by L.H. Cosway
We re-joined the group, and I stood next to Delilah. “What’s going on with you and the slayer?” she whispered.
“Nothing. We’re just friends,” I answered.
“You could have fooled me. Listen, I’m not trying to scare you or anything, but my brother isn’t going to let you get away with what you did. He’s angry now that you’ve betrayed him, and I’ve never known Ethan to allow somebody to stab him in the back and walk away scot-free.”
“Wonderful,” I replied, too exhausted to worry about Ethan’s revenge. It was a concern for another day. Right then I just needed to sleep. The events of the night had taken their toll on me.
Pamphrock stood on the steps leading up to his office, the elevated position allowing him to address the room. “The war is at a standstill for tonight. But make no mistake, there will be retaliation from the vampires, and we need to be ready when they make their next move. For now, go home and get some rest. I will require each and every one of you who is of sound body to report to me at nine tomorrow morning. There will be preparations to make. You have all fought with bravery and honour tonight, and I thank you for your continuing loyalty.”
At this, he stepped away and people slowly began to make their way out of the compound to go home for the night. I followed Finn and the rest of them as they made their way to his van. Strangely, Gabriel and Delilah stood off to the side, engaged in a serious, hushed conversation. Then, to my surprise, the two of them climbed into Gabriel’s car and drove off. What the hell?
“Where are those two off to?” I asked Alvie.
He shrugged. “I have no idea, and right now I’m too exhausted to care.”
“That’s you and me both,” I said in agreement.
***
Arriving back at the house, I went upstairs to take a shower, but Finn had already claimed it. Going to the spare room, I sat down on the edge of the bed, my clothing damp and clammy, and waited for him to finish up. A migraine hit me, so I dug out some pain pills, swallowed them dry, and fell back on the mattress, closing my eyes. Shower be damned. I was too tired to stave off sleep any longer.
It was late afternoon the next day when I woke up. Someone was honking a horn outside, and I grimaced at the noise. I still wore my dress from the night before. Falling asleep in it wasn’t a good idea. I peeled it off, threw on a T-shirt and some leggings, then ventured downstairs to see what all the fuss was about.
I peered out the front door and saw Rita sitting in the driver’s seat of a large RV as she repeatedly honked the horn. Alvie sat next to her, swiping at her hands to stop her from honking it again.
“You like?” she called as I stepped outside and peered up at her.
“Where on earth did you get this from?”
“A client of Mum’s owns a car and RV rental business. He rents these out to holiday makers, but when I mentioned my current living situation, he offered to give this to me on loan until we get the house rebuilt.”
“Wow. That’s great.” From what I could tell, the RV was state of the art. It wouldn’t be too much of a struggle to live in for a while.
“Finn said I could keep it parked here on his drive,” she went on. “You want the grand tour?”
I nodded. “Sure, why not?”
The RV had three bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, and two bathrooms. Not bad for a glorified camper van. After the tour, I went back into the house, showered, dressed, and prepared to head over to Freemont Park to continue my search for Dad. The winter solstice was over, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Rita assured me that if my dad had been sacrificed in some kind of ritual, with all the magic I had inside me, I would’ve sensed it.
Instead, I sensed nothing, but it wasn’t reassuring in the slightest. I was consumed by a wave of deep and all-consuming dread.
20.
The days blurred into a haze of searching for my dad and coming up empty. I focused on the task to keep from thinking about Ethan and whether or not he was plotting some kind of sadistic revenge on me.
It was New Year’s Eve, and I was hanging out in Finn’s living room with Wolf when Rita sauntered in, a mischievous glint in her eye.
“Are you up for some excitement tonight?”
“Not really. Why?”
She blew out a breath. “Ugh! You’re no fun. Well, I’m not taking no for an answer. You’ve been moping around for the last week. You need to come out with me and let off some steam.”
I rolled my eyes, and she rolled hers right back at me. I sighed. “Fine. What exactly did you have in mind?”
