Chapter Ten

Jason pulled the hoverbike back into its position at the investigative division headquarters feeling a tinge of regret as he dismounted with the girl, Elly, following a moment later. Driving the bike at extreme speeds with a gorgeous woman pressed against him had been a decent distraction from his foul mood at having just missed his target. With that gone he found himself wishing for something to hit, unfortunately there was no one in this damn city that could give him a decent challenge. Maybe if he was lucky the cultists would unleash a few more daemons for him to fight, but he doubted they would be so considerate. Ruling out combat as a way to blow of steam he glanced over at the agent walking towards the elevator next to him. “Perhaps? No. Bad idea the last thing you need is to get wrapped up with miss holier than thou.” Jason shook his head dismissing the idea. He couldn’t get distracted, not now.

A few minutes later they stepped off the elevator on one of the upper floors of the building. There was an agent waiting for them, probably sent by Knox when Jason had messaged him that they were almost back. “The Director is waiting for you in the situation room with the other members of the task force. Please follow me.” The agent didn’t wait for a response before spinning about walking down the hall. Jason followed feeling the disapproval rolling of her, not that he cared. Soon enough they came to closed door with a black aether tech lock on the wall next to it. Their guide swiped an access card and the door swung open with a beep revealing a room fluttering with activity. Agents were scurrying all over while Director Knox and a couple others including the Agent Sanchez and the weathered tac team chief were all clustered around a large horizontal display clearly in the middle of some kind of argument. “Director I’ve brought them.” Their Escort said in a smug voice as they approached the table. It was obvious she expected Knox to chastise them for breaking protocol and taking off on their own. “Ah, good you’re back.” Her expectations were crushed a moment later when Knox greeted them with a smile. “Any luck?” “None,” Jason replied. “So, you broke protocol for nothing then.” The agent that escorted them cut in with a sneer before anyone else could respond. Elliana looked down clearly agreeing with the agent, but before she could say anything Knox Interjected. “It’s fine, Agent Raine said it was a long shot when he informed me of his plan.” Effectively ending the discussion.

“Any leads here?” Jason asked not expecting anything. “Maybe.” A tall thin man in an expensive suit standing on the other side of Knox spoke up. “Deputy Director Mills, Head of Major Arcane Crimes.” He introduced himself before continuing. Our forensic experts have been going over all the evidence from the scene and one thing popped up immediately. The medallions the cultists were wearing are completely different from any we’ve seen before.” “what do you mean?” Jason asked. “Till now every time they popped up no matter which city be it Europe, Asia, the Americas. Sidhe cultists have always worn medallions with the same symbol. These ones are completely different. Enough that I wonder if they are actually Sidhe worshippers.” “They’re definitely heretics. No matter what symbol they wear.” Elliana said vehemently. “Undoubtedly,” Knox replied, raising his hands in placating manner, “but the question is who do they follow? If we knew that it would better help us identify their motives and goals.” “Sidhe worshippers or not, heresy is the domain of the Church. Has the inquisition been informed?” Elliana replied, Ignoring the involuntary wince that several of the agents gave when the Church was mentioned. “We contacted them as soon as it was reported over your comms. A team of inquisitors and paladins has already arrived at the scene and is working with our forensic techs. In addition, the Archbishop and several other senior members of the inquisition will be here soon to debrief everyone who was at the scene.”

“So, its hurry up and wait then,” Sanchez said with a sigh. “At least until the Inquisition gets here.” Knox confirmed. “Wonderful,” Jason said with a sneer. “What’s that supposed to mean,” Elly snapped, “The inquisition exists for the sole purpose of rooting out heretics. It is the ultimate force for tracking and destroying evil you should rejoice at news of their involvement!” She practically shouted the end of her rant at Jason. “Well said,” a weathered voice rang out before Jason could respond.

