Which was pretty goddamned cool, if I hadn’t even noticed it.
The floor shook as the troll roared again. I hastily threw a gateway open, leading us back to Achilles Heel, the first location that popped into my head. I dove through the opening, shouting, “Come on!”
I landed on my knees on the other side of the gateway, and was instantly dog-piled by my friends. The troll screamed in outrage from the Vaults before I yanked the gateway closed. Stars flashed in my eyes at the use of my dwindling power, and I struggled to breathe as everyone climbed off me. After a few awkward moments and accidental grabs of flesh, I took a deep breath. I opened my eyes to see a pair of boots only inches away.
I slowly climbed to my feet and found myself staring at Achilles. He didn’t look happy. “Where’s my money, you fucking lunatic?”
My shoulders sagged in despair. All that time and risk, and we had nothing to show for it.
Chapter 31
The Huntress shoved a small velvet sack into Achilles’ chest. “Here it is,” she said.
I stared at her, and she shrugged. “You guys were too busy dilly-dallying, so I just went ahead and made the withdrawal. Honestly, I can’t take you guys anywhere. Like a herd of toddlers,” she shook her head.
Achilles hefted the sack, satisfied with the weight of the tinkling sound, and then tossed it without looking. One of the Myrmidons at the back door caught it, and then disappeared into the back room. And I finally realized why they were there. They were guarding all the gold for the Beast Master’s show.
Achilles was nodding to himself. “Aye, that’ll do. And preferable to come from you rather than him,” he said to the Huntress. He pulled down a bottle from one of the top shelves, and poured himself a drink. Then began absently wiping down the bottle as his gaze discreetly shot around the room, verifying we were alone. Our abrupt entrance must have sent the last customers fleeing.
Sonya and Aria stormed up to me and shoved me from two different directions.
“You threw a freaking rock at our dad,” Aria growled before rounding on a heel and storming away to a side table. I followed her to find Alucard sitting at a table, forced to be Aria’s patient, even though I knew the blow hadn’t really bothered him long-term. He scowled back at me anyway.
Sonya cleared her throat beside me. I had forgotten all about her.
“I’m sorry, Sonya. I didn’t mean—”
“You’re supposed to keep us safe when things go bad. Not hurt us.” She looked on the verge of tears. Realizing this, she rejoined her sister. I watched, heartbroken at her tone. It had just been a rock. I hadn’t hit him with a truck or anything.
The three slowly turned to glare at me, and I took a step back instinctively. Alucard was suddenly very, very paternal as he stared at the man who had made his daughter cry. And the girls looked murderous as they stared at the wizard who had hurt their dad.
Jesus.
It wasn’t like the rock had actually hurt him. Freaking psychos.
I turned away to get back to the adult table, and found Tory in my way. She prodded me with a very powerful finger, knocking me down into a chair. “Hurt my family again, and we’ll have words.” Then she stomped off to check on them.
The Huntress burst out laughing, clapping loudly for all to hear.
I ignored her and shot a pleading look at Achilles. “I need a drink. Right now.”
He nodded, motioning me over to the bar with a wry grin.
I climbed out of the chair and approached the bar, sitting on a stool beside the Huntress, who still found the situation extremely comical. Achilles slid a glass of scotch my way. “What the hell did you do? Pinch her ass in front of a priest?”
The Huntress choked on her drink, snorting out her white wine.
I grinned, shaking my head. “I accidentally hit the porcu-shine with a hunk of marble when we were trying to get away from the mountain troll.”
Achilles glanced at Alucard thoughtfully, remembering the vampire’s new interest in sunlight, and then burst out laughing, suddenly putting it all together. He downed his drink between laughter, then poured himself another, muttering, “Porcu-shine,” under his breath several times. I didn’t dare glance back at the Brady Bunch for fear of being attacked, but could imagine the hateful looks we were getting.
