The Alchemist - Part Three

Orion's mind was nearly set as he crossed the dark terrain. Nearly - because he still hadn't found one that ended well in every iteration of this story that he told himself.

Perhaps Varek was reasonable. Perhaps they could walk away without being obliterated into thousands of tiny shards.

Or perhaps he was the stupidest Fae alive.

That was always a possibility - but Orion didn't see any way around it. All he could see was his utter uselessness in their last three missions. In the cave, with his inability to stop the monster; in Ravenscroft, with his idiotic decision to return to Barty, and…California.

He'd been on the stage, and Aurora had screamed.

Jasper had turned into something else, something not Jasper, and that had been the start of this mess.

If they'd all kept their heads, and if Orion had somehow prevented Aurora from getting away, then maybe they wouldn't have Varek here to retrieve them. From where he stood, this was his fault - his responsibility.

He tripped in the dark, the wind whistling around him. The green mist was climbing up to meet him, tumbling into the pits and holes of the countryside. Through the dark, Orion found the green eyes, watching him approach.

"Where are your companions, little Fae?" the deep, rumbling voice asked, penetrating Orion's bones and rattling his teeth. It was an ancient voice, though not a strictly malicious one.

"I've come to talk," Orion offered. "I know why you're here, and I don't want anyone to get hurt."

The voice rumbled, a hint of laughter. "And you don't believe they'll come peacefully."

"I know they won't. Jasper will want to fight. He's crazy enough to try it - and we've been through enough."

The darkness shifted, a cloud peeling away from the moon and illuminating the ground. By its light he saw the massive Fae male, looking down at him with a pensive expression. His green tattoos swirled, the green mist leaking from them.

"I am bound by blood to Bartholomew Threeves," Varek explained. "I must do as I am commanded. You, of all, should know this, Orion, Son of Arion, Lord of Lumenvale."

Orion swallowed. "Just Orion will do," he said, his voice hoarse. He and all of his brothers had been named for stars and constellations - a show of their father's immense power. But Orion had none of that power, and the name he carried was starting to sound like a joke. "And I understand. But there are always loopholes. If you're really Varek Chaosbringer, then you will know."

"And if there is such a loophole?"

"Then I expect you to take it."

"Why?"

Orion was startled by this question. Why? Perhaps compassion hadn't been invented when Varek was born - however many thousands of years ago that was. Perhaps generosity and kindness had also been a newer disposition. He said, "Because we're here in the name of the Order. We're investigating something odd, something of consequence to the Order, and if you take us back prematurely you'll be violating the code and everything we stand for.

Varek tilted his head. He looked at Orion the same way Jasper looked at a clue - as though he was something terribly out of place, terribly interesting, but not in a good way.

Not at all.

"Stand behind me," Varek offered when the silence stretched long and thin.

Orion's breath grew shallow. He heard the crunching of the grass behind him and the sudden absence of crickets and bats. He knew what was coming but didn't dare to look.

"Stand behind me, and you won't get hurt," Varek repeated when Orion didn't answer.

"I'm begging you," Orion breathed. "Reconsider. Please."

He couldn't say why, but something in him knew that this battle would be decisive - not just for the question of whether they would return to the Order, but for questions yet unasked, pieces of their lives only now going into motion. Varek's presence, to some, may have seemed like overkill, but Orion had known Threeves long enough to know that if Varek was here, then something was happening back in Aetherill.

Something much bigger than him or Jasper or Zephyra. Something bigger, dare he even think it, than the Order itself.

And although he didn't know what that answer would be, Orion, for the first time in his life, stood his ground.

---

"What is he thinking?" Jasper's pulse pounded in his ears as he burst into the parlor.

Zephyra and Rohan had been deep in a heated argument, but they stopped at the thunder in his voice, wheeling to face him.

Zephyra's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Orion's just gone out to meet Varek," Jasper explained, pointing to a window. "He's by himself. I assume that wasn't your plan."

Although, if he was honest with himself, it might have been. Zephyra was proving herself increasingly unintelligent with each passing day.

Zephyra rushed to the window, peering out across the grounds. The moon emerged from behind its shroud, and by its ghostly light, they could see Orion. He was a speck in the distance, standing opposite the Fae with the green mist.

