CHAPTER 19 | unlocking the journal

📎A/N. Hello my lovelies. This week the chapter is a little long... So grab some popcorn and a drink, sit back and enjoy.

Fun fact.. this chapter has a reference to the star of Bethlehem. It is thought that the phenomenon was a result of Jupiter and Venus in perfect alignment... something that only happens every 2000 years...

Don't forget to vote.

Take care and thanks for your continued support.

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The sound of a woman's shouts caught Keira's attention, and her head spun around in the direction of the shrill outburst.

One of Ryker's deputies, whose name escaped Keira, struggled with a woman whose blue eye-shadow overpowered everything else on her over made up face. She was dressed in jeans which were molded to her stick-thin body, and a low cut shirt three sizes too small. Keira marveled at how she didn't topple over with the amount of hair product caked to her frizzed hair.

"I ain't no thief," the woman said as she ripped her arm away from the deputy. "That husband stealing bitch 'ain't nothing but trailer trash. That bracelet was mine."

Not really interested in a marital dispute, Keira turned back to the laptop monitor and ignored the chaos in the station. From the little she had witnessed in the short time observing the 'freak show' as Deputy Mitos put it; it wasn't any wonder those that worked at the police and sheriff's office were jaded. After dealing with some of the less than stellar citizens she had seen traipse through the station, she too would find it hard to see the goodness in people.

In the three days since discovering the significance of the astrological alignment, neither Kiera nor Dayna had slept. It was clear The Order were taking advantage of the event. The question was, how? They were now on borrowed time but couldn't work out how Leviathan was planning on coming through. The door remained locked, and the cracks held.

Keira focused back on the copy of the medieval text on the monitor. Access to the universities rare archives came in handy.

"Mitos said you'd arrived," said Ryker as he walked through the door a short while later.

Keira nodded. "I finished early, and Eugene dropped me off to save you a trip."

Ryker handed her one of the coffee cups he was holding. "Thought you might need the caffeine."

"Thanks." Keira took a sip. She had drawn blanks from the archive and had refocused on the constant worry at the back of her mind. "I think we should go out and check again."

"There's no need. You were there this morning like you have been each day. I have Alan and his team checking on it throughout the day and night. Apart from a few additional scuff marks around the site from curious teenagers, there's nothing."

Frustration crinkled her eyes. "Something just doesn't feel right. There's only one day before the Summer Solstice."

"Are you sure you're not over-reacting? You can't find any indication of the gaps being big enough, and for the Legion to come through and reform those gaps need to be a lot bigger."

Keira shook her head. "I'm positive. Traditionally, our powers become stronger around the solstices. However, with it coinciding with a full moon as well as an almost perfect alignment with Jupiter and Venus it also means that Leviathan and any number of demi-gods will have unprecedented access to their source of power. They are up to something, but for the life of me, I have no idea what."

Ryker rubbed his forehead, and a dark scowl took over his expression. Since their discovery of the alignment, they had seen very little of the cocky and charming Ryker. If she were honest, she actually missed the banter. "Okay," he said, "how about we look at this logically. What are the possibilities?

Keira rested her head in the palm of her hand and stared at Ryker's desk as she sifted through the options. "The Order must know by now that killing the coven won't remove the wards and spells that keep the door closed. They only have two options available to them. The first is to have the coven open the door; which they'd be stupid to think it an option."

"What's the second?"

This was the one that has stumped both Keira and Dayna. It was clear this was what they were trying to achieve...but how? "She has help from this end, and it needs to share her source of power. Which is impossible as that would mean Legions. And the gaps are too small for them to come through with enough to rematerialize." She sighed. "And now we are back to where we started... nowhere."

"You're positive the Order don't have the ability?"

"No. Only the Legion are capable of that, and they are trapped in hell with her."

Ryker tilted his head to one side. "How sure of that are you? Is there any way they could have escaped? Another door, perhaps?"

"Maybe... but not this one. My mother died making sure they couldn't get through the cracks."

Ryker fell quiet and made his way to the large glass wall that separated his office from the station's bullpen. He gazed out at the organized chaos of his team and remained deep in thought.

A short while later he pushed his hands into his pockets and turned back to her. "I know that neither you or Dayna want to talk about what happened with your mother, but understanding what transpired might give us a clue on how to find who's behind this, and what they might be up to."

