A prison with too many eyes
The wingless Hawk may yet still fly.
Hawk lay with his hands behind his head, dozing. The cry of a seabird drifted down through his half-aware consciousness, and an unusual warmth on his face slowly brought him awake.
Opening his eyes, a sudden glare pierced his brain, like a spear.
He sat up.
Rubbing his face, he peered around. Golden sunlight blazed over the city, clear and bright, causing the tall, white-walled buildings to glow and reflecting off windows and gilded roof tiles. Angels were out in force, the festival still merrily ongoing, the giant Seraph silent and majestic and strange amidst it all.
The sun? Hawk thought groggily. How long had he slept? He was sure it had been snowing a moment ago...
Sliding over to the edge of his platform, he looked down. The heavy clouds that had blanketed Fleetfleer had descended to the level of the treetops; Hawk could see nothing of the forest below, only a thick, fluffy carpet that stretched as far as he could see, and clung to the downward-pointing spires that projected from the undersides of the buildings.
Hawk frowned. The Winter appeared to be retreating. What did that mean? Had something happened to Ferrian? Or had the kid finally learned how to control it?
He stared anxiously down into the endless clouds, feeling as though he were a million miles away from anything that was important. It had been a full day since he had sent Li to find his friends, and almost as soon as she disappeared into the forest, Hawk had regretted it. If anything happened to the little girl, he would not be able to live with himself. He knew nothing about Grath Ardan: the place could be riddled with booby-traps, or she might have gotten lost…
Sighing heavily, Hawk pushed himself away from the edge, rested his arms on his knees, and hung his head. He was tired of sitting on this damned platform, doing nothing. He was dismayed that he had been denied the opportunity to see the great library for himself.
What were Mekka and Ferrian dealing with, down there? What had they discovered?
He sighed again. He supposed they would tell him all about it, when they got out.
If they got out.
Lifting his head, Hawk stared bitterly at the pale-winged Angels flocking about the plaza, enjoying themselves in the reawakened sunshine: sitting on steps, eating their weird, candied fruit, playing instruments and generally having a grand time. They all seemed to have lost interest in him, at least: hardly anyone bothered to glance his way. Even one of the guards had buggered off: only one was left, slouching on his spear and looking infinitely bored, and occasionally – Hawk was sure – asleep.
Earlier that morning – while it was still cold and dark – an Angel had come to interrogate him. He had been a thin man, with grey wings and short grey hair, and officious-looking blue robes. Hunched by the brazier, hugging himself, he'd looked uncomfortable and loath to be there, as though he'd rather be enjoying his breakfast in a warm tower.
He had asked his questions perfunctorily, including, of course, how Hawk had managed to infiltrate the Aegis.
Having anticipated this moment for several hours, Hawk had already prepared his responses, deciding on a combination of honesty and outright lies. He told the truth about who he was and where he was from. However, he thought it wise not to mention that he'd arrived with the infamous black-winged Angel and a dead half-sorcerer wielding a massively powerful weapon that could rip a hole in reality.
Instead, he had told the interrogator that he had already been present in Arkana before the Aegis went up.
It was a brash lie: Hawk had no idea how long the Aegis had been in place, but to his relief the Angel had smiled in satisfaction, as though Hawk had confirmed his own suspicions.
They're too arrogant to believe that someone could possibly break their Aegis, Hawk thought. In fact, he wasn't sure that they'd have believed him even if he had been honest...
The Angel also wanted to know, of course, how Hawk knew of Grath Ardan and why he was trying to break inside.
Hawk opted for the truth, or as close to it as he could manage, replying that he had learned of the library from an exiled Angel named Aari'Zan – who was now dead – and that he had come seeking a cure for a sick friend.
The interrogator had stared at him for a long moment, as though weighing his responses, then asked if Hawk had accomplices.
The Freeroamer told him that he had come alone, but he wasn't sure the Angel bought that one.
The interrogator turned after that and simply walked away, without asking any further questions, no doubt to relate Hawk's replies to the Council so they could decide if he was worth bothering with.
Hawk yelled after him to hurry up deciding his fate, or they'd have to pry his frozen corpse off the platform, but he got no response.
He had been genuinely afraid of freezing to death… he just hoped that the return of the sun was a good sign...
The sight of the festival-goers was making him hungry. His stomach made a mournful gurgling sound. Reaching out to the sack of food that the guards occasionally threw across, he rummaged in it, but there wasn't much left other than a small piece of bread. He was even starting to crave those strange, sickly-sweet forest fruits…
A sudden tap on his shoulder caused him to drop the bread halfway to his mouth and reach for his non-existent sword. Cursing, he spun.
It was the Angel girl.
