The Harbinger PI Box Set

by Adam J. Wright

  I followed her down to the front door and opened it for her. She stepped out into the night and turned to face me, her expression serious. “You seem like a good man, Alec. I think my decision to trust you was the right one.”

  “It was,” I said. “When this is all over, I’ll call my father and get him to take you back into the Society.”

  “Is he as trustworthy as his son?”

  I sighed. “He can be trusted with Society business. And I know he isn’t a member of the Midnight Cabal.”

  She pursed her lips. “That sounds very matter-of-fact. Not exactly a glowing recommendation from a family member.”

  “No, well, he got some witches to do bad things to me when I was younger.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Ouch, that sounds painful.”

  “Don’t let it influence your decision about whether to come back to the Society or not. As far as my dad’s concerned, the Society comes before everything else. He won’t want to lose a good investigator.”

  Sherry smiled. “Thanks, Alec. I’ll think about it. After tomorrow, we may be living in some sort of end-of-the-world monster apocalypse anyway.” She waved and walked away.

  I closed the door and went back up to the living room. Felicity was clearing away the dishes.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said.

  “I don’t mind.” She took the dishes into the kitchen and began loading the dishwasher. There was a nervous energy in the way she moved.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  She closed the dishwasher and stood to face me. “Yes, everything’s fine. I’m just scared about tomorrow.” Her glasses had slid down her nose slightly. She pushed them back up. “I don’t want to be alone tonight, Alec. The thought of going back to my house fills me with dread.”

  “That’s not a problem, you can stay here.”

  She smiled nervously. “Really?”

  “Of course. Do you want to take one of the spare bedrooms?” Chivalry wasn’t dead. Hell, maybe I was one of the twelve knights the dark gods wanted to eat.

  She swallowed. “I’d rather be with you if that’s all right. I don’t mean…in that way. I just want to be close to you.”

  “That’s not a problem.”

  “I still don’t think I’ll get a wink of sleep,” she said, relaxing a little. “I’m too worried about tomorrow.”

  “Me too,” I told her. “But if I don’t sleep tonight, I’ll feel bad tomorrow and I hate fighting monsters when I’m tired. It just makes me cranky.”

  She laughed.

  “You go ahead. I’m just going to lock up down here and raise the level of the wards,” I said.

  Felicity nodded. “See you in a minute.” She ascended the stairs.

  I went into the living room and sat on the floor, closing my eyes and mentally connecting to the wards that protected the house. Wards were one of the first things I’d learned at the Academy of Shadows and I’d spent weeks warding everything I could, from my dorm room to my lunchbox.

  The wards around the house were adequate for keeping out vampires, demons, faeries, and mundane thieves, but they could still be defeated by another Society member or a powerful magician like Luke Fairweather. I didn’t think Luke was going to attack us tonight but it was better to be safe than sorry.

  I visualized the glowing green circles and glyphs that surrounded the house and recited a spell that would strengthen them for tonight. It wasn’t a good idea to place strong wards around the house permanently because the stronger ones burned with a powerful magical energy that attracted any beings nearby that were sensitive to magic, especially lesser beings that existed on the astral plane and sought energy to feed on.

  So I usually stuck to the “slow burners” that were powerful enough to keep most things out but not so powerful as to turn my house into a magical beacon.

  For tonight, though, I would feel better knowing that Felicity and I were safe inside a powerful magical barrier. In my mind’s eye, the symbols of protection glowed brighter around the house. I kept the visualization at the front of my mind for a couple of seconds but it wavered when my thoughts turned to Felicity. She was upstairs in my bedroom, probably in my bed by now.

  I pushed that thought away and went back to the wards again, continuing where I’d left off. When they were at full strength, I opened my eyes and stood up. Despite the wards being at full strength, I still locked the front door. Then I turned out all the downstairs lights and went upstairs.

  The bedroom door was slightly open, the room beyond dark. I knocked lightly. “Can I come in?”

