by T S Paul
“Get the hell off my desk! And stop gaping at the little girls!” Melissa yelled. “Damn perverts. Aren’t you morons supposed to be working right now?”
Like a flock of startled seagulls, the men scattered in all directions. Here in the lobby, Melissa was a force to be reckoned with.
“Idiots,” she muttered to herself as she took her seat. Melissa scanned the desktop and all her telltales, carefully looking for intrusions. Finding none, she opened the right-handed drawer. Reaching all the way to the back of it, she flicked a hidden switch. Her computer and desk systems suddenly powered up and all the lights came on. “Nobody messes with my stuff.”
Pulling out a memory stick she had received from the IT boys, Melissa plugged it into her system. “Let’s see what this gives me access to.”
Her system opened to the normal screen showing her the internal network, but now there were several new access ports as well as command authorization access to what looked like all the files in the FBI itself. Smiling, Melissa powered up her secondary screens and went to work.
After an hour of research, she had most of what Blake wanted from her, including the former director’s itinerary and probable location. Quickly typing up a memo, she forwarded the information. Leaning back in her chair, she stretched her arms into the air and yawned, looking around at the same time. The guards were all in their proper places and none within twenty feet of her. She picked up her cell phone and dialed an out of state number.
The phone rang exactly four times before it was picked up. Utter silence was on the other end. “It’s me. I have the access we need and the proof she was right.”
Melissa hung up, shoving the phone back into her purse. The day wasn’t over and there was a ton of work still to do.
Former Director Madeline Mills was in trouble. She and her assistants, the Bs, had undertaken an off-the-books assignment just as the Demon incursion in California was gaining speed. The goal was to wipe out a Demon cult group in Los Angeles. Getting in wasn’t the issue. Neither was taking care of business. No, the biggest problem was leaving the city. It was nearly impossible.
Refugees from all over southern California had piled into the city when word got out about the Demons. Power, water, and most city services were non-existent, or depleted so badly they might as well have been. Trouble started almost immediately. No police meant trouble, and the gangs took advantage. Now half the city was on fire and nobody seemed to care.
“Nothing?” Madeline asked her small team.
Betty shook her head. “Nothing. The army has all the roads in and out blockaded and the navy holds the ports. I doubt a dingy could launch without being taken out. And that was even before the President was killed.”
“Ma’am, I tried contacting Arcane using the backchannel we set up, but they’ve either gone dark or aren’t responding on purpose. I know of one older safe house here in the city but if they are against us...Well you know...We might have to go in hot,” Beatrice explained.
Madeline rubbed her forehead. This was a bigger problem than before. A government switchover she could handle, but not losing all her resources! There were too many plots within plots happening here. “Arm up. We’ll try the safe house. They don’t know we’re in the city so maybe, just maybe, the enemy won’t be prepared. You never know, it might be empty.”
Beatrice’s safe house was located in the Hollywood Hills area. It was almost in the Santa Monica Mountains. The entire area was sparsely populated, primarily because of who lived there. Movie stars liked their privacy and usually had huge houses on huge lots. Arcane had purchased this house in the 1950s when the area was mostly undeveloped. At the time, their closest neighbor was Errol Flynn. The action star had been a secret financier of Arcane contributing money and providing access to the movie industry.
“Is that it?” Madeline asked. They’d stolen a car out of the mall parking lot and driven up to the neighborhood.
The house itself was a sprawling ranch-style house overlooking the Cahuenga Pass. It was surrounded by a large stone wall, complete with gate and cameras. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem out of place on the street.
“Yup, looks just like it did the last time I was here,” Beatrice replied.
“And when was that?” Madeline asked her.
Betty looked at her twin and smiled. Beatrice smiled back before looking at her boss. “A few years before we joined you at the FBI, we were tasked with infiltrating the Fod group here in the hills.”
“Fod? Do I want to know?” Mills asked.
