Blood Debts (The Temple Chronicles Book 2) (24 page)

W
e continued to assess the car in respectful silence, Othello nodding her head in agreement that it was time to leave. The driver was obviously dead, having had no time to defend himself as he had been the first to be attacked. The side that wasn’t slammed up against the building was covered in a mix of both a little of my blood and a lot of the drivers blood. Then of course, there was his headless corpse in the seat, and his severed head on the hood. I shivered, glad that it wasn’t facing me. I glanced down at my side curiously, noticing a few shallow, but bloody gashes down my ribs. I had forgotten about them while being slammed into walls and such by the Demon. They weren’t fatal.

“He might be on surveillance with us breaking you out of jail. This car will definitely be spotted. It’s a burner anyway, but it could have trace evidence on it. If they link this to you, it won’t go well. Burn it all. No trace. He knew what he was getting himself into. He volunteered after hearing about you and the were-dragons a few months ago. As did the others.”

“Others?” I asked softly.

“I have some friends waiting for us at the safe-house. They have a few tools for us, but then their contract is up. Unless you have another $20,000 to pay them.”

I blinked, not turning away from the dead man. I didn’t realize I was such a celebrity with the supernatural mercenaries. “You paid them $20,000… to help me?” I asked softly, feeling both guilty and impressed. She nodded. “Using them over the next few days might not be a bad idea. I’ll write them a check.”

“Cash only.” She answered.

That made sense. “Oh. Okay. That shouldn’t be a prob…” Then I remembered that all my bank accounts were frozen and I scowled at life in general. “I guess we’re on our own then.” She shrugged. Knowing my power was dwindling, I agreed with her assessment of the evidence. I felt cold, deep inside my soul. This stranger who had helped me escape was dead. The money Othello had paid him wouldn’t ever be utilized. I didn’t even know the man’s name. I decided to honor the dead man by calling on the old Boatman. At least last respects would be served.

I summoned up a storm of fire and incinerated the vehicle without a single movement. Othello jumped back in surprise. “It still gets me when you do things like that. You didn’t even say anything. Or move. You used to have to do things like that to use your power.” I looked at her thoughtfully. She was right. I normally had to perform some kind of physical action to use some of my larger spells. But with the power spike from my parents’ deaths — transforming me into a Maker, as I now understood — I didn’t need any assistance for spells that used to be difficult for me. Of course, none of that would matter in three days when my power disappeared entirely. I called Charon with a whisper.

The boatman hesitated when he saw me, sniffing the air. I frowned. The Boatman had never done that before. Maybe my Demon cologne wasn’t entirely gone. Or maybe Sir Dreadsalot’s smell filled the street. But the Boatman departed with his usual acceptance of the man’s soul and a final wave of gratitude, sailing off into the curtain of falling snow before disappearing.

Othello waved back. I didn’t. I turned us away and began to shamble down the street, letting Othello know it was time for us to leave. A voice called out behind me. “That was a crime.” I froze. Othello jerked to the right, raising her nanobot gun. I turned slowly, and then held out my hand for Othello to stand down. She frowned at me, but complied. I scowled at Gavin, my parole officer.

“How long have you been watching me? I could have used some damn help.”

Gavin watched me, looking angry. “It seems like plenty of
damned
people were here already.” He spat. I frowned, and then understood that he was referring to the Demon as a
damned
Angel. A
Fallen
Angel.

“Why didn’t you help?” I demanded voice raspy with barely bottled anger.

“It is not my job to help you. It is my job to prevent you from performing any more crimes. Which you just did. Also, you seem to be out of jail, where you rightfully belong. I should deliver you back to them.” He looked conflicted. “It would be the right thing to do.”

I blinked back at him in disbelief. “
The right thing to do
? Arresting the only person who seems to give a shit about Demons running around my city, slaughtering innocents, and raising hell? That sounds like the
right thing to do
? You’re one twisted bastard, you know that?” I spat back in disgust.

Gavin took an aggressive step forward. “Don’t tempt me. I could justifiably end you. Right here, right now.”

“
Tempt
you?” I snarled, quivering in disbelief. “I just fought a Demon in the middle of the street and you sat there and watched. Even the
Regular
jumped in to help me. What the hell is wrong with you? Are you honestly delusional enough to think you are wearing the White Hat here? The Academy has fallen a long way if that’s the case. You guys are completely brainwashed if the right and wrong side of this situation is confusing to you. I used to be proud to be a member of the Academy. But your actions disgust me.”

Gavin stared at me, trembling with rage and… doubt. In himself? But it didn’t last long. He was back to his arrogant self a second later. “There were no innocents here to defend. Only a criminal and his sidekick.” He argued.

“Now wait a damn minute. I am no sidekick. I just took out a Demon!” She hissed indignantly.

Othello was pissed. I looked from Gavin to her then shrugged. “Well, he has a point. It’s kind of what sidekick’s do. Save the day when the real superhero is down.”

She slowly turned her fiery eyes to me and I took a step back in case she had any more ammunition for her metallic death-eating minion launcher. I turned back to Gavin. “Regardless, you were a disgrace. After seeing me fight a Demon, I am pretty sure you can safely deduce that I’m not working with them. I nearly died trying to keep him from getting the Armory. And my power is fading. Fast. What the fuck more do you want from me?”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “The Key.” I took an aggressive step forward. “As you were commanded. You were also commanded to end the Demons in St. Louis. I don’t see how you believe this to be a noble reaction on your part when you are doing as commanded.”

I wanted to rip his face off. Slowly. “No one
commands
me, Gavin. Fucking
no one
.” I was literally shaking with fits of rage and utter disbelief at his piety. “Especially a bunch of hypocritical little bitches sitting safely on the sidelines. I would rather slit my wrists than be associated with scum like you. You literally sat there and watched as a Demon fought me for your precious Key. Were you waiting for him to end me so that you could run to your boss and get a promotion for how good of a boy you had been? Pathetic. I’m finished with the Academy. You’re a stain to honor everywhere.”

