Chapter 80: 17-3
Sheriff McKinsey was a heavyset man just entering middle age, his close cropped black hair starting to show a few strands of grey. The man's weathered skin had the tanish tone from being outdoors a lot, but at the moment the lot of us were sitting in his office at Willowbrook's police station. It wasn't particularly big, the town only had a little over a dozen active police officers, though I was sure they had some more deputies in reserve if needed. The sheriff's office gave us some privacy as we tried to explain the situation he had found us in, and the entire time he listened to us with his arms folded and his squarish face set into a frown.
Eventually, after we finished, he said "So… you stumbled into a magical labyrinth, which you had to knock over several filing cabinets to escape, which then disappeared the moment you left the room. Did you see a minotaur down there too?"
I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. "No, we thankfully did not see a minotaur." When one of the newer clerks had wandered down to see what the commotion was about, we were forced to explain the mess. Naturally, the explanation of 'magical trap labyrinth' was hard to swallow, made all the worse by how no one had seen us even enter the building. I tried to bring up the clerk who had given me the key… except no one could find her.
So that left me and Donna holding the proverbial bag when the police showed up. We had a very quick and quiet conversation where we decided to play ball and tell the police what happened (mostly). Something as dangerous as a magical trap labyrinth in a publicly accessible place was something the authorities should know about. And with the mystery we were suddenly looking at, we wanted to stay incognito in case whoever made that trap came looking around.
But that did mean we didn't have our usual clout when it came to extra-normal activities. "Is this really so unbelievable? You do remember the sky getting all stary and weird a few weeks ago, right?"
"Oh, I do believe this world has all kinds of strange and unholy things hiding in its shadows." The sheriff said evenly. "I just don't think it happens to be in the county clerk's basement."
"But, why would we lie about this?" Donna asked. "If we were trying to come up with an excuse, don't you think we'd come up with something better?"
The man laughed. "Trust me, in my line of work you get a real good idea of how dumb people can get with their excuses."
Donna and I looked at each other in exasperation. "So what, you think we just trashed the basement? What possible reason could we have for that?"
"Don't know. You two seem pretty since about this… which makes me think I should be asking you to take a drug test." That would be awkward, particularly for me. Before I had to contemplate stealing another man's urine, McKinsey continued "Though since neither of you are showing the usual signs, I might be convinced you don't have to. Normally I'd be asking Clerk Fowler about your behavior and just what you were doing down there, but well, she's still being a mite elusive. Know anything about that?" We shook our heads, and he grunted. "So, for now how about you tell me why you were at the county clerk's office in the first place."
Donna spoke up. "We were trying to find information on Willowbrook orphanage. I think I may have come from there."
"You… think?"
"16 years ago a building burned down in town, and I was pulled out of that building. No one could identify me, but I recently learned I may be-"
"That was you?" The sheriff interrupted, his eyebrows shooting up. "I remember that day, but I didn't get there until the fire had completely burned out. I had heard that a baby survived, but I never actually saw anyone myself. In fact, I could find any officers who had seen the baby. We got it all second hand from the firefighters."
Donna blinked. "Really? I know I went into the foster care system almost immediately, but I would have thought at least one of the police was responsible for putting me there."
McKinsey frowned. "Well, the people I talked to said that there happened to be a social worker from out of town that took you. I wanted to look into that, but I was just a rookie at the time and… well, let's say those days were hectic."
"I've never heard about a social worker," Donna said, trailing off in thought.
"Huh." The sheriff grunted. "I may have to look into that again. But hey, welcome back to Willowbrook!" He said cheerfully.
Donna and I both blinked at his sudden change in demeanor, and that seemed to remind him of our current situation. "Ah, right. Well, I'm afraid you're in a bit of a bind. There's no proof that anything like you said is down in that basement. And even if you were telling the truth, who the hell would I call about it? I sure as hell can't deal with that sort of thing, and we don't exactly have a town witch."
"The FBI." I said. "The government does have a few specialized agencies for specific problems, but in the general case of extra-normal weirdness, the FBI are the ones to contact." Though according to League files, the actual handling of magical phenomena is done by Federal Marshals. Which is strange for a number of reasons. There was likely a story there.
The sheriff arched an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"
I scowled and pointed up. "I only need the sky to get all freaky once before I decided to read up on the subject."
He hesitated before he nodded in concession. "Fair enough, but we still have a missing clerk to account for. What does that mean I should do with you?"
"I think the only thing you can do is let us go." Donna said. "We don't have anything to do with Mrs. Fowler, and I'm pretty sure there isn't any evidence to say otherwise."
"No, but I do have enough probable cause to arrest both of you for destruction of state property." McKinsey pointed out. After a long pause though he let out a breath and relaxed his shoulders. "But this situation is weird enough that I want to make sure first. So yes, I'm going to let you go. I am going to ask that you don't leave town until the investigation is done, however."
I arched an eyebrow. "I'm not sure you can tell us to do that without arresting us."
McKinsey shrugged. "Strictly speaking I can't force you to stay here, but right now we have a missing person and you two are people of interest. And if you two decide to run, I'll take that as an admission of guilt. Are we clear?" We weren't happy about it, but the both of us nodded. "Good. Now, is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"
"Well… there is one thing I would like to ask." Donna said slowly. "We found the records for Willowbrook Orphanage, but all the pages in the folder were blank."
The Sheriff arched an eyebrow. "Well that ain't right, but what do you want me to do about it?"
"I was hoping you might know some people who were from there." She said. "The clerk said that a few people in town were adopted from the orphanage, but if there is anyone who worked there I'd like to meet them too."
McKinsey hummed. "I don't remember any staff other than Elmira, but the headmistress moved down to Florida after she retired. For the kids themselves..." He trailed off for a moment. Then his face split in a grin. "Tell you what, we're having the harvest festival in town tomorrow, everyone will be there. It'll be the perfect time to run into them."
"Err, great, but couldn't you just give me some names?"
He waved her off. "People around here don't like strangers knocking on their front door. Trust me, you'll have much better luck at a public event. Now, I'll be in touch."
With that, the sheriff shepherded us out of station and onto the street, leaving us to ourselves. "Well, that was interesting, if unhelpful." I said as we walked down the steps. "What do you think, stay or go? I'm pretty sure I can clear up any legal issues this might cause."
Donna shook her head. "No, I don't want to go. The answers are here, and I'm not going to give up now."
I hummed. "I'll find us a hotel then. What's our next move?"
She sighed. "Well, we've got a town with secrets protected by magic traps, a missing person, no idea who's behind either of them, and each new bit of information just makes things even stranger. So, sure, maybe a town festival is a nice change of pace."
I'll give it to Willowbrook. They know how to throw a harvest festival.
"This is positively homey." I remarked, me and Donna walking between the stalls that lined the main thoroughfare of the town. They were selling things ranging from fresh food, to homemade crafts, to one enterprising man selling wooden furniture. That combined with the crisp autumn air made me feel nostalgic. "Brings me back to my childhood."
"You grew up in a town like this?" Donna asked, inspecting a row of pumpkins. The woman tending them gave Donna a warm smile, which she returned.
