Portals (27 page)

“So, you can see why I would prefer you to stay safe. If they have identified Reo and the other supes, you can rest assured that they will know who you are. They are not able to breach the wards on your house. I doubt much of anything can do that. I made sure that your home and the homes of your loved ones are well-protected. A nuclear bomb might be able to take them out, but certainly nothing less.”

My mouth dropped open. Jones shrugged.

“I felt it was the least I could do. I only wish I had done it earlier.” Of course, he was referring to the barbeque, but he had no way of knowing Gabriel would attack. I thought it interesting that he felt guilt over that. Hell, I found it interesting that he felt guilt at all.

“Anyway, I want to find and neutralize any threat to my friends.” Jones turned to Thulu. “They are adept at blocking you, but I think you can use the blank spots to tell us where they are and if there are more.”

Thulu shook his head. “I don’t know about that, Jones. It didn’t work before. I couldn’t get a location at all. I tried to focus on Daria, as well as the energy blocking me, and I couldn’t get either one.”

Jones looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’d still like you to try to find the groups. They may not be as focused as the location was with Daria.”

Thulu shrugged. “I’m willing to try again.”

Jones nodded and turned to Lassiter. “As to those two banished ones in your custody, Detective. They are remaining there because they choose to. Please be aware that they can leave at any time. I am certain of that. Whatever reason they have for remaining in custody, they are up to something. Your people need to understand that they are very dangerous. When they do decide to leave, they will. No one will be able to stop them. No human, that is. I can only hope they are able to teleport or portal out. Otherwise they will use force to leave.”

“They could have simply gotten out on bail. However, they have not even asked for their attorney call,” mused Lassiter.

“As I said, they have a reason for being there. Although we may never know what that reason is.”

“We should warn the other supes,” said Thulu. “Daria will be on her guard, but she should contact her group and let them know to be careful.” He had already pulled his phone out and was dialing Lilia’s number.

He rose and went into the hallway while he made the call. He needn’t have bothered. The rest of us weren’t inclined to talk much. It seemed that ever since we’d met Jones I lived in information overload. For well over a month now, there had been so much to absorb.

Sometimes, I thought my brain would explode from all the new information that seemed to be crammed into it. I even missed the old days when all we dealt with were the dead and a few Earth-type supernatural beings. Days when Thulu and I spent hours online playing our games and life had seemed far simpler. What was that old curse? May you live in interesting times? Um, yeah, well we had those, that was for sure.

Thulu came back after only a few minutes, letting us know he’d spoken to Daria. She had agreed to immediately let the rest of her circle know to be careful.

“So what now, Jones?” asked Reo.

Jones gestured to Thulu. “We get our resident finder to find the blank spots. Once we’ve identified them, we contact Aela and her warriors and have her reconnoiter the area. I shall also talk to Belus and Aurelia and the others to see who is going to come with us.”

My mind turned to more immediate matters. “Well, we need to alert our families to stay extra cautious.  Reo’s parents should be warned, since they’re supes, too. And I want Carter here, Jones.”

He looked at me and slowly shook his head. “I can arrange protection for them, but Carter should be perfectly safe with Ally.”

“Is the rest of our family safe? Do you think they would go after any of them?” My heart sank deep into my stomach at the thought.

“I do not know, La Fi. I believe they are safe. I think the mutated daemons’ purpose in attempting to attack Sloane and kidnapping Daria was to get my attention. Of course, I am speculating and do not know this for a certainty.”

“Well, we need to let the family know to stay home. I’ll start with Ally.”

I pulled my phone out and moved to our study with Thulu behind me as I called Ally’s cell phone and put her on speaker. I filled her in on the short version of what was happening.

“How dangerous is it?” she asked, after I told her I’d get Carter once they were home and we could open a portal directly into their house.

“We think they are only after supes, but they now know Jones is aware of the situation, so maybe even supes are safe.” I paused before filling her in on what Jones had said about protection on all of our houses. “You should be completely safe at home. Jones insists Carter is fine with you. I just don’t want to impose on you and Brent. I know you have to work in the morning.”

“You aren’t imposing, La Fi. There’s no reason to pick Carter up. It sounds like you have a lot going on and perhaps it would be better if he stays the night with us.”

I was torn, as I thought about it.

Thulu was watching me as he said, “I agree, Ally. Jones said to tell you to expect protection. We can also have Parker or one of the others check in with you. In fact, we should probably call in all our dead and have them patrolling the family.”

I brightened as I thought about that and nodded.

“Okay, thanks, Ally. Since we really don’t know what’s going to happen maybe it is best Carter spends the night. Let me know if you need anything. And remember to go straight home.”

“We will. You guys be careful.”

We ended that call and started our family phone tree, beginning with Erik. We kept the explanation very short. Just that all family members were to stay close to their homes and not go out that night. Also to not open their doors to anyone they didn’t know.

When we returned to the family room, Reo had already notified his parents, but had to leave to make his show that night.

“Sloane plans to stay with me, but we’ll both be back as soon as my show is over.” Reo was frowning and had a slightly glazed look, one that usually meant he was picking up on something.

“Something is flitting about at the edges for me, and I can’t quite grasp it.” He shook it off. “Anyway, we’ll see you guys later.” He gave a smile and a wave as Sloane took his hand and ported them both out.

“I’m going to start on locating those blank spots,” Thulu said, as he headed into our study and closed the door.

