Cloak & Ghost: Lost Gate

by Moeller, Jonathan

  But by then, Nadia struck.

  A volley of a half-dozen globes of snarling blue-white lightning screamed up the corridor and drilled into the maelogaunt. The spell threw the maelogaunt back, and it let out a cry of pain, a strange, chittering sound. It threw one clawed hand at Nadia, hurling a bolt of telekinetic force at her, but Nadia cast a Shield spell, and the maelogaunt’s attack broke against the half-dome of shimmering gray light. Riordan shot forward in a blur, and suddenly a sword blacker than a starless night appeared in his right fist. It was his Shadowmorph, taking the form of a blade.

  The maelogaunt jerked back, and the slash that would have taken off its head instead sliced across its chest.

  Magic surged around the creature, and gray mist rose up around it.

  “Rift way!” snapped Nadia, and she cast a spell.

  A circular symbol of blue-white light appeared on the floor a half-second before the maelogaunt disappeared through the rift way. Caina recognized the spell. It was the Seal of Shadows, designed to block any access to the Shadowlands. Had Nadia cast it a half-second faster, it would have trapped the maelogaunt here, and they could have finished it off.

  “Damn it, damn it, damn it,” snarled Nadia. “How the hell did it know we were coming?”

  “It must have heard us,” said Riordan as the light of Nadia’s Seal faded away.

  “We were silent,” said Caina, a thought scratching at the back of her head.

  “Maybe it sensed us,” said Riordan.

  Nadia shook her head. “Caina was alone last night, and she’s a valikarion. The maelogaunt couldn’t have sensed it.”

  “Smell, then,” said Riordan. “Maelogaunts have a better sense of smell than humans.”

  “But both times,” said Caina, “both times I saw a surge of power through the binding spell before it turned. Like its summoner was communicating with it. Or warning it of my approach. Or…”

  She looked along the ceiling, and then she saw the black plastic dome of a security camera about fifteen feet away.

  “Or,” said Caina, “its summoner was watching us the entire time.”

  Nadia looked at the camera, at Caina, and then back at the camera.

  “Shit,” she said. “Those things don’t have microphones, don’t they?”

  “They don’t,” said Caina. “At least, they’re not supposed to.”

  “Who has access to those cameras?” said Nadia.

  “Several of my people,” said Caina, a flicker of rage burning to life within her. The High Queen, she had come to realize, was remarkably forgiving, and quite tolerant of failure. How else would people learn, she had said more than once, if they didn’t have the chance to fail? Yet the one thing that infallibly provoked her to a deadly fury was betrayal, and Caina was starting to understand why. “Quite a few of the hospital’s higher-ranking people could access the camera feeds, though they only bother if they have a reason.”

  “Like spying on someone who is fighting their maelogaunt?” said Nadia.

  “It seems a safe bet,” said Riordan, “that whoever is accessing the camera feeds also is controlling that maelogaunt.”

  “Do you have a fix on the summoner?” said Caina.

  Nadia grinned. It was a scary kind of grin, one that showed far more teeth than necessary. It was like the insanity she kept bottled up in her eyes boiled over into her face. “Oh, yes. Let’s go have a little chat with him.” She lifted the aetherometer and scowled at its display. “This is going to work kind of like a compass. I can’t tell you exactly where he is, but I know the direction. Oh, and he’s close. Not more than a mile away. Definitely in the hospital complex somewhere.”

  “Then let’s go,” said Caina.

  They left the maternity wing and descended through the vast maze of the hospital. It was late enough that there weren’t many people in the corridors, which was a good thing. Else the sight of two women and one man armed to the teeth might have inspired some panicked calls to Homeland Security.

  They crossed the hospital lobby after Caina reassured the guards on duty there, and then the aetherometer led them towards the presentation wing.

  “Is this place a hospital or a convention center?” said Nadia, glancing at the map on the wall as they moved down a wide corridor.

