Page 98 of Swords of Soul and Shadow (Gate Chronicles #3)
HIS MISTAKES
Hallie
HALLIE’S BLOOD BURNED WITH SOMETHING worse than fire. Nothing she’d read about in any of her studies could’ve described it. She wished she’d passed out. It would’ve been less painful that way.
If not for the dirt-and-damp smell of the Catacombs and Saldr and Fely whispering above her, she would’ve thought her power had finally broken free and burned her to death.
She couldn’t even speak; when she tried, her raw throat ground it down into a wordless moan.
Someone smoothed her hair; her head was cradled in someone’s lap, but that was all she could figure out. She couldn’t open her eyes.
“Her Relic isn’t strong enough,” Saldr was saying. “But why?”
There was a pause, broken only by the sound of objects bumping against one another, like someone was riffling through a bag. Fely finally said, “Her original Relic was lost in Achilles. These goggles were a replacement.”
Saldr muttered Yalven curses under his breath. “That explains why her training hasn’t progressed far.”
Kase’s voice rumbled above her. “Then how do we find her a new…whatever you said. Relic?”
“None of this would matter if we had the electricity,” another voice said, harsher. The Stradat Lord Kapitan.
“With all due respect, Stradat Lord Kapitan,” Saldr said tightly, as if that due respect took work for him to scrounge up, “Jagamot is here, and Miss Walker will be needed for the greater purpose of resetting the Gate. We cannot spend her power on any lesser pursuits.”
Kase tensed, his leg muscles tightening beneath Hallie’s head. “Neither of you are taking into account that Hallie has been tossed into this without her consent.”
Hallie finally pried open her stinging eyes to find the world consumed by a strange golden haze. She blinked, but it didn’t go away. She winced. It tingled so much worse than it had after Myrrai. Not pinpricks; more like being stabbed repeatedly with long, thin daggers.
“Hals,” Kase said, resting his hand on her cheek. His head hung above her, his eyes widening a fraction. “You’re awake.”
He helped her sit up. Fely knelt beside her, taking her hand.
It was warm to the touch, but Hallie allowed her to give her Soul.
In a few seconds, the golden haze retreated, but only a little.
It lingered in her periphery. The stabbing sensation faded back to prickles before disappearing completely.
“Thought you’d used most of your reserve,” Hallie murmured—or tried to. Her throat wasn’t cooperating. She had to repeat herself so that Fely could understand her.
Kase helped Hallie stand with a steadying hand on the small of her back.
Hallie glanced around best she could, but she couldn’t see much between the dim light and the golden haze at the edges of her sight.
A little further down, where the tunnels still had gas lanterns, Kase’s guard faced the opposite direction; though from what Hallie could tell, no one else was nearby.
The tunnels must have been cleared out in the time since she and Kase had first come down here—either because they’d moved aboveground or because the Stradat Lord Kapitan ordered them out.
She’d been in and out the last few minutes and could only recall bits and pieces as she fought to stay conscious.
Fely’s face was drawn, but she offered a wan smile, touching her locket. “There are a few cave plants that have been sacrificed to aid your recovery.”
Hallie could tell there was more to the story, but the Stradat Lord Kapitan didn’t leave room for her to question further before he argued with Saldr again.
“Then what do you, Lord Saldr, suggest we do while Miss Walker continues to prepare?” He crossed his arms before him, his eyes hard. “I expect the Cerls will mount another full-blown attack soon, especially after Kase’s stunt.”
He said it like that stunt wasn’t the reason they were all still alive.
Kase’s hand fell away from her back. Hallie peeked over at him.
He didn’t say anything; he simply stared at the ground, arms crossed.
While his and his father’s poses were similar, the men themselves couldn’t be more opposed. The tension between them was palpable.
Saldr, brave man that he was, merely said, “The Lord Elder’s power is painful to wield and difficult to control. He had many years to prepare for his role; Miss Walker has had a few weeks. The fact that she’s standing before us now is quite a feat in itself.”
Kase turned his head toward Hallie, his eyes finding hers. Her heart leapt and warmed; her body swayed toward his like that look had some kind of magnetic pull. The heat in her chest grew, but it wasn’t painful. The haze in her vision flared.
They still hadn’t finished their conversation from earlier, and now it looked like they wouldn’t get to for a while.
She should try to put some distance between them physically and emotionally, but she couldn’t make herself do that. Not yet. Not after what he’d said before, about being his fate.
