“It is. And of course, there are benefits to joining the Alliance. The Pandemonian receives accommodation, a job and by extension an income, as well as support for any of their…desires.” I frowned. “Desires?” “Blood for Vampires, life force energy donors for Incubi and Succubi, Imprint loans for shifters-” I put up a hand. “Okay I get the gist.” “They can even progress through the ranks.” Faru gestured towards himself. “Of which I am living proof.” “So what does the HASEA get in return?”
“More manpower for one. In addition, the benefit of Pandemonians’ unique abilities. For example, Fae are required to regularly donate blood, which is put to good use. In addition, our single most important alliance has been between ourselves and the various Covens. Witches are able to tap into the ether and receive premonitions of attacks before they happen. That way we can have a team there before anyone gets hurt.” Faru stopped speaking and stared at me with his glowing eyes. “Have you understood everything so far?” I ran over everything he told me. “Yes.”
“Good. Let’s move on to our final stop.” Faru clicked his fingers and the world around us began to change once again. The knights disappeared one by one in quick succession, like bubbles bursting. The white space around us began to fill itself in. It started with lines, which grew denser with shape and then filled with colour, coming to life as real objects. The same was true with people, who were sketched into life and then started walking around and speaking with one another.
Once the scene was finished, I saw that we were in the lobby of a vast mansion. A huge staircase with plush red carpet swept up to a gigantic painting of Faru, before splitting off to the left and right. The twin stairs led to parallel balconies with countless doors and archways. A grand chandelier hung at least 10 metres above my head. Around us, dozens of people moved in all directions like frenzied ants. Some went up the stairs, others filtered through various openings and doors. None of them were paying us the slightest bit of attention. In this reality, or whatever it was, we were invisible. “This is a HASEA base I’m guessing.” I said. “It is. In fact, it’s the very one you came to earlier and the one which your body is still in right now.” The Seelian chuckled at my expression. “Don’t worry you will be going back to it shortly.”
He gestured towards the bustling scene. “The Warren is the main headquarters for the HASEA in the London area. I’m proud to say it’s one of the most powerful in the world. It was built — as all Alliance headquarters are — around a remaining section of the Veil.”
“It’s so…nice looking,” I remarked.
“Indeed. The beauty of the HASEA in this day and age is that it receives full support from the government. We keep the planet safe, they aid with financing and support. Plus many Pandemonians have forged very successful careers in the human world. We receive regular financial donations.” He stopped talking and pointed towards the floor. My stomach clenched when I realised the marble had vanished. Instead we were hovering in mid-air. Far below us, a maze of metal tubes twisted around one another. Some led to boxed in areas deep underground. Others stretched out in countless directions as far as the eye could see. I tracked one of them back up and saw that it led to a set of elevator doors nearby.
“Below you is the Nexus,” Faru explained. “A subterranean network of elevators that travel at speeds in excess of three hundred miles per hour. It allows us to reach most areas of London in a matter of minutes.”
A few of the tubes shuddered slightly, probably caused by elevators racing through them. Staring at the web of metal tunnels, I had to admit it was pretty impressive. Although my earlier experience of riding inside one had been nausea mixed with terror rather than awe.
Faru’s voice snatched me out of my daydream. “Okay, to finish the explanation.” He straightened upright and drew in a large breath. “Everything was going well on this side. The HASEA was flourishing and we were keeping most of the supernaturals in check. The ones that fought against us, well…” he gave a slow shrug and opened out both hands. “Then it all started to go wrong.”
I placed a hand against a wall near me, my brain still struggling to accept that it was okay to be standing several hundred metres in the air. “I’m listening.”
“As I said, the Ageless War is coming to an end. Many Pandemonians we thought were with us have been re-claiming allegiance to the Hades, most likely in fear as to what will happen after he prevails.”
“What will he do?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Hades craves domination. With The Sorrow serving him, he is unstoppable. Where do you think he will go once he has claimed Pandemonia?”
I breathed in sharply. It was obvious.
“Can’t you send Guardians through to help fight the war?” I suggested.
Faru sighed. “If only it were that simple. The reason we cannot is actually part of a bigger problem. One that involves the Awakenings, and one which has made you very important Alexander.” “And tat is?” “They haven’t been happening.” My eyebrows knitted together. “Huh?” Faru pointed a long slender finger at me. “Alexander, you are the first new Chosen in over three years.” I didn’t know what to say. It was a bit difficult to gauge how important that was. Or what it meant. “There used to be about six hundred new Awakenings every year across the world. Now there are none…apart from you.” “What? I mean why?” “We don’t know, but it is something the other Sages and I have been trying to understand for some time.” Gathering my thoughts I said, “So I presume it’s a problem for the HASEA.”
Faru gave a long sigh and rubbed at his neck absently. “A very large problem. We are being stretched thin, trying to deal with all the Pandemonians. It’s the same all over the world. To make matters worse, since reclaiming allegiance to Hades, many traitorous Pandemonians have formed their own alliance known as the Soldiers of Sorrow. They act on the will of Hades. Over the last two decades, hundreds of Chosen were sought out and killed by the SOS before we had a chance to reach them. It appears that they attempted to do the same to you.”
I remembered the creature that had chased me from the woods. Recalled the hatred I had seen in those blood red eyes. The scent of death which had seemed to ooze from it. I shuddered when I thought of what would have happened if that shadowy figure hadn’t intervened.
“But you managed to protect me,” I said in a small voice.
Faru nodded. “The Coven experience premonitions of Awakenings from time to time. They predicted yours. We have members of the Alliance known as Infiltrators. It’s their job to work themselves into your life so that you turn to them when your Awakening comes. Normally we have much more time between detection and Awakening. In this instance it happened far sooner than we expected, so the infiltration became more to keep you alive and ultimately bring you here.
A cold wave washed over me. He’s talking about Gabriella. She was forced to become my friend. She didn’t want to know me.
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I felt sick to my stomach. Faru’s face clouded with concern, clearly not sure what he had said to upset me.
“Alexander, is something wrong?”
I shook my head, trying not to let tears spill over. “I’m fine,” I managed to croak. I guessed Faru couldn’t read my mind right now, or he would know how betrayed I felt.
Without warning, a sharp pain hit my temples. I yelled out and tried to hold onto something. The nearby wall passed right through my outstretched fingers. I fell to my knees and sank down towards the Nexus. I felt hot and sick. I wiped a shaking hand at the rolls of sweat which were appearing all over my skin and looked up at Faru.
“What’s happening to me?” I managed to yell through the pain.
“We have held the mind connection for too long. I have to release you or it could cause us both damage.”
Faru sank through the floor with me, as we drifted down through the air. He stretched out his right hand and placed it onto the crown of my head. My back arched as once again, electricity surged through my body. The wrld around me grew blurry. The people above us became less defined. Their bodies melted away into shapeless blobs. The house interior broke down, pieces of wood and bricks falling into piles around the unidentifiable mass of people. As my thoughts diminished and the world dissolved around me, I heard Faru’s voice, a megaphone booming in my head.