"The ones with drivers to come pick them up?" Big John asked.
"I figure some drivers will be waiting in coffee shops, restaurants or something. That funeral will go on for at least two hours. You see the list of speakers?" Shank added another paper on top of the map. "That ought to give us plenty of time to scope out what's available. We have orders for all kinds of stuff, boss."
"Yeah. We do," Big John idly traced the list of speakers with a forefinger. "And, if we can't pick it up there, we'll get information and tag numbers to track it down later."
"Just what I was thinking. If you can get on the roof and let me know when the cars drop off," Shank grinned.
"I can do that," Big John agreed. "I'll go in just before dawn and set up. I'll let you know where the cars exit, so you and the team can keep an eye on 'em."
"Wanna drive to Austin together?" Shank sounded hopeful.
"Nah, I got other business. Just bring the team around eight. I'll call you."
"Okay, boss." Shank tried to hide his disappointment.
"Look, go down the night before and stay in a hotel," Big John opened his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope of cash. "Just don't get too drunk and get to the church on time."
"You got it," Shank grinned. Big John didn't miss the bounce in Shank's step as he walked out of the office, either.
Chapter Twenty-Four
"You look so pretty," Ari told Janie. Janie had dressed in a calf-length black dress that flattered her figure. Seventy wasn't old for a werewolf, since their lives were roughly twice that of the average human.
"It was in the closet," Janie shrugged modestly. "Never thought I'd wear it to a state funeral, though."
"Don't let that stop you from wearing it again—you look great in it." The clothes Ari wore to her mother's funeral still hung in her closet at home and she refused to ever wear them again because too many painful memories saturated the fabric.
"We have to live through the day, then, so I can wear it another time."
"Yeah." Ari's thoughts turned dark for a moment. Nico had been uncharacteristically quiet when he awoke earlier, and Ari felt as if the air around them pressed and pressured far more than it should.
"There's danger in the air, isn't there?" Janie said, breaking into Ari's thoughts. "Val says sixteen households were attacked across the country last night. Whole families were murdered—just like before, only this time, more than half the houses were set on fire afterward."
"Because they want to burn witches," Ari shuddered. The information nauseated her. "We have to find that bastard," she whispered.
"I agree. Anybody could be next. The country is about to kill itself and very little is being done to stop it. They were showing videos on the news this morning."
"I can't watch anymore. It's disturbing and I feel helpless," Ari admitted. "The Adversary must be jumping for joy that so many are willing to take up his banner after looking at actual murders and false narratives on a website or two."
"It's like everything is fractured, and nothing fits together anymore," Janie sighed. "What a mess."
"We're ready," Val walked into Janie's bedroom, where she and Ari were talking.
"Coming," Ari told him. "You ready for this?" She searched his face.
"Yeah." Val wore a grim, determined expression. "Come on—let's get this over with."
At this point in time, I'm usually stepping back and letting the Custodian and his protectors handle the job, Mac took one last glance at his reflection in the mirror. He, Hunter and Nico had spent the day before finding suits that fit to attend the funeral.
It was fun to spend the day going out with Ari and the others to shop. He almost forgot the Adversary for a brief time while they laughed, teased, had lunch and picked out clothes. Today, the Adversary was very much on his mind, along with the fact that he was prepared to do battle—not for himself but for those he loved.
"A long way from what it's been in the past," he told himself and strode out of his bathroom to join the others.
"You clean up nice," Ari teased him. He grinned at her. The raven in him inspected the bits of black crystal beading on her jacket collar; they glinted in the morning light. Maybe he'd ask her to buy more clothes with sparkles—he liked it.
"We're meeting Esther at her place and driving from there," Val said. "They have two limos to carry those of us going inside the church and several black SUVs from Del's Department to carry the rest of us to the overflow pavilions. Ari?" he nodded to her, as an indication he was ready for transport.
"Here we go," Ari said, and pulled all of them with her to Senator Johnson's safe house in Austin.
Big John's eagle perched in a shaded space below the church's roof. Around his neck hung a pouch which held his cell phone and a lightweight pair of boxers. With the enhanced sight of his alternate form, he carefully watched early arrivals and the security setup surrounding the parking lot.
The rest of his clothing was roughly a mile away, stuffed in the notch of a tree. Shank and the others were parked in businesses outside the church property, searching for select vehicles. He'd relayed information to Shank after briefly becoming human on the church's roof, then turned to his eagle form and found a niche to hide.
With a high-profile funeral like this, the elite would be attending in droves, which made the job of finding the vehicles he wanted as simple as choosing food at a buffet.
He'd done this before—at football games, concerts and anywhere the public gathered in large numbers.
It was part of the reason he'd been in Austin before, and was snatched by those—things.
Lucky to be alive, he thought as a Maybach Cabriolet entered the parking lot.
"Got the Maybach's license plate," Shank's low voice sounded through the push-to-talk app on his phone. "We must be livin' right, boss. May be able to pick that one up today."
That's what Big John thought, too, since vehicles like the Maybach usually stayed in an alarmed garage or storage facility. Shank didn't expect a reply—he knew Big John didn't want to alert anyone to his presence by speaking aloud at this point—a crowd had already gathered and he needed to maintain silence.
