Promise of Wrath (The Hellequin Chronicles Book 6)

by Steve McHugh

  “Life happens, Nate.” He put his hand in his pocket and tossed me a small metal key. “It’s for the band. You’re going to need your magic, I think. I get the impression that Jerry and Kay weren’t your only problem.”

  I thought back to the small rock monsters that attacked me. “Asag is alive. We killed him. He really shouldn’t be up and around.”

  “I remember,” Mordred said with a huge grin. “But then, apparently the people you think are dead really don’t like to stay that way. Goodbye, Nate.”

  I unlocked the sorcerer’s band, grateful for the wave of power that entered me the second it was released. I raised my hand, trying to use whatever power I’d acquired, but nothing happened.

  “It might take a while, Nate,” Mordred told me with a smile on his face, but no mockery in his tone. “You always were impatient. Be seeing you soon.”

  Morgan stayed a moment, locking eyes with me. “I wish things had been different.”

  I laughed. “You’ve had over a thousand years to think of what to say to me and that’s what you go with?”

  “Should I grovel to you for doing the right thing?” she snapped, before taking a breath to calm herself. “I apologize for you getting hurt, Nathaniel—sorry, you go by Nate now, don’t you? You were never meant to get hurt.”

  “Just Arthur. That was meant to happen. You tried to kill your king. Our friend.”

  “Your king. Your friend. He was never my anything. I’d hoped you’d have seen the truth by now: why we had to kill him.”

  “Because you and your allies are power-hungry idiots who aligned themselves with a psychopath?”

  “Goodbye, Nate.” Her words were said with real venom. She turned and followed Mordred, leaving me alone, bathed in the light of spotlights that sat around the garden.

  I wondered what the loss of the latest mark would give me. I guessed that, like the previous marks, I would have to wait a while for it to be usable.

  I needed to figure out where Kay and Jerry had taken the Fates. And there was the small matter of Asag’s survival, which was certainly something I hadn’t been expecting.

  I got back to my feet. I felt unsteady, but at least I was alive, even if shaken up, and a lot more confused than I’d been before the day had started. I took a few seconds to ensure I wasn’t going to fall over at the first step away from where I was propped up, and found I was okay.

  I was certain that Kay and his allies knew I was alive, which meant I had to find them quickly, before they could do more damage.

  I climbed over the nearby fence and made my way to the front of the house. I really needed a cup of tea. Or a shot of whisky, although if I started drinking, I might not stop until the bottle was finished. No, tea was the better choice. I looked at the house. It had collapsed like a soufflé.

  I sat in front of the bookstore and waited for Diane to show up, which didn’t take long. Her white BMW X5 screeched to a halt in the middle of the road. Diane was out of the car the second it stopped and running to the collapsed building.

  “Hey!” I shouted, getting her attention.

  She ran over. “What the hell happened?”

  I regaled her with tales of collapsing buildings and Mordred; the latter she was less than pleased to hear was in her city.

  “Any chance of a cup of tea?” I asked. “It’s been a shit day.”

  Diane was soon joined by Remy, Kasey, and Chloe, none of whom appeared that thrilled to see me in my disheveled state.

  “You’re an asshole,” Remy snapped. “Running off like that, almost getting yourself killed.”

  “I’d really like a cup of tea.” I was almost at pleading territory.

  Diane sighed, walked into the shop, and returned a few minutes later with a cup of the lovely stuff.

  “I’d have done it myself, but I honestly don’t know where anything is.” I explained anything I’d missed a few minutes earlier with Diane, and occasionally sipped my tea. “This is good.” I blew on my tea and took a good, long drink, letting the warmth and sweetness of the sugar calm me. It’s a weird thing, but a good cup of tea really can help if you’re having a crappy day.

  “I’ve never understood the British love of this drink,” Diane said. “I prefer coffee.”

  “And that is because you’re a heathen.”

  Kasey didn’t look like she was in a patient mood. “So, Mordred is back. And so are Kay, Jerry, and Asag. All of whom want you dead.”

  “Nice summary. They also flattened a house on me. And I have no idea what Mordred wants. He was even weirder than usual.”

