by LJ Swallow
"No, our Vee." He kisses me softly on the mouth.
Someone coughs close by. "Can you guys not keep your hands off her?"
I look up. A woman with bobbed blonde hair and a pink-painted mouth looks at us over a pair of large sunglasses she has pushed down her nose. The look isn’t familiar, but the voice is.
"Syv?" asks Joss.
She winks. "As you can imagine, I’m known to security. I often pay visits to the same places when I acquire things I need."
Joss laughs and repeats ‘acquire’.
I smile. "Blonde suits you."
Syv adjusts her hair. "Thank you. I didn’t feel like the black one today." She twirls around and her knee-length floral skirt floats around her. "Don’t I look cute!"
Joss shakes his head and points at her boots. "Doc Martens?"
"Hey, I never know when I’ll need to kick someone. Or..." She opens the large, brown handbag hanging across one shoulder wide enough for me to see, and I look inside. A large knife. Of course.
Heath and Xander appear behind her, but Ewan remains close to the entrance. "Nice look," says Xander. "Wig looks a bit false though."
Syv pokes her tongue out at him.
Heath glances up at the CCTV camera. "We’re walking into the ground floor displays first. Where are you going first, Syv?"
"I’m not sure if what we need is on display or in storage. My research showed what we’re looking for is in a newer collection."
“Do you know exactly what you are looking for Syv?” asks Joss.
“An item that’s part of this collection which has runes to match the book.” Syv thrusts a museum brochure at him. "I’ve marked on there where to meet me. I’ll see you there in thirty minutes. Please don’t all follow at once; you know how attention-grabbing you are."
“Hopefully not something you need to drag through the museum.” Joss smiles.
“In my experience, this will be a relic or parchment. Easy to fit in my bag.” She taps the side. “Can I go?”
Xander reads and nods, and with a little wave, Syv heads away.
Walking through the museum unsettles me, as I’m pulled in by the thoughts that this is a world I’ve never belonged to. The echoing rooms fill with thousands of years of human history—a world Chaos wants destroyed. I’m flanked by Joss and Ewan; Ewan warily watching those around, and Joss occasionally stopping with genuine curiosity at displays.
Xander and Heath follow Syv at a distance, and we all watch for suspicious behaviour amongst the busy museum-goers. Ewan almost trips over another child who stops abruptly in front of him.
He swears under his breath. "This place is crawling with kids."
"School trips to the museum," I say and smile. "I enjoyed them."
Joss and Ewan exchange a look. At least, my false memories think I did.
"Whatever," mutters Ewan. "Seen anything yet?"
Joss indicates a sign on the wall. "Syv’s headed to the room with one of the older civilisations to check there. I haven’t seen anyone follow her, apart from Xander and Heath."
"Egypt?" Ewan asks.
"Nah, Mesopotamia."
Ewan looks at him as if he’s speaking a foreign language. "Sure. Whatever."
"We’re not expecting Seth, are we?" We walk towards the next doorway, shoes squeaking on the tiles amongst the hubbub around.
"No. We know Seth sends others to attack usually; he likes to play with us. The creatures in the car park. Joss’s wraith." Joss tenses at Ewan’s words. "So, we need to be really vigilant because we don’t know what’s next. I think, if anything, he’ll send a lackey to try and intercept. Syv already said she’s being followed."
I rest against a handrail looking over a re-creation of a Roman house. "Does Seth exist in history?"
"He’s in a lot of religions. I looked him up after he revealed himself. Seth took his name from the Egyptian Chaos god, Set, although he’s much older than that. He could just have easily chosen Roman, Greek, Celt...anything."
"Don’t talk as if he has any right to be in human history. Chaos won’t be anything by the time we’ve finished with him," growls Ewan before stomping away. People watch as he barges through them.
Joss wraps a strong arm around my shoulder, guiding me after Ewan. "Wow. Well that outburst came from nowhere. Do you reckon Xander will let us stop at the gift shop on the way out of the museum?"
"You say the weirdest things, Joss."
"Sometimes weird is the best way to cope." He raises his voice. "Ewan! Wait up."
