The Two Key

Boz Cooper sat in his hovel of a cell, reading his morning newspaper. The guards in the jail were so scared of him, they would give him anything he wanted, apart from the freedom he craved. Of course, he was going to get his freedom whether they liked it or not. The screams started above him and he sighed irritably. He couldn’t get a little silence while he was reading, could he? He took a sip of his coffee and turned the page. One of the guards screamed again as he was pushed down the stairs. His throat was almost entirely missing, and blood spurted everywhere, making a terrible mess of the bars of Boz’s cell. Boz rolled his eyes and held up his newspaper to stop it from getting in his hair. The footsteps followed the first man down the stairs and there were a great deal more screams. Boz sighed and raised his eyes from the newspaper.

“Are you quite finished?”

The vampire shook his head as he stepped out of the shadows and approached Boz’s cell, the only one in the square basement.

“Do you want me to come back at a more appropriate time?”

The vampire’s suit didn’t have a drop of blood on it and not even his tie was crooked. They were well-groomed creatures when they could restrain themselves and their blood-lust. His mouth, on the other hand was covered in blood and he was licking it off his fingers like a child without culture. It disgusted Boz. Vampires always, without fail, lost control when blood was involved. Even respected ones like this one. Boz sighed and folded up his newspaper.

“Clean yourself up,” he sneered. “You look like a fool.”

The vampire rolled his eyes and held up a keychain in a bloodied grasp. Boz’s eyes automatically followed this glimmering key and the vampire smiled smugly.

“You’ve been waiting fifty years for this. You’ve grown soft, old man. A bit of blood shouldn’t get in the great Boz Cooper’s way.”

Boz flew angrily into the cell bars, grasping them with a strength that would have pried them apart had he had his powers.

“Say that again, vampire!” Boz roared. “If it wasn’t for these bars, I’d have torn you to quivering shreds by now.”

The vampire began to laugh, which was an event that didn’t often take place. If Boz had his powers, the vampire would never be able to laugh again.

“Do you want those keys, or should I leave?” he soon composed himself.

Boz growled angrily. Over confidence was something the vampires as a species seemed to be afflicted with.

“Get this cage open,” he snapped.

Storm slipped the key in the lock, unlocked it and opened the cell door in one swift movement. The moment Boz stepped out it seemed like his magic was waiting for him. The steady flow helped him notice something. The faintest scratch across the floor, the laboured breathing of a man trying to survive… the dialling of a phone. Boz was towering above the only remaining survivor in the entire building a second later. The man turned around and Boz was impressed. This man had survived even though half his chest had been ripped off. But his affliction was just too easy.

“I don’t think you should be doing that.”

Boz simply leaned forwards and wrenched the man’s still beating heart from the cavity in his chest. It crumpled to nothingness in Boz’s hands.

It was always raining in England. Nothing else seemed to happen. Such a bland country. The first Freedom House agent arrived while Boz and the vampire were still there. The vampire dashed to the man and threw him into the wall, prepared to tear him to shreds. Boz shooed the vampire away and grinned. He recognised this man. A friend of the old Grand High Sorcerer and a cohort of the detective who imprisoned him.

“Van Jameson,” Boz chuckled. “It has been a long time.”

“Fifty years, I believe, Boz. I was there when you were arrested. Powerless and weak, it was a good look on you.”

“And now you’ll die on the day I get released.”

“I see you’re using the word ‘release’ loosely,” he muttered. “You won’t be able to do this. I don’t know if it got to you down in your basement cell, but Lorian Serpent is dead. He was the best of the best, you’ve never been better than him. You do this and you’re next. Then, there’ll be none of Machiavellian’s three general’s left and your whole legacy is gone.”

Boz’s temper flared and Van Jameson clawed at his throat, trying in vain to pull off the force that was squeezing his windpipe. That, along with the unnatural movement of his bones were more than the man could take and he slumped to the ground.

“Who’s going to stop me?” Boz grinned wickedly.

***

My feet scraped across the glass as I desperately searched for a foot hold. The man above me chuckled proudly at his catch. What an idiot…

“How old are you kid?” he goaded. “You must be about thirteen.”

“I’m seventeen!”

He seemed stunned; I used that to my advantage and kicked opened the window which was conveniently located beneath my feet. It’s almost as if everything was going perfectly to plan. Razor Olver was wanted in twelve different countries for multiple attempts of murder, run of the mill really. Razor stamped on my hands and I plummeted off the tall building. Well, that’s what he thought anyway. I slipped myself into the building through the window and planted my feet on the floor of the room on the other side. I could hear Razor’s laugh from in here. I don’t think even I could imitate that. And I was good. I jumped up onto a table and swung myself through the skylight in the roof. Razor was doing a little celebration dance and I stifled a laugh. Oh god, the freaks really did come out at night.

