Abomination

by Sean Stone

  “Where’s…” Kristen began, but Wyatt shook his head mournfully.

  “Dead.”

  “How?”

  “Tried taking on an entire vampire clan,” said Wyatt. “It was a big one.”

  “As I said, why have you called?” Julian interrupted impatiently.

  “Not possible,” Lucian said in a harsh tone, his eyes had fallen on the urn behind Kristen. Kristen stepped to the side so they could all see. Better they see for themselves rather than she tell them. She did not want to say the words.

  The room was silent as they all processed the shocking new information.

  “How?” Alanis asked finally.

  “Apophis,” James said. “We went to fight him earlier tonight. He won.”

  “You don’t say?” Lucian retorted.

  “How is that you survived?” asked Julian.

  “Because he was smart enough to get out of there after Nick fell,” Kristen answered for him. She would not have them turning on James. She’d almost fallen into that trap herself. It was all too easy to find someone to blame in times like these, but it wouldn’t help.

  “Smart or cowardly?” said Cole. He didn’t sound accusatory, more like he was trying to figure it out himself.

  “What good would it have done for me to have died as well?” James asked hotly. “And for what? I have no issue with Apophis. Neither did Nick. He was there to prove himself to Olivia.”

  “I warned him that one would be the end of him,” Alanis said disdainfully.

  “I take it you did not call us simply to tell us of his passing?” Lucian said astutely.

  “Of course not,” said Kristen. “That isn’t the way of the Thirteen.”

  “I count eight,” said Cole. Kristen ignored him. Eight was all that was left and eight would have to be enough. Sure, it might not have the power Thirteen had had, but they were still the eight most powerful warlocks in the world.

  “Tonight we remember him. We drink and we share stories. We honour his memory. Then we rest and when we wake we pool our resources and figure out how to kill that fucking jinni,” she said. Nobody argued.

  Chapter 30

  Bradley had been unable to sleep. Something had been happening tonight. He’d heard explosions somewhere across town and the radios his jailor carried had been buzzing like insistent wasps. He hadn’t heard much because the soldiers kept their distance, but he had heard a distress call from the town hall. Neither Clara, nor Arthur had contacted him via the magic mirror so he assumed it was nothing to do with them. So who had attacked the town hall? The vampires? They seemed the most likely suspects. Had they killed Eloise? Bradley certainly hoped so. Not that her death was a guaranteed end to all this mayhem. The Home Secretary could easily send somebody else to run things, but with Eloise out of the way there was a gap in which Arthur and Clara could take control of things. Then by the time Eloise’s replacement arrived it would already be too late.

  It had been a couple of hours since the last of the soldiers guarding him had left. The first slithers of sunlight had crept across the sky. If the vampires were responsible for the attack they’d have fled now. It should be safe to return to the town hall. Perhaps going there was a mistake, but he had to act as though everything was the same just in case Eloise was still in control. Besides, he had a burning desire to learn the truth and for once there was nobody to stop him. If Eloise had been defeated then he could make his escape. He was going to get in his car and drive as far from Cedarstone as he could.

  He brushed his teeth, flattened his hair and pulled on his suit. Even as he fastened his tie he thought about how ridiculous it was that he still made such an effort. He could turn up in a t-shirt and jeans and he doubted anybody would notice. Or care. Cedarstone was hardly a town anymore.

  He stepped outside and walked over to his car. No escort today. He got to drive freely. He worried that without an escort he might be mistaken for a civilian but he didn’t encounter a single military vehicle. Whatever had happened last night had cleared the streets completely. It was when he got near the town hall that he saw the first signs of what had happened. Burnt husks of cars and trucks lay scattered across the road. Fallen soldiers were discarded about too, some were missing limbs, all were mangled in some horrific way. Some, like the vehicles, and been burned to charcoaled skeletons. He gripped the steering wheel tighter as he drove slowly, almost at a crawl, toward the town hall. This was not the work of vampires. Rather than going around to the car park, he stopped his car at the base of the steps and cautiously stepped onto the street. Bloody limbs covered the stairs. He stepped forward and accidentally kicked something. He looked down and screamed at the sight of a mutilated head rolling away from him. Avoiding the human remains as best he could, he climbed the steps. The windows of the building were no longer see-through, the glass had been so covered with blood it was impossible to see in. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. He was greeted at once by the ends of several rifles.

