by Sean Stone
I put my phone down on the table and turned to Nick who was looking just as bemused as I was. “He’s a charming fellow,” Nick said and laughed. He’d obviously been able to hear the whole conversation. “Anyway. It’s a beautiful day,” he said, gesturing at the radiant sun and the cloudless sky. “We have a meeting at the AOC building. The dynasts are willing to discuss a truce as long as we return Arthur to them. So, get your fighting suit on, Eddie. We’re about to end this war.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
We teleported right into the lobby, dragging Arthur between us. Nick had enchanted the chains to keep him unconscious. The woman behind the desk no longer had the cool composure she’d shown in the past. She was nervous and jumpy. When we appeared she looked up, startled. She had obviously been told to expect us, but it was clear from her composure that she seriously wanted to flee.
“We have an appointment,” I said in my chirpiest voice, though I wasn’t feeling particularly chirpy at all. She said nothing and pointed at a door to our right. I gave a broad smile and then we headed off in that direction. I was glad we weren’t going into that bloody courtroom. I’d seen enough of that room to last me a lifetime. In fact, I’d seen enough of this building to last me a lifetime.
Four grim-looking sorcerers sat on one side of a rectangular conference table facing us. I recognised Shirley and Sam but the other two were new to me. There was a pudgy lady with curly auburn hair that couldn’t have been her natural colour. The other was a man with the longest head I’d ever seen. He honestly looked more horse than human. Nick pushed Arthur onto the table as the door closed behind them.
“As promised,” he said. Sam and the other man stood up and pulled Arthur’s bound body so that he was lying on his back on the table.
“What have you done to him?” Shirley asked. Her tone was business-like. I’d hoped that she was one of the dynasts to leave the Alliance. I was fond of Shirley and had no desire to be enemies with her. Sadly, it looked like we were to be on opposing sides.
“He’s just asleep,” I said. My voice was a hushed mumble. Shirley shot me a disapproving look and I felt like a little boy being told off by his nan. Sam pulled the chains off Arthur and then brought him to rest in one of the vacant chairs.
“Why isn’t he waking up?” he said accusingly.
“He will,” said Nick.
Sam eyed Nick with suspicion and then after deciding to believe him he returned to his seat.
“Why don’t the two of you sit down so we can talk things through,” the long-headed man said.
I moved for a chair but Nick’s hand fell on my shoulder, holding me in place. “We won’t be here long. There isn’t much to say. All of you will swear an oath not to persecute warlocks ever again. You will leave us well and truly alone. That is all we require from you and we will settle for nothing less.”
“What if we say no?” asked Sam.
Nick turned to him and gave him a small smile. “You die.”
The dynasts took a moment to digest the threat. “You expect us to let your kind pick us off and steal our power without any kind of retaliation?” said long-head.
“Yes. We warlocks do as we please. We are not beholden to your petty rules and regimes. We are above you. The sooner you learn that we are your superiors, the better. Clara learned that lesson the hard way. Why don’t you take the easy route?”
The meeting was interrupted when my phone started buzzing urgently in my pocket. Every eye turned to me, eyebrows raised. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
“Do you need to take that?” Shirley asked pointedly.
“Sorry,” I said unapologetically as I exited the room, pulling out my phone. “Gabe, good news?” I said down the phone.
“I’ve got Annabelle,” he said.
“Thank fuck. Where was she?”
“Cedarstone Police Station. Turns out she told them to close off the town centre. Had a premonition that something terrible was going to happen there. They were keeping her to try and get more information.”
I looked back at the room I’d just come out of and wondered if this meeting was some sort of distraction and the Alliance had something else planned that was going on in the town centre. Or maybe Nick had something going on that he’d neglected to tell me.
“Bring her to me. I’m at the AOC HQ,” I said.
“What are you doing back there?” he asked, shocked.
