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"Thank you, sir." David kept his professional mask up, though the thought of what he had been doing over the past few months - harassing people and murdering supernatural guardians - made him sick to his stomach. "I'm trying." "I just thought I should let you know after your suspension. The S.U. praises as well as scolds." "I appreciate that, sir." "Well, I've got a busy day. Thank you for the walk to coffee and the informal chat. I'm sure you have much to do as well." Doctor Mercer adjusted his eyeglasses, gave David a nod and down the street towards his office. David watched him go with guarded eyes until his view met a familiar face. Gone were the multicolored dreadlocks, make up and face piercings. In their place was a clean cut man with short blond hair. Still, David knew him. Aaron Patterson. Member of the Brotherhood of Light and once rival for Karen's affection. In the end, neither of them had won the girl. Aaron's eyes flicked from David to Doctor Mercer and back several times. After Doctor Mercer passed the young man, Aaron turned to walk towards David but paused as David gave him a sharp short hand wave of negation. He saw that David's eyes also flicked to the other man he had been speaking with. Those eyes were filled with guarded emotion. 'Maybe he can see what I see on the man. Maybe he already knows.' Aaron wondered. Aaron watched as David patted his pockets as if looking for something. He turned back to the coffeehouse - a place that Karen once loved to go and he wondered if she still did - and went inside. David paused as he went through the door, giving Aaron a significant look. 'I hope that's an invitation because like it or not, I need to talk to that man about the company he keeps.' Aaron thought. After checking the time and looking back towards where the man with the glasses had gone, Aaron walked to Kalihi Coffeehouse and entered. After getting a cup of coffee, he turned and saw that David had chosen a corner table and was watching him. Without preamble, Aaron walked over and sat down across from him. They were both tense and the silence stretched out between them until David broke it. "When did you get back in town and does she know?" "A couple days ago and, no, not yet. I ..." He shrugged. "I haven't had time to ... give her a call." It was a lame answer but the only one he had to give. The silence fell again as they both drank their coffee. Time had healed some wounds but those wounds still lay beneath the surface, itching and tight. Aaron broke the silence this time. "Who was that man you were with?" "Does it matter?" David's defensiveness confused Aaron. He nodded. "I think it does." "Why?" Aaron mulled over his answer before saying, "Because I think you're in danger." That surprised a laugh out of David and once it started it took him a moment to get himself under control. The flash of irritation on Aaron's face forced out another bark of laughter before he said, "That's an understatement." "So you know, then." Aaron was both relieved and disturbed by this thought. "I think so but why don't you tell me what you know." He took another swig of coffee. "Your friend..." "He's not my friend." David interrupted. "Doctor Mercer. Not my friend." "Doctor Mercer is spirit-ridden. It's one of the biggest spirits I've seen in a long time and it is hungry for blood." Aaron saw the surprised look on David's face. Whatever the detective expected Aaron to say, this was not it. Aaron got the idea that he was about to make David's problems that much more complex. *** "Is Sebastian OK?" Susan asked as Karen opened the door to her in.. "Yes. Why? What's wrong?" Karen stepped aside, surprised, letting Susan in. "The gargoyles are being attacked. Alexander told me. Asked me to help." She looked around the apartment, looking for Sebastian. "The youngest ones get taken first. Are you sure he's OK?" "Wait. Wait." Karen spoke to herself more than Susan. Only one person could panic at a time. That was her personal rule and since Susan was clearly panicking, it was up to Karen to stay calm, cool and collected. "Who is attacking the gargoyles? What's happening?" Mentally, she called out to Sebastian, 'Hey, Thunderbutt, where are you?' There was no immediate answer. 'Sebastian?' "It's like what happened to the Grey Lady and her kind. Something is stealing their power; their essence. The thing that makes them... them." Susan continued to look around. "We have to help them. We can't let them die." "No one is going to die, Susan." Karen guided Susan to the couch to sit down as a stalling measure. Inside, she was shouting. 'Sebastian Wilson! You get your stony butt out here right now!' 'What?' Came his querulous, sleepy thought. 