Forgotten Destiny 2

by Odette C. Bell

  Jason nodded, turned around, latched his hand back on the door, and went to open it. Only as an afterthought did he add, “Stay safe.” With that, he opened the door and walked in.

  I glimpsed a dark room beyond, one with the flickering light of flame torches. As soon as I saw those dancing lights and shadows, my back erupted with nerves that danced in time with them.

  I really doubted the Cruze Gang were the kind of flamboyant old souls to appreciate genuine flame torches over the far easier, cheaper, and more reliable electric version. No, there would be a reason only flame was allowed to light that room.

  Jason didn’t leave the door open and closed it behind him tightly. As soon as it shut, there was a flicker, and a crackling started to fill the air. I wasn’t at all surprised when the door disappeared only to be hidden by that thick concrete wall once more. I didn’t immediately freak out and wonder if Jason was trapped. As a sorcerer, he’d be fine.

  But what about me?”

  I looked down at my hands and considered them with every scrap of my attention as I felt that sensation once more – the one that promised me there was an opportunity right around the corner.

  I wasn’t kidding – it was right around the corner. I turned to my left, the movements of my legs jerky as sweat slicked my brow and my heartbeat quickened.

  I stared down the corridor. There was a room just a few meters down. It wasn’t locked. And my opportunity magic told me without a shadow of a doubt that something important was within. And that something important was Josh.

  But at the same time, the realistic Bethany Samson reminded me that I had no power. Sure, I might’ve found an opportunity, but I didn’t know what kind of opportunity it was. Nor was my magic refined enough to tell me the likelihoods involved. Perhaps this opportunity was strong, or perhaps it was weak.

  But one thing was undeniable. I took a step forward. “Josh,” I muttered under my breath. It hadn’t escaped my attention that this was the second time Josh had been kidnapped and I’d been forced to save him. But this time it was different. Max wasn’t at my side, and I had no one to rely on. I could also… sense that there was something dangerous behind that door.

  I swallowed. I walked forward.

  In the space of only a few seconds, I made up my mind. I wouldn’t wait for Jason. There was no point. There was an opportunity in front of me – and I had to take it, not just for myself, but for Josh.

  I still had a love-hate relationship with Josh. Now I’d been working with him for several weeks, I begrudgingly appreciated that he was good at his job. But more than that, now I’d started to find out more about his personal life – from his financial troubles because of Mercure, to the murder of his sister – I’d started to understand the man. Was he still irritating? Absolutely. Did I still want to move out? Unquestionably. But would I do anything to save him?

  Yes. Anything.

  I reached the door. I lifted a hand up, placed it on the handle, took a breath, and opened it.

  The door wasn’t locked. It wasn’t even booby-trapped. I didn’t hear a magical lock disengaging as it got ready to cast some fiendish spell on me. The old metal door simply swung to.

  I walked into the room.

  There was a man seated on the opposite side. He was in a drab metal chair, a few documents on his lap.

  He looked up.

  Constantine.

  I recognized him easily from the photo I’d seen on the table at home. My gut twisted, feeling like it did a 360.

  He got up from his chipped chair, moving slowly like a snake unwinding itself, getting ready to strike.

  Though the chair looked like nothing more than something he’d dragged out of a dumpster, for some reason it gave me the impression of a throne. Or maybe Constantine gave me the impression of a king.

  He was far more imposing in real life than he had been in his photo. If the sensations raging through my stomach were anything to go by, then he was easily one of the most powerful warlocks I’d ever faced.

  I swallowed.

  He smiled. “Has the lost little lamb wandered into the lion’s den?”

  I didn’t do him the dignity of answering. I curled my hands into fists and trusted in my intuition. It’d told me to walk in here, not to run – to fight.

  If I kept pushing forward, I would come across an opportunity.

  “Where’s your backup? I heard reports that the sorcerer from Internal Affairs,” he clenched his teeth but somehow managed to push each word out clearly, “was helping you.”

