A Flicker of Steel

by Steve McHugh

  Layla nodded and motioned for her father to sit down. His hands were still cuffed in front of him, and he’d said nothing since leaving the house.

  Layla turned back to Cody and felt the sting in her neck before she realized that he was pointing a gun at her. She blinked, felt woozy, then collapsed to her knees, watching in horror as Cody then shot Malcolm in the head with a decidedly more lethal gun. She was on the ground, the forest spinning, as he also shot her father.

  “You and your father have been shot with tranquilizer darts,” Cody told her. “It contains a very small amount of Gorgon venom spliced with some things Nergal’s people put together. Just enough to paralyze and relax.” He slipped a sorcerer’s band on Layla’s wrist, and she felt her power vanish.

  She slurred something and watched Cody walk away, then closed her eyes, but didn’t pass out. Instead, she listened to the sounds around her: a car stopping. A man and woman talking to Cody. A scream. Layla blinked as Cody picked her up and put her in the back of a car that she hadn’t remembered seeing before. “I’ll be right back with your dad.”

  As Layla watched Cody go, rage filled her. She was going to get out of the sorcerer’s band, and she was going to inflict untold chaos on anyone who had helped Cody do this. But her anger fought a losing battle against the drugs; the next thing she knew the car was moving slowly, and then nothing.

  14

  “You’re awake. That’s good,” Cody said from the driver’s seat of the car.

  Layla blinked. She was still lying on the back seat, but she had no idea where she was or even what day it was. “Where?” she managed. Her mouth was dry and tasted funny.

  “There’s water next to you,” Cody told her. “Just to emphasize, it’s just water, but you’re going to want to drink something. The drugs will leave you dehydrated otherwise.”

  Layla picked up the two-liter bottle and stared at it.

  “There is nothing else in there.”

  “Says the murderous drugger,” Layla said, not liking the taste of the words as they left her mouth.

  The car stopped, and Cody turned around in his seat, grabbed the bottle of water from her hand, and took a swig. “See, not poisoned.”

  Layla had concerns, but her need for water was greater, and she drank nearly half of the bottle in only a few seconds.

  “You’ll feel better in a few minutes,” Cody told her. “You’ve been out for just over an hour, so you’re probably not altogether with it. I might have given you a little bit more than you needed. Sorry about that.”

  “Screw you,” Layla said, noticing she still wore the sorcerer’s band. “You killed Malcolm.”

  “I did, that’s true. I was trying to think of a way to get you and your father to Nergal, and when Kristin turned up, I thought my dreams had come true. Then you wanted to leave with me and Malcolm, which was even better, so I was just going to hand you over to Kristin’s clone in the garden. But then Chloe and Harry left with us, and your other friends would have caused me problems, so I needed to get you away from it all. And running with your dad was your own idea; I didn’t even have to try and involve myself in the planning. You trusted me exactly how you were meant to. Real shame I had to kill Malcolm, though. Cody liked him.”

  “Aren’t you Cody?”

  “Sort of,” he said with a chuckle. “Not going to ask about your dad?”

  “I assume he’s in the trunk.”

  “Good guess. Drugged, just like you. Pissed off like you, too. Luckily, I had a sorcerer’s band, so you’ll be less of an immediate concern to me while I’m driving.”

  “Lucky me. Where’d you get the car?”

  “Had to flag someone down. A nice elderly couple stopped, and I told them about how my wife and I had been in an accident.”

  “They’re dead, aren’t they?”

  “Of course. Couldn’t let them go.”

  Layla swallowed her anger. It would do no good in her current circumstance. “What are you?”

  “Shapeshifter. I can kill someone, change myself to look like them, and take their mind too. Means I get all of their memories, but the longer I stay as a person the less I remember of my own life. I’ve been doing this so long, I don’t even remember my true name. It’s funny when you think about it.”

  “Not really.”

  Cody paused. “No, I guess not.”

  Layla looked out of the window at the darkness outside. She craned her neck a little and saw that it showed just after midnight on the car’s dashboard clock. “They’re going to come look for me,” she said.

