Walking Among Gods - Part 2

"He deserves a choice," Lucrezia insisted. She wouldn't stay inside the Sanctuary, but work in her lab in the villa. It clashed brilliantly with the ancient Japanese architecture of Yori's home, but if this bothered the Guardian of Life, he certainly didn't say.  

Now, however, he watched with blatant distaste as she carefully handled the necro blossom. She wore thick gloves, a scarf tied over her nose and mouth, and goggles securely over her eyes. Yori only had one such flower, which was dead and very dry, and Lucrezia moved slowly to avoid wasting any part of it.  

"If you succeed with the antidote," Yori explained slowly, "you'll be handing him death." 

Lucrezia didn't argue. If she was somehow able to cure the poison keeping Jasper alive, then he would revert back to the state he'd been in when he'd taken it: dead. She didn't know if the wound that had killed him would reappear, or if something worse would happen - but she couldn't continue living with the knowledge of what Morwin had done to her best friend's son.  

"Death is preferable to enslavement to Morwin," Lucrezia said. And - this is what she didn't tell Yori,  although she was fairly certain he knew - she'd looked into Jasper's eyes and seen the crushing weight of his life one too many times. He didn't want to live. He was here against his will. "Ask Sydara - how does she feel about this situation? Certainly, his spirit has already moved on, and his body is simply being  puppeted about." 

Yori frowned. "It is against our code to discuss the internal affairs of the Guardians." 

Lucrezia huffed. She immediately regretted it, however, when her breath made it through the scarf and rustled the fragile petals of the necroblossom.  

"Regardless," she continued, "your job is to protect that which is essential to life. Part of that is death." 

Yori's face darkened, but he folded his hands over his middle and stared down at the necroblossom.  Lucrezia was grateful for his silence. She liked Yori - but his inability to see nuance in most situations was maddening.  

"I couldn't heal him," she murmured, more to herself than to the other Fae in the room. "I couldn't restore his memories, or fix any of the things Threeves has done. But I could see - each wound runs so deep, and he carries it all so well. You wouldn't notice, except when Varek arrived…" 

Her thoughts were becoming scrambled in her grief, and her hands began to shake. She needed to focus,  not write a eulogy.  

"Aurora will never forgive you." 

That was also true. Aurora had been love-blind from the beginning. Her heart was wider than the ocean,  but there were times when it overrode any common sense or rationale. Why Ellie had ever condoned  their marriage was a mystery - 

Lucrezia shook herself. Focus, she reminded her brain, even as it fogged with grief.  

Lucrezia cleared her throat. "He deserves a choice," she repeated. It was the last she would speak on the matter.

---

Jasper expected to land with a crack on cold, wet stone. He had not, however, expected to suddenly stop  his descent, until Aurora said, "I've got you." 

There was a great rush of air as enormous wings fanned out around him, and then he was set gingerly on the ground.  

The other two were not so fortunate, and landed with painful-sounding thuds. Above them, the ceiling closed, and a nearly complete darkness surrounded them.  

Their eyes adjusted, and by it, Jasper saw he was in some type of tunnel. He shivered, remembering the  Library, and hoped that this wasn't some sort of living mountain, but simply a dark cellar where Solimar sent unwanted guests to die. That, at least, was a little more palatable.  

Deep in the dark, there was a faint grinding sound, like stone against stone, followed by a clicking noise.  It was far away (Jasper hoped) but it grew closer with every passing moment.  

"What is this place?" Rohan groaned. As he spoke, a ball of light appeared, hovering near Varek's shoulder.  

"Solimar built this place to house his enemies," Varek snarled, eyes fixed on the ceiling above. "It was a mistake, giving this fool so much power. He's never been confrontational, but he does have an efficient  way to deal with unwanted guests." 

"I assume it's meant to kill us?" Aurora was dusting herself off, inspecting her clothes for rips and tears.  Varek nodded. "Oh, most definitely." 

"Does anyone hear a clicking sound?" Jasper asked, turning to the source of the strangely rhythmic noise. It was not drumming, not like the festivities above, but it did seem to have a pattern.  

Click click click. Click click. Click click click click. 

