Darkness Arisen

chapter Seventeen



Alice raced around a bend in the hallway, her bare feet sliding on the cobblestones as the thundering sound of Deathbringer's hooves echoed through the corridor. She knew Catherine would be in the lowest portion of the building, the closest to the center of the earth that she could be. There had to be a basement, a dungeon in this castle—

A streak of green light crashed into the stones beside her head, and they exploded out of the wall.

Alice! Ian's frantic voice filled her mind. Get out of there!

Trying! Ahead of her, Alice saw a narrow hole in the ancient stone walls. A dumbwaiter slot? She raced over to it as Deathbringer and Warwick rounded the corner. The rider was carrying a wand, a wand that looked just like the one that had killed her. "No!" She reached the opening and dove through it, not even taking the time to look where it led.

When she started to plummet into the darkness, she knew she was in trouble. Ian! I'm falling!

She felt Ian's burst of tension, and then his calm, warrior focus filled her. Let me into your body. Open yourself to me.

What? Her head cracked against a wall, and she yelped, pressing her hand against the injury.

Just do it! Suddenly he was filling her with his entire being, like a great summer storm. She felt the strength of his body seem to take over hers, and her body felt like she had just acquired a new surge of life. Call my weapon, he commanded. Now!

Alice immediately pictured the mace in her mind and called it to her. There was a loud crack and a flash of black light, and then it was in her hand, startling her. There was no way she would ever get used to that. What now? But the question hadn't even formed in her mind when Ian showed her that moment when she'd been falling into the crevasse in the ocean, and he'd used the mace to stop the fall.She immediately slammed the end of the mace into the wall, but it bounced off, sparks flying. I can't get it to stick!

Do it again! This time, she felt the sheer force of his will flooding her, and it felt like his hands were on hers as she slammed it into the stone again. This time, the blade caught, and she yelped as it jerked her to a stop. Somehow, she didn't lose her grip on it, and she knew it wasn't her own strength that had held her there. It was Ian's. Her chest heaving, she dangled from the handle, her fingers trembling from the effort. How did you do that?

I'm just a great boyfriend. Remember that next time you run off on me.

Heat washed over her. Isn't 'boyfriend' kind of a weak term for a guy whose brands are all over my arms?

You seem commitment-averse. I was trying not to scare you. His voice was calm, but she felt his tension. You okay?

For the moment. Alice peered below, trying to determine how far above the ground she was. She could see a faint light about thirty feet below her. The ground, or an illusion? She glanced up and saw only darkness, indicating that she'd fallen a long distance before Ian had helped her break the fall. Cardiff wasn't peering down at her, and she sighed with relief, realizing that she'd lost him for the moment. It was his castle, though, and she had no doubt he would find her again soon.

Come back to the roof where I can protect you, Ian ordered.

For a split second, yearning burned through Alice. The idea of rushing back up to the roof and falling into Ian's arms sounded like the best idea she'd ever had. But then she thought of Catherine, and she knew she had a promise to keep. I can't. I need to find Catherine.

Alice! No! Cardiff is after you! We'll find Catherine together after we deal with him.

Tears burned in Alice's eyes at the idea of leaving him. You don't understand, Ian. I've failed at everything important my whole life. I have to get this one right.

You didn't fail. You saved my life.

Alice's throat tightened. Yes, she'd helped him find peace so he could save his own life, but in return, he'd renewed his focus on his duty and his family's honor. Catherine loves me, Ian. How can I walk away from that? She waited, giving him a chance to speak up, to give her a reason to trust that he would help her kill Catherine in the end, despite his oath and his promise never to do such a thing.

You'll do her no good if you get caught by the wizard. Get back here, Alice! Now!

She closed her eyes, regret filling her. She'd given him an opening to tell her that he loved her, and instead, he'd given her a command. I'm sorry, Ian. Then she let go of the mace and let herself fall.

* * *

Alice! Ian bellowed her name, but she cut him off like a blast of cold death. His body went rigid as the loss tore at him and fear for her well-being sliced through him. He fought it off, struggling to fend off the debilitating grief, but he couldn't get the image of Cardiff out of his mind. Cardiff closing down on her. Grabbing her. Hurting her. Killing her, all to punish Ian. "No!" His voice was a tormented scream, and he tried to channel all the anguish, thrusting it into his body to try to regain the use of his muscles.

