by TR Cameron
Cali shook her head. “I have nothing. Seriously. The Atlanteans haven’t so much as peeped at me since the last time.”
The dwarf spoke unexpectedly. “Vizidus sent word that rumors are circulating in several of the magical communities. These speak of something dire and dramatic to come in the imminent future.”
Barton’s head snapped toward him. “When? What? Where?”
He sighed. “I asked the same questions and in much the same way. No more information is available. I requested that he put the word out to everyone to see if we can find anything else out, but I’m not hopeful. Whatever it might be, it seems like someone is doing their best to ensure the secret doesn’t get out before it happens.”
The woman slapped her open palms on the bar and yelled, “Damn it.” She pulled her anger back and continued more calmly, “Okay. I can talk to the bosses and see if they’ll approve some overtime. We can put more people on the streets and start leaning on the informants we have—all of them, regardless of who they’re connected to. Maybe we’ll get lucky. What can you two do?”
Zeb shrugged. “There’s not much more I can offer than passing word back and forth and providing a refuge for anyone who needs it.”
The last part of his statement reminded her of something. “Tanyith could probably get word to the people who helped at the docks. The ones in the helicopters.” As far as she knew, Barton wasn’t fully in the loop on the magical agents who had visited.
The detective stared at her like she knew secrets were being kept from her and didn’t like it. Or maybe that’s only my guilty conscience. She finally said, “Yeah, we should try everything. Let him know. Maybe they have something on it.”
Cali once again thought hard for something else she could add or do but didn’t come up with anything. “Of course, I’ll keep my ears open too, but I don’t really have connections. Not like you all.”
The woman sighed. “Hopefully, it’s not one of the worst-case scenarios Shale and I discussed at the start of the drug push. I’d hate to see the city caught in an epidemic.”
The dwarf looked concerned. “Did you analyze a sample of the stuff they’re peddling?”
She nodded. “The feds did. The one they’re passing out to magicals has—get this—magical things in it. Apparently, they do something to the metabolism and the brain. I don’t understand it but it’s at the level that a high-end narcotic would be to a human.”
Cali hissed in a sharp breath. “Damn. That sounds scary.”
“Not as scary as the human one. It has a really strange set of ingredients, including traditional drugs we’ve heard of, something synthetic they’ve never seen that seems to act as a hallucinogen, and something inert they don’t comprehend at all.”
“So that’s why you’re worried about epidemics—because of the last thing?”
She nodded. “You got it in one. That, and the fact that they’re pushing so hard. If they were after money only, there are other ways to get it that are as easy, so you’d think they’d do those too.”
The girl frowned when something occurred to her. “Taking customers away from the Zatoras? Maybe that’s it?”
Barton finished her drink in a long gulp. “It could be. But, again, they’re investing so much energy into it that…I don’t know. It feels bigger.”
“And you think this is the thing that everyone’s worried about?”
The detective stood and stretched her hands high into the air, then rolled her neck with a cracking sound. “That’s the heart of the matter. If it is what they’re talking about, that’s certainly bad. Maybe even really bad. But what if it’s not? What could be more concerning than what we’ve come up with? That’s what wakes me up at three in the morning in a cold sweat.” She patted Cali awkwardly on the shoulder as she passed and was out the door without another word.
Zeb met her gaze, and she thought the look on his face seemed as concerned as she felt, which was very concerned. “What do you think?”
The dwarf shook his head. “I don’t know. And I hate not knowing.”
She laughed. “Welcome to every day of my existence.”
He didn’t react to the joke. “You be careful—and I mean extra careful. Carry a second healing potion with you wherever you go.” He looked at the Draksa. “From here on out, you’re with her everywhere, got it?” He apparently received the response he wanted because he looked up again. “Both of you keep your eyes open. Like it or not, you’re in the middle of this, so you might see something coming before anyone else does.”
Cali sighed. No pressure. Only, you know, potentially the fate of the city. “Thanks for the reassurance, boss.”
This time, he did smile. “Anytime. Now, go lock the door and get home to get some sleep. Something tells me we’ll all need every hour of rest we can manage.”
Chapter Nineteen
For once, Cali had taken Zeb’s advice and slept in. She even ignored Fyre’s cold-nosed attempts to get her up for a training session. He’d eventually given up and crawled on top of the covers beside her, and they’d rested until noon. By the time she finally arrived at the Dragons, it was almost two pm. She climbed the stairs from the basement to find the tavern mostly empty, and Fyre dashed past her to take his accustomed place behind the bar. During the midday lull, Zeb saw to the customers himself since Janice was taking afternoon art classes. She was glad she’d missed having to see the tavern’s other server.
Tanyith had arrived before her and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying a bowl of something from the stewpot. She noted that he’d begun to keep Nylotte’s leather jacket gift with him at all times, exactly like she did when she wasn’t going to or from the dojo. It never hurt to be prepared. She didn’t bother to check what the recipe of the day was as she tried not to eat until immediately before her shift so she’d have the energy to push through it. There was rarely enough downtime to snack during the night, although on occasion, she’d been known to carry a fork and stab pieces of meat out of the bowls of people who annoyed her.
