Chaos (24 page)

The gates were open. And Malachi was gone.

TWENTY-FIVE

P
EOPLE POURED THROUGH THE
open gates like the river that was chasing us, headed for the light on the other side. Arms lifted me to my feet. Ana and Takeshi’s lips formed words I couldn’t hear.

Malachi,
I mouthed.
Where is he?

They shook their heads.

I stumbled forward, supported by my fellow Guards. My footsteps shuffled into the shallow black crater and out the other side, smearing ash on my toes as tendrils of smoke spiraled into the air. If he were killed, wouldn’t he be right here, beyond the gates? Shouldn’t he be waiting for me?

I scanned the crowd, all the faces blurring as they scrambled out of the Mazikin city. So many faces streaked by—some of them strangers, some vaguely familiar. I dug in my heels, trying to slow down, but Ana and Takeshi kept pulling me toward the light. Finally, I yanked my arms from their grip, needing to find Malachi before I did anything else. I knew he’d be waiting there. Maybe he needed me.

I stood in the sandy space where I’d first entered the dome. People and vehicles swarmed around the black crater. Faraway screams and cries filled the air as broken, wounded people ran, stumbled, crawled toward freedom. Some of them carried others on their backs or dragged the injured through the sand.

Malachi wasn’t among them. He wasn’t there. I looked back at the opening in the dome, which had been torn like a curtain, ragged edges flapping in the desert wind. A massive crowd stood in the sand outside, bathed in white light, and still more were coming as the Mazikin tried to stop anyone they could. A few yards away, one Mazikin leaped on top of a woman and angrily twisted her neck, then tore her head off. I blinked, expecting her to appear in the space where I was standing, but all I felt was a breeze streaking by my cheek.

The dome was
open
. She wasn’t trapped in the city anymore. Her soul was free to go wherever she belonged, be it the Countryside or whatever realm she needed or deserved. And that meant it was the same for Malachi, who had set off that grenade intentionally, knowing he’d be reduced to ash.

Malachi had killed himself.

“Oh God,” I whispered. Was he in the dark city now? Rage twisted inside me as tears burned my eyes. I swayed in place, watching the Mazikin go after the stragglers.

I’m in love with your strength, your determination, the way you never
ever
give up. These people need those things from you now.

Those were his last words to me. Not
Help me
,
find me
,
weep for me
. Not
Love me
,
save me
,
remember me
. Help
them
, he’d said. It was what he’d sacrificed himself for, why he’d suffered. He’d dreamed of seeing these people freed. This was why he’d fought for so long, and so hard, and at such a high price. He had atoned.

But there was still work to be done.

No matter where he was now, I knew what he’d want. He would never abandon these souls, would never fall to his knees and grieve, would never surrender. And neither would I.

I drew the one remaining knife I had and ran back toward the city. Only a few blocks away, buildings shook and crumbled as pieces of the dome cracked and tore, like some kind of stiff fabric. Most of the Mazikin had fled, but a few who wore the black triangle remained, tearing through the humans as they tried to get through the open gate. “Ana, Takeshi!” I shouted. “Help!”

I didn’t wait to see if they were coming to my aid. I charged up to one of the Mazikin guards and threw myself onto its back, plunging my knife into its ear and riding it to the ground. Before I could get to my feet, another landed on me, and I got my hands in front of my neck a split second before it slashed at my throat. I lunged to the side, twisting to ram my knife between its ribs. Its eyes bugged and its tongue lolled as it hit the cement, and my fingers were wet with its blood as I reclaimed my blade.

I have no idea how many Mazikin I killed or how many people I helped escape. While the city collapsed around me, I became a machine, ignoring the pain in my body and the knot of despair in my heart, focusing only on getting every single living soul through the gates. Takeshi and Ana ran past me a few times, helping stragglers limp toward freedom, protecting them from desperate, ravaging Mazikin. I felt the faint warmth of gratitude, knowing they were making Malachi’s sacrifice count.

I ventured in another block, to the blood-splashed overturned vehicles that had piled up within sight of freedom. Water lapped at my ankles as I marched along, searching for anyone left alive who might need help getting out. Few Mazikin remained, and those who did skulked in the open first floors of the buildings that were still standing. Their ears were flat to their heads, their tongues hanging out as they panted their anxiety. The city was doomed, and they could probably smell death in the air.