Gavin slammed his fist into his thigh. A pulsing greenish light slammed into the ground and hurtled towards me, knocking me clear on my ass. I jumped to my feet ready to fight, but he still stood in the same spot, and looked… slightly embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have attacked you.”

I blinked.

He took a deep breath. “I don’t appreciate anyone making a mockery of my life’s work.” He shifted from foot to foot. “However, I understand your frustrations. Working as a Justice hasn’t been… exactly as I thought it would. I too sense… darkness in our purpose. It used to be as you say, honorable, but now, I’m not so sure. I see a lot of things happen, a lot of commands given that I truly do not understand, nor agree with. But if the group charged with being the good guys seems to be acting not to the standards I expect, does that mean I am in some way unworthy? That I truly do not know the greater good? I can’t seem to accept the fact that they are wrong or have bad intentions. They are the
Academy
, for Christ’s sake. If I don’t work for the good guys, what does that make me? I just want to be a good guy.”

He looked genuinely torn. Huh. Was he really that naïve? He was so brainwashed that he didn’t know how to stand up to his superiors when they seemed to be making bad calls? Maybe that was how they had been trained. To never challenge their betters. In fact, it made sense. They wouldn’t want insubordination in a life or death situation. Like the military. But this seemed like a huge chink in their armor. I could see that Gavin truly wanted to be a good guy and just as truly didn’t know what that meant anymore. But he also didn’t have enough independence to realize that completely.

“Gavin, listen to me. What were you commanded to do?” I asked, managing to relax my shoulders into an unthreatening posture. I noticed Othello’s eyes darting back and forth between us, ready for anything, knowing me better than most.

“To watch over you and prevent you from making any deals with either party. The Key belongs to the Academy.” My fingers tingled. To make sure I didn’t make any deals. Well that was dicey. How could I use my trickery if I wasn’t allowed to play one enemy against another? Making a deal was pretty much the only way I thought I could survive long enough to get to the summoner, which was the only way to end the Demon presence and keep the Armory safe. In fact, it was pretty much a guarantee that I would have to make a deal in order to get a face-to-face with the true enemy.

“And if I were to make a deal, but hadn’t actually given over the Key yet, what were you commanded to do?”

He looked up at me with hard, but torn, eyes. “Kill you.”

My head sagged. “You understand that for me to get close enough to the bad guys to end this that I pretty much
have
to make a deal, right?”

He nodded after a long wait.

“Follow that thought to its rational conclusion and tell me what you see.” I said gently.

He did, and I watched his shoulders begin to sag, but he didn’t speak.

“So, you realize that you were chosen to pretty much be my assassin. I am commanded to go after the Demons and end them, yet your boss bound my power so that I am not strong enough to accomplish the task. Which makes it 100% likely that I will have to use subterfuge and trickery to get close enough to finish this, meaning I would need to at least
pretend
to make a deal. You were hired to watch over me and make sure that I don’t break any laws… but even if I
pretended
to make a deal, you were to
kill
me. So, the Academy has taken away my power to fight for myself, meaning I will be killed or lose my magic forever, but if I found another way to usurp them and made a deal, you would be there to kill me… to
end
me.” I watched as his shoulders slumped further. “You were hired as a hit man, not a probation officer.” I finally said softly. He wasn’t looking at me. “Look at me, Gavin. Look at your
victim
. Your
target
. Your
mark
. You know you couldn’t take me in a fair fight, so your boss helped you out, made your mark harmless.” He flinched at each word, as if I was physically striking him, but he didn’t look up. “LOOK AT ME!” I roared. Othello jumped in alarm. Finally Gavin lifted his gaze. I stared him in the eyes for a long time. “Do you still think your boss is wearing a white hat?”

He finally shook his head. “But if I can’t trust them, who can I trust?”

I sighed in resignation, rubbing my hands together for warmth. “Yourself, kid. Always yourself. You might not always be right, but at least you can rationalize all your actions and know why what you do is right or wrong, rather than blindly following some creed. It’s never good when you blindly follow some belief system or group of people without consciously deducing whether what they do is right or wrong. The number one test is to wonder what would happen if you openly, but respectfully, questioned your commander’s decision when you think it’s wrong. If the answer in any way resembles punishment, pain, or ridicule, rather than an explanation, you are probably not working for the good guys.”

Gavin nodded his head after a moment. “I want to do the right thing.” My shoulders relaxed for a moment. “But I still do not trust you, Temple. You caused so much chaos here with the dragons, and you hold the launch codes to the Armory. I will give you a chance, but that doesn’t mean I work for you. I work for myself… and possibly the Academy. I will not let their corruption get in your way, or the way of the innocents, but that does not make us friends. Understood?”

I nodded. “Thanks for hearing me out, Gavin.”

“Don’t thank me just yet. I won’t mention anything to my superiors about what happened here tonight. But I’m still watching you.” With a final nod, he Shadow Walked, disappearing with a faint
crack
in the air. The falling snow pulsed away from the void as if repelled, leaving a faint circle of bare street where he had been standing.

Othello watched me in surprise, several fat snowflakes settling on her eyelashes. “So, he’s one of the good guys, eh?” I shrugged, letting her guide me in the direction of the safe house as my mind raced. Perhaps Gavin wasn’t on my side, but at least I knew he wasn’t a zealot for the Academy anymore. My thoughts drifted to the Demon’s threats. How would I protect the werewolf? Who was he? Where was he?

At least I knew it wouldn’t be Gunnar.

It’s the little things that matter.

Chapter 18