Anathema's Abode
Chapter 16
Echoes
"What's the rush, Maddie?" Ember hissed as she tore after her partner in the pitch black darkness. "Fenton's not meant to be meeting us for another fifteen minutes, at least."
"Maybe if you stopped chain smoking, you'd be able to keep up for once," the redhead retorted lightly, making no effort to slow down as they made their way to the agreed rendez-vous point.
"You do realise that us being there isn't going to bring him back any faster," her best friend's reply was dry.
"I know," Maddie conceded as they ducked into the shadows surrounding them. "But us being there means that the minute he shows up, we can get out of here."
"Relax," Ember grinned. "There's absolutely no moon in the sky. Tonight's our night. The only night that the enemy can't challenge us and win. I could probably light up right here without bringing the Night Police down on our heads."
"Ember!" Maddie admonished as they slowed, catching her breath. One day, Ember's recklessness was going to get them into unsalvageable trouble. "You try something that stupid, I'll kill you myself before the enemy even gets here."
"It was a joke, Maddie," Ember laughed, as they navigated the derelict grounds, their footsteps swallowed into the eerie silence. "Normal people make them sometimes. Why are you so worried about Jack, anyhow?"
"I just hate the fact that he's out there by himself," the ghost hunter replied softly. "He could be out there, face down in a ditch, and we wouldn't know anything about it."
"I hear Lancer's putting together this communication system for us," the azure haired woman supplied, trying to cheer her best friend. "It'll give us immediate access to both superiors and peers."
"I heard that too," Maddie's expression was wry. "His best invention yet, he called it. Apparently he believes it'll be best if every member of the Brotherhood has it grafted onto the inside of his or her ear."
"Can't deny that it's a good idea," Ember conceded, her lips quirking into a grin. "But after you."
"Ishiyama's already volunteered to be his guinea pig," Maddie laughed.
"That girl's too sweet for her own good," Ember shook her head. "But back to Jack. I saw you leave headquarters with him the other day," Ember raised a suggestive eyebrow. "You two get up to anything interesting?"
"Jack walked me home after patrol," Maddie's cheeks coloured at the insinuation. "That's all."
"If you say so," her partner replied, disbelief evident in her tone. "But I'm glad that you've finally decided to choose between them. Maybe now the rest of us will finally get some peace."
"What do you mean?" the redhead frowned, perturbed.
"God, Maddie," Ember snorted. "For someone as intelligent as you're meant to be, you sure are clueless. Vlad and Jack have been nothing short of throwing themselves at you since the day that you were enlisted."
"You exaggerate," Maddie rolled her eyes at her best friend. "At any rate, I'm not choosing between either of them," she protested. "The four of us work so well together, and that's the most important thing. The Brotherhood always comes first."
"If you say so," the azure haired girl shrugged. "But it's a choice that you're going to have to make eventually, whether you like it or not."
"In another decade, maybe," the council's favourite replied lightly, "at the moment, I have more important things on my mind."
"Such as?" Ember snorted softly.
"Living to twenty-five would be a start," Maddie stated dryly.
"Having Jack survive would be helpful too," Ember added helpfully, ignoring her best friend's look of playful annoyance. "Where are we, anyway?" the blue haired ghost hunter wondered aloud.
"Judging from the vast quantities of arsenic present, I'm guessing we're in an abandoned factory that used to make rat poison," Maddie informed.
"Charming. Couldn't they have picked a better rendez-vous point?" Ember wrinkled her nose as she glanced at the moldy barrels surrounding her.
"It's not our place to question our superior's decisions," Maddie reminded her.
"Maybe," Ember snorted softly. "But they could at least be a little more considerate."
"Where is he?" the other ghost hunter bit her lip in frustration, knotting her fingers in worry.
"I'm sure he's fine," the blue haired girl patted the other reassuringly on the arm.
"I hope you're right," Maddie continued worrying her bottom lip.
"I know I am," Ember winked, and the scene lurched and shifted.
Maddie's vision was wrought with flames, her chest crushed with the insurmountable surge of both grief, and the choking scent of burning. Yet, she was only vaguely aware of what was truly going on around her. Her entire consciousness seemed focused on a single, pivotal moment, replayed over and over again like a horrific nightmare.
