by Eden Crowne
Albert ran to the goblins surrounding us, cleaving one right in two. The halves twitched spastically, blood pooling on the cement.
Vanessa snarled something at her slaves. One of the goblins stepped in to take me and she threw herself at Albert and his double daggers. A flash of silver caught the light as she pulled a sword from a scabbard strapped to her back. The clash of metal on metal sent sparks shooting out as their blades struck. They hurled curses at each other as well, the words sharp and stabbing. Lightning flashed and I could only stare at this nightmarish scene of blood and peril.
Albert's tail snaked out, wrapping around one of Vanessa's ankles. With a tug he pulled her feet from under her and she fell hard onto the concrete. He raised his knives to plunge into her chest. Slipping into the super speed of between-time, one of the goblins threw itself over his mistress. The blades sliced into flesh and it screamed. Vanessa pushed the goblin from her, higher onto Albert's knives while simultaneously twisting herself out and away. Her sword swept out, a bright blur, to chop at the Daemon's tail. Too late. Albert had already sprung away. Vanessa launched herself into the air and they flew at each other like eagles locked in aerial combat. Slipstreaming between time, a hundred strikes of their swords lasting only as long as the blink of an eye. Only my blood-enhanced senses let me see what was happening.
As Albert touched ground, another goblin tried to creep in and take him from behind. The Daemon threw himself effortlessly into a backflip, slicing it to ribbons. Springing up and back, he twisted in midair as though earth's gravity had no hold on him, to face Vanessa again. His barbed tail whipped in and out leaving a jagged cut across the length of her forehead. She howled in anger.
The goblin kept shaking me like a cat does with a rat while I purposely dragged my feet, hoping to slow us down. We were still edging slowly towards the dock side. He smelled awful, like rotting meat, and I gagged. Most of his attention was focused on his mistress as she battled Albert. Vanessa screamed and I took that moment to fall to my knees, catching the goblin off guard. Somehow, I managed to pull an arm free. I forced open one of the locks on the case and had almost gotten the second latch when the goblin snatched my wrist. Swinging me around by my arm until I thought it would pull right out of the socket, he threw me across the tarmac. I landed badly; skidding across the rough surface of the road, coming to a stop on my side and sobbing from the pain. It was a moment before the world swam back into focus. The case had slipped off over my head and fallen nearby, just out of reach.
The goblin approached, its long arms dragging on the ground, the claws scraping gouges out of the tarmac. Between us lay the case. As I watched, the leather bulged out as though being pushed from the inside. It bulged again, farther this time. Lightning flashed and in the momentary burst of brilliance, I quite clearly saw a long set of claws attached to a paw emerge from the narrow opening swiping frantically at the button for the other lock. Quite suddenly it gave, the top popping open. Spitting fury emerged, clawing and screaming at the goblin in front of me. Vanessa's slave went down like wheat to a scythe. Two more goblins turned to give battle. They fell nearly as quickly. The thing, whatever it was, stood on their bodies and howled. It looked bigger than a lynx, very cat-like with a snub-nosed snout and long tail. How could it have fit inside the confines of the case? It turned towards me and all I could see were teeth.
I had a perfect moment of clarity then, when everything seemed to slow down, like when the Soul Eater attacked.
Julian's voice came from quite near shouting, “Hex, no!”
Albert looked over, just for a millisecond to meet my eyes. He was smiling, no, laughing, I think. So very Albert.
In that moment, Vanessa took the advantage, her sword striking at paranormal speed. She thrust the point deep into his chest.
Albert gasped.
I was already on my feet. Vanessa raised the sword again. Running by the demon cat-thing, heedless of fang and claw, I tackled her from behind, screaming almost as fiercely as the creature that gutted the goblin. Punching and clawing, I attacked her with a fury I didn't know I possessed. Perhaps it was the blood from Julian empowering me. Anger burned through my body. I had to keep her from hurting Albert any more. Ripping and tearing, I bit her on the throat like an animal and tasted her blood.
