by Ken Lange
A part of me felt bad for popping in unannounced, but this was important. “Actually, I’ve found a few things.” I walked over to his desk and slid the failed designs for the lantern over to him. “There are these…I figured you’d prefer the paper over the digital.”
He ran his fingers over the pages and nodded. “You’d be right.” Taking off his glasses, he gestured for me to continue. “And?”
Setting the blueprints for Heather’s house on the desk, I sighed. “We found these as well. They’re different from the ones I’ve been sending you, but they’re a lot more personal.”
Andrew pulled them over to him and moved his glasses back in place. His face darkened, and his fingers trembled as he flipped through the document.
Finally, he looked up at me. “This was with the stuff from the church?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
He scanned it again. “I recognize some of these symbols. I don’t know what they mean exactly, but they’re dark magic…blood magic. They’d need a blood witch to make them work, but if they did… It’s bad, Gavin. It’s really bad.” His eyes darted to the corner. “And this is dated the year Henri vanished.”
I nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
Shivering, he pushed the blueprints away. “I’ll need some time to decipher what they mean…if that’s even possible. Blood witches are notoriously good at keeping secrets. But whatever they are, they’re powered by the same magic that injured you not that long ago.”
Well, wasn’t that fun? “Is it currently dangerous?”
He shrugged. “No idea… Have you shown this to Heather yet?”
I shook my head. “No, I came straight here.”
Relief spread across his face. “Probably for the best.”
Blinking, I threw my hands up in disgust. “Just how in the hell do you figure that?”
Andrew’s voice shook slightly. “What is there to tell her? Someone cursed your home with blood magic? Or, hey, this could be the reason your grandfather disappeared? Wouldn’t you rather go to her with some answers instead of speculation?”
For the life of me I couldn’t figure out what his angle was. “This is too important to keep from her… Seriously, what the hell? What’s wrong with you?”
His tone softened. “Nothing’s wrong with me. I just think it’s best that we keep this between us for now.”
I cupped my forehead in my hand. “Where do you get off deciding who gets to know what and when? This really isn’t up for discussion. I’m going to tell her.”
He frowned. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“But you did.” Gesturing at him, I asked, “Come on, man, what gives? Normally, you’re all about putting it out there so that the truth can work itself out. What’s changed?”
He gestured for me to calm down. “Easy now. I’m not saying don’t tell her anything, but there’s no need to tell her everything.”
I snorted. “What’s there to hide? It isn’t as if I know anything…unless you know something I don’t.”
He shook his head. “No, I’ve told you everything there is to know at this point.”
Folding my arms, I blew out a long breath. “Then what is it?”
Andrew grimaced. “I just think that…well…some things need to be revealed at the right time.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Are you kidding?”
He cut his gaze at me. “You simply don’t understand the delicacy of the situation.”
I blinked. “Wait…what?” Then it hit me. He’d been spending a lot of time with Kim, and they used to date… Maybe things were picking up again. “You don’t care if Heather knows, you just don’t want Kim finding out.”
He adopted a condescending tone. “Stop acting like a child and let me explain.”
Gesturing for him to continue, I said, “Well, go on, I’m listening.”
Andrew cracked his knuckles. “I’d like to break the news to Kim first and then we’ll decide how to proceed from there.”
Sitting in the chair in front of his desk, I sighed. “Yeah, that doesn’t work for me. I’m not in the habit of keeping things from her and I’m certainly not going to keep this a secret until you two can decide how to tell her.”
The door from the hall opened to reveal Heather and Kim standing there.
Heather gave me a quizzical look. “Tell me what?”
I gestured at Andrew. “Yeah, what am I supposed to keep my mouth shut about again?”
He grimaced and motioned for me to get up. “If you’re going to force the issue, at least let the ladies have the chairs.”
Only too happy to oblige, I got to my feet. “If that’s what it’ll take to get this ball rolling.” I turned to Kim and Heather. “Please take a seat.”
Heather mouthed, ‘What the hell?’ as she swept past me.
Kim folded her arms but did as she was asked. “Okay, we’re sitting. What’s going on?”
Andrew cut his eyes at me and sighed. “You know about the incident at the church?”
Kimberly nodded. “Yeah, what about it?”
He pointed at me. “Gavin came across a room that was able to contain a jinni, and it prevented him from using some of his abilities.”
She rolled her hand for him to keep going. “And how do we fit into this conversation?”
He ran his hand over the top of his head. “I’m getting to that part. The Gotteskinder, or God’s Children, have been active for decades, maybe longer…we just don’t know.”
Irritation flickered in Heather’s eyes. “I’m still not seeing how this affects us. So far, you haven’t told me anything I didn’t already know.”
Andrew picked up the blueprints to her house. “Brace yourselves, because this is where things go downhill.” Holding the papers out to Kim, he said, “These were drawn up about the same time Henri disappeared.”
Kim quickly scanned them and frowned. “I don’t understand.”
He got to his feet and walked around the desk. “Neither do we. That’s why I wanted to wait to tell you. I wanted to come to you with something more than…well, this.”
