armor of magic 02 - rising light (3 page)

“My house is gone. Burned to the ground. So not only are my folks missing, I don’t have anywhere to live.”

I saw where this was going and I needed to nip that shit in the bud before he—

“I need a place to stay. So, whaddya say?”

“Oh, um. What about your friends? Won’t they miss you?”

“My buds are a mess. Got into some dark shit while I was gone. Tried to steer them down the right path, but they didn’t want to listen. As a matter of fact …” He gestured to his wounds and his torn shirt. “Those dark warlock asshats in Los Angeles are convincing-ass mindfuckers. They turned my own homies against me.”

Julian didn’t wait for my answer. He set his ratty backpack down in the foyer and began strolling through the house.

“Shoes off!” I yelled.

He managed a laugh. “Dude. You’re more uptight than ever. Thought you’d be more chill now that training is over.”

“Well, let’s just say I have some pent-up aggression. The Monarchy has Asher ‘under review.’”

Julian laughed again as he went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “The dude did go rogue. So you’re still a virgin, I take it?”

I gave him a hearty eye roll. “Not your business, kid.”

He stared into my empty fridge. “And you have no grub. What have you been doing?”

“Also none of your business.”

Taking out the last pint of Ben and Jerry’s from the freezer, he sat down at the kitchen counter and dug in. I guess
that
was a good thing. I needed to fit into my jeans again.

“How’d you find my place? Asher has it cloaked.”

“Not from my gear. I can see it loud and clear.”

“Loud and clear? That doesn’t even make sense.”

Once he polished off the ice cream, he started going through my bare cabinets. “This is pretty sad, Fiona. No wonder you’re still a virgin. Dudes like food.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“But I’m your favorite asshole. Let’s go shopping. I’ll buy you some grub and you can tell me what you’ve been doing with yourself. Judging from the looks of it, I’d say a whole lotta boob-tube.”

Julian didn’t give me a chance to rebut his suggestion; he yanked my arm and pulled me out the front door.

I held what was left of his sleeve. “Can we get you some new clothes while we’re at it? You can’t walk around Pacific Heights looking like this. They’ll call the cops.”

“Sure. I’ve got plenty of dough. Fortunately, my folks left me a trust fund. Planning ahead, I guess.”

“So you’re a trust fund brat? That explains a lot.”

We made our way to one of the boutiques on Fillmore and entered. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up. Also, if you’re going to stay with me, there are some rules we need to establish.”

Julian waved me off and went straight to the gorgeous sales woman and began flirting. She showed him a bunch of shirts and jeans that suited his personality to perfection. I waited in the front of the shop while he sorted out his new wardrobe.

At the market, a much more dapper-looking Julian bought a bunch of food—enough for the next couple weeks.

“I really dig cooking. Can’t wait to break in your new kitchen.”

Yep. I had called it. Julian was planning to take over my house and ruin my life. The writing was on the wall.

As we walked across the small parking lot, a loud ruckus emanated from behind a dumpster. We stopped. A flock of bat-like creatures swirled up out of the bin, morphing into a colossal black tornado.

“This is new,” I said.

The growing twister surged our way at full speed, causing us to drop our bags and call on our Armor. We cloaked ourselves so people passing by couldn’t see what was going on—just your average supernatural attack in broad daylight … move along, nothing to see … and I had no idea whether or not these things were visible to the human eye. I lifted my shield and under its magical force field I was able to move closer to the tornado without getting sucked up into it. Dirt, gravel and pieces of garbage flew in the air around us as the spiral of black grew larger and louder. Julian stood next to me, aiming his sword at the mass.

“What the hell is that?” he yelled over the gusting winds.

“No clue, but it’s definitely not good.”

Julian nodded, keeping his eyes glued to the black storm zeroing in on us. A string of the bat-like creatures pulled away from the swarm like a piece of thread from a spool. Then it swept down low and wrapped around Julian’s waist, locking his arms to his sides so he couldn’t swing his sword.

“Let him go!” I yelled at the massive twister.

Another string of bats, or whatever the hell they were, separated from the tornado like an arm and came right at me. I held up my shield, creating a force field around me. I needed to help Julian before those things swallowed him whole, or swept him away. Something Ezra had told us in Glimmer City came back to me. Words for an invocation.

