by Ken Lange
They clearly had a goal, but I had no idea what that might be. They also had shock troops who were nothing short of badass. I was betting Lazarus hadn’t had a clue how big this problem really was when he’d nominated them as public enemy number one.
When I combined this new information about how organized they were with Walter’s warning about what was coming, I was certain the long-standing peace we’d enjoyed was about to end. That was something none of us were ready for. Not by a long shot.
Frustrated, I ran my hand over my face. “For fuck’s sake.” Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. “I’m surprised we haven’t heard of the Black Circle before.”
Atsidi blanched. “Hey, I did my part and told Samuel Estes, the last vigil I met, what I knew.” He hung his head as he mumbled the next bit. “But I’m unsure he was able to do much with the information before he disappeared.”
The name didn’t ring a bell. “He was the guy in charge of the area at the time?”
Atsidi nodded. “Yep.”
I frowned. If he was a vigil, the coins would’ve retained the information. Kur searched for his memories. Sure enough, Samuel had been the vigil for the southern district for nearly fifty years. The weird part was, his death had always been a mystery to the Archive. To both Kur’s and my astonishment, all Samuel’s memories were wiped clean for at least three months prior to his arrival in New Mexico.
Well, goddamn it.
Leaning against the counter, I chewed on my cheek. “It’s safe to say he wasn’t able to do much with the information you gave him.” Atsidi’s body slumped. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You followed the proper protocol, and that’s more than most people would’ve done in your situation.”
He sat up straight. “That might be true, but it feels like I should’ve done more—especially now.”
I patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. What’s done is done…I’m just grateful you clued me in on what’s going on.” Curiosity got the better of me, and I said, “I know this might be a bit personal, but when we wrap this up, is there any chance you’d let me borrow those books? That is, if you still have them.”
His tone instantly lightened. “If you promise to take them with you, they’re yours… I would like nothing more than to be rid of them, but they were too valuable to destroy.”
It concerned me slightly that he was so anxious to rid himself of the things, but I nodded. “Agreed. When this is over, I’ll take them off your hands.”
Atsidi relaxed as he leaned back in his seat. “Thank you.”
Cole harrumphed, and I arched an eyebrow at him. “Yes?”
He shook his head. “There was a weird coincidence after Samuel’s disappearance.”
“What’s that?”
He chewed on his lip. “A few months after, a stranger came to town, asking questions about him.”
Atsidi balled his hands into fists. “That was when Lewis made his move and nearly got burned to the ground.”
Cole laughed. “Yeah, that was one hell of a week.”
“What’s that mean?”
Cole grinned. “Most of the accounts are sketchy… Some say the person in question was a redheaded man, others say it was a woman… Not that it really mattered in the end. What’s important is that Lewis was using the absence of a vigil to bring in mercenaries to solidify his control over the area, even if he denies it. Anyway, this stranger burned the entire company of soldiers to the ground and pushed the Grants’ plan back decades.”
Furrowing my brow, I asked, “And what plan is that?”
Atsidi shrugged. “No one knows for sure, but for as far back as I can remember, he’s done everything he could to buy, steal, or annex as much property as he can.”
Cole sighed. “He’s always wanted the tribal land, but we’ve been able to stonewall him so far. God only knows what the future will hold, though. Everyone is desperate for money these days…and Isaiah’s been pressuring the other elders to sell.”
The more I learned about Lewis and his brood, the less I liked them.
Nodding, I said, “The Grants are definitely a bunch of shits, and while the history lesson gives me an entirely new perspective on them, we’ve strayed off topic.” I tapped my finger against the silver stake. “Are you sure these things will destroy the corpses.”
Atsidi shook his head. “I think you misunderstood. All they’ll do is sever the necromantic hold on them. If a necromancer were to perform the ritual again, they’d be up and running in no time.”
I grimaced. “Well, that’s better than nothing, I suppose.”
Cole nodded. “And its way better than digging those things up one at a time to sever the connection.”
Rubbing the blister on my palm, I nodded. “Agreed.”
We piled into Cole’s truck and hit the road. On our way out of town, we passed Charles on the side of the road, changing his tire. He was kind enough to flip us the bird and yell a few obscenities as we passed. It probably made me a bad person, but I was sort of hoping his spare was flat. Maybe the long walk back to town would give him time to reflect on his assholery… Not that I believed it would make a damn bit of difference in his case, but you never know.
It took us a little under an hour to make our way back to the pit, and when we arrived, my worst fears were realized. Judging by the tracks in the soil, they’d come back with three semis to collect their toys. All we were left with were a bunch of holes in the dirt where the chindi had been…except for the ones we’d decapitated, which had been left to rot in the sun.
I thought we should track them down, but Atsidi insisted we continue with the plan. He thought they may not have gotten them all, and that we should err on the side of caution rather than tempting fate.
He handed me three stakes. “You need to put one as close to the center as you can get, and the other two at either corner.” He turned and handed the others to Cole. “Put these at either corner on this end.”
I hefted the silver spikes in my hand. “You’re sure this will help?”
He shook his head. “No idea, but if there’s another layer of those things down there then yeah, I think it’ll do us some good.”
