The Cardkeeper Chronicles: Books 1-5 (Complete Collection)

by A. C. Nicholls

  “Then we’re screwed.”

  Lena sat up. “Excuse me?”

  “I can’t defeat The Ancient. It’s far too strong. The vampires don’t want anything to do with it, and the werewolves are obviously not on my side. Could it be that I’ve just fucked up everything that Keira did? Is it possible that I just killed the one good relationship that R’hen had with the supernatural? I just… argh!” I kicked the dresser, momentarily forgetting my own strength and feeling like a fool as it collapsed in a broken, wooden heap. “Sorry…”

  Lena exhaled heavily and shuffled to the end of the bed, where she sat with her hands on her bare knees, gazing lovingly up at me. “Jack, it’s not your fault that this happened. Even if it was you they followed – which we can’t be sure of – how were you to know?”

  “For one, I could have been more careful.”

  “Vampires live in the shadows. You know this.”

  I sighed. “I guess.”

  “Good. Now please, come and sit down. You’re making me nervous.”

  “I’m nervous already.”

  “Then there’s no need for us both to feel that way. Come – I won’t bite.”

  Something about that stopped me in my tracks. Could it be that she… No, no, that was a bad idea. I studied Lena’s expression, watching her eyes narrow as she tried to decipher my reaction to her words. Finally, she gave up.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “I was just thinking that… what if you did?”

  “What if I did what, Jack?”

  I moved to the bed, dropping beside her and placing my hands on her naked shoulders. I could barely believe what I was about to suggest, but it wasn’t the worst idea I’d ever had. At least I didn’t think so. “I mean, what if you did bite? With the strength of a werewolf and the Sword of Lucada, The Ancient would have a damn hard time surviving my assault.”

  Lena shook her head. “That’s insanity. You know the vampires won’t–”

  “They’ll understand, Lena. Edgar George will, anyway.”

  “And the Elders of R’hen? Will they be so forgiving?”

  “Who cares? I’d be doing it for them. If they punish me for becoming something stronger for the greater good, then let them.” I shuffled across the bed, lowering my hands but fixing my trusting gaze on her eyes. “It’s the only way, and I think you know it.”

  Now Lena stood, raking her fingers through her damp hair as she crossed the room. She stopped at a mirror that hung on the wall, examined her appearance, and then her reflection watched me from within. “If I do this, you’re going to have to know the downside.”

  I listened intently. “Go on.”

  “The curse of the moon may offer strength, speed and agility. You will be able to transform certain areas of your body – or all, if you like – but it comes at a price. The price I speak of is what we call The Hunger. Need I elaborate?”

  “Not really, but please do.”

  Lena turned. “Once a month, your primal instincts will take over, forcing you to hunt down humans to harvest their organs and flesh. There will be a few early warning signs; dizziness, anxiousness, undying hunger, during which you must do whatever it takes to lock yourself away – not only for the safety of mankind, but to keep yourself discreet, hidden. Years ago, there was an incident where one man could not make it into his cage on time. Unable to control his own body, he terrorized Chicago, tearing through the street and murdering loads of innocent people.”

  “Jesus.”

  “It was lucky the government are such secretive creeps. They tranqued him, locked him away, and none of us ever heard from him again.” Lena lowered her head as the memories crept back in, bringing moisture to her eyes. “You see, there is nothing we can do but lock ourselves away and let the storm pass. If you think you can handle that…”

  “I can.”

  “But there’s more.” Lena met my gaze. “You may not survive the bite. Not everybody does. If the curse rejects you, you will be nothing more than a corpse lying on a bed in a sewage plant, and the war between the werewolves and vampires will go on forever. The Elders of R’hen will assume what had happened, find a new Cardkeeper and leave you to rot. I’m neither for or against this, but I want to make you aware of the truth so you can make an informed decision.”