Achilles wiped his eyes, sighing, as he turned back to the Huntress. “Okay. The quarry, tomorrow night, seven o’clock.” He replaced the bottle of liquor from in front of him back up on the shelf, and then gave us pointed stares.
“Don’t we need tickets?” I asked.
Achilles shook his head, staring only at the Huntress. “No, Huntress. The fact that you know the location is enough. I give the Beast Master his gold – in person – and a list of who is coming. His guards take care of any… party-crashers.” He leveled the Huntress with a considering look. “It’s surprisingly efficient. Kind of similar to our own… book club, just more fatal.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding her head.
“Now, it’s probably time for you guys to finish up.” He continued in a lower whisper, practically breathing his next words. “Tonight’s the last night before the show. Which means the Beast Master has one more night to abduct an extra kid for the fights. Another toy for the more… experienced pets of his to dismember.”
I shivered at that. Ashley was in his clutches. Would she become a toy, or could she hold her own against monsters who had spent years in the pit? There was really no way to tell, but Gunnar needed that information.
“You should find a way to get this information to… the Alpha,” I whispered just as low.
Achilles didn’t even blink, speaking in a normal tone now. “Already paid for the information. He was here late last night. Before he joined us at our book club.”
I stared at Achilles. “He went to the… book club last night?”
Achilles’ eyes went distant for a minute as a small smile escaped his lips. “Truly magnificent show. He was something else.” He settled his eyes on me. “I wouldn’t want to get in his way. Well, I would, but if I was anyone else, I would stay clear of him. He was… singular in his appetite for violence. Refreshing to see, actually. Earned some respect from the crew. Even my crew.” He was referring to his Myrmidons. Like the two still standing guard near the back door.
I discreetly assessed the men, warriors to the bone. Myrmidons didn’t pass praise on lightly, so if Gunnar had gone to the Fight Club and cut loose enough to impress the Myrmidons, Gunnar was playing on a whole new level.
Because the Beast Master had taken his fiancée. Woken up a sleeping giant.
Achilles cleared his throat. “I think you may want to reconsider your plans.”
I shook my head. “I’m not scared of the wolf.” I recalled the rune I had deactivated on contact. I hadn’t known it was possible, but the darker voice inside of me had whispered just the right advice, and I had responded. Since Gunnar’s control rune was tied to my family, I could literally turn it on and off. “Trust me.”
Achilles was shaking his head. “I’m talking about the Beast Master. And saving a bloodthirsty chimera.” He leaned forward, pretending to clean a spot on the bar before me as he murmured in a low tone again. “The Beast Master is getting ready for a big show. And I’m not talking about the one here in St. Louis. He has a… prior obligation for a certain group we both have knowledge of. The one I tried to warn you about earlier.”
I stared back at him, and finally understood. I opened my mouth, but he cut me off.
“Best not say it aloud, but, yes. Them.”
“That’s why he’s filling his ranks. So, he can provide, what, a party? For them?” Achilles was referring to the Syndicate. When I had heard that the Beast Master worked with them, I hadn’t considered that he was currently working with them. But it made perfect sense now. Achilles had warned me that the Syndicate would likely be in attendance at the show, but I had shrugged it off as merely a possible threat, an argument to throw me off my game an
d keep me safe. Now, I saw it for what it truly was. A very literal, factual, and likely warning to leave the Beast Master alone.
I was entirely sure the Syndicate wouldn’t want me to crash their party. Not after taking down their army of Grimms a few months back – well, part of their army. Yeah, saying they wanted me dead was putting it mildly.
If that hadn’t been enough to earn their hatred, I had met Rumpelstiltskin a few months later.
Rumpelstiltskin had spent centuries making deals with all sorts of people – power of different flavors in exchange for their soul or some other precious commodity they cherished above all else. Rumps had also been the Syndicate’s enforcer, commanding the Grimms, but when I had taken him down, all of his commitments had been dissolved. Like with Achilles here, and even myself and the Huntress. Hell, even Baba Yaga and Van Helsing had traded their souls to Rumps. Depending on the agreement the individual had made, some of his… past clients had kept their powers, regardless of his absence from my world now.