  “Yep. That’s why we’re in a car. I’d like to see them track me over such a distance. It’s normally only a few hours’ drive to Winterborn from that cabin, but the weather hasn’t exactly helped matters, and I didn’t want to crash or anything.”

  Layla managed to get into a seated position behind the shotgun seat. Slushy rain fell heavily in the darkness outside, and the headlights showed the rapidly worsening conditions on the road.

  “Don’t think about attacking me,” Cody said. “You’ve got a sorcerer’s band on, so no powers, remember, and I’m almost certain that if I crash, we all die.”

  “And that includes you,” Layla said. “So you’re not impervious to injury?”

  Cody laughed. “Ah, you got me, but I don’t think I want to talk to you about how you can and can’t kill me.”

  “Shame. It sounds like a nice conversation to have. What does Nergal want with me?”

  “You escaped his clutches. He wants you so that Caleb does what he’s told. Also, because he hates the idea of someone getting away from him.”

  “So, you knew that we were going to get my dad out of prison?”

  “No. I was put there a few weeks ago because Nergal was going to finally deal with Hades. He was moving his people up to Winterborn for months and months until he was ready. He wanted someone at the prison because he was interested in using the inmates to cause panic in Thunder Bay. Didn’t work out, but a few days ago I found out about your dad being there. I notified Nergal, who had heard from someone in Hades’ organization that you were going to be getting him out. I was the backup in case Kristin failed, which is unfortunately what happened.”

  “And you murdered Cody because?”

  “Yes, it is a shame I had to kill him, but it’s my job. What can you do?”

  “You didn’t need to slaughter the prisoners.”

  “Not my call. I didn’t have anything to do with that. Blood elves will do what blood elves do best. Personally, I’d have just gassed you all in the solitary wing, and then dragged you out without any trouble. But Kristin is more of an explosions and drama kind of person.”

  “So what happens now? We drive to Winterborn, you hand me over to Nergal, and then get to run off to your next thrilling murder assignment?”

  “That’s about the size of it, yes. I think I was English when I was born. Sometimes I remember it, but it was so long ago. Hundreds of years. Dozens of people. I should have written down the information about myself when I was younger.”

  “Am I meant to feel sorry for you?”

  “Not really. I get paid an obscene amount of money to do my job. I’m just trying to stay awake by talking. It’s been a long few days. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to get you both out of there. I mean, I knew I could take your dad, but you, too? I didn’t know about that. I wondered whether or not to kill one of your friends, become them, and get you that way, but, frankly, I didn’t want to be one of your friends. Besides, I can only take the place of a human, so it would have to be Harry. And to be completely honest, I didn’t want to be in that little geek’s head. He probably thinks about Dungeons and Dragons, and how to kiss his first ever girlfriend.”

  “Dungeons and Dragons is awesome.”

  “Ah, you’re one of those geek people too, are you? You need to grow up, the lot of you. Playing with children’s toys, pretending to be soldiers and warriors. Pathetic.”

  “Not as pat
hetic as not knowing who I really am.”

  Layla saw anger flicker over Cody’s face before he responded to her taunt. “Not nice to mock people who have been kind to you.”

  “You drugged me, kidnapped me, and murdered people. I think we can forgo the idea that you’re a good person.”

  “I am a good person. I’m one of the nice guys. I always tell women that. Women like to be told that they’re dealing with a gentleman, that they’re dealing with one of the good guys.”

  Layla laughed. “You don’t get laid a lot, do you?”

  “Shut up,” Cody said. “I’m not going to discuss my personal life with you.”

  “You have to pay for it more often than not, though, right?”

  “I said shut up,” Cody almost shouted.

  “Women think you’re creepy, no matter how nice your outside face might be? Could be because you’re just a creepy little asshole. I mean, you can act not-creepy, but then none of us have spent more than a few minutes with you since the prison. I’m guessing any more than that, and the creepiness just shines through.”

