The Edge

ABOUT US
Who Are We?
About TEoP

STORY UNIVERSES
Rick Silva's Four Visitors 
Ivan Ewert's Solstice
Nick Bergeron's Mnemosyne 
Seanan McGuire's Sparrow Hill Road

Guest Quarters
Postcards

CONTACT US
Call for Submissions
Notification List
LiveJournal/Feedback
Contact

NOTE: These stories are
intended for a mature audience.

First Blood
A "Kendrick" Story
By
Jennifer Brozek
Start from the beginning of the Kendrick Series

Corelli opened her eyes and blinked at the unfamiliar surroundings. Her mind was a jumble of images and her body hurt. She fought to gain control of her senses; to figure out where she was and what had happened. Then she remembered her vision and the gigantic shape behind the bull. She did not know what that shape was but she knew it represented the power behind the Children of Anu. It was what was driving them. That thought terrified her.

She tried to sit up but the pain in her side was too much for her to move. She looked around the room and saw what she hoped was a call button. Pressing it, nothing happened in the room she was in but shortly, she heard footsteps come down a hallway and saw the door open.  Shelia poked her head in. "You're awake! I'll get the doctor."

"Wait! What happened?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there. I'm only third circle." Then, she was gone.

Corelli could hear her running steps disappear back down the hallway. Whatever had happened had happened at the scrying. The place was too quiet to be a hospital. Her next best guess was that she was on the third floor of the estate that housed the archives where they usually met.

All thoughts of where she was vanished as she pushed the covers back and lifted up the t-shirt she was wearing. There was a large bandage wrapped about her middle. Exploring fingers told her that her whole left side hurt like crazy. One errant finger pressed too hard and a wave of pain enveloped her, bringing with it her forgotten memories.

By the time Shelia returned with Doc and V'ger, Corelli was sitting up and waiting for them. "Convene the First Circle. I have to talk to them."

"You aren't going anywhere. You're too hurt." Doc said.

Corelli was looking at V'ger. "Convene them here. I don't care. We've got to talk. The city is in danger and this may be our only chance to be welcomed here again. No, not 'may be', is."

Doc, who was a trauma specialist and not particularly inventive, thus his chosen moniker, said, "I won't allow it unless you lay down, rest and let the healers at you."

V'ger, reading the urgency in Corelli's face, nodded. "You have an hour to make her well enough to have the meeting."

"An hour is not long enough."

"It's going to have to be." V'ger said, "You have your orders from the First Circle."

Doc looked ready to argue but Corelli put a hand on his arm. "Please. You have no idea how important this is."

"Important enough to risk your life?" He asked.

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence that hung heavy in the air. "All right. You'll be ready in an hour. The meeting will have to be here."

***

"Why don't you tell me what you're getting yourself into these days?" John asked as he cut into his steak.

"Because it's the same old stuff - trying to protect the city from whatever it is that the Children are doing while doing my regular job and stuff." Karen said. She took great pleasure in cracking open the Alaskan king crab leg she had in hand and gently teased out the sweet meat from inside.

"I'm worried for you."

"I'm worried for all of us.  The stuff that Susan told me about her scrying with the Bacchanalia coven was not good. Especially if the places in the vision are actually hurt. That includes Colonel Kendrick's Park which represents the city."

 "And you and the Master." John put his fork down. "I know you don't want protection."

"I don't need protection other that what I already have..."

"But," he continued, ignoring her interruption, "I really think you need some this time around. I wasn't going to tell you but I think I don't have a choice if I want you to let me help in the ways I need to help."

She cracked open another crab leg and winced at the pain of the spines of the shell digging into her hand. "Tell me what?"

"I have a new card. It, like the rest, has special powers." He paused, trying to figure out how to explain the card and what he saw.

Karen knew exactly what set of cards he was talking about. The Todari tarot deck.  The cards seemed to have archetypical powers based on their archetypical meanings. 'Not seemed. Did have. Does have. Wasn't she influenced by one to make a correct and fair judgment? Hadn't she used one to heal her friend and guardian, Sebastian?' She sighed softly and knew she owed it to John to listen. The two of them had spent a lot of time together lately and most of it had been for pleasure rather than business. "Go on..."

"This card has the power of prophecy - but it was symbolic. I don't really know what I saw meant other than you, in trouble, reaching for me. You were being harried by dogs."

"I'm in danger from dogs? The symbol of the Children is a bull."

