Blood and Treasure_An Urban Fantasy Novel

by J. A. Cipriano

  “Uncle Scott would visit regularly. He told me of many stories of a great hero, of a man so brave and selfless, he would never run when there was danger to face. He told me of adventures and of the sort of sacrifice which brands someone a hero forever, regardless of who they are and where they come from. He told me of a man I was proud to call my father.” He shook his head, and I began to see tears streaming down his cheeks, cascading from bright red eyes. “So no, I will not run from this burden. I will not be afraid in the face of defeat, because I come from a man who was not afraid. I will stand tall and be the person I was born to be. I will not be ashamed of who I am or what I am made of, and I will fight until the last breath has left my body, because my father taught me to!” He took a deep breath and looked away from me, trying to compose himself. “Does that answer your question, Father?”

  I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak or even really think. I had spent all this time thinking I’d failed this little guy. I’d been so damned sure I was a horrible absentee father that maybe I hadn’t stopped to consider that my example might have been a good influence on him. But what did that even mean? Could I really allow my son to do battle because he wanted to live up to the specter of a reputation I wasn’t even sure I really deserved? I mean, I was as scared as hell doing all that stuff, and what was the point in fighting if I wasn’t even able to save my child from having to do the same?

  Still, he looked at me with red eyes which mirrored my own. He set his jaw the way I might have given the same direction. A hint of pride (perhaps misplaced, as I had nothing to do with his upbringing) rose in me.

  “And don’t bother trying to hit me with that energy, Father,” he said. “You may not have noticed, but I spent the entire speech siphoning it from you and repurposing it.”

  Oh. Well, isn’t that a bitch.

  I took a deep breath, my eyes darting to Essie and then back to our kid.

  “You stay in the back. Do you understand me? You protect your mother and don’t do anything stupid, and if the fight looks like it’s not going our way, you gather up enough of that energy bubbling up inside of you and you teleport the both of you to the furthest place you can think of. You don’t hesitate. You got that? Being a hero doesn’t mean you have to end up a corpse.”

  “I understand, Father,” he said and smiled a little as he realized I was relenting.

  “Good,” I said, motioning for Essie to come toward us. As she did, I looked back to Luc. “Now what did you repurpose that energy for anyway?”

  “For this,” he said. He pressed his hand against my chest and a burning sensations hot through me. I pulled back but it was too late. I could feel power surging in my bones.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Something you’ll thank me for later,” he grinned. Grabbing my hand, he let a bright light surround us, and when it lifted, my little makeshift family was ready for war.

  31

  If the Inner Sanctum looked messed up after Marissa had taken her Tantibus rage out on it, well, it was downright apocalyptic now. In the back, where the throne had once sat all proud and gleaming with the power of the Greeks, now swirled a bright blue circle of chaos.

  I had seen many things in my life, including buildings that sank into the ground, Irish lads who transformed into mist when you pissed them off, and more witches than you could shake an enchanted stick at. Nothing I had seen prepared me for this though.

  The portal was the size of the wall, completely overtaking everything I had to assume Renee had built in New Olympus since she’d turned to the Astra coven for help. Sparks of energy flew out of the swirling blue mass of power. They looked like waves of water as they shot forward and crashed into the golden shield Scott had produced.

  And with each burst of blue energy, people ran out of the portal. Each looked different. Some were mortal looking, men and women with singular heads, a pair of eyes, and scowls on their faces befitting those who had spent a near eternity trapped in a hellish dimension. Others were the things of nightmares. Winged monstrosities, giant serpents, and galloping centaurs.

  It was like something out of a nightmare I wasn’t nearly twisted or creative enough to come up with.

  Renee, Scott, Gary, and Abram stood on the front lines. Scott was channeling all the energy he could muster, creating a golden barrier meant to keep these things at bay. I had thought he’d made a mistake when he’d banished the Astra coven to the four corners of a thousand different dimensions. I really thought he’d screwed up when he tied the damned mistake to my son. Seeing him now though, in possession of so much energy and funneling it in a way that no coven member could do, regardless of how in sync with each other they might be, I began to rethink the position.

