فصل 13

Chapter 13

CALL TOOK A step back from Aaron, stumbling over a stray book. This was Master Joseph as Call hadn’t seen him before — wild-eyed and full of rage. He wore the Alkahest over one hand.

At the sight of it, Call’s breath caught.

Always before, even in the depths of his anger, Master Joseph had protected Call. In the tomb of the Enemy of Death, he’d even thrown himself in front of Call, ready to toss his own life away to save him. But now, he looked ready to murder Call without thinking twice.

“H-helping Aaron,” Call stammered.

“You cannot meddle with what you have done!” Master Joseph shouted, spit flying from his lips. “Without a resurrection, we are nothing! The mages will overrun us and we will be destroyed. It is only with the power of eternal life that our army can swell to destroy the Assembly!” On the table, Aaron sat up. He didn’t look intimidated by all the yelling. He just stared at Master Joseph impassively.

“Okay, okay,” Call said, holding up his hands, placating. Alex had backed far enough away from Master Joseph that he was standing against the wall, his face the color of candlewax. Call had never seen Alex like that before and it made him even more scared. “Don’t freak out. Everything’s fine.” Master Joseph took a step toward Aaron and grabbed his neck, tilting his face and looking him over like an angry car owner trying to determine if his new Mercedes had a scratch on it.

“Callum seems to be determined to show me that he’s more trouble than he’s worth. From the beginning, he defied me. He mocked his role. He made light of the great honor bestowed on him. He threw my loyalty and my sacrifices back in my face, over and over again. Well, Callum, I think I’ve had enough of you ruining my plans.” “Don’t take it personally,” Call said. “Lots of people find me really annoying. It’s not just you.” “Call was trying to help me,” Aaron said, jerking back from Master Joseph’s grip. There was something almost terrifying in his expression.

“You don’t need help!” Master Joseph snapped, seizing him by the shoulder this time. “You shouldn’t be tampered with!” “Get off me,” Aaron said, shoving Master Joseph’s hand away. “You don’t know what I need!” Master Joseph snarled. “Be silent. You’re not a person. You’re a thing. A dead thing.” Aaron’s arm shot out and he seized Master Joseph by the throat. It all happened fast — too fast for Call to react in any way but sucking in a sharp breath.

Master Joseph’s hand came up, as though he were going to conjure up fire, but Aaron caught his arm and twisted it behind his back. His other hand tightened on Master Joseph’s throat. Master Joseph thrashed, gasping for air, his gaze going unfocused.

“Don’t!” Call shouted, finally realizing what Aaron meant to do. “Aaron, no!” But Call had commanded Aaron never to obey him, and Aaron didn’t. His fingers dug deeper into Master Joseph’s throat and there was a popping, snapping sound, like the sound twigs made when you stepped on them.

The light went out of Master Joseph’s eyes.

Call gasped, staring at Aaron, unwilling to believe that his friend had done this, his closest friend, who’d always also been the best person he knew. For the first time, Call was afraid — not for Aaron, but of him.

Alex was making a weird noise that turned out to be the word no said again and again, over and over.

Aaron let go of Master Joseph and stepped back, looking at his hand as though he was only just then realizing what he had done. He seemed confused when Master Joseph’s body hit the ground.

You’re a thing. A dead thing.

Master Joseph lay slumped at Call’s feet, like Drew before him. Knowing me has been pretty bad for Master Joseph’s family, Call thought a little hysterically, but no part of that was actually funny.

Alex dropped to his knees. He was staring at Master Joseph’s body. “You — you can bring him back,” Alex said.

“But I won’t.” The words were out of Call’s mouth before he even considered them. He was more than a little shocked that Alex had asked — the Master had threatened Alex with the Alkahest, had mocked and disparaged him. But Alex was staring at his body with a haunted look.

“You have to,” Alex said. “Someone has to lead us.”

Aaron stared blankly at what he’d done. If he felt remorse, he didn’t show it.