"EMBER!" she screamed, her chest tightening painfully in insurmountable grief as she blindly stumbled forwards, streaks of bright blue swimming across her vision as the flames that surrounded them were refracted into the tears in her eyes, the broken, distorted images burned forever into her memory.
"Don't," she remembered a firm pair of hands around her waist, holding her back as she fought him, struggling and screaming despite her bone deep weariness, and that tiny, hateful part of her mind that had begun to truly accept what had occurred before her.
Maddie remembered shrieking in frustration, driving her elbows deep into his ribs, her boots slamming sharply into his shins with no intent but the simple desire to hurt, to hurt Jack so that he would release her, allowing her to close the distance between her and her partner. Jack merely grunted in response, gently setting her down as she collapsed amongst the embers, broken by her anguish.
The plan had been so simple. A tearful chortle bubbled out from the back of Maddie's throat. The four of them had made it to the rendez-vous point, the worst was supposed to be over. All they had to do was watch each other's backs and keep their noses clean until they returned to headquarters after a successful night out on patrol.
This wasn't supposed to happen- not yet, anyway. Maddie had always known that she was going to die at the hands of the enemy- that in itself was an irrefutable fact. Ember, too, had known this. They had given their lives away to the Brotherhood without regret. There was very little, perhaps nothing, that could ever sway the ghost hunters in their commitment to the Council. But never in her darkest moments had Maddie even begun to fathom that she would outlive her partner.
"It was supposed to be the two of us, right until the end," she mumbled stupidly to no one in particular, her eyes stinging from fatigue and the fumes. She didn't care that she sounded childish and selfish.
"We have to leave," at the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware of Jack placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"She's not gone," Maddie whispered, mostly to herself. "She can't be gone. I'm going to kill her for this," she shrieked, clawing at her face in her grief.
"I'm sorry Maddie," Jack murmured, as he knelt down, enveloping her in the embrace that would become her lifeline to sanity in the years to come. "But we have to get out of here. We can't let Ember's sacrifice be for nothing."
"Why did she protect me?" she whimpered into his chest. "I don't deserve to live."
Mere feet away, her partner's blackened corpse held no answer. Ember's usually attractive features were beyond recognition by even those dearest to her, emitting dark, heady coils of smoke, the stench of burnt human flesh hanging in the air between them.
And miles away, in another time, Maddie Fenton awoke weeping.
-
Pariah plans to invade, Sam still had to fight to keep herself from dry heaving in fear as she thought upon Phantom's warning. We're all going to die. It wasn't fear for her own survival that was the issue- by living, she had already doomed her brethren the night that she had met Phantom. Sam had long since accepted her own fate. It was her comrades she feared for, especially Jazz, Tucker and Valerie, along with Paulina, Kwan, Dash, and Star. She feared for the Council, especially Maddie and Jack, that their wisdom would be lost to their brethren forever.
If there was a Brotherhood still standing after Pariah Dark was done with them, she reminded herself bitterly. Every turn, every decision that Sam had made since Phantom had saved her was fraught with a multitude of 'what ifs' and risks, and the ghost hunter wasn't sure how much more of a battering her nerves could take. For the nth time, Sam fervently wished that Phantom had left her to die the night of his betrayal. At least then he would have put her out of her misery.
She sighed as she entered Lancer and Tucker's empty tech room, sinking into her best friend's battered swivel chair. It had been too much to hope that he would wait up for her. She was tired, they all were. It was unfair on her part to expect him and Valerie to stay up into the morning to wait for her to show up back at Headquarters. Not when so much was expected of them by the Council. Besides, the ghost hunter added wryly to herself. For her friends, worrying over her reckless behavior and occasional underhanded meetings with ghosts had probably lost its novelty.
Sam yawned, glancing at the time on the clock mounted on the lab wall. It was half past seven in the morning, and far too early for her to be up. Ghost hunters were mainly nocturnal, owing to their unusual choice of life. Abruptly, Sam's senses were jarred into full alertness as she heard the gait of a familiar pair of footsteps approach, blinking in surprise as the figure of her mentor appeared in the doorway.
"Maddie?" Sam called out softly. "What are you doing up this early?"
