by Ilana Waters
“I’m sure. See you in a jiff, all right?”
After I showered and changed, I came out of my room, toweling my hair dry. I saw my parents seated in the living room along with Arthur, and managed a weak smile.
“Hey there, everyone.” I put the towel down. “Nice to see you, Arthur. Sorry for the wait.”
“Oh, no trouble.” Arthur sat up and ran his eyes over me. “I say, have you lost weight since I saw you yesterday? You’re awfully pale. Then again, Philip told me you had quite an evening.”
“You could say that.” I sank into the couch opposite him, expecting to be sore and tender all over. But of course, I wasn’t. I caught my reflection in a polished lamp base. The welts and scratches on my face from fighting previous vampires were gone, as was the black eye Philip gave me.
“Yes, we’re just waiting for Philip to arrive so you two can regale us with tales of your adventures,” Titus said. There was a buzzing sound from the elevator. “That will be him now.” He got up, checked the security camera, and let Philip in. His face was drawn, and there were bags under his eyes. As he joined us in the living room, I could see Nocifari’s blood on his jacket where she’d leaned against him.
“Do you need anything, Philip?” Abigail asked. “Water? Food?”
“No, thank you.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. I think he half-expected her to telekinetically retrieve the items from the kitchen. “We have important matters to discuss.” He took off his glasses and rubbed his face. Then he put the glasses back on and glanced up at Titus, who was staring at him severely. Philip moved a fraction of an inch away and cleared his throat.
“I already told Arthur all this over the phone, but something happened tonight that you both should know. Something that involves your son.” He looked at me for the first time since he came in, his expression unreadable.
I put my hands out. “Philip, please. I can explain.” I was about to scan his thoughts when Titus spoke.
“Well, someone had better explain,” he said. “Tell us, exactly why did Joshua sneak away and return looking like he was caught in a tornado?” Philip went over the evening’s events. He included everything Nocifari told him about our fight, as well as what he’d seen himself. Everyone was silent for a few moments, until Titus spoke.
“A woman,” he said. “The demon hunter is a woman.”
Abigail whacked him on the shoulder with the back of her hand. “That’s what you took away from that?”
“I admit to being a bit surprised as well,” Arthur said.
“Yes, but that’s to be expected,” Philip said. “You’re from an older genera—” He stopped mid-sentence when Arthur gave him a look. “Erm, yes, well . . .” Philip averted his eyes and coughed.
“I can’t believe you tried to bash that lady’s head in.” Abigail gaped at me and shook her head.
“It’s like I tried to tell Philip,” I said, “it wasn’t me. I mean, it was, but it wasn’t.”
“Clearly, this demon is becoming more powerful than we imagined if he can override your stubborn conscience.” Titus examined his long fingernails.
“In Joshua’s defense,” Arthur said, “Ms. Nocifari was trying to kill him.”
“That’s it.” Abigail pointed at me. “We can’t have you hurting anyone else, or them trying to hurt you. You’re grounded, young man.”
“Really, Mom? How very fifth grade of you.” I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I had mixed feelings about Oblivion not letting me kill Nocifari. On one hand, I was relieved. On the other, her existence still posed a threat to me. On yet another hand, Oblivion’s ability to control me presented even bigger problems.
“This is serious, Joshua.” Titus echoed my thoughts. “I don’t have to tell you what could’ve happened if you hadn’t contained Oblivion’s mayhem. In fact,” he nodded to Abigail, “I think we should put a spell around all the exits—windows, doors, everything—for the time being.”
“The way things are going, that may not contain Oblivion for long,” Arthur said quietly.
Abigail shook her head. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, Arthur. And don’t think I’m not mad at you for encouraging my son, Philip.”
“Me?” Philip pointed to his chest. “I didn’t tell him to fly out the bleeding window. All I tried to do was give him vital information about the consultant.”
“Which he managed to learn the hard way.” Titus frowned at me. “Typical.”
“And which could have gone much worse,” said Abigail. “Really, Philip, you should have come to us.”
