by Sean Stone
“So this isn’t just about wanting to see Nickolas in the afterlife?” Kayla asked.
Olivia shook near head. “Me and Nickolas… the me and Nickolas that exist now are not the same as the ones who existed in Elysium. We don’t belong together. Bizarrely it was Apophis who made me realise that.”
Kayla nodded her understanding. “One more thing. I need to know that you fully understand what is going to happen in there. I need you to understand and accept it. I cannot have you trying to stop it.”
“I understand and I accept it,” Olivia said truthfully.
“Say it.”
“We’re going to go into that house to face Apophis. And we’re not coming out again.”
Kayla smiled weakly and took Olivia’s face in her hands. “You sweet, brave girl. I wish so much that our time in Elysium had not ended. Just me, you and Nickolas together. I need you to know how sorry I am for everything that went wrong. Don’t blame Nickolas, blame me.”
“I don’t blame either of you,” Olivia said. “It was what was meant to be. We all have a part to play in the universe’s plans.”
Kayla smiled again. “Quite right. Come on then. Let’s go and play our parts.”
“One thing.” Kayla turned back, eyebrows raised. “If you die won’t the curse on the ancients and jinn be broken?”
“No. That curse is far too important to be anchored to one life. The curse is held in place by many factors, none of which I will utter here. I am the only person who can break the curse without using said factors. When I die, the curse becomes even harder to break. Come now. We have a job to do.”
The house, or what was left of it, was exactly as it had been when the two of them had fled from it less than 24 hours ago. The room in which the great fight with Apophis had taken place was silent. Olivia had been expecting to see Nickolas’ ashes still piled in the middle of the room, but to her surprise somebody had taken them. Everything else in the room was exactly the same as she remembered it leaving it.
“His ashes are gone,” Olivia said to Kayla, pointing at the emptiness on the floor. It was horribly unsettling to her.
“As is the Ambrotos Dagger,” said Kayla calmly.
“Aren’t you worried?” Olivia said. “All Nickolas’s power would’ve been in those ashes and that Dagger is powerful too. Apophis could be planning to use them against everyone.”
Kayla shook her head, still looking around the room. “If I believed he would be able to do that I would never have left them in this house. Your grief and your fear is making you forget important lessons. When a sorcerer dies their magic does not stay in their ashes, it becomes a part of the place that they died.”
“So his power is a part of this house now?” Olivia said, no more settled than she had been before. “He could still use it against them.”
“No. The jinn are not capable of such things. A jinni can only use jinn power and whilst Nickolas did have some jinni magic in him, it was not enough to concern Apophis. The jinni Nickolas killed was one of the weaker kind. The result of breeding with a human.”
“What about the Dagger?”
“The Ambrotos Dagger is powerful, but if used against a mortal it would inflict no more damage than any other knife. With Nickolas dead it no longer holds any magic, other than the magic to make and break immortals. If it would put your mind at rest I can cast a spell on the house, making sure that nobody can ever use Nickolas’ magic?”
“Will the spell hold after your death?” Olivia asked, remembering that a lot spells wore off after the caster had died.
“If I use Nickolas’ magic to cast it then yes,” she replied. Olivia nodded and Kayla set about the task. She walked over to where Nickolas had died. For a moment Olivia saw his eyes fading and his skin turning grey all over again. She shuddered and pushed the image from her mind.
Kayla placed her right palm on the floor and closed her eyes. Olivia felt a wave of power flow from the ancient, but it lasted only a second before vanishing. “There is nothing here,” she said in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Nickolas’s power is not here,” Kayla said, the note of concern in Kayla’s voice only made Olivia more uneasy.
“So someone already took it?”
“No. The people who could survive taking on that much power I could count on one hand. And if that were so then I would still feel traces of the magic in this spot,” she explained.
“What are you saying?” Olivia said.
“Nickolas’ magic never flowed into this house.”
“Then where is it?”
