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

by Shayne Silvers

  Indie was openly sobbing now. And she had unknowingly hidden it away the entire time.

  Chapter 58

  Rumps was facing the immortals, business concluded with me, standing directly in the center of us. “Sorry about the misdirection. Well, actually I’m not. But you did well, dogs.”

  Van’s face could have broken rocks, and the Huntress looked ready to bury a dagger in his eye, consequences be damned. The hand in my pocket felt another item I had stowed inside. Just in case I needed to bargain.

  I opened my mouth to do just that, and suddenly had a thought.

  I motioned to catch Indie’s attention, noticing Rumps was facing away. I could see the amulet securely tucked in his back pocket, no risk of it falling out, but a bit of loose chain dangled freely.

  Indie glanced over, face stricken, no doubt fearful of my disappointment. But instead she saw the Grimm amulet I had stored in my pocket suddenly sailing at her face. She caught it, blinked, and looked back up to see an anxious, devious look on my face as I pointed at her, myself, and Asterion in rapid succession. Then I tapped my wrist rapidly, indicating a watch, and drew a finger across my throat. She blinked in confusion, and I noticed that several people were staring at my frantic motion. Even Rumps seemed to take notice, and began to turn.

  And time stopped. Completely. Everyone stood completely frozen. Even Rumps.

  Well, except for Indie, Asterion, and I.

  “Okay, what the hell is-”

  “Stop!” I shouted. Indie’s mouth clicked shut. “Everyone mark your place. Exactly. To the millimeter.” Asterion was turning from person to person, then to us, mouth opening and closing in confusion, but he did glance at the ground, make a mark with his hoof, and then look back up at me. Indie did the same before staring at me and wiping her nose. “Indie, can you hold this for a few minutes?”

  She frowned thoughtfully, and then her sadness morphed into a slow grin. “Yes! I can! No strain, Nate.” Her eyes grew thoughtful. “Whatever Tory did removed my block. I finally feel in control!” Her mood was infectious, but we had things to do, and quickly. I didn’t trust her newfound ability for control just yet.

  “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do…”

  They listened in rapt attention, faces beginning to stretch into wild grins. “When?” Asterion growled hungrily.

  “After I hit my knees. When I reference cow-tipping,” I replied.

  Indie looked nervous. “What if he planned for this like he’s planned for everything else?”

  I shrugged. “No way to tell, but my guess is that it’s too stupidly reckless to predict.”

  Asterion grunted agreement.

  I scowled at him. “Any better ideas?” He finally shook his head. “Just aim true.” As an afterthought, I added, “I wouldn’t be against a little blood to make it feel real. I don’t know exactly what he’s capable of, so better make sure you hurt him enough to distract him.” I remembered his faith. “Is that a problem? Because I don’t really have another plan…”

  “For what he’s done? I’ll make an exception.”

  “Okay. Back to positions. Let me do my part. Hold it for a few seconds longer?” I asked Indie. She smiled, nodding with an overly bored sigh.

  “Take your time, hot stuff.”

  They retreated back to their places. I walked over to Rumps and took Indie’s amulet from his back pocket. A second one came out also, snagged on the chain. It was Wilhelm’s. My grin stretched wider. I pocketed Wilhelm’s amulet without letting anyone know, and walked back to Indie. I placed her original amulet in her palm, and only after it was touching her skin did I take off the spare amulet I had given her.

  “Nate,” she said, as I began to turn away. I looked back, suddenly alarmed, fearing that the time manipulation had failed. But no one moved. Her eyes were resolute. “What if he takes the necklace again?” I finally shrugged, having no answer. She took a deep breath, slapped it into her forearm, and with a humorless grin, stared down at it intently. I gasped as the metal began to steam, but also because Indie was so easily using magic – no doubt drawn from her proximity to me – to brand herself with the amulet.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed.

  But I dared not stop her. The amulet had to touch her skin. At least, I thought it did. Neither of us truly knew much about the magic involved, but it was a safe bet, seeing as how it had been designed as an amulet, where at least some piece of the necklace was always touching skin, whether it was the chain or the pendant itself.

