Bewitched Avenue Shuffle: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (Scions of Magic Book 3)

by TR Cameron

  There was a pause before he replied. “There is magic everywhere. It’s too amorphous to identify specifics, although it’s all around. In the walls, in the stairs, and in the doors, obviously.”

  “What do you think that means?”

  “That you’d better be careful and keep an eye out since you’ll go first.”

  She groaned. “Ha, ha, ha, funny dragon lizard.” He’d made no move to step behind her, so she knew it was merely a taunt. “Let’s go together.” She stepped carefully down the first step, ready to retreat out of the building if something happened, but nothing did. By the third step, she no longer leaned back and by the fifth, she had increased her speed.

  Seven turned out to be an unlucky number. When her foot settled on that one, it collapsed into a pit and took steps eight, nine, and ten along with it. She screamed, flailed, and managed to catch the lip of the hole for an instant before she lost her grasp and fell. Something slapped her in the face, and she instinctively caught hold of it. She hung from Fyre’s tail as she gasped for breath and hoped her heart wouldn’t explode.

  When she regained her senses, she asked softly, “Will you pull me up or must I climb?”

  “Climb.” He sounded like he was under strain. Cali pulled herself up, clutching around his tail until her arms and shoulders screamed in pain, and finally made it to solid ground. She collapsed beside him and saw that his claws had dug into the stone of the stairs. “Damn. Thanks. I guess I panicked. I probably could have used force magic to come up.”

  He moved beside her and gave a short laugh. “Maybe not. Take a look.”

  She sat and stretched on her stomach to gaze into the pit. At the bottom, her flashlight illuminated a series of wicked spikes that she estimated at four feet tall—all iron and barbed. And, hell, probably rusty and poisoned too. “Geez. What the what, Mom and Dad?”

  Fyre’s snout moved side to side. “Yeah. This is more than I thought we would find.”

  “Right? I thought some gifts, maybe a codebook so we could read the journal, and possibly a treasure horde. But evil death pits hadn’t really entered my mental picture.”

  “It would probably be good to consider this enemy territory until we discover what’s going on.”

  Cali nodded in agreement. “Yeah.” She remembered the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark with a twist in her stomach. Pushing that thought aside, she sent a command to her bracelets to transform them into sticks, then clapped the ends together and willed them to join into a jo staff. “Okay, so…you jump over the pit and make sure the other side is solid since you can fly. I’ll come after you and use this to test farther ahead.”

  He cleared the opening with ease and she followed with a little more effort. They resumed their descent while she prodded each step before them with the stick. Privately, she had already decided that whoever had created the trap wasn’t likely to repeat themselves but then she second-guessed that idea. Wouldn’t it be more clever to do it again? She shut that train of thought down before it could get her too twisted up.

  The next defense turned out to be a rain of spikes that traveled with the force of arrows from the ceiling above. She’d triggered it with her staff so they were safely out of the barrage. The metal projectiles clanged as they bounced down the stairs ahead of them and into the wall she’d seen earlier. Cali sighed. “Dang, they’re really serious about the security stuff, aren’t they?”

  “I wonder what’s down here that needs so much protection.”

  “I’ve wondered the same thing. Do you think it’s actually a treasure of some kind? Honestly, what else warrants these kinds of safeguards?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, it was so important to hide it that they went underground with all the magical challenges that involves. We’re probably surrounded by mud and water at this point.”

  Codebook. My kingdom for a codebook. “Well, there’s only one way to find out. Let’s keep moving.” They navigated a couple more physical traps before they reached their first magical one. Fyre sensed it as they approached, which was the only thing that kept her from accidentally triggering it. Tripwires were set at ankle, knee, and chest heights and obscured from view by a veil. Only after he’d assured her they existed was she able to detect the incredibly subtle shimmer of the illusion. She could see no way through them and no obvious means to deactivate them.

  She sighed. “We’ll have to portal to the other side.”

  “That’s a bad idea,” the Draksa countered. “Portal blockers exist and maybe even redirectors. Plus, it’s always dangerous to teleport somewhere you haven’t been.”

  “I’m only going over there.” She pointed. “I can see it from here. There’s no risk.”

  “There’s always a risk.”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  He paused for a second before answering. “No.”

  Cali nodded decisively. “So. Shut up, then.” She gestured with her arms and summoned a portal to connect the place where she stood to a position several feet away on the other side of the wires. Ignoring the voice that told her how stupid the plan was, she rolled her neck, took a deep breath, and thrust through.

  She landed cleanly where she wanted to be and waved at Fyre. He followed her with a grumble and she let the rift fall. They continued until finally, they reached a door. It was metal, solid, and big enough for two people to enter simultaneously. A shelf protruded beside it, and the top surface was a handprint.

  The Draksa rose on his hind legs to examine it, then lowered himself again. “That’s subtle. I think—and don’t quote me on this because I might be wrong—you’re supposed to put your hand in there.”

  “When did you become such a cynic?”

  “You must have rubbed off on me.”

  “Ooh, good one. So, what do you think will happen when I do it?”

  “Only awesome things, I’m sure.”

