Mammon (14 page)

‘We should drive them home,' said Zagan.

Mammon shook his head. ‘No. Go away leaving them wanting more. Leaving
him
wanting more.'

GRACE FLOPPED ON
to her back, her head nestled in the grass. All around, people were flooding from the festival gates; their voices mingling with the sound of Joe trying to start the bike. She sat up, groaning. Burying her face in her hands didn't help – in the dark, her world still spun.

‘Damn it!' Joe lowered the bike's kickstand.

‘What's wrong?'

‘What does it look like? We're gonna have to call Diana.' Joe pulled out his phone and stared at the screen. Perhaps he should try Mammon. Joe could see Haures again . . . maybe stay the night in the City. He chewed on his lip for a few seconds and took another look at Grace, sitting on the kerb.

Sighing, he scrolled through his contacts. ‘Oh, no. I don't have Renfield's number.'

‘I do.' Grace held up her phone. Joe grabbed it from her swaying arm and scrolled through the contacts. ‘Ah, Ivan's number. I see you've already saved it.'

He raised a provocative eyebrow.

She peered at him. ‘So what?'

‘That was quick, that's all. You only met him today.'

‘So?' Grace dropped her head back on the grass, watching the thin wisps of cloud move across the sky as Joe made the call.

* * *

IT WAS QUIET
around the conference room table as Ivan slid his phone into his pocket. ‘They're in the city. Joe asked me to come and pick them up.'

‘You can't!' said Maya.

Ivan looked at Lucius. ‘Specifically me. He doesn't want Diana to come.'

Seth grunted. ‘That's because he knows she'll completely go off at him.'

‘We'll manage,' Armin said.

‘No!' Maya gave Ivan a pleading look. ‘You said you'd help Armin with his mission tonight. You know it's important for his leadership training! Why do we have to bend to whatever Joe wants?'

‘Because he's a Ferryman, Maya,' said Marcus from the doorway. He strolled in and took a seat next to Lucius. ‘He's very powerful, and we need him on our team.'

Malcolm sat back and folded his arms. ‘It'd be nice if you valued the rest of us in equal measures.'

Marcus gave him a scathing look. ‘If you were a Ferryman, I would.'

Malcolm's face flushed. He swallowed hard and stared at the desk, his fingers balled into angry fists.

Armin squeezed Maya's hand. ‘I can go. Have some faith in me, babe.'

Lucius shook his head. ‘I'm not sure that you're ready, Armin. Perhaps we should wait.'

‘Rubbish,' Marcus said. ‘He's already shown the leadership necessary to manage his own team.' His gaze fell on Malcolm – and in his eyes, yet another unspoken rejection. Unlike you.

Lucius grabbed the mission file and flicked through it. ‘This is a low-level job. Armin can handle it.'

Ivan looked at Armin. ‘It's your call.'

Armin shrugged. ‘I was due to lead my own team soon anyway, wasn't I? We've just jumped ahead a few months.' He smiled at Lucius. ‘I'll do it.'

Marcus gave his brother a firm nod and Lucius stood up. ‘Okay. I guess now is as good a time as any. Good luck.'

* * *

BY THE TIME
the chopper arrived, the car park was empty and the last of the festival staff had left.

‘Get up, Grace.' Joe nudged her with his foot.

‘Leave me alone.' The dark, still place she wanted to be didn't involve any movement. ‘Oh, God.' She opened one eye. ‘We're not
flying
home.'

Ivan alighted from the chopper, alone. He stopped a few feet away and folded his arms. ‘Have a good time?'

Joe grinned. ‘Yeah, I did, actually.'

Ivan looked down at Grace's dishevelled hair and glassy eyes. ‘Can you walk?'

Grace groaned. ‘No . . .'

Ivan slid one arm around her waist and scooped up her legs with the other. She held her breath as his face dipped close to hers. Could he feel her heart pound through her shirt? Without any apparent stress, he lifted her. As she lay her head on his chest, she could hear his heart: slow and steady compared to the rapid drumming in hers. Ivan helped Grace into her seat and pulled the harness across her body. She peeked up at him; when she caught his eye, there was an amused glint.

