by Richard Amos
My afflictions … the coke.
“We have been guarding this city, and now we will guard you too.”
“Things are gonna get worse, I guess. Because of me?”
“Because of the curse, Jake.”
Something clicked about this goddess thing. “Are you all witches?”
“No,” she said. “I am and Naomi is.”
“Dean’s half-fae,” Greg said. “Bit of a sensitive subject.”
“Fae? Like the folk tales?”
“Yeah, like them. Always look hot, tricksters, unable to lie but so good at talking round the truth—those.”
“Oh.”
Karla huffed.
“She’s not keen,” Greg whispered.
“So if he’s half-fae, does he have one fae and one human parent?” That sounded like another stupid question.
“Yeah, I think so. Still in the getting to know him phase.”
“Oh.”
“There’s more supernatural creatures in the city too,” he said, “both born and bred, as well as sent here before it was all sealed up.”
“Like what?”
“Goblins.”
“Seriously?”
“I’ll introduce you to some. Werewolves too—though we’ll avoid them for now. Like to keep to themselves.”
I wasn’t too sure about that. When I thought of goblins, a pretty picture it didn’t make, and werewolves made me think of fangs and blood and fur.
“The magic working in this city is a combination of goblin, fae and witch,” Karla added. “Along with the aid of technology on order to spread it—instruments very much like satellites, but microscopic, floating in the sky.”
“Easy on the lad,” Naomi interjected. “Greg and I have always lived in Coldharbour and have been working toward your coming with Karla since we found out. But Dean’s only just teamed up with us.”
“What do you mean?”
Karla answered. “There is a facility, right on the outskirts of Coldharbour, deep in the forest behind here, then deeper underground that holds some of the beasts we’ve trapped or stopped.”
“Whoa.”
“It is heavily warded by magic and guarded by some serious muscle,” Greg said, “so no worries there. Dean was one of the guards there. He had the skills we needed … after we lost one of our own a week ago. He was summoned to join us but only arrived tonight.”
“You lost someone a week ago?”
“Yes,” Karla said. She didn’t elaborate on who. “This person had the power Dean has, so we need him. That power is incredibly important to our work. Which leads me to our skill sets. I am proficient in spells, with some prophetic ability that comes and goes—like my seeing of you, and my visions from the goddess. The blind woman who sees. Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Golem,” Greg added. “Now don’t believe the shit you read about us being artificial. That’s a myth. We’re born the regular way and made to protect and beat down on the bad guy.” He certainly had the muscles to do so.
“I’m also pretty nifty with spells,” Naomi said. “And alchemy.”
“What about Dean?” Those eyes, those dark eyes. “What about his power is so important?”
“Dean can soothe the people of this city, just like his predecessor,” Karla said. There was ice in her tone. “That is why he’s busy working around the hospital now that he is finally here. The people of Coldharbour are afraid of the shadows, even if they do not quite understand why.”
“He wiped their memory? Is that what you’re saying? I saw him do something to that police officer.”
“Sort of. He calms them down—like a magical sedative. You cannot wipe the fear, just soothe it. With some added manipulation, which is a very useful skill. The city’s magic needs that extra help from someone as skilled as him.”
His delay in joining their crew had obviously pissed her off.
“It takes the edge off things,” Naomi said. “We’re lucky he was here to be available.”
“Quite,” Karla said. “Dean and Naomi will work closely together to ensure we can maintain our level of calm with their combined skills. In fact, he should be using an item crafted by Naomi called a drone orb. He can fill it with his magic, send it above the hospital, and it will release the magic across a wider radius.”
“Was that what happened to that detective? Had she been hit with the magic?”
“That’s right,” Greg said.
“We cannot allow fear to become dominant, or the city will fall apart,” Karla said. “Anarchy is not a direction I, nor any in power, want to take.”
“I look forward to working with him properly,” Naomi said.
“Haven’t had many complaints,” Dean said. “And I like a good beat down myself.”
He was standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame.
“Is it done?” Karla asked.
“Yep.”
“Thank you.”
Dean was watching me. “No problem.”
I had to look away.
“Nice to meet you all, by the way.”
Karla huffed and sat forward, ignoring him. “Jake, it is time for the binding.”
I swallowed. “What do I have to do?”
“Come with us.” She got to her feet and started to lead the way. “Before you ask, Jake, I know this building better than anything. Every step, every corner—I do not need eyes to know them.”
“That’s pretty amazing.”
“It is called survival, not bowing to an affliction.”
There was that word again. “How did you know I was biting my nails?”
“I could hear you.”
Mr. Douglas joined the party as we entered the hall, stepping in to follow behind his mistress.
I had a question that needed to be answered. “The white eye guy, do you know him? He brought me down here, he told me to come down here. Then he saved me from that crazy, purple-haired woman.”
Karla paused in her steps. “A white-eyed man?”
“Tell us more,” Dean said from behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder. Dean, Greg and Naomi were watching and waiting.
