The Vigiles Urbani Chronicles- Year One

by Ken Lange

  We were about a hundred feet from the stairwell when Alfred made a sharp right into an eight-by-ten room. He gestured at an ancient reinforced metal door. “He’s just beyond here.”

  I frowned. “All right, let’s get this over with.”

  Alfred offered me a sad smile. “Are you sure you want to get involved?”

  Nodding, I said, “I’m sure.”

  He jammed a heavy key into an old-fashioned lock and turned the mechanism. There was a sharp scraping of metal against metal, followed by a loud clunk.

  Leaning against the door, he pushed and let out a grunt. The three-inch-thick door made of steel and wood scraped against the cement as it slowly swung open. There were nine holes in the stone wall about the size of my wrist where the deadbolts secured the door in place.

  Alfred leaned in and flipped another switch. Harsh white light flooded the room as the hum of fluorescent bulbs overtook the uncanny silence. Shortly after, a steady, rhythmic clunk, clunk, clunk sounded in the distance.

  I didn’t normally creep out easily, but this shit was getting to me. The earlier sensation that something was off grew stronger with every step.

  Alfred led us through several more halls and the clunking grew louder. Pausing outside another metal door, he pulled out his key and jammed it into the lock.

  He glanced back at me. “There’s still time for you to leave.” Alfred’s voice shook. “Once you meet him, though, there’s no turning back.”

  Kur wanted to take the man up on his offer, but that wasn’t going to happen. We were here, and something was wrong that needed fixing.

  “I haven’t come this far just to walk away.” I gestured ahead of us. “Let’s find out what’s behind door number one.”

  Alfred shivered. “All right, but remember, I did give you a chance.”

  He twisted the key and pushed. The door swung open to reveal a comfortable one-bedroom suite with all the luxuries of home. At the far side of the room sat a thin boy with dark skin, and black hair. He apparently hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet and was small for someone supposed to be in college in a few months.

  Duncan tossed a racquet ball against the wall one last time before turning to greet us. He gave me a creepy grin that sent a chill up my spine.

  I was wrong earlier. This wasn’t him developing his abilities. Just behind his dark brown eyes was something…else. It was difficult to focus on the creature inside as it shifted like smoke in the wind.

  Duncan’s eyes narrowed as he tilted his head. When he spoke, another voice was layered beneath his own. The effect was alarming and stopped me dead in my tracks. “You can see me.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  Duncan dropped the ball onto the bed. He was slow, methodical, and somehow more dangerous than a teenager should be. At that point, I stopped fighting the Grim and allowed it to hover just below the surface.

  Duncan leaned forward, and a dark mist coalesced, turning his eyes black. “Oh, you’re different from the others. What are you?” He hopped off the bed and moved halfway across the room in an instant. He tilted his head to one side then the other, trying to get a good look at me, then smirked. “You’re not one of my kind.” With a dismissive wave at Alfred, he said, “But you’re not one of his either.”

  Things had gone to a whole new level of disturbing.

  Eyeing him, I shook my head. “Information costs. If you want answers, you’ll have to give some in return.”

  The boy bit his lip as he considered it. “Three questions only.”

  Well, shit. Okay. “What species are you?”

  Duncan grinned. “You’re a smart one.” He looked at Alfred with a hatred I hadn’t noticed earlier. “I’m what his people call a jinni.” He held his hand up to stop me from speaking. “My turn. What are you?”

  “I’m a Stone Born.”

  Duncan shook his head, looking confused. “I’m not sure what that is, but I’ll accept it as an answer.” He waved for me to continue.

  Frowning, I asked, “Is there anything left of the young man you inhabit?”

  He wobbled his hand back and forth. “That’s debatable. I have his memories and a part of him lives, but he’s asleep.” He pondered for a moment before looking at me even more intently. “What is it you keep just under your skin, Stone Born?”

  The Grim flared and fought to be free of my will, but I held it in check. “I call it the Grim.”

