Book of Souls (Supernatural War Book 1)

by Steven L Smithen

  Craig spoke up, “Dorian, this is James, he is a former Boston PD SWAT commander and now currently heads up our QRF for Fenris Security.” I got up and shook his hand.

  “Thanks for coming in this morning. We had quite an eventful evening and now all we have are more questions, but I have a feeling that when we get a lead we will need to move fast. I would like to have a small team of 4 or 5 ready to go at a moment’s notice. Is that something that you could arrange, James?”

  “Yes, I can think of a few of the guys that would be more than willing to do that,” James answered.

  “Good, make sure one is a communications specialist. I have a feeling that this is going to take us to Central and South America. As soon as you can get them here the better, that way Khloe and I can begin training with them.”

  James left to make the calls while Craig, Thomas and I went over the events of the night before by watching the recording of the meeting and going over some of the items that they were going to research. I also asked them to reach out to the packs in the surrounding territories and discreetly send feelers to the other vampire covens to see what they know or if they might be in league with Kirin. As we were finishing up with our meeting there was a soft knock on my office door. I excused Craig and Thomas at the door as I watched Khloe sit over by Lela’s desk talking with her about who knows what. She looked over when the office door opened and when our eyes met she blushed slightly and smiled. I grinned back at her as I walked over to them.

  “Good morning ladies.” They both returned the greeting and I continued, “Lela, is Talia in or did she have court today?”

  “She had court and won’t be back until this afternoon,” Lela answered.

  “Ok. Khloe, you ready to do whatever you need to do?”

  She nodded, stood up and grabbed a large messenger bag that smelled of herbs and aromatic oils. She pulled the strap over and across her body as she led me towards the back entrance.

  I spent around three hours following Khloe as she went about doing her thing. It was truly amazing watching her go around and place runes in charcoal around the perimeter of the building. “Khloe, what happens when the charcoal washes away from the rain or someone rubs up against it?”

  “Nothing, the charcoal rune just acts as a pattern for the spell. Once I push my will or magic into it the rune becomes active and will remain until I either dispel it or the building is damaged.” She answered.

  “What exactly did you do?”

  “These runes are ancient Incan runes that will detect death magic if it comes within one hundred feet of the building. Death magic gives off a particular feeling that a witch can sense and an odor that Weres can smell.” She said as she finished the last ward.

  “Smell? You mean like decay and rot, right?”

  “Yes, but probably ten times stronger than any you’ve smelled in the past. There is no mistaking that scent.” She answered.

  I looked at Khloe and took her hand as we walked back towards the entrance to the building. “Would you like to get away for a few hours and let our fur out or in your case your feathers?” Her face lit up at his suggestion, which made him think he just won the lottery.

  “Really? I would love to get away, if only for a couple of hours.” She replied.

  “Awesome! I know a friend of the pack who lives up near the New Hampshire, Massachusetts border that has about twenty acres that we can use.”

  We headed over towards my truck and I texted Lela and Craig that we were leaving for a few hours, and where we would be. I then texted Talia separately, letting her know what was up, and she replied with the ‘middle finger’ emoji. I didn’t know they had one of those. I laughed out loud and told Khloe what Talia sent and that she was going to be stuck at the courthouse all day but told us to have fun.

  We jumped in my truck and we made our way up route 1 towards New Hampshire. I brought up my music playlist and cued up Wash It All Away by Five Finger Death Punch.

  We made great time to the property. I pulled up to the small guest house and parked. “I have a key to the guest house. We can undress and change in there. I usually do that so my clothes don’t get wet if it starts to rain.”

  “And this ‘friend of the pack’ knows about us?” She asked a little hesitant.

  “Yes, his daughter is a bitten Were and a member of our pack. She lives up in New Hampshire and mostly deals with my mother.”

  I led her inside to one of the bedrooms, “You can use this one. I know we aren’t as conscious about nudity and all, but since we are beginning something together I thought for at least the first time we could change in separate rooms.”

