Chapter 32

AJANI

The sleeper was a remarkably unremarkable fellow, even by human terms. It was no wonder they managed to go undetected for so long. They looked to be about the age of a human adolescent, perhaps fifteen or sixteen years, but Ajani knew that meant little when it came to sleeper agents who, although they typically aged at the same rate as humans, sometimes looked a great deal younger than they truly were.

They were called Dion and they had been hired by Jace to work in the kitchens. Ajani hardly remembered seeing them around the residence, but it made sense considering the pipsqueak had tried to escape through the hidden passageways that were a common feature in affluent Ravnican homes. They still smelled of their own urine from coming face-to-face at the end of one of those passageways with Liliana in all her glory.

That's one thing the leonin regretted having missed: the look on their face when she appeared from the darkness, her eyes and demonic etchings aglow with death magic. Ajani had seen her like this many times over the years. It was a chilling sight, even when she was on your side. At any rate, that must have been a satisfying moment for the necromancer, who was currently taking a little too much pleasure in "roughing them up a bit."

It was difficult to tell who was angrier with the Phyrexian sleeper for infiltrating the Gatewatch headquarters and their home on Ravnica: Jace or Liliana. Probably Jace, Ajani surmised; although, whether he was angrier at the sleeper for duping him or at himself for being duped, was hard to tell. The leonin could understand their anger and even shared it to a certain degree, because it was an assault on the Gatewatch and everything they stood for, and because the Phyrexians were evil through and through. He didn't care for the way the two of them dealt with it, though. If only Gideon were here… They would listen to him. And he would never stand for it. He would never let it go this far.

Ajani tried not to say anything, but he was surprised that Jace did nothing to intervene. If anything, he seemed to appreciate his wife's methods, because it made his interrogation of them go a lot more smoothly. There wasn't much that Jace alone could do, since the Phyrexians seemed immune to his mind-reading and using spells to make them go insane was not a viable option, so it was Liliana and her summoned minions who did most of the torturing while Jace asked the questions. The leonin understood, but he still didn't like it. He was surprised when he looked over at Kaya and Chandra, who seemed unbothered as they stood by and watched, their features dark even with their faces illuminated off and on by Liliana's magics.

"Where are the other sleepers?" Jace asked again, leaning over the agent with his hands on the arms of the chair. The sleeper was tightly bound with their hands behind the chair and had just endured another round of Liliana's vengeance. This was the third time they had been asked, since revealing the presence of other sleepers living and working on Ravnica.

"There are legions of us here. You will never find them all," Dion said with a defiant grin. This was met with the back of Jace's hand across their face. His patience was clearly wearing thin.

The sleeper only grunted in reply, so Jace stepped back and turned to his wife, "All right then. Time to apply more pressure. Liliana."

The necromancer stepped forward again only this time, instead of using magic, she grabbed them by the hair on the back of their head and roughly yanked their head back. Then she leaned over them to look them in the eye, and said, "Even if we can't find all your kind, we will find a great many of them, whether you tell us or not. We will hunt them down, every last one. The only person you're hurting now is yourself."

Dion smiled up at her and Ajani wondered what the creature was thinking. It became clear when they suddenly spit, managing to splatter her face with saliva. Her expression twisted with disgust, Liliana immediately pulled away and lifted her hands to send a soul-searing bolt into their chest. It caused Dion to wail and shriek in agony. She was no longer just torturing their mind and body—she was now literally torturing their soul.

When she let up on them and began wiping off her face with a handkerchief, they slumped over and for a moment Ajani wondered if they were finally dead. Then Jace stepped forward, and Dion lifted their head, to announce, "Phyrexia is the future. Accept it as your fate and the fate of all worlds. There is no stopping us."

"Wanna bet?" asked Chandra, stepping forward and sending a hot stream of concentrated flame to burn through their pant-leg and sear their flesh. The glistening oil inside them sizzled like a hot frying pan and they yelled as the odor of oil-baked flesh filled the chamber.

Chandra stepped up to them with her hands on her hips. "Here's the deal: if you don't tell us where your little friends are hiding, there'll be a whole lot more where that came from. Or worse. You should've seen the way some of your friends handled being lit on fire in the battle on Lorwyn. They popped like bubbles when they didn't just go up in flame. The only reason you're not going the same way is because I've controlled it, but that can easily change. Talk!"

