Spell, Crook and Handle Pt. 04

"I don't know Mom. It could be there is more to dreams than we understand." I said and she smiled.

"If you are half the lover you are in my dreams those girls are very lucky," she said. "Those dreams have kept me sane since your dad got sick."

We fell silent as nurses, doctors and other people got closer to us. We got in line and got enough food for everyone upstairs. The staff knew us by name and took good care of us. I carried the food upstairs while mom followed. She did all the important things like push the button for the elevator and hold the doors open until I got in. The ride up was awkward since my hands were full and I was feeling vulnerable.

"You are looking nervous Louis," Mom said smiling. "Worried I am going to do something while your hands are full?"

"Maybe," I said.

"I could stop the elevator and have my way with you." She said getting close now.

The elevator stopped and a nurse got on. We got off on the next floor and handed out food and drinks. We all ate together and there were awkward moments like when sis got up to leave. Mom was anxious as she always was but Lily had a shadow in the form of an Inquisitor. Lily kissed Mom's cheek as she left and waved goodbye. I waited an hour before I got up to leave.

"The rent isn't going to collect itself." I said and Mom went into full panic mode.

"The police don't have any clues," Mom said her fingers curling into claws. "Keep him safe Gabrielle."

"I will," she promised. "Don't worry he's a crack shot."

We left and headed back to the house to take a shower and get some clean clothes. Gabrielle drove since she had a clearer head. I told her I was worried about my mom and didn't know how to help her. She dropped a bombshell and I had to admit she was right.

"There is nothing you do can to help her. She is going to worry about her family. Stay safe and keep her in the loop."

We got to my parent's house. I knew that Inquisitors were watching it 24/7 but I never spotted them. We went inside and we took a nice long hot shower. I held her and clung like a child. She let me have my moments of weakness. In turn I became the dominant force in our love life.

"What is really bothering you," she asked.

"I told Mom about my dream this morning," I said and Gabrielle winced. "It was of course the exact same dream she had."

"Why Louis, you already have enough on your plate?"

"I am tired of keeping secrets," I said. "I thought she might pounce on me in the elevator."

"Gods you are so thick at times," she said as she pressed her tits against me. "How long have you been playing in her dreams?"

"Uh I don't know," I told her as her hand wrapped around me. "NNNNNN, it's been maybe a couple of years, why?"

"Have you fed on her," she asked as she began stroking me. I nodded. "Jeez Louis, she has been in the thrall of your magic for years now. Does it really surprise you that it would spill over to the conscious world?"

"Oh shit, you're right I am an idiot," I said. "I didn't want to think about it. Here's your reward."

An hour later we were leaning against the wall of the shower panting. We finished and got dressed. Gabrielle had lost her Inquisitor garb for armor beneath her street clothes. I followed suit and we headed off to the first rental properties. There were a few new faces as I made my rounds. But a majority of folks had been renting from my parents for years now. Some people just handed me a check or cash while others chatted me up and asked how my family was doing.

Then there was Janine Saunders, originally for Sausalito, and going strong at the age of 84. She saw us and invited us in for coffee. She was a spry old thing with long white hair and eyes the color of mahogany. Her skin had a healthy color to it from all the time she spent in her garden and on her regular walks. She was swaddled in a bathrobe and beneath a dark green night dress. Her apartment was a testament to a long life lived well. The trophies of her life were everywhere and the walls were covered with photos of her with friends from all over the world. She had been a stewardess back in the day and had tons of stories to share. She asked about my dad and his heart condition and of course the attack.

"He is recovering and I may be collecting the rent for a few months yet." I told her and she understood.

"You be careful, there are crazies everywhere," Janine warned me. "Speaking of crazy, stay clear of the MILF in 3C, she has a different man up there every other day. Not that I am spying or anything."

"Of course not," I said and we all smiled.

We left a little while later and finished our circuit at apartment 3C. It was the corner apartment and right near a stairwell. I knocked on the door and someone cursed from within. A minute later the door opened and a half naked woman answered the door. I say half naked, you know just like the old question, is the glass half full or half empty. I couldn't help but look down at her ample tits and the huge areoles. They were like six inches across! The woman coughed and I looked up.