Betty explained, “Fod was the name of a guy. He’d founded a commune up here and changed his name to Father Fod. Opened a restaurant as well. It was the 1970s and he took advantage of the hippie movement. It would have been OK, but some of his wives were occultists. There were rumors of Demonic rituals, so we were sent in to look around.”
“Wives? As in more than one? How many did he have?” Mills asked.
“Around a dozen. Everyone in his compound would walk around in robes all the time. Word was Fod was pretty virile. Betty would know more about that than I would,” Beatrice replied.
Madeline looked toward the other B in shock. “Betty?”
Betty’s ears were a bit pink, but she could only smile. “It wasn’t just me! I’m not the one that convinced the man to move to Hawaii, now, am I?”
Beatrice just rolled her eyes. “Anyway. We investigated and found nothing other than too many women and lots of vegan food. While we were here we used this place as a home base. Fod was always on the lookout for followers with extra money. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been here. My codes were some of the first imputed though. They might work still.”
“Mmm. Arcane isn’t known for getting rid of usable assets. We can only try. Go ahead and pull up,” Mills directed.
Betty drove up the street and pulled the small SUV up to the keypad by the gate. Beatrice told her what to input.
There was a click and the gates began to slowly open.
“I can’t believe you actually used that number!” Betty exclaimed.
“Why not? My cover name was Jenny. It was the easiest number not to lose. All I had to do was hum the song,” Beatrice explained.
“But operational security. Didn’t anyone question it?” Betty asked.
Beatrice snorted. “Like those stiff shirts back then listened to popular music. We got in, didn’t we?”
“Yes, we did ladies. Now gear up, if you can. I doubt anyone inside will be happy to see us,” Madeline checked her sidearm and slid it into the holster on her hip.
The driveway was circular, allowing those inside the house to see any car that entered. Rather than slowly drive in, Betty gunned it, racing to the door of the house.
The SUV had barely come to a stop before all three women bailed out. The front door opened before any of them could react. A trio of automatic rifles were pointed at the group from inside. A woman’s voice asked, “Who the hell are you?”
Chapter 7
“What do you do to survive?”
Agnes’s words froze me almost as much as the energy cage where she’d just trapped me. Instinctively, I wanted to blast my way out of it, but common sense overcame those thoughts. Tossing a fireball in here would turn this thing into a gigantic oven. Cooking to death didn’t sound like fun. Instead, I thought to create my own oxygen. I’d had thermodynamics in school, so I knew that nothing came for free in this life, but maybe I could convert something. Muttering to myself, I cast a mass conversion spell, transforming my shoes and light jacket to pure oxygen. It was my thought that the richer the environment inside the box would give me more time to think up another solution.
As my spell triggered, there was a hum and a flash of light inside the cage. Agnes’s eyes widened ever so slightly. I could feel power coming from her as she analyzed the changes I’d wrought. Bracing myself, I prepared for more attacks.
“Interesting. Why didn’t you teleport out?” Agnes asked me.
At the sa
me time, I opened up my mage sight and the tiny bit of foresight I possessed. Then I took a hard look at the cage. If I tried this, that would happen. Glancing at the old Witch, I started to run all my options.
Agnes tapped her ear. “Can’t hear me? Or are you just ignoring me?”
There didn’t seem to be any gaps in the cage, but Defender suggested that I try and affect the world outside of it. If I could do that, there was a possibility of escape.
I looked through the glowing walls and could see that Cat was still frozen. Feeling her through the Pack sense we shared, I knew in my heart she was completely aware of her surroundings. That, and I could see her eyes moving. Channeling Magick through Defender, I broke the freeze spell and set my friend loose.
With a screech, Cat hit the floor and continued her attack toward Agnes. Shifting into her Warrior form in seconds, Cat’s three-inch claws were millimeters from Agnes’s head when the older Witch froze my friend yet again!
