Ash of Scorpio - Bloodstone Trilogy - Prequel

by D. N. Leo

  It was a lame excuse, but surprisingly, Neva seemed moved by it. “Thank you for being fair.”

  “I told her it was only a flesh wound,” Caedmon said and shrugged off Neva’s hold. He stanched the blood with his hand. “Having two fights in a day is too much for my liking. I’m going to head to a hotel and rest.”

  “I’ll heal you,” Afton said.

  “What?” asked Sedna. “No. He said it’s nothing. He can get it patched up at the clinic. There’s no need for us to flash our mage badge right in the middle of the town.”

  Caedmon nodded a goodbye to everyone and headed on his way.

  Afton darted forward and grabbed Caedmon’s shoulder from behind. “I said I would heal you.”

  Caedmon shrugged his hand off. “No, thank you.” When Caedmon turned to walk away, Afton grabbed his shoulder again and pulled him backward. He kicked Caedmon’s legs out from behind. Losing his balance, Caedmon landed on his back on the ground. Afton pressed a foot on Caedmon’s left shoulder to pin him in place.

  “Afton!” Sedna protested, but Afton raised his hand to ask for her silence. Caedmon swung his legs in an attempt to gain some ground. To Sedna’s surprise, Neva darted over and jumped on Caedmon, using her weight to help hold him down on the ground. She grabbed his head, holding it with both hands.

  “Oh, hell!” Sedna muttered. Neva’s unique talent was that she could hypnotize a human in a second. And Caedmon wasn’t human. Sedna closed her eyes and waited for Neva’s scream. But nothing seemed to happen. She opened her eyes and saw Caedmon knocked out in the snow as if it were the most comfortable bed in the world. His head was cradled in Neva’s hands, and Afton was healing him. It was going smoothly as his healing process always did.

  “What is your real name?” Afton asked.

  “Caedmon LeBlanc.”

  Neva and Sedna looked on.

  “What are you here for?” Afton asked again.

  “The key,” Caedmon said.

  “Afton, he didn’t agree to any of this!” Sedna objected.

  “She’s right, Afton,” Neva said.

  “Does the key have anything to do with the tribe leadership?” Afton continued.

  “Afton!” Sedna exclaimed. “Neva, stop this!”

  “No,” Caedmon said.

  “That’s good enough. He’s very strong for a human,” he said. Sedna rolled her eyes. “You can let him go, Neva,” He picked up Caedmon’s dagger and examined it with admiration.

  Neva gently lay Caedmon’s head on the ground. Caedmon opened his eyes. He was groggy at first, then he focused and registered what was happening around him. He sprang to his feet and glanced at his healed wound. By the look on his face, Sedna didn’t think he was at all grateful.

  “What did you do to me?” he growled.

  “You’re welcome,” Afton said.

  “I didn’t ask for a favor. Give me back my dagger.” He snatched the dagger from Afton’s hand and tucked it away.

  Afton smiled. “I’m glad you’re human.”

  “If I had fangs, I swear I’d suck all of your blood out.” He threw a resentful look at Sedna and walked away.

  That look hurt. She darted after him. “I didn’t do anything. In fact, I tried to stop them.”

  “I respect your privacy, Sedna. But your people invaded mine. I didn’t agree to be hypnotized.”

  “I would never do that to you. But it’s a critical time for us. We have to be very cautious. Please understand that, Caedmon.”

  He turned and looked at her. “No, I don’t understand. There are only two types of beings regardless what kind of creatures they are—good ones and bad ones. What gives you the right to pry into someone’s identity? To look into someone’s mind? Humans or creatures, why does it matter?” He glanced at Afton. “Do you think a mage is above all other creatures?”

  “No. I never said that. Never for a single moment did I think that,” she said. But the look in his eyes told her he was no longer listening to her.

  “I regret having come back,” he said then turned and walked away—the same way he had walked into the fog four years ago.

