Queen of faces, p.35
Queen of Faces, page 35
A hoarse, ragged shout burst from his lips, desperate and unyielding.
Almost lazily, Khaiovhe raised a finger. A small dome of Darkfire surged over our heads, turning the world pitch-black. A miniature version of what she’d done at the fish market.
I crawled backwards, and the flames closed in from behind, trapping us from all sides. Wes flung a card at the edge, and it vaporised, crumbling to nothing in a puff of smoke.
No escape. No way out. No clever trick I could pull to turn this battle round. Nima and Korin were on the far side of the school, and even if they weren’t, what could they do against the Black Wraith? We were just humans, and she was an unstoppable force.
I wheezed, short of breath as the fire swallowed the oxygen in the air. Then I closed my eyes, clenching every muscle in my body. Heat pressed into my face.
And blinding light lit up the darkness. Even with my eyes squeezed shut, the blazing glow pierced through.
I opened my eyes.
Palefire burned all around us. It swallowed the dark flames, erasing them from existence, devouring the attack.
A blazing white figure shot out of the sky. He touched down in front of us, moonlight shining on his glasses, his tousled brown hair.
Adam Weaver, the Son of Destiny, the mage who’d burned off my finger. The wind blew ashes through his hair, and sweat glistened on his cheeks. Palefire wreathed his hands like gauntlets, glowing with white light.
Just weeks ago he’d tried to kill me.
I couldn’t be happier to see him.
Khaiovhe limped out of the smoke, green light swirling around her body. She wiped soot from her face, out of breath, and leaned on her knees, staring at her new opponent.
Adam was just a boy, but the witch had already spent herself fighting half the school, stealing that book floating behind her.
Khaiovhe’s eyes widened. She darted back, and a volley of tiny pencils slammed into the roof where she’d been. They hit like artillery, kicking up dust and tearing holes in the wood.
A slender old man landed on the roof next to Adam, his blue eyes gleaming in the firelight.
‘Evening, Ana,’ said Headmaster Carriwitch. ‘Fancy meeting you here.’
A trio of figures emerged from the stairwell behind Khaiovhe, racing on to the roof. Korin and both Nimas, their faces covered in soot and ash. Korin was limping, and Right-Nima was bleeding from a gunshot wound on his shoulder.
Nima levelled their guns at the witch, enclosing her from behind. ‘I’ve got Voidsteel this time,’ said Left-Nima. ‘Picked some rounds off your Black Arrows.’ She pulled the hammer back on her pistols. ‘Try slapping this one away.’
Khaiovhe faced off against Adam and Carriwitch, and the entirety of Queen Sulphur. Fires burned all around them, and she wheezed, her hair singed, green light dancing over her skin. The sounds of battle had died down, and the violent winds had calmed. An undead silence sank over the academy.
Adam pointed to the ocean. In the harbour, the moon shone over empty waters. There was no sign of the Home Fleet or the monster that had slaughtered it. ‘The storm kraken has returned to the depths.’ He smiled. ‘In minutes, more of our brethren will arrive from the mainland, backed by a division of Humdrums. You can’t hold the city, and you can’t hold Paragon. You can’t even beat us.’
‘It’s not too late, dear,’ said Carriwitch. ‘Perhaps you ought to surrender.’
‘Of course, if you desire a final blaze of glory, we’ll gladly provide.’ Adam beamed. ‘You’ve had a long day, Sophie. What say we put you to bed?’
Khaiovhe snarled, lifting her hands. A blast of Darkfire filled my vision, blotting out all light.
When it faded, the witch had vanished. The Nimas had been flung on their sides, gasping on the ashen roof tiles.
Adam and Carriwitch darted into the dormitory, round the bridges, and below the floating island. Several minutes passed as they scanned every possible hiding place.
But when they returned, they had found nothing.
‘Perhaps she’s hidden herself with magic,’ said Carriwitch. ‘Some spell that hasn’t crossed our minds.’
‘But that exhaustion looked real, sir,’ said Adam. ‘If we can’t find her, she probably fled.’
Aside from his mussed hair, the boy looked spry, healthy, like he’d just jumped out of bed. Wes’s mother had mentioned he had sustained permanent damage to his Pith, reflected in his body. He looked unscathed here, though.
