Past Due, page 41
part #4 of Good Intentions Series
"Hey, you flew in all the way from Nairobi for me," said Rachel. "Not complaining here."
"This will take a little time to mend. We can help with the worst. The rest, you should be able to manage on your own."
Rachel flashed a thumbs-up. "Cool."
"Is she healed?" came George’s dour and firm voice. He appeared from the other side of the cathedral, walking past the altar to join them. "Is it finished?"
"The weapon is removed. The rest will follow. Hours, not minutes—nor days," said Ana.
"Then she fared better than those she brought into the fight with Sammael."
"Yeah, I’m right fuckin’ here, George," Rachel grumbled. "I’m fucked up, not comatose. You’re using your outside cakehole."
"You are here because those guardians are not, and you are why," he replied.
"Aw shit, really? I thought the fucking bad guy had something to do with that. Hey, speaking of my pals, has anyone looked in on—wait," said Rachel. She propped herself up by her elbows with a wince, ignoring the looks she got from Ana and Rupert to gaze through the cathedral walls and across town. "I still can’t see them."
"They are likely with your demon," said George. "I believe your friends escaped your debacle alive last night. Lorelei said nothing of any losses."
"You talked to her?" asked Rachel. "What did she say?"
"A sorcerous ward blocked you from entering the mansion grounds or using your sight to track your charges," said George. "Your witch friends instructed you on defeating the ward, and from there you advanced into battle and were wounded, correct?"
"You’re not answering my—"
"Answer mine. Once through the wards, you did not use the sight of the guardians to look for your charges in anything more than a cursory manner. Is that accurate?"
"Yeah. I was a little busy and a little fucked up," said Rachel. "I knew they were alive, but I didn’t look into more than—"
"So, you do not know what they experienced within the house?"
"No."
George stared at Rachel and took a deep breath as if coming to some decision. "Several guardians and I swept the house after speaking with her. As you informed us, we found evidence of sorcery and violence along with a large gathering. None of the guests or the residents remained."
Rachel scowled. Her gut still hurt like hell, but irritation took her mind off that. "What’s with the bullshit, George? What aren’t you telling me?"
"Only what I cannot verify," he replied. "Your choices and judgment are questionable, but your honesty has never been in doubt. The same cannot be said for others." He turned and walked away. "I have a city to watch over. These events have given me more than enough to do. Mend and be on your way."
"What the—?" Her mouth agape, Rachel looked to Ana and Rupert, both back to work with their healing hands over her injury. "Is he like that with everyone or is it just me?"
"I’m only visiting," said Ana.
Rupert hesitated, then sighed. "It’s you."
"Great."
Strength and the light of the divine returned slowly but steadily. Rachel laid her head back on the bench, praying at first, but her mind stayed on her friends. Though grudgingly, Heaven had accepted her love for Alex and Lorelei, but neither were blessed with divine guardianship. The sight of the guardians did not reveal them. It did, however, reveal those she guarded, even if only until their usual guardians fully recovered from their wounds.
She closed her eyes and focused as best she could. They couldn’t be far. Couldn’t be that hard to find. Not even with her injury or her spent power. She focused the clairvoyance of the divine, searched, and searched, and… "Oh, you have got to be shitting me."
Chapter Twenty-Three:
Ramming Speed
"Does the realm between life and death always have such shitty weather?" asked Alex.
"It does on the ocean, yeah. Most of the time." A flash of lightning illuminated towering, violent seas behind Katerina’s smiling face. The bridge of the fishing vessel creaked and shuddered, but on the whole the ship sailed easily through the maelstrom. They traveled with the waves, rising and falling to unsettling heights with only smooth and gradual sensations. "The way I figure it, most of the bad stuff that happens to people on the ocean happens in bad weather, right? So that’s what they carry into the afterlife."
"The way you figure it?" Wade repeated.
"If there’s a textbook for all this, I haven’t found it," said Katerina. "I was kind of hoping you guys could help me figure all this out."
Lights flickered inside the bridge. A silent fisherman in soaked and seaweed-laden rain gear manned the helm, steering silently with hands so clammy the skin was practically blue. His jaw hung open as if he’d forgotten how to close it, or perhaps he no longer saw any need to try.
