by Richard Hein
She snorted. “Hardly. I got in a couple of punches before I agreed to go willingly.”
I guess that explained her arm and the bruise I’d seen on the woman upstairs. Despite my internal worries, I flashed her an energetic and appreciative grin.
“What’s new with you?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I tried to blow Circe up and found the queen had dispatched an army against Lockyer, attempting to squash any knowledge of Simon’s work. The usual.”
Kate’s eyes widened. “Whoa.”
“Yeah, I kinda stepped in it this time. How’s your day been?”
“Got to the incursion site and found Lockyer’s goons capturing Entities in big old cages instead of eradicating them. They discovered me surreptitiously trying to exorcise their captive demons, we had a disagreement—” she hefted her arm, “—and I punched her in the face when they tried to load me in the truck too.”
“I saw the result. Woman is scary mean-looking.”
Kate sniffed. “They could have just asked me to get in.”
“Should we give it a few minutes and then batter down the door?”
“They’ve got guns. They tossed us in a hole instead of shooting us, so they don’t want us dead at the moment, but breaking out might change their minds. I’m not going out with a Butch Cassidy freeze-frame.”
“Of course not,” I said. “You’re the Sundance Kid. I’m Butch.”
Kate snorted. “Besides, unless you’ve got a can of spinach hidden somewhere I don’t think you’re breaking us out of here. Rich dude has reinforced doors to keep his toilet paper secure. Also not a good sign. Unless you want to…” Kate cut off and wiggled her fingers in the air, eyebrows raised.
“That’s… not a good idea,” I said, glancing away.
“Probably cook us, knowing you,” Kate said, looking thoughtful. “Could you, like, teleport us out? Shift a bit of this dimension — holding us — to another and then do another shuffle back? Somewhere outside?”
“Theoretically possible, but I’ve seen the Cronenberg version of The Fly. Not pretty if I muck it up.”
Kate crossed her arms. “Okay, what gives? I’ve seen you lay out the magical beat-down more times than I care to count. Now you’re all reticent? You said Circe’s forces are on the way. Doesn’t that count as an emergency?”
I hesitated. The answer lodged in my throat, hot and sharp. She watched me, neither wary nor eager, simply waiting for me to say something. It would be so easy to lie, something about Sanctuary, and she’d have no way to know the truth.
We stared at each other for a couple thunderous beats of my heart. I soaked it in, knowing it might be the last time I saw a Kate that wasn’t afraid or revolted by me. I took in her brilliant blue eyes staring at me from behind her dark glasses. I remembered the way her long black hair had framed her face, the haunted yet intrigued look I’d seen on that face when we’d first met — a similar look to now. Her hair might be shorter, but she still carried the burden of the job in her eyes, yet it was countered by the perpetual look of mirthful exuberance.
Even now.
She deserved better than this from me. I was compromised. All my precaution, all my defenses and I’d still fallen prey. I needed an outside opinion, one I could trust. If she felt the need to drag me before Daniel’s gun, well, so be it. Pending we even got out of here.
“I’m possessed,” I said. The words were without inflection, dead and gray and formless. “Sorta.”
“You don’t mean Sanctuary,” she said in a similar tone.
I hesitated, then shook my head.
“No.” My breath blew out in a long hiss. “No. I don’t.”
So I related everything with Lauren in a numb, tired voice. My somewhat possession, the talks we’d had, how even the Twins were unsure what was going on with me. The texts on my phone and the things Circe had said. The fact that we were locked up vanished before the reality of admitting everything to Kate. It wasn’t as important at the moment. My eyes stayed fixated on a little crack in the concrete floor, unable to move against the weight settling across my shoulders, unable to lift my eyes to see how she was reacting.
It didn’t take long. I lapsed into silence, staring at the floor, waiting for a sentence to fall onto me. A proclamation of how tainted I was. Hell, maybe even a badminton racket to the back of the skull.
“Okay,” Kate said at last. “And?”
I frowned and looked up. “And what?”
“And what do we do next?”
