The Watchtower Read online

  Chapter Five

  Martin took a quick glance at his watch. He’d done some pretty stupid things in his life; jumping off a steep ledge into a quarry pit full of water, driving home drunk, even eating whole goldfish because someone called him a wuss. That was stupid, but waiting to break into an embassy in the middle of the night topped the cake.

  He shifted from foot to foot, rocking himself on the edge of the curb. He took a sideways glance at Barb. She seemed pretty comfortable standing there, waiting for their boss to arrive. Daniel, on the other hand, kept talking to himself and nodding. Martin scoffed. He was having a great conversation too. He’d said more to the air in the last ten minutes than to him all day.

  Martin took another look at his watch. “I thought you said Jezryall and Aslin were going to meet us here?”

  “They will,” Barb said, keeping her focus on the Embassy. “Just be patient. It’s not easy for her to bring him too.”

  Martin shook his head and turned away. He wasn’t even going to ask.

  “You do realize the Embassy probably has security cameras focused on us.”

  A smile appeared on her face. “They can watch us all they want. We’re not doing anything wrong.”

  Martin let out a deep sigh. “Then why do I have this nagging feeling that we are?”

  “Okay, okay,” Daniel raised his hands as if he were trying to calm someone down. “Anything else?”

  Martin shook his head. “Who’s he talking to?”

  Barb looked past him and at Daniel. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”

  Of course. Why didn’t he think of that? “Hey, who are you talking to?”

  Daniel held up his index finger and spoke into the air. “Just a moment.” He turned and faced them. “The old groundskeeper says the security cameras have a blind spot at the north-east corner of the property.”

  “How much of a blind spot?” Barb asked.

  “Maybe a couple feet. Runs along a tree line almost up to the building. They don’t think anything about it because the foot patrols usually go through that area at regular intervals.”

  Martin was confused. “You’ve been with us all day. When were you talking to the groundskeeper?”

  “I still am,” Daniel said, a wide grin on his face.

  Barb leaned closer to Martin. “Daniel is a medium.”

  “A medium what?”

  Daniel snickered.

  “I mean he can hear and understand languages and things normal people can’t.”

  “Like a translator?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” she said. “But with dead people and monsters and animals.”

  Martin raised his eyebrows. After everything else this day offered, knowledge of Daniel’s ability didn’t even faze him. “Animals? Really?” He turned to Daniel. “Maybe when we’re done here we can go back to my place and you can have a nice chat with my neighbour’s dog. Damn thing barks all night. Drives me nuts.”

  Daniel kept his gaze directed at the ground. “Probably doesn’t like being left outside all night.”

  “Would you?”

  “No, not really.”

  A strong wind blew down the street. It was cold and held a slight putrid smell of rotting eggs. The sensation sent a chill up Martin’s spine and he shivered to shake off the feeling.

  Barb and Daniel both looked up into the night sky.

  “All right, people,” Barb said, and stepped down off the curb. “Look smart. Here comes the boss.”

  Martin glanced down the street. “I don’t see any cars coming.”

  Daniel shoved his hands into his front pockets. “Jezryall doesn’t drive.”

  “Then why did Barb say she was coming?”

  Timidly, Daniel pointed upward. Martin looked up just as a huge black cloud of smoke came into view against the starry sky. Martin tilted his head to one side. The smoke resembled pictures of winged dragons he’d seen in books, but dragons weren’t real.

  As it flew closer, Martin saw two red eyes glowing brightly. “What is that?”

  “That is our boss,” Barb called, from the other side of the street. “And she’s about to land on the roof of the Embassy.”

  Artemis words echoed in his mind. ‘Jezryall is special. She is a very rare creature’.

  Daniel tugged on his jacket sleeve. “Come on, the groundskeeper will show us the blind spot.”

  Martin kept his gaze skyward as he stepped off the curb and followed Daniel. He knew there was something odd about his new boss. Was this her true form? Martin’s stomach tightened as he watched it disappear over the rooftop of the Embassy. Dealing with flame fingers and zombies was one thing, but this was something else. Was she a creature from Hell? A place he knew to be very real.

  He followed his co-workers along the length of a stone wall that encircled the property, pushing through some thick brush before coming to a chain-linked fence. The back yard of the embassy was quiet, with the only sound coming from a small creek that ran through the back yard. A stone walkway and gardens ran parallel to the creek, which emptied into a nearby lake. Daniel stopped by the lake edge and stared out over the water.

  Even in the dim light, Martin could see his look of concern.

  “Daniel, come on,” Barb said. “We don’t have much time!”