  Duncan smiled as he looked up at me with awe. “It’s beautiful!”

  I blinked, and it took me a moment to find my words. “Why are you here?”

  His gaze cut to Alfred then to me as he shook his head. “That is something I cannot answer.” He folded his arms and sighed. “It would seem our game has come to an end.”

  “You agreed to three,” I reminded him.

  He shrugged. “I said you could ask. I never said I’d answer.”

  Duncan sped forward, and I released the Grim, allowing its form to settle around me faster than thought. My left hand elongated and twisted into blue flames as my right turned hard and dark as onyx. Catching the boy by his throat, I hefted him into the air.

  My hand pulsed as the flames expanded, making my body ache as I tightened my grip. Duncan howled, and the walls shook. He struggled free of my grasp as he sent a torrent of air and smoke into my chest, peeling back the Grim’s shadowy protection and tearing at the magically enhanced cloth of my shirt. It hurt like hell, and I was thrown several feet back into the nearest wall.

  Duncan was still smoldering when he spun around, taking Alfred’s legs out from underneath him. He went down hard, and Duncan was on him in a heartbeat, delivering a wicked left hook to the jaw before ripping the keys out of the downed priest’s hand. Two seconds later, he was through the door, which was quickly followed by the loud clunk of us being locked inside.

  I needed to cut Duncan off before he left the church. Blue flames enveloped me and…nothing. I hadn’t moved. I glared at Alfred, who was just opening his eyes. “What the fuck is this place?”

  Clawing at the nearest wall, he pulled himself to his feet. “What do you mean?”

  I gestured at the room around us. “I mean, what have you done to the room?”

  Alfred shrugged. “I’m not sure…” His gaze hit the floor and his voice trembled. “What the hell are you?”

  Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. “We can talk about that in a moment. Right now, the most important question is just how secure is that door?”

  Alfred looked back at the door and shook his head. “The damn thing is too thick to break through. Without the key, we’re stuck.”

  Desperate not to believe him, I walked over and put my hands on it. After several seconds of trying in vain to freeze the thing, I gave up.

  Letting out a long breath, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. While I wasn’t a huge fan of prayer, I did offer up a quick one that there was a signal. There wasn’t, of course. But luckily for me, the church had an open Wi-Fi system. While I couldn’t get a traditional signal down here, I was able to piggyback off the network to make a call.

  I dialed Gabriel’s number first, only to get his voicemail, and had similar luck with Alexander. Normally, I would’ve tried to get in touch with my uncle, Isidore, or Heather, but they were out of town and weren’t expected back for a few hours yet. So, for now, we were stuck here, and it was up to me to ease Alfred’s concerns and educate him on the world he’d stepped into.

  About an hour later, the lock on the door popped. I got to my feet as the Grim enveloped me once again. I hadn’t a clue who was on the other side, so it was best to be prepared for the worst. The door groaned as it slowly opened, scraping against the floor. To my great surprise and relief, Gabriel was standing there.

  Gabriel was massive on a scale hard to explain. He was seven-foot-two and heavily muscled, but not with the slow-twitch muscle mass of body builders. His skin was so dark he looked like an onyx statue with brilliant, kind green eyes. Since his trip to New Mexico
at the first of the year, he’d taken to shaving his head, which made a statement. Mostly the don’t-fuck-with-me-or-I’ll-eat-you type of statement, but a statement nevertheless.

  He ducked his head in and waved us out. “You going to just stand there?”

  The Grim had faded the moment I caught sight of Gabriel. Alfred, however, could only open and close his mouth until he finally found his voice. “What in heaven’s name are you?” He looked up at me and shook his head. “Is he a giant or something?”

  Gabriel stepped out of our way. “Actually, I’m a Nephilim.”

  Alfred stopped so quickly that I nearly knocked him over. He looked Gabriel up and down as he tried to work it out. “As in the child of an angel and a human?”

  Moving the priest to one side, I patted him on the back. “Sort of, but angels aren’t exactly what you think.”

