on what could be a terrorist attack right here in Charleston –”
“Reporters are on the scene for updates on a helicopter crash and house fire –”
In each case, a perfectly-coiffed news reporter looked earnestly into the camera against a background of smoke and flames. I stifled a sob as one of the cameras panned to show the scene. Sorren’s magnificent old mansion had been reduced to rubble and a few burnt walls.
My phone rang, and I snatched it out of my pocket, hoping it was Sorren. Father Anne’s number came up, and her voice was worried. “Cassidy – I’m watching the news and that house fire, is that Sorren’s place?”
“Yes it is,” I confirmed, but I was leery of going into more detail over the phone. “We haven’t heard from him, and we don’t know any details. But if we find out something, I’ll let you know.”
Lucinda called a few moments later, and I told her the same thing. The next time my phone rang, I did not recognize the number, but the voice was familiar, if surprising.
“I told you this wasn’t a game.” Daniel Hunter’s voice was a growl.
“It’s about time you returned my calls,” I said, sorrow turning quickly to anger. “I’ve been trying to reach you for days.”
“Doesn’t matter. Someone got past your boss’s defenses. Not too many people could do that. Are you ready to take this seriously yet?”
His arrogance made me angry, and I was already in the mood to hit something. “I’ve always taken this seriously,” I snapped. “Sorren asked me to set up a meeting with you. What can you help us do to fight the problem?”
“Now you’re asking the right questions,” Hunter replied, with a tone that said he enjoyed being insufferable. “I’ve been watching the power spikes in the magic around here. I think that something is trying to come through to our world from somewhere else, maybe bring a few of its buddies with it. Whatever it is feeds on the ghosts for energy, and it’s munched people on staircases, too. I’m trying to get ahead of it, and you should be doing that, too, unless you want it all to fall apart on your watch.” He paused. “Let’s wait on a meeting until we see whether Sorren is still around or not.” He hung up on me before I could reply.
All Hunter’s talking had made me miss the updates about the explosion. I flipped through the channels quickly.
“ – helicopter seen right before the explosion…”
“ – no flight plan filed, not sure who it belonged to…”
“ – house owned by an old family trust, not yet able to find out who lived there…”
I froze as the next channel showed smoldering ruins and EMTs carrying out a stretcher with a body under a white sheet. “No word yet on whose remains were found in the wreckage of the house. Police say three bodies have been recovered, but given the nature of the explosion, it might be some time before we discover who they were.”
The reporters seemed so detached, and while I knew that was their job, tonight I wanted everyone else to be stirred by the same rage and need for vengeance I felt, the anger that propped me up and kept me from sinking into despair.
I knew the stories wouldn’t update again for a while, so I turned the volume down and leaned back on the couch. Whenever I shut my eyes, I saw the helicopter falling from the sky, saw it hit the house and explode, and watched flames shooting higher than the tallest trees.
I must have fallen asleep, because Teag woke me by calling my name. I shook my head to clear it, and turned up the volume on the news since the background footage had changed again.
“Helicopter was stolen –”
“Pilot believed to have died in the crash, although teams will be sifting through the wreckage –”
“The organization which owned the house has released the names of two of the people killed in the fire –”
Teag motioned for me to turn down the volume. “I found a few leads,” he said, sitting down on the couch. “All the law enforcement agencies are fighting over whose turf this is on,” he said. “FBI, Homeland Security, FAA, State Police and the Charleston Police – they all want a piece of it.”
“And?”
“The Feds know a little more about the helicopter than what’s being said on the news,” Teag replied. “It was stolen yesterday, which means whoever did this had almost