Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) (21 page)

That pattern was
getting
irritating. What the hell did I have to do? Run naked across the Minster grounds shouting:
“
Ashka! Ashka! Come kill me!
”
and then hope my fucking powers decided to
save me
?

“
It’s all coming together,
”
Myleene said.
“
But not quickly enough. Our enemies’ plan has been devised over centuries. We mustn
’
t lose sight of the sort of evil we are dealing with here.
”

“
Yes, mother,
”
Belinda said
, making me laugh into my water. When I looked up, spluttering, I found her gaze locked on to me. I froze.

Jesus. Belinda’s eyes
smoldered
at me with barely concealed heat.
Jolts of passion sh
ot through me, making me shiver
. Nobody but Raychel had ever fired my heart that way. But I didn
’
t want to fuck it all up again.

I barely heard Ceriden rise to his feet to inform us
a
reasonable
amount
of Vampire resources were now being focused on the capture of Loki and Emily Crowe- the two Destroyers Kinkade revealed had killed Tristran.

Reasonable amount
of resources to find his boss‘
killers?
Hmmm
…

Another ‘message delivered’ chime sounded then. Using the distraction, Belinda
scooted
over next to me. The creak of her leather pants made me catch my br
eath. When she was settled
beside me she lean
ed so close that her lips
brushed against my earlobe.

“
Finally,
”
she whispered.
“
I got your attention.
”

“
Finally?
”

“
Finally, honeycake.
”

“
Ah. Well, I have been busy.
”

“
Busy putting me off.
”

“
I didn
’
t realise-
”

“
Huh. What are you saying? That I haven
’
t dropped enough hints? Is that what you
’
re saying? Well, how big a hint is this?
”

My breath stopped as her right hand
landed on
my thigh.
Her hot breath tickled my ear. Was that the tip of a tongue electrifying my synapses?

Then Myleene, damn her, gave another shocking exclamation.

“
Christ alive! Kinkade got the whispers off the street alright! He tracked down the last of the Chosen!
”
She
slammed the round table
.

“
Who is it?
”
Felicia was
bouncing in her excitement.
“And where?”

“
New York,
”
Myleene squinted at the screen.
“
Someone called Johnny
Trevochet
. Christ,
Trevochet
? I know that name. He used to be a soap opera star.
”

“
In
Friends?
”
Felicia
cried
. It was her all-time favourite programme.

“
No,
something else.
Ah,
”
Myleene pu
lled at her bottom lip in
apprehension.
“I can’t believe it.
We have nobody left over that side of the United States. Not one single person.
”

Felicia ventured. “Cleaver?”

Myleene shook her head. “Needed where he is.”

All eyes then turned to Belinda, and widened in surprise as they
realized
her
proximity to yours truly.

Belinda blinked, then shook her head and said:
“
That bastard James Bond never has this much trouble when he
’
s trying to get laid.
”

There was a shocked silence. I didn’t dare move a muscle. Belinda finally relented.
“
Alright, alright, I
’
m on my way.
”

Belinda jumped to her feet. I shrugged and tried to hide my face behind my glass of water.

3
2

MIAMI, USA

Marian Cleaver got the call from Myleene and left the mall. The local Homeland Security
unit was running operations now, and was
treating the scene as a terrorist incident. C
leaver thought that was
the best way to go.

Cleaver drove through the dark Miami streets, through rundown neighbourhoods that bordered on multi-million dollar estates, bypassing ghetto
blocks
where cops and
self-respecting hoes never ventured anymore. He cut through the resplendent Coconut Grove area that catered for the filthy rich and starry-eyed tourists, as he headed for the famous beach. On the way he crossed over one of the sprawling bridges and slowed to watch the black water churning below. At th
e beach he parked his
old Corvette, locked it, and walked across the sand to the edge of the calm ocean.

Miami, he thought. Diamond city of the States.

The skyline behind him glittered with skyscrapers.
P
ersonally
,
he
thought the hotels looked gaudy
;
places rappers might come to make videos that showcased their
ridiculous
music, thinking it made them look flash. Or fly. Or whatever.

   New Babylon.

   Cleaver had lived here his whole life. He had done murder, paid his dues, boxed himself into oblivion, and bettered himself here. In Miami. The name of the place, the beach, the nightlife- spoke of glitz, of glamour. The tourists loved it. So did the rich. But he
lived
here.
The other stuff
meant nothing to him.

