I tore my gaze away and addressed the room with a cold tone. “I have business in Scotland today. I need Five to accompany me. Who else is ready?”
Eight stood up quickly. She was doing a good job of seeming jumpy. The others glanced at one and other. None of them had enough clothes on to go out in public without risking arrest. I snapped my fingers. “Eight comes with me. The rest of you…” I trailed off, shaking my head. “Tidy this room up. It’s disgusting.”
With that, I teleported the three of us to my suite. I’d never been through the portal before so Five let me see through her eyes. It was the only way I’d be able to teleport into the unfamiliar country without risking harm. Poorly executed teleports were dangerous, and Five wasn’t capable of using magic, so the task fell on my own shoulders to get us all there safely. A destination location was best to be familiar to the User. I took a breath as I pictured exactly what Five had shown me.
Eight squeezed my hand as I smiled at them both. “Here we go, girls.”
Twenty-Two – Pete
Trish was behaving suspiciously when we arrived at her flat. There was a bloodied towel on her kitchen table and she was wandering around, dusting and humming under her breath as lithely as a Disney princess and twice as chirpy.
“That’s a Vampire?” Angie sneered.
“Aye,” I said, watching Mickey’s Vampire whore raise her head towards us. “Nothing like the TV shows, eh?”
“Blasted spirits,” Trish muttered, losing her good cheer, tossing her dust-cloth down and going straight across to a dresser in the living room.
“We kind of need your help,” I told her, wondering what the hell she was actually doing.
“I don’t help dead people.” She was refusing to look at us.
“I didn’t know Vampires could get fat. How many people did you have to eat to get that figure, Elvira?” Angie was actually smirking.
“If you don’t have anything helpful to say you can shut up.” I pulled a face at her and stepped forward. “Seriously, Trish. This is about Mickey.”
She looked up, sighing. “I already did something to help Mickey today. So don’t try to guilt trip me.”
“You already what?”
“He’s been infected by death magic, right? I gave that girl friend of his the cure.”
“Kit was here?”
“She just left.”
“Where did she go?”
“Ughk!” Angie groaned. “I’m not chasing after that barmaid all day. I don’t care if you do still fancy her. I want answers, Pete. Not wild goose-chases!”
“She went to the hotel up the street,” the Vampire said.
“Thanks.” I sighed as Angie huffed. The Vampire wasn’t going to help us anyway. She’d made that pretty clear. This was at least a lead, someplace to start from. Maybe I could get Mickey to come back here and make Trish tell us something useful.
Twenty-Three – Kit
The hotel wasn’t a long walk away, and the chances were all I would need to worry about was an emptied mini bar. I let myself relax a little as I made my way over. There’d been too much stress in my life lately. Maybe if there were any bottles left in the mini bar I’d help Mickey to polish them off.
The receptionist looked like she’d fallen asleep with her eyes open hours ago. I asked for Mickey’s room number, and she broke out of her trance long enough to check the computer and tell me he wasn’t booked in. I hadn’t even considered that he might use a different name. I paused, uncertain of my next move. Did I just hang around in the lobby for hours, hoping he’d decide to leave his room? No. I thought about what might happen to him if I didn’t get the charm to him in time. I couldn’t let him die.
“Uh, he might have booked in under Timothy Wallace.” I held my breath as I waited. Please tell me he just checked in under his boyfriend’s name, the one who’d broken his heart right before Pete died.
“Oh, here it is.” She looked at me, a hint of suspicion in her expression. “Uh, why do you need to know his room number exactly?”
Shit! Foiled by a receptionist, what were the chances? “I, um, I’m his sister. He’s supposed to be in hospital. You really don’t want him up there more than a night. He’s in recovery. He’s really not supposed to be left unattended.” I lowered my voice on that last part.
She frowned at me before she told me the room number.
“Thanks.” I headed to the elevator and got out of the girls’ sight so she could go back to falling asleep at her desk. The lift was slow and opened on every floor. I was glad Mickey only seemed to be three floors up. When I got out, I darted down the hall, taking the charm out of my pocket.
