The Cardkeeper Chronicles: Books 1-5 (Complete Collection)

by A. C. Nicholls

  “Melissa Louse showed me the location of the leader’s hideout,” I said, strolling back toward them, humored by their lost expressions. “They’re in a cavern. In fact, it seems that even their sub-dens are, but… Dalton, what happens to the other creepers if we eliminate the leader?”

  “Uh…” Dalton rubbed his chin, lowering his head and hiding his face behind the hood of his robe. “There will be consequences, of that I am sure. However, they will be unable to reproduce, and their numbers will be thinned considerably. There may be some collateral damage as well as–”

  “What I mean,” I said, cutting him off, “is will the Vault be safe from attack?”

  “Y-Yes. In short. But I must warn you, their vengeance will be red hot.”

  “That, I can handle. Link, are you up for this?”

  Link patted me on the head, leaning his back up against my cheek and then crossing his arms. “You know me, love. If there’s trouble to be found, Link the Mighty will be there with bells on. Just make sure you’re doing the right thing.”

  I nodded, grinning and stalking out of the room with only one place in mind. But as I left, I could have sworn that Dalton had opened his mouth to speak. Whatever it was he’d had to say, I hoped that it wasn’t more than a caution from a careful old man.

  When the creepers had attacked, I wasn’t ready for them. They’d used me, and taken advantage of my insecurities in order to infiltrate our Vault. This time, I would be ready for them, and as I made my way to the card room, I felt alive with excitement at the idea of introducing them to my new weapon.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  A night passed, during which I could only find time for a couple hours of sleep. My mind couldn’t settle, flitting from horrifying thoughts of creepers and mages to flashing images of how the world might have looked if the Vault collapsed. I had gotten really lucky in finding the Dark Room, and this second chance might have been our only chance. My luck was running out, and I knew it.

  The sun rose behind my apartment block, where I stood behind the ladder of a kiddies’ slide and practiced my new ability. I’d chosen a magicard infused with the power of wall-phasing, a skill which was proving hard to come to grips with. Although I was finding it easy to phase my arm through the rungs of the ladder, my mind was having trouble adjusting to it. The problem was psychological, of course – I just wasn’t used to being stuck in the middle of inanimate objects. Even Jason stared at me, pulling a face that suggested disgust. I guessed he didn’t have the strongest of stomachs, something quite strange for a guy who could eat animals alive.

  “How’s that coming along?” he asked, watching me practice.

  “The magic?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s just surreal. When I’m phasing through something, it’s like I’m not there. Only I am. I’m having to tell my body not to slip through the ground, while also making sure I can put my arm through this metal. I feel like… I don’t know. A spirit. Is that weird?”

  “A little.” Jason sighed.

  Something was wrong.

  I pulled my hand out of the ladder and made my way over to him. Nuzzling my cheek into his strong chest, I wrapped myself around him, feeling him in my arms. I’d done it to make him feel secure, but in the process, I’d begun to feel safer myself.

  “Is it the spell?” I asked, concerned for his wellbeing. He’d only been out of bed for a couple of hours, but at least he was looking better now. “Listen, if you’re not ready for a fight then maybe you should head back upstairs.”

  “You don’t want me with you?”

  “No, I do. I just don’t want you feeling any worse.”

  “But you need all the help you can get.”

  “True.” I pulled away from him, slowly retreating my hands so as not to make it look like sudden abandonment. I scanned the playground for Link. Moments ago he’d been on the swings, but now he was missing. I started to panic, shifting my gaze to the roundabout, when I finally saw him sitting in the middle, spinning around like a bored child. “I do have Link on my side too, you know.”

  Jason turned then, looking me dead in the eye. “Is he enough?”

  “Dare I say it,” I lowered my voice, “probably not.”

