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Energy returned to my body quickly and cleared the fog from my brain. I knew Vicki had disappeared, but questions formed.
When I came fully back to myself, Silana and Conrad stood to either side of me, both back in human form and their traveling clothes. Fan was a few feet away, her rifle at the ready and her night vision goggles panning actively across the woods behind us.
The faeries and their cloak of darkness were gone.
I looked into Silana’s deep eyes and asked, “Is she safe?”
Silana’s lips curled into a tight smile. “Oui.”
“She’ll live then?”
“She will sleep,” Silana replied. “I placed her where no more harm may come to her and time has little meaning.”
I shook my head in wonder. “I don’t...”
“A pocket dimension. Much as my wife can shape-shift and help me transfer mass, she can craft and fold the very layers that exist all around us. It still amazes me, even after all these centuries,” Conrad explained.
“It’s nothing,” Silana claimed. “It is good that I could draw upon you.” Silana squeezed my right hand. “I was too drained from maintaining our glamour...to safely hide your friend by myself.”
I managed a nod. It relieved me that Victoria was alive, but what Silana described was hardly different from a coma.
“I see.” I sighed. “I failed her then. My stupid hero act—”
“Chut! We threw you to the wolves as much as you walked into the den. Without you, she would be dead! And those children...those children would be worse than dead!” Silana pulled my arm until I met her gaze again. “Few could have managed such a feat alone. Never doubt that!”
Fan interrupted. “Sorry, but we need to go.”
“She’s right. We’ll talk more later,” Conrad said. “Everyone onto the boat.”
Silana half-pushed me toward the boat as Conrad jogged into the lake waters up to the tops of his boots then pulled himself over the side and into the captain’s seat. I walked to the boat next, but my mind was numb, so my strides were deliberate and unhurried, despite the danger.
I suppose, recalling, I was in shock.
When I reached the side of the boat, I spotted Sophie’s drone. It was dormant but appeared to be in good condition. The bundle I’d thrown into the forest was on the corner of the deck next to it. I climbed onto the boat, then asked, “Sophie?”
“No contact with her since the wireless blocker activated. She’s probably surveying the surrounding area through any remote means she can find. The drone has a built-in pigeon mode and returned with no issue. There.” Conrad pointed at the deck. “Grab your gear.”
I picked up the bundle. As I sorted through it and tugged my leather jacket on, an odd, chortling bird startled us all. The call came from the forested fringe along the beach.
Silana and Fan had reached the water’s edge together and also turned to look in the direction of the bird call.
At the edge of the wood the willowy, unmasked figure of the Lady manifested from the depths of the shadowed brambles. Her dress had a moon-red hue to it. Or I imagined it. Either way, the image was haunting.
I went for my guns, but Conrad stopped me. “No. I think there’s no more need for that, Lochlan. Fan, get in.”
Silana didn’t take her eyes off of her sister. “She wishes to speak with me. I won’t be long.”
“Are you sure?” Fan wasn’t convinced. Her fingers caressed the stock of her rifle.
“If she wished to attack us, we would certainly be facing down a small army by now. Go on.” Silana walked toward Lilith.
Fan took one last look through her scope before re-slinging her rifle over her back and shoulder. She entered the water, reached out, and I pulled her aboard.
“I don’t like this,” Fan whispered.
“They haven’t encountered each other in many years. I don’t expect an ambush but—you might be right. Be ready,” Conrad warned.
That’s all Fan needed to hear. She had her rifle back out and surveyed the length of the shoreline.
A couple hundred feet away, Silana and Lilith faced one another above the stony dunes. I half-expected a pack of rabid wolves or guards and their dogs to come leaping out of the trees, but all that I spotted in the night was the flight of two large, dark birds swooping and circling the vicinity before disappearing into the woods.
“What were those? Crows?” I asked.
“Ravens,” Conrad replied. “Some of Lilith’s eyes and ears.”
I reached up to my chest and pinched the pendant between the cloth of my shirt.
Conrad hadn’t started the speed boat’s engines, so the natural sounds of lapping water, frogs, and insects seemed deafening as the three of us waited anxiously for Silana.
