by N. P. Martin
"C—Corvin…" It was indeed Monty, but he didn’t sound right at all. He sounded distraught and in pain.
"Monty?" I sat forward in my seat. "What’s wrong?"
"I...he’s here…" Monty stammered, sounding like he had spent the last several hours being tortured.
"Monty? Who’s there?" Everyone was now looking at me in alarm, knowing something bad was up. "Monty? Monty, answer me…" He didn’t need to answer me, however, for I already knew who else was there. It wasn’t hard to figure out.
There was a rustling noise on the phone, and then a voice said, "Hello, Corvin. I’m glad you made it back from the Shadow. Are you still in one piece? I hope so."
"Drakkar, you motherfucker," I said as I shot angrily to my feet, putting the phone on speaker so everyone could hear. "If you’ve hurt my friend…"
"Stop now, it’s too late for that," he said. "I had to amuse myself somehow while I was waiting around for you."
"Let him go, Drakkar. This has nothing to do with him."
"If you want your friend to live, you’ll have to save him yourself, Corvin, and you know what that means, don’t you?"
"You’re dead you sick fuck!" Dalia shouted suddenly, clearly upset that Monty had been hurt.
"Not yet I’m not," Drakkar said, directing his response at Dalia.
"Don’t worry," I snarled. "You soon will be."
"That’s what I like to hear," he said, sounding genuinely pleased now. "There’s that spunk that I know you have, Corvin."
"I’ll find out where you are," I said. "Then I’m coming to kill you."
"I’ll save you some trouble then. I’m at Swords Road, inside a seemingly abandoned building that was once a bath house."
"Bath house?"
"He means the old leisure center there," Amelia said.
"The leisure center, yes, that’s it," he said. "Though don’t be leisurely about getting here, will you? If I wait around too long, I get bored, and when I get bored…" He stopped talking for a second, and then there was a scream from Monty.
I gritted my teeth as I gripped the phone tight. "Leave him alone, Drakkar! I’m coming to you now!"
Drakkar laughed to himself. "Make haste then. I’ll be waiting."
When the phone went dead, I cursed and shook my head in frustration. "I can’t fucking believe he has Monty."
"We can’t waste any more time then," Dalia said, standing up. "We know where he is. Let’s go and get him."
"This has nothing—"
"Don’t even say it," she said, pointing her finger at me. "If you do, I swear I’ll kill you myself."
I shook my head and sighed as I looked at Davey. "I suppose you’re coming as well?"
Davey nodded slowly. "You said it yourself, it took a group of wizards to stop Drakkar last time, so it’s going to take the same now."
Amelia got to her feet now as well. "We’re all in this together, Corvin. You might as well accept it."
"Fine," I said after a moment. "I don’t really have a choice here, do I?"
They all shook their heads at once, and I didn’t know whether to love them for their loyalty, or be mad at them for their foolishness.
Chapter 21
I transported everyone to Drakkar’s location via a portal I opened up in Davey’s living room. My calculations were pretty spot on, and we ended up emerging at the front of the recently closed down leisure center, near the steps that led up from the parking lot to the front doors. Before we left, Davey and I went down to his basement and did a ritual that would transform the Dark One inside of me into some kind of energy that I could use against Drakkar. The ritual didn’t take long, and when it was done, the Dark One was effectively dead, the spell having transformed its spirit into an energy that now burned inside me, giving me the feeling that I was carrying around something akin to small nuclear bomb. When I questioned Davey on the nature of the energy inside me, he merely shrugged and said he couldn’t tell me much about it because the results of the ritual were rarely the same because of the varying source energies used, in my case the source being a dark spirit from the Shadow. He said I wouldn’t know the exact the nature of the energy until I used my magic to expel it. Once the energy left my body, it was apparently anyone’s guess as to what form it would take. "Thanks Davey," I told him while still in the basement. "I really love surprises."
He shrugged apologetically. "Transmutation of these kinds of energies isn’t an exact science, you know."
"Will it at least help me kill Drakkar?"
