14. Luke

FOURTEEN

Luke

“ B -Billy?” I stammered, pulling at the collar of my vest.

Asher’s ex. No way. No way would Seth play this game.

Hmmm. It was as if I didn’t know the weaver at all.

The temperate dropped in this already freezing room. I shivered, wrapping my arms around my body.

“You look so pale,” Seth said, opening his coat to show off his toned physique. “Want to share my body heat?” He laughed, dropping the coat. “Go and get changed.” He gestured in the direction of an open door. “Your clothes are in there. Shower if you like.”

I watched him take Billy onto the balcony. The warmer gargoyle offered a friendly nod as he went.

What the hell? Billy? Seriously? I didn’t get it. Why was he here? What did it mean?

Seth paused with his hand on Billy’s back. The knight squirmed, stepping forward to get the weaver’s touch off him.

The bastard didn’t like that, scowling as he turned to face me. “I have my own bodyguard now.” He winked, his features quickly softening. “These are dangerous times. Get changed. We’ll talk.”

I didn’t shower, just brushed my teeth with the stuff provided, then changing quickly to get to the answers faster. The thick gray clothes, underwear, and slippers were a blissful relief against the cold.

The gargoyles waited on the balcony, basking in glorious sunshine.

“Come here,” Seth ordered.

I pulled my sleeves down over my hands, obeying. I wanted answers as to why Seth wanted Billy as his bodyguard.

Instead, the weaver said, “Your training will begin in an hour. Your porridge is on its way.”

I hated porridge.

“Training?” I wondered.

“Yes, training. You’re a potential weapon, after all.”

I scratched at the fading itch on my neck as Seth’s ominous statement curdled my blood.

“I’m…” Screw talking about the weapon crap for now. He’d only be vague. “Have you received any more word on Asher’s condition?”

“In the past few minutes?”

Seth’s laughter dragged my patience across a cheese grater.

Billy turned away, facing the brilliant blue sky.

“He’ll be back to normal by sunset,” Seth answered, giving me nothing more. “I want you to focus on your day now.”

Okay, maybe I would ask a question regarding this weapon crap. “What will this training entail?”

“You’ll see.”

And there we go. “Okay.”

He chuckled again. Yes, everything was so hilarious.

No follow up came, only the arrival of a human servant with the porridge steaming in a bowl on the top shelf of a silver trolley. On the bottom shelf were a pile of clothes. Familiar clothes.

“What are?—”

Seth waved a hand in my face. “Eat. Change. Wait here.” He left with Billy, the servant trailing them.

Uh-huh.

A bottle of orange juice sat next to the porridge, along with a cup of tea and a small bowl of strawberries. Forgoing the hot mush, I ate the fruit and sipped the tea.

My body thanked me, receiving the sustenance like a warm hug.

“Asher?” I tried the amulet again.

Zero response.

Earthquakes and juiced-up monsters. Damn. What next? Where did we go from here? The motes were upping their creation game, and poor Asher got caught in the crossfire.

Why had he been at the lighthouse, though?

Rather than lose my mind, I busied myself with the clothes, which turned out to be the uniform I wore at Midas Cherry, along with a brown leather jacket and boots.

Why the hell would they provide me with this outfit?

Probably more of Seth’s mind games, the bastard chortling away to himself, maybe even recording my reaction.

I inspected the room, searching for signs of a camera. I spotted nothing and decided to get changed in the other room. Again. Even took a quick shower first, the towels so fluffy they couldn’t be real.

Done, I pulled on the tight gold jeans and the cherry-red tee with the nightclub’s golden cherry logo on the front. Ready to mix up some amazing drinks, but really about to face a fresh pile of crap.

Great.

Combing back my auburn hair, I left it to dry naturally and waited. And waited. And waited.

The hour slithered as slowly as a snail, leaving me to languish in thoughts of Asher’s wellbeing, Billy, Seth, and the distant powers buried under a pile of magical suppressant.

Thankfully, no icy visions or visits to Ember helped pass the time. I’d take being anxious and bored over those.

The human servant returned with orders to follow her down to street level. I did, grabbing the jacket. We passed the creepy platform with the army of gargoyle statues separating the main tower from the stone escalators before using those moving stairs, meeting a gargoyle knight at the bottom.