She threw her backpack on one of the long common tables with a groan and sat with her jeans-covered legs tucked beneath her. Today’s concert t-shirt was a good one from the first Lollapalooza. It always invoked comments, often negative ones that led to arguments that were usually entertaining for everyone involved. She folded her laptop open and accessed the textbook for her criminal behavior class. The case study parts of the course were far more enjoyable than the theory behind it all. When it comes right down to it, I’m more interested in doing things than thinking about things, I guess.
In a pleasant turn of events, Tanyith brought a soft cider over and set the glass on the table beside her, then returned to his place at the bar. If her eavesdropping skills were up to snuff, he and her boss were discussing whether the current quarterback of the Saints could be counted on for another year if they didn’t make the Superbowl. While she liked sports as much as most reasonable people, talking about it was always a snoozer for her. Maybe not as exhausting as this stuff, though.
She read the same page for the third time, sighed, and slammed the book closed. The bench creaked as she pushed herself off it and went to stand beside Tay. “Did you tell him he missed seeing Detective Barton?”
Zeb nodded, and she turned to face the other man. “Kendra asked about you. Seriously, are you two dating or merely using each other for a little stress release? You can tell us.” He groaned, the dwarf laughed, and she grinned widely.
After several seconds of staring at the ceiling like someone above would deliver him from her accusations, he replied, “None of the above.” He lowered his head to look at her. “Zeb told me what you discussed. Scary stuff.”
Well. Way to kill the mood. “Yeah, it is. Definitely. Have you heard anything?”
“No, but I passed the word to Nylotte like you asked.” She’d texted him the night before with the request. “There’s no answer yet.”
“Dang it.” She sighed. “I’m really not into this homework
thing today. I should have gone out training with the beast over there.”
Zeb shook his head. “Work before play.”
She laughed. “Training is work, these days. It doesn’t pay well, obviously, but it also ensures I don’t have my ass handed to me by random attacks or Atlantean enforcers. Speaking of which, Tanyith, I need you to be my third. Zeb won’t bring Valerie out of retirement for me.”
“Sure.” He turned to face the bartender. “What is your deal, anyway? Every other dwarf I’ve known would have jumped at the chance for a fight. Any fight.” It was more tease than a question.
Unexpectedly, Zeb answered. “I’ve done enough fighting for at least three other people. It was time to be finished.” The reply was more than she’d ever heard from him on the topic and the depth of emotion with which he said it was as surprising as the answer.
Tanyith nodded. “Gotcha.” The heavy emotion behind the dwarf’s statement hung uncomfortably, and he focused on his food. She slid off the stool and headed to her table to focus on her studies. They passed a quarter of an hour in comfortable silence, and she had begun to think she might actually get her homework done early when suddenly, Fyre growled and leapt up to stand on the bar.
It was so unexpected that they all stared at him for several seconds until they heard boots pounding on the stairs. Nylotte burst into the room and stopped facing them. She seemed to be dressed for battle in leather pants, heavy boots, and a version of the coats she’d given them. Her hair was bound into a warrior’s braid at the base of her neck and the expression on her face was fierce and angry. “You two, come with me.” She pointed at Zeb. “Get your council. Get your magicals. Get everyone who can sling a spell. Hell, call the damn National Guard. We have a situation.”
A minute later, Tanyith, Cali, and Fyre followed the Drow through the portal she’d created and stepped onto the docks that had been the location of the cruise ship battle. Those who had them had donned and zipped their protective jackets. Zeb was contacting everyone he knew for assistance, including Barton whom he would request to muster a human response to the situation.
The Dark Elf had explained that an attack of some kind was imminent and that it would come from the water, but nothing more. No sign of any threat was visible, and the sun shone in a cloudless sky. Cali lifted a hand to shade her eyes and looked in all directions. “So, how about a few details?”
Nylotte growled with irritation and impatience. “One minute.” She cast a spell to amplify her voice and yelled, “Clear the docks. This is not a drill. Everyone move!” Workers scattered at her words, doubtless aware of what had happened there before. She shook her head and surveyed the water carefully. “Okay, so, the chief tech for the agents contacted me. She and her counterpart have access to most of the satellites with cameras, and they programmed some kind of computer whatever to watch for trouble in a circle starting from Atlantis and stretching to here and Texas.”
“Why Texas?” Tanyith asked.
The woman scowled. “Why not Texas? I don’t know because I don’t ask stupid questions. Anyway, they detected a fast-moving object leaving Atlantis, and it looks like this will be its destination.”
Cali risked her displeasure. “How fast?”
“Really fast.” She nodded grimly. “Less than an hour to get from there to here, if it takes the most direct route. But it went deep—too deep to be seen—so we’re not sure. We won’t know until it gets closer to the surface.”
“Why didn’t we have more warning?”
The Drow sighed. “They tried to push it up their chain of command first and only contacted me after they couldn’t reach her. That means precious time was lost.” She shook her head. “The magicals among the agents are on the other planet at the moment and apparently, whatever communication system they thought they had was inadequate.”
