by M. H. Bonham
Then, of course, there are the religious fanatics who are convinced we are the spawns of Satan. But luckily they’ve calmed down in recent years. Last time there was a serious “witch hunt” happened in the 50s when a senator searched for wizards and witches in the government and media. The sad part is most of the people indicted didn’t have a magical bone in their bodies.
Getting back to Trader Vic’s—Trader Vic’s is the main headquarters of the Denver Wolfpack and where Alaric, the pack’s alpha, does business. Since I started dating Luna, I regularly visited the bar to see Luna and my other friends.
Elryn slowed the Dodge down to look for a parking spot. Much to my surprise, Trader Vic’s looked packed—pun intended—and cars, trucks, and motorcycles filled the spaces along both sides of the street. The nearby parking lot looked full too, and I sighed and shook my head in annoyance. It was Saturday night—of course all the Supes would be out now. Somehow with my Universe/time-hopping, I had forgotten what day it was.
“Damn, the spirits have done it all in one night,” I remarked.
Luna snickered, knowing that I had time/universe-lag and there was no way I could’ve remembered what day it was when the Drow deployed the alchemical toxin. We circled the block and found that our usual parking lots were full, so Elryn drove toward Metro and we found parking there.
I patted the Jeep’s hood, leaving a wet impression in the fall snow that stuck to it. “Keep watch, Gunny.”
I heard a low chuckle from the ghost that I took as an affirmative. Elryn, Sigrún, and my relatives joined us, both Nana and Li’alla chatting merrily with the Light Elf.
Li’alla turned to me. “I had no idea such wondrous machines existed! We could’ve crossed Svartalfheim in no time to get at the Elfshot!”
I grinned, not bothering to tell her that the Dodge would have a time with the lava flows. “Yeah, it would’ve taken less time.”
She sighed wistfully. “But we wouldn’t have ridden the dragon, would we have?”
“You rode a dragon?” Luna chimed in, impressed. She looped her arm through mine. “I’ve been pestering Ironspell to ride Smog since he took out that black mage at the Denver Zoo.”
I nodded. “On our to-do list. I’ve only been back at the zoo once since that happened. I need to see him again.”
“It’s definitely scary,” Li’alla admitted. “Nothing like how they show it in the movies.”
“Still, I think riding Smog would be fun—if he’ll let us.” Luna scratched delicately behind her wolf ear with a claw on fingers that were a cross between human hands and wolf paws.
“I think he’ll let us,” I said. “As long as we don’t abuse the privilege.”
We walked in the cold and snow toward LoDo and had crossed the bridge over the South Platte when the trouble started.
Chapter Nine
“Hey, where do you think you freaks are going?”
We had just crossed the bridge into LoDo on Wewatta Street when a large group of Normals suddenly appeared from nowhere. From their tracks in the snow, I guessed they were hanging around the alleys, stairwells, and even the kiddie playground, watching people come in off the bridge. We had taken the pedestrian bridge, rather than the traffic bridge. Although the area was well lit, they had probably stayed in the shadows. If I had been clever, I might have used my magical sight and spotted their auras, which tend to show up better at night. I looked at their auras now and found them agitated, but quite unremarkable otherwise. In other words, there wasn’t a magic user among them.
The guy who spoke first was white with a shaven head. He carried a baseball bat and from the bulge in his coat, I could tell he was packing a gun. All the Normals there were armed in some fashion, and several had guns.
What surprised me was the diverse mix of Normals. There were equal numbers of African Americans and whites, and a few were from various Asian ethnicities. There were also a few women in the gang, but they hung back. They all looked in their twenties or thereabouts. They looked mostly cold as the snow fell heavily on their leathers and light coats.
I strode forward and flashed my badge at them. “Police officer.”
The shaved head guy hesitated. “Cop, eh? What are you doing with these monsters?”
“I’m walking with them, and if you detain us any further, I’ll have to arrest you.”
“He’s bluffing, Tony. We can take them.” Another guy with a Mohawk, multiple piercings, and biker leathers sneered at me.
