Chapter Nine: Finding the Wrong Kind of Trouble

~ Marie ~

The next morning was spent on the phone with a Guardian from another territory. The United States was separated into thirteen territories, each with its own Guardian. Since Guardians operated within territories rather than within state lines, a territory covered parts of different states but not the entire state. This was because some groups from the Deep End didn’t live neatly within state lines and so it was easier to solve problems if the Guardian of a territory didn’t have to worry about asking for permission from another Guardian to act.

This particular call concerned the Belasko, a type of crow shapechanger that lived at the edge of her territory. One of their number had died and now they were traveling to where the person had been born in order to hold the funeral. They normally kept to themselves but were known to be peaceful. Neither Guardian believed they would be a problem but it was better to inform the other Guardian about any customs that might come up, just in case. She was put on hold for a moment as the other Guardian went and took care of something. Marie thought back to yesterday as she waited.

Last night, Adrian had left as soon as they had gotten back to her house. Considering they didn’t gain any new information, she was fine to leave things alone. But considering how quickly he left, it was possible he had learned something and decided to follow up on it. Alone. Maybe if she went back she would find something. It was definitely worth another look.

After her call was done, she grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. Marie eyed the pile of rubble that had once been a six story building. Some of it had already been taken away. The police had put up barricades on the road to keep out any cars and the caution tape flapped in the wind as she made her way over. No one was around anymore. The authorities had probably decided, with how old and vandalized the building was, that it was an accident. She carefully picked her way around the rubble as she opened up her senses. Nothing beyond the very faint traces of magic. There were pieces of paper here and there but nothing that resembled a talisman. As she made her way back over the debris, on the way to the street, she caught sight of someone heading in her direction.

“It looks like it imploded.” Connor stopped and scanned the area. She wasn’t going to mention that she had been in the building when it happened. He worried about her too much as it was. “Did you find anything out?” Marie shook her head. There was nothing else beyond the faint traces of magic. Connor sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He sat down on a nearby block of stone. She sat down next to him and waited. “I know I shouldn’t be asking you this while you’re still in the middle of an investigation but I was wondering if I could have a copy of the circle.” He held his hand up to stop her from replying. “I know that it’s a long shot. It probably isn’t connected to my case but I still want to look. And if you can’t give it to me, I understand. I don’t want to get you in trouble.” He smiled after that and waited. It wasn’t connected but should she give it to him?

“If I don’t need it for anything else, then I can give you a copy after the investigation.” His smile brightened as he thanked her. Afterwards, they walked around the building looking for clues. Neither of them found anything and they parted ways soon after.

Marie returned home and went back to the study. She spent the next couple of hours reading. The third book was open in front of her when the study door opened behind her. Mark poked his head in.

“Sorry. I know you’re busy but would it be okay if I took another book.”

“Go ahead. Just don’t take any books on demons.” The boy nodded and headed over to a bookshelf to her left. He pulled out a book and opened it. She thought the conversation was done so she went back to her book.

“You mentioned demons before but did a demon really get summoned?” Marie stopped and looked at Mark. His brow was furrowed and the knuckles of his hands were white as he clenched his fists. What was she supposed to do here? If Adrian didn’t feel the need to explain to Mark then it was probably for a reason. But if she tried to keep it from him, he might still ask Adrian later. Would that cause trouble for her? She had the urge to sigh but kept it in. It was better to answer his question and give him at least a little information.

“I’m still investigating” —He hung his head as he nodded—“but what I can tell you is that there isn’t a demon out there. It was sent back and I closed the circle.” Mark stared at her for several moments before nodding. The tension left his body as he unclenched his fists. He turned to the bookshelf and she assumed the conversation was done. She flipped a page and stopped. Marie felt his eyes on her. She looked up.

“Do you need something?” The boy fidgeted for a moment before he looked her right in the eyes.

“I can’t help you when it comes to looking stuff up or anything with magic but if you need help with anything else, I want to help.” He looked sincere in his desire to help but there wasn’t really anything she needed help with. If she didn’t need her books, she would have told him to sort them or maybe put some up. Right now, the only thing she needed was information but he couldn’t provide that either. She glanced at him. His shoulders slumped slightly as if he anticipated her rejecting him. There must be something she could do to keep him busy. An image of her mentor flashed through her mind. What did he used to do with her?

“Cleaning would help.” She normally took care of it with magic but he didn’t need to know that. Mark straightened up with a smile. She followed him back to the living room but he already knew where her cleaning supplies were. Mark pulled out the broom. From where she stood, she was able to see how thick the dust was on everything. His first job was cleaning the cleaning supplies. The layer of dust on them was thick from years of neglect. She had no idea if any of the cleaning chemicals were even good anymore. If they weren’t, she could always go out tomorrow and pick up some more. Mark started to move the furniture once the broom was clean. She took that as her cue to go back to the study.

