The Day of Legion (14 page)

“Why don’t you have any older pictures of this Patrick guy?” Patricia asked. “I mean, you have pictures of the woman back to the 1800’s, but just a few of this guy before and after his death.”

David and Patricia didn’t see Albert smile slightly. She was starting to believe, or at least was open to what they were saying.

“He concerns us right now as much as she does,” David replied. “She is the master; he’s only a helper. He’s a normal man born thirty three years ago. He isn’t, or wasn’t, immortal. She’s had hundreds of helpers, both men and women, but they’re all dead. She just recruits and uses them up. This is the first time we’ve ever seen a mortal helper alive again after he’s been killed. She has always found them expendable and just uses another one if one dies or is jailed.”

“Why’s he different?”

“We don’t know,” Albert cut in. “There’s a lot we don’t know about this woman, but it would be very concerning if she has grown so powerful that she is bringing back her helpers from death.”

“How long have you two been doing this?” Patricia asked.

“Our family’s been doing this for generations,” David said. “We have records going back hundreds of years. In 1688, one of our relatives wrote about a demon terrorizing a family by possessing their daughter. Our ancestor proved exceptionally adept at casting the demon out, and since then our family has taken this responsibility. My father and I are just the latest in a long line. Hopefully, not the last.”

“Are you the only ones?” she asked. Albert smiled, but his face looked incredibly sad. His upper lip quivered ever so slightly when he spoke.

“There are others, but nowhere near as many as there used to be or as many as are needed. Some families have died out, some murdered by the darkness, some gave up. They just couldn’t handle it and stopped, but they were still hunted down and slaughtered, so their line hasn’t continued.

He paused and looked at the floor. “My daughter is one we’ve lost in this battle.”

Patricia looked at David. He was looking at Albert, his eyes beginning to well up.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “When?”

“Six years ago,” David replied. “She was protecting a boy they were trying to kill, and they got them both. They were lured to an empty building, which got boarded up and set fire to. They both burned to death.”

“There’s something I don’t understand,” Patricia said. “Well, among many other things. If evil is so powerful, why doesn’t it just kill everyone?”

“Evil’s not interested in killing everyone, in fact it needs men and women to commit its acts. Evil wants to corrupt man absolutely. Sometimes watching the news you couldn’t be blamed for thinking it’s working. War, rape, murder, famine, drought, corruption.”

“Where do I fit in to all of this,” Patricia asked, “or Jason Hansen?”

“We’re not sure about you,” David replied.

“Jason, we know about,” Albert said. “They’re after him because they know he’s going to be a great man. Nobody knows what he’s going to do, but he has a noble and righteous force within. If nurtured and protected, it will give him great success. He has a soul of serenity and peace, which unfortunately is a beacon to the darkness. He appears no different to any other child, but as he gets older he will realize there is far more to life than what most people see. He’ll seek knowledge, and act on that knowledge. That enrages the darkness, which is why they have attacked him directly and indirectly.”

“What do you mean, ‘directly and indirectly’?” Patricia asked. “What do you know?”

“Not a lot,” David said. “We know he died about a year before all this started happening, and his father was given the chance to bring him back. That’s why the darkness killed John. His mother was killed trying to protect him. He was in hospital because the darkness influenced a boy—who is the complete opposite sort to Jason—to try and drown him. We believe anyone linked to him will be a target.”

“What do you mean, ‘he died about a year ago’?” Patricia asked.

“Jason was run over when his father stopped the same boy who, later, tried to drown him, from running on the road. It’s complex, but we know the darkness influenced the boy knowing Jason would keep walking and get run over. Jason died. There was a funeral and his father became a drunk. He was offered the chance to change it back, and took it. All John Hansen had to do was ask. Subconsciously he knew it would be the death of him, but he did it anyway.”

“You know you had me for a moment,” Patricia said. “But Jason dying and coming back to life just pushed me back. This is a child abduction case, plain and simple.”

“So how do you explain everything we just told you?” Albert asked.

“I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it.”

David spoke softly. “Patricia, everyone has a guardian angel. John Hansen was visited by Jason’s guardian angel and given the chance to help. Of course the light could have just done it, but it would have meant nothing. Jason’s strength and purpose has been amplified because John knew he would eventually die as a result of bringing Jason back, but he did it out of the love he had for his son. It was a totally selfless act.”

“Do you remember your dreams?” Albert asked her, taking her completely by surprise.

“What dreams?”

“Where you are trapped on a small piece of ground and flying above you are black caped demons, circling, just waiting for you to lose concentration and swarm down and slaughter you.”

“How do you know about my dreams?” she asked. Her face turned pale.

“Do you remember the cold, rank smell of the wind off their wings when they flew too close, and how you tried to scream, but your jaw locked and wouldn’t work?”

“Stop it!” she shouted. “How do you know about my dreams?”

“My father can see things that others can’t,” David told her.

Albert didn’t take his eyes off her. “Those dreams were real. You could see the darkness yourself, but you were too young to realize it and didn’t understand what was happening. As you got older, your potential weakened and they stopped visiting you. Those black-caped beasts you saw in your dreams were a manifestation of the darkness you could feel as they watched you.”

“That’s why they’re after her, too,” David suddenly said. “They wanted Jason Hansen, but their failures in killing him brought them back to her. He has exposed her to them.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Patricia asked.

“You are like Jason Hansen,” Albert told her. “There is something in you that gives you great potential to be detrimental to the darkness. In their quest to kill him they have found you again. I don’t know what they see for you in the future.”

