“Danica…” he whispered. He could feel her loving presence everywhere around him. It drew him up, gave him strength. His skin tingled, every hair on his body rose.
He opened his eyes wanting with his entire being to see her face. The light dimmed to normal. He was greeted instead by the ringing phone sitting on a desk in the middle of the room with a single chair in front of it. He scoffed back a laugh. The phone was the old black desk type just like in Perry Mason.
Tired of the incessant ring, he hurried across the white tile floor and picked it up. “Garett,” he said.
“Take a seat,” a deep, authoritative voice commanded, “I’ll be right with you.”
Zach opened his mouth to argue but the dial tone told him he had no audience. He replaced the handset in the cradle, looked beside him to the straight-backed wooden chair. His gaze traveled the perimeter of the room. Maybe fifteen by fifteen. In the corner to his right, another door. As he sat down the door opened.
A man about his age stepped through. He wore black jeans and a black T-shirt, but Zach could see it was damp and there was a hole, like a gunshot to his chest. The man’s dark eyes swept across Zach’s face. He nodded imperceptibly, and said, “He’ll see you now,” then exited the door Zach had just walked through.
Unhurried, Zach stood. He swallowed and for the first time felt the hard burn of his throat. He touched his fingers to it and winced. Pain exploded under the pressure. What the hell?
He took a deep breath, the whistling sound of air fighting for passage through what he was sure was a crushed larynx.
Zach didn’t bother to explore the depth of his injuries. The fact he was alive, standing and breathing, was good enough for him right now. He had worse things to consider. Like was this some new IA mumbo-jumbo tactic? Were they trying mind games to get him to cop to the dead CI? Or why the hell he’d totaled another city vehicle? Hell, why his partner had tried to kill him?
Zach stepped into the room he was directed to. The man standing behind the white desk in the benign room was a stark contrast to it. He was taller than Zach’s six-three frame. He was dressed in black from his head to as far down as Zach could see from where he stood in front of the man’s desk. Dark blue eyes flashed beneath dark slashes of brow framing his face. Full lips, set in consternation, hovered over a square chin. Long wavy black hair flanked his broad shoulders.
“Welcome, Detective Garett.” The man reached out a long arm, and pointed to the chair in front of his desk.
Zach shook his head. “I’d rather stand if you don’t mind.”
The tall one nodded. “I do mind. Have a seat so that we may begin.”
“Begin what?”
“Our chat. About what happened to you today.”
“I’m not answering one question until my POA rep gets here and my attorney.”
The man sat, the gesture slow and fluid. He reminded Zach of a jungle panther. Steely control and the ability to pounce on its prey and deliver a fatal strike in less time than it would to blink.
“Who are you?” Zach demanded. He’d let his union rep know about this bullshit tactic. He turned to walk out the door. He gave the guy two seconds to come up with info. The man remained silent. “I’m outta here.”
Zach strode toward the door and snatched it open. An enormous draft of hot air sucked him forward into raging flames just outside the threshold. Holy shit. Zach jumped back and slammed the door shut. What the hell? He turned, warily narrowing his eyes at the stranger.
“Where the hell am I?”
The man’s face turned to granite. “Only heaven knows.”
“Who the fuck are you? Why am I here?” Zach moved closer to the center of the room. “Where is here?”
“Can I get you a glass of water or something, Detective?”
“No, thanks. Just tell me how to get out of here.”
“Have a seat, and I’ll explain your choices.”
“Choices? You’re giving me choices? I don’t even know who you are and you’re talking about giving me choices?”
“My name is Michael.”
“Michael what? Sergeant, LT? Captain?”
Michael smiled and inclined his head toward the empty chair. “Please, sit and hear what I have to say before you leave.”
Zach didn’t trust the guy’s tone. He smelled a setup. Despite that, he walked the remaining way across the room and sat. “Make it quick.” But he wasn’t sure where the hell he would go if he didn’t like what Michael had to say. It wasn’t like he had an option two.
