The Returned

by Bishop O'Connell

  “Is there anyone else you know who can help?” Caitlin asked. “Anyone?”

  Mama shook her head. “It might sound like pride, but there aren’t no one I know.”

  Caitlin’s smile vanished when Edward’s eyes met hers.

  Siobhan drew in a slow breath. “We got no other options, then.”

  Caitlin closed her eyes, her heart breaking, and shook her head. “No, I guess we don’t.”

  “You tried,” Siobhan said. “No one can fault you for what happens next.” She straightened. “I’ll see it’s done. You lot get out of here. No need for you to be watching.”

  “Wait,” Wraith said. “I want to try.”

  “Did you not hear the lady?” Siobhan asked. “It’d be fecking suicide to go in there.”

  “Yeah, well I’ve heard that before,” Wraith said. “No, I’m not going to just let it go down like this.” She looked at Anna, who was grinning manically. “I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to have terrible power and do terrible things with it as it eats you away from the inside.”

  “Then I’m going in with you,” Edward said and looked at Caitlin.

  Her first instinct was to protest, but it died away when she thought of Nancy and then of Fiona. Then she looked at Anna. This girl was someone’s daughter. God willing, Fiona would never need someone to step up like this for her someday, but if she did, hopefully someone would.

  “You’ve both lost your bleeding minds,” Siobhan said, then smiled. “I need to be spending more time with you.”

  “I’m going to take her back to her shop,” Wraith said and held out a hand for Mama.

  “I suppose I would just be in the way,” Mama said and took the offered hand.

  “Actually,” Wraith said, “I was thinking you’d be in the blast radius if we fail.” She looked at Caitlin and Siobhan. “You two should come too. If Edward and I lose, it could go badly.”

  Siobhan laughed and crossed her arms. “Not bloody likely.”

  “Maybe she’s right,” Edward said to Caitlin.

  Caitlin pushed back the flash of anger and reminded herself he was thinking about Fiona. But then, so was Caitlin. “I’m good here.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked.

  Caitlin took his hand and smiled. “Maybe my being here will give you extra incentive to succeed.”

  “Don’t do anything till I get back, okay?” Wraith asked.

  Caitlin nodded, then looked over at the girl as she led Mama to a clear spot. Something wasn’t right. Wraith’s eyes were darting around, and she was chewing her lower lip.

  “Wraith, what’s going on?” Caitlin asked.

  Everyone looked at Caitlin then Wraith.

  “Just don’t do anything till I get back,” she said, then once again closed her eyes. She and Mama Toups vanished in a minicyclone.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Wraith and Mama Toups stepped out of the universal junction point and into a back room of Mama’s shop. A few papers and knickknacks fell from their resting place in the whirlwind that announced their arrival.

  “Sorry about that,” Wraith said. “Not the best mode of travel for tight spaces.” She went to pick up the scattered items.

  “It’s fine, girl,” Mama said as she made her way to an easy chair and fell into it. “I’ll tidy up in a bit.”

  Wraith finished collecting the items and set them on a nearby table.

  Mama just smiled, though her weariness showed through it. “Thank you.”

  “I have to go,” Wraith said. “But can I get you anything before I do?”

  “Some water would be nice, thank you.”

  Wraith nodded, then turned to get it, before realizing she had no idea where any glasses or even a faucet was.

  “The small icebox in the corner,” Mama said and pointed.

  Wraith retrieved a bottle of water and handed it to the old woman.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t help,” Mama said. “Much as I might fight the idea, I’m getting old.”

  Wraith fought the urge to make a Yoda quote about looking good at nine hundred years old.

  The old woman drank some water, then eyed Wraith. “Girl, you got the look of someone about to do something a might stupid.”

  Wraith shrugged. “We’ve used up all the smart things. Stupid is all we have left. I have to try though. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try absolutely everything.” She shook her head. “Even if it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

  “What’re you gonna do?”

  “Do you have contacts in the First House?”

  Mama nodded. “I got some old friends there.”

  “Give it an hour, then call them in,” Wraith said. “Send them to the factory and let them know what they might be dealing with.” She thought for a moment, then added, “And anyone else you think might be able to help at all.”

  “You’re not going back, are you?”

  Wraith shook her head. “Not right away. I believe you when you said Edward and I couldn’t do it on our own. I’d be okay with trying if there wasn’t something else to try first.”

  “God’s speed, child,” Mama said and patted her hand.

  Wraith slipped her left hand into the brass-and-leather glove in her bag, set her goggles over her eyes, and stepped back to the center of the room. She began drawing together the entropic equation, then paused. “I think I’m going to mess this place up again when I go.”

  “I’ve got nine kids, seventeen grandchildren, and twenty-eight great-grandchildren,” Mama said and smiled. “I’m used to cleaning up after others.”

  “Thanks,” Wraith said, then finished the equation, stepping back into the universal junction point.

  She purposely drew out her stride and took a few seconds to prepare herself. Things would get ugly quickly. When she was as ready as she could be, she stepped out of the junction point.