"We’d better hope so, or else we’re all dead."
With that comforting thought, the two of us had left the basement, and along with Dalia and Amelia, we had formed a plan for when we came face to face with Drakkar. The plan was simple enough: surround Drakkar so we can all hit him at once with our various powers, hopefully overwhelming him and at least holding him in place so I could then use the Wild Card Magic against him. After that, it was anyone’s guess what would happen.
"Seriously," I said as I went to open the broken front doors of the leisure center. "You’s don’t have to do this with me, I can—"
Dalia used her powers to whip me across the arm with a thin tentacle of dark energy. "Didn’t I tell you before to shut the fuck about that lone wolf bullshit? Just open the damn door."
Davey stood back smiling, as did Amelia. "You just got pussy-whipped, son," he said.
I shook my head, trying not to seem embarrassed. "All right you bunch of hard-asses. Have it your way, but the first sign that things are going tits up, I want you all to leave. There’s no sense in all of us dying."
"No one is going to die," Dalia said.
"How can you be so sure of that?" I asked her.
She focused her dark eyes on me. "Because I know you, Corvin Chance. You won’t stop until Drakkar is dead."
Or until I’m fucking dead, I thought, but I didn’t say that out loud, preferring to keep the note of confidence that Dalia had ended on.
After pulling open the metal doors, the glass on the inside of the frames now broken, I went inside the leisure center and the others followed in behind me. I was already vaguely familiar with the layout of the place, having went to it a few times as a teenager to go swimming. To the left of the entrance hallway was a reception and then stairs leading up to the second floor. There was also another set of stairs leading down to the bottom floor and the entrance to the large gym hall to the left of us, which we could see down into from our current position, and which was also empty. The whole inside of the leisure center seemed to have been stripped clean of all wiring and fittings, leaving nothing but an empty shell and a slight smell of chlorine to linger on.
"Where do you think he is?" Dalia asked as she looked around, leaning over the railing to peer down into the gloomy gym hall.
I was about to shake my head when we all heard a piercing scream that seemed to echo around the whole inside of the building. We all looked each other, because we knew the scream belonged to Monty.
"Drakkar is announcing his presence," Davey said grimly as he stood wearing a long brown duster, looking like an extra from a western movie.
"He’s in the main swimming pool," I said, having a feeling he would be there anyway, either there or the gym hall.
"Let’s go then," Dalia said and started to walk straight ahead toward the doors that led to the changing rooms.
"Wait," I said to her, then looked at each of them. "Are we all clear on the plan here?"
Each of them nodded, Dalia somewhat annoyedly. As much as Monty could irritate her at times, the two were still close, and it was killing her knowing he was getting tortured while we were standing around. "We’ll keep him distracted and in one place," Davey said. "So you can use that power inside you to kill him."
He spoke as if Drakkar’s death was a foregone conclusion, even though I didn’t share his confidence. The energy in me felt wild and scarily potent as it heated my body to the point where sweat was now running down my face. I had no
idea if I was going to be able to control it once I let it loose, nor what effect it was going to have on any of those who were standing in the vicinity when it was unleashed. The whole thing was a huge risk, and there was the distinct possibility that it could all go horribly, horribly wrong.
As if sensing my doubt and uncertainty, Amelia came up and laid a hand on my shoulder, gently squeezing it. "We’re all with you," she said, smiling slightly, her face still seeming drawn and pale. It was hard not to look at her and not be reminded of how she was when she was under the direct influence of the Dark One, with her black eyes and malevolent grin. On some level, she must have sensed what I was feeling toward her as she took her hand from my shoulder and turned away, leaving me wondering if things were ever going to be the same between us again.
But there was no time to think about that now, not after another of Monty’s screams punctuated the silence of the building, his voice so full of agony you couldn’t help but recoil from the sound as it hit your ears. "Bastard!" I hissed through gritted teeth.
