Chapter 50 — Boys

  “Drop off?” I asked the brothers, Seth looked a little anxious, clearly having revealed something he wasn’t supposed to.

  “Certain support seekers,” James said. “Watch for missing persons, strange sightings, and monitor murder statistics. Idaho in general has had a drop off the past few years. That groups existence is supposed to be very secret information.” He said, eyes drilling his brother rather than me for once. “Treat it as such, Cal.”

  I nodded, smiling smugly. I hadn’t had a way to quantify my results, and it was nice to see that somewhere in the world the difference I had made had been noticed.

  “We thought an apex predator had moved in which drove others out as it established dominance,” Seth said. “Or perhaps a group funneling victims from other areas here to feed on while keeping their whereabouts undetected like larger vampire covens sometimes do. When these murders and missing persons started, we knew something had changed.”

  I measured their words. I’d never thought about vampires hiding their whereabouts that way, but it made sense. For all I knew there were none in Boise, and I’d done some checking. It also pissed me off to hear all the things the Grim Brotherhood was doing that the Tribunal simply ignored. How many magically talented or gifted people were abandoned by the Tribunal simply because they weren’t strong enough? They’d nearly abandoned me, even with my powers, because my past was unknown.

  “It’s still weird that the creature has been near you twice,” James said, voice accusatory. “Would make sense if you had a connection to it somehow?”

  “It’s hunting me,” I said to stave off any of his thoughts about me summoning it. “I’m not sure why, but I felt it last night—with my extra senses.” I finished for their benefit. “Look. I’m glad there are people like you out there, but I’m not sure I can trust you to help me. I’ve heard seekers typically try to kill people like me out of hand.” I put a heavy emphasis on the word ‘try’.

  “Old records do classify many wizards as evil,” Seth said. “But that was centuries ago.”

  “Many of those same wizards are still alive today.”

  The brothers both stared blankly, considering what I’d just told them about wizard longevity and our community as a whole. They might have known, but based on their expressions, perhaps not.

  “But it is harder for a corrupt one to amass power before they are noticed,” Seth said. “The worlds changed. Word spreads, things like that don’t get missed as easily.”

  With that, I had to agree. Even Clair had said the ‘darker’ side of magic had been diminishing overall and wizards hadn’t been called together to fight a large scale threat in some time. Hell, I had only attended two Tribunal meetings, one as an apprentice, the second soon after my testing. It had been a waste, the older more powerful wizards brandying about their strength while doing nothing to help the world. The few complaints raised by younger wizards were all squashed down as unimportant. It was all the worst parts of human politics but played out on a much smaller scale. Wizards from around the world gathered into a small body, the hierarchy based on age or power.

  “I can tell you the creature is from the fae.”

  “From the fae?” James and Seth both whispered.

  “What, you know about all these things, but not the fae? Like the literal place most monsters come from?”

  Seth took out a notepad and began to write.

  I rubbed the bridge of my nose.

  “Where is this fae?” James asked.

  I groaned. “Look, the fae is a connected realm. It’s not a higher or lower kingdom like Heaven or Hell, but more of an adjacent realm to earth. We’re similar enough there are connections between our world and it and some of the nasty creatures sneak over.”

  Seth hastily scribbled away.

  “Really, you guys don’t know about the fae?”

  “Most wizards, or other entities we come across are less than hospitable. Those we don’t fight, don’t generally give us information for free,” James said. “It’s also hard to trust any information unless it has been verified a few times.”

  “Well, not that you deserve it after freaking my business partner out, but maybe it will help you connect some dots in the secret underground trove of information you have.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Think of it, we do the same things, we want the same things, we should be helping each other—” Seth said but I interrupted him.

  “—But we go about them totally different ways. Plus, you guys have been dicks. I mean, you were intimidating my employee and friend for information about me. You’re lucky my shop doesn’t have an alarm to call the police.”

  “We checked for that this morning before coming in,” Seth said. “Seeing how little tech your store has was actually one of the reasons we suspected what you are. One of the signs of an aberrant mage, or wielder, is they avoid electronics or destroy the ones around them. The lack of electronics in the shop raised our suspicions.”

  “I mean it is the twenty-first century,” James said offhandedly as he looked around the shop. The old brass cash register, the coffee machine that looked like reinforced military equipment.

  The lights were all still out and with the setting sun outside the illumination was beginning to wane, shadows stretching over the shop.

  “But that’s a way we can help each other,” Seth exclaimed, as he shook his notebook in one hand, unaware of the pages flipping out. “We can find the creatures using our network, you can help us know how to defeat them safely.”

