by A C Spahn
The man took an aggressive step toward Desmond. Desmond matched Axel’s posture, his body shifting into a loose combative stance. “Axel, I respect you. I don’t want to fight you.”
“Good. Don’t.”
I touched Desmond’s elbow. “It’s all right, Desmond. I’ll be fine.”
“Adrienne …”
“Don’t get yourself into more trouble over me. It’s just some questions.”
Desmond didn’t take his eyes off the bald guard. “Just questions, right?”
Axel gave a noncommittal grunt.
“I’m coming with her.”
“No.”
“You can’t expect me to—”
“You want to be locked in a cell, too? If not, get outta the way.” Axel shoved past Desmond. Desmond looked ready to fight him, but I shook my head, letting the guard seize me by the arm.
As the big man led me out, I looked over my shoulder at Desmond’s worried face and hoped this wasn’t the last time I’d ever see him.
Chapter 14
WE WOUND THROUGH windowless hallways, then entered a plain grey elevator. I half expected the numbers to include basement floors leading to the center of the earth, but the numbers started at one and went up to fifteen. Guess even the Voids didn’t want to risk being caught in a basement during an earthquake.
I had no idea what floor we started on, but Axel hit the button for the top floor, and the ride was so smooth I barely felt it. The elevator dinged pleasantly, and we stepped out into rows of cubicles, all empty. Computers off, file trays vacant, not even a stray paperclip. Lifeless as a graveyard. My stomach clenched. If Axel wanted to do something to me here, nobody was around to stop him.
Wordlessly, he led me zigzagging through the cubicles until we reached a large corner office. It had no windows to the rest of the floor, and the door had a lock. The sick feeling in my stomach blossomed into panic. As he opened the wooden door, his grip slackened on my arm. Instinct took over. I wrenched my limb from his grasp and sprinted back across the old carpeting, heading for the stairwell.
He caught me before I’d gone ten paces and bodily lifted me into the air. I screamed for help, but of course no one came. He dragged me kicking and thrashing back to the office, threw open the door, and shoved me inside. I landed on my knees and rolled over, hands up, ready to fight. Some of the medical tape bandaging my shoulder came loose. I tried to breathe in magic, but there was still barely a whisper of it in the air.
To my surprise, Axel only glared at me, then slammed the door in my face.
“Welcome, Adrienne Morales,” said a calm, deep voice behind me.
My heart jumped into my mouth. I hopped to my feet and turned to see a large metal desk topped with file folders and a sleek laptop. Behind it stood a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and the angular features of a shark. His frame was thin, though he had the lean muscle of someone who had once been rather formidable but had toned down his workout in his older years. His ears had the puffy cauliflower look that came from getting into too many fights. His grey eyes locked onto me like loaded guns. I shivered. Call it magic, or instinct, but I had the feeling this man was far more dangerous to me than Maribel or any of the musclebound Hunters.
“Who are you?” I asked, though I had a pretty good suspicion.
He gestured to the single, thinly upholstered chair facing his desk. “Sit down, Adrienne. I need to discuss some things with you.”
“I want a lawyer.”
He laughed. It sounded like he’d practiced with a tape recorder. “The law doesn’t apply here. Not to you, and certainly not to me. In this building, in our underworld, I make the law.”
“You’re the legionnaire of this Union.” I conjured a name from my memory. “Bane Harrow.”
“You’ve heard of me.”
“Everyone has heard of you.” He was one of the five most powerful Voids in the nation, leader of the entire San Francisco area, with thousands of paranormals under supervision. If a vampire sneezed anywhere west of the Rockies, he knew about it.
Harrow smiled and gestured again to the chair. “Your boyfriend argued quite vehemently on your behalf.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Though you wish otherwise, I suspect.” Harrow settled himself into a comfortable, well-worn office chair behind his desk. “You can sit, or stand, but if you try to run, my bodyguard out there will just throw you back in here. You may as well make yourself comfortable.”
I glanced around the office, studying my surroundings. Precious little cluttered the space. Besides the desk, there was a single, two-drawer filing cabinet in one corner. A fake plant sat in the opposite corner, its leaves too evenly green to be real. Two walls consisted of the same ceiling-high windows that lined the rest of the floor. Another wall held an enormous mirror that reflected the city skyline from outside. The remaining wall had three decorative swords hung point-down: a thin fencing rapier, an ancient-looking Roman gladius, and an enormous gold-plated broadsword. None of the blades carried any decorative carving or artistic detailing. Even the gold-plated one managed to seem practical and threatening, despite its bright sheen.
Slowly I approached the metal chair. I inspected it, half expecting automatic restraints that would pop into place the moment I sat down, but it looked to be an ordinary desk chair. I touched it, checking for enchantment, before finally perching on the edge of the seat. Once settled, I finally took the time to fix the tape holding my bandage in place.
“Good,” said Harrow with another shark smile. “Now then, Adrienne, I believe you owe me an explanation.”
“For what?”
“For how you managed to evade my notice for so long. Especially given your particularly strong magnetism for magic.”
