Bermuda Triangle Blues: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (Scions of Magic Book 4)

by TR Cameron

  She kicked it away and extended a hand. The thrown stick returned to her grasp. As always in those moments, she pictured Star Wars and wished it was a lightsaber. She gave him a smug grin. “It looks like you weren’t able to compensate for your tiny weapons. How sad. Run along now.”

  He didn’t reply and instead, raised his hands and fired a wave of magic force at her. It launched her off her feet before she could summon a shield against it, and she hastily conjured a cocoon of her own force magic during the moment of flight. She impacted with the heavy equipment with enough momentum that would have broken bones if she’d been unprotected. As it was, the blow made her ears ring and scattered bright pinpricks of light all over her vision. Fyre growled in her mind, and she shook her head and sent him a mental message. “No worries, I’ve got this. He’ll wish he’d given up rather than choosing magic, though.”

  She rose to her feet and transformed her defense into a smaller circular version attached to her forearm. In spare moments, she’d practiced how to make an illusion of Captain America’s shield to display when she used it, but that trick wasn’t yet ready for its debut. Her opponent regarded her warily and lightning crackled around his right hand while his own buckler-sized shield shimmered in his left.

  Scorn dripped from his words. “You don’t truly believe you can defeat me with magic, do you?”

  Cali smiled. “A year ago? No chance.” With her power reduced by her parents’ protective wards, she would have been no match against anyone magical. “Now, though? Oh yeah.”

  Her training with Emalia had increased her skills in tandem with her rapidly growing strength. She whipped her right hand around to punch the air, and a sizzle and snap sounded as her force blow pounded into his hastily raised shield.

  He cast lightning at her, and she flexed her defense into a full-body blocker to protect her from the burning electricity. She ran forward with it extended in front of her and drove the force barrier into him, overcame his smaller one, and pushed him back. While he couldn’t hear her whispered spell, he sneezed as the mental magic she was still perfecting snuck into his poorly protected brain. In that instant of distraction, she flung a force burst into his shins that knocked them out from under him. He caught himself on his hands but was entirely open to her attack.

  Power surged and urged her to set it free and incinerate him. She corralled it with a growl and settled for a kick to his ribs that broke several of them. Bands of force materialized to bind his wrists and ankles, and when he opened his mouth, she slapped another band around his head to prevent him from speaking.

  Anger blazed in his eyes. Cali shook her head as she looked at him. “You started it. Now behave, or I’ll give you what you planned to give me.” She had no doubt he would have killed her if he’d been able to.

  Fyre landed beside her and roared at the downed man. He didn’t make the noise often but when he did, it was invariably a promise of dire consequences. The Atlantean paled and his struggles ceased. She stretched a hand to stroke the creature’s scales, which were soft to the touch but hard enough to protect him against most danger. “Why is it they always see you as the threat instead of me?”

  He gave his unique Draksa-laugh, something between a chuckle, a growl, and a cough. “You’re short.”

  She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Taller than you, you pint-sized reptile.”

  Another bark of mirth sounded. “Fair enough. Maybe because your hair sticks up all over the place when you fight.”

  Cali sighed. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” A grin spread across her face as a thought occurred to her. “Hey, I have an idea.”

  Fyre looked primly at her. “Wow. It’s true what they say. There’s always a first time for everything.”

  They managed to portal about two-thirds of the distance but were forced to walk the rest of the way. Fyre had offered to carry the man in his claws and fly, but she wasn’t sure the Atlantean would make it through the trip alive. The Draksa’s talons were sharp and his patience even less than her own. She pulled their prisoner’s veiled form behind them with force magic instead and only occasionally let him drag along the ground. They stopped in an alley across the street from their target, the Shark Nightclub.

  Their destination was a legitimate live music venue and bar but was also the home office and clubhouse for New Orleans’ largest Atlantean gang. She’d been inside twice and doubted it would go well for her if she was ever to cross the threshold a third time. Which is why we’ll stay on the outside.

  She took a few minutes to finish writing a note. The man on the ground in front of her had given up his struggles after she’d replaced the magic bonds with zip-ties and the force gag with a piece of his t-shirt. She pulled the gum out of her mouth, stuck it onto the paper, and attached them to his chest.

  It read, Delivered: an idiot who thought he’d ignore the rules and attack me outside the ritual. The next one who tries it will be returned from the neck up only. No signature was present to tie it back to her but she was confident they’d know who it was from.

  Cali knelt and grasped his chin to force the man to look at her. “So, here’s the thing. I could have killed you. Don’t take this act of mercy as a sign of weakness. If you try to kill me again, we will shred you until there’s not even enough left to bury.”

  She cast a veil over herself and her prisoner, and Fyre created one of his own. While she crossed the street ahead of the Draksa, he dragged the man behind them with a coil of his tail wound around his foot. They dropped him on the doorstep, ran to the alley, and portaled to her apartment. the dragon lizard shook his head at her and his long snout moved from side to side. “There’s no maturity in you at all, is there?”

  “You can drop the attitude.” She snorted. “I’ve seen your soda water act. You’re as goofy as the rest of us.” She looked at her watch and sighed. “Damn it. That stupid Atlantean stole all my free time.”

