by Power, P. S.
The phone rang, so Nikki answered it, smiling at first, then dropping that and sounding concerned.
"Fuck. We'll be right there. We're coming!" She hung up the phone so fast that Zack was almost certain the action had cracked the white plastic housing of it. “It's Courtney... Val's mom... She's been murdered... We have to go to Val. Now.”
Zack ran to the door, everyone else hard on his heels.
Chapter thirteen
They found Val in Patty's office, curled up in a ball crying. A very deep awkward part of Zack wanted to pull away and pretend not to notice. The feeling shocked him, even if it was faint and distant in his mind. Val was a woman he loved, and the rest of him wanted, no, needed to make this better for her. That wasn't possible though, he knew. The pain would just have to be gotten through. No power could bring Courtney back from the dead. Not that he'd ever seen or heard of. No, the only thing to do now would be find those responsible and remove them from existence to protect their next victim. That probably wouldn't make Valerie feel any better. Not in the long run. She was a good person. Really, most of the Alede were, even if they were forced by their natures to do things some might consider wrong. They rarely harmed people though, or killed.
Troy sat beside Sarah and Norris who comforted the sobbing blonde woman, while Patricia worked the phone, tears cascading down her own cheeks as well. It showed that neither of them were wearing makeup. It was wrong of him to notice, but they all looked good. Even in their grief. All except Troy, who was clearly holding himself away from a murderous rage. They didn't need the rage part however, he let his friend know without speaking out loud. The murder... That might well be coming.
Zack called out for Claire, using the link between them. His Vampire ran from her shop using speed that shouldn't be possible for the Human form. She went directly to Val, now that she'd been invited into the room, holding her. Sitting on top of Troy to do it. It was clear that she'd stayed away not knowing if she'd be welcome, wanting to come to her friend and help as soon as she heard, but hesitated.
Slowly he moved in beside Troy, and put a hand on her back, just touching her while she sobbed. He wanted to ask what had happened, but knew from Patty's inner self that nothing was known yet. After a bit Merri came in and sat with them too, all holding and touching the woman as she cried, no one speaking.
Taking a deep breath, Zack stood suddenly and left the room, half a plan forming in his mind. He went first to Ghurian, even though Yasmine followed him invisibly. They needed information. Djin had ways of getting at things that only Demons seemed to match. Without even speaking, the ancient being nodded at him.
"I shall find what I can on this." Then he vanished, leaving the room in a manner that no Human could track at all.
Zack stood, at a loss for a moment. It hit him, hard. Courtney was one of his people. Pain lanced through his soul, but he shook it off, hoping that a clear head would help more than grief at the moment.
Then casting around for ways to get at the problem, it occurred to him that the other group that was good at finding things out was the Demons. He didn't know if they would help. They had no reason to, as far as he knew, this not being a Demon related matter. Zack headed over to the Menswear shop and went in to the brown and cloth filled space. Scott, looking youthful and well dressed, manned the counter.
“Mr. Hartley! Come for a proper jacket finally?” The Demon joked with him.
“No. Is Beatrice here, or Devon?” He sounded sad, even to his own ears.
Beatrice and Devon both came from the back quickly, almost at a run.
The older Demon man, at least he felt like he had greater age than the others, simply stopped and waited.
"Courtney Moore, Valerie's mother, has been murdered. We're trying to find out who did it right now. Can you help with that?"
The Demoness didn't smile, knowing better than that, but she did nod efficiently, going into work mode. Her greedy inner self-explained it to him pretty clearly.
"That could cost a lot. I assume, given your wealth and powers that your soul is off the table? We might be able to do it for say... Two million gold?"
Devon surprised them both by shaking his head then.
“No. We'll do what we can. Without seeking a deal or bargain in this. If we're to be trusted, Bea, we need to start acting like friends, instead of sharks always looking for every little scrap to help us get ahead.”
The other two slowly nodded... and agreed, much to his surprise.
Devon made an odd hand gesture, a sweep that nearly ushered Zack out the front door.
“Go now, Mr. Hartley. We'll contact you, or Patricia, with any data we find. Is that sufficient?” Devon looked at him hard.
“Thank you. I'll... let the others know that you're helping. Thanks.”
He ran back to Beautiful Plus. Sarah and Andy, the male side of Angie, worked the store. Both had been crying a bit. Andy in reaction to everyone else crying, having only a vague idea of who Courtney Moore was in life. The Incubus worried more for his new friends than for the woman he'd never met. He hugged them both, not knowing what else to do, and went back into the office.
Sitting behind her desk, which looked modern and stylish, with metal shining in places and lots of glass on the front so you could see her legs under it, Patty grimaced. It was an unusual expression for her, and she didn't keep it long, but he got the idea.
"We don't know anything real yet. The Human news has actually been the best source of information on this so far. I... don't know what to do." Her Shadow made sure he knew that what even the Humans had said made the whole thing sound monstrous. It wasn't something as simple as a shooting. She'd been found dead and mutilated, the specifics hadn't been shared with the press, meaning it would be bad.
Zack sat back down by Val. Claire had moved in close to her and stroked her hair softly, rocking her a little at the same time. He spoke gently, carefully, trying to communicate information... without angering anyone.
