Ciara was cold and afraid. She knew she had eyes, but couldn't open them. She had eyes... but did she have anything else? What was she? Did she have skin, a body? She felt like an unmanned boat, sliding uncontrollably through water.
Then she realised she could see. There were orbs floating near her, in the darkness. The darkness began to take shape. It was the spirit plane – she could see her surroundings, but everything was shrouded in that fog. She gazed upon her companions' souls, feeling awed that she was witnessing the very essence of their lives. It felt strangely intimate. Fell's soul was dark grey. Tonraq's was paler. Ciara glanced down at herself and was almost blinded by the pure, shining white. She was a wisp, made of pure energy.
Was her original grey soul in there somewhere? What had happened to it?
Ciara moved. In the spirit plane, corporeal obstacles were not barriers, and she slid easily through the door. There was no fire in the corridors – or did Hati's fire not show up here? She tried to remember the path she took from the throne room, but it was no matter: Hati's strong, powerful soul drew her like an insect to a flower, or a moth to light. She could feel the energy coming off him in waves, energy that matched her own.
Was she walking? She seemed to be moving too fast. Either way, it wasn't long before the throne room materialised, the source of that pulsing power.
Ciara paused, pressing herself into the shadows behind the arch, feeling nervous. Would Hati see her, or was he focused on the material world?
And then his voice rumbled through the room. "Are you going to stay in the shadows forever? I can sense you out there. Come into the light."
With no choice left, she entered the room – and fear froze her spirit-feet to the floor.
Hati's black soul was huge. It hovered at the throne, sending off waves of dark energy and heat, just like Ask's. The flames crackling at the circle were strangely colourless, like the rest of the spirit plane in the mountain, but they felt like Hati. His creation.
The darkness began to congeal. Ciara realised what was happening as the force grew stronger, threatening to force her to her knees. Hati was entering the spirit plane. The shadows formed into the shape of a person. Hati spread his arms as his fire-red eyes gleamed. "Do you like this form? Does it make me seem less dangerous than the wolf?"
"No."
He chuckled. "No, indeed. I am dangerous, whatever form I take."
"So am I." In here, nothing was restricting her. She was raw, undiluted power, and ice coursed through her.
"Please." His soft voice was scornful. "You're an amateur."
"Maybe. But you know what can combat fire, Hati? Ice."
He rolled his eyes. "All right, all right, calm down. It's an absolute pleasure meeting you in this plane of being again. I didn't think you knew about it."
"Well, I do."
"Has that charming, cocky bastard already explained it to you?"
Ciara gaped at him for a moment. "I... did not expect you to have so much contempt for Ask. You are talking about him, right?"
"Of course I'm talking about him. Who else? Why are you here, Embla?"
"To talk. Why don't you want to re-join the Syndicate? It would help everyone... wouldn't it?"
"Help everyone." He snorted. "Maybe it did, once. But when centuries passed, our ideals and aims changed. Nothing lasts forever. Except us, of course. There were arguments between the souls, the species with different ideas. It did not always benefit the world. If, by some miracle, you do reunite the Syndicate, you will see."
"But what about you? You can't just hide in this mountain."
"Who said I was hiding?" His eyes burned. "I am no coward. I simply prefer it here, away from the stupidity and ignorance of the world."
"But Fenris and the Protectorate want to fix the world, make it a better place, and guardians are the only ones who can help." Forget about Fell and his ideals.
"Well, you needn't have come all this way. Go now. I won't stop you."
She felt his ripples of amusement. "Stop being clever," she snapped. "I can't do it myself. I..."
"Ah. You want me to submit to your will, curl up nice and quiet like a good wolf, and let you drag me to your fire-forsaken human city." He forced a laugh.
"No, of course not, I would never –"
"Drop it, my dear cousin. Just drop the idea." He looked at her thoughtfully, his eyes sending a lance of flame through her. "Ciara. Embla. Protector of justice. Queen of ice. These are your titles, are they not?" A pause. Hot eyes, growing hotter. "Soul seeker."
