Chapter Twenty-eight

If Farren’s apartment was unwelcoming, Leary’s office slammed the door in the face of any soul brave enough to approach. Especially with Leary glowering behind the desk. Leary’s scowl was the unfriendliest Farren had ever seen. Rigid cords strained his neck.

“Austen, I know he’s your partner, but too many things have pointed to him being like you.” He ticked off points with a tap of his pen against his desk. So, that’s where Farren learned to hate the fidgeting. “He can see most travelers the way most humans can’t. The whole weird thing he does mapping out a crime scene. You said you suspect he’s getting feedback from the dead through touch. Those are Domus traits, so he must be one of your kind.”

How Farren hated when Leary, or anyone else, invoked “your kind.” Farren shouldn’t have sent last night’s email evaluating Morrisey’s training. Since coming to Terra, Farren had done his best to educate himself, the better to blend with the humans. The first thing he learned? Humans were capable of much brutality. Brutality to put even the most violent of his kind to shame.

Some of the biggest crimes against humanity traced their root causes to the concept of other. Once you saw someone as different from yourself, it became easy to fall into a pattern of them being lesser, not equal, and therefore undeserving of humane treatment.

How Farren hated the word other. He’d put up with being seen as other for years, fighting not to become a superior asshole himself. Damned if he’d let anyone do so to his partner. There were distinctions and classes in his old realm, but they’d all had a place. If anyone stepped out of line, they were punished. Provided that they simply lived their lives without harming anyone else, they were left alone to get on with it.

“Perhaps he had ties to another realm besides the one I’m originally from.” See Farren not refer to his former realm as mine. “Or maybe he’s a human sensitive.”

Leary’s smugness was uncalled for when he pushed a stack of papers toward Farren. Farren took them and began perusing. Fuck. “What’s all this?” Please let it not be another case. Farren’s desk was already groaning beneath the strain.

“I thought a lot about your theory of someone deliberately bringing travelers into this world for profit and took it one step further.”

Farren scanned the top paper again. This didn’t make any sense. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am. And let me tell you, it wasn’t easy pulling forty-some-odd-year-old records.”

This couldn’t be. ”I”ve never come across anything like this before. We cherish and care for the young of Domus. Abuse is unheard of. No one would ever steal a spawn, err… child.” Changeling. Weren’t there human myths about changelings?

“Yet you see the evidence.” Leary pointed to the stack of papers currently trembling in Farren”s hand.

“Circumstantial evidence at best.” This can’t be. No way. No how.

“How else would you explain? Your kind can’t cure everything in a host body, but it isn’t beyond possibility to heal some things. Now, explain to me the difference between spawn and children.”

”In Domus, where there is neither male nor female, two individuals of similar or equal rank can choose to bond, or the bond can choose them.”

“Only similar or like?”

Farren pondered how to answer. Many things he’d heard but never knew for a fact. “There have been rare cases of other ranks, but it’s taboo and against Domus laws.”

“Why?” Leary asked, tap, tap, tapping with the pen again.

“Imagine the power of a Princeps combined with the violence of some of the lesser ranks.” Farren’s parents had filled his head with many cautionary tales.

“So, what about spawn?”

“The life force sustaining those on Domus combines the couple’s energies to produce a spawn. We wake up one day to discover we”ve been blessed. Because we live so long, normally, spawn are rare, precious, and kept secret during the early years of life. Parents tend to be paranoid. My sibling had three, which is extremely rare these days.”

“Is it possible the parents hid the spawn in question so well that no one knew?”

“Doubtful.” Still, those stories existed for reasons. Farren studied the first document until the words ran together. Morrisey James had been born prematurely with a heart defect and spent the first two months of life in a newborn intensive care unit, fighting for life. Suddenly, and with no apparent reason why, he began improving. Doctors called his sudden turnaround a miracle.

A duty nurse mentioned the parents having brought in a faith healer. That had marked Morrisey’s turning point.

The parents had also apparently paid the healer $50,000 dollars.

Fifty thousand dollars. The worth of a child? If Leary was correct, did they even know they’d paid this person not to heal their child but possibly to extricate him from his body and replace him with a traveler? An infant traveler. Sure, spawn died in other realms, but would someone actually take one from there to sell to Morrisey’s parents?

The parents were both dead, so not available for questioning. An infant clinging to life suddenly recovers. Money changed hands. An older couple later adopted the child.

Leary broke into Farren’s thoughts. “This seems to have been going on for far longer than you suspected. I believe Morrisey may well be a traveler, bought and paid for.”

Examples of children being stolen from parents and sold to others existed throughout human history. Barbaric and unbelievable for the citizens of Domus. “For the sake of argument, let’s say you’re right—”

Leary snorted.

