by TR Cameron
Ruby sipped her drink thoughtfully. “I’m not sure I agree with you. I don’t see how violence in the streets benefits whoever’s playing the role of the Nightmare. They’re probably connected, but cause-effect doesn’t quite ring true for me.”
Her father shrugged. “We have too little information.”
“What can I do to help?”
Rayar said, “As Ruby Achera? Maybe hang out at the casino more often and see if your ears pick up things ours don’t while you’re working the floor.”
A shiver ran through her at his tone. That was the first part of a two-part statement, and she feared he was about to reveal she’d blown her cover as the city’s defender. Instead, he continued, “As Mirra of the Mist Elves, it might be time for you to start throwing your weight around.”
Relief washed through her. “Where? How?”
Her mother laughed. “Seems to me that’s up to you, oh great leader. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “You should be more respectful to me in my new, auspicious position.”
Sinnia stuck out her tongue. “To me, you will always be the little kid who used my lipstick as battle paint on her face and pretended she was a Kilomea.” Her mother’s eyes sparkled. “I’m not sure Dralen has ever recovered from being hunted through the house against his will.”
Ruby laughed. “Yeah, I had my moments of rottenness as a kid, it’s true.”
Her father raised an eyebrow. “As a kid?”
She scowled at him. “Okay, enough wandering down memory lane. The leader of the Mist Elves has important, nay, vital things to do.” She stood and stretched.
Her mother asked, “Oh really? What?”
A yawn delayed her answer momentarily. “Get some sleep. Honestly, Council meetings are so boring I almost passed out in the middle.” She waved as she left the room, her parents’ laughter following her down the hall.
Chapter Twenty
After breakfast the next morning, Ruby spent the morning with her family, something she hadn’t been doing much lately. She planned to spend the afternoon and early evening with her roommates, who she’d also been neglecting. Late evening would be time for patrol with Idryll.
Her plans upended when she received an afternoon text from Prex, the head of the Desert Ghosts motorcycle club.
Probie twenty-three, your presence is required at an event this evening, beginning at nine p.m. We will be at the compound all night, so plan for it.
She’d known something like this would be coming along, like she knew that eventually, Shentia would ask her to perform additional tasks to work off the debt she owed. Prex had explained when she joined that the club could call upon her when it wanted her, and her choice at that point would either be to acquiesce or resign. She’d come to appreciate the group members and saw herself staying aligned with them for as long as she was in Magic City, so the second option was right out.
Ruby sighed. “Guess patrol is off the table. Idryll is going to whine.”
She dressed simply in jeans, boots, a white T-shirt, and a leather jacket. Her sword she left behind, but she took her pendant and shield bracelets. Plus, she was now always wearing two of Daphne’s capsules. They were almost unnoticeable, and it would be foolish not to.
By the time she arrived, the celebration was already well underway. Prex had a wide grin on his face and exchanged a double fist bump with her. Ruby asked, “What’s the deal?”
“We’re having a party. First shift of servers has finished. Now it’s time for the probies to go to work.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded, and his voice had a challenging edge to it. “Beneath you?”
She laughed. “No, not that. I’m just clumsy as hell and rarely meet a bottle I don’t manage to break.”
He laughed and punched her in the arm. “You’ll fit right in. Get to it. People are thirsty.”
Ruby found the other probies, a female gnome, and a male elf, and they divided the area among themselves. She made sure she had Prex’s group under her auspices so she could continue the banter they’d begun. The gig was simple. She walked around, asked people what they needed, and delivered it, whatever it was.
She wound up running bottles of beer, going into the compound’s kitchen and carving up fruit for mixed drinks, ordering over a dozen pizzas during the evening, and collecting empties and pitching them into recycling bins.
It took her about twenty minutes to get into the flow, and for the rest of the night she circulated, laughed, and worked hard. Not once did any of the larger issues in her life cross her mind. The evening was, in a word, blissful.
People started falling asleep at around three in the morning, and by the time the sun rose, only a few of them were still awake. She sat beside Prex and said, “Anything I can get for you, boss?”
He laughed. “You know, you claimed you weren’t good at this, but it appears you were fantastic at it. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.”
“You have a great group here. Work hard, play hard. That’s the way it ought to be.”
A smile stretched his face, and he gestured around him. “I’m lucky to be a part of this. I’m reminded of that in some small way every day. But you know what it’s like to care about your community.”
She nodded. They usually didn’t discuss her costumed activities, but she’d never told him not to or anything. Since no one else was in earshot, she had zero concern. “Seems as if it’s all fracturing a bit at the moment, though.”
He grunted. “Grentham informed us of the change in Council leadership. I didn’t love Maldren, and I don’t love Elnyier.”
“You’d prefer to see him in the role?”
Prex shrugged. “Chances are he’d be okay at some of it, but he doesn’t really have the personality for the gig. He’d say the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong moment, and we’d find ourselves in some kind of a giant mess.”
