“The Great Ones are trapped in a place between the Veil. They are separated from both sides, and yet, in order for them to be reached, it would have to be a place where the power on the other side of the Veil could be accessed. And that would be difficult.”
“A place like this?” I asked, looking around. The connection to the other side was faint, but the sense of it was still here. It hadn’t changed ever since we had got here. I could tell there was a connection, and yet I didn’t understand the full nature of it. There had to be something here we could understand, an aspect of power we could utilize, but the longer I focused on it, the more I remained uncertain.
“This is different,” Ariel said.
“You can’t deny there is a connection to the other side of the Veil.”
If I could feel it, then others could as well. And the sense of that was potent. It filled me, rolling through me, an awareness of that power and magic. The more I thought about it, the more I was certain it was real. I had no idea what purpose there was for it, other than the fact that it likely powered the shifters in some way. Ariel had told us they had to draw their power from the Great Ones, so if that allowed them to complete their shifting, it would have to be tied to that in order for them to have access to that magic.
“When you cross the Veil, what is it like for you?” I asked.
Ariel growled softly. “Why?”
“I just wonder if your power becomes greater.”
Ariel frowned. “I haven’t been on the other side of the Veil often. When I have been there, the nature of that power is different.”
“Different and powerful?” I felt that was important. The more I could get to the bottom of it, the more I thought I could understand, the more certain I was it would help to know just what power the shifters had. I thought it was important for us to know how much of their power was drawn from the other side. And yet, maybe it didn’t matter. We knew mages had power drawn from the other side of the Veil as well. Not the vampires, at least not as far as we were able to determine. All of that appeared to matter, though I had no idea why, or what it meant.
“It was different.”
“You don’t know if it was more powerful?”
“I don’t know,” Ariel said.
I could tell she was trying to refrain from sharing something, but I didn’t know what it was. Maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe what mattered was that Ariel acknowledge the den was somehow connected to the other side. “There would have to be another place like this,” I said.
“There are the other dens,” Ariel said.
As I paced around the inside the clearing, focusing on the sense of magic, I wondered if that was all there was to it. There would be other dens like this, but would this proximity to the other side be enough? If they were trying to reach across, would they be able to uncover what they needed? I had to think they wouldn’t. If it was about the dens, then Matt could have operated anywhere, and he could have used the power he was able to reach from any place. It meant there was another place he was able to draw from. And if that were the case, we needed to find out where.
Turning back to John Adams, I stared at him. He had answers, though he didn’t want to share them with us. “There’s something more we don’t know,” I said.
“If there is, it’s something I don’t know, either. We have never had any intention of attempting to free the Great Ones, so I had no interest in trying to learn about them.”
I hoped that was the case, and I hoped John Adams was lying about it, but I couldn’t tell. As I looked at him, watching him, I wondered if he were trying to keep something from us that we needed to know. And if he did, was there anything I would be able to do to force him? I doubted I could coerce him into sharing with us. Looking to Barden, then Ariel, I couldn’t help but think we had to divide our attention.
“You need to go and warn the other packs,” I said to Ariel. “They don’t have any time, and it’s possible that even if there is enough time remaining, it might be too late.” And it was more than just rescuing the other packs. It was finding out if they had been attacked, if any entire packs had been destroyed like the attempt on the Iron Range pack, and if they had, then working through them, trying to help force them into shifting in order to save their lives.
“Why do I get the sense you don’t think you need to come with me?” Ariel said.
“I need to better understand what the Shara might do.”
The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that was what I needed to be involved in. It was more than just finding the keys to freeing the Great Ones, it was a matter of understanding just what Matt Gillespie might be doing, and how he might be trying to draw upon power. And as I thought about it, I couldn’t help but think he was going to use something we wouldn’t be able to find quickly or easily. Not without the power of the organization. I was going to need John Adams. Furthermore, I was going to need to trust him.
Barden came over to me. “Why do I get the sense you intend to go off without me?”
“Because I am.”
“We can’t trust him.”
“I don’t know if we can,” I said, agreeing with him.
“And I don’t know if you should do this by yourself.”
“You need to go with Ariel. If you don’t go with her, then she won’t be able to reach the other packs quickly.” And that was what we needed. We needed the speed of him being able to transport, a way of them being able to get to the other packs, to warn them, and if not warn them, then to rescue them.
“You don’t have to go with him,” Barden said.
“I know I don’t have to, but I think I need to.”
“Why you?”
“You need to go and help the shifters. I can’t do that.”
“I could teach you,” Barden said.
“You could teach me, but how long would it take? And even if you could teach me quickly, I’m not sure it would make a difference. Not in the amount of time we have remaining. We need to do this quickly. If we don’t, then we’re going to run out of time.”
“You’re counting on the fact that he isn’t going to betray you.”
