City of Ashes -Book 2-

Chapter 29

Hospital fluorescent lights cast a sickly glow over the photos spread across Nikolai's bed. The runes from the vault seemed to shift on the paper, their ancient meanings resistant to casual translation. Liam had been staring at them for hours, his eyes burning from the strain.

"No," he muttered, rearranging the photos for the dozenth time. "That can't be right."

Nikolai leaned forward, his own exhaustion evident but his mind still sharp. "The third sequence - you're reading it in modern form. Try the older dialect."

Liam adjusted his translation, and suddenly the patterns clicked into place. The blood drained from his face as the full message emerged:

"To my sons: Beware the alignment's truth. What seems salvation bears destruction's tooth. The ancient one stirs in its chains, through blood and bone it speaks its claims. Two keys united show the way, but freedom's price we all must pay. The vessel waits, both trap and door - what's bound in blood demands yet more."

"He knew," Liam whispered, his hands shaking slightly as he gathered the photos. "All this time, he knew what would happen."

"Your father was many things," Nikolai said carefully, "but never a fool. The question is - what exactly did he know?"

Liam's phone buzzed - Elena confirming final positions for tonight's operation. In less than two hours, they would attempt to break Thorne out of maximum security. His brother's confident smile haunted him now, taking on new meaning in light of their father's warning.

"The vessel waits, both trap and door," Liam repeated. "What if... what if Ariya's sacrifice wasn't an accident? What if Thorne engineered it specifically because he needed her essence woven into reality's structure?"

Nikolai's expression grew grave. "For what purpose?"

"I don't know. But look at this line - 'through blood and bone it speaks its claims.' The ritual Thorne wants us to perform... it requires blood from both of us. Freely given."

"The ancient one stirs in its chains," Nikolai mused. "Not breaking free, but stirring. Awakening." He met Liam's troubled gaze. "Your brother isn't trying to prevent something from breaking through. He's trying to control whatever's already bound there."

Liam stood abruptly, pacing the small room. "We have to stop this. Call off the operation. If Thorne's really planning to-"

"Wait." Nikolai's voice cracked like a whip. "Think this through. If your father's warning is correct, something is already stirring. The tears in reality, the shadow creatures - they're just symptoms of a larger problem. One way or another, whatever's bound is going to break free."

"So we just help Thorne take control of it?"

"No." Nikolai's eyes held a familiar intensity - the same look he'd worn when training a young Liam years ago. "We use his plan against him. He's not the only one who can play a long game."

Liam's phone buzzed again - Zoe this time, asking about his position. They were counting on him. Everything was in place.

"I don't know if I can do this," he admitted quietly. "Pretend everything's fine while knowing what he's really planning."

"Then don't pretend." Nikolai shifted in his bed, his voice taking on the tone of a mentor once more. "Use that knowledge. Watch for his true purpose. The moment he thinks he's won is the moment he'll be most vulnerable."

"And if we're wrong? If this warning means something else entirely?"

"That's the burden of choice, isn't it?" Nikolai smiled grimly. "Your father knew that better than most. Why do you think he left the warning in a form only you would find?"

Liam's phone buzzed a third time - the final call to positions. Outside, clouds had gathered, obscuring the stars that wheeled toward their fated alignment. Everything was in motion now, pieces falling into place just as Thorne had planned.

Or had he? The warning's words echoed in Liam's mind: "What seems salvation bears destruction's tooth." Perhaps there was still a way to turn this to their advantage.

"Go," Nikolai said softly. "Do what needs to be done. But remember - your brother isn't the only one who inherited your father's gifts. Trust your instincts."
Liam gathered the photos, tucking them securely away. "If this goes wrong..."

"It won't." Nikolai's confidence was absolute. "Because unlike Thorne, you understand the true price of power. Your father saw that in you, even then."

As Liam turned to leave, Nikolai spoke once more: "The vessel waits, both trap and door. Your brother thinks he's found the key, but he's forgotten something crucial."

"What's that?"

"Sometimes the trap is the solution." Nikolai's eyes held centuries of magical knowledge. "When the moment comes, remember - what's bound in blood can only be freed by sacrifice. But sacrifice takes many forms."

The words followed Liam as he made his way through darkened hospital corridors. Soon, he would join his team in executing a plan days in the making.

His father's warning weighed heavy in his pocket, a reminder that sometimes the hardest choices came disguised as simple ones. Whether they were walking into Thorne's trap or springing one of their own remained to be seen.

But one thing was certain - by this time tomorrow, the game his brother had so carefully orchestrated would reach its conclusion. And Liam intended to be ready when it did.