by Sean Stone
*
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Eric looked at the text from his mother. It’s time, was all it said and he knew exactly what that meant. He hopped out of bed and began pulling his shorts on.
“Where you going?” Natalie asked, sitting up and letting the sheets fall down revealing her nakedness.
“I need to go and do something,” Eric replied absently.
“It’s something to do with your mother isn’t it?” she asked disdainfully.
“Yes.” He pulled his jeans on and then slipped his t-shirt over his head.
“You don’t look like you’re happy about it whatever it is,” Natalie said. She’d always been able to read Eric easily.
“It doesn’t matter. This is the only way to become alpha. You did say that I should become alpha,” Eric reminded her.
“Yes. I did.” She admitted.
“Well then. I’ll see you later.” He reached down and took her in his arms, kissing her as he did. He kissed her like it was the last kiss they would ever share because depending on how things went in the caves it might be.
“I don’t want to know what you’re going to do, but promise me you won’t do something you can’t live with,” Natalie said, looking deep into his eyes. He looked back and gave a half-hearted nod before leaving her flat, possibly for the last time.
He found Connor alone in his gym cleaning up the boxing ring.
“Eric. What do you want?” Connor asked. Since their chat in Eric’s car, they had been far more amicable towards one another. Connor had even explained why he’d ignored Eric’s advice in favour of his uncle’s. Since then Connor had invited Eric to several of his meetings, giving Eric the opportunity to show the pack that there was no animosity between them. Connor often ignored the advice Eric gave, but that only made things seem more authentic; as Eric had said before, if Connor started being seen with Eric, following Eric’s advice then people would think that Eric was manipulating Connor. Nobody thought that though and to the rest of the pack, it seemed as though they’d settled their differences. Eric would be lying if he said that Connor hadn’t grown on him at least a little over the last week or so. He wasn’t as insufferable as Eric had always thought, there were times when Eric had even laughed with his nemesis. But that didn’t change the fact that Connor had usurped his position and things had to put right.
“The coven’s up to something in Thorndale. Some sort of ritual. I think we should call the pack and go and deal with them,” Eric said, pretending to be out of breath so it seemed like he’d rushed over there.
“Don’t be hasty. How about we go take a look ourselves first,” Connor said, as Eric had known he would. Connor would’ve seen calling the pack as a sign of weakness, he liked to show everyone that he was the strongest and he seemed to think that handling everything on his own was the way to do that. He really knew nothing about leadership.
“Alright, there’s a good vantage point down at the caves. We should be able to see what they’re doing from there without them seeing us. Then you can decide what you want to do,” said Eric.
“Let’s get going then.”
When they arrived at the caves on the edge of Thorndale Eric led Connor to the cave with the white chalk above its entrance. Serena had marked it so Eric didn’t lead Connor into the wrong one. The Thorndale caves were many and vast and it was easy to get lost in them. Eric went to enter the cave when Connor’s meaty hand fell down on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
“I’ll go first,” Connor said, barging past and leading the way, just as Eric had known he would. Stupid people are predictable people.
Eric followed Connor into the cave. Inside was a set of steps spiralling downwards. The caves used to be an old druid ground long before the pack had taken over the territory. Some areas of the cave were said to still have remnants of magic lurking within.
“I don’t hear anything,” Connor said, his suspicion was growing. Eric had to get him to the opening.
“You’ll see it when we get there,” Eric replied and Connor carried on through the passage. Eric reached carefully into his pocket and pulled out a pair of thick leather gloves. As he followed Connor through the passages of the cave he slipped them onto his hands, being careful not to make any noise. He was sweating profusely by the time they neared the end of the cave. Doubts were creeping into his mind. Do I really have to do this? Surely there’s another way? Murder was the one crime you couldn’t come back from. He’d made a promise to Natalie before he left and by killing Connor he would be breaking that promise. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to live with the guilt. People thought that all werewolves were murderers. They thought that every time they changed on the full moon they went out and killed people, but that wasn’t true. Eric had never taken a human life. The biggest thing he’d ever killed was a deer and he hadn’t even enjoyed that.
At the end of the cave, it opened up and overlooked a large lake that sat about seventy feet below the cave opening. Across the lake, on a slightly higher cliff was the Thorndale woods. Connor walked right up to the edge of the cave and peered across at the trees, looking for the disturbance Eric had reported, but there was no disturbance. It would be so easy to push him over the edge, straight down into the lake, but he’d probably survive. Eric was sure that Connor would be able to swim out of the lake again, no matter how deep it was.
“I see it,” Connor said, to Eric’s surprise. Eric had made up the story about the coven.
“Where?” He asked, suspecting that Connor might have led him into a trap of his own.
Connor pointed at the trees across the lake and Eric looked. Then he saw it too. There was a fire in the woods and shapes were moving about. Had Serena put on a show to fool Connor? She hadn’t mentioned anything to Eric.
“I told you,” Eric said. He looked behind him and found the thick silver chain that his mother had left in place for him. He crept over to take it.
