Shadow Flare (The Ruby Callaway Trilogy Book 2)

by D. N. Erikson

  “What kind of services?”

  “Security problems at a warehouse. Wants some FBI backup. Says you haven’t been doing your job.” Roark raised his eyebrow at me.

  “Yeah, well, that was never gonna happen.”

  “He’s an asshole,” Roark said.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing,” I said, trying to keep my voice loose.

  “I’ll see if I can spare a couple guys.”

  “Just don’t forget whose side you’re on.”

  Roark gave me a wry grin. But the light around him darkened, skin around his eyes creasing. “Don’t worry about that.”

  As he stood up to go, I brushed against his pants pocket. He stopped moving, giving me a strange look.

  “Be careful,” I said, looking into his eyes.

  “Come on, you know me.”

  “Who knows anyone, really?” I said.

  “We’re gonna make it through this one.” Roark stopped in the doorway and my heart hammered. He took another step away. “Just take your damn meds. And get some sleep.”

  “Of course.”

  His footsteps drifted off across the apartment, disappearing as the door shut.

  I unfurled the sheet, Roark’s data cube catching the light.

  I rolled up my sleeve, displaying Silvia’s magical timer.

  Just under nine hours left.

  The things you did to keep from hurting your friends, right?

  35

  Serenity Cole’s dragon mating instructions had been turned to mush inside my old jacket, but I’d committed the basics to memory. Tinyr, my little elf dragon friend, was feeling alone in the world. Like so many others, he wanted a friend. A special kind of friend.

  While that eternal longing warmed the cockles of my cool Realmfaring heart, I didn’t have the time to hunt down a dragon. That warehouse needed to burn in nine hours, before the first trucks left. Silvia clearly wanted to stick MagiTekk where it hurt: the share price. This kind of public fiasco would no doubt freak out investors.

  Normally, I’d be on board. But her little mission was interfering with more pressing matters—namely the Crusaders. Left unchecked, they could cause a supernatural war. No time for a nap. I adjusted the IV, setting the nozzle to maximum flow. The tension in my chest dissipated as the anti-radiation meds entered my bloodstream.

  Breathing easier, I called Serenity, staring out at the cloudless sky, still blue at 8 PM.

  “This isn’t a good time, Ruby.”

  “Look, your dragon mating instructions aren’t working for me.”

  “I didn’t make the rules. Tinyr wants what he wants.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Let’s say there’s another way.”

  “But there’s not.”

  “Use your imagination, Princess.”

  A heavy exhale, followed by, “Don’t call me that.”

  “Good. You’re listening.” I rubbed my nose, fingertips coming away wet with blood. Couldn’t a girl catch a break? “Let’s approach this from a different angle.”

  “I really need to get back—” In the background, I heard panting and a man’s voice.

  Naughty girl, Serenity Cole. She must not have been too broken up about me killing her vampire beau all those years ago.

  “Look, Tinyr escaped. That’s gotta be hard to do.”

  “There are magical wards around their dens.”

  “So he’s clever,” I said. “But not clever enough to avoid getting caught by a professor.”

  “Why don’t you ask that guy, then?” Serenity stifled a moan.

  I smiled to no one. “That’ll probably be difficult.”

  “That’s what I’d do.”

  “Hard talking to a dead man.”

  “Christ, Ruby, death really follows you everywhere.”

  I couldn’t deny that. But there was no time to reflect on my morality. People would die, and Paradisum—in whatever twisted guise the Crusaders thought up—was coming to Earth sooner rather than later.

  “Any other suggestions, Princess?”

  “I don’t know. A spell, maybe. Like a lure of some sort. But he’s not gonna like that.”

  “Black magic?”

  “Definitely,” Serenity said. Clattering in the background. Things were intense over there. “Can I go, now?”

  “As long as you’re thinking about that serum while you’re enjoying yourself.”

  There was an indignant gasp. “Get me a sample and we’ll talk.”

  “See? I think you’re starting to like me.”

