Aria

I walked with determination down the hallway. If I just kept moving, I wouldn't think about it. I couldn't think about it. If I did, I knew I'd start crying again and this time I would never be able to stop. 

I placed my hand against the wall in the spot where the Guardian had said James's cell was supposed to be. 

"Iftic beduine arcramaic suun," I whispered.

I stepped back as the window appeared. My eyes darted around the small, dirty room on the other side, looking for some sign of him.

"James?" I called.

After a moment, I heard a shuffling sound and a creak, like someone getting up off of an old chair or bed.

"Aria?"

James stepped forward into the light, his fine, thin eyebrows drawn together.

"James, I'm not sure how much time we have. I'm planning to try and break you out. You have protection wards up around your cell, though, so the way I want to do it is going to be a little unconventional."

James shook his head. "How do I know that it's really you and not some trick? What if you're just some figment of my imagination, planted there by Ezekiel? Prove you're you."

"Caspian is d-" I started before breaking off again. 

I couldn't bring myself to say the word, to admit that he was really dead.

"Caspian is in Erebus. Ezekiel put him there. And I might not ever get him back. Can you feel the pain radiating off of me? You know that I'm the only person that could hurt this deeply over losing Caspian. It's me, James."

James blinked at me through the window. "I'm so sorry, Aria."

I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat. I don't think there was ever a person who meant 'sorry for your pain' more than James did. For him, sorry wasn't just a word; he truly understood the pain.

"I'm going to get him back, though. Now, before I break you out, we need to make sure that we have a sure-fire way to get out of here."

"What about the teleportation spell?"

I shook my head. "Ezekiel has wards up around this castle. The spell wouldn't work. The only thing I can do is teleport us within the castle."

"Well, how do Ezekiel's lackeys get in and out of the castle?"

"Ezekiel teleports them in and out himself. From the throne room where we entered, remember?"

My grandmother cleared her throat. "I may have an idea."

I held the screen up. I caught a glimpse of my self in the shiny, reflective surface. My face looked tight, my eyes dark and shallow. I looked away.

"It will be very risky and require precise timing, but if you were to teleport into the room just as Ezekiel was teleporting one of his minions out, you could latch onto them and get through the wards that way. Then, the only problem you would face is redirecting yourselves on the way out so you don't end up in the middle of enemy territory or trapped with whatever minion he is sending out."

I nodded slowly. "That could work... but how would we guess the timing? Without already being in the throne room, how would we know when he's teleporting someone out? And even if we knew when he was sending someone out, it would be difficult to latch on right at the last minute and go unnoticed."

"Difficult, but possible."

"What if," James chimed in, "we use a window into the room, just like the one you're using for me right now. We can watch the room, and then wait until we see him raise his hand to do the spell, and teleport in at that moment."

"That could work. We may end up sitting there for a while, waiting for him to teleport someone out, though." 

"Is there really another choice?"

I shook my head. "No, I suppose not. What if Ezekiel finds out you're not in your cell?"

"It's a risk we're going to have to take. Unless you can think of some way to find out for sure when he'll be sending someone out."

"What if I go and spy on the throne room first, see if he gives any hints, and then come to get you?"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. Okay. I'll wait here for you, Aria."

I gave James a tight-lipped smile before turning away.

"And Aria?"

I paused, looking back over my shoulder. James looked small, standing alone in the dark cell. He looked like a scared child instead of a thousand-year-old angel. 

"Hurry back."

I nodded firmly.

"Don't forget to close the window, dear, otherwise someone may see," my grandmother reminded me.

I reluctantly raised a hand, reciting the incantation to close the window. James's small, pale face disappeared behind a cool grey cement wall. My chest still felt tight, as if there was a belt being pulled tight around my ribcage. My heart felt like a stone within my chest, each beat a painful struggle, each beat a cry that pulsed: Caspian, Caspian, Caspian.

"Focus," I whispered.

I made my way down the hall, my hand shaking slightly as it clutched the screen. Each hallway was just like the last: dreary, dark, and grey. It was comforting knowing my grandma was with me on the screen, even if she wasn't there in person. I'd grown used to the constant of Caspian's presence, of never feeling like I was alone, but now I was left in a terrifying silence. The weight of the loneliness of my own mind surrounded me, suffocating me. 

Caspian, Caspian, Caspian.

