Court of Nightfall (15 page)

***

I hid the Night Raven in a mountain cave outside of New York then flew with my own wings to the edge of Manhattan and walked through the city looking for the subway station that would take me back to Vianney Island and Castle V.

I kept my e-Glass turned off and ignored all e-Boards. I didn't want to see Jax killed, didn't want to see the footage that would follow. I wanted this day to be over.

As I passed by an alley, my own thoughts were broken by a boy screaming for help. I turned into the darkness and saw three kids, barely teens, standing over another kid, kicking him in the stomach and taunting him. "Rotten Zenith," one said, landing a blow to his chest with a boot. "You hoping Nephilim win this time, Zenith? You hoping they kill us all?"

"I'm not… a Zenith… please…" the kid on the ground begged through a split and bleeding lip.

The second attacker spat at him and leered. "I saw you making things float in the bathroom."

"No…" the boy said, shaking, cowering. "You're making that up."

The bully stepped closer, crushing the kid's hand under his foot. "You calling me a liar?"

"No… please…"

I ran down the alley as they continued to beat the boy.

"Hey!" I shouted, ready to do whatever it took to protect this kid. I worried I'd have to fight three minors, but the moment they saw me they ran like the cowards they were.

I reached for the boy's hand but he jumped up and scuttled away from me. "I'm not a Zenith," he said. His face was red and covered in tears, his brown hair a mess of dirt and gravel. "I'm not!"

He tried to push past me and I dropped my hand to his shoulder. "Wait!"

My power opened up on its own this time, throwing me into his mind, his memories.

Him at home, making a small paper crane levitate over his hand, a big smile on his face.

In the bathroom, his backpack starting to float next to him. He didn't mean to. He wasn't even thinking. A group of kids come into the bathroom and saw…

In the school office while his parents talk to the principal.

On the bathroom floor of the school being kicked in the gut.

At home, his parents yelling at him, telling him to stop. "Can't you just be a normal kid?"

And then he stole his father's key, the key to a drawer where his dad kept a gun…

"Don't be afraid," I told him, pushing the thought into his mind. "Things will get better."

He believed me. I made him believe. "Things will get better," I said again. Because I would make them better. Nightfall would make them better.

I let him go and he walked away, smiling as tears filled my eyes.

***

By the time I arrived at Castle V, I'd mostly calmed down. My eyes were still swollen from tears and I needed a bath, but I was back to being Scarlett, all signs of my alter ego stored away, my hair back to its pale blond thanks to the magic of Angel technology, but my heart still crushed beyond repair.

I'd only come back for one purpose. I hadn't thought past what I would do after that. Would I stay and try to destroy the Orders from within? Would I leave and join the rebels? Would I just disappear? Would I try to hunt the Angel that killed my parents, even if I wasn't ready and would get myself killed, and, I reminded myself, I had no idea where said Angel was?

I had no answers to any of these. No plan. No ideas.

I only knew one thing as I clutched my mother's dagger in my hand, hidden under the cuff of my hoodie.

Ragathon would pay for what he'd done to Jax.

I'd been searching for him on the grounds and finally found him saying goodbye to a group of students he'd been talking to.

He walked away, laughing, smiling. Like he hadn't just killed the last of my heart.

I squeezed the dagger in my hand, the cold steel digging into my palm.

As I walked faster toward him, my heart pumped quicker, heat building in my body, adrenaline coursing through me.

I'd never killed anyone in cold blood before. It felt different. But I didn't waver. Didn't hesitate. He wasn't an innocent and I would have no regrets, no matter how this ended, as long as he was dead.

I was a few feet from him, his back to me as he walked away. I moved closer, the blade ready to sink into his neck and spill his life's blood.

I raised it, ready to strike, ready to end his life. This was my last move. My King ending the game.

Just as I prepared to lunge, someone grabbed my hand.

"Scarlett?"

My heart stuttered and the dagger fell to the ground. Ragathon continued on, oblivious to how close he was to the end of his life as I turned to the man who had stopped me.

It couldn't be…

Jax wrapped his rams around me and held me against his chest, his voice a breath against my ear. "Scarlett, I'm back."

He bent to pick up the dagger I'd dropped at our feet. "This wouldn't have changed anything, Star." He handed it back to me and I stuck it in my bag. "Some other Inquisitor would just take his place. Maybe even someone worse—"

I didn't care about any of that, I just cared that he was alive, standing before me, well and beautiful and still here. I hugged him again, hard, my heart filling with happiness. "How are you alive? I thought they killed you."

