I stood and surveyed the room as if it would provide the answer I so desperately sought. “I…am pretty sure that I’m right, but I hope I am wrong. Because if I am indeed right, and that’s what they are attempting then the world is in serious peril. And if we don’t stop them then the entire human race might be on the brink of extinction.”
His mouth gaped. “So we’re trying to save the world?”
Grandiose as it sounded, that’s exactly what this was about. “Yes.” I nodded. “That’s exactly what we’re trying to do.” He fell back on the bed. It was my turn to laugh. “Oh dear, lord.”
Dear Lord, indeed. We were pretty much on our own, and we would have to battle a band of determined mages who were preparing to end the world by their ambitious plans. If we messed it up, no one, including us, might be alive to pin the blame on us, but if we won, we might earn some brickbats from the FBI for breaking all their rules.
Wonderful.
It sounded more and more fun with each passing moment, and yet we didn’t have a choice.
We had to do this.
Chapter Twelve
The Temple for the Higher Arts was situated on top of a mountain. It was a beautiful building, white and glossy. Half of it curved under a natural mountain ledge. It was circular in shape, probably so they could pay homage to the sun from all angles. We surveyed the place from far. It wasn’t a good idea to walk into an unknown place when we didn’t have any backup.
“I can see some people trudging in and out of that place. Everyone is wearing white, but I am not sure if they are magic or non-magic,” he said.
When he passed me the binoculars, I looked. It was hard to tell at this distance. If we walked into a hall full of mages, it would likely be impossible to get out alive. But we didn’t have a choice but to go in and check out the scene. “It’s hard to tell from so far. Some of them most likely have possession of magic, but let’s just go in. If Scott Fallon is our man, he isn’t going to confess, we’ll have to make him reveal the truth in some other way.”
It was all false bravado, of course. Scott was a mage, and likely a powerful one if I considered the number of people who considered him their guru. We wouldn’t be able to lift a finger against him. All we could hope was to talk and see if he gave some information that we could use to wrestle an arrest warrant out of the judicial system.
This was insane, of course.
We didn’t have a shred of proof, only theories and conjecture, but it was all we had – and I wasn’t willing to stop now when we came so far.
After walking down the path, we made our way to the temple. It was quite off the beaten track, and anyone who came here did so with the express purpose of meeting Scott Fallon or seeing him. We wouldn’t find anyone who would be on our side.
There would be no support, no backup.
Yes, I was a little afraid. Not for myself. Never. But I didn’t want anything to happen to Bryan.
For a lot of reasons, I’d come to care for the man.
Crazy.
Stupid.
He was just another FBI agent, and yet he wasn’t.
He’d gone to such lengths to aid him, and if I got him killed in response, it would be a poor way to pay him off. We stood at the gate. There was no one in charge.
“I suppose we could just walk in,” he said.
The moment I stepped through, the undercurrent of the magic vibrated through my veins. Scott Fallon definitely had something to hide. He likely knew about our arrival by the time we walked over to the main door of the temple. Up close, the temple was even more impressive. Motifs curled over the pillars, lending them grandeur and opulence. The massive, wooden door was at least twelve feet high, but it stood wide open. We stepped through. Inside, the curvaceous, wide hall boasted a soaring, dome shaped ceiling. On the floor was the shape of a large pentagram, a standard, traditional grace that was used to enhance the power of a mage or a spell.
We didn’t have much time to take in our surroundings.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” said someone in a low, throaty voice. Not far away stood a man who was about as tall as me, but there was a presence about him. The face was familiar; he was quite like his father. I’d seen picture of Max Fallon and the son had the same face cut, the same build. But of course, he was younger. His calm, blue eyes were serene. “When I learnt about your presence, I made it a point to come out myself to greet you.”
“You know us?”
“I know you, Cleo. Or rather, I’ve heard of your talent. The finest investigator in the country, or so I am told.” His gaze flickered to Bryan. “But I don’t know him.”
“Meet Special Agent Bryan, FBI.”
“We’re indeed humbled by your presence.”
I noticed that no one else seemed to pay us a lot of attention. There were people around. Some of them walked about and others were sitting on the floor, deep in thought. At least they didn’t look as if they were getting ready to pounce on them.
“You’re too kind. I am here to talk about a case. Would you mind if we had a private conversation?” I cut right down to the chase.
Might as well.
It wasn’t as if we had another card to play.
I expected a protest, a frown, or perhaps a flat out rejection, but he merely smiled. “Sure, it would be my pleasure.”
There was something about him. He’d a way of connecting with a person. I could sense it, the manner in which I relaxed as I walked behind him. He invited trust. It wasn’t magic, but rather a part of his personality.
“This could be a trick,” hissed Bryan.
Ignoring him, I followed Scott to his inner sanctum. Through a corridor, he led us. Seeing as he had no choice, Bryan followed but he was more guarded than me. Scott pushed a door and stepped through. We both entered. Surprised, I gazed around. It was a small, round room, devoid of any furniture. There were mats on the floor. When he took position on one, we didn’t have a choice but to sit too.
