Silver Tongue: A Novel in The Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Series (The Temple Chronicles Book 4) Read online

  I threw myself down to the ground and tripped over a bench, landing on my shoulder with a grunt. I opened my eyes to see a fist lash out and connect with Alucard’s jaw. I started to gather my power as the form blurred into motion after him, but I was too late. A second later the form slammed Alucard up against the wall with one arm. Drywall cracked in the shape of his head, and inch long claws sank into the soft flesh of his throat. Alucard struggled for breath as he glanced down for a first look at his attacker’s face. I very slowly climbed to my feet, thinking non-violent thoughts, careful not to spook the attacker and end Alucard’s life.

  “H…hi, Indie,” he managed. I didn’t move. Carefully. It might be Indie, but she had no control over her powers. Or at least very little control over her powers. The smallest thing could set her off.

  A vampire breaking into a room that she occupied, for example.

  I spoke softly. “Indie. It’s okay. It’s just Alucard. You can let him down now…”

  “Thieving vampire thinks he can catch me by surprise, does he?” She hissed, vampire canines flashing. Indie’s free hand crackled with visible power, her eyes a smoky, shifting shade of darkness tinged with brief flickers of light, like lightning. The eyes of a Brother Grimm. Or Sister Grimm in her case. She had inherited the powers against her will, but it had been the only way to bring her back to life. The telltale Grimm amulet swung freely from her movement, tapping against her chest.

  Through their amulets, Grimms’ were able to duplicate the power of any freak they encountered. Hence her ability to dually wield vampire canines – thanks to Alucard – and a magical orb of power in her clenched fist – from my powers as a Maker. She was panting heavily. Alucard very wisely remained still.

  “Breathe, Indie. This is just the worthless replacement manager for my bookstore. Remember?”

  Alucard scowled slightly at my comment, but remained motionless. Indie’s eyes widened in abrupt recognition before letting Alucard go. She zipped to the other side of the room in an inhuman blur and fell to her knees, sobbing. She called out softly with her head between her knees, punching the floor – which crunched at each hit as she vented off some of the power surge that had almost killed Alucard. “Sorry. Sorry, I thought…”

  Alucard climbed to his feet, rubbing his throat a few times and said, “It’s okay, Indie.” The small wounds began closing up on their own, leaving not a mark. He smiled. “Nice to see you. You’re getting stronger, by the way.”

  She let out a very small laugh and climbed to her feet. Her face was a mess, and now that her eyes were back to normal, I could see that they were red from crying. She watched me sadly, guiltily, ashamed. “I can’t control it,” she murmured helplessly.

  I nodded in understanding. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out sooner or later. Right now, we need to get you out of here. Are any of the alarms going off?”

  She stared back, shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”

  I approached her, gently grasping her arm. Her eyes instantly shifted back to the smoky black, swirls of carbon crashing against pools of oil, with flickering thunderclouds off in the distance. I felt a faint thrum of power emitting from her fingertips in my palm. A small whip of fire lashed out from her other hand, lighting a nearby stand on fire. She flinched as her predatory eyes flashed to the power at her fingertips. I remained motionless and waited for her to look at my face again. She did, and I stared into those deadly eyes, willing her power down. She blinked, crunched her brows in focus, and the whip extinguished, as did the energy pulsing between our skin. “See?” I smiled. “You’ve got this. Just need practice.” The look on her face was not encouraging, but she did nod.

  “Sorry again, Alucard.” He waved off her comment and slowly began to stalk the room.

  I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. He’s used to that reaction from women.” Alucard chuckled darkly, as he continued to catalog the scene. I wrapped Indie up in a hug. She didn’t return the gesture, simply rocked back and forth, sobbing. “We’ll figure it out,” I repeated.

  “How? I’ve been trying for months to control this damned curse. I can’t be within ten feet of a freak without losing control.” She glanced around the room, and a look of horror dawned on her face. “What if… what if I did this? What if there was a freak in the room and I blacked out. Killed everyone…”

  I shook my head, but before I could speak, Alucard chimed in.

