Arcane Inc.: Books 1-4 (Arcane Inc. Box Set), page 54
“How old?” asked Ashely.
“One-hundred, we think. Certainly no older than Aldric. We know Aldric turned him, just not exactly when.” Dean pulled out another sheet of paper, this one a map of Kent. Several areas were in red. “The Syndicate control Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Gillingham. Only the villages are free from vampire control in Medway. That’s where the Hoo coven is. It’s all part of the truce. Do not involve them and do not go near them. The Syndicate also controls Gravesend, Sittingbourne and Dartford.”
“Jesus,” Ashley gasped.
“And you want us to take these guys down?” I asked. I was reconsidering going back on my word to Adrian.
“It’s not as bad as it seems.”
“No?”
“If you take out Sebastian then the Syndicate should fall apart. A lot of the clans were forced to join him. They’re there out of fear. Take out the Master and the followers will disband again. Make them think that Maidstone is yours and you will do whatever it takes to keep them out. Even if they don’t disband, killing Sebastian will be enough to frighten them. If you can kill him then you can kill any of them.” He said it all as if it was a simple exercise. Like solving a bit of algebra.
“And how do we kill Sebastian?” I asked.
“Stake through the heart usually does it,” Dean said and shrugged.
“Very witty,” I replied. “Do you know what type of vampires these are?” I should explain. There are, as far as I know, two species of vampire. Regular vampires and Osirian vampires. Regular vampires are the ones I assume were knocked up by nature like most of the other supernatural races walking the earth. They live forever, can’t survive the sun, super-strength, super-speed, mind compulsion and a load of other abilities that nobody quite knows. It’s tricky because not every vampire is the same. Some have abilities that others don’t. The older they get the more powerful they become.
Now, our other breed, the Osirian vampires, were not made by old Mother Nature at all. And no, I’m not saying there is a mystical entity called Mother Nature; it’s just an expression. The Osirian vampires were created by a very powerful chap named Osiris. So says the legend anyway. Osiris was not actually a god but a very powerful being. I don’t know what he was, not human. Anyway he did a little magic, whipped up a potion and created his own vampire race. Very similar to the regular vampires with a couple of differences. First of all, none of them have different powers — they’re all the same. There is an exception: the original 4 created were a lot more powerful than others, and had enhanced mental capabilities. There was a nasty little rumour that they could walk in the sun too. They were the Aramaya family. Last I heard there were a couple of them knocking about in Cedarstone. Osirian vampires are stronger and faster than regular ones but have weaker mental abilities. They don’t have any other abilities either. Because they were created using Egyptian cobra venom, cobra venom also has a seriously bad effect on them. That’s the limit of my knowledge.
“Regular as far as I know,” said Dean. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Regular were slower and weaker but you never knew what other abilities they were going to come packed with.
“So how do we do this then, Dean?” I asked. He’d been working on the case for long enough, he ought to have some sort of plan put together.
“You’ve got magic, Eddie. Use your initiative. I do have a recommendation, however.”
“That’s more like it,” Ashley said enthusiastically.
“You arrange a meeting with Sebastian. The Syndicate is funded by various human-run businesses. They have a chain of jewellers across Kent. When one opens up in a town that’s a sure sign the Syndicate is moving in.”
“Sterlings Originals,” I said, remembering the jewellery shop that had opened on the High Street a couple of weeks ago.
“That’s the one. If you go there and ask for a diplomatic meeting you’ll get one. Make it clear that you will only speak to Sebastian. Not Aldric and not one of the governors.”
“Governors?” asked Ashley.
“Each town has its own governor who reports to Aldric. I don’t know who’s pegged to be Maidstone’s. You guys will make sure it doesn’t happen.”
“This isn’t just about stopping them from expanding is it? Clara wants us to take them down for good. That’s why your recommendation involves killing the Master,” I said.
