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

by Tom Keller

  "About that," Jesse said, now standing by the window. "I don't think we’ve got another day."

  We got up and joined him at the window; just as the house seemed to shake from a massive gust of wind. The view outside was… well, there wasn't one. Dust filled the air, and I could barely see the back wall of Nikki's property. The wind had kicked up all right. Gusts had to be over 70 mph. It wasn't what they called a haboob. The Valley was set between mountains that prevented those for the most part, but it was close enough. Shit! So much for the weather report.

  "That settles that," Jesse said, heading back to the table. "Come on, Jay. There's nothing you can do out there. At least not right now. Let's see if there's something else here we can use."

  That's exactly what we did. For over seven hours, except for the occasional break and to call Iris' cellphone. Then we had our first real luck when the mirror began to flash. We'd left it at the center of the table, with the rosary in place. It'd been dark all day, but now an image was trying to show itself.

  "I don’t suppose they made rabbit ears for this thing," I said, trying to get a clear look at the image. I even tried the comb; but that didn’t help. Eventually, though, the image became clearer, off and on. But at least you could see it for a few seconds, before it faded out again. It wasn't much, just a white building. But it did look familiar. If only I could remember why.

  "Looks like it's plastered, " Jazzy said. "The walls, I mean. Looks old. Could this thing be looking back in time?"

  "I don't think so," Jesse said, looking closer. "Not unless they were also having a dust storm at the time."

  "I know that place," I said. "I've seen it before."

  "You've seen it?" Jazzy said. "Where?"

  "I'm thinking…," I replied, leaning closer. "I was with my dad… Hold on, let me check something." I picked up my phone and went to the maps app. I zeroed in on an area Northeast of town. "It was there. The model airplane airport. My dad used to take me there when I was a kid and I remember driving by that building a few times."

  "Model airplane airport?" Jesse asked. "You mean the one by the stadium?"

  "No, the old one," I replied. "Off North Fifth. It's gone now. They built houses over it. I'm not exactly sure where this is, but it looks like there's a few dirt lots still out there that haven’t been developed. Grab the mirror and let's go. We've got to find it before they complete whatever spell is making this happen.

  Chapter 20

  We piled into my SUV and headed east on Craig Road, then north on Fifth Street till we passed the pig farm. Visibility sucked and dirt lots kick up a lot of dust. We had to drive around the area to find the one that housed the old building. We finally found it east of us, just off Regina. I pulled over soon after making the turn, parking a few hundred yards away. I remembered it as soon as I saw it through the blowing dust. It was an old church; probably built in the 30s. It had been abandoned for a long time. There had been several other buildings here but all that remained of them was the pads they once stood on.

  "There's the black sedan," Jazzy said, her wolf eyes squinting to see through the dust.

  "This wasn't on our list of places," Jesse admitted, looking at the screen on his phone. "I'll call it in, but it may take them awhile. How do you want to play it?"

  "Give me a second," I said, trying to decide the best course of action. Something on the windshield caught my attention. First one, then two, then three black flies appeared. They perched there for a moment, then a strong gust of wind blew them away.

  "Jay, something's happening," Jesse said, reaching between the seats to show us the mirror. The building was gone. In its place was a grainy image of an old book, and it was open.

  "Take this," I said, turning toward Jazzy. I placed the Sister's dagger in her hand.

  "Don’t you think you'll need it?" she asked, a concerned look on her face.

  "Give me the Fae one," I said. "Beelzebub is here. You'll need to take him out if the Breath of God only works on the Angel."

  "Beelzebub," Jesse asked as Jazzy handed me the dagger. "How do you know that he's here?"

  "Lord of the flies, remember?" I replied, pointing to the windshield as another fly tried to land. "Is there any other reason they would be out here… in this wind? He's here, and he knows we're coming. We don’t have much time. Here's the plan. I'm going in alone."

  Jesse started to object but I held up my hand.

