Chapter 63

It was after midnight when Anya pulled on her jeans and jacket and stumbled into the corridor. She had felt better since she had a sleep and a talk with Yvan, but when she had tried to go back to her own bed, she was left wide awake and staring at the ceiling.

Trains were never really silent, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn"t block out the tracks" clacking sound and the hum of the other passengers. Trajan was a creature of the night and had left her to sleep, but she had twisted herself back into a ball of worry and fear that had momentarily been eased by Yvan"s presence.

Anya caught her reflection in the train windows and shuddered. Her hair was a shambles, and she had dark circles under her eyes.

Pull yourself together, Anya.She hastily pulled her hair back in a ponytail and rubbed her cheeks to get some color into them.

She contemplated going and waking up Yvan as he had asked her to do, but she didn"t want to worry him. What could she say? That she was scared that she would fail them all by not being able to shut the gates? That she didn"t think she was ever going to be able to take on Vasilli like Ilya"s prophecy had claimed? It was all things they knew, and one thing Anya hated more than talking about her feelings was burdening someone else with them.

Anya made her way through the carriages to the bar. The tired barman smiled at her and handed her a glass of vodka before going back to reading his book.

Anya sat down in one of the booths and watched the stars flash by above her. Her magic flared in excitement, and she looked up to see the silver haired man opening the door of the carriage. Anya glanced over at the barman, but he had fallen asleep on the counter. With no other doors out, she was trapped.

The stranger"s blue eyes glanced over her as he walked past and helped himself to the bar.

"It would seem we are the only two people who can"t sleep," he said in one of the most unusual voices Anya had ever heard—gentle, deep with a touch of husk and a lilting, unidentifiable accent.

"Trains are too noisy for me to sleep," Anya replied warily. He could just be a passenger. A normal human passenger she had just happened to notice. You"re not really dumb enough to believe that, are you?

"I"m claustrophobic, so trains aren"t my favorite form of travel either," he said as he sat down opposite her. "Forgive me. I am Aramis."

"Like the musketeer?"

"So I have been told," Aramis replied with a pained sigh.

"Anya."

Aramis offered her his hand to shake, and hesitantly, she took it. Instantly, her magic flared brightly and rushed to her palm. She tried to yank her hand back, but Aramis held it firm.

"Let me go! I don"t want to hurt you!" she cried.

"You won"t hurt me, Anya. Try to relax." Her magic burst from her palm in two translucent scarlet ribbons that twisted around Aramis"s forearm. It held onto him and caressing him like a pet. Slowly, it retracted back to Anya and disappeared under her skin. He let go of her hand, and she clutched it protectively to her chest.

"What the hell are you?" she demanded. Her power had never materialized like that before; it was always a sensation like static or fire.

"I"m with the Illumination, and I have come to protect you," Aramis said.

"Just what I fucking need," she swore. "What the hell do you people want from me?"

"We don"t want anything from you, but I can help you if you let me."

"Why? I"ve done nothing wrong, and you don"t even know me."

Aramis smiled. "That"s where you are wrong, Anyanka. We do know you. The Illumination has kept files on your family since Yanka crossed into this world. We know who your parents are, how they met before you were born. Unfortunately, your grandfather kept the extent of your powers a secret from us."

"I wonder why he would do that?" Anya asked sarcastically.

"Perhaps he was concerned we would take you away from him for proper training."

"Or he didn"t want you using me like every other bastard wants to! The Darkness, the Illumination, the Powers. From what I can tell, you are all the fucking same."

"We are on the side of good," Aramis argued.

"That depends on which side you"re standing on."

Aramis"s blue eyes narrowed. "You are terribly stubborn, aren"t you?"

"Yes, I am, and I"m extremely suspicious and not very trusting."

"I can tell." His lips were curling up in amusement, and Anya began to feel the anger drain out of her. "Regardless, I have a team on board to assist if you are attacked."

"I don"t need any more babysitters, Aramis." Anya got up and went to the bar to get the bottle of vodka. "I"ve got plenty enough as it is, and I"m not interested in joining the Illumination either."

The bartender was out cold and slumped over the sink. Anya looked over to Aramis, who was tense like he was ready to get in her way if she tried to bolt.

"Was this your doing?" she asked.

"I don"t want us to be disturbed, so he won"t be waking anytime soon," Aramis assured her. "Your file said you had a drinking problem." He looked pointedly at the bottle in her hand.

"My drinking is none of your business, just like everything else in that file, and you can shove it up your ass." Anya sat back down and filled her cup. Aramis took the bottle and filled his own.

"I must admit there wasn"t a terrible lot of information about you. What we found in Paris will make an interesting addition."

"What is it you think you found in Paris?" Anya"s heart was starting to pound again. They had been to Trajan"s house and would have seen the bodies that they had left behind.

"A man has been turned into a perfect ash sculpture. Only magic could have done such a thing."

