I dealt with that difficulty by Cloaking, jogging to the mall’s security office, breaking in, and damaging the server system that controlled the cameras. Whoever managed the mall had gone cheap and bought a model of server that only uploaded its camera logs every twenty-four hours. This particular server was configured to upload the camera logs at 3 AM. When that failed, a notification would go out, and the mall’s managers would likely call Homeland Security to investigate.
That was all right. By the time someone came to investigate, this would all be over.
Either I would be dead, or Lorenz would be.
Once I had disabled the camera systems, we got to work. Murdo, Russell, Ross, Vander, Alexandra, and I were all able-bodied, and we unloaded the van and the SUV in haste. Rusk carried Felix and helped Jill along. Russell located several pallet jacks and empty pallets, and we stacked the crates on the pallets and hauled them into the mall.
“The east entrance is our best bet, I think,” said Murdo. “Lorenz will probably come from that direction.”
“I agree,” said Robert. “Been here a few times, at least before the Archons shot up the place last year. The east entrance and wing would make for a hell of an ambush point.”
We pulled the pallets into the east wing, and I saw right away that both men were right.
The Ducal Mall was a big place, and the east wing was four stories tall. Balconies lined both walls, holding more shops. About four hundred yards to the west was the food court, which had gotten destroyed during my final fight with Sergei Rogomil all those decades ago. Right now, the food court was still only half-finished, with the balconies sealed off by plastic sheeting, and pallets of floor tiles and tools everywhere. The eastern wing was in better shape and looked mostly finished, though portions of the floor were still rough concrete and some of the walls needed painting.
Given how much blood had been spattered on the floor and walls the last time I had been here, I suppose they had needed a lot of paint and new floor tiles.
“Yeah,” said Robert. “Yeah, this has potential.” He pointed at one of the boxes of tiles. “Those boxes? I think we should scatter them around the main floor here. Lay them out for an optimal blast pattern. And then when Lorenz’s goons come inside, boom.”
I frowned. “What if he comes in from a different entrance? If you count the employee and service entrances, this place has dozens of different ways to get inside.”
“We’ll wait on one of the upper balconies,” said Murdo, glancing up. “Mr. Vander, how accurate is Vastarion’s spell?”
“Reasonably accurate,” said Vander. “He’ll realize that Russell is inside the Ducal Mall. But I don’t think it will tell him exactly where Russell will be.”
“Which means,” I said, “that the orcs and undead will come through the front doors in a wave, and then they’ll split up and start searching every shop in the east wing.”
“Yeah,” said Robert. “And our best chance is to get them when they come through the front doors. Hit them when they’re all in a group.”
“They might send scouts through first,” said Murdo.
“They’d be idiots not to,” said Robert. “And we’ll have to play it by ear. Let the scouts come in, and let them go back out. When the undead and the main force of the orcs come inside, hopefully, we can take out most of them in one explosion. If we get lucky, we might even catch Lorenz and Vastarion in the blast.”
“Uh,” I said. “Would the mines even work on Vastarion? Normal bullets wouldn’t.”
“They wouldn’t,” said Vander. “Neither would the ball bearings from the antipersonnel mines.”
“Why are Elves immune to bullets?” I said. Morvilind had tried to explain it to me, but the explanation had gone right over my head. But given that Vander was used to dealing with high school students, maybe he could condense it down.
“Basically, Elves are more innately magical than humans,” said Vander. “We are more easily able to use and wield aetheric force from the Shadowlands. Earth is also far less magically charged than our homeworld. To put it simply, our flesh is so charged with magic you need metal equally charged with magical force to wound us.”
I nodded. “Which is why bullets forged from Shadowlands ore can wound Elves but bullets from Earth cannot.”
