“What do you...” I stopped myself. This wasn’t the time. I was still holding the door open for Florence and I nudged it further open. “Shouldn’t you be getting on?”
She ignored me once more, moving away from Jo’s bed to stand in front of mine. She addressed Alex. “I can understand everything else in here but what’s the story with hanging garbage on the middle wall? Ruins an otherwise nice living space.”
Alex laughed loudly.
I glared at him, which only made him laugh harder. “Braying hyena,” I mumbled under my breath.
Florence offered her hand to Alex. “It’s been very nice meeting you, young man.”
“We’re happy here,” he told her.
“I can see that.” She finally walked past me out the door and I led her down the narrow staircase, then paused on the first floor landing.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Interesting place you have here. I’m glad I decided to come back once you left.”
“Why would you do that? You must have thought it’d be empty.”
“Exactly.”
“And if my room had been locked?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes locks aren’t designed to a high enough standard.”
“You’d have broken in, is that what you are telling me? What kind of social worker are you?”
“One who grew up in Gorlam’s.”
I blinked. She was at least six years older than me, she would have been there before my time. “If you grew up there, you know what it’s like. Why would you become part of a system like that? You don’t strike me as particularly evil.”
“Quite a charmer, aren’t you? I thought I’d heard all the compliments but that’s a new one.” She chuckled. “Yes, I know what Gorlam’s is like. Which is why I decided to work there. Make it better.”
“You’re just one cog. It’ll change you before you change it.”
“Nothing will change if no one tries.”
“So you are an idealist?” I knew another word for idealist: idiot.
“Do you ever read the quotes that Jo pasted on your walls. Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
“So you use the skills you learned when you were a hell-raising orphan to break into your client’s rooms. That’s hardly a sign of the second coming of Gandhi.”
“No one tells me the truth,” she said. “A quick ten-minute snoop usually reveals plenty. I can then decide how to proceed. You are a rather unique case.”
“How did you know who Alex and Jo were?”
“This house is stuffy. Let’s get some air.” Florence descended the main stairs.
I followed slowly behind her. She still hadn’t told me what she wanted. When she’d first mentioned that Alex and Jo didn’t necessarily have to return to the orphanage, I thought she’d been angling for a bribe. Now I wasn’t so sure.
I realized that I was staring at her ass, and I instructed myself to stop noticing such things. She surely knew how attractive she was and likely used it to get what she wanted. And as my social worker, she already had enough power over me.
When I got outside, she was sitting astride her Honda with her helmet under one arm.
“We were talking about how you knew who Alex and Jo were,” I prompted.
“When I researched you, I read that you were a witness to the Collier fire, and it mentioned two young survivors, Alex and Jo. Curious, I looked them up and discovered they weren’t in the system in Gorlam’s. I assumed their extended family had taken them, until I met Alex in your room. You arriving with Jo confirmed my suspicions. Care to explain how you went from being witness to a fire to taking care of the two young survivors?”
“It’s a long, boring story.”
“One you’ll share with me one day?”
“Anything’s possible.” I shrugged. “You mentioned the two orphans might not have to return to Gorlam’s?”
A smile curved across her lips. “Anything’s possible.”
Her eyes were pale blue. Beelzebub. I shouldn’t be noticing that. “Officially, I know it’s not possible. So that means you’d have to not report what you knew, right?” She’d already made it clear she didn’t play by the book.
“I had a nice chat with Alex,” she said. “And he’s happy where he is. I’ll have to talk to Jo. And investigate the situation further, check into your job. What’s the story with those two undesirables who hang out in the living room?”
“Pete and Tyler. They have good hearts.”
She brushed her hair behind her ears, then put the helmet on. “I know what living in Gorlam’s is like and know it should be a last resort. If the two of them are happy and you can care for them, then officially, I don’t know they exist.” She grabbed the handlebars of the bike. She started the bike, then twisted back on the throttle. “I’ll be watching carefully though,” she shouted over the roar of the motorcycle. She released the clutch and, with nonchalant power, the Honda shot off, the front wheel hopping in the air twice.
The bike is all you are allowed to admire, I told myself. She was older than me, way out of my league, and she had the power to take Alex and Jo from me.
Chapter 14
Wednesday 08:55
Alex shook me awake. “Are you going to work?”
“What time is it?”
“Nine.”
I sprung to my feet. Having left early the day before, Findley was going to go nuts when I arrived late. And with Florence investigating my situation, I needed to keep the job more than ever if I wanted to hold our little family together. Of course I also had more important things to worry about.
“How’s Jo?” I asked Alex.
“I’m okay.” Jo twisted around until she was on one elbow. She was looking pale, but there was no sign of the black-eyed demon from the day before.
“Jo’s been telling me what happened last night,” Alex said.
I had fallen asleep watching a Harry Potter movie with Tyler and Pete in the living room after Florence had left and by the time I made it to my bed, Alex was asleep.
“She’s not fully cured but whatever is inside her is held at bay for now,” I said.
“Jo’s been telling me about this Flavini. A shade with powerful magical abilities who was apparently at our parents’ house the night of the fire. Another thing you forgot to tell us about.”
