Destined To Die

Chapter 23 - Keep What You Win

-23-

-Keep What You Win-

Akane sat with his back against the hard mattress, passing another bottle back and forth between himself and Maddy. His mood had soured even more since they'd arrived, sneaking in through the back while Abigail and Maddy had booked the room, two cousins on a weekend getaway to the north-west of Poland. The brand had cooled quickly once they'd gotten into the car, settling from an angry red to a dulled brown, almost blackened against his skin.

"There's about a thousand circles of standing stones in Britain," Abigail frowned, "literally. Hundreds of henges, too. Hunting through is going to take some time."

Akane said nothing, taking another swig from the bottle, more Fireball, courtesy of the witch.

"What about the tree?" Maddy asked, "any tied to trees?"

"Well, they don't really keep records from the neolithic era," Abigail commented, an eyebrow raised as she scrolled her phone, "There's a reason they call it prehistoric."

"Well shit."

"The formation was specific," Akane muttered, remembering the flash in his mind, "It looked new."

"So, you saw it as it used to be," Abigail murmured, walking over and dropping into the chair beside the bed, carrying over a bottle of clear liquid and three shot glasses in one hand like a seasoned professional, "Doesn't help much."

She dropped the phone onto the bedside table, flipping the bottle into one hand and pouring shots into all three glasses, holding two of them out to her companions. Sabbath reached up for it, but she pulled it up and over his grasp with a small frown.

"Oh, I don't do tequila," Maddy frowned, catching a whiff of the shot glass.

"You do today," Abigail said dryly, downing it in a single gulp before turning to Akane, "Just get it down, don't keep it in your mouth, trust me."

Akane nodded, emulating her performance and sinking it as quickly as she had, wincing slightly at the lingering flavour. It helped to take his mind from the burning on his chest at least, moving the sensation down deeper into his stomach.

Maddy followed suit, making an admirable effort not to screw up her face, managing to sink the drink without a sound. She sat cross-legged across from Akane, chin resting in her hand as she stared ahead. The last few days had weighed heavy on them all, it was hard not to feel burnt out.

"How are we going to get over there?" Maddy asked, "If it is somewhere in the UK? Leylines again?"

"They knew where the Leyline gate was in Norway," Abigail replied, "No telling what other ones they know about. It'd be a risky move to pull again so soon. Our best shot is to do things the old-fashioned way, slip in with the tourists. A day or two on the road might give us a chance to recharge, at least."

"It's not like we can just slip on a plane," Maddy frowned, "Cameras everywhere, and it's hard for Akane to smuggle swords on board."

"No planes," Abigail shook her head, "We can catch a ferry from France, just gotta drive aboard and skip across the English Channel. It'll be fine."

"You just don't want to leave the car behind," Akane said dryly.

"Well, that too," she couldn't help but smile slightly at the comment, "It's a nice fuckin car, okay?"

Akane said nothing more, grabbing the bottle of Fireball and taking another swig. Maddy reached into her backpack, pulling out the battered old laptop and hooking up to the motel Wi-Fi.