Geist (14 page)

I heard only silence. 

Well...I had my answer. 

Joe stepped back in. "We gotta move. Mastiff said they're on their way to bring Nona in for questioning." 

I put my hands to my head. Daniel was there!

-20-

Faust

"Questioning her about what?" Rhonda rounded on him. 

I was on my feet too. Alice was rousing Dags. Damn...and he'd
just
fallen asleep too. Tel, Jason, Umayma and TC looked at Joe. "I'm not worried about mom—she can kick ass. But what about Daniel? If Mastiff sees him—" 

Joe nodded. "I know, Zoë. He doesn't really understand what happened, and I don't want to drag him back into this mess." He pulled his gun from the shoulder holster, checked the clip and slammed it back in. "Nona's been accused of conspiring with the Society of Ishmael in hiding Mr. McConnell over there. Neighbors and customers alike all admitted seeing Dags in her store—and he'd acted like he was drugged. So since they didn't find him in the Society House, they're going after the shop." 

Rhonda hit the wall hard. "Damn them. Why are they doing this? Why make this whole thing so public?" 

"Because it decreases our options," Jason said as he came up behind Rhonda and put a hand on her shoulder. "By making this public it makes going to ground that much harder." 

She turned on him and glared. That was a glare that always scared me a little. And even though I might
be
a Potential Phantasm, I was still frightened of it. "I figured that much out. I just wish they'd stop." 

"Me too," he looked over at Tel who was already on the phone again. I laughed. As a First Born, part of the brood of a race of creatures older then civilization, he was up on his tech. "You making the calls?"

Tel nodded and continued to speak in a low voice into the phone in a language that didn't sound familiar.

He is speaking in the old tongue. 

Ah. Okay. Whatever that was. Good old Mephistopheles and his commentary. 

Joe was also on the phone. "Nona? Yeah, I know this phone is only for emergencies. But this
is
one. And to be blunt, the shit has hit the fan. Is Daniel there?" He paused and I felt my heart skip a little back in the Throne. Mom! I wanted to talk to my mommy. But I also knew that I couldn't. Not yet. We had to get her out of harm's way first. 

Dags was beside me, his hand slipping into my own. I turned and looked into his gray eyes. He still looked tired. "Alice told me what happened. You ready?" 

"Yeah I am. And I promise not to pull any healing tricks. I'll leave that to you." 

He leaned over and kissed my nose. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and hold him tight to me. Forever. 

And then a new thought intruded. 

It always did. 

Daniel. 

"Look—" Joe said and raised his free hand. Apparently mom was giving him fits. "Just do like we agreed on okay? We follow Faust's plan.
Enochian Galvah
." 

Blink. 

Wha? 

If that was code—it was awful. 

The one thing about code you do not want to do is make it
sound
like code, right? It had to look like regular conversation. That wasn't it. 

Alice laughed behind me and I turned to see her fade away. I patted Dags arm and then slipped back inside of him with her. I felt Dags instantly stand up straighter. 

"What is it?" I asked as we both materialized in the little Mind Theater. 

"The code they use isn't code as you'd think," Alice said. "You know of Faust, right?"

"I know in Goethe's poems or stories and whatnots he's the one that makes a deal with the devil—I figured that's where Mephistopheles got his name." I recalled my conversation with Dags. "Or—rather—Goethe got the name from him." 

"Yes, and no," Alice smiled. "Mephistopheles was given his name by his father, Samael. He didn't take it. A First Born's name has several meanings, Zoë." 

"So...you're saying whoever wrote "Faust" just made up the name and didn't know it belonged to a First Born?" 

"Zoë," Alice put a hand on my shoulder. "One of Mephistopheles' hosts was Johan Fust, Gutenberg's partner. And to him, in that primitive age, Mephistopheles was like a devil that promised him riches and fame and a long life. He wrote the stories himself, and then published them under different names. After Fust, Mephistopheles was later paired with a man named John Dee who studied alchemy and developed the Enochian alphabet." 

I just stared at her. I recognized Gutenberg's name. But not John Dee, or what his deal was. The name Enochian.. "Is that Enoch? Like in the book of Enoch that talks about the Irin?" 

