Awakening the Red Claws

by C P Sennett

  I bet he is, I thought. “What about this book little piggy, squeal for me now. What is it?”

  “I…I don’t know, all I knows is that it’s in this safe but we can’t get in.”

  “Where are you next to meet Carval?” I demanded still with my fingers pressed to his head.

  “He said to meet him at Manor Road, 11pm unless we told him otherwise, it’s a place we’ve met before.”

  “Is it?”

  “Yeah, of course it is, fucks sake, let us go now. Don’t shoot me, I’ve helped ya.” he squeaked, clearly believing my fingers were really a loaded pistol.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “I’m nobody really, Richard, Richie is my name and I’ve done some work for Carval in the past. I’ve worked with his family you see. I won’t tell them nothing though, you know they are special right, but I’ll tell ya that, cos I didn’t and normally I wouldn’t and all.”

  “Special, I know this Richie, have they branded you?” I asked

  “No, not yet. I’ve got to earn the privilege for that but I’ve done good work for them before so it will come, maybe, but it will take time for them to recognise me. I don’t mind though, you know I’d sooner live and all?” he said with his thick north Essex accent.

  “Sure thing Richie, I need you to relax though, I’m not going to kill you, not this time.”

  Richie tensed as if he was expecting a blow or a bullet and he was kind of right. “Don’t shoot.” he said quietly through gritted teeth. “I’ve not hurt anyone, I’m a courier, a fetcher.” He pleaded to me, almost close to tears.

  Then, I slid the cane through his panic-stricken arms as I looked at his partner in crime who was still out. As the cane came out the other side I pulled. Richie struggled as everyone does but over the years I’ve learned to get this pretty much right. Eventually, after some fifteen seconds he stopped struggling and went limp. I gave it a second or two more and then made sure he was still breathing as I left him lying face down in as good a recovery position as I could.

  I caught my breath a little as I watched the two motionless men, taking a good look at them both. My mist had now completely dissipated as I considered my options.

  I closed my eyes to give me a clear picture. Then I reached out with my senses and there it was, a feeling, something faint drawing me to a something in the room. Two very minor feelings pulling me oddly away from the safe, away from this room even. My eyes, clear now, were drawn across the darkened room towards an open door which led to Samuel’s office. I would have liked to investigate these, but time was short.

  I needed to move forward and as a result I needed to find out what Carval was after, what he thought was important in this safe. This wouldn’t be easy, I needed to melt my way into a safe, something I’ve never done before.

  I looked at the small safe. It was about a foot and a half square and it had a fair few marks against it where Richie and B had been smacking at it. It looked old, hopefully that meant it was a bit easier to get into but somehow, I doubted I would be that lucky.

  With some grunting, I pulled the safe away from where the two men lay, just in case as I didn’t want hot metal to land on them. Yes, it would hurt and most likely disfigure them but mainly as it might wake them up and that would interrupt any quick exit plans.

  I knelt down next to the safe and I concentrated on heat. I concentrated on pulling in the fire from deep within me. The stifling heat of an Indian day with no breeze and the open fire from my home which I use to keep me warm. The bonfires held in autumn and the sizzling head from a sparkler, just the concentrated blaze that it generates. I could then feel the heat in my chest, unlike when I had melted the seal this was a deeper, more primal heat.

  The warmth in my hands grew, it grew slowly but I could feel the heat coming from me. The heat making my eyes uncomfortable and the air I breathed hot. Then I channelled the energy through my shortened staff. The hot air reached its peak as I looked at the end of the staff. It was hot, white hot with magical energy with just the faintest of a blue tint to it. This was not unlike Fern, the mephit in her natural state except for the raw heat.

  I lowered the burning staff tip down to touch the safe. As I did there was nothing for a moment, just small sparks of metal and coming off and dying in an instant. Then, I pushed up the heat driving in more of my will. The burning heat from the staff responded and increased as the light from my staff began to illuminate the whole bookshop. I know, this isn’t the smartest place to be doing this but I didn’t have a lot of time.

