My Name Is Adela Kirigan (A Shadow and Bone Season 1 Fanfiction)

Chapter 32: The Amplifier

In General Kirigan's camp... 

'What are you doing?' Alina asked, panicked, as David the Durast lifted the amplifier necklace of the antlers of the Stag from a case. 

'I'm going to place this around your neck,' he said. Ivan held her arms behind her back, keeping her steady and restrained for when the amplifier was placed. 

'I meant why? I didn't kill the Stag. It's not my amplifier. He killed it. He gets its power.' 

'You asked for this yourself, when we met,' General Kirigan said, his back turned to her as he stood in a corner of the tent. He turned. 'To transfer your gift to someone who could use it.' 

'I can use it now,' she snapped. 

'You know so little. You'll learn.' 

'I know things. General Kirigan, is it? Or is Aleksander a fake name too?'

'Careful with your words, Alina,' he said, calmly. 'Consider whose life is in your hands.' 

'You said you'd let him go.' 

'I said I would heal him. What happens next is up to you.' 

'None of this has been up to me!' she exclaimed. He came closer, kneeling in front of her. 

'Do you know the only thing more powerful than you or me? The two of us. Together. Together, we can end all wars. We can protect our own. Is that not what you want?' She stared at him. 

'Are we destroying the Fold?' He paused for a second, almost seeming to ponder her question. 

'We can do... anything,' he replied. 'Together.' He held out his hands to her. She took them and stood with him. Then he stepped away from her, and David came forward with the antler necklace, placing it around her neck. Kirigan outstretched his hand, and David placed a small circle of bone on the back of his hand. Placing his hands on the both of them, David melded the pieces of bone into their skin, making Alina gasp with the power of the new amplifier. 

'What... what's happening?' she asked, panicked. 'Wait. I don't understand. What...?' When David was done, the light faded, and the pieces of bone were fully melded into their skin. Alina was breathing heavily, shocked by the grotesque change to her collarbone. David stepped back. 

'That should...' 

'Bridge the gap?' Kirigan asked. 

'Yes,' David said, his eyes casting to the ground, almost regretful for what he'd done. 'You should now have full access to all of her light. In theory.' He fully stepped back, leaving General Kirigan to do his work. He stepped forward and met her eyes, pressing his hand to her shoulder. As the light surrounded them, Alina began to gasp in pain as the light flooded around her. Where the original amplification by Kirigan had been painless when she had first come to the Little Palace and was presented to the King, this was now painful and it felt as though she was having the life drained out of her, slowly, minutely. 

'This is my power,' she gasped, bringing her hand up suddenly to grip Kirigan's arm, still gasping in pain as Kirigan began to squeeze her shoulder further. 

'But now I control it.' He increased the flow of light between them, and she groaned. Lifting his head, still holding a tight grip on her shoulder, he basked in the warm blue-ish/white light. In the sheer power of it. 

Just in front of the East side of the Fold... 

Soldiers patrolled around the structure situated near the Fold that was Arken's makeshift train. 

'How many are there?' Inej asked. 

'Two. At some point, one of them will have to go tell a superior what they found,' Kaz replied. 'We'll go in then.' 

'Not to be that person, Kaz,' Jesper asked, 'but are you sure you can drive that thing?' He turned to them. 

'Yes. On the way to Kribirsk, while you were busy hugging bait...'

'Milo. The goat's name was Milo.' 

'... I was memorizing Arken's timings.' 

'Not to gang up on you,' Inej spoke, 'but Jes has a point. Arken's system was complicated and the ride was chaotic. No one would blame you for missing a count.' 

' "Jes"?' Kaz asked sarcastically. 

'It's Suli for friendship,' Jesper butted in. Inej elbowed him. 

'No, it's not.' 

'Trust me,' Kaz snapped, bringing them back to the task at hand, 'Arken and I think alike.' Just then a loud explosion sounded across the field, bringing them now to the attention that their ride across the Fold was gone. 

'Too soon to appreciate the irony, am I right?' Jesper asked. Kaz glared at him, lowering his head. 'Yeah, too soon.' 

At a camp on the fringe of the Fold... 

The cart carrying Alina and Ivan the Heartrender rolled into the camp with galloping horses at its helm. Ivan walked behind her, holding her arm. Just then, Mal crossed her line of sight, being restrained by another soldier. 

'Mal! Mal!' she shouted, pulling away from Ivan. 

'Alina!' he shouted back.

'No! Mal! Mal! No, Mal!' It was unsuccessful. Ivan eventually got her walking again, and soon he ushered her into a large tent and left her there. Alone. She paced the room for a few moments before stopping in front of a mirror. Unfolding the cloak she wore, she gazed in the mirror, staring in horror at the antler necklace seared into her collarbone like a cruel, messy work of art. It hurt. She ran a finger over the necklace. Just then the tent flap opened and a figure walked in in a heavy coat of furs. 

'You look awful,' the voice of Genya sounded. Alina turned and gasped as Genya came into view, wearing a thick, heavy, red fur coat. 'The Little Palace hasn't been the same without you.'