Rise of the Sparrows (Relics of Ar'Zac #1) (16 page)

“Are you ready?”

Rachael barely made out the dark hooded figure ahead of her, which had just come to a stop.

Drenched from the heavy downpour and struggling to see in the harsh light from the oil lamp, she walked up next to Cale. Darkness had always provided a sense of safety for her, but now the lack of light made it difficult to move forward in the unfamiliar surroundings. The heavy rain nearly blinded her and, despite her protests, Cale had led her by her hand for most of the trip. They couldn’t stop anywhere for long or else a guard on patrol might spot their silhouettes in the shadows. Dreadful as this weather was in the dark of night, it provided perfect cover. Cale pulling her onwards had been the best solution, whether she liked it or not.

Two days after their conversation he had told her it was time, and to be ready. She thought that she had been prepared, but now that they were here her mind was racing. Behind that door were the people who had invested all their hopes for their future in her—all that blind faith, all the unjustified belief. What was she supposed to say to them? There was nothing she could offer but the truth, and they’d drop her in an instant when they learned that they had the wrong girl. Cale had assured her that they wouldn’t abandon her so quickly, but she found that hard to believe. Since she had left Blackrock a lot of strange things she hadn’t thought possible had happened, but blind faith wasn’t meant to last past betrayal.

It was impossible to tell how long they had walked for. She wasn’t familiar with her surroundings and couldn’t judge time by the distance between buildings. Since they had left the forest and taken the main road through the gates and into the city walls she had been on edge, seeing every movement in the shadows as a potential threat. They'd been safe so far, but she didn’t trust this place which had sent armed soldiers after her. Even though the Sparrows' safe house was just within the city walls the trip there had been slow going. It could be a new day, for all she knew.

Now that they were finally at the Sparrows’ hideout Rachael's clothes were soaked, her mind on edge. The cold rain had dampened her skin through the thin fabric, making her shiver.

“I’m fine. Let’s go.” She was nervous to meet the people who held her in such high regard. One month ago they had arrived at Cale's house. One month ago, Ailis had started her lessons. That she was still unable to find the source of her magic inside herself was frustrating but it came as no surprise to her. Ailis assured her that if she kept trying, she would find it eventually. Rachael wasn't sure that there was anything for her to find.

“Remember, I'll be right here with you if it becomes too much. We can leave at any time” Cale said, giving her a reassuring smile. His warning that they were excitable came to mind, and she wondered just how bad it could be. These were all grown-up people who had seen their friends die. They were people who had been hunted for their beliefs, or for having magic. Little children were excitable, screaming and bouncing when they received new toys. She struggled to picture a group of adults acting in the same way—because of her, no less.

He knocked on the door in a strange sequence Rachael knew she wouldn’t remember, and smiled as the door opened barely wide enough for the smallest sliver of light to leak into the night.

She heard a gasp from the other side, moments before the door flew open and a young man threw his arms around Cale.

“You made it!” The man pulled away, grinning broadly as he gave Cale a once-over. “We were worried that something had happened when it was getting later.” Satisfied that his friend wasn’t hurt, the man turned his attention to Rachael. “You must be her. Rachael? It's so good to finally meet you in person, Cale hasn't stopped talking about you since he got back! Come on in. The others are waiting.” Feeling a little overwhelmed already, Rachael followed Cale inside and waited as he shut the door behind her. Cale had been right. If the others were anything like this man, then
excitable
was a good description.

Rachael stayed close behind Cale as they walked through a faintly lit corridor, while Cale's friend filled him in about everything that had happened since the last time Cale had stopped by. He didn’t seem to need to breathe, and Rachael stopped paying attention to him.

The building had looked old and abandoned from the outside, with barred windows and moss growing on the walls. On the inside it didn’t look much better. The staircase didn’t look safe with holes in several steps, and some of the doors were either hanging off their hinges or had been taken off completely. The floorboards creaked with every step, and the smell of mould and rot filled the atmosphere.

It was easy to see why the White Guard hadn’t searched this place. Apart from a lack of dust it looked like it hadn’t been lived in for years.

“Everyone, Cale is here!” The man opened a wide oak door to a bright chamber, his voice nearly failing with his excitement. “He brought the Sparrow!” Sudden cheering from the other side told her that the room was filled to capacity. Cale gave her a wide smile, and led her inside.

“Remember” he said as they entered, leaning into her so his friend wouldn’t hear. “We can leave any time if this becomes too much.” His words barely registering with her as she tried to stay calm, she nodded.

Every corner of the room was stuffed with people, and every last one of them greeted her with a smile wider than the last, and joyous cheers. They looked like they had come from all backgrounds across all ages, men and women alike. Some of them looked barely older than Cephy but there were no children in the room that Rachael could see. Some of their heads were greying, their faces marked with deep wrinkles and the spark of wisdom only a long life could bring. Most of the clothes looked worn and patched by hand where hard work had torn the fabric, but others were of finer materials and adorned with lace stitching and even some jewelery. All of them stood together, their social standing no longer important. Cale had given them a cause to unite under. Whether they were from noble families or farmers didn't matter.

There must have been fifty or more people in the room, and all their eyes were fixated on Rachael.

She'd never felt this immediately accepted or loved in her entire life. The trust these people had in her was overwhelming, and her stomach sank. How could she tell these people that she wasn’t able to help them? She had expected them to be upset, depressed, beaten and mourning their fallen friends. Instead, they were celebrating. Because she was here.

“Rachael, these are the Sparrows. My family.” As if Cale had given them a secret signal, everyone got up at once, forming a circle around them which was buzzing with whispers and names. Everyone seemed to be talking at the same time, filling the room with an impossible to understand chatter. “Calm down!” Just like that their chatter died down, but it did nothing to their wide smiles.

