Cyrus was reluctant, but he took them to where their weapons had been confiscated. Althea only had her flint and steel to retrieve. Innocuous as it was, it made her far more dangerous than she had realized. Not having it with her meant she couldn’t start a fire at will, at least not without the sun shining down.

  Arévis brandished her sword but seemed curiously detached from it. Did she even need it any longer?

  Kaleb strung his bow on his back, and Kirra flipped a couple of daggers in her hands like they were toys. Althea still remembered the cold touch of those blades to her neck. She shivered.

  Being helpless for their fight with Mother made her appreciate the usefulness of these tools.

  “They’re not tools if they were only made to cause harm. They’re weapons,” Cyrus said softly into her mind.

  Althea spoke out loud to encourage Cyrus to broadcast. “I’m not going to let your brothers and sisters get hurt. I promise.”

  “I know you mean that sincerely,” Cyrus broadcast, “but I don’t know if you can stop that now.”

  “He doesn’t believe me,” Althea translated to Arévis.

  “Why not put your shield down so you can hear him?” Althea inquired.

  Arévis furrowed her brow.

  “I don’t know how,” she admitted.

  “Shield?” Kirra blurted.

  “Oh, um, Arévis can’t hear Cyrus because she has some kind of automatic pressure shield that defends her mind against black mages. I guess.” Althea waved her hand.

  “So I take it Snow got those superpower drugs pumped into her veins like you?” Kirra asked.

  “I did,” Arévis confirmed.

  “You don’t seem upset,” Kirra questioned.

  “Why would I be? All my plans have suddenly become easier.”

  “Well, that’s terrifying,” Kirra replied flippantly. “But Curly here had a breakdown when she found out about hers.”

  Althea was surprised to be embarrassed by this. Arévis had accepted her alteration without incident. Yet for some reason, it felt wrong to her.

  Arévis frowned. “Is this true? Are you alright?”

  “Now’s not the time,” Kaleb spoke, to Althea’s surprise.

  Althea was grateful for the out. “He’s right. We have to go.”

  It was Cyrus that led them to Ezra’s chambers, not Althea. She may have remembered the way, but it was surprising to see Cyrus take the initiative. Did he want Ezra freed as much as she did? Or was he just taking the path of least resistance?

  They crept through the long lab off the deserted wing. It seemed lit differently somehow – like the lights were flickering. Or perhaps she was just imagining it now knowing what was underground.

  It was in direct contrast to the lab they had retrieved Arévis from. Everything was still intact and meticulously organized. There was no shattered glass or torn bio matter, no frost spreading on the ground. It would be a miracle if they could escape with Ezra without incident.

  When they approached the liquid-filled pod where the hidden corridor lay, Althea thought it was only fair to warn them.

  “It’s not pretty down there. If you want to wait here I wouldn’t blame you,” Althea said.

  “I’m coming,” Arévis said immediately.

  The siblings looked at each other.

  “What? So that crazy goddess can find us alone here? No thanks,” Kirra said.

  She nodded. “Cyrus?”

  He hesitated only for a moment.

  “I will come. I want to go in first. Will you give me a moment alone with him before you let him go?”

  It seemed like a simple, brotherly request. But what would he use his time for? Was it a trick to thwart their plan?

  Then again, how could he trick them with Althea and Arévis breathing down his neck? Not only could they overpower him, but once they freed Ezra, Cyrus would be no match for his skills either.

  “We’ll keep a short distance. But we’ll be watching you,” Althea said.

  Cyrus nodded, maybe for Arévis’ sake.

  Althea touched the bottom of the tank and the fluid quickly drained from the pod. Its inner membrane opened, revealing the dark descent underground.

  Althea once again stepped downward into the dank cavern, this time knowing exactly the horror that awaited her. Arévis and the others followed. A hush had fallen over them as they made their way forward.

  It occurred to her that no one knew what to expect except Cyrus. Should they really be coming with? She had offered an out and Kirra had chosen to follow, but she didn’t know what exactly she had chosen.

  She could see the door now. Althea tried to hurry, but everyone seemed hesitant to go too quickly. They were apprehensive as they should be.

  “So… who are we freeing, exactly?” Kaleb’s timid voice broke the long silence.

