04 Last

by Lynnie Purcell

  Their stares were intense and full of willingness to believe I could do anything. They trusted in the training I had endured over the past three weeks. It was the first time I felt uncomfortable in front of them. It was also the first time I felt like I wasn’t just ‘Clare.’ I was an important part of the team – I could do something they couldn’t and that made me valuable. It was nice, but entirely disturbing.

  I held out my hands for them to take. They gathered around me and touched me on my arm and hands – wherever they could – and I had to fight a laugh. It was odd to have them gathered around me in such a hopeful, expectant manner.

  I pushed the laughter away and focused on our destination – the castle where Odette and the council lived. I figured it was good manners not to appear inside the castle, so I imagined the bridge. It took me longer than Sara to focus – I was infinitely less experienced – but once I did, my purpose was clear.

  The moving dark was silent and still; it was a silence I found comforting. I was not scared to face it anymore. It reminded me of thinking of ‘nothing.’ There was peace in nothing, even if it was only transient. The second we set down on the bridge, it was obvious something was wrong.

  Smoke swirled to the sky in a thick haze that clouded skies and obscured the sun. The castle was burning. Serenity’s eyes widened as she looked at her home. She broke away from the group and ran toward the front gate, which was completely gone. Black marks around the gate suggested it had blown up. The four guards that normally stood by it were nothing more than piles of ash. The twisted remains of their dark sunglasses were the only proof they had been human once.

  We ran after her, the tension palpable in the group.

  Beyond the charred gate, there were more piles of ash and more signs of destruction. Serenity didn’t slow down, though I saw her searching the place for survivors. Her destination was clear, the room where Odette normally held council. Reaper, Jackson and Margaret broke away from the group after a brief conversation, to check out the rest of the castle. Eli, Alex and Spider followed us down the large hall to Odette’s room.

  Serenity stopped running when she reached he door. She looked flabbergasted. Her whole body shook. Her trembling was intense. It was the first time I had seen her without her seductive air. Her whole world was gone – she did not know how to adapt. She was emotional and out of control. When we reached the heavy door, I saw why.

  Eight of the nine were dead. They were in various poses of death; silver blood was everywhere in the room. It decorated the walls and the floors. The attack had been brutal. The only one missing from the carnage was Odette. Her chair was empty. Her absence from the carnage was a mystery but one that did not change the truth. The council had been destroyed. I was not sure what it meant. Despite their manipulations and deceitfulness, the nine had kept the war contained. They had kept the violence from spilling out on the streets. Did their death mean containment would be more difficult? Was that the point?

  “What happened here?” Alex asked. “I thought they were safe here. Who could do this?”

  Serenity had jumped to her own conclusion. I was certain it was the right one.

  “Marcus,” Serenity said.

  “Even Marcus is afraid of the council,” Daniel said. “He would not risk the full power of their wrath.”

  “Except…they’re all dead,” I said. “There’s no one to punish him.”

  “Odette warned me something like this would happen,” Serenity said. “She said to not count on the council lasting forever. I didn’t listen…I should have listened. I could have protected her.”

  “Speaking of that, where is she?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Serenity said. “But I know someone who might.”

  As she said it, one of the council members twitched. At first, I thought it was a trick of the eye, or a death spasm, but then he moved again. He twitched once more then suddenly sat up as if he had been shocked in to returning to the living. His eyes were black and there was no sense of recognition as he looked at us. There was only murderous intent. As I watched in horror, the other council members joined him in his return to motion.

  “I thought they were dead!” Alex exclaimed.

  “They are,” Daniel said. He pushed Alex and Spider away from the door. “Run!” he told them.

  They looked as if they wanted to argue.

  “Run!” Daniel urged again.

  They took off down the hall, their fear on their faces. The council focused on us. They slowly started coming toward us. Their bodies were altered, not as graceful as they moved. They were only the memories of Watchers, but it was a memory I knew was still deadly. The would kill us if they had the chance.

  “What do we do?” I asked.

  “We put their bodies to rest,” Serenity said.

  “Wait…” I said. “I’ll do it.”

  “Clare…” Daniel started to protest.

  “Can you create fire?” I asked him.

  He frowned at me.

  “Go make sure the others aren’t facing the walking dead,” I commanded. “Make sure they have fire. And Serenity, go find out what happened here.”

  Eli, Daniel and Serenity looked at each other, then at me. They looked taken aback by my authoritative tone. I had not meant to be so commanding, but it had slipped out. I wasn’t sure where the authority came from, but I wasn’t going to back down. I knew what needed to be done. Their emotions were just clouding the issue.

  They decided to listen to the command. Daniel gave me a lingering look then followed Serenity down the hall. I took a deep breath and focused on the dead zombie-Watchers coming my way. They were fierce-looking; it was easy to dwell on their spooky appearance. I had long thought Watchers could not get any scarier. I had thought the idea of turning in to a Nightstalker the height of creepy. I was wrong. Zombie-Watchers were way worse. If I ever slept again, I knew I would have nightmares.

