by Steve McHugh
“She probably didn’t know. No one does. Not unless Alan’s started opening his big mouth again.”
“If you’re off to see Alan Daly, you’re going to need Olivia’s help,” Lucie pointed out. “And I spoke to the warden there a few hours ago. Alan is fine.”
“You trust this warden?”
Lucie shook her head. “Elaine does though. She gave him the job.”
That would have to do for now. Even so, Alan was in danger, if not immediately then in due time. The Reavers might not control the prison, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get to Alan.
Alan Daly, Fiona’s husband of over seventy years, was being held in The Hole. It was one of several high-security prisons dotted around the globe. The Hole was on an island in the North Atlantic, with a permanent no-fly zone above it for anyone who wasn’t pre-cleared by Avalon. The building on top of the island was unofficially a research station, and anyone actually landing there required a helicopter, so for the most part the island was ignored by the masses.
Beneath the exterior buildings lay several miles of underground prison, making a total of ten floors; the higher the number, the deeper underground, and the more dangerous the prisoners. Floors eight to ten don’t even have any guards; they’re ruled by the prisoners themselves. These floors are a bad place, full of bad people. Alan was on the first floor, where most of the prisoners are political in nature, or are there to serve years or decades rather than centuries. They’re still pretty dangerous people, but not so dangerous that you might not make it out before someone tried to eat your face.
Lucie got another call before I could say anything else and waved as she walked off to answer it.
“You know, I might have some issues leaving this realm,” Remy said as one of the cars pulled up and we climbed inside.
“I know,” I said. “You may have to stay here.”
“I want to help, Nate,” Remy said. “If I stay here, what am I going to do? I’m a target; whoever is around me is going to be a target too.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
Remy didn’t speak again for a few minutes. “This is going to get worse isn’t it?”
“Someone is behind the resurgence of the Reavers. Someone has placed people inside the SOA, and who knows how many other organizations. Right now, I’m not in the mind to trust anyone I don’t already know. But someone has to be in charge. Until we figure out who it is, yeah, it could get worse.”
I got the impression that was what Remy had expected me to say, but that it definitely wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Him and me both.
CHAPTER 17
The hospital was teeming with LOA agents; trying to kill one of their families tended to have a pretty immediate response, and trying to kill the family of a director of the LOA was normally a reason to increase the DEFCON level of everyone.
Remy and I were let into the hospital foyer, mostly because people recognized Remy. One of them told him that Olivia was up on the sixth floor, so we walked through the hallways until we reached the lifts, where I spotted Tommy at the far end of the hall. He was standing up against a door, looking through the glass to the gardens at the rear of the hospital.
“I’ll catch you up,” I told Remy, who noticed Tommy and nodded.
“Tommy,” I called out as I walked toward him.
He turned back to me and waved. He looked tired.
“You okay?” I asked.
Tommy nodded. “We’re all good.”
“Hey, I’m sorry I got you in involved in this. Those Reavers were after me. I’d hoped that by coming here, I could warn you in case they tried to get to me through you. Turns out you were only in danger when I turned up.”
“Knock it off, I’m glad you came. You’d be dead if you hadn’t. I’m not worried about people getting to you through my family and me, and neither is Olivia. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re quite capable of taking care of ourselves. You should speak to Elaine; she might be able to help. You know I can’t go with you if you leave Camelot, though. I can’t leave my family.”
I knew. “I’d never ask.”
Tommy patted me on the shoulder. “How are you? I heard from Ellie about the venom. Has your nightmare come calling yet? I imagine your constant use of magic to keep the venom away will make it easier for it to say hi.”
A year ago, my nightmare—the living embodiment of magic that’s inside every sorcerer, one that wants to be freed to take over the body of its host—decided to help me fight a man who was making me relive the worst moments of my life. My nightmare had decided to call itself Erberus, but since then it had been mostly quiet. I hadn’t told Tommy about what happened, nor anyone else for that matter, because allowing the nightmare to take over your body was a death sentence for the host. Even if you survived the transformation, Avalon hunted down sorcerers who had allowed it to happen. So I kept it to myself. I didn’t want to have to explain that I was in control. They wouldn’t have believed me.
I looked outside and saw Kasey, her back toward us, sitting on a bench. I spotted four agents all watching her in the least discreet way possible. “Why are you watching Kasey as if she’s about to burst into flame?”
“She changed today. Went full werebeast, I’m worried about her.”
“Was that her first time?”
“Fourth. Two in the space of a week though. That’s a lot of strain on her body.”
“So, you’re standing here so you can give her space, but be close enough if she wants to chat?”
“I’ve already spoken to her, she’s scared. Her werebeast just took over. Emotions are high in young people as it is; those emotions make it easier for the beast to take over. The other changes were calm, controlled. This one wasn’t. She doesn’t know how to handle it. I told her it’s fine, told her not to worry. I’m just giving her some space to work it through. The agents were always there. Apparently an attack involving Olivia has sparked the LOA’s parental side.”
“Can I go talk to her?”
“Sure, you’re not a wolf though. Not sure how much good you’ll be.”
