by N M Thorn
Gunz turned to Karma and sighed. “Can you please get dressed, Karma? This is Agent Jim Andrews and his partner, Angelique. We need to bring them up to date on everything that’s going on.”
“Sure,” murmured Karma, heading upstairs, “but since I don’t have any clothes here, can I borrow yours?”
“Ugh!” Angelique stamped her foot, crossing her arms over her chest. “His partner? Is that what I am to you now?”
“Take anything you like in my closet,” Gunz replied to Karma, wishing to become invisible this very moment.
He shook Jim’s hand and introduced him to Voron. Jim proceeded inside and sat down on the couch, stretching his legs. Gunz tried to take Angelique’s hand, but she jerked her hand away. He shook his head and seized her elbow, pulling her through the living room, into the kitchen and then outside, to the backyard that was freshly cleaned by Mishka.
“Angie, stop,” he said attempting to hug her, but she pushed against his chest and he let her go.
“Why do you have a strange woman taking a shower in your house? Early in the morning, clothed in nothing but a towel. Your towel.” She stared at him with reproach, tears gathering in her eyes.
“Angie, Karma told you the truth. She is just a friend. A friend who saved my life and who helped me survive the Dark Nav,” replied Gunz quietly. “You have no reason to be jealous—”
“Me? Jealous? You think too highly of yourself, Alexander Burns!”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “This is not what I imagined our first meeting would be like,” he said softly, pulling her closer, ignoring her protests. “Every moment I spent in the Dark Nav, all I could think of was coming back to you, Angie.”
“I don’t see a reason for you to miss me. You managed to find a suitable replacement even in the world of spirits,” she replied grouchy but stopped pushing him away.
“A suitable replacement?” Gunz laughed openly. “I think not. Karma plays for the other team. She would much rather spend a night with you than with me.”
Angelique flushed scarlet for a moment, but then threw her arms around his neck and fell apart, crying on his chest.
“Zane, I thought you were dead. Gone forever,” she managed to say between sobs. “No one could sense you. Not even Death… I mean, Angel... And the Archangel Uriel. Not even Aidan. I thought I lost you forever…”
Gunz pulled her closer, gently stroking her hair and her back. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered into her hair. “I had no way to communicate with anyone. But you know that I can’t die, right? And as long as I’m alive, I’ll come back to you.”
He found her chin and gently lifted her wet face. Carefully he wiped her face with his fingers, covering her cheeks with kisses, feeling the salty taste of her tears on his lips.
“Don’t cry, Angie. I’m here. I’m with you. Everything is going to be okay now.” He lowered his face and gently kissed her.
“Everything is going to be okay? Well, that’s a matter of opinion.”
Gunz heard Jim’s voice and unwillingly pulled away from Angelique. Jim stood in the doorway, his hands in the pockets of his pants. Karma was behind him, now dressed in Gunz’s sweatpants and t-shirt.
“Besides the end of the world that’s apparently coming, everything else is going to be totally fine,” added Jim, with a dismissive wave of his hand. “So, you can continue with whatever it is you two were doing.”
Jim pivoted on his heel and walked back inside the house. Gunz sighed and followed him, holding Angelique’s hand in his. Karma giggled and winked at him as he was passing her in the doorway. Jim didn’t go back to the living room but sat down at the kitchen table, slowly folding and unfolding a paper napkin.
“Voron already told me everything,” said Jim as soon Gunz sat down. “I think we all have a bit of work to do.”
Angelique tugged on Gunz’s sleeve, raising her eyebrows.
“I’ll give you all the details later,” said Gunz quietly.
“No, you won’t,” said Jim, frowning. “I’ll tell her everything she needs to know when we get back to the office. I think you need to focus on the issue at hand. From what Voron explained, you’re the center of this whole operation. So, what’s your plan of action, commander Burns?”
Gunz turned to Voron, throwing a surprised stare at him. “Me? Why me? Veles is the eldest, and he fought Skiper-Zmey already. Him and his brothers. He should be running the show.”
