"Logan?" Whispered Aislyn, holding out her hand to him.
Slowly, Logan ventured into the room and began walking around Aislyn and Galen, leaving plenty of space between himself and them.
"I figured it out," he said in a monotone voice, "I figured it about an hour after I saw you running off into the woods yesterday."
"Figured what out?" Aislyn asked him, spinning on the spot to keep him in sight, just as she had done with Elijah moments ago.
"That you're Azure. I saw you running off, so I went back into the House. I saw the money you had left on the table, the note you had written pretending to be Elijah. I didn't understand it at first. I didn't understand how you had so much money. So I went into your room. I found the picture albums you had shown us. Except I found the one you didn't show us."
Aislyn knew straight away which book he was referring to. She hadn't bothered to hide it away before she had left, figuring she would get home before her brother and Tamani.
"I saw lots of drawings inside. Drawing of Azure's suit, of different weapons, of lots of scenery. And a lot of blue. I remembered how you acted as if you didn't know about Azure the first time we mentioned her. But if you didn't know her, how were you drawing a picture of her outfit? But then I remembered that night you explained your powers to me. How when I asked you what your original power was, you didn't tell me. Everything just sort of fell into place; Your fighting skills, your powers, why you disappeared at days at a time."
Logan had made his way over to Elijah and Serilda, stopping right next to them.
"So I rode through the night to see President Elijah."
Elijah chuckled and pat Logan on the back, "Yes. I was woken up last night by one of my servants telling me that I had a very concerned visitor asking for me."
"I asked him why you were imprisoned. It had been common knowledge that Azure had been caught a few months before you showed up. And he told me why. How you had gone off the reins. How he'd always had you in-sight, training under Serilda."
Elijah interrupted saying, "I also told him how your... mental state rapidly deteriorated after a certain incident with a certain... Fae."
"Fae?"
Aislyn had forgotten about Jackson and Tamani who had been silent witnesses up to that point.
"Nikolas," was all she gave in explanation.
"Yes, your beloved Nikolas," said Elijah, "Anyway, our conversation was interrupted by this beautiful lady at my side. She told me some rather shocking news about the sudden presence of a person with a very interesting power."
Logan. Aislyn was smart enough to know Elijah and Serilda couldn't be trusted but Logan was too innocent. She was the first other person with a power that he had met in his whole life. Aislyn looked up at Galen and hoped that the concern written all over her face would be enough to make him understand her deep worry for Logan.
She turned back to Elijah, Serilda and Logan. Elijah still had Serilda hanging off his arm and Logan didn't look weary enough of them to calm her worries.
"Logan," she called out, "Come over here to me, or at least go over to Jack and Tam."
"Oh, so now you want to help me? Too late Aislyn. I know about all the experiments President Elijah has been running on those with powers. How he's been bettering them and-"
"Bettering them? He's been killing innocent children!"
"They're just casualties of war, Aislyn."
"Come on, mate," beckoned Galen, "Let's go somewhere else and talk about this."
"You're just as bad as her!" Shouted Logan, pointing a trembling finger at the pair, "You heard me beg her to teach me stuff and how she shut me down every time. Serilda even told me that you revealed to her that you were never planning on showing me anything!"
Fucking bitch. Even in chaos, Aislyn found Serilda to be shit-stirring.
"Logan. Move away now or I'm taking you down, with those two." Aislyn stepped away from Galen and held up her two hands, both alight in blue fire.
"Don't make me do this," she whispered.
"You won't kill us," replied Logan, "if you do, you'll never find Nikolas again."
"I'm never going to see him again, anyway, he's dead!"
"No. No, he's not."
Logan lifted the item in his hand and Aislyn could see there was something wrapped within the cloth. Logan slowly peeled away the cloth, bundling it in one hand, holding the object in the other.
He bent down and slid the object on the floor over to her. Aislyn kept her eyes locked on Logan for as long as she could before her traitorous eyes disobeyed her and gazed down to see what he wanted to show her.
She drew in an airless breath and her legs gave out from under her. She would have hit the floor hard if it hadn't of been for Galen, swooping down to catch her under her arms.
"Galen," she muttered, "It's his. It's his mask."
With the lightest of touches, Aislyn picked up Nikolas' warrior mask from the floor and held it in her arms.