"Not quite like this, but I did grow up in a village suburb with some history to it. Was around since the colonial era. It was a bit more 'sleepy' than Willowbrook, but this place certainly has a strong sense of community."
We walked past a small group of people that had taken over part of the street to play some nine pins. The crowd cheered as a small boy got a strike, and a man I presume was his father lifted him up on to his shoulder. A few of them noticed us watching, and actually gestured for us to join them, but we politely declined and moved on.
"...I just realized I've never actually been to a harvest festival." Donna remarked, furrowing her brow. "I never lived in a place that threw one."
I spied a particular table through the crowd of people, and I steered us towards it. "Well, I think I spy just the thing to get you started." I walked to the table and said to the man manning it "2 of each please." The man handed me a pair of large cup, one of which I held out to Donna
"Apple cider?" She asked, taking the cup from me.
"And apple cider donuts." I said, taking one off the table wrapped in a napkin and handing it to her. "No harvest festival is complete without them. It's why the early American colonists invented them. Probably. I think."
She gave an amused hum before she bit into her pastry, which then turned into one of satisfaction. "Well, considering how delicious this donut is, I will bow to their wisdom." Her face fell a little bit. "Now if only their basements weren't full of witchcraft," She said in a lower tone.
"If you're thinking of yesterday, that wasn't witchcraft. Or at least not the good old American kind. I did some research last night after you turned in." I had gotten the two of us a room at a local motel, but only Donna used it to sleep. I had spent the night on the roof keeping an eye out while looking things up online. "I ran the pattern on that folder through the database. It's not a perfect match, but there's some Minoan script in there."
Her brow furrowed. "Minoan… they were a civilization that lived around the same time and place as the ancient Greeks, right?"
"The Mycenaean Greeks, yeah. Supposedly, their worship of bull iconography led to influencing the creation of the Minotaur myth."
"And the labyrinth it inhabited." Donna concluded. "Maybe there actually was a minotaur down there…"
"If so, it hopefully disappeared with that pocket dimension."
She grunted, draining the rest of her cider and tossing the cup in a nearby trash can. "Well, I suppose that might be something to look into, though I have no idea where we would start. Whoever created that spell may not even live in this town. Honestly, I want to look back into just who was there the day the building burned down. See if we can find that social worker, or just track down the firefighters."
"There's a problem with the latter, as I had the same thought. That trap gave me the impression that someone wanted to keep whatever happened at that orphanage a secret. And it may have been related to the fire. So I tried to find them online."
"Did something happen to them?"
"More like, after they left town, they ceased to exist entirely." I explained. "The records of their home sales are there, but after that they have no presence online whatsoever. No loans, no credit cards, no bills, nothing. I could see maybe one of them going off the grid… but all five of them?"
Donna groaned. "I'm starting to feel we're years too late to solve this… Fine, let's focus on what we can do right now. I guess I'll try finding anyone who came from the orphanage here."
"Shouldn't take too long to point us in the right direction." I said as we walked toward the town square. "Everyone seems to be so friendly here it can't be that hard to find someone who at least knows someone from the orphanage."
We slipped past a car-blocking barrier and walked into the square, which itself was lined with more stalls. The people here had spread out over the grassy section in the middle, laid out in a sort of impromptu picnic. A small band was playing on a stand not too far away, and the general feel in the air was a sort of laid back festiveness.
Looking at the space, I felt nostalgia flow over me again. For a moment I forgot about the basement, Donna's mystery, the whole superhero thing in general. I remembered when my life used to be simpler, without all the villains, god like beings, and me nearly dying quite so much. My old life felt so far away, and I wondered… if it wouldn't be so bad if-
I flinched, and I blinked in confusion. I haven't spaced out that hard since I was a normal human, I thought. It looked like Gaia's blessing still had a few surprises for me. Still, wasn't sure why my chest felt so warm. And... wait, which way did I come from? I must have gotten turned around at some point-
"Hey!" I turned to see a familiar person walking towards me with a grin on her face: the waitress from the diner. "Glad to see you stuck around." Dressed in casual jeans and a green jacket, she did a sort of half-skip up to me, her golden curls bouncing with the motion. She only came up to my collar, but she didn't seem intimidated. "Even if you didn't call."
A little nonplussed, I turned to her. "Well, we got a little busy yesterday." A beat. "Also, while Donna and I aren't a couple, I do have a girlfriend."
She gave a small pout, but also held out a hand. "I'm Wendy."
Of course you are, I thought as I took her hand in kind. "Jacob. And this is-" I turned to introduce Donna, only to find that she wasn't there. "What the… where the bloody hell did she go?" I asked, looking around for my companion.
"Probably got distracted, there's a lot going on today. Tell you what, let me help you find her, and I can show you around."
I hesitated for a moment before I nodded and gave her a small smile. "Alright, sure." I said, hiding my unease. Normally I would track Donna by her comm, but one of the main features of the new comms was that they couldn't be tracked. I knew I should have fabricated a tracker and placed it on her. As Wendy and I started to walk around the square, I subvocalized over comms "Donna, where'd you go?"
A few seconds later I heard back "Where did you go? We were walking into the square and then suddenly you weren't there anymore."
"I'm right where you left me, although I have been found by the waitress from the diner of all people."
"Her? You- never mind. I got someone to point me in the right direction of a former orphan. I'm going to follow that up. You find out what you can. Maybe your sultry waitress knows something."
I had to hold in a laugh so I didn't startle Wendy. I turned to her, but before I could ask anything she said "I know you haven't been here long, but what do you think of our little town so far?"
I paused before replying "It's nice, kinda reminds me of my old hometown. It feels like the sort of quiet place you retire to."
"Well, if you like it, there's plenty of room for a new resident." I arched an eyebrow, and she held out a hand. "I know, I know. That's a bit much for a first conversation. But this town can get so… static sometime. Some new blood would really do us some good."
"That's very, uh, earnest of you." I settled on. "But I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now."
"Which is?"
"New York. I'm a grad student at NYU," I said, going into the details of my civilian persona. "Going for a Master's in Computer Science."
"Ooo, brains to go with the brawn." She remarked as the two of us wandered out of the square. I didn't respond because, well, I didn't know how to respond. I just sort of politely nodded at her and we fell into a lull. I then tried to ask her a question again, but again she preempted me. "So, what exactly did you come down to Willowbrook for? That isn't trashing the county clerk's office."
I frowned. "How'd you hear about that?"
"It's a small town, and I like to keep my ear to the ground. Also I'm friends with the sheriff."
I grunted. "It's not what it sounds like."
"Really? Because it sounds like you think you ran into some weird, supernatural stuff down there."
"Oh. Well, maybe it is what it sounds like. Look, I-"
"I believe you."
I stopped, my eyebrows shooting up. "You do?"
"Yeah," She stopped as well. "Most people would make up a more believable lie, or if it actually did happen, just think they were imagining it and try to 're not doing either of those. You believe you saw something supernatural and are trying to deal with it rationally. And that is very interesting."
"That's nice of you to say, but how do you know I'm not just lying to get attention? Or just crazy?"
