by A. L. Larsen
“It’s nice to finally meet you, after playing mouse to your cat for days,” Mikey said with a grin as he shook my hand.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s all very amusing. Do you know why we were looking for you?”
“If I had to take a wild guess, I’d say it’s because your tall, dark, and dead boyfriend wants his memories back.”
“You think that’s funny?” I said, hands on my hips.
“Nah. I’m sure it sucks to be him. Although you know what? I got a look at his memories when I was putting that spell in place, and believe me when I say, he is way better off without ‘em.”
“We were looking for you to get the spell removed, but there’s something more urgent that I need your help with. Yours too, Mikey,” I said to his brother. “A friend of mine is in the hospital, and you’re one of the few people on the planet that can help him.”
“What, you need some kind of healing spell? Cuz I really don’t know how to do that,” Jin said. “And besides, I know you run with that English warlock, Bryn Maddock. How come you’re not going to him for help?”
“Because he’s the one that’s in the hospital. Please, Jin? I really need you.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“Gee, I dunno, how about the chance to do the right thing and be a decent human being?” I said. He scowled at me, so I added, “Or, how about the fact that Bryn is three hundred and thirty years old, has been practicing magic all that time, and could teach you to do things with your power that you’ve only dreamed of. How about that?”
Jin crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, you know what? I’m not Luke Skywalker, and I don’t actually need Yoda teaching me to use the force and whatever.”
“You wish you were Luke Skywalker,” I countered.
And his brother piped up and said, “Yeah, he totally does.” That earned him a dirty look from Jin.
“Did you mean to make yourself look sixty?” I asked. “I’m guessing you didn’t. You were probably shooting for, what, ten years older so you could gamble without getting harassed? I doubt you were trying to wrangle the senior discount at the all-you-can-eat buffet. Am I right?” Jin frowned at me and I added, “Are you stuck looking like that? If so, you know who could help you: Bryn. He knows how to manipulate appearances like nobody’s business. Oh, and he stopped his body from aging over three centuries ago. Have you learned to do that yet? Because if you haven’t, you can kiss immortality goodbye.”
“Immortality?”
“You think it’s a fluke that Bryn is three hundred and thirty? He figured out how to stop the aging process. Don’t you want to know how to do that? And can you even imagine what else a warlock that powerful could teach you?” I could see Jin was thinking about it. “But the thing is, he’s dying. Right now, as we speak. And if he does, all that knowledge dies with him. And you are never, ever, not in a million years going to find another person that knows as much about your power as Bryn.”
Jin was quiet for a moment. And then he asked, “Why’s he in the hospital?”
“I’ll tell you in the car,” I said, tugging on the sleeve of his suit jacket. “Come on. We have to hurry.”
“Yeah, ok,” he said as we headed out of the casino. “But you better be right about your friend being willing to teach me. Because if he turns on me after I help him, I’m gonna be pissed. And you really aren’t going to like me when I’m mad.”
Chapter Seventeen
I burst into Bryn’s hospital room with the warlock brothers in tow. “Everybody, Jin and Mike. Jin and Mike, everybody,” I said by way of introduction.
Alastair and Joey looked stunned, and Augustine got up and shook their hands, saying, “Nice to see you both again. I’d say you look well, but I’d be lying.”
“It’s time to get Bryn back, guys,” I said. “Joey, could you make with a guard at the door again?” He immediately went and did as I asked.
“So, what’s the plan here?” Jin asked. “I’ve never reunited anyone’s body and soul before, you know.” I’d tried to explain what had happened to Bryn on the ride over here in the little VW, which was now back in the employee parking lot. The soul thing was Jin’s take on it.
“Repeating this spell as we all join hands, combined with a bit of Alastair’s blood should do it,” Augustine explained, turning the computer screen toward Jin.
“Yeah…uh, I don’t read whatever the hell language that is,” the warlock said.
