Stories From the Shadowlands (11 page)

He knew this was a significant concession, since killing the possessed bodies frees imprisoned human souls from the Mazikin land, while imprisoning the possessed in the tower leaves them trapped forever—a belief Takeshi does not share. “You would be willing to commit to imprisoning every single one?” he asked.

"If it means that Ana can act as bait—" I rephrased when Takeshi frowned. "If she could draw the Mazikin in and allow us to trap them, that would be a victory. I would do it."

Takeshi looked over at Ana again. I wonder if he is aware of how his face changes when his eyes are on her, how the hard edges soften. Probably not. “I’m willing to consider it.”

Ana continued to swing her staff, solid and strong. And when Takeshi turned away, I did not, so I saw her face break into a grim smile.

Day 11862

Ana is walking and breathing, but she won’t be for long. Our operation was successful, but she was wounded. We’re leaving in a few minutes to try to get her back to the Station before the claw wounds take their toll, and on the way we’ll have to drag the two Mazikin who saw her face. They must be imprisoned in the tower so they can’t spread word of the new Guard.

I’ll write more once we get back to the Station, assuming I am still alive. This whole thing was my idea, and if Ana dies, Takeshi will most likely kill me.

Day 11864

Ana is still alive, and obviously so am I. It was a tense journey back to the Station. We had to tie the Mazikin to a sled we built out of an apartment door, as I’ve done in the past. I dragged it while Takeshi took Ana ahead. Once I deposited the two Mazikin in the mouth of the dark tower, I walked into it myself—and found Takeshi waiting on the other side. He was pale and unable to focus until Ana stumbled out and fell into our arms.

She did so well. A week ago, we returned to the Harag zone to determine the location of this nest at long last. Nearly a hundred days of drilling, of reviewing every possible scenario, of training for every situation. Finally. Finally. It felt like we were one unit. It seemed like Ana had mastered herself, like she was ruled by plans and logic instead of reflex and rage. And Takeshi was our Captain, and we were his Guards.

I’m waiting to find out if that’s still the case.

We patrolled just north of the zone for a few days, with me on the roofs and Takeshi in the alleys—and Ana wandering the streets in plain sight, just as one of the citizens might do. She has lovely dark hair, and she wore it down, so the Mazikin would see. They do seem fond of hair.

On the fifth day of the operation, two Mazikin approached her slowly, sniffing the air, perhaps because they sensed the faintest scent of me or Takeshi. But Ana was such a perfect recruit that they abandoned caution and took her by the arms.

We followed them for several blocks. We wanted them to get as close as possible without actually leading her into the nest. But when they guided her inside an abandoned mill building, Takeshi gave the order. We moved in.

It was the right call. They were attempting to tie her to a table inside. The incense was just starting to smoke. She was fighting them. That’s when one of them clawed her arm.

We captured them both, and their aggression toward Ana fueled our interrogation sessions. We questioned them separately, and each told us that we would find the nest in the basement of an apartment building not ten blocks from the mill.

In other words, my plan was a success. I hope Ana and Takeshi agree. I am leaving shortly to check in on Ana, as I’ve been informed she has awakened after Raphael’s healing. Takeshi has been gone since he brought Ana here two days ago, so I will send Rais to find him and give him the news.

Day 12167

I am recovering from a near-fatal bout of stupidity. When I awoke an hour or so ago, Raphael told me that I've been unconscious for seven days. I remember collapsing on the street perhaps twenty blocks from here, and apparently a Guard patrol found me and carried me back to the Station.

All because I was careless. I was in an apartment sixteen blocks south-southwest of the edge of downtown, still looking for the most recent nest. Ana and Takeshi had already departed to set a trap for Mazikin about ten blocks to the west, and I was preparing to patrol to the south.

When I heard the woman screaming in the hallway, I didn't hesitate. The fear in her voice jolted me, and I dashed out of the apartment without putting on my armor. Two men—obviously Mazikin—were dragging her into a stairwell, but one of them dropped her and fled as soon as he saw me. I hurled the only knife I'd managed to grab on the way out the door, and it hit the other Mazikin in the gut.

