When we reached the ground floor of what turned out to be the Administration Building, I set my friend down next to a wall and pulled out my phone. The ley lines were still churning unnaturally, so I called Jolene instead of Bailey or any of the other mages.
“I’ve got her,” I said when she answered. “Clear everyone out of the area.”
“Easier said than done. Every mage in the area is near catatonic except for those Knights. But they seem to be more worried about the guy you stabbed, and they’re in the process of carrying him away. Cindy called Captain Blair for reinforcements.”
“Okay. We’re in the admin building. I’m going to take her to my car. It’s parked behind the library.”
“I can’t leave Josh,” she said. “Take her to Rosie’s, and I’ll see you there later.”
Some people gave me strange looks as we made our way out of the building. Whether that was because I was carrying Lizzy slung over my shoulder, or because I was carrying a big-ass sword in my other hand, I didn’t know. I hurried to get out before they called the campus cops.
I dumped Lizzy into the front seat of my car, buckled her in, took the parking ticket off my windshield, and drove her to Rosie’s. I half expected a fireball or some other magical attack, but nothing materialized. I didn’t feel any earthquakes, for which I was profoundly grateful. The ley lines settled down about the time we left the campus.
The scene inside Rosie’s was another story. Witches and some supernaturals were tending to the mages in the bar. It reminded me of a hospital emergency room. Half of the people were in bad shape, and the other half were running around trying to make them feel better. Puke and other bodily fluids turned the whole scene into a stinking mess. The new ward Sam cast hadn’t worked.
I checked in Sam’s office and found one of the waitresses taking care of him. He was in no shape to talk to, so I carried Lizzy to the upstairs apartment and put her in one of the bedrooms.
Chapter 10
It was difficult to understand the chaos reported on the TV news, but if one knew about the ley line problems, a coherent picture could be pieced together.
The disruption had occurred at three o’clock in the afternoon West Coast time. Automobile accidents had snarled rush hour traffic in most of the big cities on the east coast and central U.S., but only minor traffic issues were reported on the west coast. A terrorist attack—the TV news called it a bombing—that happened in London shortly after the disruption caught my attention. The building was the Illuminati’s international business headquarters, and I had been there many times.
Over the next couple of days, Trevor ferreted out reports of kidnappings and murders that happened in the hour after the disruption. Even more troubling was the ‘terrorist attack’ in Rome. The international headquarters of one of the Universal Church’s evangelical monastic orders—the Society of the Messiah—was bombed. As with the bombing in London, the devastation was almost complete, the loss of life staggering. Local authorities struggled to determine what kind of explosive was used, since buildings next to it were completely spared.
Sounded like magic to me.
The day after the attack on the Society of the Messiah, the Church elected the Archbishop of Venice to the office of Prelate. When he led his first mass, he was surrounded by men in the uniforms of the Knights Magica. One of the things he announced was, “…because of the unprecedented terror campaign against the Universal Church, I have commanded the Order of Knights Magica to assume responsibility for the security of Universal institutions around the world.”
The other momentous occurrence went unnoticed by most people. The Fae withdrew from the world and closed their mounds.
Lizzy and her father dropped by the bar so she could say goodbye.
“Is this a temporary thing?” I asked.
She squirmed. “I don’t know. I mean, we won’t withdraw from the world forever, but time passes differently in the underworld. It could be a couple of months, or a year, or two hundred years. It depends on what the elders decide.” With a shrug, she added, “Mom wants me safe, and when she decides something, there’s no arguing with her.”
Her dad said, “I’ll be staying in Killarney Village. I hope they won’t be gone very long. Drop by any time you wish. I would enjoy the company.” He looked completely miserable. “Roisin said to give you these.”
He held out his hand, and I saw it was full of star rubies. He poured them into my hands.
“There are twenty of them,” he said. “She said for you to distribute them where they’ll do the most good. Tell Sam to cast his wards again and leave the stones in place. She’s pretty sure that will work.”
Lizzy and I hugged, and then they left. My first and best friend, and I didn’t know if I would ever see her again. I tried not to cry, but when I saw a tear leak out of her eye, I couldn’t hold back.
I didn’t ask about Oriel. He still hadn’t called me back, and I was deeply disappointed. The least he could have done was call to say goodbye. Just like Lucas. I decided that my luck with men completely sucked. Definitely, my judgement did.
Later that evening, a man came in and sat at the bar. He moved like an athlete, or a trained warrior, with white hair, a short white beard, and startling blue eyes. His face was unlined, and he appeared to be in his late thirties, so I assumed his hair had turned white prematurely.
I handed him a menu, and asked, “What can I get you to drink?”
“A Celtic Stout. Are you Tian?” He had an Irish-tinged English accent.
I froze and immediately shielded. Only the Illuminati and my birth mother called me Tian.
“I’m Erin,” I said.
“Yes, Erin Tian McLane. Am I right?”
“What do you want?”
“An ally, and a glass of Celtic Stout,” he said with a kindly smile. The benevolence he projected didn’t cause me to lower my guard. The Illuminati wanted my head.
