by Steve McHugh
The sphere was an inch from his chest when he moved, pushing my hand to the side, causing me to loose balance, and then punching me in the jaw with enough force to almost spin me in place.
Instead of trying to hit Peter again, I let the momentum carry me around until my back was toward him and then I released the magic. But instead of releasing it in front of me, I released it back toward Peter. The blast of air did no damage to me, you can't be hurt by your own magic, but it whipped around me with fearsome intensity, slamming into Peter, lifting him off his feet and shoving him toward the window. He grabbed hold of the sword holster on my back and dragged me with him as we were thrown through the glass and into the void beyond with an almighty crash.
It was all I could do to use my air magic to slow my decent as Peter grabbed hold of me, forcing us to spin rapidly toward the glass dome that approached at speed as we closed the four-hundred-foot gap.
Peter snarled against my ear so I snapped my head back, slamming his nose and causing him to release his grip slightly. I used the leeway to blast air at him, but he held onto me and I couldn't get any real distance between us. The blast of air magic had the side-effect of spinning me around him so I was against his back. I hooked my arms under his arms and around his neck in a full-nelson, pinning his own arms behind him as we crashed through the dome. And my magic vanished.
At first I thought that something had gone wrong with the security system, but then I saw the sorcerer's band on my wrist. Peter must have slipped it on while we fell.
Falling four-hundred feet and smashing into a marble floor is not the kind of thing you walk away from, even if you use someone else's body as a giant cushion. The shockwaves rode up through Peter's body and into my own, shattering the bones in my right arm, along my wrist, clavicle and several ribs. I'd broken enough bones in my life to recognise what those injuries felt like.
I somehow rolled off the squashed form of Peter and onto the floor, as pain wracked my body in nauseating waves. My vision darkened and I coughed blood all over the floor, apparently I'd punctured a lung. The lack of magic meant that it was entirely possible that I was going to die if I didn't get medical attention, and soon.
I rested the back of my head against the cool floor and cradled my broken arm against my chest, taking some of the pain away so long as I remained completely still. I turned my head slightly as a noise caught my attention and saw Peter back climbing back on his feet, his broken bones and lacerations healing themselves before my eyes.
I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. To just lie on the cool floor and let someone else deal with him, but I couldn't do that. I wouldn't let him hurt anyone else.
"What part of you can't kill me, do you not understand?" he asked. The bones in his neck cracked when he moved his head. "How's all the broken bones? I'm assuming you're in a lot of pain right now. Once I knew there was a sorcerer after me, I thought that band might come in handy.” He glanced up out of the large windows nearby. "I'm going to go help the remains of my barren kill your friends. And there's nothing you can do to stop me." He started walking to the door, his movements stiff and awkward. His body still not completely healed from the impact.
I couldn't let him get away. I had to stop to him. But my pain was so great that I could barely move.
Get up. Something inside of me said.
Get on your damn feet, Nathan.
For a moment I thought it was the nightmare inside me coming back to the fore, but I couldn't be certain.
I forced myself to a kneeling position as the sound of screams filled my ears. My screams. I leaned against the nearest wall and used it to get myself back to my feet.
Peter turned back toward me. "You're a tenacious little fucker, aren't you?"
He took a step in my direction as shots rang out from behind me, each one slamming into Peter, driving him back toward the wall. He wasn't yet recovered enough to withstand the bullets as he normally might have, but he still wasn't going to let bullets stop him.
"Doesn't anyone know that you can't kill me with gravity, or magic, or goddamn bullets? I'll spell it out for you. You. Can't. Kill. Me."
Sky ran from the side and slammed her spirit dagger into Peter's chest and twisted. "I can," she said.
Peter screamed in agony as Sky pushed her translucent blue dagger deeper into his chest until her hand disappeared into Peter's body. She twisted her arm and snatched it free, holding something in her clenched fist. The thing oozed blackness through her fingers like tar, as she squeezed it tightly until it vanished.
