by Izzy Shows
As afraid as I was, a grim satisfaction had taken hold of me.
Gods, but I did love the fight.
There’s nothing on Earth quite as wonderful as fighting for your life, being locked in that most primitive state with another creature and knowing that it’s just you and them and whatever outcome the universe has decided on. No flashy lights, no politics, just the fight.
He charged me again, this time moving much faster, and before I could even think about dodging, I was on the ground and he was straddling me. He pulled his fist back and landed a blow to my nose. Blood squirted out and covered my lips. I turned my face to the side to spit before I glared up at him.
“Now, that was fucking low,” I said.
He grinned down at me, and I realised he was enjoying the fight just as much as I was, if not more. We were both warriors at our core, and I found I could respect that.
It struck me that in another time, in a different set of circumstances, the two of us could have been friends. We could have bonded over our love for magic and the fight, and we could have fought together against the monsters that threatened our world. But he had chosen to hate me for whatever reasons he thought he had, and now I was defending my life against him.
There would be no friendship between us; I knew that. Not now, and not ever. That was a different timeline, and it would never see the light of day.
I reached up with both hands to grasp his face and at the same time brought my upper body up as hard and fast as I possibly could, slamming my head into his with all my power. The momentum sent me back to the ground with my head ringing and my nose screaming at me, but I heard him howling in the distance and felt his weight gone from me.
The blow had served its purpose.
And then a memory tugged at me, of another time when I’d been in a similar situation and had behaved in a similar fashion.
Tyburn Tree.
The man whose eyes I had fried from his head to had run down his face like undercooked eggs. The smell of sulphur that had pervaded my nose, the way his melted eyes had felt on my skin. I tried to bring myself back to the present, but for a moment, all I could see were his empty eye sockets looking down at me, the horror of the moment freezing me in place even now.
I could fight like that again and win.
A shudder passed through me. No, I could never fight like that again, not as long as I lived. I wanted never to see a sight like that again.
A sharp kick to my abdomen brought me firmly back to the present day and sent me rolling to the side, a motion I was grateful for, because it carried me away from my attacker.
I struggled to pull one knee under me and was about to stand when Viktor appeared in front of me again. He pulled back an arm and sent his fist flying towards me.
I caught it with one hand. Surprise flickered over his face, and he performed the same action with his other hand. I caught that too.
“Sieg,” I said. The word was yanked from me as fiercely as could be imagined. I didn’t know what I’d had said This was what had happened at Tyburn Tree, and when I’d made the staff the day before. I didn’t know the origin of the word, didn’t know how I knew it, but it had been there when I needed it.
And it didn’t hurt to use the power.
Ice sprouted from my hands and covered Viktor’s. I slammed my hands together, carrying his with me, and married them. The ice covered him and kept growing until it reached his forearms.
He screamed in horror for a moment, his gaze darting from his hands to me and back again. He yanked on his arms and screamed in pain—and a vicious smile spread across my lips.
Had I defeated him at last? Without his hands, he wouldn’t be able to grab his sword and attack me. Without his hands, he was done for.
“Incendium!” he shouted, and I watched as the orange light of fire flickered in his hands, but it did no good against the ice.
My eyes widened. What had that spell been, that it could stand up to the power of fire when it was present?
I found I didn’t want to know, and I hoped it wasn’t something Viktor would be able to identify later, because I was afraid it was magic that I shouldn’t be working.
It certainly wasn’t anything Fred had taught me.
Viktor’s eyes turned pure black, and blackness pervaded his hands. A moment later, his hands were free, and he was grabbing his sword off the ground. I was still kneeling on the ground, and I struggled to stand, desperate to run away because I could sense my impending death.
No such luck.
He slammed a fist into the side of my head and sent me back down to my knees. He brought the sword up, his eyes still pure black. The crowd was cheering.
And then I understood. Comprehension dawned on me, and horror a moment later.
“HE’S TAINTED!” I screamed as loud as I could, over and over again as he brought the sword down, my eyes clenched tightly shut and my hands over my head and every shield possible erupting from my rings. “HE’S TAINTED, HE’S TAINTED, HE’S TAINTED.”
Silence pervaded the ring. I peeked open one eye and saw Viktor standing over me with his sword raised and his eyes bulging. They were no longer black, but he didn’t move.
He couldn’t move, I realised. He had been frozen by some sort of spell. Cautiously, I lowered my shields, but still, he didn’t move.
“He’s tainted,” I whispered, horrified.
Forty Five
“Take him,” the Chancellor said, his voice booming throughout the ring. “This must be thoroughly investigated. Call the Healer.”
The First Hand burst into the ring, four of them grabbing Viktor. As soon as they touched him, the spell that had held him dissipated, and he began to struggle. He was quickly disarmed and dragged back through the door through which he had entered.
My chest was rising and falling rapidly, and adrenaline was pumping through my veins. How had it all come to this? And yet a part of me was almost relieved—this was the best possible outcome of the trial. He had almost killed me, proving to the High Council that I couldn’t take down a Wizard of the First Hand. Proving that if I turned Warlock, they would be safe from me.
