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“
Wimp,” Eli
grinned. “It will burn, but it will stop you from bleeding to
death.”

“
Yep. That is
me!”

Ayden laughed
at him, clearly enjoying the show. Jack knew he must look rather
stupid with Eli holding cloth to his stumps whilst he knelt on the
floor. “It’s not bloody funny!” Jack shouted at Ayden who was still
laughing.

Ember returned
holding his arms. “Oooopppsss,” she said sheepishly but her light
grey eyes twinkled.

“
Oooopppsss,
Ember, Chirst, you ripped my arms out of their sockets!” It wasn’t
a sentence he ever thought he’d say, and he never wanted to say it
again.

“
I told you
that my gift is very temperamental when it comes to this thing,
plus you put me off.”

“
Here, Jack,
hold still. We have to get them back on.”

“
Make sure one
of my arms isn’t backwards or something.”

Eli and Ayden
held his arms at the correct angles so that Ember could use the
potion Tabitha had given her just for this occasion. How the hell
was the blood going to start back up again? How were the arteries
going to fuse? The muscle that had ripped? The bone that had
snapped? Jack shouldn’t ask himself these kinds of questions
because Tabitha knew what she was doing. He trusted
Tabitha.

Jack sat on
the edge of the bed with the two limbs hanging numbly by his sides.
They felt like they didn’t belong to him. He glared at his fingers,
his mind screaming at them to move but they didn’t. He’d endured
the fierce sharp, stabbing pains as his blood trickled through.
This hadn’t been the end of it. The pain had increased until a
horrendous attack of pins and needles struck every part of his
arms. A whole hour passed before he was finally able to feel like
his arms belonged to him again.

“
I’m not doing
that again,” he complained, rubbing his shoulders once the last of
the pins and needles subsided.

“
But I need to
practise, the meeting is tomorrow, and we need to get in there so
we can complete the task.”

“
Practise on
someone else, Ember. How about Eli? He hasn’t lost any limbs
yet.”

The grin on
Eli’s face disappeared.

“
How about it,
Eli?” Jack said, wriggling his eyebrows

Eli sighed and
walked over to Ember. “Fine, let’s try. At least I won’t move
around like the child over there.”

Jack was
unable to respond as Eli disappeared.

Jack laughed
out loud when he spotted the tapping feet that had been left
behind. He could see how the blood spluttered, shocked by the force
of them breaking away from the rest of his body. He laughed and
picked them up. It was funnier to see someone else’s limbs rather
than his own.

“
Can I throw
these at him when he comes back?”

“
No,” Ayden
laughed, shaking his head.

Jack put the
feet back on the floor and wrapped them in the dishcloths waiting
for Eli to reappear.

“
Jesus!!”

They turned to
see Eli suddenly lying on the floor trying to stem the flow of
blood leaving his body.

“
It isn’t
pleasant, is it?” Jack mocked.

Jack passed
Eli his twitching feet and helped to attach them
properly.

“
You didn’t
say it hurt this much, Jack!” Eli hissed through his
teeth.

“
Oh I’m sorry,
was the cursing and writhing in pain not enough for
you?”

“
You’re just
so smart... why do you have to be so...smart?”

Jack grinned.
“It’s just who I am.”

“
I can’t do
this,” Ember complained.

The dejected
tone in her voice wasn’t one they were used to, Ember was always
positive. “You can, you just need to practise,” Jack assured her.
It was strange for Ember to admit such a weakness.

“
I’ve already
pulled you and Eli into pieces. Ayden won’t do it.”

Ayden was
shaking his head, already answering the question.

“
Practise on
me again.” Jack felt tempted to look around to see who had offered,
but he had an awful feeling that he’d been the one to open his
mouth and utter the dreaded words.

He had to
remember he was doing this for Cora, for them. He would do anything
for her. What were a few limbs in comparison to losing her
forever?

