Dead Ground (Harbinger P.I. Book 4)

by Adam J. Wright

  “Tregeagle the giant,” Bernie said. “The guardian of the pool. On a cold winter’s night, when you can hear the wind howling over the moor, you can sometimes hear something else as well, something howling that isn’t the wind. That’s Tregeagle, roaming Bodmin Moor, tortured by the demons that haunt him.”

  “But I don’t expect you yanks to believe any of that,” George said. “You probably think it’s just superstitious nonsense told by old men who have nothing better to do than tell tall tales.”

  “You’d be surprised,” I said.

  There was a pause while we all took a sip of our beer, then Bernie said, “Did you really come here to see Dozmary Pool?”

  “Yes, we did,” Leon said. “Can you tell us where it is?”

  “Ten miles or so that way,” George said, pointing out of the window at Bodmin Moor. “You can drive almost all the way up to it if your car can handle a few bumps and potholes.”

  “Just make sure you don’t drive into the pool itself,” Bernie said, chuckling.

  “Thanks,” I said, raising my beer to them. They went back to their own conversation and I said to Leon, “That must be the place we’re looking for.”

  He’d been typing on his phone. Now, he showed me a map on the screen. “They’re right, Dozmary Pool is eleven miles east of here.”

  “As soon as Felicity arrives, we’ll drive over there,” I said.

  “Do you think the Lady of the Lake will just give us the torc?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe, if I can convince her we need it to save her sister. I just hope this isn’t going to involve making a bargain with another faerie.” I took a big sip of my beer.

  “Hey, maybe she’ll just give it to you,” Leon said. “She gave Excalibur to King Arthur and didn’t get anything in return. Maybe she’ll know what you need the torc for and hand it over.”

  “Yeah, somehow I don’t think it’s going to be that simple. And then there’s the guardian of the pool.”

  “You think he’s real?”

  I put my half-drained glass onto the table. “The legend came from somewhere. Bernie and George probably like scaring tourists with the tale of Tregeagle and probably don’t believe it themselves but you and I know that the idea of a giant living somewhere on that moor isn’t so far-fetched.”

  “Yeah, you got that right.”

  We drank in silence for a while and I pulled up some websites on Dozmary Pool. Outside, a light rain began to fall and Bodmin Moor became shrouded in mist and darkness.

  I wondered if Gloria had revealed the location of the torc to the vampires yet. Would we get to the lake only to find that the vamps had already been there and taken the torc, giving the Midnight Cabal enough power to take over the parts of Faerie they needed to launch their attack on the Society?

  A thought struck me. “They must be in this realm.”

  Leon, who had been looking out of the window at the rain, turned to me. “What’s that?”

  “The vamps. They must have brought Gloria to this realm for questioning. The time dilation that occurs between here and the faerie realm means that even if they got the information out of her in a day in Faerie, weeks might have passed here. They probably suspect we know the location of the torc and wouldn’t allow us that much time to go ahead and find it. So they must have Gloria here somewhere. That’s the only way they can ensure that if a day passes for them, it’s only a day for us too.”

  Leon shrugged. “Okay, but where? They could be anywhere in the world.”

  “True, but if they’re in this realm, at least they’ll be easier to find than if they were still in Faerie.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” He pointed out of the window. “Felicity’s here.”

  A silver Volvo SUV pulled up into the parking lot, Felicity behind the wheel. I grabbed the duffel bag and we left the pub, nodding a farewell to Bernie and George who were still nursing their pints by the fireplace.

  Outside, the night had turned even cooler. The rain fell in an insidious drizzle and the mist-shrouded moor looked forbidding. It was easy to see how legends of giants and faerie-inhabited lakes had become associated with this place.

  I opened the trunk of the Volvo and threw the duffel bag in before going around to the passenger side and getting in quickly before the rain seeped through the knitted sweater. Leon climbed into the back.

  “How did you know we’d be at the pub?” I asked Felicity as I closed my door.

