by Tom Keller
"Could it have been Mystika, with a K?"
"Maybe. Wait, yeah. How did you know?"
"Let's not worry about that for the moment," I said. "Now, did he tell you where he was going?"
"All he said was something about Tule Springs," he replied. "We have events there, but I'm not sure where in the park he would go. He took his truck… the black one with the Lucky plates."
"I know what it looks like," I replied, placing my hand over the speaker as I turned to Jazzy. "Call Jesse. Tell him to meet us at Tule Springs and bring back-up. Then send someone to the 13th Candle Magic Shoppe. We've got a lead on the missing athame. Tell them they need to look at a computer there." I returned to my call. "You're still at the Shoppe, right?"
"Yes," he said. "What should I do?"
"I want you to lock up and stay put," I said, motioning to Jazzy. "Then pull the power cord for his computer from the wall. Don't turn it off. Just pull the cord. I'm sending someone over. They'll have EAB I.D. Don't let anyone else in until they get there. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," he replied. "Everything's already locked up."
"Good," I said. "Agents are on their way. Steve, one more thing. Do whatever they ask. Don’t hide anything. Lucky's life may depend on that. You got it?"
"Yes sir," he replied. "I do."
"I'm on my way to find him," I said. "Call me if you hear from him first." Then I hung up the phone.
I locked the mirror and rest of the Sister's possessions in the safe. There was no reason to risk losing them if this was part of a ruse. I also grabbed a shotgun and some extra rounds. Normally, they'd be in my SUV, but I hadn’t had the chance to fabricate a secure locker yet.
"Demon loads? " Jazzy asked, as I shouldered the weapon.
"Better than nothing," I replied, remembering their effectiveness on the Siren. Then we headed out to Tule Springs. On the way, I contacted Slater and asked him to pass on the description of Lucky's truck, and his personalized plates, to the locals just in case we were wrong. Ten minutes later, I was turning onto Brent Lane from Durango, heading into the park.
"His truck's not here," Jazzy said, looking over the empty parking lot. It was late, and the park had closed several hours ago "There's just enough wind to make things difficult. Let me take a quick run around the park. I'll call out if I spot him."
She began to undress, and I noticed the crossed leather straps over her chest. The Egyptian knife, as well as her own, were sheathed over her sternum.
"Had the armorer fabricate it for me," she said, noticing me admiring it. She pulled the straps tighter against her body. "It stays on when I shift. I figure it'll save a few seconds next time I need a weapon. You've got a great arm, but you won’t always be in a position to toss me one."
"Very smart," I said, taking her clothes.
She nodded, then shifted and took off toward the lake in the middle of the park, while I looked around. It was quiet as far as the eye could see. The full moon helped, but even Fae eyes couldn’t see through trees or buildings.
"He's not here," she said, some ten minutes later. "I'm not getting any scent at all. The wind's from the north. Let's hit the south end and see if something comes up."
She threw on her cover-up and we drove back the way we came, then headed toward Racel Street.
"There," I said, pointing to a dark spot out in the desert. I continued straight another 400 yards or so, then turned left onto a dirt access road. The truck was parked by itself at the bottom of the small hill, just above the detention basin access road. The personalized plates blazed as my headlights swung across them and I pulled up behind it.
"I already smell him," Jazzy said, as we cautiously approached the truck. "The wind is making it difficult, but there's something else out there, too. Probably waiting for us."
"Empty," I replied, peeking into the cab. "Yeah, I can see a body a few hundred feet into the basin. Can’t see anyone else, though. You want to shift now, or wait till we get down there?"
"Better now," she said, throwing me her dress. "I'll go wide and watch as you walk in. We'll hit them from both sides if someone's out there waiting for us."
"Works for me," I said, as she raced off to parallel the detention basin. I gave her about thirty seconds, then walked down the trail, my shotgun leading the way.
I knelt beside him. No question. He was dead. Dumb son of a bitch! I hate to speak ill of the dead, but he should have known better. Nothing else moved, so I did a quick exam of the body. No obvious wounds, but I hadn’t expected any. Like Harris, this had been done with magic. I felt the breeze pick up, then scanned the area. Something was out here, but I couldn't tell whether it was a trap, or if they were just content to identify us for now. I'd have to wait and see.
