The Ancients: Book 3 in the Cedarstone Chronicles

by Sean Stone

  "Do I even want to know how it started?" James said.

  "Mum starting seeing some guy. Turned out he was a vampire. I caught him feeding off her so I killed him. Some other hunter turned up, said he'd been tracking the vampire for years. After that, he trained me. I needed to be able to protect Mum if another vampire or something else showed up."

  "So you turned into me," James said sadly. James had gotten involved in the supernatural to protect his family and now his son had followed in his footsteps.

  "I guess so."

  "What happened to this other hunter, the one who trained you?"

  "Dead. He went after a vampire clan on his own."

  "You need to get out of town," James said. "Cedarstone is more dangerous than ever and I don't want you to get caught up in it.

  "If it's that dangerous you need to leave too."

  "I'm fine. I'm one of the Thirteen. No-one would dare touch me."

  "Except the three vampires who tried taking you tonight?" Dean said pointedly.

  "I won't be wandering around on my own again. I'll be with the other warlocks. They're the most feared warlocks in the world. Trust me nobody will attack us."

  "You expect me to leave you with the most feared warlocks in the world? No, if I'm going you're coming too," Dean said adamantly.

  "Dean I'll be fine. This town is going to be a warzone before long. As soon as Nick's plan is finished I'll leave. I'll come and find you."

  "I'll wait for you."

  "Dean," James warned.

  "I'm not going without you, Dad." It was clear that there was going to be no swaying him. "We've been apart for too long."

  "Fine. But you stay out of everything. I don't want you getting caught up in anything supernatural. You stay in this house."

  "I'm not going to stay in the house, Dad."

  "Dean I have enemies. If they know who you are they will use you against me."

  "I'm well aware that everyone in the town hates you, Dad. I won't let anyone know who I am. But really, I can look after myself. I saved you tonight, remember?"

  "I remember," said James. Pride welled up inside him. His son had turned into hero, sort of. Could he be considered a hero if it was a villain he'd saved? James thought so.

  They stayed up for the rest of the night catching up. Dean told James about all the creatures he'd hunted around Surrey. James told Dean that he was now immortal. It was clear that Dean wasn't happy about the people James had killed, but he seemed to take it quite well. By the end of the night, James made two promises to his son. He promised not to kill any more innocent people, and he promised that as soon as he was released from the Thirteen they would both leave Cedarstone and never return.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Nick was amazed that James had disobeyed him and left the house. Of all his disciples it was the newest one to disregard his order. What was more disturbing was that nobody had stopped him. Apparently, they hadn't even noticed him leaving. Perhaps they needed a lesson in vigilance. After Arden's visit and Kayla's message, Nick was taking no chances. No unnecessary risks. Nobody was supposed to be leaving the house without his say so. Not until everything was ready and their enemies had been eliminated. First Osiris, then Kayla. Set could wait until it was more convenient. Nick had waited this long, a little longer wouldn't do any harm. Besides, Set wasn't opposing them; Nick just wanted a measure of payback on the ancient.

  As soon as James returned to the house Nick teleported to the lobby in a puff of smoke. He still hadn't gotten over the novelty of being able to turn into smoke. Jinn magic was far more impressive than human magic. There was no benefit to teleporting in a cloud of smoke; it was just showier. He used to conjure up storms whenever he teleported in the past. He liked to make an entrance. It added an element of fear to his enemies.

  "Where have you been?" he spoke quietly but the anger was plain to hear.

  "I needed some time away from the house," James said with a shrug.

  "Really? And where did you spend your time away?"

  "I went back to my house."

  "And whom did you spend your time with?" Nick continued.

  "Nobody. I was alone," James said. "I didn't realise I was a prisoner," James added.

  Nick allowed a small smile to form on his lips. James was no longer as timid as he had been when he'd arrived in the house. "You're not. However, I have made clear my wishes on this matter. With ancients in town, it is too dangerous for anyone to go out unless it is absolutely necessary."

