Court of Nightfall (8 page)

The Head Inquisitor sat in the very back at his computer, an Officer guarding him.

On my e-Video, the Inquisitor's voice spoke as Bruisers filled with Officers surrounded the rebel van. "There's no way out. Surrender now."

I walked toward Ragathon, who was still speaking into his e-Glass, broadcasting his voice to the rebels and his own troops.

The Officer guarding him tried to stop me, but I grabbed his arm and focused my powers, giving his mind just a nudge, enough to make him forget about me.
I'm not important. I'm supposed to be here. Disregard my presence.

It worked, but it cost me. I slumped against the wall as a wave of dizziness threatened to topple me over. What was happening to me? And why now? At the worst possible time.

The Officer moved to the side and ignored me. I looked at the Inquisitor. He sat without his helmet, and I could see the blood pulsing in the vein of his neck. The sweat staining the collar of his uniform.

My stomach clenched again.

He looked up at me, but I knew he couldn't see my face. "What are you doing here, Officer?"

I had to make contact before he had time to get away, to take me out. I didn't speak. Didn't think, just lunged for him, flipping my body over the table that stood between us until I had him pinned against me.

I could hear an Officer in his e-Glass speaking. "Sir, the rebels have surrounded the truck with smoke. Should we move in, sir?"

I pushed my will into him, waiting to feel that control I'd felt before.

It didn't happen.

Instead, Ragathon fought back, knocking me to the side.

My helmet fell off and he looked down at me as recognition spread on his face. Then he smiled. "You."

Oh no. This couldn't be happening. Not only had I failed the mission, but he now knew who I was. I would die for this for sure and there was no way Jax could save me.

Hunger burned in my throat, tearing at me from within.

The weakness I'd felt turned to raw need. I pushed myself up and toward him, knowing I had to take him out before anyone else saw.

My mouth ached, teeth burning as I crashed into him.

And then, instinct took over. The pulse of his throat cast a web around me, and my newly elongated eyeteeth sunk into his flesh. Warm, coppery fluid filled my mouth, pouring down my throat, quenching the need I hadn't known I had. Satiating the craving that had slowly been weakening me and my powers.

I felt it all return. My power, my strength, my mental clarity. Everything.

And before his pulse stopped for good, before he died in my arms, I pulled away, his blood dripping from my lips. I still needed him to save the rebels.

Ragathon was finally under my control. He didn't move, didn't speak, didn't even blink. I reached for the helmet and put it back on, hiding my identity once again.

"Sir? Should we move in?" asked the Officer again through the e-Glass. "Alright, I'm making the call. Move—"

"No," I said. But it wasn't me speaking. I spoke through Ragathon. "Stand your ground. Let's see what they do."

I could hear the uncertainty in the Officer's voice. "But… Sir, yes, sir."

In my e-Video, the smoke cleared, and the rebel van was still there.

I smiled, and I realized it was actually my face smiling, not Ragathon, but I could still feel his mind in mine, feel his consciousness merged with my own.

Or maybe I'd merged with him. I couldn't tell. It all felt the same.

"Move in," I made him say.

The Officers obeyed instantly, seizing control of the rebel van and searching it in moments. "Sir, they're gone! Sir, what should we do?"

Of course they were. While under the cover of smoke, they'd escaped down into the sewers. Someone clever might have been able to figure it out, but fortunately for them, I was still in control.

"Nothing. Do nothing, Officer. Pull back."

On screen, the Officers were still for a moment, and I worried that they suspected something askew in headquarters. But they were well-trained puppets and they did as told by their commander, pulling back.

I'd won.

We'd won.

I held up my gun and pointed it at the Inquisitor. I could kill him right now. It would be so easy to pull the trigger and end him.

I started to squeeze the trigger, but my mind flashed with images and memories not my own.

His memories.

I was bending down talking to a little girl in blond braids holding a red ball. "Do you have to go to work, daddy?"

I—he—nodded. "Yes, my little lily. But today, daddy is going to end the fighting. After today, things are going to be easier. Trust me."

"Okay." The girl ran off, her yellow sundress billowing behind her as she bounced the ball in front of her.

My hand shook. My stomach cramped. I lowered my gun. He could be useful, I told myself. He could still serve a purpose down the line.

I clutched the gun in my hand and left out the door, then out the command center. I refused to think about that little girl looking so lovingly up at her father.

In my e-Glass, Trix spoke. "We made it. Thanks, N."

"Don't thank me," I said. "I'm done."

I had just tossed the two e-Glasses aside and ditched the helmet when someone tugged at my arm. I swung around, my heart beating against my chest in loud thumps, ready to fight off whoever was touching me.

"Scarlett, relax, it's just me!" Jax let go of my arm and put his hands up. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, slowing my breath as I relaxed. "Yes, I'm fine. Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you," I lied.

"Trying to find you. The whole area's been quarantined. Something happened with the Inquisitor and everyone's in a panic. The rebels escaped. We have to get out of here."

"Of course."

He looked me over and frowned. "Why are you wearing an Officer's uniform?"

"There was gunfire everywhere. I didn't want to be mistaken for a rebel so I grabbed this from one of the dead Officers, figuring it would offer me some protection."

"Good thinking. A lot of innocent people lost their lives today." Jax looked more closely at me. "You have blood on your mouth."

I wiped it away quickly. "People were shot around me. Blood sprayed. It was awful." I wanted to feel disgust for what I'd done, but the blood had restored me, and had done more than that, it had given me a dark clue as to what I was becoming.