  “There aren’t many other places you could be,” she said.

  “We need to go to a lake called Dozmary Pool,” I told her. “It’s near here.” I read the postcode off my phone and Felicity typed it into the Volvo’s GPS.

  As she backed away from the pub, she asked, “How long have you been in England?”

  “A little over an hour.”

  When she looked at me with a confused look in her dark eyes, I said, “I’ll explain on the way.”

  Chapter 23

  By the time we got to Dozmary Pool, Leon and I had filled Felicity in on the events that had occurred since the demons had attacked us in Canada. She’d listened intently, driving us along a narrow road that ran through Bodmin Moor and then a rough track that led to the lake. When the track ended fifty yards from the water’s edge, Felicity hit the brakes and killed the engine.

  Dozmary Pool was a roughly-circular body of water that, according to the websites, was a mile in circumference but the mist that hung over the water and the moor obscured the opposite bank so as I looked at the lake through the Volvo’s windshield, it looked like it could stretch into the mysterious distance forever. There was a small rowboat on the bank that had once been painted bright blue but now the paint had mostly flaked away.

  I got out of the car, my boots sinking slightly into the wet ground, and went to the back to get the weapons. The guardian of the pool might be no more than an old legend but I wasn’t taking any chances.

  Leon and Felicity joined me at the rear of the vehicle as I opened up the bag and took out three swords in leather scabbards. I gave one each to Leon and Felicity and took the third for myself, attaching it to my belt. I also handed out faerie stones in case there was some sort of veiling spell over the pool. Then, I closed the trunk and walked across the sodden ground to the water’s edge.

  None of us had spoken since arriving here. An aura of solemnity seemed to surround the place and I felt that if I spoke, my voice would sound too loud, shattering the solemn silence and warning something of our presence here. The only sound was the gentle hiss of rain falling into the lake.

  I was drenched after only a couple of minutes, the oversized sweater clinging to me like a cold, wet blanket, the rain water soaking through to my shirt and my skin beneath that.

  Leon and Felicity were in the same state. The three of us must have looked like drowned rats as we trudged through the mud to the edge of the lake.

  I raised my faerie stone to my eyes and looked out across the water. There was definitely magic in this place; through the hole in the stone, the mist looked as if it were shot through with bright blue veins of pulsing energy. But apart from that, I couldn’t see anything else. If Gloria’s sister was here, she was probably hidden beneath the water.

  I felt suddenly foolish. Had I thought that Vivian, the Lady of the Lake, would reveal herself and give the torc to me just because I was trying to help her sister? She didn’t know why I was here or what my motives were.

  Despite my reticence to make a sound, I was about to call out across the water and tell the faerie why I was here, when something caught my attention. A low groan came drifting to my ears from somewhere on the hidden moor.

  Leon and Felicity heard it too and we turned to face the direction the sound had come from. Another groan sounded, this one closer. It sounded like a man in agony.

  Then I saw a hulking shape in the mist, at least twenty feet tall. It was a red-haired giant wielding a huge club. He had a long red beard that reached down over the front of his studded leather tunic. He lo
oked down on us and groaned again, as if it was the only sound he could make.

  I drew my sword, the blade igniting blue as soon as it left the scabbard. Leon and Felicity drew their weapons too and we stood facing the giant.

  “Tregeagle,” I said, “we aren’t here to hurt you. We’re trying to help the Lady of the Lake’s sister, the Lady of the Forest. She’s in danger and we need her torc to give her back her power so she can reclaim her home.”

  He stepped forward, lifting the club above his head, a look of anger in his eyes.

  We scattered as the blow came down, the heavy club burying itself in the mud where we’d been standing. Tregeagle roared in frustration when he saw we’d avoided his attack.

  I leaped forward and sliced the blade of my sword across his thigh, drawing blood. The giant released his grip on the club and swung a huge hand at me, trying to swat me away. The edge of his hand caught me and the wind was knocked out of me as I was thrown through the air. I landed in the lake, splashing into the cold water and getting a mouthful of it before scrambling back to my feet.