"Sorry, got distracted," I said and she laughed. "I am Louis..."

"I know who you are, come on in I haven't written the check yet."

We followed her in and I could see her bare ass and slit as she walked over to her purse on the coffee table. She bent over and rummaged through her purse. When she did that her nightie rose up revealing said ass and pussy. I smiled and when she turned around with her checkbook in hand I think she made the connection between my smile and her backside.

"I didn't mean to flash you," she said smiling.

"Like hell," Gabrielle whispered. "Fucking slut..."

"Hush, we are her guests," I whispered back as the woman wrote out her check.

"Here sweetie, come by sometime when you aren't busy. I can show you some Yoga poses."

"You teach Yoga," I asked.

"That too," she said shamelessly. "I could rock your world kiddo."

"I don't doubt it. Gotta run, I still have other properties to visit."

We turned to leave when she reached out and grabbed my ass. Gabrielle saw the movement and nearly stabbed the woman. We laughed the entire way back to the car. I bet she gave private Yoga lessons all the time. We spent the next few hours collecting rent and asking if anyone saw anything unusual. I heard a lot of stories but nothing that appeared helpful. After the last pickup we went to the bank and deposited the cash and checks into my parent's account. We stepped out of the bank and a gust of winter wind struck and I shivered.

"I don't know what to do," I said as we walked to the car.

"What do you mean," Gabrielle said.

"I feel directionless. I am in limbo with no clear goals. I can't leave until they are in the safe house or until we catch this guy."

"I understand, we will keep ourselves distracted until we kill this fucker," she said her voice growing more excited as she spoke. "I hear you've been practicing on Leah."

"Um... yeah... her being an Akhkharu she is sturdier if you know what I mean."

"Is that a weak way of saying she is your practice dummy and you don't want to hurt me?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up," I said.

"So are there any safe spells you'd like me to see?" Gabrielle asked in a deep purr.

"One or two come to mind," I said. "Better let me drive..."

I started the car and closed my eyes and cast one of the new spells I had learned. It was one of the most simple but the effects were immediate and profound. I touched her and she giggled. I put the car in drive and decided a little road trip was in store. Gabrielle patiently waited and when we hit an electric signal I reached out and took my index finger and traced the back of her hand. She squealed and snatched back her hand. The light turned green and I heard Gabrielle's mutters as she stroked the back of her own hand.

"It's so sensitive," she purred.

"Get the idea," I said and her wicked laugh was downright evil.

I couldn't watch as she unbuckled her belt, unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down. But I could listen as she hunched down in her seat and teased herself. The deep moan inspired a mighty erection. I could hear the wet sounds as she fingered her pussy.

"OH I LIKE THIS," she growled. "OH SHIT... I am cumming already! Damn if I had a cock in me this would be perfection."

"Don't move," I said.

"I won't, what do you have planned?"

"This," I said and invoked the other spell I had been planning on using.

The air between Gabrielle's legs warped and a shimmering blue phallic form appeared. The conjured toy eased itself into Gabrielle's soaked cunt. So there she was thrusting her hips against the toy as it ravaged her insides. The smell of sex grew stronger as she endured six powerful orgasms from the effects of the two spells. The Mistress Inquisitor outlasted the spell and it reached its time limit and ended. She sat there panting and wheezing as she slowly recovered, very slowly. It took her a full half hour before she had enough strength to pull her jeans back up. She was covered in sweat and had that freshly fucked glow.

"Well, what do you think," I asked and she kissed my cheek and whispered some very lewd promises into my ear. "Really? Those are some very serious promises."

"I will keep them," Gabrielle moaned. "Oh god Louis I am wrecked. I need food. Ooh, there is an Arby's up ahead. Feed me Louis!"

"Let's go inside," I said and she did something she never would have done before she met me, she checked her appearance in the visor's mirror.

Inquisitor's by their very nature have little concern what the public thinks of them. I had indeed a subtle but noticeable effect on her. We went in and she ordered for us and paid in cash. I don't think she even had a credit or debit card. Her movements were meant to be unobtrusive and secretive. We sat and ate while Gabrielle told me how much she loved the new spells.