Dean considered me for a moment. “Yes. Clara wants Sebastian Revers gone. She thinks that if someone else takes over they’ll be easier to negotiate with. But she hopes the Syndicate will disband with the death of their leader.” At least he was honest.
“Well I’m not promising to kill him. I agreed to keep them out of Maidstone. So I’ll set up this meeting but I’m going to try and negotiate before I even think about killing this guy. I do not work for Clara. Remember that.”
Dean nodded coolly and I stood up to go. Ashley followed me to the door.
Dean stood up. “Eddie, can I have a word in private,” he said before I could leave. I looked back at him and then Ashley.
“Go on, I’ll wait outside,” she said and left.
I walked back into the room but did not sit back down. “What is it?” I asked.
Dean looked down at the candle. “What’s this all about?”
“I told you, I like the smell,” I lied. He wasn’t buying it.
“Eddie, I can spot a lie when I’m told one. And I know the difference between regular fire and fire that’s a little bit magic,” he said.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about. I haven’t opened up a line of communication with the enemy,” I assured him.
“This building is protected from that sort of thing,” he informed me.
“Figures,” I muttered.
“I’m guessing that this is something you’re keeping from Ashley. A word of advice; stop it. It will destroy your relationship. Secrets do that. My father was a warlock. He promised me he’d stop stealing magic but he couldn’t. He had an addictive personality. When I found out he was still killing people for their magic… Well let’s just say that was it for us. The moral is don’t keep secrets.”
8
I took Dean’s warning to heart and decided to confess my sins to Ashley. I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. It was stressing me out too much. Plus, the risk of it destroying our relationship was just too real.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said as soon as we were in her car.
“Okay,” she said slowly. She stopped fumbling with her keys and turned to look at me. She looked concerned and she was right to be.
“This isn’t easy.” I looked out the window and tried to find a way to begin. “You’re going to be angry at me. Really angry but I want you to remember—” I stopped because she was staring at me, her eyes wide with shock. Had she somehow guessed what I was going to say?
“Eddie, your pocket!” She pointed at my breast pocket which I saw was now glowing with bright yellow light. At first I was confused, then I remembered the pocket mirror inside. I pulled it from my pocket and dropped it in my haste to open it up. I rooted around on the floor of Ashley’s car until my fingers found it. I lifted it up and saw that I was holding a Reece’s Peanut-butter cup.
“Fuck!” I cursed and resumed looking. “You need to clean your car!” I yelled in frustration. I found the mirror, pulled it open and saw what was going on. Rachel was following a guard through the prison halls. Nobody else was about but could hear an alarm going off in the distance as well as a lot of shouting.
“Come on, hurry up!” Rachel shouted. “I don’t know how long I have until he checks again.”
“Who checks what again?” the guard asked. He turned and gave her a confused look.
“Never mind. Just get me out of here.” She was obviously talking about me but couldn’t explain it to the guard without explaining that I was a warlock with a magic mirror. He’d think she was insane and escort her back to her cell. If only she had told him that.
“Here,” I passed the mirror to Ashley and pulled out my phone. Richards answered quickly for once. “Rachel’s escaping!” I shouted.
“Slow down, Eddie. What’s going on?” he said exasperatedly.
“Exactly what I just said. Rachel is escaping from prison. She has somehow convinced a guard to help her leave.” I didn’t slow down and the words came out in a jumbled mess. Somehow, he still understood me.
“That’s impossible,” said Richards quietly.
“It’s fucking not! Will you do something about it?” I said frantically. Even a Rachel without any magic would be a problem I didn’t want.
“Alright, Eddie. I’m on it. I’ll call the Surrey police and get them down there.”
I didn’t have much faith in the Surrey Police. Not because I’d had any bad dealings with them before but because they wouldn’t understand the urgency of the situation and would likely get there too late. I was very pleasantly surprised, however, when Rachel emerged through some back door and was met by a rather large force of police officers.
