by Alex Steele
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded, moving to stop the magister only to find an arm blocking my way.
“Agent Blackwell, we’ll discuss the matter in a moment,” the magister said firmly, pressing me farther back with his arm.
Jacobs stood and shook out his wrists pointedly. “Until next time.”
They exited the room, letting the door swing shut with a jarring slam. The magister holding me back wasn’t anyone I recognized, but he seemed to know who I was.
Swift stepped up beside me and crossed her arms, anger crackling out of her. “What the hell was that about?”
“Kevin Jacobs is a confidential informant for the Mage’s Guild. Your ill-advised arrest has threatened years of planning,” the magister said stiffly.
“I bet it has,” I muttered, stepping back and shoving his arm away.
He straightened, looking down his nose at us. “You’ll be sent under review—”
“He killed four people last night,” Swift interrupted, stepping into the magister’s personal space. “Attempted to kill us, completely unprovoked. You do not have the authority to release him.”
The magister pulled out a warrant and attempted to hand it to her.
Pink smoke trailed from her eyes, blending with her hair. “Get that out of my face.”
I stepped up and tugged her back, taking the warrant from the magister myself. “You should go.”
The magister turned, shaking his head and muttering insults under his breath on his way out. He paused at the door and glanced back at us. “They’ve got the right idea getting rid of you people. The Mage’s Guild has always been more professional.”
He jerked the door open and walked out, letting it slam behind him.
“What the hell does that mean?” Swift demanded.
I glanced at the warrant, finding the usual bullshit written inside. Crumpling it, I threw it on the ground. “Means we’re screwed.”
Ten
“Are you sure this is where we are supposed to meet Danner?” I asked, wincing as another kid shrieked with happiness before diving into a germ-infested ball pit.
A half hour after the disastrous interrogation, Lopez had texted us to come with her to meet Danner here. I wasn’t sure which was worse, having Jacobs spirited away by the Mage’s Guild, or being surrounded by noisy children.
“Yep. Get some pizza, Blackwell. You look creepy glaring at the kids like that.” Lopez clapped me on the shoulder before grabbing a plate and inspecting the pizza buffet.
I grimaced as I looked over the options. There was more grease than pizza.
Swift jogged up behind me and got her own plate. “What’s wrong? Not hungry?”
“Seriously? Look at this crap. New York City has some of the best pizza places in the country, and this is what I’m forced to eat? This can’t be real food.”
She rolled her eyes. “Suck it up and eat, you high-maintenance, overly picky…” she continued muttering as she stalked off after Lopez, slapping pizza on her plate without care.
I tucked a stack of napkins into my pocket, then sought out the least offensive slice I could find. I’d have to pat off the grease, but it would suffice. Since it had to.
Lopez and Swift had already claimed a table by the time I joined them. Swift pulled out the chair next to her for me.
“So, Danner was helping Viktor with something today?” Swift prompted as I sat down.
Lopez nodded. “That’s what he said. Viktor is still insisting he wants me to stay out of it so I can help in different ways.”
“I think he means it. Viktor doesn’t strike me as all that...gentlemanly.”
“I know,” Lopez said, prodding at her pizza unhappily. “Still pisses me off. I hate skulking around like we’re somehow the ones in the wrong.”
“Amen to that,” I muttered as I picked up a slice, eyeing it suspiciously. It drooped forlornly, the crust incapable of holding up against the weight of cheese and a single pepperoni. Grease dripped from the tip and splattered against my plate.
Danner sat down abruptly, startling everyone but Lopez, who must have smelled him coming.
“Well?” Lopez asked, fingers tapping anxiously against the table.
“Went good.” Danner shoved a big bite of Hawaiian pizza in his mouth. At least I thought it was pineapple on there, it could have been anything.
“What went good? Why did you ask us to meet you here?” She glared at her partner. “Chew faster, old man.”
Danner rolled his eyes, but dutifully swallowed. “Viktor needed me to get in touch with some of his old buddies. Feel out if they were still working for Lady Swift or not. Most were, but a couple weren’t. Viktor said he’s going to see them soon.” He licked his fingers clean. “And don’t worry, I gave him your message, Lopez.”
“What message?” Swift asked, confused.
“That if he snuck out in the middle of the night again without saying good-bye I’d break off his fun stick.”
A smile crossed my face as I chewed. Sounded like true love.
“He seemed to take your threat seriously,” Danner said, rolling his eyes. “Said he’s coming back sometime late tonight and not to wait up.”
Swift snorted and shook her head. “Telling someone not to wait up never works.”
Danner leaned back, draping his arm over the back of his chair. “Anyhow, none of that was why we needed to talk.”
“What is it then?” Lopez asked.
“That riot in Moira, well, it’s just the beginning.”
I looked up sharply. “Of what?”
A group of children rushed past the table, shrieking at the top of their lungs. A harried looking group of adults followed close behind.
Danner waited until they were once again out of earshot before speaking again. “We aren’t the only ones pissed off at the Mage’s Guild. There’s a few groups that are fed up, but one in particular is going to be pretty vocal about it.”
