Chapter 22

THE CHILD BOWS

 

When Alexia opened her eyes, she was no longer in the arena. The Memory Stone had taken her to the kitchen of the house she’d grown up in. Her breath caught when she saw her mother standing at the kitchen table, spreading frosting on a strawberry cake. Her father stood behind, wrapping her in a loving embrace.

Tears sprang to Alexia’s eyes. They were not tears of sadness but joy. These were her parents. These were the people she belonged to. The man who held her mother may have looked like Korah, but it was not him; she was sure of it. This man was loving and kind, and Alexia could never imagine him screaming at her.

Alexia began looking around the kitchen. If this was Korah’s memory, surely he must be here somewhere. There! She spotted him. He was standing outside the kitchen window staring in.

The kitchen door shattered, a Shadule standing in the entry.

Her father grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter. “Go!” he yelled. “I’ll find you both as soon as I can.”

Alexia screamed as the Shadule struck. Her mother ran from the room as her father wrestled the creature to the ground.

Alexia blinked. Now she was standing outside the house by the front door. Korah must have left the window. She could still hear the sounds of the battle coming from the kitchen, but Korah wasn’t interested in her father. He snarled as he slammed his boot into the front door, splintering it off the hinges to reveal Alexia’s mother darting down the stairs.

“You!” she cried.

Black fire shot from Korah’s hands to explode against her mother’s chest.

“No!” Alexia shrieked as Korah grabbed her mother roughly, pulling her to her feet.

A bloodcurdling scream sounded from the kitchen, and her father stormed through the door and spotted Korah holding his wife hostage.

“You!” he raged. “You are behind this?”

“Hello, Brother,” Korah snarled. His pale blade was pressed hard against her mother’s neck.

“You dare come here? You bring the Shadow Souled into my house?”

Alexia watched numbly. She knew what would happen. This was only a memory and she could not change it.

“The great darkness is coming and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Yet you will not live to see the Last Battle.” Korah smiled coldly. “Your time has come, Brother!”

“You came here to … to kill me?” Her father seemed confused.

“Don’t act so surprised. You must have known this day would come.” Korah pressed the blade deeper into Madeleine Dreager’s neck as a slow trickle of blood dripped down. “I’ve been hunting the Awakened for years now, killing you off one by one. But I will enjoy this day more than most.”

“Where does your hatred come from?” Her father shook his head sadly. “Did I wrong you without knowing? Did I do something so unforgiveable?”

“I have hated you since the day we were born.” Korah seethed. “I’ve dreamed of this day for longer than you could imagine.”

Alexia’s mother met her father’s eyes and gave an almost imperceptible glance toward the window.

Her father’s eyes flicked over and back again so quickly Alexia wondered if she’d imagined it. The tiniest smile spread his lips. There was a child stalking through the woods. The much younger Alexia wore her brand-new red dress and was creeping into the forest, stopping every few steps to examine a stone.

Alexia remembered the moment. She’d been searching for the perfect stones to use in her new sling.

“How could we be so different, you and I?” Her father took one step forward. “The only thing you have ever loved was power. You sat on the Council of Seven, and still it wasn’t enough. But when you turned your back on us, I never dreamed you would join the Shadow Souled.”

“The Council of Seven!” Korah scoffed. “Fools, all of them. And I was a fool to want to be one of them. I—” Korah’s eyes landed on Alexia’s coat lying crumpled on the floor. A cold smile crept onto his lips. “Tell me, Brother, do I have a niece or a nephew?”

Korah didn’t know I existed!

“You can threaten me,” her father said coldly, “but if you speak of my child again, I will end you.”

Alexia almost stepped back from the dangerous look in her father’s eyes.

“You haven’t changed a bit. You are not in command here; I am!” Korah snarled.

Korah barked a command at the wounded Shadule. “Find the child and bring it to me.”

The Shadule hissed excitedly and darted up the stairs. Alexia watched her younger self disappear into the woods.

“I love you, Madeleine Dreager,” her father said sadly. “Look after our little goat.”

Her mother nodded as a thin sliver of light flashed between them. In the blink of an eye, her mother had disappeared and her father stood in her place.

Korah screamed when he found himself holding the sword against his brother’s neck. Alexia’s father used the confusion to slam the back of his head into Korah’s face. Korah stumbled back as blood burst from his nose. Yet even as her father turned to fight, Korah pierced him with the blade.

