by Ben Hale
Polk's eyes widened in surprise and he swiveled to fire at her. She shot him in the heart, and he died with a look of disbelief on his face. Mark spun as well but Julie put him down with lethal accuracy. The sound of her small glock brought the remaining men in.
"Polk, I told you to silence your weapon," one said, and then caught sight of Julie swinging her weapon onto him. He cursed, and fumbled for his own gun. Julie's bullet penetrated his chest before he could draw, and he slumped to the floor, his features twisted in shock and anger. The man behind him died as Jack and the president fired in unison.
The president and Jack rose from where'd they'd snatched discarded weapons.
"Julie, are you alright?" the president asked.
Julie stared at the dead men with a look of grim determination. "They're getting blood on the rug."
Jack felt the urge to laugh as he checked the ammunition in Mark's weapon. "Do you always carry a concealed weapon?"
"Everywhere," the president said before she could respond. He moved to the phone. "I tried to convince her that the White House was safe, but she told me it was foolish to be unprepared."
"You can thank me anytime," the first lady exclaimed.
"Thank you," the president said.
"You sound like my wife, Kate," Jack said, causing Julie to smile.
"Oliver?" Julie said. "I've read the reports on her. We served at the same time, but I'll forgive her for being a marine. Everyone knows that the navy is the way to go."
Jack moved to the door and checked for signs that the conflict had been heard. "Sorry we couldn't meet on better terms. You two would certainly get along."
"Why don't you bring her to dinner later this week?" She moved to the opposite side of the doorway, her gun low and in the ready position.
"I'll do that."
Jack couldn't suppress a grin at her poise. The first lady had served with her husband and was as much a soldier as he was. During their early elections many had derided her for her private agenda, but the then-senator Jacob had called her a force of nature. In the now famous quote, he'd said, "You can't stop a woman like her, you can only stand back and marvel at what she's capable of". Early in her husband's presidency she had been dubbed the Iron Lady by the media, and the name had stuck.
"I can't get through," the president said, and tossed the cell phone onto the bed. "Land line is out too."
"They want this to look right," Jack said. He didn't take his gaze from the hallway. "They wouldn't want an accidental phone call getting out."
"They planned for everything but you," the president said to his wife. He moved to her side. She leaned up and kissed him.
"We always said we do everything better together," she replied quietly, "even stopping assassination attempts." She flashed a tight grin.
"When these men don’t show up someone is going to come looking," Jack said. "We need to move. They may have sent human Harbingers to do this, but there are likely mages here as well."
"I trust agent Pierce," the president said. "When Alice took over he stayed to protect me."
"Can I borrow your phone?" Jack asked.
"Why?"
"I might be able to get it to work."
"By all means," the president said, and took Jack's place at the door.
Jack strode to the bed and picked up the phone. Then he pulled a glass ball from his pocket. He tapped the runes in the correct sequence and it lit up with purple light. He touched the back of the phone and it shimmered.
"What's that?" Julie asked.
"A nexus link charm," Jack said. "A friend of my daughter's sent a pair to my wife and myself. We use them to get in touch with her."
He activated the phone and the entire screen shifted. A moment later a young woman's voice said, "I'm kind of busy right now, Jack. Can we make this fast?"
"I'm with the president right now," Jack said. "Alice sent some Harbingers to assassinate him, his wife, and me."
"Are Jacob and Julie alright?" she asked.
Julie laughed under her breath. "I don't even know her, but I like her," she said to her husband.
"Fine, for now," Jack said. "But I need to reach my wife. We came up to DC together. They've done something to the phones and I don't have mine anyway."
"Will you guys keep it down!" Iris yelled at someone. "Already done Jack, your charms are now lazed to each other as well as to me. Just tap the charm and say her name—Seriously, you guys need to keep it down! Oh, and I'll set a contingent on locking their network down. They're likely using a phasing curse to suppress your communications. I'll take care of it. Got to go!!"
Iris's voice faded amidst the sound of an explosion. The president threw Jack a look. "And who was that?"
"Someone that cannot be described," Jack said. "But she's the best asset I've ever known." He tapped the phone as Iris had instructed and said Kate's name. A moment later she answered.
"Why aren't you using your phone?" Kate asked.
"It's still at the entrance to the White House," he said. "The Harbingers tried to assassinate the president and his wife."
Kate sucked in her breath. "I'll get my gear and head over there."
"No," Jack said hastily. "I don't know who they have posted outside and you would be alone."
"I'm not going to just leave you to them," she protested, and there was the distinct sound of a gun sliding into a holster.
"Wait," the president said. "Let me talk to her."
Jack handed him the phone, and he said, "Mrs. Oliver? It's the president. I have something else in mind."
"Sir?"
"Call Captain Mallory at the DC police department and report the assassination attempt. He's a friend."
"It's after midnight," Kate said. "Will he still be at work?"
"He's like us," the president said with wry smile. "He'll be there."
"He'll send units to the White House," she replied. "Won't that stir things up?"
"Exactly," the president said. "This is what I want you to tell him . . ."