Sky staggered back and placed one hand against a nearby column. "Now you can kill him," she said.
Olivia walked past me and emptied a clip into Peter's chest, one shot for each step she took, closer and closer, until she was inches away from him. And then, she placed one hand against his chest, and a dozen, foot long spikes of ice shot out of her fingers to impale Peter, throwing him back with so much force that it shook the wall when he careered into it, the spikes pinning him in place.
"No one fucks with my family," she snarled and decapitated him with a blade of razor-sharp ice.
I coughed again and crashed back to the floor, the pain overwhelming me. Sky ran over and dropped down next to me. She was shouting, but I couldn't hear her words as the darkness closed in and I succumbed to its gentle comfort.
Chapter 43
I opened my eyes to the glare of florescent lighting. If by some miracle, I'd gone to heaven, it certainly wasn't how the brochure had described it.
"Ouch," I said as I moved my stiff neck, which cracked loudly.
"Ah, I was wondering when you'd rejoin us."
I followed the voice, and found Doctor Grayson sat on the chair next to me, a clipboard in his hand.
"Hey, Doc, glad to see you're okay," I said.
"Ah, I can take care of myself, Nathan, don't you worry about that. I've been around long enough to know what to do."
I studied him for a second. He wasn't a large man and certainly didn't appear to be muscular. "So what are you, Doc? Because you don't use magic."
Doc Grayson smiled. "Another time maybe. I just came down here to check on you."
"We still at the LOA building?"
"No. No one wanted to hang around there for very long after the wolves had finished tearing the barren into small stains on the grass outside. The LOA lost forty-two good men and women to those undead creatures. I had no desire to stay and observe the clean-up, so I came here with you. This is Tommy's building, and his facility is quite amazing."
"Yeah, Tommy doesn't believe in doing things half way. How is he?"
"Tommy is fine. It's been all I could do to stop him sitting next to you round-the-clock since you arrived. Kasey, too. Along with Olivia, they've been inseparable. They'll be keen to come say hello."
I pushed myself up to a sitting position, and felt every muscle in my body groan in response. "How long was I out?"
"First some context. You suffered a broken clavicle, eight broken ribs, a punctured lung and damage to the spleen and liver. Your right arm was broken in six places below the elbow and three above it. Your left wrist and three of your fingers were broken so badly that if you'd been human I would simply have amputated the hand. You also suffered a head injury, a broken jaw and nose and you somehow managed to break three of your toes on your left foot. My point is if you were human you'd be dead. The impact alone would have turned you to paste."
"Thanks for the pep talk, Doc. How long was I out?"
"Twelve hours."
My mouth fell open. "That's it?"
"Well, eleven hours, fifty-one minutes and several seconds to be exact, but I thought I'd round up to make things easier."
"How is that possible?"
Doc Grayson did something that no doctor should ever do if they want to inspire confidence. He shrugged. "No idea. Your powers of healing are incredible. Certainly up there with some of the best I've seen in a long time. Not quite werewolf or vampire territory, but still
very impressive. Especially for a sorcerer."
Apparently the extra power gained with the loss of one of my blood magic marks was a lot more than I'd first assumed.
"How long do I have to stay here?" I asked.
"You can leave when you're ready. Your clean clothes are in the wardrobe over there." He pointed to a wooden piece of furniture that had been painted white.
"Where is he?" Sky demanded as she flung the door open and stepped inside.
"And that's my cue to leave," Doc Grayson said, nodding to Sky on his way out.
"If you kill me, the healing I've just done would be a dreadful waste of time," I said, as Sky fumed down on me from the end of the bed.
"You promised, you fucking asshole," she snapped. "You sat and promised me you wouldn't try and kill him yourself. Are you aware what a promise is?"
I opened my mouth to say something and then wisely closed it again.
"You could have died, do you know that? Died. You fell four-hundred feet while fighting a lich, something you said you weren't going to do."
I kept my mouth shut. It saved time on opening it first.