“I killed her, I killed her,” he sang happily.

“You know, I’m a seventeen-year-old so I could be classed as a lady,” I folded my arms. “You do not throw ladies off rooftops!”

“How did you do that?” he roared, clearly shocked and embarrassed to be caught out. “You were meant to die!”

“That didn’t work out too well, did it?” I grinned.

“I am a master of murder! My victims never survive. They are humbled that they’re killed by a master like me.”

“And yet they sent me after you,” I moved my hands on my hips as I raised an eyebrow.

His fist came flying into my chest causing me to groan from pain as I stumbled backwards. He was panting heavily and shaking with pure rage. Fact: Murderers have ridiculously fragile egos.

“They should know I’ll kill you. They shouldn’t send you alone.”

“You’re right, they shouldn’t,” I smiled as I spotted the moving figure behind us. “And they didn’t.”

“Wha-?”

Flash Blackguard suddenly came swooping out from the shadows before the sentence could be finished. Razor, the master killer, let out a girlish scream before being kicked in the face. He spun on his toe like a ballerina and then fell to the ground in a heap.

“Well,” Flash straightened his hat. “That was fun.”

“Where were you?” I rubbed my bruising chest with a scowl.

“I had a phone call,” he shrugged.

“I was thrown off a roof because you had a phone call?” my raised an octave higher.

“It was a very important phone call I couldn’t just hang up.”

I couldn’t stop staring at him, my jaw hanging open in pure disbelief. Flash just looked at me for a moment.

“I’m kidding.”

“Really?” I sighed with relief.

“Yes, I put him on hold… hell, I put him on hold,” he paused for a second then shrugged. “Ah, well, let’s get sleeping beauty into the car.”

“Has he ever actually killed anyone?”

“What?” he looked up at as he picked up Razor. “Oh, of course not. He’s too much of an idiot for that.”

I couldn’t stop my laugh. Flash can always put a positive spin on almost everything. Apart from eggs. The man hated eggs. We simply walked down through the building, carrying Razor between us as we negotiated the various corners of the spiral staircase. I keep telling him we should just take a lift, but he says he likes the exercise.

Flash dropped Razor on the floor of the pavement as he opened the boot to the Mercedes, paying little regard to the fact that Razor will have a colossal headache when he wakes up. I helped him load the idiot in and Flash slammed the boot shut. We both heard a loud crack and Flash froze, pulling a face as he looked at me.

“Oh, that’s not good… it’ll be even worse if he gets blood everywhere. I swear my garage thinks I’m a serial killer. Did you know that responding with the fact that the blood usually belongs to a serial killer doesn’t help matters?”

“People are so hard to impress.”

“Aren’t they?”

He got in the driver’s seat and I got in the passenger seat beside him. He looked at me, I looked at him and we both began to laugh.

When Flash and I reached the Freedom House, we put Razor away in his cell until he could be shipped off to one of the low security prisons in a few days. I’d never visited the prisons. Well, of course not. I wasn’t a criminal after all. I mean, sometimes Flash and I came close but that’s what diplomatic immunity is for. Or, at least, that’s what Flash says.

We headed down to the Oval Room to see a very unimpressed looking Ludwhig. He’d taken on the job of Grand High Sorcerer very well. Plus, he seemed to have gotten over the fact that I saved his life. Yeah, he’s not in the fan club.

“You put me on hold,” he folded his arms as he glowered at Flash.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Something important happened,” Flash didn’t seem all that sorry.

“I’m still on hold now!”

“Your phone bill’s going to be huge,” I remarked.

“Great,” Ludwhig rolled his eyes. “Your mini-me is here.”

“She never leaves my side.”

“Well, she’s going to have to. Something very important has happened. Something detrimental to the upcoming election and more important than the bloody reason you put me on hold.”

“Maybe you should hang up,” I whispered to Flash.

“He does seem angry, doesn’t he?” he whispered back.

“Ahem,” Ludwhig cleared his throat.

“Shush, I think he’s on to us,” Flash stood straighter.

“You’re an idiot Blackguard,” Ludwhig sighed.

“Did you not see the guy we just arrested?” I gestured behind us.

“Roxy, please just leave,” he rubbed his temples. “This is very important, and I need you to stay out of the way.”

“I feel so loved,” I muttered. “I’ll go find something to do.”

“I’ll catch up with you later,” Flash placed a hand fleetingly on my shoulder.

I nodded, waving to him and supressing a rude gesture to Ludwhig. I decided that I should just go for a walk. A nice amble around the Freedom House. It was a big building after all and if you took the right route you might not run into anyone at all. Today did not seem to be one of those days.

“Top of the evening to you,” Rio leaned in the doorway ahead of me.

“Your accent needs work.”

“That’s more your forte, isn’t it?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Why do you always come back?” I folded my arms.

