by HDA Roberts
Bill was where we'd left him, Magically asleep. The house... well, it wasn't so much a building as a pile.
"When you break something, it really stays broke, doesn't it, Matty?" Palmyra said.
"That wasn't entirely my fault," I said.
"Which bit, exactly?" Hopkins asked with a grin.
"The first floor. Demise did that," I said sheepishly, "And the house died honourably. Saving lives and squishing Demons."
"We should all be so lucky," Hopkins said gravely.
"Ha!" I said, "If I die, it's going to be from too much indulgence and debauchery at a tender old age after my important bits stop working, thank you very much."
"I do enjoy your outlook, Matty," Palmyra said with a snigger, "Reminds us what priorities we should have."
"Thank you, I do my best to keep my eye on the ball," I said seriously.
Killian approached us after a while, sitting carefully on the ground next to me, "Demise told me what happened. I'm... I'm impressed, Kid."
I went red and muttered something deflecting.
Killian smiled, "Demise hasn't many good things to say about anyone. If she says you did well, it's nothing to sneeze at."
I smiled a little, "Any idea why those Fallen Angels were after her?"
He sighed, "They weren't. They were after you."
"That's not what they said," I pointed out.
"Think about it, Demise was hit by the Black. They knew it. She was dead; it was damn near a certainty. Why offer you the trade at all?"
I shrugged, "No earthly idea, now you put it that way. But maybe they knew I'd be able to help?"
"Palmyra maybe, but you?" Killian said, "Nobody would have thought you could do that."
"I didn't do all of it, Demise did as much to save her own life as I did," I said.
I think Demise coloured a little at that, strange girl. I say girl, she was about two hundred and ten years older than me, give or take. Still looked like she could be my older sister, though. Sorcery sure was fun...
"The idea was to make you pick your own life over another's. To make you be selfish, to take that first step down the wrong path. The way Demise tells it, you didn't even hesitate."
"It was literally Hell. You don't leave someone there," I said.
"Many would. Many have," Hopkins said, "Some do it on purpose, for advantage."
"Hey, you know what my record for atomic cock-ups is, I'm just putting some karma in the bank for when the day comes that I try driving to Tesco's and end up in Hell myself, that's all," I said.
"That sounds more like it," Hopkins said, squeezing my arm in a way that said she didn't believe me.
"Yep, nothing selfless going on here," Palmyra said, nudging my ribs.
I grumbled and they sniggered.
Kron was still glaring at me like I'd exploded her puppy, but Killian seemed to be warming back up to me. I yawned widely. My Well was refilling, so I had enough to drag Bill over to me. I reached into his mind and removed the Sleeping Hex he was under. It wasn't a particularly powerful one and came out quickly and easily.
He woke up with a snap and seemed immediately twitchy as he saw me.
"Matty?" he said. He was already shivering, "You're okay! Oh, thank God."
"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked neutrally.
He started sweating almost on the spot as he looked around at the rather spectacular collection of Magical firepower gathered around him.
"Um, no reason," he said lamely, distracted and staring as his hand occasionally patted his pocket in unconscious gesture.
"What's in your pocket, Mister Hedrin?" Hopkins asked.
"Nothing, Miss Hopkins," Bill said, moving his hand away.
"Show us, Bill," I said softly.
"There's nothing there, Matty, I swear on my life," he said, scuttling back.
"Do you understand what it means to speak an oath like that among Magicians, Boy?" Demise said. She'd drawn a blade from somewhere, that long black one she'd nearly taken my head off with back in the Grotto.
"Where were you hiding that?" I asked her.
She winked at me. It made me grin until I remembered our current situation.
"I... I... I...," Bill stuttered, covering his pocket protectively, "You can't have it!"
And then the damndest thing happened.
He called Magic.
I was so surprised, I did absolutely nothing, not that I was in much of a state to do anything.
It was Flesh Magic of all things, a spray of Chemical Energy that would have acted much like acid and burnt our exposed skin down to the bone.