“Li!” he gasped. Pushing himself up to one knee, he glanced across at the guard.
The golden-armoured Angel stood with his back to the platform, winged helmet glinting, white feathers ruffling slightly in the breeze.
“Did you make it inside Grath Ardan?” Hawk whispered, turning to the girl.
She nodded.
“And my friends? Did you find them?”
She nodded again, coppery eyes bright.
“Are they alright? What are they doing?”
She cocked her head on one side, staring upwards in consideration. “Mmm, Ferrian was reading a book,” she answered. “A big one.” She stretched out her arms to emphasise the size of the tome.
Hawk nodded. “Okay. That's good. And Mekka? The Angel with black wings?”
Li was quiet for a moment before replying: “Mekka yelled at me.”
Hawk frowned. “He yelled at you? What did he do that for?”
Li shrugged. “He was grumpy.”
Hawk sighed, and rolled his eyes. “Mekka's grumpy with everyone. Don't let him upset you.”
It was clear that his words came too late, however. The little girl looked downcast. “He didn't want to be my friend,” she said.
Hawk regarded her sadly. No, he thought. He wouldn't. But he didn't have to be a jerk about it…
“Yeah, well,” he said flatly, “Mekka has issues.” He eyed Li. “Did he come out with you?”
The Angel girl nodded. “He had to go and do something important. And I had to go home first.” She stared guiltily at her feet. “I got into trouble for staying out so long...”
Hawk raised his eyebrows. “And then you snuck out again, anyway, to come and see me?”
She looked up at him, suddenly beaming. “Yes!”
You're a treasure, Li, Hawk thought, unable to stop himself smiling.
His smile faded a moment later, however. Something didn't feel right, and he wasn't sure what it was.
“Uh, Li,” he asked her. “How long ago did you come out of the library?”
“Umm...” she thought about it, looking serious. “I don't know? It was getting light in the forest when we climbed out of the tree...”
Dawn, then, Hawk surmised. He's been gone a good few hours...
The feeling of wrongness tightened into a cold ball, as though a leftover chunk of Winter remained lodged in his hollow stomach.
He must have gone to the Tower to dispose of that creepy dagger, Hawk thought. But surely, it wouldn't take so long? He only needed to get inside, toss the knife into the Pit, and then get the hell out of there, right?
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Unless he ran into trouble along the way.
Hawk looked across the plaza, at the white spire of Caer Sync rising above the elegant towers of Fleetfleer like a great spear holding up the sky. It was so vastly high and unfathomable that it was difficult to believe that it was a real thing.
“How far away is the Tower, Li?” he asked.
“It's on the other side of the city,” she replied. “On the edge of the cliffs. There's a huge waterfall there! It's really beautiful! And it sings!”
“Cool,” Hawk replied absently. “Do many people visit Caer Sync?”
“Not really. Only sometimes, when they want to go to Excelsior.”
“Excelsior?”
“Yes! That's where the Goddess lives! In a palace at the top of the Tower!”
“And, uh…” Hawk hesitated. “What's... at the bottom of the Tower?”
“Mmm, that's the Pit. It keeps going down and down forever. There's bad things in there. If you're sad or scared then you get sucked in and you can't get out again!”
Hawk looked at her in horror. “If you go in there when you're sad, you get swallowed up by a bottomless Pit?”
Li nodded, giving him a look as if to say: Everybody knows this. “But nobody goes in there unless they want to. Except if they did something wrong.”
Hawk felt the icy chunk expand to flood his entire body. If you're sad. Or scared. Or did something wrong.
There's bad things in there.
You can't get out again.
It goes down and down forever...
Crap, Hawk thought, his heart beginning to race. Crap, crap, crap…
“Hey, you!”
They both looked up, startled.
The guard had noticed Li.
“You there! Little girl! Get away from that platform!”
To Hawk's surprise, the Angel girl sat down stubbornly, folded her arms across her chest, and gave the guard a defiant look.
The guard stepped up to the edge of the plaza, gripping his spear in both hands. “Your parents will hear of this! Move away NOW!”
Li did nothing.
The guard's eyes narrowed. “Do NOT make me come over there!”
Li stuck her tongue out at him.
Spreading his wings, the guard leapt across the gap, alighting on the platform. He grabbed Li roughly, dragging her to her feet.
Unfortunately, he was sharper than Hawk gave him credit for, and swiftly dodged the fist aimed at his head.
Hawk recovered quickly, instead grabbing the guard's spear.
The guard shoved Hawk backwards, but both retained their hold on the weapon. The guard tried to headbutt Hawk, but he had anticipated this, and slammed the spear into the other man's face.
Still, the guard did not let go. They wrestled furiously.
