Desert Flame

by Nicole R. Taylor

  Vera placed her palm on the boab and called on its latent power. “It all began when we discovered the seal…”

  Chapter 15

  Eloise stood outside Hardy’s opal shop, enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning.

  When she’d passed Vera’s, she saw Clarke’s police 4WD was still parked by her dugout. She could still see the corner of it now, glowing bright white in the brilliant sunshine. She hoped it bode well for them—Vera deserved some happiness—but she was also concerned for the sergeant.

  She was supernatural herself, so she’d easily accepted all the crazy things she’d seen in Solace. Shapeshifting dingoes, witches, magical tornadoes, transporting people to other dimensions, shaping rock with mysterious elemental powers…it was all pretty exciting to her.

  Clarke, on the other hand… He was human. A man of the law. He was the kind of guy who believed in what he saw right in front of him, which was tangible stuff he could control—the exact opposite of every Exile in Solace.

  She sighed and glanced down the highway as the sun glinted off the windscreen of an approaching car. Vera knew what she was doing. She was formidable at the best of times, but she was also one of the most caring people Eloise had ever met.

  The car reached the limits of Solace, slowing to the recommended eighty kilometres per hour. Though instead of sailing through, the shiny silver sedan eased even farther, coasting to a stop on the opposite side of the road.

  Now she saw a man behind the wheel, his outline just discernible through the tinted windows.

  At first, Eloise almost went back inside, but decided to stay put to see what he’d do. Just because Darius was going about poking holes in the ground, didn’t mean that everyone who drove past was under his creepy vampire mind control. She couldn’t be skittish, especially since it was her duty to protect the seal. Wary, yes. Afraid, no.

  The man got out of the car, unfolding himself gracefully, and closed the door. It thunked shut, the sound echoing dully in the still air.

  He wore a short-sleeved khaki shirt—the kind that looked like he should be exploring a jungle someplace, not traipsing around the Outback—and a brown fedora more suited for a hipster Sydney suburb. Dark-coloured jeans and heavy black boots with ochre-stained toes finished up his ensemble.

  Eloise raised an eyebrow as he approached. Her powers had returned to normal by now, but it didn’t stop her from feeling a little gust of cool air on the back of her neck.

  “Hello,” the man said, plastering a cheesy grin on his face.

  “Can I help you?” She looked him over. He was easy enough on the eyes, though a little on the short side. Like that lowered the threat indicator.

  “Full disclosure,” he said, taking off his aviator sunglasses. “I’m a—”

  She took a step back towards the door. “Vampire.”

  The man grimaced. “I thought you’d be clever. You look clever.”

  “Okay…?”

  “I’m not here to start anything,” he went on. “I just want to have a chat. Just say, G’day.” He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “Do people say that round here? G’day? Or is it like that ‘shrimp on the barbie’ thing?”

  “Uh, yeah…they do.” Eloise nodded, a little stunned. What in the world was going on here?

  The vampire seemed to be nervous talking now and continued to babble. “I swung by a little while ago and visited that charming little shop.” He pointed to the Outpost. “Spent some tourist dollars and sniffed out a few supernaturals along the way.”

  Eloise blinked as she put two and two together. The tourist with the party poppers…

  “I thought you’d be the nicest of the lot,” he went on. “I get a good feeling from you. You’re…like a warm hug.”

  Eloise stifled a laugh. She wanted to be on her guard, but the vampire exuded his own warmth that she found infectiously hilarious. He wasn’t a threat, though he could be if he decided it was lunchtime.

  “Words ain’t my strong suit,” he added with a shrug. “Sometimes I forget to apply a filter and put my foot in it, so to speak.”

  “Well, if talking is all you want to do, then you ought to start with your name,” Eloise told him.

  “Oh shite, where are my manners?” He dusted his palms over his jeans and slapped on his best smile. “Joseph Cheapside, at your service.”

  “Cheapside?”

  “Yeah. Back in the olden days, the powers-that-be gave street kids the names of the filth-encrusted cobblestones they slept and begged on. Nice buggers, eh? Everyone had to have a family name for their fancy record books, I guess.”