Richards called back and explained that she’d bribed the guard with a very large amount of money and he had then helped her cause a riot. Whilst everybody else was distracted he was just going to walk her right out of the prison.
Richards had pulled some strings after that and Rachel was put in solitary confinement where she would remain until her trial. No member of staff was permitted to speak to her. I took a perverse pleasure in knowing that she was going to be locked up with no human interaction for several more months. Oh, and of course, the guard was fired and arrested himself.
By the time that was resolved both me and Ashley had quite forgotten that I had something to tell her. The moment was past and who knew when it might arise again.
Me and Ashley went down to Sterling Originals the following day. Adrian wanted to come but the sun posed a bit of a problem. The shop was a small beaten up looking building on Earl Street. The black paint was cracked and peeling away which I found odd considering it hadn’t been there for long. A couple of years at most. I wasn’t exactly sure. A lot of shops come and go in town without me noticing. I have more interesting things to focus on.
I pushed the door open and a little bell rang overhead. It looked liked any other jewellery shop in town. A horse shoe shaped display cabinet ran around the store with a few necklaces on those neck-only mannequins on top. An old lady stood behind the cabinet where there also happened to be a till which had seen better days. I wondered if the old and battered look was deliberate or if they just didn’t care. I assumed that they used the business to bring money in for the Syndicate and if that was the case then they really needed to up their game. Unless the jewellery thing was just a front for a less legitimate type of business.
The old lady was slight in frame and had grey hair pulled back into a bun. “What can I do for the two of you today?” she said in a crisp voice. She didn’t bother smiling. “Has he popped the question and not bothered to buy a ring?” she asked Ashley. “Or is this a bit of pre-question work?” She turned to me.
Me and Ashley both tripped over our words in our haste to deny her claims. It’s weird how mentioning engagement to couples who haven’t even considered it can cause a very awkward reaction. There’s no need to be awkward really. Especially not in our case, we’d only been together a month.
“No,” I said once I’d shaken off the awkwardness. “We need to arrange a meeting with your boss.”
Her eyebrow arched. “My boss?” she said the word boss with distaste as if she was disgusted by the idea of having a boss.
“Yes. The owner of this place. Sidney Rivers,” I explained.
This time both eyebrows went up and a small smirk followed. “I can assure you I know nobody by the name of Sidney Rivers,” she replied snootily.
Ashley elbowed me in the ribs and then leaned in close. “It’s Sebastian Redvers,” she whispered.
“Oh,” I whispered back and nodded. The I turned back to the old lady. “Sorry, I meant Sebastian Redvers. My mistake.”
Her expression dropped. “I think you should leave.”
“No, I really want that meeting.”
“One does not simply walk in and demand a meeting with Master Redvers. If Master Redvers wishes to meet with you he will summon you,” she said haughtily.
I snorted. “Master Redvers? Okay, look, listen. I want to speak to Sebastian. He’s trying to move into my town and I’m not happy about it. Set up the bloody meeting woman!” What was the point in her if she wasn’t going to do what I wanted?
“How dare you speak to me in that way,” she said with a very sinister tone. “If you have concerns with the Syndicate activities in Maidstone I suggest you speak with the governor of Maidstone, Janine Desmonate—”
“Governor of Maidstone… There is no governor of Maidstone because I won’t let there be! That’s why I want to see Sebastian!”
“Alternatively,” she shouted over me. “You can speak with Aldric Ashworth, the Master’s Deputy. He is handling the transition here.”
“I already spoke with him. It didn’t go so well. He got very upset and we killed a lot of his friends,” I informed her smugly.
“Oh please,” she said and tutted. “I’ve had quite enough of this now. Mr Ashworth would make short work of you and your little harlot.”
I looked at Ashley eyebrows raised. The time for talking was done. The old lady clearly needed a demonstration of how serious we were and that little “harlot” comment had sealed her fate.
“Go on,” Ashley said resignedly.
