So, not only did I have my ancestor, Matthias Temple, to worry about. I also had his arch-nemesis, Castor Queen, ruler of the now-defunct Syndicate, to watch out for.
Two Makers – the original founders of the Syndicate, who hated each other – had found a common interest… me, six feet underground.
But rather than holing up at my house and making sure I was safe, I was getting ready to go back to the Land of the Fae. The shitty part was that the last time I had gone there, I had spent what felt like two days there.
And come back to my world almost two months later.
Which meant this trip could have dire consequences if the Makers decided to come after me while I was gone, while my friends were defenseless.
Chapter 9
I had no idea how long it would take to find Ashley, but I couldn’t afford any time-slippage like that. I could come home to find Castor Queen and Matthias Temple had partnered back up and taken over my house.
Maybe I would talk to Kai and Falco – see if there was anything they could do to keep my home safe. Since they were both Beasts, and had at one point been tethered to a Maker, perhaps they would have some insights.
Otherwise, it was a gamble I had to take.
Ashley was fast becoming Legend. She had killed Hercules, and in her moment of victory, my ex-fiancée, Indie, had stabbed her in the back. But I had gotten vengeance for that.
I noticed the looks in peoples’ eyes whenever that topic came up.
Seeing me as a Horseman of the Apocalypse, complete with stone wings and a mask of pure horror, killing my fiancée in cold blood – at the moment she was begging forgiveness.
Most understood my action. Not just because I had been the Horseman of Hope – taking her Hope away at the last moment as payment for her crimes…
But the fact that I, Nate Temple, a simple wizard, would have done the exact same thing.
Not because of any personal reason, though, like most instantly assumed.
Indie had been duped, tricked into becoming a monster. We all had a part to play in that, but Ichabod Temple had been the one to fully turn her – lying to her, manipulating her, and taking her to the Land of the Fae, where she confronted a darker side of herself that she couldn’t fight back against.
I had wanted to kill her for her crimes. Time and time again she had done horrible things in the name of vengeance. Ichabod made her think the Syndicate had killed her mom.
But even with all that, I may have forgiven her as a victim. Because I had shown her that her mom was very much alive, and that she had been victim to a great lie. If she would have confessed, apologized, and begged forgiveness at that moment – while her mom was shouting at her for becoming a monster – it could have all ended right there. I would never trust her again, and would have helped lock her up for the good of everyone, but I might not have killed her.
But…
That moment of clarity hadn’t gone the way I intended. Well, hoped.
Indie had instead chosen to pursue her war. Immediately, cognitively choosing to pursue her vendetta out of pride. The monster was in charge.
And…
People died as a result.
Ashley had gone toe-to-toe with Hercules, for crying out loud.
And won.
But in her moment of victory, with her back turned, Indie had stabbed her in the back. Literally. Which removed all doubt in my mind.
The bitch had to die. Anything less would make a mockery of everyone who had sacrificed their lives in the war, not even considering avenging Ashley. Who could very likely be dead at this very minute, for all I knew.
Van cleared his throat, watching me nervously. “Need a hand?” he asked softly. I watched him, considering. I’ll be honest. My initial assumption was that he was just trying to get out of a boring research trip. Or trying to prove how badass he was. But… there was something in his eyes. He noticed my attention, and straightened his shoulders self-consciously. “I’ve stood against Ashley, if you remember. She… whooped my ass,” he admitted with a faint grin. “That being said, no one deserves what she got as a result of killing Hercules. Especially something so cowardly—”
Van cut off abruptly as a new figure entered the room on silent paws. I turned to see a giant white werewolf staring at us. He was in full wolf form, and he stared at Van with one icy, blue eye. The other was stone cold. Literally. The stone eyepatch – sans strings to hold it in place – that resembled the material of his claws that were currently sunk into the gravel walkway. He didn’t make a sound.
He.
Just.
Looked.
Van cleared his throat after giving Gunnar a very respectful nod. “It wasn’t right. I want to help, if you need it.”
Gunnar continued to stare, so I turned back to Van. “I’ll talk to him. Let’s leave it for now, though. He’s… rough around the edges. Understandably.” Van nodded, wiping his calloused hands on the knees of his pants. “But the offer means a lot. To both of us.”
I glanced back over my shoulder to see that Gunnar was simply gone. I turned back to find Baba climbing to her feet, eyes warily shooting to her surroundings, looking uneasy. Her Familiar did the same. “We’ll go rest up for our trip tomorrow.”
I nodded, reaching into my pocket. I withdrew two copper rings and handed one to each of them. “Please wear those. It will help me find you if I need to.” They stared down at the rings with slight frowns. I had basically asked them to wear a tracking bracelet. “If things go poorly, you might be thanking me later…” I added.
They finally nodded, slipping them over a finger. Van actually flinched as the ring shrunk to fit him. Baba merely grunted, eyes calculating. I had designed them with my magic so that they adjusted to the wearer. Grimm Tech had some pretty cool stuff in the works, even though I hadn’t been able to spend as much time there lately as I wanted.
“You guys are more than welcome to stay here,” I said, changing the topic.
“Thank you,” Baba said. “But I have some things to attend to after my prolonged absence.”
