by Tom Keller
"On my way," he replied. "Give me 20 minutes."
"We've only got a little while before the cavalry arrives," I said, putting my phone back in my pocket. "If you've got anything to ask, or say, now's the time." I shook my head. "By the way, what's your name, anyway?"
"My names Kitlyn," she replied. "At least that's the name I was born with, everybody calls me Kitty these days, but I don't think you're gonna like what I have to say."
"Why's that?" I asked, watching her kneel down and examine the severed head.
"Because this is not the same creature that attacked us," she replied, getting up from her knees. "This one's got tusks. The one that ate Angela had horns."
"Well isn't that just dandy," I said, glaring down at what was left of the bodies. "Charlie, do a quick sweep. See if you can get any trace of the other one in the neighborhood. I'll handle things here. But don’t try to deal with it yourself if you find it. Come and get me. You've got 10 minutes, then meet me back here. We'll discuss our next move after Michael and Siegfried arrive." I looked back over at Kitlyn as Charlie headed out into the dark. "Anything else you can tell me about these things?"
"No. I didn’t know there was more than one," she replied, then her eyes got wide again and she started backing away from me slowly. "Wait a minute? You shouldn’t have been able to kill that thing so easily. Where did you get that sword? And who carries a pitchfork as a weapon? What kind of Fae are you anyway?"
"Oh, that's right," I said, a grin slowly forming. "I never did tell you my name, did I?" I stuck my hand out as if to shake hers. "I'm Robert Hoskins, but you can call me Robert."
"Robert Hoskins?" she asked, stepping back until the wall of the shed stopped her. "The Fae that lifted the spell that freed Ella and the rest of our kind? You're that Robert Hoskins? Oh, shit… this can’t be happening."
"Descendent of Demeter," I replied. "Yeah, that's the one. Although they usually call me the Lord of Hades these days. I hope that's not going to be a problem, because I'm going to need your help."
"I am so screwed," she said, slumping her shoulders. "All I wanted to do is to be left alone. Now Angela's gone and I run into you. I'll never get away from them, will I?"
"Actually, that's not true," I said, moving closer to her. I took one of her hands in mine. "I'm not here to take you back. I only need you for one little job."
"A job?" she asked.
"Yeah. Short term contract, then you're on your own. Pays better than anything else you'll find, I promise you that," I replied, leading her back to the motel.
"What kind of a job?" she asked, as we stood outside her door.
"I'll explain when I get back," I said, holding the door as she went in. "All I ask is that you hear me out. You don’t want to take it… no problem. But I need you to wait in your room until the others have left. Then we can talk. It's going to get busy out there in a minute, and while I trust the guys coming with my life, I get the feeling you don’t want anybody else knowing about you. Better to stay hidden. Remember, a secret isn’t a secret if more than two know. Well, except for Charlie of course. But you don't have to worry about him. Nobody but us would believe a talking dog anyway."
I closed the door and returned to the shed. Charlie showed up a few minutes later. Whatever dark magic the Witch had used to create these beasts also included a spell to keep them hidden. Super nose or not, even Charlie had his limitations, but don’t tell him I said that.
****
"So this is Circe's work," Michael commented as he walked around the creature.
"Yeah," I replied, tapping the severed head with my foot. "At least according to what I read in its blood. Pretty spry for something that’s over 250 years old. My sources say that there's at least one more out there, and there's no way to know if there are more."
"Pure Witchcraft," Siegfried remarked, studying the beast. "This is dark magic. The fruit does not travel far from the tree. She is as evil as her ancestor was. But why now? What does she seek here? She knows she is no match for Meredith and our forces."
"It's not Meredith she's interested in," I replied, glancing over at Charlie. "At least not in the short term."
"Then what?" Michael asked. "What haven't you told us?"
Like I explained to Kitlyn, I trusted these two with my life, so I gave them everything I knew about the second Eye, and most of what I'd learned about the missing Fae.
