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As the rings of the transport platform fell away, Luc reappeared in Griffin’s old office. He’d spent most of the afternoon and evening hunting for Esrac in the villages close to the gate Esme had come through, but hadn’t had any luck. He hadn’t been able to find much info on the string of recent deaths, either. The troopers seemed to be keeping everything quiet. They wouldn’t want any deaths associated with magic getting out.
He sighed. As a Valan knight, he didn’t need much sleep—he could get all the benefits in half the time thanks to meditation—but today he felt exhausted, both physically and mentally. As he arrived back at his apartment, his link flashed with a dozen messages from the Chancellor and Ella, but he ignored them. He keyed in his code, frowning when he saw the lights were on.
Luc pulled out his sword as he crept down the hall.
Why would anyone have broken in? He didn’t have anything worth stealing. Had the Chancellor sent someone to spy on him?
“Fidget, come here!”
Luc lowered his sword at the familiar hiss, which was followed by the sound of something breaking. “Ella, what are you doing here?” He tucked the sword away as he moved into the sitting room containing bare whitewashed walls, a tattered sofa, and a chipped coffee table.
Fidget ran across his feet, a piece of fruit between his paws. He paused and waved, then scurried away, vanishing from sight.
“Eric told me you went hunting the Esrac Queen.” From her seat on the sofa, Ella crossed her arms.
He arched a brow. “Did he?”
“Not in so many words, but I knew. Did you find her?”
He rubbed his aching eyes. “No. You’re not a part of this anymore.”
Ella raised her chin. “Yes, I am. I still have my powers, and I think you know that.”
Luc slumped into a chair. “It doesn’t change anything.” He pulled out the wine Sara had left the night before and took a deep swig straight from the bottle.
“We need to work together. When are you going to realise that?” Ella snapped. “We created this mess, we should fix it.”
She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
“You’ve got to stop shutting me out. I know you think you can protect me from the curse the ancestors placed on us, but we’re never going to find a way to end it unless we put our differences aside and team up.”
Luc shot to his feet. “Don’t you think we’ve tried that thousands of times over the centuries?” he cried. “You can’t see every life we’ve lived yet, but they always end the same. I have to watch you die, but I won’t do that this time. I love you too much to lose you again.”
Ella’s eyes widened. “You love me?”
“Of course I do. I’ll always love you, no matter what lifetime we’re in,” he said. “I tried to take your powers to protect you, not for what happened to Griffin.”
“Then when are you going to accept we need to work together?” Ella asked. “One way or another, we’ll fix this.”
She’d said that more than once, and in every lifetime, he’d wanted to believe it. If only things could be that simple, and they could find a way to stop the Esrac once and for all.
He sighed. “I hope so.”
“I know so.” She wrapped her arms around him.
Luc held her close, breathing in her sweet scent.
“Maybe we can track down the Esrac,” he mused, “but you should know we’ve never been able to figure out how to completely destroy them. They breed fast, and—”
She shushed him. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Will you stay with me tonight?” Luc asked. “I’m tired, and I just want to hold you.”
Ella nodded. “Okay. We’ll get started in the morning.”
When he woke early the next morning, Luc felt refreshed, surprised he’d slept through the night without being plagued by dreams filled with memories that were best left forgotten.
Ella lay snuggled against him, and he smiled at the sight. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed waking up next to her.
She glanced up at him. “I wonder how long it’s been since we did this,” she said.
“Too long.” Luc kissed her forehead.
“I keep having dreams about us in the past.” She stared up at him, resting her chin on her arm. “You’ve been having them too, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I have.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I think we’re cursed to remember everything that happened to us back then.”
“Do I let the Esrac through in every life?”
Luc shook his head. “No, but one way or another they always seem to find a way back.”
“I want to go home today. If my father was a Valan too, he may have known more than even Griffin did,” Ella said. “Besides, we can’t work here and fix this mess. It’s not safe to have so many eyes watching us.”
“I know. In truth I’m tired of being here too, I’m not part of the Senate, and I never will be.” He gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll make us breakfast.”
“How did you get out the city yesterday?” Ella asked, as she scrambled out of bed.
