Chapters of Fate, Book One: Alec

Chapter Six

Silence filled the chamber.

Alec stood panting over the shriveled body, daggers still in hand, coated in the same sickly green blood that flowed from Lord Pon's body. Somewhere behind him, Kellian was trembling, and somewhere to his left Max and Wallace were huddled together inside their prison. But all Alec could focus on was his own breathing, the dead monster in front of him, and the dead monster's last words, which were playing in his head on repeat.

You cannot hide. Lord Drusus will end the threat of your kind.

But who was Lord Drusus? And what did he want with the gifted?

As he pondered this, a bright, flaring orange light suddenly erupted from Lord Pon's body, flying directly at the door to the cell door that was keeping the kids locked away. It collided into the door with a resounding crash, and for a brief moment the entirety of the metal door was the same neon orange that the orb had been. Alec shoved his daggers back into their sheaths, sprinting forward and jumping off the platform despite his protesting muscles. But before he could reach the door, the entire door disintegrated, splitting into millions of tiny orange orbs that slowly faded from view. Alec stared at the empty space where the uninviting metal door had been, at a genuine loss for words.

Then the boys launched themselves off of their straw mat, racing across the stone floor and through the doorway, throwing their arms around Alec as they yelled.

"I knew you'd come for us!" Max cried.

Wallace agreed. "Of all the people who might have tried, we knew you'd be the one to succeed. You're the only one who could have made it this far."

Alec wrapped his arms around the two younger boys, his friends, holding them close. "I go away for one season...."

Together, their laughter filled the empty chamber.

Kellian floated over, and Max and Wallace detached themselves to carefully embrace the timid Viri, shouting surprised joy at seeing it there. Alec watched them catch up fondly for a moment, the moved toward the group.

"We need to get out of here," he said. "It isn't safe. One of the monsters might come looking for Lord Pon, and when they find it dead...."

Max shook his head. "They won't come here," he said confidently. "The monsters in the tower have nothing to do with Lord Pon. I overheard things while I was trapped here, and when they came to feed us every once in a while. Lord Pon wanted all the tower monsters to help 'im look for more kids, but they said they didn't want to get involved. No one cares what happens to Lord Pon, or it's minion. We won't be found here."

Alec was impressed that Max had been able to find that much out. He turned to Wallace. "I saw you make your attempt at escape at the top of the tower," he told the young boy, who blushed with pride. "Is there any other way out than the top?"

Max nodded. "There are a bunch of pieces of the outer wall that were knocked down, I don't know what from. We could drop out of them, but we'd still be on this side of the moat." He looked up at Alec. "Did you use the talaria to get here?"

Alec nodded, pulling the oversized shoes out from where they were tied to his belt. Max and Wallace grinned at each other, then at Kellian. Clearly, there were a lot of happy memories associated with these shoes.

"Those ought to get us to the other side of the moat," Max said confidently. Alec narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Just how many places have you been with these shoes?" he asked.

When Max and Wallace exchanged guilty, mischievous glances, he shook his head in exasperation. The day was beginning to take its toll on him, and he still had to get the boys to town and deal with his dad. The very thought of Rosseau sent a wave of painful exhaustion through him.