“Indeed, and confirmed my suspicions about the Night Warden.”
“I could’ve informed you he was insane without blowing the place up.”
He waved my words away. “His greatest weakness is his greatest strength.”
“If you say, with great power comes—” I started.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said with a scowl. “That’s not it.”
“What is it then? Stubbornness?”
“He cares. He cares about those who have no voice. He’ll go out of his way, even at great personal risk, to help someone else if he feels they are vulnerable. It’s quite admirable.”
“And bloody stupid. He almost got himself killed. Worse, he trusted me when he had no reason to do so. That’s naive at best and suicidal at worst.”
“The Widows are in play,” Honor said, looking at the cases across from his desk.
“Are you sure? Because if that’s true it means—”
“Tigris, yes, I know,” he said with a sigh. “They are never too far away.”
The Black Widows were a group of assassins that disappeared around the same time Delilah left Division 13. The Widows had only worked with Delilah prior to her leaving, and if they were active now it meant Tigris was involved in this somehow, or gearing up to wreak havoc.
“That’s all kinds of bad,” I said. “Tigris showing their hand will make this even more complicated. Can you have your people keep the Widows busy?”
“For a short time, yes. If Delilah gets involved it will make it hard to contain.”
Delilah being hard to contain was the understatement of the century. She was a force of nature and death. She had been a Division 13 Operative from the beginning. When things got terminal and needed a final solution, she was the one Director Sauveur called. We nicknamed her Azrael, but never to her face or within earshot. Anyone who called her the ‘Angel of Death’ usually met a swift end.
The only person that could deal effectively with Delilah was Luca, and we weren’t exactly talking these days.
“This means I have a small window to find the summoner of the Magekiller.”
“And getting smaller by the moment. Does Grey still think you hung him out to dry?”
“Let’s just say he isn’t a fan right now.”
“It will only get worse later.”
“Can’t be helped right now,” I said.
“The summoner is the priority. You can brush Grey off in the short term.”
I nodded. “I’ll give him the callous operative ‘everyone is a resource and you have no clue about the bigger picture’ speech. Should keep him away from the major threats until we deal with this.”
“Are you certain?” Honor asked. “The summoner is as much a threat as the creature.”
“Right now Grey’s focused on the Tenebrous, which is where his focus should be. He sees that as the major threat. Once it’s dealt with, he’ll move on to the Redrum situation. By then we’ll have the location of the summoner.”
“I don’t want him caught up in this, Ronin,” Honor warned. “He’s not ready to face this mage.”
“He’ll be fine,” I answered. “Between the psycho sword he uses, his cipher sidekick, and that batshit crazy lizard mage, no one is going to touch him. Did you call off the Light Council?”
“I did. He has a proximity ban, but that’s mostly to keep the hardliners appeased. No one will move against him or his.”
“Was it a good idea to reveal the Light Council to him?”
“There was no choice,” Honor replied. “He actually brought the book.”
“I’m just saying…they are a touchy bunch about remaining in the shadows.”
“With good reason. We almost caused a civil war.”
“We? You mean you.”
“Semantics. I meant we. Did you know Aria was contacted?”
“I figured. It was a necessary risk, although having the Wordweavers involved would’ve complicated things.”
“Why go through all that trouble?” I asked. “It’s just one Night Warden.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he said. “It’s a Night Warden who wields an ancient artifact, accompanied by a cipher, and an incredibly powerful mage. All of whom, are willing to sacrifice their lives to keep this city safe.”
“An artifact that happens to be an ancient, psychopathic, bloodthirsty weapon,” I said. “You know, just in case we forgot. I’m not seeing the point.”
“You’re trained not to. D13 is a callous organization. It’s immense, and sees its operatives as expendable assets.”
He was right. Division 13 operated under the umbrella of plausible deniability and disavowal. If you were apprehended in a mission, they cut you loose and burned you. From that moment forward—you didn’t exist.
“True,” I said. “They can’t risk being seen as complicit. Or being seen…period.”
“The difference is the that Night Wardens valued all of their members.”
“Didn’t help them much. How many of them are left?”
“More than you would imagine. They are adept at remaining beneath the radar.”
“Nice group. They left Grey and his crew to take all of the heat while they stay in the shadows?”
“It’s a necessary defense at the moment,” Honor said. “Do you remember the Purge?”
“I do. I can tell you, having your own people abandon you doesn’t engender warm feelings of cooperation.”
“Are we talking about Grey…or you?”
“The Night Warden,” I said, a little more brusquely than I intended. “I chose to step away from D13, remember?”
“I heard you were declared rogue by the Director not too long ago,” Honor answered. “Is this true?”
“Partially,” I said. “They needed to make it seem like I left to give me room to maneuver. Unofficially, I still work with D13.”
“Does anyone else in D13 know about this unofficial classification of yours?”
“Only the Director and Luca.”
“Everyone else believes you’ve gone rogue?”
I nodded. “Had to be that way to eliminate any doubt and attract my target.”
“Tigris?”
“Among others, yes.”
