Past Lives: Hotel California Book One: An Urban Fantasy Series

by R. J. Wolf

  “Alexander?” Langston called out.

  The boy clenched his hands together to stop them from shaking. He fell back into his seat and lowered his head. “I…please continue.”

  Langston watched him for a moment then turned back to Gary and Eric. He stroked his beard as he considered them. There was a long silence before anyone else spoke. Gary looked around the room nervously and Eric did his best to avoid the gaze from the other council members.

  “Our place is changing,” Montague finally croaked. His voice was strained and weak. “What place do we have for more agents?”

  Some of the other council members nodded in agreement.

  “You’ve gone this long without your partner. Maybe it’s for the best.”

  Gary took a deep breath. “Councilman Montague, as I’m certain you know the darkkin have replenished their ranks since the accords were signed. While some follow the laws, others have chosen a life outside of the commission’s watchful eye. This puts us all in danger.”

  “The agent speaks truth,” Fretta said and clapped her massive hands together.

  “Yes, but what do we know of this Mr. Strange? There’s something very dark about him,” Montague added.

  “I am the same man I was four years ago,” Eric retorted. “The same agent that sent countless darkkin to the gray and risked life and limb to do the commission’s bidding.”

  Langston hardened his face and Eric could feel his eyes beaming through him. He couldn’t remember why they were at odds, but his sense was Langston was not a good man.

  “If reinstated, what do you plan to do?” Langston asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, your claim is possession. That is a crime, is it not?”

  Fretta rumbled her discontent. “You wish to see him track down his attacker?” she asked

  “I’m not sure. But we must know what he will do if reinstated.”

  “I will do whatever the commission asks me to do. As I always have.”

  “Then our discussion is done,” Langston said as he stood up. “Let’s put this to a vote. Those in favor of reinstating Agent Strange.”

  Olivia raised her hand first and smiled at Eric. Fretta followed suit then Alexander raised his hand with fear drenched across his face.

  “Those opposed?”

  Langston and Montague shot their hands into the air. But the vote had been decided. Frowning, Montague lowered his hand then turned to face Eric.

  “Seems the council agrees that you should be reinstated Agent Strange. But know this, we will be watching you and it is in your best interest that you tread very carefully. And one other thing, this council takes demonic possession very seriously. It is my desire that you track down this assailant of yours and bring him to justice. Any opposed.”

  The members looked to one another then turned back to face Eric.

  “Then you have you orders.”

  Eric nodded and before he could reply, Gary grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him toward the elevator. He hurried him onto the cart and they were whisked away.

  Once they were back on the main floor Gary felt relieved. “That was intense,” he said with a smile. “Come on, I need to get something out of my office.”

  Eric followed him down the hall and into a small, windowless office that looked like it’d been used as a storage room. Boxes stuffed with paper were stacked against the wall, and crates of file folders littered the floor like land mines. In the center there was a tiny desk with an old cup of coffee and a laptop.

  “This looks like the most dangerous place I’ve been to,” Eric complained as he stood in the doorway.

  “Come in and close the door already. This place is nosey.”

  Eric glanced over his shoulder then closed the door as he stepped just barely inside. “Hurry up. I don’t want to catch something in here.”

  Gary laughed then opened a drawer and started rummaging through it. “Don’t worry. I have it somewhere.”

  “Have what?”

  “Ha!” Gary snapped.

  He pulled out a silver badge tucked into a leather holder and tossed it to Eric. Then he reached back into the drawer and withdrew a hefty, black revolver with an orange handle and golden etching along the barrel.

  “This belongs to you,” Gary smiled.

  Eric gazed at the gun in amazement. He felt a jolt of excitement race through him and he smiled.

  “Thank you,” he said and took the revolver into his hands. He ran his fingers across the cold metal then stared away as his eyes glossed over.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Eric sighed. “Something’s been bothering me.”

  “What?”

