by N. P. Martin
I shook my head as I realized the line was dead, which at first I put down to the long distance connection. But then I felt a strange sort of energy in the air, like electricity, as if announcing the arrival of something.
Or someone.
When Drakkar suddenly appeared in front of me a few seconds later, I wasn’t surprised to see him. His tall figure looked soaked from being in the rain, and his tan trench coat was stained with blood. Standing just a few feet away, he stood slightly smiling at me, his clear blue eyes conveying his amusement.
For a long moment, I just stood staring at him as I waited on him to speak. When he didn’t say anything, I spoke up instead. "Why are you doing this to me, Drakkar?" I asked him, really fucking wanting to know. "I freed you. I don’t deserve this."
Drakkar’s smile widened as he looked at me almost sympathetically. "On the contrary, Corvin," he said, his voice low and almost dead in tone. "You do deserve this."
I shook my head. "Why?"
He suddenly held out his hand. "Come with me."
"What? I’m not going anywhere with you. You’re fucking crazy."
His hand remained out. "If you want all this to stop, you will take my hand."
The police sirens were just a street away now, and behind me, I was still aware of the carnage that lay inside the station.
Shit, I thought. If he was going to kill me, he’d have done it by now.
Stepping forward, I took his blood-stained hand just as the first of the cop cars came screeching into the car park, and I thought to myself, Poor bastards, just before Drakkar teleported us both away.
Chapter 9
The last place I expected Drakkar to teleport us to was a motorway truck stop, but as we appeared in the carpark next to a huge truck, I soon realized that’s where we were. Once I got my bearings, I stood frozen for a moment as I stared at Drakkar, who stared back with a look of anticipation on his face as if he expected me to attack him.
Which of course I did.
I immediately brought magic to the surface of my fist, and with a scream of rage that wasn’t all to do with Drakkar, I launched my fist at his face. With lightning speed, however, Drakkar caught my fist in his own hand without much effort and dissipated the magic there. Furious, I swung my other fist at him, which he blocked and then retaliated with a strike of his own, punching me in the chest as red magic swirled around his fist. He barely moved his arm a few inches, but the impact was still such that I was knocked back onto the wet ground, the pain akin to what I imagine a shotgun blast would be like if I was wearing a bulletproof vest.
"There’s no point in attacking me," Drakkar said as he stood over me. "You’re no match for my power."
"Why did you bring me here?" I said as I choked on the pain.
"So we could talk." He extended his hand, expecting me to take it. Shaking my head, I got up from the ground without his help, one hand rubbing at my chest.
"Fuck you. I don’t want to talk to you."
"Don’t you want to know why I’m doing what I’m doing?"
"I know why you’re why you’re doing it," I hissed. "Because you’re a sick fuck, that’s why."
A slight smile appeared on Drakkar’s lips. "Let us go inside the cafe. I’ll pay for refreshments."
"Refreshments?" I laughed bitterly. "Because killing people is such thirsty work, right?"
"Come with me or I’ll kill you right now." His eyes glared at me, showing me he was serious. "It’s your choice, Corvin."
I shook my head at him. "Lead the way, asshole."
Drakkar smiled like a kid who’d just got his own way. "I’m glad you see sense."
"Somebody fucking has to," I muttered as he began walking toward the 24-hour cafe. "You certainly don’t. A glue-sniffing cat would have more sense than you."
He looked over his shoulder, a frown on his face. "I don’t know what that means."
"It means you’re fucking insane, that’s what it means."
"I prefer the term unsane, which isn’t often used, but which is nonetheless more apt in this case."
We had almost reached the door to the cafe. Looking through the windows, I saw only see two people sitting in there at different tables. "Unsane? Because you’re so apart from everybody else, right? Because you think what you’re doing makes so much sense to you, except no one else gets it?"
Drakkar didn’t reply as he opened the door and waited for me to go inside the cafe. Hesitating, I stared at him a second, considering going in for another attack, but his eyes said he was prepared for me to do exactly that, and I knew I wouldn’t have a chance against him. Drakkar may have been batshit insane, but he was also extremely powerful. I didn’t know how many centuries he’d been around, but it was long enough for him to be more powerful than any other wizard or warlock I had ever met.
