by Sara DeHaven
“I’ll tell him you’ve arrived.” Destry went over to Carson’s office, knocked on the door, then stuck her head in and told him Franchesca was there. Hunter tried to scoot down farther into the corner of the couch so Franchesca wouldn’t notice him, but it didn’t work. She handed her coat to Justice, and sat down on one of the chairs across from the couch and looked at Hunter. At first, her face was serious, and Hunter looked away. He got a weird, creepy feeling from her, and he didn’t like her looking at him. But after awhile, it made him too worried not to see what she was doing. When he looked back, she smiled at him, and said, “How would you like to see Daniel? I was thinking we might take a ride later and go see him, so he can tell your parents that you’re with your real father and you’re doing fine.”
I don’t want to be with my real father, Hunter wanted to tell her, but he was afraid to say anything.
“Has another meet been set up?” Jim asked her.
“Carson and I are about to do that now,” Franchesca replied.
“Look, I know you have to take Hunter, but I want your word that you won’t give him over to Thorvaldson. He’s my son,” Jim told Franchesca.
“You know I can’t promise that.” Franchesca sat back in her chair and crossed her legs. “This is no longer my operation to run, as your employer has made abundantly clear. However, I can tell you that if we can’t take Daniel tonight, you better start thinking about getting out of state.”
“Move out of state? Why would I want to do that?” Jim asked.
“Because if we don’t take Daniel, you can bet he and his Keeper friends will be coming after you, personally. And that, my friend, is not something you want to have happen. So you better think hard about how important it is to you to keep your son.”
“I have more support here than you seem to think,” Jim answered her, scowling.
“If you mean your father and his connections, that’s not going to help you in this case. Oh, you might get some help short term, but one thing I know about Daniel is how obsessive he can be." Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glittered as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I’m not sure if it’s registered with you yet, but he’s a Demon Master and a Binder, as well as the best Caster I’ve ever seen. If he decides to come after you, you won’t be able to hide for long if you stick around here. You certainly can’t take him on as you are now, and even if you’d allow a possession, that wouldn't save you.”
“Oh come on, the guy's a Keeper, it’s not like he’s going to kill me. Worse case scenario, he just takes the kid back.”
“You are seriously mistaken if you think Daniel Thorvaldson is incapable of killing a man in anger,” Franchesca said, her voice going cold. “Go ahead and do a little research. See if you can find out why he left the Keepers. See if you can uncover some of the rumors. And let me tell you, whatever the rumors are, I can guarantee you the reality is worse.”
“If he’s so bad ass, why didn’t he join the Keltoi?” Jim argued.
Franchesca leaned forward a little. “Oh, he likes to think he’s not like us, but that’s just an ego saving delusion on his part. You told me yourself you thought he was dangerous, that it would take a large group to bring him down, and that was after you nearly got the best of him twice. Ask yourself why you think that.”
Jim got quiet. Hunter wasn’t really that sure what Franchesca was talking about. Mostly, he was thinking about what she said about being able to see Daniel. Wouldn’t Daniel be able to save him if he knew where Hunter was? Wasn’t that why he’d given Hunter the locator amulet? He looked at Franchesca’s purse. That's where she'd put his amulet when she took it away from him. She had it right by her.
Carson came out of his office and called to Franchesca. She stood up, picked up her purse and they went back into his office together. Hunter sagged in disappointment. Now he couldn't get his amulet.
Jim didn’t talk to Hunter after that, just sat there fiddling with his phone. Destry was still working on her laptop, and Justice stood looking out the window.
After a minute, Hunter decided to get up and look out the window too. Sometimes, one of the adults would stop him from doing that, but sometimes they didn’t. He was careful to keep his distance from Justice. There wasn’t really anything to see down there, just the side of another building, a sidewalk, and some cloudy sky. It was cold by the window, but Hunter was too bored to care.
