The Brotherhood of the Snake (Return of the Ancients Book 2)

by Carmen Caine

  He looked at me as if I were insane, but seeing that I was really following through, he trailed behind, gingerly picking his way through the snow.

  I flashed my beam at the odd gnome, taking heart in the fact that it didn’t look like a chupacabra at all. It was just a hunched little man wearing a black suit with a black top hat.

  But there was something about it that made me uneasy.

  I hesitated and slowed my step, and suddenly wanting Ajax closer, I whistled over my shoulder. “Hurry up, Ajax!”

  That only made him rebel, and he immediately sat down.

  “Thanks a lot,” I muttered, turning back to the weird garden gnome.

  Only it wasn’t there.

  I flashed my beam around as my heart began to race.

  It was gone.

  “What is it, kiddo?” Al asked, moving to join me.

  Finally finding my voice, I whispered, “It’s gone!”

  I glanced back at Ajax.

  He wasn’t in the least bit upset. In fact, he took the opportunity to yawn in my face, sending me the clear message that he was bored out of his mind.

  Al’s face knit into a frown but then he brightened. “A rookie mistake! The snow must be creating optical illusions for us tonight. Come on, kiddo. We’ve still got the last half of the block to cover!”

  I didn’t buy it for a second.

  I scrambled out of her yard as fast as I could, vowing to never set foot in it again. Al was giving me further instructions, but I couldn’t concentrate.

  That hunched figure had been alive.

  But what was it?

  It wasn’t Fae, and it wasn’t a chupacabra.

  But then, recalling that the Fae could shape-shift, I wondered if it was Brock. Rafael had told me that I’d have bodyguards.

  That thought made me feel safer all at once, and I began calming down, even as my logic told me there was no way on Earth that the vain Fae would shape-shift into an ugly garden gnome wearing a black suit with a black top hat.

  I began listening to Al once again when we arrived at a long cement wall that protected the neighborhood from traffic noises. In the center of the barrier there was an open archway, leading across the street into another neighborhood.

  “What about over here?” I said, stepping forward and pointing through the opening.

  “No need,” Al informed me. “That’s the responsibility of Block 241. We’re Block 240. We stay in our territory, kiddo.”

  “Check!” I said.

  He turned to go, and I moved to join him when Ajax bolted past me with a low, barely audible growl. Stretching his neck, he half climbed, half jumped onto the wall and ran along the top before crouching to pounce down on the other side.

  I gasped and began calling him, but he didn’t respond.

  But then, I hadn’t really expected him to.

  “You better go get him, kiddo!” Al said, pulling a walkie-talkie out of his pocket. “We don’t want to give Block 241 a false alarm now.”

  I didn’t want to move.

  Had Ajax sensed a Mesmer?

  Somehow, I didn’t think he had. He wasn’t acting as vicious as he had before, but I wasn’t brave enough to find out.

  I was just going to ask Al to go with me, when something through the opening caught my eye.

  A white-cloaked figure had flitted across the street.

  Instantly, I knew it was the same white-cloaked form that I’d seen in the Hall of Mirrors.

  I gasped.

  “What’s that?” I heard Al ask.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw him walk in the opposite direction towards what looked like a soggy cardboard box and poke it suspiciously.

  Ajax appeared in the opening of the barrier. He stood there looking at me, clearly wanting me to follow.

  I took a deep breath, knowing I had to go.

  It was harder than I thought to force my feet forward, but somehow I managed it, and then I was standing next to Ajax, peering through the opening and wildly swinging my flashlight beam in wide arcs.

  Almost immediately my beam caught a man’s tall form slumped against the wall a few feet away.

  I opened my mouth to scream, training the beam straight into his eyes by pure accident. But before I managed a squeak, I heard a familiar voice.

  “Get that light out of my face, Sydney!”

  It was Jareth.

  “What are you doing out here?” I shouted at him angrily, furious that he’d scared me half to death.

  He staggered forward a few steps and then fell to his knees.