  She nodded and went to the bedroom. I began to undress and after a few minutes, I felt someone watching me. I turned to see a Peregrine Falcon resting on the end table, eyeing my half naked form with her head turned, sideways waiting for me. I just shook my head when I saw that she wasn’t leaving and turned back to strip off the rest of my clothes and let the magic of the change take me. I wish I could explain the change better, but one minute I’m a man and as I fall forward there appears to be a flash of power and whoosh of magic and I land on four paws. Talia has said that my wolf is quite striking at three feet at the shoulder, black coat with four white socks on my paws, and a strip of white that looks like I dipped my tail into a paint container. My eyes are the most striking while in my wolf form. My normal indigo peepers appear to be fluorescent with a soft glow.

  After the change, I shook myself and from head to tail, looked over at Khloe in her falcon form and yipped at her, and then I dashed out the front door into the field. I heard her cry as she followed me.

  After a couple of hours of me running around like an anxious pup stalking small wild animals, I went and laid down and watch Khloe in her falcon form as she would glide around the clearing catching thermals, she used her keen vision to search for smaller prey. Then, without blinking, she tucked her wings in and dove like she was shot out of a gun and caught the small unaware chipmunk in her talons and then she took off, came my way and dropped the small animal at my feet. I was just as surprised as the chipmunk that he was still alive. He was frozen, staring at me. I woofed at him and he took off like a bat out of hell back towards his home. Khloe dropped down next to me and I noticed that she was bigger in her animal form than I thought. We sat there in companionable silence for a long time, enjoying each other’s presence. She then turned to me, made a noise, then she took off and headed back to the house. I got up and padded after her.

  Once inside we changed back. Khloe walked over to me wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down for a kiss. I returned her kiss and wrapped my arms around her to pull her closer. We lost ourselves in that kiss for a time and when she broke it off she looked up at me. “Thank you for that. It has been a long time since I have been able to just relax. I’ll be going back to Harvard tomorrow. What will you be doing?”

  “Your welcome. I’m glad we’ve had some time together alone. I will get with Talia about what needs to be done with Fenris Security. I’m sure Craig and Thomas want to go over the company protocols. Ugh, corporate life.” I said running my hands through my hair.

  Snorting, Khloe patted my chest. “Poor baby, I’m sure you will be fine. Look on the bright side.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “You can at least sleep in. Most companies don’t start work until 8 am sometimes 9 am.” She offered.

  “Yeah, I should have most of the day’s work done by then,” I said and chuckled at the thought of sleeping in.

  “You do know that you’re not in the Marines anymore, right?”

  “Yes, but I am used to getting up early,” I said.

  “Well, I’m sure I can think of a couple of things to keep you in bed,” Khloe said as she teased me into another kiss.

  We parted with the anticipation of what was to come and returned to my truck for the drive back to Boston.

  Chapter 14

  We returned to find Talia in an
uproar. Her alpha power was just rolling off her and was influencing everyone in the office. It almost dropped Khloe to her knees along with everyone else in the office. Curious, I walked over and wrapped my arms around Talia, pulled her into a hug, and softly whispered in her ear “Calm sis. What happened?”

  She visibly calmed and her power ebbed. I looked around the office and found Khloe. “Can you check on everyone and see about sending them home for the day.” She nodded.

  “Fucking Dutch and his band of miscreants just laid waste to a house with about 10 younger vampires in it while they were sleeping. I just got off the phone with Donovan, and he has asked if you and I could come over to the house and look around. I told him as soon as you got here we’d be over.” She pulled away, now much calmer, and continued, “Then I got a call from Shane, that idiot who was involved with Dutch. He’s scared shitless now and said that Dutch got a call about doing a job for someone and that it would be simple and they would all make some easy cash. He said once he found out who the target was he backed out and Dutch had some of the others beat Shane to unconsciousness. He said that he got out of there and is seeking forgiveness for what he called ‘his foolishness for listening to Dutch’.”

