by T S Paul
"Power. Animals have their own culture and language. We may choose to ignore it, but they have their own secrets. A dark Magician or Witch might wish to know some of those secrets. Agent Zusteller mentioned Skinwalkers when he drove us over here. That name is an example of a dark Witch at work." I leaned back as much as I could in my chair.
"Skinwalkers. Isn't that a southwestern monster? I thought they mentioned it at the Academy."
"Cat, they did. It was on that huge list they gave us of potential legends come to life. I had glanced at the list before we got on the plane. We are too far north for many of the sea monsters, but giant snakes are supposed to inhabit some of the lakes and rivers up here. Sasquatch is a possibility, but more so north of the border than here. Not enough trees for them. If it was just disappearances and not mutilations, I might suspect Thunderbirds."
"Agatha, do you mean literal Thunderbirds? Aren't they extinct?" Bill instinctively looked up when he said the name.
"No, not really, Bill. Scientists claim they found a nest of Thunderbird eggs in Nevada. They have been described as eagle-like birds about ten times the size of normal eagles. There have been sightings recorded in Korea and Africa, so they existed there at one time. But the bodies that have been found were mutilated. Do we know what happened to the Unicorn remains?" I looked at Cat.
"It's not in the report. Do you want me to call the local office?" Cat pulled out her phone.
"Try calling Agent Zusteller first. I saw him give you his number. He might be more approachable than his boss. This isn't the time to measure who has the longest authority."
Bill cleared his throat catching my attention. "You and that Walter kid mentioned Ultra. Can you explain what it is to me?"
"Sure. Ultra is another part of the Magnus family holdings. They control all the imports and exports the family needs. Think of them like an old school shipping company. They use their own ships and bulk carriers to transport Unicorn and other products worldwide. They were once based in England. The animal rights laws of the late twentieth century forced them to move here. According to Washington, their warehouses are scrupulously monitored. If this part of the family is Magickal in some way, I will report them as such to our bosses. It sounds mean, but our job is to enforce this country's rules."
"Does the Witches Council monitor Magical families that sell to humans?" Cat looked up from her notes.
"Maybe? Grandmother wasn't very clear about what they do or do not do. In theory, they are supposed to do just that. But politics is a major factor with them of late. I will only contact them if we absolutely have to. A Council Special Investigator is not someone we want poking around at this point. Let's finish up here and go see Robert Magnus. He's the man with the answers we need. I think."
Chapter 5
After listening to Agent Zusteller, I was dreading what we would find inside the main house. Grandmother told me that the research she did on the American Magnus properties wasn't good. Unlike the main European branch, they didn't treat what was entrusted to them with respect. When I asked what she meant by that she refused to tell me. According to her contacts in Cornwall, Robert Magnus was expelled from the main headquarters in England for some unknown reason. The Montana location had been under his immediate supervision for at least thirty years.
The rise of Ultra as the premier distribution center for the Spagyric Corporation had only happened in the last twenty years. William Magnus, Robert's brother, was the person in charge of that branch of the company.
My bracelets didn't like this house at all. My shields, when engaged by both Certainty and Proof, could withstand an attack of immense proportions. As I approached the house, they actually increased the protection. Looking down, I muttered. "Fergus are you OK in there.
I could feel him moving around in my pocket, so I know he could hear me. "Can you sense the evil coming from this place?"
After a moment, he stuck his head out. Only I could see him so to the others it looked as though I was talking into my shirt. "None of us ever came near this place. My father and mother kept me away from the humans as much as possible. I never asked why. It was just how it was done. I'm afraid to see, Agatha."
"We will find the truth for you Fergus. That is a promise." Looking over my shoulder, I could see Cat nodding. For once her freaky hearing was helpful.
Robert Magnus stepped out of the house as we approached the door. "Hey. Did you find out anything worthwhile?"
"A few things we didn't know. Can we interview you? The information we received from the local office wasn't complete." I motioned to the house.
Robert laughed. "That's probably true. Those postmen are only good for delivering mail! Come inside we can get out of this heat."
I felt my eyes widen just a hair. It wasn't hot out today. Even with the multiple layers of shields over me, I could still feel the cool breeze on my skin. Under my breath, I murmured to Cat. "Have Bill stay out here and guard the door against the outside something doesn't feel right about this."
Putting on my game face, I smiled at Robert and allowed him to hold the door for me. Cat paused a moment giving Bill my instructions. I could feel Robert Magnus at my back as we entered the foyer. He felt like a massive red cloud of hate and rage. My shields clamped down tight around me as he put his hand on my arm. I hadn't felt anything like this since the Demon cult in Texas. What was this man? Glancing at him, I removed his hand from my arm. "Don't touch me, please. I'm not available."
Robert jerked his hand away as if he had touched fire. I wasn't sure if he felt the shields or not. They could be very subtle if needed.