"That explains why you wanted to keep this off the grid," Michael said. "If the EAB learns that the jewel is out here, they'll be all over it. Word gets out, every dark Mage and asshole in the country will also be out searching for the gem."
"The Techno-Fae as well," Siegfried said. "If that is what the girl truly is, the EAB would not be the only one seeking out her services."
"Techno-Fae?" I repeated. "I've never heard that term before."
"That's because we've only just discovered they exist," Siegfried replied. "Or at least, we believe they do."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means some folks think that the Fae are evolving," Michael answered, throwing his arms up. "Look, it's just a theory from the EAB think tanks, and they aren’t letting it be known outside a few sections at the Agency. You know magic and technology don't work well together, but all you have to do is look at someone like Malcolm, or the Half-Elf we have working on our own team to see that that isn't always true."
"Okay," I agreed. "But part Fae or not, even a computer whiz like Malcolm can’t figure out how to integrate magic with a cell phone without it exploding six times out of ten, and this girl hasn't been showing a much better track record that I can see."
"Evolution does not occur overnight," Siegfried countered. "She may be just one more step in a new evolutionary line."
"Let's just hope she isn’t already in Circe's hands," Michael said.
"I don’t think that's the case," I said, walking around the beast's body. "Or this one wouldn’t have remained here waiting to see if she showed up again. I don’t think Circe realizes what she's dealing with. She's just after the jewel."
"If you are correct, then we must find her before she does," Siegfried said. "It would be folly to let her fall into the Witch's hands."
"Exactly," I replied. "And that's where I need your help."
"What is it you wish of us?" Siegfried asked, looking briefly at Michael before replying.
"Look," I began. "Like Michael said, this gets out and we'll have half the EAB out here searching for her, not to mention every dark Fae within a thousand miles. This girl's not stupid, she gets a whiff of that and she'll go underground. We'll never find her if that happens. What I need is help taking down any more of Circe's nightmares that are out here, plus any leads on the girl. But I need to get to her first. The jewel is a match for the one that Diantha wore and I need to find it. Once it's attuned to her, it won’t be a problem anymore."
"A risky move," Siegfried said, rubbing his beard. "These beasts are dangerous. If any humans are injured, we would be violating the terms of our agreement with the Federal Government by not notifying them of their existence."
"Everything I've learned says they aren’t interested in humans," I replied. "My source says they have a taste for magical beings and seem to be leaving the humans alone."
"That would make sense," Michael said, looking back at Siegfried. "Circe's no fool. She'd want to avoid any government entanglements. Humans would be off limits on an op like this. That's what I'd do if I was running it."
"Very well," Siegfried said. "Michael can put a small team together to assist you. But I will have to clear it with Meredith, although with Circe involved, I doubt she will have a problem. What is your plan?"
"The car caper put her on notice," I replied. "Nikki's processed the scene at the house so she knows the cops have been there. I figure she'll lay low for a while. Which is good for us because I doubt she's going to want to draw too much attention to herself until things quiet down. Unfortunately, while it's a priority, it's not
the only thing I'm dealing with. I'll have Charlie and a few of my people searching the area. They can contact me though Sendy if they get a solid lead. This is her territory. Unless she gets spooked, I doubt she's going to stray far from the Boulder Strip. I think we should concentrate our search for her and any other of Circe's goons down here. You handle the larger properties and the hunting of the beasts, and I'll have Charlie and my folks keep to the dives. One of us is bound to turn up something."
"That works for me," Michael said. "But what about Jay? Does he know about this?"
"Demon hunter or not, Jay's an agent of the EAB," I replied. "I'm not going to get him involved unless I absolutely have to. As for Nikki, she's already in the loop about the girl. She finds anything useful, I'll have to tell her the rest. Fortunately, O'Malley will be just as glad not to be in the know, unless of course Circe finds her first. Then we'll have Hell to pay. Of course, if that happens, it won't matter anyway, the girl will be the least of our problems."
"Business as usual, then, "Michael said with a grin.
