The Search for Starlight

by Elyse Salpeter

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, but when we find the charm, we’ll know. The answer will be like a trail of smoke seeping through century after century. Once we find the charm, we’ll find where it all began.”

  The Empress hitched a soft sigh. “I hope you’re right, my love. I hope you’re right.”

  Chapter Six

  The five of them sat in Ari’s meeting room in his midtown Manhattan office. It was early in the day, but the tray of bagels and muffins had already been reduced to crumbs an hour before.

  A lone, empty chair stood to the side, situated underneath the basketball net Ari had erected in the far corner of the room. It was the preferred seat Josh would have taken had he been there with them.

  The thrush charm lay on the table in front of them.

  “I don’t like this at all, Kelsey.” Ari paced the room. “Who the hell is this guy who attacked you? And in your own bed? How did he even get into your apartment? What did your doorman say?”

  “He never saw him, nor did the surveillance team outside. I checked the building tapes myself and he didn’t come through the front door, so I’m assuming he apparated into my bedroom the same way he left.”

  “And you were in Xanadu at the time, attempting to return this amulet to the Emperor and Empress?” Ari asked.

  Kelsey nodded.

  Her brother stared at the bloody gauze on her knuckles and then turned to the purple bruises on her neck. “The guy tried to choke you to death. He obviously didn’t care if you lived or died. And you’ve barely healed from being stabbed a few weeks ago. I can’t believe your boyfriend didn’t even bother to stay the night after you told him you were being followed. Such a solid guy.”

  Kelsey glared at him. “I can take care of myself, Ari. And an unmarked surveillance unit parked right outside my apartment all night, and my doorman is a former cop and is armed. I was completely protected. How in the hell would Desmond possibly assume someone would portal into my bedroom?”

  “You could have been killed,” Ari fumed.

  “Well, she didn’t get killed,” Julia piped up. “And she beat the living crap out of him, even with a bum leg.” She had her laptop open in front of her, and her long red hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. Julia rubbed at her green eyes, bloodshot from alternately tearing up about Josh’s death and then staring at the screen for hours. “I spent all night researching everything I could find out about this demon, Caim. Ari, do you want to hear what I found or don’t you? Or do you want to keep chastising Kelsey about why Desmond didn’t sleep over and have sex with her?”

  Ari rolled his eyes and waived her on.

  “Good.” Julia turned to Kelsey. “Now I need you to concentrate. Can you remember anything else about this demon from before you became human? Can you reach back into your mind or put yourself into a meditative trance or something to remember him?”

  Kelsey shook her head. “It’s not like that. I either remember, or I don’t. Things just come back to me in bits and pieces.”

  “You could ask the monks to show you one of your past lives in a meditation,” Dennis suggested. “They’ve done it before. Maybe that will spur your memory.”

  Kelsey twitched her nose. “I don’t want them to help me with anything right now. They’ve done enough, don’t you think? And frankly, if they’d wanted me to know, don’t you think they would have already told me by now?”

  “Good point,” Seung said, licking the chocolate off his lips from the third candy bar of the morning he’d downed. The boy ate chocolate when stressed. He had his laptop open as well and had tried to eke out any possible new information from Benjamin Porter’s translations, but could find nothing except a single line.

  “Blood is thicker than the realms. When linked, it will bleed and persevere.”

  “Maybe it means that your blood transports through the realms?” he suggested.

  “Well, we already know it does that,” Kelsey responded.

  Julia cringed. “Maybe it means that you are more linked to Mara than you realize?”

  Kelsey clicked her tongue. “No. He’s my spiritual father. Armand Dupuis was my physical father. It’s got to be something else.”

  “It means your blood will spill, Kelsey,” Dennis said quietly. “That you’re going to get hurt and possibly killed.”

  Kelsey exhaled loudly. “It could mean anything. Just forget the line for the moment. It’s obviously something to do with me, and something everyone else around me knows about but refuses to tell me. Just help me remove Caim from this thing so I can talk to him.”