But I had also proven that I could more or less hold my own in a fight, that I wasn’t incompetent, and that in the midst of battle, I had kept my head well enough to spot a taint in my opponent.
Assuming they knew what the taint was and that they’d be able to verify it within him. A shiver ran down my spine. I had to assume they’d be able to do that; after all, I’d been able to find it in Lilith and pull it out of her.
If I could do that, then so could the Healer who had mended my bones so easily. I began to steady my breathing, forcing myself to calm down and concentrate.
“Blair Sheach.” The Chancellor’s voice boomed through the ring again. “Return to the High Council’s chambers immediately for questioning.”
I turned to watch as the Wizards filed out of the judges’ box one by one, and panic started to rise inside me again. What questioning could they possibly want to do now? What was I going to be able to offer them?
I struggled to my feet and headed towards the door I had entered from. I could only assume that was the way they wanted me to go, as it was the only option available to me. My hands shook at my sides, and I balled them into fists to steady myself. I would see myself through this, just as I had seen myself through the thirteen trials they had already laid out in front of me.
Surely, I had proven myself by now. Surely, they wouldn’t put me to death.
I waited as the Wizards entered through a back door and took up their seats at the long desk that divided the room. My heart was beating a tattoo against my ribs, and I couldn’t do anything to slow it down.
I was becoming dizzy with all the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I didn’t know how to get hold of myself, but I knew I needed to do it, and do it quickly.
I shifted my gaze to Diego, the only person on the High Council I thought would have the brains necessary to hear me and
understand that what I said was the truth. But even his face was twisted with concern and confusion; he didn’t know what I’d meant when I said Viktor was tainted.
My panic ticked higher.
I wasn’t going to get anywhere if I allowed it to continue.
Breathe, Blair. It’s the only thing that’s going to get you through this.
One breath in, one breath out. I focused on my breathing, inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. I counted the breaths like I would count sheep at night to put myself to sleep. I focused on the way my lips opened to let the air out, and on the burning sensation that filled my broken nose when I took a breath in. My whole face ached with the force of the punch and the subsequent head butt I’d delivered, and it wasn’t the sort of self-inflicted pain that would allow me to concentrate more easily. It was a distracting type of pain, a kind I couldn’t allow myself to focus on.
I pushed the pain down into a corner of my mind, threw it into a small cell and slammed the door shut. Clarity returned to me. I’d always been able to compartmentalise pain; it had been a necessary survival skill when I was a small child, being beaten by the people who were supposed to protect me from the world. Without that skill, I don’t think I could have survived long in this world, in this line of business.
For the moment, the High Council were talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. I could see distress on some of their faces, though confusion seemed to reign supreme amongst all of them. They didn’t know what to think of the accusation I had hurled into the ring.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if some of them thought I’d made it up just to save my own skin, but time would prove me right. That was the only hope I could hold on to: that the Healer would be able to see that what I’d said was the truth and would clear my name.
My fists, still balled at my sides, shook a little bit. I clenched them tighter, so that my nails bit into my palms. That was the kind of pain I needed, the small, sharp type that slammed through my brain and forced other thoughts out. This was what I needed; this was what would get me through the next few minutes.
Oh, Gods, what if it took hours to convince them?
No, I couldn’t worry about that, not right now. I had to get myself prepared, had to get my thoughts a line. What was I going to say? It all depended on what they were going to ask.
Breathe.
One breath in, one breath out.
“Ms. Sheach. Explain what you said in the ring.”
“About him being tainted?” I said, hoping that my voice didn’t quaver.
“Indeed.”
I took a deep breath, preparing myself. “There are Others who are trying to infiltrate our world and cause chaos. They’re trying to weaken us so they can more easily take over when they’re ready. They do this by taking individuals and tainting them. I suspect it’s been going on for a long time.”
The Chancellor waved a hand dismissively. “This is not possible. We would have become aware of it.”
“But I’m making you aware of it now!” My voice rose with impatience, but I knew it would do me no good to yell at them. I had to make them see reason, and that wouldn’t happen if they thought me an impudent child. “Would you have listened if I came to you two years ago and tried to explain it to you?”
“Are you saying that if this is true, you’ve been sitting on evidence of wrongdoing? Why have you not spoken up sooner?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I didn’t know about it until recently, and, as has been mentioned previously, I didn’t know how to get into contact with you.” I didn’t tell them that even if I had known, I probably wouldn’t have come to them. I didn’t trust them, not one bit. “And since I first came here, I’ve been a little preoccupied with this ‘prove yourself or die’ nonsense. Maybe if you had created a more relaxed atmosphere, where I felt like I was safe, then I would’ve been able to tell you everything I knew. But, no! You had to be focused on getting rid of me.”
