by Jes Battis
It’s not anchored to anything, but this is the spot where I seem to get the most reception. Can you describe what you’re seeing to me?
“I’m in my old favorite corner store. The one on Young.”
Do you feel like you’re dreaming?
I sighed. “I feel like you don’t have a fucking clue where I am, or why I’m here. How is describing the place for you going to help me?”
Okay. You’ve got a point.
“Awesome. So, nobody knows anything. And I have no body.”
You must have one somewhere. Otherwise, your psyche wouldn’t have survived. I’ve heard of full severance before, but it’s rare.
“Because rare things never happen to us. Okay, I love you, but I can’t stand here for the next two hours talking to an ice-cream freezer. I’m going to keep walking.”
All right. I’ll try to follow you.
I walked slowly past the soda fridges and the shelves full of baked goods.
“Can you still hear me?”
Yeah. There’s some interference, though.
“Maybe it’s all the lima beans.” I shook my head. “You know, I really loved this place. It had the best chocolate cherry blossoms you could buy anywhere.”
They were made by Nestlé. You could buy them in fun packs from Safeway.
“But these ones just tasted better.”
I approached the back of the store. There was a door marked PRIVATE, a door I’d never opened as a child, but always been curious about. I stood in front of it for a while. I couldn’t decide what to do.
“Still there?”
No reply. I took a step backward.
“Derrick?”
He was gone. We’d lost the connection.
I looked down at Tempest. “Guess it’s just us, then. You ready?”
She was sedate. Her lack of concern gave me a twinge of confidence.
I pushed open the door. I heard a sound as I left the store behind. Maybe it was Derrick saying something, but I couldn’t hear. I was already too far away. I felt a coldness on my shoulders.
I turned and saw a glimpse of something, like a cloud with eyes. Then it flowed over me, blanking out everything, even my name.
20
I woke up on the couch of the break room. Maybe I was just going to keep repeating this morning until I got it right. Except that it wasn’t morning. It was ten thirty-five at night. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Half of my face felt like a sandbag. At least someone had been nice enough to throw a blanket over me. I gave myself a moment, waiting for the planes of my head to equalize. No drool this time. Bonus.
I reached for my purse. There was a Post-it note affixed to it:
Fresh coffee was made for you at: 9:30 Inquire at Ru’s.
I smiled at the thought of Derrick coming into the break room every few hours and leaning over me to cross out each pot of coffee that had elapsed. I stretched and threw on my sweater, which I’d slept on. It was reassuringly warm.
I walked in a slight fugue down the hallway. The security guard nodded at me when I got to the lab’s suite, which had unofficially become Ru’s place in our minds. Like that movie where Tom Hanks can’t leave the airport. Or not.
There was music playing. Ru must have figured out how to use the television as a stereo, because it was playing The Marriage of Figaro. Mia and Patrick were on the couch, both reading. Derrick stood behind them, talking on the phone. Miles and Ru were playing with Baron. He was tugging on a blue toy that looked like either Thing One or Thing Two from The Cat in the Hat.
“Has Selena seen the dog?” I asked.
Everyone turned to look at me.
“That’s right. I fell asleep. It was a stressful day.”
Derrick hung up. “Baron has clearance.”
“He needed to be walked,” Miles said. “And now we’ve gotten him all riled up with Thing One.”
“It is amazing that he has been domesticated,” Ru said. “I have seen lupines from other worlds, but never this particular mutation. They are very friendly.”
“Is there a current iteration of coffee?” I asked.
Derrick handed me a to-go cup. “This was brewed across the street. But we’ve kept it warm for you. Patrick made a tea cozy.”
He looked up from his book. “It was for sewing class. We have to do some knitting, too, and that was the only thing I could make.”
“Well, it worked like a hot-damn,” Mia said. “I’d say market them, but I’m afraid the East Vancouver textiles posse would probably break your legs.”
I took the cup. “Where’s Falih?”
“Oh.” That got Mia’s attention. “Are we on firsties now with the forensic pathologist? I think Selena’s talking to him.”
I looked at Derrick. “How much have you been telling her?”
“I think you forget what a really good listener she is.” He walked over to where I was standing. “Did you sleep okay?”
“So-so. I had a dream where you were inside an ice-cream freezer.”
“That’s a little weird, even for you.”
“I know.”
“Not much has changed since you passed out. Dr. Rashid is still filling out paperwork. Miles came over around seven, and I told him to bring Patrick and Mia with him, since I figured you’d want them here.”
“This hotel room is pretty much the safest part of the building. So I’d say your instincts were on target, as always. Don’t let Latyrix see the dog, though.”
“She went home. She said she was tired and needed to wash.”
“Her fur was a mess.”
“Her species would not submit well to domestication,” Ru said. “I doubt I would be able to rub her.”
“No. I wouldn’t try it.” I yawned. “Has Cindée already done the electrical resistivity tests on the powder?”
“She’s been doing tests for the last four hours. I think she’s almost done.”
“I can’t listen to any more opera.” Mia got up. “I’m plugging my BlackBerry into the television. Anyone have any objections?”