***
Ten minutes later the president, the first lady, and Jack Oliver huddled in the dark. Unwilling to risk encountering any Harbingers, they had avoided everyone as they worked their way as close as they could to the Oval Office. Then they found a hiding place and waited.
"I never thought I would be hiding in a broom closet with the president of the United States," Jack whispered.
Julie stifled a laugh. "Neither did I."
Before the president could interject, the closet vibrated from a nearby explosion. Glass shattered, and someone cried out in pain. Footsteps pounded past their hiding spot, and a moment later the wail of sirens joined the chaos.
"Right on time," the president said.
"I hope Agent Pierce doesn't destroy the china," Julie said, as another detonation rocked the West Wing.
"At least we know he's on our side," Jack said.
He'd had his doubts about bringing in the secret service agent, but he was the head of the Auren Security Squad tasked with protecting the president. If anyone could hold his own against the Harbinger mages, it was him.
"I knew he would be," the president said. "Let's go."
They eased the door open in time to see a current of flame erupt down the hall. Shouts and screams echoed, followed by the sound of concrete buckling. No one was in sight, indicating that the chaos from Pierce and the cops at the front had drawn most of the Harbingers out.
Jack led the way while the president and the first lady guarded his flanks. They reached the Oval Office and paused at the door. Jack held up three fingers and counted it down. Then he swung the door open and darted into the room.
Three men turned, and Jack gunned down the one on the left. A flicker of fire coursed up his arms but evaporated before it could become a spell. The president and his wife shot the second Harbinger, and he went down equally as fast. Coughing and fighting for breath, he struggled to bring his magic to bear. The floor melted under the president and he began
to sink, but the Iron Lady leapt to the side and put a bullet into the brain of the wounded Harbinger.
The president yanked himself free and turned on Kensey. "That's my desk, David."
Kensey's face twisted with fury. "Do you have any idea what you've just done? You've doomed us all."
"I'm not about to stop fighting because you're a coward," the president said.
Kensey stabbed a finger at him. "If this country unites with Alice, every country will give up. You and your stubborn pride are killing the planet."
He stalked around the desk until he faced the president. Both Jack and the first lady kept their guns trained on him, but he didn't seem to notice.
"When will you see that this isn't about victory? It's about survival. My deal with Alice was contingent on you being dead. It was the only way the country will go on."
"Stop," the president said. "Before I shoot you myself."
"Do you want me to do it?" Julie asked.
Kensey rounded on her. "You're even worse than he is! You wouldn't have won this office without me, and now you stand here like a self-righteous, arrogant—"
Her punch sent him to the floor. He didn't rise. In the ensuing silence a blood spattered Agent Pierce appeared in the doorway.
"All threats have been eliminated, Mr. President," he said.
"How many did we lose?" the president asked.
"Seven," Pierce replied. "Two of my team and five of your agents."
The president grimaced. "I want to notify their families, but for now, secure the White House and tell the police that it's over. Oh, and get someone to remove Kensey."
Pierce nodded but waited to leave until several other secret service appeared. Then the president looked to Jack. "It's time we let the people choose what they want for themselves."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to let the public vote on whether or not we accede to Alice's demands." He looked down on Kensey, who groaned.
"One man shouldn't decide the fate of everyone," the president said. "Even me."
Julie moved to embrace her husband. "We need to move quickly before this causes more people to panic. I'll set it up." She picked her way out of the office, but paused in the doorway. "Thanks for what you did, Jack, and don't forget about dinner."
Jack nodded, and the first lady disappeared. Several of the agents went with her. When she was gone the president turned to Jack.
"You were right, we don't have it in us to stop fighting. But I need you to start winning."
Jack motioned to the bodies of the two Harbingers. "We did today, Sir."
The president shook his head. "It's tomorrow that worries me. Find me a weapon against the Dark, or none of this will matter. You've got two weeks before the cloud reaches our borders."
"I will," Jack said, and departed.
The attack was only minutes old, but a crowd had materialized at the gate. The moment he exited a tidal wave of reporters bombarded him with questions while uniformed police struggled to hold them back. He didn't say a word. Spotting his wife's car, he strode to it and got inside. In seconds Kate had pushed their way through the crowd. The police let them through, and soon they left the chaos behind.
Jack glanced in the rearview mirror, and saw the smoke rising from the White House. Light against the dark night, it would be visible for miles. He extended a hand to his wife, who gripped it tightly. In silence they reached their hotel and found their way to their room. Finally Kate broke it.
"Is this going to get better?"
"I promised the president I would find a way."
"You didn't answer my question."
He listened to the sirens that continued to sound in the city. "I only know that I trust our daughter."
Chapter 17: Dark Trap
"Are you sure you are ready to do this?" Ivan asked Breaker.
Breaker issued a grunt. "Are you? You're the one that's going to provoke a Voidling."
"I'm not fool enough to fight it," Ivan said. "I'm just drawing it back to you."
"Don't let it catch you," Breaker said. "I don't want to find faster bait."
"I appreciate your concern," Ivan said sarcastically. Then he sobered. "Did you decide to tell Captain Thames what we're doing?"
"No need," Breaker replied, and looked up at the setting sun. "He would have just taken over and tried it his way."
