Immortal Stonekeeper

Chapter 22: Timeless Aid

Jonathan's eyes flickered to the green glow emanating from within Maximus' fingertips. Its colour matched the wall of air that trapped him. And if spending a few months with magic users taught him anything, it was that the colour of magic remains consistent with its user. The wall probably worked off that loony's concentration, which meant Jonathan had to keep him talking to distract him. Misdirection; stage magic 101. Sounds simple enough.

"You sent Quentin to kill the auctioneer and steal that white Lily Noir, didn't you?" He figured it best to start with the obvious. "Why didn't you just send Michael?"

"That sentimental fool refused to do such a 'heartless act' after orphaning a boy on a cruise. I should never have given him the red gem if I knew he'd quit killing for me." Maximus replied absentmindedly, focusing his eyes on the tablet. "So I hired Quentin, a man whom I knew bore a grudge against Leofric and would be more than glad to frame him. But even he failed with the task and lost the white gem in the process. Unfortunately, his payment was for me to reveal Leofric's location. That man even humiliated me, demanding that I, a werewolf, provide him with weapons made of silver."

Maximus scowled. "Of course, I could not risk having Quentin spill the beans on me accidentally. So I sent you people to prevent him from even meeting Leofric instead."

"How about me? Did you send those thugs to kill me too?"

"Heavens, no. I did bribe them to place the blue gem at Oliver Harred's place though. I figured I had time to wait for its curse to take effect on him. I had... an old grudge against that man. I never expected you to steal the gem, much less merge with it."

"So that's why you 'recruited' me? Then why wait so long to extract the gem from me?"

Maximus flicked the hovering tablet away. "Because I still needed to use you to kill Leofric. You see, each of these gems have a vow to fulfil. If they break it, the magic that holds their essence in place will be broken. By framing Leofric, you would eventually be led to him, which will inevitably lead to his demise by your hands. The red gem's vow will thus be broken and lead us to this very moment."

"Bullshit. No one can foresee such a long chain reaction of events."

"Indeed, they can't." Maximus smirked tauntingly.

"But I have this." He held up the white gem. "She showed me whatever I needed to do to bring my Gabriella back to me. She secretly wanted to be with me, I'm sure of it. And I want nothing more than to fulfil her wishes."

"To be honest, I don't think this Gabriella lady was ever really into you," Jonathan scoffed. "If she was, she wouldn't have done whatever witchcraft to seal herself in a gem for eternity."

"Shut up! Shut! Up!" Maximus yelled in anger, his eyes turning yellow. "I don't care what you think! I killed her husband, and I'll do the same to anything that gets in my way! She's mine!"

The green barrier flickered in his agitation. It was only for a moment, but that was still plenty of time for the speedster. Jonathan mustered as much energy as he could and blasted electricity at the wall. Maximus screamed as the barrier shattered into pieces, dispersing itself into the air.

Jonathan charged towards Maximus, but Lucy leapt in front of him and kicked Jonathan away into a wall instead. She stretched her hand towards him, but stopped halfway. Her irises flickered momentarily and she shook her head, as though trying to shake off the mind control.

Sorry, Lucy. Jonathan seized the opportunity and whipped out the silver cross. The woman screamed, cowering under its power. She backed away, until the shrieking vampire was forced into a cupboard. Jonathan hung the cross on the beam over her head, keeping his friend busy trembling under it.