Lies Ripped Open (31 page)

“Oh he’ll see you. Any time someone comes to apologize, he’ll always see them. He’s far too eager to be told how he was right all along.

“Now, this next thing is important. While that griffin and his friends were taking turns giving me a kicking, he let slip something. I know who’s in charge of this sect, and at least another two. Enfield.”

I sat down on the nearest chair I could find. “Enfield? Well that can’t possibly be good.”

Guilt settled inside of me. I should have gone after Enfield. I should have stopped him there and then. But I didn’t, I was so busy dealing with my own shit that I cast him aside, and now innocent people were dead. That was at least partially on me. “Looks like he’s finally surfaced. It’s been long enough that I thought, sorry, hoped, that the bastard might have died. But this time, once we get the answers we need, I’m going to make sure he can’t hurt anyone else every again.”

I took a deep breath and a thought hit me. “Wait. Mortimer said that Kelly was getting her orders from someone high up. That’s Enfield. So we find Enfield and we can hopefully find the people who are responsible for all of this. Any ideas where he is?”

Felix shook his head and winced. “Damn it,” he snapped and then took a deep breath. “No.”

“We’ll find him.”

“I know you will. I now need to ask you a favor.”

“Anything. Well, anything so long as I can keep my cloth
es on.”

Felix laughed, which turned into a cough. “Damn it, boy, don’t do that.” Felix reached for a glass of water and took a long drink. “Keep Alan safe.”

“I think Alan knows how to stay safe.”

“Alan knew how to run. He ran from everything, even you. When I first met him in London, all those years ago, it was the first time he’d actually chosen to stick around and help, not because he was paid, or because he had no choice. He’s a different man to the one back then.”

“I know,” I agreed. “He’s done a lot to change his life. Due in no small part to you and Fiona.”

“And now I’m going to be dead, and Fiona is hurt. I don’t want Alan to run away from anything. I don’t want him to revert back to type. Be there for him. He likes you, he always has. I think he respects you more than he wants to let on. These last few decades—before he went to The Hole—were special to me. It was like I had a son. I want him to do great things, I know he can. He just needs to believe in himself, and have people who believe in him. Some people in Avalon would be a little too quick to write him off again if he ever stepped out of line.”

“What am I meant to do with him?”

“Give him a purpose.”

“A job? You want me to employ Alan? To do what, exactly?”

“Not you personally, but you could arrange something. We both know you have contacts in and outside of Avalon. Plea
se do it.”

“I will,” I promised. I meant it too. Alan had come a long way, and it would be a shame to see him revert back to the thieving little bastard who’d caused trouble wherever he went, leaving others to clean up his mess.

Felix looked visibly relieved. “When I took you through the Harbinger trials, I was amazed at your tenacity. At the time you didn’t seem to have the most power, you weren’t the smartest, or the fastest, or the strongest, but you did whatever it took to get things done. And now you have a level of power to go alongside it. I heard over the years that you managed to learn necromancy. That true?”

I nodded.

“And you let your nightmare out. Don’t deny it, I saw what you did.”

“Didn’t have a choice.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Nathan. You can’t trust them, they’ll tell you such sweet things, and promise you they’re only doing what’s best. But that magic wants control of you, make no mistake about it. If you let it, it will consume you. Becoming a nightmare is a pretty good way to get yourself killed.”

I didn’t see a need to bring up the curse marks, or how my nightmare had taken a different name. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Every sorcerer says that. But as it’s you, I’ll take your word for it.” Felix smiled. “Have you ever considered teaching others to do what you do? Not just the fighting, or being badass, I mean training someone to be another Hellequin.”

“The world doesn’t need another Hellequin. And I’m not mad keen on the idea of training someone up to kill people. I do enough of that already.”

“How about defend themselves, their loved ones? You could do that, you could teach people how to be better at who they are. I think you’d be good at it.”

“I think I would create a monster.”

“No you wouldn’t, you’re just scared that you’d be unable to separate the defense from the killing. Killing is the end result, but your training goes further than that. Besides, who in our world isn’t a killer?”

“That’s not a reason to personally add to the total.”

“Maybe not. But instead of being all high and mighty, ask yourself this: if you could teach someone you care about what you do, what you’re capable of, and it saved their life, and the lives of people they loved, would it be worth it?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but found no words wanted to come out.

“Can you fetch Alan for me?” Felix said before I was able to sort through the words in my head. “I want to talk to you both.”

I went off to find Alan, and discovered him sitting by the pool of water. He was flicking the cool contents across the pool.

“Felix wants you,” I told him.

He stopped what he was doing. “Yeah, I guess he’s going to die now.” Alan went back to flicking the water.

“What is wrong with you?”

“I’m angry, angry that out of everyone he has to die. I finally found people I give two shits about and they’re all getting hurt or dying. If this is the life you lead when you have friends, then you can fucking well take it back.”

