The Ancients: Book 3 in the Cedarstone Chronicles

by Sean Stone

  "So why have you left Alistair now. What is it that you saw?" Clara asked. It must be pretty big if it meant risking her son's life.

  "I saw many things and I cannot reveal them all to you just yet. One thing I did see though was the death of my son. I saw him argue with Alistair and Alistair lost his temper and killed him."

  "When? Maybe we can stop it?"

  "No. What I saw happened more than twenty years ago. My son has been dead this whole time and Alistair hid it from me."

  "I'm so sorry," Bianca said compassionately.

  "Thank you. Alistair has a saying you know: every sunny day contains a cloud of grey. The reverse of every cloud having a silver lining. My son may be dead, but at least now Alistair has no leverage over me." Katrina smiled but there was no happiness beneath the expression.

  "We can't ignore this, Katrina. I'll tell my boss. We'll arrest Alistair," Clara insisted. She already knew they wouldn't be able to. And Phil wouldn't dare take him on.

  Katrina laughed drily. "There is nothing you can do to Alistair. Your powers will not harm him. Your cage will not hold him."

  "Well, we can't let him get away with all this," Clara protested.

  "She's right. You have to let SIT help you," Bianca said.

  "Don't worry about Alistair. He'll get his punishment sooner than he thinks. I have seen his downfall and it is not far off. Without me there to warn him he will be unable to prevent it," Katrina smiled and took a sip of her tea. "Now, in order to bring about Alistair's end, certain events must take place. Events that you, Clara, can influence."

  "What do you mean?"

  "You want to defeat Nickolas? Do as you say and you shall. I have had a premonition that is more detailed and vivid than anything I have ever seen. This is the single biggest vision I have ever experienced. Things have to happen at the precise times that I have foreseen them otherwise everything could turn out differently and believe me nobody wants that. Except for perhaps Alistair and Nickolas, One small change to what is foreseen could bring about a drastic change in events. I'm going to tell you what you need to do to defeat Nickolas but if you get even one minor detail wrong, then he will likely defeat you. And this time you won't be able to get up again."

  "What do I need to do?" Clara asked, eagerly. Finally she was getting the help that she needed. Katrina smiled and continued speaking.

  *

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  "She's getting suspicious. She had one of her team tailing me the other day," Jamal said.

  "There is an obvious solution to that," Nick said. "Drop your cover. Come back to us. There's no longer any need for you to be there." Nick would feel more comfortable if Jamal was under the same roof as the rest of them.

  "They're plotting against us. We need to know what their plan is before they enact it," argued Jamal.

  "Do you really think we have anything to fear from them?" asked Nick. As far as he was concerned they were a rag-tag bunch of wannabe spies. Nothing more. None of them could harm him or his disciples.

  "It's not just SIT anymore. They're working on getting the clan, the coven and the pack involved, and all the time everyone thinks you are responsible for the murders it keeps getting easier."

  "I told you to sabotage their schemes against me," Nick reminded him.

  "I tried. It didn't work. They want to blame you. Clara in particular. Killing her father was a bad choice," Jamal said.

  "I don't think so. It sent the right message. I do not accept treachery. He broke our agreement." Nick would kill him again in a heartbeat.

  "But if you hadn't killed Arthur then maybe the coven wouldn't be against us right now. And Clara wouldn't want your blood."

  "Oh, I hardly need to worry about Clara Winters," Nick waved a hand. "So she's being a nuisance. What's new?"

  "It's different. She's determined," Jamal was insistent. As far as Nick was concerned there was an easy solution.

  "Alright then. Drop your cover. Kill Clara. And come home," Nick instructed. "I'd rather have you under this roof with everyone else anyway."

  "Nick. No," Jamal said, he looked hurt.

  "No? Why not?" he asked. Most wouldn't have been asked why; they would have been given the instruction again a little more forcefully. But Jamal was not most. He was Nick's oldest friend.

  "Because…" Jamal looked away. Nick knew that look.

