The Chaos Tree
Chapter 10
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A dark, matte black Hennessey Venom was parked near a subway entrance on Grand. Officer Nathaniel Bowman walked around the car, taking a peek in through the windows: empty. Standing, he scanned the area for a person or persons unknown. Cars weren't plentiful in the downtown Chicago area at any time, and certainly not at two in the morning, especially at the Grand Transit Stop. Up the street were the State/Lake and Clark/Lake Stops, and those tended to have travelers, even at this hour as they were near the Siskel Film Center, the Daley Center and the Civic Opera house. Grand was a ghost town.
Stepping back from the car, he tapped the radio on his shoulder and said, "Bowman, badge number two-nine-seven. Abandoned vehicle on Grand between State and Dearborn. No pedestrians sighted."
"Ten/Four, Officer Bowman," Dispatch intoned. "Would you like a trailer dispatched?"
Nate thought for a moment, then said, "Negative. I'll check back in one hour and if the vehicle remains, we'll trailer it then."
"Affirmative. Dispatch out."
After reporting the vehicle, Nate pulled out his cell and hit speed dial three. A moment later David Lassiter came on the phone.
"Nate, you got something?" David voice sounded rough with sleep.
"You know that black car you sent out the alert about? Well, it's right here at Grand and State."
David's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Do you have the stabilizer on you?" After what happened to him in Mount Vernon, David had immediately ordered ultrasonic transmitters for his people in the field; police officers, firemen, transportation engineers, anyone who might come into contact with the Sorcerer, as he was now calling the mysterious white haired man. He'd ordered them to set the devises to twenty-five hertz, so they could maintain their form if they encountered the man.
"I do," Nathaniel said, fingering the small device in his pocket.
"Turn it on now," David said.
"But there's no one…"
"Now," David ordered.
Nathaniel clicked the device. "All right, it's on."
"Can the car be seen from surveillance cameras?"
"It's on the edge of the surveillance zone." Nathaniel looked around, then jerked in surprise as a very tall man stood not three feet from him. "Who are…"
The man blew a powder in his face, and Nathaniel's body went haywire.
"Nate?" David cried, as the other man's cell clattered to the ground. "Nate!"
The silver-haired man picked up the cell and stared at it a moment, before lifting it to his lips, and saying, "All clear…"
Nathaniel closed his eyes and focused on the vibration resonating from his pocket. If he could just… Suddenly his cells snapped back into place and he could move. Grabbing the man's arm, he had both of his arms muscled behind his back within seconds, a zip-tie binding his wrists together.
The man's eyes were wide, and it was apparent he was completely surprised.
Nathaniel touched his shoulder, activating his body cam. Bending, he picked up his cell which had fallen again as he subdued the man. "I'm … fine," he said to David.
"Help is on the way," David assured him.
"I'll just … what the hell?"
The man was standing with his hands free, watching Nathaniel with a slight smile on his face. "Vaṭiva māṟṟi." (Shapeshifter).
Nathaniel stepped back, his hand on his gun. "What?"
The man frowned, thought a moment, then said, "Figura Subcinctus."
Nathaniel got that one. Hesitating only a moment, he finally said, "Etiam." (Yes) One didn't grow up in very Catholic Chicago without knowing at least a little Latin. They were indeed shapeshifters.
The man looked delighted. "Et Latine loquimur?"
"Non nimis," Nathaniel said. (Not very well.) Where was his backup? He was feeling very isolated, and the man was freaking him out.
The man nodded, giving the shapeshifter a sympathetic look as though he knew exactly what he was thinking. Suddenly there was a screech of tires, and a sedan turned from Dearborn onto State and stopped right behind the black Hennessey. Four Shapeshifters got out and walked over. Nathaniel could have cried with relief. "Sure took your time," he muttered.
Each of the men had the ultrasonic transmitter going in their pockets.
The white-haired man eyed the men, nodded his head politely and said, "Bonum vesperam." (Good evening)
The men nodded.
"What do you want?" Nathaniel asked. Then he shook his head and asked again, "Quid vis?" That's when he suddenly noticed the man wasn't smiling anymore. Whatever pleasant expression he'd had before had been replaced with a blank slate stare that terrified him.
Eyeing each of the shapeshifters carefully, the man finally met Nathaniel's eyes one more time and said clearly in English, "Chaos."
Dean rose in the dark of night and headed down to the kitchen. He didn't know why, but he simply couldn't sleep. This was the second night he hadn't slept through, and if he didn't get an uninterrupted night soon, he was going to be useless in the field.
Last night Caleb had his private jet take Ethan and Elijah back to Houston. Ethan said he'd be in contact if his digital expert uncovered anything from the Cabaret's security cameras. Both men promised to be on call should the Triad need their help in finding out more about the mysterious man in the photo.
Since Caleb's jet was in use, Max had found some seats on a two-hour Untied red eye flight to New York late Sunday night. Since the price was good and the flight had no layovers, Max, James and JT decided to go, since they weren't needed anyway, James declared hotly.
"James," Dean had said in a measured tone.
When his father spoke his proper name in that quiet voice of steel, James always knew he'd gone too far. Sighing, he merely nodded his head, still too irked to do more.
But it was JT who pinned their father to the rail, eloquently expressing their displeasure and expectation without any semblance of disrespect. "I'll expect to hear from you in the next couple of days."
