Spellbound

Chapter 13

Unknown Location

It began in the rain, holding George’s dead head in her hands. A gigantic black bird spread its wings and blocked the rain. It spoke with Crow’s voice. “You can’t stop me, Faye. Don’t even try.”

The demon was killing her friends, picking them off one by one. She’d Travel to their side, only to arrive a second too late. She’d appear, but they were already gone. She’d just find bits and pieces. Jane’s favorite white dress, soaked red. Dan’s broken glasses. Heinrich’s coat was smoldering in a charred pit. Mr. Browning’s workbench was empty, tools scattered. Lance’s cowboy hat was ripped in half and there were bits of meat and hair stuck to it. Whisper’s fancy umbrella was rolling in the wind down an empty street. She kept on Traveling, faster and faster, trying to catch up to the demon.

She was with Delilah again, like she’d been at the very end, missing half of her face. “Hurry, Faye. He’s killing everyone!”

“I can’t. He’s too fast.”

The pretty side of Delilah’s face laughed at her. “Or you’re too slow. What’s it going to be, kid?”

“Why can’t I get stronger again?”

“You must not want it bad enough.”

Mr. Sullivan was the strongest. Surely, he could beat the demon. But by the time she got there he was holding his guts in his lap and trying to stuff them back inside. “Damn it, girl. I was counting on you. Look what you’ve done. You killed me again.”

Grandpa. She found him at the haystacks, just like before. Dying from Madi’s bullet, he whispered something that she couldn’t hear, but she knew that it was something about how she hadn’t been there to save him. Bitter sadness ripped her heart in two.

One last Travel put her onto the roof of a tall building. Francis was dangling from the edge. He called out for her to help, but she moved like molasses. As Francis’ fingers slipped from the edge, a massive black shape climbed over the side of the skyscraper. It towered over her. The demon was a hundred feet tall, made of smoke and death, and it tore Francis from the ledge and flung him down before it came for her.

Faye woke up screaming.

She was in a car. It was dark out.

“Calm down. It was just a nightmare.” Whisper was driving fast, squinting against the oncoming headlights. “Everything is fine.”

It took Faye a moment to remember where she was and how she’d gotten there. No. Things are not fine at all. She cracked her neck. Her head had been hanging at a weird angle while she’d been sleeping. Her lungs and eyes hurt, and she was glad that it was too dark to see where the Summoned’s blood had burned her. It throbbed with a dull ache.

There was an awful cough from the backseat. Faye looked over to see Ian stretched out. “Is he going to be all right?”

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “I think he has some injuries we can’t see. He’s been getting worse. If I take him to a hospital, we will doubtlessly be arrested. I have good news, though.”

“Huh?” Faye was still dizzy and it was hard to think. Something to do with the demon oil she’d breathed. It was messing with her head.

“Your friend the Healer is on the way. We’re going to meet her in Knoxville.”

Jane? She can fix anything. “Is that far?”

“You have been asleep for a very long time. We’ll be there soon. Don’t worry.”

Faye nodded and rested her head back against the window. She’d been slipping in and out. The last thing she could remember it had been daytime and Whisper had said they’d been in Arkansas. “Are you okay?”

“Tired… I’ll be fine.”

Faye looked over again. Whisper was still wearing her torn nightgown. Of course, all of their luggage had burned in the fire. She caught Faye looking and smiled. “Yes. I look quite the mess. I’ve gotten some odd looks when we’ve stopped for gas, but luckily the attendants have all been boys. I flirt with them for a minute, say a few nice things, make an excuse about coming from a wild bonfire party, and that’s either so scandalous or so exciting that they don’t even notice you two.”

“What are you going to do if it’s a girl that fills up our gas?”

Whisper winked. “That is not an issue. I can flirt with girls too if necessary.”

“Huh?” Faye didn’t get it. French people were weird.

“Never mind that. Do you feel well enough to talk? I need to talk or I won’t be able to stay awake.”

Faye just grunted. She felt like she’d been run over by an angry Holstein. She was running a fever and her brain was working slower than normal, which probably put her around regular person speed. She didn’t know how they could stand being so sluggish.

“How does your magic feel?”

What an odd question. “Why?”

“Well… You’re a fugitive. If we come across a police roadblock I need to know what our options are.”

That made sense. Faye checked her Power. It was there, and feeling surprisingly strong. It must have recharged better than her body. Wait a second… Faye checked her head map. It stretched much further than anticipated. Twice as far as it had when she’d been bouncing around fighting the demon. “It’s… it’s better. More like before.”

Whisper looked temporarily distressed, but then tried to laugh it off. “Like when you Traveled the Tempest, because if you could have just taken us directly to Knoxville and saved me this horrendous trip I would have appreciated knowing that ten hours ago.”

