Jar of Souls (11 page)

We turned down an alley, and a few moments later, we were back at the base. It’s funny how fast you can get used to things. A year ago I wouldn’t have believed magic existed, and now I was walking through doors that transport you wherever you want without blinking an eye.

Adam turned to us. “Go and get cleaned up and rest. We will talk in the morning. April, I believe you have something for me.”

She reached out and placed a small thumb drive into his hand.

“Let’s plan on an early meeting, say 7:00 a.m.” Adam turned and walked away.

Everyone turned and looked to me. I was not sure how I became the de facto leader, but it happened. “Let’s all go get showered and changed and meet back at my room in, say, thirty minutes.”

“Sounds good, bro,” Marcus said, wiping some of the dust and ash off his shoulder.

April smiled and gave me a huge hug and then did the same to Britta. “See you guys soon.”

Britta looked at me and said, “Is it ok if I just bring some things over to your place and shower there?”

“Yeah, of course.” Yep, still king of the great lines. I pulled her into a hug and gave her a quick kiss. “See you soon.” She kissed me again and headed off to her room. I watched her walk down the hall in her little black dress and thought,
how in the hell did she end up with a guy like me?

* * *

A
s soon as
I got back to my room, I stripped off my clothes and headed for the shower. I wanted to make sure it would be available for Britta right when she showed up. I was in the shower for about five minutes when the door to the bathroom opened. “I’m almost done,” I shouted over the sound of the water.

I stumbled back a step when the door opened, not sure exactly what to do. Seeing Britta’s face made the decision easier. I stepped forward and pulled her into the shower. I hugged her close as the warm water fell around us. She started to cry against my shoulder, and I put one hand on the back of her head, holding her close.

She pulled back, her lips quivering. “I was so scared she was dead.”

I gave her a kiss. “It’s ok. Everything is ok.”

“It is now, but I could have died today.”

“I know exactly how you feel.”

Her lip stopped quivering, and she smiled up at me. “You do, don’t you?”

I didn’t know what else to say so I kissed her again, and for the first time, my brain started to process that I was in the shower naked with a girl. There was no way to cover up what was happening below my waist now, so I just pretended nothing was going on. Britta and I continued to kiss in the shower until I heard Marcus shout that he was here. We broke apart and looked into each other’s eyes. I could see a hunger there that I hadn’t seen before. I smiled at Britta and gave her one more kiss before sliding out of the shower.

I got dressed quickly and headed out into the living room. Marcus, as usual, had found a way to get us some food. I started to think that maybe he had a thing going with one of the workers. I wouldn’t put it past Marcus to have a secret girlfriend or two. “Man, I’m glad you got food. I was thinking all that I have stocked up is frozen pizza.”

“Well, there isn’t anything wrong with that, but I had alfredo on the brain. Toss this bread into the oven; that way it will be ready when the girls get here.”

I put the bread into the oven, making sure to avoid his eye when I said, “Actually, Britta is already here.”

He gave me a quick look and then moved into the hall where he could hear the water running. A huge smile broke out on his face. “You sly dog.”

I couldn’t help but smile back. “It’s not what you think.”

“So you are telling me that when I got here, you weren’t in the shower with that super-hot hottie?”

“Ok, so maybe it is what you think, but nothing happened.”

“Man, don’t you think it’s time for you to seal the deal? You guys have been together for a while, and she is giving you all the go-ahead signals.”

“I know, man. I’m just working up to it.”

“Jackson, there isn’t anything to work up to. You kinda just do or you don’t. Do not make it out to be some kind of super-secret ritual. Our life expectancy isn’t that great. I say when you find someone you care about, go for it.”

“After today I’m starting to get what you mean. It can’t be like this all the time, can it?”

“Pretty much. It gets easier the longer you do it.”

“Hey, you’ve been here just as long as me.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been on about thirty hunting trips back home and all of them could have been deadly.”

“I noticed you didn’t have any love lost for the Fallen.”

