by Kit Hallows
“No,” I said. “It’ll be best to strike when the ceremony’s in full swing. Tomorrow… well I guess technically it’s already tomorrow. We’ll head over around sunset.”
“It’s settled then.” Samuel reached for another beer and offered it to me. “A nightcap, as you say.”
“No, thanks. I need to turn in.” I’d only had a couple of beers, but that was more than enough. I’d need a clear head for tomorrow. I stood, wobbling slightly as I headed across the room. “I hope you sleep well.”
“Believe me, this is like a palace compared to the places we’ve been nodding off in these last few weeks,” Samuel said. He set his pipe down and grabbed the blanket I tossed to him.
Astrid gave me a slow, tired smile. I knew how she felt. Exhausted.
We held each other’s gaze for a moment, then I felt my cheeks begin to burn. “Goodnight,” I said, and ducked out the room, feeling all of fourteen years old.
Astrid? Really?
I’d liked her the moment I’d set eyes on her. But I'd written it off, then and there. A woman like Astrid wasn’t likely to have any interest in someone like me. She was too cool headed, almost glacial at times. But maybe I was wrong?
Either way, this wasn’t a good time for me to make a fool out of myself. I had to be focused, and ruthless.
I brushed my teeth and cleaned up as best I could, before stumbling to bed, desperate for whatever scraps of frazzled sleep I could muster.
43
It was midday by the time I woke. I had no idea how long Samuel and Astrid had stayed up, but they were still asleep when I went through, even with the flickering television and the cats pawing at the window.
The program on the TV was pretty strange. And unsettling. I shivered as I watched a stop-motion witch with a long crooked nose and straggles of sea-weed-like hair turn people into rats that slithered and crept down a maze of drainpipes. I thought back to the creatures I’d encountered in the sewer, their captain with his tricorne hat and the final threat he’d given me as he’d vanished into the gloom.
“Are you okay?”
I blushed as I realized Astrid had been watching me. I forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m good thanks. You?”
She caught my eye, before glancing to the framed picture of Willow on the shelf. “You’ll succeed in fulfilling your vow, Morgan. We’re here to help you in any way we can.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. I don’t usually have much in the way of back up.”
“We’re in this together. I realize we only met of late, but I know you’re a good man. At least, the better part of you.”
I made coffee and a comfortable silence lingered in the room until Samuel mumbled in his sleep, “Take your coal, take your nightly pigeons and go forth to the lands of decrepit cups.”
Astrid grinned as she took her coffee. “That’s actually fairly lucid compared to most of the nonsense he spouts in his sleep.” She grabbed her dagger and used the flat side to slap Samuel’s bare foot as it twitched upon the coffee table.
“Yes!” he said, glancing around. He looked from me to Astrid. “Was I speaking gibberish?”
“You were,” Astrid said.
“Always glad to entertain.” Samuel ran a hand through his wild hair, making it look even worse, before turning to me. “What are the chances of securing a fine toasty cup of hot black coffee?” he asked, as he began to stack his pipe.
“Favorable.” I opened the curtains, admitting dreary autumn light into the room. Four cats sat on the windowsill, clearly put out by the fact that their breakfast had been waylaid into the afternoon. I slid the window open. They jumped through and padded across the floor as I went into the kitchen to fix us all something to eat.
We spent the afternoon talking and eating what passed for my lame attempt at a stir-fry. It was a relaxed, easy time, and I found myself warming to Astrid and Samuel even more. They were my kind of people; smart, funny, committed to their cause. One I was glad to be a part of. But for all their humor and banter, I knew they were both highly capable killers. We had that in common too.
The mood shifted as the sky began to darken and a fleet of jagged blue and purple clouds sailed in from the east.
“That’s a rather sinister sunset,” Samuel said.
“Fitting,” I replied.
Astrid began to sheathe a startling number of daggers and knives below her cloak and Samuel checked his quiver of arrows. I went to my room and gathered up my things. My bag was stocked, the sword of intention blazed in my hand, and my sidearm was loaded. I glanced out the window. “It ends now,” I whispered. “You hear me, Wyght? This is your last night on earth.”
