by Peach, Hanna
Alyx blinked. Tobias was peering at her with concern. “Are you okay?”
Alyx struggled to hold onto the image of those eyes and… why were they so familiar? But their detail slipped from her memory.
“I’m fine. Finish it off.”
Tobias worked in silence as the last of his blood was tattooed. When he turned off the gun, the buzzing shut off leaving behind an empty silence.
“Who is she?” Alyx blurted out.
Tobias’ eyes filled with a quiet terror. “You saw her.” It wasn’t a question.
Alyx nodded.
She watched his past slip across his face like a thief, stealing his smile. The openness in his expression snatched away under a hard and furrowed brow. The glint in his eyes, gone.
“She is someone I loved once.” He leaned back in his seat, discarding the tattoo gun, now empty of blood, on the table and rubbed his face with both his hands. “I killed her.”
Alyx felt his guilt rear up with heavy fingers to choke her from the inside. “You killed…”
He shook his head. “No. Not literally. But… my actions led to her death. It was a long time ago.” He laughed and the bitterness sounded raw in his throat. “Even after all these years I can get a bit melodramatic about it. It’s why I haven’t been able to sustain a relationship since.”
“Not even with Omniya,” Alyx said, remembering how she noticed the distinct vibe of unresolved pull between those two when Omniya came to help them with the Black Stone mission.
“Omniya deserves better than me.” Tobias sighed, deep and low. “It is my cross to bear. You won’t tell anyone, will you?”
Alyx leaned forward to take his hand. She squeezed his fingers gently. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
Chapter 14
Later, Jordan, Vix and Alyx were saying their goodbyes to Tobias and Dianne on one of the platforms on the edge of the Saint’s Revenge. Earlier Vix had returned from her scouting mission with several options for the Chiefs to consider. Even though she looked tired, she had agreed to come with Jordan and Alyx on this mission.
Mason’s men had gathered around earlier to admire Alyx all dressed up. She had also cut the tell-tale long strands off her hair so that it now all sat above her shoulders. The men had bemoaned over the loss of her trademark hair. All this meant that it took longer than she had hoped to actually leave.
“Alyx,” Mason said as he jumped up onto their platform. “Don’t you want to say goodbye to Israel?” He was frowning strangely at her.
Alyx raised an eyebrow. “Is he awake?”
“No, but I would have thought that you would have wanted to see him, regardless.”
Did she? When Alyx tried to think of Israel his face seemed fuzzy in her memories. Something brushed her mind, but like a dream that faded by the time you woke, it remained just out of her reach. She glanced at his compartment door and she felt an urge to see him. If she just saw him…
Alyx shook her head slightly. What was wrong with her? There wasn’t time for this. She had work to do.
She turned from Mason and started for the exit from the station, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll just see him when I get back. It’s not like he’s going anywhere.”
* * *
Mason narrowed his eyes as he watched Alyx leaving his station with Jordan and Vix following behind her. There was something not right with Alyx. He knew it in his bones. She had gone from being a broken emotional wreck over Israel to having a cool sense of detachment to him. Like… like she stopped feeling anything for him…
“Israel, my love.” The words of the female supernatural he had caught running to Israel’s compartment flashed in his mind. Mason’s eyes widened as a thought struck him. What if… No, it couldn’t be possible. But these creatures, they had all sorts of magic. Anything could be possible.
Mason turned and strode towards the back to the station to where the cages were.
When he reached her enclosure, the female supernatural was moving around, visibly agitated and muttering to herself. Mason stopped in front of her bars.
“Hey, you,” Mason called to her.
Her head snapped up. She scuttled forward towards the bars, her arms outstretched. Mason stepped back out of her reach. She pressed her whole body against the bars.
“You have to let me see Israel,” she cried in a desperate voice. “He needs me.”
“What is your name?”
“Please,” her arms strained through the gaps in the cage bars, “you need to let me see him.”
