Court of Nightfall (13 page)

"We must talk about any changes you may be experiencing," Zorin said as he stirred the fire. "But first…" he reached for his backpack and pulled out a bag of something white.

"Marshmallows?" I stared in disbelief as he stuck one onto a stick, passed it to me, and prepared his own.

"One of the finer things in life."

"But we don't need food anymore," I said.

He grinned, his face looking younger, less warrior-like when he did. "Since when did anyone eat marshmallows for their nutritional content?" He held his over the fire, letting it turn a golden brown before plopping it into his mouth.

I did the same to mine, still eyeing him skeptically as I held it to my mouth. "This isn't going to be another trick, like the coffee, is it? I'm not sure I can bear it if you ruin marshmallows for me."

He laughed. "It's not a trick, I assure you."

I gingerly placed it in my mouth and bit down.

A delicious flavor spread through my mouth. The first actually yummy food I'd eaten since the night I'd been turned. I immediately grabbed another one and stuck it to my stick.

"Good, right?" He roasted another for himself. "You know, it wasn't until the mid 1900s that they figured out how to mass produce these. By Lilith, I was so happy that day."

I couldn't imagine living through so many changes in the world. Would that be me now? Ageless. Immortal. A witness to time but no longer a part of it? I focused back on my treat, unwilling to wrestle with greater existential conflicts just now. "I must admit, I'm grateful for more options than chugging Life Force all the time." I popped the second marshmallow in my mouth and set my stick down. "But I need to get back to training."

"Yes… and why is it that you are so determined to train with me? Last we spoke, the Orders were enough."

I hadn't told him anything and he hadn't pried, which I'd been grateful for. But he deserved to know the whole truth. "I was wrong about them," I confessed.

He leaned forward and set his own stick down. "Tell me." His eyes glowed in the firelight. "Tell me what they've done."

I thought I would censor myself, but when the words tumbled out of me, they came all at once and complete. I told him about Jax, about what happened to us and to him, and about my plans to rescue him.

He folded his hands together and stared into the fire a long moment before responding. "Have you considered, Scarlett, that Jax may not be on your side?"

"They're executing him," I said. "He's against the Orders as much as I am, maybe more."

"Let me tell you a story, Scarlett," he said, his voice taking on the timber of one accustomed to oral storytelling.

"Many years ago, while in Africa, I saw a tiger in a circus, caged, its right paw festering from a wound its masters had inflicted. The beast, once mighty, was left to die a slow death, for its masters intended to make as much money as possible. And I thought, 'This is not the way a creature should die, for we deserve a peaceful sleep, or at least, a quick end.' So one night, while the masters were all drunk after a night of performing, I forced open the cage door. But the tiger did not move. I spurred the beast on. 'Spend your last days in the jungle you once ruled,' I said. 'Spend your last days at home.' But the tiger did not move. I backed away, wondering if my presence was making the beast hesitant. But the tiger did not move. And I realized, the tiger was already home."

He paused, still holding his eyes on the flickering of light before him. "Too long had the beast lived in the cage of its masters. Too long had the beast played a part for another."

He looked up at me then, with kind eyes that had seen too much in a very long life. "Are you certain that Jax still longs for the jungle? Are you certain that Jax is not already home?"

"I will not let him die," I said. "And once we rescue him, he will join us."

"Very well. I shall help you," Zorin said, though I still saw doubt in his eyes. "Now, you need to get these rebels you spoke of to lend aid."

"I will," I assured him. I was still waiting to hear back. I'd sent another message before leaving to meet Zorin.

"And if you can't, you may have other assets," he said. "Besides flying, have you noticed any other abilities emerge since your transformation?"

"Yes," I admitted. "When I touch people, sometimes I can become them, as if I'm in their mind. Sometimes it lasts a while. Sometimes it's more brief, like I'm telling them to do something, only it feels more like I'm telling a part of myself to do something."

He whistled under his breath and gave me a more appraising look. "That is a rare ability."

"It doesn't always work. I can't always… flip into someone."

"Flip?"

"It's just what I call it. Once, I couldn't do it because I was weak and hungry. That's when I first fed. My ability worked after. But then later, I tried to flip into the same person, and I couldn't, even though I had the strength."

"Have you considered that you may only be able to… flip… into the same person once?"

I thought about it and considered everyone I'd used my power on. Ragathon was the only one I ever tried to control more than once. "That actually makes sense. I'll have to test that theory when I have time."

He nodded. "Every gift has limits. But, this is very powerful indeed. If you can turn—or flip—enough people to our side, we may not need the rebels."

I shook my head. "No. I've never controlled more than one person at once, and never for long."