  “Of course,” Felicity said.

  I entered the room and waited a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Felicity was in bed, the cream-colored sheet pulled over her body. I undressed quickly, stripping down to my boxers. The night was hot, despite the cool air being pumped through the vents.

  I pulled the sheet aside and slid into bed next to Felicity, pulling the sheet back over us. She was wearing a pale pink bra and panties. She turned to me, her dark eyes searching my face in the darkness. Her glasses were on the nightstand and their absence from her face made Felicity seem vulnerable somehow.

  Our mouths met in a long, slow, gentle kiss. I placed a hand on her waist. Her skin felt hot. Her own hand stroked over my arm, her fingers tracing the outline of my muscles.

  When our mouths parted, Felicity whispered to me, “We need to get some sleep.”

  “Yeah, we do,” I said.

  I reluctantly took my hand from her waist but she stopped me, placing her hand over mine. “Leave it there,” she whispered. “It’s nice.” She snuggled up against me and buried her head against my chest.

  I held her close and shut my eyes, sleep taking me faster than I had expected. I let myself drift into its grip. I needed to be alert tomorrow, but for now I could relax and allow myself to dream.

  17

  I awoke the next morning to find myself alone in the bed. Pale light crept in through the window and when I checked the clock on the nightstand, it told me it was six thirty. I sat up. Felicity’s glasses were gone from the nightstand, her peach blouse and jeans gone from the chair where they’d been neatly folded last night.

  Without bothering to get dressed, I went downstairs and made coffee. While it was brewing, I went down to the basement and selected a sword and a pistol crossbow. I went back upstairs and leaned the weapons against the wall by the front door.

  I checked the bandage around the bullet wound. It was still tight and the only pain I felt in my side was a dull ache. I was good to go.

  A half hour later, I was showered, dressed and on my second cup of coffee when the front door opened and Felicity came inside. She was dressed in jeans and a dark green T-shirt. Her dark hair was piled up on her head in its usual style. “Oh, you’re awake,” she said when she saw me.

  “I am indeed,” I said, raising my coffee cup by way of a greeting. “Did you sleep well last night?”

  She smiled prettily. “Yes, very well. You?”

  “Like the dead,” I said.

  “That’s probably not the best choice of phrase for today,” she said, coming into the kitchen. “I’ve put some cinnamon bakes in my oven. If you’re inviting people around, they might as well have something to eat.”

  “Sure,” I said. “You want a drink?”

  “Tea, please. Thanks. I’ll make it.”

  I watched her as she made herself a cup of tea. Last night’s closeness seemed to have vanished with the night. I wanted nothing more than to take Felicity in my arms and kiss her but she was back to being her business-like self again.

  “Is everything okay, Felicity?”

  “Yes, of course. I’m just so nervous about today. I’d feel better if we knew more about Luke Fairweather’s plans.”

  “Yeah, me too, but we have to do the best we can with the little we have.”

  “I know.” She took a sip of the hot tea. “I wonder what time Leon will arrive?”r />
  “Early,” I said. “He wants to know what’s happening. He’s probably on his way here right now.”

  She laughed. “Yes, he is eager to help. It’s nice.” The last two words reminded me of when she’d told me to keep my hand on her waist last night. “How are you going to convince the Blackwell sisters to help us?” she asked.

  I hadn’t really thought about it. The sisters didn’t do anything unless they got something in return. I already owed them a favor for the werewolf locator spell they’d cast for me. What would they charge to fight the servant of a dark god and his minions? I wasn’t ready to trade my soul just yet. “I’ll just tell them the situation,” I said to Felicity. “If we don’t defeat Gibl, all their customers will be eaten by monsters. That should motivate them.”

  There was a knock on the front door. I answered it to find Leon and Michael standing outside. They were both dressed in the same black garb they always seemed to wear when they were about to go into action.

