Shattered by Magic

by Rebecca Danese

  “Safe?” Tilly appears beside the Duke, inches away from him. I realise that I can see her, from her light brown hair, tinged with grey, to the strong jawline she shares with my father. I want to jump for joy that she’s cured, but no one else seems to be able to see her. The Duke stares at a space just left of where she’s standing and snarls.

  “Traitorous bitch,” he spits, and she takes a step in front of him, putting herself between the gun and Edward.

  “You’re the traitor, Jonathan. You’ve never kept our son safe, not from the moment you took him from me. You never fail to find a way to use people,” she says, her voice like acid. Seeing her fury reminds me too much of my own anger, and if the Duke could see her now, he’d be cowering. He turns his head to the source of her voice and adjusts the gun to train it on her, but she takes another step to the side so that he’s aiming into an empty space.

  “You’re invisible Tilly, not invincible. Don’t think I’d hesitate to shoot you if you continue to get in my way. I should have done away with you years ago, the moment I found out about your affair,” he adds bitterly.

  “Give it a rest, Jonathan. I made a mistake. I paid the biggest price of all for it,” she says, no longer the cowed, oppressed woman I’ve come to think of her as. “Give me the cure, and I’ll take Edward to safety. Shoot me, and I can’t guarantee he won’t burn you alive, after everything you’ve done.”

  For a brief moment, I think the Duke might hand over the tiny green vial but instead he trains the gun back on Edward and pulls the trigger.

  Time slows. Silence blankets the warehouse as though we’ve been submerged under water. I watch the action unfold like a horrified spectator witnessing a car accident.

  Tilly leaps towards Edward, pushing him to one side despite him burning like a human bonfire. The bullet sails through the air and directly towards her head.

  Without realising that I’ve moved, I find myself standing a foot from it, watching it travel inch by inch. I don’t think about how I got there or what I’m going to do or even if I can do anything at all to stop it from piercing her skull. I reach out a hand to pluck it from the air, but recoil as something blocks my way.

  “Hello, Curtis,” Gus says, smiling amiably as though he’s just bumped into me on a casual walk through the park.

  “Er, hello Gus,” I reply, surprised that he can see me, considering I’m dead.

  “Don’t worry about this one, lad. I’ll take it from here,” he says, giving me a wink.

  Time speeds up. The bullet disappears, and in its place, Gus stands, grinning, holding it between his thumb and forefinger.

  Tilly and Edward recover quickly, but so does the Duke. He raises his hand to fire again, but this time I can see that Gus isn’t going to be fast enough to stop him. Energy crackles around me, and although I’m sure my body is still laying on the floor at Ella’s feet, I find myself wrapping my hands around the gun and pointing it back at the Duke. Before the first bullet leaves its chamber, the gun is aiming directly at his head, the shock of his own weapon turning itself on him evident on his face.

  “What the damn hell is going on?” he snarls, trying to pull his finger off the trigger. An indescribable strength runs through my arms, clamping his hands in place.

  “What’s happening?” I hear Tilly ask Edward, who doesn’t reply.

  “Let me go!” The Duke roars, his hands glowing with power. I should be burning when I touch him, just like before. Hell, I shouldn’t even be able to make contact with him, but I pin his hand to the trigger all the same.

  “This ends now.” The words escape my lips, and I know he’s heard me, not aloud but in his head.

  “Who are you? What are you?” He quivers. I contemplate not saying anything, but the reply occurs to me as though it isn’t my own.

  “I’m the ghost of all the people you’ve maimed, tortured and killed in the name of your experiments,” I reply, my breath cold and static in his ear.

  “Who’s he talking to?” someone asks from behind me.

  “His conscience,” Gus replies, smirking.

  “No one else is going to die because of you, Clarence,” I say with an air of finality.

  I pull the trigger using his chubby finger, tipping the gun upwards and pointing it at the warehouse ceiling just as I do.

  The crack is loud enough to shock him, and he bends over as though he’s been shot even though the spent bullet tinkles somewhere a way off.

  “Leave me alone, ghost!” he screams, putting his hands over his head and cowering.

