Court of Nightfall (9 page)

We didn't use the underwater subway to return to Castle V. Jax acquired an Order vehicle somehow and we crossed over the bridge from Manhattan to the island. We were stopped by two armed Teutonic guards to show ID, but as soon as they recognized Jax they let us through. They didn't even raise an eyebrow at the amount of blood staining us both.

We drove in silence for a while, until I asked the question that had been on my mind since seeing him fight. "How are you a Zenith? I remember you getting tested in sixth grade, a few years before me. You passed. No para-powers."

"I didn't pass, Scarlett. And I'd seen the way Zenith were—and still are—treated. I knew it was either live a life of discrimination or do something about it. So, I asked my dad to let me join the Order. He got me in."

He stole a glance at me, but I kept my face neutral as I listened.

"I trained over the summers—"

"Those times you said you were at camp—"

He nodded. "And they gave me clearance not to wear Zenith identification. Eventually, I found out why. They wanted me to become your protector, which I have been for a few years now."

"But, the day… that day, you told me you were leaving for flight academy." All the lies. All the secrets. I couldn't keep them straight in my head. Every memory seemed tainted with falsehoods. I didn't know how much of what I remembered in my life was real and how much of it was a carefully crafted illusion meant to keep me in the dark.

"I'd been offered a full time position at the castle, as a trainer. There'd been no danger to you or your parents for years, so it seemed like the right decision."

"How did you become a Knight of the Fourth? How could you possibly get so high with just summer training?"

"As a Zenith," he said. "Five years ago, at the end of the Nephilim War, I was recruited to fight. During a mission, I killed one of them, a young girl… though I'm sure she only looked young. The Orders gave me a medal, a promotion. They placed me on a pedestal for young recruits to admire. I didn't deserve it, but that was then."

I thought back to those dark times. The Nephilim War hadn't affected my life too much. We lived in such a remote part of the country that most of the drama occurred in far away places I'd never been to. But I'd seen the news, when my parents allowed it or when they weren't home. I'd seen videos on my computer. Many died in the war between the Orders and the Nephilim. I couldn't believe Jax had been involved in that. Had gone to war, seen so much carnage, and had never been allowed to talk about it, even to me. What that must have done to him.

"There was a time, back then, when you seemed out of sorts. Quieter, more withdrawn. You'd been sick, quarantined by your family because of a fever. I thought you were just recovering."

"I was, but not from a fever. I was injured during the war. They made me stay in hiding so you wouldn't find out."

Of course. Because it was so critical that no one tell me the truth about anything.

"Now that I'm no longer your protector," he said, "I can act publicly on behalf of my Order. It's what I've needed to progress, to become a Knight of the First."

"Most never make it that far." I'd only heard of a few who ever had.

"I will," Jax said with such determination I actually believed he would.

We made it over the bridge and drove through the small streets of Vianney until we arrived at the castle. Jax handed the keys off to one of the front gate guards and we walked back into what felt like my prison. "I need to see the Chancellor," I told him.

He nodded and walked me to the Chancellor's office as his e-Glass blinked. He listened, said "Okay" and then clicked it off. "I have to go, Scarlett." He kissed my cheek and the contact had a surprising effect on my body. Suddenly I didn't want him to go. I didn't want to feel so alone in this scary new world.

"In case I don't see you tonight, sleep well. I know they'll be setting you up in your own room, but you're welcome in mine anytime. I've already set the lock to your thumbprint."

As he walked away, I called to him. "Jax?"

He turned. "Yes, Star?"

My heart clenched again at that name. "Thank you. For defending me. I don't know what they would have done, but thank you."

He stared into my soul for a long moment, our eyes locked. "Star, I would never let anything happen to you. I would defend you with my life. Now and always. Never forget that. Never forget what we are to each other, no matter what else happens."

He turned and left, his footsteps loud against the stone floors.

I stood alone by the Chancellor's door, about to knock, when I heard voices raised inside. I put my ear closer to listen.

"I almost had them." It sounded like the Head Inquisitor.

"But you don't have them, Ragathon," the Chancellor responded. "And now the whole city is afraid." I heard someone pace through the office. "You should never have kept this from the Council."

So not even the Council knew of this plan. I'd wondered why the Chancellor, my grandfather, didn't stop us from going to the city today.

"I acted under my own discretion. The rebels have spies—"

"Not within the Council." The Chancellor's voice sounded loud, fed up.

"Of course, Chancellor." He almost sounded contrite. Almost.

"Ragathon, you push my patience. You may go and attend to the other matter we discussed, and we shall discuss the consequences of your actions tomorrow."

Footsteps. Then the door opened, and I nearly fell through it. I backed away quickly, but Ragathon noticed me, his beady eyes staring at me in contempt, a black scarf wrapped around his neck, hiding the evidence of my feeding. "Listening in on council matters is an offense punishable by flaying, girl."

I straightened my spine and stared him down, relieved he didn't remember seeing my face. "Do you still use a whip, or is it a hammer these days?"

He frowned. "You insolent—"

"Ragathon," interrupted the Chancellor from inside. "I'm sorry, but Scarlett and I have a meeting."

"So you called her here?"

"Of course I did. Now, if that's all?"

"That's all, Chancellor." Ragathon scowled, and I was pretty sure if he could have challenged me to a duel then and there he would have. And likely poisoned his blade for extra measure.

