Druid Vices and a Vodka: The Guild Codex: Spellbound / Six

by Marie, Annette

  “Then it’s agreed,” the bounty hunter said. “Bring me a map of North Vancouver.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sliding my hands across my combat belt, I took stock of my weapons.

  Force-amplifying brass knuckles. Enemy-immobilizing fall-spell crystal. Interrogation crystal. Smoke and flashbang alchemy bombs. Paintball gun with an extra magazine of sleep potions. And my trusty Queen of Spades.

  I supposed I could include the Carapace of Valdurna in my tally, seeing as I still hadn’t returned it to Zak. The fae artifact was tucked in my front pocket.

  Puffing out a breath, I gave myself a final check—black leather jacket, protective long-sleeved shirt, leather pants, heavy boots, hair pulled into a tight French braid, no makeup that could get in my eyes—then marched out of my bedroom.

  The floor lamp cast warm light across the living room, and the TV flashed with color as a helicopter whooshed across the screen. Arnold Schwarzenegger hung out of the copter, reaching for a woman in a speeding car that was careening along a bridge. The scene appeared to involve a lot of shouting, but the movie’s volume was too low to hear anything.

  Twiggy sat on the sofa, his overly large feet sticking straight off the cushions, and for once, his chartreuse eyes weren’t on the screen. He watched me with a worried crinkle in his waxy green forehead.

  “Hoshi?” I called.

  The sylph swirled out of nothingness. She undulated over to me, her insectile wings flared wide, and prodded my cheek with her cool nose. A rainbow of colors danced through my mind.

  I rubbed her smooth neck. “Ready for this, girl?”

  The colors solidified into a cheerful yellow. Affirmative.

  “Tori?” Twiggy squeaked uncertainly. “You are going to fight the bad sorcerer woman?”

  “Technically, no. That isn’t my job.” I held open the pouch at the back of my belt and Hoshi dove into it, curling into a tight ball. “But Odin’s Eye and the Crow and Hammer combat guys are going to fight her.”

  I grabbed a keychain off the coffee table and bounced the keys on my palm, trying to think of anything I might have forgotten. Nerves danced in my gut, but my determination was stronger.

  “Tori?”

  I glanced down, surprised to find Twiggy standing at my feet.

  “The Crystal Druid will protect you?”

  No faith in my combat skills, huh? I shook my head. “He and Ezra have their own job to do.”

  Twiggy’s face crumpled into a deeper frown. “The Crystal Druid is strong.”

  “Yep.”

  “Will you be alone?”

  “Nope, I’ll be with a team.” I grinned. “Are you worried about me, Twiggy?”

  He scrunched his small nose and muttered something too quiet for me to hear.

  Laughing, I patted his twig hair. “I should be back by morning. Hold the fort while I’m gone, okay?”

  He mumbled something else and glanced at the TV, where Arnie was now shooting holes in a skyscraper with a fighter jet. What’d happened to the helicopter? And why did he have a fighter jet in the middle of a city?

  Leaving him to his movie, I trotted up the stairs and locked the door behind me. Why hadn’t I started Twiggy on action flicks sooner? They were so far removed from real life that the impressionable faery hadn’t found any human behaviors to mimic. Maybe I’d introduce him to Westerns next.

  Aaron’s SUV, on loan for the mission, was parked in front of my place, and my nerves increased exponentially as I hopped into the driver’s seat. The engine rumbled to life, and I pushed the speed limit as I drove to the guild. I wasn’t late, but my sense of urgency was growing.

  I pulled up next to the guild’s door. A black Mercedes idled in front of me, a cloud of exhaust hovering around it in the cold January air.

  My heart raced as I walked into the guild. The pub’s tables and chairs had been pushed up against the walls, and in the center of the room, more Crow and Hammer mythics in combat gear than I’d ever seen before milled together, casual but purposeful.

  At one end of the room, Aaron and Tabitha waited with their teams of five. They were the ambushers; they, along with two Odin’s Eye teams, would lie in wait for the rogues. Nearby, Kai spoke quietly with Makiko, while eight Japanese men with unreadable faces and all-black clothing stood silently beside them. Their stealth-focused team would flush the rogues out of their building and into Aaron’s and Tabitha’s waiting warriors.

