by Sue Tingey
There were five phials in all: one made a very long time ago, and now four more. If there had been three, I would have thought it had something to do with Jamie, Jinx and me – but four?
‘Do you think he could really do it – trap a person’s soul in a crystal, I mean?’ I asked, though I’m not sure Vaybian and Kubeck heard me in the back over the downpour.
‘The question isn’t really “could he”,’ Jamie said, ‘but why would he? It makes no sense at all.’
‘It would if he’s planning to try and trap you and Mistress Lucky?’ Shenanigans leaned between our seats so he could be heard.
‘Trap you, kill you, then imprison your souls,’ Kerfuffle added.
‘But why four?’
‘Five,’ Jamie said, correcting me, ‘if you count the original one he had made.’
Amaliel had had it made for a special lady. ‘What lady?’ I muttered. An unrequited love? Is that why she ended up hanging in a bottle on the end of a chain? I doubted he was capable of love – although I would probably have said the same of Baltheza once, when he had certainly demonstrated considerable affection for Kayla, and for me.
Thinking of that made me wonder where the hell Kayla had got to. She’d been gone far longer than I would have expected for a quick count-up of our adversaries.
‘Do you think Kayla’s all right?’ I wondered aloud.
‘Kayla’s fine,’ Jamie replied.
‘We don’t know that.’
‘She’s a spirit: no one can see her but you and Jinx. She’s probably eavesdropping and trying to get an idea of their plans. She’ll be fine.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
He reached across and took my hand and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth across mine. ‘I am, trust me.’
I looked up into his very blue eyes and wished with all my heart that I could, but as much as I loved him, trust was an issue between us – he must have guessed what I was thinking, for his expression grew sad and his movements faltered for a second.
‘I would never deliberately hurt you, Lucky: you must believe me.’
‘What about Jinx?’ I asked him.
‘If I can help you save him, I will. I’ve told you that.’
‘But if you can’t?’
‘I will do whatever I can, but I can’t risk the lives of every man, woman and child on this planet for one daemon – in your heart, you know he wouldn’t want me to.’
I did know it; I just didn’t want to accept it. How could I live without my death daemon? But how could I live without my angel? Because if Jamie did have to destroy Jinx, I doubted I’d ever be able to forgive him. That might not be a rational way to feel, I knew that, but I didn’t have any control over it, any more than my love for the pair of them: I shouldn’t love two men, but I did, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Jamie continued to stroke my hand, and in a moment of pure melancholy I wondered if he knew it might be one of the last times he would touch me in such a familiar way. The clock was ticking and we were running out of time: for Jinx, and for Jamie and me. I looked at the rest of my friends sitting in the gloom and wished that Jamie and I were alone.
My human eyes filled with tears, and I blinked them away. I was getting maudlin, and that was no help to anyone. ‘If Kayla isn’t back within ten minutes, I’m going to risk going over the wall and trying to find Jinx myself.’
‘Are you mad?’ Jamie said.
‘I can’t sit here doing nothing. If Jinx is to have any future – if you and I are to have any future – I have to do something. Don’t you see that?’
He looked me in the eyes as if trying to reach into my soul. ‘Yes,’ he whispered, ‘I do.’
There was a cough from behind us, and Vaybian called out over the deluge of the storm, ‘If you want my opinion, you, Guardian, have become too humanised.’
‘Well, I don’t,’ Jamie snapped.
Vaybian got up and leaned over the seat between Shenanigans and Kerfuffle, and Kubeck shuffled forward too, so everyone could hear. ‘We are daemonkind,’ he said. ‘We are supernatural beings in the human world – or are all the stories untrue?’
Shenanigans and Kerfuffle exchanged a look and Kerfuffle gave one of his disconcerting giggles as Shenanigan’s face lit up in one of his toothy smiles.
‘Humans are no match for us,’ Kerfuffle said.
‘Aren’t you forgetting something?’ Jamie said; by his tone he was clearly disgruntled by Vaybian’s accusation. ‘As well as the humans there are at least thirty Sicarii, who, if I’m not mistaken, are just as supernatural as us.’