  "Oh, Jamal. No. Don't tell me you've really fallen for the girl?" Nick asked, disappointed. Not disappointed in Jamal, just in the situation.

  "I have," he said with a shrug. "There's just something about her."

  "Is it that sheer determination she has to murder your best friend?" Nick joked.

  "More retribution than murder," Jamal replied with a sly grin.

  "This will end badly, Jamal. But if you really love her, then fine. She can live. But get her under control." Nick couldn't stand in the way of Jamal's love. Not after everything Nick had gone through in the name love. But that didn't mean he was happy about it. Love was the most monumental fucker when it came to plans.

  1403

  On Nick's fourteenth birthday Set found him sulking on the temple steps. The steps had become his favourite place to go when he was feeling glum or needed a think.

  "What's the problem? Aren't you supposed to be happy on your birthday?" Set said. He did not sit down.

  "It's my fourteenth birthday," Nick said.

  "Oh, I see. Mortality creeping on you then, is it?" Set mocked.

  "It's not that. Back home today I would have become a squire," Nick explained. Every page looked forward to becoming a squire, it was the first step to knighthood.

  "I thought this was your home now?" Set reminded him.

  "It is, I just… I miss certain parts of England sometimes."

  "So you're upset because you don't get to look after some knights horse and polish his armour?"

  "I would've been training to be a knight myself. I would've been taught to wield a sword and joust and stuff."

  "Why would you want to do that?"

  "I… I just do." It was what he'd grown up to think he'd end up doing. He'd seen how knights were respected and held in high esteem and he wanted that too. All boys did.

  "Alright then, come on," said Set and marched down the steps. Nick looked up but didn't move. "Come on I said," Set repeated from the base of the steps.

  Nick descended the steps and followed Set a few paces onto the gravel patch between the steps and the grass. Set threw his hand out and a long shimmering sword fell out of the sky at Nick's feet. Nick stared down at it stupidly.

  "Pick it up then," Set said.

  Nick bent over and grasped the hilt of the sword. It was heavier than he expected it to be. He heaved it off the ground using both hands and pulled it into the position he'd seen many men use in the past. When he looked back at Set he saw that he was holding a sword of his own. Set's sword was much grander than Nick's, it was golden from tip to hilt and had Egyptian hieroglyphs etched along the blade.

  "That's impressive," Nick said, nodding at Set's sword.

  "The sword of Ra. It's been in my family for millennia. It contains power from Ra himself and can cut anything not matter how tough," Set replied. He was aware that Kayla had divulged Set's history to Nick and therefore Nick knew what that sword had been used for in the past, but Set wasn't in the least bit bothered. "But a sword is only as good as the one who wields it. Come at me."

  Nick didn't need to be told twice. He'd dreamed of learning to fight with the sword since he was seven years old and he was going to dive in with both feet. In England, squire's practised with wooden swords, but Nick didn't let that stop him. He knew that Set could heal any injury he gave. He charged at Set, swinging the sword as he went. His sword clashed into Set's and Set threw him back onto his rear with ease. The sword clattered to the ground next to him.

  "I can see I've got my work cut out for me," Set said.

  Nick clambered to his feet, sword in hand, and attacked again. He lost co
unt of the number of times he was knocked down that day and he went to bed with bruises all over his arms and torso. But he did not complain. He was getting exactly what he wanted. Nick imagined that Kayla would put a stop to his lessons in combat when she found out, but on the contrary, she was keenly interested. She even sat on the steps some days and watched the duels Nick had with Set. As the months went on they ceased to be one-sided assaults and Nick learned to hold his own, but he still had a way to go before he would be able to beat Set. Seven months after they started training, the day finally came when Nick almost beat Set. They'd been sparring for some time. Nick was now strong enough to hold the sword in one hand, but they'd been fighting for so long that his arm was growing weary. Set didn't look tired at all and Nick wondered if it was one of the perks of being an ancient.

