I turned away, not bothering to be polite. I heard Gunnar speaking to him, letting him know I hadn’t meant to be rude, and likely explaining my situation tonight.
I didn’t have time for distractions. I needed to be cold. A killer.
Chapter 47
I slipped through the mass of people, everyone drinking cheap beer and even cheaper processed food that not even vaguely contained any real nutritional value – even though it was delicious. I was too anxious to be hungry, though, so the smells and cheer just made me grind my teeth.
My satchel was tucked tight against me, but still clicked with each step as the leather bumped against my hip. I hoped I wouldn’t have to use anything inside, but I was pretty sure I would have to make a decision tonight. One I wasn’t eager to make. But I wasn’t exactly sure how everything was going to play out tonight, and I couldn’t afford to hold back.
The crowd was much more packed than I had hoped. The event was supposed to last through tomorrow, culminating in giant banners of silk rolling down from the top of the arch all the way to the ground, turning it into a giant rainbow-colored flag to celebrate Equality – which was awesome. But I had hoped that the crowd would be smaller today, most choosing to attend the ceremony tomorrow instead.
But like the Field of Dreams movie, if you provide food trucks and booze, they will come.
Worse, it looked like the City Council was holding a private banquet on the grounds beneath the Arch. Because election season was coming up. That wasn’t good. Not at all.
For multiple reasons. Because it meant cameras, and that the crowds weren’t likely to leave any time soon. And I was pretty sure that this was exactly what the card had intended. To put me in an impossible situation. Fight and reveal my powers in front of the entire city. Or just die. I tugged my baseball cap lower, not wanting to be recognized, because I was kind of a celebrity in town. A reckless, billionaire playboy with a penchant for trouble.
Allegedly.
As I slipped through the crowd, I tried to get a full picture of the scene, keeping an eye out for my two enemies, and hoping they didn’t simply start unleashing fireballs to get my attention.
I needed to find a way to get everyone out of here. Just for a minute. Because although I hadn’t expected to find so many here, I had come up with something that would help keep the innocents safe. It was a real whopper of magic, but then again, if my plan worked, I wouldn’t need to rely too much on my magic to beat these cock-beards. I just had to rope-a-dope.
For quite a while.
But first, I needed to clear the area. After scanning the numerous banquet tables – which held a higher quality of food, large ice-sculptures, and bowls full of champagne bottles – I made my way back to the streets away from the Arch. I needed to do this next part fast, out of sight.
And it needed to be loud and horrifying.
I scanned the streets, and found the nicest three cars on the block, ignoring the ones that looked like they belonged to families.
Essentially, I targeted the politicians’ cars, those fancy two-seaters with nothing inside – because I double checked. I wasn’t going to choose one that had a car seat or other evidence of tiny humans. Also, this might fit a narrative that seemed to be plaguing America these days.
Terrorism. Political unrest. It made me feel like a bad person, but the alternative was worse.
I checked for witnesses, and seeing no one in immediate sight, I…
Fire-bombed them to Kingdom Come. I did this very rapidly, one after the other, making sure the gas tanks blew, and then I screamed and shouted at the top of my lungs in case anyone had somehow missed it. I immediately hauled ass into a nearby alley as the three six-figure-price-tag cars exploded. Then I Shadow Walked a block away, closer to the Arch, and waited.
Screams filled the night, and sirens abruptly wailed in a chorus as everyone panicked, jumping to my hoped-for conclusion – Terrorism. I walked through the alley, careful not to step on anything that might make a noise, and peeked around the corner. Everyone had fled the fancy tables, leaving the lawn before the Arch fairly clear of people. Not wanting to risk everyone deciding to corral into the open space and out of the streets, I sprinted towards the tables.
I hurdled one, clipping an ice sculpture and a bowl brimming with champagne bottles, sending them crashing to the ground, but not tripping me up, thankfully. Then I fell to my knees, closed my eyes, and drew as much magic as I possibly could, faster than was advisable.