  That said, Scott wouldn’t be able to do this on his own, and luckily, he didn’t have to. Abram was at his side, an old hand raised in the air as he poured as much energy as his aged body could muster. It wasn’t nearly as much as Scott, who had the power of nearly half the people I grew up with at his disposal, but it was something. It was, in all honesty, probably more than the old man could bear. Still, he kept at it, and though I hated his wrinkled, old guts, I had to give him props. He too was going to fight until the end.

  “I need to help him!” Luc said and, seeming to forget everything I’d just told him to do, began to rush off toward Scott.

  Pfft. Kids.

  Grabbing his collar, I pulled him backward. “Stay in the back, son. You can help him from there.”

  “But the energy!” he cried out.

  “Energy goes far and wide. Point and shoot. It’s as simple as that. Now do what I said and get the hell back there.” I glanced over at Essie. “Take your mother with you.” I leaned closer to my ex-wife. “If I fall, you get him the hell out of here. Don’t wait for me to hit the ground.”

  “I will,” she answered. “Is it even possible for you to be careful at this point?”

  I shrugged. “Anything is possible.” I gave her a quick nod and rushed off toward the great golden wall, and the mounting army of subjects quickly filtering in behind it. As I neared, I noticed Gary close to the energy barrier. His teeth were bared and his claws were out and ready to fight. He couldn’t do much, of course. Magic wasn’t the forte of the imp. Still, if there happened to be a creature or two on the other side who hadn’t heard of his species, it was possible for Gary to get a couple good licks in before the thing trampled over him or something. Besides, my best friend didn’t run, not even when he was stuck bringing claws to a magic fight.

  Strangely enough. He wasn’t the only one not concentrating on keeping Scott’s wall from collapsing. Renee- sole heir to the Greek gods and one of the most powerfully badass women in the solar system- was turned the opposite direction. Her hands were clasped together and her eyes were closed. Her mouth moved quickly in a distinct speaking pattern.

  Was she- was she praying?

  I ran toward them, hearing the rushing sounds of the energy swirling and popping became louder and more terrifying.

  Renee’s words came into earshot as well. “Give me strength to make the journey. Keep me whole as I travel across the great river and may the ferryman look kindly upon my offering.”

  “Baby,” I said, touching her hand as what looked to be a huge dragon rushed out of the portal and crashed against the barrier.

  Scott and Abram both shook. Blood began to ooze from my brother’s nose. I couldn’t let this stand without helping. My hands lifted over my head and blue energy shot toward the barrier, adding my own magic to the mixture.

  “Baby, I think we need you,” I said, connecting to the barrier and feeling just how close it was to falling through completely.

  “I know,” she answered. “And you’ll have me. At least for the moment.”

  Her words echoed like a horrific omen through my head. Combined with what she’d said downstairs about not letting things get that far made me nervous and uneasy. I didn’t know something, something about what she was planning
to do.

  And that was never good.

  “Renee, what are ta-”

  A familiar pull knocked the words right out of my mouth. A sweet and calming sensation filled me. I didn’t need to look over to see who it was, but I did anyway. I wasn’t disappointed.

  Sadie came walking out of the portal, a vision of simplicity and placid calm. Her red hair still hung in a braid over her chest and the same eerie smile still graced her lips.

  “It feels so good to be home,” she said in a tone that would have lulled me to sleep if the goddamn world wouldn’t have been falling apart at my feet. Her eyes met mine and then wandered just a few feet to the old man beside me. “Why Abram, you’ve changed so.”

  “One of the perks of not being dead, my dear,” he answered, sweat trickling from his brow as the tension of holding the shield up grew even more. The dragon was hitting it, slamming into the thing with full force. A few seconds, a few minutes maybe, and this would be all over.

