“Yes, we’re outnumbered,” Desmond said with a long sigh and an impatient look. “Your point?”
“My point is there ain’t no way we is gonna get in place to do enough damage to collapse that portal without letting about a gazillion spooks in to do what they do best, meanin’ we might as well do nothin’ ‘cuz people is gonna be slaughtered. Furthermore, if Ajhe truly is the one behind this, it wouldn’t surprise me if that weren’t part of his plan right from the get go.”
Despite his roundabout logic and complete disregard for sentence structure, I had to admit that Bogie had a point. Our primary concern was for the citizens of Blackbird, but securing the safety of the citizens wasn’t going to be an easy matter and I said so.
“There is something we might could try,” Harry said with a cautious glance at the witches. “That is, if you’re up to it,” he added, speaking directly to Donna.
“You mean…” her eyes went wide as she pulled a fragile and positively ancient book out of her pocket. “The guardians at the gates… of course! But we need four…” She looked back at Harry who nodded.
“We need to get to the highest points in Blackbird,” he said, causing all three witches to look at him as if he’d just announced he was converting to Wicca, but Harry waved them off. “Now don’t go presuming anything. I had to at least take a gander at the blasted thing seeing as I found it in the church flower bed. Now, St. Anthony’s hill and the Lou Zephyr should do just fine. Someone can stay up here and I’m guessing we can use the hill just outside campus for the western gate.”
“Harry, you can’t send one of the witches to the Zephyr,” I protested, but Donna cut me off.
“It’s fine, I can get up there no problem, Seth.”
“I know you can get up there,” I said, trying not to sound too much like a concerned parent, even if that was exactly what I felt like. “But you and I both know you’re weakened when you’re that far from the earth.”
“I’ll be connected to the others,” she assured me. “Besides, I’ve been practicing storing power in a talisman and I think I can bring what I need with me.”
I didn’t like it, but I knew better than to argue with Donna. Besides, she really was the only one who had the means and fearlessness to get to the top of the condemned building. Well, technically Desmond and Nai could port to the top, but I doubted either of them would be useful in performing the spell.
“I can go out to campus hill,” Betty said with a questioning look at Louise. Of all the witches, she was the most likely to kick up a fuss over cooperating with Harry. From the sour look she wore, I was expecting a protest, but she surprised me by nodding silently and heading outside with the rest to find the best place to set up.
“We still need to go after the Discordant that got through,” Nai said with a pointed look at Desmond. “With all the witches out of commission, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
“I know,” he said with a sigh. “I don’t suppose I can ask you to banish pixies?”
“When there are werewolves running around killing people? Yeah, that’s helpful.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Hang on a minute! If everyone’s going to be lost, I can’t save them all myself!” Jem protested, but his sister just shrugged as she slipped away.
“You won’t be alone,” Myrna said, surprising me as she looked up from her glass. “What? I’ve got a few protective potions lying around here somewhere that should still be fresh.”
“It’s not that. I don’t think any of us would dare suggest you can’t protect yourself,” I said with a disarming smile. “It’s just…” I trailed off. There was no way to explain to Myrna that my surprise wasn’t because I didn’t think she was up to the task, but rather that I had every faith she would do a wonderful job based on the fact that she descended from a long line of mystics who went on to be Guardians, including Blackbird’s last Guardian.
“Well,” she huffed, misinterpreting my hesitation. “It should come as no surprise to anyone that I am not above using my advanced age to guilt people into listening to me.”
“Then the matter is settled,” Desmond said with a wink and a smile for the psychic before turning to Eller. “Can we count on you to keep up the entrapment snares?”
“I got a good many in place already,” Eller said with a nod. “But if everyone keeps me abreast on where they are, I can also maintain projections as to what our next move should be.”
“Oh, so you’re just nominating yourself in charge?” Louise asked in a huff as she came back into the kitchen.
