by Gary Starta
Briana theorized that Bast had disassembled from her panther form at the exact instant of the blast. She then reassembled her molecules, changing back into Tonk form, immediately after the explosion.
It made sense. I wondered how changing form or identity might be used to our advantage once more. Brahms had utilized a glam spell posing as Agent Grant in my reality. That meant we wouldn’t necessarily need a shape shifter to fool Mollini. And we did have a willing participant. I just hadn’t dared to bring his name up to Briana before.
“How can we trust this PI? He so much as told you he had played both sides, working for the Knights as a spy.”
“I know, Briana, but Sweeney has been adamant about making up for that. He’s not satisfied with just volunteering the services of the Keepers of the Eternal Flame. He needs to do more. He needs to atone.”
“Well then give him a sword and he can be a swashbuckler. I’m sure the Keepers can use another fighter.”
“I already suggested that. He has no training to be effective. I’m not sure even if the Keepers will be a deterrent when it comes to Mollini.”
“Okay, Caitlin. I guess I’m desperate enough to propose this. I just don’t like using my magic to deceive. But in this case I’ll make an exception.”
Briana had agreed to equip Sweeney with a glam spell so he could pose as Charlize. At first, I was glad she had warmed to my idea. But then I let myself get wrapped up in details. I questioned Briana if the spell would mimic Charlize’s singing capabilities. She assured me he would sound like Charlize whether he was talking or singing, but that the major problem with the spell, she argued, was in its length. She hoped it would last through an entire concert.
“I don’t normally do these spells, Caitlin. Not only because they are frowned upon by Wiccans, but also because they’re undependable at times. I will have to call upon power from the elements to do this magic. It’s not the kind of spell you whip up in a bowl.”
I didn’t dare ask Briana what she meant by calling upon the elements. It was the first time I’d seen worry lines on her face. I put my hand on her shoulder and assured her she would do just fine.
But even if Sweeney walked Charlize’s walk and talked Charlize’s talk, he still might not fool those in tune with magic. I had to believe whatever upgrades had been given to Mollini would include a means to detect spells. It gave me an idea, one that would assure me if Sweeney’s intentions were truly honorable. I invited him over to Briana’s to join our brainstorming session.
~ * ~
He squirmed at first.
“It’s just an idea, Sweeney.”
“It’s okay, I’m down with that, Diggs,” he said. The way he panted told me he was anything but down with it. He looked really uncomfortable on Briana’s couch. And believe me, that’s a hard feat. I nearly fell asleep on it several times when we paused our brainstorming sessions for a break.
“So you’ll do it?” I asked.
He nodded. I smiled.
“Hey,” he said. “That’s the first time you ever smiled for me. You know you’re a dynamite looking lady.”
I normally would have retracted my smile for scumbags like Sweeney. But today, I felt the man was making a serious effort to change. I feared I might have to find a way to resist calling him scumbag for the time being.
Briana explained he would be injected with a dose of Charlize’s blood just prior to the concert. “Don’t worry,” Briana said to Sweeney, still squirming on the couch, “if there’s anything to be worried about it’s the glam spell.”
He frowned. I felt obligated to offer comfort.
“You have nothing to worry about concerning the transfusion,” I said. “I had blood injected into me from a man I was trying to protect on a case last year. The perp could hunt his victims by accessing their DNA, so my plan was to catch him in a paranormal sting.”
“Well, how did that turn out for you?”
“It allowed me to bait the man’s killer into the home I was hiding in. He believed that I was his target because I carried his DNA.”
“Ah,” Sweeney said. “You’re not really giving me the whole story. You can’t fool me. I’m the best PI in DC.”
“Okay, Sweeney. It didn’t work if you consider I failed to apprehend the perp at that time.”
“Oh, great… just great.”
I fluttered my eyelashes. I inferred from Sweeney’s prior compliment he dug my looks. I waited a second. His scowl softened.
“Sweeney, it made the perp mad enough to make a mistake. It eventually gave me an opportunity to arrest him.”