  The final and scariest of our main combat teams was composed of three mythics: Darius, Alistair, and Girard. Their one and only goal was Varvara—finding her, fighting her, and taking her down—but they wouldn’t be challenging her alone. They’d be joining forces with the Odin’s Eye guild’s best team.

  Before that could happen, a certain pair had an even more important job.

  I scanned the room for them. Near the front door, Zak and Ezra had their heads bent together. Zak gestured as he spoke, and the light refracted off the crystals he carried—six hanging around his neck, six more in each leather bracer, and a dozen more hanging from his belt, loaded with potion vials. Knives were strapped to his thighs, and dark feather tattoos peeked up above the collar of his sleeveless shirt and swept down his arms.

  Ezra was geared like usual, but his long steel-reinforced gloves weren’t enough for this fight. He wore a short sword buckled at each hip, presumably borrowed since both his main pole-arm and his backup one had died premature deaths.

  “You ready, Tori?”

  Starting, I spun around to find Aaron behind me, eyebrows raised at my skittishness.

  “Are you ready, Aaron?” Kai walked over, one hand on the hilt of his longer katana. “Your team will be taking the brunt of the rogue charge, assuming all goes to plan.”

  “Yeah, what he said.” I glared warningly at the confident pyromage, my arms folded. “Don’t forget your last fight with Varvara.”

  He winced at the reminder of how he’d gotten too close to the sorceress, been hit with a gooey substance that stuck an artifact to his face, and while under its influence, turned his sword on Ezra.

  “You almost died that time too,” I reminded Kai quietly. “We all need to be careful.”

  “Without her golems, Varvara won’t know what hit her.” Aaron glanced over my shoulder. “And Zak and Ezra won’t be anywhere near her, which is the best for everyone.”

  Especially Ezra. A chaotic battlefield was the wrong place for a volatile demon mage who needed to hide his power and keep his emotions under tight control.

  Tabitha called Aaron and Kai over, probably for a final check or something, so I headed toward the pair by the door.

  Zak glanced up at my approach but didn’t pause in his explanation. “As long as the lunar node is interrupted, the animation ritual will fail. Our only concern is getting at the arrays, which are inside the golems, but my saber can cut through steel.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem, then.” Ezra’s subdued smile lit his eyes as I joined them. “Is it time, Tori?”

  “Yep. We’re leaving in”—I checked my watch—“two minutes. You and Zak all set?”

  “We’re good to go.”

  I turned my gaze from his mismatched eyes, steady and calm as always, to Zak’s green irises and the dark rage lurking behind their unnatural brightness.

  “How about you, Zak?” I murmured, shifting closer to him.

  His mouth twisted bitterly.

  “The result will be the same,” I whispered to him. “Even if you don’t do it yourself, she’ll still end up dead—and Shane’s way, she’ll have time to appreciate the full magnitude of her downfall before she bites the dust.”

  He grunted. “Your team starts at the north end of the terminal, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t rush in when the fighting starts. It’ll be easy to hem yourselves in, and you need the flexibility to shift positions or retreat.”

  “I’ll be doing whatever Andrew tells me.”

  “He’s one of
our most experienced team leads,” Ezra added. “Tori will be in good hands.”

  Zak nodded, tension in his jawline, and the cold pit of fear in my gut warmed as I realized he was worried about me.

  “All right!” Darius called, striding through the pub. He was in combat gear, knives strapped to his hips, and older guy or not, hot damn. “We all know our roles. Team leads, the first check-in is at 6:50, and the final is at 6:58. We strike at 7:00.”

  The team leaders called affirmatives, several checking their earpieces. As my gaze passed over them, I spotted movement across the pub. In the corner, Robin had appeared, her tall, blond companion, Amalia, beside her. Both young women were dressed in black, and Robin’s infernus glinted on her chest. Amalia didn’t appear armed, but waiting beside them, and most definitely armed with a skull-splitting sword of doom, was petite sorceress Zora.

  I frowned, wondering what their role was. Though I’d been around for most of the planning phase, no one had mentioned them.

