The Hidden Paths to Power

by D. A. Smith

  I sensed Doriane using her skills subtly, to check the door for traps, and knew there weren’t any, when she stayed quiet, as Harold worked to force the door open. The lock was sturdy but gave way on his third attempt.

  I didn’t have to hide my need to throw up when the door opened. Harold was looking a little green himself. I managed to use the puke bag I’d been provided rather than decorating the floor but my breakfast made a reappearance. Fortunately there wasn’t much in my stomach.

  Inside were the desiccated corpses of fifteen children. They’d been posed in ritualistic arrangements on stone slabs. The room was nearly air tight, which is why the family up above, never smelled them. The odor was obvious and overwhelming now.

  Doriane said, “We need to give the room a day to air out. The poisonous fumes would make anyone sick being in there for too long. This is an old scene and you already have your perpetrator buried wherever Ryan’s father was laid to rest. I don’t believe Ryan’s father was trying to stop him from using his explosives. I think Ryan’s father was worried, his son’s actions would bring attention to this place.”

  Detective Cramer answered, as we moved to the ladder to go back up, “I believe you’re right. I need to get this on the wire fast. We may have just solved fifteen cases of missing children in this one find.”

  Doriane and I went to sit in her car, as we cleared our senses of the foulness. We could still feel it but not as strongly.

  I asked, “With the police all over this place now, how are we going to heal the natural balance?”

  “With a little subtle magic. We’ll have to go home for the night, so I can prepare the spell. I haven’t seen anything like this in over a hundred years. I have to contact a friend as well. We need to know how a powerful dark user went so long, without being discovered until now. It may lead us to Ryan’s mentor.”

  After saying bye to Eric and Laura, who were getting ready to go to a hotel for a short while, and giving Harold promises to come back the next day, we went home.

  After fueling ourselves on fresh food, which made me feel better, we went down to the basement. Being in the presence of good magic helped me more.

  Doriane pulled out three types of incense, an amulet of clean fire spirits, a vial of sanctified earth and a small cube of maple wood.

  I was instructed where to stand, as this was beyond my skill yet. I was only observing.

  This time, she sat on the floor without the pillow. Her rear was on the symbol for water, her bare right foot was on the symbol for air, and her left foot was on the symbol for peace, then she made the room dark.

  Chanting in the language of mystics, the three symbols lit up.

  She placed the incense, in little holes in the floor for this purpose, and they started burning without flame put to them.

  Placing the amulet on the floor between her legs then placing the cube of maple on top of it, she chanted for an hour. Every few minutes, she would sprinkle sanctified earth over the cube.

  I watched as the grains were absorbed, and began etching the design on the amulet, on all six sides of the cube.

  When Doriane was done and made the candles light again, she said with a tired voice, “Go to west wall. Inside the cupboard labeled number fourteen, retrieve one silk pouch and the tongs.”

  When I brought her these things, she used the tongs to pick up the cube and put it in the silk pouch, then we cleaned the room.

  Once done, we went back upstairs to relax.

  After a small amount of small talk, we went to bed.

  Dreaming was interesting with my power active. They were still simple dreams but far more vivid. Doriane told me in time, my dreams might show practical things, but usually takes a while, as my mind continues to adjust to being able to access magic.

  The next day we drove by the shop. The repair crews were still working on the electrical which meant, The Dragon’s Den metaphysical and gift shop, had to remain closed for another day, then we drove to Aurora.

  Detective Cramer was there ahead of us. By the looks of him, he’d been up all night working on this.

  I was still sporting my disguise with my essence protected as we arrived.

  Harold said as soon as he saw us, “Good thing you’re here. The CSIs have taken air sample readings and determined the air is safe to breathe. They want us to get our impressions of the room quickly, so they can get started processing the room. I would’ve started already but Kimberly seems to have the knowledge we need, to make sense of the room.”

  Doriane caused Harold to get a bit uncomfortable in the pants with her smile, as she answered, “I’ve investigated things like this before. Not to this level but I have some knowledge. Most of the cases I’ve worked before, were what you’re more familiar with. Satanic rituals, with your usual pentagrams and teenagers, playing with something that gets out of control.”

  We went down the ladder and, though the foulness was still present, the air had cleared.

  The largest body couldn’t have been more than, ten to twelve years old, when they died. We didn’t bother trying to determine the cause of death. That could be left for the medical examiner. Our interest was seeing that the balance was corrected and investigate the symbols and tools used.

  When we reached the center of the floor, we found an idol of some demonic creature. It stood about a foot high and was the source of the foulness.

  While keeping her movements hidden, and only touching the silk pouch, Doriane tipped the cube onto the ground next to the idol, then used the pouch to scoot it, until it was making direct contact.

  In a moment, the cube was absorbed by the idol and I could already feel the change occurring. The oppressiveness wasn’t as overwhelming.

  Afterward, we moved around the room as if simply gathering impressions. It was hard for me to see the bodies of the children but felt good, we helped to ensure, they’d get properly taken care of.

