Legacy of Flames- The Complete Trilogy, page 48
part #1 of Legacy of Flames Series
“Well, you told me to think of somewhere safe,” she said. “This is the guy we were saving?” She frowned at me. “I’ve seen him before somewhere. He’s the hunter, right?”
My heart sank. “Not anymore, but yeah, that’s the gist of it. Astor, meet Cori. My sister.”
“Are you all here?” asked Astor. “Even the faerie? The mages let you go?”
“They let me go,” Kit corrected. “The others are supposed to be investigating the tunnels. Have you seen any zombies?”
“Yes.” Astor backed through the door into the basement. “It’s damn lucky someone left salt in the cupboards. They’ve tried to break in through the basement at least a dozen times.”
“The word you’re looking for is thanks,” said Will, as we crowded after him through the basement door. “I’m the one who left the salt in the cupboards, on account of this being my house.”
“You haven’t been here in weeks,” countered Astor. “I had to throw away half the food, not to mention the ingredients under the stairs.”
“Now you’re tidying my house?” Will gave him a pitying look. “You poor assassin. You must have been bored out of your mind. You were underground the whole time?”
“Yes.” He scowled. “Who dug those tunnels? I got lost in there for hours, and then ran into some undead.”
“Sounds like a great party,” said Will. “Housework and zombies. Please tell me you vacuumed as well.”
“No,” said Astor.
“Pity.”
“Why,” asked Kit, “are we talking about housework? I don’t want the mages to arrest us for abetting a criminal.”
“They won’t arrest us,” I said, “because we aren’t going to tell them we saw him.”
“So you’re working with the mages now?” Astor queried.
“We were stuck in jail until we could prove we weren’t working against them,” I told him. “Right now, we’re supposed to be figuring out why hunters keep showing up dead in the tunnels. I’d like to know that anyway, to be honest. Do you know anything?”
Astor’s gaze swept the group. He seemed oddly reluctant to look me in the eyes. “Better go upstairs. If you’re being followed… damn that door. I tried jamming it shut, but the undead got through anyway.”
He led the way up the steps into the hallway. The house was remarkably intact, considering the damage, though the smell of burning lingered, mingling with the smell of old herbs and spells.
“The hunters’ attacks hit the shop, mostly,” said Astor. “But there’s a ton of debris upstairs.”
“I think I can fix this.” Will walked into the living room, where the overturned furniture remained in more or less the same condition we’d left it in. The kitchen was at the back, while the actual shop was in front. A sofa had been shoved against the front window, where the curtains were drawn over shattered glass. The door was closed—or rather, it’d been fitted back into its frame, on account of the fact that the hunters had kicked it in. The smell didn’t bother me, but Becks and Kit hung back, coughing. Will grimaced as he peered at the smoky storefront. “It’s safe to say the shop won’t be re-opening any time soon, but we might just be able to salvage the shelter.”
“Good,” said Becks. “I don’t care what the mages say, I’m not spending forever living in their jail.”
“Nor me,” I said. “They wanted to take Cori into care or dump her in one of the new human orphanages, on account of her being under eighteen.”
“Which is ridiculous,” Cori cut in. “I’m sixteen. That’s old enough to live alone and work full-time, for crying out loud. Who even checks these things? The old shelters are gone. Right?”
“Most of them,” I said. “The hunters know our tunnels now, so we can’t count on any safe houses. But I reckon it’s worth setting this one up. If nobody’s come after Astor yet—”
“No hunters have come after me,” Astor corrected.
“But several bodies showed up in the tunnels,” I said. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen anyone else? Or—Giselle? Is she here, too?”
“No,” said Astor. “I did look underground, but the tunnels are a maze. She might have ended up anywhere.”
“So you haven’t seen any necromantic rituals?” asked Becks. “Because the hunters we found—they weren’t killed by undead. They were sacrificed.”
Astor turned to her. “No. I didn’t see. I figured the hunters are still using the tunnels, but I haven’t seen any.”
