by Kal Aaron
“No Eclipse is fine by me. I think I can take anyone who is hiding behind monsters in a fight. Give me the details. Where are our critters?”
“Last night, two internet personalities went into an abandoned copper mine in Cochise County not far from Bisbee.”
“Internet personalities?”
“Two college kids who have an internet show,” Damien clarified.
“Okay. Keep going.”
Damien frowned. “It was part of a stupid stunt for their channel. They were attacked in the mine shortly after entry. One guy was taken down and is presumed dead, and the other fled. He lost his phone, but he made it to his car, so he could go get help from the local sheriff’s department. Because they reported a monster attack, local law enforcement didn’t enter the mine, feeling they were not adequately prepared.”
“That probably saved their lives.” Lyssa nodded. “What did our arcane evil beastie look like? What could it do?”
Damien replied, “He didn’t get a good look, and without the phone, there’s no way of knowing. From what he said, it grabbed his friend somehow, but there were no reports of fireballs, webs, acid spit, or that kind of thing. Sharp teeth were the main weapon.”
“And we’re sure this guy didn’t just kill his friend and use the monster excuse to cover it up?” Lyssa asked. “I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time since M-Day someone used ‘evil sorcery’ to cover up their crimes.”
Damien shook his head. “Our survivor didn’t escape unscathed. His clothes were torn, and he had puncture wounds in a weird diamond shape that looked like teeth marks.”
“Sounds like a snake to me,” Lyssa stated.
“A snake that bit him in an oval of diamond-shaped marks?” Damien raised an eyebrow. “And his lab tests came back suggesting venom. He’s still in the hospital. Right now, they say he’ll pull through, but he’s lucky to be alive.”
“And these guys have been checked out already?” Lyssa made a circle with her hand. “Background checks, standard investigation stuff?”
Damien nodded. “The FBI and the local sheriff’s department have already done a preliminary probe of the guys, but they haven’t had time to do anything deep. Everything they’ve seen indicates these were idiot college kids from California. They have minor misdemeanor records for nuisance arrests because they are obsessed with pranks for their channel, but nothing remotely like faking a murder or even close to a felony.” He frowned. “And I have a hard time believing the survivor let himself get chewed up and poisoned versus just shooting someone if this was about murder.”
“You make a persuasive case,” Lyssa agreed.
“The sheriff’s department contacted the EAA directly and begged for a Torch,” Damien said. “In their words, ‘There’s no way we’re sending our guys in there to get eaten by hellhounds.’”
Lyssa thought that over for a second before nodding. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good, old-fashioned monster hunt.” She clapped once. “Fun times. No one bitches or complains about excessive force when you blow away a monster. I assume you’ve gotten full approval from the Society?”
“Samuel has signed off on the contract, but he’s made it clear that if you don’t want the job, he’d be willing to wait to assign another Torch, given there’s no evidence the monsters have spread outside the mine.” Damien nodded at his desk phone. “We’ve got some aerial drone coverage and no sign of movement from the mine. There are a lot of unknowns on this one. I will understand if you’re nervous about it after what happened last time.”
“There’s no way in hell I’m passing this up,” Lyssa replied. “And there’s a chance the other guy’s still alive. We might be able to score a rescue out of this.”
“Really?” Damien sounded doubtful.
“Some monsters like to keep snacks on hand,” Lyssa explained.
“I didn’t need to hear that.” Damien grimaced.
“Hey, just saying. You’ve contracted yourself a Torch. Now, tell me where this mine is and send me any information you have.”
Chapter Eight
Lyssa saw no reason to sit on her butt for a single second when there were monsters to kill. After a quick trip home to collect more magazines, she used her shard compact mirror to send a message to Samuel requesting any information he had on the mine. After waiting exactly thirty minutes and getting no response, she used her standard wraith form and thinning combination to escape from her house unnoticed.
She revved her bike and smiled. Taking down monsters was the exercise she needed to get back into full form.