"That is a wicked one-two combination. What else have you learned?" She asked her manner reminding me of a kid that just rode their first roller-coaster.

"There are spells to bend the will, make targets pliable and eager to please and be pleased. A few incantations summon some very interesting toys."

"What do you mean by interesting," she asked licking her lips.

"I have tailored one of them to create a modified stockade," I told her.

"That sounds interesting. What sort of modifications?"

"Patience, you've already had your fill for today," I said and she pouted but understood.

She polished off her curly fries and was very bouncy the rest of the day. She wasn't her usual laser sharp Inquisitor self. I wonder if there were after effects of the spells I had used. Gabrielle made a noise and I followed her gaze. She was looking at one of the cooks on break. The girl was young, late teens early tweens and cute as all hell. I returned to my meal.

"Can you seduce her," Gabrielle asked.

"Yes, but I don't think that's a good idea," I said. "Are you alright? You seem different."

"I am still horny," she admitted. "My pussy is still tingling."

"Hold on," I said and drew on the last of my mana to cast a cleansing spell. "How about now," I asked feeling the impact of so many spells in so short a time.

"Better, are you alright? Oh shit you've pushed yourself again. I will drive, you sleep okay?"

"Let me get a refill on my soda," I said as I got up.

I went over to the soda dispenser and refilled my cup. I was replacing the lid when the cook moved next to me.

"I saw you look over at me," she said. "You're the guy whose dad was attacked, right? You are all over the news. I am sorry about your dad."

"Thanks, we will find whoever did this," I said.

"He's done it before," she said as she put the lid on her cup.

"Wait what, what do you mean he's done it before?"

"My cousin," she said and her lower lip began quivering. "God, it has been like ten years but it's the same. When they found her body they discovered her body had been broken. The son of a bitch broke her over two months' time. He let her heal and did it to her again, just before he killed her."

I got her cousin's name and thanked her. She said I was lucky before she returned to work. I wanted to say no I wasn't lucky he let my dad go. I returned to the table and called up Feng. She had been monitoring the conversation and had pulled up all the records in regards to that case and then began searching nationwide for similar cases.

"I will alert you when I have compiled a list of cases," Feng said. "We finally have a break!"

I told Gabrielle what the girl had told me. She closed her eyes and said a prayer of thanks. Now that was the Inquisitor I remembered. Gabrielle opened her eyes and saw me smiling. We left and I handed her the car keys. She asked me about my smile and I told her I had been concerned that I was a bad influence on her. She stole a kiss and we headed back home. We felt like for the first time since this nightmare started we had a lead.

The entire drive home I pondered the odds of running into someone that had been through the same thing. Cops relied on luck and I guess so would we. I closed my eyes to rest and reversed the interface I had with Feng. Instead of her coming to me, I went to her. There she was, still in her Thorn form, hovering in a sphere constructed of thousands of shimmering spheres. The balls of light were made of different multiple colors. As I watched the number of spheres diminished. I guessed she was cross referencing files and getting rid of anything that didn't meet certain criteria.

"Master, I am surprised to see you," Feng said smiling. "This may take a while yet. I have reduced the search files from over a hundred thousand to a mere ten thousand, give or take. Do you have a request?"

"When you are done, I want you to try and find out something."

"What is that Master," Feng asked.

"I want you to find his first crime or his first kill."

"Yes Master, may I ask why?"

"He will have made mistakes. His first try would be sloppy and might put us on his trail."

"I will Master," she said. "I won't let you down."

I withdrew from her realm and opened my eyes. What had felt like a few minutes was mere seconds in the waking world or organic vs. machine time. I looked at Gabrielle and she smiled. 'Get some sleep' she mouthed and I nodded. I closed my eyes again and drifted away. I was standing in a triangular chamber. I looked around and was baffled.

"How the hell did I get here, wherever here is?"

My voice echoed off the walls and the sound of my voice awakened something. The floor of the chamber began to glow. I levitated up because; well because it was a dream. At twenty feet up I could see the blue-white circle embedded in the floor. The ring was about ten feet in diameter. I drifted back down and walked over to the edge of the glowing circle. I knelt down and touched the translucent crystal. It flared to life and forced me to blink. The crystal circle was pulsing with power now. If a touch did that, what would happen if I held on?