Everyone paused looking toward the source of the interruption. A gray-haired man of average height filed through the door. He was dressed in luxurious white robes with red trim, slightly loose, but not enough to conceal his protruding gut. He gave Elliana an approving smile then switched back to a neutral expression as he scanned the rest of the room. As he walked toward the table several figures filed in behind him. First, came three figures wearing robes similar to the Archbishop except less ornate, and made from a deep crimson color with black trim. Probably to hide blood. Inquisitors.

Half the agents in the room gave an involuntary flinch when the three steely faced witch hunters entered the room. Behind the inquisitors came six figures dressed in black outfits with a golden cross on the chest, that upon closer inspection, were actually made up of thousands of Aether conducting runes tightly woven together. The attire clearly designed for easy movement during combat clung tightly to the wearers showing off their impressive physiques. Each of them had a silver rod with gold etching identical to Jason’s that clung to their backs with no visible attachment.

If most of the room had looked at the inquisitors with a sense of unease and fear, the paladins triggered the opposite effect. Respect and admiration radiated from most of the agents in the room as the looked at the divine champions. As he assessed the paladins led by a tall man in his early forties with silver trim on his robes marking him as the paladin knight commander, Jason grinned inwardly perhaps his desire to hit something might be granted after all. Six of them led by the knight commander might actually help me blow off some steam. We probably have some time to kill after the pissing contest that’s about to happen ends. The day’s events had already put Jason in a foul mood and based on the show of force the church had just put on he was willing to bet he was about to suffer further aggravation. At least now he saw some light at the end of the tunnel.

A moment later Jason’s prediction proved true as the Archbishop stepped up to the display table. One of the inquisitors, a middle-aged woman with graying black hair bound up in a tight bun setting off her already severe features stood to his left with the rest of his escort fanning out behind him. “The Church will be handling this matter from here on. I’ll thank you to hand over any evidence you have obtained up to this point.” The Archbishop stated. His voice was level but his tone made it clear he wasn’t asking. “This investigation is at a critical stage your excellency,” Knox responded, “I do not think it wise to turn things over in the middle the hand off could cause a loss of time we can ill afford.” “I did not ask for your opinion, Sidhe cultists were involved that makes this the purview of the church.” The Archbishop fired back his voice creeping up in decibel. “Based on the evidence we have so far the suspects are possibly; in fact, they are likely not Sidhe cultists.” Knox responded handing over the amulet. The are Archbishop’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at the amulet for several long seconds before handing it to the inquisitor next to him. She took it and examined the amulet for a few moments before handing it back and shaking her head slightly.

“I don’t care what devils they worship.” The Archbishop responded after a moment of silence, “These fiends used forbidden magic. A Grand Fucking Heresy was committed. The first to darken this fair city in nearly a century. That makes this the business of the inquisition. We are the best equipped to fight this evil, or perhaps you would like to lose another assault team.”

“Of course not, Your Excellency,” Knox said raising his hands placatingly. His voice remained even but a bulging vein in his forehead at the mention of his lost agents made it clear that he was not nearly as calm as he seemed. “I merely mean to say that this groups behavior so far has been more akin to an organized crime group than the cultists the inquisition usually deals with. I believe my agents as well as the Enforcement Branch’s resources would better suited tracking them down.” Seeing the Archbishops thoughtful expression Knox pressed on. “Perhaps a joint investigation is in order. Agent walker is a tracker which makes her a shared asset I propose we join forces with her acting as the go between. As this is an irregular threat, I believe the expertise of the inquisitors will complement well with my agents on this matter, and given what they have already revealed I would say there is no such thing as having too much firepower once we track them down.”

The Archbishop nodded slowly at Knox’s suggestion. “Very well, we’ll do as you suggest. There’s no point in moving so we’ll run the investigation from here. All major decisions will be signed of by both us from hear on.” “Agreed, perhaps we can discuss the particulars of this in my office while your people get settled in. We’ll also need to loop in the politicians. They’ll have questions after what happened at the warehouse.” Knox responded trying, and failing, not to wince as he mentioned briefing civilian leadership. The Archbishop gave a grunt of agreement, clearly just as thrilled as Knox was at the idea of having to handhold nervous politicians, and motioned for Knox to lead the way.