I surged to my feet. “What do you mean ‘next’, Kate? Did you miss everything I said?”
“Oh, quit being so melodramatic. Dieter said you weren’t traditionally possessed. You’re not some creature looking out from Samuel’s eyes. You’re still you — the only you I’ve known, I might add, since this happened years before we met. You didn’t sprout horns and a tail. I’ve only known this you. Daniel thinks you’re you, and none of your other expert former co-workers knew any different. You’re not some hybrid evil. Just normal asshat Samuel.”
I opened my mouth. Kate pushed on, the words bowling me over.
“I know back in the day you guys were all crazy paranoid over possession, but I never got steeped in that. You have choice. That means you can fight it. I haven’t had the stigma of it drilled into me like your former co-workers. Your old buddies were trained to hate this thing. I know it’s bad, but I wasn’t indoctrinated into it. You aren’t a demon wearing Samuel’s skin, and that means you have a chance.”
My mouth closed.
“You’re forgetting I get it, Samuel,” Kate said softly. She curled one hand around her stomach, eyes distant. “I wasn’t traditionally possessed either. I had a freaking Archangel messing with my mind for years, molding and shaping me. I’m about the only person on the planet right now who might understand what you’re going through. I don’t condemn you for that, any more than I condemn myself.”
“Lauren—”
“Is a problem,” Kate said sternly. “But you’re not a demon, Samuel. I don’t know why your situation is different, but you’re still you.”
I held up my left hand. “Am I?”
Kate rose and crossed the basement. Her fingers cupped my hand and gave them a squeeze.
“Yes,” she said emphatically. “Think about it. Your possession happened three and a half years ago, and this whole ‘texting evil demons’ thing only happened of late.”
That was true. I wondered if there were other things I hadn’t noticed, or if it was even possible to tell when I’d assumed various traits of Lauren’s. No. I could still tell I was right-handed, so it wasn’t like I was having bits of my brain scraped out with a mental ice cream scoop.
“Since I used magic to defend myself,” I said thoughtfully. “The last few days, it seems.”
Kate’s fingers tightened on my hand. “So stop using magic, asshat. Stop giving the thing in your head control.”
I smiled. It didn’t feel forced.
“You want me to promise you or something? Pinky swear to never touch magic again?”
Kate’s fingers pulled away from mine. “No.”
My eyebrows rose. “No?”
“I know you. You’ll promise and the first time it looks like you have no choice you’ll do it. And then you’ll feel like shit for breaking a promise to me, and you’ll turn it into this big thing.
“Do it for yourself. Like the bottles in your office. I want you to do this for yourself. Not for me, not for anyone, but because you want to.”
I chewed on that for a few seconds. “Yeah. Sure.”
She retreated across the room and dropped back into her chair.
“You’re okay with all of this?” I said. “I get you know where I’m coming from, but you seem calm.”
“Oh, hell no,” she said. “We’re going to get Lockyer to cast out your demon. Or learn how and I’ll do it myself. I’m coming down pretty heavily on the ‘Lockyer is a toolshed’ side of the argument, given he’s locke
d us up, but we need him for this.”
“Maybe someone else that isn’t you,” I said. “You heard what the Twins said. It would yank you out of the universe were it used on you, and I’m uncomfortable testing your ability to do it without that little consequence.”
“Daniel, maybe, if we can get past the whole ‘shooting you in the head’ phase,” Kate said, chewing on her cheek in thought.
“Point,” I said and then sighed. “I haven’t eaten any babies I’m aware of, though. Gotta count for something.”
Kate showed a tired smile.
We lapsed into silence and waited. How long had we been down here? I wished I had my phone so I could tell what time it was.
Well, and call for help. Priorities, you know?
A distant hum caught me. Nothing audible, but the sensation like I was suddenly standing next to high power cables, something I could feel in my chest — that sense of electricity I’d felt earlier, kicked up to eleven.
A sense of magic somewhere nearby.
I opened my mouth to alert Kate, but the upstairs door swung open. The aggressive woman that had ushered me downstairs loomed.
