by Helen Harper
‘There’s nowhere for them to go, you know,’ Endor said, still smiling. ‘There’s water everywhere. Even if they jump in to get away, it won’t work. You know that.’ I knew without looking that there were kelpies in the water beneath us. Their sharp teeth would rip the humans’ soft flesh to shreds. He grinned at Mack. ‘I can see why they’d want to get near you, though, charmingly attired as you are.’
She hissed. ‘Let them move to the front of the boat.’
Endor cocked his head, as if considering her request. I watched him carefully. There wasn’t a trace of humanity in his eyes. The man was a complete psychopath. ‘Okay,’ he shrugged. ‘They are rather distracting.’ He slapped a man on the back. ‘Go on then. Up to the prow with you. You can take photos of each other shouting ‘I’m the King of the World’ if you want. Your family will appreciate having something to remember you by. Well, if your cameras are waterproof, that is. Otherwise I wouldn’t really bother.’ He was clearly enjoying having a captive audience. He didn’t need them scared; for him their fear was just an enjoyable side benefit. He was going to draw this out for his own sick pleasure.
The remaining tourists wobbled towards us. Some were more composed than others, jabbing numbers on mobile phones. It was clear from their frustrated expressions that they weren’t getting a signal. Just before the last one reached us, Endor flicked out his hand. The boat groaned and creaked, before shrieking as if it were alive and being ripped apart plank by plank. The last human – a sobbing woman – screamed and panicked. Instead of running towards the others, however, she blindly veered left and leapt off the side, landing into the water with a cry. When that cry abruptly stopped a heartbeat after she splashed in, I knew what had happened to her. The fucking kelpies hadn’t wasted any time.
‘So,’ Endor said to me, with obvious amusement, ‘you were saying?’
We had to take him out now. I hefted the heavy sword in my hands. I might not be used to using weapons other than my own claws and teeth but if I wielded the palladium edged blade properly, I’d only need one swipe.
‘You’ve decided to forego the werepanther look then?’ he taunted. ‘I can understand that. I hear cats don’t like water very much.’ He closed his eyes and a strange dark cloud rose up from where the sobbing human had disappeared. ‘That woman may have been annoying, but she felt good.’
Mack didn’t wait for me, sending out two bolts of lethal green fire. Endor was prepared for them, however. They bounced off him as if they were nothing. She stretched out towards my sword and sliced her hand open once more. As Mack’s blood dripped, she ran forward and flicked it against his ward. Almost instantly, it smoked and snapped open. We had more than just Balud’s handiwork at our disposal.
Endor’s mouth tightened. ‘I’m getting annoyed that you keep doing that, Miss Smith. Of course I know now what the reason is. A Draco Wyr, here in the twenty-first century.’ He whistled. ‘Imagine that.’
It’s time to end this, I snarled. We couldn’t hang around here any longer.
Mack agreed absolutely. Oh, yes it is.
She gave me one last long look then threw herself at Endor, leaping upwards and kicking out. Satisfaction flickered through me when her feet smacked into his head and he reeled backwards. He didn’t waste any time in striking back, however, using one single gesture to launch out a jet of black fire straight into Mack’s chest. She gasped and her eyes went wide with pain as she fell backwards.
Mack! I yelled.
I’m fine. I’m going to pitch left and catch him on his side. As soon as I do, you need to shove that sword and skewer this prick.
God, she was magnificent.
Corrigan…
I shook myself. Okay.
Mack staggered back to her feet, immediately sprinting towards Endor once more. She punched him hard but he still kept coming back, responding with yet another stream of dark magic that hit Mack in the face. As she began to fall again, and he grabbed her with one hand, I made my move. Like a coiled spring, I tensed then sprang forward, ready to end this once for and all. What I hadn’t counted on, however, was Endor’s skill in fighting. He hadn’t forgotten about me and, too late, I spotted his free hand flicking out in my direction. Before his black fire could spit out and hit me, Mack yanked it towards her. My insides wrenched as more of the foul magic struck her head on. All I could do to save her was to continue with my own attack, thrusting the palladium blade into Endor’s stomach with all the force I could muster.
