by Sean Stone
“Is there something we can offer Connor?” Phil said.
“I’m open to suggestions,” replied William. He could think of nothing to offer the wolves, nothing that they had to give anyway.
“What if we offer positions here to some of his wolves?” Phil suggested.
“What would that achieve?”
“Think about it. Connor gets a couple of guys on our team, so he thinks he’s got eyes and ears on us, he’s got eyes and ears on the coven and the clan as well. We get a couple more people to put to work. It’s win-win and we haven’t lost anything.”
“And all he has to do is compromise with the coven. I like it,” said William. “I’m going to try and run this by him tonight. Good thinking Phil.”
“No problem. I’ll leave you to it,” Phil said as he left the office, by which point William was already dialling Connor’s phone number.
*
Eric’s body was fully healed from the humiliating and devastating beating he’d suffered at Connor’s hands. His arm and legs had reset and mended to perfect condition on the full moon, it was like they’d never been broken and crushed. The only thing still damaged was his pride. He saw the looks other pack members gave him when he passed, the averted gaze and ever so slight smile, they were all laughing at him behind his back and there was nothing he could do about it. He’d stepped into the circle and he’d been carried out again.
In some ways his loss had come as a relief, it was his birthright to lead the pack and he did want what was owed to him, he wanted to prove himself a good leader, but at the same time, he was glad not to have the responsibility. He was glad that he wasn’t in so big a spotlight. It meant that he could get away with shirking certain rules and traditions. Eric’s girlfriend, Natalie, was a human, which was against the rules for an alpha; an alpha could only be with a female from the pack. Natalie knew the truth about Eric being a werewolf, but at no point had she expressed any desire to become one herself and it was not something he was going to force on her. He was happy with her being human and couldn’t see why nobody else could accept it. His mother, Serena, was the least accepting of their relationship, she’d even gone as far as to threaten Natalie, not that it had worked. Now that Eric was not alpha he didn’t have to worry about such things because nobody cared who he took for a girlfriend, except for his mother of course. But Natalie was not even a blip on her radar at present, her only concern was getting Eric his birthright and nothing he could do could dissuade her.
Serena stormed into the living room with old Uncle Merle behind her. “It was a perfectly good offer and the idiot refused!” she yelled.
“Calm down, Serena,” Merle said putting his palms out in a soothing gesture. Merle was Serena’s older brother and supported her in everything she did. The siblings were inseparable, much to Eric’s dislike, he hated Merle.
“I will not calm down,” she seethed.
“What happened?” Eric asked, pulling himself into a sitting position on the sofa. Serena and Merle had been invited by Connor to attend a meeting with William Marshall, judging from Serena’s mood it had not gone well.
“Marshall offered Connor a very good deal which he turned down,” Merle explained calmly.
“Stubborn block-headed bastard,” Serena muttered. “He needs dealing with. You must see that now, you must.”
“Yes, I do see it, Serena, I have all along. But what can we do? Eric will need to train for years to be able to beat Connor and neither of us can do it,” Merle said.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Eric said sourly.
“You can’t beat him and you know it. We all saw what happened when you tried,” Merle said derisively.
“Maybe I can’t but I could beat you,” Eric said, standing up and eyeballing his uncle.
“Come closer and say that, boy.”
“Oh, stop it,” Serena said. “You should both stop winding each other up. You’re on the same bloody side aren’t you?”
“He started it,” Eric said, flopping back down on the sofa.
“How many people support Eric’s claim?” Serena asked. She crossed to the window and perched herself on the ledge.
“Two, and they’re standing in this room,” said Merle. “As far as everybody else is concerned the matter is already settled. And they’re quite right.”
“Can we get more support?”
“I don’t want any support,” Eric said, but they both continued as if he hadn’t even spoken.
“People are getting fed up with Connor’s refusal to negotiate. They liked it at first, it showed strength, now it just shows how much of an imbecile the man is. Give it time and people will flock to Eric in droves. Eric can take over by force, but wolves will die, there will always be those who remain loyal to Connor simply because he is alpha. The only legal way to depose him is in single combat,” Merle explained.
“I don’t want to depose him,” Eric protested, but still they ignored him.
“We don’t have time. The longer we wait the more chances there are of someone else deciding they should be alpha, we don’t want any more contenders.”
“I don’t want to be alpha.”
“Then we need to sway people now, and I don’t think quiet talks and handing out leaflets is going to do the trick,” Merle said.
“No, we need to set something up. Something that will make Connor look a fool in front of everyone,” Serena said.
“At the same time we’ll need to make Eric look good, he’ll need to pick up the pieces, save the day.”
“Enough!” Eric roared and they both stopped and looked at him. “I don’t want to do this.”
“Why not?” Merle looked at him as if he was a lunatic.
“I’d just rather let it go,” Eric shrugged.
Serena exhaled loudly. “This is about that girl again,” she said, sounding tired.
“Natalie has nothing to do with it,” Eric lied.
“You’d risk your birthright for a piece of arse?” Merle asked, still giving the look.
