by Sean Stone
“We have to stop him,” Clara said at once.
“How can we?” Zander said, defeated.
Jamal was about to reply when his phone went off as well. He pulled it from his pocket and his brow furrowed when he read the message.
“There’s been a fire in town,” Jamal said.
“So?” Clara said, not understanding why Jamal looked so concerned.
“It was Adam Kent’s house,” Jamal said.
“Who would do that?” Cassie said.
“The Thirteen must be attacking the coven, to get sorcerers for the ritual maybe?” Jamal said. “Zander, Cassie, you go to the house. Figure out what happened. Try and find one of the Kent’s, if you can’t, find Genevieve instead. Get the coven together and help them fend off any attacks.”
“What if it isn’t the Thirteen?” Zander asked.
“Then figure out who it is.”
Zander and Cassie headed for the door at the back of the lab and left at a brisk pace.
“What about Nick?” Clara asked.
Jamal crossed the room and started typing furiously on one of the computers. “I’ve linked up to the computer back at the station and I’ve connected the phone as well. You two stay here and let me know if anything else happens in town. I’m going to go to the vampires and see if they’ll help us. Then I’m going to Thorndale to try and stop Nick.”
“Yes Sir,” Bianca said, with clear relief on her face.
“I’m not going to sit here and to nothing,” argued Clara. Jamal was an idiot if he thought she was going to sit this one out.
“You are not ready for this confrontation Clara. If you go near him he will kill you,” Jamal said. He sounded angry, but she could see a desperation behind his eyes.
“You’re not leaving me behind,” Clara said shaking her head profusely.
“Alright,” he said resignedly. “Wait here until I’ve been to the clan. I’ll come back and we’ll go to Thorndale together. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said and then watched him leave.
After fifteen minutes she realised how stupid she’d been. Jamal wasn’t coming back for her, he was going alone. He must have known that his ruse wouldn’t last for long, though. Clara stood up abruptly and headed over to the weapons.
“What are you doing?” Bianca asked, her tone panicked.
“I’m going to stop Nick.” Clara grabbed one of the guns — a Glock 22 — which was loaded with iron bullets. She checked that it was definitely loaded and then tucked it into her waistband like she’d seen in so many movies. It was the only weapons she’d come across so far that might help against Nick. If she could shoot him with iron then she could weaken him enough to do something.
“Shouldn’t you wait for Jamal?”
“Jamal lied. He isn’t coming back,” she said.
“I can’t change your mind can I?”
“No.” Clara shook her head.
“Just be careful. I want to see you again alive.”
Clara smiled and then headed for the lift. She was tired of waiting around. She was dealing with Nick now.
When Clara arrived at the woods she found it surprisingly quiet. There were no sounds of people or even animals. It didn’t surprise her that a man like Nick could even scare away animals. She could see the glow of a fire deep in the trees and headed straight for it. She moved as quickly as she dared without making too much noise, making sure to be mindful of her surroundings. The disciples could be lurking anywhere in the trees, waiting for uninvited guests, and she had no intention of getting caught before she’d found Nick. But what if Nick was surrounded by his disciples? She wouldn’t be able to get near him, not alone. What about Jamal? Had he already bee caught? Killed? She didn’t want to think about it, it would only make her question what she was doing and, of course, there was no way that Clara was going to turn back. She was too close to her goal.
