“Where is this lab?” I assumed it wasn’t somewhere inside the MGM Grand. The hotel was massive, but a secret cloning facility seemed like a stretch.
“Uh, I’m not sure.” She didn’t sound overly bothered.
“You were made there, were you not?”
“Yeah, we all were.”
“How can you not know where it is?”
She shrugged.
Great. We now had only part of an evil plan. Getting rid of the body was going to be down to me. I sighed. “Wouldn’t Britt need a replacement clone if Nine died?”
“Ah,” Nine said, the penny finally dropping. She put her supplies away and pushed the make-up bag under Britt’s couch. “The scientist guy will sort that out when he hears.”
“Scientist guy?”
“I don’t know his name.”
“How exactly will he hear?”
“I don’t know. He heard the last time.”
“Great,” I muttered. That probably still left me dealing with the body. I glanced at my watch. I’d need to check in sometime soon. I took a breath. “Right. Time to get started. Ready to be Britton Rocks?”
She got to her feet, smiling broadly. “You bet.”
Six – Pete
I can’t believe I forgot about Mum. I followed Mickey down the road, hands jammed into my jeans pockets. Mickey kept looking back to check I was still behind him. I could only shuffle along any slower if my legs were shackled together. Sighing, I kicked at the ground. Maybe I shouldn’t tell her… A light bulb lit up in my brain, and not one of those pathetic energy saving ones either. I could not believe this was the first I was thinking of it. Nick could glamour me up to look alive; she didn’t need to know!
“Mickey, wait!” I rushed to catch him up as he rounded the corner. “I don’t think we have to do this…”
He stopped. “You don’t think she needs to know?”
“Nick could make me look normal again. We don’t have to tell her.” If I sounded desperate it was only because I was.
Mickey scowled at me. “You don’t think she deserves to know this? It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to you.”
“The biggest thing should have been, I don’t know, knocking a girl up or something. This isn’t happy news, Mickey. It’s not like she’s going to be pleased for me.”
“She’s your mum, she deserves to know.” He walked off like that was the end of it.
I frowned at him. “Hey. This is my decision.”
He just kept walking. Why did I get the feeling he was going to just tell Mum whatever I did now? Crap. I thought about it, but nothing I could come up with would make up for not showing face after Mickey made the announcement. I moved forward, trying to catch Mickey up as he turned into the street. The small garden was as well-kept as it always had been, mainly because Mum spent half her time tending it like she was doing right now…
“Balls,” I whispered.
She turned as we stopped near the gate. I wanted to hide behind Mickey, but I’d left it too late. She blinked and stared. Her long brown hair was tied back messily, her shirt sleeves rolled up, showing streaks of dirt on her arms. Her mouth moved, and at first I was afraid that was the start of the tears. Then I realised she was muttering curse-words I could actually hear if I concentrated.
Mickey glanced at me and moved forward, opening the gate. She stepped back, stumbling a little in her haste.
“It’s okay,” Mickey said, his tone calming.
“No,” she whispered, staring as I came into the garden behind him. Her expression hardened. She smacked Mickey in the head.
“Ahhh,” he moaned, rubbing the side she’d just clocked. “What was that for?”
“Good boys don’t lie.” Her fists clenched as she regarded me with a cold stare. “They don’t bring dead things home either.”
“It’s me,” I said. I closed my mouth when she raised her hand. I didn’t want a smack. Mickey was way better at taking those than me.
“It’s Pete,” Mickey said. “Don’t you recognise your own son?”
That got him the second smack that was really meant for me. I was getting the feeling she wasn’t overly keen on touching me. “Since when did you hate Animates?” Not as if we’d ever had a conversation about it, but Mum was a pretty forgiving kind of person. She’d had to be to stay with my dad long enough to get me out of the deal.
“It talks,” she muttered.
“It’s really Pete,” Mickey said, stepping back to get out of the smack zone. “He’s still himself, only he’s dead, technically.”
“How did he die?” She was ignoring me entirely now as if I didn’t exist.