Kayla stared down at the floor, pondering the question. For a moment it seemed that she was about to smile but then she frowned and shook her head. “It matters not. Apophis does not have it. It is impossible. Come.” She motioned for Olivia to follow and then they continued searching the ruined house.
They found Apophis in a decrepit looking dining room. A long rotten table stretched from end to end, decayed wooden chairs with moth-eaten cushions stood around it. Tall windows ran from floor to ceiling, through the dust Olivia could see a wildly overgrown garden. Tatty curtains hung to either side of the windows. At the head of the table, looking incredibly bored, sat Apophis. He once again looked human. He had one elbow resting on the table, his head resting lazily in his hand. His purple eyes flicked up when they walked in and he let out a heavy sigh.
“Welcome back,” he said. “You’ll forgive me if I’m not as enthusiastic as last time.”
“And why the lack of enthusiasm?” asked Kayla. She stopped at the opposite end of the table, looking up at him. “I thought that I was what you wanted?”
“Why would I want a filthy hybrid like you?” he spat. “I want my siblings and I know you’re not here to give them to me,” he said angrily.
“Ah,” Kayla said, nodding at something that only she seemed to understand. She turned to Olivia. “Apophis is angry because he has realised that by killing Nickolas he has advanced the prophecy foretelling his death.”
“Do not talk about me as though I were not present,” Apophis growled as he stood up and stared intently at Kayla.
“Apophis please. We both know that your mind tricks only work on humans. Stop trying to read my mind,” she said calmly.
“True. I cannot access your mind. But I wasn’t trying to. I was reading hers,” he said and pointed at Olivia.
Her cheeks flushed red as she tried to erect blocks on her thoughts, not that she knew how to do such a thing.
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” he said before turning back to Kayla. “So, you wish for me to kill you so that your curse can never be broken and so that the prophecy will advance further. Very clever. Very noble. But I will not make a martyr of you, hybrid. No, perhaps I should use the stone curse on you, like your son did. A hundred years of being a statue ought to weaken your resolve.”
“You don’t know how to work that curse,” Kayla replied confidently.
“If that modified human you called a son could do it, then I’ll have no problem.”
“It takes more than skill. That curse was designed to be cast only by a hybrid. Whilst Nickolas was no true hybrid, he had the combined power of ancients and jinn alike. You do not.”
Apophis clenched his fist hard and turned away. Olivia was sure that he was about to do something explosive, but then he looked back at Kayla and was once again calm. “You abhor murder so much,” he said. “Right now, I have plans in place to murder everybody in this town. Only I can I halt them and I will do so if you give me my siblings. If not, I will keep you as my prisoner and make you watch as everyone dies. And if you let the people of this town die, I’ll carry on killing across the globe. I will breed humans like cattle. Create a farm full of them just so I can bring them before you, one by one, and make you witness each of their deaths. For an eternity I will do this, until you give me what I want.”
“Does it make you feel powerful to murder the helpless?” Kayla asked, her f
eatures twisted in disgust.
“Yes,” said Apophis. “I think I’ll start with this one.” He brought up his hand and a great beam of red light shot at Olivia before she had a chance to defend herself. She screamed in terrified surprise, but the beam never hit her. Kayla, moving with incredible speed, stepped in the line of fire and absorbed the entire blast of magic.
“No!” screamed Apophis and cut off the flow of magic at once. But it was too late. Kayla had made no effort to defend herself and the magic had touched her heart instantly. The blast lifted her up off her feet, her blonde hair flapped around her head as she was slammed into the wall right next to Olivia. A crack spread up the plaster as Kayla’s lifeless body slid down to the floor and landed in a hideous sitting position, her head rolling to the side unnaturally. Even though Olivia had known Kayla’s intentions, nothing could have prepared her to witness her mentor being struck down so violently. A strangled sob clawed out of her throat and she fell to her knees.