Farren ignored the attitude. ”Because he came here so young and was raised as a human, he could be completely unaware.” Not exactly a traumatic injury, but one affecting any memories of Morrisey’s origins. “Could the same faith healer be responsible for what’s happening now? Is it a single person, a business enterprise?” Someone capable of summoning and putting a soul in a body… Dangerous.

Morrisey had escaped from the horrors of the current state of affairs in Domus. Or maybe another realm. No. Having seen current events and reading Morrisey’s history, the ominous sinking feeling in Farren’s heart told him he and Morrisey shared the same home realm.

Which explained their growing bond, their shared dreams.

Which only made Farren want to protect Morrisey all the more. A child, an infant, brought here. Too young to give consent. Most adults brought talent and skills with them. Had Morrisey’s even developed so young? Did he have latent abilities that even he was unaware of? What level of society did he come from?

Farren knew of travelers who suppressed their otherness through drugs and alcohol. Morrisey drank heavily.

Even so, Farren felt compelled to defend his partner. “That doesn’t affect his job.”

Leary breathed out a sigh. ”Those in power who are aware of your species, well, let’s just say some are hesitant. They liked the idea of pairing a traveler with a human. But if you’re both travelers, there are no checks and balances. See what I’m saying?”

Checks and balances. The concept of other. “Does some include you?” Farren met Leary’s harsh stare. “Don’t think I don’t know you got your position because of my kind to begin with. Have you considered Morrisey might be the future when there is no them or us?”

Lines formed on Leary’s brow, and his close-set eyes narrowed further. “Are you suggesting, Mr. Austen, that I’ve taken advantage of travelers for personal gain?” Tap, tap, tap went the ink pen.

Oh no. The asshole wasn’t getting away with evasion. “Are you denying, Leary, that you’ve risen up the ranks of the FBI because you were willing to work with lowly travelers when many would like to see us banished?” Now came Farren’s turn for some eye-narrowing. “Which also brings up another point. I’m the only one on the team capable of banishing travelers.” None of the other Magestra he knew in Terra were capable, unlike in Domus.

“Many humans call you demons,” Leary shot back, still refusing to answer questions, the evasion itself being an answer.

“Oh, break out the torches and pitchforks! I can call your desk a cow, and it won’t grow horns and moo.” Not one of Farren’s powers—that he knew of. “There’s less evil in the world I came from than in this one. Keep in mind I didn’t ask to come here. I’d already accepted one day I might simply cease to exist. Then I found myself here. I dedicated myself to keeping the peace and upholding laws just like I did there. My kind helps keep you humans safe.” There were times to embrace the “my kind,” epithet.

“But you’re both the problem and the solution.” Leary slammed his hand down on the desktop, sending the ink pen skittering to the floor. ”Your kind being here is the reason we need a task force.”

Fuck. Leary just made his thoughts known. They’d shared meals, watched football, and drank beer together back when they’d both been new to the task force. How long since Leary invited Farren over or spoke to him like a friend?

Had Leary grown suspicious?

Farren lowered his tone. “It’s not only traveler-related crimes we’ve helped solve.”

“True. But many don’t see it that way.” There went the many again. “Now creatures are entering this world more and more. We don’t have a census. For all we know, half of Atlanta has already been overtaken by demons.”

Demons. Leary just answered the question of whose side he was on. Had he been biased even back in their old days? Had their past camaderie all been a lie? Farren ground his teeth. He’d saved Leary’s life, for fuck’s sake.

Farren lowered his voice to a barely audible growl. ”You”ve referred to me as a friend in the past. Now I’m a demon?”

“I didn’t mean—”

Leary never had been good at admitting wrongs. Farren suppressed abilities, studied, and tried to become a good little human, a better one than his previous host had been, to fit in. Self-centered, backstabbing, drug using… The original Farren Austen had been no one’s idea of a good man. While the current Farren wasn’t perfect, he’d like to think he’d improved. “Would you speak this way to Arianna?”

Leary glowered from under scrunched brows. ”What does Arianna have to do with this?”

“She’s your assistant. Trusted assistant. Yet, she’s a traveler too. Would you say these things to her?”

Leary deflated, clutching his head. “Damn it, Farren. The Department of Homeland Security is breathing down my neck about these murders. What do you expect me to do?”

The truth slammed home. “They want to banish us all, don’t they?”

Leary”s words were a rare whisper. “Some do.”

There with the some yet again. “Do you?” Leary didn’t answer. Farren asked again, ”Do you believe we should all be banished?”

Farren had to strain to hear his boss”s usually booming voice. ”I don”t know.”

Farren’s heart fell. If FAET’s leader didn’t believe in their mission, they’d have no hope for success. “There are few of us even capable of banishing.”

“Some suggest execution would stop you.” Leary didn’t look up while making his pronouncement. Sounded like he recited someone else’s words.