  "I understand but I can't spend all my time in these walls. It's suffocating. I need to leave from time to time and you're just going to have to accept that," said James. He was confident. Too confident. Nick shot across the lobby in a blink of an eye and had James pinned up against the wall. James squirmed, but he couldn't break free of Nick's grip and it was clear that he would not dare to use magic on him.

  "Allow me to make things abundantly clear to you, James," Nick hissed in his ear. "Things may be fairly laid back in this house but I am in charge. I am the master and you the disciple. You serve me. It is by my grace that you have magic. It is by my grace that you no longer turn on the full moon. It is by my grace that you are immortal. And it is most definitely by my grace that you are not dead. When I give a command you obey. If you disobey me again I promise you, you will not like the consequences. Do not leave this house." Nick released James and disappeared at once.

  He rematerialised in his study. He didn't like behaving so aggressively with his disciples. He preferred to be friendly with them, after all, they were all his friends rather than servants. It was mutual respect and agreement that had kept them together for so long, not fear. But Nick was not himself. His encounter with Kayla had left him more shaken than he would care to admit. He was scared and fear was not an emotion that he was accustomed to feeling. He'd felt it several times in his life, but the older he got, the more powerful he became and each time he grew in power the less he had to fear. Kayla still brought him fear, and he knew that she would until she was removed from his life for good.

  Before Nick had even settled down the door opened and Casper walked in. Nick saw the item in his hands and smiled broadly. Things were starting to come together now. Nick had sent Casper to fetch the item for him. Casper was the only one Nick was happy to let out of the house. He was the only one who had not been given immortality by Nick's hand. Casper and been immortal when Nick found him, and unlike the rest of them it was full blown immortality. Nothing could kill him and Casper had tested it. No blade could cut him, no fire could burn him. He was impervious to everything. Nick would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous.

  "The item from Alistair," Casper said handing Nick a sword. Nick tore away the blanket that it was wrapped in and looked down upon the golden blade. The hieroglyphics etched into its surface were exactly as he remembered them. He took the hilt in his hand and held it up, testing the weight. It was not as heavy as he expected it to be. Easier to wield.

  "I thought Alistair was our enemy," Casper said casually.

  "We've come to an arrangement for the time being. We can resume our rivalry when our more immediate foes are taken care of."

  "And that sword will help?"

  "I first saw this sword over six hundred years ago and yet this is the first time I have ever touched it," Nick told Casper.

  "I see," Casper said. He was not an easily impressed man. Nick had found that the longer you lived the less impressive things became and Casper was one of the oldest beings he knew. Not that he looked a day over thirty. "What is so special about it?"

  "This sword belonged to the ancients. One ancient in particular. Set. This is the very sword that he used to decapitate his brother Osiris."

  "I see," Casper said, not in the least bit awed. "So you mean to cut Osiris up again?"

  "No, that would be pointless. After all the effort it took to put him back together. I mean to harness the power of the sword and use it to kill Osiris. And once I've done that I will take
his power and use it to end Kayla."

  "Very good," Casper said quietly. He was a man of few words and few expressions.

  "If I acquire enough power to kill an ancient you know what that might mean, Cas?" Nick asked softly. Casper wasn't Nick's oldest serving disciple but he was one of his closest.

  "I do," Casper replied and although his face did not change Nick could see a small smile lighting up behind his eyes.

  1400

  Nick didn't see Set for some time, so he never found out if Set was disappointed that Nick had given up his revenge. He imagined he would be; he had after all been the one to talk him into it. Revenge was the last thing on Nick's mind these days anyway. Bolingbroke may have robbed him of his home but Nick had now found a better one.

  He spent most of his time with Kayla. She taught him the histories of the world and mythological stories. She resumed lessons such as reading and writing, she taught him different languages and she taught him about magic, but one thing she could not teach him was how to wield it.

  "When will I be able to do magic?" Nick asked during one of her lessons. She had introduced him to her druids, of which Arden was one, and explained that they gave her own power a boost. Druids have no active powers of their own. Nick disliked Arden, he found him to be smug and condescending, so it was nice to know that he was, in essence, just as powerless as a human.