“Ghurian is looking into this for us, and the Demons volunteered to search for information, for free. If the information exists, one of them will find it.” He stopped, not letting himself think past the moment. No more than a few seconds ahead.
Claire nodded to him, almost as if she understood his thoughts on the matter.
Wu-Li and Dan came over, with a calming tea. A thing much stronger than what they'd normally prescribe for mere tears. Dan actually put his arm around her and helped her sit up, the closest he'd ever seen one of the Masters come to another person outside of a fight. Though, on reflection, maybe this simply seemed like another kind of battle to them? One for Val's mind? They were both in black, as normal, wearing traditional Chinese garb, even if the younger Master was as white as Zack.
For hours, people came in and out, sitting and waiting for answers.
When Hilda finally heard about the death, from Libby, she nearly tore the door to Patty's office off the hinges getting in.
She pushed people out of the way bodily and held Val closely, rocking her like a child. The giantess didn't let go and refused to let anyone else take her place, either. Val had stopped crying some time ago, but wouldn't do more than drink some water yet.
Finally a soft tap came on the solid wood door. Ghurian and Devon stood, side by side.
Oddly enough, Devon was the one that spoke for them.
"Perhaps everyone could come with us? Someone, perhaps, could stay with Valerie, while we discuss our findings?" The Demon sounded polite, and slightly troubled by something. It was just about right, and his Shadow, that deep black soup can he had instead of a soul, echoed the words exactly.
“I want to know.” She said to them.
Ghurian shook his head sadly, but Devon spoke to her directly, looking her straight in the eye.
“Valerie... I'm a Demon, and not a young one, but... I think that we'll have to censor even what we tell your friends, to preserve their rationality. I don't believe you could survive knowing this yet. Later, I pr
omise I'll tell you if you want to know, but, right now... Please, don't try to find out. Let these others, let us, deal with this. Know that we'll see that the guilty are taken care of as this situation calls for.” He sounded very sad when he spoke.
They followed the two beings toward the far end of the Mall. Libby, Maryl and Charli came out of Something Wonderful and followed as well. Oddly, Glen, from the food court, and Riley came along, too. Nobody thought to stop them.
Riley, the Trickster, looked particularly sad for some reason. He... actually looked as if he'd been crying nearly as hard as Val had, though his inner being didn't tell Zack why, so he didn't pry. His dark brown face was moist and both eyes were red and swollen. If nothing else he fit with the group, since about half of them had been doing their own shedding of tears.
In a far hallway, through a tiny door that Zack had seen, but never gone through, which opened into a plain white space with regular white floor tiles, they all stopped while Ghurian filled them in.
“A group of men, Humans I mean, some were female, kidnapped Ms. Moore three days ago. They held her, torturing her sexually the whole time. Not just sex or even rape. What they did... I have to agree with Devon here, I don't think that most of you could maintain rational thought if you knew. They did things that... Well, I would recommend that they be captured before they do such things again.” The flames that made up his real form grew and burned white hot, Zack saw, though no one else seemed to. Glen did keep looking at Ghurian strangely.
Devon spoke next.
“For our part, we have found that a single Demon seemed to have been involved, probably in control of the situation. It was the same one that led the forces that attacked us here. His name is Cruxias. He prefers to affect black clothing, and is well known for his sexual depravity. We traced his passings and he has definitely had dealings in the correct area. This has his earmarks.”
Ghurian took back over.
“The Demons are tracking this Demon even now. They'll try to catch him if they can, and if not, they'll keep pushing him, so that he knows no rest. The Humans are being followed and watched right now. They are all in the California area. They've broken into several groups. We should have information about them, pictures and locations within the hour.” He bowed and walked out of the hallway.
Devon looked at them all, finally resting on Zack.
“Whatever you need to find and remove Cruxias, we, the whole of our society, will provide. We seek him even now, though he's most expert at escaping detection and capture. He's been a thorn in our...side... for a long time now. This time I don't think he'll easily escape. What he has done here risks a great war, and that has to be known to him. It will not be allowed.”
They all broke up then, some going back to Patty's office, some back to their work places to prepare for what would come. Not one person standing in that hallway thought that these men would get away with having done it. For his part, Zack didn't think about it at all, simply going back to first check on Val, and hug her tightly for a while. Hilda too, since the larger woman still cradled her protectively, then he went back to the candle shop.
Kaitlyn sat stoically, her eyes dry and all emotions suppressed, behind the counter. Lisa stood, clearly having been crying for some time next to a red eyed Felicia.
The young girl spoke, obvious pain coming out in her words.
"Did you ever meet her? Courtney Moore? I... Never got to meet her. I always wanted to."
“Yeah. She stayed at my house a couple of times in the last few months. She was a friend.” He walked to Kate, hugged her, then Lisa.
“We need to get ready. Ghurian and Devon are collecting data on some of the perpetrators. We need to be ready. The mall needs to go into lock down and whatever sort of trial that's deemed appropriate should be put together. There's a Demon involved, Cruxias. He'll probably have to wait, though the Demons may catch him. Regardless I know he's guilty, so no trial for him. Can you two deal with that, while I make some arrangements?”
