The League of Skull & Bones

by MJ Fletcher

  The first two Guilders came at me, having created crimson axes with their Keys. I smiled and ran at them full speed. The weapons came in high and low and my hands shifted, one up and one down. My hands glowed angry red and I caught both of the axes. My fingers squeezed them and they shattered like dust drifting on the wind.

  The Guilders’ faces drained of color and they tried to backpedal. I crossed my arms over my chest and from each hand my katana blades formed in quick succession. I took a step forward, the blades moving with brutal efficiency. I felt it as they tasted flesh and both attackers fell lifeless to the ground.

  The remaining Guilders stood rooted where they were, staring at me in disbelief. Crimson light hung around me like a transparent curtain as I allowed the Artifact full reign over me. I was going to end this once and for all.

  “If you want to live,” —I glanced around at each of them, crimson smoke tendrils dripping from my eyes— “I would leave now.”

  Portals popped opened across the area as they both raced to escape my wrath. I didn’t care about them; I wanted Nyla. She had attacked people I cared about and I wouldn’t allow that to stand.

  I’d been trying to fight what I was for so long, and now I wanted nothing more than to revel in it. And Nyla Foxglove was going to get a taste of what she had been craving—the Artifact.

  I opened my senses and the dimension revealed itself to me in ways I had never seen before. I could see the vibrations of universal energy all around me, and the signatures of the portals that had just been opened stood bare before me. Like open wounds on the skin of the world, I could see their locations and destinations. The calculations beside each were incredible, and I could only imagine that this was how Edgar must feel when he was plotting his Maps.

  Lines of power ran everywhere in front of me. I reached my hand out and sifted through them until I found the one I was seeking—Nyla. I followed it. Now there was nowhere she could hide from me.

  Find her.

  The voice in my head stopped me for a moment and I tilted my head to the side, my hair falling in waves over my shoulder. The sound of each strand hitting me was like a revelation to my newly awakened senses. I’d fought hearing the voice for so long that I finally decided to find out what it wanted.

  “Who are you?” I asked aloud.

  Find her.

  “Answer me!” I yelled and a shudder ran through me.

  She has what we need.

  “You mean the device Mr. Slade created,” I said.

  Yes.

  “You’re the Artifact?” I asked.

  Yes and no.

  “I don’t do riddles,” I said.

  We are Grimm.

  “What the hell does that mean?” My voice quivered. I was angry and wanted answers.

  It is easier to show you.

  The crimson energy that surrounded me shuddered and moved, pulling away from me like a shadow attempting to escape its owner. I stood transfixed, watching as it tore itself away from me and hovered a mere distance away. It trembled and coalesced, changing from a formless mist into the shape of a person. Slowly, it came into focus like a camera lens that’s adjusted until there’s a clear picture. I watched and my breath caught in my throat as it finished its dance of light and became a fully formed image.

  The head of the man was bowed until he slowly raised it and the crimson tinged face stared directly into my eyes, and I couldn’t look away.

  We are Grimm.

  “Dad?” I choked.

  Chapter 55

  “You’re dead,” I said.

  “We are Grimm,” the crimson ghost of my father repeated.

  “You said that already.”

  “We are sorry that it has been a very long time since we have been able to communicate with a bearer.”

  The ghost looked around the area as if it half expected to recognize where it was.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “We are sorry. We realize the Artifact came to you under difficult circumstances.”

  “No shit. You died so I could survive and take on my birthright.” My voice shook as I spoke.

  “We had forgotten.” The crimson image of my dad looked away, and I felt flush of anger.

  “Stop saying we!” I yelled.

  The specter blinked and its face shifted, looking less like my father. The eyes changed for a moment, and then his visage returned.

  “We… I am sorry. It is difficult to explain. You should have been prepared for this from birth, as most of us had been. When I say we are the Grimm, I’m speaking the truth. Every Grimm who has ever been a bearer of the Artifact leaves a piece of themselves behind.”

  “You mean you’re my dad?”

  “An echo of him, yes. Just as one day when you are gone a portion of you will remain behind in the Artifact, and you will join the Grimm.”

  “That’s creepy,” I said.

  “It isn’t so bad, Jessica,” he said.

  “This thing is killing me, Dad!” I stomped forward, yanking my sleeves up to show him the Artifact tattoos.

  “I’m sorry about that. It isn’t supposed to be this way. We need the device Nyla had commissioned. If we can remove the Artifact from you, then we can save you.”

  He lifted a glowing crimson hand, and I my skin tingled as it brushed across my cheek. I looked into his face and saw concern for me there. He wanted to save me.

  “Dad,” I said quietly.

  “I’ve been trying to exert as much control over the other Grimms in the Artifact as possible, to stop them from forcing you to use too much power and burn out.”

  “That’s why I feel like I have more control over it, isn’t it?”

  “Perhaps, but you are as talented a Guilder as I have ever seen, Jessica.”

  “So you’re like a ghost?”

  “As I said, an echo, but a ghost is as valid a description,” he said.

  “There are others with you?”

  “Yes, many.”