“Seems like there are a bunch of hotheads on the Council. Elnyier, though, as near as I can tell, is made of ice.”
He replied, “I don’t know her except by reputation, but that tracks with what I’ve heard.”
“What else do you hear about her or whatever?”
“A lot of people are asking questions on the street about the Council members and their families.”
“Really?”
Prex scratched his beard. “Yeah. Consensus is that some of those making the inquiries are PDA, which I guess makes sense. They have to suspect the anti-human thing has an inside connection.”
She frowned since that thought hadn’t occurred to her. Not at a conscious level, anyway. “Really? Why is that?”
“The heat gets turned up by one Drow, and suddenly another Drow is in charge of the Council? It’s not a particularly sophisticated calculus, you know?”
Ruby chuckled at his phrasing. “Okay. If that’s your evidence, I’m sorry to say it fails to live up to any actual empirical standard.”
“Whatever. I’m not saying they’re in it together because they’re Drow. I’m just saying I think she’s an opportunist and would be a fool to ignore that situation. People under stress always cling to a leader who seems strong, right?”
“I believe I’ve heard that sentiment once or twice from people who should know.”
He tipped his beer bottle toward her in acknowledgment. “The more concerning part is that my folks say that it’s not all PDA. That magicals are asking, and even some masked folks.” He stared at her hard, any pretense of intoxication vanishing.
She lifted her hand. “Not me, not my companions, promise. I couldn't care less what the Council does, as long as they don’t screw things up more than they already are.”
He said, “Really? Ruby Achera, fake human and new leader of the Mist Elves, doesn’t care about the Council?”
She blinked and thought about denying it, but the confidence with which he delivered the words let her know there was no point. “How’d you find out?”
; He laughed. “Well, first, I’m not stupid. The Mist Elf face you’re wearing now has some vague similarities to the human Ruby. And you were never all that good at responding to the fake name you gave us when you wanted us to stop calling you Dragon Lady. Slipped once or twice when you heard something that sounded like your real one. I might have even done it a few times as a test.”
“Yeah, I kind of suck as a liar.”
He rolled his eyes. “Says the person who pretended to be a human for most of her life. What’s up with that, anyway?”
She sighed. “It’s all very dramatic. My parents believed a prophecy of a sort could have referenced me. That made them worry about my safety, so they came up with this elaborate ruse. Might’ve been easier just to pretend I was a boy or something.”
“I’m not sure how much of you is an illusion and how much is real, but I don’t think it would be easy to mistake you for a boy.”
A laugh burst out of her. “Are you hitting on me?”
He grinned. “Not my type. You’re too tall. But you have exquisite,” he looked her up and down, “bone structure.”
She shook her head but couldn’t stop smiling. She’d noticed before that he treated sex like it was something funny, and frankly, that attitude worked just fine for her as long as it didn’t offend anyone involved in the conversation. “Bone structure, huh? That’s what you’re going with?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, then. I’ll have to ask my boyfriend if he likes my bone structure.”
Prex nodded authoritatively. “Hundred bucks says he does.”
Ruby shook her head. “Anyway, now you know. Is it a problem?”
He shrugged. “That’s the thing about being part of the Desert Ghosts. We don’t care about your baggage, and we don’t care what you do when you’re not with us as long as you’re not a scumbag. So far, probie, you fit in just fine. But I guess I have to ask. Now that you’re all fancy and stuff, are you planning to leave us?”
Ruby laughed. “Hell no. I love you people.”
“Good. Because we’ve got another party scheduled next weekend, and you’ve made yourself invaluable as a server.”
“Doesn’t my noble status earn me anything?”
He nodded solemnly. “It does get you one thing.”
She replied, “What?”
He grinned. “Well, since you come from a rich family who owns a bloody casino, you’re springing for drinks at the next one.”
“Counteroffer: I spring for drinks, but I get to attend. I’ll serve at the one after.”
“Deal, but you have to buy pizzas, too.”
Ruby chuckled. “Spoken like a natural negotiator. Done.” They closed the deal with a fist bump and leaned back in their chairs to watch the sunrise together.
Chapter Twenty-One
Angelina Prash knelt in the middle of her office with her weight settled back on her heels. In her mind, she systematically eliminated all the distractions of the day, setting commonplace worries aside. The night to come would be decisive.
It wasn’t her first battle, far from it. However, it was the first time she’d invaded the headquarters of a rival business. Part of her felt discomfort at the idea. She noted the emotion and let it fly free. The die was already cast, and what followed was inevitable.
She opened her eyes, then stood. Her team was deploying from their new temporary headquarters in Magic City, an industrial plant on the edge of town that had fallen into disrepair. They’d already transported all the necessary gear. All that was left was for her to join them, don her battle armor, and give the word.
Her partner wasn’t taking part in the evening’s adventure. His responsibility was the business side of the company, making deals and watching the books. The action end of things was her domain. Time to hold up my part of the bargain. She grabbed the leather jacket that went with her tight leather pants and opened the portal to Ely.
