“Zack, this is Eilahn,” I said, shattering the strange tension as surely as if I’d thrown a rock at a window. “Rhyzkahl sent her to protect me.”
He remained silent and still for another three heartbeats, then abruptly smiled a normal Zack-smile as he grabbed several bags and came into the living room. “Nice to meet you, Eilahn,” he said with a cheerfulness that felt jarring after the tableau of seconds before. “Hope you like burgers!”
Ryan took one of the bags from Zack, apparently unaware of the brief tension. But then again it hadn’t lasted very long. I’d probably only noticed because I knew about Zack.
“Love them,” Eilahn replied with a bright smile that was just as jarring as Zack’s cheerfulness. “Thanks!”
Zack passed me a wrapped burger, meeting my eyes and giving a slight nod that I took as a sign of approval. I felt a weird surge of relief. At least if I had to have a demon dogging my every move, it was one that apparently met Zack’s standards.
“I need to call my sergeant,” I said after inhaling half a burger. The last food I’d had was a piece of cheese right before summoning Eilahn, and I was feeling it. “Since he’s pretty much on board with the whole ‘magic’ thing, it’ll be damn useful to have him along.” I glanced at Ryan. “Another witness for our side, so to speak.”
“And what’s your cover story going to be for Eilahn here?” Zack asked with a nod toward the demon.
Crap. I hadn’t thought about that. “Um, a visiting cousin or something.”
“If I might make a suggestion?” Zack said. “If she’s here to protect you, then she’ll need to be in a position to be near you fairly often.”
I set my half-eaten burger down. “So she needs to be a cop or something.” Maybe Crawford could figure out a way to get her hired? But then how would she get through the background check? I’d have to get a whole identity forged for her, and I had only the barest idea of how to go about doing that. I could probably scrounge up some contacts, but it would take time and be risky.
“It’ll be too difficult to get her hired on with your department,” Zack continued in an echo of my thoughts. “With any department, for that matter, and you don’t have the luxury of time to do anything that requires detailed work. The easiest thing to do would be to have her be another member of our task force.”
I glanced at Eilahn to see how she was handling being talked about, but she seemed unconcerned, leaning against the wall with her thumbs tucked into the pockets of her jeans. Apparently she recognized that Zack had been through this before and was willing to benefit from his experience. Or least that was my assumption. At some point I was going to pin Zack down and squeeze more info from him.
“Great,” I said, “so she’ll be another FBI agent.”
But Zack shook his head. “No, still too easy to check that. Easier to make her foreign—here on an exchange program, or that sort of thing.” He flicked a glance at the silent demon. “That will also help cover any slips she makes with regards to culture or social stuff.”
I slid a look to Ryan. He was focused on Zack, and he had an odd expression on his face as if he was trying to remember something. Zack suddenly grinned cheekily. “I knew all those suspense thrillers would pay off!”
The confusion cleared from Ryan’s eyes as he smiled. A strange chill crawled down my back. So, if Zack is also Ryan’s guardian, is part of his duty making sure that Ryan doesn’t remember whatever it is he’s not supposed to remember? Is he a guardian or a prison guard? Or was the line between guard and guardian a fine one? Like a reverse Stockholm syndrome.
My appetite had disappeared, so I left the rest of my burger and excused myself to the hallway to call Crawford. When I pulled my phone out I realized that I’d several missed calls from him, and I groaned. Great, I wrecked my car and didn’t show up for work. Nice way to earn points with the rank.
“Goddamn it, Kara!” he said when he answered, in lieu of hello or anything of that ilk. “What the fuck is going on? Are you all right?”
“I’m sorry, Sarge. I’m okay. Had an unwelcome visitor last night.” I paused. “Ten-twelve?” Ten-twelve was the code for “Can you talk freely/are you alone?”
I heard a shuffling and then the closing of a door. “Okay, go ahead,” he said.
I gave him a quick rundown of what happened at my house last night, leaving out the part about being woken up by a demonic lord. Crawford was handling the woo-woo stuff all right so far, but I didn’t think he was quite ready for the bit about me summoning demons.