  “I work with some of the things you would try to kill,” I said, folding my own arms to mimic James’s typical posture. “Not everything supernatural or different needs to die.”

  “We’ve met some,” James said. “An honest to god dwarf who somehow bagged a babe in Nebraska.”

  “—And a few people with talents,” Seth eagerly interjected. “The good kind. One had premonitions, another with dreams that came true.”

  That was interesting. Reading the future, prophesying, and premonitions were rare talents. Helpful, especially if they were strong enough to stand out enough that seekers had found them. They were also abilities that didn’t require much magical ability or training. They could also really mess up someone’s life.

  “Did you connect them with the Tribunal?”

  “No. They asked us not to,” Seth said.

  James eagerly continued, “Yeah, they both wanted to lay low. Your organization has a history as well. Hunting those with the talent, forcing obedience in those with useful gifts while treating them like second class citizens. They are also known for killing those with the wrong gifts, even if individuals with them can’t use them or swear they won’t.”

  That I hadn’t heard, but I was young and had few interactions with the Tribunal. Still, from what I had seen, I wouldn’t put it past those in charge.

  “Fair,” I said. “Honestly, I don’t know a lot about the Tribunal’s more recent history. Namely because those who directed it the past few hundred years are still there, so no one really talks about mistakes if they want a place at the table.”

  “Sounds like a great organization,” James sneered.

  “Yours too,” I said. “Nothing like break-ins and intimidating women trapped alone with you to make a glowing recommendation for your Grimm Brotherhood.”

  “That wasn’t our best moment,” Seth agreed. “And we mostly refer to ourselves as seekers, or Grimm Seekers.”

  “I told you what the creature is, and we clearly won’t trust each other. Why are you still here?”

  “You are going to help us,” Seth said.

  “Wrong.” I said like a gameshow host while rubbing my hands together, “You’re going to leave so I can get to work and figure this out. This chat has been fun, but it’s not helping us catch the creature. If you do happen to find it, use what you know. It’s a fae creature—meaning iron can hurt it.” I said before the two could get up in arms. “But it has to be the real stuff. No alloys or steel or anything else. It has to be something like Cast iron or pure wrought iron.”

  We stood in silence for a moment, the brothers studying my sincerity.

  “What did you expect me to be? Evil and you took me out, or I’m a good guy, we hop in your car and head out into the forest to find this thing tonight?” I was starting to get annoyed they weren’t moving and Iwas getting ready to kick them out—if I had to. Then it dawned on me. “Wait, that was your plan!” I laughed, like full on gut laughed. “You wanted to take charge, be in control, and your plan was to drive around until we find the creature and kill it.”

  James clenched his fists and looked like he’d bite a brick if he thought it would hurt me. Seth looked sheepish. He was the smarter of the two and grabbed his brother. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Despite my annoyance, and the time we’d wasted. I felt good about the meeting. I probably didn’t need to worry about seekers taking a rifle shot at me somewhere in town or while I was out hiking. Not if this was the forethought they put into planning.

  The brothers slowly ambled towards the door. Seth not looking my way while James glared over a shoulder the entire length of the store. His lips moving as if he was trying to think of the right thing to say.

  “And boys,” I said like a disapproving parent, despite being roughly my same age. “Stay away from my people. You need something, you have questions, come to me. Or else.”

  I didn’t get a response, but they knew from my voice I was dead serious. And I meant it, if I saw them harassing Kate, or following Lana, I’d break their legs and that would be just the start of it.

  It made me think of the ring I had downstairs and was brainstorming ideas for. Maybe I could make it into an enhancement ring, I knew a few spells I could use to increase my strength or defense for a short time. Actually… considering the power loss of my shield spell, a ring of defense enchantment that made my skin as strong as stone might be a better option. I could save power and use it longer. The spells I knew were too complex to use on the fly, but in an item... It would take a few weeks, maybe a month or two to develop a spell framework which might work. I’d only get one chance with this ring, but with Fren’s help I could probably manage to craft the spell. Then I could make a prototype. Besides my glasses it would be my first crafted item in some time. I needed to develop a new staff or wand… but to do so I would need very specialized wood. Tied to all the elements, or from the fae itself and imbued with power.

  I focused back on the brothers; they huddled up next to the door and I realized it was still locked. I strode forward and unlocked it, ushering them out. I started to feel a little bad, but they hadn’t even known what a fae being was. They had some knowledge, possibly even a liaison within the Tribunal, but they had gaping holes in their information and right now there wasn’t time for me to fill them in. “I am glad we got to know each other a little better. If I need you, I’ll let you know.” They walked out without another word.