“My bag of tricks is full of all sorts of titillating things, sweetheart. I could have used any one of them to convince whoever you're working for to betray her virtue.” I walked closer, pulling the axe from my back. In truth, the knife in my back pocket would have done more damage given the enchantment on it, but it didn’t have the same ‘wow’ factor of the larger weapon. “In truth though, convincing women to protect their innocence was never high on my to-do list.” I shook my head. “I’m sure you can understand.”
The women struggled against the weight of Clint. In his wolf form, he may have been smaller than as a human, but he was definitely stronger this way. Still, this woman definitely had some magic at hand. Her invisible nature was enough to tell me that. I needed to be ready for anything.
“You don’t listen, criminal!” she spit back at me, realizing she wasn’t going to be able to push the wolf off her. “I said nothing of her virtue. That was gone the moment she found herself pregnant with the child. I spoke of her duty, her duty to the future queen.”
“Seriously?” I scoffed, narrowing my eyes and putting all of it together. “No wonder Clint caught scent of you,” I said, kneeling closer to her. “You stink of gypsy.”
It all made sense now. She was talking about Merry and Amber. We’d broken into gypsy country hoping to convince Patrick (Merry’s onetime lover, the father of her child, and next in line to the throne of the Romani) to give his kidney to his ailing little girl. The convincing was easy enough, but actually getting him back to our dimension turned out to be a harder task altogether. His life ended at the end of his best friend’s blade. The guy thought Patrick was betraying his people by traveling to Earth, by risking his life to save a ‘bastard’ girl.
Of course, the best friend immediately died right after that, which most likely meant the Romani thought that I was the one responsible for killing their future king and practically singlehandedly ending their royal bloodline.
I’d tell her differently now, but I doubt she’d listen, ad I didn’t have time to convince her when threatening her would probably work just as well.
“Usually, when someone attacks me, I’d take the time to figure out what they want. This is a special circumstance though. We’re sort of all booked up on crazy bitches at the moment. So, how about I give you a one time offer? You take your gypsy ass back to the portal in the Baby Gap and tell your people to never ever come back here. Don’t look for me, and don’t you dare look for the woman and her child. In return, my wolf friend here won’t rip you apart with his teeth. How does that deal sound?”
“I’m not sure,” she said through gritted teeth. “Why don’t you ask my friends?”
Looking up, I saw the world shimmer around me. Suddenly, we were surrounded by very angry, and very armed, gypsy soldiers.
“Oh come on,” I said, shaking my head and looking over to Clint. “Like it would have killed you to sniff them out too.”
13
I stood, the axe still in my hand and the knife still in my back pocket as I took in a group of gypsies who wanted to rip me into tiny, immortal pieces. As if that wasn’t enough of a threat, they were keeping me from finding and dealing with the sisters. I needed to defuse this situation, and I needed to do it quickly.
“I’m not looking for a fight,” I said, which wasn’t exactly true. I wasn’t looking for a fight with these guys. I had bigger fish to fry and all that jazz.
“Is that an attempt at humor?” one of the gypsy soldiers; a tall man with a red beard who was adorned with golden armor asked, cocking his head to the side. “You walk the streets of this city with an axe that’s practically throwing off enchantments and the same lycan who terrorized our people. If you’re not looking for a fight, then what are you looking for?”
“I don’t suppose ‘none of your business’ would be a satisfactory answer, would it?” I asked, shrugging and tightening my grip on the axe. This was going to devolve into a fight. I had no doubt. I had seen enough of them to know the warning signs, but I had also seen enough of them to know humor could be used as a weapon too. You’d be surprised at how much a zinger here and there can throw an opponent off. Right now, it seemed to be making red beard here even redder.
“Your business became our business the moment you illegally stepped into our lands and laid hands on our prince.” He steadied his stance, sticking out his chest and straightening his back as he peered over at me pridefully. “We are the Order of the Golden Shield. It has always been our duty and great honor to keep safe the royal family of the Romani people.”
