Rending the Seal

Rending the Seal

By Kelly Stanaway

Published by Kelly Stanaway at Smashwords

Copyright Kelly Stanaway 2014

Cover Design by Raegan Millhollin

Available on Smashwords

The War of Order and Chaos Series

Uncrossed Paths

The Sealed Light Trilogy

Rending the Seal

The Light Rises

Through the Broken Mirror

Clash of the Heralds Trilogy

Daughter of the Shackled King

Feathers of the Dead

War of the Pantheons

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

Chapter 1

It had been the London detective’s biggest failure, one that no amount of praise or increase in status in the precinct would ever wipe clean from his record. The fact the murderer was never caught only added salt to the wound. The rest of the precinct seemed to have since forgotten about everything that had happened, though when a particularly gruesome murder came up sometimes he would hear hushed whispers in the background. When that happened it meant it was time for him to go to work, even if all it did was bring back images of the past.

Gillette, his commissioner’s gruff voice came just before the stack of files were dropped onto the detective’s desk. The suddenness pulled him out of whatever thought he had been trapped in and the man adjusted the glasses in front of his blue eyes and looked up at his superior officer, Grab those and come with me.

The detective that had been addressed had a head covered with longer than most black hair with rich blue eyes that were protected by a pair of thin-framed wire glasses. He stood up even as the commissioner started to walk away from his desk and he scrambled to pick up the files so he could follow him to a back office as quickly as he could, Sir?

Take a look at those files and tell me what you think, the commissioner huffed as he crossed his arms over the front of his white dress shirt, six murders, once a month over the past six months, and the only thing we can gather is that they were all on the first Saturday of the month. Other than that, we’ve got nothing. Sounds like something right up your alley, he waited for a moment as he watched the younger man flip through the papers, well, Keagan, what do you say?

The people aren’t connected, socially, through family, friends, occupations, not even their addresses are located near one another, he shook his head before looking at his ranking officer, I’m sure there’s something here but can I just have a bit more time to look over the evidence?

Yes, of course, the commissioner chuckled some and he tapped a calendar that was hanging on a wall, though you may want to make it quick, since if the pattern continues there will be another murder today.

Keagan tensed a little and his eyes immediately went to the files. He started pulling the files apart and placing the contents on the table so that it would be easier for him to look at the evidence that had been collected so far without having to go between them. He could feel the commissioner’s eyes on the back of his head, as though the older man was trying to figure out his process, but it wasn’t like it was something that was so easy to explain to anyone. Right now he just needed to figure out what the connection was so that he knew what to look for in the next potential victim. Several minutes later his thoughts were interrupted by the door to the office opening and he watched a clerk hurry in and go to whisper something to his boss. Keagan felt a sense of dread and he stood up straight while trying to hold back the feeling of the twisting in his stomach, Something some up already?

The commissioner sighed deeply before shaking his head, Likely no, just give me a minute and keep looking over the information. I’ll be right back because apparently I have something to take care of.

Oh, alright, Keagan nodded while his boss and the clerk left the room. When nothing immediately happened he went back to going over the reports of the victims that he had paid out over the table. He had spread everything out in the order the murders occurred, which was at least somewhat helpful, but he would still have rather have a chance to speak with at least one of the victims. He had studied necromancy shortly after his failure the years before, which he had actually made his work as a homicide detective a bit easier since there were many times he was able to communicate with the spirits of the dead. He would most definitely ask Cedric the mortician about borrowing a cadaver later in order to do that. He tapped his finger against the report that contained information about a woman that had been well-known as a prostitute often seen at a bar called the Crossroads. She had been the third victim and he mumbled as he flipped over the papers of the report, The hearts were taken too…

The door opened suddenly and banged against the wall as the commissioner stormed in with his boots stomping on the floor. He was followed by a small framed woman wearing a leather jacket that covered down to her knees. She looked rather proud, which was a strange contrast to the angry man that was several inches taller than she was, Gillette, it appears as though some branch of MI6 has gotten wind of this investigation. This woman will be accompanying you for the time being, his eyes slid back to the woman as she gave a quick nod, which caused some of her straight black hair to fall in front of her face just briefly, though I will of course voice my displeasure with this arrangement.