“Er…”
“Just tell her,” I muttered.
“A girlfriend killed him.”
“What girlfriend? You never told me about any girlfriend.”
He shrugged. “She was new. She killed him and then she killed herself.”
She closed her eyes and took a breath. She was angry. I’d seen this reaction in the past, usually before she smashed up half the kitchen while cursing my father’s name. She opened her eyes, an eerily calm expression sitting on her face. “So where is she then?”
“Eh, she properly died. It was just Pete who was raised.”
She huffed, like she was hardly surprised. I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was going through her head right now. “So when does he go?”
“Go?”
“To the Guard.”
“Oh, right. He doesn’t.”
She looked at me again briefly before she turned back to Mickey. “What do you mean, he doesn’t?”
“He signed a contract with his neighbour. The Guard don’t want him.”
She let out a massive breath and actually smiled. “Well, it could be worse, couldn’t it?”
“How, exactly?” The question fell out of my mouth before I could stop it.
She slapped me in a far more playful way than she’d just been smacking my cousin. “You could be properly dead like your stupid girlfriend, couldn’t you?”
Mickey snorted. I glowered at him, but the last laugh was really on Mum. Angie was never my girlfriend, not that I’d be admitting that now. “Ha ha,” I said.
“Right, come in,” she said, pulling off her gardening gloves and putting them down on the step. “I’ll put the kettle on. It’s been far too long since you’ve visited. You’ll have to catch me up. I want to hear all about this psychotic girlfriend…” She went into the house, taking her crocs off in the hallway and leaving the door open for us. She turned. “Oh. Do I have to invite you in or anything, Peter?”
Mickey sniggered as he pushed me in the door.
“That would be vampires, Mum. And you don’t invite them in, not ever.” Not that they were allowed to go around knocking on human’s doors looking for a snack. Not even on Halloween. God only knew how many innocent kids had been assaulted by garlic garlands the year they landed. You’d think people would know the difference between a ten-year-old in white face paint and a fully grown alien with glowing eyes.
She glanced back. “Is tea okay? I don’t have any brains in the fridge.”
I groaned and slapped my face with my hands, dragging my fingers over my cheeks.
Mickey couldn’t stop laughing.
I smiled at him suddenly and it made him stop.
“What?”
I decided it was time for payback. “I’m not the only one with a big announcement.”
He elbowed me in the guts. Hah, if only he knew how little that hurt compared to having my magic drained from me. I wasn’t going to let on. He’d only take to more extreme punishments, and I didn’t want to have to go back to Kit to beg for some healing. Particularly if I had to explain how I’d gotten hurt. The kettle whistled in the kitchen.
Mickey grabbed my wrist as I got to the end of the hall. “Don’t even think about it,” he warned.
“Whatever happened to ‘this is such a big thing and she deserves to know’?”
He dropped his eyes, mouth tightening.
I grabbed my arm back. “Stop being so superior, and I won’t let on.”
“She’s not my mum,” he started, shaking his head the moment after he said it. “I didn’t mean…”
“Let’s just get this over with.” I went into the kitchen and it was just like I remembered. Shiny white tiles scrubbed to within an inch of their lives decorated the walls between the glossy black cabinets. Dark grey thicker tiles on the floors and a big black glass table with three metal chairs around it. Mum had always liked futuristic furniture. It only made the old tin kettle on the gas hob seem even more out of place. She started to pour tea, not looking back. Her country-styled jeans and striped shirt made her look as out of place in the modern kitchen as the kettle.
I grabbed my usual seat and Mickey slid into his, frowning at me. At least he’d stopped giggling at Mum’s stupid jokes. Her reaction had been weirder than expected, but I was just relieved she wasn’t crying.
She put a tray down on the table. I eyed the tea cakes with ravenous desire. It wasn’t worth making them aware of my brand-spanking-new eating disorder, so I forced my eyes to drink in the view out of the window instead. I could smell the chocolate and mallow. Damn these enhanced senses.
