“Curtis, we have to talk about what happened after the Duke injected you,” Ella says, putting the brush down and fixing her sky-blue eyes on me.
“I told you; I was out cold. I thought I was dead. Turns out I wasn’t. The end.” I shrug, not wanting to think about the details I’m omitting. I’m still sketchy on the rest of it myself.
“I don’t believe you,” she says, folding her arms and scrutinising me.
I’ve thought about whatever it was that I did while under the influence of Munday’s serum constantly since that day, and I’m still none the wiser.
“You forget that I saw what happened to the other Normals he injected. Most of them died horrible deaths. Some of them seemed to thrive on the drug after they were injected. One of my guards was a Normal that ended up being turned,” she says quietly.
“The guy who could levitate things?” I ask, thinking about the guard we took down. Unfortunately, there’s no chance that he would have gotten out of the collapsing lab alive. The sedative alone would have knocked him out for hours. Another death at the hands of both myself and the Duke to add to the toll.
“Yes, and others, too,” she says, putting a hand on my arm. “Have you tried...you know, using your ability?”
I sigh, looking from her to my hands. The broken bones and bruises are all healed thanks to David and Beryl, but I can still picture my grey skin, mottled and dying as I lay on the warehouse floor.
“I don’t know what it is, Ella. I don’t even know how I did it. It was like I was a ghost. I could see everything around me in high definition and move wherever I wanted to.”
“Like teleportation?”
“Sort of, but without my body. I could touch things, too,” I reply, running a hand over my shaved head.
“You pushed the Duke’s gun out of the way. He was talking to you,” she realises, with a mixture of awe and admiration.
“I don’t know how, really I don’t.” I shrug again and take her hand in mine.
“He must have amplified your power when you touched him. That’s what he does—could do,” she corrects herself.
“There’s something else,” I say, hesitating. I rub my thumb over her knuckles thoughtfully, wondering if she’ll think less of me when I tell her. I haven’t wanted to talk about what happened, managing to get out of debriefing and explaining myself by everyone thinking I was unconscious when Munday was killed. But I can’t lie to Ella.
I take a deep swallow, my mouth suddenly dry.
“What is it?” she asks, putting her other hand over mine.
“I killed him, Ella. Munday was too strong even for all that firepower they were throwing at him. It was only making him more and more powerful, so I had to stop him.”
“What did you do?” she asks, barely a whisper.
“I stopped his heart. Don’t ask me how, but one minute I was lying on the floor, and the next I’d distracted him long enough for Edward and Lou and Enzo, and anyone else that was trying to attack, to actually put an end to him.”
I look up at her then, ashamed and disgusted with myself. I wanted Munday dead as much as anyone, but I never thought I’d be the one to do it. I never imagined myself a murderer.
“Oh, Curtis,” Ella says, pulling me towards her and wrapping her arms around me. “You saved us all. No one’s going to think any less of you knowing that you did what we couldn’t,” she says, pulling out of our embrace and holding me at arm’s length. “Is this why you’ve been acting so weird these past couple of days?”
I nod and frown. “You’re not mad at me?”
“Of course not. No more than you’re angry at me for royally messing things up, anyway,” she says, shaking her head. “I know things aren’t the same between us. I know I hurt you,” she says, looking away. “And I’m sorrier than you’ll ever know.”
“We’ve been through all this, Ella. Let’s not rehash it now,” I say, not wanting to talk about her experience at the lab all over again.
She seems to agree with that and slides herself back onto the bed next to me, propped up against the headboard and still holding my hand. We say nothing for quite a while, just enjoying the slight tingle that runs through our entwined fingers.
The pictures from the roll of film I managed to retrieve from her camera are plastered all over the wall. I got them developed as soon as I had the chance, which thankfully was after we’d been reunited. I think if I’d seen all the photos of us happy and laughing while we were still apart, it would have broken me.
