The music and din of conversation from the bar stopped abruptly. It was replaced by a new but different noise. Softer music drifted through the air, soothing and relaxing even though the source was impossible to pinpoint.
They were in a large room filled with couches and tables. Men and women of various races were playing games of chance at the tables while others were reclining on the couches resting, drinking, or enjoying some private company. Several doors led off the room, each of them marked with a new shimmering curtain of light that gave no hint as to what lay beyond them.
"What the hell is this place?" Dag'on mumbled as he spun around slowly.
"Fallen Angels is upstairs," Brill said. "This, here, is Paradise Lost."
"And the curtains? I thought teleportation was forbidden here?"
"There's a loophole," the angel explained. "Short distance, such as within the same building is permitted so long as they are fixed bidirectional portals. Much better than stairs."
Dag'on glanced around some more, processing it. He focused on the waiters and waitresses and dealers, all of them beautiful and friendly specimens of their races. "I never would have imagined this being here. Or anywhere!"
Brill's laughter seemed to fill the room with sunshine. "Seeing is believing, and having of this extraordinary woman on your arm puts you in extremely good company."
"We're not together," Val snapped.
"Of course not," Brill soothed. "But there's something between you, even if I can't quite see it."
"She saved my life," Dag'on said. "I'm bound to her until I can return the favor."
Brill laughed again.
"What?"
"Pardon my vulgarity, but you're fucked," the angel said. Even hearing the word slip from the angel's lips made both of them wince at the obscenity. "Valerie saved my life once too. She refused my service or my favor, but she still stops by from time to time to remind me that even a simple human can be more magnificent than the strongest meta."
Dag'on turned to stare at Val.
She ignored him. "You said privacy?"
Brill smiled. "Of course, follow me."
Val and Dag'on trailed after her as she wound through the lounge and offered simple words and smiles to her employees and patrons. She took them to another curtain and stepped through.
The new room was rectangular with a desk to their left. Three small ivory couches were arranged to their right facing each other and leaving the opening towards the desk. A small table rested between them. Brilla made her way to the far couch and sat down with a fluid grace only an angel could manage.
"Please, sit. The room is very secure, I promise you. Sabine might like recording what goes on in her chambers, but I do not."
"Oh my god," Val muttered as she shook her head. She made her way to the couch against the right wall and sat down. She raised her eyebrows at Dag'on and glanced at the remaining couch, instructing him with her eyes to take it. He did.
As soon as he sat down Brilla started in. "Where ever did you find such a naïve incubus?"
"Hey!" Dag'on argued. "I'm not naïve, I've just never been into the Warrens. My clientele is more exclusive."
"Clearly," Brilla said and glanced at Val. Val pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Brilla showed no such restraint.
"What I don't get is how you have a succubus working for you. That seems, oh, I don't know— impossible!"
"Remember when I said Val saved my life?"
Dag'on nodded.
"She saved Sabine too. We'd both been captured by a human wizard that used our biases against each other to his advantage. He had some truly unpleasant things planned for us, but Val helped us both overcome our problems and work together. Because of her we not only survived, but we opened our minds and learned a great many things about ourselves and each other."
Dag'on held up a hand to stop her. "Uh, this story isn't going to end up in some sort of three-way is it?"
Brill's eyes widened. "Leave it to an incubus to go there. Jealous that you weren't invited?"
Val snorted, ignoring Brill's question for the man. "Hardly. I told you I'm not into girls."
"Not into guys either, it seems," he amended.
"She had a man once," Brill said.
"Brill, that's enough," Val snapped. "I'm here looking for someone."
"Of course you are, sweetie. You're always looking for somebody."
Val nodded. "I suppose that's true."
The angel smiled and leaned forward just as her dress flashed transparent for half a second. She remained oblivious the display she offered and said, "So tell me how I can help."
Val nodded. "Well, what I know so far is there are several missing metas. I have no proof they are related though."
"But you think they are?"
Val nodded.
"Then they are unless you find otherwise," Brill said. She looked at Dag'on before adding, "Never doubt this woman's instinct."
Val ignored the heat in her cheeks from the unexpected praise. "The second item is a list of herbs and magical components obtained by an anonymous woman. My source believes that they could be combined to create a potion or salve that would allow for the rejuvenation and restoration of dead flesh for a prolonged period, days or weeks, even."
The angel's smile faded. "Why? I can see some uses for that sort of thing. Well, many, I suppose, but I can only justify a few. The rest speak of—"
"Dark arts," the incubus muttered. He looked at Val and said, "You didn't tell me anything about this."
Val glanced at him and away. "I just found out when you saw me."
"Dark magic is my fear," Brill said. "Although magic is without moral or intent by itself, it is the desire of the user that often turns it dark or light."
"Necromancy," Val confirmed. "That's my instinct."
"And how do the missing metas fit in?" Brill wondered.
"The ingredients were mundane enough on their own, but I'm told they are substitutes for natural ingredients. Living, organic tissues and samples."
"You think the metas were killed and their bodies harvested?" the angel asked.
"Probably. Some, at least," Val agreed. "Others, maybe not. Maybe they were taken so they could be turned into the beginnings of an army of undead."
