Stone put his finger to his lip. “Ah, yes. I can see why you would think that, but you’re wrong. In this case anyway. You see, a lot of people are happy to see the warlocks become extinct.” He sat back in his chair. “You being alive is going to make them very grumpy.”
He steepled his fingers and went into teacher mode.
“During the war your ancestors were a bit naughty. I suppose it’s more accurate to say they were bloodthirsty sociopaths. They worked both sides against each other, trying to carve out their own kingdom, and they summoned demons, formed golems, set elementals loose, and sent ghosts against their living descendants. I don’t want to be judgmental, but they were generally very bad people.”
He was rhythmically bending his fingers as he spoke. “All of that would have been forgiven, if they’d succeeded. But they didn’t.” He dropped his hands. “To be perfectly honest, if there hadn’t been a nice juicy betrayal from within, the warlocks might well have carried out their plans. Unfortunately for them, that betrayal wiped out most of your bloodline.” He leaned forward again. “There were a few stragglers, sure. Distant relations and such. But nothing like those who held any real power.”
“Hey,” Bert said, pointing at me, “you’ve got family? That’s great.”
“There’s more like me?” I had mixed feelings at the prospect, but it would be good to know about.
Stone reached over and patted me on the head, like you would a small child. “No. Sorry. A bounty from an anonymous source took care of all of those, or so we thought. Assassins were hired, families were butchered, and everyone felt a little more secure in the knowledge that the threat the warlocks posed was gone for good. You see, the warlocks made The Powers look bad. That doesn’t work out well for anyone.”
Bert stood on the chair and patted me on the head too. “Sorry man. If it makes you feel better, my whole family wants me dead.”
“Yeah, it does,” I told him. “Thanks.”
“Really?”
“No.”
“Dick.”
I looked back to Stone, who was waiting patiently. “Sorry about that.”
“Perfectly understandable,” Stone replied. “But I do have other appointments, so if I may continue?”
I nodded.
“To put it plainly, we thought we’d been warlock-free for more than a century. We don’t know how you came back, but frankly, nobody wants you.” He pushed the paper in front of me again. “Are you sure you won’t agree to be exorcised?” He looked hopeful. “You might survive with only severe brain damage.”
I wanted to take the contract and rip it up in front of him, but that seemed pretty dramatic. Instead, I just shook my head and pushed it back to him.
“I didn’t even know what a warlock was, up until a few minutes ago.” I looked up at him. “I mean, other than a vague reference to demons in some of my training materials, obviously. But how was I supposed to know I was one, when nobody else did?” Stone said nothing. “And now I’m supposed to die because it makes someone nervous?
Stone nodded encouragingly. “If it’s not too much trouble.”
I counted to ten before I replied.
“Fuck that.”
“I beg your pardon?” said Stone, tilting his head.
“I said fuck that,” I repeated. I wasn’t interested in giving any security people an excuse to have an “accident” by my throwing a fit, so I sat calmly in my seat and kept my voice low and controlled. “And fuck anyone who thinks I’m going to let them push me around, yet again. Fuck them, their family, their friends, their pets, and even their favorite fucking trees.”
“I…” Stone seemed completely taken aback by my response. “What?”
“I didn’t know I was a warlock before today,” I said yet again, “but now that I do, I’m not just going to give away my freedom because it’s an inconvenience to some spoiled rich people.” My mind raced. “I’m not my ancestors. I don’t know what they did, but I do know my grandfather, the man who basically raised me, always did his best to help others. Maybe that was to atone for something, or maybe not. It’s something I’ll never know the answer to, but I do know that he always strived to do the right thing and that’s damn well what I’m going to do, too.”
I locked eyes with Stone.
He didn’t flinch, or show any kind of emotion.
“If you want to take me down, Chief Stone, then go right ahead. I can’t stop you from making your move. Just know this: I’m not going to draw first blood, but you can be damn sure I’ll defend myself.”
Stone stood up, leaned over his desk and said “Good.”
Chapter 11
I wasn’t expecting that.
“Um, sorry?” I said, feeling like I’d missed something.
“I said, ‘Good,’ Officer Vedis,” Stone replied, looking as though he had just completely changed his entire demeanor. “I’m glad you’ve got a spine in there somewhere. The incident with the Shaped suggested it, but I had to be sure. My research suggested you have a tendency to sack up when you’re backed into a corner.” Stone nodded. “I’m happy to have it confirmed that this is indeed the case.” He pointed at me groin, making me feel more than a little uncomfortable. “Sack confirmed.”
Stone cracked a real smile for the first time.
“Oh, Lucy sure came through, didn’t she?” Stone said, slapping a triumphant hand on the table.
I was baffled by this change of behavior. “Sorry? Who is Lucy?”
“That’s my mom’s name,” Bert pointed out. “Lucy Für.”
“Seriously?” I said, glancing at him.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Never mind.”
Stone leaned back in his chair, loosening up in an instant. It was as if the entirety of his personality had changed. Like he’d suddenly thrown back a few shots of whisky with a vodka chaser.