Carriwitch scrunched his brow. Then he nodded. ‘I’ll deal with the fires. Tend to the students.’ He flew up towards the burning library building. A cloud of smoke swallowed him. And then he was gone.
A warm summer breeze blew over the rooftop, an unnatural quiet. Ori’s chest rose and fell, her eyes still closed.
‘So many dead,’ murmured Adam. ‘But the day is ours. Caimor is safe.’ He strode to the edge of the island, gazing down at the smoking city. ‘Khaiovhe slaughtered some of our best. She will return. But when she does, we shall be ready.’
The sky brightened. The morning sun crept over the ocean.
Then something plucked in my belly, and I cast my gaze over the rooftop.
‘Where’s Korin?’ I said.
Left-Nima pushed to her feet. Soot coated her forehead, and her eyes were bloodshot, glistening with tears. Right-Nima’s shirt was in tatters, covered in burn marks, and his hands shook. Smoke rose off his skin.
‘Korin!’ screamed Left-Nima, her voice half a rasp. ‘Korin!’
‘What happened to him?’ I said. ‘Where is he?’
‘She took him.’ Right-Nima coughed. ‘Khaiovhe bloody took him.’
the wind blew across the rooftop. Clouds passed over the sunrise, throwing Paragon into shadow. Adam stood at the edge of the island, the wind in his hair, and Ori lay next to us, groaning on the tiles.
‘What happened?’ asked Ana.
‘He saved me,’ said Nima, their cheeks coated with tears. ‘The witch flew straight at us in that black flash. Before I knew what was happening, he shoved me to the ground. The heat. Prophets, the heat.’ Left-Nima swallowed. ‘It felt like someone was pressing my cheek against a stovetop. And then she grabbed him.’ Right-Nima swallowed. ‘He’s burned. He’s burned, and she has him.’
Silence fell over the roof as the last of our hope died. Commonplace had tortured Korin once already, and now he was going straight back to Khaiovhe. Back to the nightmare.
‘Why?’ I said. ‘What makes him so valuable?’
Left-Nima squeezed her eyes shut, shivering. ‘Maybe she needs a bombmaker. Maybe she’s selling him back to that Shenti branch of Commonplace.’ Nima jammed bullets into her pistols and tossed Ana her butterfly knife. She must’ve grabbed it on the way down here. ‘But I don’t give a rat’s guts. I know where she’s going.’
I cracked my neck. Ana brushed the soot off her raincoat and set her jaw.
‘I used Copycat on Khaiovhe when she came for us,’ said Left-Nima, blinking rapidly. ‘A proper go this time. I copied her skills and fished some titbits from that shrivelled raisin in her skull.’ Their eyes burned. ‘Like her escape hatch if something went wrong. The witch’s submarine. The one Korin helped make. It’s parked in southern Lowtown.’
‘How do we rescue him, then?’ said Ana. ‘What’s the play?’
‘Chop off her toes.’ Right-Nima wiped away his tears. ‘Figured I’d start there and work my way up. When she came at us, she was wheezing like she was out of breath. And when she shot flames at us, she missed. Twice. If I’d had Voidsteel in my guns, I would have had her. She’s tired. She’s vulnerable. This is our only chance.’
Both of Nima’s bodies turned and sprinted down the roof. They jumped off the island, purple light swirling around them, as they struggled to slow their fall. The two bodies vanished in the dim twilight.
I scowled. ‘Forgive me if I’m wrong, but did we not just see that woman burn down half of Paragon? And us? They’re going to get themselves fried.’
‘Not if we help them,’ said Ana.
‘You saw my wings burn up.’ I gestured to a pile of ashes. ‘My backup as well. I may as well be naked.’
Ori groaned again on the ground, her eyes half open. She was in no shape to fight, and didn’t have a wingsuit.
Ana turned to Adam. The boy was scanning the rest of Paragon with binoculars, casting his gaze through the smoke and sticking his other hand in his pocket.
‘Adam.’ She swallowed. ‘We need your help.’
He ignored us.
‘Khaiovhe took our friend,’ said Ana. ‘She’s going to torture him. We don’t have wings, and aren’t strong enough to lower ourselves to the ground. More importantly, we don’t have Palefire. Please, sir. We need you.’
‘That sub’s probably gone already,’ said Adam. ‘And for all we know, that sand hornet of yours got it wrong again. I have students to see to.’