"What do we do?" Zephyra looked to Jasper. "He can't - he'll get himself killed."

"And if you go out there, you will," Rohan supplied. "We're safe inside the house. Orion's on his own."

Jasper took in the sight, his mind racing at the thousands of possibilities unfolding before him. The smart thing to do would be to stay inside the house. Leave Orion to his stupidity. Something in him twinged at the thought; the something that didn't necessarily like the irritating Fae, but couldn't stand the idea of willingly allowing him to die.

It was as if Varek had known.

Maybe he had. If Jasper remembered correctly, Varek's abilities were strange and highly specific: he was one who could see probability. He could fold over a thousand realities in his mind at once, calculate the likelihood of each outcome, and choose what to do - in a matter of moments. Everyone knew of the monster that stood on the green. Everyone knew that he'd been trapped in ice for committing crimes as unspeakable as they were numerous.

Why? He'd been asked. Because they are necessary.

Whatever outcome he'd wanted, murdering thousands was, in his view, the only way to do it.

"He's going to die out there," Jasper said, more to himself than to anyone else in the room. And I'll have to live with that.

"We can escape," Rohan said. He pulled the amulet out from beneath his shirt. "Varek won't be able to find us."

Jasper rose to his full height and faced the other male. He barely reached Rohan's shoulder, but even so, Rohan shrank from the fury filling his corner of the room.

"Whatever you think of the Knights of the Order," Jasper hissed, "let it be known that we are no cowards. We don't leave our own. You can flee, but I'm going out there. I swore an oath to the realm, and I intend to keep it."

He didn't wait for Rohan to respond. He didn't check to see if anyone was following him. He turned and left the parlor, snaking his way back through the fortified villa and leaving through the kitchen door. The night was cool and still, and as he approached, the grass crunched loudly beneath his feet. He summoned his shadows and tried to think, tried to formulate a plan. But how did one defeat someone whose abilities allowed him to control outcomes? Someone who could not only see probability, but manipulate it in his favor?

Varek saw him and smiled. His teeth were a luminescent white and fanged. Jasper felt horribly exposed like this, wearing nothing more than a bathrobe, but armor wouldn't matter in a battle like this.

"Good evening, Master of Shadows," Varek sneered, that smile growing. "It's been an age since we last met."

"Funny, I don't recall," Jasper returned, schooling his features into something arrogant, cocky, even - anything to mask his anxiety and anger at Orion's idiotic decision.

"So it is true, then. Your memories are gone."

"What do you want?" Jasper asked. He stopped beside Orion. Behind him, more and more shadows gathered, whispering at his feet and forming into sharp points.

"My mission is to return you to Bartholomew Threeves, with the rogue and the athrubhan. Now is your chance to come quietly."

"You'll have to tell Barty that we decline, although the offer is tempting," Jasper said. "There are important things to do here - and he should know that if he paid any attention."

Varek shrugged. "He didn't specify whether or not you had to be returned whole."

"I suggest you leave." Aurora planted her feet beside Jasper. "He may not remember, but Jasper humiliated you the last time. I'm sure he'll do it again."

Varek's smile darkened. "Ah, yes. Quite the vote of confidence. Shall we find out?"

In his periphery, Jasper saw Zephyra and Rohan coming down to join them. Perhaps five would be enough. If they could somehow coordinate an attack -

Too late. Varek moved, and the world spun into something strange and unfamiliar, and the bright green mist descended upon them with a vengeance. In a moment, Jasper's ability to think evaporated, and everything around him became a confusing jumble of sights and sounds. Varek Chaosbringer certainly lived up to his name: through the swirling green mist, Jasper began to hear the cries of the others; the screaming and coughing and choking. Voices rose through the darkness, strangled cries and shapes wandering through the dark. Jasper felt dizzy and distracted, unable to keep his gaze settled on any one thing. He tried to summon a shield - though he could feel the edges of his magic, it was weak and far away.

