The Awakening (56 page)

It was a Soldier of Sorrow.

The Rogue’s face was hidden underneath the large red cowl of his cloak. The rain had matted it to his skin, which made it look like he was covered in blood. There were nervous whispers at the new arrival. Gabriella gripped my arm so hard it hurt.

The Rogue removed a hand from the folds of his cloak. Clutched in his fist was a blade. Mr Hanley’s eyes went wide. He raised his hands and backed away - but not far enough. As though he were nothing more than a lump of butter, the Rogue slid the sword through his chest. A sickening gurgle escaped from my teacher’s throat. Staggering backwards, he collided with a drinks table, which collapsed under his weight. He fell silent.

There were screams and people started to run for the patio doors. They were chased back in by at least a dozen more SOS, all wielding deadly weapons. I couldn’t believe what was happening.

The Rogue leader wiped the sword on his robe. “As you can see, we are deadly serious. Now, two of you know why we’re here. Step forward or everyone suffers the same fate as this pathetic human.”

“You know what we want. You.” He pointed the sword menacingly at us. There were gasps of confusion from my schoolmates. I heard Tim whisper from behind me.

“Alex, what’s going on?”

“Tim, not now,” I answered. To the leader I said, “fine if you want us then we’ll go with you. But leave everyone else out of this. They’re not a part of it.”

“I couldn’t care less,” the Rogue answered. “They stay where we can keep an eye on them.”

“So now what?” I said.

“First things first, slide over any weapons you’re carrying. And don’t try and trick us. For every one we find, we’ll kill another human.” The crowed whimpered in response.

I raised my hands out. “We’re at a school ball. We don’t have any weapons!”

Gabriella cleared her throat. “Err…actually…” She opened her clutch bag, pulled out three Apotrope daggers and slid them along the floor towards the Rogue. He stopped them with his boot.

A Succubus and Bloodling marched over and jostled us about as they checked for hidden weapons. The Bloodling found my picture and looked at it. I snatched it back and glared at him.

“They’re clean,” he announced.

The Rogue looked past us. “Get everyone else in the middle,” he ordered. The Rogues fell in around the students, herding them into a tight huddle on the dance floor. The whimpering DJ was yanked down from the booth by a Pixie. Her silver hair shone in the light, jarring with her vicious nature. She tossed him into the rest of the group.

The leader pointed towards the other teachers. “You too.” Together they shuffled past the fallen Mr Hanley. Miss Cleveland wailed as she looked down at where his lifeless body was slumped. They gave us a horrified glance as they passed.

The room fell quiet. I scanned around, searching for a way to gain the advantage. I could tell Gabriella was doing the same. We were trapped, outnumbered and defenceless...the situation was hopeless.

The rogue leader pushed back his cowl, completely exposing his face. He was bronze skinned. Dense stubble covered his chin and his eyebrows were thick caterpillars crawling above his dark eyes. I hadn’t ever seen him before, but yet there was something familiar about him.

“Don’t recognise me?” he asked

“Should I?” I retorted.

“Well I wouldn’t expect you to in this skin.” He made a mock high voice. “But I’d hoped you’d be able to see past how I look on the outside.” His voice reverted and he grit his teeth together. “I remember
you
well. If memory serves correctly, the last time we met, you skewered my head to the floor.”

The other Rogues laughed. It was a cruel noise which caused fresh sounds of fear from the crowd. I glanced at Gabriella. She seemed just as confused as me. Bargheist checked the clock hanging on the wall by the Christmas tree.

Bargheist addressed his remaining followers. “As for the rest, if any of them so much as sneeze the wrong way, kill them.” He turned and walked out of the door. I felt the sharp sting of a blade prod into my back. The same happened to Gabriella and Tim. Together, we were forced out of the room at knife point.

The doors closed with a resounding echo. The hallway was desolate. The money collecting desk was empty. The photo area was bare. The stand had toppled over, the camera reduced to shards of broken machinery scattered across the floor. The emergency light continued in the hub. It gave the whole place an eerie vibe.

I looked over at Tim. His face was panic stricken. I could barely imagine what he must have been thinking. Gabriella’s expression gave nothing away. Her lips were a tight line. I could tell that even though her face was serene, inwardly her mind was whirring. A sharp pain in my back reminded me to keep moving.

“Listen, if we don’t make it through this...” I whispered.

“Alex don’t. We’re both making it out of this alive.”

I shut my mouth and fought against the dread which grew with each step. I was furious at myself. I’d known something was wrong. I’d felt it after we won the battle. I’d missed something. Deep down, I knew it. And now, the whole of the school were in danger.
Damn it! I should have at least hidden some weapons here!

“This way,” growled Bargheist, turning down a corridor. We followed behind.

The shifter jerked to a stop.

He stayed motionless as if someone had removed his batteries. Then a welt of blood bloomed in the centre of his back. He dropped to his knees, exposing Rachel, sporting a blood soaked dagger. Without questioning how or why, we seized our chance. I spun around and down, sweeping the Bloodling’s legs from under him. Before he had even hit the ground, I wrenched the sword from his grip and brought it down, severing his head. A swipe of blades told me that Gabriella had taken care of the other two Rogues. We turned back to face out saviour.

“Rachel!” Gabriella cried, giving her a relieved hug.

“Are we glad to see you,” I breathed.

“Isn’t that… your
Science teacher
?” gasped Tim.