Proof showed me a spell I didn’t know just as Cat attacked, and using it I was able to teleport out of the cage. Half of my body’s energy had been sucked away, using two advanced spells at practically the same moment. I stumbled and almost fell when I popped into being on the outside.
“So you were listening, good. Completely drained and helpless isn’t how you should be during battle, Agatha. I would have thought the Council and Marcella had taught you better than that,” Agnes speculated.
She cast some sort of analysis cantrip because I could feel it crawl across my body like a horde of tiny spiders. Poking and pricking, the spell reached deep inside of me until Defender finally stopped it. Some parts of me were my business and my business alone.
“Nobody touches this Witch!” I countered.
“As well it should be. Your training is lacking, young Witch. If you had stayed within the confines of the Coven it would be much more robust now. Separation at such a young age isn’t always a good idea,” Agnes said as she held up her hand to me. “I do understand the reasoning, though. Camilla was a poison that our Coven didn’t need. Would you care to hear my analysis?”
“Uh, what?” It was all I could do but stare at the woman. One moment she was attacking me and the other she wanted...what from me?
“Training,” my bracelets said as one. “Learn from this one.”
Without thinking, I looked down at my arms. “What are you saying?”
Neither of the golden bracelets replied to me. Giving them a shake, I thought the question at them but received nothing in return.
“I expect they’ve told you the truth of things. Verity told me they were like that, but I think they have a much better rapport with you than they had with her,” Agnes explained.
Taking a deep breath to center myself, I waved a hand at Cat, breaking her free again. “Cat, stand down. This was a training exercise, I think.”
Cat landed with a thump on all fours. Her warrior form was just as large as her Sabertooth one. She growled out a reply I didn’t understand completely, but the gist of it was, “Some warning was in order.”
“If I had told you, the reaction you had wouldn’t have been true,” Agnes replied to the growl. “Marcella told me as much as she could, but I really needed to see for myself.”
“Grandmother put you up to this?” I asked her. My hands were still shaking from the exertion. Secretly, I made a vow to not allow Fergus as much rope as I did. I really could’ve used the boost his powers gave me.
“She did indeed, child. While Marcella trained you quite well, she didn’t know the extent of your power. None of us truly did,” Agnes replied. “Camilla did all of us a huge disservice, depriving the Coven of your Magick. All of us understand that now. To begin to fix this mess she created, I’ve volunteered to teach you what I know. While Marcella has more power than me, I have more specialized training. Plus I’ve actually seen some of what those bracelets can do and what they mean.”
Raising my arm, I touched the bracelet in question. “Mean? They’re Guardian bracelets, aren’t they?”
Agnes wobbled her hand. “Yes and no. It depends upon your situation and who is confronting you.”
I looked over at Cat. Like me, she had a puzzled expression on her face. “I don’t understand.”
“Let’s go upstairs to my apartment and we can talk. The things in here...Let’s just say they can get suggestive sometimes. Come with me,” Agnes motioned us to a set of stairs I only just noticed.
“Are you sure about this, Aggy? She did just try to kill us,” Cat asked me.
“If she wanted us dead, we’d be dead already. My grandmother trusts her and she is part of the Coven. As a whole they don’t hate me, at least not yet,” I explained.
“They don’t,” Agnes commented. The older Witch was halfway up what looked to be a short flight of stairs. She was bending down and motioning to us. “You ladies coming?”
Climbing the stairs, we followed Agnes into what looked like a Victorian palace! Finely carved and upholstered couches and chairs were scattered about. For some reason, it made me think of a steampunk movie Chuck had shown us once. The one with the gigantic robot spider.
“Like it?” Agnes asked us.
I nodded to her. “I do. It’s like a movie set or something. What do you think, Cat?”
Cat had her nose in the air and was sniffing at something. She kept turning her head one way then the other.
“Cat, what’s wrong?” I asked her.
“Strange Were. It smells funny somehow...Like a tiger but...not,” she explained. Cat bent down on one knee and sniffed the floor. “Remember when we went to that zoo in St. Louis? It reminds me of something from there.”
