The Caitlin Chronicles Boxed Set

by Michael Anderle

  “I’d like you to join our elite force. The defenders of Ashdale. I call them the Firestarters.”

  “Sounds pretty sadistic,” Kain blurted.

  Caitlin’s eyes widened, a silent warning which Kain either missed or avoided. The pastor simply smiled.

  “Life is a game of balance, Mr. Cornswaggle. With freedom comes restraint. With life comes death. If you want protection, and to channel your…gifts…to a higher cause, then it’s this offer that I extend to you. We could use some recruits of your…talents.”

  Mary-Anne’s brow was now peppered with sweat. She looked like she might dash away at any moment. Caitlin knew the danger she faced as the sky turned ever lighter.

  Pastor Andrews swept between them with Clob stomping behind. “Think about it,” he said and glided down the steps and set off into the town.

  “No. No way,” Kain grunted.

  “Think about it,” Caitlin said.

  “What’s there to think about?” Kain crossed his eyes and put on a goofy voice. “Oh, yeah, great idea, let’s join a so-called elite group of fuckinators who get their kicks by smoking out the elderly and setting their possessions ablaze.”

  “He’s got a point,” Jamie chipped in, rubbing his eyes.

  Caitlin threw her hands in the air, rolling her eyes. Mary-Anne had disappeared upstairs the minute they had come into the house, immersing herself in the safety of the darkness. Occasionally, though, she still chimed into their conversation.

  “Look,” Caitlin said, taking a breath to calm herself down. She hadn’t anticipated Kain being so short-sighted. “If we join his elite force, we’re already ten steps ahead of the game. We’ll have immediate insiders’ access to everything the pastor says, or knows, or does. He’s our link to the governor. It’s perfect!”

  “Hide in plain sight,” Mary-Anne called from upstairs. Her vampire hearing always impressed Caitlin.

  “Exactly.”

  “I don’t know,” Jamie said. “You may be in the pastor’s good books now, but what if he gets wind of what you’re all up to?”

  “And what if he doesn’t?” Caitlin interjected.

  “Exactly,” Mary-Anne called.

  Mabel sat quietly in the corner of the room, nursing a steaming mug of something which smelled sweet. She seemed to be at ease in her own mind, her thoughts keeping her occupied. Jaxon, meanwhile, sniffed around the room, taking great laps of water which had been placed in a bowl by the corner.

  “So, what do you think Trisk will think when he is told that two women—one a skinny chick with brown hair and a sword, the other a dark chick with black hair who looks faintly like a vampire—have stumbled across the town with a dog and me? You don’t think he’s going to be suspicious?”

  “That depends how much he knows,” Caitlin said, thinking back to the fight at Silver Creek. “He had no way of knowing that you joined us before he fled. He had no way of knowing that Jaxon was there, too. If the odds work in our favor, we could get away with it.”

  “And if they don’t?” Kain said.

  “But what if they do?” Caitlin replied. “Let’s try to look on the positive side, eh, Cornswaggle?”

  Jamie burst into a fit of laughter. Upstairs, they could hear Mary-Anne snort.

  A shadow passed over Kain’s face. “Look, no matter what happens, I’m likely going to follow you two. It’s been a long time since I’ve found people who I can trust and a cause I can get behind. But I’m going to make this clear. If we get found out and we’re put in a situation where we have to choose between life, death, and a wall of flames, I’m choosing life. I’ve come too far to be turned into cinders.”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that Pooch was afraid of fire,” Mary-Anne mumbled.

  Kain snarled.

  “So, we’re agreed?” Caitlin said, flashing a cheeky grin at Kain. “FFL?”

  “What’s she talking about?” Jamie asked Kain.

  “Firestarters for life,” Caitlin replied.

  They laughed together then. Even Kain couldn’t help but grin.

  “One question first,” Kain said.

  “Go on.”

  “What are we going to do when Detta Slystock is asked to go out in the daytime to perform her duties?”