Tanyith asked, “Why didn’t you go get them?”
“It’s technically not their problem, but more importantly, I don’t know where they are and it would have taken too long to find them. Hopefully, your bartender friend will be able to muster some support for us.” She sounded less confident than Cali had ever heard her be, and she realized an important question hadn’t been addressed.
“So…uh, what is it? You said ‘a fast-moving object.’ Do you know any more than that?”
Nylotte laughed. “We didn’t actually have visual, so we can’t be sure. But they ran displacement analysis on the water patterns it made. It’s big.”
The question had to be asked, even though she really didn’t want to know the answer. “How big?”
“Too damn big. Like, the size of a small office building. Five stories or so.”
Tanyith’s breath caught. “Holy hell. And it’s coming here—why?”
“Probably not to talk.”
Cali squeezed her eyes shut but when she opened them, she still stood on the docks so her hope that it might be a dream was dashed. She looked left at a strange sound and startled when portals opened. Wizards, witches, Kilomea, and Light and Dark Elves emerged from them, at least a handful of each. She recognized the leaders of each group as council members, and they gathered together and headed toward her as their people spread out.
The wizard, Vizidus, stopped a few feet away and asked, “I hear we have a situation?”
The Drow replied, “Something’s coming. And it’s big. What will the response look like from you all?”
He pushed stray strands of his long white hair out of his face. “Our main people are here already, with a few others rallying more. Zeb told me to tell you that ‘the detective is on it,’ whatever that means.”
Cali exchanged looks with Tanyith, but she passed on teasing him about Barton. The gravity of the moment increased second by second. A buzzing sound came from somewhere, and Nylotte pulled a phone out of one of the pockets of her jacket. “Go,” she snapped, nodded several times, and stored the cell.
“It’s now close enough to the surface to be trackable. They estimate we have three minutes. Let’s spread out so that whatever it is can’t attack us all at once.” The council members turned and began to direct their people to move, while she jogged toward one end of the docks.
They followed, and Tanyith said, “Please tell me we’re moving away from where it’ll appear.”
Nylotte shook her head and her braid danced from side to side. “Of course not. There’s nothing to gain by hiding. We need to strike whatever it is hard and maintain our attack it until it goes away. If we’re lucky, it’s something that can be convinced to leave if it’s losing.”
“And if we’re not lucky?” Cali asked.
“Then there will be far fewer people in New Orleans tomorrow than there are today if we don’t do our jobs and defeat it.”
Tanyith chuckled. “Does trouble follow you everywhere?”
“Hardly,” the Dark Elf replied. “It’s the other way around.”
With a sound much like waves breaking against a cliff, the water erupted in the river before them and surged to sweep over the concrete of the dock area. Shields shimmered into being as the waiting magicals defended themselves against it. When the spray had cleared enough that she could see, Cali was almost unable to accept the evidence before her.
She’d heard of such a thing, of course, but it was mythological. Her brain babbled, “Not real, not real, not real,” in an unending loop, and she tried to form words. Finally, she managed to unclench her jaw enough to ask, “Is that a Leviathan?”
Her partner’s voice shook slightly when he answered her. “No, a Leviathan is more like a sea dragon. That right there is an oversized octopus, which makes it a Kraken.”
Nylotte sighed. “And since it doesn’t exist naturally, someone created it—and logically did so for a purpose. And you know what that means.” The giant creature towered above them, whipped its tentacles in the air, and roared its fury at the small figures before it.
“Yeah,” Cali said. “We didn’t get lucky and it’s here to kill us all.”
The Drow nodded and shouted a hoarse battle cry as she raised her hands to attack.
Chapter Twenty
The creature was enormous, the largest living thing Cali had ever seen by far. She was rooted to the ground before it and could only stare as the tentacles whipped viciously. Nylotte’s bellow jolted her from her reverie in time to add her magic to the barrage of force bolts, fire, ice, lighting, and shadow that pounded into the monster from all over the dock.
Each attack found purchase but seemingly accomplished nothing. Under such an intense assault of power, she would have expected the creature to at least flinch away, perhaps reconsider what it was doing, and nip off to snack on several schools of fish or something. Rather than show any concern, however, it retaliated.
A tentacle as long as four or five tractor-trailers back to back and twice as tall whipped across the dock from her right. She shouted to warn Tanyith and Nylotte and blasted herself upward with force magic barely in time for it to pass below her. Although she landed almost immediately, she had to repeat the action with the one that followed. Screams and shouts from farther down the docks indicated that not everyone had managed to avoid it. Damn it. How are we supposed to defeat a building-sized enemy with eight arms?
She checked to be sure a third wasn’t on the way, then turned to examine the damage. Several beings had fallen but she couldn’t tell which group they came from. A pack of Kilomea with sharp weapons battled the first appendage, which reared and slapped in an attempt to strike them. One of the giants managed to plant a spear, and the Kraken impaled its thrashing limb on the metal spike. The creature screamed in rage and three other tentacles swung onto the same place to annihilate the huge warriors. When they raised, the victims didn’t move, their bodies crushed beneath the enormous weight of the limb.
