Seth came alongside of me. ‘Let’s have a look at your side.’
‘Keep your hands off me.’ My anger at Seth was back, and it poured through my veins like lava. Casper’s revelation of being nephilim showed me just how much more Seth was hiding. I suppose I should have known he’d never be totally honest with me. Even when I'd fantasised about us becoming something more than lovers, I'd always suspected a part of him was locked firmly away.
‘I'll fix you up.’ Casper was pulling objects from the first aid kit and laying them out on the kitchen bench. ‘First class field medic training here.’
‘Lora.’ Seth lifted a hand, hesitated, then dropped it. ‘You’d rather have a stranger touch you than me?’
A silence filled the space between us, then Casper stepped in. ‘Mate. Why don’t you go out the back and have a long shower. I'll look after Lora. There’s a games room out the back, with a fridge full of beer and a movie collection that will blow your mind. Make yourself at home.’
Seth’s lips pressed tight, eyes furious. I stared back, letting him see that my anger matched his. How I wasn’t ready to forgive him, or trust him. A veil of coolness fell over Seth’s face. He made a frustrated gesture and stalked off. I watched him disappear down a corridor, my chest tight. Seth was a master manipulator, but I was no rube.
‘Trouble in paradise?’ Casper’s voice made me jump. I realised I'd taken a step to follow Seth. Maybe I was a rube after all. I made an angry gesture that echoed Seth’s, then winced in pain. Casper pulled off his own bloody shirt, the white singlet underneath showing off an impressive amount of muscle.
‘Come on. I'll have you patched up in no time,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you take off your top so I can get a good look.’
‘Like I haven’t heard that line before.’ I hung my motorcycle jacket over the back of a kitchen chair. Casper filled a small bowl with water while I unbuckled my work-belt, and laid it over the top of the jacket. I needed a drink. A big, grown-up drink. As if reading my mind, Casper turned from his prep work to pull two beers from the fridge. He twisted the lids off and offered me one.
‘Do I know women, or what?’ he asked.
‘You’re a real charmer.’ I snagged the beer and took a long swallow. It was a cheap brand, but tasted like liquid gold.
He crooked a finger at me. ‘Come here.’ I drank more beer, suddenly feeling unsure. Casper saw my hesitation. ‘Rest assured, my lovely, you can trust old Casper. I've got plenty of women to keep me happy and, quite frankly, you’re not my type.’
I took another long drink and limped over to him. He watched me with a considering look and I wondered what he’d heard about me, and from whom. But I didn’t ask, not sure I wanted to know.
Casper hoisted me up on the bench and helped me take off my shirt.
‘How does it look?’ I asked as he bent to examine my side.
‘You don’t need stitches, but there are a couple of splinters I need to pull out. I've seen worse.’ Casper soaked a soft cloth and pressed it against my side. I winced at the fresh bite of pain.
‘How did you end up, living here in the Outlands?’ I asked through clenched teeth.
‘Seth helped me.’ Casper’s voice became distracted as he leant closer, squinting at my side. ‘I'd had dealings with him in the past, before he joined the City Watch. He was an informer of mine, back when I was a Sergeant in charge of a Witch Hunter unit.’
I almost blurted out Roman’s situation then and there, but caution held my tongue. I'd only just met Casper, and needed more information before I started asking advice. ‘How long ago are we talking?’ I asked.
‘A while ago, back when Seth ran a profitable trade in black market items.’ Casper’s breath tickled my side and I tried not to squirm. ‘I started getting the sickness. The Order found out, and scheduled me to be dealt with.’ Bitterness seeped into Casper’s voice. ‘I escaped, and went to Seth for help. He set me up out here, where the Grigori wouldn’t come sniffing around. Over time, he sent others my way and I helped them, the same way he helped me.’ He paused, then said, ‘Hang on love, this is going to sting a little.’
A sharp sensation pinched my side, then my chest began to burn and I realised I'd been holding my breath. I let it out in a rush, and tried to sound casual when I asked, ‘What happened? I mean… You just got better?’
‘Yup.’ Casper was nodding. ‘I was sedated for a while, but yeah, I got better in the Outlands. Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know. I was just grateful. Took me a new name to go with the new life.’