“Finishing them off. Come quickly. I want this death premonition thing dealt with.” I hung up and walked back into the room. Not much had changed, Nick was still arguing with the dynasts but now Arthur was awake and arguing even more vehemently than the others.
“This is not how a truce works. You have to give us something,” Arthur said hotly. “If you want us to leave you alone then you have to guarantee that no warlocks will attack our covens.”
“That sounds fair,” I said to Nick.
“No, it does not,” Nick answered stubbornly. “Warlocks have suffered decades of superiority from so-called true-sorcerers. It’s time for real change.”
“You obstinate fool!” the chubby woman shouted, standing up in her frustration. Bad move. Nick took it as a sign of attack and she suddenly found herself flying straight through the wall behind her. Plaster and dust flew up in a great cloud. The others pounced on Nick at once. There was none of the finesse the dynasts had shown last time they’d fought Nick. Various different spells were launched at him chaotically, it took a lot more effort for him to deflect them all. Maybe Clara should have used that tactic.
I didn’t get to quietly observe this fight. A spell slashed across my throat opening a painful gash. Blood spilled down my throat as I fell to my knees. The pain was agonising, and I pressed both hands over the wound, fearful that it would tear open more and I’d die right there. I concentrated on healing it whilst also mindful of Arthur Winters coming towards me across the room. Nick and the others had already travelled through the smashed wall and were well out of the way, fighting their way through the building and out of my sight.
“Did you really think I’d let you get away with murdering my little girl?” Arthur asked. There were no tears in his eyes, only anger. I could feel my healing magic working but it was taking too long. I needed to stall him and there was only one thing that could do that.
“I didn’t,” I said raspily. It’s hard talking when there’s massive slit in your throat.
Doubt washed over his face. “I saw her body.”
“Yes, but I didn’t do it.” My voice was more my own. The wound was nearly closed. “I tried to save her. I told Nick I didn’t want to kill her. I said to let her go.”
“So what, you’re the hero now?” he said with disdain.
I shook my head. The wound was now fully healed but I kept my hands in place while I tried to think of a way out of this. I wasn’t sure if Clara’s magic, which was no mine, was enough to defeat Arthur. I had no idea which of them was stronger. I suspected she was, but I didn’t want to risk it.
“I’m no hero, but I tried to spare her life.”
“If you hadn’t stolen her magic then she would have had a fighting chance,” he said, his voice far quieter. His eyes were watery as he was forced to think about how his daughter died. “To think that one of the greatest sorcerers of this age was killed not by any spell, but by a knife to the heart. Where’s the dignity there? How could you let that happen to her?”
“I didn’t want it to happen!” I shouted back. My guilt was all rushing up to the surface. I felt like if I shouted loud enough I could expel the vile feeling from inside. “I was angry with her for what she did, but I didn’t want her dead! How could I stop Nick? How?”
“You should have known better than to trust him in the first place.” He raised his hand to attack me and on instinct I pushed my hands forward and projected a shield. I still wasn’t used to the strength of Clara’s magic fused with my own. Arthur’s spell hit my shield and rebounded back at him. His eyes shot open in surprise
and his whole body turned rigid before falling like a log to the floor. “No, no, no,” I muttered rushing towards him. I couldn’t have his death on my conscience too. I pressed my fingers to his throat desperately. There was a pulse. I exhaled loudly and fell down onto my arse. Thank god.
“Nicely done,” Nick said approvingly. He re-entered the room via the hole in the wall, the four dynasts hovering behind him, each of them out cold. He seated each of them at the plaster-covered table, including Arthur. The chains that had been binding Arthur twitches and began to slither like a metallic snake across each of their wrists, looping around each pair until all five dynasts were bound together.
“What now?” I asked, standing up and wiping my face dry.
He pulled out the Ambrotos Dagger and offered the hilt to me. “Now you take their magic and put it in this. And then the war’s over.”