  Daniel shook his head and ran to the corner of the chain fence. He pulled out a small vial from his jacket pocket and poured the contents onto the metal. A sweet metallic smell permeated the area as smoke rose from the fence. After a few moments, the smoke disappeared completely and Daniel motioned to Martin to grab one side. Martin pulled back on the fence until they created an opening wide enough for them to get through.

  “Good job, guys.” Barb smiled as she stepped through the opening.

  The lot was overrun with weeds and unkempt gardens and lawns. A row of bushes lined a back walkway and they ran through the gardens and took cover in the shadows of the bushes, crouching low to keep from sight.

  “The groundskeeper said he’ll keep an eye out for the foot patrols,” Daniel said.

  Martin couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re kidding!”

  “No. He knows there’s something going on and it’s not right. I told him we may be able to stop it, so he’s willing to help us.”

  Martin huffed. “That is so...”

  “Cool?” Daniel asked.

  “Weird, actually.”

  Barb shifted her position. “I don’t care what it is, as long as he keeps us from being spotted.”

  “Don’t go now,” Daniel said. “There’s a patrol coming around the corner.”

  They kept their heads low as two large security guards came around the corner of the building. Martin’s heart pounded so hard he was sure the guards could hear. He inhaled through his nose and held his breath as they moved closer, hoping his special ability wasn’t getting them caught.

  It felt like hours for the guards to walk past. Martin was getting lightheaded from holding his breath for so long. They came close, so close that the scent of aftershave drifted through the bushes.

  “OK,” Daniel said once the guards had moved far enough away. “He says we have about ten minutes before the next patrol shows up. We need to get to that set of French doors on the back balcony.”

  Barb pulled out a small pair of binoculars from her coat pocket. “There’s a security keypad on the doors. Does he know the password?”

  Daniel stared off into the distance for a moment.

  “No, he was never told it.”

  “Wouldn’t matter anyway,” Martin said. “They’ve probably changed codes by now.”

  Barb smiled at them. “Then I’ll just scoot down the timeline!”

  Martin’s heart rate returned to normal as he stood in a crouched position behind the bush. The shadows did a good job of masking their presence as he watched the guards disappear around the other side of the building.

  Daniel nodded to Barb, and she dashed across the walkway and up the steps of the balcony. A fl
ash of movement from the rooftop caught Martin’s attention. Looking up, he saw the silhouettes of the Scot and Jezryall standing at the edge. Daniel gave Martin a gentle nudge, and they both headed off to join Barb.

  They raced up the cement stairs and crouched low on either side of the door. Barb was already in contact with the keypad, her eyes partially closed.

  Martin scanned the grounds for any sign they may have been spotted. This had to be a Federal offence if they got caught. He checked his watch, following the second hand as it travelled halfway around the dial.

  “Why is it taking her so long?” Martin asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s a long timeline?”

  Voices grew louder from one end of the building. Martin glanced at his watch, then at Daniel. “That was not ten minutes!”

  “I know! I know!” Daniel tried to peek over the balcony. “The groundskeeper doesn’t understand. There are usually two patrols ten minutes apart!”

  “Usually?” Martin tried to keep his voice low, but the thought of spending time in a Federal penitentiary didn’t sit well. “You’d think that if he’s been hanging out here since his death, he would have known that they cut the patrol time!”

  “Hey, leave him alone!” Daniel argued. “Do you have any idea how upsetting it is to be dead and still earth-bound?”

  “Well I just might if we get caught!” Martin leaned closer to Barb. “Come on, beautiful, I know you can do it.”

  Barb’s eyelids flickered and she blinked rapidly. “Got it!”

  Martin grabbed her by the back of the neck and forced her down. The second patrol was feet from the steps of the balcony, too close for any of them to make a run for it.

  Martin closed his eyes. He’d never been arrested before. It would be an interesting learning experience. At least until his parents got wind of it.

  The sound of metal crashing to the ground came from the far side of the embassy. The two guards shouted in their native language as the raced down the walkway and around the corner. Barb forced herself out of Martin’s grip and keyed in the code. With a click from the lock on the French doors, Barb jerked open the door and went inside.

  Daniel pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “OK, we’re in. You and Jezryall can come down.”

  Martin walked into the embassy behind Daniel. The room was dark, with some light filtering in from a few lights in the hall. A cloud of black smoke filled the doorway. Martin held his nose as the smell of rotten eggs filled the room. He watched in awe as the smoke whirled around and took the form of two humans.

  The Scot appeared first and crumpled over. Martin dashed to his side and caught him before he hit the floor.

