Four of the cops handcuffed us, and then started to pat us down. So, of course they found our eight inch bladed daggers in our boots, partially made of silver. Yeah, that wouldn’t be suspicious at all, nor the silver bullets they were bound to find in the weapons.
One hit the button on his radio, “We got the sick bastards, they look like normal college kids.”
He released the finger on his radio and said, “What a world. Do you sick shits do it together with the four blades, make it look like an animal?”
Another said, “Shut up, and read them their rights. Don’t fuck this up on a technicality.”
Yup, arrested for murder, illegal weapons, intent to murder, and probably for dancing around a clearing with guns. I had to hand it to him, Sam got us good.
The cop read us our rights.
I tried to remember if there were any incriminating texts on my phone, no, I’d deleted them like I was supposed to. Now I knew why that was a Blood policy. Of course, they could still run the numbers and pull the data from the ISP, but maybe things wouldn’t get that far.
We were roughly pulled up to our feet, and marched out of the woods. They were far from gentle, but weren’t abusive either. Four had a firm hold on us, the other four covered. The two park police stayed behind, I wasn’t sure why. Well, at least the critical business class wasn’t tomorrow morning, I’d hate to miss it again. I kept my head down, because of course there were plenty of humans with cell phones and access to twitter. The last thing we needed was to be recognized on patrol by some idiot with Twitter or Facebook.
Unless, did they have access to that too? To delete unwanted pictures? Being untrusted and in the dark was really sucking right now, so I figured better safe than sorry. Thanks to the Blood’s recalcitrance, I wasn’t even sure what if anything I should or shouldn’t say to the cops, so I decided to say nothing, nothing at all.
There he was, Sam stood right at the edge among the humans, with a big old smirk on his face. Bastard. Still, it struck a funny bone and I had to suppress a laugh. It also illustrated a truth to me, we may have been the supernatural cops of this world, but we weren’t truly respected as a genuine threat. If we were, he would have fought, and taken it as a true challenge to his territory. He obviously didn’t, we were simply a nuisance to him that he was screwing with.
I had no doubt if we’d been shifters, Sam would have fought to the death for his territory, not pulled this crap. It was a little petty, but I stared him right in the eyes as we passed, then my head was shoved down, and I was pushed into the back of a cruiser. There were four of them, and we each got our own.
Fun times.
Chapter Fifteen
I heard a girlish giggle and rolled my eyes as Sara appeared in the seat next to me right before the police cruiser pulled away. Figures, but it had been three days. I also couldn’t exactly talk, I was sure the cop car was wired for sound, and probably video as well.
Sara smiled, “Hi Tom, how are things? You look… tied up.”
I started to laugh, which really wasn’t going to look good at the trial.
Sara sighed, “Sorry, thanks for letting me stay three more days. Umm, I’m ready to go back? No more summoning me, right?”
I shook my head, and then shrugged.
She narrowed her eyes, “What’s that supposed to mean.”
I sighed, and rolled my eyes.
I muttered, “I wonder if my great aunt will visit me again.”
She stared at me for a while, “Alright, how often, and what do you want in return.”
“It must have been a year since last time.”
The cop said, “Shut up back there!”
Thankfully, she wasn’t stupid, and she loved her family.
She nodded, “You’ll summon me once a year, to see my family for a whole week, and that’s it, you won’t control me?”
I nodded affirmatively.
She frowned at me, I could see she wanted to trust me, but she was still suspicious as hell.
“What do you want.”
“She knows good stories. Shares them with everyone.”
The cop turned and glared at me, and I shrugged. This really was awkward.
Sara looked confused for a moment, and then her eyes widened.
“Agreed, send me back. I’ll see you next October.”
I nodded, and shot out a whip of necromantic energy, drained the energy holding her here, and banished her back to the afterlife, spirit world, the other side, whatever the hell it was. It was also clear I hadn’t been nearly subtle enough, the cop in the passenger seat kept giving me sidelong looks, wondering if I was crazy…
The processed me and took my fingerprints. First time I ever took a gun out, and I was being arrested for it. The charges I was arrested for were just for the gun and the knife, and I hadn’t spoken at all, except once to confirm I was indeed Tom Daniels as it said on my license.
Then I was taken to a holding room, they hadn’t charged me or the others yet for murder, I supposed they were checking the knives to see if they could be the murder weapon or weapons, and were going to sweat me before trying to make me confess to a murder. They couldn’t charge me for it yet, if they didn’t find the evidence and it got thrown out, they’d be screwed after that. So… they needed a confession.
Or maybe I’d just watched way too many cop dramas as a kid. I wasn’t sure how valid my knowledge of the law was.
I was probably in there for forty-five minutes, alone of course, they kept the four of us separated. I had to admit I was feeling a bit anxious, we weren’t even offered a phone call but I had to assume Jo had seen it happen, and had called Carl. If there was anything the bastard could do, he’d do it. I couldn’t imagine this had never happened before.
Two detectives walked in, suits, badges, so I assumed they were detectives.
“Tom?”
I ignored them.
The other one said, “Did you want an attorney present Mr. Daniels?
That seemed like a reasonable question, but I kept my mouth shut anyway.
