Sunrise (Pact Arcanum 2) by Arshad Ahsanuddin

Author:Arshad Ahsanuddin [Ahsanuddin, Arshad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-10-12T11:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 31

Castle Night, French Alps; Forty-five minutes later

Rory stood silently at the edge of the battlements, gazing down at three huge bonfires, the mystic flames painting the courtyard a vivid sapphire in the darkness before the dawn. Only another hour before sunrise and still no sign of him. Could he have slipped past me? Then he felt the psychic probe he was waiting for and smiled. “Hello, Nick.”

The probe withdrew hurriedly, but Rory had already traced the source back to the lower levels of the castle. He snorted. “I know you’re there, Nicholas.”

The psychic touch came again, and Nick’s inner voice answered with resignation. “Hello, Rory.”

“Come up and join me for a drink. You know where to find me.” Rory broke contact, leaving it up to Nick whether he would accept the invitation. He settled in to wait.

Fifteen minutes later, Nick climbed the stairs onto the roof. Rory knew objectively that Nick had risen to the third life, but the Daywalker’s white hair slammed home exactly what had happened to his friend that night, the ordeal he’d endured because of Rory’s stupidity. Rory turned away before Nick noticed him watching, and refocused his attention on the bonfires below. So many mistakes, and no way to make up for them.

Walking barefoot across the bloody stone of the roof, Nick made his way to Rory’s side.

“What are you burning?” Nick asked, following Rory’s gaze.

Rory continued to watch the flames, the faint crackling sound carrying all the way up to where they stood. “The bodies of House Luscian. Once they’re completely consumed, we will commit their ashes to the wind and the sunlight.”

Nick nodded politely, clearly uninterested in the fate of his brethren. “How did you know I was here? I was trying to be careful.”

Rory tapped the side of his head before glancing back at Nick. The younger man’s clothes were stained with ash from the many fires burning throughout the castle, as well as the bloody cross on his shirt that Anaba had mentioned. “Ana linked to me. She explained what happened after you rose to the third life.”

“Ah. Once a triad, always a triad, I guess.”

Rory’s gaze locked on the cerulean blue of the Daywalker’s eyes, so full of pain and despair. His heart broke all over again, remembering the desperate look Nick had given him in the last moment of life, just before Luscian ended it forever. Get ahold of yourself, he thought. Nick doesn’t need to be reminded of that.

He forced his voice to remain level. “It’s the first time I’ve felt her thoughts in almost three years. Ana and Take don’t touch my mind much anymore. She only called to tell me you would need an amplified, fixed-point teleport gateway to jump all the way back from Hephaestus Station, and that if Luscian had one operational, it would probably be hidden somewhere in the castle. So I sent everyone away from the High Tower and extended my thoughts to cover the entire complex looking for you.” Rory

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