Samuel and Astrid cloaked themselves before we left, so I looked like I was in the company of realtors once more. Samuel nodded to Mrs. Fitz’s Jack O’ Lantern pumpkins as we passed them. “Quaint.”
I thought we were in the clear until I heard the door creak behind us.
“Mr. Rook,” Mrs. Fitz called.
We turned back, and I offered my most disarming smile. “Hi!”
Her eyes flitted from me to Astrid, and as she glanced at Samuel, her smile widened. “I see you have friends, Mr. Rook. That’s nice. I always worry about you when you're upstairs, skulking around on your own. Are you going to a Halloween party?”
“We are,” I said, “And I think it’s safe to say it will be suitably nightmarish.”
“Where are your costumes?”
“At the party,” I said. “The host’s providing them; we’ll get them when we arrive. They’re meant to be a surprise.”
“That’s an interesting idea,” Mrs. Fitz said.
“How about you, are you doing anything tonight?” I asked.
“Hattie’s conducting a séance, to see if we can reach Dirk.” She shook her head. “He’s still missing.”
“Well I hope you find him,” I said. Even though I knew there was next to no chance they would. Right now I expected Dirk was sunning himself, along with Hattie Fossbinder’s lost funds, in far warmer climes.
“Well, I won’t keep you,” Mrs. Fitz said. She smiled at Samuel once more, but as she gazed back at me, it faltered. “Please be safe, Mr. Rook. Everyone thinks tonight’s just harmless fun, but…”
She’d seen something. Had a dream, or vision, and by the look in her eyes, it hadn’t been good.
“You take care of Mr. Rook,” she told Samuel as she pointed her finger. “Okay?” Then she nodded to me once more and vanished into her apartment.
Our walk through the different neighborhoods was a colorful one. Samuel and Astrid were charmed by the costumes the children wore as they tramped from house to house trick and treating.
As we reached the city proper, the styles of the costumes changed from whimsical to a more adult theme, and I had to snap Samuel out of a stupor numerous times as groups of scantily clad women caught his attention.
I was about to take a couple of short cuts, to get Samuel off the street and away from the distractions, when my phone began to chirp. And not just mine. Several people held their cells phones up, their faces illuminated with blue light as they examined their displays. The message read:
The Ball is open. Temple Park - now till Midnight. Only those with this exclusive invitation will be admitted to a most magical event brimming with Halloween Spice!
The sender was listed as unknown, at least on my phone. Which begged the question of how they’d gotten my number? Could it have been Phoebe? Or the witch in the derelict house? Had she lifted my phone while I’d been distracted?
“They seem excited.” Samuel nodded to the people reading the message.
“It’s starting.” I rang Haskins to give him a heads up and find out how he was doing. It turned out he had plenty to talk about. He warned me about a bunch of cops who had mutinied and were refusing to do their jobs. “Where?” I asked.
“Temple Park.” Haskins sighed. “They’re lucky I’m laid up right now, I can tell you that.”
“It’s not their fault
, they’re not in their right minds” I said. “Don’t worry, I’ll deal with it. Get some rest and get better.”
“Careful, Rook,” he said, “or I might start thinking you give a shit.”
The sky darkened and the tattered clouds turned black, the sky behind them a deep midnight blue scattered with pearly-white stars. I would have been in awe of the beauty, had it been any other night, but the very air felt charged with a hidden, ominous threat. I was glad to have Astrid and Samuel with me. I had no idea how it would go when things kicked off, but I was certain they’d be more than capable of handling themselves.
“That’s the park,” I said, as we slowed on the sidewalk. The grounds were hidden behind a high wall that enclosed the park on this side of town. A group of women stood by the main gate and I didn’t need to get any closer to see that they were members of the Silver Spiral. Behind them were several of the cops that had been conned into playing the part of white knighting lapdogs. I could tell by the look in their eyes that their minds had been hacked and their will to protect and serve the public, subverted.
