Silence.
Denny smiled softly, feeling tears she knew weren’t really there. “She wrote a song.”
“She wrote many songs. Of which song do you speak?”
Denny grinned. “Virga Ac Diadem. I’ve been singing it in the car, but I didn’t really know where I knew it from. I know now. The Hanta and I are now totally connected. We share each other’s memories and I know exactly what we need in order to shut this thing down.”
“What does the song say?”
“I cannot say any more than the title, for when those words are sung or spoken by a Legacy, then the ritual begins in earnest, and all demons walking the world will be violently ripped from their hosts and sent back through the veil.”
Cadbury’s voice chimed in. “The veil. Are you certain that’s what she said?”
“Hildegard saw the whole thing in her vision and shared it with Magdalena. My Hanta remembers the whole thing. You have to trust me on this. The song must be sung at the hour of one of the equinoxes. This will create a sort of vacuum that will pull all of the detached beings through the veil and back where they belong. Of course, they don’t stay away forever, but at least the cleansing gives mankind a chance to recover before they make their way out again.”
“Like in World War Two?”
Denny grinned almost wickedly. “Oh yes. The equinox was in March. Hitler finally put a gun to his head April thirtieth. Apparently, it took the Legacy hunter with him in that bunker a month to convince him it was time to go.” She sighed as the memory of Hildegard and Magdalena slowly faded. “They were very much in love, you know?”
Cadbury inhaled a deep breath. “Most amazing. Bring her out, Helene. We need to get Silver to England.”
Denny nodded, feeling a sadness in her chest as the image of the two women vanished. She opened her eyes. “We don’t have time to mess with the idiot Kramers. The veil is the thinnest there in the whole of Europe on the equinox. Once there, I will sing the song and then hell literally breaks loose to return to the other side.”
“And you think you can do this without suffering any ill fate?”
Denny shrugged. “The singer is the conduit, Egg. I’ll be in no danger...well, not from the ritual.”
“You say ritual. Is just the singing the ritual?”
“Not really.” Denny worked to access the Hanta’s memories. “I’m seeing a special amulet, but I have that. I think that has something to do with it. I’ll wear it and we’ll see.”
“Is there anything else you remember or see?”
Denny looked down at her hands, tears filling her eyes. “Magdalena loved her. She was...in love with her. She would have done anything to protect Hildegard. Anything. It was a sweet love affair, but Magdalena took herself away from Hildegard in the event she lost control of the demon.”
“She never did, and Hildegard was never able to use the song herself.”
“No. She did not.”
“One last thing. Why does everyone believe Hildegard wrote a fourth book?”
Denny wiped her eyes. “Because she did. It’s just not about demonology.”
“No? Then what is it about?”
Denny looked up. Several beats went by before she ever so softly whispered, “What else? The greatest romance story of her life.”
Denny stared down at the fifth word from the end as she wrote out the song her Hanta now accessed for her. “Jesus H.”
“Yeah. If this song wasn’t written for you, Ms. Silver, then it was written about you.” Cadbury rose. “Helene, thank you so much. I’ll see you out.”
Denny re-read the song to herself. So much of what it said made sense to her.
“You who are your enclosure like a breastplate” is clearly referring to the demons. “Burgeoning, you blossom after another fashion than Adam.”
“Torn from his chest and not created from dust. Hail, hail from our womb came another life.” Right. Another spirit. She doesn’t mean real womb, she meant from your being. From your being will come another spirit, which Adam had stripped off his sons. Well, that sounds like she believes Cain killed Abel because he was possessed. Interesting.”
Cadbury re-entered.
“Blossom. Flower. She could be talking about Iris or Valeria there. Can her visions be that specific?”
Cadbury shrugged and sighed. “Your great-great-grandmother’s witch’s name was Rose.”
Denny stared at him.
“No coincidences in our world, Ms. Silver,” he said, leaning over her shoulder to read. The line ‘Brought forth on a most noble branch” could quite possibly refer to the Goddess.”
“But...why? I thought that both women were pretty devout Catholics.”
“You assumed she was heterosexual as well. Ms. Silver, are you aware of what God instructs us in the commandment— ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me?’”
Denny shrugged.
“He is admitting there are, in fact, other deities. It is very possible, given her feminist approach, that Hildegard also worshipped the Goddess religions.”
Denny looked down at the rest of the song. “Golden matrix. Matrix. Wasn’t she a mathematician as well?”
“Absolutely.”
Denny opened her phone to her browser and typed in Matrix. “Yeah, it’s a mathematical theory that is found in most scientific fields, not the least of which is quantum mechanics.”
Cadbury stood next to her, reading along with her. “Oh my. This woman knew these theories before they even had a name.”
Denny clicked over from quantum physics to the theory of relativity, which involves quantum physics. “Way too bright for my blood. Jesus, she was a brilliant, brilliant woman.”
“Oh. My. Yes. I...” Cadbury shook his head. “My God. Hildegard was speaking about the space-time continuum.”
“No way.”
“Well, she obviously didn’t use that term, but Golden Matrix clearly means you and something about quantum physics on the space-time continuum.”
“Which means what, exactly?”