“As I explained, madam,” Philip straightened his tie, “time was of the essence, so I thought it worth the risk.”
“How’s Nocifari doing, anyway?” I sat back up.
“She’s at the PIA, recuperating,” Philip said. “I’d have stayed with her, but there was little more I could do to help. After I dragged her out of that building and got us a cab—”
“A cab?” I raised my eyebrows. “Don’t you mean an ambulance?”
Philip shook his head. “Hospitals ask too many questions. The PIA usually takes care of this sort of thing on its own. Trust me, she’ll be well looked after. She’s already healing quite nicely, from what I hear. In fact, it’s my understanding that Nocifari is more hell-bent on killing you than ever.”
My jaw dropped. “What? You can’t be serious. After what I almost did to her?”
“You forget, Joshua,” said Philip, “that this isn’t her first fight with a demon host. Though I admit, when I came upon you both, I didn’t expect to see you bludgeoning her to death instead of the other way around. But now we know that was Oblivion’s influence. One hopes.”
“And you told Nocifari that we—that Oblivion wasn’t even at his full powers yet.” An icy feeling pricked the back of my neck.
“Yes, about that.” Titus leaned forward and placed his hands on his knees. “I’m still confused about why my mage son—whom I thoroughly trained in every aspect of combat—had difficulty dispatching a mortal. And a female one at that.” Abigail gave him a dirty look.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Now that we know he was in a fight, he has injuries that need looking after.” She got up and took my chin in her hands, moving my head to the left and right.
“Mom, you can stop examining me.” I gently pulled her hands away. “I don’t need healing magic.” I explained why there was little evidence of my injuries, and why I had a reduced need for food, water, and sleep.
“So, that’s why you aren’t in worse shape after the fight Nocifari described,” Philip said as Abigail sat back down. She looked at me and bit her lip, rubbing her hands over one another.
I nodded. “But how did you find us in the nick of time?”
Philip fished around in his pocket and took out a piece of metal that looked like a tire pressure gauge. This one was a shade darker than Nocifari’s. “The dynastructor!” I whispered, and my entire body tensed. Abigail tilted her head to one side, and Titus looked the device up and down. But Philip shook his head.
“The dynastructor is linked to a tool,” he held the device up, “that is given to the liaison. It reveals the consultant’s location whenever the dynastructor is activated. This lets the PIA know the target has been engaged.”
“Locating equipment? Target engaged? Well, isn’t the PIA going high-tech military all of a sudden.” Titus folded his arms and smirked.
“Nothing I couldn’t have done with a locater spell if someone had asked me,” muttered Abigail.
“Is there any reason you didn’t tell us this before?” I tugged at my collar, unable to take my eyes off the device. “Knowing about the evil dynastructor would have been most helpful.” I explained to my parents what it was capable of. Even my father looked concerned.
“These things are recent developments.” Philip put the dynastructor’s companion back in his pocket, and I gave an inward sigh of relief. “I only le
arned about them when I was assigned as Nocifari’s liaison. I was going to tell you when we met at the cafe, but . . .” He frowned at me.
“I see. Does that mean the PIA will start using those newfangled computers I hear so much about?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Arthur.
Philip shrugged. “Consultants are a special branch all their own. It’s not surprising they have specialized equipment.”
This is so dull, it’s unbearable, a voice whispered in my ear. Let’s get out of here. I want to have some fun.
Fun like bashing a woman’s head in with a wooden beam? Or drowning a bunch of innocent people on dry land? Sorry, Oblivion. Not tonight. Or ever. Now go away. I dug my fingernails into my knees and willed the demon to leave. But every few minutes, delicious, disturbing thoughts would return.
“Joshua, you all right there? Joshua?” I heard Arthur calling me.
“What? Yes, yes. I’m fine.” I looked up to find everyone staring at me. “But, ah, there’s something else you should know about.”
Chapter 14
“Now what?” Titus groaned. “What’s this ‘something else we should know about’?” I went on to detail the unnatural wave that had risen from the Tiber, and how the magic surrounding it seemed like Oblivion’s.
