“Jesus, you’re a heavy bastard,” she complained as she tried to get balanced on her heels. She slipped on the finished concrete floor and they ended up in a heap on the ground.
“God, I hate you,” Isabelle started to laugh.
“And you think I’m heavy,” he said as they tried to untangle themselves. She looked so beautiful sprawled on the concrete that before he could stop himself he leant over and kissed her. He gently brushed the side of her face with the pads on his fingers, marvelling at the softness of her skin. When he pulled back she had a soft look in her eye.
“Looks like we still got it, old girl,” Hamish whispered as he slowly got to his feet. He took her hand and helped her up. They were both very quiet as they stepped into the elevator.
“That was weird,” Isabelle whispered finally.
“Ah, yeah sorry about that. I’m drunk and got a little carried away,” he stammered. She still hadn’t hit him, which was a very good sign.
***
Vasilli paced his rooms in Moscow. He felt like a prisoner under Ladislav’s guard. They should have heard from Völundr by now. The Swede couldn’t be trusted with something as important as Anya and Vasilli knew treachery; he was currently embroiled in it himself. There was a phone in his room and Vasilli still had allies that weren’t Ladislav’s lackeys. He made some calls to the head quarters in Paris but received no reply.
Finally he called to send some of his informants around to the headquarters in Paris. He received word from them five hours later to say that both of their buildings were destroyed and crawling with the Illumination. Vasilli had the mad desire to laugh as he instructed them to search the city for Anya by any means necessary. He thought about telling Ladislav as he poured himself a large glass of vodka. No, he would let Ladislav find out in his own time. Meanwhile he was going to find Anya himself and this time he would send a proper specialist team for her, not some useless child.
Chapter Twenty-Nine- Flee
Anya gathered them together that night and told them all of her visions of Vasilli, Ladislav and the dubious one month time frame to get the gates closed completely.
“If they leave the gates open it won’t just let Skazki leak in it will tear this whole world apart,” Honaw said angrily. “They are idiots to think they would be able to contain it.”
“You would think the Illumination would already be moving to prevent it,” Katya let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Those assholes are clueless.”
“Perhaps we should tip them off?” Trajan suggested.
“Why? So they can either shoot or capture Anya as soon as they see her?” Isabelle demanded.
“We need to stop arguing,” Chayton said quietly before turning to Anya. “My brother and I came here as a favour to Katya but now, now we need to stay to stop this from happening. If they are successful in Russia the idea will spread and soon we will have the slaying of Gate Keepers the world over. Gate Keepers are mostly neutrals but they will be forced to take sides if it comes to a head.”
“I have to agree with Chayton,” said Yvan slowly. “We are all here as favours or obligations to each other but if we don’t help Anya prevent this then the consequences could be catastrophic. Skazki cannot be left open otherwise we will lose everything it represents. This world needs it to believe in. The land of stories tells humans what they are or should be.”
“So we head to Russia and kick their asses.” Hamish nodded his head in approval. “Good plan, easy to remember.”
For the next few days Anya rose early and reluctantly left her warm bed. Isabelle had begun training her hard and though she felt clumsy she appreciated the lessons. She would have loved to explore the city with Trajan holding her hand but after her kidnapping and Trajan’s subsequent torture she refused to leave the safety of the mansion. Passports were being forged for Anya, as hers had been destroyed in the fire. They had to assume the Darkness would have ties with border security and Interpol.
Security within the mansion had been improved with a brand new high tech system. They were all on a rotating roster to keep guard at all times. They all had ‘emergency’ backpacks ready to go if they had to leave in a hurry.
Anya was still on farm hours otherwise she suspected her 6:30 am training sessions with Isabelle would have been torture. Her days were taken up with alternating workout sessions with Isabelle and magic lessons with Chayton and Honaw. They were teaching her how to focus and to be able to use it without thinking. They were also teaching her how to find her way through the Land of Dreaming so she wouldn’t feel trapped in there.
Isabelle was waiting for her, dressed in gym clothes and her long blonde hair was tied back in a high ponytail.
“Morning,” Anya greeted. Isabelle was the one who set the time for their sessions but she was not by any means a morning person. She gave Anya a grunt that passed as a hello and pointed at the treadmill.
An hour later Katya sauntered downstairs with a glowing complexion. Anya had moved on to weights and she felt like her arms were going to fall off.
“You are putting her through the motions I see,” Katya said as she climbed onto the treadmill and set a perfect pace. Anya wanted to throw a weight at her. Katya grinned. “You had her on this for a while didn’t you? She looks ready to kill me right now.”
“She has to be strong enough to run away if she cannot fight, Yakaterina. You know that.”
“Don’t talk about me like I am not here,” Anya snapped. Isabelle ignored her and coached her on how to position her feet before starting her on lunges.
“So Isabelle, what’s going on with you and Hamish?” Katya asked innocently.
“None of your business.” Isabelle’s severe countenance slipped a little.
“I like Hamish. He is so funny,” Katya continued. To her credit, Isabelle’s face didn’t move an inch. “And he’s smoking hot.” She let out a low whistle of appreciation.