  Edward takes a step towards him, body still flaming, seeing an opportunity.

  “Edward, no,” I say, my cousin stopping stock-still and staring through me. “You don’t want his death on your conscience.”

  “Curtis?” Edward says, looking past me at the floor.

  I follow his line of sight and feel sickened by the image of my lifeless body, curled up at Ella’s feet. Ella, who still holds a weapon in her hand and points it at anyone who comes near her. Ella, who’s angry tears run down her face in rivulets, the sobs wracking her body. Ella, who still loves me.

  And, just like that, I’m lying back on the ground, warmth creeping through my aching limbs, inch by inch, until my eyes shoot open. I groan, all the power I felt moments before dissipating and leaving pain in its place. Vivid colour replaces the greyness of before, so clear that it stings.

  “Curtis?” Edward says again, his flames extinguishing as he runs over to me. Ella drops to her knees in shock and cradles my head in her arms.

  “Clarence,” I croak, finding my vocal cords just as damaged as they were before the serum. I look over to where the Duke was hunched over, but he’s gone. I shoot upright and immediately regret it, but someone beats me to it.

  “M-Munday!” The Duke says in surprise.

  “Wanted me dead, did you, Clarence?” Munday seethes. His black eyes are wide and oozing, just as they were all that time ago when we faced him on Parliament Green. It repulses me, but I can’t look away. No one can. The Augurs who fill the warehouse—those from the Society and the Magic Circle and those from the neighbourhood watch and Enzo’s club—stop what they’re doing and stare.

  “No, not at all,” Clarence says hurriedly. “I only wanted to make sure you got to safety.”

  “That’s funny, because your butler tried to kill me only moments ago.”

  “Must be some sort of mistake.” Clarence shrugs. “We don’t have time for this, Munday. We have to get out of here.”

  “I’m afraid you aren’t leaving this warehouse, Clarence. Not alive, anyway,” Munday rattles.

  A smog so thick and black it seems almost liquid leaks from his eyes, wrapping itself around them both and lifting them up into the air. The cloud rises ten then twenty feet above us, the two men enveloped inside it. It expands, absorbing any light within its path, until the entire ceiling is a blanket of darkness. Inside it all, I hear a scream so feral and inhuman it takes a moment to place it. A beam of light pierces the darkness as the Duke tries to fight back, stabbing the cloud with whatever power he has. But just as happened all those decades ago, his power only amplifies whatever it comes into contact with, including Munday.

  “He’s killing him!” someone cries out from the crowd, perhaps a Society member.

  “Let him,” comes a reply that sounds distinctly like Lou.

  The cloud throbs and hums as the screaming continues, increasing in volume until I think the windows are going to shatter. A few vials burst in their casings, and people start covering their ears, no one able to tear their eyes away but unable to bear the sound.

  And then, just as suddenly as it started, it stops, leaving in its place a vacuum of sound.

  The cloud implodes, and Munday floats slowly to the ground—alone.

  There’s no trace of Jonathan Clarence anywhere. No body, no clothing left behind… It’s as though he simply ceased to exist.

  I stare at Munday with horror. His face is grotesque, his skin
moving as though insects crawl beneath the surface. He lets a satisfied growl escape from his lips and fixes his eyes on me, the black pools taking me in as though I’m the next course of his meal.

  “New Augur,” he says with the voice of someone possessed. He stalks towards me, his movements jerky and unnatural, and a crowd forms around me, blocking his way.

  “Not so fast, Munday,” Ella says, raising the gun still in her hand. “You don’t get to touch him.”

  “Or what?” He oozes. “You’ll shoot me?” He laughs then, and the sound makes me wish I was deaf, like a hundred nails on a chalkboard.

  “No, we’ll all shoot you,” Lou says, walking over to join the crowd that is forming around me.

  He begins to laugh again, and his black mouth opens, revealing ebony teeth and a serpentine tongue that whips out and knocks the gun from Ella’s hand.