“That’s right,” said Vander, in the same tone he might have used when a student got a question correct. “Bullets forged from the ore of our homeworld would work, but that’s beside the point. The mines wouldn’t kill Vastarion, but they would hurt him a great deal. We might be immune to bullets, but we can’t entirely shrug off the kinetic force from a bullet impact. And getting hit by a thousand ball bearings at once is a lot of kinetic force. It would definitely hurt him, enough that Miss Moran or I would be able to kill him without much difficulty.”
“Good,” I said.
“What about Jill?” said Rusk. “She shouldn’t be anywhere near this fight.”
“Neither should Felix,” said Alexandra, holding her son.
“Yeah,” I said. It was also freaking hot in here. The repairs and renovations must not have gotten to the air conditioning yet. “Let’s put you guys in the security office. It’s on the fourth floor of the north wing, off the food court. If Lorenz and Vastarion try to sneak through the back, it’s off the main route, so they shouldn’t stumble across you. It’s also air-conditioned, which will be good for the baby and Jill.”
“It would be nice to sit down,” said Jill, sweat glittering on her forehead. “Or to lie down.”
“Yeah,” I said. I looked at Murdo and Robert. “You guys get started wiring up the mines. I’ll get Rusk, Jill, Alexandra, and Felix to the security office. Then I’ll come back and help you set up.”
Getting them to the security office proved harder than I expected. The elevators were out, so we had to take the stairs by the food court. After the first flight of stairs, poor Jill looked like she was about to pass out. While Rusk took Felix, Alexandra and I carried Jill up the remaining stairs. I took her ankles, and Alexandra held her under the arms.
“Thank you for this,” said Jill, her voice scratchy. “It’s…God, this is so embarrassing.”
“It’s all right,” I said, and I glanced at Alexandra. “And it’s not like this is the weirdest thing that Mrs. Ross and I have ever done together.”
Alexandra snorted. She was in good shape – the cords in her arms stood out, but she wasn’t even breathing hard as she climbed backward up the steps. “You know, when I hired you to be my assistant, I had no idea it would change my life so much.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Sorry about that.”
“For what?” said Alexandra, surprised. “You saved my life at Madison. You brought back Robert from his mission. And if you hadn’t been here today, that necromancer would have taken my son.” She laughed a little. “My life would have changed even if you hadn’t been in it. No, it’s more than that. My life would have ended if you hadn’t been there.” She glanced at Felix. “And my son would never have been born. You’re a scary person, Nadia, but I’m glad I know you.”
“Thanks,” I said. I meant it, too. Meeting her had been a turning point in my life. I had almost killed her when she had panicked in the Shadowlands, and if I had…maybe I would have been willing to listen to Nicholas’s and Lorenz’s arguments about the Rebels.
Maybe I would have become a much, much worse person.
We got to the fourth floor and carried Jill to the security office. I had left the door unlocked after I had broken in to disable the server, and we got Jill inside. It was more of a suite than a single office, with a reception desk, a locker room, a big room with a half-dozen desks, and several holding cells for shoplifters until Homeland Security could cart them away. There were cots for officers to sleep between shifts, and we got Jill comfortable on a cot while Alexandra made up a little impromptu bassinet for Felix. The air conditioning was working in here, and the chill made me shiver beneath my coat.
“Okay,�
� I said. “I want you and Rusk to stay here, Alexandra. Someone needs to look after the baby, and I don’t want to leave Jill alone.”
“Very well,” said Rusk. He sighed. “I was only an indifferent man-at-arms, truth be told, and I barely survived my term of service. If I fought, I fear I would only get in your way.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Someone has to look after Jill.”
“I’ll go back with you and help you get ready,” said Alexandra, “if Mr. Rusk will look after Felix.”
“Of course,” said Rusk.
“I don’t want you fighting,” I said.
“I won’t,” said Alexandra, “but there’s a lot of work to do, and you need help setting up, don’t you?” She wasn’t wrong about that. “We’ve only got a few hours before Lorenz shows up. Let me help.”
“All right,” I said. “Rusk, you can look after things here?” He nodded, and behind him I saw something on one of the equipment shelves. I pulled out a box of belt-mounted radios and earpieces. I powered on the radios, did a check, and gave one to Rusk and another to Alexandra. “Call us if there is any trouble.”