“Damn,” I said. “I thought—whatever they’re doing, a necromancer is involved. This is the second lot of bodies to show up. The first group were found in the Thames.”
Astor frowned. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he looked a little discomfited, but this was Astor. His assassin’s poker face was his default expression and made it difficult to tell if my words had had any effect on him or not. I mean, he couldn’t be afraid of nothing—even human soldiers would pause at the sight of undead or other supernatural menaces. Ghosts freaked a lot of people out. So did necromancy in general. On the other hand, he’d surely seen the ghosts which flooded the city after the invasion had affected the veil between this realm and the spirit world, causing the dead to rise of their own accord…
Might the same be happening now? Probably not, because it’d be more obvious. We were shifters, not necromancers—only they could tell if something was wrong in the spirit world. But the idea of the hunters meddling in arcane magic threw my usual expectations out of sync. Okay, the mages are in contact with the necromancers. See what they say first.
“It’s either a rogue necromancer or some new trick of Malkin’s,” I said. “Might he still be in the city?”
“He might, but I doubt it,” Astor said.
“And?” I prompted. “We know he experimented on shifters, faeries—everyone he captured. Did he have an interest in necromancy as well?”
“Bearing in mind nobody but a necromancer can raise the dead,” added Becks.
Astor’s jaw clenched in irritation. “Maybe. I don’t know. I was never in his inner circle, and it’s beyond me to figure out what he’s been doing since Ember nearly torched him.”
“Wish I’d checked,” I said. “But he might have escaped anywhere, and he had gargoyles on his side. Maybe they know.”
“We’re not going back onto gargoyle territory,” said Will. “Frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t come back here.”
“So you’re going back to the mages?” Astor wanted to know. Why wouldn’t he look at me? Admittedly, there were a bunch of us crowding him, but still.
“They have my notebook.”
“And the Moonbeam,” added Becks. “Are we going to steal it back?”
“Hell, no,” I said. “Did I tell you what the mages’ defensive wards did to that zombie? I don’t want to get liquefied.”
“Fair point.” Becks shuddered. “I wouldn’t risk the notebook, either.”
“Lord Smyth said he’d give it me back,” I said. “It’s no use to him. But the Moonbeam… I think it’s safer with the mages than anywhere else.”
“Not if they start screwing with it,” said Becks. “I don’t like the idea of running around with it, either, though. Maybe that’s what the undead hunter was after.”
Actually, it made sense for the League to send an undead scout to test the mages’ wards. The body had been found pretty damn close to the secure rooms, though it hadn’t got past the first ward layer. Was Malkin targeting the mages next, and trying to find a way to sneak through their security? They might not be our friends, but they held the rest of supernatural society together.
It was the mages who’d saved humanity from absolute anarchy in the weeks following the invasion, or so I’d learned in my time jailed, through questioning guards through the doors of my cell. If Malkin wanted to topple the supernaturals, the mages were the obvious target. Killing a lone shifter wouldn’t draw attention. Killing a mage was a declaration of war—and I knew Lord Smyth already saw the hunters and mages as in a state of open conflict.
I’d put money on the mages, but Malkin wouldn’t strike them directly without a plan. A deadly one.
“Get the notebook first,” I said. “We’ll have to think of an excuse to tell Lord Smyth, though… anything that’ll divert his attention from here. But we also need somewhere to stay, other than the mages’ jail.”
“You mean, here,” said Astor. “Why not? Doesn’t this place belong to you?”
“Yeah, it does,” said Will, “but if the mages realise we’re moving back here, I wouldn’t put it past them to put a watch on us. That’s if we discount the gargoyles, hunters, and everyone else who wants us dead.”
Astor frowned. “I’m capable of hiding if they come snooping. I’ve been doing that for the last few days. Besides, it’s not as though I’m staying here permanently. I figured you’d come here sooner or later, and I didn’t know you’d been arrested.”
“We helped you escape through the Moonbeam,” I told him. “They see it as a betrayal. Even though we didn’t know where we were sending you.”
