by MJ Fletcher
“The Guilder thinks he can contain the power? How wonderful, you’re making this so easy for me.” Tower laughed and stepped forward.
“You think I want to contain it?” Uncle Thomas yelled and lifted his arms in the air slamming them together. Crimson energy roiled off his arms and down over him. He dropped his head back and screamed, a guttural sound that made my skin crawl.
“Do it fool, release the energy!” Tower yelled stretching out his own hands and opening himself up, trying to absorb the power like he had done earlier.
This wasn’t right. Tower had no business tapping into more energy and getting what he actually wanted. But I had no idea how I could possibly stop it. So I did the only thing I could think of... I ran for Uncle Thomas.
Nightshade yelled at me to get down. But I couldn’t stop, there was no way in hell that I’d let Tower do anything to Uncle Thomas. I reached in, penetrating the crimson energy that would have fried me if I didn’t have an Impossible Engineer created mechanical hand. My fingers wrapped around his wrist and the Universe opened to me. My eyes rolled back into my head and power rushed through me unlike anything I had ever experienced. I’d used Artifacts before, but this was different, the Skeleton Keys spoke to me. I could feel the power in them calling to me, begging to be used.
I opened my eyes and smiled at Tower. He frowned, and before he could move, I lifted my arm and a beam of crimson energy shot across the room and knocked him head over heels.
Somehow I was focusing the ability of Uncle Thomas’s curse and using it to fight Tower. This power I could understand and use, and if I had the time I could defeat Tower and all the First Kind.
I raised my hand and flexed the mechanical contraption, the bolts and gears holding it together vibrated frantically. It was obvious they wouldn’t hold. My mother’s voice drifted into my head.
No one can contain that much power.
Uncle Thomas appeared as if in a trance, his hair slowly turning white and the power exponentially growing beyond his control.
“Chloe, stop him!” Gran cried out, standing at the back of the warehouse, tears streaming down her face.
Nightshade was off to the side screaming at me to get away from him and unable to get closer, though not for lack of trying. All around me was crimson Skeleton Key Guild energy, burning so hot that everything around us was being destroyed.
Ms. True was helping Tower to his feet and backing away from us. Tower’s eyes were locked on me with an anger that I could well understand, he wanted me dead as much as I wanted him dead.
“Uncle Thomas, you have to stop,” I urged, even though I didn’t want the energy to stop, I craved it. I wanted him to increase it, though it would kill him and most likely me as well, if he didn’t stop.
“No, they’ll all pay,” he said, his voice an angry whisper.
“Who? Gran? Me? Another Nightshade dying for you? Please stop.”
“No.”
“Then if not for us... for Jess.”
“Jess.” His voice trembled and he finally turned to look at me, his eyes gleaming red. “My daughter.”
“Don’t make her lose her father again,” I pleaded.
He pointed toward Tower, struggling to leave with Ms. True. “You know the only way this ends is with him dead.”
“I know and nobody wants that more than me.”
“Chloe, my life is over already, the least I can do is to make my death matter. Take care of your grandmother, and tell my daughter I love her so much.” He took a step away from me, toward Tower, but I wouldn’t let go of his wrist.
“Please don’t.”
“Your parents would be so proud of the woman you’ve become. You honor the Grimm and Masters’ names. But you know I have to do this so no one else has to die.”
For a moment his eyes cleared and I saw the man I remembered, the uncle who played hide and seek with me and Jess. He knew I would sacrifice myself to save my friends and family just like he wanted to do now. How could I deny him that?
“Make him pay for all of us.” I let go of his hand and Uncle Thomas ran forward.
Gran screamed for him to stop, but the energy was building all around him as he raced after Tower.
Nightshade crossed the distance between us, grabbing me and pulling me against him. “What the hell is he doing?” he demanded.
“Killing that son of a bitch,” I replied.
Uncle Thomas was a live wire. The ground he crossed burned and smoked behind him. In the last few feet Ms. True let go of Tower and ran. Tower stood his ground waiting for the attack.
Thomas Grimm jumped into the air, a massive surge of power surrounding him. Tower grinned and my heart nearly stopped, something was wrong. He wasn’t running, instead Tower reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a stop watch. He held it up and clicked the top. A wave of energy rolled outward, knocking everything over including Nightshade and me.
I scrambled to my feet as soon as I could. Too late I realized it was a Timelock. Uncle Thomas was frozen in mid-leap and Tower was smiling in my direction.
“Better luck next time, Chloe.” He waved his hand and a portal appeared beneath him, and then Towers and my uncle disappeared in a flash.
“NO!” The scream tore from my lungs as I ran forward skidding to my knees to stop where they’d vanished. I pounded my fist into the ground and screamed as Nightshade came up behind me and lifted me off the ground, cradling me in his arms.
“It’s okay,” he whispered.
But it wasn’t. I had just delivered another family member into Tower’s hands. I was losing the war.
Chapter Thirteen
Status: We need a plan and guess who gets to come up with it?
“That’s the lot of it, Jess.” I looked out the floor to ceiling windows of the Reliquary and took a deep breath, having finished telling her about her dad.
