Chaos Bound

by Rebekah Turner

  ‘There’s a good girl. Let it wash over you.’

  Lander’s mouth was on his forehead now, teeth glistening into that twisted smile I really, really hated. A man appeared beside him.

  ‘Do you want your knives?’ he asked Lander. As I watched, the man’s head shook, then began to shrink. I slapped a hand over my mouth, stifling a cry. I wanted to warn him, but was too afraid. What if his head kept shrinking? Where would it go? What if my head shrunk as well?

  Something shifted at the edge of the room and I looked over. A green monkey stood in the corner, wearing a bowler hat and a polka-dot vest, a fat cigar between two slender fingers. He waved the cigar at me, trailing smoke. ‘He’s going to kill you.’

  ‘You think I don’t know that?’ I spoke slowly, the words hard to push past my numb lips.

  The monkey raised his eyebrows, which was weird, because I didn’t know monkeys had eyebrows. He placed the cigar between his lips and puffed. ‘Well?’ he murmured. ‘What are you going to do about it?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  The man with the shrunken head moved behind me, laughing as he went. The monkey made an impatient motion. ‘Come on, Lora. Don’t you feel something familiar?’

  I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to focus, to swim past the numbness.

  There.

  From inside the dark core of my mind, a helix of stars spiralled upwards. The threads of light uncoiled, filling me. A song played sweetly beneath my feet, and my ears vibrated with a chorus of gentle bells and chimes. The ley-lines. I could hear them singing. I could feel them dancing.

  A force slammed into the side of my face, and my head rocked to the side, fireworks exploding in my mind. Opening my eyes with a gasp, I saw Lander watching me. His mouth had returned to its home, but I knew it was only a matter of time before it just simply walked off his face.

  ‘Closing your eyes is cheating,’ Lander said. ‘You keep your eyes open. I want you to see what I'm doing.’

  My eyes slid to the monkey and he winked at me. ‘Why don’t you make him see.’

  I winked back, barely feeling my stinging cheek. ‘I think I will.’

  Lander frowned, his eyebrows suspiciously loose in their location. Then his big hands were on me, pulling at my clothes. I wished I had my sword. Really wished it. Looking down at the ground, I spied a nice, fat ley-line beneath my feet, swaying like rope in a river. I lifted a hand. Called for my sword. No salt. No casting agent. I didn’t need it. Power flooded me, light and easy. It smelt the blood on my shoulder, and ignited with it like napalm. There was a whistling sound, then the familiar grooves of my sword hilt smacked into my hand and my fingers wrapped tight. Lander paused, trying to figure out what was happening. I threw him some dimples. Always nice to give a condemned man a parting gift. I pressed my palm against Lander’s chest.

  ‘Move.’

  Power surged and crackled across my skin, then Lander’s body shot backwards. He smashed into the far wall, collapsing on the ground in a shower of broken plaster.

  I stood, feeling like I could fly if I wanted to. The man with the little head was making all sorts of squeaking sounds and fumbling with a flintlock. I swung my sword, testing my strength and trying not to be distracted by the whistle of steel. Another man stumbled into the room from outside. He came at me with a knife, and I spied frogs crawling over his body.

  ‘You’ve got something on you,’ I told him. He glanced down at himself and I attacked, my blade sliding through his chest in an easy killing blow. He slumped with a gurgle and the frogs all jumped off, bouncing for the door. I watched them go, then arms were wrapped tight around me, locking my arms by my side. I let go of my sword.

  ‘That’s it, princess.’ Lander’s whisper was a hot tickle in my ear. ‘I like a girl with a bit of fire.’ I didn’t offer any resistance. I didn’t need to. Ignoring Lander’s hold, I stared at the man with the shrunken head in front of me. ‘I can fix that for you.’ I clucked my tongue, before the right word came to me. ‘Bigger.’

  The man opened his tiny mouth to say something, when his itty-bitty ears gave a quiver. He paused, then his forehead began to swell and his lips peeled back. His hands flailed. Eyes popped wide. His tongue curled out, filling his mouth. His swollen head wobbled, and strained flesh wavering on his neck, unable to keep balance.

  ‘Help me.’ His voice was a muffled plea for mercy.

  ‘I am,’ I told him gravely. Lander’s grip loosened and I stepped out of his hold.