  “No. We’re the only freaks here.” He cocked his head. “Also, no alarms. Silent or otherwise.” That gave us a few minutes, but we still had to hurry for our meeting with the ogres.

  I scanned the room for the first time and blinked. In the brief attack, I hadn’t noticed we were standing amidst about a dozen bodies. They were everywhere. Most looked to have simply expired in place. No battle wounds, which if it had been Indie, would be the case. I sighed in relief at that small fact. Then, like a pigeon on the Boardwalk, Alucard crapped on my thought. “They were all killed with magic.”

  Alucard nudged something with a boot. It was a velvet case big enough for a large book. I knelt down beside it, careful not to disturb the evidence, and also not wanting to put my DNA anywhere near this gruesome scene. I felt a presence beside me and flinched. Indie had silently followed and now loomed behind me. She hadn’t made a sound. Even Alucard flinched upon seeing her, and he had supernatural hearing.

  “I wish you would stop doing that,” he growled. She smiled lightly.

  “That was beside me when I woke up. It had the book in it,” she pointed. “The one you wanted me to buy.”

  “It’s missing.” Alucard said matter-of-factly.

  Indie frowned at him pensively, then turned to me. “Wouldn’t Gunnar have been a better choice to help you tonight?” Alucard’s face darkened murderously.

  “Had to pull from the bench tonight. Gunnar was busy,” I said.

  “You know what?” Alucard began, voice rising in anger.

  “Seems like he’s busy a lot lately.” Indie said, ignoring Alucard entirely.

  “Yeah…” I sighed. But I changed the topic. We needed to get out of here. “Okay. Let’s grab the case and skedaddle. Is there any evidence that you were here?”

  Her face grew concerned. “We all had to sign in. I was wearing those full-length silk gloves you gave me,” she patted her purse, “so no prints, at least. But I don’t know where the logbook is. I couldn’t find it after I called you.”

  “Well, we definitely need to find that. I’ll magic it or someth-”

  Alucard interrupted me, eyes distant as he seemed to stare through the wall leading to the entrance. “Guys,” he warned. “The B-Team Sidekick’s spidey sense is tingling.” He cocked an ear. Then I heard it. Sirens. “Still no alarm, so someone must have called it in. But if everyone who attended this soiree is dead, how would anyone know to call it in?” We turned to Indie. Her eyes were wild with fear.

  “I… I think everyone is here. I can’t be sure. What do we do?” Her tone was growing frantic.

  “Tick Tock,” Alucard muttered. “They’re on our street now. And we have that meeting.”

  “Seven Hells!” I slapped my thigh in frustration, which caused a dull throb of pain in my shoulder from where I had fallen on it a few minutes ago. We didn’t have time to go find the logbook. I grabbed Indie’s hand, bent over to snatch up the case, scanned the room, and then began pulling her after me into the back storeroom. I did a quick scan of the room again to be sure, but still, nothing seemed to be missing. I opened a gateway back to the alley. It was now raining, and I knew that pretty soon the storm would hit in earnest.

  My crew raced after me and we piled into the Tahoe as quickly as possible, getting wet in the process. Then I carefully backed out of the alley and slowly began to drive us away. I couldn’t risk attracting attention to our vehicle. I flipped on the windshield wipers as the rain increased.

  As if on cue, a cop car rounded the street ahead of us, sirens blaring and lights flash
ing. He didn’t slow as he passed us, and we collectively let out a breath as we continued on.

  Then he slammed on the brakes, the car skidding sideways on the wet street as he negotiated his car to turn around. I slammed my hand against the steering wheel as he floored it after us.

  “Okay. Everyone shut your mouth. Don’t speak. Don’t move. Just sit still,” I hissed. “Let me think.”

  Chapter 4

  I pulled the car to the curb and delved deep into my new powers, hoping I had enough juice to pull this off. I still was no master at my new abilities, but I didn’t have a choice. I needed to make sure we weren’t associated with the scene. Especially with Indie’s name about to show up as the only survivor after they cross-checked the guest list. I pulled over and put the vehicle in park. The second the cop exited the vehicle I blindly cast a surge of power behind his vehicle, which elicited a small flashbang of sound and light, like a gunshot or firecracker.