They both sat down, “You’re in trouble young man, you’ve got to give me something here.”
I was a stone, and it was interesting, because I could see it with judgement, all they wanted was to get me to confess. They were also in a hurry for some reason I couldn’t determine. I poured myself a glass of water, and took a sip.
The other one said, “It’s a simple question, would you like a lawyer present for your questioning, since you refuse to answer or ask, we can simply assume you don’t want one.”
Was that true? It didn’t really matter, I wasn’t talking.
The door opened, and an older man busted in with a scowl on his face.
“Get out, this interview is over, and you shouldn’t be in here at all.”
The detectives looked pissed, but did what the older man said.
“Did you talk to them?”
I ignored the new guy.
He laughed, “Good. Idiots.”
The old man pulled my gun and knife out of his pocket, and dropped them on the table.
“I’m Blood, take them and let’s go. When Carl said you weren’t in the know I contemplated killing him for stupidity, but it’s probably the council’s damned fault.”
I frowned, and then shrugged and put my knife in my boot, and the gun behind my back.
He said, “The cameras are off as are the audio pickups, when they ran your name they should have gotten an FBI flag not to question you and wait for an agent. I guess those detectives could smell a capital crime and decided to push their luck, idiots. Anyway, it took me a while to get here, sorry about that. Just follow me, the records of your arrest are being removed now.”
“Thanks,” I said, sort of meaning it, but knowing all this beforehand would have helped. I guessed the Blood had an FBI presence, and we were… what? Witnesses of some kind, or undercover, or… who the hell knows.
I got up and followed the older man right out of the precinc
t. Call me paranoid but I was half afraid the cops would shoot me. They were giving us both the stink eye, so I guess the local cops verses federal was actually a real thing and not just Hollywood drama? I supposed I could understand that, if the FBI can just waltz off with one of their prisoners.
I was relieved to see my partners in crime, along with Jo, so I headed over that way. The old man left without a word.
“Everyone alright?” I asked, but I was looking at Serena when I said it.
They all nodded, and Serena winked at me.
Christina said, “Jo just said he’s gone south, about an hour from Chicago, at the Kankakee State park most likely. It’s big, camping sites, canoeing, trails, lots of forest to get lost in. About an hour and fifteen minutes away.”
Well, Carl did say to chase him if he ran, “Let’s get the bastard. Oh, I don’t suppose any of you will tell me about how we just waltzed out of there?”
They all shook their head, only Serena had the grace to look ashamed.
“Fine, how are we getting there.”
Jo said, “I’ll drive, you’re going to need me to find him in there anyway.”
Christina looked angry, and I had a feeling they’d been arguing about that. We were supposed to protect the other races, not put them in danger. This was going to be enough of a nightmare with four unfettered Blood, since I was sure the bastard was in cougar form now, waiting for us. He’d had us put under arrest to put us off balance, and now we were going to charge right in like angry idiots.
“Swords.”
They all looked at me strangely.
“Sorry, I skipped to the end of my thought. Let’s stop by headquarters and grab swords, they’ll fit in Jo’s trunk, and we don’t have to worry about concealment in a forest in the dead of night. I’d rather fight that cat with three feet of steel than a small dagger, even after we fill him full of silver.”
Serena bit her lip, “He’s got a good point, the shifter thinks it has all the advantages with a large forest, and a different shape, not to mention pissing us off. But it also frees us of the need to be subtle. Swords could make a difference and he won’t be expecting our reach to exceed his, instead of the other way around.”
I grinned, “My thoughts exactly. There’s also body armor in there, let’s at least wrap up the witch in Kevlar.”
Jo slapped my arm, “The witch has a name.”
“Sorry Jo.”
She added, “But I appreciate the sentiment.”
Christina shared a look with Matt, and then said, “Fine, let’s go.”
Chapter Sixteen
I wasn’t a small guy by any stretch, but I wasn’t the mountain that Matt was either, so he got the front seat while I was stuffed into the back of the two door Honda coupe with Selena and Christina for over an hour. There was enough room, but it was tight, and I was perhaps enjoying Selena being crushed between Christina and I just a tad too much. She was distracting to say the least.
The swords were in the trunk, and we were headed south of Chicago to Rt. 102, and then took that over to the park.
Christina was free with the directions and admonitions, and I wondered if she was always that way, and as I thought back I realized she really was. It was just she’d displayed more warmth before now, now that she was kind of… icy in demeanor, it seemed much harsher and bossy. Well, maybe she’d get over it, like I’d get over all the shit in my head one day soon. I hoped.
“Matt and I will be up front. Selena, you and Tom will be in the back, with Jo in the center of us. Stay in that formation, at all times. Jo, your job will be to direct us, and keep me and Matt between you and the shifter, at all times. When we find him, fill him full of bullets. Matt and I will close to finish him off at that point, I want you two to stay back and protect Jo, you can also shoot him some more if that’s an option.”
Matt asked, “What if someone sees us with swords?”
I said, “We’re LARPers, obviously.”
They all looked at me strangely.
“Live Action Role Playing, it’s a game… never mind.”
