by Steve McHugh
“Run,” Remy whispered.
“I’m going to find my bow and arrows and hunt you for sport, Remy Roux.”
“Fox hunting is illegal in the UK,” he said smugly. “It’s barbaric.”
“I never said I was going to kill you. Just maim. Maybe a little off the tail.”
Remy sighed. “And the fun sponge has arrived.”
“What did you call me?” Diana asked, as Remy winked at Layla and walked out of the front door.
“Remy is . . . unique,” Jared said.
“He is that.”
Jared pulled out a piece of paper and wrote his phone number on it, passing it to Layla. “Not sure if you have it, but when you’re ready, give me a call.”
Layla nodded and watched as Jared picked the box back up and walked out of the mansion.
“He’s cute,” Kasey said from behind Layla.
Layla turned and was immediately embraced in a tight hug.
“It’s been a pleasure. I hope you decide to stay.”
“I’m trying to find your dad to say that exact same thing.”
“He’s about. This place is going to be empty soon, and that’s a little weird. I hope you’re okay after everything you went through. Our world can be a rough one, and you had a harsher introduction to it than most.”
“I’m dealing with it. I still have nightmares, but the spirits are helping with those.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want to see you hurting. Elias is never coming back. Trust me on that one.”
Kasey picked up a rucksack and slung it over one shoulder. “Well, I’d better get this stuff in the car. You go find my dad. I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you.”
They hugged again, and Layla walked off toward Tommy’s office. She had reached the east wing of the mansion when Harry called her.
“Hey,” he said after jogging over. “You going to stay then?”
“Does everyone know this?”
“I just figured. I’ve already asked and they said yes. Whatever money I need to work, they’ll provide it. They’ve also arranged for me to be able to complete my doctorate, and every student loan to be repaid. I’m literally the happiest person on earth right now. It’s a weird feeling to have.”
“You did a lot of good work here. They’re lucky to have you.”
“That’s what Tommy said. I want to be here for people, Layla. I want to make sure that what happened to you doesn’t happen to anyone else. I want to use my powers for good.”
“Like Spider-Man?”
“Just like him. Except for the powers and spandex. Other than that, I’m just like Spider-Man. An Asian Spider-Man. I’m excited about the marketing possibilities.”
“Obviously. And the forthcoming movie.”
“Oh, I’m going for a TV show. I feel that would better suit my character.” Harry laughed. “It’s good talking to you again without all of that mess we just went through.” He waved his arms around to signify what that was.
“Yeah, it feels like a lifetime ago when we were at that club.”
“And now I’m sort of like a secret agent.”
“So, you’re James Bond and Spider-Man.”
“I can be both.”
Layla raised an eyebrow in question.
“I can be both. Don’t crush my dream, Layla Cassidy.”
Layla laughed. “I’m going to go talk to Tommy before my superhero name gets taken.”
“Get in there quick, Magneta.”
“No.”
“The Steel Warrior.”
“No. Please stop.”
“Titanium Terror.”
“I’m begging you here, Harry.”
Harry laughed and walked away, leaving a still smiling Layla to knock on Tommy’s door. After receiving no answer, she knocked again, before opening it and finding the room empty.
Layla walked into the office. “Great. This is shit.”
“You looking for Tommy?” Chloe said, entering the room. She walked over to Layla and hugged her tight.
“I am.”
“He’s waiting for you in the living room. He asked me to come fetch you. Remy made a joke about dogs and got punched for it.”
“Sounds like him.”
They set off together without another word. “This place was just beginning to feel like home,” Layla said.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve always loved it here.”
The pair had spoken several times since Elias had been killed, and their friendship was stronger than it had ever been. Layla had been worried that Kasey and Chloe’s long-term friendship might mean that she would be frozen—no pun intended—out, but the exact opposite had happened.
They reached the door, and Chloe stopped Layla from opening it. “Are you sure about joining up?”
Layla nodded. “I can’t sit on my hands and do nothing. Not after everything I’ve been through. And not after everything I’ve learned I can do. It would be . . . unlike me.”
Chloe opened the door and stepped inside, with Layla beside her. Tommy sat on a leather armchair in the living room. Sitting around him were Remy, Diana, Jared, Harry, Kasey, and Kasey’s mum, Olivia. She got up and hugged Layla and Chloe, who sat down next to Remy, leaving Layla standing.