“Well, you see the kind of destruction they can cause when they roam unchecked. You learn to kill first and worry about their intentions later.”

“True that.”

Britta walked out of my room with her hair wrapped in a towel. Marcus looked at her and then gave me the biggest grin I had ever seen. He held his hand up for a high five. I looked over at Britta and she shrugged, so I gave Marcus the high five.

“Jackson, you might be the luckiest man in the world,” he said, still grinning.

“Of that there can be no doubt, my friend.”

“Hey, what about me? Am I not lucky to have him?” Britta asked.

“Definitely not,” Marcus said with that dopey grin still in place.

“Asshole,” I said.

“You know it, brother.” He held his hand out for a fist bump. I had to give it to him, he set me up, and well I couldn’t leave him hanging, he was my best friend.

I was pulling out the bread when April walked in. I got it to the counter and ran over to give her a hug. “I’m so happy you’re safe.”

She smiled up at me. “Me too.”

I stepped away to go help Marcus get the table set while the girls finally got a chance to catch up. I didn’t catch most of what they said, but I know a few tears leaked out and there was a lot of hugging. We sat down at the table and started to fill up. While we ate, April filled us in on what happened, and Britta told her part of the tale. When it was done, I got the chance to tell everyone what I had been doing with the inspector. Marcus just watched the discussion. I felt kind of bad for him. He missed out on all the action.

“So let me get this straight, Jackson. You fought an undead Lycan, and the inspector possibly took out the guy who raised it from the dead.”

“Yeah, that’s about it, except it was way more creepy and I was much more heroic than you made it sound.” He snorted, and April hit me in the shoulder. Britta just gave my leg a squeeze under the table and a wink.

“And April, Sarafina told you about the undead attacking Fallen strongholds?”

“She did, and minus the being knocked unconscious and bound to a couch, she was very polite.” Marcus made a face, and April stuck her tongue out at him.

“I know this might not sound like much, but I would say given the sources, that has to mean necromancy is real.”

“Come on, Marcus, no one has ever proved that,” April said.

“That’s like something out of one of your comics, right?” Britta asked.

Marcus just looked at me. “You sure that Lycan was dead?”

“Very sure, and for some time too. Its eyes had already turned milky white.”

“So, April, you think Jackson and Sarafina are just pulling our legs?”

April gave me a furtive glance before she responded. “I don’t think they would do that, but there has to be some other explanation.”

“I really don’t think there is, April. The undead are among us,” Marcus said while raising his hands in the air and making spooky noises. Both of the girls laughed.

“I’m pretty sure the inspector and Adam both know more than they are saying. I know you guys grew up thinking this wasn’t possible, but I know what I saw. I bet tomorrow you are going to learn more than you expect to.”

“I guess we will find out tomorrow,” Marcus said.

“Hey, guys, it’s getting late and Adam wants us there early. I’m going to take off,” April said. We all stood and gave her a hug.

Marcus gave me a look and said, “I’m going to take off too.” One more round of hugs later and Marcus followed April out the door.

“I’m just going to stay and help Jackson clean up,” Britta said as they were leaving.

Marcus started to smile, and April hit him in the shoulder and dragged him out the door. I gave Britta a smile, and we started to get the house back in order. When the dishes were dumped in the sink and the food had been put away, she pulled me toward her and gave me a kiss.

“I love you, Jackson.”

“I love you too.” Yep, I still had all the lines.

She took my hand and led me into the bedroom. I thought about what Marcus had said and decided that this time, if we got to that point, I wouldn’t stop the momentum. I had almost died today, and Britta could have just as easily not come back. There was no harm in what we were doing, it was just simple human nature. Plus, both of us were nineteen. No one could really judge us.