Heather leaned over to look at the paper. “Are these the same markings you found in the church?”
I shook my head. “No. According to Andrew, they’re the work of a blood witch.”
Kimberly jumped to her feet. “What?”
Andrew gave me the stink eye before trying to calm her. “As Gavin said, they’re not the same glyphs the Gotteskinder were using in the church. I’ve seen something similar in my studies…and he’s right, they’re deeply rooted in blood magic. I don’t know how, or why, or what they do. I’ll do my best to find out, though.”
Heather glanced between the pages and me. “How long have you known about this?”
I checked my watch and shrugged. “Maybe twenty minutes. I came here first in hopes of finding answers…after that, we were going to have a talk.”
She nodded. “Damn right we were.”
Kim sat in her seat, and her voice suddenly sounded small. “Could this have anything to do with my father’s disappearance?”
Andrew’s shoulders slumped forward. “Wish I knew.”
She turned to me as tears welled in the corner of her eyes. When she spoke, her voice shook with anger. “When you find out who these assholes are, I want in on this.”
There was no way I was going to deny her her vengeance. “Absolutely.”
Heather tapped my elbow. “That goes for me too.”
“I figured as much.”
Kimberly glanced over at her daughter. “We’ll need to take them alive.”
Heather grimaced. “I’m not making any promises.”
Kimberly’s expression softened. “We need to know what happened to him. We’ve wondered for the last two and a half decades, and I, for one, would like answers.”
Heather nodded. “Fine.” She turned to Andrew. “When that day comes, will you help us get the answers?”
Andrew nodded. “Of course.”
And with that, my girlfriend, her mother, and my uncle declared war on the Gotteskinder. I could only hope their god had decent afterlife care.
Heather gestured at the desk. “Is it safe for us to stay there?”
Andrew furrowed his brow. “After all the years you’ve lived there, I’d have to say yes…up to a point, anyway.”
Her tone turned hard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He tapped the blueprints. “Most of the symbols are concentrated around your grandfather’s office and the entrances. As long as you continue to steer clear of the place, I can’t see you being in any danger.”
She cocked her head to the side as she looked up at me. “Have you noticed anything odd in there when you’re working?”
I shook my head. “No, but then again, I have zero magical ability.”
She frowned. “True. I wonder—”
Kimberly held up her hand. “If that thought ends with you using magic in that room, the answer is an absolute no. At least not until we know more about what’s going on in there.”
Heather folded her arms. “But what if there’s something there just waiting to go off? Wouldn’t it be better to know?”
Kimberly reached over and put her hand on Heather’s arm. “Let Andrew do some research. Once he’s done that, we’ll do everything we can to make your home safe. For now, I think you should stay out of the office entirely.”
Heather sighed. “It isn’t as if I go in there now, but we’ll try it your way.” She turned to Andrew. “But if you don’t come up with something soon…”
Andrew grimaced. “So, no pressure or anything?”
Heather pursed her lips and shrugged. “That’s why you’re the governor.”
He nodded. “I’ll see what I can come up with, but in the meantime, keep doing what you’ve been doing and stay out of that room.”
She nodded. “For now.”
He looked up at me. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
I shook my head. “Nope, I think you two have it covered.”
Heather patted the small of my back. “He’s smarter than he looks.”
Andrew chuckled. “Apparently.”
Heather checked her watch. “I’m starved.” She got to her feet and put her arm around my waist. “Want to take me out for dinner?”
“As long as you’re driving.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Where’s the Tucker?”
I thumbed over my shoulder. “Back at Elmwood. As I said, I came straight here.”
She glanced over at her mother. “Want to join us for dinner?”
Kimberly shook her head. “Can’t. I’ve already got plans.”
Heather grinned. “All right. Don’t stay out too late.”
Kimberly cut her eyes at her. “Funny. Didn’t you say you were hungry?”
Heather snickered and pulled me toward the door. “Come on.”
Chapter 8
May 4th
A soft silver glow illuminated the room as moonlight shone through the curtains. As it wasn’t even five yet, I carefully slid out of Heather’s arms. More rest would’ve been nice, but it really wasn’t an option. Once I was up, that was it for the day—at least until the opportunity for a nap arose, and that hadn’t happened in a while.
I wasn’t sure what I was looking for but sitting around with my thumb up my ass wasn’t good for my mental health. I stood in the middle of the room for several minutes trying to decide where to begin.
Using the doorframe as a reference point, I dragged a stepladder over, climbed to the top, and pulled out the first handwritten journal, Magical Theory. It was in French. Kur translated the first few pages for me before I returned it to its home and moved on to the next.
Dawn was just peeking through the hall windows when Heather knocked. “Didn’t we search that wall last night?”
Leaning against the shelf, I held up one of the leather-bound tomes. “We did, but I’m not looking for glyphs.”
She raised her hand to her mouth as she yawned. “Then what?”
I shook my head. “To be honest, I haven’t the faintest. But I figure there’s got to be something in this library we can use.”