Alex crept closer to Master Joseph’s body. There were tears on his face, but he didn’t reach to touch the dead mage. Instead his hand went to the Alkahest. He cradled it to his chest and Call realized that he’d been a fool to not grab for that before anything else.

“Uh, Alex?” Call said. “What are you doing?

“I never thought he could die,” Alex didn’t sound like he was talking to Call. His voice was low, like he was talking to himself. “He was a great man. I thought he would lead the army with me at his side.” “He was an evil man,” Call said. “In a way, everything that happened — the mage war and Jericho’s death and even Drew’s death — was his fault. He hurt people.” “He is the only reason you were ever important at all. He believed in you. And you’re just going leave him there?” “Like you did with me?” Aaron said, sliding down off the table. He moved to stand next to Call.

“I didn’t do that to show I was better than the Enemy of Death,” Alex snarled. He still held the Alkahest, hugging it to himself.

“No,” Call said. “You did it to show you were exactly like him.” He walked to the door, Aaron behind him. There, Call turned back. “We’re going to go. Look, I know you’re upset, but you could do good out in the world with your chaos magic. You can still be famous and powerful and not on the side of evil. With Master Joseph gone, this can all be over.” Alex looked at him tiredly. “Good, evil,” he said. “What’s the difference?” Call expected Aaron to say something. He expected him to point out that Alex must know the difference — but he didn’t. Maybe this Aaron couldn’t tell, either.

Call and Aaron walked down the corridor in silence and were quickly joined by Havoc, his ears back but his tail wagging. Footsteps sounded in the house, but no one stood between them and the door. They stepped out onto the lawn.

“Where are we going?” Aaron asked.

“I don’t know,” Call said. “Off this island. Away from everything.”

“Am I coming with you?” Aaron seemed to have realized that killing Master Joseph was something that might matter to Call. Maybe some part of Aaron was bothered by it, too. Maybe he remembered that there was a time when he would never have killed someone like that, in cold blood, with his bare hands.

“Of course you are,” Call said, but Aaron probably heard the hesitation in his voice.

“Good,” Aaron said.

They started to walk toward the woods, following the road, sticking to the edge of the tree line. Call’s leg started aching pretty quickly, but he didn’t slow down. He let the pain happen, let it get worse. So what if it hurt? So what if he limped? The pain made him feel everything in sharper relief.

Aaron walked alongside him, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Horrifyingly, the more time passed, the less Call felt like his friend was accompanying him and the more he felt as though it was one of the Chaos-ridden. Even Havoc seemed to be avoiding Aaron, sticking to the opposite side of Call, never darting over to be patted. Even though Havoc had nosed up to Aaron to be petted yesterday, it seemed clear the wolf thought Aaron had changed since he’d first returned to the living. Aaron had changed. But why would that have happened?

At least they were close to the water now. Call could hear the waves lapping at the bank. And then, suddenly, that noise was subsumed by the growl of engines. Trucks roared down the road. Overhead, a ribbonlike elemental cut through the sky.

Call turned, grabbed Aaron by the shoulder, and shoved him into the woods. “Run! We’ve got to run!” he said, though he knew his leg wasn’t going to let him go fast.

And then, coming out of the woods was Hugo, more mages with him, and marching behind them, Alex’s Chaos-ridden.

Even with Master Joseph dead, Call and Aaron weren’t going to be allowed to leave.

“I am the Enemy of Death!” Call shouted. “I am the person in charge. It’s my commands you’re supposed to be listening to — and I say go back to the house! This is over. I am Constantine Madden! I am the Enemy of Death! And I say this is over!” Hugo took a step toward Call, a smile on his face. With growing fear, Call realized that there weren’t just the mages Call had seen before. Not just escapees from the Panopticon and trainees like Jeffrey. There were others — even people wearing Assembly robes, who must have just arrived. Traitors, all come to fight on the wrong side. Call even thought he recognized Jasper’s dad.

