Benedict Jacka - Fated

Rachel held very still. I withdrew, pulling away from her. ‘Now,’ I said coldly. ‘Why should I let you live?’

‘We had a deal-’

I laughed, then, my voice suddenly cruel, and Rachel stopped. ‘Did you think I was that stupid?’

There was fear in Rachel’s eyes, but there was something else too: she was looking at me with respect for the first time, and I found I liked it. ‘Still,’ I said. ‘You might be some use. But payment is only put off. I’ll be calling on you. Understand?’

Rachel nodded carefully. ‘I understand.’ She stepped away, backing towards Cinder.

I lifted an eyebrow. ‘You want him as well?’

‘He’s all I have,’ Rachel said. She spoke simply, and I had the odd feeling that for once she was being honest.

I shrugged. ‘He can share your obligation. Go.’

Rachel nodded again, then opened a gateway and started to pull Cinder through it. Her movements as she pulled the big man were oddly tender. Then the gate closed behind them and I was walking back towards Luna.

‘I don’t understand,’ Luna said as I reached the dais. She’d gotten to her feet, and was standing with her arm cradled awkwardly, staring at me. ‘How did you do that?’

‘Back off two steps,’ I said. Luna did, causing the chains to rattle and draw out. As the links stretched I identified the weakest points, created a pair of hairline flaws, then shattered them with two stamp kicks. I turned towards the wall. ‘This way.’

‘But-’ Luna said, then found she was talking to my retreating back. She hurried after me, the broken chains rattling. ‘Where’s Starbreeze?’

‘She’ll be fine.’ I stopped in front of a featureless section of wall, then spoke a command word. It darkened, then faded away, and I stepped inside. ‘Come on, unless you want to stay.’

Luna started, then followed me in. I touched a control crystal on the wall and with a shudder the room sealed itself and began to move.

‘Alex?’ Luna asked. ‘What does that thing do?’

I smiled. ‘Oh, Luna, I wish you could feel it. It’s like being able to see where you were blind. Watch.’ I stepped forward.

Luna flinched. ‘Don’t!’

I laughed. ‘Your curse? That can’t hurt me now.’ I could see the silvery mist drifting around me, never quite reaching. Occasionally a strand would touch me, but I simply grounded it in the floor, along with the remnants I’d picked up from earlier. It was just as well I’d found the fateweaver when I had; I’d gotten altogether too close to Luna over the past few days. I pointed at Luna’s broken arm, and as she flinched I translated her movement into resetting the bone, aligning the fragments into their proper place. Luna gave a yelp of pain, then stopped suddenly, staring down at her arm. ‘It doesn’t hurt.’

‘I did some encouraging of your body’s healing system. Once we find a healer I’ll have it fixed before you know it.’ I raised my eyebrows. ‘And what do you say to having your curse lifted?’

‘ … What?’

I laughed again. ‘Anything that’s possible, I can make real.’ The room came to a sudden halt and one side opened. ‘Our stop.’

The journey out didn’t take long. Luna trailed along behind me, shell-shocked, as I strode along the corridors, eagerly laying plans for everything I was going to do once I got outside. Before anything else, I’d visit Morden. I was going to enjoy our next meeting, though I didn’t think he would. After that, I had a score or two to settle with Levistus. Then there were the others …

I was so absorbed I hardly noticed once we reached the exit. ‘Hold up the cube,’ I told Luna.

Luna hesitated, looked around. We were in a small, featureless room. ‘This isn’t the way we came in.’

I felt a flash of annoyance that I had to explain things to her, then smoothed it over. ‘This is the back door. It’ll take us into the countryside.’

Luna hesitated a moment longer, then obeyed, speaking the command words I ordered her to use. The cube lit up and a gateway opened in the wall, carrying with it a breeze that smelt of leaves and grass and cool night air. I stepped before the portal, next to Luna, and looked upwards. For a moment I could see nothing, then I started to make out pinpoints of white light. Gradually the stars took shape before me, and as my eyes adjusted I could see the shape of a hillside, trees silhouetted against the night sky. I stood there for a long moment, drinking in the starlight, basking in the rush of triumph. I’d done it. I’d won.

‘Let’s go, Luna,’ I said. ‘We’ve got a world waiting for us.’

Then suddenly there was a whirlwind in front of me, pushing me away. I jumped back with a curse, bumping into Luna and making her cry out. The whirlwind solidified, taking the form of a waif-like girl with spiky hair. ‘Don’t!’ Starbreeze said urgently.

‘Starbreeze?’ I recovered my balance. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

‘Wrong! Don’t go!’

‘You’re in the way.’ I tried to walk forward and again found myself in the middle of a whirlwind of air, driving me back. I came to a stop and looked angrily at her. ‘Starbreeze!’

Starbreeze didn’t move. ‘Can’t go!’

Luna looked at me in puzzlement. ‘What’s going on?’

‘I have no idea,’ I said in exasperation. Starbreeze wasn’t intending any harm, else my precognition would have sensed her, but she wasn’t budging either. ‘You can’t go,’ Starbreeze insisted. ‘Wrong!’

‘Maybe it’s dangerous?’ Luna asked doubtfully.

‘Luna, there’s nothing out there within a hundred miles that’s a danger to me,’ I said impatiently. ‘Starbreeze, get out of the way!’

Starbreeze shook her head again. ‘Wrong.’

I took a threatening step forward. ‘You stupid little-’

‘Wait!’ Luna said urgently, looking between us. She was close enough to Starbreeze to be dangerous, but Starbreeze was focused so desperately on me she didn’t even notice. ‘ What’s wrong?’ Luna asked Starbreeze. ‘Isn’t this the way out?’

Starbreeze shook her head again. ‘Can’t go.’ She stared at me anxiously. ‘He’s wrong.’

‘This is the way out,’ I said. ‘Starbreeze, move or I’ll make you move.’

‘Wait,’ Luna said. ‘What does she mean?’

‘Who cares?’

‘Wrong,’ Starbreeze said again, insistent.

‘She keeps saying that …’

‘ Who cares? ’ I wanted to get out of this place, walk outside the boundaries of the tomb and taste the night air, wanted it so badly I could taste it. Starbreeze was stopping me, and that was making me angry.

Luna hesitated. ‘Shouldn’t we listen to her?’

‘No!’ I said in frustration. ‘There’s nothing for us to go back for. We are done with this place!’

As I spoke, Luna started. ‘Wait!’

I was almost ready to kill Luna. ‘NOW what?’

‘There is someone we need to go back for. Sonder!’

I stared at her for a second. ‘Who?’

‘ Sonder! Alex, you saw him, Griff hurt him, don’t you remember? He must be back in those corridors.’

‘He’s probably dead.’

Luna started as if I’d slapped her. ‘He’s not! He was breathing when Griff took me away. He could still be alive!’

I started to answer and suddenly came to a halt. Luna was right. When I’d last seen Sonder he’d been alive. Griff hadn’t killed the younger mage, he’d only stunned him. So why had I been so sure he was dead?

Luna was looking at me as if waiting for something. ‘What?’ I said at last.

‘Aren’t you going to …?’ Luna said. When I didn’t respond she trailed off.

‘We’ll go back for him later.’ I didn’t want to think about Sonder. I just wanted to get out.