by TR Cameron
Across from him, the other man muttered, “We’ll need to put every damn one of them on patrol outside the venue and have sharpshooters inside.”
The boss waved a hand dismissively. “Do whatever you need to do. Give me a summary once a day. I trust you to get it right.” Left unsaid was that they doubtless thought they’d gotten it right at the mansion, too. Grisham asked, “And what will you do for magical security?”
Ozahl shrugged. Make sure there are enough holes in it to get you killed, that’s what. “I can only do so much, so we’ll have to rely on Strang’s people as an outer cordon. If they keep everyone away, that will include magical threats. I will put wards up to give us a warning if there’s magic being used within a certain radius of the building. The problem is it’ll have to happen on the day of the event since we can’t risk giving the game away.” He shook his head. “I’ll work out the best way to achieve that and I’ll be positioned close by in case. Of course, that won’t stop something like the Kraken that attacked the docks from showing up and ruining our day.”
The gang leader’s smile was bloodthirsty. “The new folks will bring firepower with them, which includes more anti-magic bullets. I think we’ll be able to handle anything they throw at us as long as they get close enough.”
“That’s good to know.” Especially for Danna and Usha. “I’ll focus on making sure they can’t attack from far away—expand the wards and position myself outside, at least at the start, where I can keep an eye on things.”
The boss nodded. “That sounds logical. Now, there’s one other thing we need to consider. The girl. She’s bound to show up.” When Ozahl had revealed to the others that Caliste Leblanc had been part of the attack, their rage had been enormous. They’d given her equal weight as the Atlanteans, which served his purposes perfectly.
Misdirection is the key, as any good magician will tell you.
Strang growled his animosity. “I’ll have someone on each side watching for her. We’ll kill her before she gets within a hundred feet.”
Ozahl shook his head. “That’s not adequate. She can come in under a veil or in a disguise. There’s no way you can identify her. You know that civilians will inevitably show up to gawk at the funeral and we can’t keep them out if you really want to make a show of force. No, we’ll need something more subtle for her.”
“Eliminate the dwarf? Grisham asked. “Use him as a hostage? Or maybe her karate teacher?”
“She’s in tight with the council now. If we do that, we’re bound to wind up with all of them against us rather than operating as a disorganized muddle of morons. No, I don’t think that’s a good play. If she’s stupid enough to show her face, we can use the innocents in the room as leverage against her. But it would be incredibly foolish of her to risk it. I doubt she’ll do it.” But oh, if she did, it would be a beautiful thing.
“I hope she does,” Strang blurted. “That witch needs to die and I want to be the one to do it.”
Grisham chuckled. “Take a number. I’m fairly sure we’d all like to put at least one bullet in her. If we’re lucky, we can capture her and let our resident interrogator spend quality time with her.” He nodded toward the mage. “In any case, get your plans together. We’ll meet here every night.” He rose and strode from the room, and the sound of a nearby door closing came a moment later.
Ozahl looked at the man across from him. “You know this is a terrible idea, right?”
“Yeah. But it’s the boss’ call. You do your part and I’ll do mine. Somehow, we’ll make it work.”
His nod covered the satisfaction he felt inside at the continued smooth operation of his plan. No, my esteemed colleague, I don’t think you will.
He had been home for more than an hour before Danna portaled into the closet. With a smile, he bounded from the bed and greeted her at the doorway that separated the small area from the bedroom. “Hello, love.” She looked beautiful in her dark suit and slicked-down short hair. Even under the light makeup she always wore, she seemed tired.
She gave him a weary grin. “Hello yourself.” She put a hand on his chest and pushed him slowly back until he fell onto the mattress, then flopped beside him. Her voice was muffled by the fact that her face was pressed into the comforter. “How was your day?”
He laughed. “Eventful. Our friend Rion is well aware that there are security risks involved with the funeral but determined to hold it just the same.”
She rolled onto her back and expelled a lungful of air. “Good. That’s good. Usha and I will start planning the attack in earnest tomorrow. I presume they’ll bring in extra troops and ring the location?”
“You got it.”
“Is it where we thought it would be?”
Ozahl laughed. “Of course. His ego could never choose anything other than the most visible church in all of New Orleans.”
Danna grinned. “It’s so comforting when people act exactly the way you expect them to.”
“Speaking of which, do you think Leblanc will show up? Grisham does. I don’t.”
She raised her hands for a moment and let them fall onto the bed. “There’s no reason for her to unless we want to give her a little nudge. But she’s one of our options to use in New Atlantis, so that would be dumb on our part.”
“It would be satisfying, though.”
“No one wants to see her defeated as much as I do.” She laughed and it sounded a little brittle. “I’m sick of being on the losing team but we need to keep our eye on the prize. At least that’s what my partner always tells me.”
He pushed onto an elbow to look at her. “He sounds like a smart person.”
Danna closed her eyes and smiled. “He’s all right.”
The day’s demand for planning and plotting fulfilled, he covered her lips with his and pushed everything other than the woman he adored out of his mind.
