by Keller, Tom
"It is likely there is a connection to the Demons then. Albeit if only related to their deaths," Meredith said, taking a seat on the couch. "The gates, the Demons, Gaea's warning, the appearance of the Death Spirit at a location so close to your home. Robert, perhaps she can tell us more. You seem to have struck a chord with her, or she would not have given you her name."
"Great," I replied, resigned to the fact that I would have to attempt to contact her. "Okay. Let me see what I can do."
"Seek Diantha's advice before you attempt contact," Meredith said. "She may have wisdom to impart when it comes to such beings."
"It wouldn't surprise me." I replied. "That's a good idea."
"Now. The other issue," Meredith said. "I received word from O'Malley. It appears you are now the ranking Fae in the area, according to the government."
"So I've been told," I replied. "Sorry about that. I could use some help setting things up."
"Not to worry, there is no offense taken. Do not be concerned. We have a system already in place," she said with the hint of a smile. "It will be good to share the expenses with another that has the resources, as you do."
I now controlled the wealth of the Dryads here in the human realm. There were controls in place, so I couldn’t squander it, but costs such as this were just part of doing business on the human plane. It was okay, we could afford it.
"Rest assured we will assist you in any way possible." she added. "Siegfried and Michael will continue to be your contacts here for those matters. We can iron out any formal agreements later."
"It's really not that big of a deal," Michael said. "We've already done things together. This is no different. When we are notified, we'll call you. Together we can handle almost anything that comes up."
"Thank you," I said. "I'm sure I'll figure it out. In the meantime, let's hope things quiet down a bit until we can get a handle on exactly what is going on." After a few more minutes of discussion about the matter, I headed back out to my car and the ride home.
I thought my day was finally done. But I was barely halfway home before the phone rang. Keying my Bluetooth, I answered.
"Didn’t I just leave there?" I quipped, as I recognized Michael's number.
"No rest for the weary," he replied, "or the wicked. But this is business. We just got a call from the PD. SP's watching something strange at a park off west Alexander. It came in off the mountain. Now it's just wandering around. They pulled back. But they say it's one of ours, so they're just monitoring."
"Did they say what it was?"
"You're gonna love this," he replied. "It's some kind of Centaur. But they say it isn’t normal."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," he replied. "We don’t always get complete info from these guys. They just said it didn’t look right. The SP unit is in a white van parked on Alexander at Majestic Park. Maybe they'll have more by the time you get there. Keep me posted." I heard another phone ring in the background and Michael told me to hang on for a minute. He got back on the phone a few seconds later. "That was Siegfried. He says he'll meet you there."
He must have left shortly after I did. Since Siegfried lived in Summerlin, we'd probably get there close to the same time. I continued up the highway and took it to the 215. Getting off on Cheyenne, I weaved through the side streets to the park he was talking about. It was just south of Lone Mountain. The actual mountain, not the street. Parking next to the white van, I got out just in time to see an officer walking backward down a hill in the park. He came around the fence to meet me.
"You must be Hoskins," he said. "I'm Douglas Davey, Special Projects. My partner's circling the park, making sure this is the only one."
"What do we have?" I asked. I noted that he wasn't emanating much in the form of magic. I could tell he was a Mage, but he wasn't broadcasting.
"Similar to a Centaur. Or at least a hybrid of some type," he replied. "Never seen anything like it. Half bull, I think, with a human-like upper body and face. Big bastard, too. But it's not normal."
"Not normal?" I asked. "What do you mean?"
"Hold on," he said, watching as a black Tahoe pulled into the lot and then came in our direction. It was Siegfried.
"Glad you could make it," Davey said as he walked up to join us.
"What have I missed?" Siegfried asked.
"Just getting ready to cover it," Davey replied. "Like I was telling Hoskins here, the creature is some kind of hybrid. Half bull or something along those lines, but a lot bigger. Upper torso is human-like; face is flat with ears that hang down. It's wearing some kind of gold colored armor on its legs and arms. It's like nothing I've ever seen. I snapped a pic. Here, take a look." He held out his cell phone and I took it to see what it looked like, sharing the picture with Siegfried.
