Chapter Twenty-Six

Faith blushed to the rootsof her hair as Dev directed an accusing glare at her and Kacie.

Kacie shot Faith a panicked glance. Did you say anything?

Certainly not!

"We didn't tell," Kacie squeaked.

"Of course they didn't." Aunt Idyll pishawed. "I read people's auras." She faced Toni again. "You're the first woman I've ever met who has the same aura as my girls, although yours is more powerful." Idyll pursed her lips. "You're different, aren't you?"

Toni's expression turned wry. "That's probably a discussion for another time."

"Most likely, yes." Idyll scrutinized Jacken skeptically. "I still can't figure out what you are, though."

"I'll tell you what I am," Jacken clipped back. "Freaked out by you, lady, that's what." He gestured to Toni. "Let's get out of here."

"Oh, come now, I didn't blow your cover." Idyll waved a hand around the bar. "We're the only people here. Listen, you won't shock me with whatever you have to say and you can trust me."

Toni checked gazes with Jacken.

Grimly, Jacken shrugged.

"Okay." Toni sipped her decaf. "The serial killer's name is Videon. He's part-demon and part-Fey, and he has power, yes, but not an enchantment ability…which is what I'm assuming he'd need in order to perform a supernatural ritual of the kind you've described."

Idyll considered that. "He's a Tenebris Mala," she murmured. "These are the dark evils of the Fey, called such because no matter what color their hair or skin, their eyes are always"—she glanced swiftly at Jacken—"black. They are descendants of Mórrígán, goddess of war, Queen of Demons."

Dev lifted his coffee mug. "I hate to bring this up," he said to Toni, taking a drink. "But your father controls Videon, and Raymond does own the level of power we're talking about."

Toni frowned.

"Actually," Jacken inserted, "during the debrief about the failed Preston mission, Nyko told me that Videon's starting a war with Raymond. So maybe Raymond doesn't control Videon anymore."

Toni cut a quick glance at her husband. "Videon without controls? Oh, that would be bad."

"Very," Jacken agreed.

"Excuse me," Idyll interrupted, looking at Toni. "Do you mean Raymond Parthen? The same last name as you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, my." Idyll's forehead puckered. "This is a bizarre alignment."

"Now why am I not surprised to hear you say that?" Jacken said in a dry tone.

Faith had the sense that the name Raymond Parthen brought up even more bad memories for Jacken than it did for her.

Idyll spun the bangles on her left wrist. "A shamanka friend of mine living in San Diego works for a man called Raymond Parthen on occasion."

"Works how?" Jacken asked.

Idyll's lashes fluttered. "Oh, I'm quite certain her patron never asked her to do anything untoward. But…I haven't been in touch with Moriah for several months, either."

"Would you mind getting back in contact with her to ask a few discreet questions?" Toni was still frowning. "We'd like to find out everything we can."

"Of course."

Jacken shoved his mug aside and leaned forward. "Whoever's involved in these killings, whether it's only Videon or both him and Raymond, I'd like to know why the hell souls are being un-protected as a part of it. Because I have a very bad feeling about the reason." He kept his dark gaze on Idyll. "You mentioned abuse, manipulation, or theft: how do we find out which?"

Idyll paused, the small creases on her forehead deepening. "I think we need to ask the cards." She rooted around in her purse, big as a small duffel bag and made out of faux brown leather with colorful beads and spangles on it.

Faith nearly moaned when Aunt Idyll pulled out a familiar pack of Tarot cards.

"Have you ever had a Tarot reading?" Idyll asked Toni.

Toni glanced at the cards. "Nope."

Idyll gestured at Faith and Kacie. "Neither have these two, if you can believe it." She mugged a face. "Too much mumbo-jumbo for them."

Faith blushed.

Kacie's face was the same shade of red. We always used to scoff at times like these, but I think this evening is giving us a new perspective on our weird aunt.

Faith sighed softly. Yes, maybe Aunt Idyll isn't so much kooky as wise on a level we've never bothered to appreciate.