“What was she like then?”
“Does that really matter now?” I drew Mum my usual threatening glare; the one I always put on whenever she tried to dig around in my personal life.
She shrugged and picked up her tea. “That’s the one with the sugar in it. You always had such a sweet tooth.”
Mickey picked his up and took a massive gulp. “He can’t eat or drink anymore,” he said, putting the mug down and picking up a biscuit. “There’s a bunch of stuff he can’t do now.”
I threw him a warning glance.
Mum looked me over again. “Those eyes are going to take some getting used to.”
“They’re creepy as fuck,” Mickey agreed.
“Shut up,” I said, folding my arms on the table. “They’re not creepy.”
“They are kind of creepy,” Mum said, putting her tea down. “But that’s okay. You’re my wee boy, and you always will be.”
Ah no! She was getting all sniffly and nostalgic. Tears were on the horizon, tears and worse; Rod Stewart. Sure enough, she got to her feet and switched on the mp3 player on the counter. Aw naw…
Mickey rolled his eyes. Mum did a bit of old lady dancing before she sat back down and hugged me, stroking my hair. “At least you dinnae smell dead, son.”
I swear to God if Mickey laughs one more time…
“That was what threw me when I first saw him,” Mickey said, like he would have connected the dots if I’d smelled dead; aye, right.
“I thought… I thought my wee boy was gone,” she said, sobbing softly as she let me go. “But you’re here, and you’re still you. It’s really okay.”
“See?” Mickey said. “What did I tell you?”
She hugged him next. “And what’s new with you, Michael?”
“Nothing.”
“Seeing your girl again sometime soon?”
That caught my attention. “What girl?” I couldn’t help it if I sounded dubious.
Mickey drew me daggers. “She’s been busy.”
Right. Busy licking the King’s evil arse. Oh, and by the way, ‘girl’ is a bit of a stretch even for that cunt-bag Timmy Wallace.
“That’s a shame,” Mum said.
Mickey drank his tea, nodding slowly whilst looking guilty and avoiding my stare. I began to suspect his mug was empty by the eighth slow drag he took.
“It’s about time you brought a girl home,” she said, glancing from me to Mickey. “Both of you. I’m not getting any younger. I don’t want to be using a walking stick by the time there’s wedding bells going off.”
“Eh, I doubt I’ll be getting married now,” I said, shrugging my shoulders by way of apology.
“Why not? You’re still you in there. You were always a wee charmer.”
Uh oh. I hadn’t expected that. I wasn’t allowed to stay single even looking like this? “What woman’s going to marry a dead guy who can’t even… eat cake on the wedding day?”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Mickey murmured.
“You’ll find someone,” Mum said, “just like Michael. Such a lovely girl that Catherine.”
I stared at my cousin. Had she just said what I thought she had? Mickey looked away, suddenly very interested in the shiny surface of the table. The cunting bastard! He’d told Mum Kit was his girlfriend? If I could have reached I’d have kicked him under the table. “Oh, aye, she’s amazing. No idea what she sees in this twat.” Did Kit know about this? I doubted he’d have told her. If she found out she might read something in to it.
“When are you going to bring her over? I’ve not seen her since you’ve been going out.”
“She’s busy. Her sister stopped helping at the pub. She doesn’t get any time off.”
That wasn’t exactly true. The pub shut on a Tuesday, the quietest day of the week. I hadn’t known her sister used to work there, though. It was always just Kit when we were there. “She has a sister?”
Mickey frowned at me. “Yeah. Katrina. She’s older.”
“Ooh,” Mum said, eyes lighting up. “There’s an idea for you, Peter.”
Great, just great. I sighed inwardly. “No thanks.”
“Don’t be silly. Michael, tell your brother all about this Katrina.”
Mickey shrugged. “She’s twenty-five and she’s got a kid. Her husband left her a few years ago. She’s pretty, you might fancy her.”
