P.N.E. (The Wolfblood Prophecies Book 4)

by Silk, Avril

  Reg tried to concentrate on the wedding celebration, but his heart was deeply troubled. Someone had revealed the plan to rescue Smokey to Titus Stigmurus. The problem was, only one other person had known of the plan. And she was sitting next to him.

  Lethe Lacuna opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Doctor Jonathon Mallory, gazing adoringly at her. The benevolent after-glow of the anaesthetic battled with the irritation she felt as he lavished kisses on her limp hand. ‘What happened?’ she demanded.

  In an adjacent cubicle a bewildered Nurse Carson was also opening her eyes. ‘Where am I?’ she whispered. ‘What happened?’

  Doctor Mallory put on his professional face and turned toward Nurse Carson while deftly picking up a syringe.

  ‘You had a massive heart attack. Thank goodness you were on duty and we were able to operate immediately. You are a very lucky woman! Now rest.’ He gently closed the door as he returned to Lethe’s side.

  ‘Thank you,’ murmured Nurse Carson to the empty air, as the drug took effect and she slipped back into unconsciousness. On the very edge of her reason something was puzzling her, but sleep and sedatives combined to banish the question.

  Meanwhile Lethe was looking under her bandages. She gritted her teeth. ‘Really, Jonathon? A heart-shaped scar?’

  ‘Forgive me – I could hardly bear to mark your perfect skin, but it had to be done. Titus Stigmurus demands photographic evidence of the procedure – and more. I was inspired by your beauty to use my skill with the scalpel to create something as exquisite as you.’ He parted the bandages and gently stroked the puckered edges of the delicate wound. He touched the centre, where a slight pulse was just about discernible.

  ‘I separated the tracking component. The instant Titus sends a signal, you will feel a gentle throb, here, and be able to take appropriate action. Fainting would cover most contingencies, and satisfy him that he does, indeed, control you. The rest of the computerised heart is now keeping dear Nurse Carson in good health. Hale and hearty, even.’ He looked very proud of his feeble joke. ‘We have a Coeur de Carson, refrigerated and labelled with your name, to satisfy Titus’s curiosity. Your own precious heart remains intact. We make a wonderful team.’ He bent his head and kissed the scar.

  Lethe forced herself to remember that she needed this sentimental fool… for the time being. She made herself smile winningly then quickly closed her gorgeous green eyes before her exasperation became evident. As her copper eyelashes brushed her pearl-like skin, Doctor Mallory trembled with the fiercest desire he had ever known.

  While Lethe feigned sleep he stroked her hair, murmuring, ‘My Titian beauty with alabaster skin,’ allowing his fingers to trail down her neck towards the fastening of her negligee. As his hand hovered, a knock at the door interrupted his reverie. He was exceedingly put out to see Titus.

  ‘How’s our patient, Doctor?’ asked Titus, his voice jovial, unlike his eyes which were cold and calculating. ‘Just want to test that everything’s in order.’ He was holding a slim, sleek, computerised device stamped with the Hearts Ease logo.

  Jonathon Mallory gasped with horror. ‘My patient is still recovering from the procedure. I absolutely forbid you to cause her any pain whatsoever.’

  Titus chuckled. ‘You can forbid as much as you like, Mallory. Just remember who pays your wages.’ He turned to Lethe, now fully awake and haughtily ignoring him. ‘I promise that you’ll hardly feel a thing, my dear. As soon as I am satisfied, I will stop.’

  ‘Damn you, Titus.’ Lethe was furious. She glared at him. He smiled inscrutably back. ‘Well, get on with it, then.’

  Jonathon Mallory made a lunge for the device. Titus swatted him away effortlessly. ‘Quite the knight in shining armour,’ he observed. ‘Now keep your distance.’

  There was an ominous click. Just as Jonathon had promised, Lethe felt the tracking device start to throb. Another click. She gasped for breath. Her hand flew to her heart. ‘I feel sick,’ she moaned, flinching as her breathing became more laboured. Her words were ragged, torn from her. ‘Titus, I beg you to stop.’

  ‘But of course.’ He turned off the machine. ‘Most satisfactory. No need to labour the point.’ Lethe trembled as he moved to the door. Tears glistened as she watched him leave.

  As soon as the door closed and his footsteps faded into the distance she smiled triumphantly. ‘Fooled him,’ she whispered.