  The instant reality stopped spinning, she threw a formulation at the office door, sealing it to the frame around it, and brought up a warding equation around her. It was just in time to block a massive wave of magic meant to bind her. At the same time, a claxon sounded from outside, almost muting the sounds of shouting men and doors being thrown open. It took her a second to tear down the binding spell and adjust her warding to block the other incoming attacks. Thankfully, none of them were meant to kill or deal with someone at her level of power. Even so, she didn’t have long before her defenses wore down. She looked up and smiled.

  “Hi.”

  One stared at her with wide eyes. Then he lifted his left hand, displaying an intricate circle made of white light on his palm, and Wraith saw protection magic encircle him; pretty impressive too.

  Wraith opened her mouth to say something, but he drew a pistol with his right hand and leveled it at her. Through her goggles, she could see magic wrapped around the side arm.

  “I didn’t think you bothered with guns,” she said.

  “This is my personal weapon,” he said.

  “You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here.”

  “The question did cross my mind.”

  There was loud banging on the door behind Wraith and the sound of people trying to open it.

  “Sir?” someone called through the door. “Are you okay? We show an intrusion in your office.”

  “I’m fine,” One called out. “Hold ready outside my office. Kill the alarm, and if I don’t respond in two minutes, blow the door in.”

  “Yes, sir,” the voice said.

  “You have two minutes,” One said to Wraith.

  “I’m prepared to call a brief truce,” Wraith said. “Parlay, as it were.”

  “Teleporting into my office in the middle of a secure military installation isn’t exactly a good start to a parlay,” One said.

  “I’m short on time,” Wraith said. “Let me talk, and then I’ll go. You have my word.”

  “You understand if I’m a little hesitant to just take your word.”

&
nbsp; “A show of trust, then,” Wraith said and carefully unwove the equation sealing the door shut. “Your turn.”

  One eyed her for a moment, then he lowered his pistol, though he didn’t put it away or drop his ward.

  “Mind easing up on the onslaught I’m taking here?” Wraith asked.

  One muttered some words Wraith didn’t understand, and the oppressive weight of the uber-ward lifted. She let out a breath.

  “A minute thirty,” One said.

  “Did you mean it when you said you just wanted to help?” Wraith asked. “Before you answer, you should know I saw your files and briefings. I know about the experiments.”

  One’s mask slipped just a bit. “I guess I didn’t forget to power off my computer last night after all.”

  “No idea what you’re talking about,” Wraith said. “But if you’d answer the question, it sort of predicates the rest of the conversation.”

  “Yes,” One said. “I meant it.” He studied her for a moment. “And for the record, though I shouldn’t be saying this to you, I was only recently made aware of the experiments.”

  Wraith blinked. She hadn’t been expecting that answer. “No denial?”

  “Let’s not play games,” One said. “I don’t know what you saw, but I’m guessing it was a lot. Yes, from an official standpoint, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Here, now, in this room only, I’m telling you I wasn’t aware, and if I had been, I wouldn’t have approved them.”

  Wraith thought he was telling the truth. She wasn’t sure, but at this point she had to take some things on faith.

  “We found her,” Wraith said.

  One nodded. “Anna Smith. We felt the event at the school too but found ourselves empty-handed when we got there, so we came back here to decide our next step. Are you offering to turn her over?”

  “No,” Wraith said, then swallowed back the foul taste in her mouth. “But if you’re serious about helping, we need it.”

  One narrowed his eyes and didn’t say anything for what felt like a week. Then he lowered his hand and his ward. “Two, stand down.”

  “Sir?” came the voice through the door.

  “I said stand down. Hold for further orders.”

  “Yes, sir,” Two said, though he didn’t sound happy about it.

  “What’s the situation?” One asked.

  Wraith let her ward down as well but kept it ready in case this was a trap. “One of the victims from the shooting six months ago was someone close to her.”

  One nodded. “We had been looking into that possibility, but none of the victims’ families had any talent.”

  “She’s not family,” Wraith said. “Not blood anyway.”

  “I can relate to that. I have a lot of brothers and sisters whom I don’t share a scrap of DNA with.”

  “She’s being controlled by some power,” Wraith said. “I don’t know what it is, but it looks like the same thing, or related to, what the Order was calling on.”

  One’s face went a little pale. “You’re sure?”

  “Not at all,” Wraith said. “It just looks like it. I don’t know enough about big, dark, otherworldly monsters to know if they all look the same.”

  One didn’t say anything.

  “She’s powerful,” Wraith said. “Like with a capital P. But only because there’s this thing inside her . . . ”

  “She’s getting supercharged by a demon,” One said.

  “Sure, that’s as good an explanation as any, I guess,” Wraith said.

  “So what kind of help are you looking for?”

  “Not killing her,” Wraith said. “And not locking her away in a dank little room somewhere.”

  “You realize she’s been raising people from the dead and is responsible for—”

  “Nothing,” Wraith said. “It wasn’t her. She was a puppet.” She drew in a breath and ignored the knot in her stomach. “I’m not stupid. I realize she might be too far gone to save, and I know what that means. I don’t like it, but I accept it.”

  “But you want to exhaust every other option first.”

  Wraith nodded. “Evidenced by the fact I’m here asking for your help.”

