Jasper was confident Lukas wouldn’t attack us. Apparently he’d pulled away his shifters from outside the Loft. He was definitely planning something, but at least for now he was off our backs. The sun was still high enough in the sky, meaning the Deathless would be none the wiser that we were going to meet the Horde. Plus…
Jasper, Ari, and Leon strode confidently beside me. A Forsworn vamp, a lion shifter who looked like a WWE wrestler, and a cheetah shifter who could use weapons as well as some people used forks. With these sorts of companions, I was sure even Lukas would think twice about causing trouble.
Jasper didn’t actually explain much about what we were doing as we took the ten-minute walk from the Loft toward the heart of downtown. We bypassed the Art Institute and were swallowed beneath the looming shadows of the skyscrapers before we took Rines street straight into the historic district. Here the buildings changed from the modern gray slabbed stone and glass to more russet brick and spiraling, asymmetric towers crowning shingled rooftops.
“Are we going to have trouble?” Leon murmured as we began to slow.
I looked ahead to where he’d nodded and realized we’d wound up in front of the Cliffside History and Natural Sciences Museum. I’d only been here once as a kid when my parents took me for an exhibit of Paleolithic archeology. Riveting stuff for a six-year-old. I remembered the plush dolls in the gift shop the best.
It sat connected and opposite a colossal cathedral on its northern end, the two squashed together buildings creating an almost palace-like facade. A couple police cruisers and another unmarked car sat at the foot of the museum’s steps.
“Not our problem,” Jasper said. “Just as long as Biblion’s available.”
Despite not quite being closing time, the steps were empty as we made our way up. I found out why when we reached the top and found yellow police tape barricading the front doors. Jasper brushed under it without a second thought, and after a moment’s hesitation I followed the others inside.
The moment I entered I felt the prickle of magic on my skin, something I couldn’t remember feeling here before. The interior of the museum stretched broadly on either side as if to envelop us in a welcoming hug. The interior was more of that russet stone and multicolored columns halfway embedded in the walls. An arched ceiling made almost entirely of skylights highlighted the blindingly white skeleton of a blue whale hanging suspended over our heads. A grand staircase at the far end beckoned us to the second floor, while vaulted entryways on either side of the first floor indicated the entrances to the museum’s various exhibits. Three of them were blocked off with more police tape. The museum’s foyer was eerily empty.
“Find Biblion,” Jasper said.
Ari and Leon split off to check two of the cordoned off wings while Jasper and I went to the third on the other side.
“What exactly are we supposed to be asking this Biblion guy for?” I said, keeping my eyes peeled in case any police decided to question why we were clearly violating some sort of crime scene.
“He’s the curator here and he’s going to help you with your magic. Well, not him specifically, but he’ll take you to a place that can help. Hopefully.”
“There was a lot of hesitation in that sentence. I didn’t think I was having that much trouble with my magic. It’s not as strong as I’d like, but…”
“It’s not enough,” Jasper said. He said it casually, distracted as he probably was, but I still felt a little stung.
“I am trying, you know.”
“I know. It’s nothing to do with you. Some paranormals just need a little extra…push.”
“And that’s what we’re here for. A little extra push?”
“Something like that.”
The wing we entered was empty. The usual tall display cases lined either side, except that more than a few of them had been smashed open. Shattered glass was spread across the floor, creating sparkling halos.
“A break-in?” I said, shocked. I’d never heard of that happening in the museum. In action movies and stuff, but not real life.
“Seems like it,” Jasper said. “I wonder—”
“Jasper!”
We crossed back over to where Ari was waving us down outside the second wing. A couple police officers stood guard in front of the few still-standing display cases, overseeing a similar scene of destruction. Whoever had broken in here had done a thorough job.
“Mr. Biblion,” Jasper said.
We approached a slightly heavyset, grumpy-looking man standing outside of the crime scene. His entire face seemed to be stuck in an eternal frown, gray suit wrinkled. A middle-aged woman with curly blonde hair and a smile so wide it looked painful appeared delighted when we joined them.
“Jasper! Ari! Leon! Oh, and…” She smiled wider at me. “You must be the new girl!”
“Mrs. Roberts, please,” Mr. Biblion groused. “I’m afraid this isn’t a good time, Jasper. As you can see.” He waved a pudgy hand across the scene of destruction and on the two people in tan khakis and crisp blazers with badges pinned to their chests moving through it. “We had a very brazen robbery last night and have only now gotten around to looking for any clue as to who might have done it.”
