by Jamie Davis
She didn’t have time to determine whether he’d heard her. Cindy had drawn a long curved dagger from her belt and slashed at the huntress as she charged in.
Quinn somehow pulled herself forward and down in time for the blade to pass over her head, missing by a fraction of an inch. She didn’t know how close it had come to connecting until a two-inch lock of hair from her ponytail fell past her face.
She growled. The demon-kinder was going to pay for that.
Quinn turned her bent-over rush into a textbook tackle, hitting Cindy’s thighs with her shoulder and driving the woman backward.
As the demon-kinder stumbled away, she pulled free from Quinn’s grasp.
The huntress slashed out with her knife, though, opening a gash in Cindy’s thigh.
Quinn had reached a bit too far, and the move left her off-balance. She couldn’t stop herself and fell forward. Trying to salvage the fall, she tucked her head into a controlled roll, hoping to end up back on her feet.
Cindy had other plans. The demon-kinder’s foot snaked out from amidst the billowing pants she wore. She caught Quinn in the gut, sending her flipping and rolling across the ground.
Quinn ended up facedown. Worse yet, she’d dropped her Bowie when she was hit. She searched for her weapon as she scrambled to get back to her feet. There was no time left for mistakes. Cindy and another of the slayers ran straight at her.
Digging her toes into the warehouse’s dirt floor, Quinn launched herself in a diving lunge to the side, perpendicular to Cindy’s approach. It put her closer to the charging slayer, but Quinn liked her chances better against only one of them when she was still down on the ground like this.
She turned the lunge into a rolling tumble at the end, narrowly avoiding the sword belonging to the other slayer. It plunged into the dirt behind the small of her back.
While it didn’t connect with Quinn, it did pin her leather jacket in place. She jerked to a stop, unable to roll any farther.
Cindy stepped forward with her dagger raised high.
Quinn pulled her arms free of the jacket just in time. Cindy’s plunging blade scored a slash on Quinn’s shoulders as she rolled free of the trapped coat.
This time, Quinn managed to regain her feet. She turned to face Cindy and the male slayer opposite her.
All around, fighting continued. Bodies lay everywhere. Quinn couldn’t tell which was friend or foe. Two of the tents still blazed.
Unarmed, Quinn searched for anything she could use as a weapon. In desperation, she slipped off her leather shoulder rig and held it out to one side. It was the only weapon she had.
The slayer was the closest to her, and Quinn swung the leather straps in a circle over her head and then flung them at the feet of the onrushing attacker.
She laughed aloud when the desperate move actually worked. The harness tangled around the slayer’s ankles. His eyes widened as he pitched forward, the longsword flying out of his hands to skid to a stop at Quinn’s feet.
She stooped to pick up the weapon, ready to defend against Cindy’s attack.
It never came. The woman was nowhere to be seen.
Quinn twisted around and searched for the demon-kinder, expecting to find she had gotten behind her somehow. Then she spotted the demon-kinder leader.
Cindy stood at the shimmering entrance to the tent. The few surviving slayers still in sight, including the one Quinn had tripped, ran past her and disappeared inside. As soon as the survivors passed her, the woman shot Quinn an evil grin and raised her curved dagger in salute. Then she turned and dashed into the pavilion’s interior. When Cindy vanished, the shimmering around the entrance stopped, too.
Quinn stood from her crouch, still holding the longsword as she searched around for any signs of danger. Her amulet had returned to normal, but she wanted to be sure.
Clark stood nearby, four slayer bodies arrayed around him. Taylor, still holding her silver knives, wiped her brow with the back of her hand and smiled at Quinn. The huntress noticed both blades were bloody.
Miranda walked back from the final pavilion, where she’d doused the flames at last. The way she trudged across the warehouse’s dirt floor showed her magic use had drained her.
The six fae tents that had been ablaze were wrecked. Most of the high pitched roofs had burned away, leaving only a few tent poles still standing to support the canvas sides. Quinn couldn’t tell if there were any injured or dead inside them.
“Alistair,” Clark shouted. He stalked across the center of the tent circle toward the old man, who was standing off to one side, wringing his hands. The hunter extended his blade at the fae butler as he approached. “You had to have known. Why didn’t you say something or get word to me before this?”
“I was told they’d kill her instantly if I didn’t comply with their demands. They assured me they only wanted to capture the assembled princesses. The woman who disguised herself as my mistress told me no one would be harmed.”
Quinn ran to Filippa’s tent to look inside. It was empty, which she expected. The shimmering had to be some sort of transporter spell like they used to send out the slayers.
“They’re not here, Clark.” Quinn turned to face Alistair. “Where’d they take them?”
“I do not know, Huntress. I never saw the outside of the place where they held us. It was dark in there all the time. The black drapes were kept closed so we couldn’t see out the windows. It was furnished with fine old furniture of the sort the princess would have chosen back home.”
Taylor came forward. “Was it all old leather couches and chairs and stuff?”
Alistair nodded, although he seemed to take issue with the description.
“I know that place. It’s the vampire’s lair. They’re holding the two princesses prisoner in that building downtown.”
