Portals (4 page)

“Are these other races a threat to Earth? Will they bring their battles here?”

Thulu shook his head. “I can't know for sure, but there's no reason to think they would. The elves keep things pretty calm between the Light Ones and the other magical races. In fact, the elves are helping the Light Ones get back on track health-wise. The whole race has basically evolved into drug-addicts, with energy as the drug. The elves are working to reverse that.”

“So, the elves are the good guys?”

We both nodded emphatically.

“What about the other races?”

“Look, as long as the elves are involved, I don't think we have anything to worry about. They are very respected by all the other races. But you have to understand that our involvement is limited. We can't guarantee anything, if that's what you're looking for. But I'd be very shocked if the elves are anything other than what they seem.” Thulu's voice was firm and calm.

Brown reviewed his notes and put his phone away.

“By the way, how did your client expect you to find these relics?”

The silence in that room could be cut with a knife as Brown looked Thulu in the eye.

“We're detectives. That's what we do.” Thulu’s answer was slow and steady.

He looked at me. “But you're psychic.”

I was shocked into laughing. “Who, me?”

Thulu dimpled at me and shook his head at Brown.

“Trust me, she isn't psychic.”

Brown frowned at us, before he turned to Lassiter. Lassiter put his hands up.

“I never said she was psychic. You said that.”

Brown turned to Thulu. “Your wife doesn't tell you how to help the police?”

“No. No how, no way would she do that, even if she could.” There was no doubting Thulu’s sincerity on that point.

“Then how the hell did you find that missing kid last year? And all those others? Detective Lassiter here is good, but his solve rate is incredibly high. I think he’s getting help from a genuine psychic. And don’t psychics tune in to find people?”

Thulu shrugged. “I'm sure some of them do.”

“Then what do you do?”

“We're detectives. We detect.”

I beamed at my wonderful husband. Maybe I’d keep him after all.

Brown blew out an exasperated sigh. “You aren't going to tell me, are you?” He looked at me. “I know you knew your parents were dead. I know there's a lot more that you're not telling me.”

We both just watched him, silently.

“I guess if I was in your place, I wouldn't tell me, either.” He sighed heavily. His disappointment was clear, but he was right. I wasn't going to confirm anything to any official agency. Neither would Thulu. Brown turned to Lassiter.

“Okay, I guess we’re done.”

As the two men thanked us and headed to the front door, I realized something else. Lassiter knew what Thulu could do and had kept his secret. That earned him a warm smile from me once Brown's back was turned. He gave me a little two-fingered salute.

“I'll be out in a moment, Agent Brown,” said Lassiter.

Brown looked around at the three of us a bit forlornly and nodded, as he took his coat off the coatrack.

With the door shut firmly behind Brown, Lassiter turned to Thulu, “I've kept my word. Not that anyone would believe me anyway. Except for Brown here. At least not before the portals opened. I have no idea why Brown thinks you helped with that kid last year. Or any of the others. But I want you both to know I’ve never told anyone about anything connected with you. Your name has never been on any official documents and, unless you give me permission, it never will be. I just want you both to know that.”

“Thanks, bud, we appreciate that,” said Thulu.

“You should also know they tried and failed to hear conversations in this house.” He grinned at both of us. “Some kind of jamming device or interference that they can't figure out. It's driving them nuts.”

At that moment, there was a flurry of movement and wings from the family room. My mouth dropped open as Parker materialized with several Light Ones. The second he saw Lassiter, they all immediately dematerialized.

Lassiter, blinked, looked at us, shook his head and said, “I don't even want to know.” He opened the door, and with a final smile at me said, “La Fi, you take care of yourself and Thulu and whatever else it is you do. Know that I am your friend and if you ever need help, just call on me.”

I wasn't sure whether I was more surprised by Parker showing up with Light Ones or Lassiter's ability to let it go and walk away. Maybe some people in authority could be trusted, after all.

“Knock, knock, La Fi, is it safe to come in?”

“Yes, Parker.”

He re-materialized, with his group of Light Ones in tow. Parker's distress was evident, but I wasn't sure what caused it. Carter and Jenna sat on the sofa where I'd left them with mouths open. Even Sophie stared at the beings with wide eyes.

“I'm so sorry, La Fi. We had to move fast, and I didn't stop to see if you had someone here first. Did I cause trouble for you? Wasn't that Lassiter, Thulu's cop friend?”

Thulu and I moved back to the family room, where Parker stood with a group of five Light Ones. Even with wings closed they crowded our family room. I was grateful for the high ceilings in our old Victorian. It took a moment for me to realize that two of them were probably children. They were about a foot or more shorter than me.

I shook my head at Parker. He knew of my aversion to bringing work into our home, and I'm sure he felt bad about it. But I knew that he wouldn't have done so unless there was a very good reason.

