Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) (34 page)

Cheyne relayed a transcript of the meeting and Kinkade’s
final message via
Wi-Fi
.

One day after the saving of the world, I will claim my reward.

Cheyne looked up at us all, her crooked
witch’s
nose twitching.
“
Well, at least
he
’
s
confident.
”

I was standing close to her. I cleared my throat.
“
Do we know the Gargoyles
…
umm
…
final decision?
”
Lucy had commanded me to ask.

Cheyne
’
s mouth quirked up in half a smile.
“
Was it ever in any doubt?
”

Ceriden, to my left, said,
“
Has to be Nicole.
”

“I’ll tell you
after
we win.”

A few hours ago
we had landed at Miami International, then taken over a hotel on
South
Beach. Ceriden had arranged it all, evicting staff and guests alike, using his lofty connections and his inexhaustible wad of greenbacks.

Now, we were gathered
together
in the hotel’s biggest conference room. How many did we number? I don
’
t know. But count everyone from York-
and I mean everyone, even Ceriden‘s Head Chef, the hulking vampire called Milo
- Eliza and the dozen or so clans under her control; Felicia and maybe thirty Lycan packs; Marian Cleaver- the man I’d heard so much about and who Lysette mischievously nicknamed
‘OMFG
’
much to Giles
’
chagrin- leading members of SWAT, the FBI, and other acronyms I didn
’
t even
recognize
, police chiefs from all over Florida, army personnel, marine commanders, navy SEALS, air-force fly-boys, a bevy of Witches, more Elves than anyone had
ever
seen together in one place, and
Vampires?-
well, let
’
s just say that the cold emanating from their collective bodies was enough to air-condition the entire room.

To my annoyance I hadn
’
t had time to talk to Belinda
or Lucy
since we left York. There had been a
glorious waking moment when Belinda
lay next to me, her golden body painted by a stroke of dawn, and then a few more glorious moments in the shower,
b
ut since then s
he had kept herself
aloof, always involved in something. I remembered how she didn’t want anyone to cry or care for her. I guessed this was how she kept herself focused.

And Lucy tolerated me, for now. I was still seeking inspiration.

On a raised dais, before us were
Giles, Ceriden, Eldritch, and several
official-
looking humans. C
heyne sat near them,
tapping away at her laptop, relaying proceedings to the Library of Aegis and passing replies on.

Surprisingly, or perhaps commendably, there wasn
’
t a hint of disbelief in the room.

I noted others I knew scattered about the room. Mai
stood
close to Eliza, the two conversing quietly. Jade s
at
in one of the few seats, her green
-tipped
hair marking her amongst the crowd. Cheyne’s personal witch coven filed in at one point, and found a spot behind her, their metal talismans gleaming around their necks. They didn’t remove their deep, black hoo
ds though. I felt uncomfortable
; it was as if they were watching me, these faceless, nameless beings of great power. Maybe Cheyne was using them to intimidate the armed forces and senators present.

Over the course of a few hours tw
o separate groups were assigned:
o
ne for the beach
defence
and one to assault the mall. Names were named. Some of the people I cared about were with me, others were not. It made my heart sink. Reality dug in hard. Training was over. The endgame had arrived, and not everyone was going to make it.

I squeezed Lucy
’
s hand.
“
Don
’
t worry, kiddo. We
’
ll stick together.
”

Her vague smile made me realise the hopelessness of my words. I was the supposed
vanguard,
for Christ
’
s sake. How could I keep an eye on my daughter
and
save the world?

“
I
’
m not a kid,
”
I heard, but the traditional refrain was weak, and lacked her usual gusto. There wasn
’
t even an
old man
to top it off and when I turned I saw the sadness in her eyes.

“
My mother
’
s a
bitch,
”
she
spat the last word out
.

A
nd suddenly, in that crowd of hundreds, it was just the two of us.

Lucy’s lips
trembled
.

I laughed
.
“
Oh, yeah,”
I drawled.
“
What a
bitch!
”

“
Bitch
of the century!
”
Lucy choked back a laugh, or a sob.

“
Miss Bitch, USA!
”
I laughed out loud.

“
Uber Bitch!
”
Lucy cracked and laughed and wiped away tears.
“
The Vampire Bitch From Hell!
”

I hugged her and winced over her shoulder at Eliza.
“
No offence intended.
”

I framed my daughter’s head with both my hands and smiled into her stormy eyes.

