Beyond the Stone, page 12
“Hey Darcy, hey Lucille. Either of you need another drink?” Bane asked.
“I’m good,” Darcy said. “Your mom is bringing in Caesars. So, I’m good to wait.”
“Same,” Lucille said.
“Thanks for coming. Both of you.”
“Well, Madison let us in on a few of the details,” Lucille said, her grey eyes flashing. “I have to say I’m intrigued, but even she doesn’t know everything.” She gave Madison a nervous look. “That says a lot, she’s a fucking crystal ball.”
Lucille looked afraid but there was a determined set to her jaw that told Bane that she would face anything that came her way head on. He had no idea of the scope of her powers, but he knew that she had the reputation of being a real firecracker.
Bane looked at Darcy. He wasn’t sure what to think of him. He had permanently frizzy dark hair and was slightly nervous, but Bane knew this was a side effect of being a Lightning. He moved slowly, though, showing a calmness that many Lightnings didn’t possess. Bane knew that Darcy was watching everything and had a reputation at work for being a man who knew the details of something inside and out.
Glancing at Madison, Bane knew that this woman was sharp. She could see inside people and know things about them that even they didn’t know or realize about themselves. He knew that Madison’s powers weren’t foolproof, the fact that she couldn’t see inside his mind when he was with Jackson, or the area of his brain that Bane kept from her, told him as much; but he knew that she was also the best psychic that he had ever known.
Bane looked over at Claude. He was just a granola-eating Dryad with small junk; but Madison said he needed to have someone from each of the supernatural races on his team, so there you go, douchebag got in.
Madison let out a sigh. “That’s not the only reason that Claude is here. He can grow trees taller than your mother’s by simply touching the ground, can form weapons out of water that he’s pulled from the earth and tons of other things.”
“Whatever,” Bane said. “Nice to see you, Claude.”
“Thank you for having me here.” Claude reached out to take Bane’s hand. “You let me know if you want to give me a tour, of somewhere more private.”
He gave Bane a little grin that made Bane want to hurl a little bit. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
Jackson walked in with Eliza and she passed out Caesars to everyone. He knew that they were heavy on the booze as he could smell it from across the room.
Jackson was everything to him and more. Bane was just beginning to understand what Jackson could do, being an empath and with his ability to teleport. He knew that Jackson was good for him in more ways than even he had considered. He now lived for Jackson and knew that the same was true for him.
His mother was the wild card. Black Widow magic was whispered about amongst supernaturals late at night when everyone had had too much to drink. There were tales of witchcraft and women and men that had lost their minds because of what their powers took from them and from what they gave. Everyone that a Black Widow killed only made them stronger. The Black Widow absorbed the victim’s power, whether they meant to or not. This caused a problem. As every act of magic had a price, the added powers often ate away at the Black Widow’s mind.
He knew that Eliza walked a fine line between lunacy, sanity, reality, and the imagination. Bane only hoped that she would be able to hold it together, that the fact that she was growing more and more here, even given what had recently happened to them was a good sign.
Looking at everyone, taking in everyone’s powers, everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, he thought they would be okay. He knew that each of them had faced some kind of challenge. He only hoped they would be able to rise up to the few challenges that they now faced.
The only difference was that now they faced them together.
Chapter Twenty
“So, what the fuck is all of this about?” Lucille said. “I mean, Madison whispered something about impending danger and I’m all in for that, but I have no idea what to go on here. What kind of danger?” Rather than worried, Lucille just sounded curious.
“The shadows wear many shapes,” Eliza said. “Sometimes, they even come from within.”
Lucille gave Eliza a blank look. “So, um, yeah. That was super helpful. Thanks! Anyone else?”
Bane was about to respond when there was a knock at the door. Bane tensed, thinking it might be the Clocktower patrol. Jackson shook his head and gave Bane a warm smile.
“It’s okay. He’s one of us,” Jackson said.
Bane headed to the door. “One of us? What the fuck are you talking about?”