Chapter Six
Usha had already tried to spend time at her desk, stretched on the couch in her office, or even seated in the concealed nook she used to commune with the Empress. None of it relieved the restless energy that called her to action. She ventured into the main room and was assaulted by a wall of noise. For her patrons, workers, and the band, it was all business as normal.
But nothing is normal for me. Everything is in the air and I don’t know where any of it will land.
The worst part of it was that, for the first time in memory, she no longer possessed purity of purpose. Her last visit to the Empress had left her off-center and each day since had exacerbated the feeling. She couldn’t begin to guess at the why of Shenni’s actions, but the fact of them felt like a betrayal. And with that essential support shaken, all her efforts on the surface suddenly seemed far less important. It was a moment by moment battle to maintain her image in front of her people. This was such a fundamental problem that she couldn’t even share it with Danna.
She slid onto a barstool and gestured for a drink. The Pina Colada appeared in moments as if they’d known she was coming and had started it before she arrived. She accepted it gratefully and sipped it, then pulled the pineapple wedge from the lip of the glass and tore it from the skin with her teeth. The band segued from jazz into swing, and people flowed toward the dance floor.
Maybe I should simply become a club owner. I bet I would be good at it.
The gang leader was so absorbed in her thoughts that she had no warning of the other woman’s presence before she sat beside her.
“I’ll have what she’s having,” Danna called. Her second in command tilted her head to the side and stared at her. “You look perplexed.”
“That’s one word for it, I guess.” She laughed. “How are things on the streets?” Her place right now was at the Shark Nightclub coordinating the efforts of others despite how much she’d rather be out making things happen.
Her companion shrugged. Her navy-blue suit was perfect, as always, and she’d chosen a black shirt and purple tie to accompany it. Usha wasn’t sure how she managed to keep it looking
pressed all day and often wondered if she used magic to do it. “The usual. People are upset about the reduced quantities of both Zarcanum and Shine, and we’re redirecting their anger toward the Zatoras. I’d say the battle of opinion is trending toward our side if that matters.”
Usha tapped one nail on the bar. “It all matters. How much, only time will tell. Would you say things are stable?” Danna nodded. “That’s unacceptable. We want people angry at the Zatoras. Let’s push harder. Tomorrow, decrease the Zarcanum even more and remove any of the dealers on the street. We need to add stress to the situation so if something does break, it goes in the right direction.”
Surprise registered on the other woman’s face. “Are you sure? That’s likely to cause things to boil over.”
She sighed. “I’m tired of playing this game with them. Sunday, one way or another, this fight has to be brought to an end.”
“Okay, boss, you’re the brains of the operation.” Danna flashed her a smile. “And what do you want to do about Matriarch Caliste?”
That drew a short laugh from her boss. “Well, if the universe is kind, she’ll be swept up in the action at the funeral and we won’t have to deal with her anymore. But since that’s not something we can depend on, I guess we need to come up with another plan. What do you think?”
“I say we wrap it up. Make her an offer she won’t be able to refuse and advance the final battle. She has to be as tired of it all as we are and we can’t afford the distraction any longer.”
While she drained the rest of her drink and signaled for another, she considered her subordinate’s words. They were appealing on several levels. If the move against the Zatoras went as they hoped, the girl would be one of the last potential obstacles to securing control of the city. Admittedly, the magical council would be a challenge, but they could be convinced to join in a beneficent ruling coalition under the authority of New Atlantis. The girl was the wild card and getting her out of the way was an important step to finally achieving their purpose.
It would take the combat ritual off the table and free resources and energy for other tasks, which was another plus. The only downside was that the girl might win, which would be entirely unacceptable to the Empress as that would mean no one associated with the gang could touch her thereafter. If they chose to go that route, it would require fielding the best they had.
When her drink arrived, Usha responded with a word of thanks and shifted her gaze to her companion. “Okay. I agree. It’s time to bring it to an end. That’s our first task after the funeral. If there are any logistics to plan, get started as soon as possible.”
The other woman nodded and stood from her stool. She rested a hand on her boss’ shoulder and leaned close to whisper in her ear as applause filled the room and the band departed for their intermission. “We’ve got this. Don’t worry. All the pieces will fall into place exactly like they should, and we’ll come out the other side on top.”
Danna strode away and left only the musky scent of her perfume to accompany Usha’s musings. She sipped her drink as she put the individual components of her mental puzzle into various positions to see how they fit best. By the time she was finished, she was resolved. Even though what she intended to do now had always been a last resort part of the plan, in this unique moment, she had the power to tilt the playing surface under everyone’s feet and gain an advantage by implementing it.
She emptied the glass and placed it on the bar. When the bartender arrived and asked if she wanted a refill, she shook her head. She had a different request. “Call Mia and Tia. Tell them I need them here in an hour.”
The Atlantean gang leader had used the intervening time to prepare for the ritual. While she understood the magic she intended to cast, she had never done so on the kind of scale that would be required now. Even though her power was strong—powerful enough to help her rise to become Champion of New Atlantis—this would require more.