He smiled. I knew I had charmed him. If I hadn’t, he would have questioned just how mad I had made the perp.
“Okay,” Briana interrupted. “It looks like we’ve worked enough spells for one day.” She gave me a sidelong glance and an elbow in my ribs.
I gave her a look that I hoped screamed: oh please! Not if he were the last man in this reality.
When Sweeney left, Briana and I, seated back at our favorite haunt, the kitchen table, gave each other a few knowing looks.
“You know it’s not going to be enough, don’t you?” I asked.
“It’s still one more idea we had than when we began the day, Caitlin. It will stall Mollini in any event.”
I knew very well that Mollini might just choose to kill both versions of Charlize without making an analysis.
“I’ll have to hope then, Briana.”
“Hope is always good,” she said.
We didn’t discuss it further that night. We both knew what hope meant in code. I would have to depend upon my telekinesis once Mollini saw through our deceit. Yet how could I depend upon a gift I had rarely ever used? It had only come to me before when I was under severe distress. Though I had to admit the idea of squaring off against Mollini again would be stressful. But stressful enough for me put ethereal handcuffs about his wrists?
~ * ~
The next day passed quickly with the advent of the concert looming before us. I dressed in black at the urging of Charlize. She said it had something to do with the symbolization of Isis. Funny, I mostly associated it with bad guys and arrogant runway models.
Dr. Federov picked up Briana, Bast and me in the white limo at seven p.m. sharp. I didn’t waste time with any small talk when I entered. I had to ask Federov’s permission to take Charlize’s blood. She was her legal guardian after all.
“I have no problem with you taking her blood, Agent Diggs. But I sure as sunshine have a problem with her accepting any transfusions. She cannot risk tainting her gift--under any circumstance.”
She crossed her arms in the seat across from me and glared.
“Then we’re good, Doctor. Charlize won’t need to share anyone’s blood.” I seriously hoped that sounded comforting because when I thought about it, the image from my vision came back to me in vivid color. Mollini was destined to attack Charlize. I just didn’t know how grisly things might get. Would we find ourselves in a bloodbath?
This time Briana felt obligated to comfort.
“Dr. Federov, there’s still a possibility that Mollini will succumb to Charlize’s thrall.”
Federov scoffed. “I appreciate your efforts, Agents. But we both know Mollini will be anything but inhibited when he finds Charlize. Since he’s most likely a genetically enhanced humanoid, it’s almost certain Charlize’s singing will have no impact upon him.”
I nodded at the irony. Mollini made a great demon for someone who wasn’t.
We arrived promptly as usual. I scanned the attendees. Their numbers seemed small in the humongous warehouse Manners had lent us. It seemed everyone was accounted for on our team. Briana was in a backroom of the warehouse prepping Sweeney. Bastet prowled the aisles, inhaling what I imagined what must be a potpourri for her olfactory senses. Every demon imaginable filled stadium style seating. Manners caught my eye and came running up to me.
“You look marvelous, Agent Diggs.”
It felt rude not to compliment
Manners back. But I couldn’t, so instead I congratulated him on the venue. “You picked a nice warehouse.”
“Yeah, I was even able to score some scaffold seating from a waste management firm. They said a high school in the area was replacing it and it would have ended up in a landfill. And Agent Diggs, the environment is something folks in this reality take pretty darn seriously.”
“Hey, there’s one for the ecosystem.”
Manners smiled at my lame comment. It distracted me long enough not to notice the encroachment of his son, Gabriel.
Talk about awkward moments. I felt compelled to say something to the kid I not only had sex with but also was nearly murdered by. At least it all happened in my old reality.
“Your father tells me the holi-concerts are doing wonders for you.” Truthfully, I didn’t know. I just hoped.
“Yes,” Gabriel answered. He offered a small, close-mouthed smile that my empathic abilities told me was genuine. Hell, I’d take a close-mouthed smile over a lynching any day.
My moment of Zen ended abruptly, though, when I realized I had to warn the concertgoers.