  Darius surveyed his guildeds. “Be careful, be safe, and be smart. Tonight, we set aside the first rule in favor of the third. This time, we hit first. See you on the battlefield!”

  A deep-pitched cheer, almost a roar, rose from the waiting mythics, and all the hairs on my arms stood on end. The guild’s first rule: Don’t hit first, but always hit back. Tonight, however, we were the aggressors.

  Darius strode for the door, Girard and Alistair following. The GM gestured to Zak as he passed. “Let’s go.”

  Zak stepped after them. I watched him go, lower lip caught between my teeth. As he reached the door, he glanced back at me, his eyes dark and burning. Then he was gone, the door swinging shut with a cheerful jangle.

  Three more mythics approached the door: Andrew, leading Bryce and Ramsey. My team.

  We had two jobs: get Ezra in position, then ensure all teams stayed in contact. We’d be tracking the various fights, supporting where needed, and moving Bryce around the battlefield so he could telepathically connect all the team leaders, just in case electronic communication methods failed.

  Taking Ezra’s hand, I glanced over my shoulder. Aaron and Kai stood side by side, their teams behind them. The next time I saw them would be, if all went to plan, after the battle was over—rogues apprehended and Varvara either captured or dead.

  Swallowing hard, I led the way to Aaron’s SUV. Ezra got in, Bryce and Ramsey taking the backseat with him. Andrew slid into the passenger seat beside me.

  “All right, Tori,” he said in the careful, thoughtful voice that had made him a favorite among our team leaders. “Let’s go.”

  I shifted into drive and pulled away from the curb.

  “Right on schedule,” he added, checking his watch. “Once we drop Ezra off, we’ll have plenty of time to get in position. And Ezra should have no issues rendezvousing with … Zak.”

  He hesitated over the name, glancing at me.

  “I can’t believe we’re working with the Ghost,” Ramsey remarked. “Just the sight of him sends chills down my spine.”

  “Tori isn’t afraid of him.” In my rearview mirror, Bryce arched his eyebrows. “Neither is Ezra. Clearly, there’s some familiarity there.”

  “Zak’s reputation is greatly exaggerated … in some areas,” I muttered, none too pleased that the telepath had picked up on my feelings. “Either way, he’s taking care of the golems for us, so don’t complain.”

  The plan was still for Zak and Ezra to deal with the golems together, but they were meeting on site instead of going in as a pair. It hadn’t been Shane’s preference, but a few security guards needed to be taken out, and as the first ones there, Zak and Ezra were the logical ones to do it.

  The shivery nerves in my gut intensified. Taillights glared as I navigated away from the downtown core, last of the evening rush hour thinning. Any minute now, Kai’s team would leave the guild. Ten minutes after that, Aaron’s and Tabitha’s teams.

  A final traffic light marked the end of the residential neighborhood, and the street transformed into a wide freeway. Streetlamps flashed by as we zoomed across a curving overpass and merged onto the highway. The miles zipped past, carrying us closer and closer.

  I breathed hard through my nose, struggling with the looming dread building inside me.

  With another easy curve, we sped onto the Second Narrows Bridge. The black water of the harbor reflected the city lights, and there, on the left, was our destination.

  A maze of huge buildings and storage containers jutting into the harbor, endless stacks of steel piled on the expanses of concrete, blocky quays lined with monstrous equipment for unloading cargo ships. It was the largest stevedoring operation in the province, and the perfect place to source, build, and hide a small army of golems.

  The arching bridge continued past the quays, and my heart sank into my gut as I realized how hopelessly, terrifyingly huge the facility was. The maps hadn’t done it justice. It was a labyrinth of industrial buildings, equipment, and cargo spanning twenty city blocks. The eastern portion was dark, closed for the weekend, but on the western side, lights glowed where a long cargo ship was docked, a crane positioned above its deck.

  Across the bridge, I exited the highway and drove onto a two-lane road bordered by rundown businesses and a few aged apartment buildings. Breathing deeply, I took the next left. Ahead, the road dipped beneath the train tracks that separated the stevedoring terminals from the rest of the neighborhood.