  “I don’t understand this,” I said feeling a bit helpless.

  “I’m sorry. If I had been there or if your grandmother had known the Artifact wasn’t lost, you would have been better prepared for this. My sister and I had been trained to take on the Artifact since we were children. Of course, we knew it as a curse and not an Artifact.”

  “Couldn’t the other Grimm tell you that?”

  “Our family used a Timelock device for generations to slow the corrosive power of the Artifact. When that happened, it muted the ability of the Grimm to influence the bearer. That changed with me—and now you.”

  “I get it, I guess,” I said.

  “The Artifact is a powerful tool. You have only scratched the surface of its abilities.”

  “Could I learn to control it?”

  “In the past it has been possible, though I don’t think we have the kind of time it would take.”

  “Can the Grimm help me?”

  “I am doing what I can now, but imagine standing in a room with a hundred people all trying to talk over one another. We need time to figure this out and time is the one thing we are short on.”

  “I understand,” I said.

  “We will do our best to help you control the power so you don’t burn out, though I can’t guarantee anything.”

  “Just you being here is more than I could have hoped for,” I said lowering my eyes. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed my dad. Except for Gran and my friends, I was used to doing things for myself. Yet there was something oddly comforting about standing here in a foreign dimension talking to the ghost of my father. I wanted to reach out and hug him, but I knew that wasn’t possible.

  “Jessica, I wish things could have been different.”

  “I know, Dad, so do I, but this is my life.”

  “I will do my best to help maintain your power levels without going overboard. But you need to be careful.”

  “Dad, I’m using a lot of power right now,” I said. I lifted my hands. Looking at them
, it dawned on me how much I had let the Artifact take over, and it sent a shiver of fear up my spine.

  “I know, and I am doing my best to contain it.”

  “Am I going to die?” I asked.

  “Not if I can help it. Now go get that bitch,” Dad said.

  “You got it,” I said.

  I marched past him and as I did the ghostly image dissipated and the crimson swirls of energy followed after me.

  The line of energy that matched Nyla went directly into the large garage that sat across from the house. I didn’t hesitate. I walked around to the massive folding door and lifted my right hand over my head. A crimson blade appeared and I slashed forward, turning the door into kindling and stepped through the smoking hole I had created.

  I stood in the room, my Skeleton Key tattoos glowing brightly on my forearms and my blonde hair hanging loose around my shoulders. I scanned the room and saw several cars in various forms of disrepair. At the far end of the room, Nyla Foxglove stood smiling at me.

  “Glad you could finally make it,” she said.

  “Good to see that you didn’t run too far. I would have hated having to hunt you down like an animal, but then again it might have been fun.”

  “Big talk. If I were you, Jess, I would dial it back and start figuring out a way to help yourself,” Nyla said far too confidently for my liking.

  “I don’t need any help.”

  Nyla grinned and slapped her hand down on a lever on the workbench beside her. The sound of metal shrieking echoed around the room as one of the walls cracked along the middle and slowly rolled backwards on either side.

  Suspended from the ceiling by glowing chains was Ronan. Blood dripped from the wounds on his face and chest, and my breath caught in my throat at the sight of him.

  “Either you do what I say or I kill your boyfriend,” Nyla said.

  Chapter 56

  “You think this will stop me?” I said trying my best to remain calm. I couldn’t tell how badly Ronan was hurt or what they had done to him. I wanted to rush forward and get him down from there and make sure he was safe.

  My newfound abilities from the Artifact allowed me to see a series of traps placed around him, each one more complicated than the last. Even with the Artifact, it would take me too long to work through them all, leaving Nyla plenty of opportunities to attack me.

  “It’ll stop you unless you want him dead,” she said as she sauntered forward.

  “You aren’t going to get what you want.”

  “One way or another I will. I have to admit, Jess. I underestimated you at almost every turn. Here I thought you were just a bruiser who would be easy prey in this new game, but you’ve been more than up to the task.”

  “Thanks,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “You should be thanking me. You see, you’re still useful, Jess, though I could just say the hell with it and go with my original plan. But I see potential in you, and I wasn’t lying about that. If you were to join my side, we could be a powerful force in the Guild and on the Council.”

  “You’re serious,” I said thinking she had to be delusional.

  “Dead serious. This is all a game, Jess, a game of power that you’re just beginning to understand. The Council wields far more power than you can imagine. But with the Artifact and you behind me, I could focus it and do such wondrous things.”

  “You really think stringing Ronan up is going to convince me to side with you?”

  “Actually no, it’s really only a distraction,” she said.

  “What?”

  Nyla twisted her hand, and I realized she was holding her Skelton Key. It was glowing crimson and doorways appeared all around the room. She flicked her wrist and they opened all at once. The power in the room was impressive, and I nodded in appreciation of the effort.

  “Not a bad idea,” I said as I moved my hands over my sleeves and rolled them further up my arms. “Open enough portals and confuse my senses with the amount of power which would distract me long enough and wear me down until you have me where you want me. Not a bad plan.”

  “I thought so as well,” Nyla said with a satisfied grin.

