Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) (32 page)

I was being shut out.
“Is Mai fillin
g your head with this…this shit?
Is Ceriden?
God,
I love you, Lucy, you’re my daughter. Please don
’
t push me away. It can be fun again.
”

“
I
’
m tired,
”
Lucy turned away from me and pulled the sheets over her head.

I watched
her a while longer, unaware
I was cryi
ng until
tears began to
sting my eyes.

Help me be a better father.

I
held a sacred image in my mind
of a much younger Lucy dancing around the kitchen table
with
her mum, aping every movement Raychel made, both of them clown
ing around to some old pop tune-
Video killed the radio star,
I think it was. I smiled in memory now as I entered Ceriden
’
s kitchen.
Younger days, older days, awesome
days.

Days of happiness.

Long gone.

My eyes sought the whisky bottle.
Hello, darkness, my old friend.
Another old song. My life in poetry, measured and defined by music.

The bottle gleamed at me, an amber charm. It had been a while. I walked over to the shelf. I picked up the bottle, contemplated the lure.

“
Your future lies in that bottle,
”
a voice said behind me. Holly.

“
I don
’
t have a future,
”
I said, and right then I believ
ed it. Avert Armageddon or not, m
y life was over. I was headin
g back down to the Yawning Cave where monsters
dwelled.

When we all went down to Miami…

Hello, darkness-

Then a voice said,
“But
we
do
…
I hope.
”
and I turned.

Belinda stood behind Holly
in the doorway, looking
afraid, unsure whether to smile or frown.

My friends,
I thought. My friends were always saving me.

Sooner or later, I was going to have to return the favour.

4
3

YORK, ENGLAND

That night Ceriden had his house staff cook a six-course meal. I took my seat between Lucy and Belinda,
and straight opposite Felicia
,
and held up my glass of Barefoot Merlot.

“
To meeting new friends,
”
I said
. There was a bond that joined all of us now, and when Felicia saluted me back with the same toast others around the table heard and raise
d their
glasses.

“
To new friends,
”
it
was a poised
moment
,
sad and heartfelt. I locked eyes with people I barely knew, people I would soon be fighting alongside and trusting my life to, and I felt a
s
ense of trust flow through me
.

The waitresses came out
.
Conversation struck up and glasses clinked and cutlery scraped away at plates. The laughter rose and fell and people like Ceriden and Jade and Lysette showed themselves confident enough to regale the entire table with stories, whilst those of us who were le
ss outgoing sat back
, satisfied with chatting to our neighbour
s or just soaking up the
atmosphere.

It was one of those nights that come
along rarely. Something
unplanned and unexpected that turns out to be one of the best times of your life. I was with Lucy and othe
rs who mattered to me
.
  

Life had turned on a dime for me,
a dime that then turned into
a
silv
er dollar. Since the night of the
treasure hunt I had become
close to people who cared more and were more focused than anyone I had ever met.
Raychel
and all the shitty baggage that came with her memory had regressed further into the past. I had
now
to worry about. I had my daughter to worry about. I had new friends and millions of people to worry about.

The night went on and the courses kept coming. We al
l applauded Milo, the Head Chef-
an abs
olute man-mountain of a vampire.
Kate Moss wandered in and shared a toast with us and told a few catwalk stories; the wine flowed and the conversation turned, and all the time, through the merriment and the camaraderie and the bonding, there wasn
’
t a
person in that room who wasn
’
t just a
bit sad
, voices husky and emotions
a little bit sha
ky, because we all knew that
no matter what happened in the
approaching final battle
, not everyone would survive
.

The next few days were a dangerous mix of boredom and chaos. Humanity was informed of the existence of Ubers. Every
news outlet
cried indignity
and tried to milk the chaos for circulation
, every so-called
‘
expert
’
jumped on the band
-
wagon. There were speeches by the President, by the British Prime Minister, by the Pope. You name
it;
if you appeared credible you were courted by the pres
s, or by the government, to share
.

We watched it all unfold from the safety of Ceriden
’
s mansion. It was expected that the world would react with disbelief, then with amazement and fear, and then with part violence and curiosity. Our expectations were pretty much met.

