Hekate's Chalice Read online

  Ascepius’s laugh echoed through the enclosed space. He raised his hand, uttered a few syllables, and lazily tossed a spell at Gelon.

  The daemon made a desperate attempt to defend himself, but he might as well not have bothered as the web of metal lacing settled over him freezing him with his arms raised, and unable to move even an eyelid.

  Ascepius turned to JB, a wide grin on his face. “We make a great team, you and I. We must do this again some time.”

  A popping sound and Pythios appeared. “Good,” he said as he took in Gelon’s frozen posture. His eyebrows rose at the sight of the wound.

  “Thank you, I’ll take it from here,” Ascepius informed him.

  “As–” but Pythios’s reply was drowned out by the loud pounding of footsteps coming toward them along the passageway.

  The three of them turned as half a dozen uniformed daemons armed with tridents and spears appeared.

  “Security,” Ascepius whispered. “Law and order. What are we coming to?”

  “Hold.” An officer stepped forward, his expression halfway between fear of what were evidently two far more powerful daemons, and the need to do his job without offending them. “For what reason do you disturb the Games?”

  “This Gelon is a criminal,” Pythios nodded at the hapless prisoner, whose impression of a statue under Ascepius’s hex rendered him a pathetic specimen of his race, “who was about to escape. We apprehended him before he did so.”

  The guard hesitated, intimidated by Pythios’s confidence, but nonetheless continued. “What crime do you accuse him of?”

  “I am his master, and he has conspired against me,” Pythios answered, showing his tattooed sigil, and pointing to the replica on Gelon’s arm.

  “He also broke the Law, Code 1145 section C and 8110 section A, thereby bringing our species into disrepute,” Ascepius added.

  The security officers gazed with blank expressions from one master demon to the other.

  Ascepius explained. “Prizes offered at the games must be willing or didn’t fulfill the bargains they made and are discharging their debts. And this asura kidnapped an unwilling human female that belongs to my grandson, and he has unlawfully killed another.”

  At another time or place, JB might have quibbled with his grandfather about the difference between the daemon and human definition of the word ‘belonging’, but right now he let it slide. Finding Gemma was within reach.

  “He’s yours,” the guard said. “Have fun, Gelon.”

  “We’re going to open a portal,” Ascepius said. “Do we have your permission? Renzo, isn’t it? I’ll be sure to let your master know how helpful you’ve been in aiding us today.”

  The guard bowed. “Permission granted.”

  The instant the security officers stomped out of sight, Pythios deferred to Ascepius. “As always, my Lord, a pleasure doing business with you.”

  The two daemons bowed to each other. Pythios opened a portal and disappeared.

  “Come” Ascepius ordered. JB obeyed, moving next to his grandfather and Gelon. After flicking his fingers, Ascepius placed a hand on each of their shoulders and took them straight to his basement.

  JB hoped he was developing an immunity to surprise, but the prodigious assembly of flails, whips, and other assorted evil looking instruments that he didn’t want to examine too closely adorning one wall of the underground room was still a shock. An overabundance of hooks and chains dangled from different heights on another wall, and the central space was occupied by a large X-shaped metal frame with dark stained grooves underneath, leading to a drain hole. JB shuddered. He would accept his grandfather’s help because he had no choice, but this was a torture chamber. He’d do well to remember this place.

  Gelon blabbed Gemma’s whereabouts the second Ascepius’s daemons started nailing him to the metal cross. Moreover, he was also extremely forthcoming in sharing information as to the current location of the chalice.

  Ascepius summoned the butler, who escorted JB up to the study. He’d recovered somewhat from the chase and near throttling by Gelon, and paced back and forward, one eye on his cousins still sporting by the pool, the other on the door. JB was seriously considering biting his nails, when the door opened and Ascepius entered holding a black bag in his hand, with Gemma trailing behind him. Her face was pale, her eyes darted from side to side in terror, and as soon as she spotted JB she ran toward him. He enclosed her in a tight embrace, held her face against his chest, and stroked her back to calm her trembling. “It’s over, you’re safe. It’s okay.”

