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

by A. C. Nicholls

  “Took your time,” he said, striking the air with his new sword.

  “Gave you a chance to get in a few practice swings, didn’t it?”

  Jack smiled, shrunk the sword down and tucked it into his pocket. “I don’t know about you, but I’m just about ready to hit the road. I want to get in there and attack this son of a bitch while I still have the guts for it.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Just give me a moment.” I took to the nearby desk where Jasper Jones had once sat – the portal guardian who’d betrayed us all in hope of receiving some magic for himself. He was in one of R’hen’s prisons now, and needless to say, he wouldn’t be missed.

  I continued to rummage through the drawers, found a notepad and pen, and began to scribble on it. Link peered over my shoulder, trying to get a good read of my written words, but I paid no mind until I finished the message. When I was done, I tore off the page, folded it in half and stood up straight.

  “What have you got there?” Jack asked.

  “A message.” I handed the folded note to Link, who took it and unfolded it instantly. “Just a quick note to Silvero Impada, asking that he assist us in the battle.”

  “You think he’ll come?”

  “Not really, but it doesn’t hurt to try.” I twisted my neck to get a good view of Link. “Do me a favor, Link. Head to Silvero’s law firm in Garfield and make sure they get this message. Tell them it’s from me and that it’s urgent.”

  Link flapped his wings in a quick, fluttering motion, and lifted into the air, the note clutched in both his hands. “And if they don’t come?”

  “Then we fight alone.” I glanced at Jack, who tried and failed to stifle a smile. Did the concept of another battle excite him? I hoped not – the last thing the Vault needed was a combat-hungry fool as their Keeper. “When you’re done, come join us at Cloud Gate.”

  Link’s face creased up. “The sculpture?”

  “More like the square surrounding it, but yeah.”

  “Why there?”

  “That’s where Ryker’s going to summon Zorin.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “That’s what Dalton’s fires say. Now go on.”

  Link spun in the air and drifted out of the VHS store, managing the door by himself. Just me and Jack remained, savoring our final moments before the big fight. I unbuttoned my jacket, allowing a little more air into my lungs and feeling less restrained. I exhaled, my anxiety ratcheting up the Defcon scale.

  “We good to go?” Jack asked.

  I nodded. “In a sec. I just…”

  “What?”

  “If anything happens to me out there, I want you to promise me that you’ll do right by the Vault. I’ve trusted you with this responsibility, and because of that, the Elders of R’hen will put the same faith in you.”

  Jack did grin then, clearly and without shame. “Nothing will happen to you. I won’t let it, okay? You just keep your mind on the mission, try to stay alive, and then you can enjoy a nice, long retirement.”

  There it was again – the niggling feeling that came with the idea of giving up my immortality. I didn’t want to know what would happen after, but I was sure to find out within a few hours. If only I made it out of this situation alive. God couldn’t have that bad of a sense of humor. Oh, the irony of being murdered right before retirement.

  Giving Jack my most convincing smile, I went for the door and held it open, tilting my head to encourage him through. “All right then, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

  “You seem confident.”

  “Trust me, I’m not.”

  Jack felt around in his pocket for the sword of Lucada, ensured it was there, and then took the door from my hands. “After you, Lady Keira. One last mission for Chicago’s guardian.”

  “One last mission.” I grinned awkwardly and passed through the door. It occurred to me then that I might never see the VHS store again. The Vault, Dalton, and even Link, were among those things I’d never get to lay eyes on if I wasn’t careful. I tried not to look back as Jack joined my side, and together, we made our way toward the end of the road, where the fight of our lives awaited us.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The scene was a spectacle of blinking police lights and people shoving others aside in desperation to watch the drama unfold. The streetlights around the square worked together with the police spotlights to make the crime scene glow in eerie anticipation. It sparkled like daytime, and every detail of the summoning could be seen by all.

  “This is bad,” said Jack.

  “No shit.”

  We’d taken one of my more stable portals to a nearby roof, examining the situation from afar. The roof overlooked the square, in the middle of which Ryker stood, surrounded by his bodyguards before a circle of imps’ blood, the Staff of Lucada in hand. I couldn’t hear him from our vantage point, but his lips moved as he closed his eyes and waved the staff around the circle, which glowed from the center as smoke began to rise and swirl around like steamy cobras. There was darkness too – dead in the center of the summoning circle, opening like a gateway for the demon.

  “We need to get in there.” Jack stood then, sliding the coat off his well-built body and removing the sword from his pocket. With the push of a button, the blade shot out from the hilt, glowing and sparkling and making unspoken promises of magical wonders.

  “No.”

  “No?”

  I peered over the edge of the roof, gawking down at the masses of people. There must have been hundreds of them. “Too many witnesses, and it looks like a TV crew has just showed up. Remember what I told you about going unnoticed?”

  “Sure, but I think we’re long past discretion.”

  “Perhaps.” I watched Ryker for a moment longer, boring a hole of disgust into his forehead with my lethal glare. “All right, here’s the plan. You wait here while I go down there and talk to him. If I can’t get him to back down, you have my full permission to intervene. So if it looks like I’m in trouble, go ahead and jump in.”