She shrugged, her coy grin returning. "Call it a hunch. Or maybe the fact that you're cute is clouding my judgment."
This woman may be shameless, I thought. I took in breath before I said "Look, Wendy, I appreciate that you're being so friendly, but-"
"Oh! I'm sorry!" She said, covering her hand with her mouth. "I'm being too forward again, aren't I? I don't really mean anything by it, it's just who I am. Ask anyone around here, it has gotten me into a bit of trouble more than once."
"Ah. Well, I guess it's fine." I said helpless. "But maybe I should go look for Donna on my own."
"No, let me make it up to you first." She insisted, and led me to one of the closest stalls that had food on it. "I think I have something here, special just for you," she said, picking something off the table and turning back to me.
"Actually I'm- is that sfingi?" I said in surprise. I carefully plucked the piece of powdered sugar covered fried dough from the napkin she was holding. "I wasn't expecting an Italian pastry here."
"Well, most of the oldest families in town are Greek, but have a few with Italian blood. Are you…?"
"On my mother's side. She learned how to cook from her mother, which included these." I smiled as I lifted the foodstuff up. "Every Christmas she would make a batch for the whole family. Right after Christmas dinner she would wrangle us all up back to the living so that we could 'reminisce', as she liked to put it." I took a bite-
I froze in place. It tasted... perfect. Just like I remembered. The flavor triggered a memory, so strong that I could see it with vivid clarity. I remembered sitting on the couch in my parents living room, blanket over my lap and sfingi in my hand. My brothers were on the floor, doting on our cat who was taking it with her traditional magnanimity. My parents sat closer to the fireplace, watching on with loving amusement.
And at that moment I realized that I wasn't making it home for Christmas.
My expression fell, and an overwhelming sense of melancholy came over me. "God I miss home," I found myself muttering. This place, this town just reminded me of it so much I couldn't stop thinking about it.
"Hey, it's alright." Wendy said, stepping in close. "Home's where the heart is. And no place has more heart than Willowbrook."
Maybe… maybe I could-
Core-Loop Reinforcement Protocol flared to life in my chest.
I flinched, pulling back from Wendy. I looked around wildly before looking down at the foodstuff in my hand. It… it wasn't sfingi. It was just a piece of fried dough, nothing special. Looking past Wendy, I saw there wasn't even anyone meaning the table."Jacob?" Wendy asked, looking at me in confusion. "Jacob? What's wrong?"
"I'm..." I wasn't sure. Something just tried to alter my mind, but I had no idea what. It didn't feel anything like the Calculator's attempts, or any technological connection at all. But… psychics don't work on me, and judging by my encounter with the Psycho Pirate, mind magic didn't either. So, what the hell was that? Did Gaia's blessing make me more vulnerable somehow?
I felt a shiver of uncertainty run through me, and I saw a few of the townsfolk looking at me. Was it because I was freaking out, or did they know something I didn't? Was Wendy responsible? I didn't know, and I wasn't sure what to do. I had to get out of there. "I'm sorry, it seems on top of everything, I'm not feeling well." I pulled back from her. "I should... go. Thanks for showing me around." Without waiting for her to respond, I turned and walked away. I ignored her calling after me and dove into the crowd, losing her in the process.
I tossed the food in my hand in the trash and called Donna. "Donna, we have to go. Where are you?"
A pause, before a short whisper. "Hardware store. Talking."
A few directions later and I was on my way to her, and all the while I kept alert. All of the nostalgia and friendliness I had felt earlier was gone, and now the festival felt much more uneasy. The smiles I was getting now seemed more forced, and I noticed people giving me a wide berth. It didn't take too long before I arrived in front of the hardware store, and I saw Donna talking to a young man about her age. He was sturdy and had a mop of dark hair, but an oddly rigid smile. I walked up next to her and loudly said "Donna! We're running late for our appointment."
She looked at her phone to get the time before looking back up at the young man. "Oh, he's right, we have to go. So sorry, but it was nice meeting you." The young man muttered something I couldn't quite understand as we walked away, the smile never leaving his face. In short order the two of us ducked into a blind alley and out of sight of everyone else.
Once I was sure no one was watching, I told her about what happened. The wave of nostalgia, the sudden memory, and how I had snapped out of it. Her face twisted in concern. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah… mostly. I'm getting real sick of being jerked around like this." I sighed. "Seems like I can't go more than a month without someone trying to mess with my head. Lucky me I'm getting so resistant to it."
She frowned and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You'll be alright. I know you've dealt with worse, so no creepy little town is going to get the better of you. Ok?"
After a moment I gave her a little smile and nod. "Ok. Well, I guess this confirms that whoever made the basement labyrinth is still in town. And call it a hunch, but I think this may run deeper than one person."
"You may be right," Donna said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Oh? Did you find out something useful from the kid?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly. That guy you saw me talking to, Michel, he was from the orphanage too. He said he didn't remember much about it, but..." She hesitated. "I've had a few foster siblings. I know what it looks like when someone doesn't want to talk about what's happened to them. He was showing all the signs of it."
"Really?" I asked. "Because he was giving you a stepford smile when I pulled you away."
"Yeah, something was off. It was like his face didn't match his body language. I'm worried he might be repressing." Her face set. "Something was wrong at that orphanage, but there's just nothing to go on. And judging by what you told me, the longer we're out in the open the more likely we're going to be targets for whoever's behind this."
I thought about it for a second. "We could try investigating the house of the clerk who disappeared. She might have a connection to all this. The cops are probably watching the place, but I'm sure I can get in without being noticed."
"...That's a good idea, but we should wait till dark." She said. "Besides, there's one more person I want to try talking to first."
The sun was starting to wane by the time we arrived at our destination, a somewhat shoddy house in the more suburban part of the town. "Do you really think he's going to be anymore receptive this time?" I asked as the two of us walked up the stoop. "You got nothing from him twice before."
"Maybe, but that's before I knew about there were shady cover ups and magic involved." Donna pointed out. "He may have just owned the building that burned down and that's all, but I have to be sure. And I'm willing to get a little… persuasive if I have to." She patted the handbag at her side, which I knew held her silver lasso.
"Fair enough," I said, turning to the front door. "Mr. Channing?" I called out as I knocked-
It swung inward at the first touch, showing the lock to be shattered. Donna and I looked at each other warily before we carefully stepped inside.
At first glance, all you would see is a shabby house, stairway going up to a second floor and a living room off to the side. The carpet that covered the floor was frayed and dirty, the furniture was cheap, and I could spy a few stains on the walls. But a second look showed things that weren't just poor maintenance: a dent in the wall, a broken lamp, and a dark red stain on the carpet that looked an awful lot like blood.
The two of us walked in and I pointed out the stain. We quietly split and searched the place, though it didn't take long to find that no one was there. We convened back in the living room, and I said "I'm really starting to dislike people disappearing on us."
Donna leaned down to look closer at the stain. "This isn't completely dry, this happened recently. I'd guess a couple of hours ago."
I walked around her. "Doesn't look like that much, probably not a lethal amount. Somehow I don't think it's a coincidence that one of our leads gets abducted just after we spring a trap in the records room."
