Betrayal of Cernunnos - Book 3 (Children of the Pomme)

by Matthew Fish

  Chapter 2

  2015

  William parked his black SUV outside of the police station. He passed over the checkerboard pavement as a chilled early October wind pressed against his bald head. He had finally decided to go ahead and shave all the annoying hair off—with everything he had to do in terms of getting things back in order, waking up early to look presentable was a luxury that time would not afford him. He carried with him a large number of files. Crime amongst the Perpetuals was back on the rise. William stopped at the elevator and tapped his foot impatiently as he checked a silver watch beneath his black suit. As the elevator dinged, he stepped in and pressed a key into a slightly raised slot against the smooth golden metal surface. The elevator descended four floors down. He rounded a corner and eyed two young girls who sat upon a bench just outside of his small office.

  “Good morning, sir,” An older girl spoke. She looked to be around twenty-four, the standard age for a Perpetual who did not wish to age any further. She had short brown hair wavy hair, was a bit short herself. She had narrow eyes with light amber colored irises that were set like tiny jewels that shone brightly beneath the fluorescent lights. She wore an old looking black and white motorcycle jacket that was zipped down halfway to expose a braless pink tank top. Large black boots covered her legs just below her knees as a pair of dark blue jeans disappeared into the boots. The girl had light skin with rose red cheeks and almond shaped lips.

  “Morning,” A younger girl spoke beside her. She had deep blue, long hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and light brown eyes. She was a little bit shorter than the older girl that sat beside her—her frame was small and she looked like she was mostly made of legs. She was wearing a short white hooded jacket with a low cut light blue dress that fell just above her knees. She had a pair of white, scuffed up tennis shoes with matching short socks. She had a very youthful look and a roundish face with wide features that contrasted sharply to her rather thin body.

  “And…how did you two get in here?” William asked as he turned his back to the girls and placed his key into a lock on his office door.

  “Christopher Littcott,” The older girl spoke as she got to her feet and pulled up her younger companion. “We spoke with him outside and he let us in.”

  “Of course he did,” William said with a heavy sigh as he gestured for the girls to follow him into the room. “I’ve got a lot to do, so I do not mean to be rude. So if we could keep this as short as possible—why are you here…?”

  “Looking for work,” the older girl spoke. “Things have been very hard since our father has been missing.”

  “And your father was?” William asked as he folded his hands upon his desk.

  “Not a nice person,” the younger girl added. “But things have turned to shit since he disappeared—didn’t really leave anyone with much instruction on what to do if he ever got his dumb ass killed.”

  “Language,” the older girl spoke as she jabbed the younger girl in the side. “We were told that you were looking for a Spotter.”

  “Are you two Spotters?”

  “I am,” the older girl spoke. “My name is Felecia and this is my sister Amelia.”

  “Zampa’s daughters…?”

  “We’re not bad,” Amelia said as she got up to her feet and raised her hands out in front of her. “We know that our dad’s a real…asshole.”

  “Sit down,” William said with a short nod. “One of your gifted sisters already works for us…she’s dropped the last name Zampa and goes by Stapleton. Being Zampa’s daughter is not an issue here.”

  “Is it…Eva or Lola?” Felecia asked as she shot her sister a concerned look. “I don’t think that you can really trust them. They are talented, but they are not good people.”

  “It’s Emily,” William said as he shook his head. He pondered on a thought for a moment and let out a short sigh as he decided to break the news to the girls. “Eva and Lola are both dead.”

  “Oh, that’s a relief. I always hated those two bitch…” Amelia began before getting cut off.

  “Is Emily around? She could vouch for us. I mean, we haven’t met that often—but she knows us. My father kept us kinda all separated. He was a very paranoid man.”

  “She’s away on vacation,” William said as he nodded. “We could use a spotter though, you are correct there. Now you, Amelia, how old are you and what can you do?”

