Foreboding Skies (The Skybreaker Saga Book 1) (22 page)

“Any breaking news from Vlad? Anything on the how did Downs escape front?”

He sighed in frustration but allowed me to get away with changing the subject. “No, my memory has remained unhelpful and it doesn’t look like there will be any change to that. And as for other news there is nothing we need to be concerned about right now. Just a name that might mean nothing.”

“Well?”

“The Children of the Void, worshipers of the Onyx King.” My already raised hackles shot even higher. “There are whispers of such a group existing and making a nuisance of itself. Vladimir is trying to connect them to recent events but I’m not sure they even exist.” I hoped they didn’t exist or were as laughably incompetent as previous Onyx King Cults that only managed to last for a few years before being annihilated. I wanted to dismiss it like Alewyn, but the fact that the same ritual that summoned the Onyx King was used here gave me pause. It was worth consideration.

“Still no concrete signs of Louis?”

“No, and his maker is apparently completely unavailable for the next month because of some kind of bullshit spiritual retreat. Vampires don’t need that shit, they barely have emotions at all. He’s trying covering his mothballed ass.” I shuddered at the image.

“What about Downs?”

“Fallen into a black hole presumably. We have nothing on where he went, but my best guess is that he’s in Central America. We have some time left, anything you want to take care of?”

“I already prepared my report for this incident. That’s all I really needed to take care of.” I knew that wasn’t what he was asking about but I didn’t care.

He played along. “Oh? Is it up to the high standard that you normally hold yourself to? I know how thorough you like to be.” The sarcasm was applied liberally. He knew very well my reports were considered to be crap at best by my superiors.

“Of course. Owing to the seriousness of the incident I went above and beyond even my usual rigorousness in compiling my report. What about your business?”

“I left it in the hands of Katie. You two have met before right?”

“Katie Heart? Yeah. She didn’t strike me as management material.”

“She never does. Not even when she’s doing it better than me.”

“That’s it then. It’s time to go.”

“Any last second goodbyes?”

“No.”

“Nothing?”

“That is correct.” He wanted to press the issue more but recognized there wasn’t time for him to wear me down. We walked to the car in a tense silence. He would start up again right before we departed. I cranked the AC all the way up despite the cool evening already settling in. Alewyn gave me a look but didn’t bother to ask. I knew it was going to be hot for a long while, I wanted to feel cold while I could. 

Where: From the desk (computer) of an underpaid Shaman in Detroit, USA

When: Wednesday, I think, about fiveish

Why: You said you would cut my stipend if I didn’t send reports

What: Still trying to piece that together but here is what I have so far. Powerful elements within the Community, including at least one Shaman, enabled a corrupt FBI agent, a drug lord, and a rogue group of witches to perform the very same ritual that the Shaman Council (you guys) declared eradicated. Their effort was thwarted with minimal losses by an ad-hoc coalition of myself, Vladimir Rurik, and Gediz Aslan.

Who: There are more whos than an owl convention so here is the short list

The Good

Alewyn (Jeff Masters)- You should know who he is

Shelby Adams- Witch. She is rough around the edges but has a salvable core. I recommend leniency.

Katie & Stephanie Chin- Twin witches. Clearly terrified children. I recommend extra leniency

Joseph Hemingway (Hemy)- Head of Detroit’s spook squad. A good man. May be the best man to act as a liaison between the Community and Humanity. Vladimir is taking point on that front

Sophia Jones (Lucy Gouse)- It is not pronounced like Goose. Not your typical Fed or typical person. I’m leaving her to Vladimir as well

Vladimir Rurik- You really should know who he is

Gediz Aslan: Ditto

The Bad

Jessica Stewart- Witch. Seemed to be on the up and up, was not. Appeared to be leading the ritual and possessed magic beyond what a Witch of her age should have had. Deceased.

The Other Wiccans: Some of them were from Detroit’s Coven, Vladimir is working on identifying the rest. Deceased.

Jeffery Downs-White supremacist drug lord piece of shit, pawn of whoever is behind what happened. Appeared to be intentionally creating strife to pave way for the ritual. Current status unknown.

Rick Goodwin: Corrupt FBI agent and a higher ranked pawn than Downs. Appears to have been the primary mole inside the U.S. government. A Shaman made him a high level self-destructing fire totem. Deceased.

Reavers One and Two: Reavers don’t just sprout up on their own and two were sent after me, one male and one female. Strong possibility they were created and dispatched by the as yet unknown mastermind. The male reaver was terminated.

Children of the Void- Cult dedicated to the resurrection of the Onyx King as you people know. Not supposed to exist anymore but then again neither is the ritual. If they are still around I’ll be sure to clean up the Council’s mess.

