Corrigan Rage (12 page)

Don’t let them touch you with their weapons
, I threw out as Vincent’s buddies came at me.
They’ve got silver
.

There were already several anguished howls filling the night sky. I flipped a hundred and eighty degrees, using my tail to whip the knife from one vampire’s hand while I latched on with my jaws to the wrist of the other. He screeched in pain, a high note that an opera singer would have been proud of. Dark, foul tasting blood filled my mouth. I held on, however, dragging both him and myself out of Vincent’s reach. Then, in one swift movement, I released him, kicking back with my hind legs. There was the satisfying crunch of several ribs breaking.

Vincent came at me again. ‘Come on little kitty cat.’

I narrowed my eyes and let out a loud purr. Alright then. I launched myself at him, dodging the sharp lethal blade. The adrenaline coursing through my system helped me to dull the pain of my wound. Claws extended, I raked through the bared flesh on his face and throat. As he flinched, I completed the action in an entirely uncat-like move by headbutting him.

Above the growls and sounds of fighting from around the street, I heard a tutting. I spun round to see Aubrey himself had emerged again from the house. ‘They begged to be given a second chance against you. I told them they shouldn’t have taken their first beating so personally. They’re young though.’ His mouth curved into a thin smile. ‘I’m rather more experienced.’

I made a show of licking my lips. Bring it on.

‘Cease.’ A cold voice rang out. It was imbued with power and, while the majority of the shapeshifters completely ignored it, the vampires came to an abrupt halt. Unfortunately their obedience caused several of them to lose limbs to sharp shifter teeth. I made a mental note to remind myself be very wary of when I used the Voice for compulsion and turned to meet the new threat.

It was another vampire. Despite her smooth features and alabaster skin, I could still tell she was old.

Wait,
I commanded everyone.
Stay focused on your opponents but don’t attack them unless it looks like they’re going to attack you again first.

The bloodsucking woman, whoever she was, glided down the street towards me and Aubrey. The vampires fell away, some going so far as to prostrate themselves on the ground as she passed. She ignored every single shifter; it was as if we were beneath her concern.

She moved up to Aubrey, planting herself between the pair of us. Her red taloned hands cupped his face. ‘Aubs,’ she cooed. ‘What have you been doing?’

I hadn’t thought it was possible for the vampire to look paler but his skin had actually managed to grow several shades lighter. ‘Natalia. What are you doing here?’

She laughed, the sound cutting through the air. An involuntary shiver ran down my spine. This woman was seriously scary. ‘Why wouldn’t I be here?’ She drew back and slapped him on the face with harsh, venomous power. I was impressed that Aubrey remained standing, although he did rock back on his heels. ‘You have fucked up,’ she hissed. ‘What is the meaning of this business with the wraith?’

‘He ... he ... wants his statue back,’ Aubrey stammered. I blinked at him curiously. This was not a side that I’d seen to him before.

‘Why do you have thing in the first place?’

‘I made a bet...’

Natalia raised her thin, arched eyebrows. ‘A bet? And these shapeshifters? Are they part of that bet?’

‘In a manner of speaking.’ His eyes dropped. ‘Double or nothing.’ His voice was almost a whisper. ‘Retrieve the Albus seal which is of importance to them.’

My mouth fell open. A bet? That’s what this was all about? It had nothing to do with believing in either the Palladium or the seal’s magical properties – it had all simply been a way for Aubrey to pass the time. What an idiot. I closed my eyes and shifted back to human. After my dip in the Thames, the freezing air against my naked skin was not particularly pleasant.

If Natalia noticed my shift, she didn’t comment on it, keeping all her focus on Aubrey. ‘You will discard yourselves of the Palladium.’

‘I’ve been trying to!’

Her expression hardened. ‘Try harder. And give them back their seal.’

‘I don’t have their seal.’

‘Then why are they here?’

I cleared my throat. It was time to step in. ‘My Lady, in order to gain the seal, they have kidnapped the ravens of the Tower.’

Natalia stiffened. She didn’t, however, turn. ‘You poor excuse for a vampire,’ she hissed. ‘Quickly.’ She snapped her fingers at Vincent who had scrabbled his way to a kneeling position. ‘What time is it?’

He fumbled with his sleeve, looking at his watch. ‘Er, about half past four.’

‘About?’

He licked his lips nervously. ‘Thirty seven minutes past four.’

