The Dragons of Styx

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The Dragons of Styx Page 20

by John E. Siers


  “Let’s leave the rest for tomorrow,” he said. “It’s been a helluva day.”

  “Yes it has,” she agreed. “I’m thinking we should just order out for dinner tonight. I’ve got a craving for Italian…”

  “You guys scared the crap out of me,” Sparkling told them as she joined them for dinner on a video call. “I just had this terrible feeling that something was wrong back there. Then I tried to call, and you didn’t answer….”

  “We were kind of busy for about five minutes,” Lisa explained. “Then we forgot to check our calls until about an hour later.”

  “I was going to jump in Aphrodite and head back there—kind of silly, it would have taken hours with traffic on the freeway—but then the feeling went away, and I knew everything was OK. Don’t ask me how, but I knew.”

  “We’re connected, girl.” Lisa raised her glass of Chianti Riserva in a toast.

  Sparkling returned the toast with the can of bargain-brand diet soda that accompanied her two slices of pepperoni-and-mushroom stuffed-crust pizza. It was, she reflected, what she got for letting the Shooters order dinner.

  Said Shooters were nowhere around, however. The clients did not feel obligated to provide lodging for hired help, so the rest of the team was camped out in a rented RV parked near the stables. Sparkling, however, had been invited—by the ghost—to spend the night in a beautifully-furnished bedroom in the Guest House. To her surprise, the room had been swept clean, the furniture uncovered, and bed made.

  I know how to do housekeeping, Mary told her. Had servants to do it for me, but I had to make sure they did it right. I borrowed the bedding from the main house. They’ll never miss it.

  Sparkling found that amusing. She assumed the candles she was using for light in the room—fine wax tapers in modern glass holders—had come from the same source. The electricity was still off in the building, but she had a full charge on her pad, and the ghost had provided her with the clients’ WiFi password. Mary had kept up with technology over the past century and was surprisingly knowledgeable in that area.

  “Anyway, if all goes well in the meeting, I’ll be home late tomorrow afternoon,” she advised. “But OK—the Wicked Witch is dead. Are you guys going to leave it at that?”

  “Oh, hell no,” Mark insisted. “I want to know what happened to us—Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, as Lisa says. I figure the only people who might help us with that are at SAD. Not Martelli—no offense to him—but somebody higher up who knows more about the magic stuff. I’ve put in a call to Witherbot, but I’m still waiting for a response.”

  “Yeah, I’d kind of like to know myself,” she said, “if for no other reason than to make sure I never walk into something like that.”

  The next day’s dinner found Sparkling back at the Ferry, enjoying something a cut above pizza and soda. Lisa had decided a homecoming celebration was in order and a seafood medley—lobster bisque followed by a main course of poached sea scallops, braised asparagus, and creamy mashed potatoes—would fill the bill.

  “I heard back from Witherbot,” Mark said as he helped clear the dishes to make way for a decadent ice cream with strawberries and chocolate dessert, “but I haven’t learned anything yet.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Just ‘Sending Venus to investigate. Expect arrival tomorrow.’”

  “Who the heck is Venus?”

  “Beats me…but I guess we’ll find out.”

  Chapter Twenty-One: Venus

  “And that, I presume, is Venus,” Mark said as he looked at the image on the security screen. The woman in the driver’s seat of the Mercedes at the gate was presenting an LEI Shooter’s badge to the camera as she waited for a response.

  “How may I help you?” Mark asked in what he imagined was a pleasant, charming tone. The woman was quite attractive, with short blond hair, high cheekbones, and a near-perfect fair complexion.

  “I am from LEI. I am here to see Mark Marshall.”

  “I’m Mark Marshall,” he said, activating the kiosk screen so she could see him. “And you are…?”

  “Venus,” she said with a hint of impatience. “You should be expecting me.”