The two immortals didn’t talk animatedly. The conversation between them appeared amiable from my vantage point, and that disturbed me. I’d been inside the temple and seen what I’d seen. Lilith had tried to murder me, and she surely would have taken part in all the sick rituals planned.
Yet, here was gentle Silana parleying with the demoness.
“What is she really? Lilith, I mean,” I asked.
“The embodiment of corruption. The Mother of Vampires some say. Silana believes she is one of the Fallen. Those willful Powers that rebelled against the Creator.” Conrad paused. “But in truth, after so many millennia, even Lilith is unsure how she came to be. She just is. Like my wife, they are both anomalies. And that is their bond.”
The night grew darker. The blood moon was very near total eclipse. Nearby, Fan sat on a soft, white, cushioned seat, her rifle across her lap. Her legs swung anxiously. She was eager to leave.
So was I. I looked back at the forest.
With no parting gesture, Lilith turned and disappeared back into the trees behind her. Silana stood deathly still, watching her sister depart. Only Silana’s hair, blowing lightly in the night’s breeze, gave her aspect any life at all.
It was a sad sight.
Eventually she made her way back to the boat.
Conrad and I both lifted Silana aboard, but Conrad was the first to ask, “Well?”
Silana’s countenance was somber but her emotions were in absolute flux.
“The war has begun,” Silana said. “We must make plans to go home.” Silana grimaced at her husband. “Europe will burn soon, then the rest of the world. We must do our part to safeguard who we can.” She gazed at me next. “My greatest hope remains...that you will accompany us, mon ami. Lilith fears you. For good reason. And that fear will spread.”
It was a lot to accept. Just days before I’d been a not-so-humble musician plying his craft. What was I now?
“We. Need. To. Go,” Fan reiterated emphatically, and Silana smiled at her, tight-lipped and mournful.
“Oui.” Silana sat in a seat and then Conrad cranked up the motors.
Fan walked up and spoke into Conrad’s ear. Soon he maneuvered our boat alongside a sharp outcropping of the rocky shore.
Fan jumped off the boat, splashed to the beach then fished out a well-hidden cache of her rented scuba tanks, fins, and other gear. When she was safely back on board, Conrad pointed our boat toward Incline Village and gunned the engines.
The cool mist of churned lake waters gave me some relief, even as I still chewed on Silana’s warning and the ultimate fate of my wounded friend. So many questions. I’d fallen to the bottom of the proverbial rabbit hole, and hardly a shred of light showed the way out.
Vicki’s parents. Would we tell them?
Goddammit.
The trip back to friendly shores was met with no interference, and hardly a word was spoken among us on the way.
Once docked, Fan and Conrad returned the boat’s key and rented equipment via a drop box. I changed back to my jeans inside a public men’s room. When I exited, I held a bundle of badly torn tuxedo clothing. On top was the crumpled wolf mask I’d stuffed into my pocket.
Conrad and Silana both noticed the mask immediately.
“You wore that?” Conrad asked.
“I did,” I admitted.
Silana laughed.
I smirked at Silana, but who was I kidding. It was ironic.
“May I see it?” Conrad extended a hand.
“Sure.” I handed Conrad the white plastic, sequined mask.
Fan joined us while Conrad examined the thing. After a minute, he held it in front of an outdoor light fixture near the rental shop’s front door.
“What I thought,” Conrad said. “Cutting-edge CIA and Mossad tech. It’s designed to allow infrared facial recognition cams to record straight through...”
“Oh, great,” I muttered.
“Ingenious really.”
I huffed. “So what’s the point? Everyone in attendance was part of the club. Well, except me.”
Conrad lowered the mask away from the light, then turned to face us. “The point is blackmail,” he said. “Many of those in attendance were new, I’m sure. Now they’re cataloged and will do the bidding of the Round Table or risk being exposed as the predators they are. This is how most governments today are so heavily compromised.”
I thought about that. “If we were to get our hands on that evidence...”