“Trust me,” said Rusk, fiddling with the radio’s wires as he clipped it to his belt, “that will be the first thing I do.”
“Also,” I said, “keep the door locked.” I pointed at the wall next to the door. There was a small flat panel screen there, and it showed a black-and-white image of the concourse just beyond the door. “You’ll have a clear view of the concourse. Don’t open the door unless it’s one of us.”
“I won’t,” said Rusk.
“Come on,” I said to Alexandra. “You’re right. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
That said, it still took Alexandra five minutes to get ready to leave. She had numerous last-minute instructions for Rusk on the proper care and feeding of a one-year-old child. Rusk, for his part, took it all with good humor, though he seemed to know it all already. I suppose Jill had been a baby once upon a time.
After Alexandra calmed down, we left the security office and jogged to the east wing of the mall. The work was already well underway. Murdo and Robert had arranged a pattern of tile cartons and tool boxes on the concrete floor that looked random but would conceal antipersonnel mines. They had also secured more mines behind the plastic sheeting sealing off the unfinished shops on the first level. Based on the placement of the mines, when they went off, it would be like standing in the middle of a giant shotgun blast, albeit a blast that struck from every direction simultaneously.
It would be absolutely lethal for anyone caught inside of it.
Hopefully, it would take care of both the orcish mercenaries and the undead.
Murdo had already set Vander and Russell to work with the burner cell phones, and Alexandra and I joined them. I already knew the procedure for wiring a burner cell phone to a detonator, and I showed Alexandra how to do it. We went through the mines step by step, and I surreptitiously checked the work of the others as we did. Fortunately, Murdo had shown Vander and Russell how to do it properly, and Alexandra was a quick study. She approached wiring remote bombs with the same enthusiasm she had once displayed picking out centerpieces for Duke Carothrace’s events.
It took about two hours to get the mines wired, and even before we were done, Murdo started activating the cell phones. I was concentrating hard and was consequently chilly from clenching my magic, but I still felt the strain of every second ticking away. Lorenz and Vastarion were coming for us, and we had to be ready by the time they arrived.
“All right,” said Murdo. “I’ve got the numbers for all the burners on my phone.” He tapped his phone against his palm. “I’m also going to enter the numbers into Nadia’s phone, so we have a backup.” I nodded, unlocked my phone, and passed it to him. “They’re configured to make a group call. Once I make that call, all the mines will go up at once.”
“Would it make more sense to detonate them sequentially?” I said.
“It might,” said Murdo. “Depending on the circumstances. But we just don’t have the time to set up anything more complicated. If we had a couple of days…” He shook his head. “I’m afraid this is the best we can do in the time we have left. How much longer until Vastarion knows where Russell is?”
“An hour, maybe,” said Vander, wiping some sweat from his forehead. “Maybe two.”
“Then we’ll just have to lure as many of the orcs and undead into the trap as we can before we set it off,” said Robert.
“Yeah,” I said. “And I might be able to help with that.”
“As bait?” said Russell, frowning with alarm. “It’s me they’re after, not you.”
“And they’re only after you to get at me,” I said. “If Lorenz kills me, he can chalk it up as a win and go back to Venomhold.” Then when Nicholas called me for my final theft, and I didn’t answer, all Lorenz needed to do was keep a straight face, and he was an excellent liar. “But I’m not planning on sacrificing myself, thanks to Mr. Vander.”
“The Splinter Mask,” said Vander, nodding.
“What’s a Splinter Mask?” said Robert.
“This,” I said, and I cast the spell. Silver light flared around my fingers, and I used a simpler version of the spell this time. Instead of creating eight or nine illusionary duplicates of myself, I only created one, and I projected it to stand a dozen paces away.
Robert jumped in surprise, and Alexandra’s jaw fell open.
“Neat trick,” said Russell.
