Fae:Generations (Heirs of the Vegas Fae Book 1)

by Tom Keller

  But I could hear his fingers flying over the keyboard in the background as he asked the question.

  "There's a place down in Stephenville that has a Fae contact. Let me put in a call. I'll text her with the info."

  "Thanks," I replied. "You might also want to slip her the details of how we got set up next time you talk to her. I doubt that's common knowledge among the teams."

  "Oh, the office accountants are gonna love me," he said, now laughing.

  "Just a thought," I replied, chuckling myself.

  A bit later, Dee had turned the scene over to the clean-up team and wandered back to this side of the road. After pointing out the place where I had killed the Siren to one of the newcomers, she handed him the fallen spear and then joined me at the truck.

  "As soon as the tow truck gets here, I'll get one of the others to take you back," she said. "I'll pass anything we find on to you through the office."

  "I appreciate your help on this," I replied. "We knew whatever information the Sister was carrying was important. I just hadn’t expected them to react so quickly."

  "Welcome to our world, right?" she said, chuckling. She gestured toward the truck. "It's not like it was your fault. We never know what kind of cases are going to turn up, or what kind of shit we're going to run into. Literally."

  "About that," I said, glancing at the vehicle. "I called Slater, he should be texting you where to take the truck. He says there's a contact down in Stephenville that can expedite things."

  "I hadn’t thought of that," she replied. "Thanks. That'll make it easier."

  Chapter 16

  "Rise and shine, little brother!" Nikki said, throwing a pillow on my face.

  "Sorry," I said, stretching. I must have fallen asleep on the couch after returning from Texas. "What time is it?"

  "A little after five," she replied. She stopped and picked up the book that I had been reading. I must have dropped it when I fell asleep. "The Bible? Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine," I replied, taking it from her and placing it on the coffee table. "It's part of a case I'm working. The one you processed the scene on."

  "Oh. Did you get any leads on that Witch yet?" she asked. Between her position on the PD, and her connections with the agency, she probably knew I hadn’t found her.

  "Still working on it," I admitted. "Not to change the subject, but have you ever heard of a Pilgrim?"

  "I assume you're not talking about Thanksgiving," she replied, walking toward the kitchen.

  "No," I said, with a chuckle. "Not even close. I'm thinking it's some kind of person, or maybe a calling"

  "Not in that context," she replied, when she came back. "What are they supposed to be?"

  "I was told they were servants of the Earth, whatever that means," I said, trying to decide how much to tell her. Sure, she was my Queen and all, at least on the Fae side. But she was also my sister, and I figured she had enough going on without me adding to it. Besides, this really wasn’t a Fae issue. Family yes, Fae, no. But you know how messed up family can be. Just look at all that's happened to mine. Then again, if I didn’t say something, I'd never hear the end of it. "There was also a reference to Pilgrim Airways."

  "Pilgrim Airways? That's who Grandpa flew for, wasn't it?" she replied. "Are you saying he came up in the case you're working?"

  "Not exactly," I said. "Long story, but there's documentation showing that some of the members of the religious order this case led us to flew on Pilgrim Airways. Well, at least one did back in the '50s. But apparently, the founder rescued a Sister from the same order back in the '20s, before he started the airline. Not much, but it does connect the two."

  "That is interesting," she agreed. She went into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with two cups of coffee. Handing me one, she sat down next to me. "But what do you mean, not exactly? Did Grandpa come up by name?"

  "No," I replied, putting down my cup. "But there is one more thing. I reached down beside the couch and picked up the wrapped painting I'd been given. Removing the newspaper, I handed it to her. "Got this from the nun I interviewed in Texas. It's a print of an original called Pilgrim and Nun."

  "Holy shit, Jay," she said, staring down at the image. "It looks just like you." She examined it for a while before turning back to me. "If this is a print, where's the original?"

  "The guy that owned it got it from their mission in Texas when it closed down back in the '60s. Unfortunately, he's the same guy that attacked us on my way back here. He's dead now. The team in Texas is following up on him, but I doubt they're going to get much."