“That… was very displeasing,” Apophis whispered furiously. Somehow he’d managed to move to Olivia’s side without her noticing. As she looked up at him she saw the rage lurking just behind his eyes which were now a fiery red. The magma like cracks were showing through his human glamour.
“I welcome death,” Olivia said bravely, her voice shaking like her hands.
“Perhaps,” Apophis hissed through his teeth. “But do you welcome pain?”
At once she felt the heat inside her. Excruciatingly hot and spreading slowly. Like magma travelling from her heart to every nerve in her body, lighting everything up. She held off for as long as possible but within seconds she was screaming in agony. She saw the steam rising from her tears as they poured down her face. When her body finally erupted into flames she smiled at the sweet relief death brought her.
Chapter 34
Cedar Park was heavily guarded. Each of the four gates had two armed soldiers on it and more were patrolling the pathways inside. Clara looked around at the military vehicles parked on the roads and wondered if more soldiers were waiting within.
“That’s a lot of guns,” James said quietly, as they observed from a cloaked position. As soon as they stepped outside they’d be visible.
“Have you guys got enough magic to handle them?” Dean said.
“Maybe. Now that we know what we’re up against,” Clara replied. All they had to do was avoid the bullets.
“How are we supposed to get past them? They’ll be covered in iron so our magic won’t work on them,” said James. He’d been a lot more nervous since the incident at Montford Manor. Nick’s death had shaken him badly, but Clara still respected the fact that he’d stuck around.
“You’ve got Kayla’s magic haven’t you?” Dean asked Clara.
“I’m bound to her, I don’t exactly have her magic,” she said, not sure what point he was trying to make.
“Right, but if you’re bound to her then you can tap into her power. She’d be able to overpower their iron bracelets wouldn’t she?” said Dean.
“He’s right. Good thinking, Son,” James said, offering a hint of a smile.
“I don’t think I’m supposed to use her magic, except on the tree,” said Clara. Kayla would need her power to fight Apophis and Clara leeching off her would probably get her killed.
“Clara, if you don’t use her magic we won’t be able to get near that tree,” said James.
Clara fumbled with the zipper on her jacket as she tried to make a decision. Did she risk Kayla’s life, or did she risk failing her task? The latter would have more serious consequences for everybody, but the former meant jeopardising the life of their most powerful ally. Dean took hold of her hand and squeezed it beneath his own. She looked up at him and he gave her a reassuring smile.
“If she doesn’t want you to use her magic then she’ll be able to stop you,” he said and she knew he was right.
“Alright,” she nodded. “How do we do this?”
“You need to draw on as much power as possible,” said James. “Picture those bracelets they all wear. See them clearly and then send a wave of power after them. See them all crumble. Spread the spell across the whole park. One spell. Then we won’t need any more of Kayla’s magic.”
Clara nodded and closed her eyes. Power wasn’t a problem. She could feel Kala’s power like a limitless reserve deep beneath her own. Like an emergency reserve ready to be tapped into. It was like when she was a teenager and her dad would go away for the weekend and leave her with an emergency credit card. She knew that there was enough money to buy anything, but she also knew that she was not supposed to use it. Her dad had always limited her money growing up because she could never control her spending. He’d given her one of his cards on a couple of occasions to go shopping and she’d bought everything she’d laid eyes on. Money was never a problem, controlling her spending was. Having Kayla’s magic felt much the same. The power was limitless, but controlling it would be a problem.
She thought back to the soldiers in Eloise’s office. She saw the iron bracelet circling the wrist. She saw clearly the dull grey of the metal, the slight shine of the light reflecting off it. Then she poured magic into it. She watched the metal glow orange with heat. She saw the flesh beneath it redden and blister. She saw the metal crack and fall away. Confident that she’d pictured everything right she pushed outwards toward the park, imagining a blanket of magic falling over the entire place. She felt the magic moving. Usually when she tried to perform a spell of this magnitude she would feel the magic flowing out of her, she’d feel the power inside her diminishing, but not this time.
