He wasn’t even sure how he still had it. He remembered nothing between Blixus’s attack and waking up in the hospital. Presumably someone had come along and called the paramedics, or transported him themselves. Had the phone been in his pocket? He couldn’t remember.
Whatever the reason he was grateful. Seeing his love’s name there on the texts filled him with emotion. Love, regret, anxiety, everything hit him at once, but it was the love he felt more than anything. He’d been trying not to think about her because that brought on all the other feelings: guilt for abandoning her, frustration at not being able to protect her, fear for her safety, the deep hollowness of life without her. But he no longer cared. If loving Amanda meant suffering then love her he would.
But he knew he still must protect her so he would have to keep away. Any contact would put her in danger. So he contented himself with writing to her offline, crafting and polishing each word until he’d said exactly what he felt, hoping that one day he would be able to press Send.
Please forgive me, my beautiful Amanda. It was never you I meant to leave. I wouldn’t blame you for hating me though. I suppose you’re back with him now. He could never love you as much as I do but he deserves you more. I would always have brought you pain.
I wish I were worthy of your love. I never was good enough, never will be. That’s why I had to go. I hope you understand.
I wonder what my mum is like. I hate her, of course, but I love her at the same time. I love what I wish she were but I hate what she did. I wish I could stop thinking about her.
I am always talking to you in my head. It keeps the loneliness away.
My God I love you. The way I feel—it’s as if I am the universe and every corner of me is filled with love for you. You are all that I am, all there is.
I try not to be afraid but I am terrified. I should be better than that. I don’t understand why I can’t stop the nightmares.
Do you think Wink would have liked me?
I see your face everywhere—in the leaves, the clouds, the stars. Yesterday I thought I saw you dancing with the fairies, but it was just a trick of the light.
There is a bird who comes around every day. I feed him. He seems wise so I asked him, “How can I find my way back to Amanda?” He eyed me for the longest time. I know he was telling me that if I thought about it hard enough I would find a way. I will, my dearest. One day I will.
I wish you would send me some gossip. Would you believe I actually miss Ng and Splunk? Yes, Splunk. He always gave me something to laugh at. I could use that right now. I’d even settle for news of Feeney, the old cow.
I miss your lips. Sometimes I feel that I could devour them. Other times I just want to run my fingertips over them. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all my life—except your hair, your eyes, your smile. What am I saying? Every atom of you is beautiful. God I miss you.
Do you suppose I have grandparents out there somewhere? Blixus’s parents are dead. I never met them, thank goodness. Mavis’s too. I would like to have grandparents. I’d rather have you though.
I have been creating my own constellations. I’m tired of dippers and maidens and warriors. Now I watch Amanda’s Eyes in the northern sky and Amanda’s Comb in the east and Amanda’s Lips in the south and Amanda’s Beautiful Hair above me. But my favorite is the pair that cleaves together so tightly that you can’t separate them: Amanda and Nick.
I woke up in a cold sweat last night. Blixus again. I used to think if he were dead the nightmares would stop but I’m not so sure anymore. I worry that he’s part of me.
You say I am yours and you are mine. Is it possible you still believe that? Because I think if you do I might be able to make my way back to you. I’m afraid to find out though. If you didn’t love me anymore I think I would die.
How are the peacocks? Are there any chicks this year? I would so love to see them. I would teach them to say “Nick loves Amanda.”
How is David doing? I worry about him.
It occurred to me that there is another lawyer you could call to help Thrillkill. I don’t know why I didn’t think of him before. Kinnard Cappella is in Birmingham. He never worked for Blixus so you don’t have to worry about that. Blixus hates him. That’s how I know he’s good.
Being deaf isn’t really that bad. It’s kind of peaceful. I don’t think I mind so much anymore. Did I tell you I’m learning to read lips? I practice in the mirror. I’m getting pretty good.
I’m writing a story about an undersea kingdom. I have no idea why. The idea just popped into my head and wouldn’t let go. Maybe I’ll send it to you. If I did would you read it?
What is Simon up to? How’s that changing the earth’s tilt thing coming along? Is he with Ivy now? He loves her so much—it’s obvious—but I don’t think she will ever love him.
I need to confess something. I have bits of Hugh’s leprechaun gold stashed around the country. I suppose you guessed that. I just wanted you to know in case anything happens to me. I’m sending you an encrypted list of locations.
Happy birthday, my beautiful Amanda. If I were with you right now I would lay the stars at your feet. Someday I will do just that, and give you the moon to hold in your beautiful hands.
I wish I could hold you. My arms feel so empty without you. My soul feels so empty without you. Oh, Amanda, how I love you. Yours for eternity, Nick.
After he had had time to think about it, he couldn’t see why he couldn’t just look at his sister, even if it was too dangerous to talk to her. He could go to her school, get a glimpse of her and leave. What was the harm? He had plenty of disguises. No one would recognize him.
So he made his way down to London and her school and watched for her to come out of the building. He didn’t want to get too close and draw suspicion to himself, but in his disguise with all the parents picking kids up at the end of the day it was easy to get lost in the crowd and he thought he’d be fine.