“No, sweetie, I think it's going to be okay.” I looked at the Light Ones. “So, who are our guests?”

“They were at the office. That stupid poltergeist was back and told them he was going to call a pack of daemons down on them.” Parker shook his head in disgust. “I couldn't let that happen, so I brought them here. I'm really sorry.”

I brushed that aside. “Seriously, don't worry about it. No harm done. We are going to have to do something about that poltergeist, though. I don’t think he could call down a pack of gnats, let alone daemons.”

I looked at the Light Ones, the very epitome of what one thought of as angels. The adults, who all looked to be male, topped eight feet. Soft, feathery wings matched long, flowing hair, varying from dark silver to a rich cream to a deep burgundy. Their faces would've been a Renaissance sculptor's dream. The kids' faces were softer, one with pale silver and the other with dark red hair and wings. Only their eyes were jarring. Faceted and all one color with no whites showing at all.

“Please feel free to sit down,” I invited them, gesturing to the room.

Sophie and Jenna had floated over to Parker. Thulu picked Carter up, while the Light Ones settled their two kids in the easy chairs and then gracefully sank to the floor. Thulu and I sat on the sofa with Carter between us.

I studied the Light Ones carefully. There seemed to be something off about them that I couldn't put my finger on. Then it hit me. They looked afraid and desperate.

“How is it that you didn't go through the portal when the ritual was performed?” asked Thulu.

The cream one answered, “The ritual doesn't work on all of us. We heard that the elves are helping our people and we need to get back to our own world. But we are missing one of our children, and I cannot leave until I find my child.” He looked at Thulu intently. “We have heard that you're a finder. We would like you to find my missing child. Is this something that you can do?”

Thulu nodded, “Absolutely. It might take me a little while, but I will find the child. You are the child's father?”

The cream one hesitated, seeming to absorb the question. “I am the parent, yes. My child is quite young. Perhaps comparable to your own?” He indicated Carter.

Thulu looked thoughtful for a moment. He stared into the Light Ones dark green eyes, and I knew he was beginning his finding process.

“I do have a question before I begin,” Thulu said. “I’ve gotten the impression that your people are telepathic. Couldn’t you just connect to your child and find him that way? Why do you need our help?”

Cream frowned, “It is not exactly telepathy, although that term will suffice. My child is being blocked by someone. Or something. I had a brief moment connected to him just after he disappeared, but the connection was almost immediately severed. He was in darkness, with no idea where he was.”

Thulu nodded, a frown creasing his brow. The energy around him got stronger.

I hadn't been around when he worked on cases involving living people. There was a different feel to what he was doing than usual. A deeper, more intense energy. Finally he gave a nod and stood up, having gotten whatever he had needed to find the child. He left the room and went into our office, closing the door behind him.

Carter and I were left with a room full of angels and the dead. I did what I usually do in situations like that and became very formal.

“May I offer you refreshment?” I asked. “Would you like something to drink?”

Cream answered, “That is very thoughtful of you. Thank you. We do drink water.”

I jumped up. “I'll be right back then. It's hard to tell how long it will take Thulu to find your child. You might as well make yourselves comfortable.”

I went into the parlor, where I'd left the tray with the drinks from before and carried it back to the kitchen, looking into the family room to check on Carter. He sat on the sofa where we’d left him. I didn’t sense any danger to him, but wondered if I should leave him with off-world strangers.

However, the Light Ones remained in their places and didn’t look inclined to move. I got no sense of danger from them, not that my feelings were at all reliable. Of course, Parker added a layer of protection, too.

I shrugged and went on into the kitchen where I got out clean glasses, refreshed the water and ice in the pitcher, and returned with it to the family room. It didn't look like anyone had moved. And I can't say that they looked particularly comfortable. But they didn't seem uncomfortable, either.

A strange scent came off them. Not unpleasant, but nothing I could put my finger on either. Spicy was as close as I could get.

I poured out ice water and handed glasses around before pouring a small plastic cup of water for Carter and snapping the sippy lid into place.

“Are there many others trapped here?”

Burgundy answered, “Not many were left this time. This ritual was a particularly strong one. The ones who are left are mostly like us. We had only recently come through the portal and our need for energy was very great. That insulated us from the portal's call.”

“Won't the others also need to go back?” I didn't like the idea of Light Ones staying on Earth. Even if it was only a few of them. Although this group seemed much nicer than some of the others I’d met. Not that I'd had a whole lot of contact with them.

“Yes, all of us wish to be healed by the elves. It becomes more and more difficult to sustain our health. Once I have found my child, we will gather the others and try to find a way back to our world.”

“But the portal here is closed, and I understand that the portals on other worlds to your world are also closed. How can you get back to your own world?”