Feeling like I didn’t have much of a choice, I stepped inside the cafe and walked to one of the back tables, far enough away from the other customers that they wouldn’t hear our inevitably head-turning conversation. They seemed more interested in the TV on the wall near the counter anyway, which seemed to be on a news channel.
When Drakkar sat down opposite me, the first thing he did was take out a pack of cigarettes and a disposable lighter from his damp rain coat. Then he opened the packet and popped one of the cigarettes in his mouth.
"You can’t smoke in here," I said. "It’s against the law."
"Nothing is against the law," he said and then lit the cigarette, drawing the smoke in deep before blowing it out the side of his mouth.
"In your world nothing is against the law, you mean."
"Precisely."
"The world of the unsane."
"Now you’re just being sarcastic."
I shook my head as I eyed up the cigarettes still sitting on the table, really wanting one. "I didn’t know you smoked."
"I didn’t, until you freed me." He waved a hand at himself. "The person that used to live in this body did, however." More smoke left his mouth, billowing enticingly around me. "I must say, smoking these things is quite pleasurable. Tobacco was around in my day, but not like this."
As I looked past his shoulder to the front of the cafe, I saw a middle-aged woman come walking toward us. She was small and plump and wore a dark apron. She also didn’t seem too amused that Drakkar was smoking inside her cafe. "Excuse me," she said to Drakkar rather harshly in a south Dublin accent. "What do you think you’re doing?"
Drakkar looked at her unconcerned. "What do you mean?"
"There’s no smoking in here," the woman said.
Drakkar smiled at her. "Are you sure about that?"
The dark-haired woman frowned as if she suddenly wasn’t sure at all. "I…don’t know."
"If you think about," Drakkar said. "You’ll remember that it is actually quite permissive for people to smoke in this particular establishment."
The woman’s eyes seemed to go glassy for a second, and then she nodded slowly. "Oh yes, now I remember." She laughed and shook her head. "How silly of me. I’m sorry."
"That’s quite all right," Drakkar said. "I’d like some coffee please, and a slice of whatever pie is on the menu tonight."
"Apple okay?" the woman said, now smiling pleasantly.
"Sounds delightful," Drakkar said as he blew smoke in the woman’s face, who didn’t even blink when he did so. She just turned to me now. "And what can I get you?"
I stared at the woman strangely for a second, wondering why she was suddenly so amenable. "Just coffee, please."
"Sure thing," she said. "It’ll just be a moment."
Drakkar grabbed the woman’s arm as she was about to head off. "Be a dear," he said, "and bring an ashtray as well."
The woman smiled. "Of course."
I watched the woman’s pleasantly plump ass for a moment as she walked off to fulfill our order. Then I looked at Drakkar. "What did you do to her?"
"People are so weak-willed these days," he said. "You can get them to do anything." He smiled at me as he s
aid it, as if he was including me in that statement.
"I hope you don’t mean me as well." As a precaution, I willed a protective shield of magic around my mind, just in case Drakkar decided to try and infiltrate it as he had infiltrated the woman’s mind.
"I could make you do anything I want," he said, and I couldn’t help but believe him. "But I’m not going to. You see, Corvin, I actually grew to respect you in our time together."
"Our time together? You mean when you all but possessed me?"
"You let me in, don’t forget."
I nodded as my eyes went to the pack of cigarettes again. "How could I?"
"I can see you want one," he said, nodding at the cigarettes. "Go ahead."
"Fuck it," I sighed and grabbed the pack, sliding a cigarette out and stabbing it between my lips, sparking it up with the plastic lighter. As I took the first inhale, the smoke filled my lungs and I blew it out again in a satisfying stream. "This doesn’t make us friends, by the way, you giving me a cigarette."
"We’re more than that, you and I."
I shook my head. "No, we aren’t. We’re nothing at all, you and I."
"I beg to differ," he said, managing to make the simple act of blowing smoke out of his nose seem threatening.
