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“Close,” Idris said with an approving nod. “Combine that with the bridge analogy and you have it. The nodes are big tunnel-bridges that carry the potency from the demon realm to here. When the potency gets to the end of the tunnel-bridge it empties into the pipelines—the valve network.”
“The node is in both worlds, but the valves are fully on Earth?” I asked.
He nodded. “Twelve trunks on the demon side—one in each lord’s realm and one with the Council. Each trunk splits into two valve nodes to create the bridges. The Earth end of each node branches into two valves, and each valve splits into a bunch of micro-valves.”
“To disperse the outflow,” Bryce said with a slow nod. “Without the valves and micro-valves the potency pollution could dump all in one place—”
“—and cause damage or disruptive changes,” Idris finished for him.
“Do you know the locations of all the local valves?” I asked.
From the side pouch of his messenger bag, Idris pulled a battered map that had been folded to isolate eastern Louisiana. Numbered red circles marked close to a dozen locations. “These are the sites Katashi shared when I was with him, but you might have some that I don’t.”
“Hang on.” I hurried to the computer room and returned a few seconds later with a map almost as battered as his and a single sheet of paper. “On this map are the valves I found when Tracy Gordon was trying to make a gate, along with locations that Rhyzkahl searched for on my computer.” I handed it over, then smiled and held the paper up. “But I also have Tracy’s journals—with map coordinates plus dates and times for the valve node emissions y’all were chasing. And, because I’m super awesome, I’m giving you this summary page so you don’t have to decipher the journals.” I placed it on the table with a flourish.
Idris offered a genuine smile. “Cool. That’ll be really helpful,” It took him less than a minute to compare both maps. “You have a few that I don’t,” he said as he marked them on his copy. “This area has the highest concentration of valves in the world.” He pushed his map to the center of the table so we could see. “Five nodes and ten valves within a hundred miles of here.”
“That explains why this place is so fucking weird,” I muttered.
Bryce let out a bark of laughter. “What I don’t get is, if they could build a valve system to cross dimensions, why couldn’t they make it vent to space or onto an unpopulated planet?”
“I have no freaking idea,” Idris said with a helpless shrug. “I asked Katashi the same question, but if he knew he didn’t want to tell me.”
“Speaking of that steaming piece of shit,” I said, “how do we fix what he’s screwed up?”
“I’ll know more once I check out a few valves,” Idris said. “In theory, the ones he worked with directly are most likely to destabilize, so for now the plan is to assess the valves and stabilize as needed.”
Bryce cleared his throat. “Why can’t we put an end to this shit by closing off the valves before Katashi gets to them? Like Kara did at the plantation.”
Idris gave me a startled look. “Close off valves? How?”
Oh, right. He hadn’t seen what I did to the plantation valve node because he’d already left with Mzatal by the time I sealed it. “Hate to rain on your parade,” I said, “but it’s not that simple. The barricade seal is a last resort. Think of it as a storm grate. It lets potency flow through while keeping lords out. It also does a decent job of stabilizing. The problem is that it blocks about thirty percent of the potency flow.”
Idris winced. “So it’s a good emergency measure, but too many valves and nodes blocked like that would create back pressure in the system.”
“Yep,” I said. “Kablooey.”
“All right, we’ll stick to the plan. Assess and stabilize.” His voice went hard and cold. “Then we take down Katashi.”
“I know the area pretty well,” Bryce told Idris. “I can take you where you need to go.”
“And I have a lead on a half-dozen properties where Katashi and his crew might be based,” I said. “Since I can’t see them holing up in a motel, my hunch is that they’re renting a big house in the area. Maybe you two can scope out the addresses while you’re out checking valves.”
“Yeah, that’ll work,” Idris said and tucked the map back into his bag.
“Excellent,” I said. At least I hoped so. There was probably nothing to worry about. After all, how much trouble could an ex-hitman and an angry, obsessed, summoner child of a demonic lord get into?
Whatever happened, at least we had cookies.
Chapter 8
Shortly after noon, I delivered Idris and Bryce to the crime lab and Jill’s olive green 1974 Chevy Malibu. With them was a big box of tools Bryce had found in my shed.
What began as a casual query about what tools I owned soon morphed into Indiana Bryce and the Holy Shit, Check This Out! after I opened the shed and told him to help himself. Apparently my dad and grandfather had amassed an enviable collection of tools, hardware, gadgets, and I had no idea what else. While Idris and I looked on, Bryce conducted an archaeological dig punctuated by exclamations such as “Oh my god, I wonder if this still works!” and “My grandpa had one of these!” and “Christ on a crutch, is that a jack for a Model T?!”
If not for the annoying detail that the fate of the world was at stake, Bryce would have delved for the rest of the day. Or longer. That said, he also knew how to use the tools, and after forty minutes and plenty of colorful language the Malibu sputtered to life. I made sure the boys had spending money and cell phones, then left them to their own mission and drove the two blocks to the PD and my meeting with Pellini.
