by TR Cameron
“So what’s your next move?” Diana asked.
“First, I’ll deliver this to Stonesreach. But after that, once it’s safe, I need to find out who set the trap so I can be sure to reward them appropriately.”
Cara laughed. “Now that is a good attitude.”
Rath stood on his stool and began to pull items out of a pouch he wore on his belt. “Always another way.”
Diana frowned. “No out of context Matrix quotes. Especially from the sequels.”
The troll stuck his tongue out at her and continued to unpack things onto the bar. When he was finished, he pushed the stack toward her and the two agents nudged it the rest of the way.
“What is this?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Found it.”
Diana laughed. “Rath is rather like a crow. He likes shiny things and likes them even more when they belonged to criminals.” He nodded with a grin and turned to his food again.
Cali rifled through the items until she noticed something notable. “Hey, Tay, does that look like what I think it does?”
He nodded. “It sure does.”
She grinned and held the badge up, which had probably been attached to a necklace or a belt buckle. “This is the symbol of one of the nine noble houses of New Atlantis.” She pulled her necklace out. “This compass is the sigil of House Leblanc, for instance. Each of them has one.”
Tanyith continued, “And this nasty looking hook is the marker for the family that tried to destroy Cali’s house before and who she has to defeat in order to…uh, resolve issues in New Atlantis.”
She was glad he hadn’t mentioned her brother. Even though she didn’t think anything bad would come from it, she also didn’t want the agents to look at her with sympathy. “House Malniet. Bastards one and all.”
Diana nodded. “Well, good. That’s one question solved. So what will you do about it?”
Cali grinned. “I’ll return it, of course. In the most painful way I can think of.”
Cara laughed. “Right on, sister.” She turned to Diana. “Boss, I think we should head back. There’s no telling what trouble Glam and Deacon will get up to without your wise leadership.”
The other woman rolled her eyes but rose to her feet. “You’re not wrong.” She extended a fist and bumped with Cali and Tanyith, and both Cara and Rath did the same. “I’ll be in touch to arrange some training together.” Each stopped to give Fyre a pat before they wandered down the stairs.
Zeb shook his head. “Interesting friends you have.”
She laughed. “Starting with you.”
“That’s no way to talk to your boss.”
She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. “Based on the way Cara talks to Diana, I think it’s fair to say I’ve been way too easy on you.”
“Or that Diana’s too easy on her,” he retorted. “A mistake I surely won’t make.”
Tanyith shook his head and laughed. “Anyway, it’s good to win. Relationship work and plotting against the other houses can wait until tomorrow.” He yawned and stretched. “I’m off to bed.”
Cali nodded. “Rest up. Tomorrow, we’ll travel to New Atlantis and decide out how best to shove this down Styrris Malniet’s throat.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The request from Diana to join her in New Atlantis had been a welcome surprise. Cali, Tanyith, Fyre, and the agent all stepped through from the basement of the tavern to her home in the underwater city in the early afternoon of the next day.
Jenkins welcomed them instantly, and Emalia appeared a few moments later, descending from the second floor in a set of formal robes her great niece hadn't seen before. They were in the colors of House Leblanc, a deep red sheath under a turquoise wrap that extended almost to her feet on her left side. "Do you have a date?" she asked the older woman.
Her great aunt laughed. "Yes. With the Empress."
Diana whistled and Cali made the appropriate introductions before they headed to the big table in the kitchen and the nearby coffeemaker. The agent again carried a heavy pack and placed it beside her chair as she sat. They shared small talk while the coffee brewed, and Emalia busied herself gathering crackers and cheese, plus fruit from Oriceran she'd bought from a local market. The berries tasted like a blend of pineapple and orange, with a sour finish that made Cali’s jaw hurt. She loved them instantly.
"So, why are you visiting the Empress?" Diana asked.
Emalia shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. Cali considered the fact that she'd enticed the woman to occasionally switch from tea a personal victory. "It's time we were reacquainted. I knew her when she was young but not since she became monarch."
Her niece hurried to add, “She's my spy in New Atlantis. It's an information-gathering effort. We don’t have any sources in the palace so our approach needs to be a little bolder.”
Diana nodded. “It makes sense. And on that topic, I brought presents.” She unzipped the pack and retrieved a rectangular gray plastic box. Once she’d spun it to face Cali, she pulled the top back to reveal a set of eight tiny wires with buds on the end and sixteen small black boxes.
“Oooh, gifts. I love gifts.” Fyre snorted his agreement from under the table, and she rubbed him with her foot. “What are they?”
“Listening devices, recorders, and receivers. The entire network is self-contained and self-powered, so it should work here without a problem. Put the wire in the place where you want to listen and the recorder somewhere nearby. It doesn’t need to be too close. The microphone stays inactive until it hears something, then streams the data to the recorder in short, unpredictable bursts. Glam tells me there’s no way anyone would detect a pattern. The connection between the recorder and receiver works the same. It’s useless for real-time information but perfect for avoiding detection over a long-term surveillance period.”
Tanyith grinned. “Nice,” he said and picked one of the wires up. It was no longer than the top joint of his index finger, and the bud was barely larger than the thin line that trailed from it.
