Authors: Nicole R. Taylor
They drove in silence all the way to the ferry
terminal just north of central Dublin. They sat in silence all the way across
the Irish sea as the ferry dipped and rose with the currents all the way to
Liverpool. They stood in silence as their passports were checked and as they
queued in the long line of cars and trucks waiting to be let off onto land.
It was becoming a ritual, the way they went from
place to place, not having time to wonder about where they were. City became
countryside again and again as they travelled in pursuit of Aed. They needed to
catch up, they needed to finish him, but she found herself wishing they never
did. What if she wasn't strong enough? What if something happened to Regulus?
What if...
As the car wove through the countryside everything
became greener and sharper, the air heavy with moisture. Gabby had thought
Ireland was green, but it had nothing on this place. The Lake District was
brimming with life. Even with her earth sense, reigned in as it was, she could
still feel it tingling around the edges. She longed to get out and wander in
the woods and let it fly, but that was an indulgence she couldn't afford.
Whatever awaited them here, she had to be ready for it.
Regulus pulled the car off to the side of the road and
killed the engine. They'd stopped just outside the village, the edges of
buildings peeking through the trees ahead. She glanced at him, worry beginning
to prickle her skin. She could feel something amongst the life of the forest
and it didn't feel right. His eyes met hers and she knew he felt it too.
"Something's not right," he whispered,
his voice sounding odd after not hearing it since that morning.
"I can feel it," she replied, everything
she'd been fighting against the past day, melting away.
"Stay here," he said, and went to get out
the car.
Grabbing his hand, she shivered despite herself.
"I'm coming with you."
He stared at her hand over his for a moment and
nodded. "Stay close."
Standing together on the side of the deserted road,
it was oddly quiet. Gabby glanced the way they'd come and back towards the
village. Aed had been here, she was sure of it. What had he done?
Regulus took her hand, his eyes darkening, lips
pulling at his teeth.
"Regulus?" she murmured.
"I can smell blood," he said.
She'd never seen him looking anything but human and
her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his body reacting to whatever it was
he was picking up on.
"I won't hurt you," he said as his eyes
began to settle back into their usual brown. "I'd never touch you like that.
Not without your permission."
Not without her permission
. The
thought alarmed her a little. "We have to keep moving," she said.
"I can handle myself if you get too frisky."
A grin pulled at his lips and he tightened his grip
on her hand. "I know you can, dear one."
He guided her up the street, through the quaint
little village, past shops selling gingerbread and local handicrafts, past
houses built right on the edge of the road. He led her to the ancient looking
pub and stopped outside the door. They hadn't seen one single soul. The feeling
of dread was heavier here and whatever had happened, it had been inside the
pub.
"You don't have to come in," Regulus
said. "The scent of blood is overpowering."
"I need to," she replied. "We're
fighting this together. Where you walk, so do I."
A sad smile tugged at his lips. "You surprise
me more than you should, dear one."
"Let's go," she said, nodding toward the
door. "No time like the present."
The first thing she saw when she stepped into the
pub was blood and bodies. Whoever had been in here when Aed had shown his face
was a goner. Half a dozen people lay haphazardly about the room, all in
different degrees of mutilation. An arm missing there, a head gone, exposed
bones…and blood, lots of blood. It stained the carpet and the walls, the stench
overpowering.
She thought that that would be enough to give her
the creeps, but her eyes fixed onto movement behind the bar. A man stood
there, a cloth in his hand. He was wiping down the bar in swirling motions, one
continuous circle in the same spot, eyes blank…dead.
"What the hell?" She watched as he went
over the same spot again and again and wondered how long he'd been like that.
Cleaning the blood of his patrons, staring blankly. Was he compelled?
"Can you sense that?" Regulus said,
peering at the man through narrowed eyes.
"Sense what?" she asked, confused.
"Exactly." The Roman dropped her hand and
poked at the bartender, but got no response. "I was afraid of this."
"Afraid of what?" What hadn't he told her
now?
"This man is dead, Gabrielle. He has no
heartbeat, but he still goes on. What do you think happened here?"
Her breath caught in her throat. Aya still had her
power and so did Aed. "Necromancy," she whispered in horror.
"The Tuatha lead vast armies. Friend against
friend."
"They had armies of the dead?" Regulus'
words echoed in her mind.
