A/N-This chapter is dedicated to the fans of this series who have viewed, reviewed, faved, followed, re-reviewed and hopefully enjoyed along the way. Thanks you guys. ~A
A/N-This chapter also contains human sacrifice and mention of rape, not graphic but still part of the reason for the T- rating. Consider yourselves warned folks. ~A
Deva, Not Diva
Dyson was beginning to wonder where Hale was. It was taking the Siren and awfully long time to pick up their lunch. Then he heard the buzzing of a cell phone. He knew it wasn't his, the vibration wasn't coming from his back pocket. Apparently Hale had forgotten his cell phone again. Sure enough the Shifter moved a couple of files on the desk and there was Hale's cell phone. It stopped ringing just as the wolf found it, Thinking it might be a call from one of their informants, he read the name on the screen and froze.
It was Kenzi. The voice message tone sounded and the icon popped up on the screen and Dyson didn't even think about what an invasion of privacy this was. To hear Kenzi's voice had suddenly become a visceral need. Quickly tapping the screen he listened to Kenzi's message.
"Hey Hale, I need you to come interpret your handwriting. I mean really, guy, you sing like a Siren but you write like a chicken, a spastic chicken at that. Anyway not at the clubhouse, it's too dangerous. So you need to meet me at the warehouse at 1670 Industrial Way. Can't miss it and I'll leave the door unlocked and the guard dogs on the chain. See you in a bit dude."
Dyson listened to the message twice more, just to satisfy the need. Then he wrote down the address and erased the message. It was petty perhaps but if Kenzi needed help he wanted it to come from him. Then he remembered Mikhail's warning and somewhat reluctantly wrote down a message for Hale saying Kenzi wanted them to meet at the warehouse.
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Kenzi had finally given up trying to read Hale's chicken scratch from the map he had drawn. Instead after calling and leaving a message on his phone and making sure the Shadow Pack were settled for the time being, she began practicing some of the more offensive spells. The magic that Annie had been teaching her so far had been mostly defensive. Annie and Misha had both been impressed with how quickly she picked up on the magic though. So she had started learning the more advanced magic.
Truthfully Annie or Mikhail probably would have preferred to be here supervising while she practiced. Unfortunately Annie had left down for her days off to visit some old friends and Mikhail was out hunting. Since they weren't here, Kenzi had chosen to practice in the warehouse.
Kenzi was careful when she drew the energy for the plasma ball she was summoning to form in her palm. If she summoned too much or too swiftly it could take life energy from surrounding organisms. The Shadow Pack, anyone who happened to be casually walking by or herself might be endangered. The energy had to come from somewhere, she tried to draw as much as possible from the earth, but not so much as to drain the earth in the area.
She heard the side door open and so held the ball in her palm until she was sure her visitor was coming towards her before she released the energy in the direction of the stacked 50 gallon drums. The drums exploded in a rather amazing pyrotechnic display. A display that actually made the eyes of the bear in the corner and the tiger up on the catwalk, glow like embers
Drawing the residual energy back in Kenzi grounded it back into the earth. She drew a deep, cleansing breath before turning back to give her visitor a smile. The smile froze on her face when she saw Dyson standing at her makeshift work space.
Collecting herself and keeping the smile pasted on her face, Kenzi said, "Well this is a surprise, Detective Thornwood. I think this is the first time I've seen you willingly come anywhere near me in….months." She moved to ward the makeshift table where he stood. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" she said in what she hoped was a calm, cool voice.
While her inner Kenzi was screaming, 'How the hell did you find me and please, please, please, don't look at the map or anything on the table.'
Dyson gave a slight wince at the months comment, as well as the use of his last name, but nodded at the truth of the statement. "I got your message and left a note for Hale. You said something about it being too dangerous to meet at your place. Are you still having trouble with the Morrigan."
"No but I have a feeling you may have trouble from Hale for listening to his phone messages." Kenzi said studying the Shifter shrewdly. "Why would you think Morrigan might be coming after me, again?"
"Cause she didn't succeed the first time." said Dyson ignoring the mention of his partner.
"Yeah well I don't think she knows that…said Kenzi as she turned back to practicing her magic, so the other wolf couldn't see the relieved expression on her face. "At least not yet."
"So I see you're learning magic. Guess that means that you did accept the King's offer." Dyson said as he watched her preparing to cast another plasma energy ball at the target. She released the ball and turned back to Dyson.
"Yeah I did. Why are you here Dyson?" she said studying him a little more intently.
"You said it was too dangerous to meet at the Shack. I thought you might be in trouble…" Dyson saw the eyes flash the silver color he had seen in his wolf dreams and knew he had stepped in it…again.
"So you thought you might have to come and rescue poor lil Kenzi from her own stupidity again?" the new Shifter hissed through her clenched teeth.