Alex looked to Lorelei, standing at the opposite window with the same trepidation as the rest. She shook her head. "Heaven and Hell are vast and sometimes varied. Both are more influenced by the beliefs of the living than they would care to admit. Some few souls fall through the cracks between them…but of those cracks, even I know precious little."
"Do you think I’m in Purgatory?" asked Katerina. "I thought Purgatory was supposed to be a total drag. Apart from feeling a little alienated, I’m mostly having a good time."
"Katerina, how long have these guys been dead?" Wade ventured.
"Since the eighties, maybe? I think they’re all Baby Boomers." Katerina shrugged. "That’s part of what I mean about the alienation. Guys like this don’t have a lot in common to talk about. Also, they don’t really ‘talk’ as such. Not unless you prod them, and then they’re all stuck on a couple of topics." Her voice fell to a whisper. "I’m pretty sure they knew it was time to turn around but the captain wanted to keep on fishing. They’re really bitter about it."
"Greedy hoser," moaned the dead man at the helm.
"Right." Alex exchanged uncomfortable glances with his companions. "So how long do you think we’ve got before we catch up with the bad guys?"
"I dunno. Ten minutes, maybe fifteen." She turned to point over the bow of the ship. Three other lost souls labored at lines and nets that never pulled all the way in. Beyond them rose ever-shifting mountains of water. "They’re on the open ocean now, out thataway. Once we come out of this realm it’ll be much calmer. Grey skies, a little rain, and the waves are only a couple feet high today. I figured it would be better to keep it calm."
"You’re controlling the weather?" Wade blinked.
"I don’t know if I’d call it control so much as I can take a little energy out of the seas from one realm and shift it into the other. It’s easier out on the ocean. Can’t do it on land. That’s hard."
"Mortal witnesses diminish the power of magic," said Lorelei. "Though you may be unique in your nature and your power, in my experience the limitation is common across every form of magic. If your abilities are easier to use on the ocean and in the realm of the dead, it is because few mortals are there to see it."
"Wow, is that what’s going on?" Katerina’s face lit up. "Holy shit, that explains so much! Oh, I am so glad I met you guys."
"Sure. Happy to help," said Wade. The look he threw Alex suggested a more nuanced mood.
"Are you still sure about getting us over onto their ship when we catch up?" asked Alex.
"Oh yeah, that part should work fine," said Katerina. "I’ve experimented. Once we touch the land of the living again, you should pop right back over there. That yacht qualifies."
Alex caught the unspoken implication about the ship he was on now. He swallowed, nodded, and glanced to the others. "We should get the others ready."
"Yes." Lorelei held his hand, but had to let it go again on the narrow steps leading down from the bridge to the ship’s interior.
Wade followed last—or thought he would. A backward glance fell on Katerina behind him. "You don’t need to stay up here and steer?"
"Nah, Charlie and the guys have it now." She jerked her thumb to the dead man at the helm. Again, she dropped to a whisper. "Like I said, they’re not much for conversation."
The ship’s galley offered barely enough space for the whole group. Lights flickered amid the constant soft rattle of kitchenware stowed away inside the cabinets. Waves soared and crashed outside a single porthole. To either side of it, Drew and Sierra leaned against the bulkheads with the same stern expression. Alex still didn’t know Sierra well yet, but he’d known Drew long enough to read his "What the fuck have you gotten me into?" look. Sitting at the small and cramped tables, Taylor and Molly looked similarly enthused. Onyx sat with her hand in Molly’s, her face set in stone until her eyes turned up at the new arrivals.
No one looked less comfortable than Zafirah. She stood beside the witches with her arms wrapped around herself, seeming ready to bolt at any second—but with nowhere to go if she did. She couldn’t fully keep the tremor from her voice. "How much longer?"
"Maybe fifteen minutes at most," said Alex.
"Are you unwell?" asked Lorelei.