  Khloe walked back into Talia’s office and nodded to me in an indication that she had done as I asked. I began pacing around the office. “First, get a message to Shane and tell him to get his ass up to Portsmouth to talk to Mom. His fate is in her hands. Second, did the guys that James was calling get here yet?”

  “Yes, they came in about an hour before I got the call about the vampires. They are down in the basement getting settled into the guest quarters.” Talia answered.

  “Ok, I’m going to go change into something a little more appropriate for investigating a bloodbath. I would suggest that you two do the same.” I said as I pointed out Talia’s suit and Khloe’s more casual attire. “Then meet me at the truck.”

  “Dorian, you know we are going to have to end him, right?” Talia said as I was headed to the door.

  “Yes, I know,” I said quietly. I left knowing that they both heard me.

  When I got to my room I went to my closet, pulled out my olive-green duffle from the Marines and pulled out more appropriate clothes. After I attached my holster to the belt, I reached for my leather motorcycle jacket before I headed back downstairs. I walked out to my truck and I noticed the team that James called getting into one of those customizable work vans. I made my way over I introduce myself to the team. It turned out that the comms guy was a girl by the name of Kim who served in the Air Force with the Air Intelligence Agency and could speak 3 languages before she was bitten by a Were while on an operation in Afghanistan back in 2003. The other three were all veterans of SWAT teams from Boston and NYC. I gave them the rundown of where we were headed and what to be on the lookout for. Khloe and Talia came out a few minutes later, both dressed similarly. Talia’s clothes were dark grey and she was carrying two scabbards that I knew held her fighting blades that I had specially made for her after she saw them in The Hobbit. Talia was unparalleled in her proficiency with them. Khloe was dressed like Talia and had her messenger bag. She had the most unusual sword strapped to her back.

  She came over and kissed me lightly on the lips, “We’re ready when you are.”

  “What’s with the machete?” I asked.

  “It’s not a machete, Dorian. It’s called a Macana, an ancient weapon used by the Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs for hundreds of years.” She said as she pulled the sword free from its scabbard and began to go through a series of moves that made my eyes open in wonder and amazement. After she finished, she put the sword back in its scabbard and went to get into my truck.

  I turned to the QRF team. “This is supposed to be a simple investigation at the request of the Boston vampires.” I paused to rub my temple and let a sigh of frustration before I continued. “Be prepared for anything because I have no idea what we are walking into.”

  It took us about thirty minutes through rush-hour traffic to reach the address that Donovan’s people provided. We found a couple of parking spots not too far apart from each other. As we got out we took in the neighborhood and the tenement building that was our destination. It was a four-story building containing about twenty units five per floor, plus whatever they used the basement for. From what Talia found out, the Boston Coven owns the whole building.

  I did a 360-degree scan of the neighborhood. It appeared to be a quiet area with several other apartment buildings, townhouses, and duplexes lining the street. The building we wanted was on a corner and had a covered parking lot next to it. Our two groups met out front. I looked over to Joseph, their lead. “I want two of you to check the outside of the building and the other two to check out the basement.” They all nodded before I went on, “We will.” I pointed to Khloe, Talia, and myself “We will start in the lobby and move upstairs floor by floor. After you finish with the perimeter set up a security check point in the lobby while securing all entrances into the building.” I looked around the group and finished, “Let’s do this.”

  I reached for the front doors and turned toward the girls. “If we need a nose, I’ll change. I’d rather have your blades available in case they are needed.” Talia nodded and opened the door.

  The smell of blood and werewolf assaulted our noses as we went in. I looked around the lobby as one of Donovan’s vampires stepped out of the security office in the back. He appeared to visibly relax when he saw us. “Glad you guys could come over. With everything that is going on, we aren’t sure who did this. I’m Garrett, by the way.”

  “Glad to help. I’m Dorian” I pointed at the girls, “This is Khloe and my sister Talia. Have you checked on all the occupants?”

