by Steve McHugh
The detached tone in her voice chilled me slightly, and I knew that if she'd been the one behind the rifle, she would have killed Daniel just as easily as her mysterious friend. "Do you know where Daniel's daughter is?"
"She's safe right now. I have her hidden."
That was one weight off my mind. "Why are you helping me?"
Jenny took a long drink of her coke. "Because you tried to help those kids. This operation has been a long time in coming and I want to see everyone involved in it burn. Besides, despite trying not to, I actually like you."
I couldn't help but smile, which was returned in kind with one of Jenny's own.
"It's quite the coincidence that I ended up in the same building as Dani and her fake family."
"I've been thinking about that. I didn't have any ideas until you had your little episode just now, but I think your memories are a little closer to the surface than your attacker intended them to be. I'm no blood magic expert, but maybe subconsciously you knew where she was and sought her out."
It was as good an explanation as any I'd managed to think of. I finished my Coke and noticed Jenny's eyes narrowing as she watched something behind me. Her hand went into her bag, and I reached for the H&K in its holster.
"Jenny, you traitorous bitch, how did I know I'd find you here?" A man's voice sounded from the front of the pub. His footsteps tapped on the wooden floor as he moved toward us.
"Remember me?" he said as he stood between me and Jenny, resting his hands on the table.
I looked up with shock at the unblemished face of the man who had murdered Dani's mum. His dirty blonde hair fell over his shoulders, a large smile spread across his lips.
"That's right, not dead. Bullets can't kill me," he said to me before turning to Jenny. "And what should I do with you? Our lord knew you'd betray him. You fucked up back at Mars Warfare. You'd never make the mistake of not using enough tranquiliser."
"So, Achilles, you're here to kill me?" Jenny said.
"Achilles?" I said with a laugh. "Wow, you must have had the piss taken out of you at school. Did your parents hate you or something? Or had all the other Ancient Greek names been used in your household? I pity the kid named Ajax the Lesser."
A flicker of hatred started in Achilles' eyes as he looked down at me with distain. "I'll come to you, asshole," he said angrily. "First, I'm going to take you both in. I've got six men outside, ready to come in here and take you by force if necessary. So you can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"Eat shit and die," Jenny said and shot Achilles three times in the stomach. Each loud shot caused every other occupant in the room to dive to the floor or hide under the nearest table. Achilles smiled briefly, then crumpled to the floor as Jenny darted from her seat. "Come on, we haven't got long," she said to me, and started to run to the back of the pub.
I grabbed the file and followed her, bursting through a fire exit into the alleyway behind the pub, and almost running directly into Jenny who was looking up and down the alley.
"My lord's men will have stormed the pub by now, probably left a few out front in case we were stupid enough to use that exit. This way." She sprinted toward one end of the alley.
I followed her in silence for the next few minutes. We kept to the back alleys, not wanting to risk running out onto the busy streets. The thickening crowds would make it difficult to tell innocent from combatant, and I doubted our pursuers cared too much who they hurt in their need to get to us.
We stopped running outside a large building, which probably contained a few dozen flats. "We need to get to shelter. They can track us from above."
I hadn't heard any helicopters above us. "How?"
"Let's hope you don't find out," Jenny said and pressed the entire set of buzz-in buttons for the flats. At least one of them unlocked the front door without ever checking to see who it was. I would have expected people in London to be a little more security cautious.
Jenny opened the door and we hurried into a dark foyer, one flickering halogen bulb all that was left to illuminate the way. "Most of these old buildings have fire escapes close to one another. We'll check the sky when we reach the top and if it’s all clear, we should be able to jump between buildings and lose them."
We started to run up the stairs. "That doesn't sound like the best idea."
Jenny stopped just shy of the top stair on the first set. "This is our only choice. If we keep running around the streets they will catch us." She paused and took a deep breath. "If this goes to shit you've got to get that file away from here and read it. They want Welkin's research. You took it when you killed him, and no one else has been able to duplicate the results. You're the only one who knows where it is."