Neither Flash nor I liked Rio Darkwood. Twelve years ago, the war against Machiavellian ended after over two hundred years of brutal conflict. Rio had fought for Machiavellian’s side, which was most definitely the bad side. When we met I didn’t think he was all that bad and I thought there was some genuine humanity within him, but after a year of his smart alec comments, I had begun to entirely dislike him.

“Well, the biggest reason is that I know you wouldn’t love your job half as much without me here to brighten your day,” he shrugged with a smirk.

“Oh, you don’t need to do that for me. You can leave, I won’t weep,” I moved to push past him. “You probably won’t see Flash around here for the rest of the day,” he caught my arm, not allowing me past. “You should really go to Calypso’s or something. Flash is going to be busy. That thing that’s been going on has made this place pretty much deserted.”

I stopped walking and sighed. He was being deliberately ambiguous. That was one of his many methods to establish superiority. He settled back into the doorway, facing me as I turned back to him.

“What’s going on?”

“A man named Boz Cooper has been sprung out of prison,” he clearly knew that I had no idea who that was.

“What’s wrong with that?” I raised my eyebrow.

“He’s the only remaining General that served Machiavellian and trust me, he was a threat.”

“If you put him on a scale of one to ten, one being a cute and cuddly kitten that’s been declawed, ten being Serpent what would he be?”

“Boz would be a ten, Serpent would be a twelve.”

“Twelve, huh?”

“It’s a good number,” he almost looked offended.

“Sure, it is.”

“What do you have against the number twelve?”

This conversation is getting really off track.

“There’s nothing wrong with the number twelve, I’m sure it’s a wonderful number.”

“You say that as if you need to have dinner with the number twelve in order to find out if it’s a decent number.”

“Let me guess?” I couldn’t help myself. “Great guy, bit grumpy but loves the wife and kids?”

“Does charity work on weekends and everything. Really, sickeningly great.”

“You paint a wonderful picture,” I rolled my eyes. “So, if Boz isn’t as bad a Serpent why are people worried?”

“Because Boz has had fifty years to plan his revenge,” he shrugged. “I’m sticking around because I want to see what he does. I worked for Serpent for a long time, around sixty years, I knew the difference between him and Boz. I’m sure Flash will be interested to know his next move too. Flash was the one who put Boz in jail after all.”

Rio clearly had enough of his conversation with me and let me go for my walk. I ended up at the Wall. That’s all it’s called, the Wall. All the names of the sorcerers that belonged to the Freedom House who were murdered were carved into it. There were two people on there that I wanted to learn about, one was Sarah Hopestone and the other was Alexa Child. Sarah was Flash’s wife and Alexa was Flash’s daughter, both of whom were killed by Serpent. I wanted to learn about them but Flash refuses to talk about them, for good reason I suppose. I moved my eyes away from their names and looked towards the fresher ones. Abalone Jacobson was the Grand High Sorcerer who told me that I could be an official Freedom House agent. I wished I’d gotten to know him better. He had been so kind to me. Far kinder than Ludwhig was, at any rate. Underneath his name were two of his Vices who died with him. Vice Waltham and Vice St Alde never liked me, but they didn’t hate me as much as Ludwhig does. I doubt that the pair of them had much to say. Ludwhig always appeared to be the most vocal one. I saw one more name near the bottom that I loved seeing, in a strange way. I knelt down and looked at it. The name there was Callum Brooks, my dear uncle. I missed him, he’d always understood me… even at times where it had felt like the entire world was against me. Of course, now I thought the things that I used to worry about were childish. They did still occasionally cause me worry though. It made me so happy to his name on there. I knew that he died for the sake of the world, he died so Flash and I could save the world. His death was recognised, he didn’t die for nothing. I just wish I could have seen him one more time before he died.

“What are you doing?”

I gasped and turned around, almost toppling over in sheer surprise. It was Rio, of course. I looked at him as stood up onto my feet, spotting him smirk at me. I think he enjoyed tormenting me. I think he and Isla were eighty-nine now or something. I’d heard they were ten years older than Ludwhig and he wasn’t quite eighty yet. Rio must like pestering those who were younger than him and he clearly couldn’t get away with it with the Grand High Sorcerer.

“So, do you just wander around this place?” I snapped, not happy to see him again.

“I could say the same to you,” he chuckled.

He took a step forwards and I felt myself instinctively move backwards, the Wall quickly getting in my way. Rio had moments where he could create intimidation in a single gesture. Like Serpent, he didn’t need to use his power to get his way. He just liked doing it anyway.

“I thought I told you to go to Calypso’s,” he spoke quietly.

“I went for a walk,” I was at a loss for words for a few moments. “Not that I was going to go somewhere just because you told me to, you don’t exactly have any authority around here and certainly not with me.”