She ran her hands under my shirt, pushing it up over my head. I slid it off, only to find out she had already done the same with her own. I kissed her as I fumbled with the clasp on her bra. She smiled up at me as she moved my hand away, and the lacy garment fell to the ground. A quick tug removed the workout pants I had been wearing, and Britta pushed me back onto the bed. She slid out of her pants and climbed in on top of me. Her kiss felt so good, so natural. This was the time. It felt right, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I rolled her over so I was on top and kissed her again. Then my brain shut down, and all I could do was feel, and it felt wonderful.

“
I
nspector Lapointe
, thank you for joining me again. I’m sure you have grown tired of my office by now.”

“It’s just like the old days, is it not? Secret meetings, a mad rush to crush the truth before it gets out.”

“Unfortunately, this time it looks as if the truth is out already, although people are loathe to believe in it.”

“What do you mean the truth is out?” he asked with a frown.

“Let me show you something provided to me by Sarafina.” I slipped the thumb drive into the console on my desk and hit the button next to it. A section of the wall moved away, and a large flat screen TV moved out. I tried to keep the TV hidden—it lent to the old-world charm of my office, not to mention keeping up with new technology had always been a struggle for me. I had been born in a much simpler time, a time when if you wanted to see something, you had to walk there and see it in person.

The video of the undead attack on the base started to play on the screen, and I watched Jean’s face turn into a scowl.

“Who shot that video? Is there any way for us to make sure it doesn’t get out?”

“Not this time, Inspector. Sarafina has the originals, and I am sure she is just holding them until she can verify the truth. It seems after all these years that someone else has discovered the key to necromancy. What worries me is the way the Lycans attacked. That shows a level of skill that could only be obtained by using the Jar of Souls.”

“But it is safe, isn’t it?” His look verged on almost pure panic.

“I have a team en route now to verify that the Jar is safe.”

“Adam, if the Jar is out, we are in trouble, but if someone learned to use those abilities without the Jar, we could be in for even more.”

“I know. You don’t think there is any way that one of Gaston’s apprentices lived and figured out the Jar’s secrets, do you?”

“It’s possible. In truth we never knew just how many followers he had. He was persuasive enough to lure even you into wanting to work with him. Who’s to say he didn’t have secret followers throughout the order.”

“Now that is a disturbing thought.”

“We do have someone in custody who I am waiting to talk to.”

“See that you do it quickly.”

“I will. So tell me just what in the hell are we going to do while we wait for your team to confirm the Jar is safe?”

“As for that, I do have a few ideas on what we can do. Are you up for a little bit of travel?”

“To make sure that necromancy isn’t spreading, you bet.”

“Perfect. I have a few more research locations that may have been compromised.”

“I still have problems believing you actually sanctioned more study into the necromantic arts.”

“I thought we would be able to control it. It looks as if I was wrong. I had to find out if it was a viable weapon we could use against the demons, and how to fight against another Gaston.”

“You and your tales of demons. Adam, they don’t exist, or if they do, it’s in numbers so small we don’t have to worry about them. We need to focus on what is happening now.” A slow smirk quirked at the corner of his lips.

His disbelief of demons wasn’t something I was surprised about. The council had spent hundreds of years trying to hide their existence from the public. For the most part, they had been completely successful, just as I had been at suppressing necromancy. I had seen the demons firsthand centuries ago and then again in San Francisco. They had one goal, and they all worked to achieve it. They wanted this world for their own, and we had to stop them.

I understood that while the council didn’t like the idea of the Ascendancy, they saw it as my way of subverting their rule and creating a private army. In truth I had created a private army, but not for our eternal struggle to protect humanity from the Pretenders. For the most part, we could already do that. I created them to protect against an even more deadly threat—demons. We wouldn’t be able to win that war alone. We needed help, and we needed Pretender help. That was when I lost the council.

They were too concerned about keeping our lifelong enemies exactly where they were. I had been too concerned about the risk of demons to broach the subject in a way that might have garnered some traction. Both of us dug our heels in, and the rift grew until finally last year it broke. Now without the support of the council, I had more on my plate than I could handle and almost no resources to do it with.