Dean refrained from rolling his eyes, but also refused to be drawn into a promise he may not be able to keep. "We'll see if anything comes up."
Sam almost grinned at the displays of Guardian maneuvering, but stopped himself from smiling. Caleb rolled his eyes and walked Ryker out, who was reluctantly heading home as he was expected to teach the next morning.
Relenting somewhat, Dean eyed the three young men and said, "I will call everyone in if the hunt warrants it. I promise."
After the boys had gone, Caleb and Onida as well as Joshua and his family decided to call it a night and head for home. And since Mary had flown back to New York with Josie in the early evening, only Sam had remained for the night.
Moving across the dark kitchen to the coffee maker, Dean's hand hovered over the pot. Unfortunately, he knew if he wanted even a prayer of returning to sleep, he couldn't have coffee. With a sigh he turned to the fridge and poured himself a glass of apple juice. Taking a drink, he walked through the library and entered the Tomb. When he was again in the hidden room behind the painting of Merlin, he looked in the fax tray and picked up the single sheet of paper lying inside. Jacob had written; No government contracts to develop biochem weapons. No major companies or corporations conducting biochem weapon or subliminal tactics for mass testing in the US. Searching smaller companies now, but positive results unlikely. No information available on black Hennessey Venom. Consider the vehicle stolen or lifted from the manufacturer.
Dean nodded. They were already leaning on the side of a spell, and this looked like a definite push in that direction. He finished off his juice on the way back to the kitchen and placed the glass in the sink. Taking a seat at the table, he thought over everything they'd learned in the last week, and basically, it wasn't much. One: uncontrolled violence in select cities; Two: a black car was seen a handful of times; Three: there was a mysterious man driving the car; Four: a possible conspirator was driving a red corvette, and Five: they had a mystery box with no idea what was inside. How could they work with that?
Though the Brotherhood research team was still gathering information and Ethan had his tech cleaning up a digital recording, his gut told him the man in the black car was their target. Picking up the picture of the man beside the car, Dean studied it again. He'd figured out the man's physical dimensions and style, now he was studying the man. He was good at taking another person's measure; growing up he'd had to be. He'd needed to protect Sam and himself from CPS, nosy teachers, the law and the monsters. Those years had honed his young eyes, and he'd been good at judging a person ever since.
Even in the photo he could tell the man had a long gaze, like he was used to looking far into the distance. In their modern era most people had a short gaze, their vision distracted by signs, cars, movement. This man didn't see those things, he looked beyond them. Not that they weren't worth his notice; but he wasn't distracted by them. He was also comfortable with his height. He remembered all the times Sam would slouch when he got so tall, trying to conceal his height around much shorter classmates. This man owned his height. He was powerful and wore that power like he'd earned it … no, Dean thought, deserved it. The way he held himself all meant he was comfortable with himself, proud even. There was an elegance and assurance that spoke of old-world grace.
Old World.
Blinking, he didn't know why those words kept coming to mind, but he suddenly knew this man wasn't from their modern era. Everything about him said old, as in old in experience, not necessarily age despite his apparent white head. Pulling in a deep breath, he stared at the photo. "I may not know who you are," Dean murmured to the quiet room, "but I know I can track you." That's who he was; a tracker, always had been. He could track a monster pretty much anywhere. So where was this monster?
Rising, he went back into the Tomb and retrieved the map with the circled cities. He would guess the man entered the United States from Canada through Maine, swung down from Kennebunkport into Baltimore then headed west, as the violence appeared to be going counter clockwise. He wrote that down, wondering whether the direction of the circle could help in figuring out what spell was being laid down. What was this guy doing? Joshua was right; there were hundreds of possibilities.
Dean eyed the line from Houston up to Mount Vernon. Had the man decided to check them out? If so, how did he find out about them? It's not like the Brotherhood was common knowledge. As a college-aged Riley had pointed out years before, the Brotherhood put the secret in secret society. Maybe the man was merely heading up to Chicago. If he were using cities as hubs for his spell, he might have reconsidered using ones as small as Ashland and Rockland for the northern border. It was possible that after seeing Anaheim and Houston, he realized just how large cities in the United Sates could be, and decided to use Chicago rather than Ashland as a talised hub.
Dean studied the map. If this person was doing a spell of some sort, the circle would need to be closed. After leaving Houston, if the man's pattern of marking a city then moving a couple states before marking another was to be followed, his next destination would have to be Alabama or Georgia. He was betting Alabama, then North Carolina, and sealing the circle in New York.
Sitting back, his eyes went to Mount Vernon again, then down to New Haven. Though the Brotherhood wasn't known, his gut told him this guy had come to take a peek. Now it was his own turn to check this guy out. Let the hunt begin.
.
Sam stared at the darkened ceiling of his and Dean's old room, watching the shadows from the tree outside the window dance across the surface. Caleb had climbed that very tree to gain access to their room one October night when he was in high school. He thought he'd killed someone with his abilities and planned to run away. Eyes drifting to the tree and swaying branches, he thought of all the memories made and being made in this house.