‘Of whom ten are not much better than rotting corpses,’ Vaybian said with a sneer. ‘Punch one hard enough and your fist would probably go right through it.’
‘They are falling to bits,’ I agreed, turning to Jamie.
He was frowning. ‘Do you know something, Vaybian?’ he said after moment of contemplation, ‘I’ll take back all I’ve ever said about you having shit for brains.’
‘In which case I’ll take back all I’ve ever said about you being a pompous know-it-all,’ Vaybian said generously.
There was a moment’s tense silence, then they both began to laugh. ‘Touché,’ Jamie said, and all at once the atmosphere between my guards was the best it had been since we’d arrived in the Overlands.
‘So,’ Kubeck said, ‘are we going in?’
‘Yes,’ Jamie said, ‘we’re going in.’
Ten
It was still pouring hard, which Vaybian – the only real soldier amongst us even if it had been a long time ago – assured us was a good thing. ‘Being on lookout in foul weather wearies even the most vigilant of guards,’ he explained, ‘and the Sicarii are assassins, not soldiers.’
We got out, changing instantly from human to daemon. I had to admit, it felt good to be daemon again.
Pyrites changed from a small dog to a slightly larger drakon and trotted along beside me, his head beneath my hand.
‘Maybe it would be an idea if Pyrites took a quick flight over the grounds to see what’s about?’ Shenanigans suggested.
‘Not as a drakon, though,’ Jamie reminded him.
Pyrites puffed steam and in a flurry of feathers he changed into a bird that looked a lot like a large hawk.
‘Do a quick flight around the estate and then the building,’ Jamie suggested. ‘We’ll meet you just inside the boundary where the wall turns to hedge.’
Pyrites gave a bob of his head, then flew up into the stormy sky and disappeared over the hedgerow. As soon as he was gone we moved off, keeping as quiet as possible. I hoped we didn’t meet any humans coming along the lane – a bunch of daemons jogging silently down the road would definitely be hard to explain.
I thought Jamie would have to fly us all over the wall, but Vaybian jumped up and over in one bound, quickly followed by Shenanigans and Kubeck. Kerfuffle need a leg-up from Jamie, but jumped down the other side with no trouble.
‘Alone at last,’ Jamie said to me, and although I let him draw me into his arms and hug me close, I couldn’t relax against him. Too much had happened between us, and I was still dealing with how he’d deliberately manipulated me.
‘Lucky,’ Jamie said, and I could hear the hurt in his voice, ‘whatever happens, know this: I love you, and I will do so for all eternity. If this should all turn out badly, remember that I do, because it is, and always will be, the truth.’
‘I love you too,’ I whispered, ‘but how can I trust you after everything you’ve done?’
He gave me a gentle smile. ‘I know, and I’m so very sorry – I can’t tell you how sorry.’ He brushed his fingers against my cheek, and with a flap of wings carried me over the wall to join the others.
They had taken shelter under a huge old oak tree; we were still getting wet, but at least we were out of the wind. More importantly, we could see the dark silhouette of the manor house looming in the distance. In my imagination it looked like some sleeping monolithic beast: evil, and blac
k of heart.
We waited for Pyrites, my eyes constantly searching the sky, though I doubted I would be able to make him out in the torrential rain. The tension in the group as we stood there in silence was palpable. We needed to be ready for an all-out fight, we all knew it, but we needed to be stealthy too. This was probably the best chance we were going to get.
We didn’t have to wait long for Pyrites, who landed softly with a flap of wings and instantly changed back into a drakon.
‘Many people about?’ Shenanigans whispered.
Pyrites shook his head and pawed the ground three times.
‘Three Sicarii?’
He bobbed his head.
Vaybian whispered, ‘They’ll be disciples, brown Sicarii – the grey aren’t going to be standing outside in the pouring rain.’
‘Right,’ Jamie said, ‘let’s get on with it. No harming the humans, but the Sicarii are fair game. Once they’re incapacitated, take their weapons.’