Crimes against humans hadn’t stopped when the council pulled their people back. If anything, they had gone up, and gone up faster than we could have anticipated. My people were tired, and I had been sending them out into risky situations with little or no backup. We had acted so decisively that things had started to calm down, but we couldn’t fight the Pretenders and demons at the same time.

All of these thoughts spun through my head as the inspector scoffed at the thought of demons. How could he not believe me when we had been through so much together already? That was one of the demons’ greatest weapons—you couldn’t fight against something when no one believed it existed in the first place.

“Inspector, have I ever lied to you?”

“Ah, no . . .” I could see the confusion on his face.

“So what would make you think that when I speak of demons that I am not telling the truth?” I could hear the anger starting to creep into my voice.

“Adam, it’s just not possible. They can’t exist; they don’t exist. Even the council has said it isn’t true.”

“You forget that I used to run that very council, the council that to this day still has a set of elite warriors they send out to battle demons. Think of how many people do not believe that the gifted can turn to necromancy, or that it’s even possible. The world is a larger and stranger place than you know, my friend, and there are demons in it.”

“I guess just like with necromancy, I will have to see it to believe it.”

“That can be arranged.” I let the silence play out until it was uncomfortable. “Today, though, I have other duties for you to perform.” I handed him a sheet of paper with three other addresses on it.

The inspector took the sheet of paper, looked at it once, and then folded it and tucked it away. He watched me warily as a mouse watches a cat, trying to decide if it was ok to leave. I made a gesture with my hand that he should go. Just as he reached the door, I called out, “Jean, be careful. If you run into any trouble, come back and take more men with you.”

He gave me a curt nod and headed out the door. This next part wasn’t going to be fun, but I had to see if there was anything the council could do to help. I desperately needed more manpower. Already I was sending undertrained students out into the field, and it wouldn’t be long before one of them died. I’d prefer not to have their deaths added to my conscience. I already had enough deaths there to keep me up at night.

Fortunately one of the council members still spoke to me quite often. Actually, I spoke to him and he listened. After all, I had worked hard to place him back inside the organization as my mole. If nothing else, this conversation should shed some light on the state of our relationship. I hoped he hadn’t forgotten all that I knew about him and what would come to light if he ever thought to betray me. He was a crafty one all right, but I had seen it from him before. Now that he was in power, it was a good time for me to test the bonds of our relationship.

I picked up the phone and placed the call. It rang three times before a very hurried Stillman answered the phone. “What!” was all he said.

“Is that any way to greet your oldest friend?”

“Friend isn’t the word I would use to describe our relationship.”

“You’re right. It’s more of a working relationship, as in you work for me and better show me the respect I deserve.”

“Listen, Adam, I’d love to chat, but I’m kind of in the middle of a few things right now. Can this wait until later?”

“It can’t. I need something from you.”

“Oh, and what would that be, another part of my soul?”

“I’m sure you bargained that away long ago. What’s left would be worthless and tattered.”

“Always such the flatterer. Just tell me what you want.”

“I need some manpower for a few things. The Pretenders have grown somewhat aggressive since the council pulled its support from the area.”

“That is one thing I can’t do. They will never go for it, not now, not this early.”

“Damnit, Stillman! I have people dying over here, and we are outgunned. I need a few extra men just for a few days.”

“I’m sorry, Adam. There is nothing I can do for you with manpower.”

I swear I heard just the faintest hint of a smile come into his voice. He knew that if something happened to me, he would finally be free to do whatever he pleased. “Listen, we have some things going on here that will affect all of us.”

“Such as?”

And he just waited for me to respond. I was starting to get the feeling he forgot that I was in charge, that with a few calls he would be sitting in the council’s underground prison. “Such as we have Pretenders pushing their boundaries, we have a necromancer causing disturbances, and if what Jackson has told me is true, the demons are gathering power.”

“It certainly does seem as if you have your hands full. I can’t send men, but I can support you in other ways.”

“All we really need is numbers.”