“Well,” she replied, “there’s this beach.”
“A beach? You do realise how cold it is?”
“Yes, but this is a magical beach. It’s thought to be the location of some heavily concentrated earth magic. It’s called Sycamore Strand, and there’s going to be a New Year’s party there tonight, and I really, really want you to come with me.”
“Okay, well, have you asked the others?”
Rita nodded. “Everyone’s coming except for Mum.”
“Fine, I’ll come, but I’m going to go take a nap first.”
“You’re taking a nap at this hour? You really need to get yourself out of this funk, Tegan. It’s not productive.”
“I’ll get out of my funk when I find my dad,” I told her as I headed upstairs to the spare room. I had it to myself again now that Rita, Alvie, and Noreen were living in the RV. Gabriel had gotten himself a new apartment, and Delilah had taken up residence with him while she looked for a place of her own. It was weird how quickly those two bonded. If I wasn’t so depressed, I’d be suspicious that they were up to something.
When I woke up from my nap, it was late evening. Finn was perched at the foot of the bed, watching me with a perturbed expression. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up.
“What’s your problem?” I asked. The question came out a little grumpy, but I didn’t appreciate him coming into my room unannounced.
“You’ve been sleeping during the day, again,” he observed.
“Well spotted, Holmes.” I climbed out of bed and searched for some jeans and a T-shirt clean enough to wear to Rita’s New Year’s thing.
“Are you depressed?”
“I’m always depressed. Life is depressing. My life in particular.”
“That’s a lie. You’ve been acting differently since the night at Whitfield’s. Something’s up with you. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
I put my hands on my hips. “Listen, Finn, I don’t want to self-analyse right now. I just want to go out with Rita and get drunk.” I found a crumpled grey T-shirt and some black jeans, not even bothering to ask Finn to leave while I changed. He didn’t offer to either. I ran my fingers through my hair, took a quick peek in the mirror, and decided I looked acceptable. I left Finn sitting on my bed and went downstairs where Rita, Alvie, Gabriel, and Delilah had gathered in the kitchen.
They were all dressed up nice. Rita shot me an appraising look. “That’s what you’re wearing?”
I shrugged. Wolf came over and gave me a slobbery lick on the back of my hand. I bent down to rub his head. “Hey, are you coming with us, boy?” He barked once in response, which I took as an affirmative.
I went to the cupboard and grabbed the bottle of vodka I’d hidden there earlier in the week. I managed to shove it inside my coat without anyone noticing. We all huddled into Finn’s van and made the half-hour journey out to Sycamore Strand. When we arrived, there were hundreds of fairy lights, as well as tea light candles spread all along the sand. It certainly felt magical.
There were a bunch of people gathered, all camped out on woolly blankets and sipping on drinks. Trance music streamed from a sound system someone had set up. I was liking the vibe and actually felt glad that Rita had asked me to come. This was the perfect place for me to get drunk and forget for a little while. Yes, I was depressed about my dad, but I was also depressed about Ethan. I missed him terribly, and I hadn’t anticipa
ted just how much betraying him would hurt. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his pained, disbelieving expression. He’d trusted me completely, and that just made the turmoil I was currently experiencing even worse.
I sat on a blanket in between Rita and Alvie, while surreptitiously taking sips of the vodka nestled in the inside pocket of my coat.
I lay back on the blanket, letting the sounds of the ocean and the party wash over me. Staring up at the night sky, there were thousands of stars glittering against a deep, black canvas. A crescent moon glowed bright and luminous among the stars. It was so beautiful that for a moment I forgot all my worries as I soaked in the view.
Sadly, my chill vibe was ruined by the sound of an engine. I sat up, peering behind me, and saw a red van passing by. It kept to the grassy area, then disappeared into the dark end of the beach. Weird.
Something about it niggled at me, and I remembered the last time I’d seen a red van. I’d been searching Freemont Park for Dad with Ethan and I’d had that fizzing feeling in my stomach until a red van had driven off down the road. Had my dad been in the red van, or perhaps whoever it was who took him?
