"What about her?" I asked.
"Charlene Devangi. She's an agent and fight promoter," he said. "She represents Tiburon's opponent in the upcoming match in Las Vegas."
"You think it was accidental, then, that she happened to show up while we're working out?" Lexsi asked.
"I hear they have spies everywhere," Jorden said. "Including outside private gyms and such. Who might have told her where you were?" he asked.
I went still.
"Farin," Lexsi breathed a disappointed sigh.
* * *
Lexsi
"She's crying, now," Anita reported. "She didn't realize they weren't just fans, standing outside Tibby's gym asking about the guy who'd sparred with Tibby awhile back. It's obvious they've been watching the gym for weeks and saw Kory go in and out."
"Oh, no." I had a headache, and it was getting worse by the second. Why had Farin felt it was all right to tell anyone that Kory was in D.C.?
"They must be really interested to get that bitch on it and to D.C. so fast," Anita grumped.
"I'm worried they're not only into fight promotion," I responded. "I don't trust anybody, anymore."
"Oh. I see what you mean," Anita said after thinking about it. We were having a face to face via computer, and she was now just as unhappy as I was about the situation. "They connect Farin to you, and Kory to you, and then Farin to Tibby, and presto—they're trying to wiggle their way in, so they can take you and kill the rest of us. Especially since they failed so miserably to do that a few nights ago."
"Yeah, provided Granger isn't so pissed he wants me dead with the rest of you, because they now realize we're working for the government. How's Watson?" I changed the subject.
I didn't know that would be the wrong question to ask her; Anita's face became a mask. "Eating. Sleeping. Griping. That's about it."
"Typical werewolf," I attempted humor. It fell flat. "Tell me he's not still pining after that two-faced bitch of a girlfriend," I began.
"Maybe we'll talk about that another time, okay?" Anita dropped her eyes. I'd hit the nail on the head. I wanted to hit Watson on the head, too.
"Look, tell Farin to stop crying—it would have happened eventually, I'm sure. Just tell her that information about all of us should be guarded carefully from now on."
"I will. She feels bad enough, I think, that she'll never open her mouth again."
"Tell her to be careful. Tibby, too. She's been kidnapped once. We don't need that kind of dangerous inconvenience in our lives again. It's how we lost Martin."
"Tibby's entire family is going to Vegas, and I think that's unusual," Anita said. "I believe they intend to act as bodyguards for him. For Farin, too. They're pissed about Martin, you can count on that."
"Poor Martin," I sighed. "We still haven't mourned properly for those we lost."
"When you come back, we'll have a memorial. How's that?" Anita asked.
"I think that's a good idea. You choose where and when. Okay?"
"Yeah."
"Look, I gotta go," I said. "I have an early meeting, and I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Then get in bed," Anita scolded. "We'll be fine—I'll make sure of it."
"Thanks," I said and ended the call.
* * *
Peru
Laurel Rome
"Laurel, my love, it is only a temporary setback. We'll make sure of his death next time."
"That's not acceptable," I snapped at Berke. "He was supposed to be dead. Dead-dead. Not pretend-dead."
"My love, Deris is consulting with his uncle. You have nothing to worry about."
"Fuck his uncle," I snapped.
"Dearest, Morgett Blackmantle is a very powerful warlock and a partner to Dervil for many, many years. He has placed Deris and Daris at your disposal, you know."
"Berke, don't make me regret letting my husband die," I fumed. Yes, Jamie was dead—I had several online newspapers that bore photographs of the burned pile that was once my home in LA. Jamie was hidden in the closet, away from human eyes. He'd died in that fire with nobody the wiser, until afterward. Federal authorities reported his death two days earlier, after sifting through the debris. I'd seen the report in an online newspaper.
I really didn't care—Jamie's money was the most attractive thing about him since the beginning.