“I’m guessing by now you all heard about the Taiwanese tsunami in the news.” The group nodded. “I caught wind of it in a cab on my way to meet Philip. It’s likely Oblivion was responsible for that disaster as well. The similarities between it and the wave can’t be denied.”
“The PIA agrees,” said Philip. “We picked up some corresponding energy bursts earlier today.”
“Hurricanes, tsunamis . . .” Titus sighed. “What’s next? A rain of toads?”
“Oh, can it!” snapped Abigail. Titus looked at her sharply, but said nothing. “Are you all right, Josh? Were you hurt in the flash flood, or ‘wave,’ or whatever it was?”
“I’m fine, Mom. Just got a little soggy. But others weren’t so lucky.”
“Oh dear,” said Abigail.
“Poor buggers,” murmured Arthur.
“Yes, well, it’s going to be poor us if we don’t come up with a plan,” said Titus. “That much is clear, what with Oblivion causing more cataclysms by the day. So, enough maudlin nonsense.” He pointed at Arthur and Philip. “Tell us how you two fared lying to the PIA about your true involvement in our scheme. Do you think we’ll have any trouble on that front?” Arthur assured him that everything had gone smoothly.
“Of course, with me on forced holiday, it’ll look suspicious if I return to the PIA to research,” he said. “This means that most of it will fall to Philip, in addition to being Nocifari’s liaison and trying to protect Joshua from said liaison. Or vice versa.”
“Yes, I don’t know how I’m going to manage all that.” Philip put his head in his hands.
“I don’t know what you’re complaining about,” Arthur grumbled. “You’re not the one spending your holiday trying to stop a demon when you should be getting a tan in Tahiti. Which is exactly where I told everyone I’d gone.”
“I’m sure you both can manage by keeping in mind the disastrous consequences if you fail,” said Titus. “Unless either of you enjoys bloodshed as much as I do.” A bit of his general’s voice had crept in, and Philip edged farther away from him.
“Yes, quite.” Arthur coughed into his hand. “Only joking. You know I’d do anything to stop this evil bastard.”
“You’ve recruited Philip to help our cause, Arthur,” said Abigail. “That alone is more than enough.”
“Yes.” Philip rubbed the back of his head where he’d been struck with the brick. “Did I mention how grateful I was for that?”
“Keep on point.” Titus tapped his finger on an armrest. “Abigail, how did it go with Marcello? Was your hypnosis a success?”
“Oh yes.” She nodded. “It went fine. Sweet boy, really. Very easy to manipulate. Speaking of sweet boys,” she looked pointedly at me, “George called and said he spoke with you earlier. Something about being worried that the demon was making you lie to him. He wanted to confirm that everything you told him about Oblivion was true. I was sorry to tell him it was.”
“Yes, well,” I cleared my throat, “I thought he should know. Just in case.”
“Right,” Abigail said softly. “Just in case. But he wanted me to remind you that his offer of help was still on the table.”
“Sorry, Mom, but I don’t think I’ll be changing my mind about that.” I explained why I wanted to keep our witch friends out of this debacle.
“For once, I agree.” Titus’s expression was grave. “Their assistance isn’t likely to be of use, and it could get them killed.”
“So, we’re really and truly on our own.” Arthur stroked his chin. “Unless you think there’s the slightest chance your High Council will step in.”
“Ah, yes, about that . . .” Abigail said. She and I glanced at each other, and I knew she’d spoken to George about more than just Oblivion. She went on to share what he’d told her about the High Council’s destruction.
“Blimey,” breathed Arthur.
“Indeed.” Philip pursed his lips. “As we’re the first of the PIA to hear of this, we must tell the other members right away.”
“I suppose there’s no getting around that.” I blew a puff of air out of my mouth. “But how are you going to explain how you found out?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Arthur said. “We’ll come up with something. We’re getting quite good at lying to our coworkers. At least this news will keep them occupied while we try to stop Oblivion.”
Titus turned to Abigail. “Is there any reason you didn’t mention this business with the Council to me earlier, such as right after you spoke to George?”