  “Just, do you remember what we talked to Hansel about? The first time?”

  “Let’s not go there, Eric. There was nothing to it and it was poking around in commission business that got us here in the first place.”

  “But if he was telling the truth, this whole place is corrupt.”

  “Shh!” Gary snapped. “Look, I’m only concerned with Hansel for one thing, that’s getting Anna back. I suggest you get on board and we leave commission business to the commission.” Gary’s voice was shaking, and he had a serious look on his face, imploring Eric to let it go.

  “Ok,” Eric replied then walked past the desk and stared at the wall. “I’ll just worry about Anna.”

  “Good, now let’s get out of here and go find that rabid dog Hansel.”

  Gary stood up and walked to the door, but before he could grab the handle it swung open and Cortez was standing on the other side.

  CHAPTER 25

  HANSEL’S SECRET

  “Going somewhere?” Cortez asked with a devilish grin. He placed his hand against the door and leaned across the opening.

  “I don’t have time for this. Why don’t you go find a nice tanning booth to visit?” Gary replied and took a step toward him.

  “Who’s your friend in there? Smell’s familiar.”

  As Gary fumbled for a reply, Eric turned around and pushed himself into the doorway. He stepped forward and extended his hand. “Detective Strange,” he said in a dark voice and stared Cortez in the eyes. “I believe we’ve met before.”

  Cortez winced and tried to hide his pain as their hands touched. The vision of a smoldering coven flashed in his mind and he quickly pulled his hand away from Eric and retreated.

  “Watch yourself warlock,” he jabbed as he slunk back into the shadows.

  “What was that?” Gary asked.

  Eric shrugged. “Just a warning. The last memory I have of that creep is him trying to bleed me dry before Anna walked in.”

  “That was like…more than ten years ago.”

  “It was yesterday for me.”

  Gary frowned then headed outside. “Come on.”

  The night was unusually warm. Eric’s shirt clung to his skin like sweaty hair and he wiggled and pulled it down. His revolver hung on his hip and he expected it to feel bulky and cumbersome, but through some spell the gun shrank when not in use to the point that it was almost unnoticeable.

  They stepped into Gary’s car and the grumbling, rust bucket coughed and spit a stream of black and gray smoke into the air. With a high-pitched whir they pulled away from the precinct and hurried off into the night.

  “Where are we gonna find Hansel?” Eric asked as he settled into the mangled seat.

  “We’ll check some of his old stomping grounds, biker bars, and the like. You’ll be happy to have your gun back.”

  Eric smiled then gripped the sides of his seat as Gary slung the car around a curb and stepped on the gas.

  “I think they pay you enough to get a new car,” Eric suggested.

  Gary ignored him and patted his hand across the faded dash. “He doesn’t mean it,” he whispered.

  The clunky sedan ploughed through the night as they hopped from bar to bar in search of Hansel. Every place had the same story, no one had seen Hansel in weeks. Eric was just about ready to
call it quits when they pulled into the parking lot of Silver Snake.

  It was a rickety, little shack that was dropped right between two looming buildings that stretched fifty stories into the sky. The parking lot was around the back and was nothing more than a lot of dirt with a wooden sign that directed patrons down a dark trail.

  “We couldn’t have come here in the daytime?” Eric asked.

  “You always were afraid of the dark,” Gary laughed. “Dying didn’t change that.”

  He closed his door then headed down the dim walkway that led right into the building. The smell of marijuana and cheap beer was thick, and the bar wasn’t short on scandalous looking creeps hiding in corners.

  “Do you remember what he looks like?” Gary turned to Eric and asked.

  “I’m pretty sure…or at least what he looked like in my memory from however long ago it was.”

  Gary started to canvas the bar, leaning into people’s conversations then walking by. Most weren’t too happy with his intrusion and they made it a point to let him know. But he simply flashed his badge and that put an end to their complaints.