  The first man who had gotten up from the table finally reached me. His hands moved in a graceless way to grab me around the neck. I dodged him and swept out his legs. He fell and hit the ground, but he barely looked affected by the hit. He struggled to his feet again as the others approached. I focused on the lessons the historian had given me. I focused on thinking of ‘everything.’ I visualized what I wanted – fire. There was a brief pause then I felt a boiling energy swell up and overwhelm my body. It was the first time since rescuing Daniel that I felt such a strong surge of energy. I raised my hand, willing myself not to be afraid of what I could do, and fire surged out of my palm. The necklace I always wore –my father’s necklace – turned heavy at the feeling.

  All of the hair on my neck rose in alarm as the fire reached the Watchers in front of me. It wasn’t the fact that I was burning them that had me alarmed. It was the sound of their screams as the fire reached them. I had not expected dead Watchers to scream. My hand started to tremble at the idea of what I was doing but something in my brain kept me from stopping. It was the idea that they deserved peace; no matter how upset it made me feel.

  It felt like it took forever for them to burn to ash, but it was really only less than a minute. I was aware of every single second. The seconds were years, eons, of brutal pain and unyielding screams. Finally, the screaming died down.

  I lowered my hand. I realized I was panting heavily. My whole body felt as if I had run a marathon. The exertion was intense. I hadn’t planned on feeling so rundown. Was the exhaustion physical or mental? It was hard to tell. As I trembled, I heard other sounds. More sounds of screams from elsewhere in the castle.

  I left the room, to find the others, to help. Behind me, piles of ash and silver blood marked the brutal history of the room. It was a history I would not be forgetting anytime soon.

  When I got to the main chamber, the others were already gathered. Reaper had a torn shirt and Eli had soot on his face. Margaret and Jackson looked untouched and perfect, despite the fire that was now dotting the room. More piles of ash were in the room than I rem
embered on first glance. There had been more zombie-Watchers. Spider and Alex were with the group; they looked more bothered by the scene than anyone else did. Daniel and Serenity were missing.

  “Freaking zombies,” Alex said as I joined the group. “Zombies…”

  “Watcher-zombies,” I corrected.

  Alex shivered. “I had rationalized in my head what everyone said about Watchers – why they had to be burned, but seeing it…”

  “I know,” I said. “Where’s Daniel?” I asked.

  “He got all blank-stareish and said he had to check on something,” Alex replied.

  “Is everyone okay?” I asked the group.

  “Yeah…what happened with the council?” Reaper asked.

  “They’re ash,” I said.

  “Oh,” he said.

  “Marcus?” I asked back.

  “It looks like it,” Reaper said. “But why now? What’s he up to?”

  “We won’t really know until he acts,” I said.

  Reaper shook his head.

  “That’s not good enough,” Reaper said.

  “What can we do?” Jackson asked, jumping in to the conversation. “We don’t where he is; we don’t what he’s planning…”

  “Someone has to know. Someone has to have an ear to the ground,” Reaper said. “Whatever Marcus is planning – he risked attacking the council. He risked their retribution. He wouldn’t do that unless it was major. We have to know.”

  “Are you going to divine that from thin air?” I asked. “Or are you hiding a talent we don’t know about?”

  “Sevier might know,” Reaper said. “He knew where Han and Beatrice were being held. His name was on that thumb-drive.”

  I shook my head. “He’s a creep.”

  “A creep with knowledge,” Reaper said. “He’ll know something. He always does.”

  I sighed, knowing he was right. I did not want to trust Sevier with anything, but if it were necessary, if it would get us answers, we would have to seek him out. Before I could reply, Daniel appeared at the front entrance.

  “I found something,” Daniel said.

  “What?” I asked.

  “They didn’t get everyone,” Daniel said.

  He moved out of the way of the door, and we saw a large group of Watchers standing behind him. At the front of the group were Ileana and Mick. They looked as if they had been through hell, but they were alive. I couldn’t tell how many were behind them, but it was a large enough group for me not to be able to count them in a glance.

  “What happened here?” Reaper asked Ileana.

  “There was an army,” Ileana replied. “Some were dead, some were Nightstalkers. Others were Seekers. They came without warning. They were stronger than we were. They got through the front doors before we could organize. We fought back, but we were not as prepared as they were. Then the council fell. Odette ordered us to retreat to the village below…We did as she commanded.”

  “Where is Odette?” I asked. “She wasn’t with the others.”

  Ileana was confused. “I do not know. We thought she was dead. We would have protected her, if we thought otherwise.”

  “I know what happened,” Serenity said, stepping out from a room I had not noticed before. “Odette ran.”

  “What?” Daniel asked.

  “The truth is here, on tape,” Serenity said.

  Her expression was not a happy one; she looked more shaken than when she had thought Odette was dead.

  We followed Serenity in to the room and saw monitors all over the wall. Recording equipment took up another wall. Serenity went to the largest monitor and pushed play. The recording was of the council chambers. There was a loud ‘boom’ from somewhere in the castle – most likely the door being blown to bits. At the ‘boom’ Odette stood. The other council members were looking to the door in panic; they questioned what was happening. Odette’s reaction was different. She did not waste time with panic. She moved to a hidden door the others did not seem to be aware of. She looked over shoulder as the other council members started calling out to the guards. Then, without a word, she disappeared in to the hidden passageway, shutting the door behind her.

