Ascendancy Origins Trilogy

by Bradford Bates

  “You might want to grab your armor before we head out?”

  Sarah didn’t even look up as she munched on the last piece of bacon. “I’m kind of partial to what I have on. You don’t like it?”

  Oh man. It was another one of those trap questions. I had already failed at the first one that I had been dealt today. I hoped this one went better. “I love what you have on, but I’d feel more comfortable knowing that you are safe.” That sounded good, how could you argue with that kind of logic? She looked at me for a moment and then rolled her eyes. I guess I hadn’t gotten that answer quite as right as I thought I had.

  “I already have my new armor on. While you have been busy training I have been spending some of my extra time with Deacon. He actually created this lighter armor out of cloth. It can even stop bullets.”

  “I don’t believe it, even Deacon isn’t that good.”

  “Trust me, I let him shoot me last week, and outside of a little bruising I was fine.”

  “Wait. Did you just say you let Deacon shoot you?”

  “Well one of us had to wear the armor to test it. It just made sense for me to do it, I heal faster.”

  “I have two things to say. Please don’t let Deacon shoot you anymore, and did you have something made for me?”

  She stood up and walked into the bedroom and I followed her, my sense of excitement building with every step. I loved getting presents, especially when it wasn’t my birthday or Christmas. She reached into the closet and pulled out a white undershirt and a set of some very lightweight leggings. The leggings were long enough to cover the major arteries in my thighs and stopped just above the knee.

  She tossed them to me while saying, “It was going to be a surprise, but since you already know about it, you might as well wear them today.”

  “Have I told you how much I love you yet today?”

  “I don’t seem to recall that.”

  “Well I do!”

  I rubbed the fabric between my fingers, it felt just like the undershirt I already had on. If it could actually stop a bullet I would be more than impressed. I wondered if it could turn a blade. “So does this work against knives and swords as well?”

  “It won’t stop a full thrust from a sword at close range, but it will turn an off-center hit without ripping. Deacon is a genius. I had been thinking, as summer was coming up, I couldn’t send the pack out in that metal body armor. Without their coats to cover it they would draw too much attention. Now it’s something we don’t have to worry about.”

  “I was wondering if there would be a way for us to put an illusion on the old armor, but this is just so much better. What you and Deacon have come up with here is game changing. The fact that it works for the Gifted and the Lycans together is even better. Does it have the same magical protections as the battle armor?”

  “Almost the exact same.”

  “I’m stunned. Now tell me, does it do anything else?”

  “Well it can be used as a traditional undergarment.”

  “Sarah,” I said with mock exasperation.

  “We are still working on some of the magical protections. They aren’t nearly as strong as the ones woven into the metal but they are more than sufficient for what we do.”

  “If you need help with that let me know.”

  “I’m sure Deacon would love to have someone else to blast with his magic.”

  “Wait, he blasted you with magic as well?”

  She rolled her eyes and walked out of the room.

  I shouted after her, “I’m going to have a talk with Deacon about how he has been treating my lady.” Her gentle laughter was the only response that I received.

  I had already dressed but I was more than happy to strip down so I could try out this new armor. I replaced my boxers with the leggings, and my undershirt with the new one. The material was lighter than what I had on previously. Sarah was right, these were going to be amazing in the summer.

  Bullets had become a real concern for the Gifted. If we didn’t have our magical protections up, we were just as vulnerable to a bullet as any human. It had only happened a few times to unseasoned agents, but it happened enough that it was a valid concern. Keeping our shields up in the field was second nature for most of us, almost as automatic as breathing, but it took time to get used to it and the steady drain on your magic was annoying. Something like what Deacon had created here was going to save a lot of lives.

  It seemed that with every passing year the humans found new ways to get better at killing each other and that meant we had to adapt right along with them. Sarah’s initiative and Deacon’s skills just gave us a leg up on staying in front of that destructive technology. I wondered just how effective it would be against a Demon’s claws. Maybe someday I could get Deacon and Brother Samuel together. I finished getting dressed, thinking about what those two men could accomplish if we could ever get them together.

  Walking into the building, we were greeted by Henry as he leapt up from his desk to embrace Sarah. I wondered if she had been back to see him since our last meeting together with Adam. I knew she still had some resentment for the man, and for the fact that he had asked me to let her die. She felt that even putting me in the position to have to make that choice was wrong. It was nice to see how much Henry had missed her. Knowing him, if Sarah had not been coming around he would have respected her wishes and not sought her out.

  If Sarah hadn’t seen Adam since the attack then this meeting was going to be a lot more awkward than I had imagined. Adam and I had been meeting on a monthly basis so I could update him on Gavin’s and Sarah’s progress. It had never even occurred to me that Sarah had not been having the same meetings with Adam about the state of the pack. When Henry finally released Sarah I pulled him into a warm embrace, seeing how much he cared for Sarah filled me with a sense of pride. I had always thought of Adam and Henry as family, I could see that Henry felt the same way.

  I let go of Henry and as he spoke, “Adam is ready for you. Don’t be a stranger, Sarah.”

