by CT Knight
CHAPTER 16
Psychologically speaking, the dream state can help reveal truths from the subconscious. I always wondered if that part of the mind knew everything. As if we were all, human and other, clairvoyant to some degree. I know I’ve had dreams that have answered questions that I had. And in this case, I had quite a few. As a student of the mystic arts the dream state was like having two subconsciouses, one to dream, the other to observe. It didn’t happen like that every time. Usually it only occurred during high stress situations. Not unlike the case I was working.
The first sight I got was the tattoo on Sasha’s neck. Here it was in my memory, as clear as day. Unobscured and right in front of me and I still couldn’t place where I’d seen it or what it was from.
The image dissolved quickly, giving way to my old class. There were many places of magic instruction all over the world. I chose one of the Eastern schools. Mostly because, unlike the others, mine gave its students their choice of discipline. If fire was your thing, you could learn fire casting. Wand work, that’s what you took. I chose balance magic. In my younger days, I was a bit of a hot-head. People kept telling me I needed to calm down and get myself under control. It took Professor Xin to guide me. He was the only one who understood how.
I saw him and me standing in the courtyard of the school. There were different runes and symbols, indicating the different disciplines, all over the concrete floor. I was standing on a yin-yang while Xin walked around me.
“You flow through chaos like it is your life,” he said. “You did not have a difficult upbringing. Why do you steer toward the uncontrollable?”
I just stood there. I didn’t have an answer. Worse, though, was that my silence was an act of defiance, like even if I did know why, I wouldn’t have told him. It was a dumb stubbornness. I watched Xin swat the back of my knees with a thin cane. My younger self buckled to the ground but quickly rose back up, ready to fight. Black and white smoke rose from the concrete and wrapped around my wrists, keeping me in place. I remembered that day. I learned a valuable lesson that day.
“The forces of chaos and control exist in constant struggle with one another,” Xin went on. “If it were not for this struggle, one would overtake the other and both would cease to exist.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” I said. “If good beats evil then only good is left.”
“You have such conviction in your words.”
I smiled, smugly, thinking I’d finally gotten one over on the Professor.
“Tell me, what is light without dark?”
“That’s a stupid question.” The nerve I had. Even as I watched the dream play out, I wanted to punch my younger self.
Xin swatted my arm with the cane. If only I’d known the bruise that would come later.
“Light. Without dark, light is still light.”
Xin shook his head. “How can you define the opposite of anything without mention of its opposite?”
My eyes dropped to the ground then shifted toward the red welt forming on my arm. “There’s nothing to fix if nothing is broken.”
I had mouthed the words as I watched my younger self speak them.
“Correct,” Xin went on. “This is your path. Of course, you could choose spell binding if you wish. But you would need to work in harmony with yourself first.”
I looked at the swirls around my wrists. They were opposite ends of the color spectrum. That was a long day. Figuring out how to free myself took more thought than I’d given on any other day in that school. I watched as my dream self alternated each arm, trying to free it. I looked like I was weight lifting. Left then right, repeat. Using individual arms didn’t work.
It really was dumb luck that I’d finally figured out the secret. And I felt pretty stupid when I realized clasping my hands together, bringing the two forces into one, was the trick. Unfortunately, my defiance wasn’t done yet.
The dream changed to the day of learning seances. At my school, we may have been able to choose what we really wanted to learn but just like any college, there were still basics. As with any skill—whether it was magic, math or martial arts— there was a certain amount of foundational knowledge that had to be learned before a student could advance.
Ten of us were in that class. And I watched myself as I opened a more advanced book on the subject of summoning. Xin hadn’t seen me do it. I shook my head, watching the whole thing play out and wishing I could change what happened next. That was the day my entire life went upside down.
My younger self whispered the words from the book and that’s when the whole world flipped. I was knocked up into the ceiling. And when I came back down, I was a different person. There stood the warlord, laughing in that room full of nine scared students and Professor Xin, who seemed more confused than frightened.
The two fought but it was less magic lightning bolts and more a test of martial skill. The old ways seemed more savage than the new. Xin’s movements were more fluid, combined with massive amounts of force. I remembered the fear that had gripped me while I stared out through my eyes but watching Xin attack through the warlord’s vision.
Xin’s cyclical motions were so graceful and fluid, it was difficult to believe how hard his hits were when he finally struck. A straight punch sent the warlord staggering backwards. Xin didn’t let up, keeping the warlord off kilter. Or at least he did until a solid block stopped him. It was my turn or rathe the warlord’s.
There was no grace. No flawless actions between movements. Just raw, straight forward strikes. The first hit Xin in the chest, knocking him backward. A few of the students tried to use low level spells against the attacker but nothing worked. The second hit was a foot to Xin’s face, knocking the Professor onto his back. He was quickly realizing he could not win the fight this way.
Suddenly a smoky human shape rose from the ground. It grabbed the warlord and started pulling us both downward. To where, I didn’t know. The warlord drew a sword and swiped at the form, making it dissipate. It was the only time I’d been thankful for the new enemy.
