A lull followed. If only someone had continued that line of conversation.
Tristran coughed. “It seems that we Ubers are taking on the role of protectors and seekers of knowledge,” he said, his voice wet. “What will be the role of Aegis, I wonder?”
Giles stood immediately. “To find the Eight,” he said. “To unite them on the training ground. To overlook all aspects of every operation. In short, we will police this whole undertaking.”
I saw Felicia shift uncomfortably. Ceriden sniffed. I could tell Giles’ words didn’t sit well with them. As I thought, diplomacy wasn’t his strongest suit.
Myleene sensed the sudden tension. “”We all have a part to play,” she said. “And we have to rely on each other. If we lose this one we don’t just lose the trophy and come back to try again next year. We lose our world. “
“Learn what you can from the text,” she inclined her head at Cheyne’s monitor. “Tap all your resources for information on Gorgoroth. Someone out there knows something. They have to.”
“And use any means,” Tristran added.
“Yes,” Giles made a fist around his tie. “We’re already playing towards the endgame here and we know nothing.”
Belinda rose to her feet. “There are no trophies,” she said. “No rewards. We fight for the right to exist, and for the good and the innocent out there who make the fight worthwhile.”
My mouth was dry. I squeezed Lucy’s hand in reassurance, as much for me as her.
We’d been shown the full weight of the task being laid upon us. I prayed I had the strength to bear my part of it.
16
MIAMI, U.S.A.
Marian Cleaver climbed the flight of stairs that led to his door, then stood and leaned his head against the cool glass. Taking on Mena Gaines had challenged everything he stood for.
You have been found wanting.
But she was a snake, at best. A lying, conniving piece of evil that slithered and crawled its way along whatever filthy gutter her master commanded.
Aegis was sending help now. Was that a good thing? Miami was the staging area for an end of the world event. But the kids were safe; he’d saved the day. And yet judging by the type of questions fired at him earlier by the goddamn feds you wouldn’t fucking think it.
He entered the house, lost the duster, and cracked open the fridge. A single lonely slice of congealed pizza stared back at him.
Mmmm…tempting.
He threw his weapons on the kitchen table and checked the cattle prod. The sound of his cell phone ringing shattered the predawn quiet. Cleaver closed his eyes and wished for a moment’s peace.
“Cleaver here.”
“Clancy. Where are you now?”
“At home, Hector. I told you I was going home, so where else would I be?”
“Well, Sir Cleaver, I’m sorry to have to do this to you,” Clanger didn’t sound sorry at all. “But you’re needed downtown. Now.”
As he listened to his boss speak Cleaver heard distant sirens. Lots of them.
He bit his lip. “What’s happened?”
Clanger was silent for a moment, then launched into nervous mode, his words falling faster than water in a rainstorm. “Don’t know with any certainty, but a large group of people have attacked the Coconut Grove shopping mall. You know, the open air one? A part of it is on fire. And people…people have been seen leaping into the flames. And your Gaines woman is involved in this one too.”
Cleaver breathed out slowly. Mena Gaines’ words resounded in his head: Miami is the New Babylon and soon it will start to explode with rage and passion and death!
“I’m on my way, Hector,” Cleaver said very slowly. “I’m on my way.”
CHAPTER 17
YORK, ENGLAND
By the time I’d returned to the kitchen it had occurred to me that the world hadn’t exactly stopped turning. I had a business to run, bills to pay, and a daughter to care for. How the hell was I going to trade everything off against all this latest crap?
Whilst I waited for the coffee I called my office manager, Tom. By the time it arrived I was dwelling between contented and concerned. The treasure hunt event had generated a few interesting enquiries. One thing was missing though. Me!
“Zambia Terranova Estate,” Belinda broke into my thoughts and placed a mug before me. “It’s a Black Apron coffee. The best.”
I nodded, shaking my head at that Innocent t-shirt. Lucy filed in. She stared at me. “You know it’s a school day?”
