by B N Miles
“Really?” Cassie sighed. “A lot happened while I was asleep.”
“Yes, it did,” Jessalene said from the kitchen door. She was staring at Lumi. “What’s she doing?”
“Jessa,” Cassie said.
“I just mean, what are you doing about all this?” Jessalene asked. “Are you just staying here?”
“I offered my assistance,” Lumi said. “Jared turned it down.”
Jessalene frowned and looked at him. “Why?”
“We’re not using her for work,” he said. “She needs help and a place to stay.” He put the book he was reading down and stood up. “The job is on us.”
Jessalene snorted. “Let her help if she wants.”
“Really?” Cassie asked, perking up. “You’d be okay with that?”
“I’m not exactly okay with any of this. But I can accept that she’s not the totality of her family, even if she was a part of it.”
Jared smiled a little. He’d hoped she’d get there sooner or later. “Like I said, we’re not asking her to—”
“I’ll help,” Lumi said over Jared. “I’d be happy to.” She looked at Jessalene. “Maybe it can help prove to you that I am not my family, not by any measure.”
Jessalene shrugged. “Maybe,” she said, and went back into the kitchen.
“Oh, this is amazing,” Cassie said. “Lumi, you’re so amazing. Jared, she’s amazing, right?”
Jared rubbed his eyes. “We need to talk about Arman.” He walked over and sat at the table. “He’s holed up in a Day’s Inn just outside the city.”
“Day’s Inn?” Cassie asked.
Lumi frowned. “Major hotel chain.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” Cassie laughed. “Not from around here.”
Jared sighed and Lumi just shook her head. “Anyway, that presents a problem,” he said.
“What’s that?” Cassie asked.
“He’s in a public spot,” Jared said. “And it’s a hotel chain, not some little road motel. We can’t just go in, guns blazing.”
“You couldn’t,” Lumi said. “But I could.”
He gave her a look. “You’re working with me now, and I work for the Marshal Service. We do things differently.”
She shrugged but didn’t argue.
“What’s the plan, then?” Cassie asked..
“Surveillance.”
She groaned. “Come on.”
“Nikita’s assistant texted me the hotel’s address and his room number, so we know where he’s at. I want to watch him until we know he’s in, and then we’ll pay him a visit.”
“Guns blazing?” Lumi asked.
“No guns.” Jared gave her a look. “Seriously.”
She shrugged again.
“Fine,” Cassie said. “That’s reasonable.”
“What’s reasonable?” Jessalene came back out of the kitchen with a plate of pancakes. She offered some to Cassie, who eagerly scarfed two down, before sitting at the last empty seat.
For a moment, Jared looked at the three girls sitting around his table: Cassie with her red hair and bright smile; Jessalene scowling, serious, and beautiful; And Lumi, her big, wide eyes searching the others, her small, petite frame betraying the power inside of her. His little group of girls.
He’d need a bigger table at this rate.
“Arman,” Jared said. “I have his location. Even the room number.”
“So we go grab him,” Jessalene said, mouth full of pancakes.
“Jared wants to do surveillance first,” Cassie said, making a face.
“Great.” Jessalene sighed. “Boring.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Jared laughed. “We love surveillance. And anyway, we need to gather information first. But I promise we won’t wait long. I’m afraid he won’t stick around.”
“Good.” Jessalene stabbed a pancake. “Lumi, are you coming?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” she said.
Jared leaned back in his chair and shook his head. Cassie got up, kissed Jessa on the cheek, kissed Lumi on the cheek, then came over and kissed Jared on the mouth. “This’ll be fun, right?” she asked.
He pulled her back down and kissed her again. “Lots of fun,” he promised.
She beamed and headed back upstairs.
Lumi was staring at him, her cheeks red. Jessalene was already shoving more pancakes into her mouth, totally used to Cassie. He stretched closer to her and smirked. She looked away before he could speak.
He stood up. “Get ready,” he said. “We’ll leave in an hour.”
“Aye aye,” Jessa said, saluting with a fork.
Jared turned and followed Cassie upstairs, intent on a little alone time before they left.
27
Jared leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes for just a moment. He could feel the sun beating down through the windshield, baking the interior of the car. Two days’ worth of food wrappers littered the back seat, along with empty water bottles, magazines, a couple books, and a few CDs.
Lumi shifted next to him, staring out the window across the parking lot. Cassie and Jessalene were in his car, watching the back.
“I thought you said this would be quick,” she said.
“I thought it would be, too.” He let out a breath. “And yet here we are.”
“How is he still in there? We haven’t missed him.”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. They’d been staking out the hotel for two full days. At one point, Cassie had gone inside to make sure that Arman hadn’t checked out, which the woman at the front desk confirmed. He was indeed still in his room, she said, at least as far as they knew.
And so they’d waited. But Jared knew they wouldn’t wait much longer.
“Jessalene is getting impatient,” Lumi said. “And when she gets impatient, the murder in her eyes gets stronger.”
He laughed. “She’s not going to try and hurt you.”
“Again,” Lumi added.
“Fair point. What are you worried about, anyway?”