  "Getting tired yet?" Set asked, smiling widely. Nick didn't reply. He knew that Set was trying to distract him by starting a dialogue, and he knew what Set would do next. Sure enough, Set blocked Nick's overhead strike and then spun round behind Nick, kicking him in the back of the knee, taking him down to one knee. Nick knew it was coming, but he let it happen all the same. Set was back in front of Nick quickly enough, Sword to Nick's throat, victorious grin in place.

  "Do you yield?" Set asked. He'd used this tactic to beat Nick several times. Nick had spent a lot of time learning Set's move and coming up with a way to counter it.

  "No," Nick replied, for the first time since his training began. He backwards rolled away from Set and when Set advanced he forward rolled straight into his legs, sending him tumbling to the floor. Nick grabbed his sword and sprung to his feet. Usually Set would've moved faster to recover, but the shock had slowed him down. Nick kicked his golden sword across the gravel, out of reach and pointed his own sword at Set's throat. He smiled proudly at his defeated mentor.

  "Impressive, Nicky, impressive. Although in actual combat you won't know your opponents fighting style so well."

  Clapping from up by the temple snatched Nick's attention away. He expected to see Kayla at the top of the steps, but instead he saw a girl he had never seen before standing at the base. She was without a doubt the most stunning girl Nick had ever seen, not that he'd seen that many girls. She looked about his age and had beautiful dark brown hair. Her skin was as white as snow and she had big blue eyes that any boy would disappear inside. Being a teenage boy one of the first things Nick noticed was the way her bodice pushed her breasts up, showing plenty of skin above her garments. Nick felt a warmth stirring within him and looked away just in time to see Set move. Palm out, the sword fell back into his hand. He knocked Nick's limp sword aside and was on his feet, blade to Nick's neck in an instant.

  "I yield," Nick said immediately, knowing he had lost.

  "Nearly, though, boy," Set said. He glanced over at the girl and then look back at Nick. "Good luck," he said. He winked and then strolled away inside the temple.

  "You fought well," the girl said as Nick approached her. "I'm sorry I distracted you."

  "Don't be," Nick said.

  "You must be the Black Wood boy. I'm Olivia," she said, extending her hand. Nick took her hand gently and kissed the back of her palm.

  "I was found in the Black Wood, yes, but my name is Nickolas," he said.

  "I'm sorry if I caused offence."

  "Not at all, not at all," Nick said quickly. "Are you from the village?"

  "Do I look like I'm from anywhere else?" she joked. The village was the only place that humans lived in Elysium.

  "No," Nick laughed.

  "Liv, come on," another boy called impatiently as he came out of the trees. He was tall with neat dark hair above a well-chiselled face.

  "Sorry, we have to get back. It was a pleasure meeting you, Nick," she said, already walking away.

  "And yourself. I hope to see you again sometime."

  "Yes, if you come to the village seek me out," she said. She waved cheerily and then turned away. The boy glared at Nick before turning away himself, and then they both went into the trees.

  Nick couldn't get Olivia out of his head for several days following their meeting. Maybe it was just because she was the only girl he'd seen properly and he was a teenager full of strange yearnings, or maybe it was due to something else. Either way, after three days he decided he wanted to see her again. He had no reason for going to the village, but he decided to go anyway. At the end of the day, he didn't need a reason; he was the adopted son of Kayla, nobody could question him. Kayla may have said that there were no kings and queens, or lords and ladies in Elysium, but she was wrong. She was the queen of the island, like it or not. She decided who lived there and who did not; she decided on the rules. And if she was the queen then that made Nick the prince of the realm.

  The village was only a short walk through the forest. There were about sixty people living in the village, all of them sorcerers. It didn't look much different from any village in London, except that it was cleaner. There was no waste being thrown into the streets, no excrement falling from the windows. As Nick walked down the cobbled streets he realised that he didn't know where he might find Olivia. The village wasn't that big, but it would still take some time to search the whole place, and he could hardly go knocking on every house asking for her. Kayla's boy or not, no father would appreciate a fourteen-year-old boy calling for his daughter.

