by Lucy Banks
Ian watched them seriously, chin resting lightly on his index fingers. “Ah,” he breathed in satisfaction, once they’d each taken a large gulp. “And now, let the medicine do its job. A good vintage, I presume?”
“Tastes alright to me,” Luke drawled and promptly downed the rest.
“How was your journey up?” Cardigan asked as he clicked his fingers at the waiter, then pointed at Luke’s empty glass.
“Very good, thanks,” Kester squeaked, feeling like a child talking to two seasoned academics. “And yours?”
“Likewise.” Cardigan raised a glass in their direction. “Though I will confess to missing my children when I’m away.”
Kester smiled. “How old are they?”
“My daughter is ten, my two sons are both five. They’re twins, and every bit as much of a handful as you might imagine.”
“Do you have children?” Luke asked Ian, accepting his second wine with a wink at the waiter.
Ian shook his head, his mane flowing over his shoulders. “Sadly, no. I am merely wedded to my work. Like a nun to Christ, you see.”
Kester fought the urge to chuckle as a sudden image of the spirit investigator dressed up in a wimple and black gown came to mind. It would probably suit him, he thought. He’s dramatic enough to carry off most outfits, I reckon.
“Ah, I know that feeling, Ian,” Luke agreed as he scooped up a handful of nuts. “Work can take over everything sometimes.”
“May I ask,” Ian said, as he rested his wine glass delicately down on the table, “why you call yourself Luke? If it’s not an imposition, of course.”
“Nah, that’s okay,” Luke replied, grinning. “I’d better get used to people asking, I guess.” He quickly outlined the facts, and the two men nodded sagely.
“A remarkably brave decision to make,” Ian commented and raised his glass to Luke. “I commend you for it. ‘To thine own self be true,’ as Shakespeare himself did once write.”
Luke doffed an imaginary hat in Ian’s direction. “True that, partner.”
“So,” Cardigan interrupted as he lowered his glass. “We should address the matter at hand. I take it you haven’t been fully debriefed yet?”
“All I’ve heard is that there was a sighting of Hrschni here in Whitby, and we’ve got to check it out,” Kester replied as he settled himself more comfortably into the sofa. The amber lights and mellow jazz music filtering out of the neighbouring speakers were making him sleepy, and there was a strong temptation to simply allow Cardigan’s words to wash over him while he zoned out in a trance and replayed last night in his mind.
Cardigan rapped at the table, snapping all eyes back to him. “Not quite a sighting,” he said. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a pair of half-moon glasses and slipped them on. Ian Kingdom-Green removed a notepad from his leather briefcase and placed it obligingly in front of his colleague.
“I take it these are the notes?” Luke asked, peering over Cardigan’s arm.
“Absolutely.” He peered at them seriously over his glasses. “According to our surveillance team, Hrschni’s presence was detected two days ago, outside the Whitby Thelemite lodge. At first, they weren’t certain, but then they picked up something again yesterday.”
“How did they pick it up?” Kester asked. The others stared at him incredulously.
“Basic thermal or sonar detection, I presume?” Luke explained carefully, looking slightly embarrassed for Kester. “You covered that in your standard training, right?”
Kester reddened and reached for his wine glass, inwardly cursing his lack of knowledge. There was simply too much to learn in such a short space of time; he’d been thrown in at the deep end since day one.
“There’s nothing basic about Infinite Enterprise’s equipment,” Ian corrected briskly. “Our surveillance gear relies on sophisticated kino-thermal transmissions, so sensitive that they could pick up a—”
“That’s probably not important at present,” Cardigan interrupted. “The fact is, we’re fairly certain he’s here. If it’s not him, it’s another powerful daemon.”
“And as far as we know, there are no other significant daemons that we cannot account for,” Ian added with an elegant flourish of the wrist, like a magician about to present an impressive trick.
“That’s not entirely true,” Cardigan said hesitantly. “There are a few other daemons that have managed to slip the net over the years, but as they haven’t been any trouble so far, we haven’t worried about them too much.”