  “Hmm.” Jason began to stroll around the playground, and I followed alongside him with my hand in his. It was clear from his grip that his strength was returning, and I was glad to see that he was in better shape. Even so, he just seemed different somehow, like the spell had hurt him on an emotional level, or that he was reconsidering things. Still, at least his confidence didn’t waver. “Well, I’m coming with you anyway.”

  I sighed myself then, letting him hear it. “Okay.”

  Glancing over at Link to check up on him again, I let go of Jason’s hand and made my way to the jungle gym. Without thinking, I began to climb, letting my leg through a bar here, phasing my hand through the cold metal there. It was good practice, forcing me to learn how to control the parts of my body separately. I would need it when the time came to face the creepers, and with the sun still rising and pushing pinkish clouds across an orange sky, it was nearly time. Creepers hated light, and I was going to use that to my advantage.

  I only hoped that it wouldn’t be too late.

  By the time I got a handle on the magicard, Jason and Link were sitting together on the swings, slowly kicking their legs and mumbling something between them. I left them to it for a while, watching them. I remembered when they’d first met, arguing every five minutes. Hell, even I had fought with Jason. But that was a long time ago now. Things had changed; I loved him. Cherished him. Hopefully, he knew it.

  When they caught me watching them, Jason stood and carried Link in the palm of his hand, bringing him to me. They were my friends, my partners, and I would die trying to protect them, as I knew they would for me. Even Jason, whose balance had not yet stabilized, seemed ready to fight for what he believed in, to stare danger in the face and tell it to get the hell away from his woman. A sweet but dangerous proposition.

  “Keira, we’re ready,” Jason said, letting Link flutter off his hand and take to the sky. “I just want to warn you that this might not be easy. The leader of the creepers is a goliath, and he doesn’t take any prisoners. Be sure not to let your guard down–”

  “I know this, Jason.”

  “No. No, you don’t. I need you to go careful, okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Promise me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I promise. Look, I’m not ready to go just yet, anyway. Why don’t you guys go and rest up for an hour or so? There’s something I need to do.”

  The way they both looked at me made me feel like I was standing on their favorite rug with muddy boots on. I’d done nothing wrong, but after all the preparation for the attack, they’d probably not expected me to run off on my own errand.

  Link spoke up.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” I said reassuringly, shaking my head and putting up my best fake smile. “I just need to check on something.” Before they could argue, I petted Link and kissed Jason on the cheek, then went for the rear exit of the playground. It was safer this way – I wouldn’t have to explain myself or ask for any more help than I’d already asked for.

  Most of all, I wouldn’t have to lie.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Call me stupid, but at the time I thought it was a good idea. The church appeared to be empty from the outside anyway; orange candlelight glowing through the front paneled window as it always did, but no sounds of life. Not a chant or a sacrifice. Not even a hymn. Nothing.

  I was eager to stay on the mages’ good side. After all, I had come here to seek their help, and I was sure they wouldn’t be so willing to fight the creepers with us if I just sneaked into their home again. Hell, I’d be lucky if they didn’t kill me, but I had to try and talk them around. With this in mind, I shoved open the gate and took the steps up toward the front doors.

  Keepin
g a watchful eye on my surroundings, I pounded on the solid oak and called out to whomever was inside. I wanted them to know that I’d arrived – to understand that I hadn’t come to their lair to cause trouble. When no one answered, I made my next mistake.

  I phased through the door.

  A peculiar sensation overtook my senses; one minute I stood out in the warm April air, the next I was inside a church, the memory of the door I’d walked through going straight for my stomach, cursing me with a dizziness that made me a little sick. Still, I had to get used to it, and I’d rather do that now than when I came face-to-face with the leader of the creepers.

  “Is anyone here?” I yelled, hearing my own frightened voice echo within the confines of the church. A soft breeze whispered through the gap under the door, playing with the candlelight and making shadows dance across the walls. This place had an eerie, ghostly silence, emphasizing my footsteps as I padded toward the altar. I stayed on guard, tactfully walking while turning in a circle, watching every area of the dangerous territory I had willfully decided to infiltrate.

