Impervious (City of Eldrich Book 1) (16 page)

Chapter 28

L
y
nette and Meaghan
cut Caleb loose from the chair. The resistance had drained out of him. Lynette, in a kind but firm voice, ordered him to behave and reminded him he was surrounded by powerful witches. With a meek nod, he followed her to the hall bathroom and she stood guard outside the door.

While Caleb was in the bathroom, Meaghan and the witches quickly agreed on a plan. Lynette and Marnie would spend the night. Sarah and the other two witches, Anna and Emma, the quiet ones who’d looked after Russ, would check in with Natalie, then recruit more witches to guard the Keeles.

“We can’t let him go to sleep or he’ll go into a coma,” Anna said. “I bet he has a concussion.”

Emma shook her head. “That’s totally a myth. So long as his pupils are the same size and he’s not barfing, he’s fine to go to sleep.”

Anna shrugged. “Well, that’s what I’ve seen on TV.”

“Is any of the stuff about witches on TV right?” Emma shot back.

“No,” Anna said, staring down at the table.

“The lawyer stuff’s all wrong too,” Meaghan added, trying to make Anna feel better.

Anna and Emma, Meaghan learned, were fraternal twins and, despite the squabbling, inseparable. They borrowed Russ’s car and drove home to pick up their own car and some of their younger brother’s clothes for Caleb. When Meaghan asked why they couldn’t zap themselves home, they told her that materializing out of thin air, like the witches had done on their initial arrival in the kitchen, took a lot of magic. They only traveled that way in dire emergencies.

Meaghan didn’t ask about brooms. In her experience, something that stereotypical had to be wrong.

Meaghan put clean sheets on the guest bed, while Russ scrounged up a new toothbrush and found a T-shirt and gym shorts for Caleb to use as pajamas. By this point, Caleb swayed with weariness. Lynette helped him into the oversized clothes and tucked him into bed. She even kissed him on the forehead.

Within moments he was out cold. Lynette and Marnie put up protective spells. Russ made coffee and Marnie took the first watch.

It was now well past midnight. Meaghan was exhausted, the surge of adrenaline that cleared away the tequila long gone.

And still Matthew slept on.

Meaghan had a few things to wrap up before she could go to bed. She sat around the kitchen table with Russ and Lynette as they assessed their next steps.

“It’s horrible,” Lynette said. “That poor boy. He’s covered in bruises and scars. They did even worse than starve him.” She shook her head. “He is not going back to them.”

“No,” Meaghan said. “Of course he isn’t. And at this point, I’m not sure we could get him to go even if we wanted him to. Between you and the food, I think we made a big impression. I thought you were gonna read him a bedtime story after you tucked him in and kissed him goodnight.”

With a snort of laughter, Russ got up and poured himself a mug of coffee. He could drink the stuff any time day or night and sleep like a baby, Meaghan remembered. If she drank coffee at this hour, even as tired as she was, she’d be awake all night.

“The problem,” Meaghan continued, “is we still don’t know why they sent him. And what they can make him do. Until we know for sure that he’s not a threat—”

“That boy is not a threat,” Lynette said, with a scowl.

“On his own, I agree with you, he’s not a threat. He’s a beaten-down, starved kid. But they controlled him like a puppet earlier this evening.” She gestured at the broken kitchen door. “Remember? You didn’t see him. I did. Whoever was pulling the strings was pretty damn threatening.”

“He can be saved,” Lynette said. “I know it.”

“I agree. But the protective spells have to stay up for now, until we know what we’re dealing with. And the good news is the best way to make sure he’s not a threat is to keep him here with us.”

More witches arrived. Meaghan was too tired to catch any names. But based on the admiring looks, the newcomers had heard either about her showdown with Emily or how she’d brought down a wizard with a saucepan. Or both.

Meaghan said goodnight and dragged herself up the stairs to her room. She brushed her teeth, dropped onto her bed still in her clothes, and fell asleep almost immediately. And dreamed.

She stood on the sunny front porch. The dark forest crowded around the yard and she had a sense of things moving within the tree line. Meaghan saw a figure approach through the now-familiar distant shimmer and her heart leapt with joy. She thought it was her mother, coming to see her again.

But she was wrong. As the figure came into focus, Meaghan saw a man about her age who she didn’t recognize. Short and stocky, with a round open face and sleepy looking eyes, he was bald except for a salt-and-pepper fringe on the sides and around the back.

He wore a tan leather jacket, straight out of the seventies, with a black polyester collared shirt and plaid pants. He had a gold chain around his neck.

With a pudgy hand, he waved hello. “You gotta be Meaghan. You look so much like your dad.” He smiled. “Prettier, though,” he added. “I bet you hear that a lot. Both parts.” He held out his hand. “I’m Lou.”

