“We did it, Mack Attack. No need to go begging for money or upsetting the balance of power.”

“I’d feel better if we had more of the stuff,” I said, “but you’re right. Now all we need is for the wanker to show up at Loch Ness.”

The thought of what was going to happen to Endor filled my mind and, distracted, I stumbled, kicking a small stone to the side as I did so. It gleamed in the light of my green fire. I pulled myself back upright while Aubrey moved over and picked it up.

“Wow. This is beautiful. It’s the same colour as that scarf we saw. Katya,” he called out, “what is this?”

She came trotting back and peered at what Aubrey was holding out. The little Karzelek’s face paled. I felt the tendrils of dread begin to curve up through my body and I held out my hand. Aubrey dropped it into my palm. Oh fuck. Gingerly pinching the small smooth stone, I lifted it to my ear and heard a faint chiming sound which made my stomach drop.

“Can I have it back? It’s pretty,” said Aubrey.

I stared at him.

“What? I found it. It’s mine.”

I licked my lips. “Actually, I’m the one who found it. I kicked it.”

“But I picked it up. Finders keepers, losers weepers. Give it back,” he insisted.

I closed my fingers tightly round it and squeezed my eyes shut.

“Is that…?”

I nodded at Alex.

“Oh shit,” he said.

Oh, shit indeed.

“What? Give it back! This isn’t fair.”

“Who found it, Mack Attack?” Alex asked softly. “You or him?”

I shook my head. I didn’t know.

“What the fuck is going on?” demanded Aubrey.

I uncurled my fingers and handed him the stone. “It’s a wichtlein’s stone.”

Katya jerked her head towards me. “You know what it is?”

I felt sick. “Yes. I’ve seen one before.”

“What happened?”

I thought of John, my old alpha, and his intestines gleaming in the moonlight of the Cornish night. “What you’d expect.”

Aubrey spoke again. “What the hell is going on? What’s a wichtlein’s stone?”

“It’s a harbinger of doom,” Alex answered. “If you find one, then it’s been left for you by a wichtlein. It usually means death and destruction.”

“At the very least, the person who found it is probably going to die,” said Katya matter-of-factly.

Aubrey’s eyes widened and he stared down at the shiny pebble. Then he threw it behind him with a huge amount of force. It skittered away into the darkness.

We looked at each other. “You or me, buddy,” I said, trying to keep my tone light.

“Maybe it’s a mistake,” Alex said, sounding panicked. “This is an old mine. It could have belonged to someone else and they just left it here. It doesn’t mean that it’s for either of you.”

“You’re right,” I said.

Everyone else made murmurs of agreement. None of them sounded very enthusiastic.

I took a deep breath. “We can’t worry about it now. We have to get back to London and get the palladium to Balud.”

I didn’t say anything else, just began to stride away. It was time to get out of this fucking mine. The others did the same. We grimly marched on and upwards, not speaking. There wasn’t really anything to say.

Before too long, the rough corridor seemed to start lightening. When we rounded the corner, right in front of the entrance, the bright sunlight forced us all to shade our eyes and blink away. The relief I felt at finally getting out was more than tempered by the heavy knowledge of what had just transpired. I took Aubrey’s hand and squeezed it tightly, then we emerged back out into the sunlight of a brand new day.

Chapter Sixteen

We said very little on the journey back to Moscow to return Volk’s car. By common consent, no-one mentioned the wichtlein stone or what it might forbode. It did mean that the thrill of actually finding some useable palladium was considerably muted. I was nervous about the amount we had managed to extract from the mine; it would hardly cover one weapon, let alone enough for the army that I hoped by now was preparing to meet at Loch Ness. As Alex had said, all it would take would be one lethal strike to end the necromancer’s plans once and for all, but having so little of the metal would make it more difficult to get in a hit. Underneath me on the single narrow passenger seat, Aubrey was slumped down, trying to avoid the bright sunlight, and making the drive even more uncomfortable than it had been on the way there. I didn’t say anything.

When we pulled up back at the bar, we said our goodbyes to Katya, thanking her for her invaluable help. She reached up and grabbed both Aubrey and my hands, gripping them with her tiny fingers.

“There’s no such thing as a foregone conclusion,” she said, not quite meeting either of us in the eye.

