So that was why Bastien sniffed Ivan. I couldn't help but grin at the boy. So Ivan had sex. I made an assumption he accessed the morgue's security system from this girl's home. That was a much better excuse than hunger—though from the way he was scarfing down his Chinese, hunger was a definite factor. The truth to be found was whether it was the sex that made him hungry or the cyber diving.
Or both?
"We will be there to represent the pack," Bastien said through a mouthful of food and getting us back on topic.
"Why can't just one of you go?" Crwys's tone wasn't as antagonistic as it had been.
"I am the Alpha," Bastien put his hand on his chest. "I lead. Jack is learning from me."
I nodded. "Makes sense. I'm going. Kyle?"
"I'd like to go where Jack goes."
Aww. I just felt all mushy inside. No really. I'm serious. I was shocked this romance had lasted past four hours. And even though I was still a little worried that Jack would wolf-out and really hurt Kyle, at least he wouldn't turn him. I wasn't sure how Kyle's aunt Arden would take to having her nephew turned into an apogee Lycan.
My ears felt like they needed to pop and I did the customary swallow to pop them. That didn't work. Bastien put his food down and backed away just as Jack jumped up and his chair fell back. Both of them were holding their ears. I looked at Kyle who'd gone very, very white. He looked back at me with both his hands on the table. "Someone's put a cap on the area."
Oh Sweet Lady! That could only mean the Clerics were coming. Like an ill wind or smell those fuckers liked to disarm every magical entity and spell within an area before they arrived. I'd have known that if I had my Elemental Gifts because they would have been inaccessible to me. Though my Sylph had managed to slip by their cap last time the four of them came together.
A presence pressed against my skin. It moved around me and settled in the base of my skull like a tension headache.
Crwys started putting the food back in a bag and gesturing for everyone to get up. "We need to get Google boy and the dogs out of here."
"Why?" Bastien demanded.
"Because if they're here about Sam's warlocking, we need to not be a distraction. I'm leaving too," he handed the bag to Kyle. "I'll give you a call when I have a viewing time and you can coordinate a meeting with everyone."
Kyle took the bag but shook his head. "I'm not leaving Sam. Not after what they did to her."
Crwys shrugged. "Just don't mess this up for her, okay? Just in case Parliament made a decision," he turned to Bastien. "You really need to go."
The big man looked at me and I smiled with a pleading look. "I will go, but Jack will stay. He is an apogee, and not easily detected. He will protect Samantha."
Jack nodded to Bastien. "I will give my life for the Alpha's mate."
"I am not his mate!" I yelled out.
Ivan was already packed up and out the door in front of Crwys and Bastien. All that remained was Kyle, Jack and I.
"Ever met a Cleric Hive, Jack?"
He shook his head as he pushed his chair back under the table and straightened his shirt. "Not officially. But I know about them because of what Kyle's told me."
"Brace yourself," I said as I headed for the door to the retail shop. Grey crowded in beside me, not letting me out of her sight. "'Cause they can be real pissers."
NINE
The Hive stood in the center of my shop when we walked in from the back, just like I knew they would be. It didn't take magic to know some people used the same old tricks because they worked. Showing their victim there was no way to keep them out was their oldest intimidation trick. What I hadn't counted on was seeing Cromwell Dryden, the Grand High Master, with them, making them a force of five instead of four. Elemental Magic worked around the basics of life—Earth, Air, Fire and Water. When combined, these Elements came together to make Spirit, which I had a rudimentary control over before the warlocking.
They all wore their cloaks closed with the hoods up, their representative or sponsored Elements visible as pendants on chains around their necks. All except Cromwell, who led them toward me without his hood up and his robe open. I knew the names of two of the others. Their sponsored Fire was named Fred. Nasty-ass who hated me because my mom, the southeast's best Tracker, was responsible for putting Fred's father in a warlock.
