by Voss Foster
He nodded and levitated it out of my grip, then slammed it down over the fountain of death that was the sorceress's mouth.
And like that…it was over. One dead terrorist, one girl who'd have to visit with Casey before she could be released, and a mission that we failed to complete to specification. The terrorist was dead, chock full of poison. We could get the gear, which was a plus. But there was no getting information, no talking to this particular part of the Purer Midgard movement.
Swift and King walked up. As the last of the white gas dissipated, King lifted her mask up and rested it on top of her head. "She fucking offed herself."
"I noticed that." Swift removed his mask as well. "Gutt? Explanation?"
"Not without looking the body over. It could be she has runes tattooed inside her mouth, or that they stored it in a capsule. I would suggest she could be a Class B, but it was too easy. A Class B wouldn't have had to resort to suicide to evade capture."
It was more than a little frustrating, but I had to keep telling myself that it wasn't a failure. We saved those kids. Every last one of them. Including the girl now staggering over to us.
I approached, keeping her a safe distance from the sorceress's body, in case the residual poison was going to be a problem. "Hey, you're okay. We're going to get you checked out. Do you feel all right?" She didn't have any of the telltale black and red skin, but maybe it was a light touch.
Slowly, shakily, she nodded. "I thought…and then…you saved me."
She tightened her arms around me and I brushed my hand over her hair. "Hey, it's over. It's all over."
I couldn't convince myself that we'd done a good job…but she sure convinced me we'd done everything as right as could be.
Swift sighed and shook his head. "Dash, King, sweep the building, make sure there's nothing tricky around here. No other practitioners, no time released magic, no hidden runes, nothing. I'll fend off the media vultures until you can get me an all clear." He pointed to the sorceress and the girl in turn. "Gutt, get them back to DC. I want you, Bancroft, and Casey all on autopsy for her after we get this girl checked out." He finally offered some attention to the girl still clutching me around the middle. "What's your name, darling?"
"J-Jessica."
"Jessica, we're going to have someone check on you, make sure you're not hurt. Just a precaution. We'll call your parents as soon as possible and let them know, okay?"
She nodded and, slowly, released me. She went with Gutt through the shimmering portal and vanished. Back to DC.
It wasn't a smashing victory. But honestly? I wasn't crying over a dead terrorist. And Jessica?
Well we saved her. She was alive and hopefully well. I smiled as I swept back around and grabbed my rifle off the floor.
Hopefully I wouldn't need it…but on the other hand, I wouldn't have minded a second dead terrorist, either.
The school was thankfully clear, and Jessica got the okay from Casey. Now we were all back in the meeting room, no one looking particularly…awake.
Or present.
Or good.
In fifteen minutes, Agent King had tossed back three cups of coffee, and was already into her fourth when Swift finally walked in and took his spot at the head of the table.
He sighed and splayed his hands out on the tabletop. "Okay, a lot has happened in not a lot of time here. We got through the latest attack with minimal losses. R and D is working on replicating that gear we swiped off the sorceress so we can hopefully mitigate danger next time. And for anyone who didn't hear, Jessica, our potential victim from the school, checked out. Zero exposure." He sat and glanced over to me. "And she thinks Dash is the bees knees for saving her life."
There was some light chuckling at that, but to be expected. "As long as she doesn't turn out to be a crazy stalker, I think it's all good."
Swift leaned back in his chair. When he relaxed, it was like the whole room relaxed with him. The air was easier to breathe, the chairs were more comfortable. Everyone settled a touch. King even put her coffee down on the table.
"We have some updates and information that are important. I want the autopsy results first. Whatever we have right now."
Casey cleared his throat. "The sorceress you brought in definitely died from the poison. Even with the rapid deterioration of that particular toxin, there was still enough in her system when she got here to easily kill ten people."
Swift nodded. "Any idea how that whole trick worked?"
"I found the remnants of a glass capsule in her mouth. About a centimeter in diameter. That would be my best guess."