The one I took of myself in the mirror is buried in the bottom of a drawer somewhere, because Ella said it made her heart break to look at it. A reminder of the time we were apart. I know what she means. It was dark, only my face illuminated by the bedside lamp in the mirror. Anger and fear and longing behind the hoods of my eyes. A very different face to the one I see when I look in the mirror now.
“I don’t want to use it again,” I say, breaking the silence that drags out between us. “My power. I don’t know if I can, but I don’t want to,” I say, determined this time.
“Fair enough. No one will make you, and if you don’t want to tell the others, I’ll keep it quiet too.”
She pulls my face towards her and kisses me long and hard. My hand slides into her golden hair while the other slides down her back and round her hip. She moans gently and laces her fingers around the back of my neck, keeping me held to her.
“God, I missed this,” I murmur as I break away and kiss her neck.
A loud knock breaks us apart quicker than lighting.
“Time to get up, lovebirds,” Jer calls through the door.
I groan and roll my eyes while Ella scoots back off the bed and fixes her hair before opening the door.
“Beryl wants to know if you want breakfast,” Jer says, grinning at the two of us with a knowing look.
“Sounds good,” Ella replies. “When do we have to be at the Blue Lounge?” She asks him.
“Just after lunch. Plenty of time,” he adds, giving me a subtle wink before leaving.
Ella closes the door behind him and leans against it with her back.
“Now, where were we?”
*
The Blue Lounge is a hive of activity. The doorman doesn’t even bother to check us when we arrive, and I’m silently grateful; I’ve no idea what his little Augur test would show if I had to take it now.
“Ella!” Lorenzo says, greeting us as soon as we walk in. Every face in the group gathered here is familiar, from the neighbourhood watch gang, who give us hearty handshakes and hugs, to the support team Enzo brought with him to the warehouse in our final efforts to stop the Duke.
“Dark-Knife!” a few people call out to me, and I give them a sheepish wave. Drinks are placed in our hands, and Ella, Jer, Lou, and I weave our way through the crowd, with David, Mumbe, and Beryl trailing somewhere behind.
“Juice for me, please.” Ella hands her champagne to someone, who gladly swaps it out for her, and I put an arm around her as we thread towards the bar at the back.
“Curtis, my dear boy!” Gus says, embracing me like I’ve known him all my life and doing the same when he gets to Ella. “So lovely to see you both looking so very well.” He smiles and gives me a meaningful look. He’s the only one who seemed to really understand what I could do while I was using magic, and I haven’t found a chance to ask him about it yet.
“I was wondering if your dear Aunt Tilly would be joining us today. I have a little something for her.” He leans into me and speaks into my ear while Ella engages Pru in conversation.
“I hoped she would come, but I haven’t seen her since the warehouse. I wondered if she was keeping Edward company in prison—by choice, that is,” I add hastily. My aunt, despite her involvement, was pardoned with everyone else, except Edward, although I still plan to fight for him when I return from the mandatory leave I’ve been given.
“Ah, I see. Well, perhaps I can give it to you, if you would be so kind as to pass it on,” he says
, fishing into his breast pocket and pulling out a tiny green vial.
If I was sitting down, I’d fall off my chair.
“The cure!” I say too loudly. “How did you—”
“Ah, sleight of hand. Years of practise picking pockets during my misspent youth, I’m afraid. It tends to become a bit of a force of habit.” He grins like a schoolboy, and I don’t miss the look that he and Pru share.
“Maybe one day we can sit down, and you can tell me all your stories,” I suggest, and Ella agrees immediately.
“It would be our pleasure,” Pru says, giving me a peck on the cheek. “Do keep that safe, won’t you?” She gestures towards the vial that Gus places in my hand, and I pocket it gently.
While I’m busy thanking them both profusely, Marco marches up and gives us both a hug before dragging us away.
“Mate, where’ve you been these past two days?” I ask him as he guides us to the back of the bar.