"Good. Come along, Scarlett." The Chancellor guided me into his chambers as Ragathon walked away, probably still scowling and plotting my untimely demise. No love lost between the two of us, that was for sure.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into his office was a giant sculpture of two Knights on a horse, which stood on its hind legs as if in a fight. I studied the details carved into marble.

"Godfrey de Saint-Omer and Hugues de Payens, founders of the Knights Templar," the Chancellor said.

"Why are they on the same horse?"

"An old Templar symbol. It reminds us of our humble beginnings, when two knights could only afford one horse."

I followed him to two chairs positioned before a large, blazing fire. On a rug between us sat a fat white cat, content to slumber in front of the warmth. The entire chamber had a sense of the original castle, with paintings and banners hung on the walls, and sculptures and old leather books stored in bookcases along the walls.

The Chancellor turned in his chair to face me as he poured us each a cup of tea from a pot.  "First, let me apologize for sending you into a war zone today. As I gather you surmised, Ragathon kept his plans secret from us all."

I accepted the cup of tea and blew on it. "And he's allowed to get away with that? No consequences despite mass innocent casualties and ultimate failure of his mission?"

The Chancellor's blue eyes reflected golden flames from the fire as he smiled at me intimately. "You're so like your mother, you know that?"

"I look like her, but take after my father." 

He shook his head. "I see Marcus in you as well, of course, but your mother, she was always the fireball, ready to fight for the innocent and hold accountable anyone in power who failed to do the same."

"That doesn't answer my question," I reminded him.

"No, I suppose it doesn't. It's a simple question with a difficult answer. I do not have autonomous power in the Orders. I'm just one voice. The others have their own kind of power, Ragathon especially. He has the favor of the Pope right now, and that's not a small thing. I have to tread carefully to accomplish my goals. That's why I need you, Scarlett. That's why we need each other."

Pieces began to fit together. Why he needed me when he ruled the Orders. He had to play politics. I didn't. I wouldn't. I could indeed be his weapon.

"What did you want to see me about?" he asked.

"Has there been any news about my home?"

"The Inquisition has finished their investigation."

"And?"

"And they found nothing but blood, Scarlett."

My heart fell to my feet. "What about my parents?"

"Gone, I'm afraid." He looked back at the flames, his expression raw, lost in thought.

What did the Nephilim do with my parents' bodies?  "That thing has them," I said, disgust lacing my voice. Disgust and anger.

"What once were your parents, yes. But they live in our memories now, and our hearts."

There had to be more at my house. Had to be.

"My parents…" I hadn't been able to talk about this before, to think about it, but… "My parents were Zeniths."

"Yes… and no," said the Chancellor, looking into my eyes. "Your mother was not always so."

My mother. He had her eyes. Or she had his. Eyes like mine. My mother was Lycan, but I'd heard only Inquisitors were turned into Lycans. Or was I wrong? There was so much I didn't know. Didn't understand. Too much.

I had to get home. Tonight. Had to find something that could lead me to the Nephilim.
And when I find that bastard, I will be ready.

"Where did it come from? The Nephilim. I thought they were extinct?"

He raised his bushy white eyebrow at me. "You assume it was Nephilim you saw. How do you know?"

"What else could it have been?" It admittedly looked different, but I knew what I saw.

"Nephilim aren't the only beings born to the sky."

His words took a moment to sink in and my jaw dropped. "Are you talking about Angels?"

He didn't answer, just sipped at his tea.

"They haven't been seen on earth in ages. They don't exist anymore, if they ever did."

"Oh my dear granddaughter, the world is full of mysteries humans believe no longer exist. Consider what you saw last night. Consider it carefully. There's more to what happened to my daughter, your parents, than meets the eye."

I drank my tea in silence, thinking about last night, which seemed so very long ago. Could it be? Did that explain the differences I noticed. An Angel. A real Angel. What could this mean? My mind raced with possibilities, options, choices, and he seemed content to wait until I sorted my thoughts out.

"I have one condition," I finally said. "One condition to joining the Orders."

The Chancellor interlaced his fingers. "Go on."

"Tell me what the weapon is."

He looked into the fire again, thoughtful. "What do you know of the Nephilim?"

"They could fly," I said, knowing it gave them a large advantage when the war started. "Some of them had other abilities, commonly seen in Zeniths today. However, they were different from other Zeniths, because they fed on blood, and they could turn others into their kind." I remembered the propaganda… about killing the bloodsuckers, protecting your children from monsters… protecting your souls from the demons. I shuddered, knowing how this conversation would end, knowing what it would confirm once and for all.

"And which one of their abilities do you think was the most dangerous?" he asked.

"Turning others," I said without hesitation. It was worse, even, than flying. It gave the Nephilim huge numbers, more easily replenished than soldiers who needed years to train.

The Chancellor nodded. "It was their greatest power. Our own council considered creating a Nephilim army for the Orders, but we decided that if they ever turned against us, the cost would be too great. I wonder if we were wrong. If fewer friends would have been lost, if when the war started, we had some Nephilim on our side. Maybe the war could have been avoided altogether." He laughed, but without humor. "Of course, maybe our own Nephilim would have turned against us after all, and then we'd all be dead."

I'd thought about that, after the war, after I was older and could see through the propaganda. If I'd been in command, I wasn't sure what I would have done. "But if you could find a way to control them, an army of Nephilim would be a powerful…" The truth pounded into my mind, even as it raced to discover other options. But I knew. I had known for sometime, but feeding on Ragathon confirmed it.