by MJ Fletcher
“I don’t know, but it’s not good. They’re going to come and collect the Chronicle page if I don’t hand it over, which means we’re in more danger than we thought.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Did Nightshade get the page? Val told me that he was back.” I leaned forward in my seat, fingers crossed, hoping to hear some good news.
“He got back yesterday, but he didn’t tell me if he had the page. He had some big meeting with someone last night.”
I recalled Val telling me that she had seen Nightshade meeting at the Beanery with someone last night and I assumed that must be who Jess meant.
“Who did he meet with?”
“I’m not sure, though I do know it was someone with real pull in the Guild.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. If Nightshade did have the page and handed it over to the Skeleton Key Guild, he could write his own ticket with them.
“I need to talk to him.”
Jess nodded, pulled out her cell and started texting Nightshade. Everything was unraveling. I was going to have to tell everyone about Mom, which meant I was going to have to talk with Dad about it. Something I had been avoiding since the first time I had seen her.
“Now what?” Jess asked as she hit the send button on her phone.
“We have to get that damn Chronicle page before my mom does.” I pulled my own phone out and sent a text to Slade and one to Edgar, telling both I needed to talk with them as soon as possible I knew they were busy on some project but I really wanted to hear Slade’s voice before I started confessing to all, especially my dad.
Jess’ phone dinged with a message and she clicked to it. She read through the message and typed back a reply, sending it off. “Nightshade is coming over.”
Before I could respond my phone rang and I saw Slade’s smiling picture flashing across my screen. I clicked on it and answered the call.
“What’s up beautiful?” Slade’s voice made me sigh with relief and for a moment washed away my misery.
“Slade, I need to tell you something,” I sighed knowing that there was no going back, this had to be done. I had to get this over with.
“What is it?”
I heard the concern in his voice and I plowed ahead not stopping to take a breath. I told him about the first time I saw my mom at the library and how she showed up at the house today and demanded the Chronicle page and wanted me to join the First Kind.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t want to believe it myself.” I finished telling him my story, hoping that at least he wouldn’t be mad at me. I still didn’t know how I was going to make everything right with Val and right now I couldn’t handle my boyfriend hating me.
“I wish you had told me.”
“I know I should have, I’m sorry.”
“Okay, I get it, I guess. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied.
“Good, I need to finish up this project for Mr. Miller and Edgar, and then I can come over. What’s the plan?”
“Jess is already here and Nightshade is back and on his way over.”
“I’ll be there as soon as possible.” Slade hung up without even a goodbye and I shoved the phone back into my pocket knowing full well that meant he probably wouldn’t be here for hours at the earliest.
The hair on my neck rose as a surge of energy drifted off my front door followed by a knock. I stepped into the hallway and saw the bands of crimson energy surrounding the door. I didn’t even need to see who was there to know who it was. I could sense the power; it was as familiar as my own. I walked over and swung the door open to find Nightshade standing there, his garage with his Hudson Hornet behind him.
“Come on in.” I turned and led him into the living room.
Jess hopped up and headed straight for Nightshade, hugging him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
“What happened?” Nightshade cut right to the point like always and I let Jess explain since I was sick of repeating the story.
“She’s after the Chronicle page and the Artifact,” Jess said as a final footnote.
“Sounds to me like she’s after you as well, Masters.” Nightshade locked his eyes on me and I did my best to avoid looking at him.
“What’s that mean?”
“She wants you to join her right?”
“She got my answer.”
“Are you sure?” Nightshade peered at me as if he could read my thoughts, my doubts.
“I’ll never join them.” My tone was sharp, though my voice trembled. “I don’t care if my mother is a member. She betrayed my father and me. And that I can never forgive.”
Jess left Nightshade’s side to slide into the chair with me and hugged me. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll see. It will all work out. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I lied yet again and Nightshade, who was still watching me, mouthed one word to me.
Liar.
I wanted to scream at him that he was right. I wasn’t alright. How could I be when my mom who had left me when I was young walks back into my life and tells me that we should now be together? But did she once tell me that she loved me? Did she reach out and hug me tight the way she did when I was little and needed reassuring? Damn but I hurt. I hurt so badly and who recognized my pain? The most annoying guy in the world... Nightshade. Jess remained beside me, draping her arm around my shoulder continuing to try to comfort me. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t too keen on displays of affection. Maybe it was because of mom leaving or maybe I was just messed up on my own. Who knows what I would have been like if none of this had ever happened to me.
Damn if I didn’t sound like I was feeling sorry for myself. This had to stop so I changed the subject. “Did you get the Chronicle page?”
“No, Henna hid it in an old device that even she can’t access.”
“That was stupid,” I said.
“Actually, it was smart. That way even if someone got to her, she wouldn’t be able to surrender the page. She did her best to protect it.”
“Now what do we do?” Jess asked.
“Last night I met with someone to find out the best way to access the page.”
I was curious to see if Nightshade was willing to share the information about the mystery man from last night so I asked, “Who’s that?”
“Gavin Brimstone.”
Jess sighed audibly and I looked at her. “What?”
