Portals (6 page)

Finally, we gave it up and sat quietly waiting for an ancient daemon to rescue the child of his most bitter enemies from one of his own kind. The irony wasn't lost on me. I hoped Jones was up to the task. Who was I kidding? I figured there wasn’t a whole lot Jones couldn’t do.

Finally I offered to refresh drinks and brought in more water for the Light Ones, who declined food.

After about half an hour, the portal began to form once more. We all stood up, waiting for the portal to stabilize.

Sloane stepped through carrying a small cherub, complete with wings. He was about Carter's size; perhaps a little bit bigger and appeared to be swaddled in a blanket and sound asleep.

Mihren immediately moved to take the child from Sloane, carefully looking him over for injuries. As soon as the child felt his parent's touch, his eyes opened and he sleepily rubbed them. He snuggled in close to Mihren.

“He'll be a little groggy for a while,” said Sloane. “He was quite frightened, and I felt it best that he slept until I brought him back to you. I hope that meets with your approval.”

“My gratitude to you both for retrieving my child.” He looked at Sloane and Jones and gave a short nod of his head. He turned to Thulu. “And my appreciation to you for finding the location. I am in your debt. I will find some way to repay you all for this service.”

Thulu shook his head. “I don’t need payment. It was my pleasure to help you.”

Sloane spoke up. “Elves do not take payment for our services.” He gave Mihren a short bow.

Jones had a rather bemused expression on his face. “No payment is required. The child should not have been taken. Therefore, I was duty bound to see him returned to you.” He paused briefly. “However, we have other things to discuss. Shall we sit down and begin?”

We all arranged ourselves once more. The Light Ones children had surrendered their chairs to Jones and Sloane. The room was a bit crowded, but we made do.

Jones sat, with fingers steepled, one ankle across his other knee. He looked enquiringly at the three adult angels. “How many Light Ones remain on Earth?”

They looked at each other, silently conferring.

It was Barterian who answered. “We do not know exactly how many. Perhaps as few as twenty and as many as fifty. I would be surprised if it were more than fifty.”

Sloane spoke up. “My people have sealed your world off from all of the others. It was done with a very strong spell. To create an opening in that would damage the viability of the existing spell.”

Sahrok nodded. “Yes, we are aware that there is only one way back at this time.” He turned to Jones. “We were hoping for your assistance in this matter.”

“I have not returned to my home world in over two hundred years. I cannot guarantee that my own presence would be welcome to them. For them to grant you access to our world is something I have even more doubts about.”

Mihren said, “We are aware and understand this. Yet, what other options are available to us?”

“Would Avalon take them?” I asked Sloane.

He thought carefully for a few moments before answering. “I don't know. The spells being done to heal an entire race are very difficult and complicated. It takes many of us to do this. To have to do so with two different groups? I'm not sure that solution is going to be met with much enthusiasm.”

“But wouldn't it be easier with a smaller group?” asked Reo.

“Somewhat, but overall, the process is still the same. The spells are still the same. Perhaps it would take slightly less energy, but certainly the effort would be almost as high. The best solution is to return all of the stragglers to their home world.”

“Are there Light Ones on any other worlds?” Thulu asked.

“If there are, it is because they have chosen to be there,” said Sahrok. “However, there would be very few of them. We are anxious to return to the levels of energy we needed in times past. Few would willingly give up this opportunity.”

“The elves did everything they could to let the Light Ones in all realms know to return to their home world,” said Sloane.

“Yet, they missed these here on Earth,” I mused. It still amazed me that these ancient, magical creatures could make some of the most basic mistakes.

“Yes, the portal closing was incredibly strong. We did sweeps, but obviously we missed some.” Sloane's tone was wry.

“That would be because we shielded ourselves. We had no knowledge that the elves were going to cure us. We only knew that we were threatened with being removed from our energy source,” Barterian explained.

Jones frowned. “So, the best course of action really is to see all Light Ones returned to their home world.” He sighed, as he looked at his enemies. “I cannot make any promises. I will not make any guarantees. I will give this some thought and decide how best to approach the situation.”

He paused. “There are daemons on Earth. I am sure I do not need to tell you to stay away from them. Some will kill you on sight. If you do find yourself troubled by any of them, please let me know. Do you have safe places to stay?”

Mirhen nodded. “We have several locations. We will go now and wait to hear from you.” He stood up, followed by the rest of us. “Once again, I thank you for your help.”

