The Keepers
By Elizabeth
Part 28

"Ben! Where the fuck are Ace and Peter?!?"  
 
Ben spun around, suprised by the sound of Mike's voice as he 
exited the elevator with Black Diamond on his heels. He felt a 
surge of fear as he saw the grim expression upon the face of the 
Lazarus, tailed by Paul and Gene. "Upstairs with Moe and 
Anna...why?"  
 
"Someone tried to kill Paul tonight...we keep The Four and The 
Keepers under lock and key until we find out who."  
 
"Shit...not another one?"  
 
Mike frowned in confusion, forcing Ben to give him a brief 
summary of what had occured earlier.  
 
"How are you holding up?" Mike asked with concern.  
 
Ben shrugged. "So far, so good...The Mark seems to have gone 
dormant. The guys don't have any clue as to what might happen if 
it activates, seeing how I took it willingly and all...plus the 
fact that it was meant for Anna. Right now I'm just kinda antsy. 
That's why me and Di here were gonna go for a walk."  
 
Mike looked down at the wolf cub sitting peacefully beside Ben. 
Black Diamond had reverted to her normal appearance, making her a 
striking thing to look at with her glossy midnight coat and 
expressive scarlet eyes.  
 
"Doggie." Crystal cooed from Mike's shoulder.  
 
Black Diamond yipped in response.  
 
"No, Di, that's Crystal." Ben replied. "Mike's friend...so 
behave."  
 
Black Diamond whined softly.  
 
"What'd she say about Crystal?" Mike asked.  
 
"Crystal called her 'doggie'...Di called her 'lunch.'" Ben 
chuckled.  
 
Crystal squawked, flying off of Mike's shoulder and up onto his 
head.  
 
"Ow! Fucking shit...Crystal, no!" Mike yelped, trying to untangle 
the bird's talons from his hair.  
 
The other three men broke out laughing as Mike struggled to 
soothe Crystal and simultaneously disengage her. He finally 
calmed her back down onto her usual perch at his shoulder.  
 
"Bad doggie." Crystal admonished.  
 
Ben managed to calm his laughter long enough to look down at 
Black Diamond with a serious expression on his face. "Apologize, 
Di."  
 
Hanging her head in shame, Black Diamond growled.  
 
Crystal cocked her head to the side, then flew down from Mike's 
shoulder to touch the ground in front of Black Diamond. Predator 
and prey assessed each other for a moment before Black Diamond 
leaned in to lick tentatively at Crystal's beak.  
 
"Yucky." Crystal protested even as she flew up to perch on the 
wolf cub's back. Black Diamond turned her head to stare at 
Crystal doubtfully. The Sebrus nipped gently at her neck in 
response.  
 
"I think they've kissed and made up." Mike chuckled.  
 
Ben grinned. "Hey, at least they get along. I'm still waiting to 
see what Di does to Jim's snake."  
 
"Fangs vs. fangs. That'll be interesting."  
 
"We could sell tickets. Enough jawing...let's get upstairs to the 
others."  
 
"What about Jim and Julia? What happened to them?"  
 
"Jim was hanging with me for a bit, but then he and Jules got 
called out on a homicide. He gave Rhea free run of his place 
while he was gone."  
 
"Jim's place?" Gene asked.  
 
Ben nodded. "We're neighbors...poor fuck didn't even know it. His 
pad's one floor above mine. Listen, Mike, for the time being I 
say leave Ace, Pete, and their girls where they are. Gene and 
Paul can stay at Jim's with Rhea and Julia. You can watch them 
while Jim and I stand guard with the rest. Eric can back you up."  
 
"Sounds like a plan." Mike replied. He turned to Gene and Paul. 
"You two...let's go. Crystal, we're going."  
 
With a reluctant whine from Black Diamond and a huff from the 
Sebrus, Crystal flew up and alighted on Mike's shoulder as the 
trio made their way back into the elevator.  
 
Ben looked down at Black Diamond. "Guess that walk's gonna have 
to wait, baby. C'mon...maybe we'll let Anna play Frankenstein 
with ya if she promises to be good."  
 
Whining in consent, the blood mongrel followed Ben obediently 
back into the elevator.  
 
**********  
 
Jim and Julia headed back towards his Jeep a couple hours later, 
exhausted and filled with questions.  
 
"You think holding back the significance of that tattoo is going 
to hinder the investigation?" Julia wondered.  
 
