her side. Why has he turned on her now? Is he faking it?
Her hope fades when Passar gives her a searing look of disgust and spits at her. The spit catches her pant leg. Passar starts laughing and Jerome joins in.
Alyx wipes the spit off her pants as best as she can, keeping her face tilted towards the ground just in case the tears burning in her eyes won’t be contained. She won’t give them the pleasure of seeing her cry.
Passar’s laughter fades and his voice becomes serious. “I was hoping for some time in the cell with her, you know? Teach her a bit of a lesson.”
Mauro shuffles. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t want to get in there and...” Passar slashes the air with his kris. “You know she deserves to suffer some more.”
Jerome glares at Alyx and nods his head. Alyx shrinks back from the bars, her heart aching. Passar has turned against her.
Alyx looks at Mauro and pleads with her eyes. Please speak up. Tell them this isn’t right.
Mauro holds her gaze for a second before he looks away, biting his lip.
“Have you got the cell key?” Passar asks Jerome.
“Yes.”
“I was thinking, you let me into her cell and lock the door behind me. You give me two minutes in there with her. Then we can swap, if you want.”
“I’m cool. But I’ll give you some time with her, for sure.” There is a wild glint in Jerome’s eyes.
Alyx knows the type. Jerome is the kind of coward who takes pleasure in watching others suffer but who won’t get his hands dirty. Alyx has seen it once or twice, when she has come across a group of lightwarriors ‘playing’ with a Darkened before they killed him. There is always one who is just watching.
“I don’t think you should do this,” Mauro says.
Alyx feels a glimmer of hope.
“If you’re too much of a wimp to deal with it then take a hike, Mauro,” says Jerome, his eyes still on Alyx. “You’ve officially been relieved of your post.”
“But―.”
“Are you siding with her now?”
“No.”
“So stay and shut up or take a hike.”
“Whatever,” Mauro grumbles. He floats off without looking back. Alyx’s hope floats out with him.
Jerome pulls the thick iron key from around his neck and begins to unlock the cell door. Passar is watching from behind him.
Alyx’s heart is hurting. Does her childhood friend really believe that she crossed to the demon’s side? Does he really blame her for Elijah’s death? Does he hate her so much that he now wants to hurt her?
By now Israel is screaming and banging against his bars, but Alyx can barely hear him. She is focused on the knife... the knife in Passar’s hand.
The cell door opens.
Passar raises the knife and holds it to Jerome’s neck. “Now give me the key.”
“Passar, what the hell?”
“Hand it to me, slowly.”
Jerome raises his hands, the key pinched between two fingers.
Passar snatches the key from him with his other hand. “Get out, Alyx. Take his weapons off him.”
Alyx almost cries with relief. Passar hasn’t turned against her. He is risking his life to rescue her.
She moves from the cell. She finds a soris and two boot-daggers on Jerome. Passar then kicks Jerome into the cell and locks the door behind him.
“They’ll execute you for this.” Jerome hits the bars of his cells in anger. “You won’t even get past the wards.”
Passar turns to Israel’s cell and within seconds he is freed.
Alyx grips Passar’s shoulder. “Thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Come on,” says Passar with a frown. “We’re not out of here yet.”
“We can’t leave her in here, Passar,” Alyx says as the trio moves down the tunnels.
“But we don’t even know her. If they catch us…”
“Passar,” admonishes Alyx. “You want to leave a young girl to rot in here?”
Passar sighs and rolls his eyes. “Fine.”
His reaction surprises Alyx, but she says no more. They approach the girl’s cell. This time there is no singing.
“She’s human,” says Israel, surprise in his voice.
The girl screams and cowers away from the bars.
“Alyx, are you sure this is a good idea?” says Passar.
“I’m not leaving her in here.”
Alyx unlocks the cell door with the key. The girl is curled in a corner whimpering. Alyx slips into the cell. “We’re going to get you out of here.”
The girl cowers even lower into her rags.
“Come on Alyx,” says Passar. “We’re wasting time.”
Alyx ignores him and shows her palms to the girl. “Look, nothing there. See? No weapons.” The girl’s whimpering softens. Alyx offers out her right hand. “Come on. Come with me. I’ll get you out of here.” The girl stares at Alyx’s outstretched hand, then at Alyx. She nods. “That’s it, come with me.”
The girl sniffs the air. Then again.
“What is she doing?” says Israel. “I can’t smell anything.”
“Come on little one. Let’s get out of here,” she says.
Finally the girl puts out her hand and places it in Alyx’s. Her fingers feel delicate like glass. Alyx smiles. “That’s a girl.”