Grimacing and grunting through the pain and looking down at the nasty burn on their thigh that bubbled with glistening oil, they growled, "You -! I won't tell you anything!"

Now Chandra turned up the heat, sending two streams of flame at both of the sleeper's thighs. Their screams likely echoed through the house and Ajani wondered if they would even be heard on the streets. When she was finished, she gritted her teeth, and demanded, "TELL US NOW OR WE'LL BURN DOWN THIS WHOLE CITY 'TIL WE'VE HUNTED DOWN EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!"

"Chandra," Jace muttered. But then the sleeper laughed. It was a strained, maniacal laugh. Everyone stared at them in confusion until, finally, Jace said with cold indifference, "That's it. That's all we're going to get from them. Liliana, I leave their fate in your hands."

Liliana smiled darkly and raised her hands, as the powers of life and death came into her clutches. Ajani finally turned and walked away. He knew it needed to be done. He just didn't want to watch what the necromancer was going to do; he had seen enough.

CHANDRA

Of course, she was angry. They were all angry. All this time, a Phyrexian sleeper, one of Tezzeret's spies had been living alongside them. At any point in time, the bastard could have slipped poison into their food and drinks and killed them all. It was shocking. Horrifying. But more than anything, it was enraging. Still only a couple days fresh from what had seemed to be an endless battle, Chandra couldn't forget the sight of innocent creatures slaughtered by the Phyrexian horde. She hated Phyrexians with all the heat of Urza's ruinous blast, and then some!

It had been a peaceful gathering. The Tribes had gathered in this sacred meadow to unite for the first time in many years, and with strange foreigners—i.e., the Gatewatch. Creatures from every tribe and some who were typically solitary, had come with their families to participate in the festivities and watch as a new alliance was forged. It was supposed to be a happy occasion; brought on by the looming threat of Phyrexia, yes, but still not a threat that was thought to be immediately imminent. Nissa's scouting and Jace's sources had made it seem like the invasion was still being planned, something for the near but still distant future. Then, suddenly, it had been sprung on them with no time to prepare.

Thankfully, Chandra had always been good at reacting without much need to think it through. It didn't always serve her well, but in situations like that it was sometimes the ideal. And she was used to battle. What got to her were the children, many who died early in the onslaught. It was so…what the heck? The Phyrexians just didn't care that they were children. She had seen many hardened warriors still take care not to harm children, even in the bloodiest of battles. Hells, only the Eternals, Bolas's lazotep army of the undead, had been so heartless. And that was understandable since they were technically dead guys who wouldn't have any concerns about the fate of the living in any circumstance. Yet even Liliana had tried to keep Ravnican children safe from the army of undead she was forced to command in the War of the Spark.

Liliana. Chandra had heard about the elf-child she had seemingly brought back from the dead when the battle was over. At least, there was that. But that girl was only one of many children who had been present in the meadow that had suddenly turned into a battlefield that day. So many others could not be saved and had even been raised along with all the others under Liliana's command that day. She was resourceful. A body was a body, the necromancer always said. But the sight of a gaggle of zombie children, lunging and attacking one of the Phyrexian monsters had come as a shock, to say the very least. Chandra wondered if Liliana would have been okay with someone using the body of her own child in a battle if she had one. Even if something was necessary, did that make it right?

Ajani had asked Chandra the same thing that day, after Dion had been mercilessly tortured and killed for having infiltrated Jace's residence. He had been clearly troubled the whole time they were torturing the traitor, but it was only at the end of the day that the leonin had come to Chandra to express his thoughts on the matter. He had asked her if she thought her own part in the torture had been necessary, and of course she had answered that it absolutely was necessary, even though the sleeper hadn't revealed any further details as a result.

"It was their own fault for being so stubborn, Ajani," Chandra had said.

"Was it? Or was it that they made for an easy target for everybody's anger at all the Phyrexians to be released on the one?"

"I don't get it—you were there!" she shouted, getting up from the bench on which she'd been seated. "You saw what they did to those people—even the children!"

"Yes, and I also saw Liliana use those same children as pawns to throw at the enemy when she and the others finally came to the battle!"