“I bribed one of the troopers to let me out. No doubt the Chancellor will give me crap for it, but I had to go.” He ran a hand through his tousled hair. “I scoured the area close to a village where an unnatural death was reported a few days ago, but it turned out not to be an Esrac attack. The person just died from poisoning.”
“There has to be another way out, one we can both use.”
Luc nodded. “We’ll find one, don’t worry, but we need to be careful. The Chancellor will still have people watching you. In all honesty, you shouldn’t have come here, but I’m glad you did. I’ve missed you.”
He set about programming the auto cooker when the front door buzzed.
Ella came out of the bedroom and smiled as she leaned against the doorframe. “I’ll get it. Who’d be calling this early?”
“No, you sit. I’ll get it.”
Still clad in nothing but trousers, Luc headed out to answer the front door. Eric’s image filled the house screen. Luc was surprised to see him after their altercation the day before, and hoped Eric hadn’t come seeking retribution. He didn’t have his sword nearby, but he could call it with his mind if he had to.
He pressed the panel, and the door slid open.
“Hey, I think I found—” Eric’s eyes widened when he saw Ella in the hallway. “Oh, I didn’t realise you were here.”
“What were you saying?” Luc asked. He wrapped a protective arm around Ella’s shoulders.
“There’s been an attack close to Ella’s village.”
Luc and Ella glanced at each other, and all colour drained from Ella’s face. “Are you saying Esme is in my village?” she gasped.
“No, but she might be close by,” Luc said, squeezing her shoulder.
“How could she even have known about where I come from?” Ella asked. “She doesn’t know anything about me except that I’m an avatar. Aurelia never lived in Antaria, she came from Arkadia.” She moved away from Luc and motioned for Fidget to come to her. “Forget breakfast, we need to leave as soon as possible.” She turned to Eric. “Can you fly us to my village?”
Eric nodded. “I’ll get the ship ready, but what about the troopers? Are you even allowed to leave the city?”
“We’ll worry about that later.” Ella pulled on her shoes and took off out the front door.
Luc quickly got his things together, putting everything he might need into one pack. There wasn’t much—mainly supplies and a couple of changes of clothing. All his books and other data were stored on crystals, which were already inside. Once finished, he followed Ella to her apartment, where she had already packed her clothes the night before. She stuffed more books and food into her bag and pulled on a cloak. “Do you think that’s enough?”
Luc nodded, and she swung the bag over her shoulder.
“The flight to my village shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”
She picked Fidget up, who started struggling when he saw the cage. “Cage bad! Cage bad!”
Ella caught hold of the scruff of his neck and pushed him inside. The cage door closed with a snap. “Sorry, Fidget, but we’re gonna fly for a while. You can’t go wandering around an airship.”
Hand-in-hand, Luc and Ella made their way down to the dock. As they approached, Luc came to an abrupt halt and pulled Ella behind one of the buildings.
“There are troopers waiting down there. They must know we’re planning on leaving. Damn it! We’ll never get out of the city undetected now.”
“It must be the chancellor’s doing. Maybe she didn’t believe you really stripped my powers away,” Ella said. “Wait, they built Celestus over some parts of Arkadia. Do you think there’s a ring platform we could use?”
“Good idea, there’s one inside Griffin’s old office.” Luc pulled up the hood of her coat. “Try to keep your face covered. Let’s go.”
“What about Eric?”
“We’ll have to leave without him. Come on, let’s get to the university before anyone sees us.”
Luc headed toward Griffin’s office. He insisted on going first to see if the way was clear. Three troopers armed with guns stood there, waiting for them. Damn! The Chancellor must have watched me more closely than I thought!
As he turned to leave, he found his way was blocked by two more troopers standing behind him.
“Luc, you’re to come with us,” said the one on the left. “By order of the Chancellor.”
Luc thought fast. He and Ella had to get out of the city before the Esrac did any more damage. If they were taken into custody, they might not be able to find Esme before she started breeding more of her kind.
Luc’s hand went to the hilt of his sword. “No can do, boys!”
He narrowed his eyes, causing all five men to rise into the air, their weapons falling from their hands, then flung all five of them against the far wall and took off in the opposite direction.
“Going into Griffin’s office isn’t an option,” he said when he caught up with Ella in a small courtyard filled with trees and a fountain. They wouldn’t be seen here. Griffin had used it as his private area and kept the location quiet.
