by Sean Stone
“Iron,” I reminded him. He pulled the iron handcuffs from his back pocket and fixed them around the woman’s wrists before she could recover.
“There we go. Nice and safe,” I said as I strolled back down the corridor.
“We have to go!” the woman shouted. The fear in her voice was so strong that it even made me a little afraid. “The cloak is down. There’ll come for me!”
“Who will?” I asked keenly. I already had a pretty good idea of the answer.
“The warlocks. The warlocks of course.” She wasn’t running from Clara or Aldric, it was option three; Nickolas Blackwood.
“Why are they after you?”
“We need to leave!” she shouted. Gabe pressed his foot onto the back of her leg and applied enough pressure to make it feel like her ribs were going to crack against the floor.
“Answer his questions and we’ll be out of here quickly enough,” said Gabe. I liked his initiative.
“Why are they after you?” I repeated calmly despite the fear that was creeping over me. I did not want to be in a battle with team warlock, not now that I’d seen their leader in action.
“I was one of them but when I heard their plans I ran away. Now they want me dead so I can’t tell anyone what they’re up to,” she explained. This prisoner was going to be a lot more useful than the last. She was far more willing to talk.
“Who is the leader? Is it Nickolas Blackwood?” I asked, squatting before her.
She shook her head. “I was never high enough to meet the boss,” she said.
“Right.” I didn’t bother hiding my disappointment. “What’s his plan then?”
“I will tell you whatever you want to know as soon as you guarantee my safety,” she said. Smart. The problem was I couldn’t guarantee her safety. I could never stop Nickolas if he wanted to take her back and frankly I didn’t want to make an enemy of him because so far he didn’t seem to wish me any harm.
“I can’t guarantee your safety, but Clara Winters can. If you cooperate with her,” I explained, hoping she’d take the deal because I really wanted some sodding answers about team warlock.
“Alright, but only if I am allowed to keep my magic and my freedom once all this is over.” For someone with no options she sure did like to negotiate. I shook my head wryly and pulled out my phone to call Clara. Thankfully she answered on the second ring. “Clara, marvellous. I’ve got a warlock on the run from Nickolas Blackwood.”
“He’s dead, but go on,” Clara said plainly. I didn’t have time to argue.
“She says she’ll cooperate fully as long as you promise she can keep her magic and freedom.” There was a pause as Clara considered the offer. “I don’t mean to push you, but we don’t have much time before the warlocks find us. They’re already coming for her, apparently.”
“Agreed. She’ll have her freedom as soon as the warlocks are all taken care of and are no longer a threat to us,” Clara said. “But she will surrender her athame so she can’t steal any more magic.”
“Deal. How do you want to get her?”
“Well since I’m not allowed in Maidstone I’ll send a team to meet you at the town line. Bring her to us.”
“We’ll be there in twenty,” I said and hung up. “Let’s go,” I said to Gabe.
“What about Marty?” Gabe asked, looking down at his slumbering lover.
“Get one of the others to come and collect him,” I said over my shoulder, already on my way to the car.
As we headed to the car Gabe got on his phone to fill in the other two vampires who were waiting outside and arrange for Marty to be taken home. “What’s your name?” I asked the warlock as I walked with her, my hand on the cuffs that held her arms behind her back.
“Charlotte,” she said. There was no bitterness in her voice, only fear. I did pity her but I also remembered the innocent man she’d murdered to power her cloaking spell. She wasn’t exactly a good guy.
We piled into the car and Gabe had us out of there in record time. Alison and Neil followed in their own car. I kept my eyes on the road, avidly looking for any attacking warlocks. Ten minutes into the journey they arrived. Sadly, I was not fast enough to warn Gabe. A blue Subaru ploughed into the side of us, knocking our car flying across the road right into the path of an oncoming lorry. The lorry let out a hideous screech and its horn blasted as the driver tried to brake in time. It still smashed into us with so much force that our car was knocked onto its roof and sent skidding down the road. I conjured a shield, but it didn’t stop me from smashing my head on the roof of the car. My seat belt managed to hold me in place but my neck still took a battering from being tossed about like laundry in a dryer. As we came to a standstill I heard the commotion outside as cars braked and people shouted.