“Well,” I answered. “In that case, you’re kind of doing a piss poor job.”
I heard the woman shuffle angrily under Clint and then heard him growl in response.
“You dare speak of Patrick O’Leary?” Red beard asked, his hand traveling to a spot right above his waist. Light shimmered and, much like before when this little band of gypsies popped in out of thin air, a glowing sword appeared in his hand. Looks like I wasn’t the only one with enchanted weaponry. “Your insolence in regard to him, the savage nature in which he was so ruthlessly murdered is the reason we are here, the reason we are following you.”
“Well then you’re still crappy at your job,” Andy chimed in from beside me. “Because we didn’t kill him.”
“Of course you didn’t kill him,” Red beard rolled his eyes. “You reek of death and lesser second life. The fact that you are still standing is an abomination to all that is holy in the world.”
“Enough!” I said, raising my voice in an attempt to shock this crowd into changing the subject. I couldn’t have Andy asking questions about what might have happened to him in gypsy country, not before I knew the full scope of what it cost to save him. “Andy is telling the truth. Your prince was killed by one of his own, and that person was then killed himself. None of it was our doing.”
“Liar!” Red beard shouted as the others stood stalwart around and behind him.
“Yeah, I didn’t think you were going to believe that,” I answered. “People are thrilled to believe lies. It’s always the truth that stumps them. In any event, your quarrel isn’t with my friends. You blame me for your prince’s death.” I lifted the axe with both hands, so it was raised in the air and ready for battle. “So take it up with me.”
Red beard moved toward me and, with him, his people encroached. They were all dressed similarly, with golden armor and—though they didn’t seem to be holding any weapons—the fact that Red beard’s had appeared out of thin air made me believe they had their own deadly surprises hidden up their sleeves.
Andy tensed beside me, his hand hovering over his gun. I shot him a look meant to stop him. This was a powder keg. A spark would set it off, and I couldn’t think of anything more ‘spark’ like than pulling a gun.
He blinked back at me, obviously understanding. Still, I could tell he was at the ready. Andy had been a detective for decades now. He wasn’t about to let anyone push him around, even if the ‘anyone’ in question were Romani soldiers.
“You ask for mercy for those you care for?” Red beard asked, his eyes narrowing at me as they filled with disgust. “Did you show mercy to our fallen prince?”
“I didn’t kill your prince, dude,” I said, inching my hand further up the hilt of the axe. “And it’s not so much mercy I’m asking for as understanding. In this very city, at this very moment, a pair of incredibly powerful beings are very likely preparing to begin a bloodbath the likes of which this world hasn’t seen in over a thousand years.”
“This world isn’t our concern,” he growled back.
“Bull shit,” I answered flatly. “You think I don’t know how all of this works? You think I don’t know that everything is connected? The world is a balancing act. Each set of energies balance and counter balance each other. It’s like a fucking Jenga tower. You pull one peg out, and the whole damn thing falls apart.”
“I don’t follow you,” Red beard said, still oblivious to the fact that my hand was
inching closer to the axe’s blade. Just a little more time was all I needed.
“That’s ‘cause you’re stupid,” I said, nodding. “Or because you’re not familiar with Jenga. Either way, let me explain. This world gives off various types of energy. Some are from above. Some are from below, and some are from parallel places like that magical cul de sac you people call home. Either way, each is dependent on the other to survive. You can earth without heaven and hell, and you can’t have your world without ours. Don’t believe me? Ask the dishes.”
“What?” he sneered.
“No Beauty and the Beast either?” I shrugged. “What do you people do for fun over there anyway?”
“Damnit, Uncle C,” Andy said in a low voice. “This isn’t a joke.”
“I know that Andy,” I said, still steadily moving my hand toward the axe blade. “And in just a few seconds, they will too.”