  “Little bit of both,” said Caina. “The hospital has lectures and seminars in the presentation wing. And there’s a big ballroom they can use for fundraisers. That was where Andromache and Winston went.” She checked her watch. It was past 10:30 PM now, and the fundraiser had to be mostly over, save for last-minute schmoozing over drinks. Caina wondered how much donor money Winston had finagled out of Andromache’s guests.

  “That could be a problem,” said Nadia. “Because the aetherometer is taking us to the ballroom.”

  Caina frowned as they approached the opened doors. The ballroom was a large space with a polished wooden floor, holding dozens of round tables coated in white tablecloths and ringed with black chairs. Most of the tables held plates covered with the remnants of meals, and a small army of black-clad caterers was in the process of busing the tables and cleaning up. There were a few men in suits and women in evening gowns talking near the doors, but fewer than Caina would have expected.

  She also spotted Philips standing near the doors, a worried expression on his face.

  “Director,” said Philips. “I’m glad to see you. Do you know where Ms. Kardamnos and Mr. Ravenwood are?”

  Caina blinked. “You don’t know where they are?”

  “I don’t,” said Philips. “They were at the dinner, and then they stepped out. They were supposed to have given a closing address to the guests at 9:30 PM, but neither Ms. Kardamnos nor Mr. Ravenwood showed up.” A few of the guests glanced with mild concern at the heavily-armed strangers, but then saw that they were speaking with hospital security and looked away again. “I was very surprised. You know how…insistent Ms. Kardamnos is about punctuality.”

  “And they didn’t leave a message?” said Caina. Maybe some emergency had pulled Andromache away, maybe something with her children, but it was unlike her to just disappear.

  “None that I know,” said Philips. “I talked to the Chief of Medicine, the Chief of Surgery, the chief financial officer, no one knows where they went.” He hesitated. “I was about to put in a call at their house, and if they don’t answer, I was going to contact Homeland Security. People like Ms. Kardamnos might be the target of kidnappers or extortionists…or maybe leftover Rebels.”

  “Or other things,” said Nadia, gesturing with the aetherometer.

  “Ma’am, what’s going on?” said Philips.

  “I don’t know yet,” said Caina. “Stay here, and have your guards stay on patrol. We might need to call in Homeland Security, or maybe Lord Thronaris himself.” Philips’s eyes widened at that, and he nodded.

  “That door on the other side of the ballroom,” said Nadia. “We need to go in that direction.”

  “Is that a compass?” said Philips.

  “Nah, it’s a protractor.”

  To judge from Philips’s frown, Nadia’s joke went right over his head.

  Caina, Nadia, and Riordan crossed the ballroom. The caterers cast wary glances as they passed, but then turned back to their work. A long table stood on a dais at the end of the room, with name cards before each place. Caina spotted name cards for Andromache and Winston and Dr. Harper, along with the commander of the New York branch of Homeland Security, the mayor, the governor of New York, and a few other high-ranking people.

  “Andi’s got herself some rich friends, doesn’t she?” said Nadia. “We’re close. Whoever summoned the maelogaunt is behind that door.” She pointed at a utility door next to the dais. “Wonder if this isn’t about the maelogaunt at all. Maybe it’s a ransom job or something.”

  “Maybe,” said Caina. “Let’s go find out.”

  “What’s behind that door?” said Riordan.

  “Utility and storage, if I remember right,” said Caina.
She produced the master key Philips had given her earlier.

  “I’ll go first,” said Riordan. Caina wasn’t inclined to argue. “Caina, come after me. Better have your valikon ready.” Caina nodded and turned so her body would shield the sight of her assembling valikon from the caterers. “Nadia, bring up the back. If we can take the summoner alive, it would be useful to question him.”

  Nadia snorted. “So don’t blow off the top of his head?”

  “Not unless you really have to,” said Riordan. He drew a pistol in his right hand. “Ready?”

  Caina nodded, surprised by the ease with which Riordan had taken charge. Kylon possessed something of the same aura of authority. She stepped forward, unlocked the door, and slid the key back into her pocket. When she stepped back, Riordan opened the door, went through it, and got his pistol up in one smooth motion.

  “Clear,” he said.