A sound captured his attention, and his eyes went to the door. He knew it was Dean. Shifting his gaze to the small bedside clock, he saw that it was just after two in the morning. Instead of following his brother, he mulled over all they'd talked about the last couple of days. Somehow he didn't think violence was the motivation for their mysterious antagonist; more a result of implementing his unknown plan. The box was a huge clue, one he was eager to tackle. Hidden, talking about mankind, wailing for knowledge gained… What knowledge was gained? The syntax, verbiage all sounded like the lid was referencing historically early knowledge, ancient knowledge. Gaining knowledge was usually a good thing. So why did the box lid say wailing for knowledge gained? What kinds of knowledge were bad? With modern eyes he could say that several research projects through the decades had been bad, like the Nazi's experimenting on prisoners, America's dark history of doing medical research and experiments on disabled persons and prison inmates. Physics had some dark moments, like the creation of the atom bomb. But looking past individual instances of human darkness, a most obvious answer was that increasing ones knowledge of evil would be a bad thing: delving into the dark magical arts, practicing dark magic. Those were gains in knowledge that would elicit a wailing. Yet, considering his recent research into periods of violence in the world, evil had always been an aspect of humanity. The wailing on the box lid seemed to be a universal wailing for knowledge gained rather than a wailing over mankind's violent disposition or a groups' discovery of an ancient evil.
Shifting on to his side, he stared at the outline of the tree. The last line on the lid said Beware chaos. Yes, chaos was usually never good, but sometimes chaos gave way to good. During chaotic circumstances, people often rose to the challenge, they stepped in, they helped one another. Beware seemed to point to a specific instance of chaos. Maybe the knowledge gained they were wailing over. So then it followed that Halt unlock could refer back to the instance of chaos the lid warned of. Maybe Halt unlock didn't refer to the lid at all, but to unlocking the chaos in history. Brian said that last part meant Do not open. Would Elijah agree?
"Ugghh," Sam groaned, returning to lying on his back, he bunched his pillow and resettled his head. Too much of the lid remained hidden for him to make judgments at this point in time. He thought of the pictures of the black car and the man of mystery. He knew the car had been painted for stealth; any one of them could tell that. The matte back paint, a car low to the ground and much faster than the law allowed, speed wise. What drew the man to that type of car? Where had he purchased it? There was only one dealer for the Venoms in the United States, and that dealer was in Tennessee. He didn't see this man going all the way there just to get the Hennessey Venom. So, where did he get it, and why that car? It all went to who this man was, something Dean already had a very good handle on.
He rolled back onto his side and pulled the covers up around his chin. They were going to hunt him down, of that Sam was certain. Letting his eyes slide closed, he wondered what plan his brother was concocting.
.
Caleb stared at the US map spread across his kitchen table. Like the one at Dean's, the cities where the violence had taken place were circled on the map face. His gaze drifted from Mount Vernon Illinois, down to Louisville Kentucky and over to New Haven, and his hackles rose. The hunter in him had no doubt this man was checking out the Triad. Though this mysterious man had a larger objective in mind, he was also very interested in them, and in the Guardian.
"Caleb?"
Turning, Caleb saw Onida standing in the doorway, her hair held up by a heavy clip, yet still managing to fall in disarray around her sleepy shoulders. Stepping further into the kitchen, her eyes went to the map on the table. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to track the mystery man in the black car," Caleb sighed.
"It's four in the morning."
"I couldn't sleep," Caleb stated with a small smile.
Onida surveyed the map. "He's circling the country."
Caleb nodded. "Until Houston."
"Then he switches and goes north."
"Why?" Caleb asked, his eyes on Onida.
Onida stared at the map, at Mount Vernon, then jerked up to view Caleb. "He's coming after you."
"Maybe," Caleb said, dropping into a chair. "There was no violence in Mount Vernon, New Haven or Louisville. Maybe he was just checking us out."
"Does everyone know where the Triad lives?"
Caleb shook his head. "It's not general knowledge, but powerful people could find out."
"You think this person might be linked to a coven or a magical society of some sort."
Leaning forward and propping his elbow on the table, he said, "It's possible. Despite fighting evil for decades, it's not like the home of the Triad is common knowledge; most covens don't even know where we live. And we don't deal with secret or magical societies, as we have our in-house information sources."
"The Brotherhood doesn't consult?"
"Not usually," Caleb said. "Groups don't know about the Brotherhood."
"So," Onida said, sitting at the table. "What are you going to do?"
"Well, Sam's working to decipher the lid of that box David Lassiter found. I'm wondering if there are other boxes out there, and whether we can track them."
"The box isn't trackable," Onida stated.
Caleb looked up, frowning. "What? How do you know that?"
"It's cocobolo wood."
"I know that. Cocobolo wood is used to completely encase the most powerful magics and curses. But why can't we track the wood itself?"
"Because cocobolo wood is untrackable," Onida stated. When Caleb merely stared at her, she smiled. "Matter has a resonance, a frequency. In solid matter," she patted the table, "particles are packed so closely together they aren't free to move about within the substance. But that doesn't preclude a frequency. Cocobolo wood has no frequency."
Caleb stared at her a moment, then said, "You're so hot."
Onida looked startled for a moment, then she laughed. "Are you planning a change of location?" she asked, bobbing her eyebrows.
"What's wrong with the kitchen?"
Onida laughed again.
Caleb grinned. "All right, cocobolo wood can't be tracked. How does it appear on a psychic level, as a blank spot with frequencies vibrating around it?"
"I don't know. I suppose we can check that out tomorrow."
Nodding slowly, Caleb said, "If cocobolo wood can't be located because of a lack of frequency, is the frequency inside untrackable?"
Onida nodded. "That's what cocobolo wood does."
