The Detective Inspectors (The Doorknob Society Saga Book 4) (8 page)

“See you around, Masters,” he said before walking off, Darla trailing behind him apologizing profusely the whole time.

Well that went terribly wrong. I shook my head and pulled my hoodie up to block out the wind as I walked home. One moment of normalcy between me and Nightshade followed by pure insanity... this is my life? I sighed and kicked at the ground.

I reached my apartment building, yanked open the door, and made my way to the flat hoping that I would be able to slip in unnoticed and slink off to bed. Right, like that’s going to happen.

“There you are.” Val was in one of her peppy moods which I guessed was better than her somber moods where all she would do was ask me how long it would be before we could find Edgar.

“Here I am.” I forced a smile.

“I’m all done with school for the night, what do you want to do?”

 My head dropped and my shoulders sagged at the thought of going back out when all I really wanted to do was go slide into my bed and pull the blankets over my head. But Val was going through a difficult time and I didn’t want to make it worse for her.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I heard about this great café from Jess.”

“Of course you did.”

“She said they have good coffee.”

 She said the magic words when she brought up coffee. I hadn’t had a decent cup since coming to London, but then again I was a fanatic about good coffee.

“Let’s go.” I pulled the door open and we both walked out.

The Keyhole Café is one of the oldest Old Kind haunts in the world and I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of going to it sooner. A battered and beaten wooden sign hung outside the corner door leading into the café. Bells rang above us as we entered and the scent of roasting coffee beans greeted us. I took a deep breath and let my worries disappear for a moment as I imagined how happy I was going to be sipping the nectar of the gods.

“Hello, lovely ladies.” Slade’s voice carried over the noise of the busy shop.

I turned to find him sitting at a bistro table drinking a cup of coffee. Val elbowed me toward him and I wanted to turn and poke her eyes out. If she knew he was going to be here, I would officially kill her on the walk home.

“What are you doing here?” I asked and realized I sounded like a jerk as soon as the words fell out of my mouth.

“Drinking coffee and waiting for you, though I take it this is a surprise?”

“I didn’t know you would be here is what I meant to say.”

“Val?” he looked her way and she smiled.

“I had to get out of the house and she has been disappearing on me left and right. I thought she might not come if she knew what I had in mind.”

“Which was what exactly?’ I asked.

“Why don’t you two join me?” Slade said.

 I was already backing away ready to offer an excuse when Val slipped past me and sat down. She turned and smiled back at me motioning for me to sit beside her. Yes I was going to have to kill her.

I slid into the chair and prayed that the coffee was as good as it smelled because I was going to need it.

“Any news on the mission?” Slade asked.

“Nothing new, yet. We’re just waiting for info.”

“Which is why I thought it would be a good time for us all to get together,” Val said.

“All of us?”

“I think she means me.” Jess slipped onto the stool beside me. Her blond hair was perfectly cut and framed her face, highlighting high cheek bones. There was no other word for Jess but gorgeous. The fact that she kept herself in such good shape and was always dressed in the height of fashion didn’t hurt either.

“So this was a sneak attack?” I raised my arm waving over a waitress and ordering the house blend for the table.

“Think of it as a rescue mission,” Slade offered with a tone in his voice I hadn’t heard in some time. He was smiling my way and I had a feeling that he had more in mind then rescuing me.

The waitress returned with a tray of coffees and placed them around the table. I greedily snatched mine up and took a long sip. The warm liquid slipped down my throat and I smiled knowing I had found my new café in London. The coffee was delicious.

“Okay, so let’s hear this plan of yours, Val.” I smiled and leaned forward planting my elbows on the table.

“Jess has scouted some great places we can go to. I want us all to go out tonight and have a good time.” Val stopped, needing to take a deep breath, she’d been speaking so quickly.

“You want a night out?” I asked.

“Yes, with friends.”

 Val had buried herself in her studies since Edgar had been captured and for her to ask this of us meant she wanted, or perhaps needed, it pretty badly. But then I guess we all had been missing our friendship. Even with the day I already had, and though I would much rather crawl under the covers in my bed, I couldn’t deny her request.