All very annoying.

The gargoyle didn’t offer me her name or one ounce of friendliness. She simply informed me she’d be flying me to a secret location, and to wear the blindfold she dangled off her left pinky finger.

“Oh,” I answered, going to take it.

Misery Guts handed it to the servant instead.

“Make sure you do it properly,” she warned the human.

“Of course.”

She fixed it on super tight, the black cloth blocking out all light.

“If it falls off, I’ll make sure Seth knows,” Misery Guts said.

“I would never do anything to displease the most gracious Weaver Seth.”

I rolled my eyes under the blindfold.

A colony of ants ran riot in my stomach, the critters secreting apprehension.

Misery Guts grabbed me. “Three. Two. One.”

Wow. I didn’t expect a countdown.

The gargoyle took off, whizzing to God only knew where.

“Asher?”

Still nothing. The itch was gone now, but my anguish clung to me like a leech.

Damn this. Damn Seth. He loved keeping us apart.

I wasn’t sure how long the flight would last, but something told me we’d be leaving Brinecrest.

Once inside some mystery building, the blindfold came off, revealing a huge chrome room. Almost factory sized, completely sterile and cold and foreboding.

Seth and Luna stood to my right, Billy behind them.

“Where—”

“Goodbye, Zara,” Seth told my personal stony jet.

I waited for her to leave before trying again. “Where are we?”

Seth strode toward me, draped in a gold fur coat, the hem brushing the floor.

“Secret location,” he answered, lighting up a joint. “Don’t you understand?”

Great. A condescending attitude. My favorite.

“Anyway, you look lovely,” he added. “Although the hair…” He didn’t finish.

Shady bastard. Yes, because his fur wasn’t an affront to all taste.

Luna joined us. “Remove your jacket.”

What, no hello?

I did as she asked, and Seth took it from me.

The enchanter flexed her fingers. “The bracelet grants me access to your powers.”

“What?”

“I open and close the connection,” she said. “It helps to regulate you and provide this training to hone your skills.”

Seth carried on. “This facility is heavily warded against outside interference or escape.”

My brain performed a backflip. “Escape?”

He blew a smoke ring at the ceiling. “There are monsters here.”

My stomach dropped. “Oh.”

“Yes. Oh. We’re going to be testing every avenue of your powers under safe conditions.” He stretched his arms. “Welcome to our special place.”

Luna nodded enthusiastically, her smile freaking me out.

“You are this facility’s crowning jewel,” Seth added. “Built especially for you, because of what I saw that night at Crab Cove.”

“And since,” Luna chimed in.

Why did he have to mention Crab Cove? The holes in my memory gaped, reminding me of their emptiness.

Beach.

Beach.

Finn.

Finn.

Water.

I shook them off, not wanting to drift away in the presence of these two. The more focused on the situation I was, the better. Show them my strength—which currently resembled frayed lace.

“So, you built a training ground,” I said, standing straighter.

Seth smiled. “We did.”

This was a lot to process. Terrifying. Kind of exciting. I mean, as much as I didn’t want to be this weapon, a deep craving to use my skills woke up.

Hello, again.

Luna’s frostiness returned. “We shall begin with your stealing power. Test it against a prepared monster. After that, we can see how you wield your acquired skills. The goal is to reach a point of mastery for when you confront the enemy.”

Meaning Ember. As if she knew the first thing about Ember.

Unless they weren’t telling me something.

Right now, my attention snared on this prepared monster thing.

What. The. Hell.

“Should we be doing this after this morning’s attack?” I asked, knowing I’d get smacked down.

“What better time than now as the monsters grow in strength?” Seth replied.

I chewed on my bottom lip, examining the cavernous room. The chrome didn’t appear to have any joins in it, the entire thing smooth as if painted on.

“First, we open,” Luna said.

I faced her as she opened her right hand, a gold charm sitting on her palm. It glittered, expanding from the size of a penny to a flat circle about five times the size.

A shudder in my chest snatched my breath. The sound of locks opening rattled in my ears, the footsteps of a jailor echoing in the hallways of an inner prison. Coming for me, coming for my buried treasures.

Treasures?

I felt my lips spread into a smile, a heady warmth filling me.

A dark warmth.

The other me was back.

