Benedict Jacka - Fated

‘Uh … which ones?’

‘Every one you can think of.’

Sonder looked back at the wall and hesitated. ‘This feels silly.’

I sighed inwardly. For all Sonder’s knowledge, it was painfully obvious how inexperienced he was. Once you’ve been around the block a few times you stop caring about looking silly, especially when you’re dealing with magical traps. Better to be laughed at than dead, and he wouldn’t have been laughed at. ‘Just give it a go.’

Sonder started reciting in the old tongue. He spoke like a scholar, each word carefully pronounced. ‘Stop,’ I said after a moment. ‘Say that last one again and put your hand on the wall, fingers spread. Up a bit,’ I said as Sonder obeyed. ‘Left a bit. Hold that. Now say that word again.’

Reluctantly, Sonder did as I said. ‘ Etro .’

Right in front of Sonder, a section of wall seven feet high and three feet wide glowed for an instant and simply vanished. Sonder started and jumped back. Beyond was a short corridor, bending left. ‘Now I see,’ I said. ‘The whole room is a trap. The only safe way is to go around.’

‘Is it safe?’ Luna asked.

‘Yes. It’s-’ I stopped.

‘What’s wrong?’

I stared for a moment before answering. ‘It’s not empty.’

The corridor was about five feet wide. All the way along the left side was a one-way mirror into the trap room, and as we looked in we got a perfect view of what would have happened to us if we’d stepped through that door.

Every inch of the other room — walls, floor, ceiling — was covered in mirrors. Instead of being placed evenly, they were tilted, casting images at odd angles. Reflecting from the mirrors, filling the room with a criss-cross of white light, were beams of energy, white lines that looked harmless but which I knew could cut like razors. The room was so filled with the beams that it took a moment to realise that there were in fact only three. They emerged from a single tiny panel on the back wall, then bounced around the room at every angle, multiplied a thousand times over.

In the middle of the room, trapped in a cage of beams, were Rachel and Cinder. Rachel was in a half-crouch, a beam just above her head stopping her from rising any further. Cinder was standing, leaning sideways to fit into the empty space. Beams laced the air around them, and I could see burnt patches on their clothes where they’d brushed up against the energy. Both were standing dead still.

Luna stopped as she saw them. ‘Alex-’

‘They can’t see us,’ I said. Neither Rachel nor Cinder reacted as we spoke. ‘Or hear. Sonder, do you know what that is?’

‘It’s an energy lattice,’ Sonder said. He was staring in fascination. ‘I’ve never seen one before.’

‘What does it do?’

Sonder started. ‘Um, they were defence systems from the Dark Wars. They were meant to contain intruders. Once the beams are up, you have to stand there until someone comes to turn it off.’

‘What happens if no one comes?’

Sonder paused. ‘I don’t really know.’

On the other side of the glass, Cinder said something and Rachel answered silently. Both were only inches away from beams on all sides. Sooner or later they would get tired and fall, and when they did, the beams would kill them.

It’s a strange feeling, holding someone’s life in your hands, and it affects people in different ways. Some hate it; they can’t stand the burden and get away as quick as they can. Others revel in the power. You can think of it as a choice, and it is, but the truth is that for most of the big things, the choice was made long ago. It’s only when you reach the crossroads that you discover what it was. It was nothing new to me; I’d been here before. But the others …

Both Luna and Sonder stared through the one-way mirror. Neither spoke, but it was so easy to read their thoughts. Rachel and Cinder were their enemies; all they had to do was walk away. But when it came to it, they hesitated. One after another they turned to look at me, and I knew they were waiting for me to make the decision, just as I’d done a few minutes ago. I could order them to help Rachel and Cinder or to walk away and leave, and they’d obey.

‘What do you think we should do?’ I asked them

I saw their faces change. The seconds ticked away and, even here, I couldn’t help but be curious. I looked into the future, trying to see how they’d decide, and couldn’t predict either. You can’t see beyond a choice that someone hasn’t made. I watched as the possibilities wavered, shifting and changing.

‘We have to help,’ Sonder said.

‘Leave them,’ Luna said at the same time.

Sonder turned on Luna in shock. ‘But they’ll die!’

‘Better them than us.’

‘They’re mages! You can’t decide someone’s life like that!’

‘I decide that every day,’ Luna said quietly. ‘This time at least they deserve it.’

Sonder looked horrified. Luna turned to me and waited. ‘You can’t be going to-’ Sonder said. ‘I know they’re dangerous, but-!’

‘Stay here,’ I said. ‘You can watch, but don’t get involved.’

A beat, then both nodded, though there was an uneasiness between them now. I left Luna and Sonder in the corridor and walked around the edge. There was another secret door at the far end, and I sealed it behind me. Ahead of me was the trap room’s exit, but it wasn’t an exit any more. Someone had destroyed the external controls, sealing Rachel and Cinder inside.

There were more one-way mirrors to either side, and through them I could see Rachel and Cinder, still motionless. As I studied the pattern of energy beams, I realised that if any one of us had entered the room, the changing angles of reflection from the door swinging inwards would have sent the energy beams slicing through Rachel, Cinder, and anyone in the doorway. Not only did it trap those inside, it was designed to kill anyone attempting a rescue. Nasty.

The spell that had destroyed the controls had left cracks in the wall near the door. Leaning in close, I could hear the whisper of Rachel and Cinder’s voices from the other side. ‘Hello?’ I said. ‘Can you hear me?’

The whispering stopped. ‘Who’s there?’ Rachel demanded.

‘Alex.’

‘Verus?’ Cinder demanded. ‘What the fuck are you doing?’

‘More or less the same thing as you.’

‘You bastard,’ Cinder said. He tried to turn around to look at the wall I was speaking from, but couldn’t. ‘How are you still alive? Onyx fired your bracelet!’

‘Cinder, given your current situation, do you really think this is the most productive way to spend your time?’

‘What do you want?’ Rachel said. She was holding quite still. Behind the mask, I couldn’t see her expression, but I knew she was focusing on me.

‘I’m here to help you out of that room.’

‘Bullshit,’ Cinder snarled.

‘Turn off the beams,’ Rachel said.

‘Can’t.’

‘Then open the door.’

‘Can’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘Last guy through smashed the controls.’

Rachel swore. ‘Khazad,’ she hissed. ‘That motherfucker.’

‘There’s an emergency cut-off inside the room,’ I said. ‘It’s just under where the beams are coming from.’

Cinder and Rachel flicked their eyes sideways to look. The mirrors beneath the beams looked exactly the same as the ones covering the rest of the room. ‘That takes us away from the door,’ Rachel said at last.

‘I know.’

‘I don’t see any cut-off.’

‘I know.’

‘Fuck him,’ Cinder snarled. ‘You want us dead, don’t you?’

I didn’t answer. A few seconds ticked by with no sound other than the humming of the beams. ‘How do I get there?’ Rachel asked.