Chosen, p.26
Chosen, page 26
part #5 of The Grey Gates Series
Arkus was openly smiling, teeth gleaming. “Clever little thing. I will call the three demons back, and Evan Yarwood. But I want something else, too.”
“I’m listening,” Max said warily, chest tight. Negotiating with the dark lord didn’t seem like a sensible thing to do.
“I require the company of one more of my descendants, as you call them,” Arkus said, still with that smile. Max didn’t trust it, not one bit.
“And who might that be?” Max asked.
“Oh, no one important,” the dark lord said. If He had been standing in front of her, Max was quite sure He would have done something like look at His fingernails or brush a piece of lint off His suit. As it was, just His tone of voice was enough to make her suspicious.
“Who?” Max asked again.
“You know him as Kolbyr,” Arkus said.
It said something for the shocks of the past few days that Max barely lifted an eyebrow at the news that Lord Kolbyr, master of dark magic, was one of Arkus’ descendants.
“No,” Max said, voice flat. “Kolbyr stays here.”
“Don’t you want to ask him, my dear?” Arkus’ voice had turned silky soft.
“No, I do not,” Max said. As well as His own skills, the dark lord already had Donal in His court. He should have no need of another master magician. And Arkus had the Codex. He was still not satisfied. And, from His manner and the little she had observed, Max thought it was something more than idle curiosity and the whims of an all-powerful being. There was another reason He still wanted Kolbyr. She folded her arms in front of her. “You can’t read the Codex, can you? It was made here, in the daylight world, and you don’t understand it. That’s why you want Kolbyr.”
“Do not presume to tell me what I can or cannot do,” Arkus said, losing a great deal of His pretended civility.
“Well, you can’t have Kolbyr. Take your full demons, take Evan Yarwood, and while you’re at it, the traitor Samuel as well,” Max said. “But leave the rest of this realm and its people alone.”
“It seems you are making all demands but offering nothing in return,” Arkus said through gritted teeth.
“You have a whole realm,” Max snapped back. “And I left You a gift of something growing, something alive, which You claimed was something missing.”
“I will lift the fog,” the Lady said abruptly, startling Max and, it seemed, the dark lord as well. They both stared at the face made out of flames. The Lady tilted her chin towards Max. “If my brother is to be contained more securely in His realm, keeping this island cut off from the rest of this world is no longer needed.”
“You mean it?” Max asked, feeling light-headed. “You will free the island?” Max’s voice cracked as she remembered the map on Kitris’ office wall, the many lands and oceans that no one in the city had ever imagined existed. “We will be back in the world again?”
“You have not been prisoners, my daughter,” the Lady said, her displeasure clear.
Max managed to keep her mouth shut and her thoughts trapped behind her teeth. She didn’t want to anger the Lady into changing Her mind. “Thank you,” she said instead, and hoped it was clear how much she meant it.
“I am pleased to aid my people,” the Lady said, her voice a touch warmer. She turned back to the Grey Gates and Arkus. “It is strange to see you after so long,” she said, so softly Max almost didn’t hear Her.
“Max. We’ve got more company.” Faddei’s voice, and the urgent tone, drew Max’s attention away from the siblings staring at each other. While she’d been arguing with the dark lord and the Lady, the Marshals and warriors had been defending the line of cars, even after the gunfire had stopped. The defenders were all now focused on something in the street beyond the cars.
Max moved a few paces away from the Grey Gates. She didn’t trust Arkus - or the Lady - enough to go any further.
Beyond the bullet-ridden vehicles, Max saw a small group of people heading along the street. Even at the distance, she recognised Queran, Finn, Evan Yarwood and Samuel. They were moving slowly, almost reluctantly.
“Let them through,” she told Faddei. “They’re expected.”
“Alright.” Faddei, the Marshals and warriors stepped back and let the two demons, descendant and traitor, pass through the line of vehicles. Max couldn’t help noticing that the Marshals and warriors made sure that they were between the priests and priestesses and the group led by Finn. Protecting the Lady’s servants.