Halfway through another book, an idea came to her. The first thing she did was write a spell in the air. She filled it with magic then waited for about thirty seconds. Once the time had passed, she left the study then headed out the front door. The spell she used was useful when there was a chance of being seen by people who couldn’t sense magic. The concealment spell caused anyone in her vicinity not to notice her. It was almost like being invisible but better, since it affected all five senses. The only problem was the spell would only last for five minutes. Fortunately, five minutes was more than enough time to get out of the house.

Marie wanted to try to negotiate with Bel Meade in order to see the body. All she needed was to find a vampire from Bel Meade to carry her message. It was worth a shot. If she could just find something to narrow down what she was looking for, her research would go faster.

She observed the people around her as she decided on her next course of action. The most likely place to find vampires would be a bar. Drunk humans were easy targets for a vampire. The only problem was that there was no way for her to distinguish one vampire clan from another. Even though they had their own areas within the city, downtown was neutral.

Considering that San Angelino was a tourist trap, the downtown area was designated as a neutral territory so that each clan would have equal opportunity. Though it was more accurate to say it was something of a free for all. Fights concerning “choice” areas of downtown and over prey were common. Of course, this was all second hand information passed down from the previous Guardian. She had yet to interact with vampires as a Guardian until this point.

Red neon lights caught her eyes as they cast a bloody glow on the sidewalk below. A bar called Rojo seemed like a good place to start. She used a quick spell on a card she had in her pocket for these occasions and quickly went inside. Just two more years and she wouldn’t need to use magic for something like this. Marie stopped just inside the door and scanned the area.

Most of the place was full but there were some spots at the counter and a table near the back. She sat at the counter and hoped her luck was good. The bartender came by but she told him she hadn’t decided yet. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be sticking around. There was a group of vampires sitting at a booth behind her but if they stayed together then she would need to move on. Marie put her elbows on the table and leaned forward. She needed to wait for someone to approach her. Approaching someone on her own would put them on their guard and she didn’t want that. She didn’t have to wait long, as a vampire stood next to her and ordered two beers. He took the seat next to her and passed her one of the beers with a smile. She accepted it and pretended to take a sip as she looked him over. It would be better for her if he was drunk. That way she wouldn’t have to worry about fighting him.

Vampires had to drink at least twice as much alcohol as a human to get drunk. Even those who had a low tolerance before becoming a vampire were able to drink more. Fortunately for her, he had drunk more than his limit. He swayed a little on the seat and some of his speech was slurred. She put the beer back down and smiled as he started to tell her about himself. Several minutes passed as he continued to talk. Marie wondered how much more she would need to listen to when he started talking about an apartment downtown with a city view. That was just the opening she needed. Marie expressed interest in seeing it and his smile grew wider. The vampire suggested they go see it right that minute. Marie agreed and he nearly tripped over a chair in his hurry to lead her outside.

The vampire droned on about something as she searched for a suitable alleyway. It needed to be long enough they had some privacy but if it ended in a dead end that would be better so she wouldn’t have to worry about interruptions from the other side. Marie stopped. The vampire kept talking as he continued to stagger. He went another ten steps before he stopped and turned around.

“How about a shortcut?” The vampire followed her obediently, a giant smile on his face as he followed her. Halfway down the alleyway, Marie made sure to cast her obscure spell. Didn’t want anyone to see what she was about to do. Once that was done, she turned to her companion and touched his shoulder. He fell to his knees before falling over sideways. Now all she needed to do was question him.

Well, that was a waste. Marie stood up and put the vampire back to sleep. The vampire had come from Westfall and hadn’t heard anything about Bel Meade or Stone Oak. The only interesting thing he had said was that the Bel Meade vampires were keeping to themselves and hadn’t been spotted downtown. That wasn’t good. That meant that any vampire she came across tonight would most likely be from Westfall or from Stone Oak.

But she couldn’t just take his word for granted.

Marie stood up and dusted her knees off. She visited two more bars after that but the vampires were from Westfall both times. Worse, they had no new information to give. Marie picked the bar that would be her last stop for tonight. If nothing new came up, she would just head back to her house after this. No sense spending any more time on this when the result would end up being the same.

She wandered around until she found another bar. This one was only half filled. Marie chose a booth towards the back. She surveyed the room. There were already several vampires here but none that weren’t in a group or already with someone. If she waited, one of the vampires in the group might separate and go solo but it was also just as likely that they never separate and she just wasted her time. Marie was thinking of just calling it a night when a lone vampire walked through the door. Unfortunately, the vampire was someone familiar.