John shrugged. "I don't know what the danger is but I'm pretty sure it has to do with the Children - bull or not. Susan told me about the scrying, too." He raised a hand and rushed forward with his words. "I know they need to be stopped. If they aren't, bad things will happen. I think we should do something about it. However, you need to be more careful this time around. Last time, there was a war that did a lot of damage."

Karen opened and shut her mouth a couple of times, her appetite died with the sudden turn in the conversation. However, she kept cracking the crab legs and harvesting the crabmeat. As she did, she took no care to protect her hands from the shellfish spines that dug into her flesh. The physical pain kept her distracted from the mental pain of his far-too-truthful words. "I would say that that isn't fair, but it is. I was reckless before.  I know I can't do that now. You obviously have a plan in mind. What is it?"

"I think we need to get all of our allies together to talk about it, this... whatever is going on...  and form a coherent plan. Be smart. Be careful. Be prepared. We won't hinge everything on one person doing all of the planning and execution. No one can be a keystone."

"Thus, no one is a 'most likely' target." She nodded. "We can try it. When do you want to meet and where?"

"As soon as possible and I've got a backroom that should be able to fit the top leaders of each group I'm thinking of."

"Who?"

"Susan. She has no second. Lamiel and whomever she wishes. Abbot Peter and his second. Corelli and her second. Walks-the-Ocean and his second. The Grey Lady and her escort." John took a breath. "David and his second."

Karen, who had been about to question the wisdom of bringing in the Order of the Sacred Eye so early into this, especially when there were still a lot of bad feelings from the other factions, stopped in her mental tracks. "What?"

"I think the Special Unit should be involved as well. Mostly to keep the normal citizens of Kendrick away from whatever we're doing as well as keeping on top of their little group and what they are doing." John shrugged. "Besides, they are working for the best of the city as well."

"No."

"No? No discussion? Just 'No.'"

"I don't think bringing in the Special Unit is the right thing to do."

"Because you don't trust the Special Unit or because you don't trust David?"

"Both. Bringing them into this would be too dangerous for us. They think of us... all of us... as freaks."

"I don't know about that."

"I do."

"Think about it and we can talk about it again later?"

"Maybe."

"Better than a 'no.'" He smiled at her. It would be fine with him if the Special Unit was kept out of the planning for now. He would let the Mayor know what he needed to know... on a need-to-know basis. 

Karen smiled back. It was a brief, worried smile. More of an acknowledgement of his smile than a genuine one of her own. Her cell phone beeped to let her know that she had a text message. She opened her phone to read it and then took the time to reply to it. When she was done, she looked up and said, "I'll start on this tonight. That was Corelli. She wants to meet with me as soon as I can get away."

"All right. I'll contact Susan and Walks-the-Ocean. Susan will call Lamiel and we can get this party started. Let's plan it for a couple days from now."

***

Karen was lead through the manor house by a woman named Shelia. Apparently, she was a fan of all things Australian. It was a gorgeous house and a large one that seemed oddly familiar to Karen. She was not sure why. She knew why once Shelia opened the door to the bedroom Corelli was in.  She had once spent a paralyzed night in this room back in December. She stopped at the doorway, almost unable to make herself move into the room.

"It's worse than it looks," Corelli said, mistaking Karen's reluctance for concern for her rather than discomfort at the surroundings. "I promise."

Karen forced herself into the room and saw that Corelli's side had been cut. There were black stitches holding pale skin together. Around the stitches were runic symbols. "What happened?"

"The dangers of magic." Corelli answered with a small shrug. "I'm just hoping I don't scar. That's what the runes are for - healing pure. No scarring."

Karen pulled her eyes off the wound. "Is this what you wanted to see me about?"

"Yes. A little bit. I did some work with my Order. We wanted to find out what the Children were doing. I think I know and we have to stop it."

"What is it? What are they doing?"

"Amassing power. Magical energy to force a change on Kendrick. Maybe the world. I don't know. But they are offering power and rewards to those who help and death to those who get in their way.  I think they're close."

Karen sat on the edge of the chair. "Did you get that finding it out?"

Corelli nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not. It was worth it. The question now is how to stop them."

"I think I have a partial answer to that. We're going to start with a meeting of the leaders and their seconds of the main magical factions of the city who are willing to speak and discuss the matter. This time around, we're going to collaborate. No one is going to be a general. Everyone is going to be involved."

"It won't be easy."

"No."

"You can count on the Order of the Sacred Eye."

"Not everyone will welcome you."