The devourers of worlds
…
He grasped the man's face and twisted, the snap as
the human's neck broke echoing through the silent pub. The Roman let the body
slump to the floor behind the bar where she couldn't see. "Don't look,
dear one." He grabbed a bottle opener that had been lying amongst the
blood and knelt down out of her line of sight. The sickening sound of
shattering bone and squelching brains assaulted her ears and she squeezed her
eyes shut.
Then there was the sound of running water and the
familiar presence that signaled Regulus was at her side. "Come
outside," he murmured in her ear. "There is nothing more we can do in
this place."
Opening the door, she stepped out into the cool
air, the stench of blood fading away. It still lingered around the edges, but
the heavy feeling of death began to ease. Grasmere would have a haunted pub to
add to it's tourist attractions now. The energy in that place was off the
charts and it would be there for a very long time.
"Why was he here?" she asked, her back to
the pub.
"He obviously took it upon himself to seek out
the Celestines at the source."
"Aya..."
"I gather she was here recently. It was her
home after all."
"This was Aya's home?" she asked, looking
down the empty street.
"Not this village. This place was built many
years afterwards. In the forest."
"Of course you'd know where she lived. You
kidnapped her."
"Yes." He said it so blunt, she felt like
slapping him.
"Can we go there?" she asked, wondering
if Aya was still here someplace.
"No, I cannot. It exists on a plane next to
ours. The only way in is with witch’s magic. You are welcome to go, but I don't
see the point."
Knowing what had happened there, Gabby shook her
head. It didn't seem right going to a place where the last of Aya's family and
kind were slaughtered. Especially since she stood next to one of the vampires
who was responsible.
"I was ordered to do it," Regulus said.
He'd been watching the changing expression on her face and it wasn't hard to
guess what she was thinking about.
"Why does my opinion even matter?"
"Because it does."
"Ugh." She threw her hands in the air and
strode towards the car. "You're so infuriating."
"How so?" Another game of words.
"You're such a know-it-all and never
elaborate. You thought that Aed might still have his power and never told me
about it. I can't help you if you're not forthcoming."
"There was a nice Bed and Breakfast back down
by the lake," he said, looking at his watch. "We will travel back to
London in the morning."
"That's all you're giving me?"
"You must be tired, Gabrielle. Sleeping in the
car mustn't be very comfortable for you."
"Just when I think there might be more to you,
you turn around and be the asshole I know you are. Why do you have to do that?
You're so exhausting, I hate myself for trying anything other than thinking the
worst of you." She spun on her heel and stormed back to the car, not even
sure why it pissed her off so much. The day she could go home and forget about
Regulus and this stupid saga, the happier she'd be.
"I'm amazed you know so much about the
Three," Zac said as he walked with Nye down a dark and seedy looking
alleyway.
"Step one of being a spy is to know everyone's
business, right down to the last detail. No one could fart without me knowing
about it."
"Seriously?"
"Maybe not those kinds of bodily functions,
but near enough."
The further they walked into the secret, seedy
underbelly of Shoreditch in East London, the more Zac's senses prickled.
"Where are we going, anyway?"
"Friday night is fight night," the spy
replied, pointing to a building at the end of the lane.
"It's Tuesday."
"Then every night is fight night."
Zac looked over the building that Nye had pointed
to and there was nothing special about it. An abandoned brick and mortar number
in the middle of the city that everyone but the undesirables forgot. There was
a heavy-set man by the door who looked like he was a vampire bouncer of some
sort. There to separate the rabble from the echelon.
"He's a vampire," Nye said, nodding
toward the door.
"How do you know that?" The whole place
radiated a smell that suggested something had been left to rot.
"I've seen him before. I've come here a lot
over the years looking for Maddox. If he was on a downer, he'd either be out
mauling some poor woman or beating the crap outta some vampires."
"Beating the crap out of vampires?" Zac
gave him a look.
"It's an underground boxing ring. Vampires
only."
"Is this like a Fight Club thing?"
"The first rule is, there are no rules."
"I thought the first rule was not talking
about it."
"If you didn't talk about it, then how would
anyone know to come?" Nye asked with a grin. "C'mon."
They walked up to the bouncer who straightened when
he caught their scent.
"No pussies allowed, boys," he said as
they approached.
Zac rolled his eyes. "We're looking for
Maddox." The guy stunk like blood, but then again, the whole place did.
"Who's lookin' to know?" the man rumbled,
sizing up the two vampires.
"The Six," Nye said, narrowing his eyes.
The bouncer eyed them once more before opening the
door and nodding his head.
As they walked inside, Zac gave his friend a look.
Nye shrugged. "Golden ticket with this
lot."