Finn was in the lead and flinched when he saw the Lady’s flames. He made a large loop, trying to avoid Her as much as possible, but Max could still see how much being in Her presence hurt the demon. She felt a moment of satisfaction knowing that when he got to the underworld, he was going to have to endure the tree’s light magic. The others didn’t seem as badly affected, but then Evan wasn’t a demon, Queran had been living in the daylight world for a long time, and Samuel was dead, as far as Max knew.
A soft murmuring drew her attention past the group heading for the Grey Gates. The ghost warriors were gathered in a huddle with Kitris, all of them focused on the traitor. With the passage into the daylight world, they had retained most of the colour from the tree’s magic, but they were all transparent and the forms of Naomi and her warriors were still incomplete.
“He betrayed us?” Naomi asked. Her voice was thin as a breeze in summer, but Max still heard it.
“He betrayed the Order, yes,” Max confirmed.
“He betrayed me,” Kitris added. His voice wasn’t that much stronger than Naomi’s. “I don’t remember much, but he tricked me.”
“He’s dead,” Max told Kitris. She glanced at Samuel. He looked awful, like an animated corpse, even though his eyes were burning with anger and hatred.
“Our master is calling us home,” Finn said. He was just outside the Grey Gates. He turned to Max. “What have you done?”
“I did what was needed. Go on. Go home,” Max said, and made a shooing motion with her hands.
To her surprise, the demon did as he was told, heading through the gates. He let out a cry of agony as he stepped through. Glancing into the underworld, Max saw the demon running as fast as he could under the canopy of leaves, heading for the safety of dark magic at the outer edge.
Evan and Samuel followed. Neither of them seemed as badly affected as Finn had been. The tree was a powerful and potent protection against Arkus Himself, but Max knew there was still a danger from His lesser creatures. The gates needed to be closed and sealed away again.
Queran paused at the threshold of the gates and looked back at Max. She couldn’t read his expression. He seemed furious and elated all at the same time.
“To think that I dismissed you as an ordinary boring human,” he said, teeth gleaming in a false smile.
“Why were you assigned to watch me?” Max asked. She’d never had a straight answer from him, and didn’t expect one now.
“No particular reason,” he said, shrugging one shoulder. He glanced past her, to where the ghost warriors and Kitris had gathered. “We saw that Kitris was taking an unusual interest in you.”
Max was more shocked by the clear answer than she was by the information he’d given her. It made a certain sort of sense that the demons would keep an eye on the head of the Order and his interests. And even though she might want to argue with Queran about how much of an interest Kitris had taken in her, the fact was that he had visited her several times when she had been a child, before she had been apprenticed to the Order. That had probably been more than enough to warrant some attention from the dark lord’s minions.
“I hope you enjoy your homecoming,” Max told Queran.
The demon’s eyes widened in what seemed genuine surprise, then he gave her another of his false smiles. “I shall miss our little chats, my dear Miscellandreax. Until we meet again.” Queran bowed and stepped into the gates, beginning a leisurely stroll under the spreading branches of the tree.
When all of His people were inside, Arkus’ face in the mirror turned back to the daylight world, Max and the Lady. “This is not the end,” He promised.
“I know,” Max answered, and took hold of the gates, drawing them closed. The last sight she had of the underworld was Arkus’ face, set in anger, staring back at her. Then the dull metal of the gates clanged together and she lifted the latch, setting it in place. The Grey Gates were closed.
Chapter twenty-two
The dull click of the latch setting home seemed to unfreeze everyone around her. She could hear exclamations, questions, and sighs of relief from those who had been watching the Grey Gates and defending the position from the demons, the Syndicate, and possibly also the Huntsman clan. She could only hope that, with Evan and Queran gone, any remaining members of the Syndicate would go into hiding and not cause any more trouble without a leader to co-ordinate them. She put her hands on the gates, making sure that they were closed, and then stepped back. They needed to be hidden again, but she had no idea how to do that.
