by D V Wolfe
“Bane,” Nya said, her voice surprising me and growing soft. “Gary…”
“It’s not like Gary,” I said. “Anyways, Walter hasn’t seen anything in the last couple of days, the Pucas are acting up and now we’re heading down to see Joel who’s having a problem with bugbears.”
“Really?” Nya said. “Bugbears? It sounds like a pick up line.”
“I asked him. He swears it’s a legit problem. They’ve been killing kids, breaking their necks, and biting them.”
“Shit,” Nya said. “That’s something new. Definitely not bugbear behavior I’ve ever heard of.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said.
“So where are you now?”
“On our way down to Sparta, Alabama to lend a hand.”
“Bane,” Nya started and I could hear her lecture mode switching on. “This big baddie isn’t done. He’s going to rise. All my sources say that he has a serious ax to grind with you.” I thought about telling her what Rosetta had found out from the soul in purgatory and what Kess had said about there now being multiple demons or ‘dark forces’ or whatever, coming at me. But I didn’t think that would help calm her down. Instead, I focused on what I knew for sure.
“Nya,” I said. “How is he supposed to rise? His personal assistant who would perform the ritual is dead. He got stood up. He should have been wearing a prom dress. Now, he’s got no ride to the party.”
“Oh my god, Bane. You’ve actually been in the pit. How many brown-nosing assholes do you think were standing in line behind Scratch, waiting for the promotion? He’s going to rise again. And this time, he’s probably going to be more cautious about how he does it.”
Walter. “Do you think that’s what’s blocking Walter?” I asked. “Right now, are there demons trying to raise this asshole again and they’ve figured out how to block Walter from seeing what they’re doing so they don’t have any interruptions this time?”
Nya was quiet. “Shit. Maybe. I mean, I’ve never heard of demons having the juice to interrupt a Harbinger’s visions. They can mask details of what they’re doing but I’ve never heard of them being able to block a Harbinger from seeing them entirely.”
“What about blocking Walter from seeing any supers activity?” I asked. “Walter has had ‘clear skies’ for almost two days now.”
“No,” Nya said. “I don’t think demons can pull something that huge.”
“But when was the last time a Duke was topside?” I asked.
We were quiet for a moment and then Nya said. “So, if Walter isn’t seeing anything, how did Joel land this bugbear case?”
“The regular news,” I said.
“What the hell,” Nya said. “What could possibly block a Harbinger from seeing anything?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But until we can figure it out, I’m going to go hunt because that’s better than sitting around with my thumb up my ass.”
“Bane, you have to be careful. Suppose the demons are in bed with whatever is blocking Walter so they can have a nice, peaceful hell-raising and homecoming party. If they raise the Duke, you won’t know. You won’t know when he’s coming for you, coming up behind you, anything. This hunt with Joel is a distraction. You need to be careful…”
“I hear you, Nya,” I said. “But being careful and doing nothing, isn’t going to get the soul numbers I need to do what I’m here for. And I mean Nya, come on. This Duke guy has got to have better things on his to-do list than killing me…”
“The Verits,” Nya started.
“Maybe the Verits were lied to,” I said. “Nya, I hear you and I hear what you’re saying but with no Walter giving me marching orders for more hunting and no leads at the moment on the demon-fueled cannibals, I don’t know what else to do.”
Nya sighed and I heard the rare sound of concession in her voice when she said, “Well if you’re going to go all Calamity Bane, I might as well be there to make sure you don’t get yourself killed. I’m only a couple of hours from Alabama at the moment. I’ll meet you in Sparta.”
“Really?” I asked. My day was instantly improved. I hadn’t seen Nya in person for months.
“Yeah,” Nya said. “And when we get Joel’s little bugbear problem taken care of, we can start putting our heads together to figure out how to keep you safe from the Duke when he rises.”
I sighed. “Knew there had to be another reason for you coming. You’ve never liked Joel.”
Nya sniffed. “That’s because he’s a brainless beach bum and you could have done better.”
“I do miss you,” I said.
“I know,” Nya said. “I’m very miss-able.”
“Oh,” I said. “And Stacks says ‘hello’.”
“Good for Stacks,” Nya said. “Where are you meeting Joel?”
I told her about the diner on Main Street. Nya said she’d see us there and we hung up.
It was a little after one when we rolled into Sparta. The town was small and tourist-oriented. There were fishing and bait shops on almost every block of the ten-block main street. On the street in front of a two-storefront-wide diner, I saw Joel’s ocean blue Subaru with his surfboard roof rack. I parallel parked behind him and we got out. I looked up and down the street but Nya’s red S10 wasn’t there. Maybe she had to make a stop along the way.
