CHAPTER Twenty
I felt very cold and very wet. Not in hell then. I shivered involuntarily and doubted very much that heaven felt like this either. Or indeed any form of the afterlife. Something was scratching painfully at my bare arms and legs, and the chafing and sensation around my torso felt very much like some synthetic plastic material – of the sort, say, that a deflated life-belt might be made out of. I wasn’t dead after all then. How many freaking times was I going to almost – but not quite - shuffle off this mortal coil? It was starting to become tiresome, all these near-death experiences.
I opened my eyes and looked around, vaguely irritated to find myself on the shore of Loch Ness. With the amount of sodding times I found myself passed out, you’d think that I could at least, for once, wake up in a small thatched cottage with a roaring fire at the side and a kindly person handing me some chicken soup. But no, that would be too easy.
I pulled myself up to a sitting position. Corrigan was by the water’s edge, sitting down and staring out over the darkened vista. Twinkling lights at the far end indicated where the small town of Fort Augustus and the others no doubt were. I knew Corrigan would have heard me stir, so I didn’t bother saying anything, just stood up and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around myself to keep warm. I sat down next to him, resisting the urge to lean my head against his broad shoulder.
“It didn’t work, did it?” I said finally.
He shook his head. It was a tiny movement, barely even perceptible.
I gritted my teeth. All that f*cking trouble to get hold of a stupid metal that didn’t even work. What a waste.
“How many?” I asked. “How many people died?”
He took a moment before answering. “Six at least.”
I closed my eyes in pain. Then I opened them again. This was the shit we had to deal with. I wasn’t going to get sucked under into a pit of useless depression again. It was time to re-group and fight back, not be defeated.
“If we weren’t there, more would have died.” It was cold-hearted, but it was also a matter of fact.
A muscle jerked in his cheek. “If you hadn’t had a f*cking death wish, then more would have died.”
He turned and looked at me, green eyes blazing. “Do you have a total f*cking disregard for your own safety?”
I stared at him. “You just said more would have died if I’d not done what I did. What other choice was there?”
He snarled, patches of black fur momentarily rising up on his skin. “You can’t die.”
“Last time I checked, my Lord, Draco Wyr weren’t cursed with immortality,” I said, trying to keep my tone light.
He brought his face close to mine. “What am I supposed to do if you die? What am I…?” His voice trailed off, and he pulled away.
My mouth was dry, and I felt a traitorous zip of happy bloodfire blossom up through me.
“When Staines died, all I could think was that thank God it wasn’t you. That he’d been there and you hadn’t.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “I’m a f*cking idiot.”
He slammed his other hand into the ground with such force I was amazed it didn’t embed itself into the dirt.
“If we’d beaten Endor, then I could have let the council go. I’d be free from,” I licked my lips, “the constraints.”
His face twisted, and he stood up and walked away, turning just once to stare at me, his eyes searing into my soul. Then his clothes ripped off and, in a heartbeat, he shifted into his werepanther form and bound away into the darkness.
I watched the spot where he’d disappeared. F*ck. Could things be any more messed up? I raised my eyes heavenward for just one breath, then stood up myself and limped painfully off.
*
It seemed to take forever to get back to the B&B where Aubrey was staying. By the time I finally reached it, my bare feet were very bruised and very sore. I passed clumps of Otherworlders on my way, but carefully avoided them. The last thing I needed was to speak to any of them right now.
The town was busier now at the dead of night than it had been the last time I was here during the day. Emergency service vehicles stood around, silently attesting to the tragedy that had taken place out on the water. There were also lots of press.
“It’s not known what exactly had made The Light of the Loch sink,” a reporter was saying into a camera as I passed, making sure I kept to the shadows to avoid any undue attention considering my practically naked form, “but the reports we are getting from eyewitnesses suggest that perhaps, just perhaps, it was a massive creature that swam up behind it. If those statements turn out to be true, then the Loch Ness Monster is indeed real, and is indeed a monster.”
Jesus.
I picked up my speed and swerved right, then quietly opened the front door to the small guesthouse, and ran up the stairs. Without even bothering to get changed first, I went straight to Aubrey’s room and knocked on the door. He opened it almost immediately, his face white. When he saw it was me, unashamed relief sprang into his face, and he reached over to pull me into a hug. If he thought it was strange that I was only wearing a fluorescent orange life-vest and was patently naked underneath, he didn’t pass comment.
“I thought you were dead,” he said.
I stepped backwards and looked at him. His eyes were glassy with unspent tears. Not the hysterical tears I’d come to expect from him, but a more deep-seated emotion. I was sorry for what I was about to do.
“Aubrey,” I said, “a few days ago one of your friends sought me out.”
He started, and looked even paler than before.
“She said that she could tell me where Endor was. The terms of the potential agreement were unacceptable, however.”
I didn’t spell out what her demands had been. I didn’t think I needed to. The former vamp just stared at me, waiting to hear what else I was going to say.
“How would she have known how to find him? His leak to Tarn notwithstanding, I don’t get the impression that Endor is the sharing caring type, even with the undead, so how would a bloodsucker know where he is?”
Aubrey licked his lips. “Because we’re – they’re - undead,” he said quietly. “Vampires have the ability to walk the line between the living and the dead, just like a necromancer would. They have a foot in both worlds, and can visit both worlds. We know Endor had close ties to the dead. They must know what he’s doing.”
A thought tugged at me. “So by going to the, er, dead world, they can talk to the dead?”
