Chapter 17

“Courage!, to face the abyss that opens beneath the Warrior’s feet.

Dominion!, of the Strength that comes from Heart and Soul.

Faith!, in those that walk the same Path in search of the Light.

The Waning Moon in the Sky.”

- The Prophet of Truth

Aaran was completely focused on the computer’s bright screen, his fingers flying over the keyboard at an inhuman speed. He’d slept close to nothing that day, his resting hours suddenly interrupted by Alexis’ sudden phone call that had dropped on him yet another bomb for him to diffuse. Since then he’d successfully hacked police reports, security videos and identification registries left at the Hillman Center. The only thing he couldn’t change were the memories of those who had seen Sarah Wilson, that morning. But if all that was left were half a dozen testimonies that she’d been there, without the physical proof to back it up, all there was left was mere conjecture, which meant that the case wouldn’t even get to court. The only gratifying thing was that, as fatigue piled up after hours sitting at that desk without time to even blink, the day was finally approaching its end, leaving his body lighter and his mind clearer. It had been hard fighting the drowsiness that plagued his entire Race when the sun shone highest in the sky.

The sound of his cellphone ringing left a curse on his lips, and without even averting his gaze from the bright screen, he grabbed it with his left hand as he kept typing with his right. All Araphel, scattered across the world, knew that they were not to use his cellphone unless in cases of absolute emergency, which on the other hand told him he had yet another problem to deal with on its way.

“Yeah? What now?” he asked, tilting his head to hold the cell between his ear and his shoulder, and immediately returned his left hand to the keyboard as well. He had to quickly modify all reports and inserted data in the police system, before it could be copied or stored somewhere even harder to get to. In his new, made up version, the explosions had been the result of a manufacture defect with the gas valves.

He only realized that no one had answered his question when he heard someone take a deep breath on the other end, capturing his attention.

“Aaran…?”

His hands stopped immediately, and for a split second his mind wasn’t able to process anything else beyond that distant and insecure whisper.

“Selena …?” he asked back in disbelief, and as there was no answer, he held the cell to better press it against his ear. “Selena?”

“I’m sorry … I shouldn’t have called …” the shaken voice replied and he knew she was about to hang up.

“No! Wait! How did you get this number? Is everything okay?” he wondered urgently. The only reasonable explanation was that Alexis had given her his number, which was far from being a good sign.

“Everything’s fine … I just … didn’t know what to do,” she told him and Aaran leaned back on his chair.

“If it’s about your sister’s situation you have nothing to worry about. Alexis already told me what happened. And I’m already taking care of the matter,” he tried to reassure her, and Selena was silent again, as if hesitating to go on.

“Hum, yeah … that too. It’s good to know.”

“So? If that’s not why you called, what happened?” he insisted, patiently, and felt her hesitate once again.

“Aaran … you said you’d protect my sister and Alexis …”

Aaran placed a hand over his tired eyes and allowed them to close for an instant. He remembered telling her that to gain her trust, when he’d more or less explained her the situation.

“Yes. And that includes you, Selena,” he confirmed, certain that the latest events had left her feeling insecure, and Selena hesitated again. “What is it? What’s worrying you?”

“I … there are things that I don’t know … No matter how hard I try to know them. There are things that I’m just not able to know!” she declared and Aaran kept quiet, unable to understand what she meant. “On the other hand, no one tells me anything … because the truth is I don’t really want to know.”

“Selena …”

“Aaran …? Would you die for him?” she asked him, interrupting him, and the world seemed to stop around him for a moment. “Ah, never mind! I’m being silly! Don’t mind me,” she added with a nervous laughter and Aaran found himself squeezing the phone in his hand. Because she was doing it again, he thought. Forcing herself to pretend, when the lie, no matter how convenient it might be for everyone else, was always more painful than the truth.

“I would,” he simple replied and she was suddenly silent again, as if his answer had caught her off guard.

“Why?”

He smiled glad that he’d been able to make her use her true voice.

“Because Alexis’ existence is important to me. Because if he didn’t exist my existence wouldn’t be the same. Thus, if my existence, that is the real me, depends of his existence … isn’t it logical that I’d be willing to die for him?”

She was quiet again as if pondering on his words and took a deep breath.

“I see.” And it was all he needed to know that the whatever weight that had led her to call him had, somehow, been lifted.

“But you have nothing to worry about, Selena. No one is going to die! I won’t allow it!” he declared with all his confidence and heard her laugh on the other side of the phone.

“Yes. Because Aaran’s will is supreme,” she said, jokingly, but somehow her words made him uncertain again. “I won’t take any more of your time. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay … see you,” he replied, still lost in the true meaning of her last words, and then she’d hung up.