  “Look, you want me to stop this car and throw you in the trunk?”

  “Sure, if it means I don’t have to listen to Don Juan de Douchebag anymore.”

  The car screeched to a halt, slamming Layla into the seat in front of her. Cody turned to face her. “We don’t have far to travel, but I’m beginning to dislike your attitude. I didn’t have to behave so nicely toward you. I could have been rough, could have hurt you. I didn’t because I’m not that kind of person. Now, just stop trying to antagonize me, and we’ll get along. Deal?”

  “You are a great big bag of dicks, aren’t you?”

  Cody lunged for Layla’s leg, but she’d been expecting it and drove the heel of her boot into his nose with a satisfying crunch.

  “Goddamn bitch,” Cody said, darting away and getting out of the car. He opened the rear passenger door and reached in to grab Layla’s legs again. “Come here.”

  “I don’t like that word,” Layla told him.

  Your sorcerer’s band does not appear to affect my presence, Terhal said inside her head. Cody did not close the clasp properly, so he left a loop. Enough to stop you from using your powers normally, but not enough to stop me from talking to you.

  “I know,” Layla said as Cody finally managed to grab one of her squirming legs.

  “You know what?” Cody asked. “Doesn’t matter. You could have been nice to me. We didn’t have to do it this way.” He released her leg and pulled a gun from his holster.

  “That you’re a dumb idiot,” Layla said. “All yours, Terhal.”

  The drenik took control in an instant, and Cody’s eyes widened in shock as power flooded out of Layla’s body, changing how she looked and tearing part of the car’s roof apart. It smashed into Cody’s body with enough force to lift him off his feet and throw him back into the night.

  Unfortunately, the interference of the sorcerer’s band sent Terhal’s power out of control. It yanked the steering column to the side and sent the car down a hill. Terhal tore huge pieces of metal free from the car and wrapped them around Layla and, at her request, her father.

  There was little time to argue as the vehicle quickly gained speed. It hit something, throwing the car into the air before coming to a sudden stop as a metal-wrapped Layla was thrown into the back of the front seats. Terhal stopped taking control of Layla’s body, and the metal encasing her vanished.

  Layla touched her head, her fingers coming away wet. She needed to get the sorcerer’s band off her wrist, as it clearly hadn’t been designed to compensate for Terhal’s presence. Since it hadn’t been closed properly, she hoped it would be easy to remove. She tried to open the clasp completely, but it refused to budge. Great, she thought as she kicked at the door, which swung open.

  Layla crawled out of the back seat of the car and dropped the six feet to the wet, muddy ground. She grabbed hold of the rear wheel arch and used it to help her stand. There was a hissing noise from somewhere, but she couldn’t concentrate for long enough to find its source.

  The front of the BMW had come to rest in a tree, the back hanging down toward the ground. There was an almighty crack, and the tree gave way, dropping the car onto the ground as Layla threw herself aside. She lay on the dirt, looking up at the stars, and concentrated on her breathing. She couldn’t access her powers, and there was zero chance of letting Terhal out again after such a short period of time.

  Layla forced herself to stand and walked over to the totaled car, finding the trunk empty. Her father had been drugged and dumped in the trunk, so how had he escaped, and just how much trouble was he about to cause? “Shit,” she said, slamming the trunk closed. “Good job, Cody, you goddamn idiot.”

  Her father was free, without a sorcerer’s band, and was presumably exceptionally angry about what had happened to him.

  Layla took a step around the car toward the driver’s seat and felt her legs go. She suddenly felt nauseous and the world started to spin. She stayed on the ground for several seconds, willing it to stop, and eventually it did. She smelled gas escaping from the car and knew she needed to get away from it before it caught fire.

  Layla pushed herself up from the floor and took a step away from the car as something smashed into her with incredible force, taking her off her feet and throwing her onto the cold, wet ground. She rolled onto her side just as a boot connected with her ribs, causing pain to rack her body. The foot connected a second time in her side, forcing her to roll over as a third strike landed against the middle of her back.