But it didn't work. He just lay there, like a useless piece of driftwood, cast upon the shore by a storm that had no use for him. Nothing to be done. He couldn't help her. Couldn't save her. His failure beat at him, stripping away what little sense of self he had left. Gasping for air, he forced his mind off Alice, picturing the graveyard where Augustus and his father were buried. He imagined the headstones in his mind, reading the words inscribed on the marble of his father's memorial.

Here lies Rudolph Fitzgerald, a great father, a mighty warrior, and a legendary member of the Order of the Blade. Honor shall be restored to his name.

Honor. Honor. Ian pictured the word that he'd carved into his own palm that night. Honor. He had to restore honor to his family's name. He had to regain the Fitzgerald place within the Order. Dying over Alice would not accomplish that. He had to be stronger than what she made him, because fear of losing her made him weak. He had to be prepared to fight Cardiff when he came back. He had to be the warrior that no one else in his family had been able to be.

Ian took a deep breath and focused on the starry sky. He breathed in the vast expanse of the night. He studied the full moon, drawing strength from its magic. Its brilliant light filled the night, radiating the same bizarre shade of turquoise that it had the night that Alice had dived into the ocean. Around the moon circled undulating crimson clouds, as if they were stalking the lunar sphere.

Ian focused on the clouds, watching each one carefully until his mind was clear of all thoughts except the clouds. Alice was but a distant buzz around the periphery of his subconscious, almost out of the way. Drawing upon all the years of training with his father, Ian slowly, carefully, intentionally, eradicated Alice from his thoughts, sealing himself off from her. As he did so, he felt the curse recede, replaced by a humming power that he hadn't felt in months, not since the first time Alice had died in his arms.

At the same time, there was a distant ache of loneliness, sadness, and regret, as if he were losing the very thing that made his heart beat... Then it was gone, replaced by the steady, focused mindset of a soldier prepared for battle.

Alice was gone from his heart.

All that was left was a Fitzgerald warrior.

* * *

Alice bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain as she hit the stone floor after releasing the mace. Tears burned in her eyes as her knee throbbed, but she didn't pause to assess it. She just looked around, quickly checking out her surroundings. The cold dampness in the air and the musty smell told her that she was below the earth.

She crawled out of the crevice and into a long hallway. Doors went off on all sides, heavy steel barriers with bars on the windows. The dungeon. But there were too many! How would she search them all? "Catherine?" She whispered the name, afraid to shout.

No response.

Alice hurried up to the first door, biting her lip against the stabbing pain in her knee. She hoped it was just a momentary twist, because she didn't have time to worry about it. Cardiff would be on her at any moment. She peered through the bars and saw an empty cell.

Quickly, she hurried to the next one. Empty.

The next one was unoccupied as well.

"Catherine!" she whispered more urgently, getting worried about how long it was taking. This was Cardiff's castle. He would know exactly where that hole had dumped her, and he'd be here shortly... Realization dawned on her. If Cardiff already knew where she was, why was she being quiet? He was most likely well on his way to her, delayed only by the fact he'd had to take the long way around because he hadn't yet figured out how to shrink himself and the horse to fit through the dumbwaiter passage. This was the time for speed, not stealth! Galvanized by urgency, she didn't hold back anymore. "Catherine!" she shouted, starting to run down the long hallway. "Where are you?"

Again, no response.

But above her head, she heard the faint, distant thudding of a horse galloping.

Frantic, she ran harder, not even feeling the pain in her knee anymore. "Catherine!" she screamed. "It's Alice! Where are you?" She reached a split in the hallway, two passageways extending outward in the dark with rooms off them. Which way?

She peered down each corridor, and realized that the one heading east, toward the ocean, was significantly darker. Almost no light penetrated. "Catherine," she breathed, a chill rippling down her spine. Was Catherine absorbing light rays? Not that. Not yet.

Frantic, she sprinted down the gloomy hallway, right into the darkness that seemed to swallow her up as soon as she stepped into it. It was thick and cold against her skin, the way death would feel. She didn't bother to call Catherine's name anymore. If she was preying on light, there was no point.

