Dead Warlock: Arcane Inc. Book 5 Read online

  “Don’t look so surprised, Selina,” said Nick. He shoved Clara towards her and the unconscious sorcerer landed in an undignified heap on the path. “Put her away.”

  Selina held out her hand palm up and Clara floated up into the air. Selina then walked inside the villa, leading Clara behind her as if on an invisible string. I wondered what Nick had planned for her. Torture? Death? I wasn’t sure that Clara deserved to die but she certainly couldn’t be allowed to continue with her plans.

  “Where are we?” I asked. All around the island all I could see was water. Not even a boat was in sight. The wind blew off the sea making my hair dance about. I needed a haircut, it had been a while and my hair had grown a quarter of the way over my ears. I was surprised Gabe hadn’t arranged one for me. I quickly pulled out my phone and sent him a text to let him know I was alright and still with Nick. He replied immediately letting me know that he was back in Maidstone and everything was fine.

  “This is my home,” Nick said. “We’re not far from England. I like my solitude, so I protected the island with a spell. No-one can find it without my invitation.”

  “It looks like we’re pretty far away from everything,” I said, searching around for anything that wasn’t water. I was unsuccessful. There weren’t even any birds.

  “That’s part of the spell. If I broke the spell you’d see England right over there.” He pointed East but all I could see was water.

  As we neared the villa I noticed that there were statures along the roof, carved into the shape of the hideous gargoyles that had attacked the AOC not so long ago. I shivered as I looked up at them. Even the stone effigies had creepy eyes. Then I remembered the stories I’d heard about gargoyles when I was with Rachel. She told me that when the sun hit them they turned to stone. “Are they real, or statues?” I asked, pointing up at them. Nick gazed up to where I was pointing.

  “Quite real,” he confirmed. Then he nodded for me to follow him inside.

  It wasn’t as grand as I’d expected inside. The brick walls were left bare and the tiles were old and some cracked. The furnishing was very minimalistic. What few furnishings were there all served a specific function. There was nothing superfluous or decorative.

  “I used to be far more lavish,” Nick said, as if he was reading my mind. “Now I don’t put much stock in possessions. I keep only what I need.”

  We went through to a sitting room which had just a collection of armchairs all looking like they’d been there as long as the building. We passed straight through into a room that was far fuller. It was a library but not just any library. Vast would have been an understatement. The room was the size of a grocery shop and filled from floor to ceiling with books. There were free standing shelves towards the middle of the room and they too were crammed with ancient tomes. There wasn’t a modern book in sight. Some books were locked behind glass doors and I had a hunch they were likely protected with magic. The centre of the room held a large square table and a couple of wooden chairs.

  “This room is the most important room in the villa. Here,” Nick gestured around us. “is every important book on the subject of magic. These pages hold magical secrets that people today never even knew existed. These books have taught me more than any single person ever has.”

  I was in awe. I used to think that Margie’s grimoire collection was impressive, but it was child’s play compared to all this. I could quite happily stay in this room for a hundred years. No wonder Nick was so skilled if he had all this at his disposal. All this knowledge in his head.

  “Volumes from Ancient Egypt, Greece, the Aztecs,” Nick said as he walked slowly through the room, touching various books lightly. “There are books in this room that would burn a mortal’s eyes out of he simply looked at the words.”

  “Oh,” I said, suddenly not so keen to read all of the books.

  “They’re hidden from sight,” he said with a warm smile. “I know you want to read every page in this room, Eddie and I want you to. I want to teach you the ways of magic that only I know. I want you to be as great as I am.”

  “I want that,” I said, nodding eagerly.

  “I know you do because you are my blood and you are like me. But it would be pointless to show you these books in your current state. You don’t have the power to master the spells here. You need more.”

  I understood what he was saying. “Then give me more,” I said. Nick had gathered magic from creatures all around the world. Even creatures from other worlds. He could make me more powerful. I suspected that he had a reserve of magic in this villa somewhere.

