by Al K. Line
Dancer staggered up to us, crazy ill looking, and said, "That's it, we're done," and with that he fell flat on his face.
The floodlights illuminated the dead and the dying. Vampires, some of them still mobile, retreated over the broken wall, but most were no more. Everywhere I looked lay the once again dead witches and shifters that had been reanimated.
All apart from one.
Plum staggered toward us, not long left. She smiled, although I wish to god I'd never seen that smile. It haunts me, and I try to remember her as she was when really alive. "Thank you," she said before she died for the last time.
Trolls moved through the bodies, stomping and splattering any vampire they felt deserved it, seemingly selective in the final insult they delivered, probably those they believed, or knew, were directly responsible.
"Let's go have a cup of tea," said Rikka. He nodded at me and walked toward the open gate that somehow was still intact in a section of wall.
"Fine, but you're driving."
"No way, you know I hate driving. And besides, I'm—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're the boss."
"Don't get cheeky, Spark."
"Sorry, Boss."
Grandma's
Rikka drove. It was a day of many miracles. I don't think I had it in me if he'd refused. We spoke little on the way back into the city. What was there to say? Good job on the death stuff? Dancer lay on the back seat, utterly exhausted, occupying his time with moaning. He'd done a hell of a job and I was rather surprised he remained conscious.
As we hit the outskirts of the city center, I felt my energy slowly returning. My ability to summon magic was back, although I was kind of sick of it at that point and the thought made me want to go crawl under a rock and hide.
So I sat there, looking at the gray buildings, smiling at the impressive, ancient architecture, the streetlights and the empty office buildings. Silver and glass monoliths shouted their importance and I was too tired to lament what had been destroyed for them to rise. The city was still the city, my city. Often wet, usually gray, but somehow always greeting me with fondness. A familiar face. Home.
Foxes and early morning commuters were the only activity as we moved through the heart of Cardiff and on to Grandma's.
We got out of the car in silence. As the doors slammed behind us, Grandma's front door opened and warm light spilled out onto the front garden and path. The smiling faces of Grandma and Kate greeted me, such a beautiful sight. Small children, wide-eyed and exhausted, clearly not having slept, shone with a radiance and a purity I thought we'd eradicated that night with the things we did. But there it was. Truth. Home. Family.
I opened the gate, but a familiar, noxious smell stopped me in my tracks. I turned and looked at Dancer's shoulder. It was Intus.
"Hey, Spark, just reporting in. No nuclear meltdowns today." The tiny imp beamed at me with her impossibly wide mouth, row after row of teeth gleaming in the glow of family from the doorway.
"That's great, Intus. I'm glad we get to live another day."
"Yeah, me too. Blimey, you look like you need a lie down. You too, Dancer. Oh, hello, Mage Rikka, having a nice outing are you?" Nobody answered; we kept on walking. Intus knew exactly what had happened, she always does.
Somehow, we made it to the front door, and I must have stumbled at the step. I found myself held upright by the two women I love more than anything in this world. They helped me inside and Rikka, Dancer, and Intus came in behind us.
"Cup of tea?" offered Grandma, knowing she didn't have to say anything else.
"Lovely," I managed.
Kate kissed me, and I could have died a happy man right there and then. Witches came from the kitchen and the living room to usher the children away. We moved through the hall, the familiar smells and the humid kitchen gloriously mundane.
I eased into a chair, Dancer and Rikka likewise. Intus slid down Dancer's arm onto the table.
"Spark, you need to listen. There's a serious problem."
I held up a hand. "No, not now, Intus. Please. I don't think I can stand it."
"But, friend, you really need to hear this. Seriously, it's important."
"It can wait."
All heads turned as the air displaced to make room for a strange collection of humans and other species, all Hidden.
"Faz Pound, you are under arrest, trial pending," said a wizard I knew all too well. Everyone did. This was the Head of the Worldwide Hidden Council, the most powerful and influential Hidden in existence.
Yeah, the Hidden police arrested me for murder. But that's a different story.
The End
Book 4 in the series is Guilty Spark.
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