  “We need to go back to Brutus’s place and get his help,” Diane said. “Tommy’s waiting there for us. He’s not thrilled about what’s happening here.”

  “Yeah, I think going there is a bad idea. They have people working for Brutus on their side. It’s how they managed to make you believe you had people here when you don’t.”

  “My own people conspiring against me?” Diane’s anger leaked out slightly and she clenched one hand, making the knuckles pop audibly.

  “You shouldn’t have left without telling anyone,” Kasey told me as she sat beside me and gave me a quick hug.

  “You didn’t kill Mordred.” It was Remy’s turn to speak, and it was less of a question and more of a statement of disbelief.

  “I didn’t exactly have the means or opportunity.”

  Diane walked off with her phone.

  “So do you have a plan?” Chloe asked.

  “I plan on finding the Fates, and killing everyone else involved. Haven’t really gone beyond that as a plan.”

  “It’s a start.”

  “What’s going on with Brutus?” I asked. “I’ve heard he’s having some issues.”

  “He’s convinced someone is out to get him,” Diane said, hanging up the phone. “He’s been getting more and more paranoid since the whole episode with Pandora a few years ago. There might well be a threat against him, but as he won’t let me do my damn job, I can’t easily figure out who might cause him trouble. This time, Licinius told him of a threat to his life, because that way Licinius gets the credit when this fictional threat is vanquished.” She rubbed her eyes. “Sorry for the rant. To be honest, I’d be grateful of some time away, although I wish it were for a nicer reason.”

  Licinius was one of Brutus’s lieutenants. A capable sorcerer, a dangerous individual, a brilliant mind, and an insufferable wanker. I admit that it was quite a feat being head and shoulders up his own ass and up Brutus’s at the same time. I think it’s safe to say I didn’t like him.

  “Well, first things first.” I finished my tea and set the cup beside me. “We need help. Someone is moving pieces around, and I’d at least like to know the game they’re playing.”

  “Okay, let’s go get Tommy, then,” Diane said, and we all followed her back to the car.

  Chloe opened the back door and a foot-long package wrapped in brown paper fell out of it, landing on the ground with a clunk.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “No idea,” Diane told me. “It arrived just as I was leaving to fetch you. It can wait.”

  Chloe bent down to pick it up. “Ow! What the fuck was that?” she exclaimed. Her hand had a nasty cut on it, and was dripping blood all over the brown paper, which had ripped open when it fell, revealing runes underneath.

  There was a humming from what we could now see was a stone tablet, and Chloe stepped back to look down as the runes lit up bright blue. She raised her foot, presumably to kick the tablet as far away from her as possible, but before her foot connected with it, the tablet exploded, bathing us all in brilliant blue and purple light.

  CHAPTER 10

  Where the hell are we?” I asked, as I opened my eyes and blinked repeatedly.

  “Ouch!” Diane said from nearby. “I smell nature. Why do I smell nature?”

  “Well, that was the exact definition of messed up,” Kasey joined in. “I do not enjoy landing on my ass in the middle of a forest.”
<
br />   Kasey was right: we did appear to be in the middle of a forest. A smattering of snow littered the ground.

  “Any idea where we are?” Diane asked. “And, Nate, if you say, ‘Not Kansas’ I’m going to throttle you.”

  “Well, we’re not in London. Or England,” I said, getting to my feet and brushing myself down. “Trees are a lot higher here than I would have expected. Oh and it’s August. Not a lot of snow in England in August.”

  “It’s not cold,” Remy said.

  “It’s quite pleasant,” Diane agreed, “despite the snow.”

  “I don’t think my T-shirt and jacket are going to be all that great if it gets colder, though,” I said. “We need to get to a phone, figure out where we are, and what the hell is going on.”

  Diane searched around her feet. “Where’s the tablet?”

  “I assume that whatever it was, it was a one-way trip,” Kasey said. “I’ve never heard of a tablet with runes allowing people to teleport, though. You?”

  Diane shook her head.

