INCURSION: Faeblade (Knight's Bane Trilogy Book 2)

by Bryan Donihue

  Ghost and Heavy spent the next several minutes asking about activity for the last three days. Each question was either met with stony silence or professed ignorance and innocence. Both federal agents were getting frustrated, and the team leader became convinced that this group had had no part in the massacre at the Seelie club.

  As he and Heavy were wrapping up, Ghost looked for Miller. He spotted the man back in the lounge area, animatedly talking on that phone. He watched the man end the call, then do something really strange. The DHS agent watched Miller look around, then open the back of the phone. He pulled a small card out of the back of the phone and cracked it in half. This he threw in the potbelly stove's fire.

  Ghost realized that the SIM card was just destroyed. The agent watched as the ZT leader broke the phone into several pieces with his hands, and each piece, save the battery, followed the SIM card into the fire in the stove. When Miller walked back toward the group, the anger on his face told Ghost that he might have trouble.

  Miller shouted from the back of the group, "You are a bunch of damn traitors to the human race. You don't hunt monsters. You coddle them. Hell, you hire them." The group was beginning to grumble. Miller pressed on, spittle flying from his mouth as he really got going, "In fact, isn't it true that you have a vampire on your team currently? One of your team got infected, and instead of staking them, you kept them on the payroll. How can we trust you?"

  The murmurs in the group were getting louder. It was getting dangerous for Ghost and Heavy. They were outnumbered and out-gunned. The federal monster hunter needed to wrap this up before it became violent. He held up a hand.

  "The backgrounds of the members of my team are classified, and I will not confirm or deny any such request. I do think that we will be leaving now. Thank you for answering our questions. If you do have further information, please contact me."

  Ghost looked at Heavy, nodded his head toward the ext, and the two agents walked back out to the driveway. Without running, Ghost and Heavy hastily walked back to the SUV, with Heavy telling Scout and Do-Right to meet them at the truck so they could leave before someone did something stupid.

  Once they were a couple miles down the road, Heavy rumbled from the back seat, "What the hell just happened? We were doing ok, then that Miller character began spouting off. And just how in the hell does that piece of shit know that Boomer's a vamp?"

  Ghost was wondering the same thing. As Heavy and Scout were talking, he remembered the phone call. Miller destroyed the phone. Could Section 28 recover the data? Does anyone else even know that Boomer exists? It had to be the phone call, and it had to be from within the organization. The lanky agent had two phone calls to make before they even met up with the other team. He pulled out his phone and placed the first secure call.

  "Boss? It's Ghost. We have a mole."

  13

  MASSACRE

  CLUB LJÓS, BOND AVE NW, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

  The Wunder Buggy pulled up outside a brick building that had no external signage. The bricks were painted a brighter red than was natural, and the white trim highlighted the unique characteristics of the building. There were a few cars in the small parking lot adjacent to the building, and Tó Coferal was standing outside the solid-looking metal door chatting with another gentleman, possibly a bouncer or security guard.

  The gentleman standing next to the Queen's night wore black pants, a tight black t-shirt with a high neck, and black designer shoes. A light gray sport coat completed his outfit, tailored well enough that it almost concealed the bulge of the handgun under his arm. The clear wire of his radio earpiece poked out of his left ear and ran down under his coat collar.

  Doc watched as the two men were animatedly talking, gesturing with their hands. It was clear that the man in black was not happy with Tó Coferal, and Doc figured that it was probably the presence of the humans. Doc looked at the man in black a little closer. Then she realized what struck her as wrong. The man had pointed ears. They weren't the tall points of the álfr, instead they were shorter, flatter, with only a hint of a point on the back edge and top.

  The leader of Bravo team looked over her shoulder at the gentleman behind the monitors. "Any idea what that one is, Spooky? Captaen?"

  O'Beirne looked through the window and said, "I believe that is a Hugtandalfer, they are relatives of the elves. Less magical than the elves, however they often appear to be human, aside from the slight point in the ears. The Seelie use them for short term, important security or bodyguard duties. They are a force to be reckoned with." After a second's pause the Irishman continued, "We call them elfkin, but never to their face. It would be an insult to their honor."