Charlotte was whimpering next to me and when I looked over I saw that her arm was twisted horribly. Gabe was in action lightning fast. Before I could blink he’d pulled her out of the wrecked car and then he was back for me. Healing magic took care of the whiplash and the cuts on my face. I limped over to Charlotte, the pain in my leg already subsiding.
“Get the cuffs off so I can heal,” she pleaded through tears. I looked at her dubiously. “I want to get to Clara as much as you do!” she yelled.
I nodded at Gabe who quickly released her from her bonds. He then snapped her arm noisily back into place. It was only then that I realised he could’ve just healed her with his blood. Too late now, she was already uncuffed.
“On your feet. You’ve got magic now so put it to use,” I told her. She could bloody well fight with us. The doors of the Subaru which now sported a crumpled bonnet, opened and the two warlocks I’d met at Muggs stepped out. The tall red man and the silver-haired woman. People were running around screaming and pointing at the wreckage that we were standing in the middle of.
“Are you okay?” a woman called as she ran over to the approaching warlocks. The tall man slashed his finger through the air and a gash opened up on her neck. She fell to her knees, blood gushing out. That got the pedestrians moving. They started screaming hysterically and ran about in every direction to get away from the warlocks. Good. It would be easier to cover up this royal fuck up if there weren’t too many witnesses.
“We only want the woman,” the man said, in his funny little voice. “Hand her over and we’ll leave.”
I began walking towards them too. “You know, after consideration I think I will ban you,” I said.
“Very funny,” silver-hair said. She raised her hand and was suddenly knocked flying by Neil’s fist. I was grateful that he’d noticed her arrival this time. Sadly, he didn’t get to do much else as tall-red hit him with what I assumed was a combustion spell. Neil didn’t have time to react, he just exploded into fragments of vampire.
“No,” Gabe said in shock. That was the kind of death even my vampires don’t get to come back from. Gabe rushed forward angrily but tall-red sent him flying back. I’d seen enough. I called up my magic and thrust my palm forward. A burst of green lightning flew forth and obliterated the warlock. I heard a small whimper as he was blasted out of existence. I didn’t even consider that my actions could be interpreted as an act of war on the warlocks.
I don’t know where silver-hair was and I didn’t wait to find out. Alison came tumbling through the carnage in her undamaged car. She skidded to a stop in front of me and beckoned me in. I looked around, found Charlotte and pushed her in first. As I got in Gabe appeared behind me.
“Call Richards,” I told him. He’d need to get to work on this catastrophe. He was not going to like me very much. As we sped away I saw silver-hair hobbling down the road, her furious eyes fixed on us, but she was in no state to do anything and we sped away.
“More will already be on the way,” Charlotte said grimly. She was shaking in terror now.
“It’s a good thing we’re here then,” Alison said as we approached the border to Cedarstone and saw a small squad of sorcerers waiting for us.
Chapter Fourteen<
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Alison brought us over the town line and then screeched the car to a stop. I threw the door open and piled out, practically dragging Charlotte behind me. Gabe got out the other side and walked round to stand by my side. Alison opened her door but seemed reluctant to leave the car in case we needed to get moving again.
“Eddie Lancaster?” a short, brown-haired guy said to me. He had about ten sorcerers standing behind him and behind them was a large white armoured van with tinted windows, the kind they transport prisoners in. I knew Clara had a lot of resources, but I hadn’t expected her to have an armoured van.
“That’s right,” I said, stepping forwards.
“I’m Sam, dynast for Dover. Clara sent me to get the warlock,” he said warlock in the snootiest and most irritating manner.
“Which one? Me or her?” I said pointedly. I wasn’t going to let this little pip-squeak look down his nose at me.