I ran to him as the woman, young and blonde, sank to the floor. I knelt over the downed Mazikin and pulled my knife from his belly. But as I was leaning to cut his throat, fiery pain tore across my lower back. The blonde landed on me, wrapping her arms around my throat.

"I'm Juri," she snarled. "Juri. Remember."

I flipped her over my shoulders and stabbed her. Him. Juri. This Mazikin who has a personal thirst for my blood. I stared at it, dripping from the blonde's long, jagged fingernails.

I finished off both of them, the attacker and his false victim, sending them back to their homeland, freeing the two human souls they'd condemned to suffer there. And then I went back to the apartment and bandaged the oozing wounds on my back the best I could. I set out an hour later for the long walk to the Station.

Were it not for the Guards who carried me in, I wouldn't have made it. And I wonder, is that what Juri wanted? Or did he just want me to suffer so he could come back and attack once more? This Mazikin is trouble. But he did teach me an important lesson. We wear the armor for a reason. I'll never forget to put it on again.

Day 12168

Ana came to my quarters this morning, bearing a cup of tea and a few stale biscuits on a tray. I could not mask my surprise when I opened the door to find her standing there. She shouldered her way inside, then set the tray on my desk.

She looked at my map, which is slowly filling in as I explore the city on my patrols and bring back sketches of each area. "Where did it happen?" she asked.

I tapped the spot sixteen blocks south-southwest of downtown. "The nest must be close. We'll find it soon."

She gave me a sidelong glance. "Why weren't you wearing your armor?"

"Because I thought someone needed help. I didn't think about it." All I could think about was saving her.

"You care too much about these people, you know that? Maybe those Mazikin are figuring that out."

I sat down in my desk chair. "You believe you're qualified to give me advice?"

She shrugged, unperturbed by the annoyance in my voice. "Just making an observation. Takeshi's worried about you, I think."

"If Takeshi's worried, it's because one of his Guards hasn't been patrolling for a week, right when we were close to finding the nest."

She rolled her eyes. "Right. That's it." She gestured at the biscuits. "And I only brought you those in the hopes of speeding along your recovery. You know, so you can patrol as soon as possible." She walked to the door. She opened it and added, "I'm glad you made it back."

And then she was gone. I laughed to myself as I took a bite from one of the biscuits. It tasted surprisingly good.

Day 13041

I had him. I could have ended it. And I probably should have. This morning Juri staged an ill-conceived ambush as I was patrolling alone a few blocks from the Suicide Gates. It took me only seconds to have him on the ground, knocked senseless.

It was not a random attack. He hates me in particular. He wants to hurt me in particular. And of all the Mazikin, Juri reminds me most of Nero, and that makes him extraordinarily dangerous.

But as I looked at his face, which wasn't really his face, but instead that of a young man with my complexion, with my dark hair, I couldn't see Juri. I could only see the person he condemned to suffer in that place of fire and death the Mazikin call home: a young man who had already experienced enough pain to drive him to suicide. A young man who looked a lot like my brother.

When I shoved Nero into the dark tower all those years ago, I didn't know there was a way to free the man he'd condemned by stealing his body. But now I know.

"Next time," I whispered. And then I cut Juri's throat and said the prayer, the words that give my hope a shape and voice. Until the day I imprison Juri in the tower, he'll keep coming back. I know that. But perhaps when he returns, he will choose a face that will make it easier for me to forget, a soul that will be easier to sacrifice in this war.

Ah. The lies I tell myself.

Day 13791

Takeshi and I were trying to corral a small group of Mazikin in an abandoned townhouse yesterday. He had gone to the back while I prepared to charge in the front. But then I heard him shout, and I sprinted around to the back, where I found him on the ground with a knife sticking out of his side, just below the bottom edge of his armor.

"It was Sil and three others," he said. He sounded quite calm. "They got past me and went that way." He pointed to an alley. "Go kill them."

I laughed. “No, I’m going to carry you back to the Station.”

"No, you’re going to go kill them, and then you’re going to carry me back to the Station. That’s an order.”