“This is working out better than I could have planned,” she said as she hit the highway.
“The appearance of monsters is to your benefit?” Jofi replied. “In some way other than direct compensation?”
“Sure. If I move fast on this, I can clear out these monsters and the rogue before the Society swipes my glory by sending in an Eclipse.” Lyssa grinned. “Then they’ll have no choice but to let me go to Last Remnant. When was the last time a Torch took down two rogues back to back?”
“You can’t be sure a rogue is involved,” Jofi said.
“I get that. Some Shadow could have gotten his hands on a shard and it mutated a local creature, but there’s a good chance a rogue is involved.”
“That’s the other thing that surprises me. Your enthusiasm for finding and battling rogues suggests you’re confident you can win against them. This job might be far more dangerous than you anticipate.”
“This time, I’m not walking into a trap.” Lyssa scoffed. “And nobody’s going to start something major by randomly sending monsters to an old abandoned mine in the middle of nowhere. If it’s not some idiot who got his hand on a weird potion or shard, it’s most likely an idiot Sorcerer who let things get out of hand and thought he’d found a place he could experiment without getting caught.”
“I would continue to advise caution,” Jofi replied.
“Fair enough, and I don’t intend to let my guard down,” Lyssa replied. Some of her confidence left after a thought crept into the edge of her mind. “There is one thing that bothers me about this.”
“What’s that?” Jofi asked.
“Why were the two guys there? Why did two random California college students decide to go to an abandoned mine in Arizona?”
Lyssa changed lanes, zooming past a minivan full of excited children gesturing her way. Their father kept nervously checking his mirrors as if she might kill them all on a whim. She never knew how someone might react to seeing her, but she was going so fast that the entire encounter was over in seconds, the minivan soon far in her rearview mirror.
“You suspect something?” Jofi asked. “You think the victims weren’t innocents?”
“I don’t know what to think,” Lyssa replied. “Looking at what sticks out is the best bet in an investigation, but it’s not the only bet. It might be bad luck, or there could be something more. I’m guessing there are one or two small hydras or overgrown rats with weird jaws in the mine. The solution’s the same either way. We blow them away and flush out the creator. Easy.”
“I suppose we’ll see.”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little hope.”
Lyssa slowed her bike as she approached the low plastic fence blocking off the front of the mine. It extended far enough to meet the rock outcroppings. A gap in the middle was blocked by a sheriff’s department cruiser.
The fence looked new and hastily constructed. She doubted it’d do a great job of stopping javelinas, let alone monsters, but it’d discourage people from entering at least.
A rotting wooden entrance below a dusty nearby hill led directly into the mine. Rusty pieces of metal littered the area, including a hole-filled cart that was probably older than Samuel. Fresh wooden boards lined the entrance of the mine, but anyone with good boots could kick their way inside. Much like the fence, the new construction wasn’t going to keep any monsters inside.
Two deputies were leaning a
gainst the back of the car. They waved at Lyssa.
Lyssa considered the fence and the boards— flimsy unbroken defenses pointed to monsters unwilling to come outside and escape. That was promising for containment.
She stopped her bike near the deputies, killed her engine, and brought down the kickstand. The deputies watched her with curiosity and without the angry scowls that had marked her last major police encounter and her recent trip to the federal building.
Instead, she saw something she hadn’t expected on their faces: obvious relief. While she’d eventually developed a good relationship with the authorities in San Diego, it’d taken years. She’d expected every cop in Arizona to distrust her until she did something ridiculous like saving a truckload of cute puppies on live television. It was nice to have people start with a positive attitude.
One of the deputies advanced. His nametape read Ortiz.
“I’d ask for ID, but I don’t think many people could fake that look,” Ortiz said with a chuckle. “Weird. You can see the shadows around you even during the day, huh?” He stared at her. “What do we call you? Hecate? Miss Hecate? Torch Hecate?”
“Hecate is fine,” she replied, glancing at his partner, who was reaching into his pocket.