“Fine, where are we going?”

Status: Crash Course.

The banging in my head wouldn’t stop. I dragged the pillow over my face and tried to block out the tormenting sound, but it refused to go away. I yanked the pillow away and forced one eye open. The sun felt like a death ray attempting to end my life.

The banging wasn’t just in my head, it was also echoing around the apartment. I struggled out of bed and stumbled out of my new bedroom. After my charge down pathetic lane and feeling I owed it to Val, our little group had made the night of it, staying out until almost dawn.

I decided I liked London just for its Old Kind night life, though my head seemed to disagree. I crashed at Val’s new apartment where I would be living, though I hadn’t completed the move yet.

 I passed Slade sleeping on the couch and chuckled as Jess lifted her head off the chair she was crunched in, her hair sticking up in a million different directions.

“What’s that?” she mumbled.

“Door,” I said and winced against the pounding sound as I walked to the front door and pulled it open.

“Rule one... always check who is at the door before you open it.” Archibald Masters brushed past me into the room.

 My uncle was tall and thin with hair graying at the temples and a Fu Manchu mustache. His suit was cut to perfection but then my uncle would never consider buying a suit off the rack, every suit he wore was custom made.

“Uncle Archie?” I blinked looking at him several times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“Hello, sweet girl.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead, and then yanked off his tailor made camel haired overcoat and tossed it on the couch.

 Slade popped up yanking the coat off his head and looking around befuddled. “What’s going on?”

“And you are, young man?” Uncle Archie stared down at Slade, one eyebrow arched disapprovingly.

“Michael Slade, sir.” Slade looked from Archie to me in confusion.

“Well, Mr. Slade, I do hope you plan on sleeping on the couch when you stay here,” —his eyes shot a warning at him— “I wouldn’t want to catch you anywhere else.”

“Uncle Archie!” I yelled and he glanced at me winking. I punched him in the shoulder and he laughed.

“I kid, now get ready, it’s time to get started.”

“What?” I shook my head. “I haven’t finished moving here yet. I was visiting,” —it was my turn to shoot my uncle a look— “how did you even know I was here.”

“This city has been my home for some time, along with that come a plethora of close friends and business acquaintances. You don’t think someone would mention to me that they saw my niece out all night last evening?” He tapped the side of his head and then pointed back at me.

“Right, I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Plus, if I leave it up to you to decide when your training starts, it never will. You’ve been avoiding me for weeks. Now get yourself together so that we can finally begin.” He slid onto the chair beside Jess who ran her hands frantically through her hair trying to get it in some semblance of order.

“Fine,” I sighed and walked to the kitchen. “First, I have to have my coffee.”

“No time, get ready, and we’ll grab some on the way.”

I agreed with a grumble and headed to my room where I rushed through a fast shower, tossing on a change of clothes that I had stashed in my bag. My hair got towel dried, since I didn’t feel like dealing with it and no makeup, so Uncle Archie was getting the au natural version. I slung my bag over my shoulder and returned to the living area. Val was in pajamas sitting cross-legged talking with Archie.

“About time.” He was up, in his coat, and opening the door before I could say anything. “Let’s move.”

I waved to Val and rolled my eyes letting her know this wasn’t exactly what I had planned to do today, and then trudged down the stairs after my uncle. When we hit the foyer area the hairs on my neck rose as Archie activated a doorknob and opened a portal. We stepped through and into an Old Kind area I’d never seen before.

Old stone buildings stood next to new metal and glass structures. The blending of the two opposite architectural styles was seamless and eye-catching. Along one side of the street a series of doors were cranking open and closed by a series of gears that wound and unwound with clockwork precision.

“Where are we?”

“London, the Old Kind section. We’ve had a strong presence in this city since it was founded. The Doors over there are like a form of public transit. Instead of using your own abilities, you’re able to go through prearranged portals. It cuts down on traffic and makes things here less chaotic.”