Your disagreement is noted, and I do give my apologies, however you saw the authorization for my being here. There isn’t much either of us can do, her voice was soft, yet confident, as she pushed some of the straight dark hair away from her face, now if you will excuse me commissioner, I have a job to do.

With a huff the man looked over at the rather surprised detective, She’s all yours Gillette. Good luck. He gave a quick, irritated glance at the woman before leaving the office with a huff.

Hello, Keagan pushed the bridge of his glasses up a bit as he looked at the woman; she was shorter than he was and her chin just barely came up to his shoulder. He could see the edge of a skirt under the jacket, but her knees were cut off by the high pair of boots she was wearing. There was also a golden butterfly that kept the collar of her top closed, the wings of which were accented by what looked to be delicate filigree, so you’re really from MI6?

Sure, she shrugged as she walked over to the table, her dark hair brushing against her shoulders as her brown eyes started reading over the files, so they decided to give you this case? I should have guessed as much...A little sad it took this long for them to actually give it to you though.

He scrunched up his face a bit and watched her carefully while trying not to appear too suspicious of her actions. There were a few moments when she went to touch the papers and he almost tried to reach out and grab her hand to get her to stop, but when she didn’t touch anything he resisted, You’ve heard of me?

Of course I have, detective, she started running her fingers over the papers on the table and she did seem to notice him tense up when she touched the papers, my people specialize in things that don’t always make sense, and I do apologize for bringing this up, but your particular case did send up a lot of flags in my organization and in specific branches of MI6. Have you had a chance to speak to the victims yet?

No, not yet, he shook his head, then took a small step toward the younger girl as she went to pick up one of the papers. He really didn’t like having someone impose themselves on his investigation, especially when it had just been given to him. It was like she expected him to have everything solved, which was just irritating since it wasn’t like he’d had any real time to do anything with it, excuse me, please don’t move any of those, I have them arranged the way I need them.

Sorry, I hadn’t meant to do that, she jumped back some, her brown eyes a bit surprised yet also apologetic as she picked at her nails, I was just reading them and was getting tired of leaning over. Some of the detectives that took the reports have terrible handwriting, she smiled nervously before she shook her head and suddenly the serious expression on her face returned, Have you seen the pattern yet? I’ve heard you like puzzles, there was just a moment when she took a step back and held her hand out to the detective like she realized she’d forgotten the most important thing, Amelia Helstrom-Petri, I’ve been assigned by the Lamplighters to assist in the investigation.

Lamplighters? Keagan scoffed and shook his head while running his hand through his black hair. He looked at her hand and when he didn’t return the gesture she pulled her hand away and he scoffed a bit of a laugh, Oh this has just gotten better. I thought you were with MI6, but you’re actually a Lamplighter? Haven’t you got some monster to chase?

As though she had been insulted, the woman glared a bit, I assure you detective I am here under the authority of my superiors. If it makes you feel better, my direct superior actually is an administrator for MI6 and he gave me my orders, so technically they did send me, she crossed her arms and shifted her weight while glaring a bit off to the side, as to your comment about monsters, for your information not all monsters are inhuman, and I’m here to stop a murderer and save a potential victim. If you don’t want to cooperate, I will report that to my superiors and continue the investigation on my own.

He continued to eye her suspiciously even as he could see she mumbled under her breath, but didn’t quiet catch what she’d said. He shook his head and sighed though, Right, sorry, you’re absolutely right. There’s a murderer out there which means it’s time to focus, he nodded a bit while trying to ignore the fact he was being ordered around by someone with very little authority, my name’s Keagan, though it seems like you already knew that so I probably didn’t need to say that… he looked over at the papers on the table even as she nodded with her hands folded behind her back, I wish I had more time to look over the evidence, but I’m not sure if we have that.

My people have been looking over it for a while, but even still we haven’t had a whole lot more time. The murders have been so spaced out we didn’t realize there was an issue until very recently. However, that doesn’t mean we aren’t without our theories, Amelia nodded, looking over the reports but making sure not to touch them, I’d love to be able to compare what notes we do have, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that here. Want to take a walk? We can always go to the scene of the first crime. I know it’s been a while, but there’s nothing that says we won’t find anything.