He breathed on the glass to fog it up, then drew a picture of a house. Little drops of water formed on the picture and ran down the glass in lines. He watched for a moment, then erased the picture with his sweater sleeve and blew on the glass again. He was going to draw a dog. He’d been trying to get his Dads to get him one, but they said no, Papa was allergic to them. He erased one unsatisfactory attempt and was trying again when Justice came up to him.
“What you drawing?” he asked in a quiet voice. Hunter looked up, weighing the husky, bearded man next to him. He wasn't smiling, but Hunter got the feeling that maybe the man was trying to be nice, so he answered him.
“A dog.”
“What kind of a dog?”
Hunter shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Justice watched him for a moment, then he blew on the window in front of him and made a picture. Hunter looked over curiously, and Justice said, “What do you think?”
Hunter regarded the picture on the window skeptically. “Is that a cat?”
“A cat? Nah, it’s supposed to be a dog, a German Shepherd. See, the ears? German Shepherds have pointy ears. I had one of those once when I was a kid.” He still wasn’t smiling, but Hunter thought the picture was kind of funny.
The man erased it, blew on the glass, then drew another. “Now, that’s a cat,” he said.
“It looks just like the other one you drew.”
This time, the man did smile, just a little. “Let’s see you try.”
Hunter erased and blew again. “See,” he pointed out when he was done, “you have to put on the whiskers to show it’s a cat.”
“Right.” Justice erased his picture, fogged up the window, and tried again.
Hunter was starting to enjoy himself, just a little, when he heard loud voices coming out of Carson’s office. His whole body tensed up. Everybody was always yelling, always mean around here. Finally, somebody was being kind of nice to him, and it had to be ruined.
Scanlon could just make out a few things from the raised voices in Carson's office. He heard Franchesca say, “I have to be there, you can't cut me out of this,” and something else about “You can't control him without me.” Scanlon smirked. Carson was showing the bitch her place. She thought just because she was from the high and mighty New York clan, she could just waltz in and take over.
The door opened and Carson came out first, saying, “I no longer have time and resources to spare on this. We agreed that it was worth one last effort before the shipment, and that has clearly fallen through. Either Thorvaldson is refusing the meet or the Keepers no longer control him. Either way, we’re out of time.”
Franchesca followed him out of the office. “Yes, but the shipment isn’t due until two nights from now!”
Carson kept walking over to the kitchen area. Franchesca dropped her purse on one of the chairs and followed Carson as he added, “You know it would take more time than we have to extract the hiding spell and put it to use quickly. I already felt trying for an exchange tonight was leaving it rather late. We’ll just have to go with the personnel and spells we have right now. We can deal with Thorvaldson after.” Carson got a mug out of the cupboard and poured himself a cup of coffee from the coffeemaker on the counter.
He was just raising the cup to his lips when Franchesca grabbed his arm and said in a voice seething with fury, “You listen to me, you low power hack!”
Destry jumped to her feet and hurried toward Franchesca. Scanlon looked around for Hunter. This could get ugly, fast. Franchesca was demon burned, so God knew what kind of crazy shit she might pull. He caught Hunter's e
ye where he stood next to the windows, and motioned for him to get down on the ground. Hunter dropped to the floor, pulled his knees up to his chest and put his hands over his ears. Scanlon hovered in indecision. Go to Hunter or provide back-up for Destry and Justice?
Justice strode toward Carson as Destry got in front of Franchesca and pushed her away from Carson. "Hands off, Ms. Gambrini."
Franchesca backed up a few steps, and Carson said, "Stand down, Destry. I've got this." Destry took a few steps to the side, but Scanlon noticed she stayed close to Franchesca.
Franchesca took a deep breath, then went on, voice hard. “My clan chief is going to be extremely unhappy if I don't bring back the hiding spell, and the longer we delay in getting it, the bigger the risk we won't get it at all. We have to have some leverage over Varga, and you need the same thing. You know he's got most of the California clans united now. We're going to lose out on some major business if he continues unopposed."
"Marton Varga doesn't scare me," Carson replied. He took a drink of his coffee and leaned back against the counter. "In fact, I'm starting to get behind his idea of a more organized Keltoi clan system. His influence in normal politics is already impressive. Imagine how much further he could go with that hiding spell. He could get Keltoi Binders and Demon Masters into political office without Keepers assassinating them."