  "Any idea what it means?" she asked.

  "No," I admitted. "Not really. All I've got is the Pilgrim reference. There are some notes in her Bible, but I haven't found anything that relates to that yet."

  "Are you going to talk to Dad about it?" she asked. "Maybe he knows something that can help you figure it out."

  "I doubt that," I replied, taking a sip of my coffee. "But no, I don’t think I will."

  "Really," she said, putting her cup down. "Why not?"

  "If he knew something he'd have already told us," I replied. I'd already given the matter plenty of thought. "Besides, I really don’t know anything, and let's be honest. It's not like he was in any hurry to tell us about this Fae thing." I held up my hand. "Before you say it, I'm not trying to be an ass. He's got enough on his plate without me adding to it with nothing concrete. Besides, it's too damn wrapped up in my case to bring him in on it. You can understand that, can’t you?"

  She picked her cup up and stared at the steam coming from the coffee.

  "I think I can," she said, after a minute. "Tell you what. I'm going to Fae later today. I'll tell them not to bother you short of a war breaking out. Do what you need to do to figure it out."

  "That's not necessary," I replied, not expecting that response. "I can handle things in both worlds."

  "I'm sure you can," she said, getting up. "But this is important; and not just to you. Don’t forget. They did fine before we came along, and we've got plenty of warriors to cover your duties until you're done with this case."

  "You really don’t have to do that," I replied. "I'll be okay."

  "I have no doubt that's true," she said. "But it's good to be the Queen. Don’t worry, I'll have them keep you up to date with any issues. I want you to focus on this. That way I won’t have to worry about you as much."

  "If you think it's best," I said, resigned to her decision.

  "I do," she replied, walking toward the front door. "Now that that's settled, I'm heading to the office. I'll see you next week." She paused at the doorway. "By the way, you might want to think about a shower and a change of clothes. You look like shit." She waved one last time and then closed the door behind her.

  I looked down and realized I was still wearing my tattered suit from yesterday. Between my appearance and not wanting to tell our father, it was no wonder she was worried about me. I got my ass off the couch and took a shower, then changed into some comfortable clothes. It was too early to call any of the others, so I grabbed another cup of coffee and went back to looking over the Bible and making notes. Sister Jeanette had written in the blank spaces throughout the book and some of the notes were proving to be quite insightful.

  ****

  "How was Texas?" Jazzy asked as I opened the door. Jesse was right behind her "Heard you got into some shit down there."

  "Just another day at the office," I replied, leading them into the kitchen. Once again, I'd had them meet here. Aside from the office, or my dad's house, this was the safest place in the Valley to talk. Nothing I knew of could get past Nikki's wards without her permission. "But I did learn a few things. What about you guys?"

  "We met with Professor Cadish," Jesse said as he followed. "It was… interesting."

  "Okay then. Who wants to go first?" I asked as we sat down. With the exception of the box containing the Breath of God, the other items were already displayed on the table.

  "Oooh�
� show and tell," Jazzy said, looking over what I'd brought back. "Why don’t you start?"

  I gave them an overview of my visit to Texas; including most of my conversation with Sister Jeanette and the details of the attack that occurred on my way back to the HEB. Then I picked up the hairbrush.

  "What do you make of this?" I asked, twisting the handle and pulling out the hidden dagger. I handed it to Jesse.

  "That's what you killed the Siren with?" he asked, taking it from me. He held it up and examined it. "Not the kind of thing I'd expect a nun to carry. Weird. I don’t feel any magic coming from it. What's this red line along the center?"

  "According to the notes in her Bible, the blade was forged using a nail from the cross of Christ," I said, pointing to it. "I think it's activated by the presence of evil. I can tell you is that it sent that Siren straight back to Hell. The earth swallowed her up after I stabbed her with it."

  "Madre de Dios!" Jesse exclaimed, gently laying the dagger back on the table. "What have we stumbled onto?"

  "Armageddon," Jazzy said. "If all this is to be believed. What do you think, Jay?"

