Shadow City (34 page)

Out in the broad antechamber was a makeshift morgue. There were five tables holding sheet-covered bodies. Two of the sheets were folded back to reveal Xaphan and Tutresiel. The other three—

Alexander refused to acknowledge what his nose told him about their identities.

Tyler was standing at the foot of the tables holding the angels. Xaphan’s fire was out, and Tutresiel’s wings were a tarnished gray. Their skin was white marble, and their faces were slack, their crimson eyes closed.

“I did not think they could be killed this way,” Alexander said, standing beside Tyler. Sadness filled him. He had liked Xaphan. As for Tutresiel, the cocky bastard had been a thorn in his side, but he had been good for Horngate.

“They saved us,” Tyler said in a blank voice. “They wrapped themselves around the Fury. She used a lot of power breaking free. Because of it, the witches were able to deflect the worst of her leftover attacks. The Grims helped, too. They wandered out among us and somehow boosted the shields. I’ve got one now.”

Alexander became aware of the big Grim lying a few feet away and watching Tyler like he was dinner. It was an intense, possessive look.

“Fire caused the worst of the damage for you and Lise. For everybody else, it was the force of the blast and the rocks. The whole ravine exploded, and it was like a war zone. Missiles were flying everywhere.” He finally looked at Alexander, and there was a feral ring growing around the outer edge of his eye. “Niko’s gone.”

Alexander closed his eyes and let his head fall back, a knot growing in his throat. “Damn.” Grief filled his chest. He had counted Niko a friend. But to Tyler, he was a brother. And Max. He drew a breath and blew it out. This was going to cut her in ways he could not begin to think about. She was going to hate herself for not being there to protect him; she was going to hate Alexander for failing to keep him safe.

With stiff steps, Alexander went to the next body and peeled back the sheet. Niko lay there, his body charred, the left side of his head a pulpy mess. Gently, he pulled the sheet back up. “Mother of night, guard his soul,” he murmured.

The second body was Derek, a Sunspear. He was burned much the same as Niko, but there was a startled look on his face and no obvious wounds.

“He took a rock to the back,” Tyler said from the foot of the table. “Destroyed his spine. He was dead before he hit the ground.”

Next was Noah. He was dark-haired and quiet. One of the newer Shadowblades, less than two years old. He was burned, and his chest was caved in as if a boulder had landed on him. Alexander covered him again and turned away.

“What about everyone else? Thor? Oz? Tris said Giselle was all right.”

“All the civilians inside the mountain were protected. Thor and Oz are fine. Thor’s helping Giselle, and Oz and his Spears are out on cleanup.”

“What happened to the Fury?”

Tyler shook his head. “She’s gone. Just vanished. Giselle thinks she used up all her power and has to recharge. Or maybe she wasn’t ready to be born yet. She could come back, but Holt says she’ll probably start answering the voices of betrayal that she hears. She won’t be able to stop herself. Chances are, we’ll never see her again now that Alton’s dead. The Memory left, too. One minute she was there, and the next she was gone. The Grims stayed, though. The whole pack.”

That caught Alexander up short. “The whole pack? Why?”

“Guess they took a shine to the place.”

Tyler looked back at Niko’s shrouded body, his face contorting with emotion. His hands clenched. “Wasn’t supposed to happen to him,” he said, loss and pain leaching into his voice.

Alexander put a gentle hand on Tyler’s shoulder. He knew how he felt. There were no words that could make it better. Still, Tyler was teetering on the edge of going feral, and Alexander had no intention of letting him go over the edge. “Women everywhere will be weeping,” he said.

Tyler’s shoulders jerked with his sudden bark of laughter. “Won’t they? Damn, but they went after him like flies.”

“And why not? He was a legend in his own mind.”

“What’ll we do without him?” Tyler asked quietly.

Alexander squeezed his shoulder. “We go on. Like he would want us to.” He paused. “And possibly throw a parade. Maybe build a monument on the side of a mountain.”

Another laugh. Alexander could feel the other man’s Blade settling, pulling back from the edge of going feral.