  “It might have worked a few months ago when I didn’t have this level of control.”

  I lifted my right hand above my head, spreading open my hand and faced my palm out. I quickly clenched my hand into a fist and as I did the doors to each portal slammed shut, the sound locks clicking echoed around us as they each dissolved and disappeared.

  “Damn it,” Nyla said.

  “I’ll give you one chance. Give up or I’ll kill you here and now,” I said.

  “I can still kill Ronan,” she yelled pointing to his prone form dangling off to the side.

  “Do it, and you’re dead a moment later.”

  Nyla jabbed her arm toward one of the cars in the garage, a bolt of crimson energy shot out slamming into its hood. The engine roared to life and the car jumped forward, racing at me.

  I jumped to the side as it slammed into the opposite wall of where I had been standing. All the cars around me began to hum and rumble to life as Nyla hit each, activating them.

  I scrambled to my feet, but another vehicle was already racing toward me. I jumped up, grabbing hold of a set of lift chains hanging from the ceiling. Air rushed underneath me as the car zoomed past, crashing into the previous one.

  She wasn’t done and like some crazed puppeteer she moved her hands, sending cars rushing to slam into me. I hefted myself up along the chains, putting some distance between me and the vehicles.

  “You should have taken the deal, Jess!” she yelled.

  I pushed the tip of my foot into the last rung of the chains and held on with one hand as I surveyed the room. There wasn’t much space separating us. I could probably make it with enough of a leap.

  Only two functional cars remained for her to use. The others were either smoking piles of debris or battered to the point of not being useable. She was waiting and watching my every move for the perfect time to attack.

  I hunched down, bending my knees and giving myself as much leverage as possible. I pushed with all my strength, releasing the chain and soaring through the air toward Nyla.

  She flicked her wrists and both cars surged forward. The floor raced at me and I once again clenched my hand into a fist and the floor beneath me glowed crimson. I smiled as I fell through a portal, and the two cars slammed into one another above me.

  The Universe spun past me as I slipped through the portal and twisted my wrist immediately, opening another portal and dropping into it.

  I hit the ground in a crouch and was up and moving before Nyla saw me behind her. She spun at the last moment, and I smiled as I brought my hand up, a crimson glow emanated around it as I prepared for the final blow.

  Nyla grinned right back at me and my vision blurred. I stumbled as I walked and nearly fell over as the room shifted under my feet. I couldn’t concentrate as I tried to focus on Nyla and I could barely make out something glowing in her hand.

  “Like I said, you should have taken the deal,” she gloated.

  I peered at her hand and saw the transfer device Mr. Slade had made to take the Artifact from me, dead or alive, and it was active.

  Chapter 57

  “How?” I struggled to speak, my hand sliding over my belt to try and connect with my personal dimension. That was where the device should be, so how could she have it?

  “You didn’t think I’d drop you through that portal to the Gremlin for the fun of it, did you?”

  She came closer, watching me intently. She stayed out of arms reach—smart on her part—even though I was off balance if I got my hands on her, she’d be done.

  “A trap,” I said.

  “A very good one at that. It can be used to access any personal dimensional device that passes through it. I used it to gain access to yours and steal the device. Well, steal is a harsh term considering it was made for me.”

  She pulled out the Timelock she had used
on me once before and connected the two devices. They snapped together with a click and a new wave of energy poured off them. Nyla smiled and glanced at me.

  “With the Timelock added, the device is complete and ready to use,” she said.

  “You think you can handle the Artifact?” I smirked.

  “Better than you have. I won’t be running around like a petulant child trying to find a way to stop its power. I’ll embrace it.”

  “Good, then you’ll be dead quickly.” I dropped to one knee and was doing my best to keep from falling to both. I placed my hands on my knee and tried to balance myself. Whatever the device was doing, it was already having an effect on me.

  “It won’t kill me. I’m prepared for this and as for you—you’re the one who will be dead. You can feel it working on you already, can’t you?”

  I wouldn’t give her the benefit of admitting it.

  “Your silence tells it all, Jess. Mr. Slade said it would take some time to access the spectrum of energy you use, but once it does I will be able to connect this and remove the Artifact from you.”

  She waved the device toward me. I swung my hand out trying to grab it, and she pulled it back with a laugh.

  “I’m not sure how long it will take, but once it’s solidified its connection to you, I’m afraid it will be a very painful removal process.”

  I dropped my chin and took a deep breath. I needed to concentrate. I was on my own here. Ronan was out of it and no one was coming to my rescue. I needed to get out of this quickly, otherwise she was right. I was not only going to lose the Artifact, but my life as well. I could feel it slowly draining my very essence.

  “Maybe I should wake your boyfriend and let him see your final moments. Would you like that?”

  Nyla stepped toward where Ronan hung and mimed taking him down with a smile. I gritted my teeth and thought only about accessing the power of the Artifact.

  I wanted her to keep talking and not paying attention to me. Every moment I had was another chance to figure a way out of this situation. I wasn’t going to die like this on my knees. I’m Jess Grimm and, if I die, I go out fighting just like all Grimms.