He howled in pain, making a far greater sound than Mack had, even though she was the one who was down for the count. His hands curled round the blade and with one vicious twist, he yanked it out of his body and away from me. The sword fell to the deck while Endor raised up his hands. He wasn’t done yet.
I only just dully registered that the sword, which was supposed to be his damn kryptonite, had barely stalled him. As he began to chant, I tried to rush him again but the boat jolted and I lost my balance. The sky grew dark and, all of a sudden, from all around us, the water began rise up, a magical tower that threatened to drown us all. Just as the humans began to scream, the water slammed down into the boat with such force that it immediately began to break apart.
I couldn’t breathe. Water rushed into my mouth and up my nostrils. The force of the boat sinking was causing a powerful drag that was pulling us all down. I flung my hands out blindly. Mack had been virtually unconscious; she’d never be able to kick her way to the surface. The fear that zipped through me was like nothing I’d ever felt. Splintered wood scraped into my skin, but I ignored every jab and thrust. I had to get hold of Mack. I had to find her.
Kicking my legs, I twisted, just as something slammed into the side of my head. I kicked harder and spun away, just in time to see the dark eyes and sharp teeth of a kelpie right in front of me. Not gonna happen. Before it could rip into me, I swung my fist forward. The water resistance made it a weak blow but it was enough to cause the kelpie to back off.
Just then the water around me began to light up with a blue shimmer. The mages. Trusting that they would do what they could to reach the humans, I frantically searched for Mack. Where the hell was she? If I didn’t reach the surface soon myself, I wouldn’t make it. But she had to.
It was the severed arm that saved her. It floated towards me, suspended in the churning water. I recoiled away, kicking to my left. That was when I caught sight of Mack’s brilliant red hair, trapped in part of the sinking boat. A strange calmness descended over me, no doubt part of the adrenaline hitting my system. As my lungs screamed at me to find air, I untangled her hair. Her eyes were closed and I had no way of knowing whether she was even still alive. Her body, however, was still warm to my touch. The second she was free, I pulled her back towards me and kicked upwards with all my might.
The physical pain in my chest as my head finally broke the surface and I was able to breathe was almost overwhelming. I held onto Mack as hard as I could, tipping her chin back and willing her to breathe.
‘You stupid bitch,’ I croaked. ‘That shot was meant for me. It’s not your job to rescue me. It’s my job to rescue you.’
She didn’t respond. Oblivious to anything else, I started to swim for the shore. If I could get her to dry land, then there might be a chance. All around me the sky and the water were being lit up with the mages’ blue magic. A kelpie bobbed its head up, ready to aim straight for one of the floating humans. A second later it was struck directly between the eyes. From off in the distance I could see three other boats chugging towards us. The mages were keeping the watery shits at bay. I spotted several bodies and swallowed down my nausea. Not all of the humans had made it. It was up to me to make sure that Mack did.
I’m heading for shore. Help the mages stop the kelpies and rescue the humans.
Lucy immediately responded. Where’s Endor?
I had no idea. I couldn’t see him anywhere. I don’t know.
We’re coming for you, my Lord.
From underneath my arm,
I felt a sudden flutter of a pulse from Mack. I almost cried out in relief. I’m good, I replied grimly. Focus on the humans.
There was a pause. Yes, my Lord.
I broke the connection and swam. Endor was still loose and the palladium sword had failed. And Mack had almost died because of me.
Chapter Twelve
I checked Mack over the second we reached the shoreline, laying her down on a patch of damp grass. Her chest was steadily rising and falling and colour was starting to return to her cheeks. I briefly considered lying next to her to keep her warm but she was neither shivering nor in any difficulty. I knew instinctively she’d come round soon.
