Bound, p.10
Bound, page 10
Holmes ran a hand through his hair, thinking. “How the hell are we going to keep them hidden? I know Saoirse can raise a fog off the Thames…”
“At least both sites are relatively close to the water, and harder for people to see, especially if things happen at night. But I also know Saoirse is working on a couple of things to keep things hidden.” He paused, considering his words. “Her power is kind of scary.”
It was Holmes’ turn to chuckle. “If she wasn’t so firmly entrenched on our side, I might worry more. What do you know about Holcroft?”
“The fight master? Just that he’s really good at his craft. Why?”
“In addition to the sword and bow, Corinne has a quarterstaff and a halberd. I’ve done some work with the latter. Roark and I thought we might go get some training.”
“I can handle the bow if it’ll let me.”
“You mean if she’ll let you…”
“No. Corinne can be foolish, but she isn’t stupid. She knows she can only handle one weapon at the time, so asking her to give up the bow, quarterstaff and halberd for us to use shouldn’t take a lot of persuading. But if that bow is what I think it is, it will only allow itself to be used by those it feels some kinship too. Otherwise, it’ll turn its power on the person trying to use it.”
“What do you mean what it is? It’s a bow.”
“It’s more than that; if I’m correct, the bow is Storm Shadow. It has a history and backstory similar to Courechouse and Galatine.”
Holmes shook his head. “I just wanted a chance to talk to you before we got started in the morning. If you want, we can fix up the gatehouse, but I’m kind of hoping you’ll end up in Corinne’s bed.”
“That makes two of us,” admitted Eddy. “A room here with you and Rachel is fine if I won’t be imposing.”
“Not at all; the townhouse is more than big enough. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“What do you mean, you bloody well told her everything?” snarled Roark the next morning.
The group was gathered outside Rachel and Holmes’ place, standing in their drive, as Eddy explained what happened the night before.
“Sweetheart, calm down,” Sage soothed. “This is Corinne we’re talking about. It’s not like he took out an ad in the newspaper.”
“Are you all right with this?” Gabe asked Anne.
“Far more than you I suspect. Corinne would never betray any of us, and it sounds like she has as much to lose as we do,” Anne replied.
“I think Saoirse and Eddy ought to go to Corinne’s so the three of them can start putting their heads together and see if they can’t figure out what’s coming and how to stop it,” offered Rachel. “Sweetheart, have you gotten any hits on that screenshot Eddy sent you?”
“That’s the interesting thing. I did,” said Holmes. “Small-town thief and arsonist for hire. Strictly third tier. We put out notice that he was a person of interest. One of the leads led us to him. He’d been attacked and had his throat ripped out.”
“The local constabulary wants to write it off as an animal attack,” said Holmes.
“Maybe it is,” said Spense.
“In the city center? In a flat with a locked door? Hardly,” snorted Holmes.
“And then again, maybe not. But I do like your idea of dropping off Eddy and Saoirse at Corinne’s,” said Spense.
“I agree,” said Saoirse, looking at her husband with an arched brow. “Not that any of you bothered to ask.”
“They didn’t ask me either,” offered Eddy.
“That’s because you’re in love with her and they knew the answer, but I do think we should pool what we know and see where that takes us.”
Again using two SUVs, they split the group in half. Gabe and Anne took Saoirse and Eddy to Corinne’s flat, stopping at a bakery to pick up savory and sweet croissants to share with everyone. There was also coffee to go for those meeting at the flat above the Indian restaurant. Corinne was waiting and let them in as soon as they arrived.
Looking at the box of croissants, Corinne asked, “Aren’t we all going?”
“We thought it might be better if you, Eddy and I put our heads together and tried to make some sense of what we do know, while the others pick up your remaining things,” said Saoirse. “I’m hoping both of you have more concrete details to offer because honestly, all of my knowledge is kind of ethereal. I just feel as though there’s something out there. Something that wants to get through to this dimension.”
