The food court had emptied of people by seven-thirty, with everyone leaving early to start their holidays. Alex tapped her fingernails on the table as she anxiously waited for the time to tick by.
“He better get here soon,” D.C. muttered, shredding her napkin into pieces.
“Who?” Bear asked. “Jordan or Marselle?”
“Both,” Alex answered for her friend, thinking the same thing.
Another ten minutes passed with them all fidgeting restlessly.
“Jordan’s really cutting it down to the wire,” Alex said, trying to keep her voice light. “What do you think is taking him so—”
She was interrupted by a sudden noise as a hulking figure burst into the food court. She leapt to her feet, fearing imminent attack, but relaxed slightly when she recognised the new arrival.
“Zain!” she cried as the Meyarin approached. “Where have you been?”
“Alex, I need you to listen very carefully,” he said, grasping her upper arms and giving her a small, urgent shake.
Alex felt her stomach clench with dread. “What’s wrong?”
He stared into her eyes and said, “Aven has the headmaster.”
She drew in a sharp breath, and it was only the Meyarin’s strong grip that kept her from swaying on her feet.
“He was patrolling with the other teachers when Aven captured him,” Zain said. “Never before has Aven had such unrestricted access to Marselle, and now he’s going to try to use him to open the doorway into Meya.”
“No,” Alex whispered, horrified.
“You need to hold it together,” Zain said, shaking her slightly again. “I’ll use the Eternal Path to warn my people, but I need you to go to the Library with your friends and try to stop Aven before he can force Marselle to open the door.”
“What if we’re too late?” she asked. “What if they’re already through?”
“If you don’t see them on your way in, you’ll have to assume Aven has managed to Claim Marselle and he’s already used him to open the doorway,” Zain said. “If that’s the case, I want you and your friends to come straight through to Raelia. We’ll need all the backup we can get if we want to capture Aven before he can escape.”
“What good can we possibly do?” D.C. asked, stepping up beside Alex and looking at Zain with wide, anxious eyes. “We’re not Meyarin. There’s no chance we can help fight him.”
“If Aven makes it through to Raelia, he won’t be alone,” Zain said. “He’ll have at least some of his gifted accomplices with him. The abilities you possess may help keep the other humans distracted while we capture Aven.”
At the concerned looks on their faces, Zain’s expression softened. “It might not come to that. We may be able to stop him before he gets through to Raelia, but that depends on you reaching them before they get to the doorway. Go, now, and I’ll see you again soon.”
“Wait, Zain!” Alex called out as he sprinted away from them. When he paused at the entrance to the food court, she asked, “What happens if we do get to Aven in time? If we meet him before he uses Darrius to get through to Meya?”
“Stall him,” Zain called back to them. “I’ll come along with reinforcements after I reach the palace and warn them.”
That was all he said before he disappeared out the door.
s atta ck.
Twenty-Four
Alex turned to her friends who looked as shell-shocked as she felt.
“You don’t have to come with me,” she told them straight up.
“We’re not leaving you to face him alone,” Bear said firmly.
“Where’s Jordan?” D.C. all but screamed. “What’s taking him so long?”
“Jeez, calm down. I’m not that late.”
The three of them whipped around to see their friend strolling casually through the entrance to the food court with his backpack slung over one shoulder. When he reached them, he dropped it to the ground and grinned at them widely. If Alex hadn’t been so freaked out by Zain’s news, she would have danced with joy at seeing the familiar, carefree expression on his face.
“Aven has Darrius,” she blurted out, causing his grin to evaporate. “We have to stop them before they reach the doorway to Meya.”
She didn’t wait for him to respond as she sprinted off, knowing her friends would follow.
“Talk to me, Alex. What’s going on?” Jordan demanded as they ran along the path.
Alex told him what Zain had said, and finished her quick explanation as they reached the Tower building.
“Are you insane?” Jordan grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. “The entire academy staff is out there making sure Aven doesn’t get to you, and you’re actively seeking him out?”
“Jordan, it’s Darrius,” she said, yanking her arm back. “If Aven Claims him, he’ll be forced to open the doorway through to Meya. And we all know just how bad that would be.”
Jordan seemed confused. “What do you mean?”
Alex sent him a frustrated look. “Stop trying to distract me. I know you’re protective and you want to look out for me, but I need to get down there.”
“Think about this for a second,” Bear said, moving to stand beside her. “Are you sure Marselle can open the doorway?”
Alex hesitated. She knew Darrius’s access to the Library’s secrets was more limited than her own, since she was Chosen while he was only granted the privileges of headmaster. But he’d never said that he couldn’t get through to Meya. He’d also mentioned that Aven had tried to capture him in the past, but the Library protected its own—except for in the case of their current dilemma, apparently.
“I don’t know if he can,” Alex admitted. “But Aven seems to think so, and that’s good enough for me. We need to find them.”
Bear gazed at her steadily for a moment before he nodded. “Lead the way.”
Alex didn’t need any further permission. She ran into the building and tore down the staircase, sprinting straight past the absent librarian’s desk and over to the far side of the foyer. Then she and her friends hurtled down the next set of stairs until they came to a dead end and once more entered the doorway that led to the corridor of doors.