Caleb nodded and sighed. "Yeah. Okay." Eyes back on the map, he said, "If we surmise the guy in the car is making a circle around the US, and he jogged up here to take a peek at the Triad, then I think he needs to get back on task. So after Houston, where would have been his next stop?"
"He went from Anaheim to Houston, right?"
"Maybe," Caleb said, eyeing the expanse between Anaheim and Houston. Running a finger through Arizona and New Mexico, he said, "It's possible there was a stop along here. Not a major city, but a smaller one like Ashland or Rockland. Both are towns with a small population. The bigger cities are the anchors for whatever he's doing."
Onida looked up. "How do you know that?"
"Experience," Caleb said. "But if he's getting back on track, I think he'll hit a smaller city somewhere in Alabama or Georgia, then a larger city again in North Carolina or Virginia, then New York."
"You expect him to go to New York?"
"There's isn't a more major city on the East Coast than New York."
"But Anaheim isn't the largest city in California. Wouldn't he hit a smaller city on the East Coast too?"
"Anaheim is the most visited city in California, one of the top tourist destinations in the United States. When you count that it's the major city in Orange County, that's saying something."
Onida nodded.
Suddenly, Caleb yawned.
"Come on," Onida said. "Let's get some sleep. Then tomorrow we can see if a lack of frequency can be tracked."
Caleb rose and smiled, saying, "I'm betting that it can."
"We'll see," Onida said, "We'll see."
.
Despite getting only a couple hours of sleep, Dean was back in the kitchen staring at the map before seven Monday morning. He was going to track this mystery man, and that meant getting on the road today. He frowned at the map. "Alabama," he said to himself. The man would use major highways and hit the clubs under the cover of darkness. Where would he sleep? Higher end hotels. This guy liked his comforts.
"What are you doing?"
Dean looked up to see Sam entering the kitchen. His brother made a beeline to the coffee pot. Smiling, he said, "Morning. Trying to track our mystery man."
Sam sat down at the table, a mug of coffee held in both hands. Sipping, he smiled and sighed.
Dean grinned. Shaking his head, he went over to the pot to warm his own coffee.
After imbibing some life-giving brew, Sam opened his eyes and focused on the map. After a moment he leaned over, asking, "How do you plan on tracking him?"
"He's going from small cities to larger ones, I'm thinking larger at the four cardinal points and smaller in between."
Sam stared at the map. "You think he chose Anaheim as the western point, and Houston at the Southern. But why not a huge city in the north?"
"I don't think he realized there were bigger cities until he got to California."
Sam frowned. He knew Dean had a good sense of this guy, but he asked anyway, "I get that city size is relative to where someone grew up. But why wouldn't he know about large cities?"
Dean shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure, but somehow I get the feeling this guy isn't familiar with just how large this country is. I think he got a good look when he hit California. Orange County has over three million people. Houston has two-point-three million."
"Maybe he was just hitting his stride with the smaller cities, and bigger isn't better," Sam suggested.
Allowing himself the moment of levity, Dean grinned and said, "Bigger is always better."
Sam gave a snort. "What you're thinking, is that he's re-evaluated his definition of a large city anchoring whatever he's doing, and that's why he veered north, to pick a bigger city like Chicago."
Dean shrugged. "It's possible."
"Maybe. But if he's driving west from Baltimore, he'd have gone right through Columbus and Indianapolis. And if he's choosing a city on the northern border, a better choice would have been Minneapolis-St. Paul." Sam pulled up a map of the largest cities in the Unites States on his computer and turned the screen around for Dean to see. "If he's hitting border states, he'd choose Michigan rather than Illinois."
"He may be going for the largest cities," Dean shook his head. "This is all speculation. We don't know exactly what he's doing. But we do know he has gone around the US until he hit Houston, and I think he'll go back to finishing his route."
"Just in case, we should tell David he may be heading to Chicago. If he's going for size, Chicago is the third largest city in the United States."
"I emailed him this morning. He'll be on the alert."
Sam nodded, his eyes going back to the map. "So, you want to track him."
"Yeah. We have some idea of what cities attract this guy. I'll check them out."
"We'll hit mid-size cities with large clubs and bars," Sam said, making sure the we was noted by his brother.
"Exactly," Dean said, ignoring Sam pointed inclusion of himself in the plan. Two could play that game. "Just because this guy isn't a monster in the classic sense, doesn't mean he isn't trackable. We already know what cities he's interested in. The picture gives us clues on who he is; the well fitting clothes, the arrogant demeanor, the expensive car. He could have driven any of a hundred cars, much less conspicuous cars. But instead he chose an exclusive sports car, one that's worth several hundred thousand dollars."
"Most of the violence has taken place in bars and clubs because that's where he can get lost," Sam interrupted. "That's where he can work without being seen, because those places are filled with people trying to be seen."
Dean watched his brother a moment, before saying, "I'll have Mark run the shop the next couple days. I thought I'd leave this morning."
"You…"
Suddenly the phone rang on the wall, and Dean jumped to get it so Juliet wouldn't be woken up so early. "Yeah?"
"Dean, Dean, he was here, in Chicago."
"Lassiter?"
"Yes!" David sounded ragged and worn. "He killed my people, he killed my people!"
"David, calm down." Dean heard sharp, raspy breathing as Lassiter tried to regain some control. "Tell me what happened."