  10

  Caedmon walked into the hotel where the two agents were waiting for him. There was no time to get back to the other hotel for his missing wrist unit before this meeting, but luckily, he remembered the address. He did plan to get his unit back but wasn’t sure he wanted to see Sedna. She might not come back to the hotel room anyway after he had walked out on her—again.

  It had been too good of an opportunity to leave her, and he couldn’t pass on it. Now she’d hate him, but it’d be better that way. He might be gaining a foothold in her tribe. He didn’t want her to be his sacrificial lamb.

  “Good evening, may I help you, sir?” the receptionist asked and smiled at him.

  Before he could respond, there was a scream from upstairs. Everyone in the lobby of the hotel stopped what they were doing. The receptionist rushed up the stairs, and Caedmon followed. A man who might have been the hotel manager darted out of an office at the corner of the hallway and ran upstairs after them.

  A woman in her forties who was wearing a room service uniform raced down the hallway, her face streaked with tears. The blood had drained from her face, and she was babbling something incoherent. But she was pointing toward the open room at the end of the hall.

  Caedmon and the manager rushed toward the room. Caedmon was steps behind the manager, who was speechless when he saw what was inside. In front of them, two severed heads had been placed in an empty pizza box which rested on a table.

  Caedmon knew who they were. He didn’t need to search for information or ask the manager. He knew. He had just killed two creatures today, but that was nothing compared to what he saw displayed in front of him. Now he understood what his father had said—losing men in battle was worse than death. These dead men weren’t his people, but they had been sent here to help him.

  Sedna picked up her belongings and glanced quickly around the hotel room to make sure she didn’t leave anything behind. Caedmon had put all of her things on the table, so it was easy to pack. She yanked open the door and nearly jumped out of her skin. “Jesus Christ, Anatole!”

  Anatole stood in the hall, leaning against the wall opposite the door to her room. “Ready to go?”

  “Since when does Afton think I need a bodyguard?”

  “Since whatever happened that made you end up in this hotel with that guy.”

  “Caedmon isn’t just any guy. He saved my ass.”

  “I’m sure he did more than just saving it,” he said.

  “Excuse me?”

  Anatole looked at Sedna. “Afton said there is a chemistry between you and him. I’m not stupid. I can read between the lines. And to repeat what I said—I bet he did more than save your pretty backside.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “If he did, why would that be your problem?”

  Anatole shrugged. “I despise those who use women to get a foothold in things.”

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders protectively. She pushed him away. “Caedmon didn’t want anything to do the tribe. In fact, he left this afternoon,” she said.

  “Yeah. I heard. I’m sorry to hear that.” He lifted her chin and saw the gleaming tears in her eyes. “Love bites, doesn’t it?” he said, his voice low.

  “I’m not sure it was love. I just wish we had parted on better terms.”

  “Well, his loss.”

  A tear rolled down her face. Anatole wiped it away then he pulled her into his arms. It had been a long time since she’d needed a shoulder to lean on. So long that she couldn’t remember. He felt warm and safe. For the first time in her life, Sedna felt protected. So she leaned in.

  After a moment, Anatole said, “Let’s get you home.”

  Caedmon had hidden behind the door to the exit stairwell. He looked through the keyhole again and could see that Anatole and Sedna had gone. He’d heard their conversation and had seen Sedna’s tears. Whatever it was that
he was feeling was unpleasant. He could stand there and analyze his emotional reaction right now, but he set that plan away because he had more important tasks at hand. He waited for a moment more and then pushed the exit door open to go back to the hotel room.

  He searched under the bed for his wrist unit. But he found nothing.

  He scrambled up from the floor and looked around. It was gone. If it wasn’t here, though, where would it be?

  Then he saw the handkerchief Sedna had left behind, tangled in with the sheet on the bed. It wasn’t just any handkerchief—it was the one he bought her.

  He picked it up. The subtle pattern stared up at him from his palm. He shoved it into his pocket. His chest hurt. He didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was lingering pain from where Sedna’s foot had hit and almost killed him. He shook the distracting thoughts out of his head. He was on a mission. Concentrate, he scolded himself.