  “I cannot give you magic, Eddie. Nobody can. That’s a lesson I had to learn the hard way. If you want magic, you must take it.”

  “Alright,” I agreed. “I’ll take magic. Where can I get enough to learn from these books?”

  “Come.” I followed him through the villa and out onto a spacious patio. The patio ran right up to the edge of the cliff where it dropped sharply onto jagged rocks below. There was a single metal bench to one side of the patio and in the middle was a rusty metal cage. It was just the right size for a dog but not tall enough for a person. Inside still lying unconscious was Clara Winters.

  “Take it from her,” Nick said.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “I don’t know…” I rubbed the back of my neck as I tried to figure things out. I hated Clara for what she’d done but stealing her magic didn’t seem right. Seeing her in the cage looking like an animal made me feel uncomfortable. Everything about this situation seemed wrong. She was lying face down on the floor of the cage, her blonde hair scattered around her head untidily. Her jacket and skirt were tattered and torn from the fight and there was barely anything left of her tights.

  “It may seem like it’s wrong to take her magic, but you simply need to alter your perspective,” Nick said from behind me. “This is the very thing she wanted to use you for. To take magic from those she deemed unworthy to have it. You have declared her as your enemy so does that not make her unworthy of having magic?”

  “It’s not for me to say,” I argued. I was hardly the poster boy for worthiness. Plus, if I started making decisions like that then I was just as bad as she was.

  “It’s not for her to say either. She is your enemy now, Eddie, as you are hers. That means she will come after you again in the future and she has the distinct advantage of being a lot more powerful than you. Change the balance. Neuter her and you’ll no longer need to see her as a threat.”

  He was right, she would keep coming after me. She’d already said I was too valuable and too dangerous. She would never leave me alone. Taking her power was justified. It was Clara’s own plan for those she saw as enemies to her alliance so why shouldn’t we do it back to her? She could hardly argue with us unless she wanted to admit she was a hypocrite. I knelt down outside the cage, still wary. Still not quite ready to touch her. It was like stroking a sleeping tiger. You never knew when it might wake up and bite your hand off.

  “You should do it before she wakes up. I assure you it will be quite impossible to do it after,” said Nick. As if he couldn’t just put her out cold again.

  I took hold of her wrist. Her skin was icy. I could feel her pulse beating slowly. I thought about the consequences to my actions. Once this was done there would be no going back. No backing out of the war with the AOC. They would be coming for me just as much as they were coming for Nick. I’d have no choice but to destroy them. Dean would never come to me to apologise for Clara’s behaviour. He’d most probably come after me as an assassin. I’d already made my choice to side with Nick and I wasn’t taking that back now.

  I gripped Clara more tightly and started siphoning. Her power was not as euphoric as Nick’s, but it was still unlike anything I’d felt before. Rivers of it flowed into me and I had a hard time keeping hold of her. The magic flowing into me felt grubby, as if I was ingesting mud. I could feel the wind tearing around me. I heard windows shatter. As the last dregs of her power became mine I
released her wrist and was slammed onto my back. I didn’t even feel the contact with the concrete, the high from the transfer was too great. My whole body was tingling with magic. The grubbiness was gone, replaced by ecstasy. I didn’t feel threatened anymore. I felt like I could win any fight. I stood up, grinning inanely.

  “Feels good, doesn’t it?” Nick said, smiling back. I nodded. I’d forgotten how it felt to consume magic in such big bursts. It seemed like I hadn’t done it in forever.

  “Come with me. Let’s put that magic to good use.”

  We went out front and he taught me to teleport. I was scared at first. He made it look easy, but I was sure it was anything but. Literally moving yourself from one place to another was probably one of the hardest spells to master, that’s why so few humans could do it. Rachel had taught me that humans were not supposed to teleport, those that could had learned the trick from races with the inherent ability to do so, like Fairies or Jinn. For a human to be able to do it, it took a tremendous amount of power.

