comes, you fight with Orion. If Dakin does return for any reason — which I doubt he will — no one is to speak a word of this. Are we clear?”
Tyler nodded, saluted and left the room. Faru turned to face the redhead.“Scarlett, I want you to take Alexander’s brother as far north as you can, to one of the Outposts. Tell no one here which one you choose. And stay there with him until the battle is over.”
Scarlett reacted as if his words were blows. “What? No way!” she shouted. “My teammate betrayed me, I want to be part of this fight too. I can drop Mikey somewhere safe and come back.”
Faru stared at her with his white eyes, which seemed to be shimmering with a newfound intensity. “You will do as I command Scarlett. I understand your passion and we all truly appreciate your commitment to the Alliance. However, if tomorrow’s assault does not go to plan for the SOS, they may attempt to use Alexander’s brother as insurance. We cannot bring him here, because that would only endanger him further. We must get him as far away from Chapter Hill as possible. And I need someone I can still trust to keep him protected.”
I nodded an agreement. “He’ll need you to protect him Scarlett. And besides, if anyone was going to protect him, I’d want it to be you.” The Bloodling folded her slender arms across her chest and clenched her jaw. “You want him to be safe don’t you?” I added. Her shoulders slumped. “Of course I do. Okay, I’ll do it.” “Thank you Scarlett, you’re commitment has not gone unnoticed,” said Faru. “Alex should go too.”
I spun around to face Gabriella, who purposefully avoided my gaze. She cleared her throat. “The SOS are coming here to free The Sorrow. The Sorrow wants Alex. It’s better if he isn’t here in case…you know, they succeed.”
Scarlett nodded. “She’s right. He’ll stand a better chance, the further away he is.”
Faru looked pensive. “Perhaps it is better if you were not here Alexander.”
“Are you kidding me?” I almost shouted. “Not a bloody chance. I’m not going to let everyone around here die for me, while I’m hiding hundreds of miles away.” I tried to calm myself down. “Besides, The Sorrow found me. Running is only delaying the inevitable and puts people I care about at risk.” I shook my head. “When I took the oath of a Guardian, I swore to stand by you all, even if that meant dying. So when the SOS attack tomorrow, I’m going to be standing right there next to you.”
I stared at each person in the room. Most of them looked impressed, which hadn’t been my intention. I didn’t want to impress. I wanted them to understand how I felt. I’d spent so long feeling powerless and afraid. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I had friends and people to care for and protect. I had a cause to fight for. One I believed in. I looked at Gabriella, who returned the gaze. Our eyes stayed locked together like they had the first day at school.
She smiled.
Faru stood up straight. “Thank you Alexander. Your selfless courage epitomises what it means to be a Guardian and a Chosen. You do your forbearers proud.” He gestured towards us all. “I shall sound the sirens to gather everyone together so that we can begin to prepare for tomorrow.”
As he said the words, a sudden thought clicked into my head. My stomach burst with adrenaline. “Sage Faru, is there a way to prevent the sound of a Siren affecting non-Chosen?”
Faru raised his woollen eyebrows. “A simple Witch’s spell could easily do so, yes.”
I clapped my hands together. “Okay, we’re going to need loads of speaker wire. I think I’ve got an idea.”
The clouds were the colour of burned flesh. Loud growls of thunder boomed in the distance. Streaks of lightning ignited the sky and crashed down to the ground in jagged forks on the horizon. The rain fell in thick sheets, belting against the glass.
I turned away from the window and headed back to the fireplace. Gabriella was sitting on the sofa, dressed in a sleeveless top and jeans, her bare feet curled underneath her body. Her hair spilled over the back cushions. She ran her fingers absently along the exposed flesh of one of her arms.
It was a few hours after our meeting with Faru. Sylvia had never managed to make it to the prison — a connected policeman had found her in a dumpster not far from where the meeting had taken place. Her throat had been slit.
Mikey was safe, hidden away somewhere several hundred miles north. The thought my family so far away from the danger made me feel better. It no longer shocked me at how much I cared about them — even that idiot John…a bit.
Faru had assembled a meeting in the Feasting Hall. The room had been full to the point of bursting. There’d been waves of shock and anger as he delivered the news, followed by a resigned acceptance. Afterwards we had all gone to our apartments to eat and get some sleep so that we could rise early in the morning and begin to prepare. I’d sat in silence for a long time on my couch, before knocking on Gabriella’s door.
I sat down next to her on the sofa, warming a hand by the fire.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” I said staring into the flames. “I thought I was. But then it occurred to me…I’m going to have to actually kill people tomorrow aren’t I?”
Gabriella lifted her back off the cushions. “You already have killed Alex. Rahuman remember?”
“I know. But I did it without thinking…you know. Like survival instinct. But at the bar, my instincts told me to go straight for the swords, but I fought them and decided on the safer option instead. It almost cost me. Tomorrow, I know that it’s kill or be killed. I’m just…I don’t know if I can.”
“Alex, I know that it’s hard. Killing anyone is not a decision any of us take lightly. But the Soldiers of Sorrow are the worst kind of evil. They are coming here with the sole purpose of killing as many of us as they can and serving you to The Sorrow on a platter. You need to understand, you’re a Chosen Alex — a walking weapon. It’s inside you. You have to stop fighting it and let it take over.”
I turned around to face her. “That’s what I’m frightened of.” I pressed a hand against my stomach. “What’s inside scares the living hell out of me. You saw what I did to TJ. I couldn’t stop myself. Midnight told me about the darkness he felt inside. I–I think I have it too.”
Gabriella paused for a second. “Alex, I already told you. When you hurt TJ, you were drunk and going through your Awakening. You weren’t yourself. Look, I don’t know how you feel inside. All I know is what I see. And what I see is a kind, strong, caring person who is willing to put his life on the line for what he believes in. We all have a darker side,” she placed a hand on my arm, “but we all have good too.”
I felt myself relax. I leaned back into the sofa and let out a deep whoosh of breath. “You’re right…as always,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Hey” she laughed and swatted my arm. “As morbid as it sounds, this could be our last night alive,” I said staring at the pictures on the mantelpiece. “So what shall we do?” Gabriella asked from behind me. I turned around and stared right at her. “I want you to tell me about your parents. Everything.”
Gabriella’s face drew tight and she squirmed as if I’d asked her to imagine her deepest phobia. She looked away in some subconscious attempt to avoid the question. I leaned over and gently pulled her around to face me. I stared into her eyes.
“Ella, I know that something bad must have happened. But you can’t keep it inside forever. I think it’s time you told someone.”
I could see the anguish in her face. It seemed like she were caught in an internal struggle. Something seemed to give. She let out a long sigh.
“Okay.”
29
Baptised in Blood
Most of what I know I’ve had to piece together from diaries my Papa kept and what Sage Etorre told me.
Papa’s name was Antonio De Luca. He was born in a small village about thirty kilometres south of Roma. It was the sort of place where everybody knew everybody else.
His family wasn’t rich — my grandfather was a tailor by trade. He had two sisters, Milena and Angelica. The family were devout Catholics. Before he could even walk, my father attended Mass. Antonio idolised my