“I’ve watched you for a very long time, Zach. You’ve made some very bad choices with very serious consequences. Have you heard of the Ten Commandments?”
“Cut to the chase, Mike.”
Michael opened a black folder sitting on the desk. Zach blinked in surprise. He was a paid observer and he was damn sure the folder wasn’t there a minute ago. Michael smiled at him, the gesture neither friendly nor challenging. More like knowing.
“At the tender age of ten you broke twelve-year-old Billy Kershaw’s hand after he stuck said hand down your sister’s panties.”
Zach’s back went rigid. “How do you know that?”
Michael shuffled a few papers, appeared to read one, then turned those incriminating eyes on him. “A year later when Billy retaliated by strangling your dog Sheba, you broke both of his hands then removed his right thumb and shoved it down his throat and told him the next time he touched anything you loved you’d kill him.”
Zach pushed back in the chair, the legs scraping on the floor. No one knew about his encounters with Billy, except Billy, and Billy couldn’t talk, because he was anchored off the Farallon Islands.
“I don’t know who the hell fed you this bullshit, but unless you have proof, I don’t need to listen to this crap.” He stood.
“Sit, Zach.”
The commanding tone of Michael’s voice stirred the air in the room. As if there were a hand on his back pushing, Zach sat.
“Six years later, after Billy raped your baby sister, and you beat him to a pulp, you left him to die.”
“I came back.”
“After he bled out. Why?”
At that moment, Zach didn’t give a shit who knew the truth about Billy. When he’d made the decision to out Santos he knew his career would be over, and he didn’t care. He was tired of who he had become. “Kershaw was a piece of shit. He’d robbed, raped, and bullied his way into running our neighborhood. When he raped Kimmy, I snapped. He had to be stopped, and he had to disappear. It sent a message.”
“And so the savior of the neighborhood became a cop to continue his vigilante rampage and up the body count.”
“Our justice system is ass-backwards.”
“So you took it upon yourself to clear the earth of criminals.”
“I like to think of it as saving the taxpayers some of their hard-earned cash.”
“What about Danica?”
If Michael had hit him in the chest with a sledgehammer it would have hurt less than the pain the mention of her name invoked. “Leave her out of this.”
“That will be difficult. She is a very integral part of why you’re here.”
“You got it all wrong, boss. She hates me. And she should.”
“Because you set her up and then betrayed her?”
“Why ask me questions when you already know the answers?”
“I’d just like to hear it from you.”
“I don’t discuss Dani with anyone. Now tell me why I’m here. I have a case to wrap up.”
“Zachary, in less than three minutes you will be dead.”
The warmth drained from his body, leaving his skin feeling cold and damp. Like a corpse.
Michael pulled a remote from a drawer and pointed it behind Zach. He turned to see a white flat screen emerge from the wall behind him. In slow motion the car chase he was just involved in came into view and played out. He cringed as the car flipped then landed with a crash on the asphalt. The picture freeze-f
ramed.
“What do you remember after the crash?”
“Nothing.”
Another picture flashed up on the screen. Zach’s temper soared when he watched Santos shatter his larynx and laugh about it. Instinctively he touched his fingertips to his neck. Pain flared.
The frame froze. Zach turned back to Michael. “Who are you?”
“I am the guardian of humanity, Zachary Garett, and humanity is about to engage in a battle with a force so strong no nuclear weapon can stop it.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Your Danica is the key to keeping the scourge from reaching earth, and you are the key to her understanding her destiny.”
“Danica hates me! She’ll shoot me the minute she lays eyes on me. Find another stooge to save the world.”
“Don’t you care?”
“I’m going to be dead, remember?”
“Do you know where you were headed before I snatched you from your fall?”
Zach remembered the oppressive heat from his dive bomb south and the unbearable weight on his chest. His body shuddered, and he suddenly felt like he was going to puke.
