Arcane Inc.: Books 1-4 (Arcane Inc. Box Set), page 71
I nodded and stood up. It was time I dealt with Rachel.
Rachel was sitting against the far wall of the cellar, looking thoroughly dishevelled. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were filthy and for the first time her face was empty and defeated. She looked up at me as I approached and quickly plastered that annoying grin onto her face. I wondered if that’s where I got my annoyingness from.
“Eddie, I was wondering when you’d visit. You just can’t stay away can you?” She didn’t bother standing.
“The warlock Sebastian was working with. Who was he?” I asked. I had no intention of going after said warlock but I still wanted to know who he was.
“For,” Rachel said.
“What?”
“The warlock Sebastian was working for,” she elaborated. That was a bit of a revelation but I didn’t let her see that. I kept my face stoic.
“Who was he?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged.
“What did he want? Why did he have Sebastian taking over Kent?”
“I don’t know anything about it, Eddie. All I know is how powerful he was. He had more power than anyone I have ever met. You better hope he doesn’t come for you for what you’ve done. I assume you did kill Sebastian, of course. I knew you would. That’s why I always liked you. You’re resourceful.”
“Ashley thinks I should kill you.” I unfolded the blade and showed it to her. Her eyes locked onto the blade and she smiled.
“With that. How poetic. But we both know you won’t,” she said confidently.
“Well, I do like the idea of keeping you alive and filling your days with endless torture. That sounds very satisfying,” I told her.
“Is dark Eddie making a resurgence?” she said and laughed. “It’s bollocks anyway. You don’t want me alive to punish me. You want me alive because I’m the closest thing to a mother you’ve ever had. Your own mother left you when you were still a kid—”
“You murdered her!” I screamed.
“Call it what you will. The fact is that I stepped in and raised you.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“You are my son through and through.”
“Shut up!” I yelled and lunged forward. I pulled her to her feet and pressed the blade to her throat. Rage pulsed through me, goading me to finish her. “How easy would it be for me to slide this along your neck? Kill you the same way you killed them.”
“Actually, I never killed them,” she croaked. A bead of blood ran down the length of the razor.
“I’d find it more satisfying to kill you personally. That’s the thing isn’t it Rachel, you always had someone else do your killing. You put on a big brave act but really you’re a coward.”
“Show me how brave you are, Eddie. Kill me,” she said tauntingly. My hand was shaking on her neck, causing more and more blood to slip down the blade. I took a deep breath and then backed away. Saying nothing, I stalked out of the cellar. I don’t know why Margie had said I’d know what to do. I had no idea what to do. I was more confused than ever. Things only got worse when I emerged upstairs and found Clara standing in the living room.
34
I walked in to the living room and stood next to Ashley, across the room from Clara. I said nothing, waiting to see how Clara was going to handle this. Yes, I did sneak into her building and steal from her but I did also stop Sebastian from exposing vampires to the world and starting a war with the sorcerers. From where I was standing I’d done a damn fine job.
“You stole from me,” she said coldly.
“Yes,” I replied, awkwardly, trying to think of a tactful response.
“You gave stolen items to a potential enemy of mine.”
“But I did bring about Sebastian’s death,” I offered.
“By creating a much worse threat.”
“Aldric has given me his word that he will not continue Sebastian’s plans,” I told her. “Besides, I have a way of killing him.”
“Which you gave to Michael Aramaya,” she said. Her stare was deadly.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“I didn’t. I suspected it and you’ve just confirmed it.” Sneaky bitch.
“Well, it’s not like I can’t make more of those stakes.”
“So, you’ll make one for me?” she asked, eyebrow raised.
“I don’t think you need one,” I said evenly. “I’m not gonna be pushed around Clara. I saw your plans for me and you can forget it.”
“Sebastian’s dead but his warlock is still at large and unidentified. I need Rachel Lecon. She can help me track him down. I know you have her. Hand her over and I’ll forget about your betrayal,” Clara said. As if I cared if she forgot about my betrayal. I had a hard time believing she was going to do anything to me.
“You’ve got no leverage here, Clara, I don’t have to give you anything,” I said.
“I’d quite like some time with Miss Lecon, myself,” said Aldric as he swanned into the living room.
“You don’t even knock?” I said angrily.
“You made him able to walk in the sun?” said Clara, absolutely horrified. I hadn’t even noticed that it was daytime therefore he must have been exposed to the sun.
“Must be the Aramaya blood,” I mumbled, more to myself than anyone else.
“Speaking of blood.” Aldric handed me a small cooler bag. I unzipped it and saw several containers full of his blood. “A deal’s a deal and I am a man of my word.”
I nodded politely and placed the bag on the unit behind me. I won’t lie, I was bloody surprised that he’d come through on that.
“He’s not having Lecon, Eddie,” Clara told me.
“And you’re going to stop me, are you?” he said, smirking.
“Enough!” I shouted. “Ashley would you mind bringing Rachel upstairs?” I asked her.
“You’re not really going to let her go?”
“Please, Ashley.” I gave her a look that said “trust me” and Ashley went without another word. A few moments later she returned with Rachel before her. She shoved her forwards so she stood in the middle of the triangle of the three of us. Ashley returned to my side.
“I did everything I told you I would do,” I told Clara and Aldric. “I turned you into a super vampire and helped you take over the Syndicate. I stopped the Syndicate from taking over Maidstone and exposing their kind to the world.”
