Meta Marshal Service 1

by B N Miles

  “So then it’s an old fashioned stake out!” Cassie grinned huge. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

  Jared sighed, killed the engine, and opened the door.

  “Where are you going?” Cassie asked. “It’s a stakeout. We gotta be careful.”

  “I just want to feel something first,” he said. “Stay here.” He crossed the street and walked down the block, getting closer and closer to the missing house.

  He didn’t feel anything at first. Wards were subtle things, and most humans didn’t notice them at all. Wards could be used to turn people away from something, make them think a building doesn’t exist, or that they don’t want to go in through a certain door, things like that. They were mental constructs, and it was easy to overlook them.

  But Jared was a Magi. Even if he hadn’t been practicing for a long time, he could still sense a ward. As he got closer and closer to the empty spot in the long line of houses, he began to feel something.

  It was a desire to keep walking. This strange prickle at the back of his mind. If he hadn’t been waiting for exactly that thing, he would’ve simply accepted it as a thought of his own and kept on going right past the missing building.

  Instead, he stopped and moved aside, pretending to bend over and tie his shoe. He lingered there, eyes close, trying to feel the magic.

  It was subtle, but it was there. If Ferric had put up these wards, he was getting much, much better at using magic. The wards were subtle enough to feel like they were built by a proper Magi, and the thought made him nervous. If Ferric had the sort of power Jared saw the other night, combined with a new level of subtlety and sophistication, then he would be a serious threat.

  He finished tying his shoe and continued past the gap. He kept his head down and turned away, just in case Ferric was watching. He felt the wards push at his mind, directing him to keep going, nothing to see here, just keep on walking. When he reached the end of the block, he turned right, went all the way around, and ended up back in the car.

  “What were you doing?” Jessalene demanded.

  “It’s warded,” he said. “Definitely warded. Ferric’s in there.”

  Jessa let out a sharp breath. “Damn it.”

  “What’s… warded?” Cassie asked.

  “It’s a kind of stationary magic,” Jared explained. “Usually some kind of defensive construct. Anti-scrying magic is a ward, for example. I think this place is warded pretty hard.”

  “Can we get in?” Jessa asked.

  “Probably,” Jared said. “But we’ll alert Ferric as soon as we try. That’ll give him plenty of time to get away.”

  “So we’re stuck waiting,” Cassie said.

  “We’re stuck waiting,” Jared confirmed.

  “Great.” She grinned. “Stakeout time.”

  Jared sighed, but he didn’t argue.

  At least there wouldn’t be any action for a while. He reached into the glove compartment, took out the grimoire he stashed there, and got to studying.

  37

  Stakeouts were boring. There was no getting around it. They sat in the car, stared at an empty spot in space, and waited for something to happen.

  Jared set up a rotation. There was always two of them in the car at all times, but one person would get a couple hours break.

  They went through a few rotations like that. When it was Jared’s turn to go on break, he found a local dive spot to grab some food. He sat out on the curb and ate before reading over his grimoire. He drew looks from locals but that didn’t matter. People around here kept to themselves for the most part, and so long as he didn’t bother anyone, they probably wouldn’t bother him.

  When he was done eating, he took out his phone and called Wyatt during his walk back to the car.

  “Been wondering when you’d call,” he said.

  “Busy day over here, Captain.”

  “What’s the update?”

  Jared filled him in, starting from the missing house, and ending with their surveillance.

  “Good work,” he said. “Did you call your handler yet?”

  “You mean the Magi?” Jared snorted. “Not yet.”

  “Call her,” he said.

  “I wanted to check in with you first, sir. I think we need another car.”

  “I can arrange that. Text me the address, I’ll have one brought over.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “And call the Magi. I’m not in charge of this operation anymore, son.”

  Jared’s jaw tensed. He hated hearing his boss say that, but they both knew it was true. “I’ll call her now.”

  “Good.” He sighed. “This isn’t how I wanted things to go. But you’re doing good work.”

  “Thanks, Captain.”

  “Good luck. I’ll send the car now.”

  He hung up. Jared kept walking, hesitating, but called Lumi’s number. She picked up instantly. “Yes?”

  “Lumi, this is Jared Bechtel,” he said.

  “Hello, Jared.”

  “I have an update on the case.”

  “I hope so. Otherwise, it would be strange to call me just to chat.”

  He grimaced, then gave her the same rundown he just gave Wyatt.

  “Interesting,” she said. “That sounds like very good ward work.”

  “I didn’t get a close look, but it felt indistinguishable from actual Magi warding.”

  “Which means he’s getting better, Marshal.”

  Jared took a breath. “That was my thought.”

  “Do you need back up?”

  “I might,” he admitted. “We’re surveilling the spot now, but when we move to take him, it might be better if I had an entire squad here.”

  “I can arrange something.”

  Jared had a thought, and before he could stop himself, he blurted it out. “Lumi, what do you plan on doing with this glove when we retrieve it?”

  She was quiet for a long moment. He knew he’d just overstepped his bounds, but he couldn’t help himself.

