Dark Angel, page 3
part #3 of The Lilith Chronicles Series
Cinna said, “Soul eater?”
She shook her head, “Nothing my memory free version didn’t figure out. All the usual stuff you know about, and the special stuff I can only do. I can feed from anyone I want to over the web. I’ve never done that though, not once, not even in battle. Volunteer only. I can also enhance my shifter speed. My strength and range for feeling and projecting emotions is larger, but for soul eater abilities that doesn’t matter so much as transmitting the right emotions to do the job. It’s also what makes me feel intentions and vibes off of the life-web, and able to find supernatural beings in my range whether I know them or not.”
Cinna nodded, “Any other discoveries?”
She shook her head again, “Nope. Of course, I’m a much more capable witch with my knowledge returned, but no, I figured out all the synergies between the powers without my memories.”
She moved over to the workout equipment to do a few circuits, it seemed like the sparring part was over for the day. She really hadn’t missed anything. There wasn’t much else, her expanded range on the life-web and in the real world with her aura was about five times a normal witch’s range, a little less than that for the unusually strong witches, maybe four times as powerful. But knowledge did make a huge difference, like her memory free self never even considered turning her body into a living Taser, which would’ve come in useful last night. No messy blood spray. It was also subtle, all the other deadlier forms were kind of out in this day and age, because they would serve to break to the secret.
For instance, shifters were responsible for the legends of gryphons, wyverns, and even dragons. Though, they didn’t breathe fire. That was probably some human’s literary conceit to make the legend more interesting. She remembered Jacob telling her about that, the forms weren’t used anymore, not since the middle ages, after the witch hunts and all that.
She also missed her sword, but then on balance, her enemies weren’t using swords either. They had guns now. It also made the secret even more important, the humans had guns too, it was an equalizer of sorts. She bet they’d make even better hunters now, but it was too risky to share the secret she thought. They’d kill all supernatural beings, not just the evil ones.
That would be horrible. On the other hand, the war would be over. Her and all her good and evil children would be erased from the world. Sure, there was a chance they could talk the humans into joining them against evil, she wasn’t that pessimistic to dismiss the idea altogether, but she’d hate to take the chance on the idea.
“I guess we’re stuck in the house again today?”
Allison nodded, “The news hasn’t shut up about it yet. It’s just a matter of time though, before some other scandal or horror enters the public eye. I think the fact the authorities haven’t been able to find us at all, is feeding the fire. Proof that there’s a conspiracy of sorts.”
Cinna laughed, “There is a conspiracy, we are hiding from them.”
Allison smiled shyly, “True.”
Cinna smirked, “Plus, I can go out if I want.”
Her, Meri, and Allison glared.
Not that she was wrong, her and Caroline weren’t caught on camera because they weren’t there when it all went down. Still, she was being an imp.
They bantered for a while longer, then she went to take her second shower of the day.
She was in a pair of light blue jeans and a clingy red shirt. She’d also slipped on a pair of silky black lingerie bra and panty set, just in case. It made her feel sexy, especially the idea that Jacob would be taking it off of her later.
They still needed to talk, they hadn’t discussed the room situation since her memories had flooded back. She wanted to move in his room, move her clothes and share a closet, shower, and bed. But she also wouldn’t hold him to that. She wasn’t too worried, he’d been amorous and quite insatiable with her earlier that morning, she just hoped that wouldn’t change as he got to know the real her.
Not that she was all that different, she felt the same, just bolder. Still, how others saw her was all perception and not reality, and to them she will have changed more than that. It’d also be hard for him to discern the changes in her from their changed relationship, or from her memories.
She joined Allison in the lounge, and she took a seat on one of the couches.
Allison tilted her head, “Is there anything I can really teach you anymore?”
Her redheaded friend seemed a bit depressed by that, as if that would somehow end their relationship or something. She was touched by the sentiment, as she felt exactly how much Allison had looked forward to their time together and their friendship.
She replied, “Maybe we can find things to teach each other. I did learn a few useful modern things, and there’s probably other stuff the witches have forgotten, like the aural whip. Or, we can just hang out. I’d miss our mornings if they ended.”
Allison blushed, “Me too.”
“How’s Carl?”
Allison smiled, “Good. We went on a walk yesterday, on the grounds, since we can’t go out yet. Well, he could, I’m kind of stuck with this face unlike the rest of you who shifted a bit. We’re taking it slow, but I’m already getting used to the idea. He’s… amazing really.”
She nodded, “But?”
Allison sighed, “I’ve always dreamed of teaching my son or daughter witchcraft. Like I said, I’m getting used to the idea. He’d be a great husband, and our kids would be amazing I’m sure, just not what I wanted, or thought I wanted? At least, that aspect of things. That’s the practical side, the rest of it is already covered, he’s just so damned attractive and sexy, and I melt when he looks at me once I got past the surprise of it all.”
She grinned, “I know what you mean.”
