Motor City Mage

by Cindy Spencer Pape

  “Vindelius is in agreement with the human. He believes if we can get him to the gate, or the portal gate, he can get us through.” Fish didn’t make noise this time, but Lana heard him in her head and since the others paused and looked at him, she assumed they did, too.

  “So it’s just a matter of fighting…how many guards?” Des asked. “I hate to say it but it only took maybe six to completely overpower Lana, Vin and me.”

  “But one of them was Malen, and though he’s none too bright, he is strong,” Ordwel noted. “And his guards from the other side were there. I think he only keeps two at the portal gates and two at the building gates.”

  “Plus however many chase us out,” Fish added. “I have reached all three occupied cells. All will run and attempt to fight. So there are seven plus ourselves.”

  “So half a dozen of them, with weapons and magic, against eleven of us.” Lana tapped her foot trying not to look like an overexcited kid. They could do this. “At least two with magic, plus my fangs and fur and Ordwel’s muscle. That’s not sounding too bad, guys.” At the very least, trying sounded better than rotting in a cell for who knew how long. “How many times a day did you say they feed us?”

  “Usually only once,” Ordwel said. “Sometimes never. Once in a while, though, there’s a second bucket, right around sundown. They should be coming to get this one anytime now. Every two or three days, one of them throws a cleaning spell into the cell, by the way. No showers, ever.”

  “All the more reason to haul ass out of this pit,” Lana grumbled. Despite Des’s magical cleaning, she was still grossed out by the lack of toilet paper, though fortunately her wolf wasn’t so squeamish. “So do we jump them when they come to get the buckets?”

  “Patience, Grasshopper,” Des said. “Let’s take some time to figure out a plan, first. We can jump them if they bring us supper. Failing that, tomorrow.”

  “Just so you remember, oh wise one, your parents were coming to Detroit this week.” She glared at him through slitted eyelids. “Next weekend is your sister’s wedding shower. If we don’t show up, half the fucking city is going to go bat-shit.”

  Des actually paled. “Oh, damn, I’d forgotten all about that. Between your pack and my family—wolves, Wyndewin, Fae—all hell is going to break loose.” He didn’t say it but she knew he’d reached the same conclusion she had. In hunting for them, some of their loved ones were liable to get hurt. Des wouldn’t want that.

  It was one thing they were in complete agreement on. “Uh-huh. So let’s get moving on that plan, sensei.”

  “So, the cell locks are physical, not magical. Anybody carrying anything remotely resembling a lockpick?” Des rubbed his hands together.

  Lana rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I carry one in my fur.” She dropped her gaze to the floor. “Hey, how about the bucket handles? Those are wire.”

  “Too thick,” Ordwel noted with a grunt.

  “I’d say our friend here was tight-assed enough to thin it down with his butt cheeks.” She softened her tone just enough that she hoped Des knew she was teasing. “But seriously, he should be able to fix it with magic. Reshaping things is one of his abilities.”

  Des nodded, snapping the wire handle from the plastic bucket. “And I learned some more mundane skills, too. Like picking locks. So if we can take down the guards posted at the ends of the corridor, we might not have to wait for the guys who bring the food.”

  Lana had another idea. “What about waiting for them anyway and reshaping that into a shiv instead of a lockpick? That gives us two fewer guards to deal with.”

  “But no keys to the cells themselves, so we’d have to pick each and every lock.” Ordwel was seriously into the planning now.

  “There’s a Margetto thief two cells over,” said Fish. By now Lana was getting used to hearing him in her head. “He can pick the lock, but is unable to contribute much in a fight. Their bone structure is fragile, like glass.”

  “Good to know,” Des said. “What are our other assets?”

  “Vindelius’s magic, once we’re out of the cells,” Ordwel said.

  “Plus the woman you mated with,” Fish added with a nod at Ordwel. “She has some magic, though little for an orange. She’s in poor condition. He’s been torturing her.”

  Ordwel whirled on Fish. “Why the hell haven’t you told me that before?”

  “You never asked.” After a moment, he added, “It would have upset you and there was nothing you could do.”