  “Indeed I am,” he assured her, keying the gate to open. “Park in front of the building, and I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

  He reached the lobby desk in time to see her unfold her long-legged form—a body every bit as beautiful as her face—from the driver’s seat and walk to the front door with a strong but graceful stride. She wore tight-fitting jeans under a loose top that gave hints of a well-developed superstructure that was not too tightly restrained.

  I would…Mark decided as she came into the entranceway.

  I would, too…Lisa’s voice echoed in his head with a hint of a chuckle.

  Did you hear me say that?

  No, she replied. I just knew you were thinking it. What an Amazon! Venus was tall and looked to have some serious muscle under those well-toned curves.

  More like a Valkyrie. Mark suppressed a chuckle of his own. Did you catch the accent—German, I think.

  He checked the security scan as she came into the foyer and noted that she was packing—but not guns. It looked like she had a pair of kukri-style blades, sheathed and tucked into a sash under the stylish white top. To his surprise, she stopped, turned to face the security camera, and drew the blades in a fast, fluid movement.

  “What should I do with these?” she inquired.

  “You’re LEI,” he told her as he keyed the inner door to admit her to the lobby. “You can keep them—but thanks for asking.”

  Mark brought Venus to the conference room, introduced her to Lisa and Sparkling, and got down to business.

  “Did you read the report I sent to Witherbot?”

  “Yes, I did—and also the NorthStar report on Ramsey you provided. We have some preliminary ideas, but I would like to do a little more investigation. We could perhaps talk about the incident, you could give me more details…but do you have anything else, recordings perhaps?”

  “Actually,” Lisa said, “we have video of the entire encounter, from the moment she walked in the door.”

  “Yes…we do,” Mark gave her a sharp glance, “but that’s not something we usually show to anyone.”

  Venus looked at them. Lisa was smiling, Mark was not.

  “We don’t have to show that part,” Lisa said. “Just from where she tried to take control until…the end.”

  “We—Mark, in this case—provided Ramsey with what we call ‘pre-termination services,’” she explained. “In short, he had sex with her. It’s a common request, clients pay good money for it, and which of us provides the service depends on the client’s preference. If it were me, I’d show it to you in a heartbeat, but then I’m kind of an exhibitionist. Mark’s a bit more…”

  “I understand.” Venus was smiling now—the first smile they’d seen from her. She nodded toward Mark.

  “You need only show me the parts you are comfortable with, though I can assure you the rest won’t be something I haven’t seen before. I can fill in the blanks from my imagination.”

  “Well…I guess we could start at the point where I told her it was time to go…”

  “Right—I’ll set it up,” Lisa said.

  “Put it on two screens,” Sparkling said. “I’d like to see it, too.”

  Mark rolled his eyes but said nothing, knowing that no amount of protest on his part would deter three determined women.

  Twenty minutes later, Venus looked up from the screen and leaned back in her chair.

  “Very interesting,” she said.

  To Mark’s relief, she seemed to concentrate mostly on Ramsey—the look on her face, what she said, and so forth. And, of course, her ultimate end.

  “The last part, on the balcony.” She looked at Lisa. “Most impressive, Ms. Woods. I had been told you were dragons, but the reality is beyond mere words.”

  “Yeah…it sure is.” Lisa looked up from behind Sparkling, over whose shoulder
she had been watching. “This is actually the first time I’ve really seen myself in that form. All I can say is…wow!”

  “What is surprising is how closely you resemble the ancient descriptions. Things tend to get distorted over the centuries, but you look exactly as the thousand-year-old lore says you should—the wings, the long neck, the shape of the head, the scales—what we expect a dragon to look like.”

  “I wonder,” Mark said, “if that’s not because it’s what we—in human form—expect ourselves to look like when we transform. In other words, we’re shaping ourselves the way we think we should be.”

  “I doubt it,” Venus shook her head. “I’m told that the two of you look exactly the same, differing only in color. It is unlikely that you would both have exactly the same idea of what a dragon should look like.”