"Here we go," I said and grabbed the cool stony material.

The flash that followed left me seeing some serious spots. When I could see it made no sense. The chamber had tripled in size and there were three massive chains that led out at 120 degrees from each other. The thickness of a single link was thicker than my thigh. I followed one of the chains away from the ring. The corner of the chamber loomed and the chain came to an end. Where the chain terminated there was a runic circle. It didn't take a genius to recognize the skull for what it represented... death. I followed the other chains and they each ended in identical skull designs.

"I don't understand," I said and my voice echoed once more along the vaulted ceiling.

The shadowed walls blazed with life and burning characters appeared there in the thousands. I was expecting the builder runes but these were different. There was a simple elegance to them and thanks to the gift of my redheaded goddess I understood them. They were a litany of a warrior's code. They spoke of speed, the edge of the blade and the cry of battle. I looked down and my body was painted with those characters in blood. I opened my eyes and the sun was setting. I looked over at Gabrielle and she smiled.

"You slept like the dead," she said and I shivered. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"Bad... no, weird... yeah," I said and told her all about it. She was my confidant after all.

"A circle, three chains and three skulls," she said. "I can check the archives for that symbol. But I can't guarantee anything. It could just be a dream."

"Or it could be much more," I said in the language from that dream.

"It sounds pretty," she replied. "But you are the linguist on this team, not me. I trust your judgement."

"Hey, let's go get Lily and get a bite to eat." I said.

"Sounds like a plan," she said and changed her course.

We headed downtown to the main branch library. The traffic was heavy and we made poor time. I left Lily a text message telling her that we were on the way and pick out what she wanted for dinner. I can't believe I slept so long. The dream was still bothering me. If it really was just a dream, what had inspired it? But I didn't really believe that. How could I reconcile that there was an entire new language in my head including a runic alphabet. I couldn't do that. Someone or something had sent me that dream. The why wouldn't come right away or maybe ever? It might remain a mystery forever. We parked in the front lot and walked up the main steps flanked on either side by life sized stone lions. It was Gabrielle that first noticed that something was wrong. She reached into her purse and took out a two way radio.

"Angel one to angel six," she spoke into it. "Respond angel six!"

I felt the panic flare to life and I raced up the rest of the steps. I hit the carousel door and pushed. I was in and looking around. There was no security guard on duty. I searched the area and found a few drops of blood on the marble floor. I raced up the steps into the main chamber on the first floor. There was no one around, the library was empty.

"Feng call 911," I said softly unsure if anyone was still around.

"Accessing security cameras," Feng replied. "Police and ambulance are on the way. I don't see anything moving Louis."

I went straight for my sister's office. I took the stairs two at a time and raced up three flights. I reached her office but it was empty. The tears began and I furiously wiped them away as I headed for the rare book area. I saw that the vault was still open. I sprinted ahead but it was Gabrielle that appeared from it and intercepted me.

"NO... No Louis," she said her hands on my shoulders. "Don't... you don't need to see that. She's not there. Louis... she's not here."

"FENG... go over the security footage I want to know what happened." I said even as my knees gave out and I collapsed in Gabrielle's embrace. "How am I going to tell mom? Oh god this is going to kill my dad!"

"We will find him Louis, I promise! We will find this guy!"

The police arrived two minutes later, the ambulances a minute after that. They swarmed the building and the horror of what had transpired slowly unfolded. There were thirteen victims, three of which were fully trained Inquisitors. Who the fuck was this guy? I began to ponder government agent gone rogue or a black ops operative. This predator had to be stopped. The paramedics looked me over and I faintly remember something about shock and no survivors. After reviewing the security footage we learned he had struck twenty minutes before we arrived. The corpses were still warm when the EMT's searched for signs of life. He used a knife and each victim suffered one fatal strike.

I was led out through the garage to avoid the press out front. The story was on the news before the six o'clock news aired. It was breaking news and ran all night long and for many days to come.