Agents, Agreements and Aggravations: In Her Paranormal Majesty’s Secret Service™ Book Three

by Anderle, Michael

  * * *

  “By three brothers?” Baxter was enraptured by the story, his head resting on the cradle of his hands. “That was when you bought the house?”

  The brothers nodded.

  The first brother broke out of his reverie. He always left the storytelling to the third, knowing how much better he was at speaking. “We didn’t know what we were getting into. It happened almost at once. Two weeks into living in the house, and we were taken, offered the choice of immortality, and we took it.”

  Carolyn frowned. “Just like that? Two weeks? Seems unlikely.”

  “They have power,” the second brother insisted. “It’s almost hypnotic. We were promised immortality, a doorway into the spectral realm, and instead, we were twisted by their power and turned into…into this.”

  Sadness washed over the trio. For the first time since Jennie had met them, they had lost the edge of their elfish appearance and looked almost normal, a blurry reflection of who they once might have been.

  “So, how do we destroy the darkness?” Lupe asked. “This sounds like some powerful stuff.”

  Jennie turned back to him. “We give them what they’ve always wanted. We unite them forever in eternity.”

  “An exorcism?” Carolyn sat up eagerly.

  “The largest one I may ever have performed,” Jennie replied, her face resolute. “But first, I need to know a little bit more about this priestess. Tell me, brothers, what do you know of her and her spells?”

  The brothers exchanged a grim look before telling Jennie what they knew.

  Jennie turned to Hendrick. “Think you can lend a hand?”

  Hendrick unzipped his satchel. “I always like a challenge.”

  Chapter Nine

  Richmond, Virginia, USA

  They prepared themselves at the bottom of the basement staircase. Above them, the house lay in wait, the boards creaking as though it was talking to itself.

  “This isn’t going to be pretty, folks.” Jennie’s eyes narrowed. The door above them was ajar. That seemed strange to her. The house was tempting them, playing with them after its triumph on the stairs.

  “On my count,” Jennie instructed. “Three. Two. One…”

  She made a break for it, speeding up the stairs two at a time. When she reached the door, it tried to slam shut, but she jammed her fingers in its way. Pain throbbed in each digit, but she held fast.

  Ula, Roman, and Triton came to her aid, the four of them managing to peel the door open and enter into the house.

  Jennie hadn’t been expecting what was in front of her.

  The house had morphed entirely, its layout changing while they had been down in the basement. The walls appeared warped and uneven, and the floor was tilted. There were no windows and only a few doors that were half the size of the ones she had seen before.

  “It’s a trick.” Jennie tried to remember the layout of the house in her head, while the three conduits took positions with their weapons.

  Ula went ahead and crashed into something she couldn’t see. According to the projection, she should be in the middle of the room, but the sound of a vase breaking came to them, and Ula was left nursing her arm. “The house is projecting what it wants us to see. Proceed with caution and follow me.”

  They poured out of the basement and moved quickly, hugging the wall to the staircase. Although the rest of the house was a false projection, Jennie didn’t want to chance going up the stairs. She would have to find another way.

  “Breakout!” Jennie instructed, sending the team into action.

  Baxter, Tanya, and Sandra peeled away and fumbled for the doorway that had led through to the kitchen. Baxter had been one of the few to see the downstairs layout, so he put his knowledge to the test.

  Lupe, Carolyn, and Roman went next, racing ahead and disappearing through a door that shouldn’t have been there, accompanied by the third of the poltergeist brothers. Ula and Triton were paired with the other two. They took their position, disappearing into the east wing as their spectral guides showed them the way.

  Jennie and Baxter were accompanied by Hendrick, who, despite his years mostly spent in quiet labs and dark places by himself, appeared to be enjoying the experience immensely. The imminent danger they found themselves in seemed to be no bother.

  “This is what it’s like to be Rogue, huh?” he mused, the corners of his mouth upturned into a strange smile. “Exciting.”

  Jennie couldn’t help but let out a small laugh before waving the pair onwards and taking her position in the west wing.

