by Peach, Hanna
With nowhere for her anger to go, the deep pool of sadness rose up and up and…
“No,” she cried as panic overwhelmed her. She couldn’t cry. She wouldn’t cry. She just needed to… break something, hit something, kill something… to stop the tears from coming. “Let go of me” she screamed again.
“No. I’m not letting you go.”
She shook her head violently against his chest. A final moan fell from her before the sadness overflowed. Her knees buckled as the sobs started to shake her, sucking out all her strength. But she didn’t fall. Jordan held her up, his body like a blanket around her. She cried until her eyes were raw and her throat felt cracked open.
As her cries lessened, she felt the warming sensation of DreamWalker magic flowing from Jordan’s hands into her. She didn’t have the strength to fight against it. She accepted the darkness, feeling completely safe.
* * *
Jordan stepped from the compartment after laying Alyx out on the bed. Tobias and Mason were both waiting for him. And from the looks on their faces they had more bad news.
“We need to talk about Alyx.” Tobias said, cutting straight to the point. “We believe that her mind has been altered.”
Jordan took in a deep breath. “How?”
“The MemoryThief has taken all her memories of falling in love with Israel. Dianne confirms this.”
Jordan froze, stunned. Is that what had happened? That was why… the way she was looking at him now… the way she was reacting to him… it wasn’t just all in his mind. Israel was no longer keeping him from Alyx’s heart.
For now. Jordan ignored this voice.
Tobias continued, “It hasn’t appeared to have affected any other parts of her memory.”
“We need to tell her as soon as she wakes up,” said Mason.
“No.” Jordan said. “She’s under enough pressure right now without having to deal with any more.” He almost believed that this was the only reason.
Could he be blamed for wanting one more day? Could he? Would he be a terrible person if he had one more day without Israel in her heart?
“We have to tell her,” Mason growled.
“We will. After we get this cure. Does anyone else know except for you two? No? Good. Well, let’s keep it that way.”
Jordan ignored Mason’s suspicious stare and turned to Tobias. He slipped the Threads of Dark from the pouch at his hip. “Let’s go over this.”
* * *
Jordan and Tobias bent over the Threads of Dark rolled out on a table on one of the platforms of the Saint’s Revenge. His eyes kept flittering to the compartment where he had laid Alyx down, deep in sleep, after her breakdown. Mayrekk’s body had already been removed from the station. One of Mason’s contacts worked in a crematorium and promised that he would take care of Mayrekk without having to run any paperwork.
They had found the section on Pan’s Arrowhead, the demon poison that Mayrekk had identified before he... Jordan’s chest squeezed. Mayrekk had been his friend, too. Jordan shook himself. No time for grief. Not yet.
Pan’s Arrowhead was a hell plant, a thin reed like proliferate with deep purple leaves and pale flowers with black hearts that grew around the base. It was the hearts of this flower that was poisonous. According to Hell’s history, native tribes of Satyrs, half man-half goat creatures, would dip their arrowheads into the hearts of the flowers to add a deadly bite to their weapons. Pan was the name of their leader. At least, this is what the Threads of Dark had to say about it.
The base ingredients for the cure for Pan’s Arrowhead poison were the same, but they had to add the heart of a single ghost orchid to cure a mortal, raindrops from an arctic storm to cure a Seraphim, and blood of a Darkened human to cure a demon. So for Israel they had to retrieve a ghost orchid and blood of a Darkened.
“Ghost orchids are like, super-rare,” the mortal named Owl was saying. The thin young boy, supposedly a computer whiz, was sitting behind a laptop and was researching these ingredients. The base ingredients were common enough; sage, myrrh, sandalwood. But these other two...
“How rare?” Jordan asked.
“Like, extinct rare.”
“What?”
“They’ve been extinct for like, 20 years already.”
Jordan gripped his fists together so that his knuckles cracked. “Make them un-extinct.”
Owl narrowed his eyes at the monitor, leaning forward, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “Wait… there have been sightings…”
“Where?”
“One in northern Canada, but that was like, ten years ago.”
“What about more recently? Like, today?” Owl didn’t seem to register Jordan’s misdirected anger at him. Or if he did, he ignored it. Smart boy.
“Here’s a sighting from a few weeks ago. In the Scottish Highlands. I can print you out an exact location,” Owl said. He leaned over to where a small printer was spitting out a piece of paper. As he handed the paper over to Jordan, his face pinched slightly in what was obviously an attempt to mask his curiosity. “So what did you say you needed these things for?”
Jordan ignored him. He looked up at Tobias. “If you can get one of the others to run down these base ingredients, I can track down the blood and the Ghost Orchid.”
“We.” Hearing Alyx’s voice caused his heart to clench.
He turned his head to see the petite warrior moving towards them. Her hair was mussed from sleeping and there were dark circles under her eyes. The paleness to her skin made her jade eyes stand out more. For a moment he feared that she may be angry at him for sending her to sleep like he did. But when she turned her eyes to him, there was nothing but a shy embarrassment. Her cheeks colored and she looked away.
Jordan understood. She was embarrassed because he saw her cry. His strong, fierce warrior, so used to dealing with things on her own, so used to not needing anybody else. He recognized this so much in himself. He could see it now. She had helped him see it. Except now… he needed her.