Five overlapping, and stupidly powerful, Will shields erupted into being between Bill and us, the work of my brother, sisters and Demise. Bill threw more into his attack, but it was barely a spark of Magic, and any one of us was a firestorm compared to it.
Bill ran out of Magic after maybe two seconds and fell to the ground, scrabbling for his pocket. Out flew the packet, filled with shards of red crystal.
Oh, Bill, you utter idiot...
Source, lots of it.
He tore the packet open, but three different spells hit it before he could stuff any down his throat, spraying the crystals into the mud. Hopkins lifted him up and away with her Will. My friend screamed as he tried to gather up his drugs, thrashing against Hopkins' mental grip to get at it.
"Did you know?" Hopkins asked me.
"Not a bloody clue," I said, thoroughly shocked.
Well, that wasn't strictly true. There were a whole bunch of clues, now that I thought about it.
I told Hopkins about his absences, his requests for money, his shivers and paleness and his refusal to let me take a look.
"I should have seen it," I said as Bill stopped thrashing and started crying his eyes out, the poor bastard.
"I never suspected a thing, either, Matty, don't beat yourself up," Hopkins said.
"He's more of a brother to me than the one I was born with; I should have noticed," I said, tossing a Sleep Hex that put him out again. Hopkins lowered him to the ground next to me.
"Is this fixable?" I asked.
"The physical effects, I can deal with," Palmyra said, waving her hand over Bill, "The mental effects? I don't know. Yikes, that stuff really isn't good for you!"
I felt her Magic pulsing through Bill's body.
"Liver cirrhosis, kidney damage, perforated lung tissue, pre-cancerous cells in his stomach... it's a mess in there."
I rubbed my eyes and focussed on his mind, calling up my Telepathy.
"Oh, get out of the way, Graves," Kron said, kneeling next to Bill, "I was playing in people's heads fifteen hundred years before you were born. You'll leave him a vegetable with your ham hands."
I did as I was told and watched as she went to work. It was a thing of beauty, what she did. There was a subtle elegance to her manipulations that I couldn't hope to match. She altered his memory and thoughts like a master, moulding here and pressing there, adjusting ever so carefully. It was spectacularly well done, I could have worked on him for ten times as long and not have managed something even a fraction as effectively neat.
It took her half an hour, and Palmyra about half that, to put my friend back together.
"They used him to get to you, Graves," Kron said after she was done, "They gave him a sample when he was out shopping, and then another. They got him hooked and then they upped the price, then they asked him a favour and he was too strung out and desperate to say no. He would have given them his own mother in the state he was in."
I'd met his mother; I'd have traded her for a Mars Bar and still think I'd been overpaid, but that wasn't the point.
"Who?" I asked, hoping that maybe there might have been a glimpse of a certain troublesome pain in my arse...
"They were well disguised. Male, average height, always wore a hood. Your friend didn't have a name."
Damn it.
"Is he alright now?" I asked.
"I excised all the memories associated with the dr
ug, and Palmyra cleared the effects out of his system. There will be some holes in his memory, but he won't notice them. He's a sedentary fellow, I replaced them with naps."
"Thank you," I said to them both.
"You're very welcome," Palmyra said with a beaming smile.
"I didn't do it for you," Kron hissed icily.
Hopkins rolled her eyes.
I really hoped that Bill would be alright, I knew that Source changed people, and not for the better. If Bill had been permanently altered, then it was my fault; these bastards (almost certainly Namia Sutton's bastards) had only gone after him because he knew me. I watched him carefully as he woke up again, looking slightly bleary-eyed but otherwise fine, that manic light gone from his eyes, much to my relief.
"Matty?" he said, sounding just like my friend, "Where the hell am I?"
"Stonebridge," I said, "You got yourself in a little trouble, Pal."
He looked around at the devastation, "Did I win?" he asked.
I sniggered, "Yes, you did," I said, patting his shoulder.
"What happened?"