When he saw her he gasped. Amanda had said she was beautiful but he hadn’t anticipated just how lovely. Her long dark hair was like satin, her eyes like blue diamonds. He wondered what his mother must look like to have given birth to such an angel. Then he stopped and realized that she’d given birth to him too, and he couldn’t make sense of that.
He found himself beaming, proud as he could be of the sister he didn’t know, and then suddenly he was looking into the face of a constable who was directing traffic. Hit by panic he slunk away as fast as he could and didn’t look back.
But the next day he was feeling bolder so he changed his disguise and returned. This was his sister, after all, and seeing her had made him desperate to speak to her. This time when she came through the gate he approached her and said, “Do you have the time?” She pulled out her phone and told him. Then, after a glance that was just a little too long for a stranger, he thanked her and left.
He couldn’t get her smile out of his head. She’d been so warm, almost as if she’d known who he really was. Was she searching for him as eagerly as he was for her? Amanda had said she was dying to meet him. For heaven’s sake she had knocked Hugh out for him. He just had to speak to her again.
So the next day he changed his disguise again, made sure the coast was clear, and sidled up to her. He was just about to say something about that squirrel running across the path when he heard a shriek. He whirled around to see a woman pointing at him and a constable sprinting his way.
“It’s the same man,” she was yelling. “He’s been hanging around the schoolyard.”
The policeman took him by the shoulder and reached for his handcuffs, but Nick shook himself free and ran off.
Later he turned his phone on, just for a moment. There was a text from Amanda telling him that a strange man had approached Basilica and she was scared to death. That was when he knew that he must never, ever try to see his sister again.
21
Moran
Holmes was feeling so many things at once he didn’t know which way was up. The realization
that he was facing Moran in the game shocked him, but what Moran was doing in real life chilled him. For every person the assassin murdered in the game, a real person died. The man was a sadist.
At first he’d figured that all he had to do to stop the killing was withdraw from the game, but Moran had nipped that idea in the bud. If he stopped playing more people would die. He was trapped.
Not for the first time he tried to trace Moran’s location but the fiend kept changing IP addresses. He would have to come up with another way to track him down, but he was so rattled he couldn’t think of anything.
This time when he entered the game the castle was larger still—a behemoth on an island—and the mission deadly. They were to infiltrate the stronghold of a powerful enemy and eliminate as many of the other side as possible. Holmes knew what that meant: mass assassination. For each character he failed to save, a real person would die. And with his low strength and few weapons, he would be at a real disadvantage.
He didn’t know how Moran had managed to get the better of him and it bugged him. He was an expert player. The man shouldn’t have been able to best him. They were both cheating but it didn’t matter. Moran had upstaged him at every turn. If hadn’t known better he’d have thought he was facing Hugh, but that was impossible with the kid in detention. He pounded the desk in frustration and the whole room rattled.
Breaching the complex was more difficult this time. He’d practically had to murder people to get inside, but fortunately he’d managed to do it without bloodshed. He knew Moran wouldn’t care how or whom he had to kill. The more bodies the happier he’d be. Holmes shuddered.
The best way to end the game would be to cut the head off the Hydra, so he decided to go after the enemy leader. Of course he would be the most heavily guarded character but he couldn’t see another way to stop the violence. Moran would thwart him at every turn. Perhaps he should simply play a defensive game instead, but that would mean tracking his opponent instead of achieving his goal.
Wait a minute. That might be the solution. If he were to defeat Moran himself, what would happen? With no opponent the game—and the killing—would have to end. Forget the enemy warlord. Holmes’s objective would be to kill his real-life nemesis, not some fictitious chieftain. It was worth a try.
He still had his mapping sensor and was able to visualize portions of the complex, but he had no way of tracking Moran. In real life there might be a way to do it but he hadn’t prepared anything he could use in the game. He would have to resort to conventional methods, look for signs that his avatar had been there. Sidebotham had taught the kids a lot about that. He knew what to do.
He made his way deep into the castle. It wasn’t difficult to see where Moran had been. There were bodies everywhere. Holmes wanted to scream. He knew what that meant. He padded into his mother’s kitchen and made himself some coffee. He could feel his fingers twitch. He would get the demon whatever it took.
And then he encountered something that struck terror to his heart. He was making his way up a staircase when he heard a cry from above. He drew his dagger and crept up.
When he reached the top he saw Moran with his arm around a woman, holding a knife to her throat. Her eyes were wide and she was whimpering with fear as the assassin taunted her with the sharp tip. The woman looked at Holmes pleadingly and he froze. It was Amanda.
Moran laughed. “What are you going to do now, Holmes? Save the girl who made a fool of you or let her die? Decisions, decisions. Tell you what. Let me kill her and you’ll get your revenge. I’d be tempted. Aren’t you?”
The Amanda character squealed. “Save me, Scapulus. I love you. Please. I’ll come back to you.”