“Tell me your name first and I’ll consider it.”
The female stopped reaching out. She gripped her hands around the bars on either side of her face and tilted her head to him, like a bird would. Like Alyx would.
“Why,” she said, “I’m Alyx.”
* * *
Mason stormed over to where Tobias was standing, talking with Dianne. As far as he understood this Tobias was the leader of their group.
“I need to talk to you,” Mason demanded, cutting off their conversation. “Now.”
Tobias nodded, despite his startled look, and followed Mason.
“I know about you guys, about what you are,” Mason muttered low to Tobias as they walked. “I know that you can do all sorts of magic stuff, so don’t try to deny it. I don’t know who is to blame or what the hell has happened, but that…” he stopped in front of the cage and pointed at the female creature inside it, “…is Alyx.”
Tobias’ face betrayed his shock. He gaped between Mason and the female in the cage. “What? I don’t understand.”
Mason explained what he had seen and heard from the supernatural. As he spoke, Tobias’ face grew paler and paler.
“Lord have mercy,” Tobias uttered.
Mason put his hands on his hips. “Now you understand.”
Tobias shook his head. “We don’t have the ability to swap bodies so I can tell you for a fact that she is not Alyx.”
“Then what the—”
“—but some of us can steal memories. She can. She has stolen so many that she isn’t sure what her real name is. She takes on the name of whoever she has stolen from, confused because she believes that she may be them. We call her the MemoryThief.”
The realization cut through Mason like a cannon through the bowels of a ship. His jaw dropped on its hinge. “So… she has stolen Alyx’s memories?”
Tobias turned to stare at her through the bars. The MemoryThief was begging to be taken to Israel.
“Some, but not all. It appears that the MemoryThief has taken Alyx’s memories of falling in love with Israel. But Alyx must remember who Israel is and why he is important to us, otherwise she wouldn’t be out there still trying to save Israel’s life.”
“So… Alyx has forgotten that she’s in love with Israel?”
“It would explain her recent behavior.”
Mason scowled. Damned supernaturals. “How will this affect Alyx? Could it put her in any danger?”
Tobias shook his head as if in apology. “I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait until she returns and see. In the meantime, I will have Dianne sort through the MemoryThief’s memories for those belonging to Alyx to make sure she isn’t missing something important.”
Isn’t missing something important… Jesus Christ.
Chapter 15
Alyx had her arm wrapped lightly through Jordan’s as he led her through the Michaelea forest. They had parted with Vix at the edges of the forest after confirming their plans.
Jordan and Alyx were posing as an entwined Castus couple of Urielos. Peter and Esmery Levatine. He looked the part in his dark suit and long black ankle-dusting jacket with antique gold buttons that ran from his neck to his bellybutton. His hair was smoothed back into a low ponytail, showcasing the angled cheekbones and strong jaw line of his freshly-shaved face. The gold trim on his matching black mask brought out the amber in his eyes.
The forest was thick with Seraphim Castus from Urielos and Gabriela, all moving
from their luxury teardrop tents amongst the forest towards the city. This was the entwinement of the year so any Seraphim who was worth anything was here. Alyx felt thankful that the warriors of Urielos and Gabriela had not been invited to this ceremony.
Alyx could feel her heartbeat quicken as they moved through the city of Michaelea alongside the other Seraphim heading towards the city square. She touched the mask on her face, to reassure herself that it was still there. Her flowing skirt slid over the blades strapped to her thighs underneath. Jordan seemed to sense her tensing, because he quickly squeezed her hand upon his arm.
A familiar voice called out behind her and the sound shot through her like electricity. The warriors of Urielos and Gabriela may not be here, but all the warriors of Michaelea were. The voice belonged to Yael, her old adversary.
Alyx took a long slow breath to try and calm herself. She forced herself to keep her eyes forward. Along with Yael’s distinctive baritone she could hear two more voices belonging to Do’hann and Constantinople, Yael’s two warrior friends. Their voices were coming closer. If they were to recognize her…
As they neared, their conversation became clearer.
