A Dyad in Time

by D. D. Prideaux

  “Nothing, would suggest the opposite I think.” Gerard said, crossing his arms and legs to lean gently on the grey wall, his shoulder taking the weight as he mulled over what was going on.

  “Exactly. So we dug around a bit, and we made a few calls. The Venatoré that came to the scene was led by Lars Engen.” She deliberately said his name slowly, emphasising the importance of it.

  “They sent a high Våpen to do a clean-up job?”

  “Bonedust actually wasn’t even that close from what we can gather.” Glossing over the rhetorical question, knowing Gerard sometimes said these things aloud as part of his process.

  “Where was he?”

  “In his own sector.” Gerard knew this was an extremely long way from where his Sløv were right now.

  “They used magik.” He said to himself. “Find out if they used gloves or not. I do not know the rotations of those things.”

  “Already did.” Gerard was proud of the sisters. They were accomplished investigators, practical, honest and fierce in a fight. A small smile creeped into the corners of his mouth as he embraced the pride for a moment. His bond with them and Fortune was close. He’d always felt that a nurturing approach and mutual respect between a Våpen and Sløv provides better results. He’d taken a long time to choose his, knowing that they’d have to share more than just mission briefs if they were to be a successful Venatoré. After his past as well, he’d wanted to find a place with people like him. He’d been looking for a tribe for a long time, the sisters and Fortune being that tribe.

  “No gloves were in his vicinity.” Enyo delivered the fact calmly, allowing her master and friend to catch up to what she and Eris had found. Gerard’s stomach turned at hearing this, hoping the details wouldn’t go where he thought they might.

  “That leaves Ravens and Wind Dancers. Any logs of those being signed out?” He held onto that fleeting hope as tightly as he could.

  “No.” Some sadness appeared in Enyo’s voice.

  “That leaves a portal then.” The hope had wriggled itself free and fallen to the dirt to be lost underfoot and forgotten. “Was it sanctioned by someone?”

  “Don’t know yet. Eris is on the case.”

  “Sounds like you have told me about the something too then, Enyo. Good work.” Gerard made to close the call, feeling that he’d gotten what he was looking for when Enyo interrupted him.

  “There’s more.” She responded darkly. Enyo then went on to describe what else they’d discovered. She detailed how the brick wall and surrounding area had been returned to normal so perfectly they questioned how it was possible in the time. They’d looked at the footage before and after the event and couldn’t tell the difference. The Naïve body had also been removed and the witness had been taken care of quite clinically. She was angry as she told this part of the story. Her and her sister used to be Naïve’s, so whenever one was involved in a case, they pursued the truth with a fervour and dedication Gerard couldn’t teach. He could only stand by and watch as they easily outdid others of their rank and experience in uncovering the facts. She didn’t like that two Naïve’s had been killed in this particular circumstance. One by dark magik and one by The Protectorate, trying to cover up what had happened. Gerard respected their heritage, only asking them to temper their desire when it came to these kinds of situations. Logic bringeth order, he would say. As his mentor used to say to him.

  “A little extreme to handle a witness that way.” He said softly, trying to empathise with her.

  “There’s more at work here than just summary executions. Our magik is being blocked.” Enyo couldn’t see Gerard’s face, but she could practically hear the deep and contorted frown he was now wearing. “Well. Not blocked. More like, deceived.” She paused, waiting for Gerard to focus on her voice again, willing his mind to stop whirring and his frown to disappear.

  “Continue.” He finally said, his brow relieved at the easing of pressure.

  “Our normal detection spells are revealing absolutely nothing. We can’t tell what spells were used to cleanse the scene. We can’t see the echoes of what happened here. Not even an inkling. We can’t even tell how the witness was taken care of either. There’s Nothing.” Weirdly, Gerard couldn’t sense any frustration when he knew this kind of stone wall would normally infuriate her. Then he swallowed at the thought of mentioning her name, asking the question anyway.

  “Have you tried the other spells that Trøst taught you?” Understanding why Enyo wasn’t frustrated, an odd sound came from the phone then, part mocking, part sorry for Gerard, that he’d even asked the question.

  “You’re right, I forget my place.” He apologised, reflecting on his earlier thoughts about how good his pupils were and respecting the scoff from Enyo.

  “They gave us a little bit more but not much. We know that Barren Sun magik was used-” Gerard felt that was obvious, considering that Lars Engen was involved, “-but there was way too much of it. The scene stank of it, was covered in it. We knew it was hiding something else, another magik we’ve not seen before.” She paused uncharacteristically long for her, clearly tortured by something. “It was evil, Elias.” She finally managed.

  Not many people could say his first name in a way he liked. Fortune and the sisters were the only ones able to do it in recent years. They respected its power enough not to use it habitually and they respected its power enough to use it when they were serious. Gerard waited. Patience is like water.

  “When we cast Trøst’s spells we didn’t feel the magik out how we normally would. We delved into the shadows left by the magiks and we over-found the Barren Sun.” She paused, turning over the words in her head, trying to find a way to explain what she was going through. “Then, the other magik found us, Elias.” The creased brow returned to Gerard’s face for its sequel, this time with more lines. This time with deeper ones.