“I wanted to tell everyone at once,” Abigail said.
“Mission accomplished,” muttered Titus. Then he paused. “I wonder if the Council’s dissolution had anything to do with that ‘she’ they mentioned earlier.” During our original search for Abigail, the Council had abruptly abandoned their mission to prevent Titus and me from finding her. All because their leader received a single phone call and spoke the words, “She’s here.”
“I suppose only time will tell.” Abigail played mindlessly with one of her curls, the way she sometimes did when she was thinking. “Though I’m also wondering what this means for witches the world over. We’ll have to keep an eye on the situation. But right now, we must find a way to stop Oblivion, or there won’t be a world for witches—or anyone else. Joshua, have you had any success making the lemniscate?”
“Not yet, I’m afraid.” I ran both hands through my hair. It might have just been my imagination, but I could’ve sworn the strands felt thinner. “Every time I try, it gets to be too much. Or Oblivion hits me with a whap that makes further attempts impossible.” Visions of heinous, fiendish acts that I couldn’t wait to try danced through my head. I rubbed my eyes hard, as if that would wipe the visions away. “Dammit!” I kicked the coffee table. Pieces of bric-a-brac made ringing sounds as they jumped up, then settled back down. “We’re all going to hell in a handbasket because I can’t figure this out.”
“Stop this self-indulgent nonsense immediately,” Titus snapped. “It isn’t helping us find a way to defeat Oblivion.”
“Your father’s right,” Abigail said. “Sort of. I know you’ll get it eventually, Josh.”
“Yes, but will it be in time?”
“You can’t think like that, son,” said Arthur. “You’ll get absolutely nowhere. Look, it’s obvious you’re knackered. Why don’t you rest awhile?”
I shook my head. “There’s too much at stake. And I can’t sleep, remember?”
Abigail sat next to me and put her hand on mine. “You’ve had a rough day, to say the least. Besides, you’re not likely to find a solution when you’re frazzled like this. Why don’t you lie down and try to rest, if not
sleep? Your father and I will do a spell around the window in your room first. Then we’ll do the other entrances and exits.” Titus opened his mouth as if to protest, then closed his eyes, sighed, and nodded.
“But how will Philip and I get back in here if we need to?” Arthur asked. “Or will you, ah, remove the magic to let us?”
“Back in here?” echoed Philip. “Is returning really necessary?”
Abigail ignored him. “The magic will only work on something with the same energy signature as a demon. So unless that’s you two, there’s nothing to worry about. Titus?” She motioned to my bedroom. Wordlessly, my parents went there to perform the spell. After a few minutes, they came back, looking tired.
“There!” said Abigail brightly, giving a quick, tense smile. “Now, off with you.” She took my arm and forced me to stand up. “The window’s done, and we’ll take care of the rest of the suite while you’re in there.” She jutted her chin towards my room, and I turned to face the others before leaving.
“Sorry about all this. Really.” I felt my shoulders stoop as if someone was pressing down on them with both hands. “But thank you anyway. Thank you for coming.”
“No trouble.” Philip stood up and straightened his lapels. But he spoke in that British way that I knew meant, “It was actually quite a lot of trouble.” “What’s done is done,” he said. “Now, we just have to find a way to press on and prevail.”
“Absolutely.” Arthur rose to his feet as well. “We haven’t given up, Joshua. Neither should you.” I gave a faint smile and a wave before going to my room.
“Try to get some sleep,” Abigail called.
I will if my demon will.
I tried to shut the door behind me, but it stayed open a crack when it didn’t hit the latch. I couldn’t work up the motivation to close it. Instead, I lay on my bed in the darkness. Staring at the ceiling, I tried to think of a way to defeat Oblivion.
I heard everyone say their good-byes as Arthur and Philip left. I felt my parents’ magic throughout the apartment as they put wards around the windows and doors. But I knew that doing magic strong enough to stave off a demon was exhausting work. After an hour, I heard Titus and Abigail sit back down on the couch to rest.
