Arcane Inc.: Books 1-4 (Arcane Inc. Box Set), page 68
“No, its uhm…”
“Just tell the truth, Eddie,” said Ashley resignedly.
“Yes, I’d advise the same.”
So I did. I told him all about the Syndicate, all about Sebastian and exactly what I needed his blood for. Afterwards he just stared at me with narrowed eyes.
“You wish to create a third species of vampire?” he asked.
“Yes. It would be a combination of the existing two and stronger than both,” I said.
“Stronger than me?” he said with just a little concern in his voice.
“Well… probably,” I mumbled.
“And there would be no way of killing it?”
“Magic could.” I didn’t bother telling him it would need to be really strong magic to work.
“This Syndicate has been causing me concern for some time,” Michael said. He maintained eye contact constantly and made me feel really awkward. “It is only a matter of time before they arrive in Cedarstone. In single combat I am certain I could kill Sebastian but his army against my followers… That might not go in my favour. He has the numbers.”
“He will definitely come here eventually,” I said, hoping to scare him enough to help us.
“I cannot be manipulated so easily, Eddie,” he said. His tone told me not to try that again. “This person who would succeed him. Alistair Ashman.”
“Aldric Ashworth.”
“Yes. You say he would stop the Syndicate from expanding any further?”
“He won’t expand here. I can get him to agree to that,” I said. Getting him to agree to never expand anywhere would be unlikely but taking another town off the list should be easy enough.
Michael thought it over for a moment. “His word is not enough. I would need you to provide me with a weapon that could kill this new vampire monstrosity you plan to create.”
“I can do that,” I said. A stake filled with my magic would be enough to get the job done.
“Do. Now.” He left no room for argument. I reached into my inside pocket and extracted the stake I’d brought along. “Now, why did you bring that?”
I looked at him sheepishly. “Just in case.”
“In case things went badly and you needed to kill me?”
“Kind of,” I said in my quietest voice.
“You are lucky I am not my brother,” he said darkly. “Make the weapon.”
I held the stake at either end and channelled my magic into it. I poured it in until the wood cracked and through the cracks I could see green light shining. Then I chipped a bit of the wood off and popped it in my pocket. Michael looked at me in puzzlement.
“What is that bit for?” asked Michael.
“He’ll need to add it to the ritual or the weapon won’t work,” Ashley answered for me. She’d been brushing up on her ritual knowledge.
“Exactly,” I said.
Michael held out his hand and I placed the stake carefully in his palm. He lifted it to his eyes and inspected it. “Will you be able to make more weapons like this one after you’ve completed the ritual?”
“I’ll have to use the same wood type,” I said. “But yes.”
He held the stake under his nose and took a big whiff of it. “Ash wood?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I said. That was a pretty impressive skill. I leaned forwards and sniffed it too but all I got was a woody smell.
Michael raised an eyebrow at me and then weighed the stake in his hand. Then he whistled loudly. Moments later a small weedy looking man walked into the room. “Yes?” he said in a nasally voice.
“Charles, take this to my weapons room and lock it away for me,” he said and without even looking at Charles, handed him the stake. Charles took it grudgingly and exited the room.
“So, now you’ll give us your blood?” I asked.
“No. Sebastian’s death and a magical stake are not payment enough.”
“Then what is?” demanded Ashley. I gave her a look to tell her to calm down.
“As I am sure you are aware I am particularly vulnerable to cobra venom. I am fairly certain that Clara Winters, who has taken it upon herself to rule over Cedarstone, has stockpiled a large amount in her research facility. I need you to retrieve it for me. Bring me the venom as well as any information she has on me and my followers and I will give you my blood.”
That seemed easy enough. When Clara heard about my plan she’d give me those things straight away, they were easily replaceable. “Deal,” I said.
“No,” said Clara. We’d called her up after leaving Michael’s and she’d invited us to her flat. It was a swanky place at the top of a tower block overlooking Cedarstone. She sure did live in style.
“What? It’s the only way, Clara,” I argued. She must not have understood me.
“No, it’s just the only way you can think of. If the only way to stop Sebastian is to create a vampire far more dangerous than he is then you need to find another way,” she said firmly. “And as for giving Michael Aramaya the information and insurance I have, you can forget it. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to establish peace in this town? The vampires would seize any chance they got to try and take control.”
“Are you seriously telling me that controlling this town is more important than stopping Sebastian?” I demanded.
She looked at me coolly. “No. It is about more than this town, Eddie. Its about keeping everyone safe.”
“And to do that we need to stop Sebastian. Michael Aramaya is nothing in comparison to the threat of the Syndicate. You know that!”
“Yes, I do. Which is why I will not sign off on you creating a super vampire that will cause more problems in the future. And to give this power to Aldric Ashworth of all people. Are you out of your mind?” She walked over to the bar and poured herself a drink. She offered us one but we declined. We were both too angry for drinking.
“First of all, I don’t need you to sign off on anything. I don’t answer to you. Second, I have a weapon that could put Aldric down if he breaks his word to keep the peace.”
“My answer is no, Eddie. And you should not have brought me into this.”