"They were already dead, Ajani! Better to be used as pawns than laying there, only to become food for some wild animal! She did what she had to do!"

That's why the leonin shouted, "Just because it's necessary doesn't make it right!" And then he had walked away, and now, as she lay sleepless in her room, thinking through the events of that day, she wondered if Ajani was right. Or maybe nobody was right, and everybody was just doing their level-best to get through that awful situation in the only way they knew how.

Like Jace. After Liliana had choked the life from Dion with a black cloud she had formed into the hand of death, Jace had gone mad with paranoia and decided it was necessary to purge his residence of the taint of Phyrexian influence. He was raging as he rounded up the other servants, with the intent to execute them all as venomous traitors, despite their desperate pleading as they insisted on their innocence. It took Liliana to calm him down and talk sense into him—everyone else had failed, but she had a way with him like no one else.

Once she had managed to pull him from his madness, Jace took the time to go into their minds and could see they were fully human and fully innocent of all charges. Neither of them had ever had any idea they were working alongside a Phyrexian sleeper, and so they were released. But Jace was still not prepared to let them stay in his employment. He had Lavinia write them both letters of recommendation so they could seek employment elsewhere, and then they were given until the end of the following day to collect their belongings and leave Jace's residence.

It seemed a little bit of overkill, but once they were gone Jace put an enchantment over the house as an added protection against infiltrators and anyone else who had not been granted admittance. The whole place was basically on lockdown, and it was actually worse than it had been before he loosened up his security measures and hired a real staff.

"So, is now the time you let me bring in zombies?" Liliana teased.

Jace was not in the mood for her sense of humor, and said, "No. There will be no zombies and no living servants at this house ever again. I'm going back to what I've always done because it worked. I should never have done anything differently."

"Well then, you might want to get rid of-."

"Don't say it," he cautioned her. "I'm not getting rid of Lavinia just because you don't like her."

"It's not that I don't like her. It's more like she dislikes me—and for no good reason, mind you."

"I…won't even go there," said Jace. "You know the reason—half of Ravnica hates you for the same reason."

Liliana pursed her lips and crossed her arms in obvious disappointment. Chandra had never seen a more ancient woman capable of looking like such a surly teenager. She almost laughed to see Liliana so put out. Instead, she yawned and stretched and decided it was time to head for bed. The past few days had been exhausting.

Only, once her head hit the pillow, she couldn't sleep. Her mind wandered through everything, finally settling on Nissa and wondering if she was okay back on Lorwyn. Unable to get Nissa from her mind, she went out to the rooftop gardens thinking she might feel closer to her there. Maybe she would even 'walk to Lorwyn and find her, if only so they could be together and hold each other close until morning.

It came as a surprise when she found Liliana there, seated at the little bistro set with her boots on the table and holding a half-drank bottle of wine in her lap. Tears flowed in streams down her face, but she sat up quickly when she heard Chandra's boots scrape across the tile and, wiping her cheeks, turned to see who had come.

"Hey, mind if I join you?"

Liliana shrugged and held out her hand toward the other chair in a gesture of consent. Chandra plopped down and sat with her shoulders hunched forward as she stared down at her hands in her lap. She dared to glance up at the necromancer, who sat perfectly straight now, staring off into the night.

"You okay?"

A sharp, violet gaze turned on Chandra, and for a moment she regretted ever having asked. But then Liliana's gaze softened, and she heaved a sigh. "Just…thinking, I guess. What about you? What brings you here?"

"Thinking, I guess," Chandra answered with a shrug.

"You miss her," Liliana observed.

Chandra inhaled deeply. "I do. More than I've ever missed anything in my whole life."

"You worry for her."

"I thought Jace was the mind-reader?" Chandra joked.

This was met with an almost-smile. Then Liliana said, "She'll be okay. If she can survive what she's always been through, she can survive whatever comes next."

"I hear I've got you to thank for that, by the way. I guess with everything going on, I never got the chance to thank you yet, so…thank you."

Liliana answered with a gracious nod. Then that distant look returned to her gaze, and she looked away again. Chandra knew better than to ask, but she couldn't resist the chance that maybe she could help. "So… What's on your mind? You seem…troubled. Are you worried, too?"

