04 Last (57 page)

I fell back at the blast. I rolled to my feet again and faced Nguyen. The anger was pounding through my veins. It was taking all of my effort not to descend in to madness. I knew that’s what they wanted. If I lost it, I would never discover where Marcus was. I would never get to him in time. My anger would rule me.

“Woops,” Nguyen said. “Must have missed. You know how temperamental lightning can be.”

“I’m going to kill you,” I said.

“You are going to try,” Nguyen said.

I realized I would be playing in to Marcus’ plans again. Nguyen would be a difficult fight, but I was certain I would win. It would take time…

“Before we get in to a duel to the death…mind telling me where Marcus is?” I asked.

“He’s getting the sword,” Nguyen said. “You won’t be able to stop him.”

“I thought only a Michaels could get it out?” I asked.

Nguyen’s smile was full of pure evil. “The girl opened the vault for him. Would you know that she had just enough Michaels’ blood for it to work? We had to wake the sword up first, but now…it’s ready to be pulled out by Marcus. Are you ready for the new dawn?”

“I’m ready for people to stop talking crazy,” I said.

I eyed him carefully, trying to figure out the truth. I kept my eyes away from Amanda, who was staring at us blankly. Looking at her just made me mad. The manipulation she had gone through…it was unbearable.

Nguyen smiled at me. His hand clenched in preparation of another lightning bolt. I saw beyond his smile to the truth. His body language was telling. He had been careful to keep it pointed away from the balcony since he had noticed me. It connected in my mind. Marcus was where the sword was. And since the sword was under the earth – obvious by the fact that Marcus had been digging there – that’s where Marcus was. I had climbed to the furthest point possible from him. An army separated me from what was underground.

Nguyen put a hand to his ear as the truth dawned on me. His voice was mocking.

“Do you hear that?” he asked in a teasing voice.

I listened. It was the sound of panicked yelling and a rallying cry. I thought I heard Reaper and Daniel yelling to each other over the chaos.

“There’s more! Nightstalkers!” Daniel called.

“To the left, everyone to the left!” Reaper added.

“The troops Marcus kept in reserve must have left the caves,” Nguyen said. “Nightstalkers mostly…fierce fighters. Over two thousand last count.”

I shifted subtly, to be able to look down to the valley floor without his body blocking the way. Nguyen moved, willing to let me see the carnage. I saw Daniel on the floor of the valley. Across from him, blocking the caves that led underground, was an army of Nightstalkers. Behind Daniel was his own army. They were less, though. They were the survivors of the first fight. Many of them had fallen, but not as many as I had thought would fall. There was not enough to face the Nightstalkers, however. I was sure they would not be enough to win. They were doomed. I had let them down. I had failed them. Marcus’ trick had worked. Time had run out.

Nguyen was watching my face. His expression was foolishly gleeful. It was happiness at my despair. He should have known not to show such emotion. It just made me feel determined. I clenched my hand around my sword and focused on what I knew. Marcus was in the caves getting the sword – if I did not get to him soon the battle outside would be for nothing. Nguyen was the distraction. Why not take care of the two things at once?

Decided, I put my sword in to its scabbard and looked at Nguyen. He was prepared for a fight, a duel to the death. He would not expect something stupid, something without seeming reason. So, something stupid is exactly what I did. I took a deep breath and ran at him. I jumped when I reached him. I wrapped my arms around his body, keeping his hands down at his sides, so he couldn’t point his lightning at me. We moved through the air, farther than normal. My aim was perfect.

We flew out and over the balcony in a long arc. Nguyen fought against me as we flew through the air toward the ground below. He was strong, determined. He finally managed to kick me away. Our bodies separated. I ignored him and focused on the fall. The ground rushed up at me. The wind roared in my ears. There was a strange stillness in the flight. Time stopped moving. As I fell, I saw Daniel start to charge the Nightstalkers. He moved between shapes as he ran, becoming a Nightstalker in a second’s time. Despite the change, he noticed my fall. Many of the soldiers did. But there was nothing they could do. Their mouths dropped open in surprise at the sight of me purposefully headed toward the ground. The Nightstalkers were charging.

Then, I hit the ground.

I hit directly where the ground had split apart. The ground split easily, and I kept falling…longer than I should have. Beyond the rock was space. The rock had opened up to a city underground. It was a city that had once lived in the light of day. Now, rock and darkness covered it. Square buildings were crumbling in the darkness. The buildings were smaller the further they got from the city center, but they all held proof of artistry and loving attention to detail. At the center of the city was a large structure that could only be described as a palace. There, I saw torches flickering in the dark. Marcus was there. I could feel it just as I could tell that the city would have been beautiful in the light – covered in the gardens and waterfalls. It would have been an oasis in the desert.

My fall finally found its end.

I crashed in to one of the buildings, the rock giving way to the superior force of my body. I coughed against the feel of the dirt in my lungs. I took stock of my body. I was covered in debris and dirt, but I was alive. The weight of the rocks on top of me was nothing. I shifted and pushed against the rocks. They moved off me and I was able to see the hole I had made in the ground above. Dark light from the storm filtered down to light my path. Lightning lit up the rocks. The fall had been longer than I had thought, half a mile, at least, from the surface of the earth to my landing place.

There was another hole further down where Nguyen had fallen through the earth. The lighting illuminated the place. He would not give up on the fight easily; I would have to keep my eyes peeled. I knew the fall had not killed him. His body was as strong as mine was. He would be waiting.

I refocused on the flickering light of the torches. My task was there.