I rolled my eyes and tried to pick him up, but he drew a knife. “I’m in a terrible mood right now, Malachi. Stabbing you would give me great, if temporary, satisfaction. Now. Go kill them. I’ll wait.”

I took a step back. “Fine.” My anger and frustration was enough to fuel me as I pursued the four Mazikin who had attacked him, including Sil, who had chosen a much more agile body than last time.

Luckily I have become very, very good at throwing knives.

Once they were dead, I jogged back to the townhouse. Takeshi was unconscious and pale, his armor stained with his blood, his pants soaked with it. I picked him up and carried him back to the Station, cursing him every step of the way. He was still alive when we arrived, but just barely.

Day 13792

I arrived at Takeshi's quarters this morning in time to witness Ana storming out. She stalked past me, shoving me out of her way. I let her, because fighting is pointless. She's not angry at me, anyway.

I walked into his chambers to find him sitting up on his bed, looking hassled. He ran his hands through his hair before letting them fall to his lap.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Good as new," he said.

"How's Ana feeling?"

His mouth twisted in annoyance. "I wish I knew. I thought she was going to stab me just now. She's mad that we didn't take her with us. She wants to go on multi-day patrols."

"She's ready," I said. Because she is. And has been for a very long time. "And have you considered that might not be the only reason she is so mad at you today?"

He groaned. "What else have I done wrong?"

"I don't think it's something you've done wrong." Why can't he see it? Ana's anger only barely conceals her fear for him. Her gaze never leaves him when they're together—unless she thinks she's being watched. But it's so clear to me how attached she is. I think part of the reason she wants to go on long patrols with him is because she thinks she can protect him.

But he doesn't see it. Possibly because he's so busy concealing his own feelings. "Ana is complicated," he muttered. "I don't know how to be a good Captain for her."

"Start by letting her be a good Guard. We've discussed this before."

He looked away. "I know. And I'm trying. I just… if something happened to her…"

"I know."

He nodded. I patted his shoulder and left him alone.

Day 13800

Takeshi and I returned to the apartment this evening after another day of fruitless searching for the Mazikin nest. They know we’re here. We hadn’t so much as caught their scent all day and were discussing whether we’d been searching in the wrong zone.

We opened the door to find Ana sitting on the living room couch, watching the television. She smiled when she saw our stunned looks.

Takeshi recovered first, his posture going tense. “What are you doing here?”

"I followed you."

"We’ve been here for two days!" he shouted.

She shrugged. “I know. So have I.”

"You’re violating orders!"

She shot to her feet. “You didn’t give me orders, Takeshi. You left me behind, again, with no orders at all.”

"When I give you no orders, it means you’re supposed to stay where you are!"

She rolled her eyes. “Then what good am I?”

His fists clenched. “What good would you be if you died? Do you know what could happen to you?” His voice was so loud that a woman walking down the hall began to cry.

I shut the door. “But she’s not dead. She’s right here.” I looked at Ana. “And you seem quite pleased with yourself.”

"I am." She grinned. "I found the nest."

Day 13801

We’ll attack the nest during the brightest (or, more accurately, the least dim) part of the day tomorrow. Today was spent assembling squads of our non-human Guards and making our plan. The nest Ana found is located in a tenement surrounded on all sides by similar buildings, all full of harmless citizens. It would be too easy for the Mazikin to scatter from the nest and hide themselves in empty apartments, too easy for us to accidentally hurt or kill an innocent, so we are planning accordingly, with Guards who will move into position and block all entrances to each building right as we attack the tenement.

Much to my relief, Takeshi has settled down. At first I was afraid he would insist that Ana travel back to the Station, in light of her insubordination. But after she showed us the nest we’d been seeking for the past thousand days, one she found after only two, he simply looked bemused. He said she could stay and participate in the raid if she wore a cloth mask over her face.

I think that’s smart. Ana is an excellent and deadly decoy, and I have no wish to lose that advantage. If even one Mazikin sees her and is able to report back to its family, that advantage would be gone. But I suspect Takeshi is more eager to protect her from being targeted.