Precarious Possessions (Maxwell Investigations) (20 page)

The boys looked at each other for a moment before smiling
brightly. “Bacon!” they cheered.

They resembled him too. He smiled at the pair and went to
the refrigerator. “Why don’t we add something to that? We can have pancakes or
waffles.”

Again, the boys looked at each other. They smiled brightly,
and Troy could see women falling at their feet in a few years. During that time
he would have to
tranq
their mother. The boys turned
their attention to Troy.
“Both,” they demanded, “with bacon!”

* * *
* *

Mathias opened the door to his apartment and looked at the
man on the other side. He had to give the Maxwell family credit. They all knew
when to own up to their responsibilities. “Shall I assume your father told you
what has been ordered?” he asked. When Barry didn’t answer, Mathias stepped to
the side and gestured for Barry to enter. “Your friend is tucked away safely
with your sister as well.”

“Thorne has nothing to do with any of this and you know it,”
Barry said lowly. When Mathias shrugged he hissed out a breath. “What the hell
are you playing at now?”

It was times like this that made Mathias regret becoming a
Keeper in the first place. The decisions he had to make were never ones that
rested easy with him. As he shut and locked the door, he rubbed the bridge of
his nose. “I wish I could say that I’m not playing at anything,” he answered
seriously. His dark brown eyes took locked with Barry’s and Mathias allowed his
usually strong shoulders to slump. “But there is so much going
on,
I have had to play most of it against my chest.” He
motioned for Barry to sit. “You and your brothers are basically the only ones I
can trust with any of this.”

Barry looked at the high ranking official and frowned.
“Why us?”
He had always known there was something going on
with Mathias, but he could never find out exactly what. Now, it looked like he
was about to find out.

“Frankly, you’re incorruptible.
Each and
every last one of you.”
Mathias walked to the window and looked out into
morning cityscape. “You all seem to do the right thing.
Even
if it’s the hard choice.
I need people like that in my corner.”

A dark laugh escaped the black Mage. “If we’re so
incorruptible we wouldn’t be in anyone’s corner,” he reasoned. When Mathias
frowned, he mirrored the look. “Why don’t you just tell me what you need? This
would make everything a lot easier on everyone.”

“There are people on the Council that don’t want this
investigation to continue.” Mathias shook his head as he thought of all of lies
he had uncovered. “Hell, they don’t want the Council to continue. They want all
of us exposed.”

Barry tried to wrap his head around what he was being told.
“And you think the best way to handle this situation is to throw me under the
bus?”

“No, but it’s the best I can come up with at this moment in
time.” Mathias ran his hands through his hair and started to pace. “Madison
doesn’t know this yet, but Ashton is back in the area. He wants to investigate
the murders that have been happening. With this newest body, there’s a chance
that I’ll have no choice.”

“Why is he back now?” he asked.

Mathias walked over to a tall book case and pulled down a
leather bound book. “My mother left me this,” he said quietly. As he returned
to Barry, he flipped to the back of the book. “These were the worst of the
visions she had.”

It took Barry a moment to realize what Mathias wasn’t
telling him. It had been widely known that the last Oracle was Martha Maxwell,
Barry’s own great aunt. When she passed away some years ago it was said that
she left no heiress to her gifts behind. “Are you saying we’re family?” Barry
asked.

“She left no daughters,” Mathias answered. “I seem to be a
freak of nature.” He laid the book open to the page he wanted and returned to
the book case. “Martha met and fell in love with my father. They were married
and she went into hiding when she became pregnant with me. The story for a
while was that I was adopted. Then when I started looking just like him, I was
his bastard son. For a while my Magic was similar to his. I could almost talk
to plants. Our grandfather used to call me an Elf. But after Martha died, I
became the one that saw visions. All I had was that book to show me how to
figure out any of this.” Mathias tapped at the book and sighed. “So while she
didn’t leave an heiress, she damn sure left an heir. And if you don’t believe
me, ask Madison. She figured it out years ago.”

Another dark muse escaped Barry. It figured that Madison
would find a long lost member of the family and let them stay lost. After her
own personal history, no one could blame her. “I’ll get into it with her later.
For right now, what is this?”

“You know how everyone is getting out of sorts because of
the Mayan calendar ending? Well, Martha also had something to say about it.
Read that page.”

Barry reached for the book and nearly dropped it when he
felt utter terror wash through him. He looked at Mathias with wide eyes. “What
the hell was that?”

“Some of her emotions became embedded in the pages of the
book. This page is the worse one. There are some days when I can’t even handle
it.”

Barry placed the book on the table and looked at the quickly
written prophecy. The frown he wore only deepened as he read the passage. “No
one has to fear the End Date. The Mayan calendar will simply reset and the
world will seem as if everything is right. But when the Dragon falls to the
Snake the 4 will rise. Each one has been bred for her role. Conquest will be
revealed as the one thought extinct. War will be the one that can and will call
people to her side. Pestilence shall be the one who holds true powers of Nature
under her control. Death will be the just that. Her power will be the most
feared out of the four. Not because of her talent, but because of her
understanding. The 4 will decide the fate of us all.” Barry felt his stomach
churn as he looked at Mathias. “She’s saying that four women are the Horsemen
of the Apocalypse?” he asked.

“Yes, and I think I may have found three of the four.”

Bile rose up in Barry’s throat. “
Madi
,
Dyl
, and whoever killed those women.”

Mathias nodded slowly. “Madison said that she believed that
it was a Succubus. They’re supposed to be extinct. Dylan is the Vampire Queen.
If she demands it, they would go to war in a heartbeat. Madison is the only
female Necromancer that we have ever encountered.”

“Is there a way we can stop this? There has to be some sort
of out clause, right?”

