by N M Thorn
Aidan put his hand on the door handle and carefully turned it. The door was locked. “Recludius,” he whispered the opening spell and heard the soft click of the door lock. The door opened up soundlessly, and he slid inside the house.
All the blinds were tightly shut and the small area between the stairs and the living room was dark. Aidan observed the living room to make sure it was vacant. Then he opened his other sight, carefully exploring the rest of the house. He still felt the presence of only six demons and they seemed to be on the second floor.
Aidan snapped his fingers, teleporting upstairs. On the second floor, there were three bedrooms. He walked down the hallway toward the master bedroom and stopped in front of a closed door. His first thought was to knock the door out with his foot, but he changed his mind and turned the door handle. The door wasn’t locked and opened easily. He walked inside the room and halted.
Six demons—two women and four men—were standing at the opposite wall, staring at him with mild surprise in their eyes. They didn’t attack him at the get go and that set a red flag in Aidan’s mind. Rogue demons? They didn’t look very ferocious to him. He scanned them with his magical sight again just to confirm that the hosts of the bodies these demons were possessing were no longer there.
“You’re breaking and entering,” said one of the demons, stepping forward. “I already called the police.”
Aidan smirked. That was a new one—demons calling police. “No, you did not,” he replied calmly. “This house, just like the body you’re wearing, doesn’t belong to you. To either of you.”
He heard a soft noise from above and glanced up. A seventh demon that he didn’t register before, launched down at him. Aidan didn’t get a chance to react as the demon crushed him with the weight of his body. He dropped to the floor with the demon sitting heavily on top of his chest. The demon swung his fist, punching Aidan in his jaw. The punch didn’t produce the effect the monster desired. Aidan growled as anger swept through him, igniting his power with new strength.
He seized the demon’s arm, pulling him down and slammed his palm over his chest, sending a stream of his power through the demon. The monster wailed and jolted up, trying to escape Aidan’s grip. Aidan increased the flow of his power, burning not only through the flesh but also through the monster’s demonic essence.
The remains of the demon’s body flaked down, covering Aidan in ash. Aidan rose under the intense stares of the other six demons. Deliberately slow, he brushed his shirt and raked his fingers through his hair, getting rid of the ash, and a cold smirk crossed his face.
“Next,” he hissed, squeezing his hands into tight fists.
The demons exchanged furious looks and screamed, charging at Aidan all at once. Aidan laughed and brought forth his godly power. His body emitted an unbearable brilliant light, igniting in the depth of his eyes. The blast of his power spread around him obliterating all the demons at once—their borrowed bodies and the demonic essence. A moment later, it was all over. The rogue demons were gone, and Aidan was standing in the middle of the room surrounded by dirty dust and ashes.
“I have no time to deal with you one at the time,” muttered Aidan as he stepped over the pile of ashes.
He drove like a maniac and the only thing he could think of was that he needed to be in Florida, not here. Thirty minutes later he parked his car in front of the Guardians Headquarters and ran up the stairs. The main hall in front of the entrance was empty and Aidan headed toward the door of the Assembly Hall. Two guards in front of the door crossed their spears, stopping him.
Aidan stepped back, irritation spiraling through him, but he decided that smiting these two assholes right inside the Guardians HQ wouldn’t be received well and took a cleansing breath.
“Ms. Bonneville is expecting me,” he said, suppressing his aggravation.
“Ms. Bonneville is attending to an urgent matter, and she is expecting you to comply with her orders, Aidan McGrath,” said one of the guards dryly. “She wishes you to return to your room in the Wardens’ wing and remain there until she summons you.”
Aidan threw his hands in the air but turned around and headed to the Wardens’ quarters. He walked inside his room and slammed the door shut. He needed to talk to Gunz and let him know everything that Gwyn ap Nudd told him, but he knew that he couldn’t do it within these walls. The delay was driving him crazy. For a few minutes, he paced around the room, dealing with his aggravation.
