The Devil You Know (Jacob Graves Book 3)

by Sean Stone

  ‘I’ve travelled the world, Jakey. Learned magics that most people don’t even know exist. I have turned myself into the deadliest wizard on the planet and you think you can kill me with a lazily cast morivar curse? I think it’s time for me to wipe this floor with your arse. Or your face. I have no real preference.’ Sam flicked the spell half-heartedly back at me. I lifted my hand to reabsorb the magic but it wouldn’t let me. Sam may have made the pass look harmless but it was anything but. As soon as my fingers touched the silver light it exploded sending me across the room in a shower of sparks. My head smacked into one of the wooden beams and I hit the floor like an old sack.

  I groaned and tried to get back up. The room was spinning around me and blood oozed through my hair making it sodden and sticky.. Sam hadn’t been lying, he really had been holding back on me. I needed to get that belt off him.

  ‘It was in this old factory that I was created.’ Sam said. He spread his arms at the building around us as he began strolling my way. ‘Every time you mercilessly humiliated me you gave me more motivation to become what I am today.’

  ‘A whining little bitch,’ I said, as I regained my footing.

  ‘The greatest wizard alive.’

  ‘Are you alive?’ I swung my fist, but he blocked it and came back with two hard jabs into my stomach that stole the breath from my lungs. I backed away fast before a third fist came my way.

  ‘Do you feel any remorse for the way you treated me?’

  I gasped in a lungful of air before dodging another of his fists. ‘I didn’t mistreat you, Sam. What was I supposed to do, let you win? What would that achieve other than to boost your ego. And by the way, your ego seemed to do just fine without my help.’ I launched another spell at my cousin and once again he caught it and sent it back. This time I destroyed it before it could reach me.

  ‘You ruined my family,’ he said.

  ‘I was your family.’ My voice cracked and I fought to contain my emotions.

  Sam shook his head slowly, his lips curled back into a vindictive sneer. ‘No, you tore my family apart. You didn’t have any parents of your own so you stole mine.’ I was astounded at the petulant way he accused me of such ludicrous crimes. Fifteen years had passed since Sam had left, in that time he’d transformed himself monstrously. But his childish temper had survived through to this day. In fact, it had grown into a monster entirely of its own.

  ‘You can’t seriously believe that.’

  ‘What would you call it? You came into our home when we were good enough to take you in after your mum got so fed up of you that she topped herself.’ He threw the words out casually but they stung like a perfectly cast arrow in my heart. ‘And ever since you arrived you did everything you could to show me up and make me look like a crap son until finally you got your wish. I got banished and you got my dad all to yourself.’ He barely took a breath between his barrage of words.

  ‘You are deranged,’ I said, shaking my head in pity. Pity and disgust were the only emotions I had left for my cousin.

  ‘I am what you made me. Oh no, wait, that’s your line isn’t it?’

  ‘What are you going on about?’

  ‘The way you are. Cold, lonely, and friendless. It’s all everybody else’s fault, isn’t it? All those people who couldn’t stand you. Did you ever think there was a reason why they left? You say they abandoned you, but I say you drove them all away. They couldn’t take your neediness. Always needing their attention and approval. Poor little Jakey, just wants to be loved. But nobody does love him.’

  Sam had always lost our physical fights, but he had always known how to wield words like the world’s sharpest sword. It was a talent he’d only nurtured over the years of our estrangement. My cousin had a tongue of pure venom.

  ‘You loved me. Once,’ I said softly, almost hoping that some remnant of the cousin I’d grown up with was still in there.

  ‘A long time ago. You don’t deserve my love. Now the only thing I feel for you is hate and a duty for retribution.’ Of course remnants of my childhood companion were still there, remnants of all the detestable parts of him.

  ‘We were brothers,’ I said, in a vain attempt to appeal to his better self.

  ‘Through no choice of mine.’ Apparently bored of the conversation, Sam launched a furious attack at me. I brought up my shield and the spell dissipated on its surface.

