Lycans and Legends

Chapter 5: The Unthinkable

I stood staring into the void into which the stranger had disappeared. He’d opened a portal to the Otherworld here, right here, in the middle of London.

I considered his words, menacing but straightforward. If a werewolf had huffed something like that at me, I would have laughed. But something about the stranger had set me on edge. His words were not spoken like a threat. He had sounded…certain.

Lost to my thoughts, they were almost on me when I finally realized I was in danger.

Again.

“And just what are you doing so far from the light?” a deep, sultry voice asked.

For god’s sakes, fangs. Really?

I sighed heavily, unable to hide my exasperation. “Hunting much more interesting prey than you.”

“Hunting and failing, from what we can see. And now your heart is all a patter. We’ve all wondered for a long time what makes you smell so good, Clemeny Louvel. Now, we’ll finally get a taste.”

“Not today,” a voice called from behind us.

I heard a strange sound. The sound of bullets—no, not bullets—whizzed past me. The vampires, four in all, grunted as something struck them.

I looked behind me.

Agent Rose stood there, an odd-looking crossbow in her hands.

“You might want to move, Louvel,” she said, wagging a finger at the vampires.

I looked around me to see the fiends clutching stakes, which were protruding from their chests.

“Oh, damn,” I said then rushed away, taking cover in an alcove close by a moment before the vampires exploded. Strange, wet, popping sounds filled the tunnel, echoing all around.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

When it was over, I joined Agent Rose. “And where were you all this time?” I asked, holstering my pistol.

“In the tunnels under the museum, thanks to Harper,” she said, motioning to her boots which were covered in grime. “But all the fun was happening up top. Sorry they got in the way,” she said, motioning to the heaps of what had once been vampires.

“No, not in the way, just an annoyance, like flies. I lost my mark all on my own.”

She motioned toward the tunnel. “So, what was he?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.” I pulled the unknown assailant’s dagger from my belt. “Left this behind.”

Agent Rose looked at the blade, her eyes narrowing. “It’s glowing.”

I nodded.

Rose extended her gloved hand and took the dagger from me. When I passed the weapon to her, the glow faded.

Rose raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s interesting. Did it glow when he had it too?”

“I…yeah. It did.”

Rose weighed the weapon in her hand. She turned it over, looking at it carefully. “Strange markings. I’ve never seen anything like them before. Not silver. Not steel, either.”

I frowned. “The museum…what did you see back there? This creature wasn’t working alone.”

“There were boggarts. I saw one, for just a moment, before it slipped away.”

“Boggarts,” I said then frowned. Boggarts were dark spirits, shape-shifting creatures who never aligned themselves with anything good. For the most part, they stayed out of the way of the Red Cape Society. They worked jobs as hired men, assassins, and thieves. They were bloody hard to catch, always shifting form. The only way to catch them was to bind them in silver so they couldn’t shift. “Wonderful. So we have a mystery man threatening the apocalypse, a glowing blue dagger—”

“Which only glows when you touch it.”

I frowned at her.

She shrugged. “Just saying.”

“—a glowing blue dagger and boggarts.”

“Victoria still alive?”

“I think so. She and Harper went speeding off in my auto.”

“Well, the day isn’t a total loss then. I guess.

“You guess? We saved the Queen.”

Agent Rose smirked to herself. “I heard.”

I gave her a questioning look which she promptly ignored. “Shall we head back to headquarters before something else tries to kill us?” Agent Rose offered.

I shook my head. Whatever Rose’s story was, I wasn’t getting it out of her today. “Lead the way.”

* * *

Agent Rose and I took an underground tram back to headquarters. The moment we exited the lift, we could see the place in complete chaos. Everywhere I looked, agents from every division were scurrying around.

“Quite the kerfuffle,” Agent Rose observed, her arms across her chest.

“Let’s see if Harper is back,” I said.

Not finding her at her desk, we headed toward Edwin’s office. Along the way, however, we passed Agent Keung.

“He’s not there,” the agent told me.

“Where is he?”

“Artifacts and Archives. With Harper and Her Majesty.”

“Victoria is here?” Agent Rose asked.

Keung laughed. “Couldn’t you tell?” he said, motioning to the agents scurrying like rats. “A preternatural just tried to kill her, and we don’t know which one. All hands on deck,” he said with a chuckle then headed back to the main room.