Her eyes darted to the next object, the rag that the mask had been wrapped in, as it slid to a halt just in front of her.
"What is it?" She whispered, picking it up.
The rag was old and dirty. But it felt damp. Turning it over in her hands, she could see parts of it had been stained a light green colour.
What is it?
"Evidence his is still alive," replied Elijah, "fresh sap drawn by me earlier today."
Aislyn felt her chest compress, felt how Galen lowered her to the ground, felt her heart miss a beat.
But all she could see was the mask. The sap.
She could hear muffled yells as Galen bellowed at someone. Elijah? She couldn't tell.
But there was something else there. She could sense something when she gripped the cloth in her hand. It felt like a string, tied around her waist, pulling at her. It was faint, but she could feel something.
And then she realized that it was Mapa's tracking power. She could sense what direction Nikolas was in.
All of a sudden, air came rushing back into her lungs and she could breathe again.
Gasping, she clawed at Galen's leg, desperate to tell him that it was true. Nikolas was alive.
"Logan, what are you doing?"
Aislyn snapped back to reality and looked over at Logan. He was stalking towards Jackson and Tamani.
"Logan?" Asked her brother again.
"I need to prove my loyalty," replied Logan, back to his monotone voice, "I need to prove my loyalty to the Necromancer."
Jackson and Tamani both had their backs pressed up against the way, hands out in surrender.
"Logan," said Tamani, in a calming voice, "put the knife down-"
Aislyn hadn't noticed it before, but clenched tightly in his fist was a knife. One of her own from her room.
Slowly, very slowly, Aislyn placed Nikolas' stuff on the floor and got to her feet, signalling to Galen to move over to Logan's other side.
"Logan," she called out, "I'm sorry. I know I lied to you but I was only trying to protect you."
"Shut up Aislyn."
"Aw, come on Princess, we can get everything sorted out, all you need to do is-"
"I said 'Shut up'!"
Just as Galen pounced on Logan, attempting to tackle him to the ground, Tamani jumped forward trying to snatch the knife out of Logan's grasped.
"No!" Screamed Aislyn, running forwards, hands outstretched.
Logan toppled forward, collapsing under Galen's weight, but where there had been a clear, open space for him to land moments ago, now stood Tamani.
And Aislyn's blade went straight through his chest.
Tamani fell to his knees, clutching at the knife. In a second, Jackson was next to him, catching him as he fell. In the next second, Galen was throwing Logan to the side. And then Aislyn was next to Tamani, cradling his head in her lap, grasping at his hand.
"What should I do?" She howled at Galen.
All Galen needed to do was take a glimpse at the blood spilling from Tamani's chest to know it was too late. He shook his head at her.
Jackson was crying, holding Tamani's other hand, muttering nonsense into his fear-filled face.
"What should I do?" She repeated, looking down into his emerald green eyes.
"Jus-just keep look...looking at me," murmured Tamani, squeezing her hand.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed, her tears falling onto his face.
"I-I-I woul-would have marr-married you," he spluttered, a line of blood trickling from his mouth.
"I know."
Softly and carefully, Aislyn lifted his hand to her face, covering her scar.
"I know."
Tamani smiled. A small sigh left his lips and his hand when limp in her hold. And he died.
Jackson wept, covering his face with his two hands.
Aislyn tenderly lowered Tamani's arm, placing it on the ground. With a shaking hand, she pulled down his eyelids and watched his vibrant eyes close for the last time.
Subconsciously she looked for Galen, seeking him out in he pained state.
"They're gone."
Just about recognizing what the words coming out of his mouth meant, Aislyn looked to the room around her and saw it was empty, save for Nikolas' mask and the old tattered rag still lying where she had left them.
Aislyn went to stand up but found her strength betrayed her. Galen was immediately at her side, helping her up and over to where she wanted to go.
Aislyn bent down and picked both items up, clutching at them as if they were her life-line.
"We're going to go home," she said to Galen, a firmness she didn't think she possessed, coating her voice, "we're going to give Tamani the funeral he deserves. Then we're going to get our Fae back."
FIN
Thank you to all my readers who have got to the end of this story. I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a comment letting me know what you think!
I am planning on writing book 2 and I will post an announcement when I start writing it! Stay tuned!
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to @amelierhys for being my most vocal and prominent reader. Thank you for everything!