Keira's lips tightened and her chin raised. This was not a subject she wished to discuss. "I can't see how."

In two strides Ryker was across the room and had pulled a chair up beside her. He sat, so they were face to face. "So far I've not pushed you for anything you're not comfortable with. I've let you deal with things on your terms. If we had more time, I'd not do this. But I am running out of choices. I think your gut is right. There's something we are not seeing, and the only way forward is for me to understand what happened in the past."

Keira looked down at her hands. He was right. She was too close to this, and a fresh set of eyes could help. She looked up at him and bit the inside of her lip. Hundreds of years had passed with so much water under the bridge, she didn't know where to start.

Ryker leaned forward and a compassionate smile spread across his face. "Maybe start with how you found the cracks?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly letting it out again, visions of her mother's loving face surfaced. It was the same joy and zest for life Dayna had inherited.

"The beginning of the end started with the Salem witch trials. We knew something was amiss when Puritans began accusing their neighbors of being in league with the devil. Like a disease, it infected even the most level headed of them. They arrested over two hundred people. Some of them were nasty individuals, but they were not witches. It wasn't until it was too late that we realized the Order were behind it. They wanted to build an army and didn't need locals getting in their way. You can imagine how helpful they were in offering to buy up any property where the family wanted to escape the stupidity."

"And you had no idea they were behind it at the time?"

Keira shook her head. She'd often wondered how they had missed the signs. "Once the trials were over we thought things would go back to normal. How wrong we were."

"What happened then?"

"About a year after, we felt rather than saw something was putting stress on the door. It was mother who had the foresight to take a closer look. Until then, the cracks were minute fissures, barely detectable. We didn't know what to make of the discovery. There was a force at play, we just didn't know what, or why. Our overconfidence was almost our undoing. It took us three days of scouring through the ancient text's to realize what was happening under our noses."

Keira shifted in her chair. These were the memories she rarely visited. "We were blind to the fact that the Order were on our doorstep. Somehow they discovered if they could bring Leviathan's Legions through to our world, they, in turn, had the power to help destroy our locks from the outside, while she chipped away from the inside."

"In three short days, the fissures had become large cracks, almost big enough for a Legion to fit through. What was worse was that their power was growing exponentially. The summer solstice was almost upon us. That year it also coincided with a full moon and—"

"Let me guess, Jupiter and Venus in close alignment?" said Ryker.

Keira nodded. "That's correct. Had it been a perfect alignment we wouldn't be standing here today. The Star of Bethlehem is the harbinger of a great shift in the earths energy, I doubt we could have summoned enough power to hold her in."

"What did you do then?"

"We did the only thing we could, we poured as much of our energy into closing the cracks. Nothing we did worked. They had gathered too much momentum at that stage and were destroying our wards before they got a chance to solidify. What was worse was that we had no idea where they were. They had managed to find a direct link to the stones without physically being at the site."

Keira broke off and "To this day, I'm unsure how what happened next, happened. Time had run out. The solstice had come and gone, and the full moon was only a couple of hours away. We were desperate, and it was clear we were fighting a losing battle. It was then Mother announced she needed to speak to someone and that we were to guard her body. At that point, we didn't question it...Mother had always been the most powerful and her ability far exceeded any others within the coven."

"Do you know who she spoke with?"

Keira shook her head. They had speculated, but nothing had ever been confirmed. "We constructed a circle of protection, and she put herself into a trance while we maintained her link to us. Mother wasn't gone that long, but when she came too, there were tears streaming down her face. Before breaking the circle, she pulled Dayna and me to her and held us tight. It was at that moment I knew something was wrong. The grief rolled off her like a musty aroma. When we finally broke the circle, and she addressed the coven, mother was resolute in her decision. Dayna and I were equally resolute in trying to talk her out of it."

"And that was?" prompted Ryker.

"According to what she had just learnt, there was only one thing that would close the gaps and stop Leviathan's attempts. We didn't need to remove the gaps, we just needed to make them small enough that they could not send themselves through. Turns out, it was easier said than done. To counteract the drain on the door and fight back, it required both a great sacrifice and event greater magic."

Keira clenched her fists. "No one tried to stop her. Not one of them. They acted as if we were just about to perform a simple common spell."

