by TR Cameron
Two minutes after Ruby had received Morrigan's message, she rushed out of her bedroom with Idryll at her heels. She found her father in the study, sitting in one of the leather chairs with a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. Her mother sat beside him with a matching glass. Normally she was a wine drinker, but apparently, the night’s events had rattled her, too. Ruby asked, “What’s the situation?”
Rayar shrugged. She noticed he had droplets of blood on his suit, and his hair was far more rumpled than she’d ever seen it after breakfast time. “Rosalind is with Challen. He says she should be fine, that the bullet didn’t hit anything vital. Elnyier is off coordinating the response, I guess. I’m sure we’ll have a ton of Drow patrolling the streets and guarding the castle in no time.”
Ruby blinked in disbelief. “And everyone else?”
Her father sighed and finished the liquid in his glass, then refilled it halfway from the decanter at his side. “Lachsan, Andrielle, and Anders went down right away. Gunfire.” He shuddered a little, then continued, “Bartrak intercepted a bunch of bullets meant for Challen and me. I don’t think he made it, either.”
Grief at the senseless killings and fury at the fact that they had happened in her city filled her. “Who did it? Who were they?”
Sinnia unexpectedly replied, “He said they were three women, all dressed alike, wearing masks.”
Her father added, “Different colored hair, though.”
Ruby scowled. “I’ve heard about them. They were involved in the Taka Tower thing. Rumor has it they were helping the PDA with a bounty, going after the city’s protectors.” Demetrius had acquired that information for her after they’d appeared at that battle.
She sat to avoid pacing, which would lead to gesturing, which would lead to ranting and possibly screaming. With an abundance of calm, she said, “I wonder if Andrews was behind this.”
Her mother replied, “Surely he wouldn’t stoop so low as to attack the Council.”
“I’d like to agree. But times are weird in Magic City, and all his actions suggest he’s under some kind of pressure. I have no idea from who.” Ruby shook her head. “Okay. Our primary concern is making sure our people keep their eyes open and report anything they see immediately. Can we use one of the numbers at Spirits as an above-ground reporting line and have people contact Matthias here in the kemana?”
Her father waved a hand. “Yes, whatever you need to do. I’ll be able to help in just a few minutes once I get a bit steadier.” He drank off the rest of his whiskey. “Our world just got exponentially more dangerous, now that our leadership is compromised.”
Ruby nodded. “True. But we’ll get through it like we always do.” Speaking of compromised, it’s time I had a little chat with Elnyier.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The crisis had brought everyone home. Ruby and Morrigan took the lead to make sure their house had protection. It already had detection and security spells all around, but they checked them out one by one to ensure they were still working and fully powered.
Dralen detailed several security guards from Spirits to patrol the area outside their house, claiming not to trust the new Council leader or her people. He got into an argument with Rayar about it, where the pair shouted words like martial law. Ruby wasn’t sure if they were talking about Elnyier's actions in the kemana, which admittedly now had a preponderance of Drow in evidence, or the behavior of the PDA above. One problem at a time.
When the house was as prepared as it would get, Ruby went up to her room to prepare. She put on the dress she’d worn when she was confirmed as Mirra, for the first time wishing she had some sort of ornamentation that would indicate her status. Yes, I’m legitimate, and you should listen to me. It’s just that my crown melted into my head. I’m sure that’ll go over well.
She snorted at her reflection. She was leaving all her normal magical protections behind because someone might’ve seen them on her costumed alter ego, and she didn’t want anyone making that particular connection.
Idryll could travel in public in her true form rather than covered by an illusion that disguised her as a human or Mist Elf. Ruby thought they made an imposing pair. She met her companion’s eyes. “Time to throw our weight around. You ready?”
For once, Idryll didn’t reply with a quip or an insult. “I am.”
Ruby walked at a moderate pace through the kemana, neither trying to draw attention nor seeking to avoid it. The sight of the shapeshifter in her full furry glory was doubtless the reason most people stopped what they were doing to peer at them as they went by, however. Murmurs filled the air.