Cadbury flipped through his iPad. “Okay, here’s something interesting. The Incas regarded space and time and referred to it as pacha.”
“Pacha?”
“Yes. It basically means it’s a math model that combines space and time into a single, interwoven continuum.”
“And?”
“And there are only two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a nearly equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. These events are referred to as Equinoxes.”
Denny nodded and pinched the bridge of her nose. “So, the tilt is what creates the thinnest of the veils between our space and...and—”
“And the other side, yes. The dark side. The word equinox is derived from two Latin words - aequus (equal) and nox (night), but not night as we think of it. It is more correct to say darkness.”
Denny nodded. “My head hurts from all this deep thinking.”
“Actually, I think it hurts from having a cave-in collapse on it. You’ve done remarkably well, Ms. Silver. My brother was correct to place so much faith in you. So...what now?”
“Now, you get food, rest. I’ll go hunt and be back as quickly as I can.”
“Are you certain it is wise to go alone?”
“Yes. I know what I’m doing, Cadbury Egg. I’ll be back before you know it.” Denny sent a global text to everyone saying she had it before dropping her phone in her jacket pocket.
“Don’t be long, Ms. Silver. The Kramers are sure to know by now that we survived the blast and will be looking for you.”
Denny surprised him by giving him a hug. “I’m well aware of that, Egghead.” When she got out to the front porch, she inhaled the fresh air and said softly, “And that’s precisely what I’m counting on.”
Denny easily dispatched two mid-level demons before following a higher level demon through the alleys of Speyer.
He was so stupid.
&nb
sp; He acted like he didn’t know he was being followed, as he led her closer and closer to where she knew a trap had been set.
It was finally time to go on the offensive and put these assholes six feet under. They were done tormenting her and her people.
Done.
This way was wisest, to be sure. So far, she and her team had been back on their heels, but no longer. They’d never see it coming. And that always gave her the upper hand.
“Hey, dumbass.”
The demon slowly turned.
“You gonna take me over the hills and through the dale or what, asshole?”
The look on the demon’s face was priceless. “What? I don’t know what you’re—”
“The Kramer’s goons. Just point me in their direction, because if you don’t, I’ll kill you right here, right now.”
He pointed to a tavern. “They’re all in there.”
“Thank you.”
Denny got about ten steps beyond him when she pulled out Fouet and, in one motion, snapped it open, wheeled around, whipped it, and cut him from top right shoulder to left hip. His two halves exploded.
She smiled as the Hanta ate his demon spirit.
Tasty, those higher level demons.
Das Bier Garten looked like something out of a B horror movie, but as Denny neared it, she understood why they had chosen it. There were several perches across the street where armed men watched and waited with high powered rifles.
Inhaling deeply, she pulled open the door.
The room went silent.
Seven men stood at the bar, two sat in a booth, and four played pool.
All stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Some started for their weapons.
“Hi, fellas. I understand you’re all looking for me.”
A bald man with a beer belly rose from the corner stool, hefted up his pants and walked over to Denny.
Demons—every one.
“Du bist hier ganz allein gekommen? Bist du so dumm?”
The Hanta, having spent centuries in Germany, translated everything into English for her. “You came here all alone? Are you stupid?”
Denny looked around. “Well, here’s the deal. You all know I could kill every single one of you in this bar while drinking a pint, right? I might not even break a sweat. Anyone want to take that bet?”
The big bald man held his hands up to his buddies as they reached for weapons. “No one needs to die tonight, hunter.”
“Okay. Good. Then let’s go. Hor auf meine Zeit zu verschwenden,” she said. “Stop wasting my time.”
He looked puzzled.
“To the Kramer’s McMansion, buttmunch. Isn’t that where you’re supposed to take me?”
They looked at each other, perplexed.
“Gustaf? Do I have the wrong bar, the wrong guys, or the wrong information? Aren’t you supposed to be looking for me?”
“My name is Schneider and I do not––”
“Whatever. Time is ticking, gentlemen. Lead the way.”
Two bigger men jumped up and grabbed her arms.
Denny stopped walking. “You have two seconds to let go of me or you’ll be two handless dudes. One. Two.”
She had Epée out and had sliced their hands off before anyone could train a weapon on her.
Sheathing Epée, she turned to Schneider and raised both hands in the air. “I’m here of my own volition, Gustaf. You tell your men in that ugly-ass language you call German that anyone touching me will lose a body part. Verstehen Sie?”
He nodded and rattled off words that seemed to bump into each other coming out of his mouth.
“Ausgezeichnet.” She growled. “Jetz, bringt mich zu Kramer, bevor ich geshmitten deinen verdamten kopftl. Ja?”
He nodded, all big-eyed, and actually opened the door for her.
It was only a fifteen minute walk to the Haus Kramer, a rolling mansion that looked like a set in the Disneyland Haunted House ride.
“Seriously? I was hoping for a castle or something kinda cool. That just looks like a fucking haunted house.”
Schneider buzzed the gate and pushed his puffy face up to the video monitor.
He rattled a few things off in German, but Denny wasn’t listening. Her eyes were scanning the very well-protected property. A twelve-foot high wrought iron fence surrounded the mansion. Rottweilers roamed the grounds, and several armed guards stood positioned with high-powered rifles.
