See No: Hidden Evil #2

by Lizzy Ford

  Shanti sat in the passenger’s seat and pulled on her seatbelt.

  Kaylee slid behind the driver’s seat. She didn’t move, didn’t close the door. Her breathing was shallow, uneven. Her aura was a mess of different colors again.

  “You-know-who wasn’t in the van,” Eddy reassured her.

  Shanti’s brow furrowed. How could the woman connected to the dual stone not handle violence? Hadn’t she witnessed her guide fighting or encountered a demon at any point?

  Kaylee drew a deep breath and closed her door. “Okay. I’m good.”

  “Who are you exactly, Kaylee?” Shanti asked.

  “Kaylee is special,” Eddy replied.

  He said nothing further. Kaylee was barely hanging on, and Shanti didn’t press her.

  A phone vibrated from the back seat. Seconds later, Eddy tapped in a response.

  “We’re headed to the Bowie Town Center,” he said. “Bullet’s meeting us there. You know the way, Kaylee?”

  “I do.” Kaylee put the van in gear.

  No one spoke for forty minutes as Kaylee drove the van to a destination Shanti knew nothing about. She’d grown up in the south and Florida, not around the DC area. Kaylee had calmed, and Eddy checked his weapons before settling into quiet as well.

  The van rolled to a halt. The side door slid open.

  “Stay here,” Eddy said. “Keys, Kaylee.”

  The van’s engine switched off.

  Shanti waited until the van door closed. Kaylee’s energy was agitated. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Traumatized. It’s my new normal. Thanks for asking,” Kaylee said with mirth. “You?”

  “Kind of confused,” Shanti admitted. “You know what the stones are, but you aren’t one of the gatekeepers.”

  Kaylee cleared her throat and shifted away.

  “You’re afraid of me,” Shanti said, startled.

  “I’m afraid of everyone,” was the honest answer. “The last key holder I met tried to murder me.”

  “You’ve met one of us! Where?”

  “She’s somewhere near here. I’ve been under the uh … supervision of Eddy for a few weeks, so I’ve avoided using the stones to find out. I can’t lie, and I don’t want to put anyone else in danger.”

  “Why would we hurt you?” Shanti asked.

  Kaylee hesitated and then answered. The woman related her tale, though Shanti sensed she left some parts out by the occasional shift in Kaylee’s energy. When she finished, Shanti sat back, uncertain how to digest everything.

  “I understand why she did it. Killing you didn’t work, so I’m not interested in trying,” she said.

  “I’m still alive, thanks to Eddy.”

  “The assassin. God, I’m sorry,” Shanti said in a hushed voice. “And now we’re both screwed.”

  “Maybe.” Kaylee paused. “The archdemon I’m attached to told me something I can’t quite figure out. I asked him why me, and he said we were equals. Does that mean anything to you?” By the flare of yellow in Kaylee’s aura, she already knew, or suspected.

  “Logically, I’d say you were an incarnated archangel,” Shanti said. “I’ve never heard of that, but why not?”

  “Does that give me any magical power like you all have?”

  “Magic.” Shanti smiled. “I don’t know. This Nathan guide you met. If he’s one of the oldest, he should know.”

  “He’s not an option,” Kaylee responded.

  “Pedro would know, if you could reach him.”

  “Who?”

  “The head of the angel corps. He supervises the guides. Julie – my guide – went to him before she died to ask how to protect me,” Shanti said sadly. “I don’t think she asked the right question, or she’d be alive and I wouldn’t be stuck with you guys.”

  “Where does Pedro live?”

  Shanti giggled. “He’s … well, he doesn’t live anywhere. He’s on the Other Side.”

  “So I’d have to die to see him?” Kaylee asked, perplexed. “I didn’t meet anyone when I died.”

  “No. Guides possess the ability to visit, and others might be able to visit as well, though I’ve never tried. He lives in a dimension within this one. He can be accessed by a secret portal of sorts.”

  “How the hell do I do that?” Kaylee muttered. “Even if it were possible to ask him, I’d have to know where it was and reach it before Eddy reached me. Assuming I could escape him in the first place without losing all my digits.”