  Rather than back down, she scowls, and energy crackles in her fingers. I want to tell her not to risk it, not to use her powers and endanger the baby. Let him have me if it will save you all, I want to say, but before I can speak, a deluge of powers rain down on him, from a blast of electricity to a tidal wave of water, from bullets and darts to a force so hard it sends him sprawling across the warehouse floor.

  Pru’s purple shadows wrap themselves around him, holding him down, while Edward blasts him with flames so hot they melt the concrete.

  “You’ll never stop me!” he roars over the cacophony, and I realise that he’s right. If they keep feeding him with power, he’ll only get bigger, stronger. I have to do something.

  My body goes limp, and despite the blasts of power searing through the air, I find myself travelling across the warehouse to where he stands, barely. Despite his bravado, I can see him struggling to contain all the power he’s absorbing, but I don’t know how long my friends can keep this up for. He seems oblivious to my presence, instead concentrating on consuming all he can.

  “I’ll stop you, Munday,” I say, and without thinking, I reach out a hand. It passes through his chest, and my fingers clasp around his heart. All it takes is a gentle squeeze for him to stop. His body tries to fight the heart attack I’m causing and stops absorbing the magic that flows towards him.

  He stares at me, as though seeing me for the first time, and mouths something inaudible.

  Then he’s gone.

  It feels like minutes pass by before the cacophony lets up, leaving a blackened crater in the place where he stood.

  “Is that it?” Jer says, creeping over to the hole and staring into the empty pit.

  “No one could survive that. Not even him,” Lou replies, dusting off her hands.

  Cheers and whoops break out amongst those of us on the opposing side, while a few of the Duke’s men try to make an escape while no one is looking.

  “They’re really gone,” Tilly says quietly, shock and relief in her voice. Although she’s still invisible, I can picture the fierce woman I saw only moments before standing in the space where she should be.

  “Where’s Crossley?” I try to say, but it comes out as more of a gasp than a question.

  “Oh my God, Curtis.” Ella crouches down next to me. “Don’t try to speak. We’ll get Beryl and David here.”

  “Where’s Cross?” I ask again, my eyes roving around the crowd.

  “We haven’t seen him, nor Banks or Steve since the factory came down,” Jer explains.

  “Are they...” I don’t want to say dead.

  “No, no. Tilly saved all of us, even if Cross tried to put up a fight about it. Mate, you look like death,” he adds, bending on one knee to where I lie.

  “Th-thanks,” I stutter as I try to heave myself upwards. Why does everything hurt so much?

  The doors burst inwards once more, and men and women clad in black, wearing bullet-proof vests and helmets while brandishing rifles, swarm in like an army of ants. I scan the faces and recognise several of them.

  The ATU.

  “On the ground!” someone yells.

  “Hands where we can see them!”

  Shouts of confusion and barked orders break the celebratory mood as Augurs are forced onto the floor and handcuffs are placed on them.

  Lou swears loudly as the agents circle around us, forcing Edward, Lorenzo, and Giovanni onto the floor.

  “Oh, come on!” Jer shouts, putting his hands behind his head as a gun is pointed at him. “We’re the good guys. We’re on the same team!”

  I heave myself up with difficulty and stand shakily beside him, Ella taking my good hand and holding it firmly. Warmth runs through my arm with her touch.

  “I hope to hell you have a plan,” Lou says from Jer’s other side as an agent approaches her with a set of handcuffs.

  “Where’s Angeles?” I ask huskily to the soldier nearest me. She ignores me, so I repeat the question.

  “I said where’s Angeles?”

  “Looking for me?” The familiar sound of high heels is followed by a parting of the crowd as all six feet, two inches of the Civil Defence Minister walk over to me.

  “Ma’am,” I say, struggling to stay upright and leaning on Jer for support.

  “You look like crap, Mayes. I’ll make sure the doctor sees to your injuries before we debrief you.

  “Debrief me?” I ask. Did I hit my head that hard?

  “Yes, after your undercover mission to take down Munday and the Duke, which was a complete success from what I can see. Good job.” She gives me an almost-smile before turning to an agent and telling him not to cuff Jer and Lou.