The other deputy, Adams, pulled out a notepad and pen. “Uh, I don’t know if I have to pay or call the EAA for permission, but can I have an autograph?” He held it out with a nervous look.
Lyssa stared at him. Part of her wanted to give a spooky speech about embodying darkness and being the enemy of all who would threaten its peace, but instead, she took the notepad and scribbled, Keep arresting criminals and be safe. Hecate. She handed it back with a shrug.
“Thanks,” Deputy Adams said with a grin. “My son is going to worship me for this. He’s so excited we’ve got a Torch in Arizona. He talks about you and that stuff in Houston all the time. I don’t think he quite gets that he can’t train to be a Torch yet, but hey, I figure I can get him to be the next best thing—a cop.”
Lyssa smiled. Maybe the next generation of Shadows wouldn’t fear the Illuminated. An autograph was a small price to pay to help that happen, but she was here for something more important than her fan club.
“That’s nice, but let’s get down to business.” Lyssa nodded at the mine. “The EAA gave me a briefing, but I’d like to hear yours in case they were filtering something I need to hear.”
She wasn’t trying to throw Damien under the bus, but she couldn’t ignore what had happened with the shard case. Not being surprised meant gathering all the information she could.
Ortiz brought his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. “The victims arrived last night, Jake Colmes and Lucky Nardi, both age twenty. Those are their real names, by the way. According to the survivor, Nardi, they got here shortly after sundown. They were in the mine for only fifteen minutes before they were attacked. Colmes got dragged off by a monster Nardi couldn’t make out clearly. He was also attacked, but he made it back to their car, drove to town, and flagged down help. He passed out from his wounds shortly after explaining what had happened. He’s lucky to be alive.”
“And none of your people have been in there since the incident?” Lyssa asked. “I see you guys set up boards, but I’m talking about getting in far enough that you can’t see the entrance.”
Adams laughed. “Sorry, ma’am, but hunting demons isn’t why I became a cop. That’s way above my pay grade.”
Lyssa shook her head. “Let’s be clear about this. Whatever’s in there isn’t a demon. Presuming it isn’t a rabid coyote or an overgrown snake, it’s nothing more than a creature that has been enhanced by sorcery by some fool who should have known better. It’s dangerous, but I can kill it.”
Adams waved his hands in front of his face. “Look, I got no problem with you people, and I’m glad you’re here. I’ve got a family and I got my son, and I can’t go in there and get my head bit off by some weird freaky monster, especially one with a venomous bite.”
Lyssa turned to Ortiz. “That didn’t answer my initial question. How about you? What do you have to say?”
“The sheriff made it clear deputies were to secure the area while he contacted the EAA,” Ortiz replied and inclined his head toward the trunk. “If any monsters come out of the mine, we were ordered to see what we can do with our shotguns and rifles, but otherwise, we were just supposed to make sure looky-loos and reporters didn’t sneak in and get themselves eaten.”
“And no one has snuck in?”
He shook his head. “No, ma’am. We’ve had total coverage. The department has been taking shifts in teams of two. Oh, and the sheriff said if he couldn’t get a Sorc, he was going to request the National Guard.”
“In other words, we’ve got nothing besides the half-dead survivor to tell us what we’re dealing with,” Lyssa said. “But at least we know a couple of things.”
“What’s that?”
“Whatever it is wants to stay in there.” Lyssa pulled out a baton and extended it. The men didn’t react. She pointed the weapon at the mine. “It’s comfortable in the dark and can see or smell well enough to hunt prey in low-light conditions, but it didn’t come out after the survivor. That could mean something, assuming it’s not just guarding a small patch of territory.” She nodded at the mine. “This happened last night, which means it had hours of both dark and light. That suggests there’s nothing about the environment keeping it in. There might be other spells involved, but I’ll have to get closer to confirm that.”
“Can’t you just smell ‘em, their magic or something?” Adams asked, looking confused.
