eldritch files 07 - elemental blood (12 page)

"I know." Levi's voice was soft, with just a hint of Ashur's deeper tone. "We've been working. How's Sam?"

He knew Levi's comment wasn't meant as a jab. As a Vampire, Levi often preferred to do a lot of their footwork at night. The darkness gave him strength and power the sun took away, and it also allowed him the opportunity to feed. Levi was just stating a fact. "I'm not sure. She let it go yesterday. And all last night. I just—" He looked back at the bedroom. "I just don't know if she let it
all
go."

"She won't. She lost her mother, Crwys. I know it's been a long time for both of us—the loss of our parents—but I do remember pain."

"So do I." And it was the truth. Like Vampires, or Revenants, Dragons remembered everything. Sometimes the memories didn't come to the surface when bidden, but given time, they swelled to the top like a bubble of air struggling to reach the top of the ocean. And when they did… Crwys shivered as his skin prickled with goose bumps. The balcony door was open. Had he forgotten to close it? "I'll meet you there."

Crwys hung up, set the phone on the coffee table, and closed the balcony door before he went back to the bedroom.

She lay on her left side, facing him, half curled into a ball with her head bowed. Her soft, full lips were parted in slumber. He smoothed her hair back before he lovingly traced the dip of her shoulder. She was perfect, in every way. And he loved her unconditionally. Crwys sensed a sad weight pressing down on her as she carried the responsibility of so many things.

He already knew, just by being with her, that she and Bastien had been no more than friends during their trip. If there was one thing he respected about the pack Alpha, it was his sense of chivalry. Crwys just wished the bastard would bond with someone besides his fiancée.

Fiancée.

He touched the ring he wore around his neck, then unfastened the chain. His feelings for Sam hadn't changed. And he'd hidden them well during her absence. Though, if the walls of Ina’s home could talk, they would tell a tale of a grieving beast, he was sure. Sam had to make the decision if she still wanted to marry him. He knew her disappearance had nothing to do with him, or their love for one another, but it was Sam's inherent need to serve justice. And Elizabeth Hawthorne would have justice. Lethe would die.

Crwys would see to that.

After setting the ring and chain on the nightstand, he took a quick shower, pressed a kiss to Sam's cheek, and left her a note beside the ring.

He didn't expect to see Tas standing by his Mustang behind the shop. "What're you doing here?"

She was dressed in jeans, boots, and a dark blue hoodie. Her skin glowed an odd gold under the moonlight. "I'm your partner too, remember? Levi called."

"And you decided to show up at my car?" He unlocked the Mustang, and the two of them got in.

Tas buckled in. "I wanted to know how Sam was doing."

"Rough." He started the car. "But she's strong. Resilient. Hell, I've seen her get through things that I might have run from."

"She's an amazing Witch."

He glanced at Tas. "And woman as well." He pulled onto Bourbon Street and headed to the coroner's office. "So…since we know Sam's a Witch, care to finally confess to your own part in all this?"

"My part?"

"What you are?"

She laughed. "What I am?"

"Yeah, because I don't know that many humans that know about Witches and Revenants, or even Wolves, the way you do. You’ve heard us talking, seen Levi's Demon on occasion, watched a whole group of bikers turn into Wolves, and you never bat an eye. Witch? Sorceress?"

"Detective Holliard"—she turned an amused expression to him—"you, of all creatures, should know there are knowledgeable humans in this world. They don't have to be magic or supernatural."

"You're right. But it helps. Being different."

"I'm different. I just don't care to be that open about it."

He gave her a sharp glance. "Okay. I'll leave it at that." He was serious with himself. It was a lie. As a detective, he’d already started digging into her background, and if she wouldn’t confide in him, he’d learn it on his own.

Speaking of the strange and unusual, Max Canon greeted them at the door and unlocked it. "Detective Tulose is already here." He walked them to the examination room.

Crwys got a creepy feeling as he walked in and took note of all the half-stone bodies. He didn't see the mass sculpture from the park and hoped it was still there. The thought of them taking it apart—literally dismembering twenty bodies—did not sit well with him. He nodded to Levi, who looked well rested and well fed. "So, what's up?"