After the incident at their headquarters, Angelina wasn’t taking any chances. She had more people than she needed, six teams of four plus herself and a guard to stay at her side. Each team had at least two upper-level employees who oversaw operations on the ground for their clients.
The plan was to hit fast and barrel through the place to knock out any opposition before their target could react. She was completely aware the other company had to know they were coming. Unless they’re idiots, and I don’t think that’s fair to assume. That reality didn’t worry her. Worldspan hired the best, and when they knew traps might be present, her experts generally found them. When they don’t, we pay a benefit to the next of kin and hire a new expert. Hopefully a better one.
Angelina had always maintained a certain emotional distance from others. Biographies she’d read suggested that powerful people, along with highly accomplished ones such as artists and scientists, often felt the same. Like they didn’t quite fit in, as if there was a gap of understanding between them and the rest of the world.
Once upon a time, that had bothered her. She’d come to terms with it, though, and considered the ruthlessness it inspired to be an advantage in her line of work. It was also one of the reasons for the division of labor she shared with her partner. Each of us plays to our strengths, as it should be.
The arming room was chaos compared to the serenity of her office. Magicals of most varieties talked, joked, and cursed as they donned their gear for the operation. She crossed to the tall rolling cabinet that held her equipment. It opened to her palm print, and she dressed quickly, already a minute or so behind the others.
She zipped her jacket up to the throat and put her vest on over it. The ballistic protection was custom fitted for her and extended farther down than the ordinary version. Her belt went on next, and she slid her pistols into thigh holsters after checking to ensure she had anti-magic rounds loaded. Healing flasks slotted into straps behind the guns, just in case.
Angelina strapped on protective armor at elbows and knees, plus longer plates at upper arms and forearms, with a similar arrangement on her legs. The result was something between a Special Forces unit and a football team’s equipment. A bandolier with grenade canisters attached went over it all, and a rifle on a strap connected to her vest at the optimum height for her to grab it.
The new version of their eyewear, an upgrade over the ones Aces had stolen, finished the ensemble. She tapped the high-tech watch on her left wrist, triggering the self-diagnostic system of her comm and instructing it to interface with the glasses. A moment later, she had a stream of data on one side of her visual field, including minute-by-minute status updates from their drone watching the Aces facility.
She drew her pistol, pointed it at a dartboard on the wall, and put the slightest pressure on the trigger. A dot appeared where the bullet should hit, which reassured her that her sights were as they should be. The accuracy improvement provided by the infrared targeting would give her people one more edge they probably wouldn’t need.
Angelina locked the cabinet again, then turned to the woman who would be her escort. “We ready?”
The Kilomea nodded with a wide grin. “Yeah. Ready to stomp some fools.”
Confidence suffused her, and she laughed with pleasure. “You said it, my friend. Round these people up and let’s get to it.”
The assault strategy had been war-gamed several times, refined after each, and finally, they had it as well planned as it was likely to get. The Aces facility had a securely fenced area in the rear, and while that would arguably provide a more concealed means of entry, she didn’t think anything would fool the Aces people at this point. From their first step into Worldspan’s Ely headquarters with malicious intent, they’d set a course with this moment as the inevitable result. So, she and her team had decided going in the front would be the best choice.
Angelina had suggested blowing up the building without entering, but her partner had disagreed. She wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted vengeance of a more personal kind or if his avowed reasoning, to steal back their ge
ar and take whatever Aces had, was the driving force. Despite his calm outward persona, he could be viciously ruthless when necessary.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter. By the time they finished, Aces would be nothing more than dust. They opened a portal to the front of the building and organized into their attack formation.
She nodded at the glass door, which was in the center of a whole wall of windows. Probably all bulletproof, not that that’s going to do them any good. “Team one, do your thing.” The magicals in that group ran forward and made a semi-circle around the entrance.
A member was tasked with unit defense and called up a shield in front of them with small gaps his teammates could fire through. A second sent a wave of ice at the doors and windows that fronted the Aces lobby. A moment later, the third and fourth team members dispatched blasts of force, each taking half of the frontage. The net result was a blizzard of frozen glass shards flying into the lobby and nothing standing in the way of their entrance into the facility.
Angelina ordered, “Teams two and three, take half and check for traps.” She didn’t need to give the orders. Everyone had memorized the opening moves. They’d planned the operation down to the smallest detail, and she’d briefed her people and tested their recall.
Reinforcement never hurts, and it gives me something to do when what I really want is to fly in there at full speed and find that bloody dwarf. Just because she felt disconnected from others didn’t mean she was dispassionate. She’d happily spend an hour slicing into Grentham's flesh, applying copious amounts of lemon juice, and listening to him beg.
They quickly cleared the obvious traps, pressure plates connected to a pair of retractable turrets in the ceiling. Her team located the backups as well, intersecting beams of infrared that would also set off the defenses. After a minute and a half, they were clear to proceed.