“Her obviously. But you’re welcome to join us if you like,” he said with attitude. I’d hit a nerve, good.
“You know, I think I will,” I replied to his surprise. “I’d very much like to hear what she has to say, plus I want to make sure she gets there safely.”
“You don’t trust me to deliver her to Clara?” he said in disbelief.
“Well, now you’ve said that I’m a little suspicious, but no, I’m just concerned that the warlocks will catch you and kill her.”
Sam laughed derisively as if I was a child worrying about monsters under the bed. “This truck is magic-proof. And no warlock is going to dare attack us in Cedarstone,” he said arrogantly. Clara’s lot had a real superiority complex.
“Do you really think Nickolas Blackwood is too scared to come here?” I asked.
Sam stared at me coldly and his people looked around nervously. “Nickolas Blackwood is dead,” he replied quietly. It was clear that not all of his people agreed with that sentiment. “Anyone claiming to be him is an imposter.”
“Well whoever their leader is, I saw him take out nearly twenty vampires in about the same amount of time it would take you to blink. So I don’t think you’re going to do much to scare him,” I said. Sam looked at me through narrowed eyes, trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. I may have exaggerated a tiny bit, but he didn’t need to know that. A little fear would do him some good.
“We better get moving then.” He nodded at Charlotte and two of this sorcerers stepped forwards.
“I ain’t going in that van,” she protested, backing away.
“Charlotte get in the van or stay here and face the warlocks chasing you,” I told her firmly.
“Can we hurry this up, it’s going to rain soon,” one of the sorcerers said.
I laughed and was about to point out that it was a clear sunny day when I noticed how drastically the weather had changed. The sun was half-covered by a cloud so black and so big that it pretty much blanketed half the sky casting everything behind me in darkness. “How the…” Then I realised that this was no ordinary cloud, this was magical and whoever had the power to change the weather like that was not someone I wanted to be on the opposite side of the battlefield from. “Get in the van. Now!” I barked and Charlotte jumped straight to it, her expression shocked and frightened.
The sorcerers helped her into the back of the van and then began clambering in behind her. “We’ll follow in the car,” I said to Sam and then headed back to the car with Gabe.
“See you at HQ,” he shouted over his shoulder.
Even as we got in the car the sky darkened further as more of the sun was blotted out.
“What is this?” Gabe asked as Alison started the engine. The van got moving and then so did we. I looked at my number two and saw the fear on his face. An almost unkillable vampire he might be, but he was still just a kid, a baby in the supernatural world and it was my job to look after him even if he was my bodyguard.
“I have no idea,” I said unhelpfully. “But it’s not us these guys are after. It’s the van in front of us. Don’t be afraid.” Even as I said the words I could feel fear creeping up my own spine. The first drops of rain started to fall, light spittle at first but it quickly grew harder and heavier. Soon rain was pouring down in torrents from the previously cloudless sky. The rain forced the van ahead to slow down or risk crashing. Everything was cast in shadow like an eclipse. Clara would surely see this and know what was going on. Sam and his sorcerers would not be enough to stop whatever was coming for us.
“I really hope this place isn’t far,” Alison said. She hid her fear well.
“No. Not too far,” I said. I doubted we’d outrun whatever was riding in on that storm.
As we crossed an intersection two cars joined our motorcade. I looked over at the one to our right and saw a familiar face in the back of the car. It took a moment for me to process who it was; Jerry, the fat dynast from the hearing. Good, Clara had sent some back up. He waved one chubby hand at me, smiling horribly. Then the sky lit up blue and the air was filled with the sound of furious thunder rumbling not just above, but all around us. As the lightning lit up the black sky I saw shapes moving above us. Things were flying through the clouds and I got the feeling they weren’t there to help us.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I whispered, my legs shaking nervously.