Alice focused on the darkest spot in the hallway, on what looked like a bottomless black hole in the atmosphere. That was it. That was where Catherine was. She hurried down the passageway, fighting against the pain in her right knee. She reached the door and grabbed the bars, standing on her tiptoes to peer through.

At first, she could see nothing.

After a moment, her eyes adjusted, and she could discern a faint white blur in the corner. It was as if all the light that was left in the room had concentrated on that one place, like a faint spotlight was shining down from above. As she looked more closely, she could see a woman sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped around her legs, her face pressed to her knees.

Ragged blond hair tumbled down around her, the tattered ends dragging on the floor. She was wearing a white robe that had slid up to reveal arms so skinny that Alice's breath caught. "Oh, Catherine," she whispered. Dear God, what had happened during the months that Warwick had stolen her? Suddenly, her resolution vanished. How could she kill this woman? Catherine was all she had left, a friend who was as close as a sister. How could she strip Catherine of life?

There had to be a way. Ian had to be right. There had to be some solution that neither of them knew about. "Catherine!"

The woman in the corner didn't move. She didn't lift her head, even though Alice knew that Catherine had to know she was there.

Alice quickly tried the door handle, but it was locked. She rattled it, and the noise was loud in the hallway. Frantically, she stood up on her toes and peered through the bars again. "Catherine," she said, keeping her voice as calm as she could. "It's Alice. I've come to get you out of here."

Catherine shuddered at Alice's words, and she slowly raised her head. Her formerly blue eyes were a lifeless gray, and there were dark shadows beneath them. Her face was drawn, and her lips were a bluish purple. Alice's throat tightened, and she gripped the bars. "Oh, my dear Catherine," she whispered, her heart breaking for her friend's anguish.

"Ally?" Catherine's voice was raw, as if she hadn't spoken for days. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me." Alice tugged on the bars. "We're leaving."

"No." She shook her head, her face becoming even paler. "You made a promise, Alice. It's time. You have to do it."

Tears trickled down Alice's cheeks. "No. There has to be another way. I have the Order of the Blade with me." She thought of Ian on the roof. Ian? I need some assistance, here. "They'll help—"

"They can't help! No one can help." Catherine tried to stand, but her legs were too weak, and she fell, her knees cracking on the hard floor.

Alice instinctively reached through the bars, trying to help her. Ian had not responded to her call, and she couldn't feel his presence. Ian. Are you there? "I helped someone save his own life tonight, Cat. Someone who I'm not supposed to protect, an Order of the Blade member. I helped him live by giving him my golden light."

Catherine stared at her in disbelief. "But that's impossible. You can't do anything even close to saving a life. And how could you give the golden light to an Order of the Blade member? He would never qualify."

"I know, but I did it. Don't you see what that means? It means that maybe our fate isn't determined. Maybe we can save you—"

"It's not worth the risk." Catherine grabbed the wall and dragged herself to her feet. "I love you, Ally. I knew you'd come for me." She staggered, her fingers digging into the cold stone as she fought her way to the door.

Alice extended her arms through the bars and caught Catherine as the other woman reached her. Through the bars, they hugged. Alice was shocked by how cold Catherine was, but at the same time, she felt a wave of warmth and love from the other angel. Love she'd never felt before. She realized instantly that it was because she was no longer blocking it. Ian had freed her, and now she could even feel love from other people. "Cat." She wrapped her arms around her, holding her tight through the bars. "I'm so sorry I took so long to get here."

"I missed you." Catherine hugged her back, her cheeks mashed against the bars as she tried to get close to Alice. "I know you tried. I knew you'd come." She managed a smile, a haunting smile that made Alice want to cry. "It's not too late. You can still kill me."

But Alice shook her head. "I can't," she whispered. "I love you, Cat. I won't give up."

Catherine's eyes filled with fear. "But you have to kill me. It's already started. I wake up in the morning and I—" She stopped, and Alice knew what she had been going to say. "It's already starting. You have to stop me."

Alice closed her eyes. How could she kill the one person she loved? But even as she thought it, she knew Catherine wasn't the only person she held in her heart. She loved Ian, which was why she'd helped save him. How could she save one and kill the other?

Cat's fingers dug into Alice's arms. "Ally? You did figure out a way to kill me, didn't you? You didn't come without a way, did you?"