'What? Danger? What?' Karen looked around the living room and spotted a very tired looking Sebastian curled up in his favorite nook on the bookshelf. He had raised his head to look at them. "See, he's fine." She walked over to bookshelf and hauled him into her arms. "Not so little anymore." Sebastian had grown over the more than two years they had been together. He was now the size of a housecat. Susan looked at Sebastian with haunted eyes. "Did you call for him?" "Yes." "Did he answer you immediately?" Karen paused, not liking where this conversation was going. "No." "Has he ever not immediately answered you?" "Sometimes. When he's not here or he's distracted." Sebastian curled up in Karen's arms, resting his head on her shoulder. 'Sleepy.' He told her and fell asleep again. "But not normally." She looked down at him. "No. Not normally. He's been sleeping more lately." "Karen." Susan's voice was very gentle. It was clear that she had pulled herself together somewhat - perhaps in preparation for what she thought was Karen's impending panic. "Gargoyles sleep when they are sick or hurt. They sleep to heal. Sebastian is feeling the drain. He is suffering, just like Alexander. He's not as in danger as the youngest gargoyles - they've gone to stone - but..." "OK. I'm convinced. You don't need to drive a nail through it. I'd help you anyway. You don't have to...(threaten my Sebastian) I get it." She knew her voice was sharp but she could not help it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. But, Karen, I've been bound to Alexander for more than half my life. If he ... If anything happened to him, I would die and I don't think I'm exaggerating. Please. I'm sorry." "OK, already! What do we need to do?" Karen hugged her sleeping gargoyle to herself with a fierce protectiveness. "We need to find the gargoyle Kinstone and stop whatever they are doing to it." "What's a kinstone and who's they?" Susan shook her head. "We don't know, yet. But we've got to find that Kinstone. Alexander said it was the only thing that could help them now." *** John frowned at the brown paper package tied up with string on his back stoop. He did not know how long it had been there. Not more than a couple of days for certain. It was addressed to him and his small bit of intuition told him that he was not going to like what was in this package but that he needed to open it. Bringing it inside, he took it to his office and closed the door. In short order, the package was open and what he found made him frown more. It was from David Hauberk and the package was for Karen. The note on the top of second package inside the first box said, "This is for Karen. I didn't know how to get it to her without raising suspicions at my work. Please give it to her as soon as you can. I'm sorry to have to do things this way. ~David." John told himself that he was opening the second package before giving it to Karen for her protection. However, part of him knew it was a combination of protective suspicion and good old fashioned curiosity. With the second box, he found five small gargoyle statues and one stone paw. The note with this package was more disturbing. "Karen, I don't know why we've switched from patrolling the woods and arresting people there to patrolling the city and dealing with gargoyles. These are the only gargoyles I could save. I'm not sure if they can regenerate but if they can, here is also a piece of one. Things are very strange at the SU. I'm trying to get the head of the SU to listen to me but, so far, he's been difficult to deal with. But, I think I'm getting through to him. I'm sorry. ~David." John thought the small gargoyles looked a bit like the courier gargoyles but, in truth, he could not be certain that they were not just ordinary gargoyle figurines. He had wondered what would be attacked next now that the Grey Lady had gone to ground. He had not expected it to be the gargoyles of the city. But, in a way, it made a sick kind of sense. Attack the wild. Then attack the city. After that, attack that which is both. Pulling on one kind of power, then another. He wondered if it was time to take matters into his own hands and have some sort of talk with Mason about his Special Unit and whoever was actually in charge now. He had tried to get an appointment with Mason last month but had been put off by the man's secretary. She had never put him off before. Obviously, something was amiss there but he had been too busy to deal with it. Looking back into the box, John knew he had to reorder his priorities again. With the gargoyles in trouble, Sebastian would be in trouble and Karen would be... forceful... in her actions. Not to mention the confusion of the ex-boyfriend who betrayed her now betraying his own people to try to protect the supernaturals of Kendrick. What a tangled web that man was weaving. First, he would call Karen and let her know he had something for her. Second, he would call Susan, she was the gargoyle expert in the area. Finally, he would get himself a cup of tea and think. It was time to figure out who was doing what…and to whom. That meant he would have to start snooping into the Children of Anu again and that was something he was not looking forward to. *** Mason sat in his daughter's home. Julie had been his youngest daughter until Victoria came along. Julie, like