Chapter 14

Tuesday evening

Nexus Ranch

Near Harborton Washington

“Now we feast!” thought Barghest as they finally closed in on their prey.

They had been following the trail for days now. They had remained concealed during the day but at night the demonic pack of hounds coursed back and forth through the forest. They had detected a trace of the smell picked up from the bloody rags yesterday when an errant breeze from across the river brought the maddening scent to them. They had frantically paced up and down the river for miles searching for a way across the dreaded water.

Finally, Barghest had encountered the concrete and steel structure that gave them a path across the flooding river. For the first time in 2 years the pack left the forest and flowed menacingly into the civilized lands of men. It had taken them most of the night to track back along the eastern side of the river until at last they could smell their single prey. Tantalizingly they also began picking up traces of Fae scent as well! Their assigned victim must be holed up in the same place as their favorite feast! Ah! this was going to be delicious!

Now, Barghest could both scent and mind-feel their prey a short distance away, but he was the leader of the pack for good reason. He was not only vicious and strong he was intelligent for his kind and cautious of new situations.

Barghest growled and nipped until all the members of his pack were spread out in a line and hidden in the deepest shadows of the pre-dawn morning. Slowly he and the pack edged forward from the road into the woodline.

Something wasn’t right. Barghest could feel his progress slowing as if he were treading in the deepest mud. They had barely moved 10 feet from the road and all progress stopped. Then the pain started.

Deep stabbing pains began toward the front of his body and worked their way back. A sudden sense of unease began overwhelming the hound and with a snarl he signaled the pack to back away. What was keeping him from moving forward?

As long as the dark lasted they moved along the unseen barrier looking for a gap or a weak spot. As they worked their way down the invisible barricade Barghest could now definitely smell other prey. Somewhere on the other side of the infuriating wall were the Fae, the delicious ones as well as the targeted prey. In deep frustration the infernal beasts slavered and pawed and paced, but the barrier held.

Finally, right before dawn rose through the mists on the river Barghest admitted temporary defeat. He gathered the pack and they started a rising eerie howl that raised the hackles on every single animal and human for miles.

Signal sent, Barghest led the still hungry pack to hiding places for the day.

Wednesday early morning

State Highway 101

Near Harborton Washington

Sam stared across the expanse of green farmland his narrow pale face creased in consternation under his plaid pork pie hat. The fertile land was bounded on the sides by dense woodlands and creased by small creeks leading down to a larger river that was nearly flooding the lower fields. He could see farmhouses and several large metal outbuildings in the distance, but nothing he could do would allow him to approach any closer.

He had felt the distress call of his hounds early this morning. After quickly rolling out of his 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets he had driven just over an hour south of Seattle and been able to locate his hounds fairly quickly but now he was perplexed.

He had tried using a focused blast of raw power to create a weak spot in the magic and nearly fried himself as the pulse had simply bounced back off the barricade and incinerated part of a white rail fence he had been standing behind.

He had never been one for spells, but over the centuries he had used a few to do some basic manipulation. Nothing worked, in fact his spells had just been scrambled and bounced back onto him. All he had managed to do with the spells was to regrow some hair (albeit on his back), extend his penis length by 2 inches and lose 3 pounds of belly fat. He finally had to quit trying when he accidentally cleansed his own colon quite violently and embarrassingly alongside the road.

So Sam was once again confounded by recent developments. He knew that trafficked women were somewhere inside the protection dome but he couldn’t reach them and couldn’t even get close enough to understand what was happening.

And this was the real problem. It didn’t bother him that he wouldn’t be able to retrieve the women. He could probably get Dell and his men to do that. Wards like this only had a limited effect on mortals. No this was a problem because this type of protection indicated some very powerful magic.

It was also slightly worrying that somehow all the Fae were gathered behind the magic wards. Their small magics were seldom bothersome to a demon of his power but still it was another piece of a puzzle he couldn’t manage to put together.

This warded dome was easily as strong as a minor deity could create and he absolutely did not want to be anywhere near it. He was just getting used to being back on the earthly plane and was not anxious to return to Hell. Especially not if it involved being shredded by your own body parts as had happened to him on his last roundtrip ticket to this earth.

But he was just so close to his ultimate goal. A few more months at most and he would have everything in place. Once his long term plan was complete he would have practical control of a powerful nation and thereby be able to influence most of this world.

That would mean accolades from the big boss himself and a huge promotion. He could even end up commanding an entire legion of warrior demons. The thought was heady and prompted him to reconsider his initial impulse to simply pull up stakes and flee.