He stared at the woman as she continued looking over the papers. This was ridiculous; he was a homicide detective and he didn’t have time to gallivant around the city with someone who just wanted to play investigator. There was a reason why he generally worked alone on cases, Why the first scene? It was months ago, which means all of the evidence would be long gone.

Honestly? It’s the easiest one for me to get access to though I suppose you would be able to get to any of them since you’re the one in charge, Amelia shrugged as she spun around to look at the man. Suddenly the expression on her face could only be described as impatient and irritated and her hands were on her hips, Are we going, or do I need to handle everything myself?

There was a moment when he almost told her to just leave, but he didn’t want to end up having to deal with her contaminating the crime scenes. At the very least if he went along with her he would have control of the situation. When she didn’t move he decided there wasn’t any point in arguing and let his arms fall to his sides against the blue vest he was wearing, I’ll get my coat.

Wonderful, she smiled sweetly and followed Keagan to his desk so he could grab his jacket and then out of the office. As soon as they stepped out onto the London streets they were greeted by a strange combination of rain, fog, and steam from the nearby industrial areas. Amelia groaned quietly as she tried to cover her hair with her hands a little irritation with the weather, Great…the one day I forget both my hat and my parasol.

Keagan nodded, his expression of annoyance with the weather matching the younger woman’s, Yes, I’ll get us a carriage, he did his best to cover his head while Amelia took shelter under the building’s eaves as he waved down a coach for them to ride in. He fell into the seat once they got inside, taking a couple deep breaths while Amelia did the same and pulled some of her now wet hair away from her eyes as the carriage pulled away, so what are the theories your…organization has come up with?

Oh yes, right, she shook her head and closed her eyes like she was trying to regain her focus, sorry, you’ve got me on a bad day. Let’s just say I shouldn’t be working today, Amelia cleared her throat as if doing so also cleared her mind, the victims do all seem random, but if you look at it from a different angle their connection is obvious. A prostitute, a homeless man, a collector of rare antiques, an obese restaurant critic, a man that had been arrested for beating his wife, and an heir to a business who’d never worked a day in his life. You agree with that assessment of the victims, correct?

Keagan nodded, trying to see if he could make the connection she was going to make before she said it, In the end, if you just look at occupation, yes.

Each of the victims represent one of the deadly sins, minus the seventh, which if our theory is correct, is Pride, the woman spoke calmly as though she were watching the wheels turn inside Keagan’s head, think about it, detective, it’s a ritual! You work with the college of necromancy, the House of Masks don’t you?

Yes I do, but the more intricate academic side of things has never been my strong point, he brought up his hand to rest under his chin as he thought, but if it is a ritual, what is it for? Nothing good I assume and I can ask my mentor about it, but he’d likely go into some tangent about how it’s a long and drawn out ritual and there are far more efficient ways to do, really anything.

Exactly it isn’t good. The theory the Lamplighters are leaning toward, and the branch of MI6 that deals with the supernatural boarders is too, is that it’s likely Demonology, which is why I’ve been directed to get involved, the woman nodded, the look on her face still incredibly serious, if there’s a demon I need to stop it, and need to get its summoner apprehended.

Excuse me, you’re not actually law enforcement, we already went over this. The only reason you’re here is because of that letter from MI6 that says you have to be, Keagan crossed his arms as the carriage bounced a bit, if you try to actually apprehend someone it’s only going to get you arrested for assault, and likely get them off without punishment.

Amelia stared at the man for almost a minute before shaking her head, Never mind, let’s just get this done so I can go home. If we do run into a demon, just don’t do anything stupid, alright?

He wanted to argue with her, insist he wasn’t the type to make irrational choices, but stopped himself. The whole reason he had joined the House of Masks in the first place was because he woke up after a night of heavy drinking over a book of necromancy theories about resurrecting the dead. They rode for several more blocks, talking briefly about other possibilities, but the girl seemed fairly convinced about the demonic origins for the murders, so once they made it to their destination Keagan signaled for the driver to stop and they stepped out of the coach and back into the rain.

