Strange Omens

by Jim Stein

  “Sure you did, and I’ve got a bridge you can buy.” I shifted my weight and slipped the black baton from my back pocket.

  “You really think that will help?”

  Manfred rolled his eyes and crossed both arms over his chest. He moved too damned fast, but landing just one swing would slow the bastard down.

  “Stop it, Ed.” My sister handed Anna the leash and laid a restraining hand on my arm. “Fighting won’t help find Pina.”

  “You’re looking for one of your friends.” Manfred nodded at his own words. “No wonder you’re being stupid.”

  “Tell us where she is, and we’ll go be stupid somewhere else. I saw your list of the missing Brights. You’ve been setting them up, telling the Grims who to snatch.”

  Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to say, but I was tired of his games. His laugh sounded genuine. The asshole found something I said truly funny.

  “Those names are from police reports, you idiot. It’s bad business for customers to go missing. I intend to find out what’s going on.”

  “And you just happen to know all about magic?” What a con man.

  “Believe what you want, just don’t try to spell the guardian.”

  “People are coming.” Anna huddled back against the wall and clung to Max’s neck.

  The door stood ajar. Five figures fanned out and skittered down the broken slope. They wore black with nasty knives hanging from their belts. I found myself propelled forward, a hand at my throat and the hard knot again jabbing me in the back.

  “Nothing personal,” Manfred whispered in my ear.

  I struggled, trying to bring my baton to bear, but he swiveled and wrenched my arm back, using it as a lever to keep me moving. My shoulder screamed, and I scuttled forward rather than having tendons tear. He drove me away from my friends to the far side of the mound.

  “I found one!” Manfred called.

  The men turned like a flock of starlings reversing course. The gangly leader had pale angular cheeks that reminded me of someone.

  “Quite the catch.” Dan’s raspy squeak was unmissable even if he wasn’t quite himself in the facial-feature department.

  “So how’s this work?” Manfred asked. “I just take him on through?”

  “Not a chance.” Dan eyed Manfred up and down. “You might have the fancy title, but down here I’m boss. You know he’s the first, right?”

  “First?”

  “Of the old Indian’s kids.” Dan shook his head, a very human gesture—except for the black spines swaying under his regrowth of mousy hair. “They’re gonna shit themselves when I bring him through.”

  Long cold fingers wrapped around my free arm and yanked me from Manfred’s grip.

  Dan’s leer turned to outrage. “He ain’t tied!”

  My free arm cartwheeled around, and I slammed my baton into his temple. He dropped with a grunt. Manfred was on top of the fallen man in an instant, patting him down, and looking for something. He glared at me, eyebrows raised.

  “You might want to run.”

  I angled back toward the strip. Hopefully any pursuers would miss the others as they made their way to the arts center. I looked back as the road manager pocketed something and pointed off to my left. Then I focused on getting the hell out of there.

  I skirted two pairs of Grims that didn’t seem to be part of Dan’s search party. They patrolled along the ruined section near Broadway, forcing me into a looping detour. By the time I stumbled across the parking lot, the afternoon pushed toward evening. Cold wind off the lake had sweat and grime cooling on my skin. A hot shower was in order, but first I needed to make sure the women made it back.

  “Ed, come meet Charles.” Billy caught me by surprise when he stepped out of Pioneer.

  A muscular man with close-cropped black hair and piercing blue eyes marched down the stairs to stand with the A-Chords’ lead. The pair blocked my path, forcing me to stop.

  “Hey, Chuck.” I looked past them to Piper’s door.

  “Charles, if you please.” The new drummer graced me with a tight-lipped smile.

  “No offense, Charles.” I stuck out my hand. “Where’d you drive in from?”

  Billy said the guy was ex-military, which suited his bearing and the way he tried to grind my knuckles to a pulp. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of wincing. Being bested by Manfred put my manliness on high alert. I squeezed back, giving as good as I got, and scanned the cars for his ride. The sleek red import with California tags wasn’t hard to spot.

  “A little place out in the desert, Twenty-Nine Palms.”

