Leviathan (Fist of Light Series) (24 page)

Thankfully, the sappy group hug dispersed and returned to our seats. After that weighty tale, it was weird to see a return to normalcy in such short order. Bill recognized our predicament and offered us sanctuary, although it hadn't been what we were expecting. The others decided that they were going to shack up with us until everything blew over, but I was uncertain we'd be so lucky to get off so easy.

“We thought you were entertaining a guest...” I let the statement trail off, rather than making it a question.

“Ah, yes. Sanders, are you quite ready to come out of hiding? That contraption of your is far too addictive for your own good.”

A few gasps broke out as Mr. Sanders became visible at the head of the table. “I was just testing it,” he replied defensively. “There could have been any number of hostiles trying to ascertain our plans.”

“The church is protected. You know that.” Bill let it slide without an outright challenge.

My turn. “Not that we aren't happy to see you, but you might've just made a
normal
entrance.”

Sanders played with a ring, rolling it between his fingers. “I might have but didn't want to interrupt the story. Perhaps it was ill advised.”

“You think?” Kathryne heated up a glare, playing with one of her daggers.

“How'd you manage to get that?” Simon pointed at the ring insistently. “I thought Frodo destroyed it!”

It took a couple of long moments to figure out Simon had made a joke. There were some spatters of awkward laughter. “This is not the ring of Sauron,” Sanders told him. “But it does have some connection to Demonkind.” I didn't know if he was serious or had continued the joke.

This conversation wasn't going anywhere productive and my temper was short. “Yeah, cool ring and all. Can we get to the important stuff?”

“What do you want to know?” Bill brought the conversation under control.

Jas kicked off the discussion. “How about your reasons for having this meeting in the first place? Do you two know each other?”

Tanner laced his fingers together on top of the table. “We've been acquainted for some time, yes. As we work in the same channels, there's a lot of overlap. It is only natural to mesh forces on occasion.”

Kathryne spoke up. “And the reason you met today?”

“Between the blackouts and supernatural occurrences cropping up across the city, the entire Order is on edge.” Bill shook his head.

“Supernatural occurrences?” That newfound information perked everyone up.

Bill looked at me intensely from across the table. “Unfortunately, there has been a stirring since you left. We believe it's related to the meteor's touchdown in the bay. If there was any doubt about a supernatural explanation, they were quickly expunged when Sanders presented his case. But we still have no idea what's causing these disturbances. A string of murder-suicides have been piling up, all without any leads that don't dead end. The Order has yet to figure the relation to these cases and the widespread blackouts. Long-established power providers are having their plants systematically destroyed. The news has had a heyday with the stories. Mortal investigators are saying there might be a connection to some sort of Deep Green eco-terrorist movement. Entire facilities have been trashed, with no explanation or claim being taken by the perpetrators.”

“Mortal police wouldn't recognize a
supernatural occurrence
if a goblin ripped their face off.” Herk glowered.

“Someone has a bone to pick,” Zack replied softly.

“You have to admit though, that's pretty spot on.” Simon tried to push up his now non-existent glasses and glanced at Sanders.

I wondered if that was a nervous tendency of his. The entire room was a little freaked out to hear what was happening, considering our all-to-recent brush with Darkness. No one wanted to be embroiled in another fight to the death for the safety of the world and its inhabitants. Apparently, it was too much to ask for to have a few centuries off before something from the Dark Side made another move. And I'd have to spoil it all for everyone.

“You're unusually quiet.” Jas glanced over at me curiously. “What do you think it is, Caleb?”

“I hate to break it to you, but we have a problem.”

Sanders leaned back in his chair, putting away the ring and finally looking like he was all ears. “What kind of problem?”

I could feel the mingled worry and excitement at my statement brushing up against my senses. Regardless, I explained The Call and its significance. It didn't come as much of a surprise to those who were already clued in, but no one expected it to show up again. We all thought it had taken a permanent hiatus once the Fist of Darkness had been destroyed.

“So this... Call of yours. It leads you to believe there's going to be an impending disaster?” Sanders asked dubiously.

“I don't think. I know. It specifically tells me when there's a disaster that needs averting. It's more of a warning that there's an imbalance. I think that means there's something in our dimension that shouldn't be. Something that hitched a ride on that meteor.”

Sanders nodded. “We have footage documenting the meteor's unnatural entrance into our world. Of course, that has been denied. Officially, there was no wormhole.”

“A dimensional gate.” Simon gasped, eating it up.

This wasn’t anything new. “But how was it brought here? I wouldn't think that meteor is a preferred method of travel,” I scoffed.

“Maybe this thing comes from a backwards universe. They do meteor wrangling in their free time and this one took a wrong turn at the Milky Way,” Jas said.

“Quite simply, we don't know,” Bill said. “There's no precedent, other than the being that was consumed by the Fist of Darkness.” He glanced over at me.

“What's the theory?” Kathryne said.

Sanders leaned forward in his chair, giving a representation with his hands. “That's what we were trying to figure. Tanner here seems to believe the dimensional wall is crumbling, or even torn.”

“The fabric of reality is a delicate thing,” Mr. Tanner explained. “The first breach was on Alcatraz. Now there's been another one, hardly miles distant from the first. We have to assume that the dimensional wall has been compromised. There's no telling what might have come through this time, not to mention the possibility of future invasions.”