“You brought me in, remember?” I snarled and then stormed out. I wasn’t going to waste any more time trying to convince her. The more time I spent around Clara the less I liked her. She talked a lot about looking out for people but it seemed more like she just wanted to keep control over everybody. She was exactly the sort of person I despised; a rich woman who wanted to be in charge. Everybody else was just a piece to be moved around to suit her aims. Well, I’m nobody’s pawn. I wasn’t fighting Sebastian because Clara needed me to. I was doing it because I owed a debt to a friend, and now because Sebastian had made it personal.
“What are we going to do?” Ashley asked, following me into the lift. I waited until the doors were closed before answering.
“Clara won’t help us. That’s fine. We’ll just have to help ourselves. We’re going to Winters Research and taking what we need.”
29
Winters Research was exactly what you imagine when you think of a rich powerful modern business. A massive glass tower stretching up into the sky. It made everything around it look shabby. The tower had been built on the middle of a rundown industrial estate so everything around it was pretty shabby. There were several cameras on the outside of the building and I doubted I’d be able to tamper with them. Clara was sure to have the building magically protected which posed a bit of a problem for me and Ashley. I could move faster than the cameras could detect but I suspected there’d be other defences in place.
“How do we get in then?” Ashley said, verbalising my thoughts.
“Let’s just try walking in,” I said without a lick of confidence. She didn’t argue and we walked side by side up to the door. As we reached the entrance the automatic doors slid open. It seemed odd that the building would be unlocked at this time of night. Even with magical protection it seemed foolish. I saw why as soon as we were in the ornate lobby. Dean Tenson was sitting on top of the vacated reception desk playing on his phone. He looked up as we entered and tucked his phone away. Clara must have known I’d try stealing the items for Michael and sent Dean to intercept me.
“Eddie, Ashley.” He jumped down and gave us a slither of a smile. He’d come a long way from the grumpy arse he was when I met him. “Clara called and warned me you might be coming here.”
“How did you get here so fast?” Ashley asked. “We only left hers fifteen minutes ago.”
“I was already back in Cedarstone.”
“Great,” I said with a sigh. “Are we going to have to fight then?”
“Would you really fight me over this?”
“It’s the only way Dean,” Ashley and I both said.
“Yep, Clara said that’s what you thought. Listen, fighting me won’t do you any good. Even if you win—”
“Which we would.”
“You wouldn’t be able to get to her office. It’s protected by strong magic. On the other hand if you ask real nice I’ll escort you through the protection,” he said, much to mine and Ashley’s shock.
“You will?” I asked. There was some sort of trick going on here.
“Defeating Sebastian is more important than anything else right now. Clara’s worried that Michael will cause trouble but if that happens we have the resources to stop him.”
I didn’t need any further encouragement. We followed Dean into the lift and waited patiently as it carried us up the tower. “How are you going to get us through the protections?” I asked. He was human and had no magical talents as far as I knew.
“I’m an approved person. I can walk through any of the Winters protections and anyone escorted by me can get through too.”
“Well that’s handy,” I said.
“I helped design the system,” he elaborated. “A couple of years ago I broke into the office, before me and Clara were together. After that I suggested she protect it a bit better.”
“Sorry, did you just say you and her are together?” Ashley interjected. “As in boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“I think he meant working together,” I said with a smile. Ashley was a bit of a sucker for a good romance story.
The lift doors slid open. “Actually, Ashley has it right,” Dean said and then stepped out of the lift.
“Woah, what?” I said hurrying after him.
“I don’t want to talk about my personal life,” Dean said. He was the one who brought it up!
All the offices on this floor had glass windows which we could see straight into. There was one office with blacked out windows which we came to stop in front of. Dean placed his hand on the black glass of the door. The door shone white and then clicked open, the lights inside flickering on. It was the same office I’d been brought to a few months ago when Clara had wanted me to stop Mr Panomie, a child stealing gnome. That was another case I was already working on without Clara asking me to.
“I suppose you being with Clara will stop you from getting into trouble for this?” I asked as he led us inside.
“Oh no, I’ll be in a lot of trouble. But less than anyone else. Venom’s in the cabinet there.” He pointed at a cabinet behind her desk. “Files are in the file cabinet.” He pointed over to the corner.
I went for the files and Ashley went for the venom. I rifled through all the tabs in the cabinet until I found then one marked “Aramaya”. There was also one called “Cedarstone Clans” so I took that too. I was about to close the drawer again when I saw one marked “UK Structure”. I shot a glance at Dean who was paying me no attention and was instead looking at something on his phone. I pulled the file out and opened it up. The first page told me everything I needed to know. Clara planned to unite all of the covens across the nation and use them to control the supernatural races in each area. She didn’t just want to control the covens — it was everyone. I flicked through the pages of the file getting more and more irate as I looked at her plans to create a dictatorship with herself at the helm. I reached boiling point when I saw that she planned on taking control of Maidstone as soon as the vampires were removed. There was even a section on me and how she wanted to recruit me to deal with those who broke her rules. It was the title she’d given herself that irked me the most: Supreme Dynast. A dynast was someone in charge of a sorcerers’ coven.