“This will… gain you nothing!” the guard said, blood leaking from his nose.
Hawk tried again to bash the guard with the hilt of the spear, but the Angel dodged this time, and Hawk found the blow reversed, smashing into his own nose. Staggering a little, Hawk threw himself back on the guard before his vision had cleared.
“It will gain me…” Hawk slammed his gauntleted fist into the guard's abdomen. The Angel was armoured with silvertine, but it was enough of a distraction for him to follow up with a hard right at the man's head.
“… personal satisfaction,” Hawk finished, as the guard clattered to the ground.
Picking up the spear, he leaned on it, took a deep breath, and gave Li a thumbs up. “Nice one, Li!”
The girl beamed.
The guard was correct, however. Gaining himself a weapon was not a lot of use when he was still trapped on a platform a few hundred feet in the air, and had, unfortunately, failed to grow wings.
He needed to think of something, quickly.
Casting his gaze over the plaza, no one was nearby or appeared to have yet noticed anything amiss.
But he was out in the open, in full view of a large crowd.
It was only a matter of time.
Dropping beside the guard, Hawk hastily unfastened the golden helmet and shoved it at Li. “Take this over there,” he told her, pointing beside the brazier. “Hurry!”
While she was doing that, he did the same with the breastplate. The armour was remarkably lightweight, impossibly shiny and highly ornate. The Watch would have been jealous.
He handed the plate to Li as well, then checked the crowd again.
Any moment now, someone could glance this way. He needed more time.
He needed a distraction…
His gaze fell upon the giant Seraph, in the middle of the plaza.
“Hey, Li,” he said, when she had returned from depositing the armour beside the brazier. “Think you could go and wake up that Seraph?”
The girl's eyes went wide.
“Poke it, or… throw something in its face, or, hell, pick its nose for all I care! Just… make sure that everyone is looking at it. Can you do that?”
Li blinked, looking a little pale. She stared across at the Seraph, then back at Hawk.
“Please, Li,” he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.” He glanced across at the distant, ominous white line of the Tower, splitting the golden sky in two, and swallowed. “I think… Mekka might be in trouble.”
Li looked over at the Seraph again, then turned back with a serious expression on her young face, and nodded.
Hawk smiled, scuffing her hair. “You're an awesome kid, Li!” he told her.
Smiling back, the little girl took off across the plaza.
Hawk watched her go, then looked down at the unconscious guard, and got to work.
Li darted amongst the crowd, slipping between the market stalls until she reached the centre of the plaza.
A large and beautiful fountain was situated there, tinkling and glittering in the sunshine. Three golden-winged children, carved from white marble and pouring water from large amphorae, reclined elegantly at the top. Three real Angel children, trying to shove each other off the statue, sat amongst them.
They weren't supposed to be there: sitting on the fountain was forbidden, but everyone did it anyway. Li wished she could be naughty with them, instead of just doing bad things on her own.
But other kids ignored her. No one ever paid any attention to Li: except her parents, which paid her too much attention.
She wished she could be like Mekka, living in the forest and having adventures. Her tutor had told her stories of the Black-Winged Angel that were meant to scare her, but they only made her excited and restless.
She looked around at the crowd. People bustled by on every side, going about their business and talking and enjoying themselves.
No one so much as glanced down at Li.
She set her mind determinedly. Well, she thought, everyone is going to notice me NOW…
Directly in front of her, in a wide circle beside the fountain, knelt a large group of people, heads bowed, wings folded, hands on their chests in prayer. Floating a little way above them were two giant, bare feet.
Above those feet rose the rest of the Seraph.
Six enormous wings stretched out from it, moving lazily in the air, creating a breeze. Its head was high above her, long golden hair falling about its face, mingling with its white robes. Two of its eyes were closed; the third, smaller eye in its forehead was open, staring ahead unblinkingly. Two golden rings rotated above its head, flashing when they caught the sunlight, their hundred blue eyes staring in all directions.
Looking up at the Seraph, Li felt her confidence waver. The Seraphim were holy: no one had ever touched one before. Merely being in their presence was a privilege. They were holding up the Aegis, keeping Arkana safe from danger.
But Hawk said that Mekka might be in trouble. She chewed at her lip. And Hawk needed her help.
Hawk was her best friend, now. He promised.
Taking a deep breath, Li flew upwards, higher and higher, until she was level with the Seraph's huge face.
It filled the world.
The blue eye stared into her, and she felt as though she could no longer breathe.
The two main eyes remained closed.
She forced herself to fly closer.
Shaking, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the black feather that Mekka had given her.
Then she reached out and gently brushed it against the Seraph's mighty nose.
At first, nothing happened. Li continued to tickle it.