Lou, she thought, shaking his hand. The journal she’d read this morning. Matthew had mentioned him. “Hi,” she said cautiously. “I’ve seen your name in my father’s journal, but it didn’t provide any details.”

The man nodded. “Okay, so you’re dreaming right now and when you wake up you’ll—”

“My mom came to see me last week in a dream. I know how it works and I’m past the skeptical stage. What’s up?”

Lou looked startled. “Well, aren’t you the fast learner. Matthew said you were a sharp kid. ” He finally let go of her hand and said, “Can we sit?”

“Sure,” Meaghan said.

Lou plopped down in a wicker armchair. “Oh, yeah. That’s the stuff. It’s a long walk.”

“From where?”

Lou smiled. “Aw, I can’t tell you that. No peeking beyond the veil, right? I’m the man who did this job before your dad. I found him and broke the news to him. Then I got myself whacked a couple of days later, so I wasn’t much help.”

Meaghan nodded. “He mentioned that he wished you’d found him sooner. Did you visit him like this?”

Lou chuckled. “I tried. For a long time, Matthew assumed he was crazy and I was a delusion, so he ignored the dreams. And even once he got his act together, he was never all that good with dream contact. Not like this.”

He stared at her, as if weighing his next words. “Your dad was good at this job, but not without some big growing pains. But you? I never seen anybody like you. Even I didn’t slide into it this easy and I grew up knowing I had to do it.”

He looked away from her and pointed at the movement within the tree line. “They’re scared of you. You’re the most non-magical being they’ve ever had to deal with. At the same time, you got no problem accepting the truth about the world. In less than a week, you own the job in a way your dad and I never managed.”

Meaghan watched the tree line with Lou. She still couldn’t see what was moving. “Who are they? The ones so scared of me? The Order? This power thing Caleb mentioned?”

Lou sighed. “They’re part of it, but they aren’t the only ones who want to keep humanity under their magical thumbs. You’re a harbinger of things to come. And that scares them.”

“A harbinger of what? Everybody becoming impervious?”

Lou nodded. “Yeah, but that’s only part of it. There’s also the fear. If you can’t control people with magic, then you control them with the fear of it. With fear of the supernatural.”

Meaghan frowned. “But most people don’t fear magic or supernatural stuff anymore. They don’t believe in it.”

“Really? They don’t? Think about it. There’s still plenty of us who want to believe in things that go bump in the night. I mean . . .” He thought a moment. “Okay, look at the ghost hunters. Why do they bother? Well, partly because there’s something to it. Enough people have had odd experiences to suggest something’s going on.”

Meaghan nodded, wondering where he was going with this. “You would know.”

“Well, haunting’s a different . . . department, I guess. I can’t go really go into it.” He plopped a booted foot on the coffee table. “You’d think being dead would take care of sore feet, but no.” He sighed. “Where was I?”

“Ghost hunters,” Meaghan said.

“Right. Ghost hunters. They mostly break down into two groups. You get the rational ones who are open to the idea of the supernatural, but they don’t automatically assume every slammed door or cold spot is a ghost. They look for simpler reasons,
natural
reasons first. They rule out stuff. They try to gather evidence. They want to figure out what’s going on and if it’s only leaky windows or a warped door frame, they’re okay with that. You know what I mean?”

Meaghan nodded.

Lou continued. “They may get scared from time to time, get the creeps from stuff they encounter, but they don’t fear ghosts just because they’re ghosts. They may not understand what they’re seeing, but they don’t crap their pants just because they see it. Like you, they don’t scare so easy, but unlike you, they can still be affected by magic.”

Meaghan smiled. “And the other kind lock themselves into a spooky building at midnight, turn the lights out, and scare the shit out of each other. They believe implicitly in the supernatural, but are still terrified when they think they’ve encountered it. They manage to be credulous and surprised at the same time.”

Lou nodded. “And that makes them easy to manipulate and control. Even without magic. Add magic and they’re sheep. But you . . .”

“I manage to be impervious
and
unimpressed.”

Lou laughed. “Exactly. You get them coming and going.”

“While I’m having my cake and eating it too.” They both laughed.

“The best the magical bad guys can do,” Lou continued, “is hex the world around you, but if you’re shielded with a good protective spell they can’t even do that. They can’t hurt you with magic, and they can’t scare you with it either.”

Meaghan stared at the tree line. “But I’m only one person.”

Lou shook his head. “No, you aren’t. That’s what I’m here to tell you. Think about it. Seven billion plus humans on the planet. Being one in a million’s not as big a deal as it used to be. It means you got seven thousand people to keep you company.”

“How do you know it’s one in a million?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what the exact odds are. I’m only trying to make a point. Being impervious is a genetic trait. More people means more chances for the gene to spread. You’re the tip of an evolutionary iceberg. Enough people like you and they’re screwed.”