“Well, if you want me to work on securing the council and its help, it will take time. If I move too quickly, I will lose them all, and we will be back to square one.”

“So you won’t be sending anyone.”

“I can’t and you know it. Adam, we have to move slowly here. In time I can bring them around, and we will need their support for what is coming.”

“If you don’t do it fast enough, we won’t be around for what the demons have in store. If you can’t send anyone, then you better work to accelerate your timetable. The council isn’t going to like what I do next.”

“What are you going to do next?”

Is it wrong that I got a certain amount of satisfaction from hanging up and leaving him twisting in the wind? I knew the call had been a long shot, but I had truly hoped he would find a way to help us. The Lycans needed to be contacted about the attacks on the fallen nests. If they were actually bold enough to be the ones doing it, there was nothing I could do. If someone was using their dead to attack the Fallen, then I had a play to make. Not only did I need allies for my war against the demons but we needed help in the short term reigning in rogue Lycans as well. Having the pack’s support would be a boon. Now what would it take for me to get it?

A knock sounded at the door, and I was surprised when a disheveled Jackson made his way into the room. “Jackson, take a seat. What can I do for you?”

He sat down, his hair still a mess from half a night of uneasy sleep. I could see that he had something on his mind, but he wasn’t sure how to say it. “It’s ok. You can tell me anything.”

His eyes looked haunted as he looked up at me. “I’ve been having these dreams.” He looked down at the ground, to the side of the room, anywhere but at me. “About when my parents were killed.”

“Before you came here, or eighteen years ago?”

“About before I came to join you. I’m sure you know that they were killed in front of me.”

“I had heard that was the case. Something to do with trafficking.”

“Yeah, if you can call being kidnapped after they killed your parents because you have magic trafficking.”

“Wait, they told you that you were taken because of your magic?”

“That is the way Mr. Stillman explained it to me.”

“Interesting,” I mumbled, not meaning for the word to ever leave my lips.

“What’s interesting?”

“Oh, nothing, just something I need to look into for later. Sometimes I am juggling so many things, it’s tough for me to see the entire picture. You were saying you had a dream about your parents’ deaths?”

“I have been.” Again he looked around the room, trying his best not to look at me. “Except at the end of these dreams instead of being knocked out and dragged away, I lay waste to everything in front of me. I kill the men who did this and I burn our house to the ground, but I don’t stop there. I go into the city and pick out all of the people who have caused our family any grief, and I do the same thing. I keep having the same dreams over and over. Different deaths, different faces. The only constant is it’s me killing them all.”

I waited until he finally looked up and met my gaze. “Jackson, with the power you have now, it’s easy to dwell on the past and what could have been done to prevent the deaths of your family. It’s normal to fantasize about taking revenge on those who hurt you now that you are stronger than them.” I could see just a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “You know why I’m not worried about these dreams at all?”

“How could you not be?”

“It’s the look on your face right now, the bags under your eyes. If you were the kind of person who could do these things, then you wouldn’t be feeling guilty about your dreams. You would be excited. The fact is these dreams are torturing you, and that lets me know that you are going to be ok.”

He looked down again before he answered. “I don’t always feel revulsion or scared; sometimes I feel powerful, and it feels good to make the people who hurt my family pay.”

“I think we have all felt that way after losing loved ones to violence. If you met the man who killed your family, it would be within your rights to challenge him. We settle those issues in a duel in our society. It’s not clean or especially moral, but it gets the job done and keeps our world a secret.

“As for killing people who have wronged you . . .” I looked at him again, deciding just how much I should tell him. It had to be enough that he knew it was ok, but that he also knew these dreams weren’t going to go away. “Jackson, you are special; the prophecy has told us as much. These dreams you are having speak strongly to your dual nature. You can be a force for good or evil. Only you get to decide which one.”

“I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone, but in my dreams, it gives me such a sense of fulfillment. The only person I think who I could ever bring myself to kill is the man who murdered my family, but in my dreams I’m not so sure.”