The blood of solomon, p.11
The Blood of Solomon, page 11
He sighed, tried to sit up, and failed. Alright, where had he ended up? Usually he cast the spell with a specific destination in mind, but this time he’d simply thought of the most distant, safe location the spell could reach. He was lying on grass and there were no buildings visible. That likely put him in some farmer’s pasture. He’d passed quite a few small farms on his way to Haakon’s cabin, so that made sense.
Closing his eyes, he focused on his link with Itsuko. It was still strong, good. Calling her to him was a risk assuming his enemies were still able to track her, but he was too weak to do anything else. Summoning the demon in his current condition was madness. He’d have no hope of focusing his will enough to compel its obedience even with the seal.
Itsuko.
No response. The link was still there, which meant she was alive. She must be far enough away that his psychic voice wasn’t reaching her.
He took a deep breath and steadied himself.
ITSUKO!
Where are you? What’s going on? I haven’t seen any sign of pursuit and I’m getting low on gas.
He’d reached her, thank heaven for that.
Calm down. I got the prison, but Haakon left me in rough shape. I need you to come pick me up. Follow the psychic link.
How? I don’t know anything about that magic stuff.
I’ll make the connection as strong as I can. If you concentrate, you’ll be able to tell where I am. Get here as quickly as you can. I’m sure the Kugo pair are looking for me as we speak.
I’m on my way.
Her thoughts didn’t indicate confidence. Well, confident or not, she was his only hope of getting out of here alive.
Cristo ran his thumb across the smooth bronze of the prison. He had to survive. Dying when he was so close to ultimate victory would be cruel beyond words.
And while he knew that cruelty was part of the universe’s very nature, he refused to believe all his years of effort would come to nothing.
Focusing beyond the pain, Cristo sent his will through the link to Itsuko. Encouragement mingled with desperation to hopefully spur her to haste. But not too much. Getting pulled over by a cop would be ruinous right now.
Time meant nothing to him as he focused every fiber of his being on his connection to Itsuko. It grew slowly closer, minute by agonizing minute until finally… “You look like hell.”
He opened his eyes and looked up at Itsuko. “I feel considerably worse than that. Did you have any trouble?”
“I passed a bunch of cops on my way. They were all parked by a cabin that looked like a bomb went off in front of it. I assume that’s where you had your fight.”
“A safe assumption. Help me up. We need to get out of here before our hunters arrive.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet before slinging his arm around her shoulders. Cristo leaned heavily on her and somehow shuffled his feet enough to make slow progress toward where he assumed the van waited.
“Just so you know, I’m down to about a gallon of gas, so we’re not getting far.”
“You just need to get me somewhere safe to rest, then you need to head out again.”
“I can’t leave you alone in this shape.”
“Assuming the Kugo brats still have a way to track you, staying with me will be the greater risk. Once I can use my magic again, I’ll open the prison and free the demon within. When I have control over it, the hunters will become the prey.”
Chapter Seventeen
While Natsumi was busy explaining to the many police officers that had arrived after a number of calls to emergency services, Daisuke went a little ways off and reported in. The boss hadn’t been thrilled with his news. Daisuke wasn’t thrilled with it either, but he’d done the best he could all things considered.
The only good news to come out of the whole mess was that Haakon was now off the board. The stick he broke probably held a stored teleportation spell. With any luck he was halfway around the world at whatever passed for the Blood of Solomon’s base. Maybe Daisuke would get lucky and Solomon the Great would finish what he started.
His lip curled in a humorless smile. And maybe pigs would fly. No one would be stupid enough to discard someone as powerful as Haakon lightly. No, he feared the giant Norseman would continue to be a problem for the foreseeable future.
But not here and not now.
He took the seeking rod out and turned a slow circle. It quickly lit up and got steadily brighter. Itsuko was headed this way, almost certainly to pick up Cristo.
Natsumi was still deep in conversation with a pair of cops. They didn’t have time to waste. “Ruq, you’re up.”
What do you wish me to do?
Take to the air. I’ll see if I can guide you to Itsuko. If you can at least see what kind of car she’s driving, it’ll make them easier to track.
On my way.
Ruq leapt into the sky, once more in raven form. With their minds linked, Daisuke could see through his familiar’s eyes and Ruq knew roughly which direction the seeker was pointing.
The line kept shifting and soon they were flying over small pastures that dotted the area. A few fat cows munched on grass, but no people were visible. The commotion probably convinced them to stay inside. Just as well as he doubted Itsuko would hesitate to kill anyone that caused her trouble.
A few seconds later he spotted a pair of figures struggling across one of the fields.
That’s them.
Ruq started circling the pair. Just off the field waited a tan van. Ruq’s powerful vision allowed him to make out the license plate. Daisuke made a note of it to tell the boss.
Itsuko loaded Cristo into the back of the van and took off. Ruq followed as long as he could, but eventually had to circle back. Their link extended only so far and he’d reached the edge of it, damn the luck.
At least they had a direction now.
Come on back. Looks like Natsumi’s about done with the cops.
Daisuke loosened his connection with Ruq and took a moment to get used to being totally in his own body again. The transition from flying to standing always left him dizzy for a second. A couple blinks got him straightened out and not a moment too soon.