I looked regretfully at Arthur and Shirley. I had no bad feelings towards them. I actually liked them, and they did not deserve this. But I was in too deep. It was them or me and I had to choose me. They would never forgive me for what I’d done. They would never stop coming after me. I reached out and took the Dagger.
Chapter Thirty-Six
I looked down at Shirley. Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. The glossy wood of the table misted as she breathed out. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully. When she woke up she’d be powerless. Plain old human. I didn’t want that for her. I could always give her some magic. Some of my own, or I could steal someone else’s for her. She’d never accept that. She was no warlock. The only magic she would take was her own. And Nick would have it.
“Is there a problem?” Nick asked. There was warning in his tone. It was too late to back out now. What would he do if I did? Would he kill me? Could he force me to do it anyway? I didn’t want to find out.
I shook my head and walked over to the table. “The chain is binding them together magically as well as physically. Take hold of it. Show them that you will not be pushed around by them,” he said.
I grabbed the chain. With the Dagger in one hand and the cold chain in the other I closed my eyes and began the transfer. Barely more than a tremor passed through the chain when the doors flew open. I turned and saw Gabe stride into the room with Annabelle in tow. I released the chain and stepped away from the table, wanting to distance myself from what I had been about to do.
“Hello, Eddie,” Annabelle said with a sunny smile. She seemed oblivious to the destruction she was standing in.
“About time.”
“What is this?” Nick asked, staring at the newcomers in annoyance.
“You said if I brought the seer to you you’d be able to stop the prophecy. Here she is,” I said, pointing at Annabelle with the Dagger. She looked shocked at what she obviously perceived to be a threatening gesture. “Sorry,” I muttered and placed the Dagger carefully on the table.
“I see,” Nick said, looking at Annabelle as if she was some kind of foreign curiosity. “Well, let’s do the transfer and then I’ll attend to this matter.”
“No,” I said firmly. “I’ve proved myself to you. I’ve done so much already. Now you do something for me.”
“What’s more important here, Eddie?”
“I would have to say my life.”
“Your life is in no danger right now. Not with me standing right here,” he argued.
“What if this transfer is the thing that kills me?” I said. I knew it wasn’t. Annabelle’s prophecy said I would die in the street and this was definitely not the street.
“The magic isn’t going into you.”
“But it is going through me. You don’t know what damage it might cause, this is the first time it’s ever been done.”
Nick sighed but it sounded more like a growl. “I’m starting to think that you are having doubts,” he said dangerously.
“I’m not. I will do the transfer as soon as you’ve done this,” I promised. I was having doubts, but I knew I was going to have to do the transfer. I just wanted my death prevented sooner rather than later.
“Oh, fine then,” he said in exasperation. “Here.” He beckoned me and Annabelle to him rudely. I chose to overlook his lack of manners since he was doing what I wanted. It’s not like I’m the politest of people. Maybe I got my own poor manners from him.
“What’s going to happen?” Annabelle asked calmly. She was just going with the flow. She really was an idiot.
“I need to see the prophecy regarding, Eddie. When you touch me I will channel my power into you giving your psychic ability a boost. Your contact with Eddie will make you able to access visions regarding him. You will need to focus your ability on the specific prophecy we are looking for otherwise we will see all sorts of things from both his future and his past.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding along. “And then you think you’ll be able to prevent the prophecy?”
“I certainly mean to try. Take hold of him first.”
I offered up my hand and Annabelle took hold of it, smiling warmly. I did not return the expression. Under the current circumstances I felt I was justified in not smiling. Nick took hold of Annabelle’s other hand and at once I felt my head fill with buzzing. I closed my eyes and saw a flurry of images moving too fast for me to make out.
“Focus,” Nick said gently. “Concentrate on what you want to see.”
The images slowed down and began to focus. I saw myself, but not as I was now. I was young, thirteen-years-old. I was standing in my living room; my parents were on the sofa. The BBC news was on the television.
“No,” I muttered as I realised what this was. My whole body tensed.