Opening the door, Bane saw Myko standing on his doorstep. Tonight’s outfit was a short leather coat covered in sequins paired with a tight holographic t-shirt that showed off all of Myko’s muscles, and dark blue jeans with sparkly Dr. Martens. Even the laces of the boots were covered in sparkles.
Bane took the look in. “I think I just threw up a little.”
“Then close your mouth and let me in,” Myko said. “No one needs a mouth breather.”
Myko flounced in; there was no other word for it. He moved with a liquid grace that had everything to do with style and substance with quite a lot of confidence thrown in. It was one of the reasons that Bane found him so irrupting.
“Only one, sweetie?” Myko pouted. “I’m disappointed. If I haven’t pissed you off on at least three levels, the day hasn’t been fully lived.”
“Give it time,” Bane said, gruffly. He watched as Myko took off his coat and threw it on a chair. “By all means, make yourself at home.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He gave Jackson an imploring look. “Jackson, sweetie, I would love a Mai Tai.”
“I don’t know how to make those,” Jackson said, giving Myko a small grin.
“Well, something alcoholic then, I’m not picky. I’m parched, honey, and I need a drink.”
“You need to have your eyes examined, that’s what you need,” Bane said. “Why would you dress like that, what with the patrol all over the place? We’re being watched.”
“Sweetie, the best way to hide is to hide in plain sight.”
“Yeah, hide, not shine so bright you’re seen from fucking space,” Bane said, hotly.
“Honey, the point is to distract them.”
“That outfit would distract anyone,” Claude said, giving Myko a hungry grin.
“Oh yes, you’ll do nicely,” Myko said, squeezing in between Claude and Madison.
“You know, there’s another chair, right over there. You don’t have to sit right on top of Claude like that,” Lucille said.
“Yes, I do. I really love a bit of wood, don’t you?”
Madison let out a snort. “Well, you hit that on the head, that’s for sure.” She shared a knowing smile with Bane.
Turning to Madison, Myko favoured her with a grin that held no joy, only want. “Yes, but I’ve always found that Dryads know exactly what to do with a bit of wood. It’s not the size of the log, it’s the effort involved that counts.”
Bane wanted to throw up. “Why the fuck are you here?”
“Why, to be part of the brigade, of course.”
“You sure the market is safe?”
Myko’s eyes narrowed. “It’s always safe.”
Lucille stood and glared at Bane and Myko. “You two can have your pissing contest later, okay? Could you tell us what the fuck is going on? I’ve got places to see, people to do.”
Bane gave Lucille a grateful smile. “Thanks, Lucille. She’s right. We have a lot to do and little time in which to tell it.”
Madison waved a hand. “Bane, please. We could do without the theatrics. Just lay out the facts but don’t lay on the drama. I know you like your drama, but just tell it like it is, okay?”
Bane looked at Jackson and Jackson nodded, reaching out to squeeze his hand. He held on to Bane and the touch steadied him. Jackson made him stronger, seemed to fill him with a warmth that he didn’t know he had been missing. The stone that covered his skin began to pulsate with a soft light and Bane could feel each wave of it moving along his body.
Jackson squeezed his hand again and the warmth that flowed through him intensified and Bane’s resolve strengthened. All of this took only seconds, but when Bane looked at everyone, he was a different person. Gone was the swagger and the posing. Now, there was only Bane and his words and his resolve.
For the next hour, he told them everything: from the patrol visiting his mother to meeting Jackson. He told them about leading the task force to keep the mortals safe and decrease the influence of the black market, the plot to take out the leaders of the black market, and Clocktower’s view that it was the black market that was throwing the world into decline. He told them about Jackson being mortal and having supernatural powers that went beyond any of the five accepted and acknowledged supernatural races. He told them that the humans had magic and could work their powers, that they weren’t split to keep them safe from mortals, but for some other unknown reason.