“No.” Faye stopped to cough. “Not that much. But it’s better than yesterday by a bunch.” It was more like how she’d been before Madi had blown up Francis’ house with the Peace Ray. It was like she’d first started growing stronger when Grandpa had gotten shot, and it had just kept growing and growing all the way until she’d gone toe to toe against the Chairman. Then she’d used it all up doing something that should have been impossible.

“You are stronger, but do you feel different?”

“Whisper, you sound scared. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… I… I am just concerned for you is all.”

“I’m just tired.” She’d been weaker after the Tokugawa fight, and though she’d gotten better again with practice, she hadn’t come close to the energy she’d been able to muster before. Why now? That was really strange. Would the stronger connection to the Power stick around again, or would she lose it like last time?

If she hadn’t been so darn tired and out of it, she probably would’ve pondered on that particular mystery for a while. Instead she drifted off and was snoring in a few minutes.

She didn’t hear Whisper mutter to herself, “I wish that I had been wrong.”

Bell Farm, Virginia

They made it home late. Home, being a dilapidated farmhouse just itching to fall down, was a relative term, but it was a place to lay his weary head. Sullivan was tired. Playing mental games against somebody like J. Edgar Hoover was more tiring than breaking rocks. Plus, his body still ached from the fight with the Imperium Brute. Magical Mending could fix the wound, but the pain managed to stick around.

They parked the truck in the barn and walked to the house. Sullivan felt it first. The wartime instincts never really went away. The woods were too quiet. “We’re being watched,” he whispered. Dan started to turn his head. “Play it cool.” The other knight pretended to relax, but he kept one hand close to his piece.

Sullivan exercised his Power to feel the world around him. The metal bits were so much denser than their surroundings that they stuck out like beacons. Fifteen yards. One person in the bushes. Armed.

The noise of a revolver being cocked was very distinctive. After that came a woman’s voice. “Don’t move.”

He didn’t need to move to bend the hell out of gravity, so Sullivan prepared to Spike their new guest halfway across Virginia.

“Easy, Sullivan. I just want to talk.”

“Hammer…”

Dan had one hand on his pistol. “Who?”

“The lady who served me up to the OCI on a plate.”

She came walking out of the shadows, gun trained on them. “I didn’t know it was a setup. I was just supposed to get you to answer the phone. I didn’t know they meant to kill you.”

“I’m more inclined to believe folks who aren’t pointing heaters at me.”

“I’m just being careful. You’ve got a reputation for tossing people around.”

Sullivan scanned the trees. The range that he could check with his Power was limited. She could have an army out there. “You alone?”

“Just me and Mr. Colt here.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Only if I was here to fight, which I’m not. I’ll put this down, but give me your word that you won’t use magic on me first or start anything unless it is self-defense.”

“Are you serious?”

“Promise.”

That was an odd request. Sullivan looked at Dan, who just shrugged. “Okay. Fine. I promise I won’t attack you unless you attack me.”

“No tricks. Just hear me out. Then we part ways.”

“Agreed.”

“You’re telling the truth.” Hammer lowered the revolver. “You have no idea how refreshing that is.”

“This your fake redhead, Jake?” Dan asked, the subtle edge of magic in his words. “Because I’ve got to say, she might’ve bragged to you about how good she was at finding folks, but she sure didn’t exaggerate her talents. You certainly didn’t exaggerate about her being pretty either. She’s just as lovely in person. Very nice to meet you.”

“Save the flattery for a chump, Mouth. Your Power won’t work on me.”

Dan smiled. “Can’t blame a man for trying.”

“You here to arrest me?” Sullivan asked. “Because I’ve really got more important things to worry about right now.”

“Originally, I was. Now, I’m probably going to regret this. Hell, never mind, I know I’m going to regret this.” Hammer paused. “I’m here to help you.”

This woman was trouble. Sullivan shook his head. “No thanks. Got all the help I need.”

“You know a man by the name of Heinrich Koenig?”

“What about him?” Dan asked, positively dripping suspicion over the use of his dead friend’s name.

“He’s being held captive by the OCI, until they get tired of him. Then they’ll execute him even though they know he’s innocent, which is frankly an idea I find bothersome.”

“Impossible! Heinrich…” Dan looked to Sullivan. “Francis never got to see his body.” Then he grinned as he latched onto some hope. “I knew that stubborn son of a gun wouldn’t die that easy!” Dan went to unlock the door.

“So, you boys ready to talk yet? You know you want to.”

It might be an elaborate trick, but he was always a sucker for a mystery, and Hammer knew that about him. Sullivan gestured to the door of the farmhouse. “Come in.”

Hammer followed. “Not to be rude or anything, but you got anything to eat in here? I’ve been hiding in the bushes all afternoon, and spying is terribly famishing work.”

As they entered the house, Dan had already positioned himself off to the side, 45 in hand. He cracked the slide over the top of her head, hard enough to lay her out. Hammer hit the floor and her gun slid away.