  “Someone dangerous,” Cyrus whispered in the back of her mind.

  He must have broadcast it because Kaleb didn’t inquire further.

  At last, Althea approached the heavily reinforced door that stood between Ezra and her. Cyrus stood beside her.

  “Are you ready?” Althea said, sucking in a breath.

  “No,” Cyrus said. She had a feeling it was said to her only.

  At this, she touched the door and its thick tendrils crept away like before.

  Cyrus stepped in and the membranous part closed behind him. Without the vines, it was translucent like the lab doors, but not so clear that they could make everything out. She could see Cyrus slowly approach the heaving mass that held Ezra in submission.

  They must be speaking telepathically now. Clearly, they wouldn’t let anyone else be privy to their conversation. It annoyed her, but they deserved a moment of privacy.

  Cyrus approached the mass and she could only vaguely see how he was freeing his brother. It didn’t look pretty. The mass of vines relaxed around his waist. To her horror, it looked like Cyrus pulled something out at the base of Ezra’s skull. The skeletal figure collapsed on the ground, heaving. Cyrus knelt to embrace him. Ezra looked like a dying man clinging to his last hope.

  The others were a silent presence around her, Arévis pressed close, and the thief siblings behind them peeking in. They all witnessed the two brothers’ intimate embrace. Althea almost felt warm, like she had made the right decision to bring Cyrus along—to free Ezra.

  But of course, Althea’s expectations betrayed her again. Their loving embrace turned suddenly. Instead of two hands caressing Cyrus’ face, they moved to his neck. Ezra stood slowly, lifting his smaller brother up with him, strangling his struggling form.

  That was when Althea flicked her flint and steel. The crackle of flames eating the door was deafening in their shared silence and the orange glow blinded her temporarily in the dim light.

  They all burst in, Kaleb rushing to a corner with his bow aimed at Ezra, Kirra sneaking up to Ezra’s back, and Arévis letting her trail of frost crawl over the dirt on a path towards the two brothers.

  Althea was the first to approach, a ball of bright flames in her hand.

  “Drop him, Ezra,” she commanded.

  His face whipped to her and the others as if startled out of a reverie. To see the top half of his face, now uncovered by the hideous helmet of vines, was unsettling. His eyes were bloodshot and hazel – like a rainbow. They hid all the secrets of this Paridisian nightmare.

  “Well done, seraph,” Ezra’s screeching voice rejoiced. “I am free at last!”

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  Cyrus still choked as he held him in one hand.

  “You remember our deal. Did I free you so you could kill your siblings? Especially Cyrus? Weren’t you going to take him with you?”

  “Just one, then. He dies for his betrayal,” Ezra hissed.

  Althea gave no warning before she unfurled her ball of flames into a wave directly at Ezra. The others took note and Kaleb shot an arrow at his arm, where he dropped Cyrus at last. Arévis held her position, watching as Ezra writhed in agony from the flames. Eventually he overcame his panic and rolled in the dirt like an animal.

  Flames extinguished, Althea watched as his flesh knit together in no time at all.

  “It’s time to say goodnight,” Ezra whispered as if to lull them, like something that simple could fix whatever was fundamentally wrong with his voice. He raised an awkward, twig of a limb and lowered it as if closing her eyelids with the motion.

  The instant he said “-night” the soft bioluminescence flickered and fell to total darkness. Althea knew she held a flame in her hand, but in front of her she could see nothing. In fact, she could hear none of the commotion of her companions around her.

  She took slow steps back, heard and felt her feet sink into the soft soil. She thought she could hear the skitter of an insect… Her heart jumped.

  Her breathing was suddenly the only thing she could hear as it became shallow and frantic.

  It was a moment before she regained enough sense to stop panicking. The feeling of her limbs and body reminded her that she was still here, that she couldn’t be completely controlled. She could still breathe, could still feel her heartbeat.

  The ethereal image of Ezra blurred into focus as the only speck of light in a sea of darkness. He looked mad, like he was going to attack. The image of Cyrus appeared next to him. He attacked Cyrus viciously, punching and crawling over him like a spider to keep hitting. She couldn’t quite make out Cyrus’ face, only that every hit swung his head back and forth like a ball being tossed. A sickening splash of blood lurched with every hit. His nose looked mashed into his skull now that she focused. There was more blood than face now, and she was surprised with herself that she hadn’t mustered any movement earlier. She could no longer stand and watch.