It was not so much a battle as it was a confusing array of shapes flying through the air. On his left, what he assumed to be Aurora tried to shift into her athrubhan form. The mist weakened the abilities of those who breathed it, and she, already weak from her illness, only shifted halfway before Varek struck her back into the ground. Every time the Fae moved, Jasper's vision shifted and something else stood before him - a slightly different variant of the monster they faced. As Aurora hurled herself into the sky, Varek turned into something with long, hook-like arms and dragged her back down. She landed with a crunch and went still.

Jasper's own abilities fled him. The shadows remained, but he could hear their hissing voices as they slithered around him, thousands of tiny snakes spreading over him, over the ground, suddenly unruly and ill-tempered. They did not answer when he called to them, but took on lives and wills of their own, covering him and the surrounding area with a heaviness resembling tar. He couldn't scrape them away and flailed as they shot up his nose, down his throat, and into his ears. Only his eyes remained untouched, so that he could see the destruction heaped upon the others.

Zephyra acted next. She struggled to her feet, and a noise like a freight train came from behind, ripping down the green in an attempt to blast away the green mist. For a moment, it looked like it might work - then, with a flick of his hand, Varek reversed the pull and sent it back towards her, knocking her off her feet. At the moment she fell, a bolt of lightning cracked down near her, and she flew out of Jasper's sight.

While he struggled to get the shadows out of his mouth, choking against their vine-like texture, Rohan mounted his assault. With no magic to speak of, Rohan simply charged at Varek - they were, at least, a match for size, but Varek's speed was greater. The ground opened beneath Rohan and swallowed him whole until nothing but his head remained. 

Finally, with Varek distracted, Orion did his best. His sunlight was weak but he angled it at the Fae's head, attempting some type of weapon. Varek batted the beam aside as though it was nothing more than an irritating insect. It turned back on Orion and his clothes began to burn. Orion's screams filled the night, growing softer as he presumably ran away from the scene.

The situation was hopeless. Their powers were weakened and had betrayed them. Jasper couldn't fight the tendrils, and he could hardly breathe around the ones in his nose and throat. He urged his mind to think, to come up with a solution, a weakness, somehow - but not even the other, it seemed, would stand with him. It had retreated far into his mind and curled up to wait out the storm.

In his periphery, Aurora moved. She was half-transformed, one bloodied wing sprouted from her back, one hand a mess of skin and scales and talons. With this bear-like arm, she dragged herself towards him, reaching with her other, still human hand.

Jasper didn't know what she planned to do - grab the shadows herself? Banish them with starlight? He couldn't move, either to help or hinder her progress. He could only watch that extended hand while he struggled to breathe, to stay conscious, to formulate a strategy - how did one win against someone who could, quite literally, tip the odds in their favor whenever they wanted?

Jasper humiliated you the last time. I'm sure he'll do it again.

That's what Aurora had said - minutes ago. The last time? He supposed it wasn't improbable they'd met before. Maybe that was how he'd lost his memories, in a moment just like this one. Perhaps it was brain damage.

Humiliated.

No - it couldn't have been close. It had to be fatal, final - enough to encase the Fae in ice -

He was drifting into oblivion, oxygen-deprived brain shutting down. It roared back to life, however, when a hand clamped down on his own, and every horrible sensation that he associated with the touch of another arrived in the front of his brain. He couldn't scream, could hardly writhe, couldn't get away from her. Aurora had him in an iron grip, digging her nails into his wrist - what was she doing? How on earth was this supposed to help -

Something began to surface, underneath the pain. The longer she held on, the more the feeling changed. He'd never felt this before; he'd never lasted long enough for the initial shock to dissipate into something else.

Jasper. The female voice filled his ears, though she hadn't spoken. I need you to remember. What you are. Who you are. For all of us.

Her nails dug in deeper. Blood began to dribble out from where she marked him, but still, she didn't let go. Jasper's vision went white, and he was no longer looking at a sea of green mist floating overhead. He was no longer himself, but a host of other selves, each fractured into different feelings, sensations, and emotions. There was pain, lingering in the corner. There was anger, face dark and seething. There was despair, tearing out its hair by the roots. There was…something else. Something clawing to the surface, trying to get free of whatever kept dragging it back.

Yes, Aurora was saying. There he is. There -

Suddenly, she was ripped away from him, and in a heartbeat, Jasper's vision returned. Aurora had been thrown to the side, laying limp yards away. Varek stood over him, his fingers curling, as though he could control the shadows still crawling through Jasper's body. Varek smiled that horrible smile, eyes gleaming.  