"It was self-defense."

"I have no doubt. Can I ask who he was?"

Anya shrugged. "I don"t know. I assume he was with the Darkness."

"Why is that?"

Any"s mouth opened of its own accord and said, "Because they kidnapped and tortured my friend and me. Because they are hunting me. They were the ones who broke into our house and tried to kill us. That man had a knife at my throat, so he had it coming."

"How did you escape them when they kidnapped you? By burning their headquarters down?" Aramis asked.

"How did you know about that?" Anya demanded. She hated that she sounded afraid instead of angry.

"Your magic residue was left all over it. Tell me what happened?"

Anya folded her arms. "Why should I?"

"Because I"m trustworthy." Aramis smiled as he touched her hand, her power purring as a tingling warmth spread from him and over her skin.

"What are you?" she whispered. "Why does my magic react to you like this?" She fought down the tears that welled in the back of her eyes as her magic became overwhelmed by the power that began to pour into her. "You want me to trust you, but you won"t even tell me who you really are."

"I told you. My name is Aramis, and I am with the Illumination."

"What else are you?" Anya asked.

"If I tell you, will you tell me how you came to be on this train? Will you trust me and believe that I"m here to help you, Anyanka?" His fingers lightly stroked the soft underside of her wrist, his magic brushing against her again.

"Yes, I"ll tell you everything," she found herself saying dreamily. A warm mist was rolling through her, and the incessant flickering of power under her skin calmed.

"Very well. I am álfr," Aramis said.

"Did you say an elf?" a cynical laugh escaped her lips before she could check it. "An elf with a French name."

"I"m not an elf like your fairytales. I am álfr. It"s Norse. As for my French name, Aramis is the closest I could get to my real name in the human tongue."

"Prove it. Prove that you are an elf...or álfr. The legends call you the Fair Folk, but you look just like a handsome thirty-something human man."

"It"s a glamor, so I can blend in." He said it with such sincerity that Anya found herself believing him. The cynical part of her still won out.

"Show me."

Aramis sighed as a rush of power poured from him. The change started at the top of his head and flowed down his body in a ripple effect.

Anya had seen good looking men before. Yvan was a fine example of human male beauty, strongly built, long-limbed, you could see him riding a horse and using a sword as well.

Trajan was one step more towards refinement, well-groomed, well-spoken, and elegant in manners, but he was still human or human-shaped, with the slight flaws that came with it. Those small unidentifiable traits that made him look human.

The man who sat opposite her now was so far beyond anything she had experienced that her head was unexpectedly filled with clichés, eyes as blue as sapphires, skin as pale as snow. Ethereal. Angelic. None of those well-used descriptions could ever justify him.

Yes, his eyes were blue, but they were so deep and so clear you couldn"t help but think that this blue was the first shade of blue that God created. His skin was unmarred and flawless. There was a sheen to it under the fluorescent lights like crushed pearls had been rubbed into it. He seemed to be lit from the inside, some force that illuminated outward. High cheekbones gave strong structure to his deep-set eyes, a straight nose, and a smiling mouth. All of this was framed by very thick, glossy silver-white hair. His true face wasn"t terrifying like Tuoni"s had been, but it was otherworldly.

"Wow, you"re like Thranduil if he decided to slum it with humans," Anya said as her hand reached across and touched his cheek in fascination before pulling it back quickly.

"Who?" he asked.

"Never mind," she said, embarrassed that she had spoken the thought out loud.

"Do you believe me now?" Aramis asked as his human guise slid back into place.

"I believe you," she said and swallowed hard. "Is that why my magic acted like it did? Because you are álfr?"

"What your fró?leikr, your magic, did was quite unusual. We are a magical race, but I have never had that happen before. It"s as if it recognized my true nature." Aramis brushed his fingers along the top of her hand, leaving trails of warmth. "Tell me what has happened, Anyanka. You won"t regret trusting me."

"I better not, for your sake. I have lots of protectors already, and none of them are fans of the Illumination," she replied.

Aramis looked at her expectantly, so taking a deep breath, she told him everything that had happened since Tuoni had visited and turned her world on its head. An empty bottle of vodka later, Aramis sat across from her, wide-eyed.

"If your vision of Ladislav and Vasilli was correct, what the Darkness plans to do violates the treaty and could completely destroy Russia. It"s a risk the Illumination can"t take," he said gravely. "Also, I know now more than ever that we need to protect you. Your power has infinite possibilities to grow, and you"ll always be a target because of it."

"You can"t be so na?ve to think that the Illumination won"t try to recruit me or whatever it is you do. I don"t want to join them, and they won"t help me without my allegiance," Anya said and folded her arms. "You won"t convince me otherwise."

"I won"t lie to you. The Illumination wants me to apprehend you."

"I would like to see them try. The Darkness tried it, and look at how it ended for them."