“Sure,” he chuckled slightly then took another step towards me. “You know, they’re in the meeting now, you don’t want to go listen in on it, do you?”

“Well…” I hesitated. “I don’t know-”

“You were one of those girls who never got detention at school, weren’t you?”

“Of course, I have. Mainly for sarcastic remarks, but it counts.”

“Live a little. If Ludwhig has his way, he’ll probably keep the whole thing from you. Besides, what’s the worst he can do if you get caught? You’re half of the Freedom House’s law enforcement team.”

“There are actually other detectives around here, you know?”

“Really? What do they do?”

“I don’t know. Play Tiddlywinks or something.”

“Oh well, they’re no threat. Come on, you know you want to,” he started to walk away, clearly confident that he had convinced me.

Unfortunately, he had indeed convinced me, and I followed after him. He was a fast walker and I rushed to keep up with him. Rio didn’t really say anything when he didn’t need to. I wasn’t exactly comfortable with it, but I stayed silent and walked with him. Rio and I didn’t interact much, if I could help it. That’s probably why it took me by such surprise when he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me around a corner.

“What are you doing?”

“Over here,” he whispered, smiling wryly.

He pulled me further down the corridor, reaching a perfectly useless dead end that the Freedom House seemed to be full of and then he stood still.

“What are you-?”

“Shush,” he stopped me with a sharp hiss. “They’re on the other side of this wall.”

“Well, that’s no help,” I lowered my voice.

He ignored me and ran his fingers along the brick wall until he found what he was looking for. He easily pulled out one of the bricks, giving us a small but yet valuable view of the room inside. He put his finger to his lips then pointed to the hole. I stayed quiet as we watched Flash and Ludwhig talk in silence.

“Do we even know who broke Boz out?” Flash asked, not at all his usual casual self.

“Well, to be honest, no,” Ludwhig didn’t look pleased to admit. “But whoever or whatever it was, they brutally murdered all the other people in the building. One of the survivors called us and informed us but he’s dead now too. His dying breaths were essentially his way of informing us, unfortunately. A friend of ours was killed on the scene too, a friend of yours, I should say… you look deep in thought Blackguard, what is it?”

“Did these people have their throats ripped out?” he was clearly already trying to complete the puzzle.

“Apparently so,” he nodded. “You and I are thinking the same thing, vampires. I’ve been told it was rather clean and controlled. So far, we haven’t got one of our agents in so it’s all speculation at this rate. They’re all too scared of meeting the same ill fate. You shouldn’t be as… squeamish.”

“Boz hates vampires and all supernaturals,” Flash mused. “He must be desperate.”

“Be careful around Boz,” Ludwhig warned. “He’ll be out for his revenge and he’ll have a gang of dangerous types with him at all times. You imprisoned him, I’ll bet that you’re high on his ‘to kill’ list.”

It wasn’t like Ludwhig to give a warning. This really must be serious. Usually he just let Flash and I do our own thing.

“I want you to go and have a look at the crime scene.”

Ah, there we go, that’s the Ludwhig we all know and loathe. Everyone else is scared to go, so send the people with no bloody choice.

“Roxy and I can do that,” Flash didn’t seem too bothered.

“Yes, Roxy makes life so much easier,” he muttered sarcastically.

I heard Flash sigh slightly but Ludwhig either didn’t hear it or ignored it. Most likely the latter. He’s rather good at ignoring me.

“How many people were killed?” Flash asked.

“About two hundred, including prisoners of course,” Ludwhig was quickly back to normal. “Make sure Roxy doesn’t give them a key to a dangerous weapon this time.”

I resent that.

“Roxy isn’t that stupid,” Flash rolled his eyes. “She did save your life.”

“Don’t remind me,” he muttered. “Get to the jail as soon as you can. I can only keep the clean-up operation out for so long.”

“Of course, your Grandness,” Flash nodded. “Have any decisions been made about the election?”

“It’s been delayed. A pair of London agents are coming soon to assess the situation. At this rate it’ll probably be delayed until next year. People won’t be happy.”

“It can’t be helped.”

“It’s best not to risk much longer,” Rio spoke in a hushed whisper. “If they find out this is here, I’ll never be able to eavesdrop again.”

He pushed the brick back into the wall, careful not to make a sound that might catch Flash or Ludwhig’s attention.

“Woe is you,” I muttered as we stood up.

“Have you ever met a vampire, Roxy?” he looked curious. “Aside from when Serpent’s pets nearly ate you.”

“I haven’t had the pleasure.”

“Well, you’d better watch your step when you’re in that prison, keep an eye on the shadows,” he spoke ominously. “You never know what’s watching.”

He walked away without another word and I felt surprised. Rio isn’t normally one for warnings. Usually he liked watching people flounder in the unknown. It’s essentially sport to him. He must know more than he lets on. I might mention it to Flash later.