  The Draksa sniffed far more noisily than necessary. “Please say you’ll take a shower. Honestly, between the hair and the smell, you’ll chase all the customers away.”

  She pointed at him, failed to come up with a good reply, and muttered as she walked toward the back of the apartment to do as he’d suggested. Damn uppity Draksa. One of these days, you’ll get yours.

  Chapter Three

  Tanyith had spent his Monday chasing down two more leads that offered him no new information on Aiden Walsh, aka Adam Harlan, aka Harry. He had begun to think the whole affair was a wild goose chase. If it hadn’t been Sienna who’d asked him, he would have returned the money and called it a day. But since it was her, he’d keep trying until he exhausted every option.

  He’d even interviewed at a couple of places for potential jobs, but it turned out that most of the high paying ones didn’t like the gap in his resume from his stay in Trevilsom Prison. Explaining that one was framed for a crime and incarcerated in the middle of a magical lake where most inmates went mad was essentially a non-starter. Soon, he would have to either take something under the table or find a different option but it wasn’t critical quite yet, thankfully.

  A little weary, he tapped on the bar to signal the man tending it that he wanted a refill. The Bulldog was one of his favorite places and their beer selection was flawless. Today, he drank a craft IPA imported from Oriceran with an edge to it that tasted unlike anything he’d had before. He was on his third, and the two before had gone down easily and given him a pleasant haze. Even his various challenges couldn’t ruin the experience.

  Unfortunately, the voice that spoke from behind him could. “So, Tanyith, what troubles are you drowning this evening?”

  He plastered a smile on his face and swiveled in his seat to regard the Dark Elf. Nylotte had been involved in freeing him from his unearned imprisonment and since then, had been a harbinger of things both good and bad. He hoped for the former tonight, feared the latter, and decided some of each would be an acceptable compromise. She was in the outfit he’d seen her in most—leat
her pants with high boots and a black dress over it all that reached below her knees. Her skin was ebony, her hair long and ivory, and her expression, as always, seemed filled with judgment.

  “Nylotte. How lovely to see you. Have you come to buy me a drink?”

  She snorted and climbed onto the seat beside him. “You’re doing the buying.” She pointed at one of the taps and at a nod from Tanyith, the bartender moved to fill a glass for her. They waited in silence until she had tasted it and pronounced it good.

  “So, what brings you to the Crescent City tonight?” he asked. “Another giant monster attack?” She’d been the one to bring word of the Kraken assault and that kind of thing stayed at the front of one’s mind.

  “No, nothing so dangerous. Well, not so dangerous to everyone.” She paused, deliberately mysterious, and he sighed. “But first, gifts.” He hadn’t noticed the satchel slung over her shoulder and shook his head at the mistake. Maybe these things are more potent than I thought. Nylotte withdrew four vials and handed them to him. “For you to give to Cali. These are tailored to her and will work more effectively with fewer undesirable effects. Two healing, two energy.”

  “Nice. What do we owe you?”

  The Drow laughed. “These are on the house, given your efforts to save the city. I’ll simply increase the prices on the items the council buys from me.”

  Tanyith nodded. He and Cali were both of the opinion that the city’s magical council—which consisted of leaders from most of the magical groups in New Orleans—did too little to deal with the abundant challenges caused by the various factions vying for control of the streets. This would be a small step toward redress.

  “That sounds like a fair plan.” The woman was silent as she took a deep draught of her beer and looked expectantly at him. He sighed. “Okay, let’s have the other shoe.”

  She lifted a leg slightly and looked at her boot. “It’s fairly heavy.”

  “I assumed so to bring you here without warning. Does it have to do with the Atlanteans?”

  “Yes. But not the ones you’re thinking of.”

  What the hell? He sat up straighter and pushed his glass away, wishing not for the first time that he knew a sobriety spell. The chill that surged down his spine was a decent substitute, however. “That sounds ominous.”

  Nylotte nodded. “It is, I’m afraid. Or it might be, depending on what you decide to do.”

  He growled his impatience. “Enough suspense. Out with it.” A tiny twitch at the side of her mouth revealed that the Dark Elf had been deliberately teasing him. The world could be ending and in the final moments, she’d still play games with whoever was left. It was frustrating but he had to admire her commitment.

  “The parties that paid for your rescue from Trevilsom have emerged from the shadows.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “As I said, it depends on your choices. They’re the same group that used the giant octopus to attack the city and tried to attack the human gang.”

  He frowned. “Did they simply come out and admit that?”

  The Drow shook her head. “Putting various pieces together led me to that conclusion. But it makes sense. The family is making a play for power in New Atlantis and thus has an interest in anywhere and anyone who’s important to the current Empress. The Atlantean gang you used to be a part of belongs to her now.”

  “There’s more, of course.”

  She nodded again. “Naturally. They’ve passed a message along for you. I’m not sure why they chose to use Chadrousse as an intermediary but they did. And, of course, he passed the task on to me.” She grinned. “Now, he owes me instead of the other way around, which is exactly how I like it.” She withdrew a heavy envelope from the satchel and handed it to him. The front bore a calligraphic script of his name. The back was sealed with wax and an unfamiliar symbol.

