The Curse of Oberon (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 3)

by Croston, Jeremy

  A nice kick sent Pan to the seat of his pants. He scrambled away from me, trying to get back up. Seeing my gun so close and the handle within reach, I jumped forward reaching out to grab it. Pan saw what I was going for and cut me off.

  His hand grabbed my bicep, holding me down. “Sorry Vic, that belongs to me now, a spoil of war.”

  “You’re such a dumbass, you brought a gun to a knife fight and don’t even use it.”

  He was strong, but I had good leverage so I tried to push through his power. “Now how sporting would that have been to kill you with this? I wanted to see the look on your face when I carved your heart out.”

  It was as obvious as ugly on a monkey. He never used a gun before and was too stuck in his ways. Even though he looked like a young kid, I was dealing with an old vampire who refused to change. I pushed my foot against the rocky ground, inching closer to the handle.

  A hand hit me under the chin, adding more pressure to the tug of war. Pan gave one last forceful push and I was thrown to the opposite side. But unfortunately for him, Roscoe was back in my possession.

  He got to his feet quickly and took off up the path. With my gun back, new found optimism filled me, I could end this now. I followed him up, our flight ending at the narrow pathway leading to the edge. I didn’t know where he thought he had an exit but it wasn’t here.

  As he ran towards the ledge to jump, I lined up the shot. I knew by the weight in the gun there were two silver bullets waiting to fly, one in the chamber and one right behind it. Two good shots to the heart and it’d be all over for him.

  With the pistol lined up, I pulled the trigger twice. Both bullets flew true, hitting him in the back, coming out through the front. The impact sent him over and down, to whatever awaited him below.

  I walked over slowly to the ledge; fog had rolled into the canyon making it impossible to see the bottom. “Rest in peace you son of a bitch.”

  Satisfied Pan was dealt with; I made my way back down to where Isa was sitting on an old tree stump. When I exited the path, she ran over to me. “Did I hear gunfire?”

  I pulled Roscoe out. “Yep, Pan was kind enough to return this to me before he met his tragic demise.”

  She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. “Oh God, I thought he killed you Victor. I’m so happy you’re still alive.” We hadn’t known each other long, but I got the feeling Isa wasn’t accustomed to being around someone as long as we’d been together, which wasn’t all that long mind you. At least not in a good long time.

  Patting her on the back, “That makes two of us.”

  Chapter 27

  **Liz**

  The flaming skull that rolled towards me was the last remnants of Connor. Before it reached me, it disintegrated into ash and was blown away by a strong gust of wind. No one moved on the battle field.

  Across the way, Kristie had her sword in the chest of the other witch, blood staining the dirt around them. The witch was dead, just hanging there as Kristie had not removed the corpse yet. Her focus was glued to the scene that had just unfolded before us.

  The Dullahan, proud of its work, stretched its arms into the air and more Hellfire ran from its mouth. As it put on the terrifying display, a figure materialized beside it. Removing the hood, the old lady must have been Anita O’Byrne. A gnarled finger was gestured in my direction. “Ye vampire.” Her voice was low and cold. “Ye took my daughter Rosette and brainwashed her ye did.”

  “I saved Rosette from the man who kidnapped her. She works with me under her on free will.”

  Dark magic began to fill the air, tingling my senses. “Liar, he already told me what ye did. He had no purpose to lie ta me about such things.”

  Jonathan must have weaved his words in such a way that even the venerable old witch fell under his charm. “My brother is a charlatan. He is the one who was going to use your daughter against her will. And I gather he probably wanted another witch from your coven in exchange for giving me up.”

  “Be quiet! I know the truth when it’s bein’ told ta me and yer just tryin’ to cast blame on others.” She began to rub her hands together, sparks flying from whatever she was getting ready to do. “Dullahan, ye were summoned ta kill the enemy of the O’Byrnes. Prove yerself ta me!”