  “You have yet to say what kind of help that is,” One said. “Though I think I can guess.”

  “I need to borrow Seven,” Wraith said.

  One looked over at his file cabinet then back at Wraith. “You do realize all this information is classified, right? You’re all but confessing to me that you conducted espionage. That’s treason.”

  Wraith rolled her eyes. “I thought we weren’t playing games.”

  “I’m not,” One said. “You accessed extremely sensitive information.”

  “I was sensitive information,” Wraith snapped back. “You want to bring me in for treason, fine, give it your best shot, but maybe we could save a kid and stop the dead from coming back first.”

  One’s mouth twisted into the faintest of smiles.

  And to think she was just starting to believe this guy wasn’t a complete asshat. “Look, I know he’s a chaplain. I know he’s considered one of the foremost authorities on demonology and a big-deal exorcist by the Vatican, not even requiring approval from a bishop before performing one.” She had to admit, she enjoyed the look of annoyance on his face. “I don’t know if he’s capable of doing it, but I know this is the least bad idea of the few terrible ideas we have left.”

  “You’ll understand if I’m hesitant to just let one of my men go with you on his own.”

  Wraith let out a sigh. “Yeah, I get it. You’ve got a little Admiral Ackbar in your head.”

  One just looked at her.

  “ ‘It’s a trap’?” Wraith asked. “Okay, so you’re not a Star Wars fan. But you have to realize that I essentially know where you live. If I wanted to cause damage, I could’ve leaked your files to the net. I could’ve killed you the moment I appeared. Or I could’ve dropped a bomb and left, or pick any number of horrible things.”

  “You’re not really helping your case.”

  “I could’ve, but I didn’t,” Wraith said. “I don’t agree with how you’ve handled things. In all honestly, it makes me sick, and I think it’s morally reprehensible.”

  “But?”

  “But,” Wraith said, and it pained her to do so, “it was recently brought to my attention by someone I trust implicitly that sometimes doing terrible things is actually the only alternative to doing something really terrible.” She shook her head. “I don’t approve of your methods, but I’m hoping that maybe your intentions are good.”

  One drew in a breath and seemed to think about it for a moment.

  “And on that topic,” Wraith said, unable to keep it down, “I have some ideas on how you might better handle things.”

  “As you so eloquently put it,” One said, “maybe we should focus on saving the kid and stopping the dead from rising from the grave first.”

  “So you’ll help?”

  “I have one condition.”

  “Just one?” Wraith asked. She’d expected a list of them.

  One nodded. “But it’s nonnegotiable.”

  “Okay.”

  “He doesn’t go alone,” One said.

  Wraith was about to protest.

  One raised his hands. “I get your issues with Four, so he’s out, but I want at least myself, Two, and Six there.”

  “The medic and some muscle,” Wraith said. That meant the odds would be in the Legion’s favor, but she could probably get Anna, Edward, and Caitlin clear if things went south.

  One nodded. “Two and Seven are essentially noncombatants. I want some backup for myself in case the Death Star is fully operational.”

  Wraith tried hard not to smile. “Deal.”

  One nodded and started to stand.

  “But if we succeed, the girl goes back home,” Wraith said. “She doesn’t go with you or anyone else.”

  One paused, then stood the rest of the way up. “If she’s not a threat, she’s no longer a
concern.” He walked around and offered his hand.

  Wraith took it. “Time is short, so get your boys together.”

  One opened his office door. The other six Legion members were standing just outside. They all stared at Wraith with wide eyes. Four looked pale.

  “Two, Six,” One said to them. “Get your gear. You have three minutes.”

  “Sir,” they said in unison and hurried off.

  One turned to Seven. “You too. Get your exorcism bag.”

  Seven nodded and disappeared around the corner.

  Four and Wraith just stared at each other for a long while. She spent the awkward silence imagining all the delightful ways she could cause him lasting pain. But the others returned more quickly than she expected.

  “I assume you’re giving us a ride,” One said to Wraith.

  Wraith nodded. “I have one thing first,” she said. “Nonnegotiable.” Before One could respond, she crossed the space between her and Four and kicked him in the crotch. “That’s for Sprout.”

  He crumpled to the ground, groaning in pain and gasping for breath. The others in the room flinched back and a moment later began drawing in power.

  “It’s okay,” Four said through gritted teeth and looked at Wraith.

  For a brief moment, she almost regretted kicking him. Then she thought of Sprout, not even ten years old, and what she suffered at Four’s hands as part of his scheme. She didn’t care if they threw down right now or walked away. The bastard had it coming.

  Everyone held for a moment, then looked at One.

  “Stand down,” he said. Then he turned to Wraith. “You done?”

  Wraith nodded. She thought about saying “for now” but decided against it.

  “That’s the first and last time I’ll stand aside after you assault one of my team,” One said. “If you have any issue with something he’s done, you come to me. He acts on my orders.”

  Wraith didn’t say anything.

  One, Two, Six, and Seven stepped over, all of them turned just enough to be out of range of her kick. She didn’t bother holding back the smile now. It was good to remind people in power that others had power too.

  “Stay close,” Wraith said, then drew up the entropic equation and led them through the universal junction point.