  “Cheapside, as in London?”

  “Born and bred, love.” Joseph flashed her a wink. “And you are?”

  “Eloise Hart.”

  “Ah… Hart. I like it.”

  “What did you want to talk about?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “I’m smart enough to know that something’s going on here. A vampire doesn’t just come out here for no reason.”

  “I bet no one does,” he replied. “It isn’t exactly easy to get here.”

  “So?”

  “I’ve been tracking EarthBore for a while now,” he told her. “I’ve been looking for a certain someone who likes sticking his fingers in all sorts of pies. Looks like a bug-eyed Roman.” He held up his hands and circled his fingers around his eyes like glasses.

  “Bug-eyed?”

  “Yeah. Romans have these beady little eyeballs. Makes them look like they’re constantly high.” He turned thoughtful. “Maybe that’s why they put coins over them with they die… They don’t need to pay the ferryman, it’s just the only thing round enough to cover ‘em up.”

  Eloise blinked. “If you say so.”

  “Think about it, sweetheart.”

  “Oh.” She finally got it. Darius began his human life in Ancient Rome.

  “I take it you’ve seen him, then?”

  She nodded. “So, whose side are you on?”

  “We’re already to that bit, eh?” Joseph whistled. “Bastard works fast. He’s barely stuck his drill into the ground.”

  “I know you’re playing coy. You’ve already paid us a visit, so what’s your conclusion?”

  His cheeky smile faded, and some of the vampire began to emerge. “My conclusion is that you’re either a bunch of outcasts nobody wants, so you set up a little supernatural commune out in the desert…or you’re hiding something.”

  She stared him down, refusing to let him see she was intimidated by his sudden change. There was nothing she could do about her heartbeat, though. From the look on his face, he’d definitely heard a shift in tempo.

  “Either Darius came along and stuck his nose where it didn’t belong, messing up your little secret,” he went on. “Or you just don’t like him.” It was the first time Joseph had said his name. Pretences were over then.

  “What do you want, Joseph?” she asked, loosening her grip on her powers. She had little experience fighting—except for the time when she’d punched Vera’s witch friend Rosheen in the face—but she’d give it a go. Who was she kidding? If Joseph decided to strike, she’d leg it towards the door.

  “I’m here for Darius, but I’d also love to have chat with the fellow in there.” He pointed to the opal shop. “Frederick Marmaduke Hardy. I reckon you know him.”

  “So that’s his middle name,” she murmured.

  “Sure is,” Joseph went on. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen old Hardy, and I’d love a squishy elemental barrier between us.”

  Eloise snorted. “You’re worried he’s going to tear your head off?”

  “Yeah, and I need an invitation.” His grin widened.

  “I see you’ve been watching us more than you’ve let on.” She looked him over, not sure if she should be freaked out or not. Not one of them had sensed it, and that worried her.

  “I like to do my research.”

  Eloise regarded him for a moment, but the vampire didn’t make a move to retreat or advance. He wa
s waiting for her, and it was that decision that made her nod.

  “I think you ought to wait here,” she said, giving him the once over. “I’ll invite you when I’m sure you’re not full of it.”

  Joseph smirked. “‘It’ being shite, right?”

  Eloise chuckled, despite herself. “Can I ask you one thing?”

  “I guess so.”

  “What were the party poppers for?”

  His smile widened. “Why, the afterparty, of course.”

  Hardy looked up from the sliver of black opal he was polishing as Eloise came into the workshop.

  “There’s someone here to see you,” she said, cutting right to the chase.

  He cut off power to the machine and the whirring wound down, whizzing to a stop. “A customer?” He hadn’t heard the showroom door and he should have, even over the buzz of the polisher.

  “No,” she said. “A visitor. Outside.”

  His frown morphed into a glare. A vampire.

  “He said his name was Joseph Cheapside,” Eloise went on.

  The name conjured a flurry of memories, and Hardy sighed. He put the opal he was working on back into its little plastic Ziplock bag and stashed it in the drawer.