As if none of us could bear hearing another scream, we all headed quickly down the open hallway, and then through the double doors and into the changing rooms, the smell of chlorine more pungent in here now, the rows of empty lockers almost seeming to suggest that everyone had just decided to clear out one day and not come back, leaving the empty building to its own devices. "Through here," I said as I led them through the changing rooms and then out to the swimming pool, dreading what state we were going to find Monty in.
Despite most of the wiring being stripped out of the building, the lights were somehow on in the pool room, which was obviously Drakkar’s doing. We spotted him immediately as we came out to the poolside and paused at the shallow end of the empty pool. Drakkar was up near the deep end, looking exactly as he did last time I saw him, still wearing the tan rain coat, which seemed stained with a lot more blood now.
As for Monty, he was sitting in a black leather office chair, each wrist secured to the arms of the chair with a rope of dark red magical energy. My eyes widened in shock as I saw how much blood covered his face and naked torso. Not only did it look like Drakkar had been beating on him with his fists, but Monty’s entire torso was also covered with numerous small cuts, each of which continued to leak blood, even as Monty himself sat motionless, his head dipped toward his chest as if he was unconscious…or dead.
"Corvin," Drakkar said. "Finally."
I immediately jumped down into the empty pool and glared at him. "You better not have killed him."
Drakkar frowned for a second as if he didn’t know what I was talking about, before spinning around in mock surprise as if he was only now noticing Monty sitting behind him. "You mean your friend here? He was alive last time I looked, but sometimes you turn your back and people just…slip away on you." He smiled in amusement as I glared at him. "Let me just check for you…" He clicked his fingers and Monty suddenly woke up, as though someone had given him a shot of adrenaline. His head flew back in terror as he gasped for breath. "Yep, still alive."
I took several steps closer. "Let…him…go."
As if to back me up on this, Dalia, Davey and Amelia all jumped down into the pool, coming to stand beside me. Dalia’s anger was palpable as her eyes darkened to near black while she glared at Drakkar.
"I see you brought your friends along," he said, moving to stand by the side of Monty, who only now noticed us, though his face didn’t register much relief at our presence, perhaps because he now knew first hand the kind of threat we were up against. "I was expecting you to come alone, but oh well…more grist for the mill, I suppose."
"You’ve claimed your last victim, Drakkar," I said, feeling the Wild Card Magic broiling inside me.
Drakkar smiled. "I hope you can back up such a bold claim, Corvin, otherwise—" He paused and clicked his fingers, at which point I heard a loud cracking sound like bone breaking, followed by Davey screaming in pain as he fell over onto the tiles holding his left leg. "All of you will end up as my victims."
"He broke my damn leg!" Davey groaned.
As Amelia bent down to help Davey, Dalia let out a scream of rage as a mass of dark energy grew underneath her like roots from a tree, raising her several feet into the air. Then, as Drakkar seemed to look on in amusement, Dalia formed a large ball of energy between her hands before sending it flying at Drakkar, who merely caught the sphere of energy in his hand and sent it right back at her, hitting Dalia in the chest with her own power. The effect of the blow was so great that it was obvious Drakkar had added a little of his own power into the mix. When Dalia was hit, it was like she was hit with a cannon ball. Her whole body seemed to fold in half as the velocity of the attack carried her back through the air, crashing her right through the thick glass partition that separated the adults’ and kids’ pools. As the glass shattered around her, she kept going until she finally fell down into the shallow depths of the kids’ pool.
"Bastard!" I shouted as Drakkar stood casually smiling at me.
He shrugged. "I try."
From behind me, I could hear Davey uttering some kind of spell, and a few seconds later, Monty came rolling toward us in the office chair as if being pulled by a rope. Amelia caught him before he crashed into the side of the pool.
"Get them out of here!" I said to Amelia.
"I’m fine," Davey said, as he tried unsuccessfully to get to his feet.
"Listen to him, old man," Drakkar said, standing with both hands slightly out now as if he was preparing to do battle. "This is between Corvin and I, no one else. He should never have brought you here."
I realized he was right as I looked at Amelia, who was in the process of breaking the magical bonds securing Monty to the chair. When she had him free, she held him up, as he was barely able to stand himself. "Go!" I told her. "Check on Dalia!"