“I’m going to offer to be her sentinel.”
Tommy stared at me, and then enveloped me in a hug that was pretty close to breaking bones.
“Thanks for that,” I wheezed when he finally released me.
“Kasey will be over the moon. Hell, I’m over the moon. She didn’t want to ask you because . . .”
“Yeah, Ellie told me. Sorry for not even considering she might want me there. Where is Ellie anyway?”
“She’s with Olivia. She’s pretty angry she wasn’t there earlier. I don’t think she’ll be letting us out of her sight for the rest of the time we’re here. You really think they’ll try again?”
“I don’t know. I doubt it, not now that the LOA are out in force. Unless the LOA are involved.”
“Olivia and I thought that too. We don’t think they are though. No LOA agents have been involved up to now, and Olivia knows the main members in Camelot pretty well. Even so, they have psychics and sorcerers with mind magic going around checking things out. If anyone in the LOA is involved, we’ll know. At least anyone in Camelot.”
That was probably the most reassuring thing I’d been told since this whole thing started. “They seem to want to attack weaker targets; people alone or out of their element. Going after someone who has an army of heavily armed agents is probably not on their to-do list. Even so, you’re best to keep an eye out. There are members of the SOA involved in this. I can’t say that the disease of the Reavers hasn’t spread to other groups within Avalon.”
“Olivia isn’t exactly the most trusting person on the planet when it comes to other Avalon agencies, so I can’t say that knowing the SOA are compromised will change her perception.”
I pushed open the door. “I’ll be back in a few,” I told Tommy and walked out into the splendid garden.
The flowers, the names of which escaped me, were stunning. It was a cascade of color that swep
t across the garden, and probably took longer to maintain than I’d have thought possible.
“Hi,” I said as I sat beside Kasey on the wooden bench.
She turned to look at me. “Hi. I guess you’re here to tell me everything is okay. That I shouldn’t worry about the werebeast. Dad already tried that. It didn’t make me feel better.”
“Oh, you should totally be concerned about the werebeast form. It’s dangerous. You lose control and you could kill someone.”
Kasey’s jaw dropped open. “Seriously? How the hell is that comforting?”
“I’m not trying to comfort you. My job is to be honest; I thought we’d agreed on that several years back.”
“You can be a little comforting.”
“Oh okay. Let’s try this. The werebeast isn’t anything to be scared of; it’s really just a big teddy bear that needs a hug. Or teddy wolf as it were. Feel better?”
“Not even slightly.”
“Sucks to be you then.”
Kasey glared at me and then laughed. “You know fifteen-year-old girls are full of hormones, you say the wrong thing and we just go up like kindling.”
“Not literally I hope. I’d like to think spontaneous combustion is outside the realm of abilities for most teenagers.”
“Did you just come here to mock me?”
“Well, I’d mock your dad, but he’s tired and liable to punch me. I’ve had enough people try to punch me for one day.”
“I could punch you.”
“True, but you’re smaller than him. I’ll take the risk.”
Kasey laughed again and glanced behind us. “Those agents will not go away. I tried.”
“They’re here to keep everyone safe. There’s some weird shit going on in Avalon. Your mum’s people are probably best placed to make sure it doesn’t get worse.”
“I’m really sorry about losing control.” Kasey’s voice was soft, barely above a whisper. She turned away, ashamed at what she’d done.
I placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked back at me. “Don’t be daft. Do you know what happened the first time I met your dad and he turned?”
“He ate a boar.”
“He did. But a few times after that, he lost his cool and changed into his werebeast form to attack a nightmare. Almost got killed for his trouble. He let his emotions get the better of him, as everyone does on occasion. You’re no different. You lost your cool and tried to disembowel a werelion. You probably stopped me from taking any more hits, and you certainly stopped me from having to turn him into werelion jerky.”
“But I’ve known for years not to lose my cool when I finally change. And I ignored all of that.”
“In the heat of battle, emotions aren’t so easy to control. Even those of us used to fighting, used to that feeling of life or death, we can still lose it, still snap as the red mist descends across our vision. The trick isn’t stopping it from happening, it’s recognizing when it happens so you can control it. You’re not exactly trained in combat, Kase.”
“I need to be. I’m a werewolf, at some point I’ll have to fight. I need to be ready for that.”
“And that’s why Ellie is going to be one of your sentinels.”
“You know about that?”
I nodded. “She told me. She also told me that you want me to be your second sentinel. That true?”
Kasey nodded. “But I understand if you don’t want to. Dad says your history with Avalon is complicated. Actually he used more swear words than that, but I’m cleaning it up.”
I laughed. “Complicated is a good way to describe it. The problem is between me and Merlin, and a few others. Not Avalon as a whole. If you want me to be your sentinel, I’d be honored. I’ll need to figure out what the hell I’m meant to say though. I think Ellie has the wolf part of your life well and truly covered.”
“I don’t mind what you say. I just want the people I love to be at the ceremony.”
“That’s a good trick,” I said with a smile.
“What?”
“Saying the exact right thing at the exact right moment. You didn’t get that from your dad.”
