by Alan Baxter
Frigeir checked his printouts again. Alex felt her will swell out, watched the magesign twist through her shades like cigarette smoke in a sunbeam. ‘We could really use your help,’ she said, her voice low.
Frigeir seemed suddenly drunk. ‘Mm-hmm. I’m sure I can sort something out. Classified, you say?’
‘We’re part of an international task force,’ Silhouette said. ‘You’d be doing the right thing by several important agencies if you can get us out there quickly.’
Alex frowned. He watched the interplay of her magesign with Frigeir but doubted the man could possibly fall for her ridiculous claims. Yet he seemed to buy it. Alex wondered how much of it was subtle Kin magic and how much pure animal attraction. He’d never seen anyone use their femininity and sex appeal as confidently and expertly as Silhouette. She could seduce anyone into doing anything she wanted without the magic, he was sure. Her self-assurance and power impressed the hell out of him, made him fall for her more every time he saw it. A nervous flutter in his stomach made him catch his breath. He was in a world of trouble and saw death looming real before him, but right now all he felt was love. He had fallen totally for Silhouette. Did she feel the same? She acted like she did, but was she just having fun, enjoying the adventure, after his stone? Or did she really feel about him like he felt for her?
Frigeir put his papers aside. ‘Well, the thing is no pilots are available until tomorrow at the earliest and then, of course, we have to check the weather first.’
Silhouette pouted. ‘What about you? You’re a pilot, aren’t you?’
‘Well, yes, but someone has to man the office.’
‘What about if we pay you really well?’ She nudged Alex.
He jumped, pulled wads of notes from his pocket. He held the bills up for Frigeir to see. Their haul from the bar had been quite substantial. Drinking seemed to be something people always found money for. ‘How much will it take,’ he asked. ‘We have to get out there today.’
Frigeir eyed the money. Alex saw the temptation rising in him. Silhouette still coerced the man with her will. Alex let his own magic out, drew against the Darak and tried to slip gentle images in the man’s mind of the three of them in a helicopter, flying out over grey, rocky wilderness, wads of money stuffed in the pilot’s pockets. He tried to be as subtle as Silhouette, tried to emulate her style. He peeled off the majority of the notes he had stolen, completely clueless to their actual worth, slapped them on the desk. ‘This enough?’ he asked. ‘Sorry they’re a bit damp, I got caught in a shower.’
Frigeir sat back in his chair with a sigh, doing a fair job of covering up his astonishment at the amount Alex had just laid out in front of him. Alex wondered how much he’d given away. ‘Well, I guess no one will worry about the office being closed for the afternoon. But I’ll have to be back before dark.’
Alex couldn’t be sure how much of that success had been his work, how much down to Silhouette’s magic and feminine charms, and how much the lure of cold, hard cash, but the result was exactly what they wanted. ‘If you can fly us out there, wait for a while and fly us back, that would be great. I don’t think we’ll be there long.’ Frigeir frowned. ‘We just need to catch up with our friends briefly,’ he added quickly, trying to hold their ruse together. ‘We shouldn’t need to be there more than an hour or two.’
‘And where exactly is it you need to go?’ Frigeir asked.
‘Well,’ Alex said, drawing a nervous breath, ‘I’ll have to direct you as we go.’
Frigeir locked his hands behind his head. ‘Really? More classified information?’
‘I’m sorry this seems so strange,’ Silhouette said, jumping in while Alex gaped, trying to find an answer. ‘But we’re paying you well.’ She nodded at the money on the desk. Alex added a couple more bills.
Frigeir raised his hands, stood decisively. ‘Let’s go then.’ He took the pile from the desk, pushed the notes deep into his pocket.
He led them out to a smaller airfield beside the main Reykjavik airport and across dark grey tarmac. Lines of various colours crisscrossed under their feet as they walked past small planes. Tiny wheeled vehicles buzzed around them with fuel and luggage. They hopped into Frigeir’s helicopter, Icelandic Sky Tours emblazoned on the side, and put on the headsets he handed them. The helicopter was shiny, new looking, and smelled strongly of pine air freshener. Frigeir talked to the control tower in rapid Icelandic and fired up the engines.