Part of me was still angry he hadn't left with the rebels, with Nightfall, and I didn't understand why he would choose death over fighting the system that unjustly convicted him.

He smiled and stroked my face while he spoke. "The Chancellor overruled his execution when I proved loyal. By refusing to join with Nightfall I inadvertently became a powerful symbol for Normals and Zeniths alike. The Chancellor argued that by killing me we would be inflaming the passions of the public toward anarchy, but by reinstating me we would show the people that those loyal to the Orders are protected."

"But you couldn't have known that would happen," I argued. "For all you knew, they would have killed you. Why didn't you leave with the rebels? You risked your life!" I punched him lightly in the shoulder, as emotions warred in me. Fear, sadness, anger, relief, love… all of it filling me with contradictions.

"Leaving with the rebels would have solved nothing," he said. "Nightfall spoke of justice, and yet she was threatening an entire group of innocent people, not just soldiers. How is she any better than what she claims to fight against? I can't align myself with that. I have to fix the corruption from within. Your parents died for the Orders, I couldn't dishonor them, our Order, everything we stand for, it would all have meant nothing if I sold myself out to save my life."

"You really believe that? That it would have been better to die than join the rebels?" I tried to hide the pain that caused me, how personal this conversation was to me.

His face hardened. "Yes."

We began to walk toward the water as we talked, moving away from the Castle and anyone who might overhear us. "But they're on your side. The Nephilim are fighting so Zeniths and Normals can live equally. For years, they've been fighting. Can't you see, that all this time, they're the ones we should have been rooting for?"

He turned to look at me, his hand resting on my arm. "Scarlett, if Nephilim had won the war, they would have killed everyone who opposed them."

"And have we done any different?"

Jax sat on a bench under a tree over looking the water. "Look, there's no point in regretting a past we have no control over. You and I can change things now. We'll rise up the ranks, and we'll make a difference. One day, when a Grandmaster like Ragathon is to be replaced, we'll be the ones to replace him."

I had too much energy in me to sit, so I paced next to him, the beauty of the night lost to me.  "And what about Nightfall?"

"The Nephilim? She'll pay for threatening all those people."

I wanted to smack him, but I refrained, pulling in all of my frustration at his narrow-minded views. "Whether you like it or not, she saved you today. She may not have rescued you, but she became the mechanism by which you were exonerated."

Jax shook his head. "I didn't ask for her help and I owe her nothing."

Before I said something I'd regret, I turned away. "I need to go."

But he stood and grabbed my hand before I could leave. "Scarlett, just… just wait a moment."

I turned to look at him. Moonlight highlighted his dark hair and his face had softened with a familiar smile. "I almost died today, it's true. And my last thoughts would have been of you. I thought I'd never see you again and it hurt more than anything else. So…" he stepped forward and I could smell the mint of his soap as it caught on the breeze, "I just wanted to say that I'm so glad to see you again. Glad you came back. And, it means a lot to me that you were willing to avenge me."

He leaned in and kissed my cheek, a light peck but it left a mark on my skin, like a burn that traveled through my body. "Goodnight, Star."

Choked by my own emotion, I said goodnight and walked quickly to my room, all thoughts of assassinating Ragathon gone. It wouldn't work now, anyways. Too public. Too dangerous. Unless I wanted a suicide mission, there had to be a better way. I'd think about it later.

As I made my way into the castle and through the corridors toward the Initiates Wing and my bedroom, I wondered at what my parents and Jax saw in this place. It oozed corruption and didn't seem to do anything it promised to do.

When I locked my door and checked for bugs—you could never be too careful—I walked to the window, pricked my finger, and drew the Nephilim symbol on the glass. It shimmered and disappeared and as I waited to hear from Zorin, I finally took the chip from the night my parents were killed and installed it into my e-Glass.

I dropped to my bed, clutching the Token of Strife in my hand and watched that night unravel in full color. Over and over I replayed the video. Seeing them fight. Seeing my mother shift. Seeing them both killed. Seeing the Angel come from the sky.

It was nearly morning when I looked up to see Zorin standing in my room, the window open behind him.

I raised an eyebrow at the odd vision of him in my room. "Isn't it a bit risky for you to be here?"

He grinned and sat at my desk chair. "I have ways of remaining incognito. What can I do for you, Miss Night?"