  I was prepared for anything – any normal attack, at least. But at the admission that Jason worked for Internal Affairs, I blinked wildly. “What are you talking about?”

  He chuckled. “Don’t play games with me. You’re working with Internal Affairs. Only they have the chops to hire a sorcerer – outside of the Army, at least. Even we couldn’t lure one to our side,” he said as he brought up a hand and proudly patted his chest.

  My head spun. I wanted to ask why Jason wouldn’t have told me that he worked for Internal Affairs, then I quickly pointed out to myself that he simply wouldn’t have had the time. In between pressing me to find the books and promising that we would spend the rest of our lives together, every second had been accounted for.

  Still – this felt important. Critically important. As if it were a key I hadn’t been looking for, but now I had it, one which would be able to open any number of secret doors.

  But the secret doors aside, I really had to concentrate on Constantine, because he took another step toward me.

  I don’t think I’d ever seen someone look so menacing. He looked like the embodiment of the concept – as if every single violent thought a human had ever had had been melted down into his muscles and face and teeth. His neat rows of clean, white teeth for some reason reminded me of a lion smiling.

  He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled something out.

  A part of me thought it would be a grenade or some other magical enchantment – something he would use to end this fight before it had even begun. It was neither. It was a ring. A signet ring if my eyes could be trusted from this distance. He threw it up, caught it, then repeated the move, over and over again as he took slow step after slow step toward me.

  I could easily turn around and run through the door, but I wasn’t an idiot. Though Constantine was technically a precision warlock, he was still a warlock. He would have more than enough magic to yank hold of the door and slam it closed.

  Plus, I reminded myself one final time as I rounded my hands into fists – I had come here because I’d sensed an opportunity.

  “Where has he gone, anyway? Has he left you alone? Don’t tell me,” Constantine brought up his free hand and clicked his fingers, the sound echoing sharply through the room, “he’s gone off to get the books instead. He promised you that he’d come back for you, right? But the first thing you’ll learn in this town is you can’t trust anyone from Internal Affairs. They’re only out for themselves.” With that, he caught his ring one final time then crammed it onto his finger.

  I felt the undercurrent of magic in the room change. A strange whistling noise started to pick up. It was dull at first, almost as if it was a muffled electronic beep making it in through the thick walls. But it began to build and build.

  I shivered. “What are you doing?”

  He snorted. “I would’ve thought that was obvious. I’m getting ready to catch you. You’ve proved to be a lot more difficult to secure than I would’ve hoped. Then again,” he shrugged expressively, “that’s a good thing. Because it means you will be all the more valuable.”

  “There’s no way I will help you.”

  “There’s no way you won’t,” he gestured wide once more, “because there is no way I will give you an opportunity to do anything other than help us. I’ve still got Josh. Would you like me to torture him in front of you?”

  I clenched my teeth. I sensed… I think I sensed an opportunity. Or maybe my mind was now way too a
ddled to trust. Maybe the very sense that had pushed me into this room in the first place had been nothing more than a mistake. Maybe, between the magical burns I’d gotten off Max’s chains and the sheer breakneck danger of this situation, I’d started to lose hold of my powers.

  Constantine could obviously see the doubt in my eyes, because he tilted his head to the side. “Do you need some encouragement now? Okay.” He brought his hand up – the one wearing the signet ring – and he waved it to the side.

  It was almost as if he expected me to wave back – the move was that grand.

  But I didn’t have a chance to wave. The floor beneath me started to shake. I staggered back, clutching hold of the wall for balance just as a huge circle appeared close to my side.

  I had time to gasp, then that low undercurrent of humming in the air grew 10 times as loud. It was so shrill, I had to jerk my head to the side and bury my ears against my shoulders. I would’ve clapped my hands over my ears, but the floor was still shaking.