Max stood in front of an examination table covered with an off-white sheet. "I have good news and bad news."

"Bad news first."

"The CDC has come and gone, and they confidently assured us there is no pathogen. No airborne disease or bacteria that caused the partial transformations of these people."

Levi sniffed. "How is that bad news? That means it can't be spread by contact."

"Yes, but it also makes trying to find out how and why this happened even harder."

Crwys spoke up, "So you still don't know."

Max held up a finger. "Not necessarily." He turned to a large flat screen suspended from a ceiling mount and picked up a remote. The screen came to life with shots of the transformed bodies. "I found anomalies in all of the victims, including the tragedy in the park. There is something in their blood that shouldn't be there."

"I thought the CDC didn't find anything," Tas said.

"The CDC has a specific regimented guideline to go by. I don't." He smiled. "I know when to look for things beyond the human spectrum and into the ‘Oh Jesus’ compartment after having worked with you three," He pointed at Crwys and Levi, “You two in particular.” Max pointed at the screen and the images became something weird and scientific. Not anything that made sense to Crwys. "Have any of you touched the stone?"

The three detectives looked at one another. "No," Tas said.

Max pulled back the sheet to reveal a collection of body-part-shaped stones. A few of the pieces, obvious feet and legs, were truncated where they'd been connected to living tissue. The difference in the whitish stone and the red muscle was like a roadside tragedy. Crwys couldn't stop staring at it.

Max used his gloved finger to point to the lower part of a woman's leg. It ended above the knee. "If you'll notice, this place where I removed it from the body? I didn't use any instruments, I just pulled on it and it came off." He pressed down on the stone flesh just behind the more fresh-and-bloody muscle and bone. "The stone here is hard and heavy. Go ahead, pick it up."

No one moved at first, then Levi stepped forward, slipped on a pair of gloves, and picked up the leg. "It's heavy," Levi said and put it back down.

"Yes. Because it's still connected to living tissue. I sliced off a cross section of this area here, where the stone and flesh are connected, and took a closer look at it."

"And?" Crwys prompted.

"Whatever this stuff is I found in the blood, it's still working on that flesh." He pointed to the muscle. "At the rate of consumption, I calculate it'll turn the rest of this flesh into stone in under a day."

Crwys stepped forward. "You mean…it's still changing it?"

"Yeah. Beyond death. It's transmuting the necrotic tissue into stone. And"—he pointed to a fully turned hand to the right—"pick that one up."

This time Crwys did, without a glove, and nearly tossed the hand in the air. He'd expected it to be heavy, to have some weight to it like stone or concrete did. But this… He examined it closer under the overhead examination light. When he pressed on it, his finger poked through. The action startled him, Tas, and Levi. Tas made a small noise as Max rescued the now dented hand from Crwys. "What the hell?"

"Once the process is complete and there's no new tissue to transmute, this anomaly starts decaying. It basically turns the stone to something resembling pumice." He crushed the hand in his own, sending bit and pieces of it to the floor along with dust.

Crwys stared at the crumbled remains in Max's hand. "And this isn't something that will spread. You're sure?"

"I'm sure that me touching it, or your bare hand, won't spread it."

Tas stepped forward. "Because this is something in the blood. Will it spread if blood tainted with this thing is introduced into fresh blood?”

"Theoretically. But I haven’t been able to test it since every time I try to isolate this thing, it evaporates. My hypothesis is…it’s a one shot deal." He pointed to the screen. "I'm calling this an anomaly because I'm not sure where it fits. Most blood diseases like Leukemia or sickle cell are easily identified. But not this. I've never seen it before."

"But it was in every one of the victims."

"The ones who still had blood to pull from." Max dusted his hand off over a nearby waste can with a biohazard lid. "Even though I couldn’t separate it from corrupted blood, I’m pretty sure whatever this is had to be introduced into their bodies.”

Levi said, "You mean like a needle?"

"Possibly, but I haven't come across that sort of wound yet. I did find this, however." He walked them to a table in the back and pulled part of the sheet back.

Crwys winced when he recognized the first victim. Stone from her thighs down…no wait. He pulled the sheet back more. "The stone's at her waist now. It was at her thighs."