Cale gave her a soft nudge, asking her to speak.

Instead of getting the words out, her throat closed up. She had never addressed this many people before, let alone people who wanted to hear what she had to say. People who had so much riding on her. What was she supposed to say? Should she have prepared a speech?

“It's all right.” He took her hand to comfort her, but she pulled away. She could do this. She wasn’t a helpless child who couldn’t stand on her own feet. She just needed to find her balance, and she couldn’t do that if he steadied her. “They just want to know it's really you. Tell them you're okay.”

Rachael took a deep breath in. “I...” Should she tell them that she could not help? Her name? How old she was, maybe? She had never felt so out of place anywhere. Blackrock’s streets had been cruel, but they had been familiar. This, here, was overwhelming. “I'm Rachael, and Cale seems to think that I can help you somehow.” She could clearly hear the shuffles of feet as everyone moved a little closer together. Deciding that the least she could give Cale in return for his hospitality was honesty, she braced herself. “But I can't. I'm not this Sparrow you think I am. I can't control my dreams. I've only had one since Cale found us and it was useless.” For all she knew it had been a normal dream, but she felt like she needed to give them something, even if it wasn’t much. “I can't control any other magic, like some of you can. I can't move anything with my mind or set fire to things. Cephy is the one who-” Cale gave her a painful nudge, urging her to stop.

Her hands shaking, Rachael turned around to leave since they all knew the truth about her now, but found herself faced with an impenetrable wall of people. No one moved aside for her to pass. Every last Sparrow still looked as hopeful as they had done before.

“Didn't you hear me? I'm useless to you!”

The silence in the room was deafening. Finally, a young woman with hair like fire near the front of the barricade spoke up.

“We know you can't control your magic. Cale told us you're struggling with it.”

Rachael couldn’t believe what she heard. What were these people doing, risking their lives on suicide missions knowing that Rachael was of no help to them? Had they all lost their minds in this war?

“Then what do you want from me?”

“We know you'll find a way, somehow.” The woman with red hair reached out for her through the crowd, and gave her hand a brief squeeze before smiling and stepping back again.

“Yeah, if prophecy says so we believe that you will!” Their offers of support and encouragement seemed to come from everywhere at once as people spoke up.

It was hopeless. Prophecy had been wrong. Why couldn’t they accept that? Whoever had created this nonsense about her bringing in a new age of freedom for the gifted had had lost his mind himself, and now, thousands of years later, she suffered from his insanity.

She sighed, frustrated with their continued support for her “But I can't! Don't you understand? I can't kill the king! We can't even get close to him! You're out there every day, losing your lives for some future foretold by someone who lived in completely different times, and for what? Because prophecy says I'll kill King Aeric? I have no idea how to kill him! I don't even know how you think we can get past his guards!”

She watched as the faces around her fell into stunned shock. Even Cale next to her had gone limp.

“You'll have to find someone else who knows how to do this.” Their belief in her had been nice while it had lasted, but like everything else it had finally faded. People were like that. They pledged their undying love for you in one minute, and changed their mind in the next. As it turned out, unshakable faith could be shaken quite easily as long as she was honest with people.

Slowly, the crowd around her loosened. Relieved that she could finally find a dark alley again and get back to her old life, she began to walk.

Cale took hold of her hand the moment her foot had left the floor.

“Don't worry about any of that. We're your diversion. If you can't control your magic by the time we make our move, then so be it.”

“But you can't-”

“We can, and we will. You may not believe in this prophecy, but we do. There were countless times when we thought prophecy was wrong, too. But here we are, and we're not ready to give up just yet no matter what you say. With or without you, we will retake the White City. Maker, we will retake all of Rifarne! It's true that we want you to do this with us. Without you we might not stand a chance, but if we don't do anything we've already lost. It would be an insult to our fallen friends if we gave up now.”

Rachael blinked away tears. How could he still believe in her when she could not believe in herself? After everything she had said? Worse than that, the Sparrows around her looked more determined than ever.

The same woman as before stepped forward, her red hair glowing like fire in the dim light of the oil lamps.

“It doesn't matter that you don't know what to do. That's what we're here for. We have war specialists among us, and strategists.” Gently, she placed one hand on Rachael's shoulder. “We know of your background. We know how you grew up, and where, and how the townspeople treated you. Many of us have similar backgrounds. There is not one person here who doesn't understand how you feel, how hard it is to believe in yourself. We're here for that, too. We believe in you when you can't find a reason to.” An agreeing murmur spread through the room, several other people stepped up to give her a reassuring pat. All Rachael could do was nod, desperate not to let them see how affected by their words she really was.

“I'm sorry. I should have told you how much they knew, but I wanted them to see you for you.”

They hadn’t said a word on the way back, until now. Rachael needed time to process everything the Sparrows had told her, their seemingly never-ending confidence in her, and Cale gave her the space she needed. She wanted him to stay back a little but knew he wouldn’t agree to that, not until they were back at the cabin, and she'd accepted his silence instead.

The rain had stopped, and the pale light of the moon reflected off the wet cobblestone. Now that they no longer had the cover of heavy rain, they would be easy to spot for any guard patrolling tonight. Rachael couldn't argue against caution, and she stayed close.

“That makes no sense.” They had stayed for another hour after everyone had sworn their loyalty to Rachael. Kiana, the young woman who had spoken up first, had talked to her the most, but everyone had tried to get a few words with her. All of them had introduced themselves, but she knew she’d never remember all their names. She still wasn’t over their strong belief in her, but she wanted to try. With or without magic, she'd try—although she didn’t know what she could achieve without its help.