I shot Agnes a look but only got a smile in return. She might be a well-respected Witch in the Coven, but her games were starting to piss me off! Cat was now completely prone, sniffing several items of furniture. I spoke to her, looking for clarification. “Which something? That place was really huge.”
And it was, too. The zoo there took up a huge part of the city’s Forest Park area. About half the animals had an adverse reaction to both Cat and Chuck. More so Cat. Mongo had once told me that even his internal bear was scared of my diminutive partner. Animals knew when the ultimate predator was nearby.
“Nothing from North or South America. I’ve smelled all the predators around here. Dad’s got those panther and jaguar friends that visit from time to time. They’ve brought me samples from home. Dad always said it was good to have a well-rounded sniffer. No, this is something else,” Cat explained as she got to her feet and started exploring the room.
“Could it be a lion or something from Africa?” I asked her.
Cat’s head jerked toward me suddenly. “Lions rarely leave their Prides. If one was here it would have lots of attendants and I only smell one thing here. It’s not a lion.”
“I should hope not. Lions are too fussy and prideful, anyway.” A strange dark-skinned man with a handsome face stepped into the room.
Almost instantly, I had a fireball in one hand and my weapon in the other. Cat was halfway to her warrior form when Agnes stopped us.
“Stop! He’s a friend,” the old Witch cried out, her hand raised to freeze my friend.
This time I was ready, and managed to block anything she might send. Her face had a look of shock about it as my shield settled down over her. A similar wall of power slid into place near the stranger.
“How did you…” Agnes trailed off for a moment. I could almost hear her brain processing my actions. Her shock faded and an even bigger smile than before graced her face. “Excellent. This will be far easier than I was led to believe. Ladies. Meet Sebastian. He’s both my friend and like your Unicorn, my familiar.”
“Familiar? You can’t have people as familiars, can you?” I asked her, my spells forgotten.
Agnes motioned to my hands. “Put your defenses away and I’ll explain. It’s perfectly safe. Sebastian won’t harm you.”
I reabsorbed the fire in my hand as I repl
aced my handgun in the small-of-the-back holster I used. Kept in the seven o’clock position on my hip, it didn’t hurt too much when I sat down. FBI Agents are required to be armed at all times. Even Magickal ones such as myself. Mentally, I dropped the blocking shields, reinforcing my own at the same time. A thin layer of protection hugged my skin like a wetsuit.
Cat’s face relaxed as she willed her beast away, but her hand didn’t stray far from her weapon. I was fast, but she was even faster when she wanted to be. Sniffing the air, she confirmed that Sebastian was the Were she’d smelled.
Sebastian crossed the room and gave Agnes a hug. His eyes were constantly moving and never let either of us out of his sight. The way he moved reminded me of some of the military at the Academy. This man was dangerous, regardless of what Agnes said. Concentrating, I attempted to convey my feelings at least to Cat through the Pack bond. We needed to watch him.
Cat turned her head away from watching the duo and gave me a long, positive look. She got some of what I was trying to convey, at least.
Agnes slid onto one of the couches with her supposed familiar beside her. “Please have a seat.”
I took a seat on the couch opposite her, but Cat circled the room like a predator watching her prey, taking a long sniff as she went by. Nodding, she sat beside me.
“Talk,” I replied.
“As I said earlier downstairs, I’ve been selected to train you. The bracelets you wear are the badge of office of a Guardian. Verity, while owning the bracelets and using them, never completely unlocked the power and assistance that they contain. She knew there was something there, though. She could feel it, and once told me that it was like that memory you may have lost. It’s on the very tip of your tongue, but you cannot either remember it or taste it for what it truly is,” Agnes explained. “Together, Verity and I researched it, finding only the barest bits of information. History as a whole has forgotten their true purpose. But I know enough to attempt to help you.”