Their Earth sponsor was Emily Pearson. We'd met in an unofficial capacity at a fundraiser held at Arden Vervain's house. The other two I simply called Mister Air and Miss Water. I think I heard Mister Air's name once before, but I couldn't for the life of me remember it at that moment. Miss Water's cloak wasn't as well buttoned as the others and I could see her pointy cheek below the hood's shadow.
Grey sat at my feet when I stopped just past the counter. Kyle and Jack moved in to the right and stood behind the counter beside Ivan's computer.
"This isn't a meeting for Cowens," Cromwell said. His voice was deep, steady, and didn't really telegraph any sort of emotion. Not even irritation.
I put my hands on my hips. "You didn't call first. He's my company. I hope you're here to remove the warlock?"
I could see on Cromwell's face that wasn't why they were here. And that just set my tone for the rest of this impromptu meeting. "Well…I see. I'm to remain locked out when I never committed a crime."
"If you didn't commit a crime, then where's your dad?" That was Fred. He still had his hood up but I knew his voice. He stood to Cromwell's left, probably there so the Grand High Master could keep an eye on him.
"Keep your tongue," Cromwell said.
"But look at her sir," Fred kept on going. "She's been warlocked for a month and she looks fine. My dad's health failed in less than two weeks. But she's up walking, talking and running around the city. She's even been meeting with Lycans."
Well, that bit of knowledge coming out of Fred's mouth surprised me. The only way he'd know that was if he'd been spying on me. I made a mental note to sic Ivan on this bastard's ass.
-Why have Ivan do what you can do better?-
I froze for a second at that voice and looked down at Grey, but she was looking at the Clerics. Mom, did you just say something?
Now she did look up at me. No. What's wrong?
"Samantha," Cromwell said at that moment and brought my attention back to him. "It has been brought to our attention, and I do mean the higher ranking members of Parliament, that you haven't suffered from the warlock. Not physically, not astrally, not even mentally."
A tiny fire of anger ignited in the pit of my stomach. "As I said, you warlocked an innocent Witch, with no proof of any wrong doing, and now you're disappointed because I'm not suffering? What the hell is wrong with you people? What is your point, Cromwell? I didn't do anything wrong. I heard you have your damn book. You didn't find it on me, near me or around me. In fact, I don't know where you found it. But you warlocked me on suspicion of stealing it." I held out my arms. "Where is my justice for being wrongly accused?"
"You can't talk to the Grand High Master like that!" Fred threw back his hood and took several very angry steps forward.
He was immediately stopped by a wave of Cromwell's hand. Fred went flying backwards and I thought for a second he would go through my store's front window. But he didn't. He just hung there, suspended above the floor.
"This is officially your second warning, Fred. If you do anything like that again, raise a hand to Miss Hawthorne or even make noise as if you were going to, you will be warlocked with no possibility of return." He pivoted and looked at his hanging prisoner. "Do I make myself clear?"
Fred nodded vigorously. But Cromwell didn't let him loose. He just hung there the whole time.
"I am sorry, Samantha, for Fred's outburst."
"I know. He hates me because of my mother."
Really? Who is that kid?
I sent back a quick explanation. He says you had his father warlocked and it killed him.
I've had many bad seeds warlocked, Sam-Sam. His name is Fred? No last name?
“The answer is why we're here. It has come to our attention that a very special Codex has disappeared. It was part of a collection of Arcane artifacts held by one of the Elders who…passed away last month. The Codex itself, like the Malleus Maleficarum, is unreadable. But its purpose, as we've come to learn, is to infuse all of the God Mother's children with Arcane."
I blinked at him because that wasn't what I expected him to say. I noticed how he down played the Elder deaths, which I knew were committed by Kennett, as passing away. Truth was, the fools were made into Shadow People by Kennett and used to terrorize a group of human children stolen by my aunt. Well, the Leviathan riding her body.
Ignoring Fred the Hangman, I looked at each one of them for a few seconds before resting my gaze on Cromwell again. "And?"