"I don't like the sound of that," Aurora whispered, so that only Jasper could hear her.  

Inside his subconscious, the Other moved - taking hold of him like he was a puppet on a string. He listened, taking her hand in his. He didn't offer any encouragement, but the gesture was enough.  Aurora's spine straightened, her fingers tightening around his own.  

"Perhaps we should move away from it, in a hasty manner," Rohan said in an undertone. "Perhaps it's a way out," Aurora said hopefully.  

"Perhaps it's a…" Jasper stopped. In the darkness, he made out two pin-pricks of light, growing larger,  just as the clicking sound grew louder. His brows knit together. The lights were small, near the ground,  and they disappeared for a moment, as if blinking - "crocodile?"  

The word was hardly out of his mouth before Varek's light illuminated the massive, crocodilian face. As it stepped out of the shadows, massive talons click-click-clicking on stone, it opened its cavernous maw and roared. 

The four companions turned on their heels and ran.  

The crocodile beast was larger than any that dwelled in the realms above, with a mouth so large it could swallow Rohan (Rohan!) whole. They ran down the dark passageway, trusting Varek to guide them through the twisting tunnels, while it clicked along behind them at an impressive speed. Its guttural growls resonated through the passage, a low, primal vibration that rattled loose debris from the walls.  Suddenly, a sharp, bone-snapping crack echoed as its powerful jaws snapped shut just behind them. A  wet, gurgling hiss filled the air, like the death rattle of a drowning victim, irritation that it had missed its target. 

"WHAT IN THE REALMS IS THAT?" Rohan yelled, tailing behind them. He was big but not fast, and the monster was tight on his heels. 

"Is that really the question you should be asking?" Jasper shot back. He dragged Aurora along, refusing to let go of her, even as she stumbled on loose stones. It was growing warmer, the oppressive heat of the tunnels clinging to their skin, but it was nothing compared to the sensation when the spawn lunged close—its rough scales scraped against stone walls, sending vibrations up through the floor. The creature’s breath was hot and fetid, brushing the backs of their necks like a predator savoring the chase. When its claws grazed the stone just inches away, they left deep, jagged grooves, splintering the rock as if it were soft clay. 

"Any chance you might - I dunno - do something?" Rohan shouted.  

At that moment, Varek turned, shooting a tendril of something green and foul-smelling back at the beast. It fell back, hissing at the violation, but continued its pursuit. 

"If I use the majority of my abilities, it will make it worse," he said, calmer than he ought to have been.  "This falls on you three." 

"I can't shift," Aurora said. "Not enough space." 

And she was weak - Jasper could tell by the way she dragged behind him. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she was gasping for breath, and likely the cost of catching him on the way down had been high.  

This is why you shouldn't have come, he thought, but he kept that to himself. If they survived this, she would stay in the car the next time.  

Then he had an idea.  

"Rohan, pull ahead," he said, looking back at the Fae lumbering behind. He caught a glimpse of the crocodile - its savage, burning eyes were now fixed on him - and shivered.  

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Rohan snarled, but he put in an extra burst of speed.  

Jasper only needed a few feet of space - enough to make sure that he didn't injure his companions.  When he had it, he let go of Aurora and reached for his shadows - praying that they were still with him.  He hadn't tried to exercise his abilities since he'd rescued Aurora and Rohan from the prison - and it showed, by the way they answered him. 

Still, shadowy claws grabbed great handfuls of the walls and ceiling, and when he pulled, it began to crumble. Slow, at first, and then suddenly - it all began to collapse, sealing the passage between them and the monster. The crumbling didn't stop, however, and in a moment Jasper realized they would soon be buried as well.  

He turned on his heel, leading the others away as the ceiling began to collapse. Varek's light traveled on ahead, illuminating the dust floating in the humid air. There was a sharp cry - a rock fell from above and hit Rohan above the browbone - and he fell back.  

"I'll get him," Varek said, when Jasper hesitated. The other Fae stayed behind, and Jasper grabbed a hold of Aurora and forced her ahead of him, while the falling rocks became bigger and bigger. Jasper was nearly certain they were about to be buried (it was the second time in two days he'd faced this predicament) when the tunnel let out into a wide cavern.  

