Relics

by Wilson, Maer

  “Neat trick,” I said sincerely. “Can you teach it to me?”

  Jones smiled and said, “It might be possible.”

  “Will she be able to come back?”

  “No, I hadn't thought to put up wards against the dead. That will be remedied. Why would she help the creature that killed her?”

  “Because Lynda-Jean is a vindictive bitch and blames me and is probably as crazy as Gabriel is. I really do want to find a way to banish her permanently.” I was shaking with anger.

  Thulu pulled me close and whispered, “Let it go, Fi. We don't have time for this now. Later, okay?” I nodded, my head against his chest, and took a few deep breaths. I'd definitely make it a point to deal with her later. No doubt about that.

  Jones turned to Aela. “I would like to get the others here. We need to plan this carefully, and I would appreciate input from Aurelia and Belus. It might be wise to include a few of the other delegates, as well. Especially any that may have had dealings with Gabriel in the past.”

  Aela said she'd inform the others immediately. Her mood was grim, but determined. She popped out, followed by several of her warriors. Jones excused himself, after telling us to make ourselves at home.

  I tried to check with Parker to make sure the kids were okay, but Jones's new spell was apparently holding. Thulu and I walked outside and down the drive to the gate. It was hot and muggy, and the air had that quality of something waiting to happen.

  Two of the fairies flew with us as we were buzzed through the pedestrian gate. Jones's wards were strong for a short distance beyond the estate, but soon I connected with Parker for a few moments. He assured me he and Jenna were fine and staying at our house. I told him if there was trouble to go to Nana Fae.

  After he left, Nana Fae showed up and said she would keep an eye on them. She wished us luck and told us the dead were standing by in case there was anything they could do to help. I told her we'd pass that on to Jones, and I asked her if there was a way to contain Lynda-Jean. She said she'd ask around and popped back out. I stared after her, a hitch in my chest.

  Thulu put an arm around me. Together we returned to the house and settled in the library once more. I appreciated the cool air of the library, after the trek to the road.

  I got a chance to look at the two panels, which were much like the others, carved and painted. Jones must have had strong protective spells for them to be in such excellent condition.

  One showed the figure, standing this time, pouring liquid from the dragon pitcher into the cup. The last one showed the figure holding one hand over the pitcher, with the dagger positioned as if it had cut the hand. Bright drops of blood traced a path into the pitcher. As in the others, the relics themselves were heavily gold-leafed.

  The others started to arrive, and I returned the panels to Jones's desk. Aurelia showed up first, with Romeo and Juliet and more fairies. Aurelia expressed her condolences to me and Thulu before sitting on one of the sofas. We got hugs from Juliet. Ceil and Kareem were next to join us, followed by Sloane, Belus and two other elves – one male, one female.

  There were others, three humans I thought, until I realized one must be Sarah Grant. She had that no-nonsense, corporate executive look about her. Pale skin was set off by her dark hair and eyes. She was quite lovely. The two men with her were probably the rest of the daemon contingent.

  Jones had returned, and once everyone was settled in, he quickly explained the situation. “We need to come up with a plan to get Gabriel to meet us and bring the pitcher and scroll.”

  A lot of ideas were discussed. Pros and cons examined. Romeo spoke up after about half an hour of discussion.

  “I hate to bring this up, but none of these ideas will mean anything once Gabriel gets a whiff of the negative emotions.” He looked apologetically at Thulu, Reo and me. “No offense, but I'm sure he will sense your pain and stay away.”

  There was a pause. “That's not a problem,” said Thulu. “We don't need to be there.” This cost him, I knew, because we'd like to see this through, but of course we didn't want to jeopardize anything.

  “Unless our pain can be used to draw him in,” I said.

  “La Fi, Light Ones don't like negative emotions,” Aurelia said softly.

  “Gabriel does, though,” I said. “He was definitely getting something he liked when he was in the yard, and there was nothing there but pain and fear.” There was silence as the others looked at me. I could tell they were skeptical, but being polite.