“What are you doing?” Connor said before Eric could lift the chain up. Eric turned around slowly and saw Connor staring at him. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion and his nose was wrinkled in contempt.
“Nothing,” Eric said, shaking his head. His mind abandoned him and he was unable to think. He’d been caught.
“He’s doing what needs to be done,” Serena said as she emerged from one of the other passages. Connor turned to face her slowly, being sure not to let Eric out of his sight.
With trembling hands Eric took hold of the chain slowly. The gloves protected him from the burn of the silver.
“What needs to be done?” Connor asked.
“He’s going to kill you for the traitor that you are,” Serena said confidently.
“Eric, you don’t want to kill me. I can see that she’s pressured you into this,” Connor said, turning back to Eric and using what must have been his attempt at a gentle voice. “You can still walk way from this and I’ll forget about your involvement.”
“Shut your mouth,” Eric said but his voice cracked when he spoke.
“It’s obvious that this is her plan. Not yours. She’s in trouble for this, but you don’t have to be. Walk away Eric and I’ll forget you were ever here.”
“Don’t listen to him, Son. He’d kill you as soon as he finished up with me. Kill him now and claim what is yours,” Serena said. There was no worry in her voice, no nervousness, just confidence. Eric’s whole body was shaking. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to kill Connor but he didn’t believe that he would let him get away with this, not now. And even if he did, by letting Connor live he’d be condemning his mother to death instead.
“Eric, you’re not a killer. You don’t have it in you,” said Connor.
“Don’t tell my son what he has in him. He is supposed to be alpha. Not you,” she said coldly.
“I’m alpha because he couldn’t beat me. He’s weak just like Waylon was,” Connor snapped, and Eric felt a bristling of anger at the remark.
“Is that true? Are
you weak, Son? Or are you going to man up and kill him?” Serena asked.
“I…” Eric couldn’t talk, a lump had emerged in his throat, choking his words.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’ll do it myself,” Serena said and leaped at Connor. As she moved she pulled a small silver knife from up her sleeve. Connor lashed out with one trunk of an arm, his hand connected with her face and knocked her to the ground.
That was all the motivation Eric needed. He swung the chain and it took Connor by the wrist. Connor screamed shrilly as soon as the silver contacted his bare skin. Eric yanked on the chain and pulled Connor off his feet. He darted forward, coiled the chain around Connor’s neck and pulled tight. Connor struggled against the chain with his free hand, his legs flailing about on the floor, kicking up clouds of dust. Rasping cries issued from his mouth, but the chain choked them off and kept them quiet. Eric pulled the chain as tight as he could, watching through tear filled eyes as Connor’s neck turned a deep shade of red and the skin started to flake away. The alpha tilted his head back and stared at Eric, his wide dark eyes filled with tears of their own, silently pleading to be released.
“I’m sorry,” Eric said. He shook his head and pulled harder on the chain. He wanted to look away but he couldn’t. He remained with his eyes locked on Connor’s until he stopped kicking and struggling. His body went limp and the pleading look vacated his eyes along with all signs of life. Eric exhaled a long ragged breath and let go of the chains. They made a loud thud when they hit the floor. Then Eric opened his mouth and wailed as loud as he could. The sound bounced off the cave walls and rang out across the lake. Birds took flight and the bushes across the lake rustled.
“Don’t be such a girl,” Serena said viciously. “I raised a man not a snivelling woman. Now finish the job so we can go home.”
Ordinarily her words would have hurt him but he was too far gone to notice. He knelt down, and being sure to avoid looking at Connor’s lifeless face, he wrapped the chain around his torso as tight as he could. Then as his mother had instructed him to, he rolled Connor’s body over the edge. A few seconds later he heard it splash as it hit the water and sunk down into its depths. He backed away from the edge looking up as he did and saw the fire once more.
“What is that?” he asked, pointing across the lake at the fire. His breathing was still ragged from crying.
“That is our scapegoat,” said Serena smugly. “Nickolas Blackwood is performing some ritual. We’ll tell the pack that Connor went to confront him alone, like an idiot. They’ll believe us because it is something Connor would do, and then Nickolas will be blamed for his murder. And you get to be alpha. Now come on, let’s go home.”
Eric followed his mother back through the passages of the cave in silence. There was nothing to say. Things were different now. Not just because Connor was dead and Eric was a murderer. Things were different because when Eric looked at his mother he felt a deep loathing that he knew he would never be rid of. She had made him a murderer. She had made him a monster. And he would never forgive her.
*
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
There was so much at the lab to go through that it was going to take several days before they’d managed to get through it all. Jamal had the entire team working until the entire facility had been gone through from top to bottom. They’d found another door at the back of the lab, it led to a secret entrance to the building that started by the river and tunnelled under the entire industrial estate until it reached the research labs. Clara had been wondering how the researchers came and went; she didn’t think it very practically for them to pass through the CEO’s office each time. Jamal had found some information about how the defences worked and was trying to figure out if he could adjust them so that only members of SIT would be able to come and go. As it was anyone who found the lift could get in, but once inside vampires were unable to leave again. They’d tested the defence on all the team members and Zander was the only one who got trapped. Zander and Cassie were upstairs checking out the holding cells, according to Jamal, there was a room with about fifteen of the glass cages in it. That left Clara and Bianca to catalogue all of the weapons in the lab. There was some information about the weapons in the drawers, but some weapons had no information and they were working from guess work. Rob had called in sick, they all assumed he was shaken by recent events, they didn’t expect to see him again.