  She gritted her teeth, making no sound, and then the amulet suddenly iced over, a thin layer of frost covering the metal in a brief expulsion of steam. After another second, she peeled it away, bits of flesh tearing away as they stuck to the frozen metal.

  She glanced down at the amulet and smiled, nodding weakly. Then she showed it to me. Where the stones had been were now just empty sockets. My eyes tracked to her wounded forearm to find the stones embedded into her very flesh, skin still sizzling and an angry red. My gaze slowly rose to meet her eyes, and although she looked to be in agony, she also looked extremely powerful, confident…

  And damn right pleased with herself. She began to place the amulet around her neck, but I quickly whipped out Wilhelm’s amulet, stones still intact, and gave it to her. “I don’t think I could handle doing that again right now,” she whispered.

  I shook my head. “No, it’s just a better fake. It still has stones. If he notices that the amulet around your neck has no stones, he might get suspicious.” She nodded, trading amulets with me and placing it around her neck.

  I shuffled over to Rumps, placed the spare amulet back in his pocket, I hoped, in the same way it had been, and retreated to my spot.

  “Ready?” I called out. Grunts of affirmation answered me.

  “Lights, camera, action.”

  And time lurched back to normal. Rumps completed his turn to see what had caused everyone to look our way, and I collapsed to my knees in supplication. “Mercy,” I whispered.

  Rumps scowled, scrutinizing Indie and I, then my other friends warily.

  “Please don’t take her from me. You have what you want. Just let us have our time…” I begged. His calculating gaze slowly morphed into a grin from hell itself as he approached, a dozen steps. Then six steps. I stared down at the ground in shame, hands planted in the dirt before me. No one noticed Asterion softly drifting along the torches, or if they did, they didn’t care. They were too busy watching me beg for my life.

  Rumpelstiltskin’s slippered feet finally entered my field of vision, a foot away.

  “Say it again,” Rumps’ voice dripped with anticipation.

  I did.

  He let out a deep sigh. “Mercy is not in my vocabulary, worm.”

  I lifted my eyes to meet his, allowing a flash of anger to show. “And what if I don’t want her to become a monster?” I asked. Asterion continued to move, but he wasn’t quite in place yet.

  “I think we’re past that point, boy. You should have thought about that before either of you made a deal.” I hung my head in despair, nodding. “Yeah. You’re right. I guess this is my burden to bear now.” I turned to Indie. “Sorry, Toots. Can’t let you join the Dark Side.” And I unleashed a blinding bar of light directly at her chest. Her arms formed an X before her breasts as if to defend herself, but it was no use against my Maker’s fire.

  My lance of fire struck her forearms and a sound like a struck bell washed over us. The smell of sizzling flesh and burnt hair hung heavily in the air, and a thin cloud of smoke was all that remained where Indie had stood.

  I heard several startled gasps, but Rumps was the loudest. “You madman, you just killed your woman!”

  “Fiancé, as a matter of fact.”

  “You have many more friends to kill here. And we all know one cannot truly die here. I will find her and take her from you. You think this will tip the scales?”

  “That’s funny.”

  “What’s funny?”

&
nbsp; “You said tip.” I began to laugh.

  “So?” He snarled.

  “As in…” and I took a deep breath, “Tip This!”

  Through the sound of my shout, Rumps never heard the hammering of seven hundred pounds racing across two cloven feet as the Minotaur closed the distance. At the last second, Rumps began to turn, but it was too late.

  “MOOOOOOOO!”

  I saw one horn pierce through Rumps’ abdomen, and then the little shit went flying over my head, screaming in pain and surprise. But I wasn’t finished yet. Rumps had a rough few minutes ahead of him. “Alley-oop!” I shouted as loud as I possibly could.

  Chapter 59

  I bolted to my feet as a sheet of fire erupted around us, a wall of impenetrable flame about five-feet-high that would at least prevent the immortals running up to us. Indie was suddenly beside me. “I think it worked. Fire okay?” she practically danced on her toes.

  “Perfect,” I nodded, pointing at Rumps as he sailed towards the torches.

