I’d always been something of a farmer. Crops were, in fact, the gift I’d given the Big Guy back in the day. He’d found them unacceptable, an act which pushed me to my first (and probably worst) act of rebellion. I killed my brother because of what I’d grown on a farm, and now I was headed back to one.
This probably wasn’t going to end well.
“Is it?” Aria asked, obviously upset with me. She didn’t really have a stake in this. If left to her own devices, she’d have probably been somewhere on the Mediterranean by now, convincing some poor, tanned sap to go out to dinner with her, and ending up as the meal himself.
It was strange that now, in one of the most stressful situations I’d ever found myself in, I was surrounded by virtual slaves and not the family I’d made for myself in this place.
Sure, there was a time when I called Garreth my son, but those days were long gone. He was a stranger to me now, one who had lied to me for generations. And Aria, she had been a mistake even when we were on good terms. A dark, self-centered woman who’d gotten turned because a Romanian vampire liked the way the moonlight fell across her neck; she had been feeding on people for the better part of a century and a half.
Which meant she was neither trustworthy nor unskilled. She was good at what she did, and the spell ensured she would mind her manners and do what she was told.
Plus, there was something special about this vampire, something even Garreth (in all his wisdom) wasn’t aware of. It was a secret I would let loose only when the time was right, and that time was fast approaching.
I had taken a few minutes in Merry’s house before we left. They probably thought it was for me to gather my thoughts and come up with a plan. The truth was, I already had a plan, and I was giving myself enough time to let the pieces fall into place.
“It is,” I answered, looking at the place. “This is the address I found on the website.”
“Farms have websites now,” Aria asked, shaking her head. “I think I’ve lived too long.”
“You’re telling me,” Garreth and I said in tandem. I cleared my throat, turning toward my one-time son. “There’s are about a thousand different locator spells around the world. I’m guessing you know at least one of them?”
“I know all of them,” he scoffed.
“Yeah. Nobody likes a showoff,” I answered. “Just pull one out of your ass and use it. I want to know where this Woodman bastard is and what kind of magic is circling this place.”
“You seem upset,” Garreth answered, glaring at me.
“This guy kills kids, his own kids,” I answered flatly.
“You’ve killed kids,” Garreth answered.
“I’ve killed a kid,” I said, thinking of my brother. “And that’s beside the point.”
“Obviously, it isn’t,” Garreth answered. “Because it’s coloring both your perception and your emotions. You need to have a level head. Like you said, we’re connected, and we need to move in tandem. We need to be quick, efficient, and clear headed. That way, you can end this in a timely and safe manner.”
I stared at him for a beat too long. Something about what he’d just said struck me the wrong way, but I stuffed it down.
“Just do the spell,” I said. “Let me worry about my damn emotions.”
“Whatever you say, Father,” he said tersely, twisting his hands into a diamond shape and chanting what sounded like an ancient Mandarin prayer.
“Interesting choice,” I muttered.
“It summons clear energy,” he answered, closing his eyes as the diamond formed by his hands began to shine with a bright, orange light. “The mystics of Northern China had very little use for the sort of flourish and overture common in most of the Western Hemispheric energy samplings.” He shrugged. “It’s quite refreshing actually. Now, if you’ll just be quiet for another moment. I need to pinpoint the-”
The energy tipped out of his hands, keeping its diamond shape as it rushed out into the open air. Passing harmlessly through my windshield, it spun as it ran like a thrown ninja star through the air. It started toward the farmhouse before taking a sharp turn. It collided with the barn, dissipating into a soft glow covering the structure.
“He’s there,” Garreth said, his eyes flickering back open.
“I kinda figured as much,” I responded.
“There’s enough magic in there to blow the earth in half,” he said. “Did you figure that too?”
My eyes slid over to the barn in question. The light orange glow of the Mondrian locating spell had worn off, leaving the decrepit old structure looking completely ordinary. No one passing would have ever imagined a mystical weapon of mass destruction hid inside.
“And how do you think a farmer with a near useless degree and a hard on for mystical artifacts would have that much energy all stored up in one place?’ I asked in a huff as my heart thudded against the inside of my ribcage. It wasn’t a question really. I knew the answer, and that meant someone as wise as Garreth definitely did.
“He has the ring,” he answered solemnly. “How did he get to it before we did?”
“Because he’s been steps ahead of us this entire time. I’m surprised it’s taken him this long.”
“So what do we do now?’ Garreth asked. The fact that he, the wisest person in the world, seemed to be at a loss, spoke to how monumentally screwed we were. Still, I was halfway through this plan, and I wasn’t about to give up on it now. The ring was in there, and that meant I could get ahold of it.
“There’s obviously more to this,” I answered. “Otherwise, why kill his children? We’re not seeing the entire picture, and we’re not going to until we come face to face with who’s been screwing with us.” I nodded, opening the door. “Come on. We’re going in.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chester,” Aria said, reverting back to my old name, probably in an attempt to piss me off. “Call me old-fashioned, but when someone tells me there’s enough power to punch a hole in the planet, I tend to go the other way.”