My mouth dry, I just nodded. The hot lump in my stomach was starting to feel uncomfortable again, and I was anxious to get the journey back over and done with as soon as possible.

“If the sun doesn’t kill me, then you will,” grunted Aubrey, making reference to the fact that the Karzelek was holding on to both our hands so tightly it felt as if all the circulation was being cut off.

She released us, shooting a look of pity in our direction, then turned and trotted away. For our part, we trooped into the bar, using the front entrance this time. At this time of the morning, the place was deserted. Volk was sitting in a corner with a large mug of coffee. For some reason, the thought of caffeine was turning my stomach.

“How did it go?” he asked, in a booming voice that suggested he expected nothing less than total success.

Alex held up the bag containing the palladium chunks.

“Excellent, excellent.” Volk’s eyes moved over each of us. “And yet you do not seem particularly happy.”

I shrugged. “We were hoping to get a bit more. Hopefully this will be enough to serve our needs.”

“And we’re going to die horribly because she kicked a stone,” Aubrey commented flatly, jabbing a finger in my direction.

At Volk’s questioning look, I told him about the wichtlein’s little omen of doom. He looked worried.

“Don’t stress about it,” I said. “I will make sure I find a way to arrange your meeting with Leah before I cork it.”

“That was not my first thought,” he said, a small furrow in his brow. “You have the combined might of the Otherworld behind you, Miss Smith. I am sure that someone can find a way to help you change the course of fate.”

I thought about it. It seemed a ridiculous waste of resources considering what else we were trying to stop right now. I gave him an uncomfortable smile.

“I’ll be in touch.” I glanced at Alex. “We really need to get going.”

He bobbed his head and began to mutter. We all watched as the purple shimmer of the portal began to appear.

“I’ve set it to go straight to Balud’s shop,” he said.

Aubrey eyed him doubtfully. “Are you sure? If you’ve got it wrong and we end up in the middle of the M25, then that could be how I end up dying.”

“It was me who found the stone, Aubrey.” I looked at the portal. “I’ll go first again.”

I walked forward, just as Alex began to protest loudly at our lack of faith in his skills. His voice was cut off as soon as I stepped through, recognising Balud’s little street the second before the vomiting began again. I wasn’t sure how or why it happened, but my reaction was even more violent than it had been on our outward journey. When Alex and Aubrey joined me, they kindly waited to the side for my retching to finish. I much preferred being left alone with my own misery.

Eventually, once the seizing passed, I staggered to my feet and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I motioned towards Balud’s door and then moved over to it, lifting my hand to knock. It swung open before my fist could connect with it, and Balud peered out.

“You’re going to drive away my business by spewing up all over the street,” he grouched.

“You saw me?”

“I heard you. Sounded as if you were dying.”

Hmm. Maybe I was. I declined to comment, however, and passed him over the bag.

“Here’s some palladium. There’s not much, but whatever you can make will help.”

He opened it up and looked inside. “I’m not a miracle worker, you know.”

“As I said, whatever you can.” I thought of Corrigan and his quietly spoken promise. “Start with something that the Lord Alpha would use.”

Balud looked at me, surprised. I shrugged. I’d never seen him use a weapon so I had no idea what his preference would be. But after what had happened to Staines, he deserved the first shot at taking Endor down. As much I was itching to pulverise the fucking necromancer into dust, I owed Corrigan that much.

“If there’s anything left over, then you can try to make some daggers. Small ones that perhaps we can pass around.”

Balud gave me an incredulous look and shook the bag. The palladium clanged dully inside.

“I know, I know,” I said tiredly. “There’s not a lot to work with. Just see what you can do, Balud, please? By tomorrow?”

He grunted an affirmative, and I turned to go.

“Hey,” he called out. “Thanks for what you did with that bitch of a Batibat. From what I hear, her shop’s been abandoned since yesterday.”

Hot angry guilt trickled through me. “Sure,” I said over my shoulder, not trusting myself to say anything else.

Aubrey, Alex and I walked away.

“What now, dudes?”

“I need to sleep, even if only for a few hours.” I rubbed my eyes. “Then get on to finding out what’s happened since we’ve been gone, particularly with the kelpies.” I looked at both of them. “Thank you for your help today. And last night.”

Alex regarded me seriously. “We’re in this together, Mack Attack. It’s not all on you.”