Jace frowned, “A warlock?”
Jacob nodded, “Yes, so we can’t count on Lily’s ability to just pick them out, the warlock will be shielded from the life-web. From what I’ve been able to determine from the reports, it’s not a newbie, and somehow he or she avoided getting caught while learning what they were capable of. We’ll have to investigate to figure it out. Caroline and Allison will go by the local coven, Cinna and Jace will talk to the soul eater contingent, the rest of us will go to the crime scenes and try to get his scent. Before anyone goes anywhere, I want Lily to check out the local supernatural races, make sure we have no hidden rogues or allies in the coven or soul eaters.”
He looked at all of them one at a time, “No letting our guards down once we get there, warlocks aren’t to be underestimated, especially ones that have already taken out a full hunter team.”
She shook her head, “I have a vague idea what the warlocks are capable of, but I need to know more.”
Cinna sighed, “They and their demons won’t show up on the life-web. The demons because they aren’t life from this world, and they’re incompatible with it. The warlock because he or she will wrap themselves in the magic of the abyss, hell, or whatever you want to call it. We only show up on it because we’re half human. That can actually help, in your and the witches’ cases anyway, they won’t be able to sneak up on you three, because they won’t be on the web. You’ll notice if you see someone, and don’t get vibes over the web, right?”
She nodded, “I think so.”
Meri continued the brief, “Warlocks themselves will mostly use hell fire in a fight. You also don’t want to ever agree to any deals they might offer, even innocuous ones, it will bind you to them. Think sneaky Faustian deal, and you won’t be far wrong. Never agree with one, and if you can help it never even speak to one. Their shields are of hell, so like against a witch, spells won’t work on them. Obviously, web spells are completely off the table, and using aura spells will just open you up for a spell of their own. They also have all of hell to draw from, it isn’t wise to get into a spell battle with one, physical attacks are the best way to go. Let’s see, they’re also immune to Tasers, but a gun will work.”
Cinna took back up the thread, “They aren’t as diverse as a witch. Hellfire, deals if your stupid enough to speak, summoning and controlling demons, and shielding are their staples for battle. The rest of it, sacrificing and the like, are for humans they capture and not something to worry about unless you’re captured. Given all that, they aren’t actually all that tough, if you can fill them full of bullets or tear out their throat before they can roast you in fire, but the summon demon thing makes them far deadlier.
“All demons, like the warlock, can cast hellfire. They’re all incredibly strong, fast, and their skin is too hard for anything but armor piercing bullets, or the hardened claws of a shifter. They can take a lot of damage before going down, so it’s best to go for the throat. All of them are tough, and can cast hellfire, after that demons are more diverse. We have to assume the warlock has some under his or her thrall, but there are many different kinds.
“Some are like soul eaters, they’ll consume your life force if they make it to grappling distance and get hands on you. They can also get in your heads, like soul eater compulsion. The worst we know about are the gate makers, if the warlock sacrifices enough humans, or in other words feeds the demons under his command enough power, they can open a gate to hell itself for other demons to come through. Really, that’s what the sacrifices are for, to give the warlock control over the demons he summons.
“There are many other types with different magical abilities, and they’re all as resistant to witch magic as the warlock himself. Honestly, the best way to deal with the demons is to kill the warlock if we can, then all the summoned demons will be banished. They’re all connected through the warlock’s magic, if he or she gets killed and goes to hell, the demons follow. Oh, lastly, they can pass as humans if they wish. They don’t have red skin and horns… well, unless they want to of course, but that would be silly.”
Jacob grunted, “I’ll have enough guns for all of us, with the right ammunition to deal with them all waiting for us when we get there.”
She frowned, “I’ve never fired a gun, but I get the feeling I’d be good to go with a sword.”
The others all stared at her for a moment. It made sense to her, she’d seen herself wielding one in her dreams, and if it was anything like physically fighting, her body would remember how to wield one. Plus, guns had only been around a couple of centuries, she’d been locked away, of course she knew nothing about firing one of them. She knew it in theory of course, and could probably figure it out, but to fire a gun in battle for the first time would be stupid and a good way to get killed.
Jacob nodded slowly, “I’ll see what I can do, but Federal Marshalls don’t carry swords.”
She nodded, she’d gotten her new ID, fake badge, and the Taser pistol she’d been wanting a couple of days ago, so of course the damned warlocks would be immune to it. It wasn’t her fault, someone should have taken her to the firing range and taught her how to fire a weapon. If they couldn’t find a sword, and a way for her to conceal it, she’d have to stick to shifted claws. That meant fighting away from humans, in either case really.
Jacob said, “That’s it, if Lily has more questions we can answer them on the move. Pack a bag and let’s head to O’Hare, we’ll take the El.”
They all jumped up, and they headed for their rooms.
Chapter Five
She packed a few pairs of casual jeans and shirts, a couple of yoga pants and t-shirts to sleep and work out in, panties and bras, and her badge, cell phone, and Taser. Then she tossed in all the stuff for hygiene and her bag was about fit to burst. She was wearing ankle high black boots with low heels, which would go with just about everything, so she saved room that way.