  “So you do know him,” the elemental said.

  Hardy nodded. “We go back some. Darius is far from the only vampire I’ve known these past centuries.”

  “And he’s outside…” She was fishing, but if Joseph was here, then the Exiles would know the whole story, eventually. That man had a mouth on him.

  “Did you invite him in?”

  She shook her head.

  “Good.” He stood and took a step towards the door.

  “Hardy?”

  He turned.

  “I think he’s here to kill Darius,” she told him. “I’m not sure his motives are…”

  “Pure?” he finished for her.

  Eloise nodded.

  “If he’s here to murder someone, then I’m fairly sure they’re not.”

  She scowled. “You’re not concerned?”

  “Oh, I’m concerned,” he replied. “Just not about Joseph.”

  Hardy moved through the shop and opened the showroom door. He stepped out onto the verandah as Eloise hurried to keep up, crossing the threshold.

  When he laid eyes on his old friend, he smiled for the first time in weeks. Joseph Cheapside hadn’t changed one bit, despite the clothes.

  “There he is!” the older vampire declared, opening his arms. “Come here!”

  They embraced, thumping each other on the back.

  “The little elemental looks stunned,” Joseph said, pulling back. “I think she thought I was here to rip your noggin’ off, old fella.”

  “Can you blame her?” Hardy replied. “She just met the worst of us.”

  The vampire snorted and looked him over. “How long has it been? Thirty, forty years…and you’re still in this out of the way place?”

  “I hate boats.”

  “You do know they have these amazing things called aeroplanes these days, right?” Joseph waved his hand through the air, imitating a 747. “Tin cans with wings? Any of that ring a bell?”

  “Smart arse,” Hardy drawled.

  The vampire glanced at the elemental. “Be a sweetheart and invite me in.”

  “Only if Hardy say’s it’s okay,” she said, narrowing her eyes.

  “It’s fine,” he told her. “He’s a pain in the arse, but I trust him.”

  “If you say so.” She sighed as if his antics had already exhausted her. “Come in.”

  Joseph grinned and crossed the threshold. Once inside, his gaze flew around the little showroom, taking in the display of raw and polished stones. “Wow. Look at all this. Opals?”

  “It’s big money,” Hardy replied. “I’m good at it.”

  Joseph smirked. “Look at you going all honest and upstanding. A sight better than scratching around in the mud for that yellow stuff, eh?”

  Eloise raised her eyebrows. Another piece of his past was being revealed and he could tell she was itching to ask for more details, but as far as he was concerned, there’d been more than enough sharing as of late. There’d be time for campfire stories after they dealt with Darius…if there was an after.

  “It helps having an earth elemental as my chief supplier,” Hardy said, nodding towards the workshop. “We can talk in the back.” He looked at Eloise, who was still lingering by the door. “You coming?”

  Her gaze shifted to Joseph, then back to him. “I’m invited?”

  “Of course, you are.” He led the way into the back, sensing a silent exchange moving between his old friend and the elemental.

  “What’s with all the glum faces around here?” Joseph asked as they left the showroom. “It’s like someone died.” When no one replied, he snorted. “What? Is one hundred and ninety years too soon to start cracking jokes?” More silence. “Ah, I see. You just got the miserable backstory.” He clapped a hand on Hardy’s shoulder. “Well, it happened a long time ago, and despite our penchant for wallowing in past miseries, it’s time to buck up and be the bad arse I know you are, old fella.”

  Hardy narrowed his eyes. Eloise was right; Joseph was here to kill Darius. Finally.

  “So, you’re finally ready to act,” he said with a shake of his head. “After all this time…”

  “All talk, is he?” Eloise wondered.

  “You don’t just wake up one day and decide to murder the oldest living vampire in the world, love,” Joseph drawled, wandering along the row of grinders. “I’ve been looking for our illustrious daddy for the better part of a century. This is the closest I’ve been to the bugger, and who do I find? Frederick Hardy.” He poked at the bag of rough-cut opal on the vampire’s workbench. “Polishing rocks of all things.”