  “Describe it to me.” He said patiently.

  “When we first reached out, we saw the shadows of Bonedust’s efforts along with a symbol marking various parts of the scene.” She almost didn’t throw the part in about the symbol but had learned the hard way that Gerard likes more details than less. She couldn’t remember the phrase he used, just that it was something parroted from his old mentor and that was enough to keep her honest.

  “What symbol?” Gerard’s mind was firing thoughts faster than he could think them. He partially enjoyed the challenge and partially resented where it was going.

  “A loose spiral with a cross through it. Unlike anything we’ve seen before and it felt wrong. Out of place or on a different frequency. Like it was vibrating out of time with us.” He heard Enyo swallow down the phone, audible and almost comically loud. “Then a chilling and icy sensation started creeping its way into us through our fingertips.”

  “Creeping?” Gerard asked.

  “I know. It doesn’t sound right, but the magik was searching us. Probing us. Slowly knowing us. It was…” She trailed off and Gerard felt helpless at this end of the phone channelling his mantra, patience is like water.

  “It let us go Elias. If it wanted, it could have taken us, but it didn’t. I don’t think we could have held it off, whatever it was, and yet it decided to let us go.”

  He remembered the other times Enyo had used his first name. They were infrequent and almost always tied to being scared. It’d been years, decades even, since she’d used it in that way and it brought some fear to Gerard too. A sensation that was unwelcome in him.

  “It was like it was alive, it had a conscious of some sort. A powerful will that was forcing itself upon us. We felt violated.” She broke again, to collect herself. “Then the symbols started to fade, and the creeping reversed. I don’t know how, but the symbols and the magik felt linked somehow. When they finally disappeared, the ice had also gone from us.” She let out a long sigh at having re-lived the sensation of being invaded like that.

  “How are you both feeling?” He was hoping there were no unwanted after effects from the intrusive ma
gik.

  “Tired.” She said honestly, her exhaustion clear down the phone.

  “Eris can continue her investigations from here. Get to the Orcs and use the gloves to get back. That’s an order.” He said with fatherly authority and finality, hanging up the phone and replacing it in his pocket. Chance had put them in danger and chance could be a real Skellflak more times than it wasn’t.

  “Something and nothing, indeed.” Gerard muttered to himself, feet pounding across grey, back towards the grey screens, the grey walls and the golden eye.

  * * *

  “Gerard sent me.” Haverforth coughed through a choking throat, the back of his head already aching from being slammed against a wall. Fortune had him up against the grey corridor, a few grey bits of brick and mortar falling away with the force of his choking grab. He said nothing as he stared at the man in his grasp, his eyes searching for answers and demonstrating the seriousness of the situation. He liked Haverforth, but his master had put him to task on a delicate, and potentially dangerous, investigation. When it came to these types of detective work, he only liked working with the sisters, so when the likeable, flustering idiot arrived to help, he was immediately suspicious. He blamed Gerard for embellishing his mistrust in others and then thanked him, remembering the amount of times his read on someone had been right. Even after his immediate reaction to restrain Haverforth, his gut was telling him something and so was the small man he’d pinned. Coughing out something he couldn’t understand, Fortune leaned in close to try and catch the whispering voice, struggling for air, struggling to give flight to his words.

  “What?” He growled, looking past the man’s ear, at greyness, his ear almost pressed to Haverforth’s lips.

  “Delrentia.” The small man managed after a couple of attempts, his face turning redder and redder. Veins were popping up in unwanted places and tears started streaming down his face as his life began to trickle away. Fortune looked sideways, easing the grip ever so slightly whilst he thought. Mulled. Decided. Not all gifts want for attention, he heard Gerard’s voice echo in his head, remembering the lesson that all folk could be useful in one way or another if given the chance.

  “He just won’t let that one go.” Fortune sighed, letting the man in front of him go. Before he could fall to his knees, trying to suck in as much air as possible, the large Sløv caught the small man by the shoulders and held him straight. The rage from earlier had been replaced with brotherly concern.

  “Stay standing and open up your chest. You will recover faster.” His grip lessened as he felt Haverforth stand a little taller, the air filling his lungs and giving him strength. Haverforth couldn’t hear the apology from Fortune, his ears beating blood into them louder than his thoughts. Spots dappled his vision as he saw a respectful bow which he took to be the apology. When he’d recovered a little more, Fortune apologised again for his conduct and explained the delicacy of the task whilst Haverforth regained the last of his breath and brushed some rubble from his shoulders. Seeing Fortune react the way he had, told him that the task was very important, so he knew he must tread carefully.

  “Yes.” Haverforth said thoughtfully. “Very strange indeed.” He summoned the file to his hand in the same way Enyo had earlier, then performed similar gestures as Gerard had. Examining each letter of the file with ease and great haste in equal measure, he noticed some very slight irregularities. Not many would see them, and he was glad he could be counted amongst those few, skilled people. Goosebumps spread up his arms and neck, his suspicions raising just as the Våpen’s had. “Where were you headed first?” He asked Fortune.

  “I was going to see a Verktøy in forensics.” He was surprised to see confident agreement in Haverforth’s nodding head.

