Clemency

I had always had a desperate shard of hope that Marie would eventually see the light and come back to us repentant, but all of that shattered when she made me decide between Jade or the Stone.

I couldn't give up either.

The Stone, contrary to popular belief, wouldn't work for anyone wanting to use it for evil purposes or out of selfishness. In the hands of the enemy, we would be weakened, yes, but they would be no stronger. Besides, we would be able to get it back, especially with Jade on our side. If she even made it out of this. I had so far managed to keep my eyes from drifting too often to the blood that marred her shirt. If there was that much blood lost, it was a wonder she was even conscious. The first priority had to be getting her to a hospital.

That was my logic for when people later demanded why I made what many of them would consider the wrong choice. I knew, though, that as long as I had Jade, nothing else mattered in comparison. If she was around, safe and mine, then nothing could be truly wrong in the world. I couldn't give her up. It would be my undoing.

"Let her go," I repeated. "Now." Everyone froze for a second, and then Marie cackled victoriously.

"I knew you would come around." Marie started backing up so that she was dangerously close to the ledge. When she and Jade were at the very edge of it, she thrust Jade forward so that she lay sprawled on the ground and straddled her from behind. Her fingers groped desperately at Jade's poor, abused neck for the chain that was always there. I saw them grip at a glint of gold and knew it was only a matter of time before she was off running.

I dove before that could happen, with a calculated angle so that she was pushed off of Jade. I did my best to pin her, but we had fought too many times before. I knew exactly how she would move, and she knew how I would counter those moves. There was no winning. That was the least of my worries, though. Marie was going to roll both of us straight over the edge.

"Carrick!" Jade screamed hoarsely. Talking wouldn't be easy for a while for her, I thought. There were already gruesome bruises showing and she was grotesquely cut up. I froze automatically at the sound of her voice. The momentum that we had built up sent Marie flying off. I watched in slow motion as her fingers desperately gripped at the building, looking for something, anything, to hold onto. The only thing she found?

My own hand. I didn't know how I was able to get to her so quickly, and I supposed that I never would. I couldn't think through the relief that I had managed to catch her.

"Hold on," I muttered in the calmest voice I could, looking over my surroundings and calculating a few angles for the best way to pull her up without giving her an advantage over me. I hadn't forgotten, of course, that just a few minutes ago she almost killed Jade. That was the one thing I would never be able to forgive. Meanwhile, I heard Jade approaching and she clutched at my other wrist, in case, I supposed, Marie tried to pull me over.

A hysterical laugh bubbled out of Marie. "I can't do this. I just can't do this anymore." My heart turned cold even before her next words. "I don't want your mercy." She started prying at my fingers. I yanked my other hand free and used it to hold on to Marie, as well. I couldn't let this happen. If she died, it would be my fault. I didn't think I could handle that. I had watched a lot of horrible things happen before, had even caused some of them, but Marie… I couldn't hurt Marie. Not unless it was a choice between her and Jade or the Stone. That wasn't the case here, not anymore. Marie had already lost that fight.

Marie froze and let herself remain dangling. "Carrick," she whispered. "Carrick, look at me." I was looking, believe me. I couldn't stop looking.

"Let me help you," I said almost desperately. Marie's eyes bore into mine and, for a moment, it was like a flashback to simpler times.

"Carrick," Marie began. "Carrick-"

I never would know what she had been about to say, but I did know that this was a moment that would haunt me for the rest of my life. Her tone just then wasn't that of someone on the verge of giving up, but that of someone who was choosing life. Someone who knew that she had done wrong and that there would be consequences, but also that it wasn't too late to try and make things right.

Before I knew what was happening, someone yanked me viciously away from the edge. It was Ernie, I saw. He had always been a thorn in my side. Just like that, my grip on Marie was broken and the following crunch of her landing was a sound I knew I would hear in countless nightmares to come.

I spun so that I was facing Ernie. Someone had to pay for this, and who better than him? I was suddenly certain that she had finally, finally decided to come back. It was a day that I had yearned for so much, in those first years after she left. I let my fists express my blinding rage, my crushing sorrow. I could have saved her. I would have.

"Carrick. Carrick, stop! You'll kill him!" Jade's hand was on my back and her sweet breath was on my neck, a life preserver thrown to pull me back to reality. I looked down and was almost surprised when I found that Ernie's nose was broken and my hands were crusting with his blood.

"Oops," I said. She laughed lightly, but it was forced and a glance at her face showed me that she was worried. A man from the clinic hastened over to her, but she waved him off.

"Look over Ernie first, please. I'm fine," Jade insisted. I winced. If I had had better control of myself, she wouldn't have been able to avoid proper medical care so easily. This wasn't like me, this violence. But this disregard for her own health? It was very like Jade.

"No," I asserted. "You've lost a lot of blood. I know you don't like it, but for me, please let him look you over." Jade's eyes warmed and she nodded stiffly.

"Fine. But make it quick, if you don't mind. I have a lot of cleaning to do before I can sleep in my room, you know."

"Don't be ridiculous," I said automatically. What was she thinking? "There's no way that you can stay in that room. The Coalition obviously knew, somehow, where you were sleeping. No, it would be much safer for you to stay with someone else. Someone who could protect you." And I knew exactly who would be up for the job. But how to make it so that she didn't totally see through this idea of mine?

Jade laughed a little, then winced. The medic was disinfecting the slice on her neck. Now that the excess blood was cleared off, I could see that it was perfectly straight and nastily wide. The blade had wriggled around quite a lot. I shuddered to think of just how much that must have hurt. "And I imagine you know exactly who I should be staying with?" she asked wryly. Of course she didn't mention the pain. Jade would never call attention to her own suffering. If anyone was the martyr type, surely it was her.

And if anyone was going to see through my facades, that was also going to be Jade. I grinned. "It's hard to know who to trust with your safety. The defenses here should be- should have been- impenetrable. It's going to take some investigating to figure out just how… they got in. I can't see any possibility that doesn't involve a traitor among us. We have to weed that person out. Until we do, you're going to need a constant watch, and either Nelly or I will be with you at all times. No exceptions."

Jade nodded slowly before a wide grin broke out on her face. "So you're staying, after all. I would hug you right now, you moron, but I can't move while he… Hey, what do you think you're doing?! Stitches? In my neck? I don't think so, buddy." I snickered quietly, but dutifully took hold of both of Jade's hands so that she could squeeze them while the medic did his work.

Her eyes hesitantly met mine. "I'm glad you're staying. I don't know what I would have done without you," she whispered.

"I don't think I could have stayed away for long. You matter too much to trust someone else with your welfare."

"And what makes you think I need watching?" Jade said indignantly. The amused smile tugging at the corners of her mouth let me know that she wasn't being altogether serious.

"You don't," I conceded. "But that doesn't mean I don't worry about you."

"Oh. Well, I guess that's alright, then," was her response. She squeezed my hands and I felt again like she was throwing that life preserver, only this time, she was saving us both.