“Solving mysteries, dude, as well as keeping out of the way of the ATU and anyone who wants to interrogate me,” he says. “But we did have a little family meeting. My uncle wants to see you both.”
“Mr. Gregorio?” I ask, thinking suddenly about how I never officially gave notice at my old job. Crap.
Mr. Gregorio sits at a table at the back of the club, with Federico, Lorenzo, Agnes and, to my surprise, Algernon.
“Curtis!” He stands up and greets me like an old friend, which immediately puts me on high alert. Algernon takes the opportunity to leap onto my shoulders and stay put there while we try and make ourselves comfortable. “It’s good to see you alive and well, my boy,” Federico says with surprising delight.
“Er, you too, Fred. You too,” I say, trying not to look as confused as I feel.
“Why is my cat here?” I ask the table in general as he purrs loudly in my ear.
“Actually, he’s my cat,” Gregorio replies seriously, “but he seems to like you, so you can keep him.” He waves his hand in the most Italian manner.
“Wait, Algernon is yours?” Ella asks.
“Algernon?” Gregorio snorts in the most undignified collapsing of hysterics I’ve ever seen from him.
“My mum picked it,” I explain, rubbing the back of my neck with embarrassment and trying not to wince at his guffaws.
“If he hasn’t scratched your eyes out after you calling him that, then he must like it. Algernon is nobody’s, really. I mean, he used to answer to me. I sent him to keep an eye on Curtis when I found out you two were dating. I was worried for my girl.” Mr. Gregorio reaches out to take her hand and squeezes it. “Turns out you were right to insist that Curtis work with us, Ella.” He gives her a wink and demands Enzo bring us another round of drinks to the table.
Having never seen the two of them together, it’s bizarre to see how similar Enzo and his father are. Clean-cut Italians, through and through.
“When you say you ‘sent him’...” I start to ask, but Mr. Gregorio waves it off.
“I can speak to animals, Curtis. And Algernon here is a very special cat.”
“You don’t say,” I mutter, giving him a knowing look. Algernon blinks at me innocently, but I won’t ever forget him whizzing around the warehouse like a ball of black lightning.
“Now, enough questions from you. We’re here to celebrate, so basta.” He chuckles and proposes a toast to the ‘extended Gregorio family.’
I look around at the table and find Agnes watching me. Ella had her reunion with her sister already, but I’ve avoided speaking to her since the incident, for fear that she’d blab about my powers to everyone.
Agnes gives me a rare smile and inclines her head. A nod of respect.
Ella told me that Agnes sent Enzo for the final fight, insisting that if he didn’t turn up, the death toll would skyrocket and we might lose everything. Kai, who is now safely in ATU custody, certainly wouldn’t have been stopped if it weren’t for Enzo stepping in, and we all know how much damage he could have done alone.
A hand claps me on the back, and I look up in surprise to find Giovanni standing beside me. I stand up, dislodging Algernon, who takes to cleaning himself on the table, and turn to face him.
“Giovanni,” I begin to say, but he holds up a hand to silence me.
“Curtis, I want to thank you,” he says.
Another surprise. “I’m the one who should be thanking you,” I start, but he shakes his head emphatically.
“We played our part, but you nearly lost everything to help Augurs. That takes some balls,” he says, holding out a hand. I look down at it and take it furtively. “Truce?”
“Truce,” I reply, shaking it gratefully.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” says the voice echoing across the club from the DJ booth.
We turn and find Enzo hasn’t in fact gone to get the table more drinks but is instead making an announcement to the entire room. “We all know why we’re here today. I just wanted to thank you all for everything you did to protect our kind from the tyrants who, despite their best intentions, tried to warp us into their weapons and control our lives.” A cheer goes out across the room, and a few glasses are raised.
“We know that Augurs work best when we work together, which is why the club is expanding. The Blue Lounge will open up branches across the city as a place of safety, not just for the people of Stonewall but other boroughs as well!” Another cheer.
“And, finally, to the Normal who had the guts to stand up to a bunch of psycho Augurs and make the difference,” he says, raising his glass to me.