  They ran through corridors that seemed too small to fit them. The shadows danced around them and created illusions made to confuse and guide them out of the house. On one occasion, Jennie opened a door and found that she was staring at the front lawn, the house tricking her into navigating toward the front door.

  “Son of a bitch!” She screwed her fists in anger and fought against the immense pressure that was determined to drive her out of the house.

  At least the house is getting confused. Trying to eject this many parties can’t be an easy feat, right?

  On a couple of occasions, they could hear cries of alarm from the others, although they disappeared almost as quickly as they had come. By the time Jennie found what she was almost certain to be the room directly below the music room, she felt as though she had been fighting for hours.

  Jennie pulled her cell from her pocket. The screen flickered with static. She hoped that was just another trick. She tapped a few areas on the screen and heard the whooshing sound of a message sent. All that was left to do was hope that the others could receive her text.

  “Ready to dive back in?” Jennie shouted, her voice straining to be heard above the increasing gale that was whipping their coats and clothes.

  Baxter shrugged. “I guess there’s only one answer, right?”

  Hendrick beamed, the wrinkles in his forehead deepening into trenches. “Oh, boy.”

  Jennie latched onto Baxter and turned spectral. Immediately the cells around her waist began charging, lighting up one by one as the power magnified. Baxter doubled over and offered a cradle with his hands. Jennie placed a foot in. She gripped his shoulders and looked into his eyes, her hair whipping frantically about her face.

  “On your count,” she instructed.

  Baxter counted to three, then launched Jennie into the air. At the same time, she jumped, disappearing through the ceiling above.

  The music room was the only room that hadn’t been altered by the Mendlesons. Although the walls were darkened and it looked as though she were viewing the room in an old polaroid, the layout and the furniture remained untouched.

  She concentrated on her connection with Baxter and pulled him up toward her. His head appeared through the floorboards, then his arms, and he clambered to his feet.

  He smirked. “Ready for your violin lesson?”

  Jennie gave him a look that suggested that now was not the time to be kidding.

  She turned her attention to the floor and lined up the Big Bitch. She set off three quick shots and created a hole large enough to fit a man through. Taking a coil of rope she had found among the debris in the basement, she tied a loop and lowered it to Hendrick. He placed his foot in the loop and held on tight as Jennie struggled to haul him up, surprised by just how dense and heavy he was.

  She grunted. “Jesus, maybe you should create a potion to lose a few pounds.”

  Meanwhile, the darkness around the room began to grow. As she focused on hauling Hendrick up, small flashes appeared at the corners of the room as the imps returned.

  Baxter scanned the increasing number of imps. “Jennie…I don’t mean to be that guy, but maybe you should hurry.”

  Hendrick was almost up.

  “I’m doing all that I can right now.” She grimaced. “Where are the others?”

  As if summoned by the question, the door to the music room exploded into a thousand wooden shards. Ula, Roman, and Triton appeared through a dense fog, acc
ompanied by the others.

  “Remind us never to follow you into a haunted house ever again,” Ula declared, looking disheveled and breathing heavily.

  Jennie laughed, but the sound was quickly snatched by the growing presence in the room. “They’re back, folks. Hold onto your hats, things are about to get dicey in here!”

  They assembled in a semi-circle as the shadows became caught in the wind and whipped into a frenzy in the center of the room. The piano deconstructed before their eyes and became a part of the whirlwind that slowly began to coalesce into the great hound Baxter had witnessed before.

  “I’m guessing that saying ‘heel, boy,’ won’t work,” Carolyn cried out.

  They aimed their weapons. Sandra glowed with her power, ready to act on Jennie’s command. Between them all, Jennie hoped they’d have enough power to overcome the damn beast.

  The imps flew into the hound and became a part of its body. It reared on its haunches and released an angry bark.

  Jennie kicked the plan into action. “Conduits, now!”