Cromwell gave me a tight smile. "It was suggested by Parliament that you could pay back some of the service they believe you owe by finding this Codex and returning it to them. After all, your mother was an excellent Tracker. Perhaps the ability is inherent within you as well."
I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it, then opened it again. I really had to put this into perspective. "So…I've been wrongly warlocked. You admit that. But instead of just removing it, you want me to find a Codex to somehow make up time I owe in service."
Cromwell gave me a half smile.
"How am I supposed to find something without my Elementals?"
Emily spoke up. She had my Gnome. "You're very apt at finding your way around difficult situations. As you were told before, Parliament wants a year of service from you. I would like to test your abilities."
"Bullshit."
-They suspect something.-
This time I looked around the room, which was a bad thing to do in front of five Clerics.
"Sam?" Kyle said to my right.
"Sorry. There's a gnat in here. I hate gnats." Bad lie. But I had to think fast because there was no way I was telling these people I was hearing voices.
Emily said, "It's not bullshit, Samantha. Cromwell is the Grand High Master of Parliament. If he wants proof before he removes the warlock, then he can ask for proof."
“You people want me to provide the proof while I’m warlocked. That's the bullshit part, Emily." I narrowed my eyes at her. "Putting me out there to find this Codex, if it is what you say it is, with no magic, is like giving someone a raw steak to chum the water and telling them to capture the shark. With their bare hands. Give me back my Elementals and I'll be better equipped to defend myself."
When they looked at each other and didn't say anything, I got a little worried. Glancing at Jack and Kyle, I said, "What? Did something happen to my Elementals?"
"Oh, no," Cromwell said a bit too forcefully. "I want you to prove to me you're capable of a simple retrieval."
"You mean you want me dead. Because that's what'll happen." I didn't think finding some Codex was going to be that hard. Kyle had spells to look for magical items, and if it was an Arcane item, Ivan would be able to see it, and so would I.
I just couldn't shake the feeling there was something they weren't telling me. But I knew I wasn't going to get much more out of them.
Fred twitched. I hope he fell, and I was very happy he didn't have my Salamander.
"I have conditions."
Cromwell raised his hand. “I will remove the warlock when you succeed."
"That's not all, and don't think I won't hold you to that. I'm already considering my own counsel, and you know any magical lawyer in the country would request a Tribunal."
All five of them reacted to that. If there was one thing any Cleric hated, it was the group of Witches hired to watch the Clerics. Clerics were held to a higher standard than everyone else. And the Tribunal Members?
Practically saints. With no patience.
A Tribunal assumes the bringer is innocent and the punishers must prove their actions were justified.
"There's no need to take things that far." Cromwell looked irritated.
"Yes there is, because you people haven't made any sense from the moment you came to warlock me. As for my other condition," I pointed to the ground. "This is it. No more. No more service and no more poking your noses into my business. And no more just busting in here without my permission."
"I can only assure removal of the warlocking."
"Then you better get the rest of my requests approved. Because I'm not looking until I have all of it in writing. With everyone's signatures."
"That's ridiculous!" Mister Air shouted. Yay. Because he knew, like they all knew, if I had it in writing, I could bind them to it.
Cromwell looked as if he were about to answer when Emily spoke up. "Where is your father? Where is his house? Or his wife? Or the nurse that took care of your father?"
I wasn't prepared to answer that so I just stared at her.
-Tell them they are in a better place.-
I almost answered that voice out loud and told it to shut up.
"Why are you hesitating, Sam?"
"Because I don't know."
"But you're aware the house he lived in is missing."
I didn't say anything. Grey leaned in close to me.
Cromwell spoke up. "The lot where the house stood is empty, Samantha. The house hasn't been bulldozed or torn down. It was never built. It's as if it never existed. The neighbors we talked with don't recall there being a house on that corner. It's been an empty lot since the subdivision was built."
I tried to keep what I was feeling inside from showing on the outside. What I remembered most about my dad was that he always knew when I was lying…because I was bad at it. My expression always told on me. And I sure as hell didn't want it telling on me now.