"I"m not trying to threaten you, Anya," Aramis said calmly. "You need to close the gate because you"re the only one who can. They won"t make a move until then. The things they could teach you…"

Anya shook her head. "Stop it, Aramis. I"m not interested. If you follow us to Russia, I can"t stop you, but I won"t be taken as a hostage again without a fight."

"There wouldn"t be any force involved, Anya. It"s for your protection more than anything else."

"Yeah, I really doubt that. From what I hear of the Illumination, they aren"t much better than the Darkness," she argued.

"Then your information sources are incorrect. I won"t let anything happen to you, Anya. Just let me help you and your companions. As for what happens after you close the gate… I"ll endeavor to change the Illumination's minds about it. Unless it is what you want. The Illumination isn"t your enemy, and neither am I."

Aramis ran his fingers over the back of her hand, and Anya felt the charge in them. She didn"t know why she trusted him or what he was saying, but she did.

"It will take a lot of convincing to get the others to want to work with the Illumination, but I"ll try."

Aramis smiled easily at her, and she found herself smiling back. She liked him, and he knew it.

"You should go off to bed. You need to sleep, and they"ll panic if they can"t find you," Aramis said finally.

Anya looked up as the carriage door opened, and Trajan stepped inside. "They have already found us," Anya said.

Aramis got to his feet as black smoke began to pour from Trajan, his thanatos wings stretching out from his back.

"Trajan, stop! He"s a friend!" Anya shouted. She watched as the brown from Trajan"s eyes melted into red, and Aramis"s position changed to the defensive.

Trajan vanished and was on him in a heartbeat. Aramis glowed, and with a deafening crack, Trajan was thrown backward on the stained carpet. Anya pushed Aramis out of the way and hurried to where Trajan lay.

"Are you hurt?" Anya was on her knees beside him, checking him over. His nose was bleeding, and he was looking at her in a daze. "What the hell did you do to him, Aramis?"

"I defended myself." He still hadn"t taken his eyes off Trajan.

"What the hell is he?" Trajan said as he sat up, clutching his head.

"I am álfr, and you will keep your distance, creature," Aramis commanded. The power in his voice made Anya"s hair stand on end.

"álfr…"

"Long story," Anya muttered. "I told you not to attack him, Trajan."

"I didn"t mean to. I saw him and…" Trajan seemed to be at a loss for words.

"It doesn"t matter."

"I apologize," Trajan said to Aramis when he could stand straight.

"Accepted." Aramis gave him a nod. "I have to go and check on the security detail. Anya, please talk to your people and find if an alliance is possible." He fixed her with his impossibly blue gaze and added more gently, "I will be close."

"I"ll find you," she assured him.

As Aramis walked past her, his hand lightly touched hers, leaving her magic burning in her veins.

Anya was helping Trajan back to their compartment when they were met by the Twins and almost collided with Yvan.

"What"s happened?" Honaw demanded as he helped shoulder Trajan"s weight.

"How did I know you would be at the center of this newest disturbance, Anya?" Yvan teased sleepily.

"Help me get Trajan inside. He nearly had his brain knocked out," Anya said, tipsy and shaken from her night with Aramis.

Now that Anya was away from him, she couldn"t believe the things she had revealed to him. Her knees started to weaken, and Yvan grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Looks like you need to sit down. Some water couldn"t hurt either."

Anya was placed next to Trajan on the narrow bed, and Yvan fetched bottles of water. The Twins had positioned themselves on the carpet and were looking at Anya expectantly.

"Tell them, Anya," Trajan slurred as he slumped against the wall.

She didn"t tell them that she thought he had used his magic on her, but she told them of Aramis and the offer to work with the Illumination.

"álfr. Even in Skazki, they are a myth," Yvan said with a shake of his head. "I wonder how they ended up living here."

"There are two colonies of them in America that we know of," Chayton admitted thoughtfully. "We leave them alone. They leave us alone. Their existence isn"t entirely secret, but they stick together and guard their privacy. We don"t know much about them. It"s surprising that one is working for the Illumination. They are highly magical, of course, but they don"t get involved in the affairs of others. Strange."

"Another thing," Honaw continued almost instantly, "is that you"ll have to watch your nature, Trajan. álfr are not like humans or supernaturals. As a thanatos, you are Death, and they are unnaturally pure life. You will always repel each other."

"What did he hit me with?" Trajan asked, rubbing his chest.

"I don"t know, but it was powerful enough to send us running. There is something more pressing to worry about than that."

"What?" Anya asked.

"How are we going to convince Isabelle and the others to become allies with the Illumination even temporarily?" Honaw replied. "We are all Neutrals for a reason, and the Illumination isn"t a charity. Their help will come at a price."

Anya rubbed her arms, trying to get the feeling of Aramis"s magic off her skin. "I guess we will find out."