by Amy Cross
He paused. “Estella -”
“But I'm probably wrong, aren't I?” she added, with a faint smile. “I'm probably just a silly woman who doesn't know what she's talking about.”
“Listen, you -”
“Who is it?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“An old lover?”
“Estella, please -”
“A family-member? A friend? An enemy?”
“I think this conversation has run its course,” he replied.
“Just because we've stopped talking about me and started talking about something more interesting?”
“I have things to do,” he replied, taking a glass of water and then heading to the patio doors.
“You're running from someone,” she continued, “and I will find out who. Remember, longsummer wort can be used in a lot of spells.”
“I'm not running from anyone,” he snapped, turning to her. “I'm running from -” He stopped just in time, and for a moment he seemed shocked by how close he'd come to telling the truth.
“From a thing?” she asked. “From a place? Or...” Pausing, she couldn't help but feel amused by the discomfort in his expression. “You tend to avoid mirrors, Nixon,” she added finally. “Is it possible that you're running from yourself?”
“Estella -”
“What did you do before you knew Edgar? Something you're ashamed of? Something that's caused such a bright and intelligent man to curl up into a ball and wait for death? Even Edgar admits that he doesn't know that much about you, at least not about your old life before you two became such good friends. I've often wondered what you got up to back when you were a younger man, and I'm becoming increasingly convinced that your life history, Mr. Nixon, might actually be rather interesting. After all, why else would a man go out of his way to make himself seem so boring?”
“I think this conversation -”
“Is so much more interesting now that I'm getting to the truth,” she continued. “This is just the start, Nixon. Eventually I'll be able to read every thought in your head. Is that what you're scared of? I'll be able to read even the thoughts you try to keep hidden from yourself.” She held up the longsummer wort. “Perhaps I'll use this very bunch.”
Storming across the kitchen, he grabbed the flowers from her hand and dropped them to the floor, before grinding them with the heel of his boot.
“If you -”
“Angry, are you?” she asked with a faint smile.
He paused.
“Was that a flash of rage?” she continued. “Did I just get calm, passive James Nixon to show some emotion? Why, I'm honored, really I am. There's quite clearly a great deal bubbling just under your surface, isn't there? I must find a way to draw more of it out some time.”
“I don't think that would be very wise,” he said firmly, taking a step back.
“You think I should let sleeping dogs lie?”
“I think you should be careful with those books. They might give you grand ideas, but being a witch is about more than just copying a few spells.”
“No matter,” she replied, slipping past him and heading to the back door. “There's plenty more longsummer worst where that came from.”
“Don't provoke me,” he said darkly, turning to her.
“I won't,” she said as she headed outside. “Not unless you provoke me, anyway. Remember, Edgar must know nothing of my new powers. Then again -” She glanced back at him. “Once Edgar and I are married, we shall be starting a family. I think we'll need the house to ourselves, so I'm sure you'll start thinking soon about making other arrangements. You can't just expect to live here forever.”
As Estella left, Nixon looked back down at the crushed flowers. Scooping them up, he examined them for a moment before heading over to the window and watching Estella as she made her way across the lawn.
“You're getting cocky,” he muttered. “Someone needs to cut you back down to size.”
IV
“Makho,” he whispered, sitting alone in the dark chamber. His mind was elsewhere, reliving the final day of the great vampire war, and the one moment in particular that was seared into his heart.
His eyes were open, but all he saw was death.
“I did it for them!” he heard a voice screaming in the back of his mind. “I did what you couldn't!”
In the distance, thousands of children were screaming as they died. It was that sound, more than any other, that still echoed through his thoughts. He wanted to shut them out, to force them away and pretend the madness had never taken place, but he couldn't deny the truth. The worst part was that he knew it was all his fault, that the pain and misery could never have happened without actions.
“Makho,” he whispered again, shuddering at the memory of that name. “I still taste your blood.”
***
“What are we doing out here?” Anna asked as she and Kate reached the edge of the stone circle. “I want to go home. I want to go to my mother.”
“We're just taking a nice walk,” Kate replied, keeping hold of the little girl's hand. Stopping, she looked around and suddenly realized that she needed to keep Anna occupied for a few minutes. “Don't you ever get brought out to explore the island?”
“The island's tiny.”
“It's not that small.”
“I want to go home.”
Sighing, Kate pulled a piece of paper and a pencil from her pocket. She felt hopelessly inadequate whenever she tried to look after Anna, but she had no choice but to keep trying.
“Here's what I want you to do, Anna. I want you to make a sketch of the stones. Just try to draw them as best you can, make sure you get all the details that are different from one to the next. I know you can do it, Anna, and I'm relying on you, okay? It's really important.”
“Why's it important?”
