Silver Tongue: A Novel in The Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Series (The Temple Chronicles Book 4)

by Shayne Silvers

  I nodded thoughtfully, glancing at Asterion. He studied Indie intently, sniffing the air slightly. He finally shook his head. “I’m fairly certain that I would be able to sense it if she had touched it. I do sense a faint trace of a residual power on both of you, but it is very, very faint. Days old. Even still, I can tell it wasn’t the object itself. More like this case you mentioned.”

  I sighed in frustration. Not that I had wanted to find out Indie had lied to me, but at least it would have explained a lot, and I couldn’t exactly hold it against her if the book had somehow overwhelmed her. Especially with her lack of control already. I never should have sent her to the auction in the first place.

  But who would have thought the auction would be dangerous? It wasn’t typical for items harboring magic to make it to auction. They were usually passed on to other wizards or sold privately in the supernatural community. Or traded for favors. Not sold at auction.

  Except in very rare, unusual, and unexplainable situations like the first edition of Grimm’s Fairy Tales I had run across several years ago. But that had later been explained as basic extortion. And the seller had been murdered. That tiny act had brought the Brothers Grimm out of their imprisonment to once again haunt our world. To prevent it from happening again I had opened up my very own bookstore to hopefully catch these rare artifacts, books, and objects before they could make it into the regular population.

  “Worth a try. I just can’t wrap my head around any other possibility.” Indie nodded coolly, but she did sit back down beside me. “Do you know much about the sprites, Asterion?”

  “There are many sprites, Temple,” he answered wryly.

  “One is a silver succubus of sorts, one is black as night, seeming to wield earth magic like nothing I have ever seen, and the other seemed to be a woodland sprite.”

  Asterion’s gaze sharpened. “Together?” I nodded. “Interesting… They are not notorious, or, were nothing notorious until a certain… event happened.” I leaned forward, nodding. “Well, those were three of the key players to help banish the Grimms back in the day.”

  “Yes, them.”

  “Well, they were strong, true, but nothing extremely special. But they were friends, and rarely left each other’s side. The only reason I know of them is the Grimm extinction. What about them?”

  “Well, less about them, and more about their powers.” Asterion frowned, so I continued. “When we were fighting the Grimms a few months ago, after they lit your fields on fire…” he growled menacingly at the memory. It had forced him to flee to… somewhere else. He refused to divulge details about his vacation spot, but he had come back changed, moodier, darker, and it was only after recent visits to Achilles’ Heel – the bar where I had first met Death and Eae – that he had seemed to come out of his funk. He nodded curtly. “They helped us battle. But the woodland sprite didn’t survive…” The Minotaur frowned sadly, murmuring a prayer under his breath. “In fact, she saved one of my friends. Tory Marlin, the exceptionally strong one I told you about. Used to be a cop?” Asterion nodded. “Well, she lost someone she loved in that fight, and has been in a dark place for some time now. But in recent days, she has displayed some unique… abilities that I’m not even sure she is aware of.”

  “Go on…” the Minotaur said curiously.

  “Well, a horde of fairies was attacking her and they simply stopped. Then they attacked another monster they had moments before been allied with. She also seems to have some affinity for wood.”

  Alucard stifled a laugh, and Indie glared at his immature outburst. Asterion frowned at us, not understanding. I shook my head. “Anyway, Baba Yaga tried to lay down the law with a storm of magic, and she simply… nullified it.”

  Asterion’s mouth hung open. “She… nullified Baba’s magic?” He whispered in disbelief. I nodded. He shook his head, muttering for a few moments. “I have never heard of such a thing.”

  “My thought is that something… symbiotic may have happened when the sprite saved Tory. Because Tory was missing an arm, and the sprite was dying. The sprite’s magic temporarily grew her another arm, and then the sprite died. It’s like she imbued Tory with her power long enough to grow her another arm…”

  The Minotaur stood to his feet and began pacing in heavy booted strides. He finally turned to us. “No, that wouldn’t be enough. Healing her is possible, but passing on her powers?” He shook his head. “No, not possible.”