Rachel stepped into the room, her brown hair bouncing joyfully.
“That’s his past,” Nick muttered. The vision vanished. I was so glad I hadn’t been forced to relive that. Once was enough for one lifetime. The next image was once again of me as a child. Younger this time. Not me actually. It looked a bit like me, but this boy had a harsher look in his gaze. He was dressed in some sort of medieval attire and was standing on the deck of a ship. Not a modern ship either. I heard Nick sigh. “That’s my past. You’re in the wrong head you stupid girl.” He had less tolerance for Annabelle than I did.
“Sorry, I’m new to this,” she said in her usual cheery voice as the vision wafted away. A shop came into view. It had a cracked wooden front. Pink paint was chipped and flaking away. The front window displayed baby clothes and a pram. The sign said COTTON SOCKS in faded baby blue lettering. And there I was laying on the floor on the cobbled stones before it. My eyes were not blue like usual but the colour of blazing fire. Then the vision was gone.
Next, I saw a blonde man. He had a long dark scar down his right cheek, from eye to mouth. He was one of the warlocks who’d been responsible for Ashley’s death. At first, I thought we were about to see the moment I killed him, but as the scene focused I saw that he was standing outside. On a patio. Nick’s patio outside his villa.
“Wrong again,” Nick said. “Move on.” He didn’t sound bored this time, he sounded worried.
I concentrated on the vision. I wanted to know why that guy was at Nick’s villa. I wasn’t sure if I could influence the visions, but I was intent on seeing the rest of this one. The vision stayed. Nick stepped into view. He was standing on the edge looking out to sea. It was exactly where he’d stabbed Clara.
“No harm is to come to Eddie.” He turned to face the blonde man. “We need Eddie on our side.”
“But he will kill us if we don’t get away,” the blonde man said nervously.
“I have resurrected people before. I can do it again. If you play your part well enough. Find Eddie and attack him. Make it seem as though you are rebelling against his rule.”
“Stop this!” the current Nick screamed, but I focused even harder on keeping the vision in front of my eyes.
The vision-Nick continued. “In order for him to join us he will need to be at his absolute lowest. For that he must be complete
ly alone. Desperate. Miserable. Kill his girlfriend, but make it look like an accident. It is…”
The vision vanished at once and no more came. I opened my eyes and saw that Nick had pulled his hand away. He’d broken the connection. He was staring at me, a mixture of anger, disappointment and apprehension on his face. I glared back, only fiery rage in my eyes. Anger has always been an easy emotion for me, but never had I felt anger like this before. I was literally shaking.
“Eddie,” he said placatingly. “Before you do anything rash, consider the situation. You cannot beat me.”
“She was my happiness. The only thing in this whole world that made me beam. She was everything to me and you took her away.”
He winced. “She was a distraction from your true potential. She would only ever have held you back. She was a waste of your time.”
That was exactly the wrong thing to say. I let out a humourless laugh which he took for a sign of agreement. He started to smile but before the expression fully took his face I screamed in fury and unleashed a beam of pure green magic at him. My magic hit him square in the chest and blasted him right through the wall. It was the first time I’d managed to cast the spell, the most powerful attack a sorcerer can make. It felt exhilarating to let out all of my emotions in this one spell. The magic flowed and flowed long after Nick had vanished from sight. When I finally dropped my hands and the green light disappeared I felt a little emptier. My emotions were somewhat abated. But there was still plenty more inside me. And I knew that Nick wasn’t dead. I snatched the Ambrotos dagger up off the table and marched through the ruined wall after Nick. This day would be his last.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Nick was already recovering when I found him in the lobby. The receptionist had long since fled. Nick was climbing to his feet, using the desk for support. His hair was a mess but annoyingly the messed-up look suited him. He saw me coming and flashed me another of those proud smiles. “That was impressive,” he said loudly, his voice echoing off the glass walls.