“Damn it, Dan.” Sullivan looked down at the dazed woman. “What’d you do that for?”

“You gave your word, not mine.” Dan opened Hammer’s coat and discovered a gun belt. He removed another revolver and set it aside. “I don’t know what her Power is, but I can tell it’s something crafty. I bounced right off of her. Definitely a mental-type Active from what you said before, and she’s just oozing Power. If she’s going to start playing mind control or something, I want the deck stacked in our favor first.”

It wasn’t a bad idea at all. “That’s reasonable. I just hope you didn’t hit her too hard.”

“That was a love tap. I was a perfect gentlemen. It’ll just leave a goose egg.”

Hammer was cursing them. She rolled over and put her hands on her head. “Oh, you filthy rotten-” Then she got really nasty.

“Lady’s got a mouth on her. You believe that stuff about Heinrich?”

“Not really.”

“Think it’s a trap?”

“More than likely,” Sullivan agreed.

“Help me tie her up?”

“Well, I said I’d play nice. So you do it. I’ll get dinner started.”

Dinner consisted of opening a few cans of vegetables and one that was filled with a congealed meatlike substance, mixing them together in a pot, and heating it all on the stove until it was hot enough to distract them from the taste. Sullivan never claimed to be a very good cook.

Hammer was tied to a chair with some baling wire that Dan had found in the barn. In the spirit of fairness, Dan had just tied her ankles and one wrist to the chair, leaving her left hand free so that she could still eat. After sampling the noxious sludge Sullivan had prepared, she’d said that they weren’t doing her any favors.

“Being the fat one, you must be Dan Garrett. So, Mr. Garrett, you like hitting women?”

“Far from it. I work in an environment where it isn’t terribly uncommon to have the supposedly weaker sex bend steel beams with their bare hands. I treat all of my threats equally. Hell, I’m practically a suffragist.”

She poked at the baling wire with her free hand. “This isn’t necessary.”

“Nothing personal,” Dan explained, “but a lot of very powerful people are trying to kill us right about now, so we can’t be too careful.”

“So you buffaloed me,” Hammer muttered. “You’re a real class act.”

“If it’s any consolation, my wife will Mend that bump when she gets back… Unless of course, she decides not to because you were rudely pointing a gun at her husband.”

“And if I’d just walked up and been friendly as can be?”

“You’d probably still be tied to that chair, but wouldn’t have the headache.”

Sullivan chuckled. “First time I met Dan, I got tossed off a blimp. So in comparison, you got off easy.”

Hammer glared at him. “You’re a bastard.”

“So I been told. Start talking.”

She did. Hammer told them about being recruited to find him because she was a Justice. That piqued Sullivan’s scholarly interest, since he’d never actually had a confirmation that such Actives were real. Hopefully, if they ended up on speaking terms after this he’d have to interview her for his notes. She insisted that she’d been as surprised as he was about how the OCI had tried to shoot him, and how afterward she’d then been recruited by Crow.

“Why, after seeing what a shyster bunch they were, did you go along with that?”

“None of your damn business.”

Dan started to ask another question, but Sullivan held up one hand. He’d been forced to chose between working for J. Edgar Hoover or staying in Rockville. It wouldn’t surprise him in the least to see G-men using dirt on another Active to get their job done. Blackmail, threats, whatever, it was one more reason to tread extra carefully around Hammer. “It don’t matter. Go on.”

She told them a bit about how her Power worked, how she could follow someone and know which path they’d taken, and how that had led her to the ambassador’s mansion.

“Lucky that Brute didn’t eat you for breakfast.”

“Are you kidding? Toru was polite compared to you two. That’s a sad state of affairs when the Imperium are the hospitable ones of the bunch.”

“Oh, they’re all sorts of polite, until he found out you had a rare Power and kidnapped you for Unit 731 to experiment on.” Dan sounded bitter, the memory of Madi taking Jane still fresh in his mind.

“I didn’t say I wanted to start palling around with them. After that I tracked you into the country. Then Crow appeared out of thin air. I still haven’t figured out how he does that.”

“Near as we can figure, he’s a Summoner that possesses demons, like a Beastie controls animals.” Which was a fascinating concept, one that he’d never heard of before, or even considered possible. It was too bad he was probably going to have to kill Crow, because he would love to know how he’d accomplished such a feat.

Hammer appeared deep in thought. “That makes sense. He’s like a big bag of lies, and when I get a glimpse of the truth, it’s been too …”

“Weird?” Dan suggested.

“Alien. I’ve only talked to him a few times now, but each time it’s like talking to a different person.”

Sullivan’s guess was that was the different demons he was wearing. He’d have to update his notes on Actives, preferably after they’d put Crow in the ground. Whatever the hell he was, he was a danger first and foremost. “How’d he find you?”