"You don't look upset or surprised."
"I haven't been there in a long time. I don't know what it looks like. You sure you have the address right?"
Cromwell took a step toward me and put a finger under my chin. He lifted my head so I would look up at him. "I suspect you know more than you're willing to tell. But if this matter were brought up before the Parliament, I am more than sure that without answers, that warlock would never be removed. So let us just agree that you will find the Codex and I will remove the warlock."
I pulled back and glared at him. What a son of a bitch. "What is it I'm supposed to know about my dad? I haven't been to his house or talked to him and my stepmother. He has dementia, Cromwell. Maybe she took him to a hospital for care? And if everything is gone—" I held out my arms. "What am I supposed to do? I don't have magic. You took that away from me before Yule. Are you accusing me of somehow magically making them disappear with my bare hands?" I ran my fingers through my hair. "Get out. All of you."
I was juiced with something that smoldered in my very veins at that moment. I also knew if I didn't get them out of there right then, there was going to be more than just exploding water fountains. I had that same red haze in front of me; the same knot in the pit of my stomach, and the voices had become a murmur in my ears. I knew if I wanted, I could reduce each of them to ash. Little piles of gray ash I could sweep into the dirty street outside my shop walls.
Kyle placed himself between the powerful Witch and myself, his hands balled into fists. If there wasn't a magical cap on the vicinity, I knew those fists would be ignited in blue and yellow light. "You heard her. You have been asked to leave. Without express written consent by the local magistrate of the Parliament representatives in this Parish, you aren't allowed to remain once asked to leave. The only way that can be overridden is if you have legal documentation of a complaint against the property owner. Do you?"
I peeked out from behind Kyle's shoulder to get a good look at Cromwell's face. It was not an expression I ever wanted directed at me.
But to my surprise, Cromwell turned, motioned with his right hand and Fred fell to the ground. Fred left with a sneer directed toward me as he pressed a hand to h
is back, as did Mister Air and Emily. Miss Water didn't even look and hurried out through the door.
Cromwell stayed in front of the door and faced us. "Samantha, I look forward to your completion of the task."
Kyle said, "You did this to an innocent woman, Mr. Dryden. Sam's not guilty of anything. How about instead of trying to blame her for things, investigate why they happen and who has it out for her?"
Cromwell didn't say anything else before he turned and left the shop. The lights immediately flickered and my ears popped again. Kyle snapped his fingers and the blue and yellow lights vanished. Kyle was a good head taller than me, but not quite as tall as Ivan. He put his hands on my shoulders. "You okay? Why were you talking about a gnat? There are no gnats. I spelled all bugs out of this shop."
"It was nothing." But it wasn't. That voice was still there, but I couldn't make out words anymore. Just…buzzing. "That was a grand speech you gave in front of him and the others. You do know if you poke at a dragon it'll burn you."
"Dragons aren't real. Clerics are. And Clerics can't work in a vacuum. Trust me, my aunt knows the rules backwards and forwards. That's why she breaks them so often." He pulled me into his arms and we hugged. It was a rare moment for the two of us. We hadn't been particularly close since I took Crwys in as a partner of Bell, Book And Candle. "Sam, I think they suspect something. About you and Arcane. Why else tell you to go chase an Arcane artifact? And when it's all over with, they can't know about your Arcane, Sam."
"I know," I said, though my voice was muffled into his chest. I finally pulled back and put my hands on my hips as I looked down at Grey looking up at me. "If I tell them about the Arcane, and about what happened at my dad's they'll destroy me."
"Destroy you?" Jack moved in closer. "What does that mean?"
"It means they'll kill her. It would be a mercy killing since Arcane always causes…issues."
I sighed. "Just say it, Kyle. It causes madness."
"If it does, then why do you use it?" Jack asked.
I smiled at Jack before I glanced at Kyle, and then nodded to Jack. "You should brief him on what's been going on."
Elemental Moon: The Eldritch Files, Book Three Page 6
