Fallen Stars (The Demon Accords) (15 page)

“My daughter has the best nose of any were on the planet,” Kral noted proudly.  It was an odd statement.  If he’d had said she had eyes like an eagle or the most sensitive hearing, I’d have just nodded and moved on.  But saying she had the best nose made her sound like a prized hunting hound.

Her brother, Janek, leaned forward and sniffed near me, his arrogant smirk changing to a curious frown.  “You’re right, Rina. He does smell a little like both.  I can barely detect it, though. I smell bear, too.”

“Of course I’m right,” she replied with a sniff.  “The bear smell is him,” she said pointing at Awasos.  “What are you, Mr. Gordon?  And what is he?”

I shrugged.  “No one knows... about me, that is.  Awasos is a were bear-wolf.”

“A bear and a wolf and a person?  Come on!  No way,” Janek said with a nasty chuckle.

“You’re right.  He’s not all three.  Just wolf and bear,” I replied, locking eyes with the arrogant youth.  He stared right back, his Alpha instincts kicking in.

“Bullshit!  You’re making that up,” he said.  His mother rested one hand on his arm but otherwise said nothing.  The whole family leaned in, waiting to see how I would respond.

“'Sos, please Change,” I asked my furry pal quietly.

Suddenly a wall of fur stood next to me, his head brushing the ceiling eleven feet overhead.  I noted that he’d grown a bit taller.

The space around us cleared instantly as people got themselves out of the danger zone, although to my mind, you’d need to be off the estate entirely to be out of 'Sos’s danger zone.

Drinks splashed as the people holding them reeled back from the giant grizzly, even the werebears falling back in alarm.

The Vranas and Grangers were frozen in place, eyes wide, looking up, up, up at the mass of fur and muscle standing quietly by my side.  Stacia placed one hand on 'Sos’s massive side, using it to brace herself while she casually fixed her shoe strap, having first handed me her drink.

Her nonchalance brought the others back to earth, forcing them to recover a bit of their cool attitude.  They were, however, not quite so superior.

I patted my bear and gave him a nod, and he blurred in that eye-scrambling manner of his back into his wolf form.

Everyone was still shocked, which for a party of supernaturals, is quite an achievement.

“That was… amazing!” Janek conceded.  “Where did you get him?  I want one.”

“Ah, he’s one of a kind and the circumstances of his birth would be exceedingly difficult to replicate,” I said, thinking of elder gods, giant bears, and dark rites.

“Ned said you were a problem solver?  What problems do you solve?” Kral asked, attempting to recover control of the conversation.

I wasn’t sure how much the Grangers wanted me to say, so I hesitated.  Ned interjected before I could answer.  “Mr. Gordon is a specialist in dealing with demons.  We had an issue, and he resolved it.”

To his credit, Granger hadn’t ever seen 'Sos Change before, but he was handling it much better than his guest.  Possibly Jep had filled him in.  His giant second-in-command had simply moved his wife and the Grangers back a step when he saw that I was going to ask 'Sos for a demonstration.

Kral’s interest was palpable, his eyes gleaming with curiosity as he swung around to look at Granger.  “You had an issue with demons?” he asked, glancing back at me but focused on Ned.

Ned considered for a moment then spoke.  “Our twins and another daughter of the Pack were all possessed this time last night,” he said.

Vrana’s eyebrows shot up and he turned to look at the girls, who were shyly hiding behind their mother, both fingering their necklaces.  “Truth?” he asked, his expression a blend of disbelief and horror.

“Truth, Mr. Vrana!” Jep rumbled.  “Our Lindsey was the third.”

I noticed the rest of the party had gone silent, all of the guests focusing their sensitive ears on the conversation in front of me.

“How is such a thing possible?  How could it happen?” Vrana asked.  He was truly, deeply interested in the topic, to the point where I wondered if he had personal experience with Hell’s children.

“Chris, you can probably explain better than I,” Ned suggested, glancing around and frowning at all the listening guests.  This obviously wasn’t the direction he had wanted the party to take.