  “But if Clara had the power to teleport then why didn’t she?” I asked, still reluctant to try it. I didn’t want to end up leaving my legs behind or something. I don’t know if that’s a possibility, but I think it was in Harry Potter, so best not to risk it.

  “Because Clara had nobody to teach her. It’s tricky to pick up but once you’ve figured it out it’s as easy as a sleeping spell.”

  Three hours. That’s how long it took for me to pick it up, but just as he said, once I’d figured it out it was as easy as piss. Actually, I think the saying is easy as pi. Annoyingly, whenever I teleported there was a loud cracking sound. Nick said it was because I was displacing atoms or something, but when he teleported he did so silently. He didn’t have an explanation for that, but suspected it was due to having gathered magic from so many beings. I wondered if I would ever be as skilled as Nick without doing the same. Maybe I should go on a power hunt, it would be a pretty fun adventure. A bonding opportunity for us.

  We were just finishing up when there was a crack and a greasy-haired warlock appeared.

  “News?” Nick asked him as if he’d been expecting the intrusion.

  “The Alliance is in full panic mode. Two covens have already gone home and more are threatening to if Clara doesn’t return soon. They believe she was their only hope of fighting you and without her they have no chance,” he said.

  Nick smiled to himself. “Naive of them to think they had any hope at all,” he said musingly. “You see, Eddie, the alliance is about to crumble. The war is nearly won already.” He turned back to the other guy. “Ben, I need you to go and fetch the witness.” Ben walked off towards the villa.

  “Witness?” I asked. It sounded awfully mysterious.

  “When they realise Clara isn’t coming back there will be some who refuse to disband. Arthur will be able to hold some of the covens together,” he said, ignoring my question about the witness. “There will be so few, however, that it will take no time at all to end the war once and for all.”

  “Clara’s not going back? She’s no threat without her magic so we don’t need to keep her,” I said. I didn’t like the woman, but I felt like we’d punished her enough. Keeping her locked up was overkill, even if she had threatened me with the same. Besides, a life without magic was worse than a life behind bars.

  “I have no intention of keeping her,” he said. “We can’t send her back either. If freed, she would not rest until she had taken back her magic and killed the both of us. No, to end all this nonsense finally, Clara must die.”

  “No,” I said firmly, shaking my head. “I am not up for that. That’s not justice, she doesn’t deserve death.”

  “Justice?” Nick said, as if it was a joke. “You think she deserves justice? What kind of justice did you have in mind, a trial with judges and juries?” he mocked.

  “Yeah, sure. That would be fairer than just killing her,” I said, prickling with annoyance.

  “You want justice? Very well. Let’s hold a trial for Clara Winters. You can reside as judge.”

  “You’re really going to let me decide her fate?” I said, it seemed unlikely considering I was against his plans.

  “Oh yes, I believe that once this trial is over, you’ll have a change of heart.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  We returned to the rear patio and found that Clara was now awake. She was sitting helplessly in the cage staring angrily through the rusty bars at us. “Eddie, you have sunk low,” she said, seething.

  “Sounds like someone doesn’t like the taste of their own medicine,” I said with a goading leer. Even though I pitied her I was still enjoying the role reversal. What goes around comes around and all that.

  “What is this cage made of?” she said, touching the bars gingerly. “Iron doesn’t work on me.” She thought the cage was blocking her magic. She had no idea that I’d taken it. I looked awkwardly at Nick. Things were about to get nasty.

  “You have nothing to fear,” he told me. He gestured lazily at the cage and the front clattered loudly to the patio. Clara wasted no time getting out. She shot into the open, stood up straight and thrust her hand out dynamically. Sadly, for her nothing happened. She tried again. After the third failed attempt she looked down at her hand and then at the two of us in abject horror.

  “You didn’t…” she whispered. Her face turned a deathly shade of white. Her breathing became erratic. Her hand went to her heart and she grabbed hold of the bars behind her for support.

  “I think she may be having a panic attack,” Nick said with a hint of mirth to his voice.

