by T S Paul
“And our people allow them to exist?” I asked her.
“Of course, dear. We aren’t evil. Under the skin they look as we do. One day we will discuss this topic and many, many more. I have so much to tell you about,” Grandmother exclaimed.
That was the background that I received on Mages when I was young. Most recently she’d informed me of Arcane when I’d asked for help with the storm. My already knowing about the group helped the conversation along:
“Arcane. You need to watch yourself around that group. Unofficially they don’t exist to us, but we know of them. And they know us. They may be the one government agency that does. I seriously doubt that any of your President Talbot’s cabinet know of the Species Council. Much less the president himself. Secrets are meant to be kept,” Grandmother paused.
“Arcane was created by Mages. They were the ones that drove away the Demons in this country and sealed the Portal. Obviously, they didn’t close it. As you know I was around in those days. They are always around, these Mages. Learn who they are, take advantage of the power they represent, but never, ever, trust them. Remember that and you shall overcome whatever they throw at you,” Grandmother explained.
<<<>>>
Her information and warning coupled with what Director Mills and Anastasia left for us to read told me everything I needed to know as background to the people approaching. The word of the day was now caution.
The group of people I was taking to be representatives of Arcane stopped walking just inches from the edge of my shield. That in itself told me they could see it.
I swung all the way down from the bus and landed next to Chuck. He’d relaxed his stance but still had his gun up. Just not pointed at our visitors.
Looking closely, I could see the differences in the party. The two full humans were acting as the muscle or bodyguards. The woman and the man dressed like movie characters were the Mages. A third man held power, but I suspected he might be a monk or religious figure. Those individuals were like the Mages, humans that could draw power. Just another version of the same.
“Nice driving. You could have killed us!” I called out to the group.
One of the men I’d labelled as a bodyguard stepped even closer to my shield. “We were in a hurry. Are you the FBI Witches?”
I glanced at Chuck, who smiled and bounced his eyebrows at me. We’d been called that before, but not to our faces.
Reaching down, I pulled my badge loose from the body armor I wore and flipped it open so they could see. “I’m Special Agent in charge Agatha Blackmore. I’ll admit to being a Witch. But my companions, they are so much more than that. Who are you?”
“Xavier Cedar at your service. My team and I are contractors for the government,” he replied.
“Contractors. Right…” I trailed off.
“We were sent to fix the Demon problem that Charleston seems to be having.” Xavier’s statement was punctuated by one of his people shooting at a group of Imps charging at them suddenly. Xavier swung a shotgun hanging off his back by a lanyard around and cut loose at the Demons.
Chuck whispered, “Saiga, very nice.”
I shook my head. “Stop drooling on the weapons. There’s one of those in the bus. Blake won’t be needing it anymore.”
Drawn by the gunfire, more and more Demons were entering the area. The quartet of military men guarding the trucks were now getting into the action of firing their weapons.
Before I could do it, the female Mage waved her hand. I felt rather than saw a shield similar to mine form around both vehicles, protecting them. The human woman sagged with the effort and dropped to one knee.
Instantly the other man I called a guard grabbed her arm. “Victoria!”
Demons were still infiltrating the area though.
The other human Mage spoke a word I didn’t understand and waved his hand and the woman’s bubble expanded, linking itself to mine. From the outside it appeared to be a gigantic shield. But from within, it was like a bowtie with separate bubbles connected by a shaft.
Xavier lowered his weapon and spoke to the man in costume. “Thank you Hamilton.”
Looking back at me he began to speak. “We obviously cannot sit here all day. Would you like to join us?”
I cocked my head and thought for a quick moment. Did I want to give away the high ground or attack? Cat took that exact moment to jump down from the bus joining us.
“What’s up chumps?” Cat asked.
The Arcane group didn’t quite flinch. For that I will give them credit. For all her looks, Cat doesn’t look all that threatening. At least not at first.
Licking my lips, I smiled at the humans. “We might be able to do that. What’s your mission, besides killing Demons?”
“What makes you think we have another mission?” Xavier asked.
He tried to hide it, but I could see Xavier making small hand motions. The other four members of his team were spreading out ever so slowly and taking up defensive positions. My own team could learn a few things from these people.
I smiled again. “Because I just don’t see five highly trained Arcane operatives assigned to JUST kill demons. Why else would you have been barreling down the road? There are lots of Demons to choose from around here.”
The entire group froze when I said their name. I could almost see the gears in Xavier’s head turning, like he was thinking up a story or hiding who they really were. Finally after what seemed like forever he spoke. “You’ve got us there. My original orders were to go to Charleston and stop the Witch named Camilla Blackmore, your aunt I believe, from raising more Demons. We’re to stop her, using any means necessary.”
“We have a similar mission. Just so you know, my boss at the FBI informed me of your potential presence here and who you were. I’d not heard of Arcane before. Travelling together is fine. We can protect the vehicles better.” I looked at the other humans. “Is the military unit with you?”
Xavier looked over his shoulder at the four men in defensive positions. “Sort of. We picked them up at the airport. Concentrated firepower is what their sergeant said. Together we can kill more Demons.”