“Mine is based on nothing more than things my aunt said to me.”
“She was clear about the thirteen chimes?” asked Saoirse.
Corinne nodded, inviting Eddy and Saoirse to take a seat so they could all talk. “Yes, at midnight instead of twelve, Big Ben will chime thirteen times. She told me I’m to take Galatine and go to Nelson’s statue and tap the nose of the Landseer lion closest to the Clock Tower. His name is Wellington.”
“Do the others have names?” asked Saoirse.
“Does it matter?” asked Eddy.
Saoirse nodded. “Yes. Many times in the supernatural world if you know something’s name, it gives you a certain amount of power over it. So, knowing their names may be critical.”
“I don’t know which one is which, but the other three names are Victory, Napoleon and Nelson.”
“Those all have to do with the war with Bonaparte and his eventual defeat,” said Eddy. “My information is the fact that I can’t find the information. I start trailing after something that sounds promising and either a big brick wall falls in front of me, or I find myself spiraling down a rabbit hole that leads to another dead end. It was one of the reasons I started thinking about coming out. More and more, I found myself being blocked and it didn’t feel right… if you know what I mean.”
“I know the Clock Tower is supposed to be built over some kind of supernatural portal, but I have no idea what triggers it or how we can stop it from ever opening,” said Corinne. “Now that I don’t think my aunt was completely off her rocker at the end, I wish I’d paid more attention.”
“Is there anything you can think of that she specifically mentioned and that you ignored at the time? Some small thing that you dismissed as completely unimportant? When casting spells, it can be the details that make up all the difference.”
“She did talk about the fact that the clock faces weren’t one solid piece of glass—that they’d had to break them into shards and then piece them back together.”
Eddy brought out his laptop and pulled up a close-up of Big Ben. “Did she say shards and break? Or did she say pieces? Because when I look at the face, the glass looks like it was cut into hundreds of specific pieces.”
He watched as Corinne’s beautiful face showed concentration and then enlightenment.
“You’re right. She didn’t say shards. I interpreted it that way. She did say pieces and talked about fitting them back together.”
Saoirse nodded. “If Merlin was your ancestor…”
“And as far as I can tell, your family roots go back that far and he could very well have been,” interrupted Eddy.
“Then it would make sense that he would reach out across time in a more precise way,” added Saoirse.
“I thought he was sealed in some kind of crystal cave…”
Saoirse fluttered her hands. “Some believe Morgan Le Fay trapped him within a crystalline structure, but over time, crystals can lose some of their cohesion and crack, allowing him a way out at least for a brief period of time before the crystal heals itself.”
“So, you think Merlin had a hand in the creation of Big Ben?”
Eddy smiled. “Big Ben is actually the bell itself. The clock tower and the clock were built to hold it. So, what if some demon or dark wizard—maybe even Morgan Le Fay—created the portal and Merlin got the clock tower built? If he knows his descendants are going to be in this fight, he has to have a way to warn them. And he has to limit how the demons can escape.”
“If they are shapeless or can shift their shape to pass through the cracks, it might make them more vulnerable and give his descendants the time they need to fight it,” added Saoirse, nodding excitedly.
“And knowing those who would follow him and wield Galatine, which is the shadow blade to Excalibur, would be a woman, he might think she needed help,” added Corinne, “and he might enchant the bronze statues.” She turned to Saoirse. “Could he do that?”
“I couldn’t, but if Merlin was as powerful as they say, then yes he could.”
“So, it will happen when it’s dark, but London is a vibrant city. It never truly sleeps. Somebody’s going to see four seven-ton lions roaming around London with a woman wielding an ancient, magickal sword,” said Corinne.
“I can probably handle keeping it hidden, and I have no doubt you and your four lions could defeat a single demon, but I worry about what happens if there are more.”