Conrad nodded. “Yes. I have discussed with Sophie before. It’s a possibility. Which reminds me...” Conrad pulled out his phone as he stuffed my mask into his travel bag. “I’ll keep this if you don’t mind.”
“Have at it.”
Conrad dialed. “Secure line,” he said to us. There was an immediate answer on the other side. “Yes. Yes, we’re fine. I’m sorry we didn’t contact you sooner.” Conrad listened. “That’s great news.” He paused. “Shot. We’ve done all we can for her for now. I’ll explain soon. Make sure the children are fed and get some sleep. I want them ready to return to their families in the morning.” Conrad smiled. “Thank you, Sophie. You saved lives today... Yes, I’ll tell the others. See you soon.”
Conrad hung up. “Cu arrived back at the compound with three children. Safe and sound.” He smiled at me.
“I love him,” Silana said.
“Thank God,” I added. “Yes, there were three. Hopefully, only three. I didn’t sense or see any others.”
“Good. But how did you manage it?” Conrad asked.
Silana and Fan both smiled at me. “We thought the worst when the communications died,” Silana murmured.
“I thought I was dead, too. I had nothing left.” I took a deep breath as I recalled the horrific scene in the temple. “So, I sang.”
I received expressions of astonishment in response to that.
Conrad broke the silence. “Come. Tell us everything on the way back. Grab the bikes and follow us to the airport.” He picked up his bag and slung it over a shoulder. “I’m damned proud of you.” He smiled at Fan. “Both of you.” He took Silana by the hand.
I had no response, but tried to smile back.
Fan poked me in the ribs when the couple walked away to the Rover. “They’ll find a way,” she said. “To save your friend.”
I looked down at Fan and managed a grim smile, but words still wouldn’t come out.
“Come on. I want to hear this tall tale before I pass out on the plane ride,” Fan added, and she pulled me along to the parked motorcycles.
I filled everyone in on the details of the temple and the sacrifice pool, my fight with Bathory and Lilith, the ringmasters—and especially the Ringmaster who’d claimed to be Vicki’s biological father—and, consequently, her mother’s rapist.
“He collapsed in a heap when Vicki kneed him in the balls,” I continued.
“Good for her,” Fan said.
“Yeah, well, that’s when I knew he wasn’t my father.”
He might have raped my mother, too, yet I doubted he was my biological dad. He was a runt compared to me.
There was silence on the comm.
I went on. “If we hadn’t been surrounded, I’d’ve killed him. Still pissed off I didn’t.”
“Do not let that fester,” Silana said. “We will catch him one day.”
“I still have more questions,” I said.
“Oui?”
“What’s with the British accents? First on that thing inside Chiang—and then the Ringmaster.”
My answer didn’t come all at once.
“The Round Table was founded in Great Britain. Many of the central, most powerful members are of royal blood,” Conrad answered first.
“In many ways, the British Empire never died,” Silana added.
“Okay, but why did I hear some Middle Eastern speak from the guards that came after us? It sounded familiar but I’m no linguist.”
Conrad asked, “Arabic?”
“No, I don’t think so, but I was running...and pretty far away. And there were fucking dogs barking.”
“Hebrew,” Conrad said. “Mossad mercenaries.”
“Wait, what? Why would they be involved?”
“It’s not uncommon. They’re well trained and loyal. Not only British are in the Round Table.”
I was speechless.
“Okay. And Katrina, err, Lilith. She called me something strange.” I recalled the syllables. “Abaddon. What the hell is that?”
Again, there was a sizable pause before Silana responded.
“Angel of Death,” she said.
That took half a minute to sink in.
I finally asked, “Um, I’m sorry, what?”
Silana continued gently. “It is a Hebrew word. ‘Angel of Death.’ In Greek, Apollyon.”
“That answers that question then,” Conrad said.
I wasn’t so sure. “What question?” I asked.
“What you are,” Conrad replied. “Lilith would know better than anyone.”
“That monster? Why?”
“Her brother... Her brother is Lucifer.”
I almost steered my motorcycle off the Goddamned highway.
“You’re serious?” I asked.
“I’d never joke about such a thing,” Conrad said.