  “Steady, big guy,” Martin said, bracing himself. The Scot was heavier than he looked.

  The Scot panted lightly and steadied himself. “Thank you.”

  Jezryall walked into the building and the door shut behind her. Martin caught a flash of crimson in her eyes. “Good work, everyone. With a little luck, we should be out of this building shortly.”

  Barb turned to Daniel. “Your friend said strange things were happening here? Did he say where?”

  “No. He’s not sure where.”

  “Then we will have to search the building one floor at a time,” Jezryall said. She turned to Daniel. “Kindly ask your companion to lead the way, Mr. Livingston.”

  Daniel nodded and they walked out into the hall. Every room the passed looked as if it hadn’t been used in a while. Some rooms had visible dust on the furniture. Still they heard no voices.

  At the end of the hall, Daniel pointed to a set of doors. “Kitchen,” he whispered. “But there’s no one there.”

  Martin walked past and swung open one of the doors. “Where’s the staff?”

  “Groundskeeper says that’s the weird thing. The entire building is empty.”

  “That’s not right,” Barb said, taking a few steps further down the corridor. “A building this important should be crawling with staff.”

  Daniel turned to the corner, shaking his head and mumbling. “He says three weeks ago staff started disappearing.”

  “Why didn’t they call the police?” Martin asked.

  Daniel paused. “Because they were disappearing inside the building.”

  “Inside?”

  “Yeah. They’d go into a room and not come out.”

  The Scot looked around and ran his hands along the walls. “There could be a portal of some kind hidden within the walls.”

  “Wouldn’t that be kind of big to hide?” Martin asked.

  The Scot looked at him briefly before continuing on down the hall. “Not if you know how to do it.”

  Jezryall crossed her arms. “No, if someone built a portal, we would have been alerted to its construction.”

  “Unless it was already here,” Martin said. “Before the Embassy was built?”

  “Nope.” Barb shook her head. “We have a list of all inter-dimensional portals. Ancient or otherwise.”

  Martin turned to Daniel. “And your friend is positive no one is in the building, anywhere?”

  Daniel shrugged. “As far as he knows. All the floors are empty.”

  “What about the cellar?” the Scot asked.

  Daniel turned to then corner. “He doesn’t go down there.”

  Martin frowned. “Why not?”

  “It’s too creepy.”

  “He’s dead! What does he care?”

  Daniel rolled his eyes. “Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean things don’t bother him.”

  Jezryall smiled as she stepped over to Daniel. In this light, with that smile, she was so beautiful. “Would your friend be willing to check the cellar for us?” she asked.

  Daniel looked at the corner, and then nodded.

  “Most likely we will find what we are looking for in the cellar,” the Scot said.

  “Naturally,” Martin sighed. “Because the weird, scary stuff always happens in the cellar.”

  Daniel took the lead and walked into the kitchen. It was dark and immediately Barb, Martin and Daniel took out their flashlights. Daniel led them to the other side of the room, stopping in front of a lone door.

  Daniel turned to the group. “He says he can’t go down there.”

  “Yeah? Well tell him to suck it up,” Martin said. “He’s dead. Nothing’s going to hurt him.”

  “No, you don’t understand. He can’t go down there. It’s like something is blocking him.”

  “Blocked?” Barb became agitated. “What would block a ghost?

  Daniel opened the door, and for a moment, Martin was half expecting to see some kind of force-field across the entrance. He was a little disappointed to see an ordinary set of stairs. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the basement. Boxes of supplies. The odd piece of broken furniture. Everything looked normal. Except for the stone archway at the far end of the room.

  Martin shone a beam of light on the arch. “This doesn’t look like it was part of the original building construction.”

  Aslin moved past him and took a good look at the stone, tracing the small markings with his finger. “This is a Spell of Concealment and Confinement.” He turned to Jezryall. “Dark magic. I bet whoever built this is also behind everything else.”

  Barb walked over to the door and grabbed the handle. “So what are we waiting for?”

  Martin grabbed her wrist. “Whoa, hang on a minute. Dark magic or not, you don’t just go barging in. We don’t know what’s on the other side. It could be whoever set this up.”

  Daniel rummaged through the pockets of his coat and handed Martin and Barb each a small wax ball filled with green liquid. “Anything comes at you, throw that.”

  Martin looked at the globe and shook it. The liquid inside splashed up against the container. “What is it?”

  “A knock-out potion,” Barb said, rolling her globe around in her palm. “Nothing really dangerous, but you’ve got to throw it hard to break the wax open.”