“They carved a spell onto my car. I found it and wrecked it.”

Sullivan got up and went to the kitchen window. The woods were still and dark. “That could’ve been a decoy. There might be another.”

“Yeah, so I ditched that car and boosted a different one.”

He closed the curtain. “That’s not very nice.”

“You stole my new Ford!” Hammer sputtered.

“I left it someplace it would be found.”

“On its roof!”

Dan laughed at him. Sullivan folded his arms defensively and scowled at Dan. “It was on its wheels when I left it. My apologies. I’ll make it up to you and get you another. Those Hyperions are pricey though. It might take me awhile.”

“I can’t believe it.” She shook her head. “You’re telling the truth. You’re a real piece of work, aren’t you, Sullivan? Every lawman in the country has your picture on the wall and you’re worried about how you’re going to replace my car. We’ve got more important things to worry about.”

“So it’s we now?” Dan asked. “Lady, I don’t trust you as far as Jake could throw you. Why should I start now?”

She told them about the recording of Heinrich and Crow’s admission that he had proof, and how both were at OCI headquarters. That sounded a little too convenient for Sullivan. Yet, as Hammer talked, he studied her. She was tough, and she had an attitude about her, but if this was a trap it wasn’t her creation. Hammer seemed sincere… but then again, she’d played him like a fool the very first time they’d met. When she was done, she looked him square in the eye, and asked, “You believe me now?”

“I believed you were a redhead. Look where that got me.”

“That was business.” Hammer glowered at him. “It got you some exercise and a chance to talk to a ghost. Admit it, you’d do it again.”

She had him there. “All right. If you want me to trust you, why the change of heart?”

“It isn’t enough that I don’t want to see an innocent man hang? I’m putting myself in jeopardy by even talking to you! What do you think he’s going to do to me when Crow finds out? I’m risking my life. Isn’t that good enough?”

Sullivan shook his head.

“Fine…” Hammer hesitated. “Tell me about your rings.”

Dan covered his with his off hand. “What about them?”

“My father had a lot of respect for the men that wore those.”

“He was Grimnoir?” Sullivan asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“Hammer?” Dan leaned forward. “Married or maiden name?”

“Born with it. I’m single…” she answered. Sullivan looked at her funny. “What?”

“I was just going to say I could see why.” Hammer made an amusing face when she was angry. “You’re kind of pushy.”

Dan paid them no mind. “You’re a Texan?” Hammer nodded. “I’ve got an ear for accents. Was your father Lee Hammer?”

“You knew him?” Without another word, Dan stood up, pushed down Hammer’s free hand and twisted it down with wire. He then took Sullivan by the arm and guided him out of the kitchen. “Wait! What do you know?”

Once they were out of earshot in the hall, Dan began pacing and rubbing his face. “Hell, this is complicated.”

“What’s the deal, Dan?”

“Keep your voice down. Lee Hammer never took the oath. Lord knows Pershing asked him enough times. Said he’d already taken one as a marshal and didn’t ever want to have to choose between the two in case there was a conflict. But he helped us quite a few times. Pershing was a friend of his. They went after Pancho Villa together. I’ve heard stories about him, but never met the man.”

“So, she’s legit?”

“Maybe. Apples don’t fall far from the tree, but sometimes they bounce when they hit and roll a ways.”

Sullivan shrugged. His parents had been decent enough folks, but he had one brother that had been a murderous lunatic. “Yeah, I guess. So do you think she’s leading us into a trap or not?”

“Her? Maybe… Crow, definitely. I wish we had that tape so we could see if it’s really Heinrich’s voice or not.”

“If she’s a Justice, then she’d have known if it wasn’t him.”

“Only if she’s telling us the truth, which she might not be. I wish we had a Reader handy… This is complicated.”

“You’ve said that. What’s so complicated about it? She’s either on our side or she’s not.”

“Because she’d be right to hold a grudge.” Dan looked pained. “Look, I’ll explain later. She can’t force the truth out of you if you don’t know it.” He started to walk back to the kitchen but Sullivan stepped in front of him.

“I happen to be a fan of the truth.”

Dan shook his head sadly. “He died helping us. We got him killed.”

They hadn’t twisted the wire down too hard. Dan Garrett talked tough, but he hadn’t even let it cut into her skin. Hammer knew she could wiggle a hand free and get herself out of this in no time. They had gone around the corner to talk privately. It would only take a second. Her guns were sitting on the counter. They’d never see it coming.

This was stupid. They didn’t trust her, and why should they? Sullivan was honorable enough to not put a bullet in her head and dump her body in the woods, but she couldn’t tell about Garrett. Since Mouths were so good at twisting their words, their lies didn’t even register. She hated Mouths because they were one of the only types that she couldn’t judge. He’d sucker-punched her and she’d walked right into it. As a professional, that was flat-out embarrassing.