  "Yeah… Well," I said. "Sister Jeanette certainly thought so. Look. It seems like we're always being asked to prevent one catastrophe or another. This one is unique, I'll give you that. But this time, at least we know what we're dealing with, and how to stop them." I took the clay box out of my pocket and placed it on the table.

  "What is it?" Jesse asked. "The artwork is different than the items we recovered in the desert."

  "This, my friends," I replied. "Is how we stop him."

  "Doesn’t look like much," Jazzy exclaimed. "Looks more like a music box with those horn players on the sides."

  "Oh, it's music all right," I replied, chuckling at her description of the Angels. "Just not the kind destined for our ears."

  "What is that supposed to mean?" Jesse asked.

  "According to the Sister," I said. "This box contains the Breath of God. Per her instructions, when the gate to Dudael opens, the Angel will have to make himself known. When that happens, we open this, and he'll be summoned before the Creator."

  "You're kidding," Jazzy said.

  "I wish I was," I replied. I looked over to see a dumbfounded Jesse just staring at the box. "But according to her, that's what's inside, and it's the only way to defeat him." I turned to look at the silent Wizard. "Jesse? You okay?"

  "Yeah," he said, slowly. "It kinda makes sense." He shook his head like he was trying to clear it, then picked up the Bible; thumbing through it until he found what he was searching for. "Sorry, I was thinking of a passage. Job, if I remember correctly. Here it is. Chapter four, verse nine: By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. How else would you kill an Angel?"

  "She didn’t say it would kill him," I reminded him. "Just that he would be summoned before him."

  "Semantics," Jesse said, waving his hand. "It's like the Demons. We don't really destroy them, we send them back to Hell. It's the same thing. Merde. Let me think on this for a minute." He got up and started pacing, then pointed at the box. "Put it back in your pocket, Jay. No one else should touch it. I'll have to talk to my dad to be sure. We have to be very careful. He's got to keep Samson away from this. Rael, too. If she's anywhere close when you open it."

  "What are you saying?" Jazzy asked. "You know your dad's going to tell Samson about this."

  "No, no. That's not what I meant," he replied, sitting back down and pointing at me. "Listen. Jay said the order was given this when they were first formed. The Sister also said they didn't know who the traitor was? Don’t you get it?"

  Neither of us replied.

  "Use this," he said, picking up the dagger on the table. "They get sent back to Hell, but only after you stab them. The box isn't like that. When you open it, anyone touched by the Breath of God is going to be affected. Remember when you said that the dagger needed evil to be activated? What if this is the same? You said it would send this fallen Angel back to his creator. But what if another Angel is there, or even a Demon? What if Rael shows up? Do they all go? Remember, the upper Demon hierarchy were all Angels once. That means anyone with Angel or Demon blood could be affected. Which means even their children could be at risk, and that includes Samson. We need to be careful. We don’t know for sure what it does. Hopefully, it doesn’t kill us in the process; not that we have a choice in the matter."

  "Then I don’t want you guys there," I said. "We can't take that risk. Or at least I can't."

  "We may not have a choice in that, either," Jesse said. "Besides, we're not letting you do this alone. Let me talk to my dad. Maybe he can make better sense out of it."

  "All right. Maybe he can give us some answers. Until then, we still need to figure out how they plan to open the gate." I picked the Bible up from the table where Jesse had placed it. "The Sister kept her notes in here. She told me that whatever they were doing, they were doing it in the desert; which means we're at ground zero. I've been going through this since I got back. I have some ideas, but we're going to have to narrow it down. I'd like someone else to look at it, but here's what I got so far."

  I used my fingers to tick off what I'd learned; reading from my notes on the table.

  "They must worship the Earth; his chosen will follow Simon's words to the letter; the West wind blows fiercely when the moon is full; hallowed ground, hidden, not abandoned; the spell completes the circle; and, strike when the gate opens. That's about it."

  "Where does the desert come in?" Jazzy asked.

  "Before she died, the Sister told me to return to the desert," I replied. "She also said to read what she'd given me. I think she knew she was going to die and made sure that these things would fall into my hands. From her notes, they need the Grimoire to open the gate, and since the book's here, I think she was saying get my ass back and stop them."

