Realm Walker rw-1

by Kathleen Collins

“You’ll be fine, I promise. You deactivated the spell when you shut the book,” he told her.

  That book was full of dark magic she had no desire to encounter again. She ran a million excuses through her head, but knew none of them were good enough. She sighed. “All right, let’s get this over with.”

  * * *

  James led Thomas and Juliana down a hallway deep below the Apocryphan. Jeremiah stayed behind to oversee the search for the new host. They came to a door with two large battle mages on either side of it. They nodded in greeting. James stepped past them to a small pad and placed his palm on it. The technology was a paranoid’s wet dream. Not only was it a palm reader, the door wouldn’t unlock unless the power signature fed into it matched the palm print.

  The door swung open with a hiss. They all stepped into the dark little room, the first of three chambers. From this point forward the walls, ceiling and floors were all made of three-foot thick steel over reinforced concrete. The rooms really did resemble bank vaults.

  Beams of light started at the ceiling and moved slowly to the floor as they scanned the group. All items of a magical nature had to be left in the outer chamber to keep them from interacting with anything in the other rooms. She put her gun and sword on the table before the alarm could beep at her. When they’d convinced the tech running the scanner that they had no contraband on them, he unsealed the next door.

  The room was three times the size of the previous one. A large steel table sat in the middle of the floor while several smaller ones lined the walls. There was another door on the wall opposite them, but Juliana had never been through it. James told her there were rows and rows of mini vaults that they locked items up in until they were brought out for examination. There were also several vaults that could not be opened, the items in them so dangerous they’d been sealed away forever.

  The book lay open in the middle of the large table. Again, she felt it beckoning her. This time it was more a gentle prodding than an overwhelming, undeniable need. Thomas cleared his throat. She glanced at him and realized the men stood at the table waiting for her to join them. She picked up her feet one step at a time, forcing herself to move forward.

  “It’s just a book, Juliana,” Thomas said with a sneer.

  A sliver of hurt stabbed through her and she frowned. “Let the damn thing throw you across a room and see if you feel that way.”

  She looked at James. “What have you found out so far?”

  “Not much, unfortunately. Though I did find your summoning spell.” He gestured to the page open before him.

  “How do you know it’s the spell they used?” Thomas asked.

  James grinned. “It wasn’t hard. It’s the only spell that’s translated. At least we assume that’s the one they used. We haven’t been able to decipher the rest of it to determine if there are any more summoning spells. It seems to be some archaic derivative of the dark fae language.”

  She glanced at the book. A pencil had been used to write the translation above the original lines of the spell. She could read every word of both. “The translation’s wrong. He put Beacon instead of Sacrifice. Can’t help but think that was done on purpose. There’s also a couple of other minor errors that were probably mistakes. Obviously it didn’t matter. The demons got here just fine.”

  James stared at her with wide eyes.

  “What?”

  “When I said we hadn’t been able to decipher the rest of the spells, I didn’t mean we hadn’t had the time. I meant I literally hadn’t found anyone that could read them.”

  Curse it. She should have picked up on that. Now he was going to want her to translate the whole thing. “Oh.”

  “Oh? That’s all you’ve got for me?”

  She shrugged. “What do you want me to say, James? It’s dark fae. I’m dark fae.”

  He shook his head. “That doesn’t work this time, Jules. I’ve had other dark fae in here. None of them could read it.”

  She pressed her lips together and he growled in frustration.

  “We’ve been researching its origins, but haven’t had much luck. And I can’t get its power to respond to any of the people that have looked at it. Have either of you seen it before?”

  They both shook their head, but the book looked familiar to Thomas. He knew he’d seen it somewhere before, that he should remember where it came from, but the information eluded his grasp. He clenched his teeth making a muscle in his jaw twitch. A millennium of having a near perfect memory and he couldn’t recall this. Somehow it must be Juliana’s fault. His bride had his head so twisted his brain wasn’t even working right.

  Juliana reached out her hand and the book pulsed with purple light. She snatched her hand back, crossed her arms over her chest and buried her hands tight against her body.

  “What did you do?” Thomas asked.

  “And can you do it again?” Excitement lit James’s voice. Thomas resisted the urge to say that he’d prefer if she didn’t. He had no way to protect her from magic.

  “I reached for it.”

  “There has to be something else,” James insisted. “Were you thinking of something specific?”

  She shook her head. She reached out again and held her hand over the book without touching it. Again, the purple light pulsed. It stayed lit longer because she didn’t remove her hand, but eventually the light faded.

  “Remarkable,” James breathed.

  “There’s nothing remarkable about it.” She crossed her arms over her chest again. “I already told you it’s old dark fae magic.”

  “And again, what makes you different from every other dark fae I’ve had in here?” James asked.

  She looked at him without saying anything.

  “Is that why the demon is targeting you? Does it have something to do with your ability to read this book?” he asked, his voice sharp, his eyes searching.

  Her shoulders slumped as she sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything at all.” She raked a hand through her hair. “I knew it called me by name. It did the same to Thomas, I thought it was a game it was playing. Didn’t it use any of your names today?”