"An army of undead?" Dag'on mumbled. "That hasn't been attempted in ages! Foolish, they are easy to destroy because they are slow and clumsy. The stench and the effort makes it hardly worthwhile."
"If their bodies repair themselves, there would be no odor. Their muscles would work, making them as fast as a living person," Brill said.
"The only thing we'd have in our favor is that rules of war do not apply to the dead," Val said. "If it got that far. I hope to stop her before it does."
"Her?" Brill said. "You know who this necromancer is?"
Val hesitated. "My source said it was a woman who bought the supplies, but he couldn't see her face."
Brill shifted in her seat towards Val. "You do know."
Val's response came after a long pause. "Perhaps."
"Stinky or not, there's no way an army could amass under our noses without becoming obvious. Local Climintra would intervene, they could be marshaled in force for a threat like that," Dag'on said.
"What if their bodies were restored to the point where they were fully functional. Speech, thought, and everything?" Val wondered aloud. "They would be under the control of the necromancer, but could they still be capable of some autonomous action if granted that freedom."
"I'm not a wizard or a master of dark magic," Brill asked. "But what you're saying sounds possible."
Dag'on frowned. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that if they were high functioning, they could return to their former lives with no one being the wiser. The ultimate sleeper agent."
Brill frowned. "You're too clever for your own good. It almost upsets me that you could conceive of such a devilish scheme."
"Almost?" Val asked.
Brill's
smile returned. "I know your heart, sweetie. Your head may possess the ability for such dark thoughts, but your heart is pure. You understand the evil you've danced with because you must fight it. You've proven the darkness is no place you can dwell for long. Your heart and soul yearns for the light."
"That's not what I've heard," Dag'on muttered.
Brill's smile vanished as she turned her intense green eyed gaze on him. "You've heard wrong. Valerie is hard to know and sometimes harder to deal with, but there are few people, human or meta, with a stronger heart or greater sense of duty."
"Let's not give me too much credit," Val said.
"Nonsense," Brill insisted. "I am an angel, it is my gift to know the heart of a person. You may doubt yourself, but I do not. Even at your lowest you fought against the darkness and returned to the light."
Valerie snorted.
Dag'on leaned forward, anxious to get more information on her. "What about her hate for metas? And all the stories about her years as a witchslayer?"
"That's none of your fucking business," Valerie growled.
"For all the beauty of her body and soul, she is a woman of many secrets," Brill said. "One of those she keeps hidden even from herself is that she doesn't hate metas."
"Enough, damn it!" Val snapped. "I'm here to find out what you might know about a necromancer, that's all."
Brill bowed her head. "My apologies. Well, not really. Don't you think it is Dag'on's business if he's working for you?"
"He's not working for me, he's…. he's stuck with me. Or I'm stuck with him."
Brill turned back to the incubus. "Why do you think she saved Sabine and I? Why do you think she saved you? It doesn't matter if you're a human or a meta, she will do the right thing every time. She wants to hate them, but deep inside she knows she can't. She knows they aren't responsible for—"
Valerie lurched to her feet. "We're done here," she spat.
Dag'on and Brill watched the tall woman that towered over them. Her cheeks were red and her jaw was set, complementing the fierce glare in her eyes. Dag'on rose slowly and nodded. "My apologies, I only wished to know you better."
"Next time, ask me," Val said in clipped tones.
"Asking a rock why they are a rock is seldom informative," Brill said. "I haven't heard of anything beyond some bits about recent disappearances. But, to offer you what help I might, I would think any experimentation with the deceased would draw less attention in the cold zone. The disappearances, as I understand it, took place everywhere but that zone."
Valerie stared at her and nodded slowly. "Of course! That makes perfect sense."
Brill smiled. "I know it does, I sensed you already knew the answer but didn't realize it yet."
Valerie shook her head and turned to Dag'on. "Let's go. I need to get to the cold zone."
"I'm going too."
"You're in over your head," Valerie said. "Go back to my— your place."
"She's right," Brill said. "This may very well be beyond you."
"I can handle myself," Dag'on said. "Besides, failure to act when an opportunity to fulfill my contract would be a breach of terms. That would go badly for me."
Brill smiled. "Don't let her keep you in the dark then."
Dag'on stared at Val and said, "I'll try."
Valerie snorted and turned to Brill. The angel stepped forward, spreading her arms and unfurling her wings to their full, magnificent, length. Brill pulled the woman in for a hug and wrapped her wings around them, hiding them while the angel pressed her lips to Valerie's. The kiss was chaste and brief, giving Valerie room to bow her head.
Brill pressed her lips to Valerie's forehead and whispered, "Go with my blessings, Valerie Washburn, and may the light ever guide you."
"Thank you," Valerie whispered as a feeling of peace and calm spread through her.
The angel retracted her wings and released her. She turned to Dag'on. "Would you like my blessing, incubus? Normally I would not offer it without knowing you far better, but you travel with Valerie, and if it might help you help her, then I shall give it willingly."
Dag'on looked to Valerie and asked, "Uh… should I?"