Havoc started to bark loudly.

“You may have Constantine’s soul but you’re not in charge,” Hugo said. “Master Joseph gave very specific instructions. If something were to happen to him, we’re supposed to follow Alex Strike, and Alex says to bring you back — by force if necessary.” “But I’m the Enemy of Death!” Call said. “Look, I’m the one that resurrected Aaron. You’re all here to unlock death’s mysteries, right? Well I am the combination to death’s locker! I am the key to the weird shed in its backyard!” For a moment, after Call spoke, everyone was silent. He wasn’t sure if he’d dazzled them with his logic or not. For a moment, he hoped they might really let him go.

“Maybe you’re … all those things,” Hugo said. “But you’re still going to have to come back to the main house. There’s going to be a battle soon, and we all need to be ready. It’s not safe for you or for Aaron in the woods right now. Scouts from the Assembly could be anywhere.” “I’m not going back with you.” Call raised his hand, calling on chaos. Maybe if he showed them what he was and what he could do, they’d let him go. Maybe if they realized he was going to fight, they would be afraid to hurt him. Power began to gather within him slowly. He had almost drained himself completely trying to see what was wrong with Aaron. With a piece of his soul missing, he was so weak. He needed more power.

Out of habit, he reached for Aaron, his counterweight. But reaching for him was like plunging an arm into icy water. A cold, black nothingness washed over his mind. Call gave a cry as the world went dark.

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Call woke with his hands tied behind him, his head lolling to one side. For a moment after he regained consciousness, he thought he was back in the Panopticon. It was only when he saw his surroundings — Master Joseph’s creepy Victorian parlor — that he remembered everything that had happened. Master Joseph … Tamara … Aaron.

Aaron.

Looking down, he saw that he was lashed to a chair, his ankles bound tightly to its legs and his wrists tied behind his back “You’re awake,” Aaron said from behind him, close enough that Call was pretty sure he was lashed to a chair, too — probably the chairs were tied together. Call shuffled a little to test his assumption and the weight confirmed it.

“What happened?” Call asked.

Aaron shifted his weight a little. “You looked like you were going to do some magic and then you just passed out. I have no magic, so I couldn’t do much. Neither could Havoc. They tied us up. Alex ran around a lot, giving orders. I think Hugo was telling the truth about a battle.” “Alex is really in charge?” Call said, incredulous.

“He’s claiming —” Aaron started, but before he could finish, Hugo came into the room, Alex behind him. When the door opened, Call heard Anastasia talking to some other mages. For a moment, he thought he even heard a voice he recognized, but he couldn’t place it.

Alex was clad in a long black coat buttoned to the neck, his hair carefully combed back from his face. He no longer looked tired or frightened. His eyes glittered, and he wore the Alkahest on one arm, gleaming as if it had just been polished.

“Seriously? You look like you’re auditioning for the next Matrix movie,” Call said, and then realized that maybe he shouldn’t be so sassy while he was tied to a chair.

“I am in charge now, as I always should have been,” Alex said. “I have all of Constantine’s knowledge and all of Master Joseph’s expertise. I am the new Enemy of Death.” Call had to bite his lip to prevent himself from making another joke.

“I could transfer your Makar power to myself and be the most powerful chaos user who ever lived. Either obey me and become my loyal lieutenant, Callum, or I will kill you right here.” “That’s a compelling offer,” Call said. “But are you even sure the Alkahest works like that?” “You can’t kill him,” Aaron said softly. “Just like you can’t kill me. Without us, your army won’t stay.” Alex’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “Of course they will.”