And then… the great eyes opened.
Li's eyes opened wide with them.
They were golden, and appeared to be filled with swirling clouds. A ring of blue surrounded each vast pupil.
Li froze, her wings barely able to keep her aloft, and found that she could not look away.
From somewhere below came a commotion, the sound of people yelling and crying out: in panic, in fear, in awe, she wasn't sure.
And then one of the huge hands closed around her.
With a gasp, Li dropped her feather.
It's going to crush me! she thought in terror.
“I'm s-sorry!” she stammered, eyes filling with tears. “I j-just wanted to help my friend!”
The Seraph regarded her, blinking slowly. Then it held up its other hand, the black feather tiny between its thumb and forefinger, and stared at it.
It blinked again.
It looked back at Li.
Then it leaned down and placed the little Angel gently back on the ground, and resumed its former position, hands against its chest, the great eyes closing once more.
Hawk's hands flexed as he adjusted his grip on the spear. Whatever Li had done, it had worked: the Seraph had opened its eyes, creating quite a stir.
Certainly, no one was looking in Hawk's direction.
Hawk forced himself not to be distracted by the giant Angel as well. He had something more important to concentrate on.
Namely, not plummeting to his death.
Okay, okay, he told himself, feeling his heart trying to run away from his chest. I can do this…
The gap between his platform and the edge of the plaza was slightly too far to jump; the Angels wouldn't have chosen this floating slab of stone as a prison if they thought their captive could simply leap to safety. The stones of the plaza ended in a smooth, rounded-off ledge, held up by giant buttresses that curved away beneath, like the rib cage of the city, disappearing into the clouds below. There were no railings anywhere, no crevices, no handholds of any kind to grab on to.
Except for the brazier.
Hawk wasn't sure if it was fixed in place or not, but it was large and heavy-looking, and surrounded by an ornate, gilded-metal grille.
It was a couple of feet from the edge. He didn't think he could reach it on his own, but with the added length of a spear, with a hooked tip…
“I can do this,” he repeated aloud, jumping on the spot to calm his nerves. Then he backed up to the farthest edge of the platform, took a firm grip on the spear, and tensed.
Carmine knew I was an idiot when she agreed to marry me, Hawk thought. She can't blame me for dying doing something stupid, right??
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Then he opened his eyes, fixed them firmly on the golden brazier… and ran.
His heart stopped in mid-air as he leapt, thrusting the spear forward…
… and then he was falling…
A sudden jerk, but he managed to hold his grip…
He blinked.
It took him a moment to realise that he was neither falling, nor dead.
The spear had caught in the brazier, and he clung to it, with nothing beneath his feet but several hundred feet of air and cloud and forest.
Hawk let his breath out in a rush of relief.
Then he began pulling himself up.
A few moments later, he sat on the edge of the plaza, wanting nothing more than to collapse with relief, but he was not safe yet. Quickly, he looked around himself.
The crowd was beginning to disperse, wandering back from where it had flocked around the Seraph. The giant Angel itself had resumed its former pose as though nothing had happened.
Hawk grabbed the guard's armour and put it on as quickly as he could manage, then extricated the spear from the brazier and stood up.
Placing the spear against his shoulder, he began walking nonchalantly across the plaza.
Of course, he looked nothing like an Angel: the lack of wings was a dead giveaway. But if he acted like he was supposed to be there, mimicking the movements of a guard, perhaps anyone glancing his way wouldn't look twice…
The sun glared down on him, like a spotlight, making him sweat beneath his black Freeroamer clothing and Angel armour. He knew that he looked ridiculous. He felt ridiculous. The plaza seemed suddenly infinitely big, the nearest alley a hundred miles of blazing white stone away.
But it seemed that Li's commotion had claimed everyone's attention enough that incredibly, no one noticed him. Excited babble filled the plaza, and many people kept looking back at the Seraph.
Hawk made it to the shadow of an alley, and carefully lounged there, taking deep breaths.
A moment later, someone wandered over to the edge of the plaza. Hawk noticed him stop suddenly, and peer at the platform that he had just vacated.
And then, the Angel laughed.
His laughter brought a couple of others over to see what was going on. Then they, too, started laughing.
Hawk knew that he needed to find somewhere to hide, but he couldn't resist watching.
On the platform, the guard awoke, rubbing his head. Confused at the amused group of observers – or, Hawk corrected, admirers – he looked around, and then down at himself.
His reaction was worth everything that Hawk had been through.
And it was a long way down to the forest floor to retrieve his clothes.
In the distance, someone whistled.
Smiling, setting his spear against his shoulder once more, Sergeant Hawk turned and strolled down the alleyway.
It was all he could do to stop himself whistling as well.