  Spooky gave his approval, "Yup. According to our database, Hugtandalfer are often employed by the Seelie to work in positions where they need fae, but where most normal humans won't realize that the person isn't human. Sounds like the perfect bouncer or security position."

  Doc thought for a moment. "Spooky, send a note to Agent Smith. Then start pouring over their video feed to figure out what happened. Also, see if there are any cameras close by that might have been shooting the outside of the building. Everyone else out of the truck. I want a full analysis, use everything you have to figure this out. If something seems odd, make a note of it.

  "I'll work on any of the bodies that are left. Boomer, you and Dancer look around for bullets, shell casings, anything that is related to gunpowder or explosives. Wear gloves and bag everything you find, but take pictures of the area where you find it. I want to know what weapons they were using. Captaen O'Beirne, I would like you to talk to the security guard, or anyone else who has visited the site since the massacre. Any questions?"

  Aside from Spooky, all the federal agents climbed out of the truck. They walked up to the Queen's Knight and waited to be acknowledged. The Knight turned and greeted them, "Doctor Noelle Sorenson, I would like to introduce you to Etan Kanak. He is the head of security at the club, but he happened to be off premises the night of the incident. Etan Kanak, I would like to introduce you to Doctor Noelle Sorenson, from Section Twenty-Eight. She and her team are investigating the massacre."

  Doc looked up at the large fae towering over her, and greeted him formally, "Well met, Etan Kanak. I am sorry for your losses in this tragedy, and we hope to help you determine who the perpetrators were.

  "This is my team." She motioned to each as she introduced them, "Special Agent Rebekah Callahan, Special Agent Hannah Sedano, and Captaen Callum O'Beirne. I have another teammate in the truck, but he will not likely be joining us."

  The Etan Kanak's voice was surprisingly soft and mild for such a large creature, "Well met agents of Section Twenty-Eight. Please, call me Kanak. I will help you in any way possible to bring the cowards who attacked our club to a swift justice. I understand that you want to examine the bodies in situ. We have moved none of the bodies that remain corporeal. As you know, there are certain fae whose corporeal existence fades and disappears after death. Those you obviously cannot examine."

  "Do you have a list of those fae who were in the club at the time of the attack? I don't need names, but numbers and types would be helpful."

  Kanak looked Doc, "Absolutely, Doctor Sorenson. I already have that list prepared. On it, I marked which fae corpses have faded, and which remain."

  Doc smiled at the elfkin, "Thank you, Kanak. Of the fae that faded out, are there any that only dispel when a particular type of weapon is used against them. In other words, are there some who fade because a particular knife was used, where the body would have remained had they been killed with bullets?"

  Kanak frowned, his handsome face creased in thought. "Now that you mention it, the bean sidhe, the banshees were kind of strange. There were two on premise that night, and only one corporeal body remains. If banshees are decapitated by cold-forged iron, then they fade, otherwise, you just have a dead banshee. That was how I figured that at least one person had a blade of cold-forged iron or steel. I wonder what else I missed."
<
br />   Doc's soothing voice spoke of her best matronly attributes, "There is a reason that your Queen called and Section Twenty-Eight sent us. We are good at our job. Let us see what we can uncover. Do you have the footage from the internal cameras that night?" Kanak nodded. "Can you have someone give it to my agent in the van, he will run through the footage."

  They reached the door of the club which was guarded by another elfkin. Kanak handed the elfkin a flash drive and asked the him to take it to the agent waiting in the truck. The elkin did so as Kanak opened the door to the club.

  Doc involuntarily crossed herself when she got a look at the carnage inside the club. It was as bad as the scene in Colorado a few short months ago. There were bodies and pieces of bodies strewn about everywhere. Various dried patches of different colors were scattered on the floor, and there were sprays of the same colors along the walls. Greens, blacks, and silvers blended in with the dark crimson one expected from human blood. The sight alone was almost overwhelming.