“Veles said it has to be you,” replied Voron, lowering himself down on a chair next to Jim. “He will get in touch with you tomorrow.”
Gunz nodded. “Who am I to argue with the god of the Three Realms? Fine. I’ll talk with Veles tomorrow. Also, I need to see Aidan. He left yesterday and was supposed to meet with Gwyn ap Nudd. I haven’t heard from him since then, and it’s not like Aidan. He would get in touch with me whether Gwyn succeeded in restoring that missing page or not.”
“Like I said, you got your hands full,” noted Jim.
“You too, Jim,” replied Gunz. “You need to get ready to defend the city on the night of All Hallows’ Eve. I have no idea what to expect, and neither I nor Aidan is going to be here to help you. The Scarlet Queen offered her support though. At sundown, she, her son and her whole company will be patrolling the city. Make sure that your team is aware and don’t hunt them.”
“That’s all fine and dandy, but how are we supposed to know which vampires are—I can’t believe I’m saying this—which vampires are good, and which are bad. They all look the same in the dark,” said Jim.
“Well, it’s safe to assume that if a vampire is not trying to eat you, they are Akira’s,” suggested Gunz, snickering.
“Aw, a nice one, Gunz,” huffed Jim, rolling his eyes. “Remember, I’m still your boss, so joke carefully.”
“Is that a threat?” asked Gunz, suppressing laughter. “Don’t worry, Jim. We still have nine days to get ready. I’ll talk to Akira and make sure that her vamps wear something, so you can easily recognize them.”
“If you told me yesterday that the day would come when I’d be relying on the Scarlet Queen’s help, I would kick your ass.” Jim sighed and got up, moving his chair closer to the table.
“You can trust Akira Ida,” added Voron. “She is the master of her word. If she said that she will support you, rest assured—she will.”
“Good to know,” mumbled Jim, heading toward the exit. He stopped at the door and turned to Gunz. “Stay in touch and keep me updated.” He turned to Angelique, raising his eyebrows. “Ready?”
“Jim, I’ll come to the office in an hour. I want to talk to Zane,” said Angelique, a vibe of discomfort lingering around her.
“Talk? Is that what you youngsters are calling it nowadays? Sorry, but you’re coming with me right now,” objected Jim dryly. “We all have a lot of work to do and only nine days for everything. You can ‘talk’ with him all night long when all this is over.”
Angelique sighed but nodded. She threw a longing gaze at Gunz and followed Jim out the door. As soon as the door closed, Gunz’s phone rang. He pulled it from the back pocket of his jeans and looked at the name on the screen.
Aidan McGrath.
Chapter 26
~ Aidan ~
Aidan teleported to the Guardians HQ in Chicago. He thought he knew exactly where he was going, and he couldn’t understand how he miscalculated his final destination. On arrival, he hit something hard and got thrown to the ground, face down. Between the excruciating, pounding pain in his head and the jolt of the hard fall, he blanked out for a moment.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself lying next to the main gates of the Guardians Headquarters. The ping of the summoning call was still ringing in his ears and the headache became a continuous torment. He groaned, scrambling to his feet and headed to the side of the gates, hardly able to move his legs. As he reached under his shirt to pull the pendant out, he realized that his hands were shaking.
“Please, stop the summoning call. I’m here alre
ady,” hissed Aidan. He doubted that the Head Mage could hear him, but with his mind in torment, he wasn’t sure that he could focus enough to use his magic and open the gate. Since there was no response to his plea, he leaned on the gate and touched it with his pendant, channeling a small amount of magic through it.
The gate screeched and moved to the side. Aidan lost his balance and dropped to the ground again. He struggled to get on all fours, when he felt someone’s hands grabbing his arms and pulling him up. Two guards were standing on either side of him, holding him in the upright position.
“Stop the pain… kill the summoning call… please…”
The guards ignored his request, unceremoniously dragging him to a golf cart. By the time they reached the Assembly Hall, he was on the verge of fainting again. The guards brought him to the middle of the room and lowered him to the floor.