I thought about going somewhere but I didn’t have anywhere to go. Calypso made me uncomfortable, I knew she wasn’t exactly of fan of me and Maven was out of town. He was apparently at a Book Doctors convention in Mexico, but I think he was just making excuses, so he didn’t have to come to the election that was meant to take place. So, instead, I waited outside the Freedom House for Flash. He and Ludwhig didn’t seem to have much more to talk about but he still took a while longer.

I was starting to get impatient. I checked the Mercedes was unlocked and sat in the driver’s seat. This was rare enough, I never sat in the divers’ seat of any car, let alone this one. This was Flash’s car after all. My clone was starting to learn to drive and apparently, if she passed I’d technically pass too so yay but I didn’t particularly have any inclination to learn how to drive. However, I would like a sports car. Just to stop my brother from being smug. I glanced up at the door of the Freedom House and sneakily turned the radio dial slightly, just to make Flash pay for taking so long. I shut the door of the Mercedes and leaned against it leisurely. The perfect crime. He arrived less than a minute later, adjusting his hat as he stepped out of the building.

“Having fun, Roxy?”

“Oh, I’m having a blast.”

“I’m sure you and Rio enjoyed your time eavesdropping too,” he remarked.

Oh, hell… he didn’t look mad, but it was evident that Ludwhig didn’t want me involved in their little meeting.

“It was interesting,” I spoke eventually.

“I’ll have to tell Ludwhig to fill up that block.”

“You don’t seem mad,” I noted.

“You’re getting good at this. We are detectives, I’m very pleased to see this.”

I laughed and that caused me to feel a twinge in my chest. My ribs had been killing me since Razor had punched me. I hoped he hadn’t cracked any of my ribs. Ludwhig’s government had to make some cuts so the Freedom House could run smoothly. The Professor’s infirmary had to be shut down, so all his medical work had to be moved to a new centre. This included the still comatose Isla. I was wrong when I said she’d be back before we knew it. It’s been a year now and she’s still gone. I’m beginning to wonder if it’ll take years.

“So, are we going to that jail?” I took my mind off it.

“You’re putting pressure on your ribs,” he noted. “What happened?”

Once again, Flash’s attention to dazzled me. He was the most absentminded, perceptive man I’ve ever met. Flash Blackguard is a walking paradox. Shocker.

“Razor punched at me,” I admitted with a grimace. “He’s an idiot but he’s a strong one. I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Come on,” he lowered his voice in case anyone within the Freedom House could hear. “We’d better take you to see the Professor. What would I do without you in perfect health?”

“Laugh?” I suggested.

“Only when you can laugh too. We’ll go to the jail when there’s some good light,” he decided, a slightly sombre edge to his voice. “What happened there is not going to be pretty.”

“At least the sunlight will make it look a little brighter.”

“You’re thinking more like me every day,” he chuckled, that tone gone. “Come on, the Professor would kill me if I didn’t take you to see him.”

“He doesn’t like you,” I agreed.

“Not many people do.”

We got into the car and he started the engine, the tampered radio not switching on automatically. He’d switched that off a while ago because he got in a fight one time and knocked the dial. When it had turned on automatically, it had blasted country and western music at full volume at three in the morning. I had not been happy when it had woken me up.

“What did I miss then?” I asked.

“It wasn’t much to be honest,” he shrugged. “Ludwhig’s very worried though, I can see why. He saw one of the only people who ever trusted him get killed. It’s only natural that he thinks he’s next.”

“Do you think he’s good for the country?”

“You’re asking me if you think they’re going to vote for him when they choose the next permanent Grand High Sorcerer, aren’t you?”

“I am. Is there anyone else apart from him?”

“Not really,” he didn’t seem too sure. “We’ll have to see who actually turns up to the election. We need three vices as well and that’s always a hard decision. It’s a year away now though, only time will tell.”

“Is it good that Ludwhig has more time in charge?”

“Good and bad. Good, because he has more time to prove himself as a leader and that he’s more than just his age.”

“He’s like eighty,” I raised an eyebrow.

“Roxy, he is seventy-nine and I am four-hundred and one. That’s young.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “Why’s it bad then?”

“The London representatives may take this as a chance to prove that Ludwhig’s leadership is weak. They’ll be exceptionally vicious towards him. It’s a question of whether Ludwhig can handle it.”

“Judging by Ludwhig’s temper…”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”

He reached to the radio and turned it on. It seems that it was tuned into a sports station that was relaying the highlights of today’s Grand Prix. Oh good, I’d missed it. Flash’s hand hovered over the radio button and slowly looked over at me.

“What did you do?” he whispered very slowly.

“Call it my revenge for you taking so long in that meeting,” I smiled slightly.

Poor Flash looked like he was about to cry as he desperately tried to tweak the dial back to his beloved radio station.