  Then there was the smell. The bodies had lain in their own pools of blood and ichor, for two full days, and the temperatures outside rose to the low 90's. Even though the building had air conditioning, it could not keep up with the heat. Most of the creatures killed had also evacuated their bowels, adding offal to the room. Rancid, pungent odors of rotting meat wafted over the room, mingling with the smell of fecal matter and other unrecognizable odors.

  An eery silence hung over the large club. Other than the soft footfalls of the newcomers, the background hum of the struggling air conditioner were the only sounds in a room that would normally be bustling with activity and the loud pounding of club music. The silence was broken by a soft murmur of concern, then the rush of feet back to the door. Doc turned in time to see Dancer yank the door open and make it two steps out the door before she violently threw up. The door swung shut as the newest federal agent heaved and emptied her stomach a second time.

  Doc muttered a small prayer under her breath for the young girl and then turned to survey the club further. Her trained emergency room eye noted details about injuries and probable causes of death. She noticed a lot of bullet holes in the bodies, accompanied by a lot of bladed-weapon damage. Those bodies suffered clean-edged incisions, slicing neatly and deeply into the skin. Over there, the victims sustained ragged lacerations, which looked hacked instead of sliced. Other hacking-type attacks were evident in the avulsions on that body—the attacker having flayed the skin of the victim. And there were minor and major amputations everywhere, with body parts being cut or ripped from the bodies.

  She put on a pair of surgical gloves and walked through the sprawled remains. She motioned the Hugtandalfer over to where she was kneeling. "Kanak, what I'd like to do is for you and I to work together. I will choose a body, and have you identify the type of fae, and help me figure out if all of its pieces are present. Then mark that particular fae off on your list. This way we can make sure that we cover each and every victim and match it to the names on the chart. Does that sound ok?"

  Kanak nodded with grim determination and grabbed a clipboard resting on the counter nearby. He came back to Doc and looked down. "This first one is one of the álfr. It looks like his left hand is missing. Anything else?"

  "Write down that I see two lacerations and three bullets. Let's go on to the next one."

  The pair worked their way around the room, going from body to body. Trying to identify and gather all the pieces, like a grim three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle designed in Hell. It took about fifteen minutes before they came across their first anomaly.

  "That's not on here," announced Kanak. "I don't have any standard humans on the list of club goers. Maybe it's one of the attackers."

  Doc frowned, then spoke, "Ok, mark it as 'Unknown Human' so we can still get the vitals. It's one large laceration across the back. Notice that she isn't wearing any of the body armor or police gear you said was on the footage. Is it possible she was a guest of a member?"

  "There was no human female guest listed on the log that night. I guess it is possible, it is just unlikely that my entrance guards would let a human in without vetting or at least noting her arrival on the logs."

  "Ok. Let's keep moving."

  An hour later, they were working their way toward the back of the club where the victims were the most dense when they found something that shocked Kanak.

  Doc rolled a corpse over, and the elfkin with her stiffened. She noticed his change in demeanor and asked, "What's wrong, Kanak? Do you know this one?"

  Kanak shook his head, then his features began clouding over with anger. "Most assuredly not. That is trollkin. They are dark fae in the service of the King. It is not on this list, and it would not be granted access to the club. What is going on here?"

  At that moment, Boomer called from across the room, "Doctor Sorenson? You might want to take a look at this."

  Doc looked at Boomer, then back at the dark fae corpse. She spoke to Kanak, "write it down. 'Unknown Trollkin' with three bullet holes to skull. Then, let's go see what Agent Callahan found."

  The big elfkin nodded, made the notations on his sheet, and helped the doctor to her feet. They walked gingerly over to Boomer and O'Beirne, avoiding the largest piles of body parts and waste.

  When they got there, Boomer was pointing to a bright silver dagger laying on the ground. Covered in intricate etchings, the twelve inch blade was thin and sharp, and had a misshapen handle carved from what looked like bone. The demolitions expert looked at the big elfkin with Doc, "Does this look like anything your Seelie would have on them?"

