by Jamie Hawke
“That’s putting it mildly,” Ebrill said with a sly smile.
“Right, well if that’s the case, she’s probably raising hell over there already. Right? So, let’s find this coven so we can raise hell with her, then get her out of there.”
Ebrill eyed me. The others noticed the suspicious look at the same time I did.
“What?” I asked.
“She was nude, wasn’t she?” Ebrill laughed at whatever expression my face must have made. “I knew it!”
“Her being nude has nothing to do with this,” I countered. “You all sent me in there after her!”
“To help her, not to fuck her,” Aerona said, but winked. She was apparently having fun with this. She shrugged. “Then again, if you ask her, that’s probably the type of help she needs.”
“Don’t we all,” Steph said, and laughed. When the others turned on her, she said, “What? I’m just saying, don’t slut-shame the girl. Wait, why was she naked?”
“It’s her thing,” Ebrill explained. “Kind of a rebellious type. Once, some asshole was talking about burning witches. She burned him. Argument over. Another time, someone made a comment about her nipples being perky through her shirt—she stripped right there, and got a real taste for the nudist lifestyle. From then on, any chance she got, she was naked.”
“It was… awkward,” Riland said from the back of the room.
I turned to see Shisa darting up. An instant alert went off. He was warning me of trouble. My hand shot out to the wall to sense the house, feel any magical attacks. Nothing. But there was something else, something I couldn’t quite make out.
“What’re these blue and red flashing lights?” Riland asked.
“Uh-oh,” Steph said, and I opened my eyes to see her joining Riland at the window. When she turned back to me, she grimaced. “The police. More than one car.”
“What?”
“Police?” Aerona asked.
“Law enforcement,” I explained, stepping over to the window. Sure enough, there were three cop cars down there that I could see—we were on the side of the house, them on the street in front, one with lights going.
One of them noticed us and we ducked back into the window, cursing.
“Ma’am,” the cop called out. “We found your car abandoned near the scene of a crime. We need to ask you some questions.”
“Tell them… fuck off.” I went back to the wall, hand on it, not sure what to do here.
“You’re on their side, technically,” Steph said. “You can’t use magic on them.”
I glared at her but nodded. Of course, she was right.
“And this coven?” I asked. “Megha?”
“We have to go,” Aerona said. “Clothes or no.”
That got me to smile again. Looking at our house, the blue and red flashing outside, I sighed. “You know they’re going to come in, right? Investigate, maybe find things.”
“They might.”
“Not if you hide it all,” Steph said. “Rearrange stuff, quietly, before we go.”
“And how are we all going?” Riland asked. “I didn’t see a lot of horses on the way… appearing.”
I laughed. “No, there wouldn’t be. You have a lot to learn about this land. Those fast things we rode in, maybe when you were only partially here? Those are called cars. We have—what, two more? Downstairs.”
“To the bat exit,” Steph said.
It was decided, so I put my hand to the wall, making sure anything that could be suspicious or out of place was hidden. I hated the idea of anyone snooping around in here while we were gone, and even more so the police. Would they cause trouble later, have someone watching for our return? Could they have been infiltrated? Those were questions we would have to find answers to later, after going to find Megha.
117
“This way will be faster,” I said, and Riland watched with amazement as I opened a direct route to the garage, where an SUV awaited us. We had started toward it when I paused, glancing back. “SHISA!”
A moment later, Shisa came bounding in.
“Taking him with us this time?” Steph asked, hopeful.
I nodded, and the lion-dog wagged its curly tail. Ebrill opened one of the SUV doors, letting Shisa jump in.
“The house?” Ebrill asked. “We can’t abandon it.”
“No, but what comes next is more important. And we can’t have the police trying to confiscate our little friend, here.” I stood next to Shisa, rubbing his head, then moved over to the driver’s side, finding the keys hanging on the wall nearby where I’d hoped.
“One problem,” Kordelia said, eying us all and then the SUV.
I saw what she meant. Even with the large size of the vehicle, we couldn’t all fit.
“Riland,” I said, and then gave him a ‘go ahead’ nod.
He sighed. “For the record, this is a bit weird.”
I laughed. “Just get inside me, you oaf.”
He glanced around, nodded, and then disappeared into a burst of blue light that moved into me.
I hope you’re not enjoying this, his voice said in my head. I chuckled. While in my time being homophobic and making jokes about a man entering another man might have been frowned upon in some circles, this guy was from another time.
“Shisa can ride up with me on the middle area,” I said, and then folded down the back seat to make room for the gargoyle wings. While Ebrill and Aerona were probably fine, Kordelia was larger and therefore needed the extra space. “There we go.”
Sure enough, we managed to all climb in. As the police were breaking in above, I created our Batcave exit, started the SUV, and we made our escape. For a moment, I simply sat there, enjoying the way the seat felt like it was embracing me, pulling me in with more comfort than I had ever felt in a vehicle. The drive was smooth, barely any noise and rumbling like I was used to. However, we were apparently being watched, because only two blocks away, lights and sirens split the night behind me.
“Shit,” I muttered. “Ebrill? Anyone?”