Keira's throat grew sore. It was as if a rock had lodged itself halfway down. She felt parched as she attempted to swallow and remain in control. "Time is evil; it gave me minutes to say goodbye to my mother, and an eternity to mourn her sacrifice. There's not a day goes by that I don't ask myself if there was another way."

She felt Ryker's cool hands rest over her clasped ones. With a small tug, she found one of her hands resting within his comforting ones and his thumb made gentle circular motions on her skin. "Based on what little I know of your mother, there was no other choice. She would not have made that decision unless it was the only way."

Keira was unable to hold back the floodgate as the painful memories surged to the surface and repeatedly stabbed at her emotions till they were raw. She closed her eyes and breathed in. She could still smell the lavender in her mother's hair as she hugged her goodbye. Keira brought her fingers up to her cheek and sucked in her breath. It caught and set fire to her throat. She recalled her mother's touch when her calloused hands cupped Keira's face and said, "You must be vigilant, they will try again."

Mother, I don't understand. Your shield still holds and the gaps are still too small. Help me understand.

To complete the ancient magic, her mother required a physical connection to the source of their power. She needed to tether whatever she was about to unleash until she was ready to complete the transference. The coven would need to provide the link, without it, all would be lost.

Time was running out, they only had minutes until the birth of the full moon and Leviathan's power was at its peak. While they were small in number, the coven gave everything they had to give Annabeth the best chance of succeeding. Layers upon layers of magic entwined to create a chain that wrapped around their mother and anchored her to each of them and, in turn, the earth, the source of their power.

As they watched, Keira's mother began to chant words in a language they had never heard. Soft at first, then faster and louder. With each verse of the incantation, the world around them stopped. The wind died as if all the air had been sucked from it. The birds ceased their chatter, crickets followed a moment later. It was as if they knew what was about to occur and stood vigil, awaiting the outcome of the battle for humanity.

At first, they felt nothing. Then, the slightest of tugs on their chain. Like a fish, teasing a fisherman, it nibbled at the connection. None of them were prepared for what came next. A violent tempest tore through their bodies without warning. However, it was the tortured scream from her mother that scared Keira more than the pain that ripped through her body as if she were being torn limb from limb.

Keira and the rest watched helplessly as lightening flared from the earth and repeatedly struck her mother. Bolt by bolt, it burst free and, like a whip lashed at her mother's body mercilessly. In her shocked state, it took Keira a while to realize her mother was now suspended in mid-air, her arms stretched out wide, her head thrown back. Each time the current from the earth ignited, it attached itself to Annabeth and fused to her. White pulsating ropes of energy flowed from the earth direct into her mother's body which now vibrated with enough force that Annabeth appeared out of focus. With each new strike, the vibration only increased. The screams had stopped. In its place was the low hum of energy as it flowed and ebbed, becoming brighter with each passing moment. The chain they valiantly held onto was wrapped around Annabeth's legs. Keira's limbs and body ached under the strain to keep it under control.

"She disappeared in a blinding explosive light. I've never felt such power. It radiated in all directions. There was nothing that wasn't affected by the pure raw energy. It was almost as if the noonday sun had appeared in all its glory. Then, without warning it rose higher and higher before speeding back down to the earth and sunk into the earth with such force we were all swept off our feet. A moment later two small white orbs, which had broken away just before impact flew towards Dayna and myself."

Keira fell quiet. In the moments before losing consciousness, she had felt their mother's love—warm; strong and unconditional, sweep through her body as her familiar voice whispered in their ears, "My gift to you until we can be reunited."

Keira and Dayna awoke two days later. It had taken a decade before they suspected what their mothers final 'gift' was, and two decades before they could accept it. They had ceased to age. Keira looked the same as she did the day her mother had sealed the crack and saved mankind from a fate worse than death.

As with everything, Dayna saw the positive and readily embraced her gift. Keira, however, viewed it as a curse.

Enough years passed and those that had been present on that fateful day were well and truly gone. Keira had begun to feel like a stranger to her own coven. While they said nothing to the sisters, Keira knew they were wary of them. She couldn't blame them, both she and Dayna failed to age like normal witches. With nothing to tie them to the place they had called home for one hundred and fifty years, Keira severed her ties with the coven and vowed never to return again. She had lost her mother and since then too many friends to old age. She couldn't face another. When Keira left Salem, she locked her heart away from the possibility of ever being hurt again and left the key behind.

