by AE Jones
“I brought you an example of who I’m helping.”
“Were you aware this extortion was going on?” Talia asked.
“I know many of them live in squalor, but I didn’t know it was because they are giving all their money to these bastards. Once Nate came clean, several of the others told me as well. They’re embarrassed that they’ve been suckered into trading one form of imprisonment for another.”
“Let’s see what we can do to help them,” I said. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll certainly talk to the demon council about what’s been happening.”
“As will I,” Misha said.
“Thanks.”
I leaned forward. “I have to ask, Sylvia. Are you ever going to tell us your real name?”
“I thought the deal was that if I helped you, you wouldn’t keep digging into my past.”
“And we haven’t been digging. This is just for curiosity’s sake. You’re not in the witness protection program, are you?”
“No. Let’s just say I had to escape from a past where I was labeled. I’ve gone by many names over the years. But the name my parents gave me was Marlene Thompson.”
Her words shot up my spinal column and into my brain like I was gripping jumper cables. My head jerked backward, and Jean Luc flashed and caught me before I fell. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Thrall and flash. Flash and thrall.
He ran his hands over my arms, but this time, his thrall didn’t penetrate the pain the way it normally did. I whimpered as my brain tried to worm its way out through my ears.
“What the hell’s going on?” Dalton asked.
“She’s going to seize,” Jason said. “Jean Luc?”
“My thrall is not helping her.”
“Put her on the couch, vampire.” Sylvia commanded.
Jean Luc layed me on the couch, and my back bowed up as pain shot from my spinal column into my nerve endings.
“Let the cop touch her. Put your hands on both sides of her face.”
Dalton hesitated.
“Do it now!” Sylvia yelled.
The tremors started, and I braced myself for the sharp muscle pain that would soon follow. Dalton’s hands framed my face, and warmth streamed from his fingers into my cheeks and migrated up to my brain. Calm descended. My muscles unclenched, and I took a careful breath and braced for the pain to return.
“Kyle?”
I opened my eyes and stared up into Dalton’s concerned face.
He smiled down at me, and it was the first real smile he’d given me since he came back. Even though it was the smile of a man who was simply trying to comfort me, I would take it. I gazed up at him and soaked in the smile and the heat of his hands that still held my face.
A few seconds later, his touch softened to almost a caress, and even though I could tell I was going to be okay, I didn’t want the connection to end. After a few more seconds, his eyes widened, and then he let me go and I tried to sit up.
“Take it easy, Kyle,” Jean Luc protested.
“I feel fine.”
Dalton rested his hands on my arms and helped me. “What happened? Are you an epileptic?”
“No. It has to do with my power. Thank you for helping me.”
“I didn’t do anything.” His turquoise eyes narrowed on Sylvia. “How did you know my touching her would help?”
“Each of us has a unique aura. But also surrounding us are other energy patterns that affect our well-being. You two have similar energy patterns. When Kyle collapsed, the energy field around her dimmed. By touching her, you were able to stabilize her energy, so to speak, by providing some of your own. The Chinese would call it yin to yang. If you believe in that stuff.”
It had to be the Key connection. But that was a conversation for another day. “What do you believe in, Sylvia?” I asked.
“I believe there are reasons why we meet the people we do. Each choice we make can lead us down a completely different path. The trick is redirecting yourself if the path you’ve taken is wrong.”
Chapter 38
I sat in my office with the door shut. After Sylvia left and I convinced Dalton he didn’t need to call 911, the team started working on a stakeout schedule for the streets in Sylvia’s neighborhood. By the time Misha announced something about setting up a command central in the hotel across from Sylvia’s, I excused myself, saying I needed a few minutes to myself.
In reality, I had a long distance call to make, and I didn’t want to be disturbed. I hadn’t forgotten the bombshell Nate dropped right before he left.
I wrapped my hand around the crystal hanging from my neck and concentrated. I didn’t know what I was doing, but when had that ever stopped me?
“Naya. Can you hear me?” I sat for several minutes, repeating the sentence over and over like a mantra. After another minute, I was about to give up. But the stone started to heat up in my hand. Please don’t let it be my imagination.
“Naya. It’s Kyle. Please answer me.”
I jumped at the voice that responded. It came from inside my head, like I was hearing it through a headset.
“Naya?”
“Yes Kyle, it’s me.”
“It worked!”
“I’m surprised you could initiate contact as well. Has Dalton recovered?”
“Yes, he’s fine now. Thank you for helping us.” I hesitated for a moment, deciding what to say. The straight approach was the best. “I have to ask you something. Why did you lie to me?”
“I don’t understand.”
“When I told you about the white eyes. You said you didn’t know what it meant. I spoke to a realm demon today, and he told me the white, glowing eyes are the mark of the patrol.”
She sighed, and the sound whooshed in my ears. “Please let me explain. When you told me about it and the multiple powers, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe someone from the patrol could be involved in this. I had just met you, and I’ve worked with the patrol my entire life. You could have been mistaken.”
