Hank then started to prepare for Luci’s test…as well as his own. Going on the assumption that the others let off some kind of energy that activated the stone, he bought some copper wire and some electrician pliers at the hardware store.
Conscious of Luci’s comfort, he took a long time putting wraps of the wire around her collar, making it a conductor. Next, he painstakingly wove some more wire through her leash. Tying the end of the wire tightly to the clasp of the leash, he then also tied the wire of her collar on the ring that the leash attached to. Putting a few extra wraps of the copper through the loop of the leash where he held onto it, he then looked on his contraption with satisfaction.
“I hope this doesn’t hurt you girl,” he spoke quietly to the dog as he installed the collar back on her neck. Attaching the leash to the collar, he then checked the wire connections.
Everything seemed like it would work…theoretically.
He sighed nervously as he pulled the stone out of his pocket. Laying the chain over his head, he felt it slide down to his neck. Kneeling next to Luci, he laid a hand on her back and got ready to wait.
He ran through his theory one more time in his head. Energy being more like electricity, he thought it reasonable to assume that it too would travel over a wire conductor. If the stone came to life, he would initially have his hand on Luci’s back, hoping that she would then see what he was seeing. If that part of the test did indeed work, the next part would be to see if his Rube Goldberg invention also allowed the energy of the stone to flow to her.
Suddenly, he felt a small pulse of energy surge through his body. Not remembering that from before, he nevertheless looked out of the window in time to see a sickly looking man hobbling down the street.
The man sparkled once. Actually…it might’ve been more of a shimmer, but Hank couldn’t be too sure.
Quickly, he looked over at Luci, observing her watching the same man.
“Everything ok girl?” he questioned. The dog glanced over at him calmly, licking his offered hand before turning back toward the street.
Hank was overjoyed at proving his theory as his eyes moved back to the stooped man who had stopped at the corner to light a cigarette.
Taking a nervous breath, Hank then stood up, taking his hand off of Luci’s back while gripping the leash in his other hand. Luci immediately stiffened.
Afraid that his leash was not working, he called out again to the dog.
“Luci?”
The red dog immediately turned her head to face him, but quickly moved it back toward the street as a low growl escaped from her throat.
Hank hurriedly looked down, seeing the hooded man from the day before suddenly appear from the far corner of the intersection.
Holy shit! He whispered as the slenderly built man pulled a sword from a sheath at his back. Yelling what looked like a challenge toward the stooped man, the hooded figure’s sword quickly burst into flames.
Suddenly, the sickly man was engulfed in a burst of light as he transformed before Hank’s eyes.
“That ain’t human,” Hank whispered as he watched the man’s altered appearance rise out of the light.
What now stood on the street corner could best be described as a monster. At least seven feet tall, it had gray skin that hung loose on its body, and bloody looking eyes. Drawing a sword of its own from under a cloak, the thing started rapidly advancing on the smaller man in the hood, letting out a bloodcurdling wail in the process.
“Let’s go!” Hank said as he turned away from the window and headed for the stairs. He noticed that Luci was totally in sync with his actions, and a small smile crossed his face as they started down the steps.
He wasn’t yet sure what he had gotten himself involved in, but he was glad that Luci would at least be there to help him. Already, the anticipation of it all made his heart race a thousand beats per minute.
Hitting the bottom of the stairs at a run, they ran toward the exit, bursting through it in time to see the huge monster disappear in flame and ash as the hooded man swung his sword through it. The creature was no match for the warrior. Though he was much shorter than the beast he’d just put down, it’d been a purely unfair fight.
“Hey!” Hank yelled as they started running toward the man.
The hooded man seemed startled as the sunglasses hiding his face swung around toward their advance.
“You again?” the man called, moving his flaming sword toward Hank and Luci. Hank stopped in the face of the flames, quickly reaching back and pulling out his gun and aiming it at the man.
“You just killed that man…I mean…thing,” Hank yelled as he steadied his gun on the man. “Who are you?” He challenged, “And what’s this all about?”
A smile slowly spread on the face below the sunglasses. Hank swore he was taunting him with that amused smirk
“Damn! You’re human!” The man said with a grin. “Well I’ll be damned!” He shook his head.
“Of course I’m human,” Hank said incredulously, “What else would I be?”
The hooded figure chuckled, dousing the flame on his sword and nimbly inserting it into the sheath on his back. Bowing formally then, “My name is Benton. The pleasure is not mine.”
Rising again, he crossed his arms in front of him. “What’s going on is hard to explain. I’m sort of…cleaning up a mess caused by certain enemies of mine…enemies of yours as well I might add.”
Hank cocked his gun, “I’ll make my own determination as to who my enemies are if you don’t mind.”
“Dude,” the hooded man said then, spreading his arms wide. “I’m providing an essential service. You should be thanking me!”
“Just get on the ground and put your hands behind your back. We can sort this out at the station.”
Benton’s grin darkened. “I was trying to do this the easy way…but if you insist…Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You have no idea what’s going on and you best stay out of our way.”
