“Iabartu.”

“Huh?”

“The woman is called Iabartu. She’s some kind of demi-god.”

“How did you….?” She shook her head, “Never mind. Most of what you do is a mystery to me, Mack.”

I ran water into the sink to rinse off the bleach. “Does Julia have a plan?”

“I think she’s letting the Brethren make the decisions for now.”

Fuck that for a game of soldiers. This portal was clearly where the action was going to be. I wrung out the t-shirt and dumped it in the bin. At least now I knew where to go next.

“You’ve got a scary look on your face, Mack.”

“Get Lynda to stick with Anton, as you said. I’m going to head to the beach.”

I started to walk out the bathroom. Betsy called after me. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? By all accounts you were half dead yesterday. The Brethren have got things under control.”

“I feel fine. And I know things they don’t. If you see Julia, tell her about Anton and where I’ve gone,” I flung back, then picked up my backpack and made sure I had everything I might need. Time to rock and roll.

Chapter Sixteen

By the time I reached the beach, the sun was high in the sky and glinting off the glittering sea. There were some human shaped figures at the far end, closer to Trevathorn. I figured that Alex would have already set up some kind of warding spell to stop any innocent person on a morning stroll from haphazardly stepping into the portal to another dimension.

There were also a couple of Brethren shifters a few hundred metres away. I briefly debated whether to try to stay hidden or not but reckoned I wouldn’t really manage it for long. Julia’s lotion might mask my human stink but it didn’t mean that I was scentless, and the eddies of wind swirling around the beach would advertise my presence before long.

As I got closer, I recognised the shifter I’d taken for a werefox on the first day and another Brethren male. They were both standing on the sand, their backs to me. Ahead of them I could just make out the portal. It shimmered with light purple waves. Few pack members had ever stepped into one of the gateways to other planes. Shifters didn’t possess the ability to conjure portals, and, unless you were very sure that you knew where one was leading, it was pretty much advisable to leave it well alone. There wasn’t a Way Directive about them but there probably should be. There were plenty of nasties that wouldn’t take too kindly at all to a stranger, even a shifter stranger, stepping into their living room. By the time you’d worked out where you were and what was going on, you could easily find yourself lying in a puddle of your own entrails. It had happened before.

I had seen a few portals before – not usually out in the open like this – and they were pretty much the only way that otherworld creatures could travel from one demesnes to another. The friendly ones would usually give us warning that they were coming, and would establish their gateways out of the way. The unfriendly ones would materialise anywhere and start attacking anything that came near. There had even been one in Julia’s herb garden once when a particularly ugly gnome had decided that it would be far easier to nab some of her plants, rather than take the time to grow them himself. She had not been impressed and had dispatched him to the underworld before he could pick even one delicate primrose.

Mackenzie? How’s the pain?

I started and almost tripped over my own feet. It was Julia, at least, not Corrigan. His Voice wouldn’t work from great distances; no-one’s did. I relaxed minutely. It’s fine, I sent back silently. The green stuff worked a treat and I enjoyed seeing pixies and flying babies. Did Betsy tell you about Anton?

She did. He is on his way to talk to me.

I didn’t fancy being in Anton’s shoes right about now. Served him right. I’m almost at the portal, I thought at her. I’m going to stay here and see what happens.

Be careful dear. Mr Floride updated me with what you had found out. There may be more to all this than meets the eye.

There is. I flashed up an image for her of what I’d uncovered on the Othernet.

She was silent for a second, then spoke in my mind again. A demi-god will not be easy to defeat. I should inform the Brethren.

It won’t make any difference, I urged. If nothing happens for a day or two then maybe they’ll leave. You know that I’m strong. I can deal with her myself.

I don’t like this. I had a sudden vision of Julia pacing around the office.

Julia, trust me. I wasn’t trying to inflate my own skills. I had as much physical power as any of the pack shifters, and I didn’t doubt that I couldn’t match most of the Brethren either. If all this did have something to do with me – if it was my fault that John had died – then it was probably related somehow to my humanity. And that meant that the less the Brethren knew, the better.

She sighed mentally, then agreed. Fine. But be careful. Remember that we need you, Mackenzie. I don’t have any more trieswater to bring you back from the brink again.