  I drove the heat in me further and again through the staff as I felt movement. The staff pushing through to the next layer of the safe. The concrete inside it cracked with an audible crunch as my heat then pushed in and penetrated the safes inner wall.

  I dragged the line of heat away and began to cut along the back part of the safe. My heat kept up like a white-hot lance tip as the staff moved onward cutting the safe. The metal was slowly beginning to open as I moved across it. I kept this up with some considerable effort, I might add, as I eventually reached the other side of the safe. I had to dig deeper than I had gone in a long time to get down one side of the sturdy safe but eventually, and feeling the effects of this, I was inside.

  I had finished enough cutting to see its contents, a book and there was enough space now to grab it. I checked again on my two observers who were still both unconscious. So now, finally – I could make a hasty retreat.

  I reached in and took hold of the book as I patted out some hot sparks still on its dust jacket. I wondered what might would happen to me if I touched the book without my gloves. Flesh on flesh contact between magic users can send a signal to each of us and this can also happen between those magically attuned and a new magical artefact. Even powerful items can make its energies known to even non-magical attuned people in the rarest of cases. It’s hard and it sounds very eastern in its philosophy but if you quiet your mind many more things will speak to you.

  Before I left I took the mobile phone from B. The other one didn’t have one and thankfully again. The curse of the iPhone 6 persisted. It’s finger print recognition made gaining entry easy if it was set up.

  Oh, thank the world for dumb criminals. With the help of the unconscious B I quickly opened the phone and reset the password to 88888888. It’s easy to remember and more random than the usual ones.

  Whatever this book was, I suspected it would be an interesting read. With that I then made a quick exit.

  I walked out and tried the front door which was in the corridor that I had not long come down from and with the move of the latch, careful not to leave fingerprints on it, to my surprise it opened. When it did I then walked out into the cold night leaving a scorching hot safe and two unconscious idiots behind.

  Then, I dialled a number on my phone.

  “Andrew?” I asked. “I’ve two of Carval’s crew ready for you to pick up. I’m shaking the tree and it seems stuff is falling out.”

  “Can I have your location please?” he asked.

  “You’ve got it as one of your lot has been following me since I left you. Tell him to be more careful next time.”

  “Ah..” was all he said as I hung up.

  ****

  Meanwhile back in the beast I looked at the book. I was tempted to open it as it had no markings on its jacket except a faded golden skull of some animal. A bird of some sort I suspected. It couldn’t be anything good if that was the symbol on it. Still, often they are the best books.

  I set off now for where I was due to meet my good friend Carval and where I intended to drop some reality checks on him and to put an end to this whole mess.

  I watched and waited. The time was now 10:40. The phone I had taken from B hadn’t rung and there were next to no messages on it. Just a few, one seemingly from an ex-girlfriend who wanted to get back together. She had kindly sent him some enticing pictures to pique his interest again. Not sure why, as she could have done a lot better than that joke. Still, at leas
t I was almost up to speed on things and getting ahead in this race.

  Then, a little early Carval rolled up. I hoped it was him anyhow as a nice looking blue Audi TT pulled into the small piece of scrubland which was the meeting place. It was like an old 1970’s bit of road which hasn’t worn well, it was a disused space.

  There were bushes and roses to the left of me and just one car which was here. I though, I wasn’t in the Beast, she was parked a few streets away down a side road. People tended to remember her as she stood out, so much so that I was adept at hiding her and myself as I was now.

  As the blue Audi slowly rolled up I waited and was rewarded with the sight of Carval in the car. I had a good plan on how to deal with him, but it had to be altered slightly as he had someone else in the car with him. Someone I didn’t know, a guard or possibly another vampire.