She could skip out the back, run for the car. By the time she could contact the OCI the Grimnoir would be long gone. Crow would be suspicious, but she could just say that they’d surprised her and tied her up. It wasn’t too far from the truth. The wire wasn’t that tight. She probably wouldn’t even leave much skin behind…

Hell with it. As her daddy used to say, in for a penny, in for a pound. She left the wire alone and waited for the Grimnoir to finish their conference. Besides, they could come back around the corner any second and it would look real suspicious if she was in the process of untying herself.

The walls were thin. She could hear voices but couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. When they came back in she would try to convince them that she was telling the truth. She had to watch herself, though. The normal alarm bells that would be going off when somebody lied to her simply didn’t work with Garrett.

Sullivan raised his voice. Something had ticked him off. The conversation tapered off again and she didn’t get to hear anything else. They came back a minute later, looking glum. Sullivan untwisted the wires around her wrists. “Sorry about this.” He knelt down and freed her ankles. He was surprisingly gentle about it. “And I’m real sorry about the whack on the head.”

She rubbed the circulation back into her hands. “And the general indignity of it all?”

“That too.”

“And my car?”

“Don’t push it.” Sullivan went over and took a seat. Garrett stayed leaning against the wall.

“You’ve put us between a rock and a hard place,” the Mouth said. “There’s layers here, and we’ve got to figure out which ones are legit and which ones are a scheme, and I don’t have your advantage in that department, so you’re just going to have to forgive my rudeness while we sort this out.”

“That’s okay. I hear Sullivan likes puzzles.”

Garrett suddenly flinched and jerked his hand back as if it had been shocked. “Huh?”

Hammer noticed that Sullivan had clenched one hand into a fist and was studying his ring. “Incoming message,” he said. “Lance.”

“I got it. If you’ll excuse me,” Garrett said, and he hurried from the room, leaving her alone with Sullivan.

“What’s that all about?” she asked.

“We can use these to set up communication spells,” he explained patiently. “Probably a lot neater before they invented the telephone and all, but as you can see, not a lot of lines around here… And I probably shouldn’t be telling you anything else.”

“That’s interesting.” Hammer had always been intrigued by all the mysteries of the Power. She’d pieced together several useful tricks over the years, but according to her investigation, Sullivan was supposed to be a wealth of knowledge. “You remember the first time we spoke. I wasn’t lying about one thing. I do find Actives a fascinating topic.”

“Well, you came to the right place. Once we get this sorted out and if I’m not in the electric chair or Rockville, I’d love to talk about what it is you do. I’ve been cataloging as much as I can about how the Power works.”

“So I did have you pegged, Mr. Librarian. Mind of a scholar in the body of an ox.”

“Scholar? Maybe if circumstances had been different. Here in the real world I’m just too damn good at fighting. It keeps cutting into my reading time.” He chuckled. “Listen, Hammer-”

“Pemberly.” She decided then that she liked this big, honest, tough guy. On first impressions, some people might mistake Sullivan for simple, but he was anything but. “That’s my name.” Sullivan nodded slowly, as if analyzing if she was trying to con him again. “Friends call me Pem.”

“I’m sure they do, but I’m not there yet. I’m going to explain some things to you. Dan’s going to explain some more. The Grimnoir are a good bunch. The folks running it are secretive sometimes to the point of stupid, but with the way things are going now I can maybe see why they’re like that. We do good things and we defend a lot of folks who can’t defend themselves.”

That sounded a lot like her father. “You trying to sell me something?”

“I save the fancy talk for the Mouth. What I’m trying to say-” Sullivan stopped and jerked his head toward the front of the house. “You hear that?”

Someone was shouting.

Sullivan swept back his jacket and pulled a big automatic from a holster on his hip. “Hang on.” He walked quickly down the hall. Hammer ran over and picked up her guns. If Crow had somehow followed her here

… That was too horrible to think about. She followed Sullivan into the front room. He got behind the wall and peeked out one corner of the window. “Aw, hell.”

“What is it?” She moved up on the other side of the window and looked out.

It was dark, but she could make out a lone figure standing in front of the farmhouse. He raised his voice and bellowed. “Jake Sullivan! Come out and face me!”

“That’s the Imperium diplomat I talked to.”

“Diplomat, my ass. Iron Guard,” Sullivan said through clenched teeth. “Tough bastards. Remember earlier when Dan mentioned Unit 731?”

“Yeah?”

“You got a rare Power. Trust me, you do not want to get captured by the Imperium.” Sullivan moved to the other side of the door and picked up a large, strange-looking rifle. He pulled the bolt back with a clack. A bandoleer of magazine pouches went over one shoulder. “Go get Dan.”

“Jake Sullivan! I am Toru. Are you a coward? Face me, Heavy!”

Sullivan put one hand on the latch and took a deep breath.