“Great,” says Passar. “Can we go now?”
The girl doesn’t like to go near the two boys, tugging at Alyx’s hand when they get near them. The two boys go first and Alyx and the girl walk some way behind.
They emerge cautiously from the mouth of the Hollows into the evening air, cool and crisp against Alyx’s skin.
“I expected guards out here,” Alyx says.
Passar shakes his head. “Michael didn’t make your capture public. Only Varian’s flock, the warriors who captu
red Israel, know. And they were put under an oath to secrecy. I had to knock Quade out so I could pretend to take his place. Putting guards out of the front of the Hollows would have caused any passing Seraphim to ask too many questions.”
As Passar leads them into the thick of the unforgiving forest Alyx’s thoughts turn to Jordan. What happened to him? What did he do when she didn’t show up? Did he get her DreamCall?
Alyx stops. The girl, eyes darting around the forest, huddles close to Alyx.
“I won’t be a moment little one,” Alyx says as she closes her eyes and sends out a DreamCall to Jordan. Hopefully he hears it.
“Why are you stopping?” Passar hisses at her from up ahead. “We can’t afford to stop.”
“Passar I have to find my friend, Jordan. He―.”
“Alyx, you should know better than to trust Rogues. I have friends waiting on the outside of the wards. They’ll take us to safety.”
Alyx continues forward still holding the girl’s hand, her mind, tumbling fragments of thoughts.
How does Passar know that Jordan is a Rogue? She didn’t remember telling him. You should know better than to trust Rogues. If Passar’s friends outside the wards aren’t other Rogues, then who are they?
Something else didn’t make sense.
Passar said that Varian’s flock were the only ones who knew about Israel’s capture. So how did Passar find out? The only others who were there for Israel’s capture were the Darkened.
The pieces click together.
‘…the sparrow is on our side,’ she had heard the Darkened say. It hadn’t made sense then but it makes sense now. The Darkened hadn’t been talking about a bird, they had been talking about a person. A person called Sparrow.
In the original language, Passar means sparrow.
Chapter 65
Passar is the traitor.
Of course. Passar had the other magical pick to be able to break into Michael’s chambers. Alyx had told Passar where the warehouse was and the demons had been waiting. Passar knew that Israel had been captured because the Darkened had told him. Why hadn’t she put these things together sooner?
Because it just couldn’t be true.
“Israel, stop,” Alyx cries, her head spinning.
Israel turns on the spot. “What’s wrong?”
Passar has stopped as well. “What the hell, Alyx? We’ll have half the guards after us soon.”
Alyx rushes forward and pulls Israel behind her with her other hand, the girl squirming at her other.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Alyx says to Passar.
Passar stares at her as if she has grown two heads. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
“You stole the amulet piece and let them think it was me. You told the Darkened about Black Stone.”
Passar looks horrified. “How can you think―.”
“Stop pretending Passar. Or should I call you... the sparrow. That’s what the Darkened call you, isn’t it?”
Passar’s face melts into a cold mask. He pulls his soris from its sheath. “You are too smart for your own good sometimes.”
Alyx feels a chill wrap around the base of her spine. Until now there had been a part of her that had thought, had hoped, that she was wrong.
“Just tell me why?”
“Why? You ask me why?” Passar’s face twists, hatred etching its mark across his face. “We have spent our lives fighting for the Elders, dying for them. Elijah... I loved him and he loved me.”
Love.
“But the Elders, they just keep pushing us out there. They keep sending us out over and over again. They don’t care whether we die or not, just that we keep them safe. Didn’t you ever wonder why we only patrole the mortal cities closest to Michaelea? The Elders don’t care about keeping the mortals safe they just want us to keep the Darkened away from them.”
The lines on his face soften for a moment before hardening again. “Elijah died because of this war. This stupid war. They refused to let me be entwined, refused to give me any other life then this warrior’s life. My bloodline was too diluted, they said. I wasn’t gifted enough, they said. Not like you. A warrior’s life is not a life, it’s a death sentence. The Elders dealt me a death sentence.”
“So you sold your soul to the devil?”
“At least the devil cuts a fair deal.”
Alyx can’t believe what she is hearing. Her friend since youngling. How had she missed the signs? Passar and Elijah.
“You know the worst part?” he continues. “Demons don’t die. No, no. When their host bodies are killed the demon gets sucked right back into hell. Then they brush themselves off and come right back to earth in another human host. But the Elders won’t tell you that.”
“No.”