"But, why now?" Donna asked as she stood straight. "If we assume that the firefighters' disappearing is also part of this, they were taken care of years ago. This isn't even the first time I came here to ask about all of this."
"...When you came here, how many people did you actually talk to about the fire?"
"Not many. Just the fire chief at the time and Channing. Why?"
I had an idea rolling around in my head, but there just wasn't enough evidence to support it. "It's possible Channing was more involved in this than he seems. Let's see if we can find anything else here."
The two of us began to search more thoroughly, and it became clear that the place hadn't just been wrecked by a struggle, it had also been ransacked. Drawers and cabinets had been tossed open, and even the mattress had been cut into. Whoever did this was looking for something, but without knowing what I couldn't say if they found it.
"Well, at least there aren't any magical traps this time," I said, walking out the pantry. "Though whatever's making that smell in the pantry might qualify."
From up in the bedroom I heard Donna call down. "I think there's something here."
I moved to join her, and I found her standing in the doorway to the bedroom closet. Strangely, she wasn't looking in the closet itself, but the door frame. "Do you see something?"
"No," She frowned. "And yet..." She reached out and grasped part of the frame before pulling. There was a groan before the section pulled free with a crack, a few splinters coming out with it. Looking at the piece from the back I could see that there was a latch that would have allowed it to be popped open. If, you know, Donna hadn't ripped the whole thing out.
Reaching into the gap, Donna pulled out a pair of thin books, ledgers by the look of it. "How did you know those were there?" I asked. She didn't reply, instead reaching back into the space to pull out a small box, the sort that you would find a ring in. She set the books down on the nearby dresser and popped the box open.
Inside was a small stone, if you could call it that. It was deep black and speckled with shining lights. Just like Donna's outfit. She reached out and touched it with her finger, and suddenly drew in a sharp breath. Her hair flowed out behind her as a starfield, and the lights in the rock flowed into her finger before it crumbled to dust.
It only lasted a second or so before Donna's hair returned to normal, and she let out the breath she had been holding. "It was like the effigy." She said, turning to me. "Much, much smaller, and not carrying that taint… but it's the same power."
"Something from that night, maybe?" I suggested.
With nothing else, we laid the ledgers out on the dresser and started pouring over them. They weren't exactly the most neatly organized books, as they were written in a mix of shorthand and brief notes, but it was easy to get the general idea of what we were looking at. "It seems like Mr. Channing was involved in some under-the-table dealings with Willowbrook orphanage. If I'm reading this right... He was helping to traffic kids."
Donna made a noise of disgust. "Figures that would be it, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. There's a number of different ways to profit from selling kids. "
"Yeah… except it looks like the orphanage was paying Channing for delivering the kids to them."
"Wait, they were taking in more kids rather than selling them? But, why?"
"Don't know. Channing didn't either." I remarked, looking at a note in the margin that read 'What do they need these kids for?'
We continued to flip through ledgers, the first one continuing to detail finances and payments over the years between Channing and the orphanage, along with a few more general expenses for himself. The second one on the other hand read more like forensic accounting, and detailed expenses of the orphanage and the local government as well. "He was trying to figure out what was happening. And he found out that the Mayor's office was in on it too."
"Look at what they were buying." Donna pointed out. "Gold, copper, a whole list of items from Greece. Artifacts, maybe? But what are these chemicals?"
"...I can't find anyone else using it, but it's close to the formula of LSD." I said after a quick online search. "I can only guess what it does to a person, but I'm starting to think we're dealing with some kind of cult."
"Oh gods, is this really where I came from?" She muttered, and the two of us continued to look through the entries. They went back a considerable ways, and eventually we stumbled on a particular date. 'Building at 53rd burned down. Only one left was a baby girl. Not one of mine.'
" 'Not one of mine?' " I muttered. Donna was still for a moment before she started flipping through pages, looking both before and after the entry. "Looking for something?"
"Something Michel told me… I was trying to learn more about the orphanage so I didn't really think about it, but the one time he remembered anything bad during his time there happened shortly after the fire. A woman came in to talk with the headmistress, she was very distressed. He remembered that she left in tears. What if… she was a relative of mine, who came looking for me after the fire?" She let out a frustrated growl and put the book down. "Nothing. I was hoping that Channing would have run into her."
"He might have and just not written anything down." I pointed out. "Maybe there's something in his normal expenses around that time." I moved over to the other ledger and flipped to the date the building burned down. There was a lot of shuffling money around and insurance stuff, but one charge caught my eye.
'Social credentials rush job. Got the girl out.'
I took a moment to process that. "He's the one who got you out of town. I think... Channing was trying to protect you." I said.
"He sold children." Donna said incredulously. "Why the hell would he care about me?"
"I couldn't tell you. He did slow down his operation after that, to the point where he stopped completely a few years ago." I flipped forward in the ledger to the last entry. "But we're definitely not getting the full story from this."
Donna walked away from me, moving to the window while she rubbed her forehead. "When I said I wanted answers, I mean that I wanted answers that made sense."
"Hey, we're getting somewhere." I assured her. "If nothing else we have confirmation that something, and some people, are very rotten in this town. Even if we still don't know just who the hell they are."
"Well," Donna said after a long pause. "Your cult theory is pretty spot on. That or robes and torches are fashionable down here."
I blinked in confusion. "How could you know-" I cut myself off as I turned my head to see her standing in front of the window overlooking the street. "...Oh, please tell me they didn't."
She didn't have to respond, as I saw the first wave of thrown torches hurling at us through the window.
Chapter 81: 17-4
"I feel like we've been miscast in a horror movie." I remarked as Donna and I walked down the stairs, our unhurried pace at odds with the slowly increasing sound of the burning roof.
"Into what roles?" Donna asked.
"Any roles," I shot back, the two of us coming to a stop at the base of the stairs. "I mean, I know these guys might have some magic hidden up their sleeves, but they're just throwing a bunch of torches." I planted my hands on my hips and sighed. "I feel like going toe-to-toe with Dagon might have skewed my perception of what's threatening."
"Jacob, we still need to deal with them." She pointed out. "We can't just let them burn the building down."
"Right, right. Well, we can go out there and beat them all up, and then question them. It'd be nice to get some straight answers."
"Maybe, but if we reveal ourselves now and some get away, it will be a lot harder to pin the rest of the cult down."
I thought about it for a moment before a basic plan formed. "Ok, we go out the front and make a break for it like some scared civilians and split up. They'll probably split up to follow us, we can lose them and double back so I can put out the fire. Then we can find one by their lonesome and pick them off, questioning them so we can find where the bigwigs are."
Donna thought about it for a moment, but the groaning above us hurried her decision along. "Well, if we are in a horror movie," she said, walking up to the front door. "I guess we can play our part for a little longer." She then yanked the door open in an awkward motion and stumbled out onto the porch. Donna let out a reasonably convincing scream at the sight of the crowd of spooky robed people before bolting off to the right.
...she's having some fun with this, I thought as I stepped out after her, and after a pause ran off in the other direction. The group hesitated for a moment before they split up to follow us, chasing us through the yards of other houses. Of course, they were just normal humans, so it was pretty easy for me to lose my tails in the growing dark of night, and I got back to the house just as the fire really started to get out of control.