  “Maybe there’s another way,” Shanti said and reached into her satchel for the stones. She chose Kaylee’s and held it. Kaylee’s side of the stone marked her as being present in the van. The second soul was murky at best, unformed and weak. “Did you ask Shadowman? Use your stone to help you.”

  After rustling around, Kaylee was quiet for a long moment.

  “Here. Take this one.” Shanti held out her dual stone. Kaylee’s soft hand brushed hers as she accepted it. “These are strong, and they’re extensions of both of you. Maybe they will help.”

  Kaylee’s aura changed, calmed and then grew darker. A chill radiated off her as she summoned the archdemon’s presence. Shanti leaned away once more, unsettled by the idea of communicating with a source of pure evil, even if they did need answers.

  Kaylee released the breath she was holding, and the sense of cold, dark, ancient evil slid away.

  “He answers my questions, which I don’t understand,” she murmured.

  “He has to. Guardian angels have to either answer the question truthfully or not respond at all. They cannot lie or deceive those they are connected to. Until he has his own form, he’s bound by certain rules,” Shanti explained. “Did he answer?”

  “With a picture. A building in downtown DC. I’ve seen it before, but I’m not sure where.”

  “Can you find it, if we got away?”

  “It might take some driving around, but eventually we might, if we had enough of a head start.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  “Um, we don’t have the keys, and I don’t know anything about hotwiring a car,” Kaylee said.

  “Is it safe to leave?”

  Kaylee leaned forward. Though Shanti’s senses were muted by the van, she sensed no one. The stores hadn’t opened yet, but that didn’t mean Eddy wasn’t standing behind a pillar close enough to watch over them.

  “I don’t see him. He went around back,” Kaylee answered. “How can …”

  Shanti rested her hand on the steering column and then took one of Kaylee’s hands. “You are strong. I can channel your energy.”

  “Like Nath … a spirit guide does?”

  Shanti nodded. “I don’t retain much, but with your energy …” She didn’t have to finish. The van’s engine rumbled to life.

  Kaylee’s breath caught a split second. “Eddy’s going to chop off my arms and legs for this,” she whispered. “But if I do it, I’m in control of my life again. I’m not in anyone’s shadow or helpless or … me. I’m better. Special. Right?”

  Shanti lifted an eyebrow. “Do you want me to answer or is this some sort of stream of conscious?”

  “I’ve been struggling with my self worth and identity. I’ve had no say over my life for weeks, years, now. I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to try to be better than I was. More confident.” Kaylee sounded as if she were on the verge of tears.

  Shanti sensed the woman was about to have a mental breakdown. “This is a good step towards controlling your life,” Shanti reasoned. “We just have to not get caught.”

  “I’m about as good at that as I am lying.”

  What the hell do I say to keep her from flipping out? Shanti thought.

  The van lurched into action. Shanti held onto the handle on the side of the door, understanding Kaylee’s urgency. The woman connected to an archdemon tore out of the parking lot and raced down the street at a speed that couldn’t possibly have been safe in an urban setting but which matched her panicked aura.

  Shanti held on for the ride,
gritting her teeth every time the van careened dangerously around a curve and praying when Kaylee slammed on the brakes. The ride smoothed out as they reached a highway. For the first time in her life, Shanti was thankful she couldn’t see, or she’d be freaking out about Kaylee’s insane speed and how close she was to other vehicles before she dodged around them.

  Kaylee slowed a little when she veered off the highway in what Shanti guessed was an exit. The van almost tipped, and Kaylee came to an abrupt stop.

  “I’m feeling a little nauseated,” Shanti said.

  “Sorry. I’m panicking. We’re in DC. It’ll be stop and go from now on.”

  Shanti swallowed hard. The last thing she wanted to do was throw up. It would make their daring escape seem much more desperate.

  Kaylee fished around the dashboard then floor. She swerved. An angry chorus of honks erupted from Shanti’s side of the van.

  “Assholes,” Kaylee muttered.

  “Can I help you find whatever you’re looking for?” Shanti asked. “So, um, we don’t die?”

