The explosion that ended the muttering was of both light and sound. I felt an extreme heat beneath Tim’s fingers before he finally lifted them from my flesh. I was no longer trapped and frozen. I opened my eyes and sat up quickly.
“What the fuck!” I looked at the hands that were mine, yet not. I was inside someone else’s body. Holy shit. I looked up at Timmy, whose expression was blank. “Is this permanent?” My voice sounded strange; deeper and softer at the same time.
“Fuck yes,” another voice said. The guy Angie had thought was attractive was running his fingers over his own muscles, pinching himself and grinning inanely. What a retard…
“Is that Angie in there?”
Tim and Mickey were being awfully quiet. I didn’t like this.
“What the hell is going on?”
Thirty-Nine – Kat
I groaned and rolled over in bed. Sam was tugging at the covers. “Mummy, I want breakfast.”
“In a minute, baby,” I told him, not opening my eyes. “Quick! Get in before the monsters get your toes!”
It was a joke, but he always gave an excited squeal and scrambled in. It would buy me at least twenty minutes of snuggle-time before I had to get up and forage in the kitchen for something with a reasonable sugar-to-nutritional-value ratio. I cracked my eyes open when he didn’t scurry in beside me like he usually did. He was poking at the mattress and pouting, but that wasn’t what woke me right up.
The covers didn’t look right, and I realised they didn’t feel right, either. I didn’t own silk sheets. My ceiling wasn’t decoratively sculpted with horses and angels. I sat up quickly, dread filling me. We were in the castle.
Sam was in his Spiderman pyjamas, the same pair I’d put him to bed wearing the night before; his own bed in our own house. He rubbed sleep from his eyes.
“Hungry,” he said with a moan that signalled the start of a temper tantrum. I got out of bed quickly, throwing the covers back and picking up my little boy.
I shivered as I looked around the room. My make-up was spread out over a huge dressing table, perfumes and photos and silly little ornaments barely taking up a quarter of the space. The wardrobe door was open, and I could tell all my clothes were inside before I even looked. He’d brought us here while we slept. He’d taken the choice away from me. I shook with anger. He had no right to do this. I marched over to the wardrobe and grabbed out the first jacket I found. I didn’t give a shit if he’d just cleaned out my house. I was going home with my son, and we were never coming back.
I put Sam down as I hauled my coat on. He looked at me sadly as I picked him back up. “Where are we, Mummy?”
I took a deep breath. “We’re at a friend’s house, but we’re going home now.”
I could see the open adjoining door to the room Sam must have come from. It looked like a duplicate version of his room at home. My head started to thump. How the hell could he do this? What kind of sick, fucked up game was he playing?
I walked to the door, slipping my feet into shoes and picking up my handbag, both of which were by the door. I grabbed Sam’s jacket from the same place. I turned the handle as Sam whispered his breakfast order in my ear. The door was locked! I kicked it and concealed a curse with a growl. He couldn’t do this to us! I wasn’t his slave. I wasn’t one of his stupid little sex toys. I bit back another curse and banged my fist hard against the door.
One of David’s Animates unlocked it and peered in. “What can we get you, Miss Chase?”
“A taxi,” I told him, ready to push him out of our way. “We’re leaving.”
“I’m afraid we’ve been instructed not to allow that. Food will be delivered to your room. Back away from the door, please.” He started to close it.
I stuck my foot out to stop him, punching him in the throat at the same time.
He frowned at me, apparently unperturbed by my attack. It hadn’t been a soft punch. My hand stung from the effort. He pushed my foot back inside the room and proceeded to lock us back inside. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think of a way out of this goddamned…
Kit! She had that User boyfriend. He could get us home. Well, maybe not actually home. David could find us if we went home. But he could get us the hell out of here.
I put Sam down on the bed. He moaned about breakfast again, but a tray appeared on the ottoman at the bottom of the bed overloaded with bacon and thickly buttered toast and cereals and fruit juices. “Wow!” Sam stared at it. He moved forward quickly and picked up a muffin, staring at it and staring at me. I smiled at him. “Go ahead, baby. It’s all yours.”
I put my bag on the bed and rooted through it for my phone. For a split-second, I was afraid he’d taken it, then I found it, right at the bottom under a packet of tissues. The battery was more than half gone. I dialled Kit’s number and hoped for the best. The dial tone made me sigh in relief. When she answered, all I could hear was static. Damn it, had she left her phone in her pocket?
“Kit,” I said, waiting and hoping to hear her voice. “Kit! Can you hear me?”
Nothing. I hung up and tried again, only to experience the same strange white noise when the phone was picked up on the other end. I ended the call. “Shit,” I whispered, staring at the phone.
Sam giggled. I saw he’d taken a bite out of the muffin and discarded it in a mound of beans. He picked up a slice of bacon, took a bite and put the rest in the beans. “Mummy said a bad word,” he murmured through his mouthful of bacon.
