by Sean Stone
Chapter 28
Montford Manor loomed over the town menacingly, more menacingly than it ever had before. For years James had barely noticed the old mansion looking down on everything. It had been part of the town, nothing more unusual or noteworthy than the shop on the corner of his road. This was the first time he’d ever really noticed it. Now it housed an incredibly malevolent primordial being. Now it was important. It was funny how things could be there your whole life but not become important until forty years in.
“What’s the plan then?” James asked. He’d teleported them to the gates of the house and he, Arthur, Clara, Toni and Olivia now stood staring at the ominous structure.
“The plan is we go in and kill Apophis,” said Arthur.
“Yes, I know that but what about the specifics?” James pressed. “Call me a nerd but I like to know the details of a plan before I embark on it.”
“Those are the details. We go in. We fight. We kill,” Arthur said, looking at him as if he was stupid. “We discussed this at the house.”
“That’s not detailed,” James said, his voice rising in pitch. “You can’t seriously be telling me that you want to go charging into a fight with ancient jinni with no plan of how to kill him. I mean, what are we just going to magic him to death?”
“That is essentially the plan, yes,” Toni said, irritably.
“Really, Arthur? Do you know anything about this guy?”
“There wasn’t a wealth of research done on him,” Arthur snapped back. “Are we going to stand here dithering or are we going to go in and get on with this?”
“I’m starting to understand how the council managed to keep you down for thirty years,” James said nastily.
“You should, you helped do it,” Clara shot at him.
“Stop it!” Olivia said firmly. “We are about to go and fight a being who makes ancients tremble. We need to be on the same page.”
They all fell into silence.
“I still think a plan would be better,” James mumbled under his breath.
“Arthur, lead the way,” said Olivia and they all followed him through the gate.
As Arthur walked up the cracked and overgrown path he tried not to let on how much James’ words had rattled him. James was right, they were essentially walking in blind, but Arthur could not allow Apophis the time to build a power base. He’d already tried to kill Arthur and Clara once. Eloise was enough to deal with. They had to shut down the jinni before it was too late. They had two immortal sorcerers and the power of the whole coven behind them. It would be tricky, but achievable.
Arthur stopped at the door to the house and looked back over his shoulder. “Are we all ready?” he asked quietly. He didn’t bother whispering. Apophis probably already knew they were here, the argument at the gate hadn’t been quiet. There were murmurs of confirmation from the others and Arthur pushed open the door. Feeling no magical protections on the house, he crossed the freehold into the dusty entrance hall. There were great double doors either side of the room and a double staircase stretching up to the next floor. There was another door behind the stairs which Arthur noticed as he walked further in. The doors on the right were open and he could see footprints in the dust where somebody had been moving around. He nodded that way and led the others.
The room had old dusty furniture around its edges, tables and cabinets, all covered in thick layers of dust. On the floor by the window was a small glass cube filled with glowing light. “Adam’s magic,” Arthur said quietly.
“And Adam’s ashes?” asked James, looking at the small mound of ashes next to the box. Arthur’s eyes were stuck on what he was certain were the remains of his friend. He should have done more for Adam. He should never have let him out of the basement.
Toni let out a small cry and quickly covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes watery. Clara put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly. Nobody said anything. What could be said?
“He will pay for it. For this and many other lives,” Olivia promised her.
Footsteps. Getting closer. They seemed to be coming from beneath them, climbing higher.
“Basement,” Olivia said, nodding at the door across the room. Arthur turned to face it, the others turned too, forming a line with Arthur in its centre.
“Ready?” Arthur asked Clara. She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. He squeezed back, pretending he hadn’t felt the fear radiating from her. They were all afraid and there was nothing that could be done about that. Perhaps this would be the place they died, but at least they’d die standing against evil rather than cowering in fear.