"Please, feel welcome in my house." The large man opened the secondary door to the house. To me, it was as if the mouth of Hell gasped out a breath. Hungry rage poured out of the doorway in a tidal wave of power. If I hadn't been protected, my very soul might have belonged to the Magnus family. Cat was protected, but Bill would have been overpowered. Charm or no charm, he would have been corrupted in an instant. The wave passed around me stopping at Cat. The door of the house seemed to keep it inside.
"Agent Blackmore? Are you alright?" Robert Magnus peered at me as he stood by the door.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
Magnus's eyes widened just a bit. "No particular reason. Just checking. My office is just through here. We can talk in there."
He stepped into what must have been the living room when the house was built. Now it was a showroom of death. Unicorn heads, horns, and other parts were everywhere. I could hear their lost souls screaming for justice. This was the Magickal residue I was picking up whenever Walter was around.
"Do you like my collection? Much of what you see is for sale. My brother owns the Ultra Corporation. What doesn't end up shipped overseas is stored here. Sales are quite brisk for those that treasure Unicorns. They live on through their contributions here." He ran his hand down a stuffed Unicorn's neck. I could see that it was one of the blue-haired variety.
Forcing a smile, I looked at him. "Is that one of the blue Unicorns? Your nephew said you don't have any on the property."
"Yes. Walter told me you asked about them. This creature was one of the finest we ever had here. A thoroughbred. As the stallion of the herd, he defended his right to rule for almost a decade. His line was to be the finest we ever bred here. But it wasn't to be. The holder of the blue genes was stolen from us."
"Stolen? Did you report it? How does someone just steal a Unicorn?" I tried to act shocked.
With a slight grin, the man changed his tune. "Not really stolen. I misspoke. Your Aunt, Camilla Ford, bought him from us actually. I only say stolen because his genes were of a rare type and she got the best deal of the century buying him."
"I thought that you never sold male Unicorns. Only the females are sold to those who can afford one or to zoos." I looked at him questionably.
"That's true. However, your Aunt Camilla threatened me with both a lawsuit and a call to corporate. At that time, this was a fairly new facility. We didn
't need any sort of scandal that might threaten the ranch or the corporation. That husband of hers was a real wheeler-dealer. He got me to throw in a trailer and food for the beast." Magnus tilted his face skyward and tapped his lip with one finger.
"I've never heard that story. Why didn't my aunt leave it here to be boarded?" I casually looked around, wincing at the power surges that movement caused. Many of the artifacts in this room glowed with power.
"No idea. It was a cash and carry deal. Does she still have Ferg... I mean the Unicorn? I will buy it back from her if she does."
Playing dumb, I responded. He didn't need to know of her recent demise. "I don't think so. We aren't close. Why do you want an old Unicorn?"
"Breeding. The blues are very rare. That particular Unicorn was collected shortly before its sale, but the product was damaged in shipping. If the Unicorn is still viable, its genes could be added back into the herd. We have others from its line here in the room."
Disgusted at the way he referred to my oldest and dearest friend I gritted my teeth and smiled at him. "You do?"
"Of course. That specimen you were admiring earlier is the stallion that produced him. His dam was sold just a few years ago to a patron for a parade. She wasn't a blue though. If your aunt has it, please have her call me." Robert handed me a card. Even the card glowed with a sickly red trace of power. I was going to need a very long shower.
"Your office?"
"Sure. It's right this way." He led Cat, and I down a horror-filled hallway.
"Wow, you have a lot of Unicorn stuff in here." Cat stepped in front of me.
"Yes, we've been collecting it for about thirty years, Unicorns are very profitable." Robert paused to show Cat one of the many displays of horns.
"Do you know where Unicorns come from originally?" Cat was playing the fool for this man.
"Somewhere in Europe, I believe. Our parent corporation started this ranch here in Montana. All of the Unicorns here were born in the United States. Our other facility in British Columbia has Unicorns from other countries. You should check that out sometime. It's a beautiful place. They don't have stuff like this though. You can only buy quality like this here and in Asia." He opened another door and stepped inside.
Unlike the rest of the house, this room contained very few Unicorn bits. A large Victorian style desk dominated one end of the room. Bookcases stuffed to the brim lined both walls. Glancing at the titles, I recognized several commercial Magickal texts as well as some written in Latin. The room smelled of money and prestige. It was so different from the rest of the house it was hard to believe it was in the same house.
"This is my sanctuary. My own personal lair. Now, what questions do you have for me?" Robert smiled at both Cat and I as we took seats across from him.
"The local Agents gave us copies of their interviews, but I wanted to follow up a bit. Why do you think these were natural deaths?"
