Banshee Hunt

by Curtis, Greg

  The banshee must have only had her for a short time James guessed. And her magic took a while to take hold on a person's heart. She didn't simply confuse and twist thoughts. She bent a person's deepest beliefs. That took time. It took even more time to give someone a cohesive world view as well. Apparently that hadn't happened.

  “You don't know Alysson because you don't have any people. You never did. Neither did any of the others she sent against me.” James continued going through her cards. “Tell me, do you know who I am?”

  “No.” She stared doubtfully at him. “Some damned cop. You didn't give me your name.”

  “A cop?” James was surprised – but also somewhat pleased by her answer. He hadn't really felt like a cop for a long time. “I was a cop for many years. A detective. But now you're sitting in a BMW with your hands manacled with cold steel after having been hit with a spell of blinding light. You want to think about that some more?”

  “Some sort of wizard?” She looked confused. “You're working for the girl.”

  “The girl? You mean Matilda Henderson?”

  “The rogue.” The hunter nodded. “You know she's mad. Very dangerous. A fascinator with ambitions to take over the city and maybe more. And she's going to expose us all to do it. You should be helping me.”

  “Uh huh.” James couldn't believe he was hearing that from her. And yet it made sense in a way. Writers often said to write what you know. It seemed banshees followed the same line of thinking. And it was a great way to motivate people. A rogue fascinator was a dangerous creature. One bent on taking over the city would be the enemy to all. And someone to fear. The banshee had played on that fear. She had used it to quickly overpower the reasoning of her targets.

  “You know she's thirteen right? That this is a school and she's still a schoolgirl? That her gift is animus magic?” James felt the need to defend his daughter even though he knew there was no point.

  “You don't understand.” The hunter looked at him despairingly. “You can't. You're already under her spell.”

  James was tempted then to tell her that yes he was under her spell. That she was his daughter and he loved her unconditionally. But he restrained himself. There was no point, and he suspected it would only upset the hunter when she was being cooperative.

  “So Soo Chi sent you after her.”

  “Soo Chi doesn't send me anywhere!” The hunter stamped her foot in anger. “She's just like me, trying to stop her. She would have come herself but she's injured. I was the only one she could trust.”

  “Injured?” James carefully kept his tone light, as if it was of no great importance.

  “She was shot by the rogue's father. Twice. She nearly died. It was only because she managed to find a veterinary practice that she survived.”

  “And so if she's injured how did she meet you?”

  “I've known Soo Chi all my life. We grew up together.”

  “That seems unlikely since Soo Chi's fifty eight and grew up in Hong Kong while your licence claims you as American and twenty five.” James pointed out the obvious problems to her, though he suspected there was little point. The banshee might not have had enough time to create a cohesive lie for the woman to believe, but her lies had still claimed a lot of her reasoning. “Tell me, when is her birthday?”

  The silence he got back from his prisoner was all the answer that James had expected. Of course she didn't know. But the hunter sitting beside him didn't understand. She couldn't. She had been told a story and she believed it utterly. If things didn't add up it would never be the story that was wrong. Clearly there was some other explanation.

  “Tell me Alysson, what sort of work do you do?”

  “Animal control. What of it?” She snapped a little at James, no doubt upset by the way his previous question had clashed with what she believed to be true.

  James though was excited. In an instant he saw the connection between Alysson and Soo Chi. He knew how they'd met. And he knew what he needed to do as he reached for his phone and called the cowboy.

  “Will.”

  “It's late.” Will grumbled at him. But he still answered his phone on the second ring. And actually he was wrong. It wasn't late. It was early. Two in the morning to be precise.

  “I know and I'm sorry. But I've got Alysson Thomas in the car – the banshee’s newest victim.”

  “Give me the details.” Will was suddenly all business.

  James did as he was asked and quickly spelled out her name and the details on her licence for Will to take down. He had no doubt that within half an hour things would be underway as the hunt for the banshee continued. Soo Chi Harper Lee had been officially classed as a threat to the Illuminati and resources were being thrown into catching her that James had never seen before. But after what she'd done at the police station, it was what had to be done. It was obvious that the banshee had no concern about revealing the existence of magic to the world.

  “And you have her because?”

  “Because she was sent after Matti. Ms. Thomas is a hunter working for animal control. And one of the things she's told me was that Soo Chi was shot at the station. She took shelter at a vet's for treatment. My guess is that if the banshee is as injured as Alysson says, she may still be there. So if you go through Ms. Thomas' work history and work out which practices she had contact with you'll find her.”

  James turned to his passenger. “I don't suppose you want to tell me which practice that was?”

  “Shit on you!” The hunter stared at James as though he was a venomous reptile she'd just uncovered.