I’d never played it myself, but how had they never heard of it before? Right, they grew up in a hole in the ground.
Christina said, “It’ll be dark, humans don’t usually hike after dark so it should be fine.”
Jo said, “I don’t have a sword.”
I nodded, “You’re obviously a mage, or a cleric.”
Might as well embrace the insanity.
Serena poked my leg, but then left her hand there, so I took it as a win.
“Google it later, it really is a good cover. Though, we’re not really dressed for it outside of the swords. But Christina’s probably right, no one will see us.”
We were silent the last ten minutes of the drive. Jo drove past the entrance at first, and went a couple of extra miles and then turned back. I guessed she did it for some sort of half assed triangulation effort, then we pulled into the lot, grabbed a spot, and piled out of the car. I walked around a bit to get the cramp out of my legs, then went over to the trunk and grabbed a sword, and belted it around my waist.
It was a classic two edged one handed long sword. It was probably too heavy for a human to swing fast, but with our enhanced strength it was light as a saber in my hands.
No one was around to give us a second look, as we headed into the forest in the direction Jo was pointing. Sam was obviously moving around, because Jo kept shifting our path through the forest, which was rather dark. Eventually my eyes adjusted, and I was confident there was enough light to at least see movement, and the reflective eyes of a cougar would stand out. I was constantly scanning above us in the trees, even though Jo hadn’t given us the signal he was close yet.
What I was worried about was traps. I was sure he’d fight us this time, and not call the park police, but I doubted he’d give us a straight fight, no more than we would him, considering the guns.
I froze when Jo tapped on their shoulders, and we all looked around. That was the signal he was close, and supposedly straight ahead. I watched the canopy above us but didn’t see a thing. I wondered if he had his eyes closed so we couldn’t see them. I was sure he could hunt from sound and scent well enough to only show his eyes at the last moment, and wished I’d have considered that earlier.
My heart was racing again, but I was more worried about the people with me than myself. Damn hero complex kicking in I supposed. We all had our guns out, but there was nothing to shoot, and we couldn’t see him.
Jo pointed again, straight ahead, and held up three fingers and mouthed yards. Then she wiggled her hand back and forth. So… about nine feet give or take a foot or two, impossibly close, how could we not see him from nine damned feet.
My eyes narrowed at the ground about seven feet in front of us, and there seemed to be more brush ahead of us than anywhere else. Christina and Matt took a tentative step forward and I cleared my throat which made them freeze.
I mouthed, ground trap, and pointed at the ground just a few feet in front of them now.
Christina’s eyes narrowed, and she pointed her gun the heavy brush, and pulled the trigger. Subtle it wasn’t, but it worked. Sam jumped right out of the ground to the sound of breaking twigs, sticks, and the rustling of leaves. Then he roared and dodged to the side as the four of us opened fire. He moved like lightning, and despite our perfect aim, he simply wasn’t there anymore by the time we’d squeezed the trigger. Between the four of us we’d hit him maybe six times, out of forty shots combined.
Timothy will be so disappointed in us, assuming we survived.
He’d circled us and we’d turned with him while firing, and I dropped the gun and started to pull my sword, but he was already reacting to the stop of our bullets, and lunged right at Serena from twenty feet away. He was much faster than me, and massed probably twice as much, but he also had seven times the distance to cover.
I lunged to the side and managed to clip him as he passed, knocking him off course. Serena still took a
lightning fast paw swipe to the arm, and I took a shallow gouge across my stomach. I didn’t even see or feel his back paw move to do it. By the time he landed next to Matt, I had my sword out, and so did everyone else. The problem was Sam wasn’t damaged nearly enough by the bullets.
He jumped straight up into the tree tops and out of range of our melee weapons.
Serena gasped, “Tom, your stomach?”
I looked down and it was bleeding harder than I’d first thought. Shit. I lifted the sword belt up and tied it tightly, we didn’t have time right now for healing.
I was also well aware of the stark fear in Serena’s eyes about my wound, and more than fear, but I didn’t have time to think about that either. Except, if all the touching and slightly different flavor of flirting the last few days from Serena hadn’t clued me in that her feelings had changed, her look of anguish and fear was like a slap to my head. It didn’t change anything though, not yet anyway, but I couldn’t deny the warm feeling in my stomach that knowledge engendered, right next to the oh shit we’re going to die feeling I felt.
Or maybe it was just the wound.
We all looked up, we could hear him jumping from branch to branch above us in the trees, and then I felt a surge of magic from Jo. I heard several branches crack, it was as loud as gun shots. A loud yowl followed as the cougar fell to the ground. Christina was closest and lunged to run him through, but he batted the sword away with another lightning fast claw swipe that I could barely perceive.
Matt opened fire, which proved he was smarter than me, he hadn’t dropped his gun, he’d reloaded it. Then again, it was Serena and I that gave him the time to do so. Sam growled and dodged to the side, but was much less effective this time and soaked up the whole clip. Perhaps the six bullets had slowed him down.
He had sixteen or so in him now, and he growled at us and took off.
Christina and Matt took off and she called back, “Stay with Jo!”
Revealed: Necromancer's Blight: Book 2 Page 11