I had to resist the urge to laugh. “I’ll explain later,” I promised.

“Rachel, what are you doing here?” asked Gabriella.

Rachel looked confused. “Didn’t Faru tell you? He sent me to keep an eye out, just in case. Easy considering I technically work here. I’ve spent most the night circling this bloody school.” She nodded down at the bodies. “Saw this lot arrive.”

At least someone was prepared
, I thought glumly.

“Listen, we can’t stay here,” she said sheathing her blade onto the fully armed Kapre belt that hung around her suit trousers. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but the place is crawling with SOS. I’ve called it in. The rest of the HASEA are on their way. I told Faru to meet us at the Gymnasium. Come on.”

“Will someone tell me what in the name of god is going on?” moaned Tim.

“Sorry mate, explanations later, running first.”

Rachel turned and sprinted down the corridor, with us hot on her heels. We broke out of the side door, into the torrent of rain. The booming of thunder was so loud, I could hardly hear myself think. The rain was coming down in droves. It hit the ground with such force, it bounced. We splashed our way through, heading out of the main school section. Gabriella had to bunch up her dress so that she could run properly. Her hair had come undone and thick strands were plastered down the side of her face. My heart was thrumming in my chest as we headed around the main area and into the Gymnasium. We entered together, apart from Tim, who arrived over a minute later. I’d forgotten he couldn’t run at our speeds. When he got inside, he almost collapsed.

We opened the door. The gym was filled with more shadows and darkness. Decrepit old foam mats lay stacked at the far end. Climbing ropes hung from the ceiling like old nooses. I could smell stale sweat. It seemed to pour out of the very walls. The room was deathly silent.

It was at that moment that I saw that Rachel was wearing the ring I’d seen her drop all those weeks ago. I noticed the crest on the top.

A pyramid of 3 stars sitting inside a crescent moon.

It was the same symbol as the one on the front of the derelict mansion in my nightmares.

Moonstella.
The word written above the mausoleum. I hadn’t been able to understand what it meant, because it didn’t actually
mean
anything – it was a family name.

The dread I’d felt began to leak to the surface. We’d got it wrong. Lafelei’s words hadn’t been referring to the Coven.

Betrayed by the moon and stars.

Moonstella.

My blood turned to ice.

Rachel drew her gun and pointed it at us.

33

R
achel, don’t do this.”

“Will someone
please
tell me what’s happening?” squeaked Tim. Gabriella answered in a tone of sadness mixed with anger. “People like Alex and I protect other humans from evil things. We thought Rachel was one of us. Turns out she’s an evil thing.”

“But why?” I asked.

In a flash, Rachel’s voice became full of rage. “Because of humans like you. Chosen,” she hissed. “Your kind slaughtered my entire family as if they were nothing more than dogs! Not just my parents. My grandparents, sisters, brothers, uncles, cousins. All of them dragged into the streets and burned alive. You think you know grief? I found everyone I have ever loved in a charred heap at the edge of our estate.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “So mutilated, I couldn’t even mark their graves properly, because I couldn’t work out who was who!”

Gabriella took a step forward, which made Rachel swing the gun in her direction.

“Rachel, I’m so sorry. What those Chosen did to your family was unforgivable. But the Purge was a long time ago. Those people are gone. We’re not the same as them. Rachel, we’re your friends. Please let us go.”

The Pixie shook her head. “I’m sorry but this is bigger than you both. It’s taken me centuries to create a new persona and establish myself as a trusted Guardian of the HASEA. I’ve had to hide who I really am for so long; I almost let myself get caught up in it all.” She grit her teeth. “God, I’m so sick of all the lies!”

“What are you trying to achieve?” I asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? My entire lineage was wiped out without so much as a second thought. Cast into oblivion. Well I didn’t forget! And I’m going to make damn well sure that no one ever forgets me! I’ll be the person who brought down the Alliance.”

“Rachel, there are thousands of Guardians all over the world,” Gabriella pointed out. “How can you ever hope to bring down the Alliance on your own?”

Rachel looked surprised. “One person? I don’t think you quite understand.” She lifted up her top lip with the barrel of her gun. The Eye of the Abyss had been tattooed on the soft underside.

My brain started spinning. “Wait, you
are
a member of the SOS,” I said in a confused voice.

“Not just a member Alex. I’m a leader.”

Gabriella and I exchanged a horrified glance. I felt my legs go weak. It was all I could do to keep from collapsing.

“I don’t understand,” choked Gabriella. “You’re a Luminar. Hades hates them even more than humans. He barely tolerates them being members of the SOS. Why would he allow one to become a leader?”

Rachel began to pace up and down the Gymnasium, all the while aiming between me and Gabriella. “It was a family secret. My ancestors sealed a section of the Veil and hid it away. Only someone of my bloodline would be able to unseal it. The idea was to use the doorway if ever they needed to escape from danger.” She pulled a grim face. “Only your kind got to them before they had a chance to do so.”

Above, I heard the sound of something louder than rain fall onto the roof. Gabriella looked at me. Rachel didn’t react; she was lost in the past.

“I waited until the first time I was sent to Pandemonia. I went straight to Hades. Told him that I wanted to bring down the Alliance and that when he chose to invade Earth, I had a doorway he could use that was completely unknown to the HASEA. In exchange he made me the leader of my own group of Rogues, so that I’d have the support I needed to weaken the Alliance in preparation for that day.”