Eventually, I reached the loader where the Smith had been perched, shouting to his people through his bullhorn. Just as I was wondering if he’d gotten out, I spotted him, lying crumpled and gasping against a tire. I knelt next to him, trying to pull him up, only to discover that one of his legs was hanging by a thread and he had a terrible wound in his throat. The creatures had torn him open and abandoned him to suffer, and in the chaos, he’d been left behind.

“Come on,” I huffed, trying to pull him to a stand.

He let out a hoarse groan. “No. I’m too heavy.”

“We have to
go
, dude,” I said, getting behind him and sliding an arm under his shoulders.

“Are there others?” he asked between wheezes. “Get the others.”

I looked around, but not a single live human remained. Plenty of headless, destroyed bodies, but no living people. Except for him. “No one else. Come with me. I’ll help you.”

His dark eyes met mine. “You would be doing me a favor, you know.”

I shook my head. “No. You can make it. Your people are waiting for you.”

He gave a pained chuckle. “And you think I could lead them through the desert beyond this dome?” He glanced down at his leg. “No, Guard. You will lead them for me. Let me go. Help me go.”

“But you don’t know where you’ll end up,” I said. “Really, you don’t—”

“Wherever the Judge decides I go, I’m sure I’ve earned it.” He nailed me with a piercing gaze. “Don’t fail me.” His short, thick fingers closed over my right hand, the one that held the knife. “And make it quick, if you don’t mind.”

I placed my hand on the side of his face, letting my thumb stroke down his homely, weathered cheek. I closed my eyes. And when I opened them, I didn’t hesitate or let myself think about it. I used every ounce of merciless strength I possessed, and I cut decisively, and when I was sure it was enough, I didn’t look down. I got to my feet and walked. Past the overturned loader, past the place where Malachi had kissed me good-bye, past the spot where he’d sacrificed himself so everyone else could be free, and through the gates. Beyond the dome, the masses of people churned, so many that the desert seemed full. The world behind me was breaking, tearing, collapsing in on itself. Like my heart.

I stalked through the tear in the dome, not bothering to look up at the source of the bright light that covered the endless crowd of people. Ana and Takeshi were standing with a few men with rag-wrapped feet, wearing stained, worn leather armor. One of them, a muscular blond with harsh features, looked up as I came toward them.

“Lela,” said Ana, gesturing to the man and his comrades, “these are the Guards of the Wasteland. They’ve been tasked with helping us get these folks to the Countryside. And this”—she put her arm around the blond guy—“is Sascha. He helped me when I came here before, and he gathered the others to guide everyone through the desert.”

Sascha. The name was familiar, but I was too dazed and destroyed to find a connection. “Good,” was all I could say. “That’s good.”

Sascha stood up a little taller. He towered over the rest of us. “We need to get these people moving,” he said in thickly accented English. “It’s not an easy journey.”

He strode forward, followed by the other Guards. Ana stayed behind.

“Don’t ask me how I am,” I said quietly.

“I won’t. But Lela, listen to me: what Malachi did?” She gestured at the enormous throng of people spread across the desert in front of us. “This is what he wanted. It’s what he’s needed. For
so
long.”

“I know.”

She remained in front of me for another second, then released my shoulder and turned on her heel. She reached Takeshi and took his hand, smiling up at him with hard-won happiness on her face. The crowd parted for them, needing to be led, and then swallowed them up as everyone began to follow.

I knew she expected me to do the same, but I couldn’t get my feet to take another step.

“You don’t have to. The others will take care of it now,” said a voice from behind me. One I recognized well. I turned to see the Mazikin city sinking and crumbling into the sand as the dome sealed itself up again. And Raphael, standing in front of it like he saw this kind of thing every day. His face was glowing, too bright for me to look at for long.

“Did we get everyone?” I asked.

“Everyone who didn’t belong in that city is no longer in the city,” he replied, inclining his head toward the crowd, which was plodding away from us. “The Guards will lead them through the Wasteland. Those who belong elsewhere will get there. They will see where they’re supposed to go.”

