‘Where’ve you been boy?’ I asked him. I hadn’t seen him for days, he often disappeared on little adventures. Ashley and I used to joke about where he went and what he got up to. The truth of it wasn’t adventurous. It turned out there was a house down the road and an old man there gave him milk. Boris was spending his time with his other family. Gabe had looked into it for me. I wondered if his other family knew that he was not an ordinary cat. Had they seen the massive claws that protruded from his paws, or noticed that he was pretty much invincible? Probably not or they would have stopped feeding him.

  My phone rang and looking down I saw it was Annabelle. Probably phoning to tell me I was going to die again. I ignored it and eventually it rang off. Then she rang again. With a loud sigh that made Boris jump off my lap I grabbed the phone and answered the call.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Hi, Eddie, it’s Annabelle,’ she said. Her tone was morose which was unlike her. Even when predicting my death, she maintained a fairly cheerful demeanour.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Well, this is difficult. I wanted to make the call because my sister can be a bit of a bitch about things and it thought it would be better coming from me.’

  ‘Can you get on with it?’ I snapped. I really didn’t have the patience for this rubbish.

  ‘Of course, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Listen, the thing is Ashley didn’t have a will. So, the house… it kind of… well…’

  I closed my eyes heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose. Did the universe want to throw any more shit at me? ‘It belongs to you and your sister now?’ I finished for her.

  ‘Yes. Clarabelle wants to sell see, so you have to…’

  ‘Move out?’

  ‘Yeah. I didn’t want to do this, but she wouldn’t listen to me. I mean, no rush or anything. Move out when you’re ready,’ she spoke quickly, tripping over her own words. I might have felt sorry for her having to deliver this news to me but currently I was too wrapped up in my own problems. One of which she’d just delivered.

  ‘It doesn’t matter anyway does it? I’ll be dead soon anyway,’ I said sarcastically. As always, she failed to notice the sarcasm.

  ‘Yes, you will. I saw your death again last night. I think it is going to happen soon.’

  ‘Always a pleasure talking to you Annabelle,’ I said and hung up.

  I sat in silence for several minutes thinking about the phone call I’d just had. I wasn’t really bothered about the house. I didn’t want to be here anyway. Every inch of the damned place reminded me of Ashley. If anything, I was glad to have an excuse to get out of here. The thing that bothered me was Annabelle’s prediction and it bothered me because I was finally starting to believe it. I turned to stroke Boris, but he was long gone and I was all on my own again.

  I took myself down to Muggs for a bit of grub. I really didn’t feel like eating dinner on my own. I didn’t have any real company at the pub but being surrounded by people, all of whom were ignoring me, somehow helped. The chicken burger I’ve always loved just didn’t taste the same anymore. I got two bites in and then pushed it away. It didn’t seem fair. I’d been eating the gourmet chicken burger for years before I met Ashley, losing her shouldn’t change my feelings towards my favourite burger.

  I was just getting up to leave when two people came and sat down opposite me. I looked over at Neil who was supposed to stop things like this from happening, but he was reading a book and hadn’t even noticed their approach. I should never have given Gabe the day off.

  I picked up my half-finished Coca-Cola and peered over the glass at my visitors as I swigged the now flat beverage. The man was tall and thin with rosy cheeks and orange hair that stuck up in tufts. He bore a close resemblance to Beaker from the Muppets, apart from the crafty set of his eyes. The other was a woman, tall for a female but short in comparison to the bloke. She was young, twenties at the most, with silver hair and huge dark eyes.

  ‘Something I can do for you?’ I asked. ‘Wait!’ I said before either of them could answer. ‘Let me have a guess. You’re part of team warlock and your boss has sent you to bring me in so he can kill me?’ I hate to admit it because I am a warlock myself, but warlocks tend to have a certain air of shadiness about them. I suppose that killing people for their magic will do that to a person’s character.

  ‘We are part of team warlock as you put it,’ the man said in a voice too high for any Male to possess.

  ‘Knew it. I’ve banned Clara’s lot and Aldric’s, maybe I should ban you too,’ I said. I swirled my drink and stared into its dark bubbly depths.