  Gabriel rolled his eyes at me as he motioned toward the stairs. “Can we get out of here? I’m a little claustrophobic.” He glanced back at the room and shivered. “Besides, there’s something about that room that weirds me out.”

  He wasn’t the only one.

  The ceilings were barely high enough for me to walk through unimpeded, which meant that Gabriel was in a constant stoop. Poor guy. As for Alfred, his smaller frame allowed him to navigate the passages with ease. Which was good as he really wasn’t paying attention to where he was going. It didn’t take a genius to work out what he was thinking—right in front of him was the child of an angel. I could practically hear the gears churning in his head. It wouldn’t take long before he cornered Gabriel and assaulted him with thousands of questions. Not that he’d get any sympathy from me… It was his own fault for telling a priest he was a Nephilim.

  Once we were topside, I checked my watch, and frowned. At this point, Duncan had an hour’s head start on us, and I hadn’t the foggiest idea where to start looking for a kid with a jinni stuck inside his body.

  I needed to contact Lazarus. Hopefully, he’d know what to do about this strange entity.

  Chapter 3

  My conversation with Lazarus hadn’t gone well. When I’d informed him of Duncan’s escape and that he was possessed by a jinni, he’d lost his shit, and that was the most educational part of the conversation. Simply put, he didn’t know much about the creature inside the kid. There were the legends, of course, but none of them were helpful. He promised to investigate the situation to see if there was a way to separate the two. In the meantime, it was my job to locate Duncan and contain him until we could figure something out.

  Speaking of containment, I needed to chat with Hayden and find out if she’d encountered anything that inhibited her ability to teleport. I didn’t particularly care for the idea that the church had a space that could keep me, and from the look of things, most anyone else, imprisoned.

  Shortly after I got off the phone with Lazarus, Gabriel returned to Elmwood to tend to a training class. I, on the other hand, had been forced to spend the last couple of hours attempting to calm the priest. He wasn’t taking the whole magic was real thing very well. Which I found more than a little amusing considering he made a living convincing people to believe in the power of Christ.

  Okay, so there was a small chance his mental breakdown was because I’d transformed into the Grim right in front of him. Even those who’d lived their whole lives surrounded by magic had a hard time accepting me in that form. And having Gabriel announce himself as a nephilim hadn’t helped matters in the slightest.

  His near-hysterics had worn through what little patience I had. I needed a break from the man’s mental frailty. I excused myself and made my way out the main doors into the thick evening air of New Orleans. Traffic on St. Charles was pretty steady at this hour. The headlights from the passing cars lit up the sidewalk in front of the church where I stood.

  Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my phone and dialed Alexander’s number.

  Two rings later, he picked up. His deep voice resonated over the line. “I’m nearly there.”

  I chuckled. “No worries. Gabriel was able to get here… Is Sam or Dean with you?”

  “No…why do you ask?”

  A small groan escaped my lips. “Damn. The guy who escaped is nowhere to be found.”

  He sighed. “And you need some help tracking him down.”

  “I do.”

  A horn blared on the street, and I turned to see Alexander driving an old Scout. “Let me park, and I’ll make some calls. In the meantime, you might want to get in touch with Isidore. He should be back by now.”

  “Good point. See you in a minute.”

  I ended that call and made another.

  Isidore’s voice was light and full of mirth. “Good evening, Gavin. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  I grimaced. “Well…I sort of need some help.”

  His tone turned curious. “Oh really?”

  “I’ve got a favor to ask. How close are you to Christ Church Cathedral on St. Charles?”

  Isidore huffed. “Business then?” He paused as something jingled in the background. “I can be there in ten minutes. What’s going on?”

  The thought of what I was about to ask made me cringe. “Let me start by saying I’m sorry.”

  Isidore let out a low groan. “Fine, you’ve made your preemptive apology. Now let’s hear it.”

  It took a couple of minutes to fill him in on the details. “I was wondering if you could swing by and maybe, I don’t know, see if you could get a scent or something?”