“What?” Gabe asked. He hadn’t seen what I’d seen. I was considering telling him that here were monsters in the sky when I was saved the bother. Lightning forked down from the sky and struck Jerry’s car. Sparks flew off the car in every direction. Alison tore the steering wheel, jerking us away from the sparking car. Alison braked hard as the other car stopped, a charred smoking wreck. I threw open my door, ready to let Jerry and his guys in. The doors of their car opened and Jerry pulled himself out just as one of the flying things landed atop what was left of his car. My jaw dropped. Perched on Jerry’s car was a hunched skeletal creature. Rotten flesh hung from its bones like tattered parchment. On its head wisps of hair stuck out at odd angles. If it ever had a nose it had long since disintegrated. Two great bony wings extended from its back. Its ice white eyes glowed in the darkness, lidless and full of malice. It opened its mouth exposing rows of jagged yellow teeth and let out the shrillest cry I had ever heard. Jerry had seen enough. His chubby hands clutched his chest and his purple face contorted in pain as he fell. His body never hit the floor because another of the winged creatures swooped down and grabbed him with its gangling clawed hands, carrying him up into the darkness, a shower of blood falling down after it. The other two sorcerers attempted to flee the car and were immediately picked off by the flying corpses.
“Get the fuck out of here,” Gabe said in a terrified whisper. She floored it. The van was already way ahead of us, but we caught up to it soon enough. The other car of sorcerers was just behind us, tearing up the road away from the carnage. I could see the winged nightmares circling overhead every time the lightning struck.
“What the actual fuck are we involved in,” Gabe said. His eyes were clamped shut.
“Welcome to Cedarstone,” I said. I knew there was a reason I hated this town. Peace never lasts long.
Then finally we saw our ray of sunshine. The AOC building appeared in front of us and praise Clara, there was a small army waiting out front to greet us. All three of our vehicles braked hard together and we all flew from them in a hurry to get to safety. Despite his terror Gabe still refused to leave my side, dutiful to the end. And this looked like it may well be the end for all of us.
The thunder rolled again and with it came the monsters. Dozens of them flew down from the sky in unison. The sorcerers stepped forward as one and launched several spells into the sky at the beasts. Some of the spells missed, some were deflected, and some hit the mark. Creatures burst into flame, creatures exploded in showers of bones and rotted flesh, creatures fell down limp and some creatures flew on all the same. Sorcerers were lifted up into the sky, their screams vanishing into the clouds and some sorcerers were ripped apart where they stood.
I
stood and watched frozen in terror. I’ve seen a lot of shit. I mean a lot of shit. Hell, you’ve seen some of that shit with me. But this was new. This was inhuman. This was a scene right out of a horror film. In fact, even a horror film couldn’t capture the gory, terrifying carnage unfolding before me.
“What are they?!” Sam screamed at Charlotte who was hiding behind the van practically pissing herself with fear. Why they hadn’t left her inside the magic-proof van was beyond me.
“I…. I’ve never seen them before,” she stammered.
“You should get her inside,” I shouted above the thunder and the screams. The whole reason for this was to get her information to Clara. Leaving her outside went above and beyond stupid.
“Oh, hell no! If we’re going to die she’s dying with us!” he yelled back.
“Fucking idiot!” I screamed at him. I moved over to her side so at least I could try to protect her. If she died, then all of this was for nothing. I threw up spells every time the creatures came near but never actually managed to take one down. I did force them to back off which was good enough.
We outnumbered the vile flying things though and soon enough it looked like we were going to win. Only a few of the monsters remained and they wouldn’t last much longer. Unfortunately, they were just the first wave. Several cracks sounded and to our dismay we saw people appearing right in front of us. Warlocks were teleporting right into the battle. There weren’t many but there was enough to keep the fight going. Spells flew about in every direction as the last few creatures continued to tear people to pieces. With the newly arrived warlocks, we were losing ground. The warlocks advanced, forcing us backwards closer to the building. I looked longingly at the magic-proof structure behind us and wondered why we didn’t just retreat to safety.
