Page 26 of Fateless

With a group of skeleton creatures clacking and skittering behind us, we rushed at the gaping hole in the center of the bridge and hurled ourselves into space. I saw the sheer drop below us, the plunge down to the rocks beneath, before I hit the other side and rolled painfully to a halt on the crumbling walkway.

Grimacing, I pushed myself to my elbows and saw Halek pushing himself to his knees with a groan. Glancing back at the other side revealed the bridge was empty; it seemed the pack of undead weren’t able to make the jump. But I could see more skeletons pouring out of the palace, swarming into the open like huge bony insects. Scrambling to our feet, Halek and I fled the palace of the Deathless King and vanished into the city.

In a narrow alley a few blocks from the palace, we finally stopped to catch our breath. Collapsing against the rough wall, I gasped air into my lungs, watching as Halek bent over with his hands on his knees, heaving. Neither of us was able to speak.

Finally, Halek straightened, raking a hand through his shock of yellow hair, and cast a solemn glance back toward thepalace. I expected him to say something flippant—Well, that was a close one, wasn’tit?—but ever since the collapsed hallway, his demeanor had changed. He hadn’t spoken at all, his gaze troubled and faraway.

“Halek?” I pushed myself off the wall, watching him with concern. “You all right?”

“I... don’t know.” He took a step back, brow furrowed, and raked a hand through his hair again. “For a second, I had the strangest feeling... that I was supposed to die in there,” he muttered. “That my fate was to not make it out of the palace.”

I blinked at him. “You must’ve been mistaken,” I said. “You’re still here. Granted, that whole thing was pretty terrifying, and we both nearly died, but we made it, Halek. We’re alive.”

He shook his head almost frantically. “You don’t understand,” he said. “The stories are true! I wasn’t sure if I believed it or not, but...” He paused, taking a deep breath, as if realizing I had no idea what he was talking about. “There are legends,” he began, “rumors, that claim Fatechasers know when their fate has arrived. We can’t see the future, of course, and we don’t know what Fate has in store for us, but the moment it happens, we understand that this is it. This is our fate. And we accept it.”

He glanced at me, the expression in his blue eyes almost anguished. “I had that feeling in the palace,” he whispered. “When the ceiling collapsed. For just a moment, I knew. That was my fate. That was how I would die. But...”

Now he scrubbed both hands through his hair, making it stand on end.

I frowned. “I don’t understand,” I said. “Not meeting yourfate... that’s a good thing, right? You’re alive. You didn’t die back there.”

“Is it?” He ran a hand down his face. “Maybe. But now everything I thought I knew has changed. I’ve always been confident in my choices, because I knew when Fate did find me, there was nothing I could do about it. If my fate was to die in the palace, and I’m still here, what does that mean? How can I go on, knowing I’ve cheated my destiny?”

“Take it as a second chance?” I offered. “I don’t know about you, but for me, I would always rather be alive than not. I will always try to cheat death. If it was my fate to die, and I didn’t, that’s another day I get to live.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Halek said, but he didn’t sound confident. He sighed and turned away from the palace, as if not wanting to think about it anymore. “In any case,” he went on, with a hint of his old confidence, “there’s an iylvahn assassin back there who is probably very angry with both of us right now. I suggest we try to lose him before he catches up and webothmeet our fates.”

I shivered. “You think he’s still alive?” The last I’d seen of the iylvahn,he was surrounded by skull beetles in the center of a crumbling platform. It was hard to imagine anyone surviving that.

“You haven’t heard the stories of the kahjai,” Halek said. “Once they have their target, they don’t give up until their mission is done. They’re relentless, unyielding, and nearly impossible to kill—the perfect assassins. So the stories say.” He gave me a sympathetic wince. “I think we have to assume that unless we’veactually seen a body, the kahjai is still coming. And that you’re his target.”

Fear crept up my spine. Halek was right—the iylvahn wouldn’t die so easily. He was still coming for me.

No, I suddenly realized.Not for me.

“I’m not his target,” I muttered.

Reaching into my satchel, I withdrew the black stone and held it up. It pulsed in my hand like a heartbeat, and the shadows around us grew darker as it sucked in the light. “This is,” I whispered. “He was after this.”

Halek made a face, leaning away from the throbbing stone. “I’ve seen my share of relics,” he said, crossing his arms as if loath to touch it, “and that one is about as cursed as they come.” He tilted his head, pondering the stone for a few heartbeats before adding, “You know, if you offered it to the iylvahn, he might take it and let you live.”

“Or he might kill me anyway.” I slipped it back into my satchel. The suggestion made me bristle with defiance. I didn’t bargain, and I wouldn’t be frightened into giving up my treasure, even if it was to a terrifying kahjai assassin who would hunt me down to get it. Besides, even if the iylvahn didn’t kill me, the Circle certainly would for returning empty-handed. And Vahn would also suffer for my failure; I wasn’t going to let that happen. “I’m not giving it to him,” I told Halek, firmly closing the satchel. “That’s not an option.”

He nodded. “Then we should keep moving. Quickly. Because I think our friends are coming after us.”

I jerked and glanced back toward the palace. The streets and shadows were empty, but then, with a ripple of bones, a skeleton shambled out of the darkness, swinging its bony muzzle from side to side. Halek and I quickly melted back into the alley and tiptoed away.

The ancient city was no longer still. Whatever had happened at the palace seemed to have had a ripple effect that had stirred everything to life. Skeletons wandered the streets and skull beetles skittered over the walls and ruined buildings. When one of the beetles blocked our path through a narrow alley, I discovered, by terrifying accident, that they could actually fly: The creature had spotted us, but instead of rushing forward over the ground, it opened its shell and spread translucent wings, then zipped at my head with a high-pitched buzz. I might’ve let out a shriek as I ducked.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached a part of the ancient city that felt familiar.

“There’s the door,” Halek whispered, pointing across an open square. The path dropped into the shallow ditch of water, and I could just make out the door, halfway submerged in the side of the cliff face. Beyond the door was the ladder back up to the sewers. “We made it.”

But even as he said those words, I caught a shadow at the corner of my eye, making my blood run cold. I didn’t get a clear look, but I didn’t need to. Grabbing Halek’s sleeve, I pulled him back into the shadows.

“The kahjai is close,” I whispered.

His puzzled frown turned to alarm in an instant and he gazed back toward the exit. “Are you sure?” he whispered back. “I don’t see anything.”

---