  "I'm the Pilgrim, right? Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. Jazzy can cover me. Don’t come in until I use the Breath of God. Kill Beelzebub if he's still standing, then get to Iris if I can’t. Hopefully the wind and dust will conceal your movement. Jesse, you have to protect Iris if we fail. Jazzy, same thing. If things go south, forget about me and Beelzebub. I don't care what you have to do. Get her out of there when the time comes. Got it? We'll worry about the portal if we make it that far."

  "Not exactly my idea of a perfect plan," Jazzy said, stripping out of her clothes. "But since she is your girlfriend…"

  "Don’t even start," I said, glaring at her. "Unless anyone has a better idea, that's all I've got." When no one replied, I opened the door and stepped out into the storm. I barely heard the other door slam as Jazzy followed a few seconds later.

  I fought my way through the stinging wind to the old church. As I neared the front, I felt, more than saw, something move by the door. I swear that Beelzebub was screwing with me, as two more of his upside-down Demons came into view. I wasn't fazed. I was pissed off. I pulled my sword and decapitated both of them when they moved toward me. Then I went up the steps and kicked in the door.

  The room I entered was lit by candles. In the center, the pews had been pushed aside and a large circle with intricate symbols had been drawn on the floor. At the altar, an older woman with dark blonde hair stood, mumbling words in an old language as she read from the Grimoire. She looked up as I stepped into the room. She'd aged a bit since the picture on her book, but it was Abigail Cadish. She didn't say a word to me. She just turned her head to the far side of the room where a tall figure stood in the shadows. Suddenly, the wind blew the door closed.

  "Jay… Jay… We've been expecting you," the tall figure said as he stepped into the candlelight. He was in human form, looking like he was in his 30's or so, with dark hair and hollow eyes. He was wearing a light grey suit with matching shirt and tie. His shoes, made of some fine leather, were grey. "Too bad your father couldn't have joined us."

  "Beelzebub," I said, turning to face him. "I thought I smelled shit when I came into the room."

  "Is that any way to greet a new acquaintance?" the Demon replied, licking his lips. "I even sent friends to greet you."

  "If by friends you mean the dipshit Demons you sent after me. You'll be happy to know I sent them back to Hell."

  "How very kind," he said. "Perhaps I shall do the same to your friend." He reached into the shadows behind him and pulled Iris to her feet. Her hands were bound and there was duct tape over her mouth. "Unless, of course, she decides to play nicely. You may want to talk to her about that. For her own sake." He ripped the duct tape from her mouth.

  She grimaced as it came off.

  I started to move, but he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her closer.

  "Uh, uh, uh…," he said, putting a finger to her cheek as his clawed nail burst into flame. He waved it in front of her. "Wouldn’t want to spoil her pretty face, now would we?"

  As I backed off, he threw her into the circle in the center of the room. Reaching around, he pulled out a black bag and tossed it in with her. Then he knelt at one of the symbols. I could see that the circle hadn't been closed yet.

  "Take out the athame," Abigail said, from behind the altar.

  'Fuck you," Iris yelled. "I told you I'm not doing this!"

  "You will do as I command," she screeched, and raised a hand, pushing it toward her as a burst of gold colored magic shot out, hitting Iris in the chest.

  She was tossed backwards, falling flat and co
nvulsing, as a wave of flame coursed over and around her body.

  "Next time," Abigail said. "I will not be so gentle. Now pick it up!"

  "No," she said, getting back on her feet. "Why are you doing this?"

  "Stubborn," Beelzebub said, laughing cruelly. "You may want to talk to her, Jay. I'd hate to see her end up like the last one. It would be tragic for one like her to die so young."

  "Shut up," I said, before he could speak again. "Iris, just do what she says."

  "I can’t," she replied. "This is dark, dark, magic, Jay. We don’t know what it will do."

  "Trust me, Iris," I replied, walking to the edge of the circle. "I know what's happening here. Just pick it up.

  "But…," she began.

  "Take the athame!" Abigail spat out again, then began to move her arm back again.

  "Iris! You have to trust me on this," I implored. "It's not worth dying over. Just do it. I promise it'll be okay."

