Deadly Curiosities (36 page)

“It also aligns with the coordinates the Alliance supplied of where we’ve seen a spike in supernatural activity,” Sorren supplied.

“And that entire area has had enough death, misfortunate and betrayal to give it monumentally bad mojo,” I said.

Mirov chuckled. “Bad mojo? I would say so.”

Up close, Mirov reminded me of a stray dog that had been in too many fights. Lean, wary, constantly ready to react, with the scars to show for a life on the rough side. Mirov’s hands and arms had a number of old cuts and burns, plus something that looked like a nasty bite. The puckered skin of a severe burn went down his neck and peeked out at the collar of his shirt. His short hair barely covered another old scar, a large one, on his scalp.

“Can we get into this Navy yard for another look?” Mirov asked, studying the map.

“Yes we can, but whether we should or not is another matter,” Sorren said. “The police have stepped up patrols because of the number of bodies found.”

Mirov looked mildly amused. “I’m not worried about your police.”

“It would be inconvenient if you were spotted, or detained,” Sorren noted.

Mirov shrugged as if that outcome was unlikely.

“I’ve been into the area twice with Teag and Cassidy,” Sorren said. “Both times, we were attacked and had to fight our way out. The violence escalated between the two attacks. I don’t think you’ll be able to get in and stroll around without attracting attention, and that will tip Moran and the demon off. We could lose our chance.”

“The fact remains, we haven’t located the demon’s nest with certainty. You think it’s in the storage facility or somewhere close. But that’s four large buildings—and there’s not much room for error unless we can pinpoint his location. It’s already risky to go to him in his home territory,” Mirov said. “Better for us if we can draw him out into the open.” He shook his head. “The area is too big to go in without knowing his location. Too much room for error.”

“I’ll go,” Sorren said. “I’m faster and stronger, and harder to destroy.” He gave Mirov a lopsided grin.

“You’re good, Taras, but you’re still mortal.”

Mirov gave another shrug. “Fine by me. Get an address, and we can pull down satellite pictures at street level.” He smiled. “I love the Internet.”

“I’ll check the area around the storage unit,” Sorren said. “Confirm the layout, check for any recent activity.” He must have seen my look of concern, because he shook his head.

“No, I’m not going to try to enter any of the buildings… I don’t want to alert them too early,” he added. “But if we’re going to war, we need to know the lay of the land.”

Mirov leaned forward. “When do we strike?”

Sorren frowned. “When we feel we’re ready. Soon, but not quite yet.” He paused. “Did you bring what I requested?”

Mirov nodded and opened his backpack. He took out several items wrapped in cloth and tied with twine. As I looked closer, I saw that the twine was unusual, made of many-colored strands and each knot was sealed with wax. I glanced at Teag and he nodded. The bindings were magical.

Teag moved the map aside, and Mirov laid the wrapped pieces on the coffee table.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Unwrap them. See if the objects will accept you.”

He slid two of the packages toward me and two toward Teag, then watched us, waiting. I glanced at Sorren, who nodded reassuringly.

The first package I picked up was wrapped in a piece of suede. I snapped the wax seal and felt a tingle of magic. The twine fell away, and the suede opened to reveal a ring with a tiger’s eye stone.

“The ring affects your inner sight,” Sorren said. “It gives you greater control about what you see and when you see it. It can bring you clarity, and allow you to shut down your sight if you don’t want to be affected by visions.”

Handy, that. I took a deep breath and picked up the ring, expecting to be floored by a vision. It felt warm in my hand, and I felt a glow of well-being and strength. Warily, I slipped it onto my finger. Then I closed my eyes and focused on the ring, willing it to keep me from seeing visions. Before I could second guess myself, I put my hand down on the second package and felt… nothing.

After an instant of panic, I centered myself and willed for clarity. My senses were flooded with impressions of the second object. I saw faces of the object’s former owners, places far away and long ago, and a sense of danger averted. I asked the ring to dial the sensations back to normal, and the visions subsided.

“Off hand, I’d say it likes her,” Lucinda said, grinning.

“Now the second one,” Mirov said with a glance.