  “Goodbye.”

  I slipped the phone into my pocket, racking my mind for who I knew that was capable of providing such a service. Other than Silvia, who I wanted to avoid owing more favors. A racking cough seized my chest as I walked down the skyscraper-studded street.

  Blood spattered the sepia-toned ground.

  Wiping my lips, I realized that I would be luring nothing if I was dead.

  With trepidation, I extracted the small vial from my jacket and shook it. The clear liquid bubbled inside. I’d asked for this exhaustion displacement potion.

  No time like the present to finally take it.

  Downing the tasteless mixture in one sip, I let the glass vial drop away. Feeling no different, I cut across the street, brain still searching for answers to my dilemma.

  Then it kicked in, every neuron in my mind seemingly switching on simultaneously. The neon crisscross of lights high in the sky suddenly glowed at megawatt intensity, pulling me into their thrall. Before I could stop myself, I was running, then sprinting, my chest filled with breathless energy.

  Everything drifted away: falling from the skywalk. Almost being burned alive in the sedan. Battling the hydras next to Jack’s subterranean Emporium. Amazing didn’t begin to describe the euphoria.

  And the solution to my woes came in an instant.

  Pulling Alice Conway’s handset from my jacket, I scanned her list of contacts and notes. After all, she’d been the one who had tried to take me to Danny. It stood to reason that there were more shady purveyors of goods stored in her phone.

  A minute later, I had a ream of spellcasters to choose from. All the necromancers, warlocks and shamans in the Fallout Zone were out of the question. I’d shot one Elite Guard today. Returning to the scene of the crime—even after we’d wiped our presence—was idiocy. And crossing back after they’d installed a new and improved metal man wasn’t my idea of a fun time.

  Scanning the list of names, one choice stood out from the others.

  An old friend.

  Well, not really. I didn’t have many of those.

  But Maximo owed me a big favor. And that was good enough—although it made for a two-hour drive. Four total.

  Which would be cutting it awful damn close, even if everything went right.

  A girl could dream, right?

  36

  I traded the two boxes of MagiTekk ammo and what money I had to a shady looking summoner working out of an Old Phoenix alley for an old beater and ten essence charged rounds. I hadn’t missed the magical ammunition, since MagiTekk’s product was undeniably efficient.

  But heading out into the unknown, I needed something with a little bit more range.

  Bent key in hand, I headed out the other end of the alley, searching for the car. There were plenty of rusty ones to steal, but I needed gas and an engine that wouldn’t explode in the middle of the desert. That was worth the price, and I soon found the rusted compact.

  After kicking the tires and finding everything in order, I opened the door. It shook on its hinges, but when I tried the engine, it started just fine with no hitches.

  The radio was toast, so I had only my thoughts to keep me company on the journey. I watched the digital clock warily, pushing the small car as fast as I dared. Even at close to ninety, time slipped by faster than I would’ve liked.

  The sun set, plunging the desert into darkness.

  Wind streamed in from the open window, the road empty on the endless starry h
orizon. This was how I remembered the world: open, free and full of possibilities. Or maybe I was stuck back in the 19th century. Because the West hadn’t been that way for a long time.

  The road signs had faded beyond recognition. Intercity travel, once so common that people waited in traffic for the privilege, had become a rarity.

  Thin trails of smoke appeared in the distance, thickening as I pushed forward. Finally, I saw their origin: a gauntlet of trash can barrels lit ablaze on the roadside. In the center of the road sat a jumble of old wrecks. Nothing moved in the silent desert night.

  I edged the compact off the bumpy road into the dirt, but the wisps angrily glowed deep red.

  This wasn’t the type of blockade you just drove around. The surrounding area was probably heavily mined.

  “Marauders,” I said. With MagiTekk so busy building their cities to the clouds, it stood to reason that the countryside had been left to its own devices. No wonder I had the road to myself.

  I was the only one desperate enough to drive out this way alone.

  “Display an alternate route.”