  “I’m seventeen, just turned, and I’m a water Elemental,” Amelia said as she nervously tapped her blue painted fingernails against her bare knees.

  “That’s rather young,” William said as he shook his head. “I’m not sure I feel completely comfortable taking you on as a liability.”

  “We work together,” Felecia spoke as she nodded to Amelia. “Or…we don’t work at all. Please do not force us to find work elsewhere.”

  “I suppose I’ve made arrangements with people just one or two years older,” William said as he let out a heavy sigh and collapsed back in his chair. He brushed at his dark eyebrows with his forefinger and thumb. He did not like getting young people involved in dangerous situations, but then again Mark was only eighteen—though he had severe reservations at the time that Bradley had brought him onboard. “It’s a deal. Welcome to the force—we’re not much at the moment, but we’re getting bigger and better.”

  “Another thing,” Felecia said as she raised a single finger in front of her lips.

  “Of course,” William said as though he was expecting more.

  “We need a place to stay,” Felecia spoke as she crossed her arms beneath her chest and bit her bottom lip tightly.

  “The mansion we were staying at has been looted,” Amelia added. “Heathens….”

  “There are rooms down here—you’ll have a strict nine p.m. curfew, we can’t attract too much attention. You can stay here until you’ve worked a while and raised enough money for a place of your own.”

  “Thank you,” Felecia said as she smiled for the first time since she had arrived.

  “Either of you two know how to drive?” William asked as he reached into the drawer and pulled out a set of keys.

  “I can drive very well,” Felecia spoke as she nodded once. “My father trained me as a driver…for reasons I do not wish to disclose.”

  “Company car,” William said as he slid the keys across the table to Felecia who grabbed them up quickly. “Don’t get too excited, it’s nothing fancy—just a black SUV.”

  “It’s much more than I had expected,” Felecia said as she placed the keys on her finger and began to spin them around.

  “If you could do the driving on the next assignment that would be great,” William said as he shook his head. “Let’s just say that our Conductor has been arriving in a loud rickety old truck while his Perpetual bodyguard has been rolling up in a bright red Mazda Miata…not exactly low key, then again I suppose that was my fault as I let her pick out her own car.”

  “Would you know when our first assignment would be?” Felecia asked.

  “Tonight, if you’re up to it,” William answered as he flipped through a folder that sat upon his desk. “Or I can put you on one later.”

  “Tonight will do just fine,” Felecia spoke as she nodded to her sister.

  “Good with guns…either of you?”

  “I’ve been trained,” Felecia answered. “I know a Spotter’s job is to also lay down enough cover fire to allow time for a Conductor to act, aside from providing birth years.”

  “Never picked one up before,” Amelia spoke as she shrugged. “I’ve mostly been left to my own devices, my father never found me very…useful. I tend to fall into the same category that he placed Emily, just one step above our sisters who had no talents or no time to be trained.”

  “She can be very useful,” Felicia spoke as she placed an arm around Amelia’s shoulders. “My father was blind to her potential.”

  “I will have to take you at your word,” William said as he continued to flip through a few pages. Ha
ving a new Spotter would definitely take some weight off of his shoulders—he had been pulling double duty as the Captain of Perpetual Affairs and as a Spotter for the last few months. To say that it was tiring would be a gross understatement. “Emily has proved to be very useful, a little disrespectful at times, but a fiercely loyal friend.”

  “We were close,” Amelia said as she looked away for a moment as Felecia squeezed her hand tightly. “My father had us separated, said she was a bad influence.”

  William let out a short laugh. He then coughed and excused himself. He slid a stapled group of papers of to Felecia. “Christopher can help you get what you need for this assignment. It’s an old cement factory out in the middle of nowhere, but Cain, the leader of the Perpetual Council, believes that it is something more sinister. Your job is to find out if it is.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Felecia spoke as she got to her feet. “We will get moved in and prepare for tonight.”