  Magic sparked everywhere, and it was some of the deepest green I’d ever seen. It was tinged here and there with yellow, and sparks of green gold scattered over the concrete floor. A few of them shifted over my shoes and caught the edges of my pant legs – singing them instantly.

  I didn’t bother to yelp. I stared in wide-eyed amazement as Josh appeared through the floor, rising up as if he were on a platform.

  Just like Max, he was tied to a chair. But unlike Max, he was tied with what looked like hundreds of chains. I wasn’t kidding – they were wriggling and writhing around him, making it look as if he’d been secured with live snakes.

  I gasped.

  The floor was still shaking, but that didn’t matter – I threw myself at him.

  Though Josh had his head rested on his chest and he looked as if he was unconscious – if not dead – he suddenly opened his eyes. “No!” he screamed. “Don’t enter the circle.”

  I skidded to a halt. Honestly, if anyone else had given me that snapped order, I probably wouldn’t have taken it. But there was something hardwired into me to accept a command like that from Josh. That’s not to say that I usually did exactly as he told me – it was to say that I’d been in more dangerous situations with him than anyone else, so I could appreciate how desperate he was now.

  The tips of my shoes breached the ring of magic. The next thing I knew, a few writhing chains darted away from Josh and snapped toward my shoes. They tried to catch hold of them.

  I screamed and jerked back, shoulders banging hard against the concrete wall behind me.

  “You can’t come into the circle – the chains will grab you too,” Josh blared.

  All the while Constantine played with his ring as he chuckled. “You think she has a choice, Mr. McIntosh? Or do you think you’re just wasting my time? Bethany,” he looked right at me, “walk into the circle.”

  I twitched.

  “Let me put it this way,” Constantine changed track, “if you don’t walk freely into the circle – I will tighten Josh’s chains.”

  I didn’t react, instead staring in wide-eyed horror.

  “Very well,” Constantine said as he flopped a hand toward Josh dismissively.

  Instantly the chains reacted, tightening.

  Josh gasped, his head – which was the only thing not tied up by the chains – jerked forward, his eyes bulging.

  “Josh!” I shrieked. I shifted to lurch toward him.

  He shook his head. Somehow, despite his pain – he actually moved. “Don’t you dare step inside this circle. Don’t you dare,” he spat. Sweat drenched his brow, dribbling down his temples.

  I stood there, riveted to the spot with fear.

  “Bethany Samson – ignore Josh. He obviously has a death wish. If you would not like to see him die – do as I say. Step inside the circle.”

  I was an idiot – a stupid idiot at that. I should never have come here. I should have run right past this room.

  I’d been wrong – there hadn’t been an opportunity inside. At least not for me.

  I teetered back and forth on the spot then took a step toward Josh. It was the only way, wasn’t it?

  Josh looked at me. Directly into my eyes. I don’t think I’d ever seen him face me with such piercing attention. He didn’t say anything, either – and he didn’t have to. His sentiment was completely clear.

  I stopped.

  “Fine,” Constantine said again, equally as dismissively as he brought up a hand and flicked his fingers nonchalantly to the side.

  Josh gasped and choked in utter pain as the chains tightened around him once more. Blood started to spill from his nostrils.

  I screamed in terror.

  But I didn’t take a step forward. Because as soon as the chains stopped tightening, Josh somehow did it again, and looked at me, making his sentiment clear once more.

  I… had to do something.

  But what?

  Find a way. Find a way to win.

  Jason had told me that I was a complete finder and that complete finders were better placed than anyone to become sorcerers – because they could find a way to increase their power far more easily than most.

  And Frank had told me that the one thing that set powerful warlocks apart from sorcerers was that sorcerers had the unrivaled ability to control their minds.

  I had never been some great meditator. Nor would anyone look at me and say that I had the most controlled of personalities. It wasn’t as if I was addicted to drugs or anything – it was that I was just pretty normal when it came to controlling my desires, let alone my thoughts.

  And yet, I could find a way, couldn’t I?