  “You know her?” I asked Abram through gritted teeth.

  “We went to prom together,” he nodded. “It was a long time ago.”

  “Longer for you it seems,” Sadie answered. “Now what did you say about not being dead?”

  She twisted her hand and Abram’s neck followed suit. With a loud snap, the old man fell to the floor, his eyes open and his face still twisted with determination.

  There he was, the leader of the Astra coven, the man who’d banished me and sent me off to live a life of wandering, dead on the floor.

  For all the times I’d imagined his demise, this brought me no pleasure. It served only to further the strain I felt. Abram’s power was lost to the barrier. Now it was only us: Scott, Luc, and I holding the thing up. A real family affair, which begged the question of why Renee wasn’t lending an enchanted hand.

  “Renee, baby, what the hell are you doing? We’re about to lose the entire thing,” I said breathlessly.

  “No you’re not,” she answered. “I’m just waiting.”

  “Waiting for what, a red carpet? If you’re going to pull something out of that amazing ass of yours, now is the time to do it.”

  She looked over at me, her eyes glowing and her mouth turned down into a frown.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, the pinprick of a realization piercing my heart. “What are you not telling me?”

  “I have to wait for Marco to come through the portal. Only the things which leave will be bound again once I do it.”

  I blinked hard, hoping I wasn’t right about the horrible thought in my head.

  “Once you do what, baby?”

  “You know,” she said, and her power pulsated again. Though, instead of dressing her up more, it only served to strip her of all her gauntlets and her sword. She was just her again, the feisty Assistant District Attorney who’d stolen my heart from the first day we met.

  “No,” I said, my hands still raised, my power still connected to this barrier. If I moved even an inch, the entire thing would fall down. I could feel it.

  “It’s the only way, Roy,” she answered, her hand grazing my cheek. “When Abram found the hidden text, it told him about more than where this would happen. It told him how to undo it. The blood of a one and only opened the portal. So the blood of a one and only can close it.” She smiled a deep and remorseful grin. “It’s strange really. You saved me once, and now I’m saving you.”

  “There’s another way,” I said, my mouth was dry. The world seemed far away, and everything we’d went through up to this point felt like absolutely nothing in comparison.

  “There isn’t,” she assured me. “And, if there was, there’d be no time for it.” She pushed my face forward. “Look who’s here.”

  I looked forward to find the army of monsters had parted. A line formed right down the center of the room and-in it- walked my father.

  He sauntered like a cock in a henhouse, smiling smugly and shaking his head.

  “My boy,” he laughed. “You really thought you could outdo me?” He chuckled coarsely. “You should have known better. I taught you better.”

  He settled in front of the barrier, looking it over, and then looking at Abram’s body on the ground.

  “Whoever did that gets a gold star,” he laughed, motioning to the old man’s body. Then, turning back to me, he continued. ‘This is pathetic, son. I offered you a place. I wanted you at my right hand. I wanted you be a part of what’s going to happen here.” He shrugged. “I was prepared to give you Australia. It was going to be a present for all the birthdays I’d missed, but what did you do?”

  “Screw myself out of Australia?” I asked, still struggling as the weight of the barrier and the weight of what I knew Renee was about to do threatened to snap me in half like a bug.

  “You screwed yourself out of a lot of things,” he said. Walking forward a few steps, he tapped the golden barrier with a single finger.

  The entire thing shattered like so much painted glass. I flew backward as did Scott.

  We both landed on the floor, gasping for air and looking to the ceiling.

  No. This is probably what happened to Luc too. Was he okay? Had Essie got him out of here yet?

  A dragon flew freely overhead, and I knew it was over. These things would overrun the world. My father would have everything he wanted. I had failed.

  “Hey there.” Renee’s voice came to me like a song so much sweeter than Sadie’s ever could. “It’s going to be okay.”