“Ah, this house was built in the early nineteen hundreds by a man who was fascinated with the occult.  He used the house as the site of séances, dark ceremonies, and, most likely, at least several sacrifices.  Some of these rites were conducted by true adepts.  We think that a gate spell was partially completed years ago and the children unknowingly finished it.  The portal opened a path to Hell, and the girls were the first victims.”

“These two girls and one other were all possessed just twenty-four hours ago?  And here they are… in party dresses?” Kral asked, incredulous.

“Chris is
very
good at exorcism,” Stacia supplied.

“What about the portal?” Evka asked sharply.  “You said there was an open portal to Hell in this house?”

“You know, this may be a topic for
after
dinner,” Ned said suddenly.  He was noticing how everyone in the room was leaning in to listen to our conversation, all pretext of holding their own conversations gone.

“That’s a good idea,” I agreed. “I’m sure there are many more interesting people to meet.”

“Many yes.  More interesting?  Not remotely likely,” Vrana said.  “We
will
talk, Mr. Gordon.”

“Actually, I’d be interested in hearing about an open Hell Gate,” a masculine voice said from just outside our group.  A young man in a well-cut gray suit was smiling, a curious look on his face.

“Ah, Samuel!  I suspect
you
would find it of interest,” Ned said, greeting the newcomer.  “Kral, this is Samuel Cooper, who, despite his youthful appearance, is the leader of one of Asheville’s most prominent Circles.”

I didn’t understand circles for a moment till I remembered that witches grouped together in circles of twelve or more, kind of like their own little Packs.

“
One
of our Circles, but not the most prominent one,” a female voice said from the other side of our group.  An older woman stood there, thin and bony, dressed in a black dress that would have looked more appropriate for a funeral.

“Yes, Cercia, of course, we have such luck to live in close proximity to not one, but two powerful circles,” Ned said soothingly, although there might have been a slight tone of sarcasm buried in that sentence.

“Cercia Swallows is the leader of the Circle of the Eastern Star,” Ned explained to Vrana and company while Stacia and I exchanged a smirk at the witch’s unfortunate last name.  “Samuel’s circle is known as the White Oak Circle.”

“Ned, I don’t understand why you didn’t consult with me when your children were threatened?” Samuel asked.

“Our children weren’t threatened, Sam. They were fully possessed.  Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but witchcraft is usually associated with summoning demons, not exorcising them,” Ned responded.

“Yes, the darker side of the Art is, unfortunately, linked with summoning.  But the lighter side has long traditions of protecting and dispelling evil,” Samuel said, his eyes intense

“We didn’t even know witchcraft was involved until Mr. Gordon had already cleansed our children. 
After
the church failed,” Ned said smoothly.  “But I could have used your advice
not
to buy this house in the first place.  Please don’t tell me that either of your circles was ignorant of its history.”

Cercia’s dark eyes glittered as she spoke up.  “Why should the Eastern Star have jumped forth to help you when your Pack hardly gives us the time of day?”

“Gee, I don’t know?  Maybe because stepping up and warning us might have endeared us to you?  Might have healed rifts long in place?” he said before turning back to Samuel.  “But what I don’t understand is why the White Oak neglected to warn us?  How much mutual business and aid has passed between us, Sam?”

The warlock was smooth, I had to grant him that.  “This house had some rumors floating about it, I’ll admit, but nothing that truly warranted warning you off.”

“That’s odd, because my wife’s nephew was able to find out enough dirt on the old shack to fill a research paper.  Right off the Internet, right, Malcolm?” Granger asked the young were standing off to the side. 

Malcolm blushed a bit but firmed up and nodded.

“Nonetheless, Ned, you should have come to me at the first sign of trouble, not bring in some unknown outsiders,” Samuel said with a derisive wave in my direction.  His glance at Stacia was apologetic, but he kept his attention on Granger.

“You know, Samuel, had I known the history before Mr. Gordon and Ms. Reynolds were here, I might have done just that.  But when my daughters started crawling on the ceiling, I thought it wise to bring in the very best,” he said, voice tight with anger.