  Eric turned to the bar and sat down on a rickety stool. He looked over his shoulder a few times then leaned his elbow on the messy countertop and flagged down the bartender.

  “What’ll it be?” a chubby dark-skinned lady with purple hair asked.

  “Um, a double of bourbon,” Eric replied, laughing at Gary’s influence.

  “Rough night, huh?”

  “You could say that.”

  The lady filled a glass to the brim with the caramel colored liquor and pushed it toward him. Eric stared at it for a moment then gulped it down and slammed the glass back onto the bar.

  “One more?” he asked.

  Wincing, he cleared his throat as the burning liquid snaked its way down to his stomach. He stared across the bar toward Gary and motioned for him to join.

  “There ya go, lover,” the lady said as she refilled his drink.

  “You see Hansel around here lately?” Eric asked nonchalantly.

  The lady straightened up and her face turned serious. “Who’s asking?” she said in rough voice.

  Eric leaned back and twisted his face in confusion. “I…I just. I’m…”

  The bartender started laughing. “I’m just messing with you, honey. Hansel is over there at the pool tables trying to hustle a few of the vampers. He’s gonna learn the hard way about messing with them.”

  “Thanks,” Eric replied and drained the glass of bourbon.

  “What’s the word?” Gary asked as he stepped up to the counter.

  “I found Hansel,” Eric replied. He stood up and patted Gary on the back. “Now pay the woman.”

  Eric turned and headed toward a small niche in the back that had a few dartboards, a jukebox and a pool table. As soon as he stepped into the room he recognized Hansel. The scrawny, tattered lycan had a cigarette stuffed behind his ear and another one stoking from his crusty lips.

  Eric slipped around the table and made his way to the back wall. He posted up and watched as Hansel did his best to run his game on an older vampire with long, stringy gray hair and a narrow mustache.

  They were betting fifty dollars a game and Hansel was already down two and playing double or nothing. Eric was sure he didn’t have a dime in his pocket and the elderly vampire was gonna come to the same conclusion pretty soon.

  “Hansel!” Gary roared as he stumbled into the backroom. “Hansel is that you?”

  “Yeah,” Hansel jabbed. “Who’s asking?”

  Gary stopped in front of the table and drained the mug he’d been holding. “Don’t remember me, huh?”

  The vampire turned and placed his hand on Gary’s shoulder. “Looks like you had a few too many buddy and you’re interrupting our game.”

  Gary shoved him in the chest and he hardly moved. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge and dropped it on the table. Hansel tried to run, but Eric grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. The vampire backed away, holding his hands into the air.

  “That’s right!” Gary barked. “Get the hell out of here. Commission business!”

  Eric cleared his throat loudly and Gary turned around. “Let’s get this over with,” Eric called to him.

  “So, Hansel,” Gary started. “We’re looking for someone.”

  “I don’t know nothing,” Hansel spat.

  Eric shook him from side to side then dropped him. “Don’t get smart you mutt.”

  Hansel shook his head then twisted and writhed across the floor. Hair spouted from his face and his bones snapped and popped as his skin stretched like latex.

  “He’s shifting!” Gary cried out.

  Eric snatched Brittles’ medallion from his neck and shoved it into Hansel’s mouth. The man gagged and started to convulse. Smoke billowed from his skin then he slowly slumped to the floor as he morphed back into his frail human form.

  “You do that again and I’ll rip your head off,” Eric snarled and yanked the medallion back.

  “Okay…okay. Can’t blame a guy for trying to protect himself.”

  “Protect yourself from what? We’re with the commission.”

  “Exactly,” Hansel trembled. “And last time I checked you two weren’t on the best terms with your employer. Especially you,” he said and looked to Eric. “I thought you were dead.”

  Eric shot Gary a wary glance but didn’t push further. Instead he stepped over Hansel and offered him a hand.

  “Get up,” he said.

  “How…how, can I help you two?” Hansel croaked like a beaten dog.