“This is quite a setup,” I said.
“Its home. For most people who live here, this is also a sanctuary.” His tone was slow, melodious. I wanted to lie down and listen to him speak the whole day. A man like him couldn’t commit any crime. He couldn’t possibly do any wrong. “People with special talents have been persecuted for centuries. We’re the freaks, the unwanted. I beg your pardon, Special Agent Bryan, but those of you who don’t have the gift don’t understand the burden of it. It makes us different. We can’t fit in. We can’t announce to the world who we are because then we would be killed, used in experiments, or perhaps even misguided into acting as someone’s army.”
“So you provide a safe place for these people,” said Bryan.
“I give them hope.” He smiled, and once again the force of his personality struck me. “I give them a reason to celebrate their gift, their life.”
“And what do they do in return for it?” Bryan asked.
“They give me love,” he said with a smile. “Isn’t that what we all crave for? That’s what we all need. Including you, Cleo.” He turned his full attention towards me. His gaze locked with mine and held. “You want the same thing, don’t you? Haven’t you been searching for love ever since your parents passed away? You have been looking for a family.”
My blood ran cold. Suddenly something snapped within my veins. I actually felt the sharp prick of it as the spell broke. “You know quite an awful lot about me.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know who killed your parents. Such a tragic loss. It must have been devastating for you to lose them at such a young age.”
I didn’t trust myself to speak. Talking about it was hard even after all these years. I was stupid to think that he wasn’t using magic. He had been. Some kind of elemental spell that calmed me down and broke through my mistrust. Scott actually did me a favor by talking about my family. The pain of my memories broke the spell.
Did he know that?
Or was he comfortable in the knowledge that he’d snared me in
his trap?
With an effort, I calmed my tone. “Yes, it was devastating to lose them. But that’s not what I came here to talk about.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. Perhaps he realized that the hold was broken or maybe he didn’t care either way. “What did you come here to talk about?”
“About the thefts. Have you heard anything? You seem to know so much. I am sure you have some idea as to what’s going on.”
He sighed. The sadness that gleamed in his eyes was all too real. There was nothing fake about it. I felt bad about accusing this man. He was trying so hard to bring peace into the lives of those who came to him, but there was no one around who give him an iota of serenity. He was alone struggling against a might ocean. I admired him.
Oh yes, the bewitching spell was back, or at least it was trying to worm itself in my psyche once more.
I wouldn’t let it take root.
I wouldn’t.
“Just because my father has a bad track record, people often assume that I might have taken after him. Whatever he did was his choice. I had nothing to do with it. Not that he was ever caught, but I know that he did wrong things. But I don’t believe in that life.” Suddenly there was the sound of a bell peeling somewhere high up. Gracefully, he stood. “It’s time for our daily ceremony. Perhaps you would like to witness it. It would give you an idea of what we do here.”
I stood too. “Sure.”
After following him out back into the main hall, we stood near the main door. The brisk wind that flew in through the doors and the open windows made the place cool. People gathered in concentric circles. There was no commotion, no noise. Everyone simply stood with each other, taking up an empty space, until half the hall was full. I didn’t realize that there were quite so many people, and all of them had the gift. The place vibrated with the undercurrents of magic. It was kind of frightening. I’d never witnessed such a stronghold of magic. There were at least eighty mages in the room, if not more.
I didn’t have time to count them all before Scott began the ceremony.
He stood in the middle. Raising his hands, he closed his eyes. No one said anything, there wasn’t a murmur, and yet I felt the collective push of the magic as they all joined their will together. The spell was weaved without effort. It was something they must have practiced a number of times.
Their magic was potent.
I was scared. If they unleashed this power towards us, we would be shred into ribbons. No one had the power to withstand such a concentrated attack. But much to my relief, the spell was merely an exercise to join their will together. I could feel his hold on their magic as they offered it to him. It was as if he was nucleus, and he held the reins of their magic in his hands. At that moment, he was the most powerful man in the world. These people trusted him with their lives, their magic, and their will.
It was the greatest display of trust I saw.
Gently, he let it flow back towards them. No more than ten minutes must have passed. Everyone relaxed and then walked back. Some stayed in the temple.
He walked over to us. “It was a very peaceful ceremony,” I told him.
“The purpose of it is to allow everyone to feel that they are a part of the group. For a few minutes, we’re all joined together. We’re one, and that allows us to feel each other’s pain and happiness. It gives us a sense of belonging.”
His smile was beatific, and his words poetic, but the evil that lurked in his eyes burst free for a moment – and that was all I needed to know that we were on the right track. Everything else was farce, and the only moment of truth was that particular one. Some instinct made me grab Bryan’s hand. He glanced at me, but my gaze was fixed on the man who fascinated me.
What was he up to?
“Thanks for showing this to us. It’s been very enlightening.”
I didn’t know as yet what Scott planned to do with the gift he so freely received, but he was building it up for something.
We’d to figure out his plan before he put it in action.