Alice grimaced. "I—" Suddenly, she heard the thud of hooves in the distance, and her heart stuttered. "He's coming."

Cat gripped her arms. "No, no, no, he can't get me. Do you know what he's trying to make me do to the Order?"

Alice stared at her. "The Order? Then you're...you're one of their guardians?" She was so shocked she didn't know what to say. If Cat was one of the trinity, did that mean Alice was, too? She hadn't really believed it. Hadn't thought it was possible. And if she was, what did that mean?

Catherine nodded. "He tested me on one of the Order members that he brought here." She grimaced. "It was so awful, Ally. The poor man—"

Footsteps pounded on the dirt floor, and Alice gripped Catherine's arms. "He's here." Frantically, she looked around, desperate for something to use to defend herself. But before she could even think about it, Ian's mace appeared in her hand with a flash of black light and a crack.

Catherine gaped at her. "What is that?"

"It's an Order of the Blade weapon." She held it up, moving away from the door, her heart racing. What in God's name she was planning to do with it, she didn't know, but—

"It's an Order of the Blade weapon?" Catherine's voice raised several octaves. "I might be able to make it deadly enough to destroy me. Bring it over here. We'll try that. It might work."

Alice hesitated as the footsteps grew nearer. Ian? Is that you? There were no hoofbeats. Just the footsteps of a person. Was it Ian? But there was still no answer, and she couldn't feel his presence at all. Fear began to build inside her. Ian had never cut her off before. Was he hurt? Was he dead? "I don't want you to die, Cat."

"It doesn't matter! I have to!"

"If you're a guardian angel for the Order of the Blade, what will happen to them if you die? What if they lose one of their trinity?" Even as she asked the words, she realized that it applied to her as well, if she were the third part of the trinity. What if she died for good? What would happen to them? If, of course, she was part of their trinity. But what if she was? What if, all this time, she'd been saving lives?

Catherine looked grave. "It will be worse for them if I live." She thrust her hand through the bars. "Give me the weapon, Ally. Let me try it."

"I—" Alice looked back and forth between Cat and the hallway that was echoing with the sound of encroaching footsteps. Ian. Please tell me it's you who is almost here. No reply. Was he dead?

"Alice!" Catherine screamed at her. "Don't you dare let me live! You made a promise to me!"

"Is he dead?" She couldn't focus on anything else but the gaping void in her mind where Ian was supposed to be. "Is Ian Fitzgerald dead? Can you tell?"

Cat's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding? We don't have time for that. Give me the weapon." But as Alice looked at Cat's fierce gaze, she suddenly saw in her dear friend the same emptiness and loneliness that she'd lived with her whole life. An agony of guilt, and a terror so deep it made her bones ache. She'd lived with that her entire existence, the fear of what would happen to her if she screwed up, and in the end, she'd finally broken through those walls, and it hadn't been so bad.

It had been, in fact, beautiful. She could feel the love for Ian and her worry that something had happened to him. She could feel the love that she and Cat had for each other. It was beautiful, a gift so pure that it made everything worthwhile. She looked down at her shorts and saw the white light from the glowing pearl through the fabric. The pearl was the only thing keeping her an angel, and soon it would be gone. Did she feel any regret? No. She'd rather be alive for two hours than die without understanding what love was. And as she looked into Catherine's eyes, she saw the same emptiness that she'd lived with.

She couldn't let Cat die never having lived.

"No." She stepped back from Catherine. "I won't kill you. We're going to find a way—"

A huge dark shadow morphed out of the darkness and grabbed Alice from behind. A hand clamped over her mouth, and she was hauled back against a hard, well-muscled body.

But it wasn't Ian's body.

"Alice," a husky voice said in her ear, and she went ice cold.

It was Flynn. The man she'd lured here to kill her.

* * *

Alice's heart began to pound furiously as Flynn crushed her against him with his massive arms. He was solid muscle, more than he had been before that terrible night when everything had changed for them, for him. The night that she'd betrayed him, at least in his eyes. "Flynn," she said, trying to keep her voice calm, trying to reach the man who had once been her dearest friend. "I'm so glad you're here. We have to get Cat out of the cell—"

"No." His arms tightened around her, and she saw a faint green glow beneath his fingernails. "This is about you. And me." He spun her around, and she gasped when she saw his face.

