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

by Shayne Silvers

  I burst out laughing, unable to help myself. A sparkly vampire! And a werewolf on a hog. My life was officially a cliché.

  Alucard’s eyes flashed from his hands to me, and he scowled. Then he noticed Baba, took two strides, and kicked her back into the bench, where she crumpled, motionless. The bench was at least a dozen feet away, and it didn’t even look like Alucard had tried.

  His eyes shot to Tory, who was now climbing to her feet. Tory shook her head once, and as if connected, Alucard was suddenly supporting her, ignoring the space that had stood between them. One moment he was near the Familiar’s remains, the next he was holding Tory. If I could have moved, I would have taken a step back. Her eyes began to glow with green fire, as if fueled by Alucard’s touch. They were sparkling emeralds. Swaying trees in an evergreen forest during the summer. Alive. And entirely inhuman. Alucard’s glow was fading, but he stared at her in wonder. Complete adoration.

  She nodded to him, glanced at the vines still subduing me, and then touched them with a finger. They recoiled from her touch, rapidly retreating into a single huddled mass at my feet, completely freeing me. I gripped my cane, not really sure what was going on between the two of them, but I knew one thing.

  They weren’t the two I had brought into this mess.

  I just hoped I hadn’t caused them lasting harm. It sure as hell didn’t look like it though.

  Tory nodded at the huddled mass on the ground, and the quivering ball of power simply ceased to exist. Then she shot me a dazzling, feral smile, and strode away, back to the center of the clearing. Alucard followed without a glance in my direction, entranced with his new mistress. I don’t think he was mind-warped, just that he genuinely wanted to be as close to her as possible. I turned to find everyone staring at us.

  Indie, astride Grimm, stared at Tory with fiery eyes of her own, flashes of light flickering hungrily like bolts of lightning. To her fiancé, it kind of looked a bit like jealousy. Only I can free my fiancé from golden vines of death, bitch. Or something like that.

  True to my thoughts, Grimm was suddenly pounding earth towards Tory, pearlescent ridged horn of death aimed directly at her heart. Indie’s face was tight, as if she was battling internally with excitement and horror. Her Grimm power trying to fight for domination. But seeing the flickers of horror interspersed with the excitement gave me hope that she may win out.

  Tory never stopped advancing.

  In fact, she wasn’t even looking at the vehicle of her death racing towards her, despite the trail of fire Grimm was leaving in his wake. Even Ashley, Gunnar, and the naked Van stared in astonishment, no longer fighting.

  The unicorn got within a few feet of Tory, and only then did she finally look up.

  That’s it.

  Just a look.

  Grimm’s hooves dug into the earth, launching Indie into the air. Indie performed a flip, hands outstretched, and landed lightly beside me, glaring at Tory’s back. Grimm looked to be in pain from such an abrupt stop, but didn’t appear injured. In fact, he neighed lightly, nuzzling his nose into Tory’s outstretched fingertips. She caressed him one time as she continued on past him, and his whole body shuddered, mane snapping close to his body. He took a few restless stomps of his hooves, and began to turn, following Tory.

  My jaw might have been on the ground. How faithful was that horse? First it had been mine, then Indie’s, and now it owed fealty to Tory?

  The rest of the party in the clearing displayed similar looks of disbelief.

  Indie grasped my hand possessively, not looking my way, and then began striding after Tory.

  I was forced to follow or be forcibly drug behind my fiancé, like a reprimanded child.

  Or a husband.

  “Indie, look, we probably shouldn’t provoke her. I’m not really sure what’s going on, but-”

  “Shut up, Nate. Let the women handle this.”

  I clicked my mouth shut and followed like a good school boy. It was kind of…

  Well, hot.

  Chapter 56

  Don’t take that the wrong way, but I was pretty used to fighting with some pretty heavy hitters, and my number one fear had been looking out for my friends. Of the three women that I cared for most – Tory, Indie, and Ashley – two had been pretty defenseless when it came to my enemies, which had always terrified me. They would be the best way to hurt me. Harm the innocent. I couldn’t watch out for them all the time. Sooner or later, one of them would be hurt.