“Of course they won’t,” said Call, running with Aaron’s lead. “They care about the dead being brought back. I did that. You didn’t. And everyone knows it.” “He’s right,” said Aaron. “They came to follow Call and Master Joseph, not some teenager they don’t know.” Alex sneered. “Please. Call explained how to bring back the dead. He used his own soul. I can do the same thing any time I want, so I don’t need him anymore. I need you, sure. You’re the proof this works, but he’s disposable.” “If he dies, I won’t help you,” Aaron said emotionlessly. “I might not help you anyway.” Alex looked ready to stamp his foot, but he drew a knife from the inside pocket of his coat instead. It was a nasty curved thing and it made Call think of Miri, his own blade, back at the Magisterium. He forced a grin. “Well, Call. Do you want to take the chance I will do it anyway or do you want to promise you’ll be loyal? Will you fight on our side in the coming conflict?” “I’ll fight on your side,” Call said. “After all, Aaron and I don’t have anywhere else to go. Did you see me running after Tamara and Jasper? Didn’t you hear me when I told the whole Assembly that I wasn’t being held against my will? Everyone else hates me. You should have led with that.” Alex grinned and reached down to slash the knife through the ropes that held them. Call got to his feet, his bad leg aching. Aaron rose slowly after him.

“Come,” Alex said, and marched from the room.

The sun had set while Call and Aaron had been tied up. It was dark outside the windows as they hurried along the hallway of the house behind Alex. As they passed through the parlor, Call could see that the huge lawns outside the house were lit with burning spheres of mage fire.

They reached the porch of the house and stood there, staring, Alex smirking beside them. In the flickering firelight, the lawn was an eerie battleground. A mass of mages in green Assembly robes and the black uniforms of the Magisterium faced the house. Standing with their backs to the house were Master Joseph’s forces.

They were Alex’s forces now. Call could mostly only see their backs, but there were a lot of them. He thought he recognized Hugo and some of the other mages. They formed a wall several lines deep in front of the house, staring ahead with grim determination.

There was a gap of about a football field’s length between them and the mages of the Assembly. Call moved toward the porch railing, and heard a bark.

“Havoc!” he said. The wolf bounded around the side of the house and up the steps to press himself against Call’s leg. Call winced in pain but reached down to ruffle Havoc’s fur. It was a relief to see Havoc, the only one of his friends who hadn’t changed.

He chanced a sideways look at Aaron. Aaron’s profile was sharp in the red-orange light. It made his green eyes look blacker. He thought of the way Aaron had squeezed Master Joseph’s throat until it snapped, and he felt an ache inside. In a way he missed Aaron more now than he had when Aaron was dead. It was as if he’d brought Aaron back and since that moment, everything that had made Aaron himself had been evaporating from him, like mist off a river.

But why? The thought teased the edge of Call’s mind. It was Aaron’s body that was the problem. If he had put him in a different body — if he had moved Aaron’s soul, the way Constantine had moved his own — would it have made any difference?

Havoc barked again as the front door opened and Anastasia came out onto the porch. She wore her silver-and-white armor, now clean, her hair up in a massive pewter twist. She glided toward Call.

“Callum,” she said. “I’m glad you’ve seen sense and decided to fight alongside Alex.” “I didn’t see sense,” Call said. “He just threatened to kill me otherwise.” She blinked. Call couldn’t help but wonder: Didn’t it matter to her, the idea that Alex might kill Constantine’s soul? But whatever compromises Anastasia had made long ago in order to accept what her son had done and want him back anyway seemed to be fogging her mind.

“Once the battle is over,” she said, “we’ll go somewhere, and we’ll raise Jericho, and we’ll live in peace.” “That’s enough, Anastasia,” said Alex. “Master Joseph tolerated this ridiculous delusion, but I won’t. Callum isn’t your son. I don’t care what you think. He isn’t Constantine Madden, and all your fawning over him won’t make any difference. He doesn’t love you.” There was an immediate sharpening in Anastasia’s expression. The fog was lifting and Call wasn’t sure that Alex was going to like whatever was underneath.