Before I could push him on it, though, the waitress turned up with a tray and the same slightly stoned smile she left with earlier. "All right, gentlemen, here you go," she said as she put two mugs of coffee on the table, along with a plate containing a thick slice of apple pie. "We don’t have any ashtrays for some reason, so I just brought you a saucer to put your fags out in."
"Thank you, Jenny," Drakkar said as he smiled at her.
"How do you know my name?"
"Never mind," he said and waved his hand at her. "Off you go now, there’s a good girl."
The woman smiled stupidly and nodded. "Okay." I felt bad for her as she walked away, hoping Drakkar hadn’t done any permanent damage to her mind.
"Have you always been like this?" I asked him as I poured milk into my coffee.
"Like what?"
"A manipulative, murdering bastard." I stared defiantly at him as I said it, not really caring if I pissed him off or not. By that stage, I had no fucks left to give. "Who the hell are you anyway, Drakkar?"
"I’m a wizard, just like you, Corvin," he said as he used a fork to carve off a large portion of his apple pie, opening his mouth wide to receive it like he was about to consume some poor schmuck’s soul.
"I’ll stop you right there. I’m nothing like you. I don’t murder people for a start."
"Really? What about all those people at the Hell Fire Club?"
I froze as I was about to drink my coffee. "How do you know about that?"
"I know everything you’ve been doing recently." He kept his blue eyes on me as he drank from his cup, clearly enjoying my reaction. "I know about your business with the cult. I was actually in Kilkenny when you were tossed into that river."
I shook my head. "And you didn’t think to help me out?"
He shrugged as if it was nothing to do with him. "I thought about it, but then that man saved you instead."
"Thank fuck for that."
"I also know that your elf girlfriend is in the Shadow."
My jaw clenched when he mentioned Amelia. "What would you know about it?"
"I was there, amongst the ghosts, watching it all."
I stared hard at him. He was telling the truth. "And again, you didn’t think to fucking help. You were happy to stand there and watch her get taken into the Shadow Realm?"
"I was there to simply observe. I needed to be sure."
"Sure of what exactly? That I was fucked?"
He finished swallowing his mouthful of pie and then pointed his fork at me. "I needed to know that you were the one."
I shook my head in confusion. "What are you on about?"
"It’s very simple," he said as he pushed the remainder of his pie to one side and then reached for the cigarettes, taking one out and lighting it. "I want you to stop me, Corvin."
"To stop you?"
"Yes. Put an end to me. Wipe me out of existence." He smiled. "And if you don’t, I’m just going to go on killing."
I shook my head in disbelief and then sat back in my chair, immediately reaching for the cigarettes again. "You’re fucking insane."
"So you keep saying."
"No, I mean you’re insane if you think I can stop you."
"You don’t think you can?" His face seemed to darken as he stared at me. "I really hope that’s not the case, Corvin."
"Why not?"
"Because then I’ll have to kill you."
I stared at him with the cigarette hanging from my mouth. "You aren’t making any sense here."
He sighed like I wasn’t getting it, which I wasn’t. "A long time ago, killing was all I did. I love it, you see. I love the feel of blood on my hands, I love the look on someone’s face when they realize they are about to die. I love thinking of new ways to cause my victim’s pain; new ways to torture them, and to finish them. It started off as a just means to gather death magic, but it soon became an obsession. I made murder an art form. But then, a group of other wizards got together with the intent of destroying me, which they very nearly did. I was able to shift my spirit into my severed right hand, which I knew the wizards would keep. They’re wizards, they can’t help themselves. And so, my spirit remained trapped for centuries, until you came along and freed me. But now that I’m free…" He trailed off for a second as he took a drag from his cigarette. "Things aren’t the same. I get no enjoyment from killing anymore, and the world has changed beyond all recognition since my day. I don’t belong here anymore, and quite frankly, I’m tired of being alive. I want the blessed sleep of nothingness. I should’ve let those wizards destroy me in the first place."
"Why didn’t you?"
He shrugged. "Survival instinct. Plus, I still wanted to live back then."
"And so now you just want me to kill you? Fine, I’ll do it. Right here and now, if you like."
