by Al K. Line
I hugged him back, clung to him hard, and we stayed like that for a while until I could stand it no longer. If I didn't get away I was gonna crumble, so I said, "Thanks, you're a good friend. I'm sorry about Candy, I know you two had a long friendship. It must be hard for you too."
"It breaks my heart, mate, hurts so bad I can't believe it. Bloody hell, this was Candy. She was always hardcore, always tough, but she had a soft side too, you know? She was vulnerable, like the rest of us."
"I know."
With that I grunted a goodbye and left.
I walked the streets in a daze, unable to connect with what had happened, as if it had been someone else, that I was merely an observer to this. It was the only way I could cope.
I was so tired, more tired than I think I'd ever been in my life. It wasn't just lack of sleep, it was everything.
My life was crumbling around me. Everything I held dear, everything that grounded me and made me a worthwhile person was being taken away from me. In a single night my world had been turned on its head, my reality stripped away leaving a rotten core.
I deserved no better. Look what I was capable of. Look what I did when things went bad. I lashed out, I murdered, and then I felt sorry for myself afterward. Maybe I deserved all this. But maybe I didn't. Maybe I was trying to make a go of things, build myself a future, and now it was gone. No home, no girlfriend. No hope.
Only one thing remained.
Revenge.
Back to Work
At a loss what to do, I walked and I walked some more, pushing through the crowds of shoppers, out into the vast expanses of warehouses and commercial properties clinging to life on the outskirts of the city, down to the canals and the encroaching marshlands, under the flyovers and through the shanty towns and into places no citizens dared tread.
I spoke to nobody, acknowledged no familiar faces, just walked with a hard stare and a permanent scowl on my face. Leave me alone, don't come near me. The Hat is not a happy camper.
How was I going to resolve this? How was I going to finally end all this bullshit? I didn't think I could. Cerberus was a huge organization, and they had their own agenda. They'd always been around, always been a part of the magical underworld, and it created a balance. We wanted the artifacts, they wanted to hide them. It kept everyone on their toes, and maybe in a warped kind of way it was for the best. It made them even more special, treated with the appropriate respect, and nobody took ownership lightly. Sure, it would be better if Cerberus didn't exist at all, but if I killed Carmichael it would only mean another replacement and more of the same old crap.
But he'd dropped a bomb on my house. Or had he? Did he give such orders, or had it come from the very top? Carmichael had a boss, and maybe, or probably, the boss, this mysterious "He," would have to give the go-ahead for such extreme action. All I knew was they'd gone too far and had to be stopped somehow. But I was one man, and even if I managed to get myself an army, which I couldn't, then we'd be small-fry compared to them. The Hounds were fierce, fanatical, dangerous, well-trained, and well-armed too. Even a horde of wizards would have a hard time destroying them, and this was but one tiny faction of the organization as a whole.
Sure, Cerberus was based here in the UK, but there were other groups spread throughout the country, and countless more worldwide. Removing Carmichael would do nothing, same as getting rid of his predecessor had done nothing but eventually make all this come to pass.
But no way could I let this go, not a chance.
And what about the vampires? Was Ivan on the level? I needed to see him, look into his eyes and give him the opportunity to explain. If I thought for a moment he was lying, that he put me and Vicky in true danger, knowing the likely outcome, then I'd kill him, no matter that he was Vicky's brother. Then there was Mikalus.
He was the vampire head, the leader they'd been craving for centuries. Powerful, immortal, sort of, and obviously without much in the way of a moral compass.
What a mess.
By the time the afternoon had come and gone, the sweltering sun had burned away my tears but not my aching heart, leaving a focus born of desperation and depression.
I made my way back to my car, formulating a rudimentary plan as I went, then I drove to Vicky's. I may have been a broken man, but I wasn't dead yet, so I'd do what I always did.
Keep on coping and hope that one day things would get better.