“It just is.” Pressing the items into the girl's hands, Kate forced herself to smile. “I'll be back really soon, okay? Be brave.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just -” She paused, realizing she probably shouldn't mention the underground chamber. “I'm going to hide.”
“Should I come looking for you? Is it a game?” At this idea, Anna's eyes lit up.
“No! It's not a game. Just focus on drawing the stones.”
“Stones are boring.”
“Humor me,” Kate added. “Look at the stones. What do they look like to you?”
“They look boring.”
“What if I told you that they're actually very, very interesting?”
“They're not.”
“Trust me, they are.”
Anna paused. “Why?”
“Go and see for yourself. That's why I want you to draw them, it'll help you to work out why they're not as boring as they look.”
As Anna began to head over to take a look for herself, Kate realized that she'd managed to buy herself a little time. She took a few steps back, heading down toward the entrance to the chamber, and she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe Lassiter was right after all, maybe she could learn to look after Anna a little better. She still felt that she wasn't the type of person who could be a good mother, but she figured she could at least keep Anna safe while she worked to get Jennifer out of jail.
She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Anna wasn't watching, and to her relief she saw that the little girl had begun to sketch the nearest stone. Ducking down, Kate made her way to the tunnel entrance and then hurried underground, quickly reaching the subterranean chamber and finding to her relief that there was a flashlight cutting through the darkness nearby.
“Edgar?” she called out.
She waited for a reply.
“Edgar?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I need your help.” Making her way carefully through the darkness, and being careful not to bump into the altar, she found Edgar over by the wooden panel that had been marked with crude carvings. “Have you been down here all this time?”
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“I need to think,” he replied dourly. “I need to be alone.”
“You're going to go -”
“I remember your warnings from last time,” he added, interrupting her. “There is no need to repeat them.”
“There's a man on the island,” she continued, “I told you about him last time, but you didn't -”
“Quillian,” Edgar whispered.
“Well... His name's Quill, Jonathan Quill -”
“I know him as Quillian.”
“You know him? Edgar, the man's insane. He's locked Jennifer Kazakos away for a murder she didn't commit!”
He turned to her. “Jennifer Kazakos did kill the police officer.”
“But she didn't kill Evangeline Mediaci,” Kate pointed out. “I think he's planning to put her on trial and then hang her, it's as if he's made his decision already and now he's just going through the motions to achieve a conviction. Edgar, you have to come with me and talk some sense into Quill, or better yet make him leave the island.” She waited for a reply, but Edgar's attention returned to the carvings. “Are you even listening to me?” she asked after a moment.
“I thought you didn't want me to interfere in the island's everyday life?”
“This is different.”
“I have more important matters to deal with.”
“More important than a woman's life?”
“More important than a human's life,” he said darkly. “I have to focus on the bigger picture.”
“Edgar -”
“Don't push me, Kate,” he continued. “My patience is already worn thin.”
She stared at him for a moment, shocked by the hint of madness in his eyes. She knew that he'd been down in the chamber for some time, but she felt as if there was something new in his expression, as if he was genuinely starting to lose his mind. She watched as he reached out and ran his fingertips across the carvings, and she could tell that he truly had no interest in Jennifer's plight.
“You let her see her dead husband,” she said finally. “Doesn't that mean something? Don't you care about her?”
“I can't be expected to meddle in the affairs of the island.”
“This Quill guy is insane,” she continued. “Edgar, I don't think he's going to stop at Jennifer Kazakos. When he's finished with her, he's going to move on and target someone else, and then someone else, and he's not going to stop until...” She paused. “Why aren't you worried about this? I can just about believe that you wouldn't care about Jennifer, but this man is threatening your authority on Thaxos. He's acting as if he's in charge of the place, yet you're happy to just stay down here in the dark and obsess over a bunch of carvings! The more people fear Quill, the less they're going to fear you! I can't believe I'm appealing to the side of your nature that wants to be feared, but -”
“You don't understand,” he replied, interrupting her.
“Then explain it to me!”
“He's supposed to be dead.”
“What does -” She paused for a moment. “Are you scared of him?” Waiting for a reply, she realized that he was deliberately trying to ignore the question. “Edgar, are staying down here specifically because you want to avoid him?” Again she waited for an answer, but again none was forthcoming. Finally, she stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder, feeling as if she was seeing a completely different side to his personality. “Talk to me. Tell me what Quill means to you.”
He shook his head.
“It's eating you up, isn't it?” she continued. “You don't have to go through this alone. I can help you.”
“I'd rather get on with my work.”
“Edgar, the island needs you.”
“I'm not its guardian.”
“If he's after you, then he'll come for you,” she pointed out. “He's probably just trying to get your attention, but eventually he'll come to your house, or he'll come here, or he'll start hurting the people you care about, or -”
“Don't you think I know that?” he shouted, turning to her suddenly and pushing her back against the wall as his rage began to overflow. “I need time, Kate! I need to work out what the hell I'm going to do! If I make one wrong move, he'll strike!”