  “Mayor Carter,” said a familiar growling voice. It was Roman, the soldier Bradley had come to hate. Unsurprisingly he didn’t seem at all fazed by the massacre around him. He waved his hand and the soldiers lowered their weapons.

  “What happened?” Bradley asked, his voice was shaking.

  “Nickolas Blackwood. Miss Cultrum ordered an attack on him yesterday. He took it a bit personally,” explained Roman.

  “Is she…”

  “Not dead. I don’t know what he did to her. She’s paralysed or something. Doc can’t figure it out.” Bradley’s heartbeat sped up with excitement. Maybe she’d die.

  “And Blackwood?”

  Roman shook his head. “Not at his house. He burned that to the ground. He’s probably skipped down. All the same, I’ve got to do something.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m taking the team out. We’ll search the town looking for the bastard and if we find him we’ll find a way to sort Miss Cultrum out.”

  “Are you… Are you all that’s left?” Bradley asked, looking around at the fifteen or so soldiers standing in the lobby.

  Roman scoffed. “Of course not. All soldiers were ordered to their nearest safe house until further instructions. I’ll be putting the patrols back on the streets soon. We need all eyes out for Blackwood.”

  “Right,” said Bradley, not hiding his disappointment that there were still plenty of soldiers in town.

  “There’ll be a few men guarding this place. Go and sit in your office until I get back. Eloise is up there. Try not to get too creeped out by her. You’ll know what I mean,” he said and then led his soldiers out. Bradley waited until they were completely out of sight before heading upstairs.

  The fact that Roman had been so civil toward him must have been a sign that he was getting used to Bradley, perhaps even starting to see him as on the same side. That thought made Bradley sick. Roman was one of the people who nobody should want to be on the same side as. He was easily one of the most deplorable people Bradley had met, and he’d known some pretty deplorable people.

  He kept his chin up and tried not to look at the bodies on his way up. Roman could’ve had someone move them. He hesitated at his office door. He wasn’t sure what to expect. Roman had said she was paralysed, but… That wasn’t all. Roman had not wanted to go into detail. Or maybe he wasn’t sure how to describe it. Either way, Bradley would just have to see for himself.

  He pushed open the door and stepped inside. The office was a mess. Papers were scattered over the floor like fallen leaves. There was a streak of blood along the floor where a body had been dragged into a corner. Blood was splattered all over the centre of the room where it looked like somebody had exploded. His desk was in two halves, both on their sides by the window. The far end of the room was largely untouched and sitting in one of the leather armchairs was Eloise. Bradley let out a small gasp. She was sitting completely still, her arms resting awkwardly on the arms of the chair. Her skin had turned a pale shade of purple, her vei
ns showed dark beneath, almost black. Her eyes were the only part of her that looked alive. Suspicious and brown they stared right at Bradley and he could see pain behind them.

  “Eloise,” he said in a whisper as he approached. He was almost scared to go near her, as if she might be contagious. He edged over to her and perched himself on the edge of the sofa to her right. He was about to say something when her mouth suddenly shot open and she drew in a massive breath, gasping as she did. Her eyes opened wide as she regained control of her limbs. Bradley jumped back, screaming in fright.

  “You frightened the life out of me!” he yelled.

  She ignored him completely. One hand on her heart, she stood up and stretched her legs slowly. “I do believe that Blackwood’s curse has just been broken. Roman must have figured it out,” she said in a tone that conveyed no gratitude.

  “Curse?” Bradley repeated.

  “Mhmm. Cursed me to a slow painful death.”