“Witches.” Astrid whispered. “I can see a dark energy around them. Are they part of the coven?”
“Definitely,” I said. We watched as a group of teenagers approached the gate, held out their phones, and were ushered through.
“I’ll scout the park,” Samuel said.
“You can’t get in. Not through the main entrance.” I nodded to the witches and cops.
“Oh, he will,” Astrid said. “He has his ways, don’t you, Samuel?”
Samuel grinned, “I do. Plenty of ways. I can be seen and unseen, fleet of foot or a bumbling oaf. Whichever I choose. Leave this with me. Where shall I meet you?”
“We’ll find a vantage point that overlooks the park,” I said, hoping the row of shops behind us was backed by an alleyway and possibly a fire escape that led up to the rooftops.
“I’ll find you.” Samuel held up the amber ring on his finger. Astrid held hers up, and they glowed, alongside the necklace Hellwyn had given me. Samuel nodded and crossed the street, his sword, bow and arrows cloaked and out of sight. I just hoped the witches wouldn’t see past the illusion, because if they did, things could get messy, fast.
We watched as Samuel navigated the traffic and approached the gate. The pair of witches glanced his way. One shouted and waved her hand to shoo him away as the cops behind them stepped forward, hands on guns.
Samuel said something and beamed his brightest smile and then he made a strange, fast gesture with his fingers.
The witch looked unimpressed and continued to point for him to leave, and then I saw one rub the tattoo on her wrist, bringing a slight, silvery glow to the thickening dusk. Samuel nodded and strode away, then turned and fell in line with a group of blinkereds who were approaching the gate with their phones held out to the witches. Samuel mingled amongst them as if they were the oldest of friends and somehow the witches completely missed him as he wandered in with the crowd. It was like they could see everything but his big grinning face.
“How did he do that?”
“As I said, he has his ways,” Astrid gave me a wry smile. “And they’re as much a mystery to me as they are to you.”
We headed toward the end of the block and walked down a disheveled residential street until we found an access road. It didn’t take long to spot a way up to a roof. I clutched a crystal and used its magic to turn the lock on a back gate then we strode to a rusted fire escape and began to climb.
A cold breeze blew as we reached the top. I pulled my collar up and edged along the roof. Astrid crouched beside me and we glanced over into the park. Torches blazed in a line across the well-tended green. Most of the activity seemed to be converging in the distance so it was difficult to see. I pulled my telescope from my bag and followed the fire-lit trail that stretched out toward the woodlands in the distance. Groups of blinkereds filed along, many with their eyes glued to their phones. Their movements, along with the light from the screens, resembled fireflies roving across the grass.
Several members of the Silver Spiral lurked in the gloom. Some of them approached the blinkereds and handed out hooded cloaks, while others appeared to be directing the crowd. I watched as people paused to put on their robes, before hurrying along the torch-lit trail. “Great,” I said.
“What is it?” Astrid asked, as she crouched by my side.
“The witches are dressing the blinkereds in the same robes they’re wearing.”
“An effective strategy. Can I have a look?” She held her hand out and I passed her the spyglass, which she swept across the park, before slowing. “What about the lake? Is that normal?”
“I hadn’t noticed anything. Why?”
Astrid handed me the telescope and nodded for me to follow her finger.
The lake was just to the right of the woodlands. Rags of mist drifted along the surface and snaked through the air, slowly covering it in a blue-grey shroud. “It looks like they’ve enchanted it to produce the fog. It makes a good distraction and gives them further cover.”
“Cover for what?” Astrid asked.
“I don’t know. And I can’t say I’m looking forward to finding out.”
44
The eldritch fog grew thicker as the groups of blinkereds continued to stroll to the gate. A few awkward-looking stragglers milled about near the wall, clearly invited but sheepish about being there on their own. They looked furtive and hungry, no doubt motivated by the promise of spice.