  “You might also want to check if she's got a work vehicle assigned and if it's got a tracker. It may still be there.” James continued unbothered. It was good to finally have a lead. Of course he knew the vehicle might well be what she'd driven here in, but some GPS trackers kept histories as well and it was still a chance.

  “Got it.” Will might grumble about being woken at such an hour but when it was important he was still all business. “You alright?”

  “Fine. Sore but dealing with it. The banshee did a number on me with those officers, but I'll still catch her in the end. I don't fail.”

  After that Will hung up to get to work on what he needed to do and James put his phone away as well and turned off the car's courtesy lights. There was no point in having them on when the neighbours might look out their windows even at this hour and see the glow. Tinted windows were not the same as darkness. Besides, he needed to keep his eyes adjusted to the night, just in case there were any more like his prisoner coming.

  “You're a hunter?”

  “Of a sort.” James was surprised by the question. He'd sort of expected that she'd be silent after having given away so much. “I don't have magic like you. But I work as a hunter for the Illuminati.”

  “You don't have magic? Isn't this somewhat out of your area then?”

  “I'm very good at my job.” James didn't feel like going into detail about his life. In part because he suspected that she still had hopes of escaping and reporting back to her mistress. She was just gathering information for when that happened. But as long as she was in the cold iron manacles that wasn't happening. Still, he pushed her forward in her seat just to make sure she was still bound. She was.

  “Cheap tricks don't make you skilled.”

  “And I wouldn't have needed them if I wasn't already injured. Your fighting is skilled, but I'm better. And your gift makes you a damned good tracker but I know how to hunt.” Maybe it was ego, but he felt the need to defend himself against her.

  But then another question occurred to him. One he knew she wouldn't answer. Did she have a partner? The banshee was smart, and it didn't pay to underestimate her. He'd been doing that for too long already. And sending in one hunter while keeping a second back to act if the first triggered the defences was a clever idea.

  “Tell you what. Why don't you sit there and have a nice rest while I go for a walk.” James didn't give his prisoner time to object as even
in the darkness he could see the look of sudden panic cross her face. He just pulled her seat belt down to hold her in, pushed the lever that lowered the seat so she was almost reclining, and pulled the key from the ignition. She wasn't getting free and she wasn't going to be warning anyone. Then he got out and left her lying there, helpless.

  He didn't go far though. Just to the tree behind the car. From there he could see both the car and the school's main entrance. And the first thing he could see was the way his car was rocking as the hunter tried desperately to free herself. Or maybe instead to get to the horn to alert her partner. It was just a pity for her that the horn didn't work. He'd pulled the wires years ago. There was nothing worse than accidentally knocking the horn when you were on a stakeout.

  Still, she kept trying, probably using her feet he guessed since her hands were secured behind her back. He couldn't actually see into the car through the tinted glass windows, but what else could she use?

  Meanwhile he kept an eye on the car and another on the street, waiting to see any sign of movement. He was sure there would be someone along soon. The moment Soo Chi’s hunter hadn't reported back. James just hoped it wasn't going to be another detonator.

  Ten minutes later his faith was rewarded as he saw a pair of shadows walking cautiously up the street. And while he might have wanted to imagine that they were locals simply taking in the night air at two in the morning he knew they weren't. Not when one of them had a glowing hand outstretched in front of him.

  What he was James didn't know. Maybe a fire starter of some sort, keyed up and ready to hurl a fireball his way. Maybe something else. But he knew he wasn't normal. Which was why he drew his weapon. This time though he didn't use his Sig. He drew the gun the Illuminati had given him.

  He didn't like the weapon, partly because it looked like some sort of science fiction ray gun, but mostly because it didn't work like a normal gun. It didn't fire bullets and he liked bullets. He understood bullets. Spells on the other hand were never as predictable as bullets. But in this case it was the perfect weapon for what he needed. It was late, people were asleep, and he didn't want to wake them. He didn't want anyone here to know what had happened out here tonight.

  As the pair approached him he clicked the lever to the fourth position and waited patiently until they came into range. Once they did he raised the weapon and squeezed the trigger twice.

  The smaller man with the glowing hand collapsed on the spot, falling down in a heap on the side walk. But his companion didn't. Apparently he was immune to the paralysis spell. That was always the danger with magic. What affected one might not bother another. And the rhyme was useless when he didn't know what sort of magic someone had. Bullets were far more reliable.

  But at least the weapon was silent. The man still standing hadn't seen James, and had no idea what had happened as he stared at his fallen companion. That gave James all the time he needed to pull the lever back a notch and shoot him again.

  This time the big man went down. But not silently. Instead he cried out as he bent over and fell, in pain from the spell of dry retching. Nor did he stop when he hit the concrete. Instead he kept moaning, lost in a world of pain. It was a particularly cruel spell in James' view. But it fairly much guaranteed that the man wouldn't be able to cast any magic. The pain in his stomach would make sure of that for the next six hours.