Tony scratched his head. “Wasn’t planning on beating on no cop…”
“Yeah, but he’s with them.” Another guy, looking like an extra from a Mad Max movie pointed at my friends.”
“Yeah, and we just saved your sorry asses.” Elryn spoke up. She stepped forward with her hand on her short sword. “Twice.”
Right now, I was wishing I had Drow Slayer, my Vorpal blade. But I had left it in the secret compartment of Elryn’s truck when I got the Jeep.
Tony turned to Elryn. “Who the fuck are you, Elf?”
“I’m Elryn and the officer you’re talking to is Ironspell. We’re the ones that stopped the toxic gas.”
“Bullshit.” Mohawk said. He drew his gun and fired at me.
I raised my hands when I saw him pull the gun. My magic shield blazed blue as the rounds hit harmlessly and fell to the ground, getting buried quickly in the snow.
“Shit! They’ve got a wizard!” Tony turned and fled. The others vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
“Well, what was that all about?” Sigrún asked, her hand on the hilt of her sword.
I shrugged. “Apparently they don’t like Supes. Not that I can blame them after the gas attack. Then again, most criminals use anything as an excuse to commit their crimes.”
“You going to arrest them?” Elryn eyed me.
“Nah, even though shots were fired, they ran. I’d have a hard time chasing them, even with the snow. There are too many of them and they scattered. I might be able to find one before the snow fills in the tracks, but who knows if the one I choose was a ringleader or just someone who showed up. I’ll report it, though. It’ll get followed up eventually, but after all the riots that happened last night, I doubt seriously no one will get caught for some time, unless witnesses can make a positive ID.”
“They could’ve killed us.” Elryn pointed out.
I raised an eyebrow. “Not likely, unless they were using cold iron or silver. And even then, we’ve got five magic users here and a Valkyrie, all of whom can put up a good shield.”
“And unless they’re silver bullets, I can regenerate fast.” Luna grinned with her wolfy smile.
I bent down and plucked one of the bullets that had dropped in the snow. I brushed it off and held it up. “Lead. Most street thugs don’t have the cash for silver.”
“Thank Odin for that.” Sigrún looked around. “Where’s this bar we’re going to? I need a drink.”
~ * ~
We made it to Trader Vic’s without another incident. I kept switching from regular to magical sight and more than once ran into Elryn and Sigrún, who took the lead. I stopped doing that after I got a sharp elbow in my ribs and spent a few minutes bent over and wheezing. The perps were long gone and anyone we did see showed no interest in us, which was fine by me.
We walked into the werewolf bar and immediately every shifter in the joint stopped talking and turned to look at us when we entered. Only when they recognized me and Luna did they settle back to their drinks and conversation.
Even without looking at their auras, I knew the entire place was on tenterhooks. Some of the werewolves still looked bruised and injured from the Svartalfheim battle the night before. I waved at Luna’s brother, Jimmy, whose arm was still in a sling. Normally weres heal ridiculously fast, which meant whatever injury he sustained in the fight in Svartalfheim had to have been pretty serious, if his body was just catching up now. Some of the weres still had Blue Goo stuck to their hair and beards, which meant they hadn’t been able to
get it out of their fur. I winced as one were I didn’t recognize picked some of the Blue Goo off his beard and tossed it on the floor.
“Hey! No littering!” Tom Ulfhednar, the manager for Trader Vic’s, growled behind the bar. I blinked, for a split second not recognizing him. He had shaved his beard and cut his hair in almost a buzz cut to get the goo off him. I stared at his weathered face, brass eyes, and blond hair that was liberally sprinkled with gray. He looked more like a soldier than the bouncer I came to think of him as. Although technical not a bouncer, Tom was big, and all was muscle. Although I didn’t know the exact pack hierarchy, I suspected Tom was second-in-command after the two Alphas, Alaric and Kira. I had asked Luna where she ranked in the pack once, and she gave me a vague reply. No doubt because of her lack of shifter control, she had to rank low. Even so, the fact I was dating her made me a pack member.