“Aren’t you just glad I was able to get him to help?”
“I’d be even happier if you told us what you know. Even Jo no longer trusts you.”
“I do trust him,” Jo interrupted. She gave me a sad smile. “I just don’t believe he’s telling us the whole truth.”
I started getting dressed. “The important thing now is to figure out what needs to be done to cure Jo permanently.”
“So why are you going to work?” Alex asked.
“I have to figure some things out.” At work, I could do more online research and come up with a plan. Plus, the meeting that Harriet Ashley was arranging might have something to do with what was going on in the magical or crime worlds. Perhaps I could learn something there that would help.
“So. Are we just not going to talk about the fact that Rune can shoot fire from his fingertips like some kind of superhero?” Alex hesitated. “Or should I say supervillain?”
“Alex, the eagle shifter and whoever was behind it is the villain,” Jo said.
Alex ignored her. “You have to be a shade, right? A wizard like this Flavini?”
“I don’t know what I am.” That was true, kind of. Duffy had said I was a fire sorcerer, which made some sort of sense, but I couldn’t be sure. “But considering that your arranged meeting on the top of Jeffries Parking Lot started this, it’s a good thing I’ve discovered that I have powers.”
“Go on, deflect the questions by blaming me. Why not?” Alex said.
“It’s not about blame. We have to concentrate on being constructive right now and fix this. Afterward, there’ll be time for recriminations.” I turned toward Jo. �
�Make sure you stay in bed and maintain your strength.”
“I’m feeling much better today,” she said.
“Alex, make sure she stays in bed. And you don’t leave.”
“Sure.” The speed with which he agreed made me sure he had no intention of complying.
“Let me handle this, Alex. Give me a day to figure out what is going on. Someone is after you and Jo, so it’s too dangerous for you to go to school.” I remembered the workbook I’d found, which questioned whether he even went to school, but I decided this wasn’t the time to bring it up.
“I said sure.” He turned away from me.
I had no choice but to hope that his protectiveness toward Jo would keep him at home. “Good. See you both soon. There are better times ahead, I promise.”
Chapter 15
Wednesday 09:35
Findley was waiting for me in reception. He twisted his arm so that his watch face was pointed at me. “Want to tell me what my watch says.”
Findley’s watch was a Patek Philippe, which he had spent over twenty grand on. Which, from his point of view, meant he had to make a display of it as often as he could.
“The watch tells me you have more money than sense.” I strode past him, walking up the corridor toward my desk. Findley fell in beside me. “You left early yesterday.”
“Emergency.”
“And another one this morning?” Findley’s short legs meant he was almost breaking into a jog to keep up with me.
“They come in threes.”
“So what, you’ll be leaving at eleven today?”
I reached my cubicle and sat down at my chair. “Hopefully, I’ll make it until after lunch.”
“Don’t joke. You have to set up that meeting for Harriet Ashley for this afternoon.”
“I haven’t forgotten. You used all those capital letters in your message to me, so how could I forget?”
“Don’t push me. Not now. You are skating on thin ice. I sometimes wonder...”
“You wonder why you haven’t fired me yet? Maybe it’s because I do such a good job.” That was actually true. The security of their computer network had had more leaks than a sieve when I’d first started.
“Don’t make me laugh.”
Of course most of my work was unrecognized by those who didn’t understand computers beyond being able to switch them on and save their Microsoft documents. “I know how to not make you laugh. By telling you this unfunny joke about three penguins—”
“You aren’t being funny.”
“Perfect. The joke wasn’t meant to be. Shall I tell you more? I hadn’t gotten to the part with propeller hats and sand igloos.”
“What’s that?” Findley pointed at my neck.
I reached up and touched the barbed wire necklace. I had forgotten all about it. Considering the circumstances in which I received it, it was surprising it hadn’t strangled me in my sleep. “This is a plastic duck carefully disguised as a necklace.”
Findley shook his head at me. “I have been lenient with the dress code for you being a computer person.” He said it as if he was suggesting that computer people should have their own category in the Special Olympics. “But I was embarrassed when I had to introduce Harriet Ashley to you. What you are wearing might be okay for your biker gang—”
“My scooter gang,” I interrupted.
“At least take off the necklace. And wear a sweater instead of the leather jacket in the afternoon for the meeting. Make an attempt to be professional.”
“Unfortunately, this particular necklace has been cursed by a dark wizard, meaning I can’t take it off.” It was funny because it was true.
Findley turned a pinkish-purple color that should not have been possible without expensive CGI. “The day I finally fire you will be a good day. For now, make sure nothing goes wrong this afternoon.” He stomped off.
I switched on the monitor and immediately rechecked the RedWhiteandTrue tweets. This time one of the tweets that I hadn’t noticed before stood out. It was a public reply to JusticeWarrior11 and said, “Keep up the good fight.” None of the other tweets from RedWhiteandTrue had referenced another account.
