The Turncoats (The Thirteenth Series #2) (4 page)

Zac pointed at his watch, as if Val would understand it. “There are at least five prisoners taking human bodies now. We don’t stand a chance against that many; we need to get out of here immediately.”

Had they deliberately sought and found Val, or was it just by chance that they had come to rest at the diner? It wouldn’t be long before she found out. Val, Zac, Jason and Shane stood together as five very large, highly intimidating men came their way from a booth across the room. They moved in close and Val could feel the tension building. The men circled them and then stopped.

“Too late for escape now,” Zac said, pushing Wendy into the corner as Shane and Jason protected Fran.

“Really,” Val smirked. Everyone in the bar had now stopped what they were doing and were looking at them. She pulled out her sword, but didn’t extend it just yet. What was going on? Why didn’t they just attack? If these were criminals, what was stopping them?

Suddenly the largest of the five men started to jerk, his eyes flickering in their sockets. Then he became rigid. There were fearful murmurs coming from all corners of the Snakes and Ladders, but no one dared make a move.

“Do I look like that when I do my thing?” Wendy whispered to Val.

“No, you look much scarier, now get back.” Val pushed Wendy behind her again.

The now still giant opened his eyes and looked around him. “Where are you?” The man started to walk, however not like before. Now he walked upright with arrogance. “Ah, Val, my precious little guard, oh how I’ve missed you.” He moved towards her, unbothered by the crowd of spectators. Jason and Shane went to move in front of her, but Val held out her hand to signal to the others that she was ok. She could sense their longing to protect her, but she knew who this was.

“Excariot, what a pleasant surprise, and what a lovely parlour trick!” Val was now almost nose-to-nose with the guy. “Once again you’re too scared to meet me in person.” Val knew which buttons to press.

“Listen to me, girl. I have better things to do than hanging around waiting for you. I have so many new friends here I don’t even know which one to send you next.” The man stepped back. “Now, let me see...” He rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb in a patronising fashion. “We have the daddy, and the baby…” he pointed to Shane and Jason, “…the nothing and the witch,” he pointed from Fran to Wendy. “Oh, someone new! Let me see…” The man turned to Zac and eyeballed him up and down. “I do believe it’s a hunter. What did you do wrong to end up on this dump of a planet with a half breed guard?”

Zac was about to respond when Excariot turned away from them all and walked back towards the other four prisoners. “You, hunter, won’t be a problem, you haven’t even been taught how to defend yourself,” he said patronisingly without glancing back.

“Just so I know for future reference, is that true?” asked Jason.

“Yes,” Zac responded. His attention distracted by flashes and he looked at something on his screen. “Val, these men are 44789, they’re Grindary, and I know this fact because I helped capture them.”

“How does that help to stop us from being beaten into a pulp?” she whispered urgently, wanting an answer and it needed to be fast.

“They have a weak spot, just between their eyes. I can only guess that stays the same when they take human form. You give them a direct hit in that spot and they will pass out.”

“Did you hear that guys? We need to go for the forehead, between the eyes,” Val said. Shane and Jason nodded their understanding.

“Ok Excariot. Well, you’re the all powerful and clever blah, blah, blah, so let’s get this thing done, because I was enjoying my first meal of the day,” Val called.

“Do you really have to do that?” Zac flashed an angry glare at Val.

“Well, if we do die at least I won’t go out a coward,” Val hissed back at him, “Plus, Excariot has already killed me once so it’s not like its anything new.” She extended her sword. “You ready guys?”

Jason and Shane nodded grimly.

“Kill them!” Excariot cried. The body that had been housing him vibrated once more and they knew Excariot was gone. Val, seeing that he was dazed, instantly took Zac’s advice. Flying forward, the tip of her sword extending, swiftly struck the first man between the eyes. To her pleasure and disbelief, Zac was right. He dropped like a dead weight. The people in the bar took advantage of the fight to start fleeing through all exits. Jason managed to get straight in with his thug and a jab to the head was an instant knock out. Shane followed suit after a momentary struggle and now they only had two left. As Val was heading towards the last two a glass came flying past her ear whacking number four a bull’s-eye and he was down. Val turned in amazement to find Fran standing there.