“Nothing I would find disagreement with, I hope,” I said in a soft tone.
Baba sniffed. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, Nate.”
I met her eyes in silence, and she took a step back. “I don’t. Just half.”
She lowered her eyes. “Those days are behind me. I didn’t have much say in the matter, if you recall. Good riddance to the…” her eyes twinkled suddenly. “What did you call him?”
Despite the change in topic, I smiled at the memory. “Rumpled Foreskin.”
She clapped, and her Familiar shifted slightly behind her. “That’s it! I was in his employ during many of the stories you’ve heard, and so didn’t have much say in the matter.”
I nodded, letting my amusement fade. “Not that it matters to you, but the Syndicate is no more. You shouldn’t have any problems. Not that you really did anyway. But you should still keep an eye out for a man named Castor Queen.”
As one, they froze. “He died many, many years ago…” Van said, frowning.
I stared back at him in silence for a good ten seconds, and then shook my head. “Evidence says otherwise. I saw him. Here.”
“England is sounding better and better,” Van mumbled, shivering.
That was… good to know. That even these three – who had inadvertently worked for the Syndicate, thanks to Rumpelstiltskin – had thought Castor Queen dead. I was still a little shocked to hear he was alive. Everyone thought he was dead. But I had heard something from Athena – that Castor Queen had managed to partition himself from his Beast, never fully merging with it. Maybe that was what caused him to keep on ticking.
I wondered exactly how Castor Queen had managed to run the Syndicate from the shadows for so long. Maybe it was time for me to visit the Academy, and have a nice chat with some of their prisoners. Someone had to know something. I knew that trip wouldn’t be fun. Even though they had helped me in the war, they weren’t p
articular fans of mine. And to be honest, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea for Callie to join me. To see what the other side of the world was like. She was pretty much immune from the Academy’s wrath – thanks to some secret agreement with the Vatican, but knowledge was always helpful. If knowledge didn’t start an outright war, anyway.
I’d ask her about it.
Baba clapped her hands. “Since you are dozing, we may as well leave. I’m sure you have better things to do than talk to us.”
I sighed. “Sorry. Just a lot on my mind. No disrespect intended.”
Van grunted. “None taken. Let me know if you need my help on the other thing. If not, I’ll plan on joining this beautiful broad in another dreary trip to England. Maybe we’ll see if we can find anything on Avalon.”
“Thanks. Keep your options open. If you seek information, be discreet. I don’t want this getting out.”
They nodded and left. The Familiar sniffed me as he walked past, and I saw his beak actually shift as if made of flesh and not bone. I smiled back into the deep hood, right where his eyes would be. He stared back for a long second, and finally left.
I sat in silence for a time, leaning back in my chair and staring up at the sky above. It was noon, and I had an hour until my next appointment. Enough free time to just sit and think for a while.
Before we dove back into the madness.
Chapter 10
I rested my eyes, thumbs tapping the wooden box in my lap. I breathed deeply, relaxing, fighting my urge to open the box and see what was inside. It was hard, because I could imagine Callie behind it all. The devious little shit.
So, it was a battle of wills, me sitting, relaxing, and refusing to open the gift.
Against my childlike desire to destroy the box in my haste.
It was surprisingly light, despite the obvious density of the wood. Not wanting to trigger anything in case it was magical in nature, I didn’t dare probe the wood with my powers. Just because Falco hadn’t noticed anything dangerous didn’t mean that there wasn’t a trap for any nosy mail thieves.
I used the rare moment of silence to consider everything.
Baba and Van would head back to England and see if they could uncover anything on my Table situation. I didn’t have any real reason for needing to know it, other than sheer curiosity. But… I had grown much more interested in it after coming back from the Land of the Fae, because I didn’t need to be as close for it to rise up out of the ground, now.
Before, if I walked right up to it, the stone table would rise up from the ground. But now I merely had to be within a hundred yards of it, or in the secret library itself. I had sent Gunnar into the library – or Sanctorum – to see if it was raised when I wasn’t present, but he had told me it wasn’t. Still, something had changed when I went to the Fae.
We were connected somehow.
Which pretty much confirmed that it was important. But my ancestors had been known for swiping up any trace of power to hoard for themselves. I just wanted to confirm or deny that it was the actual fabled Round Table, or if it was something else entirely.
The only one I could have asked about it was Matthias – who currently wanted me dead.
I sighed tiredly. I had hoped that all the chaos would die down after defeating Indie and her crew of Greeks. But I had been wrong. Castor Queen had found a way to enter the fray – masked in his flock of Syndicate Wizards – landing him smack-dab on my property, and cloaked from suspicion. The fact that no one seemed to know Castor Queen was still alive was both comforting and alarming. He had run the group of anti-Academy wizards from behind the scenes, much like that wizard from Oz.
I would need to check up on Chateau Falco’s defenses, making sure it was safe from either of the lunatics, while I was gone. Chateau Falco must be kept safe. There was simply way too much dangerous shit here to leave anything to chance.
Then, if we survived long enough in Fae, I needed to talk to Oberon – Pan’s brother, or whatever the two were in relation to each other. They were either different facets of the same person, or literal brothers. Oberon led the Wild Hunt and was king of the goblins.