  “Yes,” Ascepius handed the backpack to JB. “I believe this is yours. But you two have to leave. I skipped a few formalities in bringing you here, JB, and technically you’re an illegal alien, so I need you gone ASAP. I thoroughly enjoyed your visit and had more fun than I’ve had in a while. Come again soon, bring your woman too. Have a holiday with your cousins, I’m sure you’ll get on like a house on fire. Your father should come and see me, too.” He flicked his fingers, and a portal shimmered open. “One word of advice—that elven blade of yours is rather special. Take good care of it because few weapons have any effect against daemons.” And with a final “Ciao, miei cari,” ringing in their ears, he pushed the pair of them, JB still holding Gemma tight, through the gateway.

  Chapter Fourteen: Sunday, 1pm

  The last to arrive at the Oasis, the best Michelin five-star restaurant in Tropolis, JB followed the maître d’ upstairs to the first floor.

  This was the most exclusive section of the restaurant, where white lace-edged tablecloth-covered tables were placed a decent distance from each other allowing for private conversations. Wall-to-wall glass windows gave a magnificent view over the River Saskan and Founders Park, where the trees displayed a final blaze of autumn colors before winter’s arrival. The low hum of conversation blended with the soft Muzak in the background.

  JB took the empty seat pulled out for him between Gemma and Zhanna, “I apologize for being late,” JB looked around the table.

  Jason, like JB, wore a smart suit and sat between two gorgeous women–one blonde and one raven-haired. Zhanna and Gemma were dressed in identical green silk pantsuits, with Zhanna’s hair an exact copy of Gemma’s lustrous copper curls. Nikki, apart from her piercings, was without a trace of Goth and wore a simple white dress. Her wild curls were sleeked into submission, and she wore high heels instead of studded boots. Juan, a handsome Latino sat on her left, and her mother, pale but cheerful, sat on her right.

  “Welcome to our guests,” JB nodded at Juan, Nikki’s mother, and Jason’s girlfriends. “I’ll admit, the rest of you lot scrub up real respectable.” A big grin spread across his face. “I’ve got the best news.”

  “They arrested Chas Fachio?” Jason asked.

  “Better than that, my father’s awake. We might never learn who drove the car that hit him, but early this morning, he came out of his coma. He’s weak but able to talk. The nurse told me she can’t confirm it yet, but he appears to have suffered no brain damage, and with luck, he could be home within a week or two.”

  “Oh, I’m so pleased for you, JB.” Nikki smiled at him.

  The conversation paused as waiters placed tempting plates of gourmet food in front of them, filled their glasses with wine, and discreetly departed.

  “Mmm, this is as tasty as I can get anywhere back home,” Zhanna sighed, closing her eyes and sipping honey nectar from a cut crystal champagne flute with great delight.

  “Are you all right?” JB shot a quick glance at Gemma and picked up a fork to avoid meeting her gaze. Despite the exhaustion he experienced after returning from the daemon realm, he’d spent the night tossing and turning, trying to forget how great he had felt holding her in his arms.

  “The worst part was the binding spell Gelon used on me after he deliberately rammed your car.” She glanced at JB, but he was busy inhaling the exquisite aromas rising from the food in front of him. “After that, I remember little of what happened, just flashes of scenes tha
t don’t mean much.”

  “She woke me up screaming last night,” Jason said.

  Gemma pursed her lips and glared at her brother, but let his comment slide.

  “I know of a good dream therapist,” Nikki’s mother leaned forward. “I had some terrible nightmares when I was first diagnosed. Marlene helped me understand what my dreams were telling me.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Jarvin–”

  “Oh call me Lily.”

  “Okay, thank you, Lily. If I feel the need, Nikki can get me the number.” Gemma looked troubled for a minute, then her expression cleared and she straightened up. “Anyway, I can’t tell you how happy I was when JB’s grandfather rescued me from the freezer.”

  “The freezer?” squeaked Zhanna.

  “Yeah, that’s where they put her, so she wouldn’t die from the heat before whoever won the Games claimed her for a prize,” JB said.

  Gemma shuddered at the thought of the awful fate that had awaited her. “I had a close escape.”

  “We owe your grandfather,” Jason gave his sister an affectionate smile.

  “And believe me, he won’t forget. He’ll claim a favor in return when he thinks he’ll benefit most.”

  “That’s fine by me,” Jason shrugged. “He saved my sister.”