“It’s a regional dialect of an obscure Slavic language,” Augustine explained. And after a beat, he added, “I’ll write it out for you phonetically.” He grabbed the clipboard that was at the foot of Bryn’s bed, flipped over one of the sheets, and began writing quickly on the back of it.
“Um, aren’t the doctors going to need that chart?” I asked.
“Not if this works,” Augustine said. Then he turned to Alastair. “Would you mind providing some of your blood again?”
Without hesitation, Alastair nicked his wrist with his suddenly extended fangs, then bled into a clean, empty bedpan. “Classy,” Joey said.
Alastair shot him a look.“It’s never been used. And the cup already has old blood in it. I figured fresh was the way to go.”
“I think this time we should apply it differently,” Augustine said, sticking a finger in the blood and smearing it over first one palm, then the other. “Might make it a better conduit this way.” We all followed suit, applying some to Bryn’s palms and forehead as well. When we joined hands, a little shock of electricity zinged through us. “That’s a good sign,” he said.
“Alright, let’s work some old school Slavic witchcraft,” Jin said with a lopsided smile. And he began to read what Augustine had written, awkwardly at first, but then he picked up speed after a couple run-throughs. His brother had been following along, and after a minute began repeating the spell in unison with Jin. A bright light ringed our group, linking us together. I could actually feel the electricity flowing through my body, just the faintest tingle as the current passed through me.
Jin muttered, “This is cool,” before beginning again. He went on and on for about twenty minutes. And then without warning, a bright flash of light shot through the room, slamming into Bryn’s lifeless body.
Bryn sat up abruptly and exclaimed, “Sweet Mother of God that was a rush!”
“You’re back!” Augustine exclaimed, then grabbed Bryn’s face between his palms and planted a big kiss on his lips.
“Nice to see you too, mate,” Bryn grinned when Augustine let him up for air.
“Oh man. I didn’t need to see that,” Mikey muttered, blushing embarrassedly.
Augustine seemed to remember a few key facts about his relationship with Bryn then, namely that they weren’t in one, and stepped back from the warlock quickly with a mumbled apology.
Bryn, who now had a big red bloody handprint on each cheek, looked around the room and said, “Hello all.” His gaze stopped on Jin and he stuck out his hand. “Jin Cheng, I presume.”
“Um, hi. Sorry about the time I tried to knock your house down,” Jin said embarrassedly as they shook hands.
“This more than makes up for it, mate,” Bryn said cheerfully. “Say, do you know you look about sixty?”
“Yeah. I tried to make myself look older so I could gamble, and kind of overshot. Now I’m stuck,” Jin explained. “Oh, and this is my brother Mikey. He’s stuck, too, only he didn’t overshoot quite as far as I did.”
Bryn barely flicked his wrist, and a pair of skinny, slightly awkward teens replaced the middle-aged men. “Wow, thanks. You have to show me how to do that,” Jin said.
“I kind of told the brothers that you might be willing to teach them how to control their power,” I said as I went over to the sink and washed my bloody hands. Joey and Alastair followed suit.
“I’ve thought all along that the Warlocks Cheng would benefit from my instruction,” Bryn said as he plucked the oxygen tube out of his nose. He then felt for the bundle of tubes and wires disap
pearing under the neck of his hospital gown, grabbed them in his fist, and yanked them all out at once. I flinched and looked away. An alarm started to go off and he silenced it with a tiny gesture.
“Are you ok, Bryn?” I asked with concern, risking a peek at him after a moment.
“Yeah, never better,” he said, swinging his legs off the bed. “I feel like I’ve slept for a week and had a gallon of coffee.” He hopped onto the floor, then reached behind himself to clutch the hospital gown shut. “A bit breezy back there. Anyone seen my clothes?”
“Are you sure you should be up and moving around?” Joey asked. “You were almost dead all of five minutes ago.”
“Ach, I’m fine. And I need to get out of here. I absolutely despise hospitals, they give me the willies.”
Augustine washed up quickly, then laid some clothes on the bed as he said, “Let’s give Bryn some privacy,” before leading the way into the hall. And when he shut the door behind us, he said, “I’m going to take off. Please keep an eye on Bryn for me, will you?”