  And then I heard a voice.

  “Why have you come here, Cardkeeper?”

  It was a man’s voice, deep and calm, yet full of restrained hate. I spun around, desperately trying to figure out where it had come from, but the building was full of echoes, only confusing my senses. “I need your help.”

  “We told you not to come back here.”

  It echoed again, layering itself over and over, each time from a different direction. It gave me the feeling of being stalked, hunted, every little movement studied in order to bring me down. All I could do was ready my magic and wait for them to strike. “That’s out of my control,” I said, willing the magicard in my pocket to activation. I immediately felt the warmth of its soul flow through me, my confidence growing with it. “The creepers are planning a siege upon the Vault, and if they succeed, the world as you know it will come to an ugly end. We’re going to hit them first and hit them hard, and you have to help us.”

  “Have to?”

  As the man’s voice boiled to an insulted scream, two fireballs hurtled at me. I focused on my magic, letting the artillery glide straight through me as if I were a spirit. They struck the pews behind me, hissing and sizzling, starting a small fire. I stepped back toward the altar, my back close to the wall so I could keep an eye on the rest of the church, up at the balcony and down the aisle. “I don’t want to fight you.”

  “No,” came the voice. “You have to!”

  Three shadows leapt out of the dark, two of them seizing my arms while the other raised a glowing hand to my chest. It was the mage I had confronted earlier, but now hostility had taken control of his emotions. A white light grew in his hand, the air rippling around it as he charged his attack, preparing to unleash it on me.

  I had to act fast.

  Engaging my magic once more, I let the hands of the two shadowy mages slip through my arms, before solidifying to freedom. While they were caught off guard, I throttled my best punch into the face of one of them, sending him soaring toward the far wall. I turned my attention on the other, pouncing at him and throwing my arm around his neck as I administered constraint. My weight brought him down – brought us both down, crashing toward the ground where I phased again, this time taking him with me and leaving him stuck waist-high inside the floorboard. I scrambled to my feet and spun toward the chief mage in a defensive stance. He probably had tens of mages to throw at me, but I would take them all down if I had to, if only for a chance to talk.

  “You’re very stubborn,” said the mage, lowering his hands while they still glowed.

  “Yeah, I can get that way when the world is at stake.”

  Before I got a reply, six more mages, including Scott O’Hare, hopped down from the balcony and ran to the chief’s aid. They each stopped at his outstretched hand, ready to rush me at a moment’s notice. I was outnumbered and we both knew it.

  “If you care so much for the world,” said the mage, “why are you bothering with us when you should be out fighting the creepers?”

  “I told you, I need your help.”

  “And you thought you would just… walk in here and ask for it?”

  “I knocked.” I pulled out of my stance and stood up straight, quickly checking that the two I’d fought were out of commission. I couldn’t find the one I’d whacked across the room, but the man in the floorboards had passed out, probably from the shock. I solidified, letting go of my magic as a risky display of trust. “I know that Cardkeepers and mages have their differences, but for tonight, none of us care about that. We’re initiating an invasion on the creepers’ home; a werewolf, a faery and myself. I trust that’s proof that we’re stronger together?”

  Understanding glistened in the chief mage’s eyes, but the frown remained stubbornly glued to his lips. He glanced back toward his students – remarkably powerful for mages who were not yet fully trained – and waved a hand at them while telling them to stand down. When he turned back to me, his eyes scanned up and down my body, like he was seeing me in a new light all of a sudden. “What do we get from this transaction?”

  Transaction? Jesus, this guy had lost it. It pained me to know that the mages fell under the command of someone who saw a dire situation and still attempted to bargain.