“He deserved—” Tyler broke off, his mouth working, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Good
. Tears were good. “He was killed by a goddamned rock! There’s nothing to fight and nothing to do about it. He’s dead, and there’s not a damned thing we can do.”

“You can get on with the next job.”

Tyler spun around faster than Alexander at the sound of Max’s voice. She had come in from another corridor. Her face was ashen as she stared at the tables. Slowly, she stepped forward. She touched Tutresiel’s hair and brushed her knuckles over Xaphan’s cheek.

“What happened?” she asked in a strangled voice.

“Birth of a Fury,” Tyler said.

She stared at the table holding Niko, and silent sobs shook her frame. She gently drew the sheet back away from his face. “No, oh, Spirits, no,” she whispered. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Alexander wanted to comfort her, but there was nothing he could do. He and Tyler could only watch helplessly.

She pressed a kiss to Niko’s lips. “Damn you,” she said. “You weren’t supposed to
ever
die on me. You promised me I’d get to go first.”

She rested her head on his chest, and now the sobs escaped, loud and wrenching. Tris appeared in the far doorway, as did Holt and Valery and Flint, Maple, and Ivy. No one came any further. No one wanted to intrude.

Finally, it was Tyler who pulled her gently away, cradling her in his arms as she wept on his shoulder. He talked to her, words tumbling out of him. Alexander covered the body while Max gathered herself. It was what Tyler needed, too. The more he spoke to her, the more his Blade calmed.

Slowly, Max’s grief subsided, until Alexander could no longer contain himself. He took her from Tyler and pulled her close. She hugged him tightly for a long minute, then extracted herself and drew a long, steadying breath. Her eyes and nose were red, and her face was blotchy. He watched her visibly push her grief down and retreat into that cold place that allowed her to function when she was hurting terribly.

When she had herself under control, she looked at him. “I came for you. I need help.”

Fierce triumph and pride surged through him. “Of course.”

“Not so fast.” Giselle strode in. She was hashed with cuts, and there was a purple bruise spreading across her jaw. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a tight braid that hung down her back.

Max looked at her in shock. Alexander suppressed a smile. The last time Max had seen her witch, Giselle had been weak and emaciated. The backlash of power from Max’s broken bindings had boosted her health as nothing else could have. She was back to full strength.

Giselle came to a stop opposite Max. “That’s it? You run in and out when you feel like it and never stop in and mention you’re here?”

Max’s brows rose in mock surprise. “You gave me away. Why would you care if I was here or not? Besides, I’m not bound to
you
anymore.”

“If you aren’t bound to me, then you aren’t bound to Horngate, and you don’t belong here.”

“I belong here as much as you do. I just don’t happen to belong to
you,
” Max said. “Don’t forget it. Now we really are partners. You don’t get to
make
me obey you.”

Giselle snorted. “As if I ever could.”

Max’s smile was smug. “You tried real hard. Succeeded a lot, too.”

It was Giselle’s turned to shrug. “I did what I had to do.”

Neither sounded particularly angry, and Alexander did not get the impression that Giselle was intent on binding Max again. There was an edge to her voice, as if she was worried and even hurt.

“What are you doing here?” the witch asked.

“I came to get Alexander. I need some help.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

Max considered a moment, then glanced at Tyler, who was intent on the exchange. “There’s a group in Chadaré—that’s this weird city in the middle of the abyss—”

Giselle nodded. “I know of it.”

Max looked surprised a moment and then continued. “This group called the Korvad runs the city. Apparently, Scooter and them were founders of the place, and at some point they stole his heart, his silk, and his horn. Now he’s on the verge of dying. He’s blind and powerless, and I promised I’d help him get his parts back.”

That earned a gasp from Giselle and a rueful shake of the head from Tyler. Alexander was unsurprised. It would have been far more shocking if she had not promised to help. When she decided to commit to a friend, she did not go halfway.

“I got his heart back,” she continued, “but the only way to get the horn and the silk before he dies is to issue a challenge. My new buddy, Ilanion, is doing that now. He’s something like a mage. Or a god. Maybe a demigod.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Hell if I know. Anyway, I’m putting up Scooter and his heart against the horn and the silk. Winner takes all, including the opposing fighters. If I lose, I’m heading into an all-new slavery.” She slid a look at Alexander. “So are you, Slick. Be sure you want to help.”