The alley was long since cleaned up of the grisly murder of the prostitute, and any blood that had once stained the stones had been washed away by the frequent rain. Still that didn’t stop Amelia from walking to stand in the center of it and close her eyes, the look of concentration fairly pronounced on her face. A moment later she glanced around and shook her head slowly a bit concerned, Strange.

What is? he gave her a skeptical, yet still curious look as the younger woman started looking up at the walls of the surrounding buildings. He still didn’t see much of a point in being there, but having just come into the case he wanted to get as much information as he could and the best way to do that would be to get a feel for the space the woman had died in.

This murder occurred several months ago, and yet it still reeks of demonic energy, Amelia looked to him with a rather serious expression on her face, if you focus for a moment you’ll likely feel it too. It’s the feeling that something isn’t right.

He knew what she was talking about, had even at times felt it in the air around him; sometimes it was just a shiver up his spine, or an unsettling feeling that put him on edge, or a sort of tingling that causes the hairs on his arms to go up, but Keagan just dropped his hands into his pockets, It could also be just…me. I’ve been told I give off that feeling too sometimes, he shrugged just slightly as the girl watched him curiously, it’s why they think I’m creepy and the other officers tend to stay away.

Oh, she answered quickly while taking a few steps closer to him before shaking her head like she had just confirmed her personal theory, no, that’s not it. You feel different than most people, but not like this. Keep an eye out for anything that doesn’t fit.

Again he felt the compulsion to argue with her, tell her how ridiculous this whole thing was, but as he watched her inspect the crime scene he couldn’t help but sigh and try to find something to look at. She was right after all; something did feel off and he needed to satisfy his own growing curiosity as to what it might be. He knew he was likely going to catch hell for this; going along with a Lamplighter for their investigation, but he didn’t much care. Not since his twin sister Maria was killed, no he was a much different person then. Just as Keagan was pulling away a piece of paper that had been long since covered in rainwater, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see a disheveled man looking into the alleyway, Nothing to see here. Please keep moving along.

Did you lose something? the man tilted his head curiously, his eyes were a bit wide and he appeared to have not shaved in months, his fingers were dirty and were the only parts of his hand not sheltered by the worn out gloves as he pointed, Lots of people lose things in there.

Keagan stood up straight, flashing his badge to the homeless man, This is official police business, keep moving.

When he saw the badge, the man gave a nearly toothless grin, Police? There hasn’t been a body there for a long time. Did you leave something behind? He took a few shuffled steps forward, his eyes wide and rather excited, Need help finding it?

I told you to leave, Keagan glared a bit at the man, keeping his voice low, pointing back to the entrance of the alley, This is official police business so leave or I will have you arrested!

Detective, get back! Amelia rushed forward, grabbing Keagan by the collar of his jacket to pull him away from the homeless man, and her jacket flapped with the movements as she pulled a pistol from the holster on her side and stood where the detective had been previously standing, the weapon aimed just inches away from the homeless man’s forehead, Who sent you!

A-Amelia! Keagan stumbled but managed to keep himself on his feet, You can’t just brandish a weapon at homeless people! Put the gun away and just let him leave.

For just a split second her eyes glanced at her companion before focusing on the man again, He’s armed. There’s a knife up his sleeve; I saw it just briefly when he was pointing down the alley. If you don’t believe me, feel free to check.

He hesitated before moving at all, though when he noticed the grin on the disheveled man’s face had never once diminished, Keagan decided to take the girl’s word for it and quickly frisked the man. He was about to tell her that she had been mistaken when he felt the rigid object against the man’s arm, and he pulled out the long, rather ornate looking silver blade. It was covered with inscriptions down its edges, a red jewel fixed in the hilt, What is this for?

Ceremonies, detective, the man continued to grin, turning his head to look at Keagan, though going a bit further than one was meant to go, I need it for ceremonies, he whipped his head back to look at the Lamplighter that had tightened her grip on the gun, you know the kind, I’m sure. Can I have my knife back? I only need to do one more.