Lucy continued to act cool around me. Tanya helped by lightening the mood, and by distracting my daughter from the attentions of Mai. I wanted to confront the vampire woman, but now felt fearful of how Lucy would react if I did. Belinda stayed close and supportive, but didn
’
t push it. Ken avoided me like the plague. Johnny
Trevochet
and I agreed to bury our differences for the greater good.

I took great pleasure in refin
ing my new power on my various housemates.

Meaning
Ken.

For example, as Ken started up the
stairs I
thought
shove
,
and sent a little ring of power
that sent
him sprawling
against the wood
en
risers.

And another: as Ken opened a can of Bud, I thought
fizz,
and shook it so violently that foam and beer spurted out, leaving him dripping and red-faced.

“Focusing,” I explained. “Just focusing.”

He took it well, though. Later, Johnny
and I
raise
d
him three feet off the ground. It took all our concentration and growing finesse to move him against his will out the front door and into a heavy rainstorm. But we managed it.

After that I gave him a break. I concentrated on rearranging
bottles and mugs on shelves and artistically
billowing the curtains.

Kinkade kept up a steady
flow of stunning information. Unbelievably,
at New Babylon,
Loki was planning to open the Gates of Hell. Lesser fiends would spew forth. We would then be in the fight of our lives. Earth would be on the brink.

Kinkade explained how the Destroyers would have to invoke lesser Gods first, Gods like Coyote- the God of Mischief- and Abominata- the God of Corruption- themselves beings of immense evil and unutterable power that,
when summoned alone, were
able to raze a small country. The Destroyer’s would bind these Gods and coerce them into helping summon forth the world-killer- Gorgoroth.

And now t
roops were being deployed to Miami. The army. The marines. You name the acronym- FBI, NSA, SWAT, CIA, it was on its way there.

The endgame, magical, lethal, cruel and terrifying, was coming.

I was sitting on the sofa with my feet stretched out, watching Sky
’
s new daily segment of
‘
Uber News
’
, and trying to hone my power to the point where I could tickle Lysette
’
s bare feet, when a pair of bronzed arms slapped the cushion beside my head.

Tanya leaned over.
“
News from the kitchen,
”
she said.
“
We
’
re going to Miami. Tomorrow.
”

I felt my heart twist.
“
Miami? Oh, God. Are you sure?
”

“
That
’
s what they said. It
’
s time. Kinkade says the remaining Destroyers are already there. So we have to go too.
”

“
You
overheard
all this
?
”

“
Well, yeah,
”
Tanya tried and failed to look sheepish.
“
Anyway, the point is- Belinda saw me. Then asked me to tell you something. She wants to see you. Upstairs.
”

I grinned
, then wiped it away, but couldn
’
t keep the smile out of my eyes.
“
Right.
”

Tanya gave me a knowing look.
“
Something
about
this last night
not
be
ing
meaningless.
”

4
4

YORK, ENGLAND

She was wearing
her leather trousers and a
t-shirt that read
‘If It Wears A skirt- You
Can’t
Afford It
.
’
She stood by the window, a heady vision with moonlight
framing
her
figure. H
er eyes sparkled when I closed the door.

“
Lock it, honey cake.
”

I felt a rush of anticipation, a shiver of fear. This was the first woman I
’
d allo
wed to stir me since Raychel
left
. I wanted to know what drove her, and why she laughed and cried and did what she did.

I walked over to her.
“
God, I
’
m nervous.
” I laugh
ed
.

She leaned forward and hugged me. Tingles shot down my spine when she trailed a finger across the nape of my neck.

“
Does that help?
”
her lips brushed my right ear.
“
Or this?
”

I rubbed her back softly, then slipped my hands under her t-shirt and started to graze my nails gently across her skin. She shuddered, pressed herself against me. The heat of
her body made my heart
race.
She locked her hands behind my neck and kissed me on the mouth.

I hesitated for only a second and then kissed her back, hard. Her
mouth was cool and
slightly sweet. I put a hand behind her head a
nd let her hair fall between my
fingers.
S
he lifted my t-shirt up
and I felt her nails on my back
. We were both breathing heavily.

She unzipped my jeans and pushed them below my hips. I said,
“
Wait.
”
and shuffled back a little.

“
New party trick,
”
I said.

And, feeling a little foolish standing there in the puddle of my jeans, I concentrated my power and motioned for Belinda to move back towards the window. The night pressed into the glass behind her, occasion
ally shot by a riot of
white as the outside lights flashed on and off.