  “She's right, I saw him too, but didn't think about it at the time,” Aela added thoughtfully. She had been right next to me, so she'd had a good view of Gabriel.

  “Gabriel was unquestionably feeding on negative emotions,” she said.

  Belus looked thoughtful. “That could actually explain a lot. If Gabriel somehow is no longer strengthened by positive, but by negative emotions, that could explain his insanity, as well as his invasion of the daemon world thousands of years ago. Actually it would explain almost everything. His actions have been completely out of character for one of their kind.” He looked around at the rest of us.

  Jones was staring at me, and his face broke into a slow smile. “The other Light Ones would not be pleased. They would turn on Gabriel if they knew he fed on negative emotions.”

  “If they believed it,” added Aurelia. “It will take some convincing.”

  “Fairies don't lie. I will testify to what I saw,” said Aela.

  “Our best bet is Michael,” said Belus. Of course, it figured if there was a Gabriel, there probably would be a Michael

  He continued, “Michael has never been comfortable with Gabriel's orders. Following his leader is so deeply ingrained that he would never consider disobeying, though. It will take a lot of convincing to get him to believe us, but this might be simpler than most of the other ideas.” He smiled grimly. “There will be less that can go wrong this way.”

  More ideas were thrown out as to how to convince Michael, but Thulu, Reo and I were back to being included. I hoped that was a good thing. In the end, they decided to keep it as simple as possible. Aurelia would approach Michael and ask him to meet up at the portal itself. Once there, Aela would tell Michael the truth about Gabriel, counting on fairy honesty.

  Most thought Michael would be devastated by all the killing that had been ordered by Gabriel, under false pretenses. Apparently Michael believed in Gabriel's cause of stamping out evil, but had misgivings about Gabriel's methods and had never been comfortable with killing. While Light Ones blindly followed their leader, to discover that Gabriel was literally insane would be a blow. Proving that Gabriel was also using the pain and suffering as his own private feeding ground would hopefully bring Michael over to our side.

  Personally I thought it was a bit too simple.

  “Um, may I ask why Michael or one of the others wouldn't have figured this out before now? I mean someone has to have some idea what Gabriel is really up to.” The others looked at me blankly. “Come on, people, do you really think the Light Ones haven't known all along about this?”

  Jones broke a long silence. “No, La Fi. The Light Ones do not question their leader. I also think those who might be uneasy have convinced themselves of the righteousness of Gabriel's crusade. I think they are caught up in that and cannot see anything else. Gabriel delivers positive energy to them. He keeps them supplied. Since their needs have grown so much, that alone would keep him in power. If any of them suspected, they would rationalize it away. Even angels can be in denial.”

  I looked at him in disappointment. “I guess being thousands of years old is no cure for some things.” I was a bit resentful that any of these magical creatures were not perfect. Of course, that was more than a bit naïve. There is no such thing as perfection, but to find that ancient, powerful beings could be as weak and blind as humans was disillusioning.

  I think Jones understood what I was thinking. He actually smiled gently as he said, “My dear La Fi, being magical or supernatural does not ma
ke us perfect.”

  He turned to the others, and they agreed on a time later that evening. The portal was in an old warehouse owned by Jones and kept locked up. Assuming Michael agreed, we would meet there in a couple of hours. That gave us time to prepare and make sure we were as ready as we could be.

  I still thought the whole thing sounded too simplistic to work, but tried to keep my doubts to myself. The other two humans picked up on it though, and Thulu squeezed my hand. Reo smiled reassuringly.

  I sighed in resignation. Maybe the simpler plan did have less elements that could go wrong. Unfortunately, that just meant it went wrong quicker.

  Chapter 37

  We got more bad news sooner than expected. Stuart came in as the meeting was breaking up and spoke quietly to Jones.