The Mist Elves they passed touched a knuckle to their forehead in acknowledgment of her status, right where the crown would be if they’d been wearing it. She nodded and smiled at each, every interaction adding another layer of conviction and authority in her mind.
She stopped at the palace door. It was closed, in itself a change from the norm. The guards were both armored in ceremonial garb and armed with long spears. Both were also Drow. “Mirra Ruby of the Mist Elves to see Elnyier.”
One replied, “The lady is not seeing visitors.”
She countered, “The lady,” she emphasized the title, “will see me, I’m sure. Please announce me.”
The one on her right shook his head. The one on the left brought his weapon down in her direction. Before he could finish the action, Idryll had grabbed below the metal part of the spear with one hand and slashed through the wooden haft with the claws of her other.
The second guard jerked as if he would move, and Ruby barked, “Let’s not. As I requested, please ask the lady to see me. If she refuses, we’ll leave peacefully.”
Idryll growled, “But if you try anything like that again, I’m going to take this spear back from you and shove the point of it right down your throat.” She tossed the shortened weapon to the stunned guard and resumed her position at Ruby's side.
Ruby whispered, “Way to set off an interspecies incident.”
Her companion gave a soft snort. “She should consider upgrading her external defenses to models that have a brain.”
Ruby managed not to laugh. A couple of moments later, the doors opened to reveal a guard who beckoned them forward. They exchanged no words as the guard brought them into a small office. Elnyier rose to shake her hand. “Mirra. Congratulations on your ascension.”
She gestured to the other chair as she sat, and Ruby lowered herself into it. “The Mist Elves see their leader as more servant than deity so ascension might be the wrong word. Nonetheless, thank you for the comment.”
Elnyier stilled her face to an expression Ruby recalled having seen her wear before. “So, what is so important that you felt the need to accost my guards?”
Ruby replied calmly, “Actually, it was my companion who accosted your guards, and they moved first. She is honor-bound to defend me at all costs or avenge me, if necessary.” She had no idea if that last part was true, but dang, it sounded good. Maybe Dad was right, and I do need to throw my weight around a little more often.
“Semantics. Please, I’m a busy person, as you no doubt are as well. The purpose of your visit?”
Ruby shrugged. “To inform you that the Mist Elves will look out for our interests if needed. We do not cede all authority for defense of the kemana, or the city above, to you. And, if you don’t get things together and bring both places under control, you should expect that someone will replace you.”
Elnyier laughed. “You believe your father can manage the votes?”
Ruby shrugged again. “I think there are many ways to create an opening at the head of the Council.”
The other woman’s eyes narrowed. “Did you just threaten me?”
She stood. “No. I asked you to do your job and explained that there will be consequences if you do not. Perhaps you thought that leading the Council would be easy, or enjoyable, or lucrative. Or perhaps it was simply hubris that put you there. In any case, now we must rely on you to fulfill the obligation
s of the role. If you can’t, maybe you should see if Maldren is free.”
She could tell she’d irritated the other woman by the way her teeth ground together as she said, “Farewell, Mirra.”
Ruby nodded. “You as well, Lady.”
After chatting with one of the bees in her bonnet, it was time to deal with the next. Ruby, Morrigan, and Idryll spent a couple of hours setting the stage. Then Ruby snuck into the back of a vehicle Demetrius had unlocked for her to wait.
It didn’t take long before Paul Andrews and his second in command, Charlotte Krenn, emerged from the PDA office to head to dinner as they did most nights. When they climbed in the car, Ruby popped up from the backseat, fully costumed and holding one of Margrave’s lightning grenades. She’d passed the previous hour thinking through all the potential opening lines she might use, selecting and discarding them one after the other.
Now, at the moment, only one seemed appropriate. She laughed as she tossed the grenade and called up a protective shield around herself. “You guys are so screwed.”