The room was a few doors down the hall. I rushed to it and knocked. The User with the red hair answered it. He recognised me instantly and didn’t seem the slightest bit ruffled by my darkening of his doorstep. “Hi.”
“Oh,” I managed to sputter, “where, uh, I thought… is Mickey here?”
“He’s asleep,” the guy said, smiling wryly. “It’s been a long day for him.”
“Is he okay?” I tried to look past him, not sure how much I trusted someone who worked for the King, not to mention how annoyed I felt for Mickey that the guy had dumped him over his voicemail.
He stepped back from the door. “Come in if you want. We should talk, anyhow.”
I frowned at him as I entered the room. It was dark, the curtains drawn and the lights out. Mickey was asleep on the bed, fully dressed. I looked at the charm in my hand.
“He was infected with death magic,” his boyfriend told me.
“He was? As in he’s not now?” I thought about taking my own charm off to check. My fingers tapped the metal before I dropped my hand. I was stuck in this room with a User, and I wasn’t crazy enough to give him an inch.
Mickey looked peaceful. I hoped that meant he was okay.
“I was able to redirect the magic,” the guy said.
I pursed my lips. Mickey might seem fine, but something wasn’t quite right with this picture. “Why are you even here? I thought you broke up with him.”
“It didn’t take,” he said with a smile and a shrug. “Long story.”
I smiled, calling his bluff as I folded my arms. “I’ve got time.”
His eyebrows jumped and settled again. I didn’t take my eyes off him. Apparently, my determination wore him down because a few seconds later he was closing the door to the room and motioning to the breakfast table in the corner of the room.
I sat and waited for him to speak. He took a breath, his gaze going to Mickey. “I’m scheduled for execution tomorrow. It’s my fault Britton Rocks is dead. Mickey came to the castle, looking to kill the King. He freed me, but I have to go back. If I don’t, I risk his life and the lives of everyone he cares about. Including you.”
I took it in and sighed. Things started clicking together in my head. “Of all the guys in the world and Mickey has to fall for the only selfless one.” It would have been easier if the guy had been an arsehole. I couldn’t hate him for trying to protect Mickey. He’d been willing to die for him, after all. Wait, he still intended to. “You’re going to go back to the castle and just let the King kill you?”
He sighed. “It’s not as if I have a choice.”
It seemed insane, but I didn’t know what to say so I kept my mouth shut about it. The guy seemed to know what he was talking about. I was just glad Mickey was okay, for now at least. “So, he’ll be okay when he wakes up?”
“He’ll be fine.”
“What’s the plan for that?” I knew Mickey wouldn’t be fine if this guy abandoned him again, even if it was for a greater good. He wouldn’t be under threat by magic anymore, but he’d go off the rails knowing someone else he loved had died.
“I’ve got until tomorrow. We’ll say goodbye, and I’ll send him to you,” he said, sounded hollowed out.
Damn it! I couldn’t let him do this to Mickey. “Isn’t there something…”
He shook his head. “I can’t ch
eat my way out of this. I’ve considered my options. There isn’t any other way.”
I sighed as I got up, checking on Mickey as he slept peacefully in the king-sized bed. My heart hurt for him. “Teleport him to me when you need to go. I’ll be at my flat above the bar on…”
He nodded. “I know where you live.”
“Oh, and one little thing. There’s an Animate in Pete’s old flat. He was frozen in place by Mickey’s magic. Will that spell be broken or will someone have to…”
“I’ll check in on him before I head back to the castle.”
I nodded, searching my brain for something helpful to say. There was nothing in there. There were no words for this situation. I smiled sadly at him and left the hotel.
