Sunrise(Pact Arcanum 2) (26 page)

“Home.”

“When the time comes, try to remember that I offered you a choice.”

Nick looked at him stolidly, saying nothing before jumping away.

Rory turned back toward the red eastern sky and held his temper in check for almost ten seconds. Then, with a scream of rage, he punched the crenellated wall in front of him. The merlon he struck disintegrated in a spray of gravel, and a six-foot section of the thick stone wall shattered into fragments, raining rubble down on the roof of the level below him. He stepped carefully to the side, avoiding the pool of blood and broken glass from the destroyed bottle of Tiamat. Turning, he slumped against an intact section of the battlements, sliding down until he was sitting on the stone floor. “I can’t see you and I can’t feel you, but I know you’re there, Take.” His voice was ragged. “You’re always there.”

The air shimmered in front of him and Takeshi appeared. His short black hair was flecked with ashes, and his gray combat armor was scarred and burned from the battle. His katana was slung over his back, and the matching wakizashi hung from his belt. Take walked over to Rory and sat down beside him, pushing his katana out of the way as he leaned against the tightly mortared stone.

They sat in silence for several minutes before Rory spoke. “How long have you been watching?”

“About an hour. Since Ana linked with you and told you Nick was coming. I stayed behind when you cleared the High Tower and followed you up here.”

“You listened in on Ana’s link?” Rory sighed. “I forgot you could do that. It’s been so long since we functioned like a real triad.”

“We are a real triad, Rory,” the Sentinel said quietly, turning his eyes to Rory. “You’re still one of us.”

“No, I’m not.” Rory tilted his head back against the cold stone and closed his eyes. “We still work together, but you guys are a dyad in everything but name. I haven’t been part of your team since Jiao-long. Ana knows it, and I know it. Why don’t you just admit it, too?”

“You did try to kill us both.”

“Not to put too fine a point on it, but actually I succeeded in killing you both.”

“You brought us back.”

“Maybe that was a mistake, Takeshi.” Rory opened his eyes, staring up at the stars. “You could both have been safe and happy with the Light. I dragged you back down here out of guilt.”

“You would have been alone: a freak of magic, half Sentinel, half Nightwalker. You wouldn’t have had any chance at completing the Great Work on your own. The price of the Grace would have bound you to a life in the darkness forever, unable to die or find any peace until the end of time.”

“Ana hasn’t forgiven me for what I did that night. Why do you?”

“Because I love you.” Take’s tone was matter-of-fact. “I will always love you, no matter what you’ve done. Nothing will change that.”

Rory clenched his jaw defiantly and refused to look at him. “I don’t love you anymore, Take. Find someone else.”

Take shook his head. “Stop lying, Rory. You don’t do it very well.”

“Mortals are so stubborn.”

“There’s no need to be racist about it.”

“Sorry.” Rory idly picked out the fading constellations as they stars disappeared against the rising light. “Take, please just let it go. It’s too dangerous for us to be together. I killed you once; I might kill you again. There’s no evidence that the Grace will work twice. Next time, I might not be able to bring you back.”

“I’ll take that risk.”

“Well, I won’t.”

Take let his gaze drop to the burned stone of the roof. “Would you rather be with Nick?”

WHAT?
Rory snapped his head down, focusing his full attention on Take. “Don’t you dare ask me that! You don’t have any right.”

“He’s more than a match for your mystical strength.” Take persisted. “And he holds equivalent blood rank. He’s your equal in every way, and he’s not mortal anymore. You could spend eternity together.”

“I’m not discussing this with you,” said Rory, his voice clipped. “God, Take, where do you get off? He just died, for Christ’s sake.”

“I’ve watched you around him for months, ever since the two of you got to be friends.” Takeshi sounded tired, wistful. “The life came back into your eyes, and I had to accept that he put it there. You were happy for the first time since Jiao-long. I saw the way you stopped dwelling on the past and started to look forward to his every visit, every phone call, every letter.”

“And look where it got him,” yelled Rory, scrambling to his feet, fists clenched in fury.

“Rory, I know you’re in love with him.” Take looked up to meet his eyes, defeated. “You look at him the way you used to look at me.”