The rain was still torrential and it was hard to see as we ran across the lawn, our feet sinking into the soaking-wet grass. Lights brightened some of the windows ahead of us, but they cast little glow in the murky night, and there was no moon to be seen through the stormclouds blackening the sky.
We slowed as we neared the building and Jamie gestured at Pyrites, who took off without bothering to change shape, earning a tut from Jamie, though I doubted even the sharpest-eyed daemon could have seen him through the pounding rain, let alone humans.
He did a quick loop, and when he returned he pawed the ground twice and jerked his head towards the right of the stone steps leading up to the entrance.
Jamie held up two fingers and Pyrites bobbed his head. Then he held up three with a questioning look and my drakon shook his head.
Jamie moved in close to whisper in my ear, ‘Stay here with Kerfuffle and Shenanigans.’ Then he pointed at Vaybian, Kubeck and Pyrites, and gestured for them to follow him. I guessed they were going for the Sicarii. Within a few paces they had melted into the darkness.
The rain was at last beginning to ease, but I was horribly aware that once we did get inside the mansion, anyone wanting to find us would only have to follow the trail of soggy footprints.
Then a vivid flash of lightning lit up the sky – it only lasted a second, but that was long enough for me to see Kubeck and Vaybian dragging two brown bundles into the bushes beside the front door.
Shenanigans gestured for us to move, and we started off across the lawn.
As we got closer to the building I began to feel a little strange: even though I was soaking wet, the hair at the back of my neck was prickling and I could feel the fine hair on my arms standing on end like I was full of static electricity.
‘I don’t like this,’ Kerfuffle mumbled, ‘someone is using unnatural forces.’
Then a shadow appeared in front of us and Shenanigans pushed me behind him. ‘It’s me,’ I heard Jamie say. ‘This way.’
He led us around the side of the house, to where the grass beneath our feet changed to stone, and opened a door and we were soon sneaking inside and out of the rain. The minute the door shut behind us it became pitch-black. I fumbled in my pocket for my phone, drew it out and covered it with my jacket, then flicked on the torch, keeping the beam swaddled in cloth.
We were in a small anteroom with coats hanging from hooks on the wall and several pairs of Wellington boots lined up beneath them. Three or four large, multicoloured golf umbrellas stood in a ceramic pot in the corner, and it occurred to me if we left this way, I would be able to snaffle some of their wet-weather gear. Then I realised that we might not manage to leave this place at all, and even if we did, we’d probably be fighting our way out and not worrying about another drenching.
‘Did you feel that outside?’ Shenanigans whispered.
Jamie looked grim. ‘Someone’s messing with things they really shouldn’t.’
‘Amaliel?’
‘Not sure.’ He moved swiftly across the lobby to another door and reached for the handle. ‘Light off. Stay close.’
I switched the torch off as he twisted the handle. The door opened into a wood-panelled corridor illuminated by shaded wall-sconce lamps. Jamie pointed at a door across the hall, made a silent dash for it and put his ear against the wood, listening for a moment before slowly turning the handle. He peered inside, then gestured for us to follow him.
Vaybian made the run next, then Kubeck. Pyrites shrank to tiny and accompanied me, with Kerfuffle and Shenanigans close behind.
There was another door at the end of the corridor leading into a wood-panelled square hall with a staircase on the right going up. The narrow corridor behind it was redolent with the scent of cooking vegetables and roasting meat; no one had to tell me where that went. Those smells also meant we didn’t have long; the place would soon be bustling with people heading to the dining room for dinner.
My heart was pounding as I followed Kubeck through the next door. I was no good at this creeping-about stuff; I was sure that any moment we would be confronted by a crowd of robed figures. The long, narrow room had a table that would probably seat thirty, although tonight there were just ten places set, highly polished silver cutlery laid out upon an impossibly white tablecloth. Crystal vases full of brightly coloured and perfumed flowers decorated its length.
‘This probably isn’t the best place for us to be,’ Vaybian hissed at Jamie, who ignored him and hurried past the table to the door at the other end.