“This is ridiculous!” Patricia snapped. “If you think...”

“For God’s sake!” David yelled. “How much more on-a-platter does this have to be for you? We’ve shown you things that are real. My father has spoken of your dreams, dreams only you know about. Yet you still sit there doubting!”

Patricia didn’t know what to say. She started to say something twice, but nothing came out. She felt sick. Her fear began to rise in her chest again.

“David,” Albert said quietly. “Go and get the green envelope from the office.”

“But why, Dad? She doesn’t believe us despite...”

“Please David,” he cut in. “I want to talk to Patricia alone for a moment.”

David walked out of the room and down a hallway to the left. Patricia heard a door open, then close. Albert looked her in the eye.

“It’s true what he says about me being able to see things others can’t,” he said. “I can tell you that you have a guardian angel right next to you now. All I can see is his energy.”

Patricia looked to her right where he was looking, making Albert laugh.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m not laughing at you, merely happy we are getting to the bottom of your involvement. He says that there was a time in your life when you heard his voice so clearly that, if I tell you about it, you’ll believe at least what I say about seeing him here.”

Patricia felt very nervous, but she couldn’t remember ever hearing any voices in her head.

Albert listened for a moment and then spoke. “You were due to fly out of the city for a speaking engagement. You arrived at the airport a little late. You had a bad feeling for most of the morning, but didn’t associate it with your strong insight and went anyway. When you got to the departure board, you saw your flight number and instantly felt an overpowering feeling of danger. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up. Am I right?”

Patricia nodded. “Yes,” she said so quietly she wasn’t sure he heard.

“That feeling of doom and your hairs standing up on the back of your neck was you hearing your guardian angel tell you not to go on that flight. You weren’t supposed to die that day.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. “If they knew it was going to happen why didn’t they stop it?” she asked, wiping the tear away. “So many people died that day.”

“Things happen for a reason. Life is a complex web of fate and destiny. Your destiny was not to die on that plane. The other people were supposed to die, for whatever reason. Their deaths would have affected others, their family and friends and their children. It is mystery that we never understand.”

“I can also tell you that you and Jason Hansen share the same angel.”

Patricia’s eyes opened wide. “What’s his name?”

Albert smiled. “He says his name is Christopher, but Jason called him Christo. We already knew that.”

“How?” Patricia asked.

Just then David came in with a green envelope. He handed it to his father, who gave it straight to Patricia. “I believe this is yours.”

She looked inside and recognized her file straight away. It was Jason Hansen’s stolen patient file.

“What the hell?” she asked. “Why did you steal this?”

David said, “We needed to see if you had found anything out from him, see if he revealed anything that could help us protect him.”

Before she could respond, Albert spoke. “Remember Patricia, we only know what you have written in that folder, there is nothing in there that we could have gotten in regards to what we just spoke about. All of that was between you and your angel.”

She had no response to that; he’d spoken of things only she knew about. She had never written it down or confided in anyone.

“Angel?” David asked. “What did I miss?”

“Patricia is a seer; she has just never nurtured it before. She and Jason have the same guardian angel. He says something else, Patricia.”

“What?” she asked dully. She was drained and couldn’t take much more.

“He says you should have listened to Aunt Beatrice. Although crop circles are fake, she was right about developing your gift.”

Patricia burst into tears and got off her chair. She knelt down in front of Albert and reached out. He leaned down and hugged her tight. David watched, totally confused.

“I was only gone for a minute,” he said, making them both laugh.

Moments later, Patricia had gone to the bathroom to freshen up. David was in the kitchen making them a snack and more coffee. Albert went out onto the deck and stared into the dark night. He was worried. It was slightly clearer to him now, but there were still a lot of gaps. One thing was for sure, he couldn’t tell David and Patricia what he was starting to see: that he had known of Patricia for years. They would have to make their own decisions.

Chapter Fifteen

She sat in a comfortable chair, facing a huge entertainment system playing rock music loudly. The TV screen took up a quarter of the wall; the speakers, placed strategically around the room, made it sound as though she were sitting onstage with the band, enjoying a private performance.

The galloping guitars provided hypnotic, distorted rhythm that powered through the speakers. The bass drum was so prominent, every time the drummer struck it, she felt a thump in her chest. The lead guitarist, soloing over the rest of the band, screwed up his face in mock bliss as his fingers danced over the neck, producing a screeching riff that magically weaved its way through the rest of the music.

She nodded slightly to the beat as she looked around the huge penthouse apartment. This place was a good score and she knew she would be staying as long as possible. The floors were Italian marble and the huge space—incorporating the living, dining and kitchen areas—was only broken up by marble pillars along one wall and one in the center of the room. The other wall was all glass, providing an unobstructed view of the city and surrounding area. The view of the city at night was pretty and reminded her of the stars lighting up a night sky.

Original artwork adorned the walls. The long, wooden dining table at the far end of the room with its eight chairs reminded her of banquets she had attended over the generations, usually on the arm of an eligible bachelor or very rich businessman–all of whom met an early demise.

The living and dining areas were separated by a long sofa, facing in to the middle of the room. Along the wall opposite the glass wall was the kitchen, centered with the dining area at one end and the living area at the other.

At one end of the room was a double sliding glass door that led to three large bedrooms, each with their own bath. An office and a master bedroom, not much smaller than the space where she was sitting, were at the end of the hall. That bedroom had a gas fireplace in both the bedroom and bath, which contained a huge spa tub and a rain shower that took up the entire end of the marbled room.