Making sure she was comfortable, I strode back to the water’s edge and stared out. The mages had ceased their attack on the kelpies and the water was full of boats – most of them with humans on board. The shouts carried over as bodies – both living and dead – were pulled out from the cold loch. I balled up my fists. It would be foolish to assume that Endor was one of those who’d ended up as fish food. He’d planned all this from the start and, yet again, he’d gotten away with it. Pinning all my hopes on that sword had been stupid. I’d trusted Mack’s word that it would work. She’d certainly believed that it would. I should have questioned it further though. Perhaps if I had then more of those tourists would still be walking around. Those fucking kelpies. It appeared that Endor had a knack for getting some of those Otherworlders who lived on the fringe of society to do his bidding. I’d had some sympathy for the Batibats. I wasn’t sure I had anything other than murderous rage for the kelpies.
I folded my arms and set my jaw. Mack had almost died. Whether she wanted me or not, I couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. Staines would curse me for being an idiot and he’d probably be right. The truth of the matter was though that I’d sacrifice myself a million times over if it meant she’d be safe, regardless of how often she pushed me away. I sat down and sighed. The only sacrifice had been hers, however. Instead of letting me take the force of Endor’s magic, she’d forced him to attack her. I was tempted to wring her neck. I was replaceable – she wasn’t. It had been the most fucking stupid thing I’d ever seen her do. And, where Mack was concerned, that was saying something.
The boats had left the scene of the crime by the time Mack opened her eyes. I knew the instant she awoke but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. If I did, I might collapse into a blubbering wreck at her feet and I was pretty sure neither of us wanted that. I was hyper-aware of everything she did though, from pulling herself up to walking slowly over. When she sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around herself with a brief shiver, it was all I could do not to yank her towards me and never let go.
‘It didn’t work, did it?’ she asked, her voice small. Defeat dripped from her every pore.
I shook my head, still not trusting myself to speak.
‘How many? How many people died?’
Too many by far. I exhaled, keeping my eyes trained on the far off lights of the Fort Augustus. ‘Six at least.’ I knew she was going to blame herself for this. She’d have to get in line though.
Mack hissed in pain. Then she pulled her shoulders back and lifted up her chin. Wet tendrils of bright red hair hung about her back and shoulders. I noted almost dispassionately that the colour was even more vivid than usual.
‘If we hadn’t been there, more would have died,’ she said, the expression in her eyes hardening.
As surprised as I was by her strength, something in me snapped. I turned towards her, eyes blazing. ‘If you hadn’t had a fucking death wish, then more would have died. Do you have a total fucking disregard for your own safety?’
She blinked at me as if I’d just grown three heads. ‘What other choice was there?’
I snarled. I could feel my werepanther involuntarily pushing forward as I lost more of my self-control. ‘You can’t die.’
She gave me a crooked smile. ‘Last time I checked, my Lord, Draco Wyr weren’t cursed with immortality.’
Her flippancy made my blood boil. ‘What am I supposed to do if you die? What am I…?’ Damn it. I had promised myself I wouldn’t do this. I wouldn’t be the person hanging off her coat tails and whining. Mack got enough of that from everyone else. I pinned my mouth shut and looked away, unwilling to see what her expression was going to tell me. I had a pretty good idea. Then my stomach tightened and, despite my best efforts, the truth came spilling out. ‘When Staines died,’ I burst out, ‘all I could think was that thank God it wasn’t you. That he’d been there and you hadn’t.’ I ran my hand through my hair, cursing myself. ‘I’m a fucking idiot.’ I slammed my other hand in the ground next to me, hoping the pain of the jolt would knock some sense into my thick brain.
Mack drew in a breath. ‘If we’d beaten Endor, then I could have let the council go. I’d be free from,’ she licked her lips and paused, ‘the constraints.’
With confirmation from her own mouth that she’d discarded me just because of what the Arch-Mage and the Summer Queen had done, I couldn’t hang around any longer. I wouldn’t be responsible for myself if I did. We could have had a future. Now she was tied into the council and I was locked into the Brethren and we’d never be free. She really did care for me. Maybe even as much as I did for her. But knowing that she might have stayed with me if I wasn’t Lord Alpha didn’t make me feel any better. Instead it had the opposite effect. I spun towards her for one moment, staring into her yellow flecked eyes. Anguish – and something far deeper – lingered there. I couldn’t bear to see it. I vaulted to my feet and twisted away, giving in to my animalistic side and shifting without a single care for my clothes. Then I bounded away into the night. I had to be alone.