  Wow. A few minutes ago I would have done anything to end this war, but she’d just raised the stakes. Terror sliced through my weakened body, but the fact remained that I had no other choice than to take the risk and accept the outcome. “I have to.”

  Lena hesitated, nodded, then wiped her eyes with her sleeves and opened up a drawer. From there she took a vial of clear liquid and returned to the bed, sitting beside me. “First, you must drink this. It will cause the infection from my bite to enter your bloodstream, rather than killing you on the spot.”

  My fear caused reluctance, which slowed me down considerably when reaching out to take the vial. I popped off the cap and sniffed it. It didn’t smell of anything. “Here goes nothing.” I downed it in one gulp, dropping the vial onto the ground as soon as my head became a little fuzzy. I wrapped my hand around the bedpost, steadying myself as Lena’s face came into view, her fangs exposed and ready to pierce my skin.

  Those deep, perfect, captivating eyes were the last things I saw before I closed my own, giving in to the chemical that coursed through my veins. The next thing I knew, those long, white fangs, punctured my neck and my body went totally limp as I entered a dark nowhere, where my fate would be decided.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  I slipped in and out of sleep for days, my blood burning like fire. Hallucinations of wolves and flies and raw meat danced around my vision, making me vomit. Most times I barely made it onto my side to save myself from choking to death. I thought of The Ancient, my heart going into overdrive as it beat so hard that it nearly burst from my chest. I worried that the beast had recovered, moved on to terrorize some other town, and the odds of stopping it looked bleak. Each time I gave thought to going after it, the sickness took over, condemning me back to another painful night’s sleep. The process was torture, and all for a curse that may not accept me.

  It felt as though a week had passed before the sweats seemed to die down. Lena hovered at my bed for god knew how long, a hardback book spread across her lap as she kept watch over me. When I could finally summon the energy necessary to talk to her, I did so with the driest mouth I could ever have imagined. It felt like I had swallowed something sharp.

  “Water…”

  Lena dropped the book to the floor with a bang and reached over to a jug. She spilled the contents into an empty glass and handed it to me, while adjusting my pillows to help me sit up. “Drink it slowly, or you’ll choke.”

  The water was as cold as ice, sliding down my throat like a spike. I didn’t care – my mouth was so dry that there wasn’t much I wouldn’t consider drinking at this point. When I’d emptied the glass, my weak arm dropped to the bed, the glass rolling off it and smashing on the floor. “How long was…” I held my ribs, feeling around for a wound that wasn’t there, no matter how much it felt like it was. “How long was I out?”

  “Six days. I wasn’t sure that you would make it.”

  I tried to smile, but my mouth was weak, too. “I did, though.”

  “You did,” Lena said, nodding.

  “But how do I… turn?”

  “Perhaps you should look at your legs.”

  I wasn’t sure what to expect when I looked down, but what I saw only made me feel sick. My legs had extended and grown thick, black fur. My knees were on backward, and although I tried to kick them, they didn’t move.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Lena said. “But for now, you must rest some more.”

  “But The Ancient–”

  “Would kill you if you confronted it like this.”

  I tried to move again, barely able to sit up and having to drag my legs across the bed sheets. Who was I kidding? Lena was right – I was going no
where. “Will you help me? I-I know that you did this for me, but if you could fight by my side…”

  Lena shook her head and stood up. “I’ve done all that I can do for you. I intend to nurse you back to health and then send you on your way.” She made her way toward the doorway, raised the curtain and craned her neck. “After that, you’re on your own.”

  You’re telling me.

  I fell back onto my pillow, where I quickly fell back into a deep sleep and the horrific images filled my mind once again. This time I saw only The Ancient, standing before me at double its previous size. Even in my deepest nightmares I knew I had very little chance of defeating it. But now that the werewolf gene coursed through me, at least I had what I needed to give it a valiant effort. All I wanted now was a clean bill of health. Then, and only then, could I embark on my suicide mission.