  Light shot from her hands into the air, blinding us all. Shielding my vision, the light came back down and hit the Dullahan wear a head should have been. As the light was absorbed into the creature, it began to grow. In a matter of seconds, it went from eight feet tall to over twelve. Horns grew from the daemonic face in the metal, adding an even more sinister feature to the daemon.

  Fergus, in his human form, came up beside me. “Lass, this is getting’ a little outta hand. I’d reckon a retreat would be a good thing.”

  “We have come too close. I understand if the dangers are too great for you, as you are the Alpha of this land. But I will not back down until I find my brother.” Almost second hand, I reached down and grabbed the vile I had around my neck, the last thing he gave me. I had forgotten all about it.

  I pulled it out and opened the stopper. “Fergus, the choice is yours, but I will continue to fight.” I drained the contents of the vile and threw it to the ground. The Red looked horrified as I opened up the power of the bloodletting. Vic’s energy poured through me, adding the extra bit of strength I needed.

  Kristie removed the sword from the dead witch and moved to intercept Anita. Fergus went back into wolf, joining Bernard on my flank. The three of us charged the beast, ready for whatever attacks it had ready.

  With a motion of my hand, the wolves peeled off to the left, missing the attack I sensed just before it happened. My speed was great enough that the fire went over my head, harmlessly hitting a barren spot of dirt. My straightforward progress was not to be deterred.

  Fergus hopped on to Bernard’s back and took off on a Hail Mary leap towards the creature. The muscle in the werewolf’s legs gave him a boost high enough to reach the shoulder. Digging his claws into the metal, he scraped his way up to the open neck. He began slashing the opening, hoping to illicit some sort of chain reaction.

  Nothing happened. The daemon ignored the wolf on its shoulders; no its attention was still on me. The red and black eyes, never moving, kept their focus on my movements. Whatever enchantment Anita used to bring this creature from the Pit, it was obvious I was the intended target.

  Bernard fell in line behind me as I began to circle the large legs, right outside the ring of fire that fell from the mouth. I looked up; the eyes we wanted to target were so much higher now. I would need a boost. I jumped into the air, flipped backwards, and landed on Bernard’s broad shoulders. I would use Fergus’s trick as inspiration.

  “Get me as close as you can to the front!”

  The wolf grunted in response and picked up its speed. The Dullahan brought its sword down swiftly, trying to cleave us in half. Bernard made a dangerous decision of going closer to the falling fire, but it kept us from being skewered by the broadsword. The first eye was coming into view, so I jumped.

  The shifting nose and mouth tried to get into a position to breathe fire at me while its other arm missed catching me midair. My desperate leap was on point and with the tanto drawn, silver shattered black rock. The destruction of the eye caused a wave of dark magic to rip through the air, sending all of us sprawling. Fergus went one direction while Bernard and I went the opposite. Both wolves hit hard, appearing to possibly break legs.

  The Dullahan wailed in reaction; even sending Hellfire towards Kristie and Anita, still locked in mortal combat. Kristie was much more agile than the old witch and twisted out of the way. Anita threw up a magical force field just in time, keeping the dangerous liquid away from her.

  Without my werewolf support, I would have to destroy the red eye on my own. I gave one last check to Bernard; his breathing was labored as he shifted back into his human form, but stable. “Stay here, I will finish this.”

  He winced and grabbed his right leg as he trie
d to move. “Sorry Liz, I let you down.”

  He did no such thing. With tanto in hand, I started to walk this time towards the wounded daemon. Where the black eye had been before was a hole, leaking a reddish substance down the front of the armor. It did not seem to have the same aura as before, or maybe with success under my belt, I was not as afraid.

  The creature took two mammoth steps forward and brought its sword down in an over the top motion. The attack had desperation written all over it. I could not read minds, yet this daemon was afraid of me now. This small, insignificant vampire had managed to cripple it.