One of the khaki-dressed people—I was guessing a detective of some sort—looked over at us. He frowned. Uh-oh.
“What about the magical wards you had in place?” Leon said.
Mr. Biblion pulled at the collar of his suit. “They were, unfortunately, quite deteriorated and whoever the thief was managed to circumnavigate them without a problem.”
“That means it wasn’t just a normal mundane robbery,” Ari said.
“Hold on,” I said. “You know about us, Mr. Biblion?”
“Mr. Biblion and Mrs. Roberts are two of a few mundanes who do,” Jasper said. “They provide a variety of invaluable services.” Jasper nodded his head apologetically. “As much as we’d love to help, Mr. Biblion, we’re here on Outcast business.”
Now the detective was making a beeline for us. “Trouble incoming,” I said.
“This is an active crime scene, Mr. Biblion,” the detective said, scanning over each of us as though we were potential suspects. “I don’t recall allowing anyone else in.”
“It won’t take long,” Jasper said to Mr. Biblion. “Please.”
“Excuse me.” The detective tugged on his badge as though it wasn’t already glaring at us in the face. He was tall, with slicked back hair and the faintest wisp of a five o’ clock shadow. “Detective Ramirez. You’re encroaching on Cliffside PD business. I’ll have to ask you one more time—”
“They’re guests of mine, detective,” Mr. Biblion said with a labored sigh. “They have a standing appointment with me that will only take a minute, and then they’ll be on their way.” He gave us a look as if to say, “You’d better.”.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you all company,” Mrs. Roberts said, beaming at Detective Ramirez. “I don’t mind watching.”
Detective Ramirez grumbled something as he dropped his badge back against his chest. “Just make sure they don’t interfere. We’re having enough trouble uncovering any leads as it is.”
Ari jerked her chin toward one of the broken cases. “Looks like they took one of the necklaces of a Macedonian shaman.”
Detective Ramirez looked back at the case, then suspiciously at her. “So it would seem. How did you know that?”
“I’m a history buff,” Ari said. Then added in a lower voice as we followed Mr. Biblion out of the wing, “And it supposedly curses anyone who steals it. Whoever did this has guts.”
“I wish you wouldn’t provoke him like that,” Mr. Biblion said. “This is already stressful enough. And really, coming here is just a waste of time.”
“Why’s that?” I asked as he led us back into the main hall and through one of the doors on the side of the grand staircase. We ended up in a smaller hall, though no less lavish.
“I’m assuming you’re here for the spring and not just an amusing side trip?” Mr. Biblion said.
“Yes,” Jasper said.
Mr. Biblion nodded. “Outcast or not, the spring won’t work for just anyone. Have you explained to her how dangerous it could potentially be? And how it may not let you drink at all?”
No, they hadn’t. And now I was growing nervous. This entire trip was becoming more and more of a surprise, and I was beginning to understand why no one had said anything prior to us coming here.
“I’m sure whatever it is I can handle it,” I said, trying to sound confident.
“We shall see,” Mr. Biblion said. We’d reached another door at the far end of the smaller hall. He took out a ring of a dozen keys, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.
We entered a storage room, clearly where they kept all of the artifacts and exhibits that were preparing to be shipped out or put on display. Enormous suits of armor from various eras stood straight as a line of soldiers, their headless helmets seeming to silently judge us from across time. There were tables covered with more artifacts carefully sorted into boxes or with thin clear film covering them. I felt an even stronger prickle of magic here. Either this room was full of more magical objects, or wherever we were headed to was strong. Very strong.
We passed through the storage room and down a short flight of stairs, entering what I could only describe as a little slice of catacombs, with rough stone walls and strip lights along the low ceiling. A woman stood at the other end of the hall. She had short, spiked hair and a face that was so tanned it looked golden. A slender silver chain hung around her neck, a cross dangling from the end.
“Pastor Kegan—Cassandra—thank goodness you’re available,” Mr. Biblion said. “I’m sure you sensed it earlier, but they’re here for the spring, and as much as I’d love to take part in another of the Outcast’s riveting tasks, I simply must get back to my museum.”
Pastor Kegan gave him a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure those detectives will appreciate your presence. I hope they recover the stolen objects.”
“As do I, pastor, as do I. You are all fine, then,” Mr. Biblion said, backing away down the hall. “I’ll just leave you to it.”
And then he’d waddled away before I could thank him for…well, whatever it was we were doing.