When the pair regained consciousness, straps at elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles bound them to simple wooden chairs. Ruby and her partners had gagged the agents because Ruby wanted a chance to say what she’d come to say without being interrupted. She slapped each of them a few times to make sure they were fully awake. I might have hit Andrews a little harder than strictly necessary, but I think he’s earned it.
She crouched so her dragon mask was eye-to-eye with the PDA director. “So, we meet again.” He tried to talk through the gag, and she slapped him again, gently this time. “No, no. You’re going to listen for a while. I’m sure you have a locator, and I’m sure people are on their way, but we’ll be gone before they get here.”
When she said “we,” his eyes started frantically looking around. Ruby laughed. “Oh yes, my partners are here, too. One has an incendiary arrow ready to go. You may have noticed that everything in here is old wood, and this warehouse is in a location where it won’t damage anything else if it burns down. So, behave, please.”
She prowled around the captive pair, letting the tension build. “We tried this the nice way. You responded by sending bounty hunters after us.” There were muffled shouts, and she shook her head. “Don’t try to deny it because I won’t believe you. It takes someone like you, someone who knows the system, to so blatantly misuse it.
“You put a fake bounty on us, which attracted some hunters. You should consider yourself lucky you only listed us as a level one, or you might’ve ticked me off.” The way he’d worked the system still made her furious whenever she thought of it.
“We’ve eliminated those false records, by the way. If you try it again, well, let’s just say you shouldn’t try it again, or evidence of your tampering will reach those above you. But let me get back to what I was saying. So, the bounty hunters you brought to town then tried to kill the Council.”
Andrews struggled, and his muffled words grew more frantic. Ruby sighed. “The part where I said you need to shut up and listen? That’s a real thing. Shut the hell up.”
She pushed her irritation away and continued speaking. “I don’t think you sent them after the Council. That would be incredibly stupid, and while you’re overly aggressive, disrespectful of people’s rights, generally a scumbag, and have dramatically questionable taste in cologne, one thing you aren’t is stupid.
“So, either someone’s trying to frame you and get the PDA in trouble with Magic City above and below the surface, or someone took advantage of the situation and hired them for a different gig. Or both. I suppose the reason behind the action really doesn’t matter. The result is pretty clear.” She used magic to rip off his gag and asked the director, “So, am I right?”
He scowled and worked his jaw for a moment. “I won’t confirm anything you said, but we had nothing to do with the attack on the Council. You’re correct. That would be the height of stupidity. Hell, I wanted the Council to help with things on the surface and told them so.”
She laughed. “You may find that people in town don’t trust you all that much. I wonder why that is.” She walked around and removed the woman’s gag as well.
Krenn didn’t speak, only stared daggers at her. Ruby patted her on the shoulder. “I know. I’m sorry his actions inconvenienced you. Still, you chose to work where you work, so you have only yourself to blame.”
She circled back to Andrews. “I want to make sure we understand each other. From here on out, if you act against me and mine in any way, I won’t hurt your people. I won’t harm you physically. But I will burn your career to the ground.
“Rest assured that I have the resources and the connections to do it. Your decision to mess with the Ely PD’s systems gave me all the evidence I need. So, do your job properly, without all the Gestapo tactics, and we’ll be cool.
“Fail to do that, and your second here is going to get a promotion. Then I’ll have this conversation again with her. Although maybe with the fire already going as an incentive.”
Ruby put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. “The real question is whether we give you that chance or burn you down here and now.” She raised her voice. “What do you guys think?”
Idryll replied, “Fire. Fire is good. I brought marshmallows.” Andrews and his sidekick started to struggle, probably a reflexive reaction.
Morrigan said, “No. I don’t want to waste the arrow. Then I’d have to take, like, fifteen minutes to make another one. It’d be a whole thing. Let’s just go. Besides, his friends are inbound. He’d likely only end up getting singed, anyway.”