"So suddenly they're able to capture the incredibly volatile poison?"
Casey shrugged. "I doubt it. Maybe seeing the whole capsule would tell us a different story. But I'd bet good money that it was just some particularly tricky magic, not a physical container."
Swift pinched the bridge of his nose. "All right. Anything else good?"
"Yes, actually." Casey pulled himself up just a little higher. "Good as in information. Not as in a good thing. But there was enough of the toxin left in the sorceress's bloodstream that I was able to do more thorough testing, with the help of some bureau toxicologists and a little pleading."
"And?"
"And it's definitely nothing they've ever seen, but they say the structure suggests…snake venom."
My stomach dropped. "Snake venom…as in…?"
Casey nodded. "That does segue into the other work we did while you were at the school." He turned to Gutt before speaking. "Kimmy and Bancroft worked through the shrapnel from the metal container. It is the iar rune."
Gutt's whole massive body tensed. "Iar…Jörmungandr."
Swift raised one eyebrow. "What's a Jörmungandr?"
Gutt didn't respond, but Bancroft picked up the slack. Tired and hoarse sounding, but he did it. "Jörmungandr is supposed to bring about the end of the world. In Norse eschatology, Fenrir eats the sun and Jörmungandr poisons the skies."
Gutt apparently found his voice again, quiet as it was in that moment. "Jörmungandr is a Class-A preternatural. No one alive remembers a time when it wasn't sealed away. And if this poison gas is coming from Jörmungandr, there is no good news. There is no upside. Either the seals are weakening, or someone is working to unseal the serpent. Neither bodes well for the fate of the world."
Swift's face fell into a harsh scowl. "And if that website is worth half a shit, they want to unseal Jörmungandr here. Not in the Kingdoms."
Gutt nodded. "I would venture to guess as much, yes."
The room went quiet. That was worse than everything else that came before it. The stillness, only interrupted by the sound of breathing.
I couldn't take it. "Gutt, what do we do? Someone sealed it, so someone must know something about this damn snake."
"It was some time ago. The people who would know directly are dead." He rose and leaned over the table. "We need to go to the Kingdoms. The Grand Archives in Nedelwald are the best shot at finding out anything about Jörmungandr."
"We need to go?" That threw me a little bit, I had to admit. "Humans don't enter the Kingdoms. It's not…safe, is it?"
"You'll be with me." Gutt cracked his knuckles methodically, one at a time. "You'll be fine. And Nedelwald is as safe as could be expected for a human."
Swift shook his head. "No one is going to like this, Gutt. Especially not Director Svenson."
"Director Svenson doesn't like anything we do. And the King of Nedelwald has always been more hospitable to the Mundane than other monarchs. It's not as if we'd be walking into the throne room of Al-Sekar."
"I'm not saying not to do it. I'm pointing out that we need to be careful." Swift stood and looked almost back to himself. Older. Frailer. Angrier. But otherwise, he was Agent Swift. "Casey, keep working on whatever tests you have left. Bancroft, I want to know everything you can find me about this snake. Kimmy…we need you to stand by in case we need info. You have the only computer system in this place that can actually get to us on
the other side."
King sighed. "And you want me to stay here and hold down the fort."
"What I want is a glass of merlot and a pot roast. But barring that, yes. I want you here."
"I'm senior-most agent in here."
"Which is exactly why I want you here. Level-headed white collar crimes agent. You'll keep things running smoothly. And you're no spring chicken, and you were just poisoned."
"So was the greenhorn. Twice."
Swift sighed. "Did you forget what happened last time you were in the Grand Archives? You sent that researcher into such a fit he stormed out. Hasn't been back since."
"Fine. Take the kid. I won't let the place burn down. But this is the last time you get to stick me on desk duty the rest of the year."
"You have my solemn vow."
"Yeah, yeah." She walked out and the others followed until it was just the three of us standing in the meeting room.
"No arms inside the Kingdoms, Dash." Swift set a regular old Glock aside on the table, and I followed suit. Once he was satisfied, apparently, Swift nodded. "All right, Gutt. Get us in."
