Nether: Hidden Book Five

by Colleen Vanderlinden

  "Hey, Angel. Some… thing just attacked Wayne State," he said when I answered.

  "Was anyone hurt?"

  "Minor injuries. It was mostly empty, and the people who were injured were hit with debris from whatever it was."

  I sighed. "Okay. I'll be there."

  I told Nain what was going on, and headed out into the living room. Brennan was coming out of the connecting door that led into his unit.

  "Wayne State?" he asked me, and I nodded. I kissed Nain and told him I'd be in touch when I knew anything.

  "Be careful," he said.

  "You too." I gave him one more look, then I took Brennan's hand and focused on rematerializing on Wayne State University's campus. And it was chaos.

  There were police cars everywhere, lights flashing. Students who apparently lived on campus and other bystanders standing around. I looked around. I'd worked in one of the offices on campus for years, and I knew it well. This part of campus, between the Student Center and State Hall, was a popular place to sit. During nice weather, bands sometimes played. There was an ugly-ass fountain there, and lots of benches.

  In the middle of it all, the concrete was cracked and caved in, and one of the sides of State Hall was bashed in. It reminded me of one of those old cartoons where a character would run through a wall, leaving the shape of their body behind. Except that, in this case, whatever had gone through was freaking humongous.

  "Uh. So did anyone see anything?" I asked, shaking my head. One of the DPD officers on the scene introduced himself.

  "All we got is that it looked kind of metallic, that it crashed and then it bashed into the building and then it was gone."

  I blew out a breath in exasperation. "So it just disappeared?"

  "We think so, yes. Um. We can't seem to rally anyone to actually go into State Hall and see if it's still there or not."

  I looked at him, and he squirmed uncomfortably.

  "I'll do it," I said. I looked around to see Brennan interviewing witnesses. "Bren," I called. "Call Heph."

  He nodded, took his phone out. Poor Heph. He was getting even less rest than the rest of us lately.

  We were trying, really, really hard not to leave things a mess. We figured that if the city was constantly getting destroyed, the least we could do was try to fix it as soon as possible. Since Heph was our main fixer-of-things, he was usually in charge of that. And as guilty as I felt over how busy we kept him, he kept insisting he enjoyed the work.

  I did wonder how Meaghan felt about us constantly calling him out in the middle of the night. That had to be annoying if you were new to this life. I looked toward State Hall, and that gaping hole in the side of the building. It seemed like they'd maybe already cut power to the building, though I could see several wires hanging in the damaged wall, and there was water gushing from some of the broken pipes.

  State Hall was one of the buildings where a lot of the general undergrad classes were held. Three floors of classrooms. Really, it looked a lot like my former high school inside, just bigger. Whatever it was that had attacked or crashed had bashed into one of the classrooms, and through several walls. I walked through the hole it had created, staying clear of the wires just in case. I'd survive an electrocution, but I wasn't in a hurry to try it out.

  Where the thing had crashed through, it had splintered desks and walls. Windows were shattered, and the entire classroom was in disarray. It went through the next wall, into the classroom next to it. I made my way in there, only to see more destruction.

  And that was it. I pulled a small flashlight out of my pocket and swung it around. No more holes, and definitely no big, scary things. The building was empty, and there were no power signatures nearby.

  What the hell was the point of this?

  I looked around, trying to find some sign or clue about what it could have been. This didn't look like Gaia's work. There were no trees growing where they shouldn't.

  I moved broken desks out of the way, sifted through some of the rubble from the walls. Mostly, I listened and tried to keep my mind open so I'd be able to sense anything. I was about to give up when I saw a dull glint of metal nearby.

  It was so small, I nearly missed it in the mess. A dagger, in the corner near some broken furniture. I picked it up, hefted it in my hand.

  I'd only seen one type of being ever carry a dagger like that. Imps.

  Did this mean Nether had done this? And if she had, why?

  I inspected the dagger more closely, bringing it right in front of my eyes and shining my flashlight on it.