“It doesn’t work like that, mate,” I said and sat beside him.

“I had a family once. A long time ago. A village on the border of Scotland. I was only about fifteen and was still unsure exactly what I was. My parents, being as great as they were, pretty much abandoned me to whichever holy man they could find.”

“I ended up in another village, working for a priest there. I grew up with those people, I finally felt like I belonged
somewhere
. One day a group of Vikings came to our village. They killed everyone, burned the place to the ground and stole
whatever
they wanted. I was out at sea when it happened,
reveling
in my powers. Everyone I cared about died in one afternoon of blood and fire.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Fuck being sorry. It was a long time ago. It took me ten years to track down the people who did it. I destroyed their village, and everyone in it. And I do mean everyone. Right then I pledged to never give a shit about anyone but me. I wasn’t going to go through that again. And for hundreds of years it worked just fine. And now I care about people and look where it gets me.”

“Don’t be an ass,” I said. “You love people, you lose people. It’s part of life. But when you lose someone you care about, you don’t let go of all that they meant to you. You never truly lose the people who mattered the most in life.”

Alan glanced up from the pool. “Did you get that line from a Disney film?”

“Probably a fortune cookie, I forget. The point is, you’re going to lose people who matter, we all do. Felix says you’ve changed, that you’re a better man than you were. Prove him right.”

Alan stood up. “This whole acting like a grownup thing sucks. And I’m nearly a millennium old.”

“Enfield is behind all of this.” I’d considered not telling Alan until later, but I wanted him to know what was going to happen.

“We going to hunt him down?”

“God, yes.”

“Good, let’s go see the old man then.”

We found Felix slumped over in bed. Alan rushed to his side, pushing him back as a ragged breath left Felix’s mouth. “You two took your time,” he said.

“I don’t want you to die,” Alan said. “There are still things I want to learn. Still things I need you for.”

“You spent hundreds of years being an asshole,” Felix said with a smile. “Now, a little later than most, you’ve grown up. Good things are worth the wait. I’m proud of you, boy . . . Alan.”

Alan rubbed his eyes and I felt like leaving them alone.

“Don’t you fucking go anywhere, you’re next,” Felix said, making me smile.

“And what do you want me to do?”

“Take my soul when I’m gone. Use it. And when you find Enfield, kill him. Can you do that?”

“I don’t know if I can. I can only take the souls of people who died fighting.”

“What the fuck do you think I’ve been doing?” He raised the rune on his hand toward me. “You painted this on me so I could keep fighting. I’m not lying down and waiting for death.”

I thought about his words. It was worth a try. “If I can take it, I will, I promise.”

“And you kill Enfield.”

“He’s not going to be long for the world once we find him,” I promised.

Felix reached under the bed and produced a bottle of
whiskey
. “Grab some glasses from the food cavern. Bring the fox and wolf back here too.”

I did as asked and was soon standing in front of Felix with Ellie and Remy on one side and Alan still sitting beside him. We each had a glass of whiskey in hand.

Felix raised his glass. “To friends, to those you love, may you always hold them close. And to your enemies, may you always make them burn.”

We all raised our glasses and then knocked back the strong liquid.

Felix began to close his eyes. I reached out with my necromancy to touch his soul. He didn’t have long, seconds rather than minutes. “Say your final words,” I told everyone.

“Good-bye, Felix,” Remy said. “It was a pleasure.”

“Give the afterlife hell,” Ellie told him.

I reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it slightly. He squeezed it back, the barest amount of power in use. “Be at peace. I’m honored to have known you.”

Alan stood and lent forward kissing Felix on the forehead. “You’re the closet thing I ever had to a father, and the one man I’d be proud to call my dad.”

Felix turned slightly toward Alan and a smiled flickered across his face, and then he passed.

CHAPTER
31

January 1889. Camelot.

B
y the time I’d reached the realm gate on Avalon Island and passed through into the realm of Albion, my anger at what Merlin had done was still burning brightly inside me. When I was only thirteen years old, he’d had Felix take me through the Harbinger trials. Merlin had lied to me, and I wanted answers.

Merlin’s home was just outside of the city of Camelot, and I took a carriage from the realm gate intending to go all the way to his property. I wasn’t even halfway there when the tightness in my gut got worse and worse with every passing moment.

When the carriage stopped suddenly, I was at first confused. It was still some distance to Merlin and for a moment I wondered if there’d been an accident up ahead. I put my head out of the carriage window and was met by Elaine.

“Care for some company?” she asked.

“Not really,” I told her.

She pushed me back inside and climbed into the carriage, dismissing her guard, who didn’t appear to be too impressed with the notion of leaving her alone.

“You can follow, if you must,” she eventually agreed.

“You want to tell me why you decided to come see me?” I asked.