I cringed as I finished delivering my speech, seeing the disbelief and anger rising in the Chancellor’s face. He must have been well and truly pissed if he was allowing me to see what he was feeling. Normally, his face was a perfect mask of emotionless calm, but now he looked like he wanted to rip my head off.
“I’m trying to tell you now, and I’m begging you to listen to me,” I amended my statement, hoping that it would make it better.
He appeared to relax somewhat, some of the anger dissipating from his face. “Go on, then.”
“OK,” I said, then took a deep breath and flexed my hands open and closed. I had to keep a level head. I couldn’t yell at them again. “Not too long ago, there was a triad of vampires who tried to take over London. At first, we thought it was just a rebellion, a grab for power, and all I cared about was getting it taken care of so others would be safe. But when I finally caught up with the vampires, when I got to see them for what they were, I saw there was something wrong with them. They were practically rabid, and I knew it had to be something else. I knew something had to be wrong with them. But I didn’t get the chance to find out, because at the end of the day, they were trying to kill me and everyone else in London, and they had to be put down.”
I paused to take another breath, then went on, “And then there was a succubus. A demon, yes. I know now, without a doubt, that she was tainted, but in the beginning, it appeared that she’d simply developed an addiction for magical energy. She was feeding on members of the magical community and leaving bodies in her wake. Something had to be done, and we laid a trap to catch and kill her, but at the end of it all, we were able to simply capture her. For a case study, you see, because this was the second time something from a magical species was behaving outside of the norm. We discovered that her addiction could be cured by pulling the taint out of her and destroying it. When she had a level head again, she told us that something had come to her in the night and tainted her, and ever since it had touched her, she’d been afflicted with that terrible hunger. I have my suspicions that whatever it was, it may have been involved with giving Deacon the power and the insanity necessary to set out on his suicide mission.”
I took a deep breath after I spoke, wishing I had a glass of water. My throat was raw from all that incessant prattling, and I could only hope they didn’t ask too many questions about Lilith. I couldn’t tell them that she was going to go free, because I knew that would never be good enough for them. They’d want her dead, now that we’d got our answers from her.
“You have no proof,” the Chancellor said. “You only have the word of a succubus, who would say anything to save her own skin.”
“That’s not true! I felt the taint inside her, and I destroyed it after I pulled it out of her. I saw it with my own eyes, felt it with my own power. I know she wasn’t lying about it. I just didn’t know what it was until she told me. The Others are real! And they’re going to kill all of us if you don’t do something about it!”
I was shouting now, frustrated that they weren’t listening to me. I didn’t know what else I could say to get them to see reason.
A door slammed open, and we all turned to see the Healer walking into the room with long, confident strides. His expression was grim but determined.
Hope rose inside me.
“The girl speaks the truth,” he said. “There is something inside Viktor that I cannot name, something I do not recognise from all my years of study. He is tainted by a dark magic.”
Forty Six
Chaos erupted in the chamber as the High Council began furiously conversing with one another. It was too loud and too chaotic for me to hear what they were saying, other than making out a snippet here and there.
The Healer was watching me with an odd look in his eyes before he came over to me.
“I heard what you said,” he said.
“How? You weren’t in the room.”
“I was Listening, after I learned what was inside Viktor. You said that you pulled the taint from the succubus.
Is that true?”
“Yes,” I said, nervous now. I didn’t want him to ask me how I’d done it, because Fred had said that the spell I’d used was a dark one that could have gone very wrong if I hadn’t been careful. I’d felt a lust to keep the power inside me, but I’d always been certain to get rid of it before I allowed it to go any further.
The Healer seemed to relax somewhat. “Good. That means there is a chance we can save Viktor. I will have to conduct studies into how to do it safely. I do not doubt that an untrained mage such as yourself could do harm to him if you attempted whatever spell you used. It’s good that you tested this on a succubus. It matters not what harm you did to her.”
A chill ran down my spine. I could have hurt Lilith? And how dare he say it didn’t matter if I had hurt her!
But then, hadn’t I seen the pain on her face every time I pulled energy from her? Hadn’t I seen the way it had tortured her? I felt sick to my stomach, thinking that maybe all of that had been unnecessary, that maybe there’d been another way to go about it.
I hadn’t known that then, and I tried to tell myself that it excused what I’d done.
Not even I believed that, not in my heart of hearts.
“Silence!” the Chancellor shouted. “We will have order in this room.”
And indeed, silence did descend on the room as soon as he’d spoken. I saw the wary glances the members of the High Council exchanged with one another, and I knew their conversations weren’t yet at an end. That was OK with me. I needed them to take this seriously, to conduct a full-scale investigation into what was happening.
Maybe I couldn’t do anything against the Others, but the High Council might have the power to do something about it. I breathed a small sigh of relief. Some of the tension left my back. I wasn’t in this alone anymore, and that was more relieving than I had thought was possible.
“What happens now?” I asked the Healer.
“They will decide what to do with you,” he said. “I had better get back to Viktor, now that I’ve confirmed that what you said was the truth. I only came here because I could sense that you weren’t getting through to him.”