Jim shrugged, accidentally dislodging Ruby from his shoulders. "I 
have no clue...but even if it did, we still gotta keep it under 
wraps. This is serious mojo, Julia. Think what could've happened 
if Light and Shadow had really KNOWN what Peter was...they could 
have done in the whole fucking race."  
 
Julia shivered at the thought. "Scary. But what do we make of it? 
The killer, did she have any kind of identifying marks like 
that?"  
 
Jim shook his head, winding the snake around his neck and zipping 
his jacket. Ruby promptly tangled herself around his throat like 
a scarf and went to sleep. "Nada, chica...just those red eyes, 
which is a little unusual. Could be a side effect of using death 
magick, but it could be more for all we know."  
 
Julia sighed. "This is going to be a tough one to crack."  
 
"Yeah, considering our victim had his face chewed off." Jim 
grumbled. "Fortunately, there's only about six alphas of his 
ranking in the local area...we find the missing one. I'm gonna 
see if Gabe will let me ride shotgun on this case...if it's tied 
to KISS, I want in."  
 
"I agree." Julia replied. "If nothing else, to make sure the 
investigation doesn't probe too deep unnecessarily."  
 
Jim nodded, his attention veering away from Julia when he spotted 
a figure in the distance, wandering around as if searching for 
something.  
 
"Can I help you, sir?" Jim asked, motioning to Julia as he walked 
towards the figure.  
 
The stranger turned upon hearing Jim's voice and started towards 
them. Once out of the shadows, it was revealed to be a muscular 
young man of short stature with shaggy blonde hair and expressive 
eyes.  
 
"Yeah, maybe." the man replied as he met the pair halfway. "Have 
you seen any cops around? I wanted to talk to somebody about the 
murder that took place over there."  
 
Jim's jaw dropped open with a shocked laugh when the face in 
front of him suddenly found purchase in his mind. "Holy 
shit...you're-"  
 
Eric Singer grinned bashfully. "Yeah, I am."  
 
"Well, we can help you out." Jim took out his badge and showed it 
to him. "Special Investigator Jim Riley, this is Julia O'Ryan, 
M.E.. What's on your mind, Mr. Singer?"  
 
"First off, it's Eric. Second...I have some information about the 
shifter that got whacked."  
 
"You know who he is?" Jim asked brusquely, slipping easily into 
the routine of questioning a witness.  
 
"The guy who died was Cabe Jackson, an alpha from out of town...I 
knew him."  
 
"I'm sorry for your loss." Jim said softly, reaching out to lay 
his hand on Eric's shoulder.  
 
"Thanks, man."  
 
As Jim touched him, Julia felt a flash of energy pass between 
them. The familiar feel of Jim's power touched her skin, along 
with a second form of energy that was unknown to her.  
 
Both moved so quickly she barely saw the gun as it left Jim's 
shoulder holster, or the knife as it slid out of the sheath 
tucked in the back of Eric's jeans.  
 
Jim leveled his auto mag at Eric's forehead as Eric pressed the 
blade of a hunting dagger to Jim's throat.  
 
**********  
 
Mike walked up to the door of the apartment, peering closely at 
the numbers.  
 
"This is his place." he announced.  
 
"And you know this how?..." Gene asked.  
 
"It's a twin thing." Mike murmured, frowning in concentration. 
After a moment, he reached for the right side of the door jamb, 
fingers digging into the wood.  
 
When they came back, he held a spare key.  
 
"Impressive." Paul remarked with a grin.  
 
Mike smiled wickedly. "Houdini ain't got nothin' on us Rileys."  
 
Mike opened the front door, looking around with interest as he 
stepped into the apartment.  
 
"Bastard hasn't changed a thing." Mike breathed. While Jim was no 
longer occupying the same loft that the brothers had once shared 
so long ago, the sights that met Mike's eyes were still blessedly 
familiar. He took in the black leather couch, antique desk, and 
the four-foot print of Harry Houdini hanging on one wall with a 
nostalgic joy. The faded, framed poster depicted the magician in 
cuffs and chains, surrounded by various images of his hands 
cuffed and bound in countless other restraints.  
 
"Which one of you was the magic fan?"  
 
Mike turned towards the voice, spotting Rhea standing in the 
doorway of the hall adjacent to the living room.  
 
"Both of us." Mike admitted. "Just old Harry, though."  
 
"Nothing on Earth can hold Houdini a prisoner." Rhea intoned, 
reading the slogan on the poster. "Though I'd say that Houdini's 
got nothin' on you Riley boys."  
 
Mike flashed a look of suprise at Rhea. "You're a perceptive 
woman."  
 