“Fight him!” she said firmly, even though she was shocked by his anger. “That's what the old Edgar Le Compte would have done!”
“I thought you despised the old Edgar Le Compte. I thought you hated my quick resort to anger and violence?”
“Maybe...” She paused. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe sometimes it's necessary. I just don't think that Quill's going to listen to reason.”
“You don't know what you're talking about,” he replied. “Quillian's different, he...” Looking down at his hands, he saw that they were trembling. After a moment, he glanced at Kate and realized that she'd noticed too. “I need time,” he added finally. “I need to plan this, I can't just go storming down to the town and start throwing my weight around. Quillian is too smart and too dangerous. If he's followed me all the way to Thaxos, that can only mean that he's got a plan. Right now, while I work out what to do, my best option is to keep him in the dark as much as possible.”
“I've never seen you like this before,” she told him. “It's almost as if...”
After a moment, he turned to her. “As if what?”
“It's almost as if you're...” She paused, not wanting to say the word, before finally deciding that she should hold back. “Maybe I should let you get on with this,” she continued. “I need to find a way to get Jennifer out of that jail cell, and I don't have time to wait for you to finish whatever you're doing down here. She's not collateral damage, not to me. I guess you'll come out when you're ready, but... Don't leave it too long, Edgar. Quill seems like the kind of man who moves fast, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's got his next few steps mapped out. Like you said, it's not a coincidence that he's here. He's probably been planning this for a long time.”
“Thank you for the advice,” Edgar replied, “but I can manage. When the time comes, I'll deal with Quillian myself.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
“Did I not mention any of this to you?” he asked. “In the future, I mean. Did Quillian's return never come up?”
She shook her head.
“I must have decided that I had to keep you in the dark.”
“I always felt you were hiding something from me.”
“Now we know what,” he replied. “We just don't know why.”
Turning, Kate made her way back across the chamber, and then along the tunnel until finally she emerged on the brightly-lit grass close to the stone circle. She paused for a moment, trying to work out if there was anything else she should have said to Edgar, before turning and looking up to see Anna hard at work making sketches.
“I'm going to get your mother out of that place,” she whispered. “I don't know how, but if Edgar won't get involved, I guess I have to come up with a plan.”
***
“Everything is prepared,” Quill whispered, as he stood in the vast stone hall, with flickering torches burning all around on the walls. “Your patience will be rewarded, and this island will be just the first step on your journey into a new world. As soon as you have enough strength to break through permanently, there is nothing to stop humanity falling beneath your feet.”
He waited, as steam rose from the large pit in the center of the hall. From deep below, a faint murmur could be heard, almost like the growl of some vast beast. There was anger in the air, mixed with bitterness and fury, as if something at the bottom of the pit was burning with a desire to seek revenge. Even Quill, who had visited the hall many times and was doing so now only in an astral form, dared not get too close to the edge, in case some hidden force drew him down into the darkness.
“Thaxos is the perfect starting point,” he explained. “There's a close, tight community that will nourish you when you first emerge, and I'm confident that none of them can stand in your way. They won't even know what's happening to them, n
ot until it's too late. They've grown weak and docile over the centuries, believing that the Le Comptes will protect them, but they're about to get a shock. Even the Le Comptes can do nothing this time. The moment of your return is almost upon us.”
From the bottom of the pit, a faint murmur emerged.
“All I ask for is Edgar Le Compte,” Quill continued, as the flames reflected in his eyes. “You know my history with him. I will end his life, and then I will dedicate myself to your command for the rest of eternity. Lord Ashalla, I am your most humble servant, and I -”
Opening his eyes suddenly, he found himself back in the bare, dull police station, sitting at his desk. He'd only entered his own mind a few minutes ago, seeking an audience with his master, but now he could tell that something was wrong. Getting to his feet, he looked over at the door, but he saw no sign of anyone. He waited, telling himself that perhaps he'd imagined the presence in the building, but finally he realized he could detect a heartbeat nearby, as if someone was hiding from his view.
“Hello?” he called out.
Taking his cane, he limped across the room until he reached the doorway. Leaning through, he looked both ways along the corridor, but still he couldn't see an intruder. Turning, he -
“Gotcha!” Madeleine shouted, landing a punch in the center of his face and sending him stumbling back until he hit the wall.
Putting a hand to his jaw for a moment, Quill quickly saw that he was bleeding.
“So you thought you could come to Thaxos and cause trouble for my brother, did you?” Madeleine asked, stepping closer. “Well, that's a nice plan, but the position's already taken. The only person on this island who causes trouble for Edgar is me, and there's no way in hell I'm sharing him.”