“I—” What the fuck?
Silana told me. “Your father is one of the Principalities, Lochlan. One of the Powers. Most commonly referred to as...‘angels.’ I suspected as much, honestly. But my sister knew it as soon as you opened your mouth.” Silana let me chew on that for a few seconds before adding, “The rules have changed. You were either fathered by one of the Fallen—something unheard of in millennia—or even more astoundingly, your sire is from one of the Houses loyal to Him. And that has never happened before.”
My mouth hung open.
“I need to process,” I said finally.
“It’s a lot, I know,” Conrad said. “My father was a son of the Fallen. A Nephilim.”
“We’re...cousins,” I said.
Conrad chuckled. “Yes.”
“My angels,” Silana added in an impish tone.
Fan had been listening quietly, taking it all in. “Holy shit,” she whispered.
I nodded to myself.
“Holy shit,” I echoed.
A huge question hit me. “Hold the fuck on! How in the hell did that happen? When? If I was conceived at the same time as Vicki...”
“Only your father knows,” Silana said. “But I have ideas. Let it wait. We are almost to the airport. Oui?”
“Right at the light ahead,” Conrad replied.
I shut up. I was tired and lightheaded. I wanted to load up the plane and get back to Austin ASAP. Feel my own bed under me again. Feel something...anything, normal.
I’d order a pizza the first chance I got.
“You okay?” It was Fan, asking without the comm line. We’d stopped side by side at an intersection, just behind Conrad’s rented Land Rover.
I glanced over at her. “Yeah. Yeah, thanks. I’ll be fine. It’s just... I...”
“It’s good, Loch. You’re good.”
I smiled under my helmet and nodded.
It is good. To know the truth. Right?
Conrad told us to load up our gear and motorbikes onto the jet. After that, we all piled into the Land Rover and headed to a nearby motel where the aircrew had registered for us. Three additional rooms were ready in our names.
The second I saw the queen-sized bed in my first-floor motel room, a wave of pure exhaustion hit me like a Mack truck. I’d pushed myself to the limit for days and by that point had been awake for nearly twenty-four hours straight. I closed the door to my room and flopped onto the bed, fully clothed.
A knock-knock pulled me alert just as I was about to doze off.
I raised my voice. “Who is it?”
“It’s me.” It was Fan.
I got up and opened the door.
Fan stood outside under the long walkway overhang in a simple lady T, bare feet, and black yoga pants.
“Did I wake you?” Fan asked softly.
“Almost,” I said. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” She didn’t convince me. Fan looked up. She’d been crying. “I started thinking about Dante...”
I cleared a path into my room and nodded toward the interior. “Come on.”
––––––––
WE SLEPT CURLED UP together until well past sunrise and awoke fully clothed, still on top of the bedspread.
The kicker? We’d slept right through the full lunar eclipse.
Fan returned to her room to shower, and I cleaned myself up before breakfast.
Everybody, including the flight crew, ate at a local greasy spoon recommended to us by the motel manager. They served me up bacon and pancakes—three triple stacks and a dozen crispy strips.
I’m sure Conrad suggested it because he wanted to relieve Courtney of server duty on the way home. Our flight attendant sat at a corner table, out of earshot from me, Captain Chomette and his copilot. Silana, Fan, and Conrad ate their breakfast at Courtney’s table, alternating between eating and consoling her.
“She seems to be taking it better than I expected,” I whispered to the two men at my table. I followed my comment with a swig of orange juice from a huge glass.
“She’s dealt with loss before,” the Captain said. “Many times.”
“Hmm?” My mouth was full of bacon.
Nobody else in the humble mom-and-pop diner paid us any attention, so Captain Chomette answered easily, “She’s one of them. A fae.”
I swallowed the bacon. “Ah, okay.” I cut and stabbed my second stack of pancakes with a fork. “I should get used to it.”
“You will,” the captain said.
“Yep,” Gabriel agreed.
I set my fork down and sipped more coffee. “What about you two? Are you...?”
The captain and his copilot glanced at one another, then both scoffed.