Smiling, she gestured at the stairs. “While you do that, I’m going to grab a bite to eat. Want something?”
At the mention of food, my stomach growled. “That’d be great. I’ll be down in a few.”
She pushed off the doorframe and left me to my quest.
When she’d arrived, I’d been studying a set of shelves behind the desk that weren’t arranged using any rhythm or rhyme. Every other section had an easy to determine category or theme. This one, not so much. Thing was, I couldn’t figure out the puzzle.
Starting at the top, I carefully pulled out the tomes, lining them up on the floor in order—until I got to the last one on the shelf, which was stuck. Moving down, I cleared two more shelves and found two more immovable books in different positions. By the time I finished cleaning the section out, there were nine.
The kid in my head wanted them to activate some sort of lever that’d reveal a secret room like in those old movies or Scooby-Doo. After a thorough inspection, though, my inner child was crushed. The books wouldn’t budge. They were likely held in place by magic. For about three seconds, I was tempted to call Heather up here, but if her mother found out, she’d murder me in my sleep.
Taking a deep breath, I checked each of the books again and found that they had a section of the spine that could be pushed in. My excitement built as I pushed them in one at a time. The moment I placed my fingers on the last one, an unseen force slammed into me hard enough to take me off my feet.
I flew, flailing, through the air with absolutely no control. A second later, agony coursed through my face and shins as they cracked hard against either side of the doorframe. The impact pushed my head and legs back as my middle rushed ahead to crash into the wall across the hall—quickly followed by my chest, face, knees, and feet.
Unable to breathe, I slid to the floor, gasping for air but failing to do anything but choke. Darkness and shafts of bright light filled my vision. The sensation of warm blood pouring out of my nose and into my beard gave me something to focus on. My ears were ringing, and I coughed, trying to catch my breath. Eventually, air filled my lungs, the pain subsided, and the world came back into focus.
Of course, the first thing I saw was Heather topping the stairs. Power radiated from her as the world seemed to crystalize around her. She barely gave me a glance before checking the office.
Once she was satisfied we were alone, she knelt beside me. “Are you all right?”
Pushing myself upright, I sat against the wall. “I think so.”
She cupped my face in her hands and studied my eyes. “Your pupils aren’t dilated, and your speech isn’t slurred, so that’s a bonus.” Glancing over at the office, she frowned. “What happened?”
“I found an oddity behind the desk there, and when I messed with it a bit, it disapproved.”
She punched my arm. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
I rubbed my shoulder. “Well, for starters, I’m getting punched after being thrown into a wall.”
She folded her arms. “It’s your fault for not calling me up here in the first place.”
I slowly got to my feet. “Are you kidding me? Do you really think things would’ve gone better if you’d been here?”
Heather shrugged. “We’ll never know now, will we?”
I moved in front of her when she stepped toward the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She pointed past me. “In there.”
I sighed. “Really?”
Her eyes narrowed, and her voice turned dangerous. “Does it look like I’m playing? Move out of my way.”
A growl escaped my lips. “Have you lost your mind?” I wiped the blood away from my mouth. “I’m a goddamn mess, and I haven’t got an ounce of magic in my system. How the hell do you think this is going to work out
for you?” Forcing my emotions back in check, I said, “You’re a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.”
Heather looked as if she were going to punch me again, but eventually she blew out a long breath. “That stupid comment was uncalled for.”
My shoulders slumped as I leaned against the doorframe. “True…but it made you think for a minute.”
She wobbled her hand back and forth. “Sort of.” Glancing past me into the office, she asked, “How am I supposed to do nothing when there’s clearly something wrong in there?”
Blood ran down my chin and dripped onto my shirt. “By remembering that you like being above ground…” I coughed as a thick clot caught in my throat. “If I weren’t immune to magic—most magic, anyway—I’d probably be dead right now. You’re a powerful sorcerer, but magic can and will kill you.” Reaching for her, I put my hand in hers. “Look, we’ll figure this out, but I’d rather you kept breathing while we did.”
She nodded. “All right, but you’ve got to promise me you won’t mess with it again.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “I have no intention of touching it again. The nearest I’ll come to it is taking some photos for Andrew in the hopes he can figure it out.”
She blinked. “Wait…you’re going to give up just like that?”
My body objected as I stifled a laugh. “Yeah…I’m not sure I’d survive a second round with that thing.”
Her mouth fell open slightly. “You’re afraid of it?”
I shrugged. “I have a healthy respect for it.” Wiping my nose again, I said, “I need to clean up. Promise me you’re not going in there.”
She gave me a wary smile. “I promise. But if I find out someone used this to hurt my grandfather, I’m going—”
Cutting her off, I said, “To let me do my job.”
She narrowed her eyes. “We’ll see about that when the time comes.”
Wanting to change the subject, I gestured downstairs. “Fine…for now, though, maybe let me clean up and eat something?”
With a snort, she said, “Always thinking with that stomach of yours.” She waved at the bath. “Go on, I’ll finish up breakfast while you make yourself presentable.”