“Do you know what they’re calling themselves?” Swift asked quietly, twisting a napkin between her fingers.
Danner nodded. “The Awakened. It’s pretentious as hell, if you ask me.”
“We snagged one who was running away from the riots and had a little chat. Not much came of it other than finding out they have an interest in Swift,” I said, nodding my head toward her. “One of them looked like she might be persuaded to talk, but we haven’t tracked her down yet.”
“They seem organized, but I don’t know much else either.” Danner picked up another piece of pizza and folded it in half. “Rumors are flying around that they have big plans. They’re gonna be trouble.”
That was the understatement of the year. I didn’t have anything against protesting — freedom of speech and all that — but these guys were throwing a match on a tinder pile. Soaked in gasoline. On a case of dynamite.
“How’d you find out about them?” Swift asked, leaning forward onto her elbows.
“One of my informants called me while I was out helping Viktor. Blabbered a lot of bullshit, but that little gem was in there. Seemed to think it was real important.” Danner snorted and shook his head. “Not that we can do anything about it.”
“We might be able to if we can get in touch with whoever is in charge,” Swift said, worrying her napkin again. A little pile of torn pieces sat next to her plate.
A toothpick appeared in Danner’s mouth. “They don’t seem like the types to listen to reason.”
I didn’t have any argument for that. Danner was right. Jebediah Tane, the protestor we’d caught, had been fanatical. No one was ever more dedicated to a cause than a zealot. Someone had to be leading these people, and doing it well, to inspire that kind of devotion.
Everything was a disaster lately. Now it looked like some kind of cult might be taking on the Mage’s Guild. It all felt like some big, cosmic joke.
I do think it’s pretty funny, a familiar and entirely unwelcome voice purred in my mind.
I picked up the greasy piece of
pizza currently defiling my plate and shoved it in my mouth. Shut up.
A sticky hand appeared on my arm. I looked down at the germ-covered creature currently assaulting me with a frown.
“What do you want?”
It sneezed in my face.
Eleven
I pulled the Oreos out of the cabinet and was surprised to feel that the package was full. Suspicious, I inspected it. It hadn’t been opened. That never happened. I peeled back the top, but, sure enough, it was filled with fresh Oreos and not some replacement as a trick.
Yui had said she might not be around for a while, but I hadn’t expected her to completely disappear. The timing made me worry.
Bootstrap jogged into the kitchen, then braced his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. “Glad...you’re...finally...home.”
“Why are you out of breath?” I pulled out an Oreo and ate it, but it just wasn’t as satisfying as it should have been.
“Ran..all the way...down here.” Bootstrap straightened, taking a deep breath. “My room is really far from the kitchen. Who knew mansions had a downside?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You need to exercise more.”
He made a terrible face. “No thanks. I’m going to enjoy my metabolism without suffering through that torture for as long as I can.”
I shook my head. There was no reasoning with the kid, and I didn’t care enough about his cardio fitness to try. “What did you want?”
“What? Oh. Yeah. Here’s that redhead you were looking for, the one from the first protest. Ashley Carman.” He pulled out his phone and tapped out a quick message.
My phone pinged with her details. She was staying in London, lucky for us. I forwarded it on to Swift. We’d go talk to Ashley tomorrow morning and get some answers — one way or another.
“So, I’ve been looking for Yamashita ever since she slipped out under my watch,” Bootstrap said bitterly. I’d never given him a hard time about it, but he apparently considered letting her get away with Patterson’s head his greatest failure. “Nothing too helpful on that front yet, except for the sheer lack of her appearing anywhere with cameras. Which means she has to have help. No doubt about it.”
“Any idea who is helping her?” I grabbed some milk from the refrigerator, and after double-checking it wasn’t expired, poured myself a glass.
“Not yet. But I’m getting close. I can feel it. My spidey senses are tingling.” He wiggled his fingers dramatically.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Barely. “Swift hasn’t been able to find out what the status on Bradley’s trial is. You get anything on that yet?”
“Nope. It’s like there is no record. And I think he’s been moved. Sooo, I’d really like to—”
“No.”
“Oh come one, just hear me out.”
“I don’t know Zardoz. We can’t bring in someone we can’t trust for a task this important. It was risky enough letting him help last time.”
Bootstrap dragged his hands down his face with a frustrated groan. “You trust me, though, right? And I trust him. So it’s like trust by proxy.”
I swished my cookie in the milk absentmindedly, not realizing it was half dissolved. “If this guy were to betray us, you realize it wouldn’t just be me that got in trouble right? It’d be Swift. Lopez and Danner. Viktor. You.”
“I’m not actually an idiot. I get the stakes, man. You and Swift are literally fighting world-ending monsters. There are vast conspiracies at work here.” He crossed his arms and stuck out his jaw. “I’m willing to do what it takes to protect people. I don’t want to be a sheep, I want to be a—”
“Where did you hear that?”
“What?”
“The sheep thing. Someone else said that to me recently.” I dropped the cookies on the counter and walked up into his space. “Where did you hear it?”