  “Great idea. If this file was being altered after it was created.” Fortune went to speak but saw his new assistant start speaking to himself, pouring over sentences and then performing an elegant set of finger movements.

  “Which it has. Then we should start with identifying what, and how much of the file has been edited.” He broke his irritating monologue and looked up at the larger, deadlier man, some of his confidence seeping away. Slowly he closed the file in one hand, it disappearing with a pleasing pop.

  “I have a friend in forensics that’ll be able to help. He’s an expert with records and their magiks.” Fortune looked a little irritated, so he hastily added, “Don’t worry, he can very discreet.”

  Warming to the little man’s intellect and desire to help, Fortune gestured for him to take the lead. Being honest with himself he was thankful Haverforth turned up. He was worried that going to a Verktøy alone may raise suspicions, especially considering he had no trustworthy contacts in this particular building.

  “You’re the boss.” Fortune said sarcastically.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - GRANDMOTHER BEAR

  Eve continued to stare at the familiar ceiling, feeling around her bruised body with her mind, seeking out where the worst of the damage was and how much longer she needed to recover. Knowing she needed to touch the earrings, she wondered what they would bring. What memories and fresh hurt or revelations would rush forward to swamp her in new thoughts. She drifted towards thinking why she’d even left herself these breadcrumbs anyway. Why had she made it so complicated to retrieve her lost past? Remembering the teachings of the Bleeding Heart she knew the answer, the wisdom coming from other, wiser minds than hers. Breaks in the mind couldn’t be healed in the same way as bones. Shifts in brain chemistry couldn’t be as easily corrected as changing the course of blood. A mind suddenly receiving a lifetime of thoughts and emotions would break. A brain correcting for the new information would shift the chemical balance. She needed to be patient. Patient with her memories, and patient for a little while longer whilst she fully healed.

  “Soooo. What’s new with you?” Eve asked Isabella as casually as she could, the deliberate and extreme awkwardness of her question forcing them both to chuckle at the turn of phrase. They returned to that back and forth of old friends, the floodgates of their lives opening to each other. They talked for a while about nothing, Isabella only referencing parts of her life and glimpses of what she had been through. She wanted to keep some things back and Eve didn’t want to press her right now, honouring her choice to take the foot of the gas. Losing your best friend for a few lifetimes cannot be easy. Finding and losing the love of your life... Worse. They both knew there’d be time to talk about these things, but respect held the questions at bay for now. Discussing her burns and the man that broke her heart would have to wait. Figuring out how she coped and empathising with her in the hope that she could help heal her, would also need to wait. Whenever they came near the tough subjects a quiet visited them. Comfortable and familiar, it martialled what they talked about in a way that kept them both happy, with the promise of more to come when the time was right. Yet despite this conversational umpire, Isabella was desperate to find out what her friend had been going all this time, interrupting the silence with a whispered and embarrassed question.

  “What was it like?” Eve would need more than that, waiting for Isabella to add a little more flavour to the question. “What was it like in the beginning, after you imprisoned her?” She asked more earnestly this time, just the right amount of flavour to get an honest response.

  “Rough. I just remember waking up and being in terrible pain. Somehow, I was lying in a bed, all warm and being looked after, but everything hurt. Not just my muscles either, my brain rattled around in my head shrieking at me and bringing waves of nausea with it. My heart also felt like it was in pieces.”

  “But you didn’t know why?”

  “No. That made it worse too. It felt like my soul had been battered to a pulp. It was weird, like I somehow knew I deserved to be feeling what I was going through, like I was somehow responsible for it. I just couldn’t remember the cause, a distant memory almost.”

  “So you could, remember some things?”

  “Yes and no. Distant memor
y isn’t quite right. Imagine something you know in your heart and your head. A constant that you can always rely on, a known thing that’s been as obvious to you as breathing since as long as you can remember.” Eve paused. “You got it?”

  Isabella nodded in response.

  “Now, imagine what that thing can do, what it results in.”

  Another nod.

  “Then, take away that thing and all you are left with is the result. Something you know in your heart of hearts, but you don’t know the cause of it. That’s how this pain and loss felt. I knew the feeling, well. I knew what it was...”

  “With no idea where it came from.” Isabella finished.

  “It’s strange what else I remembered when I woke up. I could walk and talk. I could cook and clean. I could do the everyday things without thinking.”

  “But you had no memories of your past or your magik?”

  Eve nodded this time. “Or how I could actually do any of these things in the first place. You remember how to cook your mum’s favourite dish don’t you?”

  Isabella’s dark locks bounced with the agreeing head movement.

  “You remember when she taught it to you and how?”

  More agreement.

  “I just, didn’t have that.”

  “Infuriating.” Isabella remarked, to agreement from Eve this time.

  “It was the same deal with healing.”

  “Wait. You had magik?”

  “Well-” Eve comically extended the word, buying herself some time to explain, “-I knew how the body worked and how people worked. I knew how to patch people up and brew potions/ointments that could heal people faster, but I didn’t know what I can do with these.” She looked down at her hands, trying to find some answers. Isabella waited for the answers too, letting Eve tell her story in her own time.