  Perhaps he was a little jittery following our earlier meeting. As they pulled up both of them got out of the car. Carval still looking as polished and as blatantly a vampire as you will ever see. The other one though, he looked different. He was around six feet tall, short hair, high cheek bones and smooth looking skin, aged around fifteen to eighteen I guessed, and he certainly didn’t fit the picture here.

  Then, to make matters worse the unknown figure looked straight at me and my hiding position and spoke. “Carval, a wizard is here!”

  Fuck, I thought, my covers blown. I had my staff in hand already and I leaned on my necklace to form a strong shield spell. It took precious seconds longer but I felt I might need it as I had a feeling Carval would be tough and with another vampire I needed to either be super-fast or durable. I went for the latter.

  Then, things went south, again!

  Carval cursed. “Get him, get the wizard.” he seethed, looking about as though he didn’t know where I was. Sadly, the other one did as he took off the t-shirt he was wearing, dropped his small bag and jumped forward.

  As he did his figure grew. His arms became longer and thicker, his neck grew as did his torso and thick varying shades of dark brown hair burst from every part of him. His eyes changed to animal eyes as his face elongated and formed a snout in the most painful looking manner. He gained some two feet in height and hundreds of pounds of muscle culminating with jagged looking dirty claws at the end of his hands and his mouth tipped with sharp looking teeth. The other man was a lycan!

  The creature jumped towards me, as he did I realised I hadn’t left myself much room to move so, I went for something quick. Waiting till the lycan was in mid leap I had just a tiny window of opportunity and remembering how Malcom was, I wasn’t as fast as this creature, but my mind was.

  “Encaror” I said, as the dirt, stone and rock to the side of me ripped up from the ground. It didn’t seem to harm the lycan much, but it put it off from its attack. The debris and chunks of ground hit the creature which momentarily lost interest in attacking me and opted to protect itself, possibly fearing that my spell would or could harm it. There is as much myth and rumour about us wizards among the supernatural community as there is about lycans and vampires.

  This thing was so big I couldn’t see Carval which worried me. Still, firstly I needed to get this thing away from me. “Larcaras” I spoke with confidence and the lightning raced up me and then onto the shortened end of my cane staff. It struck the creature in the chest as it fell to the floor and started to scurry backwards, making a yelping noise, that of an injured dog. Again, I called on the spell “Larcaras” as another blast of lightning forked up and down me and smashed hard into the creature. It had its arms up to protect itself now as it howled out in pain louder following my second attack. This wasn’t doing the Veil any good I thought. We’re too near a built-up area, so I had to make this as quick as possible.

  Then, Carval came into view. Standing with his blue Audi in between me and him. He threw something at me as it sparked off my shield. A throwing knife landed at my feet.

  I growled my words back at him with a raised voice. “I’ve encountered your kind before Carval and they tried the same trick. Try again, I fucking dare you.”

  To my surprise he didn’t, instead he ordered the lycan to get up. “Demitris rise up, kill the sorcerer and we are free!”

  Ok, so the plot thickens it seems as the lycan rose to its feet and dived at me. It was notably slower now, still a young one and for that I’m thankful. My lightning had worked in slowing it a lot as the creature jumped at me. It landed just in front of me as I raised my staff up instinctively to try to parry some of its strike, it didn’t do much good though as the creature hit my shield. Its huge hit rang in my ears and sent me flying.

  I flew back hard into a street behind me where the path I was on led to. I hit hard into a car. My shield held but only just and I fought my senses to keep my wits about me. I was surprised at the power of this young wolf and I realised I needed to up my game to battle lycans and use a more complex shielding spell.

  The creature kept its eyes locked on at me as it squeezed through the gap in the path to follow up its attack.

  This thing had no regard for the Veil, none. It wasn’t supposed to be walking around like this so brazenly. Fucking idiot, I had to take it down and I could now with this clear violation. It was a young lycan and for some reason siding with a vampire against its own pack and alpha. I had to do something and quick.