Then Julian was there with the Fudo cord. He shouted something and the cord burned red. Vanessa screamed when it touched her and I could smell the awful stink of burning flesh. Pushing me away, though I wanted to keep hitting her, he slapped a piece of duct tape over her mouth, then bound her arms tightly to her sides.
Overhead a massive flock of crows crowded together, cawing harshly.
Three human bodies lay still on the broken tarmac of the wharf, along with a number of goblins and other creatures. It was hard to tell how many as most of them were in pieces. There was so much blood. It collected in great pools that seeped into the cracks. The humans didn't look dangerous now. They just looked sad and pathetic, their bodies twisted, never to get up again. Someone had loved these people once, before they became Soul Eaters. Perhaps they still did: mothers, fathers, lovers and friends. It was awful and I couldn't find words for the tumult of feelings ripping through me. I wanted only to slide off this supernatural learning curve and fall back into the welcoming embrace of ignorance.
Julian was breathing hard. He stood straight and tall, though very still. I knew he was using his other sense, the magical one, to scan the area for more attackers.
Kneeling over Albert, I stripped off my fleece jacket pressing it to his wound, trying to apply as much pressure as I could, like I'd seen on TV.
“Oh Albert, I'm so sorry, so very sorry,” I sobbed.
He reached up with one hand to stroke my cheek, wiping at the tears falling one after the other.
“Alexandra,” he spoke so softly I had to lean very close to hear the words. “Darling girl, what man wouldn't die to protect you? Without Miss Carpenter, this world would be a very shabby place.” He gave me the ghost of his flirty smile. “I've been waiting to meet you for a very long time, I think.” A spasm of pain took him. He began to cough.
A little trickle of blood stained his lips and I kissed it away, without even thinking. “Please don't die Albert,” I whispered in his ear.
His voice was terribly hoarse. “I shall do my best.”
Julian was at my side then. He looked grim. Pulling a vial from one of his pockets, he poured it into Albert's mouth.
“Tastes vile,” Albert wheezed.
“It will put hair on your chest,” Julian said, the teasing smile playing around his lips, though his green eyes stayed hard and jewel bright. He squeezed the Daemon's shoulder.
Handing me a little container that looked for all the world like a salt shaker, Julian said only, “Sprinkle it on the wound, all of it.” Then he stood, looking straight ahead at something I could not see. The wicked curved blade was back in his hand, his other grasping the hexagram medallion. The wind had come up, tossing his silver hair and causing his long coat to billow behind him. Lightning flashed and the sky rumbled. Nearby the cat creature yowled, pacing back and forth, never taking its eyes off Julian.
Far above my head, the mass of crows began to fly faster and faster; swirling together at an impossible speed until they became a single, swarming black mass. Touching the ground, the dark wind melted away, revealing a figure.
Governor Chen.
He was standing calmly, his hair unruffled, wearing, I thought, the same shiny gray suit of that night in The Harbor.
He clapped his hands. “Well done, Lake. I am quite impressed.”
Chapter 37
Wasp in Amber
“Where is Baldur?” Julian's voice had the hard edge from our battle with Savan back in it.
“Baldur is gone. Politely declined my request for his appearance and told me to, well, you can imagine what he told me to do.” Chen gave a low chuckle. He seemed very amused by everything that was happening.
“Where
has he gone?” The change in Julian's voice was unmistakable. I thought I would be very careful if I heard that tone from someone as powerful as Julian Lake.
Chen seemed to recognize it as well. The playful manner melted away and his voice lost it's bantering flavor. “Try Europe. He's Icelandic. Very old Icelandic. Baldur Sigrunson. I don't think he liked Asia, despite his luck with the lottery. He is rather reclusive. Something slightly off about him, if you know what I mean, even for a sorcerer.”
I got the feeling that Chen disliked the absent Baldur.
“And the third Soul Eater? Who holds the final piece of Alexandra's soul?”
Chen narrowed his eyes. “Really Lake, you are overestimating the value of your hostage. You have Vanessa and now you know a little more about Baldur. Don't be greedy.”
Julian said nothing for a long time. Finally he seemed to come to some decision. “We must get help for our friend. Let us make the exchange as quickly as possible.”
“Very well.”