“I’ll put at least a few cards on the table here, Officer Vedis,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “I lied when I said that nobody wanted the warlocks back. It’s plain to see that Queen Für would love to see your kind return.” He pointed at me and then slowly over at Bert. “Think about that. The queen of demons sent her son, the crown prince to bond with a mortal.” He laughed. “And she knows damn well that we can’t risk separating you and Prince Volkbert because there’s a very solid chance he’ll die along with you.
“I could have died too?” Bert spat. “The fuck, man?”
“Indeed,” said Stone. “That would have caused a huge diplomatic incident.” Stone was all grins now. “Her majesty must have some elaborate plan in place. Oh, I wish I could be there to see her face right now.”
“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Bert grumbled. “She’s never uglier than when she’s happy.”
I gave him a disapproving look.
“What?” he said. “It’s okay if I say it.”
“At any rate,” Stone clamored on, “I have to admit this has created quite an opportunity, and it’s one that I fully intend to exploit.”
“I’m…lost,” I said, feeling…well…lost.
“Think about it, Vedis,” Stone said. “You can’t honestly believe that I put on this bullshit, corporate flunky act for nothing, do you?”
“Corporate flunky…what?”
“No, Sirree,” Stone slapped the table again. “You and I are going to be working together very closely.”
“We are?”
“Damn straight we are.” Stone must have realized my concerned look, because he added, “Hey, its not all bad for you. If you work with me, you’ll be out of here in no time.”
“Uh…okay?”
“Here’s the scoop,” he said, looking back and forth between me and Bert. “It just so happens I’m putting together a team to replace the one I had in southeast Asia.”
“What happened to the old team?”
“They were killed.”
“Oh, well,” I gulped. “That’s nice.”
“Now,” Stone went on, clearly oblivious to my re
action, “this team works with the PPD, but they’re not stuck with the paperwork and bullshit.”
“You just manage the one team?” Bert asked.
“In southeast Asia, yeah,” Stone replied. “I’ve got teams all over the world, but this one will be kind of a new concept for the area. It’s made of members of groups new to the PPD. We need solid people. People like Vedis here.”
I jolted at that. “Like me?”
“Well, you and Prince Volkbert here.”
“Just call me Bert,” said Bert.
Stone nodded at him and then looked back at me. “You interested?”
“Uh…maybe? I don’t know.” I was grasping here. “What does the team do?”
“A bunch of top-secret stuff, Vedis,” Stone replied. I was still having difficulty dealing with his total personality change. “Things I can’t tell you about until you’re on board. Suffice to say, sometimes we have problems in the PPD and I need special teams to fix them.”
“Oh.” I knew I was stalling, but it was a lot to take in. “I kind of like the USA. Do I really have to move to Asia for this?”
He laughed. “Let’s start with the obvious. You’ve been blacklisted from North America for summoning a goddamn demon.” He glanced over at Bert. “No offense.”
“Why would I be offended?” Bert replied. “I am a goddamn demon.”
“Right,” coughed Stone. “Anyway, maybe the demon summoning bit isn’t the whole story, or maybe it is, but that’s what your chief is telling the Kansas City PPD, probably at this very minute. It was part of the deal he thought I made with him to spare your life.”
“The chief saved my life?”
“He thinks so.”
That’s when it hit me.
“Wait,” I said, gripping the edge of the desk. “You fucking blacklisted me?”
“Absolutely,” Stone replied, unflinching. “I could have killed you, so don’t get too feisty.”
He sat up at his desk, then put his hands together.
“So that’s the stick, Vedis. Are you ready for the carrot?”
I started counting again. “You going to lube it up first?”
“My guess is that you’ve never even considered yourself worthy of a promotion, right?” Stone asked. “I’ve looked at your files. You’ve been through almost every PPD branch that would accept you, in the USA anyway. You’ve left or been pushed out of each of them in less than a year. Clearly, promotion was never in your future.”
“Harsh,” noted Bert.
“So, if we’re being honest here,” Stone continued, “I didn’t really have do too much to blacklist you at this point. I think Anchorage Alaska and Guam are about the only ones that would consider you.”
“This is the carrot?” I asked, thinking the stick felt better.
“Here’s your chance, Vedis,” said Stone, looking serious again. “It’s the only one you’re going to get. Take this offer and you’re promoted. You’ll be the lead agent on my southeast Asian squad, the biggest problem solver in a team full of them.” He smiled again. “Think about it, Vedis. You, the head agent of the Southeast Asia branch of the Interpolice Defense Unit.”
That was a mouthful, not that I was in any state of mind to think about it at the time.
“I…uh…”
Me?
Bert raised his hand. “What about me? Do I have to go too?”
“Kind of, yeah,” Stone said in an apologetic tone. “You guys are stuck together, remember? You can thank your mother for that. We can call you a liaison or something fancy if it helps.”
“Damn it,” Bert swore. “There’s a reason I never got married, and now I’m stuck in an arranged marriage…with a dude.” He looked over at me. “No offense, but I think I could do better.”
Stone reached into a drawer in his desk, pulling out bracelets.
“It won’t be that bad,” he said. “I had one of our wizards put something together for you.” He handed over the items. “He seemed very eager to do it when he found out it was for Mark. That’s actually why we kept you in the cell so long. He needed time to finish.”
