by Tom Keller
If you'd like to see how desolate parts of Nevada can be, this is as good as any place to come to and still have cell service within a reasonable distance. If you don't mind the 3-mile trek back to the highway, that is. It was a good thing we brought the Jeep. The closer to the dune you get, the more sand you had to drive over. There was actually a halfway decent dirt road not far from the place that led to the old Mission, but Jazzy was having none of that. She preferred to take us 4-wheeling across the trails at speeds that made even me nervous.
"This is the place," she said, sliding the Jeep to a stop in a cloud of dust. She pointed to a flat patch of desert, nestled below a small range of mountains. "It's just over there on the other side of the dirt road a bit."
I took a moment and surveyed the area with my Fae eyes. There wasn't much to see. What appeared to be remnants of the stone floor of the original chapel and the nun's quarters looked like they were still there, but there were gaps where age and looters had claimed anything of value. Almost nothing of the original structure remained. The desert had pretty much reclaimed it over the last 70 years. In the back was a tiny fenced in area, big enough for three gravesites. The fence was dilapidated, and the markers were gone, but the three graves were still recognizable. Aside from the possibility of running across a rattlesnake or scorpion, the place looked safe enough to conduct our search.
"All right, Wizard. You're up," I said, climbing out of the passenger side. "Let me know when I can send Jazzy in."
"Got it," Jesse replied, coughing again. "But let's give her sandstorm a minute to clear up before I head out." When the dust finally settled, he began to walk toward the spot. He stopped about 100 meters into the desert and dropped to his knees.
Jazzy gave me her cover-up, then began stripping out of her clothes, handing them to me before shifting into wolf form. She waited at my side while Jesse made sure there were no signs of magic traps or wards that could cause us harm. It probably sounds like overkill, but this far out in the middle of nowhere we were on our own, and it paid to do things by the numbers. Especially when the focus of our search had something to do with an ancient Grimoire that had already caused the death of at least one person.
Jesse raised a fist, then his thumb came up. Jazzy took off toward him as I followed.
"Anything at all?" I asked, when I caught up with him. We began walking toward the ruins.
"Traces," he replied. "There's a lot of shit here, but nothing that concerns me. The place is a little unsettling, though. I don't sense any dark magic. Could just be because it's an old church. It's obvious from the tracks and litter that people have come through here a lot. There's lots of little tokens and remnants of spells on the border of the property; like people think the place has bad juju. It's probably just the graves. I wouldn't doubt they've been desecrated."
"Bad juju," I said. "That doesn’t sound like a scientific term."
"Maybe not, but you know what I mean," he replied. "It's nothing I'm too worried about. Let's wait and see what Jazzy can dig up."
She had started by trotting around the area in a circle, then gradually began making smaller arcs. She was currently moving between patches of dirt that seemed to indicate different types of soil might have been brought in; or maybe something had been added when whatever stood there had decayed.
"That looks like the original chapel floor to me," I said, pointing out to an area near where Jazzy was searching.
"That'd be my guess too," Jesse replied. "Church in front, quarters out back."
"Would any of this still be considered hallowed ground?"
"I doubt it," he replied, walking over to the ruins." He placed a foot over the crumbling floor. "Some groups perform a ritual; others consider it deconsecrated when it returns to profane, or secular use. We even have a team that looks into places like this that are abandoned. I don’t know much about this order, but I'm not getting any sense of this being hallowed ground. Let's see what she turns up."
"Find anything?" I asked Jazzy, as she came out of the desert and shifted back into human form. I threw her the sundress she used as a cover-up.
"Three graves out back. They look like they've been dug up a few times. Nothing recent, but there's something else," she said, snatching it out of the air and pulling it on. "Check this out."
We followed her past the church and into an area that might have been a courtyard. She stopped a few paces from where the house once stood, then knelt and pointed.