‘Why did you pick the name Casper?’ I asked.
‘I've had a lot of names since I've been here,’ Casper said. ‘But this one kind of stuck.
‘Is it because you’re like a ghost?’
‘Nah. Ever see the movie Starship Troopers?’
‘No.’
‘Well, there’s this guy in it who kicks the shit out of a bunch of aliens. Thought he was good. Liked his other movies to, so I took the name.’
We both fell silent, Casper concentrating on my side, while I thought on the implications of him turning to Seth when he’d started getting sick.
‘Why did Seth help you?’ I asked finally.
Casper straightened and rinsed the blood-soaked cloth in the bowl. ‘You’d need to ask him that.’
‘He won’t tell me,’ I said.
‘Are you sure about that?’ Casper gave me a frank look. ‘Maybe you’re not really trying. Maybe you’re not sure you want the answers. I've known the Wizard there for a long time. He’s a hard man… Dangerous even, but I've never seen him act the way he just did, around you. All caring and shit.’
I wanted to argue with him, but swallowed the words. Now that I wasn’t fighting for my life, Roman’s face was dancing in my mind’s eye, and my concern for him was a constant pressure in my chest. Once I found him, I was going to convince him to flee to the Outlands and seek refuge here, with Casper. It was the perfect solution. It had to be.
‘You said the Iguana Cafe was somewhere you used when you weren’t sure how things would go.’ I stiffened as Casper stuck some gauze over my side, taping it down. ‘What was your concern about tonight? You trust Seth, but thought I was suspicious?’
Casper walked to the sink, dumping the bloodstained water. He turned the tap on, squirted detergent on his hands and washed them slowly. ‘I'd heard about you, but I didn’t know you. It was also a mighty coincidence, the Aldebaran being stolen just before our meeting. No-one knew of our meeting from my end, but something was off.’ He wiped his hands on his singlet. ‘You want to know who was controlling the fleshlings, right?’
‘Why don’t we start with how?’
Casper nodded. ‘Not many people are aware, but some nephilim have the ability to blood cast. Not as cool as chaos magic, but still pretty awesome.’
‘I've heard this before,’ I said, pulling my top back on carefully. ‘My mother, Orella, told me once. She said it was the gateway to the nephilim madness.’
Casper picked up his beer and took a sip. ‘That’s probably why you won’t find a lot of nephilim willing to use it. Gorath is an exception.’
‘Who is this Gorath?’ I asked. ‘He acted like he knew me. Why did he attack us? He said something about me joining him, or going to him. What did he mean?’
‘I think you should ask Seth.’
‘I'm asking you,’ I said in a flat voice.
Casper tipped back his beer, finishing it in a few large gulps. He wiped a hand across his mouth, put the empty in the sink, then grabbed another from the fridge.
‘I want to know what he meant,’ I said in a quiet voice.
The nephilim twisted the lid of his beer, brow furrowed. ‘In the Aldebaran, there’s a prophecy about a fight between two beings called the Dreadwitch and the Howling King. You heard of it?’
‘Yeah,’ I sighed. ‘But I'm not a believer.’
‘Sure. But Gorath is.’ Casper leant a hip against the kitchen counter. ‘Which make
s it as good as true, in some ways.’
‘Great.’
One side of Casper’s mouth quirked up. ‘Is it true you can use Outland weapons inside the borders of The Weald?’
I grunted, staring at the floor. Used to be, people respected a girl’s secrets. But it seemed I was no longer girl of mystery. Seemed I was just fodder for gossip.
Casper tipped his beer my way, saluting me. ‘You know what I think? That makes you a little on the special side. Means that maybe you could be this Dreadwitch. Means maybe Gorath is right about everything.’
‘I'm not, and your Gorath is going to be very fucking disappointed when he discovers that,’ I said. ‘Especially when I relieve him of his copies of the Aldebaran.’
Casper cocked his head to the side. ‘What’s your plan for the books, if you get them?’
I rolled my neck, hearing a satisfactory crack. ‘I'm going to burn every copy that exists and dance on their ashes.’
Casper’s beer froze halfway to his lips. ‘Are you serious? Why?’