Aidan raised his head with an effort and saw Ms. Bonneville towering above him. She stared down at him with a cold smirk on her face.
“Welcome back, Mr. McGrath.”
“Ms. Bonneville, please…” whispered Aidan, squeezing his head with his hands.
She snickered and muttered a quick spell. The relief came immediately. Slowly he got up, still feeling a little shaken and dizzy.
“I wanted your first summoning call to be special, Mr. McGrath,” said the mage. She headed toward a side table, gesturing for Aidan to follow her. “You see, now you know that we’re quite capable of handling insignificant old gods like yourself that still walk this world and you learned a few useful lessons—you can’t ignore our summons, you can’t teleport inside the Guardians Headquarters, and you can’t disobey us.”
Aidan dropped into the chair she offered, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. His eyes were still watering, and his vision was slightly blurred, but he could clearly see the nasty smirk on the Head Mage’s face. He knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to make it very clear to him that even though he was a god, he was no match to her, and as long as he wore this pendant, she had him over a barrel.
“You didn’t have to do it,” said Aidan quietly, catching his breath. “I wasn’t going to ignore your call. However, let me remind you that per our agreement, I have the right to complete my original mission first.”
Ms. Bonneville tapped the table with her fingers and a small piece of paper and a pen appeared in front of her. “But of course, Mr. McGrath, that was the deal,” she replied, picking the pen up. “Your original mission was to recover your missing friend, I believe. Now, correct me if I’m wrong—Mr. Zane Burns is safe in his house in South Florida. Am I right?”
“Yes, ma’am, but—”
“There are no buts, Mr. McGrath,” objected the Head Mage coldly. “Your original mission has been completed. And now that we settled it, I have something I need you to do for the Guardians.”
She quickly wrote something on the paper and handed it to him. Aidan took the note from her hands and peered at it. Some Buffalo Grove address was written on the paper. He raised his eyes, giving the mage a puzzled stare.
“I need you to deal with a group of rogue demons, and this is the address where I need you to go in order to find them. They settled in a highly populated residential area and that presents all sorts of problems. I need them gone,” explained the mage.
“Really?” asked Aidan, crushing the paper in his fist as aggravation spiked within him. “You truly don’t have a witch available that could deal with some lowlife demons? You needed to summon a god for that.”
“I will attribute your rude outburst to the light headache I gave you, Mr. McGrath,” drawled the Head Mage. “Let me remind you that you swore your loyalty to the Guardians Order for one year. It means that I can summon you at any time and ask you to perform any task for the Order. If I tell you I need you to clean the toilets, you do that. No questions asked. Am I clear, Mr. McGrath?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Aidan, his jaw set.
“Having said that, I didn’t ask you to come here just to demonstrate my power over you,” continued the Head Mage, leaning back in her chair. “Of course, I have capable witches and mages here. Any of them could deal with these demons with great success. However, I wanted you to take care of them because this rogue clique of demons was created as a result of your little friend Tessa’s actions. It would be only right if you were the one to clean up her mess. Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. McGrath?”
“Seems that you leave me no choice but to agree with you,” said Aidan.
“No. No choice,” confirmed the Head Mage. “Guardians, just like Wardens, are a military Order. We command, you must comply—leave your freewill outside these doors. You’ll get used to it, Aidan. May I call you Aidan?”
Aidan nodded, just now realizing the full consequences of giving his oath to the Guardians. For a moment he felt slightly dizzy and disoriented, and he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision.
“I will let you take two hours of rest, Aidan,” continued Ms. Bonneville. “I’m sure you’re still experiencing the slight dizziness and weakness as a result of my summoning spell. It all should clear out in about an hour. You can use the room you stayed in the last time you were here. Once you feel back to normal, you should be on your way to Buffalo Grove.”
Aidan got up and slowly headed toward the exit door, everything around him still flowing in a fluid sickening motion.