  This artifact was powerful. It allowed Metas to use priori just like a human did, but apparently without needing memgrams to form and shape the magic. If a human got a hold of the glove, Jared had no clue what kind of power they could unlock.

  “I plan on destroying it,” she said at last. “That, or dropping it down into the deepest, darkest hole I can find. That thing upsets the natural balance of this world and it can’t be allowed to exist.”

  He felt oddly relieved. Two different forces were pulling at the threads of this whole thing, and he knew they stood in opposition. On the one hand, there was the desire for power all Magi felt. If Lumi wanted to keep the glove for herself, she might become one of the strongest Magi in the world. But on the other hand, there was every Magi’s inherent snobbery. The glove threatened Magi superiority simply by existing, and therefore couldn’t be allowed to exist.

  Fortunately, her ingrained prejudice seemed to win out over her desire for more power, but he’d have to keep a close eye on that if he could.

  Because she was right. The glove threatened this world. Maybe he didn’t think about it in terms of the natural balance, but it concentrated too much power into one individual. It needed to be destroyed.

  “Good,” he said after a short delay. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

  “Don’t worry, Jared Bechtel. I’m not so foolish as to think that glove is anything but trouble. Do your job and keep your eyes on that building. Call with anything you need.”

  She hung up without another word. Jared suspected he’d pissed her off, but didn’t much care about that.

  He slipped his phone into his pocket and headed back to the car. He found the girls sitting in the back together, Jessalene leaning against Cassie’s shoulder, while Cassie flipped through a magazine.

  “Hello ladies,” he said.

  “Hi darling.” Cassie smiled up at him. “Have fun?”

  “Not even a little. Found a decent spot for food though.”

  “O
h, really?” She perked up. “I’m on break, right?”

  “Yep,” he said and gave her some money. “It’s a couple blocks that way. You’ll see the signs.

  She nodded, gave Jessalene her magazine, and got out. She kissed Jared on the cheek, stretched, then hurried off.

  He got in the back seat with Jessalene. She smiled at him, almost a little shy, but then leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “How’s it going?” he asked.

  “Boring,” she said. “No movement. Barely any movement in the whole neighborhood.”

  “Hm,” Jared said. “I kind of thought this would be a little bit busier. Since the houses are all decent. I’m sure people live here.”

  “That’s what I thought too, but nothing much so far.” She sighed. “I don’t know why Cassie was excited to do this.”

  “Because it looks cool in movies.”

  “It’s not cool. It’s very not cool.”

  “No, it’s really not. Most of this job isn’t cool.”

  She sighed and closed her eyes. “Sometimes I wish this never happened to me.”

  “That’s pretty reasonable.”

  “I was going to train for a leadership role in the clan. Did you know that?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t. But you’d be perfect for that.”

  “Yeah, well, after this, there’s no way it’s going to happen.”

  “After this?” He frowned. “You’re catching Ferric. You’re solving the clan’s problem.”

  “No,” she said. “I’m removing one minor problem. But the real issue remains.

  It took Jared a moment to realize she meant the Medlar buying their land.

  “Something’s been bugging me about that,” he said.

  “Yeah? You mean, the whole thing is bizarre?”

  “Pretty much. But the Elf in particular.”

  “Ah,” she said and sighed. “I know, it’s weird. He kept the clan’s land legally safe for so long and then just… disappeared.”

  “That’s not like an Elf, is it? I mean, from what I understand, they’re pretty solitary and don’t like change much. Which I guess is tough when you’re immortal.”

  “Nobody knows what happened to him,” she said. “One day, his cabin was just empty… and a week later, the Medlar began moving in on our territory. They had all these legal claims and paperwork, all of it allegedly signed by him.”

  “What would motivate him to start selling?”

  “I really don’t know.” She hesitated. “I don’t think he did.”

  Jared let that one hang in the air for a moment. He knew what she meant. It wasn’t exactly unheard of for a Magi family to do something drastic and horrible just to get what they want.

  “Then there’s the way your council’s been handling this,” he said. “They seem to realize Ferric is a genuine threat… but they don’t seem interested in stopping him.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, no kidding. They pretty much want him to succeed. I think they figure, either he can stop the Medlar himself, or he’ll fail and they’ll still be in the same position.”

  “Don’t they see it’ll reflect poorly on them?”

  “They’re desperate,” she said, shaking her head. “Desperate people do stupid things. Even Dryads.”

  “I want to help your clan, Jessalene,” he said. “Even when this is all over and Ferric’s not a threat anymore. I want to help you.”

  She frowned at him. “You don’t have to,” she said. “I mean, you’re a Marshal. That’s not really your job.”

  “I know that. But still… there has to be a way for us to find that Elf. If we can find him, we can figure out how the Medlar are using him to get your land.”

  “That’d be nice,” she said with a sigh. “But Ferric first. Then we can worry about everything else.”

  Jared watched her for a long moment. He studied her face, so stressed and tired, but still beautiful. Without thinking, he shifted toward her and reached out. She turned to him, tilting her head, surprise on her face. He touched her cheek then kissed her, soft at first, before sliding his hand back into her thick dark hair and grabbing it tight. He kissed her harder and she returned that kiss with hunger. God, she tasted good, and her aura lashed at his skin, bare feet in snow.