‘The existence of the Aldebaran makes me a target for every crazy believer around,’ I said, trying to let him know whatever his opinion was, it probably wasn’t welcome. I didn’t need someone else trying to tell me my business. ‘I get it that there are some who think I might fit the bill of this Dreadwitch, but I disagree with the diagnosis.’
‘Why destroy the books?’
I hesitated, then admitted, ‘My blood can be used with the spells.’
‘Okay, that’s kind of cool, but I could see why you’d be freaked,’ Casper said. ‘Destroying all the books sounds a little extreme.’
‘My guardians hid my identity because they were worried I'd be used as a weapon. You might say I share those concerns.’ I put my beer down on the counter, feeling a little sick at the topic of conversation. ‘Is this Gorath like you? Is he nephilim?’
‘Gorath is different.’ Casper’s rough voice was subdued. ‘He doesn’t have pure nephilim blood in his veins.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘His father was a celestial being, but his mother wasn’t quite human.’
‘What was she?’
‘Griorwolf.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘As a heart attack,’ Casper said grimly. ‘He’s a dangerous character, that one. A real nut-bag. His disciples follow his orders blindly. I think they’re thankful to have a cause to fight for.’
‘What’s his cause?’
‘Some bullshit about nephilim inheriting The Weald.’
‘That’s a new one. How many follow him?’
Casper gave a short laugh. ‘Enough that he’s dangerous.’
I didn’t bother asking what Gorath wanted with me. It was obvious enough. Blah, blah, chaos magic, blah, blah, untold power.
‘You know, within the ranks of the nephilim, it is whispered that the Dreadwitch will help us go home.’ Casper’s face turned wistful. ‘I still get that feeling, you know? Like a piece of my heart is missing. We all feel it, out here. The Weald is our homeland, after all.’
‘Would you ever risk returning?’ My thoughts shifted to Roman, and his twisted face in the garden maze. ‘Do you think you’ve beaten the berserker curse?’
Casper’s eyes shadowed. ‘I don’t think it would be worth the risk.’
My worry for Roman almost had me confessing everything there and then to Casper. How Roman had gone missing after punching a hole through someone’s chest. How I was frightened about the black strands appearing in my hair. But the words didn’t come. This wasn’t a ‘Dear Abby’ moment and I wasn’t about to spill my guts to someone I'd just met.
‘I'm going to get some pizza,’ Casper said. ‘Then you two need to catch a couple of hours shut-eye. You need some rest before heading home.’ He held a hand up when he saw me open my mouth to protest. ‘You can leave first thing in the morning. But I'm gonna insist on this.’ He shrugged, spreading his hands. ‘Who knows, maybe some spicy pepperoni action will help you two kids patch things up.’
I pulled a gross-out face and eased off the counter. My feet hit the floor and my lame leg buckled. I grabbed at the counter to keep myself upright.
‘You shouldn’t be drinking,’ Casper said.
‘Beer doesn’t count.’ I took a breath. Hey, I'd been hurt before and bounced back. This time was no different. ‘Thanks for saving me at the cafe.’
Casper paused by the elevator. ‘I wasn’t the only one fighting by your side. Don’t forget that.’
Chapter 19
I stood in a forest of beech trees, knowing I was dreaming. The stone cottage that always appeared in my dreams towered before me with its pokey chimney and roof of twigs and straw. The front door was open, but I stayed where I was, arms crossed. It had been a couple of months since I’d been here, in this strange dreamscape that I’d been visiting since I was a child.
I felt a presence behind me, and turned to see the creature that always visited me. He was tall, with grey clothes that drifted in an unfelt breeze. His face was tight, eyes nothing more than clotted shadows. Great black wings folded at his back, like a grandiose cloak.
His head tilted to the side. ‘You look different. More grown up.’
‘Guess my brain is finally catching on that I’m a big girl now.’
‘Does this mean you have accepted things?’ The creature’s wings rustled behind him with a dry sound.
‘This is my dream. You don’t get to ask the questions.’
‘Don’t I?’
‘That’s another question. Why do you keep appearing to me? What do you really want?’
