‘We have to help,’ Sonder said.
‘Leave them,’ Luna said at the same time.
Sonder turned on Luna in shock. ‘But they’ll die!’
‘Better them than us.’
‘They’re mages! You can’t decide someone’s life like that!’
‘I decide that every day,’ Luna said quietly. ‘This time at least they deserve it.’
Sonder looked horrified. Luna turned to me and waited. ‘You can’t be going to-’ Sonder said. ‘I know they’re dangerous, but-!’
‘Stay here,’ I said. ‘You can watch, but don’t get involved.’
A beat, then both nodded, though there was an uneasiness between them now. I left Luna and Sonder in the corridor and walked around the edge. There was another secret door at the far end, and I sealed it behind me. Ahead of me was the trap room’s exit, but it wasn’t an exit any more. Someone had destroyed the external controls, sealing Rachel and Cinder inside.
There were more one-way mirrors to either side, and through them I could see Rachel and Cinder, still motionless. As I studied the pattern of energy beams, I realised that if any one of us had entered the room, the changing angles of reflection from the door swinging inwards would have sent the energy beams slicing through Rachel, Cinder, and anyone in the doorway. Not only did it trap those inside, it was designed to kill anyone attempting a rescue. Nasty.
The spell that had destroyed the controls had left cracks in the wall near the door. Leaning in close, I could hear the whisper of Rachel and Cinder’s voices from the other side. ‘Hello?’ I said. ‘Can you hear me?’
The whispering stopped. ‘Who’s there?’ Rachel demanded.
‘Alex.’
‘Verus?’ Cinder demanded. ‘What the fuck are you doing?’
‘More or less the same thing as you.’
‘You bastard,’ Cinder said. He tried to turn around to look at the wall I was speaking from, but couldn’t. ‘How are you still alive? Onyx fired your bracelet!’
‘Cinder, given your current situation, do you really think this is the most productive way to spend your time?’
‘What do you want?’ Rachel said. She was holding quite still. Behind the mask, I couldn’t see her expression, but I knew she was focusing on me.
‘I’m here to help you out of that room.’
‘Bullshit,’ Cinder snarled.
‘Turn off the beams,’ Rachel said.
‘Can’t.’
‘Then open the door.’
‘Can’t.’
‘Why not?’
‘Last guy through smashed the controls.’
Rachel swore. ‘Khazad,’ she hissed. ‘That motherfucker.’
‘There’s an emergency cut-off inside the room,’ I said. ‘It’s just under where the beams are coming from.’
Cinder and Rachel flicked their eyes sideways to look. The mirrors beneath the beams looked exactly the same as the ones covering the rest of the room. ‘That takes us away from the door,’ Rachel said at last.
‘I know.’
‘I don’t see any cut-off.’
‘I know.’
‘Fuck him,’ Cinder snarled. ‘You want us dead, don’t you?’
I didn’t answer. A few seconds ticked by with no sound other than the humming of the beams. ‘How do I get there?’ Rachel asked.
Cinder started and nearly got his arm burnt off for his trouble. ‘What the fuck are you doing?’
‘Shut up, Cinder,’ Rachel said wearily. ‘Alex? How do I get there?’
‘There’s a route through,’ I said. ‘Move your head forward and shift about six inches to the side and you’ll see the first part.’ I paused. ‘It’ll have to be you. Cinder’s too big.’
Rachel only nodded. She moved her head and shifted. ‘I see it,’ she said and began to move.
‘Del-’ Cinder said.
‘Catch me if I fall,’ Rachel said, and started sliding through the beams.
If it had been Luna I’d have been terrified, barely able to look. As it was, I watched Rachel with something like indifference. Despite everything, I had to admire her body control. She didn’t tremble at all as she crawled and stretched and balanced over and under and through the beams, heading for their source. I looked into the future and saw her slip and die in agony, and each time I spoke, telling her which way to move, when to stop and when to go. Rachel obeyed without question. Despite everything that had happened between us, in a weird way we still understood each other. I wondered what Luna and Sonder must be thinking, watching from the sealed corridor.
At last Rachel made it. She rested in a crouch, body angled to avoid the beams streaming from the opening just above her. ‘What do I do?’ she said without looking.
‘Put the middle three fingers of your right hand against the mirror just below the beams,’ I said. ‘Up. A little to the right. Now press.’
There was a click and a small section swung open. ‘There should be two crystal spheres,’ I said. ‘Can you see them?’
‘Yes.’
‘Put your finger between.’
There was a pause, then a tiny spark. All of a sudden, as if someone had thrown a switch, the beams vanished. Cinder and Rachel were standing in an empty room.
Cinder turned, looking from side to side. Rachel rose and walked towards the door. ‘It won’t open,’ I said as she disappeared from my sight. ‘You’ll have to-’
At my side, the door seemed to flash green, then crumble to powder, becoming a fine dust that hung in the air. Rachel strode through, followed an instant later by Cinder. ‘-disintegrate it,’ I finished. The room on this side of the trap was a small one, with corridors leading off right and left. Cinder and Rachel entered and stopped, facing me from only a few feet away.
Cinder looked at the smashed controls, then back at me. There was an expression on his face I’d never seen before. ‘Why?’ he said at last.
I shrugged. ‘We had a deal.’
Cinder looked at Rachel. She was studying me, her eyes opaque behind her mask. ‘Outside,’ she said at last, addressing Cinder. ‘We keep him alive, he gets rid of these bracelets.’
I nodded. Rachel stepped forward and held out her right wrist, pushing back the sleeve to reveal the bracelet. ‘Well?’
I pulled out a tool and set to work. Rachel waited patiently while I probed at the bracelet’s inner workings, looking into the future to see the outcome of every action. From time to time my hand brushed against Rachel’s skin. She didn’t react, and neither did I. I might have been her dressmaker.
I finished after five minutes and moved on to Cinder, who stuck his arm out with poor grace. He was in worse shape than Rachel; I could see patches where his clothes had been burnt away, and he smelt of ash and scorched flesh. As the minutes ticked past he made a growling sound. ‘Why don’t you just burn ’em off?’
‘Same reason you can’t. I’m guessing you’ve tried.’
Cinder was silent. ‘I can’t break the locks,’ I said. ‘But I can shut down the receptor so it can’t receive Onyx’s signal. He won’t be able to tell they’re sabotaged until he tries to zap you.’
‘That’ll work?’ Cinder said suspiciously.
Without looking away, I held up my right wrist, which still held Onyx’s bracelet. ‘It worked for me.’
Cinder shut up then, and the three of us stood there quietly. After all our history, it was a strange feeling to have them just wait there. At last, it was finished. I stepped back. ‘Done.’
Cinder and Rachel looked at their bracelets. ‘Doesn’t look different,’ Cinder said.
‘It’s different,’ I said.
‘I believe you,’ Rachel said. She looked at me. ‘So.’
‘So,’ I said.
The moment stretched out, silent, tense. I stood watching the pair of them, looking at the two possible futures, wondering which one they were going to choose.
‘Don’t get in our way,’ Rachel said at last. She turned and walked towards the nearest exit. Cinder gave me a final scowl and followed her.
As their footsteps faded away into the distance, I let out a long breath and let my shoulders slump. I stood still for a moment, alone with my thoughts, then shook myself and looked across at the secret door. ‘Guys? You can come out.’