"Black magic?" Idyll waggled her eyebrows, chuckling. "No. The Tarot is simply a tool for accessing the subconscious, a method to help us gain answers within our awareness that perhaps we don't realize exist there." Idyll picked up the cards and began to shuffle. "Some people call the subconscious the Higher Self or the Inner Guide. This guiding voice is always within us. We can't break our connection to it, but we can certainly ignore it. In fact, most everyday people do." Idyll set down the deck, forming the cards into a neat stack. "You have to be receptive to hearing your inner voice, Toni. Be at peace inside yourself, centered, and mindful. If you think this is mumbo-jumbo, our ability to seek out information will be limited."

A smile tilted Toni's lips. "The last year of my life has widened my perspective on many things, Idyll. You can trust I'm open-minded."

"Wonderful." Eyes bright, Idyll handed Toni the deck. "Shuffle the cards a few times, mention your father's name and the killer's as you do, then cut the cards three times to the left. After that, hand them back to me."

Toni did as instructed.

Idyll dealt the cards face up in front of her in a specific pattern: two overlapping cards in the center, four cards at each compass-point surrounding it, and four more on the left side to act as a "staff:" this pattern was considered to be the shape of a Celtic cross.

Even though Faith had never had a Tarot reading for herself, she'd certainly seen her aunt perform it enough times to understand the particulars.

Idyll studied the cards in silence. "My, but your power does come through, Toni. There are three Major Arcana cards in this reading. It's very rare that I see so many. Here." She pointed to the card at the western compass-point. "This is The Emperor, the commanding father figure, stern and authoritative." She glanced up. "Raymond Parthen, I would think."

"Sounds like a fit to me," Toni agreed dryly.

"He sits in the Past position, which indicates he's moving out of this situation." Idyll gave Toni a meaningful look. "This confirms he's not a part of the killings."

Some of the tension eased from Toni's expression. "That's something, I guess."

Idyll pointed to the southern compass-point. "Here's Videon: The Knight of Pentacles. He sits in the position which designates the Root Cause of the problem."

Dev snorted. "Videon as a knight."

"This knight represents blunt, overbearing, and unfeeling qualities, especially since the card was dealt upside down. That position heightens the negativity."

"Ah," Dev said. "Makes sense now."

"Here." Idyll swept a hand toward the center, her bangles clink-clanking. "These are the cards that represent the Heart of the Matter and its Opposition."

Dev pointed to the Opposition card. "That one doesn't seem good." The card showed a heart being pierced by three swords.

Idyll's expression sobered. "It's heartbreak and loneliness. And in the Future position…" She pointed to the card at the eastern compass-point. "Is the Tower, chaos and upheaval."

Toni rubbed a hand over her forehead. "So we have chaos and upheaval in our near future," she summarized, "and heartbreak and loneliness in opposition to…what?" She pointed to the Heart of the Matter card. "What's this?"

"The Ten of Cups. Family." Idyll sat back, her fingertips resting on the edge of the table. "Not your family," she murmured. "But…" Her eyes swept over the spread several times. "Oh, Lord, I think I know what's going on. If I'm right, then I would have to agree with Jacken's assessment of this being extremely bad." Idyll indicated the manila file with a forward thrust of her chin. "Do you have the names of the victims in there?"

"Yes," Toni said.

"May I see them?" Idyll bent over and unzipped her suitcase, digging out a thin paperback from the side pocket. It was a guide to Celtic surnames.

Jacken extracted a paper from the file and handed it to Idyll.

Idyll flipped pages rapidly in her book as she looked up each victim's last name. Finally, she closed the book. "It's as I feared," she said, her face white. "All five of the victims' names—O'Connolly, Fleming, Eagan, Dowdall, and Preston—are surnames from families from the County of Meath in Ireland: ancient, original families."

"Original?" Toni repeated. "What does that mean?"