"I am living flame trapped on a boat in a stormy sea," Zafirah snapped. "My people are of two worlds, and neither of them are the land of the dead. I can travel mortal seas if needed, but here…" She caught herself, steadying again with a breath. "Minutes, you say?"
"Might be less than that now," Alex replied.
"Figured if we’re that close, it’s time to talk," said Wade. "What’s the plan?"
Alex looked at Wade, who in turn looked back at Alex. He shrugged.
"We’re fifteen minutes from fightin’ a boatload of immortal wizard assholes an’ you ain’t got a plan?" Wade burst.
"Oh, holy shit," Sierra grumbled.
"I came up with a way to find the bad guys and chase them down," Alex answered, gesturing to Katerina. "You’re the one who always has a battle plan."
Zafirah looked aside to Lorelei. "When Alex told me his story, he never presented himself as the leader of this crew. Yet somehow, once again, I am surprised."
"Many have asked me what makes him so special," said Lorelei. "How often do you meet a man who accepts his limitations?"
"Point taken. I suppose you found yourself a unicorn," Zafirah muttered.
"So we’re going with ‘get ‘em?’ That’s it?" asked Drew.
"At some point it’s gotta come down to that," said Alex. "We should have the element of surprise, at least. I know we’re not some well-trained, well-oiled machine. We’re never gonna be that. We’re what we’ve got."
"This family came to power by fighting from the sea," Onyx spoke up. Her voice was clear but cold and firm. "Surprise will only even the odds at best. They’ll have people willing to fight for them. Maybe monsters. They always have allies. This is still our best chance."
"They also survive by avoiding the eye of Heaven," said Lorelei. "There will be no innocents on that ship. The only victim of circumstance is their prisoner. None of you thirst for blood, and that is good—but do not hesitate this time."
"We have to rescue Joel," said Onyx. "Nothing else is as important. If we free him and he gets away, they’re done. Maybe they get reincarnated again, maybe not, but they’ll be like anyone else. They can’t find each other without him. He’s the key to all of this."
"Have you any thoughts on how to accomplish that?" asked Zafirah. "His restraints are surely developed from the bonds you created in your past life."
"You’re probably the best suited for it," said Onyx. "You have more natural power and you’re the most experienced with magic." Her eyes turned to Molly. "You need to help her."
"Me? Zafirah’s right. It’s probably based on your magic. Or used-to-be you," said Molly.
"Yeah, and you know how I think. Nobody knows me better than you. Nobody is closer to me than you are. And the family is going to focus on me as soon as the fight starts."
Molly’s eyebrows went up. "I’m not bailing on you to face them on your own."
"I won’t be alone," said Onyx. "We brought friends, remember?"
"We’ll stay by her," Alex agreed, still close to Lorelei. "They’re already pissed at us. Maybe we’ll be an added distraction."
"And the rest of us?" wondered Taylor.
"Stick with Molly and Zafirah," said Onyx. "I don’t know them well enough to predict more than I have. I don’t know how this plays out. But I know what we have to focus on. Joel comes first." She looked up to Wade, cracking her first little grin since the voyage began. "Good enough?"
He scratched the back of his neck. "Clear objectives ain’t exactly a whole plan, but it’s better than nothing."
"How about we fuck up every one of them and then party on their boat?" asked Drew.
Wade pointed to him. "See? That. That’s the rest of it."
"That’s the same as ‘get ‘em,’" said Alex.
"Yeah, but it’s got more style," said Taylor.
"You guys suck," Alex grumbled.
A foghorn interrupted further debate, muffled only by the interior of the ship. At the back of the conversation, Katerina waved a shy hand. "That’s for us," she explained. "You might want to be up on the bow. It’ll make the transition easier."
Onyx rose first. Alex caught her eye and nodded to the passageway deeper into the ship for some space. "How are you doing?" he asked.
"You know how I said before that I felt all my life like I was looking over my shoulder and hiding from something? Now I know I didn't imagine it." Her face held a grim anger to match her voice. "And now I really do feel like I’ve been carrying this around for a few thousand years. I want to get this over with."
Most of the others shuffled around and up the steps. Molly and Lorelei followed. He didn’t mind if they heard, but this wasn’t a show for anyone else. His voice fell naturally.