The image was grainy, but recognizable. The creature had been walking through the parking lot, heading for the fields when it was taken. It had the body of a bull and the upper arms and torso of a man. Or at least it was similar to a man. Like he said, the face looked flat. I couldn’t tell exactly how much, as the image captured only the profile of its head. But it looked almost squared off in front. The nose barely protruded out, and except for what looked like a beard, there wasn't much else of the face that could be seen except for the ears. It wore some type of smooth armor, covering its legs and arms, with joints that were circular, to allow movement. It had a small tail and some sort of protrusion on its back. I'd never seen anything like it, either.
"Where is it now?" Siegfried asked.
"It was still wandering around the park when I pulled back," Davey said. "It knows I'm here. Looked straight at me when I first crested the hill but it didn’t seem to care. We read your report about these things being drawn to magic, so we both cloaked ourselves as best we could."
"Who else is out here?" Siegfried asked.
"Amadeus. He's a Were," he replied. "He's checking the area to make sure there aren’t any others. He'll also make sure we aren’t disturbed."
"What can you tell us about the park?" I asked.
"It sits in a basin," he replied. "There are several sports fields and playgrounds inside, surrounded by desert. The place is deserted this time of night, except for the creature of course. Last time I saw it; it was rummaging around in one of the concession stands."
"Any idea where it came from?" I asked.
"We think it came down from the mountain," he said, meaning Lone Mountain. It wasn't very big, as mountains go, but it was a local landmark. It also wasn't big enough to have anything other than hiking trails, so if it had come down from there, it would have had to have first appeared there or wandered onto it from somewhere else. Either way, it wasn't much help.
"All right," Siegfried said with a nod. "I'm ready. What are your orders when it comes to contact?"
"We've got some wiggle room," Davey replied. "We were told to back off and turn these things over to you, unless the situation warranted our further involvement. We can stand by as back up and make sure no mortals get involved. But you know me, if it turns to shit, I'll be there."
"Very good," Siegfried said with a smile, before slapping Davey on the back. "Then let us see what this creature is made of." He turned back to me and waved his hand in front of him, letting me lead the way. "After you."
"Let's do it," I said, then started toward the hill.
As we reached the crest, Siegfried and I both kneeled and looked out over the park. What we saw was a giant, bull-hybrid type creature just standing there. It was about 50 yards in front of us, between two fields. Its head was turned away, but it looked just like the picture. However, it was bigger than I had expected. It was over 15 feet from its hooves to the top of its head. It was broadly built as well. I could see that the armor covered its torso as well. It was some type of leather that looked like it was poured on instead of worn. Something layered covered its back. It might have been additional armor, or even a saddle, but I couldn't quite tell. Siegfried motioned to me
and we both backed down the hill until we were out of sight of the thing.
"You think it's an escaped Demon?" he asked.
"Damned if I know," I replied. "But it's sure as hell not like anything I've seen before. The last Demon we fought had a head like a bull, this one is the opposite."
"This is not a Centaur," Siegfried said. "Like the Demons before, I do not believe this comes from any of our worlds."
"Let's try and make contact," I said. "Maybe we can at least figure out where it comes from."
"That did not work so well with the others." he replied, pulling out his sword. "But I do not know what else we can do."
I willed mine to appear, but did not engage it fully, holding just the hilt in my hand. After checking my gun, I nodded, then we got up and walked back up to the top of the hill. It noticed us the minute we reached the crest. Turning its head, it stared at us a moment before turning its entire body around. Ignoring me, it shifted its gaze to Siegfried. The short, twisted horns, behind its ears were visible now that it faced us.