"Until Deacon's call, I've never been back," she said.

Ryker tucked a stray hair behind her ear and rested a hand on her cheek. "I can't pretend to know your grief or the pain of losing your mom. I grew up knowing my parents but the relationship was distant. The only true family I've known is Deacon. She sounded like a remarkable woman, and I would have liked to have met her."

Keira gave him a half smile. "I'm not sure what she would have made of you."

Ryker winked and cocked his head. "She would have adored me. What's not to like?"

She let out a snort and rolled her eyes. She wasn't about to admit he was probably right.

Ryker, who had yet to let go of her hand, turned it over to study her palm.  "From what Deacon tells me about her, I don't think anything you could have said or done would have changed her mind. She did what she did to save you and Dayna. It was a happy coincidence that it also saved the rest of us. There is no point in second guessing or blaming yourself for what happened."

The room fell silent.

Keira took a deep breath. Now that she had unburdened herself, her shoulders didn't feel as heavy. "So did you learn anything?"

"I learnt that you are more like your mother than you think," he said softly. "If you're okay with it, I'd like to talk to Deacon about what we have just spoken about. I have a few questions that I think he might be able to answer."

Ryker stood. Before he let her hand go, he gazed down at her. "Closing your heart off to the outside world doesn't stop the pain, it just postpones it and sets us up for a fall."

Before she could question his meaning he strode to the door and shouted across the bullpen, "Mitos!"

"Yes boss?" said Mitos as he ambled over to Ryker's office.

"Where's Trudeau? I'm still waiting for his update on the team guarding the crime scene at Mystery Creek."

Mitos gave a shrug. His expression reflected the attitude he didn't know and didn't care. "He got waylaid, another tourist went missing from a local B&B this morning, and he's taking their statement. I don't know why we bother. He'll just turn up in a couple of hours, just like the others. Waste of time if you ask me."

"Why isn't the desk Sargent taking it?"

"Fucked if I know. I've certainly got better things to do than deal with whiny tourists with far too many holes in their nose who have lost their boyfriend." Mitos shuddered. "This generation is going to hell in a hand basket. You wonder why there's a steel shortage...It's cause these shit for brains retards stockpile the stuff in holes in their bodies. If you ask me—"

Ryker cut him off. "Did you and Trudeau go out to Mystery Creek this afternoon?"

"Alan took that fuckwit Binks with him," said Mitos as he folded his arm across his chest.

Ryker groaned. "What did he do now?"

"He managed to trip and spread the entire contents of his lunch over me. That goddam curry stains. Alan couldn't wait for me to change, so he took the retard with him."

"Can you let him know I'm after him."

"Sure thing." Mitos turned and headed out.

As he disappeared out the door, Ryker called after him, "Oh and Mitos..."

The deputy poked his head back in the doorway.

"Have you booked the Cultural Sensitivity training yet?"

Mitos scrunched his face. "They said they'll let me know when a spot opens up. For some reason, they can't schedule me with Betty what's her name... the one with the big jugs. Apparently, there's some sort of conflict or something."

"How is he still on the force? He must be an HR nightmare," asked Keira once the deputy had left.

Ryker laughed and rubbed his right eyebrow before he answered. "You have no idea. However, the man's been on the force for nearly forty years and is a born and bred local. I couldn't get rid of him if I tried. No matter how much he irritates me, or how much of a headache he makes for me, I need him."

"I thought he was human?"

"He is, but he's seen a lot over the years. Not once has he questioned it. I'm not sure whether it's because his mind explains it away or he's just in denial, but he's the voice of reason whenever any of the human deputies think they've seen something they shouldn't have."

Keira's brows nearly disappeared into her hairline. "Mitos? The voice of reason?"

"I suppose that's a bad choice of words, but his political incorrectness almost bullies them into thinking they were seeing things." Ryker sighed. "Once he retires, I'm not sure if we'll get away with the very thin veil we hide behind in this office."

Ryker checked his watch. "I'm almost done here, how about we grab an early dinner, my treat."

Before she could answer, Keira's phone rang. She checked the caller id. It was Dayna. As she answered, her sister's voice came out in a rush. "Where are you?"

"At the station why?"

Dayna had a muffled conversation with someone else before replying. "Don't go anywhere, Ananya is going to drive me over."