“What! No one calls me a nothing and my boyfriend a baby,” she said. Val was impressed.

They regrouped and stood together facing their remaining foe. The fifth and final member of the Grindary looked a little lost. Val put her hand up to stop the others.

“You,” she pointed at him as he hopped from one foot to the other, unsure how to escape. “Run back to Excariot and tell him if he thinks he’s getting Lailah back he has another thing coming.”

The man took her advice and headed for the exit. They all stood in silence, taking in what had just occurred.

Apart from them, the only other person left in the burger bar was the owner, who was hiding behind the counter. “Have you finished?” he called them from his hiding spot.

“Yes, we are done, you may now come out,” Zac told him.

“I’ll call the police. Is anyone hurt?” The man reached for his phone.

“Do not worry. Val here is a highly qualified prison guard and we will deal with these men ourselves. Please continue with your job,” Zac informed him.

“Listen mate, I’m calling the police.” The man fumbled with the phone.

“Good try,” Val said. “Shane, Jason, let’s get these guys out of here.”

“Wait! You can’t take them; you will invalidate my insurance.” The man was trying to dial.

“Sorry, but we have a duty to protect you and your customers,” Val saluted the bar man as they dragged the four men out into the empty car park.

“So, what do we do with them now?” Jason asked, dropping the legs of the fourth man.

“We can teleport now.” Zac held out his hand to Val.

“So you can teleport from anywhere you like, whenever you want?” Val asked.

“Only when it’s relevant to an arrest. It’s frowned upon to use an unofficial teleport for personal reasons and you know what happens when you break the rules.” Val and Zac exchanged a look that met somewhere between paper work and extraction.

“See you guys back at the bookshop,” Val called out. Val and Zac both touched the bodies, and Zac teleported them back to the doorway to Alchany.

Wendy stared at the spot where her friend had just been, wondering if she would ever get used to this. Then she sighed and asked the others, “Do you need a lift?”

Shane pointed to his bike, a black triumph roadster, and Jason followed his dad.

“You boys go. Me and Wendy will take the safer mode of transport.” Fran grabbed Wendy by the arm as they made their way to her car.

The six bodies landed with a thud, their combined weight causing a dust cloud to rise in the flat.

“Do you think the Collector is going to be pleased with us, Zac?”

He nodded.

“Can I call her this time please?” Val showed Zac her bracelet and he agreed. She pushed her hand through the portal. It felt cold but exciting. “Warning! Warning!” Val was starting to enjoy this, but when the Collector arrived she was not wearing the pleased expression Val was hoping for.

“Thirty-three twenty-seven, Val, you have made a serious error today.” The Collector’s tone was cold and hard.

“But we caught four Grindary for you, look.” Val could feel a burning behind her eyes. They had all risked their lives, for what?

“You allowed Excariot to trick you. Do you really think he isn’t brave enough to turn up in person, Val? Are you really that naive?” Her voice was starting to strain with anger. “You did exactly what he wanted you to do. You acted like ‘the chosen one’, spoilt and self-important, while he attacked a coven of your witches and captured a powerful high priestess.”

“How do you know that?” Val demanded.

“He sent a note through this portal with the man you allowed to escape. He will sacrifice anyone to achieve his outcome and he thinks you are so insignificant that he feels safe enough to teleport here, into your home.” The Collector waved a piece of paper at her. “So, Val, who’s the winner?” Val was about to speak but the Collector’s expression told her that maybe now was one of those times to keep quiet. “Now, go back to work and think about what happened here today. Sleep well tonight and wake up tomorrow on the humble side of your bed!” The Collector levitated the four prisoners with her tiny hand and was gone.

Val turned to her new companion who was standing next to her looking completely overwhelmed by being rebuked, not once but twice in one day. “This won’t happen again I swear.”

Val walked back into the bookshop, followed by a silent Zac. She found a hive of activity. Jason and Fran were busy setting up their little centre of operations with Shane and Wendy giving them instructions.

“No, there’s no socket there,” Wendy pointed as Jason patiently pushed the table over to the other side of his three foot by three foot prison.