"I got your email this morning, but it was too late," Lassiter said. "He was already here. He found out what we were, he did…"
Dean gave his head a quick shake, frowning. "David, start at the beginning. Tell me what happened."
Sam was now standing by his side, trying to hear the conversation.
David took a huge breath, then said, "I got a call from Nathaniel Bowman. He's a shapeshifter on the force at Chicago PD."
"He's a cop?" Sam said, leaning in.
"That was Sam," Dean clarified, giving his brother an exasperated look.
"Yes. Shapeshifters are woven into the fabric of Chicago," David relayed, as though explaining something so mundane would help him reclaim his control. "Law enforcement, the DAs Office, Fire Department, water, transit; we live, work and breathe Chicago." He paused as his voice shook slightly. Clearing his throat, he went on; "So, Nate was on patrol and he saw the black Hennessey parked downtown. He called it in, then gave me a ring. When we were talking, the man showed up and blew something in Nate's face."
Dean frowned and shook his head. "How do you know that?"
"Nate told me. He was the only one left alive."
"David, I'm sorry."
"They were all from old families," David said, a catch in his voice. "Four men I've known my whole life. It's…"
"A tragedy," Sam supplied, leaning in close to the mouthpiece.
"Yes." There was a moment of silence, then David cleared his throat again.
"Brian?" Dean interjected. The ancient languages specialist had been sitting on his coach just yesterday, geeking out about the languages on the box lid.
"No, Brian wasn't there."
Dean nodded.
"Good," Sam murmured. He'd felt a connection to a fellow professor.
"On the way home yesterday, I'd ordered ultrasonic transmitters for each of my people in the field," David said. "The devise was set to our cell frequency, thanks to Onida. Nate's was on. He said he couldn't move for a moment after the man blew the powder in his face, then he focused on the resonance and his cells stabilized. I guess the man wasn't expecting that. Nate subdued him and zip-tied his hands behind his back."
"Really?"
Dean stepped back, glaring at Sam. "David? I'm putting this call on speaker, all right?"
"Oh … yeah, that's fine," David murmured.
Dean did so, and he and Sam sat back at the table. "Go on."
"Nate grabbed his dropped phone when suddenly the guy was free. Just then the team I'd sent to back Nate up arrived." There was silence for a moment, then David said, "All I could hear were the screams."
Dean and Sam stared at one another.
"When I got there, they were just lying there like…" David's voice broke off.
"You don't have to do this," Sam said, compassion in his voice.
"I do," David stated, his voice tight. "I do. They were my friends. What he did… What he did to them was unconscionable."
"What did he do?" Dean asked in a measured tone.
"He ripped all their cells apart," David declared. "They couldn't hold any form until all they had left was their minds, then he tore that apart too." His voice failed him as he gave a choked cough.
Sam stared at Dean a moment before saying, "You said Nathaniel was the only one left alive. What happened to him?"
They waited for David to get himself under control. "He said … he said the man did the same thing to him. And then, right before he died, the man repaired all his cells so he would live."
"What?" Dean shook his head. "Why would he do that?"
"How did he do that?" Sam interjected.
"Nathaniel said the man told him those who respect law and order would be valued in his world."
"Valued in his world," Dean repeated slowly. "I guess that means some other world than this one."
"Whoever this guy is, I believe he plans on making over this world," David stated. "He's powerful, more powerful than I would have thought. Before the murders, Nate asked him what he wanted…" David voice broke off.
"And what did he say?" Dean asked, but already knowing the answer.
"Chaos."
Sam looked at Dean and quoted softly, "You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star."
Dean frowned. "What?"
"Nietzsche," David said, "Friedrich Nietzsche." After a moment of silence, he said, "I need to prepare the funerals, give comfort to the families and check in on Nathaniel. He's wrecked. Get this guy," he urged, desperation in his voice. "End him. And if you need anything, call."
There was silence at the table after the phone call ended, each man lost in his own thoughts.
Finally Sam said, "I'm coming with you."
"You're working on translating the lid to the box."
Sam nodded. "And I still will, from the car. There's nothing I can do here that I can't do in a moving vehicle. We both know that from experience."
Dean suddenly didn't want Sam to come. David Lassiter's phone call had shaken him to his core. Shapeshifters weren't some namby-pamby member of the monster world. They were strong, fierce and cunning. It seemed this man had taken them apart easily.
"And no," Sam stated, correctly interpreting the look on Dean's face, "I'm not staying here. Neither is Caleb."
Dean sighed. "Yeah, I know."
"Their cells were ripped apart," Sam said, frowning. "You think whoever did that used magic to kill them?"
Dean nodded. "I don't know what else would."
"Ultrasonic resonators," Sam murmured.
"What?"
"Ultrasonic resonators. David said he bought his people ultrasonic resonators to help them keep their shape, so that something like what happened to him wouldn't happen to them. Resonance has the power to convert sound waves into pressure. That could have collapsed all their cells."
"David said that the man did that to Nate, then healed him."
Sam nodded. "He has a knowledge of physics as well as sorcery. That means Joshua needs to come with us too."
"Really?" Dean huffed. "This went from me going, to me and you, now it's a guy's road trip."
"Not really. Joshua won't ride in your car," Sam pointed out, smiling.
"We're still on the same road going in the same direction," Dean declared. After a moment, he shook his head and sighed.
"What?"
"I don't want to take Josh away from Nicholas. He needs him."
"I know. But he's the one with the magical creds."