“You won’t be doing that this time,” I said, letting the power of the spell lay heavy on my voice again. “Now get out of this car and stay behind me.”
I jumped out of the car, sure the two would follow.
Darting across the lawn, I smelled the freshly cut grass as I neared the barn. It seemed the death of one’s children and the acquisition of a world ending level artifact wasn’t enough to forgo yard maintenance.
I heard Aria and Garreth behind me, both under the spell, both staying behind me as I ran.
There was little need in stopping short now. No amount of thinking was going to make me ready for what was behind this door. All I could hope to do was throw myself into the mess and find a way out.
I never broke stride as I slammed a shoulder into the barn door. Knocking the damn thing off its rusted hinges, I drove into the barn.
Instantly, I felt energy around me. It was crackling all over this place.
Looking forward, I saw this barn was like any other. Bales of hay sat in corners, an extremely dusty combine was pushed against the wall, and tools lined a table near the center.
There was something else though, something that made this barn decidedly different.
There, right beside the tool bench, Eric Woodman lay. He was tied up by his hands and feet. His mouth was gagged, and his eyes were full of fear. He wasn’t the culprit here. He was a victim. It became very obvious to me as I stared at the man that he was the ‘one to go.'
I heard a woman’s scream and spun around just in time to see Aria land at my feet, eyes closed. Her body was shimmering with some kind of offensive magic, the kind that had just knocked her out.
Looking up, I saw not only Garreth, smiling at me like a man possessed, but the sisters floating beside him, glaring at me as if they wanted to settle a score.
This was them. It was him. Andy was right. Garreth couldn’t be trusted.
“Alright, Father,” Garreth said, power crackling around him. “It’s
time I finish what we started.”
27
“They were right,” I said, intentionally backing up toward the center of the room where Eric Woodman was being held captive. “I guess I should have known better than to trust you.”
“Not me,” Garreth said, shaking his head and walking toward me with the sisters floating beside him. “You and your people kept talking about how you couldn’t possibly know me anymore, about how much I must have changed, but they never spoke about how you’ve changed.” Energy sparked around him. “You used to be such a force, Father. You used to be the kind of person who made his presence known. Kings longed to serve you. Empires rose and fell at your whim. And now look at you. You’re an out of work detective mooning over the slut mother of the Antichrist.” He shook his head. “I would wonder what happened to you, but I know. That’s the good thing about having the Wisdom. The instant I got it, I could see everything. I didn’t know the future, not like my comrades here,” he motioned to the sisters. “What I do is much more cerebral. I see causalities. I look at the way people act, at the way they’ve always acted, and I can see what’s going to happen.”
I felt the man behind me as I backed against him. The poor guy was shivering; he was so afraid.
“The instant I got the Wisdom, I saw the way this world was going to end, and I knew I had to be a part of it. I knew I had to be here to ensure things happened the way they needed to.” He shook his head. “And to make sure you didn’t mess it up.”
“This is all about Amber then,” I said, leveling a gaze at him. “This is all about what she’s going to grow up to do.”
“It was always about that,” I said. “It’s the reason I showed you my false future. I knew I needed to get away from you to set things up. I knew I needed to push you into banishing the sisters into a place where I could speak to them, to convince them to help me.” He laughed loudly. “It’s also why I started that silly little rumor about Solomon having a magic ring.”
“Rumor?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Rumor. Legend. They’re all the same thing if you live forever,” he said. “The point is, I needed you to believe it was true for us to get to this moment. I needed you to believe we’d hidden something horribly dangerous so you’d get to this point.” He looked down at my feet, at Eric Woodman. “To get you to kill him.”
“This is a teacher,” I said flatly. “He’s a nobody from nowhere. Why the hell would you want me to kill him?”
Garreth shook his head. “Haven’t you ever wondered why Gabriel would manipulate you into saving the life of the girl who will be the Antichrist?” he asked. I had. It had tickled at the back of my mind for awhile now, but I chalked it up to the Big Guy and his ‘mysterious ways.' “Things have to happen, Father. And they have to happen a certain way. All things must end, even this world. Otherwise, there was little point.”
“That doesn’t explain what you want with him, what you wanted with his children,” I said.
“The Woodman bloodline is prolific. It’s stretched back to Ancient Rome, to before then even. When magic was strong in the world, the Woodman line was there in the thick of it.” He shook his head. “And, when it faded, it was still strong in their blood. In the end, they are only among a handful of bloodlines that still hold enough magic to initiate the next phase of things. The magic in their blood has to be released and, in order for that to happen-”
“The bloodline has to end,” I said.
“And you have to be the one to do it,” he answered.
“Why me?” I asked swallowing hard.
“You’ll see,” Garreth answered. “You’ll see soon enough.” He laughed again. “You’re right there, you know. In the end, you’re right there in the middle of it.” He shook his head. “You’d be surprised how much the end looks like the beginning.” His face fell, and he glared at me. “Kill him.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I don’t think I’m going to do that.”
“I think you are,” he said. “You see, the spell I enacted, the one that enslaves Aria and I to you; I reversed it. So you’re under my control now.” He clenched his hands into fists at his sides. “So kill him.”