He walked towards us with slow, steady steps. That innocence was back in his eyes. “Then I hope you realize how foolish it is to suspect that we would have a hand in such dastardly deeds.”
I quirked my lips in a quick smile. “Oh, I have definite views on this matter now. Take care, Scott Fallon.” We walked away from him, and for a moment the hair on the back of my neck tingled. Danger was still omniscient, ever present. But then I never shied away from it. Outside, I took a deep, long breath and cleansed my lungs.
Bryan let go of my hand, and it was only then I realized that I’d been holding on to it.
Damn it.
“We didn’t find anything useful,” he said.
“We discovered that the man is up to something. He is using all these people. This temple is a front for his hidden agenda,” I stated.
“We didn’t find any evidence. He didn’t confess anything.”
“We don’t need evidence…”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yes, we do, Cleo. We need to present something to Jones so that he would let us go ahead with this investigation.”
I continued to walk, lost in my own thoughts. In my mind, Scott’s guilt was clear. The man planned plowing through a portal into another dimension.
Why?
I didn’t know.
How?
I didn’t know.
And yet, I was sure that he would attempt it.
“I know him…or people like him. They think they are above rules. He is guilty as hell.”
“I didn’t see anything that would prove his involvement in the thefts, and without any concrete evidence, we can’t move ahead,” argued Bryan.
“You missed seeing what I saw,” I said.
Bryan ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced back at the temple. “Maybe that’s because you are determined to see things the way you want to see them. Scott might be misguiding people, or perhaps he is just helping them find some peace in their difficult existence.”
My mind was still too preoccupied with Scott’s duplicity, and that was why I missed the warning look in his eyes. “Don’t be such a bleeding heart.”
He grabbed my hand and I was forced to face him. “Listen, Cleo. I’ve put my job on the line to come here with you, but this is the end of the line. There is nothing beyond this. You’ve to accept that we didn’t find anything, and we likely won’t.”
“So what? I should just give up.”
“Let someone else handle the case. Maybe if they review it without being so personally involved…”
I tugged my hand free from his grip. Anger skidded through my veins. This wasn’t his fault, and he was my only ally at the point, but man, I was tired of people telling me that I was off the right track. I knew what I knew, and my instincts simply couldn’t be that wrong. “Since when did becoming personally involved become such a crime? Yes, I am bloody involved, but that makes me all the more determined to find those assholes.”
“And it makes you blind to reality.”
“Scott Fallon is not only evil, but also he is involved in this crime plot. He is the one who will lead us to answers.”
“He is just a guy who is trying to make money out of innocent, lost people. Sure, that doesn’t make him a good example of a standup guy, but so far we have no evidence to prove that he has done anything illegal.”
My lips stretched in a thin smile, but my heart was as cold as ice. If he was so determined to not believe me, there wasn’t much I could do. But I wasn’t going to give up, not when I was at this stage. “If you find each case to be presented to you tied in a neat bow of well-documented evidence, you are going to have a long wait, Special Agent Bryan. I’ve been working with the FBI far longer than you, and in this time I’ve learnt to rely on my gut, and right now it’s telling me that I am on to something.”
The sadness that dwelled in his eyes made me reflect on my words for a few moments, but I couldn’t afford the luxury of second guessing my decisions
.
“If that’s how you feel, after all that we have been through together, then I am afraid we have to part ways. I like my job, and I don’t want to lose it. If you persist on questioning people, innocent or otherwise, without proper permissions, you’ll get into trouble.”
“That’s on my head,” I said. “Come on. I’ll drop you to the bus station. Go home. Take rest. Get better from your fake illness and move back to the office. You’ll likely get assigned to a case in which your job won’t be on the line.”
“Cleo, please…”
I didn’t look back as I hiked to my car. We were done. Fine. This was as far as our journey was supposed to go. Sure, I didn’t mind. He had to give priority to his job, and I couldn’t hold it against him.
And yet, I did.
The realization annoyed me.
He owed me nothing – and it wasn’t good for me to expect something better, greater.
We were done with each other, but I wasn’t done with the case, and I didn’t have any intention of letting go now when I was so close. The thieves couldn’t escape me now, not for long. I was on to them, and soon, I would have them in my grip.
Chapter Thirteen
So, I was screwed.
Not only was I alone but also I was going against orders from Jones, the Director of the Paranormal Defense Intelligence Unit. He didn’t want me to work on the case anymore, and while I could understand his reasons, I also knew that I was the only one who had a chance to breakthrough. Scott was the one behind all this crazy schemes and thefts. He must have ordered Bella Singer’s death.
Why?
I didn’t know.
But I would know.
I would make it the point of my existence to know.
Because if I didn’t win it, I was as good as dead. Well, if Scott got his way, we were probably all dead – but if for some reason I managed to survive the cataclysm, Augusta would skin me alive and then hand me over to Jones who would lock me up forever.
But I’d a plan. Sort of. Maybe. Not a plan, per se – but more like a general idea.
00 Mayan Thief (The FBI Paranormal Casefiles) Page 12