Fated

find,’ I said, my voice soft, ‘that Luna is very bad luck for people who try and hurt her.’

Griff looked back at me, and I had one second to remember him like that: stocky and strong, his iron-grey hair mussed slightly from the struggle. He gave me an amused smile. ‘I’ll take my chances.’ He put out one hand and a fist of brown energy smashed the control crystals. The ones on my side flickered and went dead, and with a rumbling sound the door rolled across. I had one glimpse of Luna’s eyes going wide in panic, then the door ground shut with a thud.

I was alone in the hall. And distantly, from behind me, I heard Khazad’s footsteps coming closer.

*    *    *

Back when I was a prisoner in Richard’s mansion, Tobruk would sometimes play cat and mouse. He’d set me loose to run the dungeon, give me a head start, then come after me. Some of my memories of that time are blurred, but that feeling I remember crystal clear. Pressed against a wall, my heart in my throat and my breath coming fast, straining my ears for the sound of footsteps, feeling only dread because hiding never worked, Tobruk always found me, the only question was when.

Standing in that hallway, I felt all the old terror rush into me. Khazad was coming and he was stronger and crueller than I was, and when he found me he was going to hurt me and he was going to kill me, and there was nothing I could do. I scrabbled in my pocket, pulled out the glass rod and channelled a thread of magic into it, speaking in a rush. ‘Starbreeze. Starbreeze, can you hear me? I need you. Please come. If you’ve ever listened to me, come now, please—’

I broke off as I felt something black and cold open up within me. Starbreeze would hear me, and she would answer … but too late, far too late. I turned, searching frantically for a way out, another exit. There wasn’t one. All that was left was to face Khazad. Me with my tricks and toys against the full power of a Dark mage. I stood helplessly in the empty hallway, listening to the footsteps draw closer, and I was nineteen years old again, cowering in the dark, paralysed with fear.

And then something spoke inside me, something older and steadier. You aren’t a child any more. You told Luna there’s always a way out. Time to prove it.

I took a deep breath, stood up straight and waited.

*    *    *

Khazad came around the corner like falling night. The Dark mage was a small man, but as he walked a cloak of shadow seemed to gather around him, turning him into something larger and more menacing. The lights dimmed slightly as he passed, and didn’t brighten. Black eyes met mine.

‘Hello, Khazad,’ I said. My voice shook the tiniest bit.

Khazad strode forward without answering. I watched him and wondered as I did how I could have ever thought he looked like a bird. He moved with a smooth, unhurried grace, not taking his eyes off me. I knew he was probing the area, scanning for traps, making sure I couldn’t trick him the same way again.

Khazad came to a stop twenty feet away, studying me. ‘Where are the rest?’ he said at last.

‘Griff took them,’ I said.

Khazad smiled. ‘So he did something right.’

We stood looking for a moment more. ‘I want to make a deal,’ I said.

Khazad kept smiling. ‘Really.’

I gestured down at the bracelet of black metal that Khazad was still wearing. ‘I can switch that off.’

Khazad raised his eyebrows. ‘Like you did with yours?’

‘I can disable the receptor. Stop Onyx from activating it.’

‘And?’

‘A truce,’ I said. ‘You don’t harm me, I don’t harm you.’

Khazad stood looking at me for a moment, his eyebrows still raised, then lifted his hands and sent a bolt of black lightning straight into my chest.

The pain was so intense I didn’t even feel it when I hit the ground. My lungs had frozen and I struggled to breathe. Flashing spots swum before my eyes.

‘You have no idea how much I’ve been wanting to do that,’ Khazad said thoughtfully. As my vision cleared, I saw he was crouching down in front of me, only a couple of feet away. He was looking at me. ‘I told you this was coming.’

‘Onyx—’ I managed to say.

Khazad smiled, a flash of bared teeth. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. You didn’t know? I’ve decided to throw in with Onyx instead of Del. Wasn’t hard, after what she did in the forest.’ His smile widened. ‘Oh, Verus, you should have heard her after I left them in that room, once she realised I wasn’t coming back. I wonder if she’s still alive. Hope she is. I wouldn’t want it to be too quick.’ Khazad blinked and looked down at me. ‘But what are we going to do with you?’

I started to speak, and suddenly everything went blank.

The next thing I remember is lying against a pillar on the opposite side of the hall. I guess Khazad must have thrown me, though I don’t remember it. The back of my head was wet, and my right side felt like fire. Once my head had cleared enough for me to hear, I realised Khazad was talking again. ‘—and then Onyx told me to go back and kill you! Amazing how things work out, right? Even promised me a reward.’

I tasted copper and spat blood. I knew this was my last chance. Cat and mouse, I thought dizzily. The way to win is not to be the mouse. ‘Only one mage can use it,’ I said to the floor.

‘I mean, I’d have done it for free.’

I made myself look up. Khazad was strolling towards me, keeping a casual eye on me to see whether I was