“How are you doing?” Clara asked, after half an hour of silent working.
“I’m alright I guess,” Bianca replied.
“No, you’re not. You’ve barely said two words all day,” said Clara. “You saw a man die.” Clara had killed him. It turned out that Jamal had been wrong; Clara didn’t feel any remorse about killing Jeremy, she didn’t feel anything at all. Maybe it was because he wasn’t human that she didn’t feel bad at all, or maybe everything she’d been through had numbed her to death so much that she could kill without a care.
“It wasn’t a man. It was a monster. If you hadn’t stopped him…” Bianca trailed off. Clara realised then that it wasn’t seeing someone die that had got to Bianca, it was coming so close to dying herself.
“It’s a dangerous job,” Clara said, not sure what else to say. The dangerous aspect had never done anything but make the job more appealing to Clara.
“Yeah. This isn’t what I thought I’d be doing when I signed up for the police,” Bianca said. She stopped what she was doing and sat down on one of the desk chairs that had survived the fire. “Can I tell you the truth?”
“Of course.”
“I only joined the police because you did. We’d done everything together since we started school. We were always in the same classes, picked the same subjects for GCSE. We even did the same work experience.” It was true; they’d been almost inseparable since primary school.
“What did you want to do instead?” Clara asked. She couldn’t believe that her friend had chosen a career purely because she wanted to stay together.
“I don’t know. I never thought about. I’ve never actually sat down and thought about what I want to do,” Bianca admitted. “All I know now is that I don’t want to do this.”
“I’m sorry Bi, for dragging you into this.”
‘It’s not your fault. I chose to follow you. But now I want out.”
“Alright. Then we’ll go upstairs and tell Jamal you quit,” Clara said. She didn’t want Bianca to waste another minute of her life on a job that clearly terrified her.
“No, not like that. I have to finish the job first. I can’t walk out with all this going on. I’ll see this through and once it’s all over I’ll resign.”
A short while later Jamal came down in the lift shaking his head. “The fence is a combination of spells and enchantments. I think I’ll be able to change them over time, but it won’t be easy and I’ll probably need your help.” He looked at Clara.
“My help?”
“It was Winters magic that built all this and I reckon it will be a good deal easier to change the spells with Winters magic helping me. For now, one of us will have to escort Zander out when he was to leave,” he explained. Clara was sure that a veteran police officer would love having an escort to go outside. “What have we got down here so far?”
“Mainly guns,” Clara replied. “It seems that their main priority was to create as many different kinds of bullets as possible. Silver for werewolves, wood splintering for vampires,” she took a pause when she remembered that was how William had been killed. “Blood poisoning for anybody I guess, dead man’s blood for?” She wasn’t sure what that was for, but she guessed it was vampires.
“It has a seriously negative effect on vampires,” Jamal confirmed.
“There are iron bullets as well, but I don’t know what they’re for,” Clara said picking up one of the said bullets.
“Iron inhibits magic,” Jamal explained. “It’s lethal to sorcerers.”
“Oh,” Clara exclaimed, and dropped the bullet.
Jamal lau
ghed and picked it up off the floor. “It’s fine to touch, but if it was inside you or around you like a necklace or a ring, you’d feel the effects pretty quickly.” He returned the bullet to the shelf it belonged and then looked at Clara in silence. She started to feel awkward and looked away, returning to her work. She wondered where she stood with Jamal now. She wanted to talk to him about it, but they weren’t alone once throughout the entire day. Every now and then he’d glance over or flash her a smile which made her feel funny in her stomach, but that was the most she got from him. She was itching to tell Bianca what had happened but it wasn’t really appropriate. Bianca had her own issues to deal with.
The lift doors slid open again and Zander and Cassie joined them in the lab.
“Fifteen cages, all in working condition,” Zander said.
“Easy to programme as well,” Cassie added. “We can set who has authorisation to open them.”
“That will certainly come in handy in future,” Jamal said, obviously meaning to use the cages for troublesome people in town.
“Its a bit far from the station, though,” Cassie said.
“Bradley said he’s going to sort out new premises for us, I’ll get him to pick one close by.”
“Why not just use this place?” Clara suggested. They could easily bring a few more desks into the lab and turn it into their new headquarters. Now that they’d discovered the secret entrance coming and going would be easy.
“It could work. Nobody knows about this place,” Jamal said, thinking out loud.
Zander’s text tone went off and he pulled his phone out, withdrawing from the discussion. “Uh-oh,” he said as he read the message. “Heads up from Victor. Nickolas is doing his ritual tonight. He’s in Thorndale.”
“What ritual?” Clara demanded.
“No doubt one to get more power. What else would a warlock be doing?” Cassie said with disdain.