  “Seriously, lighten up, dude.” She bumped him with her leg. He grumbled again and didn’t reply. Maybe the constant danger is getting to him. It’s sure as hell getting to me. She considered simply walking away, but it was her parents who had set her on the path that brought her there, as convoluted as it was, and that required her to see it through to the end.

  She placed her hand in the receptacle. A faint glow emanated from it, then grew in intensity. Finally, a sharp stab lanced into her index finger and she pulled it back with a yelp to see a drop of blood. The needle descended into the small hole it had come from. Cali frowned and muttered, “Great. Now I need to find out when my last tetanus shot was.”

  Fyre sounded more like himself when he replied, “Oh, I don’t know. You having lockjaw might be nice. Let it slide.”

  The door shifted sideways to provide them access to the room beyond. Lights flickered on overhead with a slight hum and their fluorescent bulbs cast everything in a slightly otherworldly harsh light. She walked through the opening with Fyre at her side.

  The first thing she noticed was the mosaic on the floor. It was a representation of the compass symbol she’d seen on the key and that she wore around her neck but done in tile and precious stones. The room was square, and the compass points touched the middle of each side. The door they’d come through was indicated by the southern point. She stood on the image and for a moment and thought it might cause a reaction, but nothing happened.

  The next thing to catch her eye was the opposite wall. It was about twenty feet long and most of it was covered with pictures, newspaper clippings, printouts, colored strings, pins, and handwritten notes. She walked toward it with a complete lack of understanding. Why would my parents have led me here? Whose place is this? Some kind of police zone? When she drew closer, she saw that all the items related to the city’s gangs, primarily the magical ones although images of Zatora figures were present as well. She recognized a younger Rion Grisham in one of the photos and scowled.

  “Cali, look here,” Fyre said, and she turned to the wall indicated by the
west pointer. It had a large desk full of notebooks and papers. She picked up the first one she came to and growled in frustration.

  “It’s the same damn code. I recognize it but I can’t read it. Where the hell did they get all this?” She sifted through the items on the dented metal surface but found nothing that provided any ideas at all about what was going on. Pressure had begun to build in her brain and a small voice screamed about how unfair it was that the resolution of one mystery had led to more.

  Finally, she turned and walked the axis of the room to reach the last wall. It was entirely covered by lockers several feet taller than her. They looked like the versions found in a gym, about twice as wide as the ones she’d used in school back in the day. Ten stood in a row, and she realized that she was absolutely afraid to open them. Still, not doing so could never be an option. With a deep breath, she pulled on the first handle.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “And that’s when I found them,” Cali exclaimed and almost bounced in her seat due to a complete inability to contain herself. “I couldn’t believe it.”

  Tanyith and Zeb both performed the calm down gesture this time, but she was unable to obey. The discoveries she’d made in what she now thought of as her parents’ secret lair were too exciting. After looking through it all once, she’d portaled directly to the tavern and apologized to Zeb for calling off. Waiting for the last customers to leave had been difficult but finally, everyone was gone except the three of them and Fyre, and she’d launched into the tale.

  “Take a breath,” the man said, “then tell us what you found. Honestly, you are the most annoying storyteller ever.” The Draksa snorted his agreement from behind the bar. Her boss pushed a soft cider into her hands, and she drank greedily before she resumed her description of the evening.

  “So, the first two lockers had black uniform-like outfits in them—jacket, shirt, pants, and boots. Clearly, one belonged to my mother and one to my father because one was my size and I’m about her size, and the other was bigger. They also had the compass symbol on them in several places but hidden under Velcro patches. They looked brand-new.”

  Tanyith replied, “That’s unexpected. What else did you find?”

  “The third and fourth lockers were filled with shelves holding all kinds of different things. Healing and energy potions. Electronic equipment I didn’t recognize. Big zip ties like the police use. And a couple of black motorcycle helmets with tinted faceplates.”

  Zeb shook his head. “This gets weirder and weirder. We need to check those potions before you even think about using them, though.”

  Cali nodded. “I can take you both there later if you want to go. I made sure I knew the place well enough to portal back.”

  “Field trip,” Tanyith quipped. “Nice. How about tomorrow morning?”

  The dwarf shrugged but she could tell he was intrigued. “That sounds good.”

  “Can I continue now? Are you done talking? Good.” She hadn’t even reached the best part yet. “The fifth and sixth lockers held pieces of metal similar to the sword fragment they left me. Some seemed smaller like they might be from knives based on the size of the etchings in them.”

  The man frowned. “So do you think your parents were actively collecting those things?”

  “Totally, yes. It explains so much if they were. Maybe they got in someone’s way while they were doing it.” The realization hit her in the face like a roundhouse punch, and her voice became a low growl. “Maybe they got in the way of the Atlantean gang. We know they have one of the sword pieces.” She turned fiery eyes to him. “Was the fragment there when you were part of them?”

  “No. I would have known if it was. It’s possible that it could have arrived toward the end, when I was already being ignored and pushed out, but we definitely didn’t have it for most of my time there.”