Finally, she reached the clearing where Nick had set up. She squatted behind a bush and checked out the scene. There was a tall tree stump, roughly four-foot-high in the centre of the clearing, probably serving as an altar. Laid out on top of its was a glistening golden dagger. Clara couldn’t explain why but she got the distinct impression that that dagger was a very powerful weapon. Next to the dagger was a ceramic bowl, she could not see its contents. On the floor not far from the altar was a large travelling trunk. On the opposite side of the altar was a man. Judging from the paleness of his skin she assumed he was a vampire. His eyes were open, but he wasn’t moving. Next to him was a large wooden coffin, the lid was off but she was too far away to see inside. There was a small fire burning next to the altar, a ring of salt encompassed it, no doubt to stop it from spreading. Jamal was nowhere in sight and neither was Nick. She decided to take her chance with the dagger. She stepped out from her hiding place and walked into the clearing. As soon as she was in the circle she saw what had been out of her view before. James Tenson was sitting on another tree stump examining an ugly golden bracelet. She froze staring right at him, wondering if it was too late to retreat back to her bush. Last time they’d met they’d nearly killed each other. She’d have to be more careful if they were going to fight again. He looked up and showed no surprise at all at seeing her. He stood up casually and slid the bracelet onto his wrist.
“Hello, Clara,” James said stepping forward. He didn’t come too close; he was wary too. He remained on the other side of the altar.
The vampire groaned and she looked over. She noticed now that there were tubes stuck in his arms, they were carrying blood into the coffin where she could now see another man. She gasped when she realised it was the man from the halfway realm, the green one who’d been talking in riddles. She took a step closer, being careful not let James out of her sight. She saw that the green man had stitches in several places on his body as if he’d recently been sewn together. He looked quite dead.
“Who is he?” she asked in astonishment.
“His name is Osiris,” James replied. He took a step closer to Clara, but still made sure to keep the altar between them.
“The Egyptian god?” Clara asked in disbelief. She’d accepted vampires, werewolves, witches and immortals, but her mind could not accept gods.
“He’s not really a god. He’s an ancient,” James clarified.
“An ancient,” Clara repeated, understanding what the green man had meant at last. He said he was an answer to the question most prominent on her mind. How can she kill Nick? Arthur had said that an ancient could kill Nick. Therefore, Osiris could kill Nick. But he wanted something in return, what might that be?
“How can you stand like that?” she said, rounding on James. Aware that he was probably trying to distract her so he could subdue her. “Without even the smallest amount of guilt for what you’ve done?”
“I only stabbed you because you were going to kill me. I didn’t want to. I always liked you, Clara. Do you know that Jonathan ordered me to kill you, but I didn’t do it?” James said as if that earned him some sort of prize.
“And what about all the people you did kill? Like my granddad?” she said.
He looked away and sighed. “I am sorry for that. I really am. I did a lot of things that I regret.”
“You’re still doing them. You’re still murdering innocent people. You’re standing there, one of Nick’s’ disciples. How? How can you do that? How can you stand with them?” she demanded. She stepped forward, edging closer to the dagger.
“Where else can I stand?” he replied. His eyes bulged and his face turned crimson. “I had nothing. Nothing! And Nick helped me clean myself up. He took me in. He promised to help me.”
“So it’s all about you. You’re with Nick because it benefits you,” said Clara with disgust.
“I’m with Nick because he’s the only one who’ll have me,” said James pathetically and Clara couldn’t help but pity him.
“If you tried to make amends, I’m sure you’d find a place elsewhere,” Clara said. She wasn’t sure what she me
ant by that, it had come out before she’d even though about it. Could she forgive him if he asked her? Possibly, but the truth was he never would.
Leaves rustled by the altar and she turned in time to see Nick emerge. He saw her and smiled. Her hand went to the gun tucked in her trousers. She didn’t draw it out yet, she was just checking it was there.
“Clara Winters. I was wondering when you would finally find the courage to confront me. I know you spent all that time outside my house. Always watching, but never coming inside,” he said. “So, to what do I owe this long overdue pleasure?”
“I’ve come to stop your ritual,” she said, she kept her eye fixed on him, expecting an attack at any moment. But he seemed relaxed, casual as if he didn’t even recognise her as a threat.
“You’ve arrived early, I haven’t even started yet,” he replied.
“What are you waiting for?”
“Only you,” he said and smiled the most sickening grin.
She threw her hand forward as soon as she realised what he’d said and shouted, “Almawt!” She felt the force leave her body and hurtle toward Nick. It was a spell that Jamal had shown her, but which she had not used. It delivered instant death to those it was cast upon. She knew that any death Nick experienced was only temporary, but if she could kill him for even a minute it would give her enough time to sabotage the ritual.