The corridor was tangibly different this time. Instead of a brightly lit hallway, the torches were dimmed. The flames flickered angrily as if the Library itself knew what was happening.
At her summons, Sir Camden stepped through a doorway and into view.
“Lady Alexandra,” he said with a bow. “How doth thee?”
“Sir Camden, can you take us to the doorway leading to Meya?” she asked, her voice betraying her sense of urgency.
“Lady Alexandra, perchance I might bring attention to thy companions?” Sir Camden said. “There be an uncanny—”
“Sir Camden,” Alex interrupted, “I’m so sorry, but we really must hurry. It’s an emergency.”
The knight hesitated but then he bowed again. “As the lady doth wish.”
Alex and her friends jogged behind the suit of armour as he hastily led them along corridors and through doorways until they stepped in front of the one they needed.
“Thank you, Sir Camden,” Alex said gratefully, dismissing the knight.
“Thank me not, Lady Alexandra,” he said gravely, “for I fear this here knight hath made a most grievous error in judgement.”
“Alex, you said we’re in a hurry,” Jordan cut in. “You can talk with him later.”
His words pulled her gaze away from the contrite-sounding knight just as the suit of armour disappeared stiffly through another doorway. His motions were so rigid that Alex wondered if he’d forgotten to oil his joints recently. But her Tin-Manlike moment passed when a new thought came to her and she recognised the gravity of the situation.
“Aven’s not here,” she whispered, staring at the closed door while her stomach plummeted with the knowledge of what that meant. He was already through.
“What do we do now?” D.C. asked, just as quietly.
“You said
Zain wanted us to go and try to help,” Jordan reminded Alex, despite his earlier argument against confronting Aven. “I think we should follow his orders. Maybe if we stop Aven now, they’ll be able to imprison him or something, and we’ll never have to worry about him again.”
“You don’t understand,” Alex said, with a shake of her head. “Zain wanted us to distract any gifted humans Aven has with him, but the ones we encountered at Sir Oswald’s party had incredible powers, remember? My gift can help protect me from some of them, but I can’t keep you guys safe. We have no way of knowing what kind of danger we’ll be walking into.”
Jordan shrugged his shoulders in a casual manner that was at odds with the seriousness of their situation. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
While Alex was relieved that he was back to his cheerful self, she didn’t appreciate his happy-go-lucky attitude considering the circumstances.
“You could die,” she answered bluntly. “Or worse; you could be Claimed.”
“You know we’re with you, Alex,” D.C. said, with both Bear and Jordan nodding their agreement. “But if we’re going to do this, we should do it now. Who knows what’s happening on the other side of that doorway while we wait?”
Alex nodded and blew out a heavy breath before reaching forward to grasp the handle. She gently pressed it down until, like the last time, the door disappeared in front“NO, ALEX! STOP!”
Alex whipped her head around and gaped at the sight of her headmaster sprinting down the corridor, followed closely by a group of teachers.
“Darrius?” she whispered, her eyes widening with shock.
She moved a step in his direction, only to be stopped when Jordan grabbed her arm and forced her backwards…
… and through the doorway.
She lost her footing when she landed inside the mushroom circle and fell to the ground, Bear and D.C. landing heavily beside her. The doorway disappeared the moment they were through, but not before Alex heard an agonised “NO!” come from the corridor behind them.
“Why the hell did you do that, Jordan?” Alex demanded, getting to her feet and glaring at her friend. But he wasn’t listening to her. He was staring at the mushroom circle, growing paler by the second.
“You know, I thought I’d conquered my fear,” he said shakily, “but I was wrong.”
“What are you talking about?” Bear asked heatedly. “And why did you push us in here? That was Darrius yelling to us back there—and he looked fine to me!”
“Jordan?” Alex pressed, looking at the ghostly face of her trembling friend. Her heart started beating erratically, as if she was trying to solve a puzzle that she subconsciously knew she didn’t want the answer to. “What fear are you talking about?”
Jordan stared back at her with terrified eyes as he whispered tremulously, “Don’t let the Fae take me.”
The air left Alex’s lungs in a whoosh as realisation swept over her and she gasped out, “Skyla?”
Jordan’s body shimmered and transformed into Skyla, who looked even more afraid now that she was in her own skin. But Alex didn’t have any words to soothe her, since she was too shocked by the other girl’s presence.
“If you’re here, then where’s Jordan?” she spluttered.
The sound of someone applauding caused Alex to spin around, but she couldn’t see anyone behind her. She peered into the trees, but there was nobody there. Only when she took a step forward did her world fall apart around her.
“Well done, Alexandra,” Aven said, appearing out of thin air. “I expected you to take much longer to figure it out.”
“No,” Alex whispered, stumbling backwards, away from him. “No.”
She continued to retreat, as if distance would change what she was seeing. But no matter how many steps she took, and no matter how many times she blinked, the image remained the same. Three people stood in front of her: Aven on the left, and Calista Maine on the right. And between them was Jordan, staring blankly out at the space in front of him.