“I am coming with you,” he said, and his voice left no room for argument.

She nodded as if expecting nothing else. His chest swelled at her trust. “You might want to put something on besides the blanket, though.” She turned back to Giselle. “I have no idea what I’ll be up against. Ilanion is going to let me use some of his people, but the Korvad gets to name the nature of the challenge and how many can fight on each side. We’re pretty sure that at least one mage-type will be in it.”

The witch said nothing. She walked away and stopped, staring at the far wall. Finally, she turned around. “I’m coming with you.”

Max’s jaw hit the floor. “What? No fucking way. Why?”

“I need you back. I don’t want you to die. And I got you into this mess. I owe you.” Giselle ticked the reasons off on her fingers. “You stand a better chance of winning with me than without me.”

“And leave Horngate without a witch if we fail?”

“We won’t fail. You don’t know how,” Giselle said with cool determination.

“I’m going with you, too,” Tyler said. He glared at Giselle, but she said nothing.

“I guess that means I’m going, too,” Oz said, entering from the doorway. Max started to object, but the look he turned on her was deadly cold. “My witch. I’m going with her.”

Max made an exasperated sound and tossed up her hands. “Anybody else want to come? You know I have to drag your asses through the abyss, and it isn’t exactly easy.”

“You’re strong,” Giselle murmured with the kind of smile that said she was spoiling for a fight and could not wait to get started.

All of them were. They needed to relieve their grief and fury from losing five lives. Alexander was no different.

“I’ll buy a ticket to the circus if there’s room for me,” Thor said, slouching into the room with those long, liquid strides of his.

“That’s enough,” Max said before anyone else could volunteer. “I can’t take everyone, and someone has to watch over Horngate until we get back.”

“You’re leaving again? What about us?”

Max flinched at the sound of Tris’s tart voice and looked across the room at her sister, who had her hands on her hips and a look on her face that reminded Alexander of Max in a stubborn, angry mood.

“I’ll be back.”

“Will you?” There was doubt and pain threading through the cutting accusation in her words. “You come back from the dead and drag us to this godforsaken place just to abandon us. You said it would be safe. Do you have any idea what happened? It was—” Her mouth pinched shut, and she swallowed. “Now you’re running off again,” she said finally, her voice softening with unshed tears.

Max faced Tris, the muscles in her jaw knotting. “Scooter needs me. He has no one else.”

Tris wrapped her arms around her stomach. “You said you could die.”

“I could. But I don’t plan to,” Max said. “I haven’t yet.”

Her sister thrust her chin out, her lips quivering. “See that you don’t. I’ve lived with that once. I don’t need to do it again. None of us do.” Tris spun on her heel and marched back into the Great Hall. Alexander could hear the sound of her crying.

Max swore under her breath, then shook herself. “Everybody get prepped. Then hit the dining commons and calorie-load.” She hesitated. “And thanks.”

Oz pulled her into a hug. “We’re family. Don’t forget it. We’ve lost too many today. We’re not about to lose you, too.” He stomped away without another word. The others followed until it was only Giselle, Max, and Alexander.

Giselle followed Max’s gaze to the five bodies. “I couldn’t protect them. I wasn’t fast enough.” Her words were bleak and harsh.

Max exchanged a look with her, and the two women nodded slowly at each other, then Giselle left.

“What was that about?” Alexander asked curiously.

“No one gets taken alive,” Max said softly. “We come home or die trying.” She looked at him. “Still want to come?”

“I sure as hell am not getting left behind,” he said.

He hooked his arm around her neck and pulled her to him, kissing her hard. He lifted his head. She smiled, and there was a darkness in her eyes. It would not soon go away. She had a lot of grieving to do.

She touched his face gently. “Thanks for not dying. I wouldn’t—” She swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t have liked that much. But now, it’s time to finish this for Scooter and come home for good. I’m going to get Scooter’s heart. See you in the dining commons.”

And with that, she melted away into nothing.