  “What do you get?” I yelled. “You get to keep on living! You get to wake up each morning and know that the world will keep spinning. If you’re lucky, you might even die before the creepers multiply and descend from the Vault, ripping apart the people of Chicago and–”

  “All right, Keeper, settle down.” The mage’s voice escalated in volume, angry humiliation flushing his cheeks bright red. “The fact that you had the audacity to come back here after I told you not to is admirable, though inconceivably stupid. Now you stand before me, surrounded by men who can destroy you at a moment’s notice, only to threaten me?”

  I stared at the men behind him, shrugging. “It’s not a threat. It’s simply what will happen if the three of us fail. And without your help, that seems pretty likely.”

  The chief laughed, and so did his students. “Then why try at all?”

  “Because it’s my responsibility.”

  The laughter stopped abruptly, and the mage gazed down at me with confused hatred. It was the face of a man who despised me but didn’t know why. As his eyes rolled over me, the lights in his hand dimmed into nothingness, and then he stood aside. “Go,” he said. “Fight your battle and fight well.”

  This couldn’t be good. “You’re not coming with us?”

  “It is not our battle.”

  “Then you’re a coward.” I said, before turning toward the students. “You’re all cowards.”

  The whispering that followed my comment told me that I’d struck a nerve, but when the chief mage grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me down the steps to the aisle, I realized I had overstepped my mark. I was lucky enough to recover my balance before smashing my face on the floor, turning to look at the chief.

  “Get out of here,” he said, “and for that insult, you had better hope that the creepers do kill you. Because if they don’t – if you survive your fight and send the creepers packing – you’ll only have us waiting for you afterward. And trust me, it won’t be pretty.”

  The promise – the threat – reeked of a hatred so profound I didn’t dare question it. I could tell from the way he spat those words that he meant every one of them. I jogged back toward the doors of the church, shooting glances over my shoulder. If the time came to fight the mages once more then so be it, but for now I had a war to attend.

  One that I was pretty sure I would lose.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Sunlight streamed around us when we stormed through the park toward the cave entrance. I’d never been here before but it looked so much like Mound Park that it was scary. It even had its own set of caves, although these would be full of many, many more creepers.

  Jason was at my side, ready to s
hift into a werewolf at any moment. Link flew on ahead, out of sight from the joggers and fishermen around the ponds, while I had my magicard at the ready. Phasing through objects would give me a distinct advantage, while my natural speed and strength helped in other ways. If only that would be enough against the small army of creepers.

  Before long, we arrived at the cave entrance. Link already waited for us, having scouted the area for creepers, should they have somehow found a way to enter the sunlight and flank us. It was unlikely, but we wanted to cover our asses as best we could, so I didn’t mind.

  “Okay, listen up,” I said, assuming control. “The leader should go down pretty easily, but he’s not the problem. The real challenge is getting to him in the first place. So I want Jason working crowd control, intimidating them and keeping as many as you can at bay.”

  “Got it.”

  “Link,” I turned toward him, pretending I didn’t see him shaking in his tiny faery boots, “you’re on distraction detail. For some reason, they seem to go for you when you’re in the air, so make use of that. With their numbers thinned and their backs turned, I should be able to take out any stragglers and make for the leader. Does that work for everyone?”

  Jason nodded.

  Link mumbled agreement.

  “Good,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Most of all, I want you to be careful. I love you both and couldn’t bear losing you. So please, watch out for each other and try not to lose focus. The world depends on it.”

  “No pressure then,” Link said.

  I attempted a smile but it turned out more like a sneer. “Let’s go.”

  With one comrade at each side, we entered the mouth of the cave as a trio and ventured into darkness. The moment our bodies blocked out the sunlight and left us in sheet black, I could hear the creepers stirring. Their gentle hissing and occasional cries echoed all around us. Before darkness enveloped us, I pulled the glow sticks out from the back pocket of my jeans and snapped them. The cavern lit up bright yellow, and seconds later, Link and Jason were doing the same with theirs. When they were all lit, we tossed the rainbow of light far into the cavern, illuminating the creepers’ den. Straight away, I could see the army before us.