“I’m the strategist,” Eller stated, but in response to the death glare Louise threw in his direction, quickly added, “That is, I’m the strategist who isn’t needed to do some other hocus pocus at the moment.”
“Whelp, that just leaves us, Seth, and I think we know where we has to go.”
“The Five Penny? I suppose you’re right.”
For the most part, I kept my tone neutral. It wasn’t easy, given the crushing blow to my ego that came with the realization that there really wasn’t anything I could do besides sit around and wait for threats to materialize. I was nothing more than a human alarm system and with the amount of Discordant interference I’d have to work through, I couldn’t even call myself an effective alarm system.
“Get going then,” Desmond said to Bogie, adding, “And see if you can get anything out of Mort about Ajhe or his intentions.”
“I’m one step ahead of ya,” Bogie said with a wink as he sent off a text message, presumably to Mort.
“Come on,” Myrna said, taking Bogie’s arm. “You can ride with me.”
“With pleasure, mi’ lady,” Bogie replied with an exaggerated bow, but I didn’t miss his momentary loss of color at the thought of getting into a car with Myrna.
“Jem?” she asked, but the teen wasn’t anywhere as subtle as the demon.
“I’m… uh… I’ll wait for Seth,” he stammered.
“A word outside, if you don’t mind?” Desmond asked quietly after waiting for the others to leave.
“Of course,” I said, getting up and heading back into the garden. A moment later, he followed with a concerned frown.
“Okay, what is going on here?”
“I’m sorry?” The vague question was odd enough but the irritation lurking just below the apparent concern was baffling.
“Seth, I am not the Observer and as far as I know, I do not have an empathic bone in my body, but I can feel your frustration and resentment as clearly as if they were my own emotions. What I want to know is why?”
Well then, that was unexpected. Desmond’s declaration that he could sense my emotional state was certainly interesting, but then again, so was the fact that I’d spent the better part of the last week having what amounted to psychic visions that were in no way part and parcel for an agent of Order. What concerned me more was that my own selfish insecurities, the whole reason Desmond and I had spent the last week avoiding each other rather than planning for this inevitability, were on display.
“Why? Well, if I were to be honest, Desmond, I don’t like feeling useless,” I admitted. “When Bogie suggested I accompany him to the Penny, I was going to object as there had to be something more useful for me to do, but my gut told me there was no point. I’m an Observer. I’ve got a pretty limited skill set.”
“I see.” Desmond let out a sigh and gave me a flat look. “Are you not the same Seth who told me recently that you held your own through the Battle of New York? Were you not just as useless then?”
“I thought you were above cheap shots,” I quipped, though I should have realized he’d throw my own words back at me. Really, it was no less than I deserved. “Do you remember how many of us were stationed in New York?” I asked. “I was one of several hundred Observers. Sure, I was just as limited then as I am now, but when there’s thousands of agents working as a single entity, being but one cog in the machine stops being about insignificance and mor
e about being a necessary part. Here, we’re on our own.”
“Not for long,” Desmond tried to assure me, but I shook my head.
“Blackbird isn’t New York, Desmond. As we speak, agents are being sent to Chicago and St. Louis. Places where the balance of Order is already at stake. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that our seemingly isolated geographic location has a much larger part to play than I’d originally thought.”
“That’s a little fatalist,” he remarked with a frown. “Surely, Order is sending backup. There’s no way we’re going to head off an invasion without as many allies as Order can spare.”
“I know,” I said with a bad taste in my mouth. “But Desmond, our odds are better on our own than if we dared bring in reinforcements.”
“Well certainly, we don’t want to overwhelm Blackbird as we did Centralia,” he began, but I cut him off.
“It’s not just that. Centralia was a disaster that we’re still paying for, but despite the permanent damage to the area, we had very little soul loss. That’s not going to be the case here.”
“Wolves aren’t reapers,” he reminded me, but I held my hand up to silence him.