I had already experienced some of the impressions this object had to give me. This item was wrapped in old silk. I felt a frisson of magic as I snapped the wax seal, lifting the jet and gold bracelet out of its antique covering. The jet felt cool in my hands, but it gave me a sense of strength and safety that made me want to clutch it and hold on tightly.

I braced myself, and slipped the jet and golden bracelet onto my wrist. My magic felt purer, stronger than before. I did not receive visions of the bracelet’s past wearers, only a feeling of security, like I was wrapped in strong, protective arms.

“Jet protects you from negative energy, and it will call power to your other, defensive magic,” Lucinda said. “A very nice complement to your other tools.”

“Thank you,” I said to Taras for bringing the items, and then to Sorren, who had chosen them. I looked expectantly to Teag. It was like magical Christmas morning, and I wanted to see what was in his presents.

Teag looked self-conscious and a little scared as he reached for the first of his two packages. He touched the seal and drew back suddenly, shaking his hand. “Damn! That felt like it shocked me!”

Sorren nodded. “That means you have an especially strong connection.”

Teag regarded Sorren with a wary look, and tried again, snapping open the wax and unwrapping the craft paper and then the canvas on the heavy package. When he folded back the canvas Teag caught his breath. The Espada Y Daga, a sword and knife set used in Eskrima, lay before him in ornate, runeinscribed scabbards.

“Wow.” Was all Teag could muster as he reverently reached out to touch the scabbards. “They have power?” Teag asked in confirmation as he lifted the sword and scabbard and carefully slid the blade free.

“Yes, both the sword and dagger were spelled against the supernatural when they were forged,”

Sorren said. “The scabbards have magical runes. They cleanse the blades and remove any lingering taint.

The set belonged to a dear friend, Grandmaster Castillo, who used them in service to the Alliance until his death.”

“Tell me he died of old age.” Teag said with a wary look.

“Sadly no,” Sorren replied. “He was killed by a dark witch. But he died with valor and gave us the victory through his sacrifice. And while the blades aren’t tied directly to your Weaver magic, they’re powerful and do fit very well with your fighting skills.”

Teag reached for the second package, which was wrapped in newsprint. He broke the seal and lifted out a carved wooden circle the size of his palm, with hemp cords of varying length knotted to the ring.

At first glance it looked like a Native American dream catcher that had yet to be finished.

“What is it?” I asked.

Teag handled it reverently. “I’ve seen things like this in books about Weaving magic. You weave the cords to create a spell within the circle,” he said. “Kind of like a hand loom for magic. It’s a way to create powerful spells quickly.” Even from here, I could feel the stored power in its twisted threads.

“Until you’re trained in creating your own, this one will serve you.” Sorren said.

“Hemp also helps with vision and clearing a path,” Lucinda added. “Knot it as you invoke power, and it will store that power to refresh you when you tire. Keep it close at hand, and you’ll be able to find your way even in the dark.”

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you. If it weren’t for the whole demon thing, I’d agree with Cassidy that if feels like Christmas,” Teag said with a grin.

“Thank you,” I said, looking to Sorren.

Sorren nodded. “Lucinda made suggestions, and I asked Taras to bring me the pieces from one of the Alliance libraries.”

I was about to ask a question when my cell phone rang. I glanced down and recognized Maggie’s number. It was extremely unusual for her to call this late, so I got up and walked a few steps away to answer.

“Cassidy – have you seen what’s on the news?” Maggie said, foregoing any greeting. She sounded upset.

“Maggie, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Turn on TV! They’ve found another one of those mangled bodies – and this time, it’s right in front of the store!”

I caught my breath. Lucinda’s wardings would have kept harm from coming to the store itself, but leaving a body so close was a warning, if not a provocation to fight. “I’ll check the news,” I said, trying to stay calm. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“Do we open up tomorrow?” she asked.

I wondered what kind of messages would be on my answering machine at the house. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “If we don’t hear from the police, I’d say so. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.” I ended the call and slipped my phone back in my pocket. Only then did I realize that the others were staring at me expectantly.

“There’s been another demon murder,” I said. “And this time, the body was dumped in front of Trifles and Folly.”

Vampires watch TV, as it turns out, and subscribe to cable. Sorren turned on the TV and we all gathered to see the newscast. Police tape crisscrossed the area in front of the store, cordoning off a section of sidewalk between the curb and the door.