  "I'm afraid you never will, Nickolas. It is simply impossible," she said, not meeting his eyes as she delivered the bad news.

  "But how is it possible for you and Set to do magic and not me?" he asked, sure that she was mistaken, or simply lying.

  "Set and I were born with magic, but you was not. You cannot learn magic, child, you must inherit it and you sadly did not."

  And so that was his dream of being a great wizard crushed in the space of a few minutes. He lost interest in magic after that. He didn't want to learn about something that was useless to him. He didn't even like watching Kayla perform tricks for him. After a week or so of sulking he got over it as best he could. There was no point in being miserable about something nobody could do anything about. He did not have magic and that was that.

  Whilst wandering the temple one day he came across a staircase that he had not encountered before, and he had explored most of the building by this point. It was in the far east corner and spiralled down beneath the earth. Kayla had never forbidden him from going anywhere so he assumed that it was okay for him to venture down. When he reached the bottom he found himself in a small circular room. The stone down here was not white like the rest of the temple, but simple grey brick, covered with damp and moss. Shelves lined the rotten walls and held jars upon jars of all sorts of things. There was herbs, fine powders and many things which Nick could not name. In the centre of the room was a large wooden table covered with more jars of ingredients and several old moth-eaten books. Next to the table a medium sized cauldron sat above a small fire.

  This must be where Set creates his potions. Nick's lessons had always taken place in the room upstairs which served as a classroom. Nick walked around the room examining the various jars on the shelves. He came across one which was filled halfway with eyes and his stomach jerked.

  "I was wondering when you would find this room," Set said from behind him. Nick wheeled round in fright but Set did not look angry at all. He looked pleased if anything. "This is where I produce all my finest work," he said proudly. Nick had not yet been to the village, or anywhere beyond the woods outside the temple, but many villagers had come to the temple and one of the main reasons for their visits was to get potions from Set. They could all brew their own potions but it was known that Set's were the most effective.

  "I'm sorry to intrude," Nick said politely.

  "Not at all, not at all," Set shook his head. "I imagine you would like to learn potions for yourself?"

  "I would love to but Kayla said I cannot learn magic," Nick replied.

  "You do not need magic for this, the power is in the ingredients. You merely mix them together, and under my tutelage, you can become a greater potions master than any of the sorcerers down in the village." And so began Nick's lessons in potion brewing. Set taught him one potion at a time, simple ones first. He taught him what ingredients did what and even sent him into the woods to gather ingredients on occasion. After just a couple of months, Nick was already adept at the simple potions and he was getting started on more complex ones. Nick might not be able to command power for himself, but creating potions was as close as he could get and he revelled in the subject.

  Nick quickly forgot about England and all the dramas he'd left behind. In Kayla and Set, he found the mother and father that he had always yearned for but never found in England. Kayla and Set were not together romantically, in fact, Nick did not know what they were to each other and for some reason, he felt that that was a question best left unasked. Most of his days were spent with Kayla, learning histories and exploring Elysium. Kayla knew every inch of the island and she delighted in showing Nick its many wonders. There were species living in Elysium that Nick had always imagined were no more than myth. He'd met witches, wizards, fairies and even imps. If he didn't know any better he would be sure that he was dreaming the whole thing, or that he'd lost his mind.

  "What of vampires?" Nick asked one day as they made their way back to the temple after picking up ingredients for dinner from the village. He had read about vampires in one of Kayla's many books; they were fearsome creatures that drank the blood of people and shied away from the sun. Never ageing and never dying. Although frightening they sounded spectacular. Nick couldn't imagine having eternity to explore the world.

  "There are no vampires in Elysium," said Kayla. "Elysium is a paradise for the living and vampires are creatures of the dead. The dead have no place here. It is impossible for anything that is not living to set foot on this land."

  "That's ironic seeing as you named this land after a realm of the afterlife," Nick mused.