  There. There was a thin shaving of what looked like gold, or some gold-colored metal, on the lower part of the blade, as if it had been drawn across something gold and scraped some of it off.

  Did Nether have them robbing shit or something?

  And even if she did, what the hell were they doing there? Was Nether metallic? Was she what the witnesses had seen? Or were the imps fighting the metallic thing the bystanders had seen?

  I looked around some more, trying to see if I could get any more answers, but there was nothing. I headed back out to where Brennan was and filled him in on what little I'd put together. He told me that everyone said they had seen something gold-colored smash into the courtyard like it had fallen out of the sky, and then it had run roaring toward State Hall and crashed into it.

  "What the ever-loving hell?" I asked.

  "And what do your imps have to do with it?"

  Neither of us was pleased when we saw a black SUV pull up.

  "Son of a bitch," Brennan growled. "What the hell is he doing here?"

  I watched as Ross and one of his underlings got out of the SUV, and looked back at Brennan. One look at him told me all I needed to know, even if I couldn't sense emotions: the man was pissed. That slight tic in his cheek, the way his eyes blazed when he looked at Ross as he approached.

  Either Ross was a really good actor, extremely confident, or extremely clueless, because he didn't seem to realize that he was in bodily danger.

  Personally, I voted for clueless.

  I moved away from the Normals and Brennan and Ross followed. This probably wasn't a conversation they needed to hear. I took it as a sign of respect that they didn't insist on coming with me, trying to hear what we were saying. They were taking me at my word that it would be handled, and there aren't even words to express how crazy that still is to me. And when Heph arrived and they all flocked to him, I had to smile. The man was probably even more popular than I was. He was, after all, the one who got the lights back on and life back to normal. He gave me a wink before I turned back toward Ross and his guys.

  "Angel," Ross said.

  "Agent Ross," I said, with just as much warmth in my tone as he'd had in his. I had to wonder how he ever got his job. The man had the personality of a damp rag. His men always looked either bored or confused, and usually both.

  I glanced at Brennan, who was still shooting Ross looks that would have made me cower, had I been on the receiving end of them.

  "As you can see, there is absolutely nothing for you to do here, unless you count getting in the way as being productive," Brennan said. The other agent, who I wasn't familiar with, chuffed out a breath in a sound that might have been a laugh. "I know you need to feel important here, Ross, but you're useless unless you want to help Heph shovel some of that mess out of the way so he can fix the building."

  "No one asked you, Matthews," Ross snarled. "So this is another immortal doing this?" he barked at me, and I raised my eyebrow.

  "Yes."

  "And what are you doing about it? Because from what I see, you have your pals fixing the messes, yet I don't see you out there doing what you're supposed to do."

  "And what is it you think I'm supposed to do?" I asked him.

  "You're supposed to be out chasing it down, not standing around here basking in the glow of your fame."

  "Basking? Really?"

  "You love it. The adoration. And for what? As long as you've been with us, you hav
en't done shit beyond give press conferences."

  Before I could react, Brennan had Ross by the front of his shirt, his face inches from the shorter, thinner man's.

  "You have no clue. You have no idea what she does every single day to keep everyone, including your smarmy ass, safe. And considering that you came to her, begging for her help," he continued as Ross struggled to get out of his grip, "I'd suggest showing her a little fucking respect before you really piss me off." He released Ross with a look of disgust.

  I watched in amusement as Ross took a few steps away from Brennan, shooting him looks as he straightened his tie. It was rare for Brennan to actually show that he was pissed. Usually, by the time he was angry enough to act, it was too late for whoever had pissed him off to save themselves.

  "Any other agent would have been written up for insubordination for shit like that, Matthews," Ross said, pointing a trembling finger at Brennan, which did absolutely nothing to help regain the appearance of control. The other agent was standing next to Brennan, arms crossed over his chest, looking more than pleased with the turn of events. Honestly, he looked like a kid at an ice cream parlor.

  I liked him. I sensed for him, and felt his good mood over seeing his boss shown his true place. Respect for me and Brennan, and an undertone of concern for the circumstances. He was a Normal, but unlike Ross, he didn't seem perpetually freaked out by all of this.