I didn't have time to be subtle, so I jumped above the building and turned my arms into freeze cannons, blasting the roof as I fell. I crashed through, but I also put out most of the flames in the process. I had the rest of it put out in about a minute, but between the crash landing the damage the fire already did, this house was getting torn down one way or another.
I heard shouting getting closer, no doubt the cultists realizing their fire had suddenly gone out. I pulled my Mask back so I could throw up my optical camo, and I took to the air. Let's see, who looks like a talker? I thought as I searched for an isolated robed figure. I managed to spot one a few houses down, lagging behind the others who were headed to the now extinguished house. Just as the ones in front of the person turned a corner, I dove down and came to a halt right before them. One and grabbed their collar while the other clasped over their mouth, and I shot us into the air.
The wind from our accent threw back their hood, and I was greeted by the sight of the young man Donna had been talking to earlier that day, Michel I think. He thrashed in my grip for the first few moments before he realized just how high we were getting and then started grabbing my arm for dear life (his flailing managed to find the invisible limb).
We came to a stop far enough above the town that I was sure no one would see us, and I decloaked. "Now, I think this is a nice spot for a little talk." I said, pulling my hand away.
"By Ariale!" Michel swore, looking around wildly.
"They're not here right now, so I suggest you focus on me."
He didn't respond right away, spending a few more seconds to panic in my grasp. I considered pulling a Batman and threatening to drop him, but that wouldn't work if he actually had a 'deranged cultist' mindset. Fanaticism and all that. So I waited for him to calm down a bit and answer me. "What is… how… who are you?"
I suppose it made sense he didn't recognize me, he only saw me for a few seconds and I had a much more human pallet at the time. "I'm the man who has half a mind to take this place apart brick by brick. Now, if you'd be so kind to indulge me...?"
"I… I won't tell you anything!" He yelled back. "Do what you will, my sacrifice will only serve to further the Sleeping Goddess's awakening!"
...He's not the best at this. I thought, arching an eyebrow. The young man at least had the presence of mind to realize what he let slip, and his face flushed red as he clamped his mouth shut. I thought for a moment what to say next. People with that sort of zealous fervor usually want to talk about it, I just had to lean into that. "Oh please, like you would know anything important." I said with a huff. "We've been watching this town for months, learning all about your order. By this point I probably know more about the Sleeping Goddess than you. You're just a little runt they string along to do menial work. No, I just want you to clear up some minor details before we close this operation."
Michel fixed me with an indignant glare, but he still kept quiet. So I kept talking. "The actually important guys took Channing, so what I'm wondering is if you lot were left to watch if anyone came to the house, or if you were just going to burn it down anyway and took your sweet time." His jaw clenched a little harder, so I pushed a bit more. "Not that it matters too much, you failed to catch our agents here just like at the county clerk's office. No wonder they put you on loser duty-"
"That was the Lorekeeper's fault!" He suddenly shouted. "It was her job to keep outsiders away from the secrets of the order! And she was punished for her failings when her maze failed!"
That about confirms Clerk Fowler was the one who led us into the trap, I mulled. "Alright, fine, but what about the house then? You not important enough to deal with the traitor himself-"
Michel sneered. "You think scum like Channing was one of us? He was a useful tool, nothing more. Once we learned he betrayed us during the fire-" Michel stopped, cutting himself off before he could give away anymore. Looks like this was going to be a bit touch and go.
It was then I got a call on the comm. "Jacob, is that you up there dangling another man over the street?"
"Yep," I subvocalized back. "I found a straggler I could pick off. Did you find your own interrogatee?"
"I hadn't gotten to that yet. I might as we join you."
A few moments later Donna joined us, her hair already starting to blend in with the night sky around us. Michel looked at her, transfixed at the sight. "You… you bear the same power."
She tilted her head. "Michel? I… wait, the same power as what?"
"The sacred stones," He said in a sort of rapturous tone, his reluctance to talk all but forgotten. "The ones that will awaken the goddess. If you're here, that must be a sign that the time is now! I will be able to see her ascension!"
Donna stared blankly at him before shaking her head. "Michel, what's been happening in this town? Why are you all doing this?"
"For the glory of our goddess! She will bring us into a new age, and we must pave the way for her! The ritual tonight will now be the first step towards paradise!"
Distress grew on her face at that answer. "But, is all this kidnapping and murder worth it? How can you be ok with that?"
"Any act is worth the cost to bring our goddess-!"
"Michel, I don't care! I don't care about any of that stupid goddess stuff! " Donna shouted over him. She then moved closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please, just tell me what happened at the orphanage. Why were they taking in so many kids? What did they do to you?"
All of a sudden, all of the fight and zeal simply left Michel, replaced with uncertainty. Not just that, he seemed to be completely at a loss at what was happening, looking between Donna's face and her hand. As his distress grew, I started to think that Michal never had anyone show genuine concern for him before. "T-That's-" he sputtered out. "That's not important. The orphanage was fine. They always had kids being adopted or taken. So, so they always needed more kids. We learned a lot there."
" 'Taken'? What do you mean taken? Didn't you ever question-"
"No! No questions!" He yelled a hint of hysteria in his voice. "Good children don't ask questions! If they do it too much they become bad children and they get taken. They gave me the Nectar and I took my punishment and I'm good now."
"Michel, are you-?"
"I'm good now!" He screamed, and I could see that his pupils had become pinpricks. His breath was coming in short gasps and he trembled in my grip. He was having a panic attack. "I'm good, so I can be adopted! I don't have to go to the back room! I don't have to go back! I don't-!"
I pushed Donna back before reaching out to Michel's chest and shocking him unconscious. "He would have hurt himself." I said with a sigh. And it was unlikely we would have gotten anything more out of him. With nothing else for it, we dropped back down to the ground, setting Michel's unconscious body against a fence.
Donna folded her arms tightly against her chest while she looked down at him. "How could they do this to kids?" She muttered. She looked at me. "This whole thing with the stones and sleeping goddess… do you think this was part of Nyx's plan?"
I thought for a moment. "I don't know." There weren't many stories about Nyx, so I wasn't sure what her personality was like. "My gut says no, the primordials didn't really have cults like this. Does the name Ariale mean anything to you?" She shook her head, and I frowned. There wasn't anything about it online either. "That aside, we now at least have a vague idea of what's going on down here. Horrifying as it is. We really need to bring in some more people to handle this, if just to make sure no one slips away."
"Agreed, but that doesn't change that they're going to be gathering tonight. I don't know what they're going to be doing, but I want to stop them."
"Fair enough, but we'll have to find them first."
Donna thought for a moment. "I was able to sense the… starstone in Channing's wall. If they have more of it, there's a decent chance I'll be able to sense it from farther away." She sighed. "Though I don't like the idea of randomly searching an entire town."
"There's a few obvious places we can check first, but we may have to go inside some buildings to be sure." I said.
"And I'm pretty sure they'll notice if we show up."