  *

  “They do not seek to make this easy for us,” Lily spoke to Sun as she gently dug her heels into Sun’s side as his pace quickened. From the shimmering passage through time, two White Stags emerged. Each one carried a rider, dressed in robes of all black. They carried long spears with the banner of the White Stag against a black fabric attached to the hilt. “We must take a different way—if Cernunnos knows that we are attempting to go back through time, he will place guards at all the normal crossings to stop us.”

  Lily brought Sun to a large field of high summer wild grass. They came to a halt beneath a single, wide bigtooth maple tree. One of the men dressed in black upon the white stag’s back came close, his spear ready in hand as he held onto the stag’s antler. Lily reached to her quiver and pulled out a white-tipped arrow. She raised it as the man came to a halt. He held the spear up in the air as the stag arched and came to sudden stop.

  “Cernunnos wishes an audience with the slayer of her own folk,” The man spoke as the other man approached and began to encircle Lily, his spear pointed out towards her.

  “I have nothing to say to Cernunnos,” Lily said as she kept her arrow trained on the man’s chest. “If he wishes an audience with me personally, he may hunt for me himself.”

  “The Perpetuals you placed your trust upon are all dead, your Red Manor has burned to ash,” The man continued as he lowered his spear and pointed it towards Lily. “Going through time to warn them will not save them. The outcome will be the same.”

  “Your words betray you,” Lily spoke as she rounded behind the tree, placing an obstacle between her and the man in black. “If that were true…he would not have sent you.” Lily added as she released an arrow into the man’s chest. He fell off of his stag, lifeless. Lily tapped her toes against Sun as he sped off just as she jumped down. She pulled another arrow from her quiver as the other man in black lunged his spear towards her—missing her by mere inches. Lily pressed her back against the tree and quickly rounded the distance and fired an arrow into the man’s back as he swiftly passed by. He let out a cry of pain as he fell from his mount. The two white stags began to run as Lily pulled two arrows from her quiver, she placed one arrow between her teeth as she kneeled against the ground and fired an arrow into the chest of the furthest White Stag, sending it violently to the ground and kicking up a large plume of dusty earth into the air. She nocked her second arrow and trained it on the back of the fleeing stag’s head. She took a moment to account for the distance, nearly thirty yards—content that she could make the shot, she released her arrow. The stag fell to the ground after taking a few more steps out of reflex, the brain had been destroyed.

  Lily searched the area for the fallen man she had shot in the back. She found him writhing in pain as blood covered the grass beneath him.

  “What are you?” Lily asked as she pulled her folding blade from her belt and placed it to the man’s throat.

  “Mortal,” the man spoke as he froze at the sight of the blade.

  “Why do you follow Cernunnos?”

  “Because he will spare those that stand with him…” the man nervously spoke as the blade pressed firmly against his throat. “He is here to save us from a terrible future, to rule fairly, and put us back on the right path.”

  “There are other ways,” Lily spoke as she released the blade from the man’s throat. “Do you have food?”

  “In my pack,” The man said as he attempted to get to his feet. “Take it all, please—just spare me.”

  “You do not know when in time you are, without attention you will die soon from your wounds,” Lily spoke as she relieved the man of his belongings.

  “I will manage,” the man spoke as he got up to his feet and staggered for a moment.

  “This is the best I can do for you,” Lily said as she placed the blade back to the man’s throat and pressed firmly as she slid the blade across the short length. Blood sputtered forth from the wound as the man fell to the ground and attempted to place his hands upon the wound. He struggled to remain conscious for a short time before succumbing to death and darkness.

  Lily wiped her blade against the dead man’s clothing and placed the knife back into her belt. She stood for a moment as a warm breeze flowed through her long hair. She lingered in the field for a time to see if anyone else would appear. For the moment, it seemed as though she was safe. Lily climbed atop Sun as she looked to the alternate passage ahead. “It’s not going to be a short trip if we cannot take the direct routes back to Red Manor…but we must reach them.”