Meaghan gave him a skeptical look.

Lou pulled his foot off the coffee table and leaned forward in the chair. “Look, magic makes a world stagnant. There’s no reason to innovate when you can just mutter some fancy words and wave your hands around. But non-magical humans, which is most of us, can’t do that so we keep coming up with new ways to do stuff. I love the movies, the books where the vampire, wizard, whatever, the supernatural bad guy, starts gloating about weak, puny humans. And yet there’s seven billion of us living in the sun while they skulk around in the dark. We’re doing something right.”

“I guess,” Meaghan said.

“The magical realms are in big decline, have been for a long time. Gods and monsters still walk among us, but the smart ones? They don’t advertise. They keep a low profile to stay off the radar of people like you. Like us. And there’s more of us every day. This isn’t a one dies, one gets chosen deal. You aren’t alone. This doesn’t have to be a solo gig.”

“So I may not be stuck in Eldrich for the rest of my life?”

Lou smiled. “Stuck? Is that what you call it? From where I’m sitting it looks like you finally got yourself a home.”

“I miss Phoenix,” she said. “It’s sunny and warm. And new. There’s no dark forests hemming you in. No witches, wizards or fairies, either.”

“Well, none that advertise at least. And you were all alone.”

Before Meaghan could think of a comeback, the dream dissolved and she woke up.

Chapter 29

G
ray light filled
the room. Meaghan could hear rain pattering on the roof and against the windows. She sat up and her head began to pound. The adrenaline hadn’t washed away the tequila. It had simply rescheduled it to a later time.

As hangovers went, it wasn’t terrible, simply a headache and general malaise. Her stomach seemed okay. But the older she got, the less booze it took to make her feel bad the next day. It didn’t matter if she spaced the drinks over several hours with a lot of food and paid careful attention to hydration.

She felt like crap. “Aging sucks,” she mumbled.

It was a few minutes past nine. She threw on some cleanish clothes from the top of the laundry pile, looked in the mirror, decided she didn’t care how she looked, and went in search of coffee.

The kitchen was in full swing with Russ at the stove. He took one look at Meaghan and poured her a large mug of coffee. “Here. Want breakfast?”

“Unh. Let me caffeinate first.” Meaghan shuffled to the table and sat down.

Lynette and Caleb were already seated. Caleb, clad in a T-shirt and jeans, looked like a different person. He looked healthier, for one thing, with a little more color in his cheeks. His long shaggy brown hair was still damp from the shower. He was eating breakfast under Lynette’s watchful eye.

“Small bites, Cal. We still need to ease you into it. Lots of small meals until you put on some weight.” She smiled up at Meaghan. “Morning, sweetie. Sleep well?”

“Unh,” Meaghan replied. “I’ll tell you when I wake up.”

“Meg’s not a morning person,” Russ said, joining them with a plate in his hand. “I made extra toast if you want it.”

“Okay.” Meaghan picked up a slice of the heavy brown toast off of Russ’s plate, took a small bite, and chewed it carefully. “How’s our house guest doing?”

“He’s coming along,” Lynette said. “He had a good night’s sleep and a shower, and now some breakfast.” She plucked a strand of hair off his forehead. “Cal, what would you like to say to Meaghan?”

He swallowed the food in his mouth, but did not put down his fork. “I’m sorry I broke your kitchen door, Meaghan.”

“Apology accepted,” Meaghan said. “I know you didn’t mean to do it. So, you’re Cal now?”

“Um, I guess.” He stared down at his plate. He then looked at Lynette for approval and she smiled back. “It’s like being a whole new person.”

Marnie strolled in from the living room with two mugs. “Can your dad have another cup of coffee?”

“Sure,” said Russ. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s as happy as can be. He thinks I’m someone named Liz.”

Meaghan and Russ exchanged a look. Marnie missed it.

Refilling the mugs, Marnie said, “Hey, Cal, you want me to give you a haircut?”

“Um,” he said, looking again at Lynette. She nodded.

“Don’t worry,” Marnie added. “I cut hair for a living. My day job.”

“Okay,” Caleb said softly.

“Leave me a card,” Meaghan added. “I’ll need a trim pretty soon.” She may have been attacked by wizards, and she was being guarded by witches, and the whole world had turned on its head, but she wasn’t passing up any leads on a good hair stylist.

Marnie nodded. “Will do.” She carried the coffee back out to the living room.

Meaghan thought of what Lou had said in her dream about finally coming home. She was still skeptical about herself, but Caleb—correction,
Cal
—sure seemed to be home. But it was probably too much to hope for that they could neutralize the rest of the Order with good food and free haircuts.