I hummed in thought, my eyes shifting between her and the man on the ground. "You know… I'm pretty sure this robe is in your size."
By my reasoning, given how much money and influence this cult apparently had, they wouldn't be headquartered in any random building. At the very least they would need a decently large space for both gatherings and collecting all the stuff that had been acquiring illicitly. And given what happened at the clerk's office, we started our sweep by flying by all the government buildings in town.
It didn't take too long before we ended up at city hall, and Donna immediately sensed the same thing she did back at Channing's. It was a short but spread out building, done in the Federal-style with columns and a dome in the center. We slipped in through a side door near the offices, finding the whole place empty and dark. It had become night by the time we got there, but I would have thought there would be at least one or two late workers. Still, Donna had donned Michel's robes and I had fashioned my own from my Mask, so we should have been ok if we ran into someone. Moving deeper in we followed Donna's sense for the magical rocks, and soon enough we came to the building's central rotunda.
Peeking out from a hallway just before it, we saw the large circular space had several columns around the edges and a mural on the dome overhead. The windows along the rim of the dome would normally give the space great natural light, but at the moment it was only dimly lit by a set of torches affixed to the pillars. What didn't appear to be part of the architecture though was a circular band of red-gold metal laid in the center of the space, about 20 feet across. There was also a pile of chains made out of the same metal, though most of my attention was drawn to a bound and hooded man kneeling in the center. I was willing to bet that was Sam Channing.
He wasn't alone, of course. Around the outside of the circle were a handful of people wearing robes, though theirs were much nicer than what the others had been wearing, and embroidered with similar Minoan patterns that I had seen before. None of them were talking, instead they seemed to be waiting for something.
Donna and I watched them for a minute or so before another group of robed figures came in, about 2 dozen of the regular sort from the direction of the main entrance. The two of us looked at each other and came to a silent agreement before we stepped out as they passed us, forming up at the rear. No one seemed to notice our addition.
The group spread out around the circle, leaving the two of us behind a few figures facing the more important cultists. Subvocalising, I asked Donna "Which way are the stones?"
Quiet enough that only I could hear, she replied "There." I looked towards her to see her looking up. Following her gaze I looked up at the dome covering the rotunda, but all I saw was a mural of a landscape. Wait… looking at the center I saw a seam bisecting the mural. And looking closely at the sides I saw rollers attached to the sides. The mural was just a canvas, and could be pulled aside. The rocks were behind it.
Finally a voice spoke up. "I don't like being summoned like this, Alan." The crowd on the other side of the circle parted to reveal a new figure, this one I was able to recognize as she left her hood down and I had looked up her profile. The mayor of Willowbrook was a stately, tanned skinned woman in her early thirties and dark hair done up in a braid. At the moment her expression was one of stern focus as she settled her gaze on a particular individual. "I know that I can be lax with you, but I expect you to inform your High Priestess of just why you summoned a conclave before telling me the reason."
The figure in question bowed, and when he spoke I recognized the voice. The sheriff. "I'm sorry Alice, but I felt this couldn't wait. I just found out that Sam here's been a naughty boy. You remember that fire 16 years ago?" She nodded and he continued. "Well, turns out those rumors of the baby surviving were true. And he's the one who arranged for her to slip away."
"What?" The woman said in shock. "How? Why? I know that he got flaky the last few years, but he still worked with us back then."
"It took a bit to get it out of him," He nudged one of the chains on the floor. "But I think he started having second thoughts around that time. Didn't like all the 'necessary measures' we have to take to bring the new world about. Probably didn't like how messy our 'reacquisition' of the girl went either."
Alice sighed. "Well it's not like we wanted to do that either. If the headmistress hadn't gotten sloppy, if we realized just what the girl was before we let her be adopted..." She shook her head. "If the girl's still alive, we need to find her."
"No need, she's in a motel in town. She's part of the pair that tripped the safeguard in the county clerk's basement. Her telling me about how she came from here is what made me look back into it. I'm having some people go around to pick her up right now."
We're on a time limit then, I thought. And the group that just came in clearly aren't the ones that were at Channing's. Just how many people are in on this?
The mayor nodded to herself. "Good, good. With her in our hands we can finally move forward and tie off the last loose ends."
"Mostly." She looked to the sheriff, who continued. "Back then a member of the adoptive family came around, a woman. I know the chief back then gave her the runaround, but I can't remember much else… well, we have it on file back at the station. And it's been enough time we can clip that off without suspicion."
"See that you make the arrangements." Alice said cool. "For now, let us deal with the one who sought to hinder us." She threw her hood up, and the other well-robed cultists took this as their cue to step into the circle, standing equidistant from one another. The mayor raised her arms up and called out "Let us rejoice in the name of Ariale, and feel her love for the home she has created!"
The inner circle began to chant in a language I didn't recognize, and the air became heavy. I saw the people around me relax, and I felt that all too familiar wave of nostalgia wash over me. This time I was ready for it, and with a bit of force of will I pushed it aside. I looked aside at Donna, but for whatever reason she didn't appear to be affected. "Ok, I think we have enough." I commed. "Time to take them down."
"Channing." She whispered.
Right, he was still in danger. We could probably get to him before anyone could do anything, but if we had the time… "Circle around to the other side. I'll make a diversion, you get him out of the way. Then we make with the punching." She hummed before slowly moving away from me, carefully slipping behind everyone so no one noticed. A minute passed before the chanting ended, and everyone slipped out of the languid state they had been put in.
Except… I didn't feel the pressure on my sense of self get weaker. If anything it got stronger. I blinked in confusion, having to put more and more effort to keep the nostalgia at bay. No one else looked to be feeling this, and if it got any worse I would start glowing from all the energy I was putting into my defense. If this didn't let up-
All of a sudden, it did. I nearly stumbled forward from the whiplash, but I caught myself. As I tired to figure out what the hell just happened, I heard the mayor say "Now that the rite has been observed, we can begin-"
"Not quite."
The new, if familiar, voice spoke loudly enough that it drew the attention of everyone in the rotunda to the speaker. Which happened to be right behind me. I turned to see Wendy standing close, dressed in normal clothes and looking up at me with that familiar grin. I hadn't even noticed anyone coming up behind me, but then the cloak form my Mask was taking meant I couldn't use blindsight to see my surroundings. "Uh-"
She made a small motion with her hand, and I heard the clink of metal behind me. I suppressed the urge to dodge and a second later the chains in the center shot around my arms and legs, lifting me a foot in the air and pulling me spread eagle. The other cultists pulled away while Wendy walked closer. "I'll admit, I know you were spooked last we met, but I didn't expect you to try digging deeper. But, it's been quite some time since I felt anyone resist me. It left an impression."
"Bow before the Vessel!" The mayor called out, and all the cultists fell to their knees.
I couldn't see Donna, but she was probably preparing to intervene. "Hold." I commed her. "They're all focused on me, move into position. I'll let you know if I need help." Out loud, I put a little nervousness into my voice and said "Well, heh, I guess trying to deal with things rationally has some downsides. Curiosity and all that."
"We'll see if you fare better than the proverbial cat," Wendy remarked, walking around me. I found myself turning along with her until we were facing the circle. "But I'm curious, what do you think is going on in my Willowbrook?"