“Yes,” said Barterian. “We all give you our thanks. I was not certain we would survive this meeting. I find you to be very reasonable, Dhavenbahtek. You are nothing as I expected. We are honored by your patronage and your help.”

Jones quirked an eyebrow. “I have my moments.”

I choked on a laugh and quickly cleared my throat.

The Light Ones gave us each a final look of acknowledgement before they dematerialized.

Once they were gone, Jones held up one hand, to stop us from speaking. We waited while he did whatever was he was doing, probably scanning the area.

“Very well, they're gone,” he said. “We have much to discuss and I want you to accompany me on an errand. It would be better if Carter were not there. Is there someone who can watch him?”

Those words caused my stomach to plummet. I was intrigued, but there was a healthy dose of fear, as well. Jones's tone was grim. I looked at Thulu, checked the clock and saw it was mid-afternoon.

Thulu's dad was most likely home. Erik Thulukan had not handled his wife's death well at all. Thulu's older brother was running the family business. One of the few things that would perk Erik up was watching Carter. It was therapeutic for both of them.

Thulu pulled out his phone and called his dad, who was home, as I suspected. He agreed to watch Carter.

Jones told Thulu to tell his dad to expect a portal at his house. Thulu did and ended the call.

“How long are we going to be gone?” I asked. I needed to figure out just what Carter would need at Erik's.

Jones shrugged. “Several hours at least. It could be longer. It depends on what happens.”

I nodded. Not quite the answer I’d hoped for.  I went upstairs and quickly put several changes of clothes, pajamas and Carter's toothbrush into a bright blue backpack in case this went into the evening.

I woke Carter from his nap and washed his face and hands. His clothes were rumpled, and I got him into a clean shirt and pants. He was a little cranky from not finishing his nap, but brightened when I told him he was going to see his grandfather.

I carried the backpack downstairs, watching behind me since Carter was still groggy from his nap.

Once we were downstairs, Jones opened another portal.

I picked up Carter and stepped through. The taste of butterscotch and the usual collisions of dancing scents and swirling lights were present. While they were as strong as ever, they didn't last as long as the first time I’d gone through a portal.

This portal went straight into Erik's living room, where he waited with a smile on his face. The dark circles under his eyes were a little bit lighter, giving me hope that he was having an easier time. His smile was a little bit less forced, and he greeted Carter with a big hug.

Carter’s eyes were big, and his mouth had a round “O.”  I’d forgotten that was his first trip through the portal. I hadn’t prepared him for it and gave him a squeeze and a kiss.

“Pretty cool, huh, sweetie?”

His only answer was a nod, eyes focused on the portal behind us.

I turned to Erik. “I have absolutely no idea how long we're going to be gone, Erik,” I said. “A case has come up.”

He waved that away. “Take as long as you need. Carter will be fine, and we'll have a good time.” He gave me a quick hug, and I stepped back through the portal to my own home.

As it snapped closed behind me, I saw Parker and Jenna were still there.

Parker grinned, “I know, I know. Adult business. Come on, Jenna, come on, Sophie.” The three of them dematerialized, and it was only adults left. I had a question for Jones.

“So are you going to tell us what's going on?”

“Yes,” said Jones. “I need to brief you on what happened, and what I intend to do in Chicago. It will take a few minutes. Shall we all get comfortable?”

Thulu and I exchanged looks as we sat on the sofa with Reo. Sloane and Jones each took an easy chair, although neither of them seemed very at ease.

Jones looked around at us. “Things were very bad in Chicago. It was Sarah Grant who took the child. Or rather ordered it to be taken. I doubt the order was for that specific child, but rather any Light One child who was available should be taken.

“Right now, Sarah Grant and her followers are immobilized by a spell I used on them. Two daemons I trust are overseeing them. However, I will need to deal with her and soon.”

He paused and looked at Sloane who gazed back impassively. He took a deep breath and sighed. A troubled Jones was a frightening thought.

“There are two things she accomplishes by hurting this child. The child’s blood and pain would give her the means to enact certain spells. Dark spells of domination and control. The other is to create problems between humans and Light Ones. If the child's death could be laid at the feet of humans, then the seeds for hostility between the two races would be sown. When the Light Ones are cured and allowed concourse with the rest of the worlds, it would be with one more enemy.”

“Then we're lucky she didn't hurt that baby.”