Jasper stopped suddenly. His feet skidded on wet stones, halting just inches away from the surface of a wide lake. The cavern was dark, quiet - and behind them, they could still hear the churning of the caves as the rocks shifted and fell.  

"Rohan!" Aurora shouted, turning back, but Jasper stopped her.  

"Be sensible," he hissed, and then he gestured to the light still hovering near them. "They're alive. At  least - Varek must be, given that he's still got magic." 

"They'll be buried alive," she insisted, voice trembling. "We have to go back." 

Jasper released her. "Be my guest." He nodded at the tunnel, which was now blocked, save for a few inches near the roof. "This place must be booby-trapped. I've heard of lots of ancient human places full to the brim with traps - this can't be an exception. Not if one of the Guardians are involved." 

Not if the Fae were involved, either - they certainly loved their little games.  

Aurora let out a little snort of frustration, then gathered all of her long, dark hair up in her hands, holding it away from her face.  

"What is it?" he asked, watching this curious reaction to the likely deaths of their companions with great interest. 

"I thought this would be easier," she admitted. 

"I think we got lucky when it came to Yori," Jasper replied. "I didn't think of it before - but the Guardians are giving up part of their power when they hand over the keys. I imagine most of them would be  reluctant to do that." 

Aurora groaned, pulling on her hair with alarming force. He hoped, desperately, that she wasn't about to have one of her episodes. He didn't know what he'd do without Rohan or Lucrezia here to help.  

"I can also imagine," Jasper said, taking a better look at the cavern, "that if they remember me at all,  they probably don't like me. That's a guess, though." 

"It's a good one," she murmured. Aurora kicked a stone into the lake. It shimmered, disappearing into the deep, circular ripples expanding over its vast, glassy surface.

"Why?" 

Aurora dropped her hair. "Why what?" 

"Why…don't they like me?"  

Jasper didn't like how boyish, how vulnerable he sounded, but he didn't try to take it back. He also didn't explain that by they, he didn't mean just the Guardians, but just about every creature he met - except,  bewilderingly, her. 

Aurora sighed. "I'm not sure now is the time." 

"I'm not sure isn't." 

She shrugged. "True - I guess it just comes down to the fact that you're different." "How different?" 

"Well, for one, you don't have any magic." 

"That's not true." Jasper flexed his shadows, and Aurora watched them fall over her and then disappear.  "I can do that. And a great number of other unsavory things, if provoked." 

"You couldn't do that…before." 

"So you're saying, one day I'm completely powerless, and then the next I have…whatever this is?" "Something like that." 

Aurora began to pace, slowly making her way around the perimeter of the lake. Jasper followed, wanting to stay close to her and the light that Varek had left behind. "You didn't mind making enemies, I guess.  Most people dance around each other to avoid being disliked. You never seemed to care." 

"So…because I tell the truth and refuse to affirm the delusions of other people, they want me dead?" Aurora cracked a smile. "That is the very simplest explanation, yes." 

"So why don't you?" 

She tripped a little, covering how startled she'd been by the question. "Me?" 

"Yes, you. If things really were as you say, why don't you want me dead?" 

"I suppose I got tired of everyone lying to me," she said softly. "You were the first person in my life who  ever told me the truth." 

Somewhere in the tunnels, Jasper heard a faint grinding sound, and he hoped that was Varek, finding a way out with Rohan. He looked back to Aurora. She'd wrapped her arms around her middle, holding herself as though trying to keep warm.  

"And you were kind to me," she said. He almost didn't hear her. "When everyone else said I was damaged goods, you…didn't. When everyone else only wanted to sleep with me or make me the butt of the joke, you were genuine. Difficult at times, but I knew I could trust you."

I knew I could trust you. Those words sent a trickle of something electric down Jasper's spine, although he didn't know why.  

"Why would you be damaged goods?" he asked with a frown.  