  The attack was easy to sidestep; the blade cut a chuck of dirt but nothing more. It was my turn. I jumped on to the blade and ran up the darkened steel towards its arm. It tried to lift the sword from the ground and toss me aside, but the blade sunk in a bit too far for easy removal. By the time it managed to free the sword, I was already in position for one last leaping attack. Just like before, I measured what I needed to do and left the rest up to my faith.

  When the red stone shattered, the daemon screeched in pain one last time before bursting into flames and returning to its damned home.

  I landed as gracefully as I could, exhausted from the amount of energy exerted in taking down such a formidable opponent. There was only one player left on the field and Kristie had just about finished the job with her. Anita was on her back, a sword pointed at her neck. She did not look like she had long left on this Earth. My North Ireland vampire friend was about to expedite her death, sword ready to deliver the killing blow.

  “Kristie, stop!” I protested as loud as I could. “I need that witch alive!”

  The slicing motion came to a halt just centimeters from her neck. The sharp, silver edge was itching to take the head of this vile old crone from the rest of her body.

  As the power from the bloodletting faded away, I pushed myself over to the fallen witch. “Where is he? Tell me before you join the Dullahan in the Pit.”

  “As my fate… is deal, what incentive,” she gasped for air, “do I have in tellin’ ye that information?”

  I pulled my cellphone out and brought up Rosette’s contact information. “You tell me where he went and I will let you speak to your daughter one last time before you die. I think that is a very fair deal.”

  Tears formed in those hate filled eyes. “Rosette… Ah my girl. Fine, I tell ye vampire. Yer brother took one of mine and went to Turkey.” Death was close, air rattled in her lungs. “Said there was an enchantment that needed ta be broken.”

  Being a lady of my word, I hit the connect button. Handing her the phone, “You have five minutes. Make them count.”

  The phone call clicked and I heard Rosette answer. Anita, beaten and broken as she was, tried to keep her dignity until the end. “Rosette, it’d be yer mother. This’ll be the last chance I have ta tell ye everythin’.”

  Interlude III

  **Roderick**

  The barrier to the island was no longer in play. It saddened me that my great achievement was in ruin and Pan had been freed. How stupid was I, being played by Jonathan this entire time. Martin, a human Cristof enthralled, piloted the helicopter on a westerly position to an open spot on the beach. Below, a second helicopter was sitting in the sand. “Bring us down there.”

  Martin sat us down nicely on the sand. “What are your orders?”

  “Wait here and do not leave the helicopter until I return. This place is very hostile.”

  The human gave me a short head nod in confirmation as I jumped down on to the island. Just the feeling of this place sent shivers down my spine. I knew of the awful array of wildlife that called this island home, so I wasted no time in lingering in one place. I moved off to the southwest, in the direction of Pan’s old home. Whoever was here had chosen to land here for a reason.

  The trail from the beach to the encampment was quiet. I slowly moved in behind one of the huts the Lost Boys had called home, listening closely for anything that would tell me who was here. Signs were everywhere that a battle had been waged here, dead Orcs lying all over the place. Towards another building, a much larger orc was ripped in two, the Chief if I was a betting man.

  Stumbling from the building behind the dead Chief was a woman. She looked as if she had seen better days, wounded on the side. Behind her was another, male, also wounded. A large gash split his forehead down the middle. Not taking any chances, I kept my rapier at attention.

  As I left the shadows, “As the vampire representative of Great Britain, who are the two of you?”

  Wolves – Silvers more than likely. The male looked rather aggressive, but the female took the lead in talking to me. “We are very much here against our will. One known as Pan murdered our cubs and forced us to hunt for some stone. We want no more trouble, only a way off this island.”

  Just the name brought the world to a stop. “Pan. He’s here.”

  “At this exact location no, but here on this island, yes. He took off, chased by another, a werewolf with strange powers.” Behind her, the male looked ready for me to challenge her story.

  Yet I would not. Her words came across as truthful as any I heard over the past few days. “Just what is going on here? What in the world would Pan want so badly back on this island?”