  When Doriane declared she’d seen enough, the three of us vacated the room. Harold hadn’t seen a thing with the idol. Standing outside, as the CSIs began their work, the three of us talked.

  Doriane said to Harold, “This is fairly sophisticated. It’s beyond my experience so you may need to find an expert. I think, the idol in the center in Babylonian in origin, so you may need to start there. I didn’t see anything, to give us clues to Ryan’s current location, but the number of people who still practice those rituals, has to be small. It’s possible, Ryan knew other practitioners, and one of them may be providing shelter for him.”

  “That would make sense. Dark rituals like these could only be hidden by those, with a lot of experience keeping it out of the public eye. That means, they’d have the skills necessary to keep him hidden.”

  I interjected, “When the members of Ryan’s family that could be found were interviewed, they were all from his mother’s side. They all said, Steven Gilpatrick didn’t have any family but maybe, that’s just what they were told.”

  Harold responded, “We did a cursory check for family, when it was simply believed he was a victim of his son’s. With this, I’ll start having our teams looking over his background with a fine tooth comb.”

  I gave Harold a hug as we were leaving.

  I tried to keep my face hidden, when the press started showing up, as they got wind of the news. I’d find out in a short while that, the journalists didn’t recognize me, but someone watching did, as he caught a small glimpse on camera.

  After we started driving, we went to a restaurant for lunch. It seemed strange, I could maintain an appetite but, when my body told me I needed fuel, I was able to listen. I think it comes from having gone into a coma for two days because I didn’t take care of my needs.

  After eating, I called Eric, “The CSIs are just now processing the room.”

  “Thank you for finding it. My family is shaken but I’ve managed to convince them, it would be better not to run from it. You need to know, your face came up for just a split second on the news. I don’t think the jour
nalists have figured it out but be aware, in case your nemesis was watching.”

  “I will and Kimberly thinks, those poisonous vapors were seeping into the ground around your house. She believes, as they get cleaned out, the ground will be able to withstand planting again.”

  “That would be nice. Come visit me, if your issues ever get resolved.”

  “I’ll do that. Bye, Eric.”

  At home, Doriane pulled into the driveway to drop me off then said, “I have to go visit the friend I mentioned before. He’s not a believer in modern forms of communications. He doesn’t own a phone. I think, it’s so we’re forced to actually visit, if we need to speak with him.”

  I laughed as I went inside.

  Two hours later, I felt the dark energy that was attempting to break through Doriane’s spells.

  Going to the window, I looked out and saw my enemy getting frustrated because the spells kept him out.

  Calmly, I opened the front door, walked down the steps then moved close enough to see his face and he could see mine. I stayed inside the protection of Doriane’s influence. I knew I wasn’t ready to face him alone yet.

  I don’t know what fantasies he lived with but he was genuinely surprised by the sheer ferocity in the hate I was displaying. I think somewhere in his twisted mind, he thought everything he was doing was a complement; that he’d turn the world upside-down for me.

  As I said before, I didn’t say a word. I let the expression on my face do all the talking for me.

  That was when his hate blossomed for me, “Do you understand everything I’ve done for you? Can you possibly understand the sacrifices I made to show how much you mean to me? You are mine and I’ll not share you with anyone. I will tear this world apart before I see you accept companionship from anyone but me.”

  I stayed silent, even as I sensed Doriane moving as fast as she could for home. She felt Ryan challenging her protections.

  Ryan’s face twisted with more rage than I’d ever seen, “Answer me! I command you to give me what I want!”

  I felt the fear but kept silent, even as he sent a bolt of energy from his wand, to have it dissolve, when it hit the protections. I didn’t allow myself to flinch.

  I lifted my hand and gave the sign, a guardian had accepted the challenge of her enemy. This consisted of me, drawing the symbol for, trial by fire, in the air between us then blowing it at him. His eyes actually misted up disgustingly.

  Ryan’s voice turned cold, “I hope you have the stomach for this. If you name me your enemy then so be it. All I did was love you. Why is that so wrong?”

  I finally decided to speak with a voice shaking with all my hate, “You lost your chance, with the first life you chose to take! I was telling you the truth, when I said, I wouldn’t be at the dance. I wasn’t turned off by you. I had other things to focus on besides boys. If you could have been patient, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have given you a chance. We were fifteen! I wasn’t ready to deal with boys yet. You need to look at your actions and understand, I can’t give myself to a man who has such a careless disregard for life. Maybe, this is what we were destined to be; opposing forces. I will fight you for every life. I may not always be successful but you can be sure, I will take a chunk out of your hide, if you attempt to go after one more person that I love.”

  “There are billions of potential victims my dear. Can you protect them all?”

  “I don’t know but I will try. I’ll never be yours willingly. For the cost of a single life, you made that impossible.”

  Doriane sped up the street at that moment, and after one anguished look, Ryan disappeared.

  Part Two

  Guardian on the Rise

  The events and the people in our lives shape who we become.

  Doriane became my anchor, as she held me on the couch while I cried.

  As much as I hurt, for the knowledge we gained at Eric’s house, and for the direct confrontation with Ryan, I was actually going through a release. As my mentor held me, I was coming to terms with what my new role in life was to be.