  “You stole my magic!” she screamed lividly. Her eyes were bulging and her face had turned crimson. There was an angry vein pulsating in her forehead. Her hair clung to her sweaty face.

  “Consider it more of a confiscation,” I told her. My voice was too quiet and lacked my usual swagger. This all still felt wrong. I felt more like a bully than someone who had been wronged and was now seeking retribution.

  “Eddie may feel inclined to give it back,” Nick said, though he did not think that was very likely from his tone of voice. “We’ve decided to do things your way.”

  “My way?” she repeated. Her breathing was calming down now. “What are you talking about?”

  “We’re putting you on trial for your crimes. Eddie will judge your case and I’ll present the evidence against you. I won’t lie, Clara, I’m seeking the death penalty.” He chuckled nastily, a deep gravelly sound.

  Nick waved his hand lavishly through the air. A raised platform appeared at one end of the patio, an ornate dining chair akin to a throne atop it. In the centre of the patio the cage vanished and was replaced by a box just like the one in the AOC hearing room. A witness stand took the place where the garden bench had been before.

  “If we could all take our places then the trial can begin,” said Nick.

  I walked over to the chair that was meant for me, thinking about how messed up this whole situation was. At least the control seemed to be in my hands. I was the one who could maintain some sort of order in all of this. Clara’s life depended on my decision. I was certain that there was nothing Nick could say that would make me change my mind about killing her. I eased myself into the chair and waited. Clara still had not moved. She was standing next to the defendant’s box but refusing to get in it.

  “Clara, we are waiting on you,” said Nick like a teacher might to a disruptive pupil.

  “I am not taking part in this farce,” she said.

  Nick stepped towards her dangerously. “I’m sure that all the warlocks you’ve put on trial felt the same way. Did you show them any curtesy?”

  “They were warlocks. They deserve no curtesy.” Nick’s faced twisted in rage and his hand shot up. At the last minute he thought better of it. Clara tried desperately to mask her fear but it was pointless. She was nothing but a frightened human now. Gone was the grace and dignity of the Supreme Dynast. “This ridicule is over.” She turned from Nick and began
marching towards the villa as if she could actually leave.

  Nick sighed tiredly. “Bailiff!” he shouted. A tall curly haired man who was built like a wrestler stormed out of the villa. Clara stopped walking as he approached. She raised her hands to fight but then remembered she had no magic. The man referred to as bailiff grabbed hold of her upper arm and dragged her back to the patio. She tried to fight him but he was huge compared to her. She shouted in anguish as he dragged her kicking and screaming to the centre of the patio where he shoved her forcefully into the box. It was unpleasant to watch. I knew that after this I would never look at Clara the same again. She’d lost her elegance and her dignity. The only saving grace was that her own people weren’t here to see it.

  Realising that she had no choice but to proceed she straightened up. She patted her hair so it was as tidy as possible and pushed it behind her ears. She smartened up her tattered suit and then looked at me stoically. Through it all I saw the pleading behind her expression. She was begging me to help her. I broke the eye contact and looked at Nick. He alone was enjoying himself.

  “Let’s begin,” he said jovially. He clapped his hands together and came to stand in the middle of the space between me and Clara. “Clara Winters has created the largest alliance of covens the world has ever seen. She claims that she has done this with the good of everybody in mind. Would you agree with this statement?” he said, turning to face her.

  She stared coldly at him, considering whether or not she should even answer. “I would,” she said strongly.

  “Well just because she thinks it is for everybody’s good doesn’t make it so. Clara wants to rule people, but people just want to be free.”

  “If they wanted to be free they wouldn’t have joined the alliance,” she snapped. Nick smiled.

  “I’m glad you brought that up. Can you tell the court, what tactics you used to persuade the dynasts to join your alliance?”

  Her eyes narrowed. She knew he had something. What was she hiding? “I explained my reasoning to them and they agreed with me. They agreed that allying to keep our kind’s secret was for the best. They agreed that setting down laws to protect our kind was for the best.”