Jones shook his head. “Oh, she did. And badly. She took some of his blood, quite a bit, in fact. She also physically tortured the child. I cannot imagine what possible reason she has to need more power.”

He paused again, and I watched him carefully. Jones had killed his share of people, including four year old Jenna. He still was slightly uncomfortable around her, and I suspected he actually felt some guilt. Her death had been an accident, according to him, and I believed it. I frowned at him, but he continued before I spoke.

 “I know you consider me a monster at times, but I do not like hurting children. Those that I have hurt in the past were almost always harmed inadvertently, either in an accident or as collateral damage. Their deaths were unacceptable and disturbed me. To torture a child is wrong and actually painful for a daemon to endure. Torture of any kind carries an added psychic pain and that much negative energy causes us great physical distress. It is too much negative energy for us to absorb at once, since we only need small amounts. When I kill, it’s done quickly. I do not know how Sarah managed to carry out the torture, if she did it herself. I seriously doubt her daemon followers would have been able to do it. Which, of course, leaves a human follower.”

I looked at Sloane. “You healed the child before returning him to his parent.”

“I did. The child was dying. Perhaps he would have lasted the night, but not much longer than that. I will spare you the details of his injuries, but whoever made them is a monster. This was a deliberate mutilation of that child.” Sloane’s eyes flashed and his expression was grimmer than I had ever seen.

Sloane was no stranger to horror. He'd been one of the healers that showed up when Gabriel had attacked and torn our family apart. And since he was another immortal and had lived for centuries, I’m sure he had seen much worse.

The word “mutilation” sent shivers down my spine and pictures through my head that I didn't want to see. I forced myself to picture the child as I had seen him. Happy, sleepy and whole. Skin like porcelain and cream colored wings a bit darker than his parent's. The thought of that baby being deliberately tortured sparked my anger.

“What about his emotional and mental injuries?” I asked.

“He remembers nothing after wandering away from his parent,” Sloane replied.

“But you told the Light Ones the child was at the Grant Corp. It won't take them long to put that together with daemons. Won't that create more problems between your races?”

Jones shook his head. “We have been at war for so long.” He stopped. “But yes, perhaps it would have had some impact. Even though the Light Ones certainly killed many of our children under Gabriel's leadership.” His expression was grim.

“However, we have had an unspoken truce, since the elves have stepped into the situation. A death would have been unfortunate, but understood, somewhat. A tortured, dead child is quite different and would have caused outright open warfare such as we have not seen for over a thousand years.

“This is why I must find out the exact reason Sarah would do such a thing.” He frowned, clearly disturbed.

“So what now?” asked Thulu.

Jones answered after a few moments. “Now, I go to confront Sarah Grant. My concern is how much deeper this runs through others of our kind. Is she an aberration? Or an indication that our people are becoming the very thing Gabriel accused us of so many eons ago – evil incarnate.”

“And exactly what is it you think we can do?” I asked, indicating Thulu and myself. I couldn’t see where our abilities would be very useful. Unless he needed me to see dead people or translate for someone. Somehow I doubted that was the case. Although he might need Thulu if they needed to find something.

Reo's presence was much easier to understand: empath, telepath, psychic. He could do a lot of different things. Although his abilities didn't always work. His empathy was his most reliable ability. He'd been an asset more than once in the past, and he would be a welcome addition to any dicey situation.

“I am not sure, yet, exactly, but I think it is best to have an unbiased witness or three, in case I need them.”

“You expect trouble.”

He smiled. “Always. This time, I am quite sure I shall find it.”

“So, what are we going to find there?” asked Thulu.

“Some very angry daemons. Once I release them from the spell. I want to release Sarah first. From that point on, we play it by ear.”

Jones lost no time in opening another portal. We filed through one by one, and I had my usual taste of butterscotch, followed by a myriad of scents.

I stepped out into a dim room that felt and smelled damp. There was also another smell, but I couldn’t identify it. I did detect the coppery smell of blood. Human blood, or at least blood from our world. I thought of the child that had been tortured here and wondered what Light One blood would smell like. Or look like.  Did it turn to dust when it hit the air? The Light One deaths I’d seen resulted in them instantly turning to glittering dust. Did their blood do the same? I made a mental note to ask about that sometime.

The walls and floor were covered in white tile. There were shapes I couldn’t make out at first. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the low light. I still had trouble making out what some of the objects were. They were completely unfamiliar.

