Page 92 of Claim the Light
They’re both dressed in white pants and tunics similar to mine. It brings out the darkness of Lana’s hair and the brightness of her blue eyes. Callan towers over all of us, both he and Lana radiating an immense power that takes my breath away.
It defies the grief in their expressions.
Lana’s cheeks are tear-streaked and Callan’s eyes are shadowed, his lips pressed into a hard line.
I’m asking them to separate at a time when they should be together. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.
Callan’s response is spoken in a deep growl that sends a shiver down my spine. “Fucking kill him, Sophia. If you don’t, I will try. Even if it means I die trying.”
There’s no room for doubt in his words.
Tears are welling in Lana’s eyes.
If I can’t save her, Callan’s rage will be a destructive force to be reckoned with.
Despite all my fears of what the future holds, I tip my head back and meet the deep rage in Callan’s eyes. “You were the first to give me a real home and to believe in me,” I say to him. “You were there when my dragon first appeared. You held my hand when I was afraid and taught me how to release my wings. You opened the door to my freedom and gave me the chance to step through it. Now, it’s my turn to protect you.”
I step up to him, tipping my head back, unflinching in the face of the heat waves beating around his form. “Tyler will meet his end at my hand, or I too, will die trying.”
Callan gives me a firm nod.
Then I turn to Isaac. “The way out?”
He gestures to the bottom of the staircase. “We’ll exit the veil through the most concealed door. We can part ways once we’re out there. It’s not safe to go back via the fountain. The Scorn have seen us there. They could be lying in wait. We need to go through a door that’s rarely ever used.” He grimaces. “Only in exceptional circumstances.”
“Why is that?” I ask as we follow him down the staircase.
“It lets out into a back alley,” he replies. “Humans have constructed buildings around it over time in a way that makes it difficult to access from the other side, but also creates perfect conditions for the veil’s magic to conceal it.”
At my curious glance, he gives me a mysterious smile. “You’ll see.”
He descends the final step and then heads to the right. I don’t know how he can tell where he’s going, since there isn’t a discernable path, but he walks ten paces straight ahead, followed by two paces to the left, and then he stops.
A white door appears in front of him, its color so pale that it’s difficult to make out against the backdrop of our bright surroundings.
“I’ll keep the door open for you,” he says. “But remember you won’t be able to return to the veil without me.”
He takes the handle, but instead of pushing the door outward, or pulling it inward, he slides it to the left.
A misty haze rests over the opening, but beyond it, I can make out faint sunlight. It’s midday—a time of day when I might have felt safe.
Traditionally, the Scorn always carried out their kills in dark rooms, shadowed alleys, and grimy basements. Maybe even on rooftops on cloudy nights. Never under bright lights. But the attack on Lana and Callan occurred during the morning hours, proving that the Scorn no longer have any hesitation launching an assault in broad daylight.
The faint sounds of traffic and the hum of city life filter through the haze.
Micah’s presence at my back is all the reassurance I need before I step through into the alley beyond.
The moment I leave the veil, a shiver rocks me. The alley is dark, deserted, and narrow, and dirt has gathered around the edges on both sides and formed a layer of sludge beneath our feet.
It’s also completely closed off at the other end, which isn’t more than ten paces away. It feels like I’ve stepped into a box. Windowless brick walls rise high up on all four sides. Isaac and the others follow me through, the door closes behind us, and then we’re completely boxed in.
“How the fuck did this happen?” Beatrix asks, gazing at the built-in space around us.
Isaac grimaces. “For the most part, entrances to the veil were carefully planned to exist within well-established buildings with a high chance of never being torn down. This spot was a miscalculation. It won’t officially exist on any city plan, but the magic in the veil stops it from being blockaded over.”
“I see why you don’t use it often,” I say, picturing myself dropping directly down into this space with enemies on my heels. “The chances of someone catching you or following you into the veil are high.”
“That would be true,” Isaac says as he steps into the clear space at the other end of the alley. “Except that the veil’s magic is able to be amplified within these walls. Sort of like a ball bouncing from one wall to the other in a never-ending loop. It means that this entire space is protected. We won’t be exposed until we reach the top.”