"I couldn't sleep," her mentor shared, her smile almost apologetic. "And what better way to stave off past regrets than tinkering with weaponry and fixing Lancer's mistakes?" her expression grew playful.
"Don't let Lancer catch you saying that," her apprentice grinned. "Or Tucker, for that matter."
"What are you doing up?" Maddie asked in return. "You have another full night ahead of you, Sam. You ought to be spending the day resting."
Sam blinked in astonishment. She hadn't expected Valerie to keep their encounter with Ember to themselves. No wonder Maddie had been surprised to see her up. The ghost hunter inwardly winced. Once again, she had placed her partner in a difficult position, torn between worry for her safety, and worry of exposing her past unforgivable mistakes to their superiors.
"Nothing," Sam smiled. Or at least, she attempted to. Her lips were stretching in the direction that they were meant to, but they somehow felt different. Too rubbery, and yet leaden, all at the same time. It had been more than six months since Phantom had happened, but when would she finally be free of the lies? When would she deem herself once again be worthy of her mentor's trust? "Maddie," the ghost hunter hesitated. "I need to talk to you."
"What about, dear?" the Brotherhood's leader's queried gently, noticing the discomfort on her apprentice's face.
"About these," Sam stated softly, slipping Ember's ghost gauntlets from her wrists. Sharp, icy chills shot up her spine as she took the note of the stunned expression on her mentor's face as Sam dangled the battered steel bracelets on her index finger before her. "Well, not about these in particular," she bit her lip. "But they're a start."
"They're a very old model," Maddie breathed, as she sank into a chair nearby. "The Council and I grew up using these. Where did you find them?"
"Ember Mclain," the ghost hunter supplied, already beginning to regret her decision to approach their leader for answers.
"You spoke with her," her mentor managed out, "last night?"
"I did," Sam forced herself to meet Maddie's eyes. "And she had a message for you. Well, for the Council," shades of purple clashed. "But I don't doubt that you were first and foremost, the intended recipient."
Maddie closed her eyes, drawing several long, shuddering breaths in order to calm herself as she buried her face in her hands. Sam's eyebrows knitted in concern as she reached out towards her mentor before hesitating and replacing her hand on her lap.
She had never seen Maddie like this, even when she spoke of the son that she had lost. Her mentor rarely spoke of the night of her possession, but when she did, Maddie's sadness was always fleeting, and always quickly pushed to one side as their leader occupied herself with more important matters. Intuitively, Sam couldn't help but feel that to this day, Maddie was still putting off fully mourning for the loss of her baby boy. As for Ember McLain, Maddie had never mentioned her former partner. Sam truly didn't understand. Had her recent revelation of Ember's existence truly shaken Maddie so?
When she next spoke, their leader's voice had acquired a hard edge to it. "What does she want?"
"Nothing," Sam hastily replied, disturbed to realise how defensive she sounded, as though she was shielding Ember from her mentor's blame. "She just left us a warning," Sam took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Pariah Dark is planning to hunt us down, and force us out into the open by starving us out of supplies."
"Why would she help us?" Maddie pushed herself to her feet, as she begun pacing the room. "This is the second time that she's bothered to warn us of the Empire's actions."
"I just thought I'd let you know," Sam provided softly. "I know she's the enemy now, but her previous warning was accurate."
"And perhaps more importantly," Maddie carried on, talking over her apprentice, her mind whirling as she desperately tried to make sense of it all. "How would Ember have access to such information? Is the General still protecting her?" she demanded abruptly, turning to face her apprentice.
"Yes," Sam faltered, her fingernails digging into her knees as she battled her indecision. Why was it so hard not to lie to the person that she trusted most? "The message originated from General Phantom himself."
"Why would he help us?" what little distrust that had left Maddie's eyes immediately returned as her apprentice uttered the General's name. "Are you certain that he's not attempting to manipulate you again?"
"He could very well be," Sam's lips pursed into a thin line as her fingers dug harder into her flesh. She ignored the sting. "We've been given absolutely no reason to trust his word. But given the transparent nature of the message…" the ghost hunter hesitated. "I believe that Ember's warning may hold some truth."
"The question is, how much?" Maddie mused out loud.