  Lily lowered her body against Sun as the air around her shimmered as she passed through another unfamiliar rainbow-like gate through time.

  2015

  “This place looks completely abandoned,” Felecia spoke as she pulled the SUV into a large open field. In the dim light of night beneath a waning moon she could make out a huge warehouse building off in the short distance. To the left of the building large cylindrical structures towered high into the air. Not a single light could be seen, nor any sign of activity in the area.

  “I believe that is the point,” Christopher said as he climbed out of the back seat of the vehicle. He wore his familiar brown conductor suit with the White Stag symbol on his arm. His beard had grown a bit more and his spiky light brown hair was unruly.

  “Looks like the kind of place I’d hang out as a teen,” Jenna said as she took a short puff on a small joint before flicking it out into the field.

  “Are you getting high right before we’re headed into trouble?” Simon asked as she got out of the SUV and tossed a heavy backpack against her small shoulders. “Is that a good idea?”

  “It helps me relax and gain a better control of my powers,” Jenna added as she pulled down on her short red dress. She placed a black leather coat over her shoulders and pulled out an automatic pistol. “It’s better that I don’t panic when bullets go flying.”

  “Well, this makes me feel calmer,” Felecia added as she opened up the back hatch and pulled out a large military grade M14 carbine assault rifle with a flashlight mounted to the barrel. She placed the gun against her shoulder as she patted the butt of the large rifle. “Just don’t go panicking when bullets come flying out of this.”

  “It’s only when I’m getting shot at,” Jenna said as she let out a heavy sigh. Her breath smelled heavily of smoke with a little touch of alcohol. “What’s in the backpack, Amelia?”

  “Water bottles,” Amelia said as she pulled one from the large black backpack and tossed one up into the air and caught it in her hand.

  “That’ll be great if we get thirsty,” Jenna said with a short shrug and a laugh.

  “That’s very funny isn’t it? I’m a water Elemental so I obviously have very useless powers…”

  “If you two don’t mind, no need for the back and forth and all that,” Christopher spoke as he pulled out a large flashlight and began to head off towards the large cylindrical structures. “I’d like to get this done and get back to the city; this place gives me one hell of an off feeling.”


  “Maybe it’s a second hand buzz,” Amelia said as she playfully tossed the water bottle up into the air over and over as she walked on.

  They reached the edge of the huge towers as Christopher pushed aside some brush to reveal a small entryway. They took turns climbing into the structure, broken pieces of concrete and glass filled the floor as they treaded carefully. They followed down a dark hallway, Christopher leading the way with his large flashlight, until they reached a huge circular room. Christopher illuminated the large space above him revealing a cavernous shaft.

  “He walks at night…” Amelia muttered quietly as she read a bit of graffiti on a nearby wall. “That’s comforting.”

  “It’s just, that’s nothing…it’s here to scare us,” Christopher said as he looked once more to the large expanse of intimidating space above before turning his attention to the decrepit hallway that continued on in front of them.

  “It works well,” Amelia added as she placed her hand against the rough and cracked concrete wall. “Almost makes me think we made a bad choice, sis.”

  “We did the right thing,” Felicia said as she placed a hand to Amelia’s shoulder and squeezed tightly. “It’s what Emily did. Everything seemed to work out alright for her.”

  “She even got a vacation. When do we get a vacation, hon?” Jenna asked as she carefully stepped over a large piece of the wall that had crumbled away.

  “Once the Perpetual Council is in better shape, better than it is now ‘spose,” Christopher spoke as he led the group further into the darkness of the old cement factory.

  “So…not anytime soon,” Jenna said with a short nod.

  Past a long decrepit hallway the group came upon a flight of stairs. A single red light illuminated a metal door at the bottom. The group descended the wide staircase as Christopher looked nervously to the single dim red light above the door. This little section seemed rather out of place—the stairs were clear of debris, the light was not dust covered, and the door looked fairly new.