***
When I finally managed to get ahold of myself – and located something to wear – the small town of Fort Augustus was bathed in light. There were journalists everywhere. Goodness knows where they all managed to spring from. I gnawed worriedly at my lip. This would be difficult for the mages to handle. It was one thing to wipe someone’s memories but we had deaths on our hands as well. We couldn’t wipe out an entire person’s existence. I watched numerous news crews talk excitedly into their cameras. This was bad.
‘Lord Alpha,’ a voice murmured by my side.
I turned to see Larkin by my side, the mage who’d helped us out in Shropshire when we’d first come across Endor.
‘The Arch-Mage should be here,’ I growled.
‘He’s in London making preparations for the next phase.’
Next phase, my arse. We were royally screwed. Endor had beaten us into the ground – or rather the water – and had laughed at us while doing it. We couldn’t attack him with weapons and we couldn’t attack him with magic. Even Mack, with all her skills, hadn’t been able to make much of a dent in his armour. No-one, no matter who they were, was completely invulnerable but I was starting to wonder whether we’d ever find a way to bring Endor down before he completed his bid to gain mastery over all the elements. He was growing stronger by the day and we were running around like headless chickens.
Larkin appeared oblivious to my thoughts. He just smiled. ‘Good news, my Lord.’
I failed to see how there could be anything good to come out of this. Rather than bite the poor mage’s head off, however, I raised an eyebrow and encouraged him to continue.
‘The humans are reporting sightings of a monster,’ he told me happily.
I stared at him. This time I couldn’t help myself. ‘And that is good how?’
He blinked, apparently only just registering my angry frustration. ‘Er, because of the Loch Ness Monster,’ he hastily explained. ‘They’re taking it as proof that it really does exist after all. It’ll serve the kelpies right. They created the myth of the monster in order to bring a steady stream of tasty tourists their way. Now they’re going to have so many that they’ll never get any peace.’
Bloody kelpies. I balled up my fists. ‘Where are they?’ I ground out. ‘Where are those cheating sli
my things?’
He swallowed. I supposed I looked rather scary. ‘Keeping well away from us. They’re out in the deeper part of the loch. The Arch-Mage has instructed us to ward off the whole area until we can … talk to them.’
I grimly hoped that there was going to be a lot more than talking going on. Then I stopped myself. It wasn’t the kelpies we should be worrying about. Their part in all this was done and dusted.
‘Endor? Any sign of him?’
Larkin shook his head. ‘Nada.’
Unsurprising. I was still angry about it though. ‘I don’t suppose the Arch-Mage has any idea where he might go next?’ I inquired icily.
‘That’s why he’s in London. We need to ascertain where…’
‘Damn fucking right we do,’ I snarled, pushing past him. I’d just caught sight of a few shifters up ahead. They nodded at me as I strode over in their direction. ‘Report.’
‘Eight humans are believed to be drowned, my Lord.’
Eight. Eight lives we should have saved.
‘Any of our people?’
He shook his head. That was something, I supposed. It wasn’t much. ‘What happened on the boat? Didn’t you manage to cut him with the magic sword?’
‘It’s not a magic sword,’ I snapped. ‘It’s just made of a special metal. And a metal that apparently isn’t so special at all anyway. He barely paused when I ran it through him.’
‘Oh.’ The shifter swallowed. ‘That’s no good.’ He shuffled his feet, not daring to look me in the eye.
‘Out with it.’
He bit his lip. ‘The dragon? Miss Mackenzie? Is she alright?’ There was a glow of awe in his eyes which made me uncomfortable. Not that I could blame him. Mack’s dragon form was a sight to behold. I thought of the way she’d transformed and leapt out into the loch without a single thought for her own safety. Regardless of what was going on between us, I should have let her know that she’d done her absolute best. Just because we’d failed didn’t mean she hadn’t gone all out to destroy Endor. Then I thought once more about her pale skin and how I’d felt when I wasn’t sure if she were alive or not and almost threw up. I shouldn’t have left her like that.