He muttered something foul. “All right, we’ll come up with something to explain what happened to your car. Do you know who sent that thing after you?”
“We have a pretty strong theory, but, well, we’ve run into a snag.”
“Go on.”
“I have no idea how to get a warrant that accuses someone of committing murder using an arcane construct,” I said sourly.
“Well, shit.”
“We’re trying to put together a plan,” I continued. “It would help if you were a part of it, but it might not, um, follow procedure.”
He was silent for several heartbeats. “Then it sounds like you might have need for me.”
I breathed a silent sigh of relief. “We’re holed up at Ryan’s place. I’ll text you the address.”
“I’ll be on my way as soon as I get it.”
I disconnected and walked back to the living room. “Sarge is on board. Where the fuck are we?”
Ryan laughed and rattled off an address that I recognized as being even more out in the boonies than my own house. I quickly sent the text to Crawford, then plopped back down on the couch and concentrated on eating. No matter what course of action we decided on, I had a feeling I was going to need all available energy.
Crawford arrived about twenty minutes later, which gave me enough time to finish my burger and even finally pull a brush through the snarled mess that was my hair.
I introduced Eilahn and Crawford, quickly glossing over where she was from and why she was here. He gave her a gruff greeting, shook her hand, and then ignored her so studiously and carefully that it would have been insulting in any other circumstance. However, I was pretty sure that Crawford had somehow figured out that he didn’t really want to know too much more about her. Crawford’s tenuous acceptance of my weirdness seemed to include an instinct to not ask questions unless it was absolutely necessary.
Probably a damn smart move on his part.
“I think the first thing we have to do is find the golem and destroy it,” I said, once we’d all settled in the living room. “Then we can deal with Ben Moran without worrying about silly things like getting smacked by a giant clay monster.”
“It would have to be somewhere at the house, right?” Zack suggested.
I started to agree, then paused. “No. I’ve been to the house twice and never felt any resonance. I think if it was being kept there, I’d have felt something.” I considered for a few seconds. “And not at the studio, either. Or rather, I only felt resonance there in certain places, where the golem would have been to kill Adam Taylor.”
Silence fell.
“You said this thing is made out of clay?” Crawford asked after a moment.
I nodded. “That’s what it looked like to me. Dirt, dried clay, held together and animated by some sort of arcane means.”
“And it’s pretty big, right?” he continued. “Which means that whoever made it would need a fair amount of clay.”
I nodded again.
He pushed off the wall. “I know where to start looking.”
We looked at him expectantly.
“C’mon, boys and girls,” Crawford said with a cheery smile. “We’re going to the dump.”
Chapter 33
Ben Moran had made his money in debris removal, or so Crawford reminded us after we’d looked at him like he was insane. One of the reasons Moran had enjoyed such success wasn’t simply because he had trucks to haul debris, but also because he own
ed a decent-sized tract of land in the north end of the parish which he was able to use as a place to dump said debris. And one of the reasons that the site was so ideal for a landfill was the fact that the ground was mostly clay—which had saved him a great deal of trouble and expense, since the landfill permits required a significant clay barrier to be placed before debris could be dumped.
Unfortunately, the landfill was a shit location as far as tactics went. It was in the middle of dense woods, there was only one road leading to it, and it was surrounded by a high chain-link fence and higher dirt berm. We’d scouted the location as best we could using the Internet, but we knew that the satellite images we found were probably months old. Eventually we grudgingly decided that there was nothing to do but go.
We went in two vehicles—Ryan, Eilahn, and me in one car, and Zack and Crawford in the other. As a concession to tactics we parked beyond the last curve of the road before the landfill, less than a quarter mile from the entrance. This area of the parish was hilly enough that we couldn’t see the landfill from where we were, which we hoped meant that anyone—or anything—at the landfill couldn’t see us either.