‘So not half past four at all then. Fool.’ She turned her attention back to Aubrey. ‘If the birds are not back in the Tower by sunrise, the city will fall.’

I started. She believed in the prophecy.

‘I’ll free them immediately.’

‘See that you do.’ She flicked me a glance over her shoulder. ‘I trust we are done here now.’

I stood my ground. ‘Not until I see the ravens freed for myself.’

Natalia tapped her foot impatiently. ‘Very well then.’

Aubrey jerked a hand towards Vincent. ‘Get them. Get the birds.’

‘No. You are going to do it.’

His face suffused with humiliation. ‘As you wish, my Lady.’

We all watched as he turned and walked stiffly back into the house. I debated whether to engage Natalia in further conversation. Eventually I decided against it. This wasn’t a person I wished to get to know better.

It didn’t take long for Aubrey to emerge back out again. He was awkwardly carrying a cage which left very little room for any of the birds to manoeuvre.

‘Corux demands to be freed instantly!’ my old friend squawked. ‘Corux is a celebrity!’

‘Corux will get his fucking head snapped off if he doesn’t shut up,’ Natalia muttered.

At her gesture, Aubrey opened the cage. All seven birds flew up, not waiting for their bid for freedom to be snatched away again. Corux circled round our heads. ‘Fools! You’re all fools!’ He flapped his wings, angled himself over Aubrey and took on the most peculiar expression. A second later, I had to clamp a hand over my mouth to hide my grin. Corux’s droppings oozed down Aubrey’s cheek.

‘You deserved that,’ Natalia told him. ‘Get inside. All of you.’

Within moments all the vampires melted away. I was pleased to note that several of them looked the worse for wear and were limping inside, one after the other. Natalia waited until they’d all gone, then she looked at me. ‘Come here again, shapeshifter, and I will finish you.’ She threw out her cloak behind her and stalked in after the rest.

Casualties?
I threw out, unconcerned with her threat.
Is everyone still with us?

A chorus of answering Voices returned. No deaths. Some of us were hurting but, considering everything that had just happened, we were relatively unscathed. All the same, the silver the vampires had employed was going to leave some scars.

Let’s get the hell out of here.

*

W
hat I really wanted to do was sleep. In our absence, however, the Arch-Mage had left several messages requiring my presence at the Ministry at my earliest convenience. As tempted as I was to leave him hanging, he had helped me out with the guards at the Tower. I laid out a suit on the bed and wandered into the bathroom for a steaming hot shower first. He could wait another thirty minutes. He’d appreciate me looking smart to meet with him, if nothing else. I soaped myself down and hummed. I hadn’t expected another vampire to help us out. All the same, I decided I’d rather deal with Aubrey’s mercurial and unpredictable nature than ever see Lady Natalia again.

Finally warm and finally clean, I padded back out with a towel wrapped loosely round my waist. I reached down to grab the trousers and paused, my hand hovering in midair. I blinked and looked around the room. Perhaps I’d suffered more lasting effects from this night than I’d realised. The suit I thought I’d left ready and waiting had completely vanished. How odd.

I met the Arch-Mage at the gates to the Ministry. He bowed formally. ‘Good to see you, Corrigan. How are things?’

‘Peachy,’ I said, smiling back. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘I hear you’re making considerable headway with your cumbersome rules. It’s a good idea, you know, to try and slim them down into more manageable chunks. A lot of our mages enjoy our more archaic laws.’ He leaned forward. ‘Do you know we actually have a law that states it’s illegal to cross paths with a black cat while carrying a bottle of milk on All Hallow’s Eve?’

‘Well, we’re good at working together,’ I said calmly, ‘as it’s part of our nature. What favour do you require?’

He ignored my question. ‘And just what were you doing at the Tower of London? Dear boy, breaking into the bastion of the city’s wealth was hardly a smart move. What on earth was all it about?’

I was growing tired of his delaying tactics. ‘Spit it out, would you? I’m a busy man.’

He gazed at me from under his bushy eyebrows. ‘Very well then. We have a problem with the vampires.’

I closed my eyes momentarily. He had to be kidding me. The last thing I wanted to do was to embroil myself further with the bloodsuckers. ‘What kind of problem?’ I asked finally.

‘Well, you see the statue which your young Mackenzie returned to their house...’

‘The Palladium?’

‘That’s the one. She wasn’t entirely telling you the whole story when she spoke about it before.’