Vicki, was no longer precisely his biological daughter. According to family oracles (who were once again just that), Julie was dead and had died four years ago. Yet, here she was, sitting in front of him, drinking tea and patiently waiting for him to start. Julie had ascended to a higher level of their family's heritage. Somehow, she had become part of the city of Kendrick. She was still his daughter. And, she was something much more alien. Just like Vicki. He wondered if it was something in the Stewart blood. Then, he shook his head. He was here with a purpose. He needed to get to it. "Did you lose touch with the city at all in the last half year?" She frowned and shook her head. "No." "But you are alive and part of..." He touched his breast. "In a manner of speaking, yes. I live differently. You know that." She put her tea down. "I did lose touch with the family for a short time but... I thought that was on purpose." "Oh, honey. No." He shook his head. "No. That wasn't our doing. Not the Stewart family." He paused. "But, it was the fault of one of us." She did not say anything. Mason sighed. Julie had always been his quiet child but ever since her transformation, she had become down right laconic. "You have a younger sister. I didn't know she existed until recently. She... is dangerous. She did it." This surprised Julie and made her curious. "What's her name?" "Victoria Mordecai. She goes by Vicki. She's young, impetuous and... possessed. It's the only thing I can think of to describe it. The thing possessing her used her bloodline to me to steal... " He paused. "No. That's done and gone. Old business and dealt with. What I need... I need you to talk to the city for me, for the family." She frowned. "Why?" The subtext of why can't you do it? was there. "Because, I need definitive answers; not just generalities. We need this for the family, to figure out what to do now. My first loyalty is to the city, not Vicki. Certainly not in the state she is in. Now that we have our heritage back, I think we can do something about things but... I need to know what the city wants." "Wants with what? I'm not sure I understand." "Is what Vicki is doing, eliminating the other supernatural groups, what the city wants? Will it help Kendrick to be free of supernatural influences? Like losing parasites growing fat on the body of the city. Or is it going to hurt Kendrick and ruin a symbiotic relationship? I need to know. Once I know, I will do whatever is necessary to do what the city wants - even the most drastic measures." Mason looked at her. "Please, Julie. Only through you can I be sure." She nodded, looking troubled. "I will try. I think I understand. I'll let you know when I know something." "Thank you." Mason stood. "I really do want to do what's best for Kendrick. Sometimes, that means I need to do things I don't want to do." *** Karen sat in the gazebo of the Grey Lady's manor home. She looked down and saw a cup of dark liquid in her hand. She put it on the table in front of her with a clatter then looked up at the Grey Lady. "You're dead." "One such as I cannot die. Not in a way that you would understand." Her smile was gentle and sad. Her eyes were still a muddled brown instead of a clear grey. "I sleep. I dream." "Am I dreaming?" She looked around and at her own clothing. It looked like nothing she owned or had ever worn before. She wore a layered, high collared gown in white and pale blue. The ensemble was completed with a pair of white gloves. "You are. In a way." The lady looked away from her and out to the forest beyond the gazebo. "I am helping you." "Why?" It did not feel like she was sleeping or dreaming - yet, in a way, it did. "Because we need your help. We are not dead but we sleep. We do not want to. We are not meant to. Not right now. We need your help to wake us again." Karen took off her gloves and placed them next to her plate. She touched the teacup with her fingertips. It was warm from the tea. She reached out to touch the cream boat. It was cold. Somehow, the contrasting temperature of the porcelain convinced her that what the Grey Lady was saying was true. "If I can, I will help." "Beltane is coming. May day. The first of May. It is the changing of the courts. It is a day of renewal from one court to the next. Unseelie to Seelie. It is an important day. Gather the believers. Let them celebrate and worship as they are meant to do. If enough believers gather and work together, they will be able to draw the power from the usurper and back to the earth. Back to me and I may be able to wake. Not as I was before but enough so that I may help and guide. Awake, I am an ally. Asleep, I am nothing." "Beltane. Worship on Beltane. Find the believers and protect them enough to worship." Karen repeated. "I will try. It won't be easy. They are attacking the gargoyles now. Killing them where they find them. Draining them of their power." "Yes. I know. I will help you if I can." The Grey Lady was suddenly in front of her and they were both standing. "This is