  She smiled as she walked into Adam’s office. “I won’t be.”

  We sat down in our normal seats and Adam looked up from his papers as Henry closed the door behind us.

  He looked between us as he said, “John, Sarah. I’m excited to see both of you here.”

  I gave Sarah a quick glance before answering, “Thank you for calling us in, Adam. Have you found Edward?”

  “Not yet, we have all of our field agents out looking for him while carrying out their other duties, but he has been keeping an alarmingly low profile. That is if he is even still in the city. You would think after five months he would have to poke his head out somewhere.”

  Sarah made a little snort. Adam and I both looked at her. “What?” She said, “We don’t have the best track record of being able to shadow people in and out of our city. Let me play devil’s advocate and just say that if he is still here he has someone powerful helping him hide.”

  Adam looked at Sarah as if he wasn’t sure what to say. The words must have been sinking in, slowly. With him not being on the streets it was only fair to assume that someone was helping him stay hidden. Only a few big players in the city could do that without our notice falling on them. One of them was going to be the Warlock that I owed a debt to. If that was the case this could be a problem.

  Adam recovered. “Edward is not why I called you in here today. I asked you both here to look into another matter entirely. As you both know, the underground market for dangerous magical goods has existed here for some time. What you may not know is the market also caters towards other needs including trafficking both human and pretender slaves.”

  This time Sarah leaned forward, her full attention on Adam. “You mean there are people in this city selling slaves?”

  I could tell when he looked up that he was having a hard time meeting her eye. “Yes, and now that we know the full extent of this market I am tasking you with putting an end to it. I have someone working undercover for Eli
jah Cane, but his reports have stopped coming. The only reason I can see for that to happen is he is dead, or he has started working for Cane in earnest. Either way we need to get in touch with him and find out what he knows.”

  Sarah didn’t say anything so I asked what had to be on both of our minds. “Who was your informant?”

  “Mathew Zaget, he was the perfect candidate to send.”

  “Let me get this straight, you sent the most violent and self-centered student we had to work for the most dangerous Warlock in the city?”

  “Well at the time I actually sent him to check out several Warlocks in the city, since then there is only one left alive.”

  “Let me guess, Cane.”

  “You hit the nail on the head.”

  Sarah jumped back in before I could say anything else. “I’m not sure why you would select us for this task, do you really want to put John so close to the man he owes a favor to?”

  Adam and I sat back looking stunned, that question was the furthest thing from my mind, but it made logical sense. I was the wrong person to be hunting for someone that is in touch with Cane. It put me at risk and by extension it put the Ascendancy at risk. I looked up at Adam and his gaze reached mine. I could tell that he had already made the decision before he called us here.

  “I want you two back in the field. John made his choice and now I have made mine. If this Cane character burns this favor, the sooner the better. I do not want this hanging over all of our heads.”

  Sarah made another noise and I could tell she was disgusted with Adam. There were a lot of hard feelings there that wouldn’t be going away anytime soon.

  I reached out and placed my hand on hers, hoping to calm her down. “So we track down Mathew and see if he has any info on the market. Anything else we need to know before we head out?”

  “Yes, there have been several mysterious deaths in the city lately, sudden heart failures. They have been affecting the pretenders and humans alike. All of them seem to benefit Cane in some way. I want you to find out if this ties into Mathew or the market in anyway. That is all I have for you. I look forward to reading your report when you are finished.”

  Sarah pulled her hand out from mine and left the office. I was still sitting there looking at the open door when Adam spoke, “John, I know I have no right to ask, but is everything ok with Sarah? She seems more distant and angry than I have seen her since she joined the Ascendancy.”

  “There is nothing to worry about, Adam. She is a passionate woman and she blames you for some of what happened five months ago. It will blow over eventually.”

  “Keep an eye on her.”

  “In fact I will keep two.”

  “Damn it! I’m serious, John! Something could be wrong with her from the potion you gave her. If she leaves us, our alliance with the Lycans here could crumble. We need them. The threat from the Demons is only getting stronger.”

  “Listen, Adam, if you want to know what is happening with Sarah you have to talk to her. Deep down she still likes and respects you. I will not step in between you and my future wife. I can tell you in all honesty that I have no doubt she is still committed to me and our cause. That should be enough.”

  “I shall take you at your word. Get in touch with your contacts and keep me in the loop.”

  Adam tossed a bundle towards me, I caught it and headed out to find Sarah. I gave a quick peek inside of the package as I walked out the door. That was a lot of cash, the information he was asking us to get must not be cheap. There was only one person I could think of to get it for us, a Fae named Greasy Tony. Sarah was already waiting for me in the car. When I got in I tossed her the money and she tucked it away. “Ready to roll?”

  “I guess that depends on who all this money is for?”

  “You know there is only one informant that costs this much.”

  “Ugh, yeah I know.”

  “What, you don’t like Tony?”

  “You mean the fat guy that always tries to pinch my ass and runs that dirty diner on third?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “Then no, I really don’t like Tony.”