  All at once, I became concerned.

  I ran to his side, arriving just as he pitched forward into my arms, nearly knocking me off my feet. He was heavier than he looked.

  “Are you ok?” I asked, shaking his shoulders a little.

  He mumbled a few incoherent words before falling silent.

  I shook him again, but he didn’t respond.

  I heard the sound of a car zooming down the road, and Rafael’s Bentley pulled up just as Al stepped through the archway to join us.

  “What is it?” Al asked as Rafael jumped out of his car.

  “He’s drunk,” Rafael said quickly, bending down to slip his arm under Jareth’s shoulder. “I’ll take care of him. There’s no need to be concerned.”

  Al didn’t say anything. He just watched as I helped Rafael bundle Jareth into the Bentley, and in moments, they zoomed away without giving me a chance to even tell Rafael about the white-cloaked figure.

  I glanced down at Ajax, sitting quietly at my feet. It was good to know that apparently Rafael could still hear him without his sense of Light.

  Al gestured through the archway, and I followed, returning to our designated block.

  We walked in silence for a time.

  I didn’t know what to think, but I knew that Jareth hadn’t been drunk.

  What had happened?

  I was lost in thought, wondering about Blue Threads, Fate Trackers, fate and destiny, and we were almost home when I found myself asking Al, “Do you think we can change fate?”

  His brows knit into a line. “I don’t know what that word really means, Sydney,” he said after a time. “You can’t change the truth, that’s for sure. But you can change whatever it is that you’ve resigned yourself to accept.” He reached over and patted me on the head.

  “But what if it’s the truth that the future holds a horrible fate?” I pressed.

  “You won’t know until you see where you end up, kiddo.” He chuckled. “Until then, you’ve got to keep coming up with ideas to solve your problems. You never know, you might have one of those plot twists in life that turns everything upside down at the last second. But you’ll never know that until you fight your best fight until the end.”

  I liked that answer. It just seemed to click.

  “No one see’s their fate until it’s done,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “So that’s why I really don’t know what the word means. Sometimes, I think people just throw around words like ‘fate’ because they’ve run out of things to try and then just give up. But they end up missing what it’s really all about.”

  I looked up at the tall, bald man walking beside me, thinking he was one of the wisest people I’d ever known.

  And then he said the words that changed my life forever.

  “You’ve got a smart head on that shoulder of yours, kiddo!” He beamed at me proudly. “I’d say there’s nothing you can’t do if you set your mind to it. So, just go make your dreams come true. You can fly to the moon and beyond!”

  Dreams.

  Rafael and Jareth had said before that humans were unique in that way, that they had the ability to make their dreams come true.

  Yes, they’d seen the giant Blue Thread dangling over my head.

  But they most certainly hadn’t factored in the human power to dream.

  They couldn’t have.

  They didn’t understand what dreams even were.

  Something deep inside
of me ignited, and I knew I’d hit upon something that could change my life.

  I just had to figure out exactly how to make it happen.

  Chapter Sixteen – The Many Uses of Nail Polish

  Arriving home, I went straight to bed, and I wasn’t the only one who thought they were exhausted. Ajax jumped onto the pillows and stretched out, pretending to fall sound asleep in five seconds.

  I stared down at him angrily.

  “How can you possibly be tired?” I fumed. “You sleep at least twenty hours a day! I’ve never seen such a lazy dog in my life, and with Tigger in the house, that’s saying something!”

  A microscopic twitch of an ear betrayed his reaction to my insult. I supposed I was lucky he’d decided to fake being asleep, otherwise he’d probably have pinned me against the wall all night, growling in my ear.

  I scowled.

  I was tired of him treating me like his prey, and I certainly wasn’t about to curl up all night at his feet like a dog. He was the dog, and he needed to be reminded of that fact.

  It was about time he knew I could be a worthy adversary.

  I stood there, tapping my chin and forming a dastardly plan. With a wide grin, I slipped into the family room where Betty sat dreaming up uses for twelve gallons of neon purple nail polish.