  Jonathon rushed over and tried to hug her. ‘You were brilliant,’ he breathed. ‘What a wonderful actress you are!

  Lethe wriggled out of his grasp. ‘Shouldn’t you check Nurse Carson? After all, Titus just caused her to have a minor heart attack.’

  He was dismissive. ‘Who cares? Dead, most probably, and frankly, so what? You’re all that matters.’ Lethe gave him an old-fashioned look. He blushed like a schoolboy receiving a reprimand. ‘Of course, you are correct. And so considerate. Do not alarm yourself. I gave her a strong sedative. She probably slept right through it. I shall find out at once.’

  Lethe watched him go with barely disguised relief.

  Chapter Two - Unending Rain

  Jo stared out of the car window at the driving rain. Mary and Matthew’s wedding day had been the only sunny day of the New Year. Two months of relentless rain had followed and the land was waterlogged.

  Samantha’s mother was worried. ‘Would you mind staying at the hospital tonight, Jo? I don’t like the look of the weather. If the river bursts its banks I’d rather not be out driving.’

  ‘That’s OK, Jean. Titus has arranged a guest room for me whenever I want it.’

  ‘He’s really a reformed character,’ smiled Jean.

  ‘No-one could do more,’ agreed Jo, trying to stifle the inner voice that persisted in questioning the motives of one of the most powerful men in the world. Did he really think she was the Child of Glory from some stupid old prophecy? Was he still harbouring plans to harness her amazing abilities for another crack-pot scheme to rule the world? Was he still convinced he had a direct line to God? With Titus, anything was possible.

  ‘We’ll take good care of Calico,’ promised Sam. ‘Dad really likes it when she jumps on his lap. It seems to soothe him.’

  Jean was still fretting. ‘Your father is supposed to see the specialist tomorrow… but if the river does flood…’

  Sam spoke hesitantly. ‘It’s a really important appointment – with a visiting doctor from America. She’s the best in her field and has some exciting ideas about helping Dad, but she flies back the day after tomorrow. I hate to ask, Jo, but if the worst comes to the worst and we’re stranded, do you think Titus would help?’

  ‘He’ll probably send a helicopter,’ replied Jo nonchalantly. ‘I’ll ask him, if you like.’ There were some perks in being under the protective wing of the founder of the Glory Foundation.

  Sam was so relieved. She chattered excitedly as the journey continued. Just like old times, thought Jo. As long as we don’t discuss religion, the Righteous, the riots before Titus repented his wicked ways, and Beth. And Smokey.

  At the thought of Smokey Jo abruptly switched off. Reg assured her he was safe, but that was all she knew. As for Beth, she had just vanished; probably determined to find Smokey wherever he was. She had done it before, when Lethe held him prisoner in America, and she wouldn’t let him go without a struggle.

  ‘Jo? Jo? Come back to Planet Earth!’

  Jo jumped. She had been miles away. ‘Sorry, Sam! What were you saying?’

  ‘I was asking if you’ve done your History homework?’

  Jo pulled a face. ‘Not yet. I’ve brought the textbook with me so I’ll have something to do if the conversation lags.’

  ‘What are you studying?’ asked Jean with interest.

  ‘The Cuban Missile Crisis,’ replied Sam.

  Jean looked appalled. ‘Good grief! Is that History now? It seems like only yesterday to me!’

  ‘Can you remember it, Mum?’ asked Sam.

  ‘Of course I can!’ she replied indignantly. ‘
Your father and I had just got engaged, and we were terrified there would be a war and he would be called up. Mind you, if there had been a war, it’s hard to imagine what would have been left afterwards.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ asked Jo.

  ‘Well, I would say it’s the nearest the world has ever come to a nuclear war in my lifetime. And there was this really scary thing being discussed – MAD.’

  ‘Mad?’

  ‘Mutual Assured Destruction. The ultimate deterrent. The attacker and the defender would both be destroyed. Terrifying.’

  Jo shivered. ‘Sounds like something Titus would dream up. So how did it start?’

  Jean thought hard. ‘It was about Cuba. They’d had good relations with America for years, but Cuba was moving to the left politically and the U.S didn’t want that - remember, in the 1950s there was the Red Scare - they feared and hated Communism.’

  ‘When we did The Crucible at school we learned it wasn’t just about witch trials hundreds of years ago,’ remembered Sam.