She grinned. "I try...so, what's going on?"  
 
"Someone's trying to kill us." Gene told her, strolling across 
the room to pull her into his arms. "You?"  
 
"Mingling with other Carriers...you prick! Why the hell didn't 
you TELL us?"  
 
Gene frowned down at her. "About what?"  
 
Rhea gently pulled away from Gene and stuck her thumb out behind 
her, indicating the doorway she'd been standing in. "About HIM."  
 
Gene, Paul, and Mike all looked up to see a familiar, dark-haired 
man standing where Rhea had been, a broad grin on his handsome 
face.  
 
"Holy shit." Gene breathed, engaging in a smile of his own.  
 
"Hey, fellas." Bruce Kulick greeted them, walking into the room. 
"Miss me?"  
 
"Only when our aim is off." Paul smiled warmly, striding forward 
to embrace the guitarist in a fierce hug. "It's good to see you, 
pal. What've you been doing with yourself?"  
 
"Well, I WAS working on my next record when I heard from Eric 
about the local pack. They were bringing in a new alpha...Cabe 
Jackson."  
 
"Jackson? What's that boy doing trying to lead the wolves?"  
 
"He's dead, guys."  
 
Gene's eyes went wide, his body going rigid. "Oh, dear 
gods...no."  
 
Mike frowned. "Who's Cabe Jackson?"  
 
"He was a registered alpha in the next town over." Paul explained 
quietly, features tense with shock. "He was also a sworn 
protector of The Starman...a warrior."  
 
"What does his death mean?"  
 
"I don't know."  
 
"His death is why I'm here." Bruce explained. "Eric's been tight 
with the local shifters for a long time now. When he heard that 
Cabe was dead, he figured it was probably Fellowship 
business...wants to make sure the cops don't pick up on things 
they shouldn't, like you four."  
 
"Okay, someone wanna fill us in?" Rhea snapped. "I have no idea 
what anyone is talking about, and frankly it's pissing me off." 
She shot Gene a warning look. "Need I remind you how unpleasant I 
can be when I'm mad?"  
 
Bruce caught Gene's eye and frowned.  
 
"Changeling. Dragon." he replied succinctly.  
 
Bruce nodded in understanding. "We're talking about The 
Fellowship Of Man. It's a society sworn to protect these guys."  
 
"Thought that was our job." Mike grumbled, dropping into a nearby 
director's chair.  
 
"It is." Bruce replied, moving to settle down on the couch. "You 
could consider The Fellowship to be your staff...watching these 
losers is a full-time job."  
 
"Hey." Paul protested with a smile.  
 
"Didn't they tell you about us?" Bruce asked.  
 
Mike shot Gene an exasperated glare. "Never came up."  
 
"So you don't know about the Dark Light, either?"  
 
"Huh?"  
 
"Morpheus's army."  
 
Mike turned to face Gene and Paul, who still stood. "Guys?"  
 
Bruce followed Mike's lead, leaving both gods to squirm under 
their dual scrutiny.  
 
Rhea plopped down on the couch beside Bruce with a big smile.  
 
"This should be a LOT of fun to watch." she chuckled wickedly.  
 
**********  
 
Somewhere in the darkness, a phone rang.  
 
"This had better be good." the man who picked it up growled into 
the reciever.  
 
"It is, Mr. Vincent...Morpheus attempted to kill The Four and 
failed."  
 
"Now that *is* good news. Any word on those three wizards?"  
 
"None yet, but there's more...Bruce Kulick was spotted some time 
ago in this building. I believe he was on his way to meet with 
KISS."  
 
"WHAT?" the man hissed. "What the HELL does that jackass want?"  
 
"No idea, sir. Do you want him disposed of?"  
 
"No...not yet, anyway. Morpheus thus far has done an excellent 
job of camoflauging my efforts. With any luck I can get what I 
want from The Elder before he finishes them off...we will not 
draw undue attention to this little operation. Got it?"  
 
"Yes, sir."  
 
"Be at the recording studio tomorrow morning and you'll recieve 
your payment."  
 
"Thank you, sir."  
 
With that the man hung up the phone, smiling into the shadows 
that filled the room.  
 
They'd fucked with him once and won...but back then they'd only 
been shadows of their true selves. He'd grown wiser with time, 
and more powerful with a few visits to a black market 
SpellCaster.  
 
The magick living within him now would serve its purpose once he 
had his hands on one of The Elder and the Keeper bound to 
them...THEN he would have all the power he could ever want.  
 
THEN Vinnie Vincent could make them pay.