  “Yes, and we were lucky this building is almost empty. Only five units were occupied, and they are all on the top floor.” He answered as he pulled out a blueprint of the building. He spread it out on the counter, he pointed to the fifth floor. “There are only two ways to get to the top floor from inside, the elevator and the stairs.” He pointed out them out on the blueprint.

  “If it all happened on the top floor why do I smell blood down here?”

  “Security is handled by the coven and daytime is usually a human ‘Friend of the Coven’.” He supplied. That means that the daytime security was someone well versed in the supernatural world and was well compensated to guard this building during daylight hours. “Still don’t know how they got upstairs since both the elevator and the stairwell are secured by access points that require either a passkey card or in the event of the stairwell a security code.”

  “No sign of forced entry on the stairwell?”

  “No, none. Not even the daylight security has access to the upper floors due to obvious reasons. The rooms have additional security features implemented by each owner.” Garrett continued “Would you like to see the apartments?”

  “In a minute. I want to see if we can sniff something out that you might have missed, but I want to wait for my other team to finish their external sweep of the building and basement.” I looked over to Khloe and Talia. “You guys notice anything out of the ordinary?”

  Talia looked at Khloe and begun, “It looks like they went up the stairs. Not sure how they got into the stairwell…”

  “I did sense some lingering power. I could check out the door more closely.” Khloe finished.

  Khloe walked over to the stairwell door and began pulling some items from her bag and went to work with her brand of voodoo. Talia stood watch over her like she’d done it a thousand times. The smell of some sort of incense drifted over our way about the same time the rest of my team came in from checking the perimeter. Joseph walked over as the others began to set up the security checkpoint.

  “Kim, call Craig, fill him in, and ask him to set up surveillance on Dutch and his cronies. I have a feeling that Dutch is going to celebrate what they did tonight and blow off some steam.”

  “Got it!” Khloe hollered from the stairwel
l door. “Tricky bitch too.”

  Garrett and I walked over where Khloe and Talia were standing Khloe put a hand towel back into her bag. On the floor around her, she had drawn a circle surrounded by more of her Incan runes in charcoal. Inside the circle is her bag, an incense burner, and sage judging by the smell. Talia was standing there with her trademark smirk of satisfaction like she was privy to something no one else was. Khloe looked at me and I brought myself up short. There was a smoldering fire in those emerald green eyes of hers. My wolf perked up and wanted her right there. He saw her as an equal and I had to agree with him. She broke eye contact and she shook herself. “Found something, I take it?” I asked.

  Khloe grinned, “Oh yeah. Looks like he had the help of a witch. She’s skilled too, but I found what she did. Looks like she made a skeleton key that is tied to the building so it gave them access to every door in the building.”

  “With the building, all but empty they had plenty of time to do what they came here for. Question is, what was their intent?” I asked out loud.

  “Maybe someone here was tied to the leadership of the coven or another important role that we don’t know about,” Talia replied looking over at Garrett, our vampire contact, with skepticism. I was sure she thought that they were hiding something or someone from us.

  I turned to Garrett and inquired with a little alpha power, “What aren’t you telling us? These weren’t just members of your coven. An entire building used for five vampires?”

  “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He answered as he almost fell to his knees under my influence.

  “He doesn’t know anything,” Talia said as she pulled her cellphone out and dialed a number. “This is Talia Callahan, put Donovan on now!” She commanded.

  Khloe tapped her foot for about a minute, then cleaned up her stuff and erased her circle and runes. “Donovan, who the hell lives in this building? Because someone hired our castoffs and a witch to gain access to the building, killed your guard, and then made their way upstairs to have their way with the five that live here. You need to start talking or we are leaving it to you. Oh, we’ll take care of Dutch and his bunch tonight, but the witch and everything else will be your problem.” Talia was pissed and I couldn’t blame her, the damned vampires thought that they could use us. I was beginning to wonder if this was a payback for the way that I had treated him at our office. I fucking hated political bullshit.