  James shook his head. “Just yours. Of all the names it had access to, it only used yours. And it homed in on you the moment you arrived, like it was waiting for you to get here.”

  She looked at Thomas. “You have anything to say about all this?”

  “Why should I have an opinion on it?” he asked.

  “Because you have an opinion on everything,” his brother-in-law answered for her.

  Irritation spiked through him. He shrugged and went over to lean against the wall by the door.

  James turned back to the book. “You’ll have to begin the translation immediately.”

  “I’ll translate it because I need to find the demon, James, but I’m not giving your people access to those spells. I’m only telling you what you need to know.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  She leaned forward on the table and looked him in the eye. “That book scares me.”

  It must terrify her for her to admit that. James studied her for a moment before nodding once. “All right.”

  Juliana straightened and shifted on her feet. She ran her fingernails across her palms and hunched her shoulders. “I’ve got to get out of here,” she said. Ignoring James’s protests she hurried out the door.

  Thomas straightened and followed her without hesitation. He watched while she reequipped her weapons. Her movements were agitated, hurried. Stepping forward, he wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. Her head dropped forward when he began to knead the muscles.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” She turned to face him.

  James stood looking between the two of them. “Finally claiming her then?”

  “If she’ll let me.”

  James snorted. “Good luck with that. Don’t screw it up this time.”

  Thomas hesitated a moment before shaking the offered hand. “I shall endeavor not to.”
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  Chapter Fifteen

  Thomas and his bride stepped out into the glare of the midday sun. Juliana stood in front of him, eyes squinted, blocking the flow of traffic. Hands in his pockets, he watched her, suddenly wondering how his life had become so wrapped up in hers. Why he found himself unable to make a move without knowing what she intended to do first.

  Irritation crawled under his skin when she continued to just stand in the doorway. “They’ll be expecting you to make your report,” he said, careful to keep his annoyance from his voice.

  She glanced around as if just realizing she hadn’t bothered to move since stepping outside. She headed down the steps and he stayed right behind her. A hand shaded her eyes as she looked up at him. “You’re right, I need to go report in. And then I guess Ben will have me out demon hunting again. James is arranging to have the book delivered to the Agency so I can start digging through it.”

  A muscle twitched in his jaw. “There are other agents, other Walkers, are there not? It is not necessary for you to be the one to do everything.” He hailed a cab.

  She shook her head as he opened the door for her. “There are others, but I can’t expect them to work while I sit around and do nothing. It’s not how I’m made and neither are you. Go look for the demon. Watching me give my report isn’t going to help anything. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

  He slammed the door shut and watched the taxi drive away. Damnable woman. She could give whatever excuse she wanted, but she was running away from him just like she had been since he came back. If he was smart, he’d let her go. Let her get herself into trouble she couldn’t get out of and then he’d be rid of her.

  He raked a hand through his hair. What was wrong with him? What was he thinking? He pulled out his phone to call for a portal to meet her at the Agency. It rang as he began to punch in the number. “Yes?”

  “The package you’ve been waiting for is here,” answered one of the underlings who resided at his house.

  Any thought of following his bride rushed from his thoughts. He placed the call for the portal, but this time to take him home.

  * * *

  “Are you paying attention, Juliana?” Ben asked for the fifth time in the two hours she’d been there.

  She sighed. “Not really. What’s the point?”

  “You have to make sure the report is accurate.”

  She glanced at the agent that would write the actual report. He recorded the conversation and made notes while Ben debriefed her. She’d read it and sign it. Worked for her, she hated paperwork.

  She focused on her boss. “I could have done the report myself by now. We’ve been over everything three times. If I haven’t mentioned it, it either didn’t happen or I’ve forgotten it completely.”

  Ben dismissed the other agent with a nod of his head. “What’s wrong? You’re in a worse mood than usual.”

  He really couldn’t be expecting her to answer that question. She’d spent the past several days getting the crap kicked out of her and chasing demons. That would put anyone in a bad mood. Instead of answering she just shook her head.

  “There’s no point sending you out until we get a call. You’re better off staying here, where we can get a hold of you immediately and you can take a portal. Why don’t you go to your office and see if you can get some research done? Maybe you’ll come up with something to help us find this thing.”

  After running a hand down her face in a failed effort to wipe away her fatigue, she nodded. Somehow she found her way to her little-used office without the aid of a map.

  In the middle of her desk sat a cloth-bound package from James. The book. The seal on it prohibited it from being opened by anyone but her. Taking a deep breath she ran her hand lightly over the surface. Power tingled over her skin like a thousand needle pricks. She pushed the book to the side to be examined later, booted up her computer and punched in the password. She pulled up the internal database and typed “first-level demon” in the search box. Eighty-five results. The item at the top read Agency Policy and Protocol for First-level Demons. She’d never been very good at remembering the rules. She opened the link.

  First-level demons are to be approached and handled with utmost caution. While it is your duty as an agent or Realm Walker to preserve life whenever possible, the priority must be on the society as a whole, not the host. If the demon proves to be violent, an immediate kill order will be issued to preserve the lives of the public.