  “Any others, Fish?” Lana didn’t want the two to erupt into a fight.

  “One red Gravaki who became addicted to the salt. He will fight but is weakened by withdrawal. One other green, but he is a strong physical combatant. I believe he was part of the team Vindelius had assembled.”

  “So five Gravaki of miscellaneous condition. One Margetto—a species I’ve only read about but never met—who’s good with locks. One human wizard, one lupine and one…” Des broke off as he looked at Fish. “That leaves two.”

  “A gnome, from the realm you call Faerie,” Ordwel said. “And a winged Pethit. They’re one of the races you humans mistake for angels. Or vampires. They look similar to humans but drink blood and can fly.”

  “I’ve fought one or two of those who’d come to Earth to feed.” Des frowned. “Well, I assume he can get himself over the wall.”

  “She. And my race is called Shllltpppllthkk.” There were trills and clicking sounds that would be difficult for the human tongue to replicate. “Just continue using Fish.”

  “Got it,” Lana agreed. “So one could go over the wall. But not necessarily into the portal ring if the cover is domed.”

  “Correct.”

  “The gnome can go with us or us with it. We can get between Underhill and Detroit with no problem,” Lana said. “I assume none of the Gravaki are aiming for the portals, and will head for the wall or the gate, then scatter. If those of us from other realms try for the portals, it should split the pursuit, giving us a chance to make it.”

  “Actually, I have a better idea,” Ordwel said. “There’s a single portal here in the house, not far from a tunnel that opens outside the gate. It doesn’t lead to Earth, but I have friends on the other side—including a mage who can create one-time portals.”

  Des grinned. “I think you just made our day.”

  * * *

  About twenty minutes later, they’d concocted the rudiments of a plan. Des wasn’t at all sure it would work, but they couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. His main concern was that Fish was leading them down the garden path. If the demon’s translation wasn’t genuine or accurate, they were in a whole lot of trouble. The second issue was Ordwel’s back door portal. While it made sense for Nightshade to have built a bolt hole into his castle, they had only Ordwel’s word that it was still there and likely to be unguarded. Not to mention only him to rely on in an utterly unfamiliar world.

  “I hear them coming,” Fish said. Des nodded and they all took up their positions. Theirs was the second cell the guards would come to. The Gravaki trio in the first would try to take them, but Des and company had to be ready in case their neighbors failed. He and the glass guy in the next cell had both picked their locks, so they could burst into the hallway as soon as the Gravakis made their move. Des had his shirt back on and laid his hand on Lana’s furry head where she leaned against his thigh. One thing was certain—he wasn’t about go home without her. And not just because her cousins would take him apart.

  Sounds of a struggle were muffled by the stone, but Fish nodded. The Gravakis had made their attack. Fish yanked their door open, allowing Des, Lana and Ordwel to erupt into the corridor. The first thing Des did was slam a spell down the hall, hopefully jamming the Gravaki’s guns. Based on the cursing, he’d succeeded.

  On the other side, the angel-vampire thing emerged, and she flew alongside Ordwel, while Des and Lana sprinted toward the other. Des felt a force spell slam into his chest, but he’d warded himself and his cellmates so it slowed him o
nly a little. One or two more, though, would be all his defenses could cope with.

  He used his makeshift shiv to stab one of the guards, a red Gravaki, while Lana attacked the green with teeth and claws. Fish was close behind her. Des had no idea what the purple, drooling demon was able to do, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. He blasted a bolt of light into the Gravaki’s eyes, hopefully blinding him.

  The creature raked Des with his talons, opening a series of gouges deep into Des’s shoulder. Afraid he would bleed out, Des made one last effort, jabbing his wire-turned-blade deep into the Gravaki’s throat.

  It gurgled and fell.

  Pressing his hand down on the deepest cut, Des looked over to see that Fish had some interesting abilities. His webbed hand had expanded to cover the Gravaki guard’s face, apparently suffocating him while Lana picked up the creature’s own gun and shot it.

  When had she shifted? Des didn’t want to ask. He pulled a bloody tunic from the guard he’d killed and threw it to her after he spent the minimum possible magic to stop the bleeding from his shoulder.