  Shame he hadn’t cursed her to a faster one, Bradley thought.

  “Bradley, I need tea. A full pot. Quick as you can,” she ordered. Here was the mayor being treated like a tea boy. He didn’t argue. Frankly he was glad to be able to leave her presence. He was too disappointed that she wasn’t going to die. He’d only gotten half way down the corridor when he heard the first scream. Then gunfire.

  He ducked into the nearest doorway and hid. Heart hammering in his chest he peeked out. Had Nickolas returned to finish the job? That would be marvellous but somehow Bradley thought not. Soon enough he saw something walking up the stairs into his office. What it was he could not say. What walked into the office next was not Nickolas Blackwood and it was not human either. Tall, unnaturally so. Heavy set. It’s skin… it wasn’t skin. It looked like black rock, broken by cracks were orange glowed from beneath. It was like looking into a volcano. Bradley crept down the hallway and peeked into his office.

  The thing looked around the office slowly, taking it all in. Its eyes were glowing blue, pale like ice. Eloise was sitting in the armchair staring in undisguised terror at the monster. It saw her and moved toward her, stopping a few feet before her. It looked down ponderously for several minutes. Bradley could actually hear his heart beating thunderously. His palms were sweating worse than an Inuit in Hawaii.

  “Nickolas sentenced you to death. I can see the last traces of his curse on you. Not to worry. He won’t be harming you again.” The creature turned around, looking around the office once more. Then he sat down, exactly where Bradley had been sitting a few moments before. “I have been watching your operation in this town. Everything you’ve done has served only to remind me of why your race is such a loathsome one. Nickolas was right to end your miserable life. The world would be better without you in it.” He sat back on the sofa, though he did not look relaxed. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed a long horrible sound. His eyes flicked from blue to grey. What was he? “However, I have a use for you. I need you to behave in your distinctly human way. I need you to destroy.”

  “Who and what are you?” Eloise said, the disgust in her voice not masked in the least.

  “My name is Apophis and I am the king of the jinn,” he replied.

  “I will not be used by the likes of you, you lesser creature,” said Eloise coldly.

  Apophis moved fast. His hand shot through the air, the back of it whipped across her face, rocking her back in her chair. She let out a small whimper which gave Bradley untold satisfaction.

  “I’m not going to give you the choice,” he replied. “I am your superior in every way.” He touched her forehead and whilst she at first struggled she quickly ceased and sat still. “You will follow my every command and you will do so without complaint and without question.”

  “I… I…” Bradley could hear the resistance as she struggled against whatever spell he was casting. “I will.”

  “You will kill everybody in this town. From North to South. From East to West. Vampire. Sorcerer. Human. If it breaths you will kill it. You will stop at nothing to achieve this goal. This town will burn. Do you understand?”

  “I… I understand,” she said with a dreamy quality.

  “Good. It would be best if you forgot all about this encounter the moment I leave the room.” He didn’t wait for a response, but stood up. “Oh, and don’t worry about anybody escaping. I’m going to reinforce the quarantine on this town. Nobody will be able to teleport in or out anymore. So rest assured, nobody can escape the death you will bring.”

  As Apophis headed for the door Bradley bolted back down the corridor. He shut himself in the conference room with his back against the door. He stayed there for a very long time.

  Chapter 31

  Arthur and the Coven spent the rest of the night sprucing up the protection spells on the house. Everyone was considerably shaken, but none so much as Clara and Arthur. Only they had been at Montford Manor, only they had seen what they were up against. Apophis had killed Nick. Killed him. Clara had believed that to be impossible. Every attack they’d thrown at Apophis he’d defended. Clara had been so full of joy when she finally produced the Power-Ray spell, but even that had been useless against the jinni.

  “It’s possible that we won’t need to fight Apophis,” he said quietly. He and Clara were alone in the living room now and he was attempting to pour himself a brandy, but his arm was still shaking considerably.

  “What do you mean?” Clara asked. She was lying on the sofa staring up at the ceiling as if the answer to everything might be up there.

