We walked out into the living room. Amy and Becca were on the couch, with Becca now dressed in sweats, shivering and feverish. Abby, and a woman with matching auburn hair, who I could only guess was Abby's mother, sat on the couch. Amy looked up to me, and smiled. “I am glad you are awake. It seems only one of you got the bad end of the Bliss.”
“Small favors,” I remarked.
Abby's mother spoke. “Yes, and I have to thank the both of you for bringing Becca back.”
“We were just trying to do some good.” I said, and I extended my hand to her. “I'm Eric Carpenter.”
“I'm Patty, Jackson's wife.” She shook my hand. Where Jackson was large and burly, every bit of Patty seemed small. She looked almost fragile, but I knew from those green eyes that she was anything but. They had the same vivid liveliness that her daughter had.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Miller.” I said.
“Oh, Patty, please. So, you don't have any of the tattoos...You came back from the Bliss quick for a human.”
“Yea, well, I've got the metabolism of a crazy man.” I said, dismissing it.
“How are you feeling, Eric?” Amy asked me.
“Uh, as good as can be, I think.” I said. “We'll see once we get out of here and back to work on the Coolidge case.”
“What was your next move?” Amy asked.
“Uh, I'll tell you when we get in the car.”
Patty offered a little smile. “Before you two go, you should take something to eat. I need to tire this one out anyways, so she can help. Do you two like PB&J? It's about the only thing we have the stuff for right now.”
“What is...” Amy furrowed her brow. “PB&J?”
“This is disgusting.” Amy remarked as we piled into her jeep.
“Don't knock it until you've tried it.” I said. “This was what I grew up on. Hell, this is what a ton of kids grow up on.”
She shook her head, and took her sandwich out of the bag. Amy took a dainty bite. “It is...not bad.”
I had already taken a large bite of it. “Not bad? It's freaking great.”
She sighed. “You have not had great food until you have gone to Italy or France.”
“Yea, well, my vacations growing up were typically down to Disneyworld.” I said. “Europe was definitely not on our budget.”
“You have never traveled?” She asked.
“Not really. I'm guessing you have? I mean, I'm guessing you've traveled a bit, considering your indeterminate age.”
“I was a bit of a wanderer until recently.” She said. “My role as your guardian puts an end to my travel days, honestly, but there was a time when I did quite a fair bit of traveling.”
“Where did you go?” I asked. I set aside the sandwich for the moment, more interested in the conversation.
She shrugged. “Many places. I spent a great deal of time traveling across Europe, and I spent several years traveling across India and Asia. Why the interest with travel?”
“Well, beyond the occasional vacation down to Florida, I never traveled much growing up.”
“I suppose that you wished that were different?”
I nodded. “Yea. Always wanted to visit France, Italy, Ireland. All that stuff.”
“It was a fascinating experience.” She nodded. “I enjoyed it.”
“So when did Nick factor in?” I asked.
“Many, many years ago. Before your time.” She turned on the car, and started to drive. “So, we were to continue work on the Coolidge case?”
I ignored how easily she shifted the subject. “I want to find our Marshal. We've got his hair, and we can work the tracking spell easy, all right?”
“I suppose. Let us get back to your apartment, then.” She said.
“A question, Amy.” I said. “This is San Francisco. Why are we driving everywhere?”
She gave me an inquisitive look. “I beg your pardon?”
“I'm serious. We could walk almost anywhere in town, and it'd probably be easier too.”
“I prefer it.” She shrugged. “Besides, it us a better method of escape than foot, and I cannot exactly hide weapons in my shoes.”
“Oh, you'd be surprised with the women in my life.” That sounded like something Teresa would do.
“Which reminds me,” Amy said. “I do not approve of this woman, Teresa. I have not met her, but she is a vampire, and a powerful one...”
“And she's actually rather nice.” I said. “Let me make my own decisions on that one, all right?”
“I cannot just let you go gallivanting off with a vampiress. Your blood is something to protect.”
“You're worried she'll bite me and get some of my powers copied over to her? Yea, I found out that could happen. That's why I went after Darius. I wanted him to pay for what he did to me, but I didn't want anyone running around with my powers. That's way too dangerous.”
She was silent for a long moment, processing the thought. “That was very forward thinking of you. Perhaps I misjudged you.”
“Misjudged me?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“I had thought you a nice, peaceful man.” Amy shut off the car in front of my building. “I did not think you had the killer instinct.”
“I'm not a killer.” I told myself that as I got out of the car, but a small part of me started to wonder. I'd said I wanted to do good. But, what if doing good meant hurting those who wanted to hurt others? I decided, after a moment, that, if it meant saving someone, it might be necessary.
“No, you are not a killer.” She said. “But it may be necessary to do so when the occasion calls for it.”
We were silent while we went up to my apartment. I unlocked the door, and let us in. I went to the counter and grabbed the little envelope Nick had given me. “So, let's do this tracking spell again, all right?”
“Let us,” she said.