“I thought of that, Luce. Then I remembered…they’re not expecting you,” I looked briefly at her bandaged arm, now covered by a sweater.
“I didn’t mean for schoolwork,” Lucy made a face as if she was talking to the dumbest person in the world. “I meant to see my friends.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fifteen year olds.”
“Almost sixteen.”
I sipped the delicious coffee in an effort to ignore both Lucy’s birthday reminder and the unfathomable looks being directed at me by a particular playful lycan. My mobile vibrated in my pocket, making me jump. I hadn’t turned it off silent mode. When I managed to fish it out I saw that I had a voicemail from Holly.
Recorded three minutes ago.
It went: “Dean, I know I sound stupid, but I keep remembering what you said about staying safe. Well, there’s a woman outside and I’m sure she’s watching the house. I don’t like it, Dean. I’m going out to talk to her.”
Holly! My face went ashen. I turned to Belinda.
“You mentioned before that one of the Six was already in York. I can’t remember- was it a woman?”
“Yes." Belinda frowned at the stress choking my voice. “Ashka.”
“Would she target my friends?”
Lucy shifted in her seat. “Dad? What is it?”
“She might for several reasons. To distract you, to draw you out, or to cause you distress. Why, Logan?”
I pressed speed dial two, holding the phone tight to my ear and praying my best friend would answer.
Please, Hol, please be there.
Belinda walked over to me. Felicia leapt off the worktop. Ceriden pushed his seat back.
Holly answered, “Dean?”
“Holly, thank God! Are you okay? What’s happening over there?”
“Just- oh, hang on, there’s someone at the door. Probably that damn woman.”
“Wait!”
I think we all held our breath, except Ceriden, who didn’t breathe.
“What is it, Dean?” Holly sounded scared now.
“Just wait,” I said.
Belinda pulled her car keys off the hook by the door.
“Hold on!” I shouted down the phone. “Hide. Keep your mobile with you. But please, Hol, don’t talk to that woman!”
Belinda ran for the kitchen door, Felicia close behind. I stared after them. “I’m coming,” I said. “She’s my best friend.”
“Dean, what the hell is-” Holly sounded half scared, half-amused.
“We’re coming to get you,” I hissed. “We’re ten minutes away. Do not go near that woman.”
I ran after Felicia, glancing back at Lucy as I exited the kitchen. She was staring after me with huge, anxious eyes. Guilt shredded my will. Maybe I shouldn’t leave her like this. A depressed child would fear the worst- that her father might die. I could almost see our new, fragile bond tear at the seams.
“I’m coming back,” I told her. “Don’t worry.”
Ceriden made his way around the table. “Since it is daylight and I can’t accompany you,” he patted my daughter’s shoulder. “I will look after your Lucy.”
I hesitated. It felt wrong. It cut deep when I noticed Lucy’s eyes brighten. But by then I was out the door.
I was committed.
Ten minutes. Did you ever wonder how many thoughts- happy and sad, positive and terrifying- can race through your mind in just ten minutes?
By the time we pulled up outside Holly’s house I was wound as tight as a chartered
accountant paying for his daughters’ birthday meal. Sunlight blasted us as we leapt out of Belinda’s Audi. Felicia was fast beyond belief, leaping sure-footedly between the bushes and hitting Holly’s garden at a dead run. Belinda was right on her heels. I flailed about behind them. In truth I am no slouch. I am fit and capable, but man, I’m only human.
Felicia slowed. I came up beside Belinda who was bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Standing in Holly’s doorway was a tall woman with eastern-European features.
“Hi,” Belinda said warily. “And you would be?”
The woman gave us a sly smile. “I would be Ashka. One of the six Destroyers of the world.”
Felicia padded to her left, Belinda fanned right. I remained where I was, merely a distraction. A heavy tension fell over us and I felt an utterly surreal moment. Here we stood in a sunlit garden in the heart of York, surrounded by the steady hum of traffic and the constant din of the everyday world, yet we might as well have been in a different dimension. A death scent of savage intentions infused the air, giving me a rush of adrenalin and a feeling of self-preservation stronger than anything I had ever known.