  Before he continued searching for the wrist unit in the remaining part of the room, the door opened. The man standing there was Anatole. “You must be Caedmon?”

  “Yes. And you are?”

  “Anatole. Sedna forgot something…” Anatole glanced at the rumpled sheet on the bed.

  “Forgot what?” Caedmon asked, shoving his hands into his pockets and feeling the silk of the handkerchief.

  Anatole flipped the sheet and the blanket over, looked, then shrugged. “Maybe she didn’t leave it here.”

  “Where is she?”

  Anatole gave him a stern stare. “It’s none of your concern. You left her this afternoon, remember?” Anatole pulled out a pack of cigarettes and picked out one using his lips. He lit it and threw the disposable lighter into the bin. He took a drag and looked at Caedmon through the smoke.

  “I know what it feels like. But let me give you some advice from a fellow human. A mage and a human can’t possibly last. It was smart that you walked away.”

  Caedmon nodded.

  Anatole continued, “I’m her bodyguard, so this is your fair warning. Don’t hang around Sedna and the tribe. The next time I run into you, it won’t be so peaceful.”

  “I left her this afternoon. Why do you think I’d want to linger?”

  Anatole smirked. “Experience.” Then he turned and left the room.

  Caedmon darted over to the trash can and picked up the disposable lighter. As he predicted, it was from the hotel where his agents had been killed.

  Caedmon’s head spun with fury. Part of him wanted to rush out into the corridor and cut Anatole into pieces. The calmer part of him continued the search for his wrist unit, the only way he could contact his home in Eudaiz.

  11

  Sedna felt empty. It would have been easier if Caedmon had never come back. The fact that he had—and then had left her again—was unbearably painful. She had doubted her purpose in life for the last four years. Her life hadn’t been exciting before Caedmon, but she got by. She had graduated at the top of her class in anthology and history at Arizona State University. She had a knack for antique and valuable items. She could stay and work in the US, but she had gone back to Greenland. She’d never forgotten her ancestors, her tribe, and the fact that she was a mage. She could never have a normal human life.

  Then came Caedmon. Charming. Smart. Sinfully handsome. And most importantly, he made her realize that she could have a life beyond her tribe. A life elsewhere with an identity of her choice. He made her fall in love.

  And then he had vanished like a puff of smoke.

  Before she knew it, she had started the training and was on the leadership track. It had given her life a purpose. But now what?

  She flipped through her files and looked at a trail she had planned to follow before she got to this client and things went south. An artifact was due to be delivered to a private collection in the middle of Nuuk. This private collector was a mysterious character. He’d arrived at Nuuk a year ago with a blank background. It made no sense. It wasn’t possible that a collector with wealth at that level would have a history she couldn’t track.

  She shuffled through the files and the photos again. In a corner of a picture, something caught her eye. She picked up the phone, dialed, and heard Nikki’s chirpy greeting from the clinic.

  “Nikki, it’s me. Remember the photos you gave me regarding a new collector in town?”

  “Yes, of course. Afton still hasn’t paid me for those.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ll remind him. You have the electronic files. Could you have the left corner of photo number twelve enhanced and let me know what you see? You took those pictures yourself, didn’t you?”

  “Let me see. Hmm…I took the first ten. So number twelve, no. I got my guy to do it. But I have the files and I’ll do what you asked. I’ll call you back.”

  Caedmon strode along a path just outside of a snow-covered park. It was hard to imagine this was the middle of the town. It was eerily quiet. In the distance, he saw a man wearing a black leather jacket and cowboy boots, sitting on a bench. He looked so out of place that it was impossible not to notice him.

  Caedmon approached. “The receptionist gave me a note saying you have something that belongs to me,” Caedmon said.

  The man looked up at him, leaned back on the bench, and smiled. “I do indeed.”

  “What do you want to give me?”

  “What kind of creature are you?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Caedmon said.

  “Don’t play dumb. That piece of equipment isn’t from Earth.”

  Caedmon laughed. “You mean my watch is alien technology?”