  Kanak looked at the blade carefully, then gingerly bent and picked it up by the handle. He examined it in the light, twisting it back and forth to see the etchings better. He slowly shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing into a scowl.

  "This is an Unseelie weapon designed to harvest the bith-bhrìgh, the lifeblood, really essence, of a creature. This etching calls upon the power of the thional an duirche, the gathered darkness or the forces of darkness, to slay in the name of the Álfheimer." He suddenly looked around, "Find the one who carried this. They will have an intricately carved red leather sheath on their belt."

  They didn't have to look far, they found another elf, dressed in a dark robe that was intricately embroidered with a silver thread pattern. Tucked into the crimson sash was the rich red leather sheath for the dagger. Kanak hissed in fury, "Necromancer."

  Doc glanced at the elfkin sharply and Captaen O'Beirne muttered a small curse. Dancer asked, "Necromancer? Is that what it sounds like, a dude who controls the dead?"

  Kanak growled in his throat. His voice was harsh, "Necromancers are a pox on the Seelie. They commune with darkness and consume the essence of other creatures to power their foul magic. They are cancer willingly held by the Unseelie. Our druids kill them wherever they are found. There is a standing bounty for the Seelie on the head of any Necromancer."

  Doc spoke up, "This is beginning to look less like a human attack. Unless, of course, humans recruited these dark fae. We still need to find some answers." The priest turned back to Boomer, "Did you find anything else?"

  Boomer nodded. "We sure did. There were a scattering of nine millimeter and two-two-three casings from standard weapons, but we also found some casings I don't recognize in size or maker." She held up a baggie of large silver bullet casings, "Do these look familiar, Kanak?"

  The big creature stepped over to Boomer and held out his hand, "Let me take a look at those, Agent Callahan. Hmm. Yes, I know what these are. These are from an Archon. It is a weapon designed and manufactured by the khoztak Seanachaidh—the enforcers for the Keepers. Their guns are not usually found outside their own ranks, however I know there is a small black market in used Archon revolvers. It's about a .80 caliber bullet that is susceptible to loading with various enchantments. It's a real nasty round in anyone's hands. I'm not sure a human could actually fire it safely."

  Boomer got a twinkle in her eye, "Sounds like a fun gun to shoot. I may h
ave to borrow one for some range time."

  Kanak chuckled, "I doubt a small human like you could stand the recoil. It might be fun to watch you try, though. This is looking more like the dark sídhe. But what about the video? Why does it show humans, and not fae?"

  Spooky chose this time to interrupt, transmitting through the radio earpiece that each agent wore. "I have an answer to that, Doc. You guys wanna come back out to the truck?"

  Doc looked at the Hugtandalfer in front of her, "My technician in the truck says he may be able to answer your question. Would you like to join us back out to the truck?"

  14

  COVERUP

  CLUB LJÓS, BOND AVE NW, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

  The team trooped out of the club, squinting in the transition from darkened club to harsh sunlight. Doc saw Spooky leaning out of the truck side door with a wide grin splitting his face. She realized that he was so excited that he was actually vibrating.

  "I had to dig at it," Spooky announced as they reached the truck, "But you're not going to believe what I recovered."

  Doc pointed to Kanak and said, "Special Agent John Smith, this is Etan Kanak. He is the head of security at the club. Kanak, this is Special Agent Smith."

  Kanak answered, "Well met" to Spooky's "Howdy." Then Spooky started talking, "So I reviewed the footage, but was not satisfied. I did a whole bunch of tests, then found something really interesting. Here is the attack footage that the security team saw, and that was found on the servers." Spooky began the footage.

  The team watched in growing horror as they saw what were obviously humans in full tactical vests and helmets carrying M4-style rifles and pump-action shotguns. They stormed in past the entry cameras and begin indiscriminately shooting the people in the crowded club. Almost filled to capacity, the club patrons had nowhere to run. They were quickly surrounded and killed.