Alex pulled the mic down, covering it with his hand. ‘I’ve never been in a helicopter before,’ he shouted over the rotors starting up. He leaned forward, catching her chin, and planted a kiss on her lips. She was surprised for a moment, before kissing back enthusiastically. ‘Thank you,’ Alex said as they parted.
She gave him a quizzical look, slight shake of the head. She kissed him again.
Frigeir looked at them over his shoulder, one eyebrow high on his forehead. ‘Ready to go?’ he asked, unable to keep the smirk off his face.
‘Ready!’ Silhouette said.
Alex buckled himself in. Maybe she did care for him, after all. He needed to believe she did. That this was more than just a bit of excitement in her long life. He felt the warmth of her still on his lips and chose to believe this meant more to her.
Frigeir powered up the helicopter and took off with a stomach lurching drive. He guided the chopper out of airport airspace and turned, a question in his eyes. Alex let the Darak swell out from him, felt for the missing piece. A sensation of gentle drag tugged at one side of him. He pointed past Frigeir. ‘That way,’ he said.
Frigeir nodded. ‘Okay then.’
Sally Beaton suppressed her tears as she watched Mr Hood and Ms Sparks from the safety of the galley. They would be landing in about twenty minutes and she would be free of them. So many people had warned her about working too closely for Black Diamond but she hadn’t listened. How bad can it really be? she’d wondered. Pretty bad, it turned out. She trembled, desperate to get to a hotel, to a steaming hot shower, to wash the last hour off herself. She felt as though the stain of it would stay with her for life.
She had known that refusal would have been trouble. No court of law would understand, but something about them told her without a shadow of a doubt that if she’d said no to their advances she may never have returned to London. And for a promised pay rise? Was that all she was to them, some whore? She’d thought the opportunities in Black Diamond had meant more, that her hard work would pay off in a solid career. Had she been moved closer to Hood just for her looks?
She swallowed hard against tears rising, her throat tight with shame. What would she tell Peter? Could she tell him? I had to agree, or they’d have killed me! How could she expect anyone to believe that, even while she knew it, deep in her soul. She didn’t doubt for a second it was true. Hood’s eyes had been saying something his voice and smile had never articulated. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of a look that held black depths of despair and said, Do what we want or suffer the consequences.
She felt violated in every way possible. The pay rise, their sweet words after the things they’d made her do, her job, none of it mattered one bit. She wouldn’t make the return journey with them. They would almost certainly expect the same from her. She’d barely held it together this time. No way could she do it again. When they landed she would act exactly as they expected her to, all smiles and saucy looks. Then she would run to a hotel, certainly not the one they’d booked. She would scrub and scrub until she felt clean even if that meant taking off her own skin. Then she would book a flight home and disappear from Black Diamond forever. No job was worth this.
The pilot’s voice buzzed over the intercom, making her jump. ‘Prep for landing, Sal.’
She pressed the button. ‘No problem.’
Hold it together, she told herself. Just a little while longer.
She leaned through the curtain. ‘Buckle up, please, we’ll be landing in a moment.’
Hood licked his lips
lasciviously. ‘I don’t think I’ll be landing for quite a while yet!’
Sparks laughed, that horrible, bubbly laugh. Sally forced a smile, swallowing more sobs, and slipped back behind the curtain. She started stowing trays and locking cupboards, covering her mouth with one hand, unable to stem the tears any longer.
The Sisters stood beside benches outside Reykjavik airport, smiling at the appreciative glances of passers-by.
‘Irritating,’ Blonde said, looking into the distance. A tiny speck flew towards bright white clouds.
‘Easy enough to follow,’ Red said.
Brunette made a noise of annoyance. ‘Perhaps the Hood will make it after all.’
‘It’s been a while since I got excited about anything,’ Blonde said. ‘I intend to enjoy this final play. I’ll talk to the Hood again.’ She tipped her head back, eyes half closed. ‘Do I hurt you, little man?’ she said quietly, laughter under her breath. ‘Ah, so close you are. You travel fast for a human.’ She listened. ‘Really? Very well.’