  “Heck of a drive.” The car didn’t look particularly suitable for a two-thousand-mile trip across broken highways.

  He nodded at my comment and turned to Billy. “I’ll need the practice schedule. I PT in the morning so can’t make anything before Oh Six Hundred. Make that Oh Six Thirty; you’ll want me to shower off after the run.”

  “Nothing that formal.” Billy couldn’t suppress an eye roll—Charles liked structure. “I’ll get you the scores and set up something for around noon. Our last concert in the park is the day after tomorrow. Ed’s recordings of Randy’s licks might help too.”

  “Rhonda had me download a few of those for the ride. No offense, but I’ll stick to the written scores.” Disdain rode just beneath his words, and I didn’t trust myself to stay any longer.

  “Later, gents. Gotta check on the women.” I flipped him a sloppy salute and rushed toward the rooms before a nastier comment made it past my clenched jaw.

  This guy wasn’t going to last long if he expected military precision from a bunch of musicians. Parking lot lights flicked on, bathing the last few yards in a yellow glow. My sister’s door stood ajar, and excited voices came from within. I hurried on, knocked, and pushed into the room.

  “There’s more!” Anna pointed to the corner by the bath.

  A gray streak shot past her. Ralph picked at the carpet, spun to his left, then leapt over the bed to grab a few colorful bits off the nightstand. The imp pocketed the candies and headed to the door. Max watched with interest, but wisely did not get involved.

  “Ed! Thank god you’re okay,” Quinn said as she plucked another piece off the desk lamp. “Where’re they coming from?”

  The imp’s grin widened with each bit of candy-coated chocolate he found. His frantic chase didn’t end at the door. He flashed out to grab another bit from the grass. He shot forward ten yards, then thirty, and then disappeared into the underbrush lining the property. In a matter of seconds the room went from bedlam to stunned silence.

  “Will he be all right?” Anna peered out the window.

  “Who Ralph? Sure. Little guy can take care of himself.” I nodded, not yet sure what to make of the scene.

  “We walked into the room and candy started showing up all over.” Piper said. “Ralph went bananas.”

  “Sure, he loves them.” I should log the imp’s food intake for posterity. Understanding how he processed so much sugar might prove valuable for diabetes research. We had Pina to thank for introducing him to those colorful, candy-coated treats. Something about the chocolate and sugar combo really sent him over the edge. “Can’t be a trick by the Grims. They don’t even know he’s here.”

  “What then?” Piper scribbled in the notebook that appeared in her hand, similar to how Koko’s flute materialized at will for the old spirit.

  We kicked around a few ideas, but there were more important things to discuss.

  “The Grims are patrolling the ruins,” I said. “Dan is some sort of team leader.”

  “I thought that was him, but his face…” Anna waved at her own.

  “Some of them aren’t human.”

  “My money’s on ghouls,” Piper said. “Gaunt and pasty certainly fits the bill, which also means they’re strong and fast. Ghoul is a generic term, so texts can disagree. But my favorite references say they’ll be resistant to magic and extremely dangerous.”

  “Problem is we don’t have a g
ood count. Resistant or not, that Fire spell cut though their glamour. Unfortunately, I have no idea if the ones who didn’t change were out of range or are simply human thugs.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” Quinn jabbed a finger toward the ruins. “They’re working together. That makes them all bad guys in my book. And bad guys are fair game.”

  27. Exploring the Dark

  T HE GRIMS amassed in the square around the gateway, making it impossible for Manny to get in close. He snarled, annoyed at himself for so readily adopting the boy’s description of the darklings. He might be the old trickster’s prodigy, but Ed didn’t know half of what transpired or what he faced. Small figures moved beyond the bronze door, rank upon rank of little cannibals. It was too far to make out details, but Manny shivered at the thought of their sharpened teeth and hungry eyes. The race was strong, ferocious, and notoriously hard to control.