She’d gotten used to sleeping in the buff, but with sharing a room with Meri that was out. Regardless, if she ran out of clothes, or needed something different she could just buy it there. The Hyatt Regency was a nice hotel, she figured they’d have laundry services if they were stuck down there more than a few days.
She also slipped on a light leather jacket, it wouldn’t be too hot to wear if it was in the sixties, and it came down to mid-thigh. She figured it would do well to conceal a sword, if a short one, if Jacob came through on that for her. She also liked the way she looked in it.
The flight down was a direct one, non-stop on American airlines. One of the advantages of living by a major airline hub. The hotel was even nicer than she’d been expecting, the interior of the hotel itself and the amenities available. The room Meri and her were sharing had two double beds, and looked out over the Riverwalk. It had a brown leather lounger with ottoman, a couch, a table and two chairs, and desk with an ergonomic chair.
Not that she had much time to enjoy it after they’d arrived and checked in. She took a minute to enjoy it, and then sat on one of the beds and closed her eyes. It didn’t take her long, there were only nine in the soul eater community down in San Antonio, and all their vibes felt good, she had no doubts they were eating from volunteers and without a sadistic bent.
The witches of course were harder to classify that way, since they guarded and shielded themselves she couldn’t get a good read on them. It wasn’t a reason for suspicion either, since she, Caroline, and Allison did the same thing. All witches did. It was merely prudent for a witch to protect themselves on the life-web.
Still, she didn’t pick up anything alarming or suspicious. She also tried to find the warlock, but of course that didn’t work at all. As far as she could tell, there were no rogues of any kind in the city, which was a good sign. At least all they had to deal with down there was a warlock.
Meri asked, “Anything?”
She shook her head, “Not a thing. I’d say this place was secure if I didn’t know better.”
Meri nodded, “That’s why it’s
important to monitor the news and police, that’s where we usually pick up evidence of a warlock. The trail of dead bodies and sacrifices. Usually witches can find them if we catch them early enough, before they learn how to shield themselves.”
She pulled out her phone and texted everyone the all clear as far as she could determine.
There was a knock on the door just a minute later, and Meri let in Jacob and Carl. The former was carrying a duffle bag.
Jacob reached in, and he pulled out two guns with holsters of sorts. He handed one to Meri, and then walked over to her, and showed her wordlessly how to clip it to her jeans at the small of her back so it wouldn’t irritate.
She froze, as his hand brushed her bare back. It felt entirely too good, and it made her feel off balance. This waiting thing was starting to get torturous for her.
Jacob cleared his throat, which pleased her, he was obviously just as affected by the casual touch.
“Don’t take it out, I’ll show you how to use it tomorrow morning and give you a crash course on safety. For now, it’s enough to know don’t ever put your finger in the trigger guard unless you intend to kill someone, and don’t ever point it at anyone you don’t want dead. Safety or not, loaded or not, don’t violate those rules, ever.”
She nodded and bit her lip as she looked up into his intense brown eyes.
“I won’t.”
Damn, her voice had been far too breathy and seductive, she’d barely recognized her own voice.
Meri gave her an amused glance as her hazel eyes danced with repressed laughter.
Lily blushed. She wasn’t exactly ashamed of her feelings at all, and she would have flirted boldly with Jacob without batting an eye, except she wasn’t a tease, and usually had better control over herself than that. Her blush of embarrassment was for her loss of control.
“So, what’s the plan?”
Jacob said, “We’ll check out the burned down house first, hopefully we’ll get an idea of the bastard’s numbers, how many demons he has and all that, by checking for tracks. If we can’t find his scent there, we’ll check out the crime scenes of his sacrifices. The others will check the local witches and soul eaters.”
She already knew that last part, but just nodded.
He pulled out two more clips for them each, and told her, “Pockets. Remember, even when I teach you how to use it, Tasers, fists and subtlety are always better. We just won’t have much of a choice on this mission, if the warlock has a lot of demons taking a few out before they close is the only sane option. Most of the time your gun will be locked up in the house safe.”
She nodded, “Got it.”
He added, “Oh, no luck on the sword. We might be able to find a novelty shop of some kind, but I doubt those swords are well made enough to break the skin on a demon, much less kill it. You’ll have to depend on claws for now. You have that short-term memory spell, if worse comes to worse do what you have to do to survive, and we’ll cover it up afterwards.”
“Why don’t Tasers work?”
Meri said, “Tasers scramble nerves, and the ability of the brain to control the body. Shorts out impulses so to speak. The demons are alive of course, but their life energy and bodies are far different.”
The gun felt like a heavy weight in the small of her back. The holster was actually inside her jeans, with the clip on the outside. Her loose red shirt covered it, but once she’d slipped on her leather jacket it would be completely hidden. It didn’t bother her exactly, but she had no idea how to use it. Or rather, what to expect when she aimed for the first time and pulled the trigger. It wasn’t exactly brain surgery to turn off the safety and pull the trigger, hitting the enemy or worse, something she didn’t want to hit, would be the trick. She just needed practice.