"County Meath is where the Hill of Tara is located, once the seat of power of the medieval High Kings of Ireland. It's a hallowed place. The first families who came from Meath are believed to be equally hallowed, so much so that they were used as sacred vessels, and their descendants, as well." She held up the list of victims' names. "Like these men."

Jacken furrowed his brow. "Vessels for what?"

"For power from the four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann."

Toni glanced around the table, making a sweep of their group until her eyes landed on Idyll again. "You've totally lost us."

"All right, let's go back to the beginning," Idyll's voice took on the melodic cadence of a storyteller. "In ancient Celtic lore, the mother goddess of the Celts merged with the sacred oak and together they created the Children of Danu, or the Tuatha Dé Danann—these are the ancestors of today's Fey folk. These special beings migrated to Ireland from the four mythical cities of their origin, but before they left, they were given four magic Treasures, or talismans, one from each of their cities to protect them against the evil Fomoriians, who already resided in Ireland."

"The illustrious number four," Dev inserted.

"Very good. The number is quite meaningful here." Idyll took a sip of her Tequila Sunrise. "After the Tuatha Dé Danann conquered the Fomoriians, there was A Time Of One; a time when the Tuatha lived in Ireland in peace as a united group. That ended when the Milesians, the ancestors of modern day Gaels, came and conquered, forcing the Tuatha to flee into hiding. It was during this time of great upheaval that the Tenebris Mala decided to make their move into dominance. The only way the Tenebris could overthrow the Milesians, however, was to combine their dark powers with Tuatha enchantments. They needed the four Treasures—the Stone, the Spear, the Sword, and the Cauldron. All Fey power resided in these Treasures, you see. As you can imagine, it would've been disastrous if the talismans had ended up in the hands of such evil.

"So to protect these essential enchantments, the king of the Tuatha Dé Danann took half the power from the Treasures and concealed it in the souls of mighty Fey warriors, called Fianna, for safekeeping. Then he dispatched the actual physical Treasures to four hidden corners of the world to be guarded in secret. Modern-day Masters, those with The Knowledge, say the Treasures ended up in charmed places on earth: Romania in the Carpathian Mountains, Tibet, Argentina near the Iguazú Falls, and, funny enough"—Idyll made a wide gesture—"the forest lands of Balboa Park, not far from where we now sit."

Idyll pulled the straw out of her drink and laid it beside the glass. "The king was clearly taking care to make sure that Fey power wasn't concentrated in one place, which would've left it too susceptible to theft. Some power is contained in the Treasures—which are scattered—and some is kept in the Fianna warrior souls. These souls are passed from generation to generation of the people who came out of the County of Meath: original families, like I said."

Jacken's eyes narrowed. "So when Videon performs an un-protection ritual on a man with an original family last name, he's accessing the soul of one of these Fianna warriors?"

"Yes, but only if the bearer of the original last name is in fact a sacred vessel. Not all are."

Dev rasped a hand over his goatee. "How is Videon finding men with original family last names who actually carry these souls, then?"

Idyll shook her head, her face drawn. "I have no idea."

Jacken frowned. "And once Videon has access to the Fianna soul, what does he do? Manipulation, abuse, theft…?"

Idyll exhaled unevenly. "This is an intuition, a guess, mind you, but I feel strongly that he's stealing them. Take these souls, and a person gains immense Fey power." She waved her hand. "This Videon, however, would need somewhere to store them. As a Tenebris Mala, he couldn't take these souls into his own body."

Jacken paused, then cursed. "I think I know how he's doing it." He glanced at Toni. "Nyko told me that Videon's men were wearing amulets that gave off evil power. The men were regular humans, but had strength and healing powers that went beyond regular capabilities—and their scent was off." He turned to Idyll. "Is that a way to store these souls, with enchanted amulets?"

"Yes," Idyll said quietly. "The wearer would gain the soul's power."