“Alex, you would do well to remember that you need me,” Anastasia said. “And my elementals.” “And you’d do well to remember that if you should consider anyone your son, it’s me.” “I know Call’s soul,” said Anastasia, though Call didn’t think that was true. “Not yours.” Alex’s face twisted.

“There are a lot of things here,” Aaron interrupted, as if no one had been speaking. Alex glared; Call looked around the island.

It was true. The army of the Chaos-ridden had been marched out of the lake. They stood in neat rows, their clothing in tatters from such a long submersion in the water. Near them were elementals: long, airy snakes coiling among the trees, flaming lizards, enormous spiders made entirely from rock. Call didn’t see any water elementals, but if there were any, they were probably frolicking in the river.

Call looked again at the mages. He’d thought he heard a familiar voice before, but now he realized he knew several of the people there. A few Assembly members stood near Hugo, along with several parents he recognized from the Magisterium. Jasper’s father was there, causing Call to suck in a breath.

But moving through the crowd toward Alex was someone who gave Call a bigger shock — Tamara’s older sister Kimiya.

A moment later, she had thrown herself into Alex’s arms. “I’m so glad you’re all right,” she said breathlessly.

Even Alex looked surprised. “Kimiya?”

“Kimiya, what are you thinking?” Call demanded. “You should be on the same side as your sisters.” Kimiya turned to look at him angrily. “Ravan isn’t my sister,” she said. “She was destroyed by fire. Now she’s a monster. My best friend, Jen, is dead —” Her lips trembled. “I hate death,” she said. “If Alex wants to destroy death, then I want to be at his side.” Alex shot Call a superior look over Kimiya’s head. “Go and get yourself a weapon, darling,” he said, stroking her long black hair. “We’ll fight together.” Kimiya disappeared inside. Alex grinned at Call, who barely restrained himself from lunging at Alex and strangling him. Alex cut him off, though, by moving up beside him and grabbing him by the back of the shirt with the hand that wasn’t enveloped by the Alkahest. Hugo, beside him, seized Aaron.

“Loyal followers!” Alex shouted, and Call and Aaron were shoved forward and down the steps, into the center of a bright spotlight that was being cast by several mages. “Here they are! Callum Hunt, the reincarnation of Constantine Madden, and his greatest accomplishment — Aaron Stewart, raised from the dead!” A cheer went up. Call heard people shouting Aaron’s name. He felt dizzy. It was so much like the time Aaron had been declared the Makar, the hero of the Magisterium, and yet it was nothing like that.

“And now —” Alex began. But Hugo interrupted him.

“Master Strike,” he said. “Look. The other side is waving a flag of parlay.” “They surrender?” Alex sounded disappointed. “Already?”

Hugo shook his head. “It means they want to talk before the battle.”

“They sent us a message. They do want to talk.” Anastasia strode up, her expression taut. “But only to Call.” “No,” Alex said. “I forbid it.”

Aaron looked ready to argue on his behalf, but Call put a hand on his arm.

“Good,” he said to Alex. “They’d probably grab me, figuring that the army would be useless without me.” “I am leading this army,” Alex said fiercely.

Call smirked. “I’m still the Enemy of Death.”

Alex turned to Anastasia. He looked petulant enough to stamp a foot. “Why do they want to talk to Callum?” Kimiya had reappeared from the house, holding an axe made of stone. It bore numerous air and earth symbols carved into it, which Call suspected made it light enough to hold. “It was Tamara’s idea,” she said. “Tamara persuaded our parents he could be trusted. That his word would be good.” She shook her head. “Really, I think she wants to say good-bye one more time.” A cruel smirk grew on Alex’s face. “I didn’t know you and Tamara had something going on, Callum.” “It’s not like that.” The whine in Call’s voice sounded ridiculous, ridiculous enough that Aaron raised his eyebrows. He could tell that Call was faking.