“Nothing by Bright Eyes,” Derrick said.
“Oh, you love Conor Oberst.” Mia switched off the opera. “And he’s done nothing to deserve your ire.”
Bette Midler came on. “Otto Titsling.” Ru listened with great interest, not even bothering to ask about any difficult vocabulary.
When the Editors came on, I turned back to Derrick. “Okay. Number one, thank you for this coffee. Number two, I visited the daegred, and I think we should give them our old computer.”
“You mean my old computer.”
“Maybe I should have been more specific. I mean the computer that you haven’t used for three months.”
“Right. Well, that seems like a good idea.”
“That’s cool of you,” Patrick said. “I was going to buy another one, but I’m still, like”—he blinked—“nine hundred dollars short.”
“Don’t they give you a Magnate credit card?”
“No way. There’s a line of credit for refurbishing the space and buying supplies, but Modred’s really possessive of it.”
“Huh. I thought you’d have like a Diners Club card or something.”
“What’s Diners Club?”
“Something from the eighties. Never mind.”
“Anyhow, thanks for the computer, Derrick.”
“Not a problem. I should at least update some of the software before I give it to you, though. How dire is the lack of Internet situation?”
“Most of us can just use our phones,” Patrick said. “But some of the older vampires don’t agree with handheld technology. So they can get a bit cranky while they’re waiting twelve hours for nightfall.”
“I’ll get on it, then.”
“What are you reading?” I asked Patrick.
“Beowulf. Modred says it’s required reading.”
“Sometimes I like how Modred thinks.”
“I’m reading the GRE handbook,” Mia said. “Not that anyone cares.”
“Tha
t’s a test for graduate school.”
“It’s only four years away. Three if I get accelerated.”
“Is that like brownnosing?” Patrick asked. “Because I’m sure you’ll be able to chat up all your professors after reading their articles.”
“Hey. Don’t snap at me just because you got a C-plus in sociology.”
I looked at Patrick. “Really?”
“We had to read all this stuff by Max Weber! I swear to you, Tess, the guy does not know how to write.”
“Are you going to redo the assignment?”
“The prof won’t let me.”
“He’s scared to ask the department head,” Mia clarified.
“I am not.”
“Oh, my God, you clench up whenever I even mention the idea of you visiting her office. You need to grow a pair, my friend.”
“Nobody’s pair is in dispute right now,” I said. “Patrick, you should go talk to the department head. It’s part of their job. And if she’s inflexible, tell her your parents are absolutely barking mad, and as a result of that, you’ve had to suffer adversity.”
“I don’t think she’ll believe it. She studies social demographics.”
“Well, you could always tell her you’re a vampire.”
“I don’t think she’d believe me.”
“Show her your fangs,” Mia said. “Better yet, show her Puppy.”
“Shut up.”
“Is Puppy a person?” Miles asked.
Mia broke into laughter.
My pager buzzed. I looked down and saw it was a message from Cindée.
“I have to go,” I said.
Ru stood up. “Does it have something to do with the Aikon?”
“It does.”
“I would like to see.”
“What’s an Aikon?” Mia asked. “Like the camera?”
“That’s a Nikon,” Derrick said.
I shrugged. “You have a right to see whatever we’ve found. It may upset you, though. You need to be prepared for that.”
“I am,” Ru said.
“All right. Come on.”
“Text me when you’re done,” Derrick called after us. “I’m trying to organize a take-out order, and I’ll need input later.”
“Agreed.”
Ru and I made our way to the trace lab. I heard Cindée talking to someone. As we stepped through the doorway, Lucian came into view.
“I don’t know about wavelength,” he was saying, “but there is a way to channel something broadspectrum. It might be enough.”
“Enough what?” I asked.
Cindée saw Ru, and her expression shifted slightly. “Don’t you have better things to do than watch science unfolding, kiddo?”
“I want to see what you’ve found,” he replied evenly.
She nodded. “Well. We can try. But so far, I haven’t had any luck with the different materia frequencies. I called Lucian Agrado as a last resort.”
“That’s me,” he said. “I’m like the opposite of Mulder.”
“Oh, please.” I grinned at him. “You’re so Scully.”
“You wish.” He turned to Cindée. “Okay. I’m going to channel a weak stream of necroid materia. I don’t have complete control over it, but I can regulate the intensity and try to keep it from debriding too much of the vessel’s surface.”
“You’re doing house calls now?”
He shrugged. “I’m on retainer.” Then he looked at Ru. “I don’t know very much about this case or you. But I hope this works for you. I hope you’re able to recover some of your lost memories.”
“Thank you,” Ru said.
Lucian stepped closer to the reconstructed Aikon. He held out his hand, and I felt necroid materia begin to gather itself in a concentrated point inches away from his outstretched fingertips. Green flickers attended the power, and I smelled something almost barometric, like the slow condensation of a storm.
The Aikon glowed. It was dim at first, but the light grew. It cast broken green shadows on the wall. Now the smell changed to burning powder. I could see that Lucian’s energy was slowly dissolving the bonds that held the Aikon together. The materia shimmered as it was consumed.
