An enemy made of a storm?
-No.- My Arcane was good at dramatic pauses. -Nightmares.-
Crwys
Crwys stifled a yawn as he and Levi sat on the hood of the Mustang. Levi had a bottle of cool water in his hand, the condensation running off its cylindrical sides and making a little puddle on the car's front grill.
It was ten at night and it was still in the eighties even with the clouds blotting out the stars. Lightning illuminated the sky like the aurora borealis.
"You think it'll rain?" Levi said, looking up at the flashes in the sky.
"No."
They waited by the curb in front of the house Sam and the Hive had visited earlier in the day. The yellow police tape surrounding the porch and perimeter of the home drooped in the heat. Captain Prescott's final statement to them before they left with the key was a simple, "I don't know what kind of damn strings Arden Vervain pulled this time, but if anything goes wrong in that house, I'm holding the two of you responsible. And where is Detective Damali?"
"We've put her on inventorying Miss Lefebvre's things and casing the neighborhood," Tulose had informed her. "She said she was going to get the report ready for our morning meeting."
Prescott had appeared pleased and gone back to her office.
Crwys crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the cracked sidewalk to his right. He didn't mind Prescott's somewhat hard-to-get-to-know exterior, but he was still waiting for her to show her gooey interior. He thought he caught a glimpse of it when she came to see him while he recuperated at Gyspsy Gardens, but then he was pretty sure the woman was more impressed by Arden's estate than the depleted health of her detective.
The story Arden wove to explain his absence was still a mystery, especially when the only clue he got from Arden was "Go with it."
He tried connecting with Sam a few times through their bond, but when he couldn't sense her, he assumed she was either asleep, or he was just too far away. The best connection he had from her usually kicked in within a mile. At least when it came to him feeling Sam. She mentioned a few times that she always felt he was there, standing beside her, but his own link to her was solid and in place. Getting Sam to completely surrender that kind of trust was going to take a bit more time. Before he became a creature of his mother's wrath. Before the Arrow pierced his heart.
"Hey," Levi said as he pushed at Crwys's shoulder with his fist. "You're not having a genesis, are you?"
"No. But I came close just then. It happens when I…think of the past."
"That's why you call it a genesis experience, right? Because it's you relieving your genesis. When you became a Drachen, right?"
Crwys nodded. "Yeah."
Levi stood and stretched his arms out. "When are you going to tell Sam?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure bringing this up while she's dealing with the loss of an Elemental is such a good idea."
"Yeah, I hear you, but these episodes are going to happen more often, and then one day you're going to just…"
Crwys made a face. "I don't need you to remind me of something I've suffered all of my life, Ashur."
The shadows of the night crept along the sidewalk and moved and twisted around Levi's legs and body before resting along the hollows of his face. His entire demeanor shifted quickly as Ashur made himself visible in the muscles and flesh of his host. His voice dominated, obliterating Levi's. "I'm not trying to wreck your happiness, Azazel, but not telling Samantha is going to make a good situation blow up in your face. You have to be honest with her, and do it as soon as possible. You've asked her to marry you, to spend the rest of her life with you. How do you think she's going to feel when she realizes you've gone to Sleep and won't wake any time while she's still alive?"
Crwys growled low in his throat. "Don't push it, Ashur. I'm not going to do that to her."
"I hope not. Do you have a safe place picked out?"
"Yes. And I've used the last century to fortify and enforce the spells and wards around it so no one finds me." Such preparations might seem odd and overkill, but when one's life cycle requires a hibernation stretch from two to five hundred years, making sure a Dragon isn't dug up by modern society is imperative.
Neither of them said anything for several minutes. Then, "Ashur…if it were you—"
"It will never be me. You made that perfectly clear a long time ago."
Crwys winced inwardly. Discovering Ashur was a female had been a surprise to him. The Demoness had always bonded with males, so there had been an assumption of gender on his part. And when it became apparent that Ashur liked him as more than a friend, Crwys was up front and honest about his feelings, because he needed her friendship more than he needed anything else. This revelation was recent, so he wasn't surprised to hear the strained tone in Ashur's voice. "I know, but if it were you…and I didn't tell you…"
"I would hate you." Ashur/Levi turned as a green truck pulled in behind them and a silver Mercedes eased past and parked in front of them. "They're here."