“Who controls it?”

“The portals are controlled by the DS but the equipment is maintained by the Impossible Engineers.”

“What are we doing here?”

“This is Old Town, anything that happens with our kind, one way or another comes through here. We have a mission, so to get started we’ve come here. Follow me and don’t speak unless I say so, is that clear?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the last time you speak, clear?”

I nodded my head and really wished I’d gotten more sleep than I had or at least had gotten to have my morning coffee.

We walked along the street until we reached a side road and turned down it. The cobblestone street curved around and the further we went the closer the buildings got on either side. Uncle Archie stopped and looked up at the sign of one of the establishments and I followed his gaze.

 The Dead Bolt.

We entered and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. A long bar stretched along the back wall and small tables dotted the small space. A few were occupied and those that were had men hunkered over them talking, not paying a bit of attention to anyone. Archie went straight to the bar and tapped the surface. A jovial, fat man glanced his way and waved his hand toward the back of the establishment.

I followed Uncle Archie to the end of the bar where a short corridor led to a single door. Archie knocked on it, opened the door, and entered. I followed behind him and as I crossed the threshold portal energy washed over me. I swayed a moment from the intensity. Whatever occupied this space was Old Kind and mighty powerful.

“Archibald, my boy, it’s been far too long, how have you been?” An older man sat behind a desk, his massive girth barely contained in the chair he was sitting in. He was almost entirely bald except for small patches of hair around his temples.

“Not well, Hugh. You, of course, heard about my brother.”

“Yes, a terrible situation. We were all very upset by the news.” His eyes flashed over me for a brief moment, and then back to Archie.

“I’m sure you were, but that’s not why I’m here.”

“Of course not, dear boy, how can I help you?”

“Someone in this establishment has been asking around about purchasing a very rare item.”

“Is that so, well you know I can’t stop my customers from looking for oddities, Archibald.”

“I’d never ask you to, Hugh. The problem is that I heard the fellow has been searching the black market for a Gremlin Collar. Would you know anything about that?”

“Haven’t heard a peep.” He leaned back in his seat with a smug smile, almost as if he wanted us to know that he was lying through his teeth. “Anyway that would be a matter for the HVO, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m so glad to hear you say that, Hugh. You see since my brother’s death and with the truces being reclaimed the Council has authorized all Masters to deal with suspected First Kind, however we see fit.”

“It’s good then that there are none here.”

“Is that so?” Archibald leaned over the desk planting his hands flat on it.

“What are you implying?”

“I’m implying, my fat friend, that if you are playing both sides I will come through this place like a buzz saw and leave nothing left behind. A war is coming and there won’t be any grey areas to slip through. If you choose the wrong side, it’ll be over for you.”

“Are you threatening me, boy?” Hugh’s eyes lit up and the power in the room fluctuated to such a degree that it prickled my flesh. Hugh may not look like much, but his strength was palpable.

“Yes I am.”

“I’ve faced down the likes of your kind for sixty years. If you think you can scare me with idle threats, you’re wrong.”

 “Chloe” I was surprised to hear my uncle call my name as he stepped away from the desk and pointed toward Hugh. “Why don’t you show Mr. Greenstreet how we handle people who side with the First Kind?”

Hugh Greenstreet narrowed his eyes and gave me a cursory glance, not hiding his disdain. I wasn’t exactly sure what Uncle Archie expected of me, but Greenstreet’s scornful look was enough to make my blood boil. I pulled out my Doorknob and activated my whip. It slithered to life and the room became oppressive with portal energy.

“If you’re trying to scare me, Archibald, it won’t work?” He was lying, his voice quivering and my senses picked up his own power, struggling to maintain dominance in the small confined area.

“I don’t try, Hugh,” —Uncle Archie pointed to me— “do it.”

  I reacted instinctively. I threw my arm back and snapped it forward, my whip snaking out and cracking across his desk shattering it into kindling.

“You’re insane!” He pulled his massive weight from his seat and backed into the corner.