by Sean Stone
Clara fell down to the floor panting furiously. She’d come so close to death and she didn’t even know why. She was very glad for the lessons she’d had with her father. Had it not been for them then that lightning attack might never have happened and Kristen might have killed her before James had arrived. Her dad was going to have a hard time believing that James Tenson had rescued her. Clara pulled herself up and then went to get Dean wondering if Kristen was going to be a threat in future or if James was sorting it. Nothing was ever simple.
Chapter 22
As soon as they were back in James’ living room he released Kristen’s arm and she stumbled away from him.
“What the fuck were you doing?” James screamed at her. After everything he’d been doing with Arthur to try and repair the rift between them this one act threatened to undo it all.
“What the fuck was I doing?” Kristen repeated incredulously. “What the fuck were you doing?”
“I was trying to stop you from making a fucking huge mistake!” he roared, spittle flying from his mouth. He could feel his pulse pounding in his temple.
“I wasn’t making a mistake,” she said quietly, but no less angrily. “I was doing what I needed to do to get us out of here. Look at yourself James. Helping Arthur, rescuing Clara. I don’t even recognise you right now.”
“What? What are you talking about? What should I be doing, running around killing sorcerers and harvesting their magic? My son is working with Arthur and Clara and I will do whatever I need to do to keep him safe. I won’t abandon him to the mercy of Eloise—fucking—Cultrum.”
“But you don’t need to help them. Just grab your son and let’s go,” she insisted. He couldn’t believe they was back on this.
“I am not going to kidnap my son. I’ve only just got him back and I’m not going to risk turning him against me again. If you’re that keen on leaving town then help us and we’ll be done with all this faster,” he said. A centuries old warlock on side would tilt the scales a bit more in their favour.
“What are you saying, James? Are you saying that you’re throwing in with them completely now?” she asked in a whisper, eyes narrowed. By the look she was giving him he could tell that his answer was going to have serious consequences.
“I don’t know about that. I’m just keeping Dean safe,” he stammered. It suddenly seemed that their relationship was on the line and he did not want to know what Kristen was like post-breakup. She’d told him that for years she’d dreamed about bringing a former lover back from the dead just so she could torture him relentlessly.
“Taking Arthur to Maidstone had nothing to do with keeping Dean safe. Dean was nowhere near that situation,” she informed him casually.
“No. But after everything I did to Arthur and his family I owed him at least that,” said James.
“James, we are warlocks. We do not need to make up for our pasts. We do what we want and we don’t apologise,” she said. What really scared James was that she meant what she said.
He shook his head slowly. “You’re wrong. I am sorry for what I did to Arthur. And you should be sorry too, for what you did to Clara.” He kept his tone gentle, but made sure she understood that he was disappointed with her.
“Well I’m not. You knew who I was when you got into bed with me, I have no intention of changing. I want us out of this town and I will do what it takes to make that happen,” she vowed, chin raised challengingly.
James sighed loudly. “Why? Why are you so keen on leaving? You can’t seriously be scared. We’re powerful immortal warlocks. We can look after ourselves,” he said.
“I’ve told you before, we’re not fully immortal.” She stomped across the room and grabbed a bottle of vodka which she opened and tipped down her throat ungraciously. “We can be killed. But I’m not scared of dying, I can handle whatever they throw at me. I’m scared you might die. I have love in my life, James, but every day we stay here I risk losing it. You don’t have my skills and experience, you proved that when you went to the town hall.”
James nodded. “You’re worried I’m going to die?” he said and she nodded. He couldn’t fault her on that, it was the same fear he held for Dean. “So why won’t you help me then? If you’re so worried then come with me, watch over me.”
She turned away and faced the wall, hiding her face. She did that often when she thought he might see some real emotion on it. Even though she professed her love for him she still hadn’t managed to open herself completely to him. She was more open with him than she was with anyone else, though. “If I went with you then I’d spend all my time watching over you and then I’d vulnerable. The only way to win is to leave.”
