by Sean Stone
“What the…” I muttered as I approached. Leah was standing in the corner of the room sobbing quietly. The room was an utter catastrophe. The chairs and sofa were upended, the end tables smashed to pieces and one of the bookcases had fallen down and pages were scattered all over the floor. Three police officers were lying face down dead in pools of their own blood. Richards was sitting against the far wall, one hand clutched to his bleeding neck. Pete Sheridan was on his knees by the window, clearly unable to move and the reason was obvious. Standing in front of him was Barbichu looking more malevolent than ever.
“You sorcerers think you’re all so special. You think the world was created for you and all other races put here to serve you,” he said to me.
“Barbichu, what is this?” I asked. I was too confused to even be angry at this point.
“What is this?” he mimicked my voice. “This is your problem. You think you’re the master race but you can’t even master your own mind. You are feeble. Stupid. So self-assured and arrogant. So blind to what is right in front of you.”
“Eddie, what is he talking about?” Ashley asked.
“I have no idea,” I said.
“No idea? Is that so?” He walked towards us and stopped in the centre of the room. Pete tried to get up but Barbichu’s spell was holding firmly in place. “Then allow me to enlighten you. How about we figure it out together? Then you might learn something along the way. How did you come by my name?”
“It was in one of Ashley’s grimoires,” I said.
“Ashley’s grimoires?” he asked.
“No,” said Ashley. “It belonged to my aunt.”
“Your aunt. And what became of her?” Barbichu said. I remembered the story Margie had told me.
“She was killed by an imp she tried to… bind,” I said realising what he was getting at.
“Indeed. So did you not think that perhaps that same imp might be one of the names listed in her book?” He spread his arms wide and bowed.
“You killed her,” Ashley said.
“She deserved it,” he said.
“Just for trying to bind you?” I said angrily. Even by my standards death was an exaggeration and I’m a pretty cold guy.
“No, although that was reason enough. I killed her because she cursed me. When she tried to bind me and obviously failed, I forgave her that indiscretion and killed her husband who had helped her with the ritual,” he spoke so casually.
“You have a funny idea of forgiveness,” I said. He pretended not to have heard me.
“She couldn’t let it go. So she got hold of a nasty old curse and put it on me. You see us imps are immortal. We don’t age and therefore we don’t die of old age. Her curse undid all that for me. Slowly started killing me. I’ve probably only got a hundred or so years left. I’ll admit I acted rashly. Like a human I didn’t think things through. I killed her without getting any of the facts. I never found out who she was or how the curse worked. I’m a clever imp, though, so it didn’t take me long to discern that the cure for the curse required the blood from the direct bloodline of the caster. That is often the case with the more powerful curse. This curse had a caveat to make it exceptionally hard to break. That being the blood had to come from a child. So specific and so barbaric. Barbary is something you humans do better than any race.” I wasn’t convinced that was true but I didn’t argue.
“The problem was I had no idea who the woman who cursed me was. I returned to the place she’d summoned me but she was clever enough to do it far from her home. So all I had to go on was that she came from Kent. I didn’t even know if she had a child but I had to hope, didn’t I? I sent my servant Mr Panomie out to find me the child. Gnomes have fantastic tracking abilities. Big noses you see.” He tapped his own slight nose for emphasis. “He picked up the scent of the woman from the place I’d killed her and off he went. Panomie could only ever get a rough location. The daughter kept moving around you see.”
“Hang on, you’ve been doing this for thirty years. Between the daughter being an adult and before she had her own daughter why were you still after her? You must have known she was useless to you?” I asked.
“I didn’t know her age or even if she existed. If she was too old and childless I’d just find a man to impregnate her, obviously.” Barbichu shook his head in frustration.
“You disgusting beast,” Ashley said with loathing.