We set up the salt circle again, with the candles and the various trappings. This time, when I drew on the magic, it was easier, and I could draw on more of it. The magic felt alive, and now that I knew how to direct it, I could pour it into the hair and the compass.
“How did I do?” I said, feeling my body practically singing with the magic. I could feel my muscles hum with the energy, the sheer fabric of power.
“Good.” Amy said, and she knelt in front of the compass. “We have a strong bearing. North-west.”
I stood up, and broke the salt circle. “Fantastic. I'll navigate, you can start driving.”
Chapter 20
We drove around for a good part of thirty minutes, triangulating. It went faster this time, and we were able to narrow it down to a house on the North end of town. It was turning into dawn quickly. We parked the car on the street.
“So, what's the idea this time?” I asked Amy. I closed the map and tossed it into the back seat.
“We approach the front door, knock, and see if we can determine that Agent Thomas is here.”
“And if we can determine he's there? What then?”
“We ask for him. If they decline, we go in and take him.”
I sighed. “Well, that's simple enough.” I pulled out the pistol and checked the ammo in the magazine I had in it. I still had the extra magazine in my back pocket, but between the two of them, I had about a dozen shots left. I needed to ask Teresa where the heck I could buy ammo for this thing. Guns weren't exactly my fortee. Beyond playing video games with Matt, I knew just the basic idea behind a gun. How the heck did you shop for this stuff?
My thoughts were broken by Amy leaving the car. I got up and followed, putting my pistol back in my jacket. We walked across the street, across the little garden in the front yard.
“I'll take the lead.” I said as we got to the front door.
“You think that I could not handle this?” She asked.
“No, I'm just a much better people person.” I shot back as I stopped at the front door and knocked.
We waited a few moments, and I could hear something going on inside the house
. Eventually, the door opened, and a tall man with greasy blond hair answered. “Hey, can I help you?”
“Yea, you can,” I said. “I'm looking for an Agent Thomas. I know this is a really bad hour, but it's really important we see him.”
The man hesitated for a moment. “Uh, who?”
I wondered for a moment how to proceed. “Listen,” I said. “I don't really give a crap about you. I just want Thomas. I've already called San Francisco PD, and their Arcane division's already enroute. You get out now, and you show me to Thomas, and I'll just forget you were here.”
The blond man froze for a moment. “You're bluffing,” He said. “You didn't call them.”
I drew my pistol, holding it at my hip to conceal it from any observers. “I don't have time for this.” I grunted. “Amy, hurt him.”
She looked to me. “Eric?”
“What, her?” The blond guard laughed. “What's she going to do, cry on me?”
Amy glared, and she acted without even consulting me further. He knee rose, and I winced as the guard bowled over, grabbing at his groin.
“Son of a!”
“Amy!” I snapped. “Whoa, that...Ow.” I cleared my throat. “Okay, let's talk about this again. Agent Thomas.”
“Inside. Kitchen.” The blond man gasped.
“And who are you working for?” I asked.
“Lucien.” I was starting to hate that name.
“When we're gone, get out of town. Once, you feel like moving.” I didn't want to be in his shoes at the moment.
We headed into the house. It had seen much better days. The flooring was stained, the walls had peeled wallpaper, and I could already tell the faint smell of blood. I resisted the urge to lose the PB&J sandwich.
“You should not have let him go.” Amy said. “He will probably go to tell Lucien what we have done here.”
“Yea, but I wasn't going to beat him up or kill him. After all, if we really did call the cops, how would we explain this? A witch found him? I'd prefer not to go down that particular road at the moment.”
She nodded. “Let us go look for Mister Thomas.”
We found the kitchen easily enough. James Thomas, federal marshal, was on the tile floor, draped over several towels. “Amy, check on him. I'm going to call Nick.”
The Marshal was a fairly average man. He was of an average height, with brown hair in a professional cut. His face was badly bruised, with blood staining his white button-down and his face. There were several slashes across his chest, like someone had taken a knife to him. I blanched, slightly, wondering how long they'd had him here like this.
I had just finished dialing Nick's number when I felt someone tap on my shoulder. “Amy, I-” I stopped, seeing that Nick was in the kitchen. “Jesus, how the hell?”
“I knew I was needed.” He looked down at Thomas. “How is he?” he asked Amy.
“He has taken several lacerations, is bruised in several areas, and he is unconscious. The man will require medical attention.”
Nick nodded. “I'll see to that.” He said. “Thank you, both of you, for finding him. Was the hair helpful?”
“Yea, it was.” I closed my phone and put it into my pocket. “It looks like they didn't think that we'd look for him.” I crouched down next to Thomas. I really wish I could have talked to him. I would have liked to know who he was, what he was like. I knew Sam back from college, but I didn't have a clue who Thomas was. He was just an agent of Nick's.
“Did you find out who is behind this?” Nick asked.
“Yea, it's a vampire named Lucien.” I saw Nick's reaction, a minuscule reflex. “You recognize the name?”
“I've got a file on him, yea. Thomas was right, this is nasty.”
“How nasty are we talking about?”