  Even though Leon was a young black man who had made a fortune in the computer tech world, and Michael was a white British man in his sixties who worked as Leon’s butler, there seemed to be a strong friendship between the two of them.

  “You going to tell us what’s going on now, Alec?” Leon asked as he stepped into the house. Michael followed, nodding silently to me in greeting.

  “Felicity will tell you everything,” I said. “I have to visit a couple of witches.”

  I pulled on my boots and asked Felicity to call Timothy and Josie, the werewolves I locked away every full moon. Grabbing the keys to the Caprice, I went outside and got into the car. It was another warm morning and the temperature would probably rise as the day wore on.

  I backed out of the driveway, being careful to avoid Leon’s RV parked on the street. Five minutes later, I was driving down Main Street. When I reached Blackwell Books, I cursed. The place wasn’t open yet. I parked outside and went to the door, peering through the glass at the dark interior of the bookshop.

  Even though it was early, the witches might still be in there. They ran a mail order business from the back room so maybe they arrived early to sort out that side of things. I knocked on the glass and searched the darkness between the bookshelves for a sign of movement. Nothing.

  I turned to leave, intending to call the witches later, but then I saw them on the sidewalk, approaching me. They both wore their trademark black Victorian dresses and Devon held a black lace parasol above their heads.

  “Alec, you beat us here,” Victoria said when they reached me. “We know why you’re here.”

  “You do?” I asked, surprised. I wasn’t sure why I was still surprised by anything the Blackwell sisters said.

  “You want our help. Devon had a dream last night.”

  “There’s a monster,” Devon said. “I saw it coming through a portal. And I saw you standing outside the bookshop before we opened.”

  “So here we are,” Victoria added.

  “And you’ll help?”

  “Of course.” She made it sound as if they hadn’t asked me for some sort of payment every time I’d asked for their help.

  “We’re all gathering at my place,” I said. “Do you have a car?”

  “Yes, but it’s such a nice day we decided to walk,” Victoria said.

  So Devon’s prophetic vision hadn’t told them they’d need a car. “Do you want to go get your car or do you want me to drive you to my house?”

  “You can drive us,” Devon said.

  “Fine.” I got into the Caprice and they both climbed into the back seat. As I drove back to the house, I told them about Luke Fairweather and the ritual he was carrying out. Every now and then, the witches would mutter, “That’s terrible,” or, “How awful,” but other than that, they listened quietly.

  When we got to the house, Devon said, “Your house is very well-protected, Alec.”

  “Yeah, you can’t be too careful these days.” I invited them inside and introduced them to Leon and Michael. The police scanner sat on the coffee table, picking up the occasional conversation between the dispatcher and one of the deputies, but nothing else. It was a slow day for law enforcement.

  The house smelled of apple bakes. Felicity had set out two plates of the baked goodies on the coffee table. Victoria took a bite of one and said to Felicity, “These are delicious. You must give me the recipe sometime.”

  Felicity nodded but looked a little uncomfortable.

  “Did you call Timothy and Josie?” I asked her.

  “Yes, they’re on their way.”

  “No sign of Sherry?”

  She shook her head.

  “She was concerned about showing her face,” I said. “Maybe she lost her nerve.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be here,” Felicity said. “She knows how important this is.”

  A short hiss of static sounded on the police scanner, followed by the female dispatcher’s voice. “All cars. All cars. We’ve had multiple reports of gunmen at Dearmont Lake. Shots fired.”

  Cantrell’s voice said, “Goddamn hunters. Amy, what’s your location?”

  “I’m near the lake,” Amy said. “I’ll check it out.”

  “That could be something to do with Luke,” Felicity said.

  “Maybe.”

  Everyone sitting around the police scanner was leaning in, waiting to hear Amy’s report.

  When it came, Amy’s voice was tense. “I need backup. There are at least three gunmen at the docks. They’re firing at my vehicle.” There was a pause and then the sound of shots. “I’m returning fire but I need backup now!”