“Less of the judgments thank you. When you two clowns summoned me and I met this little one,” he gestured Leah who was still crying in the corner. “I knew who she was right away and just had to find a way to steal her from right under your nose. Mr Panomie provided the perfect distraction. Unlike you, Eddie-Feddie, my plans work out precisely as I mean them to.” He walked over to Leah and grabbed her arm. Leah screamed and fought him but he dragged her into the centre of the room nonetheless.
“No!” Ashley screamed and began pounding the shield with her magic again.
“Actually they don’t,” I said calmly and held up my hand to show him the ring he was bound to. “Because unlike Ashley’s aunt, we did manage to bind you. So you’re not so clever after all. Now step away from the child and bring down this barrier spell.”
Barbichu tipped back his head and laughed horrifically. It was a sound that would terrify a banshee. “You stupid human. One final lesson, Eddie-Keddie. This is the spell you used to bind me yes?” He held up the spell we’d stolen from Ryan. Without waiting for my reply he incinerated the paper. “When binding an imp, you need to recite the spell in reverse.” Leah screamed the most heart-wrenching scream I have ever heard in my life and the very next moment both she and the imp were gone.
25
The barrier fell the moment Barbichu left and both me and Ashley tumbled into the living room. I went straight to Richards and pulled his hand from his neck so I could examine the wound. There was a deep bloody gash and the veins beneath his skin were showing up dark green.
“Some sort of magical infection,” I told him.
“Fix me up so we can deal with this,” he said weakly.
“I can’t fix you up. Not entirely. It’s a magical wound and I’m not powerful enough to reverse it.” In order to reverse a magical wound you need to be at least as powerful as the caster and as Barbichu frequently reminded me I had nothing on him. “I can stop it from spreading and close the wound which will keep you alive but that’s the best I can do. You’ll have a nasty scar. ”
“Do it,” Richards said.
“It’ll hurt.” I pressed my hand over his wound ignoring the warm stickiness of his blood. I sent flames into the gash and held firm even when he began screaming and punching my arm wildly. “Nearly done now!” I shouted above his cries. When I took my hand away the green veins had turned black and the wound was closed. He’d have a very large and ugly scar for the rest of his life but at least he’d have a life which was more than could be said for the rest of his officers. I looked around at the devastation. Three dead cops in the living room and since no-one had come in from outside I assumed everyone else was dead too. Panomie and Barbichu had slaughtered the lot.
Ashley was on her knees in the exact spot Barbichu had vanished with Leah. She was staring absently at the floor as if she was expecting it to provide some answers as to what to do next.
“Ash—” I started but was cut off by the sensation of thousands of needles embedding themselves into my skin. I staggered away from the feeling and turned to see Pete holding his hand out at me. As he walked towards me the stabbing spread across my body growing in intensity.
“You little bastard. I told you not to come back here,” Pete said. His face was red and a vein in his forehead was bulging menacingly.
“Pete, let me explain,” I said, really fighting the urge to throw him through the window.
“No. I don’t need to hear anything from you. You are intent on destroying my family.” He continued to advance. “You keep putting my daughter in danger. You got my wife killed. And now you’ve los
t my niece to a… monster. You’re a monster, Eddie Lancaster and I—” He never got to say another word because my temper found its way out despite my best efforts to control it. I brought my fingers up, broke Pete’s spell and sent him crashing to the floor. His magic was pitiful compared to mine.
“That’s enough from you,” I said but the voice barely sounded like my own. It was my voice but it had another layer on top, a sort of gravelly sinister sound. Pete looked up at me with both anger and fear. He fought his way to his feet and I grabbed his collar and gave him hand. He was only little so when I hauled him up his feet hung above the floor. “You blame me for everything that’s happened to your family? Me?” I shouted and threw him through the air again. He smashed through the wooden cabinet in the corner and wood, glass and china shattered around him. “You have no-one to blame but yourself.”
“How fucking dare you?!” he screamed back at me. A flick of his wrist sent shards of wood and glass my way. I held up my hand and stopped them with ease. They froze in the air before me.