We soon reached the infirmary and I flopped down on the bed I’d essentially claimed over the past year. What could I say? Flash and I simply attracted trouble.

“You’re getting Roxy into trouble again I see,” the Professor noted.

“I haven’t done anything,” Flash folded his arms.

“He beat up the dude who punched me,” I had to, as I did so often, defend Flash.

“And I wonder why you were there alone in the first place.”

“He had a phone call,” I shot Flash a glare.

“Oh Christ, the phone call,” he pulled his phone out before clearly deciding he couldn’t be bothered unlocking the damn thing.

The Professor sighed, not amused and examined my ribs. The Professor’s power basically allowed him to manipulate emotions. He didn’t often use it, only when people were panicking due to like bones sticking out or something. Thankfully, I’d never experienced that.

“Does this hurt?” he jabbed my ribs.

“Ow, yes,” I groaned. “Do you always have to do that?”

“You’ve cracked three ribs,” he told me, and he ignored my choked gasp of shock. “Luckily for you, I save some very good elixirs for my best patients. You’ll be fixed up by mid-afternoon.”

“I’m one of your best patients?” I grinned.

“You’re the best,” he replied with a smile.

I often noticed that when the Professor smiled, he seemed happy but there was always a hint of sadness behind it. Like most sorcerers, there was a tragedy in his past. I wasn’t sure what it was. The Professor was always kind to me and was easy to talk to, so I didn’t try to push anything out of him. He walked off and I found myself wondering what it was that made him so sad.

“Mid-afternoon,” Flash repeated. “That’ll be perfect. Once your ribs are fixed up we’ll head to the jail.”

“Goody,” I sighed.

“You’d better get some rest, Roxy,” he suggested. “You’ve not slept for a while.”

“Good idea,” I yawned, stretching despite my painful ribs. “What are you going to do?”

“I put Boz in prison fifty years ago,” he explained with a slight frown. “I need to find out how he got out and if he’s coming to the Freedom House.”

“Why the Freedom House?”

“I have my reasons. Anyway, as I was saying; Boz is infamous for holding his grudges. During the war, he and his armies would put anyone that he hated into prison and they would torture them for something they had done years in the past. Rio was apparently rather good at that. Serpent would sometimes loan him to Boz. I imagine his mother would be so proud.”

The Professor came back, and Flash soon left, promising he’d be back later. I knew Serpent was Rio’s old general, so Rio must have had first-hand knowledge of Boz. If he said that Boz was incredibly dangerous, then I don’t doubt he was right. He may be scary, but he might be trustworthy on this subject.

“Drink this,” the Professor handed me an elixir.

I did as he said, and I noticed that it tasted like vanilla. Hey, that was nice. It wasn’t often that something the Professor gave me was so pleasant.

“I feel better already,” I was surprised.

“I don’t like him getting you into so much trouble,” he shook his head.

He still looked sad, and deep in thought. He sometimes looked that way around Flash. Most stories I heard had something to do with Flash. That man got around.

“What are you thinking about?”

“My son,” he admitted with a sigh.

“I didn’t know you had a son,” I was surprised. “What happened to him?”

“I lost him twelve years ago,” he didn’t seem reluctant to tell me. “His mother and I never told him about magic and sorcery. He gained his magic at an impeccably young age, but I managed to restrain him. That was until he and his mother were trapped inside the old Freedom House with him she told him everything. He was a teleporter, you see, a naturally gifted one. She told him to go and save himself. As far as I’m aware, he didn’t, and he witnessed his poor mother being murdered… If I had been there then I could have helped him but, unfortunately, Blackguard beat me to it and he vanished, hating me and his mother. It’s safe to say I’m bitter about it. I miss my boy; sometimes I hear about him teleporting to place to place, causing trouble. I sometimes hope he’ll come home.”

“He might.”

“I’m afraid any hope has long since vanished. He’ll never forgive us. Perhaps he has every reason to.”

“Give it time, Professor. I’m sure he’ll come around. You haven’t got a bad bone in your body.”

“You’re too kind, Roxy,” his smile was bittersweet now.

I wished I had something comforting to say but I was socially inept at times like this. The Professor didn’t seem to mind, he didn’t appear to want to talk about it anymore anyway. He handed me another elixir and then went on with his business.

My ribs healed quickly, just as the Professor promised, and Flash came to pick me up by mid-after-noon. The words ‘Vampire’ and ‘Supernatural’ had been thrown around a lot today. As far as I was aware, a Supernatural was any magical creature that was not a Sorcerer. From what I’d heard, Sorcerers were the ‘dominant’ and ‘civilised’ race. I wasn’t quite sure I agreed with that since it was Sorcerers who went to war and slaughtered each other like it was a game. Still, I was new. I didn’t know enough to be objective.

“What monsters actually exist?” I asked Flash.