“That we can,” I replied. “For command purposes we should operate independently. You do your mission and we will do ours. Understood?”
Xavier nodded. “That’s acceptable to us.”
I turned toward Chuck and Cat and bowed my head to hide my whispering, “Get back in the bus. I’ll explain in a minute.”
Looking back at the Arcane group, I spoke to Xavier. “We start out. Follow us if you like.”
I looked out at the landscape under the highway overpass. Imps and other small Demonic creatures were jumping over bushes, cars, and other obstacles on their way to slam into the shields. The shot in stature Demons were pressed against the wall like kids at a candy store.
Shaking my head at the scene I stepped up into the bus followed by Cat and Chuck. Quickly I filled them in on what Grandmother had told me of Arcane.
“That wasn’t in the report the Director gave us,” Cat stated.
“No, it wasn’t. Sorry I kept this from you. I really didn’t want to say anything around Blake or the flight crew. They’re our people, but not our team.” I looked over at Blake’s frozen form. My spell could keep him like that indefinitely. “At least not our regular team.”
Cat gave Blake a nudge with her toe. “I agree. He didn’t fit in like Bill did.”
Chuck let out a chuckle. “Nobody fits in like Bill. The man only worked with every FBI Agent in the world at least once. Bill was a legend. Blake’s a popsicle.”
“There will be consequences for Blake. Keep that in mind if we survive this.” I hooked my thumb to the rear. “Even with these people behind us we might be outnumbered. This is Camilla we’re going up against.”
The bus lurched to one side and then rocked to and fro as we rolled over the median curb. Cat revved the engine. “Can you drop the shield so I can get moving?”
“Oops. Sorry Cat.” Concentrating a moment, I
drew the energy back into my body, channeling it through the bracelets. Ever since they started talking to me and to each other I’ve been able to fine tune my Magick and actually try higher powered spells.
Cat gunned the engine again and we burned rubber out of there. Well, as much as an airport shuttle can burn. Which, according to Chuck, is not all that much.
<<<>>>
“Since when did we start trusting Paranormals? And Witches in particular?” Victoria asked.
Xavier looked across the Humvee at his chief Mage. “You were there when we got word of this mission. Michael did mention that the FBI was sending a team here. Who else would they send but her? To answer your question, I’m not. Our target is a blood relative to that woman. Regardless of whether they’re talking or not she will hesitate before attacking her.”
Victoria nodded. “And if she does?”
“Then we’ll roll right over her as well. Our job is to protect humans from harm. Accidents happen all the time in battle,” Xavier replied.
“Better to live today than die tomorrow,” Hamilton stated.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Xavier asked.
Hamilton didn’t answer. He pulled out a mystical looking triangle that suspiciously resembled a famous Wizard television show emblem and began to meditate.
The group’s martial arts master, TJ, gave the supposed jedi a funny look and remarked, “Why is he with us again?”
“Because he’s a Class four Earth Mage and stronger than me,” Victoria replied. “He has peculiarities. Ignore him.”
“We only have to drive ten or twelve blocks to this place. Do we even have a plan yet? Don’t forget about Martinez and his men.” Robert, the team’s gunner asked.
“I haven’t forgotten them. We’ll follow the FBI’s lead for starters until they start to waver. My plan is to hit the rogue Witch with everything we have like a battering ram. Don’t allow the possibility of getting any sort of foothold during the attack. Martinez and his boys can cover the perimeter and keep the Imps off our backs,” Xavier answered. He turned and looked at Victoria. “Can you and Hamilton take down a Demon Lord by yourselves?”
The very pretty Mage slowly nodded. “It will depend. Those Captain Demons we ran into in Sicily were powerful but one of their Lords could be worse. According to research studies conducted by the army, smaller Demons draw energy from that which they eat. The larger ones are different. The need direct energy from things such as the ley lines. We’ve never captured a Lord before. It’s been speculated that they can do anything a lesser Demon can do only more so. We just don’t know.”
“So the answer is no then,” Xavier stated.
Hamilton Sinn pulled back his cowl and spoke. “Say maybe instead. While there is no try, we will endeavor to defeat whatever had caused this plague upon the Earth.”
Victoria Pepper looked at her boss. “What he said.”
Chapter 10
Captain Gentry Phillips was having the worst day in his entire career. It had started out just fine. A bright shiny day in Charleston. Tourist season was at its peak and out-of-towners in brightly colored shirts and pants were swarming all over the most gentrified parts of town.
“Captain, I swear to you that we can’t find the dang thing. I’ve had all three of our shifts looking. It’s just gone. Which is impossible in this day of tagging and uploading,” the lieutenant remarked. He shifted his weight uneasily, then leaned against his squad car.
“I think you mean lojacking and tracking,” Phillips said.
Lieutenant Sale waved his hands in a nervous gesture. “Whichever, sir. All this newfangled technology confuses me like crazy. Why can’t we just stick to old-fashioned flip-phones and stick shifts?”
The captain couldn’t help himself and started laughing. Choking back as much as he could, he turned the laugh into a cough. William Sale was a bit of a character, even for Charleston. Called Billy by his friends, he’d made a huge impression with the department from day one of his employment. Pushing seventy, he’d been a lieutenant longer than many of his men had been alive.
