Page 54 of The Light Within

Hearing the recognition in Julien’s voice, Cinn slid him a look.Père Gérard.Now there was a name he never expected to hear. But this wasn’t the first time he’d thought about the kindly old priest in so many days. Although he’d kept it from the others, he’d recognised theaddress of Father Gérard’s church in Béatrice’s file—the mysterious location in France that he’d pretended to the others he didn’t recognise.

“Why did she go there?” Julien shouted at the umbraphage, while glaring at the cat between Cinn’s legs.

YOU DO NOT TRUST US

BUT YOU TRUST HIM

HE IS OF OUR CAUSE

HER CAUSE

YOUR CAUSE

A pause.

THE MACHINA TENEBRIS MUST BE DESTROYED

“The what?” muttered Cinn. “Do they think they’re clever, talking like this?”

The air was growing hazier with each passing shouted exchange. The red mist swirled around them, wrapping them in a serpentine embrace, obscuring the umbraphages.

“Wait,” Cinn shouted, threading his fingers through the fog as if he could sweep it away. “Why did you keep me here last time? And none of thatshadowcrap.”

YOU ARE SHADOW

Their cadence changed slightly—the umbraphages sounded confused. Julien snorted. Reasoning with them was clearly a hopeless endeavour.

MUST PROTECT SHADOW

“You’re the ones I need protection from!” Cinn snarled. “You won’t fucking leave me alone!”

MUST PROTECT SHADOW FROM HIM

Julien felt the umbraphages gaze turn to him, which was ridiculous, because they didn’t have eyes, and Cinn wasn’t in any danger fromhimfor Christ’s sake.

The accusation rekindled his hot fury. Without a second thought, he reached for the motes—

twelve

Elliot

The very second that Julien and Cinn fell to the ground like puppets with their strings cut, the storm stopped. The clouds didn’t miraculously clear, but the punishing rain stopped pelting Westminster, and the cyclonic wind ceased.

And when Elliot looked up from the lifeless bodies of his best friends, he found the umbraphages had vanished.

He allowed himself one large breath to steady the tempest that still raged inside him, then leapt into action. Wasting not a second more, he charged over to his fallen comrades, dropping to his knees to snatch up Julien’s wrist. Elliot’s trembling fingers sought the telltale flutter of his pulse. It was there.

“Thank Christ,” Elliot muttered.

Though—did it feel weak? Elliot was no doctor.

“DARCY!” Elliot bellowed at the top of his lungs, using his palms to cup his mouth.

Her small frame soon sprinted towards him, auburn hair a wet, bedraggled mess. “What happened?” she gasped, looking between the two slumped forms and Elliot, still with Julien’s wrist under his fingers.

“The umbraphages fucked off at the same time they hit the ground. They’re both unconscious. Do you think they’ve—”

“—gone to the shadowrealm,” Darcy finished, falling to the groundto join them. “Ouch!”

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