  I was to be the counter to Ryan’s evil.

  I was a counter to all evil magic but Ryan was my personal enemy.

  When the flood subsided, I still let Doriane hold me. It felt good to have the contact. I missed my family but felt better knowing they were far away.

  I didn’t allow myself to become foolish and think Ryan couldn’t find them. My dad was an FBI agent. Anybody with the will and desire to do the research can find what office he worked in now.

  I sat up, “I need a way, to put something near those I love, that’ll warn me when he’s close to them. I told him, I’d take a piece from his hide, if he went after them. You and I know, that may make his jealousy of them worse.”

  “Can you give me until tomorrow then I’ll show you how to do that?”

  “I don’t think he’ll do anything immediately. I’ve been thinking of the way you described how dark users access the power and the long intervals between his appearances. He must need time to recover from his use. Add to that, he doesn’t seem to be obsessing only on me but the people who used to bully him.”

  “He must also spend time with his teacher. Dark users, when they take on a student, demand things in return. They aren’t just evil to innocent people. Their natures are evil. Ryan’s mentor probably has him doing things in payment for the lessons.”

  “Ryan did say something about sacrifices he had to make. I can’t feel sorry for him, as he chose to become the person he is. He obviously resisted joining his parents in the practice when he was young. That’s why he focused on the gadgets he built. They may’ve influenced him, to some degree, but each person has the choice of what kind of person they become. He chose to follow the path to evil and allow foolish notions to enter his head, that I’d be impressed with his commitment. It shows, he didn’t pay any attention to who I was, when we were in school. If he’d learned anything about me, he would’ve seen, I was not the type who’d be impressed by evil actions. I was looking to becoming an FBI agent. I wanted to fight crime. Now, I’ll be fighting magical crime.”

  “I’ll show you how to help keep your friends and family as safe as possible tomorrow. You can’t protect them perfectly. Nobody is perfect, not even us. We’ll do the best we can and hope it’s enough. Tonight, if you choose, I want to do something with you, to help with your pain. I also want to do it but I’ll understand if the notion doesn’t appeal to you. Try to be open-minded as I share this. As we discussed before, the relationships I’ve had over the years, have been kept casual and short, so I don’t get close then have to watch them die. They’re kept short to also, hide what I am from them. We’re not even allowed to tell people we get close to except other practitioners. You can give this some thought but I’ve come to care enough that, I’d like to have sex with you. I’ve learned over the years, I can have just as fulfilling experiences with women as I do with men.”

  It was shocking but not in a way that put me off.

  I allowed my mind to open to the possibility. If I was going to have to keep contact with regular people to a minimum then having that kind of close relationship to Doriane would be nice. It was a little weird, to think about having that kind of relationship with my mentor, but she was also my friend.

  In the two plus months of living with her, we had grown close emotionally. The physical wouldn’t be that big of a transition. I already liked making contact with her when we hugged, “What would be the basis of our relationship?”

  “We wouldn’t be like a committed couple. You could have sex with anyone you desired. I am your teacher, but it’s more like, if you gained a friend who was older, and willingly shared her knowledge with you. We are friends and will be a part of each other’s lives for a long time. We live in a circle that’s small in population. Those relationships become extremely important as the years grow. My mentor still lives in France. He’s been on this planet for a long time. He’s growing old but has no bitterness about it. He
’s had a long and full life, and it’ll be fifty or more years, before death starts to become a possibility. I was thirty-six when my parents died. I was fifty-eight, when my sister passed away, and I couldn’t be there, because I would have been hunted for devil worshipping, if I was seen by those who knew me. I stuck around as long as I could, until it would be obvious, I wasn’t ageing. I had to move frequently, to keep people from catching on. I’ve only lived here for a few years, so there’s time before I have to change locations and names again. I’ve done my best to change my appearance. My face is still the same but I’ve worn several different hair styles and change the color frequently. The more technology advances, the more we have to find other ways. Though I’ve tried to keep my picture from being taking too often, I can’t guarantee there isn’t a picture or two floating around out there. In this day and age, of traffic cameras and ATM cameras and wherever else cameras are located, it becomes harder. I have to risk a bit more magic, to keep my image from being captured clearly. As it progresses, new ways will have to be found.”

  I was starting to come to an appreciation of what it meant to be a guardian.

  It also made me appreciate Doriane more and I leaned forward to kiss her lips once, to see how it felt.

  Pulling back, I had to admit it was exciting. I felt my body responding, in the way I was used to, fantasizing about boys. Looking into those heavenly brown eyes made me hot.

  Doriane seemed to sense my positive reactive to the kiss, stood and pulled me into her room.

  I was nervous as I’d never had sex before but wanted to now.

  I didn’t need to worry about Ryan’s threat, about accepting companionship with Doriane, because I knew, he didn’t have the ability to harm her. At least, it would take a great deal for him to do so.

  My raven-haired friend, pulled me onto her bed, then showed me how to have sex with a woman. My power made the experience magnificent, as I could follow every touch she made on my body. I could feel the sensations with every fiber of my being.