"There you are, Master of Shadows," he said, kneeling beside Jasper. "You're only a shell of everything you used to be. What a pity."

Jasper choked on the vines in his throat. He closed his eyes and searched for that image again - what had Aurora been trying to show him? Who was lurking beneath the others, trying to surface?

"It's a shame Threeves wants you alive. Oh well. I suppose we can't have our cake and eat it, too."

A shrill sound filled his ears. A sound of fury, of…strength.

Jasper couldn't name the thing that crawled up out of the depths of his mind. It was different, though, than anything he'd seen before. Not the other. Not the other selves he'd seen lurking in the brief moments Aurora had been in there. It was vengeful, focused, and strong.

It felt like shedding his skin, the way the shadows peeled away, the way he rose from the ground, the way he threw himself at Varek, colliding with the larger male. Bones crunched and skin tore and, though he couldn't explain why he did it, Jasper grabbed Varek's head, pressing his palms to Varek's cheeks.

Very good, this new self purred, while Varek writhed. They wrestled but Jasper refused to release him. Give him everything. Everything you feel.

Images danced across his mind's eye. Images of pain. Of Bartholomew Threeves, breaking his bones. Of the Mustang, smashing against the tree. The more they gathered in his mind, the more Varek screamed, and the deeper he went

Uncountable nights alone in the hovel, staring at empty pages of a life that should have been full.

Watching Orion and Zephyra, sauntering off to be greeted by their friends in the off-hours.

The cold, biting words of an employer who would always find fault, no matter how he tried. No matter what he did, no matter how well he performed.

Staring into the void faces of ghosts, begging him to join them, while he begged them to leave. I'm not strong enough, he'd say. I'm not ready. Something is missing.

There was nothing to soothe the ache, nothing to take it away - only his drink and his music and his work. This is why I can't leave, he wanted to tell Aurora. Varek grabbed at his hands, talon-like fingers raking through his arms and leaving trails of gore. This is why I can't denounce the Order. It's all I have. This is all I have.

He went even deeper, as far as he could. The stares of the other Fae, the reminders that he was different, he was less-than, he was a monstrosity.

The glares of the other Knights of the Order who resented him, called him irritating and arrogant, simply because he used his brain.

The considerable lack of magic, the never-ending joke of the Makers, the thing that made him both a liability and a laughing stock in the eyes of his associates -

Varek shook him hard, roaring as another bolt of lightning crashed down between them, wrenching them apart. Jasper crashed into the ground, the world spinning, his body aching. He was spent; completely, utterly spent. A moment later, Varek stood over him, blood dribbling from his mouth.

"You fought hard, little Fae," he gasped, wiping his mouth.

Jasper didn't have the strength to answer, only to watch through half-closed lids.

"You have my respect."

Then Varek brought down his boot, and for Jasper, all the lights went out.

---

Jasper registered the cold floor beneath him, the way the ice crawled up his body as Varek dragged him to the throne of Bartholomew Threeves. As his consciousness returned (reluctantly, it seemed), he made out the familiar shape of pillars, the vaulted ceiling, and the chandeliers dangling precariously overhead. His head spun, fuzzy as though he'd been drugged. His vision was blurred but was returning. When the dragging stopped, he made out a pair of boots, halting just in front of his line of vision.

Jasper braced for the blow. The kick to his nose that would break it. The taste of blood. Another round of headaches and stitches and -

"I'd offer you a hand, but I think you've been through enough."

Barty kneeled in front of him. His voice was…kind, almost. Caring.

"We had a deal, Threeves," Varek hissed, from some distant part of the hall.

"Yes, yes," Barty said dismissively. "Thank you, Varek. You may go."

Threeves turned his attention back to Jasper, who was slowly garnering the strength to sit.

"I apologize if Varek was a little…rough. You know how he can be."

Jasper's vision sharpened. No - he wasn't hallucinating. Threeves was before him, watching him carefully. And he was smiling.