“Won’t that complicate your life, if all of D13 thinks you’ve gone rogue?”
“Somewhat. I’ll just need to avoid D13, that’s all.”
He nodded. “Tell me about the Archive defenses,” he said, leaning back, and steepling his fingers. “How bad is it?”
“The cipher made it through, but she was sloppy. Someone kindly tripped your defenses on her behalf, thinking she got through unseen.”
“Who?”
“The Hound,” I said. “Now, how he got through the defenses like they were Swiss cheese is another matter. He and his boss, if they get involved—”
“Then we have much larger issues at stake, but contingencies are in place to deal with the threat they may pose.”
“You have contingencies for dealing with a god and his second?”
“The book concerns me,” he said, ignoring my question. “The fact that it made it through the defenses undetected is troubling.”
“The book troubles you? Not the fact that Hades may get involved—you’re concerned about how the book got through.”
“Did you injure your head tonight? I thought I said I had contingencies in place?”
“You did. I assumed the god of the Underworld would pose more of a threat than a rune-covered book.”
“It’s not the specific book, but rather the fact that it didn’t set off the failsafes until it was almost too late,” Honor answered. “Hades is a known quantity. The book is not.”
I nodded. “For a second, I thought you actually got a copy of Ziller’s treatise.”
“We actually do have one of the originals, and no, you can’t see it. I don’t understand how the fake copy got through. The runes contained within should have set off every defensive rune in the Archive.”
“Well, now you know the answer to the question: How do you kill an archivist?”
“With a book, evidently,” he replied, shaking his head. “If I had let my guard down, I would be dead. Apparently the explosion was magnified in here.”
“If that book can get through, then the Archive is vulnerable,” I said. “Increase the defenses until it isn’t. I still need to make some visits.”
“Ellis Island?”
“Send the Light Council there, let them tear the place apart. They’ll find what they need to find.”
“Nothing lethal, I trust,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me. “They are still my people.”
“Nothing lethal. Once they get past the dampeners on the island they’ll find enough to keep them busy.”
“Will it obstruct the rest of your plan?”
“No, it’ll keep them out of play along with anyone keeping tabs on them.”
“Where will you be?”
“Dead homeless, some of them mages, are filling the streets. Something is going after them.”
“We know that,” Honor said. “What we don’t know is why.”
“The Tenebrous didn’t get here on its own. Those things don’t just wander into a city. They are summoned.”
“The mages of the Light Council can’t locate the summoner. I can reach out to the Dark Council, but that will cause—ripples.”
“No,” I said. “The Tenebrous will keep the Warden busy while I source the Redrum X and get Tigris to look in the wrong direction—if only for a short while.”
“Who do you need to visit?”
“Fordey,” I said, letting the name hang in the air. “They would know about the casting needed to create the new strain of Redrum, and who is powerful enough to call up a Tenebrous.”
“You think they’re connected?”
“Everything is connected,” I said after a pause. “You taught me that.”
He nodded. “I’m sure there are other resources besides them,” Honor said. “Are you sure you want to do this? Fordey isn’t exactly safe for non-magic-users.”
“It’s not safe for magic-users either,” I answered. “I’ll use my least threatening voice.”
“This isn’t a game,” Honor said, serious. “If TK or LD feel you’re a potential threat, withholding pertinent information, or engaging in subterfuge, they will erase you without a second thought. And that will be the last chapter of your story—the end.”
“We’re going to need the Ten later,” I said, standing. “May as well rip the bandaid off all at once.”
“Except this bandaid can kill you if you rip it the wrong way,” Honor said. “Maybe you should contact Dex.”
“Not yet,” I said, shaking my head. “Besides reaching out to him can bring in the other two prematurely. We need to Kasparov this situation and look several moves ahead. They would introduce too much chaos—last thing we need right now.”
“Your target has to be a dark mage or sorcerer of immense power. Either one will be dangerous.”
“I got this,” I said. “I’ve faced dangerous opponents before.”
“Your performance this evening with the ogre doesn’t inspire confidence.”
“The hybrid threw me off. I’ll be expecting them now.”
“There are more like it, worse things, deadly things. You need help.”
“I’ll be careful, and I’m getting help. Right after Fordey.”
“Who? Luca won’t even answer your calls. You have anyone else who is insane enough to join you in this plan of yours—besides myself?”
I remained silent, and looked at him for a few seconds.
“Once I explain things to her—”
He shook his head slowly. “You’re a dead man. You just don’t know it yet. She will never help you. Last time I checked you were rogue. She can’t help you.”
“I’ll convince her, trust me.”
“This is a bad idea, Ronin. I know we’ll need the Ten eventually, but stay away from Luca and Division 13.”
“Division 13, yes. Luca? Can’t do. You know that.”
“She will kill you.”
“Chance I have to take,” I said. “Besides, she’s not the one I need.”
“Seeing her is a risk you want to take—big difference.”
“Either way, I have to see her right after I get back from Fordey.”
“Send my regards to TK and LD.”
“Have you pissed them off lately?” I asked. “Meaning in the last hundred years?”
