Chapter 33 — A Pact Paid

  I quickly excused myself, and drove home, mind racing. The air cold without my having enough focus to resist the elements, even though I had on my jacket, beanie, and gloves. I clenched my fists on the steering wheel and wanted to hit something.

  I was the reason for the attacks… but why? In a supernatural sense, I was useless. Too strong for weak factions, not strong enough for larger factions to take awareness of me. I hadn’t done anything to warrant being hunted… except in my dream the daemon had said something...

  I ran through the half-remembered details.

  Previous dreams had been vague, though the daemon always spoke or appeared at some point, signaling the nightmare was of their creation. For a while I had thought they were my own dreams. They only happened when I had extended periods outside my home and hard-set wards. I thought they were my fears becoming a nightmare due to being outside of my home and protection. Now… it was abundantly clear they were more. Fren had suspected as much but I hadn’t been concerned until my dream had literally hurt me.

  Facts. I had to figure this out.

  I was having dreams that were more than dreams. One had hurt me. I’d been marked. The spot on my chest had not fully healed after Fren’s healing. That meant something was actively keeping it there or as I’d assumed that morning, that it was a part of me that couldn’t be healed. I shivered again, my grip on the steering wheel keeping them from growing.

  I took the turn off the old highway and wended my way through Boise towards my home. At a stoplight I pulled open my collar and looked down at the wound. It looked better than before, the monster core energy I’d absorbed likely having helped heal what Fren could not. That’s a good sign, I thought.

  The inner-city streets were busy, it being early evening after nearly two hours of driving this morning, waiting for Lana, then being interviewed by Chris, as well as the drive back. I made one quick stop and bought two flats of glass bottled coke, not wanting to deal with any of Fren’s pesky questions tonight.

  I needed to talk to Lana and see how much of her interest in me was related to her father. The thought made my gut squirm. Perhaps we didn’t have they type of burgeoning connection I thought we did… but I couldn’t let things continue if not.

  I revved the engine and a few minutes later pulled into the back alley, driving down the long stretch of stores, bouncing on the uneven, poorly maintained back road until I reached my shops back entrance at the far end.

  Then I sat, resting in my jeep as the cooling engine clicked. I was hesitant about what I needed to do next. I didn’t want to abandon Kate if I went in, but I needed to. I needed to think, to prepare. For the first time I was annoyed that my shop was also my home. I took a few minutes to gather myself. I could sense I was starting to panic, having something like that creature hunting me was not something I was mentally prepared for. I wasn’t sure if I could stop it.

  The store was a madhouse, two dozen people perused shelves, touching, and exclaiming over every find. It was so loud I could barely hear. This was new. We’d never had a crowd like this. Kate hadn’t seen me, overwhelmed at the register, so I ran the Cokes across the store and left them sitting by a plant near the stairs. Fren would know what to do with them when no one was looking. I whispered next to the plant, “A pact paid. Now keep an eye out, we are not safe.”

  Then I changed course.

  Instead of going downstairs to plan and discuss things with Fren, I went to help Kate. It wasn’t the most important thing I needed to do, but I couldn’t abandon her. I needed to overcome my fears and act logically, not reactionarily. Helping would give me time to calm down.

  Kate let out a massive sigh and gave me a grin as I arrived. “I hoped you’d make it back early.”

  “I’m glad it worked out. I’m sorry, has it been this busy for long?”

  “At least an hour.” She said, finishing out an order and wishing the store patron a great rest of the day.

  “The perks of a website it would seem.”

  Kate gave a weary shake of her head.

  I traded her spots and she seamlessly turned to packaging people’s purchases, wrapping the rarer gemstones in paper, answering questions, and helping anyone with exact cash payments. We didn’t accept credit cards… for obvious reasons. Maybe that was something we could change if I got better control of my abilities or invested more in the structures of the store? I took the lead talking with patrons and Kate got a little reprieve.

  Everything kept pointing to the same thing. I needed to get stronger, I needed to get better, I needed to train, I needed to prepare. I’d curtailed my progress the past few years since leaving Clair’s tutelage. I’d coasted on my strength planning on taking decades to slowly learn and put in the work, all while I fought and destroyed threats to mankind I could manage. However, the threats had grown, and I wasn’t ready. My grace period had ended. I had been as aloof and concerned about my own life and worries, that I’d done exactly what I hated other wizards and the Tribunal for doing. I’d put my self-interest first and others had paid the price…

  “Are you alright Cal?” Kate asked.