Adrian spotted her almost immediately and headed over. He slid into the booth and leaned forward as if they had agreed to meet.

“This doesn’t seem like a place you would enjoy." His polite mask was in place and his tone was almost friendly.

“What do you want?” There was no point asking why he was here.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No.” They must have crossed paths out there somewhere. Even if he had someone following her, they would have been affected by the spell as well.

“Taking a break?”

“I don’t drink.”

“Did you find something new?”

“No.” Marie stood up and he followed.

“Giving up on your meeting?

“There is no meeting.” Marie picked a direction at random and until she came to an alley. She turned down the alleyway and continued walking. Her plan was to keep going until she found something familiar or he led the way.

“Where are you going?”

“To the house.”

“This is the wrong direction.”

“Then lead the way.” Marie stopped and faced him, waiting for him to lead.

“Lost?” He stopped next to her, his skeptical gaze swept over her.

“I can show you the way.” Another vampire came from an adjoining side alley and blocked off their way forward. His long hair was wild and tangled around his face. His shirt and jeans were both ripped and the bottom of one pant leg was stained.

“Leave.” Adrian stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the other vampire.

“She doesn’t look like she likes you.” She leaned to the side and peered at the other man. The vampire frowned as he glowered at Adrian. “I could show you a good time.” He gave her a smile that showed teeth and took a step forward. Adrian took a step forward as well. At this point, she just wanted to go home. Marie stepped around Adrian and touched the vampire briefly before walking past him. The vampire collapsed.

“What did you do?” Adrian’s voice was sharp as he knelt by the vampire.

“Used a spell. He’ll be unconscious for about ten minutes.” It wasn’t like he was part of Stone Oak. Why did Adrian care if she knocked out another vampire?

“Is this what you’ve been doing to every vampire you come across?” Adrian narrowed his eyes at her. It wasn’t like she killed anyone. Marie crossed her arms. “Answer the question.”

“Did you want to fight?”

“No.” The vampire groaned a little and flipped onto his back. “We should go before he wakes up.” Adrian led the way back to the main street and from there back to her house.

She opened the back door and went over to the coffee maker. She started it up as Adrian leaned his back against the counter and crossed his arms. Was she going to have to deal with him for the rest of the night?

“Why were you out there?”

“I was gathering information.”

“What kind of information?”

“I was trying to contact Bel Meade.”

“Why?”

“To see the body.” The coffee maker beeped and she turned and poured a cup for the both of them.

“There wouldn’t be anything left.”

“Is Noah that old or do you know something for sure?” She handed a cup to him before leaning against the counter. It was better to just answer his questions. She didn’t need him following her to the study.

“I haven’t seen the body either but what would it be able to tell you?” Marie briefly pressed her lips together as she contemplated whether or not to tell him. Since it concerned the circle, she might as well tell him.

“Noah wasn’t killed to summon the demon.” Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

“How do you know that?”

“The death used to summon the demon was old. A couple of months old.” Marie had a passive ability that was able to give her vague information about whether someone had died in the area and how long ago it was. It was useful since demons dealt in death. This death had felt old.

“Is that when the demon was summoned?”

“No. They just used the death that was hanging around. Death leaves behind energy that can be used to summon demons but only recent death can be used. Eventually, the energy fades away.”

“Someone else died to summon the demon. So why was Noah there?”

“That’s why I want to see the body.”

“Did you get anything from the vampires you questioned?”

“No. They just said the same things. That Bel Meade hadn’t been seen downtown and Westfall was taking advantage.”

“How did you know if what they told you was true?”

“I used a truth spell. It changes colors according to what someone says.” Marie held her hand out in front of her and cast the spell. A small golden flame swayed on her palm. She raised her hand slightly so he could get a better look.

“My name is Mark.” The flame turned red for a moment before going back to gold. “My name is Adrian.” The flame turned blue. “Blue for truth and red for lies.” He stared at the flame as he spoke. Again the flame went blue. “Does it work on you?”

“Why would it?” She closed her hand around the flame, extinguishing it. Adrian studied her for a moment before narrowing his eyes. He sipped his coffee but didn’t say anything. Marie didn’t wait around and went back to her study, closing the door behind her.

She leaned against the door of her study and sipped her coffee. Hmm. Her mistake ended up providing her with information. Not information she wanted but it was something to keep in mind. The truth spell was supposed to be visible only to her. She had forgotten to make it visible to him when she had cast the spell. Her only thought was to hurry up and show him so she could get back to work.

But he had seen it change color.

There was only one explanation for that.

Magic sight. Adrian could see magic. It was probably how he got around the barrier at the apartment. If he knew where the barrier ended then he could go around it. Tonight hadn’t been a waste after all.