Immortal Stonekeeper (2022) Chapter 19: Chapter 19: To Catch A Monster

Read chapter 19 of Immortal Stonekeeper (2022) by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

“Duncan!” Lucy screamed. “ Duncan! ” Her eyes flared red as her head snapped around again, but they quickly faded away. Lucy fell to her knees and pounded the ground in frustration, cracking the concrete. “Why can’t I see his magic?” she breathed raggedly, her voice choking a little. “My powers… are they diminishing? Is it because I’m not using it for dark reasons? Duncan… No…” “Calm down, Lucy.” Jonathan placed a hand on her trembling shoulder. “We’ll figure out where your brother took him.” He walked over to Anya, who was kneeling beside Paul. Jonathan bent down as well and felt for a pulse. His body had already gone cold, lying serenely with four large holes that went through his chest. They oddly leaked no blood, though nothing at this point felt strange to Jonathan anymore. He bowed his head in condolence. “How do you intend to handle this?” he asked Anya. “We handle it by not handling it. I’m out of my jurisdiction here,” Anya replied curtly. “I just gave the local police an anonymous tip, so we better leave this place before we get detained.” Man, she really is one tough lady. Jonathan marvelled internally at how well his friend was adapting to her new situation. “What does Michael O’Cornell want?” Anya mumbled to herself. “Why did he take Duncan too?” A bulb went off in Jonathan’s head so brightly that he could have sworn his head was glowing. “Lucy! Remember what the ‘Ax-r-pul’ guy said at the witch market?” he called out to the moping woman. “Michael, or Leofric, was searching for some kind of talisman to separate the soul from the body. Could he be after Duncan’s elixir of life?” “It is possible, but the elixir does not function like a soul. It cannot be separated with a mere Fulu.” Lucy tilted her head. “Unless… Axtrrpuq wasn’t the only vendor he visited!” “So we have an investigation on our hands.” Jonathan turned to Anya. “Do you want to come along?” “Come along where?” “She needs to.” Lucy held both of their hands. “Anya still isn’t safe from her pursuers, right? The witch market is the best place to hide from mortal dangers.” Dark particles wrapped their wrists. ~ ~ ~ Maximus sipped the last of his latte and stood up quickly, leaving a fifty-dollar bill on the table. He briskly strode out of the coffee house before the beaming waitress could thank him for patronising their store. The doorbell rang in the distance as he briskly turned into an alley. Remnants of the afternoon rain splashed against the brick walls as a boot stepped carelessly into it. The man glanced behind furtively, acutely aware of the shadow following him from the second floor of the abandoned warehouse beside him. He kept his hands in his pocket as the figure chased him closely. And then it stopped. Maximus stopped walking and turned around, flashing a narrow beam of light from his cell phone in the direction of the shadow. A spot of light reflected in his eyes and he stepped to the side, narrowly dodging the bullet fired at him. “Are you going to come down?” he shouted at the window. “Or do you need me to fetch you, champ— Oh? I thought you preferred to work alone.” He swivelled around and grinned at the pistol silencer in front of his nose. “Put that down before you hurt someone.” “That’s the idea, you lying bastard.” “Words hurt, Quentin.” Maximus raised a finger to push the gun aside, but the man cocked the pistol threateningly in response. The smile slipped off his face quicker than a thief into the night. “Ingrate. I gave you what you wanted, and this is how you repay me?” he said in barely concealed anger. “Gave me what I wanted?” Quentin retorted. “I don’t recall asking you to send another goddamn vampire after me.” “I haven’t the foggiest what you’re talking about—” “Lucy Carpenter, she’s a member of your association,” the assassin snarled. “Yeah, your little club isn’t as secret as you think. You let me go after her brother, but you sent her to stop me. You wasted my only opportunity at getting my revenge.” “Come now, are you really