  “I.. yeah, I was just thinking.” I said as I plastered on a smile and greeted the next person in line.

  We worked for two hours before things in the shop calmed down.

  “I’m so glad you came back early,” Kate said, gulping down water from a canteen she brought with her each day.

  “I’m sorry you had to deal with that, alone, for far too long.”

  “It was crazy, it’s never been that busy. We also need to get a card reader, you hadn’t been here and had me run to trade Sarah when we ran out of smaller bills we would have been in trouble.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. We will have to look into that.”

  “I had to send at least thirty people away who didn’t have cash on hand. To make matters worse the ATM next door is down so we lost a lot of sales.”

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  “Hmmm,” I said, chewing on the problem and ways I might be able to implement magic. There were ways, it would be expensive, and my focus on training would mean it would take time away from that…but first things first. “I need to make a way you can contact me while I’m away,” I said.

  “Without a phone? That seems sort of impossible.”

  I nodded, making the decision, “There are other ways. We’ll have to troubleshoot them together. I promise we will soon. We have a lot to talk about first.” I felt the hesitancy inside me build, I had to tell Kate the truth. If being around me involved the kind of danger this hunting creature could bring, she needed to be aware of it.

  Kate nodded and looked relieved at the idea. It was something I should have done before but the business was now growing at an unprecedented rate, and we had threats. I needed to bring Kate into the fold. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her because she was unaware and unprepared to face the types of things my life might bring into hers. She deserved to know why we didn’t have many electronics beyond lights and that it wasn’t simply a personal choice. An equal partnership couldn’t be made of unilateral decisions like that.

  We closed the shop, on the weekends we were only open until six, so it worked well. I was starved and offered to buy Kate dinner, but she had other plans, so I went alone to Sarah’s so I could thank her for exchanging bills with us. As I walked, I thought through how I could bring Kate into the fold. I hadn’t processed the events of the day so far, the scene’s I’d witnessed and felt personally. I was fearful of Kate’s possible rejection, and the ulterior motives Lana might hold, as well as the excitement I felt with the kiss earlier this morning. The effect was that by the time I entered the diner, my appetite was nearly squashed by my nerves.

  Sarah’s Diner had a great menu, but I ordered a simple half sandwich to save time. It was turkey on a local bakery’s bun, with bacon and avocado and smothered in some specialty sauce Sarah had invented. It was delicious, but today I couldn’t focus on the flavors and ate methodically, my mind racing. The food did dispel the nagging headache which had been present since I’d opened my third eye. I ate alone, then walked home.

  The shop seemed strange and foreign. Kate was gone. Lana wasn’t there. The lights were still blown out and dark. Shelving was missing making it seem much more open—and it wasn’t the safe bastion I’d imagined.

  I was being hunted.

  It didn’t feel like a fortress. The stone walls I’d magically reinforced appeared a pale defense. The wood floor, nearly as hard as steel now seemed paltry. The windows which let in such wonderful natural light appeared like gaping weak points a being like this hunter could exploit. My home wasn’t safe. Not when a creature that could hurt someone as badly as it had Phillis was out there. I closed my eyes and silently promised Phillis that I would make it pay, and that I was sorry I had brought my troubles to her door. I don’t know if spirits can hear us from this side, but Chris’s story of the diviner made me want to believe she could hear me. I locked the shop up as tightly as I could and headed downstairs to the basement.

  “Fren,” I called as I entered his room.

  “Yes Cal,” Fren answered as he morphed into his humanoid body within the glen.

  “It’s good to see you,” I said, as I strode across the room, kicking off my shoes and socks and stepping into the glade beside him.

  “Hmmmmmm,” Fren said, contemplating my face. I was sure his extraordinary senses were evaluating a dozen things about me. “You have been through an ordeal today.”

  “I opened my third eye and spread my aura upon the scene of a terrible murder.” I failed to hold back a shudder.

  “Did you remain clean, untarnished, and pure?”

  “I think so. I kept my control…. Thankfully. But something else was there, feeding off the energies. It attacked me and I barely managed to remain free, both beings had such malicious intentions.”

