by Richard Amos
“You alright there, Jacob? You look like shit.”
“Just talk,” Dean said.
“God, you’re a moody bunch.” He stroked his beard. “What you need to know about Lilisian is that she’s almost god-like. She isn’t, but almost. These rituals and sacrifices feed into her power, help her strengthen.”
“So we need to stop them from happening,” I said.
“You won’t be able to stop all of them, not with the numbers that are now gathering.”
“You’re saying we’re screwed?” Nay asked.
Dan came to deliver the strawberry milkshake and disappeared again.
The white eye guy took a long drag on his straw before answering. “No, but you’ll have to go after the queen to destroy the hive, so to speak. They’ll have nothing to worship if she’s dead.”
“She hasn’t shown her face,” Dean said.
“Because she’s gathering power. She’s not in this realm.”
I leaned forward. “We kind of guessed that.”
“Yep, she’s gone straight back to the beast realm where she can be nice and safe and start prepping for a big attack. Believe me, it’ll be big.” He pointed a skinny finger at each of my friends as he spoke. “You three know all about what she did the last time.”
“Not like we can go charging in there again with an army,” Greg said.
“Except you have a fabulous little addition to your gang now.” He sucked on his straw again, wiggling his bushy eyebrows at me.
I shook my head at him.
“Of course, she’s nice and popular with supporters joining the buzz around her every day.”
“Not popular with you,” I said.
“My loyalty lies elsewhere.”
“Where?”
“Uh-uh.” He wagged a finger. “All in good time, Jacob.”
“Call me that again and I’ll smash your face in.”
Nay took my left hand, Greg took the right. They were cooling actions to remind me not to go all crazy on him.
“How nice,” he said, noticing the hand-holding. “Great to see such support.”
“Why should we trust a word you say?” Nay asked.
“Because I want Lilisian dead.”
“Why?”
“She’s in the way.”
I leaned forward some more. “Kill her to help you kill me.”
“Who said anything about wanting to kill you? How bloody obvious.”
“Then what?”
“Be patient. You’re like a spoiled brat. Suppose that’s the model part of you still lurking inside—‘I’m so hot and awesome and love getting in my own way’.”
Dan came back with tea. Greg went straight into his beverage like a man on a caffeine-seeking mission.
“I don’t like dirty scum keeping dirty secrets.”
The white eye guy grinned. “This scum has done everything he can to help keep you alive.”
“That’s what my guardians are for,” I snapped back.
“Yes, and a fine job they do of it. But you can’t deny my helping hand.”
Unfortunately, I couldn’t.
He blabbered on. “My business is my business. I don’t care how much you try and pry things out of me—it won’t work. But what’s also my business is keeping you alive, and stopping Queen Bitch.”
“You killed my husband,” I snapped. That face, that eye—all of it just would not let up in the haunting of me. I needed to kill him, to make him pay the price no matter the complications that’d entangled me and Michael. I just craved his death.
I lowered my head.
The food came.
Nay and Greg both squeezed my hand.
“Indeed I did,” the white eye guy said.
“You need to shut your fucking mouth.” Dean’s tone made me shiver. “You don’t get to talk about Michael or any of that. You hear me?”
“Jake brought it up.”
“I’ll ram that burger so far down your throat you’ll never know the sweet release of taking a breath again. Death by cow and pig in a bun—how does that sound? What a way to go out.”
The white eye guy grunted and tucked into his meal.
He wasn’t going to spill his plans for me, that was a given. But we needed him right now in this coming fight with the Supreme beast. If we won, then he would be dealt with.
The arsehole finished chewing a bite of his burger. “She has a palace by a lake, not far from the gates. It’s been rebuilt. She hangs out there with her minions while the rituals go on. The iron is hot, my friends. It’s time to fucking strike. Don’t leave it past the weekend or the window will be firmly slammed shut.” He stuffed some more burger into his gob.
“How do you know that?” Greg asked.
“Are you dense, mate? You know I know stuff. And I’m so bored with the questions.”
Greg growled in response.
“Us being friends is really stretching it to the extreme,” I said. “But cheers for the info.” I stood up, so done with this now.
“Finally! Jacob displays some manners!” He put down his cutlery and clapped his hands in applause. The other diners looked over perplexed.
My face grew hot, probably looking a nice shade of ketchup.
“We’ll leave the bill with you,” I said, turning to leave.
“Don’t die, Jacob. Text me when you’re heading out to kill her.”
I threw a scowl at him over my shoulder. “Always a pleasure.” I headed out into the chilly night, followed by my friends.
“Bloody hell,” Greg said. “That bloke! Can’t we hit him with a truth spell or something, Nay? Get every last bit of information we can out of him?”
“Karla doesn’t think it’ll work because truth spells are seriously tricky as it is,” Nay replied. “She told me not to. We don’t really know what he is or much about his power or how it could affect the spell—which could seriously backfire.”
“I’m gonna have to speak to her.”
We headed back to the Mercedes.
“Made me hungry being in there,” Nay said. “Pizza?”
Again? I kept my mouth shut. Saying that was blasphemous. Pizza ruled the roost.