Its back moved and suddenly, huge wings appeared, unfolding and adding to its bulk. It made a deep rumbling sound as a warning, before folding them back. Before we could react, it headed toward us at a full gallop. It was fast, covering the ground in seconds. We both dived out of the way as it came up the hill at us, stopping only after we had jumped out of the way. Now that it was staring down at us, it refocused its attention on Siegfried as we backed down into the park. We were highly uncomfortable with the fact that it now held the higher ground.
I tried yelling at the creature to get its attention, but it just ignored me. Focusing on Siegfried, it raised one arm behind its back, pulling out a giant battle axe before charging again, this time directly at Siegfried. He held his ground, and with raised sword, blocked the battle axe as it swung out toward him. The power of the beast's swing lifted him up and back, as it galloped past him.
I willed my sword to full extension and fired a bolt of lightning at the thing; hoping it would have the same effect as it did on the Demon. The electricity hit it head on as it turned to attack again. Arcs of lightning travelled back and forth over the creature's metal armor, but it seemed to have no effect. You have got to be kidding me! The frigging thing was grounded Its armor was preventing the lightning from getting through!
It turned its attention to me, but before I could react, Siegfried ran up to the creature, swinging his sword and yelling some curse to Odin. Their blades met and there was a fierce exchange, but the creature's size and strength eventually won out. It finally threw Siegfried aside, sending him some 15 feet away, where he landed on his back. Before it could react, I was on it, using my sword to block the great battle axe. When they met, sparks flew. But even with my superior strength and magic as a High Fae, sometimes physics just wins out. The battle axe I blocked for the umpteenth time finally lifted me into the air and threw me aside as well.
I landed on my side and skidded a few feet. The creature then returned its attention back to Siegfried who was just getting back on his feet. He turned and swung his sword as the creature reached him, knocking aside the battle axe with his own great strength. I got up and ran toward them, swinging my sword at the armored legs as they danced in battle. It must have had some effect, as the creature then turned its attention back to me, the battle axe missing my head by inches as I ducked to avoid being cut.
There was a sudden flurry of gunshots, as the Special Projects officer, Davey, showed up with a shotgun type weapon in his hands. The creature appeared stunned for a moment, then leapt into the air, its wings unfurling, and landing almost on top of him; knocking him aside as his gun went flying. I willed a force of magic energy at it as it stepped toward him, and although it slowed the creature down, it recovered quickly.
Siegfried was already headed that way to help, and I yelled at him to stop. I still had one weapon I hadn’t tried. Siegfried looked over at me as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the golden orb. Seeing what I held, he went down on one knee as I threw the device at the creature before it could reach Davey.
The device tumbled in the air as it flew. Just before it hit, thin gold filaments of metal shot out and encircled the beast, drawing themselves tight and forming a net over it. The thing stumbled, fighting at the strands as they grew tighter. Suddenly, there was a screaming sound, like metal tearing, and the creature was cut into pieces, blood flying in all directions as the filaments contracted. Then quickly reeling back into the orb; which then returned to my hand.
As some of the blood hit me, I again felt darkness, as I had when I'd touched the other Demon's. This time, it was different. A long nothingness, really long, then a glimpse of a bright light, tinged in red. Clouds and lightning appeared. For the briefest moment I saw.... something, then it was gone, only the view of the city from the mountain remained as the scene faded. Whatever this thing had been, it had been a long time since it roamed the earth, if ever. But what else had I seen? I hadn't seen enough to be sure what it was, but I thought I saw wings. A Demon perhaps. But then the vision had faded before I could see more.
"I'm gone 5 minutes and what the...?" I heard a new voice say, as the other Special Projects officer, Amadeus, came over the top the hill. He ran down to Davey and helped him up. "Judas Priest, Doug, you’re covered in that shit." He wrinkled his nose. "Man, that's rank! I though it smelled bad on the other side, but down here... What the hell was that thing?"
"No clue," he said, wiping blood off of his face with his shirt sleeve. "Would you mind getting me a towel or something?"