“Jordan?” came D.C.’s whimper.
Alex flicked her gaze to the side just in time to see D.C., Bear and Skyla lifted up and suspended in mid-air thanks to Calista’s telekinetic ability. Skyla looked confused and scared, but Bear and D.C… There were no words to describe their ravaged expressions.
“Hello, Princess,” Aven said, looking up at D.C. “You didn’t see this one coming, did you?”
“You—!”
“Now, now,” he admonished. “A princess must always remain polite. Tell me, dear, sweet Delucia. When did you realise your dreams were failing you?”
D.C. paled and her gaze swept over to Jordan, then Alex, before she looked back at Aven. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Is that so?” Aven asked with a smirk. “Are you saying you haven’t been waking from recurring nightmares for the last few months? Nightmares where you see the boy you so deeply care for surrounded by nothing but shadows?”
Alex wanted to step in and help D.C., but she wasn’t sure what to say. Especially because her roommate’s nightmares had been recurring. But how had Aven known that?
“I have to ask, Princess,” he said, “was it frustrating when, no matter how hard you tried, you could never discover any details in your dreams? Almost as if you were being… blocked?”
“How?” D.C. whispered.
“One of my associates is gifted in the art of neutralising the abilities of others,” Aven informed her. “It’s a very useful skill.”
Alex remembered the woman he was talking about from Sir Oswald’s dinner party—Lena Morrow. Once again she was grateful that her own gift kept her safe from manipulation, but she wished she’d had the foresight to consider the scope of Lena’s ability on others.
Hindsight truly sucked.
“I have Lena to thank for keeping you in the dark,” Aven continued, “since darkness was all that your dreams contained. It was fitting, really. I particularly loved how you lost so much sleep fretting over your, ahem, friend.”
D.C. looked horrified. The idea that someone had been tampering with her gift must have terrified her, especially when it had been occurring so frequently.
“You’ll regret this, Aven,” D.C. seethed.
“I doubt that, Princess,” Aven said mockingly. Then he turned to Calista and ordered, “Keep them quiet.”
Immediately Calista focused her gift to snap their mouths closed. Alex could hear her friends trying to talk, but the only noises they managed were trapped in their throats.
“You have my gratitude, Alexandra, for helping me return to my homeland,” Aven said. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
She couldn’t speak. Not because Calista’s gift worked on her. It didn’t. Her mind simply couldn’t come to terms with what was happening.
“Actually, that’s not entirely correct,” Aven mused, deliberately drawing out his words. “I needed you to get me through the doorway, that much is true. Did you really think Marselle could have helped me? I would have found a way to Claim him long ago if that were the case, regardless of how protected the Library keeps him. No, Alexandra, he doesn’t have the access you do, which is why he won’t be opening another doorway to save you. It’s also why only you could assist me in the end. But you proved to be much more tenacious than I’d ever expected of a human.”
“What can I say?” she managed to croak out. “It’s a gift.”
“The literal implication isn’t lost on me,” Aven said, his demeanour souring before he brightened again. “But no matter. I only had to find your weakness. It was really too easy; all I had to do was capture someone dear to you.”
Alex’s eyes flickered over to Jordan who stood silently between Aven and Calista.
“I don’t mean Jordan,” Aven said, seeing where her gaze rested. “I’m speaking of your beloved headmaster. And my deceit was twofold, since you had the added concern that he would grant me access where you resisted. It was perfect, really.”
&nbs
p; “Roka will stop you,” Alex told him confidently. “Zain has probably already warned him that you’re here. They’ll be arriving any moment.”
Aven laughed deeply. “Zain? That poor excuse for an elite guard is half-dead right where I left him with my arrow sticking out of his shoulder blade. No, Zain won’t be warning anyone.”
Alex felt her stomach clench with fear for her friend but she refused to believe Aven. “You’re lying. An arrow to the shoulder would never kill a Meyarin—least of all Zain. It would take way more than that.”
“I love that you still have such naive optimism,” Aven said with dark amusement. “I almost feel guilty about bursting that little bubble of yours.”
She fisted her hands to hide their trembling. “Then don’t.”
“Denial isn’t a healthy state of mind, so I’ll tell you a secret,” he said. “There’s a creature, Alexandra, whose blood is so repulsive to Meyarins that it can incapacitate us at the briefest of physical contact. Among my kind, it’s called the Sarnaph. Your race titles it Daesmilo Folarctos, but it’s more commonly known as a Hyroa. Have you heard of it?”
Pictures flooded Alex’s mind. She saw the day so many months ago when she’d witnessed Aven slay the terrifying, violent beast. She saw the Meyarin urgently checking his clothes and backing away when Gerald tried to hand him the vial of blood. She heard Fletcher comment on how the species was considered nearly extinct. And lastly, she heard the name Daesmilo Folarctos reverberate around her thoughts as she remembered the severe ‘allergic reaction’ she’d had after touching the murky-brown swab of what she now realised was Hyroa blood.
Aven had no way of knowing that there was Meyarin blood in her veins that apparently reacted just as negatively to the Hyroa blood as his own would. That was one secret she would do well to keep from him.