The air began to vibrate, and I felt my arms shaking as I drew in more and more. Since my eyes were closed, I didn’t have to worry about my vision tunneling, but I knew that was just a warning sign anyway. I already knew I was doing something stupid. I didn’t need a reminder.
That I was holding way too much power for one spell.
But I drew deeper, my skin seeming to catch fire, drying the blood in my veins.
Magic rocked through me, beating at my skin from the inside, wanting to burst out.
With a great expulsion of air, I finally obliged, sending the power deep into the earth.
Walls of purple fire screamed up from the ground, tearing through the manicured grass, sending clods of dirt and rock into the air, as a good hundred-yard square area was suddenly walled off from the general public. I fell back, panting as I turned my head in each direction, verifying that we were entirely enclosed.
It hadn’t been perfect, because I heard screaming nearby as a lone family rushed to escape the cordoned area. The father halted his family in front of the purple wall of light, tore off his cap, and threw it through the shimmer of light. It sailed through without harm, and I saw him eagerly usher his family through with a look of relief.
They instantly passed out on the other side, collapsing into a pile.
I sighed, shivering in exhaustion. This had been the only way I could think to make it as safe as possible. If I made the walls lethal, I could have killed innocents – or trapped them inside where chaos raged between me and my enemies. Also, any ambitious cops trying to break in could have been harmed. This way, they just went to sleepy land instead, not seeing anything that would give them nightmares for the rest of their lives.
I stared through the wall back towards the crowds, and saw several cops test it for themselves. Seeing no harm from the light, they jumped through, and instantly passed out on my side. I saw their boss waving his hands frantically on the other side, halting his other officers from attempting the same.
I climbed unsteadily to my feet, and snapped my fingers. The walls of light grew suddenly opaque, so those outside could no longer see through. I froze as I spotted a figure in a black turtleneck and black pants staring directly at me. But the reason I stared was because he wore a glimmering candy skull, and it didn’t look like a mask. It looked like a literal skull. Then I saw another at the opposite corner of my wall. Then another in the third corner.
All identical.
They abruptly winked out of view and I let out a nervous breath, turning to check the fourth corner. But I found a man standing before me, staring at me with disgust. He wasn’t one of the candy skulls, momentarily making my head spin. Who the hell had they been?
“Nate Temple,” Castor Queen snarled, eyes dancing with hatred. “You think that wall will keep them safe?” He looked much the same as when he had stood on my property during the war. Totally nondescript, and somewhere in his later years. Not old and frail, but definitely wise with age. He wore gray slacks and a red dress shirt, but he wore them casually as if to fit into the crowd after a day at the job. I shoved the candy skulls from my thoughts, focusing on the now.
I shook my head. “No, but it will make you divert energy to get to them, all while I’m kicking your ass from behind.”
He grunted dismissively. Then he began to circle me like a wolf. I slowly spun, always facing him, my face blank. He stopped, folding his arms. “Well? I assume you invited my old pal, Matthias as well?” he muttered. Then he shrugged. “Saves me time. Kill two birds with
one stone.”
I blinked back as I felt a wriggling sensation in the pit of my stomach.
“I didn’t invite you here…” I finally said.
He squinted, assuming I was lying.
“I received a box. Black with a silver ribbon. I thought one of you sent it…” I said, watching his face carefully.
His breathing slowed, and then he nodded. “I received the same. With a letter…”
I nodded. “Me, too.”
“Fucking Matthias!” he cursed. Then he shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. I’m going to kill both of you anyway. I don’t care how.”
And he began to advance, eyes dancing with glee. “Well, what if he set a trap?” I asked desperately, backing up at the same pace, maintaining our distance.
He shrugged. “I don’t care. He can come out whenever he’s ready to play. But right now, it’s just you and me. Did you like what I did with Ichabod, the sniveling brat?” he asked.
My face flushed with anger. “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like the guy, but what kind of fucking coward can’t even take responsibility for what he did? Making it look like me? Are you that scared of the Mad Hatter?” I asked, lacing my voice with disdain.