  Eric laughed. He didn’t really know how Hansel was supposed to help them. Anna’s clue didn’t fill them in on that and now he was left with the feeling that it was all a waste of time.

  “You remember Anna?” Gary suddenly asked.

  Hansel jittered at the sound of her name.

  “Yeah, you remember. How do we find her?”

  “How am I supposed to know that?”

  “You know something,” Eric growled.

  Hansel shifted uncomfortably. Swallowing, he backed away until he was up against the wall then glanced from Eric to Gary with a nervous face. “What happened to you?” he asked with his eyes fixed on Eric.

  “Where is Anna?” Eric replied.

  “I told you, I don’t know.”

  “Then who does?” Eric roared.

  “Just yank it out of his damn brain,” Gary growled in frustration. “We don’t have time for this.”

  Hansel squirmed and shook with fear. “No…no, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

  “Then tell me about Anna!” Eric shouted.

  “The Oracle,” he suddenly blurted out.

  “What?”

  “The Oracle, she’ll know. She knows everything.”

  “What is an Oracle?” Gary asked and stepped closer. “Don’t play us, Hansel.”

  “I’m not. She lives on the top floor of the Lexicon in Manhattan. She…she knows everything.”

  Eric looked to Gary and shrugged. He figured Hansel was a long shot anyway, but Gary wasn’t as easily convinced.

  “How do you know this Oracle?” Gary asked.

  “I used to work for her.”

  “Used to?”

  “I was fired okay…a long time ago. She…she parties. She’s into some real bad stuff, but it don’t affect her like it affects us. I got into her stash and got hooked so they threw me out.”

  “And we’re supposed to just walk up there and tell her Hansel sent us?”

  “I don’t know how you get to her. I think that one can figure it out though,” he said and pointed to Eric. “But if anyone knows about how to find Anna, it’s her.”

  CHAPTER 26

  THE ORACLE

  The Lexicon was an underworlder only, luxury high rise in the middle of the city. Elves and fae mostly occupied the building, but a few vampires and other darkkin also called it home. It was the place wher
e the powerful mingled and the real leaders of the commission carried out secret meetings.

  Gary walked with a nervous gate as they approached the doorman. His hair was frazzled, and his beady eyes couldn’t stay still no matter how hard he tried. He was normally out of sorts, but now he looked like he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Before they reached the entrance, Eric grabbed him and turned so they were face to face.

  “What is going on with you?” he asked.

  Gary avoided his gaze and stared down at the sidewalk.

  “Gary…talk to me.”

  “We’ve been down this path before Eric. You might not remember, but it was stuff like this that got you killed.”

  “I’m trying to find Anna.”

  “I know…it’s, it’s just hitting too close. We don’t want to cross the commission, not again.”

  Eric threw his hands into the air and grumbled. “What aren’t you telling me.”

  “You know what, forget it. Let’s just get this over with.”

  Before Eric could reply, Gary turned and headed down the sidewalk. He walked up to the doorman and shook his hand as Eric hurried to catch up.

  “How can I help you gentlemen today?” the doorman asked with a smile that hid the demon behind his human flesh.

  “We’re here to see the Oracle,” Gary replied.

  The doorman nodded and contorted his face in an awkward grimace. His eyes rolled into his head and his mouth fell open in a dumbfounded gape, emitting a low droning noise. With a guarded look, Gary took a step backward.

  “What is this?” Eric asked.

  “Not sure, but it’s interesting.”

  The man hummed like giant bumblebee and his head twitched slightly. His eyelids flapped up and down like the shutter on a hi-speed camera as drool rolled off his lips and splashed onto the sidewalk.

  “Its gross is what it is,” Eric said and snapped his finger in the doorman’s face.

  Clapping his hands, Gary shouted, “Hello!”

  The man didn’t respond at all. A few more minutes passed before he finally started to shake out of his daze. Leaning forward, he fixed his pupils onto Eric. He shivered then forced a smile.