‘I think I've had too much to drink.'

‘It would seem so. It is a shame that I wasn't there to keep an eye on you.'

‘I wish you had been.' Her cheeks burned at the intensity of his stare. She savoured his closeness, the warmth of his hands as they brushed against her bare arms; the intimate tone in his voice. Inwardly, she cringed at the memory of that other guy's arm around her shoulders – Anthony, or whatever his name was.

How could she have compared him to Ivan?

* * *

THE MORNING LIGHT
was peeking over the horizon when they landed. Ivan peered at the light coming from Lucius's office. ‘That's strange. They're still up.'

Standing at the desk were Marcus, Lucius, Agatha and Diana. Ivan glanced between them and a television monitor, which was playing footage of mercenaries moving through a corridor.

Diana pressed her lips together. ‘There was . . . an accident.'

‘What?' Ivan sank into a chair. ‘What happened?'

‘Everything was going well,' said Lucius. ‘They apprehended the two targets. As we said, a low-level job. But then they went upstairs.'

‘Watch,' Diana said.

The monitor was split into four screens: each listed a mercenary name at the bottom, allowing the viewer to see from a different point of view.

Grace stared as the team entered a large curved room. ‘What is this place?' she whispered. People were kneeled, praying, at circular rows of red velvet seats.

They watched Armin grab a woman and shake her by the shoulder. ‘Miss! Can you hear me?' She didn't look up – but just kept crying, her head hung.

‘It's hopeless,' said the mercenary named Stevens. ‘We're not getting out of here.'

‘Quiet!' said Armin. ‘We're leaving this room, now. Where's Jameson?'

‘He's dead!'

Armin looked at Stevens, who pointed to the floor with a shaking hand. The camera revealed a body lying in a dark puddle of blood on the carpet. Grace turned her face away, sickened, as Armin took a close look at the wound.

‘He's killed himself, man. Can't take it.'

‘Shut up, Stevens!'

‘I
can't!
'

Through Armin's camera, they watched the distraught mercenary plunge a knife into his neck.

‘Stevens! Oh, God, no!' Armin lunged forward, grabbing his teammate as he fell. Blood spurted onto the camera and onto Armin's face.

‘Forget it! He's gone!' cried Jackson, the other mercenary.

Armin began muttering a desperate prayer as he rested Stevens's body on the carpet.

Grace gasped. ‘What's making them do this?'

Followed by his one remaining teammate, Armin moved into a corridor. He slammed a shaped charge against the wall. ‘Take cover!' The wall exploded, dousing the cameras in grey dust. ‘Come on!' They ran through the gap in the wall.

The next few seconds were blurry, the sound distorted.

An outline emerged from the dust.

‘What is that?' Joe muttered.

Ivan frowned. ‘Why aren't they firing?'

Jackson seemed to jerk – an erratic, swaying movement. Then, he fell. He was lying on the ground, on his side – but his camera was still live. The final seconds of film captured Armin suspended off the ground by an unseen force, his body twisted at a strange angle.

Grace caught her breath. A sick feeling of horror swamped her stomach. Something was squeezing him – like a rag.

There was a snapping sound and then a thump – as Armin hit the ground.

Lucius folded his arms. ‘The video just runs from here. We don't see anything from this point. The demon just disappears. Doesn't try to take the cameras, or do anything with the bodies.' He turned and leaned on the table.

‘He needed me there,' Ivan whispered.

Diana frowned. ‘Then we'd be looking at five casualties instead of four! Even you, Ivan – with all your experience – you still might not have been able to handle this! Don't look at me like that! Such a level of telepathic influence – to control all of those people, including our boys, with all their training? It's got to be something big.'

‘Level Twenty-two,' Lucius mused.

Ivan frowned. ‘What about the guy outside – Briggs? Why didn't he respond?'

‘We've had no contact from him. We're assuming he's dead too.'