He smiled and shook his head. "You don’t really think I’m going to make it that easy for you, do you?"
I shook my head. "Either you want to die or you don’t. Which is it?"
"I don’t want to exist anymore, but at the same, I refuse to go quietly. I want someone worthy of killing me to do so."
"What makes you think I’m so worthy?"
"Because you always find a way, Corvin, no matter how difficult the circumstances. I trust you will find a way in this instance also."
"And if I don’t?"
"Then I won’t stop killing. Do you really want all of my future victims on your conscience?" I sighed and shook my head. "That’s what I thought."
At that point, my eyes went to the TV near the counter, and I froze in horror when I saw my face on the screen, with the headline underneath being: SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE.
"Oh Jesus Christ," I said, glancing at the other customers to make sure they weren’t looking at me. I had to resist the urge to turn invisible right there and then. "You see what you’ve done? The world thinks I’m a fucking serial killer now thanks to you. Why did you have to kill all those people at the police station? There was no need."
Drakkar shrugged as if it was nothing. "I was just making sure you had my attention."
"You could’ve just fucking…I don’t know, called me!"
"Would you have taken me seriously? I doubt you would have."
I shook my head in frustration. "I don’t need this," I said. "Tomorrow night I have to enter the Shadow to try and rescue my girlfriend. I don’t have time for your games, Drakkar."
"You are right, this is a game, but a very serious one, and there’s no getting out of it for you, Corvin, I’m afraid."
"So what about Amelia?"
"What about her?"
"You expect me to just leave her in the Shadow so I can stay here and play your stupid, fucked up game?"
"That’s entirely up
to you, Corvin." He took out another cigarette and began to tap the end down on the box as he stared at me. "But just so you know, the killing will go on, should you decide to go to the Shadow to save the elf."
This can’t be happening, I thought. It felt like the world was falling in around me and there was no escape. "How do you expect me to even stop you?" I asked him. "You’re too powerful."
He smiled as he leaned forward. "I have faith in you, Corvin. The game has begun. Stop me if you can."
Then, before I could say anything else, Drakkar simply disappeared, his seat now empty as if he was never there in the first place. "Son of a bitch!" I said, loud enough for a couple of truckers to turn around and stare at me. Immediately, I dropped my head, aware that my face was still on the TV screen.
"Hey you!" the waitress suddenly shouted from behind the counter. "Put that cigarette out right now!"
I stared at the cigarette in my hand for a second as if I was only now realizing it was there, before stubbing it out in the saucer. "Sorry," I muttered under my breath.
"Jesus!" the waitress said. "The nerve of some people. There’ll be a hefty fine coming your way, boy, I’ll tell you that!" Then she did what I hoped she wouldn’t do, and glanced at the TV, and then at me, and then back to the TV, and then finally back to me again as the blood drained from her face.
She knows, I thought. Time to go.
I didn’t care who was watching. I turned myself invisible and got up and walked out of the cafe, taking Drakkar’s cigarettes and lighter with me, glancing at the waitress as I walked invisibly past her. She had a deep frown on her face as she questioned the truckers. "Where’d he go?" she asked them, and they all shrugged as they looked around. No doubt they also looked when the door seemingly opened by itself as I walked through it, but I never looked back to check.
Chapter 10
I remained in my invisible state as I walked back into the city, which took me nearly three hours, as the truck stop was so far away. The journey gave me plenty of time to think about my situation, however, most especially this new development with Drakkar. There’s a theory—more than a theory, a fact in many cases—that most serial killers, deep down, want to be caught. And let’s make no bones about it, Drakkar was a serial killer through and through. Even Queen Hedrema had said Drakkar was a terrible person before he was stopped long ago. And now he wanted me to stop him, for good this time it would seem. One last game, as he saw it, before he slept the sleep of forever. I had no problem with putting Drakkar down, but I also knew he didn’t intend to make it easy for me. And given how powerful the son of a bitch was, I just couldn’t see a way of doing what he asked. My own power paled in comparison to his. He could snap me like a twig any time he liked. So how the hell was I supposed to stop him?