Nick waved his hand in front of his face lazily and neutralised her spell with ease. “Baby spells? Is that what Jamal’s been teaching you?” he mocked. “I had hoped that our battle would be legendary. Winters versus Blackwood. What a disappointment you turned out to be. Oh well.”
He turned away and she pulled the gun out with a speed she didn’t know she had. Nick saw her moving and turned back just as she squeezed the trigger. Confident that he could not be harmed, Nick didn’t even move to stop the bullet. He let it sink into his shoulder, letting out only a small grunt of pain.
“Do you know how immortality works?” he asked, smiling again. He waved his hand, probably to knock the gun from her grip—but nothing happened. He waved his hand again, a perplexed expression on his face.
“Do you know how iron works?” Clara said smugly.
“Very clever, Clara. However…” he ripped his t-shirt and pointed at to the now exposed wound and Clara watched. At first, there was nothing happening other than blood drizzling from the hole. Then the small piece of iron that had punctured his skin fell out of him as though something had pushed it out, and the wound closed up as if it had never been there. “You’re going to have to do better than that, love.” He flicked his wrist and the gun shot up out of her hand and smashed into her face. She cried out in pain, as blood poured from the cut and she fell to her knees. She tried to think of a spell, but nothing would come to mind and James was descending on her. He grabbed her by the collar and dragged her over to the altar in the centre of the clearing. She thrust her hand into his chest and once again felt her power flow free. James hurtled through the air and thudded to the dirt roughly.
“Well that’s a bit better,” Nick said. Then he was at Clara’s side, wrapping some sort of bracelet around her wrist. “I do need you to behave now, though.”
She tried to fight, but the bracelet was blocking her powers. She looked at Nick with utter contempt and spat straight in his face.
“Rude,” he muttered. He leaned her in a sitting position against the altar and then with a wave of his hand a single rope coiled itself around her, binding her to the stump. The rope was thin, but she knew it was enchanted and she had no hope of breaking it. He reached up and took the golden dagger from the altar. “This might sting a bit.” He ran the dagger down her forearm, slicing it open, and it did more than sting. It took every ounce of will to stop from screaming, but she would not give him the satisfaction. Still, she could not stop the tears from escaping her eyes.
“I will kill you,” she hissed, her breathing ragged.
He placed the dagger back on the altar and then brought down the bowl. “Do you know how fear works, Clara? There’s a part of the brain called the amygdala. The amygdala sends out signals to the rest of your body letting it know that you’re frightened. Little physiological signs pop up all over a person letting their fear be known to anyone with an eye trained to see it. So no matter how much you frown, and scream and shout in anger at me, I know that really you’re just a scared little girl, who wants her daddy.”
She glared at him with murderous intent. If she could just break free she would wipe that smug smirk off his face and drive that dagger through his heart. He might come back from the dead, but then she’d just kill him again, and she’d keep on killing him until she dropped dead herself.
“Even now you fight to mask your true emotions from me. Put on that brave face, Clara, it doesn’t matter, I can see straight through it. And do you know how I can spot the signs on you so well? Because I saw the same signs on your daddy right before I threw him off that balcony. I saw his terror, written on his face, and now I can see it written on yours. Because you know that now, it’s your turn to die.”
Clara said nothing. She’d said all she had to say. She looked at James, asking him for help with her eyes. He looked away. Nick positioned the bowl under her arm, catching the blood as it ran freely from her veins.
“Don’t worry, it’s not your power I want, love. It’s your blood. You see I’m going to release some very powerful beings in a bit, and I need to make sure they don’t escape these woods. The only way to to do that is to create a circle powerful enough to contain them. My disciples and I don’t have enough power on our own, but the power from your family line added to ours should do the job nicely. You see, power flows down the bloodline, each time a sorcerer dies, their power passes on to their descendants, and you are the only Winters sorcerer alive, which means there is a lot of power in you. You might not be able to control your families power very well, but your blood is absolutely full of it.”
