Winter Shadows

by Richard Amos

  “But you would’ve been dead too.”

  “And with him.”

  I didn’t say anything. I guess I should have told her not to talk like that, but it was pointless. When that’d been said to me after Michael’s death, it did nothing but rub me up the wrong way.

  “When did you first realize something was wrong?” I asked finally, after a minute of silence.

  “Once I got the wrapping paper, I came back to see the beasts smash into the pharmacy. Oh, they were awful things. And that dreadful woman was egging them on.”

  I held my breath for a moment.

  “She laughed as she watched.”

  “Did she have purple hair?” I asked.

  “Yes, yes she did. Do you know her?”

  Purple! What the hell was she up to now? “Unfortunately, yes. What did she do apart from watch?”

  “The werewolves arrived on the scene quite quickly, containing the situation. I didn’t see much as I was whisked away, but I did see that woman go into the pharmacy before the wolves got here.”

  “Do you think she was after something?”

  She nodded. “Yes. My husband had a collection of very rare potions. I’d need to check to see if anything is missing. Oh, poor Rick. Poor, poor Rick. He worked so hard. I miss him so much already.”

  “His death won’t be in vain,” I said.

  Rita lowered her head. “You’re a kind man to say that. Rick would have loved to have met you. He talked about you, the weapon. Such a shame.”

  “Believe me,” I said, “I’m gonna stop her.”

  “I need to see what she’s taken,” Rita said. “Can we go to the pharmacy now?”

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded.

  “Let’s go,” Missy said.

  Rita’s hand covered her mouth, muffling a scream as she saw the state of the pharmacy.

  I crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder. “We can do this later. This is too much for you right now.”

  She pulled her hand away and gasped. “No. I need to do this.”

  Rita smoothed down her white tunic and started forward, glass crunching under her shoes.

  “Take is easy,” I said. “You don’t need to rush.”

  She nodded.

  This was so bloody awful.

  She came to a stop behind the counter, placing her hands on an open safe.

  Rita gasped. “This is supposed to be hidden. And it can only be unlocked by my husband or me.”

  There was blood all over the white metal cube.

  “No amount of turning and clicking would have opened this. It needed the correct combination and the touch of the living two who were bound to it. The combination is extremely complicated, yet simple for my husband and I. Rick was a genius.” She inspected the dial. “It is burned.”

  “How did she do that?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. All I can see are marks where heat entered the mechanism and burned away the magic.”

  Seems that Purple could do anything she damn well wanted.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  She opened the door and I crouched down beside her to see inside. There were corked bottles in there, all haphazard, filled with different colored liquids. Reminded me of Nay’s stash, but these liquids had a funny smell to them—like damp.

  “What are these?”

  “Oh, no,” she said, her hand going to her mouth again.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s gone.”

  “What’s gone?”

  “This never should have happened. How did this happen?” Her voice cracked and she started to weep.

  “Tell me, Rita. What’s gone?”

  “The madness potion.”

  “The what?”

  “Rick called it the King George. These potions can only be made by goblin hands and have no antidote.”

  I stood up. “Why are they even here?”

  “Rick was their guardian. They’re not easy to destroy. If one of these would have broken …”

  “With a name like that, it must be bad,” Greg said.

  “It will drive the victim of it to complete madness until they die. The potion is a relic from the goblin war in ancient times.”

  “Whoa,” I said. “And Rick’s guarded them all this time?”

  “When it came to be his turn, yes. We don’t live that long.”

  “So now Purple has it. Fuck.”

  “She should never have been able to break into this safe.” She wrapped herself around my legs. “Please, Jake. You have to stop her, to get it back.” She buried her face into my jeans. “So much harm can come of this and there will be nothing you can do to stop it.”

  My stomach was as heavy as a boulder. Was that potion for me? Is that what she wanted for me? Of course she did. This was Purple. She was all about making people suffer. And for me, she would be saving the greatest suffering of all.

  What a bitch!

  Chapter Eleven

  The police had long gone, the area secured by some fae and witch magic, as well as the werewolves. No more shopping for today.

  “Complete shutdown for a week,” Eric said.

  We sat together in the coffee shop—him, me, all four of my guardians and Bliss. Missy had taken Rita away, her grief consuming her once more. She needed to be away from that place.

  “You need any runes?” Nay said.

  “Alpha’ll let Karla know if we do,” Bliss said.

  “Okay,” Nay replied.

  Bliss leaned back and stretched her arms up. “So, thanks for coming up.”

  “You’re welcome,” Greg said before anyone else could answer.

  “We should be heading back soon,” Dean said. “Let you have your three wolves back.”

  Bliss grunted.

  Eric leaned in to talk to me. “It was nice seeing you again, even if the circumstances were rubbish.” He had long lashes—the kind people would pay good money for. His voice was so soft, so shy. “Thanks for your help.”

  “Just sorry we couldn’t save those poor victims,” I said.