“I’ve been trying to find something. I haven’t yet. All I know
is that someone is bringing all of this together now. It could be so they have
all of their ducks in a row for this Dragon/Snake thing.”

Barry rubbed his jaw trying to think. “Who do you think is
behind all of this?”

“I can’t say. I’ve only seen shadowed glimpses of him in
visions. I can tell you that he knows your family and how you all operate. If
you all circle around your sisters, he’ll know something is wrong.” Mathias ran
his hands through his hair again and let out a frustrated sigh when his eyes
landed on the open pages of his mother’s journal. “As for the Dragon falling to
a Snake, I don’t have a clue. I just keep seeing red and gold.”

Barry stood and paced to the window. “It has to be the
Chinese New Year.” He turned to Mathias who was giving him a strange look. “I
dated a couple of Chinese girls,” he explained. When Mathias opened his mouth
to ask another question he waved it off and pulled out his cell phone. “If I
remember right in the Chinese Zodiac the Snake follows the Dragon.”

Mathias nodded and leaned back into the sofa. “It does. That
would also explain the colors I keep seeing.”

“So we have just over a year to find Conquest and Pestilence
and to figure out how they are supposed to decide the fate of us all.” For all
they knew these four women could simply decide to let the normal population
know that mythical creatures exist. A warning didn’t necessarily mean the worst
case scenario, however the thought of his sisters being labeled as bringers of
the Apocalypse didn’t sit well with him either. “Alright, let’s take this one
puzzle piece at a time.” He started to take Mathias’s place pacing across the
floor. “How much of this does Eric and Jimmy know?” he asked.

“Jimmy knows nothing. He’s been in and out of the area for
months looking for a friend of his. Eric and Sloane on the other hand,” Mathias
ran his hand through his hair again. “I told them everything except for our
relation.”

“Why tell me and not him?”

Mathias allowed himself a small smile. “Because I like your
sister,” he confessed. His dark eyes locked with Barry’s. “When she found out,
Madison was furious. She believed that I thought I was too good for your
family.”

Barry couldn’t help but snort. That sounded exactly like
something Madison would have said. “Was she right?” he asked in turn.

It was Mathias’s turn to snort. “Not by a long shot. I never
said anything because it was a known fact that Martha didn’t have a daughter.
As far as anyone else knew, I was her stepson. If it came out that there was a
chance that I could have visions like her, I would’ve been caged. By the time I
reached a position of power, I had seen how your mother just sent your sister
away. The way I see it, she was scared of the potential of her powers. Imagine
if she would have met me.
The cousin that could see into the
future.
I figured it was best that I just kept my mouth shut.”

For a long moment Barry thought about the impression that
everyone had of his family after his parents sent Madison away. “I think I can
accept that, but that still doesn’t answer my question.”

Mathias ran his fingers through his hair. “I need someone to
understand exactly what’s at stake if things get out of control and you have to
kill me.”

* * *
* *

Madison glared at the slim device currently playing Eric
Clapton. She had known it was only a matter of time before her Keeper hiatus
ended. Victor pulled her off of rotation when she was pregnant and everyone
left her to her own devices because of her fragile mental state. Now, her boys
were toddlers and her brother dropped the ball at the ME’s office. It wasn’t a
shock that Eric was calling. She just wished she could’ve had the chance to
have breakfast with her family first. “How bad is it?”

“Barry turned himself in, Thorne is staying with Dylan and
Crispin, Jimmy is in town for the moment, and another body has been found,”
Eric answered. He took a slow breath. “I need your help
Madi
.”

Madison smirked and tried to keep everything light. “I knew
it was only a matter of time before you admitted it,” she countered. She sat up
careful to keep her blankets around her. “Where’s the body?”

“Two blocks away from Haven.” Eric paused for a moment to
allow the information to settle. “Dennis isn’t happy. This one had a necklace
to identify her. She was his ward.”

Cinnamon colored eyes looked at the door. Troy was carrying
a tray full of food and Kayin and Aiden were trailing close behind with their
own plates. “Listen Eric, I get how bad this is. I don’t want you to think I’m
blowing you off.”

“But you have Troy and the boys. I understand.”

That resigned sigh Eric gave did nothing angered her. “No,
you don’t understand. I’m not saying no. I’m saying give me two fucking hours,
asshole,” she snapped.

Kayin and Aiden looked at each other as they climbed up onto
Madison’s bed. As soon as she tossed her phone to the mattress, they giggled.
“Mommy said a bad word,” Kayin sang.

Madison couldn’t hold onto her anger as she looked at her
boys. All three were covered in flour, and Kayin looked like he had a mustache
of dried pancake batter. “And you boys won’t repeat it,” she said sternly. When
they nodded she looked at what Troy was placing over her lap. “Couldn’t decide
what to fix?” she asked playfully.

Troy sat next to her and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
“We did decide. That’s why we have pancakes and waffles and bacon,” he answered
with a chuckle. As he gazed into her eyes Troy could tell there was something
wrong. “Is everything okay with your brother?”

She picked up a piece of bacon and ate it. She wasn’t sure
how much he knew of Dennis’s pack, but she had to tell him. There were going to
be too many variables in play. “Another body was found.” Her eyes turned to
where the boys were paying attention to their food and none to what she and
Troy were talking about. “This one was your father’s ward.”

Gold eyes slowly widened. He remembered Leigh talking about
her baby sister. Megan had been a product of a vicious rape but Leigh’s family
still adored the young woman. After Leigh’s parents died, Dennis stepped in and
took the girls into his home. Leigh had become an excellent solider while Megan
wanted to simply find a mate and start her own litter. Troy looked for his own
cell phone. “I have to find Leigh,” he said absently.

Madison took another bite of food. She wouldn’t show how
much his reaction bothered her. There were too many ways that could blow up in
her face.