Holmes was furious. How dare Moran make fun of him like that? But even though he knew Amanda wasn’t really speaking the words were killing him. How he longed to hear her say them in real life. Even now, after everything, he’d take her back in a heartbeat.
“Shut it, Moran,” he growled.
“But I didn’t say anything,” Moran crooned. “That was all your lady. She still loves you, you know.”
Holmes was so mad he banged the joystick on the desk and gouged the veneer. He wanted to kill the guy. Without stopping to think he lunged for him. Moran pulled Amanda out of the way and laughed.
“Better watch it, lover boy. I’m not joking.”
Amanda was wide-eyed with terror. Moran removed the knife from her throat and waved it around. “Come and get me, Holmes. You know you want to.” He placed the knife to her neck again and pressed. Holmes could see a line of blood on Amanda’s skin.
He whooped and leaped at Moran, knocking him in the elbow. The man dropped the knife and clasped Amanda with both arms.
“I don’t need the knife,” Moran giggled. “I’m freakishly strong. This is your last chance.”
He cupped his hand over her nose and mouth. He was cutting off her air! Holmes leapt into the air and kicked him in the hip. Moran screamed and let go of Amanda.
“Run!” Holmes yelled, and she took off. Then he faced his enemy one on one.
The blow to the hip had got to Moran. He stumbled but soon righted himself. Holmes kicked him in the face. Undaunted, he kicked back, catching Holmes in the chin. Holmes jumped into the air, whirled around, and kicked with both feet in quick succession. Moran oofed and fell on his head.
Holmes strode up to him and punched him savagely. He was so angry he wanted to pulverize him. Moran tried to ward off the blows but he wouldn’t stop. He poured all his fury into his hands and beat him until he couldn’t see straight. Then, while Moran was lying there unconscious, he finally traced his IP address. He exited the game and raced back to campus. He had to make sure Amanda was still alive.
When he saw her walking down the hall he almost fell apart. She was all right—for now—and more beautiful than ever. He must have looked a sight because she stared at him as if she’d never seen him before, a question in her eyes. He wanted so much to run to her but he turned around and walked away. He still had much to do.
He found that Moran’s signal was coming from a remote location in County Durham, some forty miles from Legatum. He didn’t know where he’d expected to find him but it wasn’t there and he was surprised. The Google Maps satellite view showed an old castle at the site and Holmes got a sinking feeling. The situation had Taffeta’s name written all over it.
Taffeta had taken over a castle before. This one was larger and in better shape, but with those secrets to auction off to the highest bidder she might have raised a lot of money and bought the place to use as a headquarters. Somehow she must have hooked up with Moran. Perhaps he was one of her backers. Or maybe she was working for him. Whatever the case he had found his man but he knew that getting to him would be exponentially more difficult with her involved.
He would go after him there of course, Taffeta or no Taffeta. But he needed a plan: a weapon and a way of subduing him. He had no idea what the man looked like, but whether he was fit or doddering he would be dangerous. He would have to prepare meticulously.
In a way the game had been good practice. To get Moran he would have to breach a stronghold in much the same way he had in cyberspace. Undoubtedly it would be guarded. The tactics he had used in the game might be repeatable there. But what would he actually do when he got inside? Behind enemy lines there might be only one course of action open to him: he might have to kill Moran for real and he didn’t like the idea of that at all.
Despite his family’s involvement in the world of crime, or perhaps because of it, Holmes had never been comfortable with violence. Sometimes he thought Amanda wanted him to act more macho, but that wasn’t him. It had always irked him that she seemed to admire Nick’s tendency to think with his fists. What was so great about acting like a savage?
But now his lack of experience with force might lead to disaster. If he got inside the castle and had to face Moran one on one what would happen? The man was an assassin. He’d make short work of him. Which was why he needed to co
me up with a potent and elegant way of bringing him down.
He would have the element of surprise on his side, thank goodness, so he would have to take advantage of that. But how would he know him when he saw him? You couldn’t just go around killing everyone you met, hoping you’d got the right person. Was there a way of using a photo or drawing of Sebastian Moran as a guide? Holmes didn’t look anything like his own ancestor so that wouldn’t have worked for him. No, it was too iffy.
What would actually happen when he got inside the place? There might be people all over. One look at him and they’d know he didn’t belong there. Even if he donned a disguise they would still know. Would it be possible to use Earful’s invisibility technology to move around undetected? If it worked it would be perfect but that would take time. What were his other options? It would be easier to tell if he knew what he was getting into. He needed to find out more about the castle.
The first thing he wanted to know was what it looked like—in detail. The satellite photos showed a massive structure surrounded by remnants of a medieval wall and a number of smaller buildings. This was no Dandy Castle. It was a monster and would be much more difficult to breach. At least there was no moat though.
What would Taffeta and Moran actually be doing there? Might they have turned it into some sort of factory like the Moriartys’? It didn’t seem likely. Factories required large, cavernous spaces. Castles didn’t provide that—their rooms tended to be small and cellular—although there were outbuildings on the property that could be used for industrial purposes.
Amanda Lester and the Gold Spectacles Surprise Page 20