Feeling a sense of urgency, I patted Wolf on the head.
“I’m going to find somewhere to pee. I’ll take Wolf with me,” I told Rita, and she nodded, only half-listening.
Wolf and I walked to the end of the beach in the direction that the van had gone. We were walking for over ten minutes, though, and it was still nowhere to be seen. Then I spotted something flickering in the distance. It looked like someone had lit a fire in one of the caves. Normally, I wouldn’t try to investigate on my own, but I had Wolf with me, as well as the idiotic courage of alcohol. Feeling brave, I continued down the beach before coming to the opening of a cave.
Sure enough, the red van was parked just outside. As soon as I saw it, I got a bad feeling. Something heavy and dark filled the air. The smell of the sea mixed with a sharp, unpleasant tang that reminded me of burning coal. The atmosphere was thick with something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. And crap, my palms were tingling again!
The awakening of my magic had a weirdly sobering effect on me.
Wolf whimpered, almost as though he was in pain. I reached out to pet and comfort him, but all of a sudden, he dropped to the sand. His body convulsed and I panicked, dropping to my knees and putting my hands on his fur.
I’d never seen a dog act like this before. What on earth was happening to him?
His entire form shook and trembled helplessly. For a second, it looked like he was shifting in and out of my vision. Perhaps my magic hadn’t sobered me as much as I thought.
I heard the fire crackling from inside the cave, as well as several voices chanting in unison. I didn’t want to leave Wolf, but I sensed that whatever was causing him to shake so violently was coming from inside the cave. I took several steps forward and peered inside.
Shadows danced on the rough stone walls, while smoke rose from the fire. Everything was blurry, but I could still make out several figures circling the fire. It reminded me of Rumpelstiltskin as he danced around the fire at night, singing the riddle of his name.
Today I’ll brew, tomorrow bake, merrily I’ll dance and sing, for the next day will a stranger bring, little does my lady dream, Rumpelstiltskin is my name.
Why were children’s nursery rhymes so creepy?
As my eyes adjusted, I noticed a makeshift platform above the fire. And God, there was a body there, stretched out flat. I knew they were still alive when they howled in pain as the flames rose higher, licking at their flesh.
The figures continued to move in a circle as they chanted. I kept my body pressed flat against the stone wall as I moved deeper and deeper inside the cave. I should’ve been running a mile, but that pull was there again, the one that propelled me to find Rebecca in Whitfield’s mansion.
The figure I could see clearest was male, and it took a moment to recognise him. It was Michael Ridley, the same warlock who lit Rita’s house on fire.
There were six of them in all. My eyes were drawn to another figure. I hadn’t seen him since before I left Tribane, but there was no mistaking it was Marcel.
Again, I looked up at the body spread out on the platform, and my sight became clearer. It wasn’t just anyone up there. It was my dad. I felt like I was going to be sick.
Tears streamed down my face as I scrambled to think of a way to get him down. This was the ritual the witch with the eye patch was trying to warn me about. Rita said rituals had to be held on days of significance. Surely, New Year’s Eve counted as significant.
My hands continued to tingle. My magic was just begging for me to use it.
The chanting ceased, and Marcel stepped forward, holding a brown jug. He raised it above the fire, “With this power-laden blood, I summon the opening of the worlds.” He paused and gestured to my father on the platform. “With this man, I wish to complete the exchange. A life returned here, for another sent there. Meld the blood of the daughter with the life of the father and bring my great ancestor back to this plane.”
Power laden blood? Oh God, that was my blood! The blood that was stolen from me when I’d been knocked out on my way home from Rita’s. How did Marcel know about it?
“Once the blood is spilled, so it shall be done.” He tipped the jug forward, but I rushed into the fray, both arms moving all about, gesturing to summon my magic. The sparks flew, but they didn’t burn this time. Instead, they were telekinetic, holding the jug in place.