He nodded in understanding. "With some training you might be able to expand your powers, but that will take more time than we have at the moment. Have you noticed any other abilities?"

"No."

"You may manifest them. You may not."

"Summoning memories is your ability?" I asked.

"Yes."

"But if we're all Nephilim, why can we do different things?"

"Do you want my theory, or that of the priests?"

"Yours." I decided to make another marshmallow while we talked, since we obviously weren't training again anytime soon.

"If Nephilim are all descended from Angels and humans, or if turned, have both Angel and human blood, then we are only part Angel. Like all half-breeds or mutts, we possess a propensity for variation. Some of us inherit more Angel traits than others."

I considered what he said. "So an Angel would have both of our abilities."

"More," he said, throwing another stick into the fire while I ate my marshmallow.

"Is that how you knew that what attacked me was an Angel? Because of its abilities?"

"There are two kinds of Nephilim," Zorin said. "Those who are born, and those who are turned. Those who are born have wings of gold and white and red, and though they gain power from blood, they do not require it to live. Those who are turned have wings of blue, purple, silver and black, and without life force, they wither away."

I looked at his blue-black wings and my silver. We were both turned.

He continued. "The two kinds are named after the colors of their wings. Those who are born are said to be Of Sunrise, and those turned to be Of Nightfall."

I moved my wings, letting a few tendrils curl around my hand as I watched them. They could almost look white, in the right light, but I could see the silver hue surrounding them. "So we are both Of Nightfall."

Zorin nodded. "The Angel was of neither. He had wings of gold and purple mixed with white."

I'd been colorblind when I first saw the Angel. I'd relied on Evie, who had focused on the gold, but I hadn't focused on the color of the Angel's wings.

Zorin stirred the fire again, its flames flaring up and sending sparks into the cool night air. "If your plan is to work, you will need a weapon."

I smiled, though it was a bittersweet smile. "I know just where to get one…" With a flap of my wings I was airborne and heading back to Montana.

Zorin caught up quickly, laughter in his voice as he flew by my side. "You are an impulsive one, aren't you?"

"I prefer
decisive
," I said, picking up speed until we blurred through the sky faster than an airplane.

I thought I'd freeze, but my new body was made for the skies, for flight, for all temperatures, and all I felt was freedom.

I landed just outside my house, a few feet from the entrance to the bunker. I pulled the bunker door open, wondering who had closed it, and Zorin followed me in.

Ignoring the swell of emotion as I remembered my last time here, I went to my mother's case. My genetics were close enough, my dad has said.

I placed my hand in the key and it came to life, revealing gleaming silver armor and a sword.

I stayed at my house that night again, unwilling to return to Castle V until I was prepared to rescue Jax. Trix, The Shadow of Rome herself, had contacted me and we agreed to meet at the Cathedral at noon. With time on my hands until then, I studied my mother's armor and made some modifications that would help me in my role as N.

After a few hours, I admired my work. The armor gleamed, no longer just silver, but black, like the night. I kept a few subtle silver accents where the tree of life remained carved into the chest plate.  At a certain angle, the silver reflected the moonlight, like tiny stars at midnight.

The leggings and chest plate had been imbued with Angel technology that gave them the flexibility of fabric but more impenetrability than steel. It fit like it had been made for me.

I modified the half-mask, which covered the top of my face, connecting it with my e-Glass so that I could keep my identity secret, but still stay in communication.

My final plan involved sending Zorin out for an Easy-Dye kit.

"You want a what?" he asked, his face a comic display of dismay.

"An Easy-Dye kit. They're relatively new and they allow people to instantly change their hair color with the touch of a small button you wear behind your ear. I need one to disguise myself when I meet with the rebels. They can't know who I am, especially if I ever need to return to Castle V as Scarlett."

He paced my living room, filling it like a god of old. "And why can't you get this yourself?"

"One, because I have no money and they are ridiculously expensive. And two, because I have to finish getting ready for my meeting."

He glared at me. "So now I'm to be your errand boy?"

I grinned. "It will make you useful."

He mumbled a few choice words before flying out the door. It didn't take him long to return, bag in hand with my new hair kit.

"Thank you. Want to see the magic?"

He rolled his eyes. "Sure."

I installed the tiny metal sphere into my e-Glass and put it on, then tapped it twice as per the directions. Instantly my hair turned black. "Voila!"

His eyes widened. "That is actually impressive. And while I prefer your pale hair, you look very nice this way as well."

His words made me a little giddy. "Thanks."

I admired myself in the mirror when Evie beeped at me. "You have just enough time to get to your appointment, Scarlett," she said in my ear.

"It's show time," I told Zorin as I pulled on my mother's armor and became someone else.