  A crunch of bone sounded, followed by a groan of flesh, then the head burst in an explosion of blood. Gore plastered the furniture and splattered my face. The headless body collapsed to the ground and I drew in a long breath, smelling fear and shit. Blood dripped from my chin and fragments of bone slid down my cheek.

  Behind me, Lander’s voice was a squeal of fear. ‘What did you just do?’

  I turned to see all of Lander’s features now wandered his face, as if they understood their fate and wanted to flee. The bandage over his cheek had shifted and the roughly stitched wound I'd given him was also trying get going while the going was good.

  The green monkey in the corner was rolling around on his back, laughing. ‘Make him dance, Lora. You make him dance.’

  ‘Where is Nicola?’ I asked Lander.

  ‘I'm not telling you nothing.’ His voice trembled as he fumbled for his switchblade. ‘You think you can tussle with me? Bring it on, bitch. I'm supposed to bring you in alive. Can’t help it if accidents happen, though.’ He flicked the blade open. ‘I'm going to slice you up so bad, you’re gonna pray for the hellfires of The Pit to eat you up.’

  ‘Of course,’ I said. ‘But you’re going first.’ I pointed at him, blood dripping from my finger. ‘Burn.’

  Lander’s wandering features gave a start and froze. His body twitched. His mouth opened and a tongue of fire licked out. The wound I'd given him had returned to his cheek and as I watched, the stitches ripped open in one violent tear. The fire crawled over Lander’s face, hungry, consuming with speed. His hair blazed bright and flames crackled down his body in a relentless wave. His skin blistered and blackened. The fire grew to a roar and the smell of singed meat filled the air. Lander dropped the switchblade, his blackened hands slapping his head, trying to put the fire out, but the flames only fired up brighter with the movement. I stepped aside as Ivor Grogan’s bodyguard rushed past me, a flailing human torch, screaming as he went.

  Chapter 37

  After Lander passed out by the front door, I watched the flames die with him. Then I walked upstairs to fill Seth’s bathtub with water and stepped in. Sitting down, I hugged my knees to my chest and tried to breathe, nice and slow. The power I'd felt was gone now, but the memory of the rush was vivid in my mind and I craved more. But I knew a trap when I saw one. When I'd called for my sword and revelled in the feeling of power, the world around me had felt startling fragile. Instinct warned me that if I kept casting, the walls of my reality would turn thin. I didn’t want to think what would happen if I chose to shred them.

  I must have dozed off at some point, because the next thing I knew, Seth was hoisting me out. The water was cold enough that my teeth were chattering. I sprawled on the tiles as he leaned over me, face twisted with worry. His mouth was moving and it took a long time to realise he was shouting.

  ‘What?’ I mumbled.

  His voice suddenly came in loud and clear. ‘What happened?’

  I couldn’t stop shivering and it was hard to piece together my memory. Seth helped me sit up, leaning me against the tub. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me.

  ‘Where’s Nicola?’ His voice was strained.

  ‘Taken. What time is it?’

  ‘Mid afternoon. You want to tell me who killed my men? Or why you’re sitting in a tub of cold water?’

  ‘I got shot.’

  Seth whipped the towel away, his hands pushing aside my clothes. ‘Where? I can’t see it.’

  ‘Shoulder.’

&nb
sp; Seth moved in close to check both shoulders. ‘I can’t see anything.’

  I ran my fingers dreamily over the shoulder Lander had shot, finding nothing but smooth skin. I couldn’t even feel if the pistol’s lead ball was still in my flesh. A flash of recollection hit, of me drawing power from the ley-lines without any casting agent. Of that power filling, consuming, and healing me. The sensation was frighteningly similar to when I'd consumed the Apertor Elixir.

  Exhaustion washed over me. ‘Crowhurst. They took Crowhurst.’ I blinked, trying to focus. ‘I need to go and get him.’

  Seth wrapped the towel back around me. ‘You’re not in any shape to go anywhere right now.’

  He got me on my feet and led me into the bedroom, sitting me down on his bed. I didn’t resist, weary beyond measure. I figured a hundred years of sleep would be just about right. But first, I had to rescue Crowhurst and Nicola, then feed Grogan his own beating heart. Then I could rest. I blew out a breath and realised Seth was trying to pull off my wet clothes.

  I pushed him away and stood on shaky feet.