My hand moved, reaching for the blade in my pocket. I pulled it out, opening the thing and slowly turning. Eric Woodman stared up at me, tears in his eyes.
My mouth tight, I felt my body bending. My hand, blade poised to do damage, moved toward him. Closing my eyes, I felt my hand move and, with two swift and concise strikes…I freed him from his bindings. Pulling him up, I yelled, “Get the fuck out of here!”
“What the hell is going on?” Garreth yelled as Eric rushed toward the back door. “You’re powerless to stop yourself from obeying my commands. It’s in the spell!”
“Yeah,” I said, tilting my head to the side. “The thing about that is, I kind of undid it.” Clearing my throat, I yelled, “Andy! Do it now!”
A second later, a bright red ripple passed through the area. Suddenly, the sisters fell to the earth, and the power crackling around Garreth disappeared.
“What’s happening?” Gareth stammered, looking over at the sisters. “What is this?”
“Oh don’t bother,” I said. “They won’t be able to see the future, not without their abilities.” I shook my head, moving toward him with the blade in hand. “You see, you’re not the only smart cookie in these parts.”
“You knew,” he surmised.
“Of course I knew,” I answered. “Once I heard that poor boy talk about having to save someone, I pieced it all together. You wanted me to think it was his father, but I knew better. A father could never do something like that to his son.” I shook my head. “Even if the son deserved it.”
“My magic,” he said, his teeth clenched together.
“Did you really think I would throw my team away? They’re my family. I sent them out on a mission. After I ran the truth by Aria and freed her from the spell you’d cast, she told me where my amulet was. Turned out she didn’t sell it after all. I guess I was more memorable than she let on. It has the power to nullify magic around those who are wearing it.”
“I’m not wearing anything,” Garreth said, looking over at the sisters. “Neither are they.”
“About that,” I said, settling in front of the now powerless group with my enchanted blade. “When Andy picked it up, I told him to have it crushed into dust and to place that dust around whatever building your little magic diamond illuminated. He’s spent the last few minutes making sure this entire place is wearing it.” I shook my head again. “I let you talk long enough to seal your fate, and because I wanted to know why you did what you did.”
“The world has to end, Father,” he said, his voice cracking. “The alternative is so much worse.”
“Don’t,” I said, holding my blade up and pressing it to his chest. “Don’t you ever call me that again.”
“I won’t let you,” he said, backing away from me and settling into a fighting stance. “I won’t let you ruin this. It’s too important. It’s too necessary. If you only knew-” he took a deep breath. “You can’t beat me,” he said, his voice frantic now. “I’ve spent centuries studying you, studying every fighting technique this world has to offer. I know you too well. I know what your next move will be. You might have the curse, but I have the wisdom. I can predict your every mov—”
A thud landed squarely against Garreth’s head, knocking him out.
“Predict that,” Andy said, his gun turned backward in his hand, the butt having just slammed into Garreth’s cranium.
“You enjoyed that too much, didn’t you?” I asked, smiling at my nephew.
“I, for one, don’t happen to think I enjoyed it nearly enough.”
“Merry?” I asked.
“She’s got Amber at the safe house you told them about with the Doc and Clint.” He nodded. “Your girlfriend is as safe as houses, I promise.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” I muttered.
“You sure about that?”
he asked. “’Cause she sure as hell sounded like one on the way. All she could talk about was me getting back to here to make sure you were safe.”
“And here I thought you guys were going to be mad at me,” I said.
“No,” he answered. “They all understood why you said what you said to them.”
“They?” I asked, thinking about the confession I’d made to Andy and the weight it carried.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I don’t really think we should talk about that right now.” He looked over at the sisters, who were inching toward the door. “Not until we deal with them.”
“You can’t deal with us!” they hissed. “We are far too powerful for your primitive means. We are-”
Suddenly, the sisters slammed onto the floor, their shared body pinned face up, looking at the roof.
“Look at that,” I mused. “For once, the sevenfold curse actually hits at a time that doesn’t suck.” I knelt down. “Remember that time you pinned me to a wall with magic?” I grinned. “This is what you get.”
“It doesn’t matter,” they answered. “You cannot hold us. You do not have the capacity.”
“You’re right about that,” I answered. “But a friend of mine does.” I looked back up at Andy. “Bring him in.”
Andy gestured and, just like that, Ralphie came walking in, fairy prison heart and all.
“No!” they screamed. “No! We’ll tell you anything. We’ll tell you everything you need to know. The man the mother loves will kill the daughter. He’ll tear her heart out with his bare hands.”
“I would never do that,” I answered, glaring at them.
“Who said we were talking about you?” they asked. “You have other people to kill. You’ll have to take him out. You’ll have to kill him all over again.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, looking up at Andy. Kill him again? That could only mean someone who had died once already, and that could only be Andy. But I would never do that, not over the course of a million lifetimes. “You know what. I don’t care about your lies.” I looked back at Ralphie. “Do it.”
Curse of Cain (Immortal Mercenary Book 2) Page 15