I excused myself and found my way to a makeshift stage. I admired how lovingly it was made. Small baths, replete with lotus flowers, adorned either side of the stage. As I drank in the serenity, a bodyguard had stealthily approached me from behind. I explained my request. He nodded and pointed me to a microphone.
“Ladies and gentleman...” I allowed a pause. I didn’t know if demons, vamps or lycans approved being referred to in that fashion. If so, not one of them stirred. I scanned the faces during that moment. I desperately wanted to find Carter’s face among them. But it wasn’t. I couldn’t blame him for dodging the concert after my lukewarm reception to him the other night.
I explained there were forces at work hell-bent on destroying Charlize’s beautiful work. Again, using the word hell-bent might not have been such a great idea, but I did it anyway. I implored anyone to leave before submitting to Charlize’s thrall.
“It’s most likely you will be helpless during the thrall. The forces at work would have an easy time destroying you. Although I must reiterate that the force I speak of mainly desires to destroy Charlize Wilson.”
That statement caught their attention.
A few horned demons in the front row shook their fists and shouted, “That will never happen!”
I reminded them it could and that’s why I was here. A human, I theorized, would not be weakened by Charlize’s singing. I didn’t tell them about my potential for telekinesis though. I really didn’t know how, or if, Charlize could affect that.
Silence followed. Then, the demons turned to face one another, as if conferring on the best course of action.
In the next moment, applause erupted. A few vamps even stuck fingers in between their fangs and whistled.
We were united. Not one demon moved a tail or spiked ear to leave.
I shouted into the microphone, “We’ll never abandon Charlize Wilson or her cause!” Wild applause ensued once more.
Twenty Two
“Showtime,” an emcee announced.
I realized I hadn’t spent a moment alone with Charlize. I had simply waved to her as she entered a makeshift dressing room a half hour earlier. She gestured back to me, waving a hand up and down, alluding to how much she liked my black garb. So decadent, I mouthed.
She shook her head, smiled and mouthed back, No. Divine.
I sat on the lowest tier of grandstand seating wondering if that might be our last conversation. Briana eventually interrupted me.
“It’s done,” she said.
“Done?” I asked. I flitted my eyes. Done was not a word I wanted to hear right now.
“Sweeney’s all glamoured and ready to go.”
I nodded, distracted by a small ruckus on the right side of the stage. What appeared to be a sleigh led by eight reindeer was being towed into the warehouse through a bay door. A man in a red suit and white beard followed close behind.
I pointed. “Santa..?”
“In a sense, Caitlin. He’s a human who always wanted to keep the spirit of Christmas alive. He uses magic to make his reindeer fly. On Christmas Eve, he travels to homes all over the country to leave gifts.”
“That’s just a story in my reality,” I said.
“It’s just a story in our reality as well. We require a good fairytale every now and then, ourselves.”
“I’m sorry if I sound callous. I just don’t understand what kind of threat he’s going to pose to Mollini. I know his mantra: you better be good, for goodness sakes… But will that really scare Mollini?”
“There’s no question Mollini’s been a very bad boy,” Briana said. “But it is not so much what Santa can do, than it is about his reindeer. The reindeer have special powers when it comes to souls.”
“Are you saying they might be able to take the souls Mollini has confiscated?”
“There’s a chance, Caitlin. For Diggs’s sake, I sure hope so.”
I reflected on a terrible image. One in which Agent Diggs was trapped in some kind of makeshift hell, trapped in Mollini’s grips.
Briana explained Santa always carries some magical coal in case humans and demons don’t take kindly to his home invasions.
I smiled. This being that played Santa had to be a great soul himself because he didn’t discriminate. “I think it’s great he includes demons in his trips.” I paused. “Are demons really believers in Christmas?”
“You’d be surprised, Caitlin. You’d be surprised.”
As Charlize stepped onto the stage, I spoke into a transmitter affixed to the lapel of my suit. “Is everybody in position?”