  Martin nodde
d and positioned himself to throw his…weapon when Barb grabbed him by the arm.

  “Oh, and don’t get too close to the fumes.”

  Daniel readied his own globe. “It’ll take down a bull elephant in his tracks.”

  Barb tightened her grip on the handle. “On the count of three. One...two...” She pulled hard on the door, throwing it open.

  There was nothing on the other side of the door but a long stone corridor lit with candles. It reminded Martin of the short corridor under the occult shop. The fire disappeared from Aslin’s hands. He raised one hand and waved it in front of the door, mumbling a few strange words. A white glow engulfed the entrance way.

  “This will keep anyone from knowing we’ve crossed the threshold,” he said, and created another palm-size fireball.

  They followed the corridor down to the end. The smell of dirt and damp was strong. The mortar in between the stones looked new. Martin reached up and touched one of the limestone rocks. Residue coated his fingers and he rubbed his thumb along the pads of his fingertips.

  “Yeah,” he said, and wiped his hands on his pants. “This has been constructed recently. There’s still residue on the walls.” He caught the Scot and Jezryall exchanging a quick glance. It sent a shiver up his spine.

  The corridor opened into a large stone room with a dirt floor. There was another stone archway that led to a second room adjacent to this one. Four large wrought iron cages sat along the far wall. They were large enough to hold several tall people. Next to them, three men and a woman were chained to the wall. Their shirts were ripped down the front and soaked in blood. Barb turned away and buried her face in Martin’s shoulder, as Daniel walked over to one of the men.

  “Are they dead?” Martin asked.

  Daniel tilted his head to one side. “They should be.” He reached up and pushed the torn garment to one side. Three arches of a circle had been sliced into the man’s chest, connected by straight lines to a Rune symbol in the center.

  Aslin walked up beside Daniel and inspected the other bodies. All of them had the same mark sliced into their chest.

  Martin put his arm around Barb. “What happened to them?”

  “They were sacrificed,” the Scot said. “Their souls yanked from their afterlife and unnaturally bound to their corpse.”

  “With dark magic?”

  Aslin nodded.

  Barb looked at Martin. There were smudges of black under her eyes. “Zombies.”

  Martin clenched his jaw. For the first time today, he was angry. Really angry! Weird stuff or not, these people didn’t deserve this fate. “How do we free them?”

  For a moment, no one spoke. Martin could feel the uneasiness his question brought, and then the Scot looked directly at him.

  “Either we break the spell that binds them, or we kill them ourselves.”

  Martin let go of Barb and started looking around for something that could be used as a weapon. “So what are we waiting for?”

  Aslin grabbed him by the arm. “You do not understand, Mr. Cunningham. These people may look dead, but they can feel. If you hurt them, they will feel it!”

  Martin was dumbfounded. “They can feel? I thought zombies didn’t feel anything.”

  “Maybe in movies,” Barb said, walking over to a young male victim. “But in real life, they’re feeling creatures, trapped in a decomposing body and forced to do things against their will.”

  Martin’s breath caught in his throat as a tear trickled down the pallid cheek of the young man. He walked over to another victim--a young woman, and searched her face. Her skin was grey and almost transparent, making the veins and arteries stand out that much more. He swallowed hard and moved a lock of hair away from her face.

  “Then how do we break the spell?”

  “By killing the one who created them.” There was an almost satisfying tone to the Scot’s voice.

  Martin didn’t look at him. “Why do I have a feeling that’s not as easy as it sounds?”

  Jezryall stepped up to the Scots side. “A person who wields this control over dark magic will be nearly impossible to defeat.”

  Martin turned to Daniel. “Did you bring anything that could kill this person?”

  “No,” Daniel said, looking disappointed. “I didn’t think we’d be finding a nest. Besides, I don’t think anything I have would be useful anyway.” He turned to the Scot. “This is magic against magic.”

  “Come,” Jezryall said, as she headed to the second room. “We will continue our search and gather as much information as we can.” She stopped and faced the group, focusing on the Scot. “If need be, we will return with help to defeat this evil.”

  The second room was full of mud holes surrounded by Runes etched in stone. There were several large eggs coated in mud sitting near the center of each hole. Martin recognized the brilliant shimmer of the shells.

  “Look at them all!” Barb said, and turned to her boss. “Maybe you weren’t the only target?”

  Jezryall hovered closer to the Scot and he wrapped one arm around her in a protective manner.

  “Are there more like you?” Martin asked.

  “No, Mr. Cunningham, I am unique.”