"Yeah, pretty much," I agreed. "But there's one more thing I need to mention."
"Why am I not surprised?" Michael asked.
"Others are taking notice of me," I said, clearing my throat. "I don’t think it's the jewel, more likely it's me taking over the role of Hades. Hell, I don't know. Maybe this girl's appearance has been noticed. But in the last week, or so, I've met representatives of several of the old realms. Including the Egyptians, the Tuatha Dé Danann, and Hell itself. We really need to keep a low profile on this one." Okay, once again I wasn't being entirely honest, Satan did contact me because of the jewel, or at least I think that's why. Now I'm not so sure. He did know of the girl, even if he claimed to not be aware of what she was.
"Strange that we have not heard more of this," Siegfried said. "We know that certain Egyptian Fae do business here, as do Demons. It would not be unreasonable to say that they keep tabs on what we are doing, and it has been a long time since a God reigned in Hades. Not that they have ever shown any malice towards us, but I would have expected O'Malley to tell us if the Tuath Dé are showing an interest here. Druid he may be, but his allegiance has always been to us."
"Unless he doesn’t know," I remarked. "The contact I had with them was up in Utah, but I thought it was worth mentioning. The one I met was pretending to be something else, but I'm pretty sure she had an interest in what I was doing up there."
"What were you doing up there?" Michael asked, a sly smile on his lips.
"Testing out a four-wheeler I'm thinking of using down in Hades," I replied. "Cornwall has a contact up there so that's where I went to pick it up. Anyway, I'm sure it's not related, but I figured you guys should be aware they're around."
"I will let Meredith know of your concern," Siegfried said, just as a black SUV pulled up in front of the lot and flashed its lights. He looked down at his watch. "Ah. Michael's team has arrived. I told them to give us a half hour. They are, of course, right on time."
As I followed Siegfried and Michael to the fence line to meet up with his team, I noticed a car's headlights in the distance. It had pulled over near ZZ Exotics on the other side of the highway. Before I could get a good look, it made a sharp turn to the left and, with tires squealing, headed up Fremont towards Sahara. Even my Fae eyes can’t see through buildings, and by the time I got to the roadway it was gone. But I'd remember it if I saw it again. I let the matter rest, not mentioning it to the others as they made their way to remove the body of the beast and what was left of the Demon.
At Siegfried's suggestion, Michael was going to leave a few of his folks to comb the area. Just in case the other beast showed up. That was fine with me. That was one thing less I had to worry about. When they left, I made a phone call. Then I took a short trip home to stop by the safe in my office. When I returned, Charlie was waiting.
"Why the Lilin?" he asked.
"She's a survivor," I replied. "And I like her too. She's got spirit, and she's right, Ella's putting pressure on the rest of her kind to join her as she consolidates them into a political force. Not that I blame her, but even Delia's fallen under her spell. Politics will be the death of us all. We could use an independent Lilin on our team. This one will be a good resource once she remembers what she's capable of. She's still thinking like a victim, we need to change that."
Delia had been the first Lilin I'd ever met. Back in the old days when she'd worked at Danu's, the local Fae bar. We'd been close, for a while, but she'd moved on when Ella took control as the senior Lilin Elder. Maybe that's part of why I liked this girl. In some ways she reminded me of her. Oh, not the street hooker part, but I knew there was something inside her that just needed to be let out.
****
"You want me to what?" Kitlyn asked, sucking in her breath. "Are you out of your mind. What if one of those things comes back. I already told you what it did to Angela, and you saw what it did to Kenny. I haven’t lived for over 300 years by being stupid. No way! It's too dangerous."
"Just wait a minute, " I replied. "You haven't heard the whole story, or my offer yet."
"Money's no good to me if I'm dead," she replied. "I’m doing just fine giving blow jobs, and I can feed at the same time. This place may be a shithole but at least I stay alive."