  Jack twitched, keen to dive into action. “And how might I get down there?”

  “The same way I will.”

  “Which is?”

  I smiled and barged past him, moving to the far side of the roof and looking down at an alley that was parallel to the square. Conjuring the icy glow from my new magicard, I aimed my fingers down at the ground. As a flurry of ice rained from my fingertips, I moved and twisted my hands in a slow rhythm, constructing a solid slide that reached from the roof to the ground. When I could see it clearly – ice cold and shimmering like a crystal – I took a dive and slid all the way to the bottom, stumbling to my feet and barely managing to regain my balance in time. I straightened up, took a deep, calming breath, and then left the alley toward Ryker. Somehow, I had to make this maniac see sense.

  The growing crowd of people made a ruckus as I stormed alongside the police barrier, some of them asking questions, some of them telling me to get back, and every one of them screaming like they begged to be heard. The cops themselves strode after me, trying to hold me back but giving up as I got too close to the scene. It was beyond their orders, I imagined, to approach the conflict without direct permission from their captain. At least something was going my way.

  “Ryker, you and I need to have words.”

  The bodyguards turned at the sound of my voice, shooting forward to grasp my shoulders. One of them raised a pistol to my face, his hand shaking nervously as he prepared to take the life of a seemingly defenseless young woman. I tried not to wince as he pressed the lip of the barrel into my forehead.

  “Put the gun down,” I said. “I just need to talk to your boss.”

  “Boss don’t wanna talk to no civilians,” the man said, the gun still trembling in his hand. The job was clearly new to him, and as far as I was concerned, that was his disadvantage.

  “But I want to talk to him. So put the gun down before I turn you into an ice cube.”

  Another man appeared be
hind me then, holding me down while the man with the gun turned beet red. I’d embarrassed him in front of his friends, damaging his pride. Like all men did when their pride was at stake, he coiled his finger tighter round the trigger, ready to claim that pride back. The trigger pressed closer to him as he squeezed, the bullet primed to leap out and take my life. I could almost hear the sound of the click as all of my thoughts and memories blinked out of existence, and then–

  “Put the gun down.”

  The armed guard craned his neck, confused.

  “I said put it down.”

  He lowered the gun to his hip and stepped aside, revealing a view of Ryker who stood only a few paces behind him. The glowing ring by his feet had dimmed slightly, as he took his break from the summoning process. I wondered what might appeal to him; how would I get him to stand down? I barely knew the man, only that he had no problem with killing and he desperately wanted to bring his master back to this world. It wasn’t much to work with.

  “You’re a Cardkeeper, aren’t you?” Ryker waved me over, the staff clutched tightly in his hand. As I approached, he held out a palm and told me to stop. He was unshaven, his hair a matted mess of sweat. Dark, hate-fuelled lust for violence filled his eyes and excitement for the ceremony played on his lips. “You haven’t come to kill me, have you?”

  “No.” I glanced around at the guards, each one ready to attack at a moment’s notice. “But I have come to stop you.”

  “I can’t be stopped, Miss…?”

  “Poe,” I said proudly, for the first time in my long life. “Keira Poe. Look, I know you think bringing Zorin back into the world is a good thing, but look at all those people behind me. They’re scared, you know? The Demon King might not care about that but you can. How about we put a pin in this and go talk it over like adults, huh?”

  Ryker laughed. “It’s not that simple.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “It needs to be done tonight, when the moon is full.”

  As Ryker pointed up to the sky, my eyes followed and landed on a whole, white moon. The broken-hearted woman in me seemed to take control, flashing images of Jason appearing in front of my eyes. I shook it off and lowered my gaze.

  “What happens if you don’t?” I said.

  “Then I will have failed.”

  “Failed what? To bring death and destruction to the city?”

  “If that’s how you choose to see it.”

  “Is that how you see it?”

  Ryker shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what I see, Keeper. Fact is, this needs to be done whether I like it or not. I need this demon more than you could ever imagine. The sheer power of it is beautiful. You know…” He paced slowly around me, circling me like I was his prey. “They say he is the Demon King, but how is a king so easily controlled? If you ask me, the name comes from the title it grants the owner. See what I mean?”

  “No.”

  Ryker laughed. “With this demon, I will be king. Now do you see?”

  “Argh, this is so nuts.”

  “‘Nuts’ is fighting for a tower full of men who don’t care about you, Miss Poe. At least when I’ve done my job I get to sit on my throne and watch the world burn. I’ll be safe – no, powerful, while all your little Vault-dwellers cower behind you and ask you to sacrifice yourself. What kind of life is that?”

  I shook my head, squeezing my fists tight. “A good one.” Dalton would never deceive me, nor would he expect me to die for the Vault. On more than one occasion he’d come into our world and fought beside me, which only went to prove one thing. “You’re wrong about them. You’re wrong about everything.”

  “Meh. What can you do about it?” Ryker snapped his fingers and the armed guards immediately swarmed around me, clutching my arms and holding me in place. He then turned his back on me, raising the staff into the air as he reprised his mad chanting.

  Jack, I think I need you now.