  Alice’s handset obliged, showcasing a new way that involved turning around and winding a circuitous route around the state. A leisurely journey that would take five hours.

  That didn’t work for me.

  When I jammed on the brakes, the car letting out a horrid, screeching protest. The compact lurched to a halt in the middle of the lane, a couple hundred yards from the motionless trap.

  I checked the shotgun, making sure it was loaded. Then I set to work, dumping the contents of the glovebox on the floor. Totally useless. The ancient registration crumbled between my fingertips. Checking the backseat yielded an old tire iron.

  That would do.

  I adjusted the car’s wheels so it would head slightly off road, toward the minefield. Then I put the vehicle in park before wedging the tire iron beneath the steering column against the accelerator.

  When I released it, the thing stuck. Must’ve been doing something right.

  I unlatched the door and took a deep breath. The shotgun was safely in the back holster.

  Then I put the car in drive and dove into the desert dust. My elbows raked against the hot, cracking asphalt as my knees slammed into the dirt. Barely feeling it thanks to the potion, I sprang to my feet, watching the compact roar toward the blazing row of barrels.

  Shouts sounded in the distance, bringing a smug smile to my lips.

  The car exploded in a sea of fire, shrapnel knocking over several barrels. A chunk of the taillight landed about fifty yards from my position as men streamed from their hiding places to escape the carnage. They’d been cloaked, lying in wait behind the wrecks.

  Now half of them were ablaze or picking metal slivers from their skin.

  I squinted, aiming down the shotgun’s sights. When I pulled the trigger, a bolt of sizzling lightning rushed across the red desert. The blast hit one of their riflemen in the head, turning him to ashen powder. I racked the slide and aimed again, hitting his partner before the bastard could even react.

  Then the marauders returned fire.

  I stood my ground, coolly squeezing off another shot. Yet another man fell. I saw from their body language that the remaining marauders were weighing their options. With a gentle push over the edge from another crackling shotgun blast, the rout was on.

  They retreated, scrambling into the starry night.

  Reloading as I walked up the road, I watched the troops scatter in the wind, disappearing into dots on the horizon by the time I reached the smoking blockade.

  Well, not all of them.

  There being no honor among thieves, they’d left their wounded behind.

  A man with glass studding his face crawled blindly along the hot asphalt. I put my foot into his back and pressed the shotgun barrel against his head.

  “I need a new car.”

  “Ain’t no…no cars, lady.”

  “This isn’t a negotiation.”

  “Maximo…only Maximo has a car.”

  I tensed slightly at the name. “You work for Max?”

  “I don’t need to tell you nothing.”

  “Oh, we got a brave one.” I pulled the trigger and kicked his body away. Another straggler groaned nearby. Weaving between the rusted vehicles, I found him trying to hide beneath a dilapidated sedan.

  I dragged him out by the leg.

  “I’m not a hero,” he said. I could see a chunk of metal stuck in his groin, staining his jeans red. “We work for Maximo.”

  “Great,” I said. “Because you’re gonna take me to him.”

  “He’ll kill me.”

  “He owes me one,” I said, helping the man up. His scraggly beard was coated in soot and sweat. “Especially after this welcome party.”

  “I can’t—”

  I racked the slide with one hand and placed the barrel under his chin. “I’ll get a yes from one of you.”

  Barely breathing, the marauder replied, “What do you want anyway, lady?”

  “A dragon lure.”

  “Must’ve been a big fucking favor.”

  I smiled, staring into the desert night. “It certainly was.”

  37

  I was taken to an ATV covered by illusion magic—disguised rather cleverly as a cactus. The thief, named Leo, piloted the vehicle, me riding on the back with the shotgun pressed into his spine. It took another half hour to reach Max’s settlement.

  Ever seen a ghost town? One of those places in the Old West where people simply up and left, beers still cold on saloon countertops?

  Imagine that, except modern.

  And then, after the tumbleweeds had blown through and the prairie dogs had dug around the foundations, humanity had returned after a few years to reclaim the ruins.

