“He’s dead,” I replied.
Portman let out a huge sigh and put his face in his hands. He was trying to hold back his tears, but the man was obviously broken. That was one more nail in the coffin of becoming too powerful. Someone like Kevin…or me…could really fuck up a person’s life.
“The things that guy was going to do to my Claire,” he said, referring to his wife. “I can’t stop picturing them. It’s horrible.”
“They’re not real, Portman,” I assured him. “He used magic on you to make you believe everything you’re imagining, but none of it’s true.” I then pulled him to his feet and dragged him over to the pit. “He’s dead. He can’t do anything to Claire. I promise.”
“But I can still see it. All of it.”
So it was that fucking compelling magic again.
Kevin had to have used it on Portman to get him to come back down here. My brother must have also compelled my friend to believe some pretty horrific things about what would happen to Claire if he hadn’t cooperated. Actually, knowing what little I did about Kevin, he was probably planning to do those things one way or the other. He just wanted Portman to suffer before killing him.
“I can’t let her get hurt, Dex,” Portman said desperately. “She’s my lady, man.”
That dug at me.
“Listen to me,” I said, putting a serious amount of magic into my voice. “Kevin did not hurt Claire, and it is impossible for him to hurt her at all now.” His breathing was ragged as his eyes opened wide. I felt my face glowing from the power. “You stopped Kevin from his attempts.” It was a lie, yes, but I was getting good at those lately, and I wanted Portman to feel empowered, so fuck it. He needed to be able to battle against any residual magic that Kevin may have left behind. “You destroyed him, Portman. He has absolutely no power over you. When you think of him, his words, his images, or anything else related to him, you will feel strong, knowing that you crushed his sorry ass.”
By the time I was finished, Portman looked like a man who had found a modicum of strength again.
He wiped the tears from his eyes and took a deep breath. He glanced around the area again in bewilderment.
“What happened?”
I pointed into the pit.
“You killed Kevin,” I stated firmly.
“I did?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” He looked to be wrestling with his mind again. “I don’t remember—”
“He was about to get me,” I explained, “and you pushed him into the pit.” I then slapped him on his shoulder. “You crushed him, Portman. I owe you one.”
“Yeah?” he asked, furrowing his brow deeply. Finally, he looked up. “I guess I did crush him, huh?”
“You sure did,” I replied, lacing my voice with just a tiny bit of magic. “Again, I owe you one.”
“No, no,” he deflected my praise. “You’d have done the same for me.”
“True,” I agreed.
Portman pointed at the bodies in the area.
“I’ll, uh…get my crew down here to clean all this up.”
“Good idea.”
We then set about picking up the various pieces of equipment we’d brought out, throwing them all into the duffel bags. The bags of lime weren’t necessary at this point. Portman’s crew would make sure there weren’t any traces of my brothers splattered about.
After about fifteen minutes, we were back in the Jeep and getting ready to cruise.
“We’re going to the precinct, right?” he asked, still looking somewhat unsure. “I think that’s what you said.”
“You are,” I answered him, remembering where Gabe told me he was located. “I need you to drop me off at the Absinthe tent first, though.”
“By Caesar’s?”
“Unless you know of another Absinthe tent, yep.”
He gave me a look that told me he was slowly getting back to being his usual self. It’d take a while, but I was confident he’d return in full force before too long.
“You know,” The Admiral piped up, “you could probably help the guy get his sex life back on track, if you did that magic thing on him and Claire.”
“What do you mean?” I said, holding back from just telling him to shut up.
“Compel them to get things going again,” he said, and I swear I felt him shrug. “They’re married, so it’s not like you’re doing anything wrong…unless they totally hate each other or something.”
That was true.
“Based on how that dude was sobbing over the fact that his wife might be hurt,” The Admiral added, “I’m pretty sure he still loves her.”
“Wow,” I replied, nearly beside myself with awe. “I had no idea you were such a romantic.”
“Shut up.”
I cracked a smile at that.
“Portman,” I said as we headed through the dirt, back toward the main road, “were you serious about the fact that you no longer have relations with Claire?”
He gave me a sidelong glance.
“That’s a weird question, Dex,” he said. “I know we just went through a bonding moment and all, but that doesn’t make me suddenly interested in having a pajama party, eating ice cream, talking about our girlfriends, and then watching The Notebook until we cry ourselves to sleep.”
It was my turn to grimace at him.
“Dude, I’m trying to help you out here,” I stated. “You’ve been married a long time, and I know for a fact that you love Claire.” I looked back out at the upcoming road. “Unless that love died for you guys or something.”
“It didn’t die,” he shot back. “We do love each other. We just stopped being intimate, is all. Things change as you age, Dex. When you’re with the same person for a long time…things change.” His voice sounded tired. “You’ll see.”
“Did you want them to change?” I challenged him.