She let out a sardonic laugh. "Someday, if you ever get your memories back, you'll know," she said. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, turning to look at him. "For now, though, I don't want to - " 

Her eyes widened with fear, and she screamed, "Jasper - " 

Something wet and cold closed around his throat, pulling hard. It knocked him off his feet, and before he could gain his bearings, it dragged him into the dark water. His vision clouded - the water was murky and cold - and he thrashed about, his mind wheeling into panic at the sudden loss of air - and grabbed at the strange thing tightening its grip around his neck. Water rushed in his ears, the faint light of Varek's magic growing smaller and smaller with each fluttering heartbeat.  

It was…a hand. A large one, and slightly scaly, but human in nature. It was attached to something furry and slick, and as Jasper grabbed at it, the thing only tossed him about, smacking his body against the rocky bottom of the lake. Jasper fought for a clear thought - anything to help him get free - but his mind was as murky as the water, and slipping away.  

Then, a large shape filled his vision. The light disappeared, the water around him displaced as massive talons dove into the deep. Faintly, he registered the owl bear, the athrubhan, diving into the water after him, claws outstretched.  

Aurora's second form didn't grab for him. Instead, it closed around the thing dragging him below. The water filled with a strange, powdery darkness - blood - as she sank in her talons and forced them back towards the surface. Within moments, they were in the air.  

Aurora shook the beast - it was long, and sleek, and had a slender tail, at the end of which was that strange, human hand - and then hurled it at the wall. She let out a cry of rage as it fell. Still, it wouldn't release Jasper.  

It let out a rattling hiss, snarling as the owl bear charged down again, this time aiming for the tail. She clamped down her razor-sharp beak onto its spiny tail, and it screamed as she severed the hand holding  Jasper by the throat.  

Jasper fell away from it. He coughed and sputtered, wheezing through a bruised windpipe. The world spun, and the edges of his vision had grown dark. As he recovered, he made out the violent shapes of the owl-bear and the water-creature, now locked in vicious combat.  

It was mammalian, faintly resembling something like an otter crossed with a large dog, and had webbed,  clawed feet. It bled profusely from the tail, its severed hand lying limp on the other side of the cavern.  It lashed out at Aurora, raking claws through her sleek feathers, and she answered it with a shriek of her own.  

Then she fell. The water-creature leapt over her, sinking its teeth into her wing. At that moment, Aurora began to shift back into her Fae form, half screaming, half crying from the pain, and only then did Jasper register his own presence in the cavern. He summoned whatever half-coherent power he could and threw it at the creature.

His shadows hurled it to the side, cracking its body against the cavern wall a second time. Blood sprayed over everything, and though it struggled, he could see it dying. Half-athrubhan, half-Fae, Aurora threw a taloned hand at it, slicing open its throat. 

Finally, it went still.  

Jasper's throat ached, but he could breathe. He rubbed it with a shaking hand - the adrenaline coursing through him would have been enough to wake the dead - and stared at the thing in disbelief. Aurora finished her transformation and turned to him, eyes wide, blood soaking her shoulder and dripping down her front.  

"Are you - " 

She interrupted him by throwing her arms around his middle and letting out a sob. "Don't do that again,"  she cried. 

Jasper, startled, stumbled back a little before regaining his balance. "I didn't do anything," he croaked.  "Are you going to be - " 

Aurora shook her head. She buried her face in the front of his shirt. "I hate this place. These Guardians forsaken - why do they always make us do their work? Why can't they do their jobs and deal with  Umbraxis on their own? If they'd done that in the first place, we never would have been here." 

Despite himself, Jasper fought a laugh. "I've been saying that for a decade," he murmured, mostly to himself. He allowed his arms to close around her, reveling in that strangely quiet feeling that broke through all the other horrible sensations he'd come to expect. He couldn't remember the last time - or any time, for that matter - anyone had tried to embrace him. He'd always thought he'd hate it, and that no one he knew would dare get that close. 

"You're getting blood all over my sweatshirt," he noted quietly, feeling the warm blood spreading from her clothes to his. The metallic smell made him feel slightly ill.  

"You're already filthy," she answered, through a sob. "Deal with it." 

They were both filthy, and soaked, and now, thanks to the water-monster covered in blood. Jasper longed for his flask - it was not the first time that day he wished he'd found a way to refill it, and his hands had started to shake. Perhaps this was what a withdrawal felt like. 

