anyway."
"No, not really." She rummaged in her big
purse for a second and then looked back up at me. "Wait; when you
texted me this morning, you mentioned cheap lunch and something
about a local report you saw. What report?"
I waved it off. "Don't worry about it right
now, it's no big deal. Hey, just to be safe, maybe you shouldn't
take your normal route when you head home later. Circle a block
once in a while, and keep an eye on your mirrors. Come to think of
it, you should probably find another place to stay tonight. If I
hear back from our patron before you do, I'll give you a yell."
I followed Gwen out of the lot and for about
a mile after, making sure she didn't have a tail. On my way to a
hardware store for the demanded lumber, I took my own advice and
turned a twenty minute drive into forty. I took the same
precautions on the way home, taking side streets and watching every
car behind me. Paranoia sucks.
WALDO
Knowing I had to drive later that evening, I
didn't hit the booze too hard. I received Viggo's text just before
the nightly news. I was only given an address, and to check with
the guy at the gate. Okay, there was a gate - not much of a clue. I
quickly googled the address; it was an inner-city cemetery. I
wondered if Viggo was trying to be spooky on purpose, or if it was
a prerequisite for anything Deviants did.
I got to the address a short time later,
noting the rough neighborhood I was in. Elmwood Cemetery was
surrounded by a big cement wall on every side, so I couldn't get a
look at the place before I pulled up to the tall iron gates. The
guy who opened them for me was scruffy, middle-aged, and didn't
have much of a personality. He handed me a hand-drawn map of the
cemetery that only showed the narrow lanes that ran through the
place. An X was drawn in one area, with the word 'Waldo' written
next to it.
The lane that the X sat on had a string of
mausoleums built into the low knolls on either side. I hopped out
of the van and was about to turn my flashlight on when I heard
Viggo's voice call to me. The Waldo family mausoleum was built with
a tiny low-walled patio out front, big enough for stone benches to
sit on either side of its iron-barred door. My commander sat there,
waiting for me.
"Good evening, sir," I said quietly; it
didn't seem right to make much noise in the solemn setting. "I have
the lumber you asked for. Do you mind if I ask a few questions
while I'm here?"
"We do need to talk, Leo, but deliver the
wood first." He leaned over and pulled the mausoleum door open,
revealing its pitch black interior. "There is an empty crypt shelf
on the right. Stack it there."
When I finished unloading the hardwood cuts
of 2x4, Viggo invited me to sit on the bench across from him. "Let
us first be rid of your curiosities, and then we can discuss
further duties."
"Yes sir, thank you. Uh, the first thing on
my mind was . . . what the hell did Le Meur do to me? I mean, I was
just fixing a pipe and talking to that derelict, Audra, and out of
nowhere I had some crazy urge that pulled me toward the
Doyenne."
"That pull you felt was the product of a
higher ability within the Gift of Enchantment. Remember how we once
spoke of a range of abilities as a Gift increases in power? What
she used on you is most often referred to as Magnetism.
Practitioners commonly employ it to wordlessly summon a minion or
known human to their side. The Doyenne must have taxed herself to
have so strongly drawn you to her."
I nodded at the explanation and then asked,
"Was that Audra chick involved? It seemed kinda weird to run into
her down in a steam pipe under a college."
"So far as I know, she had no participation
in the events of that evening other than to alert me of your
suspicious behavior. As to why Audra snuck into the administration
building, I can only assume that she was scouting student files."
Even in the dark, Viggo must've seen the confusion on my face.
"Many of us are very thorough and demanding when seeking a
"No, not really." She rummaged in her big
purse for a second and then looked back up at me. "Wait; when you
texted me this morning, you mentioned cheap lunch and something
about a local report you saw. What report?"
I waved it off. "Don't worry about it right
now, it's no big deal. Hey, just to be safe, maybe you shouldn't
take your normal route when you head home later. Circle a block
once in a while, and keep an eye on your mirrors. Come to think of
it, you should probably find another place to stay tonight. If I
hear back from our patron before you do, I'll give you a yell."
I followed Gwen out of the lot and for about
a mile after, making sure she didn't have a tail. On my way to a
hardware store for the demanded lumber, I took my own advice and
turned a twenty minute drive into forty. I took the same
precautions on the way home, taking side streets and watching every
car behind me. Paranoia sucks.
WALDO
Knowing I had to drive later that evening, I
didn't hit the booze too hard. I received Viggo's text just before
the nightly news. I was only given an address, and to check with
the guy at the gate. Okay, there was a gate - not much of a clue. I
quickly googled the address; it was an inner-city cemetery. I
wondered if Viggo was trying to be spooky on purpose, or if it was
a prerequisite for anything Deviants did.
I got to the address a short time later,
noting the rough neighborhood I was in. Elmwood Cemetery was
surrounded by a big cement wall on every side, so I couldn't get a
look at the place before I pulled up to the tall iron gates. The
guy who opened them for me was scruffy, middle-aged, and didn't
have much of a personality. He handed me a hand-drawn map of the
cemetery that only showed the narrow lanes that ran through the
place. An X was drawn in one area, with the word 'Waldo' written
next to it.
The lane that the X sat on had a string of
mausoleums built into the low knolls on either side. I hopped out
of the van and was about to turn my flashlight on when I heard
Viggo's voice call to me. The Waldo family mausoleum was built with
a tiny low-walled patio out front, big enough for stone benches to
sit on either side of its iron-barred door. My commander sat there,
waiting for me.
"Good evening, sir," I said quietly; it
didn't seem right to make much noise in the solemn setting. "I have
the lumber you asked for. Do you mind if I ask a few questions
while I'm here?"
"We do need to talk, Leo, but deliver the
wood first." He leaned over and pulled the mausoleum door open,
revealing its pitch black interior. "There is an empty crypt shelf
on the right. Stack it there."
When I finished unloading the hardwood cuts
of 2x4, Viggo invited me to sit on the bench across from him. "Let
us first be rid of your curiosities, and then we can discuss
further duties."
"Yes sir, thank you. Uh, the first thing on
my mind was . . . what the hell did Le Meur do to me? I mean, I was
just fixing a pipe and talking to that derelict, Audra, and out of
nowhere I had some crazy urge that pulled me toward the
Doyenne."
"That pull you felt was the product of a
higher ability within the Gift of Enchantment. Remember how we once
spoke of a range of abilities as a Gift increases in power? What
she used on you is most often referred to as Magnetism.
Practitioners commonly employ it to wordlessly summon a minion or
known human to their side. The Doyenne must have taxed herself to
have so strongly drawn you to her."
I nodded at the explanation and then asked,
"Was that Audra chick involved? It seemed kinda weird to run into
her down in a steam pipe under a college."
"So far as I know, she had no participation
in the events of that evening other than to alert me of your
suspicious behavior. As to why Audra snuck into the administration
building, I can only assume that she was scouting student files."
Even in the dark, Viggo must've seen the confusion on my face.
"Many of us are very thorough and demanding when seeking a
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