"I wouldn’t have caught it if it had rained in the last week, or if he hadn't used his hands in the dirt; but someone's been covering their tracks. It's barely recognizable, but I think our boy was here."
"How sure are you?" I asked, looking down at the area she'd pointed out. At first, it looked the same as the rest of the place, but then my Fae eyes noticed the subtle differences. She was right, whoever had cleaned it up knew what they were doing.
"There are a few scent markers lingering that tells me it was him. I can’t tell you much else about what's down there, or even how deep it is. Okay, I don’t think it's a body, but that's about all I can say."
"I'll get the shovels," I said. We had two of the multi-purpose kind packed in the Jeep.
"I'll get started," Jazzy said, slipping off the dress again and handing it to Jesse. She shifted back into wolf form and began digging at the spot.
By the time I returned, Jazzy had a nice size hole started. I threw Jesse a shovel and we took over. We realized, after a few minutes of digging, that this must have been the site of the Mission's well. The sand inside was loose, but it still took time to clear it from the hole. We were about three feet down when we hit something solid. The clunk did not sound like wood.
"I'll be damned," Jesse remarked, as we dug around the object. "That's the cover of a spare tire compartment, from the trunk of a car."
"Yep," I agreed, looking down at the grey carpet. "That certainly didn't come from around here."
We lay down and, using our shovels, pried the rest of the piece out of the hole. As we lifted it out, a circular hole with stone sides was revealed. It led down another seven feet or eight feet.
"There's a shaft down there," I said, swinging my legs over the opening. "It's about two feet from the bottom, which is more sand, and about the same size as the width of this well."
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Jesse asked, as I slid near the edge. "The bottom looks pretty soft."
"Only one way to find out," I replied, then jumped into the hole. I sunk down a couple of inches into the sand, but it held my weight.
The shaft was built into the side of the well. The opening was square, and a good 9 to 10 feet from the desert surface. The well had been dug by hand, and had probably once had a stone structure protecting it up above. Anyone looking in would have never seen the shaft, and it would have been simple to cover it in some way. The tunnel went horizontal for a few feet and then accessed a room under the desert floor. I started to go in, but then remembered my two partners up above. This was something we should do together.
"There's another shaft down here," I shouted. "Looks like it leads to a room."
"Don’t go in without me," Jesse yelled back.
"Coming back up then," I shouted as I backed out. I stuck a foot against the wall and shimmied up until I could reach the top. Jesse lent a hand as I turned to pull myself out.
"What's it look like?" he asked.
"There's a tunnel dug into the wall, leads into a room or another tunnel. We've got a 10-foot collapsing ladder back in the RV. I'll have Jazzy take me back while you keep an eye out here. Then we can check it out safely."
"Can you bring the RV here?" he asked. "There's no telling what we'll find down there and it'd be a pain in the ass to have to go back if we need something."
"As long as I don’t use the same route Jazzy did getting us here, I should be able to get close," I replied. "I'll see what I can do."
Jesse stayed behind while Jazzy took me back to the RV. I gave her the
ladder and followed her to the highway. As Jazzy turned off to go 4-wheeling though the desert, I continued on to Valley View Boulevard, and then made a left into Amargosa. After I passed the first few houses, I found a farm road that pointed west. I eventually made my way down the unpaved road that led to the Mission, and the back side of the dune. Not the most pleasant drive, or the fastest way to travel, but since this road led to the dune's BLM camping area, I knew the RV could make it. They were both waiting for me as I pulled off the dirt roadway. I got out to meet them by the well.
"Lead the way, Wizard," I said, tossing Jesse a headlamp. He put it around his head and then stuck the ladder down the hole.
"Let me get something from my kit," he said, walking toward the RV. "Oh, and I'll put up a little wall of magic. Just an illusion, but it'll hide what we're doing from view."
"You guys have fun," Jazzy said, a few minutes later, as Jesse began to climb down the ladder. "I'll make sure you do so undisturbed."