  As expected, he whirled, hand on his holster. I used the confusion to cast a blanket of power over our entire vehicle, and sighed in exhaustion, slumping into my seat as he whirled back to us, confused. He wiped the rain from his eyes, frowned at our vehicle, frowned behind him again, and then began stalking up to the driver’s side window. I rolled it down obediently and kept my hands on the steering wheel.

  “Si, Capitan?” I spoke with a thick Spanish accent, leaning slightly away from the rain dripping in through the open window.

  “License…” He took a step back and stared at me. Then at the vehicle. I watched him with a confused frown.

  “Si, license…” I began to reach for my wallet.

  “Wait. I…” He took off his hat and scratched his head. Then he wiped the rain from his face and crunched the hat back in place. He composed himself quickly, glancing around again as if to make sure no one was witnessing his lack of professionalism. “What kind of car is this?” He asked.

  “Prius, Capitan.” I answered, not hiding my anxiety. Sweat was beginning to bead on my forehead from holding the spell. The rain began to fall heavier.

  “I’m looking for a green Tahoe,” he muttered, almost as if speaking to himself. I frowned back, feigning confusion. He saw the look on my face and regained his composure, nodding once. “Just see that you get home safely. Have you seen a green Tahoe in the last few minutes?”

  I frowned back, shaking my head. “No, Capitan. No verde Tahoe.” His radio squawked at him. He listened, shoulders tightening at the garbled exchange. Then he turned back to us.

  “Right. Have you seen anything unusual lately? Suspicious characters stalking the block?” I shook my head. “Have your passengers seen anything?” He peered into the vehicle.

  I turned to Alucard, flickers of his disguise visible to my eyes for some reason. Which likely meant I had been too hasty and that my spell wasn’t up to par. But hell, I had disguised an entire vehicle! Alucard looked like a terrified adolescent Hispanic boy. He shook his head. The policeman grunted. “It’s alright, son. No need to be frightened. You have a nice evening. It’s not a nice night to be out on the streets. Get your family inside.” He glanced through the back window at Indie. “Ma’am,” he tipped his hat.

  “Si, Buen fin de semana, Capitan,” I offered politely. He frowned briefly at my Spanish before hurrying back to his car. I waited for him to turn the vehicle around and race back to the Auction House. I only relaxed my power after he had disappeared down the alley we had just exited. My bones felt like jelly and my thoughts were sluggish as I simply focused on keeping my eyes open.

  “What the hell was that?” Alucard asked, jarring me back to attention.

  Right. We were still near the scene. We needed to be gone. Now. I put the car in gear. “A diversion. Let’s go.”

  Indie piped up. “Was it just me, or did you really just make us look like Hispanics driving a Prius?”

  I smiled as I carefully navigated the vehicle out of the danger zone.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I grinned at her reflection in the rearview mirror, wiping my brow. “Now, let’s go pretend to be surprised when the ogres tell us they were robbed.”

  “Wait, what?” Indie asked in alarm.

  “So, that’s what it feels like. Being on this side of the one-liner… This is fun,” Alucard beamed. “It’s like a small high throwing out offhand comments that the other person doesn’t fully understand. Now I know why you do it so often, Little Brother.” He grinned at me.

  I hated his pet name for me. Must be a New Orleans thing. Or a Vampire thing. “Gunnar would have already known that.” I replied, deadpan.

  “Yeah, but with one eye, he’s not much of a navigator.” Alucard folded his arms. I burst out laughing.

  “No, seriously. I thought you bought the books from the ogres,” Indie persisted from the backseat.

  “It’s probably better if you don’t know details. They aren’t going to be happy, and we can’t have you hulking out on them.”

  “Then drop me off first,” she offered.

  “Not after tonight. You’re a wanted woman. I want to keep my eye on you.”

  “Eye!” Alucard burst into giggles.

