How to Lose Your Dragon (The Immortality Curse Book 1)

by Peter Glenn

  “Of course!” Rick exclaimed. “That makes so much sense!”

  “What’s that, now?”

  “The ritual,” Rick explained. “I’ve been reading through this grimoire, and I think I found a copy of the binding ritual that Boudicca is planning to use. It can only be cast under a full moon. It needs the moon’s power to fully activate. And tonight is a full moon.”

  “Really?” I was impressed. Rick was actually really starting to come in handy. And maybe even drop his little disbelieving stance. “That’s amazing.”

  “Yeah,” he continued. “And that’s not all. Remember that inscription on that little piece of fabric you gave me earlier?”

  I nodded.

  “It’s in here, too, along with the full message that was on the back of it. That’s how I found the binding spell, actually. The first line of the binding spell is written on the back of that piece of cloth.”

  “That’s amazing, Rick!” I said. I gave him a huge pat on the back. “I’m so proud of you. Does that mean you’ve found a way to stop it?”

  Rick lowered his head a little and his feet shuffled back and forth. “Not exactly. But I’ll keep looking. I think there might be a way to redirect the energy of the spell, if not stop it entirely.”

  “Redirect it?” I scrunched my nose. “How?”

  “I’m not sure, exactly.” He turned the pages of the book and pointed to a passage with his finger. “But the spell is meant to bind two souls together in one body. However, if I change it around a little bit, I think I might be able to bind one soul into another object instead, trapping her soul there. But the object would have to be innately magical for it to work.”

  “A magical artifact, huh?” The wheels in my head were turning as a new plan started to form. I was suddenly positive I could take down Boudicca if I played my cards right. It’d be tricky, but doable.

  “Yeah,” Rick said, nodding. “Not sure where to get one of those, though.” His head jerked up from the page to stare at me. “And there could be unintended consequences of changing up a spell like that. It’s hard to tell for certain.”

  “Unintended consequences?” I repeated. “Like what?”

  Rick shrugged. “I really don’t know. I’m an ancient culture specialist, not a magician.”

  Well, that wasn’t very reassuring. I shook my head, wondering what kind of trouble I’d unintentionally get myself into by going through with my current plan. But what choice did I have, really? If I didn’t stop Boudicca permanently, she’d come after Mei again. And I really didn’t want undead Celtic warriors to follow me everywhere.

  But something else was bothering me, and it wasn’t the ancient magic or its consequences. It was Rick. He was acting strange again.

  That’s when it hit me. The way Rick was talking, the things he was saying. They were pro magic. Pro belief in magic. Very unlike him. I decided to rub it in.

  “Wait a second,” I said. “Am I hearing this all correctly, Rick old buddy? Did I just hear you say you’ve found a way to cast a spell involving a magical artifact? Whatever happened to all that not believing in magic nonsense?”

  Rick blushed again, and he did his best to hide it. “About that.” He straightened up, standing as tall as he could. “I’m still not completely sold on it, but I do have to admit after the last twenty-four hours that there are definitely some things going on that I can’t explain with science.” He glanced over at Sheila as he talked.

  I looked between them for just a moment, trying to figure out what he was talking about exactly, but came up blank. Her fire magic last night maybe? Or was there something more to it?

  “Well, I’m just glad you’re starting to come around, Rick.” I patted him on the shoulder. “Magic needs faith. Especially complex rituals. If you’re going to help me stop it, I’m going to need you believing it’s possible.”

  “Understood,” Rick said. He cleared his throat. “But I’m still going to need more time to know for sure if it’s even possible.”

  “How much more time are we talking, here, Rick? We’re kinda on a time crunch, remember? The ritual is tonight.” And the dragon’s attack, if we failed, but no one else had to know that little tidbit just yet. No need for undue pressure.

  “Another few hours, probably. Some of these passages are really hard to make out, and there are a few spots that are smudged, or the page is torn.”

  “A few more hours?” My eyes practically bulged out of my head. I looked down at my phone. It was eleven o’clock now. Add three to four hours for Rick to do his research, and travel time, and we’d be cutting it really close to seven, unless their base of operations was only a few miles away from us.

  “Is there any way to speed up the search?”

  “Not really,” Rick said in a huff, “and standing here talking about it isn’t going to do us any good, either.”

  “Well, go back to reading, then! Go on, get!” I made a shooing motion with my hands and Rick scurried off into a corner of the room and plopped the book open in his lap.

  “You’re too hard on him,” Sheila told me. She smiled slightly at me. “He’s still so new to this world, eh?”

  I let out a long sigh and nodded. Sheila was right. It’s just that Mei’s life kind of depended on him getting this part right.

  “You’re right,” I told her. I grabbed another cookie off her plate and shoved it into my mouth. “You’re always right, Sheila. That’s why I love you so much.” I nudged her cheek with my fist.

  Sheila looked straight at me and shook her head. “Men,” she said. “You’re all the same.”

  “Is that why you go after women?” I asked her, winking.

  There was a hint of a smirk in her eyes as she reached up and pinched my cheek. “I’m not a lesbian because you’re an asshole, Damian.”