“Julian! The Logos! Repeat the Logos!”

“Dude, I can’t remember them,” he shouted.

Of course he couldn’t remember them. They were in some crazy ancient inter-dimensional language that only a very meticulous and hyper-vigilant student could’ve memorized. Fortunately, I was that type of student.

I moved closer to the tornado, keeping my shield locked in place. “Repeat after me: Your Darkness has no authority. We stand with the power of the Light. The Light binds the dark. The Light binds the dark.”

The buzzing tumult of the swarm grew louder, and I wasn’t sure if Julian could make out the words I shouted. Especially since they sounded like they were ancient Sumerian or Hebrew. Either way, foreign and a mouthful. I continued yelling the words, hoping he’d pick up something and start repeating it. Ezra had told us that together our words called upon the mighty forces of Light to bind the Dark. The more Protectors repeating the invocation, the stronger their power.

Finally, Julian got the gist of it and began shouting with me. The black tornado of bat-like creatures began to whimper and squeal like a dying cat. Julian dropped to the ground and lifted his sword. As I shielded us with the force field, he began chopping away at the swarm and we kept repeating the words Ezra had taught us.

The blackness burst into an explosion that shot both of us back a few feet. It was gone. We de-cloaked and nonchalantly collected our bags before any of the grocery store attendants came out to remove them from the parking lot.

“That was fun!” Julian said, practically skipping down Fillmore.

“Yeah, barrels.”

“You’re a bump on a log.”

“And you’re a pain in my ass.”

He laughed and slapped my shoulder; the two Protectors were back in business. Julian might’ve been stoked, or maybe he was pumped up with Armor adrenaline, but I knew in my bones that something was way off. I had never come across anything quite like that massive cyclone of bats.

five

While digging around on the internet for more details about the bizarro murders in those small Southwestern towns, Julian shouted for me from his bedroom. He had been holed up in there for a few days doing who knows what, so I was a little nervous about entering his domain.

I stood by the door. “What’s up?”

“You gotta come in here. I just found something you might wanna see.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s on the internet, related to your creepy-ass research.”

I barreled through the door, curiosity piqued. The pungent stench of dirty clothes and sweat slapped my face. I had to open a couple windows to let out the stink and allow in some fresh air. Stacks of plates and crusty silverware sat on the nightstand and dresser top.

“Dude!” I said. “You are not abiding by the house rules.”

“I thought that only applied to the communal areas.”

I yanked him out of bed. “All areas. I know you’re a little depressed, and trust me, I get it. When my parents disappeared I thought I’d die. But you have to get back up on the horse. So, come on, let’s clean this up.”

“Don’t you want to see what I found?”

“Oh, yeah. But let’s put the laptop on your desk. I’m not going anywhere near that bed. You really need to wash those sheets.”

Julian set the laptop on the desk and stepped back, dramatically pressing play on the YouTube video on his screen. The video was an interview with a sheriff from a tiny town called Eagle’s Nest north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The tall and brooding Sheriff Padilla stood out in the hot sun, tilting back his hat and wiping his wrinkled brow with a handkerchief. I turned up the volume to make sure I didn’t miss anything. He had found a young woman hanging up in a nearby barn with all the blood drained from her.

“Sick, right?” Julian said.

“Shh.” I moved closer to the screen.

Something about Sheriff Padilla seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I replayed the video a couple times, trying to glean what I could. But the quality was poor and the only pertinent information I had been able to lock in had been the date and time of the murder. It was the most current in the string of diabolical slayings.

“We need to call Ezra,” Julian said.

“Yeah, for some of his banner ‘guidance’ that usually comes in the form of a painful lesson?” I jeered.

“Ez? Can you hear me? Hey, Ezra!” Julian yelled to the ceiling like that might help expedite our Guide.

Nine times out of ten, Ezra didn’t show up when I called on him, so I wasn’t too worried that he’d make an appearance. That usually happened at the worst possible times and when I didn’t need him. I let Julian shout all he wanted while I started gathering up his dirty plates.