We all took a second to process that information. If there was a hole in the dimensional fabric of the universe, we were well and truly screwed. I wasn't very versed in the science aspect, but even equating it to a hole in our atmosphere got me to thinking. Walls are built to keep things out, gates put up to prevent access from one side. If an entrance into our world was now open to all who wanted to check out the scene, that meant there'd be plenty of things will ill intentions taking the next intergalactic ride over here, by whatever means.

I directed my question at Mr. Tanner. “Do you have any knowledge about what that wall kept out?”

He shook his head dismally. “
Everything
. It kept out everything.”

“What about the Fae? They didn't seem too bothered by it.”

“As a rule Fae have distanced themselves from humanity, but they were never restricted from entering this dimension.”

“So the ones that were kept out before, they—” Monique began.

“Yes,” Bill finished. “Many of the Dark have been long awaiting a chance such as this. They now have their golden opportunity.”

“But we can't focus on our next move until we nail this bugger, whatever it is,” Sanders said.

There wasn't anything to be done about the possibility of
something
entering our dimension in the foreseeable future. We needed something tangible, something we could sink our teeth into. There was
something
here now. I sensed it in my bones. Against that there was hope. If we focused solely on the dark and unavoidable aspects, it would only drown us.

“I'm already tired of calling this extra-dimensional being a
thing
.” Jas rubbed his forehead painfully.

“Extra-dimensional does have a nice ring to it, though.
Extra-dimensional
,” Zack repeated.

“Well, it did ride an enormous meteor straight into the ocean from another dimension. From its path of destruction, it’s got some muscle behind it.”

“Ooh, I've got it. Rocky!” Mary exclaimed triumphantly.

Jas patted her on the back. “Yeah, um…” he hid a laugh behind a poorly executed cough. “That's great, but it just doesn't describe the being very well. Anybody else?”

“Leviathan,” Herk said. “Like the sea creatures of myth and gods of old.” I assumed he drew this information from his Greek heritage.

“It fits,” Xavier said.

“We have a winner,” Jas said. “Any naysayers? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

“I've got nothing against it.” Zack shrugged.

“Me either,” I said.

“It's settled, then. Good.”

“So how do we figure where this
Leviathan
is?” Kathryne asked.

“Where have the murder-suicides been taking place?” I asked.

“All over,” Sanders informed us grimly. “One of the more recent attacks happened between homeless down by the bridge. If it wasn't for the missing intestines, they might have been declared stroke cases. Tensions are high. With all the lights out, people are holing up with their families at night, hardly daring to go out.”

“Then that's where we need to go.” Kathryne checked her weapons, one of her most recurring habits.

“Time is of the essence,” Bill said.

“There's still plenty of light,” Herk said. “Might as well go take a look, talk to these slummers.”

Quick as that, we had decided to strike out see if anyone had witnessed the killing. Believe it or not, there was a lot of closeness in the homeless community. They protected each other, networked about the dangerous places and likewise for the good. Hell, they even had a language of their own, signs that had special significance to those who could read them. If anyone had seen something when the murder-suicide had gone down, it would be them. Sanders wrote down an address and handed it over. We weren't going to have anything in the way of transportation, so we'd have to leg it. That didn't bother me much, though I still wished I had the luxury to lie down and hibernate for the next couple of months until the world had solved its own problems.

Sanders stopped us on our way out the door. “Jas, you'd better watch your back. That family of yours has a lot of strings to pull and a murderous image to maintain. They can't just let, excuse my candor, an abomination such as yourself walk unchallenged. If they don't act, their rule will be questioned by every creature trying to climb the preternatural food chain.”

“I thought we took care of them,” Jas said. “Herk blew the place to pieces, for goodness sakes.” He threw his hands up in exasperation.

“I believe the majority of the Blood Pantheon had already withdrawn to a safe haven before your arrival. Their numbers would have been far greater, otherwise.”

“It's true,” I said. “There weren't as many as we expected there to be. If they're so powerful, I'm sure they have more pawns. I think the hotheaded youths with something to prove were the ones who stayed behind to expunge the stain on the Pantheon’s record.”

“Why would they do that? They could have wiped us off the map if they'd pitted more of their brood against us.”

Sanders shrugged uncertainly. “It all comes down to risk. They'd rather come at you on their own terms, in the dead of night when you least expect it. Plus, I’m sure they had expected Noah and you to come alone, not bring along a super-powered posse.”

“That's great. Just perfect. We can add it to the list of problems to deal with.” Jas looked over at me.

“Already done.” I nodded wearily.

“This is hallowed ground. If they show here, my brothers and I will give them a lesson they won't soon forget. We'll make it
unprofitable
for those nightwalkers to mess with you,” Bill promised.

“If only it could be that easy. But thanks for the support. It means a lot.” Jas shook the man's hand.

“W
here exactly are we going?” Simon peered around, looking for some clue that would reveal our ultimate destination.

“We've been walking
forever
,” Mary complained.

“Come on guys. Hold it together.” Jas glanced over at me. “Caleb knows what he's doing.”

“
You do know what you're doing, right?”
he asked discreetly, projecting his question along our mental channel.

I was working on instinct and faded memories. “I've got a feeling.”

“Great. He's got a feeling,” Herk repeated, disgust obvious in his face. “Planning on sharing?” I turned around to confront Herk, though directed my words at the entire group. “No one's forcing you to be here. If anyone wants to call it quits, they're welcome to hit the road. I'm sure the Order would be happy to provide warm food and a place to sleep for however long you'd like to stay.”

While the insistent tolling put my teeth on edge, the lack of sleep wasn't doing any good for my mood. “Sorry.” I rubbed at my bloodshot eyes. “I didn't mean that.” Now I was acting out of character.