"Like I said, it continues to transmute after death." Max moved the girl's hair and pointed to the neck. "You see this?"

Everyone leaned in to see a single puncture wound, just to the back of the neck.

"That is not a Vampire bite," Levi said.

"I know," Max said. "The Revenants are also much better at hiding their feeds. When I tested the area, the results came back heavy with this anomaly. Whatever it is, it was introduced to this host there. If the others have similar marks, I haven't found them or they were destroyed by the transmutation."

"You said host." Tas cleared her throat.

"In my opinion, these bodies are its host for food. Until it starts consuming itself, which is why it becomes ash." He looked at each of them. "You need to find out who's doing this. That mass monstrosity is the work of a sick mind."

Crwys had to agree with him. "So for now…you can’t say if this is man-made or…”

“Magic made?” Max gave him a half smirk. “Honestly, Crwys…I’m at a loss.”

“Thanks, Max."

On the way out of the office, Tas spoke up, "This is and it isn't magic."

"I agree," Crwys said as the they stepped outside. It was four in the morning and the sun would be rising in a few hours. "Whatever this anomaly is, it's magic. But the way it's being applied isn't."

"At least we know it's not a Quest." Levi slipped on his shades.

"But it's being made to look like one." Crwys rubbed his chin.

"So…" Tas stepped out in front of them to the sidewalk. "We're still not sure on the who and why."

"Have you not been paying attention?" Crwys said and hated that he sounded so harsh. "Yolyn's the one starting this. You heard Brahms. He and the King were attacked by Yolyn's forces. But they failed when Brahms sent Satar through a gate. Arden finds him and heals him. No dead king, no Quest. But the King doesn't return, either because he doesn't want to or because he's locked in the invisible basement that doesn't really exist. Someone starts making stone bodies. No king. So it looks like the Quest is activated."

"Yeah, but"—Levi held out his hand—"the purpose of the Quest is to choose the new king. But he's not dead. So no legitimate Quest. The Quest can't be fulfilled. Even if they had a Dragon's heart—the magic wouldn't work because the prerequisite isn’t met. Or that’s how I see it.”

"The only think I can come up with is…" Crwys put his hands on his hips. "Someone is trying to fake it. Hear me out. Let's say Yolyn and wants to take over so she attacks the King. Only she fails and he escapes, but she's already faked the start of a Quest. She learns the King's not dead, so now she's scrambling to find him before someone discovers the Quest is a lie and innocent people have died.”

"So why is she scrambling? I mean, if she can fake a Quest, maybe she can fake winning it? Or are there judges to this thing?"

"I think the Purs are the judges, since they created it. So…" Something felt into place. "Levi…Sam and them said the Purs that attacked accused them of attacking the blood. What if this blood is the King?"

Levi arched a brow. "That would mean the Purs know the King was attacked. But…does that mean they were blaming Sam and Bastien? That's why the forest came to life? To seek revenge?"

Crwys pointed at Levi, paused and then lowered his hand. "I don't know. Unless they tracked down where the King arrived since the Cairn is nearby." He ran through all the ideas in his head and one continued to pop up. "I still think Lethe's somehow involved in this. The whole bodies into stone thing…"

“You thinking she's here?” Levi asked.

Crwys looked at the dark sky. "More than ever. Elizabeth shot Lethe with an arrow that nearly turned her into stone. The similarity isn’t a coincidence.”

“So how is Lethe doing it? The injection marks Max found?”

Tas spoke up, “I would be more concerned with what the Risi believe. If they truly believe there is a Quest, and they discover your true nature…” She let the sentence end with a look at Cryws.

"Well, but how would they even know that’s what he is? Dragons have been off the radar for centuries." Levi arched a brow over his shades.

Crwys turned when he heard the roar of a motorcycle. No, make that lots of motorcycles. All three of the detectives turned and watched as two dozen or so motorcycles of every make and model rolled down Royal Street and swarmed in front of them. "Aces."

Tas moved in close to flank Crwys. “These aren’t Aces. This is a different pack.”

A tall and stout rider got off his bike and approached them. Crwys didn't know him.

"You Crwys Holliard?" the man asked as he stood on the lowest step below them.

"I am." Crwys stepped forward. "What do you want?"