Bound (24 page)

‘No shit. It’s bending space, you can see reality tearing around it.’

Alex gritted his teeth. The thing above tore at his brain. It was like trying to hold back an accelerating car with a rope. He powered up the whirlpool of air, spinning the thing into a blur, desperate to disorient it, break its power. With all the mental might he could muster he hauled on it, drawing it down towards them.

‘It’s coming!’ Silhouette said.

‘When it’s close enough, you’ll have to grab it! I can’t hold on for long. As soon as you can, kill it, don’t waste a second.’

‘Are you sure?’

Alex grimaced, trying to hang on to the thing as it thrashed and spun high above them. ‘I’ve never been surer! It’s a danger to us.’

‘All right then.’ She bolted from his side and scaled the wall beside them, leaping from shutter to windowsill, heading for the roof with incredible agility and grace.

Good girl!
He concentrated on nothing but countering the magic of the thing trying to leave this realm, dragging it down. Silhouette made the roofs and started running. He drew the creature down above the alley and Silhouette leapt from the edge, arcing out into the sky. She snatched the thing from the air and landed on the opposite side. Her shoulders flexed, her elbows flaring briefly as she struggled for a grip, then she twisted violently. The magic died, the presence of the creature, whatever it was, snuffed out.

Alex leaned against one wall, catching his breath. He was pleased to notice that his control had been clearer and his exhaustion less total. Already his mental stamina was returning to normal.

Silhouette landed lightly beside him. She held something out to him, her expression slightly disgusted. It hung slack and leathery.

Alex took it, held it up. It looked like a featherless bird with the wide, thin wings of a bat. Its black skin, wrinkled at its joints and neck, pulled taut across its body. It had a sharp beak that gleamed like obsidian. ‘What the fuck is it?’ Alex asked.

‘I think it’s a planesbird,’ Silhouette said. ‘I’ve never seen one before, but I’ve heard of them. Quite powerful. It was definitely following us.’

‘I guess this explains how that Subcontractor kept finding us.’

Sil grimaced. ‘You think this has been on us all this time?’

‘I don’t know. But let’s hope we finished it before it told anyone else where we are. That Subcontractor guy said something about Black Diamond and someone called Hood, remember? Maybe he sent this.’

‘That was a bit of a struggle just then,’ Silhouette said thoughtfully, ‘but it certainly wasn’t worse than the thing we fought in Canada.’

‘Which means,’ Alex said, ‘this is probably a lookout. A scout.’

‘So something else is coming.’

Alex looked up and down the alley, checking it was still empty. He threw the planesbird to the ground and agitated the air around it, visualised the consuming flames of a furnace. After a few seconds his magic surged and he immolated the weird bird, leaving nothing on the ground but a dark stain. ‘We’d better fuck off then,’ he said, turning to trot up the alley. ‘Let’s put some distance between us and that thing.’

Silhouette jogged alongside. ‘You’re getting good at this stuff, eh?’

Her voice was jovial, amused as well as impressed, and that annoyed Alex. ‘I wish the circumstances were different.’

‘Of course. You don’t want to be in this situation, but you love the power. Don’t try to pretend otherwise.’

He had to admit she was right. ‘I suppose so. Just a shame I had to find out this way.’

‘If it wasn’t for the book, you wouldn’t have discovered the stone. Be rid of the book and keep the Darak and you’re laughing.’

‘If that’s even possible.’

Silhouette put a hand on his shoulder, slowing them to a walk. ‘I truly believe it is, Alex. If anyone can do it, it’s you. You’re a prodigy. You have to figure out how.’

He looked into her eyes, looking for signs of patronising, consoling. He saw none. She seemed to really believe what she said. ‘I hope you’re right. But what if you’re wrong?’

‘Who knows.’

Alex stopped, turned to face her. ‘I’m serious, Sil. If I fuck this up or lose control or whatever, I could cause serious damage. What if I try to fix this and release Uthentia again instead?’

‘I don’t think you will. I think you can beat this. Besides, I’m always on the lookout for excitement and nothing has been this exciting for a long time.’

Alex sneered. ‘Is that why you’re with me? For the excitement?’

‘Yes. And no. I started out with you for the excitement. I’ve stayed because it’s still exciting and because I want to hang out with you.’ She looked coy. ‘You still intrigue me.’

