Étoile considered that, her lips tight. "You can find them?"
"I think I know someone who can."
"Okay," she sighed, and I wondered if she were rethinking her decision. "Okay. Get the last piece and bring everything to me. Even if it doesn't work, we still have a mole to flush out. That kind of power, even if turns out to be nothing more than a folk tale, will, no doubt, be of particular interest to the opposition."
"You want to use the pieces to trap them?"
"Yes. At least, it could serve some good purpose."
I looked around, noticing we were alone now. Evan must have been wondering what was taking me so long. "The guards didn't find anything on the cameras?" I asked, wondering what else was being kept from me.
"No, some kind of charm was used to cloak the bearer. We can see everything as it happened, but not whom. We don't even know which direction they made off in. Our leads are all dead ends."
"Why do I get the feeling no one else knows that?" I asked. The atmosphere didn't seem despondent just now. If anything, our allies seemed buoyed by the summons.
"Admit to our comrades that our security has been bamboozled twice? My presidency would be dead in the water! And just when I need their confidence most. No, keep this quiet, Stella. Just find the last missing piece and bring everything to me."
"Deal. You won't regret it."
"Not now that I have another plan in place. But, Stella..."
"Yes?"
Étoile placed a cool hand on my wrist. "Hurry. There's no time to lose." She left me. I was the last one standing in the room, which I hoped didn’t forebode a glimpse of the future. A few remained outside the room, talking in small groups of twos and threes. Evan stood with Micah and the other demon. When Evan saw me, he broke off their conversation. The other demon nodded and walked away without a backwards glance, Micah at his side. I was used to demons regarding me with curiosity; their eyes seemed to seek me wherever I went. Someone once told me the demons found me intriguing and I noticed their interest hadn't waned. The feeling, however, wasn't completely mutual. Witches, shapeshifters, werewolves... all of them had personable elements, but there was something about demons that made me uncomfortable. Most of them anyway, except for Evan and Micah. I called the latter my friend. And Evan? Evan was a whole different ball game; and he was what I was thinking about when he joined me.
"Étoile says to finish finding the last talisman," I said softly.
He nodded, indicating he needed no further explanation. After all, I told him everything I knew. "We need to check your horologican. I have an idea."
"No problem. It's in my..." I stopped. "Can I go to my room?"
"Yes. Nothing’s been moved yet."
"I suppose I'll have to move it all later. I don't want anyone else touching the talismans."
Except for little pockmarks in the door, and the sentry posted outside, my room didn't look any different. I didn't want to imagine what it might have looked like had the cloaked person gotten inside, but I couldn't help it when the very thought fluttered across my mind. Perhaps the message was more than just the envelope pinned to my door. The person to whom the door belonged was an additional message. The target. The Brotherhood were telling me they knew exactly where I was, and they could find me at any time. I doubted very much if changing rooms would prevent that. All it could do would possibly delay me from the task at hand.
I nodded to the sentry and stuck the key-card against the electronic panel, the door clicking open as I let us into the room. I was glad Evan was with me.
"Do you need to ask it something? I don't know what it knows about demons."
"Demons aren't the information. There's something I want to know about the other talismans," he said, waiting patiently as I entered my code into the safe and reached for the new horologican. Its pages gave a little ruffle before lying still, waiting. Just like with Chyler's horologican, I wished again it would just tell me what it knew; simply flip open the pages and get right to it. I waited a moment, but saw no further movement.
"Here," I said, holding it out to him. Evan stepped back. "What is it?"
"I can't touch it."
"Why?"
"I feel protective magic on it. It's stable, but it's reacting."
"To you?"
"I think so."
I stared down at the book. I couldn't feel anything emanating from it besides its inherent magic. Probing deeper, I searched for the narrow, supernatural threads, locating a fine web, which was shielding the book. Evan was right. It was protecting itself from what it didn't know. "Tell me what you want to know and I'll ask it," I told him as I stroked a palm over the book. "He's okay," I said soothingly. "He's with me." The protective magic vibrated a little, but didn't expand. I took that as a good sign. "So what do you want to know?" I asked him.