Keagan’s eyes widened just slightly before he put the knife to the side and went for the manacles in his pocket, You’re under arrest, on suspect of the murders of-- he was cut off as the homeless man started laughing; the hair on his head became lighter before falling away, his skin turned dark until it was the color of coal, and had the appearance of being a polished onyx. Finally, his hands once covered by the fingerless gloves were now large and clawed. Her ragged clothes were torn, but now seemed to fit him better once the transformation was complete, Oh that’s not good.

Get back detective. This is the part where you find somewhere to duck and let me handle the demon, Amelia jumped back, planting her feet firmly on the ground before firing her gun at the creature, all the while whispering a prayer in Latin under her breath.

Demon? Keagan whispered as the word echoed in his mind, flashing images of fires and screams of the damned. However the one that stood before him looked nothing like the stereotyped portrayal he had been accustomed to, That’s a demon? Shouldn’t we both go then? Come on, I’ll get someone that can help us-- he was about to cry out as the demon turned quickly as though to backhand him into silence, but anything that managed to escape couldn’t be heard over the gunshot, and the bullet pierced into the monster’s hand before it got anywhere near the detective, Holy shit!

I told you to hide somewhere and let me handle this, Amelia nearly hissed, readjusting her aim to once again point toward the demon’s head, it’s my job to take care of demons, and your job is to solve murders and bring criminals to justice, which we’ll do in a bit but right now, we can’t exactly have you dying because you don’t know how to get out of the way.

Lamplighter… the demon’s voice was more of a whispered hiss as it cocked its head towards the woman, Do you really believe you can stop me before I kill you and this man?

Amelia nodded defiantly, That was pretty much the plan actually, so if you would be so considerate to stand there while I do this that would be great.

Your arrogance…is so intoxicating, it leaned forward just a bit as though taking in a wonderful scent, I wouldn’t mind more.

That’s going on the list of creepy things I never needed to hear, the woman mumbled, doing her best not to lose her focus. She then was forced to jump away from the creature as a burst of green flames launched from its hands. Just before it came close to her, Amelia said a quick prayer, causing the attack to dissipate. With a quick motion she fixed her aim with the firearm and sent another round into the creature. With her free hand she pulled out a flask from inside her jacket and threw it at the demon, and when the glass broke against its flesh the wounds began to smoke.

The demon hissed in pain, bearing its teeth at the woman before launching towards her. It drove one of its claws into her shoulder, but the muffled pops from her gun firing as it was pressed against the demon’s ribs forced the creature away from the Lamplighter. It huffed a few times while a thick smoke came off its body, Do you think you can beat me?

Even as the blood started to slowly soak through the fabric of her jacket, Amelia smirked, Of course I do, with that she tossed another vial of holy water at the demon, firing two shots at the same time, one hitting the demon, the other connecting with the flask. The water sprayed into the gaping chest wound while Amelia spoke a final prayer loudly. She was unable to hide her satisfaction as the demon was suddenly covered in flames as it screamed, falling into a pile of ash on the ground. She looked down at it, holstered the gun, and pulled out a third flask of water to pour over the remains, See?

That was…you just destroyed a demon, Keagan breathed as he stumbled toward the woman as she started walking away from the pile of dust and bones on the ground, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do much. That was a demon.

Yes, well, not everyone is accustomed to dealing with them, Amelia shrugged, doing her best to hide a wince as she glanced over at her shoulder, anyway, let’s go look for whoever summoned it. They are likely the owner of that knife, and it looked like an antique, so we can ask some of the dealers in the shopping district if they’ve seen it before.

Alright, we can do that, Keagan was about to let the woman pass by, but all he could do was freeze and watch in horror as a blackened skeleton with fangs and fire within the hollowed eyes rose up behind the woman, Look out!

Amelia started to turn, her hand already on her weapon at the signal, but she wasn’t quite fast enough as the clawed hand punched into her back, broke through her ribs and pierced through the other side. She gritted her teeth and tried to pull the weapon around, but no longer had the strength to do so as the demon started to laugh, the pistol falling to the ground, D-Damn…

The demon laughed, watching the woman collapse to the ground as a pool of blood started to form around her. It looked down upon her, pulling Amelia so that she was lying on her back, its claws positioned above her chest, Pride…

Keagan was frozen for only a moment longer before he glared at the creature, and pulled a matchbook from his pocket, Hey! He made sure his voice was forceful enough to get the creature’s attention before he whispered his incantation while the small flame from the match touched his skin. There was the quiet sound of howling on the wind that followed, then shadows launched up from the ground, hands that belonged to spirits of the long dead, latched onto the demon, gripping tightly causing the bones to shatter into powder. Keagan put as much of his focus into the spell as he could, using his anger to supplement willpower until he was certain the demon was gone. He took a few deep breaths, but didn’t give himself more than that before dropping to his knees beside the woman that was struggling to breathe, Amelia! Stay with me. I’m going to fix this.