The money was mine, now. All of it. Berke had no legal claim to any of Jamie's bank accounts, no matter how much he resembled my deceased husband. It made me glad we'd never had kids—I didn't have to share. The fucking Feds had locked up everything I hadn't already transferred, and that made me want to murder all of them, beginning with Kory Wilson.
The Kory Wilson I'd thought was already dead.
To take my mind off frozen assets, I considered Dervil's promise of wealth beyond imagining if I invested in his new drug. People will kill to get it, he'd told me.
I didn't care who died, as long as the money came back to me in the billions, as he said it would. So many people said love was the most important thing. They were delusional.
Money was the most important thing.
* * *
Lexsi
"So far, there hasn't been a mass exodus of people fleeing Peru," Opal said. We sat inside her office as she laid out information gathered in recent days. I found it difficult to believe that it was less than a week since we'd fought with Laurel, Granger and Claudia's bunch outside San Francisco.
Claudia was dead, but Granger and Laurel were alive as far as we knew. They had at least one powerful warlock at their disposal, and if my guess were correct, others, too. It made me wonder who'd brought them to Laurel's attention. Jamie only had limited information on all of it, beginning with Laurel cheating with the one called Berke Gillson.
"The majority of the Rome's liquid assets were diverted from domestic accounts before we froze them," Opal continued. "We're getting preliminary information that Laurel's name was on numerous offshore accounts—most of which disappeared before we could do anything about them."
"You believe the money has been funneled to Peru?" Kell asked.
"Yes." Opal nodded at Kell's assumption. "I'm working on getting cooperation from other countries to stop imports into Peru, but that, so far, has been useless."
"Money from Earth has no value elsewhere," I said. "So they intend to spend what they have here and sell all their product elsewhere? That really doesn't make a lot of sense."
"It doesn't, does it?" Opal turned dark, unblinking eyes in my direction. "Perhaps some untruths have been told to Earth's investors, to keep them onboard?"
"We figure it's drakus seed," Kory said flatly. "If you don't know what that is, Kell can probably explain it best. We don't need that stuff anywhere on Earth."
"Kell has already informed me," Opal sighed. Today, she'd left her long, black hair loose, and it hung in straight, shining swaths to her waist. She shoved part of it impatiently behind an ear and studied the tablet in front of her—it held information she'd passed on to us.
"For now," she lifted her eyes to meet ours, "We've been instructed to stay away from Peru. The bordering countries—those we can visit, except for Colombia. Word from the President is that this is a delicate situation the State Department should handle."
"What's going on with Colombia?" I asked.
"They're working on a private treaty with Peru. Money may be involved," Opal replied. "They've refused an envoy from our State Department, and the Colombian Ambassador has already declined to meet the Secretary of State. The last I heard, he was packing to move back home."
"Have you met with the Secretary of State?" Kory asked.
"Yes. Secretary of Defense Hunter thinks Secretary of State Hinson is an idiot, but he didn't come right out and say it. The President is siding with State for now, unless something blows up first."
"Something already blew up—in California," I pointed out.
"Yes, but we have yet to officially place blame." I could see that Opal wasn't happy about that. "For now,
all fingers point to US citizens—Laurel and James Rome. We reported James as having died in the fire at his LA home, and Laurel as missing and possibly out of the country, but that's it. It still leaves Jamie as a guilty party—making him temporarily dead was the best I could do."
"So we can't convince them that Jamie had nothing to do with this?"
"Have you ever tried to convince a mundane human of the existence of other worlds and races other than human?" Opal's right eyebrow lifted. "The ones who say they believe are labeled as nuts and crackpots. They don't have real information to produce, so there's no good way to convince anybody."
"Well, no. And some of those races don't want to be outed anyway," I said.
"Very true. I can't get different species of shifters to agree on anything, let alone come out of the jungle or the cave."
By her statement, I knew Opal had attempted to unite the shifters. Perhaps was still trying to do so. Gran always said in a room full of twenty people, at least eighteen would have differing ideas on how to accomplish the same goal. The last two were probably in bed together and felt obligated to agree with their partner.