“Keep your eyes on your volk krovi,” snapped Isabelle. Katya and Anya exchanged smiles.
“Don’t worry. I am keeping my eyes on Izrayl…and my hands, and my lips and—”
“We get the idea, Katya. If your father could hear you he would rise from his grave and smite you.”
“We both know he wouldn’t give a damn just as long as I didn’t make him look bad. If he could rise from the grave I would wait and tell him I was having wild sex with a shape changer and that would send him straight back to the Land of the Dead.” Katya upped her speed on the treadmill, keeping perfect pace without even a puff. It made Anya sick.
“I think we will move you onto something a little more useful today,” said Isabelle and pulled a long silver knife from her bag.
“Isabelle, I can barely throw a punch properly,” Anya pointed out.
“Yes but you can move objects with your magic if all else fails. Silver messes with most supernaturals; maybe not kill them but definitely slow them down. Now, let me show you how to push it past the ribs.”
***
Serge surveyed the mansion a few rooftops away. Vasilli had given him strict but easy instructions on the mission. Get the girl; kill anyone who gets in their way. They were waiting until all the lights in the mansion were out. His group of men were walking calmly around the roof, waiting for their signal to attack.
Vasilli had told them about Völundr and how he had found the witch using magic. Serge had different methods. He had simply found local government surveillance footage of the witch and her red-headed friend walking the streets shopping. After that he had simply tracked the address of the owner of the credit card which had been used within the store. He never could understand why the magically inclined just didn’t use common sense.
***
Anya’s magic woke her just as the glass smashed in one of the windows. Trajan’s alarm system started screaming to alert everyone of the intruders. A man dressed entirely in black swat gear was on her before she could move. He grabbed her around the throat and she clawed at his hands desperately. Her att
acker’s eyes bulged and the skin of his face started to shrink and shrivel as all the life in him was pulled from his cells. Anya pushed the mummifying hands away from her and picked up the knife she had bought in Skazki. Trajan let the body fall to the carpet.
“We need to move now,” Trajan instructed her. “They came in from the roof and there will be more in the house.”
Hamish crashed through the door, making Anya jump. He was shirtless and carrying a Winchester in each hand, a revolver was stuck in the front of his blood-flecked jeans.
“Fucker jumped me,” he grunted. “I was going to say sorry for wrecking your carpet but shit happens. We need to get the others and get outta here. We can fight better as a group.” They rushed down the hallway, Hamish leading the way to Isabelle’s room. They heard the commotion before they got there.
Five men had surrounded Isabelle and they were closing in on her. One rushed at her with a speed that made him blur. Isabelle flipped over him with ease and drove her knife in his back. As he fell screaming she jumped again, hitting another in the chest; the force drove him across the room.
Hamish shot one in the head, spraying the couches with bits of skull and brain. Trajan killed the other two with a single touch. There was barely any of the silver smoke, he just drained it in a second and they fell to the ground dead.
“They must have found out Völundr was dead,” said Trajan.
“It doesn’t matter now; let’s get out of here,” Isabelle tightened her gun holsters and slid her long knives down the back of her boots.
Anya stopped as a ripple of power flowed through the mansion. “Yvan—” She started running. As she got to Cerise’s doorway something grabbed her from behind, gripping her tight.
“Let her go,” Cerise demanded. She tried to sound calm but her eyes were changing black in her anger.
“She is the little Russian witch everyone has been looking for,” the man said as he jerked her tighter to him. “I just want her. The rest will be spared if you let us take her.”
“Not an option,” Trajan said.
“You will not be going anywhere with Anyanka,” Yvan appeared in the doorway. His eyes were glowing with the firebird and flames were starting to spread out along his hands. He was looking at her and gave her a slight nod before shouting, “Pozhar!” Anya exploded into flames and the man holding her fell back in surprise. Anya ducked as Yvan threw a ball of fire, hitting the man in the chest. He barely had time to scream before he burnt up, an almost perfect statue of ash. Anya ran to Yvan and held him tightly, burning as one for a few seconds before their flames died completely.
“Thank you,” she said as she let him go.
“We have to get moving,” Isabelle said firmly. “They are going to be on us again within twenty minutes if not sooner. They would have picked up that magic wave a hundred kilometres away.”
“I just need to get my bag from the Twins room with my runes and drum,” Anya said to Trajan.
“We already have them,” Honaw and Chayton joined them. “Anya you really have to stop throwing your power like that.”
“It was Yvan,” she said quickly.
“It went through hers though,” Trajan pointed out.
“Can we please argue about the magical technicalities later?” Cerise snapped. “Everyone get their stuff and get downstairs. I am going to get some supplies and I think you should too Trajan.” She gave him a meaningful look and Trajan nodded.
“I will go and get my gear,” Anya said. She really didn’t want to see Cerise getting blood from corpses or Trajan walking through the house while the silvery smoke surrounded him. She had seen enough for one night.
Katya and Izrayl were already waiting for them. Izrayl was lounging against his car with Katya sitting on the bonnet.
“Never a dull moment with Anya around.” Izrayl smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“What’s the plan?” Katya asked.