He stared at her, wanting to ask questions he was afraid of hearing the answers to. He chose not to ask, shaking his head. ‘I hope you’re right,’ he said again, walking on, trying to block visions of loosing some nightmare on the world. The presence of Uthentia in his pocket trembled with mirth, mocking. He flooded himself with energy from the Darak, silencing the book.

They enjoyed the sunshine and warmth. Rome hummed and buzzed around them, the dirt and soot from the overcrowded roads pervading everything, yet exotic nonetheless. ‘So where is this Den?’ Alex asked eventually.

‘We’re nearly there. Look.’ Silhouette pointed as they rounded a corner. The massive bulk of the Colosseum rose before them, ancient stonework on a scale hard to conceive.

Alex grinned. ‘Fuck me. I’ve seen pictures, but I had no idea it was so huge.’

‘Pretty cool, huh?’

The original arena of combat, the first cage, where warriors and heroes were made and died. He felt an immediate connection, imagined himself a gladiator, striding across the sands to face soldiers, lions, anything the Romans threw at him. It was a romantic image, he knew, but one he couldn’t avoid. He’d read about the enacted battles, trapdoors to lift ferocious beasts directly into the arena, the flooding to recreate naval mêlée. Now it had scaffolds all around the lowest arches, hordes of tourists swarming over it. He could see thousands more inside, standing in the shadows of bloodthirsty Romans who had bayed for pain and slaughter. Crushed though it was under the weight of tourism, this thing still spoke to him. He blinked. ‘Wait a minute. You’re saying the Rome Den, one of the oldest Dens, is the Colosseum?’

Silhouette laughed. ‘Kinda. It was, but times change. The Den is still there, just a lot lower down.’

‘Underneath?’

‘We just have to convince them to let us in. And you may have to fight again. Just because you won your rights at my Den doesn’t mean you’ve got any rights here.’

Alex grinned. ‘Really? Freaking sweet!’ The opportunity to fight on this hallowed ground? The thought moved his soul. The book rejoiced, wanting him to die here, bested by powerful, ancient Kin. He threw his mind into it, pushing his thoughts out to the piece of Uthentia trapped there.
You watch me, fucker. I’ll win here as well and be one step closer to destroying you.

The book’s blistering rage burned his mind and he shut it out, following Silhouette towards Constantine’s arch, standing magnificent beside the Colosseum. Tourists wandered all around, dozens of cameras clicking and flashing. Silhouette stood by the fence that surrounded the arch and cupped her hands around her mouth. She howled a quick, incomprehensible sound that rang across the palazzo. People jumped, turning sharply then looking away again. Several minutes passed before a hard-faced man with black hair and dark tanned skin strolled towards them. His face bore an expression of serious dislike. When he reached them Silhouette smiled disarmingly. ‘Hi there. We’d like to see Lorenzo.’

Hood read reports, shuffled papers, checked online news, all the things he usually did, but his distraction was apparent. A tremor still ran through Sparks, the trauma of their trip to Scotland refusing to leave her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Hood had crossed some boundary. Not with her. The love she had for him encompassed everything and anything he did. Nothing he could do would sever her bond to him. But something had changed. Something had shifted behind the facade now and it scared her. His obsession with this situation, the lengths he was prepared to go, were terrifying. More often than not he bought his way into the things he desired and somehow managed to turn a profit. Often he’d killed, or had someone do the killing for him. Now he found himself with a desire that appeared to be beyond his grasp, and his obsession with it had become destructive. He didn’t even know what it was he chased. It might be something so pointless that even he couldn’t turn much of a profit on it. But he was driven to these lengths and Sparks couldn’t shake the feeling that it would cost him dearly. A rapid, insistent knocking surprised them both.

Annoyance flashed across Hood’s face. ‘Yes, what?’ he said. The door swung open and Jackson stood framed by dark wood, wringing his hands. ‘What is it?’ Hood barked.

Jackson gasped like a fish, trying to speak. He stopped, swallowed, tried again. ‘It’s gone, sir.’

‘What is?’

‘My bird, sir, the one following the man and the Kin.’

Hood stared, the muscles around his jaw twitching. It was several seconds before he spoke. ‘Gone?’

Jackson nodded vigorously, staring at his writhing hands. ‘Just blinked out, sir. I felt a struggle, then nothing.’