  She hesitated, but then opened the cloth covered bundle, revealing the black handled athame. As she pulled it out, Beelzebub reached down and completed the circle with his finger. When it was closed, it burst into flame. At the same time, Iris touched the handle and was suddenly pulled upward. The athame took on a life of its own, stretching out her arm as it pointed upward. The color drained from Iris's face as her muscles went slack. Looking drugged, she stood there, holding the raised blade.

  "Repeat what I say," Abigail said, reading and translating from the Grimoire.

  Teacher of knowledge, bless this athame.

  May it open the gate, closed for eternity.

  Ancient Mage, bless this athame.

  Rise now, from the darkness and the deep.

  Let it be so.

  Iris, looking dazed, repeated the words as they were spoken. As she finished, the athame dropped down, then began moving itself around the circle, cutting fiery symbols into the air as Iris followed jerkily behind.

  "It has begun, " Abigail said, as white fire began to swirl around her. There was burst of bright light, and Abigail fell to the ground. I could see Beelzebub shield his eyes. Seconds later, the spirit of the Angel that had possessed her rose out of the body, and solidified into corporeal form.

  "Mortals," he said, stretching out his feathered wings. "How can you stand them?"

  "They have their uses," Beelzebub replied, watching Iris as she followed the path of the athame.

  "Quiet, Demon," the Angel said. "I was not speaking to you. Our bargain is fulfilled." He pointed his finger at me. "But this one, this Fae. What is this mortal to you?'

  "I hardly know her" I replied. "Nice girl, though. Didn't want to see her get hurt."

  "Falsehoods," he said. "Typical of your kind. I never understood what you saw in them. Tell me. Why are you here? Certainly not because of me. You are not a Pilgrim. You are of the Fae. This is not your concern."

  "What can I say," I said, stalling for time. I had to keep him distracted; at least long enough for whatever spell Iris was stuck in to finish so the portal would open. I would have loved to raise my sword and fight, but sometimes, words can be just as effective a weapon, especially when you're stalling for time. "You know how it is. They grow on you. The mortals I mean."

  "They are a disease," he said, pointing to Beelzebub. "Let them rot in his Hell where they belong. A pestilence, spreading their sickness over all they touch. Look at what they have done to your own kind. Where are your Gods now? Just as the Angels were corrupted, so were they. Where are the 200 that the maker sent to watch over them? Fouled by the plague that is mortal man. But that will soon end. When the last of the symbols are written, the gateway will open."

  "Excuse me," I said, when he had finished. "Am I missing something here? Didn’t God create man? And in his own image? Are you sure he's gonna be happy if they get killed off? Not that it's any of my business, but it seems kind of sacrilegious to be questioning the role of God's creation to me. Just saying."

  "He will know their true nature when he sees what has occurred," he said, his wings flaring. He raised his hand and a flaming sword appeared. "They infect us all. Even I, destroyer of worlds and fist of his wrath have been affected by their sickness. He will see, and know I have done what must be done."

  There was a thump as Iris fell to the ground; the spell that held her now completed. Then she was tossed aside as the circle burst into light, a glowing portal now replacing the symbols that had been drawn on the floor.

  "It is finished," the Angel exclaimed.

  "One more thing," I yelled, before he could take a step forward. "I don't think you should wait. I think it'd be better if you told God now." Then I took my hand out of my pocket and twisted off the top of the small clay box, spilling its contents into the air.

  "No!" the Angel screamed as a hot wind swept across the room. A ball of golden flame appeared, sparks flying as the heat and winds blew around it. Beelzebub stepped back to avoid it, but a spark ignited in front of him and he was caught by the swirling winds and raised into the air. Up he went, arms flailing. A moment later the Angel followed, sucked up through the center of a tornado-like wind that blew the roof off as it carried them into the heavens.

  As the tornado continued upward, I searched for Iris. I saw her in the corner and tried to reach her. Jazzy beat me to it, shifting and covering her with her body as the wind pushed me away. The pop that sounded when it suddenly stopped sucked all the air out of the room. I fell to the floor, my eardrums pounding. Across from me, I could see Jazzy trying to rouse Iris. I stood slowly, realizing that the portal was still open. Jesse stood before it, the Grimoire already in his hands.