  “She could have gotten the others out,” Alex said. “Why didn’t she?”

  Daniel had his arms crossed. His face was certain. The truth was one he had long ago realized.

  “Because Odette has always done one thing very well – survive,” Daniel said. “She let the others die as a distraction, so she could escape.”

  Serenity didn’t argue with him.

  “She must have been expecting the attack,” Serenity said. “She saw it and did nothing.”

  “I suddenly like her even less,” I said. “Not that I liked her a lot to begin with.”

  “We must have seen her moments after that,” Ileana said. “That was when she told us to flee.”

  The tape kept rolling. Seconds after Odette was gone, a man I had seen in my nightmares came in to the room. He had white hair and yellow eyes. Marcus. Marcus had really been in the castle. He had walked the halls, had moved through the very same door I had just left. I felt my heart race at seeing him. At the same time, I felt compelled to watch what happened next. Seeing him drew me to the scene. He had a wicked-looking sword in his hand. It was covered in blood. Behind him were Nguyen and another girl I had never seen before. The girl had pale skin and brown hair. She was wearing a veil across her face. Despite not seeing her face, she felt familiar. There was something that connected me to her. It was as if I had known her in another life. The girl and Nguyen moved forward, to take care of the council, who were cowering in fear, but Marcus held up his hand.

  The council had finally noticed Odette’s abandonment. I could see the dawning awareness of their coming fates. They knew they were going to die. One of the council spoke up.

  “Surely you are not so bold to attack us,” he said. “Our people will hunt you down and kill you if you do.”

  “Today is a new dawning for all Watcher-kind,” Marcus said in a silky smooth voice. “The people will finally be free to enjoy life, however they please. You should know that your deaths will help usher in an era of peace, the likes of which you have never seen before.”

  “You will pay for this,” a woman said.

  “I don’t think so,” Marcus said. “Welcome to the dawning of forever,” he added.

  Without waiting for a reply, he moved forward. The members of the council stood as one. Many of them had weapons; others had their talents. Both meant little to Marcus. He was all elegant grace and terrible vengeance as he moved from councilmember to councilmember. He was a dancer threading his way through a violent dance. His arm moved without thought, in time to his fluid steps. He was a force to be reckoned with. His attack took all of thirty seconds. When the council was dead, he flung the blood off his sword and turned back to the girl. She moved across the space separating them and caressed the side of his face lovingly. Then, he looked up at the camera and smiled. It was a smile I felt was directed at me.

  Alex had put her face in to Reaper’s shoulder without realizing whose shoulder she was clinging to. Reaper noticed the touch, but his thoughts were too focused on the carnage to find true happiness at the feel of her. Spider had kept his eye on the monitor, though I sensed his fear and distaste. He finally understood why we were all so scared of Marcus. I finally understood that nothing would get in Marcus’ way. He was starting to move, to act on his plans. It was movement that would come at the price of many more lives.

  “What does he mean by the ‘dawning of forever’?” Jackson asked in to the shocked silence.

  “Do crazy people need explanations?” I asked back.

  “If they’re going to bring their crazy my way, they do,” Jackson said.

  “He’s in forward motion now,” Daniel said. “His next move will be bigger. He’s done playing behind the scenes. It’s the dawn of his plan…to make himself master of our kind.”

  “And he has all his Seekers to bac
k him up,” Reaper said.

  I moved over to the monitor and shut off the feed, before they saw what I had done in the room. I wasn’t eager to add to the look of horror on Alex’s face.

  “Should we find Odette?” I asked.

  “She won’t be found,” Serenity said. “If she wants to disappear, she will. Searching for her is a waste of time.”

  “So…what? Our only option is Sevier?” I asked.

  “We can talk about that elsewhere,” Reaper said. “It’s not safe for us to linger here. Marcus could have people watching.”

  He turned to Ileana, who was watching us curiously. Her eyes lingered on my face; the expression on her face was familiar. She was trying to figure me out – trying to decide why the others were so interested in me. Her look suggested she knew more about me than I would have liked her to know.

  “You and your people are welcome to find safe shelter with us for as long as you need,” Reaper added to her. “Though you should know we intend to take the fight to Marcus soon. You are welcome to go your own way, of course, or you can help us in the fight.”

  “Do you intend to kill Marcus?” Ileana asked.

  “Yes,” Reaper said.

  “Then I will join your cause,” Ileana said. “The others must make their own choice.”

  “I understand,” Reaper said. “I’ll have two of my people – walkers – come here and take those willing to fight back to our ship.”

  Ileana nodded and turned away to tell the other Watchers, who had worked for the nine about Reaper’s proposal. I could tell that the Saints were about to grow larger. Not many of them were eager to leave the fight after seeing their whole world turned upside down. They had been loyal to the council – they were like Serenity. They would want payback.

  “I’ll need to go to the ship and talk with River,” Reaper told us. “We need to organize. Plan. This changes everything.”

  “Of course,” Daniel said.

  “Will you continue your training?” Reaper asked.