As he spoke, Bane saw a dawning look of horror mark each of their faces. Darcy’s face became increasingly angry. Lucille looked as if she wanted to spit. Myko, not being flirty for once, looked at Bane with grave acceptance. Claude looked slightly shell-shocked and cuddled further into Myko’s embrace. Madison’s eyes blazed with anger that was red like the colour of her lipstick and fingernails. She looked as if she would burn the next person that touched her.
Through it all, Jackson kept hold of Bane’s hand, sending heat and warmth into him. Though Jackson said nothing, Bane could feel the worry that rode underneath that heat; he knew that Jackson was as worried as the rest of them and yet Jackson still took the time to make sure that Bane was all right. When he was done speaking, Bane was spent, out of words and even more in love with Jackson than he had been before he had started speaking.
In the silence that followed his talk, Bane could hear everyone’s brains whirring and thinking, processing everything. Even Madison, who knew most of it and had been told more of what had been happening, looked outraged.
It was Darcy that spoke first. “They’ve been lying to us.” His voice came out in a frightened yet menacing whisper.
“Those that live in shadows know how to hide secrets within secrets within the blanket of lies,” Eliza said. “They have always done this. Do you know that to this day, I do not know where my children are? My lovely Edgar, Gabriella, and Justine. My husband Rustin left to go and find them, to bring them home, but they have wrapped him in shadows, too. I don’t know what’s become of them, but they like it that way. They are more comfortable with me in the shadows.”
Jackson let go of Bane and Bane felt the loss of the heat right away. A small kernel of it remained and Bane held on to that. Jackson reached out to take Bane’s mother’s hand.
“It’s okay, Eliza,” he said, softly, giving Bane a knowing look. “We’ll find them, it will be okay.”
“I think of them, lost within the shadows, dancing with the shadow man, and I worry. I worry so much. I’m worried for all of us.”
The shadows that moved along the walls began to dance. Bane thought this was odd as his mother wasn’t singing, but then he felt it within him. Her blood was singing, the magic within her rising to the surface. He went to his mother and pulled her into an embrace. His mother let out a breath that she had been holding in.
“It’ll be okay, Mother.”
“I’m just so afraid. Asher, sweet Asher of ashes, what are we going to do?”
“I think that’s what we’re all wondering,” Lucille said. “Now that we know what’s going on, how do we move forward? What can a handful of people possibly do against a whole government agency? We don’t know how deep this goes, do we? How many layers there are to this?” She looked angry and exasperated at the thought of this. “It’s impossible.”
“No, it’s not,” Bane said. “Nothing is impossible.”
“It’s true,” Madison said. “A few days ago, I would have said that Bane getting laid by anyone would have been a miracle, and yet here he is with Jackson, proving that miracles do happen and that I’m a miracle worker.”
“How do you figure that?” Bane asked.
“Well, I brought you two together,” Madison said. “That should count for something.” She gave him a small grin.
Lucille crossed her arms. “People, focus please.”
“She’s right,” Jackson said, moving closer. “Now that we know more or less that there’s something going on, what do we do?”
Myko let out a small laugh. “Oh, none of you really know what’s going on. As for what we do? The answer is obvious.” He smiled at them and ended up looking like a kid in a candy store. “We start a revolution.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Bane gaped at Myko. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Honey, if I’m going to do more talking, I need another drink. I’m bone-dry over here,” Myko said, pursing his lips and holding up an empty glass. He waved it at Bane. “Maybe you could make yourself useful and fill up my glass.” He smiled. “Please.”
Eliza stood and held out her hand for the glass. “I’ll get your drink.”
Myko’s grin widened. “I know about you Black Widows. You play nice now and don’t put anything in my drink.”
“Why would I want to do that, prince of wands who lies inside?”
“Prince? Did you hear that, Asher? She called me a prince.”
“You shine so brightly but you don’t know what you can do. You use flash and fire and when that’s all gone, what do you have? You don’t even know.” Eliza smiled at him and then turned to look at Bane. “Did you want anything, my sweet Asher of ashes?”
