Beyond the Stone, page 11
He recalled that memory as he walked into the house and saw that the walls were covered in the shadows of flowers. The shadows even had tinges of colour along the edges of the petals and the petals pulsed in tune to her song. When he walked into the kitchen, a few of the tiger lilies reached out to touch his hands, to guide him over to his mother. Bane was surprised by how strong the shadow flowers were. It meant Eliza was getting stronger, too.
His mother’s voice faded to a soft whisper and then she was quiet. When she looked up at him, she was smiling. Not in the slightly maniacal way that the pixie dust brought to her face, but a real smile, one that he remembered and knew so well that it was imprinted on the inside of his mind.
“Hello, son. Asher of ashes, my gorgeous prince.” She came towards him, one of the flower tendrils wrapped like a shawl around her shoulders. He marvelled at his mother’s shadow magic and how powerful it was. “My darling Asher of ashes. Did you know that your nice boy, Jack of all trades, he stopped by to check on me? Wasn’t that nice? Your prince for a prince. He is the other side of you, Asher of ashes.” She placed a hand on his cheek.
“Do you like Jackson, Mother?” Bane asked, chiding himself that he still needed and wanted his mother’s approval even after all this time.
Eliza smiled, a real smile. One that made her look more sane than she had in so very long. He would lock it away in case the smile went away and he needed to remember that look on her face.
“Oh, Asher of ashes, of course I do. More importantly, you love him. I can feel the love coming from you. But there is something else in the air, something else that needs your attention, that you need to pay attention to.”
“What is it, Mother?” His voice came out in a whisper.
She shook her head slightly. “Oh, my wondrous Asher of ashes, I wish I knew what form it would take. Only that it is coming and then it will be too late.” She ran her hand along his cheek again. “We have to be ready.”
He watched his mother, and she was more coherent than she had been for years. “What’s coming?”
She shook her head and held a finger up to her mouth. “No, it’s a secret. I don’t know it yet. But you’ve begun to learn one of yours, I see.” She ran a hand along his skin.
Bane had almost forgotten about his skin taking on the look and feel of stone. “I’m a monster,” Bane whispered.
His mother shook her head. “No, you’re not. They are for doing this to you.”
A chill ran down Bane’s spine. “What did you say?” he whispered.
“The stars are quite bright, my bright prince. You are made of stars and stardust. You came from the stars and will go back there, but you will need to find out who you are first.” She rubbed his cheek again. “This is but the first step. There are so many left to go. The stone will help you grow, my darling prince.”
She turned from him then and began to sing softly. Bane watched as shadow birds came to life on the walls and began to follow her as she walked into the kitchen.
Chapter Eighteen
Madison was waiting for Bane when he came into the office. She looked rather frightening when she wore all red. She looked like a giant lobster wearing Louis Vuitton.
She let out a huff and grimaced at him. “Do you have to be so fucking loud, Bane? I can hear you from across the room.”
“That’s kind of the idea,” Bane said, putting his jacket at his desk.
“Why do you have to be such an asshole? I would have thought that would have changed now that you’ve gotten laid.” She flicked a hand at his skin. “Nice look, by the way. You look like a tough Rook.”
“What can I say? I have a soft spot for you,” Bane said. “And thanks.”
“Aren’t you a charmer.” She smirked.
“Why didn’t you tell me that this would happen if I fucked some guy?” Bane barked out.
“You didn’t just fuck some guy. To look like that, there has to be love involved.” Her smile widened. “So, when’s the wedding?”
“Oh, piss off.”
“I will not. Besides, Edwards is looking for you.”
“Fucking toe rag.”
“Bane, stop this.” Madison snapped her fingers in front of his face. “You can be all pissy with me if you want, but we have work to do. He wants to see your budgets for the task force you’re setting up.”
He felt the panic begin to set in. The stone of his skin actually hardened, and he could feel the panic causing ripples along his skin. “Fuck, what am I going to do? There’s no way I can bluff my way through this.”
“Are you kidding me? I’ve worked with you for years and I know you’re excellent at bullshitting. Listen, I’ve got the budgets done for you and Claude did the uniforms. Darcy and Lucille have agreed to join the team.”
“Aw, Madison. Why those two?”
“Because I told you, you need one of each of us. I’m a Seer, Claude is a Dryad, Darcy is a lightning bolt and Lucille is a star. We can get a few other people eventually, but it’s good to start with five. We need five to begin.”
“You’re forgetting that I’ve roped Jackson into this and my mother.”
“That’s fine, but the base has to be five. I can’t see much else, but I can see that. Lucille has agreed to have some costing sheets ready, and Darcy is going to cover reconnaissance strategy.” She put a hand on his arm. “Now, tell me what you found out.”
“Why? You know everything already.”
“Yes, but I want to hear it from you. That will let me know that it’s real and not a dream.”
Bane knew what she was talking about. There was no mental wall strong enough that he could throw around that; when he thought of what Myko had shown him, when the blackness had rushed towards him even in memory, his blood ran cold. He looked at Madison, looked her right in the eyes. That was something he never did. He tried to open his eyes wider so that she could see every iota of fear inside of him. Her gold eyes widened in fear. “It’s all true,” he said.