  “I’m not sure why you want to remove him,” Ari said. “Is he dangerous? Can you fight him if he does something?”

  Kelsey raised her shoulders and shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “Why do you think the Emperor and Empress want him?” Ari asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why do you think that guy who’s after you wants it?” he peppered.

  Kelsey stared back at him with an exasperated expression and Ari rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, I know, you don’t know. Maybe removing him from the amulet is not the answer then. I mean, do we really want a demon running around Earth? Will he be in a human form? Will he have powers?”

  Kelsey ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “Ari, I just don’t know. I don’t know anything about this. I’ve never encountered it before.” She leaned back in her chair. “You’re right, we can’t let him out. I don’t even know why he’s in there or how to contain him if he gets out.”

  Julia piped up. “Well, I found out a few things about this demon. Kelsey, you said you remembered him from your time with your dad, right?”

  Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Guys, you have to stop saying ‘dad’ like I’m close with Mara. Benjamin Porter was my father. And Martin Goldman was my adoptive father. Not Mara. I don’t have any feelings for the Buddhist Devil.”

  Seung spoke quietly. “None, Kelsey? You have no feelings for Mara at all? I mean, he was your father for a very long time. Longer than any of your human fathers.”

  Kelsey stared stonily at him. “No, I have no feelings for him.” She said it a little too forcibly, and her friends all gave each other a knowing glance.

  Julia gave Seung a look telling him to let it go, then gently touched Kelsey’s arm. “Kelsey, I’m sorry. Please let me rephrase my question. You remember certain things about your spiritual father, right?”

  Kelsey raised her gaze to the ceiling in resignation. “Sure.”

  “Good, so you have a chance to use any of the information you remember. I know you want to distance yourself from Mara, but the fact is, your past spiritual life keeps intruding on this physical one. Until you get rid of all the ties binding you, you’re going to keep being pulled back into it.”

  Seung chuckled. “That was deep, Jules.”

  She twirled her ponytail. “Well, it’s true. We’ve got a demon right here in this amulet who used to work for her dad.” She grimaced at her word choice and gave Kelsey a chagrined look. “I mean, Mara. I know you don’t remember most things from your demonic past yet, but as time goes on, you’re remembering more and more, and we can use that.”

  Dennis’s chin jutted at Julia. “Do you have to keep calling her a demon? She’s not a demon.”

  Julia stared at Kelsey questioningly. When Kelsey refused to answer, Julia shrugged. “Well, she is the daughter of Mara and a goddess in the other realms. I’m not sure what else you want us to call her. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

  “Whatever, Jules.” Kelsey turned to Dennis. “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got a thick skin.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “Okay, fine. Let’s think this through then. Let’s start from the beginning and see if we can work backwards. Tell us about this demon, Caim. What do we know about him?”

  Julia leaned towards her computer, pulling up files. “Well, lore says Caim, or Camio as he is also called, used to be in the order of the Angels, but he obvi
ously did something to piss someone off royally and got sent down to the hell realms where he became one of Mara’s guards.” She glanced at Kelsey. “Is that right?”

  Kelsey nodded. “Yeah, he was the 53rd of Solomon’s 72 evil spirits.”

  Dennis leaned forwards. “Solomon, like in King Solomon, the King of Israel?”

  Kelsey sat back. “One and the same. You know he was also a sorcerer, right?”

  Julia nodded excitedly. “That’s right. The folklore states that Solomon used pagan magic to take all of his 72 kings and lock them up in a brass vessel. He then threw them into a lake where supposedly they were to remain for eternity. But then the Babylonians found the vessel, broke it open and all of them escaped.”

  Kelsey tapped her fingers on the table. “That’s true. That’s actually, I think, when I first met him. He’d come down to the kingdom a lot, and Mara eventually granted him a place in his order. But all Caim did was fight with everyone. He was so argumentative.”

  “Do you remember anything else about him? Think, Kelsey,” Julia coaxed.