"Where's Deacon?"

"He's at a city council meeting. This can't wait for him to get out."

"Dayna you're scaring me. What's going on."

There was a pause before Dayna said, "I've managed to unlock Annie's journal."

Finally, something's going right.

"How?" asked Keira.

"I went through her social media accounts and the photo albums her family supplied. There was a common theme... a stuffed toy."

Keira recalled the tattered bear Maize had been clutching. "It's not a gray bear is it?"

"Yes..." Dayna paused before she said, "And there's something else."

Keira tensed. Her sister's voice didn't sound reassuring. "Why am I suddenly worried?"

"Because I know who the father is, and I'm pretty sure he's the one who killed her."

Keira's head shot up and slammed into Ryker's. "Who?"

There was a shuffle from the other end, and Dayna's voice came out barely audible. "I'd rather not say over the phone."

"I'm assuming you heard that?" Keira asked as soon as the call ended.

Dayna had refused to divulge the name, preferring to tell them in person.

Ryker nodded. "I'm not sure I'm happy she's traveling without back up."

"She's with Ananya."

"I know she comes across as a battle-axe," said Ryker, "but she's a sixty-nine-year-old woman who's five foot nothing. Not exactly what I'd consider great protection. I should send Alan and Mitos."

Keira reached for the phone. "Maybe you're right."

After a heated discussion with her sister who refused point blank to wait, Keira and Ryker had no choice but to wait for them to arrive.

Relief spread through her when Dayna waltzed through the door with Ananya hot on her trail nearly forty-five minutes later. Keira had spent forty-four of them pacing back and forth in Ryker's office like a caged lion.

"Can't stay long, it's my bingo night," Ananya said as they stepped into the room. "There's a thief that's trying to take my title."

Keira had watched Dayna's approach. For once, her sister did not sport her trademark smile. Instead, her eyes had darted around the room as if nervous and wanting to appear as unobtrusive as possible. Something was definitely wrong. Dayna went out of her way to be noticed, not blend into the background... that was Keira's default position, not her vibrant sisters.

The moment Dayna walked through the door, she closed it behind her. Without saying a word, she stretched up to grab the tilt wand on the Venetians that covered the window that looked out to the main bullpen of the station. As soon as it was closed, she reached into her oversized tote bag and pulled out the familiar journal. After placing it on Ryker's desk, her hand disappeared back into the bag, and a familiar child's stuffed toy was placed next to Annie's diary.

Dayna stared at the book without moving. Something was troubling her sister, but Keira knew her well enough to wait for her to speak first.

There was a knock on the door. Without waiting for a response, Deputy Alan Trudeau opened it and poked his head in the room. "You were after me boss?"

"Not now Trudeau," Ryker snapped. "I'll come and get you when I'm ready."

Alan glanced around the room and grimaced. "Sorry," he said before clicking the door closed.

Dayna flipped the journal open and flicked to the page she was after.

Ryker, who sat behind his desk leaned forward and Keira moved around to Ryker's side of the desk to get a better view.

Dayna took a deep breath and moved the bear closer to the book so that it was now touching. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her crystals and mouthed a silent incantation.

"Hells bells would you look at that," said Ananya. The shock at witnessing the writing on the page suddenly melt and swirl was evident in the old woman's tone.

Annie's words eventually settled and reformed. Keira scanned the page and her chest tightened with each passage.

No. It can't be!

She glanced down at Ryker. His expression reflected the same disbelief. They turned the page and continued reading. Once they had finished, the room fell silent.

Ryker bolted up and was at the door in in an instant. He scanned the outer office and not finding what he was after called out, "Mitos, where Trudeau?"

"Changing room, I think."

Ryker turned back to them and said, "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Once the shock had worn off, Keira's blood began to boil. With the identification of Annie's killer, they had also discovered who was responsible for Marcus's death.

The need for revenge rushed to the surface, and she headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Dayna.

"To stop Ryker from killing Trudeau. I want a piece of that bastard first."

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📎A/N... OMG!!! So hands up those of you who guessed that it was Alan??

And now we know what happened to Annabeth, and how Keira and Dayna have lived that long... it appears they were not born that way....

... I wonder what will happen next? What do you think Ryker will do to Alan when he catches him?? or if *evil laugh*

Don't forget to vote.

Take care till next time.

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