With a cough of blood she managed to give a slight laugh, That would…be good… Amelia took a few more rather gurgled breaths before looking up at the cloud-filled sky as the rain started returning, Oh Enrico I’m sorry…

Keagan frowned as the woman clenched her left hand, a drop of water splashing against the golden filigree butterflies that were holding the diamond that formed what he assume was a wedding ring. He looked out of the alleyway; there were some trees along the side of the road, which would help, he could also hear the quiet cooing from pigeons on the roof of the neighboring building, Alright. Like I said, I’ve got this so just stay with me, alright? He glanced at Amelia, who looked as though she was putting her trust in a stranger for the first time in her life with her brown eyes wide and frightened. Keagan held his hand over the woman’s would be mortal wound, the other towards the trees, imagining the life-force between the two as wisps that were exchanging places. Once the trees browned and started to die, he held up an arm and did the same for the birds on the roof.

Amelia winced as the bones and skin knitted themselves back together as well as the dislocated ribs moving back to where they were supposed to be. Once the pain was gone, she took several long deep breaths, then laid there for several moments staring at the sky before sitting up, looking at the man kneeling in a gathering puddle mixed with blood and now water, I forgot necromancers could do that…

Yes… Keagan nodded a little though he was out of breath and his limbs and lungs felt tired, Are you alright, or do you need me to do more?

I think I’ll survive now, the Lamplighter nodded and accepted his assistance to get to her feet once she reclaimed her fallen weapon, Thanks, if I would have remembered that, I would have been more reckless.

He nearly fell against the wall as she grinned, pushing his glasses up against the bridge of his nose as she walked back toward the street, Excuse me?!

Amelia laughed as she spun around to look at the detective, I jest, calm down, she brushed her jacket off, cleared her throat, and suddenly appearing to be embarrassed, I feel as though I should apologize. You were forced to work with me, and I’m just not good company today. I think we got off on the wrong foot and I would like to start over.

Keagan was unable to hide his surprise as he looked at the younger woman, even if he didn’t see much of a point in it after she’d almost died, Alright, if you insist.

I do so let’s start over from the very beginning, she held out her hand to the man, smiling still as they stood in the rain, my name is Amelia Helstrom-Petri, and I think it’ll be a pleasure working with you.

He looked down at the woman’s hand briefly before shaking it, Keagan Gillette, and likewise. Now then, shall we try to find out who called that demon?

As though the correct words had been spoken, Amelia’s eyes lit up, a smirk growing on her face as she nodded and waved for a carriage to take them to a local antiques shop. Once inside she was again forced to pull the strands of dark hair away from her eyes, You did well, most people listen if I tell them to hide.

That does sound like a rational thing to do, Keagan nodded, wiping the lenses of his glasses with the end of his shirt, Is this something more of a normal day’s work for you?

Pretty much, she nodded, not seeming to think anything was strange about her response, it’s either this, or I’m manning the front of my husband’s shop. Usually the work I do with the Lamplighers isn’t every day, but with this particular case, I’ve been rather busy since we had a countdown of sorts. Normally we don’t like getting involved with law enforcement because there are certain…disagreements we have regarding procedure, but it seemed necessary at this point, she tapped her fingers against her knees as she leaned back against her side of the cabin, though I believe it was for the best in this instance.

He watched the woman carefully; she was younger than him, he also knew never to ask a woman’s age directly, which meant he was left to guess. She was married, as obvious by the ring on her finger, and the mention of her husband, and there was some wear on the outside of the band, though it had also been well cared for, which told him it wasn’t new. He would put her at likely being in her very early twenties, married for likely two to three years at the most. He would need to do some looking to figure out the exact numbers, How long have you been working with the Lamplighters?