  “And here I am,” Hardy said. It was a coincidence, but the seal had a way of binding multiple threads of fate—as they’d discovered with Vera. Why was anyone’s guess. “What’s changed, Joseph? Why now?”

  The vampire smirked. “Darius is trying to find a way back to his own world, and by the way he’s ramped up his operations, I suspect he thinks he’s on the money. This might be my last chance to give the bastard what’s coming to him.”

  Of all the things Hardy could take away from Joseph’s statement, his first thought was Eloise. Her elemental powers allowed her to manipulate ether. Ether was spirit, but it was also the stuff that bound their world to the greater universe. It was how she was able to send the Dust Dogs to…well, wherever she’d managed to send them.

  His thoughts then turned to the mysterious Andante, the old woman who’d saved Eloise when she’d become lost in the outback. If she even existed, he still didn’t know for sure, but he wasn’t about to discount it. Anything was possible in the supernatural world.

  Then he thought about Finn and the fae. They had a connection to the portal in Ireland, but Darius wasn’t fae. He wouldn’t want to go to the fae homeland.

  What about the seal? To open a portal, he’d need a vast amount of magic. The seal certainly provided enough, but why was he drilling into the iron ore?

  Something just wasn’t adding up.

  “I can see those cogs turning in that brain of yours,” Joseph said. “You need to stop internalising and start vocalising.”

  Hardy looked at Eloise. He couldn’t say anything without revealing all of Solace’s secrets to Joseph, and Kyne wouldn’t be happy. In any other situation, he wouldn’t be, either.

  Eloise shrugged. “Do you trust him?”

  “I wasn’t thinking about that,” he told her. “I was thinking about you and the…” He coughed.

  “Oh, shit,” she murmured, her eyes widening. “He wants to go back to his own world.”

  “What are we shitting about?” Joseph asked. “Can I shit along with you?”

  “Can we reverse a little here?” Eloise asked, trying to deflect. “If Darius isn’t from here, where is he from? Then when, why, and how?”

 
Joseph leaned towards Hardy and muttered, “She asks a lot of questions.”

  “I know.” He smirked at the elemental. He’d been on the receiving end of a handful shy of a million of them.

  “And why do you want to kill him?” the elemental added. “And why should we care?”

  “I think you ought to start writing these down,” the vampire replied. “I’ve got a good memory, but even I’m having trouble keeping up with you, love. Besides, who says I’m going to answer?”

  Hardy snorted. “If you want my help, you will.”

  “Who says I want your help?”

  “Why else are you here, then?”

  The vampire chuckled, his eyes glinting with mischief.

  Hardy shook his head. “I’d like to help you, Joseph—”

  “I can sense a but coming,” he declared. “One thing I haven’t missed about you, by the way.” He then turned to Eloise. “This guy is always poking holes in my plans with all his buts.”

  “Because they’re always horrible plans,” Hardy told him.

  “Are not.”

  “This time, it isn’t about you or me,” he went on, ignoring Joseph. “There are more things at stake than our own survival.”

  “I see.” Joseph’s gaze flickered to Eloise. “Your little supernatural outcast club.”

  Hardy watched their exchange. Maybe Joseph was the catalyst they needed to take on Darius and EarthBore…if their interests aligned, that was.

  “Darius has already been here causing trouble,” Eloise said. “We have our own reasons why we want to move him on, but it’s not for Hardy or me to tell you. In Solace, we decide together.”

  Hardy nodded once at the elemental, his lips quirking. Knowing how skittish and shy she was when she’d first arrived in Solace, he was proud of her resolve. Eloise Hart was a formidable creature.

  Joseph seemed to think so, too. “I knew I was right to approach you first.” He opened his arms wide and grinned. “Like a warm hug.”

  “Don’t push your luck,” she drawled. “You haven’t met the others yet.”

  “Oh, they’re going to love me. Just you wait and see.”

  Hardy raised his eyebrows. Joseph hadn’t met Finn yet—that was an experience he didn’t want to miss. Lock them in a room together for five minutes, and they’d either come out best mates or in bloodied pieces.