Jax held up my arm, his mouth a line of concern across his face. "You're bleeding."

As the adrenaline left my body, a dull pain replaced the euphoria. I looked down at my bicep. "I must have scratched it on something. I'm fine." Or I would be soon. I could already feel it healing.

He tugged at my other hand and led me to a vacant building where we sat in a corner and waited for the fighting outside to die down so we could go back to Castle V.

Exhaustion hit me—emotional rather than physical—and I rested my head against the cement wall.

Jax moved closer to me, his face a mask. "Scarlett, are you okay? You look… different."

"Probably just hungry," I said. Though that wasn't true. For the first time since I woke up on the broken and empty crystal box, I didn't feel hungry or physically worn out. I felt powerful, revived, restored.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a Life Force. "Drink this. It should help."

I didn't want it, didn't need it. The blood had done more to quench my hunger than a hundred Life Force pouches could do, but I drank it to make him happy.

He grazed a finger over my cheek, a half-smile on his handsome face. "You look better. You have color back in your face for the first time since… last night."

"What happened today?" I asked, changing the subject.

His face hardened. "Someone screwed up. I should have been told about this. I never would have chosen today to take you to the city if I'd known."

"Jax, why are you a part of the Orders? How can you support what happened today? The public executions. The beatings. The whole thing was obviously a trap to catch the rebels, which means the Inquisition knew innocent people would die today, and they didn't care."

He leaned back against the wall, our shoulders pressed together, knees and thighs touching. "I didn't know, Star. I didn't know. This operation was likely kept secret by the council."

"And that secret is killing innocent people. How can you trust the Orders? How can you trust anyone at Castle V?"

"I can't," he said, surprising me with his answer. "I didn't join the Orders because they're perfect. I joined because I can make them better." He turned his head to look at me. "I remember how we used to turn on the television when our parents were out and watch the beatings. I remember talking with you about how wrong it was. But breaking the law isn't the way to change things. The Shadow of Rome and her rebels are just as responsible for this destruction as the Inquisition. They shouldn't be fighting, they should have joined the Orders, changed the way people think with words, and eventually, changed the law."

"But they're Zeniths," I said. "They'd never rise high enough in the Orders to change things. There's still too much discrimination against those with para-powers."

He looked away. "If they tried hard enough, they would."

I stood and paced in front of him, frustration growing in my body. "No. You don't get it. No matter how hard they try, how good they are, they'll always be the minority. If they want power, they have to take it."

He stood, reaching for me. "You're wrong, Scarlett."

I didn't agree, didn't think I was wrong about this. Not after everything I'd seen. But an Officer burst through the door before I could speak, with three more behind him.

He pointed a gun at us, shouting. "Hands up!"

When he noticed Jax, he dropped his gun a fraction. "Sir Lux. We'll escort you back to Castle Vianney." He turned to the men behind him. "Grab the girl."

Jax positioned himself in front of me, every muscle in his body flexed as if ready for a fight. "She's with me."

The leader approached him. "I'm sorry, Sir, but all non-military citizens in the area are to be held for questioning at the command of the Head Inquisitor."

His jaw clenched. "I've been with her this whole time," he said. "We have nothing to report."

"Sorry, Sir, but she's non-military, and she's wearing Officer equipment. We can't let her go." They moved closer to us as one unit, and I felt real fear at what they would do if they took me. The fact that Jax lied to keep me from them spoke volumes about his own fear.

"I order you to stand down," said Jax.

"Inquisitor Ragathon is in command of this mission, Sir. We follow his orders."

"Stay away from her," Jax said, nearly growling his words.

The leader raised his gun slightly, his finger on the trigger. "Sir, move out of the way."

Jax grabbed two handles off his belt and held them. They each extended into swords. "No."

"Target him," the commander screamed. They raised their guns, all pointing at him.

"Threatening a Knight of the Fourth…" he said, his voice still primal, "is against the law. I hereby strip all of you of your rank. You are no soldiers."

The Officers hesitated, two of them looking toward their leader as if worried about what this meant. I stood in shock. A Knight of the Fourth? I had no idea he ranked that high. There were only three ranks above him in the world, and only a small handful of people who could call themselves those ranks. Jax ranked amongst the highest of any Order in the world.

"Open fire," the leader commanded.

I was about to lunge at them, to use my powers on them all if I had to. I couldn't let them kill the only real family I had left. The only friend I had in the world. I still loved Jax. Even if I didn't trust him, he was still a part of me and always would be.

But before I could move, before I could even access my power, Jax launched himself off the ground, flying forward and then to the side, as if being pulled my some other force. Bullets followed him, and missed. He hit a wall and pushed off before the soldiers could re-aim. I watched, mouth agape as he spun through the air, a vision of flashing sliver, his swords a tornado of carnage as he cut down all the Officers in his way. The soldiers still stood stuck in their spots as he landed on the other side of the room, their eyes blank, empty, as one by one they fell to the ground as if in slow motion.

I looked up at Jax, who stood drenched in their blood, swords in the air, his face one of a warrior in battle. "I have eliminated you in the name of the Teutonic Order," he said, his voice calm, hard, deep. "I pray your souls find peace."

The leader of the group raised his head, still alive, but only just. "You fool," he whispered, blood trickling out of his mouth and staining his pale lips. "The Inquisitor will see this…"

Jax walked over to him calmly. And sliced his throat. "I care not what a deserter thinks."

I stood, stunned, staring at this boy I'd known my whole life. Not only was he one of the highest ranking members of any Order. He was also a Zenith.