Stifling a laugh, Bane shook his head. “No thanks, Mother. I’m okay.”
“You’re always okay, aren’t you my Asher of ashes? At least you don’t flash and boom and then fizzle out like young princelings.” She smiled at Bane and went to the kitchen.
Everyone turned to look at Myko. “Don’t look at me. Why did it sound as if she was commenting on my sex life?”
“Because I think that’s exactly what she was commenting on,” Bane said.
“So, wait.” Madison took a sip of her wine. “You mean to tell me that Claude who has small junk is hooking up with a guy who could be the five-second wonder?” She took in Myko and Claude’s shocked faces and let out a loud laugh. “That’s just too marvellous!”
Everyone started laughing and eventually Claude and Myko joined in. Eliza came back into the room with a tray of drinks in hand. Bane knew why she had done what she did. She had always been really good when they were kids, trying to diffuse the mood in the room that had grown fragrant with unshed magic by drawing their attention to other things, usually with laughter. Bane wondered if this was a sign that she was coming back to herself even more. He hoped against hope that she would be okay. Now that she knew that she had been the one to kill her husband and children, Bane was even more worried about her than before.
Jackson knew what he was thinking and reached out to take Bane’s hand. The heat returned to Bane’s body and he relished it. Looking into Jackson’s eyes, Bane could almost tell himself that everything was okay, despite knowledge of the contrary.
Passing out new glasses to everyone, Eliza took the empty glasses and brought them back to the kitchen. When she had returned, she noticed that no one had taken a drink. “Isn’t anyone still thirsty? I thought you would have at least tasted it by now.”
Bane looked at his own glass. “It looks wonderful, Mother. What is this?” The glass that he was holding was like everyone else’s. The liquid inside swirled like the stars and the Milky Way. The liquid was gold one moment, then silver, and it morphed into a soft blue, then a darker purple; all of this sparkled and seemed to dance within the glass.
“I know what this is,” Myko said. “Witches brew. I have never been able to replicate my mother’s recipe. It would always just change to one or two colours and the sparkles would fall to the bottom of the glass.” Myko looked at up at Eliza. “How did you make this?”
“A proper Witch never reveals her secrets, fire princeling. I can’t tell you my secrets, but I can tell the shadows which will float out into the wind and tell the sky what they need to know.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Lucille asked.
Darcy shushed her. “It’s okay, Lucy. She’s all right.”
“She’s freaking me out a little bit.” Lucille shrugged. “Sorry.”
“No offence taken, little star.” Eliza patted Lucille’s cheek. “Magic takes some getting used to.”
“But I’m a star,” Lucille said. “That’s what I do. I create magic.”
“Then drink your drink and show no fear, for fear is but the language of shadows and things unseen, little star.”
Lucille looked at her glass again. “Is that what is in this glass? Magic?”
She gave a slow nod. “Yes, of sort. I also add a ton of rum in there to help the magic move swiftly through the body.”
Eliza held up her glass. Everyone else did the same. For a moment, everyone looked at the galaxy that moved within the glass, almost hypnotized by it. Looking at his mother, he was reminded of the powerful woman she had once been.
“Salud!” Eliza said.
“Salud!” They all responded.
They all drank, and Bane could swear that, just for an instant, the light in the room grew a little brighter, as if they had turned something on or charged something up. Bane thought he knew what had been done. His mother had worked a spell of sorts between them all with only one purpose: to bring them closer together.
When they all lowered their glasses, Eliza looked at all of them and Bane saw the fever of life in her eyes, the sheer vibrancy of it. This was the mother that had loved him when he was younger, not the woman so lost within herself that she barely knew who he was.
For that matter, Bane barely knew who he was anymore.
“Now,” Eliza said. “What was it you were going to tell us, oh princeling? What can we do against the Clocktower? We can set it afire like the flames that run within your shell of skin, but you will live while we burn. What can we do?”