"Except that I have no idea."
"You have to try to remember. They won't stop coming after you and Dani until they've got you. Your only way of defending against them is attacking them. To do that, you'll need what's in those notes. They're terrified it'll get into the wrong hands and ruin them. Swear you'll try. But no matter what happens you must keep Dani and yourself safe."
I nodded. "I swear."
She took a step toward me and kissed me tenderly on the lips. "Just in case." For the briefest of moments, she looked incredibly sad. "Let's go."
She bounded up the remaining stairs and along the third floor corridor with me close behind. On the stairs to the fourth, Jenny slowed her stride as if more cautious about what was above.
About half way down the fourth floor corridor, Jenny stopped. "Remember," she said. "You must keep Dani and yourself safe. And find those notes."
"I will," I assured her. "Now let's go." I managed another step before the wall beside me exploded, accompanied by a roar that couldn't possibly belong to anything human.
Several bricks slammed into me as I dove to the ground. Pain shot through my arm as I rolled aside to get distance between me and whatever had destroyed the wall.
Dust and screams filled the air. I forced a small breeze to clear my view, and immediately wished I'd brought a bigger gun. Or an Apache helicopter.
Jenny's feet dangled a meter off the floor, her head slightly imbedded in a plaster wall opposite the now demolished flat. The thing held her by her neck. I'd never seen a living being that looked like it. Six and a half feet tall with grey, stone-like plates interlocked over each other, creating a sort of armour. Huge wings, easily the length of the main body, flicked gently with the breeze. The edges dripped blood onto the green-carpeted hallway floor.
The monster turned to look at me, its face familiar despite the grey armour and foot-long horns growing from each temple. Somewhere inside me a name reverberated, I knew what this thing was. Gargoyle.
"Guess who?" Its voice was raw and deep.
"Achilles," I responded. Two dead bodies were inside the flat he'd torn through, both of them sat in chairs watching the TV, their backs to me, heads missing from their shoulders.
"Collateral Damage," Achilles said, a long red tongue – the only part of him that wasn't a shade of grey – licked Jenny's face.
Jenny opened her eyes and emptied her revolver into Achilles' face, but the plates stopped the bullets from doing harm as they ricocheted off, striking the ceiling and walls around him.
"You fucking whore," he screamed smashing her against the wall once more.
I darted forward, hoping to use the distraction to get Jenny free, but he was too fast and one wing slashed across my face, knocking me back to the ground. The wind was knocked out of me. Blood dripped from a cut above one of my eyes. I touched it instinctively, my finger easily finding the sides of the wound. It needed stitches. A few millimetres lower and I'd have lost my eye.
"You're lucky our lord wants you alive," Achilles yelled at Jenny. Her gaze fixed firmly on me. "Him? You're worried about him?" The monster dragged Jenny over toward me, showing me to her and then launching into a kick that broke my ribs as it connected.
"Run," Jenny whispered. "You promi-."
"You shut
up," Achilles said and threw Jenny into the nearby wall. I used the change of attention to wrap tightly compressed air around my fist and caught him on the jaw with everything I had. He rocked back, blinking twice before kicking me in the chest so hard I thought he'd broken every bone from my waist up to my neck.
I flew along the corridor, impacting the wall thirty feet away with a crack as I broke plaster board and a few more ribs. I fell to the floor unable to breathe, barely able to see what was happening. One eye had a veil of blood, and the other kept seeing dark spots.
If I couldn't fight, Jenny would be taken to who-knows-where. And I'd be killed. I picked up the file I'd dropped, forced myself back to my feet and planted myself as best possible, using the nearest wall for support. "Hey, dipshit," I shouted.
Achilles turned to face me. He appeared amused, or constipated, it was hard to tell with a face made of solid rock.
"You are becoming an irritant," he said and raised his hands to stop his newly arriving comrades from using their guns to turn me into a colander.
