by Sean Stone
“You’re insane,” panted James. From the sound of his voice his pain was fading and Clara knew why. She’d shot Nick with an iron bullet once but it had only worked temporarily. The iron did not stop the regenerative abilities of immortality and as his body healed it pushed the bullet out. The same was happening now for James. Clara just needed to wait until it did so James could teleport them to safety.
“Do you really think that a few fancy bullets will be enough to wipe out everyone in this town?” asked Clara. Magic on Eloise and her soldiers would have no effect but she could still use magic on the things around them.
“I have more than fancy bullets at my disposable, Miss Winters. Sadly, you won’t live to see my other fancy things.”
Clara flicked her finger forwards and the leg of the chair Eloise was on broke. Her face stretched in a comical look of surprise as she tumbled down. Both soldiers now turned on Clara and fired at her. She rolled out of the way, using another spell as she went. Smoke began filling the room, blocking their vision. One of the bullets sliced through her bicep mid-roll. She screamed, getting an idea of how James felt. It was like an ice-cold needle had plunged through her arm. She quickly covered the wound, blood oozing between her fingers.
“Miss Cultrum!” the soldier’s shouted as they stumbled around in the smoke.
“I’m over here, you idiots!” Eloise yelled.
Clara pulled herself up and went towards the voice. If she could reach Eloise she could kill her now and end all this. She found Eloise sitting against the desk, waiting for her soldiers to find her. She was surrounded with broken bits of chair. Clara snatched one up. Eloise saw what was about to happen and started to rise to defend herself, but she just an old woman. Clara shoved her down aggressively. Eloise slammed against the desk making it rock back. Clara raised the splintered wood above her head. She’d heard that Jonathan had been killed in the same way by Isabella Redmane. How poetic. A gun shot rang through the office. Clara expected to feel that sharp icy pain again, but instead she felt a lurching in her stomach and the smoky office vanished.
Chapter 5
Nick had thought things would be different after he’d resurrected Olivia. He had never been naive enough to think that she would instantly forgive him and they could resume the life they once had. He had thought he would need to make up for doubting her, killing her and… everything else that he had done. But she had forgiven him for those deplorable acts. She had forgiven every act of injustice he had committed against her, but she would not forgive the “acts of atrocity” he had committed after her death. No matter how often he insisted that everything he had done had been to bring her back she would not let it go. Every day she implored him to atone for his sins and every day he refused. He had not sinned. Everything he had done had been to right the wrong he had done in the first place. But she would not see it that way.
If his time living had taught him anything it was the art of patience. He had waited six-hundred-years to have her back with him again, he could wait for her to accept what he had done and move on too. Although, he did worry how long it would take. He had no intention of waiting another six centuries. Her constant reprimands would grow tiresome. She was not how he remembered her. Death had changed her. That was an outcome he had not anticipated. He’d always imagined that the same Olivia would be returned to him, only angry for what he had done to her, not what he’d done to others.
He was sitting in his study gazing into nothingness as he considered all this. This very house had become a prison. There was nothing stopping him from leaving the house, but Olivia did not want to go anywhere with him and he was fearful that if he went out alone she might be gone when he returned.
He held out his hand and in his palm, he conjured a small amount of water and then shaped it into a cat. He smiled fondly as he remembered that Olivia had done the same for him when they were teenagers. He’d taken her to the river and she’d produced several water animals for his delight. Being a teenager was so much simpler.
“Back when I made that I had magic and you had none,” Olivia said as she entered. The cat collapsed in a waterfall and the water vanished as it hit Nick’s palm. Olivia approached soundlessly and sat down in the chair next to his. “You knew so little about magic and I knew so much more. How things have changed.”
“Indeed, the tables have turned as the expression goes,” said Nick, still staring at his palm. He wasn’t sure whether he was getting another telling off or if she was merely commenting on their change of circumstances.
“That picture box has stopped working,” she said, referring to the television. Modern inventions were still a mystery to her. “I tried magic and it just made it catch fire.”
Nick smiled. “The problem isn’t the television, it is the signal. Cedarstone has been cut off from the rest of the world,” he explained. MI5 were moving in to begin their extermination of the supernatural. Nick would be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued as to how this played out.
“How do you know?”
“Kristen dropped by earlier.”
“I didn’t hear her come.”
“She teleported.”
Olivia pursed her lips. “I dislike that,” she said.
“You seemed to enjoy teleporting when I taught you how to do it.” Not all their time together was spent bickering. There were a few occasions when they forgot Nick’s past and enjoyed each other’s company.
“I mean I dislike people teleporting into our home. It’s bad manners,” said Olivia.
“She lived here too, not so long ago.”
“It’s not her home now.”
“It’s not ours either,” he replied a little waspishly, looking up from his hand for the first time. “I’ve been thinking, with everything that’s going on we should probably leave town.” He didn’t want to get caught up in any more dramas concerning this town, as intrigued as he was it wasn’t worth the aggravation that staying would bring.