Other things were quite clear. I recognized Sarah Grant and other human-looking figures held completely immobile. There were four men locked into various poses. Two other men were already talking to Jones in quiet voices. They seemed respectful and nodded to Jones before they went to either side of Sarah Grant and grasped her arms.

I thought that was just a precaution because a few moments later she turned her head to look around, but the rest of her body was still immobile. I couldn’t help but think what a handy spell that must be.

“Satorah, why did you take and damage that child?” asked Jones.

I assumed Satorah was her real name.

“We are at war. The child wandered off and was there for the taking. It was not an opportunity to miss.”

“That is a lie, Satorah. Try again. Why did you need Light One blood spilled? And why did you torture the child?”

Her eyes blazed red. “Since when do you care about Light Ones? You have done far worse!”

Jones's voice was steady. “Not to a child. Not deliberately. And never torture. What spells were you trying to perform?”

“You already know. Why pretend you do not?”

“I want these others to know.” He indicated the other daemons as well as the rest of us.

“Why?”

“Because I am weary of this war and wish for our people to move forward. Your actions would have seriously crippled that effort. You knew this and deliberately sought to undermine what I am trying to accomplish. I intend to bring charges against you at court. You can do yourself the favor of admitting your actions and stating your reasons, both here and there. Or you can be forced to speak. Either way, the truth will be known.”

“For eons, you have denied me the power to do as I want. You protect the humans. Now you protect our enemies. Well, I will not protect them. I will use the humans to fight the Light Ones.”

So, Jones had called that one correctly.

“You are a fool,” she continued. “You have become soft with this insane regard for these puny creatures.” She jerked her head at Thulu, Reo and me, disdain etched in every line of her face.

The last person to call Jones soft was no longer alive, but if her accusation bothered Jones, he didn't show it.

“I am simply learning that perhaps there are better ways to live than to be constantly at war.”

“Well, Dhavenbahtek, you do what you want. But I shall also do what I want. I will destroy the Light Ones completely and utterly. And if a lot of your precious humans are destroyed in the process that will just be too bad. The Light Ones would have risen up against us when they were released. But we would have been ready for them. A human army commanded by daemons. We would have crushed the Light Ones forever.” She had become angrier as she talked. Spittle flew from her lips, and her eyes flashed red as her voice became guttural and harsh.

“I will still do this. You think you have won this day? You have not won. This is simply one small step backwards for me. I will continue my work. I will have the revenge I seek.”

Jones looked at her sadly. “Your revenge is a lie and will accomplish nothing.”

“It will make me feel better. How can you stand there so calmly? How can you have forgotten the deaths they caused? How can you forgive them?”

Jones's own eyes flashed. “Forgive? I forgive nothing! I killed the one responsible. Gabriel caused that invasion, and he was the one who ordered the deaths. He was the one who died at my hands, just as I swore he would.”

“No! You swore to kill them all!”

Jones's face was very still. “You have become as insane as Gabriel, Satorah. Have you forgotten how he exhorted his people to kill? Do you not remember their reluctance at the start?”

“Yes, I do remember. I remember how they soon grew immune to our pain and deaths. And I will not rest until every one of them is dead.”

“Even if that puts our own people at risk? You would have more of us die in this war of revenge. Is that what you want?”

“That is the price of war, Dhavenbahtek.”

“We have finally rebuilt our numbers again and you would risk our people for things done thousands of years ago. It is time we set it aside.”

“I shall never set it aside. I shall continue until the day I die. You fool! If you stand in my way, then I shall kill you as well.”

There was no doubt that the creature was completely insane. I was very grateful that Jones kept her immobilized because I had no doubt that she would make good on her threat. Neither did Jones as his next words proved.

“It is a death sentence to threaten me, Satorah.” That deep, velvet voice of his was full of menace and more frightening for how calm and soft it was.

“You call me insane? I want our people to live free from fear of invasion.”

Jones sighed. “We have not been invaded for thousands of years. Yes, you are mad. Your plans are mad.”

Satorah must have been slowly gathering her strength because suddenly she was free of the spell and free of her captors. She started for Jones, her fingers hooked into claws.

“They killed her! They slaughtered my child!” She reached out for Jones, but he slammed some spell into her. Her body jerked abruptly back and she collapsed to the floor.

Jones's voice was so soft I might have missed it, except for the sudden, stunned silence in the room.

“She was my child, too,” he whispered, his voice as cold as ice.