‘You know why. I want to teach you how to use the gift you were given. I only ask you swear fealty to me, as your father. As your maker.’
My hands tucked into my armpits before I could stop them. ‘I still find it hard to believe you’re my father.’
‘Celestials and hellspawn cannot breach The Weald, daughter, but dreamscapes are more neutral territory. We share blood and that is how I have access to you here. As your father, it is my right.’ He paused. ‘Do you want to know my name?’
I hesitated. In legend, real names had power. It was a forgotten type of magic, an old-style voodoo, but I'd always held some stock in it. So I did the only logical thing and pulled a face that suggested I didn’t care. ‘You could tell me, but I doubt it will mean anything.’
He smiled, his pale lips thinning. ‘Sariel.’
I had expected the name to resonate, to snag in my memory somehow. But it just sounded like a name.
‘You don’t recognise it?’ he asked.
‘Nope.’
‘Always the tough little girl.’
‘I thought we’d established I'm not a kid anymore.’ I gestured around the forest. ‘What’s the purpose of all this? I mean, there’d better be a good one; you’ve been trying to frighten me since I was a little girl.’
‘That has never been my intention.’ Sariel’s teeth clicked together sharply with each word. ‘I always have let your own mind guide the manner in which we meet.’
‘You do realise what you look like?’ I asked dryly. ‘Like a walking jack-o’-lantern.’
‘This is not my real appearance,’ Sariel said. ‘It is how you saw me as a little girl. I guess like most things in childhood, it has become a favoured remembrance.’
His appearance blurred as if he was a reflection in a pond, then cleared, revealing a different image. I'd been expecting flowing white hair. Blazing eyes. Golden skin, and a white tunic. The man that stood before me had a narrow jaw, thin nose and slicked back salt and pepper hair. His eyes were black, and he wore a dark blue pinstripe suit with white spats and a pink handkerchief tucked in the front pocket. He looked like one of the rat pack, and I was somehow disappointed.
‘Do you even have wings?’ I arched an eyebrow.
Sariel’s shoulders shivered, and two ebony wings stretched to their full, twelve-foot span. At least that was impressive.
‘I thought
angel wings were white,’ I said.
‘I am one of the four guardians of the realm. Those closest to the upper realms have wings the colour of purest snow.’ Sariel tapped his nose. ‘I'm close enough to the action that humanity has contaminated me with their pollution.’
‘Sounds like a thankless job,’ I said. ‘Guess you’re still hoping we’re going to share matching decoder rings?’
Sariel gave a deep, booming laugh. ‘Angels don’t feel much connection to any kin they spawn with human females. They’re considered nothing more than mutts.’
‘Thank you. There’s another five years of therapy.’
‘I don’t see you like that, Lora. I see you as much more.’
‘A mutt with potential, eh?’
His smile faded. ‘I wasn’t sure you were the one, since you rejected your heritage so wholeheartedly. At one point, I had hopes you’d give me a child I could mould into what I needed, what I intended.’ He sighed. ‘But with your talent for driving men away, I realise this is a futile hope.’
‘Thank you. Make that ten years of therapy,’ I snapped.
Sariel tilted his head towards the darkening sky. ‘Our time is drawing close, dear daughter. You don’t enjoy the sound sleep you used to.’
He clicked his teeth together a few times, then said, ‘The time comes when you will have no options left. Then, you will come to me on your knees, begging for me to accept you and show you your path.’ He took a step towards me and a rich, caramel cologne reached my nose. ‘My interest in you, daughter, is to see you walk the path you were created for. Then, perhaps, you can show others the way. Show them the blessings they may receive when they give their thanks to someone who listens.’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about anymore.’
Sariel brushed my comment aside with a wave of his hand. ‘A choice will be given to you, Lora. Then you will see that there is really no choice at all.’
Chapter 20
I woke the next morning in one of Casper’s spare rooms with a dry mouth, thumping headache and a strong desire to get back home. Seth and I said our goodbyes to Casper and soon enough, we were heading back to The Weald. The drive began tensely, but improved after we stopped at a drive-thru. Seth and I were almost back on speaking terms after a round of takeaway coffee and greasy breakfast burgers.
Chaos Bound Page 13