  The smile fell from Caitlin’s face. Kain was right. Though it seemed that most of the congregation and ceremonies took place at night, they had seen Firestarters walking around in the daytime. How would they get Mary-Anne—a vampire—out and into the sunlight to join their plan?

  “What’s the problem?” Jamie asked. “Why can’t Detta…I mean, Mary-Anne, go out in the daylight?”

  “The answer’s simple,” Mabel said suddenly, her eyes comprehending and bright.

  “Nana?” Jamie said. He crossed the room and took a seat beside her, one hand on her knee. “You’re back?”

  Mabel waved him away as if it were no big deal.

  “If you want to get a nightwalker out in the daytime, you need to block the sun.”

  Mabel got shakily to her feet and crossed the room. She disappeared from sight, but a moment later, they heard her challenge. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

  They made an odd picture as the four of them stood in Mary-Anne’s doorway. She held the cloth limply in her hands. With its dark color, it looked like she held the flaccid shape of a corpse’s shadow.

  “What the shit is this?” Mary-Anne asked, holding the cloth to her nose. It smelled of dust and time.

  “Try it on,” Mabel encouraged. “Should be about the right fit for you.”

  Mary-Anne’s nose wrinkled. “Are you calling me fat?”

  “Of course not,” Mabel said, laughing. “You’ve got a lovely hourglass figure, dear. Particularly for a…well…you know.”

  “Does someone mind telling me what’s going on?” Jamie whined.

  They ignored him.

  Mary-Anne made them stand outside the room and closed the door while she changed. They heard her moving around, knocking over a couple of items on shelves as she squeezed into the cloth. After a minute of quiet, Mabel knocked on the door. “All ready, dear?”

  Silence.

  Caitlin and Kain exchanged glances. “Ma?”

  Mabel turned the handle and creaked the door open. The room was dark and looked empty. Caitlin stepped in, squinting her eyes to attempt to catch a glimpse of Mary-Anne and could see nothing.

  “Ma? Where d’ya go—”

  “Boo!” Mary-Anne said suddenly, appearing at Caitlin’s side. Caitlin could only see her because her eyes twinkled in the darkness. Every other part of her was clothed in black. The minute she closed them, she might as well have vanished.

  “Oh, good idea, Mabes. Give the vampire camouflage, too,” Kain said.

  “V…vampire?” Jamie stuttered. “She’s a v…v—”

  “Vampire, dear. Yes,” Mabel said matter-of-factly. “I knew it from the moment I saw her in that church. You vamps have a certain…something about you. Now, give me a twirl.”

  Mary-Anne did, looking the most feminine Caitlin had ever seen her when she moved. One minute, Mary-Anne was looking at them, and the next moment, she was gone. As she finished her turn, her eyes returned her normal slightly mocking stare to their mute amazement.

  “It looks even better on you than it did on her,” Mabel said, clapping.

  “Better than who, now?” Kain asked.

  “Oh, dear. You think I’ve been on this planet for over nine decades without coming across your types before? What do you take old Mabel for? Ripe as bunnies, you supernatural folk were when I was a wee sprout. Couldn’t turn a corner without some vamp fight or Were brawl.”

  “Were?” Jamie mumbled. “Where?”

  Mabel continued as though she hadn’t heard her grandson. “Just because the Madness has forgotten you doesn’t mean I have. I always held out hope that your kind would be back. That we’d see more of you along the way.”

  “This used to belong to a vampire?” Mary-Anne mar
veled. “Who? When? What happened to them?”

  Mabel waved her words away. “A story for another time. In short, a town protector whose hubris got the best of her. They’re long gone now to the void from which none can return.” She clapped her hands, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. “I can’t believe it fits.”

  Mary-Anne studied herself. Every inch of her was covered in cloth, thick black material reaching to the tips of her fingers and toes. “And this is thick enough to block the sun?”

  “It might get a bit hot, but if a single ray of sun hits you, I’ll eat my own grandson.”

  Jamie, who had been staring at the floor in thought, suddenly chimed in. “Nana.”

  “What about her eyes?” Caitlin asked, realizing that while the outfit might be a good sunblock, Mary-Anne could hardly do her vampire shit without her eyes to guide her.