Suddenly, his hands were out in front of him, holding a ball of roaring flame in each. Within seconds, the flames were shooting out of his hands and landing on the blacktop, quickly encircling Hank and Luci. The line of fire crawled along the ground like a living snake until it connected end to end and surrounded them with angry flames that flared up each time he stepped closer to it.
Benton then doused the fire in his hands and put them on his hips.
“That should keep you busy for a few minutes,” Benton said with wicked smirk as he approached the flames, running his fingers over the flickering fire. It didn’t burn him much less singe the hair on his forearm. He was impervious to it. How?
Hank’s eyes widened as he watched the stranger in fascination and a touch of horror.
“You’re in over your head dude,” Benton announced. His smile faded as his face darkened again. His youth was apparent, but the dark knowledge of things he’d seen made him appear slightly older…worn. “Let it go man. We’ll be done here in a couple of weeks, and then you’ll never see us again. All I ask is for you and your—dog—to stay out of our way.”
With that, he turned on his heel and walked away from the fire, moving confidently back the way he’d come. Not once did he look over his shoulder to assess if Hank was following him or not. He was that sure of himself.
Hank’s eyes followed him until the man was out of sight around the corner. Looking down at Luci, her face seemed to hold as much confusion as his surely did. As the fire died down around him, he wistfully looked toward the corner where the man who called himself Benton had disappeared.
“Well shit.”
Chapter 9
“What the hell are you doing here?” Benton’s eyes met with the familiar yet unwanted face of Nautilus, a warrior of his sister Shade’s court and a Teleen faery, meaning he was made of electrical currents and blue fire. At the moment, the warrior wore glamour to cover up the dangerous feature for it would kill anyone who touched him without the powerful shield which helped him to appear normal.
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“Nice to see you too, Benton.” Nautilus slapped him on the back, not bothered by the rude welcome. “Shade sent me to keep you in line.” He winked.
“We’re managing just fine.” Benton turned away from him and stared at the flickering fire he’d set up. He didn’t want to be rude, he was exhausted from the day’s events.
“I’m sure you are, but who couldn’t use another helping hand?” Nautilus held out three strung up trout, dangling them near the fire. “I brought dinner.”
Soap’s laughter echoed around the trees surrounding their camp.
“It’s a date! I’ll take those.” Soap accepted the fish and headed over to a stream to begin prepping them to cook. They were spending the evening at the edge of Faerie. With that damn cop following them around, they had to be more inconspicuous.
“You don’t know what’s been going down here. There’s been a complication.” Benton stared hard into the fire, his face in a permanent scowl.
“Yeah? What sort of complication?” Nautilus took a seat near him, but far enough away to give the young Fire Elemental his personal space. All three warriors had an affinity to fire, which was fortunate since the nights were somewhat chilly with the humidity and ocean air constantly pounding the coast. Still, it made for some fiery attitudes.
“There’s a cop following us.”
Nautilus lifted an eyebrow. “What’s he want with you all? Glamour not working on him?”
“He’s not the same as other humans.” Benton’s sullen mood darkened his features, making his dark brown eyes appear obsidian in the flickering flames. “He’s…different. But I don’t know how.”
“How’s he tracing your steps?”
“He said something about the ashes. He’s been having them tested and now has one of those medallions we’ve seen on some of the Unseelie in the area. Not sure what it means, but it’s got markings on it, like hieroglyphs or runes or something like that. I’m sure it has something to do with our glamours not working on him. I doubt he’s a sighted human. He didn’t seem to notice things before.”
“So you’ve seen him before?” Nautilus wrinkled his nose, confused.
“Yeah. I’d seen him before. He’s been hanging around our hunting ground with that devil reddish dog of his. I hate dogs.” Benton relayed.
“Dogs are alright. Just need to show them you’re not the enemy.” Soap said, returning from the stream.
Benton huffed. “Sure, right before they bite your hand right off.”
Nautilus furrowed his brows at their conversation, looking perplexed.
“Alright, let’s roast these puppies,” Soap interrupted as he finished cleaning the fish. “Got any spices Benton? You’re the one with all the dried herbs and all.” Soap held out the fish, all neatly cleaned and ready to sear on the cast iron skillet he’d produced.
“Seriously? You guys need to bring your own salt and pepper.” Benton produced some herbs and the salt for Soap to deal with. He was fed up with this hunt lately. The more Unseelie and Sluagh they put down, the more came. It was an endless cycle that had him worried he’d never see the end of this battle.
“Look,” Nautilus offered, scratching his head. “I’m sure we can get hold of this guy, see what his motivations are. I don’t think avoiding him will do any good. If he’s got any kind of magic in him, we need to know. We could be in danger.”
Benton nodded, agreeing with Nautilus’ assessment. When Soap began serving the dinner of fish, potatoes and green beans, freshly picked and chopped up for a meal, he began to feel more relaxed.
If the guy wanted to kill them, he would’ve already. Something didn’t jive with this human cop, but if anyone could find out about him, they would need some more supernatural help.
“Nautilus?” Benton looked up to his comrade, his eyes widening with a blossoming idea.