"Christ," Jacken hissed. "Why the hell is Videon amassing an army of men with Fey power? For his war with Raymond or for something even worse? And how is he able to perform this un-protection ritual to do it? We never determined that, either."

Idyll fidgeted with one of her necklaces, the longest one with the carved wooden African beads. "It's worse than you realize. You see, a symbiotic relationship of sorts exists between the Treasures and the vessels. Because they've been divided, there can't be one without the other; the souls depend on the magic of the Treasures for their survival, and the Treasures cannot have complete power without that which is kept within the vessels. By stealing souls, Videon is upsetting the balance of all Fey power. If he takes too many, one of the Treasures will fall, and then all Fey power will cease to exist. That means those of us with Otherworldly gifts—people like you, Toni, and me—will lose whatever makes us special. Videon, too, although he's obviously too stupid to know it. Their kind"—Idyll gestured at Jacken and Dev—"will likely die off completely."

Idyll touched the Tarot card at the northern compass-point of the reading. "See here? This is The Empress, the fertile, life-giving mother, our connection to the natural world. I believe she represents the mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann. She sits in the position of an Alternative Future, which I sense means the continuation of the power stemming from her is uncertain." The thin lines on Idyll's face became more pronounced. "I'm telling you all, we're looking at a catastrophe of biblical proportions for those of us of the Otherworld, if Videon is allowed to continue unchecked."

Faith's lashes fluttered, then a clammy trickle of ice rolled down her spine. Who would've thought that these symbol killings could have such profound meaning hidden behind them. She glanced around at the circle of faces, finding nothing but grave expressions.

"Now it makes sense," Toni said, "why Raymond isn't involved with this. He's smart enough to know this kind of soul stealing wouldn't gain him power, like Videon thinks, but ultimately destroy it."

Jacken's gaze was still aimed at Idyll. "Is there anything in those cards that might tell me how I can stop Videon?"

"You can't," Idyll said. "If Videon can perform a Celtic un-protection ritual, then only the Tuatha Dé Danann have the power to stop him."

Toni's eyebrows popped up. "The Tuatha exist today?"

Idyll nodded. "As long as the Treasures exist, so will the Tuatha. They are the guardians, or custos, of the Treasures."

Jacken massaged the bridge of his nose. "Hell, if the Tuatha are in charge of protecting Fey power, then why aren't they stopping Videon?"

"They can't," Idyll said. "Not without a conduit from the Middle World to the Shifted World. They're fairies, you see."

A tightness flickered across Faith's forehead. Did Aunt Idyll just say…?

Kacie had a perplexed expression.

Toni sighed broadly. "Just when I thought my life couldn't get any stranger. Okay. Explain about these worlds."

"There are worlds within worlds," Idyll said. "The Middle World is our here and now, our reality. The Upper World is in the stars where one goes to meet spirit guides. The Lower World also offers a place for guidance, but is accessed through use of a power animal. As a shamanka, I can travel to both the Upper and Lower Worlds. But fairies live in a Shifted World: a world that exists here and now, in today's Middle World reality, but is beyond normal perception." Idyll tucked the Celtic surname book into her purse. "The Tuatha can shapeshift to human form, but cannot use their power in that form. In their fairy shape, they can affect the Middle World somewhat with their dust. But to use the full strength of their power, they need to act through a person in possession of a fifth element enchantment skill. Fifth elements are the conduits."

"And let me guess," Jacken drawled. "You don't know any fifth elements. Because that would be too easy."

"No," Idyll confirmed. "I'm sorry, I don't."

Jacken's lips formed a hard line. "So here we are, sitting on the verge of an Otherworld apocalypse, and—"

"Oh, God." Toni breathed the words.

Everyone at the table turned to look at her.

The bartender was turning off the television sets. It was time to go.

"What?" Jacken prompted his wife.

"I was just remembering the enchantment designator I saw on Pandra. Dr. Jess thought it was the letter V, but…now I realize it's a Roman numeral five. We know a fifth element." Toni inhaled deeply. "It's Pandra."