Forty minutes later, we’d connected all the stakes with a thin thread infused with silver filaments. Once we were clear, Atsidi walked around and placed a drop of blood on each spike. Seconds after he finished the last one, an X-shaped blast of gray light shot into the sky, followed quickly by a loud crack.
The earth all around us shook, and fissures formed in the dirt along the lines of the thread…then everything stopped. It was spookily quiet. When the dust settled, the freshly tilled earth was flat and hard. The silver spikes were gone, but it seemed they’d done what they were supposed to do.
Atsidi climbed up to us and frowned. “There must be a bunch more of those things down there. Otherwise, nothing would’ve happened.”
I hung my head and sighed. “Well, that sucks.”
Cole frowned. “Why’s that?”
I pointed back at the pit. “Once you do the math, it gets scary as hell.”
Atsidi glanced up at me questioningly. “I’m afraid I’m not following.”
Facepalming myself, I squeezed my eyes closed for a second. “If I had to guess, you could stuff around two hundred and fifty people into a trailer if they were standing… If you stack them or go with some other configuration, you could probably get more. So, we’re looking at about seven hundred and fifty of these things…if they only filled the trailers once.” I gestured at him, and groaned. “And from what you just said, there’s a bunch more down there.”
Atsidi shook his head and held out a hand in my direction. “I don’t even want to know how you figured that out.” Crinkling up his nose, he looked a little sick. “And just for the record, that’s some weirdly specific knowledge of trailers that I never needed to know.”
I let out a long breath and leaned against the Chevy. “If it helps, I’m not any happier about knowing it than you are.”
Atsidi shrugged. “Wish it did… Good God, you really think they have nearly eight hundred of those things?”
I frowned. “Probably closer to seven, but yeah. They have a boatload of them.”
Cole sighed. “Christ, that’s a depressing thought.”
A morose chuckle escaped my lips. “Isn’t it though?”
I couldn’t see how things could get much worse, but knowing my luck, they would. So, with that thought firmly entrenched in my mind, I decided to start making calls as soon as possible in hopes of finding some sort of lifeline. There was no way in hell I was prepared to deal with an army of corpses on my own.
Not that there were a lot of options at the moment. Gabriel was in Rome, busy with training, and Isidore already had his hands full with Andrew. Alexander might be able to help, but that was kind of iffy since they were probably still neck deep in negotiations. All in all, my chances of finding help were slim to none, but I had to try.
Chapter 12
February 26th
We dropped Atsidi off at his place, hoping he’d be able to convince the tribal elders to lend us a hand. He wasn’t sure he’d make it past Isaiah, but it was worth a shot. That left me to work what little mojo I had to recruit some help. We were a few miles outside Grants when my phone finally picked up a signal, and I made the first of what would undoubtedly be a series of short, and disheartening, phone calls.
The phone rang twice before Alexander’s deep voice came over the line. “Good to hear from you. How have things been since you left?”
I sighed. “Busy, and before I even get started, I feel a need to apologize up front.”
He chuckled. “No worries. Tell me what’s going on.”
Leaning my head against the window, I grumbled, “I’m not sure if I told you, but I’m in New Mexico. Suffice it to say, shit’s gone sideways here, and I need a hand.”
I spent the next ten minutes filling him in. He was a trusted lieutenant, and as such, I didn’t bother holding anything back. Which meant that other than Atsidi, Cole, and myself, he was one of the few people outside the ranks of the Black Circle who knew their name. I wasn’t sure if that was a privilege or a death sentence.
When I finished, he sucked in air loudly. “Christ, man, you don’t believe in half measures, do you?”
I rubbed my temples. “I guess not.”
Alexander sighed. “You know I’m at the conclave, and there’s no way I can get out of here for at least two days. Normally, I’d be able to call some of the local weres to help you out, but they’re here, and will be for another week.” He paused, and papers shuffled in the background. “There’s a chance I can scrape up a team when I come, but there won’t be a lot of us.”
The fact he was considering coming at all brought a smile to my face, and I instantly relaxed. “Thanks, and believe me, I’ll be grateful for whatever help you can muster.”
His voice dropped. “Sorry we won’t be able to be there sooner, but we’re finally making headway with the Germans. Though the French and the Irish are still giving us fits… We’ll get there, it’s just going to take some time.”
No one in their right mind could argue with progress, even if it meant that I’d be on my own a bit longer. “I’m glad things are moving forward, and while having you here would make things easier on me, that takes precedence.”
There was a loud noise of something brushing against the mic, a few muffled words that I couldn’t understand then it was gone.
He cleared his throat. “Sorry about this, but I’ve got to go. Be in touch soon.”
Nodding reflexively, I sat up in my seat. “I really appreciate this.”
Chuckling, he said, “It’s the least we can do.”
The line went dead. I stared at the phone for several seconds before scrolling through my contacts to find Viktor’s number…only to get a fast busy. Ending the call, I shuffled through to find Justine’s number.
It barely rang once before she picked up. “Hello, Gavin.”
Forcing as much cheer into my voice as I could, I said, “Good morning, Justine. How are you today?”