  The fight at the end of the hall was over. Ordwel limped down the stone floor with another guard’s gun, bleeding from a dozen or more wounds. “Let’s go.”

  “Can you make it?” Des had expended a lot of magic, but he wasn’t going to let an ally die if he could help it.

  Ordwel responded with a curt nod. “Let’s get the hell out of Dodge, partners.” The western twang rang through the corridor. He wrapped his arm around a female Gravaki, who also limped pretty badly.

  The others emerged from their rooms—all except for one of the Gravakis, the addict, who had been killed trying to subdue the guards. Knowing there was no help for him, Des left the body behind and followed Ordwel down the passage to the midpoint, where double doors opened onto a set of stairs that led up and down. The stairway itself wasn’t guarded at this level, though both sets of guards they’d taken out had had eyes on it. That meant it probably was guarded wherever it opened out.

  “We go down,” Ordwel said. “There is a secret door on the lowest level that leads to a tunnel as well as a portal. If Malen has discovered it, then it will be heavily guarded, so be ready for another fight. Also, any of his people with access to this level will be the best he has.”

  Lana, who had shrugged on the loose, bloodstained tunic, cocked the weapon in her hand. “Bring it.”

  Des resisted the urge to shove her behind him. It was getting harder and harder to remember she didn’t respond well to his treating her as a liability rather than an asset. He did wish she’d keep in mind that he had a lot more combat experience than she did. Probably most of this motley crew did, for that matter, possibly excluding the severely wounded female Gravaki and the pale gray, thin creature with big eyes. He looked like he came from Area 51. Had the human notion of aliens come from the Margetto? Glass-like bones, Ordwel had said, so no good in a fight. That left eight combatants. Fish had a pistol, plus his weird stretching ability. Even the gnome had picked up one of the rifles and looked like he knew how to use it, never mind it was taller than he was. Their force was small but determined, and it would have to be enough.

  “You want me to cast a sound-dampening spell on us?” Des asked the others. That one didn’t take a lot of power. “We won’t be totally silent, but we shouldn’t attract attention unless we do something loud, like scream or fire a weapon.”

  The others nodded and they moved together into the stairwell for Des to cast the spell.

  Ordwel paused at the top of the stairs, clearly torn between helping his woman and leading them. “Let me take her,” Lana said, her voice no more than a whisper due to the spell. “You know the way, and you’re a better fighter than me, but I am strong enough to carry someone, if it comes to that.”

  With obvious reluctance Ordwel nodded. Odd how Des had learned to read Gravaki expressions in such a short time.

  Lana slung her rifle over her back. She wrapped an arm around the other female, supporting most of her weight. “Hi there. I’m Lana. Don’t worry, we’re going to get you out of this.”

  “Nissettin,” the other female whispered, leaning heavily and giving Lana a small smile. “Thank you.”

  Ordwel and Vin led the way, with Des and Fish right behind them. The gnome and the gray guy followed Lana and Nissettin, while the vampire-angel and the other green Gravaki brought up the rear. It was creepy as hell to have demons at his back, but Des knew Lana was watching the rear as well. He trusted her. Even in fight, though most of his instincts screamed at the idea of her being anywhere near one.

  They paused at a landing one story down. Vin listened at the door. After a moment, he shook his head and motioned for them all to keep moving. They went down three flights that way, finally coming to the very bottom of the stairwell.

  Once again, Ordwel and Vin both listened at the door. Ordwel held up two fingers and Vin shook his head, holding up four.

  Lana eased her charge down onto a step. “Rest and watch our backs.”

  Nissettin nodded. The gray man nodded as well, standing beside her, facing up the stairs after he allowed the others to pass.

  “Close your eyes when you open the doors,” Des told the Gravakis. He knew they were sensitive to light, so a flash spell would slow the guards.

  The others nodded and lined up beside the doors. On Des’s count, they flung them open, and he cast his flash, another low-power spell that didn’t cost him much in the way of energy. Then he brought up his makeshift knife and slit the throat of the first guard he found. Their scaled skin didn’t pierce easily, so the Gravaki got in a few claw wounds before Des was done.

