“Your people attacked ASSET already,” Grey reminded Zack. His tone was no less angry, but he no longer held his blade ready to strike.
“Not my coven. Not me. You of all people should know that my kind are very much independent,” Zack replied, insulted.
“But you were the one to offer us information,” Sage added. “Little as that has been.”
“At great personal cost!” Zack rounded on her. “The only reason I’m here is to get back into their good graces.”
“How exactly?” Sage asked.
“Honey, there are things you should not know.” His tone turned deadly. His cold eyes came within an inch of hers before she had time to register his movement. A viper masquerading as a worm – he’d had them all fooled by his personality, which allowed them to take him for granted. She had his number now, and would not soon forget the lesson he’d just given her. His warning meant death for whoever it was that dared come after the bait they’d laid.
Although she was standing so close she could feel his cold breath on her skin, Zack’s eyes were not on hers. He was staring at the bandage, a thin barrier between him and the fresh wound. Could he smell the blood there? She gulped the knot suddenly blocking her throat.
“Still wearing your silver necklace?” Zack jabbed a finger toward her chest.
Her hand flew up to her neck, fingers seeking the chain. “You don’t like silver, do you?”
Zack scoffed, backing away slowly. “Silver doesn’t bother me as much as that tree.”
“Terras aren’t your enemy.” The words flew from Sage’s mouth on instinct.
“Your murderer is not Terra.” Zack said the words to Sage, but his tone was loud enough to be a reminder for the whole room. “They’re pretending to be one, though. And they know the secret to the weapon that can destroy magic.”
“That it must touch its victim?” Sage replied, trying to hold back the trembling notes of fear. “So how did it wipe out a whole coven?”
“One painful death at a time, as far as I was informed.” Zack resumed his pacing. “And that is exactly how they will be paid back.”
That was not something she wanted to see: death. More death. Too much for one lifetime, and yet she knew there would be more. All the angst and pacing in the room only made the tension thicker. They needed to take their minds off revenge and murder, at least for a few moments, or they would end up killing each other from sheer boredom. She struggled for something to say to change the subject, maybe bring a little lighter tone to the conversation, but she came up empty.
Devon returned to his muttering, Grey pulled out a whetstone and sat on the futon, sharpening his machete, and Zack paced round and round, eyeing everyone like a hungry cat.
An unspoken truce of avoidance. Not entirely comfortable, but safe.
The lights went out, sending them all into shocking darkness. Sage’s heart skipped a beat.
Had Ava really fallen for the bait?
With the power gone, the alarm systems were rendered silent, but they had magic on their side too. Nyx had long since left, but her barrier remained strong. The office was a magical rat trap waiting to be sprung by anyone not of Terra lineage.
Patiently they waited in lounge just behind the gym, listening at the walls for the intruder to go to work. The door unlocked and opened with barely a sound. Whoever it was had skill. Next came the office door – Sage heard small scraping sounds as the lock was carefully picked.
As tempting as it was to jump out and stop them, the group remained silent, waiting for the trap to be sprung. The true test was whether or not the interloper could pass in and out of the barrier. The one who had used the weapon was not a Terra.
Sage’s heart ticked double-time as if racing the clock; seconds felt like hours, an eternity trapped in the bubble of a few precious minutes.
A woman groaned loudly – her voice angry and afraid at the same time – followed by the hard slam of a fist against walls.
Devon, Zack, Grey, and Sage rushed for the door, as if there were a prize for the one who learned the intruder’s identity first.
The front door had been propped open for a quick escape. The office door was gaping as well. Inside the woman’s grunts and groans of frustration quickly turned to demanding shrieks. “Let me out!”
Sage emerged the winner, first to the office door, her eagerness having superseded her judgment. This was the person responsible for the death of her mother, the one who had started the violence that had them all teetering on the brink of war.
Her eyes met with a haughty glare, condemning as much as they were pleading for Sage to let her go. “You can’t do this. You have to let me out of here!”
THIRTY-THREE
“Rina?” Sage gasped the name in horrified shock. Ava was supposed to have sprung the trap – the woman who’d been nothing but a bitch, who’d placed them in danger with seemingly no concern for their wellbeing. Not Rina – she’d been so kind. This had to be a trick.
“It’s not what you think,” Rina pleaded. Her fist banged against the shimmering barrier Nyx had created.
“How…Why?” Sage could hardly put two words together. Rina had been a cheerleader for ASSET. She had tried to convince Sage to stay and see the good they did. How could she not be one of them?
She wasn’t Terra. That was about the only thing clear to Sage.
“You betrayed us all,” Sage whispered, as she watched Rina continue to test the barrier, pounding on it with her fist, then palming it in places, as if searching blindly for a way through. She couldn’t see it nor could she get through it. “Why?”
“You don’t understand.” Rina’s eyes widened as they lifted over Sage’s head to the others behind her. “They’re murderers. The vampires killed my father. And your mother, too.”
A low blow, well struck. The pain of Miranda’s loss was still fresh in Sage’s mind. But not revenge. Rina, however, looked as if she’d strike at Zack if the barrier weren’t in the way. Either her hatred was that strong or she was something stronger. But that didn’t make sense. Only the Terra were immune to the magic of the seed.