“I don’t think he is.”
I watched John Adams, and he’d been silent. I couldn’t read anything about him, and had no idea what he was thinking about all of this, though I had to wonder if he would even be willing to allow me to go with him. It was possible he would refuse, but it appeared to me he must have an incentive in order to let me come along. If it were to help clear his name in some way, to get him separated from the council’s anger, then why wouldn’t he want to help?
“I will accompany her,” Jean-Pierre said.
“You can’t go there,” I said.
Jean-Pierre smiled at me. “I don’t believe that is how the familiar relationship works. Typically the vampire is the one who does the directing.”
“I’m not a typical familiar. Besides, the last time you were within the organization, you were very nearly destroyed.”
“Nearly, but I wasn’t.”
I didn’t like the idea of Jean-Pierre ending up back in the organization, or the possibility he would end up captured – or worse. “You can’t do that,” I said.
“And you can’t share with me what I can do.”
“I could go,” the chauffeur said.
“How is that any better?” I glanced from Jean-Pierre to the chauffeur, and though the chauffeur knew something about runes, and I had a sense that knowledge would be beneficial, I wasn’t sure how it was going to help us a lot when it came to getting through the organization safely.
“I studied with Odian,” he said.
“You keep saying that as if it should matter to me, but you don’t have any magic.”
“And I have told you that you don’t have to have any power in order to have the knowledge,” he said.
I looked at Barden.
“Take them with you,” Barden said. “Do it for me.”
“It might be bett
er if I had Jean-Pierre with me.”
“Maybe,” Barden said, nodding at the chauffeur “but if you’re concerned about something happening to the elder, then at least bring him with you instead.”
I looked at Jean-Pierre. “Would that be acceptable to you?”
“I think it would be.”
“And you won’t be offended I’m not having you come with me?”
“When have you ever known me to be offended?”
I shrugged. “I think you’ve likely been offended far more than you let on.”
“Perhaps,” he said, smiling to himself. “Or perhaps I only let you think I’m offended.”
I shook my head, turning my attention to the chauffeur. “If you’re going to come with us, I need something else to call you.”
“Something else?” He frowned at me, his thin face catching the sunlight.
“Well, I’ve been referring to you as the chauffeur, so I imagine you have a name.”
He smiled at me strangely. “I do have a name.”
“What is it?”
“You may call me Charles.”
“Fine, Charles. Are you ready to go?”
“I don’t think it will be wise for me to arrange the transport back to the organization,” John Adams said. “If I do so, I would be weakened, especially bringing all of you with me.”
“I’m not asking you to transport us.”
He cocked a brow at me. “You think you’re strong enough to do this?”
I held out a coin, and shrugged. “I can transport us there. Besides, I have been there a time or two.”
Barden turned toward me, and the concern written on his face was almost enough for me to change my mind, but this needed to happen. I knew it needed to happen, and I knew we needed to accomplish what we were doing. Despite his misgivings, I recognized the importance of this.
“Go and help the rest of the packs. As long as you can save the alphas, you do so. We will find the location of where the Shara plan this.”
“And if you don’t?”
“If we don’t, then we will return to your warehouse.”
“Not the warehouse. Go back to your condo.”
“Why?”
“Because I believe the protections there are a little stronger than the ones on the warehouse.”
“Why are they stronger? Why wouldn’t you protect your warehouse as much as you can?”
“I’ve done everything I can to protect the warehouse, but there is a difference between that building and yours. In the case of the warehouse, there are others who must come and go, and the passing changes the nature of magic there. In the case of your home, it is only a select few who ever visit.”
And fewer still, these days. I nodded. “What happens when we manage to find what we need?”
“Then you call me.”
“I’ve tried calling you before. It doesn’t always work.”
“I will answer,” he said.
“You promise? Or is this another one of those times when you tell me you’re going to answer, but then you ignore my calls?”
“I didn’t know it bothered you.”
“Well, considering how I have only called when I really needed your help, it isn’t so much a bother as it is distressing to me.”
“I will answer,” he said.
He took a step toward me, and slipped something in my hand. It took me a moment to realize what it was. It was a small wand. The runes along the side were strangely shaped, and I looked up at him. “I can’t take this. I can’t use anything if it’s going to draw off your power.”
“And I can’t allow you to go if you aren’t protected.”
“Barden –“
“Dr. Stone, this isn’t negotiable. Besides, it’s isn’t going to draw off power from me.”
“I don’t know if that’s any better or not. If it’s going to tap power from your minions, then I don’t want to do that, either.”
“Minions?”
“Employees. Whatever you want to call them.”
“I think employees is reasonable. Regardless, there are dozens upon dozens who have lent themselves to this creation.”
That meant I wouldn’t be pulling power from any one person. I studied the wand, rolling it in my hand. “And you’re only giving it to me now?”