I sat up and took my e-Glass off. "It's what I can do for you, actually. Or rather, what we can do for each other. I'll help you discover why the Nephilim lost the war." I could see interest in his eyes and continued. "And then, I'll help you rebuild. Gather the rebels and prepare the Cathedral. It will be our base, where we start."

"Start?" he asked.

"A new Order," I said. "One that fights for both Zeniths and Normals. One that actually keeps its oaths."

"If we are to be an army, we shall need a name. A banner under which to fight."

I used the Token of Strife in my hand to prick my finger and used the drop of blood to draw on the floor between us. An infinity symbol with a double cross rising from it. "Not an army," I said looking up at him. "We shall be of the night, striking from the shadows, but we shall be more than soldiers. We shall be symbols of what is just. We shall be knights of the dark. We shall be the Dark Templars."

He traced the symbol with his finger. "The Leviathan Cross," he said.

I nodded. "An ancient Templar symbol that stands for balance in the masculine and feminine. It represents protection. We are that protection. We are that balance."

Zorin smiled. "Will you leave this castle and take residence at the Cathedral?"

"No," I said, still cradling the Token of Strife in my hand. "I'll rise up the ranks, and then I'll destroy them."

***

The next day I surprised my grandfather with news that I was ready to commit to the Orders. And he surprised me with a shoebox.

"I know you didn't get to the bank," he said as he handed it to me. "So I took the liberty of retrieving what they left you."

I opened it, my hands only shaking slightly, and found a checkbook.

My grandfather smiled. "You're a wealthy young lady, Scarlett. Your parents left you everything, and that's not insignificant. Before you take your vows, I wanted you to know you have choices. You are not dependent on me or this school for your survival. You can leave, if you must, though I hope you won't. I hope you'll stay."

When I looked at the balance in the account, my jaw dropped. Wealthy, indeed. I never imagined my parents had this kind of money. I closed the box and smiled at my grandfather. "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you showed me this before I committed. But I'm not going anywhere. I belong here."

He wasted no time in scheduling my acceptance ceremony, though just he, Jax and the Council were in attendance, Ragathon with his customary scowl.

I knelt before the Chancellor on one knee in his office while he held a sword over my head.

His voice sounded strong and powerful as he asked me the ritual questions.

"Do you swear—

To protect the weak and defenseless?

To fight for the welfare of all?

To eschew unfairness, meanness, and deceit?

To at all times speak the truth?

Do you swear?"

"I swear," I said.

He touched each of my shoulders with the sword, then draped a black cloak over my shoulder and handed me a silver and obsidian ring with a V on it. I slipped it onto my finger.

"Then rise, Scarlett Night, an Initiate of Castle Vianney."

And so I rose.

***

Back at the Cathedral, I stood with Zorin, Trix and T.R. and assessed our new space.

T.R. grinned. "This will do nicely for a base."

"The Nephilites built catacombs underground. The tunnels could prove useful." Zorin gestured to the door at the back. "Let me show you." He and T.R. walked off and disappeared into the bowels of the Cathedral.

I began to follow when Trix stopped me with her words.

"I know you work for the Orders."

I turned to her, my blood pulsing under my skin.

"Or that you used to work for them," she amended. "That's how you were able to track the Inquisition's movements when you helped me escape. How you witnessed Sir Lux defending himself against the Officers."

I gripped the hilt of my sword and cursed at myself for my own folly. I should have been more careful. Now, my entire plan could be ruined… unless… unless I could use my powers to make Trix forget. Make her stop thinking along these lines.

Trix stepped away from me, her arms in the air in a gesture of peace. "Look, as long as you help my guys take down the Four Orders, I don't care. I trust you, N. Just, tell me… tell me we can win this thing."

I released my sword, my body relaxing just a fraction. Maybe this could still work. "We can," I said. "We will."

Trix nodded. "That's all I need to know." She held out her hand.

I took it, sealing our partnership.

But she didn't let go as she continued talking. "My guys are gonna follow you now. So know this: if you ever throw their lives away carelessly… if you ever betray them…" Trix's hand began heating up… more and more… it was almost painful, the heat, the tension of bones rubbing together. "Then I'll crush you," she finished, letting my hand drop.

With a grin on her freckled face, the Shadow of Rome disappeared into the bowels of the Cathedral and I couldn't help but smile, too, for the woman I might someday be friends with.