The caffeine was beginning to do its stuff. Meaghan felt a bit better. She plucked another slice of toast off Russ’s plate.

“So, what’s on for today?” she asked.

Through a mouthful of food, Russ said, “We’re waiting for you to tell us. You’re the leader.”

“Me? Tag, I’m it?”

“Every army needs a general,” Russ said.

Meaghan snorted. “Who do I look like? George Washington? Buffy, the Vampire Slayer?”

Russ shrugged, and tucked another forkful of food into his mouth. Through it, he said, “More like George. Buffy’s much younger than you are.”

“Bite me,” Meaghan replied. Russ smirked.

“He’s right, you know,” said Lynette. “The Order came after you.”

“Yeah, but with a weapon they knew wouldn’t work.” Meaghan eyed Caleb. “They sacrificed a pawn. Sorry, Cal, but that’s what you are to them. But, they really couldn’t expect that would be enough to scare me away, could they?”

Face red, Caleb met her eye. “They think women are weak and easy to frighten.”

Meaghan stared back. “Do you think women are weak and easy to frighten?”

Caleb shook his head vigorously. Eyes wide, he said, “Not anymore I don’t.”

Even Meaghan had to laugh. “Yeah, I bet you don’t.” She got up and poured another cup of coffee. Sitting back down, she said, “But, I still don’t get it. Why scare me? I don’t have any power. Any ideas, Cal?”

“The Power likes fear and pain,” he said softly. “They used to . . . hurt us, the younger ones.” He swallowed hard, his face now white. “As a way to . . . to
feed
it.”

Meaghan felt a fresh wave of hatred for the Order. “And they thought they could scare me off while giving the Power a tasty meal. And all it cost them was you.”

Caleb looked stricken.

Meaghan continued smoothly. “Which makes them morons because now that we have you, we’re going to put the Power on a diet. We want you to feel safe and be happy.”

He exhaled with relief. “You won’t make me go back?”

Meaghan smiled to herself. Solemnly, she said, “We will not make you go back. You have a home here if you want it.”

Lynette scowled.

“With us or with Lynette,” Meaghan said. Lynette’s face smoothed. It was clear to Meaghan that Lynette had already decided Caleb was going to live with her and that was that.

While Matthew dozed on the sofa, Marnie ran home to grab her styling tools for Caleb’s haircut.

“Have we heard from Natalie yet this morning?” Meaghan asked, as Russ set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her. “Or Jamie? I still think this has got something to do with Fahraya.”

Russ shook his head. “Natalie said not to worry. She put up a bunch of protective spells around the house and she lives right around the corner from him.”

“Oh, yeah,” Meaghan said. “Right. Amulet maintenance.”

Russ nodded. “It’s a good thing they get along so well.”

“So, who keeps John’s amulet working?”

Lynette sighed. “Poor John. What a tragedy. We all pitch in as needed, but his amulet is less finicky. He doesn’t need as much magic to be human.”

“Because of . . . his wings?” Meaghan asked.

“You know about that?” Lynette asked.

“Found the pictures.”

“Awful thing,” Lynette said. “How his own brother could—”

Meaghan cut her off. “His brother? The guy who cut off John’s wings, who tortured him and killed his wife and made his son watch was John’s
brother?
”

Russ plopped down in a chair next to her. “Yup. That’s him, the bastard.”

“How did Dad get involved?”

Before he could answer, Marnie arrived and whisked Caleb out to the back porch for his hair cut.

With Caleb gone, Meaghan asked Lynette the question she’d wanted to ask since she first sat down. “Are we safe with him here? Any sign that they’re controlling him or eavesdropping?”

Lynette shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not feeling that weird energy I felt last night when I fixed his nose. And I haven’t detected anyone trying to break the spells we put up last night. So, I’m pretty sure they aren’t doing anything to him with magic. But they had the poor boy most of his life.”

“And there’s no telling what awful things they did to his head during that time,” Meaghan said.

“Exactly. All we can do is keep an eye on him.” Lynette glared at Meaghan. “We aren’t sending him back.”

“Like you’d let me,” Meaghan said with a smile. “I’m right with you on this. That kid is not going back to those assholes. We keep him close and let them come for him if they want him.” She pushed the remains of her breakfast around on her plate. “It’d help to know what they’re up to. I still think this is about Jamie. I’m calling Natalie.”

As she stood up, the phone rang. Meaghan felt her stomach clench as she answered it.
Bad news
, a little voice whispered in her mind. She heard a sob and then Natalie’s panicky voice. “They took him. Oh, God, they took him. I couldn’t stop it. I tried—”

“Natalie, breathe. Who took who?”

Her voice shaking, Natalie said, “Jamie. The Order. They took Jamie. They’re going to the gateway in the woods. To Fahraya.”