"But he doesn't need to come right now," Dean stated. "All we're doing is trying to track this guy. I don't plan on confronting him without a damn good plan."
"Joshua isn't going to like us going without him."
"I don't like you going," Dean said. "We need to know what's inside that box."
"And I said I'd work on it in the car," Sam declared. "Alison and her team will be working on it too."
"In addition to searching the social media records, we're asking her to work on the box," Dean observed. "Looks like we're going to be paying some overtime again."
Sam chuckled. "Looks like." Standing, he said, "I'm going to make arrangements for someone to take my classes this week."
"Are you sure about that?" Dean asked, concerned. Sam had worked so hard to get where he was. He didn't want his job to be in jeopardy.
"I've got tenure," Sam said with a smile. "And my classes are very popular. The law department has grown twenty-nine percent in the last twelve years. Having an in depth knowledge of the law as well as intimate familiarity with law breaking makes for enlightening teaching. The Brotherhood comes first, and you know, this type of thing hasn't happened very often, where I'm gone for a week or so. They won't be happy, but they'll deal."
Dean knew his brother was valued by the University. "Yeah, okay. I'll give Caleb a call."
"Dean, it's before eight. Go get some sleep and I'll call him later. We leave at noon."
Dean rose and griped, "Who made you road trip leader?"
Sam just smiled and walked out of the kitchen.
Dean leaned over and refolded the map. Looked like they were headed to Alabama.
Onida sat in the living room at the farm, staring at the box. She and Caleb had come over around ten-thirty, Caleb with his duffel packed, to Sam's amusement. Now Caleb and Dean were in the kitchen going over the map, and Onida was trying to find out if there was any way they could track cocobolo wood boxes. After a long moment, she sat back. "I'm not sensing anything."
Sam leaned forward and said, "You sense energy and magnetics, right?"
Onida nodded.
"Can you sense the reverse?"
"Like a lack of energy?" Onida asked. "Caleb suggested looking for that, but I don't sense a nothingness either. It's just as though the box weren't there."
"I mean, more an inhaling of energy," Sam stated.
Tilting her head, Onida frowned. "A what?"
"All space and time has a resonance, an energy. Cocobolo wood completely shields and encases whatever is put inside. So that must mean it's a dampener, or it neutralizes energy. Don't search for a blank spot; search for something that is active, but neutralizing rather than emanating it."
"I'm not sure I see the difference between a blank spot and nothing neutralizing energy," Onida stated carefully. "And I'm not sure I know how to do that."
"All you can do is try," Sam said with smile.
"Fine, Onida said, "here goes…" Closing her eyes, she focused on the box and imagined energy around it. After a moment, she opened her eyes and tried to see the colors of energy and where they were going. Suddenly, she gasped. Small neutrons of light were there, then they simply disappeared. "Oh…" she murmured, watching as minute particles of energy were gliding around and disappearing. "Isn't that interesting."
"Something?" Caleb asked, coming in from the kitchen followed by Dean.
"Yes. It's very small, but tiny energy particles are floating around, and just disappearing around where the box is."
Dean frowned. "I thought cocobolo wood prevented whatever was inside the box from emitting, holding or expelling."
Sam grinned at what Dean had said. He always found it amusing when Dean used scientific terminology. "It's supposed to completely encase whatever is inside."
"And it's doing that," Onida said. "I'm not sure what exactly is happening, but minute light particles are disappearing when they get near the box."
"Disappearing where?" Caleb asked.
"I don't know," Onida mused. "Maybe Sam's right, in that the box is neutralizing everything around it, both inside and out."
"Has cocobolo wood always had that ability?" Caleb asked, dropping down beside Onida.
"I've never studied cocobolo wood, so don't know how it usually interacts with energy on the particulate or molecular level," Onida stated. "All I know is that energy particles are undetectable when they get near this box."
"Energy can't be created or destroyed," Sam said slowly. "Cocobolo wood doesn't destroy the objects inside. If energy particles are disappearing when they get near the box, then either the box is rerouting the particles ... or absorbing them."
"Cocobolo wood doesn't absorb energy," Caleb argued. "It contains all manner of curses and magical objects. If it didn't do that, it wouldn't be useful to the magical world."
"Unless whatever is in the box can't be contained," Dean said slowly.
Onida eyed Dean, then looked over at Caleb and Sam and stated the obvious; "It is in the box."
"It's in the box now," Dean said.
Caleb frowned. "I've never heard of anything that cocobolo wood couldn't contain."
"Maybe this is a first," Sam said.
No one spoke for a minute as that statement sank in. Finally Caleb got them off the speculation trail and asked Onida, "Can you track these boxes if there are any more out there?"
Onida shook her head. "These particles are tiny. I can barely sense them now, and I'm sitting right next to the box."
"But now that you know they're there…?"
"They're just too small," Onida said. "We don't even know if there are other boxes out there, and the whole country is a large place to search for something I can barely detect right here in front of me."
"What if Joshua could somehow enhance the particles so you could sense them?" Sam asked.
"Can he do that?"
"I don't know," Sam said, "but we can ask."
"No," Joshua stated firmly. "You're not going anywhere to deal with a Sorcerer if I'm not there."
"And we won't," Dean said. "All we're doing now is tracking him, and that's going to be a hit and miss proposition."
"Not for you," Joshua declared huffily. "You're the best tracker the Brotherhood has ever had."