“Mr. Lockyer will see you now.”
Chapter 21
“Chancellor Walker,” Lockyer said as Kate and I came to the back patio, followed by our escort. “Miss White. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before. Norman Lockyer.”
“Charmed as hell,” Kate said in a flat voice, fixing him with an icy stare.
“I must extend a heartfelt apology at your treatment.”
Norman Lockyer had forgone his normal suit and tie in favor of a garb similar to his minions, favoring a tactical vest covered in easy-access pockets and cargo pants. He still looked rich and dapper in it, hands clasped behind his back as he stood just beyond the outdoor kitchen area, a light dusting of snow somehow looking regal as it fell about him.
“It was not my intent to lock you away,” he continued. He eyed our escort with a critical glance, though one without chastisement or animosity. “It was a side-effect of my explicit orders to remain undisturbed during preparation. That is not to excuse the behavior of the men and women under me — merely an explanation.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I snapped, stepping toward Lockyer. “We get it. You’re charming as fuck even when apologizing for kidnapping. Good for you.”
Barbarian Betty moved to intercept me, Kate’s angry bruise shining on one cheek, but a small gesture from Norman arrested her movement.
“We’ve got a serious problem here,” I said. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Kate scanning the property, trying in vain to see through the ever-deepening downfall of white that obscured everything. “There’s a pissed-off demon sending a small army after you. Stealing that research from Simon cheesed off the supernatural community.”
If my accusation surprised Lockyer, he hid it well. Instead he pondered for a moment. “Simon?”
“Bookish sort of Extra-Dimensional Entity,” I said. “Looks like the starring role from The Creepy Professor. You stole a copy of Vitae Superno and—”
Lockyer waved an annoyed hand. “Ah. Yes. Those creatures. Such a fortuitous encounter. We’d moved in to eliminate a threat and instead found the keys to our salvation.”
“Have you ever heard of Circe?” Kate asked, eyes still scanning.
Lockyer gave a polite chuckle. “I have read the classics, Miss White, I assure you.”
“There’s a self-styled queen calling herself Circe,” Kate said, spinning to face our reluctant host, “with a decent sized force at her disposal, a touch angry that you’ve discovered a way to track Entities. She intends to eradicate you and yours to keep that knowledge safe. Here. Now.”
From out of the snow Alvin appeared, as silent as a ghost, taking up a position near his boss with a restrained nod. I responded in kind.
A sudden, vicious smile blossomed on Lockyer’s face. His gaze swept between Kate and me, nearly triumphant. Exultant.
“Let them come,” he said, slapping a fist into an open palm. “I could not have planned it any better, I must say.”
“That,” Kate said, frowning, “was not the answer I expected to hear. Either you woefully overestimate the skill of your little crew here or you think because Circe isn’t human she can’t possibly be a threat.”
A sudden wind kicked up, cold and biting, whipping over us across the length of the expansive backyard. The snow danced before it, driving at us at near right-angles. I raised a hand at the onslaught, blinking through the blanketing whiteness. Lockyer’s smile only widened, the grin of a victor.
“On the contrary,” Lockyer said with a grave shake of his head. “I would not have gotten so far had I ever underestimated my foes. I have no doubt that this Circe is as troubling and as deadly as you say.” He raised a hand and gestured to the far end of his property.
As if on cue, a violet light kindled to life, a beacon that pulsed bright and painful. For a moment, the snow abated, a calm in the eye of the storm, a moment crystallized. That twisting of reality, the electrical tingle just at the edge of my senses pulsed, a sudden staccato against my mind, and for the first time since The Odyssey, Lauren stirred. A coiling serpent pressed at the confines of my mind, caged and desperate to be free.
“It is fitting you are here for this momentous occasion,” Lockyer declared. “Observe.”