There was only a momentary pause while she calculated the dates in her mind, Since I was sixteen years old, so about five years. They recruited my husband and I after an incident in the streets. They trained me after that point to be a field agent.

Keagan managed to hide the smirk once he got confirmation his guess was correct, Are there many field agents?

Suddenly Amelia’s expression changed to one of sadness and disappointment, No. Most who join the Lamplighters come in thinking it’ll be adventures and glory, but the first time they see something they can’t explain they freak out and become another member of the face organization; that the Lamplighters are a thrill-seeking gentlemen’s club filled with rich boys who want to talk about monsters and pretend to hunt them, Amelia let out a sigh as she pulled at one of the new tears in her jacket, with the London branch there’s only myself and nearly a dozen others that fill the field ranks anymore. It’s not that the administrative staff doesn’t know what to do, and they help fill the numbers in a pinch, but as for full-time staff…

Keagan watched the woman as she ended her statement with nothing but a shrug, and she stared out the window as the carriage bounced down the street, Must be stressful. That means you likely don’t work with a partner either then, right? Like how the police work, generally speaking.

I have a partner, just not like what you’re describing, she shook her head and smiled, Enrico helps provide me with equipment and repairs. He just… she cringed as though imagining something terrible, I don’t want him in the field.

Alright, let’s move on, he tapped on the wall, signaling the carriage to stop. He let the young woman get out first, then asked the driver to wait for them while they headed inside the small, rather cluttered shop. The woman behind the counter seemed a bit surprised by his pace as he walked up to the counter, since he didn’t bother to take a glance at any of the items she was selling, unlike Amelia who had taken a moment to inspect a clock that was resting on a shelf, I’m detective Keagan Gillette, do you have a moment to answer a few questions?

Of course, detective, she nodded, though she was looking at the man suspiciously, Is there a problem that brings you here in particular?

He pulled out the ornate knife and placed it on the counter in front of the woman, What can you tell me about this? Did you sell it to someone?

The shopkeeper looked at the detective for a moment longer, as though trying to figure out if he was trying to lead her into some kind of trap, before picking up the knife and inspecting it, It’s old. They’ve kept it in wonderful condition. The blade has been sharpened and yet they managed not to damage any of the embellishments while doing so.

Yes, I’ve seen that, please answer the question ma’am, Keagan managed not to sigh too loudly as the woman inspected the knife, Did you sell it to someone?

She looked at the object curiously for another quick moment, then pulled out a ledger and thumbed through the pages until she was rather far into it, Ah, here it is, yes that was in my shop. I sold it over a year ago to… she squinted while trying to read the somewhat faded writing, A Mr. Charles Whitcomb. Haven’t seen him since.

Charles Whitcomb, Keagan tilted his head just slightly as he tried to connect the name with a face, but wasn’t able to, do you have the address?

Yes, though like I said, it’s over a year old so I’m not sure how accurate it is now, the woman shrugged, pulling out a piece of paper to copy the information onto, can I ask why you’re looking for him?

Sorry, police business, Keagan shook his head, taking the knife back as well as the paper from the woman, Thank you for your time, have a good day.

Amelia stood to the side as Keagan moved by her, thanked the woman as well, then hurried out the door, He lives in the low-class district. She waited until they were inside the carriage before continuing to speak, He’s really small-time on the demonology front, so this is kind of surprising that he’s involved in something like this.

It took a moment before the detective raised a curious eyebrow at the woman, You know he’s a demonologist, but he’s still free?

The Lamplighter cleared her throat loudly as she leaned back, Yes well, that’s one of the areas where us and law enforcement don’t always agree. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be more than happy to lock them all into a dark cell never to be seen again for consorting with demons, but it all comes down to resources, and the London branch, because it’s so far away from the Central Headquarters, doesn’t have a lot. So some of the smaller-time summoners, the ones who are stupid and use demons to say, clean their house, we sometimes use as informants.

You know, technically that’s harboring a criminal Keagan grumbled as he looked at the younger girl, trying to figure out if he needed to arrest her or not.