  ‘I can do it.’ My voice dragged, but I was glad to hear a steely undertone.

  Seth heard it too and he stepped back with a sigh, giving me room. ‘What happened?’ he asked again. ‘So far, I've figured my guards were killed by Reapers. Want to fill me in on how the story goes after that? I've got a dead man in my living room, brains all over my carpet, and another burnt to death in my hallway. I come upstairs and find you passed out in a cold bath in your clothes. Even for you, this is weird.’

  ‘Ivor Grogan sent the Reapers. They took Nicola.’ I pulled my shirt off, the wet material sticking to my skin. I checked my side and saw it also had healed. My bad leg still ached, and I sighed. Guess it would have been too much to ask for everything in my broken body to heal. ‘They killed your men, and took Crowhurst.’

  Seth’s lips pulled tight. ‘Then what happened?’

  Taking a wobbly breath, I told him. When I finished, Seth’s eyebrows had risen as high as they could go. ‘I see.’

  ‘You do?’

  He paused, then said, ‘No, not really. Where did the green monkey come from?’

  ‘I think he was a hallucination.’

  ‘You were injected with rapture, and it gave you the same effect as the Witch Hunter elixir?’

  ‘Right.’ I deliberately left out the part where I'd felt the magic mix with my blood and burst into to something bigger. Now wasn’t the time to talk about that, not until I understood it better myself. ‘We’ve got to rescue Crowhurst and Nicola. I'm going to be so grateful that I won’t bring up you recruiting me into the Order again.’ I unlaced my sodden boots, then peeled off my wet pants.

  ‘If you’re trying to guilt me, you’re wasting your breath.’ Seth walked to his wardrobe, shrugging out of his Captain’s City Watch jacket. ‘Get dressed before you catch a cold. We’ll talk more downstairs.’

  I retreated to the spare bedroom, pawing through my spare clothes and realising the only fresh clothes I had left were a pair of skinny jeans I kept meaning to throw out and a faded Metallica t-shirt. Tightening the wet leg-brace, I struggled into the jeans, ducked into the t-shirt and a hooded jacket, then wiggled my feet back into my wet boots.

  Mentally reminding myself I needed to retrieve my work-belt from home, I walked back to the bathroom, shoes squelching. Standing in front of the mirror, I pulled my hair into a tight coil at the base of my skull and secured it with hairpins I found in the jeans pocket. In the mirror’s reflection, I saw Seth leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed as he watched me with a thoughtful expression. He’d changed into dark civilian clothes, wheellocks holstered against both leg.

  ‘Has there been any fighting between the Reapers and the Marroks?’ I asked.

  ‘A small mob of gypsies were caught near the docks and warned off. Other than that, the City Watch is putting out the word that any fighting won’t be tolerated. I'm trying to set up a meeting with some of the Marrok elders and senior Reaper members. They might be an organisation of cutthroats, but they’re still businessmen. Hopefully we can arrange some atonement money for Tarn Marrok’s death.’

  ‘Murder. You mean, Tarn Marrok’s murder.’

  ‘I know what I mean, Lora.’

  ‘You really think money can solve this?’

  ‘Money can solve anything.’ Seth uncrossed his arms and shot a hand through his hair, leaving it standing on end. ‘And running off to play white knight to some spoilt actress is just an unnecessary distraction.’

  ‘A distraction from what?’ I asked.

  Seth stared at me blankly, like he’d said something he hadn’t meant to. ‘From bringing Ivor Grogan to justice. He’s been trying to infiltrate the Gypsy Quarter with his drug pushers for a while now. I think he’s tired of treading softly. I think now he wants to make some noise.’ He ran his fingers over his goatee. ‘You need to rest. Let me ask around about Crowhurst, see if I can find out where he is before you go charging off.’

  ‘And Nicola? What about her?’

  Seth threw his hands up. ‘I don’t want to keep going over this. You’re getting soft about her, Lora. Best way to get killed. You’re just going to have to face the fact Nicola Grogan is a few notches down on the list of priorities.’

  ‘Bullshit. Nicola is pregnant and when Grogan finds out, she’s as good as dead. Could you live with that? Knowing you could have done something?’

  Seth’s golden eyes narrowed. I waited, staring right back. Whatever our past, right now, I needed him, and badly.