He raised his hands and took a step back. “It’s been a thing for a while. I guess I’ve seen it in some of the conspiracy theory forums I’m part of. The ones that talk about the origins of Moira.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, not sure if I should believe anything he was saying. Was it possible he was part of that weird cult? Or did he just spend too much time on forums? “Do you know anything about the Awakened?”
“I’ve heard that name in whispers, but nobody really knows much or if they do they don’t talk about it. It’s like fight club. You’re either recruited or you aren’t.” He snorted, his posture relaxing a little. “Believe me, I’ve looked.”
I stepped back and dug another Oreo out of the package. “You said they moved Bradley?”
“Well…” he scratched the back of his head. “More than that. He has kind of...disappeared. His trial date was canceled too. The files just say ‘pending reassignment’.”
“What?” I asked, the pit of my stomach falling out.
“That’s why I want Zardoz’s help! Something funky is going on and I can’t get any information. It should be easy to find out where he’s being held.” Bootstrap flung his arms up like I was the one being difficult.
I pushed my hands through my hair and began pacing the length of the kitchen. “Fine, bring Zardoz in on this. Find Bradley. You tell me as soon as you do. I don’t like that his trial date has been changed, much less that he’s missing.”
Bootstrap nodded, looking triumphant.
“Keep looking for the Awakened too. There were riots in Moira yesterday and they were behind it. It doesn’t look like it’ll be the last either.”
“I’ll add it to the list,” he confirmed with a nod.
“Has Yui been back to the manor at all?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s not really into socializing even when she is here. If she is showing up, she isn’t stealing my snacks.”
I nodded, shoving down the worry. The kitsune could take care of herself. I should just enjoy my cookies while I could.
Twelve
The hallway was mostly quiet. Canned laughter from a tv show drifted under the door behind us and I could hear someone walking overhead. I tugged the hat down a little farther before knocking on the door. When Ashley checked through the peephole, all she would see is a delivery man with a package.
We just needed her to open the door. That would give us enough time to grab her for a friendly chat. I didn’t want to have to chase her down the street and cause a scene — especially since we couldn’t claim this was in the line of duty.
Swift pressed a little closer to the wall next to the door, waiting tensely for the moment to strike.
I knocked again, then heard the deadbolt slide back. The door opened a crack, and the freckled face of Ashley Carman peered out.
“Who are—” Her eyes widened and she tried to slam the door shut, but Swift was faster.
She got her arm in the crack and pushed both it and the woman back. I charged in after her, kicking the door shut behind us and tossing the box to the side.
The redhead’s hands came forward, fire blooming in her palms.
“Wait.” Swift stepped back and raised her arms in surrender. “We’re not here to hurt you or try to take you anywhere. You’ll burn the whole apartment complex down if you use that spell here.”
The fire stuttered out and the woman’s eyes flicked to the side. That’s when I saw them. Two people, both younger-looking than her, laying side by side on the floor next to an air mattress. They were grievously wounded, and poorly bandaged.
One of them, a young woman with a brown bob, looked up at us, but couldn’t keep her eyes open for longer than a moment. Burns on her arms peeked through the grimy cotton gauze wrapped around them. Someone had really done a number on them.
The studio apartment was almost empty except for the trash littering the floor. No furniture, no television. A pile of instant noodle packets on the cracked formica by the sink was the only sign of food in the place. Ashley’s hair was greasy — like she hadn’t been bothering to shower.
“Just leave. Please,” she be
gged, shuffling to the side to block our view of her wounded friends.
“What happened to them?” I asked.
She wrapped her arms around herself, nervously picking at a thread on her sleeve. “Mage’s Guild raided one of our meeting spots after the first protest. They got hurt, but we got away. Not everyone did.”
I relaxed my posture, trying to look less threatening — a hard ask after bursting through her door uninvited. “Do they need a healer? Or a prosaic doctor?”
“Probably, I don’t know. One of them...the burns looks infected.” She brushed her hair back from her face in a harsh motion. “Look, what do you people want? You’re the ones that got Jebediah, right? Then just let him go or whatever.”
“Yeah, that was us,” Swift said with a nod. “We just need to know who you’re working with. I think we might be on the same side, might be able to help each other, but you’re a hard group to track down.”
The woman scoffed, an angry flush coloring her pale cheeks. “The Mage’s Guild found us easy enough.”
Swift glanced at me, uncertainty clear in her expression.
“The Mage’s Guild is screwing with us too. We’re close to finding proof of some wild conspiracies. Conspiracies connected to her parents,” I said, nodding my head toward Swift. “But we’re going to need the Awakened’s help.”
The girl pursed her lips. “If they wanted to help, they’d have found you already and offered it. I’m not in charge or anything, you know. Just a grunt.” She glanced back at her friends again. “Expendable.”
“Can you point us in the right direction at least?”
Her jaw went hard and she shook her head. “No. You want ‘em so bad, you can find them yourselves. Get out. Get out of my apartment.”
“We just—”
“No!” She jerked back, as if startled by her own shout. “Just leave me alone. I can’t help you. Anyplace I know of, they’d have blacklisted after that raid. Too many people got taken. Odds are someone talked, and the Awakened aren’t stupid enough to wait around and get burned.”