I turned down another hallway, only partially certain I was going the right way. I could feel the uneasiness of the dark energy Ezekiel let off growing stronger with each step, and I let it guide me toward him. 

Finally, I came to a large oak door that I recognized. There were no guards posted on the door, no one even in sight. It seemed that Ezekiel didn't have many others that stayed in the castle with him aside from his prisoners, and he obviously had no fears of any of them escaping. I placed my hand on the wall, speaking softly and opening the window.

"What do you see?" my grandmother whispered.

Ezekiel sat on the throne, his elbow on the armrest and his hand pressed against his forehead, his fingers rubbing his temples as if he was nursing a headache. 

"He's just sitting on the throne," I replied. "There's no one else in there."

"Then now is the perfect time to leave. Or at least, as good a time as you're going to get."

I nodded and stepped back, raising my hand. Just as I opened my mouth to recite the incantation, Ezekiel raised his head. He looked directly at the window.

"So, you want to leave, then?"

I stumbled back. Ezekiel disappeared from the throne, and a few seconds later materialized in front of me. 

"After all that I've done, welcoming you into my home, helping you master your powers... this is how you thank me? For shame, Little Semble. I've shared my secrets, told you of my hopes for you, gotten rid of the distraction that stopped you from reaching greatness-"

"You murdered the love of my life," I choked out.

"Yes. You're welcome."

I choked on what was something between a sob and an incredulous laugh, my hands balling into fists, the glass of the screen digging into my palm. 

"You can't keep me here forever. I will not do what you want of me. Torture me, kill me. I don't care anymore. You've left me with nothing."

The smile that stretched across his face looked like it had been cut into it with a razor. "You don't mean that. You still have plenty. If I kill you now, how will you bring your precious Caspian back? And who will rescue wise old little boy James? And think of how disappointed the great Guardian will be. He seems convinced that you will be able to find and bring back the Creator. You don't want to die. Dying means you never get to see Caspian again. Dying means everyone you've ever cared about will perish when I win this war. I've heard Hollowdale is nice this time of year, I wonder how dear old Mom and Dad are doing..."

"Okay, I get it. You caught me. So what are you going to do to me if not kill me? No matter how much you torture me I still won't help you. And even if you kill those I care about, at least I know they'll be going Upstairs. You have nothing."

Ezekiel's hand shot out, faster than a snake striking its prey, and latched onto my chin, pressing hard. He stepped forward slowly until he was inches away from me, tilting my face up towards his. I bit down hard on my tongue, forcing myself not to flinch away.

"I guess I'll have to let you go then, won't I?"

"You... what?"

"I'll have to let you go."

My lips parted, and I couldn't bring myself to words. This had to be a trap. 

"Don't believe him, Aria," my grandmother said firmly.

Ezekiel's eyebrows shot up. "Ah yes, your portable grandma, I nearly forgot. I think we'll be turning her off for the time being."

Ezekiel snapped his fingers and the screen went blank. 

"Good. Now, you've got a long mission ahead of you, haven't you? The Guardian wants you to go and find my missing father and release him from his cage- good luck with that by the way- and before you can go, you have to save our friend James from my castle. I think it would e only fitting if I gave you a small going away present first. Something you can take with you in these difficult times and possibly even share with your dear friends."

He took his hand from my face and instead clenched it around my neck, slamming me back against the wall. I clasped my fingers around his clawing desperately at his hand as the air left my lungs. My eyes began to water.

I thought he wasn't going to kill me?

"To you, my dearest Little Semble, I give probably the best gift I have given since I met my precious Ælfryth..."

Black dots were starting to dance before my eyes. Ezekiel leaned down and brushed my shirt sleeve off of my shoulder. It was the shoulder that still bore the silvery crescent scar from my first meeting with Caspian.

"And what better place to put it than right next to your first bite from your lover," he said.

With that, he bit into the crux where my neck met my shoulder, right beside the spot Caspian had bitten years before. This time, though, I did not relax into it or feel an unexpected sense of pleasure. Burning pain shot through me as if he were pouring molten lava into my veins. I let out a scream which came out sounding weak and strangled against the hand pressing down on my throat. I thrashed my arms and legs, trying to push him away. My vision had gone completely dark and I felt as if I were spiraling into darkness myself. I could tell I was losing consciousness, but the pain in my body made me thankful for it.

"Goodluck, Little Semble. You're going to need it."

Finally, thankfully, the world slipped away as the flames fully consumed me.