“Not to my recollection, no.”
“Will do, then.”
“Any particular flowers for your imminent funeral?”
I let the question go unanswered as I left.
SEVEN
Fordey Boutique was not a normal boutique.
Once I decided to go it alone, the external protocols on my brace had been deactivated. That meant I couldn’t use the normal functions. Fortunately, I had a contact, who knew someone named the Hack. He was a known acquaintance of Reese, and an accomplished technician. The Hack was able to reactivate many of the protocols on my brace without alerting D13 security.
More importantly, he managed to keep my external nav protocols shut down. I was effectively invisible to the D13 HQ satellites. With my techbrace active, I could locate the next entrance to Fordey. The Boutique was similar to the Moving Market, in that the entrance never remained in one place for long.
“Cait, can you extrapolate the next two entrances to Fordey in sequence?” I asked as I headed over to the coffee shop. I needed fuel, and Deathwish was high-octane rocket java.
“Calculating,” Cait answered in a sultry voice. “Please allow for data extrapolation.”
“That brace sounds obscene,” Rahbi said, pouring me a large cup of liquid black energy in aromatic coffee form. “You should get her reprogrammed.”
I took a long sip from the steaming coffee. “This Deathwish is what’s obscene,” I said with a groan of pleasure. “Do you think you could make it in tablet form? To go?”
“You need help,” she said, and produced a small, silver, Zero Haliburton attaché case. She pushed it across the counter to me. “Here’s the case you requested. Get help. I may not be there next time to save your ass.”
“You didn’t save it this time,” I lied. “I told you, the situation was completely—”
“FUBAR,” she finished. “And you know it. I’m serious, Ronin. You need at least another pair of eyes to watch your six or we’re going to bury you before this is all over.”
“I’m working on it, but I have one stop to make first.”
“Luca won’t even answer your calls.”
“I know other operatives other than Luca.”
“That will work with you?”
“Yes, even if it’s under duress.”
“I didn’t realize Division 13 had a kamikaze branch,” she said, shaking her head. “Maybe I should just shoot you now and save everyone the trouble?”
I ignored her and opened the case.
After the last incident, I learned from Reese, who had placed geo caches all over the city. I started doing the same thing with ghostcases. Ghostcases were the Division 13 equivalent of go bags. They usually contained cash, passports, credit cards, weapons, and extra ammo.
Every operative kept one; I had planted more than twenty so far. All of them were prepared by Honor with defensive runes to prevent tampering and discovery. This one was special. My Archive case was outfitted with medkits, various forms of currency, and most important, my backup gun. I opened my jacket, and holstered my new Thorn, a M&P 9 Shield M2.0 modified to hold ten rounds of negation ammunition.
I grabbed the runed rounds for the S&W SD9 backup and extra negation magazines for Thorn. When I checked them, black wisps of energy drifted up into my face. Next to those were a few magazines of ND6s, neural disruptors designed for non-fatal take downs and were standard issue for operatives working in sensitive, high-profile areas.
I
had a feeling I’d be relying heavily on the negation rounds. I closed the case.
“Where did you leave the Duster?”
She pointed to the side door. “Right outside. Where is this one stop you have to make?”
“Fordey. TK specifically.”
“Oh, so you have grown tired of breathing,” Rahbi answered. “What would you like me to inform Luca about your demise? He was a good man, but clueless right up to the end?”
“TK isn’t going to kill me.”
“I wonder how many idiots uttered that same sentence before being erased by her?”
“You said get help.”
“I said get help,” Rahbi replied with a sigh. “Not the nuclear option. You get her, or the Ten, involved in any of this, and things better be apocalyptic.”
“I’m trying to prevent that scenario.”
“Not seeing how this counts as prevention. Why not call the destructive duo and their hellhound? The creature is cute…I mean for an infernal canine. What’s his name again? Pouches? Poochy?”
“Peaches,” I answered, against my better judgment. “How is that name remotely menacing? It’s a hellhound, not a toy poodle. Who names a hellhound Peaches?
“Apparently they do,” Rahbi said. “They may be destructive, but I hear you’re safe as long as you aren’t a building. Call them.”
“No, I need to do this low-key,” I said, shaking my head. “Last time I checked, blowing up the city doesn’t exactly say—subtle. Those two are usually a storm of chaos wherever they go.”
“Who then?”
“I have an operative in mind,” I said. “Jude, my last trainee before I went on hiatus.”
“Rogue, you mean,” she said. “Trainee? That bodes well. Can you trust him?”
“Of course I can trust him. He was handpicked by Luca and yours truly.”
“If he’s semi-competent he’ll try to bring you in,” Rahbi warned. “Remember they all think you’re rogue.”
“Won’t happen.”
“Because?” Rahbi asked, raising an eyebrow. “Does he know you’re only semi-rogue?”
“I trained him,” I said, heading for the side exit. “He’ll listen to me. By now he has to be one of the best.”
“At what?” Rahbi asked. “Getting his ass kicked? Tonight it’s Hybrid one and ex-D13 operative zero.”
The Magekiller Page 3