Just one more day. One more chance with her.
Tobias was speaking to her, his voice not masking his concern, “Are you sure that’s the best—?”
“The best thing I can do for Mayrekk is to honor the information he gave us before he…”
Her face turned to the Threads of Dark and her lips pressed together. With a small nod, almost imperceptible, she looked up and met Jordan’s stare. With the full force of her eyes on him again he found himself having to remind himself to breathe.
She spoke directly to him, “How soon do we leave?”
Chapter 31
It’s not hard to find Darkened roaming the night in Saint Joseph. Even when you’re not looking for them. No sooner did Alyx and Jordan land on one of the unwashed roofs of the wrong side of town did they smell them. Alyx spotted two of them dragging an unconscious mortal into an abandoned hotel across the empty, shadowed street.
The Hotel de Banville used to be a boutique upmarket hotel. Three levels of cozy suites decorated in French chic and small Juliet-style balconies of black iron. Now abandoned, the wallpaper was faded and peeling, the windows were cataract-thick with dust, and the curtains were sun-bleached bones. The brickwork had turned a pallid grey, pale like death.
Pale like Mayrekk’s face. Despair gripped Alyx as she in turn gripped the edge of the roof. She felt her muscles lock up and she began to struggle to breathe. Pale like Mayrekk. Pale like death.
“Hey,” a strong grip on her forearm brought her back to the present. Jordan was peering at her with concern lacing his features.
“I’m fine,” she lied and she struggled to control her breathing. He would make her sit this mission out if he thought she couldn’t keep a hold of herself.
Please don’t ask me if I’m okay. Please. I’ll fall apart.
He spoke softly, “Alyx, I believe, maybe more than anyone, that you can handle yourself in any situation. I also trust that you know where your limits are and I trust that you would be brave enough to sa
y so if you couldn’t go on.” He paused then added, “You know I would never think anything less of you, if you did.”
He turned back to the hotel casually, oblivious to the fact that his words had stunned her. She had expected a lecture, she expected him to get angry that she had insisted on coming, she had expected him to demand that she turn back. Instead he gave her trust. Faith in herself.
He loosened his grip on her forearm but he left his hand there, warm and comforting. Solid like an anchor just when she needed one. She felt her heart open further to him.
He stretched his arm out and leaned closer to her, causing her to snap out of herself. He pointed to one of the lower floor windows where they could see the shadows of the creatures moving behind them.
“They’re in that room.”
She watched his profile, his long thick gold-tipped lashes flickering. He was adorably oblivious to how the world had just shifted inside her. He tilted his head to look at her. Suddenly painfully self-conscious of how transparent her eyes might be, she looked away.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“Let’s check it out first from a window,” she said, thankful that her voice, at least, sounded steady. She made a move to fly off the roof but Jordan’s hand still gripped her forearm stopped her.
Her eyes flicked back to his. And they held her gaze. Set with concern, they seemed to ask the question that she couldn’t bear to hear out aloud. Are you okay?
She nodded slightly and he let go of her arm.
“Let me go first.” He launched himself off the roof before she could protest. He landed lightly on a second floor balcony. Alyx followed.
“What are you doing?” she whispered. “You can’t see them from up here.”
He kicked up his feet over and out so that he was sitting on the rail. He grinned at her before letting his body fall over. Hooking his feet into the railings he swung upside down like a bat so he was facing the high first floor window underneath. In a few seconds, Alyx had copied his movements and joined him. Even with gravity causing his blonde hair to hang the other way, he still looked good. Damn him.
“Show off,” she whispered.
She could see that he was trying to repress a grin. He wiped at the dust on the window clearing it somewhat. She leaned forward so she could see through the gap in the curtain.
Inside it looked to be the main dining area of the once-chic hotel. Most of the tables and chairs had been broken in a haphazard of splintered pieces. Old tablecloths pooled around the floor and were stained with dried blood. There looked to be at least seven Darkened in there, probably more that she couldn’t see. Two of them were feeding on mortals.
“You know,” she heard Jordan say in a low voice. “We never did get to finish that bet.” When she glanced at him, a grin lit stretched lazily across his stubbled jaw.
“Really? You want to bet again? Now?”
“Or you could just concede that I’m the better fighter.”
She had to stop herself from smiling, splinters of guilt locking the corners of her lips down. It still felt too early to smile after… Mayrekk. But at least, she knew that she could and that soon she would be without guilt.
“I concede nothing.”
Jordan grinned. “We’re on, then?”
Their eyes locked. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to keep the mood light to stop her from freaking out again. He was trying to keep her focused on something else entirely. Even though she knew that was his aim, it still helped. Gratitude spilled across her body.
Alyx reached for her sword and heard the sound of Jordan’s blade being unsheathed as well.
“We’re on.”
They kicked off the balcony. Swinging their legs around, gaining momentum and aiming for the glass window, it broke with a terrible shatter. Alyx landed amidst the glass, swinging her sword around her shoulders. She studied the frozen Darkened in the old hotel dining room. Hmmm, definitely more than seven. This calls for more serious measures. Alyx pulled a second sword from her hip and it joined the first one whirling around her.