Val nodded so he turned to the angel. She stretched out her arms and beckoned him to step forward with her hands. Dag'on swallowed and went to her. She enfolded him in her embrace and repeated the process, kissing his lips and then guiding his head down so she could put her touch upon his forehead. For the briefest of moments blue lines started to flare to life on his skin. They vanished as soon as Brill's lips broke contact with his flesh.
"Go with my blessings, Dag'on Mefulus, and may the light ever guide you."
Dag'on gasped as he felt her blessing surge through him and fill him with a strange calm energy. He looked at her with open eyes wonder. Brill smiled back at him and nodded towards Val.
Val gestured for him to follow and moved to the doorway. "Thank you, Brill, for the blessing and advice."
"You can always come to me, sweetie, you know that. Even if you only need to talk."
Val hesitated and nodded, then she looked at the awestruck incubus and rolled her eyes. "Come on, stinky, we've got work to do."
Chapter 9
"So the cold zone?" Dag'on asked. "My least favorite area of the Complex, I have to admit."
"Yes, the cold" Valerie said as she led them back through the Warrens. "But I want to change first."
"Right. A dress is hardly fitting for that area. Much too chilly, even for me."
"It's not the cold, it's… I just prefer to be in something less restrictive. Dresses really aren't my thing, but I wore it in case I needed to visit Brill. She has a thing about women wearing dresses."
Dag'on laughed. "Less restrictive? How could you possibly find something less restrictive than what you're—"
Val glanced at him as his words trailed off. "What's the matter?"
"You're right."
"I try," she quipped.
"I mean about the dresses. Every woman in there was wearing a dress or a skirt of some sort. Why does she dislike pants?"
Val rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that doesn't matter for what we're doing."
Dag'on made a disapproving face and then shrugged. "I suppose you're right. That kiss of hers though, I've never felt anything like it. It was… nice."
"The blessing of an angel," Val said. "I can see how not many of your kind have received such a thing."
Dag'on followed her through the tunnels without a word, lost in pleasant thoughts brought on by Brill's blessing. He failed to notice as Val's wedges blurred and flowed, lowering the heels by nearly half an inch and covering her feet in a pair of ankle boots.
They reached the stairs to the alley and then stepped outside of the shed behind Berk's. Dag'on stared at the illusion of the storage room and shook his head until Val shut the door. That seemed to break him out of his thoughts.
"So, back to your place?"
"No need," Val said. "Quicker to just go to the cold zone."
"But you wanted to change…"
"I can do that on the way."
"We're going shopping?"
Val smirked at the man's confused questions. "Wait and see. I do wish I had my gun, but I'll make do."
"You expect trouble?"
"Always," Val said. She walked around the store and started back towards the Zipper station. Along the way she activated her sub cellular communicator and placed an order for a Zipper.
Dag'on opened his mouth to ask her a question and thought better of it. He glanced around and pressed his lips together. Val raised one eyebrow and gave him a touch of a smile and a nod, congratulating him on his restraint. The incubus smiled back and turned to study the Zippers and Glyders that zipped through the air above them on the approved airways.
Their Zipper arrived inside of a minute and dropped down in front of them. The door opened, inviting them to step. Val gestured for Dag'on to go first and then crawled in after him.
"Welcome, residents. Where would
you like to go today?" the painfully neutral voice of the Zipper asked.
"Cold zone. Closest Zipper station to the cemetery," Val instructed.
"The cemetery?" Dag'on repeated after the Zipper confirmed and lifted off the ground.
"We're heading for the Warrens again, but my guess is she'll be close by the cemetery. Best source of raw material."
"Okay, that makes sense. What about back at that club. You said you should have thought of the cold zone. Why?"
"Because she grew up in a cold place. Constant winter. When I knew her she was always hot, she never acclimated to warmer temperatures."
"You really do know her!" Dag'on said. "Who is she? And how, I mean, what kind of hist— Mephisto's balls! What's happening?"
Val ignored him as she focused on the nanobots reconstruction of her outfit. Millions of microscopic machines deconstructed her dress and rearranged it, making it look like a blue and grey froth that coated her skin until it began to settle into a new shape.
"I'm changing," Val said while the last pieces of her new outfit finished taking shape and the nanobots swarmed across her skin and fashioned themselves into new tattoos under the black tank top that flowed into matching shorts. It was a one piece outfit with no obvious means of putting it on or taking it off.
"What in the hell… You're not a human, you're a meta! A shifter," he sputtered.
Val shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint. I'm one hundred percent human. It's not magic."
"Not magic? Then what?"
Val studied him for a moment and then nodded. "Nano-technology."
"Nano-technology? That's used for medicine and construction of tiny components, isn't it?"
"In most cases, yes," she said. "One of my first missions was to stop a mad-scientist type from his adaptation of nano-tech into an army that obeyed his commands. Scary stuff, what he could do. The team I was with lost a lot of people before I put him down. Almost lost myself too, they were eating me alive, both from the outside and inside."
"Eating you alive?"
"Basically," she agreed. "They need energy to function and they break down some of what they tear apart to power themselves. So yeah, eating me in the not-so-fun way."
Dag'on laughed. "That was a sex joke! I didn't think you made those."
Arrested in Peace (The Complex Book Series) Page 6