"You don’t want to check it out?" I asked, as I swung my leg onto the ladder.
"I've seen my share of wolf's dens," she replied, as Jesse reached the bottom. "I'll come down if you need me."
I was halfway down the ladder when I heard Jesse say hold. I stopped as he drew some symbols in the air. Images of runes began to appear. He studied them a bit, and then gave an all clear.
"What'd you find?" I asked, jumping down the rest of the way.
"This place used to be protected by wards," he replied. "Well crafted, at least as far as hiding goes. That's why no one discovered this before now. I'm not sure how he got through them. Unless it's because they're fading."
"Fading?"
"Spells don’t always last forever," he replied, sticking his head in the shaft and pulling it back. "Some need to be renewed. Others fade when their spell is broken, which is partly the case here." He started to climb into the shaft. "Come on. Lets' see what else we can find."
I crawled in behind him. The shaft continued 6 feet, or so, before leading into a room. It was about 10 feet by 10 feet, and shored up with timber, like a mine would be. The remains of a bunk and desk had been pushed aside from one wall, and something had been dug out of it. In front, a box sat on the floor, it's lid forced open.
"At least we know it was here," Jesse said, looking down at the box. It was about 12 inches high and 16 inches in depth and width, made of wood and leather with tarnished brass fittings. It had once been covered in illustrations, but they were blurred and unrecognizable now.
"Could there have been something else inside?" I asked, kneeling to get a better look.
"I don’t think so," he said, joining me. He placed his hands over it and mumbled a few words in Latin. "The box was once protected by a spell. Probably to guard the book inside."
"That wasn't too effective." I commented.
"Maybe not," he replied, staring down at the box. "Unless it was a curse for the one that opened it. It didn’t work out too well for Harris." He ran his hands over the box again. "I wish these images were better preserved. We'll need to get this looked at. There's ways to dig out the old spells."
"What's that over there?" I asked, noticing something on the adjacent wall. I looked closer. It was just a wall of dirt, but something about it was odd.
"Damn your Fae eyes," Jesse said, placing his hands over the spot. "There is something else buried in here. It's almost…" A shout from Jazzy interrupted him.
"We've got company," she yelled.
"What is it," I asked, sticking my head into the shaft that led back to the well.
"Looks like friendlies," she said. "There's a bunch of campers coming down the road. But one of you should probably come up here."
"Go," Jesse said as I glanced back. "I want to take a closer look at the walls. There could be more stuff hidden in there."
I climbed out and met up with Jazzy. I looked down the road to see a small caravan of trucks, trailers, and off road vehicles coming toward us. I threw the cover back over the well and the two of us covered it up with sand, then walked back and stood in front of the RV as the group got closer.
"Oh shit," Jazzy said, putting her head down. "I know those guys."
"You know them?" I asked, looking up.
"Yeah," she said. "Remember I told you that we run out here sometimes? Well, the guys driving the two front four-wheelers are pack members of my dad's."
"Keep it simple if they ask what we're doing. Do you know the girls?" I could detect a sense of magic from all of them. Nothing dark, just the typical feeling of animal power the Weres projected, and a tickle of white magic from the two females. They were Witches.
"Part of the coven some of the guy's hang with," she replied, walking up to the dirt roadway. "They're okay."
"Jasmine!" the front rider exclaimed, as he pulled up and stopped. "What are you doing out here?" He turned and looked back at the others. "Hey folks, this is Jasmine, from the pack. The one that works for the EAB!"
She looked over and shrugged. So much for staying under the radar.
"What's the EAB doing out here?" the girl behind the first rider asked, pulling a lock of wavy blonde hair from her face.
"Got a complaint about this place," I said, jumping in before Jazzy could reply. "They sent us out here to check it out."
"About time," the blonde with curly hair replied. "They need to move those graves. It's not right to leave them out here to be forgotten."