I sighed and put a hand over my eyes. I was likely to have an answering machine and email box full of questions, condolences and friends asking ‘WTF?’ “Do they know who the victim is?” I asked.

Teag already had his smart phone out and was searching the Web. “Officially, no,” he said. “Give me a minute.”

“Male, approximately forty years old, Caucasian, the ID they’re running is Chris Turner,” he reported.

He looked up. “Last known address, the men’s shelter out by the old Navy yard.”

“Let’s wait for the crowd to clear,” Sorren said quietly. “Then we need to do a little investigating of our own.”

Hours later, when the police had finished up for the night and the gawkers and news crews had gone home, downtown Charleston was dark and silent. Teag and Mirov and I drove past the store once in his car to make sure everything was calm. Sorren followed in Lucinda’s car. We figured that if anyone reported us, Teag and I could say that we came by to check on the store and brought Mirov along as a bodyguard. Sorren and Lucinda would just be a couple out for a drive Normally, the area around the shop is considered to be a ‘good’ neighborhood, and some of the restaurants and bars a few blocks down are open late, so foot traffic after midnight wouldn’t seem completely out of the ordinary.

Teag, Mirov, and I pulled around to the back of the store, warily watching the shadows. Sorren and Lucinda parked in the alley behind us. Mirov insisted in getting out first. He had a very modern SIG P225 in one pocket and a nasty-looking broadsword in a scabbard at his hip. All he needed was a long duster coat and he would have looked like he was right out of Hollywood central casting.

Mirov jerked his head in the direction of the store to give us the all-clear. Teag and I were wearing all our protective charms, and I still wished I had a gun like Mirov’s. Guns don’t work on demons, but they do just fine on the humans under a demon’s control.

As soon as I stepped out of Teag’s Volvo, I could feel something very wrong. The air itself felt tainted, and the energy of the space was twisted and foul. I closed my hand around the ring, willing clarity, and when I opened my eyes, I could see a very faint glow around Trifles and Folly – Lucinda’s warding, still holding strong. I let out a sigh of relief. Awful as it already was, it could have been worse.

Mirov was moving down the alley slowly, making sure our way was clear. We came up the side street, and I was afraid someone would spot his sword and gun, but no one passed by. Sorren and Lucinda were waiting in the shadows in front of the store. I noticed that Sorren was also wearing his sword. I was really hoping we didn’t have to explain any of this to the Charleston police.

“What do you make of it?” Sorren asked Lucinda. Lucinda was wearing her very large shoulder bag, which I had learned carried a multitude of Voodoo necessities. She walked slowly toward the crime scene tape, careful not to touch anything. Lucinda raised her face to the wind, and lifted her hands, palms up, to the sky. I saw her lick her lips as if tasting the air, and she drew a deep breath. Finally, she approached the front of the store, stopping a few paces back from the façade. She stretched out a hand, and in response, her warding shimmered at her touch. It looked as if streaks of black soot marred the otherwise golden light.

Lucinda began to chant under her breath, and the sooty taint gradually faded, leaving the warding energy clean and strong. Lucinda stepped back, admired her work, and spoke another word of power.

The warding became invisible once more.

Next, as Mirov and Teag watched for trouble, Lucinda ducked under the police tape, approaching the dark stain on the sidewalk that remained despite the crime scene technician’s best clean-up. Lucinda chanted again, and withdrew a Kretek clove cigarette from her bag. She lit it, and the smell of its distinctive smoke hung on the night air. I knew that smoke purified, and that tobacco smoke was used to open communication to the spirit world, while cloves produced visions. I noticed that Lucinda kept a hand under the Kretek, not wanting to leave the ashes behind. Magic was safest when you left nothing for your enemies to find.

I made a fist with the hand that wore the ring, willing myself not to go into a trance. One of us was enough. I walked back and forth, looking for found objects, anything that the beings who did this might have dropped. Part of me hoped I would find something that could help us stop Moran and the demon.

The other part of me really didn’t want a vision from anything that either of them ever touched. To my relief, I didn’t find anything, but that wasn’t a surprise. The cops had already been over the area, and I doubted our enemies were that sloppy.