  I thought hard for a few breaths, then decided to spill the rest. Everyone here had witnessed it anyway. I just felt bad talking about Tory without her here. “Well, in order to trap Jacob Grimm, the other two sprites needed Tory’s help to form a cage. They used her as a conduit since she temporarily held the sprite’s power…”

  The Minotaur was shaking his head, but not in disagreement this time… it was in flat disbelief. “I… It’s possible,” he hesitated, then continued. “Maybe…”

  “Wait, you’re telling me that Tory is now a sprite? She’s still human-sized though. And she hasn’t lost her previous powers.”

  “Not a sprite. A hybrid of sorts. Who knows exactly what she is, but from what you’ve told me – and it seems almost impossible – but she might be… Fae. Whether she likes it or not. Whether she knows it or not. Whether she… wants it or not.”

  Indie was staring at me, no doubt wondering how long I had known. But it wasn’t like I had had any time to share the details with her.

  “Looks like I need to have a talk with her…” The Minotaur grunted at the understatement.

  “Then there’s Ashley,” Indie added, shaking her head with a faint smile.

  I nodded. “Yeah, still trying to adapt to the change.” Asterion nodded. “Why not give her what you gave your family wolf?”

  Alucard burst out laughing, and Indie barely hid her smile. I, too, grinned.

  “He’s not my family wolf, Asterion. He’s a friend. My family helped take care of him.”

  “Your family adopted the werewolf, right?” Asterion asked, frowning.

  Alucard’s laughter reached new levels as he clapped his knees. “Oh, boy,” he wheezed.

  “No, yes… I don’t know,” I shook my head in exasperation. “Listen, it’s more the words you’re using that are the problem. What you are implying is correct, but the words are typically used by mortals for adopting stray animals.”

  Asterion stared back, not understanding. “You did adopt a stray were animal…” I sighed, nodding. He shook his head at the look on my face though. “Humans, so odd.” I grinned. “Just grant her the family rune like you did for him.”

  I blinked. “I didn’t do it for him.”

  “Who did you do it for, if not for him?”

  I muttered under my breath. “Jesus…”

  “Jesus?” He asked, growing confused.

  “No. Stop. Listen-”

  “You forgot collaborate,” Alucard piped up, laughing all over again as he sang Vanilla Ice.

  I took a deep calming breath, closing my eyes. “Okay. My father gave Gunnar the rune, not me. And I don’t know how to duplicate it.”

  Asterion stared at me as if I were daft. Then he strode up to me, head cocked to the side as if staring at a mental patient, and then slapped me in the face. He hit me so hard I fell off the bench, clawing to my feet with anger. But he was smirking. He used a fingernail to scratch a smiley face into the wood. “That would work.”

  I stared from him to the crude drawing. “Yeah, I’m thinking no on that one-”

  He interrupted me, turning to Indie. “Is it necessary to slap humans twice to get their attention?” She giggled, nodding her head eagerly. Asterion reared back his palm to slap me again. I danced back a step, holding up my hands defensively, and Indie bubbled over with laughter.

  Asterion watched us all as if not understanding the insanity of the humans before him. “The rune can be anything. It’s not the drawing that matters. It’s the family rune. You adopted a stray, and granted him the safety of your family. In
effect, this meant that he had to be able to control his shifting at will, and not as a cycle of chance, lunar calculations, or outbursts of uncontrolled mood swings. In exchange for this gift, he was obligated to protect you and your family, or whoever your father designated. For example, your father may have paired you two kids together, leaving themselves out of the bond. You would have to ask either your father or Gunnar for clarification. Did your father teach you nothing of this? I’m sure even the wolf could have explained it to you in simple enough terms for your limited mental capacity to grasp.” He shook his head, walking away in disgust. He called out over his shoulder. “You three have exhausted me. I have no more patience for your wordplay.”

  He disappeared as he reached the ring of torches. I wasn’t sure if he had walked into the darkness or if he had disappeared of his own volition just before entering the darkness.

  “Well, looks like I can take care of Ashley after all.”

  “Is he that smart, or are you that dense?” I ignored Alucard, and began walking away.