“Allow me,” the Lady said. Max felt a surge of bright, vibrant power and the Grey Gates, together with their dark aura, vanished from view and from Max’s senses.
The relief of the moment made Max’s legs weak and she staggered sideways, held up by her dogs, as they had done so often before. She put her hands on their backs, needing the support, and turned to face the Wardens, Marshals, members of the priesthood, and warriors.
The High Priestess was standing with her shoulders square, hands folded together in her sleeves, wearing an expression Max had never seen on her face before. Emmeline looked shocked to her core, as if she didn’t know what to make of what she had witnessed or overheard. Max didn’t blame her. It was going to take a long, long time before Max could make sense of all that had happened.
In the odd silence, another figure approached from past the makeshift barrier of vehicles. Lord Kolbyr. He, along with any magician within several city blocks, would have been able to sense the disappearance of the Grey Gates. The only sign that he’d been in a fight were dark smudges under his eyes. Otherwise, he was his usual self. And Max couldn’t help but notice that he wore his dark suit far more comfortably than Arkus had done. Seeing the vampire so soon after facing the dark lord, she could see the clear resemblance in their human forms. She wondered if the dark magic master had known he was one of Arkus’ descendants. It didn’t seem the right time to ask, but she filed the question away for another time and another place.
Even with the High Priestess and Lord Kolbyr in attendance, no one was paying attention to them or to Max. Everyone’s attention was on the group of ghost warriors and Kitris, who had come through the Grey Gates in one mass and were still huddled together.
“My children,” the Lady said, what sounded like genuine sorrow in Her voice. “Come to me and I will give you rest.”
A true leader, Naomi waved her fellow warriors forward first. One by one they approached the Lady’s flames and one by one slipped into nothing as the fire touched them. Watching the process, Max was reminded of the words the warriors had used in the underworld. Quiet. Peace. From the expressions on their faces as they slipped into the flames, that was exactly what they were feeling.
Naomi was the last of the warriors to leave. She inclined her head to Max. “I am glad to have known you, Miscellandreax. No, that’s not your name now, is it?”
“Max Ortis,” Max told her.
“Then I am glad to have known you, Miscellandreax T’Or Orshiasa and Max Ortis both,” Naomi said.
“And I you, Naomi,” Max said, her throat constricted. She watched as Naomi’s expression changed to pure bliss before she, too, vanished into the Lady’s light.
The only one then left was Kitris. He had stayed back, out of reach of the flames.
“Come, Kitris,” the Lady said.
“I am not worthy of Your kindness, Lady,” Kitris said.
Both of Max’s brows shot up, and she was sure she wasn’t the only one. She had never heard Kitris sound so humble before. Being dead had certainly changed him.
“Why is that?” the Lady asked.
“I don’t remember everything. But I did not fulfil my duties as I should have done,” Kitris said.
“Will you accept my judgement?” the Lady asked.
“Yes. Of course.”
“You were not perfect, but then no one is. So come to me and find your peace, Kitris,” the Lady said.
His mouth opened in astonishment, but the former head of the Order stumbled a few steps forward and reached out towards the Lady’s flames. He glanced over his shoulder just before his fingers met the flames and met Max’s eyes. In the final moment before he vanished, Max saw the same peace on his face that she’d seen on the ghost warriors. Her heart constricted again. He had his peace. And she was glad of that.
Looking across the mass of people, Max saw Emmeline’s face tighten. The shock and awe were gone, replaced by a far more familiar expression. Bitterness. The Lady had not looked at or acknowledged Her High Priestess, instead focusing on the ghost warriors and Kitris. For someone as status-conscious as Emmeline, that must surely sting, Max thought.
The Lady’s flames flickered and She turned to the gathered crowd. “You have done well, my children,” She said. Max saw and heard the effect that praise had on the defenders. There were a few tears, a muffled sob or two, shaky smiles, a few shoulder claps among the Marshals and warriors. Even Emmeline’s face softened a little, a small smile pulling her mouth.