“Where were you when Killian Myers came for your wife and daughter?” I sent the shards back and he screamed as they pierced his skin. “Who did your daughter turn to for help? Was it you? No, you were too busy working. Who saved your daughter and your wife from Killian in the end? Was it you? No, you were too busy working.” I stomped over, wrapped my fingers around his throat and slowly dragged him up the wall so his face was level with mine. “I saved them both. And when Rachel came was it me who failed to protect your wife? Did I take a sacred vow to do so? No. You did. You vowed to protect her and you failed.” I brought my face right up to his own pathetic snivelling one and spat my words at him. “I’ve saved your daughter more times than you’ve even tried to. The one time you actually bothered to come home to your family you weren’t man enough to save your wife. I bet you didn’t even try. You coward.”
“Eddie,” Ashley said in a whisper behind me. She’d finally come out of her daze and seen what was going on. I was too far gone to heed her words now though.
“You are a pathetic excuse for a man, Pete Sheridan. Pathetic father and an even worse husband. I wonder, are you really spending all this time working, or do you have another family who you invest more time and effort into than this one. If someone attacked them would you be more willing to save them? Perhaps. Would you more able? I doubt it. Stupid little wanker.” I felt a slither of magic hit me as he feebly attempted to attack me. I sniggered. Then I was torn away from Pete. I flew up and smashed into the ceiling before crashing down hard to the floor. The force of the attack didn’t just knock the wind out of me but it knocked the darkness back to where it had come from too. I panted heavily, reeling from the shock. Not so much from the attack but from the darkness. It had never taken over like that before but Pete had triggered something inside me. I looked up and saw Ashley staring down at me with something that looked a lot like disappointment, although it quickly became apparent that it was not just for me.
“Get him out of here, Ash,” Pete wheezed from the corner of the room. Ashley turned her look of shaming disappointment on her father.
“He’s right, Dad,” she said softly. “You haven’t been here to protect us. Me and Mum… we never meant that much to you did we?”
“Ashley, you don’t know what you’re saying,” he said as he pulled himself up. He used his magic to force the bits of wood and glass out of his skin. It looked painful. I dragged myself into a sitting position and watched the events unfold.
“Yes I do. I know exactly what I’m saying. Is it just work? I always thought you just loved your work more than you loved us. Have you really been putting work above us or… is there someone else? Another woman? Another family?” Pete looked away from her and wiped at his eyes. “Oh my God,” she said and her voice broke. “There is.”
“I want him gone!” Pete screamed, pointing at me furiously as if changing focus would make Ashley forget her discovery.
“ANSWER ME!” she roared and even I was a little scared.
He stared in stunned silence. “I never loved them more than you,” he said in a trembling voice.
“Bullshit,” Ashley whispered. “I was lucky to see you once a month.”
“Ashley, please,” he said through tears. She looked over at me and the look on her face made me want to gather her up in my arms and fly her away from all this but I knew better than to even try and touch her right now.
“Don’t worry, Dad. He’s going. As soon as he’s helped me rescue Leah he’s gone.” She turned back to Pete and when she spoke again there was no more sadness in her voice, it was solid and strong. “And I’m going with him. Despite his faults he has always tried to protect me and he tried to protect Mum. Which is more than you ever did.”
“Ashley…” he tried again but the fury in her eyes silenced him.
“We are going to rescue Leah from Barbichu so unless you plan on coming with us I suggest you leave,” Ashley said.
Pete looked at his daughter, then Richards, then finally me. Seeing that no-one was going to stick up for him and obviously coming to the same conclusion as me, that he was a coward, he departed the house with his tail between his legs.
“That’s what I thought. We’ll be gone when you come back. If you can tear yourself away from your other family,” Ashley said in disgust. Pete didn’t bother responding.
Nobody said anything nor even moved for a long time after Pete left. Nobody knew quite what to say. Then finally Richards broke the silence.