important, Karen. If I am awakened, I can be your ally. If not, I can be nothing to you except a dream. You must remember to do this. You must." Karen was startled. "I will remember. I promise." "Write it down when you wake up. Write whatever you need to write to remember this." "I will." Then, she was falling through clouds. She woke as she tumbled through the air, shouting, "I'll remember! I'll remember!" *** Elsewhere... David, clad in nondescript black from head to toe, crept towards the back door of Doctor Mercer's office. He had seen the sign on the property stating which alarm company was 'protecting' the location. He had experience with that alarm company and the monitoring company that watched the boards and was very sure he could jimmy his way past them without a problem. He smirked to himself at the idea of him breaking the law. Even a month ago, if someone had told him that he would do this, breaking and entering and theft, he would have laughed at them. Now, it wasn't so funny and it was all Aaron's fault. Damn the man for returning to Kendrick. Damn him for giving David the news that suddenly made the S.U.'s activities make so much more sense. "Doctor Mercer is spirit-ridden. It's one of the biggest spirits I've seen in a long time and it is hungry for blood." Aaron said. When he saw that David did not know what that meant, he explained, "In the Brotherhood of Light, our job is to keep spirits on the other side of the barrier. We don't always succeed. When we fail, a spirit, think of it like a demon, can float around freeform causing havoc or it can do what we consider 'riding a host.' He paused, trying to put it in the simplest possible terms. "It's like possession. Only, the host, the person, doesn't know they are being ridden. It is still their own personality. But now, they are influenced to do what the spirit wants in order to gain it power. Your Doctor Mercer is spirit-ridden and from what I can see, it is a very powerful spirit. A bad one that wants to cause the death of things." "Doctor Mercer is having the... my group... eradicate harmful supernatural creatures." David had lied, not really wanting to admit to attempted genocide of the gargoyles of the city. "That makes sense. It must be killing off the competition. More food and energy for it." "Are you sure about this?" Aaron nodded, "I am. I can see it. To me, it looks like a huge sack of blood with a tether to Doctor Mercer's head. I've always been able to see things. It's one of the reasons the Brotherhood took me in." Now, David was breaking into Doctor Mercer's office... to do what? Find proof of this spirit possession? No. To find out more about the man's plans. David paused, This is insane! You're doing this because seeing Aaron has thrown you and you're looking for a way to regain control. No. There's something here. I feel it. He's not as smart as he thinks he is. David's pause to reconsider his actions saved him from discovery. Above him, the light in the window went on and David crouched lower. He froze in place, listening as his training took over. After the sound of people moving around the room ceased, David shifted his body to a position where he could look into the window to see who was in the office. He was not surprised to see Doctor Mercer. He was, however, shocked to see the mayor's daughter, Vicki, with him. Again, he was struck by the sense of familiarity. He needed to know where he knew her from. As David watched, his eyes trying to see the spirit attached to Mercer, he was surprised for the second time that evening. Mercer caused a secret panel to open up in the wall across from the window. Within the secret panel was a tall, slender vault. With a clear view into the vault, David saw nothing but a single small pouch on one shelf. He crouched away from the window as Mercer turned back towards Vicki and, thus, towards the window. By the time David was able to look back into the window, Mercer was studiously looking through some notes, obviously not seeing them but obviously not wanting to stare at what Vicki was doing. David saw that she had the pouch cradled in her hands and seemed to be smelling it deeply, like a little girl with a bouquet of roses. For one brief instance, David was certain he saw something rise from the pouch and into Vicki's nose and mouth. In that one instant, her whole body seemed to pulse with a light you could not see but could feel. He knew that something very wrong was going on here and it was very important for him to get away and tell someone. Who, he did not know. He would figure that out later.
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| Last updated on 4/14/2008 9:47:29 PM by Jennifer Brozek |
| Return to the Library. Go to Kendrick 2008. |
| Other documents at this level: 25 - Shades of Grey 26 - Broken 27 - Keystones 29 - May Day 30 - Entropy 31 - The Past and Present Collide 32 - Absorption |
"I just wanted you to know that you've been doing an excellent job." Doctor Mercer said as he and David walked out of Kalihi Coffeehouse.