"We should get moving," he said. "There could be any number of creatures like this one lurking about,  and you don't look like you could put up a fight like that again." 

Aurora released him. Her face was wan and dirty, smeared in blood, and streaked with tears. She wiped at it feebly with her palms, and when it did nothing but smear the dirt around, Jasper offered her his sleeve. It made little difference.  

"Do you want me to try to make a sort of sling, or…" He gestured to her shoulder. Aurora shook her head.  

"Don't bother," she grunted. "Just give it a few hours and it'll be functional again."

Jasper didn't argue with her. High above him, somewhere deep in Solimar's temple, he heard that strange grinding sound again. He tried to picture what it could be - in his mind, he sorted through a catalogue of possibilities - but nothing seemed to fit.  

"You alright?" Aurora asked.  

"Sure," he murmured, distracted. "You hear that?" 

"The grinding?" 

"Yeah." 

Neither of them spoke for another moment.  

"It's probably nothing," Aurora said, although both of them knew that was the unlikeliest possibility of them all.  

They started walking again, around the perimeter of the lake. This time, however, Jasper kept his back to the cavern, one eye fixed on the now-still surface of the water. Soon, they'd crossed to the other side of the cavern, where they met with another tunnel. Varek's still-flickering light floated inside.  

They followed it. The silence was strange and disquieting, and through it, Jasper strained for any sounds of an approaching predator. There was no clicking, however. Nothing lurking beneath the dark water. Just a tunnel, stretching Guardians-knew-how-long, and the never-ending darkness.  

"Do you suppose many people have died down here?" Aurora asked.  

"I don't see any ghosts," Jasper answered.  

"Do people always leave behind a ghost?" 

"I guess not. But I've found ones with traumatic deaths tend to stick behind - especially if they feel like  they've got unfinished business." 

"Like you?" 

Jasper's stomach turned. "I'm not a ghost." 

Aurora gave him a mischievous smile. "I was joking," she said gently.  

It didn't feel like a joke, though. Jasper shook himself, as though it could dispell the uneasy feeling gathering in his chest.  

"I have the funniest feeling," Jasper said. It was out of his mouth before he realized he'd said it.  "What's that?" 

"Rohan said we were on a team - you, him, and me. I have the funniest feeling that we find ourselves  in situations like this often." 

Aurora rolled her injured shoulder, which was already starting to knit itself back together. "What gave it  away?"

"Possibly the fact that you're not in a panic right now. I'd expect that out of someone with low exposure to highly stressful environments." 

"Jasper, the last ten years of my life I've been on the run. Every day. Everything is highly stressful." "What was it like?" 

Aurora stumbled. "What?' 

"The last ten years. You didn't tell me about it - just that Rohan got you out, and that now you're here.  There must be more to it than that." 

It was a good use of their time, distracting them from the imposing darkness, and Aurora seemed  (finally) at ease enough to tell him. So she said, "Rohan broke me out of the asylum. I'm not really sure how - I wasn't in my right mind then. But he took me to Lucrezia, who nursed me back to health, and we  took each day one at a time." 

She told him how, in the early days, her priority had been searching for Dorian. Rohan still didn't believe that the child even existed, but didn't want to upset her. He went along with her ramblings for a few years, while they searched every corner of the realms for a trace of this lost child. Every now and again,  they'd have a run-in with some of the Knights of the Order, and then they'd uproot and start over somewhere else.  

"In a way, it was a great bit of fun," Aurora said wistfully. She played with her long, dark hair, now matted and tangled with weeds from the lake. "We got to see so many places. Life was never boring. And then…California." 

"What were you doing in California?" 

"I had told Rohan I heard a rumor about Dorian," she said softly. "In truth, I just wanted a break. I figured there would be enough drugs at a music festival in the 70s that no one would remember me. I  hadn't…expected to run into you." 

Her voice shook a little. "When I did, you can imagine the shock I felt. I thought I was having an episode,  and I was so scared - but then I realized that perhaps Threeves hadn't been entirely honest with me. If he'd lie to me about Dorian, then he'd lie to me about you, too. Who knows what else he's lying about?  It's pathological." 