White glyphs blared along my arms as I willed a tornado like ferocity to throw at Achilles and his friends. I stepped forward, hands out and watched as the non-gargoyle members of the party dove for cover.
Then there was a sharp pain in my arm, and the sound of a gunshot. I spun wildly to the floor followed with an explosion of agony. I got back to my knees and saw one of Achilles' friends pointing his rifle at me. Achilles pushed him aside and began to run at me, after a few steps he took off. Moving at a speed I would have thought impossible for something his size. He flexed his fingers, razor sharp claws glinting as he passed bright hallway lights.
If the claws touched me they'd slice me to ribbons, but I moved too late. And instead of avoiding Achilles altogether, I only avoided his claws. The rest of him barrelled into me, launching me through the window and into the outer brick wall of the building twenty feet opposite.
I fell about ten feet, crashed stomach first into a steel fire escape, which spun me in the air and sent me toward the concrete earth several stories below at an accelerated speed. My glyphs sprung to life and slowed my descent, but I still hit the ground hard, losing whatever air was in my lungs as the fire of pain made breathing an unbearable struggle.
I had to move. Achilles and friends would be after me, and I had promised Jenny that I'd make sure that Dani was safe. Holly... shit, if they went after Holly. I looked around for the file but couldn't find it. Then I remembered. When Achilles had hit me, the impact had knocked it out of my hand. Any chance of finding out what was going on went up in smoke.
Gunshots sounded from the window high above me, the bullets hitting the ground all around me. Apparently, 'alive' and 'in one piece' were not the same thing to Achilles' boss.
I got to my feet and moved as fast as possible down the alley, trying to keep myself out of the public eye as blood dripped steadily from my arm and eye. The gunshot had hit my shoulder, and my arm had gone numb. I really hoped it wasn't as serious as it felt, but even breathing caused me pain.
I had no idea how long it took me to reach my destination, but by the time I did, the dark spots in my left eye had turned into a permanent fixture along with dizziness and nausea.
I walked along the final alley where Jerry stood at the end. His eyes narrowed, first in suspicion and then shock as he recognised me. I fell to my knees, my body refusing to move any further. "Little help," I said and then darkness consumed me.
Chapter 18
1414, France.
"Exactly how is she a problem?" Thomas asked pointing at Ivy, who remained sitting on the edge of the bed. "Compared to the large number of angry werewolves outside, I mean?"
"We'll discuss that later," I told him and looked out the second floor bedroom window. The placement of the inn gave a great view of the surrounding village, the centre of which now contained fourteen werewolves, and their Alpha. He stalked back and forth behind the others, his yellow eyes never leaving the Inn.
"Can't you just go down there and fight them?" Thomas asked.
I shook my head. "A dozen wolves and an Alpha? I think that's a little beyond my scope for keeping both myself and you two alive." I glanced out the window again. Thomas was in no condition to fight alongside me, he'd only had his first change the previous night. He'd be more of a liability than a help.
Could I have taken them all by myself if I didn't have to worry about Thomas and Ivy? I couldn't have said with certainly that I'd have made it out in once piece. Fifteen wolves in total, not a large pack by any standards, even if you added those I'd already killed in Soissons. I could get through maybe seven or eight, before they swarmed me. I'd been lucky in the city. The wolves had been young and stupid, unprepared for a sorcerer. I would not have that surprise on my side again.
"They won't kill me," Ivy said as I tore myself away from watching the beasts below. "They brought me those bottles of perfume and some dresses. They wanted to make me happy and comfortable. Besides, their master won't let me die. They'd be severely punished."
I filed the information away for future reference and continued to search the room for something that might help. I grabbed several of the rainbow coloured bottles, each filled with scented contents.
"I don't like the perfumes," Ivy said mostly to herself. I passed the bottles to Thomas who gave me a quizzical expression as he held them in his arms.
"Trust me," I told him with a smile. His expression didn't change. "Is there anything you want to take with you?" I asked Ivy who shook her head.