“A lot of the ones mentioned in stories do actually,” he replied. “Leprechaun’s are pretty much extinct now, there’s only one left. He’s called Bob, very, very funny guy. He lives in Ireland, naturally, and can drink anybody under the table.”

“Good to know,” I rolled my eyes. “So, werewolves, trolls, ghosts and… zombies exist then?”

“Yeah.”

“I hate zombies,” I muttered.

“If you’re lucky you won’t ever meet one, you can’t get the smell of them off you for days. I lost a great coat to a zombie once,” he chuckled, then his intelligent brown eyes looked over at me. “What do you think of vampires?”

“I like the ones that don’t glitter.”

“Roxy, I’m being serious.”

“So am I. I really hate the ones that glitter.”

“You met some of Serpent’s pet vampires last year,” he reminded me.

“I know. They were terrifying.”

“Wait until you see this jail,” he pulled up beside a wall that surrounded the prison building.

It was scarily quiet in the courtyard outside the building. I felt disconcerted as soon as we passed through the gate and left the street behind There was a corpse on the floor by the entrance to the main building. Flash sighed and bowed his head, as if to pay his respects. He obviously knew who this man was. Ludwhig had mentioned that a friend had been killed.

“Who was he?” I asked quietly.

“Van Jameson. I fought with alongside him in the war. We were part of a group called The Alliance. His brother Leonardo Bayne was killed, and Van was never really the same, I don’t think any of us were. He did well after the war though, he began to work with the American Freedom House and was one of the candidates to become Grand High Sorcerer of America, but he conceded happily to the man who became Grand High Sorcerer. He must have been sent to investigate why there was no contact between the prison and the Freedom House…”

“Did he tell you he was back in England?”

“No,” he shook his head. “When Bayne died he reacted badly, he became obsessed with destroying Machiavellian. After what Serpent did, that wasn’t healthy for me to be around and we eventually lost touch. Maven kept close to him though, it’ll be hard for him to learn this.”

“So, if this is what was outside…”

“Inside is going to be worse.”

I felt myself shudder with fear and apprehension and Flash squeezed my shoulder gently, clearly worried about what was inside.

“You don’t need to come in,” he spoke quietly. “You can wait outside.”

“Do you think it’ll be that bad?” I looked up at him.

“I know it will be.”

“No,” I shook my head, swallowing down my fear. “I’m getting used to this stuff, it’s our job, isn’t it? I’ll come in.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Flash let us in and strictly warned me not to touch anything, not that I was intending to anyway. We took one step inside and I saw the first body. I understood what Ludwhig had meant by the fact that it was clean and controlled. Although the person’s throat had been ripped out, the blood around them was only on the neck. I realised what must have done this.

“Ah, I get what you mean about the vampires. That’s what it must be, right?”

“Exactly.”

“So, everyone here’s dead?” I looked at him.

“Not a single living soul.”

“Goody,” I muttered.

“Don’t trip,” he advised.

“I was thinking the same thing,” I pulled a face.

There were dozens more bodies scattered around the first floor, prisoners and officers alike were torn to shreds but it got a hell of a lot worse on the ground below. The bodies were thrown about like rag dolls and it was impossible not to encounter blood of some sort. It was awful.

“This is horrid,” I wrinkled my nose at the smell.

“We’re almost at Boz’s cell,” he barely glanced back at me. “It’s going to get even worse there.”

I felt a cold breeze run past me and I turned around. It was more than just a draft from outside. It felt distinctly like someone or something was running past me. The breeze appeared again and now I saw a blur of a shape.

“Flash,” I felt my heart lurch fearfully in my throat. “We’re not alone down here.”

Flash didn’t need telling twice and was soon stood beside me. This time a clear shape appeared, and I was slightly surprised. It was a man; at least I thought it was a man. He had black hair which was like Rio’s, the colour of raven feathers. He had incredibly pale skin and thin lips. His wicked smile showed his bright white fangs, which made me take a step back. He had piercing storm grey eyes that landed on me before they did on Flash. I was used to being generally ignored beside Flash. I did not like this in the slightest.

“I should have known you’d still be lingering,” Flash seemed to know who he was.

“I always wait until the blood dries up,” the vampire replied in a soft, menacing voice. “Looks like I hit the jackpot.”

He still looked at me as he spoke, his eyes studying me as if taking in my entire form and looking for something that wasn’t there.

“Why did you break Boz out?” Flash asked. “What’s in it for you?”

“World domination,” he shrugged.

“I thought blood would be more your speciality, judging by your handiwork here,” I remarked.

“If we win, I get South America. I love a bit of Latin blood. It has a little extra spice to it,” he narrowed his eyes, a sly smile on his face “Besides, I like to see how the mood takes me. I can hear your pulse from here. You’re scared, little girl. It tastes better with that hint of fear.”

Then he attacked me.