If you want to arrest them, be my guest, Amelia shrugged, laughing a bit, I don’t care if they get caught or not. They’re committing not only a crime by working with demons, but also a grave sin as well. So, I won’t stop you.

He stared at the woman as her attention turned back to the window; she was strange. Acknowledging that certain activities weren’t exactly seen as the standard legal operation, then also saying he could arrest the demonologist if he wanted to. Not to mention the fact she obviously wasn’t the exact reflection of what a proper lady should be, the torn up well-worn and now somewhat bloodstained jacket, the battle experience, and not to mention the firearms. After a bit of silence, the carriage pulled to a stop, once again they stepped out into the now light drizzle of rain and he requested the driver wait for them, So I’ll go up, do the questioning, then we take him in?

Amelia gave him a rather irritated look, If a policemen questions him first, he won’t say anything useful. He’ll just freak out. Let me handle it.

What? No way! Keagan stopped, shaking his head, This is a police investigation, and you’re just along for the ride. Just stay in the back and let me work my case.

Your case? the woman put her hands on her hips, looking to the detective rather irritated, I’ve been working on this case for far longer than you have. Didn’t you just get it today when I walked in the door? He’s a demonologist who’s taken the last little step and is hurting people which means this is Lamplighter jurisdiction. Or do I need to remind you of the MI6 papers I handed your commissioner?

Those were faked; you even said you don’t work for them! Keagan took a step forward towards the old, rundown looking building, So that’s a pretty bad argument.

I didn’t write out those papers, they were given to me by my superior, so if they said I have MI6 backing right now, then according to those particular papers then I do…on paper, Amelia moved to keep pace with him, slipping up onto the stairs just before him, now if you’ll excuse me, you can play my Bad Cop, she smiled brilliantly, pulling out one of her pistols to use the handle to knock on the weak wooden door, I know you’re there Charles! She called before Keagan had a chance to argue any further, I just have some questions for you, Amelia frowned when nothing happened, I can hear movement on the other side. It’s nothing too bad, just open the door and we can talk.

Keagan nodded, pulled out some dark looking ashes from his pocket and whispered under his breath. When he blinked the world changed tones; the walls of buildings darkened, but people glowed brightly, their souls making themselves visible to his eyes. When he was certain the spell was working correctly he looked forward, There’s someone inside, but they’re moving toward the back. I think he’s trying to run.

The woman rolled her eyes and sighed, Great. Let’s go catch him then, Amelia grabbed onto the railing, and with a flutter of her jacket and skirt pulled herself over and jumped to the ground, a splash from the water that had been gathering followed before she started in that direction, cut him off on the other side! We won’t give him anywhere to go.

The detective stood there, adjusted his glasses, then nodded, making sure to keep at least some of his concentration on the spell so he could more easily track the two as he made his way around the building. It was very old, likely needed some renovation to make it more structurally sound, but he could also understand why someone would be living there since it was rather easy to hide in. As he rounded the corner, he nearly crashed into the panicked and frightened man, and the necessity to be polite had almost forced him to apologize before he remembered this wasn’t just some passerby on the street. He grabbed the man’s arm as tightly as he could to stop him from running any further, If you run it’ll only make things worse for you.

Let me go! I demand that you do, or else terrible things will befall you and those you love! the man shouted, trying to pull away, though he was failing to do so as Keagan pushed him against the wall to keep him restrained.

Threatening a police officer really won’t help your case either, the detective assured the man, keeping himself composed as the woman carrying the pistol made it over to the arrest scene, so nice of you to join us, this man was just saying how we’re going to regret this or something.

Really? Weird, Amelia shrugged, tilting her head towards the demonologist, Charles, why did you run, I told you I just wanted to talk. Now you’ve gone and threatened people. What changed? You used to be so small time.

Oh shut it, the man glared towards the woman, looking as though he wanted to say more, but had stopped himself when his eyes met the barrel of a gun, you don’t know the life I live. I just wanted something, anything that would help get me out of this hellhole.

Keagan shoved the man forward to get him into the still waiting carriage, he was going to owe that driver a lot of money once they were finished. He made sure to keep the man across from himself and Amelia once they