“I promised them it would only be for great emergencies. This seems to me a great emergency.”
“I thought an attack by the shifters was a great emergency.”
“I didn’t know you were under an attack by the shifters.”
“Thank you,” I said, taking the wand and putting it in my pocket. There was another one I wished I had, which would be far more powerful, but I didn’t think it would be safe for me to try to use it. Kate had warned me against it, and for now, I was going to have to be content using the wand Barden was willing to lend me. And with so many different mages involved in its creation, it would be far more powerful than just a wand drawing from Barden’s strength. Because of that, I had to believe it would be useful. All I had to do was find a way to maintain the strength within the wand, and if I could do so, then I could draw upon the power I needed. At least this time, I wasn’t going to have to draw only from Jean-Pierre, though as I watched him, I couldn’t help but think he had no problem with me drawing upon his power. When he left us, he was likely going to feed too. I tried to push those thoughts away, trying not to think about how it troubled me, but it was difficult not to know just what he was going to do.
“Be safe,” Barden said.
“I would say the same to you.”
“I am going with a powerful alpha shifter. I think I will be more than safe.”
Flashing a smile, I nodded to John Adams. “And I’m going with a powerful operative of the organization. I guess that makes us both equally safe.”
Barden forced a smile, and I could tell there was pain behind his eyes, fear for me. But, thankfully, Barden wasn’t going to argue with me, and he wasn’t going to object to my doing this.
I turned to John Adams and to the chauffeur, Charles, and I held out my hands. I squeezed one of the transport coins, readying the power within it. When the other two approached, I squeezed onto that power, holding it tightly to be prepared for the need to use it.
“Are you sure you can find it?” John asked.
“I hope so,” I said.
“It’s not an easy place to find.”
“I’m guessing it’s intentionally that way.”
“Most intentionally,” he said.
“Then don’t distract me.”
I focused, closing my eyes, thinking about the location of the organization, the way it looked, and the power I had felt when I was there. I had visited it twice before, and though I had only been there using a transport spell, I had to believe there was a way for me to find it again. As far as I knew, it wasn’t a matter of knowing how to get there, as it was simply knowing the place.
I fixed it in my mind, thinking about the various places within the organization we could travel to, and I debated where to go. John Adams’s office was the most logical, but as far as I knew, the spells around it would prevent us from reaching it. That meant I was going have to go someplace else, someplace which would be more risky, but if I didn’t do that, then it was unlikely I would be able to reach where we wanted to go.
And so, as I focused, as I squeezed my eyes, as I held onto the transport coin, I triggered it. With a squeezing sensation which rolled through me that I pushed against, drawing in John Adams and Charles, I transported us.
When I opened my eyes, we were within the lobby of the organization.
And a dozen operatives surrounded us.
14
I dropped a barrier coin, letting it surround me, and pushed through it, sending power surging. I had to work quickly, and I focused, sending more and more power through the barrier, trying to hold onto it in order to prevent the operatives from reaching us, from attacking, and yet, I wasn’t sure if I had worked fast
enough. They were already approaching, and encircled us.
“What is this?” I asked John Adams.
“This is a typical response to an incursion,” he replied.
“How would they have known we were coming?”
“They wouldn’t have known. They would’ve detected it.”
“How?”
Power built from John Adams, flowing around him, and he looked everywhere. “It is the nature of this place. We have designed it to ensure anyone who is coming here can be identified the moment they cross.”
As he looked around the faces of the operatives, I couldn’t help but think their response was far faster than I would have expected. How would they have known we were here? The fact that they had responded so quickly was surprising, but then again, this was the organization, these were people who had trained in order to handle those with considerable magic.
And as I often did, I couldn’t help but think of what I had experienced when it came down to watching Matt face off against Jean-Pierre. A hedge mage should not have been able to handle himself with such skill against someone as powerful as a vampire elder, and yet Matt had nearly overwhelmed him. And Jean-Pierre had been defeated by John Adams. Then again, John Adams was a full-fledged mage, and with the power he had, it wasn’t surprising he would have been able to do so.
“I am holding a barrier, but I don’t know how I will be able to withstand them,” I told him.
“You could have transported us to my office,” John said.
“I thought I was told there were protections around your office to prevent such a thing.”
“There would have been protections, but then you would’ve been transporting me too, so the protections wouldn’t have prevented you from crossing over with me.”
I swore under my breath. I should have thought about that before. Then again, I should have just asked John where we should appear. But regardless, it might not matter. If they were aware of an incursion the moment we set foot inside the boundary of the organization, it was equally likely they would have reacted the same way.
Instead, I focused on the sense of power. I reached for another barrier coin, pushing it around us, letting the power surge outward from me. As it flowed outward, I sent even more power through it.
End Stage Page 14