“She won’t be alone, for one thing” insisted Eddy. “The demon realm would have no way of knowing about Gabe and Courechouse. Roark and Holmes are going to work with your instructor to sharpen their skills with the quarterstaff and halberd, respectively, if you’ll entrust the weapons to them,” he explained.
“Of course,” Corinne said. “I have to tell you, I won’t mind having a powerful witch, another swordsman and two other warriors on my side. I wonder…”
“Wonder what?” asked Eddy.
“There are four weapons, four of us and four lions—that seems significant and not coincidental,” pondered Corinne, who suddenly turned to Eddy. “In the books, Eddy’s… your favorite form of exercise was archery. He was an expert. Are you?”
“I am. The question is, will Storm Shadow accept me as her master?”
“You know about my bow?”
“I’m an archer and a geek—I know a great deal about a lot of famous and legendary bows. Are there any arrows with it? I ask because the same family of fletchers have been making the arrows for it since it was created.”
“Yes. There’s a bundle in the quiver and another bundle inside the case.”
“Almost fifty arrows… That should be enough.”
“What did you mean about Storm Shadow accepting you?” asked Saoirse.
“There are some nasty tales about that bow. She can’t be strung unless she recognizes her master and if you try to force it, there’s a carved dragon’s tail on the bottom which will animate, wrapping itself around your forearm and trapping you. Then the head on the other end will come alive and breathe fire on you, burning you to a crisp.”
Corinne’s eyes widened.
“What is it?” asked Saoirse.
“There are black marks on the limbs of the bow. Do you suppose they’re char marks?”
“Most likely,” said Eddy. “The thing is, Storm Shadow is said to be able to hit a target at more than twice the normal distance. A normal bow can fire less than half a mile, but Storm Shadow is said to be able to fire more than twice that.”
“If you took up a position on Nelson’s pillar, you could cover the rest of us as we travel from Trafalgar Square to Big Ben.”
“Might I point out here that you are also an excellent archer. You could cover Roark, Spense, Holmes and me from a safe distance,” argued Eddy.
“But you are not the Sentinel of the Portal,” Corinne said “I am. And I alone can awaken the lions and, I would think, control them.”
“I don’t like it. It’s too dangerous,” grumbled Eddy.
“What you don’t like,” Corinne said, leaning over and putting her hand on his knee, “is that I’m right and you know it.”
He looked down at her hand. He could feel the heat from her body pass to his, and his cock came to life. His entire system lit up from the rush of arousal that surged through him. All she had to do was touch him, and he didn’t give a damn about demons. All he wanted was to be with her to get inside her. He wanted to fuck her like he’d wanted nothing else in his life. There was an angel on his shoulder telling him to slow down and to think about the job they had to do. The devil on his other shoulder had a direct line to his cock and was saying that if they were going to die in order to save humanity, they might as well fuck first.
Eddy was inclined to listen to the devil… It was the one he knew better.
Chapter 14
It didn’t take long for the others to join them, bringing up the last of her personal items. They all looked at Corinne expectantly while trying not to be obvious.
She decided to address the manner straight on. “Last night, Eddy shared with me some of the stuff that’s been going on with all of you. I have to admit at first I was hurt that you hadn’t known absolutely that you could trust me…” As protestations to the contrary started, Corinne raised her hand. “And then I realized, you could say the same of me. That got me to thinking why that had been the case, and I realized that at least for me, I didn’t want you to think my aunt or I was a certified crazy person. Magickal swords, banshees hauling the Ripper to Hell, freeing the spirits of those little girls—that was wonderful, by the way—finding your way out of the pages of a book, bronze lions coming to life—it wasn’t that we questioned each other’s trust, but rather the sanity of the one telling the tale… or at least that the one being told might.”
“I’m so glad you understand,” said Sage. “I think for all of us, it’s been kind of a learning experience. Who do you tell? When do you tell them? Things like that. I have to hand it to Eddy; he handled it better than the rest of us.”