“That’s the biggest bullshit reason I’ve ever heard,” James said bluntly.
“Bullshit? You think me admitting I’m scared of being vulnerable is bullshit?” she demanded, turning rapidly to face him, her eyes practically popping out of her head.
“No, of course not,” he said quickly, holding his hands up to placate her. “I just meant that you can’t let your fear control you like that.” Sensing the edge of a very dangerous action he changed tact. “How would killing Clara even help persuade me to leave?” he asked. Her plan made no sense to him.
“It would take away Dean’s reason to stay,” she replied. James looked at her in confusion. “Apophis said that Dean was staying because he fancied Clara so if she died he’d have no reason to stay,” she said reluctantly.
“Who’s Apophis and how does he know that?” James asked. He could very well believe that Dean might have a thing for Clara. James had had a bit of a thing for her himself back in the day, but that had been when he was always high or drunk.
Kristen shrugged. “I don’t know. Some creepy guy I bumped into.” She wrapped her arms around herself as she spoke.
“Someone gave you the creeps. No offence, but you don’t get the creeps,” he said.
“I know. But this guy. He had a weird vibe to him. I don’t know what it was.”
“And you took advice from this man?” James asked incredulously. “We need to find out who he is and what he’s up to. Something isn’t right here.”
“I know. I know. There’s only one person to talk to for this kind of advice. We need to go and see Nick,” she said. James didn’t want to go and see Nick, not because he disliked him, but because he was trying to put that part of his life behind him. Nonetheless, Kristen had been manipulated by Apophis into trying to kill Clara. That was worrying enough for James to go back to Nick, if only just this once.
Somebody had tampered with Nick’s spelled glass. He could sense it. Not that he needed to sense it. Nobody had been in the basement of Montford Manor since Nick had put his spyglass on the wall. That made no sense. Why would anybody steal a statue of an ancient and then leave it in the basement without even checking on it? Whoever it was had found Nick’s spyglass and tampered with the spell. But only somebody with extraordinary power would be able to pull that off.
He stepped into his spacious garden and lowered himself wearily into a garden chair. He didn’t want to think about this person who’d interfered with his spell. The fact that somebody was powerful enough to tamper with his spell didn’t bother him, any powerful sorcerer could pull that off. It was the fact that they’d done so without him feeling it straight away that concerned him. He couldn’t pin point what it was exactly, but something about this whole situation felt sickeningly wrong.
He looked up at the stars shining above him. If only he had an easy life where he could stare up at the stars and relax. Six centuries ago he’d sat in the woods watching the stars with Olivia. There’d been a lot more stars to see back then, before urbanisation. Not that Elysium had ever been urbanised. There were no people there to urbanise it anymore. He raised his hand, conjuring a glass of whiskey as he did and sipped it reflectively. Olivia had already started telling him to uncurse Kayla. She didn’t think the person behind her kidnapping was going to show themselves and she didn’t want Kayla
to suffer any longer. Nick disagreed. He took a longer sip of his drink. All he and Olivia did was disagree. He stood up and walked down onto the grass, carrying his drink with him. Something needed to change and he was determined that it was not going to be him. Olivia hadn’t lived in the real world like he had, she didn’t understand what it was like. A few years and she would, though. If he could just tolerate her judgement for that long. He never thought he’d have a thought like that. Not about Olivia. He’d spent most of his life trying to reunite with her and now that he’d achieved it… It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
The back door opened and Olivia stepped out onto the patio. Her face was stony and her arms were crossed over her chest. Nick immediately wondered what he’d done to upset her now. “You have visitors,” she called to him. Then two figures emerged from the house, Kristen and James. Kristen had taken his advice about knocking.
“We might have a problem,” Kristen said, stepping around Olivia and coming to the edge of the patio.