I awkwardly shrugged in my restraints. "Small town with a dark occult secret, worshiping some kind of eldritch being or another in exchange for power. And I'm guessing said eldritch being is you, in some fashion. Though if so you seem to be awfully awake for a 'sleeping goddess'."
Wendy laughed, a light tone that echoed through the rotunda. "For me, this is sleeping. A waking dream through which I need a host to act. A far cry from what I used to be. From what I should be."
"And that is…?"
She spread her arms, and I saw the air around her her body shimmer. No, it was more like something was surrounding her, the ethereal form of a woman with ivory white skin dressed in a woven dress that cut out the hips. The dress had a corset piece that went up to the sternum and let the breast hang free, and she was adorned with an elaborate gold headpiece that swept back her black hair. "I am Ariale, goddess of the Delphros."
"...Delphros?"
The image around her faded, and she sighed. "I hate how no one alive remembers the true name of my people. In this day and age you would know of them as the… Minoans." She made a displeased noise. "The gal of naming my people after that bastard king of Greece."
I took a moment to process this before I said "And you work as a waitress?"
She blinked before giggling. "I've always loved meeting new people. And the diner sees the most new traffic through town these days. If nothing else it helps to keep abreast of what's happening in the outside world."
"My goddess," The mayor suddenly said, still kneeling. "Forgive my presumption, but should we not simply remove the interloper?"
Ariale looked to the kneeling woman, her expression almost motherly. "Now, now, it's been quite some time since an outsider has managed to get this close to us, and this one has taken my interest. I wish to indulge myself a little before I decide his fate." She gestured. "Rise. And remove the cover."
The cultists rose up, and one of them moved off to the wall to open up a panel and flip a switch. A moment later the two halves of the mural above us pulled away to reveal the dome behind it. Embedded in the dome were countless of the same night-like stones that Donna had found at Channing's, so many that it looked like I was looking up at the night sky. Except that there was something else up there too, a sort of reddish light that filled in between the cracks. It wasn't completely filled in, so the light flowed from one part of the dome to the other, swirling about.
Ariale looked upward, staring at the sparkling dome above us. "It's so wonderful, it's it? The very essence of a primordial. Just a few more sacrifices and I can bring it under my control."
"...So, you didn't put that there?"
She looked back at me with a flat expression, before she chuckled. "Oh Jacob, you really are the curious sort. No, I didn't put the night there, but this does relate to what you and your not-girlfriend have been asking about." She paused, tilting her head. "Where is she, anyway?"
"She's, uh, somewhere you'll never find her." I said as lamely as I could.
A bemused look. "She's probably back at the motel. We'll pick her up soon enough. After all, we can't get started without the guest of honor. She was the first time around too, but she had less manners back then."
"...What are you talking about?"
Ariale breathed in deep and turned away from me, twirling her curls while she reminisced. "That day 16 years ago was supposed to be my ascension back to proper godhood. I've spent millennia like this, ever since the fall of my people. Hopping from host to host, trying to sustain myself with whatever worshipers and sacrifices I could, until I settled here. And then Donna fell into my lap, a child touched by a primordial. It wasn't much, but after some divination I discovered that said primordial was weakened. Enough that I could draw her power for myself."
She turned back to me. "But she had been adopted by the time I realized it, so we had to take her back. It was a bit of a rush, and I was impatient, so we performed the ritual to claim the primordial's power in the basement of that building." She scowled. "Unfortunately, the primordial was not as weakened as I thought. Needless to say the ritual went wrong, and everything went up in flames. I lost my last host that day."
She perked up. "But, I've learned from my mistake, and a great deal of primordial's drawn out power still coalesced into something usable." She gestured upwards. "I've spent years infusing it with my own power, enough that it won't slip away from me this time." She fell silent, looking at me expectantly. "Well? Ask it."
"Ask what?"
"You know what, Jacob. The one last question you need to ask."
I thought about it for a moment. "Why are you telling me all this?"
Her grin came back. "Because you're smart enough to understand, and I wanted you to have some context before I made my offer."
My eyebrows slowly raised. "Offer? What, you want me to join your little cult?"
"No. Well, yes, but not like the rest of them." She gestured to the assembled people. "Don't get me wrong, they're all wonderful people, but they can be a bit dull. Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between them." She leaned in close to me, grinning while her eyes sparkled like gems. "But you're different. Not only are you taking these revelations in stride, you actually resisted me today. You have a strong soul, like I have never seen. I want you… to be my consort."
That caught me off guard. "Huh?"
"Think about it, you can be at my side when I ascend." she purred. "And I can show you such delights that no mortal has dreamed of. Which will be all the sweeter when you take them willingly."
For several long seconds I stared back at the woman, before a thin smile formed on my face. "Ignoring all the human sacrifice... You tried to use the memory of my family against me. Piss off."
She threw her head back dramatically and let out a suffering groan. "Ah, why must the pretty ones be so stubborn... Oh well. I suppose sacrificing a soul like yours will get me something at least. But you deserve some special treatment, and this will take but a moment." Ariale walked to the center of the circle, stopping right next to Channing and holding her hand out expectantly. The mayor stepped forward, and from her robes she pulled a wicked looking dagger. It was curved and made of the same red-gold metal, along with having a bullhead pommel and snake crossguard.
Ariale raised her free hand, and the red energy above pushed in response. It collected in the center of the dome before being pulled downward, the whole thing looking like a cloth that was pinched in the middle. In moments there was a slow moving vortex of starstones, the focal point being a bright red orb just above her. She focused on Channing, and with a slow motion, she raised the dagger above her head.
But before she could bring the weapon down, a silver lasso wrapped itself around her hand. Ariale snapped her head up to see Donna step away from the front of the crowd, tossing off her cultist robe with her free hand. The goddess's eyes widened when they saw the starlight hair stream out behind her. "You!" She yelled, and reddish energy started to flow off of her.
Donna then used the other end of the lasso to ensnare Channing before simply yanking him out of the circle. The man went flying with a scream and landed with a heavy thud a few meters behind everyone. He'd be a bit battered, but he'd live.
The cultists nearest to Donna started to move, but I wasn't sitting idle either. The ends of my arms and legs thinned, letting me easily slip out of my restraints and shoot into the air. My arms reformed into sonic cannons and I fired a low powered blast on either side of Donna, knocking the cultists away from her.
The cultists then broke into pure chaos. Some froze in place to stare, others screamed and tried to run, and a few pulled weapons. I only had a moment to analyze the mess; I didn't have time to deal with this cleanly. With an effort of will I tore the guns out of the hands of those that drew them and launched the firearms (safeties on) at the ones running away, knocking them down. I then swooped down and started circling the group quickly, knocking down any that tried to move away.