Marcel’s eyes darted to me. “Tegan, how nice to see you. Please do refrain from whatever you are doing. The ritual is already in motion. There’s no going back now. Unless you want the denizens of hell to be given free rein to move between the realms.”
“Release my dad,” I demanded, not letting go of my magical hold on the jug.
“I’m afraid that’s impossible now. Don’t worry though. We’re not going to kill him. We’re merely sending him on a journey to another place.”
“LET. HIM. GO!” I screamed, using my other hand to throw sparks at Marcel. He grimaced as they hit his skin, but he didn’t wail in pain. Instead, he suffered through it.
I was about to throw more sparks at him when I was suddenly tackled to the ground and held down by Michael Ridley. I lost my telekinetic hold on the jug and it crashed into the fire. The moment it hit, the fire faded into a gaping, misty black chasm. Dark shadows rose and another member of the circle reached up and pulled on a rope. The platform came apart and my dad fell into the chasm. A split second later it closed and sealed itself shut.
An unearthly silence reigned. I stared at the place where the hole had been as it swallowed up my dad, and there lay a black-clad body with dark hair and paler than pale skin. The body stood up while the members of the circle came to surround it, their heads bowed as though greeting a deity.
The deity ran a hand through his hair before dusting himself off and straightening out his suit. Then, the deepest dark eyes landed on me, and I shuddered in terror as I comprehended the fact that the sorcerer Theodore, Rita’s father and evil being number one, was standing right before me.
Theodore turned to Marcel and embraced him. “My kin. Thank you for bringing me back to this plane. It really has been an exhausting ordeal.” His kin? Theodore was related to Marcel? He was a Girard? Now it made sense how he knew about my blood. Theodore had somehow told him.
“You’re most welcome, Great Grandfather,” Marcel bowed his head. “There has been terrible devastation for our kind in this city. But now that you’re back, I’m certain we can regain our power from the vampires.”
Theodore nodded before focusing on me. He didn’t say anything, but a purple mist filled the cave, blurring my vision. I felt faint, my consciousness waning, and then I fell away into a violet tinged darkness.
21.
I woke up to the dull light of the morning, the sounds of seagulls cawing, and the gentle splash of waves against the shore outside the cave. My head felt like it weig
hed a tonne and there was most certainly sand in my mouth.
Then, memories of the night before flooded back to me. I really didn’t understand why Theodore had let me live. Sitting up, I found someone had shoved a small note into my coat pocket. I pulled it out, my eyes scanning the contents.
Dear Treasure, you will do well to keep what transpired last night to yourself. You gave me something, so I am giving you something in return. Your life. Live it wisely. From T.
The ramifications fell on me like a tonne of bricks. My dad had been sent to a hell dimension in exchange for Theodore’s return. Even using my magic, I hadn’t been able to save him. I wanted to cry as I furiously tore up the note and stumbled to my feet, taking a moment to steady myself.
I headed down the beach, back to where the party had been. When I checked my phone, there were about twenty missed calls from Rita and Finn and a whole range of messages. Crap, they must’ve been worried sick about me. I was just about to call Finn when I stumbled and almost fell on top of something solid at my feet.
I looked down and let out a shocked gasp. A stark naked man was lying there on the sand. Somebody must have had a wild time last night. That was the initial explanation that sprang to mind. However, the longer I studied him, the more something niggled at me. I sensed that a crazy New Year’s Eve wasn’t the reason why this man was sprawled out naked and unconscious in a secluded part of the beach.
Then something else hit me. This was the exact spot where I left Wolf. My eyes raked over the man. He had long, dark brown hair, an athletically muscular body similar to that of an ancient warrior, and deeply tanned skin. His chest rose and fell, so he was definitely still breathing. I should’ve just left him there, or called the police. Instead, I pulled up Finn’s number and hit the ‘call’ button.
He answered after only one ring. “Tegan! Where the bejaysus have you been?”
“I’m at the other end of Sycamore Strand, past the cliff. Can you come and get me?”