“So is Joel…” Noah started.
“He’s a hunter,” I said.
“And…?”
“Late at night, he likes to close his drapes and do decoupage.” I moved towards the diner door.
“And….” Noah said, more insistently.
I opened the door and turned to look at Noah. “What?”
“Did you two go out?” Noah asked, his voice was slightly higher as he waited for me to spill.
I shook my head. “No.” Noah looked relieved and moved past me, through the doorway. “Usually we stayed in.” Noah stopped in front of me and I ran into him.
“Always so graceful,” I heard Joel chuckle from a table just to our right. I looked over and saw Joel was getting to his feet now, his choppy, blonde ‘surfer do’ was what he liked to call “stylishly unkempt” and the overhead fluorescents glinted off of the dangling silver feather earring he wore. He went to Noah first and said. “Forgive her, she hasn’t figured out how to walk in her new body.”
I rolled my eyes. “The kid is with me.” Both Noah and Joel turned to look at me. I saw a flash of annoyance on Noah’s face and nothing but surprise on Joel's.
I sighed and decided to ignore Noah. God knew that if something I said really pissed him off, I’d hear about it when we got back in the truck. I instead focused on Joel. “It’s a long story but he’s on the job with me. Now let’s talk turkey.” I slid onto a chair. The other two were still standing and Joel turned to look at Noah, a look of sympathetic pity on his face.
“Blink twice if you’re being forced to do this against your will.”
Noah’s chin hitched up an inch or two and he said. “She didn’t force me. I came to hunt bearbugs.”
“Bugbears,” I muttered and Noah went slightly pink. Joel clapped him on the shoulder and shook his head.
“You’re either a glutton for punishment or your alternatives must be pretty slim,” Joel said. “If you are willingly getting in the truck with Bane.”
I sighed. “Now that you’ve had your fun, can we get down to it?”
Joel chuckled. “I remember you saying that to me, the first time I took you to the ocean.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Noah’s face turn red as he slid down into the chair next to me. I just stared at Joel, deadpan.
Joel shrugged. “Ok, ok, first,” he looked at Noah and then back to me. “Thank you both for coming to give me a hand.” He opened his windbreaker jacket and pulled out a newspaper. He dropped it on the table in front of me. “The paper did an article on the attacks.”
“Oh,” I said, picking up the paper. “And Nya is coming to help out.”
“Oh joy,” Joel s
aid, shaking his head. Joel was about as fond of Nya as Nya was of him. There had been several inconvenient times when Joel and I had been together and Nya had called. I always had to take her calls because she called from payphones and otherwise, there was no way for me to call her back.
I ducked my head to hide my grin, unfolded the paper, and read. There was a line of six small pictures at the bottom of the first page and a picture of the school at the top. The six kids were all between what looked like ages eight and eleven. All six children were last seen alive at the school. Their bodies had been discovered on the playground the morning after each of them had disappeared. Security had been doubled around the school and playground. I looked up at Joel. “How are you being able to move around the school playground without the ‘added security’ catching you?”
Joel shook his head. “I went in through the woods behind the school, full ghillie suit, to see what I could find. When I found the marks…” He paused.
“Hi y’all, what can I get you this afternoon?” A boisterous-voiced waitress was standing next to us, pad and pen at the ready and just a little too much sunshine up her jumper for almost eight o’clock at night.
“Burger and fries,” Noah said quickly. “And a chocolate milkshake.”
I ordered the same and Joel ordered an egg whites omelet with avocado, spinach, and cheese. I grinned to myself as I looked back down at the newspaper. Joel was a born and bred west-coaster. He would never look down on someone for eating anything, but he always ate so healthy I expected him to one day, pull off his Joel mask, and actually be Richard Simmons underneath.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked, looking up from the paper.
Joel scratched the back of his neck and reclined even deeper in his chair which I didn’t think was possible. “I think we search the woods, find the den…” he trailed off.
“And?” I asked.
Joel grinned at me. “You see, this is my first time actually dealing with fae in a non-academic sense, and I’m not as well-versed on what we should be doing as you are.”
I sighed and looked at Noah. “Do you mind grabbing the phone out of the car?” Noah got up and I looked back down at the article.
“You should have told me,” Joel said softly as the door closed behind Noah.
I looked up at him. “Told you what?”
“That you liked younger guys. Does Gabe know?” Joel was grinning again.