“So the patrol demons have multiple powers?”
“Yes. They inherit them from their parents, who come from different clans.”
“So you lied to cover it up?”
“No! I wanted to do my own investigation first.”
“Have you found anything yet?”
“Not much. Guards come and go for days at a time. This is not abnormal when on patrol. I have to be careful. I don’t want to attract suspicion. If it is one of the guards, he could run.”
“The one we’re looking for is probably still on earth. I can tell you what his human side looks like if it would help.”
“No, it won’t, Kyle. I’ve never seen the human side of any of the portal guards.”
“He goes by the name Saul.”
“That name is not familiar to me.”
“Well, crap.”
Naya chuckled. “You get right to the heart of things, don’t you, Kyle.”
“In my opinion, there’s no point in wasting time.”
“The guard have fought this battle for so long. Why would someone betray that oath?”
“I think you may have answered your own question. The demon patrol has sacrificed their lives to live in a limbo world, fighting demons, and never getting to see the very place they’re protecting. Maybe someone decided they’d had enough.”
“Maybe.”
“Let me ask you this, Naya. Why do you think I didn’t get sick in the realm?”
She paused for a moment. “I think you know the answer, but want me to confirm it. There is demon inside you.”
“And you couldn’t have shared that with me at the time?”
“Kyle, I do apologize, but you have to look at it from my perspective. You and Dalton appear in the realm and tell me you’re chasing demons, and I can see you’re part demon yourself…which you don’t seem to know, or aren’t telling me the truth about. You then tell me this demon on earth has glowing white eyes. I wanted to believe you, but I had to confirm it myself first.�
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“Fair enough. I understand being cautious. I didn’t lie to you, though. I didn’t know about my demon side then. It appears I may be quite unique in that regard.”
“You are unique, Kyle. I’ve never heard of a human and realm demon producing offspring before.”
“Yeah, it’s a big news flash on earth, too. Most of the supernaturals here can’t sense my demon side. Can you tell what type of demon I am?”
“I can’t tell for sure.”
“Are all the demons in the realm dangerous?”
“The ones I encounter, yes.”
“How many have you encountered?”
“Our patrol keeps track of close to fifteen hundred or so demons.”
“I met a realm demon today who said there are ten thousand demons in the realm.”
Naya gasped. “That can’t be possible.”
“Why?”
“Because we have scouts whose job it is to take a census on the numbers in the realm.”
“That might be the first group you should look at. If they’re lying about the numbers, you have to wonder why. I also know that many of the demons who’ve come to earth are living law-abiding lives.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“I’m sorry, Naya. I can imagine how hard this is for you to hear.”
“What do these crossover demons hope to accomplish?”
“They want to permanently open a portal so the entire demon population can migrate to earth on a massive scale.”
“Even if what you say is true, Kyle, and many of these demons simply want to live on earth in peace, they can’t all go there at once. It would create pandemonium.”
“I agree. We’d have war on our hands.”
* * *
I’d relayed my conversation with Naya to the team, and now I was ready to go home. The day had sucked rocks—boulders, actually—and I was exhausted. If we were lucky, Nate would call us tomorrow, and then we could bag these demons and close out the case. Jean Luc and Misha volunteered to set up the hotel room with various cameras pointed at the street to track the demon comings and goings in front of Sylvia’s motel.
I rinsed out my coffee mug in the kitchenette sink and was about to announce I was heading home when the office door opened, and Doc came in carrying her medical bag.
My hands jumped to my hips and I growled, “Who called you?”
The office went silent, and I turned in a circle to find the guilty party. Misha refused to look at me and started to hum an out of tune version of Happy Days.
“Misha!”
He flinched. “Dalton made me do it.”
Dalton frowned. “I wanted Doc to check you over after your incident.”
Before I could argue, Doc interrupted, “Humor me, please. Let’s go to your office so we can have some privacy.”
We walked to my office, and Doc shut the door and sat across from me.
“Let me give you a quick once-over.”
“Come on, Sabrina.”
She unzipped the bag and pulled out a small grocery bag. Reaching inside, she extracted a plastic spoon and a pint of mocha swirl.
“Just what the doctor ordered.” I reached for the ice cream.
She held it away from me. “Ah, ah, ah. I examine you and then you get your treat.”
“Fine.”
Doc pulled out her equipment and brought her chair around my desk so she could sit next to me. “I want to tell you how sorry I am, Kyle.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because if anyone should have realized you’re part demon, it was me. You’ve banged yourself up on numerous occasions, and nothing in your tests showed that you’re anything but human.”
“Except that I can erase memories?”
Doc smiled. “Except that.”
“I don’t understand it either, Sabrina. Last year, when Misha got shot, the poison bullet made you sick. But I was able to touch it. Why didn’t it affect me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe your human side protected you.”
“Do you think it’s why the Key and I don’t seem to get along? I can’t imagine that the angels ever thought a demon would possess it.”