  Caina and Nadia followed him through the door and into a storeroom. To judge from the scuff marks on the concrete floor, this room was used to store tables and chairs when they weren’t needed for functions in the ballroom. Several rows of spare chairs rested against one wall next to a pair of gray metal boxes that probably housed circuit breakers. On the far side of the room was another closed steel door. A sign bolted to the cinder blocks next to the door proclaimed that the room beyond held HVAC equipment and was accessible by authorized personnel only. Through the door, Caina heard the faint whine of fans.

  “He’s in there,” said Nadia, pointing at the door.

  “Do you know if there’s another way in or out?” said Riordan.

  “I don’t,” said Caina. She looked at Nadia. “Could you Cloak and look around?”

  “Yeah, I could,” said Nadia. “Trouble is, if I do that, the Cloak spell will break the aetherometer’s link to the summoner. We’d…” She blinked and feigned slapping herself upside the head. “Or I could just give you the aetherometer to hold. That would be the obvious thing to do, wouldn’t it? Unlock that door for me, will you?” Caina nodded and unlocked the door. Nadia handed over her aetherometer. The thing was heavier than it looked. “Be right back.” Silver light flashed around her, and Nadia disappeared as she cast the Cloak spell, though Caina could see her outlined in silver light.

  The silver outline slipped through the door and headed into the next room. Riordan shifted stance and waited, his pistol pointed in the general direction of the door. Caina focused on the vision of the valikarion, relaxing her mind as she watched Nadia’s silver outline through the wall. It moved back and forth, and…

  “There,” murmured Caina.

  “What is it?” said Riordan, not looking away from the door.

  “There’s another magical aura in that room,” said Caina. “I think that’s our summoner.” She frowned, trying to get a better look at it. “It’s…twisted, somehow.”

  “Twisted?” said Riordan. “In what way?”

  Caina blinked and drew back the vision, fighting the wave of vertigo that washed through her head. “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Either the summoner is insane, or his magic is mutating him somehow. I’ve seen something like it with Dark Ones cultists.”

  Riordan grunted. “You’re familiar with the Dark Ones cults?”

  “More than I would like,” said Caina. “I wonder if there’s a Dark Ones cultist in here. Though I imagine your wife killed most of them.”

  She wondered if Riordan would take offense at that, but he only nodded. “Most of them. But not all of them. Connor pulled most of the Dark Ones cults into his group, but the cults from eastern Europe and Asia really didn’t like his Marxism. They thought Connor would self-destruct or the High Queen would crush him.”

  “Guess they were right,” said Caina.

  “They were,” said Riordan, “though nobody but Connor saw the Sky Hammer coming.” He frowned. “This might be the work of a Dark Ones cultist. But that doesn’t make sense. A Dark Ones cultist would kill the newborns, not harvest their memories.”

  “We’re about to find out,” said Caina. “Nadia’s coming back.”

  The door slid open, and Nadia appeared out of nothingness.

  “Okay,” she said. “I found our summoner and some other problems.”

  “Who is he?” said Caina.

  “Don’t know,” said Nadia. “Some old guy in an expensive suit. Didn’t recognize him. But he’s got Kardamnos and her husband with him.”

  Caina frowned. “They’re working with him?”

  “Not likely,” said Nadia. “They’re unconscious and tied up on the floor.”

  “Well,” said Caina. “Damn it.”

  “Yeah,” said Nadia. “He’s got a laptop with him, watching the camera feeds from the hospital.” She grinned. “But there are no cameras in here, are there? Let’s go give him a nasty surprise. I’ll Cloak, walk up in front of him, and point my gun in his face. There’s enough machinery in there that you guys can hide pretty easily. When you hear me shouting, come over and stick your guns in his face. That should convince him to surrender real quick.”

  “And if he fights back?” said Caina.

  “Then we kill him,” said Riordan, voice flat. “He has summoned creatures from the Shadowlands to prey upon humans. That earns an automatic writ of execution from the Family. Even if Homeland Security gets him, he won’t end up on a Punishment Day video. They’ll just shoot him.”