Rory’s shoulders stiffened and all the fight went out of him.
Oh, my God.
The memories of the last few months crashed into his conscious mind. He saw the anticipation, the eagerness that had guided his steps from the moment he had returned from the Christmas party in such high spirits.
No. It can’t be! Not when I’ve just lost him.
“I … I don’t know.” Despair crashed down on him as he finally admitted to himself what had been so obvious to Take. “It doesn’t matter now. Nothing matters.”

Take stood. “Does he mean that much to you?” He put his hands on Rory’s shoulders.

“He’s everything,” whispered Rory, still caught up in his sudden self-awareness.
How could I not have realized?
His tears left bloody tracks down his face. “He’s the only one who looked at me and just saw Rory, not the Traveler. He never knew what I was, but that tiny bit of human connection was so precious to me—even if it was built on lies. It was the only thing I had left, and Luscian took him from me.” More tears fell, faster now, as he wept openly. “Now, he looks at me and sees just another monster.”

Take wrapped his arms around Rory. “He’ll forgive you. Just as I forgive you.”

Hesitantly, Rory returned Take’s embrace—the most intimate contact the vampire had allowed himself in years. “I love you, Take. No matter how I feel about Nick, I will never stop loving you any less.”

“I have stood by you through life and death and life again, Rory,” Take said with quiet intensity, his emotions blazing hot to Rory’s vampire senses. “Trust in me. I will never leave you as long as I’m alive. Give us another chance. After everything we’ve been through together, all the darkness and the horror, don’t we deserve a little happiness?”

Carefully disengaging himself from Takeshi’s embrace, Rory pulled away, out of the circle of his friend’s arms.
I can’t do this. Not now.
“You’re never going to let go, are you?” asked Rory.

“No,” answered Take, reluctantly releasing him. His normally sonorous voice turned surly. “Never.”

“Sun’s coming up.” Rory glanced at the eastern sky, making it clear that he wanted to drop the conversation..

With a sigh that made it apparent he understood perfectly, Take followed his gaze. “You should get inside.”

Rory didn’t move, continuing to stare at the horizon.
Come and get me.

“Rory?” Take asked, his voice tinged with concern. “What are you doing?”

A glacial calm descended on him. “I’m going to watch.”

Darting forward, Take tried to grab him, but Rory slapped a wall of hardened air in his way. “Rory, don’t do this again.” Take’s fingers scrabbled at the telekinetic shield. “Please. It won’t help.”

Rory nodded, completely at ease. “I know.”

A finger of brilliant orange light slipped above the horizon, illuminating the castle. Rory staggered back, his eyes boiling in their sockets. The Nightwalker’s fangs extended as he lost control, his exposed skin charring almost immediately.

The wall of air splintered around him. Leaping forward, Take tackled the vampire to the stone floor and created a shroud of invisibility, bending the light around them. In the near-total darkness, he cradled Rory’s body against him while the vampire shuddered in agony.

“Damn it, Rory, you know it won’t work. The angel told you that you wouldn’t be able to die until the Great Work was complete. You always regenerate, no matter what. Why do you keep trying?”

Rory drew a raspy breath. “To convince myself that I’m still alive. That I can feel something … even if it’s just pain.”

“Can you feel this?” Gently brushing the ash off Rory’s lips, Take leaned down and kissed him.

After a moment of surprise, Rory returned the kiss, his tongue pressing insistently against Take’s lips. Take opened his mouth and let him in, then, quite deliberately, sliced the side of his own tongue on Rory’s razor-sharp fangs. At the taste of blood, Rory grew more aggressive, rolling on top of Takeshi. He broke away from Take’s kiss, his eyes meeting the Sentinel’s in challenge. “Is this really what you want?” he hissed. “To fuck me under a cover of darkness?”

“Yes,” Take whispered. He reached up and stroked Rory’s cheek. “Anything it takes to be with you.”

Rory leaned down until his lips met the throbbing pulse of Take’s jugular vein. “The first time, I fed until your heart stopped. Are you so ready to die again?”

“Please,” Take begged, in one last desperate attempt to bridge the gulf between them. “Don’t push me away again.”

“You’re a fool, Take.” Rory kissed him gently, then pulled back. “And I’m a fool for letting you believe in me.” Shifting his head, he bit down hard, driving his fangs into the flesh of the Sentinel’s neck.