  They seemed an odd and risky choice for Leif to employ. All evidence suggested the court sought to imprison and convert Kokopelli’s children. It would be all too easy for the Teihiihan dwarves to slip their collective leash. The three homicide reports on his desk proved Leif wasn’t above a bit of killing, but not before a reasonable attempt at subversion had failed. Turning even a handful of the deity’s children would be a triumph.

  In his youth, Manny scrambled to curry favor with the enigmatic powers ruling the Dark Court. It was easy to understand why so many abased themselves to get a taste of acceptance. It was a false hope. The powerful creatures who ruled through fear never truly accepted others. Lesser beings were useful, could be tolerated, but were expendable.

  Yet he himself skirted that line of acceptance. Scurrying to do their bidding grew tiresome. He actually enjoyed his work with the band, and political apathy replaced avarice for recognition and advancement. The endless games of power and manipulation served only the elite.

  Movement near the guardian doorway caught his eye. Something big and powerful lumbered through the dwarves. Perhaps Leif wasn’t the top of the proverbial food chain for this undertaking after all. Why were such formidable measures needed to handle a few half-humans with little power? It made his life hell and slipping in to find answers impossible. He already walked a fine line. Dan was plenty pissed when he woke up, but didn’t suspect anythi—a gray figure blurred into existence near the threshold.

  The small half-naked creature stooped to pick up a bright pebble, then scurried through the gate, stuffing his prize away into its denim pants. It zipped among the Teihiihan, right beneath the nose of the power dwelling on the other side. The gray form flitted on, bat-ears wobbling as it disappeared within. Manny shook his head. The unfamiliar creature was quick, but certainly should have drawn attention.

  ***

  “Ed, I don’t like this. Three more disappeared coming back from dinner last night.” Trinity scanned the edge of the ruins, then handed the binoculars off to Quinn.

  We crowded together on a maintenance platform near the top of the arts center’s sail. The small outdoor area extended from the highest level of the building proper and provided an excellent view of the park and ruins across from the lake. The air was calm compared to the winds off the lake below. Occasional movement between the deteriorating buildings would either be Grim patrols or our own scouts. Stage hands and early-birds milled about the outdoor amphitheater.

  “Keep everyone holed up at the hostel tonight.” Trinity swung her head back to the stage, and I rushed on before she could complain. “They’ve seen enough shows. Just another day and we move on to Indianapolis. We’ve got enough people to find as it is.”

  “Nine,” Quinn said. “Counting these new ones. No sign of where they were taken?”

  “Folks at the restaurant saw them heading to the ruins same as the others.” Trinity tugged a black curl out of her eyes and grimaced.

  “Gotta be through the doorway,” I said. “We know Pina is in there. Piper agrees with Manfred and says we can’t use magic on the thing.”

  “Scouts report it’s cracked open for people to come and go. They can’t get close enough for more details because the intersection is full of Grims. The shell of a warehouse abuts the backside of the building behind the bronze door. It’s a dead-end the Grims don’t worry about. That’s as far as we’ve gotten.”

  I ground my teeth and glared at Old Milwaukee’s broken skyline. The founding fathers would roll over in their graves if they saw what had assembled at their precious “gathering place.” It wasn’t the city’s fault, so quiet from this distance, as if asleep. Beauty still lurked in the crumbling brickwork, twisted trees, and vines—a collage of nature juxtaposed on the works of man.

  I could go in disguised and shielded. If the reports were accurate, scores of Grims not bothering to hide their true nature camped near the gate. Slipping past wouldn’t be easy. I had my invisibility trick as a backup but wouldn’t be able to extend it to others. Plus, the ghouls’ immunity to magic might let them see through my new spell. Either way, I’d be banking on Pina getting us out. The sprite was highly skilled in illusion and could make any Brights I found invisible on the way back.

  “I’ll need dark clothes and a hoodie.”

  I would have been disappointed if they didn’t argue as we prepared. I’d come to expect pushback, but I was the only one with any true protection. None of the Brights could manage a decent shield. Quinn would be onstage and then join Shawn and Trinity to make sure the Grims didn’t get out of hand after the concert—there was no telling how they’d react to the lack of Brights.