  Her now-visible hands in front of her held the flame that she knew she had kept. It burst in a path directly toward Ezra, to stop him yet again from his own villainy. This time, when he caught flame, reality melted around her like paint.

  The light of the hidden prison returned like a dim hope. But instead of Ezra writhing on the ground in pain, it was Mother. Her screams were absorbed by the dirt walls like they were stealing her agony.

  Kaleb was nocking and shooting arrows at Mother from his distant corner, and Kirra was behind Mother, ready to stab if she got up. Cyrus was on the ground behind Ezra, nursing his throat and watching in horror.

  Ezra loomed over Mother, watching her attempt to put out the flames.

  Arévis approached Ezra with her sword and handed it over amiably.

  “Whatever you need, Althea,” she said.

  There was no smile of glee or even satisfaction on Ezra’s face. He looked grim with long, tangled strands of black hair drooping down his face. She could make out a frown, and one eye if he moved slightly. Even the way he stood seemed wrong – his posture was bent, the sickly strain of bone on bone barely holding him together.

  He accepted the sword from Arévis and contemplated Mother for one more solemn moment before hacking at her. She put her arms up to defend herself, but the bone was easily cut through to her face. He kept hacking at the remains as they dropped to the moist, humus-rich soil.

  She watched as the others stood silently around the slaughter. But Althea knew now that they weren’t seeing what was really happening. Then why was she?

  “Why are you letting me see this?” Althea asked out loud. Hearing a sound that she made resonate gave her comfort.

  “You played your part in killing Mother. But I still need you to open the gate again.”

  “You expect me to help you after you manipulated me again?” Althea hissed. “And everyone!” She gestured toward the silent bystanders.

  “You still need to escape before everyone in Paradise knows what we did. Unless you kill me, I’m going to follow you out,” the gentle nightmare of his voice coaxed.

  Althea thought long and hard about killing him right here. But then what will it all have been for? What would happen to his brothers and sisters out in the forest?

  As far as she was concerned, everyone in Paradise was safer with Ezra gone. What harm would he be away from his trauma and grudges?

  “Stop mind-controlling the others,” Althea demanded.

  “As you wish,” he said, faint like an echo.

  “Althea!” Cyrus grabbed her attention. She turned her gaze to his diminutive form.

  “Help me heal Mother.”

  Althea considered it for a moment, avoiding looking at Mother’s remains. A sea of groans and confused questions broke her concentration.

  “Give me back my sword,” Arévis said to Ezra, her voice frigid. She approached him with purposeful steps, a radius of frost emanating from each footstep.

  Arévis must have realized what Ezra had done. Even with Arévis’ new shielding skill, she couldn’t defend herself from his psychic control.

  Ezra handed it over silently. To Althea, his expression and posture looked blank.

  With one quick swipe that Althea had no time to react to, Arévis cut his head clean off. It rolled away from the door towards Cyrus.

  At this, Cyrus leapt towards Mother’s remains.

  Kirra looked to Althea in the confusion. “What are we doing here?”

  Althea sighed. “We’re leaving. Let’s go.”

  Arévis, Kirra, and Kaleb followed her out the door to ascend far from this hell.

  Not a moment after they emerged from the disguised healing tank, Ezra followed.

  Althea startled. Arévis started marching towards him but Althea stood between them.

  “Don’t, Arévis. He needs to help his family outside of here,” she reasoned.

  Ezra did his terrifying approximation of a chuckle. “I knew you were going to do that, girl. I wanted you to see for yourself that it’s pointless to try.”

  Arévis clenched her jaw at that and looked into Althea’s eyes.

  “Did you know he would recover?” Arévis demanded.

  “Yes.”

  “How does he do it?” She pressed.

  “I don’t know,” Althea said truthfully.

  “You weren’t watching closely,” Ezra scolded. “Though it might have turned your stomach.”

  At this, he smiled. It was a wide grin that split his face like a knife wound.

  Arévis tried to push past Althea. She held her ground.

  “Arévis! We need to get out of here. If we leave him here, he’s going to do a lot more damage.” She pleaded.