  ‘You are welcome to try,’ the woman said invitingly. She gave me a sardonic smile. ‘Now our leader—’

  ‘Nickolas Blackwood,’ I filled in.

  They glanced at each other awkwardly and then back to me. ‘Our leader would like to meet you so if you’ll just come with us,’ the woman said, standing up rather presumptively.

  I sat back and spread my arms across the back of the seat. ‘You think I’m going to walk to my own slaughter?’ I asked.

  ‘Nobody said anything about a slaughter. Did I say anything about a slaughter?’ the bloke said looking up at his partner.

  She shook her head. ‘No, and I know I didn’t. Our leader wants to meet you not kill you. You can rest assured if he wanted to kill you you’d already be dead.’ Her expression remained bored as if she found the task she’d been given incredibly tedious. I sat silently and waited for further explanation. When it was clear that I wasn’t going to budge the woman sighed and sat back down.

  ‘Why do you think Clara has left you running Maidstone? Obviously, she could push you out of the way at any point and there’s nothing you could do to stop her. The reason she hasn’t done that is because she needs you. She plans to use you against us.,’ the woman explained.

  ‘And are you going to tell me that Nickolas doesn’t want to use me against her?’ I said.

  ‘I’m not going to tell you anything. I’ll let our leader tell you what he wants himself. Let’s go to him,’ she said, once again standing up.

  ‘No,’ I replied firmly. ‘I am sick to death of being pulled here and there by leaders of this organisation and that organisation. Clara, Aldric and now Nickolas too. I’m not going anywhere. If your leader, whoever he may be, wants to meet me he knows right where to find me.’

  I held my ground. The warlocks exchanged another glance and then with agonising slowness the two of them left me in peace. I looked over at Neil who was still buried in his book. Unbelievable.

  Chapter Eleven

  I decided to go and see Matt and Emma. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen them, and I needed to switch off from all the dramas going on. A good old catch up with my two best (and only) friends was much needed. I told Neil to take himself home before I left the pub. He wasn’t much good to me anyway. I’d let Gabe know he needed to train his staff better. I also made a mental note to borrow whatever book Neil was reading when he was done with it, it was obviously a riveting read.

  ‘Eddie. Wasn’t expecting you,’ Matt said when he answered the door to me. Like I said, it had been a while. He didn’t look overly pleased to see me. The look on his face was akin to the expression a child might pull when caught in a naughty act.

  ‘Yeah, sorry I haven’t been over in a while,’ I replied, giving an apologetic smile as I invited myself into his house.

  ‘It’s been hectic, we know,’ he finished for me. ‘No bodyguard?’

  ‘Gabe’s night off,’ I replied. I headed through to the living room where Emma was sitting. ‘He gave me a stand in, but he wasn’t much…’ I tailed off when I saw that rather than being cluttered with tv show memorabilia the room was filled with an assortment of cardboard boxes, all sealed and stacked. The only thing left out was the television. ‘Moving again?’ I asked.

  ‘Yeah, we wanted to tell you,’ Emma said awkwardly. She was curled up on the sofa with a hot chocolate complete with cream spilling over the top of the mug.

  ‘But you’re so hard to get hold of these days,’ Matt finished for her.

  ‘You could have phoned.’

  ‘It’s better to tell you in person,’ said Matt.

  I laughed. ‘Mate, you’ve moved before. It’s not really going to bother me that much.’ I was a little confused as to why he was being so awkward about this. They both were in fact.

  ‘We’re moving away. To Manchester,’ he explained.

  There are few things that can stun me to silence. That was one of them. ‘Manchester?’ I repeated the city name as if it was a dirty word. I’d been there once before and to be honest it was a grubby looking place.

  ‘Yeah, we’ve always liked the place,’ he said a little defensively.

  ‘But it’s… horrible,’ I said, grimacing.

  ‘It’s a beautiful city!’ Emma said defiantly, sitting a little straighter.

  ‘Oh, no it isn’t, it’s nasty as hell,’ I said turning to face her. ‘It’s like a grubby version of London.’

  ‘London is grubby,’ Matt pointed out.

  ‘Exactly! So, imagine a grubbier place.’

  ‘I can’t,’ said Matt.