  “Easy,” Mabel said and reached forward to tug what looked like a long flap of cloth behind the hood. It fell in front of Mary-Anne’s face like a veil, blocking her eyes from sight.

  “Ho-ly-shit,” Mary-Anne said from nowhere.

  “That’ll never work,” Kain said. She can’t see through that shit.”

  “Try me,” Mary-Anne said.

  Kain stuck his middle finger in the air. “Okay. How many fingers am I holding up?”

  “One.”

  “Shit. That was too easy.” He held his hand in the air, showing four fingers.

  “Four.”

  He changed them to two.

  “Two.”

  Five.

  “Five.”

  None.

  “None.”

  “Fuck!” Kain exclaimed. “Okay, she’s passed my test. Who’s next?”

  “I think that’s enough playing for now,” Mabel said, the grin still on her face. “If we don’t get my grandson a seat soon, I’m sure he might pass out.”

  While Mabel took Jamie downstairs and gave him something cool to drink, Kain, Mary-Anne, and Caitlin sat and talked for a while about their plan of action. Shortly after, they each headed to their rooms to catch some rest, tiredness felling them like bricks as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

  As Caitlin drifted to sleep, she couldn’t believe how excited she was at the prospect of bringing Mary-Anne along with them during the day. How long had it been since her friend had truly seen the world in the light? Felt the warmth of the sun on her skin.

  Okay, well, not quite.

  Either way, her heart fluttered with excitement. When she dreamed that night, the flames stayed away. Her head filled with memories of her family and visions of a world beyond the Madness.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ashdale Pond, Old Ontario

  Jamie would take them no further than the end of the street. They could see, about a hundred yards away, what looked to be a dilapidated outhouse with several floors. A swinging sign which creaked read, The Cloak & Dagger.

  “This is where we’ll find him?” Caitlin asked, staring at the odd angles of the building’s construction. It looked as though it had been made of plastic and had overheated in the sun. The scent of burning was stronger on this side of town, and several plumes of smoke rose steadily in thin ribbons into the sky not too far away. A slight haze hung over the street.

  “Sure is.” Jamie wouldn’t even look at the building and instead, looked over his shoulder and in all directions. “Knock three times. Loud, quiet, loud, and someone will let you in. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll take my leave.”

  “Thank you, Jamie,” Caitlin said, surprising Jamie with a warm embrace. “For everything.”

  “My friends call me, Jay-Jay,” he responded.

  “But those two—Yusuf and Christy—didn’t they call you—” Kain began.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Jamie said sharply, looking abashed. He turned and began walking in the opposite direction. “Be careful, and avoid making eye contact if you can.”

  Before they could utter another word, he was gone.

  Caitlin knocked as Jamie had instructed, and heard the door unlock from the other side. They waited a moment before they gave it a push.

  The door was stiff and screeched on its hinges as it opened. They looked a picture, Caitlin wrapped up tight in her dark green cloak, Kain with his scarred and worn face, and Mary-Anne swooping after them like a noir ghost with not an inch of her body exposed.

  Not that blocking her skin from the sun would matter for long. Her nemesis would set soon, and she’d be able to travel without her protective layer.

  It was dark inside and smelled of body odor. Straw and dirt were strewn across the floor, and the used glasses and goblets left on the tables were covered in sticky grime. Caitlin couldn’t believe it. Was this what this place called service?

  They found standing room at the bar and waited for someone to appear. Jaxon stayed close, his ears down while he investigated the place with his nose.

  A handful of customers milled about the place. A group of thugs over in the corner played a game of card, capturing Kain’s attention. “Caitlin, look!” he muttered excitedly as she held him back from joining them. Several couples lingered in ramshackle booths, though they looked like they were more ready to fight each other than to ever make love.

  Over the far side, beside a set of stairs, Clob sat in a deep armchair, his chin to his chest, snoring gently.

  “Yes?” a voice sounded, seemingly from nowhere.