The rest she understood as well. The shifter genes and magic would take precedence no matter what race the second mate was, male or female. Even for her, as a part shifter, all her children with her mortal mates had been shifters and nothing else, no matter the father’s race. The only way for her to have a soul eater or witch child was through blood sharing. She’d tried, and she’d been a mate to a male of every race at one point or another in her life.
Allison asked, “Do you really think civilization is doomed?”
She shrugged, “Not humanity as a whole. But yes, countries, laws, it will all break one day. Then a new one will rise. It’s life, all things pass to make way for the new. Even without evil soul eaters, warlocks, or rogue witches and shifters it would happen. Humanity is both good and evil, and things are bound to shift. They always do. That said, our job is to save as many as we can, and to stay vigilant and fight to stave off that inevitability as long as possible. Who knows, I might even be wrong.”
Allison shook her head.
She explained, “It’s something I’ve had to accept. I can be killed, but I’ve lived from the beginning, and am immune to aging if not truly immortal. If I didn’t accept it, I’d have gone crazy a long time ago when the war’s fortunes shifted to Samael’s side time and time again as we fought back the tide.”
Allison nodded, “So, what’s the plan?”
“Want to go out?”
Allison peered at her.
She smiled, “Take a look at this.”
She exploded her aura out, and formed a hard sphere fifty feet out, then built a dynamic spell and released it.
Allison tilted her head, “You cut of the web… no. What’s that spell?”
She smirked, “Let it in.”
Allison gave her a look, and then her mouth dropped open.
She asked, “So, how do I look as a light blonde with blue eyes and pale skin?”
Allison replied, “Really good actually, but I like your chestnut hair and brown eyes better.”
She smiled, “Okay, so the sphere isn’t cutting off the web, not exactly. It’s the spell limiter. The spell can only see the nodes within the sphere, and then non-reactively gets sent down those lines. So I can still see the whole life-web. It’s obviously a mind spell, anyone that looks at me will see blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. They probably won’t even see the same exact shades, and more what they themselves would see as attractive that way. It’s more the concept of those three things, rather than all that specific. Their minds will fill in the details, which makes it far more effective.
“So using this spell you could disguise yourself as anyone, within the range of your aura of course. And, since your still connected to the web, you’ll be able to track for any possible dangers, such as witches you don’t know, long before they can get in range and take advantage of the fact your aura is expanded.”
Allison smiled, “That’s brilliant. And simple enough, I think.”
She winked, “And if you want, you can shield Carl from it only, so he sees the real you when you go out.”
Allison nodded absently, obviously she’d already thought that part of things through on her own.
“Why not just put the spell in your aura, then it will affect everyone in it.”
She nodded, “You could do that, but it would cost a lot more lifeforce to maintain. Web spells are always cheaper, and even that can add up if you’re walking through a large crowd. It’s unreactive too, which means you don’t have to keep feeding it power, one pulse per person. Almost like a post hypnotic suggestion, it will wear off in time, but not for several hours or even days for an especially dull human. The reactive part of the spell is within you, and all it really does is monitor for more life nodes entering your aura.”
She cancelled the reactive part of the spell, and then collapsed her aura.
Allison tilted her head, “I’ll buy that, it’s a little more complicated than it has to be, but to save energy it’s probably worth it.”
A moment later Allison’s aura expanded, and she felt a spell. She let it in the pipe and flavored it before letting it fully pass. Allison’s hair turned a wavy jet black, and her brown eyes changed to green. The witch’s skin turned a few shades darker, and her features changed slightly, and the freckles disappeared.
“Very well done. You look strange though. I can tell it’s still you, but only because of the vibes and emotions.”
It did look strange. She was used to Allison being a redheaded pale skinned beauty, with soft brown eyes, and a smattering of freckles which gave her an impish or mischievous cast.
Allison smirked, “Thanks for this, maybe I’m not stuck in the house after all.”
She nodded, “It won’t help with cameras of course, but without recognizing you no one should be taking pictures.”
Allison replied, “I can avoid the CCTV system. What made you think of it, the spell I mean.”
She looked up thoughtfully for a second.
“You know we weren’t hidden back then right, even after I was buried it was only the last eight hundred years or so that the supernatural races were in hiding. Well, I was kind of famous, or perhaps infamous might be a better word. Sometimes a girl just needs to go out and have fun, without being mobbed by judgmental men, or even fans.”
Allison nodded, and said, “I bet there’s a lot we could teach each other, but it will be interesting trying to find out where we don’t overlap, which is probably most of it.”
She agreed, but they’d have fun doing it.
She turned her head toward the front of the house, and then frowned.
“Two humans are coming down the driveway.”
They both cast spells at the same time, and then looked at each other ruefully and giggled.
They were FBI, responding to a tip line. Someone on the El last night had recognized them somehow, or they’d thought they had.
“Oh crap.”
Chapter Four
Jacob frowned at our report, “How they hell did they track us here though?”
Allison said, “The car. You parked right in front of a cam, they backtracked the image. On the good side, they don’t think you’re them.”