“
Are you
sure?” Ember asked, casting him a doubtful glance.

“
Yeah,” He
walked to her. “Right, let’s get this over with.”

*

He’d lost an
ear, a finger, and his big toe, but Ember had finally perfected it.
She looked exhausted but happy. After safely transporting him back
to his room, she’d declared she’d needed to take a heavy load just
to make sure she was good to go. Ayden hadn’t been happy about
this, and his unhappy face wasn’t because of the transportation. He
was less than happy about being called a heavy load, but he did
return with every limb intact.

“
Well,” Ayden
said, lifting his glass once it appeared on the table whilst they
sat in the bar for a much deserved drink. “Here’s to tomorrow.
Let’s hope all goes well otherwise we are so dead.”

“
Great
motivational speech, Ayden,” Jack said with a wry grin.

“
Only one
drink, Ayden,” Ember warned. “We have to be up early.” Ember stood
up and looked at each of them like the school teacher keeping her
students in check. She needed the glasses perched on her nose and
her silver hair pulled high into a bun to complete the look. Still,
even then, she would be one hot teacher.

“
Fine,” Ayden
mumbled.

Ayden watched
Ember leave and then pulled out green a glass vial that held green
liquid.

“
This here
will make sure we have clear heads in the morning. Who wants
another drink?”

“
Where did you
get that?” Eli asked.

Ayden shook
his head, “It’s not just Tabitha who is good with mixing
potions.”

Jack could
hardly say no, plus Eli was already walking to the bar to order the
next round. Jack liked that his brother could still surprise
him.

Eli was
dependable, wise and mostly level headed. This side of Eli was
taking a while to get used to. Jack half expected his brother to
tell him it was bedtime. He sat back, smiled at Eli who carried the
tray to their table, and settled in for a few hours of down time
with his family before the big event happened.

43

UNDER THE
CASTLE

Jack really
wasn’t much of a morning person, and for the second day in a row,
he was up early. He could barely look at the clock as they left the
hotel. Not only did the time hurt his eyes, but also focusing on
something hurt. He wouldn’t tell Ayden because the result would
mean pain, but Ayden’s mixing ability wasn’t on par with Tabitha’s.
He still felt the hangover gripping his head like a vice, whilst
his stomach thrashed threatening to spill its load.

Ember moved
quickly and quietly in front of them as they neared the area under
the castle. They hadn’t passed a soul on their silent journey
through the little gardens. Birds had chirped happily around them,
oblivious to the break in they were about to commit. Jack stuffed
his hands deep into his coat pockets sucking in much needed cool
air to clear his head. Despite the thick gloves he was wearing, he
could still feel the vicious nips from the wind, but the cool air
did help with pushing away the alcohol induced cobwebs.

They were
moving as closely and as quietly as they could to the opening that
they’d used previously. It helped that Ember didn’t have to
transport them too far. They didn’t want to risk bleeding out at a
time like this. They tiptoed to a stop and looked silently at one
another. They’d agreed beforehand not to speak. They didn’t know if
Alastair had stationed someone as a look out. They knew that Tavish
could be hiding anywhere, and they wouldn’t know about it until he
popped up.

Ember moved
her hand and signalled for the first one of them to step forward.
Ayden stepped into Ember’s embrace and disappeared. His body
intact, by the looks of things. Jack had to admit he’d been feeling
a little bit nervous about this whole thing. There were so many
things that could go wrong. Jack’s element was usually weakened by
his nerves. He’d assumed Ember would be nervous too, but knowing
Ember as he did, he should have known she wouldn’t have a problem
with her nerves.

Ember popped
back into sight and motioned for him to move to her. Eli had
offered to stay as a look out just in case anyone decided to show
up outside the coven. Eli gave him a nod, one that said ‘be
careful’. Jack threw him an eye roll which was the best thing he
could do without talking. It received a grin. Jack stepped into
Ember’s arms and closed his eyes just as the floor disappeared
beneath his feet.