She stared at me for a long moment, as if she was afraid she was never going to see me again. Then she nodded as she swiftly lifted Monty and draped him across her shoulder like he weighed no more than a child. Davey, who had managed to stand at this point, held onto her other shoulder as they headed to the edge of the pool, Amelia climbing up the steps with Monty before hauling Davey up as well. They disappeared into the kids’ pool to check on Dalia, who I prayed was okay. Once they had gone from sight, I spun around to face Drakkar.
"So here we are," he said. "Just you and me, as it was always meant to be, eh, Corvin?"
I stood glaring at him. The time for talking had passed. It was time finish this thing. As Drakkar came to stand closer in the center of the pool, I focused my concentration on the Wild Card Magic whirling within me still. But the fact was, I had no idea how I was supposed to use it. Even with all my willpower, the magic in me stayed put and refused to be expelled.
"What’s the matter, Corvin?" Drakkar said. "Having trouble using all that new energy inside of you? I can feel it, it’s powerful. Perhaps too powerful for you to handle." He smiled as if to taunt me.
With a mixture of rage and slight panic, I fell back on my normal magic and conjured a sphere of raw energy in my right hand, which I then fired at Drakkar. But unsurprisingly, he was able to move quicker than the eye could see to avoid my attack, as he did with my subsequent attacks, all of the magic blasts missing their target as Drakkar seemed to teleport his way closer to me after each attack. Then, as I was about to pointlessly fire off another magic blast, Drakkar hit me with one of his own. My chest took the blow and I got sent flying back across the pool, only coming to a stop when I smashed into the tiled wall.
Drakkar remained in the center of the pool, tutting to himself. "I must say, I’m disappointed, Corvin. I expected more of a fight than this. You came here to put me down, and it looks like I’m the one that’s going to put you down now."
Out of the blue, he teleported right in front of me, and before I could do anything, his arm moved across me, causing me to cry out in pain as I realized he had slashed me across the chest with a knife, the blade going right throu
gh my jacket and into my already scarred flesh. Then he brought his arm across again and the knife slashed into my right cheek, the metal grating across my teeth as it cut deep. Once again, I screamed in pain.
"Such a disappointment," Drakkar said as he stood back to stare at me. "I really thought I could rely on you, Corvin. Clearly, I’ve overestimated your resolve." He tutted and shook his head. "Now I’m going have to kill you, and then all of your friends, and all because you don’t have what it takes to—"
With a cry of rage, I sprang forward and hit him on the chest with a fist that glowed with magical energy. My attack was so unexpected, he couldn’t react in time, and the blow sent him skidding back across the tiled surface of the pool. With warm blood coursing down the side of my face and neck, I stood glaring at the mad mage, wanting only to kill him.
As Drakkar got slowly to his feet, he smiled. "Yes, there to is," he said. "That rage!"
He was right. A rage like I’d never felt before was flowing through me. Not only that, but the Wild Card Magic seemed to be reacting to it, becoming further energized by it as it felt like something was growing inside of me, something wild and dangerous that wanted to be released.
Drakkar was on his feet now, a crazy smile on his face as he stared at me. "Bring it, Corvin!" he shouted. "Do it!"
My face was a mask of pure rage as blood spilled from my mouth and ran down over my chin, dripping down onto the floor. The Wild Card Magic inside of me felt like it was reaching some kind of critical mass as it put so much pressure on my body that it felt like it was going to explode out of me at any second, probably killing me along with it. But I didn’t care if it killed me. As long as Drakkar got what was coming to him and my friends remained safe, that’s all I cared about.
Death came for us all eventually.
"KILL ME!" Drakkar roared, his face barely recognizable as human now, looking more demonic than anything else. Magic arced between the palms of his hands as he seemed to prepare his own attack. "KILL ME OR—"
In a moment of total calm and serenity, the rest of Drakkar’s words faded out until I couldn’t hear them, and then somehow I was able to connect with the now raging energy inside me. It was waiting for my command, which I gladly gave.