Mike Duncan and Frank Salazar walked in. Apparently, I had taken more time to get my Gunny Jeep than I thought. We modified our table request to include
We took our seats at one of the larger tables in the back to not garner attention, but it’s hard to not attract attention with two Normal cops, a Valkyrie, a wizard, two Dark Elves, a demon, and a Light Elf. The only person who looked like she belonged was Luna. Even so, Tom made his way toward our table and leaned forward.
“I don’t know if you heard, but Jimmy and Lorelei got attacked on the way back from Washington Park.” Tom handed out the menus.
“Where’s Lorelei?” Luna’s voice held a note of alarm.
“She got cut up real bad—and they used silver-coated blades.” Tom’s brow furrowed.
“Shit,” I glanced at Jimmy. “She going to be okay?”
“She’s over in Denver General’s Supernatural Unit. They expect her to make it, but for a few hours it was touch and go.” He nodded at Jimmy. “Jimmy took the brunt of the attack and drove off the attackers. But what he said made no sense.”
“What’s that?”
“Their eyes glowed and they had wings.”
I glanced at Sigrún, who had kept her wings hidden. “They weren’t Drow?”
Tom glanced at my relatives for a moment and then shook his head. “No.”
“By the way, these Dark Elves are my family,” I said. “They had nothing to do with the attacks.
“I didn’t think so, and in fact only a few wolves even bothered to look at them, once they saw it was you guys.” He paused. “Order what you’d like from the menu. It’s free of charge right now, courtesy of Alaric.”
I glanced over at the big Alpha male in the corner. Alaric saluted me with a pint and went back to talking with a strange were I’d never seen before. Despite being an honorary member of the pack, I really didn’t know everyone. The were was about as big as Alaric with black hair and golden eyes that looked pensive. Like Alaric, he was clean shaven. He wore biker leathers that looked well used and in the dim light, I could just make out a scar on his throat. It looked nasty like someone had slashed him with a silver knife.
I nodded at the manager. “Sure, that’s cool. Who’s the were with Alaric?”
“That’s Alaric’s brother, Ragnar. He has a pack up in Montana. Apparently they’ve been attacked as well.”
I blinked. “Someone’s attacking weres?”
Tom nodded. “Yeah, and we think it’s the Cult of the Messiah.”
“Shit.” I shook my head. “They haven’t been active in years.”
“What’s the Cult of the Messiah?” Duncan asked.
“They’re an ancient group that spun off from the Catholic Church. They take the scriptures a bit more seriously such as, You shall not permit a sorceress to live, and that kind of shit. To them, Supes are either abominations or demons—no offense meant, of course.” I glanced at Tuzren.
“You mean devils.” Tuzren looked at me. “Technically the word is daemon for what I am. The Bible uses demon as a term for unclean spirits who possess Normals.”
“Are you unclean?” I looked at him curiously.
“Nope. I showered today.” He grinned.
I laughed. Duncan and Salazar snickered, while Tom excused himself after taking our drink orders.
“Seriously, I’m not interested in possessing anyone—and anyway, I don’t think I could.” He shrugged. “It’s a dumb shtick anyway. Powerful demons will sometimes do that when conjurers summon them to do their bidding and don’t get the wards and circle right. But really, there are only so many Linda Blair impressions they can do before it gets boring and they just go back to their plane.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way. When put in context, most spirits, malevolent or otherwise, pretty much wanted to be left alone. It was the wanker summoners who often screwed things up. I wondered again what kind of asshole would summon Tuzren, only to find him lacking, and refuse to send him back to his plane of existence. The little demon could go back anytime, thanks to Eir, but Tuzren now preferred to hang out with me.
“So, these Cult of the Messiah—are they Church sanctioned?” Salazar asked. “I’ve never heard of them.”