Astor’s expression hardened. “Right, of course. I’m their mortal enemy.” A smirk twisted his mouth. “They want to waste their time on the likes of me, when there are so many other enemies out there? I suppose it’s their prerogative. The mindless fools.”
“They’re not mindless,” I said. “They’re scarily intelligent, actually, and have all the resources and connections to make our lives a misery if they wanted to. They’re the only people in the city who can legalise a supernatural registry. Our only saving grace is that they hate the League more than they dislike shifters.”
“That’s less than reassuring, if they have people watching you. So they’re your employers now?”
“Not exactly. We’ve been coerced into cooperating or getting thrown in jail again, and Kit and I nearly got killed by a zombie the other day when it wandered into the mages’ place.”
“A zombie got inside the mages’ headquarters?” Astor raised an eyebrow.
“Not for long,” I amended. “It sort of disintegrated when it ran into the security wards. Which is why I don’t want to try stealing the Moonbeam, not when we don’t know what we’re up against. It’s sealed behind glass, so I can’t even touch it.”
“You’ll find a way, I don’t doubt.”
“I can’t decide if that was a compliment or not.”
“Judge for yourself, darling.”
An inexplicable chill danced up my spine at that word. Something about the way he said it—I mean, I wasn’t a fan of patronising terms of endearment coming from anyone else, but somehow, I didn’t mind it from Astor. Maybe because I spent an equal amount of time trying to get underneath his skin. Even as my dragon side wanted to get into other places as well.
I sought a change of subject. “Aren’t you bothered about where Giselle went?”
“Not really. She knows what she’s doing.”
And she’s probably safer out there. Because I’d have no problem turning her over to the mages, if it came to a choice between my friends and her, seeing as she’d pointed a gun at me and tried to blow up the Moonbeam. Okay, she’d been trying to make sure Malkin never got his hands on it again, but there were less violent ways of going about it.
“Are we going back to the mages today?” Cori wanted to know. “Because we’ve been gone hours. We were supposed to report back to them this afternoon.”
“I know.” I worked my teeth over my lower lip, thinking. “But Astor—”
“Don’t bother,” he said. “As I said, I can hide.”
“Everyone seems to have forgotten this is my house,” Will said.
My heart sank. I gave him a pleading look. “You know it’s not permanent. The mages want him dead. You let us stay, after the invasion.”
“Oh, for crying out loud.” Will rolled his eyes. “I don’t give a crap if the assassin decides to hide in my basement. But if you touch my hat collection, Astor, I’ll murder you.”
And that was that. I didn’t like the thought of leaving Astor alone, but the presence of my friends kept me from speaking openly to him the way I would if we were alone. Though hell if I knew what to say. I missed you? I’m glad you didn’t end up transported across the globe? I promise not to let the mages kill you? I had the distinct impression he wanted to hear none of those things.
He didn’t even want to look me in the eye.
Never mind. We had more important things to worry about—like getting the notebook back.
5
Unease chased me back through the tunnels, even though I should have been relieved to find Astor safe and unharmed. After all, I was implicitly betraying the mages every second I didn’t mention we’d found him. Which wouldn’t be a major issue… if it wasn’t for the fact that one of them could read minds. Once I had my notebook, I’d back out of the mages’ investigation. Come up with an excuse, and stop them poking into my life any more. Go anonymous again, the way I liked it. To keep my friends safe.
To keep Astor safe.
It always came back to him.
He’d chosen to stay in the house and not disappear because of me. I’d figured that much out—sure, he was wanted by the Mage Lords, but he’d been so good at disappearing, he’d worked under their noses for weeks without them knowing who he was. He had no end of fake identities. He could even leave the city. So he either stayed because of his hatred for the League, or because he wanted to find me. If there’d been no signs of the hunters during my imprisonment, that left the latter option. I didn’t even know how to feel about that.
Becks scouted ahead to make sure there were no more undead, while Kit and Will walked behind, leaving me and Cori at the back.
