“Did you say raising the fecking dead?” Siobhan asked and pulled her bag up into her lap.
“That’s just one part of the fun,” Wraith said.
Caitlin drove around aimlessly while Wraith filled Siobhan in on everything. All things considered, she seemed to take it remarkably well.
“The fecking US military?” she asked.
“I’m pretty sure there’s one from the Royal Marines too,” Wraith said.
“Jesus, you don’t do by half, do you?” Siobhan asked Wraith.
“It’s their honeymoon,” Wraith said. “Didn’t seem right.”
“I think we’d all understand if you want to leave,” Edward said.
Siobhan laughed. “No way. This’ll be loads more fun than keeping things quiet in Seattle.” She shook her head. “Elaine is a fine sort, but bloody hell, it’s terrible boring there now.”
Wraith glanced up and saw Caitlin’s face in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were narrowed, and she kept glancing up into the mirror.
“What is it?” Wraith asked her.
“Don’t everyone turn and look,” she said, “but I think we’re being followed.”
Everyone turned and looked.
“Really?” Caitlin asked.
“I don’t see anyone,” Edward said.
“Well, I’ve noticed the same three cars keep showing up behind me, alternating out,” Caitlin said. “At first I thought I was paranoid, so I made a note of the license plates.”
“Same cars then, yeah?” Siobhan asked, reaching into her bag. She pulled out a couple of pistols, checked them, and put them back.
“I didn’t memorize the whole plates,” Caitlin said. “But the first few numbers all match. That would be a hell of a coincidence.”
Wraith pulled out her phone and opened the tracking app. “Yeah, they’re tailing us,” she said. “Must have put a tracker on us, or more likely the car.”
“How do you know that?” Edward asked.
“Because I put a tracker on him,” Wraith said. “One, I mean. When he walked past me back at the hotel, I dropped a little tag.”
“Well done,” Siobhan said and pulled on a shoulder rig with two holsters on it. She put the two pistols in it and secured it in place before pulling on a lightweight black jacket.
“Seriously?” Wraith asked in a whisper.
Siobhan just winked.
“I bet One figured out we know something,” Edward said.
“And why spend time and money investigating when they can just follow us and swoop in?” Caitlin said.
Wraith looked around. They were in a nicer area. The road was divided with the trolley tracks between the two flows of traffic. She thought this might be the Garden District. There were red brick buildings on their right, some kind of university from the looks of it.
“Turn in here,” Wraith said and pulled down her goggles.
“Snazzy,” Siobhan said to the eyewear.
“Why?” Caitlin asked but turned in.
It was just a little turnoff to park at the college, but it bought a little time. Wraith looked over the car and all the occupants. She didn’t find a tracker—she found four: one on the car, two on Edward, and one on Caitlin. Wraith felt a little insulted, but she realized there probably wasn’t a chance for One to tag her. Sneaky bastard must’ve set them on a delay so Wraith wouldn’t spot them. The spells were simplistic, but then they didn’t need to be complicated. She pulled them apart and pushed her goggles back up.
“Park there,” Wraith said, and Caitlin did.
“What are we doing?” Edward asked.
Wraith drew together an illusionary equation and wrapped it around the car. The color shifted silver to blue, slowly so it didn’t draw attention, and the lines of the vehicle adjusted until it was a completely different make. It wouldn’t last long without her there to hold it together, but it didn’t have to.
“Wraith?” Edward asked.
“Give me a second,” she said and wove a second equation and draped it around the car next to them. It slowly shifted until it looked like the rental car had moments before. She nodded at Siobhan. “We’re getting out.”
“Wait, what?” Caitlin asked.
“Get to the first address and find someplace to wait,” Wraith said. “We’ll get there once we take care of the tail.”
“What are you going to do?” Caitlin asked, and Wraith could see the concern in her eyes.
“Nothing bad,” Wraith said. She opened her door and got out. “I hope.”
“No promises from me,” Siobhan said as she got out. “But I won’t let nothing happen to her.”
Wraith made her way down a sidewalk between the gray stone buildings, Siobhan right behind her. The few students who meandered or sat at concrete tables gave them curious looks but nothing more. She ducked behind a tree and looked back. The masked car backed out and drove off.
“What’s your plan, then?” Siobhan said as she stepped behind another tree and tried to look casual.
“No idea,” Wraith said. “I’m making this up as I go.”
“Brilliant,” Siobhan said without a trace of sarcasm.
Wraith watched and waited.
“Nice tatts,” a guy said to Siobhan.
Wraith glanced over and saw someone who was pretty much the mental image she’d draw if someone said “frat guy.”
Siobhan laughed. “Thanks, love, but there’s nothing for you here.”
The guy walked off and muttered something Wraith didn’t catch, but she could probably guess. She also guessed that if they were in any other circumstance, Siobhan would’ve knocked him on his ass.
That’s when a car pulled into the empty spot Caitlin had left. Wraith had to give Caitlin credit. It was just another car. She probably never would’ve noticed it herself. Nothing about it said “cop” or “Fed,” and neither did the two guys who got out, neither of whom she recognized. For a moment Wraith thought she was wrong and it was just some random couple of guys. Save for their crew cuts, muscular builds, and dark glasses, there was nothing out of the ordinary about them. Then she saw one talk into his hand, and she caught sight of the wire that ran up his neck to the earpiece.