In the green shadows, I could just make out blurry things. What might have been a floor. Someone’s hand. An open window. A hallway.
Then a young demon’s face appeared. He looked like Ru but was slightly larger, his horns more noticeable. He smiled. Ru made a low noise.
“Do you recognize him?” I asked.
He nodded slowly. “It’s El,” he said. “My brother.”
I cleared my throat. We stood in the serology lab. Linus had his back to us and was looking through a microscope. Ru hadn’t left my side for the last two hours. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want to be touched. He didn’t even particularly want us to acknowledge his presence. He followed me like a moth. He made no sound, but would settle in the background, seemingly comfortable.
“He’s not a computer,” Selena had said. “Time is of the essence, but we can’t keep pushing him. We just forced him to watch his dead brother’s memories, projected on the wall like some fucking scene out of Proust.”
“I don’t know that reference,” I admitted.
“Ask Derrick.”
“Ah. Gotcha.”
Linus sat down, holding a file. He looked at it and frowned. “I don’t know why I’m holding this. For a moment, I thought I kind of looked like Greg from CSI.”
“That’s sad, Linus.”
He blinked. “Yeah. I guess. All right, this is what’s going on with Mr. Corvid. Which isn’t his name, by the way.”
“He never told me his real name.”
“Actually, the body is intersexed. Tasha said the genitalia were tucked into the pelvis, like an avian’s reproductive system.”
“Huh. Is that common?”
“You’d have to ask her. I don’t think she’s seen very many purebloods in situ. When they interact with our world, they don’t tend to leave traces behind.”
“The Ferid are not pure,” Ru said. Linus and I stared at him. These were his first words in more than two hours. “Or, they are not predominantly pureblood. The Senators are, and of course, the Invictus.”
“What’s the Invictus?” I asked.
“The Invictus controls the Senate. The Invictus is what you might have called a Caesar in your world’s antique period.”
“And that’s who Basuram thinks you tried to assassinate?”
He laughed. “That would be suicide. Basuram was given a cover story to engage the potential trust of the locals. But the Kentauros was sent after me because my memories are important. The Ferid cared nothing for El’s memories, but they’re eager to devour mine, because only I remember how the three of us got here.” He suddenly looked at Linus. “I apologize, Doctor. Please go on about the demon’s remains.”
Linus smiled slightly. Who didn’t like hearing themselves referred to as Doctor? He couldn’t prescribe medication, like Dr. Hinzelmann, or prosect a body, like Dr. Rashid, but he could run a refractive index test on bits of bone and broken glass from another world. Plus, there was now the “military training” mystique that Selena had mentioned to me, in a rare moment of naked gossip for her.
Not that I found soldiers particularly sexy. Although I did once sleep with a member of the Israeli Defense Forces who had alopecia, which meant that his chest was hairy, but his head and legs were smooth. I kept being really sassy, pretending I knew something about the Middle East because I’d read Drinking the Sea at Gaza. In the morning, we ate fried chicken at a place across the street.
Focus. God.
I blinked, returning my attention to Linus.
“We took vitreous fluid from the demon,” he said, “whose name appears to be Blq. At least, that was the repeating rune we found in his RNA.”
“Blq,” I murmured. “Like that goblin in the Tom Cruise movie.”
“Blq is what we unofficially call a Bercilak-demon. That is, like the g
iant Bercilak in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight—”
“Blq can survive decapitation.”
“Not indefinitely, though. The erythropoietin levels in the brain were quite high. The serum EPO is 119, and that elevation can indicate severe tissue damage with a prolonged perimortem phase before actual death.”
“That sounds about right,” I said, “given that Blq was still alive after being disarticulated and disabused of his head.”
“I’m going to examine the vitreous fluid closer,” Linus said. “The proteins may tell a story. Although, to be honest, it’s pretty much like staring at a glass of water.”
“All right. Do keep me posted on that. And thanks for all your hard work, Linus. You really are an integral member of the forensic team.”
He opened the file. “I’m going to pretend you never said that.”
“Thanks. That’s probably for the best.”
We began walking down the hall to Trace.
“I know where it is,” Ru said. “At least, I think I do.”
“You know where what is?”
“The apartment. From the memories.”
I stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Ru. We don’t have to rush this. You’ve just remembered that you have a brother.”
“I had a brother. He died in that place. With the shiny yellow floors and the brown walls. And the big bowl.”
“What big bowl?”
“It was made of a smooth material, like marble. He said that he filled it with water, but I was skeptical.”
“A claw-foot tub.”
“It did have feet, yes.”
“That could be half the apartments downtown,” I said. “Although—you mostly find claw-foot tubs in older buildings.”
“The street outside was strange.”
“Strange how?”
“Made of little stones.”
“Cobblestones. That’s Gastown.”
“Tess. I need to find whatever is left of him.”
“And you know he’s your brother?”
“As surely as you would know one of your own family.”
“Basuram said you were alone.”
“The Kentauros lies. The Kentauroi are soldiers. They are paid to fight the wars of the Ferid. But Basuram almost told me about El, just before dying. My brother’s name was on the tip of the demon’s tongue.”