  “Nate?”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard of something similar. But that was a long time ago, and it was used to open a gate to a realm. I haven’t heard of them since, but I assume they’d gone into mythological territory.”

  “I don’t think it’s a myth anymore,” Diane pointed out.

  “A portable realm gate?” Remy asked, shocked.

  We all had the same thought at the same time and began to run through the forest. It didn’t take long before we reached a cliff edge. Hundreds of feet below us was even more forest, and in the distance a mountain range. There was a town in front of one mountain, with a huge tower hundreds of feet tall between the city and the mountain.

  “No, no, no, no, no,” said a voice I immediately recognized. “This can’t be happening.”

  I turned to find Mordred. I launched forward, grabbing hold of his lapels and driving him against the nearest tree trunk. “What did you do?” I screamed at him.

  “Me? I didn’t do this!” he said. “Now let go of me.”

  I ignored him. “Why? Why did you do this, Mordred?”

  “Release me, Nathan,” Mordred said, more forcefully.

  “Nate, let him go,” Morgan said, placing the tip of a blade by my throat.

  “Don’t you dare,” Kasey snapped and dove into Morgan, taking her off her feet and planting her on the ground.

  For a few seconds all I heard were the sounds of fighting, while I held Mordred in place.

  “Enough!” Diane screamed. “Mordred said he didn’t do this. Right now, let’s not kill one another until we figure out what’s happening.”

  I didn’t move.

  “Let go of him, Nate.” Diane’s voice left no room for argument.

  I released him and stepped back, catching a glimpse of Kasey and Morgan, both with bloody lips, glaring at one another with hatred.

  “Why would I want to come here?” Mordred asked as he sunk to his knees. “I never wanted to return to this accursed place.”

  “Where are we?” Remy asked.

  Mordred ignored the question and looked up at me. “You know, don’t you, Nate?”

  I grabbed Mordred’s hand and checked the rune. It had been removed, so it was possible he was now lying to me.

  “Nate, do you know this place?” Diane asked, as Morgan helped Mordred get back to his feet.

  “Yes,” I said. “It’s the dwarven realm of Nidavellir. Over there is the city of Darim, and beyond that the dwarven city of Thorem. This is the realm where the Norse dwarves originated.”

  “How far away is Darim?” Kasey asked.

  “A day or two’s walk,” Mordred said. “Two days out here in the wilds. You know what that means, yes?”

  I nodded.

  “Would you like to tell the rest of the class?” Morgan asked. She walked past Kasey. “Nice right hook, by the way.”

  Kasey touched her cheek. “Pull a knife on one of us again and I’ll tear your arms off.”

  “Like to see you try, Kid Werewolf.”

  “Enough!” Diane shouted. “Seriously, I’d quite like to get out of here in one piece, so if that means I need to launch anyone off this cliff now, let me know so I don’t have to be worried about you all killing each other.”

  “I’m good,” Kasey promised. “Who are you two, anyway?”

  “I’m Mordred. This is Morgan,” Mordred told her.

  The moment Kasey realized it was Morgan, she dove at her. Diane moved quicker than either Remy or me, and we were both closer to Kasey. She scooped the teenage werewolf up and pinned her against the tree as Kasey snarled and tried to break free.

  “Remember what Diane just said about not killing her,” I reminded Kasey, while Remy placed his hand on his sword hilt. “Either of you. We need numbers to get out of here in one piece. And while I hate to admit it, killing each other isn’t going to get us home.”

  “But they’re murderers—and traitors,” Remy said.

  “Yes, and I trust them about as much as I’d trust a hungry tiger not to bite me, but right now, we’re all in mutual need. Once we get out of here, I’m sure they’ll try to do whatever they want. So don’t trust them, but don’t kill them.”

  “They’re welcome to try,” Morgan almost spat, her twin blades already in her hands.

  “You’re not fucking helping!” I almost shouted, causing her to blink. “Put them away, or I will remove them from you!”

  “You can—” she started.

  A bolt of lightning left my hand and flew by her ear, slamming into the rock behind her. “Yes. I can.”

  She put the blades away, her expression of shock one that I might well otherwise have enjoyed.