“Who are you?”
“Ian McGregor, and I’m not here to harm you. I’m on the run just as you are.”
“How did you find me?”
“Rudolf Heine reported your presence here in Westport. I was stationed in England at the time but was lucky enough to miss the recent festivities in London. Since the Knights seem to have taken the upper hand in England, I decided to find a more hospitable place to live.”
“You know that Master Rudolf is dead.”
“Yes, and glad of it. I never liked the man. May I have that beer?”
I drew him his beer and took his food order, though I was shaken by what he had told me. Members of the Hunters’ Guild were a small fraction of the Illuminati, but the way McGregor moved made me think he was a Hunter and not simply one of the administrators or spies that made up the vast majority of Illuminati field agents.
He ate his meal and ordered another beer and a shot of whiskey afterward, showing no sign of leaving. I went about my business, keeping an eye on him. He ordered a couple of more beers, spending his time sipping his drink and staring off into space.
Around midnight, he said, “I just got into town today. I booked a room across the way but would like to find a flat. Any recommendations?”
I stayed at the Huntsman Hotel on my first night in Westport. Not terrible, but not a place I would want to stay long term.
“Not off the top of my head. I can ask around.”
“I would appreciate that.”
Someone came through the front door with an unusual magical signature that drew my attention. My heart rate bumped up as I saw Oriel coming toward the bar. He sat down next to McGregor, who gave him a startled look.
I stood rooted in place, feeling a little light-headed. “I thought you’d left with the others,” I managed to say.
“Changed my mind. Decided that I have unfinished business here.” He winked at me and ran the tip of his tongue over his upper lip. “A shot of aquavit, if you please.”
My face must have showed the flash of heat I felt, and my heart pounded in
my chest.
“Well, thank you for your service,” McGregor said, sliding off his stool and laying some bills on the bar. “I’ll stop in tomorrow.”
We watched him leave, then I turned back to Oriel. “Did you get my messages?”
To my surprise, he blushed. “Yes. I’ve been trying to convince myself that you’d be better off without me, but…” He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a cad. I’ve always considered altruism and honor rather quaint concepts. I want what I want, and I don’t care if I ruin a young girl’s life as long as I get it. Take me home with you and let me ruin your life?”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or slap him. Either way, I knew I was going to take him home.
“Aren’t you afraid of the ley lines?” I asked.
He held out his hand to show me a heavy silver ring set with a star ruby. “I kept one of the rubies.”
“How many did the Fae have?”
“Forty here in Westport, a lot more in other places. Six of us who stayed behind have one, you have twenty-one of them, the rest went into the mound.” Forty rubies wouldn’t stretch very far. Lizzy had told me that Killarney Village was as old as Westport, and almost twelve thousand people lived in the Village. Most of them were Fae or half-Fae.
That shook me. I had seen twelve Knights, including Bonato, at the university. How many Knights were in Westport?
“Why did they give me so many?”
“Roisin said you would know how to distribute them. She also said to tell you that you should make collecting more of the rubies a priority.”
Before I left that night, I set four of the rubies on Sam’s desk in his office with a note. I also gave one to Steve Dworkin, the head cook on my shift and a pyromancer. Steve had risked his life for me a couple of times, and besides, he fed me regularly. Oriel followed me back to my place in his fancy red sports car, and I allowed myself to hope he would be staying for more than the night.
I had never felt that way about a man. Oriel scared the hell out of me, in no small part because I desperately wanted him. I craved his touch, his lips, like a drug. It frightened me to think that he was just using me, and it frightened me that I didn’t care if he was.
In the morning, Oriel left when I went for my run.
“Are you going to come around only when you want to get laid?” I asked him when he kissed me goodbye.
A sly smile crossed his face. “Perhaps. Why else would I want to see you?”
I went slightly numb inside. “The pleasure of my company?”
“I’m quite pleased with the pleasure you provide.”
“I’m more than that.”
He squeezed my ass. “Really?” Then he got in his car and drove away. I wasn’t sure what I thought. A little hurt maybe? Or maybe that was just his way of playing with me. How did he really feel about me? Was I just a play thing? I had no idea.
I stopped by the office to see my landlady. I wasn’t sure what to make of McGregor, but the vibe I got from him wasn’t threatening. Besides, knowing where he was would make it easier to keep track of him and seemed to make sense.
The office was in a separate building from the four apartment blocks. Eleanor had an apartment above the office, and behind the office were her laboratory, workshop, and a supply room. I found her in her lab, cooking up some kind of potion.
I waited about fifteen minutes until she was finished, then helped her pour the contents of the kettle into large bottles.
“What is this stuff?” I asked. It smelled like a flower garden with an undercurrent of ammonia.
She chuckled. “Carpet cleaner. I use it when rude people leave vampire heads in the hallway. Normal cleaning solutions don’t do squat to clean up vamp blood and some of the other things that happen around here.”
I blushed. It wasn’t my fault that a Hunter left that head in front of my door.
“So, what brings you over to visit?” she asked.
“Eleanor, do you have any vacant apartments?”