Ruby nodded. “You got off lucky this time, Paulie. Make sure we don’t have to do this again.” She strode out of their lines of sight into the darkness of the warehouse and portaled back to the bunker. Right, that’s two problems down. Now I need to take care of some internal business.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ruby met Diana in front of Shentia's shop as the agent stepped out and closed the door behind her. The other woman said, “Running errands for Nylotte, of course. You’d think at some point I’d be done with that, but no, apparently not.”
She laughed. “I owe Shentia a whole bunch of tasks, so I know exactly what you mean.”
It seemed odd now to see the agent without her almost ever-present sidekick, Rath. But it could be this isn’t something he’d fully understand. Ruby had asked Diana for advice on her current life situation, and Diana had decided it would be best to include her mentor in that conversation. Or maybe she knows he’d be bored. The agent created a portal connecting the two kemanas, and they stepped through to Stonesreach, the one underneath the city of Pittsburgh.
Diana opened the door of Nylotte’s business, which on the outside largely resembled Shentia's. Inside, things were a little different. Nylotte’s place held fewer items, and the objects there seemed more elegant, or more expensive, or more rare. Or, in many cases, all three. The Drow was seated behind the counter that separated her from her clients. “Diana. Ruby. Welcome.”
Diana replied, “Thanks for agreeing to join us on this.”
Nylotte shrugged. “Always glad to be of assistance.”
Ruby wondered what the woman’s involvement would wind up costing her. I’ve got part of an arm I might be willing to give up. Stupid artifact. She asked, “So, are we going to talk here?”
The Drow chuckled. “Eager, are we? Actually, I think this would be an excellent moment for tea.”
She stood and brushed by them on her way to the door, and they followed her outside. Ruby exchanged a glance with Diana, but the agent only shrugged. Nylotte led them to a modest restaurant, where the proprietor, another Drow, escorted them to a small loft. It held four tables, none occupied, and they selected the one in the farthest back corner.
Nylotte filled the time with light conversation until their tea arrived, and they all took an appreciative sip in silence. Finally, she nodded. “Okay, now that our minds and spirits are at ease, speak
.”
Ruby replied, “I have a couple of questions. First, you may have heard I’m now the leader of the Mist Elves.” Both women shook their heads, and she laughed. “Well, I guess it’s fair to say it’s more notable if you’re a Mist Elf. Nonetheless, I am.”
Nylotte frowned and looked at Diana. “Wasn’t the last girl you were involved with, Kelly or whatever, some kind of leader, too?”
The agent rolled her eyes. “Please. You don’t forget anything. It’s Cali, and yes, though not of a whole magical group.”
The Drow turned back to her, and Ruby decided the woman had commented to ensure she didn’t get too big a head about her new position. Nylotte asked, “So what’s the issue?”
Ruby drew a deep breath. “Between the two of you, you have a lot of experience leading and mentoring. I wondered if you have any pointers to share.”
Nylotte lifted an eyebrow. “If you have to ask that question, you’re not ready.”
Diana sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, you’re in a snit today, aren’t you?” She reached over and gripped Ruby’s arm briefly.
“Based on my experience with you, you’ll do fine, regardless of what sourpuss there says. Long story short, you can only make decisions with the knowledge you have, so do your best to ensure new information is always flowing in from as diverse a set of sources as possible. Beyond that, be kind when you’re able, hard when you have to, and as even-handed and consistent as circumstances allow.”
The advice helped Ruby release some tension. “It’s good to hear that since I was sort of already thinking along those lines. I’ll try to make sure I do that.”
Diana replied, “You’ll do great. Seriously. Don’t stress about it. What’s the other thing?”
Ruby absently rubbed her arm. “I think you both know I’m the reluctant owner of a Rhazdon artifact. In the inner space where I talk to my sword, I can also talk to the artifact. It offered to train me to cast spells through the sword. Says it can do so much more effectively and efficiently than anyplace else I might get that knowledge.”