  A spark of fury ignited within me. My cousin, who had hated and abandoned me, had returned to our home and slaughtered hundreds of innocent people, and he actually had the gall to blame me for everything. I threw a shoddy spell to his right which he obviously blocked. At the same time I ran for his left. I kicked his leg out from under him and shoved him from behind. Sam jerked forward and his legs kicked about as he tried to keep his footing. He almost managed to stay up too, were it not for the anger-fuelled right hook I delivered to his chin. I reached for the belt but he dove forward and rolled out of my reach.

  ‘How dare you blame me for all the fucked-up shit you’ve done.’

  ‘Not just you. Dorian and my dad can take their share,’ he said as he drew himself back to his full height.

  ‘You’re pathetic.’

  He sent a spell my way faster than I could erect a shield. I tossed myself to the side and rolled onto my knee, before sending a flurry of return curses back at him. He vanquished each of my spells with little effort.

  ‘I told you, Jakey, you can’t beat me. Now you’ll feel my full power cousin and I know you can’t take it.’

  He was right. His power was too overbearing for my skill to match. I needed more power which meant trying the same thing I’d tried last time. I had to use my body like a conduit. It had almost worked last time and this time I had the ring of god magic to throw into the mix. This time I would kill him.

  I called on the many sources of power around us. I cast my net wide, drawing on any power I could reach. There wasn’t as much as I’d hoped for and since I still hadn’t mastered the old sucking energy right out of the air technique, I was going to have to make do with what I could get hold of.

  I pulled the energy toward me as I extended my hand. ‘Morivar!’ I shouted as I weaved the spell together. The energy tore through me, converting into magic before flying from my fingertips. I concentrated not just on pouring as much power as I possibly could into the spell, but also in weaving it together so intricately that Sam would be unable to undo the spell with sheer power alone. He’d need the one thing he’d always lacked: skill.

  The spell hit his shield and blasted out in all directions, lighting the darkened factory like it was Fireworks Night. Sam had one hand in front of him to maintain his shield. The other was busy whipping up some kind of counter attack. There was no way I was going to let him launch any such thing. The only way he could was by dropping his shield and that would kill him. The only way he could drop the shield was to get me to drop my attack. From experience Sam knew that this spell would ravage my body, as it was already starting to do. I couldn’t hold it for long so all he had to do was wait me out and hope that his shield could last that long.

  I poured the god magic from the ring into the spell. Now was as good a time as any to use it. This was the killing shot. I felt the strength of my spell swell and pick up speed. The magic flew at Sam at almost twice the rate. His arm began to shake and he whacked one hand on top of the other to concentrate all his efforts on the shield. I could see cracks appearing in his defensive barrier. He’d be done soon.

  My magic danced over the belt that sat around my cousin’s waist. Sparks flew from the metal plate and I increased the power behind my attack. I focused it toward the belt. The swastika plate glowed white hot and then to my immense relief the metal exploded sending chunks of the vile accessory all over the floor. The leather cracked and tore and the remnants of Thor’s belt fell to the ground. My cousin’s power had now been halved, but still I did not let up. I continued to force the deadly spell at Sam. Determined to put him down before he could do the s
ame to me. If I dropped the spell now I’d be spent and completely at his mercy. This was literally my final shot. If this spell didn’t kill him, he would kill me.

  My limbs were starting to grow heavy and I too had to bring up both arms to continue my attack. My whole body shook as the power rattled through it like a massive freight train. I felt something run down my face and tasted the blood as it ran over my lips. Brilliant, I’d be out of juice sooner than I’d expected. I had to at least knock him out first.

  Sam’s arms were shaking violently as he struggled to maintain his shield. Dark blood that was almost purple drooled from his nose like sludge. The glow of his eyes dimmed like a torch running out of juice.

  ‘What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?’ Growled an all too familiar voice from the doorway. My head snapped round to where it had come from.

  ‘Drew!’ I said, my eyes flying open in surprise. Drew’s surprising arrival was enough to break my concentration. The magic ceased to flow from my fingers and my attack vanished. Sapped of our strength from maintaining our spells for so long, Sam and I both fell to the ground like trees having had the dooming blow from the axe. I landed on my back, my body so ravaged that I barely felt the floor as it caught me in its concrete arms.