  I drove my mind, I let anger rise up, anger at the harm done to Samuel for his innocence in this and for the growing hatred I bore towards Carval. As my emotions ran hot I raised my hand and spoke. “Larcaras” I snarled from the sitting position, I had to shape some of the raw energy on this in the hope I could knock this thing back or down. I was low and I aimed the blast towards it’s chest in the hope of knocking it back or bringing it down. The lightning forked from my outstretched hand, lighting up the area. Lycans, I guess in this true form get an increase in senses but a reduction in reasoning.

  In short, they become juggernauts, big, none too bright, capable of wreaking havoc but hard to surprise and supreme killers. In this exchange though, I had to be fast as well as Carval was still out there and he would have the speed of a vampire, something I am a bit more familiar with and certainly more knowledgeable on.

  The lightning crackled through the air and struck the young lycan. It didn’t knock it back much but it caused the creature to fall. It fell backwards and landed on the dirt and stones as I rose quickly to my feet and shook my head. Still with the remnants of anger in my I called out again “Larcaras” I spoke invoking the spell. I had gathered a lot of energy, as much as I dare in quick succession. The streetlights flickered on and off, a group of car alarms went off further down the street as the bright light of my attack struck the creature that was prone on the floor. I didn’t let up though “Larcaras” I screamed again, feeling weaker this time but more lightning poured onwards into the lycan. It writhed, growled and screamed on the floor before lying still with smoke coming up off it. This was how it had to be, the Veil had been severely breeched.

  I leaned heavily on my staff and looked upwards trying to see Carval. He was here somewhere, I just had to find him. I walked towards Demitris, still lying on the floor and naked in his human form.

  He was a young kid, hard to age – maybe as old as 18 but I suspected younger by a few years.

  He lay smouldering in the cold winter night with just the lights from the Audi for some reason still working.

  I didn’t have time to stop and check to see if the boy was alright. I was just glad he was down as I was still a little scrambled myself. I approached the blue car of Carval and held fire in my right hand. The flames warming my hand a little as I approached the rear of the car. Flames, always something to cause a vamp to pause for thought. Fire is a problem for them, magical fire even more so.

  No sign of him.

  I walked around the driver’s side of the blue Audi and he wasn’t there either. For some reason I suspected Carval was a coward. I had a thin hope, a fool’s hope that I would find him cowe
ring down the side of his car. Still, in my heart of hearts I knew there was no way he would run from this. He had to be here. I looked over at Demitris who was still on the floor, his smoke having subsided. Then, looked in the car, under it and around it but nothing.

  Sounds came now, of people becoming active in the area. A house light came on at the rear of the nearest properties. I cursed aloud. I had to get out of here.

  “Where are you!” I cursed again…but he had run.

  Thankfully though he had left his car there and it was still running. Ok, I’ve gotta move fast and I wasn’t dropping my shield just yet, in fact I had enough sense still to push more energy into it as I had recovered from my expenditure earlier.

  I scooped up the still warm teenager with all the strength I could muster. Damn this kid was heavy! I dumped him unceremoniously in the back seats of the Audi TT. This was one of those hard-top ones, the ones with a pretend back to them, a 2+2 they are called and being a car nut I know that.

  You couldn’t really call the back seats two passenger seats though. Still, they served their purpose and I wasn’t worried about the young man’s comfort.

  I looked around and quickly jogged over to pick up the knife that Carval had thrown at me. It was a small flat one piece of metal. The kind I had seen before. I got in the Audi and hoping the smart arse hadn’t hidden himself in the boot like they all apparently do in crappy slasher movies.

  Then, on with the getaway.

  I spun the car around full circle and away we went. I raced out looking around for signs of the vampire. It seemed this part of the street hadn’t fully switched onto bad things happening outside. So, I raced through a few streets and slowed up.

  I know you are not supposed to use the phone whilst driving but seriously, when you have a hostile lycan in the back of your stolen car I figured I was in enough trouble, so one call wouldn’t matter.