Chapter 38

AN: The lyrics are Take Me Away, by Seether.

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As beautiful as fire against the evening sky
you fuel the lost desire- I no longer wanna die
Take me by the hand and see beyond the lies
Strip away the fences - leave me needing, leave me high
I know you're so solo, but I can't.

That night, Mara ducked into the tent, noticing immediately that Karma wasn't there. She sighed, but didn't blame the mongrel; it was hard to take the still-fresh scent of blood for too long. "Acelan?" the half-falcon whispered, wondering if he was asleep. The soft crackling of fire sounded outside, but its light did little to penetrate the darkness of the tent and she squinted, straining to see.

He moaned softly in answer. "Is that Mara?"

She nodded, realized he couldn't see her in the near-darkness, and replied,
"Yes." "Did I wake you?" She walked closer to him; fell to her knees, staring at his face in the gloom. When he shook his head, she saw tears glistening on his
cheeks.

"Oh, Acelan." She brushed his tears away with her thumbs, her wings trembling
above her. He had always been there for her, when she fell to Ecl, when her
mother wouldn't look at her anymore...Now she needed to comfort him, despite the fact that she was nearly always emotionless. But he was her oldest friend—her oldest, most trustworthy friend.

Take me away - cause I don't wanna lose control
Take me away- cause I don't wanna lose it all

Relieved of all the pain you let me see again
Delivered from my shame now and I am lost for what to say
Cleansed and pure and weak, I suffer when I dream.
I need to find a purpose- I need to feel you needing me.
I know you're so solo, but I can't.

Without thinking, she curled up beside him, placing her head gently on his
chest. She wanted to hear his heart beat, to make sure he was all right. She didn't speak at first, just watched her breathing match his and spread her wings over herself to stop their trembling.

She heard him sigh and wondered what he was thinking about. "Everything will
work out," she breathed, and smiled, hugging him close. Then she thought of
something else, and nearly giggled. "Friends forever, remember?"

He nodded, and she wanted so badly for him to smile. "Yes," he replied, "that's
right."

Mara took his hand, and did not speak for a long while. Acelan tried to sit up in the makeshift bed, dragging himself up, Mara tried to coax him into lying back down. "No, Mara. Just let me sit up, it's not going to kill me," He whispered, "I heard you and the others talking outside… that there's been a new victim of the killer."

Mara only nodded.

Acelan dragged an arm across his eyes, "I can't believe it…" His breath caught in his throat and he sighed, "She wanted me to come here to claim the throne…and now—" Acelan buried his head in his hands, blinking back tears. His tone was heavy with grief as he spoke again, "Gods, Mara…what happened to me? Why her? Why did she tell me to come?" He dragged air into his lungs, "I could have stopped this from happening…but I didn't."

The half-falcon took his hands, "You did what you thought was the right thing. Now that you are here, Akoto knows you're a force to be reasoned with. He's afraid."

Acelan shook his head, and looked up, "Iris died because of me—her own brother." "Gods I failed her, I gave a promise to my mother, just before she died to protect Iris…not let her die!"

The half-phoenix then tried to stand but collapsed as his leg gave out. Cursing and muttering, he tried again to stand but Mara only saw that it was causing him pain. "Stop!" She cried, "Acelan, just stop before you kill yourself!" Mara withdrew into the dark to hide her forming tears. She couldn't bear to see him in pain.

He only looked up at her, his amber eyes sparkling, sweat trickling down his face, "I can't." he murmured, suddenly diving into Ecl.

Mara gasped and stumbled forward, "No," she breathed. She went to call for the others but decided against it. Instead she sunk into Ecl after him.

Mara dove into Ecl with a scream, slamming her body against the water. She felt the ice break against the impact, chill her skin, felt it scrape her and draw blood, but she didn't care as her body sunk to the ground, her mind drowning in Ecl's icy waters.

"Acelan…oh gods, come back! Don't fall…" she called, desperate.

Mara broke the surface of the water, bubbles of her breath coming to meet the air with her. She had to find Acelan. He was injured and his anger and guilt would do no good down here.

Mara shook the water from her ebony hair and climbed clumsily onto the ice. Her fingers slipped as she tried to find a grip, it took a few tries before she could heave herself up instead of plunging back into the cold, black waters.

Pure and weak, I suffer when I dream
Cleansed of me, I suffer when I dream
Because I want you to stay, you take away the pain
I want you to stay, I need you here to keep me sane

"Acelan!" she screamed, sobs threatening to escape. Her chest ached from the cold, her soaked violet shift doing nothing to stop the shivers from coursing down her spine and making her wings tremble. Ruffling her wings, she stumbled along on the ice, stretching her awareness across the desolate plains, wishing she could find her friend. His presence was here, in Ecl, and Mara had a feeling that if she didn't find him soon, it would be too late. He'd be already drawn to Ecl's beautifully terrible lullaby.

"Where are you?" Her voice echoed, the words bouncing back to her, but no one else answered. She blinked tears from her eyes, determined to stay strong, and began to run, the sense of urgency bubbling up to her throat, cutting off her air. "Please Acelan answer me!" Tears welled up in her eyes and she tripped, falling forward with a cry…

That's when she saw it, as she opened her closed eyes. What looked to be a human figure, sprawled on the ground, surrounded by a dark puddle of red. "No!" Mara shrieked, scrambling to her feet, running faster. She nearly tripped on the slick ice again a few times but ignored the marks her bloodied arms left on the frozen surface, terrified that the still figure was Acelan. That he had committed suicide.

But when the half-falcon finally reached the spot, there was only a patch of bare ice. No one lay there; there was no blood on the ice, where Mara could have sworn she'd seen someone seconds before. "Acelan…" she whispered.

I want you to stay- you take away the pain

Mara looked up suddenly and saw Karma beside her. The tri-blood's pink-violet eyes were solemn, "I knew this would happen…" she whispered, "He won't come, Mara. It's his choice."

The half-falcon shook her head vigorously, "No," she whispered, "No!" Angry, she looked up and let out a falcon's shriek of sorrow. "Come back." She thought, "Please, come back."

Karma laid a hand on her shoulder and she shoved it aside, "You don't understand!" she cried, tears spilling from her eyes, "He's the only thing that keeps me from falling forever…"

Karma only nodded.

I want you to stay- I need you here to keep me sane.

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