Wraith stepped into view and looked distressed, which wasn’t hard to fake. She turned her back to the legionnaires and shouted, “Go!”
“Fight or run?” Siobhan asked.
“Run for now,” Wraith said and glanced back. Her plan worked. The two were heading toward her. She pushed her goggles down, and her suspicions were confirmed. It was Three and Five, but they were cloaked in a glamour that changed their appearance. Through her enchanted lenses, she could see them as they were and instantly recognized them from their personnel files.
She turned and, not quite running, made her way deeper into the school. Siobhan was right on her heels, careful to keep her jacket from opening and flashing her guns to anyone who looked her way.
They came into what looked like a park, surrounded on all sides by various campus buildings. Was this a quad? There were trees but not nearly enough to hide behind.
She headed for the center of the quad. It was late morning on a weekday, and there were dozens of people everywhere. She started to think that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
“There,” Siobhan said and motioned to a parking garage off to the right. “We can get away from the crowds there.”
Wraith’s stomach twisted into a knot as she thought back to the garage in Seattle where she’d been chased down. It had only been thanks to some enchanted sneakers that she’d managed to escape by jumping from the top level. She didn’t have any enchanted sneakers now, and though she could probably figure something out, it was better to avoid places with limited exits.
“No, this way,” she said and started walking, quickly, across the quad.
Siobhan followed without comment, for which Wraith was grateful. She had no idea where “this way” led, but it was better than a parking garage.
Three and Five sp
otted them and started jogging after them, fast enough to catch up but not so fast they didn’t just look like a couple of guys late for class.
“They’re closing in,” Siobhan said.
“Thanks, hadn’t noticed.” Wraith scanned the area, her mind spinning as it tried to come up with some kind of plan. It wouldn’t take long for Three and Five to figure out Edward and Caitlin weren’t with them. They might break off the chase and go back to searching for them.
“We can take some cover there,” Siobhan said and nodded to some buildings just ahead. “We wait for them and take them down.”
“No,” Wraith said. “We can’t risk a fight here, and I’d rather not kill or hurt them if we can help it.”
“Aye, that’s all fine and well,” Siobhan said. “But you’ve got about thirty seconds before we’re out of options.”
They were almost out of the quad and into what looked like a food court. She saw some balconies and elevated walkways that connected two of the buildings on multiple levels.
Maybe lose them in a building? She quickly looked over the quantum information within the buildings, hoping maybe there was a usable door there. She was shocked to find there were literally dozens in every building.
She looked around and saw a little coffee stand and maybe twenty people hanging around.
“Lots of witnesses,” she muttered to herself.
“What?” Siobhan asked.
Wraith glanced back over her shoulder. Three and Five were twenty feet away.
“Screw it,” Wraith said. “Run!”
She and Siobhan broke into a sprint and bolted for the pseudo-alleyway between the buildings and the open skywalks. From the surprised sounds behind them, so did the two legionnaires.
“Jump,” Wraith said, drawing together a quick-and-dirty formula and releasing it.
As one, they leapt and were catapulted up and forward by the kinetic equation. There were several gasps and shouts of surprise as they landed on the third-floor walkway. Siobhan did some kind of parkour move, catching the nearest railing and twisting so her feet hit the far side of the landing, stopping her easily. Wraith’s foot caught the railing and she fell forward, slamming into the opposite railing so hard it almost knocked the wind out of her.
Doing her best to ignore the pain and the blow to her pride, she glanced back and saw a small crowd, including Three and Five, staring at them in awe, many of them with their phones out and recording.
“Kaput,” Wraith growled and released a ripple of entropic energy, frying the phones and their memory cards, as Siobhan pulled her to the closest door and into the building.
It was exactly as she imagined a university building looking; lots of long hallways with doors on each side. She spotted three doors she could use just on this floor.
“That was bleeding deadly,” Siobhan said. “The jumping part I mean. The landing was a bit dodgy, yeah?”
Wraith glared at her. “Yeah, well, not all of us were trained by John Woo.”
The sound of pounding feet echoed up the stairs. They’d bought a few minutes at best.
“Just get us out of here,” Siobhan said. “Teleport us out, or get us a fecking door. Something.”
Wraith shook her head. “They’d just double back. We need them out of the equation—”
Siobhan opened her mouth.
“Without bodily injury,” Wraith said.
That’s when a thought came to her, and she couldn’t help but smile. Hopefully there was enough time to do it.
“Come on,” she said and headed down the hall to an alcove just past a usable door.
She tried to run, but she’d hit that railing too hard, so she fell into a brisk walk that didn’t feel like the definition of agony when she breathed. Siobhan followed, glancing behind and ahead of them. The Fian kept one hand in her jacket, presumably on a pistol. As they walked, Wraith drew together a formulation for the door, reaching out through countless connections between the doors to find someplace distant but not dangerous. She found one at random and almost laughed when she figured out the location.
The sound of pounding feet was getting closer.