“…could you imagine if this was Alyx and Daniel’s entwinement that we were attending?” Constantinople said with a scoff.
Do’hann spoke, “Michael announced after she turned Rogue that it was all a rouse anyway.”
As they came up beside her, Alyx couldn’t help but peek at them out of the corner of her eyes. Even with plain black masks across their faces there was no mistaking the bulk and the swagger of these three warriors, dressed in those blacks that Alyx used to love so much. If she reached out, she would be able to touch them.
Constantinople snorted. “A warrior with a Castus. Can you imagine?”
“A warrior with a Castus,” Yael repeated vacantly as if the thought triggered something in him that he couldn’t yet grasp. Yael frowned and mumbled something incoherent.
Do’hann nudged Constantinople sharply and nodded his chin towards Yael. Yael didn’t seem to have noticed.
“So anyway,” fumbled Constantinople, “at least we get a night off patrole, right, Yael?”
Yael flinched. “What? Oh, sure.”
Alyx held her breath as the three of them drew up beside her. She waited for one of them to turn their head, to see her and recognize her. The mask on her face now seemed flimsy and transparent. This was a stupid idea. An outrageous idea. How did she ever think that she could enter Michaelea again and not get caught?
But they didn’t recognize her. They didn’t even notice her as they passed. Soon she was staring at their backs. Eventually, they moved so far ahead in the crowd that Alyx couldn’t see them anymore.
Jordan squeezed her fingers lightly, jolting her attention back to the rest of her surroundings. Alyx met Jordan’s gaze and he nodded almost imperceptibly. They slowed their pace, letting the Seraphim trickle around them. Alyx’s whole body was now on full alert, tense and ready, as they passed the familiar structures of Michaelea. The domes looming around her seemed to close in on her. They were surrounded by Seraphim everywhere. They were antelope parading as lions in the middle of a lion’s den. If they were to be discovered…
They continued to move in a cross-angled direction to the rest of the crowd. Jordan began to veer her away, around to the edges of the city. They were getting close to the area of the mountain where they would need to break away. Alyx clutched Jordan’s arm tighter, letting the feel of his bulk and strength wash a kind of calm over her. She felt safer with him next to her.
Here the crowd was thinner. Jordan nodded to a corpse of thickly trunked trees netted with bulky vine that made a kind of curtain. Yes, that would be a good spot to slip behind before slipping away. They moved towards it.
Alyx felt a hand on her shoulder. “Where are you going?” a stern voice demanded.
Her heart thundered against her ribs. That voice. That familiar voice that would haunt her forever. Symon.
She turned to look at him, her heart both soaring and sinking at seeing his face again. Even with most of his face hidden under a plain black mask, clean and simple, those blue eyes which featured so prominently in her memories would not be mistaken. Symon stared back at her.
She struggled not to let the emotions show through her eyes. She wanted to throw herself into her old flock leader’s arms, to let him know that she was okay and that she missed him. But remembering his last words to her stopped her.
“This is where we must forget that we were once family.”
If she revealed herself to Symon, he wouldn’t hesitate to capture her. Symon opened his mouth to speak. Then he frowned. Alyx’s stomach dropped. He recognized her.
“What the hell?” Symon growled. He grabbed Alyx’s elbow jolting her somewhat from Jordan’s side.
Jordan’s voice cut through the air with authority. “How dare you? Get your damned hands off my entwined. Who is this seraph, Esmery?” Alyx heard Jordan’s voice from beside her and she felt him pull her back to his side. She felt like a taut rope in a tug-of-war.
For a split second, Alyx didn’t understand why Jordan would be calling her Esmery.
Through the eyeholes of Symon’s mask she could see his eyebrows dip over his eyes. “Esmery?”
