I nodded as I began working on the controls. ‘Or both.’
Luna stood there for a while. ‘Can you tell which?’
‘I can’t see beyond a choice that hasn’t been made,’ I said. ‘Right now we need them and they need us. Once that changes …’
I didn’t finish, and Luna didn’t ask me to. We couldn’t depend on either Griff or Sonder, and our only sure ally was Starbreeze. It was tempting to call her, just for the reassurance of having her around, but Starbreeze couldn’t carry Luna, and the air elemental was our one trump card. I didn’t want to reveal her to Sonder and Griff until I had to.
‘Alex?’ Luna asked.
‘Hm?’
‘Why did you let them go?’
My hands went still. I didn’t need to ask who Luna meant.
Why do we do what we do? I think the reasons run deeper than we can know, and often we can only guess at the truest one. ‘If you can’t have another ally,’ I said at last, ‘next best thing is to give your enemy another enemy.’
Luna was silent, but I could feel her gaze on me. She knew I was holding something back. I stopped work on the controls and sighed quietly. ‘That’s one reason. The other one is … whenever you kill someone, it becomes a little easier to do it the next time.’ I turned to look at Luna. ‘You’ve never killed.’
A shadow flickered over Luna’s face. ‘I’ve-’
I cut her off. ‘Not the same. I mean deliberately.’ I paused, looking at her. ‘It might come to that before this night is out. If it does … then be very sure about what you’re doing. Because either way, you’re going to have to live with the consequences for ever.’
Luna stared back at me, then dropped her eyes. After a long moment, I turned back to the controls. It took me a while to get back my concentration.
When I heard Griff’s footsteps again, I glanced back to see that Sonder was with him. ‘I’ve set some wards,’ Griff said. ‘But the lock on the door’s going screwy. You sure it’s Khazad?’
‘It’s Khazad,’ I said. ‘He’ll be inside in ten minutes. Your wards’ll hold him another ten, maybe less.’
‘Can you get this open before then?’
I nodded. ‘Give me a hand.’
Griff came forward to help, and Luna stepped back. The minutes ticked by as the two of us worked together, me guiding, Griff using the power of his earth magic to manipulate the controls more quickly than I could. Griff was skilled with wards, and smart enough not to question what I told him. We worked quickly and efficiently.
There was a distant grating from far down the corridor. ‘Khazad’s in,’ Griff said with a grunt.
‘So are we.’ I pointed. ‘There.’
Griff aimed a surge of earth magic, and with a rumble the door slid open. Beyond was a dark corridor. I scanned quickly ahead and confirmed it was safe. ‘Sonder, get the lights,’ I said. ‘You go in too, Luna.’
They obeyed. ‘Wait,’ Griff said sharply. He pointed back down the hallway, and I turned to look.
There was a scuffle of movement. I spun back just in time to see Griff dart into the corridor after Luna and throw a scattering of gold discs down at the floor where the corridor opened out into the hallway. As they struck the ground they flared to life and a wall of transparent force sprang up, blocking the entrance. Sonder had just gotten the lights working; now he spun. ‘Master Griff! What-?’
Griff gestured and a hammer of earth magic smashed Sonder into the wall with stunning force. Sonder’s head cracked against the stone and he hit the ground limply, his glasses bouncing away. In the same motion Griff swung back and Luna was slammed against the wall, dull brown energy pinning her arms and legs.
I hit the barrier as Griff turned back to face me. The wall didn’t give and Griff watched me struggle for a few moments before giving me a nod. ‘Sorry, Verus. Looks like you’re staying behind.’
‘You!’ I snarled, straining against the invisible wall. ‘It was you!’
Griff shook his head. ‘Don’t act so surprised. You were recruited by Levistus, same as me. Difference is I’m permanent and you’re temporary.’
‘Alex!’ Luna cried.
Griff gestured and the brown energy flowed up over Luna’s nose and mouth, cutting off her breath. I saw her eyes go wide with panic as she struggled to breathe. My fist tightened against the wall of force. I was fewer than five feet away but the barrier was just as unbreakable as the one I’d used on Canary Wharf. ‘Griff,’ I said, my voice low and deadly. ‘If you hurt her-’
Griff ignored me and stood and watched Luna choke. There was nothing I could do and he knew it. After a few seconds he drew his finger down and the energy withdrew just far enough for Luna to gasp in a breath. ‘Stay quiet if you want to breathe,’ he told her before turning back to me. I willed myself to remain calm. ‘You’re making a mistake,’ I said. ‘If we stayed together-’
‘Sorry, Verus,’ Griff said. ‘I’d been hoping to have you around to help with Onyx. But you see, it’s you Khazad’s after. He told me two hours ago. This way I get rid of you and him. That’s too good a deal to pass up.’
‘You want the fateweaver? Take it. Let them go.’
Griff shook his head and started working on the door controls. ‘Love to cut out the deadweight, but I need her along. The fateweaver’s got a lock that works the same as the front door, and she,’ he nodded at Luna, ‘is the only one who can open it. Well, her and that cube.’
I looked down at Sonder, lying sprawled at Griff’s feet, and hoped desperately for him to get up, but as I looked into the future my heart sank. Sonder was out cold. There was nothing I could do to stop Griff from sealing the door behind him.
‘Oh, one more thing,’ Griff said. He snapped his fingers and I felt a surge of energy from down the hall behind me. ‘I just took down the wards. Have fun with Khazad.’ He took a step back towards Luna.
‘Griff,’ I said. I didn’t speak loudly, but there must have been something in the way I said it. Griff paused and looked at me.
Griff was next to Luna, within her danger zone, and I could see the silvery mist of her curse drifting through the bonds imprisoning her. The strands flowed lazily through the air, reaching Griff, soaking into him. ‘You are going to find,’ I said, my voice soft, ‘that Luna is very bad luck for people who try and hurt her.’
Griff looked back at me, and I had one second to remember him like that: stocky and strong, his iron-grey hair mussed slightly from the struggle. He gave me an amused smile. ‘I’ll take my chances.’ He put out one hand and a fist of brown energy smashed the control crystals. The ones on my side flickered and went dead, and with a rumbling sound the door rolled across. I had one glimpse of Luna’s eyes going wide in panic, then the door ground shut with a thud.
I was alone in the hall. And distantly, from behind me, I heard Khazad’s footsteps coming closer.
Back when I was a prisoner in Richard’s mansion, Tobruk would sometimes play cat and mouse. He’d set me loose to run the dungeon, give me a head start, then come after me. Some of my memories of that time are blurred, but that feeling I remember crystal clear. Pressed against a wall, my heart in my throat and my breath coming fast, straining my ears for the sound of footsteps, feeling only dread because hiding never worked, Tobruk always found me, the only question was when.
Standing in that hallway, I felt all the old terror rush into me. Khazad was coming and he was stronger and crueller than I was, and when he found me he was going to hurt me and he was going to kill me, and there was nothing I could do. I scrabbled in my pocket, pulled out the glass rod and channelled a thread of magic into it, speaking in a rush. ‘Starbreeze. Starbreeze, can you hear me? I need you. Please come. If you’ve ever listened to me, come now, please-’
I broke off as I felt something black and cold open up within me. Starbreeze would hear me, and she would answer … but too late, far too late. I turned, searching frantically for a way out, another exit. There wasn’t one. All that was left was to face Khazad. Me with my tricks and toys against the full power of a Dark mage. I stood helplessly in the empty hallway, listening to the footsteps draw closer, and I was nineteen years old again, cowering in the dark, paralysed with fear.