She was far more confident in what she did know, fighting with claws.
Jacob said, “Let’s move out.”
They moved downstairs to the parking lot.
She teased, “Glad you took my advice,” as they slid into the black SUV with tinted windows. She’d told him weeks ago they needed a car that screamed government agent, no Federal Marshal drove around in a six figure BMW.
Jacob snorted, “It’s all they had.”
She doubted they’d be that lucky, but she kept alert as they drove toward the burned down shifter house for the team in this city, just in case they crossed paths with the warlock or one of his or her demon flunkies. She was open to the impressions of the web as usual, so she was fairly certain she’d notice if she saw someone not on it. Still, the chances of randomly running into their quarry was ridiculously low.
But… it would never happen, if she didn’t stay alert for the possibility.
The shifter mansion was located in the north central part of the city, it only took them about ten minutes to get there, and as she suspected she hadn’t any luck in finding their target.
“Damn,” she said softly, as they got out of the SUV.
The mansion was gone, not even blackened wood, it was complete ash and there was a hole in the ground where the basement was. There was police tape around the site, but no sign of the authorities given how late in the day it was.
Meri said, “Hellfire isn’t like normal fire, it utterly consumes the target, yet doesn’t grow out of control either.”
She bit her lip as they approached the police tape, and then started to circle around the building. She knew there’d probably been a lot of first responders out there, but she wasn’t worried about the scents being muddied. Like all the other supernatural races the warlocks had unique scent markers, and of course the demons would as well. There was no chance of them getting mixed up with human firemen or police.
She could sense the remnants of the magic, the hellfire, and there was something seductive about the idea of burning her enemies to ash without harming anything else, but she pushed that down. She’d never used her warlock abilities before, and had no plans to even try, but it was obvious to her at that moment that she could at least detect warlock magic, given she had that inside of her as well. She waited until they’d circled the building before she spoke.
“I don’t have to look for gaps in the life-web in the people around me, I can sense the magic residue here, and I bet the warlock and demons will stick out like a sore thumb to me. Of course, I’ll do it anyway, the range seems to be pretty short, at least for leftover magic.”
Jacob grunted, “Good to know, but be careful.”
She smiled at him but managed to suppress the flirting gesture she wanted to make.
Meri said, “Twelve, we are in deep shit.”
She nodded, “I counted twelve as well, it looks like they surrounded the mansion, three on each side, and then blasted the house from all directions with hellfire to prevent anyone from escaping. By the time they woke up from their sleep…” she trailed off.
It was a murder, a massacre, not a fight. The warlock had taken them totally by surprise in the dead of night while they slept in their beds, she could read it in the magic’s residue. Unfortunately, that residue told her nothing about the caster, just the intent the magic was turned toward.
“Why in deep shit?” she asked.
Carl frowned, “Twelve means eleven demons. The warlock has accumulated a lot of power. It would take a sacrifice to summon and bind each of them, and about one sacrifice a week after to keep them happy. The warlock is very powerful to control that many, even with those sacrifices. Worse, the authorities only found eleven of the sacrifices, which means she’s clever and sane enough to hide the rest of them, who knows how many victims she ultimately has.”
She frowned, “She?”
Carl nodded, “One set of the tracks were small and light, not to mention her scent is female. We’re definitely dealing with a female warlock.”
She shook her head, she’d been thinking it would turn out to be a man, but she supposed that was foolish. A warlock was a warlock, after using the magic they’d be lost and corrupted under the influence of hell’s
princes.
“Why not hide the other eleven?”
Carl shrugged, “Not sure, but the sacrifices for the initial summoning are never hidden for some reason, maybe it’s part of the price. Maintaining that with successive sacrifices can be hidden. I imagine there’s other things we don’t understand either, magic and life are complicated.”
She sighed, as usual things were far more complicated than she knew.
“So… if there were eleven why were you surprised she had eleven?”
Jacob sighed, “Because warlocks usually aren’t that careful or clever. We assumed some of those eleven were either to re-summon demons or follow up sacrifices for three to four demons.”
Meri grunted, “At least we know what we’re facing. A female warlock, smart, clever, with enough will and determination to control eleven demons without slipping up.”
“Slipping up?” she was going to get a headache and took a deep breath. Would there be no end to what she had to learn?
Meri shrugged, “Yes, her demons are under her control as long as she maintains iron control of her own magic. If she makes a mistake they’ll kill her. It’s in their natures to do so, even if they’d probably rather remain in the human world to kill and cause misery, they will always challenge their summoner’s will and control. Being a warlock isn’t for the faint of heart. I’d say that happens to half of them, or more, that find out what they are and summon a demon. They screw up, die, and are dragged to hell with the summoned demon.”
Oh… great. Well if she had any doubts about not using warlock magic, she didn’t anymore. Not that she did earlier either, but damn.
“Alright, so what now? We have a description, but no trail to find them.”
Shadow of the Apocalypse Page 4