Which was news to me. It seemed every time I thought I knew something, I was wrong. I had thought Oberon and the goblin king were different people entirely. But I had been wrong. Then there was the third angle.
Robin Goodfellow, or Puck, as most knew him. He also had ties to the brothers, maybe yet another facet of the same being, and he also lived in Fae.
No matter how it all panned out, I had done Oberon a service by removing Matthias from the Land of the Fae. And no matter how much I regretted how it had all turned out, I had inadvertently done Oberon a solid.
So, he owed me. Whether he saw it that way or not.
But first, we needed to find Pan – hoping he had succeeded in saving Ashley.
And I had to make sure that my friends stayed safe while there. Not just from the very obvious monsters who lived there, but from themselves.
Because going to the Land of the Fae woke up a very distant, primal version of oneself. It was what had broken Indie. She hadn’t been able to remain in control, and had instead succumbed to the allure, becoming a monster, in fact.
I had gone there once, and brought my friends back safely, keeping them in control of their darker sides, but now I was getting ready to return for round two. I had come up with a crew to go with me, but I still debated endlessly on whether I should include some of them.
Gunnar was a requirement. One, because he would kill anyone who told him otherwise. Two, because it was his freaking fiancée. And the two would need their love to be able to leave again. Just in case I couldn’t take us out on my own.
Alucard wanted to go as well, and since he was extremely dangerous when provoked, I agreed with him. The Fae had also expressed interest in him at one point, and I thought Alucard could use a boost of self-confidence, proving to the Fae that he wasn’t scared. He was also the only one strong enough – other than me – to help keep Gunnar in line, if the wolf got out of hand.
Because going to the Fae would change us, and I might need his help if we turned on each other. Even though the obvious argument was that he and Gunnar could both go crazy and team up against me.
I also wanted to take Grimm, my pet unicorn, and his brother, Pegasus. Strictly because they were hyper-violent creatures and already very in touch with their darker natures. Also, I needed someone to fly us around so we could cover more ground, faster. And if shit really went sideways, I would need my horse in order to use my Horseman Mask to its full extent.
Talon was also coming, because he was the most knowledgeable on the place. He could control himself, and hopefully us, as well.
I had thought about taking Carl, but with all the other badasses joining me, I had wanted to keep someone here at Chateau Falco as a back-up, and everyone seemed scared of Elders.
Needing another set of wings, in case Ashley was still hurt, I had also contemplated taking the biggest virgin that God had ever created.
Yahn – my sparkly dragon.
Talon, surprisingly, had agreed with that notion. He had studied Yahn in silence for quite some time, and then nodded. There is something about him yet to be uncovered. I think you will all be very surprised to see it. Not a darkness, per se… but something beautifully cruel.
Coming from Talon, that was actually a compliment, and probably wasn’t as horrifying as he made it sound. Because Carl and Talon could trade shot for shot on creepy comments to describe normal, everyday things.
My other concern about going to the Fae was… well, me.
Getting back in touch with Wylde, the darker side of me.
I wasn’t concerned about losing myself. I was more concerned about learning things about myself that I would rather not learn. Because something very odd had happened last time I went there. I had… memories as Wylde. I hadn’t checked with the others to see if they had experienced something similar for themselves, because if they hadn’t, they
would become even more scared of me. But Talon also said he had memories of me, which startled him considerably.
Was it just trickery of some kind?
Because Wylde wasn’t real.
I had met many Fae while over there, even the Queens, and they hadn’t known Wylde at all, nor had they heard of him. Because at first, I had thought that maybe Wylde had been some wandering spirit who had decided I would be a perfect vessel to help him escape Fae.
Despite the truth of Wylde, I needed to know more about him. Because he had helped me kill a goddess. Those odd blue tattoos that hadn’t washed off my skin when I returned – seemingly drawn with Fae blood – had given me immense power. They had acted as an armor of sorts against Athena, protecting me from harm while we fought. Somewhat, anyway. And it had shocked the hell out of me to realize that I still had them, because they had seemed to disappear after I killed Athena.
Speaking of…
Killing her had given me golden tattoos of sorts, filling my veins with golden light. And as of this morning, another creepy voice hanging out in my cranium.
Long story short, what the actual fuck was wrong with me?
Everywhere I went, I picked up some new magical disease.
And I was about sick and tired of it. Granted, it had helped me out of a lot of situations, but I hated not knowing things about myself.
Chapter 11
The only person who could answer those questions about me – because he had secretly watched over me my entire life – was Pan.
Thinking of the Wild God, I hoped his arrival in Fae – if that was where he had gone – had gone unnoticed, and that using his power to save Ashley hadn’t attracted the wrong kind of attention. Or that he had used so much power that he was now defenseless.
I needed to find them. Now.
Talon had let me know that I should be able to get everyone back on my own if Pan was unable for some reason. Talon could hop back and forth at will, having grown up there. Also, Grimm and Pegasus could traverse all sorts of planes of existence, apparently, so they had a bus ticket home as well.
War Hammer: A Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Book 8 (The Temple Chronicles) Page 5