“Brimstone was once a Guilder but he left the Guild several years ago. He’s a freelancer now and tolerated by all Groups. A lot of rumors circulate about him.”
“Why go to him?” I asked.
“The rumor is that Brimstone is a... Polymorph,” Jess whispered the word.
I’d heard the term before but had no idea what it meant. “A what?”
Nightshade explained as if he was speaking to a slow student. Damn he irritated me. “A Polymorph is a member of the Old Kind who has abilities from different groups.”
“You mean a Guilder who can use Doorknobs? Read maps?” The whole idea seemed to fly in the face of everything I knew about the Old Kind.
“Yes, a Polymorph can have any combination of abilities, but Polymorphs are very rare. It’s believed that the true First Kind were Polymorphs.”
“And this Gavin Brimstone is a Polymorph?”
“Honestly, I can’t be sure. It’s basically all rumor. What I know is that he’s one of the best I’ve ever seen at unlocking ancient devices. I brought the container to him to see what he could do with it.” Nightshade leaned back in the chair, his eyes lingering on me.
I was thinking how badly my mom wanted to get her hands on the page and how she’d do anything to get it. I was also thinking that someone had told her about our search and how we were getting closer to finding the page, which had provoked her visit. I didn’t like the implications that it could be someone close, which prompted me to ask, “Can we trust him?”
&nbs
p; “I can. Brimstone is a friend.” Nightshade’s eyes narrowed as if he dared me to challenge him.
“You’re confident that he can help?” I figured it was worth the risk. If Nightshade was playing a game the only thing I could do was play along until I figured out what he was up to. Hopefully it wasn’t counter-productive to what we needed.
“He believes the device can be opened and he’s working on it. He told me it’ll take a few days and I agreed.”
“Does he know what’s inside?” I asked.
“No, I just told him I needed him to get it open.” Nightshade smiled knowing full well I was trying to figure out what he was up too.
“How does Henna feel about all of this?”
“She’s fine with it. She’s decided to take a leave of absence from the HVO.”
“Did she really and where is she now?” This was beginning to sound less and less to my liking.
“I wouldn’t know.” Nightshade smiled and I gritted my teeth. The buzz of a phone had Nightshade reaching into his pocket He tapped the screen and stepped out of the room to answer the call.
“Do you two always have to interrogate one another?” Jess jabbed my shoulder.
“Sorry, Cuz, we don’t play well together.” I smiled weakly and glanced out into the hall and watched Nightshade walk back and forth as he talked on the phone. His movements were so fluid and confident. I chuckled to myself, even his walk was arrogant. But here he was once again helping me, always showing up when I needed him. Yet the man drove me nuts more than anyone I had ever met. I still didn’t know what his game was with Henna or what else he might be hiding from me. Now he had brought in this Brimstone character.
A Polymorph, Nightshade had been watching me when he talked about that. I knew the term had made Jess nervous and from everything I’d seen about Old Kind I could see why. Someone who wasn’t ruled by the Societies was a nightmare for them. Maybe that’s why the First Kind was such a problem.
I was going to have to talk with Dad or Edgar about Polymorphs and see what else I could learn.
“I hope you can give it a break at the dance,” Jess scolded lightly and shook my head chasing away thoughts of Nightshade and Polymorphs.
My heart sank as I thought about the dance. I would rather fight the First Kind day and night than attend the stupid dance, but it seemed the universe was against me. I had to go whether I wanted to or not. “I’ll do my best.”
“I want to go shopping for our dresses this weekend. What do you think?” Jess asked.
I think I would rather be shot in the head, but instead I just nodded dumbly. This is how it happens. They suck you in with dances and before you know it your brain melts into goo. Any day now I figured I’d find myself sitting around watching reality TV and swooning over the latest teen sensation. Why do I do this to myself?
“We have to get shopping before all the good dresses are gone. And we don’t have much time; the dance is in two weeks. And let’s face it you do need my help when it comes to picking out the right dress for you.”
Damn, this was getting worse by the minute. I felt like someone had just clicked a doomsday countdown clock and it was tick, tick, ticking over my head.
“You’re right.” I smiled reluctantly hoping that my lie wasn’t as obvious as it felt to me.
“Great, we can hit this great little shop I know about.”
“Sounds fun.” I gritted my teeth not believing I said that and wondered if I could give myself food poisoning before the weekend.
“Gavin made progress with the device,” Nightshade announced, stepping back in the room and sliding his phone back into his jeans pocket. I’m going to head to his place and check it out.”
“Why don’t we all go?” I said jumping up and pulling Jess along with me. I wanted to keep an eye on Nightshade. Plus I needed to end all this talk about the dance and dresses before I lost my sanity.
“Sure, why not.” Nightshade grinned as his Skeleton Key seemed to materialize in his hand. I knew it hadn’t, I hadn’t grown up the daughter of a magician to be tricked by a simple sleight of hand. He’d pulled it from the same pocket where his phone had gone, but he’d kept it palmed as we chatted. His illusion reminded me of him, not quite sure of what you were seeing or what he had hidden.
The click of the front door made me turn to see who walked into the house?
“Hey, kids, what’s going on?” My dad smiled warmly at us.