“Good to see you all again.” Pastor Kegan gave the others brief hugs, then clasped my hand in hers with a warm smile. “And of course I’ve heard of you. We get lots of paranormals seeking sanctuary within our walls. There isn’t one recently who hasn’t talked about the massive changes happening in the paranormal community. Congrats, you’ve made quite the stir.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I knew me showing up had changed some things, but Pastor Kegan made it sound like I was some sort of celebrity.
“Uh, thanks, I guess. Jasper said I’m here to use some kind of spring?”
The smile on Pastor Kegan’s face became a little forced. “I’m sure they explained to you that, just because you want to use the spring, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to.”
“I don’t think they were completely clear on the specifics…”
“Can you take her?” Jasper said. “Not to rush, but we’re kind of on a tight schedule.”
Pastor Kegan nodded and motioned for me to follow her through an archway. After a brief hesitation, I did. The words “Hope Springs Eternal Church” were etched into the stone above my head.
I noticed the others weren’t following. “You guys coming?”
Ari glanced at Jasper, who was looking up at the words as though they were a rabid dog he was wary of biting him.
Right. Wasn’t there something about vampires and churches?
“You’re free to enter, Jasper,” Pastor Kegan said. “You’ve always been welcome.”
Jasper shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I think whatever your church is offering is already too far gone for me.”
Ari tried to touch his shoulder but he slipped away from her and started walking back the way we’d come, giving a short wave over his shoulder. “I’ll go check out the museum. Maybe see if there’s anything those stellar detectives have missed.”
“Go ahead, Riley,” Leon rumbled. “We can’t help you with this part anyway.”
I stared after Jasper as he disappeared up the stairs. “Can he not…”
“Oh, he can,” Pastor Kegan said sadly. “It’s not something physical or magical that’s stopping him.”
I decided not to press right now. There was clearly a lot more history behind this than I was aware of.
I gave Ari and Leon a brief wave before following Pastor Kegan through more smooth tunnels. I tried to push Jasper out of my mind and focus only on what was coming up. Whatever was coming up. I watched Pastor Kegan’s confident stride. She hummed something that sounded like a hymn under her breath.
“No offense, but I didn’t think pastors believed in this sort of thing,” I said.
Pastor Kegan’s smile was teasing. “What sort of thing?”
“You know…magic.” I summoned a ball of flame and held it out. She didn’t even bat an eye, and I wondered just how many things she’d seen to get to the point where two shifters, an elemental, and a vampire could walk in and she’d greet them as though they were anybody else off the street.
“I choose to see magic as just another spiritual gift. One of many,” Pastor Kegan said. “Look at the Bible. It’s full of miracles. I’d argue that’s just magic of a different kind.”
I paused for a moment as the strong, reverberating notes of an organ drifted down to us through the ceiling. A choir of voices rose up to join it until the entire tunnel was enveloped in rapturous music.
“So we’re in the church,” I said.
Pastor Kegan nodded. “Under it, technically. Hope Springs was originally founded on, what else? Underground springs. This spring, in particular, is one of immense spiritual and magical power, but over the years as more people tried to forcefully take what the spring offered, the church continued building atop it. Today, hardly anyone knows the church’s namesake is real and right below their feet. Even fewer know what it can actually do.”
“And what is that?”
Pastor Kegan glanced over at me. “Hopefully free any inhibitions you might have on that magic of yours.”
I held in an annoyed grumble. “Wish we’d done this earlier. Would have made things a lot easier for me.”
“Not necessarily. Not everyone reacts well to it. If Jasper and the others brought you here that means it’s—to take the words of my Catholic brothers and sisters—a Hail Mary of sorts.”
We reached a small stone door, completely smooth, without even a seam to show where it split. Pastor Kegan ran her fingers down a small, worn groove on the right side of the wall. The door shuddered, then began opening outward.
The room beyond was low-ceilinged and didn’t seem to have any other exits. Fat columns, three on each side, funneled the narrow walkway toward a back wall. In the glow of more strip lights I could see the wall was slick with water.
“This is where you’ll have to go it alone,” Pastor Kegan said. “The waters of the spring cannot be taken by force and are freely given to all. But not all react well to it. Just walk through, let them see you, and you’ll be fine.”
She gave me a less-than-reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”
Then she started walking back, as though I had a clue what any of that was supposed to mean.
