Gustav falls on his knees in front of the tome. He still smells of sleep. “This can’t be... I thought this was lost!” He carefully picks up the book. The cover is made out of a beautiful scarlet red with gold and ultramarine letters and flames carved into it. It looks ancient.
Gustav slowly and carefully opens the book, whispering under his breath. “Yes.” He says after turning a few pages. “Exactly.” He goes on. “Indeed.”
He gets up and walks the book to the messy desk near the window. “This book is a history of hunters written by…” He looks up at me. “Your great great great great great great great – well, let’s say a distant grandmother.” He focusses back onto the book. “She was one of the first hunters.”
I take a few steps towards the man and the book in his hands. “You mean this was written by Aethelred Blackswroth?” As a hunter you take great pride in your family. Especially when your lineage takes you back all the way to the beginnings of the Guild.
Gustav shakes his head and beckons me closer. “This has been written by Arabel Pruitt. His wife – ex-wife by that point.” He smiled at me.
“She was a bit of an outcast – went her own way after everything that happened. She supposedly ended up in France but not much is known about her… except.” Gustav’s eyes light up. “That she wrote a book about the events of The Great Fire and that the Guild had it destroyed as it was a blasphemous text that went against all they stood for!” He chuckles lightly and looks at the book full of glee.
“It is a bit of a myth for us walkers…” he trails off as he opens the book again. “As it supposedly proves even then walkers existed.”
He looks up as Daimon enters the room. “It’s the Syllabus.” Gustav exclaims looking from Daimon to the book and back. “It is the miracle we have been praying for!” He laughs.
Daimon takes a few quick strides towards the little desk and looks at the tome. “Are you sure?” His eyes are serious, but I cannot help to notice a stroke of ecstasy in his voice.
“I am a hundred percent sure because…” As Gustav lifts up the book with care to show Daimon, an envelope falls on the floor by my feet. Gustav stops talking and looks at me while I pick up the yellow paper.
“Isabelle” it says in beautiful black letters. My heart is beating in my rib cage and I feel lightheaded when I open the envelope and the sweetness of my grandmother’s perfume fills the space around me.
“Dear Isabelle.” The letter inside starts.
“I have arranged for this book to find you in case of my death. I wanted to say that I am so proud of you. I might not be there to help you in your endeavours, I know that you are doing the best you can, and I am sure that you will succeed at whatever task is thrown at you.
For centuries, our Hunter community has seen werewolves, warlocks, vampires, demons and any other non-human humanoid as a threat. What they do not know, however, is that in between all that black and white, good and evil, a rainbow of colourful people, species and shifters are trying their best to lead a normal, kind and generous life.
Our ancestor, Arabel, knew this and wanted to warn the hunter community that not everything ‘different’ is bad. She was shunned, thrown out of the order, and most of her work was destroyed. The Hunter history as we know it has been written by those who have a vested interest in keeping that war, that monochrome view on the world, alive.
I have tried many times to guide our guild, our group and our family on a path of enlightenment, but have failed every time. I want you to take over, I want you to try your best and show that being a Hunter also means that you need to protect those who are kind and generous, those who have stepped away from deviancy, from the shadows and into the light.
Know, however, that not every hunter is good just as not every demon, werewolf or vampire is bad. Be selective when choosing friends and do not trust anyone blindly as your enemies in the order might be closer than you think.
I have left this book to you as my mother left it to me and her mother left it to her. It travels through the female line of our family as we Pruitt women have the strength, the intellect but most of all, the compassion to do what is right.
You are a Pruitt through and through, my Isabelle. Do not ever doubt that!
I have loved you dearly, my Isabelle.
And I hope to see you on the other side.
Love,
Gran-Gran.
I stare at the letter in disbelief. Does this mean my grandmother is dead?
Why?
How?
Where was she these last few months? I look at the sign-off and try to fight the tears.
I reach for the second page of the letter, looking for something to hold on to.