“I don’t do big enchantments. I keep out of paranormal politics. Never gave anyone a reason to report me.”
“And yet you walk around carrying a veritable treasure trove of magic on your body.”
I froze.
“Come now, you didn’t think our cells were free of surveillance?”
“You were watching us?”
“Listening. Cameras are so obtrusive, but microphones are easier to hide. I heard your entire conversation with Reserve Desoto.” His eyes trailed down my shirt, to where the knotted fabric hid my tattoo. “I would like to see it.”
“I would like to leave.”
“I am going to examine this magic bound to you, one way or another. It’s easiest if you don’t fight.”
I tried to stare him down, but his grey eyes were impenetrable oceans, threatening to drown me in emotionless depths. I dropped my gaze and pulled the shirt aside to reveal my tattoo.
“I see,” he murmured. “It really is broader than most.”
I hid the mark as quickly as I could while still trying not to look rushed. “You didn’t believe me?”
“Desoto has eliminated his share of predators, but he is inexperienced with enchanters. I did not trust his appraisal of your markings. But it seems he was correct. You are indeed enchanted with an obscene amount of magic.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Your cult is still looking for you.”
All the air stilled in the room. My lungs compressed, refusing to breathe. The windowless walls seemed to swirl around me, spinning into a funnel that would drop me into a pit. “What?” I managed to croak.
“The fleshwriters who raised you. The ones in Virginia? Led by Geralt Sauvage? They haven’t forgotten about you. How long has it been, five years?”
“Seven,” I whispered.
“I hear about that cult’s activities through the Union. We don’t have a strong presence in their area, but the Philadelphia legionnaire keeps an eye on them. Every so often they send groups on short trips. To Seattle, Boston, Dallas. Even as far as New Delhi and Brisbane. They go with no warning, stay for a few days, and return. We weren’t sure what they were doing, but now that I’ve heard your story, it seems they’ve been
conducting a search.”
“You can’t tell them where I am,” I blurted. “Please. You don’t know what they would do—”
He held up a hand. “I am a legionnaire of the Void Union, Adrienne. The last thing I want is to put more power in the hands of enchanters. Particularly those who have proven themselves dangerous to normals. No, I have no interest in turning you over to your former family. I merely want you to be aware of the danger you’re in.”
“Those aren’t Union-patrolled cities they’re visiting,” I said. “They’re looking in the wrong places.”
“Last spring they sent a single scout to Los Angeles.”
My heart stopped. L.A. had the fifth-largest Void Union in the country. “They wouldn’t dare—”
“They did dare. Of course we captured that scout and ensured he won’t be a threat to anyone ever again, but they’re getting bolder.” He stared intently at me. “It just so happens that last spring, the Los Angeles Union also captured a rogue enchantress in her early twenties. She was caught selling wards to deter muggers. Shortly after that was when the cult scout showed up. Quite a coincidence, don’t you think?”
I swallowed. “They’re sending scouts to places they think I might have been spotted.”
“Exactly. And they’re getting bold enough to set foot in strong Union territories. Whatever magic you’re carrying, they want it very badly. It’s only a matter of time before they come here.”
“What happened to her?” I asked suddenly. “The enchantress you caught in L.A. What did you do with her?”
“Yes, that situation is rather similar to your own right now, isn’t it? We found no evidence of malicious magic usage. We held her for a few days, then registered her with a Union contact and turned her loose. So long as she completes her check-ins and doesn’t step out of line, she’ll be left alone.”
“As alone as she can be with Union Hunters watching her every move.”
A thin smile flattened his mouth. “We do what we must, Adrienne. I would think you of all people would understand.”
“I haven’t done anything. I’m not the one you’re looking for.”
“No, I don’t think you are. Maribel was overzealous in arresting you. You have committed a crime by evading our supervision, but nothing so serious as casting harmful enchantments on others. I have no desire to execute you, so long as you begin following our laws.”
Points of tension loosened in my back. I sighed. Seven years was a pretty good run for hiding under the Union’s nose. “I’ll do the check-ins. I’ll make sure you people know when I leave the city or move or buy a new car. I’ll even let you know every time I take a sick day if that’s what you want. Just don’t let the cult find me.”
“I appreciate your cooperation.” He smiled, making my skin prickle. “But that’s not the reason I’m talking to you.”
“Then what do you want from me?”
Harrow opened his laptop. “From my scouts’ reports, you channel magic very well.”
“Thank you?”
“It’s a fact, not a compliment. You’re holding a wealth of magic in your body, and you’re being assailed by more magic than the average enchantress, yet you still have your mind intact. Your body is remarkably adept at channeling magic.”
“It’s not just luck. I’ve worked hard.”
He waved a hand. “Yes, yes, I’m sure it took years of training and practice to refine your skills. The point is, you are among the best enchanters in any Union-controlled area in this country. True?”
“I don’t—”
“Is what I said true?”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Probably.”
“Then you are in a perfect position to help us.” He turned the laptop to face me. The screen was divided into boxes, each box showing a different film clip. It took my mind a moment to process what I was seeing. In the top right corner, a fox thrashed in a small room, throwing itself against the walls and floor over and over. The next box over showed a teenage girl tapping her index finger against each of her toes. The third box was dark, but every so often the film crackled with static, and then a handprint appeared on the lens.
