38

I got an address from Anne where Megan might be found. She told me Megan had changed locations often due to the entity, and this was the most recent address for her. But the implication was that she might no longer nbe there. Only way to find out was check it out.
I went down to an old section of Halifax near the dock area. The buildings here had been partly rebuilt, and then left to rot when whatever project that got started lost it's funding. There were squatters all over, most, but not all of them human. I'd come down here to find Megan, so that's what I was going to do. It didn't stop me from wishing I had Zik'k along, this would have been exactly the place that would be great for having a bodyguard to watch your back. Unfortunately I didn't.
I walked into the semi-converted building that I think may have been an attempt to create a loft apartment. The steps led me up to the sixth floor, and the second door in from the stairs. I looked out over the street, and felt the wind come through the steel mesh that enclose the long balcony-like walkway in front of the apartment doors. I screwed up my courage and raised my hand to knock, when I heard the lock turn on the door and I saw the door knob rotate. The door pulled open and disappeared into black, not just shadow, I mean black, the kind of absolute block you can only feel properly in a cavern.
I wanted to run back down the stairs and leave. The Darkness was absolute, no light in and none out, something no sane person would ever enter voluntarily. I called out, “Megan? I'm Fern Fatelli, do you remember me?” The voice I heard never was meant to come from a human throat. “Ms Fatelli, it is a surprise to see you here, and wanting to talk. Have you fared well since our last meeting?” “Well enough, but I didn't come to talk of past happenings, I came to talk about opportunities and situations.”
“Intriguing Ms Fatelli, but I sense there is much of each that needs a more direct explanation. So please elucidate your opportunities, and describe your situations.”

#

“What the opportunity is, is a new body to act as a conduit, and the chance to challenge an established power on earth. One that may even be a true challenge to your ability.” “An interesting and intriguing proposal, but vague,” the Darkness mused from inside the room. I heard Megan's breathing, loud, steady, and very slow. The power in each breath seemed like a drum, and my body felt pressure with every exhalation. “What would be the terms of this 'proposal' Ms. Fatelli? I wonder about the details.”
I took a deep breath. You know how I jumped right into this idea of letting it use me as a conduit? Think that was fast? Wrong-o. I'd been thinking about this since Megan got taken years ago, but I only had very recently decided to propose it. I'm likely to be taking on a big, evil dragon in a short while, and I'd need all the juice I could get on my side of the fight. You have to survive to deal with the consequences, and I wasn't sure that even with the entity on my side, I'd survive it.
I really really did not want to do this, but it was a chance at some redemption for some past screw-ups, and scared as I was with this, I needed that redemption more. “I'll take Megan's place as your conduit for three months, and in return, you help me open up the Anoylyn Way. “A very interesting proposal, Ms Fatelli, very much interesting indeed. I have not pitted my abilities against a dragon, especially while in a form that has such.....limitations upon it.” The Darkness paused and I felt Megan shift slightly through the dark that enveloped her room. when she shifted the dark shifted slightly with her. It was very creepy to watch.
I stepped back involuntarily, and gave the darkness a bit more room. Something about that patch of black made me want to avoid being touched. My skin shrank away almost physically from the darkness in that room. “I would know more about the limitations you propose Ms Fatelli. After all, a smart human wouldn't leave me free to wander in a conduit for so long would they now?” I felt it's gaze like a heavy weight on my shoulders. “Feeling guilty are we Ms Fatelli? That such a young child should be so..... ill-used by one such as myself? Is that what you're thinking Ms Fatelli?”
That had been exactly what I'd been thinking, and that the entity knew my thoughts made the whole bargaining a lot more hazardous in my mind. I needed it's power a lot more than it needed me as a conduit. Unless I could think of a compelling reason that would sway it, I was likely to condemn Megan to further manipulations by The Darkness. The one thing I did have was a little time, and if I played that advantage correctly, I might get it to relinquish Megan.
“Yeah, I was thinking that actually, and how easy it must have been to lead the girl the way you wanted. I hope she's still sane enough to make her own mind when you let her. 'cause if she's gone round the bend, she's of no use to me to negotiate for her release. And yes, I want redemption. I want to make things right here between me and Megan, and me and you. You have a stake in this too. If we can find a mutually agreeable setup, we can all benefit. That's what I'm after.”
I spoke the words strongly and with as much conviction as I could project. I had to make the Darkness believe that I was working for my own interest and it's interest as well. If I did that bit of acting good enough, it might deal with me a little more fairly. Or at least less hostilely.
“I am intrigued by your bluntness Ms Fatelli. So few of you humans are willing to be blunt, it is refreshing to encounter it on occasion. What are the specifics of the proposal, beyond the three months as yourself as a conduit? What would I get beyond just the chance to operate through you Ms Fatelli?” “A chance at a different perspective from me and a different identity. Plus I'm not as likely to go crazy with you riding me. I'd think Megan is pretty close to the end of her ability to handle things realistically, and like I said earlier, if she's gone mad while you've been inhabiting her, there's no deal. She'd be of no use to me damaged like that. So what's it going to be, yes or no?”