After a while he lay down on the bed, throwing his arm over his eyes. He tried to get some sleep, but his restless, agitated mind wouldn’t let him. He was dozing on and off, waking up at the tiniest sound or movement. He got up a couple of hours later and sat down on the bed. His stomach rumbled with hunger.
Aidan thought for a moment and headed out of the room, hoping to find something to eat while he was waiting for the Head Mage to summon him. With surprise, he found a young guard standing by his door. As soon as he tried to leave the room, the guard stopped him.
“Ms. Bonneville ordered you to stay in your room,” said the guard calmly. “Is there anything I can get you, Mr. McGrath?”
Aidan sighed. The Head Mage didn’t trust him to obey her command, and she made sure that he wouldn’t be going anywhere. The young guard looked at him, expecting him to say something.
“Could you please get me something to eat?” he asked quietly. It wasn’t this young man’s fault that the Head Mage confined him to this room. “I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”
“I can fetch you some food, but can I trust you not to leave this room, sir?” asked the guard gingerly.
He’s probably new to all this, decided Aidan, he’s too nice and too polite.
“You can trust me,” promised Aidan with a smile that he hoped looked friendly enough, “I’m going nowhere.”
The guard left, and Aidan returned inside his room, silently cursing the Head Mage and his situation. Fifteen minutes later, the young guard came back and knocked on his door. Aidan took the tray with the food out of his hands, inviting him to come in and join him. The guard smiled shyly but declined his invitation, stating that he was on duty and he’d be outside if Aidan needed anything else.
The sun was slowly shifting toward the horizon when he felt the soft ping of the summoning call in his head and the chain with the pendant got warmer, glowing with a soft silvery light. This time the summoning call was different. It still wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t crippling.
As he opened the door, ready to walk out, he ran into his guard. The young man smiled, gesturing for him to follow. “Ms. Bonneville is expecting you in the Assembly Hall, Mr. McGrath.”
The Head Mage was waiting for him, pacing irritably in the Assembly Hall. As soon as Aidan walked in, she crossed the room, halting in front of him. Aidan inclined his head slightly. It wasn’t quite a bow, just a way to show his respect.
“Aidan, how many demons were in that house?” started the Head Mage without any preamble.
“Seven,” replied Aidan, wondering where she was going with this question.
“Did you really have to use your full godly power to exterminate them?” she asked, aggravation breathing from her every word.
“No, I didn’t have to,” said Aidan, calmly meeting her furious eyes, “but it was faster than if I would fight them using my magic. If you didn’t hear me the first time, Ms. Bonneville, I have a serious matter I need to attend back in Florida. I don’t have time to—"
“You could have exposed us all!” she shouted, stamping her high-heeled foot. “The use of your godly powers created a huge energy spike, plus the brilliant light of your power was visible from a few blocks away!”
“If you didn’t want me to fight as a god, why did you send a god for such a small task!” yelled Aidan, unwilling to stand down. “Sending me to kill seven demons who seemingly didn’t bother anyone was equivalent to using a missile to shoot at a sparrow! I don’t have time for this bullshit!”
Ms. Bonneville pulled
her arm back and slapped Aidan across his face. Aidan gasped and staggered back, holding his hand to his burning cheek.
“You will learn some respect, Mr. McGrath,” hissed the Head Mage.
She snapped her fingers, and the chain wrapped tightly around Aidan’s neck, burning his skin. He jerked his hand up to grab the chain, but stopped himself, dropping his hand back down and remained silent and motionless, a muscle twitching in his jaw.
“You will learn to show me proper respect,” repeated the Head Mage, her voice shaking with fury. “You will do what I say, when I say it. And you will comply with the rules of the Order. If you disagree, you can get the hell out of here and your little girlfriend will be sent back to the dungeons, where she belongs!” She waved at the guards and shouted, “Guards, please bring Therasia Donovan here at once!”
“No! Please. I will do what you want,” said Aidan, raising his hand up to stop her.
The Head Mage stopped the guards and turned back to Aidan. “Are you ready to behave like a loyal member of this Order, Mr. McGrath?”