  “At least the fuckers that did it are dead,” Bliss added.

  “That’s one thing,” Greg offered.

  Bliss nodded.

  So they agreed with each other now?

  “Come on,” Dean said. “We really should be going.”

  Was it me, or did Eric look a little disappointed? Why would he be? I gave myself a mental slap before I could start wandering into inner-rambling territory.

  “You sure everything’s okay enough for us to leave?” I asked.

  “Course,” Bliss said. “We know how to handle shit.”

  That I didn’t doubt. I got up from my seat.

  “You just make sure you handle shit on your end,” Bliss added. “Can’t be having that scumbag woman using that potion on you.”

  “She won’t get a chance,” Dean said.

  “Yeah, okay.”

  Nice that she had such confidence in me and my friends. “Be seeing you then.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Cheers and all that.”

  “Stop getting so huffy,” Eric said gently.

  “What?” Bliss snapped.

  “Just …”

  “Just what?”

  Tension filled the room like a storm cloud ready to unleash. It was as if I could reach out and touch it, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling, the sense of something wild in the air.

  Bliss growled.

  Eric growled back.

  It was time to go.

  With that, we all said our goodbyes and got the hell out of their fast.

  The snow had really come down. Everything was white, the sky that eerie gray and white that snowfall brought with it.

  Out of the shopping center and away from all that business there, the worry was starting to set in big time. Purple had a potion that could bring seriously devastating consequences with no cure to stop them.

  Needaline …

  I ignored the junkie voice
. “Nay?”

  “Yeah?” she said sitting beside me.

  “Is that really true about there being no cure?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I don’t know much about the ancient goblin potions, but I do know they were extremely powerful and effective.”

  “What if she attacks the shopping center again? You think we’re leaving them in the lurch?”

  “Not at all, babe,” she said. “Purple doesn’t give a crap about the werewolves. The only reason she attacked is because she wants that potion.”

  “You’re right,” I said.

  “It’s you she’ll want to hit. And that’s not gonna happen, babe. Trust me.”

  “I don’t wanna say you won’t be able to stop her, but this changes things big time. There’ll be no coming back from a hit. What if it hits one of you?”

  I had to look away from her, watching the snow outside, wondering if she was out there right now and ready to strike. I could be killed in the line of duty, sure. I’d accepted that in my own way. This was a high-risk job I wasn’t getting any sort of financial gain from. Bloody hell, if I was on the payroll I’d be demanding Hecate for a substantial pay raise. But dying like that, until a toxic madness had its way with me first? Fuck. And if it happened to one of my guardians, I … I couldn’t face it. Man, I really couldn’t.

  “Jake?”

  It was too hot. I cracked the window. The cold air was heaven on my face.

  Nay took my hand. “It’s okay, babe.”

  God, I was so weak sometimes. I was so bloody terrified. How selfish was that? Oh, poor me not wanting to die in a nasty way. What about all the people of this city that had been cut down in horrible ways by beasts?

  “I’m okay,” I said. I let the cold air into my lungs.

  I had this.

  “I think we should keep you in for a while,” Dean said.

  Nay squeezed my hand.

  “No,” I retorted. “That’s not right.”

  “You’re too valuable to be beyond the wards right now.”

  “I have to be out there doing my job.”

  “We can manage for a while,” he answered. Dean didn’t look back, facing straight ahead from the passenger seat.

  “I need to … feed.”

  “We can arrange something,” he offered.

  “Like what?” Greg jumped in. “Fast food beast?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Seriously, mate?”

  “Why not? It’s better than—”

  “Until one of you gets a dose of The King George,” I said.

  “We’re expendable.”

  My body flushed with hot fury, as if a button had just been pushed to activate it. “Fuck that!”

  Nay squeezed my hand again. “Babe,” she whispered.

  “You’re my friends!”

  “And your guardians,” Dean said quite forcefully. “You know that, right? That’s our job.”

  Why did he have to sound so bloody matter-of-fact? I drew in a deep breath. I didn’t want to start ranting and bitching because there was sense in what he was saying. Damn him! That didn’t change things, though. I wasn’t about to hide away in the mansion and wait for one of them not to come home. Nor was I gonna leave the people of this city without a weapon—even if I couldn’t save them all. And I wasn’t about to have beasts delivered to me!

  I liked the hunt. Even though it also made me uncomfortable, the buzz was awesome. The thrill of the danger, the joy of the kill—it wouldn’t be the same.

  I opened the window for a full blast of cold. Too many thoughts were up in that skull of mine!

  “Can we talk about this when we get home?” I asked. I closed the window—a convenient entrance for a potion to be thrown into.

  “Let’s put some music on,” Nay offered.

  “Oh, shit,” Greg said.

  Dean groaned.

  “You know the rules. I suggested it, so put him on!”