Twenty-Four – Tim
I closed the door behind Mickey’s friend and bolted it. My entire world was coming to an end and there was nothing I could do about it. I’d known this day would come. Ever since I first set foot inside that castle, I’d known my life wasn’t mine anymore. I’d tried to cut ties to everyone and everything I’d known. Mickey had been the only exception, the one thing I hadn’t been able to walk away from. I wished my own weakness hadn’t gotten the better of me, but there was nothing I could do about that now. It was too late. I couldn’t let the King use Mickey to hurt me. I had to accept that my time had come.
I took off my jacket and sat down on the bed next to him. The blue tint of death magic was gone from his skin. I’d only seen it once we’d appeared in the woods. He’d been able to teleport us because the magic he had was tainted, because it was death magic. I could see what it was doing to him once I was free of my prison. Being there had stripped away my ability to use magic, but that had thankfully been temporary. I regretted having to use my power on Mickey, but I’d known it had been necessary.
I lay down next to him and waited. He’d wake up sometime and we’d get one last night together. Call it my last request. It was one I hadn’t decided on lightly. It would have been safer not to drag him into this, but I knew if he hadn’t come to me I never would have gotten this last chance to say goodbye.
He slept well, awakening as the clock inched closer to seven p.m. He rubbed at his eyes.
“Holy shit,” he whispered.
“You’re awake.”
He stared at me. “You did something to me.”
Guilt kicked in quickly. I rushed to defend my actions before he could get any more accusatory about it. “I had to. You were infected by death magic, it would have killed you.”
He frowned as he sat up. “No. I was a User, like you. I could feel it. I used magic.”
“You did. It was just the wrong kind,” I told him, getting up when he did.
He shook his head. “No. No. This can’t be right. I used magic. I was powerful.”
“You were,” I admitted. “But it was going to destroy you.”
He walked over to the mirror that hung over the desk by the breakfast table. I watched him stare at himself. Whatever he was trying to figure out, I knew he wasn’t handling what had happened very well.
He turned to me, his hand reaching out. I frowned at him. The flash of red light made me blink. A bottle of tequila was in Mickey’s hand when I refocused. He smiled broadly.
“Not a User, eh?” He uncapped the bottle and took a swig.
I stared, uncertain about what had just happened. The pinkish glow around his fingers was live magic. He’d just become a User. Not only that, he’d just teleported an object he couldn’t see.
“How did you…”
“It’s from Kit’s bar,” he said, passing me the bottle.
I took a drink after a moment’s hesitation. “You’ve never been able to use magic before.”
“Maybe the death magic changed something in me,” he said. “Who the hell cares? There are two of us now. We can take on the King and win.”
I winced. “You don’t understand how powerful he really is.”
Mickey shook his head. “I don’t give a shit how powerful he really is. He doesn’t get to put you to death. You’re not his toy. He doesn’t get to break you.”
My heart raced as his dark eyes burned mine. I’d never heard him talk like this before. He took the tequila out of my hand and put it down on the desk. He glanced at his hands and smirked as he looked up at me. I realised what he was smiling about when my shirt buttons came undone on their own. A gust of air blew the shirt open, and I watched as the zipper on my trousers moved down.
“Got to practice,” Mickey explained with a shrug of his shoulders.
Yanked by invisible fingers, my trousers dropped and pooled around my ankles. I stepped out of them and took off my shirt. He stared at me, and I wondered how far he could manage to keep this up for without touching me. I hoped not too much longer, but with Mickey I could never tell.
I smiled at him and pulled a little magic trick of my own. His clothes disappeared from his body. He looked down. “Now that’s a trick,” he said, moving closer. “You’ll have to teach it to me.”
“Later,” I promised. “Right now…”
He leaned in and his mouth fell on mine, his body pressing in close and warming my skin. Right now, he was all I cared about. Everything else could wait.
Twenty-Five – Nine/Britt
Scotland was a lot colder than I’d thought it would be. The dress was a poor choice. I recalled a coat Britt had worn once to a photo-shoot and I covered up with it, shivering as Five explained where we were.