“No.”
“No.”
Captain Chomette cut into his omelet and said, “We’re just men. But our families have worked with them for generations.”
“Huh,” I grunted. “That makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“There are many of us. Don’t be too surprised when you meet them,” Gabriel said.
“A whole army,” Captain Chomette added.
The ramifications grew even as I killed another strip of bacon.
“That’s good,” I said. “We’re gonna need an army.”
The two pilots exchanged glances but added nothing else.
When breakfast was done, we all drove to the nearby airport and made final flight preparations to return to Austin.
This included the storage of a temporary coffin that housed Dante’s body bag. Conrad insisted on handling that alone when only the pilots and I were left at the jet’s rear ramp. I loaded Chiang’s remains.
On the way home, I reminded Silana that she needed to call Pack so we could make good on our dinner promise. I also discussed the upcoming Friday night gig, because like it or not, I had responsibilities. I’d have to pretend that it was just another day in the life. None of the members of Trip the Shark would ever hear the tale. Ever know I’d rescued three kids—or that Victoria Lott lay tucked away like Sleeping Beauty.
I was fine with that. More than fine. None of my friends needed to learn the dark, ugly truth I’d barged my way into. In fact, the less they knew, the safer they’d be.
About halfway to Austin, I asked Silana another burning question.
“I need to know...,” I said.
Silana smiled. “Bien sûr.”
“Why did they want Vicki? What the...what was the point?”
Silana sighed. “As a...child of one of their leaders, they must consider her to be a vessel. For a major ritual. From my brief talk with Lilith, she realized that fighting us for Victoria was futile, especially because she had been gravely wounded. My sister is evil, but she does not pursue simply for the sake of pursuit alone.
“Like you and Conrad, Victoria is a hybrid. But until my husband can safely examine her, we will not know exactly what.”
I studied some clouds through the portal window above the couch. “This is fucking insane. All of it,” I grumbled.
“Yes. It is,” Silana agreed. “But there is a purpose to it all, too. To all of us. I’m sure of that.”
Conrad spoke to me. “The Round Table is making new moves, but you showed up. The wild card. Broke up their little party. Your existence changes everything. I’m pretty damned sure the enemy broke the rules a while ago, or you wouldn’t have been born.” Conrad paused. “So, you’re no accident, Lochlan. A Power stepped in for your mother and...here you are.”
“What does that even mean? Did she consent to it?” Anger heated my blood.
Conrad thought about it. “I have no way of knowing for sure. Has she ever confided in you? Any hint of that day?”
“No, of course not. I had no reason to believe my mother’d ever been raped. But...she’s shown signs of PTSD, off and on. That’s why she’s in the happy house again. But she keeps the details between her and her doctors private. Ever since...Dad’s death...”
The irony of those last words hit me like a blow to the stomach. I went silent.
But my mind took the inevitable turn, because I’d touched on the worst subject.
“They were gonna rape the kids,” I said. “Rape. Murder. Jesus. I’ve read the rumors on the Net—I think they were... There were tables. All along the walls. Buffet tables, I couldn’t miss them. I’ve played enough weddings to know...”
“They were going to eat them,” Conrad said, matter-of-factly. “The blood is collected and distributed. The more terror induced in the children, the more of a delicacy it is to these psychopaths.” Despite his tone, Conrad was having a tough time with what he said. “The organs are harvested. Every shred of the child’s body is used or consumed.”
“I should have killed them! All the motherfuckers!”
The interior of the plane went dead silent.
“You do not know?” Silana’s voice held genuine surprise.
“What?”
“You did kill many of them. With your voice. Many of the worst that did not escape in time—went mad and catatonic with fear and guilt. My sister told me they would be cleaning up your mess—and making political amends—for years to come, not being able to explain away what happened to their mortal proxies.
“An unfortunate few drowned as well.”
Silana lifted an eyebrow at me.
“Where did all the water come from?” I asked.
“The pool,” Silana said. “Lake faeries were more than happy to help, acting as my eyes. I bolstered their elemental control. Unfortunately, the vampire escaped—”
“He didn’t get far,” Conrad reminded us.