  “Guys, I don’t feel so good,” Chloe said, collapsing onto the soft earth.

  We darted over to Chloe as she tried to get back to a kneeling position, momentarily forgetting about Morgan and Mordred’s presence. Kasey wrapped up the deep cut on Chloe’s hand as we tried to find out if she was okay.

  “It took a lot out of me,” Chloe said.

  “Nate, kindly explain what kind of things we might find here,” Remy asked, clearly keeping his temper in check. I doubt he was thrilled about being in Mordred’s company. Everyone in Avalon knew someone who Mordred had killed, either personally or through his games.

  “There are a lot of things out here that would probably enjoy eating us. Big things, with big teeth.”

  “Spiders. There are giant spiders out here,” Mordred interrupted.

  “Not just spiders,” I explained. “Ogres, trolls, things you probably don’t want to get too close to. The city is a haven for travelers, though.”

  “Not anymore it isn’t,” Mordred said. “Or at least, I doubt it is. Not since the dwarves vanished and left this place in the hands of—” He stopped, as if he’d said too much.

  “Hands of what?”

  Mordred looked around him. He had the appearance of a man who was incredibly worried about who might overhear him. “I won’t say. This place is evil and we need to leave. Now.”

  “Why are you so scared?” I asked.

  Mordred stood and began walking away.

  “Mordred? When did you become a coward?”

  He turned and immediately sprinted toward me. I readied myself for an attack, but Diane stepped in between us, her hands out to stop anything from happening.

  “I do not relish keeping you all apart,” she said. “Do not taunt him, Nate.”

  I put my hands up in surrender. “You’re right. Mordred, why are you scared?”

  “This place, these people, they broke me. They broke me, Nate. And someone sent us back here. I can’t be here again. I can’t.” Genuine tears filled his eyes. “I can’t, Nate. They broke me.”

  Morgan ran to him, holding him against her.

  “What the hell happened here?” Remy whispered to me.

  “I have no idea, but I’m pretty certain it wasn’t anything good.”

  “Did someone send you
a tablet too?” Diane asked Morgan and Mordred.

  “We were watching you,” Morgan said, “from on top of the roof of the Fates’ house. Maybe thirty feet up, ten feet away.”

  “So the tablet, whatever it is, has a small range,” Remy said, “but it goes up into the air a considerable amount. Could anyone else have been caught up in it?”

  “Not unless they were on the roof too,” Mordred snapped. “Actually, I don’t know. I didn’t see how far the light went.”

  “Let’s go check. I don’t really want to leave innocent people here to die.”

  “We need to worry about ourselves, Nathan.”

  “You’re welcome to start walking, Mordred. But since you hate it here, I figure numbers are important to you. Besides, look at that.” I pointed over at the mountain range as black clouds rolled in over them, streaks of lightning trailing down to strike some of the peaks. Everyone followed my finger.

  “How long before it gets to us?”

  Mordred took a deep breath. “Four, five hours. We need shelter.”

  Morgan didn’t look overly impressed with that idea. “We need to get back. We can’t spend days and days away from our realm.”

  Mordred shook his head. “Days are shorter here, but not by much. A week here is maybe five days in our realm. Someone wanted you all out of the way so that they can do something. What the something is, is a question I don’t have the answer to. But I’m going to assume that if Kay is working with people inside of Brutus’s organization, then he’s at least partly responsible for what happened here. Either way, the quicker we’re gone from this accursed place, the better.”

  “How long did you spend here?” I asked, not really sure I wanted an answer.

  Mordred ignored me. “Let’s go find shelter.”

  I watched Mordred retrace our steps back toward the clearing.

  “What kind of shelter are we looking for?” Diane asked.

  “There are a huge number of caves around here,” Mordred said without turning back to her. “The dwarves used to mine this far out of the city, until it became too dangerous for them to travel through the forest below. The caves sometimes get taken over by trolls or ogres, or sometimes something worse, but when I was a guest here, one of the dwarves told me about a set of caves that you could use to keep safe if you were caught out here. That was a few thousand years ago by time here, however, so who knows what we’ll find?”