Toward the end of lunch, the telephone rang. Nero, who was sitting nearest, stretched up to answer it. Kyrie shot him a look, and he stood and stepped away from the table. She had rules about technology and mealtime, even if Nero didn't see the point since the phone was literally within arm's reach of the table. "Hello?"
"I've got some good news," purred a familiar voice.
"Hey, Trish. What is it?"
"Well, it took most of a garden deluxe with extra cheese, but I got some of the answers you wanted. Better yet, I think Gigi is ready to talk. She's not happy about being stuck in this hospital, and I think she's finally caught on that she won't succeed in escaping as long as I'm around."
"Has she tried anything?"
"Oh, she's tried." Trish's voice dripped self-satisfaction. "She didn't get far."
"I'll bet. So you think she'll talk to one of us?"
"I'm not an expert judge of human motivation, but I suspect if you can arrange to get her out of here, she'll be willing to tell you anything you want to know. She knows she's lost this war."
"Sweet. We'll be over this afternoon. Thanks, Trish." He hung up and relayed the news to the table.
"Well, that is good news," said Lady. "One less thing hanging over us."
Kyrie's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure what we're going to promise her, though. We still don't have any place to house her, and I doubt she's well enough yet to be handed over to the police. The doctor said it could be a couple of weeks before the bandages come off. She'll need special care, wherever she goes."
Nero dropped into his seat again. "She definitely can't come here. That only leaves the orphanage, and I doubt they'll be thrilled about one more resident. Especially that one."
"Trish did confirm that she's a minor, though." Kyrie tapped a finger against her lips. "I wonder how badly damaged that wing really is."
"Which wing? The one they closed?"
Kyrie nodded. "There were a few private rooms in it. They weren't used often; mostly for visitors, I think."
"She'd still need to be under surveillance. You planning on moving Trish there? That's a little far from the pizza supply."
"Surely it wouldn't be difficult to install a lock on the door. It's at least worth investigating, isn't it?"
Nero shrugged. "If you think Sister Benedicta will go for it, go ahead."
"I'll call her as soon as—" Kyrie was cut off by the trill of the telephone. Nero was mid-bite, so she stood. "I'll get this one. Hello? Oh, Sister Benedicta! I was just about to—" Her expression grew serious, and her gaze swung back to the table. "Of course. I'll send Nero right away." Before the receiver even made it to the cradle, she was speaking over her shoulder. "Another attack at the orphanage. Go, quickly."
Nero bolted from the table. By the time he'd retrieved Blue Rose from his bedroom closet, Lady was waiting for him at the base of the stairs, buckling on her holsters. "We can take my bike. It'll be faster."
Nero paused only to throw Red Queen across his back before swinging behind Lady's motorcycle seat, and they roared the short distance to the orphanage in record time. Nero didn't bother heading for the main entrance; as he approached, he could hear the demons in the courtyard behind the building. The side gates were kept locked, but he knew where a bench was set against the wall. It gave him the boost he needed to jump up the high wall, bracing his boots against the stone for a second leap that carried him over. As he touched the ground, Lady's grappling hook clattered at the top of the fence, and she landed beside him a second later.
The demons whirled and stared at them, chittering in excitement, but Nero hesitated before engaging. "This isn't right."
"A bunch of demons attacking an orphanage? I should say not." Lady tucked the grapple into place and slung Kalina Ann across her back. "But I assume you mean something more than the obvious."
"When was the last time you saw demons like this?"
Lady took a quick inventory of the monsters surrounding them. "Last year, in Red Grave, some of them. Others I haven't seen before."
"Yeah. Not here." Nero scanned the courtyard. There were a handful of Empusas like the ones he'd killed at the Qliphoth, something else that might have been related to a Basilisk but was cloaked in green flame, a skeletal humanoid wrapped in a robe of shadow, and a pair of enormous creatures that looked like goats with wings. There were no Scarecrows or Chimeras. Not even any Frosts. "None of these demons belong on Fortuna. Even when the Order was active, I never saw these here."
The demons were taking a definite interest in them now, and one of the Basilisk-type creatures hissed as it crept forward. Lady drew a pair of automatic pistols. "Let's sort it all out after we kill them, okay?"
Nero swung into action, laying into the nearest not-Basilisk with Red Queen. The creature gave him a challenge; his blows glanced off its armored hide, and even Blue Rose's high-load ammunition hardly seemed to affect it. Its aura of green flame seared his skin as it batted at him, and one of its fangs scraped a burning line across his forearm when he dodged an instant too late.
Nero bought himself a few seconds with a well-placed roll that carried him out of the line of the beast's attack and used the time to snap a few explosive rounds into Blue Rose's cylinder. When the demon came at him again, he leveled the revolver at its open mouth and fired. The burst knocked it back, and Nero followed up with two more shots at close range, then a lunge with Red Queen that speared the creature through its throat. With a final gurgle of hatred, the demon collapsed into a swirl of ash and smoke.