“Isabelle. Ignore letter. I am not dead. Do not look for me. Find the sword and hand the book to Gustav. He will know what to do with it and how to help you. I am by your side, Isa. I love you dearly. Do not trust anyone from the order but your parents. Hope to see you soon when this is over. I mean it! Trust nobody but Daimon, Danny, Kath and Gustav. Love. Gran-Gran.”
The little note is written across the page as if she was in a hurry. I recognise her handwriting although it looks rushed. “She…” I start. I feel a headache coming up with all the new information rushing through my veins.
“She told me to give this book to Gustav and that he will know what to do with it.” I look up at Daimon who nods solemnly just when Gustav jumps up from his chair as if stung by a wasp. He turns his head slowly as if trying to process what he just read.
“Guys… this is big. This is massive…” He stutters. “You will never believe this!”
Chapter 19
Kathy had woken up from Gutav’s excited screams. She looks like she did not get a whole lot of sleep. We quickly filled her in on what had happened and gave Gustav a bit of time to gather his thoughts, make a few notes and calm down from his supposedly massive discovery.
Gustav was now sitting gleefully in the middle of the circle. We all had a cup of coffee in front of our noses and were waiting for his big revelation.
“We need to scrap everything.” He says. “Everything we knew so far about the Abarynthian Instruments is absolute bullshit.” He smiles.
“They were never forged to keep the balance in check. Instead they were made to reward those who fought valiantly against the powers of evil.” His leg hops up and down as he talks.
“It was not just people who fought against The Rising.” He says, looking at all our faces, waiting for his big reveal. “It was all of us. It was demons and vampires, warlocks and werewolves and… everyone!”
Danny frowns. “Wait, are you saying that…” Gustav nods excited. “Yes! Yes to whatever you are thinking! And it gets better…” he jumps up and walks to the book, pointing a finger at the scarlet cover.
“The artefacts were a gift from Michael to those who helped him defeat evil!”
That is where I chime in. “Wait, so the Aberrant Sword is a gift from Michael?” Gustav nods again. “And so is the Ursine Amulet and the Infernal Tome… and every other instrument we thought was utter bull crap legend.”
He walks back to his seat. “But there is a catch.” He picks up his cup of coffee and takes a sip. “Only direct descendants can wield the instruments. If you are not a descendant, your hand falls off or your head explodes or … well, I could not really translate that one. All I could gather was that you would idea horrible death. And since we have no way of knowing who the direct descendants are except for Isabelle…” He crosses his legs, waiting for our response.
“So, in theory I could wield the sword, or at least hold it!” I jump up, invigorated by the new information. “Does the book tell us where it is?”
He throws me a mischievous smile. “Not exactly.” He says. “But your grandmother did.” He says as he shows me a little note made in Aramaic in the margin of one of the pages. Find the Aberrant One at Highgate where hell substitutes heaven and air meets earth.
***
I closed
my eyes, trying to control my breathing. Last time I loaded my weapons into the booth of a car I had a clear goal: kill the demon. Look where this got me. I hold on to the old rubber of my seat as I try not to bump into Danny.
I hate sitting in the middle of the backseat. Especially in a small car like this Morris Minor. The motor sputters to a halt as we turn into a parking spot near Highgate cemetery.
Even though the car had no heating, it was cosily warm in the little automobile thanks to the body heat of the three demons. The difference with the dry cold outside could not be bigger.
Once out of the car I jump up and down, trying to get my blood flowing. The pins and needles in my foot are killing me. “Are you ready?” Daimon asks Little clouds appear out of his mouth as his warm breath collides with the cold outside air.
I look up at the towering iron mast in front of me and shrug. “Maybe.” I mumble, hoping he doesn’t notice how nervous I am. I can see a smile playing on his lips. “If it helps,” He says. “I think you did pretty well last hunt.” He winks. “I was shitting my pants.” His little smile now explodes into laughter. I grunt as I suddenly become very self-conscious about how new I am at all of this.
