Tom Dowd - Burning Bright

He crept into the room where Natalie played, taking more care than needed since she wasn't there. Her computer booted up quickly, shifting through the start-up of the spinning, prismatic Apple logo and then showing the floating iconic interface Natalie had designed, with his and a program's considerable help, a year ago. He ignored it, instead starting a program keyword search. From the list he was then presented, he found the program he wanted and loaded it.

Within moments, he was inside the gateway to the public library datanets. He scanned for the Archives section and requested access to the last ten years of local Chicago telecom and address listings. Adding them to his search list, he then backed out of the Archives and pulled up the current telecom and address listings. Adding that to the search list, he instituted a global search through those eleven files for references to the Universal Brotherhood.

Two hundred and nineteen references were generated. He refined the list by excluding duplicates, and then instructed the program to indicate which listings were not duplicated.

Twenty-nine listings appeared more than once in various volumes, six appeared only once.

Thirty-five places to look. One, however, stood out-partially because of its absurdity, and partially because the address had stopped being listed eight years ago even though its telecom number was listed in every directory. The Universal Brotherhood Merchandising Center had been at Madison and Sangamon, not too far from Interstate 90/94. The other locations would also have to be checked, but Kyle suspected that an old, familiar location that hadn't been listed in the directories for more than eight years should be high on his list.

He then imported the addresses into the mapping and display subset connected to the listings and asked for a printout of all the locations on a map of Chicago. Once the colored map had scrolled out the side of the machine, and he'd confirmed that all the info he wanted was there, Kyle disconnected from the library and shut the computer down. It very politely wished him a good night as he walked away already studying the new map.

Kyle thought about going back upstairs and slipping back into bed with Beth before traveling astrally to scout out the locations on the list, but changed his mind. He didn't want her to wake up to find him next to her, seemingly unconscious. Instead, he went into the living room with a piece of paper and a marking pen. He sat down on the couch and wrote "Gone traveling" on the paper, folded it into a little sign, and sat it on the couch next to him.

Another thought struck him, and he realized that he didn't have either his portable telecom or his datapad. He'd been out of touch with the Trumans for some hours, and even if they knew he had an ex-wife in Chicago, they probably wouldn't think to try him at her number. He'd have to make one stop before beginning his search.

After studying the map one last time, he called up a simple spell that would keep the map's image crisp in his memory for a few hours. He'd still have some trouble finding the locations from astral space, but he could compare the image in his mind to what he saw by counting from recognizable intersections or landmarks. Not being able to read street signs would be a problem, but he had a solution for that.

His astral self slipped free easily, and he felt renewed and rejuvenated. He glided quickly up the stairs of the old wooden house and into the master bedroom. Beth had spread out in his absence, arms and legs askew, her face half-buried in one of the pillows. He slipped out through the window, twisting to pass through the frame and into the now golden morning.

Heartbeats later, Kyle was approaching the dull, lifeless Truman Tower and then moments after that angling himself in toward the patio of the condo. As he alighted on the ground, Charlotte, Winston, and Seeks-the-Moon appeared.

"Boss," said Winston.

"Master," said Charlotte.

"Where the hell have you been?" Moon bellowed.

Kyle shrugged and smiled. "Busy. I needed some time to myself."

The two elemental spirits hung there motionless, but Moon nodded understanding. "Ms. Uljaken briefed Mr. Truman on what Eagle found. It apparently took considerable effort on her part to get the information since you had wandered off."

"Yeah, I'll need to apologize."

Moon nodded again. "It might be wise." he said. "All things considered."

"What do you mean?"

"The young lady was apparently quite worried that you'd been injured or gotten into some trouble."

The information surprised Kyle somewhat, coming as and when it did, and considering the events of the previous night. "Then I'll make sure I do," he said. "I take it she's home sleeping?"

Moon shook his head. "No, she's here in one of the guest rooms."

"Then let her sleep for now," Kyle said. "When she wakes up, tell her I checked in and that everything is fine and I'm continuing with my investigation."

'The things she said happened seemed quite terrible," Moon said.

"They were."

The spirit looked like he wanted to ask more, but he didn't.

"I'll come by physically in a few hours, especially if all my clothes are here now," Kyle told him. "I assume they picked up my portable and datapad?"

Seeks-the-Moon nodded. "They did, as Ms. Uljaken discovered when she tried to call you and your telecom rang two rooms away. She seemed disturbed by the fact that you were not carrying it. I tried to reassure her that you were fine, but she didn't quite understand that I would know if anything had happened to you."

"Understandable," Kyle said. "I'm going to be scouting possible locations of hives or nests or whatever they are, and I'd like you to come with me."

"Really?" said Moon. "I'm no longer the home guard?"

"No," Kyle told him. "I need someone who can read."

The first site Moon and Kyle checked was empty, abandoned, but from astral space Kyle could sense the echoes and resonances of power that had been present there. They were dulling, fading with time, but enough was present for him to recognize many of the same sensations he had experienced in the roach nest. The lingering astral smell was unmistakable.

They moved on to the next, and the ones after that. Moon guiding them through the physical world by reading the street signs and address numbers when Kyle's dead reckoning in astral space wasn't good enough.

Finally, after examining a dozen closer sites, they closed in on the one Kyle had initially thought was most promising of all, the Universal Brotherhood Merchandising Center at Madison and Sangamon. They alighted on the roof of a taller building a few blocks away and studied the small warehouse from astral space. It seemed quiet, inert, a dog sitting in the shade of the receiving dock the only sign of activity.

"Do you think it's a guard dog?" asked Moon.

"I don't know," said Kyle. "It could be a watch dog. It could be a stray. There's no way to tell from here."

"Let me see if I can get a better look from the physical world," Moon said, and Kyle saw the spirit's form shift slightly, become more solid, as it took physical form. "No," he said in Kyle's mind. "I can't see any better. There is-"

Moon quieted as the lone normal-sized door opened and a man stepped out. He had a strong aura, extreme strong, but Kyle couldn't tell if he was a magician, or something else, at this distance.

"How does he look?" Kyle asked.

"He's wearing work clothes, one-piece coveralls," Moon said. "And he's bald."

The man threw something that looked like a large white garbage bag onto a pile of similar objects near a dumpster. The dog watched idly and then dropped its head back down. The man stepped back inside. Up on the roof, blocks away, Seeks-the-Moon slowly turned and looked over his shoulder.