  She took a moment to think, as if she was not sure the name of the relic. “I believe it had something to do with Babylon.” Just when I did not believe this tale could shake me further, “The strange wolf, Victor was his name; he saved us, along with his lady vampire companion. Shortly after she killed the Orc Chief, she took off into the jungle to find him.”

  My God! Was that foolish werewolf still alive? There was no way it should be possible. “Which way did they go? I must find them immediately!”

  The female led me to the trail where Pan had fled. If Victor was still alive, I needed to find him immediately. And just who was this mysterious vampire he was with?

  I gave the two wolves one last look. They were injured, probably from the fight that ensued here. But not one to take chances, I turned on my charm. “No one passed through here, do you understand?”

  **Cristof**

  With Roderick on his way to Neverland and Lemoyne, Anders, and Kai headed to Turkey, there was not much left here for us. The Swertfegers and I were finishing up our reports in Roderick’s base of operations. He was cleared of all charges levied against him.

  I tried to reach out to Elizabeth again, but no response came from her. Whenever she was, she obviously wanted to be left alone. Getting up, I walked out of the large stuffy office and into the hallway. I needed to think and stretch my legs.

  Another was out walking too, Rissa. The girl had been instrumental in proving to Lemoyne that Roderick was not guilty of treason, that it had only been Jonathan. She was due back to fly home to Seattle tomorrow, back to Gregory who was both her sire and lover.

  The young girl did not fit in well with the rest of us, but she tried. I could not help but like her and her cheerful outlook. “What brings you wondering the halls at this time Rissa?”

  “Oh Cristof.” She seemed surprised to see me. Her soft British accent reminded me of Elizabeth. Though Rissa’s was genuine; not manufactured after centuries of living on the island. “I don’t really like this place. Too many bad memories if you catch my drift.”

  After hearing her story, I could appreciate that. “Only one more night and you will be back on a plane to America. I am sure Gregory misses you.”

  “And I miss him. No offense to the rest of you, but he’s much easier to talk to.”

  I could not help but chuckle at her candor and honesty. “I agree with you in that regard. Both he and Elizabeth have become very accustomed to the lax in protocol America offers.” I leaned down to her level, “Do not tell anyone, but I would rather deal with them too.”

  She crossed her lips with her finger. “Your secret is safe with me.” She looked down the hall. “I’m sure you’re an awfully busy man. I’ll be headed back to my room.”


  We said our good evenings and walked off towards different rooms. I still was not ready to deal with the rest of the reports; I was anxiously waiting for Roderick to make contact.

  As if we were reading each other’s mind, my phone rang. Quickly I snapped it open and answered. “Roderick, is that you?”

  “Cristof, I do not have much time. Pan is here, but so is someone else.”

  His voice seemed off to me. “Pan? The situation is worse…”

  He cut me off midsentence. “Victor Inglewood is here and he is alive.”

  I dropped my phone. This was impossible.

  **Roderick**

  I reached the center portion of the island just in time to hear two loud gunshots from the rock formation above. This gave even more credence to what the wolves had told me. From my vantage point I saw a small body fall down into the ravine below. Judging on what I knew of him, it had to be Pan.

  I took two more steps, desperate to find the werewolf and bring him back home. Only a silver bladed knife was sticking out of my chest. I had not even felt it enter; only now was the pain beginning to register.

  My attacker walked around into view. “You!”

  “Roderick, how long I’ve waited for this day to come.” Taking the knife, she buried it into my chest again. “This situation is rather ironic, seeing as it was you who once stabbed me in the back.”

  I was losing the will to live fast. “You should be dead.”

  “I should be, but I’m not.” She snapped her fingers. “Marko, dinner is served. Take it into the forest though; I don’t want Victor to see the mess you make.”

  A large hand grabbed me and scooped me up. There was a crushing pain, then black.

  Part 4

  Victor: A Dark Curse

  Liz: Family Reunion