  Jo chimed in. ‘It compared the witch hunts to Senator McCarthy persecuting Communists in the Fifties.’

  ‘That’s right,’ agreed Jean. ‘McCarthy loathed Communists and his enemies say he wasn’t too bothered about evidence. On the other hand, his supporters point out that Stalin’s brand of Communism, for example, was pure evil. Anyway, in 1962 the Americans tried to overthrow the Cuban regime. They launched an invasion on a beach in the Bay of Pigs. The invasion was a dismal failure. After that, the links between Cuba and the Soviet Union grew stronger, and the Russian President, Nikita Khrushchev, suggested siting nuclear missiles in Cuba as a deterrent. They started building bases. When the Americans found out they set up a military blockade, to stop the weapons being delivered. President Kennedy thought war was almost certain.’

  ‘So what happened?’ asked Sam, enthralled.

  Sam’s mother thought for a bit. ‘A lot of posturing and big talk on the surface, but urgent meetings and frantic negotiations behind the scenes. Some climbing-down, some face-saving all round. Between them Kennedy and Khrushchev found a path through it all, thank God. After all that, a year later, President Kennedy was assassinated.’ She trailed off. ‘We’re here. That’s just an outline, girls, but it’s all we have time for – so read it up properly! Oh, Jo, don’t forget to send our love.’

  The car pulled up outside the hospital. ‘Thanks, Jean,’ said Jo as she clambered out. ‘I’ll phone you about tomorrow. Bye, Sam.’

  It was a short distance from the car to the foyer, but by the time Jo arrived at the reception area she was drenched.

  ‘Couldn’t you have brought some sunshine?’ laughed Anna, the receptionist, as she handed Jo her security pass. ‘Oh, by the way, your friends are in the waiting room on level 2 – they asked if you would pop in and say hello.’ Jo looked puzzled. ‘Mr and Mrs Jamieson,’ added the receptionist helpfully.

  Jo still looked perplexed, then smiled as she made the connection. ‘Matthew and Mary,’ she laughed, then looked worried. ‘Nothing’s wrong, is it?’ she asked anxiously.

  Anna consulted her notes. ‘Just a routine appointment,’ she said. Another thought occurred to her. ‘Oh, some good news! Your aunt has returned from Lake Brienz, fully recovered from her operation. Mr Stigmurus welcomed her back with an enormous bouquet. Her research work is invaluable. There’s no-one can compare to her.’

  ‘She certainly is in a league of her own,’ agreed Jo drily. Top of the class for power-crazed murder and cruelty, with megalomania and deranged jealousy for good measure. And apart from the Righteous and my family, the rest of the world is dazzled by her beauty and talent.

  ‘So the gang’s all here,’ said Mary laconically when Jo told her about Lethe. ‘Reg is in the coffee lounge, waiting to take us back home. Practically a full set.’ Apart from Quinn, she thought.

  And Rosie and the boys, thought Matthew.

  Jo continued trying not to think about Smokey. Or Beth.

  There was an awkward silence, then a smiling nurse called Matthew’s name. After arranging to meet for coffee after the appointment, Jo carried on to the private wing.

  Her steps seemed to drag the nearer she got, so she stopped off at the charming room Titus had set aside for her overnight stays, dried her hair and put on some dry clothes.

  There was a discreet tap at the door. Titus Stigmurus stood there, beaming. ‘The girl told me you’d arrived,’ he said. ‘I hope you have everything you need?’

  Jo looked at the wardrobe full of outfits that were tailor made for her. She glanced at a dressing table covered with beautifully perfumed lotions, bookshelves packed with novels by her favourite authors, music and television at the press of a switch. A small fridge packed with drinks and snacks was the icing on the cake. The room was perfect and she said so, adding, with a smile, ‘All I need is my cat!’

  Titus looked anxious. ‘I’m afraid that’s not possible,’ he began, then realised he was being gently teased. He smiled, then looked serious again, saying, ‘I wish I could give you a positive progress report, Johanna. But all I can say is there is no change. We must continue to pray. And now your aunt is returned to work, perhaps she can use her incomparable talent and become the healer she was always meant to be.’

  Jo looked startled, then angry. ‘I don’t want her help,’ she said fiercely. ‘She is not to be trusted.’

  ‘Have you forgotten that I now have the power of life and death over Lethe?’ The benign expression of a few moments before had been replaced with something dark and disturbing. ‘Her heart implant is fully under my control. She will never cross me again or defy my wishes.’