“The best? 
This
is the best?” the warlock said with a derisive wave in my direction.  “An ex-cop, a model, and a freak!”

“'Sos!  Go piss on his car!” I said aside to my furry pal, who immediately plowed through the crowd and left the party, hopefully to do just that.  Part of me was considering how he knew I was an ex-cop.

Samuel turned angry eyes in my direction and began to gather something that looked like smoky blackness in his right hand.  The crowd started to clear, and Ned moved right into Samuel’s face.  “Do it, Cooper!  Launch whatever spell you have up your sleeve at the man who saved my children.  Then see how things go,” he said in a clear, angry voice.  Jep moved up behind Cooper, looming over the angry warlock.

Chapter 16

For my part, I wasn’t exactly thrilled that Granger was going to let him throw down on me
before
kicking ass, but I did appreciate the sentiment.  Grim wasn’t so ambivalent, though, as a suit of aural armor had appeared over my body.  I think it was mostly invisible to the bulk of the guests, but Cercia’s eyes widened as she looked at me, and she edged back from the brewing conflict.  Sam Cooper either couldn’t see aura or was too distracted by the angry Alpha werewolf in his face.   He grimaced, then took a step back and let the blackness dissipate.

“I’m sorry, Ned.  I don’t often lose my temper,” Cooper apologized. “I shouldn’t have gone for a spell.”

“You shouldn’t have insulted our guests in the first place!” a female voice admonished.  Rose Granger stood just to her husband’s side, glaring at the warlock.

“Roselyn, I beg your forgiveness,” Cooper said smoothly and with some real sincerity. “Perhaps you may still let me see the portal?”

“There is no portal.  Do you honestly think I would let my children or my guests into a house with an open gateway to Hell?  Mr. Gordon closed it and sealed it this afternoon.”

The young male witch and the old female had matching expressions of shock at Rose’s announcement.  Same open mouths, same wide eyes, and each even leaned back a bit.

“That’s impossible!  No single witch could close a dimensional gateway by themselves.  Why, it would take
both
our circles, working together, to close such a rift!” Cercia said.

“I do not believe that Mr. Gordon is a witch at all—are you, Chris?” Rose asked, turning to me.

“No ma’am.  Not a witch,” I agreed.

“Are you certain it’s closed?” Cooper asked urgently.

“Wouldn’t you be able to sense it if it wasn’t?” Rose responded.  “It is sealed off, isn’t it, Chris?”

“Yes, ma’am. Sealed tight.”

Both witches looked from me to Rose and back again.  I got the distinct impression that both their nights were ruined. The Grangers might have gotten the same impression.

“So you both came here tonight to see the portal?  That’s why you came, isn’t it?” Ned asked, eyes flashing.  Vrana and family were watching the whole scene play out, highly interested.

“Ned, an open dimensional gate is a big deal… huge, really.  One that allegedly connects to Hell is even more so,” Cooper said.

“How did you know?  That there was a portal here at all?” I asked, curious.

That question
hadn’t
, apparently, occurred to the Grangers, because both Alphas turned sharply focused glares on the now decidedly defensive witches.

“Ah, tears in the fabric of our reality cause a disturbance in the energy that we use,” Cercia explained.

“But yet you didn’t show up to help?” Ned asked dangerously.  “Let’s see if I have this right. You knew there was a nasty history to this house tied to magic, yet neither Circle chose to purchase the property for study.  Neither Circle chose to warn us, either.  Then, after we move in and you sense a rip in the dimensions, you still hang back to see what happens.  We throw a party, and you’re both here with bells on to get a peek at the results?  Is that pretty much how it is?”

“Ah, Ned it’s not like that,” Cooper began.

“Actually, it is,” Cercia said, eyes flashing.  “There is no love lost between us, Alpha!  Why shouldn’t I let you take the risks?”

“Wow, Cercia!” Ned said, eyebrows raised.  Then he nodded. “Thank you for the honesty at least. 
That
I can appreciate.  But you, Cooper, you’re supposed to be an ally?  The Asheville Pack and the Oak Circle have always supported each other.”