The Awakening (54 page)

“Coated blade,” hissed Dakin. “I told you not to try anything!” He yanked the blade back out and started for Sophia again.

Midnight sank to his knees. The thump echoed around the hall. We all charged forwards. Rachel used her remaining wing to aid her jump. She made it to the edge of the balcony, grabbed Dakin and before he could react, pulled him over the railings. He hit the ground hard, but her wing slowed her fall. As they thrashed about, I saw her pull out a wooden stake. The last look on Dakin’s face was one of surprise as she plunged it into his throat with a scream. She stood up as the fire burned.

She linked her fingers with mine and I placed my free hand on his chest. The boom of energy rolled my arm and Midnight's body convulsed as if my hand were an electric pad. Delagio placed his fingers at his friend’s neck. “It’s not working!” he yelled, “try again!” I placed my hand on his chest again and once more the rolling boom of electricity surged into his body.

“No, no, no!” shouted Delagio. “Why isn’t this working?” He ripped open Midnight’s shirt and we all saw why. The knife had entered directly into his heart. Where it had continued to beat, the poison had spread through his arteries into other parts of his body. His chest was a map of grim purple lines. The fingers of the infection had started to creep up the side of his neck. I tried to place my hand on the wound again, but Midnight caught my wrist. He shook his head.

Sophia moved closer, trying to wrap her arms around her Midnight. They didn’t even reach the ends of his waist. Even though we’d moved to the other end of the balcony, I could still hear every word and it broke my heart.

“Good girl.” His voice cracked. “Listen, you see Alex over there? He’s a good guy. I trust him and I know he’s going to make sure you’re cared for. And you know that Ella loves you to bits too.”

Sophia nodded and looked up at me. Gabriella had pressed her head against my shoulder. Together we nodded back at her and I tried to smile, but couldn’t manage it.

“Okay. Well I want you to live your life and be happy. And I promise that when it’s your time, we’ll be waiting for you. Me, you, Cass and Joy. We’ll all be one big family. How does that sound?”

32

T
he harsh wind whipped at my face. We were sitting on little white chairs that had been set up in an expansive graveyard area behind the Mansion. A podium had been positioned at the front. As the day had progressed, people had come up to it, recounting fond memories of their friends and fellow Guardians who had died in battle. A sombre silence had drifted through the crowd, made more evident by the whistling of the cold wind. The Red Storm still hung overhead, a reminder that as long as the Hades and The Sorrow lived, there could never be peace.

Faru was leaning on his cane at the back. His face was drawn with a deep unhappiness that looked like it would never shift. He wasn’t the only one. There was an underscore of sniffles from around us and some were openly weeping. The sadness curled inside my stomach like a disease, threatening to eat its way through me. Beyond that, I had a bad feeling I just couldn’t shake. It had been with me the moment I’d woken in the morning and stayed with me right through the afternoon. The night before, I’d slept badly, once again dreaming of The Sorrow. This time however, it was a repeat of the first dream, moment for moment. I was confused as to what it could mean.

Next to me, Gabriella’s arms encircled Sophia, who was sitting on her lap. Midnight’s broach dangled from the girl’s neck. She was staring numbly forward, clutching a piece of paper in her hand. Sophia had been inconsolable since the moment Midnight died. No one had been able to coax a single word from her. She refused to eat. As much as it hurt us to see her that way, we knew that only time would heal her wounds. Gabriella looked over at me and offered a weak smile.

The part came that I’d been dreading the most. The lowering of Midnight’s casket.

Gabriella stood up along with Sophia and together they walked hand in hand over to the podium. Gabriella cleared her throat and leaned into the microphone.

“Midnight was a Chosen, Guardian and a teammate. But beyond that he was a friend. Most people would look at him and see a thug - someone to be feared. But those who knew him knew differently. We were fortunate enough to know the person inside. We knew Michael. The man who had been a wonderful husband and father until his family was cruelly taken away from him. The man who became a parent all over again, for Sophia. Midnight didn’t deserve to die. But as they say, the good ones always go first. All I can hope is that if there is a God, he knows that that man deserves an eternity of peace. Midnight, you will be missed.” Streaks of tears flowed down her face. She moved away from the microphone and placed a chair down, so that Sophia could stand on it. Then she took the piece of paper from the little girl and read it, whilst Sophia stared down at the locket in her hands.

“Sophia wanted me to read this for her,” said Gabriella in an unsteady voice. “I can barely remember my Mother. To be honest, I try not to. What I do remember is Midnight. To me, he was my Dad. And now he’s gone and it hurts so much.”

I had to swallow a lump in my throat. Next to me, Delagio had a hand covering his eyes. His body was shaking. Rachel’s face was one of stone. She looked broken - like her emotions had been sucked away by the previous night’s events.

“Midnight, I don’t know if you can hear me up there, but I wanted to play something for you. Hopefully you’ll be with the rest of your family and you can all listen together. I miss you.” From somewhere around us, speakers crackled and then Eva Cassidy’s
Songbird
began to play. The haunting melody and beautiful words filled the silence. I struggled against the tears. Sophia began to cry and Gabriella pulled her into her arms. I felt sick.
This shouldn’t have happened.
At that moment I despised Hades more than I could ever have described.