Ian Kingdom-Green shrugged. “Ultimately, my dear friends,” he concluded, “if a daemon disappears to the far ends of the earth, there’s very little we can do to locate him or her, unless someone reports strange daemonic activity. However,” he continued with a significant look, “we knew where to start our search with Hrschni, and true to our expectations, he’s gravitated towards one of the Thelemite lodges.”
Kester stifled a burp. “If you don’t mind me saying,” he ventured as he finished the rest of his drink, “it all seems a bit convenient, doesn’t it? I mean, this Hrschni is obviously clever, so why would he go somewhere where he knows we’re watching out for him?”
“Unless he wants to be found, you mean?” Cardigan replied, shifting back in his seat and folding his arms over his sizeable chest.
“I guess that’s what I mean, yes,” Kester replied. He quickly outlined what they’d discovered the other day about Hrschni’s songs and the lines repeated in the letter sent to Infinite Enterprises. “It all sounds a bit too deliberate,” he concluded and waited for the others to mull it over.
“It’s possible,” Cardigan said eventually. “But then, the letter may not be significant at all. We know how much daemons like word-play and puzzles.” The music changed, sending sombre piano notes trickling through the bar area like drops of rain. He nodded thoughtfully. “Ultimately, we have no way of knowing Hrschni’s intentions at the moment. Nor the Thelemites’, for that matter. Until now, we’ve had no major problems with either. This is unfamiliar territory for us all.”
“But you’ll get to the bottom of it,” Luke chimed as he delivered each of them his most dazzling Texan smile. “I mean, that’s what you guys do, isn’t it? Ghost-Con award-winners and all that.”
“We’ll all get to the bottom of it,” Ian declared grandly, reaching across the table and patting their shoulders. “We all of us have remarkable skills to offer. With talent such as this, how can we fail?”
Cardigan rubbed his chin. “Very easily, if we get complacent,” he concluded. “We’re dealing with an ancient, powerful creature here. Don’t underestimate him.”
“What’s the plan then?” Kester glanced at his watch and saw it was already getting late. His stomach was rumbling furiously, and he longed to return to the soft confines of his hotel bed and order as much food as possible on room service.
“Observation, my dear fellow!” Ian exclaimed. “Our surveillance team are in position even as we speak, monitoring the lodge. We’ll be using our combined abilities to see what else we can glean from the situation.”
“You don’t reckon it’s a good idea to just knock on the door and ask ’em what they’re up to?” Luke suggested, eyes twinkling.
“Probably best not to,” Cardigan glanced back down at his notepad. “The energy surges reported by our crew were substantial. Which suggests that Hrschni is firing on all cylinders, so to speak.”
Luke chuckled. “You mean, if I go knocking, I might get knocked flying into the next town by this daemon?”
Cardigan shrugged, taking his comment seriously. “It’s a possibility. Everything we thought we once knew about Hrschni no longer applies. He’s now classified as an unknown, illegal entity, and possibly extremely dangerous. As a result—”
“—proceed with absolute caution,” Ian finished. “However, we do have some assistance from a real expert i
n the field. She’ll be joining us tomorrow to help with the case.”
Kester raised an eyebrow. “Who’s that, then?” He remembered what his father had said the night before about him meeting someone special in Whitby.
Ian nudged the side of his nose in a highly-knowing fashion. “You’ll see. It’s a real honour to be working with her, actually. She’s a true inspiration to us all, and one of the finest creatures to walk this earth.” He clicked a pair of long fingers in the direction of the waiter and ordered a whisky. “Anyone else for another?” he offered.
Kester shook his head, then fought off a yawn. “I might head upstairs, swot up on the case,” he said. Actually, he wanted to call Anya and see how she was doing back at home, but he hardly thought it was the time to mention that now.
“Don’t you want to know who is joining us tomorrow?” Ian declared, as he waved his wine glass in the air. “Are you not curious to know who this great and majestic individual is?”