Shaman- A human that binds with a spirit or multiple spirits to gain power over that spirit’s domain. Can only use and draw power from spirits they have bound. The exception being emotions which can be used as long as the Shaman is capable of feeling the emotion in question. Responsible for preventing and sealing breaches

Spirits- Fragments of creation. Base themselves on what humans consider significant: Emotions, Ideals, Elements, and Animals. 

Awakened one- Archaic name for Shamans

Bonded spirit- Spirit that has fused with a Shaman

Breach- A hole in the fabric of reality, allows creatures from the deep Expanse to directly enter the mortal world

Channeling- Using the power of a spirit

The Silence- Ancient agreement amongst the Community factions governing the behavior of said factions. Takes its name from the clause concerning interaction with humans

Essence- The core of a force or emotion, grants complete control over all spirits of that type and their manifestations

Totem- Magical item to repel or attract a certain kind of spirit. Advanced totems can be used to channel an embedded spirit’s abilities, even by non-Shamans.

Cleansing- Removing all spirits in an area to the spirit world to repair a breach, wiping the slate clean

Inducing- Using an emption spirit to alter a person’s emotions

Manifestation- When a shaman gives a spirit physical form in the mortal realm

The Expanse- The ethereal realm of spirits that surrounds the mortal plane. All known spirits dwell in the region of the Expanse closest to the Mortal Plane. Physical form does not occur naturally in the Expanse, as such, all denizens are incorporeal

              The Deep Expanse- Where all human influence drops off and the Expanse becomes entirely alien. The Deep Expanse has no known outer boundary.

Mortal Plane- The realm of solid matter and decay. Includes the observable universe and all attached sub-realms.

Immersion- The result of a shaman using too much power. The Shaman’s soul is pulled into the Expanse and they lose all sense of individuality. 

Rekindling- When a shaman enters a meditative state to realign themselves with the physical world and rekindle their own life energy.

Spirits

Emotions- The core emotional makeup of a human being. There are three pairs of equal and opposite emotions. All Shamans can utilize emotion spirits without binding them if they can feel the requisite emotion. Shamans who have bound emotion spirits are especially adept at manipulating emotions.

Anger- Love

Sadness- Joy

Fear- Hope

Ideals- Unobtainable values that humans pursue, but fail to live up to. While rarely encountered and never bound they are powerful allies if they choose to lend aid. Are far more independent and forceful than any other known spirit. 

Justice- Grants enhanced wisdom to judge the guilty and powerful defensive shield

Honor- Allows unbreakable oaths to be sworn and greatly increases individual combat ability

Truth- Endows the ability to dispel any deception and force all to reveal their truth

Elements - Four basic elements, Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, and their combinations. To command an element a shaman must have bound a spirit of that element.

Animals- The most expansive category of spirits. Includes dozens of the most prominent animals that humans have worshiped throughout time.

Fundamentals- The spirits closest to the original essence of creation. The rarest and most powerful spirits. Impossible to bind. All attempts have ended horribly.

Life-Death

Factions

Shaman Federation- A global alliance of Shamans governed by the Shaman Council. Shamans currently wield the greatest influence in the Community despite their relatively small number.

Werewolves- Werewolves are not united on a global, or even a regional, level. Individual packs are in a constant state of conflict with their neighbors and alliances rarely last longer than one battle against a common foe. Powerful Alphas may sometimes be able to subordinate a small number of lesser Alphas and their packs. However, such arrangements are often limited and short-lasting.

              Other Werecreatures- Though Werewolves comprise the majority of Werecreatures there are other notable breeds such as Werebears, Werelions, and Weretigers. Oh my.

Vampires- The most orderly and pompous faction. Even before the Silence the Vampires had set in place volumes of laws. Ruled by a council of seven Lords who must be at least one thousand years old. Vampire numbers in an area limited by human population, one Vampire per one thousand humans.

Wiccans- The most loathed and distrusted faction. There are few Wiccans left alive in modern times and the remaining ones are closely monitored. The Wiccans current troubles are due to their aid of the Onyx King one thousand years ago. Wiccans are organized into covens that cannot be larger than twelve in number.

The Conclave- The largest and most powerful Magi organization. It was formed after the Onyx King’s rampage by what was left of the five largest Mage clans of Europe and dozens of smaller clans from around the world and as a result still suffers from severe factionalism. The Conclave has since taken on the role of governing the world’s Magi.

The Fae- By the numbers the Fae are the largest faction by a significant margin. However, despite their numerical, superiority the Fae have steadily lost influence for centuries owing to their pension for infighting. There are currently thrity-four recognized Fae monarchies, though that number does fluctuate, and dozens of smaller bands that vie for supremacy. Fae alliances only last slightly longer than a Werewolf alliance and usually end just as bloodily.