And, if Big John were in human shape, he'd have a Bluetooth device in his ear to keep the other side of the conversation quiet. There was so much that nobody knew about him, and Big John liked to keep it that way.
"Vintage Rolls," Shank crowed. "They're comin' out of the garages today, just like you said they would."
"Have you ever worked in a bar before?" Assistant manager Richard Wayne asked the walk-in applicant.
Phyllis shook her head at the man interviewing her. "But the ad asked for a cook. I'm a good cook."
"Do you have a problem working in an establishment like this?" Richard waved an arm at the mostly-refurbished bar area of the nightclub.
"I don't."
"Does it bother you that this bar was attacked—and people died here?"
"It bothers me that innocent people were killed for no reason."
"Good answer," he offered her a tight smile. "It bothers me, too, and it really bothers the owner. She'd be doing this interview if she weren't out of town for a few days. Look, the bar won't be open for another two weeks, but frankly, we could use somebody to cook and clean while the rest of us are getting things back together. How about cooking lunch and dinner for the crew until then, and we'll see if you'll fit in."
"Like a trial run?"
"Yes. You can take a look at the menus today. Let me know if there's anything on it that you don't know how to make. We have dinner shows on Saturdays now and then, and we'll need special menus for those days."
Phyllis took the menus he handed her and skimmed them quickly. "I think I can make all this, and a lot of other things besides," she told him.
"All right. Come in tomorrow morning at eight; I'll send someone out to shop for supplies with you, since you're telling me the bus will drop you off here. You and Kenny can use the bar's van. Get everything you need to put
lunch and dinner together for at least three or four days."
"Thank you," Phyllis sounded breathless. "I appreciate your faith in me."
"We'll see you in the morning," Richard said. "Welcome aboard."
"What is that?" Janie breathed as the limo turned into the massive church parking lot. While the air had felt heavy all day, once they traveled onto the property, a sense of absolute dread gripped all of them.
Ari's warning tingle between shoulder blades had become a full-blown burning. She shuddered; Mac gripped her hand tightly, easing some of the tension.
"That's the Adversary's doing," Nico hunched his shoulders. "Just—do what you can to push it away from you."
Ari, Nico sent to her, remember what we talked about last night. It's important.
I will.
"It feels evil," Senator Johnson's mouth tightened as her dread mounted; she felt more than uncomfortable and she didn't have the imprint on her palm.
"At least Del wangled more seats inside for us," Ari sighed. "Nico, do you think the vamps and werewolves outside will be able to handle—whatever is coming?"
"I don't know," Nico appeared troubled. "This—they're not holding back, Ari."
"Maybe we should take Esther away from here," Janie breathed. "I don't think any of us are safe, but she's the most vulnerable."
"We can't let the Adversary know that we feel any of this—it will show our hand and convince him to be more subtle in the future," Mac told her. "We have enough people around her to provide protection—as well as we can, anyway."
"Janie, stop worrying," Esther patted her hand. "We'll either get through this or we won't."
"Look at those huge tents on the grounds," Val breathed while staring out the limo's window. "They're expecting a huge crowd. That's not good."
I don't like this at all, Ari informed Mac and Nico as she leaned forward to look out Mac's window.
We can't do anything about the crowd now, Nico sounded unhappy. We can only do our best. We can't save everybody, remember? We can only stand against the Adversary's minions and give as many people as we can a fighting chance.
"We're here," their driver announced through an intercom. He'd driven them to a side door of the church, beneath a portico. All the VIPs would be dropped off there while their limos and vehicles were parked in a roped off portion of the lot.
Val helped Esther from the car; Mac gave Janie his hand. Behind them, the second limo in their motorcade dropped off Erly, Hunter, Mona, Lance, Del, Laronda and Everette.
"Let's get inside—I feel like we have eyes on us," Mona shivered.
"Come on, then," Lance took her arm and pulled her into the church.
The vans following the limos had already broken away to drop Claudio and the other Scholars and guards off, including Kevin, Henry and several other werewolf ranch hands who'd volunteered.
They were assigned to watch the crowd and report any activity connected to the Adversary. The Scholars dispersed amid a growing human crowd, their guards following discreetly. Werewolves patrolled in twos around the perimeter, as if they were searching for a premium spot to view the funeral on the many large screens set up beneath tents.
"I never felt anything like this in my life," Henry observed as he and Kevin walked beneath a corner of the outermost tent. "Can't smell anything different, but there's something there, for sure."
"Yeah," Kevin's voice was close to a growl. "Like I want to rip into whatever it is, and it just isn't visible enough to attack."
"You think they're hiding in plain sight?"
"Hiding, no question. It's like they found a way to become invisible."
"I'm calling Val." Henry pulled his phone from a pants pocket.
"President's motorcade coming in," Kevin hissed as Henry held the phone to his ear.
"It's Henry. Give me a minute," Val stepped to the side of a hallway leading to the church's sanctuary.
The others stopped, too, allowing attendees who'd come in behind them to go ahead.