The landscape was hillier than it had appeared while falling. The roads to the palace were all uphill. The hills provided cover, but they also slowed me down. I ran along the thick stone of the city streets, doing my best to stay as quiet as possible. I had no idea if there were other Watchers out there. My feet flew out behind me as I ran from one building to the next, my eyes scanning the darkness for signs of the enemy. I felt a clock ticking down to the time I had left. Marcus was close – was I too late to stop him?

The palace finally appeared in front of me. All roads led there. A large drawbridge had been blown to pieces. There was nothing left but the gears that turned the bridge. The rubble decorated the walkway. I stepped over the rubble and through to the large courtyard. The torches fluttered angrily, but the light let me see that the courtyard was not as lifeless as the rest of the city. White rosebushes decorated the space – roses that were similar to the one the historian had kept. Farrah had been here. This had been her palace, once upon a time. The knowledge warmed me. I was on Farrah’s ground. It would strengthen me in the coming fight.

The courtyard was empty of people. It was silent. I remembered the tower above and wondered if there were enemies hiding nearby. I took a deep breath and tried to feel the pulse of the place – to feel if there was anyone I should be worried about nearby. There was complete silence for a moment then I felt a shift. I felt the subtle beating of two very slow hearts. Two people were inside. Marcus had not trusted his army to help him get the sword. He had come alone…mostly.

I followed the courtyard to the large stairs directly opposite the gate. The stairs were broad and made of white stone. They were broken in places and looked as if they had seen better days. They led directly to a door that was hanging off its hinges. I stepped around the shattered door and followed the feeling of the heartbeats. The interior halls were made of the same white stone, but pictures also decorated the walls. There were scenes of hunting, royalty doing daily tasks, and different roles of men and women in the palace. A design curved around the pictures, taking up the space where the pictures were not. It was a design that matched my armor, minus the red diamonds. The corridors were tall and open. A sense of space and time linked me to the halls. My fear of closed-in spaces was gone. The familiarity made it impossible to feel uncomfortable. I was familiar with the turns I made – I could feel the curve of the halls before I saw them. I knew this place. I knew it better than I should have.

The feel of Marcus permeated my senses. Every step I took brought me closer to him. The strange connection we had always shared beat stronger with our closeness.

Finally, the corridors lead to a room with no doors, only arches. The arches kept the room from feeling closed-in and separate. There was a sense of inclusion in the space. It welcomed visitors inside. And, sitting in a chair made out of stone, his leg thrown over the arm of the throne casually was the man I had been searching for.

Marcus…Finally.

In front of him was Nguyen. Nguyen was covered in dirt and had a large gash on his arm. He was telling Marcus about our fall in to the cavern and the fight above. It was impossible to read Marcus’ expression. It was the definition of enigmatic. Nguyen stopped talking when they sensed me in the arch. He turned to face me, hatred in his eyes. I was the reason Nguyen had failed his boss. I had made his task complicated.

Marcus’ eyes brightened when he saw me. It was a contrast to Nguyen’s expression.

“Clare.”

Marcus said it as if it was the measure of my soul. His lips caressed my name in a strangely intimate way.

“Marcus,” I said. “How has insanity been treating you?”

Marcus laughed.

“Quite well, actually,” Marcus said.

He shifted in his chair and picked up a sword I had not noticed. It was made of black metal. It was sharp and cold. It had a strange mixture of bulky weight and lean lines. It was also the angriest-looking sword I had ever seen. The pulse of the anger reached out and caressed my senses. My heart skipped four beats as I tried to keep my fear under control. He had found the sword. He had found the unmaker. Marcus held it in his hand. He was the second part of the unmaking. I was too late. I had failed.

His lips parted in a feline smile at the look on my face.

“Impressed?” Marcus asked.

“Not the word I would have chosen,” I said.

“You will,” he said.

Marcus eyed Nguyen, who looked ready to start the fight we had begun in the tower. Marcus’ yellow eyes swirled with a hazy darkness that went beyond a regular Watchers’ darkness. Darkness brought on by the sword? It was impossible to tell.

“Nguyen?” Marcus asked in his purr of a voice.

“Yes?” Nguyen asked.

His voice was eager. He expected Marcus to ask him to fight me.

“You failed your task. You failed to keep Clare away while I bonded with the sword. You failed to make her attack you with Amanda’s death. I do not have room for failure.”

Nguyen turned to Marcus. His eyes were wide with fear.

“But you promised…”

“Forever? A part of the world when I took it over?” Marcus asked. “I lied about that.”

Marcus’ grip on the sword changed. It tightened in to resolve. The grip was deadly. His hand shifted again. With it, came movement. The sword slashed through the air, bringing with it a wall of darkness. It cut in to Nguyen with little resistance. Nguyen’s head went one way and his body the other.

Marcus saw my expression.

“Don’t worry. He was a bad man,” he assured me.

“Like Amanda?” I asked.

“Oh, dear, Amanda. Poor misguided girl. It was easy to convince her we had joined. She was just looking for someone to love her.”

He misinterpreted my horrified expression.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Marcus said. “The joining wasn’t real. It was just a tool to get her to help me, to eventually open the chamber as it turned out.”

“You are mentally ill,” I said.

Marcus shrugged at my words. I saw darkness swirl more complete in his eyes, however. He did not like more words.

“People believe in what they want to believe….usually it’s the thing they want most they believe in the hardest. You believe I am ill, because it makes facing me easier. Amanda believed I was in love with her, because it made her miserable life more bearable.”

“And what is that you believe in?” I asked.

“Unending life,” Marcus said. “And our right to rule the world as King and Queen.”

“Oh, I’m supposed to rule the world with you?” I asked.

“It is our destiny,” Marcus said. “It always has been.”

“How do you figure?” I asked.

Marcus smiled at me. He was glad for the chance to explain. His eyes told me that he thought his explanation would bring me to his side; it would make me see things his way.