"We'll take that chance. Not everyone will deny us either. Besides, we've got some good information to offer. What we know, combined with what other people know, may just be what's needed to stop the Children."

***

"You are working late, sir." David said as he knocked on Mayor Stewart's City Hall door.

"I know. No rest for the weary." Mason smiled and gestured for David to sit down. "I apologize for the lack of chit-chat but I've got a lot of stuff to get done and I needed to speak to you about a special assignment for the SU."

"Must be very special." David said, wondering why the Mayor could not trust the phone with this.

Mason nodded. "It is. The leaders of most of the main supernatural groups are getting together to have a meeting. If at all possible I want that meeting both protected and recorded. The recording is to come to me only. I want you to see to this personally."

"Protected from what?"

"If they know about it, the Children of Anu. The rest of Kendrick... well, most of them... have decided that the Children are too dangerous to let run loose in the city. They are planning something big and the rest of the supernaturals are policing themselves and looking to shut the Children down. I want to support them on this."

"Why the cloak-and-dagger then? Why not ask to come to the table with them and openly help?"

"Because we weren't invited. To show up would be to let them know that we have a ... ah... a person in the thick of things... keeping me abreast of what's going on."

"You have a spy on Karen?"

"I have an informant in the midst of things to keep me informed. Nothing more.  Nothing less. Nothing forced. A friend who talks to me to help keep their friends safe."

"You are skirting a very fine line there, sir." David's voice was rough with disapproval.

"I know but we're not invited because of you."

David winced. "Me?"

"You betrayed the woman you loved trying protect her and almost got her killed. She's the one in charge of this meeting. They aren't ready to let you back into the fold. So, don't give me the hairy eyeball on this, Detective. I'm doing what I have to do to protect my city. If that means skirting a line or two, I'm going to do it."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." He pulled all his emotions in and hid them under his professional mask.

"Two days." Mason slid thin folder over to David. "Put a watch on a couple of these people to make sure the meeting isn't changed to a new location."

David opened the file and looked at the list of names there. "Yes, sir."

"Detective, this is really important. Don't fail me."

"I won't, sir."

There was a less than polite knock on the office door followed by it opening without waiting for an answer. David and Mason could see Terry, Mason's hardworking secretary, trying to block a man in monk's robes from entering the office. "Sir, I must insist! You don't have an appointment."

"It's all right, Terry. Let him in." Mason called.

David was standing, prepared for trouble, as Terry, looking very annoyed, stepped aside and let the older man in robes enter the office.

"Brother Luke?" Mason asked. "My appointment is with Abbot Peter and not for another fifteen minutes."

"That's the problem, Mr. Mayor, Abbot Peter is gone. Someone's taken him and we don't know how!"

***

Karen sat in her car with her cell phone lying open on the passenger side seat.  Sebastian was sitting on the seat next to the cell phone giving it an adorably cute and curious look.  She wished she could pay more attention to it but she had other things on her mind.

"What'd you think of the estate, Reginald?"

"I think it was there. But, parts of it are invisible to me."

"It's where they kept me captive."

"I know. Now."

"How can you not see parts of it? It's you, isn't it? It's part of the city."

"Yes but there are some magics that can make part of the city no longer belong to only me. This is not the only place this is partly invisible. There are others. Some are due to magic or agreements older than me. Others have concentrated their magics to one small room. I cannot be present everywhere in Kendrick. Much of me is automatic just like your heart beats without your thinking about it."

"Can you break into these hidden places?"

"Sometimes. It depends on what hides them. There are rules that even I must follow."

***

Elsewhere... 

"Careful with him!" Reggie said as the stretcher bearing the old man was carefully maneuvered down the bank and then up through to the tunnel into the hidden temple.

About half of the Children were waiting for Reggie and his small band of kidnappers. "How'd it go?" Vicki greeted them.

"Easy as beating a cat to death." Reggie grinned at her. "They had no idea we were there at all. Anu hid us all from their eyes. Even their prayers to their Christian god were no match against the power of Anu."  Reggie threw a fist in the air, "Anu!"

Every member of the Children repeated the gestured and shouted, "ANU!"  The sound reverberated in the cave.

"What are we going to do with him?" Vicki gestured to the old man on the stretcher.

"Make him comfortable in one of the smaller caves. After all, it would do us no good for him to die before the Ascension."

Story by Jennifer Brozek, Copyright 2007
Image by Rory Clark, Stopped Motion Photography, Copyright 2007