Lassiter looked at me, with a rueful smile. “People sure come and go around here quickly.”

Jones gave a low laugh, “More incoming.” He called in the fairies and Lassiter’s expression was priceless as he watched tiny Aela fly in on point for her little squadron of warriors.

Our house had started to feel like an armed camp. While Jones filled Aela in, I went to the kitchen and called in Nana Fae and the rest of our dead.

I gave them a bit more information than I had the living relatives. They promised to fill in the closer friends, like Jane, Emily and Devon, to help watch out for our family members. Nana Fae and Mama Deb were excellent at organizing things when they were alive. They applied those skills to organizing all the dead into a tight little group that could look after anyone we thought might be at risk. Parker would rove and act as messenger, a role he was becoming quite adept at.

Even Jenna and Sophie had a job and were assigned to Carter, Ally and Brent. Jenna was perfectly capable of letting us know if anything went wrong, even if she was only four. I called Ally back to let her know, so they wouldn’t be startled when Carter began talking to thin air. Another thought crossed my mind before I disconnected.

“Ally, is Brent okay with all this? I know he has been wonderful and super supportive, but is he freaking out at all?”

“No, not at all, La Fi. Don’t worry. Brent is a rock, and he is taking everything in stride.” The sounds of traffic sounded faintly, and I knew they were still in the car.

Brent’s voice came from the background. “You guys take care of what you need to. We have things under control on this end. Don’t worry about us.”

I blew out a small sigh of relief. I didn’t want our crazy life to drive a wedge between Ally and Brent. A lot of guys would have already hit the road, after the slaughter at the barbeque. I was glad Ally had found one of the good ones.

“Okay,” I replied. “Just let Jenna know to come to us if you need anything. Even though you can’t see her, she can see and hear you. She’s great at carrying messages. Just be prepared.”

Ally agreed they’d be on the lookout, so I hung up. My stomach rumbled, and I realized the snacks hadn’t made much of a dent. I also noticed that there were some tantalizing smells coming from the front of the house and went to investigate.

Jones had opened a portal. A box sat on the coffee table and Stuart appeared carrying another box. Jones closed the portal, while Lassiter picked up the box from the coffee table and followed Stuart into the dining room.

“I had Raoul prepare dinner for us. I know you get cranky when you have not been fed, La Fi,” said Jones.

I stared at him blandly, not taking the bait, and pitched in to unload containers of food that smelled heavenly. We all unloaded the boxes, bringing in plates and silverware from the kitchen.

Thulu must have smelled the wonderful aroma because he soon joined us, nodding his head when Jones asked if he’d had any luck. He filled us in while we sat at the table, helping ourselves to vegetable and meat dishes and salads.

“I found five blank spots. Two here, one in Chicago, one in Manhattan and one in Paris. The ones here each covered a small area. Maybe in one building or one location. One is definitely the jail where our two friends are staying. The other one was slightly bigger. The ones in Manhattan and Paris were larger, as well, taking in a couple adjacent buildings. The one in Chicago was the largest. I looked up the address and guess where it’s located.”

Jones closed his eyes briefly before responding, “The Grant Corporation.”

Thulu nodded. “Are any of Sarah Grant’s assistants alive? The ones that were with her when we were there?”

“One of those we captured before still lives. I convinced my brother to imprison him, rather than immediately carry out his death sentence.”

“Jones, this just keeps getting more confusing,” I said. “Are the daemon rebels working with the mutated ones?”

“It would appear so.” Jones paused. “Actually this explains Satorah’s rebellion, as well as her following. She had a brother who was involved in the experiment and was banished. In fact, when she was listing her grievances against me, I was surprised she had not included that on her list. Now it appears that she was keeping any mention of them to herself. Probably so she would not alert me.” He pursed his lips in thought.

“It would not have mattered. Since I believed they were safely imprisoned or dead, I would not have believed her anyway, or at least would not have attributed something from so long ago to her madness.”

“Was the attack on the angels some sort of misdirection?” I asked.

Jones shook his head. “Absolutely not. She has always hated them. Even more than the rest of us do. I do think she has been quite mad these last few centuries. I need to let my brother know this last piece of news.” He paused. “Also if Satorah is connected to the mutated daemons, then I cannot assume that they have no knowledge as to the location of our portal in the Himalayas. I shall return to Phaete and question Satorah’s assistant.” He turned to Aela. “May I trouble you for one of your warriors to accompany me, in case I need to get a message back quickly?”

Aela nodded to one of her warriors. They had been seated on the table, having filled tiny plates with bits of food. He stood quickly, wings folded neatly and long cobalt hair tied back in a tail that hung passed his shoulders. His skin was slightly darker than Aela’s pale blue. Dressed in some sort of supple black leather, he made a rather striking figure as he bowed formally to Jones. His bow was slung across his back as usual with the fairies, and he wore a sword on one hip and a dagger on the other.

“Keiron, at your service, my lord.” His voice wasn’t as high pitched as Aela’s, but it was still tiny. I realized that he was one of her regulars and always wore black.

“Please finish your meal before we leave, Keiron.” Jones’s response was as polite and formal as the fairy’s.

Keiron bowed again and resumed his cross-legged seat on the table.

Of course, Lassiter followed the whole thing with interest and seemed fascinated with the tiny beings. He tried to hide it, but wasn’t very successful. They were pretty special.