“That easy?”

“That easy and that hard.”

“And me?”

The brightness around him faded, like he was pulling it back inside himself. “You are not finished.”

I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. “Yes, I am.”

He said nothing. Just stood there, waiting.

I pressed my lips together and rubbed my eyes. “Fine. But before you take me anywhere, I need to know. And don’t tell me I don’t. Where’s Malachi? If he’s in the dark city, I’m going to—”

He held up his hands and chuckled. “As much as I enjoyed our last dramatic encounter, I have no wish to repeat it. Malachi is not in the dark city.”

The breath rushed out of me, and I sank to my knees. Raphael caught me, putting his incredibly warm arm around my back. “He had no wish to die,” he said softly. “He didn’t feel despair. He wasn’t trying to escape. In fact, I think he very much would have liked to stay. In other words, the dark city was not what he needed.”

A tear slid from my eye. “So can I see him now? Is he at the Sanctum? Is he okay?”

Raphael squeezed my arm. “He’s absolutely fine, Lela. Much better than fine.”

I swiped my sleeve across my face. “Awesome.” I needed to see him. To talk to him. I needed him to hold me, and whatever I had to do next would be bearable. As long as he was with me.

“Lela, you must understand something,” Raphael said gently, like he could hear my thoughts, as I’d long suspected he could. He moved in front of me and made sure I was looking at him. “Malachi has done everything he needed to do.”

“What are you saying?” I whispered.

He smiled his beautiful, dazzling, painful smile. “Malachi is no longer a Guard of the Shadowlands. He’s been released into the Countryside, to enjoy his forever.”

I stalked up the pristine white aisle toward the dark figure waiting at the front. This time, the inhuman Guards on either side of me all stared at me with respect. But I didn’t care. I’d been hollowed out and burned. I was empty. I reached the front of the courtroom and waited for the Judge to acknowledge me. I should have been scared or awed, but I just felt numb.

She raised her head, and this time, her eyes were amber brown, like mine, like my mother’s. Her gaze held me still while she glided forward. She looked like this weird melding of Diane and my mom, and it made my stomach churn. Not with nausea. With want. I wanted her to hug me, and I hated it. I wanted her to put her arms around me and tell me it was going to be okay, even though it was the cruelest thing she could have done. I stepped back as she drew near. “Why?”

“That’s a huge question for a little girl,” she said, but not in a mocking way. She halted in front of me. “I know you’re tired, baby.”

“Don’t call me that. And I’m not
tired
—I’m done. Important difference.”

“But you’re not. Juri is a threat in the land of the living, and he has ten other Mazikin with him.”

“Wasn’t his Mazikin body destroyed when we blew up the portal? Shouldn’t that have killed him—including the part of him that’s in the land of the living?”

She shook her head. “The substance in the portal is pure life. It can’t be destroyed; only the passageway can. Juri’s Mazikin body, and those of the others, is preserved. Deep underground, most likely, but still there. And as long as it is, he can occupy that human body—”

“Malachi’s body,” I snapped.

“Kill Juri and the remaining Mazikin in the land of the living. If they’ve been buried, their animal bodies will die as soon as their spirits return. End the Mazikin threat forever. That is your mission.”

“No.” But even as I said it, I thought of Diane. And Tegan. And Ian. And Henry. The ones I’d left behind. The ones Juri could so easily hurt. “Send someone else.” Someone better. Stronger. Whole. That was what they needed.

The Judge touched my chin, sending painful, deep tingles coursing across my skin. “You’re so angry.”

“Am I supposed to be happy?”

“You feel how you feel. I understand it.”

“Well, maybe you can help me out, then,” I snarled. “I thought you might be some kind of God person, you know? I thought you knew everything. But then I found out that you created the Mazikin. You let them do this. And now you’re using me to clean up your mess.”

She tilted her head. “If I am some kind of ‘God person,’ do you really think you’re capable of understanding me?”

“I’m capable of understanding that a million people were sent to hell because you couldn’t control your pets,” I shouted, right in her face, knowing she could zap me out of existence with a twitch of her eyebrow, and almost hoping she would.