“Desmond, you’re letting your emotions get the better of you. Yes, there are thousands of werewolves coming through, but don’t tell me you don’t feel the vampires, winter fairies, and other soul reapers that are also pouring into town? There’s really something else at stake here. You mentioned the numerological imbalance as something that is playing against us and you’re right. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, but I’m not so sure that trying to force that balance is in our best interest either.”
“You’re not sure or you’ve had yet another vision?”
It was hard to tell whether Desmond’s question was genuine or sarcastic, but it upset me nonetheless.
“Really, Desmond! How is it that you, a supernatural being who has access to not only the Ultimate Truth, but all of the Truths, who has been told by the Creator itself that the power to shape reality lies in the hands of its creations, and who has seen that power in action several times just in the brief time that we have known each other, can still cast doubt over all that does not comply to a rigid worldview? How, Desmond? What power do you have that the rest of us don’t? And what, for the love of the Creator, is the point of even asking my opinion when you’re just going to question everything I say?”
I hadn’t realized how worked up I was until I let it all out. On one hand, it felt good to finally say what had been on my mind for a while, but on the other, could I have had worse timing for opening yet another can of worms? Desmond just stood, arms folded over his chest, and waited until I was done.
“Are you quite through?” He asked, lips pursed in obvious irritation. I nodded, unable to trust myself to speak again. “Very well. Seth, I’m not calling into question your beliefs or motives. I’m not even calling into question the possibility that your visions are indeed what you say they are. All I’m saying is that we do not have to attempt this on our own. If there are Warriors stationed nearby, then I see no reason why Blackbird needs to fall. We should have all the help that Order has to offer.”
I sighed. It was hard not to let my own frustrations with the situation show, but as was becoming a habit, Desmond was hearing only what he wanted.
“Fine,” I said at last. “You can go to the Creator and ask for reinforcements, but do not be surprised when you don’t get the answers you are looking for.”
“I believe I shall do just that,” he replied in a defiant tone before slipping out of time. No human would have noticed the shift and even to my trained eye, he was gone and back in an instant. The only evidence that anything had changed from the nanosecond before was the frustrated frown he now wore. “This is madness.”
“This is Chaos,” I corrected. “But trust me,” I began, hoping to explain to Desmond that I didn’t believe that all was lost, however, my words were cut off by an animalistic roar.
“What on Earth?” Desmond looked up just as a thunderous trumpeting ricocheted throughout the forest, followed by a loud bang as Nai stumbled into the Cycle, scowling and covered in blood.
“Desmond!” she yelled, eyes focused on some point in the distance. “Show yourself!”
“I’m right here, Nai,” Desmond said in a calm voice, though he was having difficulty hiding his smirk, especially after she jumped, not realizing he was right behind her. “Is there a problem? Get on the wrong side of a blood hunter, did we?”
I didn’t think goading the teen was the best idea and would have said something, but my voice died away as I noticed that the glow in Nai’s eyes was not just the reflection of the lamp light.
“Desmond, watch out!”
No, as Nai drew a bladed weapon from somewhere on her person and charged at Desmond, it was obvious that the light in her eyes was not lamplight, but the incomprehensible glow of Discord. Desmond dodged, stepping briefly out of the Cycle, causing Nai to stumble forward. Fortunately, the blade slipped from her hand and landed harmlessly a few feet away and not lodged into anyone’s vital organs.
“Nai?” Jem stood near the door, eyes wide in horror as he stared at his sister. “Ew! What happened?”
“Jem, go inside and see if anyone has any…” I began, but cut off as the air filled with a glittering blue cloud. “Never mind,” I choked out, taking a defensive step back and dragging the teen with me. Getting caught in a normal erasure snare was unpleasant enough, but I’d never seen one that glittered quite this much.
“Is she dead?” Jem asked in a small, quaking voice.
“No more so than any of us already are,” Desmond muttered. “She’ll come around in a moment, but I think we have a much larger problem on our hands than a teenage insurrection.”