I should be so lucky. Two figures came racing out of the drainage canal straight for me. Damn. Unlike the subjugates I'd dealt with before, these appeared to be fully possessed. Their dead white eyes glowed in the moonlight.
Jazzy was just turning off the path to intercept them. I raised my shotgun and she slowed down to a walk. At about 50 yards, I fired two rounds at each and waited to see what they'd do. I was carrying loads designed to kill Demons, but like I'd learned, you couldn't always count on them. The first one stumbled and didn't get up. The second made it within a few yards before it did the same. I squatted to lower my profile, then scanned the area to look for more. I heard a short bark, and turned to see Jazzy go low. Then the mist began to roll down the sides of the embankment and the temperature dropped. Now what?
As the fog rolled in, I called out to Jazzy and waved her closer. Then I saw it come over the rise. Picture a man bending himself over backwards onto his hands, then walking on all fours. His head thrusts upward, twisting around at the neck, while his body bends down, looking every bit like four-legged spider from Hell. Which is, minus the spider part, what it was. The bodies were probably freshly dead, now possessed by the very Demons that owned their souls. I watched three more come down the hill and scatter, disappearing into the mist. I knelt, then ejected the four rounds I had left; letting them fall to the ground. I tossed the now empty shotgun onto the dirt next to Lucky. It wasn't going to do me any more good than him in this fog. The spell producing it had been designed to limit even my Fae vision. I pulled my sword and the Sister's dagger.
"I counted four," I whispered to the wolf as she came up to my side. "They've split up. We'll have to try and take them one at a time. Whoever spots one, we take the fight to them. Make some noise so the other can back them up. Use the knives. I don't think you're gonna like the way these taste."
She gave a low growl, then slunk back into the mist and disappeared.
I lifted my head above the fog, then scanned to look for any disturbance. Jazzy spotted him before I did. I heard her snarl, then she gave a series of high pitched barks. I ran in her direction as the first of the Demons started toward the sound. She raced towards him, jumping and shifting just before they collided. I saw the downward slice of her knife make contact as the thing swerved in my direction, avoiding the fatal strike she had gone for. I swung my sword and beheaded it before it knew I was there. I ducked back into the mist and crawled a few yards to put some distance between us.
Unfortunately, the Demons weren't stupid. I ran into a second one that must have been shadowing me as we'd attacked the other. I slid down and rolled, narrowly missing its gnashing fangs and the claw that had tried to rake across my chest. I started to spring up to avoid it again, when two knives came down on each side of its chest as Jazzy shifted into human form above it. It fell flat on its face with Jazzy on top. She looked up at me and pulled out the knives, then spun off the body and knelt beside me.
"That's two," she said, breathing heavily. "Did you see the others?"
"No," I admitted, rolling around her so we were back to back. "I got distracted. Ready to go again?"
"I thought you'd never ask," she replied, sheathing her knives and shifting back into wolf form.
"Wait!" I
said, grabbing her by the flank." There was a muffled series of sounds coming from the ridge. Then a flash appeared and the mist began to recede.
Jazzy and I could now see the two Demons approaching from the sides. Before we could move, one was blasted by a bolt of blue lightning. I looked up to see Jesse tossing fireballs like candy; forcing the Demon back and onto the ground.
We didn’t hesitate. We took on the last Demon at the same time. She leapt high as I went low, both of us thrusting our knives into its rotting flesh at the same time. The Demon gave a shrieking howl as the earth enveloped it. The Sister's knife had sent it back to Hell to join its lost soul. We turned to see Jesse's Demon crumple in on itself as the blue flames consumed it, and then it was over. The moonlit night was now showing an almost empty basin, as the last of the mist evaporated into the air.
"Good timing," I said, sheathing the dagger. I pulled Jazzy's dress out of my back pocket and tossed it to her, then met Jesse as he came the rest of the way down the hill.