“What’re you going to do?”

“I’ll hold them off and kill as many as possible. We’re probably surrounded. I’ll cause a ruckus and distract them. Once they’re concentrating on me, then you two run for your lives.”

“I’m a good shot.” She hoisted the Bisley. “I can help.”

He grabbed her hard by the arm and pulled her around. “Listen to me. Iron Guards don’t die easy.” Sullivan glared at her. “Don’t be stupid. Get out of here. I’ll catch up.”

I’ll catch up. It was the first time he’d actually lied to her tonight.

Sullivan threw open the door, kept as much of his body behind concealment as possible, and aimed his bullpup BAR at the Iron Guard. It was dark, and the only illumination was from the lantern light leaking through the doorway, but the Iron Guard was only ten yards away. It was an easy shot. “Evening, Toru.”

“Mr. Sullivan,” the Iron Guard responded politely.

He had to keep Toru talking, let him gloat to buy the others time to escape. This place was flimsy. A machine gun in the trees would shred the farmhouse. Toru wouldn’t have announced himself unless his men were already in position. That honor-bound son of a bitch probably wanted to fight him one on one to make up for last time. That seemed like the Iron Guard thing to do. Good. He’d use his Power to make a mess of things and hopefully Dan and Pemberly could make it out the back. There would be more Imperium in the fields, but hopefully Dan’s Japanese language practice would finally pay off. “Nice night for a fight to the death.”

“Most nights are.”

“How’d you find me?” He said me instead of us on purpose. Hopefully the Imperium didn’t know about the others.

“I had a Finder put a spirit on the woman looking for you. She struck me as someone who would not give up the chase easily.”

So much for protecting the others. “That was clever.”

Toru gave the slightest bow. “Thank you.”

Sullivan never could understand these Imperium elites. They were unfailingly polite up until the moment they ended your life.

Knoxville, Tennessee

Faye woke up to the unnatural warmth of a Healer’s touch. “Jane?”

“Yes, I’m here. Just relax.”

Faye looked around. She was on a bed and couldn’t remember if she’d walked to it or been carried. They were probably in a motel from the way it was decorated all simple and beige. Whisper was asleep in a big chair. Ian was on the other bed, and from the look of him, Jane had got to him first. His breathing was normal for the first time since the fire. She heard a rough and familiar voice. Lance was talking to somebody just out of view, and from the white light reflecting on the walls, she knew it was through a spell.

Jane’s glowing hands were on her stomach. The deep scratches Crow had given her were burning. Globs of black oil rose up out of her skin and rolled until gravity dripped them to the blankets. She coughed hard and a bit of black smoke puffed out of her mouth and floated away. Her whole body was burning up, and then it was over and she could breathe. The recently fused bits of skin were hot spots, like when they used to heat rocks on the stove to stick in bed to stay warm during the winter, but everything else was cool. Her body was damp with sweat and sleepy.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Jane said. She was sitting on the edge of the bed and laid one gentle and freezing cold hand on Faye’s forehead. “Believe it or not, Summoned are usually very clean. Rarely do their wounds turn septic so quickly. Everything about this one screams corruption.”

“He’s a real jerk, too. Thanks, Jane.”

“It was nothing.”

Ian had sat up the other bed, leaned over, and picked up something from Faye’s bed. The Summoned ink that had come out of Faye’s arm had formed into little balls of tar. “I’ve been dealing with Summoned since I was a child, and I’ve never seen one like that before.”

“How so?” Jane asked.

Ian rubbed the goo between his fingers. “A few things. Obviously, having a human steering it being the biggest, but besides that, it changed shape and mass too quickly. When you draw in a Summoned, it takes a physical form and that’s it. They don’t change until they’re destroyed or dismissed. The more powerful the Summoner, the greater the Summoned you can bring, but this thing was very different. Our friend Crow is playing in some uncharted ground.”

“Good to see you’re still alive, too, Ian. Thanks for asking,” Faye said.

Ian looked around the room. “Where’s George?” Faye shook her head sadly. He got her meaning. “Oh… I didn’t know.” Ian lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. The people in Ada aren’t.” Jane patted Faye’s arm. “We all die eventually, and very few of us will do it as bravely as he did.”

“It was terrible, Jane.” Faye’s eyes suddenly felt really wet. “He was a really nice man.”

“All over the country, people are calling him a hero. They’re talking about him on every radio show, George Bolander, the man that hit a demon so hard he ended the drought. Even if they’ve already gotten the story all wrong, they’ll never forget him. All of the horrible things they’ve been blaming on Actives in general and us knights in particular were just washed away in one moment of courage.”

Jane always did have a different way of looking at things that made Faye feel a little bit better.

“What’re you doing up still, Dan? Don’t you guys ever sleep?” Lance asked.