“Affirmative.” The Keepers of the Eternal Flame were in position, guarding the warehouse’s perimeter. With any luck, we might just enjoy a pleasant evening. The voice in the back of my mind didn’t agree, however.
~ * ~
The first sign of a trouble came in the form of a portal. That blue spirally thingy I had traveled through to be precise. But what was it doing here? I rose from my seat in slow motion. Briana mumbled something Wiccan, something unintelligible to me. I said, “It’s not supposed to be here. It’s supposed to be in New Jersey. It can’t be here…” She didn’t answer. I could see by her body language she didn’t want to answer.
Everyone watched in stunned silence. I fumbled for my transmitter. “We have an incident. It’s interior.” I didn’t know how long it would take the Keepers to respond but I had to bet it wouldn’t be in time.
Fish heads peeked through the portal, and then vanished into nothingness.
I had a feeling that was coming next. There was a good bet it wasn’t Santa’s helper.
Suddenly, he walked into the room: Mollini flanked by three Knights of the White Temple. He was dressed in black. I cast my eyes over my attire in dread. What a day to wear black.
His flunkies wore stunning white robes with big bloody red colored crosses. The monikers engulfed half of their robes. Overkill. Damn zealots. The two men at Mollini’s sides carried swords. A third, who followed like a lamb towards the rear, carried a crossbow and a shoulder pouch filled with what I hoped weren’t poisoned arrows.
“Tell me they’re not poison arrows,” I said to Briana.
“Then I won’t tell you, Caitlin.”
I didn’t have time to worry about Mollini’s accessories. I realized I had to get Charlize to safety. The singer hadn’t missed a beat or a note during Mollini’s emergence. It verified what Federov had said; Mollini wouldn’t become affected by Charlize’s thrall. Too bad every demon seated in the grandstands was. They were all going to be taken, but I couldn’t worry about them. They had chosen to stay. I had to worry about Charlize. As if on cue, Charlize’s double stepped on stage, right beside her. They engaged in some sort of impromptu duet. By the look on Mollini’s face, I surmised it wasn’t one of his favorite tunes.
At least he paused to wait. Maybe it would give me the time I needed to call upon my t
elekinesis. I sure felt distressed enough.
But I realized after a moment, Mollini wasn’t biding time to determine which singer was the real Charlize.
A blondish bimbo seated in the front row to my right had caught his attention. I took that as my cue to take cover with Briana. It didn’t seem the brave thing to do, but I didn’t want to tip my hand. I had the element of surprise on Mollini. With any luck, he wouldn’t expect my presence here. I might be able to use that as an advantage. To spring myself upon him without a moment’s notice. He had behaved tentatively when I encountered him at the creek. It seemed I possessed something he feared. Maybe it was my telekinesis. Maybe it was some other part of my rapidly evolving makeup, the change Charlize lovingly referred to as the resurrection of Isis. We covered ourselves behind a stack of empty cartons, daring to peek from behind to see what had transpired.
Mollini laughed and rolled his arm as if he were swimming.
Briana turned to me and whispered. “I don’t know why Federov let that Britney Pitts into this concert. She probably led Mollini right to us.”
I couldn’t blame Federov. I knew Charlize would not turn down a soul in need, not even one who had become enveloped in way too much plastic surgery. If Pitts loved her celebrity, now was her chance to shine. She was caught dead in the sights of the most evil man I had ever crossed.
The roll of his arm sent the reality directly about Pitts into a shimmering ripple of lights. When the ripple dissolved, so did the glam spell. It seemed Britney Pitts, cause celebre, had not gained admittance to a Charlize Wilson concert after all. The person who now stood before Mollini was our betrayer--Claude Brahms.
“Wait,” Brahms said. He implored Mollini to listen, his hand outstretched palm outwards as if some kind of supernatural policeman.
I dared to breathe again when Mollini motioned for Brahms to speak.
“Yes. Go ahead, dear Father. Maybe the audience would like to hear how you abandoned me. Yes. That’s a good story. Why don’t you tell them that one?”