“What’s up bud?” Nautilus stuffed a piece of steaming hot fish into his mouth without regard to the heat level. Hot food, or hot anything for that matter, didn’t bother any of them.
“We need help on this. Are there any oracles around here that could enlighten us about other humans with possible magic?”
Nautilus chewed thoughtfully, silently digesting the idea before he started nodding.
“I think so, but it’ll take some time to find her. I’ve not seen her in decades.”
Benton smiled. “Perfect. We need her help.”
Chapter 10
Hank sat in his back yard, staring up at the stars as he contemplated everything that he’d seen and learned that day:
-He had confirmed that the stone had some sort of…magical power?
-It was apparently triggered by being in the vicinity of the ‘other’ type of humans
-The thing he had seen today did not look like a human at all…rather some sort of beast…so there were apparently more than one type of…things being killed
-The man responsible for the killings, Benton, said he was doing a service, indicating that he would be gone in a couple of weeks…and that he was working with others.
-Benton claimed that he was cleaning up a mess created by his enemies
-Benton also claimed this these enemies were also Hank’s…meaning he supposed that they were enemies of all humans?
Hank closed his eyes as a pain started throbbing in his head.
Nothing was making any sense!
This Benton fellow was killing people! He had a gang of others…all of them apparently killing people!
Even though the people they were killing appeared to not be exactly human, Hank had taken an oath…to protect and to serve. To enforce the rules of law that had governed any civilized society for hundreds of years!
At that moment he felt Luci nuzzle his hand with a soft whine. Looking down at the dog laying beside the lawn chair, he reached out and scratched behind Luci’s ear.
“You can always tell when I’m upset, can’t you girl?” he mumbled softly with a small smile.
Luci answered his question by sitting up before laying her head on his lap.
He was at least glad that his homemade contraption had worked earlier. No matter what he was facing, he felt better knowing that Luci could be there with him.
Leaning his head back and taking in the sky once again, Hank thought back to that moment when Benton had disappeared around the corner.
Where had he gone?
Hank hadn’t given it much of a thought at the time, having had to busy himself securing the crime scene and calling in a forensics team and the Medical Examiner. Once again Dr. Jacoby had shown up personally, and once again he’d shown much excitement over the possibilities of finding a new species of humans.
Hank had relayed his observations about the current pile of ash being something completely different…more of a beast. Thinking this would probably deter Dr. Jacoby’s enthusiasm.
It had only increased it instead!
“You don’t say!” the doctor had whispered excitedly at the news, grinning broadly as he squeezed Hank’s shoulder. “Hank, I believe there may be scientific paper in our future…maybe even a book!”
Hank groaned inwardly.
“Let’s get to the bottom of these murders before we worry about that,” he had replied quietly.
“Of course, Hank, I was just saying…”
Smiling like a Cheshire cat, Dr. Jacoby then got busy on the current pile at his feet.
***
Watching the stars above him, Hank lamented the fact that he would have to wait until Monday to find out anything more about the victims. In fact, he was lamenting the fact that he may not be able to do anything until Monday.
The excitement of the long day was receding now, leaving in its place an intense and enticing tiredness as his eyes slowly closed.
Find him.
Hank’s eyes jerked fully open again. Looking around the quiet yard, he wasn’t sure if he had actually heard the whispered voice, or if it was just something in his head. Finally settling back into the chair, he g
lanced down at Luci, who was now looking at him questioningly.
Rubbing her head, he quickly settled back into the lawn chair as sleep once again started overtaking him.
The stars quickly melted away as his mind took over the duties of his visual experiences. Soon he was entering a beautiful forest, the cool and slightly damp air feeling pleasant on his face as he took in the massive trees surrounding him. Following a well-worn path that wound its way through the trees, Hank enjoyed the quietness that enveloped him as he walked.
As the path passed between a set of giant twin trees, he suddenly felt something behind him. Turning quickly, he glanced back and forth between the trunks of both of the towering trees. Feeling foolish when he found nothing, he promptly turned to resume his walk only to gasp at the sight before him.
A beautiful woman stood glowing in his path, her large blue eyes smiling at him. Long and flowing blonde hair framed her face, and her perky lips seemed to glow in the dim light of the forest. He couldn’t move as he stared at the beautiful apparition before him, mesmerized by her sudden appearance and her splendor.
Find him, he heard the lyrical voice once again in his mind, Talk to him.
Chapter 11
Jerking to his feet, Hank was instantly alert as he scanned the perimeter of his small yard. He was surprised to find that the sky was lightening in the east; he’d spent the whole night in the yard. Spotting Lucifer sleeping quietly ten feet from his chair, he scanned the yard one more time before allowing himself to relax.
What the hell? He mumbled quietly to himself before once again relaxing into his chair.
It had seemed like only a minute, and yet the whole night had passed!
Remembering the beautiful woman, he closed his eyes again as he tried to reclaim the vision in the dream. His heart skipped a beat when he was able to reconstruct the image, as he once again took in her beauty. His reverie was quickly interrupted however when her words were repeated in his head.