  "Yeah, well. I'm not just any agent, am I, Ross? And we all know you're on your way out. I wonder who'll replace you when your demotion kicks in," Bren said with a smirk.

  "Seriously?" I said.

  He grinned at me. "It's all but a done deal. The higher-ups think he's made more than a few missteps, the main of which is that he doesn't understand a damn thing about how the supernatural community works because he's lazily relied on my reports all these years."

  I smiled. "So why not put the man who actually knows shit in charge, right? Finally."

  "And they're not happy with the way he's treated you. You wouldn't know it from the interactions you've had, mostly with him," he said, gesturing toward Ross, who was standing there seething, "but you have a ton of fans in the agency and in higher levels as well. Pissing you off is not something anyone wants to do."

  "Well, congratulations. It'll be a major improvement."

  "Yeah, it will," Bren said, nodding. I had to laugh. There was that cockiness, that self-assuredness I hadn't seen since before Nain had died. His gaze met mine, and he nodded once before looking away.

  "It's not a done deal, Matthews," Ross said.

  "So I can only assume this is our other Titan," I said to Bren. We started walking toward where Heph was, Ross trailing behind us like a cranky toddler, the other agent at Bren's side. "Golden thing comes from the sky and just starts breaking shit."

  "Why, though?"

  I shook my head. "Maybe it's looking for a fight. Maybe more. I can't even pretend to understand these immortal assholes."

  Brennan grimaced, and I continued. "Heph is making the repairs now to limit any chaos. Restoring the building here will be child's play to him. I'm guessing it'll be done by the end of the day."

  "An hour, tops, Queenie," Heph shouted. "Give me some fuckin' credit." The assembled Normals cheered and laughed, watching in amazement as Heph moved the steel structure, using some of his crazy fire ability to weld the broken parts back together. A Normal held his phone up, taking photos, and the assembled crowd applauded when Heph stepped back and the steel support was back together.

  "He's loving this, isn't he?" Bren asked quietly as we kept walking.

  "Every single moment," I answered, and he laughed.

  "I'll keep looking for Gaia," I continued. "And try to figure out which one this is. I'm guessing my parents will know. The hard part will be trying to figure out where either of them will strike next. I'm guessing we can monitor other polluted areas of the city to try to head off Gaia, if that's what's bothering her. This thing? I have no clue."

  "I can put some men on the polluted areas, too, so we can cover more of the possibilities."

  "I'd appreciate it, thanks," I said. "I really miss the imps at times like this. They were masters at surveillance."

  Brennan reached over and took my hand, gave it a squeeze. "You'll get them back."

  I heard another car approaching and turned to watch. It was another black SUV, and Jamie and another government guy climbed out. Brennan nudged me with his arm.

  "Listen," he said. I nodded.

  This is Director Petersen. He's in charge of homeland security now. Ross's boss. Also a huge fan of yours.

  "Thanks," I said softly, and he nodded.

  "Agent Matthews," Petersen said, walking up to Brennan, hand extended.

  He was a good-looking man. Early to mid forties, maybe. Tall and broad, muscular. Blond hair, blue eyes. He could have been related to Brennan, from looking at the two of them.

  And he was a warlock.

  "Director Petersen," Bren replied, shaking the man's hand. It didn't go unnoticed that Petersen had addressed Brennan, and not Ross. "I'd like to introduce you to the Angel," he said, nodding toward me.

  Petersen turned to me with a smile. "Finally! I've been looking forward to meeting you and thanking you in person for all of the help you've given us."

  "Thank you," I said, shaking his hand. I sensed for him. Respect. I watched him take in the scene around us, noting Heph working on the building, the Normals standing around. "I admit I wasn't excited to join up, but other than a bit of unpleasantness, it hasn't been as hellish as I'd imagined."

  Petersen nodded, and his gaze landed on Ross. "Yes. As far as the unpleasantness… I'm sorry about that."

  I nodded.

