A Weapon’s Serenade

The girls, minus Isha who was meeting with the other former sirens, had met the librarians Kate and Apollyon in the library to dig through some interesting things about cats and their potential reasons for enjoying eclipses. They weren’t very successful so far and thus decided to take a break and get some food. Thankfully, the library had a little restaurant attached for staff and friends. As the two librarians had to jump up to deal with visitors every so often, they had kept their human disguises for now.

There was a knock on the door. Kate got up. “I don’t know why the ‘Staff only’ sign stopped working…”

Opening the door revealed a very well dressed, very pale woman with a closed parasol in hand. Beside her stood a smaller woman in normal business attire.

“I must speak to one of the librarians.”

Kate returned a polite smile. “You are talking to one, how can I help you.”

“Not you, child, I need to speak to that one.” She gestured towards Apollyon and pushed Kate aside before making her way into the restaurant.

The other woman followed closely but made sure to quietly apologize to Kate. Anne and Melody shared a knowing glance. This one knew more than her pale companion realized.

Apollyon didn’t even get up. “Miss Harker, this is a staff-only area. If you require assistance, there is a bell on the reception desk.”

“This is a matter of importance. You will agree that this is best not handled in public. Maybe we should use one of your conference rooms. Your… companions don’t need to be involved.”

Kate stepped closer. “No, miss Harker, we will converse here. There are plenty of chairs if you don’t want to stand.”

“And who are you supposed to be, kiddo? The General’s new secretary?”

“I am head librarian Kate Crowley and you will address me as such, former director Harker.”

Harker attempted to look down at Kate but failed as the head librarian shifted back into her tall demonic form.

“Fine. As you wish head librarian. I assume the inquisitorium is still in charge of this place?”

“No, we were spun off and joined with the archive to form an independent organization. That’s why my role now exists. What can we do for you?”

“Firstly, you can explain why this very lovely superintendent here told me that, despite my direct orders, my position has not been preserved for my return?”

“You can’t expect to vanish for the larger part of a century and then simply return as if nothing happened. Superintendent Muller’s predecessor made some very poor choices and we took control of RICA. Superintendent Clementine Muller here has proven to be trustworthy and is now in charge of the institute.”

Harker grimaced. “Great. Just great. You do you know that the institute and the other agencies like it were supposed to be control instances? To make sure you don’t break your precious treaty and that human interests are kept in mind when we negotiated?”

This time, the superintendent spoke. “I have very bad news. The treaty is dead. A few years ago, the angels broke it, the demons retaliated and the courts were dismantled. There is no government in the heavens right now. The Americans and my processor broke the human side of the treaty, the FBC is gone, RICA was put under demonic control and for now, the treaty is just a set of guidelines. The pandemonium is the only signatory of the treaty that still stands.”

Harker put her parasol on a nearby table and finally pulled up a chair, sat down and rested her face in her hands. “I came here to complain about your brazen and arrogant display of power in the Sahara. A two-kilometre distortion field barely beyond the horizon of the nearest village and our archaeological site. Not only do I find my beloved institute in shambles, but the very peace we fought tooth and nail to preserve, broken. Who was it? Who broke the treaty?”

Kate sat down again too. “Gabriel. We found Lilith, he tried to stop us. The rest is history.”

“Whoever your new high inquisitor is, she is almost too merciful. That mistake that made you seize the institute was siding with Gabriel, I take it?”

“Yes.”

“Of course. Well, I must apologize for my entrance then. I assumed some young demon acted stupidly, but it wasn’t just some young demon, was it?”

“We went to watch the eclipse.”

Harker nodded. “Fair enough. With the treaty out of the way, I assume you are widening your operations in this world?”

“In some ways, yes. Right now, we are looking for some specific stuff.”

“If I can help, I will. Just tell me what to look for.”

“It’s best we discuss this with the high inquisitor, but thank you for the offer. There is one thing you can do right now though. if Melody wants to ask the question that’s on her mind.”

Harker looked up again and narrowed her red glinting eyes at Melody. “You feel so familiar. Alright, ask.”

Melody took a deep breath. “I read my father’s travel logs. They were sparse but the last dig we went on, one of the few I joined them on, the one that got my biological parents killed, was funded by someone he described a strange vampire woman. Wilhelmina Harker. He didn’t know you truly are a vampire. He made a note, the last note in the logs, that you told him to be careful and that someone was following us. I recognize you. I remember you being a bit abrasive but you cared. Gave me candy when I hurt myself on one of the metal crates. Told me that I didn’t need to worry about being helpful, but I insisted.”