  I laughed as we pulled out onto the road. It was just like old times, we had already fallen back into our rhythm. I had missed this more than I cared to admit. Being out in the field, the danger, the thrill of the hunt, this is what got me out of bed in the morning. Yeah, I knew I was making the world safer by keeping the Demons at bay, but sometimes it just felt good to be out kicking some ass instead of just talking about it.

  We pulled up to Greasy Tony’s diner and I missed the normal glow of the neon lights. This might actually be the first time I had ever been there before dark. The steel siding gave the diner a different kind of glow during the day, the place almost looked wholesome. Tony had opened the diner about twenty years ago and catered directly to the pretenders living in the city. The fact that they didn’t serve anything fit for human consumption meant we only came here for one thing, information. Tony ran one of only two restaurants in the city that catered to the particular needs of the pretenders. Since the other establishment was high roller, only Tony served most of their food in the city.

  As we walked towards the door I felt the familiar sense of power the diner gave off. It had been warded against humans, so when they walked by they only saw an old house in keeping with the rest of the block. There was something else that gave this place power, if you believed the rumors the diner had a tether to the Fae realms hidden inside. That would make sense, since Tony was thought to be the most powerful Fae in the city. I wondered if Sarah could feel the power of this place, or if that was beyond her senses as a Lycan.

  I opened the door for Sarah and she walked confidently into the diner. As I entered all the conversations around us seemed to stop at once. Tony looked up from the back corner booth at the silence and waved us over. Greasy Tony was a big man; well he wasn’t really a man but was a huge tree fairy. His skin was the color of bark from the giant redwoods north of the city. You could see some of the green veins poking through as he moved. Most pretenders used a glamour to hide their difference, in this place Tony shed his like a badge of honor.

  He got up from the booth to greet us, his bulk barely able to slide by as it pressed against the table. He motioned for Sarah to come forward and he gave her a hug. I watched Sarah tense for a moment and then the embrace ended and she slid into the booth. I came up and gave Tony a warm welcome. Without his ability to gather information some of our missions would never have gotten off the ground. Not that he helped us for free, but without him we would be much worse off.

  As we broke apart Tony said, “Let’s try and make this quick, you’re scaring my customers.”

  I slapped him on the arm and slid into the booth, giving him a moment to follow before I started talking. “We are looking into some deaths that have taken place in the city.”

  “Listen, I’ve told you before, the only human we serve here is purchased legally, either from the blood banks or the coroner’s office,” he said it loud enough for the entire diner to hear.

  I heard Sarah give a little grunt. We both knew not all of Tony’s deals were on the up and up, but if they were he wouldn’t have the kind of information we were looking for. “Relax, Tony, we aren’t here for you. In fact I even brought you a present.” I took the large envelope Adam had given me out of my coat and placed it on the table. I watched as Tony’s eyes widened at the sight of it. He reached out for it and I gently placed my hand on top of it. “Information first.”

  “Ok so what do you want to know? For that type of dough even if I don’t know now I’ll find out.”

  “Know anything about someone killing people by stopping their hearts?”

  Tony looked around behind us making sure that no one had heard us talking. The worried look didn’t leave his face when he responded. “Listen, this might not be enough money for me to stick my neck out on this one.”

  Sarah smiled at him before looking back at me. “See, I to
ld you so John, Tony wouldn’t have the guts to help us. He just likes to think of himself as a big shot, but really, he just sells food and listens to people gossip.”

  I started to pull the money back towards myself when Tony’s big hand came down on top of mine. I watched him for a moment before I removed my hand and let him take the money. He had better have something good or I was going to come back here with a bunch of my friends and wreck his day.

  “Listen, what you’re asking me to do here doesn’t only affect me. This is some stuff you probably don’t want to get involved with. The people behind this aren’t your average hustlers, these are big time players.”

  “Tony, I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need to know. Trust me when I say that this will never lead back to you.”

  “Fine, the word around here is those deaths can all be traced back to one person, Cane’s assassin. If you double cross him in a deal or he wants to push into your territory he sends this new guy to deal with you. His success rate for resolving these conflicts,” Tony stopped for a moment to run his finger across his throat, “is one hundred percent. If you know what I mean?”

  “So do you really think this one guy is responsible for all of these deaths?”

  “I don’t think, I know, and those are just the ones that get reported. Listen, this is a bad guy you are targeting and he has the full weight of the most powerful Warlock in the west behind him. This isn’t something you should get involved with.”

  “Thanks, Tony, but I think we will be fine.”

  “I don’t think you understand me, these are major players. Rumor has it this assassin might even be one of your own.”

  “Do you have any idea where we can track this assassin down?”

  “Listen, you didn’t get this from me, ok? This is the kind of thing that has blowback. If he finds out I sent you it could hurt my business, my family. Cane runs a flop house down by the wharfs, this one caters mostly to humans, but it also doubles as a place some of his workers live. They have separate quarters from the main business on the third floor. You’re going to need this card to see through the glamour. Make sure when you are done I get this back, all right?”