I tried to roll out of the way like I was taught, but he was too fast, and he grabbed my throat as he forced me against the wall. Christ, this guy was stronger than Serpent. He squeezed my throat so hard, I was surprised he didn’t crush the bones. He bared his fangs at me and moved in to bite, my struggles rendered useless as long as he had me held in place.

Flash, thankfully, pulled him off me, letting me fall to the floor and hurled fire at the vampire. The vampire dodged the attack easily and batted Flash out of the way with that innate strength. I gasped as he lunged at me and desperately tried to spark a flame. The fear was making it impossible, my shaking hands couldn’t summon anything of any use to me. The vampire forced me against the wall again, entirely dedicated to attacking me it seemed. I gasped in a fearful breath at every chance that grip allowed and looked around in the shadows. Where had Flash gone?

The vampire produced a switchblade from his pocket and I desperately attempted to escape his grasp again. What’s he going to do?

“I hate using these,” he pressed the knife against my neck and I flinched, having to stay still so the blade didn’t nip at my flesh. “But I’m sure I’ll get some of your blood the natural way later, in fact, I count on it.”

“No,” I struggled the word out.

He chuckled; it was like that single word was a joke to him. I swear, anybody with magic seems to have the natural ability to make me feel like I was an inch tall.

“I don’t think you get it,” he smiled, showing his fangs. “I’m not going to kill you, not yet at least.”

Where was Flash? He couldn’t have just left me like this. Maybe this is just proving a point. I can’t constantly rely on Flash. I used all my strength to kick him in the stomach. He wasn’t expecting it and he dropped me as he staggered backwards for a moment. The knife fell from his hand and scratched along my shoulder. I hissed in pain but still jumped up onto my feet and dodged out of the way of his hand trying to grab me again.

“Why do you want me?” I panted heavily.

“You’ll find out soon enough. He wants you to be there for the grand unveiling.”

“He?” my mouth grew dry. “Who is he?”

The vampire used his foot to kick up the knife and he caught it with one swift movement. The knife had a thin line of red blood on it. I reached to the scratch on my shoulder and felt the warmth of fresh blood, wincing.

“It would seem I got what I needed,” he smiled a cold dark smile. “I’ll be back for you later.”

Flash suddenly jumped out of the shadows and hurled fire at the vampire. He stepped easily out of the way of each fireball. He tipped an imaginary hat to me and he receded into the shadows, soon long gone.

“So much for not touching anything,” Flash muttered, then turned to me with a worried look on his face. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I was covered in blood now, I wasn’t impressed. I shook my head then cleared my throat, worried that my voice would betray me.

“No, I’m okay,” I assured him.

“Roxy,” his voice was gentle. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, Flash, I’m fine.”

He wrapped his arms gently around me, kissing the top of my head as he squeezed me tightly. I noticed that Flash often worried about me. I wasn’t as helpless as I was when we first met but I still felt like I didn’t contribute nearly enough to all the trouble we got into.

“Come on,” he kept his arm around my shoulder. “We’d better get going before Storm comes back for round two.”

Ah, so the vampire was called Storm? We climbed back through the prison and I sat in the Mercedes beside Flash, scowling slightly at the blood that clung to my jeans. I could never keep a good pair of jeans. I had to create a new account online, so I could buy clothes in bulk without my parents asking questions.

“You knew that it was Storm, didn’t you?”

“I had a sneaking suspicion it was,” Flash nodded. “Do you want me to drop you off at home?”

“Yes please. I don’t really want to be walking home like this.”

He dropped me off outside my house and told me he’d pick me up tomorrow. He didn’t need to tell me, he picked me up every morning, but he still did so and, for some reason, I still appreciated it. I waved to him as he drove off. Flash and I were close, best friends now and that possibly hindered my relationship with others within the Freedom House, but I didn’t mind at all.

The curtains in the living room were drawn, but I could still see the warm glow of the light inside. Mum and dad were probably watching Bake Off or something. Christ, I needed to catch up on that. The setting sun made the grass glisten from the frost that hadn’t melted away from the previous night and the huge oak tree’s leaves also glittered with the icy frost. I had gotten far better at climbing that tree over the past year and now it was second nature to me. Flash had turned me into one of those rebels you hear about. What’s worse is the fact that he didn’t even have to try. My feet landed on the branch that stuck out under my window sill. Mum thought I just liked the fresh air and that it was good for my immune system, but it was just my way in.

I landed on the floor and I finally felt safe. It was a childish belief, but my room was my own. Nothing could get in, at least not in my mind. The muscles in my legs burned from day after day of running through the streets, often being chased actually. I changed out of my bloody clothes and into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that I’d never have the confidence to wear outside of this room. I flopped onto my soft, comfy bed and fell asleep quickly. I never thought my bed was so soft and comfy apart from when I hadn’t slept in it for days.