“Melody Langford. I remember you. The child who tried her best to stay out of the way but asked too many questions because we couldn’t tell you that the stuff we were digging for was magical. Your parents and the locals weren’t allowed to know and neither I, nor my assistant, could trust you not to tell anyone. I was told you were put up for adoption and didn’t hear anything more about you afterwards.”

“It’s Melody Valefor now. Two demons adopted me because the blade you found was a demonic weapon. She is sitting right here.” Melody nodded towards Kuria. “Johnson senior, the Hand leader, tried to take it. Killed my parents, nearly killed me too but Kuria got him first.”

“I knew about Johnson, suspected things about the Hand but had no proof. I just knew that someone was following your family back to England. I should have come with you, tried to protect you. When we parted ways, I considered your parents good friends. We had talked about doing another dig the next year. I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry.”

“That’s what I wanted to ask. I just wanted to know if you knew.”

“I knew too much to let them go on their own, without security. Your parents now, they are good parents, right?”

Melody nodded. “I can’t imagine better.”

“If I had been given the choice, I would have likely adopted you. It would have been the least I could have done and I would have been a bad mother. I owe you a debt that I can never repay, Melody Valefor. I got your parents killed.”

“But you didn’t kill them yourself. I will accept your debt, but only if it helps your ease your conscience.”

“It will. You may call on me anytime you need my services. I am sure the librarians have a long list of my talents.”

“Good. Now, another question.”

“Of course.”

“Must suck, you know, being a vampire in a dessert, right?”

A smile crept across Harker’s face and was quickly stifled. “It does. It really does. It frankly sucks everywhere but it’s so much worse in the dessert. You were there for the eclipse too, weren’t you?”

“I was and it was beautiful. One of the greatest things I have ever seen.”

“And you have seen Hell.”

“I have and it is amazing too.”

Harker nodded. “I imagine so. It is too much to hope to ever see it with my own eyes.”

“Is it? You live a long life, miss Harker, many things can happen and times have changed since you last talked our demonic friends.”

Harker shook her head. “You know, the first divine power I had to deal with in my career at the institute were the angels. Archangel Michael. The director at the time taught me to be harsh with them, to never show weakness before the powers from outside this world. It is hard to break centuries old habits and I am far too old and closed far too many doors for a fresh start.”

Kate scoffed. “What a human perspective. I am a fraction of your age, but it seems that I know something you don’t. Something I am sure you were told before and just discarded: The doors of the library are never closed. Clementine?”

Superintendent Clementine Muller nodded. “Yes?”

“You were looking for an archivist, I might have a suggestion for you and miss Harker.”

Harker raised an eyebrow. “You want me to return to the institute?”

Kate nodded. “As the new archivist, yes. You will work with us and some other agencies, but most importantly, it will give you a fresh start while still working within our circles.”

“Superintendent, is this okay with you?”

Clementine nodded. “It is. You can start whenever you are ready.”

“I am inclined to accept. Let me think about it for a night.”

“Not a problem.”

“Then I should leave, I apologize for my behaviour today. Melody, I will be in contact to give you the details of how to reach me.”

“One more thing.” Kate interrupted as Harker got up again. “What were you digging for? Now and back then when you left RICA.”

“Now? Just some Egyptian artifacts, nothing magical. When I left RICA in 1941, we had just finished analysing a series of tablets from various sources and found a hint towards a rock. Some form of stone that emitted radiation but didn’t decay. Our analysis of the location mentioned put it in the Harz region of Germany. There was no way for us to send a proper detachment of agents into Germany in the middle of the second world war. Even back then, we were underfunded and not taken seriously. We knew that we could not allow the Nazis to stumble over the rock on accident, so two of the superintendents under me joined me in a private excursion. We officially left the institute with only the guy in charge of local affairs as the highest-ranking remaining agent and orders to keep our positions open for our return. We never found the rock. Neither did the Nazis, thankfully. They found us though and the two men joining me were caught and killed.”

“Why didn’t you just return?”

“You can thank my late husband for that, who had me declared dead very quickly. My attempts to return were sabotaged by him. A fun thing to have your own husband inherit your wealth only to inherit it back a few decades later.”

“Wealth that you also inherited from foreign nobility. A fun story all in all.”

“It was amusing, to say the least.” Harker forced a playful smirk.

”Well, I can at least tell you that we are looking for the same rock. The high inquisitor can tell you more.”

“Then I should meet this young high inquisitor of yours soon. While we didn’t find the rock itself, we found some information.”

Kate raised an eyebrow. “She will be very interested in that.”