I had to keep these people from running off or interfering with whatever was happening in the center circle, but I also had to be careful not to kill anyone. As I picked the cultists off one by one, I kept half my attention on the pair of women in the center of the circle. Neither was moving, Donna still holding fast with her lasso and Ariale continuing to gather power around her. "Bold of you to strike at me here," I heard Ariale say over the din, her teeth bared in something between a grin and a scowl. "But you can't stop me. All I have to do is add my own blood-"
Even bound, Ariale flipped the knife around to press the edge against the inside of her wrist. "And I will gain control of your primordial's power, enough to crush you at least. But, I'm a forgiving sort, so if you help me-"
"Let them go."
Ariale paused. "What?"
"This town. The people. The power you stole. Let them go."
The goddess laughed. "You're in no position to-" she suddenly cut herself off, her expression twisting to one of confusion. Her hand started to tremble and the knife turned in her grip. Slowly, with the blade pointed upward, she moved the knife closer to the knot of red energy above her. "What?! No! How are you doing this?!" The woman yelled, her body shaking as she tried to get her arms under control.
"Let them go." Donna said again as she took a step forward, the Lasso of Persuasion glowing a brilliant silver in her hands.
Ariale growled, and her ethereal avatar formed around her once again. A heavy pressure settled over the entire rotunda, causing most of the cultists to stumble and a few to pass out. This made it a lot easier for me to subdue the rest of them, and in short order every normal human in the room was unconscious. I turned my full attention to the center to find the space awash with flashing red and silver lights sparking from the metal circle. Ariale had stopped her arms, but her body was still locked in place. "These are my people!" She roared at Donna. "They gave themselves to me willingly! Who are you, a mere fragment of divinity, to deny me my worshipers?!"
"You've warped their minds since they were children." Donna took another step forward. "You've ruined and taken lives, destroyed families, all because you wanted to be worshiped. You don't deserve any of it." She took one last step forward, now nearly face to face the goddess. The starstones around the shone brighter, and Donna's eyes lit up with starlight. "Let. Them. GO!"
Ariale strained against the force of Donna's will for a few seconds longer before she let out a scream of anguish and plunged the dagger up into the heart of the red energy. It gushed and flowed over her hands like blood, splattering across the floor before it evaporated into a bloody mist and disappeared completely. As it left, the night stones also 'dissolved' into dark clouds with sparkling lights. Rather than disappear they gathered around my teammate.
When the last drop of red vanished, Ariale screamed in fury and launched herself at Donna. The woman cleanly sidestepped the lunge before pulling on the lasso. It was enough to spin Ariale around and throw her off balance, just in time to see Donna's fist hurdling at her head. There was a thunderous crack that shook the entire rotunda on impact. Ariale crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
She took a moment to catch her breath before she bent down and started tying up the woman more thoroughly with the lasso. I walked over to her, and I spoke when she finished and stood back up straight. "You good?"
Her mouth pressed thin as she stared down at the unconscious blonde. "Not really. I mean, it's good we came here and stopped here, but this is not what I wanted from this trip. None of this is what I wanted."
"...I'm sorry." I said. "Well, there's going to be a lot of taking this place apart to figure out everything that happened here. So maybe I can-" I stopped when a bit of motion caught my eye. "Donna, are you making it do that?"
She turned to follow my gaze, and saw that the cloud of night around her had started to clump together. "No..." she said, and reached out towards it. On contact I expected her to absorb it, like she had with everything else of Nyx's power, but this time something different happened. As her fingers brushed it, the metal circle around us glowed and a silvery thread suddenly connected with her hand. It traced down her arm until it touched her heart.
There was a pulse of light, and the night sky before us took shape, folding down into a much smaller space. It didn't fully form, remaining a sort of nebulous flowing curtain of the night, kind like a robe. Still, I could make out the basic shape of a human woman, and as she drifted closer I saw constellations draw together in the shape of a face. "Donna," The voice was a whisper that came from all around us. "I'm so happy to finally meet you, though I wish the means were not so fleeting."
Nyx was… oddly less than what I was expecting. Gaia had been an entire world compressed down into the shape of a person, but the being hovering before us looked to be simply a piece of the night sky given form rather than the whole of it. It gave me the impression that we were looking at a shade of sorts.
"Nyx?" Donna said, a number of emotions crossing her face. "You seem..."
"Lesser." The entity finished. "I am but a piece of a whole, brought forth by actions of you and the other. Would that I could stay, but this form cannot sustain itself. I am already slipping away." As the shade spoke, I could see the bits of itself dissipating around the edges.
"But I have so much to ask! What happened to you? Why do I have some of your power?"
Nyx drifted from side to side as she spoke. "I do not have time to explain fully, but I will tell you what I can. My daughters said they would tell you of my end, when you would meet them. The method I chose was the simplest solution: I would disperse myself, once again becoming unformed essence like I had been in the earliest days of my existence. I would cease to have what mortals would consider a 'self', but I would leave nothing for the taint to hold."
"So… how do I factor into this?"
"Because before I did, I sought you out. I would never return to myself without something to anchor me to the world. And for that, I would need an existence with a sense of self, that would not be at the whims of the higher world. A human soul."
"...but, why me?" Donna finally asked. "Out of anyone you could have picked, why chose me?"
Nyx didn't answer right away, the nebula that made her core shifted in shape before she said. "It… is not something I fully understand. I asked my daughters to find someone who could hold a piece of my essence and not be overwhelmed by it, and you were the answer. You are a unique soul, Donna Troy. In the many threads of fate you follow, you are always true to yourself." A laugh, accompanied by a rain of stars. "In one thread we saw the role of the Phoebe forced upon you by the other Titans, and yet you still persisted. That is when I decided on you, infant though you were."
Donna looked between the shade and the bound figure of Ariale, her expression darkening. Before she could say anything, Nyx said "I chose you to avoid becoming something like that. The fragment of my essence would grow in strength as you aged, but never overwhelm you. And at the end of your mortal life, it would have been released and I would have reformed." A whisper of what sounded like wind. "But that, it seems, was not to be. The cult of Ariale found you, and stole you with the intent of draining me through you. Enough of my power was collected that I briefly became aware, and I rebuked her. But now, I can't say what it has done to your soul or the crystalized essence bound to it..."
"What do you mean?"
The dissipation that had been occurring around the edges of Nyx picked up the pace, and the shade shook its head. "There is no time, and I have something far more important to tell before I slip away. The part of me attached to your soul, it remembers… your parents."
Donna stood up straighter, her eyes going wide. "You know who my birth parents are? Please tell me!"
Nyx had shrunk down, and her voice sounded far away. "You father left just after you were born, but your mother… she loved you so very much. It devastated her to leave you at the orphanage, but she was mortally ill."
I could see Donna's eyes become wet, and she looked down at the ground. "Ah, I see. I… figured it was something like that. Wish I knew a little more though,"
What remained of Nyx's shade took a more definite shape, an arm reaching out to Donna connected to an upper body and a head. The hand cradled against Donn's cheek pulled her view up to see a smiling face made of stars looking back at her. "Dorothy Hinkely. That was your mother's name. I am sorry for the part I played in your life's tragedies, but remember that you were, and are, loved."
She then faded entirely, but at the starlight strand pulled back into Donna's chest one last thing echoed in the air. "So long as you remember this, you will always know who you are."
=====A=====
A/N: Good lord, this chapter fought me tooth and nail.