He opened his mouth and then shut it again. It was clear to me that he was unhappy about the situation, but sometimes it was difficult to break down walls that had taken years to build.
Finally, he shook his head to indicate that he hadn’t wanted things to change.
“Did Claire?”
“No,” he stated almost immediately. “We just…” He trailed off.
“Got complacent,” I finished for him. “It happens, man.”
“Yeah.”
This conversation was obviously making him uncomfortable, but I kind of felt like cupid at the moment. I had the unique ability right now to help him fix this issue with Claire. Based on what he was saying, they both wanted to be intimate again, but neither of them would make the first move.
“Why don’t you call her and tell her that you love her, Portman?” I asked, putting the tiniest touch of magic in my voice. “I’m sure she’d appreciate hearing that.”
“Yeah?”
“I know I would,” I stated.
His face contorted. “You’d appreciate me calling to tell you that I love you?”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“Just call her!”
He sniffed and grinned for a moment. Then, after a sigh and a shrug, he pressed a button on the Jeep’s console and said, “Call Claire.”
The speakers played the sound of a ringing phone. It rang three times before she answered.
“Hey, baby,” Claire said. “I was just thinking of you.”
“Was out in the desert with Dex. Had to deal with some bad guys.”
“Is everything okay?” she asked, sounding worried. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
Okay, so that solidified it. They were still deeply in love with each other. And while it may not be my job to get them to reconnect, I was damn well going to do it anyway. If I could use this compelling magic for bad, I could certainly also use it for good.
“I’m fine, sweetheart,” he answered her. “I just wanted to let you know I’d be home a little later than usual, and…that I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Okay,” The Admiral
chimed in, “this is getting way too mushy for me. Do your thing already, will ya?”
I smiled and then said, “Hi, Claire, it’s Ian Dex here.”
“Oh hi, Ian. I hope you’re not getting my teddy bear into any mischief?”
“I’m going to puke,” said The Admiral, “and not in a good way.”
Ew.
“He’s fine,” I answered and then layered on the magic again. “I want both of you to listen to me very carefully. Whatever it was that stopped you from being intimate with each other, I want you to forget about. If you still truly love each other, and you truly want to be romantic with each other again, then you will both resume showing that love. Now is your chance to rekindle the fire you once had, but only if you truly want to. Do you both understand me?”
They did.
I dropped the magic.
“It was nice talking to you, Claire,” I said after the spell settled. “I’ll have Portman home to you soon.”
“The sooner the better,” she whispered in a seductive voice that even a succubus would appreciate. “The sooner the better.”
Portman adjusted in his seat.
So did I.
Chapter 38
After Portman dropped me off at the tent, he headed back to the station. At least, that’s what I assumed he did. I hadn’t put any magic in my request, though, so he might have run home for a quickie with Claire.
Either way was fine with me.
My goal was to finish this job on my own anyway. Besides, it wasn’t like my crew couldn’t track me if they wanted to. My connector showed my location no matter where I was, assuming I was topside and there wasn’t interference.
“Lydia,” I called back as I reached out with my magic, looking for the hidden zone Gabe had mentioned, “has the crew come back yet?”
“No, darlin’,” she replied.
They must have been having a wonderful time with the valkyries. That was good. I’d rather that than them facing their demise against the likes of Gabe and his goons.
“Good,” I said. “I mean…I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”
“Is everything all right, puddin’?”
“It’s peachy, babe,” I replied, having sensed the hidden zone. “Just found out where those wizards are holed up. Going in to have a quick chat with them now.”
“Won’t that be dangerous?”
“Nah. I’m sure it was all just a simple misunderstanding.”
“Oh, okay.”
“I should be back in an hour or two,” I added, knowing I was pushing the truth envelope a bit. “Then I’ll meet with the Directors just like I promised you I would.”
“Be careful, please,” she said, sounding concerned.
“Always am, baby.”
Chapter 39
After a quick scan of the area, I stepped into the hidden zone and saw an access panel on the ground. There was a post with a console next to it, standing about waist high.
I walked over and looked at it but refrained from touching it because there were two small runes on either side.
They were protected.
Calling on what I’d learned from Warren, I concentrated on seeing through the wrapping until I spotted that one was meant for notification and the other was a shocker. These were the most common runes around access points, so I should have known that, but I wanted to make sure.
Since they were protected, I couldn’t just undraw them like I’d done that night at Tommy Rocker’s. I’d have to pick the lock on them first. The struggle with that was that I had no stick with me.
“I can do it, man,” announced The Admiral. “I know I can!”
I sighed.
“And how weird is that going to look?” I countered. “While we both know that I’ll be using you to crack this lock, the rest of the world will just see me standing by a post as I swing my dick around.”
“You’re in a hidden zone, dude,” he pointed out.
“Oh, yeah,” I said.
Then, against my better judgment, I unzipped my PPD suit and took The Admiral out.
“Ahhh,” he said. “Nice night!”