  She was more than happy to pour some into a paper cup for me, and I headed to the kitchen to rummage through Al’s spy cupboard for his bag of brushes. I knew they were labeled to be used for dusting fingerprints, but by the layer of dust on the bag, I was pretty sure he hadn’t dusted any fingerprints in a long time.

  Returning to my room, it took much longer than I’d originally planned to accomplish the deed because I didn’t want him to wake up and catch me in the act. I ended up staying awake almost half the night. But by the time I fell asleep, I was pretty pleased with the results and didn’t even mind curling up at the bottom of the bed.

  I woke up to the sound of Grace’s alarm clock.

  One look out the window told me school was closed, but I joined her in the family room to confirm it.

  “School’s closed, school’s closed,” Grace kept repeating under her breath as she grabbed the remote and flipped the TV on.

  “It’s closed,” I promised her.

  She sent me a hopeful smile.

  The newscaster’s voice filled the room. “—I disagree with you, Craig. Jareth’s already achieved superstardom. And it’s not that album going platinum yesterday that proves it. It’s the astounding number of teenage girls that packed the arena in L.A. last night that settles that score!”

  The camera panned to cover what looked like thousands of screaming girls, some holding up signs begging Jareth to marry them.

  “Well, I stand corrected, Ann.” Craig’s deep voice laughed through the speakers. “Who can argue with that many fans? I can only imagine what Seattle will look like next month when he performs at Key Arena!”

  As both of the newscasters bantered, the TV showed footage of concert stage lights dimming as Jareth zoomed in on a motorcycle, wearing what looked like a black leather dragon costume, complete with two-foot ridges along his spine. As he leapt off the motorcycle, it vanished in a flash of light and smoke. And throwing his head back, he lifted his arms as more fireworks shot off around him and from the ridges on his spine.

  “What an entrance that was!” The newscasters laughed. “Finally, we’ve got a teen idol that not only can actually sing but knows how to put on a fantastic show.”

  As Jareth began a song, the image zoomed out to focus on the newscasters shaking their smiling heads before segueing onto a story about tigers at the zoo.

  Grace stared at the TV before turning to me in confusion. “How did he get back so fast? I saw Rafael lifting him out of the car just last night.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t Jareth.”

  “No, it was Jareth.” She frowned and added, “Even if it wasn’t, I saw him at the coffee shop an hour earlier when we dropped by to see if you needed a ride. He couldn’t have gotten back from L.A. that fast.”

  “I’m sure he’s got a private jet or something,” I mumbled. Jareth was getting sloppy, but I felt it was my duty to cover for him somehow—at least a little, anyway.

  I was rescued by the newscasters announcing what Grace had been waiting for, and forgetting all about Jareth, she ran squealing in delight through the house.

  The winter storm had officially arrived.

  School was closed.

  We returned to bed to snooze for a while.

  Ajax hadn’t bothered to wake up yet.

  I couldn’t wait until he did, and with a goofy grin of anticipation on my face, I settled back at the foot of the bed to idly stare at my hand, recalling the Light Queen’s golden feather. But then since I still couldn’t see it, I finally gave up wondering about it and let my thoughts shift to Rafael. What was he up to? I was worried about him and hoped he was doing ok.

  And what had happened to Jareth? But he’d clearly recovered, because he’d seemed just fine on TV.

  It was late morning when the doorbell rang, and I heard Betty answer the door and Rafael’s deep tones respond.

  I leapt out of bed, nearly knocking Ajax onto the floor.

  Was everything ok? Had something happened?

  At the very least, I had to tell Rafael about the white-cloaked figure that I’d seen.

  Tossing a flannel shirt over my pajamas and running my fingers through my hair, I stumbled into the living room just in time to hear him say, “I’ll come back later, then.”

  “Good morning!” I said, stepping up behind Betty.

  She whirled in surprise and laughed. “I guess I’m wrong, she’s awake!”

  With a warm smile, she puttered into the kitchen, leaving me standing there facing Rafael.