She nodded, “They checked the CCTV images after getting the tip, and they didn’t match. They’re only here because we show a family resemblance. I imagine they’ve been checking plenty of tips, all over the country. It’s just… coincidence.”
Jacob cleared his throat, “Seriously, a family resemblance?”
Allison shrugged, “Yes, and you walk like they… umm, you do, you know what I mean. Also, you aren’t in a database right now. I’m sure that made them curious.”
Meri snickered.
She said, “They’ll be ringing the doorbell any second, but even they think they’re wasting their time. I don’t think it’s a good idea to mess with their memories or send them on their way, who knows if someone will check up on their work, or maybe ask for a report or something.”
Meri said, “Obviously the rest of us should hide, just you and Lily should answer the door. Or it might get pretty obvious when everyone in the house looks like a brother or sister to those freaks down south.”
Jacob’s lips twitched, “Freaks?”
Allison said, “The problem is the house and car were found under a business name, it makes it easier when we have to switch identities and stuff. Right now, you and Lily have no identifications, and they’re sure to ask for it. I imagine the only reason they even followed up on this tip is because your faces aren’t in the federal or even state identification or driver’s license database.”
Meri added faux helpfully, “Like the freaks.”
Jacob grunted, that pretty well explained how they found them, and why they bothered to check.
“That’s not good, we won’t have ID for another few days. At least we don’t have to feel guilty about going out for dinner, they caught us during the hunt, which we’d have gone out for anyway.”
She smiled, “So what’s the story?
The doorbell rang.
Jacob frowned, “You could make them believe we showed them out of state IDs? Like from Washington or Oregon or something?”
Lily nodded, “I could, but if they run them when they get back to the office they won’t find them.”
Jacob grinned, “Yes they will, I’ll call in a rush job. The physical IDs take a few days, they can get us in the system very quickly.”
“Last names?”
Jacob said, “Williams, from Washington State, in Seattle.”
He rattled off another address, she guessed it must be another shifter house.
She tilted her head, and waited for a second last name, then smiled and blushed when she realized there wouldn’t be one. She felt rather pleased, as the two of them headed toward the front door.
He said, “Let me do the talking, unless you can pull of a northwestern accent.”
She shook her head and was fine with that.
They opened the door, there was a man and a woman outside in their thirties. The man was in his late thirties with a dark blue suit. He had graying light brown hair, and hazel eyes. He was just over six feet, and he had an open honest face she immediately distrusted. The woman was about her height at five foot seven, in her early thirties, and wore a professional light gray women’s pants suit. She had short light blonde hair just above her shoulders, and light brown eyes.
They both held up IDs showing their credentials.
Brett said, “We’re with the FBI, I’m special agent Brett James, and this is my partner agent Sara Wilson. We’d like to ask you a few questions?”
She was already in their heads snooping. They were both alert for trouble, but at the same time they thought this whole thing was a waste of time and resources. They were pretty sure that whole thing in San Antonio was a hoax anyway.
Jacob rumbled, “Questions about what?”
Brett and Sara exchanged a glance.
Sara said, “We can’t divulge anything about our investigation. Have either of you been in San Antonio recently?”
Jacob shook his head, “Never been there. Is this about that hoax?”
Brett’s eyes narrowed, “What do you know about that?”
Jacob’s eyes widened, “Just what’s on television, and my friends are all giving me shit about looking like one of those guys. Is that why you’re here?”
Sara asked, “What about you miss…”
She replied in a low shy tone, “Mrs. Lilith Williams. I don’t know anything about it.”
She was hardly shy, but it muddied the whole accent thing.
Brett and Sara exchanged another look.
Brett said, “One more thing, can we see your IDs?”
She hit them both with the spell she’d been holding. It was a little tricky, mostly because she had no idea what a Washington State license actually looked like. Their minds filled in most of the details.
The FBI agents’ eyes went a bit glassy for a second, then they blinked.
She felt a bit of relief, both their thoughts reflected they were wasting their time on this, they felt surer of that than ever.
Brett said, “Thank you for your time.”
Her and Jacob watched as they turned and walked toward their car, then he closed the door.
He blew out a breath.
“That went well. Sometimes I hate this day and age, it used to be so much easier to hide. Even just thirty years ago.”
He pulled out his cell phone, and he made a call to Montana to get the ball rolling on that. It was an extra step, they’d have to get Illinois IDs as soon as their Seattle IDs came in, but that would finish things up that way.
It wasn’t a long call, he hung up right after they sat down in the lounge.
Allison said, “Looks good.”
He grunted.
She added, “It helped that they both think it’s a load of bunk and a waste of time. There’s no such thing as the supernatural and all that.”
It also probably helped that they were shifters, and they could control their bodies thoroughly enough not to give out tells. She imagined FBI agents would be good at sensing bullshit.
He nodded, “We can hope that’s the end of it, but the story is still going strong, and it’s been almost three days. Will be later tonight.”
