Chapter 205
Valkyrie watched as Militsa grimaced at the rundown apartment building and stepped out of the car and into the heat. The temperature wasn't as bad in the city as it had been in the desert, but when they stepped through the sliding doors to be faced with a sign stating the air conditioning unit was out of order, they both sighed.
"This is going to be horrible," Valkyrie muttered, feeling the sweat almost immediately. "It's like, ten times hotter in here!"
"Maybe the psychic has a separate, plug-in AC," Militsa suggested hopefully, stepping aside so Skulduggery could take the lead up the stairs. "At least they picked up the phone."
"Yes, we'd be in trouble if we didn't know where she lived," Skulduggery said, starting up the stairs.
"Isn't there a lift?" Valkyrie said, following him up.
"It's also out of order. Didn't you look?"
Valkyrie groaned and followed him up, heaving lungful's of stiflingly hot air and feeling her clothes sticking to her sweaty skin. She didn't even hold her jacket properly, letting it drag over the dusty floor up to the fifth floor where it was so hot she could almost feel herself start to panic that she'd die, much like how she would if she were trapped in a space too small.
Skulduggery, utterly unaffected, knocked smartly on the door to apartment nine. Militsa joined them up the stairs a moment later, obviously hot and bothered herself but not nearly to the same extreme.
The door was answered but not by who they expected – a young boy, perhaps six years of age, in a loose blue vest and baggy green shorts. He opened it wide, looking at Skulduggery facade covered face and then to the young women.
"Ah, hello," Skulduggery said to him. "I don't support your mother is home?"
He said nothing, just stood and watched Skulduggery's face. From inside, a woman called, "Jackson, did you open the front door? How many times have I – oh, Mr Pleasant!" The woman pulled the door open wider. "I didn't expect you so soon. Come in, please. Sorry the house is such a mess, I have two kids these days, and the AC's been out all week."
Their home was as hot as outside, no breeze or private air conditioning unit to speak of. It was something of a mess but seemed to have some order. The small kitchen to the left had one clean side of surface where the lady obviously cooked, and the other side was stacked with dishes and rows of baby bottles and a tin of formula for a one year old baby. The dining area was a mess with dried and dropped food on the chairs and floor, but it was limited to only that area. The living room beyond had toys scattered around but it was an obviously cleaned and well-loved area for the woman and her children.
"We're sorry for intruding. I just had to talk to you about an emergency case and we need a good Sensitive's help," Skulduggery said pleasantly. "Would we be able to talk in private?"
"I'm not sure that's really possible," she said, putting a hand on her sons head as he leaned into her, still looking at Skulduggery's face with his big eyes, "but I'll try my best. Honey, can you go to your room for a moment? I'll tell you when to come back out."
The child was not impressed and tried putting on a tantrum to get his way but his mother picked him up and put him in there, telling him to play with his toys until she let him out. They politely pretended to not hear him throw something soft at the door when she closed it.
"Sorry about that," she said. "Oh, I'm Kes by the way." She shook Valkyrie and Militsa's hands. "You must be Valkyrie Cain."
"I am, and this is my friend, Militsa Gnosis. Have you heard of the recent Necromancer disappearances?"
She looked shocked. "No, I haven't. Although, I don't have much to do with the magical world at the moment. It's just safer for my kids, with the unrest and such. Um, come sit on the settee, just throw those toys on the floor, they won't break. Goodness knows my kids do!"
They all settled on the sofa, Militsa and Skulduggery looking incredibly put together compared to the exhausted Kes and melting Valkyrie. "We wanted to know if you'd had any visions of the kidnappings," Skulduggery said, "or if we'd be able to help induce one."
"You can certainly try. I haven't had anything recently, but you know how that is," she said. She picked a hair band off the sofa and began wrangling her tight curls into a bun on top of her head. "Have you ever induced a vision before, Valkyrie?"
"No, I haven't," she replied.
"Well, for me, I have to lie down and you tell me everything you know about the case and then I'll need all three of you to touch my skin. My magic will feel your want to find answers and I'm sometimes able to draw out a vision from the strength of other people's wills."
"Cool," she nodded, standing so Kes could lie down. They waited for Kes to meditate, as she instructed, and then Skulduggery began to explain everything Militsa had told them, and then Militsa added some small detailed they hadn't previously known, such as what Temple's the missing people usually resided at and other such information. A small frown appeared on Kes' brow as she dove deeper with her magic and when she held her hand palm up they all gently pressed their hands to her skin, thinking carefully of how much they wanted to find the Necromancers and know what happened to them.