“What is this?” I whispered.
“Victims. Like you, these people were put under enchantment. Some of them sought it out. Some of them were tricked. Some never even knew what was happening.”
I stared at the screen, where over a dozen people’s insanity played on repeat. “Turn it off.”
“Look at them, Adrienne. These people were hurt by enchanters.”
“I said turn it off.”
“I want you to help them.”
“I can’t. If the magic has taken their minds, that’s it. There’s no going back.”
“You told Maribel you could help her family.”
“I said I could look. I can look at these people, and maybe one or two of them I can free from enchantment, but it won’t restore them completely. The best I can do is reduce their symptoms, and even that’s a long shot.”
“Taking the magic out of them would at least remove the cause of their pain.”
“That won’t help. It might actually make things worse. And I’d have to do something with all that magic.”
“We have some ideas for that.”
He said it so casually, so offhand, but his words flattened me like an oncoming train.
Bane Harrow, the Legionnaire of the San Francisco Void Union, wanted me to perform enchantments for him.
Chapter 15
I STARED AT HIM in revulsion. “No.”
“Consider—”
“No! You want me to harvest the magic in those people and then use it for your own projects? You want me to use them like batteries? Like the fleshwriters do?”
“They’re already insane. You did something similar with the malformed shifter at the barn.”
“I was taking off an enchantment I had put on, undoing my own work. And that enchantment was only on him for a few minutes. Removing older enchantments could be dangerous, could even kill the victims if the enchantments are tied to their vital processes.”
“They’re insane. Unable to live normal lives. Might not death be preferable?”
Disgust filled my mouth, and I fought the urge to spit at him. “They’re not a threat. I won’t kill them. They have a right to life.”
“What about those who could be safely disenchanted, then? Would you remove the magic from them?”
“Even if I did, I’d have to find a use for the magic. Something that would fit with how it was already inclined. Every time I did it, I’d risk the magic turning back on me and driving me insane.”
“We would provide you with anything you needed. Materials, workspace, subjects.”
“Subjects?”
“Objects. Plants. Animals. Perhaps, if you thought yourself up to it, we could arrange for a Seeker or two to receive a shifting charm—”
“You want me to enchant humans? Aren’t you a Union leader? Your entire goal is to reduce the number of paranormals!”
Again the thin-lipped smile appeared. “That ship has sailed, I’m afraid. The Union was formed with the goal of eradicating magic, yes, but we are outnumbered now. Weaker unions are already being dissolved through pushback from the paranormals they oversee. We enforce fewer and fewer laws, because there are simply too many of you. There was a time when you wouldn’t have been able to enter the city limits without someone pegging you as an enchantress. Now you were able to live among us for years without detection.” He shook his head. “No, there is little hope now for controlling the paranormal population. We have to shift to a more progressive stance. Partnering with the shifters, the vampires, the supernaturally gifted. Including them in our governance. Making the paranormal community self-regulating.”
“So you want me to make you a handful of pet paranormals, people who owe their enchantment to you. Then you can parade them out to the other paranormals and say, ‘See? I’m on your side.’”
Harrow’
s smile didn’t fade. “You are quick.”
I shook my head. “I won’t do it.”
“Consider that your cult is on the hunt. Having the Union as an ally would make you virtually untouchable. Especially as my personal magical consultant.”
“I don’t want to work for you.”
“If it’s money that’s the problem ...”
“No. The problem is using magic to create living weapons for you.”
Harrow leaned forward. “I need your help, Adrienne. I need you by my side. This is bigger than either of us. Some Unions have already ...” He abruptly cut himself off, leaning back in his chair and smoothing his greying hair. “But that can wait. At least consider my offer. Union protection and an official position in my government in exchange for your services.”
“I’ve considered. The answer is still no.”
Disappointment clouded his face. “A shame.” He stood and headed for the door.
“Is this the part where you threaten to have your guard lock me up forever if I don’t help?”
He laughed, and to my surprise, he sounded genuinely amused. “I’ve never found that tactic to be very effective. Besides, if you can escape a cult of fleshwriters, I imagine you could eventually escape our cells as well. No, I’m not going to threaten you, Adrienne. I’m going to turn you loose, so you can return to your crafting and your apartment and spend some time thinking about what it would be like to lose it all, to have your cult find you and drag you back to be sacrificed. I’m going to let you pay attention and see how the paranormal community is growing larger and harder to control. And I’m going to wait for you to realize that I’m only asking you to do what is best for all of us.”
He opened the door. His bodyguard glanced back, eyes locking immediately on me. Harrow nodded to him. “Axel, please escort Miss Morales to the exit.”
I passed Bane Harrow warily, half-expecting a sudden change of heart, but he maintained his thin smile as I slid past him into the cubicle-filled room. “Think about my offer,” he said. “At your first monthly check-in with the Hunters, tell us if you’ve changed your mind. We’ll be in touch.”