  “Wait a moment, please, everyone.” He turned to inset doors in one wall, which unfolded to show a gigantic screen at the press of a button. He quickly turned it on to a news station. Rioting had started in Los Angeles. Scenes were flashing by of looting, people running panicked in the streets and police trying to contain the situation. In other shots, people carried signs that read “The Apocalypse is here” and “Aliens Go Home.”

  Lovely. Apparently humanity had finally broken its stupor to do what it does best. Idiocy. I simply didn't have patience for that and left the room in disgust. I wandered to the back and went outside to the patio where we had lunch only a few days before. It felt like a lifetime ago. In a way it was, I guess. I moved a chair to the railing and sat down watching the ocean. The sun was sinking into the water, casting its red and gold glow across the waves. The rhythmic sound of the sea was soothing, and I let the ocean breeze blow over me as I closed my eyes.

  I felt Thulu pull up a chair and sit next to me. I opened my eyes when he took my hand. Together, we sat there for a long time, watching the sunset.

  “I called Dad to let him know what was up. He sends his love –” he paused. I looked over where he slouched in the chair next to me. Something in his voice caught me. I waited for him to continue. “He also wished us luck.” Another pause as he watched the ocean. “He said to tell Aela that if she gets the shot to kill Gabriel.”

  My eyebrows rose in surprise. “Your dad said that?” Erik was one of the most gentle, mellow, loving people I knew. He didn't believe in capital punishment and thought there was good in everyone, if only it could be tapped. He might be older and wiser than me in a lot of ways, but even I knew that evil existed. I'd seen some humans who might have had some sliver of good in them, but finding it was nearly impossible.

  As far as I was concerned, some people were as close to pure evil as you could get. Maybe that's why Gabriel's behavior wasn't as shocking to me as it was to some of the others. Horrifying, yes, but Thulu and I were not strangers to evil.

  In a way, I found it sad that my father-in-law had found out that evil actually existed. I liked knowing there were people in the world who believed as he did. Erik had led a charmed life, with few major disruptions to mar his naïve world-view. I shook my head, sorry he'd lost that part of himself.

  “Well then, I guess we should pass the message on.” A dead Gabriel wouldn’t break my heart one bit. “How bad is the rioting?”

  “Scattered here and there across the planet. They're getting it under control. It's mostly those who use any little thing as an excuse to create havoc.”

  Pretty much what I'd figured. I only hoped the more normal folks didn't get infected with mob mentality and join in.

  The door to the patio opened behind us, and Reo called to us.

  “They're serving dinner. Jones said to tell you guys you need to eat. Food is fuel, and you need your energy. His words, not mine.”

  Thulu gave my hand a squeeze and stood, pulling me to my feet. We pushed the chairs back to their spots and followed Reo inside. The others had gathered around a long table that had been set up in the library. I realized that Sarah Grant and the other two daemons had left. Jones said they were reconnoitering the area near the portal and would return later.

  Dinner, of course, was delicious. Raoul had prepared roast beef, sliced turkey, baked salmon, an assortment of vegetables and desserts. Everything was served buffet style in deference to those who were actually doing something to get ready for the meeting.

  That started mostly with the fairies, who were applying some substance to the arrows in their quivers. I realized that had to be what killed Light Ones. That made a lot more sense than teeny arrows doing the job. There had to be several dozen of the little warriors. Aela flew from group to group, checking on their progress and speaking in a low voice.

  Jones called her to one side, and they had a rather intense, if short exchange. She hovered in front of his face with her tiny fists on her hips, glaring at him. He spoke quietly, but apparently convincingly because she finally gave one short nod and disappeared.

  After neatly stacking his plate and silverware, Sloane pulled a dagger from a sheath on his belt and a stone from a pouch and began to sharpen the dagger. The blade had that same weird metal that the gold dagger did, but the handle was silver, wrapped with leather and more functional than ornamental. It definitely looked like it had been used in the past and not to cut roast beef.

  Belus had a sword, and Aurelia materialized a bow. All around us, weapons were being drawn out and sharpened or checked. Romeo and Juliet each had daggers. Kareem had a long, curved sword, and Ceil brought out a wooden wand with a tiny gem embedded in the tip. I wanted to say something smart-assed, but there was something business-like about her, and I didn't dare.