A House Full
"Motherfucker," I growled. Wand was out of my pocket, screaming "Yippee," as the sigils flared and my will shunted down hard and furious. Wand was raring to go, as it seemed his newfound sentience had him craving release, and the pressure built until I suspected he would do a fine job even without me.
I stormed across the kitchen, ready to blast Ivan into the afterlife, but Vicky stepped away from the large island and rushed to intercept. George stayed seated at the table, looking shell-shocked and nervous.
"Arthur, please, wait. Hear what he has to say."
I moved Vicky aside gently, not letting my anger be directed at her, but stepped right up to Ivan. "You betrayed us. You were part of this, you had to be."
Ivan put up his hands and said, "I swear to you, I wasn't. As I said on the phone, and I was telling the truth, I had absolutely nothing to do with this. I spoke more with Mikalus, just to get some things straight, and he has the books, and more besides. Cerberus attacked you, Candy bugged you so Mikalus would know exactly when to strike. You were expendable to him, all of you were. I'm sorry. I'm ashamed to be a part of this. I thought he was different, that he had honor. He has no honor." Ivan shook his head in sorrow. Guess his world had been blown apart same as mine.
I stared at him hard, looked into his soul and saw that he was telling the truth. I think I already knew deep down that he'd been on the level, but was looking for people to blame anywhere I could find them.
"Okay," I said, deflated, letting the magic recede, much to Wand's annoyance.
"I was gonna blast him good," said Wand, disappointed.
"Don't worry, there'll be plenty of bad guys to incinerate."
"Cool."
I put Wand away while I got funny looks from the others. Vicky and George understood, but Ivan stared at me like I'd lost my few remaining marbles.
"No, I wasn't talking to myself. It's a long story. Right, so what do we do now?" I asked Ivan.
"Now we sit down and have dinner with the girls, then later we talk."
I nodded, finally got around to saying hello to everyone properly, then the girls came rushing in and there was no chance to talk about much of anything as there were more important things to discuss. Like what so-and-so had said at school, and how it was like, really, really unfair that some girls had red hair like George, and I even had to show them the wand I'd finished, keeping quiet about it being sentient.
Belatedly, I got a chance to ask about George's day, and her face lit up. She showed us all the details for several properties, and I was impressed. I kept quiet, but one stood out for me from the rest, but we looked at everything and then I asked the girls what they preferred, which one they'd like to come and visit the most. They picked the same one as me. Yes. Then I asked George, and she said she agreed.
"Then it's settled. Let's buy it."
"Dad, you haven't even seen it yet."
"But you have, right? You went and had a snoop around?"
"Of course. And it was amazing. Ten acres, nearly all of it flat, and there's already stables for the horses. I'd just have to get fencing done and a place for training, but it's pretty nice."
"And the house, is it big, Aunty George?"
"Huge. And, and this is the best bit, it's got a massive barn attached to it that Dad can turn into his perfect kitchen."
"Really?" I asked, feeling the first bit of joy all day. I grabbed the details and looked through them properly. It was perfect. We could get the builders in, open up from the house into the barn, and have a kitchen the size of most regular houses. Awesome.
"It's ten minutes to the coast, only about fifteen from the, er, the 'gate,' so it'll hardly be like moving at all.
"But it's so far to travel," whined a sprog. "That's why we never came to visit you before. Can't you live close to us?"
"Don't you worry about that," I said in a whisper. "I know a magic way to get to Cornwall that will take no time at all."
"Arthur, you can't show them the... you-know-what, you can't."
"But they know I'm a wizard, know about George." I said nothing about their mum being a werewolf, their uncle being a vampire werewolf, but there was no way these kids wouldn't find out more about what we all got up to whether we wanted them to or not. They were smart and had already discovered more than we'd assumed. It was just a matter of time.
"Tell us, Uncle Arthur, tell us please?"
I looked to Vicky and she nodded with a sigh.