"Ask the book if the remaining talisman is the same as the first," he started.
"I think it has to be," I told him without posing the question. Instead, I pulled the werewolf pendant from where I slipped it around my neck and under my sweater. Taking it off, I reached into the safe and withdrew the vampire pendant, adding that to it, and placing them side-by-side on the desk. "Étoile got the shapeshifters to give me this today."
"They're the same, but different. Like opposites."
I nudged them closer to each other. "They don't fit together."
"Ask the book to describe the other piece."
"Two pieces," I said, setting the book down as I extracted the werewolf talisman. I unwrapped it and placed it on the desk too, turning it slowly. "See here? There is a cut-out on each side, roughly the same size as these pendants, but there are four, instead of three." I placed my hand on the horologican, thinking about what should I ask. Finally, I chose the most obvious question first. "Are the other talismans also pendants?"
The book buffeted my hand, so I lifted it, letting it open to flip the pages. It landed on a blank page before the ink began spreading and an invisible hand formed an oval. The oval was cut into four pieces, each with its own dot and a hole through it, which threaded a chain, creating four individual pendants.
"I think that's a yes," said Evan. "The two pieces we have are the end pieces. These dots must be the little star diamonds."
"It's writing something. The third is yours to receive, but the fourth will only be revealed to truth."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"I have no idea."
"Is it always so cryptic?"
"Sometimes. That's my experience of horologicans anyway."
"Great. Just great."
"But it's not going to stop us finding the next talisman, right? You said you know where it is?"
"Yeah, I do. I think I do."
"Then let's go get it."
"Easy there! It's not as simple as going upstairs, walking in and picking it up."
"Going upstairs?" I asked.
"I meant..."
I watched him closely and asked, "You mean literally? It's here, isn't it?" I knew the answer the moment he gulped before turning away, and running a nervous hand over his head.
"Yes, it's here. I saw it already, but I don't know if I can get it."
"Who's got it?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you storming over there and demanding it."
"I would not!"
"Sure you would! Because you want it and we're running out of time. I don't want you to get hurt, or end up owing a favour to a demon."
It probably wasn't a good time to mention I already owed a vampire a favour. I had to agree that I definitely didn't want to be in a demon's debt either, so I simply nodded. "Okay, fine, I won't argue. You get it. We're running out of time and it's imperative." My phone buzzed in my pocket. Reaching for it, I tipped the screen so I could see it. "Étoile says to bring the talismans now."
"She knows you don't have them all."
"She knows, but she wants them on display. She thinks it
will draw out the mole if they suspect we think it's powerful enough to defeat The Brotherhood."
"It could be."
"Étoile doubts that. She thinks this is the only use for them now."
"Then don't disappoint her. I'll meet you there." Evan dropped a kiss on my mouth before walking out the door, leaving me touching a finger to my lips wondering where all this was going, and if we would ever have an opportunity to talk about it.
Chapter Seventeen
"I don't believe it! How did you catch him already?" I asked as we stared at the talismans in the case. Even behind the thick glass, I could feel the power of the charm, although the twin pendants sitting on a black velvet display gave off a far more subtle hum. It could have been my imagination, but all of them felt more dynamic together.
"Never underestimate greed," said Étoile, clearly pleased. "It's a compelling motivator."
"But this fast?"
"Don't forget we're going to war. I had a rumour started, saying that the talismans would only be available for viewing here for twenty-four hours until we moved them."
"They believed that?"
"Since it was true, it was an easy rumour to start and believe. I would never have left the talismans here while we're at war. I would have sent them to a safe storage facility. All I had to do was point cameras at the case, put in one overworked, sleepy guard, and two cloaked guards."
"Who is he?" I asked, hoping it wasn't anyone I knew. That kind of betrayal would be hard to understand.
"Some minor wizard from the west coast. He's not talking."