  “Sorry. I was hoping to find a cell phone.”

  “To call your guide?”

  To her surprise, Kaylee stifled a sob.

  “Sore spot,” Shanti said, watching the energy around her companion change.

  “I don’t have a guide. I don’t have anyone but Eddy!” Kaylee exclaimed.

  “You have me now,” Shanti said calmly. “As long as we don’t die before we reach Pedro.”

  “Both hands on the wheel,” Kaylee chanted twice.

  The woman was close to losing it completely. Shanti hoped they parked before Kaylee broke down into tears or snapped into some sort of psychosis. Shanti’s guides had always claimed her energy was calm, supportive. She couldn’t tell, since it was hers, but people did relax around her, including Todd, who hadn’t abandoned her either time when he could have.

  They drove around for an hour or more. Shanti’s sense of time was off without the alerts on her phone. Kaylee’s driving became less erratic as she concentrated on finding the building the demon had revealed to her.

  “There!” Kaylee exclaimed. “I see it!”

  She slammed on the brakes.

  “Holy …” Shanti gasped.

  “Come on. We have to go!” Kaylee flung open her door. The blares of angry horns surrounded them.

  The passenger side door whipped open.

  “This isn’t a parking lot,” Shanti said, confused by the energies flying around them. “Did you stop in traffic?”

  “Parking in DC is a bitch and I have no money for a meter.” Kaylee tugged her out of the van. “Maybe the traffic jam will delay Eddy from finding us.”

  Shanti allowed Kaylee to guide her through the chaos she had created. They reached a sidewalk, and Kaylee stopped to help her up the curb.

  A familiar tingle of energy tickled Shanti’s senses. She snapped out her guide stick. “This is it!” She walked forward eagerly.

  “What floor is he on?” Kaylee asked. She held open a door, and Shanti walked through.

  “He’s not on a floor,” Shanti said with another laugh. “He’s through.”

  “Through … what?”

  “Just through. Take my hand.”

  Kaylee did so. She was shaking. Shanti pitied her but couldn’t help her excitement at crossing to the Other Side after five incarnations of separation.

  “Will they be upset we’re here?” Kaylee asked.

  “They’re angels. They can’t be upset.”

  Shanti led them forward. She didn’t need to see what was ahead of them; she felt the presence of the Other Side. If it didn’t want them to find it, it would have hidden itself.

  She strode forward eagerly.

  “Wait, there’s a …” Kaylee stiffened and then stopped completely.

  Shanti felt the change in the air and her thoughts erupted with white, sparkly energy. She grinned. “We’re here.”

  “We walked through one office building into another?”

  “Close your eyes. This gets weird,” Shanti advised her.

  Thirteen

  Weird didn’t begin to describe what was happening. Kaylee’s panic was barely checked. Upon entering the building, she could think of nothing other than Eddy murdering her. Shanti had headed directly for a reception desk, confusing Kaylee, until they walked through it and into a second building. It appeared plain, with the exception of the strange, sparkling glitter and lights that floated in the air.

  She closed her eyes as Shanti recommended.

  “We’re there!” The gorgeous gatekeeper with large, brown eyes and ombre hair that ranged from black to auburn to blond squealed the words.

  Kaylee opened her eyes.

  She and Shanti stood in an office unlike any she had ever seen. At first glance, she noticed the collection of artifacts and what appeared to be a row of outdated fax machines and other archaic technology. A small, dark-skinned man sat at a desk five times his size, dismantling an oversized, forty-year-old cell phone. With no memory of how she had gotten from the reception area to here, Kaylee stood dumbly. Was this a dream? Had she gone insane with fear?

  “Pedro!” Shanti shouted. She tapped the floor with her guide stick and circled the desk. When she reached him, she flung her arms around the small man, who gave her a look of tired irritation.

  “What have you done now?” he asked, wise eyes on Kaylee.

  Shanti faced her as well, and Kaylee realized he was addressing her.

  “I, uh, stole a van and drove here,” Kaylee said, at a loss for what else to say.

  “Not you.”