  He broke the kiss off and she stared at him, breathing deep. “What was that for?”

  “I want to release you from the pact,” he said.

  She blinked and didn’t answer for a long moment. “Is that a good idea?” she asked.

  “I trust you. Cassie trusts you. There’s no need for it anymore.”

  “Still.” She frowned. “We should keep it. At least until this is over. I just…I want to make sure I’m doing everything I possibly can. And this pact makes sure of that.”

  He tightened his grip on her hair and kissed her again. When he broke the kiss off, he leaned his lips closer to hear ear.

  “Jessalene Dorvahn, I release you from our pact.”

  He whispered the words, soft and gentle.

  Nothing happened. He released her hair and sat back in his seat. She blinked at him then frowned.

  “I don’t feel different,” she said. “Did you just do it?”

  “I did,” he said, nodding. “Try lying to me about Ferric.”

  “Ferric is a gentleman and very kind.” She laughed. “Oh wow, okay. I guess I can lie now.”

  “Jessa, you don’t need the pact to make you work hard. And I don’t want to force you into anything.”

  “If this is about the bonding—” she started, but Jared shook his head.

  “It’s not just about that. It’s about the way I’m starting to feel about you, too. I just couldn’t live with myself if I felt like I had coerced you into something you didn’t want to do.”

  She smiled and tilted her head. “Thank you,” she said.

  “Sure.” He grinned at her. “Still want to hang around?”

  “Now more than ever,” she said.

  “Good. Cassie is going to be really happy when we tell her.”

  “She said you’d do this.” Jessalene smiled and stared out the window.

  “Really?”

  “Yep. Told me last night. She said you’d drop the pact sooner or later, she just didn’t know when.”

  Jared laughed. That girl knew him better than he realized. He had no clue how she was figuring him out so fast, but he wondered if it had something to do with that whole fated mates thing she talked about. He decided that it didn’t matter either way, it just felt good to have someone on his side.

  “I guess we both need to listen to Cassie more often,” he said.

  She laughed. “No, just you still.”

  Jared grinned and watched the empty space.

  38

  They spent the entire day and night in that car. At night, they did longer shifts of five hours each while the other two slept back at Jared’s apartment. He took first shift, which sucked, but afterward he got to sleep for a few hours. When he got up, he headed right back to the car with coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

  Cassie was alone but awake. She had a magazine open on her knees and the car seat dropped most of the way back. “Morning,” Jared said, slipping into the seat beside her. He gave her a coffee and the sandwich, which she took happily.

  “Starving,” she said, tearing into it.

  “Have you left the car at all?” he asked.

  “Not for a second.”

  “And any movement?”

  “Not a peep.”

  “Damn,” he said, shaking his head. “Maybe he’s not in there. I mean, he can’t stay inside forever.”

  “It’s only been a day. Sooner or later, he’ll come out, and we’ll make a move.”

  “We should talk about that. What’s the plan?”

  She shrugged. “I thought you had one.”

  “My plan was to sit here and make sure he’s in there, then call for backup. But if you’re talking about snatching him off the street…” He trailed
off, frowning at her.

  “Oh, huh. I guess we were doing this ourselves.”

  He sighed. “We’re part of a police force, Cassie. There are rules… normally at least. This is a weird exception.”

  “Okay, understood. So we’re not going to burn down that row home to smoke him out.”

  “What? Absolutely not, no way.” He stared at her. “You’re joking, right? That could take the whole block with it.”

  She grinned at him. “I’m joking.”

  He sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head. When he opened them again, she wasn’t smiling anymore.

  “Jared,” she said, nodding out the window.

  He followed her gaze. Standing twenty feet away at the corner was Lumi. She frowned at them and made a gesture Jared couldn’t read. She was dressed in her dark pants, dark jacket, and white shirt again, looking very professional and put together.

  “That’s not good,” he said.

  “What’s she doing here?”

  “I’m not sure.” He pushed open the door. “Call Jessalene and wake her up.”

  “All right.”

  He walked over and joined Lumi at the corner. The Magi was smaller than him, petite almost. She tilted her head up in his direction and gave him a frown. “Hello, Jared.”

  “Lumi.”

  “I’m here for your report.”

  He laughed. “You came all the way out here an hour after dawn just for a report? You could’ve called.”

  “I’m aware of that.” She frowned at him. “Report, Marshal.”

  He nodded, reminding himself that she was not just some small, pretty girl. She was a powerful Magi and, for the moment, his boss.

  “We’re certain he’s holed up inside of a house that’s currently warded,” he said, nodding toward the empty space.

  “Yes, I see that,” she said. “I can feel the wards. I suspect he’s inside as well.”

  “You can feel them?” He tensed, then shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. He hasn’t come out since we started surveillance yesterday.”

  “What’s your plan, Marshal?”

  “We wait him out. He’ll have to emerge, eventually. I’d love some backup for this stakeout, but we can do it on our own if we have to, it’ll just be hard. Warm bodies would be appreciated.”