“This is Edinburgh castle. It’s the only place I’ve been to here, so it made sense to show you it. The King will expect a courtesy call since we’re in his territory. We should meet him now and explain what we’re doing in town.”
Eight smiled brightly at me. “I get to meet him!”
I couldn’t help but smile back. “This will be a surprise,” I said, realising it might not be a pleasant one. It hadn’t been very long, but his lack of contact was worrying. The thought that I didn’t mean anything to him played on my mind. I shook it off. Of course, I meant something to him. How could I not? Look at me, for God’s sake! He’d have to be crazy not to want me. That’s better, Nine.
“Okay, so which way to the throne room?” The thought of seeing it excited me. I was in an actual castle. It was kind of chilly, but who the hell cared? It was an honest to God castle!
Five led the way. “I think I can remember.”
Eight held my hand as we walked. She shivered, but she didn’t aim to teleport warmer clothing. The T-shirt and jeans she was wearing seemed less than satisfactory for a visit to royalty. I slowed our pace to concentrate. The dress and coat I put her in weren’t quite as pretty as my own, but they were still nice. I remembered to change her shoes only after she realised what I was doing. She stumbled slightly in the heels, but I caught her before she could fall.
“Thanks,” she whispered. “This is kind of nerve-wracking.”
It was, but I didn’t want to show it. I just smiled and kept walking. The double doors Five had stopped at were covered with a sheen of magic. The corridor they opened into was extravagant and looked as inviting as Britt’s suite and the MGM Grand. We stepped into the carpeted corridor and Five closed the door behind us. Animates stood outside a set of doors down the hall. That had to be the room.
Doubts filled my head, but I stopped them from breeding with the refusal to fully acknowledge them. I could be aloof. I wasn’t here to see him. This was just business. I strode forward, dropping Eight’s hand as I got to the doors.
The Animates bowed their heads to me. “Good Evening, Miss Rocks.”
“Good Evening,” I returned their greeting without eye-contact as they opened the doors for me.
My King sat on his throne, casual and relaxed as he looked over paperwork an Animate seemed to be waiting for by his side. He glanced up as the doors opened. The document in his hands was swiftly shoved at the Animate who took it with a silent nod. My heart pounded like a hammer as I waited for his reaction. He got up, bo
unding down the steps of the mini stage the throne sat on and over to me with a smile on his face. He was dressed more casually than usual, his shirt sleeves rolled up and his feet in dark coloured sneakers instead of shoes.
“Hey,” I managed to whisper, right before he pulled me into a kiss that was passionate and left me totally breathless. I felt him push at my thoughts as his tongue slid into my mouth. I let him in, wrapping my arms around him and forgetting for a second that we weren’t alone. He moved back with a satisfied sigh.
“I’m so glad you came.”
“I never would have guessed,” I told him, comfortable enough to tease him now that I knew I wasn’t just a one night stand to him.
“I just sent you something,” he said, his eyes lighting up. He stepped back and snapped his fingers. A box appeared in his other hand an instant later. “Here. You might as well open it now.”
The box was dress-sized and sealed with a silver ribbon. I pulled the ribbon loose and he held the box steady as I opened it. A gasp pulled from me at the sight of the dress. It was low cut and floor-length with delicate pink crystals woven into the slinky silver fabric. It had to be worth an absolute fortune. I stared into his eyes, and I knew this dress was more than just a gift. Something special was going to happen when I wore it for him. He was planning something big.
A shiver of anticipation made me shake as I put the dress carefully back into the box. “This is beautiful,” I told him, shaking my head. “Thank you.”
He gave me the box. “I have to finish up here but my guards will escort you to my room. If you don’t mind waiting, I’ll be there to take you out in a few hours.”
I nodded, staring down at the gorgeous dress. It was so hard to take my eyes off it. No-one had ever given me a gift before, and I never would have expected to be given one as incredible as this.
I didn’t even think to tell him about Eight’s Animate, the real reason we’d come. He kissed me softly on the cheek and had one of his door Guards escort us to his room.
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