“Esmery, my entwined,” Jordan spoke with the haughty disdain that only the Castus carried. He almost didn’t sound like Jordan.
“Yes,” Alyx said, heightening the tone of her speech to try to mask her voice. She thrust her chin higher so she could peer at Symon over her nose, imitating the authority that Jordan displayed. “Esmery Levatine of Urielos, direct descendant of Elder Emil.”
“Take your hands off her or I shall have them cut off,” Jordan growled.
Alyx noticed a few other Castus pause around them. They were drawing too much attention to themselves.
She felt Symon’s hand slip from her elbow, but the look of suspicion hadn’t left his eyes. “I’m sorry. I meant no offense. I thought that you may have been someone else. My sincerest apologies.”
Jordan grunted as if begrudgingly acknowledging Symon’s apology. Jordan seemed to slip into Castus mode very easily. Of course, he had been one.
Symon’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You were veering off the path to the Entwinement ceremony. I thought it best to stop you before you went too far off course.”
Alyx felt a wave of panic flowing through her which she took pains to hide. How would Jordan answer the evident question in Symon’s words: why had they been veering and where had they been going?
But Jordan didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted his chin to Symon as if daring him to challenge him for an answer. Of course. Why would a Castus ever need to answer to a mere warrior?
This terse standoff continued for what felt like minutes until Alyx felt that the tension would crush her windpipe. Finally, Symon dipped his head in a show of deference. “Please, let me escort you to the Entwinement arena.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jordan said coldly. “Now, make yourself scarce before I change my mind and report you.”
Symon bowed his head.
Alyx forced a look of contempt to her eyes. Then she turned her head away from Symon’s face. She heard Symon apologize again to Jordan. Then she saw him fading into the flow of Castus.
Jordan tucked Alyx under his arm and bent to kiss her forehead. “He’s still watching us,” he whispered. “We need to proceed towards the city heart for now and wait for a chance to slip away.”
Alyx nodded and they moved with the Castus again to the entwinement ceremony.
The Michaelea square had been turned into a large ceremonial space with tiers of hanging seating around a center section. A section below was reserved for the Elders. The Castus and the warriors took their places higher up in the stands. Rose petals carpeted the ground and nets of fireflies were trapped in a cushion of Air magic which created a ceiling of light over the stands.
As it was customary before the cer
emony started, Castus couples were dancing in the empty space above the center section to soft string instruments and the hum of the Michaelea choir. Dresses swirled and flashed in the air like spinning flowers.
Alyx felt Jordan’s hand come to rest on the small of her back. When she looked up at him his green eyes were twinkling from within his dark mask.
“May I have this dance, beauty?” His voice was warm and liquid like nectar.
All of a sudden Alyx felt nervous and her throat became thick. “I don’t know how to dance.”
“It’s easy. I’ll show you.”
Before she could protest he led her into the dancing space and pulled her close to him, one arm wrapped securely around her back. Her hands flew instinctively to push against his chest. But his body was unyielding against her and he didn’t let her go. His other hand lightly pried the fingers of her right hand from his chest and held it out to their sides.
He started to move them around in the air. Alyx reacted instinctively by tensing. Their bodies knocked several times as she tried to pre-empt where they were going.
“Alyx,” Jordan said, sounding partly amused, “are you the man?”
“What?”
“You keep leading as if you’re the man. Are you the man?”
Alyx spluttered. “No.”
“I will let you lead us everywhere else, but here…” Jordan spun them around in the air several times. Alyx’s left hand, still on his chest, curled against his shirt. She felt dizzy from the spin, or…
“…here is where I get to lead.”
“What… what do you want me to do?”
He leaned his head down to her ear, his lips brushing against her lobe as he spoke, “Just let go.”
Just let go. These words felt so familiar and so comforting… somehow she felt that if she just let go it would bring her closer to her heart. Alyx closed her eyes and let herself relax into him. He pulled her even closer to him. She had to hold back a gasp as their bodies met completely.