She glared at him.
"You and your gang of seekers... are you satisfied, now you've found me? No? Seeking and persuading are very different, and I am sorry to say your companions are only good at one of the two."
"But you can't stay here forever!" In desperation, her voice rose and ice swirled in the air. Hati watched as his fire loomed and steam spiralled where the two elements met.
"You'll find I can, actually. Now go back to your hidey-hole, little scout, and tell your friends that I am still here. That's what they want to know, isn't it?"
So he knew. Of course he did; he knew everything that happened in the mountain, it was his domain. Ciara shut her eyes and let herself snap easily back into her skin.
She opened her eyes as a wave of exhaustion swept through her body.
Sebastian and Fell were arguing, but nobody had noticed she was awake.
"You can't just let her do things like this!" Sebastian was shouting. "So what, you need a scout? I don't care! She could die!"
"It's perfectly safe."
"No, it's not! Not when she's out there, with Hati! She's not just a thousand-year-old soul, you know – she's a girl! She's nineteen!"
"She's not vulnerable, Sebastian, she can take care of herself."
"And what if something happens? What if she gets hurt? It'll be your fault. Wouldn't you feel any guilt at all? You feel guilty when anything happens to the rest of us. Is she not one of us now?"
"Of course. But she is a guardian, and she has power."
"Not really. She's not Embla, Fell! She's Ciara." Sebastian spun around, facing away from his uncle angrily, and relief flooded his face. "You're awake."
"Yeah," Ciara grunted, trying to sit up. Pain shot through her muscles and she slumped back against the stone.
"Here, let me." Sebastian scooped her up into his arms, beating Tonraq, who had also taken a few tentative steps forward. He carried her to a sleeping bag that someone had unrolled in a corner. Ciara was touched that he'd been defending her – and to his uncle, who he admired, of all people – but it was strange, coming from the boy who had seemed to hate her the most out of his companions.
"Thank you."
"So, what happened? I walked into the room and you looked dead." His face was pale and concerned.
"In a way, I was. I detached my soul."
"Yeah, Fell told me. What's it like out there?"
The others crowded around them.
"Hati is in the throne room. He sensed me, and we had a little chat." Ciara sighed. "I couldn't make him change his mind. He didn't attack me, though. I don't think he's going to leave, and even if he goes for a stroll, he'll be able to tell where we are as soon as we step through that door."
"Is there any other way out of the mountain?" Sebastian looked hopefully at Fell, who shook his head.
"Nothing but the main entrance. Hati would catch us, anyway."
"But surely he wouldn't want to keep us prisoner here, he despises us."
"He would have killed us by now if he wanted to. He's had plenty of chances. He just likes watching us run around away from his fire." Fell scowled. "It's like a game to him."
"Wait. Fell." Isa was frowning. "Do you remember the mines?"
"The ones our ancestors built?"
"They had all collapsed, been blocked off... or so we thought. Don't you remember, Father found a way in through one of them?"
Fell flinched. "Don't call him that."
"A way out," Ciara said. "Do you know how to get to it?"
"The tunnels were high," she replied. "So all we have to do is keep heading up."
Sebastian shook his head. "But it's a death trap. Hati will be waiting to pounce, he'd never let us sneak away."
"Unless we distract him," Tonraq said.
"Unless I distract him," Ciara corrected. "It worked the first time. He didn't realise there were more of us while we were talking, until you ran in."
"I'm faster than anyone – let me do it, he'd be expecting you after the first time," Tonraq argued.
"And how would you get out?" she asked.
"You can't outrun a guardian." Fell shook his head. "But you might confuse him, at least."
"What if he burns you to a crisp?" Ciara demanded.
"We're all in danger," Tonraq muttered. "He could burn us all to a crisp."
"When did you become so reckless?"
"I must have spent too much time with you," he retorted.
"As much as I hate tobreak up a good argument," Isa said, "I think this plan could work – if you both distract Hati. First you, Ciara.Then when we run for it, Tonraq can step in. It's risky, but we just need tohave each other's backs."