  Kelsey crinkled her brows in concentration. “Not much. He was a skilled debater, and Mara used him to negotiate with the other guards of the hell realms to keep order. I do remember Caim did like to be referred to as President with this perception that he was more powerful than he actually was. Mara found it amusing so he let it go.” She paused. “You know, I think one of my sisters might have had a thing for him. Or with him.” She sat back and thought. “Yes, it was Raga. I’m sure of it.”

  “Well, that’s not surprising,” Julia sniffed. “Your sisters seemed to have a thing for everyone. You were Temptress Demons.” She perused her notes. “My sources also say Caim can give people the ability to talk to animals. You’ve seen that happen a few times already with Ishu and that cat, so I bet that’s true.”

  Kelsey nodded. “I did hear Ishu in Xanadu, and I swore I could understand that stupid cat the bookseller had. It’s not so hard to read that one’s mind though. The cat hates me and loves Desmond. Scratched me to prove it.” She held up her ankle to show them the angry red slash across it.

  “Can’t account for taste,” Ari huffed.

  Kelsey knew Ari still hated Desmond and could not stand to be in the same room with him. Keeping the two of them apart had made her life much more difficult than it needed to be.

  She picked up the talisman and placed it around her neck. Then she closed her eyes, hoping to feel something, anything. All she felt was energy coursing through her. Kelsey knew it came from the demon asking her for release, but she couldn’t actually hear anything. She had a thought and opened her eyes. “I don’t suppose there are any animals around here, are there?”

  Ari looked at her askance. “Seriously, Kelsey? Like I have a liege of pets just prancing around the office? I think there’s a goldfish on one of the tech’s desks. Want me to have him bring it up?” he said sarcastically.

  Dennis put up his hand. “Hold on, the receptionist downstairs actually has her poodle with her today. She’s keeping it under her desk.” He glanced at Ari, who was giving him the hairy eyeball. “Calm down, Ari. The dog sitter was sick, so she brought it in. It’s not like you go down there anyway and would find out.”

  All of them knew Ari hated dogs. He had been bitten by one as a child and ever since had a distinct dislike for them.

  Ari clapped his hands together. “Well, let’s bring the pup up, shall we?” He hit the intercom on the phone. “Camelia, ask Marilyn to bring her mongrel upstairs to Conference Room B.” There was a pause and Ari sighed and bit his tongue. “Yes, tell her she’s not in trouble.” He hung up the phone and rolled his eyes.

  Within minutes a nervous woman walked into the conference room, holding a miniature poodle in the crook of her arm. “I’m really sorry, Mr. Goldman. The dog sitter was ill today and I just didn’t know what to do with this little one.”

  “It’s okay, Marilyn. You’re not in any trouble. Could you just sit down at the end of the table for a moment? We’re doing an experiment.”

  “Okay, Mr. Goldman.” She sat down her ample form in Josh’s old seat, the little pup in her lap. It was so small Kelsey had to stifle a laugh as she stared at the creature. Even though the little thing weighed no more than five pounds, and had a yellow bow and blue nail polish on, Ari still looked uncomfortable and kept to the other side of the table.

  Seung spoke. “Don’t worry, Marilyn, we won’t hurt her.”

  “Him. It’s a boy. His name is Thor.”

  Kelsey stared at the poodle while everyone was speaking. She held the charm in her hand and just let Caim’s energy flow around her. She reached into her mind. “Help me to help you. What do you want?”

  She tried to ignore the continuing chatter around her. Marilyn discussing how Thor liked bubble baths and preferred to be held rather than get his feet dirty walking on the city streets. How he peed on wee wee pads in the apartment rather than suffer the indignity of having to urinate in public.

  Kelsey’s body began to tingle. Little quivers of energy started in her gut and then spread outwards. The energy coursed through her mind and raced down her arms and legs until it permeated her fingers and toes, then reversed and raced back up her limbs. It was the same type of delightful feeling she got whenever she’d try to tap into the dark side of herself, yet somehow different. This time she could feel something else. Another presence. Another branch of power. Yes, she could feel the difference.