  Then, a few months ago, I had gotten everyone involved in a situation I was certain would get us all killed. Indie had died, Ashley had been turned into a werewolf against her will, and Tory had lost an arm. Not even considering Misha, who had sacrificed her life to save her daughters, and everyone else’s life. But Indie had come back as a Grimm, Ashley had survived her first shift into a werewolf, and Tory had temporarily melded with the sprite to regrow her arm.

  And apparently, she had gone full-blown Fae on me. Or something more. Something new.

  Indie was now as ruthless as any foe I had ever encountered, even if she didn’t have full grip on her power yet.

  And Ashley was a hyper-violent, business-savvy werewolf chic.

  My girls were all growed up. It almost brought a tear to my eye.

  Because I knew I would never again survive a joke about Indie belonging in the kitchen.

  Indie let go of my arm, took two quick steps closer to Tory, and grasped her shoulder.

  “Indie,” I warned, stepping up beside her, gauging the level of danger from the unasked for physical contact. I had a perfect view of what happened next. Front row seat.

  Tory stopped, slowly turned to face Indie, and the two locked eyes.

  You could have heard a mouse hiccup. Even Rumps’ laughter was absent.

  Indie began panting, rage dancing across her features, fingers flexing at her sides as if searching for a blade. Her spine was locked rigid, and her chest heaved in labored breaths, little twitches down her legs as if she was battling tackling Tory to the earth. Tory trailed a delicate fingertip along Indie’s jaw. I was sure I was witnessing a miracle. It was like witnessing the Dog Whisperer in action. Indie’s face continued grimacing and snarling, and Tory’s fingers gently traced past her jaw, along her neck, and down her shoulder, tapping lightly behind the shoulder blades as she circled my fiancé. Her eyes continued to blaze with green light. And she was humming softly in an alien tune.

  Her feet made no sound, and as I looked down, I noticed tiny, almost unnoticeable sprouts of life trailing in her wake. Tiny leaves, like those little packets you buy to sprout dill weed in your kitchen. Tory continued on, continuing her gentle caress, lightly tapping several other seeming specific spots on Indie’s back as she came back around, mirroring what she had done to the other side, until she finally stood directly before Indie again, staring straight at her lips, where her fingers rested on Indie’s other cheek.

  Indie’s shoulders were now slumped, and although she was breathing heavily still, it was nowhere near as wild as it had been a few moments before. Tory gently leaned in, withdrew her finger, and lightly kissed Indie just above the lips, where a man’s mustache would be.

  I realized I had stopped breathing, and let it out in a soft, careful breath.

  As Tory pulled away, I heard her murmur to Indie, “Peace, woman. Own your beasts.” Then she smiled. Indie’s face slackened suddenly as if doused with warm soothing water on a cool day, instantly washing away the stress she had bottled up for so long. Indie’s eyes closed, she took a deep breath, and opened them again.

  Her face was entirely her own, but I still caught flickers of light in the depths of her irises.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. Tory nodded, smiling. Grimm nickered. And we all turned to face Van and the Huntress.

  “Hot damn!” Van exclaimed, clapping his hands together. His hands quickly covered his crotch as all eyes turned to him.

  The Huntress was staring in lustful starvation at Tory, who didn’t seem to no
tice anyone in particular as she stared at everyone and no one, like a goddess come to dine with mortals.

  “Enough of this,” Rumps’ voice broke the silence, and he appeared directly behind Van and the Huntress. We fanned out so that the three groups faced Rumps. Gunnar, Ashley, and Asterion. Van and the Huntress. And the rest with me. Well, Baba was still taking a nap in the back forty, but everyone else was accounted for.

  “I have an offer for you, if you want to live,” he said flatly.

  Something about the way he said it made me seriously consider agreeing. I knew that look, because it’s how I personally operated. Rumps and I were pretty similar in many ways – planning, scheming, and outmaneuvering our opponents. “I’m drinking buddies with Death, so I’m not too concerned with your threat,” I said, leaning pompously on my cane. “But you should know one thing. We mortals tell children fairy tales not to let them know that monsters exist. They already know that. We tell them fairy tales so they know that monsters can be killed,” I smiled wickedly. “Let’s hear you deal, monster…”

  Chapter 57

  His eyes glittered like fresh unearthed diamonds as he spoke. “I want Jacob Grimm’s amulet in exchange for your lives.” His eyes danced over the assorted groups in the clearing. “Well, the Maker and the Grimm, to be precise.”