Julian whistled out and a few moments later Blaze materialized, dragging Amber Lynne along with him, the rope binding her arms between his teeth. They must have been quite nearby, hidden by the Shadow Hound's magic. He whined and whimpered, coming to sniff at Albert. Julian picked up the rope binding Amber Lynne and Blaze moved to lick anxiously at his master's face.
Vanessa knelt on the ground near Julian, her arms bound tightly to her sides by the Fudo cord. The red weals on her skin from the demon cord's burning magic dripped blood. They hadn't done that with Savan. Julian must have upped their power for this encounter. Looking daggers at Julian, she mumbled behind the duct tape, rolling her eyes.
Moving his knife to rest on her throat, Julian removed the sticky gag. “Careful. Any spells and I will positively enjoy cutting out your tongue.”
Looking at the hard set to his face, I believed he would do exactly that.
Vanessa glared at him. She was battered and bloody and looked nothing like the engaging young socialite who so beguiled me.
She spoke not to Julian, but Chen. “What's going on, Governor?”
“We're trading. Lake gives us the girl, we give him you.”
Her jaw literally dropped and it was a few seconds before she spoke. “You're giving me up? Me? Why?”
“I don't like you.” Chen gave Vanessa what I can only describe as a scornful look.
"You're the Captain; you have to help me!" The blood from the cut on her forehead was running into one eye, leaving a vivid red smear across her face.
“I don't have to do anything I don't want to. Honestly, did you think that little bait-and-switch trick you played in London went unnoticed? You were the Captain of the Cerebus Cell. Captains are not entitled to a piece of the soul-pie. Greedy, greedy girl. You just couldn't wait your turn, so you killed Rafael shortly after the ceremony and harvested his portion won rightfully in the lottery. You broke the rules. There are consequences. This,” he indicated Julian, “is your consequence.”
I glanced at Julian. He was staring at Vanessa with an expression I couldn't decipher. He seemed, shocked.
“Bastard!” She strained forward, still on her knees. “Those rules apply to you as well!”
“Precisely. Lake's timely appearance and superior skills,” he gave a short bow in Julian's direction. “I stand in awe, Lake, in awe.” Facing Vanessa again, his smile widened. “Absolves me of guilt in your death. There is a subtle, yet important, difference in killing you myself and failing to act in your defense. Besides, I've lost enough people to this venture. No matter what the Council says.”
Julian's head snapped up at Chen's last words. “What does the Council have to do with this!”
Chen slipped his hands into his pockets and gave an insouciant shrug. “That's for me to know and you to find out. Your friend is, if I am not mistaken, bleeding to death.”
Julian slapped the tape back on Vanessa's mouth and handed the ends of the Fudo cord to Blaze. “Take her; we will meet you shortly.”
Blaze growled deep in his throat, baring his teeth. He took the Fudo cord in his clever, prehensile tail, wrapping it tightly around the two metal ends and leaving his teeth free should Vanessa try to break away. Snarling at the woman who wounded his master, the heat from Blaze caught and flared into full flame. Vanessa cried out. Without a backward glance, Blaze walked away dragging the struggling Soul Eater behind him.
“Lake?” Chen was watching us.
Julian untied Amber Lynne's hands.
She snatched the cloth gag from her mouth, tossing it in Julian's face. “You freaking, jerk-faced bastard, you'll pay for that!” Raising her hand, she tried to slap him. Catching it, he pushed her, almost casually. She stumbled back and fell to one knee, coming face-to-face with one of the dismembered goblins. Wrinkling her nose, she stood up and looked around the battlefield. I wasn't sure what sort of reaction I expected. To my surprise, she seemed totally underwhelmed.
I was still pressing my hoodie to Albert's wound after emptying Julian's shaker jar of whatever onto his chest, not quite sure what was supposed to happen next. “Julian?”
“Lake?” said Chen again.
Amber Lynne waved gaily at the cell Captain. “Can I go now?” Her voice sounded bored. “It's going to start raining again any minute and my hair will get wet.”
“Julian?” I said a little more strongly.