She could hear Dan Garrett’s voice over the spell. “Busy day. Kidnapped J. Edgar Hoover and now Sullivan’s questioning an OCI bounty hunter downstairs.”

“Hello, honey,” Jane called.

“That’s your idea of staying out of trouble? Suppose that’s what I get for leaving you two unattended.” Lance scratched his beard. “From that stupid grin, I can tell you’re enjoying yourself entirely too much. We picked up the other three. Jane got them Mended.”

“That’s great-”

There was the sound of a door crashing open. A woman shouted. “Iron Guards!” Faye popped off the bed in a flash. Even Whisper woke up instantly at the words. Someone shouting “Iron Guards” would always get a Grimnoir to jump, but the voice was coming through the spell. Faye ran to look over Lance’s shoulder.

The view in the mirror showed Dan Garrett, a look of shock on his face. A pretty lady was standing in the doorway behind him. “Sullivan said we’ve got to run for it. He’s going to hold them off.”

“Oh no.” Mr. Garrett turned back. “Gotta go.”

“Wait!” Faye shouted. Her brain seemed to be working at its normal pace again, and she had an idea. Traveling safely wasn’t based on how great the distance was, she’d proven that before. It was like space was a big sheet and she could just pick up two spots and smoosh them together, even when it was a big sheet. The dangerous part was that her head map could only see so far, a tiny percentage of how far she could actually go, and Traveling beyond that safe zone risked getting her stuck in something.

“No time, Faye.”

“Just hang on!” A quick check showed that her Power was feeling especially feisty still. They were like a thousand miles away, but it didn’t matter. She had a perfectly clear view through the mirror. She checked her head map, and as it came flooding in nice and clear, she redirected it. Instead of looking at a big circle around the motel room, she gathered all of that map up and shoved it against the spell.

“Whoa!” Dan and Lance both said at the same time, since it was their respective Powers that were holding the link together.

Instead of a big circle, her head map pierced through the mirror in a narrow beam, like light coming through a keyhole.

Clear.

“I can do this.”

“Faye, wait! It is too dangerous!” Whisper cried.

“I have to.” Nobody was better at killing Iron Guards than Sally Faye Vierra! She stuck out one hand. “Lance, gun!” They’d been through a lot together, so he didn’t even bother wasting time questioning Faye when she got spun up. Lance drew his big revolver and gave it to her. “Hang on, Dan, I’m on the way!”

Bell Farm, Virginia

Toru took a few steps closer to the lantern light, revealing that the Iron Guard was carrying so much gear that only a Brute or a Spiker could possibly walk. He had one of the strange Imperium light machine guns with the magazine on top in one hand and that gigantic metal-spiked club in the other. On his belt was that traditional long-sword, short-sword combo that the Iron Guard seemed to love, two pistols, and a hand grenade. He was wearing a big vest covered in pouches, and had a large backpack which, from the feel of gravity, was stuffed. Toru had packed heavy.

“You brought everything and the kitchen sink.”

“I do not understand the reference.”

“Kind of hard to fight carrying all that crap, isn’t it?”

Toru set the machine gun down on its bipod and unslung the backpack and set it aside. He did, however, keep the big club. “I packed for a long journey.”

“Hell’s not that far.”

“Perhaps, but I have a mission to attend to first.”

Now we’re getting somewhere. Sullivan tightened his grip on the BAR. The others had better be ready to run when the shooting started. “How many men did you bring, Toru? I want to know if you’ve got a sporting chance.”

“I am alone.”

“That’s the second time I got that dumb answer tonight.” Sullivan put the front sight right between Toru’s eyes. “Bullshit.”

“Master Hatori showed me your conversation. In fact, he gave me many of his memories. That is why I have come alone.”

Black Jack Pershing had done the same thing to him once.

“The final instructions my honored Chairman ever gave… were to you, one of our most despised foes. Yet Master Hatori believed you were telling the truth, and that you really are the last man to ever speak to the Chairman.”

Where was he going with this? “I was.”

“Do you believe you are worthy to defeat the Pathfinder?”

“Doesn’t matter if I am or not, I have to try.”

“Good answer.” The spiked club was placed on top of the backpack. “A wise answer. I know much of the Pathfinder. I am now the keeper of Master Hatori’s sacred firsthand knowledge of the way of the Dark Ocean.” The pistol belt was set down next.

“That’s useful.”

“That is why I have come here.” Toru removed the two swords, still in their sheaths. He put the smaller one down, but kept the longer one in both hands. “If you are worthy of my father’s legacy, then I will teach you how to find and destroy the beast. If you are unworthy, then I will kill you and do it myself.”

“What happened to the rest of the Iron Guard taking care of it?”

“My brothers have been led astray. I am afraid they will not understand until it is too late for us all.”

“By the fake Chairman?”

“Yes.”

“You’re on your own…” Sullivan was stunned. He’d never realized that an Iron Guard would or even could do something like disobey orders. “What’s to keep me from gunning you down where you stand?”