  As the guards restrained me, I watched the tip of the staff begin to glow bright orange, causing blinding pain to my eyes. The hole in the ground suddenly widened and the earth began to shake like the plates beneath our very feet were shifting. I fought to stand up straight as the men who held me all wobbled, and kept my eyes trained on the hole, where a large, red fist reached out and thumped down onto the ground like the hammer at a carnival game. The next thing emerging was a pair of enormous black horns, and a head rising like the head of a bull. The eyes revealed themselves next, burning bright red and scanning the square as an electric force of sheer evil was summoned into this world.

  “Shit,” I said – aloud, I think.

  The Demon King stood up straight, ten stories high and its skin packed to bursting with muscle. Shaped like the winning contestant for World’s Strongest Man, Zorin took one heavy step forward, shaking the ground once again. Turning toward Ryker, a deep, terror-inducing voice boomed from between his massive lips.

  “How can I serve?”

  Ryker’s eyes lit up at the prospect of controlling such a monster, but there was also fear in his expression. At least I knew he had a little humanity left in him – only someone who’d totally lost it could stand beneath this red giant and not lose their confidence.

  Only then he said something to disprove that theory. An evil grin turned the corner of his lips and small bucked teeth revealed themselves. His head turned my way, and then he nodded. “You can start by eliminating Miss Poe.”

  It would be a lie to say that my whole life flashed before my eyes then, but while I stood frozen and stared at a gigantic red fist reeling back to pummel into me, I did catch a glimpse of the world’s future in the dark recesses of my mind.

  And it blazed white-hot with fire.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Were it not for the screams of the civilians behind me, the voices in my own head yelling at me to run, and the pitifully coward-like wails of the men holding me, I might have heard the Sword of Lucada come whistling through the air.

  It found its target in Zorin’s arm, lodging itself in there as the demon stumbled back, clutching at the new wound in its meaty bicep. It ripped the sword from its flesh, which sealed shut immediately, before tossing the sword across the square and glaring angrily at its original direction.

  Jack sprinted toward us, his hands balled into fists with his teeth gritted, yelling a lunatic cry before he collided with one of my captors. With one arm now free, I turned my palm outward and shot a spike of ice into the other man’s gut. He released his grip on me and stumbled back, blood soaking through his fingers.

  “On your left,” Jack said.

  I spun around just in time to see the demon’s hand clawing in a wide arc toward me. My muscles tensed up as I leapt high into the air, kicking off Zorin’s arm and landing safely behind where I’d been standing. The two remaining guards were not so fortunate, leaving only red smears in place of their bodies.

  “Thanks.”

  “I need to get that sword.”

  My eyes scanned the distance, saw the blade tucked up against the curb. It was way out of reaching distance, which – let’s face it – wasn’t the worst news I’d had today. Now that the demon had been summoned, we had no choice but to defeat it. The only bright side was that Jack could get his revenge. Even if it did mean dying immediately after.

  Another swipe of the demon’s claw-like hand came my way. I rolled aside just in time, feeling the breeze of its movement brush past me. I didn’t know how long I could keep this up, but it wouldn’t be forever. I was already pushing my luck.

  “Can you hold him off?” Jack asked, rushing to my side.

  “I can try. But what about…” Ryker, I was going to ask, but then I caught sight of Link swooping in from the air, grabbing hold of the Staff of Lucada as Ryker tried desperately to pry it from his tiny faery fingers. I didn’t think I’d ever been so glad to see him.

  Jack retreated and ran around the demon, making his way toward the sword. This maneuver kept me distracted, barely making me aware of Zorin�
�s next attack. Both its hands came up, clasped together as he brought them down hard against the ground. It didn’t hit me, but the road took a beating that caused an unbearable vibration, knocking me off my feet.

  Compose yourself, Keira.

  I needed to find my center, get into a groove and keep it that way. Focusing on my abilities, I took a long, deep breath and climbed to my feet. I glanced up at the demon, looming before me at around thirty feet. The cops behind me fired at it, but the bullets only flattened against its flesh, crumbling and scattering to the ground like metal rain. The army would be here before long, but even if they could help, we didn’t have time to wait for them.

  We had to take it down fast.

  I summoned a hard ball of ice into each of my hands, locking eyes with my enemy. I stared into those dark, angry coals, hell-bent on destroying me to fulfill its command. While I still had the courage, I broke into a sprint, charging at the beast as I shot blasts of ice into its chest. It did nothing, of course, but I’d anticipated that. As Zorin charged too, I fired a long sheet of ice across the ground and slid along it, passing between its legs before it could squash me like a bug. In the heat of the moment I saw Jack in the distance, the sword clutched in his hand and an expression of pride on his face.

  Good. Now I just needed to stay alive long enough to distract Zorin.

  I spun on my heel in time to see a fist coming my way like a battering ram. I instantly constructed a wall of ice in front of me. The ice shattered as the fist blew through it, striking my shoulder and sending me flying across the square. I’d never known pain like it; a numb, burning sensation that ran down my arm as my cheek grazed the road. This must have been how flies felt when faced with an irritated human. I slowly stumbled back onto my feet, making a mental note not to swat flies ever again, and faced the demon.