This was it. I had to tell my dad about Mom now before he heard it from someone else.
Crap and double crap.
Chapter 14
Status: I thought my life couldn’t get any weirder.
“I’m sorry.”
Dad was sitting on the couch his head bowed and his fingers rubbing furiously at his temples. Nightshade and Jess had left to go see Gavin and as soon as they were gone I had launched into telling Dad about Mom before I lost my courage. I hadn’t held anything back, though part of me wondered if I should have especially when I had watched Dad’s head grow heavier and heavier with each word I spoke until his chin almost touched his chest. He’d been in this position now, his fingers working at his temples, for more than five minutes without saying anything. What was he thinking? Was he upset? Well of course he had to be upset I had just told him that the woman he loved not only had deserted him but betrayed him as well. And if I was hurting, which I was, then damn this had to be killing him. I felt the need to whisper again, “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. Are you okay?” He didn’t lift his head to ask the question. I opened my mouth to lie to him like I had to everyone else. To tell him everything was fine and an image rushed into my head of Nightshade calling me a liar.
“No.” Dad’s head shot up to look at me. I fought back the torrent of emotions that had been raging in me for weeks. I didn’t know what to say or do; I was so angry and scared. Dad stood and walked over to me, grabbing me and enveloping me in one of his big bear hugs. My head went to rest against his chest and I breathed in his familiar Dad-scent and for the first time in a very long time, I felt safe.
“It’s going to be okay,” he reassured me.
“Do you really think that?” I couldn’t help ask.
“As long as we have one another, kiddo, we can survive anything, and I’m not planning on going anywhere. Are you?”
Was he worried that I would join Mom? “I’m here to stay, Dad, but—”
“No buts, now tell me the truth about what you and your friends are doing concerning the Chronicle page?” He looked at me with his dad expression, which meant don’t try and lie to me. So I updated him on what we knew and about Nightshade giving the device containing the page to Brimstone.
“I know Brimstone, he’s a force to be reckoned with and Nightshade is right about him. He would never knowingly help Caleb Darker. They hate one another.”
“Do you want us to give the page to the Council?” I figured I’d ask before Dad told me to do just that.
“No, I don’t. I want you to keep doing what you’re doing.”
“What?” Wow, his response shocked me.
“Chloe, your mother is wrong to turn against the Old Kind, but she is right about the Council and others having been corrupted. I’ve only been back with the Old Kind for a few months and I can already see how bad things have gotten. Until we deal with the First Kind we can trust very few people.” Dad rubbed the back of his neck, a sure sign he was tense.
“What else is going on?” I asked.
“I don’t even know who we can trust in DS or any of the other Groups for that matter. Jordan may be gone but he has enough sycophants that they are causing trouble. I’ve heard rumbles that DS should have kept the last Artifact for ourselves and we should be going after the other Artifacts on our own. Talk like that is how wars start. You and your friends have been able to do more in a shorter time than any of the Societies have in months.”
“You want us to find the Artifacts don’t you?”
“Yes. I
’ve talked with Levi and Emory about this and the three of us knew you were up to something. You’ve been training for this longer than you ever knew, kiddo. All those illusions and escape tricks I taught you, I was doing my best to prepare you for the inevitable.”
“What do you mean?”
Dad took out his phone, tapped it and dialed a number. He held up one finger letting me know to wait a minute as the call connected.
“It’s time.” He hit the screen ending the call and crooked his finger motioning for me to follow him. We walked to the front door and Dad used his powers to activate a portal. Blue energy sprang across the door. He pulled it open and we stepped through.
“Welcome to the Reliquary,” Dad said.
The room we entered was circular and very old. The walls were stone and carved to fit together precisely. Tapestries hung from rafters that were so high I couldn’t see them through the darkness. Nine wooden doors stretched out equally along the walls, each having a symbol etched into it. Some I recognized like the Star of the HVO and the Skeleton Key of the Guild, other symbols I had never seen.
“What is this place?” I asked full of curiosity.
“This is where the Old Kind was born.” Dad walked to the center of the room and stood beside a carved marble pedestal with several knobs on it. He twisted one and the floor shifted. The sounds of metal gears turning reverberated in my ears. Several chairs and a table flipped up out of the floor and Dad took a seat.
“What do you mean where the Old Kind were born?”
“Just a moment, we need to wait for the others.”
“Others?” Now my curiosity was really piqued.
The door with the HVO star on it glowed silver and out stepped DI Emory. He smiled at me and joined us taking a seat beside Dad. He tossed his fedora on the table. A moment later another door opened and Levi Miller stepped out and joined us.
“Well?” I said waiting for my dad to explain.
“Chloe,” Dad began. “When the First Kind grew arrogant and petty, refusing to listen to their own kind, their children turned on them and created the Societies that we now know. We warred against our forbearers and won, but at a steep cost. Three of our Societies were lost along with countless lives. The Chronicles were created to keep our history alive, to remind us so that we wouldn’t repeat past mistakes but we lost them through foolishness and pride. Now some Old Kind are trying to recreate the First Kind and the council are too inept and too divided to work together to stop them.”