  She scrolled down farther. It said nothing about what to do if you killed the host and the demon reanimated it. Policy and protocol sucked.

  She scanned through the other results of the search, hoping to find something more helpful. Part of her hoped the demon had returned to its realm, but every one of her instincts screamed that this wasn’t over yet. She’d learned long ago to listen to them; they usually ended up being smarter than her.

  Every link she clicked on did nothing but fuel her paranoia. Massacres, holocausts, killing sprees all confirmed or thought to be the work of first-level demons. Now they had one that was tame by comparison, biding its time. One that was interested in her. She was so screwed. She needed to talk to the Librarian.

  The Librarian was ancient, predating most of the creatures that worked for the Agency. Officially she was the records keeper, unofficially she hoarded books of all shapes, sizes and topics. If there was going to be anyone that could tell Juliana why the demon seemed focused on her, it would be the Librarian.

  Juliana called for a portal and stepped through to the library, her arms wrapped tightly around the spell book. Books stood in rickety stacks along both sides of a narrow walkway. “Hello?” she called, walking sideways in an effort not to bring any of the towers crashing down. As it was, the vibrations from her movement caused some of them to rock perilously.

  “A visitor? I haven’t had a visitor in so long. Where are you, dear?” The voice was as cracked as a dragon’s hide.

  “Librarian?” Juliana called again. “I’m over here.”

  A hunched form appeared at the end of the aisle, the stereotypical grandmother figure with the grey bun and flowered dress. Juliana knew better than to trust appearances. The Librarian shuffled toward Juliana. “Did you bring me a present?”

  She wrapped her arms tighter around the book and shook her head. “I need help. There’s a first-level demon on the loose. It seems to be particularly interested in me. I want to find out why.”

  The old woman rubbed her frail hands together. “Research? Yes, I can research. Come along.”

  Juliana followed her to a large table. She gestured to a chair and Juliana lowered herself into it. The Librarian started to hum and darted off with lightning quick steps. Juliana’s eyes watered as she followed the blur of movement. Thud followed thud as books were stacked in front of her. After a small pile had been gathered, the old lady stopped next to Juliana and flipped through pages as quickly as she’d gathered the tomes.

  “Yes. Yes.” She said absently as she scanned the words before her. When she finished with one book she’d shove it out of the way and grab another. When she finished with the last one, she looked at Juliana. “Either you did something to draw the demon’s interest after it was summoned, or you are the reason it was summoned.”

  “If I showed you the spell, would you know?”

  The Librarian clicked the tips of her fingernails together. “Perhaps. Show it to me.” A thin line of drool ran from her mouth to the floor.

  Juliana ran her finger under the seal on James’s package. Power flared with white light and the seal broke as it recognized her as having permission to open the bundle. She unwrapped the book and cracked it open to the appropriate page.

  The Librarian craned her neck to the side as she read. “This one was called for you, child. But they had to have something of yours to do it. What did they have?”

  Unease crawled up Juliana’s spine. “Nothing that I know of.”

  The old woman cackled. “Then there must be somethin
g you don’t know of.” Her skin had turned a dark purple-grey color.

  Juliana closed the cover of the spell book and pulled it toward her chest. Her heart thudded against it. “Thank you for your help, Librarian.” She took out her phone as she stood and dialed the portal mages. “I need a portal out of the library to my office. Coded for me only. Stat.” Coding the portal specifically for her would take time but she didn’t like what was happening here. She’d heard the Librarian never left her den. Now she wondered if that was because the woman wasn’t allowed to. Juliana wrapped her hand more tightly around the book, her knuckles white, and watched with wide eyes as the old woman doubled in size.

  The Librarian tilted her neck from side to side. It crackled and creaked. Then quick as a genie granting a wish, the beast transformed. Half female, half spider, all grotesque. She cackled again, the sound far more sinister this time as she clicked her mandibles together with the gesture. “I want that book. I need it. It must be added to the collection, dear one.”

  “Fan-freaking-tastic,” Juliana muttered and backed away from the creature. She kept her arm wrapped around the spell book pressed against her chest. This was just what she needed. Spinning, she took off down the closest aisle. No longer caring if she made a mess or not, she bumped into the books on purpose and sent them toppling. The spider-beast screeched in outrage

  Juliana wove between weaving towers, not daring to look behind her. A stirring of air told her the creature was close, so close. She put on a fresh burst of speed just as a blue disk shimmered in the air in front of her. She spilled through into her office. The portal snapped shut behind her, taking the tip of a spider leg with it. Juliana wondered which part of the anatomy that translated to and hoped like hell it wouldn’t turn back.

  She dropped the book on her desk and leaned against it panting for several long moments. When she was breathing more or less normally, she picked up the leg remnant with two fingers and dropped it in the trashcan. She scrubbed her hand clean on her jeans as she plopped into her chair. Digging through the pile on her desk, she found her copy of the file of the scene from Nathaniel’s apartment building. She flipped to the evidence list and went through the item-by-item inventory. Nothing there was hers. At least nothing she recognized.