Cleaver waited. At length he saw a tall enigmatic figure approaching out of the shadows.
“
So,
”
Cleaver said.
“
I left my post for you. I switched my cell off. I
’
m
already at the top of my wonderful boss’ shit-list. Again. This is Miami
’
s peak crime hours,
Mr.
Elf. What can I do for you?
”

Eldritch stopped,
and then
turned in a slow circle. Cleaver watched him, eyes roving across the lightly rolling Pacific, past the breakers as they foamed down the shoreline, over a few groups of tourists lounging and canoodling in the sand, along those fancy hotels that sat in a million-dollar line behind them, and finally returning to the calm, limitless expanse of water.

Cleaver
heard movement. From his left,
materializing
out of
the dark, came a few dozen figur
e
s
. Lyca
ns, judging by their lithe bodies
and hungry stares and by the way they just couldn
’
t resist shifting a glance toward the thin sliver of silver
floating
high above. Cleaver then sensed bodies behind him, turned and gasped. At least fifty Vampires stood there, silent in the night, pale like dying sunlight and as ageless as the shifting ocean. Cleaver
’
s heart started to beat so fast he thought a stoned-out drummer from a heavy metal band had just gone wild in there.

“
My name is Eldritch,
”
the Elf said quietly.
“
I bring you these Ubers. More are coming. And they will arrive in their thousands.
”

Cleaver gasped.
“
Thousands?
”

“
This is the place where Ubers and Humans will make their final stand,
”
Eldritch said.
“
Together,
an army united,
we will
fight as one to save our world.
”

Cleaver tried to pull himself together. It wasn
’
t done yet though. Cleaver watched a beautiful woman approach from the right. It was all he could do not to stare at her wildfire eyes and her perfect, pouting mouth. The woman
’
s nose though, was hopelessly crooked.

“
This is Cheyne,
”
Eldritch indicated her with an open hand turned palm up.
“
She is the witch Queen, originally out of Key West. Their finest.
”

“
I bring t
hree covens,
”
Cheyne told Cleaver in a high voice.
“
With m
ore on the way, my love. Are you alright?
”

Cleaver breathed deeply. This whole thing was getting real big. Real fast. A new meteor-like thought slammed through him.

Why are they all talking to
me
?

“
We are identifying various weak points around Miami-
” Cheyne was saying.

“
Weak points?
”
Cleaver managed to blurt out.

“
Areas of suppurating evil. Some places are more susceptible than others. It is at these weaker places that the demons will break through.
”

“Why?”

“
Bridges,
”
Cheyne pressed.
“
Malls. Part of South B
each. Coconut Grove.
”

“
Coconut Grove?
”

“
Evil is a frequent companion of vanity, my love.
”

“
And what of Gorgoroth?
”
Eldritch spoke up, much to Cleaver‘s relief.
“
Has Kinkade learned more?
”

“
Kinkade is a veritable torrent of information. And he is warming to his task a little more with every second that passes. He is definitely worth the price.
”

Cleaver
’
s head was starting to spin with all this information.
“
What price? And who is Kinkade?
”

“
Gorgoroth will be invoked over the ocean,
”
Cheyne rocked Cleaver with a
smoldering
glance, then turned to take in the surf.
“A
place vast and wild and untamed enough to accommodate his presence.
”

“
Here?
”
Cleaver said, biting his tongue.
“
You mean right here!
”

Cheyne nodded and drew her dark cloak around her as though suddenly cold.

My city!
Cleaver stared out over the rolling waves. “This is all I’ve ever known,” he said quietly. “How can Miami be destroyed?
Good
people live here.”

Eldritch touched his shoulder.
“
Worry not,
Mr.
Cleaver,
”
he said in his rich voice.
“
It is now that we will start to make a difference. Ubers. And Aegis. Believe it or not, we do have a plan.
”

Eldritch laid an arm across his shoulders, turned him, and walked him off down the beach. He said,
“
We need your help. Before this is over, you
will
make a difference
.
”

Cleaver couldn
’
t believe his ears. For so long he had tried to do just that.

Now these good people were offering him their help. And they
needed
him.

He looked the King right in the eyes.
“
Let
’
s get started.
”

3
3