She let out a tiny groan. “I’ve been better.”
That surprised me because I’d never heard her complain about anything before. “Oh?”
Justine sighed. “Yeah, we’ve got a bit of a Lamia problem here in town.”
Confused, I asked, “What’s a lamia?”
She growled. “It’s not a what. It’s a she, and she’s a psychotic snake lady who was involved in a prison break last month.”
That jolted the memory of my dinner with them into the forefront of my mind. “Oh, yeah, okay… I think I remember Viktor mentioning that.”
Well, shit, sounds like he’s tied up too.
She paused for a moment. “What’s going on with you?”
I put my elbow on the armrest on the door, and cupped my face in my hand. “Well…I was going to ask Viktor if he could lend me a hand. But, given the circumstances, that sounds unlikely.”
Justine grumbled. “Unfortunately, you’re probably right. Still, tell me what’s going on…maybe we have some people nearby.”
I really hated to repeat myself, but since I hadn’t been smart enough to conference her in on the first call, I did.
She was silent for a moment when I finished. Then she laughed, and laughed. Finally, she calmed down enough to speak. “Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh. It’s just that I thought Viktor was the only one who had a penchant for falling into such shitty situations.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be amused or offended, so I opted for confused. “Ah…okay.”
Justine giggled. “Truly, I’m not trying to make light of your circumstances…it’s just been a really bad few days. Scratch that. It’s been a rough four months. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he went looking for trouble. Now, here you are in the deep end of the pool, and, well, it makes me realize that you two have more in common than either of you might think.”
I chuckled. “Can’t say that I see how, but I’ll take your word for it, especially if that means you guys might be able to help me out.”
Her amusement faded in an instant. “Sorry, I’m not sure we have anyone close enough to be of assistance right now, and Viktor’s definitely tied up—but I know someone who might be available. If not, he’ll have a rapid response team that’ll be able to handle the crisis.”
I would rather have worked with someone I knew, but reluctantly, I agreed. “All right…so do I call this guy, or do you?”
Her tone turned serious. “I’ll tend to it. Give me an hour, and one of us will be in touch.”
I let out a long breath. “Not a problem. I’ll make sure we stay in town where our mobiles work.”
She took a deep breath and did her best to sound reassuring. “Good, and don’t sound so down. You did the right thing by calling. This is exactly why Viktor created Warden Global, and by extension, the Ulfr.”
Confused, I asked, “The who?”
Her voice hardened. “The Ulfr. Ignatius is their leader. They’re an independent arm of Warden Global, but our goal is the same: to stop the darkness from destroying this world. And you can’t get much darker than a bunch of creepy necromancers. So, hold tight. One way or another, help is on the way.”
Reassured, I nodded. “Don’t they work with the Archive as well?”
Justine cleared her throat. “Sort of. They do their own thing, but if you’re in a bad way, they’re the people you want on your side.”
I rested my chin on my balled-up fist. “I really hope you’re right.”
Her voice dropped a little. “Don’t worry. They’ll help.” She paused for a second before continuing. “One question before I go…have you called Heather?”
I shook my head. “She’s next on my list, but she’s tending to Archive business in Rome this week.”
Justine made a doh sound. “Damn it, I actually forgot about that with all the shit going on here.”
I chuckl
ed. “Totally understandable from what you’ve said about this Lamia person.”
She let out a long breath. “No kidding. Now, hang tight and wait for one of us to call back.”
“No problem.”
Justine cleared her throat. “Take care.”
Nodding, I said, “You too.”
The line went dead.
Cole frowned. “Sounds like you’re striking out.”
I shrugged. “Mostly, but my friend Justine thinks someone named Ignatius can help.”
His mouth fell open. “Wait, when you said Viktor earlier, did you mean Viktor Warden?”
“Yeah—Heather is best friends with his significant other, Justine Dupree. Is that a problem?”
He shook his head. “Not at all, but since he can’t make it, she’s calling Ignatius MacKay? As in the Ulfr commander?”
Frowning, I sighed. “I guess so…she did mention he was with the Ulfr—he’s supposed to give me a call within the hour. Is that a big deal or something?”
Cole snorted. “Goddamn, this is one of those times when your newness to our world really shines through.”
Pocketing my phone, I shook my head. “That might be true, but it didn’t answer the question.”
He chuckled. “Then allow me to be clear here…it’s a huge deal.” Taking his hand off the wheel, he patted me on the shoulder. “And one that works out in your favor.”
I blinked. “How so?”
His voice dropped as he scanned the horizon. “I don’t know if you know this or not, but vigils aren’t known for their long lifespan.” He glanced over at me and offered me a sad smile. “But with those heavyweights in your corner, there’s a real possibility that you, and the people who serve you, might be able to change that.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Really? As far as I can tell, Viktor’s a pretty normal guy—once you get past the age thing, that is.” I held out my hand to stop his retort. “I know he’s supposed to be dangerous, but I doubt he’s any deadlier than anyone else in the Archive.”
His body instantly relaxed, and he let out a big belly laugh. “Wow, if even half the stories about him are true, you’ve severely misjudged the man.”