he’s telling the truth. I know he’s not imploring us to keep him alive. He’s imploring us to keep ourselves alive.
Elodie’s eyes are fixed on Nicholas’s. “You saved me. Twice. It was your father, wasn’t it, who ordered the ravens on me?”
“Yes.”
“But you stopped them.”
“Yes.”
My anger is all-consuming, I’m sure I could burst into flames at any minute. “Your father started all this. Your father killed them all. Harry, Mike, all the Secret heirs around the world.”
“I want to stop him. I’m going to take you to him. The gate the book described is in an ancient forest, hundreds of miles from here. We need to head east.”
Elodie and I look at each other. I’m chilled at the cold fury in her eyes.
“How do we know you’re not lying? That you can be trusted? That you won’t turn on us? What is your word to us after all this?” I ask bitterly.
“Do you have a choice, Sean? You want this destruction to end, don’t you?”
“Shut up. Now.”
Elodie and I turn at Sarah’s biting words. We’ve been so absorbed in what was happening that we’ve forgotten all about her. She’s been standing there, at a distance from us. Her eyes are shining bright green, sharp as two blades, cutting whoever looks into them, and I see that her hands are raised, ready to hit.
“You lied to me all this time.”
“I’m sorry, Sarah,” Nicholas begins. His face crumples.
“You lied to me, you pretended you loved me! Why did you not just kill me straight away? Why did you not kill us all! Did you want to play with us a little bit longer?” she hisses through gritted teeth.
“You were never supposed to die, Sarah. You were chosen as my bride.”
An icy shudder runs down my spine and I hear myself unleash a deep growl. Over my dead body!
Then Sarah strides over to the bed. “As your what? Are you insane? The bride of the … Prince of Shadows, or whoever you are? What is this, some crazy fairy tale?”
Nicholas is gripped by a coughing fit so hard he might choke. And it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if he did. There’s a bluish tinge to his cheeks, and his breathing is fast and shallow.
“Stay awake, Nicholas. Don’t you close your eyes!” Sarah’s tone is deadly. Nicholas shivers. He’s losing consciousness again.
“Look at me!” Sarah shouts, and then she pounces on him, her hands in front of her. Elodie and I grab her at once, holding her back. In the scuffle Elodie cries out in pain.
“You can’t kill him, Sarah. As much as you want to – and believe me, so do I – we need him alive!” We’re holding Sarah from behind, trying to avoid her deadly eyes.
“His father killed my parents! And Harry! He’s killing us all!”
“We need him to take us to the Enemy. Think, Sarah, think! Don’t let your rage win, Sarah. Think of what’s best. Don’t let your rage win.” I repeat, like a mantra. Eventually Sarah’s body softens in our grip.
Elodie unwraps her arms from round her waist, letting me hold her alone.
“You’re not a man. And you’re not a demon. You’re a monster,” Sarah whispers. Nicholas has his eyes closed, too weak to reply, too weak to move. “You can let me go, Sean. I won’t touch him,” she adds, composed.
I free Sarah from my hold, and Elodie takes her other arm, keeping her face turned away from Sarah’s. “Come on. Come with me.”
Sarah allows Elodie to lead her away, but at the threshold she turns around. “Why me, Nicholas? Why?” Her voice is laden with fury, and hurt.
“My father chose you among the heirs. You are the most powerful Dreamer of your generation. And your blood is still strong.”
“Still” strong? What does that mean?
Nicholas looks like a wax mannequin, white but for the blood that stains his face, still, nearly lifeless. I wish I could strangle him with my own hands.
“Get up and get dressed,” I say instead. “We’re leaving this place, and soon.”
Sarah is standing at the bottom of the stairs, her hands over her face. It’s so surreal to see the lovely, pristine stone floors strewn with ash and debris, and where the great hall used to be – the room that Sarah always modestly called the living room – is a blackened, gaping hole.
“Sarah.”
“I just can’t believe it, Sean. I can’t believe it.”
“I know. I know.”
“I thought you were just jealous of him.”
I nodded. “I was. But there was something else