  The giant’s attention had turned to Leon and as he stepped forward, he pulled the club out of the mud and readied himself for another attack.

  Felicity darted behind the giant and swung her sword at the back of his legs. The enchanted blade bit into the giant’s thigh. Tregeagle howled in pain, his attack on Leon forgotten, and twisted around to face Felicity. She stepped back, her glowing sword held aloft in a defensive position.

  There was no way her blade was going to protect her from the weight of the giant’s club. Tregeagle swung the club over his head and down toward Felicity. She threw herself to one side, avoiding the blow and rolling to safety.

  I ran out of the lake and toward the giant but stopped when more shapes appeared in the mist. The newcomers were human-sized and, as they stepped into view, I realized they were demons. There were a dozen of them and they were trailing behind Davos.

  When he saw me, the vampire grinned wickedly. “Alec, you’re here. I must admit to being slightly disappointed that you beat us here but we had to wait until sundown. After the faerie queen told us where the torc was hidden, I’d hoped we’d get it and be long gone by the time you arrived.”

  “What have you done with the Lady of the Forest?” I demanded.

  “She’s alive. For now, at least. I had to keep her alive in case this lake she told us about wasn’t the actual location of the torc. But the fact that you’re here tells me she wasn’t lying. So she can be destroyed later. Her usefulness to me has ended.”

  “And what about my friends?”

  His grin widened. “They mean nothing to me, Alec. They’re alive at the moment but they won’t be for long. Maybe you’d like to watch them die, along with the faerie?”

  “I’d rather watch you die,” I said, summoning a magical bolt into my hand. The energy crackled around my fingers.

  Davos sighed as if bored. “Very well.” He looked at his demon minions and indicated us with a flick of his fingers. “Kill them.”

  The demons rushed forward, past their vampire master. Felicity and Leon readied themselves and Tregeagle seemed to have decided that the demons were a more urgent threat than us three. He roared and waded into the red-skinned bodies, swinging his club.

  I threw my arm forward and released the magical bolt at Davos. The energy arced through the air and exploded when it hit the vampire’s body. He staggered backward but managed to stay on his feet. Before he had a chance to recover, I ran at him with my sword held steady before me, ready to run him through with it.

  He waited until I was almost upon him and moved out of the way with blinding speed. One moment he was in front of my blade, the next, he was behind me, grabbing my throat with hands as cold as the grave.

  “I should have choked the life out of you last time,” he said calmly, “but I decided instead to respect the wishes of the Cabal. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

  I had no idea who in the Cabal wanted me spared and it looked like I’d never know as Davos’s grip around my throat tightened. I looked over at Leon and Felicity, fighting the demons alongside Tregeagle, and wanted to tell them to get away from here.

  But not only was Davos squeezing the life out of me, the weakness that came as a side effect of using my magic was flooding my limbs, making it feel as if all my strength was ebbing away into the mud beneath my feet.

  Davos must have detected my sudden weakness because he loosened his grip slightly. “Don’t die on me too soon, Alec. Surely you want to see your friends defeated by my demons before you leave this mortal coil.”

  I didn’t even have the strength to struggle as he turned my face toward the fray at the edge of the pool. The defeat he was looking for didn’t seem to be happening, though; Leon, Felicity, and the giant were holding their own against the demons. In fact, they were winning. Six demons lay dead at the water’s edge and the remaining six didn’t look as if they posed any threat. They fought sloppily and were being cut down by swords and crushed by the giant’s club.

  Davos sighed. “No matter. I’ll kill your friends myself. But first I’ll deal with you.” He tightened his grip again.

  The red unicursal hexagram appeared in my mind’s eye. I concentrated on it as intently as I could. Davos didn’t technically have a life force so I had no idea how the magic would affect him, if at all, but I had to try. At least I might get enough strength back to struggle from his grasp.