‘You said it yourself.’ Ana’s voice strained. ‘Reinforcements are coming. They can protect the students. And Khaiovhe has the Aeon Scroll. If she reads it—’ Ana swallowed.
‘Don’t worry yourself. I doubt she’ll be able to crack whatever’s inside. Regardless, the bitch might be tired, but she’s still got the strength to fight.’ He pointed to his sweaty clothes. ‘I, on the other hand, just flew hundreds of miles in two hours. I am one dull chat away from passing out in my pudding.’ He unclipped his pale wingsuit and tossed it at Ana’s feet. ‘He’s your friend, no? Godspeed, then. I wish you the best of luck.’ Without another word, he started to stroll away.
‘Please.’ Ana jogged after him. ‘If you ever saw potential in me. If you ever cared for me as your Grey Coat. Do you really want to feel me die on that tracer?’
Adam pinched her blue rainjacket. ‘No grey coat.’ His hand shone green, turning off his spell. ‘No tracer. Our relationship is over, Miss Gage. After what you did, consider yourself lucky I don’t burn you where you stand. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have heads to count.’
‘You’re the Son of Destiny.’ Ana knelt at his feet, clasping his hand. ‘You saved me once already. Please. You can—’
Adam slapped her. The back of his hand collided with her face like a sledgehammer. She slammed on to the roof, her cheek bleeding.
‘Not for a dog,’ said Adam. He looked down at Ana. ‘Not for a dog.’
I stepped forward, my vision going red, blood rushing in my ears. My hand reached into my pocket, clutching my silver playing cards. But before I drew close, Adam floated himself into the air, wiping his hand with a handkerchief. ‘Enjoy the pardon.’
And then he was gone, soaring into the darkness without a wingsuit. I didn’t have the strength to pursue him.
I ran over to Ana and helped her to her feet. She took priority.
‘We need to go after Korin.’ I looked at Adam’s wingsuit beside me. ‘That’s our ticket.’ With the controlled descent of those wings, I could steer myself to the ground and slow to a stop.
I walked over to take it, and Ana grabbed the other end.
‘What are you doing?’
Ana glanced behind her. ‘There’s only one wingsuit, and no time. So, one of us is flying down to rescue Korin. And one of us is staying to get Ori to a hospital.’ My replacement curled over on the ground, coughing and groaning.
I cursed silently. She’d figured it out, just like me. ‘You can’t fly,’ I said. ‘You can barely stand. If you fight Khaiovhe, you’ll die.’
‘I can do this,’ she said. ‘But what about you? You lost your sword, your wings. You’re exhausted. I have my illusions, and with that suit, I can make it to the ground and join up with Nima.’ Tears shone in her eyes. ‘Stay. Take the pardon. Live.’ She took a step forward, close enough for me to hear her breathing. ‘You can start again, live away from your mother, away from your old body. You can write the next page.’
I clenched my jaw. ‘Why are you always like this?’ I snapped.
‘Like what?’ Ana’s eyes narrowed.
‘Always the hero, always the bleeding lamb on the altar. It’s infuriating.’ My voice took on a hard edge. ‘Liars know liars, grey girl. You can’t beat Khaiovhe.’
‘No, I can’t.’ Ana swallowed. ‘But I’ll try, and if I’m lucky, Korin and Nima might just escape with a pulse. Think you can do better?’ She snorted. ‘What am I saying? Of course you do. You think you can do everything better. You think cruelty makes you smart, and you think being smart is the same as being right.’
She took another step closer, getting in my face. ‘I’m infuriating? From the moment you met me, all you’ve done is sneer. Cut his throat, grey girl. Don’t trust anyone, grey girl. Grow up, grey girl. It took you six months and a murder attempt just to call me by my first name.’ She shrugged, and her raincoat brushed my leg. ‘Maybe you spared me. Maybe you thought I was useful. And maybe some part of you wanted me too. But the fact remains: you despise me.’
I shook my head. ‘That’s not true.’
‘Lying is like blinking to you, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘Just admit it. You despise me.’ She raised her voice. ‘You despise me.’
‘I envy you!’ I shouted.
Silence.
The words were acid in my throat, but still, I spat them out again, one syllable after the next. ‘I envy you, Ana. I’ve always envied you.’
‘Why on earth would you envy me?’