  "You're very intelligent, young man," Kayla said and smiled at him fondly.

  His lessons with Set mostly took place in the evenings and usually only three times a week, sometimes less. Set was a busy man, although what kept him so was a mystery to Nick and Set did not like to be asked about his business. Even Kayla didn't seem to know. When Nick probed for information about what Set got up to in his private affairs the man turned cold and often snapped at him. Nick had quickly learned not to ask.

  Nick thought that he had come to terms with the fact that he would never have magic but then he discovered that he was the only being in Elysium who was not in some way magical and all his sadness returned. Even the druids were magical, they might not have active powers, but they had magic inside them all the same. Nick was the only non-magical being on the whole island. He had poured through all the books in the library looking for a way to remedy it, but Kayla was right and there was no such way. No spell, ritual or potion could fix his situation and he just had to come to terms with that fact. As Set was prone to say, every sunny day contains a cloud of grey.

  One evening Nick made his way down the spiralling stairs to the potions chamber only to find that Set was not there. The fire beneath the cauldron was not burning and no ingredients were laid out on the table. All that was there was one of Set's old books, open on the table. Set was very particular about his books and unlike Kayla he forbade Nick to touch any without his permission. If one was already on the table Nick could chance a glance at it. So long as he did not touch it he would not be breaking any rules. Set often forgave his misdeeds if he could provide some sort of loophole that proved he hadn't technically broken a rule, and this was the perfect loophole. He scurried across the stone floor and stopped before the book, gazing down at the page it was open to. The Warlock Ritual was scrawled across the top of the page. Why would Set have left a ritual open in the potions chamber? And what was a warlock? Kayla had never mentioned that species before. His eyes flitted across the page, taking in all of the information
as quickly as possible. As he read his throat dried as though someone had tipped a jar of salt down it. He never made it to the bottom of the page, he'd read enough before he'd even made it half way. His heartbeat sped up, thrumming angrily against his rib cage. He snatched the book up off the table, holding it open against his chest so as not to lose his page and stormed up the steps.

  "Ah, there you are Nickolas," Arden said, trying to get his attention as he marched through the entrance hall, but Nick ignored him and continued on his path. He almost flew up the next flight of stairs and down the subsequent corridors until he reached Kayla's private chambers. He kicked his way into her solar where he found her sitting at her table working on a piece of embroidery.

  "Nickolas, you look tense," she said looking up from her work.

  "You lied to me," he said in a low growl. He threw the book down in front of her, knocking her materials onto the floor.

  She raised one eyebrow in a half amused expression and then put down her cloth calmly and pulled the book towards her. A single glance told her everything she needed to know and then she looked up again.

  "You told me there was no way for me to get magic and yet that book says I can if I perform that ritual!" he shouted. He thought he was in a place of absolute trust, where nothing would be kept from him, but now he knew the truth. Elysium was not so different from England after all. Deceit was everywhere.

  "Sit down, Nickolas," she said serenely and pushed out a chair.

  "I will—"

  "Sit down," she said more firmly. He sat down at once. He kept his fists clenched at his sides. "Have you read this whole ritual?" she asked and he dropped his gaze. "I thought not. Read it now." She pushed the book back towards him and he sullenly finished reading it.

  "Oh," was all he said when he was done.

  "Oh indeed. The only way for you to obtain magic is for you to murder another sorcerer and steal theirs. That is why I didn't tell you about this… ritual." She closed the book completely and pushed it to the other side of the table as if even having it near her was an effrontery. "Warlocks are not allowed in Elysium. They are a stain on the earth, the biggest abomination to walk its surface. I may not be able to wipe them out completely, but I can at least protect this small pocket of the world from them." She took Nick's hand in both of hers and squeezed tight. "You know that if there was a way to give you magic then I would do it, but magic cannot be created out of nothing. It must come from somewhere. I care for you Nickolas, more than you know and I could not bear to see you turned into something so abhorrent as a warlock. Do you understand?"