He risked a split-second glance at Lady, who had already put down one of the Empusas and was chasing after another, before the skeleton was on him. Again, Nero's attacks were frustrated; his sword passed harmlessly through the shadow cloaking the demon and seemed to do no real damage to the bones beneath. The ghoulish figure carried no weapon, but a glancing touch from its hand sucked all the warmth from Nero's body. "What the hell is this thing?" he shouted back to Lady.
Lady skewered the second Empusa with Kalina Ann's bayonet and glanced over. "Looks like a Sap Wraith," she called back. "Close your eyes and hold very still!"
Nero resisted the urge to roll out of reach of the demon and, against every instinct he possessed, squeezed his eyes shut. "If this thing grabs me, it'll—" His words were cut off by an ear-shattering blast and a wave of flame across his face. He flung himself back and opened his eyes to see the Sap Wraith curling into vapor. "What the hell, Lady?"
She lowered the rocket launcher and shrugged. "Only thing that kills Sap Wraiths is more heat than they can absorb. It was either a missile or a grenade, and my aim is better with the missile." Proving her point, she swiveled Kalina Ann beneath her arm and fired at one of the goat creatures creeping up behind her. The rocket tore through its leathery wing, and the beast bellowed in rage.
Nero massaged his ear, which was ringing from the close-range explosion. "You couldn't have warned me? I would have gotten clear!"
"I needed you to stay put to guarantee a clear shot. If you'd moved, you could have ended up in my line of fire."
That made a certain amount of sense, but it didn't stop Nero from sulking. "You're the one who gets to explain to Kyrie where my eyebrows went."
"You're welcome," Lady sang, planting the bayonet in the ground and using the rocket launcher as a brace to execute a whirling kick to both goat monsters' faces. As irritated as he was just now, Nero had to admit that Lady really was a fantastic gymnast.
Nero channeled his annoyance into the fight, dispatching an Empusa by driving his sword through its thorax. By the time he'd cleared his side of the garden, Lady had finished off both goat demons and was casually reloading her pistols. "So. Summoned, then?"
It took Nero a few seconds to realize she was continuing their conversation from before the fight. "That'd be my guess. They sure as hell aren't native around here."
"Let's look for evidence." Lady began a circuit of the enclosed area, scanning the ground, and halted not far from where they'd previously found the Solomon's noose. "Uh-oh."
"What's uh-oh?" Nero joined her.
Lady crouched for a better look at the intricate red-brown symbols painted on the stone walkway. The array was more complex than the previous summoning circles Nero had seen. "This isn't some amateur fooling around. We've crossed into true enthusiast territory." She rubbed a finger in a spot that was still damp and sniffed it. "Ugh, it reeks of sulfur. I'm sure this is demon blood. Whoever did this is playing for keeps."
Nero knelt and touched a shallow circular indentation in the soil beside the walk. "Weird. I've seen this kind of mark before, too, in an old warehouse by the waterfront. It's where Tonio was attacked."
Lady frowned. "That's odd. Could it have been made by one of the demons?"
"I guess it's possible. I didn't get a good look at their feet." Nero stood and turned in a slow circle, scanning the perimeter for movement, but saw nothing out of place. "I don't get it. Who would go to this much trouble to mess with the orphanage?"
"Well, we know who didn't do it." Lady stood and wiped her hand off on the hem of her shirt. "Gigi has been under Trish's observation this entire time."
"Damn, you're right. I was hoping she was the key to everything weird that had been going on around here." Nero holstered Blue Rose. "I'm gonna sound the all-clear and have a chat with Sister Benedicta. You coming in?"
"I think I'll stay out here, if it's all the same." Lady flashed a wry smile. "Catholic school, remember? I've stockpiled enough disapproving looks from sisters in habits to last me a lifetime."
Kyrie was sitting in the living room with both twins and a pile of mending when they returned to the house. To all appearances she was calm and collected as she greeted them, but Nero noted the tightness around her lips and the way her anxious eyes sought his. "Everyone's fine," he assured her. "We handled it."
She nodded, her shoulders sagging a little in relief, and set aside the shirt on which she was replacing a button. "That's good to hear. Come into the kitchen with me and I'll fix you both something to drink."
Rosso, sprawled in his usual place at one end of the couch, looked up from his comic book. "Can I have a drink, too?"
Nero knew the beverage offer was just an excuse for the grown-ups to be able to talk privately, but Kyrie rolled with the interruption. "May I have a drink," Kyrie corrected.
"May I?" Rosso echoed.
"Yes, you may. Zaffiro, would you like one as well?"
Zaffiro looked up from the other end of the couch, where he was reading a book for the first time in a week. "Yes, please."
"All right. I'll bring you something in just a minute." Kyrie led Nero and Lady into the kitchen and practically whirled on them. "What happened?" she whispered.
Nero didn't want to worry her further, but everyone involved with the orphanage needed to know what they were facing. "Someone summoned some pretty nasty demons in the back garden. Tougher than the ones from before. Nothing we couldn't handle, but potentially very dangerous to ordinary civilians. The sisters are going to keep the kids inside as much as possible until we know more."