“I don’t know who he is,” I said, “just that he killed someone I know and told me to come to Coldharbour.” I explained the journey and the cave with the weird rock, leaving out the Michael stuff. I didn’t have the strength. Did they know about the murder?
“Shit,” Greg said. “Sounds like some sort of interference.”
“Yeah,” Naomi agreed. “But how?”
“The things in the hospital knew about me too,” I said.
“They did,” Dean said. “I heard those beasts call him a weapon.”
“Then we need to find out how,” Karla said. “And we must look into the cave. If there is a breach, then there will be trouble.”
“Shit,” I said.
“Yeah, but we’ve got your back.” Naomi touched my shoulder.
“And I love a game.” Greg smirked.
“Cricket doesn’t count,” Naomi said.
“Nothing wrong with a bit of cricket.” Dean nodded.
“Thanks, mate,” Greg said.
“There’s everything wrong with it,” Naomi responded. “So boring.”
“Jake?” Dean said. “What’re your thoughts?”
“I think you have all gone off course here,” Karla said.
Maybe they had, but it felt kind of good. “Team Naomi.”
Dean groaned.
Greg mirrored that.
“Cricket is a wonderful sport,” Mr. Douglas added.
“I’m not surprised you said that.”
“Can we move on from this please?” Karla said. “This is serious. It means that this white-eyed person somehow managed to track Jake down. That isn’t an easy feat. Though the rock with the symbols of magic is rather fascinating—it was the goddess’ intention for you to enter the city there, I’m sure. The involvement of this gentleman is bizarre, however, and not something I would imagine involved H
ecate, praise her name. How long ago did he murder the person you knew?”
“A year ago.”
She said nothing.
Greg placed a hand on my shoulder. “Whoever this guy is, he’s an enemy. We’ll sort this. No more balls ups like at the hospital.”
“He was at the hospital. He … helped me.”
“Once the binding is done, we can discuss this further,” Karla said. She started walking again.
“Best move before she has a fit with her leg up,” Naomi whispered.
My nan used to say the same thing to me. All of my anger was subsiding. No matter how much of a tangle my head was in, this felt … right.
“Thanks for, er, having my back,” I said.
“No worries, mate,” Greg replied.
****
I was in a huge room down in the depths of the mansion. I’d been led down some stairs, through a corridor, and then up again, entering this new room through the floor. All four of the bare-brick walls were painted with triangles. The wall straight ahead bore a green inverted triangle with a line through the middle joining the sides of the shape. To my left was an inverted blue triangle with the same line. On my right was a regular yellow triangle, with no line, and behind me was a red one, also with no line. I noticed some of the brickwork had what looked like burn marks on them. Drawn in the center of the floor was a white pentagram with a white circle in the middle.
“Looks like witch stuff,” I said.
“Yep,” Naomi said. “We’re surrounded by the four elements, with the fifth at the heart of the pentagram.”
There was a table over in the right hand corner, which Karla had walked over to, five candles sitting on it. Mr. Douglas stood beside it, arms straight down at his sides, completely uninvolved.
“Better help her,” Naomi said.
Greg followed as she strode away.
“All a bit bonkers, right?” Dean said.
I turned to face him. “Yeah, it is.
“You okay?”
“Just trying to keep my brain from exploding.” Why did my palms feel so damned sweaty simply at the sound of his voice?
“Here,” Naomi said, reappearing. It was kind of a relief that she did. She handed Dean a yellow candle and me a white one. “Jake, you stand in the middle of the pentagram, while Dean goes over to the air wall.”
Dean nodded and went to stand by the yellow triangle.
I watched everyone get into place—Greg by the red symbol, Naomi by the blue and Karla by the green. All of the candles were unlit.
“And so we begin,” Karla said.
Something went ping in the direction of Mr. Douglas. He pulled a phone from his pocket.
“What is it?” Karla asked.
“Beast activity beyond the wards, my lady,” he said. “No breach.”
“Good. Keep an eye on it until we’re done.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Wards keep them out?” I asked. “What if they stop working?”
“Do not worry,” Karla said. “We cannot delay this any further. The wards are strong and will hold well. We also have a cannon system in place, should we need it—complete with laser-targeting. The bullets would not kill the beast, but they would certainly make things unpleasant.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
The lights of the room went out.
“I call upon air,” Karla said, “in all your power as the sun rises. Come to this circle, come with all your glory.”
Dean’s candle lit up, his face just about clear above the flame.
“I call upon fire,” Karla said, “in all your powers as the day grows hot. Come to this circle, come with all your glory.”
Greg’s candle came to life.
“I call upon water, in all your powers as the sun’s touch cools. Come to this circle, come with all your glory.”
There was Naomi in the gentle light.
Honestly, it was a little freaky seeing the candles spark up.
“I call upon earth, in all your powers as the sun sleeps and the moon rises. Come to this circle, come with all your glory.”
Karla’s candle was up.