He opened the door a crack and peered outside, then quickly pulled it closed and held up four fingers. As we crept to the door, Jamie pointed at himself, then at Vaybian, Kubeck and Shenanigans, and the three daemons nodded and positioned themselves directly behind him. Jamie lifted his hand again, and on the silent count of three, he pulled the door open and they slipped through it.
There were some muffled gasps, a grunt and a thud, then silence.
Kerfuffle peered outside and turned to me with a grin and a thumbs-up.
So four down, only twenty-odd to go. If they kept picking them off a few at a time, we might just do it, I thought.
Jamie dragged his victim back into the room by the scruff of his neck and looked around for somewhere to hide him. The only possibility was under the table, the end that wasn’t set for dinner. It wasn’t ideal, but we were short of time. Vaybian stuffed his brown-robed minion underneath; I noticed a newly acquired dagger pushed through his belt. Shenanigans had a short knife grasped in his right hand and Kubeck had an axe. I kept an anxious lookout as they kicked the bodies out of sight.
It felt like forever, but it was done in moments, and then we were following Jamie into a large dark reception room. My eyes were instantly drawn to the huge fireplace at the other end of the room where several large logs hissed and spat as they burned; in other circumstances I would have happily curled up on one of the low leather couches flanking the fire to warm my bones and dry my sodden clothes.
But Jamie didn’t even pause; he strode straight across the room and peered out through the crack between the slightly ajar double doors. He signalled with his fingers and once again, Vaybian, Shenanigans and Kubeck fell in beside him, while Pyrites and Kerfuffle flanked me, ready for any trouble.
One, two, three, and Jamie had the doors open and was through. I moved up to the door, wanting to see, but Kerfuffle gave a slight shake of his head, as if he knew what I was thinking, and I leaned back against the wall.
This time I could hear the sound of fighting – a couple of clashes, steel against steel, some thuds as bodies hit the floor or bounced off walls; a barely formed cry cut off abruptly, ending as a death-rattle – but the struggle was short-lived.
In my head I kept repeating the mantra, It’s them or us … but could I actually kill someone? I didn’t know. Then a little voice in my head reminded me, you would have killed Henri if someone hadn’t stopped you. The voice was right: I would have killed Henri, and if I could, I would kill Amaliel. As for that witch Persephone, human or
not, if she had damaged my Deathbringer, at the very least, I would seriously damage her.
Eleven
This time they stacked the bodies in a nearby anteroom. Jamie had procured a sword and Shenanigans handed Kerfuffle a dagger. Kubeck had stuffed the axe into his belt and now held a gleaming blade.
That meant they were all armed but me – I started gesticulating, and Shenanigans immediately got what I meant and disappeared into the anteroom, returning shortly afterwards with another short dagger. As I wrapped my fingers around the hilt, he briefly enclosed my hand within his and squeezed, giving me an encouraging nod.
I thought of Kayla then, and again wondered where she was before my thoughts returned to Jinx. I closed my eyes and started breathing deeply: he will be all right; he will be all right. And suddenly I felt something deep inside my head, between my eyes, but right at the back, like something was moving in the centre of my brain, awakening and stretching.
A hand rested on my shoulder – and the feeling was gone.
I opened my eyes to see Jamie’s concerned face peering at mine. ‘I’m fine,’ I mouthed, but he didn’t look convinced.
‘Guardian, we can’t stay here,’ Vaybian interrupted before Jamie could speak.
Jamie looked around us. There were stairs going upwards, but the guest rooms would be up there, so that was the last place we should go. He pointed at a room across the hallway, Vaybian strode across the tiled floor, put his ear against the door and, after a couple of heartbeats, turned the doorknob and pushed it open a crack, checked again, then went through, a moment later reappearing in the doorway and gesturing for us to join him.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but when they did I realised we were in a small reception room; maybe the lady of the manor met with tradesmen here. There were four rather uncomfortable-looking chairs, a low table under the window and an empty fireplace. Insipid watercolours decorated the panelled walls and the carpet was a plain functional brown. It was perfect for us: it was clearly rarely used.
We’d been through most of the ground floor now, and still hadn’t seen any sign of Jinx.