"I know Unicorns. Trust me when I say that if they don't want to be somewhere, they will fight to the death to get away. I can show you the scars from just trying to lead a young one to water. That horn is wicked sharp, and they have exceptionally strong teeth. They battle each other for dominance and a place in the herd. No one captures a Unicorn easily. Those carcasses that were found were just Unicorns that died of old age after escaping or were attacked by wolves or coyotes. We have some nasty predators here in Montana. Have you investigated the ranches to either side of me? Both those families have threatened this ranch for years. They are jealous of the Magick the Unicorns bring to the area." Robert waved his hands in the air.
"Do you think it's Unicorn Magick that makes your property so green and lush? I mean look at the whole area. It looks like a drought area." I held one hand out toward the large picture window on one wall. The view was of the ranch, and I imagine it looked beautiful at sunrise.
"When the Spagyric Corporation built this ranch as an expansion of the Canadian one they said that this property was a convergence point for three ley lines. They believed that it was the presence of these coupled with the Unicorns inherent Magick that greened up the land almost immediately after the ranch was built. When I took over in the 1980s, the green areas were only half the size they are now.
Only by rotating the herd and separating the sexes have we been able to increase both the size and longevity of the herd. We have more green as a result. If you interview them, ask them if I ever offered to rotate the herds on their land to help them out. I bet you'll be surprised. Anything else you would like to know?"
I let out a breath I was holding. "Do you know what happened to the two dead Unicorns that were found? The local office doesn't show any resolution for them. I was going to have my forensic team look at them."
"Forensic team? There are more of you?" Robert looked surprised.
"Yes. We three flew ahead to get a jump on the interviews and preliminaries while the rest of our team drove here. They're only a few hours away. Tomorrow, when we come back, they will process the scenes and try to get a sense of things."
"OK. Well, the bodies were returned to my people and have already been disposed of. We burn the bodies of the dead to prevent disease." For just a brief moment there was the smallest smile on Robert's face.
"You keep the salable parts though, don't you? We will just take the horn, skin, hooves, teeth, and whatever else you kept. I can get a warrant if you like."
The good ol' boy friendliness dropped away from Robert's face revealing the monster underneath. "You can't do that!"
"Yes, I'm afraid we can. This is a Federal case now. Where are the body parts?" I glared at him. Both of my bracelets began to heat up. I wasn't sure if it was in response to him or me.
Disgusted, Robert actually growled at us. "Walter can get them for you. Do I get them back? I have orders for those items."
"I'll bet you do. It will depend upon whether a crime has been committed or not." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cat dialing her phone.
Robert frowned and pressed a button on his desk. After a few seconds, Walter's voice could be heard coming from a speaker. "What do you want Uncle Robert?"
"Go out to storehouse B and get the product from those Unicorns found dead. Bring them up to the FBI Agents." Robert barked into his microphone.
"Are they still here? I thought you were going to zap them just like those..." Walter never got to finish what he was saying because Robert grabbed the phone and started yelling at his nephew in a language unknown to either Cat or me.
It sounded a tiny bit like the Gaelic I'd heard some of the visiting tourists to Briarwood speak. But it wasn't quite right. Too many guttural vowels. Certainty on my left arm started to grow warm. Suddenly I could understand what they were saying.
"... like I told you to. I should send you straight back to your parents. They will sell you to someone who really wants you." Robert was all but barking into the phone.
Very faintly I could hear Walter's response. My hearing did get better after the team was formed. Close pack bonds will do that to non-weres. But I think this was coming from Proof. It was not going to be outdone by Certainty. "No. Please! Robert, I can do better. Don't send me to them. They'll kill me again!"
The pleading went on for several seconds. Finally, Robert responded. "Enough! Do as I say. Get the Unicorn parts from shipping and bring them up to the main house. Take the labels off the packages. We don't want them to know where they are being sent."
"Why didn't you zap them like the others?"
"Do as I say. No questions!" Robert slammed the phone down, not allowing Walter to answer again. He looked up and smiled at us. "Kids. Even as adults they never listen. He will be here in a moment. Can I get you a soda or water while we wait?"
"No thank you. Our taxi should be here in a short while. We can wait for it by the gate." Cat responded for me with her best fake smile.
"What, the postmen aren't picking you up? I guess they don't like you taking over their case." Robert laughed.
Coc
king my head sideways I stared at him. "That's the fourth or fifth time you've called the local FBI Agents postmen. Why?"
Robert laughed even harder. "Have you been to their offices? If you had, you would understand. They work out of the post office. Just about everyone in town calls them postmen."
"Oh. That explains it then. Interesting." Both Cat and I stood and turned to go out. "May we see ourselves out?"
"Of course. Take a good look at the items I have for sale. Maybe you'll see something you like. Walter should have that box for you any minute." Robert waved us away as he picked up his phone and started dialing.
Cat looked at me as I walked down the hallway. "Agatha, what ..."
"Not here. We'll talk back at the hotel." I didn't want to discuss any part of the investigation on this ranch. It wouldn't surprise me if they had spells everywhere now. Once the whole team was together, we would get into it all.