I will.

I sensed her pulling back and moving away. I walked up behind the two Brethren.

“Hi!” I said with forced cheeriness.

Neither one turned. Corrigan had them well trained. I moved round so I could see their faces although they kept their stony eyes trained on the portal. At least they took their sentinel posts seriously. There was one time that Tom had been sent out to guard a newly opened portal that opened up near Penzance. He’d fallen asleep and missed several faeries emerging. They’d caused particular havoc that night, and the local police were kept extraordinarily busy stepping in between several faerie induced street brawls. Nick had even been called in from the sticks to provide support. He’d later told me that he’d never seen anything like it before and that the superintendent suspected that some city based drug dealers had infiltrated the town and spiked drinks in pubs and clubs from one end of Penzance to the other. John had put Tom on kitchen duty for a month as punishment, which ended up being punishment for everyone. The food had tasted even worse than it usually did and we were all glad when his penance was up.

“I thought I’d keep you company out here,” I said, again with the cheeriness in my voice.

One of them flicked their eyes at me for just a second then focused back on the purple portal. “Whatever.”

Friendly talkative pair. Deciding that there was no point trying to engage them further, and as they obviously weren’t going to make me leave, I moved a few feet away from them and sat cross-legged on the sand. I stared at the gateway. If I strained my ears, I could just make out a low humming sound emanating from it, like the buzz of electricity. That probably meant that it was still very active. Good. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to wait too long until Iabartu or more of her minions decided to appear again. I planned out defensive and attacking strategies in my mind. I had my throwing daggers attached to my arms, as always, and my curved knife in my backpack. It was a shame that again I’d been forced to leave the silver back at the keep, but wielding it would raise far too many awkward questions. It was still annoying though.

With no information from the Othernet to go on for how to kill Iabartu, I’d just have to settle for good old-fashioned brute strength. The ‘daughter of a sky god’ part might prove tricky, given that if she could fly it would be difficult to catch her. The only way would be to get her unaware when she stepped through the portal.

I looked around. The Brethren guards were in a good position to see the portal opening but it did mean that she herself would be able to see them as soon as she materialized as well. It would make more sense to cut around so I could flank her. When her attention was taken by the Brethren, I’d be able to sneak up behind and slit her throat. And that would mean that I would get my revenge personally. Sweet.

Standing back up, I started to move for the rear of the portal. Although it was virtually transparent from the front, despite the purple shimmers, it was obvious which was front and which was back because from the rear there was nothing to be seen at all. In fact it was as if there was nothing there at all. Before I’d taken more than three steps, however, I heard voices coming from the direction of the trees, the words becoming more distinct as they drew closer.

“What you have to understand, Lucy, is that humans don’t think like us or act like us. Effectively they’re cattle who get in the way and mess things up.”

I immediately stiffened.

“Yeah but the mage is human, isn’t he? And we’re half human.”

“The mage has skills. He’s part of the otherworld. And we might have a human side but we’ll never be that stupid or that vulnerable. You know that joke, right? What do you call a human with a half brain?”

“Errr…”

“Gifted.” The Brethren arsehole began to snort with laughter.

Heat swirled around me. I turned in their direction and assessed them carefully. Lucy’s petite frame was dwarfed by the fuckwit who’d decided that he was superior to the whole of humanity. He looked strong, with ripped biceps and a chunky neck - no doubt I’d discover it was red if I had the wherewithal to check under his collar. I could take him easily. I took a step towards him and dug my fingernails into my palms.

Lucy shouted down to the two stoic sentinels who hadn’t budged a millimeter. “Hey guys, we’re here to relieve you of your duties. Any activity yet?”

I took another step.

One of the waiting guards said something back to her, but I didn’t hear what his actual words were. I could already visualise myself breaking the idiot’s nose with a satisfying crunch. I didn’t even care that he’d shift and immediately regenerate. It would still be worth it.

At that moment, Alex stepped onto the beach from the trees. He took one look at me and his eyes widened, although I barely registered the movement; I was already shifting into an attack stance. I was vaguely aware that he had quickened his step but my focus was on the Brethren shifter. Then he stepped into my direct line of sight, blocking my attack route.