  Ula, Roman, Triton, and even Lupe, sprinted at the beast. They ducked and dived to avoid its massive jaws and leaped onto its body, crawling over its back and sides. It snapped its jaws toward them but could not reach. The poltergeists jumped in, flying around the dog’s face at breakneck speeds and confusing its line of focus.

  With the distraction in place, Jennie commanded Baxter and Carolyn to attack. Baxter readied his wrench, then leaped forward and bashed the great metal head against the dog’s muzzle. It cried out in pain, and its eyes flashed an angry white. Carolyn borrowed Baxter’s pistol and sent five shots at the dog’s feet, causing it to dance in pain.

  Hendrick glanced up at Jennie, seemingly unaffected at all by the whole ordeal. He had a monk-like calm that Jennie respected, but couldn’t understand completely. “Now?” he asked.

  Jennie shook her head, eyes fixed on the beast. “Not yet. Soon.”

  The dog thrashed around the room, doing whatever it could to try and escape the sudden onslaught. Soon enough, the imps were freed from the dog’s form and it began to shrink, until all that was left was the shadow-infested couple, floating ten feet above the ground and staring angrily at the intruders.

  Theodor Mendleson opened his mouth to speak, but Annabel spoke first. A banshee-shriek filled the room, causing everyone to cup their hands over their ears. When she was done, she launched herself at Jennie, dragging Theodor with her.

  Jennie squared her feet but couldn’t entirely resist the force of the blow. She was thrown backward as the weight of the couple threw her into the wall. Her head cracked against the plaster, but the adrenaline surging through her kept the edge off.

  She grasped the woman’s arms. Annabel’s face was inches from hers, a contorted mass of rage spitting in her direction. Jennie could feel the anger within the darkness that surrounded her, decades and centuries of torment. She hated that pain, and wanted to remove it from her and help her. No one should have to endure that much misery.

  “We’re here to help,” she managed, fighting against Annabel. Theodor was less inclined to fight, limply holding on and bracing himself against his wife’s torment. “Let us help you!”

  “No!” Annabel screamed.

  Over Annabel’s shoulder, Jennie saw the others engaged in a fight with the imps. Shots were fired as they did what they could to control the pest problem. Everyone was tied up in some kind of combat.

  Despite Annabel’s furious efforts to attack her, Jennie did her best to focus on the job at hand. She looked internally and felt for a connection with Annabel and Theodore. Her spectral tendril connected with the darkness, fighting through the shadow until she found the heart within. She wasn’t surprised to find that at the woman’s center was immense fear.

  Fear leads to anger.

  Anger leads to hate.

  Hate leads to suffering.

  Great, we’re back at Star Wars again…

  “You don’t have to live like this,” Jennie managed. “You don’t have to experience pain like this. We can help you. Let us help you.”

  Annabel responded with an incomprehensible shriek.

  “Fine. Have it your way.”

  Jennie pushed back, her spectral cells fighting to recharge as she expended the energy against Annabel and got to her feet. Annabel’s eyes widened in alarm, and she furiously tried to hold onto Jennie.

  Jennie managed to work a bit of distance between them. She rocked on her heels as Annabel’s power matched hers. Theodor responded to Jennie’s sudden threat and helped his wife, adding to the struggle.

  “Sandra. Time!” Jennie shouted.

  Sandra gave a steeled nod and broke free from her cohort of imps. She closed the distance between them, looking so out of place as the small girl that she was, yet her power was strong. She stretched her arms out toward Annabel and Theodor, and a beam of light connected them together. The others worked around her to keep her clear from the path of the ever-frantic imps.

  Annabel froze, only for a moment. She twisted her attention away from Jennie to look at this new threat and flailed her limbs in an effort to break the connection. Shadows danced off of her and tried to make for the girl who was glowing a bright white, her features disappearing behind the light.

  “Good girl,” Jennie encouraged. “Hendrick, it’s over to you, boy. Show them how it’s done.”

  Hendrick, who had been silently marveling at the action, ignored by all imps, waddled over and reached into his bag. He drew out three vials that were filled with a substance not too dissimilar from the silver liquid they had collected from the Shadow’s base of operations.