“No,” her father groaned as he dropped to the floor.

“No!” Alexia gasped in unison.

Just then the Shadule arrived at the bottom of the stairs. “There is no child here,” the creature rasped.

Korah grimaced as he looked at his dying brother. “I promise you this, I will find Madeleine, and I will find your child. And I will kill them.”

“You have always been blind.” Her father groaned. “And you will lose this war.” As his eyes began to glaze over, he turned and looked directly at Alexia. “I love you, my little goat.” Thick blood dripped from his chin. “I love you with all my heart.”

Alexia gasped. She didn’t know if he was truly looking at her or was merely seeing things as he died, but his words were like life to her soul.

“Pathetic.” Korah grimaced. As he stalked from the house, he kicked over a lampstand; oil and fire exploded along the wall.

“Make sure he’s dead,” Korah commanded the Shadule.

Alexia heard the creature’s excited hiss as the world shifted once again.

 

Alexia blinked. Although minutes had passed in the memory, no time at all seemed to have passed in the real world. She took the final step toward the Assassin’s throne and stopped. She was standing before him with her head bowed. Alexia hesitated only a moment before dropping to her knees at the feet of the Assassin. The mob howled.

She didn’t feel like crying, and she didn’t want to scream at Korah for deceiving her. She didn’t even want to yell at the Assassin. She’d bowed so they wouldn’t see her smile. After a moment, quiet fell once again as the assembly eagerly awaited what would come next. As she knelt before the creature Belial, warmth exploded in Alexia’s chest. She was happier now than she’d been in ages. Korah is not my father, she thought. The Assassin is pure evil.

Alexia didn’t understand what had happened with the poet and what she’d seen in the Assassin’s memory, but none of that mattered. Right now all she wanted to do was laugh.

My father was a good man! The thought broadened her smile. And if she understood what she’d seen, there was a chance her mother was still alive!

“Child!” Korah knelt by her side. “Why are you waiting? You must say the words! Do you hear me? You must swear fealty to your new master!”

The stench from the wound in the Assassin’s belly made Alexia want to retch, but she forced the feeling down. Instead, she turned to Korah and smiled as she dropped the Memory Stone onto the marble dais. Korah seemed confused by it; but after a moment his eyes widened.

“Alley Goat,” Alexia said quietly as she looked down at her red cloak and sling. “My father called me Alley Goat.” She couldn’t help but laugh as a look of horror crossed Korah’s face.

“My name is Alexia Dreager,” she said in a loud voice. “And I am one of the two Children of Prophecy.” The horde of humans, monsters, and beasts roared their approval. When Alexia met the Assassin’s eyes, she offered a knowing smile. “I came here today to swear allegiance to your master.”

The Assassin watched her with uncertain eyes. He’d seen the Memory Stone and the look on Korah’s face.

Alexia stood and began to laugh. The sound was so foreign that the throngs of Shadow Souled went abruptly silent. Her laughter pierced the arena like a ray of sunshine in an underground cavern.

“But I know now that this creature sitting before me is not worthy of my allegiance or yours.” When Alexia pointed at the Assassin, she raised her voice ever louder. “He is a liar and a murderer. He is the Assassin, and though it may be hard, we must stand against him. We must resist! Join me!” she shouted. “Join the Awakened!”

Silence engulfed the arena. Alexia turned to look at her friends, who still stood stiffly bound by the cables of electrified light. Wild raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Nice speech. Now what?”

Alexia turned to face the Assassin and took an involuntary step back. Darkness radiated from him, and his eyes were fiery. He stood before his throne with the Shadowfog boiling at his feet. It was a terrifying sight.

“Forget the games,” the Assassin screamed as he raised his arms to the gathered mob. “The Last Battle begins now! Kill them all!”

The tens of thousands of Shadow Souled suddenly became an army of darkness as beast, monster, and human swarmed the arena. In the sky above, the winged creatures plummeted downward in an attempt to be the first to tear the Awakened to pieces.

Alexia didn’t waste a second. Even as Korah drew his sword, she leaped from the dais and sprinted toward the Drogule holding the cord of electrified light. At best she’d have a few seconds to defeat the Drogule and free her friends. There was no chance of escape. That had never been a possibility. But if she didn’t free them from the Drogule, every one of her friends would be torn to shreds without even having a chance to fight back.

Even above the roar of the mob, the demonic laughter of the Assassin echoed.