The entire place fell silent the moment they walked
in. A cage was in the middle, empty for the moment, and a bar was set up on one
side. Other than that, the only thing that stood out was the thirty or so
vampires that were staring at them. Zac narrowed his eyes in annoyance and just
as suddenly, they all turned around and began talking again.
"They're afraid of you, mate," Nye said,
elbowing him. "You can smell the fear."
Zac guessed they were. He hadn't really been well
adjusted when he first came to London a few weeks ago. Murdering vampires in
their homes and in the middle of the city was a great start to that and now
that word was slowing creeping around that Regulus was dust…who'd want to mess
with him? Nye had his own reputation, being head honcho of the Six and as a
pair that could only mean trouble. Too bad they'd given up on thuggery for the
foreseeable future.
Zac grabbed the arm of the nearest vampire, a man
who looked like he'd been turned in his early twenties. "We're looking for
Maddox."
"Maddox?" he asked, swallowing hard.
"You deaf as well as dumb?" Nye prodded.
"Out back," he stammered, pointing to a
door on the opposite side of the room.
Dropping the vampire's arm, Zac strode across the
room, the crowd parting like he had a disease. This was getting tiresome
already and they'd just walked in.
"Once, I would've lapped that shit up. Their
fear. Now, it's just fucking annoying," he said to Nye.
"That's called personal growth."
Zac eyed him.
"That's the point, right? Your misses locked
you up and tortured your humanity back to teach you to be a better
person."
"When you say it like that it sounds messed
up."
"It is messed up, but vampires don't do shit
any other way. It's the thrill of the spectacle."
"Maddox is going to give us a spectacle,"
Zac said, his hand on the doorknob. "You ready for that?"
Nye shrugged. "He's gunna make you jump
through a big fucking hoop, mate. Don't look at me."
Without answering, Zac pushed the door open and
came face to face with Maddox.
"Look what the cat dragged in," he
drawled.
The assassin stood in the middle of the room,
surrounded by empty liquor bottles and mismatched furniture, wearing nothing
but a pair of jeans. He'd obviously been one of the fighters and was gearing up
for more.
"You stink like stale piss," Nye said,
screwing up his nose.
"Well fuck you too."
"How many you won?"
"You're not here to talk about the weather,
Nye. What do you want?"
"We want you," Zac said, trying to ignore
the stench of stale sweat and blood. Hadn't anyone ever heard of air freshener?
"Sorry, I don't swing that way," the
assassin said with a smirk.
"We want you to fight," he said more
firmly.
"With you? Not likely. I suppose you
think you can take Regulus' place," Maddox said, cracking his knuckles.
"Bring the Six back together…oh, forgive me. Aren't we the Three now? As
far as I'm concerned, you two aren't invited."
"Not likely," Zac sighed. "I
wouldn't touch that with a forty foot pole."
"Man, you're fucking stupid," the
assassin said. "You killed a fucking founder. If you're too stupid to take
it, then someone else will."
"And I suppose that someone is you?"
"And why shouldn't it be?"
"We have bigger things to worry about than a
few dogs fighting over scraps," Zac replied. "The Coven woke a
hybrid, Maddox."
"Happy joy. Good luck with that." He
turned his back.
"He's not just any hybrid," Nye said.
"He can't be killed, he's bloody insane and nobody knows what the fuck he
wants. That's the most dangerous combination of them all. Who do you think he'd
go for first?"
"The seat of power." Maddox frowned,
looking back at them.
"We need to get rid of him," Zac said.
"No one will be safe as long as he's around. Human, vampire or
otherwise."
"And I suppose you need my help. I can't see
any other reason why you're here."
"Yes. We need as much strength as we can get
and the Three have it."
"The Three?" the assassin scoffed.
"Rix and Pyke are going along with this?"
"Yep," Nye said, leaning against the
wall. "You're the only stubborn fucker out of the bunch."
"That's because I've got nothing to lose and
no memories to give a fuck about."
"Yeah, yeah," Nye waved his hand,
"you're the ultimate vampire. Tell someone who cares."
Zac leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over
his chest. "You're either in or out. There's no grey area."
They watched Maddox as he mulled it over, pacing
back and forth, his bare feet shuffling across the concrete floor.
"I'll cut you a deal," he said, looking
Zac in the eye. "Fight me...and depending on how much you amuse me, I'll
consider it."
"Fight you?" Zac scoffed. "Are you
fucking serious?"
"I haven't forgotten the car crash. You know,
the one you deliberately caused to free that Coven witch?"