There was a sharp intake of breath, as Liliana shifted in her chair. Chandra realized she was clutching herself. Holding herself together. Protecting herself. Then she remembered some of the things Tezzeret had said the other day on the battlefield. "Liliana…? I don't know if what he said the other day was true, but Tezzeret's a bastard. Don't let him get to you."

The corner of her mouth turned up and Chandra noticed her looking at her from the corners of her eyes. "For not being a mind-reader, you're amazingly perceptive, yourself."

Chandra sniffed. She looked out at the city, beautiful the way it was all lit up, even if they were looking at it through the magical sheen of Jace's forcefield. Then she turned back to Liliana, and said, "You know, not that it's any of my business but…if you wanna talk about it—you know, if you need to get it out—I'm willing to listen. It's good to talk about things. My mom always says if you don't talk about your pain, it eats you up from the inside. It's less destructive if you let it out, instead of holding it in all the time."

Raising a brow, Liliana said, "She had to tell you not to hold it in all the time?"

Feeling sheepish, Chandra said, "Well, no…not me, exactly. More like…other people. But she did have to say it to me when I came to stay with her after Nissa and I… Well, nevermind. That's all fixed up now, so it's not really a thing anymore. And now I'm getting side-tracked and this was supposed to be all about you and what you're going through, so…anyway, I'm here."

Inhaling deeply, Liliana turned to face Chandra directly for the first time, and said, "Thank you. But I don't think it's anything you should ever have to hear about. It's a lot to carry. Even Jace couldn't handle it… Not that it's anyone's fault but his own since he went poking around where he shouldn't have been."

Smiling, Chandra said, "That sounds like Jace." Then she sighed and leaned forward. "It's just that…we care about you, you know? We want to be here for you and help you work through it in any way we can. If it's a lot to carry, I can't imagine how you've been carrying it by yourself all these years. But you can talk to me. Let me help you carry that burden. It's what friends do."

Looking at Chandra as if to gauge her trustworthiness, or maybe to decide if she was truly strong enough to handle it, Liliana fell silent for a long while. She turned to look out at the city and the two of them sat like that for a long time. Chandra was beginning to think Liliana wasn't going to open up—not that she blamed her, since the pyromancer was admittedly horrible at keeping secrets. But this wasn't exactly a secret, not now that Tezzeret had blown it all out in the open to a certain degree.

Then suddenly her voice rose softly as she began to recount her story…

LILIANA

It was Razaketh. I hate that name. I hate the sound and I hate the creature it signifies. When I made the deal with him, third in line, I thought he was going to be the least distasteful to serve. He seemed fun. He was always throwing parties that were larger than life—highly sought after by devils, lesser demons, planeswalkers, and all manner of Amonkhet's most debauched elite members of society. He held sway over everyone around him, and I guess that includes me. Or it did, anyway.

I wanted what he had: power over the living, just as I had mastered power over the dead. I had spent much of my life reviled for my death magic, but in Razaketh I saw the hope that I could make people see there was more to me than darkness and death. I, too, could have fun and be fun. And so, I went to him at Bolas's suggestion, and he promised me everything I sought and more—as demons always do.

When he invited me to one of his parties, I thought I'd had it made. He treated me like a friend—more than that, he treated me like a queen, and I relished every moment. With what he gave me, anything I wanted was within my grasp and I could get anyone to do anything without threatening or coercing them. I just smiled and made it sound fun, and they were practically fawning over my every word.

It was such a rush—even before the Mending, even before my spark ignited, when I was the daughter of a powerful general, I had never had so many people ready and willing to do anything I asked. I thought having that kind of power was worth anything—that I would do anything to have and to keep it, and I would never look back with regret at the decisions I had made.

He invited me to come again, and I jumped at the chance. Only this time it was different. This time, he said, he needed me to do him a little favor in exchange for all he had given me. Then he sent me off with servants to be changed into something that would be more appealing to his guests. I wouldn't have minded what he had me wear—after all, it looked good on me—if not for the addition of a collar and chains he said were meant to add a little excitement and keep me in my place. Obviously, my tiara was also not part of the attire.