I stepped inside and started slowly walking up the center aisle toward the far wall. What was the them she was referring to? Something dangerous? It couldn’t be. Jasper and the others wouldn’t throw me into something like that without telling me. Then again, information wasn’t always forthcoming from them…
I froze as I heard the sound of grinding stone. Trying my best to move slowly, I turned to look to my right, then my left. I couldn’t see anyone. It’d sounded like another door opening, but the walls remained smooth.
Then I saw the columns begin to move. They were sectioned like the layers of a cake, each section a slightly different shade of stone. The top layer of the nearest column rotated until I could make out a pair of eyes gouged into the stone. The layer beneath that was a large stone mouth filled with teeth not unlike jagged pieces of broken pottery. Another set of eyes were on the section below it, then another mouth, interchanging back and forth all the way to the floor.
The teeth ground together. I winced as the horrible sound grated my ears. I took another step and the columns rotated to follow me. They looked immovable, but I didn’t want to imagine what they could do if someone broke their way in here.
Freely given, but never taken by force.
I let out a long breath. I was fine. I hadn’t done anything wrong. I would take what I’d come here for. Then would kill the others later for not telling me about this.
The columns continued to follow me as I walked to the far wall. The “spring” was really nothing more than a trickle of water leaking from a hole in the ancient-looking wall and collecting in a small basin at my feet.
There was only one thing left to do. I knelt, cupped a small amount in my hands, took a deep breath, and drank. It tasted metallic, with a hint of grit that rubbed down my throat the wrong way.
I took another drink for good measure, then stood, waiting for something to happen. I peered down into the pool and let out a small scream.
Lucinda the mermaid was staring back at me.
“Did it work?” she asked.
Either the water was doing something, or she was using some sort of water magic. I quickly knelt again. “What are you doing here?”
“I can travel between different bodies of water.” She wriggled as though stuck. “Mostly. This one is kind of a tight fit.”
I looked over my shoulder as the columns’ grinding grew louder. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here.”
Lucinda slipped shyly back down the basin. “I don’t think they mind. I came here when Daniel drank and they didn’t run me off that time. Do you…feel any different?”
I looked down at my arms; closed my eyes to take stock of my senses. Nothing felt all that different. “I don’t think so. Is that a bad thing?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe it doesn’t work right away. Or maybe it doesn’t work at all.”
That was an encouraging thought. Even the great and powerful spring o’ magic couldn’t do anything for me. I let out a sigh. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Don’t give up,” Lucinda said. She wriggled a bit more, clearly trying to unstick herself. “I’m sure it’ll work out—”
One of the columns made the loudest grinding sound yet. Lucinda shrank farther back into the pool. “Maybe they do mind. I think I should go. See you later!”
Then she shoved herself backwards and the surface of the water was clear once more. I stood, trying not to feel too disappointed that the spring hadn’t worked as advertised. Hopefully Lucinda was right and it was just a delayed—
I toppled like I’d been sucker punched, feeling the ground come up to meet me as I collapsed. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak as images flashed across my vision. A dark night full of stars and figures cast in the shadows made from an enormous bonfire. The figures danced and chanted as they circled it. Somehow I knew there were twelve of them. As they circled, a thirteenth figure rose in the center of the fire, licked by the flames but not burned by them…
The vision shifted and now I was looking at the surface of the earth. Only it wasn’t the earth I knew but primordial and barren, covered with pools of magma and erupting volcanoes. The atmosphere was thick with smoke and ash. The light illuminating it grew so bright it was nearly unbearable, then shifted to total darkness as the earth hurled through the cosmos, whipping around the sun alarmingly fast as eons passed.
The surface shifted and now I saw dragons—they had to be dragons—perched atop the volcanoes, roaring to the heavens. Their leathery wings spread wide, ground cracking beneath their talons. And then from the oceans came a deep, answering call from something so old it almost hurt. Something ancient and wondrous and terrifying that rattled the oldest parts of my soul.
I gasped as I snapped awake again. My palms stung from where I’d tried to catch my fall, my face slick with water and grit. I didn’t dare move for a moment, afraid that whatever had just hit me would come back for round two, but after a moment it seemed I was safe.
I pushed myself to standing, wobbling a bit on my feet. It had felt so real, so tangible, like I could have reached out and run my fingers across the dragons’ scales and burned myself from the heat of the bonfire. Was it some sort of premonition? Or a glimpse of the past?
The stone columns ground out their annoyance that I was still lingering here. With a slight headache, I walked out and made my way back to the museum.