She nodded. "Galvah is the name of the Goddess.
Shekhinah
,
Aima Elohim
. And the one you knew." 

I held my breath. 

"Sophia." 

Well bite my butt. "Mephistopheles really got around didn't he?" 

"He's not the oldest, nor is he the youngest, but he is the best lived. And he has had the most influence in keeping the names of his family alive. The code Joe used is known only to the First Borns; it will mean nothing to an Ethereal." 

"So," I said as they all headed for the door. Even TC this time. Nick was absent. "Joe just told my mom to look for the dead Phantasm?"

"No. To create the door to the in Between and get out. They discovered that it was possible to make a jump point by using a summoning spell and going between points. Kind of using a back door. But we have to get there before the police do. We're pretty sure it's not just the boys in blue..." 

"So mom's supposed to take a back door out, and if Daniel's there too he'll go with her. But we need to get over there anyway?" 

She nodded. "Just in case something goes wrong." 

They were afraid the Virtues and their Powers would be there. Tattoos in uniforms. 

Can it get any better? 

Hi mom...I'm home. 

-21-

Let Them Eat Cake

We drove over to Little Five Points in a high tech van. 

The walls were stocked with shelves of equipment I could only guess the purposes for. Monitors were bolted onto the side walls and into steel framework that'd been added. Two chairs behind the driver and passenger seats were magnetically locked to the floor and prevented Jason and Dags from moving about. On one side was a small gurney and above it were shelves with big red crosses on it. Behind Dags' chair was a cooler. I could only guess what went in there too. 

"I like the van," I told Dags. 

"Yeah," he said aloud as Joe communicated with the others by way of a little ear bud with a microphone that stuck out from his cheek. He looked so...official. Covert ops like. "Had to use it a few times. It's good for surveillance and quick medical treatment." 

"And the cooler?"
 

He laughed. "You really wanna know?" 

That's mine,
Mephistopheles said.

"Nah. I'm good." 

Joe parked the van a block from the house. I started pacing inside of the little Mind Theater. Joe and Jason still didn't want mom to know I was here. So what did that mean? I was just going to stay in here and wait? 

"No," Alice said. "You'll just have to disguise yourself again. You're a Familiar. You can look like whatever you want. My suggestion is to match my own armor but make it red. Not black." 

"But black seems so natural." 

She sighed. "We need to keep your mom out of the loop for now. Just trust us? Make her think its Maureen." 

Sure. 

Grumble. 

Jason donned a tiny earpiece like Joe's as the two of them exited the van. Dags hopped out of the side door and followed between the two. It was close to sundown now and the breeze was chilly on my skin—

No—on
Dags's
skin! 

"Dags?" 

"Yes?" he said aloud and Jason gave him a sharp look as they moved into an alley and stopped on the opposite side of the street. In the months I'd been gone the old buildings on this side of town had been torn down and an apartment building had gone up. So much could happen in this city in so little time. 

"When we get me out of the Throne—I want a vacation. Just you and me."
 

I felt him grin. "You mean that?" 

"Yes! I want us to go away together. Send the girls on vacation too. No Society. No freaky things. Just you, and me, and a lot of naked fun.
"

"Well that counts the beach out. I don't want any of your naked parts getting burned where I can't touch them."

"Can you two keep it down?" Joe said in a very frustrated whisper. "Christ...talk about that stuff privately?" 

I felt a little embarrassed and realized Dags had blushed. I know it's possible to love someone so much you want to be a part of them. I'd been there before. But this was ridiculous.

And I'm here to tell yah—it
sucked
monkey butt. 

This was not fun. It was more enjoyable to be my own self and be as close to him as possible. To feel his skin, see his smile, and hear his voice. That, my friends, is the way it
should
be.  

I just knew I wasn't going to take us for granted anymore. I wanted him with me, and I wanted to be with him.

"I love you," he said in a whisper. 

I clamped my hands on my face. "Did you hear me thinking?"
 

"Uh huh," and the little fart grinned.

"Asshole."