“It’s true. One night out on patrole I fought a Darkened. He let slip something strange, about how he wasn’t going to let me kill him again. I forced the truth out of him.” Passar nods at Alyx. “Samyara has a plan for a new earth, for peace. Once the Elders and Lucifer are out of the way there will be no more need for this war. You should join us. Look at what the Elders have done to you.”
“I will never join the Darkened,” Alyx says. “You’re kidding yourself if you think they want peace.”
Passar points his sword at Israel. “I’ve only been sent to get him. Don’t get in my way and I won’t have to hurt you.”
“If you want him you have to go through me. Israel, take her.”
Israel grabs the girl and she starts to struggle. Alyx pulls out Jerome’s soris as Passar falls upon her.
Their swords clash, ringing out across the forest. Alyx swipes at Passar and misses. He kicks her and she goes flying back, hitting hard against a trunk.
The girl has started screaming. Israel tries to calm her down.
“Israel,” Alyx yells, as Passar and her continue to collide. “Get her out of here. I’ll be right behind you.”
Israel starts to drag the girl through the trees.
“Oh no you don’t,” says Passar, pushing Alyx away from him.
He pulls a small object from his pocket. A spike, hooked and smooth like the claw of a beast. A demon-claw.
“Israel, look out,” Alyx yells.
Too late. Passar throws it at Israel and it embeds into his back.
Israel stumbles, falls, then collapses into stillness onto the ground. The girl shrieks and huddles into a ball, hands over her ears as she rocks back and forth on her heels.
“What have you done?” Alyx cries.
“Calm down. He’s not dead. It’s just Cerberus venom. Too bad I don’t have another one for you.”
Alyx throws herself at Passar once more, their weapons meeting again. But for some reason her blade keeps missing him. She cries out as Passar’s sword nicks her forearm.
Passar comes at her again and again, slashing at her. She backs away from him but his blade keeps catching her flesh.
“You can’t kill me. You can’t even stand to hurt me.” Passar says this as if it is an insult. “Just give up Alyx.”
“Not as long as I’m breathing.”
He is right. She can’t kill him, can’t even bring herself to hurt him. But she has to do something. Otherwise she is dead. And the Darkened will have Israel.
Alyx whirls and twists around his body, deflecting his sword with hers. She kicks at his body with her right leg sending him stumbling.
Inside her the whispers are getting louder. Use me.
“No, I won’t kill you,” she says, her chest heaving. “But I won’t let you kill me.”
Alyx faces out her left palm to him. DreamWalker magic pulses from her. It hits Passar square in the chest.
“Bitch,” Passar growls.
He starts to droop in the air, sinking to the ground. But he remains standing. He has raised his shields against the magic. Alyx can see the soft purple glow now flooding around him like water around a rock.
She glances down at her DreamWalker mark. Two thirds left and draining.
Keeping her DreamWalker aimed at him, Alyx pulls FireTwirler into her other palm. But Passar can see the swirl of scarlet flame in her hand. He draws his own bloodink, azure blue, into his palm. Alyx throws Fire at him. He aims his Water and douses her Fire before it can burn away at his shield.
Alyx tries again and again as she darts around him. Again and again he counters her Fire with Water. The air between them soon sizzles with evaporating mist.
One quarter of her DreamWalker bloodink left. She needs to try something else.
Alyx turns her body to her side, her palm pulsing DreamWalker facing towards Passar, her other hand behind her so he can’t see it. She draws EarthSifter from her skin into her other hand, cupping it carefully so as not to let the magic sift through her fingers. She throws her back arm forward from her shoulder and slams the mossy ball of Earth magic to the ground at Passar’s feet.
The earth trembles. Passar cries out as the ground gives way under him. He throws out his hands to break his fall. It is enough to break his concentration. His shield collapses. The DreamWalker magic flows into him again. He groans and his eyelids flicker, then he collapses to the ground.
Alyx flies to where Israel is lying motionless. Thank Heavens, he is still breathing. With some difficulty she heaves his body into her arms then over her shoulder. She then scoops up the quivering girl by the waist with her other arm. The girl starts to cry out and struggle as Alyx lifts into the air. She is trying to wriggle out.
“I’m sorry to do this to you,” Alyx says. She thrums DreamWalker into the girl causing her to fall limp in her arms. One sliver of DreamWalker left.
Alyx looks back at Passar’s sleeping body. “Goodbye old friend.”
There is the sound of swift movement behind her. The other lightwarriors have been alerted to her escape.
Alyx speeds forward through the air as fast as she can but the extra weight is slowing her down. It makes it harder to dodge the branches and trees that seem to come out at her, flicking at her face and arms.
She can hear Yael’s voice calling after her, taunting her. She keeps pressing on.