  “Well, if he really is invincible… Well, all we can do in that situation is run. We only need to defeat Eloise for that,” he explained, nervously. He knew how Clara would react.

  “We’re not running, Dad. I’m not anyway,” she said firmly.

  “No. I knew you’d say that. It was only a thought. If the rest of the coven want to go then…” he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. They’d abandoned him before when the council had cursed them all, he knew it was only a matter of time until they did it again. He didn’t want to run, not for himself anyway. He’d already died once, he knew what to expect and it didn’t scare him. But Clara had barely lived. She’d only known about the magical world for a matter of months, he couldn’t bear for her to die so young. She’d already been killed once, although it did only last an hour or so.

  There was a sound toward the back of the house. Arthur put down his glass as Clara jumped up. Both of them faced the door, ready. There was no way somebody had broken through their defences, they’d only finished putting them up a few moments ago. “Who’s there?” Arthur called. Clara shot him a glare. Obviously she’d been going for the sneak attack tactic.

  “It’s just us,” Dean called back. “Dean and Kegan.”

  Arthur relaxed and returned to his drink. The door opened and Dean entered, Kegan right behind him. Clara smiled at Dean without even realising she’d done it. He gave her a tiny smile back before turning to Arthur. Before the door could close again the rest of the Coven arrived. Clearly they wanted to know what was being decided.

  “Bit early for that, isn’t it?” Dean said about his drink.

  Arthur looked at the sun shining through the clouds outside. “I’ve had a hellish night. I’ll let Clara tell the story,” he said and she did.

  “Well at least he’s finally dead,” Kegan said when she got to Nick’s death.

  “Yeah, right as he started fighting on our side,” Arthur muttered.

  “There’s the lesson — don’t be a hero. Villains last longer,” Dean said cynically.

  “Looks like we’re all in the wrong business then,” said Clara. She nodded her head to the sofa, inviting Dean to sit next to her. She’d have been lying if she said she hadn’t felt a warmth when he did so. Kegan sat down in one of the armchairs. “What happened with the vampires?” she asked, eager to hear some good news.

  “Richie is in charge again. Nick took the Aramayas away before they could cause any trouble,” said Dean.
r />   “One of his few good deeds,” said Arthur. “They’re not all dead, though. Cain died, I saw that. Michael escaped. I don’t know about Ramsay. He was done when we left, but he might have still been alive. Nick can’t keep them away from Richie where he is now.”

  “I doubt Richie’s going to be dropping his guard any time soon anyway,” said Kegan.

  “None of us will,” said Clara and prompted Dean to continue.

  “His guys are prepared. As soon as they wake tonight they’re going to storm the town hall. He plans on ripping Eloise apart himself,” said Dean.

  “Good. That’s one less thing for us to worry about. We’ll leave the council to Richie and we can concentrate on Apophis,” said Arthur.

  “Very wise,” said Kayla who was all of a sudden standing in the centre of the room, Olivia at her side. Everyone jumped to their feet. Some of the Coven members muttered under their breath.

  “Who are you?” Arthur demanded.

  “This is Kayla. Nick’s surrogate mother,” Clara said.

  “Oh…” Arthur said lost for words. He’d never knowingly met an ancient before.

  “Forgive the intrusion. Olivia and I went to go back to her home, but Nickolas seems to have burned it to the ground in one of his rages. He has a violent temper,” said Kayla in gentle tones.

  “Had,” Olivia corrected. Her voice was sombre and distant.

  “Yes. I must say, your defences were rather easy to penetrate. If I could do it so easily then Apophis will too when he comes,” said Kayla.

  “When? You mean if,” said Dean.

  Kayla shook her head in a pitying way. “You attacked him in his home. He will not let that go unpunished.”

  “He tried to kill us first,” Clara protested.

  “We can discuss this all at length as soon as we get somewhere safer,” Kayla said, looking at them as if she expected them to just get up and obey her.