“No idea which way it went?”

"None."

"Security tapes?" Kyle looked around the room to see whether it contained any dull machinery that might be a camera.

Facile shook his head as the woman administering to him stepped away. “They hit the security room first after eating our sentry spirits. Trashed all the digital storage. Backups were in the same room.”

Kyle nodded. "I'm at the Truman condoplex. Let me know right away if anything else turns up."

Facile almost seemed to laugh. "I'm sure Captain Ravenheart will call you once she's done chewing us up here."

Kyle shifted out of his physical manifestation and accelerated at maximum speed across the short space of city.

Back at the Truman house the patio area around his body was quite a mess. Apparently the roach spirit had hit Kyle hard, not only on the back but on his left leg as well. His body had apparently thrashed, sending blood pouring from the sudden wounds. Hanna was seated across the patio being assisted by one of the other staff members. Kyle also noticed that Dan Truman was standing watch over his physical body, along with Seeks-the-Moon and two of Truman's personal- not Knight Errant-guards. Someone had already administered emergency first aid to his body. In spirit form, he'd barely felt it.

Kyle called out mentally, "Moon!"

"Yes!" came the clear reply as the spirit looked up at him. "Are you well?'

"Well enough. How bad do I look?"

"You've been worse," Moon said. "You've made quite a mess of the patio, though, and I'm afraid your friend Ms. Uljaken was a little unprepared for your spontaneous wounding."

Kyle laughed, and then commanded Charlotte, who immediately appeared in astral space.

"The two are dead?" she asked him. Kyle nodded, recognizing the empty spaces within himself for both spirits, the second apparently destroyed when it moved to help him against the roach spirit.

"We're fighting what seem to be some kind of insect spirits." With those words, Kyle saw Seeks-the-Moon's face blanch and his powerful aura waver, for just a fraction of an instant. Even the air elemental, normally supremely detached, seemed to shudder. Kyle was surprised; he'd never heard of such spirits before either.

"I understand," said Charlotte. "I will try to serve you well."

Again, Kyle was surprised by the tone of near finality in the spirit's words. "Good," he said, "Stay alert."

"They will not pass me," Charlotte assured him, then vanished.

Kyle willed himself back into his body, re-forming flesh and spirit into one, but instantly regretted the decision. The pain was terrible, and he felt his body spasm as he reacted to it.

Dan Truman started to speak, probably wanting to know what had happened at the hospital, but Kyle held up his hand. Seeks-the-Moon also reached out and placed a hand on Truman's arm to still him. His body wanted to sleep, but Kyle knew he couldn't.

He sat up slowly and felt Seeks-the-Moon's strong hands under him, helping him into a chair. "Thank you," Kyle said.

"What's happening?" Truman asked, unable to restrain himself any longer. "Your spirit here wouldn't tell me a thing."

"I'm afraid your son's been kidnapped."

"Oh my god…" said Truman.

Looking pale and shaky, Hanna had also joined them. "Why?" she said. "Why would they take him now?"

"All I know is that they did. Knight Errant couldn't stop them. It's a real mess over there."

"How did it happen?" she asked.

"Remember Ares was looking for information on 'aberrant spirits'?"

Hanna nodded.

"Well, they found some," Kyle told her.

"What do you mean?"

“I fought one. A powerful thing. I'm lucky there was only one. Fraggin' thing looked like a huge insect. You won't believe this-like a giant cockroach."

Seeks-the-Moon paled, and his existence seemed to flicker in the physical world for the briefest instant. Both Truman and Hanna also drew back in silent revulsion.

“That's all I know," Kyle said. "It was bigger than I am, and looked just like an enormous roach. The Knight Errant troopers seemed to know what they were and referred to them as 'bugs'."

Truman's eyes were fire-bright. "I don't really know what you're talking about, Mr. Teller, but it scares me cold. I'm going to call Damien Knight about this. Let's see just how good a pair of friends he and I really are."

Kyle held up his hand. "If I could suggest something…"

Truman stopped and turned back. "Yes?"

"Knight Errant now knows that I know at least something about these 'bugs'," Kyle said, "and that I've probably told you. Let's see what they do. Let's see what they decide to tell us."

Truman nodded. "All right. I see your logic. Their hand's shown. Let's see if they still insist on bluffing. Fair enough." His gaze turned back toward the interior of the plex. Beyond the dark plastiglass of the patio door Kyle could see a couple of vague shapes waiting impatiently.

"In the meantime, I'd better go tell my wife."

Kyle nodded and leaned back, closing his eyes, thinking Truman had walked away. He opened them quickly when he heard Daniel Truman's cold voice again. "Don't get me wrong, Mr. Teller-I want my son back, and I want him whole. And I don't give a damn if I piss on anybody doing it."

"I understand," Kyle said, and Truman walked over to the patio doors. Someone on the other side, one of Truman's own guards, opened them. Kyle could see Mrs. Truman and at least one of her daughters waiting on the other side.

Kyle turned to Hanna Uljaken. "Are there guest rooms here?"

She nodded, looking slightly disheveled. He wondered for a moment if she'd actually fainted when he'd begun spurting blood. "I want to move closer to the family."

"Of course," she said. "I can have a room ready immediately and a car sent over to the hotel for your things."

"Thanks," he said, "but I'd better go for them myself. There are a few items there I'd rather not have anyone else touching."

"Fine. A car and an escort will be waiting downstairs in five minutes."

"No, don't bother. There's something I've got to do first, and fast."

"The ritual circle is complete, as you requested," Seeks-the-Moon told him. "I'm afraid I have inconvenienced them somewhat."

"Oh?"

Hanna laughed. "You could say that."

Kyle sighed. "Let me see it." Then he followed Hanna and Moon into a section of the condoplex where Kyle hadn't been before.

"Seeks-the-Moon took over the dining room," Hanna explained. "It was the only room big enough for what he said he wanted to do." She threw open the dark wood double doors.

The room inside was long, with a wide view east to the lake. It was, however, barely wide enough to accommodate the intricate, multilayered circle now drawn in the center of the room. Kyle looked down at its three concentric rings and the dozens of signs and symbols that filled it, some astrological, some alchemical, but all of them occult. Thirteen unlit candles circled the outer ring, seven the middle, and three the smallest, inner ring. All of it had been drawn on the hardwood floor in paints of silver and gold.

Seeks-the-Moon looked proud.

"Very impressive," Kyle said, removing his coat and shoulder holster and setting them on the dining room table, which had been shoved to one end of the room and covered with sheets. "And how unlike you. I wasn't expecting this symbol-set."

"Thank you," said Seeks-the-Moon. "I knew it had to be both formidable and comfortable for you."

Kyle nodded. "Let's get started."

"You don't want to rest?" Seeks-the-Moon asked.

"Good point," Kyle said, the pains in his body flaring up as a reminder. He stilled himself and focused his magical energies inward. His injuries weren't serious, but if not dealt with, they might hinder him in the ritual he was about to attempt. He could sense the damage, feel the very physical tearing and ripping of his body that mimicked the damage his spirit had taken in astral space. But it was that very spirit that would allow him to heal himself. Deep within, at the very center of his being, was his True Self, the core of his existence. It was the essence of Kyle Teller's body and soul, a template of who he was and how he should be. By channeling his magical power through his Self, he could rebuild his body, heal his wounds, and restore himself to health. He did, taking minutes to coax the flesh into wholeness. It was a process that would not be rushed.