A flash of violet light filled the room and Ezra stood before us. “You two okay?” He sounded a bit concerned.

I was floored that he had actually shown up, but I kept my mouth shut, refusing to let him into my head. Julian was the one who invited him in, so my thoughts were still safe. Clearly I was still angry about him taking Asher to see the Monarchy.

“We’re fine, but something’s up.” Julian pointed to the laptop and replayed the video. “Fiona’s been doing research. Found a bunch of messed up shit. Like bodies hanging upside down. Blood drainage. I’m thinking Cags,” Julian boasted.

Damn traitor was giving away all of my secrets. In the future, I’d be sure to keep my business under lock and key. You really can’t trust anyone. Not even homeless surfer dude-bros leaching off of your generosity.

“Were you planning on sharing this with me?” Ezra’s violet eyes glared in my direction.

I hesitated on how to answer that question because if I spoke that would be an invitation into my thoughts. Also, I didn’t want him to know I was working with Somer Barrett. The Monarchy wanted me to focus solely on my responsibilities as a Protector of Light. But screw that. Besides, I had already told Somer I’d write the piece for
Lifting the Fog.
And I didn’t want any supernatural interference.

“Fiona?”

“She’s still pissed at you for the whole Asher thing,” Julian said.

“Yeah, well, she’ll have to get over it. I have nothing to do with Asher and the Monarchy. I was just the messenger.”

“Messenger, my ass! You could’ve told them you couldn’t find him—” I slapped my hand over my own mouth.

“Thank you.” Ezra’s voice filled my head and so began the scanning of my thoughts. Now he’d know what I was up to.

“These murders are definitely related. But it’s not Cagliostro’s MO. No, these have the markings of vampiric ritual killings,” Ezra said after sifting through my mind.

“But they’re all happening west of the Divide; don’t vampires keep their shit relegated to the East Coast?” Julian asked.

“That’s the deal, according to the treaty they have in place. So this is a bit perplexing,” Ezra said.

I decided to join the conversation. “The night I returned from Glimmer City, I encountered a bloodsucker. She was stringing up some poor guy. I just figured it was a random vampire mugging.”

“Dude. Do you think this has anything to do with the bat tornado?” Julian asked Ezra.

“The what?”

“We were attacked by a crazy swarm of demon-bat things. We took them down though. Used that Logos stuff you mentioned,” Julian explained.

Ezra stood by the window, gazing toward the park. “The vampire faction must be testing the waters out west because Cagliostro is off the radar. We’ve been looking into things at headquarters, and this seems to make the most sense.”

Nothing was making sense to me. According to my notes, vampires never went up against the Shadow Order. Sure they were incredibly powerful beings, but they wouldn’t stand a chance in an all-out war against Cagliostro and his aligned confederacy of supernatural factions. The treaty was more for the benefit of the vampires, so the Shadow Order wouldn’t encroach on
their
turf.

“How does this make sense?” I asked.

“We’ve tracked the other missing Scroll to New York. That’s where Lucius Diamond is located.”

“Who?”

“He’s one of the most powerful vampires. The head of the AOV.”

“The what?”

“The Ancient Order of Vampires. They oversee the northeast territories. We think Diamond might have the Scroll,” Ezra explained.

“So you might’ve tracked a potential lead on the Scroll. And it could possibly be with an extremely powerful vampire who’s making his way out west … When were you planning to share this information with Julian and me?”

“When were you planning to tell me about the story you’re working on?” Ezra asked.

The silence was so heavy I immediately got nervous and resumed picking up junk around Julian’s bedroom to avoid eye contact with Ezra. “I just wanted to see if there was an actual story first. And I wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was supernatural,” I tried to lie.

Ezra got out of my way as I ripped the sheets off the bed. I threw them into the hallway next to the stack of dirty dishes that Julian had been collecting. I could relate to the mess. Was it too much to want a normal life? To fulfill my dream of becoming a journalist? This damn Protector job kept getting in the way.

“You both need to get to New York and follow up on the lead. Fiona, I know I’ve said this on several occasions, but I’ll say it again since you seem to have the thickest skull of any Protector I’ve ever known. It’s time to start using your gifts for the Monarchy.”