  “A trade…”

  But Indie piped up before I could continue. “Give Nate the book, and I’ll give you my amulet.”

  I began to protest, but Rumps shouted, “Deal!”

  “No!” I roared, suddenly terrified that Indie had made a deal with Silver Tongue.

  The little man snickered. “Too late, little Maker. You can have the book, for all the good it will do you now…”

  And I began to get a sneaking suspicion. Why had he phrased it that way? But another thought overrode that, and I felt mildly relieved. Rumps had accepted her deal. The amulet for the book, which meant her soul was not at stake. Just the amulet. Which was a plus.

  I glanced down at my black veins. Unlike me.

  Then I saw the skin of her arm begin to reveal the telltale mark of black blood, and groaned. No soul, but still some kind of compact. She glanced down, noticing my stare, and then caught sight of my own arm for the first time. Her eyes stretched in confusion, and I shrugged.

  My hand casually went to my pocket as I turned back to Rumps, concealing my movement. And I made a quick adjustment to the item I had tucked away.

  “It’s legitimate and binding,” Rumps declared, noticing the veins. As if in answer, he brandished a book from his coat. Just a plain, but old, leather-bound book. He began tapping it against his palm, suddenly appearing eager, arrogant, and needing to brag. “It’s ironic, seeing as the Grimm was the only one here to touch it.”

  And my heart skipped a beat. I turned to her slowly, but she seemed just as surprised as me. She took a step back, shaking her head, eyes wild as she caught the look of betrayal on my face. “No, no, no…” she began, hands rising to her temples as I caught a flash of pain on her features.

  “Blackouts, loss of memory, headaches. Telltale mental manipulation symptoms, eh, Maker? Then, enter three immortals, all conveniently seeking the same book, plaguing you and your friends at every turn. But they weren’t really plaguing you, Maker. They were following her,” he pointed a long finger at Indie, who was still shaking her head, muttering under her breath. “Just as I had planned, her love-struck fiancé comes by, and makes a deal with me to get rid of her affliction,” he mocked, chuckling. “Because he bought the sob story of a homeless man who bought drinks for the lowlifes at his shop. Textbook.”

  “That… that would take weeks to plan… no, months…” I said in amazement. But it explained everything. The pain any time I had pressed her on the book and her memory of that night at the auction. Her blackouts. Her body literally eating itself alive, knowing something was wrong and not being able to discern exactly what it was.

  Rumps was nodding. “Yes… You see, you killed my men…” his eyes trailed off. “Well, not my men, per se, but they did exist thanks to me, and that devil of a man who locked them away for a few hundred years,” he growled. “So, I was forced to act. Temporarily so excited about their abrupt return to properly plan. In fact, we led them straight to your door. Gave them resources. But… we underestimated you and your ragtag group of friends. Even had your own people rallying against you for a brief moment.”

  I was shaking my head. No way. Rumps had been behind the Grimms pinpointing me? But it made so much sense. They had been so organized. So methodical. But who was this we?

  “But I’m just the salesman. The face. Not really a fighter. Just a General. Moving pawns. Setting up dominos. Planning. Scheming…” he gloated. “It takes a higher mind than a brute to plan such things. You wouldn’t know.”

  “Oh, I’m not so sure. Didn’t seem like you did all that well, considering…” I managed a fake smile, hiding my amazement at the story that was unfolding.

  He shrugged. “True. You did well. Which didn’t make my masters happy, let me tell you.”

  “And who is that, exactly? The Big Bad Wolf? Goldilocks?” I teased.

  Then again, it was possible.

  His lunatic eyes assessed me. “No, I don’t think I will be sharing that one. Just out of spite.” He smiled. “Now, let’s consummate our deal, child.”