  I remained perfectly still, like a fallen statue, too weary to even try getting up, and watched as my cousin rose from the ground, far less tired than I was, and turned on trembling legs to face his father.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Sam stood staring into his father’s face, but Drew seemed to be putting a considerable effort into not looking at him. Instead my uncle’s eyes remained on me.

  ‘How did you know we were here?’ I asked weakly from my position on the floor. Energy was flowing back into my body but it was taking its sweet time. I hoped that Sam would be too distracted by Drew to attack either of us until I was fighting fit again. However long that might be. I glanced at my god ring but it was dark and powerless, as drained as I was. The only saving grave was that Thor’s belt had been destroyed and I had managed to diminish my cousin’s strength at least a little.

  ‘I just had to follow the trail of destruction the two of you left. Anybody with half a brain could track the pair of you from the Hall,’ Drew said, shaking his head as if he was talking to two unruly children.

  ‘Do you have nothing to say to me? Nothing to say to your son?’ Sam said, his voice almost a whisper. It was strange, but in the moment, when I heard the vulnerability and insecurity in Sam’s voice as he addressed his father, I actually felt sorry for him. I didn’t want to fight him. I didn’t want to kill him. Having the three of us in one room together reminded me of how things used to be and I wanted them back. I found myself longing for some way to take Sam home with us.

  But that wouldn’t work. Sam had done too much for Drew or me to simply forgive him. And even if we did, Dorian never would. Dorian would hunt Sam down and he’d kill Drew and me for not finishing the job ourselves. And, of course, there was the deal I’d made with Cheirvorn. I had to put Sam down or suffer the consequences. Whatever they may be.

  ‘I’ve got plenty of things to say to my son. But you’re not him,’ Drew growled. Sam tried to hide the hurt as Drew’s words pierced him. ‘My son could never be responsible for everything you’ve done.’

  ‘You always underestimated me, Dad.’ Sam shoved his chin out defiantly.

  Drew’s eyebrows nearly took flight and he took a thudding step toward Sam. Seeing the anger on Drew’s face was enough to make Sam and me both feel like little boys again. Sam took a quick step back. Respect and fear for one’s father is not something so easily shaken off.

  ‘Underestimated you? You say that as if all you’ve done, all the people you’ve murdered, is some sort of noteworthy achievement. Are you actually proud of yourself?’

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be? Look at everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve overcome to be here, now, wielding magic. And not just any magic, I wield magics you’ve never even heard of. I have surpassed your every expectation. Do you know how long I spent planning all this? Years. Literal years. You taught me that, plan well. And I did. Sure, things have been… adjusted in the midst of things, but overall, my plan’s coming off without a hitch. I’m winning.

  ‘So, yes, I am proud of myself, Dad. This is not just a great and noteworthy achievement. This is my magnum opus. I will be remembered for this for centuries. My name will be in the history books of this city long after the names of you two have been forgotten.’ By the time Sam finished his smug and childish tirade, he was standing with his arms stretched out grandly on either side of him. I had to wonder if he would have been standing quite so arrogantly if there wasn’t about thirty feet between him and Drew.

  Disgust shot from Drew’s eyes like bullets. ‘Clearly I failed you worse than I thought. This isn’t a magnum opus to brag about. It wasn’t well planned. Your plan is falling apart. You’re not winning, you’re losing, in fact, you’ve already lost. The fight’s over boy. Dorian’s lot crushed your followers. The ones who didn’t run are either in cages or dead. The ones who did run will be in cages or dead by this time tomorrow. You do not take on Dorian Gray and walk away. It’s over, Sam.’

  Sam shook his head and took a further step away from Drew as if the distance might disprove what he was saying. ‘No. The battle might be over but this only the beginning of a very bloody war. It isn’t over until I have had my revenge in full. Dorian Gray doesn’t get to walk away from me!’

  ‘Shut up you fool,’ Drew snapped impatiently, clearly desiring nothing less than to slap his son. ‘Revenge. You’re not entitled to any revenge, you dipshit. How can you not see that you’re the villain in this story?’