“That will be a problem,” said Silver. “We will try to contact Aurelia or Belus. They are the elven liaisons to your world, correct?”

I nodded. “Yes, I know both of them.”

“I thought you might,” said Burgundy dryly. His voice held a hint of amusement.

I guess I hadn't thought of Light Ones as having a sense of humor. I certainly hadn't seen any from Gabriel. Or Michael either for that matter.

“Well, we shall make contact with the elves and see if there is a way for them to return us to our own world. I believe you are correct, though. My understanding is that they have closed our world off to all other realms. The few who are capable of creating portals cannot do so at this time. That will leave only one way in.”

The other Light Ones became tense and the kids looked positively afraid.

“What way is that?” I asked.

Cream looked at the other adults, and must have received some message because he answered me.

“There is one portal that never closes. It has always stayed open and no known ritual can close it. But we have been at war with the people on that world for thousands of years.”

I knew exactly where he was going with this and I understood their fear.

“That portal would be to the world of the daemons, the Dark Ones, wouldn't it?”

“Yes, and the distance between the two portals is quite far. We are not at all sure they will give us permission to cross their realm to get to it. Instead, we would need help from someone who could create a portal to take us directly to the one that opens into our world.”

Yeah, I thought, I could see why. Under Gabriel's leadership, the Light Ones had invaded the daemon home world and killed many of their people. I wasn't too sure they'd like a pack of Light Ones crossing their planet. Another reason occurred to me as to why they had come to us. And it wasn't just for the child.

“You want us to talk to Dhavenbahtek for you.” It wasn’t a question.

The three adults exchanged another look.

“Yes, we hoped you would,” said Burgundy. “It is fortuitous for us that he is known to you and we already had to come to you for our lost child. One-stop-shopping it is called?”

I nodded. He seemed pleased with his command of our language.

Yeah, we were a veritable cornucopia of services, all right. I wondered how long Jones’s friendship would last if he knew we were helping the Light Ones. Although, I must admit he seemed cordial enough to Michael. Of course, being cordial was one thing. Interceding on behalf of those who had invaded his home world in the past was something quite different.

Dhavenbahtek, the daemon we knew as Tyler Jones, was the client who had hired us to find the relics to close the portal. He was also the one who had killed Gabriel. If Thulu agreed to go forward with their request and approach Jones, I decided it was best done over the phone. I wasn't sure I wanted to be around Jones if we asked in person, “favorite” humans or not.

I wondered if talking about him had alerted him at all. Jones could be extremely aware of things, even though he claimed he wasn't psychic. I wasn't sure I believed him on that. My phone wasn't singing to me, so I assumed that if he did know of the Light Ones' presence in our house, it wasn't bothering him. Besides, we might still be asking him to take care of the guy who shot Reo. And hope we could agree on what “take care of” meant.

“I will have to discuss this with my husband, of course. First, we must find your child. After that, we'll discuss how to help you. I do like your idea about contacting Aurelia and Belus, though. They've been friends with Dhavenbahtek far longer than Thulu and I.”

That was the understatement of the year, considering they'd known him for thousands of years, and Thulu and I were not quite twenty-seven and had known Jones for about a month.

 Burgundy smiled broadly. He must've been the joker in the group. He seemed positively giddy compared to the other two, whose stern expressions had changed very little.

“They have known him quite some time, I agree. However, it has become known that Dhavenbahtek has a certain attachment to you and your husband. We feel we need every advantage that we can get, if we are to get permission to go to the daemons' world.”

“What will you do if they deny permission?”

His smile faded. “We hope they will not do this. We are not sure what other options are open to us if they refuse.”

“Well,” I said, trying to be perky, “I'm sure the elves will have a solution. I guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“I do not believe there are any bridges involved, only portals,” said Silver.

I smiled. Beings with wings probably didn't have to worry about crossing bridges. “Sorry. That's a human expression. It means to deal with a problem when you get to it.”

They nodded at my explanation.

Carter was starting to squirm at my side. He let himself off the edge of the sofa and went over to the young, silver haired Light One. He was much smaller than the other child. Carter smiled and waved at him. Little Silver looked at the adults around him, obviously unsure what to do. Again some silent message must've passed because he smiled tentatively and waved back.

“I'm Carter Thulukan. What's your name?”

“I'm Kahteriel.”

“I'm three. How old are you?”

Kahteriel looked confused.

Cream answered for him. “We do not count years, as you do, little human. But Kahteriel would be about fifty years old in your years. Our race matures far more slowly than yours does. It will be many years before these children are adults on our world.”

Even I was surprised by that. Although why I should be surprised made no sense. After all, these were not humans. Jones had told me many times to not judge the other races by human standards because they simply didn't apply.