“Yes, ma’am,” replied Aidan quietly, dropping his head. “I completed your assignment. Not the way you wanted me to do it, but all the demons are dead anyway. Would you allow me to leave now?”
“You sound a lot more appropriate now,” said Ms. Bonneville, raking him with an arrogant stare. “The only thing you still need to learn is to bow to me when you’re greeting me and when I dismiss you.”
Aidan’s face lost all color, but he forced himself not to react. “Would you allow me to leave now?” he repeated his question, through gritted teeth.
“No, not yet,” replied the Head Mage. She walked back to the table and grabbed an envelope. “While you were playing games with the demons, another problem has arisen. This is a more serious problem, and I need you to handle it for us.”
She handed him the envelope. Aidan took it and peered inside. A single round trip ticket to Phoenix Arizona was inside the envelope.
“What is it?”
“I trust you know how to read. This is a plane ticket to Phoenix, of course,” said the mage with a shrug. “We discovered a large pack of werewolves on the outskirts of Phoenix that is not regulated by any of the supernatural organizations. Seems that the local hunters have a problem dealing with them. They reported that the pack is out of control, turning humans to beef up their ranks and they requested our assistance.”
“Ma’am, I’m a god. I don’t need any modern transportation to travel,” suggested Aidan carefully. “I know the Phoenix area well enough. I can teleport to a place where no one will see me and be done with this little werewolf problem within one hour. Wouldn’t it be faster and better—”
“Mr. McGrath, what did I tell you about complying with the rules and obeying all my commands?” asked the mage sternly.
Aidan fell silent. The rage was coursing through his veins, but he clenched his teeth and said nothing.
“Very good, Aidan,” said the mage, patting him on his shoulder. “I see you’re learning your place. Anyway, inside this envelope you will find complete instructions on where to find the pack. Deal with them swiftly and quietly, but without using your godly powers. I don’t need any unwanted attention to the Order.”
“Do you want me to fight them as a man? As a hunter?” asked Aidan without raising his eyes.
“Don’t be silly, of course not,” replied the mage. “Use your magic all you want. You can fight them as any wizard would. Did you understand what you need to do and how you should do it, Aidan?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Perfect. Your plane is leaving at 5 AM from O’Hare airport. I’ll send one of my guards to drive you there,” said Ms. Bonneville with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Now, that’ll be all. Off you go.”
Aidan turned around and headed toward the exit, clutching the envelope in his fist when he heard the mage clearing her throat suggestively. He stopped and turned around.
“Forgetting something, Mr. McGrath?” she asked, giving him an arched stare. Aidan frowned, not quite sure what she was talking about. “When I allow you to leave, you must bow to me before leaving.”
Aidan stiffened for a moment. Choose your battles wisely, he ordered himself. This is not the battle I need to fight right now.
Feeling sick to his stomach, Aidan bent forward in a formal bow.
Chapter 27
~ Zane Burns, a.k.a. Gunz ~
Gunz sat in the kitchen with a bottle of water in his hands. He was alone. Karma went out to get some clothes and Voron decided to accompany her. It’d been many years since Voron visited the realm of the living and he wanted to see how the world had changed. Mishka slept in his room, curled up on his pillow, and this solitude was a welcome change for Gunz.
After his time in the Dark Nav, he craved for a few minutes of quiet, so he could think in peace. What he really wanted was a few hours somewhere at a lake with a fishing pole in his hand, surrounded by nature only, with no people around. However, at this time, it wasn’t an option. Maybe after everything was over, he could allow himself a short vacation. But not yet. Not right now.
He thought about Yaroslav’s words. If Zmey was going to try to break free through the Dark Nav, he couldn’t fight him inside the realm of demons and spirits where there were no elemental powers. Kal, Mrak Delar and Semargl couldn’t fight there either. Anyone who wielded the elements were powerless inside the Dark Nav and Agent Zvereva knew that. So, Yaroslav was right—if they failed to stop Zvereva from breaking the restraints and releasing the Lord of Chaos, the Zmey would rise within the Dark Nav, tearing the veil and invading the world of the living.