"You utter fucking asshole."
"He was going to kill Kasey," I said. "I had to stop him."
The fight visibly evaporated from Sky, and she slumped into a chair next to the TV on the far wall.
"Fuck!" she shouted and punched the wall. "I know," she admitted in a far more subdued tone. "I spoke to Kasey. I'm just so damn mad at you."
"If it helps, I don't plan on doing it again." Sometimes, I swear, I just can't help myself.
"Are you being flippant with me, Nathan Garrett?"
"Ma'am, no, Ma'am," I said quickly. "Please don't hurt me; I'm still in a hospital gown. I'd look very silly."
Sky smiled, and I knew I'd won her over. For now.
"If you smile, I will kick your ass anyway," she said as she rubbed her eyes.
"No smiling, not a problem."
"You're as bad as my father. He's always being flippant to my mother when she catches him doing something he shouldn't."
"Persephone would terrify anyone," Hades said as he entered the room. "And I learnt long ago not to piss off beautiful women who sleep in the same bed as you." He hugged his daughter before turning his attention to me. "Has she threatened to hurt you yet? I believe she was looking forward to it."
I nodded. "It was very well done."
"Ah, good. I'd hate for it to have been a disappointment after she built up to it so well."
"I hate you both," Sky said.
"Do you need time alone to hug it out, or can I interrupt his recovery?"
Sky started to laugh, followed by me. Mine caused me pain. "Serves you right," Sky said with a wicked smile. "You did good, Nate. Stupidity aside. You saved Kasey and Tommy, and you did it using necromancy. You hurt a lich. That's damn impressive. Heal up and I'll let you buy me a beer."
"Deal," I said. Sky gave me a hug and kissed my cheek before leaving me alone with Hades.
"I never understood why you two didn't get together," he said as nonchalantly as a father can, when saying such a thing about his daughter, as he removed his jacket and laid it over the end of the bed.
"When we first met, I worked for Avalon and Sky worked for you. After I left… well, it became a timing issue. Both of us like our independence, and neither wants to risk our friendship on the chance that being a couple wouldn't end in utter disaster."
"That and she'd have killed you by now. Or I would have if you'd broken her heart," Hades said with far too much enthusiasm.
"And there's that, too."
"So, how are you feeling? Doc Grayson tells me you're a medical marvel."
"Apparently so."
"When you're better, and not before, you will come to me in Toronto, and I will teach you how to use your necromancy. You will not teach yourself, you will not get someone else to teach you. Are we clear on that?"
I nodded.
"As for the why-and yes, I know what you were about to ask-I need to know what you're capable of. You hurt a lich and killed a ghoul with magic. Neither of those things is insignificant. Left to your own devices, who knows what you'd end up doing."
"So what type of necromancy do you think I have?"
Hades shrugged. "Something pretty potent from the sounds of things. But I've no idea exactly what at the moment. That's another reason for me helping you, you're a rare species. You obtained a gift from each of your parents-one a sorcerer and the other a necromancer. Those two together doesn't happen very often. The training may help unlock the rest of those marks. They were put there for a reason."
"And you'd rather I was somewhere safe when they vanish."
"There is that," he admitted. "We don't know what they do. Better safe than sorry."
"Okay, that sounds fair. I'll come out to Toronto and let you teach me about necromancy."
"Good." Hades stood and picked up his jacket. "Get dressed. You have a lot of people who want to see you. Tommy is in his office. I told him I'd let you know."
"Thanks. How'd you get a pass to visit? Who convinced Avalon?"
"Ah, well, apparently I can be very persuasive when I want to be. That and the fact that Olivia threatened to tear some people in half if anyone mentioned that I was here. It appeared to do the trick. She's quite impressive, isn't she?"
"She's not a shrinking violet, that's for sure."
Hades paused at the door. "Hellequin's back then, is he?"
"I don't know."