Kasey laughed, glanced over at Tommy, and waved. Tommy smiled and waved back. “He’s worried about me.”
“You’re his daughter. He has every right to. In fact I’m pretty sure it’s almost his entire job when it comes to a teenage daughter.”
“I went on a date the other day. With a boy. Dad wanted to greet the door in wolfbeast form. He was going to threaten to eat him.”
An image rushed to the front of my head and made me laugh. “You’ll have to give your dad some leeway on boys. He doesn’t trust them. He was one, so he knows the mindset.”
“We just went to the cinema. Nothing scandalous occurred. Chloe took her boyfriend too. We’ve been hanging out a lot since what happened in Tartarus. I don’t even think her mum notices.”
“She’s lucky to have a friend like you. And you like her. It’s good to see.”
“Will dad ever be okay with me and boys?”
“He’ll get used to the idea. Or your mum will make him live in the shed. Either way, you win.”
We sat next to one another in silence for a while, listening to the wind as it rustled the leaves on the nearby trees.
Eventually, Kasey broke the silence, “Can you teach me?”
I was confused for a moment. “About boys? Yeah, sure, they’re all idiots. If you use that as a baseline, you can’t go far wrong.”
Kasey laughed again. “I meant about how to fight. Can you teach me how to fight?”
“Don’t you want your mum, or dad, to teach you that? Or Ellie for that matter?”
“You were Hellequin. I’ve seen you fight, I want to be able to do that.”
I shook my head. “You really don’t. No one should want to be able to do what I do. I go to a dark place where I don’t care about what I have to do to win. I can switch off that place in my head that makes me feel anything for removing someone in my way. You don’t want that.”
“No, you’re right, but I do want to be trained by the best. That’s you. Dad and Mum both said in a straight fight, you’re probably better than them. Having werewolf strength is great, but if someone can use that against me, what’s the point?”
I stared at her for what felt like hours. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She looked deflated, but not hugely upset, she’d probably already figured out what my answer was going to be. “Sorry, but I had to ask. Even if you say no, at least I know I’ve asked.”
I stood up and stretched my back. “I need to go talk to your mum.”
“Thanks, Nate. I’m glad you’re here. I hope you find these Reavers before they hurt anyone else.”
“So do I, Kase, so do I.”
Olivia and Ellie were both in an office on the fourth floor. As I walked in, alongside Kasey and Tommy, and gaining glances from the agents posted outside, Ellie rushed over to hug me, while Olivia was on the phone. Remy was sitting in the corner; he nodded in my direction when I saw him, and I returned the gesture.
“You okay?” Ellie asked.
I nodded. “All good. You missed all the fun.”
She rolled her eyes. “You say it’s fun now, but I doubt it was much fun at the time.”
She had a good point. “I’ve arranged with Kasey to become her second sentinel,” I said.
Ellie hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. “I told you she’d be happy.”
“That you did.” I looked over at Olivia as she hung up the phone. “It’s one of the things I need to talk to you about, Olivia.”
Tommy entered the room, walking over to Olivia and giving her a kiss.
“Talk away,” Olivia said to me.
“How long before the naming ceremony takes place?”
“A few days,” Olivia said. “With all of this, I want to be assured that we’re safe before we go ahead. Thanks for deciding to be involved, by the way; I’m sure Kasey is thr
illed.”
“Well, all of this happiness is about to take a nose dive,” I said. “I need access to The Hole. To Alan Daly in particular.”
“First, tell me everything that happened in the interrogation.”
I explained what Bushy had said, leaving nothing out, no matter how small. “He said that they were going to kill their enemies and make Avalon stronger,” I finished.
“Take over,” Olivia said. “They want to make Avalon strong by taking power. The SOA is already corrupted.”
“That’s my interpretation too,” I said. “But what about the rest of Avalon? What about the LOA? Lucie said you’ve got people working on it, but what if they’re involved?”
I’d expected some argument from Olivia for my suggesting her own organization could be involved but she just sighed. “Lucie said not everyone has a tattoo, that makes things more difficult, but we are working on it. Trust me, Nate. As of thirty minutes ago, Lucie and I agreed to remove the SOA from all positions and have them under house arrest. Over five thousand people in Camelot are now being relieved from their roles and replaced with LOA personnel. If I don’t know who I can trust, I don’t trust anyone.”
“And then what?” Remy asked. “You’re just going to throw dissent in among the SOA.”
“Better than leaving them in positions of power. Officially, it’s a screening check of their personnel. They’ve had people turn against them; they need to know who they can trust.”
“Unofficially?” I asked.
“We’re dredging their lives. Friends, family, anyone they work with, we’re checking all of it.”
“How did Kay take it?” I asked.
“Surprisingly well. He agreed with the plan, he wants to interview the prisoners himself. He’s certainly very angry that his people have betrayed us. It’s personal for him.”
“Be careful he doesn’t try to take control,” I said. “He’s good at that.”
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Olivia explained. “Elaine is in charge of it. She has me and three other directors organizing the whole thing. She wants to see you before you leave, by the way. I got the feeling it wasn’t a request.”