“Her eyes were glowing. You don’t think this could possibly mean what I think it means…” I began, but even as I spoke, an impenetrable gloom descended and I lost my footing. I wanted to be wrong. I tried to dampen the dread, but there was no spell capable of muting this much Chaos. Internally, I begged and screamed to be wrong, but I knew I wasn’t. The chalky and drawn look of pure horror on Desmond’s bloodless face as he fell to his knees confirmed what I didn’t want to believe.
There was a dragon loose in Blackbird.
Chapter 2
Dragon Me Down
If it wasn’t for that potion Seth had, my brain might have melted under the strain of so much Chaos swarming my mind, and that pissed me off. I should have had the forethought to carry my own shielding potions. Especially since I knew I was stuck with all of the attributes of all of the agents, not just the good ones. I had to deal with the crappy ones like the Observer’s heightened awareness of the area’s emotional forecast. Seriously. I don’t care how useful Observers are, no one should have to put up with that ever.
Unlike everyone else, who seemed cool with kicking back at Myrna’s, I got to work as soon as the dampener took effect. I knew we were about to have the fight of the century on our hands, but even that didn’t prepare me for the sheer number of Discordant I encountered when I got down to the mill site. The fact that most of the others hung back to make plans was mind-boggling enough, but the fact that Desmond wasn’t out here kicking all the werewolf ass was baffling. Apparently, I was going to have to singlehandedly stomp out all of the Discordant.
And that suited me just fine.
I started with the vampires, having my own personal vendetta against the obnoxious bloodsuckers. After screwing up royally and using a holy relic on a blood hunter the first time I tried to take on Chaos, I made sure to learn everything I could about the nasty corpse-beasts. And believe me, there are a lot of vamps, but I studied them all. I was not going to make another stupid mistake.
The best part about having the powers of all of the agents was definitely getting the Warrior perks. I could slip out of the Cycle, go home, and grab my weapons pack without wasting any time in the real world sense. Though still, it was a pain in the
ass and once this was all over, if we survived, I was going to demand that Desmond show me the secret to making an effective trans-cyclical pocket. I was pretty good at fashioning weapons and figuring out potions, but the mechanics of that pocket eluded me.
Still, my pack was pretty damned useful and stylish if I do say so myself. I managed to turn a utility vest that I’d found at the thrift store into a sleek and streamlined weapons cache with at least a dozen blades, each imbued with a different strength, all within easy reach. The vamps didn’t stand a chance. It only took seconds before I’d already lost count of how many I’d killed.
But after a few minutes and a few dozen kills, I started to get tired of vampires. It was clear that I was still on my own and there didn’t appear to be any end in sight. For whatever reason, this really pissed me off. I mean, it wouldn’t have been so bad if Desmond had maybe acknowledged that I knew what I was doing and admitted that I was the better Warrior. But no, he was reluctant to even have me help and acted like I was a burden more often than not.
So where was he? As my little hill of vampire corpses started to look more like a mountain, I got angrier and angrier. I turned my rage on the wolves, slaughtering them pretty easily. It didn’t take hardly anything to kill a wolf, just a little silver and I had a knife that would imbue the blood of the dead with enough silver that the splatter from a single well placed cut could kill an additional three to five wolves without me lifting a finger. Really, it was so easy, it was boring.
Maybe that was why Desmond really liked killing the wolves. Maybe by going after the easy prey he didn’t have to face the fact that he was barely a qualified Warrior. Again, why didn’t I have this job? Ugh! Probably some patriarchal bullshit that stated only guys could become Warriors. That’s always been the whole point of religion anyway and what were we if not the facilitators of the world’s falsely held religious beliefs. Ugh indeed!
The more creatures I slaughtered, the angrier I got. The angrier I got, the messier I became, which just angered me further. After a few more minutes, not even dismembering the winter fairies and using their blood to poison the dark vampires held any thrill. I needed a challenge. I needed to prove myself. I needed to win the title of Warrior that was rightly mine and I wasn’t going to do so here, slaughtering mindless minions of Chaos.
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