"I have a magic portal. It will take you from my house in the city to a barn in the country, then it's just a short drive to our new house. Actually, you've already been there. Remember last year when you came to stay?"
"But we fell asleep and you drove us there," said a fidgety bag of energy.
"Aha, or did you go through a magic portal?"
"Wow."
"That's so cool."
"I know, right?"
"So, we're going to buy it?" asked George.
"We sure are. Tomorrow. We'll buy it tomorrow. Make them a great offer, get it rushed through. I know a guy, he'll have us in within the week. Joint names on the property, yours and mine. Equal shares," I said to George.
"Except I don't have to put down half the money," she said morosely. "Because I can't."
I leaned over and whispered to Vicky. She nodded, eyes tearing up. She grabbed her laptop from the island and tapped away in her usual insane way, like she was trying to pound it into submission, then came back and sat down, grinning.
George's phone beeped and she checked it, even though there was a rule about no technology at the table. Her eyes widened and she looked up at me. "You did this?"
"Sure. So, now you have the money, still wanna go equal shares?"
"You bet. Thanks, Dad. That's, um, I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll always put the tea towels in the right drawer and stop messing up my cutlery."
"Promise."
We chatted some more and soon enough the girls were tucked up in bed and it was just the grown-ups. That's how I saw George now, and she'd be even more grown up once she heard what had gone on and what I had planned.
I wasn't sure whether to discuss it with Ivan, but he was part of this, and I had to trust him or I'd end up not even trusting my own family.
So, knowing it would hurt George, feeling like an awful man and worse father, I told them all what happened with Candy.
Ivan wasn't surprised, obviously, Vicky was aghast, and George, my darling daughter, she came and gave me a hug.
I love that girl more every day.
Schemes
"So that's how Mikalus knew exactly when to hit Cerberus? He was listening in on us, knew when we were doing our thing?" asked Vicky.
"Yeah," I said, feeling all kinds of depressed again. "And then I guess they tipped off Cerberus so they'd clear out the warehouse. Ugh, I hate all this sneaky shit, makes my head hurt."
"Dad, are you okay?" asked George, knowing how I'd felt about Candy, about how important it was I didn't involve her in my life with women, or usual lack of, unless I was sure of them. Shows how bad a judge of character I was.
"Honestly? No. I feel like the worst for what I did to Candy. I feel like a fool for trusting her, like an amateur for being bugged, and angry as hell for being played by Mikalus. Mostly I am so sad I want to curl up and cry." I could have done it too, could have found a dark room, huddled under the blankets, and stayed there for a lifetime. I wanted to hide and never see another living soul again.
"You've got us," said Vicky kindly. "Did he tell you what he did for me earlier?"
George nodded. Ivan raised an eyebrow.
"Dad's the best."
"You saved my sister, it's why I'm here. Plus I was betrayed the same as you."
"So what are we going to do about it?" I asked. I had a tentative plan but it wasn't exactly mind-blowing, and I could do with all the help I could get.
"We're going to destroy them. All of them," said Ivan, resolute.
"What do you mean all of them?" I knew he couldn't mean destroy Cerberus and the vampires, that wasn't possible, and he was a vampire.
"I mean exactly what I said. We'll ensure nothing like this ever happens again. All this scheming and backstabbing, it isn't how it's meant to be, how it should work. There will always be different sides, but this, it's not how you play the game." Ivan leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. He was determined, he'd already made his mind up.
"So you're not going to suck it up, do what Mikalus tells you?"
"He made a fool out of me. I understand his reasons, that if I'd known I would have told you, and that's the point. He treated me like a kid, made me act against my will, and I will not stand for it. I spent a lifetime doing what I was told, acting in ways I found despicable, all because there was the promise of my sister being returned held over me. It was all a lie, a sham, and I can never get those years back. I will not be a puppet for someone who thinks they have the right to own me ever again. This stops now."
"That's what I wanted to hear."