“Yes…” I whispered. “Give me everything.”

“Be careful, Luna,” Seth warned.

Oh, he could fuck off. Pathetic gargoyle. Disgusting creature. He denied me, he kept his secrets, he manipulated.

Thinks he’s so clever, Dark Me spoke. I’ll show him. I’ll show him. I’ll fucking show him.

I fought back, resisting this shadowy voice, the seductive energy sparking and rolling and tempting me to eviscerate this room and every occupant in it.

I hate you, Seth.

I hate you, Luna.

I hate this place.

No. I couldn’t be this person. I wasn’t this person.

Right?

The darkness within laughed, mocking my denial. But I kept a lid on any reckless rage as the magic finally flowed.

Destroy them later…

I lifted my arms, my fingers splayed. Free. Free. Free.

“There,” Luna spoke. “Open.”

I faced her, tempted to burn her on the spot and dance in her ashes.

“Luke?” Seth said behind me.

I turned to him. “What?”

I’d slid from the Fear Him column to the Fuck Him one.

“Are you okay?”

“Why do you care?” I retorted. “You’re not interested in my wellbeing, only my gifts.” I laughed, vanishing.

“No, Luke!” he yelled, as if scolding a dog.

I focused on the alarm in his hazel eyes. “Are you afraid, weaver?”

“Tread carefully, Luke,” the enchanter said.

I ignored her, reappearing.

Seth glowered.

I lifted my golden tee, exposing my belly to Seth. He kept his focus on my face, never once glancing at the flesh he craved.

“Do you miss me?” I asked, rolling the fabric higher. “Do you miss the feel of me between your lips?”

He does, Dark Me purred. Look at him. He’s practically drooling.

Okay. No, no, no. We weren’t doing this. My rational half took control, yanking the top back down. This wasn’t me. This would never be me.

“Sorry,” I said, face red-hot. “I…”

Give in to the greatness. Make him see. Make him sweat. Torment the bastard. Show him the skin he will not touch. Show him ? —

No! Never. That’s not me.

Oh, but it is. It really, really is.

“Talk to me,” Seth responded. “What are you feeling?”

I swallowed, taking some deep breaths before speaking. “Hatred. Power. Arrogance. Two halves at war.”

There was another, hidden element to my power I couldn’t quite reach, itching in my core.

“These are things to be balanced,” Luna jumped in. “This is what your training is about. Those elements will help you become a better weapon.”

Burn her.

Burn her.

Burn her.

The fire flickered, heating up, ready to get it done. A fire bent to my will, tweaked from the chimera fire to flames without the lizard-making.

Minions were awesome, but no monster ones.

What would Seth do if I melted Luna right now? Hide behind Billy over there? Pee himself? Scream for mercy? They’d both burn in turn, more ashes to litter the chrome, turning to mush under my boots.

Yes.

No!

“Luke?”

A voice inside my head cooled the wicked fires, giving life to happier ones.

“Asher?” I returned, the amulet warm against my chest.

“Hey.”

“Ohmygod! Should I pinch myself?”

My darker side took a seat.

“No need, Lukey.”

Lukey. I liked that. “Are you okay?”

“Getting there.” He explained the healing bath and his sister being here. “Can’t wait for you to meet her.”

Butterflies went wild in my belly.

“How are you?” he asked.

I gave him the brief version.

He growled, the sound equal parts scary and delicious. “If you get hurt, he gets his nuts slammed in a vice.”

Wow. Swallowing a cackle took some serious effort.

“Knobhead. Knobhead. Knobhead.”

“Hard agree from this corner,” I said.

“How did we get to this point? Stuck under Seth’s thumb?”

“I can handle it,” I said, injecting some cheer into my tone. “Maybe this really will help me get a handle on things. Help with the inevitable showdown with Ember.”

My declaration caught me by surprise. Though it might scream obvious, I hadn’t really sat with the reality of my situation. Which brought on a horrific idea…

Maybe Seth did have my best interests at heart.

Yikes. How grim.

“I want to hug you,” I said, full of pining.

“Tonight. I promise.”

“I’ll make us a cocktail. We’ll catch up. God! Anyone would think we’d been apart for a month or two.”

“Feels like it. I’m so bored without your face.”