'This was the part of the plan where we grab her and go,' I thought. Julian would pick up Albert, I'd hold onto Amber Lynne, and, well, the rest seemed a bit hazy. Julian must know what to do. Muscles tensed, ready to run, I glanced quickly at the sorcerer. He still hadn't changed position.
“Leave her to them, Alexandra. It is what she wants.”
At that moment, his words took me completely by surprise. They shouldn't have. This was Julian. Cold, magical, monster Julian. What had I expected?
“Wait. What? No. It's not what I want!” Looking at Amber Lynne, part of me did want to give her back, let the Club serve her soul up on a silver platter. I couldn't though. “Julian, no. Look, I know she's petty, vain, cruel. It doesn't mean I want her dead. Not really, dead, dead. We have to stop them, save her.” I stood up, grabbing hold of his coat and trying to shake my words into him physically.
He stood, unmoving, except for the wind tossing his hair into his face. “No, we don't. We have to save you.”
“Why? Why is my life more important than hers?”
Julian's face changed, the wild look flickering behind his eyes again. “Because it is! It is to me.”
I stared at him. He didn't meant that the way it sounded. He couldn't have, or worse, maybe he did. Savan's words about Caroline flashed into my mind. There were two ways to interpret what he just said. No time to think about that now.
Speaking to Amber Lynne, I tried to transmit the desperate nature of her situation into my voice. “They are going to hurt you!”
Her eyes still on Chen, she flipped me off with one hand, not even bothering to turn around.
“You lied to me Julian, this was the plan all along, wasn't it? Wasn't it!”
“It was the only way to protect you.” Though he said it very softly, each syllable hit me like a blow.
“You don't get to make those decisions for me! Do you understand? It's not for you to choose what is good or bad for me. Those are my choices, god damn it! My life doesn't belong to you!” Angry beyond measure, I slapped him across the face as hard as I could. “You're sending Amber Lynne to her death!”
The bright light we stood under showed clearly the darkening red mark my hand made on his fair skin. He could have stopped me, his reflexes as fast as the lightning bolts shooting down from the heavens, but he didn't. He let me hit him. His face was flushed and he looked very vulnerable, standing there staring at me. Always so strong, so capable, so magical, it was easy to forget he was only a little older than me. Just for a moment, I saw something in his eyes besides the hard purpose of his revenge.
“You don't understand. I am
not sending this girl to her death, Alexandra. I am dooming others to theirs.”
I stared at him, unable to interpret what he said.
“See you around, Tod.” Her head cocked to one side, Amber Lynne ran a hand through her long red gold hair, smoothing a few errant strands a strong gust of wind had disturbed. She started to walk away, pausing to say dramatically. “Oh wait. No I won't, because you're going to turn to dust!”
A shock jolted through me. “What did you say?”
“Dust, you're going to turn to dust. Dusty, dust, dust!”
“How do you know that?”
Amber Lynne smiled cruelly. “Gawd, how stupid are you? You think the timing of our little meeting in the cafeteria, your social meltdown, the St. Valentine's Day massacre and meeting the Club were accidents?” She smiled more broadly, her face twisted and ugly. “Even my annoying mother's timely exit was part of the plan. Savan told her he knew she'd been taking thousands in kick-backs from parents of students who weren't really qualified to attend the Academy. Info supplied by yours truly. Finally. I hate that fat bitch.” Amber Lynne laughed.“And you, Tod's shoes. The Club had you marked before you even left Paris. Idiot, you were my assignment!”
I felt the rush of vertigo and fought for control. It was planned? All of it? Julian stepped closer, sensing my condition. I took a deep breath, I wasn't going to faint. I wasn't, damn it.
“Going now.” Laughing, she walked towards Chen without a backward glance.
“She is not a sacrifice. Amber Lynne is a convert. She will become one of them. Forever.”
My mind was reeling from her revelation. The Club had been tracking me, she said. None of it was a coincidence. They had pushed and manipulated me. How? I learned of the site from Brianna and Isobel. What did Isobel say? “This site will change your life.” She pushed me towards it, practically handing it to me. It couldn't...Isobel wouldn't...that was just impossible. She and Brianna were my friends. I knew it in my soul. Wherever that soul was right now.