Dean felt his face flush. Joshua had not said that as a compliment, but to support his argument, and that made him appreciate it even more. Of course, Caleb wasn't pleased.
"Hey!" Caleb declared, looking offended.
Joshua rolled his eyes. "You're very good too."
Caleb huffed at the offhand comment. "That wasn't convincing."
"This isn't about who's on first," Joshua snapped.
Dean looked at Caleb. "You have way too much influence on your brother."
"And I'm not going to be diverted," Joshua stated. "I should be going, so I am."
"You're not right now," Dean said. "You're going to stay here with Nicholas, and Caleb's Hawker will fly you to wherever we are in a hurry." Seeing Joshua still looking mutinous, he continued, "I'm not planning on confronting this guy. He's too powerful."
That got Joshua's attention. "How do you know that?"
Dean lifted a manila folder. "This is everything I've deduced about this guy so far."
Joshua took the folder, opened it and started skimming the pages. Some of it he'd already seen, some was new. Looking up, he said, "You're sure? From that one picture?"
"As I can be," Dean said. "You know I read people, have had to my whole life. That's what I think about this guy. I need you to collaborate with Adam, Odette, anyone you can trust to see if they've heard about someone powerful planning something. I also want you putting together your most powerful spells and wards. This guy took apart five shapeshifters cell by cell so fast, they couldn't fight back. Then he healed one of them. This isn't someone to be messed with. I don't know how powerful he is, but I want us armed to the teeth with as much as you've got, and anything with Triad magic you've been experimenting with."
Joshua's face had paled slightly. "You think he's that powerful."
Dean stepped a foot closer, his face intent when he asked, "Who is the most powerful Sorcerer you've ever known?"
"Malachi Harris," Joshua said in a hushed tone.
"That powerful."
Joshua felt his insides quake.
"I've never heard of anyone who can do what this guy did to David's people. Have you?"
"Other than Harris? No."
Caleb stepped forward. "We need anything you can come up with to protect us, but also something that can be used to defeat him. We also need you to work with Onida to see if you can enhance her ability to sense the box David Lassiter found."
Joshua felt like his head was spinning. "You think there are more of these boxes out there."
Dean nodded. "And it's possible that whatever is inside might not stay in there forever."
"Won't stay…" Joshua sputtered. "Cocobolo wood encases all manner of dangerous magical artifacts."
"From what Onida saw this morning, we think it's possible that whatever is inside this box is absorbing energy from the outside," Caleb stated.
Joshua sighed. "All right," he said. "I'm pulling in Adam, and if he thinks it's prudent, I'll see if I can bring in Odette. She'll know if there's anything unusual on the magical grapevine. We'll work to gather and enhance any magical protections and weapons we have, and we'll work with Onida to see if there's a way to enhance the energy around the box. But when I get armed, I'm coming to wherever you are whether you like it or not," he declared, directing the statement at Dean. "I am the Advisor to the Triad of the Brotherhood, and my place is with you." Looking around, he finally asked, "By the way, where's Sam?"
Caleb chuckled. "He went home to pack a duffel. We're picking him up after we leave here."
Pounding feet heralded the entrance of a small boy, who dodged around Caleb and flung himself into Dean's arms.
"Oohhh," Dean groaned, lifting Nicholas into his arms. "Is it break time at school?"
Nicholas nodded, then looked around as Maisie and Lucas came into the kitchen for their morning snack.
Joshua picked up a tray of granola bars and apple slices from the kitchen counter and placed it on the table.
Dean gave Nicholas a hug, then set him on the floor. "I'm going away for a few days, okay?"
Nicholas' face fell, but he nodded.
"But I'm coming back, all right?"
Nicholas nodded. "Back."
"Yes, back."
"Come on, Nicholas," Joshua said, taking the child's hand and leading him over to the table. "Let's get you a snack, then it's back to school. After lunch we'll have free time in the yard. Ted and Maxie want to see you."
The puppies were in the corner, yapping and dancing on their small hind legs.
Dean held out his hand to Joshua and said, "We'll keep in touch every couple of hours. Track Sam's cell phone so you can keep up with where we're at. Caleb has the Hawker standing by at Bowman Field, ready for takeoff at a moment's notice. Get whatever information you can and gather what you need. I have a feeling we're going to need everything you've got."
"I'll see you in a day or so," Joshua promised. "This man may be powerful, but he isn't better than the Triad."
"And their Advisor," Dean added.
Joshua smiled and nodded.
Dean pulled up in front of Sam's house and waited for his brother.
"You think this one is going to be bad, don't you?" Caleb stated softly.
Dean glanced over at his best friend and Knight, and gave a solemn nod. "Something about this guy, the way he stood there by the car, his manner, the strength of his stance … it gave off power, confidence, someone who gets what he wants." Turning, he stared out the front of the Impala, watching the traffic, seeing a man walking his dog down the street, watching the mail truck stop by the mailbox a couple houses away and place letters in the box. Everyday human activities done by everyday people. This man wanted to change that, he wanted to change the world. "I think this is a very dangerous man."
The front door opened and Sam stepped out, his computer bag over his shoulder, his duffel in his hand. Locking the front door, he jogged down his short front steps and opened the back door. "Hey," he said, climbing in.
Caleb looked around, and knowing Sam usually rode in the front seat whenever he was in the Impala, said, "I thought you'd rather spread out in the back, since you're going to be working on translating the lid of the box."