“They’re an arcane sect of the Church; I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of them. I think they’ve been around since Medieval Times, but no one really knows except them. They’re incredibly secretive to the point that they’ve sort of become the boogeyman for Supes. My mom used to threaten me with them when I acted up as a kid…”
“You acted up?” Li’alla and Luna snickered together.
I nodded. “Yeah, hard to believe. But Sabine, my mom, would say that if I didn’t do my homework or didn’t help with the chores, the Cult of the Messiah would come and get me. You have no idea how many nights I laid in bed too terrified to go to sleep…”
“Nice parenting skills,” Duncan remarked.
“Well, you’d have to meet Sabine.”
Tuzren nodded. “Yeah, she’s a bit unorthodox…”
“Hey, what gives?” Luna growled. “A demon gets to meet your mom before I do?”
“Well, uh…I…”
Luna burst out laughing in a series of yips upon seeing my discomfort. Everyone else laughed too.
“Yeah, but the Cult does exist, right?” Duncan asked after the laughter died.
“Yeah, different wizarding councils have implicated them in everything from the Knights Templar being convicted of heresy to the Spanish Inquisition.” I shrugged. “How much they’re involved is unknown. My guess is that they had a hand in some of the big attacks against Supes, but whether they were responsible for it all, I kind of doubt it. Most Normals have overactive imaginations when it comes to what Supes can do, so it stands to reason that we’d do the same with one of their secret organizations.”
Nana nodded. “I remember hearing about something called ‘Cult of the Messiah’ when I married your multi-great grandfather Alfric all those years ago. Of course, he was pagan and not a Christian, even though he had to practice in secret. He supported William the Conqueror and the Norman Conquest, which protected the Ironspells. Alfric kept a low profile—as you would expect being married to a Dark Elf—and only helped the crown when they needed magic. Since most Normals didn’t have dealings with Supes, I had to use glamour to hide my true nature. If I hadn’t, I’m certain the Cult of the Messiah would’ve made us an example.”
“But you never saw them?” Sigrún spoke up.
Nana shook her head.
We fell silent and the server came around with our drinks and took our orders. Dark thoughts about the Cult of the Messiah filled my mind. Assuming the Cult of the Messiah members attacked the Montana Wolfpack. But the thing that attacked Jimmy and Lorelei…that, disturbed me. A being with glowing eyes and wings attacking two of my friends? I glanced at Sigrún, who felt my eyes on her and met my gaze steadily. Valkyries had wings, but then many other Supes did as well.
My mind went back to the attack at the pedestrian bridge. The people who attacked us were Normals, plain and simple. It wasn’t a particularly organized attack and they didn’t
bring anything that would seriously harm us if we kept our wits about us, but I wondered if this was some kind of set up. Maybe the Cult put them up to it?
It seemed farfetched, and I would’ve chalked it up to basic human fear of the unknown. Drow had attacked humanity. Drow were Supernatural; therefore, all Supes were to be mistrusted. QED, by their logic. But three attacks against Supes—two against obvious weres—were a real issue. Was this the beginning of something bigger?
“So, how do we find Fenrir?” Elryn spoke after the servers brought us our food. “It’s not as if we can just set out some biscuits and hope he shows up.”
I ponder the question. “I don’t know—any ideas, Sigrún?”
Sigrún shrugged. “No idea. And I’m puzzled who injured your two friends. It wouldn’t have been the Valkyries.”
“I was wondering about that. You heard Tom’s explanation how Jimmy and Lorelei got injured. That fits the description of the Valkyrie pretty well.”
“No way,” Duncan said. “Certainly Sigrún had nothing to do with that.”
“Easy there, sweetie. I can defend myself.” She patted Duncan’s arm. “The Valkyries have nothing against werewolves.”
“Unless they think the werewolves have something to hide.” Li’alla took a sip of her ale and nodded in approval.
“Why rough up my brother and injure a good friend?” Luna pointed a fork with a piece of raw meat hanging off it at Li’alla. “What could the Denver Wolfpack possibly hide?”
“Fenrir, for one.” Li’alla said. “If you were a giant wolf, wouldn’t you go where there were other wolves?”