Hood leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands across his forehead, staring at the ceiling. ‘What does that mean exactly?’

‘Mean, sir?’

Hood’s eyes snapped back to Jackson, made the terrified man take an involuntary step backwards. ‘Gone,’ Hood said again. ‘What does that mean?’

‘It means dead, sir. They killed it.’

‘How did they catch a planesbird?’

Jackson whimpered. ‘I don’t know, sir, it’s not possible. They just slip away, slip between realms. Harder to grasp than smoke, sir.’

Hood leaned his elbows on his desk, his chin on his clasped hands. ‘I really, really want whatever it is those two are carrying.’

Sparks sat quietly, wondering what they had. Every time anything happened it deepened Hood’s desire. She had to admit it appeared to be powerful, but what if it wasn’t the things they carried but the people themselves? Had he considered that?

‘So we’ve lost them?’ Hood asked.

Jackson nodded, staring at the floor, misery embodied.

‘Then I suppose I’d better inform the Dark Sisters.’

A cold wave swept through the office. ‘We know,’ said a voice like ice.

Jackson spun around, looking everywhere. Sparks stiffened, not daring to look, not wanting to see. Hood sat quite still. ‘Where are you?’ he asked.

‘Travelling, with your mind-print. What you hear, I hear.’

Hood shot to his feet, scanning for the disembodied voice. ‘That was never part of the deal!’

Frosty laughter floated through the room. Sparks felt as if her bladder would betray her any second. ‘What deal, sweet man?’ the voice of Blonde said. ‘We agreed to fulfil your task. The details are our business.’

Hood sat, his face distraught. ‘You can read my every thought?’

‘If I chose to. But I have other things to occupy me, little man.’

Hood dropped his face into his hands. He rubbed his cheeks. ‘So what now?’

‘We will speak to the planesbird keeper.’

Jackson visibly trembled.

‘He can hear you,’ Hood said.

More cold laughter. ‘Of course. But we need a rather more personal audience with him.’

‘Do you?’

‘We’ll be there soon. Do make sure your security people know. We wouldn’t want any unfortunate encounters. Negotiating modern buildings is such a chore.’

Hood’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You’re coming here?’ The chill dissipated from the room, silence heavy in the suddenly warm air.

‘They’ve gone,’ Sparks said, almost whispering.

‘Not for long. Sparks, wait downstairs please. You’re the only one who would recognise them.’

Sparks shivered, terrified at the thought. ‘You’d recognise them too,’ she said, without thinking.

Hood rounded on her. ‘You’d have me stand around in the lobby? Waiting?’

Sparks jumped to her feet. ‘Of course not, no. I suppose we have no idea how long they’ll be.’

Hood smiled, completely without humour. ‘I suppose not.’

Sparks marched through the building, taking some solace from the staff scurrying before her, terrified that she might approach them, task them with something. Her authority was second only to Hood’s, and he was a rarely seen figurehead, more concept than person among the underlings.
She
, however, was very real, very present, very much in evidence. She barked orders as she went, invoking their fear to mask her own as she made her way down to the lobby.

She sat in the reception area of the Black Diamond tower for several hours, sending anyone who looked her way on a pointless errand. When the Dark Sisters arrived a cold gust washed through the wide glass doors.

They strode into the lobby, well dressed and confident. The handful of people around paused involuntarily, all turning to watch. The Sisters mesmerised every eye with their presence. Sparks dragged herself to her feet, trying to conceal her terrified shakes.

She forced a smile. ‘Hello, ladies.’

‘So nice of you to meet us,’ Blonde said with a condescending smile.

‘You couldn’t just crawl in the window like you did before?’ Sparks asked, surprising herself.

Red laughed. ‘Oh, do we irritate you?’

Sparks bit her lip, said nothing.

Blonde swept an arm around. ‘All this glass and metal and technology, it’s disorienting. We slip through the gaps in open places, travel faster than your modern vehicles, but only in the natural world.’

Sparks nodded, chose not to ask any more questions. ‘This way please.’ She turned and led them away without giving them a chance to respond. As her high heels clicked across the marble floor, a terrifying thought occurred to her, an image of the three Sisters pressed against her in the lift. Muffling a whimper of distress, she pushed the button and waited. She could feel them standing behind her but refused to look around.

‘Your fear is delicious!’