“And Aidan, I don’t want Tessa to know that you’re here,” screamed the Head Mage after him. Aidan cringed and halted at the door, glaring at the mage over his shoulder. “She’s been doing remarkably well, and I don’t want your short visit to disrupt her progress. I hope you understand.”
“I understand,” said Aidan and walked out of the Assembly Hall.
He found the same small room he had been staying in with Raoul and collapsed on the bed. Feeling demolished and slightly sick, after a few minutes, he fell asleep.
Aidan woke up an hour later and sat up on the bed. The effects of the summoning spell were gone, and he felt normal. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Quickly scrolling through his contact list, he found Zane’s phone number and clicked the dial button.
“Aidan!” He heard Zane’s voice and smiled, relieved.
“Zane, are you back home? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is as expected—you know, me getting attacked by an army of demons and vamps. Other than that, everything is just fine.”
Aidan squeezed the bridge of his nose, processing Zane’s statement. Attacked by demons and vamps? Together? That was highly unusual.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Just peachy.” Zane chuckled. “And where did you disappear? You were supposed to check in as soon as you talked with Gwyn ap Nudd.”
“I didn’t get a chance,” replied Aidan with a sigh. “The Guardians summoned me, and I couldn’t ignore them. Their summoning call was blowing my brains out. I had to go right away.”
“Well, now you know how I felt when you summoned me last year...”
“I did that to you?” exclaimed Aidan, horrified. “I swear I had no idea… Anyway, Zane, I can’t talk. I must go and do what the Guardians ordered me to do. When I come back to Florida, I’ll find you. I don’t want to talk from here. These walls have ears. Since I’m surrounded by powerful witches and mages, I don’t think a concealment spell would work.”
He hung up his phone and walked out of the room.
Aidan didn’t know the area, and teleporting wasn’t an option. He drove to Buffalo Grove and left the car that the Guardians gave him on a Jewel’s supermarket parking lot. He followed the street through the quiet suburban neighborhood until he found the right house.
He passed the house and circled around the block to see what kind of area he was dealing with. It was past nine in the morning and most of the residents were gone to work. The street was mostly vacant with an occasional car passing through.
As a morning breeze rushed through the air, Aidan shivered, thinking
that it was the second time he teleported to Chicago without any warm clothes. He also stood out, walking in the chilly October weather dressed in a short-sleeve shirt without any jacket or sweater on. Finally satisfied, he stopped in front of the house that was indicated on the Head Mage’s note.
What were the supposedly rough and violent demons doing, nesting in a quiet suburban house? Aidan thought as he stood in front of the building. Usually, demons were finding housing in areas that were away from heavy human population, in industrial areas or abandoned buildings.
He pulled the note out and checked the address again. No, he didn’t make a mistake. This was the house. Aidan sighed and quietly walked up to the door. As a god, he wasn’t afraid of demons. Just a touch of his power would burn the demonic energy out before the demon could escape.
He scanned the house with his magical sight and found that there were at least six demons inside. He could feel clearly the presence of their demonic energy. Only six? Maybe he was missing something. He recalled the story Tessa told him. It was a meeting of two demonic factions. Missi and Tessa killed all the leaders of both factions. If the remaining demons decided to get together and create their own click, there should be a lot more than six demons there.
Aidan stood indecisively in front of the door. Something didn’t add up. He glanced at his watch and sighed. He shouldn’t be here now. His place was in South Florida with Gunz and his team. Dealing with the evil mage and possible rise of Skiper-Zmey seemed to be a lot more important than getting rid of six demons in suburbia.
For a moment, he was thinking about going back to HQ and telling the Head Mage about everything that was going on. After all, the Guardians were the good guys. Maybe they could assist them with that mage and her evil plans. But then he remembered Luc de la Crosse’s warning and he decided against it. He had no idea who he could trust in the Guardians Order and who he couldn’t. It would be a lot safer and faster if he would just clean up this nest and was on his way back home.