I stepped out of the Ryan’s car, then slung the strap of my shotgun over my shoulder. I had it loaded with double-aught buckshot and slugs, and I hoped like hell that I wouldn’t have to use it. I hated firing slugs. The last time I’d been forced to qualify with the shotgun I’d ended up with a bruise the size of a dinner plate on my shoulder that had taken weeks to fade completely.
But I had more faith in the ability of the shotgun to stop a golem than my 9mm. And, since we didn’t have access to grenades or rocket launchers, this was the next best thing for destroying the thing. I hoped.
“Doesn’t smell like a dump,” I remarked to Crawford as he walked up. He’d changed into fatigue pants and boots as well, and he held his shotgun down by his side.
“That’s ’cuz it’s not for regular garbage,” he replied. “Almost entirely for construction debris, and I don’t think it’s used much anymore. Moran made a killing after the last hurricane, when the local governments were desperate to find a place to dump storm debris, but this site’s a bit too remote for regular use.”
“Which makes it the most likely place to store a magic monster,” I said.
Ryan peered up at the berm that blocked our view of the landfill. It was at least twenty feet high and unnervingly steep. “Zack, you’re a nimble little fucker. You wanna reconnoiter?”
The blond agent smiled. “Thought you’d never ask.” A second later he was scrambling up the side of the steep hill, barely disturbing a single clod of dirt. We watched as he edged up to the crest and pulled out a small pair of binoculars. He remained still and silent for a couple of minutes, then scrambled back down.
“I’m not seeing any surveillance cameras,” he reported, brushing dirt from his pants. “Chain-link fence around the perimeter, with the one gate at the road. Gate’s open, and there’s a dark green Lexus SUV parked in front of a small metal building—about a hundred yards beyond the gate. And there ain’t shit for cover between the gate and the building. Lots of low hills of dirt, that’s all.”
“So he’s here then. He’s likely repairing the golem,” I said.
“We have bolt cutters, right?” Crawford asked. Ryan nodded. “Agent Garner and I can work our way around to the left and approach that way,” he continued. “I don’t like the thought of all of us marching up the road.”
“Do it,” Ryan said. “Take a radio.” We were using FBI-issue radios for this since we sure as hell didn’t want to have any chatter related to this on the police channel. The FBI radios looked a lot like walkie-talkies I could buy at Radio Shack, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Zack shouldered his rifle and gave me a significant look that I couldn’t interpret, then he and Crawford and Ryan loped off along the edge of the berm.
I watched them go, feelings the first flutters of nerves begin. There are five of us and we have plenty of fire-power, I reassured myself. We can take out a golem, even if it’s back to full strength.
Then why did I feel like I was overlooking something?
Ryan glanced back at Eilahn and me, then started up the road at a slow jog. I bit back a groan and broke into a run, relieved when he slowed as soon as we rounded the curve and came in sight of the gate. As Zack had reported, the gate stood open. Beyond it was a squat metal building with an SUV parked in front. There were no other vehicles that we could see.
“That’s Ben Moran’s vehicle,” I murmured. A strange frisson of relief swept through me. I’d been right. The lack of tangible proof had caused me more doubt than I’d realized until that moment.
We moved forward cautiously through the gate. As soon as we passed through it I had even more confirmation. “Hold on,” I said in a low voice as a wave of resonance washed over me. “Golem’s definitely here.”
Ryan flicked an acknowledging glance at me, then I heard him mutter low into the radio as he passed the info to Zack.
“Foul,” Eilahn muttered. I glanced at her to see her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something disgusting.
“Have you ever seen one before?” I asked.
She shook her head, keeping her eyes in a constant scan of the area. “It is a different sort of power, but it makes my nose itch.” She didn’t have a gun, since she’d pointed out that she had yet to have any sort of training with such a weapon. Instead she had a goddamn sword strapped to her side. The sword was Zack’s and he insisted it was merely a high-quality costume piece that he used for Renaissance fairs, but there was something about the weapon that made me think that this sword was not only very real, but had also seen actual battle.