I pushed the paper away. “He was a hitchhiker, there were cannibals following me and then he just didn’t have anywhere else to go, so he’s hanging with me for the time being. He can shoot...well, he can pull the trigger, and he’s been on some hunts with me over the last week.”
Joel nodded. “I have this very clear memory of telling you not to go to St. Louis. A dream maybe?”
“Sounds like it,” I said with a grin. “
“Must have been, because in real life I know better. I know that if I tell you not to do something, then I can pretty much guarantee it will be the next thing you’re doing.”
“Well, I can be contrary.”
“Willfully contrary, buckaroo,” Joel said, with a grin. Joel dropped his gaze to his hands on the table. “Sorry I wasn’t in St. Louis to help out.”
I shrugged and leaned back in my chair. “We were ok. We all made it out alive. Well, almost. Oh!” A thought occurred to me and I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “And if you’re about to go up against any demons, call Stacks or Tags. We figured out how to kill them. I’m not sure if it’ll work on a big daddy demon, I didn’t get a chance to try it out on one yet.”
“You mean like the one gunning for you?” Joel asked.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Maybe. What do you know about it?”
Joel shook his head. “Just that someone downstairs is impatient for your demise and is putting in a lot of effort to end you.” I decided to give Joel the same treatment as Nya in the sharing department, avoiding Rosetta’s most recent intel and Kess’ warning about the demon gunning for me being plural.
I shook my head. “Well, we put a full-stop on his plan in St. Louis. Nya thinks he probably has a backup plan underway somewhere. She doesn’t think they have the juice, but I’m wondering if the demons are the ones blocking Walter from seeing what’s going on. After all, it was really Walter’s report that started the ball rolling for our little showdown in St. Louis.”
Joel frowned for a moment. “I don’t know. Harbingers are extremely powerful. Imagine a ship at sea trying to block the light coming from a lighthouse. I think it’s probably something close to Walter that’s blocking him. A local interference, stopping the beam at its source.”
“Like what?” I asked. I could feel annoyance beginning to edge into my voice. Between the damn Pucas, Walter, Joel, and his bugbears and Nya still being annoyed at me...a flash of the image of that face, smirking at the camera, licking blood from his fingers….
“You’re frustrated,” Joel said. I looked at him and he shook his head. “I can always tell because of the way you get that crease between your eyebrows.” I debated telling Joel all the gruesome details about the cannibal tribe and their new leader, but then Noah swung back through the door and dropped the phone on the table in front of me. It could wait.
The waitress came back with Noah and I’s plates and an apology for Joel that they didn’t have any avocado or spinach. I flipped the phone open, trying to hide my smile as Joel just asked for a cheese omelet and the waitress moved away.
“I saw that,” Joel said and I looked up at him. He raised an eyebrow at my smile and then his eyes moved to the phone which I now had pressed against my ear as it rang. “Who are you calling?”
“Someone that can help,” I said. “I think.”
It took three tries before Sprig answered his phone. “Hello?” He sounded confused and I wondered which part of answering his phone was confusing him. He’d been able to place a call the night before. Answering it must be new for him.
“Sprig,” I said. “It’s Bane. Is Kess there?”
“Uh, she’s…”
“Sprig, I know Kess, and how this might sound like a trick question. Is she physically in the room with you?”
“Yes,” Sprig said. “But she’s chanting. I heard the plane-crossing rite about an hour ago. She said she was going to look for the source of the will sickness.” I sighed. “What do you need from her?” Sprig asked.
“I was going to ask her what she knew about Bugbears. There’s a sleuth of them down here in Alabama and they’ve started killing kids,” I said. I was already mentally scrolling through a list of who else I could ask since Kess was indisposed.
“That’s not usual Bugbear behavior,” Sprig said.
“I know that,” I said. And then a thought hit me. “Sprig, do you know what it would mean if Bugbears started acting like this?”
“Uh, I know they can be territorial during mating season,” Sprig said. “But I’ve never heard of them killing human children. Especially so many in one place.”
“If we wanted to stop them,” I said, trying to make my question as simple as possible. “What should we do?” I didn’t think Sprig was stupid. He obviously had a lot of good instincts. I think coming across the plane messed with some of his cognitive functions.
“You could try to reason with them,” Sprig said and I was already regretting asking until he said. “Form a cleansing circle outside their den, make it fae-friendly and then try confronting them with what they’ve done. If you do it respectfully, they should feel like they must answer your questions.” That sounded both annoying and intriguing. Faes loved ceremony but if Sprig was right and they would be compelled to answer questions, maybe they could tell us about whatever was making them kill. Maybe it was the same thing Vix was struggling against.