“You’re off to see Merlin, yes?” She was concerned, whether it was about what I’d do to Merlin, or what he’d do to me, I didn
’t know.

I wasn’t surprised. Elaine had a knack for knowing things she probably shouldn’t. “How’d you know?”

“Educated guess. How is Felix?”

“No idea. Hopefully hidden by now.”

“You know Merlin won’t like that.”

“Merlin is about to learn a few things he might not like,” I said, angry that Elaine was telling me something I already knew. “He can add it to the list.”

Elaine placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed slightly. “Look, I know that you’re angry with Merlin. He used the souls taken by the Reavers to feed Arthur, but getting into a confrontation with him won’t help.”

I told her about the Harbinger trials.

Elaine sat back and placed a finger over her lips and appeared to ponder the correct response. “You have evidence?”

I removed a piece of paper from my coat pocket and passed it over to her. It was the same paper I’d found in Felix’s
basement
.

“I’d heard rumors about you being taken to the trials as a young boy.”

“You knew?” I snapped.

“Not with certainty.”

“You should have told me.”

“With no evidence? You’d have gone to Merlin, who would have denied everything, and probably gotten Felix killed
centuries
ago. You still have no concrete proof about what you were involved in.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Felix himself told me about his part in what happened. I’m going to see what Merlin has to say about it.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed then.”

“I’m not planning on dying, Elaine. I plan on getting out of him whatever he did. I plan on stopping his lies. I plan on getting him to stop using the Reavers. By the way, Fiona will be back soon with a list of Reaver names. The Reavers need to be no more.”

“Once I’ve seen the evidence, the Reavers will be dealt with, I can promise you that. With evidence, Avalon won’t be able to stop their destruction.” Elaine paused for a moment. “What are you going to do if he won’t back down?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know what I’m going to say. But I need to confront him. I need to hear it from his own lips. Then I’ll decide.”

“Don’t do anything rash, Nathan. You’ve not seen him in
person
for many years. He might not be the man you once knew and looked up to.”

The carriage stopped and I opened the door. “Then that makes two of us.” I stepped out into the cold night. “You can wait if you wish.”

“I do.”

“You understand why I have to do this.”

“I do. That does not mean I have to like it. The repercussions could be immense.”

“I know,” I agreed. “But I can’t pretend anymore. There need to be answers, and I will get them.”

“Do not push him too far. He is a man to fear.”

“Yes, well in the mood I’m in, he should be afraid of me.”

Elaine suddenly appeared even more melancholy. “That’s the problem, Nathan, he always has been.”

Merlin’s home was a massive castle, with five floors—as well as an underground complex—and dozens of staff. When your house has an east and west wing, you know it can comfortably be described as too big for one person.

It hadn’t changed much since I’d last been here; there were still guards to let me into the property, and more guards inside who watched me as I walked through the drafty hallway to the rear of the building, the main entrance to the complex below. There were half a dozen secret passageways—that I knew off—which were dotted around the castle, although I doubted that even Merlin was able to keep track of them all.

Several members of staff said hello, but most saw my arrival and went back to whatever they were doing. In addition to enough guards to defend a small country, Merlin’s paladins also lived in the castle. And there wasn’t a single one of those I wanted to bump into. They were fanatical in their commitment to
Merlin
, and more than a little difficult to be around becau
se of it.

I turned a corner and complained inwardly. A paladin stood in front of the entrance to Merlin’s complex.

“Stop,” the paladin said, raising his hand as if that was all that could possibly be needed. You could have scraped the arrogance off him, it shone even brighter than his mirror-like armor.

“I’m here to see Merlin,” I told him.

“Identify yourself.”

I took a breath, reminding myself that they were only doing a job. “Nathan Garrett.”

The paladin didn’t even seem to register that I’d said
anything
.

“You’re not wearing a helm, and your hair is short, so maybe you’re just deaf and there’s nothing in your ears. My name is Nathan Garrett, please let me through.”

“I don’t think I shall be doing that. You should leave.”

“Can you move out of the way?”

His hand dropped to the hilt of his broadsword, which sat on his hip. “Do not make me ask again.”

“If you draw that sword, I’m going to make you eat it,” I said, my anger creeping up. “I need to see Merlin.”

“And I told you no. Merlin is not accepting visitors. You m
ay leave.”

I took a step toward him, and he removed part of the blade from its scabbard.

“Enough,” a man shouted as he walked toward us.

The paladin dropped to one knee as if on command. “My Lord Gawain, Merlin has forbid anyone from entry.”

“Do you really think that includes his right-hand man?” Gawain asked. “Move aside and open the door, or I shall mo
ve you.”

The paladin slinked aside and Gawain opened the door for me, motioning for me to enter. I did so without glancing at the paladin, there was no point in rubbing in his defeat.

“Thank you,” I said as we descended the long, winding staircase, my words echoing all around us.