  I turned left again. Passing a strip of small, industrial-type businesses, I steered onto the gravel-strewn alley beside a modest flooring warehouse, then stopped the SUV and shifted it into park. Dead ahead, raised train tracks blocked our path. A long line of black tankers chugged along, fifteen feet above the small lot behind the warehouse.

  “This is my stop,” Ezra said lightly, pushing his door open.

  “Good luck,” Andrew murmured. “Don’t forget your mic.”

  Ezra climbed out, Bryce and Ramsey wishing him good luck too. My hands tightened on the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white as Ezra fiddled with his earpiece and checked the connection on his phone before sliding it into a pocket.

  Fear swirled through my head as an internal voice screamed at me, but I didn’t know what it was saying. I pressed the button for my window and it whirred down. Ezra stooped to look inside. My mouth opened, then closed.

  “Be careful,” I whispered hoarsely.

  “I will.” He gave my shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze. “I’ll see you soon.”

  As he strode away from the vehicle, my heart climbed into my throat. Pain spread through my fingers from their crushing grip on the wheel. Ezra was an experienced combat mythic, and he had unstoppable demon magic to back up his other skills. He could handle himself. I knew that.

  So why couldn’t I breathe? Why was panic ratcheting through me with each step he took?

  “Wait!” The word burst from me. Unbuckling my seat belt, I flung my door open. “Ezra, wait!”

  Halfway to the raised tracks and the slowly passing train, he looked back.

  “What’s wrong?” Andrew asked.

  I didn’t know. I couldn’t answer. Clambering out of the vehicle, I waited with my heart hammering as Ezra jogged back to me, his eyebrows drawn with concern.

  “What—” His gaze swept over my face, and his tone shifted to quietly questioning. “What is it, Tori?”

  I sucked in a deep breath. Dread pulsed in the back of my throat, making me lightheaded. Something was wrong, something I couldn’t put my finger on, but what …

  A memory flashed behind my eyelids—Zak, his eyes burning with shadowy rage as he followed Darius out the guild door.

  I gasped in realization. “I need to go with you.”

  Surprise flickered over his features.

  “What?” Ramsey demanded from the back seat, his voice carrying through my open door. “I know you’ve been training, but you’re still an amateur.”

  Andrew leaned across the driver’s seat. “To
ri, their job is too important for—”

  “Zak isn’t on board with our plan.” I directed my words at Ezra. “Varvara destroyed everything that matters to him. The moment he’s done with the golems, he’s going for her throat, and I might be the only one who can talk him down.”

  Ezra absorbed that. “Change of plans, Andrew. She’s coming with me.”

  “Wait.” Bryce stuck his head over the console to peer out the door at me and Ezra. “Is it bad if he goes for Varvara? As long as she’s defeated …”

  “Did you see the footage of the LA precinct being destroyed?” I asked impatiently.

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “That’s why I need to make sure Zak keeps his head.”

  His eyes widened.

  “That was him?” Ramsey whispered disbelievingly.

  “One hundred and ten percent a pissed-off druid who doesn’t care much about friendly fire.” I looked at Andrew. “I’m going.”

  He unbuckled his seat belt. “You’ll need to be extra cautious, then. You can’t be detected before the golems are disabled.”

  “We’ll get it done,” Ezra said, his steadiness calming my jitters. “And we’ll handle Zak.”

  He took my hand. As Andrew opened his door to switch to the driver’s seat, Ezra pulled me across the lot, and I craned my neck back to watch the last tanker in the long train clatter past on the raised tracks.

  I knew Zak was in a bad place, but with his steely composure, I’d assumed he could handle it. Now, I wasn’t so sure. Had I underestimated the depth of his grief … and his need for revenge? Either way, I needed to be beside him before he laid eyes on his enemy—and got himself, or anyone else, killed.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “I should’ve talked to him,” I berated myself as Ezra and I slid down the dirt bank on the far side of the train tracks. “Really talked to him.”

  Still holding my hand, Ezra led me into the deep shadows beside a long warehouse. The narrow road lacked streetlamps, but breaking from winter’s usual pattern of nonstop cloud cover, the night sky was clear. The moon, nearly full, shone down.