“What’s all the security for? They got gold or something in there? Baubles from the ghosts of Dachau, perhaps?”
Schneider frowned and grunted, “For you.”
“Me? Wow. I’m flattered, but I couldn’t give two shits about these assholes.”
He grumbled as the gates mechanically opened.
“Gehen Sie.”
“Don’t bark orders at me, Gustaf. You are alive only because I allow it. Verstehen, fetter, bastard?”
He grunted again, and Denny found herself escorted by two dozen demons, five witch hunters, and two guys she was sure were just skinheads looking for a reason to kill someone.
At the mansion door, three men pointed their rifles at her and ordered her to give her weapons up.
“Well now, that’s a problem. The last guys who came at me...well...Gustaf, why don’t you tell them what happened?”
Schneider said, “Sie ihre hande abgeschmitten.”
Denny smiled. “Abgeschmitten, motherfucker, now get those rifles out of my face before I shove them up your asses.”
The men all looked at each other.
“That will be enough, gentlemen,” came the cultured voice of a very handsome silver-haired man in a black turtleneck.
The men parted to allow her through.
“Karl Kramer,” he said, extending his hand. “And I must say I am surprised to see you here.”
Denny looked at his hand without shaking it and entered the house.
“Nice Gothic Goon designer flair, Karl.”
He said something to the pack, and they all stepped away from the door.
“Please, have a seat.”
Denny sat in a parlor that looked like it hadn’t been updated since before World War Two. She sat on a red velvet divan with Fouet’s cylinder in her lap. There was enough room for her to swing it and take out the entire room.
Sitting across from her, Karl Kramer studied her before asking if she wanted something to drink.
“No, I’m good.”
He waited for his servant to hand him a glass with an amber liquid. “You are either the bravest woman I’ve ever met, or the stupidest.”
She smiled. “Maybe a little of both. You’ve been unsuccessfully looking for me for a while now, so here I am. I have things to do, so let’s cut to the chase, shall we? What is it I can do for you, Mr. Kramer?”
Kramer studied her with eyes that reminded her of a shark’s. “Your father was a good man. He was decent and honest and—”
“From a fucked-up family of witch hunters, and he got involved with a demon hunter you tried to kill. Yeah, so what?”
Kramer sipped the cognac. “And he loved your mother enough to turn his back on his family when duty called.”
“You mean when Valeria entered the picture. A demon hunter you could allow, but a witch? Your little family of witch hunters couldn’t abide by that, could you?”
He leaned with his elbows on his knees. “She changed everything.”
“Yeah. She made my mom happy. She protected her from the likes of you. So what?”
“Is that the story you’ve believed your whole life? You cannot truly think the witch is what she says she is.”
Denny shrugged. “Look, you want to kill her because she and my mother killed one of your brothers and injured another. So, big fucking deal. That’s the price of doing business, right?”
“Wrong. Our family has fought witchcraft for centuries, and today it is alive more than ever, led by unscrupulous women like Valeria. She put your mother, your own flesh and blood, in a catatonic state
. Does that not tell you all you need to know about the kind of person she is? Catatonic, hunter. The living dead. For nearly a decade. She sent your mother away from your family and even now, threatens to do the unthinkable in an effort to being her back. This is the woman you are protecting? This is the woman you believe worthy of risking the lives of those you love?”
“To protect her from the likes of you, yes. Valeria did what she had to do to keep her safe and alive. There was no need for you sons of bitches to kill my mother if she was already dead. It was a brilliant move.”
“They why hasn’t she pulled her out of it? Surely, you have asked yourself why she never brought your mother back to life.”
Denny shrugged again like she didn’t care, but the truth was, she had never stopped asking herself that. “What is it you want, Kramer? An eye for an eye?”
“No. We want Valeria alive. Unharmed. That is all.”
“Ah, yes. For your little neo-Nazi genocide of witches with GenLabor, right? Am I close? Just say warm if I’m close.” Denny rose, and three men all drew down on her. “Relax, fellas. If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.”
Kramer sipped more cognac. “I am impressed.”
“Don’t be. We’re fucking awesome on the brighter side of the pond. You want to develop a test for the genetic marker of witches...it’s all so Hitleresque, I can barely say it with a straight face.”
“Witches are a blight on the face of humanity, hunter. You hunt demons, yet you so easily cast aspersions against those who hunt a similar evil. Why is that?”
“Because, for the most part, witches aren’t evil. They may have been back in the day, but not any longer. Just tell me what it is you want. I really do have shit to do.”
“If you deliver Valeria to us, we will let your mother live.”
Denny’s gut clenched. The Hanta pushed to the surface. “Tell you what. You leave them alone, and I’ll let you live.”
Kramer smiled with a grin that would have been more at home on a snake. “You looked just like your mother when you said that.”
“My mother and I look nothing alike now. Catatonia will do that to you.”
“Take that up with Valeria.”
“What was your plan here? To use me for bait? Did you honestly think you could bring Valeria to heel by trussing me up and laying me on a railroad track?”
Coven Betrayed (The Silver Legacy Book 4) Page 18