  ‘You ever heard of the Silver Dragon?’ I broke the silence, hoping to surprise an honest answer out of him.

  Seth’s face didn’t shift an inch. ‘Where did you hear that name?’

  ‘It came up when I was asking about Grundler’s murder.’

  He shrugged. ‘There have been rumours about an illegal sporting venue called the Silver Dragon. What did you find out?’

  ‘Nothing much,’ I admitted. ‘Just that it has something to do with Grogan.’

  ‘That wouldn’t be a surprise,’ Seth said. ‘He was a vicious boxer in his day. Even killed an opponent in the ring once. He was a brutal fighter, with an appetite for blood.’

  I zipped up my jacket. ‘I thought we’d check out the perimeter of Grogan’s country estate. Find a weak spot. Sneak in and get Crowhurst, then find Nicola. What do you think?’

  ‘Sounds like suicide,’ Seth said.

  ‘I'm open to any better ideas.’

  ‘I know better than to forbid you from going, Lora. But I won’t be coming with you.’

  I paused, not sure I heard right. ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Didn’t you hear me before? I've got citizens teetering on the brink of a civil war here; a city that could be pulled into chaos any moment. The Marroks are an old family. They have many friends, many favours to call on. As for the Reaper Street Boys, they’ll slaughter anyone who threatens them. The Half-Skull Man isn’t known for doing things by halves. You think I've got time to drop everything and trail along behind you like a good puppy?’ He shook his head. ‘Not this time.’

  ‘That’s not quite how I pictured it,’ I murmured. ‘I thought you’d help me —’

  ‘I know, Lora.’ Seth’s mouth pulled down. ‘Because I help you all the time. Pull you out of one bad spot or another.’

  ‘Hey, hang on. I can take care of myself all right. What do you think happened downstairs?’

  ‘And who do you think has to alter the evidence so you’re not brought up on more darkcraft charges?’ Seth asked wearily. ‘I care for you, Lora, but I won’t go with you. I have more serious situations to handle.’

  ‘You care for me? I thought you loved me,’ I reminded him in a frosty voice.

  His face darkened. ‘Don’t throw my words back into my face when they suit you. This is a matter for Blackgoat Watch. Get Gideon to put a team together if you’re insistent on this course of action.’

  ‘Fine. I will,’ I said
, but we both knew Gideon would never green-light me going after Nicola and Crowhurst. He’d try to set up a meeting with Grogan. Negotiate for Crowhurst’s life with money. Would Grogan admit to having Crowhurst? Not a chance. And Nicola would be written off as a loss. Too bad, so sad.

  Seth didn’t follow me as I thumped downstairs, boots making a squishing sound with each step. Sidestepping Lander’s burnt body, I slammed the door behind me. Outside, the sun like a golden coin in the spotless blue afternoon sky and a breeze drifted over my face, cooling my heated cheeks.

  I walked down Seth’s front steps, trying to think of who I could trust to watch my back. The list was short and discouragement nipped at my heels. What I needed was a sign, of what to do, what direction to take. Should I go running to Gideon for help and risk him restraining me until I came to my senses? Or continue the path towards Grogan by myself?

  A young couple holding hands passed me and the woman threw me a sympathetic look. I realised that just standing there, looking distraught wasn’t going to do me any favours. My eyes fell on Crowhurst’s car parked at the curb. I walked around to the driver’s side and spied the key still in the ignition. Raising my eyes to the blue sky, I sent a silent thanks to Kianna. This was the clearest sign I could get: stylish transportation to wherever my heart desired. I opened the door and slid in, a possible plan and a steady resolve filling me.

  Turning the key, I listened with satisfaction as the clockwork motor ticked to life, then settled into a purring hum. It had been decided. I had transport, and now I was going to rescue my friends.

  But first, I needed weapons.

  Chapter 38

  I made a quick stop at my house to retrieve my work-belt, before heading to Taunton’s Pawnbrokers. The car wheels ground against the curb when I parked and I entered the shop with a determined stride, bell jangling overhead. Taunton leant on his counter, reading a street press. A man in a greatcoat was examining a lampshade, and two women were musing over a fur coat.

  ‘Get out.’

  I said it loud enough that everyone in the shop knew I was talking to them. Taunton put down his street press with a frown. The man with the lampshade looked like he was going to argue. I gave him a hard look.