  ‘Manchester!’ I said spreading my arms wide.

  ‘Have you ever even been to Manchester?’ Emma asked. She placed her hot chocolate on the side table with such force that some sloshed over the side. She didn’t even notice.

  ‘I don’t need to go to Manchester to know it’s an armpit of a city, but as it happens I have,’ I said arrogantly. ‘Why are you even leaving?’ That was the real issue here.

  ‘Because, this place is dangerous,’ Matt said simply and truthfully. ‘Not just Maidstone. The whole county now. One side is ruled by vampires, the other by sorcerers and now the warlocks are joining in. We can’t stay here anymore. We want to live in safety without wondering when someone is going to kill us in the street.’

  ‘I’ll protect you,’ I said. Neither of them responded to that and neither of them needed to. It was written all over their faces; I couldn’t protect my own girlfriend, so I definitely couldn’t protect them. They weren’t wrong. I had failed Ashley and I would inevitably fail them too. Hell, if Annabelle was right I wouldn’t even be able to save myself.

  ‘When are you leaving?’ I asked, defeated.

  ‘End of the week.’

  The time passed quickly. My days were filled with all the usual town business. I set time aside and made sure I spent some of my evenings with Matt and Emma and when the day finally came for them to depart I helped them load up the truck and then stood on the edge of the road waving like a goon while they drove away into the darkness of the night. And that was that. They were gone. My last two friends in the world. I walked back to the car down the other end of the road and slid into the back seat. Gabe turned in the driver’s seat to face me, eyebrows raised expectantly.

  ‘Looks like you’re all I’ve got now, Gabe,’ I said with melancholy. He said nothing and he turned front to drive us home.

  We were halfway down St Luke’s Road when the car suddenly died. The hum from the engine stopped abruptly bringing us to a standstill in the middle of the road. ‘Why’ve we stopped?’ I asked Gabe. I was still staring grumpily out of the window, lamenting what I’d lost.

  ‘I don’t—’ Gabe slumped forward over the steering wheel and remained still. I can recognise a sleeping spell when I see one, using them often enough myself. It looked like someone had drummed up the courage to attack me. Nobody had tried something like this since the night Ashley had died. Well good. I had some pent-up frustration that I really wanted to toss in someone’s direction.

  I kicked open the car door and bounded out onto the road. I looked about but there was nobody in either direction. The street was still and quiet. ‘Come on then!’ I shouted into the night. I didn’t care who heard me. I wanted a fight.

  The street light above my head blinked out with a pop. I watched with growing amusement as each streetlight blinked out one after the other in both directions, the darkness spreading from where I was standing. Then the lights shining from inside the houses were consumed by darkness too until I was standing in total blackness, unable even to see my hand in front my face.

  ‘Nice touch,’ I laughed. ‘Very dramatic.’ I flicked my finger at the light above me willing it to reignite with its electric glow. Nothing happened. That was odd. It was rare that I came across someone strong enough to overpower me these days. I tried again. Still nothing. The smile very quickly dropped from my face. That was fine, though. Their spell on the streetlight was strong enough to defend against my magic but I could still produce my own light. I held out my palm and conjured a small globe of white light. I levitated the ball up into the air, willing it to grow and throw its glow across the street. Before it had risen even an inch I felt the other’s magic cover it like a fiery blanket and snuff it out. Now that was a cause for concern. Not only could I not undo their spells, but they could literally block my magic. This person was a lot more powerful than me. I needed to leave.

  ‘Who’s there?’ I called out. My voice was no longer confident. No longer amused. It was small and timid. I was alone on this street. My only bodyguard was slumbering in the car and my magic was no use. I was standing in total darkness. This person had extinguished every light, I couldn’t even see the stars or the moon in the sky. I could see nothing.

  ‘You wanted me to come to you. Here I am.’ The voice was luxuriously deep and rich like chocolate. It was also right behind me. I’d heard the voice before. Months ago, this very voice had spoken to the vampire Sebastian. It was the voice of the leader of the warlocks. He was standing behind me.

  ‘Nickolas Blackwood?’ I asked in a whisper.

  ‘I have been eager to meet you,’ he said. He was now directly behind me, practically whispering in my ear. I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck making my hairs stand on end.