  I caught Greg rolling his eyes in the rear-view mirror and chuckled. Moments later, the dulcet tones of the pop star Dylan Rivers filled the car, followed by a pretty off-key sing-along from Nay as she got lost in the sounds of her all-time favorite singer.

  It was torture for Greg and Dean, who weren’t the biggest of fans—especially when they heard his songs over and over again.

  I was just happy for the distraction.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was three in the morning. All was deathly quiet and blanketed white, the night sky tinged with orange. My white sparks made the snow beneath me sparkle as if diamonds had been scattered there.

  “She is an awful creature,” Luke said from inside his hamster run. He was in human form, naked as always and completely oblivious to the cold.

  I couldn’t sleep. No amount of switching positions, trying to think of inane things, or slow deep breaths could lull me into a good, old slumber. Coming to that understanding, I’d gone for a stroll.

  I rubbed my neck. “That’s the politest way I’ve heard it said.”

  “I have never hated anyone like I hate her,” he said. “She ordered the death of my beloved, and she wants the shadow twins released. Dana knows the chaos they can unleash. She has been witness to it herself.”

  “They’re not getting out because you’re here now. There’s no way she can breach the wards and get to you. You’re safe, so the city is safe.”

  He shook his head. “I cannot help but be afraid, Jake.”

  “Of course, that’s a given. I am too.”

  “Dana has always been ambitious.” He scratched the back of his head.

  “Good for her,” I said. “No amount of ambition is getting her through those wards.”

  He sat down, legs straight out ahead of him. “The snow is so beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “It is.”

  “My darling Lucy enjoyed the snow,” he said. “She would be so excited when it would start to fall, twirling under the snowflakes in the back garden with joy in her heart. It was a wonderful thing to see, it truly was. Everything about her was wonderful. Her soul, her kiss, her laugh, the way she would snuggle into me at night. I miss her so much, the safety she brought, the calmness she provided just by being by my side.” He covered his face with his hands and started to cry.

  Fuck. It hit me like a tsunami. That was all I wanted too—for Michael to hold me and make it all better.

  He was leaving … He cheated …

  No, it was gonna get better. So we’d had a screaming match right before he was cut down. I would’ve fixed that. I would’ve begged him to stay. And he would have. He’d loved me, and I had loved him.

  He was leaving …

  I had to hold back the flood. I couldn’t fall apart. But I needed his arms around me, his kiss, to hear his voice once more. It’d been so long since I’d heard him say my name, even shout at me for being off my face on cocaine.

  “Right,” I said, straightening up and inhaling through my nostrils. That was enough of that. “I’m going in.”

  “This heartache will never die,” he said, “for as long as I live.”

  “Jake?”

  It was Greg. “All right?”

  “Yeah, mate. What you doing out here in the cold?” He was dressed for the outdoors like me, which meant he was having sleeping troubles too.

  “Just talking to Luke.”

  He came over, boots crunching in the snow. “You all right, Luke? Don’t know how you’re not freezing your balls off.”

  “I feel no cold,” he said, offering a grin. “I am blessed in that way.”

  “What about in the heat?” Greg asked.

  “It is the same. I am of a balanced temperature at all times.”

  “Cool … pardon the, er, pun.”

  Luke nodded. “I wish to go for a run,” he said and transformed into the green-eyed black cat. He took off down the tube and disappeared.

  My sparks died at his absence.

  “You okay, Jake?”

  “If only I could sle
ep.”

  “Tell me about it.” He rubbed the two-day stubble on his chin. “Wish I could shut my friggin’ head up.”

  “We’re a right pair.”

  Luke came running past, setting off my sparks. They soon shut down again when he was gone.

  “That’s gonna get annoying,” I said.

  “Want to go inside?”

  “Nah, I’m quite liking the cold.”

  Greg’s presence was one I took solace in. Not because he was a golem stacked with muscle and strength, but because he was … homely. I could happily fall into his arms and feel safe—a shelter in a storm. He’d demonstrated his protectiveness right from the start. Sure, he was doing his job as my guardian but also by being a friend.

  “I’ve been thinking about Michael,” I said.

  He sighed but said nothing.

  “Luke was talking about Lucy and it just set me off.”

  “It would, mate.”

  “Yeah.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “Doesn’t take much.”

  He clicked his tongue. “Certainly don’t. Been thinking about you- know-who myself.” He crossed his arms. “It’s weird, because I should be feeling something, right? She was my girl, whatever she turned out to be. I loved her, cared about her, wanted the best for her. But I feel … empty. Not in that numb way that comes when someone dies—like when my dad passed away. I didn’t know what to do then, but I knew I was fucking heartbroken. Now? Everything’s empty. In fact, the only thing I can sense in myself is relief that she’s dead.”

  “Shit …”

  “I know. I would’ve done anything for her, and I mean that. Walked through fire, taken a bullet … anything. Until that moment I saw her with that bloke, before I knew about the beast stuff. I was done—well and truly done. What’s that about?”