"I'm
your
asshole." 

"If you don't keep it down I'm gonna gag you myself," Joe said. "Jesus." 

I laughed and paid a bit more attention to what we were supposed to do. I didn't think this was gonna be hard. I mean, I didn't see any cops around. And since Mastiff had given Joe a heads up, it was possible that he was delaying their arrival. So that meant we had a little time to get in, grab mom, and get out. 

Joe pulled the tiny mic close and I realized I could hear him. Dags had been wearing one too. "Shamisen two, Shamisen three, north dance." 

Okay that meant nothing to me. I think a shamisen was an instrument of some kind? 

Abruptly we were across the street on the edge of mom's yard, standing on the sidewalk. I flipped out a bit before I saw the tell-tale sparkling around Joe's hand. He'd done it again—used magic. He did that so rarely I forgot he could. But somehow he'd moved us across and now we were standing just outside a shimmering wall. 

A ward? 

"That's not Nona's work," Dags said and kept back from it.

"No, it's not," Joe said as he held his hand out from it but didn't touch it. "Feels...odd." He tapped the ear piece. "Mouse, you in?" 

"Just about," came Rhonda's voice inside the tiny speaker. "Joe—she's not alone." 

"Is Daniel in there?"

"No, I'm here."

Dags, me, Jason and Joe jumped and spun around. Daniel was just behind us. He was breathing heavily, his hair disheveled and clothing torn. "I took out two Powers, Joe—but there's something else in there with her. I couldn't stop it." 

"Is it Adiran?"

Daniel shook his head. "I don't know." 

"Rhonda went through the barrier?" Jason said. 

"She said if they've changed the regular spell of the ward then Nona's probably put in a back door only Rhonda can see," Joe said. 

"Wait," Daniel put a hand on Joe's shoulder. "Rhonda went in there? Joe—whatever that is, it's dangerous. You've got to get them both out of there." 

After a few minutes the ward vanished with a popping sound. 

Joe grinned and winked. 

Looked like this was going to be a piece of cake. 

But then...when was the last time I had cake. 

-22-

Homecoming

Joe turned to look at us. "Dags you ready?" 

He nodded. 

I looked at Alice. "Ready for what?" 

Alice made a dismissive gesture at me and pointed to the screen, meaning
pay attention
. 

"It's going to be easier if we go in with Jason and Joe stays out here. Nick should be at the van by now," Joe said.

"Nick's here?" Daniel said. 

"Yes he rode with Rhonda." 

Guess they were getting along better. 

Dags spoke up. "Where do you want me?"

Joe shook his head. "Right here with me, Jason and Daniel. I just want the Familiars heading in for now. Mephistopheles, can you communicate with Zoë while she's in there?"

Yes. 

"That's our cue," Alice said. 

Dags held his hands out, palms up. Alice and I manifested in full armor regalia. I did my best in copying her style of medieval vestments though mine sort of bulged and curved in different places. I made the color blood red. My hair hung free around me like some dark octopus as it reached out everywhere. 

I looked like Red Sonja. 

"Is that normal?" Joe nodded to it. 

I shrugged. "What's normal?" 

He smirked. "Good point. You two go invisible and get into position on opposite sides of the house. Alice you take the front, Zoë, you take the back. Go in and tell me what you see. And whatever you do don't give yourself away again all right?" That last bit he aimed at me. 

"I'll be fine even if someone does recognize me." 

He blanched and I realized he was remembering earlier today. "It's not you I'm worried about." 

Oh. Right. I was pretty sure he didn't want me doing to Mastiff what I did to that Power. And he was right. 

Alice signaled for me to get going and we both did a little dimming. We weren't completely invisible, but close enough. I could still see a shadow of her and she could see one of me. But to the naked eye or to any human that wasn't gifted with special sight we didn't exist. 

The back of the house looked the same as it always had, with maybe fewer magazines and papers than before. What with most things going digital they didn't sell as much in print anymore. One or two of the wind chimes tinkled in the evening breeze. 

I tried to sense my mom inside. This far from Dags I couldn't hear the radio. I couldn't hear anybody.