  ‘Well here I am,’ I tried to muster up some of my usual confidence and failed. The man standing behind me could kill me and I’d be dead before I even knew what was happening.

  ‘Indeed.’ There was mirth in his tone. There was a noise a little further away, the sound of a foot scraping on the ground. There were a few more rustles in the darkness. They seemed to be all around us. ‘It would appear you have company. Let us adjourn for now.’ There was no sound but there was a definite change in the atmosphere and I knew he was gone. A second later the lights all came back, not one by one but all at once. They were blinding, and I had to shield my eyes against the assault. As my eyes adjusted I saw who had interrupted us. I now found myself completely encircled by about twenty vampires. Terrific.

  ‘Hello again, Eddie,’ said a familiar female voice. Out of the circle came Veronica Monderson. She was the vampire who’d been conducting experiments using Aldric’s blood. She was responsible for the seven vampires I now had in my employ.

  ‘Veronica,’ I said grimly. I looked around, trying to think up a good escape route. It was unlikely I’d be able to fight them all, as strong as my magic was. Vampires were fast.

  ‘As you can see I have quite the following now. Aldric grows more unpopular every day. More vampires to flock to my cause,’ She said. I could tell it was the beginning of a long and rambling speech which I really didn’t have the patience for.

  ‘Spare me the boring explanation and get to the part where you tell me what you want. Revenge for killing your brother I suppose?’ I said trying to convey my boredom, although I was anything but. Adrenaline was already being pumped through my veins.

  ‘No. I am willing to forgive that, or at least forget it if you provide me with a single stake capable of killing Aldric Ashworth. That’s all I need,’ she said plainly. She held out her hand and the vampire to her right placed in it a long stake presumably made of ash-wood. Veronica tossed it into the road where it clattered noisily at my feet. ‘Fill it up,’ she commanded.

  I stared down at the finely whittled stake and then laughed. ‘You can’t kill me because then you’ll never be able to kill Aldric, my magic being the only thing that can. So what leverage do you really have?’ I said, putting on my most irritating smile.

  ‘Death isn’t on the cards for you. No, you’ll be subjected to torture until you give in and you will give in. Take him, she barked the command at her minions. Two darted forwards at once. I conjured a fireball and launched it as fast as I could. Mid-air I split the ball in two and watched as the flames engulfed the vampires, burning them to ashes. That was the only victory I was to have. The rest rushed at me as one. I tried to conjure a barrier around myself but there were too many of them and they were too fast. Before I could even think about another spell I was on my knees and a heavy iron chain was being fixed around my wrists, cutting off my magic. I struggled but against so many vampires it was futile to say the least.

  ‘Not so smug now, are you?’ Veronica said as she walked towards me. ‘The great Eddie Lancaster, bound and beaten in his own town.’

  She was cut off by the slow, insulting sound of someone clapping. All of us turned to see a dark-haired man leaning on the nearby lamppost, clapping in mock applause.

  ‘Well done. Well done indeed,’ said the rich tones of the warlock who had been behind me just minutes ago. ‘You have overpowered a man with odds of twenty-to-one. Congratulations. Now,’ he stood up straight and stepped into the open road. ‘Let us see how you fare against me.’

  He stretched out his hands and the nearest vampires to him screamed as their hearts soared out of their chests and landed neatly in his palms. He flipped his hands over, tipping the hearts to the ground like they were trash. Seconds passed in which nobody moved. Nobody dared. They all stared nervously at the grinning warlock. I wasn’t sure whether I should be thankful or afraid.

  ‘Don’t just stand there. Kill him!’ screamed Veronica. The vampires charged at the warlock, but Veronica did not join them. She grabbed the end of my chain like it was a lead and dragged me down the road in the opposite direction. She didn’t give me a chance to stand and my knees scraped painfully on the tarmac as my trousers tore open. I could hear the vampires screaming as they died but I was moving too fast to see anything. Then suddenly I was no longer moving. I hit the ground hard and rolled about a foot as Veronica ground to a halt. I could feel where all the bruises would be soon enough. Luckily, I would be able to heal my injuries as soon as the chains were off.

 

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