  Quinn abandoned the argument to get dressed for the show, leaving Piper and me to finish preps. I cinched down the anchors of my hiding spell while Piper read over notes from our scouts. My sister’s room felt empty with just the two of us. Anna was safe with the others at the hostel, Ralph still hadn’t returned, and Max snoozed in my room.

  We stepped outside and headed for the pavilion as the band took the stage. I planned to slip into the ruins during intermission. More Grims grooving to the music meant less to deal with and gave me a solid hour. My black ensemble had me thinking dark thoughts about what might lie beyond that bronze door. I might not be able to cast on the guardian itself, but there would be other things to deal with. Moving helped calm my nerves. I have this.

  “All clear.” Shawn intercepted me behind the seating area. “Not a Grim in sight.”

  Trinity and the others shook their heads. A team of four strong Brights were insurance in the event something unforeseen happened at the show. I’d expected them to be wallowing in a crowd of the bastards.

  “None at all?” Alarms went off in my head.

  I scanned the thin crowd for dark outfits, finding none but the one I wore. Billy gave me a wave and shrug from stage when my gaze fell on the band warming up. Without the warring factions in attendance empty seats outnumbers those filled by locals. It was a sad turnout for the A-Chords’ last performance in town.

  “Something’s up. Call Shawn and see—” A muted explosion boomed in the distance. I felt it through the soles of my feet.

  A few patrons looked around, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, turned back as Quinn slammed into her opening bass line. Trinity whipped out her phone as we rushed around the building and headed along the water. Shawn sent the other two Brights to keep an eye on the band.

  Trinity’s short replies did nothing to clue us in on what was happening. We crossed open ground that gave us line of sight to the hostel. Wisps of black smoke swirled up from the stone building. Black-clad groups moved down the surrounding streets.

  “Okay for now.” Trinity pocketed her phone. “Grims blew the barrier out front, but we’re holding our own.”

  “How many?” I asked. “Shawn, we can hit them with a quake if they stay grouped together.”

  “A lot.” Trinity grinned at Shawn. “Claude tricked them into blowing their charge early. Sent a bunch of their own flying. We’ve got them tripping over themselves avoiding little surprises that aren’t there.
They won’t even see the ones that are there until it’s too late.”

  We were close enough now to see there was indeed confusion among the Grims scattered around the old brownstone building. Shouted commands and curses from two men and a woman slowly pulled one side street into a semblance of order. Trinity was right; there were hundreds of Grims—the human kind.

  “Go do your thing and bring back our friends,” Shawn said. “We’ll handle this. There isn’t going to be a better time.”

  Dammit, he was right. This raid pulled more Grims off than the concert would have. Our small magics worked for now, plus the Brights were armed with a variety of clubs, bats, and batons like my own. None of them were keen on using sharp weapons, which was probably for the best given their inexperience. I gave a terse nod of agreement.

  “Be careful. Some will be immune to magic.”

  “Oh, he does listen,” Piper said, her tone mocking. “Don’t worry about me, little brother. I’m heading back to the concert. You need eyes there too.”

  Shawn clapped me on the back, and I felt more student than teacher. I pulled up my hood, jogged toward the ruins, and dropped back to a purposeful walk after crossing the street separating active city from ghost town. My shields would get me past any wards or alarms, but I still had to deal with sentries. Not fully trusting my disguise, I swung wide of the patrolled areas.

  The handful of Grims I passed were too busy to care about one of their own heading deeper into the city. Approaching the old warehouse brought me in on the far side of the encampment. The rusting back wall of the storage area gave way to cut masonry. The old stones were solid and unyielding, much more durable than exterior brickwork exposed to the weather. I played my flashlight across the twenty-foot expanse and smiled. This I can work with.

  I flowed a steady drumbeat along the mortar joints and rounded the stone edges with Earth magic. The blocks eased back, thickening into an archway. Empty shelves lined the room beyond, and dim light streamed from a broken door. I picked my way across the debris-strewn marble floor, crept down a quiet hallway, and gazed through the bank of windows overlooking the street.