  “So you want him free in the world?” Arévis argued.

  Ezra rolled his eyes.

  “Oh, hey—um, I think he’s getting kind of impatient,” Kirra said, her voice quavering.

  Kaleb was silent as the grave, pale and compliant.

  “Do you want to take care of his siblings—those people we saw out there, trying to get in?” Althea challenged.

  Arévis was silent.

  “That’s what I thought. We’re not leaving them alone out there when he can help them.”

  “Help them how? He’s insane.” Arévis looked directly at Ezra as she said it.

  His grin deflated and was replaced with a small frown. She could imagine him taunting Arévis right now.

  “Did he say something to you?”

  “That my shield is easy to tear down.”

  “If you mind-control Arévis again, I will kill you,” Althea said, hoping that he wasn’t considering it right now.

  If she wasn’t mistaken, Arévis looked grateful.

  “You know I can,” Althea said. “I can keep the gate open because a self-sustaining flame is all it takes to obliterate Mother’s growing creations. I think you’ve known that from the start. It’s why you won’t push me far. But I bet you’re curious… this time, if I attack you—will you really die?”

  Ezra didn’t respond, only contemplated in discomfort.

  Arévis looked smug.

  “I won’t,” he finally replied. “I only want freedom.”

  Althea nodded and marched out of the pristine lab. The others followed.

  With no one to stop them, they quickly traversed to the gate’s main northern exit. Ezra led the way since Cyrus wasn’t there to guide them.

  Althea had no trouble sparking a flame and destroying the growing thorns as she had before, and before they knew it, Paradise was behind them.

  -

  “This is where we say goodbye.” The black mage’s eerie illusion of speech spoke solemnly. “Thank you, Althea.”

  Althea didn’t know what to say. She didn’t feel as if she had freely helped him, but she also hadn’t ignored his plight.

  “Don’t worry,” Ezra consoled. “I understand.”

  “Please heal your brothers and sisters,” Althea said at last. It was all she hoped for now.

  “I won’t stop trying.”

  His pale form ambled off into the misty dawn of the forest. She wondered if she’d ever see him again.

  Kirra sighed loudly. “Well, that was a nightmare. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping well for a while.”

  “Do you think she’s really dead?” Kaleb asked quietly.

  Althea wondered that too. “I don’t know.”

  “If he can come back from a beheading, and we’ve seen what their healing tanks can do, I doubt she’ll stay dead,” Arévis speculated.

  “But she was burned to a crisp! And hacked to pieces,” Kirra reasoned.

  The thought of Mother coming back to life was both a relief and a terror. Would her offspring be able to run Paradise without her? Would their whole civilization collapse if they couldn’t? If she did come back—were they really safe from her experiments like she said?

  “Whatever happens in there now isn’t our problem,” Arévis said.

  “So what happens now?” Kirra asked.

  “We go to Gaither,” Althea replied. “Right, Kaleb?”

  Arévis and Kirra looked at her in surprise.

  Kaleb sighed.

  “Isn’t it worth a try?” Althea coaxed.

  “Is what worth a try?” Kirra chimed.

  “She wants to try curing the plague,” Kaleb said, head down.

  Kirra cackled. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Why is it funny?” Arévis asked coolly.

  Kirra stopped laughing.

  “Because she can’t do it. No one could except the goddess we just helped kill,” Kirra explained.

  “If you want to stop by Gaither, it’s fine by me,” Arévis shrugged. “It’s on the way to Volarak anyway.”

  “Volarak?” Althea questioned.

  “Where the Artificers are. I’m going to end them for good. All of them.”

  The sibling thieves exchanged glances.

  “I don’t even want to know what she’s talking about,” Kirra said. “But we’ve done all that we can do here. In other words, we’ve failed. We might as well go home.”

  “So you’re going to give Althea a chance after all? To cure the plague?” Kaleb asked.

  “How is it up to me? I’m not going to try to stop her. It’s doomed to failure, but what else are we going to do?” She balked.

  “It’s clearly the best plan you have, then,” Arévis said. “We can start walking today.”

  “Um, no,” Althea sassed. “We need to rest first after all that. We should set up camp.”

  Arévis contemplated this for a moment.

  “Alright. Tomorrow then.”