“How can you be sure they won’t still expose us all?” Clara demanded.
“I have no interest in going public. Or expanding my empire. I am content to keep what I have,” said Aldric.
“I’ll need that in writing.”
“You shall have it. As soon as we’re done here.” They both returned their attentions to Rachel.
“Well this is fun,” said Rachel. She was talking big but I thought I could detect a trace of fear. “A good old fashioned stand off with me as the prize.”
I kicked her to her knees and stepped forwards behind her. “She doesn’t know anything. She can’t help either of you.”
“I’d like to judge that for myself,” said Clara.
“No.”
“That’s it, Eddie. Stand up to the bullies. Don’t let them take your mummy away,” Rachel mocked. I ignored her.
“She’s my prisoner. I decide what happens to her,” I said. Suddenly everything fell into place and I knew exactly what I needed to do. I had to take responsibility. I pulled out the razor blade and cut open Rachel’s throat. She gasped and clawed at the wound before falling to the floor. Aldric merely smirked at the spectacle but Clara ran forwards to intervene. I waved my hand and sent her flying across the room. If she’d been paying attention to me and not Rachel then she could’ve stopped me. Her mistake. By the time Clara was on her feet again Rachel was beyond saving. I looked down in time to see the last dregs of life leaving her eyes and just like that a massive burden was lifted from my chest. I was free.
“You idiot!” shouted Clara.
“I saved Maidstone!” I shouted. “Not you and not you!” I pointed at both of them in turn. “This is my town and I will not let either of you dictate to me what happens in it! I went through hell to take Sebastian down and have I been given so much as a thank you? Like fuck I have. You both turn up with demands. Well your demands are denied. I don’t want anything from the Syndicate or the Coven Alliance. In fact, neither one of you is allowed to set foot in this town without my permission ever again! And if either one of you thinks you can force your way in just bear in mind that I have ways of taking you both down!”
“Eddie…” Aldric said.
“I helped you kill Sebastian and turned you into an invincible vampire as a bonus. You should leave whilst the scales are still in your favour,” I warned him.
He nodded curtly gave the finest of bows. “As you wish, your majesty,” he said mockingly and then whooshed away.
“And what about us? The scales don’t seem to been my favour, King Eddie,” she said with disdain. “You stole from me.”
“For the greater good.” There’s a phrase I never thought I’d say.
“Maybe,” she said thoughtfully. “You want to rule Maidstone? Okay, I can live with that. Keep the secrecy pact and I’ll have no reason to come back.”
“Really?” I said doubtfully. “Just like that?”
“Sure. You’re finally taking responsibility for what’s going on around you rather than keeping your head in the sand. Of course, by proclaiming yourself the king you’ll be making yourself a target. People here might not like that.”
“Considering the alternatives I think they’ll accept it. You claim to want to protect people but I’ve seen your plans. You just want control. And if they don’t accept me then tough. I’m not giving them a choice,” I said harshly.
“So you’re going to force your rule on them?”
“To protect them from you and Aldric, abso-fucking-lutely.”
“To protect them,” she repeated quietly and nodded. “Now you understand.” She turned to leave and just before she reached the door a thought occurred to me.
“If you really wanna track down that warlock you might be able to use this. The ring he made for Sebastian.” I took the ring from my pocket and held it up. “Just keep him out of Maidstone.”
“Deal,” she said. I threw the ring to her and she caught it in her hand. No sooner had her skin touched it when she let out a shriek and dropped it. It hit the floor with a thud.
“What’s up?” I asked. The ring hadn’t had that affect on me.
She was staring down at the ring in absolute horror. “That magic,” she said, her voice trembling. “It’s impossible.” She stooped over and retrieved the ring. She put it hastily in her pocket before she felt the abhorrent magic again. “Bye, Eddie. Ashley.” She nodded to us and then left.
So, there you go. Problem solved. Story over. Tale told. I hope you enjoyed it. If not I do wonder why you read it all. I suppose I should wrap a couple of things up. I used Aldric’s blood to create a potion allowing Matt and Emma to walk in the sun. It meant they could pretty much go back to normal lives. Just without food and that. That was something I really pitied them for. The first thing I did after Clara left and Rachel’s body was burned, was tuck into a delicious sausage. I know what you’re thinking. Stop it, you filthy bastard. I was talking about a pork sausage.
Me and Ashley moved into her old house with Boris the cat. We had to redecorate because that house was ugly as fuck, also Rachel’s blood was all over the carpet. Ashley did come to work at Arcane Inc. which was good because I was suddenly a lot busier with other things. It turned out that by appointing myself ruler of Maidstone, every time something that might be supernatural occurred I had to investigate it. It’s a much bigger job than I’d realised.
So yeah, that’s that. You’re probably still wondering who that super powerful warlock is, right? Unfortunately, I still don’t know. I’ve heard rumours and whispered names that I could tell you. Would you like that, a sneaky little spoiler before the end of the book? Well, forget it.
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Also by Sean Stone:
The Cedarstone Chronicles
Cursed
The Cult of Osiris
The Ancients
Reunion
Arcane Inc.
Warlock for Hire
Warlock Wanted
Dark Warlock
Warlock At War
Short Story Collections
Horrors from Cedarstone
Horrors from Cedarstone II
Horrors from Cedarstone III
Sean Stone, Arcane Inc.: Books 1-4 (Arcane Inc. Box Set)