“Enough of your whispers and your nonsense!” Red beard said, nodding at the people around him. They all raised their hands and, in them, various weaponry appeared. Swords, daggers, one of them had a bow and arrow; and each glistened with the same otherworldly light.
These guys came armed to the teeth ready to take me out, but they’d forgotten one thing. You didn’t fight Cain without fighting the Big Guy too.
“You know who I am,” I said, my voice lowering to a more serious pitch. “You know the stipulations that fighting me come with. I can’t be killed, but you can. And whatever you do to me comes-”
“Do not speak of the sevenfold nature of your curse to us as though we are infants, you waste of space! We are Romani. We are taught from birth of the true nature of this world and all its inhabitants. We are more than aware of the dangers that come in serving justice to you, and yet we are here. Because we are not like you. We are not cowards. We do not run from that which is ours to do.” He swallowed hard. “And because you have taken the most important person in our entire world. You ask for understanding. We understand. Since you have left our presence, we have studied you. We have learned all there is to know about the cursed wanderer and the ill-fated nature of those who cross his path. You are a plight on this world and any other that is unfortunate enough to play your host. You might not be able to die, but we are more than willing to risk death ourselves in order to bring you back to our king and see you stand trial for the death of his only son.” He raised his glowing sword. “And to keep you away from the sole heir to the throne.”
My heart sped up at the alluding of Amber’s name. She was the heir to the throne now. She was future queen to the Romani people, one of the most powerful and rigid clans in existence. She also might have been the Antichrist. Not the greatest combination in the world. She’d have them under her thumb and, what was more, they’d steal her away. They’d take her and raise her in that place, ensuring what happened to Patrick didn’t happen to her. They’d tear her away from her mortal mother, and Merry would never see her again. I couldn’t allow it, though perhaps I was already late to this particular party.
“Was it you?” I asked, my hand reaching the axe’s blade. “Are you the ones who have been whispering in that little girl’s ear?”
Red beard stood stalwart, though his face took on a slightly bemused expression, leading me to believe he had no idea what I was talking about.
“You won’t get near her,” I said, my thumb pressed against the axe’s blade. “I swear to you, that little girl will never see that horrible place you people are from.”
“That little girl is an O’Leary by blood. That ‘horrible place’ is her birthright. It belongs to her, and forgive me, you ludicrous bastard, but a promise from you holds less weight than a feather in a windstorm. We will bring you back for trial, and we will take the girl. That is non-negotiable. The wolf is responsible for the deaths of at least a dozen Romani and must be made to answer for that as well. Though I personally would never let an abomination such as himself continue to walk the earth and pollute it with his continued existence, your other friend is free to go should he choose. Though he should be aware that any act of force made against myself or any member of my race is a punishable act and will be treated as such.”
“Consider him aware,” Andy said, and this time a look wasn’t enough to keep his hand off his gun. I knew he had more questions, namely about the ‘abomination’ thing Red beard kept throwing around willy-nilly, but he didn’t have time to ask them right now. It was a good thing too because I had no idea how I was going to talk my way out of it without leading him closer to the truth of what happened back in gypsy country.
“Get out of here,” I said to Andy without looking at him.
“What?” he balked. “Not going to happen. I’m not leaving you here to-”
“This isn’t about keeping you safe,” I said, cutting him off. “As much as I wish it could be. The sisters are out here somewhere. You’re a detective. I need you to go detect them. Find out what they’re doing. Don’t get yourself killed but, if you can stop it, stop it.”
“And what about you?” he asked, glaring at the Romani with a tightened jaw.
“I’m an immortal son of a bitch with a werewolf at my back. I’ll be just fine.”
“I don’t like this, Uncle C,” Andy said tersely.
“If you wish to walk, do so now,” Red beard said, equally aggravated. “You won’t receive this kindness again.”