More of the forms started to appear and Xin ordered the other kids behind him. The warlord turned his attention to the spirits that clawed at him, fighting them off as they tried to drag him and me away. Even as I watched the dream play out, I could feel the same terror I’d felt then. Strange, even as a— former—practitioner of the magic arts and even though I knew it was a dream, my mind still couldn’t differentiate between it and reality.
I watched as Professor Xin took a wide stance, his feet just a little wider than his shoulders. What came next would lead me to never question the man again. He gestured with his entire body, making wide circles with his arms. To this day, I still didn’t know what kind of magic that was. A faded white force blasted out from him. It struck the apparitions, dissolving them. Then he curled his hands into claws and pulled at the warlord, separating the two of us.
Once I was freed, I ran to the others but the warlord was pulled right back to me, like a rubber band, snapping back into place.
Xin tried to separate us again but it was no good. I was panicking and started yelling out every spell I could think of. None of it, at the time, was strong enough to do much damage. Books flew off shelves. Small rain clouds formed out of thin air. And one of the kids started speaking in a different language. At our skill level, the spells were no better than pranks and parlor tricks. The more I did it, though, the louder the warlord got until he finally took over, again. He had taken over twice that day. More of the apparitions returned and Xin had to pull out the same tricks. I was lucky it worked a second time. Even luckier that it happened on Xin’s watch. He used a stasis spell on me, binding my body and my mouth. As uncomfortable as that was, he made the right call. In that state, I couldn’t conjure anything, keeping the warlord from re-manifesting. It was that day that we learned what my fate was. It would be even later when I learned who the warlord was.
The Professor turned to me. Not my younger me. Dreaming me.
&n
bsp; “You know what must be done.” The next thing I saw was his cane flying straight at my head.
My eyes burst open and I took a deep breath before surveying the cavern. I wasn’t entirely sure I wasn’t still dreaming. Sasha sat on the floor against the wall, clutching her wound. She looked a little better than before. One bonus about shifters: they healed pretty quickly. But while the cut may have been closing, she’d still lost a lot of blood. And hospitals weren’t known for having shifter blood types. It would take a little longer before she would feel normal.
I looked around for John. His howl led me right to him. John Wallace stood on top of the Chaos Minion, victorious over the monster. Both battlers looked haggard and bloody but it was John who was still alive. He turned to me and stepped off of the beast. His breathing was heavy and the look in his eyes suggested he wasn’t done with the carnage. But his reversion back to human form proved otherwise. John dropped to his knees. He was done. It would be a while till he could shift like that again. I hoped he’d feel back to normal sooner than that. Things were escalating and there might be even larger minions to contend with.
I used the wall to help get back to my feet and walked over to Sasha. “You OK?”
“I will be,” Sasha said.
“Good. Because you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.” I wasn’t happy and now that things had calmed down, I had no reservations about letting her know it, regardless of her being a client.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“There is no sister, is there?”
She shook her head.
“Then what did you hire me for?”
“Earlier, in the nightclub, I was hiding from the Acolytes. I saw you chasing the familiar and thought you could help me.”
“Why were you hiding? Help you with what?”
“I needed a bodyguard.”
“I could have given you any number of people for that. I’m a detective. Not private security.” Though it did, sometimes, come with the job.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Pendragon…It’s just…” She started up with the tears again.
“Stop. Don’t…It doesn’t matter anyway. We’re in it, now,” I said, hoping the words would calm her down. “Why are they after you? What’s so special about your blood?”
She took a deep breath, obviously concerned with her next words.
“They were after me because my blood is royal.”
“Say that again,” John demanded.
“I am Princess Sasha Verhaven. Last of the Verhaven royal line.”
CHAPTER 17
I knew I’d recognized that tattoo. It was her family crest. The Verhavens were a royal line from medieval days. There wasn’t much on how they rose to power. The oral stories passed down had changed so much over the past several hundred years. The current theory was that before the first Verhaven patriarch became king, he slew an actual king, carved off his face and wore it, fooling everyone in the land. That would make it the first evidence of a human shifting into another human. In his disguise, he disowned the real king’s children, divorced the queen and kicked them all out before taking a werecat chamber maid as a bride. I guess that would have made them perfect for each other. From that point forward, if the theory was true, the newest generations would prosper and grow, creating the royal line of Verhaven.
Whether or not any of that theory was true had long become irrelevant in the world we lived in. Today’s society had little to no use for monarchies or royals. Of course, what happened to the rest of the family was an even bigger scandal. If Sasha really was the last, then it was possible she knew the truth. Though I doubted wanting to relive the tale of her family’s murder at the hands of witches who flayed them alive then put them in boiling water was high on her list. It made me glad to not be of any royal blood. Nope, I was just the vessel for a power hungry feudal warlord who the denizens of Hell would very much like as a new resident. I’m not sure which was worse.