“Are you afraid?” Olivia said softly. There was care in her voice. He appreciated that.
He snorted. “I’m the most powerful immortal warlock in the world. I have nothing to fear from anyone,” he scoffed.
She frowned at him and looked away. “That sort of attitude… It isn’t you.”
“It is me. Time changes people.”
“So does power. That was one of Kayla’s teachings, remember? Power can bring out the worst in people. What if everything you’ve done is because of the magic you took?”
“I needed the magic to bring you back. Everything I have done was for that purpose,” he said in exasperation. He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation again. “I’m not giving this power up if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“I don’t want you to give the power up. I want you to use it for good. You can save this town so easily. You could walk down to whoever is responsible for all those soldiers and put a stop to them. That would make up for everything you’ve done,” she said. He had been considering her proposal until she added that last sentence.
“I have nothing to make up for,” he said in a growl. “If I hadn’t done what I’ve done you wouldn’t be sitting there right now!”
“No, I’d be dead. And who’s fault would that be?”
Nick stared at her in stunned silence. “That was low. Set made me think—”
“Stop it. Stop blaming other people for things that you did. Set didn’t make you do anything. You chose to believe his deceptions and you chose your actions.” She stood up abruptly. “But none of that matters now. What matters is what you do next and I will not leave this house with you until you are ready to make up for your actions.”
“The people of this town locked me in a bunker for fifty-four years with swords through my heart. They trapped me in a box and dropped me to the bottom of the ocean. I am not saving a single person in this town!” he snapped, standing up too.
“Fine. What about Kayla? You turned her to stone so she couldn’t stop you from b
ringing me back. I’m back now so you can reverse the curse.”
“She betrayed me! She helped put me in that bunker. She tried to make me mortal and powerless.”
“And you turned her to stone. You’re even. Nick, please. Show me you can do some good. Release her from that curse. She took you in when nobody else would. She made you immortal. She was your mother. She deserves your forgiveness.”
Nick turned away from Olivia and walked to the window. Everything she said was right. Kayla did deserve to be freed, but how would she react? Would she forgive Nick? Or would she turn on him? She was family and family forgave each other. He’d surrounded himself with warlocks over the centuries, built himself a new family. But they were gone now. He needed Olivia, she was all he needed but she would not be his until he showed her he was worthy of her love. If that meant facing up to what he’d done to Kayla then so be it. It wasn’t like she could hurt him anymore anyway.
“Fine,” he said in quiet submission. “Let’s go.”
They could have teleported to the park in an instant, but it was the first time they’d left the house for a week, Nick wanted to savour his freedom so they walked. The town was quiet. Far quieter than Nick had ever seen it. People were hiding in their homes, fearful of the alleged terrorist attack that had occurred. There were no soldiers about either.
“I’m glad that you’ve finally decided to do the right thing,” Olivia said as she walked along next to him. They were the first words she’d spoken since leaving.
“Good,” Nick said simply. She was looking into his actions more than she should. He was just trying to get her off his back. This was no sign of remorse.
“I know that you still don’t see my way of thinking, but after doing the right thing for long enough you’ll see that I’m right. I know you’ll see the error of your ways and you’ll not go back to your destructive lifestyle.”
Nick said nothing. He was tired of having the same argument with her. His “destructive ways” had achieved his goals. That was all that mattered to him. Hopefully, after he’d done this she’d stopped being so preachy.
As they neared Cedar Park, Nick saw the first of the soldiers. Each of the gates to the park had two soldiers positioned on it. Nick wasn’t sure why they were guarding the park and it did interest him. Did they know that the statue inside was one of the most powerful beings in the world? Or was there another reason?
He crossed the room with nonchalance and headed for the nearest gate.
“Stop there!” called one of the soldier’s as she raised her rifle at him. Nick sneered. There was a bang and a bullet left the weapon. Nick let the bullet tear into his chest. It forced nothing more than a grunt from him. The pain was the equivalent of a getting an injection, it didn’t even break his gait.
“Iron with a hint of silver,” he said ruminatively, continuing towards the park. “Iron just doesn’t affect me the way it used to.” Even as he spoke the words the bullet was forced from his chest and tinkled to the floor. The other soldier fired but this time Nick sent a wave of magic with a lazy flick of his finger. The bullet turned to dust before it got close to him. “You need to do more research,” he said as he came to a halt in front of the soldiers. Both stared at him in shock, they hadn’t been briefed for this eventuality.
“They look terrified, Nickolas,” Olivia said compassionately.
“Why don’t I alleviate them of that fear?” he said with a sly smile. He twisted his wrist and both soldiers jerked backwards simultaneously, the rifles clattering to the ground noisily.
“No!” yelled Olivia, grabbing Nick’s arm as if it would save them. The soldiers both collapsed to their knees, they let out coughs of blood before falling down dead. As more soldiers came running towards them Nick snapped their necks without even looking at them. Eight more bodies fell. “No,” Olivia repeated as she stepped into the park to survey the damage.