He was probably safe for now. There was no sign that anyone, mortal or magic was aware of his demonhood. His ‘partner’ Dell and all of his business contacts just thought of him as an annoying hipster who had a flair for shady but profitable deals and the means to help them fulfill the most depraved of their desires.

Alright then. He’d get Dell to dig into it and see if he could get any answers as to who had managed to abscond with their foreign goodies. Then they could come up with a plan to get them back. If the plan did fall apart at least Sam would have some needed information to neutralize the threat. He’d learned a hard lesson in the past about leaving a threat in place at his back.

With a sigh Sam summoned the demon hound leader and gave him instructions to lead the hungry pack back into the wilderness for now. No point in them hovering around the barricade and killing things willy nilly, it might give someone knowledgeable a clue to his presence. They wouldn’t have their favorite prey but there were plenty of elk and maybe a hiker or two they could shred for food and pleasure. That should keep them busy until he needed them again.

Sam was just about to call Dell when he saw a mustard colored station wagon traveling on a dirt road just inside the magical wards. It looked like they were headed toward town. Once the odd colored car turned onto the county road they must have passed through the wards because now Sam could sense a presence in the car. A very powerful presence in fact.

Sam immediately shut down all his external powers so he didn’t give himself away. Thinking quickly, he retreated to his gray BMW E30 and as the station wagon passed him on the shoulder pulled out behind them.

Now this should be interesting.

Wednesday early morning

Olympic National Park

Olympic Mountains Washington

Sitting cross legged on the frozen granite rock Ben should have felt the icy wind blowing through him.

He had been here since the dim glow of first light lit the eastern horizon. It had taken an all night climb through snow, rock and ice to get the top of this little known 8000 foot high granite pinnacle. Yesterday had been all preparation as the Nunnehi had guided him to the base of the mountain and through the ritual steam bath and purification rituals. Ben had gone through the entire process stripped down to nothing but a breechclout and rawhide soled moccasins that the Nunnehi had provided.

Just as then was setting the Nunnehi had pronounced him ready. He then produced a raven feather, an owl feather and an eagle feather and using them as brushes drew glowing red symbols over Ben’s entire body. As the symbols faded the old man said ‘I hope to see you again.’ With those foreboding words he turned and walked away and Ben began his climb.

Hours later as he reached the top Ben realized he had been on the mountain for an entire day and night with no food or water. He was nearly naked in the sub freezing cold but a thin sheen of sweat covered him from the hard climb. He was just wondering what the hell he was supposed to do next when a huge figure loomed out of the mist to stand over him.

Ben’s mind couldn’t quite grasp what he was seeing. In one instant he saw a very large dark skinned man with a shaved scalp lock and traditional Cherokee style buckskins. The next instant the man was an outline of blue and white lightning bolts filled with thunder clouds and flashing storm colored eyes.

“So, this flesh thing is what’s been causing all the commotion?” ‘said’ the Lightning Man over his shoulder.

Except there really weren’t any words. Ben could hear him directly with his mind, somewhat like he could hear Tom and Joe and other animals.

“Yeah we should just fry him and move on.” said another voice behind him.

Ben whirled to confront the new voice and discovered another figure nearly identical to the first one. Ben was just about to speak when A third voice suddenly rang loudly to Ben’s right side. Ben spun to confront the third voice and discovered that this figure was similar to the other two but easily twice their size.

“You idiots, can’t you see the protection symbols the Nunnehi and our mother placed? We could blast him but then they both would be annoyed. Anyhow, I’m kinda bored and it might be amusing to hear what the thing wants. We can always blast him later.” said the third being.

“So what do you want, human?” said the first being.

Ben swallowed and took a deep breath. “I need your help.”

Ben was nearly swept off of his feet by the towering laughter from all three figures. It was like being caught in the middle of a thunderstorm as literal gales of laughter swept over the peak.

“Oh human you are amusing. We haven’t laughed this hard in centuries!” said the second being.

“Why would we help a worm like you?” boomed the third being.

“For two reasons. First I’m kinda family.” said Ben.

“Well that goes against you. We hate the rest of our family. Mother is okay when she pays attention to us but our other brothers are all assholes and we are constantly fighting them.” sneered the first being.

“Wait, how are you family? I got to hear this before we sizzle you.” said the third being.

“Um well. I’m given to understand that Selu created part of me the same way she made you.” said Ben apprehensively.