  What had to be done, Shadowman answered with no small amount of malice. What was foreordained.

  Kaylee opened her mouth to convey the message.

  “I heard,” Pedro said. He rose. “You are the problem Nathan told me about. Both of you.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” Kaylee replied. “We need help. I’d like to discuss stopping Shadowman.” And if I’m an archangel. Like Barachiel. She shoved the idea out of her mind, embarrassed to consider it again.

  “You are who you believe,” Pedro answered. “You have what you need. It is what you think.”

  Kaylee stared at him, her adrenaline-addled thoughts struggling to decipher the riddle that felt important but which sounded too simple to be the solution to anything.

  Shanti beamed a smile. “Isn’t he wonderful?”

  “What does that mean?” Kaylee answered. “And are you talking to me or … him?”

  “You asked the questions,” Pedro said.

  “I didn’t ask any questions.”

  “You may not know you did, but you did,” Pedro said wisely. “What have you done to Nathan?”

  “Nothing. I mean, he joined a cult of sorts to protect me.”

  “But you should be protecting him,” Pedro replied. “You are who you believe. You have what you need. It is what you think.”

  Kaylee had never questioned her sanity before Shadowman – and shortly after, Nathan – appeared in her life.

  “Here is my price.” Pedro handed her the classified ads from a newspaper whose pages were yellow from age. An ad had been circled. “Next time, bring it, and we can talk more.”

  “Thank you, Pedro!” Shanti gushed and hugged him again. “I’ve missed you.”

  He waved her away and returned to the chair behind his desk.

  Kaylee stood awkwardly, waiting for real answers to her very real problems.

  “Close your eyes,” Shanti told her.

  Kaylee blinked.

  They were back in the lobby filled with floating glitter.

  “What the hell just happened?” Kaylee breathed. “Did I just risk being murdered for this?” She waved the newspaper around.

  “He gave you more than he would anyone else,” Shanti replied. “He answered three questions.”

  “I never asked him one question!” Kaylee exclaimed. “What does any of it mean? And how do I deal with Eddy when he comes for my
fingers and toes?” She didn’t try to hide the note of hysteria in her voice. “He’s going to chop me into pieces!”

  Shanti settled her hands on Kaylee’s arms. “It’s okay,” she said, her unseeing brown eyes on Kaylee’s face. Warmth shifted through her, winding through Kaylee’s emotions and taking the rough edge off them. “We have to leave now.” Shanti’s hands dropped, and she started towards the front door.

  Kaylee batted away the lights and sparkles gathering around her. Calmer but uncertain of her fate, she followed.

  Four steps later, the sound of traffic reached her, along with the quiet voice of a receptionist answering a phone. Her eyes, however, were on the sidewalk and street beyond the front doors. Eddy wasn’t there, but he would be soon. He had a knack for keeping track of her and reading her intentions before she knew what she wanted to do.

  The gentle tap of Shanti’s cane on the marble floor ended when she reached the door and opened it.

  Kaylee remained in place, struggling to understand Pedro’s riddle. She lifted the paper and read the ad he’d circled.

  *

  A gentleman would like to acquire a typographer machine. Enquiries shall be addressed to his agent at Thiessen & Co., address as follows …

  *

  She re-read it. When the hell had this ad been written? The language was stilted and old.

  Kaylee flipped to the front page of the newspaper.

  “Eighteen sixty seven?” She read through the ad again before leaving the reception area to join Shanti on the sidewalk. “What does this mean?” She asked and started to hand the paper to the blind woman before flushing. “Sorry. I’ll read it to you.” Kaylee read the ad and told Shanti the date.

  Shanti listened, her head tilted and a smile on her face. “He wants a typewriter from eighteen sixty seven. He collects things.”

  “So if I can find a typewriter, he’ll help me?” Kaylee asked.

  “He’ll talk to you again. How helpful it is will depend on what answer you’re looking for,” Shanti said. “It’s not always the answer you ask, either. It could be the one you feel.”

  Kaylee lowered the paper, pensive.

  “There’s a question you have wanted to ask me, too,” Shanti said. “I can see your aura change colors. What is it?”