Corinne laughed. “For me, strange as this may sound, the weirdest part was finding Eddy replaced by Elias in the books, less than twenty-four hours after I’d last read one. And nobody else knows there’s been a change?”
Sage shook her head. “No. The change seems to happen instantaneously in the e-books and paper and hardbacks, in the audiobooks and in everyone’s mind. If you think it’s weird for you, think about it from my standpoint. I remember what I wrote, but when I go back to read it, it’s different.”
“I’ve never thought to ask,” said Rachel. “Does it bother you?”
“I don’t know that bother is the right word, but it is disconcerting. And as fantastical as this has all been, I think the thing I find the most fascinating is Anne. I’ve always wanted to know…” The rest of the group groaned.
“What’s that for?” laughed Corinne.
“Whenever Sage starts a sentence like that, it means she’s gone into writer research mode,” replied Anne. “So, what about my execution do you want to know?”
“Did it hurt? I mean, did you feel it and know you were dying?”
“Obviously, I can’t speak for anyone else, but I think the one kindness Henry did show me was the French swordsman. I didn’t feel anything. He was so quick and so sure with his stroke that he severed my head completely with a swift blow. I don’t think my mind even had time to recognize pain, and there sure wasn’t a moment when my head was severed that I realized I had been executed.”
Corinne watched as the former Queen of England, who was sitting in her husband’s lap, stroked down his back, not to further her connection to him or to comfort herself but to ease his tension and pain. The fact that Gabriel Watson was distressed by what she’d said was obvious.
“It’s fine, sweetheart,” Anne soothed. “It was a very long time ago and had it not happened the way it did, I wouldn’t be here now sitting in your lap. And I wouldn’t change that for anything.”
Gabe drew her close, nuzzling her neck. “He was a bastard and a fool.”
Anne grinned. “Yes, he was and not anywhere close to as good in the sack as you.”
Everyone laughed, and Corinne wondered if Anne had been gifted with her easy charm and innate kindness during Tudor times. After working to get Corinne completely unpacked and settled in her new flat, the group all agreed to head home, get cleaned up and adjourn to Holmes and Rachel’s townhouse for dinner, after which they’d get everyone up-to-speed on Corinne’s situation.
As she closed the door after the last of her friends were gone, Corinne leaned back against it looking at her flat and smiled. Her Aunt Peggy would have liked her new place. She could easily hear Big Ben and was close to Trafalgar Square. More than that, at the end of her moving day, her flat looked like home. It was as if she’d been settled in for months if not years. It was good to have friends.
Eddy grinned as he trudged up the stairs in Holmes’ townhouse. His friends had warned him that even though he was healthy, fit and Sage had described him as strong and muscular, in the world beyond the Veil, he would have to contend with the reality of never having had corporeal form. His muscles ached and he was tired, something else he’d never experienced before. Yet he’d never felt better in his life.
He was once again in the same realm as his friends. He’d been transparent and honest with Corinne, and she didn’t hate him. More than that, they’d gotten a lot accomplished and he felt that she was safe.
The knock on the door came slightly before it cracked open, and Holmes stuck his head in. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Tired and sore, but happy to be here.”
“A good hot shower should help with that. Were the three of you able to figure anything out?”
“Holmes,” Eddy could hear Rachel behind him, “let the poor man take a shower. You can wait to hear everything with the rest of us. Come take a shower with me.”
“That’s got to be a pretty good incentive,” teased Eddy.
Holmes grinned. “You have no idea. You’re on your own until the rest of them get here.”
Eddy laughed as Holmes headed down the hall to join his wife. Holmes was a changed man. He’d always been in charge; always been a Dom and liked to control every aspect of his life in a serious and forthright manner. Rachel had softened the edges. He was still tough and strong, but he smiled more often, and her very presence seemed to give solace to the venerable DSI. While he had no doubt that Holmes was the dominant partner in his marriage, it seemed that Rachel had a way of wrapping him around her finger and making him happy.