  Isidore was silent for several seconds. “After all you’ve done to make sure we have equal rights…you think I’m some sort of dog?”

  Yep, that was the exact reaction I’d hoped to avoid. “No, you know that’s not true—”

  Isidore cut me off as he growled into the phone. “Do I? God damn, I expected more out of you.”

  And now I felt like shit. “I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t have asked if it weren’t important…I never meant to offend you.”

  The line was silent again and then the bastard laughed. “Oh Christ, that was more fun than Alexander said it would be… I’ll be there shortly.”

  In a few hours that’d be funny. Right now, however, the urge to murder them both was strong. Still, he was coming to help, and relief quickly replaced my embarrassment. I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket and wiped my forehead. “Thanks for this, and just so you know, I owe you one for winding me up like that.”

  Isidore laughed. “It was worth it.”

  “You say that now.” Taking a deep breath, I said, “I’ve got to check in with Alexander, and after that I’ll be heading back to the office for a bit.” I paused when I thought of Alfred. “Hey, when you get here, take it easy on the priest. He isn’t doing so well.”

  Isidore snorted. “After seeing you go all swirling mass of shadows then meeting Gabriel, I’d say he’s having a really bad day.”

  That made me grimace as I shook my head. “Thanks for being supportive of my alter ego.”

  Isidore coughed and spluttered for a moment. “The first time I saw the Grim, I nearly shat myself.” He took a long, quivering breath. “That’s some scary stuff, dude. It’s like having a nightmare come to life. Seeing something like that is more than most people can even begin to process.”

  I forced myself to relax. “So I’ve heard. See what you and Alexander can do to put the priest at ease.”

  He chuckled. “We’ll do our best.”

  “Great. Get in touch if you find anything useful.”

  The call ended.

  Glancing back at the church, I grimaced. The last few hours weren’t sitting well with me, to say the least. What I needed was some time to myself. Maybe then I could piece things together and figure out what was really bugging me about the day’s events.

  Part of it had to do with the jinn and their elusive natures. The only time I’d ever heard of them was in the Middle East, and that was mostly wrapped in myth or straight-up ghost stories. Nothing about the happenings over th
e last few hours made sense to me. The big questions that kept running through my mind were: How had I been able to injure the creature? Why was it here in New Orleans? And, most importantly, why now, and why was a jinni inhabiting a young man?

  Someone tapped me on the shoulder. Turning, I found Alexander standing there. “Hey, how’s it going?”

  He shrugged. “Not sure yet. Dean’s on his way. Should be here in a bit. Anything I should know before heading in?”

  I pointed over at Alfred, who’d finally made his way outside. “He’s a bit freaked out, but other than that, not much.” Pausing, I ran my hand over the top of my head. “Actually, there is one more thing. Do you think you could get your people to go over the basement? Turn the place inside out, and if the priest gives you any trouble, feel free to lock him in his quarters for the duration.”

  Alexander arched an eyebrow. “I can, but why?”

  Glancing around to make sure we were alone, I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I couldn’t teleport out of the room where they were keeping Duncan.”

  He blinked. “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  Anger danced in his eyes as he glared at the priest. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Thanks.” I thumbed over my shoulder. “I’ll leave you to it. Isidore should be here shortly to help.”

  On my way to the car, I made a list of what I knew…which wasn’t much. It’d be a lot easier if there was somewhere private to go, but I’d sold my condo back in March, and the office in Elmwood was filled with recruits being trained by Alexander and Gabriel.

  There was my uncle’s house, of course, but even that was a bit crowded these days with the triumvirate working there more often than not. While I’d been spending a lot of time at Heather’s place, it didn’t feel right to walk in and close myself off…but it seemed that was my best option.

  I pulled out my phone and dialed her number.

  Heather answered on the first ring. “Hello.”

  “Hey, how are you?”

  She sounded tired. “Busy, but good. What’s going on? How was your trip to Brasilia?”