Where Foundlings Hide

Chapter 33

I look down at my hands. They are covered with something dark and sticky, almost black in the half light, and my knees are skinned where they made contact with the ground. I touch the lump on the side of my head with trembling fingers, following the streak of blood that trickles down my temple.

I don't know where I am, but the ground is cold and grainy, like sand and I can hear the sound of waves crashing against rocks below. The moon appears from behind a cloud and I see her balancing on the edge of the cliff.

My eyesight is still blurred from the blow to my head, but I try to crawl towards her, I try to use my last ounce of strength to save her, because that is my purpose. I am inches away from her when her arms flail out. Everything around me seems to freeze as she slips, the wind whipping her hair around her face, white in the light of the pale moon. Her hand stretches out towards me and she yells something, but the wind carries her words away like petals from a dying flower.

The ground below me trembles and I scream her name until my throat is raw, hot tears streaming down my face as my fingers claw at the ragged cliff edge. Her white dress billows around her like the sails of a ship, but it doesn't slow her fall. The darkness below rears up and swallows her whole. Then she is gone.

Everything is suddenly too bright and there is a face leaning over me, long hair tickling my cheek. "You made it," Lana says. "But this was only the beginning, you have to learn the truth."

I wake with a start, taking in a rattling breath that leads to a coughing fit. I clutch at my chest as a sharp pain shoots through my ribcage. There is a swirl of images rushing around in my mind, and I try to piece them together – Trafalgar Square, the woman on the bus, the Shadows, faceless, standing on the bridge amongst the rioters, Morox releasing his arrow.

I try to sit up, but soft hands push me back against the pillow.

"Take it easy."

I rub at my eyes with the heel of my hand until the face in front of me comes into focus.

"Ivy." I gasp, lunging towards her and throwing my arms around her neck. I try to ignore the shooting pain in my chest as I cling to her. "You're OK," I croak. "What happened?"

She leans back to look at me, brushing the hair off my damp forehead. "You don't remember?"

I try to think back. Trafalgar Square... Morox... the crossbow... and... "Haydn!"

"He's fine," Ivy smiles. "Thanks to you."

I remember my breath catching in my throat as Morox's arrow sailed towards Haydn, I remember wheeling around and throwing myself at him, but the arrow... "I thought I was too late."

"The arrow hit you," she says. "Right between the shoulder blades. You saved Haydn's life."

I remember Haydn's dark eyes widening with horror, the blood staining the front of his compression suit, only it wasn't his blood. It was mine.

Ivy's eyes are teary as she sees the memory in my mind. "The arrow pierced your heart. Not even the Foundlings can survive that."

"Did I.... die?"

She swallows. "Your heart stopped, but your body pushed the arrow out almost immediately and began to heal itself. It was miraculous."

I try not to dwell too much on that, my mind struggling to understand the wonders my body can perform. "What about you and Parker, and Caleb and the others? How did you make it out of London?"

"The Morgana's dealt with the rioters on the bridge," Ivy says. "They created a tidal wave and brought on a huge storm that distracted the Shadows, forcing them to relinquish their hold on the rioters. It bought us enough time to call for reinforcements and to bring you here, to the Halers Household."