Cardigan pulled his arm down gently. “I believe our friends want to retire to their room,” he said, then nodded at the pair of them. “They’ll meet our special guest tomorrow.” He winked at Ian and smiled. “We’ll probably be here for the evening, if you’d like to join us later, after you’ve had a chance to rest and recover.”
Luke yawned. “I don’t know, I’m pretty beat. I’ll take you up on the offer tomorrow, though, when we’ve busted our way through this case.”
“That sounds very agreeable,” Cardigan replied as they stood up to leave. “Enjoy a good night’s sleep, both of you.”
They headed to the stairs. Kester slid a contemplative hand along the gold-plated bannister rail and thought of Anya, back at his home, with only the dreadful Pineapple and Daisy for company. Poor her, he thought. He sincerely hoped that Thor was, at this present moment, busily humping Pineapple’s leg.
In the room, Luke collapsed onto the bed and kicked off his leather boots. “Man, I need a nap,” he declared, staring up at the ceiling. “Larry’s been working us real hard recently, and I’m just about done in by it all. Plus, the hormone meds I’m taking are making me feel all over the place.”
Kester sat against the padded bedhead and nodded. “How long have you got to take them?”
Luke rolled onto his side, pressing his head up against his hand. “Ages. Still,” he said, brightening, “I got some good news a couple of days ago. My first operation’s been booked in.”
“That must feel exciting.”
“Yeah,” Luke said as he stifled a yawn. “And scary. It’s just one of many.”
“Is Larry okay with you taking time off?”
Luke grinned. “Do you know, for an old fuddy-duddy, he’s been pretty cool about it all.” He winked. “He ain’t as bad as y’all think he is. I think he understands, though he still calls me Lara every so often.”
Kester plumped the soft pillows and eased them behind his back. “I suppose it takes a bit of getting used to, doesn’t it? Did you feel strange when people started calling you Luke?”
Luke chuckled. “I guess a little. But it was nice. Nice that people just accepted it.” His expression darkened. “Not that everyone’s been so great, of course.”
Kester examined his room-mate’s face. He remembered Luke mentioning his family before, back in Texas. “I take it you’re talking about your brother?” he asked tentatively, not wanting to darken Luke’s mood any further.
“Yeah, and the rest.” Luke tugged off his socks and balled them in his hands before lobbing them across the room. “But that’s life, I suppose. You wanna watch some TV and order room service? I don’t know about you, but a burger and fries would be perfect for me right now.”
Kester smiled. “Yeah, in a minute. I’ve got to call someone first.”
Luke beamed. “I take it this is the same someone who kept you up last night? The one you’ve been grinning about all evening?”
“I can’t imagine what you’re talking about,” Kester spluttered as his cheeks reddened. Then he grinned. “Well, I can imagine. And you might be right. But a gentleman never tells.”
Luke whooped and slammed his hands on the duvet. “Good for you! Did you want me to leave the room so you can talk to her?”
Kester felt his face turn an even deeper shade of crimson. “No, that’s okay. We won’t be talking about anything . . . you know. Anything private.” He blushed even more, until he felt as though his arteries might combust with the pressure. “I’ll . . . er . . . just phone her in the bathroom. Okay?”
“Yeah, you do that,” Luke drawled. “Have fun.”
Easing the bathroom door shut, Kester closed his eyes, then started to laugh. It felt good to be teased about having a girlfriend, especially as it had never happened before. Splashing his face with some cold water, he rested on the edge of the bath and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Anya answered almost straight away.
“Hello,” Kester said in what he hoped was an alluring voice. On reflection, it sounded a bit idiotic, and he wished he hadn’t.
“Hey, you.” Anya’s voice sounded tired. Kester felt his spirits drop, just a little bit.
“Is everything okay? Are my housemates driving you mad yet?”
Anya chuckled. “Not quite yet. Daisy keeps calling Thor an otter, though. I don’t know why.”