Gran wouldn't wait for the State Department to give the okay to go to Peru. This was something I'd have to think about, before siding with anyone.
"We still don't know what they were lobbing at Kory," I said. "In California. If those were magical blasts, he should have nullified them. That's what our kind does."
"Non-magical weapons," Kell considered my words. "That makes sense, but what sort of non-magical weapons would have an impact on your kind? Anything made on this world?"
"I'd say it would take a really big weapon, and I have to tell you, those blasts were coming from everywhere," Kory said. "Every time I went toward the location of the last firing, I'd be fired at from another direction."
Kell went still for a moment.
"Director, may I see you in private?" he asked, surprising Kory and me.
* * *
Opal
"You're sure of this?" I asked. I should have known better. There was no subterfuge in Kell's eyes or his expression.
"Yes. Those two—they've had the construction plans for millennia. I suspect this is a testing ground for their initial efforts at building these machines."
"Deris and Daris Arden," I raked fingers through my hair. I'd left it loose that morning, because—because I was seeing Kell. I may as well be honest with myself on that, at least.
As for a Fifth-level warlock and a Fourth-level witch building some of the most destructive weapons another world had produced; that was worse news than I expected. No wonder Kory was turning in circles, attempting to combat them. In fact, a single weapon could have done the damage in California.
N'il Mo'erti. Death machines, they'd been named. That was their sole purpose—to bring death to an enemy. They didn't give up, either, unless they were destroyed or recalled by the one who commanded them.
Earth wasn't ready for N'il Mo'erti. Wouldn't be for centuries, at the very least. "They're armed with ranos technology—the N'il Mo'erti," I said.
"Yes."
"We're screwed."
"In a most unfortunate manner," Kell agreed.
* * *
Lexsi
"I'm going to run a background check on Charlene Devangi and have her movements tracked," Opal said once she and Kell came back to her office. "I think Kell is right and there's more going on there than her desire to hire Kory. Too many coincidences."
"She'll be in Vegas during Tibby's fight," I said. "He could be in danger, too."
"I'm considering that," Opal nodded. I understood this was just a subject to distract us—she and Kell had talked about other things while they were gone.
"If Devangi is connected to those in Peru, and that could be," Opal tapped her chin with a finger, "Then maybe we can use our resources to get information from her."
"Anita? Or a vampire?" Kory asked bluntly.
"Either works for me," Opal said, taking her seat and frowning at her tablet. "I'll have some of mine following her and tracking her communications and expenditures. If anything connects her to Peru or those we're looking for, I think you'll be heading for Vegas. She's approached you once, Kory," Opal's dark eyes studied his face. "We may ask you to be a bit more cooperative this time—to draw her in. Let's face it—my hands are currently tied where Peru is concerned, so we'll work it from the States if we can."
"Sounds good," Kory slapped a knee. If that woman is connected, I really, really want my hands on her. They killed a lot of good people in California."
"You must let us get information, first," Kell advised.
"Don't worry. I have control of my Thifilathi. You can get as much as you need—it's just that my hand may be around her throat while she tells you everything she knows."
"Suitable," Kell agreed with a slight nod.
"There may be a problem if she's already obsessed," I said. "Anita says so."
"Then Anita should be with you," Opal said. "What is the status of the werewolf? Will he be recovered enough to take along?"
"Oh, I think so," I said, although I worried what Anita would think. "His sister could go, too," I suggested.
"Good. I'll ask you to carry job offers to them," Opal said. "I'd like Mason and Klancy to travel at night—I can arrange transportation for them."
"We can all travel at night," Kell said.
"True. I'll schedule a private jet. It's not a long trip from San Francisco to Vegas."
* * *
"The Colorado prison riot ended about an hour ago—they're counting bodies," Jorden informed us as he drove to our hotel. "We have two more to visit tomorrow, before the boss sends you home for a few days."
