Fated

‘You have no idea how much I’ve been wanting to do that,’ Khazad said thoughtfully. As my vision cleared, I saw he was crouching down in front of me, only a couple of feet away. He was looking at me. ‘I told you this was coming.’

‘Onyx—’ I managed to say.

Khazad smiled, a flash of bared teeth. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. You didn’t know? I’ve decided to throw in with Onyx instead of Del. Wasn’t hard, after what she did in the forest.’ His smile widened. ‘Oh, Verus, you should have heard her after I left them in that room, once she realised I wasn’t coming back. I wonder if she’s still alive. Hope she is. I wouldn’t want it to be too quick.’ Khazad blinked and looked down at me. ‘But what are we going to do with you?’

I started to speak, and suddenly everything went blank.

The next thing I remember is lying against a pillar on the opposite side of the hall. I guess Khazad must have thrown me, though I don’t remember it. The back of my head was wet, and my right side felt like fire. Once my head had cleared enough for me to hear, I realised Khazad was talking again. ‘—and then Onyx told me to go back and kill you! Amazing how things work out, right? Even promised me a reward.’

I tasted copper and spat blood. I knew this was my last chance. Cat and mouse, I thought dizzily. The way to win is not to be the mouse. ‘Only one mage can use it,’ I said to the floor.

‘I mean, I’d have done it for free.’

I made myself look up. Khazad was strolling towards me, keeping a casual eye on me to see whether I was going to make things interesting. I drew a breath and spoke clearly, meeting his eyes. ‘Only one mage can use the fateweaver. That mage is going to be Onyx. Once he has it, he won’t need you. You think Onyx is planning to come back to Morden with anyone? You think he’s going to share the credit? Why do you think you’re still wearing that bracelet?’

Khazad stopped and I knew I’d gotten through. I kept pushing. ‘Onyx told you he’d take it off if you killed me, didn’t he? He’s lying. As soon as you’ve done your job, he’ll trigger it. Once he’s got the fateweaver, there’s no reason to leave you alive. Why do you think Morden didn’t care about us being recognised? We were never meant to survive this. None of us were. We’re just one more set of pawns—’

‘Shut up,’ Khazad said. He stared down at me. I held very still, and felt my life hanging in the balance. I knew Khazad was waiting for me to keep talking, but I didn’t. Everything I’d said was true. My only hope was that Khazad would realise it.

Khazad stepped forward and held out his right arm. ‘Take it off.’

I swallowed. ‘I can’t,’ I said very carefully. ‘But I can change it so it won’t work.’ I began to rise, just slightly.

‘Stay on your knees,’ Khazad said, and I froze. Khazad touched his left hand to the side of my neck. It felt very cold, and I could feel the tension of a spell hovering in his fingers, waiting to be let loose. ‘You have five minutes.’

I swallowed. ‘I do this, you let me go.’

Khazad studied me, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. ‘Agreed,’ he said at last. He held his right wrist in front of me, the bracelet gleaming dully. ‘Do it.’

Have you ever had to work under pressure? You probably think you have. You’re wrong. Real pressure is knowing that if you make a mistake you’ll be dead without ever knowing what you did wrong.

Believe me when I say I worked very carefully.

‘It’s done,’ I said after a few minutes, lowering my tool. Khazad looked down at the bracelet. It looked the same as before. I’d made the same change that I’d made to Rachel’s and Cinder’s.

‘If Onyx triggers it?’ Khazad asked.

‘Nothing.’

Khazad nodded. ‘You said you’d let me go,’ I said, my mouth dry.

Khazad looked down at me and I held my breath. His eyes were opaque, dark. Up close Khazad smelled of dust and death, the scent of old bones. I felt the thoughts running through his head, saw the futures shift. Come on, Khazad. I prayed silently. Be a typical Dark mage. Play with your food.

‘Go on,’ Khazad said, and stepped back.

Slowly I picked myself up. My head spun, and for a moment I thought I was going to fall. My body ached all down my right side where I’d been thrown against the pillar, and my head was pounding. When my vision cleared, Khazad was still watching. I limped away.

Khazad let me get almost to the end of the hall. ‘Oh, Verus?’

I stopped and turned. Khazad was standing there, smiling. The hallway was quiet.

As Khazad lifted his arm to cast the spell that would kill me, I made a small gesture with the fingers of my right hand, the same one Onyx had made.

Black lightning surged from the bracelet on Khazad’s wrist, crackling over his body, and the spell he’d been about to throw dissolved. Shock flashed across his face, followed by agony. He hit the floor with a scream.