“Your desire to defeat the Pathfinder.” Toru slowly drew the sword. It was nearly three feet of menacing razor steel. Sullivan had used one to cut a man in half once, and even with the BAR in hand, was wise enough to fear one in the hands of a trained Brute. “My father, the real Okubo Tokugawa, was wise beyond measure. Even in death, he would not have chosen to speak to you, among all of our many enemies, unless he thought you had the strength to do what was necessary. I have prayed for his guidance and the way has been shown to me. I am doing what I know my father would have me do. Do you see this blade?”

“Kind of hard to miss.”

“This katana represents what it means to be Iron Guard. It was presented to me when I proved worthy to bear the sacred kanji. This blade represents sacrifice and pain. It is my soul.” He twisted it back and forth, studying the reflections of the lamplight. Toru knelt and held the sword before him. “Yet the blade has become tarnished.” Sullivan could see that the steel was clearly without blemish. “It is stained, rusted, and chipped. This katana-” Toru had to choke back the emotion to continue. “It is flawed.”

Sullivan slowly lowered the BAR.

Toru took the hilt in his right and the sharpened end in his left. With a surge of Brute force he bent the sword. It bowed, resilient, but even the finest steel will break eventually.

SNAP.

The noise made Sullivan flinch.

Toru placed the two pieces on the grass. Blood was streaming between the fingers of one hand. He bowed his head.

“I am Iron Guard no longer… I, Toru, son of Okubo Tokugawa, pledge to help you defeat the Pathfinder. That is my mission. My father chose you. It is my obligation to him to assist you until this mission has been completed and the Pathfinder has been defeated. I will not help you against my people or my Imperium unless it is necessary to battle the Enemy. I will teach you the ways of Dark Ocean, then we will destroy the creature or die trying.”

Sullivan didn’t know what to say. There was movement behind him and Hammer spoke softly. “He’s completely sincere.” She sounded awestruck.

After several long seconds, Toru looked up from his broken sword. “Until I have fulfilled my father’s command, I am unworthy of an Iron Guard’s blade.”

“And when the Pathfinder’s beaten?”

“In the unlikely event we both live, we will tend to our unfinished business. We will fight. One will die. You helped kill my father, so we must; to do otherwise would be shameful. However, I will not let my hatred for you and your wretched ways deter me from my obligation.”

That actually sounded pretty fair. “Then what?”

“Then?” Toru obviously hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Should I win, I will then return to my people and commit seppuku as I have been ordered.” Sullivan tilted his head, confused at the word. “Suicide. When my mission is done, I must kill myself to cleanse my disgrace from my family. It is necessary.”

He didn’t need Hammer’s Power to know that was the truth. That fact that he’d shown up here proved that Toru was a suicidal maniac. Sullivan could just hold the trigger down and hose the crazy bastard down with lead, throw the body in a ditch and call it a night. He wanted to do it so very badly. Instead, Sullivan took his finger off the trigger and put the safety on.

This was no trick. The emotion on Toru’s face when he broke his sword in half wasn’t faked. This man had just turned his back on his entire life in order to keep a promise to a dead man. The Enemy was real, and in Toru he had someone who actually knew how to fight it.

“You got a deal.”

The former Iron Guard bowed deeply. Feeling awkward, Sullivan did the same. He looked up just in time to see Faye Vierra pop into existence right behind Toru. The Traveler was lifting a big revolver in one hand. With no time for finesse, Sullivan surged his Power and Spiked hard, bending gravity away just as Faye fired.

Toru tumbled across the dead grass. Faye’s stray bullet shattered one of the farmhouse windows. She squeaked in surprise as gravity changed around her and she went flying through the air. Faye Traveled out of the effect and hit the ground right next to him. “Look out, Mr. Sullivan! They’ve got a Heavy!”

He caught her by the arm before she could try to shoot at Toru again. “Cease fire.”

“Iron Guard! Right there!” she shouted. Toru had caught his club as it had gone spinning by, and was standing in a fighting position with it raised overhead. Brutes were fast. Toru was red-faced and furious, but he wasn’t charging them. Yet.

“Remember that one time when we first met and you murdered me by accident?” Sullivan asked gently.

“Yeah?”

“This is kind of like that. Faye, meet Toru.”

“Oh… Whoops.” She lowered the revolver. “Gotcha. Sorry about that.” She looked over at Toru. “He seems really upset.”

“You better pop on out of here until he cools off.” Faye gulped and Traveled away. Toru slowly lowered the club. “She gets a little excitable.”

“Keep your kichiku ninja on a leash, Sullivan,” Toru spat.

He shrugged. “With the rep you assholes have developed around here, we’ll be lucky if that’s not about the friendliest greeting you get. Put the meat tenderizer away. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Hammer