Sam smiled. "Thanks."
Dean looked between Caleb and Sam, and said, "All right, Gentlemen. We've got eight hours until we reach Jackson Mississippi, city of just under two hundred thousand."
"Madeline Riley created a program and linked it to the transit cameras of Mississippi to see if it can get a glimpse of the Hennessey," Sam said. "She's working on linking the program to Alabama and Georgia now. It's going to take some time, as she needs to use the transit program's backdoor so she won't get caught."
"Will the states see the program?" Caleb asked.
Sam shook his head. "No. And the program is set to dissolve itself in three days. Hopefully we'll have caught up with our mystery man by then." Eyeing the other two men, he said, "What routes do you plan on using?"
"Though I don't expect to find him on the road," Dean said, "we're going to be using a combination of Interstates and States Highways. I'm betting this guy doesn't use rural roads, not in that car."
"Then let's hit it," Caleb said, his face grim. "I want to see what the hell is going on."
Dean turned the key and the Impala roared to life. Come on, Baby, he thought. Let's see what we can catch.
After Dean and Caleb left and Nicholas, Maisie and Lucas were back in class, Joshua slowly cleaned up the children's snack dishes. Instead of loading them in the dishwasher, he washed them by hand, using the methodical task as time to think. He didn't like Dean, Caleb and Sam going up against what he truly believed was a Crafter without him. Then again, if this man was as powerful as Malachi Harris, it made sense that preparations needed to be made.
Malachi Harris. That was a name they hadn't spoken in years, not since he had been killed by their Triad at the Barnwell Mansion, forcing Joshua to relocate his wedding to the farm. But in truth, he hadn't minded the change one bit. Being married to Carolyn in a place that meant family, history, tradition and brotherhood had been cathartic for him. It heralded a brighter future than his strained and painful past, trying to be something he wasn't. Dean, Caleb and Sam all accepted him for exactly who he was, and it was a gift.
Malachi Harris had been Advisor to Daniel Wilmington's Triad back in the late nineteenth century. He'd been responsible for the deaths of Daniel and his Knight Cole Tanner, leaving the Scholar Samuel Colt to pick up the pieces and realign the Brotherhood. Harris had been an extremely powerful and experienced witch. But when he'd come back to the twenty-first century as a demon, their Triad had taken him down, and they would take down this new threat.
Hanging up the dishtowel, Joshua went into his study and made a call to Odette Harris. If anyone could keep a confidence, it was her. She was also a massive source of information. She heard everything, saw everything, and because she rarely spoke, people said things around her they wouldn't have said around anyone else. She was practically the Phantom of the coven world.
"Yes?"
"Odette, this is Joshua. I need some help; confidential help."
"Go on."
Joshua smiled at the clipped tone. "Someone is creating a spell, a massive circle around the country. Have you heard anything about a new witch in the country?"
There was silence on the other end of the line for a time before Odette said, "Whispers."
Joshua felt his heart speed up. "Anything you can share?"
There was another silence.
When Odette didn't look like she was going to comment, Joshua decided to reveal a bit more. "You've heard about the violence in Houston?"
"Yes."
"We think he's responsible for that and much more."
Again, there was nothing. Just when Joshua was about to say thank you and hang up, Odette said, "Someone entered through Maine."
"Yes," Joshua said with an inward sigh. That was practically a monologue for Odette. "Kennebunkport experienced an upheaval." When Odette didn't add anything, he had to strenuously force down his irritation and bring to mind that Odette's reticent nature was precisely why she was a valuable source of information, even if he had to pry it from her word by word. "Do you know where he is now?"
"No."
"Do you know if he has allied himself with a coven?" Again, there was silence, and Joshua didn't know if that was because she didn't know, or she didn't want to compromise another coven. Sighing, he said, "All right. If you hear anything that can lead us to stopping him, please let me know."
Another silence followed, and just when Joshua was about to hang up, Odette said, "Mayhem," and hung up.
Joshua frowned. Mayhem? They already knew this guy was creating mayhem and violence across the country. But Odette knew about Houston, and she wouldn't have said that word without a very specific reason. Reaching up to the spell book on his shelf, he began searching for spells that enhanced violence. There weren't a lot, as most spells didn't have such a non-specific target as violence. After reading through the few that had side effects of violence, he took notes and made lists of ingredients, but wasn't convinced any of them were what this mystery person was doing. Most didn't even require a circle.
He hadn't realized how long he'd been in the study until he heard light sneakers on tile and turned just in time to see Nicholas peeking around the door. Smiling, he rose and said, "Lunchtime all ready? I didn't even make sandwiches yet." Nicholas ran in and hugged Joshua around the waist. "You know what this means, don't you?'
Nicholas looked up into Joshua's face, his own blue eyes smiling.
"I think it means we go out for hamburgers."
Nicholas bounced on his toes in excitement. "Puppies?"
"Hmmm, that presents a problem. Most places don't allow puppies in their restaurants." Leaning down, Joshua said, "How about we get hamburgers and bring them back here. That way we can get something for Ted and Maxie too."
Nicholas grinned and nodded.
"Go get your coat, and tell Ms. Stein we're going out."
Nicholas nodded and ran out of the study.
Joshua started for the door, then stopped and pulled out his cell. After a moment, he said, "Adam? Are you free to come over for a bit? I need your help and advice."
.
TBC
Author's Note: Let's hit the road!