The footsteps reached the door and stopped. Several seconds went by in which nothing happened and then finally the door crawled open, creaking loudly as it did. It was so dark on the other side that all they could see was the outline of a tall figure. Green eyes glowed through the darkness. Then the eyes changed to a purple colour and the figure stepped in to the light. He was about seven-foot-tall, heavily built with short dark hair. He was dressed in simple black jeans and a tight t-shirt of the same colour. Arthur was glad they hadn’t come for a fist fight because this guy would undoubtedly win.
“Is it me you’re looking for?” the man said in a deep rich voice. A slither of amusement in his tone.
“Are you Apophis?” Arthur asked in far too timid a voice.
“Indeed I am,” Apophis replied. His eyes turned yellow and he stepped further into the room. “Let me see,” he said ponderously, eyeing them all. “James Tenson, the immortal-warlock-werewolf who used to be everyone’s enemy. Look at you now, standing with those you oppressed. Like best friends. You wear a brave face, but you’re positively trembling on the inside, aren’t you James?”
“What are you talking about?” James said aggressively, clearly the jinni had touched a nerve.
“Just showing you what your soul shows me,” Apophis said. He turned his focus away from James. “Olivia Blackwood. The spouse… No former-spouse, though not by modern standards, of Nickolas Blackwood. You nurse a broken heart for your dear Blackwood boy. Such a shame it is you and not he here tonight. He would have given me a fight worth attending I imagine.”
“You burned the village in Elysium. Why?” she demanded, refusing to let his words get to her.
“Because it was a creation of my jailor and I will suffer no creation of hers to survive,” he said, contempt oozing through his voice like poison. He turned to Toni next. “Antonia, or Toni as your friends call you. The grieving lover of the man I burned to ashes. Your hatred for me is stronger than anyone else’s here. I fear it will make you reckless.”
Toni opened her mouth to reply, but could form no words. Instead she settled for an angry glare.
“Probably best that you say nothing. You wouldn’t want to give anything away,” he said mockingly before moving on to Clara. “Clara Winters,” he paused on her and contemplated something. “By Winters hand…”
“What?” Clara demanded.
“You stand by your father, but you harbour such resentment for him. He is supposed to protect you and guide and yet you feel he has no clue what he is doing. Maybe you’re right, maybe he is just in the way. Maybe he was better off dead.”
“I don’t think that!” Clara shouted. She made to step forward, but Arthur grabbed her and held her back. He was trying not let Apophis’ words hurt him, that was the point. To unsettle them and weaken their attack.
“Perhaps not. It doesn’t make it any less true though, does it?” He said and turned to Arthur. “Arthur Winters,” he said. Arthur threw every barrier up to protect his mind, hoping that he could keep Apophis out. “Interesting. Something to hide?” the jinni asked. “Oh, well how about that? It turns out, Clara, he’s worried he doesn’t know what he’s doing either. What a coincidence.”
“Are you quite finished?” Arthur said as calmly as he could.
“I believe so, why is there somewhere else you need to be? If so I implore you to hurry along. Let’s not make thi
s encounter any more unpleasant than it already has been. Enough blood of your Coven’s has been spilt within these walls.”
“There are five of us and one of you. Yours is the only blood going to be spilled tonight,” Arthur assured him.
“True, but wait.” Apophis pressed his lips together and let out a high-pitched whistle. There was a strange banging noise from above and thin wisps of grey smoke seeped through the cracks in the ceiling. Four columns of smoke came down, taking their places either side of Apophis where they began to take the forms of people. Four young-looking jinn now flanked Apophis. Three women and one man. All of them expressionless.
“These four of my subjects found freedom from our curse. I doubt they are the only ones, but they are the only ones who have answered my summons thus far. The rest will remember their place soon enough. For now, however, one has to admire the symmetry. Four came to me, making our total five. Five you have come to fight. We are well met,” he said.
“Oh, enough of the chit-chat. We came here to fight,” James said suddenly and then tossed a curse at Apophis. Apophis blocked the curse easily and then the room descended into anarchy.