"That was hardly a sufficient primer for entering the Kingdoms." Gutt turned to me. "Don't eat anything without talking to me first. Don't drink anything without talking to me first. Don't make any deals with anyone for anything, ever."
"Sounds like a great time."
"All those myths about kidnapped humans, deals with the devil? They're not myths." He created the shimmering air. "Walk in and turn left. You go straight, you're going to end up a foot away from where you're standing now."
And with that, Swift stepped in, then I stepped into the pastel and neon world of the Hidden Kingdoms. And I turned left.
Chapter Thirteen
Sweet, floral, almost cloying air immediately filled my lungs as I stepped into the Hidden Kingdoms. The light coming from above was filtered, dappled, and slightly pink, like there was a massive red and pink forest canopy arching high above. The buildings here were smooth and organic, stucco walls and bas reliefs displaying dragons in flight and centaurs with arrows nocked back. And every bit of it glowed and sparkled, from the ground all the way to the tops of the tallest spires.
I had never dropped acid, but this seemed awfully close to the kind of overwhelming sensory bizzaro-scape a trip like that would create. I could probably ask King when I got back, see how close I was.
Gutt stepped through and rested a hand on my shoulder. "This is Nedelwald." He pointed to a large, fat-bottomed spire at the end of the multicolored brick road. "And those are the Grand Archives."
Swift pulled his shoulders up high. "Let's go, then. And please keep our stupid human asses from doing anything to get us killed."
I nodded. "I second that notion."
"As long as you don't touch anything in the Archives, that shouldn't be an issue."
The streets—or at least this street—in Nedelwald bustled with all manner of preets. A few of them were recognizable, even to me. Pointy-eared, willowy elves, more trolls like Gutt, sorcerers and sorceresses who looked like they should be in hospital beds, not roaming around the general populace. And some of them, I was only fairly sure I recognized, either from my time as a beat cop, or from online, or from study materials. I got into law enforcement late enough that we had a brief skim over the preternatural community in the human world. Goblins, lesser dragons, a few assorted elementals, and what appeared to be gnomes, but I couldn't be sure. Maybe they were dwarves, or maybe one of the other pint-size races.
They even had some oddities, races who almost never, or actually never, crossed into the Mundane. Arachneans, with humanoid upper halves and spider bottoms. A greater dragon circled lazily in the sky, easily the size of an entire apartment complex. In the distance, I could make out the top of a giantess's head.
Gutt led us past all that wonder and magic, straight into the archives. For some reason, I thought it would be harder than that. Like, you couldn't just walk into something like this in the human world, could you?
The first thing I noticed inside was the massive set of stairs spiraling up around the outside edge of the entry chamber. The floor was set with electric blue tile and sparkling white grout, and a fountain sat dead center in the room, sending up a gentle spray of water. Echoing in the oversized chamber, the light sounds of water turned nearly musical.
In spite of everything going on, it took me aback. "This place is a motherfucking fairy tale. Why would you want to leave?"
"Hey, people leave Hawaii." Swift shrugged. "Even paradise loses its appeal when you look behind the curtain."
A demon, this one a ruddy brown with wide eyes and very sleek, polished horns, walked up, although I didn't see anywhere in the wide-open space he could have been chilling out of sight. He nodded to Gutt and completely ignored both of us silly humans. "Welcome to the Grand Archives. Can I assist you in finding anything?"
Gutt, bless him, pulled out his FBI credentials. Everyone in that room had to know it meant precisely nothing here, with this particular demon, but he did it anyway. "Office of Preternatural Affairs, FBI. We need to speak with someone about a Class-A sealing and summoning."
The demon nodded curtly. "Class-A sealings are detailed in texts on the second floor. A very complex magic. I could get someone to assist you—"
"I'm not in the mood to be treated like a child. I would not have come here, and certainly not with humans, if the answer laid in a book." Gutt lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper. "I am N'Gutta of Droshheim. I worked containment on our Fourth Order Class-B prison for over a decade. And I want to speak with someone who is not going to be a condescending prig."