“Technology is all around us Billy. You just have to accept it,” the captain replied.
“You might, but not me. This country went to hell when disco died. Did I tell you I was on the ground floor of the bell-bottom industry? Had the plant all set up and everything. Stupid baseball bonfire. You will take my disco from my cold dead hands. You heard it first from me, son. I mean, Captain,” Billy stated.
Gentry could only smile. When he had first taken command, he had tried to promote the older man. But after reading his file he had changed his mind. The Sale family were part of Charleston’s legacy. And because of that, the lieutenant made bad choices. He was a victim of the privilege his family carried with them. It was amusing, actually. Gone were any traces of gentry, and in its place was pure redneck. To say he had a knack for getting into trouble was being polite.
“Are you telling me the truth here, Billy? I’m not going to find it decked out with a stereo and a disco ball, am I?” Gentry asked.
“No suh. I swear to you that it’s really missing this time.” Billy placed his hand over his left breast.
As part of a demobilization program, the Navy had gifted the Charleston PD with a slightly used BearCat armored vehicle. Where they got it, Phillips had no idea, since it was more Federal issue than military. Two days after it was dropped off, it disappeared. Billy and some of the night shift cops had loaded it up with beer, girls, and snacks. The two-hundred-thousand-dollar vehicle apparently made one heck of a combination beach buggy and camper. They’d brought it back, but it had taken all three of them a week just to get the sand out of it. Demoting Billy again was just part of the punishment.
“It better be. Find it. You have more connections in this town than I do. Someone has to know something. Because if you don’t, that lieutenant in Florida won’t be the only ninety-year-old officer in a police force. Do you hear me, Lieutenant Sale?” Gentry asked.
The older man nodded and with a fake British accent gave a funky sort of salute and said, “Sir!”
“Just one more reason you’re still a lieutenant. Get moving.” Gentry looked away from the retreating officer and repeated his daily mantra silently. Just a stepping stone.
Gentry Phillips’ life goals included joining the Secret Service or the Marshal service. Working as a police captain in Charleston might get him noticed from either of those agencies, but it was the training and experience that would open doors. Or at least that is what he told himself. “Make your connections early and keep your nose to the grindstone.” That was the best advice his father had ever given him.
The radio in his police cruiser made a funny noise just before a call was transferred. He made a mental note to have the techs look at the electrical systems in the car again. Every time Gentry was forced to even think of his predecessor he had to shake his head. The idiot had actually driven the car off an embankment and into a drainage ditch. Nothing had worked quite right afterwards.
“Captain Phillips, are you within range of the radio?” a voice asked.
And that was something else he was working on. He picked up the radio microphone and spoke into it. “This is Unit One,” Gentry responded, stressing the word unit.
“Uh, sir, we uh got a funky request from those government boys over by St. Michaels. They want you to call or respond at your earliest,” the radio reported.
Still holding the mic in his hand, Gentry used his other hand to rub his forehead. The federal operation in the historic district was an open secret among his men, but it was still a secret. At least until this idiot had broadcasted it in the damn clear! Heads would roll when he got back to base. Agent Smith was going kill him. “Did they leave a message for me?”
“Just two words,” the dispatcher answered.
“And?” Gentry asked.
“And what, sir?” The man answered again.
Gentry gripped the mic in his ha
nd so hard he almost broke it. Nepotism was alive and well in Charleston and this idiot had to be someone’s cousin. “The words! What the hell are they?”
“Plan Omega. That was all the woman on the phone said. Do ya want me to call her back?” the radio dispatcher asked.
“No. What I want you to do instead is send out a 10-77 code and activate all our emergency plans. As of right now, we need all hands on deck,” Gentry commanded. “I want a full load out, up to and including the SWAT unit.”
There was what seemed like a long pause on the radio and then the dispatcher asked, “Are you crazy, Captain?”
“Just do it! I’ll be at my office in a few minutes.” Even as he spoke the words, he was putting the car in gear and stomping on the gas.
<<<>>>
It hadn’t even been a full day since Special Agent in Charge Anabelle Smith had come to him with serious information about her case and how it related to the possible destruction of Charleston.
“Captain Phillips, thank you for seeing me.” The woman addressing him was of medium build and obviously a government agent of some kind.
“My desk sergeant said you had something important to discuss with me. He didn’t give me your name though,” the captain said.
“I’m terribly sorry.” The woman unclipped a wallet from her breast pocket, showing first the badge then a picture ID. Just like on TV, which the Captain found amusing for some reason. “Special Agent in Charge Anabelle Smith. I’m in charge of the surveillance unit on Chalmers.”
Gentry knew of the detail. It was in his briefing notes from the police commissioner. The FBI was watching a suspect supposedly involved with international terrorism.
“What can I do for you, Agent Smith?” Gentry asked.
“One of my bosses asked me to pass along a warning of sorts. I would have given this to the commissioner or the mayor, but they might either think me disturbed or fail to pass it along to you and any other first responders,” Smith explained.
It wasn’t so much what she said as much as how she said it. Gentry sat up straighter and gave the woman his complete attention. “What sort of warning?”