We all turned to stare. The scope of Lockyer's property still impressed me. Most of the rest of the houses I’d seen on the island were fancy, but had little lawn. Norman’s backyard stretched away from us, a veritable park amid a sea of houses, lined with meticulously trimmed trees flocked white with snow. A footpath meandered in the distance, little wooden arched bridges taking it over tasteful arrangements of stones and flowers. In the downfall, it looked picturesque, a painting come to life.
Distant, perhaps a hundred and fifty yards, I could see that amethyst glow, like someone had uncovered a lantern and slapped a purple filter in front of it. I frowned and squinted, trying to make out the details. The light was too bright, washing out much of the surrounding area, obscured by the snow. I could see a couple dozen of those steel cages and—
The light flared, kindling from a lantern to a sun. Five sets of hands moved to shade eyes. The electric hum that raked against my innards grew a billion decibels until it felt like my guts might quiver apart. The ever-present wind roared louder, clawing past us as if fleeing from the light, driving snow ahead of it like a fox before hounds.
The amethyst light pulsed. A beam of brilliant purple shot up into the air, as wide as I was tall. The winter clouds flared purple for a few seconds before boiling away as the beam pierced the night, as tall as a skyscraper. My mouth fell agape.
“This is the culmination of my life’s work, Samuel,” Lockyer said, voice raised above the din of the rushing wind. He straightened, wandered down two terraced steps and turned, facing us with the blinding purple light flaring behind him. “Our work. Not a single exorcism. A mass exorcism. All of Seattle, all at once. Every creature roaming free. Every possessed soul unshackled from their prison. This army of Circe’s will die in a single gasping breath.”
I stared.
Oh, holy shit.
“You’ve been stockpiling demons,” Kate said. “With Simon’s research, you’ve been able to hunt them down. Capture them. Using a metric asston of them to fuel… what? The nuclear option for exorcisms?”
Lockyer’s grin was radiant. “Exactly. Seattle, and much of the surrounding area I might add, will be freed of any and all infestations. The first step in a greater, safer world.”
Kate’s eyes met mine. I could almost feel her thoughts, so similar to mine. If I was in the blast radius, I’d be free. So many others would be saved. Circe’s army would vanish.
Kate, though. It would tear Kate from reality and cast her adrift amid a sea of infinities. I’d never find her.
“You can’t do this,” I croaked, throat suddenly dry. “We’re a stone’s thr
ow from Seattle, Norman. There’s no way to hide this. God, there’s going to be questions as is right now. No one will buy the whole swamp gas and Venus routine. If this goes off, there’s a fantastic chance the world will clue in on the supernatural. We’d be vulnerable.”
“We’d be aware,” Lockyer said emphatically. “Humanity will be prepared for what lurks. Once the world is in the know, we can add basic preparedness to school curriculums. Make it something that every man, woman, and child learns. Accidental summonings. Accidental possessions. All because we’re ignorant children playing with Father’s gun. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.”
“Have you met any teenagers?” I snapped. The wind redoubled, slicing past my exposed face, the roar of it a palpable pressure against my ears and eyes. “Christ, Norman. They’ll try it just because it's forbidden. All sorts of crazy cults suddenly learn that, hey, they can do some real fucked up shit if they think hard in the right way. What if some enterprising youth reaching out into the infinity of dimensions pulls through a nuclear weapon? A doomsday cult summons up the virus from The Stand?
“You know God-damned well that the government will try to weaponize magic, and they’re woefully unprepared for dealing with the fallout when fifty percent of the time someone’s head explodes or a demon takes them over and chews bone marrow.”
I gave a bitter laugh. “God, that’s to say nothing of the raw, abject fear that will wash through the world. Normal people, Norman… normal people will be scared shitless by the knowledge that there’s an infinity of evil shit chomping at the bit to get at us.”
Lockyer shook his head and gestured at the light show behind him. “At first, perhaps. An initial phase of tumult.”
“A phase,” I repeated, deadpan. “You’re not thinking it through. You wipe everything out and reveal these secrets to the world, but in a couple of months Seattle is full of creepy crawlies again as people keep summoning things up. You think it’s just going to be a little tumultuous? Who knows what will happen!”