Natsumi was headed his way.
“We good?” he asked.
“Yeah, I had to prove my credentials. For some reason this precinct didn’t have me in the database. They claimed technical issues. Anyway, where do we stand?”
He filled her in on what he’d learned. He pointed up the road. “They were headed that way in a tan van. I suggest we get after them. I’d like to finish this before Cristo recovers enough to free the demon.”
“I second that.” They climbed into her car and Natsumi took off up the road. “So what’s the worst-case scenario if Cristo frees this demon?”
Daisuke told her what the boss told him about the giant hurricane. “The problem, and I seriously doubt Cristo knows this, is that if he doesn’t know the demon’s true name, even having the seal won’t be enough to fully control it. He should be able to protect himself, but the demon is likely to go on a rampage.”
“Do you know his true name?”
“Yeah, the boss looked it up in the Book of Wisdom. He’s called Vorgon, an elder demon in service to Narukami Tempest. He was the most powerful of the nine he sent against Solomon the Wise.”
Daisuke checked the seeker. She was still somewhere ahead of them.
“If you can’t control the demon without knowing that, why would anyone bother trying to claim the prison?”
“The names are recorded in places beside the Book of Wisdom. Worshippers of Narukami Tempest could ask their master. There are a number of apocalyptic death cults that would be happy to set the demon free just to watch it destroy Japan. As far as Cristo is concerned, I suspect he’s just ignorant of all the necessary steps. Even in magic circles, that’s pretty esoteric knowledge.”
Itsuko made a sharp right ahead of them somewhere.
“Slow down and keep an eye out for anywhere she might have let Cristo off.” Daisuke got his phone out and called the boss. “Looks like they split up again.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not sure of anything, but if we chase her and they’re not together, we’ll be getting farther away all the time.”
“Alright, we’ll keep watch for the van and keep you posted.”
“Thanks, boss.” He disconnected.
Natsumi inched along until they reached a rough, rutted dirt driveway. It was long enough that he couldn’t see any building at the end. Seemed like a good place to hide out.
“Let’s check down there.”
She obliged him, turning up the driveway and easing through the ruts slowly enough that none of his organs shifted. It was reassuring to know that she could drive like a sane person when necessary.
The driveway ended in an open circle of dirt. A small house sat directly ahead of them and a much larger barn loomed to the right. The barn’s door was open. That didn’t prove anything, but it did make him curious.
“I’ll check the barn, you check the house. If you have any sort of official ID, this would be a good time to show it.”
“All I have is the car tag and my license. Don’t worry, everyone knows the Kugo name. That’ll be enough to get us any cooperation we need.”
Daisuke nodded and got out of the car. He hoped she was right. Not that he really expected any trouble out here. Guns were rare and wizards rarer. If he was being honest, neither posed much of a threat to him unless they were especially powerful.
Just to be safe he conjured an extra layer of magical protection.
What about me?
“Get up on the barn roof. I doubt Cristo is in any shape to run, but just to be safe I want you on lookout.”
He sensed his invisible familiar fly into position. Satisfied that he was as ready as he could be, Daisuke stepped into the barn. The stink of animals and manure assaulted his nose. And people wondered why he didn’t like country life.
Daisuke tiptoed down the central aisle, checking each stall as he went. Each one held hay and nothing else. He sensed no one hiding. A single life force would be easy to spot in the empty barn. It looked like his theory about the pair splitting up had been off the mark.
Outside the barn he took a deep breath of fresh air. No word from the boss yet. If Itsuko avoided the city, spotting her would be a lot harder. Ruq landed on the roof of the car and transformed from a raven to his favored rat form. Daisuke absently stroked Ruq’s head as he thought.
Itsuko couldn’t take him to a hospital, that would be a sure way of getting caught. The best modern medicine could do for Cristo in the short term was numb the pain and Daisuke seriously doubted that the warlock would want to risk losing control for any length of time.
He checked the tracker and found the glow alarmingly dim. Itsuko had put plenty of miles between her and them. All because of his wrong guess.
Daisuke wanted to blow something up, but lacked any suitable targets.
Natsumi finally emerged from the house and hurried to join him.
“I take it you found someone to talk to?”
“Yes. Even better, the farmer’s wife saw the van. It pulled in, sat in the driveway for a couple minutes, turned around, and pulled back out. No one got out. She assumed they were lost.” They got in the car and Natsumi asked, “What now?”
“We resume the chase. If they stopped here, Cristo must have intended to get out and hide. If he didn’t, something must have happened. Maybe we’ll get lucky and his injuries will finish him off.”
“If Cristo’s dead, can Itsuko open the prison?” Natsumi turned around and headed for the main road.
“Sure, all she needs to do is put the seal in place. But she has no magical ability and thus no hope of controlling Vorgon. She has to know that.”
“Why?”
He stared, uncertain what she was getting at. “What do you mean, why?”
“Why do you assume she would know that? If Cristo didn’t know you needed to know the demon’s name to fully control it, why would Itsuko know you need magic?”