“A piece of arse? She’s more than that,” Eric said, getting hot under the collar again. His uncle really knew which buttons to press.
“Have her and be alpha, Connor would have wound the pack up so much they’ll let you get away with fucking a human if that’s what you really want,” Merle said. It was a bit out of character for him; he was a stickler for the rules.
“He doesn’t want that,” Serena said.
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t. She’s below your station,” Serena said.
“Don’t you dare talk about her like that,” said Eric.
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that,” Serena shot straight back.
“Stop it,” Merle said quietly and they both did. “Forget about the girl, for now, Serena, we need to focus on Connor.”
“Why don’t we just kill him, just lead him down an alley and beat his skull in with a brick?” she said. Eric wasn’t sure whether she was being serious or not, she probably was knowing her.
“That’s murder and I won’t be a part of that,” Merle said. Eric thought about making a comment about Merle being a wuss but thought better of it. Eric didn’t like Connor but he wasn’t down with murdering him. He was no killer.
“Convince Connor that the sorcerers have done something and he’ll attack them,” Eric said as the idea came to him. Connor was a hot-head and he thought with his fists, he’d take any excuse for a fight. “Only before he gets there we warn the sorcerers and they’ll be ready. Then they’ll humiliate him and the pack will start to lose confidence in him. They’ll think he’s leading them into a war that he can’t win.”
“And then they’ll look for someone who can lead properly,” Merle said, nodding his approval. “I always thought you were a spoiled mummy’s boy who was wet behind the ears, but you’ve impressed me today, boy.”
“Thanks,” Eric said sarcastically.
“It’s a good plan,” Serena concurred. “How do
we make him attack?”
“Make it look like they’ve been doing rituals in pack territories,” Eric said and his mother smiled.
“I’m glad you got my brains and not your fathers,” she said and pulled him in for a hug. He struggled weakly and then gave up as he always did. She wrapped her arms around his head, forcing it into her bosom and squeezed. “Let’s get to work,” she said.
*
CHAPTER NINE
“A very long time. The witches and the wizards were in Cedarstone long before the Romans came to England,” Adam told Tommy as they played connect four on the living room floor. Nicole was in the bath so it was one of the rare occasions when he could actually talk to Tommy about magic without getting shouted at. Despite her insistence on keeping him away from magic, Adam seized every opportunity to educate the boy, and Tommy was more than eager to learn. Nicole was determined to stamp that out of him, Adam wouldn’t be surprised if she moved Tommy into the cupboard under the stairs. He knew that Nicole wasn’t being deliberately cruel, she was just trying to protect her family but she was going about it the wrong way. Tommy would be safer in the coven, surrounded by other sorcerers.
“Did the Romans have any wizards or witches?” Tommy asked. He slid a red disc in and managed to line up two.
“Oh yes, the Romans had many sorcerers and seers. The Romans had sorcerers in very high places,” said Adam. He blocked Tommy’s line with a yellow disc.
“Argh!” Tommy yelled and laughed.
“Nice try, distracting me with questions mate,” Adam said and gave him a playful shove on the shoulder.
“Do you have any seers in your coven?” Tommy asked.
Adam knew he shouldn’t answer that. The questions before were about ancient history and he could talk his way out of trouble if Nicole caught him, but now Tommy was asking things that were extremely close to home. “No, not in my coven.”
“When I’m older can I join your coven?” It was obvious how excited Tommy was about being a witch. What kid wouldn’t be?
“When you’re old enough to do what you want, if you still want to join the coven nobody will be able to stop you.”
“What the fuck?” Nicole hissed from the doorway. Adam hadn’t heard her come down the stairs.
“Nicki, I was just-”
“Tommy, go and play upstairs,” she said. Tommy got up at once and with his head bowed he scarpered from the room. “What are you doing? Are you trying to get him killed?”
“Don’t be so stupid,” Adam replied as he stood up. “A conversation about magic isn’t going to get him killed.”
“It wasn’t just a conversation though was it? You were talking about him joining the bloody coven. I do not want magic near my son.”
“He’s got magic in him. He’s a witch Nicole, just like you. There is no getting away from that.” Adam’s voice was getting louder.
“I think we need to move,” she said suddenly. Adam knew it wasn’t a new thought, he’d seen the internet history, she’d been looking at homes in other towns in Kent.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he replied.
She paused for a moment and then said, “Then we’ll go without you.”
Adam had been expecting her to mention moving eventually but he hadn’t expected that threat. “When did you become so callous, Nikki? When did this happen?” he asked. The girl he’d married would never have made such a threat. Nicole had never been sweet and innocent, she’d always had a certain roughness to her, but she was never like this.
“When I realised how dangerous this town is,” she said.
“You can’t afford to move, not without me. You don’t have a job, this family relies on my income,” Adam said quietly. He would not let her leave, especially not with Tommy.
“The council will help me, they have housing programmes in Medway.”
“Medway? Ha! I thought you wanted security,” he said. Medway was one of the grottiest places in Kent. Crime rates were high, but magic rates were low. There were a few known vampires in Medway but that was it, anything else living there stayed firmly under the radar.