“Why are you leaving?” Alastair asked.
“Because I just made a total and complete ass of myself, and I’m not going to stick around and embarrass myself further,” he admitted. He turned and started to retreat down the hallway, and bounced off thin air like he’d hit a brick wall, landing hard on his back.
Behind us, Bryn chuckled and said, “You’ve always been such a drama queen, Augie.” We all turned to look at him. He was dressed in his immaculate grey suit again, adjusting his tie. He’d washed his face and hands and combed his hair (all in about ten seconds) and looked like his old self again, right down to the mischievous sparkle in his dark eyes.
He walked over to Augustine and held a hand out to him, and hoisted him up off the floor. “So, you kissed me. So what? It’s a well-known fact that I’m completely irresistible, so who can blame you? Now come on, let’s go hail a cab. Because you know what I need after a literal out-of-body experience? An offensively huge steak, one that would positively horrify any vegetarians in the vicinity.”
“I hate that trapped in an invisible box like a mime trick, Maddock,” Augustine fumed.
“I know you do. And that’s what makes it extra funny,” Bryn said with a big smile. He looked at us over his shoulder and said with a wink, “Thanks mates, I appreciate the assist. Jin, my number’s now in your phone. Let’s talk soon and set up some meetings, I’d be happy to teach you what I know.” And to the rest of us he said, “Ta kids, see you in a couple hours.” He linked arms with Augustine and said to him as they took off down the hall, “There’s a steak house in the Venetian I’ve been wanting to try. And I hear they make the best martinis in Vegas.”
“No more alcohol,” Augustine growled. “I mean it. If I see you touching liquor again I will smack it out of your hand.”
“You and what army?” Bryn wanted to know as they rounded the corner.
“Alright, peeps,” Jin said. “Our work here is done. I should have asked Bryn to make me look a little older so I could keep on gambling, but oh well.” He turned to his brother and said, “You’ve been wanting to check out that roller coaster at the top of the Stratosphere. How about we go do that?”
“About time,” Mikey said.
“Um, you’re forgetting one thing,” I said, tilting my head toward Alastair.
“Oh yeah, my bad,” said Jin. He stepped forward and rested two fingers on Alastair’s temple. I noticed that at some point, both he and his brother had used magic to clean the blood off their hands. “Dude,” he said, “I’m sorry I did this to you. It wasn’t cool. It’ll just take me a minute to remove this spell.” He closed his eyes and concentrated, reaching out to his brother, who took his free hand.
I chewed on my thumbnail and waited anxiously. All around us, hospital staff flowed past like we were rocks in a stream, oblivious to our presence as they went about their compelled business.
A light sweat broke out on Jin’s upper lip, and he murmured, “Damn, this thing’s a mess. I really didn’t know what I was doing when I cast this spell. Give me just a second.” And he went back to concentrating, his brows knit above his closed eyes.
About two minutes later, Alastair gasped and stepped back, his eyes wide. “Did it work?” I asked him, and he nodded.
“Ok, we’re outta here,” Jin said. He handed me a thick embossed business card with his name and number on it. “Take this, just in case you need to reach me.”
“Thanks. Oh hey, Jin,” I called after him as he and his brother started to leave. He turned toward me, and I said, “I meant what I said before. Call your brother Tyler, ok? He’s worried about you.”
“Tyler’s a dork.”
“Call him anyway,” I urged.
“We’ll see,” Jin said with a grin, and then he and his brother took off down the hall.
I turned back to Alastair and asked, “You ok, Allie?”
He shook his head no.
I gestured toward Bryn’s room. “Come and sit down.”
But Alastair remained where he was and murmured, “Oh God.”
“Allie, should I run and get Jin? Did he mess something up?” Joey asked with concern.
But Alastair again shook his head. He looked absolutely stricken.
“What’s wrong, Alastair? What is it?” I asked, my voice rising in alarm.
