105.

  The sky was beginning to lighten with the first hints of dawn as I arrived back at the Mulberry Estate. My mind was buzzing, and I knew I wouldn't be able to leave this alone. I felt like someone worrying a loose tooth or picking a scab, knowing that it was going to bleed eventually, but they just couldn't stop prodding and poking at it. Something was going on in my estate, something deadly was going to happen, and no matter how much I wanted to live a normal life and forget about the Gutter Mage, I knew I just couldn't stand here and do nothing. But I wasn't going to do anything; I wasn't going to get involved. I just needed to know, that was all.

  If something was going down on the Mulberry Estate, there was only one person I knew who would definitely know something about it. It was time to go and see Sherbert. I'd wanted to talk to him for so many months; I'd wanted to run into his arms and hug the big bear as soon as I'd seen him for the first time in the homeless shelter. I hated the fact that I was now going back to him because I needed something from him, but that's exactly what I was doing. I found myself standing in front of the corrugated metal door of his hovel home in the disused factory. I banged on it and stepped back, my heart thumping in my chest as if I hadn't already seen him dozens of times since. The last time the Gutter Mage had seen Sherbert, he was lying bleeding out in a dark alley. But I wasn't the Gutter Mage, and standing there all in black with my face covered, I wasn't Alex either. I was something in between.

  I heard a groggy voice from within, and then the corrugated sheet began to move, sliding to the left. There was Sherbert, dressed in his loose slacks, a dirty white vest, and a little bobble hat on his head. He wiped his eyes blearily, the smell of strong alcohol radiating out of the hovel. He blinked a few times and just stared at me.

  "Hi, Sherbert," I said, trying to make my voice sound gruff and intimidating, but it came out as a bit more of a nervous squeak.

  Sherbert blinked again and then rubbed his eyes with both palms so hard I thought he was going to burst his eyeballs. He then pulled his hands away and blinked his wet, red-rimmed, eyes.

  "Mister Mage," he said in disbelief.

  "Hi, Sherbert," I said again, not knowing what to say. I didn't want to say "Yes, it’s me, the mage" because I wasn't, after all, the Gutter Mage anymore.

  Sherbert leapt the distance between us and wrapped me up in such a mighty bear hug I was worried he would burst open the wounds from my surgeries. But I let him crush me. He hugged me and swung me around in circles. I think he might have even planted a few wet kisses on my scarf-covered face.

  "Mister Mage! Mister Mage! Mister Mage! Is it really you? Is it really you?”

  "It's me," I said as he plonked me back down and took a step back to look at me.

  "Are you okay? Are you better?" he said quickly, looking me up and down, searching for any signs of visible wounds.

  "I'm okay, Sherbert," I said. "Thanks to you.”

  "I can't believe it's you," he said, pulling the hat from his head and scratching at his dirty hair. "I knew you were alive. I knew you were alive when I found my coat outside. I knew that was you, but at the same time, I didn't know. I thought you might be dead. I mean, you were in a real bad way, Mister Mage.”

  "I know," I said, nodding.

  "I mean, you were all bloody and cut up, and I'd never seen that many stab wounds or that much blood." Suddenly, Sherbert stopped talking, as if the horrors of that night crept back into his mind. Then he shook his head and looked away.

  "It's alright, Sherbert," I said. "I'm okay. I made it, and so did you.”

  Sherbert nodded, and I noticed he unconsciously rubbed his fingertips against the apostrophe-shaped scar on his brow.

  "Yeah, we made it, didn't we, Mister Mage?”

  "We made it," I said.

  "But what are you doing here?" Sherbert asked. "Do you need your stuff? I can—”

  I held my hand up quickly.

  "No, Sherbert, I'm not… back," I said, with emphasis on the word "back." "I just... there was some stuff going down tonight, and I just wanted to make sure that things were okay on the Mulberry.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  "Oh, right, okay," Sherbert said, nodding his head. "What did you see?”

  "I saw some goons, they were selling drugs over by the Toxton Estate. I think they were from there. They called themselves the Blood Brothers or something.”

  Sherbert nodded his head as if he'd heard of them.

  "And they were armed, like they had some serious hardware.”

  Again, Sherbert nodded his head.

  "You've heard about this?"

  "Of course I have, Mister Mage," Sherbert said. "Things were quiet on the estate for a while, but you know these parasites, when the big villain moves out, the little ones all fight to take his spot. What do they call it? Like a power hoover or something," he said.