  In a flash, she appeared above me, smiling down at me.

  “You know I love you, right? You know I’ve always loved you.”

  “There’s another way,” I said, shaking my head. My heart started skipping every other beat, causing my breathes to come fast and irregular.

  “Baby, there isn’t. This is it. It’s what I was born to do. I want you to know something though. I don’t regret it. Even now, even knowing how this ends, I don’t regret any of it. If I had it to do all over again, I’d still fall in love with you. I’d still do it all the same.”

  “Renee, please…” I muttered, my jaw clenching and my body shaking. “I can’t do this without you.”

  “Of course you can,” she smiled. “You’re stronger than you think, and you have your son. He’ll give you purpose. He’ll give you-”

  Her hand rested on my chest, right on the spot where Luc had sent that burning shot of magic through.

  A smile draped across Renee’s face.

  “Clever boy,” she said. “Clever, clever boy.” She nodded. “Remember what I said, Roy. Remember what I said about doing it all over again. I would, and I will. Remember that.”

  “Get off him, whore,” my father’s voice sounded from behind her. “There are things my son has to answer for. It’s a good thing he gave me a spare though. Something tells me I’m going to be a better grandfather anyway.”

  Terror shot through me every bit as harsh and damaging as bullets, but Renee’s hand kept me steady.

  “Listen to me, Roy. It’s time. It has to happen right now. It can’t be my own hand. It’s part of the spell. It has to be someone else. It has to be you.”

  Confused, I followed her eyes as they trailed my body. They rested at my right hand, where I found the hilt of her glowing sword tucked into my palm.

  “You want me to-”

  “Remember what I said. I’d do it again. Remember.”

  I felt my father standing over us. I didn’t think I had the strength for this. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t.

  “Yes you can,” she said, reading my face. “Do it for your son.”

  “I love you,” I said through tears. Then, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I threw my hand forward, running Renee’s sword through her heart.

  Warmth and light exploded over me, ensconcing me in the safest of bubbles.

  When it left, Renee was gone, but everyone else wasn’t.

  “That’s it?” my father asked. “Your big plan was to kill your girlfriend? You should have do
ne that the first time, and we could have saved ourselves a lot of t-”

  He stopped short. His eyes growing wide. Looking back, my father cursed as he saw the swirl of the blue portal’s energy start spinning the opposite way.

  “Damn you,” he muttered, looking over at me. “I’ll be back, you know. You haven’t stopped me.”

  “No,” I answered, standing and breathing heavy. “But she did, and Dad, please believe how much I really mean it when I tell you to go the fuck to Hell!”

  My shout might as well have been a shotgun starting a race, because the instant the words left my mouth, the portal sped up, pulling all of them back inside. The dragon, the snake, fucking Sadie.

  And then, mercifully, my father. He glared at me as the portal took him back into itself. There were so many things I wanted to say. So many words I wanted to lay over him, but none of them would be enough.

  So instead, I just flipped the motherfucker off.

  When the portal closed, I actually smiled, and then passed out.

  32

  “It’ll be okay,” I said, looking over at Luc and patting him on his leg. “It’s over now.”

  He looked over at me from across the park bench. It had only been a few hours since everything ended, since the love of my life gave herself to save the world from my father. As a result, I couldn’t stay in that place anymore. New Olympus would always be Renee to me, and besides, it was completely destroyed.

  The sun was coming up over the horizon. It was a new day, a day the world almost never got to have. I wondered if they would ever know that, if they would ever appreciate all the work we’d put into keeping them safe or understand the depth of Renee’s sacrifice.

  “I’m sorry about Renee,” Luc said, swallowing hard and looking over at me. His eyes weren’t red anymore. Instead, they matched his mother’s. “She was a good woman, and a dutiful goddess. She’ll be missed greatly.”

  “Yeah,” I said, blinking back tears at the thought of her. “I’m definitely going to miss her.” It was one hell of an understatement.