  “You should have behaved,” Cody said, dragging Layla by her hair over to the nearest tree and dumping her in front of it. He kicked her in the ribs again, his face contorted with rage. “Now I have to drag you to the town. And your dad is who knows where.”

  “Bet you wished you’d drugged me with more,” Layla said.

  Cody grabbed Layla by the throat and lifted her off the ground, slamming her against the tree. “I hope they kill you, I honestly do. I hope they torture you for weeks, slowly take you piece by piece.”

  Layla weakly put her hands over Cody’s, which were still around her throat.

  “You’re not strong enough to stop me,” Cody said. “I could just squeeze the life out of you, and there’s nothing you could do.”

  “Wanna bet?” Layla said, grabbing one of his fingers and snapping it at the knuckle. She drove her foot up between his legs and punched him in the jaw as he started to fall to his knees, sending him sprawling. She might not have much left to fight with, but she was damned if she was going to let someone like Cody take her life without defending herself.

  Layla pushed herself off the tree and planted her foot on Cody’s mouth as he tried to get back to his feet. He was knocked back to the ground, and Layla used the tree to not fall down. Her body hurt a lot more than she’d realized, and her head still felt strange.

  “Come on, Cody, you can do better than that,” Layla said as she slumped to a sitting position.

  She didn’t see her father until he leapt out of the forest darkness and launched one foot into Cody’s exposed head. It made a sickening smack as it connected. Caleb then dragged the semi-conscious Cody over to the BMW, propping him up against the rear wheel, before repeatedly kicking him in the head and chest. When Cody dropped to the ground, Caleb began stomping on his head until Layla heard a crunch.

  “Stop it,” Layla said, her words slurring. Maybe the bump on the head was worse than she’d thought.

  Caleb ignored her and continued to attack the utterly defenseless Cody. At some point, Layla noticed that her father had a knife in his hand, and he repeatedly stabbed Cody.

  Layla’s vision darkened at the edges and she shook her head, hoping it would clear it. She didn’t want to be defenseless, not with her father having clearly lost control. Unfortunately, her body didn’t respond to her stubborn refusal to faint, and she began to fall to the ground.

  She didn’t know how much
time had passed, but it felt as though someone had injected her with a massive dose of adrenaline as she suddenly sat bolt upright, her head no longer fuzzy, and her body no longer in pain. She glanced at her wrist and saw that the sorcerer’s band was no more.

  Her father sat a dozen feet away from her, washing his hands with a canteen of water.

  “I got blood on them,” he said. “Cody won’t be bothering us.”

  Layla looked over at the man who had tried to kill her only moments ago, whose body was drenched with blood. His head was now misshapen, and his neck had been hacked at with something sharp.

  “Piece of broken metal,” Caleb said. “I wrapped some fabric around it.”

  “You killed him,” Layla said. It wasn’t a question.

  “It’s what I do. He was a threat, I removed that threat. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. There’s a lot of blood, and it might attract wild animals.”

  “You removed my sorcerer’s band?”

  “I did,” Caleb said, getting to his feet and showing Layla that he still wore his. He walked over to her as she stood up and passed her the key for his band. “Your band wasn’t properly locked, but I still needed the key to remove it.”

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “You don’t trust me. So I’ll wear a band until you decide to remove it for me. I think that’s probably best for us both.”

  “You’re still a murderer.”

  “That I am. But I’m a murderer who can’t use any of his abilities.”

  “The ability to track anyone anywhere on the planet. Not sure how useful that would be out here in the middle of nowhere.”

  “The band limits my strength, healing, and the like. Just like it does for you. I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”

  Layla stared at her father for a few seconds and bit back the nastier of the replies that entered her head. “I think we’re well beyond that,” she said with a slight sigh.

  Caleb nodded. “I understand. I’ve killed a lot of people. That’s probably a lot for anyone to take in. Probably a lot for someone to understand. I didn’t do it in wartime, or to defend myself. I just hunted people and killed them.”