I couldn’t hide the next laugh, bringing on a coughing fit.

Oh, crap.

Seth clocked our secret conversation straight away. “Enough. Take the amulet off.”

“I better go,” I told Asher.

A growl, a sigh. “Bollocks.”

“I know. Bye.”

“See ya.”

End of conversation. Seth held out his hand.

“I don’t think so,” I said.

“Asher is a distraction.”

I folded my arms, my powers bubbling away. “No Asher chats during training. Promise.” My tone was filled with the audio version of a sneer. “But I’m not taking it off.”

He stared and stared and scowled. I waited for a row to kick off, for me to lose my shit and melt his face off. But he accepted the terms.

“Your word is binding,” he said before stepping back.

Oh, so he could be reasonable.

Billy joined him.

Luna took the reins, clearly annoyed by all this. “Firstly, let’s activate the absorb scenario.”

“The what?”

She pulled a small remote control from her pocket with three red lights on the black plastic.

“Absorb the monster’s power, Luke. Use it.”

I looked to Seth, who puffed on a joint with nothing to add.

Taking a step back, Luna pushed the first button from the top. A pane of glass rose from the floor, cutting me off from them. Green gargoyle magic rippled across the surface, an echoing shimmer igniting my body.

Crap. Crap. Crap. Protection or not, being sealed in this chrome hell wasn’t my idea of fun.

Isn’t it?

I guess banging on the glass wouldn’t do a thing to get me out of this. Anyway, this training might help me save my brother. I mean, I could be powerful enough to make it happen. If I started to believe it, maybe a solution would manifest.

Hello, positivity. Nice to have you onboard.

Vibrations hummed in the floor, tickling my feet before a line of white light formed in the center of the room, drawing a square.

Here we go.

The square lifted, bringing four thin beams of fluorescent light with it, sort of resembling an elevator.

A monster stood within those beams.

“We meet again, Luke Garland,” it whispered.

Ah, yes. The cloaked figure with barnacles smothering the billowing fabric, face hidden within the dark maw of its hood.

Not exactly the greatest reunion ever.

“They hurt me here,” it moaned, reaching out with a skeletal hand. “They lock me within these beams, using the magic of my creators against their very own child.”

I rolled my neck.

“I will not be a prisoner,” the monster hissed.

“But you already are,” I countered. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”

My powers offered themselves up, forming a line of options to play with—fire, water, invisibility, and steal. The latter craved the gooey magical insides of the monster’s essence, along with the energy of the three bodies behind the glass.

An extra branch of power wondered if there were some motes around to destroy.

God. I scared myself.

Just the monster for now, Dark Me spoke.

The beams dropped and the monster shuffled forward, those hands outstretched, the fly to my Venus fly trap.

I took a few steps toward it, my body alive with a magical tingle—pins and needles but seriously pleasant.

“Come to me, Luke Garland,” the fucker whispered. “We can work together.”

“And do what?”

“Save your brother, of course. I have the answers you seek.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “What did you say?” My powers went on mute, a film of confusion smothering me.

“I can save him. We can broker a deal.”

Tempting. So, so tempting. I dipped my head, the monster stirring my hope, making me consider it for a few fleeting moments.

Emphasis on fleeting.

I looked up, gullible fool mode crumbling. “Cruel.”

“As is Finn’s torment.”

With a grunt, I thrust my right hand forward, fingers curled like a dead spider. Immediately, I locked onto its sticky magic. Glue, liquid, glistening. Interesting.

A soft moan wafted from the hood, the monster falling to one knee. The buttoned-up cloak parted, revealing more darkness beneath it.

“I…I…”

I closed my hand into a fist, not interested in hearing more crap spill from its maw. The monster’s power shot into me. My heart jackhammered, settling down within seconds as the new addition made itself at home.

Welcome…

This sticky power certainly did feel like glue, but with an acidic twist. And it provided me insight, revealing a glimpse of its former master’s life.

Before the pesky gargoyles ruined everything, the cloaked creature enjoyed hunting humans in the dark. Outside, inside, whenever they slept in their beds or in the streets, it stalked the dark, its appetite rampant.

The chosen victims were smothered in the sticky stuff, its acidic properties liquefying their bodies, keeping the dead soup sealed for later.