And he met my eyes and said, “I remember.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Your memories are back?” I asked excitedly.
He nodded, raising a hand to his mouth. “I remember…everything,” he whispered.
I took a step toward him, and he stepped back from me. “Allie, what’s wrong?”
“Oh God, Lu,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. I should never have come near you. I could have killed you.”
“No. Allie, you’d never hurt me.”
He met my gaze again. “I’m a monster. God, the things I’ve done.”
“This is obviously a lot to handle, being hit with two centuries of history at once,” I said. “You just need some time to process all of this.”
“I need to go,” he said.
“What do you mean? Go where?”
“I don’t know. Away. Away from you, away from people. It’s…God, it’s so much worse than I ever imagined,” he said, anguish in his eyes as he linked his fingers together and pushed his hair back from his face. “I’m so much worse than I ever imagined. You’re not safe around me. No one is.”
“Allie, let’s go sit down,” I said.
He turned to our companion. “Please keep her safe, Joey. Get out of this town, take her someplace where no one will hurt her. She’s all that matters.” He met my gaze and said, “I love you, Luna.”
In the next instant, he was gone.
“No,” I gasped, and spun toward my friend. “Joey, you have to go after him. You have to stop him!”
But Joey was shaking his head. “He told me to look after you, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“If you’re not going after him, I’ll go myself,” I exclaimed, and took off at a sprint, down the hallway and down the stairs.
A minute later, I burst into the dark hospital parking lot and yelled, “Allie, come back! I love you!” I whirled around, looking in every direction, but the parking lot was deserted. Alastair was gone. “Oh God,” I whispered.
“Now that’s just pathetic,” a voice behind me said. “Your man dumps you, and you run after him and beg him not to leave you? Where’s your dignity?”
I spun toward the voice. A beautiful young woman with cascading blonde curls was strolling toward me, her blue eyes cold, calculating.
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “We haven’t been properly introduced. My name’s Mrs. Alastair Davies. But you can call me Elizabeth.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Elizabeth,” I murmured, then looked over her shoulder for Joey.
“Your playmate isn’t coming,”
she said. “I asked a few friends to look after him for me, and they were more than happy to help. Seems a lot of people want a piece of that traitorous little vampire.” She smiled sweetly, revealing long, sharp fangs. I turned on my heel and took off running.
She was ahead of me moments later, laughing delightedly. “Really? You think you can outrun a vampire? Are you kidding?”
We were now around the far edge of the hospital, in a loading zone. I looked around frantically, and realized I’d managed to isolate myself pretty thoroughly. I mentally slapped my forehead, and then swooped down and pulled my little snake knife out of my boot. “Back off, Elizabeth,” I said, pointing the knife at her.
She grinned at that. “Ah, so there’s more to the little girl than meets the eye. I didn’t realize you were attuned to black magic. Is that what drew Alastair to you in the first place? He does love a woman with a dark side.”
In the next instant she kicked my hand so hard that I felt my wrist shatter, and I cried out as the pain shot up my arm. I dropped the little knife, and it immediately reappeared in my other hand. I tried to hold it up to ward her off, and she grabbed that hand and wrenched it back so hard that I felt bones snapping as I screamed. My knees buckled and I dropped to the ground, the pain almost making me black out.
“You know what’s really annoying?” she said conversationally as she pulled a sword out of a sheath across her back and pointed it at my chest. “The fact that my two-timing husband gave you my necklace. The nerve of that man!”
“You’re not married anymore, Elizabeth,” I managed through the almost blinding wall of pain, my broken hands collapsed uselessly against my legs.
“Of course we are. I never agreed to that annulment! Alastair’s my husband, and you’re wearing my necklace,” she growled, and lunged at me, pulling it from around my neck.
She stood back and gloated, holding the pendant up triumphantly. In the next instant, her eyes went wide with surprise, and she started to fall. But before she hit the ground, she crumpled and vanished, becoming nothing more than a bit of dust that was quickly distributed in the breeze.