“Guys, please stop,” Val interrupted. “I made a huge mistake back at the Snakes and Ladders. It seems that Excariot set us up, and managed to send a message to Alchany with the guy from the bar that we let go free.” Val lowered her head. “He used the Grindary to divert our attention while he took a high priestess. He then sent a note direct to my Collector, telling her what he’d done. But he won’t get away with this.” Val said in a serious tone

“He was here! I thought you said that he would stay away because of the portal?” Wendy asked, looking nervously between Val and Zac for some form of reassurance.

“The Collector told me that if the door was open guards could travel through and so Excariot would stay away, but I suppose they were relying on me and Zac keeping it safe.” Val tried to reassure Wendy.

“So we messed up, but he didn’t spot your dellatrax sitting on the counter,” Fran pointed out.

“He didn’t take anything from the shop, Fran, he kidnapped an innocent woman from a coven. I think that’s a serious mess up. We don’t know where she is, where she came from or what he’s going to do to her.” Val was feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation.

Zac placed his hands behind his back and started to pace. “Ok, first things first, let us all stay calm. Val, please correct me if I’m wrong. In sixteen forty-five Excariot needed the whole of your mother’s coven, to open the portal to free Lailah.” Val nodded. “So, if he’s trying to repeat the same spell and open another portal, in theory he will need another twelve witches, to recreate a full coven. So, he won’t do anything with this woman yet.”

“So what will he do now?” Val asked.

“His job now is to collect more witches,” Zac replied.

“Where will he get them from? I haven’t seen witches for hire on e-bay,” Jason questioned.

“He only needs twelve, surely that will be easy. How many covens are there in England or even the world?” Val asked.

“Well, the figure is endless. Did you know that Wicca is
the
fastest growing religion in some countries?” Wendy gave an awkward geeky smile at the others.

“How does that help us stop Excariot? He will always be one step ahead of us,” Jason said.

“Incorrect. He needed Val’s mother’s coven from sixteen forty-five for a reason. They were special, very powerful, and Val’s mother’s human blood mixed with her father’s twenty-three eleven’s alien DNA is what made Val extremely powerful. He needs the same witches again now.” Zac smiled, placing his hand on Val’s shoulder.

“Well, he will be out of luck. That was over four hundred years ago; they’re long gone,” Wendy pointed out.

“Right, so we need to follow their trail. DNA is everything, as it is for you, Val, it will be for the descendants of the coven. If we can find them, then we will be one a step ahead of Excariot.” Zac seemed focused; Val could tell he was in his element.

“When this all started, I got a tattoo to guide me, that was followed by visions of the people who I needed to save. They were all direct descendants of the witches from my mother’s coven,” Val replied.

“I have a question. Didn’t you save your mum and the others in the past, even though they had previously died?” Fran asked.

“Yes.” Val nodded.

“So surely you changed the past. Doesn’t that mean you have also changed the future?” Fran now stared at the others.

“Oh my God, you’re right, Fran! The repercussions are enormous.” Val grabbed at Jason’s chair for support and sat down.

“Not really. The judges who rule over Alchany step in and out of time whenever required and the changes afterwards are normally minimal. Your main concern now should be to find out about the witches that were direct descendants,” Zac said.

“Why didn’t these judges just step on in and save the high priestess? As a matter of fact, why haven’t they done anything to help us?” Val looked up at him.

“The job of a judge is not to deal with petty matters of guards. They are beings who make world changing decisions,” Zac responded dryly, then looked at Wendy. “You can check the dellatrax for any information on the original coven’s members, and we will need to use your family history books for answers to their whereabouts.”

“Oh, I’m so looking forward to getting my hands on those books.” Wendy’s eyes were as large as saucers as she stood up and started to make her way towards the counter.

“Seems like a good idea to me, Zac. I will introduce you to the internet and the joys of the ancestry website.” Jason politely tipped Val off his chair and switched on the laptop.

“I have to get back to work. Keep me updated, son,” Shane said. Jason nodded without raising his eyes from the screen that he and Zac now shared.

“What shall I do?” Val asked.