  Martin frowned and looked back at one of the mud pits. “Then why so many eggs?”

  “It would appear whoever wished me dead, wanted to make sure the task would be completed.”

  The Scot motioned to Barb and Daniel. Immediately, both went to her side and stood between their boss and the pits, then he walked over to one of the mud holes.

  “These must be destroyed.” He mumbled words Martin remembered hearing back at the lab, and his fingertips ignited. Balls of green fire hurtle toward the mud, and soon all the pits were engulfed in a blaze of supernatural green flames.

  “They’re burning this time,” Martin said as they walked toward another archway.

  “They were not protected or fused.”

  Daniel slammed his hands over his ears and hurried past them. Martin was sure he saw him sniffle as he passed.

  The second corridor was as musty smelling as the last, with small wisps of smoke and the smell of burning wood following them. It opened into a small room with three more stone archways.

  “This place is becoming a maze,” Barb said. “Now which way?”

  Martin took out his flashlight and shone it down one of the paths, as the Scot brought out a compass from the pocket of his robe.

  “This tunnel doesn’t look finished,” Martin said, flashing the beam straight up the center of a corridor.

  The Scot turned to one of the tunnel entrances to the right. “We travel down this one.”

  “Why that one?” Martin asked.

  “Because it faces east. All magic must be done facing east.”

  “What about the last one?” Barb pointed to the entrance straight ahead. “Shouldn’t we check this one out too?”

  “Agreed,” Jezryall said. “Mr. Cunningham and I will travel down the west passage. The rest of you take the east.”

  Martin felt a little uncomfortable and Jezryall sauntered over to his side. He would be completely alone with her. What if she turned into that smoke-dragon thing again? Would she hurt him? What would he do? They walked in silence as Martin held out his flashlight, trying to keep his mind on the dusty walls instead of his boss.

  “You seem to be handling this rather well.” Jezryall’s voice was soft and seductive. A tingle ran up his spine and he forced himself to think about something else.

  “Handling what?” he said, touching the walls. “Breaking into a building or all the other stuff?”

  “All the other stuff.”

  “Well, after what I saw in that chamber at your friend’s place, I’m not sure what to believe anymore.”

  “You do not trust your eyes?”

  “No, I know what I saw was real. I’m just having a hard time processing it all. I mean, when I got up this morning I didn’t know any of this existed.” He stopped and looked at her. His breath caught in his
throat as shadows danced across her face. Martin turned away and stared down the corridor. “This is a lot to take in for one day.”

  Jezryall sighed. “I do regret that things have been thrown at you so suddenly. It is always easier to gradually introduce a new person to this world. You are handling this better than I expected. That says much about you.”

  Martin chuckled. “Yeah, but what?”

  The flashlight lit up a wooden door at the end of the corridor. It was partially open and Martin motioned Jezryall to stand back. From the limited view, Martin could see a desk with one chair and an army cot, but he didn’t hear any sounds. Gently, Martin pushed on the door, letting it swing open under its own weight. He exhaled as he saw the room was empty. Funny, he didn’t remember holding his breath.

  They walked into the empty room and look around. More than one desk lined the stone walls and there were papers scattered on one of the tables. Martin spied the papers the same time as Jezryall, and they both headed for the desk.

  Martin picked up one of the sheets. “What is this stuff?”

  “These are spells,” she said, scanning the remaining pages. “Or at least, parts of spells.”

  Martin picked up another sheet. “Here’s another partial.” He held the two pieces of paper side by side. “Looks like they were trying to get the wording right.”

  Jezryall took both pages from him. “Magic is a very precise thing. You must understand, and be very particular with what you write. Otherwise it will fall apart.”

  Martin looked down over the other sheets on the table. “Looks like someone spent a lot of time and energy on just one spell.”

  Jezryall walked over to a pile of books on another desk. She picked up one of the smaller ones and flipped it open. “These are all dark spell books.” She closed the book and placed it back down on the desk. “I would say we have found more than just a nest of zombies, Mr. Cunningham. We have found an established coven of dark magic.”

  Jezryall headed for the door. “Aslin and the others are in danger. There is no way the three of them can defend themselves if they are discovered.”

  Martin followed behind her but something caught his eye. It was a strange symbol on a small paperback book. Three elongated circles with an upside-down triangle in the center. He picked it up. Even the feel of it wasn’t right.

  He glanced over the cover. “The Dark Guild.”

  He took a quick look out into the corridor. Jezryall was already out of view. He looked down and flipped through the pages, and then closed the book and stuffed it in his coat pocket before heading out into the corridor.