“Yeah,” I agreed in pure obedience, getting into the car.
Dean slid in beside me seconds later. I turned to him. “Thanks for what you said.”
“Yeah, that was great,” Nay added.
He just shrugged and looked out the window.
I’m sorry, I’m being a dick!
Complications were the worst. Why did there have to be this? Why did he have to kiss me and me kiss him and make it all messy?
You’re making it messy!
Time for a nail munch.
Greg pulled the car away and made for home.
An ache was starting to build in my head, a nagging pulse of irritating pain. Tonight had been, well, crap. Still, we had some pretty golden information.
“You think Karla will go for me heading into the beast realm?” I asked.
Nay turned in her seat. “I hate the idea.”
“But it has to be done. There’s no other way.”
“She’ll have to go for it,” Dean added.
I shuffled in my seat. “Any of you ever been?” None of them had ever said they had before.
“No,” Greg answered. “Unless you have, Dean?”
“Nope.”
“We weren’t part of the army that went over,” Nay said. “Us and the wolves were the backup group outside in the industrial quarter. We never got put to use.” She shook her head. “What a messed up day that was.”
“There won’t be a repeat of it,” I said. “I’ll stop her. We can do this.”
Going into the beast realm … Yeah, not exactly a dream come true. No matter how terrified I was, how bowel-loosening the whole suggestion of it was, I would still go. This was my purpose in life now. Maybe the destruction of Lilisian would bring answers as to how the hell I was gonna free this city. Always good to try and see the possible p
ositives in things, I guess.
“We have no intel at all,” Dean said, “only what that prick says. But he’s right in what he says—he doesn’t want Jake dead. If he says the time is now, then that’s more than we have to go on.”
“If she needs these rituals, she’s weak, at least until the end of the weekend,” I added. “That’s the crux of it.”
“Pizza and a plan,” Nay said. “That’s what it is tonight. We’ll have to leave out a patrol because this needs to be sorted.”
She was right, but it still made my stomach churn. I couldn’t stop every beast, as was demonstrated to me time and time again. But patrolling made me feel like I was at least doing something about it.
My sparks came to life, illuminating the car.
“Shit!” Greg exclaimed.
“Can you see anything?”
“I—”
Something landed on the bonnet, the windscreen fracturing. Greg slammed on the breaks, throwing it off and bringing the car to a heavy stop.
Chapter Three
“What the hell was that?” I yelped.
“My fucking car!” Greg boomed.
Yeah, maybe he should start using old bangers for patrols.
A deep keening came from the dark road, my sparks spitting in reaction to the horrible, mournful sound. Through the messed up windscreen, I could see something pale moving in the dark.
I opened my door, my friends doing the same.
“Okay,” Nay drawled. “This is a new one.”
The first thing I noticed about the white creature was the pear shape of its body—small head and upper region, a swollen lower region. Its arms were tiny, like a T-Rex, and the paleness of its skin was as white as freshly fallen snow.
The creature howled in despair.
The second thing I noticed, which I couldn’t quite believe, were the coal eyes, the carrot nose, and the black blobs down its front in a straight line that looked like buttons.
“I’m asleep, right?” I said.
“That can’t be a carrot,” Greg added.
What differentiated this beast from being a cute snowman on the front lawn was the wide mouth that almost split its small head in half. There were no lips, just lines of black and rows of black shards ready to rip flesh from bone.
And it had legs—two kangaroo-looking pins.
I sighed. “I’m so not in the bloody mood for this.”
Nay had her phone up, quickly scanning the beast into the app she’d created regarding beast knowledge.
The beast whined, taking some steps back.
I approached.
“Careful,” Greg said, jutting a muscular arm out to halt me. “Don’t ever get sucked into the scaredy-cat crap, mate.”
There were no amber ribbons of light to see around the snowman—an indication of beast fear to my eyes.
Another howl of sorrow.
“That’s not snow,” Dean said. “Can you smell that?”
“What?” I wondered.
“Lilies.”
I sniffed deep. There, on the cold air, I could smell the sweet scent of funeral homes. “I hate lilies.”
“Me too.”
The snowman howled once more and pounced. Bloody hell! It went high on those bouncy legs. It came crashing down on the Mercedes, caving in the roof.
Greg roared and threw himself at the snowman. His fist met solidity, the side of the beast cracking ever so slightly under the power of his punch. With swiftness I wasn’t expecting, the beast kicked Greg in the chest and sent him sprawling on the asphalt.
It leapt into the air, aiming its body right for me. Crap. I rolled in time to avoid the crushing of my bones.
Nay threw a potion vial. It exploded into a green fire, spiraling around the freaky creature, but failing to do anything. The snowman jumped into a dropkick. Nay was quick to avoid a hit … just.
Greg was fuming, thankfully unhurt for now. He’d feel it when the rage cooled down.
“Get on Dean’s shoulders!” Nay called.
“What?”
Dean’s head was between my legs, and I was lifted into the air. He held me by the thighs, and my dick throbbed inappropriately at the firmness of his grip.
The snowman was bouncing after Greg, who was calling it every name under the sun as he swung punches and avoided getting kicked again.