Gunz was so deep in his thoughts that when the fire curtain of Kal’s portal opened next to him, he almost fell off his chair, spilling his water all over the table. Kal walked through the curtain, followed by Mrak Delar. Gunz grabbed a paper towel and wiped the water off the table. Both Kal and Mrak Delar sat down at the table, across from him.
“I’ve heard you had a little demon-slash-vampire mishap,” said Kal, his blazing eyes crinkling with humor.
“Yeah, something like that,” replied Gunz and turned to Mrak Delar. “Coffee?”
“I can never say no to that,” answered the Master of Power.
“Kal, how about you? Coffee?” asked Gunz, but Kal shook his head no.
Gunz put a k-cup and a cup of water in the coffeemaker and turned back to his mentor. “Akira’s son Yaroslav said something that I think we should seriously consider.”
“Oh, yeah? You’ve met the Russkij blondie?” Kal chuckled. “So, what did ‘GQ Undead-Style’ say that was so important?”
“You shouldn’t make fun of him, Kal, just because he is prettier than you,” said Gunz, sarcasm breaking to the surface. “Yaroslav is a fighter to be reckoned with. I would love to have him by my side in everything that’s coming. But I think he’s going to stay here with his mother, helping Jim to control the city.” He recounted quickly everything that happened last night and his conversation with Akira and Yaroslav.
“Blondie was right,” admitted Kal. “And this leads us to the reason for our visit.”
“I suspected that you didn’t come here for a cup of coffee,” muttered Gunz.
“Not today,” said Mrak Delar rising. “We asked Voron to keep Karma out, so we could have a peaceful conversation with Veles, without witnesses.”
“You also don’t trust her?” asked Gunz, exploring Mrak’s emotionless face.
“No,” he replied. “Trust is not given, it’s earned. And as far as I know, this young lady is a Sword for Hire. No one in their right mind can trust her kind.”
“I can,” murmured Gunz.
“Who said that you were in your right mind?” asked Mrak Delar with an expression of innocence on his face, but evil twinkles were shining in his eyes.
“Of course, I left it wide-open for you. I forgot who I’m dealing with,” said Gunz chuckling, but then sobered up. “After everything that happened in the
Dark Nav, I trust her. But Akira is in agreement with you, Mrak. So, let’s do it your way.”
Mrak Delar connected with his power, his black eyes becoming a pool of darkness and drew a pentagram in the air. He waved his hand over the pentagram, whispering something in Dragon tongue. A split-second later, a portal opened up in the place where the pentagram was. Usually portals looked like a swirling void, shimmering with a bright blue light. This portal was a dark hole, seemingly leading into nowhere. Mrak Delar touched the edge of the portal, sending some of his magic through it and whispered Veles’ name, summoning the god of the Three Realms.
Veles emerged out of the portal right away. It was almost like he was just sitting and waiting for Mrak Delar’s summoning call. In his ancient-Russian style armor and with a twisted wooden staff in his hand, he appeared bigger and grimmer than Gunz remembered him. He pressed his hand to his heart and then lowered it down with a bow.
“Goi esi, dobri molodtsi,” he rumbled the Old-Russian greeting. “It’s nice to see you all in good spirits.”
“My lord,” said Gunz, bowing to the ancient deity, noticing Mrak Delar and Kal also returning the bow. “Please sit down.” He pulled a chair out offering it to Veles.
Veles sat down, and the chair squeaked mournfully under his considerable weight. His icy eyes stopped on Mrak Delar, and he waved his hand. “If you please, Ancient Master. A concealment spell.”
“Oprimenta Amnia,” muttered Mrak Delar with a flick of his wrist and the soft yellow light of the concealment spell flooded the room.
“Now we can talk,” said Veles, turning to Gunz. “I don’t want to keep your attention longer than needed. So, let’s get straight to business. Chernobog, Morena and I are ready to defend the Dark Nav in case Zmey decides to break through the veil. How about you, Great Salamander?”
The god stared in Gunz’s direction, and he couldn’t help but throw a quick glance at Kal. No one ever addressed him in this manner and it didn’t feel right.