The Darkened unsheathed their weapons and began to attack. Alyx eyed the first few coming at her. She remained frozen, showing no indication of her intent until… she leapt and twisted in the air like a hurricane, arms out and blades extended like lethal helicopter blades. Three Darkeneds’ heads went flying across the room, bouncing off walls and landing with unceremonious squelches.
The next one paused momentarily before lifting his sword and charging in a desperate run. Really? Alyx almost rolled her eyes at his blatant disregard for shielding his chest. In one fluid movement, she threw both swords in the air, snatched two throwing knifes from her thigh and threw them. Then spinning around, she caught the handles of her swords and slashed out at the Darkened coming from behind. The first Darkened fell with her knife coming out of his heart. The second fell with a fan of red gushing from his throat.
She felt an arm lock around her neck from a Darkened who had snuck up behind her. There was a knife in his hand aimed for her heart. She blocked his knife with her sword. Their blades shook as they pressed against each other for an advantage. She tried to elbow the Darkened behind her in the stomach her, but he was holding her too tightly. As she continued to struggle, she could smell the first Darkened’s sour breath as he laughed in her ear.
“Ugh, your breath.” She screwed up her face. “You know, a little personal hygiene will take care of that that.”
Another Darkened charged for her from the front, a blade aimed for her heart. She raised her other blade across and up in a block. The Darkened’s sword tip, meant for her heart, went into the Darkened’s face behind her. Warm blood sprayed on her cheek and neck, and she heard his gurgled cry. The Darkened in front of her froze in shock. Alyx kicked out with both feet, throwing him back. He landed on the splintered leg of an upturned table, the wooden stake driving up through his stomach and skewering him in place.
With the arm around her neck loosened, Alyx was able to spin away. “Or I could just cut your throat out.” Her swords finished the job across the neck of the Darkened that had been holding her. “That would definitely take care of your breath.”
Alyx walked over to the second Darkened, who was now struggling to pull himself off the table leg. Alyx sheathed one sword and lifted up her other. With a single slash, he was silenced.
She turned just as Jordan came down out of the air, slicing off the head of his last Darkened. He landed on the floor in a graceful half-kneel, arm and blade outstretched in a finished position. She couldn’t help the tug at her heart as she watched him rise like a golden lion, sleek and strong and fierce.
Jordan glanced at her and grinned. Then turned his head. Alyx followed his line of sight. There standing alone in the bloodied room was a single Darkened left. He was the slightest of the Darkened they had just taken on. Even from here she could see the hand holding his sword was shaking.
“Seems that we have come to a draw again,” Jordan said. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that he stood in a disarmingly relaxed pose, but every inch of his muscles were tightened and ready.
“So he is the decider, then.” Alyx said. She licked her lips.
The last Darkened dropped his sword and began to run. Alyx leapt forward, Jordan taking off at the same time. Jordan kicked aside off the ground. His hip came into contact with her side, gently knocking her off her balance.
“Hey,” she cried out, regaining her step.
Jordan grinned at her over his shoulder as he continued across the room. “Whoops.”
Alyx launched off a table at him. He jerked forward as she kicked off his back and flipped over his head. “Whoops,” she yelled back as she hit the ground and kept running. She could hear him laughing.
The Darkened had torn through the swinging double doors leading from the dining room. They both burst through the double doors after him, side by side. Shreds of cloth and peeled-off wallpaper kicked up behind them as they raced down the
long corridor after him, flicking over each other and kicking off walls or the ceiling to try and slow the other down or speed themselves up.
They reached the blubbering Darkened at the same time midway down the corridor. Jordan drove his blade at the Darkened’s chest. Alyx blocked his weapon and thrust her dagger at the Darkened’s back. Jordan blocked that.
Jordan and Alyx fought to get the final strike, weapons clashing around the body of the Darkened who had curled over himself with his hands over his eyes. All the while Jordan’s eyes never left hers. Her world dissolved down to their duel song of metal, a single pair of green eyes, and the percussion of her heart in her chest.
Jordan twirled his blade around, catching Alyx’s blade and getting control of her arm. He pulled her forward around the Darkened so that she was suddenly pressed against him.
His breath heaved hot around her face. Then he crashed his lips against hers. She swore that her heart stopped. For a single second there was a pause in the music, a silence in the whole world. Everything suspended. Time was lost in a pair of lips that, for the moment, was her everything. Then with a thud of her heart, everything crescendoed.
She heard the sigh of metal entering flesh. She heard the choke of life leaving a body. And she realized what he had done.
Alyx broke the kiss. Just as the Darkened fell off the end of Jordan’s blade. The fire in her veins turned to anger and she leveled a glare at Jordan.
He grinned. “Looks like I won.”
Alyx gaped at him, still reeling from the shock of it. She was furious at Jordan for taking advantage of her like that. She was furious at herself for responding the way she did. And angry at the way her lips still tingled. But most of all, she was embarrassed, her body flaring with all sorts of fire. Did he notice how his kiss had affected her?
“You… you kissed me.”
His grin widened. “I did.”
“You did that to distract me.”