“Its safer than here,” she said stubbornly.
“I won’t let you take him, I adopted him, I have rights,” Adam argued. He didn’t know if that was true but he would definitely look into it.
“We’ll see,” she said and left the room.
Adam didn’t go after her, he didn’t want to look at her. He grabbed his keys and stormed out. Arguing with Nicole was getting tiresome, they were going round and round in circles and getting nowhere. If she tried to leave and it turned out that he had no legal rights to stop her then he might have to resort to other methods. Magical methods. But then he’d just be proving her right. But if it came to it, he would do it. He would not let her take Tommy away. Blood or no blood he was his son and he wasn’t going to lose him.
He hadn’t been walking long when he his phone started to ring. He hoped it was Nicole, phoning to sort things out but when he looked he saw that it was Toni. Even though she wasn’t the person he wanted to talk to you seeing her name on his phones screen still brought a smile to his face. She wanted to meet and whilst he didn’t really feel like meeting up he could tell that something had panicked her so he headed straight to her house.
“What’s up?” he asked as she let him in.
“Holly’s missing. I’ve tried calling her, I’ve been to her house, I’ve spoken to the rest of her friends. No-one’s heard from her,” Toni said hastily. She was pacing up and down the hallway.
“For how long?” he spoke calmly. Toni was probably just overreacting.
“A couple of days,” she said and shrugged.
“You’re sure she hasn’t just gone somewhere by herself?” Adam said. Toni raised an eyebrow at him that said she thought he was being stupid. “Alright so let’s find her,” he said before Toni could have a go at him. One woman shouting at him was enough. He headed for the door.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to look for Holly,” he said, he thought that was what she wanted.
“That’s stupid, you won’t find her by searching the streets. We need to do a locator spell,” Toni said.
Adam sighed. “We can’t do that without something of Holly’s.”
“I know that. I have her hairbrush.”
“How did you get that?”
“I broke into her house. How else would I know for certain she’s missing?” Toni said as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do.
“That… You can’t…” Adam stuttered, unsure of what to say.
“Are we doing this?” she asked, already on her way to the dining room.
“I really can’t believe you did that,” Adam said once they were set up. They had a large map of Cedarstone laid out across Toni’s dining room table. A small cauldron with paper in the bottom was placed next to it, next to the cauldron was a bowl of water and a box of matches.
“Get over it,” she replied and winked. She walked round to the opposite side of the table. “Ready?”
Adam nodded and they both closed their eyes. The spell could be performed by one witch but the more involved the more reliable the results would be. Adam brought an image of Holly to the forefront of his mind, he’d only met her properly once, but he could still picture her clearly enough, at least he hoped he was picturing her and not someone else entirely. He saw her freckled face and light frizzy hair. He tried thinking about her eye colour but wasn’t sure whether they were brown or blue. It didn’t matter too much; the finer details weren’t that important. Once he had the image firmly in his head he opened his eyes. Toni was waiting for him.
He picked up the matches and struck one on the side of the box. As soon as the flames jumped to life he dropped it into the cauldron. The papers lit up instantly, crackling at the paper, and then died down slightly. Toni picked up Holly’s brush and held it over the cauldron. She gave Adam a look to check he was ready and he nodded.
“Holly Mitche
ll,” she said and then dropped the brush into the flames.
As it hit the bottom of the cauldron the fire leapt up out of the cauldron before retreating back inside. Adam took a step back as the heat hit his face and singed one eyebrow. Toni sniggered and then fell silent again. Silence wasn’t part of the spell but it was easier to concentrate on holding the image if they didn’t speak — or laugh. The flames died out pretty quickly and in their place was a generous pile of ashes. Adam lifted the cauldron carefully, the metal burned his fingertips but only slightly, it was spelled not to burn. He tipped the ashes into the bowl of water where they landed silently and clumped in the bottom of the bowl. They both reached into the bowl and started positioning the ashes in a circle around the edges of the map. That was the longest part as they had to make sure the ashes encompassed the entire town without a single break. Once they’d completed the task they held each other's hands over the map and stared down, concentrating hard on the image of Holly in their minds. For a long time, nothing happened.
“Perhaps she’s not in town,” Toni said, but Adam could see that she knew better. If Holly was out of town then the ashes would scatter off the map, but if the ashes stayed still then Holly was dead. If Holly was dead then their plan had failed, they would not be able to convince anybody to take part in the dynast ritual and Genevieve would somehow oust Adam as dynast.
Adam was about to let go of Toni’s hands when the ashes moved. A line formed from the north of the map, it moved downwards towards the centre. Toni looked at Adam, her face filled with excitement. Adam was more nervous than excited, the fact was that Holly was missing and wherever she was it probably wasn’t good. The ash line went straight to the town centre and then turned sharply east. It carried on straight and went through several wards only slowing when it reached Ashby. There it carried on moving, slowing down gradually until it came to Bartholomew Road, and there it stopped. When they were both certain it wasn’t going to move again they unlinked hands. Adam closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.