“I don’t like him,” Cori whispered. “Why are you working with a hunter in the first place? That’s what I don’t get. I know I slept through a lot, but he’s a hunter.”
“An ex-hunter, and believe me, I know,” I said.
She shrugged. “I get the gist of what happened. I know he helped you. But he… he’s killed shifters. For them.”
“I know he has.” I’d known this conversation, when it happened, wasn’t going to be easy. “But Cori… the leader of the Orion League, Malkin, he manipulated everyone who joined. Some of the hunters realised they’d been lied to and deserted when the invasion happened. Astor can’t undo what he did, but he sure as hell wants nothing more to do with the League. You don’t have to like him, but he’s an ally.”
“If you say so, sis,” she said, not in a particularly convinced tone. “I don’t think I can forgive anyone who kills shifters.”
I was afraid of that. “I’ve killed them, too,” I said quietly. “Malkin’s giant shifter beasts. They’re—they’re pretty much beyond saving.”
“Oh—Ember, I don’t care what you do. You’re my big sister, and you’d never kill someone in cold blood.”
Maybe I would. Or my dragon side would, anyway. Cori’s bloodlust instincts hadn’t come through yet, and it ought to be years before she shifted… but I’d been worried for her in the lab, and I was no less worried about her now she was free. I’d put a beacon on our heads by shifting so many times, and compromising our arrangement with the mages by helping Astor behind their backs was a move the old me would never have made.
But it was too late. I couldn’t make myself not care about Astor. Not after what we’d been through.
It was unreasonable to expect Cori to accept Astor right away. She’d never give him up to the mages, at least—she understood our need for secrecy, and she’d do anything for me the same as I’d do for her. We had time to figure it all out.
“Lighten up,” said Cori, poking me in the shoulder. “I’m alive, and it’s a freaking miracle—”
She cut off in a terrified scream, when the ground gave way beneath her.
“Cori!” I yelled, as the torch flew up into the air. The blinking light illuminated Cori falling into a hole which had opened in the ground. Her hands scrabbled at the edge, and I grabbed her, my heart thudding against my ribcage. Pulling her out the hole, I wrapped my arms tight around her. Damn, that was close.
“What’s going on?” called Kit. “Is—zombie!” he yelled, hiding behind Will. Still holding Cori, I spun around to face a pale figure leaning on the wall.
“Bloody undead.” I dug in my pocket for the salt.
Cori squirmed free of me and threw her own salt in the undead’s face. His papery skin melted off his skull, bringing the strong smell of rot along with it. As she retrieved the torch from where it’d nearly fallen into the hole in the ground, the light shone on the zombie’s wasted face.
And the hunters’ uniform on the body.
“Shit.” The smell of metal washed over me, mingling with blood, salt, and something undefinable. Whatever it was, it made my eyes sting.
Becks leaped over the pit. “More zombies?”
“Just the one.” Cori took another step closer, grimacing. “A hunter zombie, apparently.”
“Watch out,” I said automatically. “Damn. Where did it come from?”
“Might be anywhere.” Will pointed ahead. The tunnel forked into three separate paths around here, so it might have come from any of them. Which was especially unhelpful right now.
“Don’t suppose you have a tracking spell?” I asked him.
“Nope,” answered Becks. “Maybe Lord Smyth would give us one.”
“That guy’s decayed,” said Will. “There’s probably not enough of him left.”
“The blood’s fresh.” I didn’t much like the idea of touching the dead body, but with his head melted, he couldn’t do any harm. I tentatively took hold of his decaying arm, which promptly came free in my hand. “Ugh.”
“You’re seriously gonna walk around in here carrying a dead man’s arm?” Cori asked incredulously.
“Unless one of you guys wants to volunteer?”
“Me,” said Will.
“No,” said Becks. “You’ll use it to poke us in the dark.”
“Damn, am I that obvious?”
“Yes.” I marched forward with my gruesome accessory. “Come on. We need to get back to the mages before this thing goes past its sell-by date.”