"Then we should probably take our leave." Thomas and Ivy followed me down the stairs. The perfume bottles clinked as they jostled against one another, trying to escape the confines of Thomas' folded arms.
I stepped into the inn's main hall and caught the flash of the blade and its wielder's movement as it tore toward me. I dodged in time to avoid both, but the soldier's momentum was unstoppable and he collided with the wall, still slashing wildly at me, his eyes blazing with rage. Thomas and Ivy stopped and took a few steps back, out of reach of the crazed soldier.
"Put the knife down," I said as the soldier moved steadily toward me. One arm hung uselessly at his side, the skin red and blistered where I'd set it on fire.
"You did this to me, you bastard."
I pushed a table aside with a loud crash and weighed my options. Removing the knife would be simple, a blast of air and he'd bounce off the wall. But using magic again when I didn't need to would be stupid. "Cut me then," I challenged.
The solider roared in defiance and ran at me, the knife held like a tiny lance in his hand. I waited until the last second, stepped slightly aside and immediately toward him, grabbing his arm and snapping it back over his shoulder, all in one fluid move. The solider was lifted off his feet and landed head first, his knife clattering to the floor beside him.
I kicked the small blade aside, but held onto the soldier's arm, locking it at the elbow. "I let you live because you might be useful. If not, I can always rectify that."
"I'll not help you," the Frenchman said. "You are monsters. People who would do our country harm. That girl will make France the greatest nation on earth."
"Says the child murderer. You were at Soissons, yes?"
Fear dotted his eyes as he nodded slightly. "The English deserve..."
I raised my hand to silence him. "You will answer one question or I will pass you to my English friend over there." The Frenchman's eyes darted to Thomas. "He's not happy with what you did to his countrymen. He'll take pieces of you before you die, and I don't feel like stopping him. Apart from the wolves, what's out there?"
"Nothing," he said. "They are beasts sent to us by God himself, to make our country great."
"I'm sure they are," I said and knocked him out with one punch.
Thomas placed the perfume bottles on an empty table. "So, do you have a plan?"
"The perfume should mask our escape. I just need to figure out the escape bit."
Thomas jumped
slightly as the door to the inn opened and a man stepped inside. The door slammed shut behind him. He wore long, dark red robes, which covered him entirely, leaving only the dark boots on his feet, and bare hands visible. Under the hood, his face was shrouded in darkness. But something about him was familiar, and dangerous.
"I thought I would come and see those who cause us so much trouble." The man spoke in English, although I didn't recognise the accent. "What a surprise to find it's you Nathanial." He placed more hatred and bile in my name than few I could remember.
My mind raced as I tried to figure out who he was. "Have we met?"
The man chuckled. It was much more disturbing than I'd ever thought a chuckle could be. "Maybe a demonstration is in order." He raised one hand toward the unconscious French soldier who began to spasm as he was lifted off the ground and forced into an upright position.
Thomas' eyes never left the soldier, a look of horror on his face. Ivy was also terrified, but there was something else there too—anger. She hated this man with a fury. I studied the hooded figure, aware of what he was doing, and felt some anger of my own.
A dark spiral, almost black in colour, appeared on his outstretched palm. The tail followed along the artery in his wrist and down his forearm, where it vanished from view under the sleeves of his robe. A crunching sound gained my focus as the soldier writhed in midair. Suddenly, there was an almighty crack and blood exploded from the sides of the still alive soldier, drenching the surrounding furniture and floor.
Another crunch followed immediately after and the soldier’s eyes vanished in a mist of red as his skull was crushed.
Finished with his sickening display, the sorcerer casually dropped the Frenchman's body to the floor. "Understand now?" The sorcerer asked in an amused tone.
"Who are you?" I demanded as my glyphs glowed against my skin.
"Still don't recognise me? I suppose it has been a very long time." He opened the door. The wind outside had picked up, blowing leaves through the strangers legs and into the inn. "How about now?" he pulled his hood back in one flourish.