“You okay?” Kath weaves her arm around mine. I feel myself anchor in her touch. “yeah” I sigh, trying to disguise the nerves in my voice. “What are you going to do when you have the sword?” She asks as we make our way through the street, Danny, Gustav and Daimon in front of us.
I shrug again. “Dunno.” I answer, trying to hide my nerve struck voice. Kathy nods and thinks for a second. “Any idea what the note might mean?”
I stayed up all night, going through books and poems and literature and handbooks and whatnots with Kathy and Gustav.
We found zit.
Nada.
Nothing.
I knew Kathy was just trying to make conversation just to calm her own nerves. I threw my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. “Thank you so much for being here for me.” I sigh as I plant a kiss on top of her bright ginger curls. “I have no idea what I would have done without you.”
Daimon looks over his shoulder and shoots me a bright smile. The kind of smile that makes my insides into mush and my heartbeat faster. A small blush appears on my cheeks.
“Come on, we’re almost there!” he says as we pass the black cast-iron gates of the cemetery.
The cemetery itself looks like the kind of place I would have loved to hang out at if I wasn’t trying to find some mythical powerful sword, and so I make a mental note to come back sometime after all this has blown over.
Soon, I hope.
My calves are burning as we walk hill up, hill down, past well-kept and overgrown graves alike. Most of the graves are ancient and the people buried have probably been long forgotten.
I feel something snap inside me and I am suddenly fighting to resist crying. The last few days have been incredibly stressful, and I am yearning for my own bed, a hug from my dad and my mom’s cooking. Hell, I would even like to see my brother Thomas. Even though he is nothing more than an eternal pain in my ass.
“Do you know what we are looking for?” I ask. I am thirsty. We had been walking for at least 20 minutes and I had not a single idea of what we were looking for.
Gustav shakes his head. “We will know when we know.” He snaps. I have not seen him this short-stringed before.
I shake my head and decide to keep my eyes open for anything at all. “Where hell substitutes heaven and air meats earth…” I mumble.
“What if…” Kathy started. We had all stopped in the middle of a crossing, no idea where we should go. Left would bring us back to the start of our route, right would loop us back to this spot right here. “What if we look for anything that has to do with hell.” She says. “Flames, little devils, maybe even cupids.” Her voice is hoarse from the cold. She had not had much sleep either and it has been taken a toll on her. She lost weight and the massive grey bags under her eyes had doubled in size.
“How?” Daimon asks. He cocks his head, interested in what my friend was saying. “Well,” Kathy stutters. “Maybe we should look for a flame on the grave or maybe a little devil statue sitting on a stone.” She tries. Gustav nods. “This girl is a genius.” He mumbles smiling.
“Come on! Peel your eyes open and look for any flames, demons, cupids – whatever infernal or demonic, on gravestones you can find!”
Chapter 20
It was no easy task. We crawled behind gravestones, tore away poison ivy, scrubbed off moss and hoped that somehow, somewhere we would find something that would help us on our quest.
I snort and sit down against one of the old tombs I just wiped clean of moss. “We’ve been doing this for two hours. I need a break guys.” I mumble frustrated. Kathy nods wiping her dirty hands on her trousers. “Me too.” She sighs.
“I’m sorry.” My best friend says as she sits down beside me. Daimon, Gustav and Danny are all standing around us. They look tired, frustrated – angry maybe. Daimon is not a very patient person and I can guess from his tense shoulders that he is not enjoying this – at all.
I look up at the old tomb and stick out my tongue at the pointing angel. We’ve gotten all these clues and half of them were an absolute bust. No – scrap that. They ALL were an absolute bloody bust.
I burry my head in my arms and scream softly, trying to vent the frustration coursing through my veins. We are so close. I can feel it!
Kathy puts her arm around me and pulls me closer. “I am sorry.” She says again, looking up at everyone. “I am so sorry. It was my idea and I have sent us on a wild goose chase.”