I didn’t take my eyes off Ashka but I was aware of every movement Belinda and Felicia made through my peripheral vision. I stopped breathing when the killer’s eyes fixed on me. They were dark, but even in the daylight I could see they were flecked with red. Bright with evil desire. I suddenly felt vulnerable and very foolish. What the hell had I been thinking?
Holly. My friend.
Belinda said, “You made a fatal mistake coming here, you big-boned demon-slut bitch.”
I grimaced. There was nothing like the attitude of Belinda Janus to ease the tension. She was the best at what she did, and I have to admit that I was perversely fascinated to see her unleashed.
Ashka took a step forward to set her balance. Confidence shone like a challenge from her hellish eyes.
She pulled out two short knives from the waistband of her jeans.
Belinda tried to taunt her again. “Only three inches, darling?”
She was playing for time. Myleene had dispatched a second car to help us. The Elf, Eleanor, was three minutes away. It spoke volumes for Ashka that someone like Belinda, with Felicia backing her up, was stalling until help arrived.
The smile that darkened Ashka’s face could have eclipsed the sun. “You will feel every inch, girl, believe me.”
The door behind Ashka opened and Holly stood there. “Dean? Dean, what’s-”
Too close. No!
Everything went crazy. Ashka spun at Holly, slashing, and I saw blood spatter the white door, but then Ashka spun right back as she realized that both Belinda and Felicia had struck. I gaped in disbelief, hardly able to comprehend how fast they moved. Belinda leapt at Ashka with a flying kick, falling purposely short, then landing and spinning in one fluid movement, her trailing leg stuck out to trip her adversary. This was all designed so Felicia, coming in low, could rip at Ashka with sharp fingernails, aiming for a tendon or a vein.
Ashka backed away. She evaded Belinda’s sweep, then somersaulted over Felicia, landing poised and un-flustered.
Her movements brought her to within eight feet of me. I could count the blood-red whorls in her eyes. Then Belinda was there, assailing Ashka with a series of elbow, knee and palm strikes, each one aimed to kill. Through all her defence Ashka somehow found a millisecond to flick a knife towards Holly which Felicia incredibly intercepted. Holly was down on one knee. I could see blood on her hands. In that instant I accepted that none of this was a ‘capture’ scenario. This, and everything that was happening all over the world, was a fight to the death.
In that instant, I accepted it all.
Something inside me began to swell. I staggered, feeling nauseous.
Belinda kept up the attack, not only to keep Ashka away from me but also to buy time. The second car couldn’t be far away now.
I took deep breaths, trying to keep my breakfast down. A flare of embarrassment lit my face. God, Belinda shouldn’t see me like this. What the hell-?
Then a pleasant sensation began to pool in the pit of my stomach. I lifted my face. Energy flowed through my limbs. I felt rejuvenated, energized, as if I’d been given new batteries.
Six feet away Belinda and Felicia struck viciously at Ashka, but I could sense that the Destroyers attention was fixed on me. She was using their efforts against them, being driven in my direction.
She had used Holly to draw me out.
Suddenly Ashka threw her head back and screamed. Raw energy lit her face as if a floodlight had been turned on inside, sending her skin almost translucent. Power shot from her in a twisting bolt of black that made her hair stand on end.
“I am Malevolence!” she screamed. “All who oppose me will shudder and die!”
The wonderful sensation trickling through me suddenly stopped. Ashka flung her hands in the air and suddenly her body was wreathed in black flame. I felt something strike my mind, a dark comet of terrifying images. From nowhere came a vision of Lucy, a sickening vision of my daughter lying helpless, alone, her veins opened up, and her body dried out, a grimace of terror stretched across her white face. Her lips moved in a final breath, and I had to strain to make out that last word: dad…
I staggered, landed on my hip. A jolt of pain shot through me. I held my head in my hands as it threatened to explode.