Clark shook his head. “That’s not good. It’s going to be hard to break into it.
“Not if I can get in there first and shut off the security cameras. Then they won’t see you coming,” Quinn said. “Taylor, how long will it take you to get the VR rig back up and running? Can you do it with what you have in Clark’s car?”
“I think so. I tried to bring everything with us. It’s all in the trunk. I’ll have to be really close, though.”
“How long to get ready?” Clark asked.
“I don’t know. An hour or maybe two if it all comes together right.”
“Take Miranda and go out to the car. Get it ready to go,” Clark said. He turned to Quinn. “You sure about this? We could try to break through.”
“No, they’d see us coming and do something to Filippa and Carina. We have to surprise them or it won’t work. I’ve got this.”
“Okay, get yourself ready. I’ll go see if the two ladies need help.”
Quinn nodded and started scanning the dirt as she walked around, looking for her missing knife. She was pretty sure she was going to need it before the night was through.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Quinn shifted in her seat as Clark turned the corner. They’d passed that donut shop at least twenty times now. She glanced over her shoulder.
Taylor sat in the back seat, alternating between fitful bouts of typing on her laptop and pulling wires out of and plugging others into a gray metal case on the seat beside her. The stress creased new lines in her forehead. She’d been working for almost three hours now.
“Taylor,” Clark barked. “How’s it coming? People’s lives are at stake here.”
“Clark, if you ask me that one more time, I’m going to jam this laptop so far up your—”
“Hey, you two,” Miranda soothed. “Nobody gets saved if we can’t get the job done because we’re bickering between ourselves. Taylor is well aware of the situation, Clark. Remember, she’s been in there, and by herself.”
Quinn nodded but kept her mouth shut. Her own anxiety was more likely to make her say something inappropriate, just like Clark did. Miranda had done a decent job of defusing things so far, but even she seem
ed to be running out of patience.
The plan had the four of them circling the building from two blocks away to ensure they weren’t seen by any of the guards or cameras since it wouldn’t do to alert their enemies to how close they were. The circuit took at least five minutes to complete. After the tenth trip around, impatience had set in.
Quinn caught herself tapping a beat with her fingers on the dashboard, and she pulled her hand back to her lap. Taylor had snarled at her once already for that particular distraction.
Taylor snapped her fingers, saying, “I think…”
Quinn turned to see what her friend had done. “What?”
“Huh?” Taylor looked up, puzzled.
“What do you think?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m running a test. I think I managed to bypass the key parts of the system tied to the larger version of this gear back at home. If this works, we’re ready to go.”
That perked up everyone. Miranda flexed her fingers and sat up straighter in her seat. Clark checked the rearview mirror as he drove, looking at Taylor behind him.
The tech witch fist-pumped and looked at Quinn. “Got it. Get yourself set up. We’re ready to go.”
“No issues?” Miranda asked.
“Nope. The transition is going to be rockier than usual, but other than that, I’m sure we can get you into the building. It helps that I’ve been there. From this close, I can send you directly where we need to, so we bypass all the security downstairs.”
Clark shook his head. “We need her to be where she can shut down the security camera systems.”
“I can talk her through that from out here. She should be able to do it from any of the connected terminals used by the stock traders.”
Quinn gave a half-smile. She wasn’t comfortable with anything beyond the basics of computers. If she hadn’t had a friend like Taylor, she’d have been useless with them. Taylor’s patient sessions with her had made her better, but only a little. Hacking anything that didn’t require a blade of some kind was not going to happen.
Taylor must have seen Quinn’s reaction and smiled. “You don’t have anything to worry about. You’ll have your earpiece, and I’m sending you with this.” She produced a small thumb drive from her pocket. “It’ll help with the process and do most of the work for you.”
“If you say so.” Quinn took the silver flash drive and slid it into her back pocket. “Should I get the VR gear on?”
“Yeah, I’m ready to go.” Taylor smiled. “Clark, I need you to pull over. I have to be stationary for a few minutes until she’s fully transitioned into the system.”
The hunter nodded and pulled over to the curb. He slid the gear lever into Park and twisted in his seat, watching the other three as they prepped to send Quinn in. He tapped Quinn’s shoulder and said, “Take the security system down, then meet us downstairs as we come in. Don’t try to find the princesses on your own. You’re in no way ready to take on a mature vampire yet.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good.”
Taylor raised a hand. “I’m ready to count her in. Miranda, how about you?”
“The spell is the same from my end, right?”
Taylor nodded.
“Then I’m all set.”
Quinn settled back in her seat and pulled the VR visor down over her eyes. Her earpiece was already in place, and she reached over to check on her weapon. The Bowie was beneath her right arm. All she could do now was wait.
“Counting down now,” Taylor said.
Miranda started a low chant, no louder to Quinn than a distant murmur.
Taylor’s voice came through loud and clear. “Ten, nine, eight, seven…”
A searing pain blasted through Quinn’s brain so intense she almost called out for them to stop. Taylor said this transition would be rougher, but this…
“Four, three, two, one.”