“You could tell her Thor was a velociraptor and she’d probably believe you, you know.”
“Now that’s an idea.” Anya paused. It sounded as though she was drinking something. “How was your journey to Whitby?”
Kester sighed. “It was fine. Long, but fine. The hotel’s nice. I’m sharing a room with Luke. He keeps teasing me about you.”
“Why, what have you told him?”
“Nothing at all,” Kester replied as he undid his shirt collar, relaxing against the wall. “That’s between you and me, isn’t it?”
“If you’re talking about last night,” Anya said, “then yes, it certainly is.” There was a silence, before she added, “I had fun, you know.”
Kester gulped. He suddenly wished, more ardently than ever, that he was home with her rather than here, stuck in a featureless, white, hotel bathroom, hundreds of miles away. “So did I,” he croaked, then coughed. “I really did. I hope it was . . . you know. Alright.”
She laughed again. “It was better than alright, Kester. It was lovely.”
He felt his heart melt, turning into a useless puddle of soppiness in his chest. She said it was lovely! he thought to himself and swallowed hard. Who would have thought it, eh?
“I thought so too,” he wheezed. Catching sight of himself in the mirror, he inexplicably gave himself a wink.
“So,” she continued with a hint of self-consciousness, “how’s the case going? Did you get anywhere today?”
Kester sighed. “No. We had a chat with Ian Kingdom-Green and Cardigan Cummings; you remember the two agents I told you about?”
“The massive guy and the man with the silly hair?”
“Something like that.” Kester opened the bathroom door an inch. Luke was busy scanning the menu, which looked like it had a photo of a very large, very tempting burger on the back cover. He patted his stomach reflectively.
“What did they say about it all?”
Kester laughed. “You’re very interested in this case, aren’t you?”
“Only because you are always so secretive about it,” she replied with a hint of defensiveness. “And remember, I know what the Thelemites are like. I’m involved in this too, you know.”
He swallowed hard. “Yes, I know. I don’t mean to be secretive.” But it is a necessary part of the job, he added silently. Still, I suppose it’s okay to share things with Anya. After all, she knows a lot about it already.
“What are your plans for tomorrow?” she pressed. He could hear the soft tap of her fingernails against the receiver, which
was strangely alluring.
“We’re doing a stake-out, I think,” he replied. “And there’s some special guest joining us. I dread to think who.”
She laughed. “It sounds like a game-show or something.”
“Knowing the others, it’s probably just some big-wig who’s won loads of awards at Ghost-Con,” Kester said with a chuckle. “Infinite Enterprises like to show off all their accolades and prizes.”
“Ghost-Con?”
“It’s just a weird awards ceremony for supernatural agencies,” he explained, hoping she didn’t press him for more details. The truth was, he wasn’t quite sure what the point of Ghost-Con was himself, he but didn’t want to look like an idiot for not knowing. “What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked, deftly changing the subject.
“Ah, I am getting my hair done. I thought it would look nice with more blonde and honey highlights. I look so drab at the moment. What do you think?”
He raised an eyebrow. I hadn’t had her pegged as a girl who worried too much about her appearance, he thought, then grinned. Maybe she’s doing it to impress me.
With this pleasant thought in mind, Kester glanced out again at Luke, who caught his eye and waved the menu cheerily. “Look, I’d better go,” he said reluctantly. “I haven’t eaten yet, and my tummy is rumbling so loudly, it sounds like a jet plane taking off.”
She laughed. “That’s never a good thing. You go and eat, then. Don’t worry about me and Thor, we’re fine here. Unless you think I should go back home now? I mean, it seems silly, me still being here when you aren’t.”
“No, stay.” He paused, wanting to say more, something meaningful and romantic, but the words refused to come out properly. “Could you do me a favour?” he said instead.
“What’s that?”
“As a laugh, could you pop Thor into Pineapple’s bed later on?”
Anya chuckled. “You know, Thor would probably enjoy that. He was checking out Pineapple’s leg earlier on, actually.”