"Too late now. You let the name drop. And that werewolf alpha told even more people. It won't take long for the wrong people to hear it. You've painted a bull’s-eye on your chest, Nate. Someone inside Avalon arranged for Peter to get the help he did. And those people are going to come after you sooner or later."
"If they come after me, maybe they'll stay away from the people I care about."
"And maybe they'll use them. And if they do, if anyone else comes after your friends, you know what you have to do. Crush them. Make them an example that no one will forget. Hellequin's turned into a nursery rhyme to be told to naughty children, you need to make sure it's the adults who start checking under the bed."
"Hades, when I find the people who arranged all of this, I'm going to make sure that everyone remembers exactly what it means to cross Hellequin."
"Good. Because you'll only get one chance to make sure people remember what it used to mean to cross you." And then he was gone, leaving me to my thoughts.
While I was having a lengthy sleep, someone had what was, quite frankly, the wonderful idea of getting me some clean clothes to wear. Being able to don fresh clothing once you've been in a hospital gown for any length of time is one of life's little pleasures.
On the ten minute journey to Tommy's office on the top floor, there I was helpfully informed of the fact that Tommy was looking for me twenty-something times, along with receiving more than a few cautious or nervous glances. The news that Hellequin was back had travelled much faster than I'd expected.
When I reached Tommy's office, I paused for a moment and took a deep breath, reluctant to intrude on a family moment, especially after what they'd been through. I breathed out as I opened the door and stepped inside.
I'd been in Tommy's office once in the months since regaining my memories, and that was only to say I'd arrived, after which Tommy hastily ushered me out without giving me time to take in any of the details. Now finally having the chance to look around the massive office, I figured out why. One full side of the room, the one opposite an entire bank of windows, had a dozen shelves on it with photos of Olivia and Kasey, while the wall adjacent the door I'd walked through held several beautiful works of art, including many from an artist named Kasey, aged six, seven or eight. Tommy hadn't wanted me to know he had a daughter because he was concerned exactly what Nate he was getting. If I'd been in his office for more than five seconds his entire effort of security would have been pointless.
Olivia sat on the desk at t
he far end, watching me as I scanned the office. She stood and walked toward me, and before I knew what was happening, she'd embraced me in a tight hug as tears wet her cheeks.
"Thank you," she whispered into my ear. "I can never repay what you've done for me… for us." She kissed me on the cheek and moved away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"You never have to repay a thing," I told her. "Where're Tommy and Kasey?"
"Kasey went for a coke; Tommy went to deal with his issues."
"He's hitting something, isn't he?"
"In the gym. He's having more trouble dealing with what happened than Kasey is."
"He was almost beaten to death. That's going to screw with anyone's head. Besides that, he's a wolf who in any other life would be the alpha of a powerful pack. It's probably a lot for him to take in that he couldn't help his daughter. I'll talk to him, if you like."
Olivia nodded as Kasey walked in, can of coke in hand. "Nate," she shrieked, as she saw me and ran over, hugging me tightly.
"I like the artwork," I said.
Kasey pulled away and glanced back at the pictures on the wall.
"I'm a big fan of the rocket picture."
"That's an aeroplane," she corrected.
"Oh, so what's the slug thing underneath it?"
"That's a mountain with eyes."
I raised an eyebrow in question.
"I was six," she said, explaining everything.
"He hurt my dad," she said after a moment's silence. "I couldn't do anything to stop it." And Kasey was enfolded into her mum's arms the second the tears began to fall.
I let them have their moment together, until Kasey pulled away and glanced up at me. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him from hurting you either."
I've seen many things in my life that have pulled at my heart in one way or another, but that? That damn near broke it. "Kasey, you stood up to a monster that most adults would have run from. You have nothing to be sorry for. Neither I nor your dad would ever think any less of you for being unable to stop the lich. We think more of you for trying. It's not your job to fight monsters, it's your job to enjoy being young. Maybe one day, you can be the big monster killer, but right now we don't want you to put yourself in danger. Not even to protect us."