A man she’d never met before stood beside Tommy. He was about five foot eight, with short dark hair and broad shoulders. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a picture of the Ghostbusters symbol on it. He rubbed his hand over several days’ worth of stubble on his jaw and smiled. Layla thought he had a rugged handsomeness to him, and when he smiled his face lit up, but there was something behind his eyes. Part of it was a darkness that made her nervous, but there was also power. A lot of power.
He offered Layla his hand, which she shook. “I don’t think we’ve met,” she said.
“My name is Nate Garrett,” he told her. “I’m a sorcerer and used to work with Tommy, back when we worked for Avalon.”
“You don’t anymore.”
“No, I’m more freelance these days.”
Remy coughed and spluttered, and Nate sighed, but never once glanced his way.
“I have a proposition for you. I want you to work with Tommy and his people.”
“I was going to ask to do just that.”
“I know; it’s been the worst-kept secret since I arrived here yesterday. But I don’t mean in general. You see, Nergal and his people are going to try to overthrow Avalon. They’re going to try to expose us all to the world. They want to enslave all humans who are capable of helping them achieve their goals of turning this planet into their empire, and slaughter anyone who isn’t. Nergal won’t stop with Elias’s murder. So, I need to ask you to do something.”
“What?”
“A few years ago, I promised I’d train Kasey to be a better fighter. I then started training Chloe, and a few months ago several more joined that group, including Jared. I want you and Harry to join too.”
“Why?”
“Because I want all of you, in this room, to be a strike force. You’re mostly unknown by Avalon, and that’s in our favor at the moment. Also with Diana, Remy, and Tommy helping and guiding, you’ll be excellent at it, I’m certain.”
“A strike force for what?”
“To stop Nergal. To find out who his allies are and stop them too. To find umbra before they do. To stop innocent people dying.”
“And how many are in this group?”
“With Jared, Chloe, Harry, Kasey, and yourself? Another four. You will officially be outside of Avalon control. But unofficially, Elaine has given the go-ahead to do this. You are all exceptional people, and with Tommy’s backing, I think you can do a lot of good.”
“Do we get a code name?” Harry asked.
“Ask Tommy, I’m sure he has a million ideas by now. Most of them will be geeky and probably infringe on a hundred copyrights.”
“The U-men,” Tommy offered.
“U-men?” Nate asked.
“U-people?”
>
“That isn’t any better.” Nate turned back to Layla. “Now, there’s one thing you’re not going to like about this. We need you to contact your father. He’s someone Nergal wants, and we need to remove him as an issue, and he can help us find umbras. He’s under LOA control, but according to Tabitha he’s said many times over the years that he’ll only talk to you. He can help us find Nergal and his people. Can you do that?”
Layla hesitated and then nodded. “He’s dangerous.”
“So is everyone in this room,” Nate told her. “If you accept this, your training begins tomorrow. I’d advise you to keep my participation quiet.”
“Why?”
“People in Avalon want me dead. People outside of Avalon want me dead too. Basically a lot of people would really like me dead.”
“Or they hate you,” Remy said.
“Or that. Thanks, man.”
Remy gave the thumbs-up, ignoring Nate’s sarcasm.
“So, you in?”
Layla nodded again. “I need to help stop these people.”
“That’s the plan,” Nate said. “Welcome to the team.”
Everyone congratulated her before leaving the room, allowing Nate, Tommy, and Layla to be alone.
“You okay?” Nate asked.
“This is a lot to take in.”
That’s Hellequin, Rosa said inside Layla’s head.
“What’s a Hellequin?” Layla said aloud, causing Nate to give her a strange look.
“That’s me,” he said. “Where did you hear that word?”
“My spirit told me. Her name is Rosa Kendall.”
Nate smiled. “It’s been a while since I heard that name. I didn’t realize you had Rosa in your head. She was a good person.”
So was Nate, Rosa said.
“She said you were too.”
“Don’t use the name Hellequin. It’s not exactly going to make you popular. Trust Rosa. I worked with her a few times and she’s good at her job. Ruthless, but not without compassion. You are fortunate to have such a good spirit.”
“So why aren’t you officially involved in this little idea?”
“I have other things I need to do. I need to know that when I’m away people are still helping Elaine fight whoever needs to be fought. And Nergal needs to be fought. He’s cruel and vicious, and he won’t stop until he has what he wants. You need to prepare for that.”