Wraith tossed the formula at the door, linking it with the destination door. Then she grabbed Siobhan, pulled her into the alcove, and wrapped them in a cloaking equation. She silently thanked Joker for the chance to figure out how to do it before now.
Siobhan must’ve felt the spell settle over her, just like Wraith did, because she went still and silent.
Slowing her breathing, Wraith reached past the pain, fear, and doubts that threatened to break her concentration. She’d never held three spells at once before. Still holding the door and the cloak in place, she drew together the third part of her plan.
Her head throbbed, and it felt like it was taking forever, the symbols and numbers drifting lazily into place. All the while the footsteps drew closer, with only quick pauses where they were probably looking into the classrooms through the small windows.
Then the footsteps rounded a corner, and Siobhan tensed. The alcove was small, just enough to get out of the way, not out of sight. Wraith placed her hand on Siobhan’s shoulder to keep her from moving as the calculation finished. It took all the focus Wraith had to hold the other two and release the third.
Then a rather imperfect copy of Wraith stepped out of the alcove, followed by one of Siobhan. The two simulacra glanced back, then ran away from Three and Five, who bolted after them, passing the real Wraith and Siobhan without so much as a sideways glance.
The illusionary pair opened the door Wraith had linked and went through it. Three and Five caught the door just before it closed and ran through.
As soon as the door closed, Wraith broke apart all the equations she was holding. The cloak fell, the illusions melted, and the door became just another door.
“Enjoy Vegas, boys,” Wraith said and collapsed.
Siobhan caught her and looked from her to the door and back. “How’d you open the bleeding door with an illusion?”
“There was a slight magnetic field holding the photons in place,” Wraith said and rubbed at her temples, hoping it would keep her head from exploding. “In other words, they were solid but only just.”
“Nicely done, love,” Siobhan said and smiled. “Off to meet Edward and Caitlin then, yeah?”
“Just give me a minute to catch my breath,” Wraith said. “I think I’m feeling better.”
Then she threw up.
“Ah, hell,” Siobhan said. “At least I’m not wearing me new boots.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Any sign of them?” Edward asked and checked the side mirror.
“No, I think we lost them,” Caitlin said, glancing in the rearview mirror for the hundredth time.
She decided it would be better if they got off this road though, just to be safe. They turned onto a smaller, residential street and barely made it a block before the illusion around them fizzled and the car returned to its original shape and color.
“How does she do all this stuff?” Edward asked, shaking his head. “I pore over books, analyzing spells and trying to create new ones. She just pulls stuff out of nowhere and does it without even breaking a sweat.”
“I think it’s a matter of practicality.”
Edward nodded. “You’re probably right. For her, magic is a matter of daily survival. If I had to do that, I’d probably be better at improvising too.”
“And that’s ignoring the whole ‘being kidnapped by a nightmarish collection of evil wizards and tortured into near insanity’ thing.”
“I feel bad for her,” he said. “I wish we could do more to help.”
Caitlin reached over and took his hand. “Me too, but from the sounds of it, Brigid is doing as good a job as anyone could. We just have to trust Wraith to look out for herself and ask for help when she needs it.”
“How many of us recognize that at the time?”
She squeezed his hand. “It’s easier for some of us.” She smiled.
“Especially when you have really good people in your life to help you see when you need help.”
He kissed her hand. “That’s true.” His smile faded a little. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”
Caitlin laughed. “Between the two of them, they could probably take on a battalion.”
“That’s sort of my point,” he said.
Caitlin opened her mouth, then thought about it and closed it. He was right. Wraith was smart and more streetwise than Caitlin would ever be, but in a lot of ways, she was still a kid. Siobhan was as tough, fast, and deadly as a navy SEAL. But she also tended to be the sort to kick a door down instead of trying to find an open one.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” she said, hoping saying it aloud would convince her. It didn’t.
They drove in silence for a long while, both checking behind them to the point of certain paranoia, justified as it might be. After thirty minutes of not seeing a familiar car, Caitlin steered toward the first address, which was right across the street from the crime scene she and Edward had visited yesterday.
“I really would love her to show me how she does that door and teleport thing,” Edward said as Caitlin turned onto their destination street.
Siobhan and Wraith stood waiting, leaning against the fence. Wraith was drinking from a bottle of water, and Caitlin thought she looked a little green.
“Are you okay?” Caitlin asked after they parked and walked over.
“Just overexerted myself,” Wraith said.
“She was fecking brilliant, she was,” Siobhan said, beaming. “Got two of them Legion boys out of the picture—”
“What?” Edward and Caitlin both asked at the same time.
“I didn’t hurt them,” Wraith said and took another drink.
Siobhan started laughing. “She sent them to fecking Las Vegas!”
Caitlin and Edward shared a look.
Wraith smiled and shrugged. “I figure it buys us a couple hours at least, even if they have some way of teleporting, which I don’t think they do.”
“Five is better than seven,” Edward said. “But we probably shouldn’t dawdle all the same.”
“Any ideas how we go about this?” Wraith asked. “I’m guessing knocking on the door and asking if anyone in the house has recently taken up the hobby of zombie-making is the wrong path to take.”
The Returned Page 21