“It’s rude to talk while you eat,” I told him. I tried Kit a third time, sighing hopelessly when the same thing happened again. David hadn’t bothered to take my phone away because he had some kind of blocker. There was no chance I was going to be able to call my sister to save me. I went into my messages and sent her a text; nothing alarming, just a simple ‘Hi, Kit, thanks for last night’. The message seemed to send. I put the phone down and crossed my fingers that she’d get it. She had to get it. She was the only one who could save us.
Forty – Mickey
I stared at the clones as they got up. Pete was in the body of the kind of tall and gangly clone. He was staring sullenly down at his body before he redirected his glower at me. “What the fuck, Bro?”
“I had to do it, Pete. I’m sorry if you were in heaven or something, Bro.” I felt mildly guilty for a second that I may have screwed up his afterlife.
The second clone, the muscular one, snorted. “Heaven, my sweet ass. We were in limbo. Some people just don’t appreciate it when they’re handed a second chance at life.”
Pete stared at me. “Is that what this is? I don’t get it…”
“Clones don’t have souls,” Tim told me. “Well, they have a tiny sliver of their original’s soul, but that’s about it. They’re not made to be individuals. They’re made to be commanded.”
“You’re seriously telling me this is a clone’s body?” Pete said, putting his hands on his hips. “Who the hell has clones this skinny?”
“Not all clones resemble their original,” Tim said. “King David wasn’t quite as particular as Britt was about having his clones look like him.”
“Why do my hands feel so weird?” Pete was just full of questions. “They’re all hot… is it just me and these funky new eyes or are they glowing kind of red?”
“Aye,” I said. “That’s the other thing. You’re a User now.”
He stared at me as if I’d gone mental.
I shrugged. “Look, these were the only bodies we could ethically use to bring you back. It’s not like we had any choice. You died too young. I figured you’d want the second chance, Bro.” God, I hoped I wasn’t wrong about that.
“And they want us to help kill the King,” Angie said gleefully, clasping her big manly man hands together under her chin. Her voice was higher pitched than Pete’s. I wasn’t sure if that was because she was a girl in a guy’s body or if the muscley clone just had a girly voice.
“He’s the reason you died in the first place,” I cut in quickly before Angie
could make Pete’s irritation reach breaking point. “And he’s a threat to all of us.”
Pete grimaced and folded his arms. “So, what’s the plan?”
I blinked. That had been way too easy. “Pete, is that really you? Because…”
“Don’t be an idiot. Of course, it’s me. Who else knows you love shitty vampire soap operas and getting drunk until you pass out on my couch? Oh aye, and that you’re gay for Piss-face over there.”
“It’s definitely Pete,” Tim muttered.
“Hey, can I go home yet?” The Animate sounded whiny.
I glanced at him. Phase one of the plan was complete. It was time for Phase two. “You’re dating one of Britt’s clones, right? We need her.”
Cal stared. “What? No…”
I sighed. Phase two was in danger of going down the toilet because of a love sick dead guy. I supposed I could force him, but what good would that do when his girlfriend refused to help us?
“You owe me,” Pete’s new voice piped up. His new look was going to take some getting used to, but I was glad to have him back. “If I hadn’t burned your contract, you wouldn’t be standing there right now.”
Cal frowned. “What is it you want with Eight, exactly?”
All eyes turned on me. I gave my audience a sliver of a smile. This was it, it was all coming together. This was going to work. “How good is she at impersonations?”
Forty-One – Eight
I worried myself sick when Cal disappeared. Had he been called back to Scotland? He hadn’t been claimed, but there were people there who knew about him. I paced around our room, trying to decide what to do. Nine was busy. The other clones thought I was dead. I was on my own, and I was never any good on my own. I was just gathering my magic, ready to attempt my first ever teleport when he reappeared right in front of me. I hugged him tight. “You’re back! I was so freaked out.”
“Uh, yeah, but not for long, babe,” he told me, making my stomach fluttery again.
“What do you mean?” I moved back to watch his face while he explained.
He grimaced. “We have to go do this favour for the guy who freed me from my contract before he killed my User.”
“Oh,” I said, not sure why he looked so miserable. “What’s the favour?”
“We have to go with them to the Castle. They’re gonna kill the King.”
I frowned at him. “The King. Of Scotland. Who Nine is dating?”
He nodded slowly. “He’s the reason Pete died, and he was going to kill that other guy, his brother’s boyfriend, I guess.”
“I don’t understand. What do they need us for?” I wanted to know everything before I went to Nine with this.
“Uh, it’s probably better if they tell you themselves.”
“Cal!” I shook my head at him.
He shrugged, and the next thing I knew we were standing in front of four guys in a different hotel room. I put my hands on my hips. “Okay, somebody needs to start explaining things before I get really angry.”
Forty-Two – Tim
It’s safe to say the atmosphere in the hotel room was tense. Nine’s friend was clutching her living-dead boyfriend’s hand hard enough to turn her tanned knuckles white. Her narrowed eyes were more suspicious than threatening, but I got the distinct impression she’d raise hell to protect this Animate.
“I think it might be best if I spoke to you alone,” I told her, barely glancing at Mickey.