“We’ll get her ready,” Tommy said.
“I’m around for a few months,” Nate said. “I’ll help where I can. Fortunately, with the spirits in your head, you’ll learn a lot quicker than a human could. I hope you don’t mind a lack of sleep and having your body ache, because that’ll be the next six months of your life.”
“Nergal was responsible for my mum’s death. Whatever I need to do to help bring him down, no matter how much it hurts, I’ll manage,” Layla said with a grin.
“This isn’t about revenge,” Nate said. “This is about protecting people.”
“Will Nergal get what’s coming to him?”
Nate nodded. “That’s the plan.” He walked over and offered his hand again. Layla shook it without hesitation.
When Layla glanced at Tommy and saw the smile on his face, she remembered fighting alongside Kasey and Chloe, Remy and Diana. She remembered their fierce protection of one another. She had never had people be like that around her. It was an odd but pleasant thought.
“Welcome to the club,” Nate said. “We’re going to kick all kinds of ass.”
Somewhere inside of Layla the spirits and drenik smiled. Layla smiled too.
“Can’t wait.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I always knew I wanted to write a book set in the Hellequin universe, but completely separate from those books. Unfortunately, while I had a main character and general premise, I wasn’t certain exactly how it was all going to come together to form a story.
Over time, and with the help of several people, the original story morphed into the one you’ve just read, or are about to read if you’re one of those people who reads the Acknowledgments first.
Layla, along with her cast of friends and enemies, was a character who I found a lot of fun to write, and if you’ve read the Hellequin Chronicles books, I’m sure you’ll have spotted a few characters who will be familiar to you.
But books don’t just write themselves; trust me, I’ve tried letting them and it gets me nowhere, other than the feeling that I should be working, not playing video games. And there are a lot of people who help me work on the story, characters, or just help to polish the book to a standard that I’m happy to have published.
My wife is always the first person I need to thank. Whether she’s being a sounding board for story ideas, or trying to keep our children occupied so I can get some work done, nothing would get done without her help. I love her very much, and even if the dedication isn’t to her, every book is because of her.
My three beautiful daughters, who inspire me to lock myself away in my office every single day and hope they don’t find me. I write because of them, I write for them, and they are the reason I first sat down years ago and decided to give this whole writing lark a proper shot. Can’t thank them enough for that.
My friends and family, who are supportive and impatient in equal measure—supportive about my writing, but impatient to read what I’m writing. I thank you all for your kindness.
To Paul Lucas, my agent, and someone I’m proud to call a friend. To have someone as awesome as him in my corner is more than I could ever have hoped for.
To D.B. Reynolds and Michelle Muto. Two incredible writers and wonderful friends who have helped me become a better writer over the years. There aren’t enough ways to say thank you.
To Jenni Gaynor, my editor, and the person who makes me a better author, thank you for all of your hard work and patience.
A big thank you to my publisher and everyone there who works so tirelessly to help put this book together. A special shout-out to Alex Carr, who helped me tweak this book from its original idea, making it much better in the process.
To the Fleet Performance team, yes, you got a dedication, but I just wanted to say it was a pleasure to have worked with you all for so many years before leaving to write full-time. Kev Burman, Mark Dolan, Toby Wilkes, Andy Brown, Ash Newman, Steve Petzer, Ziggy Greenwood, and so many others who came and went over the years, and who all showed support and friendship when I was first starting out, and after becoming published for the first time. You’re a great bunch of people, and I wish you all the best.
And in a similar vein, thank you to Mark Duell and Torsten Richter, who couldn’t be two more different managers if they tried.
And to everyone reading this, thank you for picking up the book. Whether this is your first time reading my work, or you’ve read everything I’ve ever published, I thank you for your time and money, and hope you enjoyed reading something I enjoyed writing.
* * *
Layla’s story will continue in Book 2 of the Avalon Chronicles, due later in 2018.
In the meantime, Steve McHugh’s Crimes Against Magic—also set in the same universe as A Glimmer of Hope—is available now from 47North.
* * *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2013 Sally Beard
Steve McHugh is the author of the popular Hellequin Chronicles. He lives in Southampton, on the south coast of England, with his wife and three young daughters. When not writing or spending time with his kids, he enjoys watching movies, reading books and comics, and playing video games.
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