Silana smiled at her husband. “Evidently not.”
“Faeries,” I said. “Sure, why not?”
Silana laughed. “They are quite smitten with you.”
“Great...” I cracked a half-smile. “Well, tell them I said ‘Thank you.’ For helping.”
“I will,” Silana said.
I had one more question that kept gnawing at me.
“Why were they all white? European. The kids. Vicki. Two blonde girls, one redheaded woman. All of them, even the boy, had light-colored eyes. Blue. Green. Even my mother. Vicki’s, too. It doesn’t feel random is what I’m saying. Am I reading too much into it?”
Silana nodded at Conrad, so he answered.
“It’s not random. They prefer fair-skinned kids. Usually the younger, the better,” Conrad said. “The especially gifted are prized above all others.”
“What the fuck is that all about?” I asked
Conrad’s tone grew dark. “Some very ancient rites. Humiliation rituals, and overt Satanism...that has only become more twisted, as evil always does. Too many young victims are forced into white slavery—for sex trafficking. And worse.
“It gets even more complicated when corrupt politicians and corporate heads are involved. It shouldn’t surprise you that the U.S. is their most profitable hunting ground.”
I sighed. “Nope. No, it doesn’t. Corrupt fucking government. I’m feeling like half of everything I learned in school was either a lie or a diversion.”
“At least half,” Conrad said. “Remind me to tell you about the World Wars someday.”
“Conrad. Don’t overdo it, my love,” Silana said. “His head is already spinning.”
Conrad relented.
But then Silana added, “Sadly, this all connects to the civil wars that are brewing in Europe. We must return as soon as possible, before a spark kindles the flame.”
I’d heard the news reports. Europe was in a bad way, the EU crumbling as more and more states concluded that economic union was disguising an untenable ideological agenda, and so they exited. Britain had led them.
I’d never been to Europe.
“I could go with you to France, but the band. And my mother...”
Silana assured me. “Oh, we would bring the band. We’re arranging your tour. It was in our minds all along, remember?”
“Oh.”
Conrad spoke up. “And as for your mother, we can arrange for her, too. She can come along, if you want. We’ll take care of her, as you wish. The choices are yours. But she’s already under our protection, I assure you.”
“That...that’s really kind of you. Thank you.” I still worried though. “What about Vicki?”
Silana answered this time. “We will consult physicians. Only the finest. And our most loyal. When the time is right, I’ll place her into their care—but not before they are absolutely prepared. She was almost gone, Lochlan. We will have next to no time left to spare when she is returned to this world.”
“I’ll supervise things personally,” Conrad said.
“You’re a doctor, too?”
“I’ve had a long time to learn many things, but I’m not practiced enough to carry out the procedures safely, not when there are better hands. But I’ll provide all the additional machinery needed. And Sophie will assist in surgery.”
Good news for a change.
“Sophie. Speaking of...” I looked up at the speakers running along places in the plane’s ceiling. “Are you there? Sophie?”
But there was no reply.
“She’s probably having trouble connecting to us at our current altitude. Nothing to worry about,” Conrad said.
“Ah.” I went back to the previous subject. “How long? Until the surgery I mean.”
Conrad tilted his head then calculated. “Several weeks. Perhaps longer. Arrangements need to be made for Vicki’s safety. And her immediate family’s. Even the surgery will have to be done in secret.”
“Her family. We can’t tell them anything yet, can we?”
Conrad grimaced. “No. I’m sorry. The last thing we’d want is to endanger them with this knowledge. Though it might afford them some small hope...we still don’t know if their daughter will survive.”
That hurt. To realize the pain that Vicki’s parents had to be suffering, wondering where she’d been taken to, what nightmares she was enduring.
At least I’d prevented the worst of it.
“I understand,” I said. “Thank you both for trying so hard.”
“Always,” Silana answered.
“I only wish we could do more,” Conrad said.
I accepted that. What more could I have done?
But it still felt like another loss. And I don’t like losing, especially when people I care about are getting hurt.
I wouldn’t forget it.