I looked back at the old woman and then waved my hand. The counter in front of her flew up from the floor and into the right-hand wall, smashing to pieces and falling noiselessly. The old woman’s mouth fell open in horror as she backed away from me. I took a step forwards. Now that there was nothing standing between us she was not quite as confident. I raised my hand again but she moved. She moved a lot faster than I expected someone her age to. Within seconds she had a pistol aimed at me. Her arms weren’t trembling and I could see she’d been trained to use it.
“Leave now, sorcerer. Unless you want to provoke a war. Clara Winters has an agreement with the Master,” she said sternly.
“I am nothing to do with Clara Winters,” I lied. “I’m an independent warlock. Put the gun down and—” I never got to finish because she squeezed the trigger. There was a loud bang and the tiny bullet tore from the barrel of the gun. I extended my fingers and froze the bullet in mid-air, just inches from my face. It would have hit me right between the eyes as well. “Good aim!” I shouted in genuine congratulations. Poor choice, though.” I flicked my wrist lazily and sent the bullet back. It found her shoulder and dug in. That was lucky because I hadn’t been aiming, it could just of easily have been her head. She cried out and fell down.
“My name is Eddie Lancaster,” I said as I approached her. “As I said, I’m an independent warlock and this is my town. I don’t care about your master or his truce with Clara Winters or anyone else for that matter.” I squatted down in front of her. “Tell your master I want to meet him. If he refuses I’m going to start killing his people. I might even start with you.”
She glared up at me. One hand was clutching her wound and the other was stretched out at me as if it would actually hold me off. “I’ll pass the message on,” she said through ground teeth.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” I said. She didn’t reply.
“You should really work on your customer service,” said Ashley. “It kind of sucks.”
I stood up and turned from the woman. “How will I get in touch with you?” she called after me. I could tell that that was the last thing she wanted to do. I said nothing. I waved my hand over my shoulder and conjured up a business card which flew around the store and then landed silently on the floor next to her. Then I opened the door for Ashley and we both left.
9
The reply came that evening giving us just one hour to get to the meeting place. Boris tried to follow us again but I locked him in my room much to his annoyance. Saying that, I was pretty sure I’d locked him in last time. He was a magical cat thanks to his previous owner.
We were to go to Boley Hill House in Rochester. It seemed that Sebastian had set up his base of operations in the small historic city. Not a bad choice. Most of Medway was pretty grubby and Rochester ranked the highest of a bad lot. According to the files Dean had sent over, Rochester had been the first place the Syndicate had claimed.
Me, Ashley and Adrian went to Rochester together. The house was at the top of a hill with a perfect view of the castle. The castle only looks good from the outside by the way. Nothing left on the inside, I was duped into paying five-pounds for a ticket once. Don’t make the same mistake.
Our car stopped at the gate where we all stepped out. The building was surrounded by tall stone walls, decorated with shrubbery. The wooden gate creaked open and out stepped Aldric Ashworth. He had the same smug look on his face as he had the last time I’d seen him.
“Mr Lancaster, Miss Sheridan,” he said politely, nodding to each of us in turn. He turned to Adrian and raised his eyebrows. “And you are?”
“Adrian Lazaro,” he replied crisply. It suddenly occurred to me how similar the two men were. They were both tall and thin with short dark hair. Both dressed in expensive suits and both were well-spoken. Aldric was snootier, though.
“Resisting our rule, are you?” said Aldric.
“Categorically.”
“Well, we shall see how tonight pans out. Perhaps, you will change your mind after meeting Sebastian,” said Aldric.
“I find that hardly likely,” replied Adrian.
Aldric stepped directly in front of Adrian and looked into his eyes. Adrian was about half a foot taller than Aldric and he had to look up. The look he gave him was one of disdain. “I would advise that you adjust your attitude. The Master will allow sorcerers certain liberties but he will not tolerate disrespect from his own kind,” he warned.