“Supreme Dynast?” I said slowly, in disbelief as I turned to Dean.
“Oh,” he said. He looked at the file in my hands and I could see the cogs in his head whirring as he tried to think of a suitable reply. “You weren’t supposed to look at that.”
“Eddie, what is it?” Ashley asked. She had ten containers of venom laid out on Clara’s desk.
“Clara wants to set herself up as Supreme Dynast of the United Kingdom,” I said with mock flippancy. “She must have forgotten to tell me that aspect of her plan.”
“If the covens are happy with that what’s the problem?” Ashley asked.
“The problem is the other races who will all be forced to accept Clara as their ruler. Not to mention her plans for Maidstone and me.”
“This wasn’t all Clara’s idea,” Dean argued. “There are other people involved.”
“Who?”
“The covens in Kent. The ones who already follow her. Plus, a couple of people at the Home Office.”
“The government is in on this?” I shouted.
“They want an official government. Supernaturals running around doing as they please makes them uneasy.”
“So fucking what!”
“Why do you even have a problem with it? You’re a sorcerer, you’ll been on top.”
“No, I won’t! I’ll be an errand boy for her supreme majesty! Clara cannot just decide to become fucking emperor of the supernatural communities of Great Britain!” I yelled.
“And Northern Island,” Dean added.
“Eddie, don’t do anything silly,” Ashley said, putting on her calming tone. She knew that I was getting very close to making a dangerous decision.
“Listen to her, Eddie. Right now you can still leave with the things you came for. If you let your anger out and you do something stupid neither of you will leave this room,” Dean said. I stared at him intently, seriously wanting to test his theory. But there were more pressing concerns to be dealt with.
“Get the venom, Ash. We’re leaving.” I dropped the dastardly file on the floor and picked up the ones I came for. “You tell Clara we’re done. I don’t want any part of her plans ever again.” With my piece said, we left the office and departed the building hastily.
We didn’t have time to get back to Michael because the sun was already rising and I didn’t really want to burn to ashes. Ashley drove us to the first abandoned house and we broke in. Once safely away from the rising sun we spoke.
“What are you going to do, Eddie?” she asked. She was still worried I was going to do something unwise.
“Nothing,” I replied resignedly.
“Really? You were pissed back there.”
“I’m still pissed. She lied about everything.”
“She’s doing what she thinks is best,” Ashley said. I couldn’t believe she was actually trying to defend her.
“Do you think her plan is best? Because I don’t.”
“I don’t know what’s best,” she admitted. “She’s got a point though. Leaving us to go around doing our own thing isn’t a good idea. Maybe if we had some sort of government in place then people like Rachel wouldn’t be able to get away with murder and everything else she’s done.”
She had a good point there. “It isn’t the idea of a government that bothers me. I mean it is, but I can understand the need for one. I don’t like the fact that she’s going to force everybody to accept her as their leader. It just doesn’t seem right. We should get a say. And as for trying to get me to do her bidding… I’m not going to do anything. What can I do? I’m just not going to help her either.”
There was a knock at the door and we both jumped. Ashley crept up to the curtain and peeked outside. I dodged out of the way of a ray of sun light.
“Who is it?” I asked from the back of the room.
“I can’t see,” she replied. She yanked open the front door, one hand ready with a spell and there stood Michael Aramaya.
“How are you out in the sun?” Ashley asked aghast.
“Do you mean to tell me you haven’t heard the rumours?” he said casually as he stepped inside and Ashley closed the door.
I came out of the shadowy corner now that the sun had gone. “You really can walk in the sun. How did you find us?” I asked.
“I had someone following you. I wanted to be sure you didn’t get caught. I found it interesting that you went to Clara Winters first. Why, might I ask?”
“We’ve got what you asked for, do you have what we need?” I said, ignoring his question.
He reached into his pocket and pulled a small pot of dark red blood out and placed it on the dusty table in the middle of the room. I placed the two files and nine containers of venom on the table too. Ashley looked at the venom pots and was about to say something but I silenced her with a glare.
“Well, then. Our business is concluded.” Michael picked up the items and whooshed out of the house again.
I lifted the blood and examined it. He was smart. There was only enough for the one ritual. Shame. I could have found other uses for such a powerful sample.
“There were ten pots of venom. What happened to the other?” Ashley asked.
I pulled out the missing container to show her I had it. “I figured it was a good idea to hang on to some venom. You never know when it might be handy,” I said.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, Eddie?” Ashley said sternly, knowing that I had something in mind.
“I’m going to add it to the ritual. That way Aldric should be impervious to the effects of the venom in case somebody uses it against him.”
“Do you want to make Aldric that tough?” Ashley asked.
“No but it’s not just him. Any vampire created from his blood will have the same abilities as him. They won’t be as strong as him but they’ll still be stronger than other vampires. I’m going to take a lot of Aldric’s blood and lock it away. It will be an insurance policy against Clara. If she gets too big for her boots then I’ll be able to make an army of super vampires that will take her down.”