"What's the preliminary on that?" Kory asked.
"At least a hundred dead. I think that's conservative," Jorden shook his head as he turned a corner. "Word has it that some of the guards locked themselves inside a room somewhere, but I think the boss wants you to question them in a few days. Just to make sure they weren't part of the problem."
"Yeah."
"I'll let you know when it's set up," Jorden said. "Until then, just put it out of your mind."
"Easier said than done," I mumbled on of Gran's favorites while staring at my hands.
It's okay, baby, one of Kory's hands covered both of mine.
* * *
Kordevik
After another restless night and an early morning in the gym, Lexsi and I got ready for our trip to two prisons; one in New York, another in Virginia. Virginia was closest so it was first on the list. A helicopter was scheduled to take us there.
I almost wished they'd let Lexsi and me skip in with Kell and Opal, who was coming with us, this time.
Opal was determined to arrive by mundane means. I realized that many High Demons only had the talent to skip themselves; my ability to skip others, too, was very rare and secured a higher rank for me in the military. At times, I wondered if that ability alone made me a viable candidate as Lexsi's mate.
Lexsi had it, too, but I wasn't surprised, considering her lineage and her connections to royalty. Between her skipping and misting abilities, she could get anyone in or out of almost any situation.
Anita, Farin, Tibby and Diego owed their lives to her, merely for those talents.
As did I. I still hadn't considered what she'd done at the end of the battle; we'd have lost that round if not for her.
"I'm coming, too," Jorden announced as he opened a car door for Lexsi in front of the hotel.
"Good to have you with us," Kell nodded. Those two were becoming friends; that was obvious.
The helicopter waited for us at a small airfield outside Silver Spring, and, as instructed, we climbed aboard, buckled in and placed headsets on to muffle the noise and to enable us to talk to one another.
I'd ridden in an airchopper; this was an airchopper's great-great-great-grandfather, perhaps. Noisy as hell, too.
"Better than a ride at the amusement park," Jorden
spoke into his mic. "Louder, too."
"Louder isn't better," I said. "You're a werewolf. You have sensitive ears, man. What the hell are you talking about?"
"Just making conversation," Jorden turned and grinned from his seat in front of mine.
Yeah, I was beginning to like him, too.
I suppose it was a good thing that our pilots were also werewolves; I wouldn't have said what I had if they weren't. I could see them grinning at one another as they lifted the craft off the tarmac and headed south.
"The prison population will be locked down while we're there, to avoid a repeat of Colorado," Opal interrupted. She sat beside Kell behind the pilots, and turned to look at all of us.
"I sure hope there's no repeat of Colorado," Lexsi replied. "We don't need more of that. Do you have updated information on the death toll?"
"Nearly two hundred," Opal said and turned back in her seat. Kell watched her closely, although he didn't say anything.
I think most of the guards died, Lexsi sent. Mindspeech was the only way we could hold a private conversation on the helicopter. She was telling me in a roundabout way how much the riot upset her. I tried to get numbers of guards employed there, she went on. But that's not easy to find.
Probably for good reason, I responded. Put it out of your mind, love. It's over. We can't do anything about it now.
I wish I'd done something about it when it was going on, she replied, surprising me.
What? I asked, shocked by her words.
I can mist, remember? All I needed to know was where those guards were and I could have gone to get them. I feel terrible, she admitted. Gran wouldn't have waited. She'd have gone straight in there and done what needed to be done.
You're not your grandmother, I pointed out.
Yeah. Thanks for the reminder.
Baby, my father is Lord Nedevik Weth. Have you heard of him?
She turned to look at me, before blinking twice. The High Demon who's stood up for so many, even when it meant he was arguing with the King—not just this one but the two before him? Or even disagreeing at times with Kifirin? That Lord Weth? I could tell she was impressed.
That's the one. I'm not my father, either, although I wish I were, at times.
A Demon's Work Is Never Done: Latter Day Demons, Book 2 Page 6