She feared it would require everything she had to give, which was why Danna wasn’t present. If something went wrong, at least the task given to them by the Empress could be completed under her second in command’s leadership. Whether or not Shenni still had faith in her, she intended to do her best to see her ruler’s vision realized.
The office had been transformed into a ritual area. Objects of power were present at each cardinal point, from a tiny seashell passed down from Old Atlantis to the basin she used to commune with her ruler. They would amplify what went on within it. All the furniture had been pushed out of the way save the two couches, which now faced one another in the center of the room with barely enough space between them for her to fit.
The last ten minutes were about centering herself. Usha put on the dress she had only ever worn to speak to the Empress and bound her hair in a hasty braid that hung down her back. She applied the makeup she thought of as her war paint—the deep scarlet symbols that had carried her through the ritual battles during her rise. Stripes were painted on each cheek, one for Old Atlantis and one for New. The wings of a stingray across her forehead came next. A shark’s tooth was deftly portrayed on her chin. Her personal weapons from that time, unfortunately, were on display in the palace as a reminder of her success.
At the appointed moment, the door to the office opened and the twins stepped in. The women were young, barely past the age of choice in New Atlantis and a year away from starting their third decade. Both were dark with black hair and shining eyes. They had something distinctly otherworldly about them, which was what had brought them to the Empress’s attention and then to Usha’s. It had been difficult to persuade the sisters to come to the surface but she’d managed it with promises of a quick rise through the ranks to positions of power.
If any of them survived the night, she would make good on that commitment. Such an outcome was far from guaranteed, however. The twins read the gravity of the situation instantly and did not speak as they moved to the couches when she pointed to where she wanted them. They reclined and she knelt between them and stretched her hands out to grasp a wrist of each of them. She closed her eyes and focused her mind, then began her work.
The first step was to break down the barriers between herself and her partners. Since they were young and comparatively unskilled, it would have to be a one-way flow in which she pulled from them but didn’t permit them to ride that channel into her mind. She’d done it before to replenish her strength between bouts but it had been a while. Fortunately, her magic remembered. In minutes, the women were open reservoirs of power for her to draw on.
If only the whole process was that easy. She shifted her weight to find the most comfortable position, unsure of how long she’d have to hold it. Satisfied, she tuned the physical sensations out and descended completely into the mental space where her magic lived. When they’d included the magic component in each of the new drugs, she had spent hours attuning herself to it in preparation for this moment.
She sent her power outward in a circle in search of the magical signature. The first reflections came from the main room of her club. There were only a couple, which meant that at least one high-roller able to afford Zarcanum was amongst the crowd. She almost quailed and pulled back from taking the action she’d deemed essential. But weakness of will had never stopped her before and she wouldn’t allow it to on this occasion either. Usha quashed those feelings and activated the latent power. It would take time for the spark to grow but the cycle was now in motion.
Resolved, she pressed her power farther outward and drew energy from the women beside her, who moaned in protest but were too drained to do anything to hinder it. The magic inside her pressed at her ability to control it but again, long-developed discipline prevailed. It was mere moments before she found the first Shine user and activated that magic as well. The knowledge that both drugs had responded as expected settled something in her chest.
Now, it’s only a matter of whether I’m strong enough to reach everyone in the city. Her mind held no doubt on that score. If it cost a
ll three of them their lives, she would see it accomplished. Soon, the magicals would find their power draining as the drug pulled at their magic. The additive in the human version would increase its users’ emotional volatility. Chaos would ensue for a time, during which the Atlantean gang would focus on the Zatoras and the girl. But after, when the dust settled, the city would be ripe for new leadership. Her leadership.
Chapter Seven
Cali had managed a couple of shifts at the Drunken Dragons but had given her Thursday night hours to Janice because Nylotte had made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. She’d run most of the way from the tunnel to the sword maker’s shop and only slowed as she approached to catch her breath so she wouldn’t display weakness in front of him. She was dressed for action in her uniform boots, dark jeans, and a long-sleeved black shirt.
She had no doubt that she’d fail in any number of other interesting ways during the training session they had planned for after she dropped the pommel off, so she didn’t want to do that there too. Alessand’s door was unlocked and she entered to find him seated on a high stool near the center island, reading from a very large book that appeared to be from a time long past judging by its heavy leather cover and yellowed pages. Diagrams of swords and extended swaths of text in an alphabet she didn’t recognize covered the tome.
He gave her a welcoming smile and when he saw the object she carried, it widened into a grin of delight. His voice was smooth and almost desirous. “What have you brought me, Matriarch Leblanc?”
“A little something that should make the whole reforging process easier.” She grinned in return, set the black velvet bundle on the table, and gestured for him to examine it. Alessand unfolded the fabric carefully as if he wanted to stretch the experience as long as possible. When he had finished, the hilt of the Leblanc family sword lay before them, as pristine as if it had just been created. The gem that shone in the pommel was a flawless turquoise, notable in part because that particular stone was rarely found in water.