  “Let’s go ruin his day,” said Nadia. She took her aetherometer, tucked it into a pocket in her coat, and drew one of her pistols. “Ready?”

  Caina dismissed her valikon and drew her own pistol. Nadia took the lead, since she was familiar with the layout of the next room, and opened the door. The utility room was a big space, dominated by mazes of pipes and the huge metal boxes of powerful air handlers. A steady, low roar filled the room, and anyone who worked in here for any length of time would need earplugs. Nadia hurried forward and then ducked behind an air handler, Caina and Riordan following her.

  “All right,” said Nadia in a low voice. She passed Riordan her aetherometer, since they might need the link later. Caina could just barely hear her over the dull roar of the machinery. “He’s behind this air handler. I’ll go first. Wait until you hear me shouting, and then come join me. Ready?”

  Caina nodded, as did Riordan, and Nadia cast the Cloak spell again. She vanished, and Caina watched the silver outline circle around the air handler.

  About five seconds later the outline vanished, and Nadia’s angry voice rang through the room.

  “Stay where you are, asshole!” she said. “Stay right where you are! Don’t move!”

  Caina leaped to her feet and raced around the air handler, Riordan a half-step behind her. She saw Nadia first, pistol in both hands. Andromache and Winston lay on the floor, unconscious, their hands tied behind their backs. Next to them was a plastic folding table supporting a laptop and an old-looking book. Before the table, his hands in the air, stood…

  Dr. Geoffrey Harper stood blinking at them.

  “What’s this all about?” he said, doing a good job of feigning bewilderment. “Director Amalas? Why are you pointing guns at me?”

  Nadia scoffed. “Boy, you suck at lying.”

  “I don’t know what’s going on,” said Harper. “Why are you pointing a gun at me, and who are these people, and why…”

  “Considering that you’re standing over the chairwoman of the board and her husband and you have a laptop showing the security camera feeds from the maternity wing,” said Caina, “she’s right, you really do suck at lying.”

  “And given that you have a copy of the Summoning Codex on your table,” said Riordan, gesturing with his free hand towards the book, “that doesn’t help your case.”

  “Summoning Codex?” said Nadia, her eyes not moving from Harper.

  “About two hundred years ago a member of the Wizard’s Legion went rogue,” said Caina, “sided with one of the early Rebel groups of the time. He wanted to give every singl
e human the ability to use magic by summoning creatures from the Shadowlands, so he secretly published a book containing the methods for summoning spells powered by blood, not raw aetheric force. The Inquisition banned it, but copies have been circulating ever since.”

  “I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Harper. “I want a lawyer right now.”

  Caina raised an eyebrow. “We’re not Homeland Security or the Inquisition. I get why you might try to summon Shadowlands creatures, but why kidnap Andromache and Winston? Why have your pet maelogaunt attack those babies?”

  A flicker of anger went over Harper’s attempt at a confused expression, and his eyes darted towards Andromache’s prone form. An idea came to Caina.

  “When Andromache wakes up,” said Caina, “she’s going to be angry with you.”

  “Why?” said Harper. “I did nothing wrong. I don’t know what any of this is about.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” said Caina. “Andromache doesn’t tolerate incompetence in her hospital…”

  That muscle jerked in Harper’s face again. “I’m the Chief of Medicine. It is my hospital.”

  “No, it’s not,” said Caina. “I mean, you’re the Chief of Medicine, but it’s Andromache’s hospital. Come on, we all know Andromache’s the one in charge. You’re just the errand boy. Does your lab coat have special slots so she can attach the puppet strings?”

  Nadia laughed.

  Harper’s expression darkened. “That is not true. I am a medical doctor! A respected medical doctor! And she’s…”

  “When she wakes up, she’ll be angry and fire you,” said Caina. “And then she’ll have you arrested. You’ll get flogged on a Punishment Day video, and they’ll probably sell you as a slave to some Elven noble or another. You’ll end your days scrubbing his toilets and mowing his lawns. Bit of a step down from serving as Andromache’s factotum…”