“Is there a way to detect these magically?” Emalia frowned.
Diana shrugged. “Anything’s possible, of course, but we haven’t managed it—and we have very skilled magicals working for us. Even Nylotte wasn’t able to find the one I hid in her shop.”
Cali laughed. “You’re braver than I thought.”
The other woman nodded. “Sometimes, I need to win one with her.”
I totally feel that. “Thank you. I think one in the palace, one in Jehenel, and one in the Malniet mansion to start with if we can get one in there.”
Emalia and Tanyith nodded, and Diana closed the box and pushed it to her. “Next, Cara guessed you might be able to use these.” She slid two holsters across the table. Each held one of the strangely shaped stun guns the agents had used the day before. Cali pulled one out and examined it.
“It looks like a Phaser from Star Trek or a blaster from Star Wars or another Star something.”
The agent laughed. “It really does. Our techs are science fiction fans so I’m sure it’s deliberate. But they work well.” She produced another two small rectangles and a box. “Here are spare cartridges and a charger. The stun pistols should give you an edge if you’re being sneaky.”
Cali nodded. Even though she wasn’t all that comfortable with guns for anything other than stealing them from the enemy and selling them, the nonlethal ones appealed to her. “Again, thank you.”
Diana dipped into the bag and retrieved another case, this one about a foot wide and three-quarters of that long, but shallow. She opened it to display the crystals Rath had worn the day before. “These are magic deflectors, although absorbers might be a better word. They create a field that defeats magic. They’re essentially flawless but they can only absorb a certain amount before they crack. We all have them woven into our gear. These are for you to use as you see fit.”
Cali nodded slowly. “I think I’ve heard of these before.”
“You have,” Tanyith interj
ected, “from Kendra, if nowhere else. AET forces use them. They’re hard to come by, though.”
The agent chuckled. “They are. But we have a hookup. Even so, it’s not an unlimited supply. Use them wisely.”
“I literally can’t thank you enough.”
“You don’t need to. You’re fighting the same fight we are, only in a different arena. That makes us teammates.”
She grinned. “Okay. But I owe you.”
Diana nodded. “That is exactly how I like it. I’m sure I’ll have occasion to cash the voucher in sometime.” She stood. “Now, how about you send me home? Rath and I have a knife-throwing competition later, and I need to find out how to cheat. I’m tired of losing to him.”
After her visitor had left, Cali rejoined the others at the kitchen table. “She is a very nice person,” Emalia commented.
“They’re all nice.”
“As long as you’re on their side, anyway,” Tanyith added. “I wouldn’t want to go up against them.”
She shook her head. “Me neither.” The fight the day before had left no one conscious to interrogate and they hadn’t been able to wait. It was only luck that the troll had snagged a clue. The agents were definitely more deadly than she ever wanted to be. With an effort, she dismissed those thoughts and turned her mind to the future.
“So, I think we let the Malniets stew for a while. The longer we don’t respond, the longer they’ll wonder if we know. Maybe it will keep them distracted and out of trouble for now.”
Tanyith shrugged. “Sure. And when you do decide to brace them, you can finagle a way to get into the mansion to plant the bug.”
Emalia nodded. “It’s as good a plan as any. I agree, though, that you can’t finish the ritual with them. They’ll cheat and kill you before you’re able to like they tried to yesterday. Because you have to retrieve the sword pieces, you’re exposed.”
“I know. So you need to find the rest, which means you need to play it safe at the palace. No bugs today.” Cali had thought it through while she sent Diana on to her base, and as much as she wanted to get one in there, it didn’t make sense for her great aunt to do it. “I’ll come up with a way to get one in there. You do what you planned to do. Wrap her in words and steal all her secrets.”
The older woman laughed. “You give me too much credit. This is only to ensure she knows I’m part of the game. It’ll provide her something to focus on other than you when she thinks about House Leblanc.”
Cali sighed. “Okay, it sounds like a plan. I’ll go practice lightning. Good luck.” She rose and gave Emalia a kiss on the cheek, then regarded her with a grin. “We’re all counting on you in this matter of life and death. No pressure, though.”
Her great aunt rolled her eyes, and the girl wandered toward the back door, laughing and with Fyre at her side.
Emalia was met in the entryway of the palace by the Empress’s seneschal, who introduced herself as Gwyn. She was simply attired in a black dress with a large scarlet stripe covering the right-hand side. Her name and face conjured a memory, and she asked, “Gwyn Rivette?”
The other woman nodded with a smile and almost seemed pleased to be recognized. “Indeed. Outside the main bloodline, of course. Distant cousins. But we share the noble name if nothing else.” The woman gestured and they walked deeper into the palace.
Absently, the visitor noted the rooms through which they passed and filed the information away for later. A lifetime of magical practice and instruction had given her a strong ability to attend to multiple things at once, which was invaluable at moments like these. She filled their progress with small talk and tried to plant seeds of common interest she could use later to connect with the woman.
By her deflections and subject changes, it was clear that Gwyn was familiar with the tactic and on guard against it. That didn’t bother Emalia. She’d continue to prepare the ground and if nothing grew, nothing was lost. Finally, they reached an unremarkable door.