  But before he could cross the threshold into darkness, a giant hand made entirely of desiccated branches the size of a motorcycle caught him in a tight fist. Rumps squealed in terror as a giant face emerged from the darkness. The face of a frowning scarecrow, torn and ravaged burlap skin etched with bloodstains, and blazing eyes of sunset fire. The fist lifted him high overhead, and the scarecrow emitted a rasping cackle of madness. A voice like snakes in a pile of leaves rumbled from the closed burlap frown. “I am Famine, and I am starving…”

  Then the Horseman reared back as if to bite off Rumps’ head, but stopped a foot away, flaming eyes dancing as Rumps elicited another terrified shriek. “But how I do like to play with my food…”

  And he threw Rumps straight across the entire clearing where a second fist of green, rotting flesh – just as large as the first – caught him. A wet, phlegmy laughter chuckled and wheezed through sickly windpipes as a zombified face from The Walking Dead appeared out of the darkness. As he spoke, bits of mucus, spittle, and bloody flesh sprayed Rumps’ horror-stricken face. “I am Pestilence, but even you are too rotten for my appetites, Silver Tongue.”

  And Rumps was thrown again. This time ninety-degrees to the right, as my drinking buddies had boxed the Dueling Grounds in a perfect square. A fist of pure flame caught him by the foot, hanging him upside down, and a red and white Samurai mask of liquid fire emerged from the black depths beyond the torches. The face sprayed Rumps in a shower of sparks as it roared loud enough to make me stiffen, lighting the little bastard’s clothes on fire in places. “War!” he bellowed, before flinging Rumps to the opposite side of the clearing, directly over our heads.

  “Motherfuc…” Van trailed off, crossing his chest out of habit.

  A skeletal hand beneath a purple, tattered robe caught Rumpelstiltskin this time. The fist was the size of a Prius, and it began to squeeze. Wings of bone and shadow at least a dozen feet wide each flared out, rattling like a diamondback rattlesnake. Only then did an elongated skull slowly appear out of the darkness, unable to smile, but still appearing pleased. “Death has come for thee…” And the Horseman slammed the body down into the ground so hard that the earth crunched at the impact, and a wet noise was heard by all. Rumps didn’t move.

  I snapped my fingers, and Indie dropped the wall of fire. I slowly turned to face the immortals, feeling my friends’ eyes watching me. I ignored them, pinning my gaze on Van and the Huntress, who looked ready to bolt, but realizing that the darkness beyond the torches was no longer safe.

  As if to emphasize this, each of the Horsemen began chuckling to themselves in a dark chorus. I held up my hands. “Any questions?”

  Achilles exited the darkness beyond the torches, and four figures flanked him in flowing hooded robes, more human-sized this time. Fiery eyes of various colors flickered from the darkness of their cowls, but no features were visible. But the neighing of horses carried from the black depths behind them, and four sets of identical pinpoints of fire appeared, mirroring their Riders. Achilles glanced from side to side at the two pairs of Horsemen, then he looked directly at Van. “I think the boy made his point, but me and that little shite need to have a few words…”

  Van and the Huntress collapsed to their knees. Before anything else could happen, they each flinched in pain, clutching their arms. As did Indie, Alucard, and finally me. I stared down in fear only to find the black veins fading away. A moment later they were gone, as was the pain. Van held his up in the light, and all saw the unmarked skin. The Huntress was staring down at her own in awe.

  The clearing was silent for a few moments, and then they slowly lifted their gazes to mine. I had no idea why our curses had been lifted, but presumed it to be a result of Rumps’ death.

  “You’re welcome.” I turned my back on them, and approached Indie to give her a hug. “Asterion, please let the dogs out now. Horsemen, play nice…” And I kissed Indie smack on the lips, forgetting the world for a few blissful moments.

  She pulled back, breathless and smiling. “How?”

  “You couldn’t act, and none of the others who made a deal with him could act.” I winked. “But thanks to the location being outside of reality, I knew a few people who could.”

  “But why did he spill the beans about everything?”

  I pulled the Binder from my pocket. The artifact Pandora told me about. “It makes people speak the truth.” I shrugged with a grin.

  She shook her head in amazement as Asterion led the immortals out of the clearing. He was dragging Baba by a leg, and tossed her out, dusting his hands off before letting out a snort.