“Illusion?” Ebrill tried to turn and see, not having the easiest time with her wings or horns. “Wouldn’t it be strange to randomly disappear like that?”
“Next turn, okay?”
“I’ll try.”
“Block our plates, at least.” I sped up, hating that the cops were likely calling in backup. Hitting the corner hard, the SUV seemed about to flip. Shisa yelped, and I had to hold him to stop him from falling over on me.
“Should be in the clear,” Ebrill said, so I made for the next corner and turned again, hoping to make sure. They followed.
“A magic user,” Aerona said. “Shisa?”
Shisa grunted and a moment later there was an energy shield flying out from behind us, and this time when I turned, they didn’t follow.
“Great, now we’re using magic against the police,” I said, careful to swerve as I nearly hit a parked car. Someone yelled at me and I glanced back, hoping I hadn’t hit anyone.
“You’re good,” Steph said, but then nervously cleared her throat and sent out two wraith knights.
“What was that?” I asked.
“A pursuing shade. Keep driving.”
“Wonderful.”
When I realized that I could make a digital map of the D.C. area based on what I’d seen and where I had been, I started to feel like a real badass. With my magic attacks, house remodeling, and all this, I had to wonder if transmutation was one of the most badass magic forms ever.
Fuck that—it was. Decision made.
And on that note, I had an idea. Sorry, cop car that had just turned onto the street behind us in pursuit, and sorry to Public Works or whoever had to fix streets. With a wink, I caused the street to separate and rise, so that the cop car came to an abrupt stop. The back flew up, but not enough to flip, then fell back down with a loud thud. Another cop car came around the corner behind the first, getting its hood slammed down.
No one was hurt, I hoped, since I didn’t know who was on w
hich side and had to assume they were all just doing their jobs, and treat them accordingly unless they proved otherwise. We sped out of there, through a tunnel, and were back on our way toward Georgetown to find the senator’s house.
For a few minutes at least, we simply drove in peace. I even turned the music on, a low piano song playing. Steph rolled down the window and stuck her hand out, letting it roll with the wind, and we shared a loving look. Then I glanced back to see the others smiling, too.
“You’d think we all just got back from a day of hiking,” I said with a laugh. “A bit worn out, but… relaxed. Enjoying ourselves.”
“Fighting assholes can be relaxing,” Kordelia said.
Riland chuckled. I could get used to this, honestly.
Aerona sighed, and the others turned to her, waiting for her to speak. I found her whole thing a bit melodramatic, but kind of cute.
“It’s not a game,” Aerona said.
“We know,” Ebrill replied. “But it’s also not something we can make stop, so we might as well make the most of it.”
“Until we have the others, until we check back with Rianne and she can tell us no more are out there waiting to be found… I just don’t know if I can relax.”
Silence.
Ask if this is about Draedar, Riland said.
I shook my head, confused.
The other man who was with Gertrude. The one who… didn’t make it back.
Damn, I’d forgotten that the other man was in some sort of weird, maybe dead state in that dark land place. I mentioned him, and immediately the others froze, all but Steph and Shisa.
“Do you… know something about Draedar?” Aerona asked, voice shaky.
My mind emptied, hoping for an answer from Riland. But no, he knew that I was every bit as able as he to answer that. Except, I had never been in a situation like that before. How does one tell a woman that someone she cared for has gone on? Or… is mostly dead?
“I see,” she said. Apparently, my silence had been enough.
Still, I felt the need to elaborate. “He was there, in the other place. Where I found Riland… but… yes.”
“I’m sorry,” Riland said, partially moving out of me as a ghost would, then fading back into my chest. It was unsettling, to say the least.
“Life moves on,” Aerona replied. “So should I. Especially when it’s been so many years.”
We drove the rest of the way in silence, each thinking about loved ones, each other, and the journey ahead. Soon, I started recognizing the houses as ones we had been near that night, so I focused on the song playing—now violin—in order to try and curb the rising nerves.
I was, for those few minutes before we arrived, taken back to a time in high school when me and some friends had thought it would be fun to get dressed up and go see Vanessa Mae in concert. Totally worth it, although I fell asleep during the show. Great dinner, a fun night out with the guys, and my boy Billy Zeke had met his future wife that night. Thinking now about the night I’d gotten back together with those guys over beers and McGuire’s Pub, I couldn’t help but wonder how I was going to make any guy friends in my new predicament.
You much of a beer drinker? I mentally asked Riland.
A long pause. I used to drink whatever I could get my hands on, although that was a low point. You need someone to share a drink with, I believe I could be your man.
Cool.
It was about the most awkward reply I could have hoped for, but it would do. We arrived and a dog barked in the distance, but a pair of security guards met us at the gate, apparently expecting us. They quickly guided us in, checking behind us to ensure we weren’t followed, and then led us to the senator.
He stood at a large, wall-mounted television, watching the news. Images of the French Embassy showed on it,. Several college kids were being interviewed, then a policewoman.
“They’re looking for you,” Senator Funai said. “Word is, they put together that you were staying with your aunt. Since they found no sign of either of you, you’re on their radar related to the French Embassy attacks.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I replied. “All I’m focused on right now is finding this coven. Glitonea told me—”
“Glitonea?” his eyes went wide.