  When he fell, Des grabbed his semiautomatic. Much better.

  Shots were fired, and one of their number fell. So much for silence. The Pethit, which really did resemble a cross between a vampire and an angel, howled as her cellmate dropped. She flew forward and savagely ripped out the throat of the guard who’d shot, taking several bullets herself in the process. Both fell to the ground. Lana and the gnome fired down the hallway, killing another who had just started to run toward the fray. Bullets peppered the area, and the gnome dropped as well.

  To Des’s horror, Lana did too. He emptied his own gun on the last of the guards, and turned back to Lana. Instead of a woman, a wolf lay on the floor, bleeding but watching him steadily, still tangled up in the tunic she’d had on. As the others checked the carnage, she shifted back to human, then back to wolf twice, finally staying human.

  “Thankfully, it was a through-and-through, so I didn’t heal the bullet inside my leg,” she said. She looked around at the others. “Oh, fuck. How many did we lose?”

  Vin stood, battered, but not down. “Three. Taslev, the gnome, and the Pethit.” Taslev must have been the other green Gravaki. It would be harder to fight them, now that Des thought of them as people. No wonder the Wyndewin had trained him not to.

  Lana leaned over the gnome and closed its eyes. She stood, still biting her lip as if to hold back tears, but her shoulders were square and her jaw firm. What a woman.

  Ordwel looked out into the stairwell. “Come on.” He hugged Nissettin before handing her off to Lana. “Their sacrifice shouldn’t be in vain.”

  “No,” Des said. “Now where’s this secret passage?”

  “Just around that corner.” Ordwel hugged the wall as he approached the corner. “Wait here,” he told the others. Des watched around the corner as Vin and Ordwel kicked open a wooden door and fired into a room. Vin threw a magical bolt into the area, and both fired their stolen guns on full automatic. Soon, Ordwel yelled back at the rest of them. “Hurry up.”

  Des led the others into the room, trying not to look at the three mangled Gravaki bodies, though he did switch out his empty gun for one of theirs.

  The room was some sort of lounge or break room. The three guards in it had been eating, based on the food now covered in blood on the table they sat around. Ordwel moved something off a shelf in the back corner of the
room, and the shelf eased aside, revealing a darkened tunnel, with steps leading downward. After flicking on a light with a short spell, Vin took the lead, with Des close behind him, and the others following one by one, except for Nissettin, who still leaned on Lana. Ordwel pushed the shelf back into place and followed Fish.

  The tunnel leveled out after perhaps fifty feet of dipping lower as if going under a moat.

  After another hundred feet or so, it sloped upward again and halfway to the end, Ordwel stopped and pushed a brick on the wall. Des could just barely tell it held a small marking. A section of the wall opened into the shimmering darkness of a portal.

  “Time to go our separate ways,” Ordwel said. “I have to get Nissettin to a healer in the village. He’ll hide us until she can teleport us away.”

  The gray guy stood with them. He said something and Vin, in his Gravaki shape but still wearing his sweatpants and tight tank top from Detroit, translated. “His people will be looking for him on this world. He’s going with them.” Vin looked at Fish. “This portal goes to your world, though it’s on a different continent. That cool with you? I can transport you home from there.”

  Fish nodded and saluted Ordwel as he stepped through the portal. Lana waved and went through as well.

  “You first.” Des still didn’t entirely trust Vin. The guy had led them into an ambush once before.

  Vin nodded and vanished, with Des following closely behind.

  Chapter Six

  Lana dragged in a breath after stepping through the portal. The land on the other side was wooded and dark, the air desert-dry and hot.

  Fish groaned. “This dryness hurts.”

  Des and Vin stepped out of the shimmer and Lana breathed a little easier, even though the four of them were on their own now.

  Vin cast a small light spell. The glow was dim, but it was enough to see that everyone, except Lana, in their little party was a bloody mess, and she wore nothing but a torn and blood-stained tunic. Des scowled and she carefully tugged it so it at least covered her breasts. He took off his shirt and handed it to her but she shook her head. No way she could wear flannel in this heat. He sighed and tied it around his waist.