I freeze on the spot as a hundred pairs of eyes seek me out in the dimness of the club. My body crackles with energy, and I start to feel nauseous. Oh no. My power seems to choose this moment to take control and try to get me out of here. I feel myself slipping away, but before I do, Ella’s hand grasps mine, warm and firm in my own. I’m pulled back into the present just as glasses are being raised.
“To Curtis, our Dark-Knife!” Enzo says, raising a toast as cheers of ‘Dark-Knife’ ring out across the room. Just like that, the fear is over, and I laugh at the absurdity of people celebrating me.
“You okay?” Ella asks, tugging me towards her.
“Yeah,” I reply, smiling and pulling her into a kiss. “Never been better.”
*
Epilogue
One Year Later
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I say, trying to flatten my wayward hair one more time while Ella rings the doorbell.
“We’ll be fine, Curtis. I’ve already spoken to your mum a dozen times this week. They can’t wait to meet her,” she says, switching the baby from one hip to the other. She straightens my tie with one hand before fixing a smile on her face and turning around just as the door opens.
Mum almost melts into a puddle on the floor when she sees us.
“Oh, my loves, it’s so good to see you!” She pulls us all into a hug and immediately unburdens Ella by taking the baby off her. “Come and meet your granddaddy,” she coos, wandering off to the living room, with Ella trailing behind.
I take a deep breath. The house smells the same as it always has. Mum’s cooking and clean laundry. The smells of home.
“Come on, love, you don’t want to miss this,” Mum calls to me from the front room.
I heave the changing bag onto my shoulder and walk in to a sight I never, ever thought I’d see.
My dad, the stone-cold bastard, holding my baby girl with a look of adoration that could only come from a doting grandparent.
“She’s perfect, son,” he says, looking up at me briefly before returning his full attention to her.
“Abigail, this is your grandpa,” Ella says gently.
“We named her after Ella’s late mother,” I add nervously. I’ve never seen my father like this with anyone or anything, and I wish I could take a picture now. Ella scrambles around and pulls her camera out of her handbag, firing off a couple of rapid shots while the moment is still fresh.
“Tilly isn’t here yet?”
I ask Mum as she dashes off to the kitchen to make tea.
“No, love. Considering she doesn’t have any trouble with transport she’s a tardy timekeeper, I’ll tell you that,” Mum says before pulling me into another hug. “It’s so good to see you. You’ve no idea.” She smiles, and a tear forms in the corner of her eye.
“I know, Mum. I’m sorry. We would have visited earlier, but between getting Edward out of prison and work with the ATU, it’s been mental.”
“Not to mention the baby,” she adds knowingly.
“Right, exactly,” I say, helping her to lay out cups on a tray and digging out the jar with the nicest biscuits in it.
“Now that there’s an Augur in every department of the government, it certainly makes for a colourful working environment,” I say, amazed at how far we’ve come in such a short space of time. There are still the odd few pushing power dampeners, but with more and more Augurs being openly employed by the government, London is a very different place than it was just a year ago.
“Your father has taken working with an Augur bookkeeper at work incredibly well,” she says, pouring boiled water into the teapot.
“I guess after finding out that Tilly wasn’t really dead, he didn’t have a grudge anymore,” I muse. Although Mum and I have been in touch for months, this is the first time I’ve had the courage to speak to Dad. I couldn’t be there for the reunion with his sister, but it seems like he forgave Augurs everywhere for existing.
We talk about nothing in particular while we wait for the others to arrive, until the doorbell rings again and Mum opens it to let Jer and Lou in.
“Ah, the Godparents are here!” She gives them each a peck on the cheek as she ushers them in.
“Good to see you, mate,” Jer says, giving me a hearty greeting, even though we see each other every day at work. “How’s it going with you-know-what?” he asks quietly, nodding in the direction of my dad, who hasn’t put Abigail down since we arrived.
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