“What are we going to do?”
“That’s not the half of it. My mother is becoming more and more aware, almost as if she’s planning for something.”
Madison stilled. “The last time your mother was coherent was when your brother and sisters and father were alive, before they split mortals from supernaturals.”
“I know,” Bane said gravely. “And add that to all the other shit that Jackson showed me.”
“What stuff?”
“What, you don’t know?”
“I can’t see you when you’re with him. I think Jackson puts up a filter or a wall or something, for privacy’s sake.” She shivered. “It’s a good thing, too. It would be like watching porn in my head and I wouldn’t be able to turn it off.” She stuck a finger in her mouth and stuck out her tongue, gagging.
“I didn’t know that, but I’m glad for it. I don’t need you looking at my junk.”
She stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. “You wish.”
“Seriously though, problems are bigger than we knew. It’s not just the oncoming darkness that we have to worry about.”
Bane told her about what he had seen: the young girl who was followed by ghosts, the woman who created music when she laughed, the man who, when he told a story, it came to life in the air around him. He sent her mental pictures for each person he mentioned so that she knew that he wasn’t having her on.
“What does this mean?” Madison asked, whispering the words, the fear running strong in her now. Her skin had paled, and she had lost a bit of the lustre that she normally carried with her. “Bane, what is it you’re telling me?”
“All our lives, we’re told that mortals wish to do us harm, that they need to be kept separate from us in order to ensure our safety. Did you know that Jackson’s parents were killed by a supernatural?”
“He never told me that,” she said softly. “He must be so conflicted with what he can do.”
“I think he was. But that’s not the main point. I walked along in his neighbourhood and no one batted an eye. No one came at me screaming like we’re always taught they will. We’re told that mortals resent us they didn’t fear me at all.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Madison said, her voice still barely above a whisper.
“I’ve been thinking about this. Do you ever wonder why relations between mortals and supernaturals are discouraged? Is it because they’re afraid of what we’ll find out?”
“And what is that? That mortals possess magic too?”
Bane nodded. “I think it’s more than that, though. What if we’re kept here, watched and tracked, marked at birth for what we can do and what abilities we have, in order to keep them safe?”
Madison threw up her hands. “You’re talking nonsense.”
“Am I? What if we’re kept separate from mortals not to help them, but to keep them safe? What if it’s us that are the prisoners in the Clocktower?” His voice was filled with steel and the stone of his skin seemed to vibrate.
Madison heard a hum coming from Bane and there was a sheen of something glittery, as if the air was filled with glass. She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Honey, calm down. You’re so angry, you’re vibrating.”
Bane gave his head a shake. “Sorry, Madison. I just lost my head over it. What if all the killings didn’t have to happen? What if Jackson’s parents didn’t have to die? What if my brother and sisters were still alive? What if I still had my father?”
“Bane, you can’t think of what was. They’re gone from our lives and live on only in the ether. All you can do is celebrate them and become who you were meant to be.”
“And what is that, exactly? A man made of rock?”
“No, Bane. You’re a Rook. You are a shapeshifter. What if this form is like your cocoon, your chrysalis?”
“You mean, this won’t be the only fashion statement I make?”
Madison slapped his arm lightly. “Seriously, Bane. What are we going to do?” Madison asked. “We have all the materials for the meeting that Edwards wants, but what are we going to do going forward? We need to have a plan.”
“And we’ll make one,” Bane said, fiercely. “You let everyone know that we can meet tonight at my place. Around seven. We will meet and figure out what the fuck is going on.”
“Good,” Madison said. “But there is something far more important that I need your opinions on.”
“What’s that?” Bane asked, worry in his voice.
“We need to make final decisions on the uniform for the task force,” Madison said. “Even if it’s going to be a fake task force, I want to do it in style!”
Chapter Nineteen
They had spent hours going over everything.
Bane had discussed the budgets with Madison and Claude had drawn up quick sketches of what the uniforms would look like. Though the numbers and other information would be faked for Edwards, the uniforms had to be made in reality. They were ready for the meeting with Edwards. He barely gave the papers and documents a second glance, merely giving them a cursory look.
“This is excellent, Bane, really excellent, I’m thrilled that you have taken this task to heart and it does me glad to know that I had a hand in this and a hand in your growing career,” he said.
Gods, why did that fucker have to say everything in one breath? Bane thought. “Fuckwad.”
“I’m sorry, what was that you said?”
Madison kicked him underneath the table. Fuck. “Thank you?”
“You’re most welcome, Bane, and I must say I really like the new look you’re showing you know my grandmother was a Rook and her skin changed several times before she completed her gestation period and became something else altogether,” he said.
Fuck, why did the man have to have such a whiny voice? Bane thought. It was like a mouse was trying to fuck his brain, for crying out loud. “Douchebag.”
Madison kicked him under the table. “I mean, thank you?”