  The lack of oxygen was making me lightheaded but I fixed my attention on the magical symbol as strongly as I could.

  I heard Davos say, “What’s happening?” He sounded confused, maybe even scared.

  His grip around my throat loosened slightly and something else happened that surprised me; his hands grew warm as if blood was being pumped through his veins.

  “No,” he said, releasing me and stepping back. “What are you doing?”

  I turned to face him. He was looking down at his own body as if it were alien to him. His skin, normally as white as alabaster, had become like a living person’s. He looked up at me with fear in his eyes and I understood what had happened. The magic had drawn the life force from around me and, somehow, because he was a vampire with no life force of his own, Davos had absorbed some of it. He’d become partly human again.

  Hopefully, human enough to kill.

  I picked up my sword and swung it at him. He tried to dodge out of the way but his speed had deserted him. The enchanted blade bit into his shoulder and carried on into his chest. Davos screamed. I pulled the sword from his flesh and swung it again, this time taking off his head.

  The body collapsed to the ground next to the severed head and then the stolen life force seemed to drain from them both and they returned to the pale white of the vampire. Then they crumbled into dust before my eyes, leaving behind only Davos’s suit in the mud.

  “What the hell happened?” Leon said from behind me.

  I turned to see him and Felicity standing there with demon blood on their swords. A dozen scarlet-skinned bodies lay by the lake.

  “My magic made him temporarily human,” I said. “Some of the life force that was supposed to aid my recovery went into him.”

  “Wow,” Leon said.

  “Where’s Tregeagle?” I asked, looking for the giant.

  “He left after we killed the demons,” Felicity said. “He just vanished into the mist.”

  I walked over to the water’s edge and looked across the misty surface. “Vivian, Lady of the Lake,” I called, “if you’re there, you must know from what happened here that we’re trying to help your sister. She needs the torc she gave to you for safekeeping. There are other vampires and demons that mean to do your sister harm. Help us to help her by giving us the torc.”

  The mist swallowed my words. I stood looking out over the water for a couple of minutes longer but nothing happened.

  “Perhaps this is the wrong lake after all,” Felicity said, coming up beside me.

/>   “Or maybe the Lady of the Lake has moved somewhere else,” Leon suggested.

  “No,” I said, “she has to be here. The guardian was here so she should be too.”

  “Perhaps not all legends are true,” Felicity said.

  “This one is. I know it. This pool has been associated with the Lady of the Lake for centuries. She has to be here.”

  There was a sudden splash on the lake. I looked out to see a woman’s hand thrust up from beneath the water. In the hand was a bright golden torc, its open end pointing toward the sky. Rivulets of water ran down over the torc and over the chainmail-clad forearm and hand that held it.

  The arm didn’t move, simply remained where it was out on the lake, offering the torc.

  I ran over to the old rowboat and pushed it out onto the water, jumping in and rowing out to where the Lady of the Lake waited. When I reached the outstretched arm, I peered below the water. It was murky down there but I saw blond hair, silver chain mail and the form of a woman.

  I reached out for the torc and, as I grasped it, the Lady of the Lake’s hand slipped beneath the surface of the water again.

  I sat back in the boat and examined the torc. It was finely-crafted, made to look like three intertwining golden braids. The braids curved in a U-shape and terminated in two small golden discs set with emeralds.

  I rowed back to shore and showed it to Felicity and Leon.

  “It’s beautiful,” Felicity said, holding the torc on the palm of her hand and looking at it with wide eyes .

  I nodded. “Now, we just need to find out where they’re holding Gloria and the others. Davos said they weren’t too far from here.”

  Felicity said, “Alec, look.” She nodded to the torc on her palm.

  “What?” I asked.

  “It just moved.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, it moved on my hand.” She moved her hand to the left. The torc moved slightly so that its open end was pointing in the same direction it had been before Felicity had moved.