***

Zorin and I arrived first. We kept our wings hidden and wore black cloaks with hoods. We claimed a spot in the dusty belly of the Cathedral on old pews that hadn't been completely ruined by the war. "If we're going to use this as our base, we need to clean it up," I told him.

He wiped away an inch of dust from the wooden bench before sitting down. "Agreed," he said. Zorin didn't wear full armor like me, but he did wear a mask to disguise his face. Better we weren't easily identified at this point in the trust game.

Trix arrived with T.R. We'd both agreed to only bring one other with us.

She looked around, her cropped red hair flipping against her cheek as she spun her head. "Classy. Did the maid quit?"

I laughed. "Good help is so hard to find," I said with the same light tone as her.

T.R. just grunted. I'd only seen him once, briefly in the crowd with a hoodie on. Now I could see all of his features, his light hair shorn high and tight, his blue eyes that glared at me with mistrust. "Can we get this meeting started?"

I gestured for them to sit, which they did, but T.R. eyed me suspiciously. "Why are you two wearing masks? You've seen our faces. We should see yours."

"Maybe she's someone we'd recognize," Trix suggested.

"I'm not one of you," I said. "Neither of us are. And I won't have our identities compromised if one of you is captured."

"My guys would never break," T.R. said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We all break," said Trix, more moderately. I liked her.

"You didn't tell them anything," he said, his voice less caustic with her. More… loving. Interesting.

"Nothing important," she said with a shudder. "But people have different priorities. N's right. Someone might give out her identity if they didn't value it. And like she said, she's not one of us. So why would we value her?"

"My plan will strategically benefit you," I said, tired of being talked about as if I weren't there.

"How exactly?" asked T.R.

I spoke quietly into Evie and she projected onto a blank wall the video I cued up. It was images of Jax. "This is Sir Jaxton Lux, a high-ranking Knight of the Teutonic Order, sentenced to death for executing deserters."

"I heard they were Officers," T.R. said.

"They were killing innocents, claiming they were killing rebels. Sir Lux ordered them to stop. When they refused, he stripped them of their rank. When they refused again, he executed them."

"Saw this on the city camera's, did you?" asked Trix with a smirk.

I nodded.

I could see the outrage forming on T.R.'s face. "Bastards are saying he just murdered them…"

"So what's the plan, N?" Trix asked.

"We rescue Sir Lux."

T.R. jumped up from the bench, hands fisted. "Are you crazy? After what just happened, the whole city is a fortress. We'll never get close to him, not to mention get out."

I stood and faced him. "Tell me, T. R., did I or did I not secure The Shadow of Rome's escape?"

He scrunched his face. "Yeah, but—"

"And they were waiting for you," I reminded him. "This time, we'll be the ones to surprise them. This time, there will be no casualties, I promise you."

"There's no way you can promise that," he said.

I smiled. "I do. No one will die. Not even the Inquisition."

His mouth fell open for a moment, and he snapped it shut.  "And what do we get from this? A chance to play your puppets?"

I shook my head calmly, pulling in all my anxiety and fear that they would say no. "Sir Lux is a powerful Zenith. I witnessed his abilities when he executed the deserters. After his rescue, I will convince him to join your ranks. It'll be a huge public blow to the Orders, having one of their own join the rebels."

"And what if he doesn't want to join?" asked Trix, crossing her legs casually. She stayed cool and collected where T.R. was all fire. I'd have to remember that.

"He will. He'll have no other options." I would do whatever I could to make him. That I vowed.

T.R. was not impressed, based on his scowl, but Trix nodded more thoughtfully. "It's a good idea, N. You want to strengthen us once again, but why? I'd say you know this Lux fellow, but that wouldn't explain why you helped rescue me."

"My reasons are my own," I said.

"I get the privacy," she stood as well, but Zorin stayed to the side, silent and imposing. "We all have reasons of our own, and not just the fighting for equal rights stuff. Sure that's important, but we've all lost things, people. Something deeper drives us. And, I want to know, what drives you N? Because then, maybe we could trust you."

They both looked to me for answers I couldn't give them. "I've already helped you. Isn't that enough?"

"It's a start," she said. "But you could still be part of the Inquisition. This could still be some Inquisition scheme to gain our trust. So, I ask you again, N. What drives you?"

I couldn't tell them the whole truth, but I had one last move up my sleeve. "You're right. We've all lost things." I leaned down on one knee and drew the first half of the Nephilim symbol. A symbol of trust.

I saw the recognition in T.R.'s eyes as Trix knelt next to me and completed the symbol. She looked at me with awe on her face and whispered, "You believe they'll return?"

"No," I said, dropping my cloak to the ground as a warmth spread through my back and I unleashed the silver glow of my wings in all their glory. "I believe they already have."