  "Yeah, something like that," I replied.

  "Well, it looks like there's four different little gangs of hooligans all from the surrounding estates that want to move in on the Mulberry. They think now that Brick and the Syndicate is gone, that it's ripe for the taking. Everybody's been talking about it," Sherbert said.

  "They have?" I asked.

  "Yeah," Sherbert replied. "I mean, it's been kicking off all over the place. They're all from different little blocks, and they've been taking potshots at each other for weeks now. Things have been escalating pretty wildly. There was a shootout back last week. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it," he said, and I was surprised too that I hadn't heard about it. I had been so wrapped up in my own little world that it went by without me noticing.

  "Yeah. I mean, by the sounds of it, things are gearing up to get really bloody. They all want the Mulberry, and they're willing to kill for it," Sherbert said.

  "Who are these gangs?" I asked.

  "Well, you've got the dem Blood Brothers, they’re the ones that wear all red. They're from the Toxton. They're only a little crew, and no one really took them seriously until they started shooting. Then you've got the Beth boys; they're from Bethany Estate. They run that place, but they've never had the balls to come anywhere near the Mulberry. And then there are the Lear Street thugs.”

  “Who?” I said.

  “The Lear Street thugs. They're from Lear Street. Really, they're a bunch of nobodies, but they've got their hands on some serious hardware and have proven they're willing to use it. Finally, you've got G15. I mean, they're the real psychos. Their leader, some fella called Tyson, thinks he's the next Brick, and he's willing to hurt and maim anybody to prove that. If you ask me, the G15 mob are the real tough ones, you know, the real hooligans. The others just seem to be trying their luck, but if I had to put my money on anybody taking over the Mulberry, it'd be them. And they've already proven they're willing to kill. Well, that's the rumours anyway, that their boss Tyson put a couple in a few boys back in the days. But, you know, it's all rumours, really.”

  "Where are they getting all these weapons from?" I asked, and Sherbert shrugged his big shoulders.

  "Dunno, Mr. Mage, but we're talking some real serious hardware. It's not just little cap guns and revolvers anymore; these lot have got submachine guns and plenty of ammo and really bad aim. Just the other day Purple Mary almost got caught up in a drive by. They just sprayed the entire road and drove off. Absolutely mental, if you ask me. Someone could have got hurt!"

  I thought about it and then nodded.

  "I saw those Blood Brothers boys; they had about twelve guns just laid out on a table and enough ammunition to shoot up half the estate.”

  Somebody is arming them, I thought.

  "And the drugs are back in a big way," Sherbert said. "All the addicts are talking about it. Seems like everybody's selling gear for half price.”

  "Half price?" I said.

  Drugs were one of the very few commodities that very rarely ever went on sale. The need for them was too high, and people could charge the market rate all day long. So to hear that a bunch of little crews were giving it away at a discount was very surprising.

  "If you're asking me, Mr. Mage," Sherbert said, "I think the Mulberry's gearing up for some real bad days ahead.”

  "You think so?" I said.

  "Yeah," Sherbert replied. "It's gonna be war on the streets, Mr. Mage. Mulberry Estate is too ripe to just be left alone. I'm surprised we even got two months of it, but the gangs are gonna move back in. I mean, they already are. Anywhere the Mulberry touches one of these other estates, they're starting to cross the border and come on over, and soon enough they'll be all over the estate again. It's only a matter of time," Sherbert said, glumly looking down at the floor. "Still, it was nice while it lasted.”

  I looked at Sherbert and hated how defeated he looked, how ready to accept that the Mulberry Estate was gonna go back to its bad old ways. But I knew he wasn't wrong. Where there was so much money and greed, normal folk couldn't live peaceful lives. Not while these criminals decided that it was their God-given right to cause misery to earn a quick buck. I ground my teeth and then sighed, pushing away my rising righteous anger.

  "Thanks, Sherbert," I said, patting the big man on the shoulder. "And thank you again for saving me.”

  "Don't be silly, Mr. Mage," Sherbert replied. "You saved me, after all. But you're not back, right?" he said, a hopeful glimmer in his voice.

  "No, I'm not back," I said. "I'm just keeping an eye."

  Sherbert nodded, and I could see on his face he was relieved.

  "Good, Mr. Mage. I don't wanna see you like that again."

  He didn't need to say anymore. I knew exactly what he meant. He didn't want to see me in a pool of my own blood, fading out and dying on him.

  "Don't worry, Sherbert. I'm just keeping an eye.”