Because he was currently vacationing with the Mad Hatter. A truly horrifying punishment.
And I began to hope that maybe the Syndicate hadn’t yet heard about that part.
Chapter 32
“I haven’t seen any embers or sparks,” I murmured to Achilles, referring to the telltale residue left behind by members of the Syndicate, marking their presence.
Achilles shrugged. “They aren’t here. Yet. The Beast Master is getting ready to entertain them. Not sure when. Or where. I’m not really on their VIP list any longer, for obvious reasons.”
I nodded. “I’ll keep my eyes open.” I stood to leave, all my accomplices following me.
“I provided the Huntress with the same information I would to any paying customer.”
“Scared of reprisal, Heel?” I grinned.
He shook his head. “No, but I do have a reputation. And that reputation will come in handy in the future. Like it did to the Huntress just now,” he enunciated her name, making it blatantly obvious that he hadn’t given the information to me.
“Understood,” I nodded. Before turning to leave, I asked him another question. “How’s your… friend? The one with the box?”
His face grew harder. “Complicated.” I sighed. Yeah, if any girl could be described as complicated, it would be Pandora. Before I could leave, he called out. “If anything is on your mind, perhaps Eae could help. Or… Hemingway. That family is a good bunch of listeners…” he added cryptically.
I frowned at him. “What are you talking about, Dr. Phil?”
He motioned me forward. I approached close enough so that only the two of us could hear. “I’ll say it a bit more gently.” He leaned over the bar, folding his arms. “You’re acting fucking insane lately. I’ve been around you only a few times in the last week and have caught you talking to yourself each visit.”
I frowned. “I’m just stressed. Not really talking to myself. Just muttering angrily out loud.”
Judging by the look on his face, he didn’t buy it. “Okay, how about this? When every single one of your friends is moving to a different beat, and instead of talking to them, you create a Dark Team Temple,” he motioned at my current crew, “you might want to reevaluate your decisions.”
The Dark Presence bucked up angrily. “I don’t tolerate betrayal,” I whispered.
He shrugged. “Even if that betrayal is possibly the right thing? You know, because you are the problem?”
I blinked. “That’s… impossible.” I glanced back at my crew for a second to find them all watching me with concerned eyes. I smiled back weakly, realizing that Achilles may have a point. May. I turned back to the Heel. “Because I’m infallible,” I said with a straight face.
He stared at me incredulously. Then I smiled. He let out a breath, shaking his head. Then he shoved my shoulder, sending me on my way. I nodded, and then headed towards my friends.
“Few other things,” Achilles called from behind me. “You have a meeting scheduled at Dick’s Sporting Goods. In an hour. Something important, supposedly.” I turned, frowning. But his disgusted scowl basically answered my question. There was only one person that could elicit such disgust on Achilles’ face, and delivering a message for that person was even more degrading. I nodded in response. “Oh, and if that troll shows up, I consider it common courtesy for you to resolve the situation. If I have to do it, I’m putting it on your tab.” He paused. “In case that wasn’t clear, I’m speaking to you, Nate. Not the Huntress. She’s a respectable customer.”
I wanted to throw something at him, but he had a point. I turned to my friends. I had to get to that meeting. “Right. We need to get back to the Chateau. I have wards in place that will hide us. Or protect us. Don’t want the troll stopping by here. It wouldn’t be fair to Achilles.”
“You mean you don’t think you can handle it. Or that you are scared of Achilles. Or that you couldn’t afford to pay him back if he had to take care of it.” Alucard smiled in delight.
I scowled back. “Yes. Pretty much all three of those. Let’s get in the car.”