“I could hardly allow you to fight one of my paladins. What’s so important anyway? It’s been a very long time since your last visit, I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about us.”

Gawain was an honest man, someone who always tried to do the right thing, no matter the consequences. The only problem was his unwavering loyalty to Merlin. If I’d told him what had happened, he would have said I was mistaken, or lied, or anything so his precious bubble of a life wasn’t disturbed. Lancelot, one of his closest friends, had betrayed Arthur, and by
extension
Merlin and Avalon, and then Mordred, his own brother, had done the exact same thing, but on an even worse scale. Since then, Gawain was about as loyal to Merlin and Avalon as any one man could possibly be. He’d been given command of the
paladins
and while he pretended he was still the fun-loving man I’d known centuries ago, he had no sense of humor when it came to Arthur or Merlin.

“Not quite, old friend,” I said with as much cheer as I could manage. “What is Merlin doing that’s so important?”

“Reading, I imagine. He spends most of his time involved in books these days, trying to undo my brother’s curse.” Anger
radiated
from him. Gawain wasn’t fond of talking about his brother. An understandable consequence of being related to
Mordred
.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and I walked through the torch-lit cavern that led to Merlin’s chambers. There were three main rooms, two of which belonged to Merlin as his
living
space, although as we walked past them—both with their doors open—there appeared to be more paper, books, and various writing implements than actual living space.

We reached the double doors that signified the final room, and Gawain pushed them open. Inside was a big enough space to have contained four houses. It was a massive structure with a walkway high above me where half a dozen paladins stood, all watching the floor below. I knew from experience that there were doors up there that led to chambers for the paladins to rest and make their way back to the main house above.

As one the paladins all turned toward Gawain and me. I could feel their eyes boring into me as we walked across the marble floor. I took two steps and stopped. In the center of the room was something that resembled a gigantic aquarium; it was ten feet long and completely cylindrical in shape. Various tubes and devices were attached to the outside of the tank, which was also littered with runes that glowed a deep red. The
water
-like
substance
inside was crystal clear, allowing me to see the occupant. Arthur.

I walked over to the aquarium, ignoring the gazes from above and placed my hand against its cool glass. Arthur floated in the water-like substance that was inside it. I’d never discovered what exactly it was; Merlin wouldn’t reveal his method of creating it. My best guess was that it was normal water modified by the use of runes. It was slightly denser than normal water, although it still behaved in the same way.

Arthur was still clean-shaven, and his hair was exactly the same shoulder-length chestnut color it had been when he’d been lowered into the tank. The substance kept him in a sort of suspended state. He looked dead. The wound to his chest where Mordred had plunged the cursed blade of his sword was still raw and discolored. Now Arthur was barely alive. Using the souls of innocent people to feed on.

“I wondered if you’d ever come back,” Merlin said from behind me.

“Get everyone out of here,” I said, barely keeping my anger in check. “We need to talk.”

“Do you forget who you’re talking to?” His voice contained more amusement than anger, but a moment later I heard Gawain ask if everything was okay and then footsteps above as the
paladins
returned to their quarters.

“Now, why don’t you turn around and talk to me like a man?”

I did as was asked and saw Merlin in the flesh for the first time in countless years. The old stories were just that. They painted Merlin as an elderly man with flowing white hair,
carrying
a big staff that doubled as a wand. Merlin did not look elderly, he appeared to be in his mid to late forties, but was actually about five thousand years older than that. He did have long white hair, that much was true, although his hair had always been that color as long as I could remember. He’d grown a beard since I’d last seen him, which was short and neat. Merlin was a few inches taller than me, and considerably less bulky, but I knew the strength that lay under his expensive suit. He was not a man to be taken lightly.

“You’re feeding Arthur the souls of the murdered,” I said, keeping my rage in check. Getting angry would achieve nothing.

“Don’t be overly dramatic. Arthur is fed the souls of those we vanquish. It keeps him alive much better than magic.”

“You don’t know, do you? You sit in here and give orders, but never actually bother to learn what happens when those orders are carried out. You told the Reavers to collect souls for Arthur? Well, they’ve been doing that, they’ve been murdering people, innocent people, in London.”

“No one in London is innocent, it’s a cesspool of corruption and vice.”

I snapped. “Fuck you, Merlin. I’ve just spent the last few days hunting down Reavers for butchering men and women and taking their souls. Human souls at that. They told me that you allowed this to happen.”

“I don’t have the luxury of asking questions. They bring the souls, I keep Arthur alive. And if you swear at me again, I shall make you regret it, Nathaniel.”

“They’re murdering people, don’t you care?”

“Not really. Humans don’t live long enough to bother me one way or another. A few less in London is hardly a cause for
concern
.”

“They were responsible for the Jack the Ripper murders. Their leader is a man by the name of Enfield.”

“Enfield? A valuable member of my staff.”

“He’s a murderer.”