The blood magic flared, bridging the space between them more strongly than any psychic link. Take gave him the memories of his love and despair on the night they first confessed their feelings for each other after Rory was turned, the desolation he had felt the entire time they were apart, the hopeless desire so long unsated. In return, Rory shared the agony of his own love, the grotesque hunger for Take’s mortal blood, the grief he felt upon killing the Sentinel, and the need for him that had driven Rory to ask the higher powers for the strength to reverse his actions. Take’s heart raced as Rory slowly drew his fangs out of the Sentinel’s neck, healing the damaged tissue as he went. When he lifted his head, the skin was whole and unbroken.

“Do you still want me?” Rory whispered, as he gazed into Takeshi’s eyes.

Unable to breathe, Take finally forced his lips to move, shaping the word he wanted to say. “Always.”

Rory grinned the playful smile he hadn’t used for years, and unlocked the buckles on the Sentinel’s armor. “Then I’m yours.”

CHAPTER 32

July 2033; Court of Shadows Council Chamber Complex, Alexandria, Egypt

The Magisters shouted back and forth across the underground amphitheater of the Council Chamber, their voices bouncing off the great dome overhead, where the rune and serpent seal of the Court of Shadows was inlaid in brilliant tesserae. Finally, Aleksei stood from his seat and strode to the Challenger’s lectern.

He slammed his fist down on the spellworked steel of the lectern, feeling it shudder beneath the blow. The loud ring of tortured metal cut through the arguments and the other Magisters quieted as Aleksei addressed the Night’s Herald, the leader of the Court’s security and intelligence services. She stood calmly at the Champion’s podium, on the other side of the circle of human blood marked out on the fine white sand of the amphitheater floor.

“Are you certain of this information, Herald?” Aleksei asked in a low growl.

“Yes, my Lord. Castle Night has fallen to the Triumvirate. Every member of House Luscian we know of, whether or not engaged in the battle, died simultaneously, all across the world.”

Aleksei contemplated her with narrowed eyes. “And the Eldest?”

She drew herself up to her full height. “From what we can ascertain from our spies within the Armistice Zone, the Triumvirate claims that the Eldest is dead.”

Aleksei pounded on the lectern again to forestall the rising yells of outrage. “Were your spies able to determine how the Triumvirate accomplished this?”

“The Traveler used his magic to strike at the bloodline. There were no survivors, other than the Eldest. Shadowhunter killed the Eldest’s physical form, and it is said that Luscian perished then. Officially, House Luscian is dead.”

Aleksei nodded. “Then we must choose another to lead us, one who will avenge this slight to our honor.”

“And just who would you choose to lead us, Aleksei?” Brion Magister Diluthical called from the upper levels of the amphitheater, his words laced with sarcasm.

The shouts and recriminations began again. Aleksei walked toward the Champion’s podium, drawing a shield of air around them for privacy and walling out the arguments breaking out all around them. He faced the Night’s Herald squarely. His words were clear in the pristine silence. “You said House Luscian was dead officially. And unofficially?”

Her fangs flashed. “There are rumors of a single survivor—one who fled to their lunar fortress. The Wind of Fire is said to have destroyed the city in order to eliminate him. It is not known whether he escaped.”

Aleksei frowned. “Concentrate your efforts in learning the truth. This survivor is a loose end. Loose ends are dangerous; cut this one short.”

She inclined her head to him and he dropped his privacy shield, allowing the tumultuous roar of the arguments to wash over them.

PART V:  THE JOURNEYMEN

CHAPTER 33

July 2034; London, England; One year later

Nick’s voice soared as he sang the final verse, letting himself be carried along by the music, forgetting the audience and the stage lights that blazed into his eyes. Scott added his own music to the chorus, his fingers dancing across the keyboard. All Nick could feel were the notes and the words, as he strove for the tonal purity to do them justice. Then, all at once, it was over. The song ended, and they hit the final note in unison. For a second, there was absolute silence. Then the screams and applause began as they lifted their hands from their instruments to take their bows.

* * *

Two young women watched silently from the stands, untouched by the adulation of everyone around them. “You saw?” asked the first.