He opened them
as soon as he felt his footing hit concrete. Ayden lurked in the
darkened corner of the library waiting for them. The fire was unlit
which meant the room was very cold. Jack’s breath puffed around his
head as he tiptoed towards Ayden. Ember held up her fingers and
motioned for Ayden to do what he had to do. Her fingers indicated
that they had ten minutes, at most, to find Alastair and what he
needed.

Ten
minutes.

Six hundred
seconds.

Time that
could change everything.

Watching Ember
move her hands so quickly made him feel like he was in the army.
He’d failed to read the handbook on sign language, but Ayden seemed
to understand it. A small pop sounded and four Ayden’s left the
room. Ember turned to him, her eyes telling him what he needed to
do. He took a deep breath, nodded and crept out of the
room.

A faint murmur
of voices filtered down the corridor as he tiptoed, keeping to the
corners and walls as much as humanly possible. His head turned from
side to side with each quiet step. He couldn’t allow someone to
stumble upon him now. That would ruin everything. He followed a
voice he recognised, one he’d been searching for.

Creeping
towards the door, Jack held his breath and listened.

“
Perfect,
Quinn. Ar’ yer sure aboot Jack?”

Jack tightened
his fists and felt sweet adrenaline course through his
body.

“
Well, we just
need tae find a way tae deal with them, then yer can tek yer
position in charge and Cora will huv tae answer tae
you.”

Jack hadn’t
doubted Ciaran for a second. He liked the guy and would no doubt
become firm friends with him in the future, but hearing the words
come from the main man himself was proof enough that they were
doing the right thing. He just needed to prove this to
Cora.

Ayden stepped
alongside him, like he’d literally been born from the shadows. Jack
jumped, he didn’t bother trying to hide it. The light from
underneath the door allowed Jack to see that Ayden had moved his
fingers to gesture for him to move aside. Jack did as he was told
and shrunk back into the shadows. Ayden grinned and knocked on the
door with great enthusiasm.

Jack could
hear Alastair hastily end his conversation. Alastair was afraid of
being caught? Did Alastair’s coven know what he had planned? If he
was keeping secrets, Jack would make sure every member of every
coven found out. Ayden rolled on the heels of his feet with his
hands in his pockets waiting for Alastair to open the door. The
door opened. As it did, Ayden simply disappeared.

Alastair
looked down the dark corridor, his busy eyebrows colliding with
anger and confusion. Jack held his breath as Alastair’s hard blue
eyes swung to his dark corner. Jack pushed himself closer to the
wall. A loud crash echoed from down the corridor followed by a loud
alarm that seemed to shake the wall he was pushing his body
against. Alastair cursed and stormed down the corridor. This was
it.

Jack slipped
into the quiet room. The decor was darker here. A dark oak desk
cluttered with paperwork was pushed against black velvet wallpaper.
This room, cold and dark, reflected Alastair’s personality
perfectly. Jack looked back at the door and checked to make sure he
hadn’t been followed. He didn’t close the door. If this went to
plan he would only be a second.

Jack walked to
the desk and looked at the mess. The laptop wasn’t on which was
good because he didn’t have time to be tempted by such things. He
carefully lifted up the pieces of paper trying to find what he
needed. Fate was on his side as he caught sight of it. He grinned
as he grabbed it. Taking one last look at the office, he left the
door as Alastair had and slipped back into the shadows.

Jack barely
had time to sink into the shadows when he saw Alastair, accompanied
by Tavish, stride down the corridor towards him. Jack held his
breath upon seeing Tavish and pushed his body further into the cool
rock. He didn’t like Alastair’s power, but he’d experienced it
before so he felt like he could do it again, but Tavish was
dangerous. He could disappear and kill you from behind, and you
wouldn’t know a thing about it. Jack watched them turn the corner
allowing him to slip out of the darkness and join Ember and
Ayden.