‘Well?’ Red asked.
‘The Hood arrives any moment. He wants to travel with us. Apparently he has a helicopter arranged.’
‘A human flying machine? How … interesting. So, he will see the end after all.’
‘The end?’ Blonde said thoughtfully. ‘Yes. The end indeed.’
Brunette smouldered at a passing businessman, trapping his eyes with her look. ‘It should be most entertaining,’ she said under her breath. The businessman tripped, blushing as he hurried away. Brunette slipped from the group, gliding after him.
‘Don’t be long, sister,’ Blonde called out. ‘The Hood will be here very soon.’
28
Frigeir swung the chopper around for a second pass, turning to look at the ground below. ‘No way, sorry. Nowhere safe to put down.’
Alex and Silhouette saw nothing but ridges of grey-black rock and shale. Smoke twisted across the desolate landscape like gossamer snakes. ‘How close can you get us?’ Alex shouted.
Frigeir lifted higher, scanning the ground. ‘I can put down over there.’ His voice was tinny over the headset. ‘It won’t take you long to walk. But are you sure this is right? I can’t see anyone else.’
‘This is right,’ Alex said. ‘Put us down as close as you can.’
‘Okay then.’
Frigeir sounded dubious and Alex couldn’t blame him. The Darak burned, throbbing with anticipation. He was in no doubt whatsoever that they were virtually on top of the last piece. Yet Frigeir was right. No one and no thing but cold rock. He remembered the vision he’d had when he set the stone to find itself. A cave, a surprised face. It must be somewhere they couldn’t see from the air.
Frigeir put the helicopter down on dark shale. ‘I can wait here,’ he said, killing the engine. The blades whup-whup-whupped through the chill air, slowing down. ‘But you’ve only got an hour at most before it starts to get dark. I’m not flying in the dark. If you’re not back here, I’ll go without you.’
‘Fair enough. We’ll be back.’ He hoped Frigeir and Sil couldn’t hear the uncertainty in his voice.
He hopped out of the chopper, Silhouette close behind. ‘This way,’ he said, taking her hand. He was close. So close he could feel it, could imagine the completed Darak and the power it could yield. Dark thoughts ghosted across his mind, loose ideas that flitted past his consciousness like bats in the night. He hated himself for the things he considered. He looked back at Frigeir sitting in his helicopter, imagined the man’s wife, children, parents. He might not have a family, his parents might be long cold in the grave, but Alex didn’t know. Couldn’t know. Could he really go through with the things he considered, the only other option he could conceive? He had no right. If anything would make him a true monster, it was that. Better he do terrible things to himself.
He ached at the thought. Silhouette walked purposefully beside him, beautiful, powerful. She had supported and protected him all this way, but if it was a choice between true monster or sacrifice, only one option really existed. He hoped she would understand. He hoped he would be able to do it.
Uthentia in his jacket bucked and thrashed, the distant, massive voice of it hurling rage through every part of him.
‘What’s happening?’ Silhouette asked.
‘It’s getting angry because we’re getting close,’ Alex lied.
‘Read it, maybe?’ Sil suggested. ‘See what it has to say?’
‘No way. It can get fucked. I haven’t given it a chance to voice itself for a while and I’m not going to now.’
‘Fair enough. Keep it together, Alex. We’re nearly there, right?’
His stomach fluttered with his love for her. Or was it fear that she’d betray him yet? ‘You know, there’s an old yarn my Sifu told me,’ he said. ‘It’s a kind of warning tale.’
‘Oh yeah?’
He plunged on. ‘It talks about a little boy who stalked a tiger. The tiger had been terrorising his village, killing the people, and the little boy decided to be a hero and hunt it down. When he finally got near the tiger he snuck close through the undergrowth and grabbed it by the tail. The tiger got furious, started spinning around, snapping and clawing at the boy. The boy hung on for dear life, running left and right, staying safe only by staying behind the tiger. The boy panicked. He thought he’d caught the tiger, but really, the tiger had him. There was nothing he could do to defeat it and the moment he let go of the tail it would get him.’