At this party, he had me serving drinks to his guests. I had to walk around with a tray that had to be constantly kept full of drinks for them to take whenever they wanted. It seemed like a boring waste of time to be made a servant at his party, but the awful part was that some of his guests seemed to think I was there for entertainment, as well as convenience. Those were the ones that grabbed and pinched and slapped me as I went by. One of them pulled on one of my chains to bring me closer, forcing me to sit on his lap so he could get a closer look before taking his drink. It was humiliating. And the whole time, Razaketh continued playing the life of the party, content to let his guests mistreat me at their whims, and when I attempted to put them in their place, Razaketh berated me and told me to obey if I wanted to keep what he had given me.

So I sucked it up, and I did what he wanted. Twice more, he had me serving drinks at his parties like this, before one night he finally came to me, and I thought, foolishly, he had come to release me from that burden. Instead, he only mocked me further. "Liliana, why the long face? You've got your youth and beauty—it's only right that you share your good fortune with those who are able to appreciate what you've worked so hard to keep."

"This wasn't part of the deal, Razaketh," I grumbled.

"Not part of the deal? Of course, it was! Clearly, you weren't paying attention when you agreed to do whatever I asked in exchange for the benevolence I've bestowed upon you."

Losing my patience, I threw the tray of drinks to the ground, and said, "This is not benevolence! This is degrading! And I will not tolerate another moment like this!" And I stomped my foot, too, for good measure.

Suddenly, his countenance darkened and that's when I realized I had made a mistake. I should never have agreed to any of this—the power he had given me was great, but it was still his power, not mine. And if I was to use his power to my own ends, I had to pay the price. But in my defiance, I had shown myself unwilling to pay.

"There is nothing I detest more than ingratitude," he growled. And that's when it all began. He made a show of it—taking me in front of all his guests. Then he passed me around to any of his friends who wanted to take a piece of me for themselves. And he watched as each of them did to me whatever they liked. And all the while, I was fully aware yet helpless to stop it from happening. I was his puppet, just as I had been when we confronted him on Amonkhet before managing to kill him. I was so terrified then, that he was going to do it all over again. If he was, thankfully he never got the chance. But that first time…there was no one to stop him. No one who cared enough to try. If anything, the ones who stayed all wanted to be a part of it.

When it was over and the last of his guests had gone, he stood over me and sneered. "Now, don't you wish you had never complained?"

I couldn't speak. And even had I tried, no words would have come out. I just wanted to die, but even that was more than I could manage. In that moment, I was truly powerless, and that's when I realized maybe I had always been…

Then he said, "Go clean yourself up." And I did as he commanded. I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't think, so I just gathered my strength to pull myself up, as he said, "I want you fresh and ready to go the next time you receive my summons. Oh, and Liliana? One more thing: no more complaints. I've been very good to you, and I expect you to be good to me."

CHANDRA

Heartbreaking. That was all she could think as she listened with patience and compassion to the normally invincible, cold-as-steel necromancer recount her experience with the elder demon Razaketh, whom they had faced together on Amonkhet some years ago. Chandra hated him then; and now, after hearing of the things he did to Liliana, she hated him all the more. He was lucky they had already killed him, before she knew any of this, because now she had a mind for revenge and would have loved to make his death more insufferable.

Liliana seemed to know what she was thinking. She had been holding herself tighter and letting tears roll down her cheeks as she recounted the story, but now, coming out of herself, she reached out to Chandra and took her hand. "Hey, don't go there. Don't let it consume you. It's over now, Chandra. And it has no power over me—neither should it have any power over you."

"But you're my friend and this happened to you. I mean, how do even live with it? How did you survive?"

She pulled her knees up in the chair with her arms around them, and said, "I had no other choice. He had already taken my dignity. I wasn't about to give my life to him, as well. But from that day on, I vowed I would have my revenge. One way or another, I would make him, and all the others pay."

"The others…? Did you make them pay?"

Liliana smiled as she met Chandra's gaze over her arms. "Are you thinking of revenge or just curious?"

"Maybe a bit of both," Chandra admitted.

Putting her legs down again, she said, "I've already done what I needed to do. They are all long gone."

"All of them? Even the other demons? The…lesser demons, I mean."