"I’ve got a bunch of reasons to be out here doing this, but none of them mean as much as you. Before everything gets crazy, I wanted…" His hand found hers. "I love you, Onyx."
A smile cracked through the stone. She caressed his cheek, smoothly moving in on his unsure face for a soft, lingering kiss. Her eyes met his, grinning as they parted. "Yeah, you do," said Onyx. Then she turned and climbed the steps, leaving him blinking.
Molly bit back an even bigger grin as she took her partner’s place. "That was hot."
"Did I…?" Alex looked from one witch to the other until Onyx turned out of view. "Did I screw that up? Should I not have said…?"
"Nah. That was awesome. You did it right," she said, smug and happy. "I’d explain, but I’ve got my loyalties." Molly planted a quick but sensuous kiss on his neck. "Love you," she said, and left him there.
Lorelei passed him with only a brush of her hand against his chest and a single glance: soft, affectionate, devoted…and entirely without answers as she left him in the passageway.
The last face appeared with intrigue and delight. Katerina emerged from around the corner, where she’d clearly seen the whole thing. Her mouth opened—and then stopped. "No," she said. "Hold on."
Katerina hustled up the steps after Lorelei, reaching her at the top before the taller woman got outside. "Hey! Hey hey hey," she hissed, catching her hand only to politely let it go again once she had Lorelei’s attention. She hid a gesture down the steps so Alex wouldn’t see it as she leaned in and whispered, "So who is he with, exactly?"
Lorelei glanced at Alex. Her lips spread into a sly grin.
* * *
Concerns about his employers didn’t affect his professionalism. In moments of doubt, Rico clung to diligence and discipline. Adherence to such values got him through all the worst situations in the Army. Tactical dangers, organizational failures, faltering support back home, orders with unclear objectives and wartime leaders with only vague goals—none of that eroded Rico’s performance. He sucked it all up and pushed through like a good soldier.
At his hearing—which, on paper, wasn’t a hearing, nor was it on paper—a major suggested he should’ve clung to his sense of right and wrong. At the time, he wanted to give that major the finger, or maybe his entire fist.
He hadn’t thought about that moment until he found himself wondering how he got here.
"I’ve gotta say, I never thought the engine room of a boat could be so clean and white," said Rico. The hum of machinery required him to speak loudly, but the visuals provided a sense of order and peace. Open stairs in the center of the room led from a bay of engines to a control deck up above. Only two men worked the entire space.
"It’s a full-time job, but we get plenty of help while we’re in port," said one of the engineers. His slacks and polo shirt provided an inoffensive look. The muscles, tattoos, and scars escaping his collar indicated something else. Gold embroidered letters over his shirt pocket named him Evgeni. In contrast, Rico wore his knee pads, tac vest loaded with gear, his sidearm, and carried an HK slung over his shoulder. The engineer seemed entirely indifferent to it all. "At least they pay us like they want everything done right."
"That they do," Rico nodded. He looked over the workstations on the control deck. Monitors and instrument panels lined the bulkhead, but he saw nothing to indicate a personal touch. A second engineer sat at one of the workstations cleaning grime from under his fingernails with a pocketknife. His shirt named him Filip, while the rest of him looked about as hard-edged as Evgeni. "Where did you work before this?"
"Boats," said the Evgeni, and nothing more.
"Gotcha."
"You and your guys gonna keep coming through here every hour?" asked Filip.
"Yeah. Routine sweep," said Rico. "We won’t get in your way."
"Depends on how you define getting in the way," said Evgeni.
Rico didn’t push further. He didn’t have to. With a curt nod, he carried on with his patrol.
Little else marked his trip through the lowest deck of the ship. Rico took particular interest in the "garage" in the farthest aft compartment with its small boats and jet skis. The crew lounge and gym sat empty. Crew cabins were similarly quiet. The lack of stewards left plenty of room for Rico and his guys, though it limited some of the ship’s other amenities. The galley held a professional kitchen, but Rico found only a lone crewman fixing up his own lunch. There would be no full-service dinners on this trip.