  “What is she talking about?” Jer says out of the corner of his mouth.

  “Beats me.”

  “You look confused, Mayes. Perhaps you’d prefer an explanation from someone else?” Angeles steps aside as Miss Banks walks over, having just apprehended one of the Magic Circle members.

  “Miss Banks? But you were suspended.” I look dazedly between the two women.

  “I really think we ought to get him to a healer before we go into long explanations,” she says, more to Angeles than to us.

  “No, I want to know now. What the bloody hell is going on?” I ask, watching someone haul Edward off, while ATU members rush around bagging up evidence in the form of vials and serums.

  Angeles and Banks share a look, and eventually Banks nods.

  “Very well. Curtis, I was never suspended from the ATU. Technically, neither were you.”

  “Say what now?” Lou says angrily.

  “You were all just allowed to take your own initiative. We were getting nowhere trying to find Clarence using conventional methods, and your aunt wasn’t going to come anywhere near you while you were in the complex. We didn’t know Mulberry would escape with Munday, but as soon as he did, events took their own course. We simply allowed it to happen.”

  “But you fired me!” I protest, the anger of betrayal somehow keeping me upright.

  “Did you get that in writing?” Angeles asks, smirking. “Crossley thought you were fired, as did Dr. Lindhurst. Miss Banks suspected that they would want to help you even if you weren’t in good standing with us, and she was correct.”

  “So, all of this was part of your plan?” Jer asks incredulously.

  “Munday and Clarence being dead wasn’t, but the mission is considered to have been a success,” she replies, folding her arms and looking across the warehouse. “The drugs will be taken into evidence. The Society and Magic Circle members are all being taken into custody, and Miss Banks will arrange pardons for those Augurs who helped to take Munday and Clarence down. She may need to ask you for a list.”

  “You can start with my cousin,” I say quickly.

  “Ah, Edward Clarence unfortunately won’t be pardoned for his role in all this. He was an active Magic Circle member for years, Curtis. We’re already struggling to make an exception for Ella. We won’t be able to let Edward go, too,” Angeles replies firmly.

  It’s my turn to swear. I shake my head and bite my lip, wanting to fly off at them all for using us l
ike pawns, but I know underneath it all that it won’t make the slightest difference.

  “And Crossley?” I ask.

  “He’s going to need twenty-four hours in solitary while the magic wears off. As soon as he’s himself again, I’ll let you see him,” Banks says. “He really didn’t know about our plan, Curtis, so don’t hold it against him,” she adds, sounding apologetic for the first time ever.

  I open my mouth to let her know what I think of that, but I’m cut off.

  “Out of my way! I have patients to see!” Lindhurst’s bolshy voice echoes above the sounds of arrests being made and Augurs trying to get away.

  She marches over, barely acknowledging Banks and Angeles, and immediately begins to examine me, tutting and grumbling about letting me stand here in such a state.

  “Honestly, boy, you’ve suffered more damage than a car crash. You shouldn’t even be standing upright,” she admonishes, nudging me in the direction of the exit.

  “We’ll leave you in the doctor’s capable hands, Curtis. I’ll be needing that list of pardons, before anyone spends the night in a prison cell,” Angeles says, allowing us to be ushered away.

  CHAPTER 19

  “Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?” Ella says, sitting on the edge of the bed. She grabs her hairbrush off the dresser and starts combing it through her hair. A shaft of sunlight sneaks through the blinds and illuminates it like strands of gold.

  “I’d rather not,” I reply, propping myself up and watching her.

  We’re in our old room at Beryl’s Chelsea house, the rest of our stuff having been moved over by the ATU yesterday. I’m still not used to waking up next to her again after so much time apart, but the fact that she’s here, within touching distance, makes it almost possible to forget that the last two months ever happened.

  It took two days to get everyone released from ATU custody, and even then it wasn’t without a fight. The fact that Enzo swooped in at the last minute with a team of his own Augurs from the club confused things further, as I hadn’t met most of them up until I was starting at them through one-way glass in a suspect lineup, with Agnes and Enzo guiding me, and Miss Banks second-guessing at every possibility.