"What would he have done?"
"Gotten more men killed," Breaker muttered.
"He's better than Captain Kendrik," Ivan said.
"Stepping into a small pile of reaver dung is the same as stepping into a large one."
Ivan stifled a laugh. "I'll see you soon."
"Be careful, kid," Breaker said. "And stand right where I told you. When I'm ready you will feel the dirt bump your foot."
Ivan flashed a salute and stepped from the shadows. Then he worked his way through the trees of Sentre toward the position they'd prearranged. Breaker watched him go, worried about how this was going to play out. Ivan was a good battlemage, and Breaker would hate to watch him die. Grunting to himself, he set to work.
The moment he began the Voidlings would take notice—if they spotted him. Two of Ivan's battlemage friends were positioned to prevent that. His nerves rising, Breaker stepped to the ground and it rose up to greet him. They he began casting his most powerful magic.
An hour later Breaker finished the preparations and then lifted himself out of the new hole. The two lookouts were supposed to warn him if a Voidling drifted his way, but their silence could indicate they had already been taken out. If that happened there would be nothing to stop a Voidling from coming up behind him. The threat of being Twisted hung over him like a storm, and by the time he moved into position his clothes were drenched in sweat.
Now for the hard part.
He tapped a finger on the ground, and several hundred yards away the ground bumped. Now he just had to wait for Ivan to draw one in. At first he'd resisted the kid's idea, but after Breaker had returned Rox to Tryton's he'd been lacking a plan. He still didn't care for the idea that Ivan was the runner, but Ivan had insisted. His plan, his risk, he'd argued.
His other battlemage friends had taken on lookout duties while Breaker enchanted the trap. They weren't Rayths, but they might as well have been. Their discipline was flawless, and they had earned Breaker's respect in the two practice runs. Now they would prove their worth. Or they would die.
Breaker waited, his eyes glued on the path they'd mapped out. The route between the trees of Sentre wound over a small hill and then dropped into a gulley behind the roots of a giant oak. Gnarled and thick, they closed the trail down to a narrow gap, providing a choke point that Ivan had suggested they take advantage of.
Sweat trickled down his neck as he waited, but he didn't move from his position. If a Voidling saw him his chances of survival would plummet. Aside from Ivan, he was taking the greatest risk. The enchantments he'd placed could only be enacted with proximity, meaning he had to be within ten feet to snap the trap closed. Tuned to the vibrations of the ground, he felt the distant footfalls first.
Game on.
The footsteps rattled the ground like someone tapping a table, growing louder by the second. Breaker stretched his palms out and grasped the threads of earth magic he'd prepared. Then Ivan burst into view with a Voidling trailing behind him.
Ivan tossed a fireball over his back, and then another. They exploded across the gliding creature but it did not slow. Undeterred, it continued to accelerate toward the fleeing man, his arms stretching out to grasp him.
Ivan glanced back, his eyes wide with fear, and dived to the side onto the lower path. The Voidling took the bait, and curved to follow. Giving up on attacking it, Ivan bolted down the path and appeared to race right over the trap. Breaker saw the true Ivan dive into the bushes while his illusion kept running.
The Voidling caught the illusion right on top of the trap, and slowed in confusion when its hands passed through the false image. In that instan
t Breaker pulsed his magic into the ground and it rose up to swallow the Voidling.
Like dragon's jaws the ground leapt up and snapped shut. Then the ground reformed into a prison of liquid steel. Oblong and airtight, it resembled a giant egg resting on the ground. He'd enchanted it to prevent the slightest object from escaping. But could it contain an entity of the Dark?
Past efforts by the other battlemages had proved that direct attacks failed. This time he meant to contain it. At the very least he hoped to trap the Voidling until they could figure out a way to destroy it. The lookouts drifted close as he cast the compression charm.
"Did it work?"
"Is it trapped?"
"Shh," Breaker growled.
He poured his spells into the liquid shield, and it began to constrict. The compression spell could turn coal into diamonds if the mage was skilled enough, but precious few could take the spell that far. Breaker was one of the few alive that could get close.
The liquid steel compressed tighter and tighter, causing the ground underfoot to heat up. Red simmered across the surface of the cage and forced the others to retreat. Breaker did not let up, and forced the magic to compress inward.
The cage trembled as it shrank. Breaker snarled to himself, willing his magic to tighten further. These things had killed his friends, assaulted his home, and imprisoned his daughter. This was his best chance to break one in half.
Deep in his magesight he couldn't see the Voidling, but knew that the remaining space had shrunk to the size of a basketball. He pressed it smaller. The entire egg-shaped boulder shrank further, but it was vibrating so much that the vegetation around him was losing leaves.
How much more could he go? He'd already taken the spell further than he ever had. In the back of his mind he knew he should stop and allow the spell to harden. At his side Ivan even said as much. Breaker ignored him.
The egg grew smaller as cracks appeared on its surface. Inside it remained whole, but if the cracks reached the interior shell the entire thing would explode like a pack of dynamite. He clenched his fists tighter, causing his fingernails to draw blood.
"Breaker!" Ivan hissed. "You need to stop."
