Page 16 of The Clash of the Damned
“Sloane approached me after my dad died, and I didn’t know much about the Frankenstein history at first. A lot of what I’m telling you now, I verified through my dad’s notes. He kept detailed records of everything. He had a safeguard in place where if anyone not related to him tried to go through the notes in his study, a death spell would activate. I was supposed to help Sloane integrate with our families. She promised not to come formy family if I did this for her, and she was going to teach everyone else a lesson. But now…I’m worried she’s behind The Children of Christ–”
“Who are becoming more and more like modern day witch hunters, the exact kind of thing our ancestors ran from,” Sebastian finishes. “I’m sure you all heard what happened at the warehouse.”
“I did,” I confirm. “I didn’t say anything about Sloane until now because my priority has been keeping my family safe. I didn’t think I could keep this quiet any longer. With the bodies showing up and things like the warehouse happening, if my family is going to have any chance of making it through this without Sloane wiping us off the map, the four of us need to work together.”
“Wait, what? How the hell is Sloane going to wipe you off the map?” Jude exclaims. It seems her anger extends to me, but not when my life is at risk. Interesting.
“Every time there has been a questionable figure in history, we’ve had to ask if they are Supernatural? In the case of Edmund Frankenstein and his ancestors, more stories come to mind. The legend of Jack the Ripper? He was one of ours. More specifically, one of Sloane’s ancestors. The rumor is, the females he murdered looked like Hecate, and Jack made sure each of his victims suffered for what Hecate did to his family.”
Jude starts shredding her napkin, the paper quickly becoming several tiny pieces in front of her. “But they do magic like you…”
“The correct term is, Siphoner. Their legend is Frankenstein, and Sloane’s surname is actually Lavenza,” I correct her. “Everytime one of Sloane’s ancestors caught too much attention, like with Jack the Ripper, one of our ancestors murdered them. Hecate didn’t want these legends associated with us so we could remain under the radar. When the Siphoner’sfinally realized what we were doing, they hid. I swear her ancestors were like cockroaches. We adapted, and so did they. Every time you think you kill them, another one pops up.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Jude exclaims. “So these, what, Frankensteins are basically unstoppable, and we’re all sitting ducks, waiting our turn for their revenge?”
“Hold up, how is that different from what you do?” Luca asks.
“The physical manifestation of my magic is the smoke you see, but I pull it from my own life source. That’s why you see me use elements at times to help it along. Sloane’s magic is the opposite. Her hands glow, and she pulls energy outside her and converts it into magic. Where my magic is rooted in chemistry, hers is rooted in belief. I use spells, and she wills her magic into existence. I think her family has been hiding in the South because her magic reminds me of Voodoo.”
“You’re telling me, if you were to use magic against her, you would just be human?” Sebastian asks, the rivalry between him and Jude forgotten for the moment.
“We all would be,” I confirm. “Her favorite way to use her gift, if I am to believe her stories, is by influencing people. I don’t know why she hasn’t used it to influence herself, giving her more power, or on me. There must be something I’m not seeing.”
Luca is the first to recover from the shock. “You left because of Sloane, didn’t you?” I give her a grim smile in confirmation. “Well, it seems the time for holding grudges is over. No matter how justified it was, we have a bigger problem at hand. Between our collective skill sets,” she waves her hand at the table, “we’re great at solving problems. Did you have a plan in mind?”
Chapter 12 | Oscar Winning Tears
Dominic
Wafts of garlic and oregano mingle with rich tomato sauce, creating the perfect homey atmosphere, despite the life and death nature of what we’re discussing. This family-run restaurant is a different kind of empire, but it’s still something they built together, like we did.
“No, L. You’re letting him off too easily.” Jude’s hand hangs between them, her shoulders tense. “Why should I give Dom another chance? Any of them actually. They lied to us on more than one occasion. Maybe we should let these Siphoners have their fun with the Sorcerers. Their issue seems to be with Hecate’s direct descendants after all.” Luca gasps, like she can’t believe Jude went that far, whereas I’m surprised it’s taken us this long to get there.
I laugh bitterly. “You think they will stop with the Sorcerer’s? Every one of our families abandoned them at one stage in history, and that makes us all targets. Hecate’s legacy just has the fortunate position of being first on their shit list.” Even with my spells, it doesn’t do anything to dull thenoise of the full restaurant, patron chatter, and plates clinking against each other.
Sebastian remains silent next to me, observing. Between Luca’s tense jaw and Jude fidgeting with her glass opposite us, I know if I don’t convince them soon, I could lose them for good. Being a Sorcerer is all I ever wanted to be. For the first time as I sit at this table, I realize it may not be enough if I am to survive this. The line of Hecate won’t be able to defeat the line of Frankenstein on their own. We need help. Rubbing my eyes, I come at this from another angle. “You don’t have to…” I trail off. “I had hoped you would…” In a rare moment of vulnerability, I look down, searching for something to show how desperate I am. “This isn’t about me. This is about protecting my sisters. Even if they come for my family first, are you truly willing to risk me being wrong and walk away?” The admission is hard for me to make, but necessary as desperation claws at my throat.
Catching Ricky’s eye, I signal for another round of drinks. Hecate knows I fucking need it. “When our families arrived in America, they established what we’ve now come to know as the mafia families. Where do you think the story of Al Capone came from?”
“Really? You’re going back to that story?” Jude shakes her head in disbelief. “We know the story as well as you do!” She throws her hands up in frustration. Ricky places fresh drinks on our table and clears our dinner plates as we smile politely, thanking him for the great meal and sending our compliments to the chef. I briefly entertain sending him away with magic again, but I know it would look odd for him and us if we sat here with dirty plates the whole evening.
“To understand why the Siphoners want revenge, we need to go back to the beginning. Everything we thought we knew is only partially true.Hecate helped the families invest into integral parts of America that then worked to build this country into what we know today. She left out the part where she hunted the Siphoners like animals and assassinated them over the years.”
“That’s fucking cold, even by our standards,” Luca offers.
“I agree.” I cheers my glass in her direction. “Welcome to the legacy of my ancestors. They created the mess, and now I need to clean up after them. Lucky me.”
“But then Hecate disappeared?” Sebastian prompts.
“Right.” I swirl my glass, the ice clinking on the sides, and sip the amber liquid. “Then Hecate disappeared, along with the other ancients.” We’re all familiar with the story. The one Supernatural children are told at bedtime. A warning of what will happen to us if we don’t behave. Those same Supernatural children became adults, and we’ve all tried to see if we can piece together what happened. No one has been successful to this day. Sebastian fiddles with his shirt collar and rolls up his sleeves, putting his tattoos on full display. Usually that means he needs a smoke, which this restaurant doesn’t allow inside. “Want a break?”
“No, it’s fine. Keep going. I’ll help you, Dom, no matter what they throw at us.”
I turn to hug him, my hand clapping his back. I’m relieved to know he will stand with me. One more person standing by me in this mess significantly improves our chances of survival. “From what I can see, because of what Hecate did, my family funded the Siphoners with the agreement they would stay hidden and away from the other families. Knowing my family, paying someone off was easier than mass murders that didn’t directlybenefit them. And by creating financial dependency, we knew we could always buy their silence. Everyone has their price, and so did the Siphoner’s.”
We’re in more familiar territory, as paying people off is something we all know well.
“So are you still paying them?” Sebastian asks, downing the last of his drink.