“Gathered are we, before the aether, our spirit, our weapon. The goddess sends us hope to light the dark days. Bind us, Hecate, join us to this glorious spirit.” My candle sprung to life. “We give ourselves to the weapon under your eyes, in your power. We bind to it, we swear our lives to it.” The flames of the candles grew and the wax started to glow. “Hear us, blessed Hecate! Bind us! Bind us! We give ourselves to the weapon!”
My hands ignited with white sparks. I nearly dropped the candle, but managed to hold on.
“Bind us!” Karla screamed.
The candles exploded with the light of their respective colors, shooting beams of energy right at me. Wet as water, hot as fire, cool as soil and wind in my face. They erupted again with stronger light, flashing all their colors over and over.
“Bind us!”
The sensations became too much, too extreme from one element to another, and I roared. The candle slipped from my hands and the sparks shot out around the room, swirling as a million stars above my head.
“Praise to the goddess!” Karla cried. “Praise to the goddess! Blessed be! Blessed be!”
Every trace of light died along with the sensations. I swayed on my feet but did not fall down. My body tingled with power.
The room’s lights came back on.
“Done,” Karla said.
The others looked at me, open mouthed, obviously not knowing what to say despite their preparation for this event.
“You all right, mate?” Greg said.
“I’m fine.”
“You feeling okay?”
“I feel … great.”
“We are bound,” Karla said.
I blinked. The reality of the situation came crashing down on me. A whole new world had opened up, one filled with magic and danger. As terrifying as that was, I couldn’t help the sense of excitement it brought with it.
Chapter 9
“Once this is done, please return to rest,” Karla said as we stood in the rather swanky dining room. Now this was how I imagined it—long table, fancy polished floors, more artwork on the walls, crystal glassware. It was like a room from Downton Abbey.
Dean, Greg and Naomi were armed with weapons—Greg a sledgehammer, like Thor’s in miniature, Naomi an axe, and Dean his knuckledusters.
“Let’s do this,” Naomi said. I noticed some vials strapped to a black belt. Witch stuff. I’d grill her later.
I followed her out of the dining room, through the large kitchens—all chrome and cold—and out of the backdoor.
What met me was amazing. “Wow.”
At the western side of the mansion, the ground sloped off, green falling away to chalk. It was exhilarating being that high, having the cold wind bathe me in chilly gusts. The view was pretty bloody awesome and surprisingly clear seeing as it had poured down with rain not that many hours ago.
Mr. Douglas had given me back my boots, jumper and my jacket—thank God!
My sparks had gone after the binding ceremony but had come back on as soon as I’d stepped outside.
“Beasts switch them on,” I said. “Or at least I think so.”
“I reckon so,” Naomi said.
“Ready for another kill?” Greg asked.
I actually was. Something deep inside me was thirsty for death, somewhere down in the dark. It wasn’t like the need to kill the white eye guy. No, this was something new.
“I’m ready.”
“Good boy,” Dean said from my right. Damn it! There went my pulse, racing like it shouldn’t.
I drew a deep breath. The whole weak-at-the-knees thing was nothing. Yeah, Dean was hot, but I’d let go of all that stuff well and truly when Michael died. What was the point if he wasn’t here? It was only ever him.
But it was never only you …
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine, che
ers.”
Bloody hell!
My new, er, guardians, started walking … or was that marching? I followed them, taking a path that curved around the house to the front. The lawns were so immaculate, and I even saw a wishing well. Hadn’t seen one of those since I was a kid. I’d have to lob a few pennies down there.
In the distance, I could see a red light flashing, as if in sync with a musical beat.
“What is that?”
“That, Jake, is a beast trying to get in,” Greg answered. “The wards are reacting to it.”
“There could be more,” Dean said. I watched him scan the scene.
“Runes are saying no,” Naomi said. She turned to me. “The magical wards protect the mansion from everyone and everything. They are opened, a small way, to let you in. But now you’re linked to them—I fixed that. So you can cross in and out. The runes, symbols on stones placed all over the city, give us a reading of beast activity around the different areas.” She showed me her phone. “I’ll go through this with you, but see?”
On the screen it showed a green dot on a map. There was a small window that also indicated that there was one beast outside.
“Impressive,” Dean said, leaning over my shoulder.
I swallowed.
Instead of craving a line, I craved a cigarette and a whisky—both off the table since the big clean up. Deep breaths it was, then. Oh, yeah, because that worked so much better than fags and booze.
I resisted the urge for a nail biting.
“We’re with you,” Greg said. “So, don’t worry. We just can’t properly kill it.”
“We’ve got your back,” Dean added.
“Yep,” Naomi said.
That didn’t stop the butterflies from dancing in my belly. “Thanks.”
“Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
“Let’s kill this friggin’ bastard,” Naomi added.
Deep bloody breaths …
Together, we ran to the gates, passing through the wards to the road outside. I didn’t feel anything; just saw the shimmer of red.
My sparks spat violently as the beast pounced at me, a cross between a roar and shriek exploding from its jaws.
Oh, fuck.
It came again, that dark blue energy, swirling up around me. The beast managed to turn mid-air, just missing a collision by mere inches.