“How is she not one of us?” Sage turned to Grey, hoping he’d have some answers.
“Her father was.” Grey shrugged. He didn’t look as shocked as Sage felt, but confusion pulled at his brow, creating lines that gave his ageless face a little history. “She had the mark.”
“I don’t understand.” Sage’s eyes fell to the leather strap on Rina’s wrist. Beneath it, the round canopy of leaves peeked out from the edges of the blue leather. But Zack had said it was false. Ink. Like the tattoos all over her arms. “Why tattoo yourself with our mark?”
“I wanted to be like him.” Rina dropped the silver box as her shoulders slumped. “My dad was the most amazing guy. He was the best. An agent. Like your mom, Sage.”
Every time someone mentioned Miranda, Sage’s heart ached; pain that passed sadness as it twisted into anger. Her mother wouldn’t have died if she’d been able to finish her mission. She’d suspected the stone had been tampered with. She’d given her life to protect it. “Don’t you dare mention my mother,” Sage snarled.
“I’m sorry. I know it hurts. I miss my dad too.” Rina sounded so genuine; but how could she be?
“Did you know what he was?” Sage’s mother had never said a word about being Terra. Her work had been a secret. Sage would have never known of her magical lineage if not for Grey ruining her happy existence with the truth. “Your father was a Terra.”
“Dad always told the best stories. And I suspected there was more truth to them than he let on.” Rina stared straight at Sage, her eyes pleading for understanding. She spoke as if they were the only two in the room. “He made up the best stories about the great tree.” She pointed to her bracelet. “I loved Dad’s tattoo. The nobility it represented. The nobility he represented by wearing it.” Rina sniffled and wiped away the tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
Rina might as well have been tellin
g Sage’s story. It rang with so much truth, she too had tears welling up in her eyes. Miranda had often told great bedtime stories about fantastic creatures and dangerous battles between good and evil. Magic was always woven into her tales. And when Sage had whined about the deformity of her birthmark, her mother had tried to make Sage feel that same pride Rina spoke of.
“But those were just fairy tales. Did you actually know what he was?” Sage demanded.
“Not exactly. But I suspected.” Rina cleared her throat. “I was always good at drawing, so I made a template of his marking, and had the tattoo done while Dad was away on assignment.”
Sage had spent her entire life wanting to wipe away the deformity, covering it up with clothes or makeup. And here Rina was claiming to have proudly added it to her body.
“Dad was furious and made me cover it up. He gave me this.” Rina held out her bracelet, the one Sage had thought was a brilliant idea. “He never thought it would cause me any trouble. And he never thought he would get hurt, I guess. But then one day he didn’t come back. When they came for me, to tell me about his death, they saw I too bore the mark of the Terras.”
Sage watched as Rina wiped the tears from her eyes. She’d seen them before, but hadn’t truly paid attention. They weren’t turquoise like everyone else’s. Hers were more milky and pale, but still a shade of blue. She couldn’t have truly been the child of a Terra. Magic passed through their line, just as the mark had passed down from Miranda to Sage. Rina had been adopted, most likely; maybe even lied to her whole life. The more she learned about Rina, the more sympathy she had. Secrets were the true tragedy, and the reason for nearly all the bad deeds that had been done. Sage nearly opened her mouth to say as much, but Zack spoke before she could.
“A sad story, truly, but none of this makes you any less guilty of mass-murder.” Zack’s tone held no sympathy.
“How can you stand here and call me a murderer?” Rina demanded. “How many lives have you ended, vampire?”
“None that have brought me as much pleasure as yours will, I can assure you.” Zack slammed a fist against the magical barrier. Just as it stopped Rina from escaping, it also prevented anyone else from reaching her. “Remove the magic. I will take my justice now.”
“She’s not yours yet.” Devon’s voice boomed with authority. His eyes were on the move, scanning the room, focusing on the doors, and taking extra time at the corners and shadowy places. “Who’s with you?”
“Just me,” Rina replied, slowly backing away from the edge of the magical barrier.
Zack eyed her like a lion ready to pounce on its kill. The fangs were out, proving just how deadly his intent was.
But he couldn’t take his justice yet; not that Sage considered murder justice by any stretch of the imagination. There was still a piece of the puzzle missing. They’d given the address to Ava. They’d never spoken aloud where they would be or who their special friend was.
“Why did you come here? Why not go after the vampires again?” Sage asked.
A collective hush fell over the group as each one of them seemed to be holding their breaths in expectation of what Rina might say next.
“You know as well as I do the weapon had gone missing.” Rina took a deep breath as if steadying her nerves. “Ava had you searching for the stone. When you didn’t return after your last meeting with her, I knew you’d found it and were most likely hiding it for safekeeping.”
“No one was supposed to know the details about my mission,” Grey growled defensively.
Rina ignored him, keeping her eyes on Sage as she spoke. “I told you – assistants know everything.”
“And what do you think you know, little girl?” Zack narrowed his eyes, turning that deadly gaze back on his prey.
“I know how the weapon kills vampires,” she spat at him.