“What do you mean no?” Nick asked in incredulity, following her through the gates.
“You killed them, Nickolas,” she accused.
“Well, yes. I don’t know if you noticed but they shot me in the chest. If it wasn’t for her poor aim she would’ve got me right in the heart.” As he spoke he gave her corpse a vicious jab with his foot.
“You’re immortal! You would’ve been fine!” Olivia screamed. Nick had never seen her so angry and he couldn’t believe that something so inconsequential could affect her so much.
“She didn’t know that. She was trying to kill me. She would’ve shot you next and iron will affect you in a very negative way. You’re welcome,” he shot.
“I’m welcome? I’m welcome?” she repeated in fury. “You think I should be grateful that you just murdered ten people?”
“What would you have had me do to the armed soldiers who are here to kill us?” he demanded.
“You should have just put them to sleep and locked them up. They’re just following orders, Nickolas. Their boss is the real villain here.”
“Just following orders. A fair few Nazis used that excuse.”
“What is a Nazi?” she asked. Being dead for six-hundred-years had left her fairly ignorant.
“Never mind. My point is, you’ve been harking on at me to take responsibility for my actions. Should they not do the same?” he could tell by the way she looked about that he had thrown her. He was right and she knew it.
“Yes, I suppose they should. But killing is still not the answer. Kayla taught us that all life is sacred. It is not up to us to extinguish it,” she said quietly, her voice full of passion.
“You think Kayla would have spared them?” Nick said with a small laugh. The woman who had locked him in a bunker for fifty-four years.
“I know she would have.”
“She raised me as a son. What makes you think you know her better than I do?”
“She spared all the villains in her life. She stopped them but she never killed them. Set, Apophis, you. You all lived but she still stopped you all.”
Nick flinched at her words and quickly looked away. “You think that the punishments she bestowed on the three of us were good?” he snapped, turning back to face her. “Set watched as his entire race was turned to stone. I was locked away with my heart ripped apart by swords for half a century. And Apophis has been stuck inside a bottle for more than ten-thousand-years. Do tell me how that showed mercy?”
“You all still lived.”
Nick shook his head slowly. Unable to believe what he was hearing. “Should Apophis ever be freed from his prison and should you have the misfortune of encountering him, you be sure to tell him that his curse was a mercy. I’m sure he’d tell you that he’d rather be dead. Kayla did not show mercy. What she did was cruel and vindictive. And what about all those people — her people — who she turned to stone? All those jinn she forced into prisons? Were they also mercies?”
“She refused to take their lives because life is sacred. Everything else she did for the good of the world. Tell me truthfully, Nickolas, have you ever done anything for the good of the world? Or have you only ever acted for the good of yourself?”
He stared blankly at her. She had him in a corner. Everything he had ever done was for himself. Not once could he ever recall thinking of the world when he’d chosen his actions. “I am not responsible for the world,” he said in a whisper, aware that it was a weak defence. He was even more surprised when she accepted it.
“No, you’re not,” she said softly. “But you are responsible for yourself. So right your wrongs. Starting with Kayla.”
“That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?” he snapped and then stomped off to find her. He’d thought that getting out of the house would be nice, but Olivia was even more unbearable outside than she was in.
Nick saw the giant Cedar tree that he’d left Kayla beneath. It was the very tree that she’d used to restrain him as she attempted to take his immortality. That had all been just minutes before the town had arrived to trap him again. He felt his anger growing and
forced the memory from his mind. That didn’t matter now, he would never be trapped again. His heart began to beat almost dangerously in his chest as he came to stop right before the place he’d left Kayla. It was not beating so hard because he was worried about facing her again, it was because Kayla was gone.
“What’s the matter?” Olivia asked. Her voice was full of concern, the judgemental nuisance was gone and his love was with him again.
“She’s gone,” he said.
“As in, walked away?” Olivia asked hopefully.
“No.” He shook his head. “I would have felt it if the curse had broken. She’s been moved.”
“The soldiers?”
He shook his head again. “Only someone with a supreme amount of power could have done this and I don’t know anybody with enough power to pull it off.” He looked at her worried face and his heart jolted for her. There was the girl he loved. He stepped forward and placed his palm on her cheek. “Don’t worry, we’ll find her and we’ll find whoever took her. And we’ll fix this,” he assured her. Olivia nodded her agreement and thankfully said nothing about not killing the perpetrator.
Chapter 6
James had teleported Clara out of the mayor’s office right before the bullet had hit her. They were now back in Clara’s car. Kegan and Dean turned to face them, both looked wrought with anticipation.
“What happened?” Dean asked.
“Drive,” James told Kegan. The young werewolf didn’t question the fact that the order had come from James, but instead slammed the car into gear and tore away from the town hall.
“Tell me what happened,” Dean said more forcefully.
“Eloise is back in town,” said Clara. She was leaning against her seat looking almost defeated.
“Who the hell is Eloise?” asked Dean.
“Former deputy mayor,” James said dismissively. “Nasty piece of work.”