"That's the least you need," the Were replied, then turned and headed back toward the parking lot.
"We will have to notify the EAB," Siegfried said, walking up to what remained of the creature, now just a pile of bloody pulp. "Perhaps they can make some sense of the... remains." He pulled out his cellphone and started punching numbers.
"We'll need a clean-up team as well," I replied, stating the obvious.
"Sorry," Davey said as Amadeus returned with a towel and a few other items. "But that's gonna be your responsibility."
"Call Michael," Siegfried said to me as he lifted the phone to his ear.
"Got it," I replied. I punched in Michael's number and let him know what happened. He told me he'd dispatch a team.
"So what do you know about these things?" Davey asked, now somewhat less bloody after rinsing off with a bottle of some liquid Amadeus had brought back.
"Not much more than you do," I replied. "Some Wizard opened a gateway to Hell and these things started showing up."
"At least the rest of the city is clear at the moment," Amadeus said, coming up behind us. "According to our people, anyway."
"Let's just hope this is the last one, then," Davey said.
"Yeah," I said, kneeling down next to Siegfried. "Let's hope."
"What did you kill it with, anyway" Amadeus asked.
"Some kind of net grenade," I said, taking the orb back out of my pocket. "Took it off a Mage that tried to kill me earlier tonight. Ever seen anything like it?"
"Not me," Amadeus replied. "But that's more Doug's department than mine."
"Nothing I've ever seen," Davey said, looking at it in my hand. "Good thing you had it, though. I was shooting it with rifled slugs and it barely noticed them."
"Almost fortuitous," Siegfried said, a moment later. "From what we have learned, these things cannot be killed by magic alone. Yet the orb, although of magic origin, was able to destroy the creature. Metal is still metal, enchanted, or not."
"It is quite a coincidence," I agreed. I had to wonder why it just happened to show up earlier today.
"You say you got it from a Mage that tried to kill you?" Davey asked. "Where is he now?"
"A Keres took him," I replied.
"A Keres," he repeated. "What are the Keres doing here?"
"It was just one," I replied. "And I have no idea."
"What’s a Keres?" Amadeus asked.
"Death Spirits
," Davey replied. "They take souls to Hell. But they haven’t been seen in ages. At least not here."
"What the hell is going on?" Amadeus asked. "I heard about the other Demons, of course, and I've read the reports. But now Death Spirits? Just what are we dealing with here?"
"That is something we do not yet know," Siegfried said.
"I'm gonna get Charlie over here," I said, after a moment." Maybe he can tell us something". I sent a command to Sendy, and a few minutes later, she and Charlie appeared. He ran up to me, checking to see if I was all right. By now, the Special Projects officers had returned to the lot to wait for the others to arrive.
"I know I should have called you," I said to him. "But there wasn't time."
"There is always time," he replied.
Siegfried just hid a grin. Charlie was never happy when he missed a battle I was in.
"You're right. I'm sorry. But just take a look anyway and tell me if you can sense anything else."
With a snort he went over to what was left of the carcass.
"What is it?" Sendy asked as she walked up.
"Some kind of bull-hybrid," I replied. "But not of our world."
"Like the Demon," Sendy said.
"Anything?" I asked as Charlie came back.
"No," he said. "Other than the foul stench, no other scent remains." Then turned as he heard a noise behind us. It was the Were, Amadeus.
"Dispatch just called. EAB should be here in about 5. Doug went to go clean up," he said as he walked up. "So who's this?"
I introduced him to Charlie and Sendy, both of whom he'd heard about from the local Were community. A while later, the EAB arrived and we turned the scene over to them before heading back to our cars in the lot. Before I could leave, Agent Browne pulled up. I gave him an overview of what had happened here, then covered my earlier fight with the Mage and my conversation with the Keres.
"The Keres appear now and then," he said after I was done. "They usually don’t socialize and since they are interested only in the dead, seldom come to our attention. Tell me about the orb. May I see it?"