“Possibly. It might not be able to fully acclimate to you, since it senses your demon side. How are you doing with all of this?”
“At first it was like a punch to the gut. Especially finding out everything from my mother, but now I think it helps me understand my gift.”
“I can’t believe Misha actually helped deliver you.”
“Good Lord, that demon is a Chatty Cathy. He must have told you everything.”
“He loves you and worries about you.”
“I know.”
“Now let me take a look at you before your ice cream melts.”
Doc listened to my heart and then shone a light in my eyes…and frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t like how your pupils are responding.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know for sure, since I haven’t run any tests, but we need to find out if the Key is starting to affect your brain function, Kyle.”
“With the way it takes over my body, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it’s doing something to my brain.”
Doc wrapped her stethoscope and placed it in her bag while she gave me her Concerned Doctor glare. “I want to do an EEG on you and run some other tests.”
“Sabrina, do not say anything to anybody about this right now. This case could be wrapped up as early as tomorrow, and I’m sure the tests can wait a couple of days.”
“Kyle—”
“Even if you do find out something from the tests, what are you going to do about it? You can’t exactly perform surgery to remove it, can you?”
“No. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be trying to figure out how to help you. I don’t think you should try and engage the Key at all until we have a better idea of what’s going on.”
“Got it.” But I only said that to appease my friend.
Because the bottom line was, when it came to the Key, I wasn’t the one in charge.
Chapter 39
I sat across the office table from Misha and Jean Luc. With Dalton at the police station updating Captain Morrison, and Jason and Talia taking their shift on stakeout, it was just the three of us. The way it used to be.
“What are you smiling about, ma petite?”
“Us. It’s hard to believe we’ve been working together for ten years.”
Misha leaned back from his keyboard. “It’s even harder to believe we haven’t killed each other before now.”
I laughed. “I agree. Now we have Jason and Talia as part of the team.”
“And you are okay with that?” Jean Luc asked.
“Of course. They both have talents and skills that add to the group.”
Jean Luc and Misha looked at each other. Something was cooking.
“What’s up?”
“Kyle, Jean Luc and I have been talking. We think you should tell Dalton the whole truth. He’s so close to knowing everything now and hasn’t shown any signs of a breakdown.”
I sighed. “Are you guys doing another intervention? I wondered why Jason and Talia took the next shift.”
“We want you to consider it.” Jean Luc answered.
“Honestly, I’ve been thinking about it. But what exactly am I supposed to tell him? So sorry I didn’t mention this earlier, but I erased your memory last year because you’d been driven insane and—oh, yeah—you were or maybe still are the Key of Knowledge? That’ll go over well.”
“So what if it doesn’t?” Misha responded. “You have to try. You would have already told the two of us to suck it up.”
“He is right, Kyle. I believe it was only a short time ago when you told me to go after Talia and not take no for an answer. You do not strike me as a hypocrite.”
I frowned at him. “Wow, you guys were nicer during my last intervention.”
Jean Lu
c grabbed my hand. “You have more to lose this time, Kyle.”
I nodded. “I’ll tell him the truth. He may never want to speak to me again, but he deserves to know, and maybe it’ll help him. But not until the case is over. Once we bag these demons, I’ll tell him everything.”
Misha smacked his palms together. “Good. Our work here is done.”
“Why is there always a comedian in the group?”
Before Misha could respond, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and answered it. “Hello, Father.”
“Kyle, I’m glad I reached you.”
“You have something new for me?”
“I’ve been able to interpret more of the tablet. And I’ve also been looking at the prophecy again. I didn’t interpret it correctly.”
“Father, I’m going to put you on speaker phone. I have two of my teammates in the room. Go ahead.”
“I told you the phrase in the prophecy was ‘angels descend and protect the key.’”
“Yes.”
“It’s actually ‘angels’ descendants protect the key.’”
“I don’t understand, Father.”
“Angels’ children.”
“Nephilim?” Jean Luc asked.
“Some have used that term for fallen angels, although Nephilim are supposed to be the giants who lived before the flood. I’m talking about those angels who have fallen and live among us. Only their descendants can open the receptacle and release the Key.”
And then it hit me like a punch to the solar plexus. “Wait. You’re saying Dalton is a descendant of the angels?”
“Yes. A Sentinel is an angelic descendent.”
“Anything else, Father?”
“Not right now, but I’ll keep working on it. The translations are coming easier now.”
“Good. Thanks very much.”
I hung up and spun my cell phone on the table, waiting for it to stop. I finally met Misha and Jean Luc’s concerned gazes. “Yet another thing to tell Dalton. How many more can he handle? He’s going to hate me forever.”
“We don’t even know if Dalton is part angel, Kyle.” Misha argued.
“So we get proof, like we did with me. We go to the source. Or, more precisely, we bring the source to us.” I stood and walked to the center of the room. “Marie!” I hollered. “Marie! Show yourself. They know about you, so quit hiding, already.”