Sam remained silent, keeping her thoughts to herself as she quietly observed her mentor's eyes dart in rapid thought, her mouth forming half whispers as she considered the situation. After all, it was not her place to offer advice to a member of the Council, her apprentice or not. If she hadn't been the bearer of the message, Sam doubted if word of Phantom's warning would have even reached her ears. The ghost hunter stood, turning to leave before pausing, her self-discipline wavering as she succumbed to utter curiosity.
"Ember McLain," Sam began softly, nearly losing her nerve as Maddie's head jerked immediately to regard her. "Was she a good comrade?" the ghost hunter bit her lip, weary of overstepping her boundaries, "a good partner?"
"She was more than a good partner to me," Maddie's lips quirked upwards in a sad smile. "She was a good friend. The best."
"I'm sorry," Sam flinched, apologising. "I had no right to ask that."
"Don't be sorry, sweetheart," Maddie assured her gently. "You had every right. In fact, you remind me slightly of her, when she was your age," a faint light entered the Brotherhood leader's eyes.
"That's what she said," Sam grimaced. "I didn't want to believe her."
"There's nothing wrong with it," Maddie clarified, placing her hand on Sam's. "Ember was a very talented hunter. One of the most outstanding in her generation."
"Then how did she end up as one of them?" sharpness entered Maddie's apprentice's tone, as she snatched her hand from her mentor before she could help herself. "I'm sorry," Sam cringed, crossing her arms awkwardly as she threw Maddie an apologetic glance. "That was unnecessary."
Maddie merely shook her head, and Sam flinched, unsure if her mentor's action signaled forgiveness, or a rejection of her apology. It was a while before their leader once again spoke, whilst the ghost hunter kept her eyes trained to the floor in front of her as she endured the augmented silence.
"Sometimes I wonder why I am even recognised as the Brotherhood's leader," Maddie murmured softly. "After all, what am I carrying, but a piece of the enemy festering in my soul? Our brethren deserve better than to follow the commands of one like me, tainted beyond exorcism."
"You're human," Sam protested weakly in reply, appalled. "And a living legend. You battled possession, and won. You need no other reason to command our respect."
"If not for the recklessness on my part that led to my contamination, I'd be willing to wager that I wouldn't be sitting at the head of the Council, as I am now," their leader sighed at the irony. "And Daniel would still be here with us."
"It's not your fault," Sam offered consolingly. "Jack doesn't blame you for what happened that night."
"But it was," the red haired woman whispered. "If I hadn't fought that vile demon so hard, I wouldn't have forced him out of my body- and into little Danny's."
"You don't know that for sure," her apprentice's tone grew more insistent. "What were you supposed to do, stand by and allow him to kill the both of you?"
"I couldn't protect him," Maddie bit her lip. "Just like I couldn't protect Ember. But I swear that'll never happen to you," she ran a hand gently over her apprentice's cheek. "Never again."
"I can take care of myself," Sam assured her. "I'm not going to let you outlive me."
"That's good to hear," a small laugh of relief escaped her mentor's throat.
"So have you decided what you're going to do?" Sam asked, as Maddie raised an eyebrow in question. "About the alleged invasion looming," she clarified.
"There was no need to give it very much thought," a grin of fierce determination crossed the Brotherhood leader's features. And despite Sam's own fear and misgivings, Maddie's fearlessness was infectious. "After all, it's hardly as though we've left with any other choice- we stand and fight."
-
"I trust you have a good reason to be keeping me from my duties," the Fright Knight growled, as Prince Aragon approached.
"Peace, Fright Knight," Aragon replied irritably as he joined him under the arches in his gardens. "Your wrath is not what it once was."
"I thought that I assured you that this setback was temporary," the former General's voice was gravelly with annoyance. "It will not be long until the King restores to me what is rightfully mine."
"Are you certain of this?" Aragon questioned, more flippantly than he would have previously dared. "Your attempts thus far to regain the General's mantle have been indiscriminately rebuffed by our Liege, whilst Phantom remains steadfastly at the King's right hand. I express my utmost doubts that your successor will be likely to fall out of favour with the King any time soon."