  “If it’s just a watch, why are you so desperate to find it?”

  Caedmon narrowed his eyes. “It’s just a watch. My father gave it to me, and it has sentimental value. If you want it, keep it.”

  He began to walk away.

  “Wait!” the man called out.

  “I don’t like being blackmailed. If you want money, you aren’t going to get any from me.”

  “My name is Keeve, and I’m a contender for leadership of my tribe. I followed Sedna—”

  “You stalked her?”

  “Look, we’re in competition to find the sculpture and win the contest. I can win the martial arts contest if it’s a fair fight. But I don’t have the resources Afton and Moss have.”

  “Why do you think I care about any of this?”

  “I followed Sedna and saw her in trouble with an assassin. You saved her. The move you made isn’t human.”

  “You’d let her be killed, and yet you expect a fair fight at the leadership contest?” Caedmon exclaimed.

  “It’s not what you think. Someone attacked me from behind, and I was seriously injured. When I got up, I saw you’d killed the creature. I could barely move at that point. After I healed myself, I followed a trail and found you both in a hotel room, unconscious.”

  “Both of us?”

  “Yes, both of you. Afton was coming, so I yanked the odd watch off your wrist and ran. In this competition, I’m a loner. I have no friends and no mentor. But I’ve made it this far. I am not prepared to lose if Neva and Sedna cheat.”

  “Still, why is this my problem?”

  “I think you care for Sedna. She’s half-hearted about this. It’s supposed to be a three-way race, but it’ll be easier for me and less dangerous for her if she withdraws.”

  “And you think I can talk to her into withdrawing?”

  “We thought because there are three of us left in this competition, only the three of us want to find the scorpion sculpture. But no. I’ve been contacted for a contract on Sedna’s head and the sculpture in return for a lot of money. I turned the offer down. But there’s no guarantee Neva and Moss wouldn’t pick it up.”

  “Who tried to contract you?”

  “I didn’t have direct contact.”

  “You said you were attacked. Maybe it was because you turned the offer down. But why didn’t they kill you?” Caedmon asked.

  Keeve shook his head. “I wondered the same thing.
They need the competition to happen. Nobody knows where the sculpture is or who has it. At the final fight between two contenders, whoever has the sculpture will reveal it, and that will give the person triple points for the contest. So if they kill me and then Sedna, then clearly the leadership will belong to Neva without a fight. And she might not have the sculpture. If they kill Sedna, then—”

  “All right, all right, I can see the picture. Nobody knows anything about the sculpture, and someone is playing games with all of you.”

  Keeve nodded.

  “I can talk to Sedna, but there’s no guarantee she’ll listen. Can I have my watch back now?”

  He held out the wrist unit. Caedmon snatched it from him.

  “Just out of curiosity,” Keeve asked. “What kind of creature are you? If I meant any harm, I could have killed you both in the hotel room.”

  “I’m human, you idiot. A human with some funky technological gadgets,” Caedmon said and walked away. As soon as he snapped it on, the wrist unit activated and verified him. A message flashed up with the address of the Scorpio sculpture’s location.

  12

  Nikki hung up the phone and scrambled toward the desk to pack up the pictures and computer disks she’d left scattered around.

  The bells at the door sang. Sedna couldn’t be that fast. She looked up and saw she was right—it wasn’t Sedna at the door. A tall man in a hoodie charged at her. She swung her handbag at him. She hit him furiously and continuously as the contents of her bag fell out and onto the ground.

  The man tried to grab her but couldn’t because of her flailing arms and swinging bag. Keep that up, she told herself. She kept pummeling him, withdrawing toward the door as she did so. But before she could reach it, she felt the sharp blade of a knife invade her chest. She looked down to see lots of blood flowing from her as the man in the hood dropped to all fours and shuffled through the contents of her bag.

  Nikki lay on the ground, recalling bits and pieces of her life. The visions flew past as if a black and white movie played in slow motion in her mind. She’d lived a good life. She had friends and family. She was happy.