  "The full moon starts tomorrow," Jazzy said. "In case you were wondering."

  "That's not good," Jesse said. "You said something about this being tried before. Any idea what happened?"

  "No," I replied. "All she said was that they were discovered and he moved against them. There's nothing specific in her notes. Although I did find the word betrayed several times, and the words we must wait for another. The ink is pretty faded in spots, but maybe the lab can come up with something more."

  "Another meaning you," Jesse said. "That's why she gave you the box."

  "Or someone like me," I said, setting the Bible back down. "Okay, I admit it. She did say I was sent there to find her. But, hell, Jesse, I don't know. But calling or not, someone's got to stop him and that's fallen to us. She did say that this Angel needed humans to perform the ritual. Let's assume for a minute that's Harris' murderer. We still have to identify her.

  "Wait a minute," Jazzy said, pulling out her cell phone and beginning to type. "Let me check something." A grim look came over her face. "Damn. I was afraid of that."

  "Afraid of what?" Jesse asked.

  "Full moon's tomorrow. High wind warning starts day after that," she said. "Winds from the west. The moon will still be full. Wait, that could work for us. Maybe we don’t need to identify him. Maybe we just need to find out where he's going."

  "That's an idea," I said. "Okay. Let's see what else we have here."

  "Not much," Jazzy said, looking down at my notes. "Hallowed ground could be anywhere."

  "No," Jesse replied, somewhat excited. "It says hidden, not abandoned, and that they cast a circle. That might narrow it down a bit.

  "I'm not sure what you're getting at," I said. "How does that help us?"

  "Do you remember when you asked me if the mission was hallowed ground?" he asked.

  "Yeah, sure," I replied.

  "Well I was wrong."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I assumed it wasn't, because the place had been abandoned," he explained, sounding excited. "But I forgot about the graves. Even though it was abandoned and had fallen back into sec
ular use, the fact that the nuns were still buried there made it sacred ground. It's technical, but the point is, we have a team that looks for places like that. They close them down whenever they find one; like they did with the mission when we called them in. They've got files on a lot of places."

  "Took them long enough to find out about it," Jazzy said.

  We both looked over at her.

  "Just saying!" she said, throwing her arms into the air.

  "There seems to be a lot of things the agency doesn’t know about," I replied. "But that's why they have us. At least it's a start."

  "… and better than nothing," Jesse declared. "The part about worshiping the Earth and the circle makes me think he needs a Witch, and we already know one's involved. We'll have to ask my dad who we can pull in to help."

  "You're right," I said, agreeing with him. "I'll leave that for you to follow up.

  "What about Beelzebub?" Jazzy asked. "Why can't we put someone on him? If he's involved, maybe he can lead us to this Angel betrayer."

  "Won’t work," Jesse said. "It's a great idea, but Demons of his caliber don’t necessarily walk the Earth all the time. Although I do know my dad's keeping an eye out for any sightings."

  "Why not?" Jazzy asked, confused.

  "He's the upper tier," Jesse explained. "They're around, but they don’t show themselves much. They're more the whisper in people's ear kind of Demon. Besides, if this really is a plot against Lucifer, he'll be keeping a low profile."

  "I agree," I said. "He's higher than Syrach. You almost never see their kind here. They like to stay in the shadows. They've got lesser Demons and half-Demons to do their dirty work. Although his feud with Rael might mean he's here more often. What about the Professor? Did you learn anything from her?"

  "No," Jesse replied, with a sideward glance to Jazzy. "Not really. Said she's simply someone fascinated by history and is lucky enough to have her interests be her profession. The religion angle is just part of it. She barely remembers the place in the book. As far as magic goes, we didn't bring it up specifically, but she passed everything off as religious beliefs and symbolism. Of course, we didn't tell her we were the EAB. Anyway, as for any magical ability, I got nothing from her. Nada. As best I can tell, she is what she claims to be. I've got nothing that indicates she's anything else; but Jazzy's not so sure."