Michael extended a hand to the door. “You’re free to continue your descent. Just walk through that door.”
“As opposed to what?”
“I send you back to earth. Get Danica to understand her destiny by any means necessary, and together you save the world.”
“Funny.”
“I’m serious.”
“You go kill the bad guys.”
“I cannot take a human life, but I can give one back—conditionally.”
Zach sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course, now here comes the rub.”
“It’s quite simple, really. I want the Trinity. And you and Danica have the power together to retrieve the two missing pieces.”
Zach eyed Michael as if he’d sprung two more heads.
Michael smiled. It wasn’t a cockles-warming one either. Zach’s temples pounded and his body burned from pain. He swallowed hard and nearly gagged. It seemed each moment that passed his pain became more acute.
“In three days’ time the artifacts from the ruins of Caladia will be delivered to the Hope museum. A certain benefactor, Mr. Zao, an Immortal of the lowest order, is paying a sizable sum for the privilege of a private showing of several of those artifacts. Specifically an ancient scabbard that cradles the Star of Moria. If he gets his hands on either one, we lose.”
Zach didn’t dare ask what a freakin’ Immortal was. He didn’t want to know. “How does Danica play into this?”
“She is the last of the known Starkeepers on earth.”
Zach laughed, the sound cynical. “Okay, I don’t know what the hell you’ve been smoking.” He stood, then walked to the door, jerked it open and looked down into the fire. His pant leg ignited and the hot sear of fire burned him.
He jumped back, slapping his pant leg. “Son of a bitch!” Angrily he turned to look at Michael. The man or whatever he was hadn’t flinched.
Since this bizarre journey had begun, for the first time he felt as if there would be no escaping it. If he played along and listened to this crazy-ass hippy he might buy some time. Otherwise. He glanced over his shoulder. The choices weren’t too attractive. “Okay, I’ll play along. What’s a Starkeeper?”
“Several thousand millennia ago there was a faction of beings sent to earth to watch over humanity. Without going into details, I’ll just say they didn’t do their jobs very well. My boss got angry and he put them away. He has refused these watchers freedom until he feels they have learned their lesson. Which to date they have not. Quite the contrary. But because the watchers had done such damage to humanity, the boss gave humans the Trinity; the sword, the scabbard, and the Star, or together as one unit, the key to their prison, and the responsibility to guard it with their lives. The matriarch of the Magori tribe, the people most defiled by the watchers, was entrusted with the key. She separated the Trinity, hiding each piece in a secret location, and passed the secret of their resting places to her only daughter. And so the secret has been hidden for scores of millennia.”
Michael paced the small room, his presence filling it. Zach could feel his passion, his anger. He stopped beside Zach and looked hard into his eyes. “The secret of the key was lost through time because of complacency. Your Danica is the daughter of the last Magori matriarch. Rachel. And with Rachel’s death last year, there is only Danica.”
“So? Why do I have to get the key? Why not you?”
“My boss told the people he would not save them a second time. Only a human descendant of the keeper of the Trinity could ensure the safety of humanity.”
“So this Trinity or key was dug up? The archeologists have no clue what they have?”
“Indeed, over the years the Immortals, Sephora’s henchmen, have made it their life mission to discover the whereabouts of the key. There are whispers that the key is among the artifacts being delivered to Danica’s museum.”
“She has no idea about her mother?”
“None. The secrets have died with the years. It is unfortunate.”
“What prevents the bad guy from just taking the key?”
“It has no power unless freely given by the keeper.”
“Freely given as in, here you go even if I have no idea what the hell I just gave you?”
“Unfortunately, yes. And once Danica understands her role in humanity, she will need to begin the legacy again.”
“How does she do that?”
“She must bear a daughter of Caladian blood.”
Zach’s hackles rose at the thought of Danica with another man. “What is that?” he bit off.
“Caladians are descendants of the children born as the result of the watchers mating with mortal women.”