“
After tomorrow,
”
I said.
“
We start again.
”
And I meant it with every single ounce of will that
lived in
my body.

“
Yes,
”
she replied.

Ignoring the world
-
shaping events occurring around us I closed my eyes and hugged my daughter. Sometime later I looked up. People were filing out, chatting,
and forming
rows in the aisles. I saw Tanya Jordan standing patiently to Lucy
’
s left.

“
Hi,
”
I smiled
.

“
Hey,
”
her American drawl was somehow comforting. I li
ked this woman. She had that
lived-in
look, enhanced by her glorious blonde hair with its streaks of grey that she never tried to hide, and by the crows-feet around her eyes that crinkled when she smiled. When you saw Tanya Jordan, your day got better.

“
I
’
m part of the beach-crew too,
”
she smiled.
“
Whattya say we stick together, we three? Hmm? And when
you
’
re
needed,
”
she winked at me.
“
I
’
ll
take care of the munchkin here.
”

Lucy gazed at her happily. So did I.

“
Munchkin?
”
Lucy said, after a minute.

4
6

NEW BABYLON, U.S.A
.- THE MALL

Maria
n Cleaver returned to
Coconut Grove just after sunset. He had never seen the streets of Miami this deserted. The evening skies hung heavy and low, brooding, pregnant with the promise of disaster. Cleaver found it ironic that the human trash who spent their wort
hless lives buying the streets one
life at a time
had already blown town, leaving their so-called territories in the hands of the law officers they despised. The Haitian gangbangers, the Columbian drug runners, the Spics, the Blacks, where were they now? Why weren’t they standing side-by-side with the cops, determined to defend Miami?

Not likely, Cleaver thought. They
’
d
probabl
y slithered away along
the gutters like the pieces of shit they were. He stared out the window a
s the mall came into view, criss
-
crossed by fire and shadow.
Dark palm trees swayed
in a stifling breeze. When Cleaver exited the car his nostrils caught the stench of burning. The mall was still ablaze, its façade a fiery spectacle
.

The command post was buzzing when he got there. No helicopters, because of the missile threat. Cleaver paused on the sidewalk as Cheyne and Ceriden walked by, then followed Felicia.
Now there was one wolf he
would
like to get howling.
Cleaver
blinked when a guy who looked like a Californian surfer
blocked his path
.

“
Cleaver, right?
”
the man held out a hand, and pumped wildly when Cleaver took it.
“Or maybe Cleave?
I
’
m Ken Hamilton. Good to meet you, man.
”

“Ah. So
you’re one of the Eight? Surfer Boy, I presume.
”

“
I guess you
’
ve been talking to Lysette.
”

“
She's
an engaging woman.
It appears that you are the only one of the chosen sent to the mall.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Ken said
.
“
Surfer Boy is
expendable
, it seems.
”

Cleaver hadn
’
t agreed with the separation of forces either.
“
I guess they know what they
’
re doing.
”

“
Aegis?
”
Ken looked incredulous.
“
Been living with them for over a week, dude. They haven
’
t got a clue.
”

“Let’s not cast aspersions, Ken.”

“Who’s casting? The only reason Giles can find his own ass is because he keeps landing on it.”

“
That
’
s good to know,
”
Cleaver turned as the noise level ramped up a notch.
“
Looks like they
’
re
ready.
”

Ken also turned, his blonde locks flying, and faced the mall.
“
Time to start the assault.
”

Cleaver walked over to Cheyne, who was conversing with members of her coven in the parking lot. It was the first time Cleaver had seen them without their cloaks. Wi
tchcraft, he decided,
agreed with the fairer sex. Save the odd crooked nose there wasn’t an ogre among them.

“
What do you want me to do, Cheyne?
”

Cheyne gave him a wanton smile. He noticed how her nose stayed pointi
ng towards the mall when she turn
ed.
“Aside from the obvious?”
she said after a moment of eye contact.
“
Kill anything that moves.
”

“
So you
’re sure this is just a diversion?
”

“
My amulet is
tingling,
Cleaver. What do you think that means?
”

Cleaver shrugged. “You’re attracted to me?”

“My
amulet
. I said my
amulet,
” Cheyne looked around at
members of her coven “I did say my amulet, didn’t I?”

“Something’s
in there,” a blonde spoke up with an English accent. “
Something we don’t know about. I sense an ancient and
powerful invocation has already begun.”