Nay ran to me and Dean. “Ready?”
I swallowed. “For what?”
“Dean’s gonna throw you.”
“I am?” Dean said.
“I thought we were on the same page seeing you’re between his legs.”
I blushed.
“Didn’t want to debate it,” Dean replied. “I just did it.”
God! Could he feel my boner on the back of his head? I wanted to get down.
You mean go down!
Stupid inner voice! This was not the time for this bollocks.
“Throw him, and I’ll aim him for the head,” Nay said.
“Oh, my God!”
Dean squeezed my thighs a little tighter.
“I’ve got a spell that should work.”
Greg got in a nice smack to the beast’s solid belly, a fracture line appearing across the white. The snowman howled and bounced away some feet, hopping from foot to foot once it was back on the ground.
“Should?” Dean said.
“We have one shot at this,” Nay answered. “While Greg’s pissing it off.”
Oh, shit.
“You ready, Jake?” Dean asked.
No. “Y-yes.”
“Get those hands ready,” Nay said. “You’re gonna have to work fast.”
“If I miss?”
“Don’t.”
Dean straightened and started to walk toward the beast.
“You fuck with my car, I fuck you up!” Greg roared. “Come on! Let’s be having ya!”
“In three,” Nay said, “charge and throw.”
Bloody hell! My lips were dry, my stomach doing loops. I could barely hear her counting or feel the speed of Dean’s charge.
Before I could blink, I was flying through the air at the snowman beast made of marble, magic tickling at my belly from Nay’s spell. If I missed, I’d smash my teeth out, break my nose and basically be a mess on the floor and then be kicked away or stomped on, a mushy mess of—
My hands were on the snowman’s head. Another part of me, the non-neurotic quarter—a.k.a. wannabe bad-arse—had taken over.
The terrible keening rang in my ears before the silence engulfed me in the place of beast essence.
Killing touch delivered, I enjoyed the sensation of feeding and did my best to hide the raging boner in my jeans. What with Dean having been in close proximity, and the fact that killing beasts made me inexplicably horny, it was straining to escape the confines of denim.
You can stay where you bloody well are! I told it.
Once my composure was restored to a degree of normality, I took in the scene. Greg’s car was completely written off. No way were we going home in the comfy, new Mercedes.
Greg was raging. He ripped off a wing mirror and smashed it on the road, proceeding to do the same to the other one.
“Thanks, Karla,” Nay said into her phone and hung up. “Mr. Douglas is coming to pick us up.”
“Motherfuckingbullshithellbollocks!” Greg boomed.
“Nice work, you two,” Nay said.
I didn’t realize Dean was standing next to me. I turned to look at him to find he was staring right at me.
I offered him a smile, and he averted his gaze.
My shoulders sagged. A good old curl-up under the duvet, with the world being shut away, was just what I needed.
And a cold shower.
Chapter Four
Nay had gone to Karla’s study to fill in our glorious leader on the details. Me and the lads waited in the recreation room.
“Would you gentleman care for any beverages whilst you wait for the pizza to arrive?” Mr. Douglas asked.
The man was rob
ust, a true fighter. He’s been badly burned in an incident involving the wards that surrounded the mansion—the shadow beast twins that had plagued the city four weeks ago had broken through them by using Mr. Douglas’s body as a conduit for their escape. We all thought he’d die, despite Karla’s awesome medical supplies and magic. But he’d made it. His flesh was pinker, and he now wore a bowler hat to cover his baldness. Yet the man still rocked a waistcoat like no other, and his manners and professionalism had not dimmed. He would not hear of us letting him dwindle in sorrow. He was the butler and enjoyed to serve his charges. It was his duty—his words, not ours.
“Some orange juice would be good, cheers,” Dean answered.
Greg and I agreed with that.
I was off drugs, drink and cigarettes. My friends, knowing this, never really drank around me. Not that this job allowed for drinking. They didn’t have to do that, but they did anyway. Okay, so Dean smoked, but he tried to do it away from me. And I think he was on the verge of quitting.
Mr. Douglas bowed and went off to fetch the drinks. He would also be taking care of the ruined Mercedes, currently hidden by a glamour spell provided by Naomi. The bloke was a force of nature.
“Well, that was an interesting night,” Greg said.
I was silent, not in the mood for company. I wanted the solace of my bed.
Dean was sitting as far away from me as he could, Greg between us with the remote control for the TV in his lap. And Dean was making a point of not making eye contact.
A kiss can set the world on fire. Everything I’d come to be and understand was melting away in the blaze. Something new wanted to come up through the scorched wastelands, shiny and new. I could sense it, fresh and wild beneath the surface. But I didn’t want it, which was also a lie. I craved it. Denial was a powerful thing, and to be fully aware of the deliberate pulling away from all that freshness really wasn’t good. But I’d done the love thing and I couldn’t take another broken heart when the one I already had was in pieces. I didn’t know what Dean wanted from me. Just sex? I couldn’t do that—never had been able to. Horniness or no, I wasn’t into the one-night-stand thing after being burned twice by it.
Love?
Nay came into the room. “Karla wants to meet first thing in the morning about the beast realm—seven sharp.”