The demon swallowed hard. "Fourth Order Class-B. Apologies." The demon waved a chunky-clawed hand through the air and a scroll puffed into existence. Little ring of smoke and all, just like a cartoon demon. "It appears that you are in luck. Vellius of Badenberg is in office."
"Is she in her old office on the second to last floor?"
"Yes. The same place she's been for the past fifteen years."
"Good." Gutt nodded. "And she's available for an audience immediately, I presume? Otherwise you wouldn't waste more of my time."
"Vellius is between projects at the moment. And I'm sure she would be happy to help."
Gutt stepped back from the demon. "Thank you. We'll be off."
The demon backed away, eyeing me and Swift like a pair of criminals. A very strong part of me wanted to jump forward at him, see if I could shock him out of his high-and-mighty airs, but I just followed Gutt up the staircase.
As soon as we hit the second floor of the spiraling steps, I might have gasped. Just a tiny bit. This floor was full of shelves upon shelves upon shelves of scrolls and books. So many it was hard to believe the answer didn't live there, or that they would need more than just that one floor to have Grand Archives.
But I pulled my attention away, because Swift was doing something far more interesting: gossiping. Or information gathering, I suppose. Yeah, that sounded better. "So what can you tell me about this Vellius character?"
"She is…brilliant, no doubt. A Class-B entirely on the merit of her own study and hard work, rather than inborn talent. She's often used as a conduit for more extreme sealings and unsealings, and when she's not doing that, she's researching and trying for some new breakthrough. We're actually quite lucky to have time with her at all. She is quite busy."
That was good, getting somebody big in on this case, But I had some questioning that felt a little more…practical. "Do we need to be prepared for anything in particular? Like, is she actually, I don't know, a gaseous ball with no face? Or a dragon?"
"Nothing of the sort. Vellius is a gorgon."
I admit, I missed a step and almost tripped on my way up the stairs. "A gorgon. As in Medusa, petrify you with a look?"
"As in Medusa, yes, but that myth was heavily embellished. Medusa had grown bitter because of the cards life handed her, and the story was enough to keep most people from tracking h
er down and disturbing her solitude, so she allowed it to blossom, even here in the Kingdoms." Gutt sighed as we rounded our way to the third floor. "Most gorgons do have a certain natural proficiency for stoneworking magic, but barring the occasional unstable individual, they are in complete control of their magical abilities. No different or better or worse than any other preternatural you might encounter."
He could say that all he liked, but snakes for hair was still something I wasn't entirely sure I was ever going to be prepared for.
We carried on in silence from there, which gave me time to scope out the rest of the archives as we passed by. Through floors that each could have been their own museum in the human world, full of swords and armor here, tablets and statues there. Up further still was what looked like a natural history museum. Skeletons put together like dinosaurs, and all manner of plant life and artificial models of different species. And the floor above that was a god damned arboretum. Living plants, being cared for by all different races in loose-fitting clothes.
"Why haven't you magicked together an elevator system, yet?" Swift wiped a sheen of sweat from his brow. "Yours would work even better than ours. Just portal yourself to the right location."
"Can't do that in the Grand Archives. Even if there weren't artifacts and research going on here that could make that sort of magic go awry, there's a ban on magic outside the lobby and designated research areas. Don't want to risk damaging anything here, or skewing test results." We crossed another threshold. It had to be floor twelve, maybe floor fifteen. I'd stopped counting. Much narrower than the others, though, as we carried on toward the tip of the spire. Gutt stepped off the stairs. "We're here, anyway. Vellius's office is just down this way."
At least we were done with stairs. I wasn't about to complain like Swift, but my thighs were protesting hardcore. I followed Gutt along a meandering hallway. Like everything I'd seen so far, it wasn't built in straight lines, but in a serpentine sort of curve, winding through the space.