  But I was suddenly distracted by Asterion’s disembodied voice. She’s dying, Temple… I jerked, but no one else appeared to have heard it. So, I played it cool, mind swirling down a deep, dark rabbit hole of nothingness…

  Chapter 42

  We pulled up to Chateau Falco an hour later. My mind was racing with Asterion’s parting words. She’s dying… We tiredly climbed out of the car and began walking towards the front door. On reflex, I instantly flung out my hands, knocking Alucard and Indie’s chests back, stopping them in their tracks. Indie’s stray cat was pawing at a box lying in front of the door. I approached slowly, and quickly realized it was a pizza box. The cat glanced up at me, then began scratching at the box again. A note fluttered in the wind on top of the box.

  Garlic… Love, Van.

  “I hate that man,” Alucard hissed, pinching his nose at the pungent smell. He kicked the box into the bushes, and Indie squawked at him in defense of the cat. But the cat disappeared into the bushes with a hiss at the vampire.

  “It’s rude to talk about someone behind their back… much better to talk to someone behind their back…” a cool voice spoke from behind us.

  We whirled, Alucard flashing fangs and claws, me ready to unleash my whips, and Indie’s eyes dancing with crackles of lightning deep in her irises.

  Van Helsing held a crossbow in each hand, one pointed at Indie and one at Alucard. He had a fat cigar in his mouth, unlit, and his white teeth glinted in the ambient light. “We were interrupted last time.” He dipped his head at the crossbow aimed at Alucard. “This here is wood and garlic tipped.” He nodded to the other pointed at Indie. “This one is simply an explosive charge. Didn’t want to take any chances and have her walk it off.” He winked darkly at her.

  “What do you want?”

  “Not that bright, eh? Same thing I’ve wanted the whole time. The damn book.”

  I glared at him. “For the tenth time. I don’t have it.”

  To my surprise, Van nodded. “I believe you. But I’m thinking you probably do know where it really is.” I shrugged helplessly.

  “Honestly, if it would get you guys off my back, I would tell you.”

  “Maybe I should just kill you anyway. Level the playing field a bit…”

  The monster cat suddenly slammed into his shins, clawing through his pants with a yowl. He cursed, adjusted his aim, and the wood-tipped arrow released, sailing just over Indie’s shoulder to strike the doorframe. The cat bolted into one of the bushes on the other side of the drive, and Van cursed, aiming the other explosive arrow at the feline. He released the catch and the arrow sailed into the shrubbery. I ducked, and caught Indie and Alucard doing the same, using the car as a shield. The explosion was deafening, and despite the car blocking the shrapnel, the air instantly intensified in a wave of deadly heat and flame.

  The cat was history.

  Indie jumped to her feet, eyes on fire as she glared at where Van had been standing, but he was gone. A shredded piece of fabric remained as the only evidence of his presence. Indie let out a scream. “Shooting a fucking bazooka at a cat! What the hell is wrong with you, coward!” Her eyes scanned the grounds, ready to go toe-to-toe with the mercenary. But no one responded. She bolted toward the burning bush, screaming the cat’s name. it was the first time I had heard it.

  Alucard stepped up beside me. “Sir Muffle Paws?” He asked incredulously.

  I shrugged. “I guess. I haven’t spent much time around it. Apparently, she named it.”

  Indie spent a few minutes searching for the cat while Alucard and I swept the driveway, searching for any trace of Van. We met back up at the door, and I dislodged the arrow bolt from the doorframe with a curse. I opened the door and…

  Sir Muffle Paws hammered into my shins affectionately, purring contentedly. I simply stared down at the creature, not comprehending.

  “Sir Muffle Paws!” Indie all but screamed, scooping him up in her arms and rubbing her face against his neck. The cat purred, nudged her back a bit, and then began cleaning his paws with his eyes closed. Indie’s eyes watered over, and she shot me a dazzling grin. I managed a weak smile and ushered everyone inside ahead of me. I stepped back into the driveway and scanned the windows. None were open.

  I stared hard, trying to think of any possible way the cat could have escaped a freaking grenade, and then managed to get inside a building that was entirely locked down, without anyone noticing.