‘You know who you are.’ I clenched the wingsuit until my hand ached. ‘It’s mad, how much you care about everything. Your identity, your body, your life. This rotten, empty world.’ I shook my head. ‘Seeing you like that, grey and weak and dying, with your head still held high? I wanted to take those stubborn eyes and grind them into the mud. Maybe I still want to.’ I swallowed. ‘But your eyes are beautiful.’
Ana held her breath, her hand trembling on the wingsuit.
My gaze dropped to my feet. ‘I’ve ruined so much for you. Please, let me do this one good thing.’
Ana’s lips parted. Slowly, agonisingly, her fingers let go of the wingsuit. She slid forward and hugged me. ‘Okay,’ she murmured. ‘Okay.’ Her warm skin pressed against mine. This was real. Rainbow Veil couldn’t mimic the sense of touch. She was really hugging me.
I let go of the wingsuit and held her, pressing her head to my chest.
‘Let’s find each other in the next life,’ murmured Ana. ‘When the world has turned and our names are long forgotten. Let’s be beautiful strangers. And after our first words, we’ll swear we’ve known each other an eternity.’
Time slowed to a crawl. I could feel her breath, flowing in and out of her lungs like waves on a beach. Her heartbeats thumped against my ribs, and I breathed in.
‘I’ll be waiting at the clock tower,’ she said. ‘Bring me a cup of cider.’
And then I noticed.
Anabelle Gage felt warm. Her heat soaked into me as she pressed her body against mine. I remembered every time she’d touched me this last year, and every time, her skin had been cold as a glacier. My heart jolted.
I pushed away from her, staggering back. Blood rushed in my ears. ‘No,’ I choked. ‘No.’
Ana patted her chest twice, the heartbeat salute. Then her image flickered, morphing. Her pale grey hair turned blonde. Her body stretched up, becoming taller, and her face narrowed. Her rough grey skin turned a smooth beige, and her peachy scent melted into something light and floral.
Ori stood before me. My replacement, her eyes lidded, her face covered in soot, leaning on her good leg. My own face, for the better part of my life. On the rooftop next to us, the pale wingsuit vanished, another illusion.
I’d been hugging Ori this whole time, not Ana. Which meant Ana was—
‘Gage!’ I roared. ‘Ana!’ I darted past Ori and sprinted to the edge of the rooftop, peering down the side of the floating island.
The grey girl fell through the twilight, arms flattened to her sides, wearing Adam’s pale wingsuit over her clothes. The dark city spread out beneath her, and the wind whipped her hair. Her left eye glowed blue through a curtain of smoke.
She’d tricked me. She’d used Rainbow Veil’s weakness to lull me into lowering my guard. That hug had made me let go of the suit, the perfect distraction while she put it on. And she’d woken up Ori under the cover of her illusions, transmitting her plan, her ultimate gambit.
A mage can always surprise you.
Ana gazed up. For a moment, our eyes met, a fraying thread holding up a mountain.
Then the thread snapped. She flipped over and spread her arms, stretching the fabric. The wind caught her like a sail.
And Anabelle Gage flew.
i flew.
Wind blasted into me, taking my breath away. A numbness spread over my skin. Just keeping my limbs straight made my muscles shake and my shoulders burn.
The slope of Mount Elwar rushed towards me. The green forests ringing the peak, the pale mansions and lush estates of Hightown, all growing larger in a blur. Far below, a red light glowed on a paved street, the crimson smoke of a flare. Nima’s bodies, spotting me in the sky, signalling so I’d know where to land.
I stretched my Pith into the wobbling sleeves of my shirt and steadied my motion, steering myself towards the light, wind screaming in my ears. It was a miracle I didn’t career into a spin, that I could control my descent at all. It felt like balancing on a tightrope, with nothing but my magic to keep me steady. A tightrope that was rocketing through the air, dropping towards the ground.
Elmidde spread out beneath me. Darkened streets, empty smokestacks and bright orange fires flickering all over. From this distance, the chaos looked oddly beautiful.
It hadn’t been easy, waking up Ori. I’d used my illusions to batter her mind with noise, and the pungent odour of smelling salts. When she’d woken, convincing her had been even harder. I’d had only seconds.
I lied to you, I told her. I’m not the girl you thought I was. But my friend is in danger. So please, help me save him. For him, for us, for me. I don’t have much time left.
I’d squeezed her hand one last time, before jumping off the edge of the island.