"That's his first not stupid move."
"Probably his last," said Étoile, her voice dry.
"It was definitely he?"
Étoile extracted an eight-by-ten and passed it to me. I studied it, unsure of what I was looking at. The figure was half-turned towards the camera, his face partially visible, and he was tucking something under his jacket. Behind him was the case. "It's open! How?"
"A simple infusion of magic to the lock. We recorded him opening it, then putting the talisman under his jacket."
Something else occurred to me. "Why can we see him?"
"I don't know. He was cloaked until he used magic to open the lock. I think the cloaking spell he used was weak and he probably overloaded it. I'm sure we'll figure it out very soon. We matched his magic to that at your door."
"What happens to him now?" I asked as I handed the photo back.
"Depends on what he tells us. His intel could be useful, but..."
"But?" I prompted.
"But it's more likely that he's a pawn who knows nothing helpful. The most important thing is: we've rooted out the mole, who can't cause anymore damage."
"What about the talismans now?"
"You can take them. Store them somewhere safe. We have no further need now."
"But we still don't know how it works! I've only just discovered that the pendants connect to each other, and they must fit into the talisman’s carvings. I'm so close..."
"We're out of time. I appreciate everything you've done to find the items and try to prove the prophecy, but we're done. The Council voted to meet The Brotherhood for battle, and our rescue team are going out at dusk. There's no more time for anything else. We have to rely on the skills we have."
"But..."
"No buts, Stella. I'm sorry. Get ready to move out at dusk."
"You said I wasn't going," I reminded her, confused.
"Not on the rescue mission. That's too dangerous, but I can't deny you're one of our strongest witches, so I've assigned you to the recce team."
"What does that mean?"
"Our scouts know the meeting place. They've had brief excursions onto the land, but their information isn't sufficient. We need a team to cover the gaps in our knowledge while the rescue mission is underway and the Brotherhood is distracted."
"We aren't due there tonight. The Brotherhood..."
"No, we're not," cut in Étoile, "which is exactly why I'm sending a first team ahead of our army. We need to get ahead of The Brotherhood. A small party should be able to slip in undetected. The knowledge you gain will form a critical part of our offensive."
"You're speaking like a general."
Étoile smiled thinly, the strain showing on her face. "Do you think so?"
"Yes. You're different. When I first met you, you always had such an air of superiority. I don't mean that badly; I mean, you were always so confident, which is something I've always admired. Now you're a leader and a good one, no, a great one," I said, and meant it. If not for Étoile, the Witches’ Council might have been little more than a dictatorship, and the High Council would never have existed. Thanks to her, we had a chance to work together, and I couldn't be prouder to call her my friend.
"Thank you. I'll try not to get you killed."
I wasn't sure if she were joking, but I thanked her anyway.
She signaled one of the waiting guards to advance. "Take a guard with you when you remove these. It's a shame you didn't find the last pendant, but I was never fully on-board with the idea that the talismans could save us all. Meet me at my office in an hour."
I wanted to tell her that Evan had a lead on another pendant, but since I hadn't heard from him after he left my room, and she didn’t even try to hide her disappointment in the talismans, it seemed pointless. Instead, I asked the only logical question, "Who's on my team?"
"I'll introduce you to any unfamiliar faces in an hour. Pack light. You won't be gone long."
~
We shimmered our party of ten into a location several miles from where the captives were being held in pairs. Seren, Astra, Evan and I made a couple of trips each to bring in two shapeshifters, and four witches. Among them was my countryman Anders. I was pleased to see him and even happier to learn he was on our team. I was also glad he didn’t insist on bringing Daniel.
Clad in black fatigues, the talismans safely stashed in my backpack, I felt different. Nervous energy bristled around me, and I felt the flickers of magic dancing under my skin, fully prepared and ready. Instead of being drained by the exertion, I felt more alive. Despite the disappointment of Étoile's reaction to the talismans, I was still positive, but it was so good to be outside, focusing briefly on something else.