  Gemma looked at her brother with warmth. “Without JB’s connection with Ascepius …,” she leaned close to JB and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, and I take it, this,” she waved her hand at the display in front of them, “is Hekate’s way of thanking us for returning her chalice in time for today’s consultation.”

  “JB, you’re blushing!” Zhanna squealed.

  JB ignored the comment though his cheeks flamed with heat. “She was upset over Bathsheba, both that she’d broken her bond with the coven, and that she was dead, but she was very happy to hold that chalice in her hands again. And she gave me a big fat check, which will keep us out of the red for the next few months. Plus, she said she’ll send her friends our way, and put the word out that Adept Solutions is the agency to go to if you have a problem.”

  “And what are the police doing about Perry White and Chas Fachio’s involvement,” Jason demanded, glancing at his sister.

  “It’s more than Lazlo Westermore’s life is worth to tell what he knows, and Perry has disappeared without a trace. Apparently, he’s worked for Fachio in the past, and was responsible for dragging his sister into this mess, so who knows if he’s skipped town, or his boss decided to remove him from the equation. As for Fachio, without proof, the police can’t do much, though when I spoke to Detective Barclay, he hinted that they’d be adding to the extensive file they have on him. He put me in touch with an Inspector Waynes from the super squad, who told me the authorities were satisfied Gelon’s own people were dealing with him.”

  “Did he believe you?” Nikki asked as she demolished the delicately sized portion on her plate. Imps’ constitutions enabled them to eat huge quantities and stay rake thin. She beckoned the waiter standing a discreet distance behind them. “Another of the same.”

  “Not at first, but when I mentioned Ascepius’s name, he offered no more objections,” JB said tucking into the food with gusto. “Mmm, this is delicious.”

  “Your grandfather is one badassed daemon isn’t he?” Zhanna’s eyes were enormous.

  “Badassed? What kind of TV programs have you been watching?” JB’s expression was stern, though his eyes twinkled.

  “Don’t worry, I’m monitoring her hours,” Nikki said, “which was how I found out another faerie had hacked Zhanna’s account and used her details to set up that dating scam.”

  “Someone cracked your security? That must have hurt your pride.” Jason looked at Zhanna sympathetically.

  The faerie wiped a crumb of the giant portion of Black Forest gateau she was demolishing from her mouth and put down her tiny silver fork. “Marli confessed once the Faerie Queen got hold of him. She was so angry with me when she thought I was the brains behind that scheme, she’d decided to haul me out of here, and send me to prison. If it hadn’t been for Nikki …,” Zhanna blew a rainbow kiss of sparks across to the imp, “I’d be breaking crystals in Faerie Land. Once the real culprit was in jail, great-great-grandmamma was so pleased she let me come out with you today.”

  The waiter returned with Nikki’s order, and the plate bore twice the previous amount. Nikki licked her lips in appreciation. “And I’ve good news, too. Juan has found an apartment that may be suitable. We’re going to view it this afternoon. If Mom and I like it, we’ll be signing the contract tomorrow, and moving in as soon as possible.”

  “Can’t wait, eh?” Jason said.

  Nikki rolled her eyes. “You don’t want to know,” but she laughed.

  “So this whole thing was a move by Chas Fachio to gain influence over the Mayor by replacing Hekate with a witch of his own?” Jason asked. “Will he stop because his plans are foiled, and Hekate’s got her precious chalice back?”

  JB shrugged. “Not our problem. But we do have two potential clients coming in tomorrow. So I expect to see you all in the office bright and early.” JB leaned back, satisfied for the moment. Yes, things were looking up. After the trauma of his birth, the doctors had told his mother that the combination of her’s and his father’s genes meant she could have no more children, so he’d grown up an only child. But these people sitting here around the table with him–Gemma, Jason, Nikki, and Zhanna–had become his family. “Let’s have a toast.” He raised his glass and waited till everyone was ready. “To Adept Solutions!”

  The End

  The Author

  Thank you very much for reading Hekate’s Chalice. If you enjoyed the story, let your friends know; and if you have time please leave a review, as they are like gold, and they help readers decide if the book is one they wish to read.

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  Books by Teagan Kearney:

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  The Kala Trilogy Box Set

  The Adept Solutions Series

  Hekate’s Chalice

  Sorcerous Deeds

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