"And that's our cue," Palmyra said, standing along with the others.
"Need a portal?" Hopkins asked.
"Yes please," I said, standing and then staggering, only for Demise to catch me and prop me up, "Thank you."
She nodded and Hopkins shook her head before opening a portal. We walked through and back into the Big Square, where Cathy was waiting under a tree and ran for me. She threw herself into my arms, and in my depleted state, I buckled and went down with her on top of me.
"Now that's a hello," I said with a smile as she squeezed me into a huge hug.
"I'll see you later, Matty. Go eat something, alright? Lots of somethings," Hopkins said.
I nodded and she patted my shoulder before walking away.
I held my Cathy while Bill stood nearby, almost dancing from foot to foot with curiosity. Cathy nuzzled into my neck and I kissed her cheek.
"I wish you'd stop doing that," she whispered.
"I'm sorry."
"I know, I just wish I could handle this better."
"I love you," I said, not knowing what else to say.
She snuggled in tighter.
Explaining things to Bill was complicated.
Eventually I settled on telling him he'd been kidnapped. I didn't mention the drugs or the betrayal. That Bill was gone. My friend, Bill, was back where he was supposed to be.
When Bill went off to the school shop for his afternoon treat, I smiled, and told Cathy the real story.
"Oh, the poor bastard," she said, echoing my earlier thoughts.
"He'll never know," I said, "And I'd prefer it if it stayed that way."
She nodded, "Okay," she said, kissing me gently, "though I don't know if I can look at him the same way again after this. He could have gotten you killed, Matty."
"But he didn't, and that's the important thing," I said.
Cathy spent the rest of the day anchored to me, and I didn't complain at all. I hated having to leave her at bed time, but I went to my room with Demise after a long kiss that made the world right again.
"You didn't tell her what you did," Demise said once we were ready for bed, "You didn't tell any of them."
I'd called Tethys and Cassandra to let them know what had happened, leaving out the Life Siphon and any other really dark stuff, they'd just have yelled at me. They still yelled, which was par for the course, but they yelled less than they would have.
"Sure I did," I said.
"You didn't tell them the important parts," she insisted, "What you were willing to do to save me. What you did do."
"They don't need to know that sort of thing, it would terrify them. And I don't need an audience."
"You saved my life," she said, "If our positions had been reversed, I might have made a different choice."
I shrugged, "I wouldn't have blamed you."
"Your people should know what kind of man you are," Demise said quietly.
"They do. Knowing what I did today... I don't care about credit. I'm just happy knowing that things turned out alright. That's more than enough for me."
"I won't forget it," she said.
I smiled and closed my eyes.
I was thinking hard over what had happened. I shouldn't have won, or not as efficiently. That Light idea had done it, and it hadn't come from me. It had come from someone who knew their Demons but couldn't act to help me.
Thank you, Rose, I thought as loudly as I could.
"You're welcome," a tiny whisper said from somewhere close to my ear.
I smiled and fell asleep, relaxed like I hadn't been in a long time.
Chapter 20
The next Friday was the start of Half Term. Cathy and I had rarely been apart since Bill's 'fixing', and leaving her was a wrench and a half.
Naturally, Demise hadn't gone anywhere. My parents had been miffed at the idea that I needed a minder, but my mother was polite when she arrived to collect me and I introduced them. Conversation on the drive back was somewhat stilted, Demise wasn't exactly a font of verbiage at the best of times, and she was even worse with strangers.
I got home and was mobbed by the dog and the Pixies, who attached themselves firmly to my head and shoulders with every intention of staying there. Demise looked at this quizzically, but seemed to take it in stride like she did everything else.
My mother still had a lot of work to do, and spent most of her days in her study with her nose in reports and insurance claims, so I spent mine in the Grotto with the Fairies. I swam with Nymphs and slept under my tree while Demise watched. I chatted with Lunson, debating the differences between Fairy and Human Magic while his daughter and her mate taught his granddaughter, Kay, about the woods and how to use the bow; which nearly ended in calamity and an arrow in my bottom but for the protective enchantments of the woods.