"Jay," Jazzy said, introducing me to her pack member. "This is Matt. That's Roberto on the other quad."
"And I'm Iris," the girl said, smiling. Roberto waved, and then she tapped Matt on the shoulder. "We need to get going. We're holding everyone up."
"Okay," he said, revving up the engine. "Hey, you guys should stop by later. Iris' coven is doing a gathering tonight. It's a full moon, so we're gonna go on a run while they're performing the ceremony. There's a feast after that. You should come run with us."
"I might do that," Jazzy replied.
"Feast starts an hour after sunset," Iris yelled. "Don’t be late!"
We stood and waved as the group passed by, then went back to the well. Jesse was just stepping off the ladder when we got there.
"Who was that?" he asked.
"Some of Jazzy's pack showed up four-wheeling. They came with a coven of Witches in trucks and trailers. There's a full moon tonight. They're having some kind of gathering to celebrate."
"Witches?" he said. "What'd you tell them?"
"Unfortunately, Jazzy got dimed out by one of her packmates as a member of the EAB. He wasn't being an asshole," I explained. "It was more like he wanted to show her off. Anyway, I told them we were following up on a complaint. The Witch that heard us said it was about time. Didn't like the graves being left out here to rot. But at least it gives us a cover story."
"Weak, but better than nothing," he agreed. "I need to find some cell service and call this in. I found a few more spots that may have something buried in them. I want a team out here to help with the extractions. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find something that can tell us more about the book Harris died for."
"We've got satellite TV and wireless in the RV," I explained. "It's encrypted. I just have to change the password and then you can use an app to call it in from here."
We went back to the RV and I setup the wireless. Jazzy and I waited as Jesse made a few calls and arranged for another team to come out and meet him. When he was done, he told us that he'd found two other places that might contain hidden objects. Although he'd only probed lightly, all three of the spots seemed impervious to his magical digging; leading him to believe that whatever spells protected them hadn’t faded like the rest.
We spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon helping him survey what was left of the Mission. Diagraming the layout of the old grounds on the surface, as well as the hidden room underneath. When we finished, we went back inside and put it all on the computer. Special unit or not, we still had to file the paperwork to justi
fy our existence. We did work for the government, after all. Jazzy and I wrote up our reports, then copied everything to Jesse. He'd take the lead for this segment of the case, now that another team was coming in to help.
"Jazzy?" Jesse asked, as she shut her laptop. "Can you vouch for your folks that are out there?"
"Vouch for them?" she said. "Yeah, I guess so. I can almost guarantee that none of the pack is involved in any of this crap, I would have smelled them if they'd been at any of the scenes. If you mean this particular coven. As you can guess, they're a friend to the pack. I've never heard of them practicing any of the dark arts, if that's what you're asking, and they've been coming out here for years."
"I can say the same thing, at least as far as immediate threats go," I replied. "All I felt was anticipation and curiosity as their caravan passed. That's not to say that something couldn’t be hiding out there. My Fae Protector senses aren't as fine-tuned here in the human realm. Why do you ask?"
"I've been thinking," he said, to the both of us. "If you guys want to take the night off, I can handle the rest of the work that needs to be done here."
"What are you suggesting?" I asked. "We don’t mind helping in any way we can."
"It's not that, Jefe," he replied, getting up from the table to stretch. "Look, this magic shit's gonna be boring. A bunch of Wizards spending hours trying to figure out what spells to use to remove the items safely. Trust me, it'd drive anyone crazy. It's slow and meticulous work, and it'll probably be morning before we finish. There's no reason to put you guys through that. This way, Jazzy gets to hang with her lobos, and you can check out the Brujas. You never know, maybe one of them was out here last week and saw Harris. Since they know Jazzy works for the EAB, you can tell them the place is off limits while we remove the graves. The agency has done that before, so no one should get suspicious. If that doesn’t do it for you, take the Jeep and meet me back here tomorrow. Either way is fine with me."