Curses were flying haphazardly all over the place, little flashes of light zipped around. Arthur dodged and weaved as he tried to land a hit on Apophis who moved with lightning speed and a dancer’s grace. The others were locked in similar dances with the other jinn around the room, but Arthur had eyes only for the king.
Apophis was so skilled at blocking that Arthur wasn’t making any progress. The only benefit was that he was attacking so fast that Apophis hadn’t time for a counter. An errant curse smacked Arthur in the side of the head, slashing his ear open. He cried out from the pain and ducked to narrowly avoid another attack. The distraction gave Apophis the window he needed. He launched an attack at Arthur. Arthur threw his arms up and conjured a shield, but the curse smashed it to pieces and ripped into Arthur’s chest sending him hurtling backwards where he smashed into a cabinet which shattered from the impact. Wood and glass fell over him and his blood ran heavily down the side of his face. He clawed at his chest which was burning with fire so hot he thought his heart would turn to ash. Luckily his shield had taken some of the damage and the curse wouldn’t kill him, but that one attack had shown just how much he’d underestimated Apophis. James was right, they were way out of their depth. He sent healing power through him to ease the pain.
“Are you alright?” Clara yelled to her father, as she helped him to his feet.
“Yes, watch out!” he yelled and shot a spell just in time to throw off one of the jinn who was coming for Clara. “Pay attention!” he scolded and then the fighting separated them.
Clara saw James and the male jinni go flying through one of the walls, locked in an agonising embrace. A jet of light came her way which she deflected just in time. One of the female jinn was staring maliciously at her. Clara threw a train of fire her way but she side-stepped it and threw one back. It nicked Clara’s side, but caused minimal damage. A singed jacket was the worst of it.
“A Winters,” the jinni mused.
“What of it?” demanded Clara, throwing spells and blocking attacks as they spoke.
“I just thought someone of your renown would provide a better fight.”
Clara went to attack but found herself frozen in place. Only her eyes were capable of moving.
“Such an amateur,” the jinni said as she approached. She raised a hand and her finger nails elongated into razor-sharp claws. Then a beam of glowing yellow light hit her and she shrieked hideously before exploding into a cloud of grey smoke. Arthur was standing a foot away, panting heavily.
“Thanks,” Clara said, regaining control of her body.
“That’s two dead,” he said in reply.
Then a scream got both of their attentions. They turned as did Olivia and the remaining jinni, the other was off fighting James elsewhere in the house. In the centre of the room stood Apophis holding Toni by her throat, her feet dangling helplessly off the floor.
“What did I say about being reckless?” Apophis said.
“No!” Arthur yelled and ran forward.
He was too late. Without so much as blinking Apophis set Toni ablaze and her body turned to dust before their eyes. With her life the connection to the Coven was extinguished. The extra power fled Clara and Arthur, as it did a blast of energy lifted them both of their feet and flung them across the room. The power gone, their energy depleted, they lay exhausted on the ground, looking up at Apophis who was staring down at them, his eyes alight with glee.
“I thought there was something peculiar about her. Using her to cheat were you?” said Apophis.
He took a step toward Arthur and Clara. For the moment he seemed to have forgotten about Olivia which worked well enough for her. The other jinni was transfixed on the situation unfolding between Apophis, Arthur and Clara. Olivia closed her eyes and settled her nerves. She might not be as powerful as Nickolas, but she was in no way unskilled. She summoned her power into the deadliest attack she could conjure and released it, opening her eye to watch the ball of magic, about the size of her head fly towards him. It hit his spine dead centre and the jinni gasped as his body went rigid. The power fizzled over him making his whole body shimmer. For a second his pale skin turned as black as coal, then it was back to normal.
He turned slowly to face Olivia, his face snarling like a dog’s. “That was unwise,” he said. She prepared another attack, but before she could release it he’d thrown one of his own. She smacked into the wall, pain seizing her. Before she fell he was on her, grabbing her throat and pulling her back up. With one hand he wagged his finger as if she was a naughty child, with the other he began choking the life from her.
