21. M A L A K H I T E S : Fallen

Epilogue II

1994

Ramiro sat on the hill, his legs splayed out in front of him and his hands on his knees. He watched the sun rise in over Safe Haven, grimacing as his insides regrew and rearranged. Aramana's heartless, unmoving body lay next to him, still facedown on the grassy slope.

But that was fine. He wouldn't have to wait for much longer.

All of a sudden, Aramana breathed in sharply, and the colour returned to her skin as her heart finished regrowing inside her chest. She looked around wildly, hyperventilating. "What—what—where—" she stuttered.

"Easy, Aramana," Ramiro said quietly, his eyes still on the sunrise. "Don't move too fast. You'll mess up the finishing touches."

Aramana stared at him through wide eyes, and expression of confusion, hurt, and fury on her face. "Ramiro," she gasped out, "what did you do?"

Ramiro turned to her, smiling wearily. "I tapped the Keypoint," he responded, his voice cracking. "I drew out its power and twisted it. Then I put it in all of the Peacekeepers before the battle. It gave us... an extra life, so to speak."

Aramana quickly got to her feet and spun around, watching in shock as the Peacekeepers who had died in the battle with the god-hunters stumbled around in confusion. "No... no, you... you didn't," she whispered. "You couldn't. That—"

"Would be breaking a Pact?" Ramiro finished for her. "Yeah. I know. But I had a feeling Zuriel would be more trouble than he's worth. I couldn't take any chances."

Aramana whirled around, her eyes widening with rage. "YOU TOOK A CHANCE ON ABRIGO SEGURO!" she thundered, storming forward and glaring down at the Chief Peacekeeper. "You exposed us to the god-hunters! What if they'd gotten past our line of defense, huh? What if they'd brought MORE?!"

"It doesn't matter," Ramiro replied hollowly. "The Breaking of the Pacts has already begun." He looked up at Aramana, his eyes sad but oddly blank. "I slept with a married woman last year," he told her bluntly. "That was breaking a Pact. Zuriel left permanently. That's breaking a Pact. He took Cameron with him, which is breaking the same Pact. And then, of course, there's the magic I twisted." Ramiro shrugged helplessly. "It's too late. The Breaking is inevitable."

" If you hadn't been so selfish, it could've been avoided," Aramana hissed at him. "Or—or at least delayed!"

Ramiro stared at her. Then he got to his feet with a grunt and turned around as Hadali—who had been revived from his fall by the same method—trotted toward him. "No sign of them?" Ramiro asked, ignoring Aramana.

"None," Hadali confirmed grudgingly. "They're gone."

Ramiro heaved a heavy sigh. "Well," he said simply, "that's that, then." He put his hands on his hips and swept his gaze over the Peacekeepers, who had gathered around him. "Let's get back to work, everyone," he called. "The Breaking of the Pacts is fast approaching. But I know you are prepared to do everything in your power to keep Safe Haven safe." He glanced at Aramana over his shoulder and added, "Your new Chief Peacekeeper will make sure of it."

With that, Ramiro turned his back on the Peacekeepers, picked up his jacket, put it on, and walked toward Safe Haven, his silhouette hunched and defeated in the light of the rising sun.

A moment of silence passed.

Then Aramana turned to the Peacekeepers and ordered, "Arrest him."