‘They were dealing with something different here,' Lucius said. ‘Something well beyond what we're used to. Stronger than anything we've seen before.'

Ivan stared at the monitor. ‘I should have gone with him.'

‘No you shouldn't have!' Grace blurted. Her cheeks turned red as they all looked at her.

‘Damn it!' Marcus pounded his fist on the table. ‘Four of our best – gone! This is ridiculous! These were highly trained mercenaries! Why didn't they control their minds!'

Diana scowled. ‘Don't you understand, Marcus? They were outclassed!'

‘That's garbage. Obviously they weren't trained to deal with the pressure.'

‘Not true,' Ivan said. ‘Armin always showed commendable presence of mind. Obviously, the team didn't know what they were up against.'

Diana nodded at Ivan. ‘That creature – whatever it was – was able to take out four well-trained men.' She slumped in her chair, hand over her eyes.

Marcus thumped his fist on the table. ‘This should not have happened! The entire
sarsareh
community will find out.'

Diana looked up. ‘What are you worried about, Marcus? The loss of life, or the damage to Renfield's reputation?'

‘If you don't mind,' Ivan said, ‘I have a team member to counsel.'

Grace felt a rush of guilt. Poor Maya.
She looked at Joe.
It's our fault.

Scowling, Joe shook his head. ‘No, it's not.' He felt the others' eyes on him.

Diana frowned. ‘What did you say?'

‘Nothing,' he muttered.

Diana cast a knowing look at Grace. ‘Don't do that. If you've got something to say, speak up.'

‘Sorry,' Grace muttered.

Diana stood up. ‘Both of you – off to bed.'

Joe stood up and walked out of the office.

Diana sighed. ‘See Grace to her room, will you, Ivan?'

Ivan took Grace's hand. She mentally protested; she wasn't a child!
But her body responded differently: the heat of his other hand against her back was sending tingles all over her skin. Even with everything that had happened . . . she couldn't ignore the reaction his touch provoked in her.

‘Take it slowly, now.'

She looked up at him. ‘I'm sorry about Armin.'

‘It is not your fault.' He pushed open her bedroom door. ‘Come on – get to bed.'

She stumbled across and fell onto the quilt. ‘I'm good here. Just leave me.' She groaned, throwing her forearm over her eyes.

He stood, arms folded. ‘The way you are feeling now is punishment for drinking like that.'

She looked up. ‘Don't you have any sympathy? I bet you like to drink.'

‘Yes. But I know how to handle my vodka.' He glanced at his watch. ‘Now, if I were to hold you to our schedule, you would have to be up in forty-five minutes.'

‘No!'

‘Goodnight, Grace.'

‘Ivan.'

‘Yes, Grace?' He poked his head back inside.

‘I'm never drinking again.'

* * *

MARCUS CLASPED HIS
fingers together. He glanced between Agatha and Lucius. ‘We need to keep a closer eye on Joe. We can't risk losing him to the outside world.'

Lucius removed his glasses, gave them a quick wipe and returned them to his face. ‘We'll keep him busy. Ivan's going to train him personally. Joe seems to respond to him. I have great hopes for Joe and Grace. I believe that they can be of use, once their skills are channelled appropriately.'

‘We know
that
.' Marcus leaned back on his chair, his fingers drumming the table.

Agatha leaned forward and clasped her chin. ‘The girl is way too powerful. Once she realises what she can get away with, she might encourage him to leave.' She raised her eyes to Marcus. ‘Perhaps we should take Joe into our care and train him specially.'

Lucius shook his head. ‘Ivan can handle them.'

‘He doesn't have the right experience.'

‘You're very wrong, Agatha,' said Lucius. ‘You don't know where Ivan's been. Real combat. Not the skirmishes that you were involved in, so many years ago.'

The woman narrowed her eyes. ‘Watch yourself, Lucius.'

Marcus stroked his moustache. ‘We need to entice Joe to commit to our side. The taste of freedom last night may have been all too tempting. It wouldn't hurt to give him some toys. A new car, at the very least.'