"We are men of honor," said Ivan, looking about as scary as I'd ever seen him look.
"Honor," I agreed.
We talked late into the night, as a family, and finally, exhausted, we all went to bed in a smart guest bedroom, of which there were way too many.
Maybe in the morning the world would seem like a brighter place. I knew it wouldn't, but what is there without hope?
Normal? What's Normal
Ivan left early, not long after I finally crawled out of bed, fed up with lying there cursing life, mine in particular. He said that for now he'd act normal, go along with things and not kick up a fuss. It was what we'd agreed on and he was an infinitely patient man. There is nothing as deadly as an enemy who can bide their time. He wouldn't have long to wait though, neither would I.
Vicky and the girls bustled about, doing the usual manic morning routine involving cereal, arguments over the TV, bickering over whose socks were whose, and then they were out the door, leaving George and I in peace.
I'd forgotten what it was like having children around; it was exhausting. How any parent coped was a mystery. Now that was a real job. No wonder Vicky was always tired.
We spoke for a while about the mess we were currently in, and George asked if there was anything she could do. I told her no, that I didn't want her involved in this as it went beyond serious and was pretty much off the charts. She argued, said she was powerful in her own right now, could open Paths and do all kinds of awesome stuff, but I'd hear none of it. She was still learning, and there was a long way to go. The only thing I wanted her doing was sorting out the house.
It was an excuse, a way to keep her occupied. The further away from this she was the better. She said she'd go down to Cornwall again, make the offer, and get in touch with my guy who would speed the whole process through. With a few bribes in the right places, any property could be bought within a week, or less. She'd stay at a friend's in Mousehole, and I was so relieved I almost burst into tears.
We sorted through the clothes she'd bought for us the day before and, as expected, she'd done an incredible job. More of the same for me, as she knew what I liked and that I was averse to change, and then showed off some of her new things. She looked stunning and I told her so. Her neck flushed but she smiled happily and took the compliment as intended. Such an amazing woman. I didn't deserve her.
"I can't believe you're taking this so well," I said. "All your things are gone, our house. Everything. Aren't you sad?"
"Not really. You
always told me, it's just stuff. There were a few items I would have liked to hold on to, but there's no point thinking about that now. It's all gone." And then she cried. And so I cried because she was sad, and because it was all my fault, and that no matter how much I blamed power-mad zealots or monomaniacal vampires, I'd still brought it all down on myself by getting involved with any of them in the first place.
"Don't blame yourself," she said, reading my mind. "They know the rules, we all do, and they broke them. Now it's our turn." She grinned, looking sinister as hell. I wouldn't want to mess with her.
"I'm glad you're my daughter."
"Me too."
George left soon after and I was alone for about the time it took to clean Vicky's kitchen so I didn't lose the plot, then Vicky returned.
She came into the kitchen, pulled the tea towel out of my hands without saying a word, and took my hand gently.
"What are you doing?" I asked as she dragged me through the kitchen and out into the hall.
Vicky put a finger to her lips and then pulled me up the stairs. What was this about? As we got closer to her bedroom, my stomach churned and I pulled back on her hand.
"No, Vicky, we can't."
"Just shut up." She tugged me into the bedroom, and I could have stopped her, but I let her lead me. She closed the door behind us.
"You need this. I need this. Let's do it."
And with that, Vicky took off her mom sweater, removed her jeans, peeled off socks bought from the kids' department, and stood there in lacy underwear, looking, well, she looked sexy.
I stripped, and before I knew it we were kissing. It was warm and wet and nice. Then we were naked, and on the bed, and then we did things I had never expected to do with Vicky.
Afterward, lying there on top of the covers, hot and sweaty, panting and avoiding looking at each other, the silence dragged on and on.
Finally, Vicky spoke. "Well, that was weird."
"Um, yeah, it was."
"Like, er, like sleeping with a friend. Almost like sleeping with a brother, but not in a gross incestuous way, just..."