“We as in us or we as in you two?” Nick asked. He walked over to the round glass garden table and took his seat. As he placed his drink on the table he conjured three more glasses and the bottle of whiskey. He began pouring as Kristen and James joined him at the table. After a brief moment of hesitation Olivia sat down too.
“I’m not sure,” Kristen said. “I’m not even sure we have a problem, but…” Kristen was confused and perhaps even a little concerned. Nick had never seen her concerned before. Even before he’d recruited her and she’d believed she’d been caught murdering a nobleman she hadn’t been concerned, just annoyed that she hadn’t finished her plans.
He pointed at her glass. “Drink. Then talk,” he said.
She downed her whiskey and then slammed her glass on the table. “When I left here before, I bumped into some guy who convinced me that killing Clara would take Dean’s reason to stay away and then we could all leave town,” she explained.
Nick’s brow furrowed as he processed what she was telling him. “Did you kill Clara Winters?” he asked in almost a whisper.
“No,” she replied, and Nick felt the disappointment swallow his heart. He might have put his grudge with her aside, but that was only because of Olivia’s insistence. Killing the stupid girl would bring him heaps of satisfaction.
“Pity,” he said and then saw the disapproving look on Olivia’s face. He ignored it. “So what’s the problem?”
“This guy. Apophis. Something was off…” Kristen trailed off at the look on Nick’s face. “What?”
It felt to Nick as though his heart had stopped beating. Even the crickets seemed to have fallen silent at the name. “Did you say Apophis?” he asked, certain he’d misheard.
“Yes. You know him?”
“Nick? It can’t be the same one,” Olivia asked, her voice high. There was only one Apophis.
“Who is this guy?” asked James. There wasn’t a single face at the table that wasn’t worried now.
Nick finished his drink. “Where to begin. Apophis is the king of all jinn. The most powerful of his kind.” He scratched his forehead as he tried to recall everything Set had told him. “According to Set, he conquered the other jinn kingdoms and forced the kings to accept him as their king. They became his chieftains. Somehow, and Set didn’t know how, he was a combination of all the different types of jinn.”
“There are different types?” James interrupted, looking puzzled.
“Of course there are,” Kristen said impatiently. “Most races have different types. Even humans aren’t all the same.”
“The only things Apophis could not do was turn to smoke and teleport, which is odd because those are the most common jinn powers. So, anyway, Apophis wanted to destroy the ancients and assert his race as the superior race. Kayla tricked him into a curse and trapped him in a bottle where he has been for at least ten-thousand years. Now he’s back… I assume he wants to pick up where he left off.”
“If any of that is even true,” Olivia said with pessimism. “Set was hardly known for his honesty, was he?”
“She has a point,” said Kristen. Nick nodded. She did have a point.
“So what do we do?” asked Kristen. For a second it was like the old days. Of course, back then they’d just ride in and murder everyone. This situation was different. Apophis wasn’t just anyone.
“Nothing,” he said simply.
“What?” Kristen and James said in unison.
“You don’t need to do anything. Apophis isn’t after you, he was just using you. He’s after Clara. I won’t say I’m not curious as to why, but it isn’t any of my business, nor is it any of yours. My advice is to stay well away from whatever he’s doing. Leaving town would be the best.” He added the last for Kristen’s benefit, knowing that she wanted out. Maybe if he said it James would listen. Nick might be stuck here, but they needn’t be.
“I’m staying for as long as Dean does,“ James said stubbornly.
“Apophis burned the village,” Olivia said. There was no doubt in her voice. Nick didn’t doubt it either.
“He took Kayla too,” he added. “He’s at Montford Manor.” It made sense, Apophis was powerful enough to tamper with Nick’s spell without him noticing straight away.
“But why? Why burn the village?”
“Because Kayla started that community. She created it. He hates her and wants to destroy everything she holds dear.” He wondered if that meant Apophis would be coming for him soon. Nick wasn’t afraid. Powerful though Apophis might be, Nick was truly immortal and he held the one thing Apophis had always wanted, the Promethean Flame.