  Cantrell said, “Everybody get down to the docks. Dispatch, call the state police. Tell them we need urgent assistance.”

  Now it all made sense. “Twelve knights” did refer to the police after all. Luke had set up a situation that gave the sheriff no option other than to call the state police for assistance so there would be more than six police officers at the docks.

  They were rushing into a trap.

  And twelve of them would be sacrificed in a black magic ritual.

  18

  The Caprice sped along the highway. The Blackwell sisters were in the back seat, talking quietly to each other. Felicity rode shotgun, looking nervously out through the windshield at the road ahead.

  Leon’s RV was close behind us, with Michael at the wheel and Leon in the passenger seat checking their shotguns.

  “Felicity, call Timothy and Josie and tell them to meet us at the docks.” I wished I had a number for Sherry. She was a trained fighter like me and her being here could be the difference between us winning or losing this battle.

  Felicity jabbed at her phone and put it to her ear. After a couple of minutes, she said, “There’s no answer from Timothy.” She tried again and said, “No answer from Josie either.”

  Great. So there were six of us against a black magician, a monster, and the monster’s minions. I didn’t like those odds.

  I turned off the highway and on to the road the led to the lake. Six police cruisers were parked in the parking lot, their lights flashing. Crouched behind the vehicles were Cantrell, Amy, and four other officers. Their guns were drawn but they weren’t firing at anything.

  I drove the Caprice around the police vehicles and parked behind them. Michael did the same with the RV.

  When I got out of the car, Cantrell shouted, “Get out of here, Harbinger.” His face was red and at first I thought that was from anger but then I realized he was sunburned from when we’d taken the boat to the island and he’d fallen asleep.

  “I can’t do that, Sheriff. You need to get on the radio and call off the state police. When they get here, all hell is going to break loose.”

  “It’s already broken loose,” he said. “Maybe you haven’t noticed, but we’re being shot at.”

  “There’s a guy somewhere around here who needs twelve police officers on the scene so he can cast a spell that could destroy the world.”

  “What the h
ell are you talking about?” He held up a huge hand. “No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

  I turned to Amy. “Can you help me out here?”

  She shrugged. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Convince your dad to call off the state police. Trust me, things are going to get a lot worse if they come here.”

  She hesitated, uncertainty in her eyes. “Alec, I don’t think I can…”

  “Do you trust me?” I asked her.

  “Of course she doesn’t,” Cantrell answered for her. “You can’t be trusted, Harbinger.”

  “Dad, maybe he’s right,” she said. “Maybe we should listen to him.”

  Cantrell wavered slightly. For all his pig-headed stubbornness, he knew I was no charlatan. He’d seen a glimpse of my world with his own eyes. He said, “Are you going to tell me what’s going on here?”

  “I just did. If the state police arrive, their presence will enable an evil magician to cast a spell that will bring that monster we saw into this realm permanently. And the monster isn’t even the worst thing that’s going to come here. It’s going to bring its minions and they’re going to prepare our world for the arrival of the dark gods. I’m pretty sure we don’t want to ever meet those guys.”

  Cantrell sighed resignedly. “Okay, I’ll call off the state troopers. We’ll apprehend the shooters ourselves.” He went around to the open door of his car and reached in to get his radio. He told the dispatcher to cancel the state police.

  “What now?” Amy asked me.

  “I need to find one very pissed magician,” I said. “Sooner or later, he’s going to realize that he doesn’t have the ingredients he needs to complete a spell that’s taken him three years to cast.”

  “Sucks for him,” she said.

  “Yeah.”

  “Never mind that,” Cantrell said. “Who the hell are those gunmen holed up in that shack?”

  “They’re members of the Fairweather family,” I said. “Sent here to cause enough trouble that you’d call the state police. The magician needs twelve knights here so he can sacrifice them for his ritual. The Dearmont police force isn’t big enough. There are only six of you.” My voice trailed off as I made a realization.