“I need to get back to Russia. I only have a couple of weeks before the gate on the farm opens,” Anya said. Trajan took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
“Russia it is then. Into the lion’s den.”
“You aren’t worried are you, pup?” Izrayl gave Katya’s chin a light pinch. Her pale green gaze hardened and she batted his hand away.
“Do I look worried?” Isabelle, Hamish and the Twins appeared in time to break up the squabble.
“What an exciting life you lead,” Chayton smiled at Anya.
“Reminds me of the old days,” Honaw added. “It makes you feel alive when there are people trying to kill you.”
“Thanks guys. That makes me feel so much better for putting your lives at risk.” They both shrugged casually.
“Don’t worry about it. That was some pretty impressive magic you did with Yvan. We are proud of you.”
“Be proud when I close the gates.” Anya sounded colder than she wanted. She was scared and was trying very hard not to be defensive. She wanted to crawl into a dark place and get drunk.
Cerise and Yvan had arrived as they talked. Yvan gave Anya a small smile which allowed her to relax a little. Cerise tossed her bag into the back of her red Jaguar and climbed into the driver’s seat. “When you a ready, darlings,” she said. She looked edgy as she lit a cigarette. Anya was surprised to see Yvan put his bag in her car and take the front seat. Her urge to get drunk was suddenly magnified.
“I know you want us all to stick together but I am taking my bike,” Isabelle stated. “There’s no way I am going to let some filthy lackeys of Ladislav get it.”
“I wouldn’t dream of asking you to leave it behind. Hamish can ride with Anya and me,” said Trajan.
“The Twins are coming with me,” piped up Katya.
“Don’t worry, ciqala, we are coming to make sure you don’t get up to any mischief.” Anya tried not to smile as Izrayl’s eyes narrowed. Someone clearly had some mischief in mind.
Isabelle’s motorcycle roared to life, making them all jump. “Today people! They are coming! I can feel it.” Trajan led Anya to a shiny black Land Rover SUV. Hamish sprawled out on the back seat and Anya sat in the front, pushing her bag onto the floor.
“When we get to the border we will put the cars on a train. I don’t want to get to the end of Russia with no transport. There are too many of us to carry now.”
Trajan didn’t believe in holding with the speed limit and neither did the people they were with. Anya didn’t care how fast they went. She wanted to be out of France before anything else came looking for her.
***
Aramis surveyed the human wreckage in the mansion with as much passivity as he could. He opened his phone and dialled a number. “I am going to need a clean-up crew,” he said and hung up. He was the only one of his team who wasn’t in black swat gear. This was the third house they had investigated in a fortnight and he knew they were connected, he just didn’t know how yet. The second house they had been to had turned out to be another building owned by the Darkness and unlike the first fire this one had been lit by magic. The residue over it had been intense and Aramis had known just by the feel of it that it had been started by Yanka’s descendant. It had taken a lot of self-control to even stay on the site let alone the case.
“At least ten remains so far, sir,” a faceless man mumbled through his balaclava. “The magic residue is off the charts again and it was used to kill. There are four separate magic signatures but one in particular was on a higher scale.”
“Was it the same as the last building?” Aramis asked.
“Yes, sir. But I think it was more controlled this time around. There, it was more of an explosion but here I believe it was directed at the one target.”
“Do we know who this target was?”
“Yes, but I think you should come and take a look.” Aramis followed the man up the stairs to the remains. He had seen many strange things but the perfect ashen figure of the man was definitely a surprise. It reminded him of the bodies they had found under the
ash of Pompeii.
“You can see why I wanted to show you. It creeped the hell out of the men when they found it.”
“I imagine it would.” Aramis held out a hand to the victim’s face without touching it and closed his eyes. Her magic was all over it but it had been a mingling of her power and something older and stronger that had killed. Whispering under his breath and drawing on his own magic the last seconds of the victim’s life flashed through his mind. A dark haired man burning with a firebird glowing and alive on his chest. The faces of worried people watching. The girl in his arms igniting in a burst of flame. He dropped her and she fell to the floor. Her face turned and Aramis jolted out of the vision with a cry.
“Are you alright sir?” Aramis was breathing heavily but nodded.
“I’m fine. It’s time we make contact with these people. This situation is getting out of control.”
“With all due respect, sir, you know the family’s history. You think she will listen to us or blow us all to pieces?”
“We will find out soon enough.”
Chapter Thirty- Bright Sparks
Anya first noticed the tall stranger at the Czech Republic/Slovakian border. It wasn’t unusual to see fair people in this part of Europe but the stranger was striking. His hair was a silver ash, fairer even than hers. His blue eyes were made bluer by the dark navy leather trench coat he wore with the collar turned up. She had glimpsed him for a split second in the dining car before someone stepped in front of him and he was gone. He had looked directly at her and in that second her magic had flared like a fever.
The journey so far had been remarkably unhindered. They had crossed into Germany with an unobserved ease. After the first few days of driving Anya’s body clock was so completely out of whack she lost the concept of time. In the Czech Republic they boarded a train, their vehicles stored in the cargo carriage. Trajan and Cerise had argued with each other and everyone else until finally they agreed that train travel was the least inconspicuous.
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