The familiar falling sensation hit Quinn like a sledgehammer, and darkness closed around her. She welcomed it. At least the massive headache would end soon.
Quinn heard someone laughing, sounding almost maniacal to her ears, then she realized it was her. Before she could stop, she fell into unconsciousness.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Quinn woke up with a jolt. This time, she didn’t have time to look for a convenient spot to throw up. She didn’t even crouch. She woke up vomiting and bent over immediately as she started coughing and choking.
The nausea passed and Quinn spat on the linoleum floor, trying to clear her mouth. Luckily for her, there was no one else in the room in which she found herself. She wished she had a water bottle to rinse her mouth.
Quinn looked around, taking in the room in which she’d landed. Tall filing cabinets lined the walls. A large copy machine or something like it stood in the corner by the closed door. There was a water cooler beside the hulking device.
She went to it, pulled one of the paper cups from the dispenser, and filled it. She swirled the water around her mouth and spat in the nearby trash can, following it with the crumpled paper cup.
Time to get to work.
Taylor had described this place from her earlier foray here, and Quinn realized she’d landed precisely where she was supposed to.
She tapped her earpiece with a finger. “Taylor, I’m here. I’m in the filing room.”
“Good. When I didn’t hear from you right away, I was worried.”
“You warned me it was going to be rough, but I’m okay now.” Quinn reached into her pocket and pulled out the thumb drive. “I’ve got the drive, and I’m ready to go. What’s next?”
“Go out the door. There’s a long hall. I don’t think there’ll be anyone around at this time of night, but there could be, so be careful.”
Clark’s voice came over the earpiece. Taylor must have it on speaker in the car. “It’s the lair of a master vampire. There’s someone up right now for sure. Be careful.”
“Should I try to find a piece of wood and make a stake or something?”
“Your Bowie will do the trick. A thrust to the heart or brain with silver will disable him for at least a few hours. If we need to, we can stake him later. Try to avoid that Handon guy if possible. Vamps have powers of their own, and they’re even stronger than the demon-kinder.”
“Good to know, thanks. Taylor, after the hall, where do I go?”
“There’s a room full of cubicles with computer terminals. Pick one of the terminals and plug the drive in, then call me back.”
Quinn tapped her earpiece to clear the connection and crossed the room to the door. Drawing the shadows around her, Quinn whispered, “Mist.” The fuzzy haze around her vision came into view, and she pulled the door open. She’d be nearly invisible in case anyone was up and about.
The sound of several voices met her from down the hallway. She couldn’t make out any words, but there were two or three people in the cubicles in the room at the end of the corridor.
Opening her mic, Quinn said, “Taylor. There are people here. The overhead lights are out, but it looks like some of the cubicles are lit up and occupied.” She moved forward a bit farther to look around, then backed up before speaking. “Looks like three have desk lamps on with people at work.”
Miranda said. “Taylor, it’s a stock-trading firm. The international markets in places like China and Japan are open right now. They might be ordinary folks working.”
Taylor said, “I agree with Miranda. Also, those folks were under a spell or trance or something when I was there. They paid no attention to me. I think the vamp upstairs did something to them. Just try to find a cubicle far away from them in the corner, then be quiet and I’ll get you into the system.”
“I hope you’re right about this, Taylor.”
Quinn cut the mic and started back to the trading room. She was confident they couldn’t see her, but it nonetheless made her nervous.
The people working were clustered together in the center of the room. She slipped into the corner cubicle next to the cor
ridor. She’d still be several rows away the rest. If she whispered, they wouldn’t hear her over their own conversations.
Once she had seated herself in the swivel chair behind the desk, Quinn bent down and looked for a computer hub or tower into which she could insert the drive.
“Taylor. There’s no computer here. Just a monitor, a keyboard, and the flat finger-thingie you use to move around the screen.”
“That’s a trackpad, Quinn.” Taylor corrected.
“Whatever. I looked under the desk. There’s nothing that looks big enough to be a computer system.”
“That’s all right. They’re all networked together to make one big computer. Look under the desk again and see if you see a network hub with an ethernet plug in both ends.”
“A what?”
“Oh, my God, Quinn. How can you be a digital native and not know this stuff? It looks like a phone jack for an old landline, sort of.”
“Oh, that thing. Why didn’t you say so?” Quinn smiled at the exasperated sigh she got in reply.
She examined the small box under the desk with the networking cables coming into it. The computer ports for the drive Taylor had given her were there. “I see a plug that’ll fit. Plug it in there?”
“Yes. Then sit up and power on the monitor. It should just take tapping a key or two or moving your finger on the trackpad.”
Quinn plugged the thumb drive into the slot and slid her forefinger across the smooth metal of the trackpad. The blue-white light of the screen glowed. She glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone had seen the glow now coming from her cubicle. No one appeared to have noticed.
Turning back, she whispered, “Now what? The drive is in and the screen is lit. There’s a box on the screen with my name on it.”
Taylor chuckled. “I tried to keep it simple for you. Just move the cursor over the button that says, ‘Quinn Click Here’ and click on it. Then sit back and wait while I do my mojo from here.”