She heard several screams coming from the park and she opened her eyes. James and Dean were both staring out of the window. She looked too and saw the soldiers at the gates looking around in confusion, but none of them left their posts. The soldiers within were all moving about frantically. Some were trying to pick things up, probably their broken bracelets, others were shouting at each other in their confusion.
“I take it it worked,” Dean said gleefully.
“One way to find out,” James replied and swiped through the air with his hand. The two guards at the nearest gate were flung through off their feet and out of sight. “It worked,” he confirmed. The other soldiers were already reacting to what had happened. They were coming up around the gate ready for an attack. Rifles were pointed out, looking around for the attackers. After the attack on the town hall they were all suitably shaken. Clara couldn’t suppress a feeling of happiness at that.
“Dean, stay here. We’ll go get the bottles,” said James, reaching for the door.
“Fuck that,” Dean said.
“Fine. Stay behind us,” James muttered, knowing that arguing was pointless.
Dean did as his father instructed and stayed behind Clara and James as the three of them stormed purposefully towards the park. A shower of bullets came their way as they approached, but a wave of Clara’s hand sent Kayla’s magic forth, disintegrating the bullets in the air. They made short work of the soldiers now they’d been relieved of their protections. By the time they’d finished several soldiers lay dead and unconscious around the park.
“It was a team effort,” Dean muttered, having done nothing at all to help in the takedown.
“Sure it was,” said Clara as she gave him a patronising pat on the back.
The Cedar tree was gigantic. It stretched thirty feet high and its branches spanned 15 feet wide. The branch twisted outwards, old and gnarly. As Clara approached she could feel a kind of resonance within her. The tree recognised Kayla’s power. A breeze picked up around her rustling the leaves which had not yet fallen from the tree. The bark, ancient and cracked seemed inviting to her touch. She looked over her shoulder at Dean and James who had stayed back. Dean gave her a nod and she returned her focus to the tree. She planted her palm on the tree just as Kayla had instructed. The breeze turned into a swirling tornado, kicking up fallen leaves. Her hair flew around her face wildly and the branches shook ang
rily as if they were trying to protect what was buried beneath. The clear sky darkened and thunder rumbled directly above her. It was so loud that the earth shook. A fork of lightning burst through the dark clouds and smote the tree. Clara was flung backwards through the air, her palm burning. James and Dean both grabbed her as she fell and it took both of them to stop her from crashing to the floor.
“Fuck me,” James gasped.
The lightning had split the tree right down the middle. The two charred halves had decimated the park around them. Fires had erupted around the ruins and there in the middle, rising up from beneath the earth, where the tree had stood moments ago, was a thin tray of gold. Upon it were five narrow glass bottles. One was red and gold, one blue and gold, one green and gold, one purple and gold and one grey and gold. The colours swirled around the bulbous bottoms of the bottles and up around the thin necks. Each was stoppered with a clear glowing crystal.
“The original jinn,” Clara said in awe. Five of the oldest beings on earth were literally before her on a platter. Enslaved to follow her commands. The things she could command of them. Would it be as simple as telling them to kill Apophis?
“Let’s get on with this,” James said and strode towards them, a duffel bag in hand.
Clara half-expected them to attack him, but nothing happened as he lifted each one and dropped it carelessly in to the bag. He turned back to Clara and held out his hand to teleport them back to the tower. They needed to get the bottles to safety at once. Clara stepped forwards and stopped abruptly.
“Clara?” Dean asked, rushing to her side. “What is it?”
“I felt…” There was a slicing sensation within her. The same feeling as when Toni had died, cutting off their connection to the coven. Her connection to Kayla was gone. It was different from when she’d lost connection to Toni. The severing did not take away the power, the power was rushing into her more strongly than before. Too strongly. It was like a tidal wave of power was thrashing around inside her, growing unstoppably.