“Some of them. It’s a very dark place, Mack. Even most vampires don’t spend much time there.” He smiled humourlessly. “This is one of the many reasons they’re so keen to find me. Nobody is meant to know we have the ability to talk to the dead. They’ll be concerned that I’ll go blabbing all their secrets.”
“They know you’re alive now?”
He snorted. “No. That’s meant to be impossible. But I imagine they think I’m working for you. Although why I’d do that if I was still a vampire would be a complete mystery.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Indeed.”
“You don’t completely get it, Mack,” he said earnestly. “You think you do, but you don’t. When you’re a vampire, nothing else matters beyond power. Power from blood, power from wealth, power from whatever. There aren’t any emotions. To be a vampire is to be the ultimate sociopath. Taking orders from someone else, dragon or otherwise, is not power.” He gazed at me seriously. “Do it.”
I gave him a questioning look.
“Don’t play dumb,” he said softly. “Do it. Hand me over. They’re not going to quit trying to get me back because having me loose in the world diminishes their power.” A faint smile crossed his face. “Maybe you’re right and they’ll just turn me back.”
“Is that what you want?”
He shook his head. “But if that’s what happens, then I fully expect you to come after me and drive a stake through my heart. I’ve wronged you enough to deserve it.”
I frowned. “You’re on my f*cking team now, Aubrey. I’ve got my dragon claws into you and I’m not going to let go. I need you to do one thing though.”
“Anything.” His eyes seemed lit up from deep within.
“You need to take me there.”
He looked puzzled.
“To the dead,” I explained.
“I can’t. I’m not a vamp any more, remember? I can’t get there.”
I grinned. “I can. Well,” I amended, “with a little help, I can. I just need you to point the way somewhat.”
“It’s dangerous, Mack.”
“I know.” I held his gaze. “We’re out of choices though.”
Aubrey took a deep breath. “Okay. Now?”
“We’ll leave in fifteen minutes.”
I quickly nipped to my own room, and yanked off the life-belt so I could finally put on some proper clothes. As I was shoving my feet into my trainers, I picked up the phone and dialed Alex.
“Hey. I guess you’ve heard what happened?”
“Yeah.” His voice was was dull. “So much for the palladium.”
I didn’t bother dwelling on our failure. We needed to act now, not prevaricate. “I need you to get to Balud ASAP and find out why it didn’t work. Maybe it was because the weapons were only lined with it and weren’t one hundred percent pure palladium. Maybe it was something to do with the way we extracted it. I don’t know, Alex. But you need to find out. And find out f*ckng quickly.”
“Do you think it was my fault? If we’d gone with the pure palladium and just paid for it, then do you think those people would still be alive?”
“Shut the f*ck up. It was no-one’s fault. It was shitty and it happened, but we need to stop worrying about what we can’t change and find out how to fix it to make sure we get him next time.”
“Okay, dude.”
“Alex,” I said warningly, “I mean it. If there’s blame to be had, it lies with me. It was my plan. And I’m not sitting around crying about it, not any more. We’re going to beat this bastard one way or another. Maybe not today, but we f*cking will get him.”
“Okay.” His voice sounded firmer this time.
“Great.”
I hung up and took a quick look around the room to make sure I’d not left anything behind. It would have been nice to enjoy a hot shower first, but I wanted to get moving straight away. I picked up my bag and jogged downstairs. In the small garden, sat on a picnic table, was a faerie. I didn’t really recognise her, but it didn’t matter. I walked right up to her.
“I need you to find Solus.”
She blinked at me slowly. Our defeat was hitting everyone hard.
“Hey,” I said, “go and get Solus and bring him here right now. And when I say right now, I mean right now.”
She screwed up her face as if annoyed at being told what to do, but clicked her fingers anyway and vanished. I hoped she was actually going to do what I’d told her. Ordering people around was harder than I had ever imagined it to be. I was starting to feel a glimmer of sympathy for other people during all those times when I’d kicked back against authority. I was a f*cking pain in the arse sometimes.
Fortunately, the Fae had been paying attention because just as Aubrey emerged from the front door, Solus appeared.
He bowed dramatically. “My lady. Are you all right? I tried to find you, but Lord Furry seemed to have things covered.” He patted me on the shoulder. “We’ll get him next time, dragonlette.”
“I know,” I replied grimly, then moved onto more pressing matters. “Do you realise where we are?”
“I believe we’re in the poorly tended garden of a ridiculously small and quaint bed and breakfast.” He wrinkled his nose. “It’s not exactly the Ritz.”
I gave him an exasperated look. “We’re only about fifty kilometres away from Inverness.”
“Where we first met. Happy times, dragonlette, happy times.”
I kicked him. “Focus, please, Solus. What I mean is we are only fifty kilometres away from the Clava Cairns. The gateway to the in-between place.”
It may have been over half a year, but I had very distinct memories of what it had been like in there – and how thankful I was that the Fae had come to find me and help me get out. I’d not had much choice at the time; I’d needed to get away from the mages and the police, and the portal at the Cairns had been about my only option. I’d been able to open it myself thanks to the fact it had been the Winter Solstice. This time I’d need more help.
He looked troubled. “Yes, it’s not far away. Why?”
“Because Aubrey and I are going to go in. Further in. I just need you to open it up for me.”
“Dragonlette…”
I gave him my ‘don’t f*ck with me’ look. He sighed.
“Okay, then. I’m guessing by its proximity, you don’t want to use a portal.”
My stomach heaved at the mere thought. “There are enough shifter and mage cars around. We’ll be there within the hour if we drive.”
Solus gave me a half smile. “Then let’s do this.”