  Such was the town that greeted me as the four-wheeler rumbled closer to the barbed wire fence. I dug the shotgun out of Leo’s backside, so that no one would get the wrong idea. Or the right one. Two riflemen sat in guard towers crafted of scrap metal, their scopes trained at us. A crooked sign read WELCOME TO HOPE, spray-painted in uneven letters. I figured that had to be a joke.

  Leo waved, signaling that all was okay.

  The gate didn’t open. I felt like I was trying to cross the threshold from the Fallout Zone all over again. Of course, this barrier was only about fifteen feet high, and would probably succumb to a well-placed bomb. It didn’t quite pass the same muster.

  Still good enough to keep the other vagrants out.

  We purred right up the closed gate, so close that I could see the tattered remnants of old cardboard signs fluttering off the pitted metal.

  One of the rifleman called down from the tower. “No visitors.”

  “She knows Maximo,” Leo called back.

  “Boss isn’t taking in strays.”

  “Look, she knows him. Says he owes her a favor.”

  “I doubt that,” the rifleman retorted. “She clearly ain’t from around here.”

  I glanced up at the rickety tower. His aura indicated that he was a shifter. Coyote, probably, since they were common in desert regions.

  “Tell Max I remember the siege in Kentucky. Back in fifty-nine.”

  The shifter blinked back at me slowly. “How the hell do you know about that?”

  “Because I was there.”

  From the other tower, I heard his fellow guard say, “Shit, I think that’s Ruby Callaway.”

  “The one and only,” I said.

  The gun immediately lowered, and the shifter stood straighter. “I’m sorry, ma’am. It’s an honor.”

  “Ma’am?”

  Maybe my luck was finally turning. The way I saw it, I was due.

  “Goddamn, the boss is gonna be stoked.” The metal creaked loudly as it parted, revealing the crumbling town within. Like small town Americana, only covered in twenty years of desert dust.

  I prodded Leo in the back with my elbow as we glided into Hope.

  “See, you might even get a raise.�
��

  “Just don’t tell him we tried to kill you.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” I said.

  I had no time for vindictiveness.

  I needed that lure.

  And then I needed to pray that everything else would go smoothly.

  38

  “You idiots tried to kill her?” Max’s thick muscles bulged, a vein in his neck threatening to burst. The other fleeing cowards had beaten us back, telling tales of the frightening woman in the desert. When Leo showed up with me, that was the last straw.

  And Max wasn’t the forgiving type. Upon hearing the truth, he’d called them in to answer for their crimes.

  The marauder nearest Max was the unluckiest. Max picked him up and snapped his neck like a twig.

  Don’t piss off a half-titan.

  The floor shook as Max tossed the body aside.

  “Get the hell out of my sight before the rest of you join him.” The contingent scattered, leaving me alone in Max’s office. Starlight seeped through the faded maroon curtains. A simple wooden desk, sturdy but plain, sat in front of the window.

  Its surface was empty, save for a few leather-bound ledgers.

  “Ruby Callaway.” Max gave me a snug hug before I could protest. I felt the breath squeeze out of my lungs as he lifted me off my feet.

  Gasping slightly as he put me down, I said, “Good to see you, too.”

  “It’s been too long.”

  “You made me into a legend.”

  “Nah, you were always a legend.” Max headed to the desk and pulled out a small metal tin. Extracting a joint and a lighter from within, he gave me the once over. “No worse for wear, I see.”

  “The damage is all internal.”

  “Isn’t that the truth.” Smoke trailed from his fingers. He offered me a hit, but I passed. “The least I could do after that misunderstanding.”

  “All the people you snag must be misunderstood, too.”

  He shook his head, receded buzzed hair catching the slivers of moonlight. “Don’t judge me. I’ve seen you work.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” I tried to read the situation, but it wasn’t necessary. Max was as simple a man as the room in which we spoke. “I came to cash that favor.”

  “Name it.”