That was hardly news. ‘Go on,’ I said, grimly.

‘Well, to cut a long story short, she swapped it for another similar statue belonging to the vampires. It’s called the Ancile and possesses particularly dangerous properties.’

I tightened my mouth. At least that explained all her sneaking around at the gathering. ‘Why?’

He waved an airy hand in the air. ‘The whys and wherefores are not important. It was at Mage Floride’s behest and I have already spoken to him on the matter. We have the Ancile back in our possession. Suffice it to say that Floride also recovered the Palladium from the wraith’s home and therefore incurred its wrath in the process. It would no longer be an issue except it appears the vampires are rather keen that we have the Palladium back too.’

I raised my eyes to the heavens. It would solve Aubrey’s problem with Lady Natalia, I supposed. ‘Of course they are,’ I said sighing. ‘So take it back. What’s the issue?’

‘I shouldn’t think I would have to remind you of the small matter of the wraith,’ he said stiffly.

‘I don’t think I’m in a position to help you with ghostly creatures who can’t be physically touched,’ I pointed out. ‘You were doing a far better job of that than I was.’

There was a flash of pleasure in his eyes. ‘Just so. But either way, we would rather not have to deal with the creature at all.’

‘Given recent events, I’m not sure I’m the best person to help conduct negotiations with the vampires,’ I told him.

‘Oh, come, come,’ he scoffed. ‘You were the one who arranged the gatherings in the first place! Besides, my dear Lord Corrigan, you owe me.’

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. ‘Isn’t there some other way you’d like me to repay that favour? Just tell Aubrey you’re not going to take the bloody statue back.’

‘He is being rather insistent.’

I thought of Natalia. It was no wonder. ‘All the same...’

He cleared his throat. ‘Look, Corrigan, in all seriousness, I am in a spot of bother. There are factions here at the Ministry who don’t particularly agree with my leadership. It’s part of the reason why I withdrew our support from you earlier in the year. They were most ... insistent.’

‘It’s no issue of mine what happens with Ministry politics.’

‘It will be when you have a traditionalist as Arch-Mage to deal with. I think you’ll find all your modernisation plans considerably harder to put into place when the Ministry is set against them.’

I growled. The Ministry would have no sway with the Brethren. They could withdraw their help all they wished; we were never going to allow ourselves to be held to their standards. The only laws that mattered to us were the shapeshifter ones. Still, there was a peculiar note of anxiety flickering in the Arch-Mage’s expression. Better the devil you know, I supposed.

‘Very well,’ I said with a heavy sigh. ‘I will approach the vampires directly.’

His relief was unmistakeable. ‘Fantastic. Now if...’

‘Arch-Mage! Arch-Mage!’

We both turned. A young looking mage with dishevelled robes flapping around him was running in our direction. His eyes were white and panicked. ‘There’s been an attack on the Academy!’

Sweet Jesus. Mack was there. ‘What kind of attack? Who? Has anyone been hurt?’

‘One would think you cared deeply about our student Initiates, Lord Corrigan,’ the Arch-Mage murmured.

I threw him an irritated look as the breathless mage finally reached us. He doubled over while I stared at him impatiently. ‘For goodness’ sake!’ I snapped. ‘Tell us what happened!’ I knew Mack had an anger management session this morning but with the mages’ portals she had probably returned by now. Anything could have happened to her.

‘Vampire,’ he gasped. ‘It was a vampire.’

At least it wasn’t the damned wraith. I exchanged glances with the Arch-Mage. He immediately flicked his fingers and a glowing portal appeared. ‘It appears,’ he said drily, ‘that you won’t need to go to the vampires, after all.’ He gestured towards the gateway.

I didn’t wait another second; I simply sucked in a breath and leapt in.

The sight that greeted me was not at all what I’d expected. There was no sign of any vampire, Aubrey or otherwise. There was, however, a prone mage lying flat on his back on the ground. As far as I could tell, he was merely stunned. He wasn’t what really caught my attention, however. Neither was the silent group of young, wide-eyed mages standing to the side or even the unwelcome presence of the small wooden statue lying several metres away. It was the sneering mage whom Mack had pinned down between her legs who caught my attention. She was staring at him with a mixture of hatred, fury and utter bewilderment. In that moment, I had absolutely no idea what she was about to do next. All I did know was that if she hurt a mage – especially one who appeared as high-ranking as this one- then there would be a whole heap of hell to have to pay for.