Rose motioned to me, and we headed down a side hallway. There, we took a lift down to Artifacts and Archives.

As we went, Agent Rose studied the dagger on my belt, her pretty face scrunched up as she mulled something over.

“What is it?” I asked.

She carefully removed the dagger, studied it once more, then handed it to me.

Again, it glowed blue.

“Put on your gloves,” she told me, taking the dagger.

I did as I suggested.

She returned the knife to me.

Once more, it glowed.

Frowning, she took the knife and stuck it in her own belt. “Don’t touch it when we’re down there. Don’t let them see,” she said.

I stared at her. I knew what she was implying, but I asked anyway. “Why not?”

“Do you know why it glows blue?” she asked.

“Not really. Do you?” I replied, hoping she would have some hint.

“I have a guess. Nothing specific, but don’t let them see until you know why.”

“Rose…” I said.

She winked at me. “Whatever it is that makes that thing glow blue, you’d better find out what it is. Soon.”

The bell on the lift dinged.

Rose and I exited into the hall leading to Artifacts and Archives. Here, deep under London, a massive library and museum of curiosities were stored out of sight. We didn’t get far when we heard Her Majesty’s voice echoing down the hallway.

“It was all for nothing. No answers, just chaos,” Her Majesty was saying.

Agent Rose and I exchanged a glance then went to the meeting room. There, Edwin, Harper, Archibald Boatswain IV, Agent Greystock, and an agent wearing Indian garb stood looking at the Queen, all of them with pained expressions on their faces.

When I entered, I caught Harper’s eye.

She widened her eyes then shook her head, letting me know things were not going well.

That was obvious.

Queen Victoria looked up.

“Ah, Louvel,” she said. A momentary look of relief crossed her face, but then her glance went to Agent Rose. “And Aurora Rose,” she added with a half-frown. She looked away from Rose. “Well, Louvel, give me some good news.”

“Good news,” I said, struggling to figure out a way to spin the fact that I had lost the preternatural. “The good news is that I managed to waylay whatever preternatural was trying to murder you. I tracked him to the unfinished Brunswick tunnel at the end of the Dark District. Somehow, he opened a doorway into the Otherworld before I could arrest him.”

“And she disarmed him and retrieved this,” Agent Rose said, cutting in.

Rose set the dagger on the table in front of us.

Agent Greystock and the Queen went to the table to investigate. Agent Greystock picked up the weapon—it didn’t glow—adjusted her spectacles, then studied it carefully. She frowned hard then handed the weapon to the Queen—it didn’t glow in her grasp either.

Greystock then crossed the room and activated the intercom there.

“This is Greystock. Ask Albertus Stone to join us, please.”

“Well, Eliza? Is it what we feared?” the Queen asked Agent Greystock as she looked over the dagger.

“I hesitate to say either way. Let’s consult Agent Stone first.”

Victoria sighed heavily then turned to the stranger. “And your division? What news?” she asked the Indian agent.

The gentleman shook his head. “Your Majesty, the artifact you inquired about is gone. And we are down five agents, including our director and his deputy.”

“Wonderful. Just wonderful. Were any other artifacts taken?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“I finally get the common people in order, and now the preternatural society is imploding.” She turned to Archibald Boatswain IV. “How did a creature get into your automaton?” she snapped. But before he had a chance to answer, the Queen turned to Harper. “And how did it get past security?”

“We don’t know, Your Majesty. There was no one in that hall,” Harper said meekly. All the color had drained from her cheeks. I thought she might faint.

“By the time Archibald and I deactivated the automaton, the driver escaped,” Edwin explained.

“It was a boggart,” Agent Rose interjected.

“A boggart?” Victoria said, her voice thick with annoyance.

Agent Rose nodded. “He could have slipped into the hall in any form. Even as a mouse. No wonder he was overlooked. They are easy to miss if you don’t have an eye for them. I tracked him into the Dark District but lost him there.”

Edwin nodded. “A boggart. Yes, that would make sense.”

“This just gets better and better,” the Queen said then turned to me. “Who tried to kill me? Describe him.”

“Robed. Male. Long white hair. Pale skin. Blue designs, not exactly tattoos, on his skin.”

Victoria inhaled deeply and slowly, setting her fingertips on the table. “Shite,” she murmured under her breath.

I raised an eyebrow at Her Majesty.

Across the room, Harper covered her mouth so she wouldn’t giggle aloud.