The poor thing was so mortified that she darted into the Centaur's caves and refused to come out until I promised that I wasn't angry, and told her that I appreciated her not aiming for my head. She was an adorable little thing, a seven year old girl's torso attached to a pale, brown and white horse's body, shy as any kid that age, but lively as any ten of me. She was always running and laughing with the Wood Sprites and playing with Bayano (the talking otter).
It was idyllic. Even Demise relaxed, sleeping next to me under the tree.
"She smells funny," Meadow declared one afternoon while I was sitting with my feet in the pond. Demise looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow, "But you don't anymore."
"Really?" I replied.
"Nope," Jewel said, stretching across my stomach, "I can't tell the difference between you and us anymore."
"It's your link to this place," Demise said, "The blending of Magics, there's a little of them in your Well, and a little of your Well in them."
"Yuk, human magic," Melody squeaked, "How do I wash that off?"
I tickled the little Pixie and she squealed, almost rolling onto the ground in her attempt to escape. I caught her before she could get too far.
"No fair!" Melody complained, "You're using your size to pick on little Pixies!"
I have her a little hug and she subsided back onto her spot in the crook of my arm with a happy sigh.
"That's not fair, either," she muttered, "You know I have a weak spot for a good hug."
I stroked her hair and she soon started snoring, along with the other two, who'd quickly drifted off. Any excuse for a nap, those three, they were almost as lazy as I was.
"This isn't normal," Demise said, "this blending of Fairy and Human Magic is unprecedented."
"It's fine. My Magic hasn't been affected. And if it makes my friends more comfortable, it can only be a good thing."
"It's like mixing oil and water, it shouldn't work," Demise said.
I shrugged, "It's not like I can use Fairy Magic, and I haven't seen them use mine."
She grunted and went back to her book, but I could tell she was c
onfused.
I knew that sort of ease couldn't last, though. I felt it in my bones, something had to ruin it.
At least this time, Price had the decency to call while I was awake.
"Hello?" I said as I sat up from my half-nap, dislodging Melody, who I had to catch before she rolled off onto the carpet.
"Ah, Mathew," Price said huskily, "I have news. There are two more laboratories; that's confirmed. We've found one of them, want to come and play?"
I shuddered in fear, remembering what had happened at the last one. It took me a moment to get it together, but the job needed to be done, and it was my responsibility.
"Address?" I said.
She told me and I wrote it down.
"I'll let you know how it goes."
"You'd better," she said, "In person. And I'd like to hear all about that little trip you took to Michelangelo's. Crystal's told me all sorts of details, but she does exaggerate. Rather taken with you, though."
Crystal had called from time to time since we'd gone after her sister; talking to her was a refreshing change of pace. She had a certain outlook on life I found interesting.
"I can't promise to improve on her story," I said.
"Oh, I'll bet you can."
"I'll come by when I'm done."
"Excellent," she said, "I'll make sure Crystal is ready for you."
We hung up and I stretched.
"Dee, we're going to Gomorrah," I said.
She sat up with a start, one of my books falling off her face.
"What?" she said, confused and half-asleep.
Demise did not like Shadow-Walking any more the second time, and was less than amused when I got lost on the way. She held her eyes tightly shut as before until we emerged in Gomorrah, high up on a roof.
"Ugh, I hate that," she muttered, "I feel sick."
I rubbed her back and she sighed as she bent over, recovering her equilibrium.
"How can you stand it in there?" she asked, "It feels so wrong."
"We'll make shorter jumps on the way back, alright?"
She nodded and stood, "I'm fine."
I consulted my phone. We were about a mile away from the warehouse.
"We can walk it from here?" I suggested.
"It's a mile, you'll be dead before we get there in your state."
Palmyra's enhancement spell could only do so much to keep the edge off my lack of Living Energy. Even a mile would likely exhaust me.