Astrid gave me a nudge and I saw Samuel strolling back through the park. He walked up to the witches at the gate and clapped them on the shoulders like they were old friends, before striding across the street. The witches stood there and watched him, with bewildered faces. “Seems he just put a spell on the spell makers,” I said.
“Samuel tends to get away with murder.” Astrid held her hand up and the ring on her finger, and the stone on her necklace gleamed and shone. “Sometimes literally.”
Samuel glanced up, held his hand up in response and his ring flashed a signal back. Within moments he'd joined us on the roof, his approach so quiet I almost flinched when he appeared.
“We need to get down there; we can take cover among the trees,” he said. “There’s a stage inside the grove, and the witches are herding the blinkereds around it. Not a scrap of sense in those people, they’re like lambs to the slaughter. None of them seem the least bit frightened. Indeed they’re smoking some sort of herb, drinking beer, and laughing and joking. I was half tempted to join in but there was some truly horrible music playing.”
“Did you spot anyone coordinating the witches?” I asked.
“I really couldn’t tell. They’re all cowled but so are most of the blinkereds, so it’s hard to tell who’s who. Which I imagine was the whole idea.”
“Do you think we can sneak in?” Astrid asked.
“No. I walked the entire perimeter, there’s guards at every entrance and glamors lining the walls. Which means we can’t climb over without announcing our presence to the entire world.”
“So we might as well go through the main gate,” I said.
“Exactly.” Samuel pulled a tiny, archaic watch from his pocket. “But I set up a little diversion and I got you these. They’ll hide your faces providing the witches don’t look too closely.” Samuel grinned as he pulled two hooded robes out from under his cloak. I had no idea how he’d hidden them so well, he was like a magician. We put them on and pulled the hoods over our heads. The fit was loose enough but it still felt awkward over my coat. “Where’s yours?” I asked.
“Don’t need one,” Samuel said. “I borrowed a little jinx and a spell or two from a witch. She was passed out in a hedgerow when I found her. Or maybe that came after I’d found her. In any case, I used her magic to cloak myself from their eyes. So I’m all ready to go.” He nodded for us to follow.
We climbed down to the alley, made our way back to the street and followed Samuel toward the park. As I glanced a
t the witches, I thought of the night Elsbeth Wyght had murdered Willow and of the coven that had surrounded her, and of the victims Erland had shown me in that damned dossier. Then there were the countless atrocities the Silver Spiral had committed since then. My dark other, long dormant, began to stir. Yes, I want to kill them too. Every single last one of them.
“Soon,” I whispered.
We were almost at the gate when a huge boom echoed across the green with such intensity that the force rattled my chest. Witches and cops rushed through the gate as lights flashed in the darkness and another explosion went off. “What the fuck was that?” I asked.
“A bit of Thunderseed powder” Samuel said. “Astrid calls it a child’s plaything but it comes in handy. Let’s go.” He strolled through the gate as witches scrambled around and lights flashed across the lawn.
“Hey!” A cop appeared from the murk on the other side of the wall, his hand straying to his holster.
“Run along, you two” Samuel whispered. “I’ll take care of this.” He waved to the cop like he knew him.
We scurried toward the path but as we neared the green, urgent, heavy footsteps crunched through the gravel behind us.
45
“Stop!” The cop’s gun was trained squarely at me. As Astrid moved to my side, he swept it toward her. “I said stop. That includes you, bitch.”
“Did you know cheese was invented by a drunken jester recovering from a boating accident?” Samuel asked as he strode toward the cop with a grin so wide it caused the ends of his mustache to twitch.
The cop looked confused. It seemed the spell the witches had placed on him had been eclipsed by Samuel and the magic he was using to befuddle him.
“And the wine the drunken jester had been drinking was first dreamt up by a spider living in the hollow of a bookcase destined to end its days in a sunken city.” Samuel stepped before the cop, took his gun, and placed it back in its holster. “Good night,” he said. Then he tapped the cop under each eye with the tip of his finger. The cop yawned, wandered back to the wall, slumped down and fell asleep.