“Shit! You might well be right. If she opens it, Vorgon is apt to go on a rampage. Even without his true name, Cristo would’ve been able to exert some influence over the demon.” He shook his head. “A completely unbound elder demon is pretty close to my worst nightmare.”
They’d barely gone five miles when Daisuke spotted a tan van on the side of the road. He had no time to say anything before Natsumi pulled off the road and parked behind it.
As soon as they got out she drew Flame Edge. Daisuke pointed at the driver’s side. She nodded and he moved around to the passenger side.
What he found was a body lying in the ditch. The guy was dressed in tan coveralls and had on heavy work boots. A farmer or mechanic most likely. Daisuke only needed a quick glance to tell that his life force was gone and from the look of his neck, Itsuko had broken it. Talk about bad luck.
“There’s no one here,” Natsumi said.
“No one living anyway. I’ve got a body over here. Could you give your new friends on the local police force a call?”
She came around, took one look at the dead man, and ran back out of sight. Daisuke patted the body down and soon came up with a wallet. His driver’s license was visible through a clear plastic window.
He pulled out his phone. “Boss, looks like they switched vehicles. Can you find out what kind of car Akira Soma drove?”
“Why don’t you just ask him?”
“Because someone broke his neck.”
“Ah. Hold on.”
The line went quiet and Daisuke tossed the dead man’s wallet back on his body. They needed to get this wrapped up soon. Hopefully before the body count got any higher.
Chapter Eighteen
Itsuko had driven cars, pickups, boats, and even a snow mobile once, but a tow truck was a first for her. Luckily it had all the modern conveniences like automatic transmission and power steering. She just ignored the quartet of hydraulic levers and treated it like a heavy-duty pickup. The most important thing about it at this point was the full tank of gas.
She made a hard right and ignored the honking of the sedan she cut off. No way was she going back into the city. There were too many cops. She’d stick to the back roads and hope Cristo woke up before the Kugos caught up to them.
She stole a quick glance at her master, or partner—Itsuko wasn’t exactly sure of the best way to describe their relationship. Cristo was certainly in charge, but he rarely compelled her to do anything through their link and when he did it was usually the right move. Even when she concentrated with all her might she barely felt his presence in the back of her mind.
For the first year of their partnership, she’d resented that constant presence. Now she found it comforting, a reminder that she wasn’t alone in the world. No matter what, Itsuko didn’t want to go back to being alone.
“Wake up, damn you! You’re tougher than this!” He didn’t even flinch when she shouted at him. Cristo always hated it when she yelled. “What should I do?”
He hadn’t seemed this bad when she first picked him up. Halfway up the driveway of that farm where he planned to hide, Cristo had blacked out completely and hadn’t woken up again. Maybe bouncing up that damn dirt track had jarred something inside him. She didn’t know and it was driving her nuts.
Her gaze shifted to the bulge in his pocket. She could always summon the demon and make him heal Cristo. That should be a cinch for something as powerful as a demon.
Itsuko latched onto the idea. If Cristo hadn’t come to in fifteen more minutes, she’d stop and free the demon. As long as she had the seal, He had to do what she said. Cristo told her the most important thing was to not show any fear and to stay focused on what you wanted the demon to do. The only reason he didn’t summon the creature himself was the concern that he’d be too weak in his current state to maintain control.
She might not be a wizard, but you’d never find anyone more determined to get what they wanted.
Daisuke and Natsumi were back on the road after leaving the dead man in the care of the local police force. The cops in this sleepy part of the country weren’t terribly pleased with all the chaos. One of them, a gentleman Daisuke guessed had to be at least sixty, informed him in a disbelieving tone that would’ve been amusing under different circumstances, that their precinct hadn’t had a murder in seventy years. Daisuke had been tempted to ask when they had their last wizards’ duel, but didn’t want to be unkind to the poor guy.
He checked his tracker, but judging from the dim glow, Itsuko had put quite a bit of distance between them. Daisuke felt everything spiraling out of control and he didn’t like it one bit.
His phone rang, dragging him out of his thoughts. “I could use some good news, boss.”
“I’m not sure how good it is, but your dead man was likely driving a tow truck.”
He stared at his phone. “She stole a tow truck? You’re kidding.”
Why that struck him as completely ludicrous he couldn’t have said, but it did. Things just kept getting weirder on this mission.
“That’s the good news. The bad news is that we haven’t been able to pick them up on any traffic cams. My best guess is that she’s avoiding the city.”
“That makes sense considering everyone’s looking for them. Thanks, boss.” He disconnected and turned to Natsumi. “You heard?”
“Yeah. Should be easy to spot them anyway. How many tow trucks could there be around here?”
Given his luck, there’d probably be a tow truck convention in the area.
“Assuming we survive, what are you going to do next?” she asked.
“I’m going to lock the prison up in our vault, then I’m going home for a few days, then I’m sure the boss will have another mission for me. That’s pretty much how my life works. Why?”
“Just curious. Think you’ll visit Japan again?”
“Not if I can avoid it.” She winced and he was surprised to find he felt bad about it. “I don’t have a ton of good memories here. Better for everyone if I keep my distance. But of course who knows. Some other idiot museum director might decide to put a dangerous artifact on display.”