  As it happened he found Olivia fairly easily. As he walked past the candle-makers he glanced in through the window and there she was, sitting at the table, sculpting the wax into cylinders. Nick brushed his hair as tidily as he could and then stepped into the shop. He supposed it wasn't really a shop because nobody bought anything, they were just given what they needed, but he didn't know what else to call it so he stuck with shop.

  Olivia looked up as he entered. "Black Wood boy, do you need candles up at the temple so soon? I only dropped some off three days ago," she said, shifting her focus back to her work.

  "It's Nick," he said, a little annoyed. He already told her his name when they last met. "I was just taking a walk and I saw you through the window," he lied.

  "You was just taking a walk? Through the village?" she asked suspiciously.

  "I like to walk through the village sometimes, it helps to clear my head," he lied.

  "I've not seen you walking here before. Does that mean that your head is usually empty?" He almost took offence, but then she laughed and he realised she was joking.

  "Would you like to come for a walk with me?" Nick asked.

  "Well, I am supposed to be working." She gestured toward the piles of wax on the table. "But I suppose if anyone tells me off I can just say that Kayla's boy called me away." She put down the candle she'd been making, which was now bent and sloppy, thanks to Nick's distraction, and followed Nick out into the street.

  They walked into the woods and wandered through the trees talking about their pasts. Nick told her his entire history, and she listened with keen interest to everything that had led him to Elysium, and then he listened whilst she told him her story. Her story was less engaging than Nick's. She was born in Elysium, her father was the candle maker and her mother an enchanter; she enchanted objects for people, usually jewellery; Nick found that particularly interesting. Olivia's powers had come through three years ago and they'd been developing quickly ever since. Her father believed that she would be a wizard before she was twenty — when a sorcerer's powers grew beyond that of most others they were classed as a wizard rather than a witch. Olivia had been making candles since she was eight, but she'd already learned how to make simple enchantments and would soon follow into her mother's profession.

  They sat down by the river and Nick watched as Olivia conjured water animals with her magic. First, she produced a duck, then a cat, followed by a lion and lastly she created an elephant, but when Nick laughed she lost her concentration and the water creature collapsed. Then they just sat side by side and watched the water flow. Neither of them spoke, but it seemed completely natural. Several ti
mes Nick felt an urge to touch her, but he resisted; without a reason, it would just seem lecherous. When the sun started to set Olivia said she had to go, her father would wonder where she'd gone and nothing she said would placate him for the lack of candles made this afternoon. Nick walked her back to the shop and then bid her farewell, once more resisting the urge to touch her, even just a stroke of her cheek. She asked him to visit her again and promised that next time she'd take him to see some of the more interesting parts of Elysium. Nick promised to return soon.

  He entered the forest again and began the walk home, feeling chirpier than he had in some time. He hadn't got far when someone called him. He turned to see the boy who had been with Olivia at the temple the other day. He strode toward Nick, glaring coldly.

  "What do you think you're up to?" the boy demanded.

  "I beg your pardon?" Nick asked. He had no idea what the boy was talking about.

  "You and Olivia, what is the meaning of that?" he clarified.

  "I'm sorry, who are you?"

  "Dominic. I am Olivia's closest friend, if you understand my meaning," he said, giving Nick a warning look.

  "I'm afraid I don't," Nick said, folding his arms over his chest. He'd only known the boy for a minute, maybe less, and already he disliked him.

  "Then let me be frank. She is mine, and you have no business with her," he said firmly.

  "Well—" Nick began but Dominic cut him off. He did not use words, he used magic. It was the first time magic had been used on Nick in an aggressive way and it was not in the least pleasant. He touched his palm to Nick's chest and his entire body was filled with a burning sensation. He clamped his jaw shut, trying not to scream as the sensation radiated out of him, it was like his very insides were being covered with molten magma. Tears began to streak from his eyes as he shook under the strain. He tried to pull back, but he was unable, Dominic's hand was stuck firmly to him.