Chapter 18 Vada #2
I was still too antsy to sit down, so I walked around the vast expanse of the conference room, laughing about how many gods damned meetings we had just to keep this dream running.
Stopping in front of the Marung statue again, I took in its immaculate details.
The statue’s wooden sections were made up of intricately carved snakes, almost like Medusa on steroids.
Snake heads were interwoven through the hair, on its shoulders, and its fingers were snakes.
It stood on snakelike legs, though the legs, along with the torso and head that were humanoid, were made of white marble.
It was fascinating. The artist who created this was wildly talented.
I turned to ask Adaela who’d created this masterpiece, but they were still finishing up their conversation.
My phone buzzed with an incoming text, just a meme from Amayah, and I busied myself by doom scrolling while trying to give them the space to finish before I spoke.
While I could hear their conversation, it was a courtesy to pretend as if I couldn’t.
The sound of a chair rolling back from the table caught my attention, distracting me from my phone. Adaela glanced at the Marung before she’d focused her gaze back on me. “What are your plans this afternoon? Did you know you have blood on your collar?” she asked, checking me over for injury.
“It’s not mine, no worries. Had to take care of some demon shit.
Pan did a number with that faction. They need some help remembering who they are and what this community is about,” I replied.
I pulled her into my arms. I couldn’t help myself, but she smiled as she buried her head into my chest. I wasn’t a touchy-feely person, and I got the sense that Adaela wasn’t either. The comfort was nice, though.
“Before we head out, I need to talk with you and Medb about something,” Adaela began as Medb started to stand up. She sat back down with a lift to her brow, and I reluctantly let her go.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I’m sure you were made aware that I have some objects in my possession that the Pax leadership have knowledge of,” she said, and both Medb and I nodded.
Adaela took a breath before naming Pandora’s Box. I hadn’t realized it was anything more than an allegory. Medb either, by the look on her face.
“How’d you come to be in possession of it? I thought I’d heard that it was in Tartarus,” Medb said, confirming that she did know of its existence.
“I’m honestly unsure what Cronus’s intentions were behind giving me the Box.
At the time, I was still very young, and I’d guessed he suspected that my father was searching for it.
I’d already sworn to keep the sword away from King Cernunnos, so it only made sense that he’d give me another worlds-ending object to protect from my father.
Now that I’m older, I’m not sure that was the case,” Adaela said, and I could see that she’d been questioning this for quite some time.
I gestured both Medb and Adaela out of the conference room, “Why didn’t you say anything before now?”
“I’m guessing she likely couldn’t for whatever reason,” Medb said gently.
Adaela nodded. “I’ve been so used to doing everything by myself, and the thought of anyone knowing outside of my ex wasn’t something I thought I could ever trust anyone with again.”
That made sense. Adaela had largely been alone her entire life.
Trauma didn’t just go away, and if left alone, it festered.
I could only imagine just how much she’d been keeping to herself over the years.
It was a lonely place to be, even if she’d believed she was solely responsible for it.
I had gotten to know her friends over the last month or so, and they’d have been there for her.
We walked out into the sunlight, confirming with security before we’d walked out of the building that there weren’t any Vampires or other creatures who were allergic to the sun within the doorway.
From what I understood, they didn’t spend much time near the doors during the day if they could help it.
The younger ones remained dead during the day anyway, but with proximity to the first Vampire, Bram, I was sure they’d likely had their own schedules based solely on his powers. Vamps were scary.
We’d decided to make our way the opposite direction of the Pax, toward Washington Avenue for lunch.
There was a new restaurant that Medb wanted to check out.
They both pointed out various buildings as we walked about eight blocks, telling me of their history before the Pax and what they were used for now.
Many of the buildings had been modernized and renovated over the last sixty years or so, mostly by magic users who had a love of older architecture.
We were turning a corner when we heard someone scream.
The fact that we could hear it over the bustle of cars and city life was a testament to just how loud they’d have to scream to be heard.
Adaela’s shadows shot out lightning-quick, turning the corner before any of us could begin running.
We sprinted, watching as a human woman was dragged through a portal.
The being dragging her through wasn’t fast enough to outrun Adaela’s shadows.
They wrapped around the attacker’s head, and they stumbled before pushing the woman through the portal.
Before I could even try to submit the being into the dream realm, Adaela’s shadows had put them out. We arrived seconds later, the portal closing before we could get to the woman.
“Fuck,” I shouted, pulling at my hair. I grabbed my phone and texted headquarters, asking them for assistance and to figure out who else had been taken or killed. I was more determined than ever to figure out who the fuck this was behind it.
Adaela’s shadows receded, and Medb turned the culprit over, cursing under her breath. She had worry etched across her face as she addressed Adaela. “It’s who we were searching for. This is Borom.”
“Who’s Borom?” I asked.
“Borom here is one of the shit stains who knows something about the two guys I murdered in that alley, aren’t you, Borom?” Adaela gritted through her teeth.
Borom spat near Adaela’s feet, and she moved before it could land on her shoes, kicking him in the face and knocking his ass out. She smiled maliciously, turning to the Pax members pushing through the crowd toward us.
“I need a portal user to see if you can glean anything from this area. The portal closed before we could get to the woman. I want to know if any signatures can be traced here, and who the fuck is behind this,” Adaela said to the guard who’d gotten to us first. She nodded, shooting off a text.
“And you—” She pointed to the next person, who immediately straightened their posture “—I need you to take this shit stain somewhere. He’s to be fed and allowed quarters, but he needs to have eyes on him at all times. I’m not sure if he was the portal user, or if he’s just an accomplice.”
“Do you want him awake?” I asked before they could haul him away. “I can put him in a dream for a while, if you’d like.”
“Can you dig into his psyche?” Medb asked, her lips pursing briefly before she got control of her emotions. “I’m unsure how far your powers reach.”
I nodded. It was easy to get past his defenses, since he was already out.
I dug in, creeping past the corridors in his mind that had no relevance, noticing that he’d been from the Pax at one point, but that his family had moved to the Shifter realm after his father had begun running from the law for nefarious reasons when Borom was a child.
He’d been caught up in family business until he’d met a Shifter woman.
They’d fallen madly in love, mates more than likely, and she had been turning his life around.
His past had caught up with him, as it usually did when you lived this type of life.
He’d been contacted by someone who I couldn’t glean from his psyche.
His contact, however, was a woman named Daji.
She was a Huli Jing, or a fox spirit. She was a trickster by nature, but it seemed like she was part of something bigger, and we needed to figure out what that was.
I trapped Borom in a dream, hoping to keep him peaceful until we had time to get back to him. “He knows something,” I told Adaela. “I’m not sure exactly what yet, but we need someone to find Daji. She’s in the Shifter Realm, and considered one of its Goddesses.”
Adaela gave the guard directions about what to do with Borom, and I saw that we’d attracted a small crowd of witnesses.
Great, just what we needed. The bystanders were actively avoiding the Shifters in the crowd.
Faces were plastered with wariness and disdain.
That was the last thing we wanted, and I was determined to get to the bottom of this before it tore the Pax apart.