  Suddenly, I felt supremely awkward.

  I’d clearly been worrying for nothing. Rafael sure didn’t look like he was suffering any kind of inconvenience at all.

  In fact, he looked utterly gorgeous, even more so than usual.

  Immaculately dressed in a stylish black coat with a turned up collar, he’d unbuttoned it just enough to reveal a gray netted shirt stretched tight over his muscular chest. And while a healthy dose of eyeliner ringed his eyes, he’d pulled his blond hair back in a simple ponytail.

  It was a look that made my heart lurch as my mind went completely blank. And I’m sure that I would have appeared a complete fool had I not been rescued by an unlikely ally.

  Ajax chose that moment to appear.

  His black fur bristled at the sight of me, and he lifted his lip in an outright sneer to reveal his shiny white teeth. But this time, I could only grin.

  “How do you like those nails, Ajax?” I asked, wiggling my brows at his bright neon purple toenails.

  As Ajax growled, Rafael tossed his head back and laughed a deep, resounding laugh that warmed me to the bottom of my toes.

  “Too bad dogs are color blind,” I said with genuine regret.

  “Oh, he definitely sees that shade,” Rafael assured with a charming smile. Turning to Ajax, he added, “I’ve warned you never to wage war with a female. You’ll lose every time.”

  I could have stayed there forever, hanging on the door, simply chatting with him, but then the events of the night before played through my mind, and I grew serious all at once.

  “What happened?” I asked in a low voice. Mesmers? The Tulpa?

  “He has no recollection,” Rafael replied softly. “It’s highly unusual.”

  That bothered me. Leaning close to make sure I wasn’t overheard, I prodded, “Mesmers?”

  He shook his head.

  I was just about to tell him about the white-cloaked figure when Al’s voice rang out. “Get suited up, girls! The snow’s deep enough for some survival training!”

  I squinted over my shoulder to see him approach, waving his toast excitedly in the air.

  “Good morning.” Rafael bowed politely.

  “And
a good morning to you, Rafael!” Al gave him a jovial greeting in return. “Why don’t you come along and join us? You’re new to the area. I’ll teach you a few things you’ll never learn in medical school!”

  It took me a moment to recall that when they’d first met, Rafael had told Al that he was a medical student.

  To my delight, Rafael smiled and said, “I’d love to.”

  But then there was a loud crash across the street, and Jareth stumbled into view to stand unsteadily in the middle of the icy street. Shading his eyes, he peered our way before staggering over to join us, sliding several times along the way.

  Al stood in the doorway next to me, chomping his toast and watching Jareth’s every move with a deep interest.

  I wondered if he still thought Jareth was an FBI agent. Taking one look at him this morning, I didn’t see how anyone could think he was. In fact, I found myself doubting he was even a Fae Fate Tracker.

  He stumbled onto the porch, shirtless, wearing only a torn leather vest—revealing a pretty amazing set of washboard abs—and his staple black leather pants. But it was his exhausted face, red-rimmed eyes, and the eyeliner running down his face that made him look like he was suffering a hangover of the worst kind. Even his usually tortured hair hung strangely limp today.

  Suddenly, I was worried. Something was really wrong with Jareth.

  I could see my concern mirrored in Rafael’s eyes.

  Al was practically pulling Jareth inside the house. “Come in, come in, Jareth! It’ll be nice to have you boys come along. We’ll make it a competition.”

  They both entered then, after stomping the snow off of their boots as Jareth winced and repeated, “Competition?” After a moment, he seemed to get a hold of himself because he added belligerently, “That’ll be unfair to everyone else. I always win competitions.”

  I scowled. He might be suffering and appear down, but his ego was unaffected.

  “You could use some breakfast, Jareth.” Al decided as he pushed him into the kitchen. “Betty’s waffles will do the trick. Go sit down.”

  Rafael hung back, and I seized the opportunity.

  “Last night when I found Jareth, I saw the white-cloaked figure,” I hissed, gripping his arm.