  I could barely wait.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The vampires stopped me at the front door of Dante’s Nightclub, grouping together in a pack and grabbing my shoulders like I was nothing more than an irate drunkard. All the while, the same figure of speech ran repeatedly through my mind: ‘Safety in numbers.’

  As more vampires gathered around the street to witness the commotion, I refused to put up a struggle. Now that I was part werewolf, I had no doubt that they could smell both lycan and magic on me. If I were them, I would be frightened, too.

  “I just need a few words with your boss,” I told the big, bald one who I had pinned against the wall the last time I’d come here. “You may not believe it right now but you and I are on the same side.”

  “What side is that?” he asked, humoring me.

  “The side that means you can see the sun for the first time in a century.”

  All of the vampires let go of me at the same time, taking a step back. I glanced around, confused, while trying to figure out why that had shocked them so. But then I noticed Edgar George stood by the front door of the club, waving me inside.

  I straightened out my coat, flicked up my collar and gave the bouncers the most smug look I could muster. “Sorry, fellas, this one has business to deal with. But if you need to gang up on someone to make yourselves feel tough, there are a couple of small women in the line.”

  They all hissed as I passed them by with that remark, but I got out of there fast. Edgar welcomed me with a handshake, but rather than walk me all the way up to his office, he only took me behind the coat counter, where he relieved a teenage girl of her duty and began to exchange tickets for coats.

  “I apologize for the informality, Mr. Hannigan, but we’re having a very busy night.” Edgar slipped a coat onto a nearby rail, and then handed over a numbered ticket, watching a drunk couple hurry into the club.

  “I get it – business is swarming.”

  “Right. But what brings you here?”

  I took a deep breath, unsure of how to ask for this. It hadn’t been long since I’d last requested the services of the vampires, only now the circumstances had changed somewhat. “I’m on my way to Firdown Woods. That’s where The Ancient is, and I’m finally going to kill it.”

  Edgar furrowed his brow and stood up straight, although he kept his focus on the job at hand. “I see. And you’re doing it with the curse of the moon.”

  “How did you–”

  “Even if I couldn’t smell it, you’ve made no effort to cover up that bite mark on your neck.” Edgar took a coat and pushed it to one side, before handing over another numbered ticket. “Tell me, do you think it will be enough; a werewolf with an enchanted blade?”

  I shook my head, then realized that my hands were shaking, too. I stuffed them into my pockets, desperate to maintain a tough appearance and keep Mr. George on my side. “No, I don’t think it will be enough. Which is why I’ve come here to ask for your help one last time. Now, hear me out…”

  Edgar huffed.

  “I know you’re busy, and I know you don’t want The Ancient to survive with the knowledge that you attempted to kill it, but we may not fail if we work together. You see, sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith, and then the luck comes after.”

  The words settled around us, leaving Edgar in contemplation while I silently – anxiously – awaited his response. Although a young, swaying teenager who’d had too much to drink stood waiting for his coat to be taken, Edgar merely stared down at his feet.

  “Well?” I urged.

  “Is Lena fighting beside you?”

  I scratched my neck, feeling a heat brew there. “Not really.”

  “You have no help from the werewolves or the alpha?”

  “No, not exactly…”

  Edgar splayed out his hands in a way that said: There you go, then.

  The discomfort of the conversation began to make me fidget. I’d already tried to get Lena on my side, and now Edgar was refusing me for a second time. I wondered how Keira had done it – Cardkeeping seemed like such a lonely job, always fighting to do the right thing while everyone else refused you like a stubborn child.

  “That’s it then?” I said. “You’re just going to sit back and let me fail?”

  Edgar sighed. “Mr. Hannigan, if the werewolves were fighting with you, I would strongly consider diving in. At least then we would have more chance of taking down The Ancient. But – and this is important, so look at me…”

  My eyes came up and met his; blue with a hint of purple.

  “The vampires will not be fighting alone with you.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve already tried to talk Lena round.”