"Any excuse to get out of the office," he said, patting me on the back. He pointed at Lucky's body. "Es el?"
"Yeah," I replied, wiping my bloody hands on my pants. "He was already dead when we got here."
"Any sign of the athame?" he asked.
"I didn’t have time for a complete search," I said. "But I wouldn’t hold my breath."
"I'll check," Jazzy said, as she knelt next to Lucky's body. She looked up a minute later. "He's clean. Just some keys in his pocket. Saw a wallet in the truck. I doubt there'll be much else."
"Why the welcoming committee?" Jesse asked, strolling over to one of the dead Demons. "That doesn’t seem right. They got what they wanted."
I started to answer, but stopped as I heard several cars turn off the road.
"That's the back-up team," Jesse said, looking up. "I requested them from the car. I was already out the door when I got your call."
"What about the Magic Shoppe?" I asked. "Who's going there?"
"I told Slater to handle it," he replied. "He texted me as I pulled up. Your caller's in protective custody and they've got the computer. We'll have to go over what happened here. I'm sure they'll want a complete report."
"I expected as much," I replied, hearing car doors as the newly arriving agents made their way to where we were waiting.
We spent the next several hours going over the scene, hoping to find something that could help. We stood by while the place was cleaned up and our agents coordinated the rest with the local PD. I spent a half hour of that time speaking to my favorite lieutenant. O'Malley wasn't happy, but then, when was he ever? When we were finished, Jesse joined us and we went back to Nikki's place. He still had to give his father his impressions and opinion on the mirror. Time was short and we still didn’t know who we were dealing with.
Chapter 19
"You still working on that?" I asked Jesse as I came down the stairs. He was on the couch, sitting exactly where he'd been when I went to bed, examining the mirror.
"Just got back to it," he said. "I used the shower in the guest room. Jazzy's in there now." He picked up his cup. "Coffee's made. Where's Nikki?"
"She's in Fae," I said, going into the kitchen to grab a cup. "Playing Queen." I sat down next to him. "You figure out why it's not working?"
"I think it is working," he replied, holding it up. "There just isn’t anything to see. Not yet, anyway."
"What does that mean?"
"One of her notes said, it will show the way," he said, pointing to a stack of papers on the table. It was a copy of the Sister's Bible. "Most of the rest of the passage is smeared, but I think one part says, make himself known. Maybe, if the knife is activated by evil, then our Angel has to do something for this to work."
"You mean like it's tuned in to him alone?" I asked, putting down my coffee. "That doesn’t seem very useful. She told me he wouldn’t reveal himself until the portal actually opened."
"Unless it's not tuned to him directly," he said, excitedly. "What if it's tuned into the Grimoire?"
"Now that makes more sense," I replied, then remembered something else. "Oh, shit!"
"What's the matter?' he asked.
"Something a friend told me," I replied, picking up my phone. I dialed Iris' number. There was no answer. Damn. "She said he bathed his evil in light. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn’t there."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Look," I replied. "Let's say the mirror is tuned to the Grimoire. The book's evil, right?"
"Yeah, you could say that. I don’t know what all it contains. But if it opens a portal to Azazael, it can't be good."
"Exactly. I was thinking about this last night, staring down at Lucky, cold on the ground. I'm pretty good at knowing when someone is lying to me. That was true even before all this Fae shit happened. But Lucky? I missed all the signs; because there weren't any. I'll admit, he acted nervous, but I never thought he'd be that stupid. Then there's Dee. The Wizard in Texas. She interviewed the Mage that attacked us a day or two before it happened. Never got a hint of magic from him. She knew there was something off about the guy. She just couldn't put it together."
"What’s your point, Jefe?" Jesse asked as Jazzy walked into the room.
There was a noise at the window. One of Nikki's tree's branches was banging against it as it moved back and forth in the wind.
"I thought you said the wind wasn't supposed to start until tomorrow?" I asked, my chain of thought interrupted.
"It wasn't," she said, walking to the window. "It's really kicking up, though. That's not a good sign."
"Do you have Iris' home number?" I asked her.
"Yeah, sure" she replied. "What's up?"