As I sat there, listening to the music fade away, it suddenly dawned on me what it was that was bothering me so much about my dream. I needed to speak to Faru as soon as possible.

By the time the ceremonies had finished, the afternoon was fading into twilight. Faru had finished with a moving speech about remembering those who had fallen, but also not forgetting what we had prevented from happening. How we needed to stand united and carry on. It was hard, but he was right. We’d lost so many – we’d lost Midnight. But Gabriella was still alive, as was Sophia, Delagio and Rachel. I was still alive. The Sorrow hadn’t been allowed to pass through the Veil. There was at least that to hold onto.

As everyone walked back to the base, I joined Faru. He was walking slowly, arms folded behind his back. There were no Golems around and he looked younger and healthier, but still he wore his melancholic expression like a mask.

“A terrible few days,” he mused as I fell into step with him. “But we must remain strong.” It seemed as if he were talking to himself as much as me.

“I know sir…we will. Sage Faru, I dreamt about The Sorrow again last night. The one where I’m in the graveyard.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Interesting.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t
quite
the same. It didn’t feel like I was being tracked. More like I was dreaming it for another reason. I mean why that graveyard? And that derelict mansion - surely they must all mean something?”

He pondered the question for a moment. “That has actually been puzzling me too. The locations of your dreams have been very specific.”

“So it might mean something?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. I will re-visit them. If I find anything of interest, I shall send someone to investigate. Would that be acceptable?”

“That would be great, thank you.”

He gave a slow nod. “You are welcome. Now go and join the others. You will need each other to help stay strong.”

I saluted him and ran off towards Rachel and Delagio, who were walking with their arms wrapped around one another - as if one would collapse without the other.

*

“Hold still,” laughed Mum, trying to wrap the bowtie around itself. She kept glancing at the instructions lying on the table. “These things are impossible.”

I was standing in the lounge, wearing the tuxedo I’d rented for the Christmas Ball. It was a week after the funeral and things finally seemed to be getting back to ‘normal’.

The past week had been hard, but uneventful. The bodies of the Soldiers of Sorrow who had died in battle had been buried in a specially created lot, far away from the Guardian graveyard. Controversially, a stone column had been erected, with each of their names on, as a symbol of honour. Those who had survived were deported permanently back to Pandemonia. Faru had refused outright for there to be any more death. Sophia was taken to live with the Coven. She had still refused to speak, but at least had started to eat a few small meals. Gabriella and I had visited her every day. She would always be sat in the same position on her bed, staring into space, whilst she fiddled with the remaining ear of the bunny that Tommy had given her.

The Manticore had died in battle. Luckily the cubs were old enough to be able to survive without her. Her body had been taken to the Sanctuary, wrapped in strange multi-coloured bandages, and placed near the cubs. They had sniffed their dead mother and seemed somehow to understand. They’d made heart wrenching mewing sounds and lay with the body around the clock. Somehow, a few days later all that had remained was a bundle of bandages.

All of the Unicorns had survived the battle, but one of the mares had lost her horn, which meant that she died later in the week. Isiodore had been badly injured, but was being treated and - I was relieved to find out - was expected to make a full recovery.

The Red Storm hadn’t subsided, but it was starting to roll away from the base, which suggested that The Sorrow was acting on Faru’s prediction of moving to another section of the Veil. I just prayed they could work out which one it would be in time to seal it. The Red Storm had made Chapter Hill famous. There was no way that the HASEA or the government could hide something that large. Masses of meteorologists and other weather analysts had flocked from all over the world - armed with ten year old readings from a similar incident in Italy - to try and analyse the cause. Obviously, none had worked it out, so had come up with all kinds of bizarre theories, most of which involved global warming. Religious zealots had come in droves, carrying signs with the words
Armageddon
and
Death is Coming
scribbled on them. They were closer to the truth.

Mikey had been brought to the Warren the first morning after the battle, so that Scarlett could attend the funeral. I had been so relieved to see him that I’d pulled him into a spinning hug. He’d walked around the base with his mouth in a permanent O.

Mum and a thinner John had returned home that same evening, faces filled with confusion at the menacing sky hovering over their hometown. For the first few days after their return, everything had been okay. Mikey and I were getting on so well, now that he was a part of my new world, that it seemed to have the effect of drawing us all together. Even John had started to be nice - for a short while.

Then he reverted back to dickhead mode.

Gabriella and I had started to date officially, which also had the added effect of giving me an excuse for the reasons I was always out. But I’d had to put up with the constant knowing winks from Mikey every time I slipped from the house - my holdall bag containing a spare uniform and the Crimson Twins. Mostly it was just being prepared. If there were any SOS left in the country, they were keeping their heads down. I figured that word had spread about the failed attack on the base. I prayed it would stay that way. Mikey had suggested I tell Mum and John, but I’d decided to keep it simple.

Finished with the bow, Mum stepped back to admire her handiwork. “Perfect,” she smiled. “You look wonderful! Doesn’t he look wonderful John?”

John was sat in the armchair by the window. His face appeared from behind the paper he was reading. He gave a grunt, and then his head retreated back into the sports section.

Mum gave a weary sigh. “Well I think it’s wonderful that you and Mikey have such pretty, friendly girlfriends, even if his is always sneaking out at ungodly hours.” She kissed the top of my forehead and left the room, leaving me and John on our own together.