Gustav smiles softly. “No. Yours was the only sane idea we have had so far. Trust me, we would not have been able to do this without you!” A red blush crawls over Kathy’s cheeks.
“Okay.” I clean my throat. “What clues did we get. ALL clues. Everything.” Danny sighs as she squats down. “We have the rainbow.” She counts on her fingers. “We have Highgate.” A second finger goes up. “And then we have the demon substituting the angel and earth meting air or something like that.”
I nod as I take mentally take note of the clues and try to piece them together. It feels like a massive puzzle of which we have 4 completely different and absolutely useless pieces. “And we have O’ Dougherty’s map.” I sigh looking at a scan of the map on my phone.
“We are at Highgate.” I start. “And it was said that the sword was at Highgate.” I stand up, stretching my cold legs. “What else can we look for?” I look around the group and meet the eyes of Daimon, Danny and Gustav.
“We can look for a rainbow.” Kathy says softly. “But… I just don’t want us to waste another 2 hours again.” She stutters.
I shrug. “It’s the only thing we can go on at the moment.” I helped up Kathy. “Let’s all make another effort. I know it is cold, but if we don’t get this sword before Asmodeus does, there will be hell to pay.”
Kathy snickers at my pun. “Poor old Michael will have to come down again.” She nods at the statue on top of the tomb I was leaning against. I laugh, taking stock of his cranky expression and the sword in his hands. “At least he has his sword… if only he would be so kind to tell us where ours was being kept.” I joked.
I turned around to start inspecting cold damp gravestones again when I noticed Kathy’s large eyes and half open mouth. “You are a genius.” She says softly. “Of course, he will tell us where the sword is being kept.”
I shake my head, frowning at her words. “What do you mean?” I step closer, trying to take things in from her vantage point. “This is the guy on the leprechaun’s map!” She cries out. I frown confused and pull my phone back out of my pocket. “Which one?” I ask, looking at the different tradesmen and women that lined the bottom border of the map, signifying the trade guilds in the city.
“This one!” her finger comes down on my screen, right on a man in the left. He was indeed holding a sword; he was pointing up… and… It was him. There was no dou
bt!
“And you see his finger?” she asked, pointing at the obviously outstretched arm and pointing index finger. “Duh.”
“Well he is pointing…” She turns around, trying to keep her arm at the same angle. “To that massive tomb there.” She says more confidently. “And if I am not mistaken.” She goes on as she starts walking briskly through the foliage towards the tomb. “then those stone arches above the door and windows of the tomb, are rainbows.”
I pick up my bag and go after her. She is right. He is pointing at that tomb. Those do look like rainbows… I wipe away the moss off the rainbow at the window. “At the end of the rainbow…” I repeated the words O’ Dougherty had spoken.
But at the end of what rainbow? I look at the others now behind to see whether they are any the wiser. Danny is circumventing the tomb and looking for any other clues while Damon quickly stretches out his wings to take a look from above.
“Anything?” I ask him as he hovers over the tomb. “Not yet, it looks like…” Daimon stops talking and flies closer to the statue of an angel on top of the tomb’s stone roof. He lets out a hearty laugh and retracts his wings again once his feet hit the soft ground.
“Your grandmother is a smart woman.” He says. “That is not an angel op there.” He laughs as he offers me his hand. I take it and feel how his arms close around me, softly swooping me off the floor.
The cemetery looks so much bigger from up here. So much lonelier. The paths were wet, and the cold wind had rushed most of the leaves off the trees in between the graves.
“Look at the head of the angel.” He says quietly in my ear. His voice sends static electricity through my body. His strong arms around me make me feel safe, calm even.
It took a while before I saw what he had noticed, before my eyes made stock of the little horns protruding from the Angel’s long curly hair.
“That’s not an angel…” I smile. He smiles back at me and puts me back onto my feet. “It is a Demon where there normally should be an angel.”
The Aberrant Sword Page 9