“I am very disappointed by that pathetic attack. Still, points for trying. That is one of your modern sayings isn’t it? It’s so hard to keep up when you’ve missed thousands of years,” he said. “What’s that? Oh, of course, you’re not from this time either.”
As the pressure on her throat increased the room started to dim. She was immortal, but she knew she could still die. If she came back from suffocation he could just cut off her head. Maybe he’d kill her permanently while she was unconscious. That was fine, she thought, at least she’d die fighting for what she believed in. Fighting to make things right. Fighting to make up for what Nickolas had done in her name. Thinking of his atrocities, combined with her life fading caused her to start hallucinating. She could see Nickolas standing in the doorway to the room. It was nice to think of him rescuing her. A nice thought to die with. Remembering him as the good man she’d pledged her love to, not the monster he had become. As his eyes fell on the scene before him his lips withdraw from his teeth in a snarl. That was the look he’d pulled when he’d murdered all those soldiers in the house. Why did her mind have to conjure up that image of him? It was not how she wanted to remember him.
“Get your hands off her now,” Nick ordered and his voice was a hideous, monstrous growl that chilled her.
Amazingly Apophis did as her hallucination commanded. He withdrew his hand from her as he turned. Air shot down her throat too fast and she choked on it. She slumped down the wall, landing on the floor where she breathed raggedly trying to recover.
“Nickolas Blackwood,” Apophis said, and Olivia’s head shot up. She could still see Nickolas. It wasn’t a hallucination, he was really here.
“Apophis, I presume?” Nick said as he approached the tall man. It was the first time in a long while that Nick had approached somebody who didn’t flinch at the sight of him. It might have been refreshing if he wasn’t so angry by what he’d just seen.
“Indeed,” replied Apophis. “Just moments ago I was lamenting that the wrong Blackwood had arrived and now here you are to make my dreams come true. I have a girl in the basement you see. Tragically she’s been turned to stone and you are the only person who can change that.”
Nick ignored Apophis, stepped round him and knelt before Olivia. S
he’d recovered from the attack and they were no visual signs of damage, but he could see how shaken she was. “What were you thinking?” he said softly.
“I wanted to do some good. Why did you come?” she asked.
Nick looked into her eyes and saw the desperation there. He knew what she needed him to say and he said it. “To do some good.”
Relief washed over her. “You mean…”
“You were right. I’ve come to prove that I can do the right thing. That means wiping this vile creature from the face of the earth,” said Nick.
“Oh, that’s not what I wanted to hear,” Apophis said with false disappointment.
Nick gave Olivia a reassuring smile before standing up and facing Apophis again.
“Nickolas, before you do anything foolish, take a moment to consider. Neither one of us has any real love for humanity or the other races which are quite rightly beneath us.”
“I started off human,” Nick told him. He had never considered himself above humanity, only more powerful.
“We all have to start from somewhere,” the jinni said with disdain.
“And where did you start from?” said Nick, eyebrows raised.
“That’s hardly important. What is important is what we could achieve standing together. You release that hybrid witch from the curse and the two of us can bring together my jinn and conquer this world. Together we would be unstoppable.”
Nick smiled. The fact that Apophis was suggesting an alliance meant that he wasn’t as invulnerable as the legends suggested. “I’m already unstoppable.”
The immortal darted forwards, charging his fist with magic and thrust it full-force into Apophis’ chest. The jinni flew backwards, grabbing Nick’s wrist as he went to stop himself from going too far. Nick pulled hard, yanking Apophis towards him, stepped around and smashed him with another powerful attack in the lower spine. Apophis screamed and arched his back. He let go of Nick’s wrist just as Nick hit him with another attack, this one sent him hurtling across the room where he landed on an antique table, snapping it clean in two.