Eyes that were once a beautiful rich brown were glowing green. A mouth that used to quirk in laughter at her jokes was a grim, brutal line. His cheeks were shadowed, his eyes heavy with torment. She saw the burdens that haunted him, including those she hadn't been able to spare him from. Suddenly, she didn't see him as the man who had been about to kill her. He was someone who'd been tormented and abused for so long that he was trapped in his own hell.

She hadn't been able to see it before. She hadn't been able to see his pain. But now, she felt like her heart was going to break for him. Suddenly, her fear of him was gone. Simply gone. "Flynn," she whispered, laying her hands on his cheeks. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you that night. I'm so sorry for it all."

He stared at her, and for a brief second, she thought she saw a flash of brown in his green eyes, an attempt at sanity trying to break through. "Alice?" His voice was rough and harsh, as if he were speaking for the first time in too long.

"Flynn. Please, don't cross that line again. You don't have to do it. You know you don't."

He stared at her, and she felt the internal battle within him. How had she not felt his torment before? How had she not sensed his agony? How much time had they spent together, and she'd never seen the anguish beneath the surface? All he'd been was a partner in her loneliness, someone who understood hell.

But now, in his eyes, she saw more. Love. Yearning. Longing. For her. Guilt filled her, and shock. He loved her? Dear God, no wonder he'd felt it was such a betrayal when she hadn't been able to save that person for him on that awful, terrible night.

"Alice," he gasped. He suddenly thrust her back against the wall and stumbled away from her, clutching his hands to his head. "No," he roared, as if he were fighting a demon from within. "No!"

"Flynn Shapiro. Your time is done." A deep voice boomed through the hallway, and a massive shadowed figure walked toward them. It was Vaughn, but he seemed to be even larger than before, moving with a silent, ominous stride too dangerous for any living creature.

Flynn spun toward him, and a low growl echoed from deep in his chest. "No," he spat. "You walked away. You don't get to come back."

"I can do whatever I want," Vaughn said, closing the gap. His eyes were glowing green, and there was a dark turbulence flowing off him. "Come with me, Flynn. Don't make me kill you." Vaughn's hand twitched, and Alice felt the sudden surge of power roll off him. There was something about Vaughn that was so much more than Flynn, so much more than anything she'd ever seen before.

"Dear God," whispered Catherine. "What is he?"

Lethal power. Power ready to kill. No. Not again. No more death. "Flynn," she urged. "Don't let him take you. Run. Run." She didn't believe for an instant that Flynn would be able to defeat Vaughn. His only choice was to flee.

Flynn looked over at her, and she saw the torment in his eyes. The violence, the years and years of taint from what he'd been forced to do, but she also saw the humanity that she'd connected with before. He deserved a chance. "Run," she said. "Just run."

He closed his eyes for a split second, as Vaughn drew even closer. Then he opened his eyes, looked right at her and said, "I will always love you, Alice. Good-bye." Then he whirled around, charged the stone wall of the hallway, and burst right through it. He let out a howl of agony as he sailed through the air down toward the ocean.

Vaughn streaked by her, a flash of darkness too fast to register, and then he followed Flynn through the hole in the castle wall. She heard two quick splashes in the ocean, and then silence. Please, Flynn, get away from him.

"That was it, wasn't it?" Catherine was staring at her through the bars. "Flynn was how you were going to kill me, wasn't he? And you didn't let him."

Alice gritted her teeth and strode toward the door. "Yes, you're right. I'm not going to give up on you, Cat. There has to be a way—"

Out of the darkness, a massive figure burst forth and suddenly Deathbringer was there, bearing down on her in a dead gallop. Alice swung her mace, but Warwick scooped her easily off the ground, throwing her over the back of his horse as they sped down the hallway.

She gasped as he pinned her with one hand, pushing so hard that she couldn't breathe. She felt her ribs crack, and she grabbed his leg, fighting to hold on, to stay conscious, to stay alive.

She raised her head and looked back to see Catherine reaching for her through the bars. Regret filled her heart. She couldn't leave her sister behind. Cat didn't believe, and would never be able to save herself. "Cat! Don't give up!" Then Deathbringer turned a corner, and Catherine vanished from sight.