The door to the building opened when we were about twenty yards away, and we raised our weapons. Or rather, Ryan and I raised our shotguns, and Eilahn drew her sword.
I expected to see Ben Moran step out.
I was shocked as shit to see Trey step out. What the hell? Is he working with Moran?
Trey didn’t seem very surprised to see us, though he did give Eilahn and her sword a brief “what the fuck?” look before returning his attention to me. He no longer looked harmless. He stood straighter now, more focused, but his smile had a nervous edge to it. We might not have surprised him, but he wasn’t looking forward to this confrontation.
“Keep watch for the golem,” I murmured to Eilahn, probably unnecessarily. I held my shotgun leveled at Trey. “Keep your hands where I can see them,” I called out, “and step forward slowly.”
He lifted his hands slowly and spread them to show that they were empty, though he didn’t move from the doorway. “Detective Gillian, what on earth is going on?” he asked, trying to look puzzled.
“Where’s Ben Moran?” I demanded.
His shoulders twitched in a shrug. “I’m not sure.” Then his smile turned more confident. “Most likely in a stockholder meeting, accepting the appointment to the new board of the bank.”
I scowled, rethinking my theories. “So, he had you do his dirty work?”
Trey cocked his head. “Detective Gillian, what do you think you’re going to do here? Do you have a warrant? I really think you should leave and forget all this.”
“We’re beyond warrants, Trey,” I said, slowly stepping forward. I could feel the resonance grow stronger, like a buzzing in the back of my teeth. I saw a shift of movement behind him, but I couldn’t tell if it was the golem. “You and Moran shouldn’t have sent your creature to try and kill me last night. We’re here to destroy the golem. Maybe then we can talk about warrants and murder charges.”
He shook his head. “I haven’t murdered anyone.”
“Semantics,” I retorted. This was stupid. I didn’t want to get involved in conversation. I simply wanted to get this over with. My hands were beginning to sweat and I had to fight the urge to wipe them on my pants. “Where is the golem?”
He took a slow step forward as I tightened my grip on the shotgun. “Which one?” he s
aid mildly.
Resonance slammed into me as Ryan let out a curse. Shit! My heart began to slam in my chest. That’s what I was overlooking. If he made one, he could make more.
Eilahn give a soft hiss. “Five . . . no, six that I can see. We are flanked.”
I risked a quick glance and confirmed Eilahn’s info for myself. Crude and shambling, they rose out of the dirt piles we’d passed like zombies rising from graves and terrifying me about as much.
I stepped forward and lifted the shotgun, training it on Trey’s chest. “Call them off!” I shouted. “Make them stop, or I’ll fucking drop you right here!” I didn’t know if killing him would make them stop, but it seemed like a fucking good start to me.
He let out a nasty laugh. “But I can’t. I’m not the one controlling them.” He stepped to the side. “Michael? These are the people who are trying to ruin everything.”
My gut tightened as the young man stepped through the doorway, his face contorted into a bewildered anger. Shit!
“Tell your clay men to take them away, Michael,” Trey said, gaze never leaving us. “Take them away so that they can’t take your nice house away.”
“Michael, don’t believe him!” I shouted. “We’re not here to ruin anything. Your uncle and Trey have been killing people with your clay men. You know that’s not right!”
Doubt flickered across Michael’s face. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the shambling advance of the golems slow. Trey gave a sigh. “Now she’s accusing your uncle of being bad, and you know that’s not true. You can’t trust anything she says.” He met my eyes and the look of smug satisfaction in them told me more than any confession could have.
What if that was true? What if Moran wasn’t involved at all? It doesn’t matter right now, I told myself. Get him to stop the golems!
“Michael! You’re not a murderer.” I tried to keep my voice strong and steady, which wasn’t easy considering how scared I was. At least these golems were moving nice and slowly. Maybe it was because he was controlling so many instead of only one. “Trey wants your men to take us away to kill us. He already had one of your men kill Adam and Roger!” Where the hell were Crawford and Zack?