“I was wrong. You are going, Callum Hunt,” Alex said with a laugh, clearly believing he was upsetting Call. “You’re going to go and say exactly what I want you to say. You will bring my words to the mages of the Assembly and they will learn who the real leader of this army is.” Call tried to look sullen, but his guts were churning. Here was his chance to help the Assembly. But help them how?

He took a deep breath. He needed to give them an idea of the forces they were going to be up against. A rough head count of elementals and Chaos-ridden and mages. They were going to want that. And they’d want to know that Master Joseph was dead.

“Don’t come back,” Aaron whispered to him.

Call shook his head. “And leave you here? No.”

Aaron said nothing more. He didn’t insist, didn’t explain.

“I heard that,” Alex said. He looked like a dark bird of prey, wrapped in black, glaring with hooded eyes at the mages of the Assembly. “I will be watching to see if you run to them, Call. If you try to turn traitor. And if you do, then I will command every one of the Chaos-ridden to attack and not stop until they kill you.” Kimiya gave a little gasp. Call turned to see that a fiery line was spreading from the line of the Assembly mages across the empty grass, toward Alex’s forces.

The grass didn’t burn — the fire seemed to sail over it, expanding as it flew. Alex narrowed his eyes. “They’re coming for us,” he said. “Call, help me order the Chaos-ridden —” “No.” Kimiya put her hand on Alex’s wrist. “It’s Ravan.”

“She’s attacking!” Alex’s voice rose to a screech, but Ravan had already reached them. She had become a column of blaze and fire, rising from the grass, gray smoke streaked with orange lines of flame.

The smoke coalesced. It became more and more solid, until a gray girl stood in front of them. She was solid and real-seeming. The folds of a gray smoke dress blew around her. Her hair was long, and had once been black. Now it gleamed dusty silver. Her face reminded Call of Tamara, and he felt a twisting deep inside.

Three of the mages sent up an icy shield between her and Alex’s forces but she only laughed.

“I will escort Callum Hunt to the site of parlay,” she said. “I am peaceable now, but if you strike me I will burn the earth for a mile around.” Could she really do that? Call wondered. How bad was this magical battle going to get?

“Monster,” said Kimiya in a revolted voice.

Ravan gave a little, tilted smile. “Sister,” she said to Kimiya, and reached out a hand to gesture Call to walk in front of her. “Callum. We must hurry.” Call gave Aaron a look that said that he would come back, before he walked around the ice shield and followed Tamara’s sister across the grass.

Everything was eerily quiet. There was hardly even any wind as they moved across the grass, allowing Ravan to keep her human shape. As they grew closer to the other side, Call saw that three figures were waiting for him. Master Rufus’s dark skin stood out in contrast to his dark olive Assembly robes. Beside him was Tamara, in her school uniform, her hair very black against the white. And next to Tamara was Jasper. His face was blank and angry as he watched Call approach.

As Call reached them, Ravan began to scatter. Ash flowed away from her in waves. For a moment, as she dissolved, she looked at Call. Her eyes were orange, full of flames.

“Don’t hurt my sister,” she whispered. “She cares for you.”

And then she was gone.

Call came to a stop in front of them — his friend, his once-girlfriend, and his former teacher. None of them spoke.

“Call —” Tamara started.

“I don’t have a lot of time,” Call interrupted her. He didn’t think he could bear to hear what she had to say. He started talking fast, not looking at any of them directly. He began to outline what Alex’s army consisted of and what had happened to Master Joseph. As he spoke, one of the Assembly members — Graves — broke free of the others and strode over to them. He’d never been a big fan of Call’s, and Call tried to ignore that he was there.

As Call wound down, Master Rufus’s expression changed from neutral to concerned.

“Callum,” he interrupted, finally. “You’re telling me that Master Joseph is dead? And that Alex Strike and Anastasia Tarquin are leading the troops?” Call nodded. “Mostly Alex, though. Look, I surrender! I surrender! This was all a huge mistake. Just promise that nothing is going to happen to Aaron and I’ll do whatever you want.” At his name, all of their expressions darkened. Graves pointed a skinny finger at him. “Callum Hunt, what you have done may have created a rift in the mage world that can never heal. The dead are not meant to return. Aaron must be destroyed, for the sake of his soul, if for no other reason.” “Is that what you think?” Call turned to Tamara.