  Maybe I’m learning to use the theoretical third eye? Finally achieving a higher level of consciousness as well? Kelsey kept her eyes closed and let her mind drift to allow whatever was happening, to happen. She tried to see something, anything beyond the darkness of her lids. The center of the third eye powers supposedly rested between your eyebrows, so she focused her attention on a point between them and tried to tune in to the very vibrations of the universe. Tried to see the patterns that developed as light seeped in behind her lids. Just as when she meditated, slowly the sounds of the world faded. She vaguely heard Julia asking her if she was okay, but she ignored her. She absently heard the poodle whimper and Marilyn cooing calming words to the animal.

  Kelsey concentrated and kept her focus when colors began to form behind the darkness of her lids. Smells reminiscent of the Naraka palace came to her, and she took a deep breath, smiling absently at the memory. The aromas of the decadent foods from their feasts. The iron-like odor of spilt blood. The heady smell of coupling. Her body tingled in delight and her mind opened.

  Talk to me, Caim. Why do the Emperor and Empress want you?

  And then, there he was. Floating in her mind. Just as he had looked back in the Naraka Palace. Tall and lean with a prominent brow ridge, and small eyes which were seething in fury.

  Get me out of here right now, Princess.

  I will try. Why do the Emperor and Empress want you, Caim?

  They want to torture me. Don’t give me to them. I will promise you anything. There are things I know.

  What did you do to them?

  I killed them.

  The dog yelped and jumped from Marilyn’s hands, and Kelsey’s eyes popped open as the real world rushed in. The woman bent down and scooped up her dog from under the table. “What spooked you, Thorie boy?” She kissed him all over his face while the pup continued to whimper.

  “Kelsey?” Ari asked, his brows raised in question.

  Kelsey blinked a few times and tried to bring herself back to this reality. She absently nodded towards the woman. “Thank you Marilyn. That will be all.”

  Confused, Marilyn and a still-whimpering Thor, left the room.

  Kelsey stared at the amulet and then turned to her friends, stunned.

  “You heard him, Kelsey?” Julia asked.

  Kelsey nodded. “I did.”

  “What did he say?” Ari asked.

  “That he killed the Emperor and Empress.”

  Chapter Seven

  There are restaurants in the world built with an ambia
nce that transports the diners to another place and time. Lao Yo’s was one of those establishments, its décor and smells so authentic in nature that you believed you were eating at a restaurant in mainland China. It had quickly become a favorite haunt of Desmond and Kelsey’s.

  Desmond breezed into Lao Yo’s and took a deep, satisfied breath, like he always did when he entered. The hint of sesame oil and spices in the air, mixed with garlic and seared meats, always made his mouth water. It reminded him of the markets he walked through in Chinatown, only better. Tonight was no different. Desmond checked his leather coat and then strolled past the bar to the hostess desk, eager to meet Kelsey. After what had happened at her apartment the night before, he’d flipped that she’d not called him until later in the morning. The knowledge that she went to her brother and her friends hurt at first, but she’d impressed upon him that it meant nothing. She simply couldn’t have him and Ari in a room together yet, and he grudgingly knew it.

  Regardless, he’d immediately raced to her apartment after she’d returned from Ari’s office, and stayed with her through lunch. Then it was back to the precinct to put in the paperwork to add a second surveillance team to her building. Not to mention that he planned on staying over for the next few nights until they caught the guy who had attacked her.

  The owner of Lao Yo’s walked by and gave Desmond a nod as he went to deal with a patron in the bar. The restauranteur was beholden to Desmond after he’d found his son nearly passed out in an alley after a drunken night in the East Village with his friends. Desmond had checked the kid’s ID, run a background check and found out his father had a restaurant just a few blocks down. The boy had woken up two hours later in the back office with his petite Asian mother getting ready to tear his head off. Desmond had figured that, with his hangover, had been punishment enough.

  Now the kid was bussing tables after classes every night. This evening, Desmond could see him hustling back and forth between the kitchen and the bar. His mother had definitely put a stop to his late-night partying.