“Please remember to show the proper respect to the Empress,” the seneschal told her. “And be aware that if you should try anything inappropriate, you will be dead before you have the chance to finish it.”
Emalia inclined her head and spoke with a hint of amusement. “Noted.” She’d been under no illusions on that subject, in any case. One didn’t become a monarch by trusting those one didn’t fully control.
Gwyn opened the door and gestured for her to enter, and she stepped inside. Empress Shenni was seated behind an ornate wooden desk. The woman’s clothes were gorgeous and the ruler even more so. She wore a black dress with a scarlet cape, and thick bands of hair that looked like tentacles ready to strike at her were piled atop her head, bound with a strand of pearls. Emalia walked slowly to her side and knelt to kiss her hand, then took the seat across from her at the regal gesture to do so.
A servant bustled in and filled the glasses, added one cube of ice to each, and departed. She waited until the Empress sipped, then tasted her own. It was delicious, spicy and dark. She preferred whiskey to rum but quality was quality. “It’s wonderful, Empress. Thank you for the drink and for agreeing to meet me.”
The woman waved an elegant hand that had rings on every finger and bracelets down her wrist. “It is nothing. I heard of your return to New Atlantis and looked forward to the chance to visit with you. I would have extended an invitation but there never seemed to be an opportunity. There is so much going on with the noble houses right now, you know.”
Emalia nodded. “Indeed. Chaos and conflict are everywhere you turn.”
Shenni grinned. “Exactly how I like it.”
The comment made her laugh. “Well, at least you’re honest.”
The ruler shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I be? I have my enemies, as anyone does. But while they are occupied with one another, I am free to focus my energies on the things that benefit all Atlanteans.”
“Such as permitting the destruction of House Leblanc?”
Again, the Empress waved a hand dismissively. “That is distant history and very early in my reign. I had no part in that.”
“But neither did you stop it.”
She nodded. “Correct. That is not the role of the monarch.”
Emalia smiled. “So you have no interest in the disposition of the Nine?”
Shenni grinned and revealed perfect teeth. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. Rather, I am willing to see how events play out without being directly involved.”
“Are you not? Directly involved, that is? Rumors swirl about Patriarch Jehenel calling on you.”
The Empress lifted her glass to her painted lips and took a sip, then set it down thoughtfully. “Come now, Emalia. We are both experienced in the ways of politics. This month it is Wymarc and next month, it will be someone else. The only way to prevent them all from turning against me is to keep them jealous of one another. Surely you too have had suitors?”
“One or two, certainly, Empress. So, let me ask plainly. Do you wish to see House Leblanc fall?”
The question appeared to catch her by surprise. Exactly as I intended. The woman blinked a couple of times, then answered in a neutral tone. “I have no wish to see Leblanc fall any more than I do any other of the nine houses.”
Emalia nodded. You’re not as good a liar as you think, Shenni Rivette. “Very well. Thank you for your honesty.”
The Empress smiled and in it was the recognition that whatever their relationship might have been when she’d entered the room, they now occupied opposite sides of the game board.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ozahl had just finished the arduous work of replenishing his magical supplies—which involved portaling to several cities—when his Zatora phone buzzed. With a frown, he pulled it out of his pocket to see who demanded his attention, already prepared to be annoyed at Grisham for disturbing his allegedly free time.
It was Lila’s number, however, and in the innocuous message were embedded code words that meant “Immediate,” “Meeting,” and “Club.” He’d wa
rned both of his favorite associates about contacting him for anything less than an emergency and he trusted they wouldn’t act against his wishes.
So, something big is up.
He portaled to the correct street, entered the nightclub, and pushed his way through the crowd and the bouncers to ascend to the second level. When the latter objected, he gave them both a glare that sent them scurrying to their posts. He found Dalton and Lila in the same seats they’d been in the last time he’d visited, but on this occasion, they were alone with only sodas in front of them.
Another sign of trouble.
“You’ve checked for watchers?” he asked as he slid into the booth beside them. Lila nodded. “Both sides?”
Dalton replied in the affirmative and added, “No one from any organization is on us right now. We made sure of it.”
“Okay. What’s up?”
Lila answered, “Grisham plans to move tonight.” She looked at her watch. “In about four hours when the Atlantean leader goes home for the night. She always takes one of three cars and one of four routes, and he plans to set up on all of them and hit any car that looks like hers.”
The statement was so unlikely that it took him several seconds to process. “What the hell? Has he lost his mind? What caused this?”
The man shook his head. “We don’t know and no one we trust knows. He came out of his bedroom in a frenzy and gave the orders. Everyone is scrambling now. They’ll have anti-magic bullets and whatever heavy weapons he’s been hiding. I think he hopes to blast the car away and be done with it. We didn’t tell him or anyone other than you anything about her.”
Ozahl frowned. It’s not a bad plan, a part of his brain observed. The other parts raced through options. “Is there any reason to believe this is a one-time opportunity?”
Lila shrugged. “When we’ve watched her, she’s been fairly consistent. I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t wait a day, a week—hell a month. Unless he knows something we don’t.”
Yeah, like his marbles are rolling away faster than he can gather them.