Her eyes were shimmering as if she was holding back tears, but her voice was firm. “I think you brought back part of Aaron but not all of him,” Tamara told him. “I don’t think he would want to live like this.” But what if I’m starting to understand what I did wrong? he wanted to ask her, but he already knew the answer. It was too late. What if I can still fix it? Fix him?

Call wasn’t sure that was possible. It was just the germ of a thought in the back of his mind. Something about Aaron’s body, a body that had been dead — his own body had been living when Constantine had pushed his soul into it — But what he was thinking about might be something that could never be done.

Should never be done.

“Let it be Aaron’s choice,” Call said, looking at his shoes.

“As if he can make choices,” Graves snorted. “Can he even talk?”

Tamara reddened. Call glared at Graves. “Yes, he can choose to do things. He’s the one who killed Master Joseph, and he did it all on his own.” Tamara caught her breath. “Aaron killed Master Joseph?”

“Yes,” Call said. “And he should be allowed to decide if he lives or dies and where he goes! I brought him back. I owe him that.” “It hardly matters,” said Graves, though he looked shaken. “You cannot come back to the Magisterium.” “Then send me back to the Panopticon,” said Call. “Put me in prison. Just not him.” “You can’t come back to us, Callum,” Rufus said gently, but Graves interrupted him: “We didn’t parlay with you to offer you and your monster help. We asked to speak with you because your family and friends believe you can be persuaded to do the right thing.” He looked around as if he couldn’t believe how stupid Call’s friends were.

“The right thing?” Call echoed, not at all sure what they were suggesting. The only thing he was sure of was that he wasn’t going to like it.

Graves went on. “We have gone to war against the forces of the Enemy before. And yes, perhaps Alex is much diminished, but his forces aren’t. He is a Makar and there is no Makar fighting on our side anymore.” Call opened his mouth, but Jasper shook his head, and for once, Call shut it. He wished that his father had been allowed to come to this parlay. He imagined that Alastair must have argued for it, but he understood why they hadn’t let him come. Alastair would cut to the chase and tell him what was really happening.

“We have had more traitors and defectors than we supposed. There’s only one way to end this for good. You must use your chaos magic to destroy Alex Strike — and yourself.” Call sucked in a breath.

“What?” demanded Jasper.

Tamara exploded with anger. “That’s not what we agreed to! It was that he should destroy Master Joseph and then everything would be forgiven!” She whirled around to face Call. “I told them you didn’t mean it when you said you were the Enemy of Death, that you were just saying it so Alex and Master Joseph didn’t know you were on our side. I know you brought Aaron back because you care about him, Call, and not for any other reason.” “Graves, this is insupportable,” said Rufus. “He is a child. You cannot ask him to destroy himself.” “He is the Enemy of Death,” said Graves. “He said so himself.”

Call started to back away. He felt sick. Master Rufus might argue, but the Assembly had already decided, and the Assembly called the shots. They wanted him dead. There was nothing he could do about it.

“Call,” Master Rufus said. “Call, come back —”

But Call was gone, sprinting across the grass toward Alex’s army, toward Anastasia Tarquin and the Chaos-ridden. He’d spent so much time trying to escape them, he never thought he’d be fleeing toward them.

Havoc ran to greet him, barking, his coruscating eyes shining in the moonlight like points of fire. Call grabbed his ruff and ran the rest of the way, half leaning on the wolf, his bad leg aching along with his head.

He would have gone back to the house, but too many Chaos-ridden and Assembly traitors blocked his way. Alex stood beside Kimiya and Anastasia. He was grinning. Aaron was slightly behind him. Hugo had a hand on his shoulder — not a friendly hand, but a warning one.