  Achilles looked only marginally annoyed that he hadn’t gotten to lay the smack down on Van, but what pride was there in fighting a naked man? But I knew Van had a long talk coming.

  “What’s up with all the woodwork, Asterion?” I asked idly, holding Indie’s hand tightly.

  He chuckled, pointing at the Horsemen. “Getting ready for opening night! They offered to help.” The Horsemen didn’t speak, but Achilles eyes practically danced with excitement. What had I done?

  I heard a groan of pure agony, and flinched, glancing back at Rumpelstiltskin’s crumpled, mangled form. I turned to Death in stunned silence. Death merely shrugged, purple robes not moving at all, despite his head motion. “He’s not dead yet. Too easy. Thought maybe you could find a use for him.”

  A new voice entered the clearing from the darkness. “I heard a story once about the little shit turning straw into gold,” Midas was grinning like an excited child. “And I do love my gold…”

  Incredulous laughs met his comment, both disgusted and amused.

  Midas knelt over him, touched his forearm, and then froze. “Never mind. You need to get rid of him now. He’s one of them.”

  Asterion nodded, but I had no idea what they were talking about. “One of who?”

  His cold eyes met mine, and they were very alarmed. “The Syndicate.” Achilles even paused.

  Then Rumps began to laugh. “I… told you this wasn’t over, Temple,” and he began to fade from existence.

  Tory was there in a heartbeat, latching onto his leg, green eyes flaring like fire, and whatever she did was holding him in place. Not allowing him to die or disappear. “Nate, do something. Now!” She gasped, arms shaking as black tendrils of power began whipping about the air in a frenzy, trying to bat Tory’s arms away.

  Rumps was darkness. Tainted. Disease. Infection. Corruption. Then a thought hit me.

  But I knew Mr. Clean…

  Before anyone could stop me, or realize what I was doing, I jumped on to Rumps, straddling him in a wrestling pin. Listen, there’s a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can’t get away. But I probably looked like I was doing the former. Rumps screamed like a wild animal. “I have a buddy who is rather lonely. I think you guys will get along splendidly.” He continued screaming, threatening, flaring about wildly, not hearing my words. I closed my eyes, and imagined the White Room in perfect detail. I
t snapped into focus almost instantly.

  I heard Death shout, “Nate, NO!” but it was too late.

  I wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or not, how easily I had taken us to the White Room. If it was simply because I had been talking to him recently, or if there was some type of conduit between us now that I had visited him twice already. The world snapped into focus as I opened my eyes to the blinding White Room.

  The Ginger stared down at us in astonishment. Rumps was no longer screaming, but his squinted eyes darted to his surroundings with a look of horror. “No, no, no. What have you done?”

  He tried to flee, but chains of white suddenly lashed into existence, pinning him to the white fur carpet, and stretching tight so that Rumps lay prostrate on the ground, spread-eagled, drooling and babbling in wild-eyed shock. I slowly lifted my eyes to find the Ginger staring at me. He had a rakish bowler hat perched on his head, and he was sipping tea from a massive cup.

  He was easily nine feet tall, and as thick as the Minotaur. His eyes danced merrily, flicking to the fur rug beneath my feet. Grey stains marked what I had touched, but black stains like oil marked anything Rumps had touched. I was suddenly terrified that I had just thrown myself down the garbage chute with Rumps, and that the Ginger was none too pleased with the sudden mess I had brought him.

  “I, uh… I brought you a toy.” I offered sheepishly. The Ginger nodded, a smile beginning to form on the edge of his lips behind the wiry red beard fanning all the way down to his chest. I managed to hide my sigh of relief, glad that I didn’t suddenly have matching friendship bracelets with Rumpelstiltskin. “Well, you were right. Thanks for the Name.”

  His face was a mask of stone as he stared down at me. I began to fidget. Then I spotted a single tear forming in his right eye. It fell slowly, rolling down his cheek like a dislodged boulder, and landing in his beard, watering it for future growth. He cleared his throat.

  “Th…” he cleared it more forcefully, blinking a few times to discard a few more tears. “Thank you… for showing me… kindness.”