“You are showing great potential, Bane, and I’m so happy to see such growth in you, you’re really starting to show what you’re capable of and what caused the change in your skin by the way? With my grandmother it was emotions that changed it very strong emotions or perhaps very strong emotion surges usually when she was enraptured or involved in something that really moved her. What was it that moved you?”
Madison let out a snort. Bane’s skin began to shimmer and shift, the rockface becoming more pronounced. “Nothing, nothing. Nothing did, it was nothing,” Bane stammered.
Edwards gave him a knowing smile. “Surely surely sure, Bane, you don’t have to share your private life with me—”
“You’re too right, sir; Bane shouldn’t share anything about his privates with us,” Madison said cheekily, giving Bane wink. Bane kicked her lightly under the table.
“Yes, well this is all coming along nicely and I’m happy to see the uniforms are looking very nice indeed very stylish just because we’re government employees doesn’t mean that we can’t be stylish very very good, Bane. When do you think the report will be done because when it’s all finished and submitted we can finally make our first visit to the black market as its been tempting mortals for a long time now and we’re losing profits by the bucket-load.”
Bane blinked, unsure that Edwards had finished speaking. Edwards blinked at Bane and didn’t say anything. “So, you want us to infiltrate the black market, sir fuckwad?”
Edwards either didn’t hear the right word or chose to ignore it. “Yes, that’s it exactly we have to make sure that the black market is completely shut down we would like your group to get the scope of the place and how large it is to determine how much manpower will be needed to take it all down because things simply cannot continue as they are.” Edwards folded his hands in front of him. “I’d like to see the full report and then that will go to senior management as we would like you to make your move within the week if at all possible. We need to start your recon on the black market as the sooner that is done the sooner that the black market will be shut down.”
Bane watched as Madison paled, the colour fading from her skin. A week. That gave them a week to find out what was really going on and what the Clocktower district was really up to before they did anything else. “Understood, sir.”
Edwards actually smiled at Bane and Madison as they both stood up. “Thank you both for your hard work and thank Claude, Darcy, and Lucille so kind of them to help you with this, Bane, I will let you know when the next meeting is taking place and keep you posted.” He smiled at them and there was something almost hypnotic in the smile, as Edwards rarely showed any emotion whatsoever. “Thank you.”
“Thank you, sir.” Bane and Madison said in unison. They left his office quickly and walked to Bane’s desk.
“What the fuck was that?” Bane asked.
“That?” Madison shivered and took her flask out of her purse, taking a quick swig. She handed it to Bane who did the same. “That was a warning. We have a week.”
“Good thing we’re all meeting tonight. Is everyone coming?”
“Yes, we’re all in,” Madison said. “Should we bring anything?”
“No, got it covered. Jackson is helping Eliza with refreshments.” He went to turn away and thought better of it. “On second thought, bring more of the Frangelico.” He gave her a grin. “That’s tasty shit.”
***
When the doorbell rang, Bane went to answer the door.
His mother spoke behind him from the kitchen. “You tell whoever it is that we don’t need a kitchen demon, my beautiful Asher of ashes.”
“Okay, Mom. You know there is no such thing as demons, right?”
She turned, eyebrow raised. “You haven’t met the people I have met,” she said. “Trust me, Asher of ashes, my darling boy. There are demons in this world and others. Sometimes, they hide among us.”
Jackson patted Eliza on the back. “It’s all good. We know there are demons. Bane and I will protect you from them.”
She patted Jackson’s cheek. “You’re a kind boy, but there is a storm coming. The sooner we prepare, the better.” Then she began to hum a tune and the shadows along the wall began to dance with her.
Jackson gave Bane a look. Bane nodded. This wasn’t the first time that his mother gave the impression that she could read minds or have an idea of what was coming. Bane had learned to just go with the flow. Jackson and Eliza returned to finishing the food preparation and Bane went to open the door.
Madison was standing there and was looking back at the trees. “Your trees are sprouting fruit,” she said. She held one up for him, an apple red as a ruby and shining brightly in the light of dusk. “There are bananas and oranges on the tree, too. I think I saw some grapes as well. What kind of tree is that?”
Bane shrugged. “Fuck if I know.” He stepped out of the way so Madison could make her way inside. Claude was standing behind her and offered Bane a smile. Bane grudgingly returned it.
“Anyone else here yet?” she asked.
“Yeah, Darcy showed up with Lucille. They came together.”
“So, the gang’s all here then,” Madison said. “Are we really going through with this?”
“Bit late to get cold feet,” Bane said.
“They’re not cold, only cautious.”
“Well, let’s ask the group for consensus and see what they have to say.”
He went into the living room where Darcy and Lucille sat, sipping tea. The cups in front of Darcy told Bane that he had already consumed a lot of liquid. Bane knew that working with electricity, Darcy had to keep constantly hydrated, as did Claude as a Dryad. You would think that working with electricity would make hydration less important, but it was a popular misconception. Those that worked with electricity depleted their bodies’ electrolytes and dried them out. Lightnings needed to hydrate to stay alive.