“Why hasn’t he killed Kayla? We need to get her out of there now, Nickolas,” Olivia said, her voice rising an octave.
“No, we don’t. He hasn’t killed her because he can’t. My curse makes her invulnerable. If I free her, he’ll be able to kill her. Maybe that’s what he’s waiting for. He wants me to break the curse. Which is exactly why I can’t. We should follow the same advice I gave Kristen. We do nothing.”
“We can’t let him get away with everything he’s done.”
“Surely you’re not suggesting we kill him,” Nick said with mock horror.
“I’ve already told you he’s an exception,” said Olivia coldly.
“Well, I’m not going after him. This isn’t my business.”
“This whole town is in danger,” she said, jumping to her feet, her fists balled at her sides.
“That’s not my problem!” Nick roared, flying to his own feet. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kristen and James teleport from the garden. “The people of this town threw me to the bottom of the fucking ocean!” he shouted, his face turning red, he could feel the fire inside him igniting. He took a deep breath and then said in a calmer voice, “I will not lift a finger to help them.” He snatched the bottle from the table and stormed inside.
Chapter 23
Thin wisps of morning sunlight were peeking through the curtains into the guest room. Arthur crossed the room and adjusted the curtains to block the light completely. The last thing he needed was his new vampire guest turning to ashes because of his negligence. Too much rested on Richie now and yet he still would not wake up. He’d actually gotten worse since being rescued. His skin was dry and shrivelled, his hair coarse and dusty looking. His eyes were finally closed and hadn’t opened since the night he’d been brought home. Arthur had provided him with blood, but it made no difference. Whatever Ramsay had done to him did not seem to be reversible.
Bradley had called last night and told them Eloise had been given the go ahead to kill human civilians. She was formulating plans with her military leaders now and planned on beginning the massacres tomorrow. That meant her attacks would get more lethal because she didn’t have to worry about witnesses. Arthur’s coven did not have the strength to fight them which meant that Richie had to wake up in the next twenty-four hours or the town was fucked.
“Any change?” Clara said as she walked into the room, two c
ups of coffee in her hands. She handed one to Arthur and then went to sit in the chair in the corner of the room.
“No. We should probably…” he gestured to the door.
“Why? Scared we might wake him?” she said and grinned. She was in peculiarly high spirits considering Kristen Dagmar had tried to kill her last night. Another problem to add to the pile. She’d said James had rescued her which gave Arthur some small comfort. It looked like he really had started to change as a person. “What’s the plan for today?” asked Clara, as casually as if she was asking what they were having for breakfast.
“We need to hit the books. Scour every page of every grimoire in this house. I’ll get the whole Coven searching all their books until we find a way to wake up this vampire,” said Arthur. He didn’t want to think about the fact that waking Richie was only half the struggle. Richie then had to take control of the vampires and marshal them against Eloise and her soldiers.
“We just have to hope that someone has needed to cure a vampire of cobra poisoning before,” Clara muttered.
“I know it’s rare, but…” Arthur was interrupted by a knock at the door and Dean’s voice.
“Uhm, guys… My Dad’s here… With Kristen,” he said awkwardly.
Arthur tensed up immediately and Clara leapt to her feet, hands up, filled with magic, ready for a fight. Arthur beckoned with his hand and the door swung open to reveal Dean, standing nervously with James and Kristen behind him.
“Woah!” Dean yelled, seeing that Arthur and Clara were about to attack. “They come in peace,” he added.
“She doesn’t know the meaning of the word,” spat Clara.
James was looking down with contrition but Kristen just looked bored. Not in the least bit remorseful. “Stand aside, Dean,” said James. “If they’re going to attack I don’t want you in the crossfire.”
“I’m not letting anyone attack you,” said Dean, refusing to move.
“Kristen,” James prompted. “Do you have something to say?”