  ‘Replacing her dark heart is one thing,’ said Jo grimly. ‘Changing her personality is another.’

  ‘I fully intend that she will come to see the error of her ways,’ said Titus. He spoke quietly, but something in his tone caused Jo to shiver. ‘I need to check the weather reports – before I go, is there anything else you need?’

  Jo remembered about Howard’s appointment the next day. ‘There is, as it happens,’ she said slowly. As she suspected, Titus was only too willing to help. Making amends for his sins, thought Jo.

  She was disconcerted when he laughed out loud. She had forgotten his ability to emp. ‘And I have so many, many sins for atone for, dear girl.’ Pleased at catching her out, he started to giggle, and for a moment he looked like a naughty school boy.

  Jo quickly shielded her thoughts as she remembered how Smokey, hiding in the shadows, had learned there was a formula that seemed to stop Titus from aging.

  A drop of blood fell silently onto an old, creased, stained and faded piece of paper.

  ‘For God’s sake, Titus,’ said Lethe contemptuously, ‘you know that won’t work.’

  ‘I don’t particularly mind if it doesn’t,’ said Titus wearily. ‘I am so tired.’

  Lethe spoke urgently. ‘You can’t give up now. If you do, all we have worked for will be wasted. The day of the prophecy is almost here. You fell from grace, as was foretold. You repented. You had a penitent’s vision of glory and now you are making GLORY a reality. Without you, it all falls apart. You must go on. You know what you have to do. Go and see Mirabel.’ There was a long silence and she struggled to contain her irritation. She made a supreme effort and her voice was almost tender. ‘Would you like me to come with you? You know you will feel so much better afterwards.’

  Still the man at the desk was silent, his head bowed, his shoulders shaking. Lethe reached for his hand. ‘Oh, Titus,’ she said gently. Now her concern seemed completely genuine. ‘Tears won’t do. It has to be blood. You know that. Life’s blood. The prophecy is clear.’

  Still chuckling, unaware that at least one of his secrets was known to Jo, Titus gallantly escorted her along a picture-lined corridor to a door marked Coma Ward. He opened the door for her, then went on his way.

  Jo breathed deeply, then walked in.

  The large, airy ward, with its central nursing station, contai
ned several smaller side rooms. Jo smiled at the nurse on duty and knocked gently on the red door of one of the cubicles.

  There was no reply so, with her heart in her boots, Jo let herself in.

  ‘Hi – it’s me. Shall I draw the curtains? It’s really dark in here.’

  ‘I prefer it that way.’

  ‘Can I get you anything? I brought some of your favourite cassettes… Shall I put some music on?’

  ‘I have a headache.’

  ‘I’ll get you some painkillers.’

  ‘Don’t bother.’

  ‘It’s no bother, Dad.’

  Paul exploded. ‘Well, it’s bothering me. Just leave me alone, Jo.’

  For a moment Jo thought she was going to cry. She bit her lip hard and, as her eyes grew accustomed to the gloom, she concentrated on the man slumped in a wheelchair, unshaven and grubby. His scruffy dressing gown looked incongruous in the otherwise immaculate room.

  What would Mum do? thought Jo. If only she could emp her and get some advice. That wasn’t an option any more. Jo was on her own. She thought hard, then came to a decision.

  ‘Dad, you have food in your beard and you smell. Here’s the choices. Clean yourself up or I will get one of the orderlies and we will do it for you. And don’t give me any crap about nothing left to live for. I’ve listened to that day in, day out for weeks, and I’m sick of it.’ She paused and reluctantly played her ace. ‘What would Mum say if she could see you now?’

  ‘She’d say show your father some respect.’

  ‘Would she, hell.’ Jo waited, then played her other ace. ‘Apparently Aunt Lethe is back at work. Do you want her to see you looking like a scarecrow?’

  ‘She’d better not come near me,’ scowled Paul, ‘I could kill her for what she’s done to my family.’

  ‘I suppose you could frighten her to death with that hideous beard,’ said Jo. Now that the gloves were off, she felt exhilarated. She had been pussy-footing around Paul for too long, trying to summon the healing lotus; trying to penetrate the depression he wore like a shroud. His physical wounds were healing well but emotionally he was a shambles. ‘I’m going for a walk, Dad. When I come back I want to see Paul Lakota, not Worzel Gummidge.’