Lyssa shoved down the annoyed grunt wanting to erupt over Adams using the term “magic.” She’d been close to letting it go and had been working on trying not to care. Petty concerns made for petty distractions.
For now, she ignored it. These men weren’t disrespecting her, and there was no reason to establish a bad relationship with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department over word choice. She didn’t need Adams going home and telling his son that Hecate was an unreasonable diva. She wasn’t Aisha, who was both a diva and a deva.
“It’s more complicated than that.” Lyssa narrowed her eyes at the mine entrance. “They don’t give off sorcerous energy unless they have highly unusual abilities. The sorcery happens when they’re made.”
“Really?” Adams sounded surprised.
“Think of it this way,” Lyssa replied. “Someone might get their DNA mutated by walking through a closet full of plutonium, but after a while out of it, assuming they survived, they wouldn’t show up as irradiated anymore. The mutations would still be there, though. That’s what we’re talking about—using sorcery to mutate a creature.”
“Huh.” Adams nodded. “Got it.” He whistled. “I know you’re the Witch Queen of Darkness and all that, but I don’t envy you going down a dark hole filled with monsters.”
“Do we have confirmation of multiple monsters?” Lyssa asked. “I don’t care. I’ll do what I need to do, but every piece of information we have makes this easier and ups the chance of rapid completion.”
Adams looked uncomfortable. “The survivor, Lucky—” He laughed. “Damn. Has there ever been a more inappropriate name?”
Ortiz glared at Adams. “Keep it professional, man. A kid died in there.”
“We don’t know that,” Lyssa said. “If he’s alive, my priority will be recovering and extracting him before cleaning out the mine. I’ll be honest, though; it’s not impossible he survived, but it is unlikely.”
“We’ve already told his family there’s a good chance he might be dead,” Adams replied. “But we didn’t say he was toast.”
Ortiz shook his head. “What did I just say? ‘Toast’ isn’t professional.”
“Oh, yeah. Right.” Adams gave a sheepish smile. “And Nardi wasn’t sure what he saw or how many. He thought there might have been more than one, but it wasn’t like he was taking a good look around and writing down notes. The poor bastard was run
ning for his life.”
“And we’re sure it’s not a normal person with a strange non-shard weapon?” Lyssa asked. “My contract doesn’t extend to the elimination of non-Illuminated targets and their products at this time. The Society takes a dim view of unsanctioned human deaths. You’d need the sheriff to recontact the EAA.”
Ortiz nodded. “Understood, ma’am. If it’s a human freak, can you at least beat him down and drag him out here for us? Would you get in trouble then?”
“Not if you don’t complain.” Lyssa nodded. “Okay, that works.”
“And what if there’s a whole bunch of monsters in there?” Adams asked, casting a nervous glance at the mine. “Maybe those kids woke up some ancient nest from like five thousand years ago, and they’re getting ready to pour out.”
“An ancient nest that’s only fifteen minutes into the mine, and nobody found it when they were working it within the last century?” Lyssa shook her head. “I think these are a more recent vintage of monsters.” She patted a pocket. “And I brought a lot of extra ammo. I’m presuming you guys don’t have a problem if I kill anything unnatural that moves in there. My contract is for recon and cleaning, not specimen preservation. It’ll make it more efficient if I don’t have to be careful.”
“Be my guest and kill ‘em all, ma’am,” Adams replied. “The sheriff said we’re to defer to you on all this, but if you don’t think you can take care of it, to let us know so he can talk to the National Guard. I think his plan was just to have soldiers walk in with flamethrowers, burn everything, and then blow the entrance to the mine with explosives.”
“I’ll make sure that isn’t necessary.” Lyssa collapsed her baton and shoved it back in her pocket. She pulled out her pistols. “The Society cleans up its own mistakes, and monsters are a sorcerous mistake.” She marched toward the fence. “The best thing you can do is what you’ve been doing. Make sure no one comes in, and, on the off-chance something comes out and I’m not right behind it, you get the hell out of here since I’m probably dead. Understood?”