Keeper

VIII. The Angel in the Woods

The verdant park was quiet as the soft light of false dawn crept across the eastern horizon. This area was deserted, though Morgan had passed a jogger or two as she and the Detective made their way towards the crime-scene. It was easy to understand why there were so few people in the area when Morgan felt the buzz of an interdiction ward growing almost imperceptibly. They were used by the keepers to discreetly keep people from crossing into forbidden areas. "So, there's a ward on the area," she said aloud. "Let me call Stheno and see if she can deactivate it for a minute."

"I don't see anything," Velez said. She looked unsettled, no doubt the ward's effects.

"Starting to feel a little anxious? Like we shouldn't be here?" Morgan smiled a little. "Yeah, that's the ward's doing. If we keep going forward, it's gonna turn into overwhelming dread, cold, and eventually panic. Trust me, we want the ward down before we keep walking. Even Unseen get that way around this kind of magic."

"You don't look nervous at all," the detective observed.

Morgan tapped her iron choker. "This little collar comes with some perks. I know the ward's there, but it's not going to stop me." She called Stheno, holding her phone up to her ear. "Hey beautiful. We're at the ward, but the good detective can't just walk through. You want to turn down the voltage on that baby?" She nodded a little when she got an affirmative answer from the amused gorgon. The humor was the only way she could think of to calm down the dread building in her stomach.

"So what's making the ward?" Velez asked, relaxing as the feeling abated. It was still there, but she barely felt it.

"Elderstaves," Morgan said. "They're rods of elder wood carved with glyphs of protection and forbiddance. There'll be one at each of the four corners of the warded area. A human can make them, but we don't have the power to kick-start them the way Unseen keepers can."

A familiar face emerged from the trees, mirrored sunglasses making even Stheno's disguised visage immediately recognizable. "Good to see you still in one piece, Morgan," the gorgon said before looking over at the keeper's companion. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Detective Velez. Gayevoi mentioned a seer, but I'll admit that I was surprised to hear you were with the police department."

"Why?" Velez asked.

"Frankly?" Stheno said with a wry smile. "Most seers come across a little too odd to make it through the vetting process. Being able to peer into the Unseen comes with some costs." She smiled, showing pearly teeth. "Glad to have you with us, though. I hope you can lend us some of your investigative expertise. Young, mortal eyes often grant perspective that we overlook."

The detective took a deep breath as they followed the gorgon back towards the crime-scene. "I'll do my best," she said wryly. "Didn't catch your name, by the way."

The gorgon keeper laughed, but worry was still visible in the lines at the corners of her mouth. "Ah, how rude of me. My name is Stheno. I'm the senior keeper in charge of the scene."

Velez nodded a little bit, filing the name away for future reference. "What's with the shades?"

"These are for your protection. A glance from a gorgon, even a disguised one, would turn you to stone," Stheno said. "And we'd rather not have you gathering dust among the statuary, if it's all the same to you."

"Uhh...thanks?" Velez managed as intelligently as she could while her nerves spiked.

Once they were across the ward, Morgan felt it increase in power again. Better to keep away any curious onlookers until everyone was out of the area and the scene had been cleaned up. She focused on the task ahead of them. "So why didn't you want to talk over the phone?" she asked.