  “Really?” Lisa gave her a curious glance. “And who told you that? We’ve only been together in dragon form twice—once when we went to rescue Sparkle, and the other time to visit Keel….”

  “I was told this by Witherbot. I presume she got the information from Keel.”

  “King Louie,” Mark said with a grin. “He got a good look at us.”

  “To the matter at hand—” Venus was all business once again, “—I should very much like to see the place where the incident took place—the bedroom and especially the balcony.”

  “No problem,” Mark replied. “The balcony is still as it was after the event. I had planned to do repairs today but put it off because you were coming. We can take you up there now.”

  “One other thing,” she said. “Ramsey’s remains—what have you done with them?”

  Mark looked at Lisa, who shrugged. Might as well tell her the rest of it.

  “She’s in the basement, floating in a tank of brine. Our contracts give us ownership of client remains, and we harvest the bodies for organs and such—for medical research and other purposes.

  “It’s a lucrative sideline, more so because LEI doesn’t get a cut of the proceeds,” he told her. “And that’s part of our agreement with corporate. We’re not doing anything they’re not aware of.”

  “Financial and legal matters are of no concern to me.” She shook her head. “I am just a field operative. My only concern with corporate is that they keep signing my paychecks.

  “But I would like to see Ramsey’s body, if you don’t mind. My primary interest is to make sure she’s human. There are…creatures we sometimes encounter that can assume human form. I don’t think she is one of those, but I need to make sure.”

  “I think we have covered everything,” Venus said as they reconvened in the conference room. “Now we need to discuss what we have found.”

  “First, we need to have lunch,” Lisa insisted. She and Sparkling busied themselves opening the bags delivered by the local deli and passing out the contents. “I’d like to have served you something fancier, but Levi’s does a good job on short notice.”

  “And strictly Kosher, of course,” Venus noted after the first few bites. “I usually like meat and cheese together on a sandwich, but this is excellent without.”

  “Best pastrami on rye in southern Cal,” Sparkling insisted. “You picked my personal favorite.”

  They managed to make small talk for all of ten minutes—long enough to finish the sandwiches. Then Venus looked up from her coffee cup and regarded Mark and Lisa with a serious gaze.

  “Remarkable…” she said. “It is hard to believe I am looking at the dragons. You look so…ordinary. I feel like you should have some aura of power around you or something.”

  “They do,” Sparkling said as she got up to clear the remains of the lunch from the table. “You just can’t see it. Nobody can…except me.”

  “Yes…they told me you have some talent for that—the reason LEI hired you in the first place.”

  “Honestly, we feel ordinary most of the time,” Lisa said. “This is normal for us. We don’t wake up in the morning and say, ‘I think I’ll be a dragon today.’ We only go into that mode when we need to. The incident with Ramsey was only my fourth time.”

  “And I’ve only done it three times,” Mark said. “I’m still trying to figure out why I didn’t go dragon on Ramsey before Lisa did.”

  “Confusion was one of her weapons,” Venus said. “She had a firm hold on your mind because she caught you unaware. Lisa was already prepared for trouble when she arrived on the scene and—probably because of the gun—Ramsey considered you more dangerous, so she couldn’t let you go.”

  “I presume that means you know what she was,” Lisa said. “Are you going to tell us?”

  “She was a succubus—not in the classical sense, not a demon or supernatural creature. She was human, but with a natural talent for manipulating others through use of…call it magic, for want of a better term.”

  “Kaval…” Sparkling said. “That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”

  Venus looked at her sharply.

  “Yes…kaval. What do you know of this?”

  “Very little, actually,” she shrugged. “It’s some sort of universal force that magic users tap into to work their magic.”

  “And you heard about this where?” Venus was suddenly serious.

  “LEI—Western Region wizards. I spent some time over there, doing research…on dragons.” Sparkling returned the serious look without apology.