  She caught the reins of her suspicion and pulled back hard. “Okay. That makes sense. Sorry.” He nodded and she returned to relating what she’d found. “Seven had only a large sheath for a sword. It had etchings similar to the ones on the blade they left me, but not the same. I checked the picture against it and they didn’t match.”

  “Eight held what I can only call spy stuff. Fancy binoculars, what looked like little listening devices and receivers, and a variety of other things I couldn’t even make a guess at.”

  Tanyith drummed his fingers on the bar. “What the hell were your parents up to? This sounds like much more than merely collecting artifact pieces.”

  Cali sighed at the interruption. “I agree with you, but I have absolutely no idea. After I saw the lockers, I deduced that everything on the wall must have been about tracking the fragments. Maybe it wasn’t? Maybe they had more than one thing they were working on? I honestly don’t know.”

  “Yeah. There are a ton of questions in need of answers at this point, that’s for sure.”

  “Wait until you hear about the last two lockers.” This was the part she couldn’t wrap her mind around at all. She had the feeling it would strike at some inopportune moment and overwhelm her to the point of shut-down but so far, she was doing okay. “The ninth one was empty except for a nameplate on the shelf separating the tall bottom section from the top. Etched into it was Caliste Leblanc.”

  Zeb’s eyes widened. “So, they assumed you would join them when you were old enough, I guess?”

  She shrugged. “That was my thought too. It seems like the most likely explanation, doesn’t it?”

  Tanyith nodded. “It does. What about the last one?”

  “Another empty locker. Another nameplate, identical to the first except for what was engraved on it.” They stared at her, waiting, while she mastered herself enough to speak. “Atreo Leblanc.” She paused, then forced herself to say it. “It appears I have a brother.”

  It had taken her almost a quarter of an hour to pull herself together after saying the words out loud. She didn’t know where the certainty that the last nameplate was her sibling came from, but when she saw it, she simply knew in her blood and bones and soul and mind. Cali stared at herself in the mirror of the tavern’s ladies’ room and deeply troubled eyes looked back. She choked out a single laugh. Yeah, you and me both, sister. You look how I feel.

  She returned to the bar to find the men deep in conversation and slid onto the stool without interrupting. Tanyith said, “It shouldn’t be that hard to get to the bottom of it. There have to be records.”

  Zeb shook his head. “If there are, they’re probably in New Atlantis.”

  “I could ask Kendra.”

  “So it’s Kendra, is it? she interjected. “What will you ask her? Out on a date?” Without her normal good humor behind it, the jest fell flat.

  “To look into you and your parents and see if there’s any information to be had on this mysterious name in the locker.”

  Her boss folded his arms, clearly against the idea. “Cali needs less attention from the police, not more. I like the detective but we can’t afford to trust her. Not with this. No, we’ll have to do that work ourselves.”

  Tanyith shrugged and looked at her. “What do you think?”

  “I’ll go with Zeb on this one. I’d prefer to see what we can find on our own before we take it beyond the four of us.” From his place behind the bar, Fyre snorted in approval of being included. “Well, five, since I’ll ask Emalia. I can’t imagine that she would have held this back from me, though.”

  “She’s concealed other important things.” The frown on her partner’s face showed his reluctance to say anything that could be seen as negative about her great aunt.

  “True. But she wasn’t really a part of their lives until they came here, so whatever made this a secret might have been something that happened before. Either way, we’ll see.” She shook her head. “I can’t imagine my parents leaving their child behind for any reason.”

  Zeb’s voice was gruff. “I can think of one. He’s no longer alive.”

  Cali knew why he’d made the blunt st
atement. The dwarf was a consistent proponent of the Band-Aid approach—yank it off fast and make it hurt because drawing it out would cause it to hurt so much more. She nodded. “It’s possible. But even then, I have to know.”

  “Of course you do. And we have to help you find out.”

  Tanyith sighed. “Okay, no Barton. Maybe Emalia will have something. I can check the library to see if there are any genealogies. It’s a super-long shot but sometimes, the Hail Mary pass gets caught, right?”

  The dwarf snorted. “Not by this year’s team.”

  She raised a hand. “We are not shifting from my potentially long-lost brother to talking about the Saints. No way, no how.” Her tension eased as they all laughed together but inside, she still felt wobbly like the ground beneath her was no longer as solid as it had been. She took a deep breath to center herself, then turned to face Tanyith. “So, I hear you have time on your hands now and then. How about I help you with your investigation and you try to find out what was going on with my parents? Maybe if I look into yours and you look into mine, fresh eyes will reveal things we’re too close to see.”

  He shrugged. “I couldn’t do much worse on my side of the equation. Aiden has apparently vanished from the face of the Earth and the more I hear about this Harry guy, the more I hope it isn’t him.”

  Cali nodded. “And the more I try to understand what my parents were up to, the more I get upset that they never told me. Maybe some distance will help us both.”

  “That sounds like a good arrangement,” Zeb agreed. “You should do it. However, you should do it somewhere else. I need to get some rest if we’re going to visit your new discovery tomorrow morning.”

  “You sleep?” She laughed. “I was sure you spent all your time here, walking around and talking to yourself.”