Lucy! No!
A headache threatened to split my head open.
“It’s her power!” I heard Belinda’s tortured voice cry. “She…she’s Malevolence. She shows you your worst fear!”
I put my hands on the ground, feeling the soft, real earth. Already the Lucy-vision was fading. A pair of feet landed softly in front of me. I lifted my head.
Ashka was right there. She said, “So you are Logan. I have come around the world to take your pathetic body apart, sliver by rotting sliver.”
I knelt before her, rooted to the spot. Where was my power? Where was my fucking power when I needed it? The Lucy-vision had struck hard and Ashka gave me no time to recover.
Hands wreathed in black fire reached for me. I stared into her face, into her glistening, sinful eyes, and I couldn’t look away.
Death laughed at me.
I heard: “No!” and Belinda landed a kick on Ashka’s spine, sending her staggering past me. Now I saw Felicia raising herself from the ground, a haunted look on her face. Then she too launched herself at Ashka.
“Keep her off balance,” one of them said. “She can’t cast if she’s too busy to think.”
And then Eleanor arrived too. My God, if I’d thought the others were fast then the elf was a rapid freak of nature. Dealing out two blows for every one of Belinda’s she forced the evil Destroyer back across the garden towards the tree line.
I watched, awestruck. Eleanor led the attack, complimented by Belinda on her right and Felicia on the left. Working together as a unit they ensured Ashka was simply too preoccupied with self-preservation to be able to fling any more incapacitating visions our way.
A moment later Ashka took hefty blows from three sides, which gave her that precious second needed to summon her fire. She fell heavily, but then black flame exploded all around her and I cringed as a devastating bombardment of mental assaults floored us all.
But this time it was different. This time I saw Belinda. Why? I almost wept as I saw the dynamic blonde crawling through a heap of severed limbs and plague-riddled corpses, a chain looped around her neck, and a fiery demon holding the handle of her leash, standing behind her with a wicked sword held high.
A demon? A terrible thought swept through me as the vision fell away. What if this is a premonition?
In another second I raised my head to see the others gaining their feet. But Ashka was gone. She had used the vision-attack as a diversion.
She had chosen to fight another day.
I took a breath. Around me the simple hum of city traffic and normal life continued. How different it wa
s here, in our deadly circle of the world.
Belinda regarded me with haunted eyes. What had she seen? Felicia and Eleanor stared at each other in horror. And I could hear Holly crying.
Please don’t let them be premonitions.
18
YORK, ENGLAND
We wasted no time bundling Holly into Belinda’s Audi, then heading back to Aegis. I asked Holly to wait for explanations. After what she’d just witnessed she was in no state to argue. The knife had ripped her forearm open.
I sat in silence the whole way back. I wonder if my latent ability had surfaced briefly. If so, it had failed.
“Those damn visions nearly killed me;" Belinda’s eyes met mine in the rear view. The false vision of Lucy’s last breath threatened to overwhelm me.
“And Ashka’s only one of six Destroyers against us.” Felicia shivered as if trying to shake of the memory.
And beyond that was their God. The world was falling apart as we sat talking and planning and hoping our powers would surface.
I couldn’t handle any of it right now. I sat and chewed my nails to the quick. I compelled it all to go away.
Once back at the house I found and hugged Lucy like I hadn’t seen her in months and then, ignoring everyone else, I took her and a freshly bandaged Holly up to my room. We sat on the bed and stared at each other in silence.
“Nice place,” Holly said, meaning the house itself. “One of York’s darker secrets?”
I tried a smile, but it didn’t quite touch my face. Holly looked even more scared. Holly was short, with flame red hair and a vivacious smile. Her spirit was strong, a glowing flame that usually roared, sometimes wavered, but could never be blown out. I stood up and walked over to the window and spent a moment looking down at the sprawling gardens. I hesitated, then looked over my shoulder at Lucy.
Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) Page 7