13

The idea to negotiate with Troykin was to get them stirred up some, and then you could get them to agree to most anything. Plus, losing face was a big thing to Troykin, so what they agreed to they'd stick with, however they agreed to it. I had asked Fawn about the Troykin up here, and she had told me that they were generally willing to work with humans.
Larry Potter was a name known up here, as his shop catered to all races, and considering a lot of the wild racist xenophobia practiced by humans and the non-human on each other, Larry was considered a good man to know and helping his sister-in-law could be seen as getting a big discount on something. All told it was a good thing to be Larry's sister-in-law.
The Troykin almost fell over themselves when I told them who I was. They didn't believe it for a moment. I sighed to myself. “Okay, what will prove who I am?” I asked the supposed leader of the bunch. “We know of the name of the Ne...pilim you fought, what was the name you called that creature?” The name I called him. “That piece of filth was called Ahiah, but I called him 'Baldy'.” It was the right answer. What did I tell you about magic and coincidences? How likely do you think that the bottle and the name of the Nephelim would come up on the same day, and linked to each other? Really? You're a bigger believer in coincidence than I am, that's for certain.
“Now you are free to ask one of us to help you, but I recommend Zik'k. His family owes Mr. Larry very much for his kindnesses, and has the largest honor-debt.” A lean, scarred-up Troykin stepped forward, then put his hand over his face and bowed. Hmm, some kind of ritual greeting? “No need to be formal, Zik'k, we'll work better if you just call me Fern.” I said. Zik'k straightened and held his nose. “Peeee-eew, human, what kind of magic have you been rolling in? Gah, the smell's awful!” I blinked in surprise.
Troykin could smell magic? “You can smell magic?” I blurted out. All five heads on five Troykin nodded. The leader who'd suggested Zik'k said “That we can, but it's not something we advertise much. You have to be a pretty powerful wizard to have a smell on you, and yours is,” I watched his face screw up in concentration as he hunted for a suitably diplomatic word, “pungent.” “Are you going to get all huffy about it?”, I asked, getting huffy about it myself. Hey, it's a girl's privilege to be huffy when called pungent.

12

For the life of me I couldn't see any connection other than the one “Mr. Cobb” had pointed out. Someone wanted to use it to increase their personal power. Pardon, some fucking lunatic was power-mad and somehow figured out how to remake the damn soul bottle. But the big reason is why? Just making the bottle was horrific, but no one I could imagine would just make that kind of bottle for no reason at all. It was a huge magick battery, which meant huge powerful spells.
I rubbed the nub of my little finger, where it had been torn off by Ahiah, the Nephelim. I had the last joint still but just the thought of that bottle being around made it ache badly. Okay, who knew about the bottle? I went though and tried to remember each person that had contact of knowledge of that bottle. Fawn, her team, me, Larry, Rynun, Uncle Todd, and Ahiah. I couldn't think of any others, but for that bottle to be around, someone must know of it, and of me and Fawn.
Our folks had been a full-bubble-off-level crazy, and had made of Fawn and I huge storage batteries of magic. We couldn't touch it, but it stayed with us. I don't know how much was there, but Larry said it was a LOT of magic. No one that I knew really wanted to touch it either. Magic like that draws other magic like a magnet draws iron filings. We both are a magnet for weird coincidence.
The bottle showing up after seven years was just another one of those coincidences that really weren't. Right now, the bottle concerned me most and who was casting spells on me. Both seemed very connected, and the only person that had both was “Mr.Cobb”. So the question became why did he ask me to help him and warn me about the bottle? I'd have to ask him when I found him. But with something like this I needed back up. Good, reliable, backup.

#

Dayning is that part of Halifax that grew up after the magic cam back with a huge bang almost sixty years ago now. It is mostly the non-human section. Most all of them have their own enclave here in one or more places. I came down here because I preferred a non-human partner for this. Humans like myself are good at most anything. We're nature's great generalist. But if you want a specialist species, Dayning is the place you'd come to find one.
What I wanted was smart and tough. There were a lot of races like that, Trolls were the biggest example. But I hadn't felt right about hiring trolls since Zhirk died. Call it stupid, maudlin, prejudice, or superstitious, I just never wanted to hire a troll again. There were other races beyond them. What I wanted was one who stood a chance against fae magick, and there was only one that had any kind of resistance that I knew were the Troykin.
Troykin are bad news. They have outsider blood in their veins. Most spells will just blow apart unless you prepare the spell carefully, or are hideously powerful. The other side of things is that they are affected by silver and the merest touch causes gaping wounds as their skin dissolves. Salt hurts them, and repels them but doesn't do much more than that, and a determined Troykin has been known to resist being repelled by salt on occasion.
They are also unstable, which may be due to the outsider blood. They are not quite hair-trigger on the emotions, but the next closest thing to it. It generally made them a poor choice, but considering the opposition, I was willing to have one with me, as it would make “Mr. Cobb” at least have to work at doing us in. I was more guessing he wanted something from me, otherwise why the elaborate illusion?
Too much speculation would start to hurt, so I backed off and concentrated on the problem at hand, negotiating with one of the local Troykin gangs to get my help. I parked my car and stepped out, all five foot nothing, ready to brace five six foot plus tall Troykin. I had the advantage that I was human, and a human seen this far into Dayning was generally considered crazy and/or dangerous. I figured crazy worked well.