  Tanyith frowned. “Have you examined it?”

  “Only for hostile magic. It contains none I could detect.” Her tone suggested that if any had been present, she would have discovered it.

  “So. A mysterious note from an important family in New Atlantis.”

  She shook her head. “Not merely important. One of the nine.”

  He closed his eyes and took a second to master his frustration at her lack of elaboration. When he felt he could speak without seeming upset, he said, “I’m not really up on all things New Atlantean—or Old Atlantean for that matter. Would you care to explain?”

  Her flat expression effectively communicated her disdain for the poor state of his education. She drank the rest of the beer in her glass and signaled for another round for each of them.

  At this rate, I’ll have to work a shift washing dishes to pay the tab.

  When she broke the silence, her tone was teacher-like. “The power structure in Atlantis, both old and new, is very much class-based. There are the workers, the merchants, the soldiers, and the gentry. Anyone can move between those classes with effort, talent, and a little luck. The gentry is built from former merchants and the occasional soldier with the right connections and is permitted to live in the central dome.”

  Tanyith nodded. “Got it. It’s basically similar to various civilizations on the surface.”

  “Indeed. What isn’t quite as similar is the next level up. The Nine noble families rank above the gentry and compete among themselves for leadership of the city. They operate as a council on matters of shared governance, but a monarch stands above them—the Emperor or Empress. She can perform a wealth of actions that do not require their consent.”

  “And the Empress is chosen from the Nine?”

  She gave an approving nod. “Exactly. Through a system of ritual combat, any of the Nine may challenge her for the throne, although only one at a time. Failure usually results in the death of the family’s most viable candidates, which puts them out of the running, potentially for generations.”

  He frowned. “The Empress fights them?”

  Nylotte’s laugh was startling in its sincere amusement when so much of the rest of her demeanor was sarcastic. “Of course not. She has champions galore.”

  “So for someone to even attempt it, they must be very confident.”

  “Or they have plans that go beyond simply winning their way to the position through the established process. Or both.”

  Tanyith sighed. “So, this is from one of those families and they seek to replace the Empress and for some reason, they’re interested in me. Fantastic. Do you have any idea why?”

  She tapped a single slender finger on the bar and the nail clicked as it met the surface. “I imagine they initially thought you would return to the gang upon your release. Either you’d be an ally for them, or you might destabilize it and provide an easier path toward taking control in the city. Now, though, I can’t even hazard a guess.”

  He gritted his teeth and broke the seal. Nothing happened, and the Drow raised an eyebrow at his lack of trust. The letter inside was brief and written in the same hand as the envelope.

  We have matters to discuss. You will come to New Atlantis at your earliest opportunity. We shall watch for your arrival.

  Startled and a little confused, he looked at Nylotte. “They want to talk to me. At their place.” He flipped the paper over and found an addendum.

  Failure to appear will result in repercussions against your former lover as well as anyone else you care about.

  He coughed. “And they’re evidently very serious about it.” He offered it to the Dark Elf and she examined it carefully. At one point, she held the envelope up to the light as if it might have secrets to reveal. He drank half his beer as he waited.

  She handed the materials back. “Like I said. It seems you have choices to make.”

  “Whether to go or not.” He nodded.

  “And whether to warn Sienna.” She didn’t say it but he knew she had to be thinking the same thing he was. And whether to warn Cali and Zeb.

  Tanyith shook his head. “Nothing is easy t
hese days.”

  The Drow chuckled darkly. “As if it ever was. Only distance makes it seem so.”

  He stood and wobbled somewhat before he found his balance. “I guess I should wander over to the Dragons and chat with some people. Will you come along?”

  She rose as well, finished her drink, and smacked her lips in appreciation. “I need to visit Invel, which is my main purpose for the trip. Good luck with your choices.”

  “Thanks. Hey, maybe at least once you should visit when there’s nothing bad to report. Change it up a little.”

  She gave her happy laugh again. “If there ever comes a time when there is nothing bad to share, I will consider it. I think you’re in for a long wait, though, given the enemies you’ve made.”

  Yeah. It seems like it.

  Chapter Four

  Cali’s evening hadn’t been nearly as eventful as the day that had preceded it. The Drunken Dragons Tavern had attracted a steady flow of customers, but now that it was past eleven, only the hangers-on who refused to acknowledge the listed closing time were present. She’d provided subtle hints that they should leave, but the remaining patrons had proven resistant.

  The front door swung open to reveal Tanyith and Detective Kendra Barton, neither of whom looked happy. She twisted to look at Zeb, whose frown showed he’d reached the same conclusion. The dwarf made a shooing motion from his position behind the bar. Yeah, right, don’t help or anything. You’re only the boss.

  She turned to the common room with a sigh. The long tables were mostly empty and as usual, the stragglers were as far from the front as possible as if the distance might allow them to remain unnoticed. All it did was make her cranky to have to take extra steps on aching feet. Working and fighting on the same day, she’d discovered, was still not a great combination for one’s physical comfort.