It was a deeply unpleasant smile, and Jasper preferred the scowl. Since no one had asked, however, he ignored it and rose stiffly to his feet. As he did, he caught sight of the others doing the same, waking from whatever trance Varek had put them in. Only Rohan and Aurora were being swarmed with guards and heavily armed officers.

"What in the…" Jasper looked from them to Threeves. "What are they doing?" he asked, his mind turning slowly, refusing to function. "Where are they…"

"Don't worry about them," Threeves said gently. "I applaud you for your efforts to bring them here."

"Jasper!" Aurora cried when a guard prodded her with a spear. "Don't let them do this - don't - "

One of the guards clubbed her over the head with his pommel and she fell. Jasper's heart lurched, a dull ache radiating in the back of his own skull as though he'd been hit, not Aurora. He took a step towards her but Barty held out an arm to stop him.

"We re-evaluated the Ravenscroft file," Barty said. "I was wrong about you, Jasper. I apologize. After further investigation, I realized that you did the only thing you could do in that situation - the honorable thing - and I treated you very badly indeed."

Jasper looked at Barty, wide-eyed. Varek's sick-mist must still be affected his senses because there was no chance Threeves had actually apologized.

Zephyra came to his side, rubbing her swollen eyes. "Jasper was amazing at Ravenscroft," she told Barty. "You should have seen him."

Aurora cried out again, and over Barty's shoulder, Jasper saw her struggling. Blood splattered across the marble tiles.

"Stop," he said, pushing past Barty. "Stop it. Don't - "

"She's dangerous," Barty said. "You have to see that, lad. Just look at what she's done to you. My brightest, bravest soldier - and she's hoodwinked you - "

Aurora met his gaze, her eyes wild with fear and pain. "Don't listen, Jasper - he's lying. He's lying about everything. There's more, there's so much more - "

The guard hit her again.

"How cruel is it," Barty continued, as though he didn't notice the struggle, "for a madwoman to take advantage of a vulnerable Fae with amnesia? How despicable must one be?"

Jasper turned back to Barty. His superior had his arm outstretched, and in his flattened palm, there was a key.

"Is that…"

Barty tilted his head. "Your keys. The Mustang is parked out back - like new. In fact, better than new. They updated the stereo. You'll be able to hear it for miles."

Aurora screamed again, her voice a fever pitch, begging and pleading. The scream tore him in two and Jasper nearly crumbled. He wanted to turn to her, to throw aside the guards, to stop this madness -

Barty shook the keys, their cold jingle drawing his attention again. "Let's start over, lad," he said gently. "Pretend none of this ever happened. Take the car, go for a drive - come back when you're ready. Start fresh."

Aurora's cries resonated in the hall.

"Take the keys, Jasper," Zephyra said, softly. Behind her, on the other side of the hall, Orion was getting to his feet. Blood matted his hair and his eyes were red-rimmed.

"None of this is your fault," Barty assured him. "I see that now. You were trying to do the right thing. Uphold the code. And you did - you did it perfectly. It's time we recognize that."

"She needs help," Jasper said, although he wasn't sure why. Deep beneath his skin, the other agreed. "She's sick. She needs to go to a hospital."

"Aye, she will." Threeves proffered the keys again. "Don't worry about her anymore. She's going to get all the help she needs."

Aurora's cries had been reduced to a pitiful whimpering, just his name, over and over again. Jasper. Jasper. Jasper.

For a moment, Jasper remembered what he'd felt on the field fighting Varek. All of the pain - her pain, washing over him in wave after wave. There had been more, though. A warm feeling, spreading over him; a longing, dragging him back to some distant place. It was there still, but softer.

How cruel is it?

Jasper considered the keys. Wasn't this all he wanted? The Mustang, his job, a life that went back to making sense - Aurora had ruined all of that. And if she was truly sick, then maybe Threeves was right. Maybe she was exactly where she needed to be.

Slowly, he took the keys. The weight in his hand was familiar and comforting. As he turned, putting his back to the whole scene, Aurora's cries ricochetted around him. Just another ghost, vying for his attention. Just like all the others.

He walked away, leaving the Hall of the Order, leaving the weeping, struggling female behind.

Like all the other ghosts, she would soon vanish into nothingness. He needed a drink - that usually did the trick.

It was time he got back to his life.

---

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