“Shut up.”
I pointed him at the first rune and started working through the sequence. A moment later, the runes disappeared and the console went full green.
“Did I do that?” asked The Admiral.
“I doubt it,” I responded.
“Please put away your penis, son,” a familiar voice said through the speaker on the console. “Honestly, I expected you to have better manners than that.”
The trapdoor clicked, made a depressurization sound, and then opened.
I backed away, zipping up my pants, after tucking The Admiral safely back inside.
I took one last look around the area, sighed, and then began climbing down the steep stairs hidden there.
Chapter 40
The entire area opened up when I reached the bottom of the stairs, and it all looked quite familiar.
This was the place that I had seen in a few of the Flashes episodes I’d experienced over the months. It was clearly different than the one I’d had with Shitfaced Fred. That one had happened in the old war.
I stood straight up at the memory.
Did that mean that the soldier who had shot Fred’s master was Gabe? And what did Gabe have to do with Shitfaced Fred anyway?
Something told me I’d be finding out those answers, and more, soon, but not until I reached the final leg of this journey that Gabe had set out before me. I couldn’t help but wonder how long all of this had been going on.
There was a door to my left and one to the right. I’d already been through the one on my left multiple times during those Flashes events, so I decided to see what was behind the other one.
It was locked.
I waited for it to open.
It didn’t.
I knocked.
There was no answer.
Okay, so Gabe wanted me to crack the code? I wasn’t exactly good at that sort of thing, so fortunately I had Turbo’s skeleton key.
I rubbed my fingers together as I held my nose and the tiny key appeared from my skin. At least some things went smoothly in this world. The key appeared far too tiny to be of any use, but as soon as it was within the distance of the keypad, a light pulsed and I heard tumblers fall into place. I guess that saying “It’s not the size, but how you use it” fit well for Turbo’s key.
The handle never turned, but the door clicked open.
I walked inside and found an enormous room that seemed empty. It had a ceiling that stood some thirty feet high, which was pretty incredible considering I hadn’t walked down that many steps. The walls were barren and the place was dimly lit.
“Well done,” said the familiar voice of Gabe, who began rising out of the floor near the middle of the large space.
He clapped his hands twice and the lights came on in full. I squinted at that. With all of this advanced magic and technology, Gabe relied on The Clapper to manage the lights?
“I suppose I should have known it was you all along,” I said, feeling like those meetings I’d had with the man at the Three Angry Wives Pub were a major clue. “Why else would you have helped me?”
“There could have been any number of reasons,” he replied.
I honestly wanted to just launch a magical barrage at him, blowing his stupid ass to bits, but I needed answers first. If I killed him now, I’d never know the truth. Part of me kind of preferred that, if I was being honest, but having spent the entirety of my life lost and not knowing who I truly was gave me pause.
“I’m sure you have many questions,” he said somewhat smugly, “so feel free to ask away.”
“Did you create all the ubers I faced?” I asked with some hesitation.
There were probably better questions to ask at that point, but those ubers had caused a lot of damage and had cost many lives. Knowing the truth behind their existence would help me better paint a picture of my ‘father.’
Yes, I was keeping with the hand-quotes around him for now.
Gabe crossed his hands behind his back.
“Some were created, yes,” he answered. “Others were merely enhanced, having lived full lives already but seeking more power all the same.”
“Did you send them to attack me?”
“Yes.”
That’s where my brain cramped. Why the hell would he give me hints and abilities to defeat the very damn things he sent to destroy me?
“Why?”
“Because you needed to be brought out of your shell,” he answered. “It had to be done over time or you wouldn’t have been able to handle it. Plus, you would have been discovered much too young, and that would not have done at all.” He let that sink in for a moment before adding, “Each ubernatural you defeated served to unlock pieces of your genetic code. That allowed me to gradually further your power.”
“But the vampire, he—”
“Belonged to me, yes,” Gabe answered. “Do you remember the blue liquid you saw me inject into your brothers during your last Flashes event?”
I nodded dumbly.
“That was only one tenth of the venom I put into you via Sylvester. What you have flowing through your veins is far stronger than your brothers could have ever handled.”
“But why?” I asked again, trying desperately to understand all of this. “I don’t get it.”
“Honestly, son,” he said after glancing at his watch, “the entirety of this story will take me too long to explain. Call on Flashes again and everything will be revealed within seconds.” He gave me an encouraging nod. “Don’t worry, I’ll wait.”
With a strong sense of trepidation, I closed my eyes.
Flashes.
Chapter 41
I didn’t recognize the faces I was seeing because they were going through that same mist crap that happened when I was sitting in the room with the Directors. Glimpses came through, but they disappeared just as fast, leaving nothing but a hazed memory that faded like a dream.
But the voices…
I recognized those voices.
Some of them, anyway.
Clash of Flames: An Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Book 7 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department) Page 15
