Page 52 of Insidious Monsters
“Search the place,” Devyn ordered. “Call in forensics.”
Her officers rushed off to do her bidding.
“Is Reggie here?” Devyn asked.
“Yeah, over by the window.” Archie indicated the body slumped beneath the sill, entrails hanging out.
“Boss, we have some live ones here!”
Devyn holstered her weapon and led the way out of the lounge and across the hall to a basement door.
Officers came out, supporting a woman between them. Her expression was dazed, her body wasted and skeletal-looking like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. Two more people were led out, a man and another woman, both weak and pale.
I could sense the otherness coming off them. “These must be mystics.”
“We only had reports of seven missing,” Devyn said. “But these look like they’ve been held for much longer.”
“Not from the city, maybe?” her colleague suggested.
“Get them to the station and ask Faraday to check them over before we interview them.”
The officers guided the mystics past us. The woman stumbled and I grabbed her arm to steady her, bumping into the man in the process. He whimpered softly, a sound of alarm.
The officer stepped between us and gently ushered the man across the foyer to the exit.
“What the hell happened here?” Archie said.
“Looks to me like this Holy character decided to cut his losses and bail,” Devyn said. “Reggie must have come back with news that you were on their tail.”
Crap. “So he kills them all and runs. And how he’s out there and we have no clue where.” My stomach tightened. “He could come after Nandi.”
“Not if he doesn’t know where she is,” Devyn said. “This cult targeted her at the coffee shop and arranged to meet at a restaurant. I don’t think they know where she lives.”
“Nandi said Margie told her the Holy was attracted to her power. So maybe you’re right. Maybe he felt it in the vicinity. He lived here and we work in this area, a lot of coming and going.”
“Question is, why does he want her so bad?” Devyn said.
“To feed on her power,” Archie said. “Like he did on the other mystics. He fed on them until they were faceless things.”
“Like the man who tried to kidnap her?” Devyn asked.
“Nah,” Archie said. “I think that one’s different. Like a minion to do his bidding, maybe. I don’t know.”
“We’ll know more once your man Milo figures out the meaning of the symbol on the dead attacker’s wrist, and the other ones I sent you.”
“It might be better if you two met. Speed things along by chatting. I’ll arrange it.” She headed for the front door. “In the meantime, I have some mystics to interview and a killer to catch.”
I looked toward the blood-spattered lounge. “I honestly thought this would be the end of it, you know? That Nandi would be safe.”
“I’m going to head back home,” Archie said. “I’ll stay close to Nandi. You want me to drop you off to Quentin on the way?”
“Yeah. Maybe I can salvage the day by catching an eldritch person.”
fourteen
Quentin had sent me the address to a café on the corner of Hellion Street, a five-minute walk from the Bridge and Tower, one of our city’s monuments. Tourists came from far and wide to climb the tower, which provided an epic view of the city. You could see for miles from up there.
I spotted Quentin as soon as I entered the café. He had a window seat up against the far wall and was the unwitting recipient of several appreciative looks from a group of young women at a neighboring table. I had to admit, viewed objectively without the title of handler, Quentin was a good-looking guy. With his golden locks and azure eyes, chiseled jaw and straight nose, he was a treat to look at, and the fact that he had a toned, muscular physique didn’t do him any harm either.