“So it’s all true?” Jess rested her shoulder against the window. She glanced out with a wistful look on her face. “My father is alive?”
“Yes, I tried to reach you.”
“I know you did, Cuz, I got the million and one texts you sent me.”
“I wanted to get you to him as soon as we confirmed he was really your dad.” I was nervous and not sure how she was going to handle all this. I felt badly that she hadn’t had a chance to see her father before Mr. Tower got to him. Yet she seemed to be handling this with more calm than I had expected.
“I understand, it’s odd is all. I mean I never really thought I would see my dad again. I buried him and my mom a long time ago. This is all so surreal.”
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“As okay as I can be for finding out my dad is still alive and that the First Kind killed my mother. I mean what the hell is their problem with our family?” She shook her head and bit her lip.
“We’re going to figure this all out, we’ll get him back.”
“Chloe, I want to see him, but I’m scared.” Her voice grew quiet and I slipped my hand around her waist and we hugged one another as we looked out over the dimension.
I tried to reassure her. “He’s your dad. There isn’t anything to be scared of.”
“What if he doesn’t like what he sees?”
She lifted her arm and I knew she was talking about her scarred body, but it went deeper than that. Jess had changed over the last few years. The things we’d gone through had more of an affect on her than the rest of us and not only physically. She was no longer just the prettiest girl around. Her shirt covered her for a good reason. Her arms and torso were riddled with scars from a battle with Gremlins. She had faced them down alone, completely surrounded. I hadn’t been able to get to her before they overwhelmed her. She survived, but it had changed her, significantly. She was among the fiercest fighters I’d ever seen and was a terrific tracker of the Old Kind.
“Don’t worry about that, our family has never been perfect but we’re still family. And that’s all that matters.” I hugged her tighter wanting to let her k
now she wasn’t alone.
She smiled, but kept looking out the tall window. “Do you really think we’re going to survive?”
My breath caught in my throat. The thought had crossed my mind often. I’d already lost so many people I cared about to this struggle and now the end was coming and I was afraid of what else might happen. But we never really talked about it.
“I hope so,” I said.
“If we don’t, I want you to know I love you.” Her voice was quiet and my eyes misted over.
“I love you too,” I said.
We didn’t say anything else, we didn’t have to. We’d been through a lot together and if I was going to go into this fight, Jess was one of the people I would trust with my life.
“No matter what happens, I promise you we will end this once and for all,” I said.
“Agreed. This war ends for our family... with us.”
We’d suffered more losses than most and I didn’t want this battle to go on endlessly. Erin should have a chance at a normal life and if that meant Jess and me ending it... then so be it.
“You ready to join the others?” I asked.
“Yes, though I’m waiting on confirmation on some news,” she said.
“Let’s talk with the group, and then we can go over it.”
We stepped away from the window and walked into the Great Room of the Reliquary and I slipped onto one of the couches.
Our friends were spread out across the room. We were back in the Reliquary, all together for the first time in I didn’t know how long. I was uncomfortable after everything that had just happened, but at least I was surrounded by friends.
I sat cross-legged wearing a new hoodie and concert t-shirt with jeans and combat boots. Nightshade was standing next to me, his muscled arms crossed over his chest and his two different colored eyes watching everyone in the room.
Edgar sat on the floor in front of the fireplace, maps spread out all around him and his goggles pulled down over his eyes. He worked furiously, scribbling coordinates and ideas across ten different charts.
Jess had crossed the room and stood behind him, her arm draped on the edge of the fireplace mantle. She was dressed all in black. It covered her arms and upper body completely, but the severe color only served to highlight her beauty. Her makeup and hair were perfect as always.
Slade stood by the floor to ceiling windows, looking out on the ominous clouds that gathered and swirled around the dimension the Reliquary occupied. Even beside the tall window Slade loomed large. His muscular frame appeared as if it was ready to tear through his clothes at the slightest movement. He’d grown a short scruffy beard in the last few weeks. He had had little to no rest time, having been on one mission after another trying to gain information from Old Kind.
“We can’t keep this up. The First Kind is on our tail at every turn and all we’re doing is playing catch up while they’re staying one step ahead. We need to do something to change the game.” Gavin leaned back in his chair, Henna sat next to him, her arm in a sling. The First Kind had done a number on her when we’d found her in the alley near the warehouse. She rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled against him.
“Agreed, Chloe, the Impossible Engineers will still talk to me, though they’re getting anxious,” Slade said. “We had a big win over the First Kind at Storm Reach but it hasn’t stopped them, if anything they’re even bolder now. With Mr. Tower in control of the Council, the Old Kind might as well be our enemy.”
“Tower is the real problem here. The question is how do we get to him?” Jess smoothed out her jacket and looked in my direction.
“What do we really know about him or his actual plan?” I leaned back rubbing my temples “We know he wants the First Kind returned and that he plans on using the Artifacts and my family to help his cause. What else?”
Gavin took it from there. “He’s been a person of influence in the Guild for over twenty years. He’s worked his way up, but where he came from before that is anyone’s guess.”