“Shouldn’t we use a gateway?” Sonya asked absently, practically drooling as she stared at Achilles. I shot Alucard a frown, indicating Sonya’s blatant ogling. He shrugged back helplessly.
I muttered under my breath as I stalked out of the building. I couldn’t afford to use my magic to make a gateway when a car would suffice.
I stood on the sidewalk, scanning the street with a frown. Aria stepped up beside me, whispering for my ears only. “That’s what Sonya was trying to tell you. We left the SUV at the Vaults.”
I groaned, and although I wanted to destroy something, I reached out with a hand, and squeezed Aria’s forearm in a silent thank you.
Without another word, I opened a gateway, using my rage to instantly shut down the Dark Presence who stirred deep inside me, and stepped through the swirl of sparks to enter my study. I didn’t speak, letting the others figure it out on their own. They had walked through enough of these to not need a tour guide.
Once the last of them stepped through, I let the gateway drop, and collapsed into my chair, exhausted even at such a brief use of my magic. It wasn’t just the use of my limited power though; it was the constant internal struggle with the Dark Presence. He wanted to show me things, and in time, to take over me completely if he could manage it.
It was an exhausting dance.
I turned to Alucard. “I need to see your old friend for a chat. Care to join me?”
Alucard’s eyes tightened. “Can I kill him?” Apparently, he had understood Achilles’ cryptic comment too. I hated it when other people understood my plans ahead of time. The look of surprise on their faces was like crack to me. Oh well.
“No, not yet,” I sighed. “He’s working for me.”
Alucard and the Huntress shared a look. “Just curious, Nate, but have you noticed that you seem to be allying yourself with untrustworthy people, and distancing yourself from those you’ve cared about for quite some time?”
I kicked my feet up on the desk. “I’m not going to talk to you about Gunnar. He made his bed. And I read him a bedtime story. Enough said.”
The Huntress actually laughed at that. “It was rather impressive, Sparkula. You should have seen it.”
“Don’t call me that,” Alucard growled, but his heart wasn’t in it.
“Yeah, he prefers porcu-shine, now,” I sneered.
Tory actually let out a laugh, having been the only other person to see Alucard’s true presence under the spelled glass at the Vaults. “Oh, that is so cute!”
Alucard hissed at me. I smiled back, but noticed the Reds glaring at me with calculating, mischievous teenaged eyes. The look was basically a promise that I would regret what I had just said. Drama queens.
Before Alucard could start swinging, Tory walked up to him and led him to a chair. She pushed him down into the chair as Sonya used a nearby decanter to dampen a cloth. Tory accepted it and began wiping away the blood on his f
ace. He let her, continuing to study me. I made a whipping motion with my hand, smirking at his immediate reaction.
“Want to talk about your buddy, your pal, the stray dog?” Alucard asked, eyes hard.
The dark voice inside me responded instantly, territorially and I unclenched my fist from the cane handle, not realizing I had grabbed it. The Huntress watched my hand, then shot me a look, as one would a particularly skittish horse, trying to calm them down. Alucard looked pleased.
“Fuck calm,” I snarled. The voice inside me purred approvingly at the rage burning inside of me.
And I wasn’t holding the cane handle.
Chapter 33
I stared up at the sign to the store above me, and burst out laughing. Someone had vandalized the sign, crossing out the G and replacing it with a W, so that it said Dick’s Sporting Woods, rather than Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Alucard chuckled beside me. “Nice.”
“I don’t get it,” the Huntress said, frowning.
“It’s teenage boy humor,” I shrugged, striding inside. The Huntress made a direct shot for the hunting section, aiming for the compound bows and hunting arrows. I smiled. It was where we were supposed to meet anyway.
She looked like a kid in a candy store, dancing from item to item, practically skipping.
Alucard mumbled something under his breath, but was smiling distantly as his eyes stalked the customers, searching for my contact. He wasn’t happy about this errand.
Beast Master: A Novel in The Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Series (The Temple Chronicles Book 5) Page 18