“So how’d you like that, Call?” Alex said. “Kimiya told me they wanted you to sacrifice yourself to take out Master Joseph. She overheard Graves talking about it. Nice to know how much the Magisterium really values you, huh?” Call felt his heart sink further. That was why Alex had let him go to the parlay. Not because he trusted Call or because he’d been deceived by his pretending to be upset, but because he believed Call wouldn’t sacrifice himself.

And he’d been right. Call had run away from the Assembly mages. Call thought back to his first year learning magic. The end of his private Cinquain. Call wants to live.

“Tamara,” Kimiya said. “Was Tamara all right? She’s not going to fight, is she?” Call opened his mouth, then shut it again. Kimiya didn’t deserve to know about Tamara. Didn’t deserve to pretend to care about Tamara when she’d abandoned her.

“I’ve got the Alkahest,” said Alex, raising his arm. “You fight with us, Call, or you die and Aaron dies. Now you see that, right?” Call took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He felt like screaming. He felt like crying. But he couldn’t do either one.

“Yeah, they made me an insulting offer. So what? They already abandoned me.” Call looked Alex in the face, trying to turn his anger into confidence. “I already said I had nowhere else to go.” Alex’s smile tilted. “Glad to hear they didn’t change your mind.”

Aaron came over to him but didn’t ask how he was, didn’t put an arm on his shoulder. “A lot of people are going to die today, aren’t they?” he asked instead. He didn’t sound particularly concerned, just curious.

“I guess so,” Call said. It still seemed impossible, stupid, but it was happening. A lot of people — good people — were going to get hurt. They were going to die like his mother died.

“You’re going to lead the Enemy of Death’s Chaos-ridden on the left flank,” Alex told him. “I am going to lead my own on the right. Anastasia is going to head up the elementals from above. Hugo will lead the mages, who will support us from a safe distance. We will crush them. You don’t mind being on the front lines, right?” “Of course not,” Call said. He was sure Alex considered Constantine’s Chaos-ridden the most expendable and was willing to sacrifice Call the first chance he got. Maybe even arrange a little accident.

“Aaron is going to stay with me,” Alex said, making the “accident” scenario even more likely.

“I don’t want to do that,” said Aaron in an even tone that made Call a little nervous.

“Well, you’re going to,” Alex said. “But don’t worry about Call. He won’t be all alone. Havoc can go with him.” At the sound of his name, the Chaos-ridden wolf barked once.

Call looked over at Aaron. He would have insisted that his friend come with him — if it wasn’t that Alex was going to put Call in the most danger possible and that meant Aaron would be in it, too.

He thought about what Graves had said to him as he called the Chaos-ridden to him and commanded them to arrange themselves in neat little rows. They looked like an army of toy soldiers, grown massive and terrifying.

Call had been trying to avoid this exact moment ever since he’d found out that his soul had once belonged to Constantine Madden. It had been his fear that he would become like the Enemy of Death, that he’d be the cause of pain and fear and death. He’d been trying to make good choices, but though each choice had seemed fine all by itself — well, most of the choices had seemed fine — they’d still led him here.

He could make excuses, but excuses didn’t matter. Graves being such a jerk didn’t matter, because he was right. Even if none of this was Call’s fault, he was still the only one who could fix it.

He just had to figure out how.

“Move out,” Alex said. “Order them.”

“Okay,” Call said to his Chaos-ridden. “Time to march.”

“Yessss,” they groaned, in the language that only Call understood. And they began to move.

Their feet thundered over the ground as they headed toward where the Assembly’s army was still massing at the water’s edge. The air above them crackled with elemental magic. Behind them came Alex’s Chaos-ridden and the mages.

Call had never felt so unprepared for anything in his life. It’s just like the Iron Trial, he told himself. All you have to do is lose.

He was going to make sure his side lost spectacularly.