"The attack on the Brotherhood is mine to lead," the Fright Knight snarled. "After centuries of service to my King, after everything that I have sacrificed on his behalf, it is my right to lead his armies."
"It is a pity that the Ghost King no longer considers it so," Aragon observed bluntly.
"You have grown far too bold," the Fright Knight's baritone voice took on a dangerous edge. "Perhaps it's time that I reminded you of your place, Prince."
"There is no need," the draconian Prince replied coolly. "I am well aware of where I stand. On equal footing with you for the first time in centuries. The weight of your allegiance behind me is not what it once was, Fright Knight. With every successful command Phantom fulfills on the Ghost King's behalf, your influence in the Empire dwindles. It is imperative that this rectified before we become laughing stocks at court."
"I am not the one with a loose canon for a sister," the older Midian hissed.
"A loose canon?" Aragon raised an eyebrow. "Is that truly how you see her?"
"How else would I?" the Fright Knight grunted. "Especially when she insists on seeking meaningless audiences with our Liege, wasting his time on frivolous matters such as increasing rations for the peasants of your land. Dorethea does not share your ideals, yet you insist that she is harmless?"
"Sister may be outspoken in her meaningless principles," Aragon conceded. "But I am still her brother and liege. She may dabble in petty intrigue in order to sustain her weak, soft hearted hobbies, but she would never move against me."
"She shares your power, and your lineage," the Fright Knight stated shortly. "Your assumptions had better not be faulty."
"I assure you," the Prince elucidated smoothly. "Thirteen hundred years has been more than sufficient time to learn Dorethea's motives. But this is irrelevant," Aragon made a great show of smoothing his robes. "I requested your presence here tonight for a far more important matter."
"Are you certain that we are free to speak without fear of being overheard?" the other warlord questioned edgily.
"But of course," the Prince smirked. "All the servants in the surrounding area will be disposed of at the end of our business. I believe that you'd agree when I say that slain ears are the sort which are least likely to talk."
"I couldn't agree more, friend," the Fright Knight replied shortly, nodding in acknowledgement to the gardener bowing before him in welcome some distance away, an old, knobbly spectre with an aged appearance who nearly fell over in surprise that his greeting was returned.
"For one with such immense hatred for General Phantom, you are remarkably poor at keeping tabs on him," a note of smugness entered Aragon's voice.
"He dismissed half his staff from his holdings, including many of my existing eyes and ears," Phantom's predecessor growled. "That was beyond my control."
"There are alternative methods of carrying out the task," Aragon steepled his fingers as he faced his ally. "Far simpler methods which reap greater rewards."
"You've discovered something," the Fright Knight's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't you?"
"Peace, friend," the Prince replied airily. "Indeed, this information benefits us both- especially you."
"How so?" the other warlord queried, his interest piqued despite his ire.
"Ember McLain," Aragon's voice had yet to lose its self satisfied quality. "Are you aware of who exactly she is in relation to your successor?"
"His little wench," the Fright Knight noted, disinterested. "I fail to see where this is going."
"I had her followed," the draconian Prince smirked. "And you'll be most interested to learn of the fruits of my labour. It seems that her services to Phantom do not end at merely warming his bed."
"What have you learned?" the older Midian demanded roughly. "Tell me."
"It seems our Lord General has been harbouring a pet human girl," Aragon shook his head in mock disbelief, his smirk widening, "a Brotherhood girl. He sent Ember McLain to seek her out and warn her of our Liege's plans; his actions reek of treason. Somehow, I doubt that the King is going to look kindly upon consorting with the enemy, no matter how insignificant they are."
"Disgraceful," the Fright Knight did not bother to hide the grin of celebratory ferocity that stretched across his features. "It would appear that we have finally found a weakness in the formerly invincible Lord General."
"I do believe we have," the draconian Prince's sneer matched his ally's. "Now, friend, how do you suggest that we exploit it?"
-
Author's Notes: Pffft. Still not working as fast as I'm meant to, but I'm getting there, hopefully! Fellow geeks: go back and read that bit about arsenic in the poison factory. One of the chemical properties of arsenic is that it yields a blue flame in flame tests. And Ember was born. :D
As usual, feedback is greatly appreciated!
Hugs and kisses,
Twisted