Ewan pauses and looks over his shoulder at us.
"Don’t be upset," Joss calls. "I’ll buy you a dinosaur at the gift shop, but don’t lose him before we get home like you did last time."
I fight laughing because Ewan strides back, face thunderous. "Stop shouting, do you want to draw attention to the fact we’re here?"
Two boys nearby nudge each other before whispering and laughing.
"Yeah, I do. I’d rather anybody who’s watching notices us and not Syv."
Ewan sighs and unfolds the museum map again. "Let’s head after the others."
XANDER
Alongside Heath, I shadow Syv as she works her way through the crowds, slowly wandering from room to room. She pauses occasionally to look at an exhibit or check her phone, so we do the same.
I sigh and cross my arms as I stare at stuffed representations of animals from the Ice Age, or whatever. Two kids push in front of me, holding clipboards and pencils as they write notes. I step back and crane my neck to locate Syv, just as a gang with a teacher surge forward. I’m sick of bloody children today.
"Where did Syv go?" I ask Heath.
"No idea."
"What the hell?" I growl.
He looks around too. "She doesn’t want us close—maybe she went to the lower floor. Where’re the nearest stairs?"
My phone beeps and I look down.
I blow air into my cheeks as I read Syv’s words. She should’ve waited. A blue circle on my map shows where she marked the spot earlier, and we head in the direction.
Syv’s mentioned she’s familiar with the room that stores the items entering or leaving the museum for displays. This is her usual first place to look; often items are borrowed from other institutions, or used for research, and are never placed out on the museum floor.
We make our way to the top of the stairs to wait. "I’ll text the others and ask them to meet us there." Heath’s hair flops into his face as he focuses on his phone.
A girl pauses and stares up at me; I frown down at her. What does she want? I hazard a guess she’s a teen, perhaps a year or two younger than Elyssia, and wears a maroon and black uniform with a white shirt. Brown hair, big blue eyes, unsure smile. I don’t smile back, hoping she moves on.
"Hi," she says.
"Hey." I look past her for Ewan and Joss.
"I lost my children."
"Uh?" I turn my eyes to hers. Surely, she doesn’t have kids.
"Oh! I mean the two I’m supervising. Girls. Both brown hair. I swear they gave me the worst kids to supervise. I’ve had nothing but attitude all day. I’m in trouble if I don’t find them—because they’re bound to be doing something wrong."
"Right." Why the hell is she asking me? Do I look like a responsible adult? Maybe she’s a demon or someone sent by Seth to distract us. I study her closer and immediately stop when the girl’s cheeks turn pink under my scrutiny. "How old?"
"I’m seventeen." She pauses and her big eyes widen. "Shit. I mean whoops. Crap. No, you meant the kids, didn’t you?"
Heath snickers next to me, and I rub my temples. Awkward. "I did. Are they dressed like you? Same school?"
"It’s okay. Sorry to bother you." The poor girl has turned a shade redder and she scurries away.
"Ah, Xander, you never fail to impress, do you?" Heath says with a laugh.
"I was only standing here!"
A
hand clasps my shoulder and I jerk, ready to retaliate, and meet Ewan’s curious face. "What are you doing? Who’s she?"
"Doesn’t matter." I keep an eye on her, and when she approaches someone dressed in a museum uniform, I relax. "Syv wants to meet us here." I point at the map. “Next floor down. Should we all go?"
Joss holds up a hand to silence me and then strides along the hallway a few metres. He returns with a worried look. "Vee? Can you feel that? I swear I can sense a demon."
She frowns as he takes her arm and leads her further down the hallway. Vee folds her arms and they speak too quietly for us to hear before returning.
"Was it the girl, do you think?" asks Ewan.
"Maybe?" suggests Vee.
"Shit!" I pause. "No. I don’t think so."
"She didn’t distract you to let someone else past?"
"Nah, I was in front of the stairs."
"Typical bloody Syv, heading off alone," I mutter.
"Because she normally works alone." Ewan shoves hands in his pockets and looks around. "But I thought she’d be more worried about being followed, now she knows about Seth."