He sighed, and looked down at me, almost apologetic in his gaze. “Bad enough that I'm really sorry none of my Marshals are available to help.”
“Oh, that is not true!” Amy snapped. “Nick, you cannot be serious.”
“You know I can't lie.” He said. “Trust me, I wish I could help Eric here, but I just don't have the manpower. He's got you, he'll be fine.”
“Against a master vampire?” She said. “He has known he was a witch for just five days.”
“My hands are tied.” He turned back to me. “Eric, I'm sorry, but you're on your own. But I've got faith in you. You can do this.”
“Thanks for that, I guess.” I sighed. “What now?”
“You two leave. I need to take care of my agent, see that he gets the care that he needs.”
I saw Amy, practically shaking with frustration. She wanted to hit Nick, I knew that much. The two of them had some sort of history, and whatever it was, Amy was not the type to forgive and forget.
“Selfish man,” She hissed at Nick, and she stood. “Come, Eric. We should leave.”
We left the kitchen, and headed back towards the door. By the time we had gotten back to the street, Amy's hands had balled into fists.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked her.
“That man,” She shook her head. “He always plays this game, and he enjoys it because he wins.”
I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”
“Nick has not always been a man who has run his Federal Marshals. However, he is always the same. He is not lying, he has all his Marshals in the field, but there must be one or two he can pull away to help you. This is not fair, Eric.”
I shook my head. “Listen, even if he was lying, I wouldn't care. We're going to get through this, and we are going to rescue Sam. Is that understood?”
“You are very confident of our success, even when the outcome is still undetermined.”
“Hell, for all I know, we could die, but positive outlooks. You said magic wouldn't work if I thought it was going to fail, that it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why would it be any different for anything else?”
“A very accurate philosophy.” We got to the car, and piled in. “I am sorry, Nick has an...effect on me.”
“I would ask what your history is, but I know you won't tell me, yet.” I slid into the passenger's seat and set the seat back to relax while Amy drove. “So, I'll ask another question. You two are the same...whatever you are, right?”
“Yes. We have some of the same powers, and we have the same origin.”
“Okay...why can he use contractions?”
“I beg pardon?” She furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
“He uses contractions. Don't, can't, won't. You speak like Mister Data on Next Generation.”
“Next Generation? I do not get the reference.”
“Uh, forget it. I'm just curious why you speak more formally than he does.”
“Nick has the gift of adaptation. It is a very complicated matter. He is more earthbound than I am, and can adapt better. I am much slower to adapt my language. It is a challenge just to keep myself in modern English.”
“And so you're stuck in this old English, sounding like you come out of some old book?”
She nodded. “Yes. It is a disadvantage to my powers. I am very slow to new ideas.”
I thought back to my medieval culture classes, and how my theories on Amy related to it. I decided to file that away, for later thinking. For now, though, I had other things to focus on. Primarily, Sam Coolidge, and how I was going to find her. That was certainly not going to be an easy one.
Chapter 21
I crashed as soon as I got home. I was so tired from the past few days that I was starting to wonder if I'd ever have a normal week again. I kicked off my boots, said good night to Amy, and I fell down, practically, on my futon. Sleep came easy.
Again, I dreamed.
This time, I dreamed I was at my kitchen table, drinking coffee. Sitting across from me, again, was the image of my mother.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” I deadpanned.
The image of my mother crossed her arms across her chest. “You have met the one who calls himse
lf Nick.”
“Uh, yea,” I nodded. I set the mug of coffee down, and looked her in the eye. “Listen, I don't get it. What's the purpose of these dreams?”
“You are not to trust Nick.” She said. “He is the puppeteer. A witch is never the puppet.”
“He looks like he has good intentions.” I said. “Besides, why should I trust you? You're just a figment of my imagination.”
“Think of me as a helpful advisor.” She said. “I'm here to ensure your survival, Eric.”
“And why shouldn't I trust Nick?”
“Your mother made that mistake, and it nearly cost her everything, including her life.” She said. “Nick is only interested in his war.”
“What war?” I asked.
“The war he's been fighting for centuries. Protecting humanity from what it doesn't want to know about.”
“The Marshals.” I murmured. It made sense, I guessed. There had to be some sort of organization that protected humanity from vampires, werewolves, and the like before they had come into the public eye.
“He is a powerful man, but his intentions are his own. Be wary.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “What about Amy? I shouldn't trust her, either?”
“Amy is loyal. She has made a bargain to protect you, and she will honor that.” She tilted her head, inquisitively. “Your actions this past few days have stirred trouble. You are quite the busy man.”
“How do you know what I've done?” I asked her. I stood up, walking over to her side of the table. “What are you?”
“A construct,” she said, slowly turning to look at me. “I can see your mind as you sleep, and I am designed to interact with you.” The image of my mother put up a finger. “No, do not ask any further questions on the matter. I am only here to warn and advise.”
“Who was she?” I sat back down. “My mother.” I wanted to know, desperately. How had she even made something like this? How was it in my head?
“I am not designed to give you those answers.” She answered. “Your mother's life is something you will have to discover without my aid.”
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