Farren barked out a laugh. The gloves had truly come off now. “Only to have us enter the nearest body? Then, you’d have started a war by trying to fight battles with an enemy who might be standing next to you.” Farren had isolated himself in his quest to fit in. If humans thought these things, then some travelers likely thought them too. One by one, citizens of Domus could take over humanity.

If Morrisey arrived here as a newborn, assimilated so completely even he himself wasn”t aware of his true origins, that might account for no one marking him as a traveler early on. However, the man drank a lot. To quash feelings he didn’t know what to do with?

Farren once witnessed a horrifying car wreck, convinced no one could have survived. But the driver crawled out of the smoking wreckage, escaping with minor injuries. According to a paramedic, the patient”s blood alcohol level made him pliant, enabling him to roll with the hits and escape with minor injuries, whereas anyone else might have braced and been killed.

If alcohol dulled the driver’s pain, could it also hide whatever traces of familiarity could potentially remain for Morrisey?

Hiding in plain sight. What if all these maddening thoughts were true? What if Morrisey wasn’t the only one? A sleeper cell of travelers waiting to be activated.

By whom?

Leary’s point suddenly hit home. “I think we’re at a stalemate,” Farren ventured. ”Without a great deal of trust and cooperation, neither of our people can survive. You need us to A, identify those like me and B, to handle any who become a problem.”

“So it would seem.” Leary steepled his fingers directly before his pursed lips, shoulders hunched.

“Since we’ve established suspicions about Morrisey, I can watch out for him. He doesn’t read like a traveler to me, but if what you say is true, he’s had an entire lifetime to assimilate. His record with Atlanta PD is solid. Though he’s questioned authority on a regular basis, I’d rather work with someone who questions than someone who blindly follows orders, even orders they might feel are wrong.” Like soldiers throughout time who”d slaughtered civilians because they were told to.

Now to throw on a little flattery. “Whenever someone casts doubt, I mention you as an example of what we can accomplish by working together. But as a race, if we can clash over ethnicity or even political party, imagine how much worse if the general population found out what they call demons really do walk among them.” Chaos. Shooting first, asking questions later. Farren shuddered. ”I aim to keep that from happening.” Funny how humans called them demons but not angels, even though Farren’s was actually a being of light with what humans would call wings.

No halo, though. Or harp. Hell, Farren could barely play a radio, let alone a musical instrument.

Leary tapped his lips with the tip of an ink pen he’d gotten from somewhere. It hadn’t been on the desk before. ”You know I”ll have to find you a new partner, right? An actual human?”

Farren clutched at straws to prevent losing his partner. “Then how will I oversee Morrisey? Learn what he knows and if he has any hidden talents?”

Leary angled his head, gazing over Farren”s left shoulder. “You make a good point, something I’ve also mentioned to the higher-ups. Unfortunately, they’re in panic mode, thinking the sky is falling and demons are taking over the world. There’ve been reports from Berlin and Sydney where travelers are arriving in droves.”

Farren didn’t mention the difficulty of maintaining control of all those travelers, as he himself had no desire to conquer. He just wanted to live. Maybe someday he’d find someone to love, not be alone. But with doubters watching his every move, he’d only endanger someone else, be they human or traveler.

His mind momentarily flitted to him, Morrisey, and a few blissful moments. Nope. Farren couldn’t have that.

“Look,” Leary said. “I’ll tell you what. For now, I’ll leave you two together if you really want.”

“I do.” Not only to access Morrisey, but to keep him safe. Better not to seem too eager, however. “It’s the most logical course of action.” The only course of action Farren would accept.

“So be it. But I expect reports, not just on your cases, but on James as well.”

Farren fought a wince. All he needed. More reports. “Yes, sir.” At least Leary hadn’t ordered him to install surveillance equipment in Morrisey”s rooms. Farren would still arrange regular sweeps to ensure the task didn’t fall to someone else who didn’t have Morrisey’s best interests in mind.

Leary reined in his typical loud tones, but not by much, even though he’d already showed the ability to speak without excessive volume. “You know I don’t enjoy saying these things to you.”

Fallon recalled the smugness on Leary’s face when he’d handed over the papers. While he may not be completely on board with banishing all travelers, he”d definitely given the matter some thought.

Which meant, not only would Farren need to watch over Morrisey, he’d need to include all travelers on the task force, Arianna and those he knew out in the world at large. A niggling suspicion grew in the depths of his mind: What of the traveler he’d seen Morrisey talking to that he’d never mentioned?

While Farren’s heart trusted Morrisey, keeping secrets didn”t build trust.

For now, he’d keep all suspicions to himself. “Just remember all the good I and others have done.” Farren didn’t add, and all the bad we could do.

Leary already knew.