"Yeah?" Ari heard Val say softly into his phone. He listened for a few seconds before saying, "Okay, I'll let them know." He ended the call and blinked at Ari and Nico.
Henry says he thinks the enemy is here—he just can't see them or smell them.
I feel that way, too, Ari replied. Like they're all around, trying to suffocate us.
We've been working on concealing ourselves from sight, Nico turned to Ari. Do you suppose they've perfected it?
If that's the case, we could all be dead and just don't know it yet, Mac said. What they haven't been able to do so far is keep us from feeling their presence. Listen up, everybody. Keep your eyes and ears open. We could be surrounded already, and not know it.
Let's go, Nico said. The President is coming, and they'll want to clear this hallway for his use.
Darnell was invited to ride to the church with the President. Not only that, but the Rev and Belhar had also been asked to join President Horne and both Senators who'd come with him.
He was enjoying a drink in the back of the limo with the President and one of the Senators when they arrived at the church.
"Give my men a few minutes to clear the hallways," President Bertram Horne lifted his glass of whiskey to Darnell. "Can't be too careful, eh?" He emptied his glass before turning to Belhar and Benny Killebrew. "We'll be dismantling the Department that worries you so much," he told them.
"What Department is that? Did I miss something?" Darnell demanded.
"Nothing of importance," Belhar waved a hand, dismissing Cheatham's concern. "Just clearing the way—you know—for bigger and better things."
"To bigger and better," the President refilled his glass and lifted it. Darnell, still concerned and more than curious, schooled his expression and clinked his glass against the President's.
Nothing about this feels right, Mona reported. She and Lance were seated in the back row of the center section, on the end. Across the aisle, in the left section, Del and Laronda sat.
Halfway down the center section, Everette and Erly were seated, and two rows in front of them and on the opposite side, were Mac and Ari.
Esther, Val, Janie, Renault, Nico and Hunter sat in the second pew on the right side. So far, Senator Cheatham, who'd be sworn in as the next Governor, hadn't arrived with his entourage, and the President's front pew was also empty.
Around them, people spoke in whispers, but the gathered voices became a loud rumble that washed through the crowd. Ari caught low voices expressing their doubts regarding the Senator, and others voicing their support for Cheatham as Governor.
The bier at the center front already bore the Governor's casket—an elaborate, polished black box with gold and silver trim. His widow was seated front and center, with other family members around her.
Never stick me in one of those things, Ari indicated the expensive casket. Just have me cremated or leave me in Palo Duro Canyon to feed the birds and animals.
Ari, stop being morbid. It makes me uncomfortable, Mac chided. Today, especially.
The President is coming in, with Cheatham behind him, Val announced.
Does anyone else feel that vibration? Renault asked.
The floor is humming, Erly said. It ain't the church choir, either.
Something is happening outside, Claudio reported, before he shouted No! into everyone's mind. Demons are rising, he cried. They are everywhere.
"Turn!" Henry yelled as he ripped off his shirt and ran through the nearest tent with Kevin right behind him. "Get the kids out of here," he added before he became wolf and human speech was beyond him.
Kevin, following Henry's example, came out of his shirt quickly and became wolf, shedding the trousers he'd worn and leaving them on the grass as he dodged a screaming, fleeing crowd.
Before him, a winged demon erupted from the manicured lawn, long, talon-like fingers grasping for any human within reach. Kevin howled as a woman was snatched from her husband's arms and gobbled down while her blood dripped and smeared across t
he demon's grotesque features.
Without thinking, Kevin launched himself at the monster, tearing into its throat as it struggled to claw through his fur. In this instance, however, Kevin had the element of surprise on his side, as he gripped the thin neck in his jaws and clamped them shut.
Ari nearly tumbled into Mac as the humming vibration in the church's floor turned into something resembling an earthquake. Already, attendees were pushing and shoving to escape their pews and head for the doors.
Look at the President, Nico sounded alarmed.
There, standing beside the right, front pew, the President and his entourage were in the center of an unnatural calm. At that moment, both wide, double-sided doors into the sanctuary blew open, revealing four, ten-foot tall, winged demons, all of which had to duck beneath the opening to enter.
All the fleeing, screaming guests turned quickly and ran toward the back doors located on both sides of the pulpit and choir. Those doors also burst open, and demons flew in, snatching easy prey to devour before the real killing began.
Pews overturned as people crashed into one another, attempting to escape the carnage and commotion. Blood flowed down the aisles; Ari watched it as she and Mac knelt between pews to avoid attack.
We need a door opened, or they'll all die, Ari sent a desperate message as she and Mac flattened themselves to the floor to keep from being hit by two large demons.
We're closest to the outside doors, Lance said. Right now, we're under an overturned pew, but we can crawl to an open space.
So can we, Del reported.
Do it, Nico said. But stay hidden while you're doing it, or they'll be on you immediately. They're trying to draw us out, he warned. Don't reveal yourselves until I command it.
On it, Laronda called back as she and Del crawled between pews until they were positioned behind the carved, wood cubicle at the back that held sound and lighting boards. There, they waited for Lance and Mona to join them.
Raven, Red Page 35