A strange, slimy feeling slid over Jasper. He identified anger, lurking in the middle of it, but the edges  were sharper, harder to hold, much heavier - 

Grief, the Other whispered. It happened so suddenly that Jasper had to brace himself against the sudden urge to drop to his knees and weep. 

Threeves lied to us. He stole our life. Murdered our family. Took the ones we loved and ripped them away,  and he didn't even have the decency to let us grieve.  

Jasper's entire body went hot and then cold. He couldn't see. At least - the eyes through which he saw weren't his.  

Let me out. You've had the wheel too long - and look at the mess you've made of things. 

Jasper's chest was too tight. He couldn't take in a full breath. The world began to spin, each inhale like breathing in shards of glass. It was the same pain he'd felt right before collapsing in Denmark, right  before meeting Sydara, right before - 

"Gods, are you alright?" 

Aurora had been speaking to him the whole time, but now she peered at him over her shoulder. Those strange ribbons of light from Yori's gift surrounded her face, like a halo, dragging him back to the present moment.  

Tell her, the Other demanded.  

Jasper's mouth felt full of silt.  

If I let you out, Jasper reasoned with it, how do I know you won't hurt her? 

You care about her now? the Other sneered. The voice was different now - no longer the growling,  animal tones in the back of his mind, but something more familiar. It was like a dream he knew he'd had,  but couldn't remember the details. Didn't you turn her into Threeves? Didn't you trade her for a god-forsaken car - 

Varek's light went out.  

Jasper's attention snapped back to reality as the darkness became total and complete. His entire body froze, some primal instinct to being plunged into darkness.  

Aurora let out the tiniest of sounds, but the way her voice trembled told him of her absolute terror.  "The cave is the same shape in the dark," he reminded her softly. "And there wasn't - " 

Jasper blinked. He could still see the ribbons of light around Aurora's head, even if he couldn't see her completely. And beyond her… 

Thousands of tiny lights, glistening in the darkness at the end of the cave. He never would have seen it if  Varek's light hadn't disappeared. He squinted, trying to make sense of what he saw.  

The lights squinted back.  

"Aurora," Jasper breathed, as softly as he could, "get behind me." 

She didn't move, petrified by her inability to see. There was a rushing in his ears - soft, at first, but growing - and Jasper grabbed Aurora by the shirt and forced her behind him, just as the twinkling lights began to move. And scream. And… 

There was a flurry of motion, like the feeling of several thousand tiny feet running all over Jasper at once.  He pressed both himself and Aurora against the wall of the tunnel as the world around him dissolved into chaos. Rats? Mice? Bats? Something else? It was a horrific feeling - little things crawling all over him,  into his clothes, his hair.  

The twinkling lights grew closer. They moved awkwardly, and with them came a hiss. At first, Jasper thought it was just a serpentine sound, but then he began to make out words. 

There is no way out, they said. One step followed another. Tiny feet, all over Jasper's skin. There is no way out, and you will die, Jasper Death-Sayer.  

That's a new one, the Other chuckled in his ear.  

"Shut up or be helpful," Jasper snarled.  

Aurora dug her fingers into his sweatshirt and squeaked, "What?" 

"Not you," Jasper said.  

Your despair makes them strong, the Other said. They can't hurt you otherwise.  

Jasper forced himself to breathe. He felt so heavy. So tired. He wanted his flask. He wanted to lie down on the floor and never get up again. He wanted to wring Bartholomew Threeves' neck on behalf of  anyone who ever had the misfortune of knowing him - 

Use Yori's gift, the Other persisted, even though he tried to shut it up. It was growing louder in his head with each minute. Ask it what is true. 

"I'm not afraid of you," Jasper told the thing, even as every nerve in his body betrayed him, and every limb shook. If not for Aurora, clinging to his back, he might have just given up. "I know you can't hurt  me." 

He didn't know - but it was the only thing he could think to say.  

They laughed at him, a gurgling, hissing sound that made his arms and legs go numb with terror.  Everyone fears something.  

This time, when the Other spoke, it was not in his head, but out of his own mouth. "I wield the Blessing  of Truth." 