  “Ah…well, it is not a term we use lightly—not something that is common knowledge outside…certain circles.”

  “So—” Sparkling chose to push the envelope, “—you’re telling us Ramsey was a gatandi?”

  Venus stared at her—a cold, icy stare—for a long moment. Then she exploded.

  “Verdammt! Sohn einer hündin! Where did you learn that word? Even those arschgeige dummkopfen at Western Region should not speak of it!”

  Sparkling returned the look with a cool expression—causing Mark to reflect that she’d come a long way from the frightened girl they’d rescued from the chupacabra.

  “I’m naturally curious,” she said, calmly, “and I seem to have a talent for learning things I’m not supposed to know.”

  “You should be more careful about such things,” Venus told her sharply. “Curiosity is probably the reason cats have nine lives.”

  “Is that a threat?” Lisa asked in a cool, measured voice. “Sparkle may not have nine lives, but she does have two dragons to watch over her.”

  For a tense moment, no one moved or spoke. Then, to Lisa’s surprise, Venus relaxed, sat back in her chair, and smiled.

  “I sometimes forget who I am dealing with.” She nodded toward Lisa. “As I said, you look so…ordinary. No, Ms. Waters, that was not a threat. I’m no danger to you, but there are others who would like to have that knowledge in your head. Be careful who you share it with.

  “In answer to your question, yes—Ramsey was a natural gatandi, but then, so are your two protectors here.”

  “And you? Are you also one?” Sparkling asked with a hint of amusement. “Remember what I said about that aura that only I can see? Guess what: you’ve got one, too.”

  “Ich ergebe mich!” Still smiling, Venus threw up her hands. “Yes, I am one, or so they tell me. But like Ramsey, my talents are specialized. Most of us are strong in one or two areas—unlike dragons, who are more generalized and not so sharply focused. We now know one of Ramsey’s skills, and apparently it was extremely strong—enough that we might have been interested in recruiting her for SAD, under other circumstances.

  “Unfortunately, she was also quite insane. She was a classic schizophrenic with multiple personalities. The subdued, depressed woman who came here wanting to die was not the same person as the succubus responsible for all those deaths.”

  “So she did cause them?” Mark asked. “All those supposed ‘accidents?’”

  “Yes. Some are obvious—the suicidal lover and his wife, for example—but on closer examination, we believe she caused the accident on the freeway as well.

  “She—t
he ‘normal’ personality—may have been trying to kill herself by stepping out into traffic, but the succubus took over and caused the truck driver to swerve across the road. He was a veteran driver who had been involved in at least one previous collision with a pedestrian. That he would panic like that is…unlikely.

  “So it is well that you terminated her. If we had been aware of her existence, we would have had to send someone to do exactly that…and our Shooter might not have fared as well as you did. We had a woman like that once before—perhaps not as strong as Ramsey, but it took all the willpower our Shooter could muster to terminate her.”

  They were silent for a moment, then Sparkling spoke up again.

  “So…you’re also a Shooter? Second class?”

  Venus looked at her sharply—again—then sighed.

  “Yes,” she said. “I’m a Trashman…that’s what you really wanted to say, wasn’t it?”

  “Just asking…” Sparkling shrugged, giving the other woman an engaging grin.

  “But just for the record,” Venus insisted, “my talents do not only include killing. In fact, my primary specialty is the use of kaval for healing. You might say that in many situations, I am the team’s medic.”

  “Interesting,” Mark said. “But on the subject of this kaval thing—which apparently Lisa and I use without even knowing we’re doing it—I notice that when Lisa went dragon, Ramsey was suddenly powerless. I felt her release me even before Lisa grabbed her—and obviously she couldn’t do anything to stop Lisa, either. How did that happen?”

  “It has to do with the nature of kaval,” Venus explained. “We don’t create kaval, it just exists. It’s everywhere, but its strength varies with time and location. In any given place, there is only so much of it available.

 

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