"Summoned? Again?" Kyrie clasped her hands at her diaphragm, the nervous singer's habit returning under stress. "Who would do such a thing? Why?"
"We don't know. Whoever it is, they aren't playing around. It was some pretty advanced work."
Mechanically, Kyrie retrieved two cups from the cabinet and poured juice for the twins. "I always knew there was a certain amount of risk in staying here, after what the Order did, but I always believed Fortuna's people were fundamentally good. Everyone here always looks out for each other, helps where they can. But for someone to do this… to target children…"
"We don't know what their goals are," Lady countered. "And we don't know for certain that it's even someone from Fortuna. A lot of unsavory types showed up here to pick over the bones of the Order."
"But it's not the first time it's happened, and it could happen again," Kyrie sighed. "You're the only hunter on this island, Nero. What if you aren't nearby when they return?"
"I'm almost always around," he assured her. "We'll figure this out, like everything else."
For a few seconds, the only sound in the kitchen was the gentle drum of Kyrie's fingers on the countertop. "You know, I've been thinking this for a while, but especially after this has happened…" She turned and faced Nero squarely. "I think I should to learn how to use a gun."
Nero just stared back for a few seconds while his brain tried to process this information. "No. No way. I don't want you anywhere near those things we fought today."
"I don't particularly want to be near them, either, but I'd rather be prepared for an emergency. I'm sure the sisters aren't prepared to defend themselves from something like this. They've always called for the Holy Knights, or you, whenever there was a threat. What if you're across the island, or on the mainland, and it's just me and the children?"
"Kyrie, demons are faster and stronger than humans, and a lot of them can attack at range. If you're close enough to aim accurately, they're close enough to kill you before you can get a shot off."
She frowned. "I'd still rather take that risk than have no defense at all."
Nero tried to think of a counterpoint to that, but Lady spoke up first. "I think she's right, Nero. If you're going to keep a gun in your bedroom, she should at least know how to handle and unload it safely. And I don't think it's a bad idea for her to learn how to shoot, either. Too many strange things have been happening around here, and we still don't know who is behind them."
"Blue Rose is not some starter pistol," Nero pointed out. "She'll snap your wrist if you're not careful."
"I don't need to use Blue Rose," Kyrie assured him. "I can't imagine I would ever have your weapons at the orphanage unless you were there, anyway. I'm sure Nico could lend me something that's more my size."
"We can start you off with my nine-mil, if you like." Lady patted one of the holsters strapped to her leg. "It'll have a lot less recoil than anything Nero's using."
Nero raised his hands in surrender. "All right, if you both think it's a good idea, I know there's no point in arguing. Just promise me you won't put yourself in harm's way. Fighting back should be an absolute last resort. Life-or-death situations only."
"That's all I want it for. Believe me, I'm more than happy to leave the demon hunting to the professionals. I just think someone at the orphanage should have a way to protect the children, in case of another attack."
"Preferably more than one somebody." Lady looked thoughtful. "You know, we could set up a group class and teach some of the sisters the basics. Then the orphanage would be better defended all the time."
Nero shrugged. "I can't really see Sister Benedicta going for it, but I guess there's no harm in asking. The worst that happens is she says no." He snapped his fingers. "Oh—that reminds me! While I was there, I checked on the room for Gigi, and I think there's one in the closed wing that will work. Sister Benedicta wasn't thrilled about taking her on, but she said she'd allow her to stay for a few weeks, at least until her hands heal. Apparently some anonymous benefactor just made a cash donation to the orphanage, so she was in a good mood."
"Oh, that's a relief," Kyrie sighed. "They really need the money. And at least Gigi won't have to stay in the hospital indefinitely. And Trish won't be stuck there, either."
"We'll give her the good news when we go question Gigi—assuming she cooperates."
Kyrie nodded. "We can go as soon as you're ready. Or—" She hesitated. "Who should speak with her? Someone will need to stay with the boys."
"I'll stay here," Lady offered. "As a representative of the orphanage, Kyrie is the one with the leverage to get her released from the hospital, and I suspect the two of you can pull off a more convincing good cop/bad cop scenario if you need to."
"We'll hope that won't be necessary," Kyrie said. "Are you sure you don't mind staying?"
"No, it's fine." Lady angled one ear toward the hall and listened for a few seconds. "Besides, it's quiet right now. I'd rather get my babysitting hours in while they're actually behaving."
"They do seem to have made up," Nero observed. "Maybe that talk with Rosso earlier helped."
Kyrie nodded. "He extended an olive branch just after lunch, and asked Zaffiro if he wanted to help him put together a puzzle. Zaffiro wasn't interested, but the offer seemed to help smooth things over between them. After that they both ended up on the couch, where you saw them."
"I'm glad something is getting back to normal," Nero sighed. "Give me a couple minutes to clean up, and then we can go talk to Gigi."