  It was… impossible.

  My distrust for the cat jumped up a few notches.

  I had never been a cat person, having Gunnar around made that kind of a non-starter. But I disliked how cats never acted enthusiastic about their pet humans coming home. They didn’t do tricks. And their gaze was accusing, disdainful, and arrogant. Dogs, on the other hand, jumped all over you when you got home, licking your face, barking, wagging their tail, and generally smothering you with love.

  Cats were just aliens as far as I was concerned.

  And now I had one of the beasts living with me.

  And the worst part?

  Indie apparently adored the fleabag, even giving it a name.

  I sighed, shaking my head as I finally went back inside, brain running on overdrive as I considered the possibilities. It wasn’t long till my thoughts drifted back to Indie. I locked up the door behind me, double-checking the locks as well as mentally checking that the Guardians were active. They were, which only confused me further. If the cat had somehow gotten inside, the house alarm should have gone off, or the Guardians would have raised hell. Unless Dean had let the beast in. But still, the cat would have had to travel to the complete opposite side of the house to get to another door, and there simply hadn’t been enough time.

  I shook my head. I needed to take my mind off things for a minute and relax. But I wasn’t ready for sleep yet. Indie was already up in our rooms, but Alucard was waiting for me. “Don’t trust the cat,” I whispered, walking past him. I called over my shoulder, not turning. “Hit the hay, man. I’m betting we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Pick a room. See you bright and early.” I heard him grunt acknowledgment and something about needing a drink. I had no doubt he would search out Mallory – if he was back from the cemetery – for a nightcap, but I didn’t want company.

  I had a woman to save.

  Chapter 43

  I found myself pacing, checking on the Guardians, and generally avoiding my thoughts. With a frustrated curse, I threw up a hand and a gateway erupted into existence in the hallway before me, revealing a familiar room on the other side beyond the hungry tendrils of fire. I smiled, and cast a bit of my scent through the portal, not wanting a surprise welcome party. I had a sudden idea. I snapped my fingers, and a Guardian standing a few feet away suddenly cracked to life, crouching as it spun. It acknowledged me with a silent shriek, beak wide, and darted through the portal, disappearing from view for a few moments.

  After a few seconds, I saw another shape slowly stalk from the s
hadows, sniffing the air and staring at the portal with stone eyes. Another stone figure tackled it out of nowhere, and the two figures rolled, wrestling, nipping at each other playfully, tails lashing and wings flaring out. I smiled as they came to a stop. They nuzzled each other’s beaks together, grateful to see one another again. It was important to strengthen the connection between the store and my home. Remind the Guardians they were still connected with each other even though housed at different locations.

  I had to be vigilant about switching out the posts so that they mingled, remembered each other, or pretty soon they would be two entirely different armies I would have to manage, growing jealous if they scented the other Guardians’ magic on my person.

  I stepped through and let the portal close behind me. I stood in the darkness, taking in a deep breath. Then again. When I felt calm, I opened them. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, and the two Guardians had stalked away to mingle together on the lower level, no longer concerned about the sudden occupant in the locked-down bookstore.

  I wandered over to my personal bookshelf. Well, now it was technically Alucard’s room, but I had reserved a bookshelf for personal reasons. Nothing on it was dangerous, but each item was important to me for various reasons. For example, I was confident that I had a book on the healing arts around here. A journal from my studies with my mother so many years ago.

  I found it, took a seat, and idly threw out my hand as I opened the journal. The lights flickered on. Well, several orbs of light at the cardinal directions flared to a soft existence, providing me with enough light to read. The dark voice made a purring sound deep in my soul at the sliver of power. I sighed, letting go of my cane. It vanished from view, but I didn’t like how I kept grasping at it. Better than permanently residing inside of me, I supposed.

  I still wasn’t entirely sure what it meant or what it was, but I did know that it was nowhere near as powerful as it had been when I had first encountered it while battling the Grimms. When it had temporarily tried to overpower me, and temporarily succeeded. Then I had somehow used its knowledge to do something that had terrified everyone around me.