"My point exactly!" Franchesca cried, clenching her hands. "Whoever has the key to getting Keltoi into political office has the key to everything! Are you really going to let Varga get that first? Because that's what's going to happen if he finds out you have the hiding spell. He's the strongest clan chief in the country. He'll be able to take it from you."
"Let's just say I've already opened a dialogue with Varga. The shipment coming in is part of the deal I'm working."
"Are you seriously going to go against my clan chief on this?"
Carson took another sip from his cup then shrugged. "I'm not changing our deal, I'm just rethinking what I want to do with my share of the shipment."
She took a step toward him, and Destry immediately put an arm out between her and Carson. Franchesca glared at Destry, but she backed up again. "None of this changes what I've been trying to tell you. This is our best opportunity to succeed at getting Daniel. He's injured, and he won't go anywhere as long as we have Hunter. Now that he knows I've given away his secret to the Keltoi, he'll run as soon as he gets Hunter back. He knows how to disappear, and if he leaves Seattle it will be very difficult to locate him again." She pointed a finger at Carson. "So we are going to arrange another meet, and this time, I'll make sure there are so many demons and possessed to contend with that we're sure to succeed."
Carson’s voice was as smooth as milk, though Scanlon was familiar enough with his moods to read danger in the way his eyes went chilly. “I've made my decision on this. You don't have the authority to push it, so I suggest you stop.” He walked toward Franchesca, and she turned a bit until Scanlon could see the side of her face. Her cheeks were red, and she was breathing hard.
“My clan knows I get results. That's why they sent me out here. They'll back me on this."
“You have an inflated view of your clan’s regard, Ms. Gambrini,” Carson replied, looking aside at her. “Surely you're aware you were given this job was a test. Your chief values your power abilities, but you aren't trusted. He told me you were starting to show signs of demon burn and I was to let him know if you became uncooperative or unstable. I may have to tell him you've become both.”
“Well, that’s a game changer. I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” Franchesca said. She made a sharp move of her hand in the air in front of her, and Scanlon felt a warm surge of magic. Carson said, "Freeze!" just a half second later, but he was too late. Franchesca stepped back, raised her arms beside her and shouted, “Bre’ekim, I call you! Bre’ekim, I command you!”
Scanlon's stomach churned, and he called up a ward. It might be four to one, but if Franchesca succeeded in gaining a possession, the odds might be pretty much even.
The air in front of Franchesca wavered, and a reddish smoke appeared. Destry and Justice ran up to Carson, and they all stood side by side, throwing spells at Franchesca. Scanlon saw ripples in the air, but nothing was making a dent in Franchesca's ward. He stalked towards Franchesca's back, preparing a telekinetic spell. Sometimes wards were weaker at the Caster's back if their concentration wasn't good.
Carson made a ripping motion. The air pulsed and Franchesca's ward broke. Scanlon ran at Franchesca and tackled her. She screamed in anger as he flipped her over and sat on top of her. He put one hand over her mouth and another around her neck as she scratched at his arms.
But he hadn't been fast enough to stop the demon from coming all the way through. It appeared, devil formed, in the air next to him and Franchesca. Then it turned it's scaly, horned head and looked right at Hunter.
Bree and Daniel's hotel room shuddered like a great beast shaking water off its coat, then stopped. Bree felt like she was floating in the unexpected stillness. She watched in breathless hope as Daniel’s extended finger moved toward the map, hovered, then came down at the edge of the water, just south of downtown, in the Sodo warehouse district. He bent closer to the map, and his finger moved in a tiny circle. A small crinkling noise came from the paper. “Close,” he whispered, “very close.” He looked up at Bree. “I can feel him,” he said with suppressed excitement. “I don’t have the location completely pinpointed, but I’ve got it down to something like a twenty or thirty block radius. If we drive closer, I may be able to get an exact locate.”