"No! I have learned over the years that you do as much rescuing as we rescue you." He said stepping toward her and taking her shoulders in his hands. "I just thought becoming fae, learning all you need to learn about being a Shifter, that you might appreciate a hand. That's all."
Dyson bit his tongue, as he thought about mentioning that her new fae father visiting and giving him the equivalent of the shovel speech and telling him he needed to atone. Dyson while he was over 1000 years old, sometimes thought he was a complete idiot when it came to women, especially Kenzi. He cringed remembering the Baba Yaga curse, the Norn, and his recent 'abandonment.' Babbling all about her father and "The Talk" even he knew would probably turn him into her latest target.
"If you must know, it's not like this," she said indicating the barrels on the other side of the warehouse, "is something that can be done at the Shack. We're renovating not demolishing there."
"I didn't know that Shifters could do fighting spells." the wolf said by way of changing the subject.
"Yeah well you wouldn't have, would you. I mean not exactly a good idea for the Ash and the Morrigan to enslave a people and then teach them the spells the could use to overthrow their masters, now is it."
They heard Hale's car drive up, Kenzi had taken to calling the vehicle a "Crash Test Classic" at some time and although Hale had argued over the merits of his baby, the name had stuck.
"Well since there isn't really any immediate need for my services. I think I will take my leave of you." he said with a courtly bow and a devilish smirk. He passed Hale on his way to the door and gave his partner a friendly smile and a nod of acknowledgement as he headed to his own vehicle.
He hadn't let on but he had seen the hand drawn map laid out on the piece of wood stretched across the fifty gallon drums. He had recognized the odd shape of one of the rooms drawn on the map as being part of the Ashe's compound, as well as a sticky note with today's date and 10:30 PM. He intended to be there in case anything went wrong and watch Kenzi's back. Even if she didn't want him to.
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"So what was Dyson doing here?" asked Hale as he came towards Kenzi.
"Apparently he heard the message I left you and misinterpreted something I said." she said as she chewed on her nail, "He thought I might need…back up." she shrugged.
"So he left a note on the desk saying you needed help reading my handwriting?" Hale said as he walked past her to the papers spread across the table top.
"Oh you mean the parts of the map that looked more like it had been written by a five year old on a sugar rush after a triple shot of espresso." she said indicating the map with a graceful gesture of her hand.
"I'll have you know I have excellent penmanship," said Hale as he did his best to look haughty.
"Let me guess it was someone your father hired to teach you penmanship, who told you that right?" She tilted her head to the side with a little smile and said, "and you're sure they taught you English right?"
"Well he did mention that he used to be a scribe for Pharaoh Seti I." Hale with a casual shrug.
"Hieroglyphs, yep that explains it." Kenzi said with a nod as she indicated a particular chamber on the map.
"Deva." Hale said simply.
"Yeah that's what I was afraid of." said Kenzi with a heavy sigh as she sat on a ratty old stool the pack had scrounged up for her.
She shook her head as she said, "Talk about things you should not mess with."
"What, what is it?" asked Hale perplexed at Kenzi's defeated expression.
"Deva's are the Eastern fae equivalent of angels. There are less than thirty of them. They will not be bound to anyone not even the Ashe of their own territory. So how do you think your Ashe keeps this one bound to guard the girdle?"
"Maybe he asked them to protect it from thieves?" said Hale uncomfortably.
"It was stolen Hale from the Shifters and innocents were killed when it was stolen. If he had said something like that the Deva would have killed the Ashe and anyone else involved in the theft. No…" pacing as she continued to speak, "Deva's aren't just light fae, they're white fae. They protect the innocent, the weak, doesn't matter if they are fae or human. They won't be controlled or contained by anyone."
"They can be summoned if you know their name, but there is only one way to contain them….to control them and it's very dark magic. You need a couple of virgins, one male, one female, preferably a couple in love. The male is used to create the containment circle, when you summon the Deva the spell is activated. It uses the males life force to create, the body implodes and the blood mist it creates coats the Deva and that contains him. The female is raped in front of him and sacrificed as well that seals the control. It also probably drives the Deva stark raving bonkers. The thing is if the Ashe is the one doing the controlling of the Deva he had to be the one to do the spell."
"Would the sacrificial couple be fae or human?" asked Hale.
"Does it matter?" said Kenzi giving her friend a gimlet stare.
Without thinking Hale responded, "Of course it matters." Then his face crumples as he realizes what he has said.
"Not to them, it doesn't." Kenzi said vehemently. She had a thoughtful expression though and said almost under her breath for the duration of this compulsion though, I would say they would have to be fae."
"No way, there is no way in hell you can get past that thing." he said, looking a little ill at the revelation about the fae couple, "It'll kill you Kenzi."
"Actually no it probably won't." she said thoughtfully, "everybody else is another matter though. I think you need to call Trick, while I call Dad and Nonni. We need to make sure that doesn't happen.