The ground erupted in a swath of fire, and I jumped to the side, barely avoiding it.
His face had reddened, but he didn’t stop advancing. “Just a little fun. Twist the knife. But you… are going to pay for taking my Syndicate away. They were mine!” he snarled.
“Well, what’s left of them, I guess. Kind of a sorry lot if you ask me. I had them quaking in their boots. Hell, I even recruited them for a war. That must have stung. Seeing your dogs lick another master’s han—”
Before I could finish my sentence, fire abruptly appeared between us, screaming as it threatened to roast my face off. There hadn’t been a clear trajectory of fire leaving his palms, just the fire suddenly a few feet away, likely so he could have a moment to see the fear on my face before I was burned alive. Because he very literally could have just lit me on fire with a thought.
Fucking Makers.
I didn’t even have time to retaliate. I just held up my palm, the universal sign for stop as the flames roared over me, along with Castor Queen’s laughter.
Chapter 48
I heard Castor’s laughter cut off as my palm flared with ice.
The palm with the Temple Family Crest branded into it.
The flames winked out, and I stared back at Castor, trying to hide the stunned disbelief from my face. I very pointedly didn’t look at my palm, but I felt that it was still ice cold.
Then I heard a very familiar female voice in my head.
Kill this goat-fucking son of a bitch, Falco snarled in my head.
An ear-splitting grin split my cheeks, and I took a step closer to Castor. I definitely hadn’t planned for this – hadn’t even known it was possible. Tonight might have just gotten a whole lot easier. Castor’s eyes were wide, and he sputtered desperately. “That’s… not possible. You’re just a wizard. Not a Make—”
“Shut up,” I said in a very calm voice, flinging out my hand. A green shield – a depiction of my Crest – rippled into existence, the air warping around it. It struck Castor like a truck, and I heard his skin sizzle on contact.
He screamed as he flew back a dozen feet.
I strode up to him, grinning darkly. This man had set my friend, my ancestor, my only living relative – after hundreds of years of a false prison sentence, which Castor had also caused – against me. And I was about to make good on that disrespect to the Temple name.
Falco purred warningly in my ear. He is very strong, and I am very far away… Make this quick, or continue with your original plan… she warned.
Oh. Well, shit.
Castor was whimpering, climbing to his feet, his face raw with wet, singed flesh.
“I will kill you, FALCO!” he roared, spitting as he screamed. I hid my shock that he recognized Falco’s aid.
“Come on, Queenie. Show me what you can do. I’ve still got to deal with Matthias, and I don’t particularly enjoy your company, believe it or not.”
“Y-yeah! Leave him alone, b-bully!” a very tiny voice squeaked from near one of the tables.
Castor’s eyes shot past my shoulder and he abruptly disappeared. I lunged to the side, expecting Matthias about to kill me from behind, but I saw nothing and cursed. Castor had used the made you look trick on me? The steaming shitwaffle. Just another reason to hate him.
But what the hell was a kid doing standing up against Castor to protect… me?
Hadn’t he just seen our exchange? The magic? The chaos?
I spun to locate the kid, only to find Castor staring him down from a dozen paces away. He very easily could have scooped up the kid, but as he glanced my way, I realized his game.
He wanted to hurt me. To give me the illusion of a fighting chance.
The kid quivered, panting in fright as he stared at the man who had suddenly appeared before him. I took a step closer, but Castor held up a hand, a ball of flame hovering in his other palm, and I knew that no matter what juice Falco lent me, I wouldn’t be fast enough to save the kid.
“What’s your name, child?” Castor asked in a grandfatherly tone, which was all the worse because I could see the primal look behind those eyes, that he would very much enjoy slaughtering this child if it meant harming me.
Because I had taken away his Syndicate – the one thing he had already sold his soul to steal from Matthias Temple. And then along comes Matthias’ descendent, hundreds of years later, to take it all away again, and then free his nemesis.