  "You will meet with me at nine tomorrow, Ross," Petersen said, and Ross gave a terse nod.

  "What was that?" Petersen asked in a mild voice

  "Yes, sir," Ross grated.

  "Good." Then Petersen turned back to me. "I can't believe how fast you and your friends get things back to normal. This would be a giant pain in the ass otherwise."

  "Instead, it's just mildly terrifying," I said, and Petersen smiled.

  "I'm just sorry there's nothing I can do about Delray. From what we've seen, no one's able to even get close enough to the woods there now to do anything. One of my people got close and tried cutting a tree down," I paused, grimaced.

  "And what happened?" Petersen asked.

  "The tree tried to impale him with its branches." Poor Heph, I added to myself.

  Petersen's eyebrows shot up. "Wow."

  "Yeah."

  "Well, if none of the Normals or most of the supernaturals can get close to it, I'm guessing it's lost officially now. The company that owns that site is just going to have to move on, probably encouraged by a good bit of recompense from my department." He paused. "You know who's doing this, I assume? Agent Matthews has been typically tight-lipped about anything related to you."

  I shot a glance at Brennan. "And I appreciate that. As you've undoubtedly heard, I like as little interference as possible when I'm working."

  "Absolutely. All I need to know is that you know what's going on and you're working on it."

  "And I am," I assured him. "This isn't something any of your agents could deal with. It has to be me."

  Petersen surveyed the area. "I can see that. It's mind-blowing."

  "I'm working on tracking the being responsible down. Hopefully we can stop this from happening again. It's my top priority right now, in addition to tracking down the being who did the Delray thing the other day."

  "Two separate beings, then? I was hoping it was all the work of one insane, powerful being," Petersen said.

  "Nah. That would be too easy, director," I said, and he smiled again. "I know what they are. It's something my friends and I are uniquely suited to handle, and we will."

  "You have my eternal gratitude, Angel," Petersen said. "If there's anything at all I can do for you, please don't hesitate to contact me." He r
eached into the inner pocket of his blazer and pulled out a business card.

  "I will. Thank you," I said.

  I was getting antsy. Too much talking, not enough smashing. And every second I stood around, Nether or Gaia or whichever crazy Titan had done this was undoubtedly preparing to do something else insane. I looked at my watch, shocked that I'd already spent over four hours on the scene. I had to find out if everything had gone okay with the vampires.

  "I need to get going," I said to Bren.

  He nodded. "Thanks again. I'll stick around in case there are any questions and hitch a ride home with Jamie."

  I was about to leave when another DPD car pulled up. I waited, figuring I'd either have to answer questions or deal with yet another mess. As I watched, a female officer got out of the cruiser. She recognized Ross, it looked like, and from her emotions, she wasn't especially fond of him. She walked over to him anyway, greeted him.

  "Officer Malone," Ross said in return. The woman looked toward me, and I sensed surprise, nervousness coming from her.

  "Director Ross," Officer Malone said. "I was in the area and I knew I'd find you here. We've had a crew out at Grand Circus Park for about an hour. There are people freaking out and no one knows why. They're fighting and acting terrified and every time we get one calmed down, another starts acting up. It's like they're possessed or something."

  Dread settled into the pit of my stomach. I knew what this sounded like. I'd seen it first-hand, back when I'd first started with Nain's team.

  Imps.

  What the fuck else could go wrong in one day?

  "I can take care of it," I said. "I'm going that way anyway." Without waiting for a response, I rose into the air.

  Really, I was almost hoping my imps would be gone by the time I got there. The last thing I wanted was to see them, not just because it meant Nether had finished generating a body, but even more because I didn't want to see them forced into their old ways, reduced to terrorizing people for the benefit of their master. That thought, more than the fact that they were forced to follow Nether because she was stronger than me, bothered me more than anything else. I wasn't pleased that it was so obvious that Nether was stronger than me, but it wasn't something that bothered me much (other than the obvious oh, hey, she can probably kill me thing). What did bother me was that I'd let my imps live a more honorable existence, and they'd enjoyed it, and now that had been taken from them.