Page 68 of Soulmarked

“That's it? We're just going to pretend this conversation never happened?”

“No.” He paused at the threshold. “We're going to do our jobs, stop whatever's coming, and then go our separate ways. Because that's what professionals do.”

The words hung in the air like smoke, heavy with everything left unsaid. I opened my mouth to respond when the warehouse door exploded inward with enough force to rattle windows.

A man in an impeccably tailored suit swept in like he owned the place, radiating the kind of confidence that usually meant someone was either very dangerous or very dead. Today, I suspected both.

“Alejo de la Cruz,” he announced, dark eyes sparkling with mischief as he extended a perfectly manicured hand. “Lex to those who don't want their throats torn out. He/him pronouns, and you must be the federal agent who's gotten our Sean all worked up.”

“Cade Cross,” I replied, noting how Sean's shoulders tensed at Lex's entrance. “CITD.”

“Oh, I know exactly who you are.” Lex's grin was sharp enough to cut.

“For fuck's sake, Lex. There's this thing called knocking.”

“Boring.” Lex swept into the room, taking in the scattered research and lingering tension with sharp eyes. “Besides, this couldn't wait. We found something.” He paused, dark eyes moving between us. “Did I interrupt a moment? Please tell me I interrupted a moment.”

“You interrupted nothing,” Sean growled, but I caught the way his shoulders tensed. “What did you find?”

I moved to gather the scattered papers, grateful for the distraction. The mark on my chest still burned with unspoken truths, but there was work to be done. Personal revelations would have to wait.

“Phoenix's pattern.” Lex pulled out a tablet, fingers dancing across the screen. “And it's more deliberate than we thought.”

Holograms sprang to life, filling the air with glowing data points and geometric patterns. A map of Manhattan emerged, overlaid with pulsing red markers that made my stomach clench. Each point corresponded to a site we'd identified, churches, abandoned buildings, places of power.

The pentagram pattern we'd discovered earlier was now augmented with new data points, energy readings, temporal anomalies, and victim locations.

“Son of a bitch,” Sean breathed, his eyes fixed on something I hadn't noticed yet.

I followed his gaze and felt my blood run cold. The pentagram wasn't just a static symbol, it was evolving. Faint purple lines radiated from each point, creating a secondary pattern within the original star. And at the intersections of these new lines...

“It's not just a conventional summoning circle,” I said, the horrible realization dawning. “It's a dimensional anchor. Look at these energy signatures.” I pointed to the readings hovering beside each marker. “They're not just opening a simple portal,they're weakening the barriers between our world and Hell itself.”

I traced the pattern forming across the map, feeling my mark burn cold at the implications. “Phoenix's headquarters isn't at the center by accident. It's the focal point where all the dimensional weaknesses converge.”

“Whatever they're bringing through,” Sean's voice was grim, “exists in the deepest part of Hell. The kind of ancient demon that requires blood sacrifice and ritual energy to break through the barriers that were specifically created to contain it.”

“Give the fed a prize.” Lex's usual playful tone was gone, replaced by something grimmer. “But that's not even the worst part. Look at these sites specifically.” He highlighted several points. “What do they have in common?”

Sean moved closer to study the data, and I felt the heat of him even from feet away. Professional distance was harder when the world was ending.

“They're all places of suffering,” he said finally. “Sites where terrible things happened. Mass deaths, violent crimes...”

“Places where the barrier between worlds is already thin,” I finished. “They're using tragedy as a power source.”

“Exactly.” Lex pulled up another overlay, this one showing energy readings that made my head ache just looking at them. “Each site is like a battery, charged with decades of pain and death. And Phoenix is tapping into all of them simultaneously.”

“To power whatever they're trying to bring through,” Sean muttered. He still wouldn't look at me directly, but his voice held that focused intensity I'd come to recognize.

“And what better power source than human suffering?” Lex's smirked. “They've been planning this for years. Buying properties, setting up shell companies, all to access these specific locations.”

I studied the pattern, trying to ignore how Sean's presence seemed to fill any space he occupied. “There's something else. Look at the timing of the acquisitions. They didn't just choose these sites randomly. They're moving in a specific sequence.”

“Like a combination lock,” Sean said, and damn him for still being able to follow my thoughts even when he was angry with me. “Each site has to be activated in order.”

I studied the holographic map, falling into the methodical analysis that had built my reputation at CITD. The previous ritual sites were clearly marked, five locations activated in a precise sequence. I traced the pattern of demonic activity, searching for the underlying logic guiding their selection.

“See these spectral signatures?” I said, highlighting the data points. “Each location bears the same demonic imprint, growing more intense with each completed ritual. They're systematically accumulating power, following this pattern around the pentagram.”

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