He nodded his approval. We needed this clone on side. We all knew that. Talking her around was preferable to casting some sort of spell. The King would sense that. He would know something was wrong. A lot of care had to be taken to execute Mickey’s plan perfectly. If we screwed this up, we were all dead.
I nodded towards the bathroom and headed inside. She followed, dropping her lover’s hand after some light wincing and stepping into the room with me with a scowl marring her pretty face.
“Talk,” she demanded, cutting straight to business.
“Nine doesn’t seem to understand what she’s gotten into. King David is a dangerous man.”
She shook her head. “He loves her.”
“He might,” I said, “but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t hurt her.”
“Why should I believe you, anyway?”
“I’d like to show you something,” I told her, taking her hand.
She jerked back, folding her arms. “Don’t touch me.”
“She’s your friend,” I told her, trying a softer approach. “She’s mine too. I told her about him, but she didn’t want to believe me. He’s a manipulator. I don’t know what he has planned for her, but whatever it is, it’s not going to be pleasant. Trust me. I want her to be happy.”
She groaned. “Damn it. I wanted to believe she fell for the right guy this time. I can’t go on your word about this. I don’t know you. What did you mean, you could show me?”
“Exactly what it sounded like,” I said, holding my hands out. “I can let you see inside my head, but we need to be touching or it won’t work.”
“See inside your head?” Her eyes seemed huge. She grinned inanely. “I thought that was something only level ten Users could do?”
I took a breath. Time for a gamble. “Everyone is capable of reaching that level. You’ve been told you can only reach level four, so you’re mentally blocking yourself.”
She gasped and grabbed my hands. “Seriously? That’s amazing…”
I watched the magic throb between our fingers, coursing out of me and into her. She swooned slightly, swaying on the balls of her feet. I kept her hands in mine, anchoring her as she took the magic into her. She opened her eyes, and they were faintly glowing a pale shade of pink around her Irises.
“He tortures you,” she said, blinking and gasping. “He kills people! And he eats dogs!”
I think that last part got the biggest gasp out of her and that was only a dinner during a brief trip to Korea. It wasn’t as if he regularly fried house-pets for snacks. “So, you can see why he’s not the right guy for your friend?”
She nodded, keeping hold of my hands. “She always falls for the wrong men.” She gazed at me in silence for several moments, and I realised our bond hadn’t yet broken. I tried to drop her hands, but she tightened her grip. “I need to see more.”
“You’ve seen enough.” Talk about creating a monster. I slammed shut the door to my thoughts and watched the shock explode across her expression.
“What was that?” Her face had paled.
I frowned as I let go of her hands as her grip loosened. “What was what?”
“You saw him kill her.”
A chill rushed right through me. “What? No…”
“You did. It was hazy and not real, but you saw it. It was a dream.”
I couldn’t fight the creeping feeling that had come over me. I’d dreamt that he had killed me, not that he had killed Nine. I couldn’t tell her that, of course. It was better if she believed what she thought she’d seen. We needed her for the plan to work. I nodded. “So, you’ll help?”
She still seemed hesitant, but she slowly nodded. “This will really hurt her. She’s pregnant. You know that.”
It was no minor detail, but it also wasn’t the first time the King had gotten a woman pregnant. I knew it, and she’d seen that. I sighed. “All the more reason to destroy him before he finds out.”
“He would let her raise the kid and then he would kill her,” she said, sounding hollowed out.
I nodded; it was the only answer I could give.
“Let’s do this.”
Forty-Three – Pete
Britton Rock’s clone number Eight transformed into her bitchy ex-boss within seconds. I glanced over at the new Angie when she gave a low whistle.
She shrugged at me in her beefy man-skin. “A guy’s allowed to look.”
I shook my head at her. Different sex, same old Angie. “Are you sure she’s ready for this?”
The pinch of nervousness in my tone wasn’t for her. So
far, I’d barely practiced levitating things across the room. Angie had used me as target practice for her own levitation and teleportation spells. None of that made us ready. Weapons would be nice. I glanced at Tim. I doubted he was hiding fire-arms in his suit. Damn.
“She’s as ready as it gets,” Tim said.
“No, wait,” Cal cut in. “Eight, you need to do something for me before we do this.”
Aw, crap. Things were weird enough without a last minute gushy proposal. I looked away.
“Anything,” Eight told him, her tone sickeningly adoring.
“I want you to contract me as yours.” He sounded afraid.
The silence that followed made me cringe. Even Angie was keeping her mouth shut, and that was nothing short of a miracle. Eight’s soft sobbing hit my ears.
I turned to Mickey. “Is this really the best idea we have?”
He shrugged. “Name a better one and we’ll give it a go.”
“Right, let’s get this show on the road,” I said, catching Cal signing his contract before Eight made it disappear.
They kissed in a sweet, yet unbelievably awkward to look at kind of way. Top points for enthusiasm, but he was going to be dripping in saliva by the time she was finished with his mouth.
“Ready?” Mickey asked with determination in his eyes.
I nodded. He’d taught me a trick he’d learnt. We were both going to use fireballs. Angie had decided she could do something else, but she was being all secretive about it. I suspected she was going to cut and run the first chance she got.
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