As the words bounced around the walls of the narrow tunnel, something strange began to happen to the star-like eyes that blinked at him. They widened in anger, and then the hissing voices began to scream, filling the tunnel with a sound like a tornado. In an abstract way, Jasper realized they couldn't answer him - because he could see the truth, and they only spoke in lies. So they simply screamed, hoping he would crumble in terror.  

They can't hurt you, the Other reminded him. Run.  

Jasper took a hold of Aurora's hand and pulled, moving towards the lights. Aurora had gone rigid with shock, but something tugged at his memory.  

Fighting Varek in Italy - what was it he'd done? He'd grabbed him by the face and pushed every bit of agony onto the other Fae that he could muster. Every hurt and ache, every ounce of loneliness and despair. Dragging Aurora behind him, he tried again, but sought out a memory of courage. Strength.  Anything he could give her to force her feet to move.

---

From the roof, they could see the entire city, sprawling out before them in untidy lines. Jasper leaned back to lay against the gently sloping surface, cradling his neck with his hands, savoring the chill of the wind across his face.  

Aurora was beside him, watching him as he watched the stars. "Why can't we stay up here forever?" she murmured. "Who cares about Master Attiburgh - why don't we just grow a set of wings and fly away?" 

"Easier for you than for me," Jasper answered sleepily. He had a bruise on his right side, and it was aching…from a sparring match. The answer came to him through a foggy haze. A sparring match with  Rohan - and the much bigger male had cracked a rib, throwing him across the room. "And we'll have to  eat eventually - " 

"I was joking, Jasper." 

He suppressed a smile. He tried to sigh, but it left his side aching and he winced against the pain.  "Would you, though? If you could?" 

"Stay up here?" 

"Yes." 

"Only if you were up here with me." 

Jasper's heart erupted into a skittering of frantic beats as the words escaped his mouth. What a stupid,  stupid thing to say - he was supposed to be acting suave, not like an idiot child.  

Aurora propped herself up on an elbow, gazing down at him. Her hair fell onto his face and he squirmed to get away from it, straining against the laughter bubbling up out of him.  

This was why he stayed away from females. They made him act strange, not like himself, and banished any hope of rational thought. 

"Come with me," he said suddenly, while his rational thought was still absent.  

Aurora's smile faltered. "What?" 

"I overheard you," Jasper explained, while heat rushed up his neck and over his ears. "It was an accident,  I swear - but I overheard you telling Rohan about not wanting to go home for the Winter Holiday.  Considering your only other option would be to spend the Holiday at the school, I thought…" 

He stopped. She was going to say no. Oh, Guardians - she was going to say no, and then laugh at him for  making the assumption that she would ever want to spend any holiday with him - 

Aurora smiled, but she wasn't laughing. It was one of those smiles that made him feel invincible, the same one that had convinced him he could take Rohan in hand-to-hand combat (he couldn't), and the same one that had given him the courage to bring her to his secret place on the roof.  

"Of course I want to spend the Winter Holiday with you," she said, with a twinkling laugh that made him want to reach for the moon.  

If she had told him to, at that moment, he would have walked off the roof and tried to fly.

---

And Aurora moved. 

Jasper could feel that mirrored strength, coursing between them as they barrelled down the tunnel. He could see just enough with his altered vision to make out the turns in the cave, and Aurora stayed close,  no longer paralyzed with fear. It felt like someone had opened a window in his head, and the memory that had appeared was a warm breeze flowing through a cold room, offering just enough hope to keep them moving.  

At the same time, Jasper realized it was a memory. A whole memory - one with clarity and sharp edges,  like looking at a film playing in his head. He couldn't explain where it had come from, and when he prodded the Other for answers, it gave him nothing.  

Still, he knew it was true. Yori's gift told him that this was not a fabrication from Bartholomew Threeves,  but something real - something that tied he and Aurora together, something to anchor him to a self beyond whatever abomination the Head of the Order had constructed from his hate.  

He clung to it, following this thread through the dark, through the twinkling lights and their screeching laughs. He followed it with a spark of something strange and foreign - something that made him feel light and strong and fierce as the wind that rushed against their backs.  

The Other was smiling. He didn't know how he knew this - it didn't make any sense - but he knew.  Its name, the Other whispered, is hope.

---

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