  “But she said no?”

  “She said no.”

  “Then I’m afraid you’re on your own.”

  I suddenly felt it, too. It was like I was in a dark pit, and although I’d hoped I could climb out with the help of some opposing factions, the lid had just been drawn over, leaving me in nothing but dark, deadly silence. I’d never felt so lonely.

  “Fine,” I said, heading for the door, this time with my blood boiling. I stopped in the doorway and craned my neck, making sure that Edgar could see the pissed-off look in my eye. “You know, I meant what I said before; you are a coward.”

  As much as I expected him to leap across the room in a blur and take me by the throat, Edgar did no such thing. After staring at me like a lost little boy, he snapped out of his entrancement and continued with his job.

  “Goodbye, Mr. Hannigan,” he said. “Good luck.”

  I left the club without another word, letting insults and laughter from the line of vampires fall off me. Now that I was completely on my own, I began to have doubts about my ability to slay The Ancient. I’d done everything I could to try and make this work; giving the slaughter a test run, enhancing my blade, and even being rejected by the two small armies that refused to fight for their own cause. All I had left now was Link, who I hoped was no longer watching me, just so he couldn’t tell Keira Poe how badly I’d messed up.

  “Time to go, buddy,” I said, looking up to the sky. Perhaps I was talking to Link, or it might have been simple encouragement to myself. Now that night had fallen and the Sword of Lucada was ready to be used, there was nothing left to do but head to Firdown Woods for what could be the final fight of my entire life.

  Now, my hands were really shaking.

  I just hoped I could maintain my courage.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Firdown Woods was a large area of woodland on the outskirts of town. During the day it was a great place for families to go and have picnics or take their dogs out for a hike. The night, however, brought out different kinds of people, namely junkies and young gang members who were only looking for trouble. Tonight, though, they were the least of my worries – I was here for The Ancient, and I wasn’t going to leave until I’d reduced it to a stinking pile of ash.

  The curse of the moon set in as I entered the woods. I felt stronger, faster, and I think I was starting to get a handle on the transformation. Now able to see in the dark, I walked carefully between the trees
with the Sword of Lucada blaring berotta fire in one hand, while my other hand was a large werewolf claw. With power like this, anyone would think I felt safe. Sadly, I felt more vulnerable than ever.

  Leaves rustled above me as I passed under thick branches. I was ready to defend myself against anything that dared to leap out at me, making my way toward the lake in the center of the woods and dreading what I might find.

  It wasn’t until an hour later that I came out to a clearing that overlooked the lake. From here I could see everything – my vision was so enhanced from the werewolf bite that the darkness was no longer a problem for me. The moon glistened off the small ripples on the lake, the breeze soft and steady. I stood watching, feeling, letting these new sensations engulf me in total awareness. Even my hearing had improved, pointing out every beat of a bird’s wings, every snap of a fallen twig.

  The only thing it didn’t tell me, was that The Ancient lurked behind me.

  Its enormous hand bashed into me, those long, knife-like claws scratching my shoulder as it launched my body across the water. I hit the lake with a splash and, the second the cold waters drenched me, The Ancient took a leap and pinned me down. I thrashed around, desperately trying to pierce the tip of my blade into its chest, but it was still far stronger than I was. Together, we sank toward the bottom of the dark lake, my chest feeling tight as I held my breath, doing all I could to stay alive.

  Until I hit the bottom.

  My back struck a rock that lay on the bed of the lake, and I let out my breath. Bubbles floated up into the snarling face of The Ancient, popping on its bared teeth as water filled my lungs. I closed my eyes tight, my body pressed against the dirt as the cold water made the hairs on my body prick up. It was all over, Chicago’s newest Cardkeeper had already met his end at the bottom of a quiet lake. There was nothing to be heard but the voice in my head.

  Keira’s voice.

  “Get up, moron. You’re immortal.”