  “What is that?” Theodor asked, terror present on his face.

  Jennie grinned. “A little bit of what put you where you were in the first place, combined with some modern technology that we’ve been working on. We’d tell you the specifics, but it’s patent-pending.” She glanced at Hendrick. “Also, I have no idea what kind of magic that man works.”

  Annabel kicked into her final rage, tugging against Jennie and Sandra’s hold. Even the imps cowered in fear at the sight of her.

  “Let them have it,” Jennie instructed.

  Hendrick nodded and walked beneath the pair. He uncorked the vials and held them above his head. The liquid snaked out like a sentient worm and immediately combined with the couple.

  The darkness broke. A blinding flash spiked as the substance worked its magic and tore into the couple. There came a crash as they fell limply to the floor, then all that had been projected in darkness and shadow receded.

  Jennie lowered her hand from her eyes and peered down at the couple on the floor. Their mortal bodies had finally been released, and now they lay side-by-side. Theodor blinked and opened his eyes. Startled, he pushed into a sitting position and glanced around the room.

  “Where are we?”

  All around him, the imps had collapsed, too. In their places were the bodies of the children, teens, and young adults who had gone missing all those years ago. They blinked and sat up, dazed by the whole experience.

  “You are home,” Jennie replied, kneeling by Theodor’s side. “You are safe, though this will not last for long. You owe a debt to death, and it will soon come to claim you.”

  Theodor turned to Annabel and grabbed her shoulders. He shook her and then kissed her on the lips. “Annie? Annie, wake up.”

  Annabel’s eyelids fluttered, her features twisted in confusion. “Theo? Is that you? What happened? I had the craziest dream.”

  Theodor laughed, tears making his eyes sparkle. He embraced her and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “I think we all shared that dream. But,” he glanced around the room, “We’re together, at long last.”

  Jennie smiled. “It’s been some time. Over two hundred years, to be exact. You wanted immortality, but you didn’t know what price it would cost you. I think you both found your answer in the end.”

  Annabel screwed her face up, trying to remember. She touche
d Theodor’s face, and it was at that moment that he remembered her former visual impairment. “It’s me, my love. I’m here, so don’t worry about your vision. Life beyond the veil might fix it.”

  The children gathered around her now, all piling into a large hug. Theodor and Annabel laughed, some of the children cried. Jennie watched from the side-lines with a smile on her face.

  Beyond pain, there is love. Love springs eternal.

  As they grouped around each other, their light began to fade.

  “It’s time,” Hendrick stated. “Death waits for no one.”

  “It’s waited years for us,” Theodor replied, a warble of worry in his voice. He looked around at his wife and children. “Do not be afraid. Whatever comes next, we will conquer this together.”

  Annabel silently cried, the largest smile on her face. “Thank you, whoever you are. Thank you, a thousand times, over. You do not understand how long we have lived in this prison.”

  Jennie gave a nod that Annabel didn’t see. “Everyone deserves love and freedom. Now, go. Enjoy yours.”

  And with that, the family faded from view, disappearing into the realm that man was yet to understand.

  The room was silent for a long while as Jennie and the others paid their respects to the Mendlesons. Even the poltergeists remained quiet, their faces downcast. It wasn’t until Jennie finally stood up and spoke into the emptiness where they had been that the silence was broken. “Whatever the veil brings, may you all rest in peace.”

  Baxter stood beside her. She rested her head on his shoulder and allowed herself a moment to breathe.

  Soon she would get to work on fixing up the manor. But first, it was time to let the others in on her masterplan.

  Chapter Ten

  Washington DC, USA

  Rhone didn’t like this at all. Everything about the situation was wrong.

  Daggro stared at Rhone from across her desk—Hopkins’ desk—with the faintest trace of a smile on her face. In front of her was an iPad and a sheaf of paper documents. Her computer screen was already half twisted toward Rhone. “I think you know why you’re here.”