“So what’s an Immortal?”
“An Immortal is a human on his or her way to hell and given the choice of selling their soul to Sephora or continuing the descent.” Michael manufactured what could be construed as a smile. “Much like your situation.”
“Who is Sephora?”
Michael’s eyes flashed angrily. His hands fisted. “Sephora is the Queen of the Watchers.”
“How is it, if she’s one of these watchers, she isn’t locked up?”
Michael’s scowl deepened. “Sephora is not only beautiful, she is cunning and possesses power matched by few. She has chosen now to make her stand and hunt down the Trinity and those who stand in her way to free her people.”
“So how the hell—if what you say is true about Danica—is she supposed to survive an attack by that bitch?”
“So long as there is Magorian blood mingled with that of a Caladian, the keeper can survive attacks from Immortals, and with my help a direct attack by Sephora. For reasons I will not explain, Sephora will not show herself on earth.” He paused a moment to let the information sink in. Zach was having difficulty understanding it all, and even more believing it. He must be dreaming. Michael continued, “While the Immortals cannot kill the Starkeeper, they can and have killed her chosen one. They hunt Caladian warriors down like dogs.” Michael reached into the left breast pocket of his jacket. Slowly he withdrew a golden short sword. His blue eyes glowed in reverence. “The Sword of Caladia, the final piece of the Trinity.”
Zach had a physical reaction to it, as if it were a cherished childhood toy rediscovered. Instinctively he reached for it. Michael placed it in his hand hilt first. Zach slowly wrapped his fingers around it. It felt—familiar.
“You will know an Immortal when you meet it. They stink of sulfur. Their eyes turn to onyx when they are in kill mode. They are powerful. But then so will you be. They will show you no mercy, show them none. Slice an artery with that.” Michael pointed to the weapon in Zach’s hand. “And they will return to hell forever. Immortals can only be killed by a Caladian, the Starkeeper, or myself.” Michael continued, “Or by Sephora herself.”
Zach stood
for a long silent moment with the sword in his hand. Its warmth infiltrated his body, chasing the pain to the outer reaches of his nerves.
“Okay, Mike—you tell a fascinating story. But why am I here?”
“You are Caladian.”
Zach smiled, truly amused, and with regret he handed Michael the sword. “Sorry, but you have me mixed up with someone else. I’m Irish, and Italian with some Greek thrown in.”
Michael’s dark brows furrowed. When he spoke his voice boomed like thunder. “You are Caladian.” Just as quickly the storm cleared, and his eyes changed back to clear blue. A sly smile hovered over his lips. He thrust the sword back into Zach’s hand. “You will take Danica.”
Zach narrowed his eyes. What the hell—realization dawned. He backed up a step. “No way, man. No way am I doing daddy duty.”
“While there are several other Caladians on earth, none of them have the…history with the Starkeeper you have. Either you step up or I will send for your brother. Or if you force my hand, another Caladian. There are others who would be more than happy to have your Danica.”
Rage infiltrated every fiber of Zach’s being. The pain swelled but his anger quashed it down. He shut his eyes as the image of another man, hot and panting and thrusting into Danica, filled him. Gritting his teeth, he said, “My brother is in jail, for God’s sake. He can’t father a child!”
“It is my understanding there are such things as conjugal visits.”
Zach swiped his hand across his mouth, his frustration taking hold. “Not when you’re in for murder.”
“I have many avenues at my disposal.”
“So you can get my brother out of prison to fuck my ex-fiancée so they can have a Starkeeper child? Or if that doesn’t work out, some other guy? Bullshit!” Zach shook his head as the words left his mouth. Was he really having this conversation? Or was this some weird-ass dream? Holy hell, the one time he did LSD in high school, and it was coming back to haunt him. He stood and began pacing.
“Zach, time is running out. The paramedics just gave you a tracheotomy and they are getting ready to paddle you.”
What You Can’t See Page 24