  And that – that was the entire point of me.

  I took a step back – not forward toward the magical circle.

  Constantine ticked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing. “You hold no loyalty for your partner? Alright – I’ll just find someone you care about.”

  I paused, waiting for him to say that he would get Max. He didn’t. And that was a clue.

  When we’d left Max, he’d still been tied to the chair with his ankles – but what if he’d found a way to get free? He wasn’t a warlock – but he was a man who had plenty of tricks up his sleeves.

  He could be out there, right? Heading toward me right now.

  … Or he could be out there trying to help his brother find those books. I’d seen the look in Max’s eyes when he’d talked about it.

  “Are you even paying attention anymore?” Constantine demanded gruffly. “It won’t be hard for us to find your family and friends. We can round them all up, place them in torture chairs exactly like these, and see how loudly they scream – if you’d like. It’s up to you. Or you can give up now, save the rest of your friends and family, and give in to the inevitable.” He gestured at the circle, obviously indicating it was inevitable.

  Why did he need me to give in? It was clear he had the power to force me into that circle – and yet he wanted me to decide to walk into it. I doubted that my decision would affect the magic lapping off the circle. I didn’t think that the chains would only attack me if I decided to allow them to. No – this was a mind game. Constantine was trying to break me so he wouldn’t have to do it later.

  But you know what? I would not be broken.

  I looked right at him. “You’re going to lose, you know,” I said nonchalantly, somehow completely pushing away my fright until I sounded as if I was discussing something amongst friends.

  Maybe it was the sudden change in my tone and demeanor, but Constantine frowned. “I’m not. I’ve got you, and there’s nothing you can do. You may be a finder, but you’re not a warlock.”

  “And you may be a warlock,” I said as I looked at him directly, “but you’re certainly not a finder. I only walked into this room because I sensed an opportunity. And you know what? I still sense that opportunity.”

  If there was one thing my bravado was doing, it was stopping Constantine from attacking Josh again.

  I di
dn’t know how much more Josh could take, but a few scant drops of blood still trickled from his nostrils, suggesting it wouldn’t be too much more.

  “Your powers aren’t properly developed yet,” Constantine said after a significant pause. Though it was clear he was trying to make his voice strong, I heard a waver of fear.

  So I was getting to him, ha? I just had to keep pushing.

  It was time to take a gamble. I looked right at him. “You know Peter is on his way, don’t you?”

  Constantine frowned. “Peter who?”

  I ticked my head to the side and shook it in disappointment. “You don’t need to ask that. You know. Mr. Mercure,” I emphasized his last name with a breath of air that seemed to sing through the room.

  Constantine straightened, his eyes widening with alarm. “Peter wouldn’t be stupid enough—”

  “Peter knows exactly what’s at stake here. And he’s sick of you running circles around this town. You would’ve heard about the attack at the power substation by now, right?”

  Constantine’s lips stiffened. “How do you know about that?”

  “Because I’ve been in correspondence with Peter. He is the head of the Xs, after all,” I blurted.

  I was keenly aware of the fact that Josh’s eyes were locked on me, what was visible of his brow knotted in confusion, and potentially, suspicion.

  He could put his mind at rest – I was making all of this stuff up. I had no idea if Peter was the head of the Xs, but it felt right, and the very prospect seemed to be freaking Constantine out.

  Sure enough, he took a staggering step backward, brought up a sweaty hand, and locked it momentarily on his mouth before letting his stiff fingers drop. His teeth looked like a cage as he hissed through them. “No way is Peter on his way.”

  “Check with whatever teams you’re using to assess the power station. You’re running out of time,” I added. “I sense every opportunity for you closing.”

  He started to laugh snidely, but there was a terrified edge to it that he couldn’t quite hide. He almost put a hand in his pocket, then shook his head hard. “You’re just toying with me, and I really hate being played with. So you know what I’m going to do?” He took a jerked step forward and spread his hands toward Josh.