He looked at the younger girl, remembering that she had more years than showed outwardly and instead of sending her away asked her to get with Merri and make certain that food stayed available for everyone. He asked for something to eat himself, and mentioned being back within twenty minutes. Not that he knew how long things would really take.
Trying to be logical, Zack kept his focus high, and on the task in front of him. He needed some way to find these people. That was going to become important, in the next hours or days. An idea came to him, so running to the Gym, arrangements were made for scent tracking with Hilda's boss, Merle.
“You have our aid, Line Walker. We'll not let such a thing go unpunished, not if we have any way to stop it.” From behind him several of the other men grunted in agreement. Zack nodded and moved to his next stop, with Claire.
His Vampire looked at him, her eyes as cold as his heart felt.
“I'm going to get them. The Humans involved. We need to establish their guilt plainly and without doubt, then we need to execute them. I'll transfer the bodies away, we can deal with that easily enough. How do we make them tell the truth. The real truth? Compulsion?” Her eyes didn't soften. Her Shadow did feel better though, it told him, knowing that there would be no argument from him about the sanctity of life or something foolish like that.
Even though she hadn't spoken out loud, he answered her.
“Some life is more sacred than others. If you kill for no reason, if you harm those that have harmed none, then you lose your right to live.” He held her for a while, then she told him to arrange for Mages.
“People trust the Mages in such matters. If you do it, or I do, some may fear we forced the words we wished to hear, rather than the simple truth. Lisa can make that happen, finding Mages that will be truly impartial.”
Feeling detached, he saw the food going into the store, carried by Merri and Felicia. Zack walked over then, calling out to Lisa before sitting down to eat.
“Lisa, Claire mentioned that the Mages have a reputation for having impartial methods of getting the truth out of people. Is that right?” She nodded at him once. He returned it, slowly. “We need Mages then, as many as needed. I don't care what it costs. Get them here as soon as possible. Within an hour of information on who did this coming in at the latest. I need to eat, and we have to wait for data, but if they'd stand by, or even wait here, I'll pay extra. Or trade trips places, or whatever... Use your own discretion.”
The Mage nodded at him, understanding that he didn't want her to do it herself. They needed people that would be viewed as truly separate from the issue. She ran to her office to make the calls, checking first with Eloise, Zack knew.
He ate, doing nothing but eating, focusing on each bite before taking the next. When the food disappeared, he got up and went looking for information. Ghurian couldn't get steady photos, but swearing him to secrecy, showed him images in flame that looked like watching a person through a window. He held it above his left hand, extended out so that it could be easily seen.
Zack made sure they had guards and restraints ready and went into himself, doing something he'd only managed once before, he hid himself, by drawing into himself and covering his inner being, his soul, what made him with his own Shadow. The outer energy that everyone pushed into the world around them all the time. Then he circulated as much energy as he could through this hidden part of himself and pushed through space, from where he stood, in the hallway of the Mall. Right into where the first man sat in a chair, drinking an amber liquid from a small glass. A wave of rebounding force knocked Zack off his feet, but he stood instantly, then moved a few feet to the side and did this again for the next five of the people, not all men, two turning out to be women.
It left him with a line of shortcuts directly to where each of these people were. Then he turned toward the mall and yelled.
"Entry teams, anyone going to collect these... People. Come to me now!"
Checking to make certain everyone seemed ready
, he waited. All the men from the gym stood waiting, war paddles in hand. The weapons looked silly to him still, but he'd seen what they could do in the hands of these powerful beings. Under a solid blow, Vampires could lose their heads.
No one, not even Ghurian understood what he planned to do and he didn't wait to explain. He simply stepped through the first shortcut he had created, into what looked like the drawing room of a man in his fifties. He was white, slightly balding and a bit pudgy. Also the sort that had a freaking drawing room. So wealthy. He didn't have a jacket on, but had suit pants and suspenders. Black ones.
Zack grabbed the man as roughly as he could, by the throat from behind, a single arm snaked around and locked off with the other hand. Then he stepped back through, ripping him from where he had been and throwing the man to the floor with a twisting motion, making use of his confusion to assert instant control.
Then he did it again and again, meeting no real resistance. The giant men from the gym, each one more than a match for these regular Humans, even if any one of them had faced them all alone, held a captive apiece while Drake, the Vampire, duct taped their hands behind their backs and covered their mouths with a silvery bit of tape as well, making the whole scene quieter, with only incoherent moans being heard rather than swear words.
One of the women wet herself in fear. Zack told her Shadow that it was about the right level of response, which made her whimper out loud.
The Trolleinkein men carried them to the far end of the mall, near Candles and More, where the Mages had set up an array of gear, and chairs from the food court had been arranged so that everyone could sit down.
The custom for multi-group hearings involved a representative from each affected group acting as both judge and jury. The leaders from each Embassy came forward. Or store, if no embassy were attached. It made for an interesting collection of bodies. Mrs. Walsh and Libby both sat on the panel as well as Claire, Devon, Patty, Riley, Merle, Whelm, Wu-Li, Glen, Nessa and Lisa.