  “The darker things of this world thrive on misery and pain. It is a path that eventually leads to sorrow, misery, and pain.”

  “It was so evil. Even the echo of its soul left in that place was filled with hate. No wonder the forest has told you about an encroaching darkness… And I found out more. Something that matters to both of us.” My eyes met Fren’s in his towering form. His obvious strength made me feel a little better, “It’s hunting me.”

  Fren’s eyes widened. He did it for my benefit, mimicking human emotions so I knew his thoughts. He didn’t say anything, allowing me to continue.

  “And what it did… to a person I knew because it was frustrated. It was terrifying.” I realized my hands were shaking and I had a tear streaming down one cheek. “It killed someone and I wasn’t there.”

  Fren considered me, offering no judgment at my visible fear, only support. After we paused for a time, he spoke. “But you will stop it, halt its terror, and save your people.”

  “I… I don’t know if I can. I have to, its hunting me, but I don’t have the strength. I don’t even know how to stop it, it has a sense for my soul and my aura signature somehow. I sensed what it desires to find and it’s me.”

  “You are safe here,” Fren said gesturing with wide strong arms to the walls of our shop. “You are powerful in your own right. I chose to serve and bond you for many reasons, foremost was your potential and the shape of your soul. You will rise to meet this challenge.”

  “You’ve been right all along,” I muttered, hugging my friend.

  “Hmmm?” Fren said with a smile. “I am right on all things, but what was this particular matter?”

  I laughed, “You were right about my need to train and control my abilities. Next time I’ll try not to balk so much. If I’d trained as much as you wanted I’d be much better prepared.”

  “You are young. The young always think they have all the time in the world ahead of them. That they are strong and immovable. But the fire, drought, and axe come only when you are least prepared.”

  “Its powerful and I need an edge to kill it. I think it’s a creature from the fae. Nothing I’ve encountered is so mentally bound to a single idea the way they are. Its serving a master who must be powerful, but the compulsion to follow its command exactly only exist in fairies that I know of.”

  “The master we will face another day. Iron will assist you now. Face the foe before you and grow, the next will be met in time.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “I’ll get prepared.” I hesitated, “There was one more detail. I… I think its command to find me is coming from the Daemon.”

  “That bodes darkly,” Fren said, the wood of his body creaking as it tightened and drew into his form, compressing like armor. “You can do naught but grow. Once this threat is neutralized, we will concern ourselves with its master. Take peace while it is available to you.”

  I nodded and rushed about the room to prepare. We had a little drawer of iron. I kept it shut up tight. I mean there was no way to avoid the material in the modern world, but I knew it made Fren uncomfortable. He didn’t like steel and other metals which were basically iron alloys, but true Iron was the bane of daemons, fae, and many other creatures heavily reliant on magic. Iron rings and wheels could be used to complete some impressive spells. My own ritual circle laid into the floor had an outer ring of iron, but the greater workings of iron crafting were far beyond my basic abilities.

  I opened the draw safeguarding my iron implements. None were true artificery as they had no magic or design to them beyond the mundane. I’d crafted a pair of iron knuckles years ago while at Clair’s ranch and I tossed them into my backpack. The drawer also had an iron dagger and a bag of iron filings. It wasn’t much, but it did make me feel more prepared. I took them out and carefully placed them in my backpack to carry wherever I went. The knife had a fitted leather holster that I wound onto my belt. I wanted something readily available. I decided to put one of the iron knuckles into my back pocket as well, just in case. I could slip it onto my hand quickly if needed.

  I walked back to Fren’s grove and sat the bag on the floor beside the drop off into the glen itself. I’d take it up to my room in a moment.

  “Thanks Fren,” I said. “We should spar again sometime soon. I know you have a lot to teach me, and I haven’t taken full advantage of that.”

  “Are you sufficiently recovered?”

  “Now?” I said, before I could stop myself. “Yeah,” I groaned, not feeling like a practice session right now, but I knew Fren’s excuse would be that it would help me feel more confident and that I needed to be able to fight at any time or in any condition. My mind being all over the place and the fear I felt rising within would only be a bonus.

  “Prepare yourself, we practice now,” Fren said, his voice changing in modulation as his body altered before me. The lights flickered, then went out. His work, not mine. He had roots all over the breakers.

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