Rob returned the glare – he always did have a fantastic glower, guaranteed to make a younger brother or his best friend feel instantly contrite. But this time it didn’t have the desired effect – Jamie refused back down.
Rob sighed, “I can apologize a million times, but it’s not going to make you feel any better. Can we just agree to argue about this later? Perhaps when we have safely left the lion’s den?”
“Fine.” Jamie shot back, obviously still more than a little bitter.
Allyra took her opportunity to jump in before Rob could continue. “It doesn’t matter – I’m not leaving.”
She couldn’t leave, not with so many questions left unanswered. Not when her promise to Alex to win the Elemental Trials remained unfulfilled. Not when the green-eyed Cleaner remained locked in the room in those dark tunnels, probably being tortured by a Revenant. Certainly not when Pierre had given his life for her to remain in the Trials.
“Don’t be ridiculous Ally.” Rob snapped. He’d been her official guardian for two years – in that awful time when they’d all been left orphaned, after the Thiessens had died a year after Sam had passed away. Rob had taken the role extremely seriously and he now slipped back into parental mode.
“I’m not being ridiculous.” Allyra replied calmly, “I’m not running from this. I’ve already done what the Council requires. After today I get to leave – free and unencumbered. If I run now – they’ll never stop searching for me.”
“Don’t be naïve.”
Rob pushed back his chair and it screeched uncomfortably along the hard floor. He strode imperiously up and down the room; its limited size forcing him to take short, chipped strides, somewhat spoiling the authoritative effect, but she nonetheless recognized it as a sure sign of his growing frustration.
“Do you really think they’re just going to let you leave? You opened a Gate – if they just let you go, it would be taken as a sign of their weakening authority.”
“Come on Rob,” Allyra said lightly, trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere. “You’re starting to sound like a conspiracy nut. The terms of my punishment aren’t a secret. Everyone already knows that I’m free and clear. What do you expect the Council will do to me?”
“They don’t need to do it publicly – they have an army of Cleaners. You’ll disappear and no one will be any the wiser.”
“So get me out after the Trials, but not now, not when it isn’t over.” She said quietly, but firmly.
Jamie slid into the seat next to her and took her hand. She noticed his was cold and just a little clammy. It was enough to make her heart flutter uncomfortably in alarm – it had to be serious to make him forgive her so suddenly and worse still, he was never nervous.
“Please Ally.” Jamie begged. “Please don’t fight us on this. We just want you to be safe. It doesn’t need to be some grand conspiracy – it could be as simple as Jason killing you in the Arena.”
Allyra wavered; it was hard to refuse Jamie when he so rarely asked her for anything at all.
She looked between the brothers and felt her will start to yield, like a sapling under a stormy wind. “Please don’t make me do this. A life on the run isn’t really a life at all.”
“Being dead isn’t a life at all.” Rob muttered darkly.
Jamie was more tactful. “It doesn’t end here Allyra – I didn’t know it, but winner or the runner up, you’ll have to compete in the Five Finals. They’re scheduled for next year. So even if Jason doesn’t kill you now and the Council doesn’t lock you up – they’ve given themselves so many more opportunities to do so. You’re not really ever going to escape – not if you stay.”
So Jason hadn’t been lying to her after all. And the Council must’ve known that even in the unlikely event that she won, they would continue to have control over her life for at least another year. She could see the betrayal hidden deep in Jamie’s eyes – he’d trusted them, had thought the Council had negotiated in good faith. She’d held no such illusions, but it didn’t change anything – she still needed to stay.
“I know about the Five Finals.” She said quietly. “But I still won’t run from it.”
It sounded less than convincing, even to her ears. She hated having to skate around the truth. Having to hide so much from those she loved most.
Rob swore loudly. “You’ve always been the most stubborn and unreasonable – “
Jamie snatched up her right hand and peeled the bandage away, revealing the delicate, silvery tattoo underneath. “What are you hiding Allyra?” He asked angrily. “What happened in the Between? What is this thing?”
They were all completely reasonable questions and she found the whole story on the tip of her tongue, ready to spill out. But something held her back – maybe it was the secrets they’d withheld from her. Or perhaps secrets were like weeds – once they took root, it was almost impossible to ever eliminate them completely.
So she lied.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
The best lies were rooted in the truth. “I can’t separate reality from a dream anymore.”
Jamie’s face fell, hope draining out of him and immediately she knew she hadn’t quite managed to sell the lie – at least not to him. So she went on the offensive.
“I’m not the only one with secrets. Why don’t you tell me how my father really died?” She asked angrily.
“It doesn’t matter now.” Rob interjected, trying to rebind the bandage and failing miserably. “If we want to go, we need to leave now.”
“I’m not going.” She was firm. “After this you can take me to the Rising and maybe convince me to run. But not now. Right now, I want some answers”
“Ally – “ Rob said quietly, only a shade away from begging. But she shook her head –