"Ashur—"
"We have work to do." Ashur's voice was gone. It was only Levi now and he was walking to the Mercedes to give Arden his hand as she climbed out of the driver's side.
Dharma and Ivan approached Crwys, and he shook Ivan's hand. "You up for this?" he asked the Cyber Witch.
Ivan shoved his hands into his back pockets. "I'm willing to give it a shot. I mean, I understand Arden's concept, I'm just not sure if it'll work." He glanced back at Arden and Levi as Kyle stepped out of the passenger side of Arden's Mercedes. "Any news on Sam?"
"No. I called earlier, but the nurse reminded me that visiting hours end at six. I called at seven."
"I'm pretty sure you're not going to let rules stop you from seeing her, right?" Dharma smiled as she put a hand on Ivan's shoulder.
"Like hell they will. Ivan, I know Arden told you to stay out of the hospital's security system, but when this is over—"
"I've already made plans. We'll follow you there when we're done here."
"Guys—" Dharma started in a warning tone.
Kyle stepped up. "What're you three conspiring about?"
Crwys arched a brow at Kyle and easily changed the subject. "Debating about why we haven't seen Jack as much." He watched the Hedge Witch and caught the subtle hints of stress on the young Witch's face. "Kyle?"
"It's pack stuff. Jack'll probably tell you when he has free time, but there's still friction between some of the Aces and Bastien. Ben's been trying to play mediator, but there are still a few holdouts when it comes to apogees having any say in pack politics."
"Friction?" Crwys was still irritated that the wolf showed up at the hospital like that. He sort of assumed once he put a ring on Sam's finger the big hairy pooch would get the idea. Mine. Stay back.
Kyle shrugged. "I'm hoping it all gets smoothed over."
"How is this affecting Jack?"
Kyle shrugged. "I wish I knew. Jack stopped telling me stuff about the pack when it pertains to him."
Crwys filed that away for later. "And you? How are your lessons going?"
Something flickered in Kyle's eyes as thunder rolled through the darkness above them, something that felt like a warning not to ask that kind of question. But of course, Crwys didn't take warnings too seriously. Unfortunately, Arden and Levi joined them at that moment.
Arden looked like she was ready for cave diving. She'd swapped out her earlier dress for a pair of khakis, a tan shirt, and what looked like a utility vest with pockets down the front and sides. He spotted a flashlight sticking out of one of the pockets, matches, a small first aid kit, twine, and what looked like…fishing hooks. "Arden…what are you wearing?"
"Isn't it adorable?" She turned from side to side to show it off. He noticed her tight jeans and boots. "I've been waiting for the chance to wear it."
"You look like you're going fly fishing," Ivan said as his gaze traveled up and down her petite frame. "You're just missing the pole."
She ignored him and faced the house as
she retrieved that flashlight out of its pocket. "Google Boy, it's time to see what you can see."
"Wait." Crwys reached out and took the flashlight from her. "You don't need that. The power's still on."
"Oh. But they always use flashlights on CSI."
"You really need to stop bingeing on Netflix, Aunt Arden," Kyle said in an exasperated tone.
"Follow me," Levi said, and Arden, Ivan, and Dharma immediately fell in line behind him.
Crwys reached out and caught Kyle's arm. The Hedge Witch stopped, looked at Crwys, and glanced at the others as they entered the house. "When this is over, I need you do me a favor."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. You know about Nadeen Lefebvre?"
Kyle's brows arched under his hair. "Yeah. I shouldn't be surprised you know who she is since you introduced me to Papa Dumaine. He introduced me to her last week. Why are you asking?"
So Kyle didn't know. "She was killed this morning. Now"—he held up a hand as Kyle opened his mouth to speak—"I can give you the details when we're done here. I shot a few pics on my camera. I want you to take a look at them and tell me what you see."