“What the fuck do we do now?” he said defeatedly. I didn’t envy him the job of explaining to his superiors why half the police force were dead.
“We need to find a way to the fairy realm so we can rescue Leah,” Ashley said as if it was a simple task. She fixed me with a hard stare. “And then we are getting that darkness out of you,” she added.
I was about to reply when movement outside caught my attention. I went to the window and peeled the torn net curtain outside. Out in the street about twenty people in dark clothing were marching up the road. As they progressed they each started to break off to go and investigate the fallen police officers in the street. I looked at the front of the line and saw none other than Clara Winters. She caught my gaze through the window and then shook her head before heading for the house.
26
Clara stepped silently into the living room. She looked at each body in turn and then turned to the chap standing behind her and said something inaudible. He hurried off towards the back of the house and a few more people followed. Clara then made direct eye contact with me, glared at me and then left the room.
“I think I’m supposed to follow her,” I said.
“Is that Clara?” Ashley asked. I nodded.
“I take it she’s the one who got authorisation for all this?” said Richards. I nodded again. “Then I’d better follow her too.”
Richards and Ashley both accompanied me through to the dining room where we found Clara sitting at the table. Like workers at a disciplinary hearing the three of us sat on the opposite side and waited for her to speak.
“What happened?” she said curtly.
I took a deep breath and told her everything that had happened. She tried to keep her face neutral throughout but she couldn’t help giving away the odd expression and she couldn’t hide her surprise at Barbichu’s plot.
“So both Panomie and Barbichu got away with the child?” she said.
“Leah,” said Ashley firmly.
“Yes,” I said. “But we do know what they wanted with the children now.”
“Solving the mystery isn’t as important as stopping the bad guys and saving the children, Eddie,” said Clara. “Do you have a plan?”
“We were hoping you could help us with that,” Ashley said. One of the dark-clothed people entered the room and whispered something in Clara’s ear. Clara nodded and the woman left again.
“I’m afraid I have no idea how to get to the fairy realm. Not to mention that
I have thirteen dead police officers and seven severely wounded ones to deal with up here. This catastrophe of a plan has given me a lot to clean up. Not that I can really hold you responsible.” She sighed and looked away, running a hand through her hair and messing it up a bit.
“What is all this?” Richards asked suddenly. “Who are you? How can you pull strings with my bosses? And what’s with all these people?” He had an excellent point. I wanted answers to those questions too. Clara’s organisation seemed to be a tad more organised than I’d imagined.
“I can’t answer your questions Chief Inspector Richards,” Clara said politely.
“Are they police? For us?” Ashley asked. Supernatural police was a very odd and very unsettling idea. If they was such a thing I imagine I’d have been arrested by now. I’d done enough bad supernatural things to get locked up.
“We have more pressing matters than who and what me and my people are. You two need to find a way to the fairy realm.”
“I need to go too. I gave my word that I’d protect that little girl,” Richards said.
“I admire your courage and sense of duty but you are not going down there. I mean no disrespect but you were hardly any use up here, what do you think you could add down there?” she said as kindly as she could. “You’d slow them down. Besides, you need to remain up here to assist me with the clean up. These are your people lying all over the place.”
“We still can’t get to the fairy realm, though,” I said. Without a fairy thing to escort us there was no way down.
Clara nodded. “There may be something that can help you. Back in Cedarstone—”
“Do we really have time to go to Cedarstone?” Ashley cut in. “That horrid little creature could kill Leah at any moment.”
“Correct,” said a nasty little voice from the doorway. We all looked around and saw none other than Mr Panomie standing behind us. Ashley lunged at him and he just managed to dart out of her way. Clara shot to her feet thrust out her hand and sent what looked like shimmering white ribbons towards the gnome. The ribbons took his wrists and hauled him over to a free chair. He was forced into the seat and then the ribbons bound themselves around him fastening him to the chair. He struggled but to no avail.