“I’ll explain later. Point is, she said Fatiha is calling forth the Nine and making a portal to the Dark Lands. She’s bringing an army into our world.”
“But to do that, she’d need the Eye of Balor, and, of course…” He spun, striding past us and to a hall that led to the right, where he opened a door and cursed under his breath. “It’s gone.”
“How?” I asked, but the answer came in the form of an assassin—a female member of his security.
She had a blue blade that trailed purple light, moving through the air as it went for my throat. Each spell and strike from our end to intercept her was met by a wave of color and her suddenly appearing from a different direction, until the cold of her blade was right against my throat.
Something heavy landed in my arms, and I felt Shisa’s stone and fur, then heard a clank as the blade hit my skin. Only, my skin had apparently turned to stone. The assassin cursed, but she had lost. In that moment Riland had appeared, hands on her face, and muttered a chant.
Her eyes went black, then she faded into what I sensed was the Dark Lands.
“You just… banished her?”
He gave me a grim stare. “I did.”
“Nice work.”
The attack had happened in only a matter of seconds. All eyes turned to the second security guard, who knelt, golden symbol on his neck glowing.
“He wasn’t involved,” the senator insisted. “And regardless, it would appear the enemy already has the Eye.”
“Why would she need it?” Aerona asked.
“The part she stole has great power,” the senator explained. “With it, she’s one step closer to opening that portal to the Dark Lands you mentioned. To raising her army.”
“I’ve seen them,” I muttered, but when he gave me a curious look, I waved it off. “We have to stop her.”
“On that, I couldn’t agree more.” He sighed, eyeing the corpse of the assassin. “But it’s more than that. The Eye of Balor has its own magical qualities. The power of the scorching sun, able to drain one’s life force and give it to the holder.”
“And you had this item?” Aerona asked. “Why weren’t you using it?”
He shook his head. “It saddens me to say that I did, many times. It’s how I became as powerful as I am.”
“It can also be used to steal powers,” I said, more in realization than as a question.
He nodded.
“We have to stop her.”
Senator Funai’s eyes lit up and he motioned for us to follow him into the room where he had gone to check on the Eye. It was full of glass cases and old books, artifacts, and several swords.
“We can track it.” Senator Funai held his hand over a piece of parchment. “This from the deadly one’s hide. They were connected, see, and—”
“You’re saying that’s this Balor creature’s skin?” Steph said, scrunching her nose.
“I am.” He waved his hands over it, chanting, and a moment later an image appeared over the skin. As it became clear, the senator’s face went pale. “That’s Senator Ohlo’s house.”
“Competitor,” I explained to the others. Like Senator Funai, she was one of the main candidates for the next presidential race.
“That and… with the Order. If she’s in on this, you won’t have the Order’s support. And I… I can’t be involved.”
“You have no choice,” Aerona insisted. “It’s already begun. Lines have been drawn.”
He nodded. “True as that might be, she is part of the Order. If she’s gone over, there’s no help from me to be had there. Defeat her, and when it’s done, let me know.”
Disdain was heavy in the eyes of my team, but I simply said, “Thank you. You can lead us there?”
“Actua
lly, I think I can,” Riland said, then nodded to me. “With your help.”
He explained how he could connect items that held magical essence, much as this one had already proven to hold, and believed from what he saw of me that I’d be able to form a portal to get us to the other piece of the puzzle. It was worth a shot.
“We’ll be seeing you soon, Senator.”
Joining hands with the others, Shisa in my arms, I closed my eyes and focused on the piece of Balor’s hide. A moment later, the portal appeared in our midst and we all stepped into it, on our way to the coven and to find Megha.
118
Stepping out of the portal, we found ourselves in the backyard of yet another house the size of which, as a youth, I never could have believed people actually lived in. Above us, there were two white, curved balconies, behind us a pool.
Bright security flood lights burst on and I cursed.
“What is it?” Ebrill asked, shielding her eyes.
“Likely cameras, maybe even an alarm.” I motioned the others forward. “Move in.”
I was like a child leading my military team on a raid. A team that consisted of three gargoyles, Riland—who stepped out of me now—a witch, and a stone lion-dog that had come to life. Not your average black ops team, for sure.
“Freeze,” someone shouted, but we were already at the house, and that meant I had access. My hand on the wall, I made it swift in case cameras were watching. No major adjustments, only moving the doors apart and transforming any locks and security systems so that they simply fell away.
There were shots fired, but we were all safely inside, catching a guard by surprise.
“Gorffwys,” I said, and he slumped over, asleep.
“She’s pulling me,” Riland said, hands up and a sort of fiery light trailing from him toward a door to our right. “Megha knows we’re here. She’s showing us the way.”
I nodded and followed Kordelia, who was already plowing through the door. It led to a descending staircase. Bursts of defensive spells came at us—but that’s why I’d brought Shisa. He wasn’t about to let me get taken out by simple security defenses. My hands on the wall, I created a new way for us to go down, to surprise our enemy.