  I laughed a little at that. “Gosh, I hope not.”

  “So,” Sheila said, “what are we going to do about your little prisoner? How are you going to get him to tell you where the ritual is being held?”

  “Oh, that?” I grinned from ear to ear. “I’ve already taken care of that. Shouldn’t be much longer now.”

  Sheila’s eyes narrowed and she put her free hand on her hip. “What did you do, exactly, Damian? And how much is it going to cost me?”

  I shrugged and my eyes rolled up into my head as I tried to calculate it out. “Well, you’ll see soon enough, and… hopefully not much more than a lamp or two and a new door handle.”

  Sheila shook her head again and sighed. “You really are an asshole, Damian. Kinda cute, but an asshole.”

  We both burst out laughing that time.

  Two hours later, I watched from behind the big couch in the living room as someone I couldn’t see played with the door handle to the basement. They were jiggling it every which way and making quite the racket. If anyone had been around other than me, they would have instantly been alerted to it.

  “Amateur,” I muttered under my breath. But beggars couldn’t be choosers. It’s not like I’d had a lot of prisoners to choose from or anything.

  The door handle shook a few more times, and then I heard a loud crash and a clanking noise as the handle dropped to the ground. It sounded like Bevan had literally torn it off the hinge.

  I winced a little. I hadn’t expected that little rudimentary lock to be so hard for him to undo. Was this stunt going to cost me two door handles?

  A second later, the door flew open and Bevan came stumbling out of the basement. His hulking form looked a little confused, and his eyes were closed, blocking out the light. There were still bits of rope tied around his legs and wrists, but otherwise, he looked to be just fine.

  I ducked my head to make sure he didn’t see me sitting there, looking straight at him. I had to give up watching him to do it, but my plan depended on him thinking he was in the clear.

  Bevan’s breathing increased a little, and I heard him cough once as he strode about the room a bit. He made a bit of a groaning noise as he sham
bled about, smacking into a side table and sending the picture frames on it sprawling to the ground.

  Another crash and the sound of glass breaking a moment later let me know that my earlier calculations had been pretty close. One door handle and only one lamp, but also a picture frame. At least it wasn’t two lamps. Those were pricey. I’d have to make it up to Sheila after this was over.

  Man, Mei’s father hadn’t even paid me yet, and already I’d spent most of his money.

  I heard the front door swing open and the sound of someone huffing and panting as they threw themselves down the stairs and out into the street beyond.

  “You really think this will work?” Sheila said. She was standing against the wall near the hallway furthest from the front door, lightly tapping her foot. “Surely not even Bevan is this dense.”

  I shrugged and grinned at her. “What other choice do we have, really? It’s not like we can call the cops.”

  The sound of an engine starting floated through the air. It purred and hummed faintly, but it was there.

  I stood up and looked over at Sheila. “Sounds like he took the bait.”

  Sheila shook her head. “Lucky bastard.” She scoffed. “You’d better pay me back for that lamp.”

  15

  “Hey, slow down!” I demanded. I stopped short of putting my hands on the wheel, but only barely.

  Sheila flinched for the thousandth time - I don’t think she liked me side-seat driving - and obliged, slowing the car down to just a few miles an hour.

  “Is that it?” she asked, pointing at the car in front of us that was stopped on the side of the road.

  A quick look at the car and the missing driver’s side door, combined with the massive dents in the passenger door and broken window told me it was, indeed, our target. My poor little stolen rental car. There was no way I could return it now. But it had served a good purpose. Bevan had been so happy to be free of his chair and the basement, he hadn’t even realized we’d been tailing him all the way out here.

  Wherever here was.

  “Uh huh. Let’s stop here. Don’t want them to see us before we’re ready,” I said.

  Sheila nodded and pulled the car over into the gravel beside the road.

  I got out of the car, strapping my katana to my belt, and took a good look around to absorb the surroundings.

  The road was bare. Practically dirt all the way out here, though you could see a few spots where a more civilized road might have been at some point. Off in the distance stood an old, abandoned warehouse that had obviously seen better days. The metal roof was sinking in one spot, and I was pretty sure there wasn’t a single unbroken window left in the entire structure.

  It had the look of one of those old logging facilities that had gone unused ever since the trees in the area had all been used up. Which made sense. Logging had been quite the industry several years ago. Still was in some areas, though the complete lack of any kind of vegetation in the immediate vicinity made it clear this wasn’t one of those areas.

  “Why do the bad guys always pick abandoned warehouses?” I muttered, mostly to myself. It was so cliché. Seriously, pick a fabulous high rise in the middle of a metropolitan area as your base for once. But nope, it was always the rotting warehouse in the middle of nowhere. It was like the villain calling card or something.

  “Are you sure they’re in there?” Rick asked, frowning at the big, rusty mess.

  “Pretty sure,” I said. “The car is here, and there’s no sign of Bevan. And it’s not like there’s anywhere else around here to go.” I shrugged and gave him a pat on the back. “Don’t worry, it’ll be showtime for you soon enough. If you’re ready, that is.”

  Rick snorted and patted that big tome of his. “I’ll be ready. You just need to clear the way first.”