  ‘I am what you made me!’ Sam screamed, spittle flying from his lips. His sickly face reddened as blood rushed to fill it. His eyes flashed furiously, but they were far dimmer than usual. And I realised why, he was weaker than he was letting on. He was pretending he was at full health but it was probably taking most of his energy just to stay standing. He hadn’t allowed himself to be distracted by Drew’s arrival; he was stalling for time.

  I needed to recover fast so I could put him down before he could recover enough to attack Drew. I pulled myself over to a nearby pillar and plonked my back against it. The slouched but not quite sitting position that I was in was a long way off of standing up, but it was a step closer than when I’d been flat on my back.

  ‘You made me this way. You and him!’ Sam pointed violently in my direction.

  ‘Don’t forget Dorian’s share of the blame,’ I said helpfully from the floor.

  ‘Oh, I haven’t forgotten him. After what he’s done to this family.’

  ‘Shut up,’ Drew snapped again. This time there wasn’t just anger in his eyes, there was panic too. His eyes flicked my way very briefly before returning to his son.

  ‘Oh, that’s right, Jacob doesn’t know,’ Sam said slyly, a ghost of a smirk stealing over his lips.

  ‘I don’t know what?’

  ‘Ignore his nonsense,’ Drew ordered me, but there was fear in his tone. He’d been keeping something from me.

  ‘It doesn’t matter anyway. You’ll be dead soon and Dorian’ll get his punishment right after you two get yours.’

  ‘And what exactly are we being punished for?’ Drew demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. His aggressive stance did not balk Sam this time though. Instead he raised his chin higher than was necessary to show his defiance. He even braved a step forward.

  ‘You, Dad, are being punished for choosing another boy over your own son. For favouring him over me. For loving him more than me. And you are being punished for selling me out to Dorian. And getting me banished.’ Sam’s voice was hardly angry when he listed his father’s crimes, he sounded hurt and a long way from healing. I knew what it was like to carry the pain from your childhood, I carried my fair share of baggage.

  ‘You know that all of that is bloody bollocks. The only true thing you
said was that I sold you out to Dorian. Yes I did, and you know why. If Dorian had found out from anybody else what you were up to he would have killed you and then killed me to stop me from getting revenge. He probably would’ve killed Jacob too.’

  ‘Oh, no, not precious Jacob,’ Sam mocked.

  ‘Shut your mouth, boy,’ Drew’s voice cracked like a whip. I hadn’t heard him speak that way for decades but I remembered it like I’d heard it yesterday.

  Drew turned my way. For a brief second there was relief, maybe because I was alive, but that was quickly replaced with a look of mild annoyance. ‘You having a nice rest?’

  Rather than telling him that I was far too exhausted to get up because I’d just used all my energy trying to kill his son, and would have succeeded had Drew not distracted me, I instead opted to have a little jibe back at him. ‘I was right,’ I said, pointing at Sam. ‘He’s not Roland.’ I finished with my signature smile. The same one that made most people want to hit me.

  Drew sighed and turned away. ‘Speaking of Roland. What happened to him? He was the real Magraval, right?’ Drew said almost conversationally. He’d deduced that I needed time to recover and now he too was stalling for time.

  ‘He was,’ Sam said. ‘He was also the reason I had to wear that annoying glamour for so long. But now I can finally cast that facade aside and let the real me live freely. No more pretending to be somebody else to stop anyone from realising it was me all along. No more masked Magraval.’ His maniac levels rose with each word he spoke. I was seriously considering asking for the glamour to be restored.

  ‘No more Masked Magraval indeed. Now we’re stuck with Sadistic Sam,’ I quipped.

  ‘Rather Sadistic Sam than…’ he took several moments to search his brain for the right word and I waited patiently for the comeback. ‘…Jejune Jacob,’ he finished at least. Sadly for him, I had no idea what jejune meant.

  ‘Good one.’

  ‘Knock it off you two. Good Lord it’s frightening how quickly things fall back into step,’ he said, vocalising what all of us were certainly thinking. ‘Tell me what happened with Roland. I want to know everything and we can talk about who’s getting what punishment after,’ Drew said firmly.