Silhouette reached for Alex, put a palm against his cheek. ‘Why are you telling me this?’
He ignored the question. ‘The point of the story, I think, is to warn people against starting something they can’t finish. Going in blind or without a plan.’
After what seemed like a very long pause she said, ‘So what did the little boy do?’
‘Well, he couldn’t let go and he knew he would tire long before the tiger. All he could do was drag the tiger around. They were near a waterfall and the boy kept ducking and diving, avoiding the teeth and claws, moving nearer and nearer to the edge. Knowing the tiger had to die for his village to be safe, when they got near the precipice, the boy jumped.’
‘Alex, no.’
‘He hung on to the tiger and took it down with him, saving the village.’
Silhouette stopped walking. ‘Fuck that, Alex! There has to be another way.’
Alex winced, looking at the ground. ‘At what cost?’ he asked, his voice strained.
‘At whatever cost! Don’t you dare leave me, Alex. Not after all this!’
‘Really? I mean that much to you?’
‘Fuck!’ She spun around, walked away a few paces, turned back. ‘Fucking yes! All right? It started out for me as a bit of an adventure. Something interesting at last. For a time there I even thought about doing what Joseph asked of me. Then I thought about maybe trying to take the stone for myself. But the Kin would still hate me either way. I would still be alone. I told you before, you with the Darak means I don’t have to be alone any more. I can live with being an outsider if I’m not alone.’
He trembled all over. ‘I love you, Silhouette.’ The words felt like cotton wool balls, dragged reluctantly from his throat.
She stepped up, kissed him hard. ‘I love you too, Iron Balls, you fucking stupid little human.’
He laughed, despite his anguish. ‘You are so romantic.’
She had tears in her eyes. ‘The last person I said that to was my mother, Alex. Don’t you dare leave me too.’
He kissed her, held her tightly, her body pressed against his. Could he really give in to the monster, to keep a monster? He didn’t want to be alone either. Keeping to himself was one thing, but being really alone, lost in all this power, was terrifying.
‘Don’t give up on me,’ she said into his neck, her breath sending shivers through his spine. ‘Find another way.’
‘I’ll try, Sil.’ And he meant it. He hated himself, but he meant it.
They walked past a shoulder of dark rock, Alex
’s mind churning with formless emotion. The voice of his Sifu drifted through. Never be distracted while you are engaged in battle. If the fight is not yet won, nothing else matters. Nothing!
This fight was far from won. The Darak pounded against his chest like a second heart. The last part lay somewhere nearby. For thousands of years the stone had existed apart from itself, broken, incomplete. It had an almost sentient desire to be whole again, channelled through him. And Uthentia, trapped in a book, washed white hot fury through him, filling him with images of murdering Silhouette in hideous ways, getting Frigeir to fly him back to Reykjavik, sending the chopper to crash in a fiery spectacle in the most crowded street he could find. He forced himself to focus only on the Darak. Ignoring Uthentia was like ignoring a red-hot branding iron pressed against his mind. He breathed, focused, brought all his training to the fore. Just a little bit longer.
As they cleared the rugged boulders, a narrow channel appeared through the rock. Someone stood in the shadow of the passage. A Kin, ancient and powerful, his presence unchecked in this uninhabited wasteland, miles from anyone. ‘I’ve been expecting you,’ he said in a deep voice.
Alex recognised the man’s face from his vision. ‘So you know why I’m here.’
‘How did you do it?’ the man asked. ‘Find me?’
‘I wasn’t looking for you.’
‘No, of course not. How did you find the shard?’
‘The two pieces I already have were able to trace their lost brother,’ Alex said.
The man nodded, his expression resigned. ‘Of course. Then it is true.’
‘What’s your name?’ Alex asked. He sounded tired. He knew a fight was coming.
‘Ovidius. You?’
Alex recognised the name from his research in Lorenzo’s Den, though his mind had trouble grasping the concept. ‘My name is Alex Caine. I’m afraid I’m going to take the stone.’
‘Yes. I suppose you are.’
Alex was stunned. Surely this guardian of ages would stand against him. ‘Really?’ he asked suspiciously.