  As for the first man, he was down too. The paralysis had robbed him of any ability to speak, which would stop a lot of the gifted in their tracks. To add to his woes he was lying there on the concrete staring at the stars. He couldn't aim at anything even if he could still cast. He had no idea what to cast at.

  After that James pulled the lever all the way back to the first position and fired twice more. This was the spell of unconsciousness that the others all claimed he should try first. He never did. First because it was a spell that only seemed to work at best one time in three as many gifted turned out to be immune to its effects. And second because it was noisy. For some reason every time he fired it, it sounded like he'd just released an arrow that whistled through the air. If the one he shot didn't go down, he was in trouble because he'd given away his position.

  The unconsciousness spell seemed to work on the one he'd hit with the spell of retching. At least it stopped him moaning. He had no idea if it had any effect on the other man. But it also woke the neighbours. James saw the lights switch on and a face appear at the window of the nearby house. But no one came out to check, and a minute or two later the light went off again.

  James breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that. But he still had a problem. He had no more cold iron manacles. One spare set in his trunk was it. So he couldn't restrain these two. But even if he could have, he didn't have the strength to drag them back to the car. They were just going to have to lie there for a bit. If they started moving he'd have to shoot them again. He just hoped there weren't any more coming.

  Fortunately he didn't have to wait long as ten minutes later he saw a van cruise up the street and knew his pick up had arrived. He knew it more when he saw the passenger door open and Yasmin step out of it. For once she was wearing jeans rather than her usual more fashionable ensemble. He hadn't even known she had jeans. Though of course the high heels were on. He doubted she had any other shoes.

  “Dear God you look like crap!” Caught in the wash of the van's headlights as James was she could see everything and she looked horrified. “Daniels said it was bad, but really! You're supposed to be a fighter. Did you manage to dodge a single punch?”

  “There were a dozen of them!” James tried to defend himself. “And I was asleep!”

  “Is that like the fishing story about the one that got away?” She planted her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Regardless, you need some medical attention and you don't need to be here anymore.”

  “The banshee could send some more people.”

  “Unlikely but it doesn't matter. The elders have made some decisions. The academy is warded like nobody's business and they're paying for every single gifted in the state to be warded against fascinators. It may take some time but eventually she won't have a single one of us she can manipulate. We're not going through this again.”

  “Good.”

  Actually it was better than good. It was great! The elders had talked about it before, and not just as a policy for the state. He'd recommended it to them and Will had supported him. Fascinators were a threat to everyone. Fascinators who used other gifted for their own ends were more so. But until the banshee had struck they'd never actually had to face such a threat.

  “Your daughter's also being moved into protective custody. Officially I think the academy's calling it compassionate leave as her mother's in the hospital. But she won't be returning until we have Harper Lee safely locked up.”

  “And that'll be the protection detail now.” She pointed to a car that was just driving into the academy as they spoke. “You're to come back to the motel.”

  James would have objected, but the crisis was over and if Matti was being taken away then he didn't feel the need to stay. Besides, with a little luck the banshee would be captured within a matter of hours.

  “Who are they?” Yasmin's partner, someone James vaguely recognised, pointed at the pair lying on the side walk.

  “The hunter's back up. They turned up a few minutes ago. I got the guy on the left with a paralysis spell. The other one didn't go down so I hit him with the dry retching one. And then I hit them both with the unconsciousness spell. Don't know what either of them are though. Ms. Thomas is in the car.”

  “The smaller guy is a light bender. The other guy's a mega.” Yasmin knew. As a meta she could see exactly what their magic was. Then she turned back to James. “Nice to see you finally getting smart and using your gun.”

  “I wanted to please you!”

  “Huh! At least it's a start.” She managed a small sigh. “Come on, we'll get the woman.”

  She led the way to the car, a
rather short walk, and James followed, unexpectedly having to try rather hard not to stare at the way her hips swayed rhythmically in the moonlight. Still, he couldn't completely help himself. Maybe it was the drugs. Because he was sure he was in too much pain to feel like this without them.

  “Come on you.” Yasmin quickly had the hunter out of the car and on her feet. “You're off to see the shrinks and get the banshee's poison out of your head.”

  “Lies! You're going to kill me!” The hunter sounded upset and she was struggling against Yasmin. But bound as she was there wasn't a lot she could do.

  “No one's going to hurt you.” Yasmin tried to calm her down.

  “Bullshit! I know who he is. I figured it out.” She nodded at James.

  “And who am I?” James was surprised. But he was also curious. He didn't doubt that she'd worked out who he was, but he did wonder what the banshee had been saying about him.