She would have been dead if not for the barrier protecting her. Zack slammed against it so hard it shook the walls of Devon’s office. “You’ve heard her admit it. She’s guilty!”
“She’s stupid. That’s all I’ve heard her admit so far,” Devon responded with casual curiosity. “So what? Were you hoping to collect an ‘atta girl’ for retrieving the weapon?”
“It would definitely put me in Ava’s good graces if I found it.” Rina tone waivered as her eyes flitted between Zack’s feral rage and Devon’s calm. “I’ve been searching ever since I lost it. I saw you pull up Miranda’s records in the database. I knew you were on the trail. And then… there was this address in her trash.”
“Where does Ava think you are?” Grey asked. “She’s on the alert for all her charges these days.”
“I’m off duty right now.” Rina shrugged. “No one pays attention to my comings and goings.”
“You think yourself pretty smart, don’t you? I remember a girl who showed little potential when I assessed her for combat,” Devon said, scrutinizing Rina’s face as if trying to see past another glamour. “Clearly I was deceived. That doesn’t often happen.”
“I’m not a fighter,” Rina agreed.
“And yet you managed to massacre a vampire coven how?” Devon asked, coming as close to the magical barrier as he could without touching it.
“The weapon.” She gulped, those milky blue eyes widening with fear. Between the vampire threatening her death and the ogre who could pummel her into oblivion, she had to know how dangerous a position she was in. “I was able to hold it.” Her voice trembled, but she continued. “But anyone I showed it to became very weak. I knew immediately that it could be used to avenge my father.”
“You took it into a vampire den,” Zack’s muscles twitched as if wanting to reach out and throttle her, but his hands remained at his side.
“Before I learned about the seed, I had begged Ava to let me go on a mission. I didn’t know I wasn’t truly one of you guys at that point. I was so eager to do my part for ASSET – fight the good fight as my father had always done. The mission was supposed to be a show of force to stop one of the covens from killing and leaving their” – she nearly retched as she said the word – “victims.”
“We don’t judge,” Grey said. “We do what is necessary to protect the magical community.”
“Those vampires are the reason my father was killed. He was a victim once.” Her voice soured as she found the strength to rise above the sorrow she’d given into moments before. “I thought we were going to stop them. But no! We were negotiating terms with them. After that meeting, I was disgusted. But what could I do?” She huffed and lifted her hand, holding the tiny garnet between her fingers. “Keeping peace with killers and protecting magical law trumped the life of my father, just as it trumps the lives of countless people who die because of those stinking leeches.”
“You idiot.” Grey shouted. “If that’s what you truly believe, you’ve failed to understand our place in the world. Every day we lay down our lives to keep the peace. It’s not simple nor is it pretty, but we do what we must to avoid another magical war from erupting.”
“Vampires kill people! How can we let that happen?” Rina shot back at him just as angrily.
Zack clucked his tongue. The quiet disapproval pulled more interest to him than any shouting he might have added to the already raised voices. “When your diet consist of only one thing, how can you call someone evil for sustaining themselves?”
“Murder is evil!” Rina replied.
“When you eat meat, is that not murder?” Zack scoffed. “Perspective is necessary when dealing with those who are different than you.”
“My father wasn’t a cow.” Rina’s anger did not abate.
“If your father had been turned dark, I can assure you it was because he was doing things that fell outside the realm of ASSET’s rules.” Zack’s voice had a deadly edge to the deceptively calm tone. “Those negotiations you hate so much, mean a lot to my people. We don’t act against ASSET unless provoked.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.” Rina’s voice sharpened. “My father was a h
ero. He deserved to be avenged. And then the weapon came through our office. And once I saw what happened to Hukkel… I knew it could be used to stop the vampires from killing.”
“That’s murder!” Zack whipped his finger at her.
“No. That’s justice.” She glared at him accusingly. “I was told Terras were noble and proud – the Mother’s answer to the horrors brought on by magic.”
“You have yet to see the horror magic can bring,” Zack threatened.
“Enough!” Devon silenced the vampire with his booming voice. “Where is the weapon now?”
“When I got back, I thought I had put everything away without being seen, but then the next day the seed went missing. Records were locked. And… the vampires retaliated. Agents were sent out and never came back. It’s been going on ever since.” Rina crumpled to the ground. “I never meant for that.”
“You started a chain reaction of events that could have brought back the wars of old,” Grey snarled. “All because you wanted revenge.”
“I wanted to be one of you.” Disappointment echoed in Rina’s voice.
Sage understood better than anyone else in the room how dubious the nature of ASSET was. Human law and magical law being held to different standards. If given the opportunity, Sage would have avenged her mother’s death. But revenge wasn’t the answer. Rina’s need for vengeance had already racked up a sizeable death count from both innocent and guilty parties alike, her mother included.
“You’re not Terra!” Grey shot back at Rina.
“No, I’m not, thank the gods. You people are nothing like the stories say. You don’t fight against atrocities of magic, you only throw a cloak over the ugly parts so people are left unaware.” Rina found her feet again. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She held up the garnet Devon had set as bait. “And if this were real, I’d use it to remove the magic from all of you.”
A Weapon Of Magical Destruction Page 25