Like I only care about what she looks like. Then it clicked; the kid was Kit’s nephew. I felt pretty bad about ruining his birthday cake, even if Kit’s reaction had been extreme. I probably should have realised the cake was there for a reason. “I doubt it,” I muttered, thinking about Mickey’s announcement and all those pictures Kit had in her room. Whatever he felt the need to keep from my mum, he’d damn well better be coming clean to Kit. She shouldn’t be wasting her time on him. It wasn’t fair.
“Good,” Mum said as if she hadn’t heard me. “That’s that sorted then. Michael can introduce you soon.”
That’s what we get for being honest with my mum. I glanced at Mickey who had finally put his mug down. He smiled wryly and stared out the window. Rod Stewart was crooning on about something he didn’t want to talk about. Mum staring humming along. She was getting dangerously close to singing.
“How ‘bout now?” I asked, getting up.
Mickey broke his blank stare away from the window. “Eh?”
“Let’s go find Kit.”
“What… oh, right. Yeah, cool. Just let me go and get changed first.” He got up and disappeared, leaving me with Mum.
“So, tell me about the girl who caused all this,” she said, motioning to me. “I didn’t know you liked those… emo girls.”
I had to laugh. “It wasn’t like that. She was crazy, and I didn’t know until it was too late.”
“Well, you’ll do better with this Catherine’s sister.”
I just shook my head. She could delude herself all she wanted. I knew that part of my life was over. I’d probably have to humour her so she wouldn’t get upset though. Reality was bound to kick in sometime, but it sure as hell didn’t need to be right now while I’d be subjected to her grief.
“You will,” she warned me.
“Aye, okay.” Whatever. I was kind of curious about this sister now though. If she was anything like Kit I probably would fancy her, not that it could go anywhere. Chances of her fancying me were slim to none, anyway. Plus, she had a kid. There was just no way.
Frankie’s smiling face popped into my head. Mum hadn’t known I’d still be me. How had she found out about Frankie? He couldn’t have come to see her or she’d have known. He must have broken things off over the phone or by letter or something. Did she even know he’d gone into the Guard? I had
to wonder. Had she been crying because she’d found out he died or because he’d broken up with her? I was kind of afraid to ask. Anything could have happened to him after all these years. Chances were he was still working at the castle, but I didn’t know that for sure. I couldn’t open that can of worms, not now. She’d only get upset with me. I started to think about it though. I wondered how easy it’d be to find him.
“Ready,” Mickey said, breezing back into the room in cleaner crumpled clothes.
Mum tsked at the t-shirt and jeans he’d thrown on. “Take those off, I’ll iron them.”
Mickey shrugged. “They look fine to me. We need to get going.”
“Yep,” I said, getting up. “If we’re going to go meet Mickey’s girlfriend’s sister we should head off now.”
“Well okay,” she said, “but come back soon.”
I promised I would, and she made me promise not to bite her as she got up and hugged me.
“Right,” Mickey said, “come on, you. Let’s go meet Katrina.”
Seven – Kit
My mobile was vibrating on the bar as I locked the door. Katrina was calling, no doubt. She’d said about five and it was bang on that time now. She’d probably be asking where the hell I was. If it wasn’t for Sam, I’d ignore the phone. With a sigh, I headed over and picked it up, scooping the till float up under my arm at the same time. “Kat, I’m just leaving.”
“I was just going to ask if you could pick up a cake on the way over.”
“Uh, what?” I eyed the box of chocolate cupcakes I’d put under the counter as I headed out the room. I kept the safe for the float in the back office which was still a part of the pub. There was a door to separate the flat from the pub, and I kept it locked as much as possible. So far we hadn’t had any break-ins, but you could never be too careful. “I thought you had a pirate cake?”
She sighed wearily. “Sam started crying when he saw it. He wouldn’t stop until I put it away. It’s no use. I need that cake you were getting him.”
“Well that got damaged,” I said, wondering why I’d felt the need to toss the entire thing in the bin when that idiot had touched it. I’d been pissed off. It was a knee-jerk reaction.
Death Magic Rules Page 3