Nick stood up and passed the bowl to James. “Drink this. You’re linked to the other disciples. Drinking it will link you all to Clara.”
James took the bowl. He clearly did not want to drink her blood, that was plain from the anxious look on his face, but what choice did he have? He raised the bowl to his lips and tipped the contents down his throat. Afterwards, he retched loudly but managed to keep it down.
“I met a dead girl who had a message for you,” Clara said, recalling the meeting in the halfway realm, and hoping she could use it to stall for time. Maybe somebody would arrive to help her.
Nick whipped his head back in her direction at once. “What girl? What message?” he demanded.
“I don’t know who she was, but she said he’s here in town. She seemed worried for you. Whoever he is I hope he kills you.”
“Olivia,” Nick said under his breath and smiled fondly. “Always looking out for me. She needn’t have worried; I already know he’s here.” Nick turned his attention back to the altar.
Clara squeezed her eyes shut, praying that Jamal would arrive soon. She should have listened, she should have stayed at the lab. She knew that coming here alone was stupid, but she also knew that given the chance she’d do it again. She looked to her side and that’s when she saw the gun. When she’d dropped it, it had been flung away from her, but it had landed next to the altar which she was now tied to. The rope was only binding her stomach and chest, so her arms were free. If she could just divert Nick and James’ attention for a minute, then she could get the gun. One bullet had only worked on Nick for less than a minute, but if she put the whole lot in him then it might work a little better. If she could get him in the head, then she would be able to temporarily kill him. Maybe then she could talk James into letting her go. If not maybe she could save him a bullet. She looked back at her captors and waited for her opportunity.
*
“Is she going to die?” James asked Nick. Clara seemed to be losing consciousness as Nick muttered an incantation to create the circle for the r
itual.
“Not yet,” said Nick. He walked over to the coffin and peered inside.
“Are you sure that blood will revive him?” James asked. He was having a hard time believing that somebody who had been in 14 pieces for over five thousand years could be revived simply by sewing him back together and pumping some fresh blood into him.
Nick looked around. “Osiris turned Cain into a vampire using his own blood as one of the ingredients. Once I return the blood to Osiris it should… wake him up.” Nick had paralysed Cain using a small amount of cobra venom. James had asked why the venom was so effective but Nick wouldn’t say.
“Cain will be drained completely soon.”
“And will he be dead?” James asked. He thought that the only way to kill a vampire was to destroy the heart or the brain.
“As good as. Unless someone feeds him,” Nick said. “But I don’t plan on doing that.”
“What do you plan on doing?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I might leave him here and let fate decide.”
Whilst James had been talking to Nick neither one of them had been watching Clara. Nick alerted James with a quick intake of brief and James turned in time to see Clara pointing the gun at him. The ropes only bound her around the waist and her arms were left free, allowing her to pick up the gun which had fallen next to the altar. Clara pulled the trigger. James closed his eyes and waited for the impact of the bullet, but it never came. When he opened his eyes he found that he was on the other side of the altar, behind Clara and standing next to Nick.
“I teleported,” he said in wonder. “I actually did it.” Though he had no idea how.
“Congratulations, shall we celebrate later?” Nick said agitatedly. Then James saw why. With James out of the line of fire, the bullet had hit the trunk, and the iron had broken the enchantment that kept it closed. Thin black wisps of smoke drifted through the crack between the lid and the box. It came out slowly, gathering in front of the trunk.
“Get ready. We’ve got a fight on our hands now,” Nick said. He took hold of his dagger and thrust it down, blade first into the top of the altar. It sparkled once and then returned to its former state. Anyone who died in the circle would lose their powers to Nick now. The other disciples were positioned around the edge of the woods, keeping the circle in place. Jamal had assured them that SIT would not be disturbing them tonight, and he too was at the perimeter with the others.