"Get to cover," hissed Evan, his voice urgent as we formed a ring around him, waiting for his next command. "The longer we risk out in the open, the more time they have to spot us."
"We were supposed to be here after dusk," said Anders, pointing to the waning sun. He adjusted his black cap, pulling the brim further over his eyes to shield his face. "We're too early."
Evan pulled the map from his jacket pocket, turning it and looking around for identifying features. The land looked very different from Étoile's magicked map back at The Amethyst. "Here," he said, jabbing a finger to the edge. "There's a derelict cabin. That way. Go!" He took off at a run, leaving us no choice but to follow. Despite a lack of exercise recently, I was a runner. Pumping my legs, the muscle memory came back to me like an old friend. Gulping air into my lungs, I focused on the darkening terrain, my senses primed for any sudden movement.
When Evan came to a halt, I almost crashed into him. Thankfully, he swung an arm around me, cutting me off in my tracks and pulling me into a crouch beside him as he signaled for our team to follow. We waited, breathless, as the sound of footsteps crashed through the undergrowth ahead of us.
I channeled magic into my palms, keeping it primed, but invisible, lest I give us away.
The footsteps grew closer, louder, and were too many to count. I raised my palms as the bushes parted.
Several deer hurtled past us, oblivious to our presence.
Behind me, someone let out a relieved laugh.
"We're nearly there. All okay?" Evan said, his voice the softest whisper as he turned to check on our team. One-by-one, they nodded, their faces growing tense. "A few more minutes. Let's go." We took off at another run, following Evan along the dirt path unti
l the trees ended in a clearing. The cabin looked in good shape; the roof was still intact with a chimney rising from it. The door was closed, and the windows were barred with shutters. "I don't sense any movement. Stella, can you cover the lock?"
"No problem."
"Do we have company?" Evan asked Anders.
Anders shook his head. "I don't sense anyone but us here."
"Wait here until we've secured the cabin," Evan instructed before we ran forwards, leaving our team behind in the shadow of a cluster of short, stumpy trees. Seconds later, I infused the lock with my magic and it swung open, allowing us to step inside. Chinks of light seeped through the shutters and a thin film of dust covered the surfaces. I waited for Evan to dart between rooms. "Clear," he said, as he passed me on his way to the door. He beckoned our team and we waited as they crossed the clearing, entering the cabin in single file until I could push the door closed behind the last person.
"What now?" I asked, somewhat concerned about our error in timing.
"We stick to the plan. We wait an hour or so, until it's fully dark, then we canvas the area."
"Shouldn't we wait until first light?" asked Abby, one of our witches. Apparently, she was a hotshot with maps and had already taught us several important points about charting the territory.
"Only if we want to get caught. We're in; then we're out. We need to get as much information and feedback as we can with minimal risk, hence the night walk. Let's take the time to eat now, instead of later, and then go over the plan. I have to check in with the rescue team," Evan added, grabbing his walkie-talkie. "Team two in position," he said, depressing the talk button.
The walkie-talkie fizzled with white noise as our small team waited.
"Team two in position. Over," Evan repeated.
"We hear you, team two. Team one in position. Next check in, one hour. Over," came a voice I didn't recognise.
"Received. Over."
I wasn't the only one to breathe a sigh of relief at the news. The rescue team had the more dangerous job and we all knew it. We had no idea what they would face once they began their infiltration of The Brotherhood's compound. However, we reasoned that their team would garner the heaviest action, leaving our team a free range to recce the terrain, hopefully unencumbered. It wasn't a case of word getting out that The Brotherhood would be raided, but rather, a case of when. Despite that, as we reconvened to discuss the plan, Gage appeared hopeful that taking out the guards would be swift and draw little attention. The witches on his team seemed less certain of the magical wards guarding the place. I had to agree with them. I thought the whole place was likely to be booby-trapped, and I said as much to Evan about the land we already covered.
Endless Magic (Stella Mayweather Series Book 6) Page 18