“As a matter of fact, one of the tenants in building four is moving out. I’ll have the apartment ready to rent on Monday.”
“Someone at the bar asked me last night. He’s just come to town.”
“Have him come by,” she said. To my knowledge, all of her tenants were either magic users or shifters. If I had met McGregor at the bar, she knew he was either a paranormal or a supernatural.
I set out on my run along the creek. The day was windy and cold, threatening to rain, so I cast a shield around myself to ward off the cold. When I got to the bridge over the river, I turned around and headed home.
The path mostly followed the creek, and at one place it snaked through a small copse of trees. Two Knights were waiting for me as I rounded a bend. What the hell? I shielded as I slowed to a stop.
“Come with us, and don’t try anything,” one said, drawing his sword. The other pulled out a pistol.
“That’s not very romantic. You guys really need to work on your pickup lines. Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out.”
The one with the gun cautiously approached me. He had a set of handcuffs in his other hand. “Hold your hands away from your body.”
Instead of complying, I drew my dagger. “I don’t think so.”
The scuff of a shoe on the path behind me alerted me that they weren’t alone. I waited for my would-be captor to come closer and heard another sound behind me, also closer. I whirled away from the guy with the gun and heard it go off. Shifting my knife from my right hand to my left, I swung in the direction where I thought the man behind me might be and encountered a shield.
I had stepped off the path onto the grassy slope leading to the creek. Four Knights stood on the path above me. Behind me were trees and thick bushes. It wasn’t the most strategic position to be in.
The Knight farthest to my right screamed, arching his back and then falling down the slope toward me. The man next to him spun about, then doubled over with a grunt.
Not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, I took advantage of the interruption and hurled a ley missile at the man farthest to my left. It hit his shield, and he staggered backward.
The remaining Knight leaped at me, swinging his sword. I deflected it with my knife, but lost my footing and slid down the embankment. He followed up his advantage by leaping toward me, but as he landed, he suddenly lurched forward as though someone had hit him from behind. Off-balance, he flung out his arms. I slipped inside his guard and buried my long knife under his breast bone. His eyes bulged, and his mouth opened in startled surprise, then he dropped his sword and slumped.
The man I had hit with the ley missile found his feet and hurled a bolt of lightning at me. My shield absorbed it. Then he stiffened, his face a mirror of his friend’s who hung on my blade. He dropped to his knees and fell forward on his face.
Above me, Oriel shimmered into visibility, holding the Hunter’s main gauche I had traded him. Blood dripped from the blade. He was in his Fae form, and he looked wildly wild. Primeval. Savage. Mouth-wateringly sexy. Or at least I thought so. But my attitude toward a man gutting one of my enemies probably didn’t fit with the normal sensibilities of polite society.
“You’re right,” he said, his face lit with a predatory grin. “You can be a lot of fun out of bed as well.”
“Are you stalking me?”
“I enjoy watching your body when you run. Very sensual.”
“Well, I must say that you’re the most welcome stalker I’ve ever had.”
“Happy to be of service, my lady.” He sketched a quick bow. “Now, if you would pry the ruby off the hilt of that sword, perhaps we can retire back to your place and you can thank me properly.”
“I want to keep the swords,” I said. “I’d like to gift one to a friend.”
“Let’s gather them up then, but hurry. We need to get out of here before someone comes along. This tryst has been even noisier than ours last night.”
I blushed as I pushed the Knight off
my blade. After wiping it on his shirt, I began going through his pockets.
“What are you doing?” Oriel asked.
“Searching for information. Strip them of everything except their clothing and boots, and we’ll sort it out later. Actually, search the insides of their boots as well.”
I finished searching the Knight, including checking for anything he might be carrying inside his boots. Hunters often concealed things there, so I was interested to see if Knights did that also. I was rewarded with a credit card and identification in a different name than the ID he had in his coat pocket. Then I kicked his body down the hill into the trees and started on the next man.
We made our way through the trees up to the road where I discovered Oriel’s car parked a short distance away.
“Truly, how did you happen to come along just at the right moment?” I asked him as I fastened my seat belt.
“I was on my way back from running an errand in town,” he said. “I saw that car parked here and was curious.” The car he pointed to was a large black SUV. “The Knights appear to have a fondness for that model.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “You seem to know a lot about hunting Knights.”
“What can I say? I have a fetish for star rubies.”
I rummaged through the stuff we had collected and found a set of car keys. “Let’s see what else we can loot.”
Back at my place, we dumped everything we had collected onto my kitchen table, and I poured us each a glass of wine. Then we sat down and sorted through it all. The IDs they carried in their pockets were Oregon driver’s licenses. In their boots, they had passports and credit cards with different names from the driver’s licenses and the credit cards in their wallets. Two Italian passports, one Croatian, and one French.
“Quite an eclectic group,” Oriel said.
“What country is your passport from?” I asked.
“I have two, from Ireland and the U.S., but I don’t really need any. It’s quicker to travel through the mounds.”
Well of Magic: An Urban Fantasy (Rosie O'Grady's Paranormal Bar and Grill Book 4) Page 8