The bracelets were made of a single leather strand that housed a charm that was quite familiar.
In fact, it looked like that charm would match the ones I was wearing already. I had a pretty good idea who had made it. Oscar’d come to the rescue again. Considering how well his runes had worked earlier, I felt willing to take a chance on whatever he’d dreamed up.
“Put these on and you’ll be able to separate, at least a little bit,” Stone explained. “I had them change the physical restraint of your bond with Prince Volkbert to a time-based one. As long as you get within shouting distance every few hours you should be okay.” He chewed his lip. “They said you’d be good for eight hours, but I probably wouldn’t test it, if you can avoid it.”
Bert grumbled as he affixed the bracelet to his wrist. It looked pretty sweet to me. I just removed the charm from mine and added it to the bracelet I already had. I had plenty of room after all the ones I’d used fighting Elias.
“At least it looks pretty macho,” Bert said. “No flowers or anything.”
“Excellent,” Stone said. “So, are we ready to go?”
I looked at Bert.
He just shrugged.
“It doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice,” I said.
“Not really, no.”
“Right. Well, where to, then?”
“I’m sending you to Bangkok, Thailand,” Stone announced. “Tomorrow, anyway. We need to get you entrained as a warlock and take care of a few other things first. I’m sending you to do that now, then first thing in the morning you’re off to the Land of Smiles to meet your team and get started on your first assignment.”
I swallowed hard at his words. I’d never been in charge of a team before, and I wasn’t all that fond of starting now. But it was either that, imprisonment or dying, so it wasn’t like I had much to lose.
“What’s the first assignment?” I ventured, not really wanting to know.
Stone stood up and walked to the door.
“We’ll start you out simple. All I need you to do is find out who killed the last head agent.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Don’t worry,” Stone said. “It should be relatively easy.”
We stepped onto the portal area and Stone typed in a code to set our destination.
“Why do you think it’ll be easy?” I asked.
“Because,” Stone answered, “judging from the reports I received from your predecessor before she died, I’m pretty sure it was the same group that just tried to kill you.”
Chapter 12
The portal in Stone's office opened to the Netherworld PPD portal room. An officer escorted us through the place and into a filthy workshop that housed a sour-faced goblin who was sitting behind a computer desk.
He waved us inside.
I saw a scary-looking machine that still featured prominently in my nightmares. I remembered the machine, as well as the goblin from when I first joined the force and had my connector implanted and PPD tattoo's lasered into my skin.
"Penis," I said with false cheer, "good to see you,"
"The name's Pecker," he said, barely looking up. He pointed to a chair next to the machine. “Whichever one of you is Mark Vedis should sit there and stick his PPD tattoo-covered arm on the bench."
Bert just shook his head. "Are you ever going to make any friends?"
“Shut up,” I whispered. “I was close.”
“Whatever, Matt,” he said, mocking me.
I made my way to the chair.
"Can I ask why I'm here? I've already got my PPD tattoos."
I rolled up my sleeve to show a collection of lines and gears as I put my arm on the bench. A robotic arm latched onto my wrist, holding it in place. Oh, goody. The nightmare begins again.
Pecker looked at my exposed arm from his desk and snorted. "You've got the standard PPD tattoos. Good enough for the average
beat cop, but that's about it." He looked back to his computer screen and started typing. "I got a call from Stone asking for me to hook you up with some retriever ink to fit whatever you'll be doing for him. He wants me to shove a language pack in your connector too. I haven't tested that, but it probably won't kill you."
"Well, that sounds horrible," I said, stalling for time. I was looking forward to whatever was about to happen here about as much as a colonoscopy from Captain Hook.
“Just let me get to work, will you? We don’t have all night.”
I didn’t know what his problem was, but it was clear that he wasn’t all that happy with me. My guess was that it had to do with the revelation that I was a warlock. It was clear that my ‘kind’ wasn’t exactly welcomed anymore…if they ever were. But if that meant I was going to go through the rest of my life dealing with people being douchey to me, then I was going to damn well grumble right back at them.
“Whatever you say, Captain Personality.”
He gave me a hard stare.
I returned it.
He sighed.
“I’m being a dick, aren’t I?”
I nodded. “A little bit.”
“Sorry,” he groaned. “Bad date last night. I thought it was going pretty well. She seemed really into me, anyway, and I thought she was kinda hot. Not my ideal woman, but good enough for a roll in the hay, if you know what I mean?”
“Sounds like you’re a real romantic.”
“Right?” He nodded. “Unfortunately, she didn’t see it that way. So, after dinner and a show, both of which I paid for, I got a pat on the head and a door tantalizingly closed in my face.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly feeling kind of douchey myself. “I…uh…” I coughed. “You win some, you lose some?”
“Don’t I know it?” He sniffed and shook his head. “Anyway, sorry about my being dickish. Was just a rough night.”
“No, no,” I said. “It’s cool.”
He gave me a smile that said he still wasn’t at one hundred percent, but that he was going to do his best to act decent.
Bangkok Warlock: A Mark Vedis Supernatural Thriller Book 1 (Southeast Asia Paranormal Police Department) Page 6