Jengo snuck out of Valeria’s bedroom, just as he had on a thousand other mornings. He rounded the corner to find Rico, several of his gang members, and a sword at his neck.
“You’ve been fooling me for years, haven’t you? You’ve made the mistake of leaving the property with my Valeria of late. You might have continued to come here without consequence had you not gotten so cocky, so bold.”
Valeria had heard Rico’s voice and stepped into the courtyard. “Let him be Rico! I’m tired of this arrangement,” she said, as she lifted her tiny, yet very sharp sword. “You and I should settle this now.”
Rico snapped his fingers and his gang drew swords. Valeria fought them off for a few seconds. Alas, four against one meant Valeria was quickly pinned to the wall, through her shoulder, by her own blade. The gang-bangers left her hanging there, bleeding down the wall.
“Fight me like a man,” Jengo beckoned Rico, fire in his eyes.
“But we aren’t men, are we, Jengo? You’re a cursed slave, I am Valeria’s god. I don’t grow old, and I can bring her back with a snap of my fingers…”
“You’re no god Rico!” Valeria screamed. “You’re just a cursed soul like the rest of us!”
Rico slashed Jengo’s chest.
Valeria screamed. She hated to see her love in pain. “Hurt me instead.”
Rico pinned Jengo to the wall with his sword. He walked to Valeria and shifted her blade in her shoulder. She screamed. Jengo managed to pull Rico’s sword out. The gang members pounced, but Jengo had already turned and slashed Rico across his gut. He fell to his knees.
“I’m a god. You cannot kill me!” Rico yelled.
Jengo turned to fend off the gang members. He quickly succumbed to their blades. Riddled with slashes he fell to his knees.
Rico stood. “Sword.” He reached for the handle of a gang member’s blade.
Valeria had released herself from the wall quietly. She took two steps toward Rico, and with a jump, she removed his head from his shoulders.
She reached for Jengo. “Live well for me my love,” she cried out, as both she and Rico were consumed in flames and reduced to ash.
***
Levi, now with a fresh identification card that read Leon Edmondson, walked down the streets of London.
He missed this place. He looked up at the eye as he passed, and gave a moment of quiet when he looked upon Big Ben. God save the Queen.
He checked to make sure he wasn’t followed and ducked into a rather ratty-looking alley. At the end of the alley, stood a tiny book and spell shop. The owner was an old acquaintance named Alexander, Alex for short. He’d named his junky little shop Alexandria.
Apparently, the name hadn’t been that far off. Alex had contacted Murder several months back about a book. A book he wanted a lot of money for. It was supposedly the secret to making people Ageless.
The door squeaked loudly, almost obscuring the sound of its own tiny bell.
“How might I help you today, mate?”
Levi walked to the counter and grinned, lifting his right eyebrow.
He had worked on expressions in the mirror, for most of the plane ride, until he found one that he was sure Alex could recognize as Levi.
Alex’s eyes grew slightly.
“Bloody hell, you must be in deep shite to hide that face you’re so proud of... Is? Is she okay?”
“Yes, for now,” he saw a patron of the store looking their way, “I’m Leon,” he said. Trying to not draw any attention from the two other customers, “I ordered a book.” Alex motioned him into the back room where they could speak more freely.
***
Grant and Murder walked to the car, the former with an armload of magical items. “Would you get the trunk open for me?” He asked as politely as he could over the heavy load.
“Boot, Jaguars have a boot, elephants have trunks, Grant.” He laughed and shook his head a little. He put on his best cockney accent which wasn’t very good. “Would ya pop tha boot fer me m’ love?”
“Are you supposed to be a pirate?” She asked him, closing one eye.
“Aye!” He added, “an’ I’m after dat booty!”
She shook her head as she opened the “trunk” for him. Her phone rang. She looked at Grant.
“It’s Tress…” she answered the phone and hit the speaker button.
“Murder! It’s Jengo. He called. Said ‘whatever you do, don’t kill your charges’. I asked him where he was and he said that he was on his way to kill his charge. Something about Valeria and Rico. I couldn’t make it all out. He was definitely on his way home.”
“Thanks, Tress. Send us a location and we’ll go make sure he’s okay.”
“Thank you. Stephen has been watching me like a hawk today… says I’ve been out too much. Or I would’ve gone myself.”
The address popped up and Murder cranked the Jaguar.
***
When they arrived at Faridah’s estate they saw the Bentley. It had been crashed through the gate, and the house’s front door was ajar.
They ran to the door. Grant had his pistol drawn and was peeking around door frames. Murder decided he knew what he was doing in that regard and hung back.
He cleared the rooms as they pressed forward, ending in a massive chamber. It had a thirty-foot sculpture of the Sphinx and inverted pyramidal tables that were for parties or dinners. Faridah was on her knees begging Jengo not to take her life.
“You’ll die too,” she said, “I’m your God, you will suffer eternally if you do this.” Behind him, obscured from his view, two security guards were sneaking up to his position.
Grant reached for the watch, but he realized it was in the car, still in the pocket of the vest he wasn’t wearing. He facepalmed before snapping his fingers to summon it.
He wasn’t sure it would work. But just as he imagined it, the vest and the watch appeared over his t-shirt. The guards heard him and turned to fire but they were too late. Grant had opened the watch. Murder took Jengo’s hand extending the watch’s power to include him.
He looked at her, clearly upset. “Why did you stop me?”
“Valeria wouldn’t want you to become a killer yourself. Ever.”
“But she’s alone now in hell. I will go and be with her there.” Murder suddenly knew why a Protector shouldn’t kill their charge.
Grant touched his shoulder. “What if there is no hell?”
“Do you wish to live without Murder? Would she you?”
“I’d want Murder to carry on without me, yes. After an appropriate time of grieving of course.”
Murder squeezed Jengo’s hand. “There’s a better way. We will find it.”
“I’m sorry. I thank you, but I do not wish to live without Valeria.” He punched Grant and pushed Murder. When Grant hit the floor, Jengo closed the watch. He raised his sword and swung. When Faridah’s head left her body, she and Jengo burned to ash.
Murder had righted herself just in time to see what happened. Grant sat up rubbing his face. He saw Murder sitting in the floor. Jaw open. Rocking again. One, two, three. One, two, three.
Grant looked around the room. The guards had run at the sight. He kneeled beside her and spoke gently.
“Hey.”
“Hello,” she appeared to snap back to reality, “I’ve seen that very thing before, Grant.”
“Sorry, I missed it. My face was getting acquainted with the floor.” he rubbed his jaw again.
“They burned. Just like in 1692.”
“You look scared. Where were you in 1692?”
“Massachusetts, Salem Massachusetts.”
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