“How can we get out of the city?” Ella glanced around to see if anyone was watching them.
“There might be another way, but we need somewhere safe to hide first.”
“I know somewhere.” Ella gripped his hand. “Let’s go.”
Ella led him through the back entrance to the city archives, then down to the vault. They passed several rows of shelves filled with old books and dusty manuscripts, as well as dozens of boxes that had yet to be catalogued.
“We’ll be safe down here. Are there no other ring platforms anywhere in the city?” she asked. Crystal torches flickered as they made their way down the stone spiral steps.
“The only unguarded one exists in Griffin’s quarters. He kept it there concealed,” Luc said, following her into what appeared to be an underground bunker.
Below, Luc was surprised to see Eric and Sara. The two of them were arguing about something, and they both looked up as Luc and Ella walked in.
“Fine bloody mess you’ve got me into,” Eric grumbled, crossed his arms. “They seized my ship. I had to make a run for it before anyone spotted me. Would you please tell me what’s going on?”
“The chancellor wants to arrest us,” Ella answered. “She must suspect that Luc and I are both using magic, or she overheard our plan. It doesn’t matter how she found out, but she knows we’re planning to leave.”
“I knew she didn’t trust me, not really,” Luc said. “Either way, Ella and I need to get out of the city. Fast.”
“How can we go anywhere? They have the air dock locked down.” Eric scowled. “I knew helping you would get me into trouble, and I still don’t know what you’re planning.”
“The Senate doesn’t believe the Esrac are a threat, but we know better,” said Ella, putting her pack and Fidget’s cage down on the floor. “Eric, you saw what those things are capable of. We have to stop them.”
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this, but we need your help.” Luc said.
“What if I could help?” Sara cut in. “There’s an old tunnel that leads out of the city somewhere down here. Griffin told me about it.”
Luc shook his head. “That’s too risky. It would take too long.”
“Cage bad!” Fidget screeched, gnawing at the metal bars.
“Hush, Fidget,” Ella scolded, “we’re in trouble.” She handed him some honey drops through the bars and looked at Luc. “What’s the other way you mentioned earlier?”
“You are. I want you to try and open the gate,” he said.
Ella’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious? Opening the gate got us into this mess. I’m never touching one again.”
“The gate is our only means of escape, and you’re the only one with the power to control it.” He’d been reluctant to bring up the option before now, but with the city on lockdown and Esme free, they didn’t have a choice.
“You’re nowhere near a gate,” Sara pointed out. “It’s in Griffin’s old quarters, right?”
“Ella can open the gates and use them no matter how far away they are from her.” Luc explained, putting his hands on Ella’s shoulders. “You have to try.”
“What if I let more Esrac through?” Ella said, hesitating. “Then we’ll have even more of them on the loose.”
“Esme would have to be here to bring them through. You’ll be fine. I’ll be right here with you. Just close your eyes and clear your mind,” Luc told her.
“Easier said than done,” Ella muttered as she closed her eyes.
Luc glanced over at the others. “Thanks for your help, but you should go now. I don’t want you two getting into any more trouble than you already have,” he told them. “When they question you, tell them the truth. You saw us, but have no idea where we were going, and you had nothing to do with helping us escape.”
“I’m coming with you. My knowledge of history might come in handy,” Sara said, pulling a packed bag from behind a nearby shelf.
“Me too.” Eric cut in, picking up his own pack. “I’m in trouble already just for helping you, and I need to make sure you don’t get anyone killed.”
“I can’t and won’t let you put yourselves at risk—” Luc protested, falling silent at the sound of banging against the vault’s outer door.
“I feel the gate,” Ella smiled. “It’s calling to me.”
Luc turned to her, grabbing her shoulders. “That’s good. Now picture it opening. Remember what it felt like when you opened it the first time.”
Seconds later, a glowing doorway appeared on the wall behind them, radiating with gold light as a portal opened within it.
“Time to go,” Luc said, picking up their packs and Fidget’s cage and taking Ella’s hand, before glancing at the others and sighing.
“Oh, come on then.”
As the four joined hands, he pulled them through the portal and into the unknown.