Exhilaration surged through Bree, prompting a blazing smile. “Do you think we should call Javier now, or wait until we have a surer locate?”
“How long would it take to drive to the neighborhood on the map I was pointing to?”
“Maybe ten minutes, depending on traffic.”
“Why don’t you call Kevin and Steve, have them bring their car around front? I think it’s a more efficient use of time to call Javier once we get closer. If we call now, there’ll be a lot of hassle and demands, but if we call with a definite locate, he’ll have to skip straight into action. Now let's get moving. I don’t know how long the spell will hold out. I’ve seen finder spells last as long as a half hour, but I’ve also seen them evaporate a lot quicker than that too.”
Bree leapt up to get her cell phone, and staggered a little, still dizzy from the power drain. She dialed Kevin, and he answered on the first ring.
“We’ll have the car around front in five minutes,” he told her when she described the plan. His voice was tight with hope and fear.
She and Daniel shoved on shoes and coats, Daniel swearing as he tangled up a sleeve in his haste. All thoughts of concern about Daniel, about demons, evaporated and Bree’s heart hummed in excitement as they left the hotel room.
There were six or seven people standing out in the hall, and several sets of eyes swiveled towards her and Daniel as they exited their room. A heavy set bald man in a bathrobe said, "Do you think that was an earthquake?"
"Nah, probably just the train going past. Didn't you feel it earlier?" Bree improvised, smiling at the man as she brushed past him. The last thing they needed was to be caught up in some panicked exodus from the hotel.
A red haired woman in a silky blouse and short skirt shrugged and said, "She's probably right. It would have gone on longer if it was an earthquake." Several people turned to go back into their rooms. A few more looked doubtful, but at least they weren't all rushing out of the building.
Daniel led the way down the hall, walking at a deliberate pace that Bree mimicked. Once through the door to the stairs, they sped up. Daniel stumbled and clutched at the handrail as he went, so Bree knew he was pretty well drained himself. They emerged into the side of the lobby near the front door, and hastened outside into the chill November air.
Just as they arrived at the roundabout at the front entrance, Steve and Kevin pulled up in Steve's light green Prius. B
ree and Daniel threw themselves into the back seat and slammed the doors shut.
“Where to?” Steve asked.
“Take Alaskan Way all the way into Sodo,” Bree replied as she pulled the map out of her purse. “Slow down when we get past the baseball stadium so Daniel can get a feel.”
“Do you think you can get an exact locate if we get close enough to Hunter?” Kevin asked anxiously as Steve pulled out into traffic and gunned the engine.
“I’m not positive,” Daniel admitted, “but even if we can narrow it down to a several block radius, we can give the Keeper team something manageable to work with. Then they have a chance to search quickly enough to avoid alerting the Keltoi with their presence, or least not give them too much time to mount a defense.”
“Will you be able to feel where Hunter is if they sense the Keepers and try to move him?” Steve asked.
Daniel hesitated, and Bree shot him a concerned look, her excited confidence faltering. “Possibly,” Daniel responded, “so long as we can stay in close proximity. I can feel the resistance from the hiding and warding spells they have up. Right now, my spell is penetrating that, but if they move, they’ll change their spells to ones that are adapted to a moving vehicle. If they do that, I could lose him.”
Steve pressed down harder on the gas and swerved to pass the car in front of him.
Kevin grasped at the passenger side hold bar. “Don’t you dare get stopped by a cop!”
“So keep your eyes open, and we won't get stopped,” Steve replied with an edgy tone as he dodged around a lumbering semi.
They quickly passed the busy section of the waterfront, then were stopped by a red light in front of the car ferry terminal. Steve pounded the steering wheel impatiently as cars headed for the ferry line went by. The car lurched forward as fast as a hybrid car was capable when the light turned green.
“Okay, go a little slower now,” Bree instructed as they passed the baseball stadium. She looked over at Daniel, whose hand hovered over the map that she’d placed on the seat between them. He closed his eyes as they headed into the warehouse district proper. Red cranes rose on their right, unloading huge ships of their battered shipping containers.