Gavin had been a Guilder before he broke away and went solo. A rare thing among the Old Kind, then again Gavin was a Polymorph like Nightshade and I, which was even rarer.
“The Quorum at the top of the Guild has many factions. There are plenty lined up against him, but with him still controlling the Hollow and the Council, it’s hard to convince them to join us.” Nightshade added.
“That means he’s well protected and guarded and we’re not even sure what his timetable is or how close he is to pulling it off.” I threw my hands up annoyed at the whole situation. I was happy we’d done as much damage as we had to the First Kind, but it felt like we were back at square one. Losing my uncle to him hadn’t improved my mood, plus I wanted to find my sister and every moment I spent fighting someone was time I could be spending locating her.
“You need to go to the Guild.” Edgar didn’t look up when he spoke. He kept focused on his maps.
“What?” I asked.
“If Tower thinks he is untouchable and safe with the Guild, then that’s where we need to go after him. You attack your enemy’s strongest point, it’s unexpected and leaves them vulnerable.” He looked up and his eyes loomed large through his goggles, making him look like some mad scientist out of an old black and white movie.
“Are you serious?” Slade asked.
“Of course he is.” I smiled and Edgar nodded, and then returned to his work.
“Cuz, you’re not seriously considering this, are you?” Jess walked past Edgar and sat down beside me.
“Look, we need to take the fight to them. Gavin is right. We’ve been on the defensive ever since Storm Reach.”
“I’ll do it.”
How did I know Nighshade would say that? I took a deep breath and nodded. “You being the newest Quorum member might carry some weight.”
“I might be able to convince some Guilders to side with us and take on the First Kind.”
“You could or it could prove dangerous,” I warned. Not that it would make a difference.
“Everything we do is dangerous.”
“If they catch you...” I didn’t finish the thought, I didn’t want to.
“It wouldn’t be the first time, I can handle myself.”
The image of his scarred back ran through my head as I reluctantly said, “Okay, Nightshade will try to broker a deal with the Skeleton Key Guild.” I didn’t look at him; I didn’t want to see his eyes at that moment. I was the leader, as much as I didn’t always like admitting it. I was the one who had to make the hard choices, even if that meant sending the man I loved into a situation that could get him killed.
Gavin leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “That’s step one, and we also need to deal with other matters. We have to figure out our plan for the Old Kind and the Council.”
“The Mapmakers are our only allies at the moment and we need more than that,” Henna added, her hand never straying far from Gavin’s.
“What about the HVO we rescued from Storm Reach?” I asked.
“They’re with us, but there are only a hundred or so of them and most are staying with the Mapmakers. If this turns into an all out battle, we’re going to need a lot more than that,” Gavin said.
I glanced at Slade. “What about the Engineers?”
He scratched at the stubble on his chin. “My father has a pretty good lock on the Impossible Engineers.”
Slade’s father was the lead Council member for the Engineers, and he and his father had had a bad fallen out over him siding with us against the Engineers.
“A lot of them disagree with trying to deal with the First Kind,” he continued. “I’ve been talking to a few of them and I think, with more facts presented, we can convince many of them to crossover to our side. I’m meeting with them tonight. It would go a long way if you came with me and talked to them, Chloe.”
“Why me?”
“You still don’t realize how much influence you have, do you?” Slade chuckled. “You’re the one wh
o has fought the First Kind from the start. You have firsthand knowledge of how devious they are. If you can convince the Engineers, you can win them over. They respect you.”
“If you think it’ll work, I’ll come along.”
“Good.”
“What about DS?” Jess asked about the one Society I didn’t want to think about, my own.
“They turned on me,” was my only reply.
Jess didn’t let up on it. “We need all the help we can get.”
“What would you like me to do? Go to the Doorknob Society Manor and say, ‘Hi, you hate me, can we chat’?”
“If that’s what it takes, yes.”
I stared Jess down and the thing that aggravated me more than anything was that she was right. I mean, here I was asking Nightshade to put his life on the line, and I wasn’t willing to do the same.
“Fine, I’ll figure it out.” I shook my head and stopped myself from saying anything else.
Jess reached out, grabbing my hand and squeezed it. “I’ll go with you.”
“Thanks, Cuz.”
“Dinners ready.” Val entered the great room, her hair pulled back, though not all her stubborn curls were contained. A few popped out here and there around her face. She was wearing an apron and had been cooking a meal for everyone while we worked out our plan. She was the only regular human among us, and yet she remained one of my best friends. She knelt beside Edgar, kissed his cheek and hugged him.
“Good, I’m starving.” Slade beamed and started out of the room.
“Big surprise there,” Nightshade said.
“You’re just jealous of my size.”
“I like not blocking out the sun thank you very much.”
“Always a comment, Nightshade.”
“I know it’s hard getting through all that muscle, but some of us like to use our brains for other things.”
“You’re a dick.”
“After all this time, that’s your best come back. I mean damn, give me something to work with here.”
I couldn’t help but smirk as the two of them continued their banter as they left the room. Nightshade had become more like himself every day since he had regained his memories. Even his stupid sniping with Slade had returned, and I loved every minute of it. He had been the one true bright spot in the dark nights since losing my mom.