"I'm sure Angela felt the same way," I added. "But it didn't work out too well for her, did it? Bad things happen all the time, especially in crappy places like this. Contrary to what you might think, I'm not here to put you in danger. I've got some friends putting together a little hunting party for any more of those things that show up, and Charlie will be with you. First sign of trouble, he pulls you out. All I need you to do is find the girl, Charlie can take it from there."
"And what if I say no?" she asked. "I suppose you'll drop a dime on your friend, Ella, and let the Lilin proper know where I'm at."
"I already told you I wasn't here to turn you over," I said, sighing. "You say no and we walk out the door. You want to live out the rest of your life feeding on sweaty old men and crackheads like you have the last 300 years, knock yourself out. Charlie and I will forget you ever existed. Now and forever, you'll be on your own again, for whatever that’s worth. But you might want us to stay a bit longer and hear our offer. It might just change your mind, and your life."
"I can’t believe I'm doing this," she said a few seconds later. "Fine… I doubt it's going to make any difference but go ahead, lay it out for me."
"First," I said, reaching into my pocket. I dropped a stack of twenties on the bed between us. "Ten grand expense money. There's more where that came from when you run out, but it's a start. You'll have to use some of it to buy a few things when you get yourself a better place. Someplace that's not a shithole. It's best you move out of this dump soon since we killed one of those creatures next door. Oh, and you'll need a car too."
"That's your first mistake," she said, eyeing the money. "I can’t find a better place or buy any car that's decent. Anything outside of shithole status requires a credit check, and I can’t pass one. No banks, no credit cards. Cash only. Even my phone is pay in advance."
"Not a problem," I replied, handing her the card I'd taken out with the money. "You dial this number. Give them your name and tell them what kind of car you want. They'll have the car delivered along with housekeys to a safer place. Don’t worry, the rent and utilities are on me."
"Just like that," she said, cocking her head. "All that for a girl? She must be someone important if you're willing to pay that."
"Important?" I repeated. "Not in the way you think. What she is, is in trouble. She just doesn't know it yet. But she does have something I want, and those two things make it vital that I find her."
"How do you know you can trust me?" she asked. "For all you know, I'll find her and sell the information to someone else."
"You could do that," I agreed. "But I think you're smarter than that. Anyone else looking for her would be like the Witch that created the beast th
at ate your friend. Not someone I'd trust, and I'm betting someone over 300 years old is smart enough not to trust anyone like that either. Besides, you haven't heard what I'm offering if you do find her."
"And what's that?" she asked, pushing a few twenty-dollar bills around the bedspread.
"I can’t order the Lilin to leave you alone," I said, leaning toward her. "There were no strings attached when I freed your kind. But I can tell them that you’re under my protection, and that's enough to get them to forget about bothering you for as long as you want. I'll even throw in your rent and car as a bonus. A real job too, if that's something you're interested in. I'm always looking for good people. Don’t have to take that one either, you can walk away after if you don’t like it. That's as close to being free as anyone can get these days. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?"
"All that for a girl?" she asked again.
"Yep," I replied, leaning closer again. "All that for a girl. So, are you in?"
"I always knew Fae were strange," she said, picking up twenties and stacking them in front of her. "But you’re the strangest one I've ever met, and a God at that. Damn right I'm in." She pointed to Charlie. "But I want the talking dog with me when I go. I don’t care if your friends are hunting them. I'd feel better with him at my side."
"Works for me," I said, glancing over at Charlie. "It should be safe enough tonight. My friends left a few hunters in the area. I'll send him over in the morning. We've still got a few things to do before we can call it a night."
She just nodded and went back to counting twenties.
Chapter 13
We'd hit a few of the local bars up the Highway with no success and then headed for home. I think I got about two hours sleep before Charlie woke me up.
"You heading out?" I asked, groggily.
"Not yet," he replied, moving to the window. "There is another matter. A vehicle down the street. Someone watches the house."
"Why am I not surprised?" I mumbled, sliding out of bed. I made my way to the dresser and slid on a pair of pants. "Any idea who?"