"Oh, they're all dead. I considered them practice for what I would do to Razaketh." She paused, and then she reached out to take Chandra's hand. "What I'm saying is, it's over now and there is nothing you need to do. But thank you."

Chandra moved her gaze toward the bottle of wine that was now on the table, and said, "So, are you gonna drink all that tonight…?"

"Are you gonna tell Jace if I do?"

"You know I'm terrible at keeping secrets, right? So, if you make it a secret, I'm probably gonna be the first one to go blab to someone else."

Liliana smirked. "Yes, I know. And no, I won't drink it all tonight. I've had more than enough and I'm cutting myself off now. So, don't tell Jace…"

Chandra snorted and covered her face with her hands. "If you think that's gonna work, Liliana…"

"Of course, it won't. But it doesn't hurt to try, now does it?"

They shared a laugh and then Liliana became serious again, as she studied Chandra silently for a moment. Then she said, "Thank you, Chandra."

"Eh, don't mention it."

"No, I mean it. Thank you, for everything. It's…nice to have friends."

Chandra raised a brow. "Did you seriously never have friends before you met us?"

With an ironic smile, she answered, "No, I had friends before the Gatewatch. None that I didn't use, and not for a very long time, I suppose."

"That…doesn't count."

"Hm. Then, I guess the answer is no."

"Wow, like…not even on Dominaria, when you were like a kid or something?"

She thought for a moment, then answered, "No. I suppose I never really knew what it was to have friends. I mean, I had a friend. Her name was Arine and we practically grew up together, but…I guess I used her, too. So, she was my friend, but I guess I wasn't really hers. I would never have risked my life for her, or anything."

Chandra smiled and sat back in her chair. "Wow, so we really are your first real friends."

They heard the door open and turned to see Jace. Liliana smiled, and said, "Fancy seeing you here."

Jace had a serious look on his face as he came toward them, although he paused to look around, and said, "Huh, it's nice out here."

"You should come here more often," Liliana suggested.

He didn't look too excited or anything. Then he said, "I've just got news from Lorwyn. The camp is getting ready move on, but there's more: the twins have gone missing."

Now, Liliana sat up and her expression changed to one of concern. "Missing?"

"Not on Lorwyn," Jace quickly explained. "I don't fully know the details, but it seems they've gone off on their own initiative to find more help for the cause. Before they went missing, they were talking about Kasmina and the others tried talking them out of it, but it seems they were…"

Liliana interrupted him, suggesting, "Incorrigible? Reckless? Foolhardy? Why am I not surprised…" She placed a hand on her forehead as if it ached, and then she heaved a sigh and pulled herself out of the chair with what appeared to be great effort. "I guess I'll go after them."

Then Chandra got up, and said, "Wait, why can't they go find Kasmina on their own? I mean, they're not children, Liliana. I know you want to protect them, but they're fully capable of-."

"Making poor choices? Getting themselves killed?"

"No, I was gonna say they are fully capable of taking care of themselves."

"I don't care. I'm still going after them."

Jace stepped up to take her by the arms, and said, "I think we should all return to Lorwyn first. We need to start making plans for the next Phyrexian assault. We all know it's only a matter of time, and this time we need to be prepared. And with the camp getting ready to move on…I think the best thing right now is for us all to stay together."

"Right," Liliana agreed, "which is why Will and Rowan shouldn't have just gone off on their own without even bothering to run it by the rest of us first. I mean, I don't understand—they were so insistent about staying on Lorwyn to help with the cause, and then they just go off and 'walk to who knows where…?"

"Darling, just breathe," said Jace. "Relax. We'll go back to Lorwyn, get settled, find out more details, and then you can head out tomorrow."

"The sooner I find them, the better," said Liliana.

"No, Lili, Jace is right," said Chandra. "I think it's better if we all stay together until we know more about what's going on, so we can at least all be on the same page before we splinter even further than we've already done."

"We're not as effective when too many of us have split ourselves up and gone our separate ways," Jace agreed. "This is too tenuous—there's too much at stake."

Liliana paused and Chandra could see she was thinking about it. Then she finally let out a deep breath, and said, "All right, we'll go to Lorwyn first. But then I'm only staying long enough to find out what's going on and rest before another 'walk."