"Sure." He nodded quickly. "I can do that. Are they keeping her death a secret? I haven't heard anything."
"For now, yeah. So just keep this to yourself."
"Hey, you two!" Arden appeared on the porch and gestured for them to come. "We need everyone's participation."
Crwys nodded in Arden's direction so Kyle would go ahead of him. While everyone's backs were turned, he pulled a bottle of caffeine pills out of his pocket and swallowed two of them. As he ran up the steps, he nearly ran into Levi. His oldest friend sighed and walked back into the house.
SIX
This house was more modern than Mambo Nadeen's had been. Refurbished hardwood floors, fresh paint on the walls, no holes or cracks visible in the drywall. The furniture was nice—definitely IKEA. Typical of most college kids and young professionals.
The house belonged to one of the boys' parents, who lived in Shreveport, Louisiana. Lawyers, both of them. Had their own private practice and bought this house as an investment. Crwys wasn't sure having their only child live in it had been the original purpose, but it seemed like a good place for him to stay while he attended college.
Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, all redesigned and not the typical style for New Orleans. For one thing, none of the tiles were cracked, broken, or missing in the bathrooms. He stepped into each room, giving them a cursory glance with Levi beside him.
The morning's excitement had happened in the main living area. The makeshift altar was still there, though the brazier had been turned over, and the hot briquettes had burned holes in what he knew to be an expensive rug in deep greens and gold. The smell of incense permeated the air, but he couldn't pinpoint what herb it was because of the charred smell of the rug fibers.
Crwys moved to the side of the room, in front of the fireplace, as Levi looked at the family pictures set out on the mantel. Arden stood in the opposite corner with her hands out, her eyes closed. Dharma took up a position in the opposite corner doing the same thing. He didn't know what they were doing, but he felt something brush his ankle and looked down a few times, expecting to see a bug or something.
Ivan strolled around with his hands in his pockets. Crwys noticed the greenish glow in the kid's eyes as he used his enhanced vision to look for a magnetic disturbance, not that Crwys really understood it all, but the theory made sense.
Kyle knelt at the altar as he pulled a set of latex gloves from the messenger bag always present at his hip. "Crwys, do you have shots of this?"
"I'm pretty sure we do."
Kyle pulled his phone out and started taking pictures of the altar before he picked at the items. Crwys stepped to his side and knelt as well. "You see something odd?"
"Well"—Kyle chewed on his lower lip—"I don't know anything about these guys, other than the cursory opinion that they were jocks, they were college kids, and they were friends. Given the look of this house I'm assuming one kid comes from money, so I'm going to assume none of them knew what they were doing."
"Okay?"
"But this altar says differently." He pointed to the brazier. "The incense used contained three herbs. Ephedra, poppy, and cedar. By themselves, they're potent but wouldn't register on a bad juju scale. But combined the way they are here…"
Crwys leaned toward him. "What?"
"Well, I'd say it's used to summon a spirit."
Arden stepped closer. "People summon spirits all the time, what makes this one different?"
Crwys glanced over at Dharma, who was still standing in her corner with her eyes closed.
Kyle shook his head. "They do it with no success, because most of the time, or really all of the time, they don't know what they're doing. This stuff," he said as he pointed to the spent ash and sand, "was created with a specific spirit in mind."
"You mean they were summoning a specific deity?" Levi asked.
"I wouldn't say deity, but you're on the right track. There's a…there's tobacco in the mix. I can sense it more than smell it. It's old. I don't mean like the brand is old, I mean like the tobacco was old when they used it. Dried to a point where it was pulverized in the incense."
"Who did they try to summon?" Arden asked.
"I don't have a clue on that. What's a bit terrifying is the complexity of the altar built by a trio of frat boys. I mean, come on Aunt Arden, look at it."
"Oh, I see it, Kyle. I was just hoping I wasn't right. Anyone can get hold of a book or some careless Witch's notes."
Crwys straightened and faced Arden. "Care to let the rest of us in on the altar?"