“Ah,” said Murdo. “That was the spell you used during the ambush.”
I nodded. “When the bad guys show up, I’ll go outside and throw a few fireballs and lightning globes at them. Once they’re all riled up, they’ll chase me inside. I’ll levitate up to the second floor, use this projection to lure them in, and then Rory will set the blast off. Big boom, no more Lorenz.”
“Hopefully,” said Robert.
“Let’s place these mines in their hiding places,” said Murdo. “We’ve also got some plastic explosive. It’s designed to go off with a triggering charge, and the mines will make a good triggering charge. Slap of wad of explosive on each of the mines.” He glanced up. “And then we’ll need to pick hiding places.”
“Something strong enough to withstand the blast,” said Robert.
Murdo nodded. “And strong enough to resist any structural collapse we might cause.”
We went back to work, slapping handfuls of sticky plastic explosive against each of the flat black mines, and then concealing them in the various hiding places Murdo and Robert had picked out. I handled the mines gingerly. It was irrational, I knew. They wouldn’t go off until triggered by the phones. Hell, I could drop-kick the things, and they wouldn’t go off. But I was still conscious of the deadly force I carried in my hands.
I had been blown up a bunch of times in the Eternity Crucible. I did not want to repeat the experience.
We had just placed the last of the mines when Vander stiffened and looked at Russell. I followed his gaze just in time to see greenish light flicker around my brother.
“The tracking spell?” I said.
“Yes,” said Vander. “Vastarion knows where we are.”
“All right,” said Murdo. “Let’s move. Get your guns and get to your hiding places.”
“Alexandra?” said Robert.
She hesitated and then nodded. “I’ll wait for you with Felix. Please be careful.”
“Always,” said Robert.
She paused once more, and then give him a hard kiss, rather harder than propriety would allow. Vander coughed and looked away, and Russell looked at the ceiling, though not before he had taken a quick glance at Alexandra's backside.
Alexandra took a deep breath and stepped back.
“I love you,” she said.
Robert smiled. “I love you, too.”
“Before you go, we should do a radio check,” said Murdo, all calm professionalism.
That was a good idea, so we all clipped the radio packs
to our belts and donned the earpieces. A quick checked confirmed that the radios were all working, and Alexandra squeezed Robert’s hand once more and then hurried off, though not before Robert made her take a pair of handguns with her.
“She is a good woman,” said Vander once she was out of earshot.
“Yeah,” said Robert. “I’m not the brightest guy in the world, but marrying her was the smartest decision I ever made.”
“Let’s get to our positions,” said Murdo.
We climbed to the second level of the eastern wing. We had chosen locations behind support pillars, and Murdo was confident that the balcony was sturdy enough to deflect the mine explosions without collapsing. Russell, Vander, and Robert waited about a hundred yards further down so that Russell’s location would lure Lorenz in. I took a Royal Arms .45 semiautomatic pistol. Murdo took two of them, and an M-99 carbine as well. Russell took a pistol and a carbine. Murdo also made each of them take a rocket launcher, after a brief primer on how to fire the weapon. It was fairly simple – just aim and pull the trigger, and don’t stand near a wall when you do so you don’t get cooked by the backwash. Hopefully, we wouldn’t accidentally blow ourselves up.
Murdo and I waited behind a support pillar at the very end of the balcony, right before the massive glass enclosure of the Ducal Mall’s eastern entrance. From here we had an excellent view of the vast empty expanse of the parking lot. Beyond it, I saw the headlights of the cars making their way along the streets surrounding the mall. It was almost 9 PM, and while it wasn’t quite dark yet, it was verging on twilight. Shadowy gloom filled the eastern wing, the only light coming from the emergency lights fixed to the support columns.
“How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” I said.
Murdo shook his head. “I don’t know, but not long. Lorenz is taking a huge risk, and he knows it. If you go to Connor and tell him what has been going on, Lorenz is a dead man.”
“He knows I hate Nicky too much to talk to him,” I said.
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