Her hand brushed his, and her skin heated at the brief touch. That wasn’t her power.
“You said something about a Relic earlier. What is that?” Harlan asked, bringing Hallie back to the moment.
Saldr nodded. “A Relic is an object made of the holy metal. It helps the wielder control their power.”
“So once you have that, she can restore the electricity?”
Kase opened his mouth to speak, but Hallie reached out and set her hand on his arm. She stepped past him and held her shoulders high. “When I used the power without one, I destroyed Achilles, and it’s only with the Gate’s help that Niels, Fely, and I made it to Kyvena in one piece.”
Saldr paled, and she didn’t miss the way his gaze darted to Fely.
“But with the dragon and the rest of the Cerls still out there, the consequences might be worth it,” she added reluctantly. “If the electricity will do that much good.”
“Miss Walker,” Saldr ventured, “using such power would take a toll.”
“Yes. But it might be worth it,” she repeated. Kase shifted uncomfortably.
It was at that moment that Jove Shackley spoke up.
She hadn’t noticed him leaning against the wall; the golden haze fizzing around her vision had hidden him until he’d stepped forward.
“Perhaps. But what about Correa? We know he’s coming here, and for all we know, he could have the rest of the army and air force at his back. ”
“Yet another reason we need to be ready for a fight,” Harlan said gruffly. “I refuse to let them waltz in here again. We need Pilot Shackley and the others in the air as soon as possible.”
Kase shook his head. “I can handle the Cerls.”
“Not in one of their death machines.” Harlan’s voice was low and nearly as cold as it had been when Hallie had overheard them during the estate dinner months ago. “Your patrols are only a temporary solution.”
Kase’s voice only wavered slightly, but whether it was from fear, anger, or something else, Hallie couldn’t decide. “I’d say my ability to work the hover is an asset, Stradat Lord Kapitan.”
Jove stepped in between the two men. “Father’s right, Kase. From the intelligence we have on the technology, it’s dangerous.”
“But—”
“And furthermore, we’ve lost the element of surprise with you taking out the last squadron.” Jove turned to look at the Stradat Lord Kapitan. “It saved us, yes, but now Correa knows to look out for a rogue ship. They’ll have new protocols in place to keep it from happening again.”
Hallie wanted to argue on that front. She wasn’t sure where Correa was. She hadn’t seen him since Ravenhelm. But then again, what was to say he wasn’t already here in Kyvena, hidden among the refugees?
The soft golden glow winked in her vision. She turned toward it for a moment.
When she squinted, the golden fog narrowed to a point. It was unlike anything she’d experienced before…yet it also felt like a memory of some sort, or a dream that faded after waking.
Curious.
“But you don’t understand,” Kase said, gesturing with his hands.
His words interrupted her thoughts, and she ducked just in time to avoid being accidentally hit as he pointed to his chest. “It’s like the hover is a part of me.
It knows what I want to do before I even do.
It’s the perfect weapon to fight them with.
We’ll never accomplish anything in one of our standard hovers unless your goal is for your last few pilots to go down in flames. ”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why?” Kase shouted. “Just trust me! I can do this. I’ve already proven I can.”
“You can’t, Ezekiel! The cost is your soul !” The Stradat Lord Kapitan’s shout rang off the walls so loudly, Hallie stumbled into Kase. His eyes were pits of darkness without much light in this part of the tunnels.
What?
Hallie narrowed her eyes, her gaze going between the Stradat Lord Kapitan—who clearly had lost his mind, if he thought he was talking to Zeke—to Kase, who looked ready to punch something or someone. Then to Jove, whose face had lost all color.
“As we’ve already established several times, I’m not Zeke,” Kase spat, still raring for a fight.
“Sorry,” Harlan said. His voice sounded like gravel. He didn’t look at anyone, much less his sons. “I’m…sorry.”
Kase curled his hands into fists. Jove was still pale, but he looked more intrigued now, as if his father had just spoken an entirely different language.
No one spoke for a few more seconds after that. In those moments, it was almost like they truly were in a place where they’d buried the dead. The air weighed heavy. All that surrounded them were the bones of secrets and memories left behind by beloved dead.
Zeke had died a hero, and his soul soared among the stars. That was something even someone like the Stradat Lord Kapitan could respect. So why would he connect the idea of losing a soul with his middle son?
There was something she was missing.