  A big grin crossed my lips, and I patted my katana. “Why, Rick, that’s my specialty.” I glanced over at Sheila, then back at Rick. “Does everyone remember the plan?”

  They both nodded.

  “Good. Everyone stay back until I give the signal, then you can advance on the warehouse.”

  Without another glance at either of them, I turned and headed off in the direction of the warehouse. It was about six o’clock. We were cutting it awfully close, but we still had time enough to infiltrate the base, save the dragon, and put a stop to Boudicca’s schemes. At least I hoped we did.

  Besides, the dragons would give me a few minutes’ leeway, right? Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure.

  The sky above us started to darken and I heard the crack of thunder and lightning in the distance. A large group of clouds billowed out from somewhere near the center of the warehouse, spilling out and blocking out the sunlight.

  “Well, I guess that answers whether or not they’re here…”

  I heard Rick chortle behind me but paid him no heed and kept going. I’d have to keep my wits about me to get this next part right. This was the hard part; sneaking into the base, hopefully without alerting all their guards in the process.

  As slowly as I could, I approached the dilapidated gate. The barbed wire on top of the fencing was rusted over and broken in a few spots, and I could see several holes in the chain links that were bigger than I was. I decided to slink through one of those rather than go through the main entrance, then made my way over to the waiting maw of the open doorway to the building proper.

  “Were you followed?” I heard someone say a moment later. Their voice was gruff and coming from inside the structure. I thought it sounded kind of like Arlan, but I couldn’t be quite sure.

  “No, of course not!” Bevan replied in a hushed tone. “I was careful!”

  “Are you sure?” that was Arlan again.

  I froze, certain they could see me somehow even though a wall of corrugated steel stood between us. I crept forward a little more, making my way toward the entrance on my hands and knees.

  My katana scraped in the dirt, making a weird noise that sounded as loud as a firework in my ears, but my enemies didn’t seem to notice anything.

  “Of course I’m sure!” Bevan fired back. “I’m not that stupid!”

  “Good!” Arlan said. “I’d hate to think of what would happen if you’d been stupid.”

  I heard the whoosh of something metal and the sound of someone grunting, then the thump of a body hitting the ground. In spite of myself, I rushed forward, reaching the opening in a few steps, and peered inside.

  Bevan’s body lay on the ground in a pool of his own blood. His face had a surprised expression on it, and his eyes looked almost happy. Arlan was nowhere to be seen.

  I took a hesitant step forward, thinking it might be some sort of trap, but no one came out of the woodwork to get either him or me. I strode over to where his body lay and swiftly beheaded his corpse.

  “Poor fellow,” I said. But at least this way, I was fairly certain he wouldn’t rise again and attack me or Rick later on.

  With the entryway cleared, I headed into the warehouse proper. In the low light, it was hard to make out much of anything, so I part walked and part felt my way through a small hallway. Up ahead was another door, and I could make out a hint of a light source emanating from it.

  I unsheathed my katana and held it at the ready, then slowly advanced on the doorway. I couldn’t make out any shadows in the light, so I was fairly certain the coast was clear. I rounded the corner and… nothing. There was nothing there. So far so good.

  I let out a long breath and took a step forward, almost running into a Celtic warrior in the process.

  “Ah!” she shrieked.

  That was the last sound she ever made. My blade slid into her throat with practiced ease, cutting off her windpipe and ending her life in one fell swoop. She fell to the ground, forgotten, but the damage was done. I glanced down at her corpse. It was Wiry Chick from earlier, I was almost positive. I beheaded her, too. It was for the best.

  All around the warehouse, I could hear the sounds of people mulling about, clanking weapons, and shouts
of high alert. The enemy base now knew I was coming.

  “Well hell,” I muttered. “Guess it’s time to do this the hard way.”

  I leapt forward, practically spinning around the next corner and came face to face with two more guards. The first one fell, holding his neck to keep the blood from spurting everywhere as I dispatched him much like Wiry Chick.

  The second one was more ready and managed to parry my first blow. I followed it up with a low, sweeping strike at his legs, which hit the right one dead-on.

  “Ack!” Second Guard squealed as he went down on one knee.

  Second Guard swung his sword again, but it was too late. I deftly dodged out of the way and beheaded him not a second later.

  Huffing, I looked around. Three Iceni guards were dead, plus Bevan from earlier. Only way too many more to go. Probably at least a hundred, based on all the noise I’d heard. And I was the sole man here to cut them all down.

  I cracked my neck and gently stepped over my fallen foes, being careful not to step in any of the blood. Blood was sticky and wet and could be slippery in the wrong conditions. The last thing I needed was to lose my footing against a hundred Iceni warriors.

  Up ahead was a series of four doorways. Two of them had light coming from them, and two of them were dark. I discarded the two dark doorways right away and headed for the first one with light in it.

  Much to my surprise, the room was empty save for a pile of old, rusty saw blades stacked up in one corner. The blades likely hadn’t seen any use in a couple of decades based on the amount of dust laying on top of them.

  For a moment, I thought about picking one up to use as another weapon, but the blades looked heavy - at least ten pounds each - and I wasn’t really much for working out, so I stuck with my trusty katana instead.