"It's not a mystery, Crwys. It's just that…how can three kids, barely out of their teens, construct an altar in this precise arrangement," she said, and then walked along the edge of the carpet, "and then create a Circle so powerful, yet so invisible as to be nearly undetectable by most magic?"
"Circle?" Levi said.
"Dharma and I used our Water Elements to perceive things in the room you can't see or sense. The herbs used in creating the Circle dissolved in the Water, making it easy to see the Circle. It's there. Dharma?"
Dharma blinked and looked at Arden. "Yes?"
"Crwys, go to her. Dharma, show him."
"Show me?" He strolled up to Dharma, not expecting much, until she put her hand on his shoulder.
The room abruptly filled with water up to his ankles. He picked his feet up as if marching until he realized the water wasn't real…it wasn't corporeal. He relaxed a bit as he watched it move around the room, into and out of the fireplace, the closets, the doors. It even lapped at the walls as if it were being contained within the house itself.
If he paid attention to the carpet, he could make out the pulsing yellowish light of a Circle around the room with the altar at the center. The yellow was sickly, with hints of green and what looked like soot.
Dharma removed her hand and the water vanished. The disruption also made his ears pop. He stuck his pinky into his ear and wiggled it as he smiled at her. "So that's this new thing Sam said you could do."
"Not really new, Crwys," Arden said. "She's just combining her Psychometry Gift with her Water Elemental."
"It's how she can see me when I'm online and monitor things. I don't know she's there unless she texts me." Ivan smiled at Dharma, and she smiled back at him. "I like having her watch my back, so I don't get lost."
"Or pick up more bad code." She winked at him.
"Well"—Crwys took a closer look at the rug and saw a faint circle of something brown where the glowing yellow one had been in Dharma's Water—"Ivan, have you seen anything—"
"Wait," Ivan interrupted.
Crwys turned to see the Cyber Witch bent over and staring at the rug near the altar. "Wait, what?"
"I see some weird shit right here."
"What exactly does weird shit mean?" Crwys said as he stood beside him.
Ivan pointed down. "It means exact
ly that. When I look at things, they have their normal fields. Like…your field sort of shows you to be a lot bigger than you look."
Crwys arched a brow. "And?"
"And when I look at Sam, Dharma, or Arden, I see brilliant pulsing colors. When I look at Kyle, I see things that look like connections, circuits that tie him to the Earth."
"Ivan," Levi said. "All of that sounds like weird shit to me."
"Not really. Weird shit is looking at the floor and seeing nothing, until this spot…where something looks like it's moving."
"Moving?" Crwys knelt down and put his hand on the carpet over the spot where Ivan pointed. He couldn't feel anything. No extreme temperature differences. The fiber wasn't wet. He stood as he glanced around before he motioned for Kyle, Arden, and Ivan to step back. With Levi's help, he took one end of the carpet and started rolling it toward the altar and stopped rolling just before it. "Point it out again."
Ivan came back to his spot and pointed again.
Kyle joined him, knelt, and with a knife he retrieved from his messenger bag, pried at one of the hardwood boards. It cracked, and then popped, before Crwys bent down with him and helped him yank up the full four-foot board. Crwys set it to the side as Kyle pried up another one and set it by the first.
"Oh…wait!" She pulled a pen light out of her many pocketed vest and shined it into the dark hole beneath the floor for Ivan to look into. "Is that a box?"
Kyle started to reach his hand in, but Crwys grabbed his arm. "Let me do it." Crwys sent heat into the hole to surround the box. "Ivan, any difference?"
"Yeah, whatever it is, it's not happy."
"Okay." Crwys reached all the way in, grabbed the box in his hand, and pulled it out. It was maybe four inches by four inches and had a distinct seam around the middle, indicating it had a top and bottom. There weren't any markings—the wood was smooth but raw. No stain or polish.
"What is it?" Arden said as she leaned over Crwys's shoulder. "Go ahead and open it."
"And release the zombie apocalypse?" Crwys said.
Arden punched his shoulder. "Just open it."
So he did. The inside was raw wood without the smoothness. But there was something else.
Elemental Storm (The Eldritch Files Book 6) Page 5