  I held up a hand, stalling Indie, who was already lifting the amulet over her head. She paused, tears streaming down her face in shame. I could tell they were genuine. She had no idea the part she had played in all of this. “Why do you want that specific amulet so badly? Is it because it’s a seeder?”

  He nodded casually. “Need to rebuild our soldiers, after all. And bring a few home. They’ve had a long tour in that wretched place your ancestor sent them to. But I’m having the last laugh now. We are having the last laugh. Because I always play the long game. And I always win.”

  I wanted to stall him further, but there was nothing I could do. Indie had freely entered into this bargain. If I tried to stop her, I… simply wouldn’t be able to. Whether a frozen turkey struck me down from the sky, or if I simply found myself bound by bars of power, unable to move. Either way, I wouldn’t be able to physically or magically stop this deal from going down.

  Still, my mind worked furiously for something, anything, I could do. After all, my friends would all die if I did nothing… wait. No, they wouldn’t. We were at the Dueling Grounds.

  You couldn’t die here.

  I began to smile. “Don’t worry, I know a bit about long cons too.”

  He sighed, shaking his head sadly as he motioned for Indie to approach. Her feet remained planted, but she did extend the amulet in a shaking fist, unable to prevent herself from finalizing her deal with Silver Tongue. “You must be referring to this place. How mortal wounds are ineffectual here.” He rolled his eyes. “Oh, how very clever of you, Temple. Just genius.” I blinked. Damn it. “Let me tell you a bit about long cons. When I rebuild my army, your little Grimm here will be unable to refuse the call to her people. I will convert hundreds, thousands, of Grimms.” He pointed a finger at Indie. “And since you killed my captains, perhaps I’ll just appoint her as my new Lieutenant. She simply won’t be able to refuse. On this I swear. Part and parcel with the amulets, you see.” I began to shake my head, but Indie was simply staring at him in horror. “Then, when I so desire, I will unleash my horde of Grimms upon your fair city, and watch as they raze it to the foundations. They will destroy everything you have fought so hard to protect. So, in a way, I’m glad you chose this place for our first official meet. I would have hated to have to kill you for real. Where’s the fun in that? When I could instead injure you with a thousand cuts, and slowly pour salt on your wounds. Watching you twitch as each day goes by, your fiancé terrorizing your city, murdering your friends, saving you for last. And knowing that you could never bring yourself to harm the one who holds your heart. Even if your city must burn. The Grimms are coming, the Grimms a
re coming!” he roared. He turned his back, staring into the faces of all those in the clearing. “It might just be my greatest con ever.” He turned back to me. “But I have things to do, and you have limited time to cherish. Let us finish here. I won’t come for her for some time, giving you time to cherish each other. Making the ending even sweeter than an infant’s marrow.”

  I shivered, and noticed that Asterion was panting furiously through his nostrils. He had laid low during the fight. Probably some Buddhist thing. Indie threw the amulet at Rumpelstiltskin. “Take it, you son of a bitch,” she cursed. He caught it with a nod of appreciation, inspecting it curiously.

  “You’ve made it even stronger…” he murmured. Then his eyes flashed to her face. “Who’s a good Lieutenant?” he asked, as if speaking to a particularly cute puppy. “You are,” he cooed.

  Storm clouds were practically blasting in her eyes. “Show me what I have bought, demon.”

  He chuckled, tossing the book to her. She caught it, glanced at it, and then handed it to me, fiery eyes on Rumps. I glanced down, and blinked. “No…”

  Rumps folded over in laughter. “Long con, remember?” I tore my eyes from the cover, pocketing the book as I glared at him, ready to throw down with him right here, right now, regardless of if it would be permanent or not. It would at least make me feel better. “What you’re holding is the last copy – in this world at least – of an introduction to harnessing the Maker power. The ABC’s, if you will.”

  Everyone made sounds of disbelief. Even the immortals. Which meant they truly had no idea what they had been after. The looks on their faces showed that they had been told it was something else entirely, and they didn’t look pleased at the discovery. Long con, alright. Not only had he distracted me with immortal thugs, but the seemingly boring book had been something I had searched everywhere for, and the thugs pursuing me for it hadn’t even known what it was. With this book, I might have been able to prevent all this from happening.