  I got my purse from where I'd dropped it on a table and pulled out my S&W .38. Carefully keeping it pointed at the floor, I opened the chamber and checked to see that it was loaded. All five rounds were in, but I emptied and checked each bullet anyway. Thulu had pulled his own 9 mm Glock out and checked to ensure he had a full magazine.

  Aela returned, followed by six fairies carrying a pot with a wide mouth and a corked stopper. It would hold about a pint. They set it on Jones's desk, and Aela glared at Jones.

  “She said yes, but you better be careful and not waste it. Oh, and you owe the queen big time, too.” I smiled at her modern slang, but quickly hid it when she looked at me suspiciously.

  Jones smiled broadly and nodded graciously. “Please thank her majesty and tell her I am at her command.”

  Aela motioned to those who had carried in the pot, and they disappeared. Jones looked around and said that we could coat our own weapons with the substance the fairies used. Sloane whistled appreciatively, an oddly human sound. Jones brought out a gun, another 9mm Glock. He looked over at me and Thulu.

  “I recommend we carefully dip our bullets. Just the tips should be fine. This only works on Light Ones. It doesn’t harm other races.” He and Thulu set about emptying their magazines while I removed my bullets from my revolver once more.

  Everyone took turns under Aela's supervision in carefully coating our weapons of choice. When it was my turn, I saw that the liquid shimmered like mercury a bit, but was thinner. I dipped my bullet in very carefully. I pulled it out, ready to let it drip, but it was instantly dry. It glimmered and shone almost as if it was a tiny light of its own.

  I finished coating my other bullets and made room for Kareem. My hands shook slightly as I reloaded my gun. I realized I might go to bed that night a killer. I figured it would be better than going to bed dead though.

  The three daemons returned and said there were only two Light Ones guarding the inside of the old warehouse and four outside. Sarah and one of the daemons had guns, but the third had a sword. They took time to grab some food as they added Aela's magic potion to their weapons. Soon enough, everyone was ready.

  Jones looked at them thoughtfully. “Perhaps we should change. It might give us an edge,” he said, as he set his gun down on the desk. The air around each of them shimmered. Jones completely transformed into what I assumed was his true form. I gasped out loud. He was breathtaking. His skin was a r
ich mahogany, and his wings and long hair were a sleek, shiny midnight blue. He easily hit the eight foot mark. His feathered wings were folded tight to his back. That ended the similarity to the Light Ones, though.

  Jones's daemon face had sharply defined features: high cheek bones, a hawkish nose and surprisingly human eyes, bright green, with long dark lashes. He had small horns curving out from the side of his head. His human clothing had been replaced with sleek, dark brown leather of some kind, and his chest was bare, smooth and muscular. He smiled at us, showing sharp teeth and actual fangs. I think I actually gulped. This was definitely a predator.

  Jones moved to the desk in a flowing movement that would have made a dancer envious. He unsheathed his claws and carefully dipped them into the fairy potion. Each claw took on an unearthly glow. I thought they'd looked deadly enough without the poison, but I was suddenly glad this creature was on my side.

  The room had gotten suddenly smaller with four large creatures standing in it, even though they kept their wings furled, the other three daemons had transformed, as well. They were no less stunning than Jones and were obviously of the same race.

  Sarah Grant was obviously female and slightly shorter than the others. She wore a tightly fitted top that tied around her neck and waist, leaving her dark copper wings free. She and the others glided to the desk to dip their own claws.

  I got another surprise when Jones spoke because it was his same voice, deep and velvety.

  “I'll open a portal directly inside the warehouse on the opposite end from the other portal. I'll keep it small until Michael arrives. Ready?”

  There were nods all around. My heart was pounding fast. I glanced at Thulu, standing beside me, and at Reo on the other side. They had matching expressions of nervous excitement.