"She was supposed to call me after meeting her aunt this morning. They were going to get coffee, but it's almost 11:00 a.m. and I haven't heard from her," I said. "She's not answering her cell. Do me a favor. Call her house. If she's not there try the office."
"What are you thinking?" Jesse asked.
"Iris' aunt, this Abigail," I replied. "You didn't sense any magic, but Jazzy didn’t like her either."
"That's not much to go on, Jefe," he said. "Jazzy doesn’t like a lot of people. Well… you know what I mean."
"I do," I agreed. "But something doesn’t feel right about all this."
"She's not answering," Jazzy said, coming into the room.
"We have to find her," I said, getting up.
"Hold on, Jay," Jazzy cautioned. "We don’t even know where to begin. This isn’t something you can do alone. Let's call this in."
"She's right," Jesse said, waving the stack of papers in the air. "We need to stay together. Let the others look for her. We'll deal with it once we get a lead. I've got more to tell you. Details in her notes that are important, and something else, too."
"Fine," I replied, sitting back down. I put my head in my hands and started barking out orders. "Put a call into Slater. Get a bolo out. No contact, but find her car. Then have someone go by the house. The professor's, too." I directed my attention on Jesse. "Where are we on places this could go down at?"
"We've got teams across the Valley staked out anywhere that looks even vaguely possible," Jesse replied. "If anyone shows up, we'll be the first to know."
"Okay," I replied, relaxing a little. They were right. I didn't even know where to begin to try and find her. I had to place my trust in others, like it or not. "What were you saying about more notes?"
"It's a reference to your Pilgrims," he replied. "The passage reads, He will confront the Pilgrim. It doesn’t say who, but it's got to mean the Angel. Then there's Rael."
"Rael?" I replied, surprised by the mention of her name. "Where does she come in?"
"Right after you called me last night," he said. "I was just getting ready to call my dad when he walked in my office. He told me Samson had consulted Rael. Something to do with these Pilgrims and who they really are. I don't know what she said, but he told me to get back to you and figure this
out. He also told me the full resources of the agency were behind us. After that, all he said was to keep him apprised of what we're doing. I already called him this morning and gave him a report about last night. He said good work, then hung up. I 'm not sure what's changed their minds, but whatever this Pilgrim thing is, it's for real, and you're it."
"It'd sure be nice if someone would tell me," I said, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. "I looked her right in the eyes and she played dumb. I am so sick of bullshit! Hints and references… Can’t anybody give you straight answers anymore?"
"I've got one, " Jazzy said, coming in from the other room. "But you're not going to like it. They found Iris' car. It's in a shopping center, near several coffee shops, just down the street from her office. One of the PD units was in the lot when the bolo came out. Says they talked to a gal that saw two women next to it. They might have been arguing. She thinks they left together in a black sedan."
"Don’t tell me," I said. "Abigail's car is black."
"You got it," she replied. "PD ran down the plate. They're looking for it now. I've already passed it on to our people." There was a slight pause. "I called the pack, too. They're going to keep an eye out. I would suggest you do the same. Just in case."
I tried to put out a mental call to Sendy, but there was no reply. Of course, she wasn't beholden to me, so I picked up my phone and dialed Mal. All he could tell me was that she was doing something for my father. Never a Sky Fae around when you need one. Wait, that wasn't fair. Then I called Michael at the Neptune. It had also appeared on their bolo list, but it never hurt to put in a personal plea.
"It'll be okay, Jay," Jazzy said, taking a seat beside me. "We've got everyone out looking for her. If she wanted Iris dead, she wouldn’t have taken her. Maybe there's something we don’t know yet. Let's go over it all again."
"You expect me to sit here all day trying to figure out where the hell they'll be tomorrow?" I asked. "Maybe we'll find something? Damn, Jazzy! We've got a supposed Biblical Apocalypse to deal with that nobody seems too concerned about, except us. And now the bastards kidnap my new girlfriend! Could it get much worse?" I pointed down at the table. "We've been through all this stuff several times. What are we gonna find here that we haven’t already?"