  Caitlin, Mary-Anne, and Kain looked in all directions, failing to find the source of the voice. A hand lifted above the bar and waved. Caitlin leaned over the counter and saw the tiny man, his head only an inch taller than the damned thing.

  “Hi,” she said in surprise.

  “Got a problem, get the fuck out,” the man grumbled.

  Wow. Who taught you manners?

  He was a strange creature, really, a regular human with stunted growth. One of his hands sported malformed fingers with which he held a cup, and the other hand held a cloth with which he wiped the inside of the glass.

  Not that it did much good, Caitlin noted. The cloth looked filthier than the glass.

  They told him who they were looking for. The man studied them for a moment, then disappeared again behind the bar. He came around the front and joined them, leading them over to where Clob sat, drool dribbling down his chin.

  “Oi. Clob,” the man grumbled. When no response was forthcoming, the dwarf pulled a coin from his pocket and lobbed it at Clob’s face. It struck him squarely in the forehead, bounced off, then clinked as it landed in the brute’s cup. His drink fizzled and bubbled as the coin sank to the bottom.

  Clob sat up in a hurry, looking in all directions. He reached for the squat man, who batted his hand away. It was absurd, really, that a mammoth could be thwarted by a fly.

  “What d’you want, Stump?” Clob said, recognition dawning on his face as he saw Caitlin, Kain, and Jaxon. He barely registered Mary-Anne, likely assuming her to be one of the other’s shadows.

  “They want to see the pastor,” Stump said. “Take them to him.”

  Stump threw a set of keys which the large man somehow managed to catch.

  “Why can’t you do it? It’s your place,” Clob argued, tossing the keys back.

  “I’ve got people to serve,” Stump said, and the keys ended up back in Clob’s hand.

  They all looked at the bar, emptier than the governor’s heart and soul.

  Clob grinned triumphantly. “I can’t see them.”

  As he went to throw the keys back at Stump, a woman entered. She hobbled over to the bar, one leg dragging in a noticeable limp and her back hunched and knobby. She took a seat at the bar and waited.

  Stump beamed at Clob, although with the shadows cast over his face, it presented as more of a leer. “As I was saying…”

  Stump disappeared. Clob looked at them each in turn, then sighed. “Follow me.”

  Clob dragged his club behind him as they climbed, the heavy wood making a loud clunk with every step.

/>   Clob jangled the keys as they stood outside room fifteen. He knocked on the door, then waited until they heard a reply a moment later. He placed the key in the lock, turned it, and let himself in ahead of the others. Mary-Anne removed her hood as they stepped inside.

  The first thing to hit Caitlin was a strange feeling of disgusted nostalgia. A smell lingered, reminding her of something she couldn’t quite place—sweat, grease, and oil, in the clammy inside of the room without fresh air. Distracted by the impending meeting, she sifted her memories, trying to pinpoint the odd familiarity but couldn’t think of what it might be.

  “Jesus, smells like someone slept with the piggies, ate them, then shit them back out,” Kain muttered as they made their way through the large receiving room. Pastor Andrews sat at the far end, looking out the window.

  “Nice of you to join me. I wondered if I’d be seeing you all again. Nice attire,” he added, half-turning to Mary-Anne, “I see you already noticed that the Firestarters have a particular liking for black.”

  They took seats around the room, Mary-Anne keeping herself as far away from the window as possible. The sun was setting on the far side of the house, but even the sight of it without her hood had her nauseated.

  Caitlin drew her hood back. “We’d like to join you, Pastor. We’re in. We want to join the Firestarters.”

  “Very good,” he responded, drawing out the vowels. “Very good, indeed. You hear that, Clob? We’ve got some new recruits.”

  “Great,” Clob said simply.

  They sat in silence a moment.

  “So, what do we do now? Do you provide the uniforms, slap on the tatts, and we get out there on the streets?” Kain asked.

  The pastor chuckled. “Not exactly.” He stood and began pacing the room. “You think it’s as simple as that? That I’d let any old nomad join the team without some sort of test? I don’t know you from Adam. For all I know, you could be vigilantes, here to murder me and take over the town.”