Melt the humans. Drink the humans.

“You’re disgusting,” I said.

“My power…” the monster rasped. “What have you done?”

Streams of translucent goo shot from my fingertips, spraying the monster from head to toe. The barnacles on its cloak melted, smoke curling from its body as the substance formed a cocoon.

“There’s my answer,” I responded with too much glee.

Bubbling screams filled the room, the monster melting as monsters did when they died. The acrid stink of burning rubber and rotten fish hit my nostrils, reaching the back of my throat with a nasty kiss.

Gross.

Rather than become a sealed liquid snack for later, the cocoon transformed into a black ooze, hardened, and collapsed into gravel. Little rocks bounced off the metal floor, no trace of the monster left. Not even its death stink.

I’d willed this power to work differently in my hands. Plus, the liquid snack part didn’t sit right with me.

I stared at the damage, utterly enraptured by my awesome skills.

The beams of light returned, the elevator vanishing into the floor.

“How are you feeling?” Luna asked.

Slowly, I turned to face her, incredible energy thumping in my blood.

“Ready for more,” I purred.

She looked to Seth.

He nodded.

A minute later, the roof slid open, the walls sinking into the ground. Daylight stung my eyes, cold air whipping my hair.

Interesting.

As my eyes adjusted to the brilliant sunlight and the clear azure skies, a bunch of pink motes drifted past my face.

“We’re outside,” I stated the obvious, taking in the ring of mountains around me.

A rocky, snowy landscape flowed to the base of the circular range, crawling up the sides to the white peaks.

Where were we? How far had we flown from Brinecrest?

My eyes found the terrifyingly delicious sight of a hunched cornucopia bursting from the ground, yellow fungi growing around its opening.

A mote vent.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Never mind the location,” Seth replied.

The three of them were no longer behind a screen.

How brave of them to think they were safe.

Hot air belched from the vent every thirty seconds or so, carrying a sickly-sweet stink. Motes came from the deepest parts of the earth to wreak their chaos.

“And why are we here in this mysterious place?” My foreboding tone frightened me a little.

“Training, of course,” Seth answered.

I flexed my fingers, once again resisting the temptation to hurl something at him. My new addition might be an entertaining spectacle for a few minutes.

The next burst of hot air shook the ground, a ball of orange motes flying out of the darkness. They floated a few feet away from the vent, slowly falling to the floor. Brightening, changing, on the cusp of making a monster.

I activated the power to devour the motes. A magnetic buzz sucked them over, the particles sticking to me as if I were covered in glue. They glittered angrily, tugging in a bid to pull free. But I absorbed them, consuming their magic. Ending them, their deaths a painful assault on my body, like a bunch of tiny blades plunging into each spot they occupied.

“Fuck…” I wheezed, falling to my knees. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

My veins filled with fire, my chest ready to collapse. Mote death after mote death trapped me in a vortex of pain, the destruction of their magic an abomination, a sickness growing inside me.

Abomination.

The word pulsed in my skull, my temples throbbing in agony.

Nausea hit, making me retch. The reeking vent air brought up the strawberries and tea.

Oh, God.

I gagged, liquid death oozing into my intestines, sending an acrid burn up my throat. Tears streamed down my face, a terrible sickness holding me hostage.

Retch after retch after retch, the dead motes were not budging. Sitting there like a stubborn food taking too long to digest. The harder I heaved, the more they resisted.

Get out of me!

The inner command worked. A torrent of black liquid gushed out of me, the relief exquisite and also super gross.

Thank God.

I listed to the side, catching myself before my head cracked the ground. Five minutes. Just give me five minutes.

Clapping behind me.

Fuck their applause.

A nasty bubble sat in my chest. I asked for water.

“In a moment,” Seth said, walking into my eyeline. “You were incredible.”

The sunlight turned his fur coat into a golden nightmare for my retinas. I sat up, shielding my eyes with my left arm.

Luna said nothing, doing her staring thing.

Seth offered me his hand. “I think that’s enough for today.”

I got to my feet without his help, desperate for water.

“I’ll close the?—”

A black stone bounced off the side of my boots, rolling to a stop a few inches away.

“Get away from it!” Luna cried.

An explosion of black smoke engulfed me, drowning me in pitch darkness.