Kes muttered occasionally but was mostly quiet, until all of a sudden, she held her breath. Valkyrie didn't notice for a moment, but then Militsa nudged her roughly and Valkyrie caught on.
"No," Skulduggery whispered. "Don't distract her. She's having a vision."
Valkyrie and Militsa watched wide eyed as Kes lay on the sofa, lipped pressed together tightly. After a moment, Militsa looked away and closed her eyes. Valkyrie followed suit, thinking even more of how she wished to help so they Kes might have a better vision. She didn't know if that was how it worked, but she hoped so.
Not many seconds later, Kes drew in a heaving breath and coughed, sitting up quickly and pushing them away. Valkyrie rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a clean glass, filling it was water from the fridge tap. She took it to Kes who thanked her between coughs and stood back.
"Did it work?" Militsa asked when Kes finally caught her breath enough to take a sip of water.
"Yep, I saw something. It wasn't much, just flashes, but it might help you," she said, setting it down on the tile floor at her feet. "I didn't feel any magic from you Valkyrie. Did you not participate?"
Valkyrie frowned for a moment before she realised what had happened. The Magic Keeping Ritual. She had already forgotten that her magic couldn't be transferred or touched by another person or object, meaning she couldn't help in a situation like this one. She struggled to think of an excuse. "Oh, sorry, I guess my, er, hand slipped."
The dark-skinned woman paused for a moment and then gave her an unbelieving look only a mother could pull off. "You slipped?"
"I'm very sweaty."
She paused again. "Right. Sure. Anyway, the vision Skulduggery." She turned her entire body away from Valkyrie to address only the skeleton. "I saw four sections. The first was of a dark room, cut into natural rock. It had a desk, chest of drawers, chair, bed and a walking cane made of some reddish wood with some Signals drawn into the sides of it. The room had no occupant or window. I think it was a still vision of the present time. The second section was of some cliffside next to a river. There were shadows of three people, but I did not see them. It was also a still image of what I think is the current time, or perhaps within the next few minutes. The next two are more interesting. I saw a Lemon Flowered Gum tree. Just one, in a very treed in area, with a red wood shack. I had the suggestion of Wiluna, it's a gold-mining town in Western Australia. And the last was of the oldest Faceless Church in the country. Funnily, not far from Wiluna. I had no details to it, other than it was dark and both took place some time tonight."
"That's actually very helpful," Skulduggery said with a nod. Kes immediately grinned. "Thank you for your time Miss Gazali."
"It's Mrs now, but that's alright. It's nice to be helpful," she smiled. A baby started to cry in another room and she rolled her eyes. "I'll let you out before I release the monster."
Valkyrie smiled, trying not to appear any more like a weirdo than she already had, following Skulduggery and Militsa out of the boiling apartment. They didn't speak until they were in the car again.
"Right, so what the hell does any of that mean?" She asked.
"Well, I expect the first vision of the empty room is either a place our kidnapped Necromancer's are being taken," Skulduggery began as he turned the car on to start the air conditioning back up, "or it's the bedroom of a person that's been taken."
"I think it's someone that's been taken," Militsa said immediately. "I recognised the cane she said. I think that might have been Cleric Daku, he came and taught once a few years ago at the Temple I'm at and people still talk about him all the time."
"I am more on the side of it being a vision of another person taken," Skulduggery agreed with a nod. "Perhaps that was the place he was taken from. If we visited, we could find some clues. The second vision I don't think we'll be able to do anything about, as we don't have enough details and it just isn't very useful." Valkyrie nodded. "The third with the tree could mean something, perhaps another kidnapping or murder. We should try and be there by tonight to prevent it. And the last of the Faceless Temple."
"It's worrying."
"Very. But we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Although it would be unusual for a Necromancer to be invested in the Faceless religion, it isn't impossible. Or perhaps our criminal or criminals intend to throw us off the scent with a different victim. We'll be visiting the Church soon."
"Sounds good to me. How do you intend to find this singular tree and hut combination then?" She asked with a raised eyebrow into the mirror.
Skulduggery looked back at her, raising his fake one in return. "By going into the town and asking."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you are."
What an excuse Valkyrie, truly I am in awe. The brains this woman possesses, just *chef kiss*
ValkyrieP: That's okay, it's a nice little haul for you to enjoy all at once! I'll make no comments on the Dead Men being together... They're totally not all doing different things thirteen chapters ahead of this one. Promise. Thank you for reviewing and staying so loyal to reading, it's really nice :)