Jasper stood at the plaque of the blue whale, Pastor Kegan beside him. I could see they were talking about something so I slowed, giving them a little more time. After a moment Pastor Kegan noticed I was there. She smiled brightly.
“How’d it go?”
Jasper’s piercing gaze snapped right to my slightly bloody, scraped hands, as though he had injury-seeking vision.
“It went…all right,” I said honestly, sure that Jasper would pick up on anything outside the realm of truth. “It wasn’t quite what I expected.”
“I hope it helped you,” Pastor Kegan said. “From what Jasper tells me, you’ve got a big destiny ahead of you. One I’m sure you’ll rise to meet gloriously.”
She patted him on the shoulder. “You are welcome at Hope Springs anytime. Both of you. Now I’m afraid I have to leave you and the flustered Mr. Biblion. Let him know I’ll bring a broom and dustpan over once they’re done with their investigation.”
“All right?” Jasper said once Pastor Kegan had left. “I feel like something more than just ‘all right’ happened.”
“You feel, or are you listening to my heartbeat again?” I said.
Jasper grinned, totally busted. I rolled my eyes and told him about the vision I’d seen.
“It was so real,” I said. “I wasn’t just watching it, I was there.”
“I’m sure it felt that way,” Jasper said. “The spring taps into the core being of who you are. Chances are it was showing you some of your history in an attempt to unlock parts of your latent magic.”
I shuddered. If that was true, then my history was terrifying. “I don’t feel any different. How do we know if it worked?”
“We’ll have to wait. You could see changes in an hour, or never.”
I noticed Detective Ramirez staring at us from the archway of the wing they’d been combing through. He turned away when he caught me watching, but he didn’t leave. Jasper smirked.
“I did a quick look around the museum. Mr. Biblion was right, everything stolen was magical in nature. Lots of stuff from a collector named Mr. Morian. But what they took doesn’t have any rhyme or reason to it. It’s like they just grabbed whatever they could get their hands on.”
“What were some of the items?” I said.
“Ari told me one was called the Goblet of Smarkand. It detoxifies whatever’s in it so you never get poisoned. Then there’s something called a transference stone. Transfers magic from one object to another. And a crystal egg. Smash it over a charmed object to break the charm.”
He glanced over at me as though he hadn’t just listed off a bunch of items from a mad wizard’s treasure chest. “See what I mean? No rhyme or reason. A few weapons were stolen too. Either someone’s planning for an attack, another heist, or a massive magical experiment.”
“Sounds like a diversion,” I said.
“How’s that?”
“Well…” I tapped my chin in thought. “The thief grabbed a bunch of different things to throw the detectives off the trail of the one thing they actually wanted.”
Jasper nodded, considering that. “Makes sense. Normally it’d be in the Outcasts’ interest to help find the objects, but we’re on a time crunch. Come on. Ari! Leon!”
Ari and Leon both stopped sparring with the toy swords they’d grabbed from the gift shop. As we headed to the exit, Detective Ramirez began making a line straight toward us.
“For real?” I muttered. “Can’t this guy take a hint?”
“One second!”
All of us turned to glare at him. It would have been more intimidating if two of us hadn’t just been trying to impale each other with foam swords.
“I’d like to ask you all a few questions,” Detective Ramirez said, pulling out a phone. “It seems a little odd that you’d come in here now of all times and have such a close relationship with the curator. Where—”
“Are we suspects in your investigation?” Leon said.
Ramirez paused. “What?”
“Do you have probable cause to detain us as suspects in your investigation?” Leon said. He crossed his arms, glowering at the detective.
“I’m making you suspe—”
“Ramirez!”
His partner, a sharply dressed woman with mocha colored skin and a piercing glare stood beside Mr. Biblion. She waved to us. “Don’t mind him. You all have a nice day.”
“We’ll send Sienna and Sawyer over later to help you out,” Jasper said to Mr. Biblion over Detective Ramirez’s steadily growing protests.
We left Detective Ramirez sputtering in our wake as we stepped back outside.
“Nice going with the cop terminology,” Ari said, elbowing Leon. She held her arms out wide to her sides, puffing her cheeks in an impersonation of Leon. “‘Do you have probable cause to keep us? Do we have the right to remain silent?’ Real Law and Order type stuff. That’s thinking on your toes.”
“I’ve watched my share of cop shows,” Leon said.
“Focus,” Jasper said, snapping us all back to the present. To what we still had to do, and who we still had to meet. “Let’s not keep the Horde waiting.”