  “I’ll be sure to let Gunnar know how fond you are of eye jokes. Maybe you can even tell him a couple yourself…” Indie teased with a devilish grin. That shut him up. I smiled and drove on.

  Chapter 5

  We strode up to the entrance of Plato’s Cave. The wind howled as rain pummeled the streets, soaking us to the bone. But at least it wasn’t cold. I spotted a religious pamphlet attached to the door handle and had a sudden idea.

  I hid a smirk as I pretended to read something important on my phone. “All joking aside, you did a good job tonight, Alucard,” I said, pretending to pay no attention to how much my compliment had caught him off guard. “Mind getting the door while I check this? The monks are wrapping up renovations, so it should be unlocked,” I murmured distractedly.

  “Sure.” Being the manager for my store over the last several weeks, Alucard was now familiar with the door, and out of habit, didn’t glance down as he reached for the handle. I watched with dark glee in my heart. “The power of Christ compels thee…” I whispered to myself. For the briefest of milliseconds, his hand came in contact with the religious flyer that prominently displayed a giant crucifix.

  And God had an opinion about that.

  A bolt of lightning immediately zapped his ass out into the street. He hammered into a trashcan – it was full – along the way, and began cartwheeling through the air.

  Heh. Vampires. Crosses.

  Indie flinched at the sudden violence, and time abruptly halted.

  I instinctively spun, my cane out and ready to attack. I had only seen this when attacked by Grimms or Angels. Drops of water hung suspended in the air, unmoving as my eyes roved the rooftops for danger. Then I saw Indie shift and I blinked, rounding on her in disbelief. She stared back, looking startled and confused. She had just frozen time like Jacob and the Grimms had been able to do. For everyone but the two of us. Then I spotted Alucard floating in midair, halfway through his projectile flight into the street after his ricochet off the trashcan.

  The look on his face was priceless.

  “Indie! Hold whatever you just did for one more second,” I pleaded, frantically opening the camera app on my phone before she lost control of her time manipulation.

  I managed to snap a quick picture before Indie lost her tenuous grip and reality warped back to normal. Alucard continued his flight, skipping through several puddles before slamming into the building on the other side of the street. He instantly began cursing up a storm of his own. His clothes steamed. I pressed a few buttons on my phone with a grin before pocketing it away.

  I turned back to Indie. “How did you just do that?” I asked, a big stupid grin plastered on my face. “You sensed danger and instantly froze time to give you a second to think. That… that’s incredible!” Her eyes were wide, but they slowly began to shift to a smi
le as she realized that her power had finally done something good for a change.

  “I have no idea,” she answered honestly, a thoughtful frown on her face. “But I think I can do it again.” I waved a hand for her to try. She scrunched her brows together for a few moments as I listened to Alucard climb to his feet, his cursing growing louder and more animated. Indie finally sighed in defeat. “I can sense it, but I can’t repeat it.”

  I shrugged. “Don’t stress out about it. Learning magic is better when you don’t push yourself too much. It’s an instinctual skillset. Like you just saw.” She nodded in acceptance, but I could tell it still annoyed her. I reached out to snatch up the pamphlet and waved it at Alucard. His eyes were murderous as he began to cross the street, fists flexing.

  I quickly darted through the door, noticing my phone’s vibration as it alerted me about the upcoming meeting with the ogres. We were just in time.

  The smell of sawdust and freshly oiled leather hung heavy in the air. The new furniture had arrived. As I glanced around, I felt a small quiver of emotion in my chest.

  Plato’s Cave was back to her former glory.

  I even had the glass-walled dividers back. Now, I just needed to get my customers to splash on some signatures and quotes. The smell of incense filled the space, and monks could be heard murmuring prayers and chants throughout the store, perfecting the Feng Shui of the place. There had been a lot of chaos in the store over the last year, not even counting the destruction of the building by the Nephilim and Angels. The space had been tainted by various creatures paying me visits, and it had taken a team of monks – the same group that had originally sanctified my store – many months to rectify. I felt a distant thrum of peace vibrating through my core. A calming, persistent sense of joy and tranquility. It was perfect.