I grabbed Andy’s arm and spun him toward me. “They’re back in the world, but they’re weak. They’ll need energy, energy from people.” I swallowed hard, telling him something about the sisters I had tried to keep from him until this moment. The entire idea was just too unsettling. “Younger people have more energy, Andy. Life hasn’t sucked it away from them yet. The younger they are, the more energy they have. The quickest way to get the most energy-”
“My God,” he stammered, looking at me with wide eyes. “They’re going after babies.”
And, with that, he darted away.
14
I calmed just a touch as Andy left the front lines, so to speak. He was headed off to deal with the sisters, but I had given him express instructions not to get himself killed, and he wasn’t stupid enough to deal with them on his own, not after what I’d told him about them.
Still, Clint and I had the Romani to deal with. They wanted blood, and they weren’t afraid to shed a few ounces of their own to get it done. Luckily for us, neither was I.
Pressing my thumb hard against the sharp edge of the axe’s blade, I winced a little as I felt it break the skin.
My blood touched the weapon and, like before, that was enough to send its enchantment into overdrive. Turning the thing in my hand, I squinted as the magic in the ancient axe flipped on. It glowed a bright light, pulsating as it pulled at the energy in the Romani weaponry and armor.
It was fast, growing brighter and brighter as it took in the enormous amount of energy surrounding me. I tightened my grip on the axe as the pulsating light being emitted grew so bright I could see nothing past it.
When it subsided, the magical weaponry was gone, it’s power source being stolen by the axe. The shimmering golden armor had disappeared as well, leaving the Romani dressed in brown bag-like undergarments. As for Clint, the residual magic that allowed him to transform into his lycan form had been sucked out, leaving him crouched butt ass naked over the surly Romani woman.
Damn. This thing was stronger than I thought.
Red beard looked down at his now empty hands and let that glance spread to his now vulnerable chest and legs. “Duplicitous bastard, aren’t you?” he sneered, looking up at me with clenched fists.
“Just using what I’ve got, my man,” I answered, lowering the axe and spinning it in my hands. “But like I said, we don’t have to do this.”
“If you think a parlor trick will be enough to save your worthless hide, you’re as stupid as you are dangerous.” He nodded to his comrades. “Take his weapon from him, and hack him into pieces with it.”
I sighe
d, clenching the axe tighter. If these idiots did manage to strip me of my weapon and do what their obvious leader wished, it would only mean their eventual death. Normally, that would be more than enough of a deterrent for anybody. I mean hell, the Big Guy himself put it there for an occasion just like this. These weren’t normal people though, and Red beard had made it more than clear that they wouldn’t be deterred with the certainty of bodily harm. The nature in which they moved toward me, without even flinching, said he was right.
No need in reminding them of their fate. They already knew, and they didn’t care. At least not enough to stop anyway.
“Alright gypsies,” I muttered, readying my stance. “Let’s get this over with.” I threw the axe into the air, spinning it around. Catching the blade side at the hilt, I moved toward them with the handle sticking out.
They looked at me like I was a lunatic as I swung it at them, listening as the aged wood whistled through the air. Maybe I was. No one in their right mind would have taken any chances with a makeshift militia whose intentions were to disembowel them, but maybe I wasn’t in my right mind. In any event, I knew how it felt to take a life. I knew the weight it put on someone’s shoulders. My shoulders were heavy enough already. I wasn’t any anymore to them if I could get around it.
“Callum, what the fuck are you doing? Stop playing games. Not all of us are immortal, you dickhead.” Clint asked, his voice free of all traces of the wolf that lived inside of him. I obviously hadn’t thought things through well enough. It didn’t occur to me that stripping the Romani of their magic would strip Clint of his only method of defending himself. As such, he was just a naked metrosexual on a city back alley. In one fell swoop, I had transformed him from asset to albatross. Oh well, I had faced down tougher odds.
The axe’s handle connected with one of the Romani’s faces. The poor guy, a short man with black hair, blue eyes, and (now) a freshly broken nose, grunted as his face flew back, blood spurting from his nose and mouth.
Curse of Cain (Immortal Mercenary Book 2) Page 8