  Chapter 21

  "Why is it still open?" I asked, Jesse as I stumbled over to him.

  "I have no idea," he replied.

  I heard coughing and turned to see Abigail trying to rise. I went over and knelt beside her.

  She gasped, taking in deep breaths as she tried to stand.

  "Slow down there," I said, helping her to a sitting position. I leaned her against what was left of the altar.

  "Where am I?" she asked, peering up at me. "Who are you?"

  "Long story," I replied, standing. "Just catch your breath. Someone will be along to explain it to you in a bit."

  I walked over to check on Iris. Jazzy stood up as I approached, putting on the dress that Jesse had brought for her.

  "How is she?" I asked.

  "Shaken up," she replied.

  "Shaken up, my ass," Iris said, getting up from the floor. She threw her arms around me. "You asshole! If you thought there was going to be danger? What do you call this? Not much of a warning, thank you very much!"

  "I swear to you," I whispered. "We didn't know it was your aunt. Not until it was too late. But I did know the only way to stop them was for the portal to be opened. Sorry I couldn't tell you that before, but I had no way of knowing they would use you to open it."

  "Iris," a voice called out. "Is that you?"

  "She doesn’t know what's going on," I said, as she looked over at Abigail. "Angelic possession, as strange as that sounds. You might want to see how she's doing. I doubt she remembers much of what she did."

  "That's probably a good thing," Iris said. She gave me a stern look, then kissed me and put her lips to my ear. "We are so going to continue this conversation."

  "Dodged that one," Jazzy said, snickering, as Iris went over to care for her aunt.

  "I'm not so sure I did," I replied, and then walked back to the portal.

  You got any idea how to close it?" I asked Jesse, as the three of us stared into the opening. Across the void was more desert, but the shimmering waves of heat reflecting off the sand left no doubt in my mind that the other side wasn't in Vegas.

  "Maybe there's something in the book," he said, opening the Grimoire and scanning through the pages.

  "Okay. How about this," I said, giving it some thought. "Do you think you can keep it open? At least long enough to see where it leads?"

  "Shit, Jay. I
don’t know," he replied. "I'd tell you to wait, but I have no idea what's happening with this thing." He picked up his phone. "We need to get some back up out here."

  "I thought you already did that," Jazzy said, in a surprised tone.

  "Cells went down," he said. "Probably the weather. You guys had already left, so I figured it was better to back you up myself. Then the shit hit the fan and, well… here we are."

  "That was the right call, brother," I said, patting him on the shoulder. "Try to call Slater again, let him know what we're doing."

  "What are we doing?" Jazzy asked, as I moved closer to the portal.

  "I don't know about you, but I'm going in," I replied. "Like the man said. We have no idea what's going on here. We have to find out if this Azazael is still in lockdown. I don’t know any other way to do it. You with me?"

  "Oh hell, Jay," Jazzy said, stripping out of her dress for the umpteenth time today. "When have I ever not been? Iris is right. You are an asshole."

  ****

  Damn," I said, the dry heat pounding us as we hit the desert sand. I turned to Jazzy, already in wolf form. "We need to figure out a heading. I'll take that hill. You take the other" I pointed to a series of small dunes. Hill was being generous. "Yell out if you see anything."

  We took off together, splitting up as we each ran up our designated hills. I reached the top just a second behind her, stopped, and looked to see what was out there. Desolation was as good a word as any. The Gobi would have been less arid. Even my Fae eyes had trouble in this bright sun. I squinted and looked over nothing but desert as far as the eye could see. Then I heard a sharp bark and looked across to Jazzy. She made eye contact and then took off down the other side of the hill. I sprinted to catch up.

  I caught up with her a few miles later. She had stopped at the edge of what looked like a large crater in the sand. Down below us, in the center, surrounded by large rocks, sat a domed structure. We looked at each other for a moment, and then I followed her down.