“Xander,” the boy answered, voice shaking. “And I’m not s-scared of you.”
“Oh, dear, dear boy, you really should be,” he said, leaning forward to flash a predatory grin.
“It’s t-time to be a h-hero!” the boy stammered, and his face bunched up with determination as he threw a bottle of champagne at the Maker.
My heart broke, knowing that I had no chance to save him. “Xander! No!” I screamed.
The bottle didn’t even make it to Castor, shattering in the grass. Castor burst out laughing as he took a step forward, turning to meet my eyes as he lifted his hand.
Then he gasped as his hand was suddenly sliced off, the flame falling to the ground.
I didn’t waste a second, sprinting closer. “Xander! No—”
Castor snarled, flinging a fireball at me. I threw up my hand, but tripped and fell on my ass as my feet tangled together. Castor quickly grasped his stump, trying to halt the blood. With a muttered curse, he sealed the wound with fire, the sudden smell of burning flesh hanging in the air as he growled in outrage and pain. Then his eyes latched onto Xander.
Or, the person beside Xander.
Because Sonya crouched next to the kid, squeezing his shoulder and smiling proudly. “You did well, Xander. A real hero. But now I need you to get out of here. Go hide over there, okay? We’ll take care of this, douche—” she changed what she had been about to say, “bully.”
Xander nodded, running away clumsily. Sonya stood, turning to face Castor with a blank face. “Want me to lend you a hand with that?” she asked deadpan.
Castor sneered as he finished cauterizing his wound. Any other time, I would have smiled at her comment, but she had just made everything much worse for me. Now it wasn’t an unknown stranger in danger, but a friend. And she hadn’t listened. I had told everyone to stay out of this.
Which meant that if I survived, Tory was going to kill me. This kind of ruined my motivation to win. Also, I was distantly pissed that Xander had nailed my line. It’s time to be a hero.
Sonya stood no chance against Castor. And she had to know that. Her red horizontal pupils flickered into view, daring Castor to make a move.
“One little weredragon. What hope do you have against a Tiny—”
“Phew,” she said, sounding relieved. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use that line.”
Castor la
ughed, shaking his head as Sonya’s eyes grew suddenly intense, pulsing brightly. “Did you really think you could use your mind control power on me? One dragon? Pah!”
Then he grunted, laughter abruptly cutting off as he warily scanned the area. Aria slipped out from under a nearby table, licking a bloody talon on her partially-shifted red dragon claw. I blinked. She had been the one who sliced his hand off? “You taste delish, Tiny. But make that two hot-ass dragons,” she said, licking her lips.
He snarled dangerously as they both stared him down, trying to use their mind control power on him. I did my best to discreetly creep closer. If they could distract him long enough, I might just close the distance. I didn’t dare draw any magic, because he would sense it. But I might just get an opening to at least knock him away while they kept him occupied.
Castor chuckled, but it was abruptly cut off. His eyes flinched wildly, scanning the area, even behind him, eyes frustrated. “How many of you little fuckers are there?” he demanded.
I hesitated, because Sonya and Aria looked just as surprised as Castor.
Which made four surprised people in the glowing purple square of death.
“Enough of this! I’ll pay you back for my hand later, but right now, Temple and I have business,” he warned, shooting a look at me.
“You heard him,” I quickly agreed. “Thanks for trying to help, but I need you to get out of here. Now,” I commanded, eyes begging for them to listen. Worst case scenario I could hit them with my magic, knocking them through the barrier and to safety.
As long as I could do it faster than Castor attacked. They didn’t even look at me.
“No,” Aria said.
“I haven’t gotten to taste him yet,” Sonya complained, frowning.
Castor Queen grinned as I opened my mouth to shout at them, but I wasn’t fast enough. He unleashed a barrage of power – tri-colored light that I just knew would kill them in a horrifying way. I flung up my hand, unleashing a blast of air, using my wizard’s power to knock them clear.
War Hammer: A Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Book 8 (The Temple Chronicles) Page 26