“Here. I’m here. I’m here, Your Majesty,” a rushed voice called from the hallway. A flood of footsteps approached the room. A moment later, a little man with large spectacles, an armload of papers, and an untucked shirt raced into the room. He dropped his parchments on the table then took a moment to smooth down his wild hair. “Agent Albertus Stone, Your Majesty.”

Agent Greystock cleared her throat, swallowing some embarrassment. “Agent Stone is the Red Capes’ best symbologist, Your Majesty.”

“Oh my god,” Albertus Stone said in an awed whisper when he spotted the dagger lying on the table. “Oh my god,” he repeated again. Without waiting for an invitation, he lifted the dagger—it didn’t glow. He pushed his spectacles onto the top of his head then dipped into his pocket. After pulling out a few miscellaneous items, tossing them carelessly onto the table, he stuck an optic into his eye. He activated the lens, which buzzed and clicked, his eye growing huge. He studied the engravings.

“Well?” Queen Victoria asked.

“Where did you get this?” Agent Stone asked.

“Irrelevant,” Victoria snapped. “What is it?”

The man set the blade down then removed the optic. He looked at the Queen. “Faerie metal. Star metal, it’s sometimes called. This blade is from the Otherworld.”

“And the symbols?” Agent Greystock asked.

“The symbols,” Agent Stone repeated, looking at the dagger once more.

“Are they Golden Court?” the Queen asked, referring to the mostly-friendly Seelies, faeries who occasionally visited our world.

Agent Stone chuckled. “No. No. Far, far from it, Your Majesty. Oh, no. These are Unseelie symbols. These belong to the Silver Court.”

“Unseelies,” Edwin said, his voice thick with alarm.

Edwin was right to be upset. The Unseelies were dark faeries who hated humans at best and wanted to kill us all at worst. But the Unseelies were rarely seen in the human realm, save the brief visit by Krampus the holiday before. Before him, an Unseelie hadn’t entered our world—that we knew of—for many, many years.

Queen Victoria sighed. “As we feared.”

“Perhaps we should—” Edwin began, but Victoria raised a hand to stop him.

“You are dear to me, Edwin, but no more suggestions. It’s not your fault, but your last idea nearly got me assassinated. No. Greystock, work with Agent Tiwari to research the artifact taken from the India division. Agent Rose,” the Queen said, her voice dark. Did she dislike Agent Rose? Why? “Why don’t you and your gentlemanly friend skulk about and learn which of our dark friends are throwing in allegiance with the Unseelie. You spotted the boggart. Let’s see if you can spot him again.”

Agent Rose nodded. “As Your Majesty commands.”

Queen Victoria rolled her eyes and gave Agent Rose a sidelong glare but said nothing else. Instead, she turned and looked at me. “You disarmed the assailant, Louvel?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“In hand-to-hand combat?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Well done. Shame that you lost him.”

“I’m very sorry, Your Majesty.”

“Who was he?” Archibald Boatswain IV asked.

Queen Victoria sighed. “We don’t know for certain, but I have an educated and rather frightening guess,” she said then turned to Edwin. “Are all of the Pellinore assets still at Willowbrook Park?”

The previous summer, Edwin, Harper, and I had assisted the Pellinore division of the Red Capes with a case that involved, of all things, a living descendant of King Arthur. We’d managed to help protect a girl named Rapunzel from a bunch of thugs who were trying to kill her and her faerie guardian, Gothel. She was the last true decedent of the ancient king. She and her interesting pets were in hiding at Edwin’s family estate, Willowbrook Park, along with the Pellinore division of the Red Capes who were her sworn protectors.

“Yes,” Edwin said with a nod.

“Good. I want you and Agent Harper to go to Willowbrook Park and try to connect with the faerie Gothel. Let’s see if she knows anything. Louvel, rustle up Sir Richard and head to Cornwall, please.”

My heart clenched. To the summer country? “Cornwall?”

“Yes. It’s time our druid friends came clean. If they are still in communication with the Golden Court, then it’s time to communicate,” the Queen said.

“Your Majesty, what’s happening?” Harper asked.

“An Unseelie tried to murder me today, Agent Harper. What we don’t know yet is if he is a rogue actor or if the Silver Court is about to attempt the unthinkable.”

The unthinkable. I remembered the Unseelie’s words. I own the future. Something told me the unthinkable was about to get very real.