“You had me running around the city, searching for a damn cat?” John asked. I could see the white streak of hair on his head bristling.
“Like you’re any better, Lycan-trash!” Sasha accused.
The two made strange sounds at one another. Human vocal cords could sort of imitate animal sounds. These two, as both human and animal were experts at it. Certainly, they were closer to the real thing than I was.
“Both of you stop it!” I shouted. “Now, I think that, at the moment, I’m the only one with enough strength to give any orders around here. That includes you, Princess.”
“I guess that’s what happens when you take a nap,” John said, vindictively as he rose back to his feet.
I ignored the comment. “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth in the first place?” I asked Sasha.
“Would you have helped if I had?”
I stayed quiet.
“I thought, if there was a case to solve, that I could just stay with you.”
“Until what, Princess? Until I took care of all the Acolytes one by one? Were we just going to go all over the city, searching for clues that might not exist, searching for a sister that definitely didn’t? So far today, Maury has tried to kill me. John has tried to kill me— Well, beat me up for money, but—”
“It just went double after all this,” John said.
“Cost me more money,” I went on. “And had me attacked four times. Two of which involved trying to save you.” My attitude was more than justified but still, I felt a little bad about leaning into her. Here we were, her life was on the line and I was making her feel guilty about it.
“I’m sorry,” she said. It was clear to me that she really did feel guilty about the deceit.
“Well, if sorry fixed everything,” John said sternly.
I raised my hand at him, indicating for him to stop. As a werewolf, I figured him for being able to tell the difference between real and false guilt. Not that it would really matter to him.
“You’re buying into this?” he asked in disbelief. “Since when has a cat ever been trustworthy, Pendragon?”
“You don’t even know me!” she lashed back.
“I guess that makes me the luckiest guy on Earth. Is there even any money? Did you think of that, Pendragon?” John asked. “She’s the last of the Verhaven’s. Was there a will and is she on it? Was she a cast off before the others had all died?”
He raised a good point. Was this a pro bono deal that I didn’t know about? I looked at Sasha. “Is he asking the right questions?”
“Does it matter, now? They have my blood. They can summon the Chaos Bringer,” She also raised a good point. Whether I got paid or not, I didn’t want to die.
“That doesn’t answer the question,” John said. He had a real one-track mind when it came to loan debts.
Sasha finally stood to her feet. She checked on her cut—it was much better than before. “Of course, the money is real. I may be the last of my line but I still have access to the family fortune. You’ll get your money since this is so important to you.” We’d obviously struck a nerve, insinuating she might not be able to pay me. It was times like that, I wished I had Maury’s way with the ladies. As flat on his face as he eventually fell, at least then, I wouldn’t feel guilty.
“Regardless,” I said. “You’re right. If we don’t stop the Acolytes from summoning the Chaos Bringer, none of us are going to have money to pay or pay back. Prime said to fall back but he didn’t say to where. That’s going to be a problem. There’s plenty of dead Acolytes here.” I looked around, trying to make a connection. “They all wear the same hoods and—John, do you think you could track them from their clothes?”
John shoved right past me. “I’m out of this. I did my part. You’re on your own.”
“How can you say that when you know what’s coming?”
“First of all, I’m not working with a cat.” He pointed at Sasha. “Second of all, it’s only coming if you don’t stop it. So I guess you’d better stop it.” He shifted into a regular wolf and turne
d back to me. “And Pendragon, whether she’s telling the truth or not, the next time I see you, you’d better have my money.” With that said, he ran up the ramp walkway and through the tunnel we’d come through.
“Next time, he says,” I mumbled. “If there is a next time.”
CHAPTER 18
I admit, I was feeling everything. Name off every possible emotion and I was having it. Four of them were stronger than others. There was the fear that we were too late and the Acolytes were going to get what they wanted. Anger that Sasha had lied to me and that the Acolytes were still out there. Sorrow because I’d been so accusing toward her. After knowing she’d lied, I shouldn’t have felt bad at all but there it was. And last, I was glad that at least she was safe.
It was going to take balance magic just to sift through all of those feelings. And then I’d have the warlord to deal with. I debated telling her about that little problem but shoved it aside. One thing at a time. Besides, if we made it out of this alive, she would pay me for my services and then I’d most likely never see or hear from her again. That was another sad thought.
I poured through the various books on my shelves, trying to find any kind of clue as to the Chaos Bringer or its followers that might tell me their next move. Sasha stared at the pendant, probably looking for the same thing. I really regretted John not being there. He could have saved us the trip to my office and tracked them down with ease. One of these days, the werewolves and werecats were going to play nice. I was determined to make that a reality.
“Prime or any of the others never mentioned a secondary place or plan if things didn’t work?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said.
I slammed a book shut. “OK. OK. Think,” I said to myself. I started pacing around. It was probably something I should have done before accepting the case. Still, it helped me process and put my thoughts in order. “I know the Chaos Bringer can only come from water.”