"I’m sure she isn’t far."
"Text her." I wave a hand at Ewan. "Head downstairs and see if she’s there."
"I think two of us should wait at the museum entrance," puts in Joss. "I’m worried we might miss something."
I rub my mouth. He’s right. "Okay. Take Vee. Ewan?"
He shrugs. "I can hang around the entrance again, if you want. Take Heath."
Plan made, we head in our different directions. I curse Syv under my breath. Okay, she can look after herself, but she’s not taking seriously how much threat she’s under here.
"Heath—downstairs. Come on."
11
VEE
Joss halts by the gift shop and tugs on Ewan’s arm, repeating his joke about dinosaurs. Ewan is as unimpressed as last time. The tables at the café close to the entrance are emptier and I toy with the idea of a takeaway coffee. I’m surprised Xander didn’t stop to inspect the menu earlier, while we waited for Syv to arrive.
"I’m heading to the bathroom before we go. The excitement is too much." I grin at my attempt at light humour, but neither respond. With a sigh, I indicate the bathroom signs and head off. "Buy Ewan his dinosaur while I’m gone."
I edge around children now assembling to leave, but the door is locked with a "closed for cleaning" sign. I glance back to the guys but they’re deep in conversation. How far to the next bathrooms?
An announcement sounds—the museum will close in half an hour. I hope I don’t spend ten minutes trawling around trying to find another bathroom. I take the next set of stairs down to the lower floor and walk towards the bathroom sign.
The corridor is narrow with no doors apart from a fire exit leading out at the opposite end and the bathrooms, but a right turn a few metres away presumably leads to other areas on this level of the museum.
I sense something.
From inside the bathrooms?
I slowly push open the heavy door and peek in. Two little girls stand at the sinks and splash each other with water, giggling as they do. The school-uniformed pair stop and straighten, caught in the act as they look at me. How old are they? Maybe twelve? I can never tell.
"Shouldn’t you be with your school friends?" I ask, attempting my strictest voice.
They blink back at me.
"Where’s your group? Surely a teacher should be supervising you."
One clears her throat. "We needed to pee. What’s it to you?"
"The museum is closing. I suggest you go now before you get into trouble." My stern tone continues.
With a silent and haughty look, the girls snatch their schoolbags from the floor and stalk past me. I watch them go as the door bangs closed. Wow, attitude. I’m glad I don’t have kids to deal with.
Aware I’m short of time too, I head into a stall. I’ve barely time to lock the door when the main bathroom door crashes open.
"Get the fuck off me!" snaps a voice I recognise.
"Simple. Give me that stone."
My mouth dries as I peer through the gap between the door and cubicle wall. Syv. Tall man. He has her cornered near the sink that the girls stood at a few minutes ago.
"Yeah. Nah." Syv strikes out, her elbow collides with his face, and she attempts to duck beneath his arm. The man barely flinches and, with one hand, slams her by the chest against the tiles. The sudden, pained expression is quickly replaced by a narrow-eyed disgust.
"Dude…" She jerks her knee upwards, colliding with his balls, but again he doesn’t flinch. Syv laughs dryly. "Wow, impressive."
What do I do? I’m seconds from stepping out and dealing with the situation when I see a knife blade flash. He spins Syv around and presses it against her throat.
"I know you’re here." He outstretches a leg and I back away as he kicks open the door, the lock splintering. "Get out."
Even before I saw him, I knew this guy was a demon. He reeks of it and his appearance doesn’t do him any favours. Tall and gangly with a face covered in livid scars, including one slicing across his mouth.
I catch the door before it hits me and I straighten. He’s not touching me. "Let Syv go."
His eyes narrow. "Are you a lowlife friend of hers?"
I smile. "You have no idea, do you?"
As I talk, Syv delves into her large bag, looking straight ahead to avoid the knife nicking her skin. Why doesn’t she look terrified? He has a knife against her jugular. The man stares at me and his eyes blacken.
"I know the Horsemen are here," he replies. "They shouldn’t send someone weak to do their dirty work."