"So what?"
"I have four hundred years on your arse,
but I know enough that age doesn't matter in the slightest with you. I
want to fight, just so I can see what you've got when you're not being a sneaky
bastard."
"Fine," Zac said with a sigh. If it was
one thing that he knew how to do it was fighting. All those times he'd
disappeared on his brother, Sam, and enlisted in several wars, he'd fight his
fellow soldiers. It was the only way to win respect and fear in those days and
things didn't change that much from decade to decade. Especially with vampires
who were born earlier than him. Violence was the only way to get through to
some of them. If it was a fight Maddox wanted, it was a fight he was going to
get.
"No shirt, no shoes. No belts, watches or
anything else that can be used as a weapon," the assassin said.
Without a word, Zac shucked off his coat and kicked
off his boots, dumping them in the corner. His shirt followed and Nye let out a
wolf whistle.
"Do you ever get tired of being a cocky
bastard?" Maddox asked.
"Nope. It's second nature," the spy
retorted.
"I'm ready," Zac said, cracking his
knuckles. "Let's do this if we're doing it."
Maddox frowned at him. "You don't want to tape
your hands?"
"Don't be such a pussy, Maddox. If there's no
blood, then it's not a fight. We're vampires," he said, pushing the
assassin toward the door, "that shit will heal in thirty seconds. Are you
afraid of a little pain or something?"
"I'm not afraid of anything," he hissed.
Maddox was different from the others. He had no sad
story, he had no family that he cared for. He just wanted to practice his
craft. Killing people before they knew he was even there and vampirism had only
made him better at it.
"Then get in that cage and show me what you've
got."
As soon as they walked out, the room fell silent
again, only this time it was a different kind of silence. Then the murmuring
started when they saw the two vampires heading for the cage. Then it became
full throttle yelling as bets were placed and space was filled around the chain
link fence of the ring. They could smell the blood before it was even spilled
and were betting on a spectacle.
Zac filtered them out and focused on the task at
hand. It wouldn't matter who won in the end, maybe only his pride would suffer
a little if Maddox beat him to a pulp, but they'd both get what they wanted. He
had no doubt that the assassin would meet them at the apartment. This was just
a formality.
Nye locked them inside the cage and the vampires
stared at each other, neither of them moving, waiting to see who would attack
first. The crowd rattled the cage, eager for some action, but there was no
rushing this.
Predictably, it was Maddox who moved first. He was
fast, but not fast enough. Zac dodged to the side as the assassin's fist flew
toward him. Grabbing his forearm, he pulled the vampire's body into his and
flipped him over his shoulder. The cage rattled violently as Maddox hit.
Turning, Zac grinned. "You can do better than
that."
The assassin picked himself up and advanced again,
this time taking slow. He feigned left and Zac realized at the last second and
went to dodge backwards, but by that time, a fist was already connecting with
his right side, the pressure almost cracking his ribs. While he was stunned,
Maddox grasped his arm and shoved a shoulder hard onto his chest. He was flung
through the air, rolling to a stop at the other side of the cage. The assassin
was fast enough that he was already there waiting and he kicked Zac in the gut
as hard as he could.
Groaning, Zac clawed at the assassin's leg, pulling
him down and they wrestled, trying to land punches on each other. Eventually,
Maddox got the upper hand, pulling Zac off the floor. He had him but the
scruff of the neck, fingers digging so hard into his flesh, blood began to drip
along his collarbone. Maddox's knee connected with his ribs and there was
an audible crack and the air was pushed out of his lungs. Before the assassin
could crack another, Zac wrapped his arms around the vampire's stomach and
pushed him back into the cage with all of his strength.
Maddox grunted in pain and fell onto his back and
Zac was over him, a hand around his neck, and punched him square in the face.
Another crack signaled that he'd just broken the assassin's nose and blood
began to stream down his face, adding to the already overpowering stench of
blood. Both their eyes began to change and the crowd roared around them.
Zac curled his fingers into the front of Maddox's
hair and the assassin clawed at his arm, tearing it to shreds, trying to make
him let go. No matter how much it hurt, Zac didn't slacken his grip and pulled
the vampire half off the floor before smashing his head into the concrete.
Maddox's eyes began to glaze over, but he still
fought. With a roar, he bucked Zac off him, rolling on top and this time, the
assassin's fist connected with his jaw. Bone shattered and white hot pain shot
through his face, stars prickling through his vision.
"You fucking like that?" Maddox
exclaimed, his fist connecting again.