I clicked on the JusticeWarrior11 Twitter handle. This one had been created two months earlier and didn’t reveal any crucial information like the first. Instead it defended RedWhiteandTrue, getting into back and forth arguments with those who claimed that the RedWhiteandTrue Twitter handle was lying and making stuff up.
I leaned back in my chair. From what I’d found out from Duffy, I knew that the Reds weren’t really interested in Alex and Jo; they only cared about finding who was behind RedWhiteandTrue. If I could help the Reds with that, then I might be able to get them to leave Alex and Jo alone. That would be one problem solved.
I didn’t like to think what the Reds would do to whoever was behind that Twitter handle, but I couldn’t worry about that. That person had decided to play with fire; he was likely to have to pay the consequences one day. My job was to try and ensure that Alex and Jo weren’t caught up in the crossfire.
I created a new email account, then used that to create a Twitter handle. I thought for a few moments for a name, then chose FireSorcerer101.
I went back to the RedWhiteandTrue Twitter page. In the description, it said, “I don’t reply to direct messages.” Nevertheless, I clicked on the button to send a direct message. Alex had never intended to meet anyone when he set up his JusticeWarrior11 account, but the Reds had pushed the right buttons when they offered evidence of what happened the night of the Collier Mansion fire. I just needed to figure out how to push RedWhiteandTrue’s buttons.
I thought for a while, considering what was most likely to get RedWhiteandTrue’s interest, then typed. “I have the answers to all your questions. Just ask.” Then I pressed send.
I likely didn’t have any answers, but opening a dialogue was a first step. When RedWhiteandTrue replied with a question, I could then figure out how best to reply.
I took my smartphone from my pocket, downloaded the Twitter app and logged on with the Firesorcerer101 handle. If RedWhiteandTrue replied when I wasn’t at work, I’d still get the message on my phone. I then opened up Google in a browser window and started searching for information about shades and magic.
Given that most of the usually reliable sources were unanimous about shades not existing, I had to search the crazier parts of the web. The internet being the internet, the crazy parts really were crazy. Some of it had to be true, but how to tell the truth from the crazy? Finally, one article caught my attention. It referred to a land called Brimstone and discussed an eternal war between smoke elementals and fire elementals. Some of the language in it reminded me of how Jo had talked when she had been under the influence of whatever possessed her. Plus, most of the magic I had seen involved smoke or fire.
According to the article, Brimstone was a parallel world that sometimes touched our world, allowing elementals to cross over. Defending the human world from Brimstone were mighty guardians called sentinels who wielded powerful weapons.
I leaned back in my chair, trying to take all that in and figure out how much of it might be true.
From what I had read, I needed to find one of these sentinels to gain protection from the shades.
Chapter 16
Wednesday 14:35
“How much longer will this take?” Nathan’s giant head looked down from the projector screen on the wall.
Nathan was Harriet’s bodyguard, a tall square-shouldered man with a leathery complexion, the haircut of a marine and the twisted nose of a boxer. The connection was good, too good in fact. Technology companies were always raving about improved resolution and bandwidth, but there could be too much of a good thing. I didn’t need to be able to count Nathan’s nose hairs or know that the pockmarks on his right cheek were roughly in the shape of the Great Lakes.
“You can see me and hear what I’m saying clearly?” I asked.
“Yes, yes. Get on with it.”
“Okay. We’re all set up so. Leave all the settings in the laptop the same and have Harriet sit in that chair at three.”
Nathan stood up and disappeared.
That meant one side of the meeting was set up. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t get the Hugo Yarley side to reply to my call. I had emailed detailed instructions, but still received no reply to my attempt to connect.
I clicked again on the call button in the meeting software.
“Waiting for response...”
I drummed my fingers on the table and looked out the window where rain splattered against the window pane. Being the I.T. guy for this meeting offered the opportunity to help Jo, but I didn't know exactly how. If I’d more time, I might have installed software that would allow me to spy on what was going to be said, though that would be risky.
The sound of the rain on the windowpane and the drumming of my fingers merged into one rhythmic sound, and I found my mind drifting.
“Are you there? Hey, what’s going on?”
The voice woke me from forgetfulness. “Who is this?” I looked at the clock on the computer. Ten to three.
“This is Heff.”
He was my contact for the Hugo Yarley side of the meeting. I looked up at the projector screen which was blank. “I can hear you, but I can’t see you. Is your camera turned on and connected to the meeting software?”
“I followed all your instructions,” Heff said. “Everything is fine on my end.”
“I’ve already got this side working. It has to be on your end.” As I said that, I double-checked my setup. All the programs were running correctly. I checked the leads and... that was strange. The video lead between the laptop and the projector wasn’t connected. I plugged it in and a giant face appeared on screen. “I can see you. Can you see me?” I asked.
“Yes.” Heff’s face was covered in a tattoo shaped as an intricate black spiderweb. His own eyes appeared to be the eyes of a spider at the center of the web. I shivered involuntarily. I wasn’t a fan of spiders.
Behind Heff was floor to ceiling shelving full of bottles of whiskey. “Are you in a bar?” I asked. And Findley thought I was unprofessional.
Fire Sorcerer (The Sentinels Book 1) Page 6