"I’m not weak," retorts Syv.
"Sure, sweetheart. I don’t see you escaping me. I could slash your throat in an instant."
"You won’t get a chance," I say. "You hurt her, and the Horsemen will rip you to shreds."
"Yeah, then where are they?"
I fight a smile and say the words I’ve itched to use. "Don’t you know who I am?"
He looks me up and down and squeezes Syv tighter against himself.
"Not someone who could take me on. The guy who paid me to do this gave me some extra juice—I’m stronger than the pair of you together."
"I doubt that." I mutter, then add, "Let me guess, the man who paid you to do this calls himself Seth."
The demon blinks rapidly. "He’s more than just a name."
"So am I."
"So, what is your name, sweetheart?"
Before I can reply, Syv pulls a large stone from her bag and smacks the guy across the face with it. He howls and drops his grip, fingers going to his nose.
"You wanted the stone," she says with a smirk and takes advantage of his distraction to step away.
Me and the guy stare at the grey, half-tablet clasped in Syv’s hand. The edges are cracked and the surface etched.
She found what we needed.
Regaining his senses, the demon grabs Syv again and puts the knife to her throat. "Stupid move."
As the knife cuts her skin, Syv drops the stone and claws at his fingers. My stomach turns, aware what’s about to happen and I freeze, not knowing what the hell to do. Magic flies from my hands, black sparks arcing across the space between us . The demon screams in pain and drops the knife—and Syv—before sinking to the floor, holding his head.
What the hell? I didn’t conjure that—I had no thought about magic in my mind, I was about to call on my strength to take him on.
Syv watches in alarm, hand across her neck, as the demon doesn’t move from the floor, then she snatches the knife. The darkness continues to swirl around his figure, wrapping his body like rope. What the fuck? Heath’s magic is bright, like lightning bolts, and mine can blind.
This is pure darkness.
"Holy shit, dude," breathes out Syv as she watches the crackling bonds pull tighter around him. His face reddens, and he uselessly tries to pull the magic wrapping away. The magic winds further and
further, quicker and quicker.
The door behind begins to open and Syv steps past, slamming her back against it. Someone on the other side attempts to push again. "Hello?" A woman’s voice. "What’s happening?"
Uh, well, we’re killing a demon and my friend just stole something from the museum. "Nothing!" I call back.
"Why’s the door stuck?"
"I’m trying to open it now," says Syv and glances back at me, lowering her voice. "Sort him."
The choking, shaking mess on the floor grows closer to death and I push both hands into my hair. How exactly do the Horsemen deal with inconvenient bodies when they kill in public?
"I don’t know how."
"Oh, fucking great." Syv slams her back harder against the door. "What does that magic do? Will it disintegrate him or something?"
"I’ve never used it before. It’s new since…" I stare down at my palms. Darkness. Is this part of Chaos’s power? The room lurches and I steady myself on the sink. No. I can’t have his too.
"Since you changed?"
"Hello?" calls the voice. "Can you open the door, before we get security."
Syv mutters "shit" over and over under her breath and gestures with her free hand. "Try and do something. Seriously, with my bleeding neck, I don’t think we’d be able to explain this away."
Blood seeps between her fingers. Shit. How bad is she? I rub both hands down my face and close my eyes. I’ve only seen Seth summon lightning bolts from the sky, which is no use in this situation. Ewan mentioned Seth created a black void. Can I do that?
Tears prick my eyes. I don’t want to attempt to copy anything Seth did, because it’s proof I somehow contain Chaos’s powers too. Contain him.
"Vee!" urges Syv.
Heart racing, I hold a palm in front of me and imagine the void that swirled towards me in Ewan’s room the night I changed.
The darkness I can no longer deny lives inside me.
The view between me and the bathroom sinks obscures, as all colour disappears. An intense cold enters the room as the black void before me grows, spreading the way the portal did. But this is different. This feels like a hole in the fabric of the world, hovering above the demon’s body. I step forward and look at the now-immobile man. At least he’s dead before whatever happens next. What am I sending him to?