The Lady’s face flickered again, the sense of Her presence growing weaker. She turned to Max.
“Remember what my brother said. This is not over.”
“No, I did not think it was. He will try to escape again,” Max said.
“And He will also seek to influence those drawn to the dark,” the Lady told her. “You are the defender of this realm, daughter. Do not forget it.”
Before Max could form a snappy retort or inform the Lady that she’d just done her duty - again - and it was about time someone else saved the world, the Lady vanished.
Max stared at the empty metal dish that had been placed in the middle of the street, her ears ringing with the after effect of the underworld and the Lady’s power.
“Is it over?” someone asked. She couldn’t immediately identify the speaker. One of the Marshals, she thought.
“For now, yes.” She knew that voice. Cira. Max looked up to find the Armourer watching her with kind eyes. “It was a good fight.”
“I’m glad to see you all in one piece,” Max said, looking around everyone. “More glad than I can say.”
“It sounds like the riots have died down, too,” Faddei said. “Or perhaps I’m just deaf from all the gunfire,” her boss added, shaking his head slightly.
“That’s good news,” another familiar voice said. Vanko, who had been manning the barricade along with Faddei. “I was down to my last few bullets.”
There was a ripple of agreement around the Marshals.
“We were on our last legs, too,” Cira admitted. The Wardens, priests and priestesses murmured their own agreement. The priestesses who Max had seen fall to their knees were getting up, their movements slow and shaky, helped by one of the priests.
“I must take my people home,” Emmeline said, her clear voice carrying over the crowd. “If you have need of me, you know where to find me,” she added.
“Thank you, Priestess,” Faddei said gravely. “I do not know what we would have done without your help. You and your people.”
A touch of colour rose in Emmeline’s face, her expression softening again, as it had under the Lady’s praise. She ducked her head. “It was the least we could do while the city was under siege,” she said.
Without another word, or looking at Max, the High Priestess gathered the priests and priestesses and led them away, in the direction of the Hunter’s Tooth. Max watched them go for a moment, not sure how to feel. She was quite certain she would not have managed the gracious thanks that Faddei had given the High Priestess, but she had to admit that Emmeline and her people had done far more than she would ever had expected.
“How long were we gone?” Max asked Faddei and Cira.
“A little over a day,” the Armourer told her, face momentarily shadowed with memory before she shook her head and summoned up a smile. “We had quite an adventure, but I’ll bet it’s nothing compared to yours. I can’t wait to hear the story.”
“I’ll be happy to tell you all about it,” Max said, “but first things first - is there any coffee left in the city?”
That was greeted with a round of laughter and somehow the whole group ended up heading for the Hunter’s Tooth.
Max hesitated, seeing one figure who wasn’t moving. Lord Kolbyr was staring at the remains of the underworld creatures, which were crumbling to ash under a slight breeze, an expression Max could not read on his face. He looked up, as if realising he was not alone, and inclined his head to her.
“I look forward to hearing the tale as well,” he said. “I regret-” he began, and then cut off his words, leaving Max to wonder what he might have said. Did he regret not having seen into the underworld or seen the dark lord with his own eyes? Did he regret the choice he had made to stay in this world? The Grey Gates had been open for a full day, and Max was quite sure that Kolbyr would have found a way through if he had really wanted to. Or perhaps it was something else that Max could not guess at. He was several lifetimes older than her, and she did not fully understand him.
“Arkus asked for you,” Max said softly.
Kolbyr’s brows lifted, his normal reserve taken over by unfeigned surprise. “To what end?” he asked. There was a world of curiosity behind that simple question.
“I believe He wanted you to translate the Codex,” Max said. “And He also claimed you as one of His descendants.”
Kolbyr’s face shuttered, the open curiosity gone into a polite mask, hiding his emotions perfectly. “There were rumours,” he said, voice clipped, “but I have never known if it was true or not.” Then his brow lifted again. “The dark lord asked for me, but I am still here?”