She was quiet for a moment. “I like her.”
“I do, too,” he said.
“She’s a lot like us, you know. The Dryad clan system is very similar to the Magi family system.”
“I know,” Jared said with a smile. “Cassie too, actually. You should ask her about her life one day. I bet you’d find it interesting.”
“I bet I would.” Lumi sighed. She wore her tight black jeans and low-cut shirt, and little beads of sweat rolled down her skin. Jared was sitting behind the wheel of Lumi’s car, a little black truck with a broken AC and no radio, which was why they’d gone through so many CDs the last couple of days. “I read the reports on her.”
“Yeah? And did the Medlar have the unredacted files?”
“Of course. Worldhopper.” She glanced at Jared. “Those are rare, you know. I’ve only ever read about them.”
“I know,” he said. “But she’s all mine now.”
“For now,” Lumi agreed, but didn’t elaborate on that.
She could be frustratingly vague sometimes. It was almost like she operated on a different level of knowledge, but assumed everyone else knew all the same things. It drove Jared crazy sometimes, but it was just her little quirk, and he doubted she realized she was doing it.
The hours dragged on. Jared put on an audiobook, some fantasy story where the guy starts out on a farm and somehow ends up being a super magical mage. It was hard for him to take that sort of stuff seriously, given that he had real magic and could use it. But the story was light and entertaining, and it kept them distracted as the day slipped past and night fell around them.
“I’ll get dinner,” Jared said, switching the story off just as the protagonist began another long monologue about how conflicted he was over the coming war. “What are you in the mood for?”
Lumi didn’t answer. She was staring straight ahead, a little frown on her face.
“Lumi?” he pressed.
“Look.” She nodded at the parking lot.
Jared followed her gaze and went still. A man was walking across the lot, wearing black, his eyes shifting around the space. It took Jared half a moment to realize that it was Arman.
“It’s him,” he said, leaning forward. “Call the girls.”
“No,” Lumi said, putting her hand on the door.
“Lumi,” he growled and grabbed her by the wrist. “Stop.”
Her eyes flashed to him, hard and sharp. He felt her power flare up for the briefest of moments, but he didn’t let her go. She could incinerate him right there and then, but he wasn’t about to let her ruin this stakeout just because she was impatient.
“If we go after him out in the open, he can run,” Jared said, keeping his voice low.
“He won’t get away from me,” she said.
“Maybe, but there’s no reason to risk it. We know which room he’s in. And we know he’s in there now.”
“He’s right there.” She clenched her jaw. “This can be over.”
“We’ll go tonight,” he said. “Before he has a chance to run again.”
She hesitated and dropped her hand from the door. She shifted toward him and gently took her wrist from his hand.
“Grab me like that again, Magi, and I’ll turn your lungs into acid.”
Jared grinned. “I believe you.”
She smiled back at him then turned toward Arman. They watched as he walked up to a dark sedan, popped the trunk, and took something out of it. It was a dark bag, leather from the looks of it. He tucked the bag under his arm, closed the trunk, looked around the parking lot again, and headed back into the hotel.
A minute later, Cassie and Jessalene pulled up alongside Jared. “You saw him?” Cassie asked.
“Just a minute ago,” he said. “Walked to a car, that black sedan over there.” He pointed toward it. “Then went back inside.”
“So we know he’s here,” Jessalene said and sighed. “Thank the Goddess. I thought that guy was going to live in that room for the rest of my life.”
Jared grinned at her. “Welcome to real police work.”
“You’re not real police,” she shot back. “Just a Marshal.”
He laughed and shrugged. “Close enough.”
“What’s the plan, Marshal?” Cassie asked.
“Right now, I’m going to get dinner for all of us. We’ll eat here, where we can see his car, and talk about next steps.”
“I want to go in there now,” Lumi said, her voice flat.
“I know you do,” Jared said.
“Why don’t we send her in?” Jessalene asked. “She could level the whole block if she wanted.”
Lumi didn’t contest that statement.
“Because we’re doing this together,” he said. “I’m not sending Lumi in alone. That Vampire is old and strong, and it’s dark now. We all go together.”
Lumi let out a breath. “I’ve dealt with Vampires before.”
“I’m sure you have.” Jared tensed for a moment. “But this is how it’s going to be.”
Lumi gave him a long look, then nodded and turned her gaze back to the car. “Yes, sir,” she said.
He smiled. “I like it when you call me sir. Maybe you two could try it.”
Cassie rolled her eyes and Jessalene made a face.
“I’m getting us food,” he continued. “You three stay here and stay out of trouble. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Fine.” Jessalene slumped back in her seat and crossed her arms.
Cassie gave him a look and he just shook his head.
Three impatient girls itching for a fight. Well, at least Cassie seemed a little more levelheaded. They had to know that a Vampire like Arman would be dangerous, especially now that the sun had set. He wanted to wait until morning to take the guy, but he knew the girls wouldn’t go for it. And besides, the longer they waited, the more likely it was that something might go wrong.
So they’d take a risk. Not something he wanted to do, but he had no choice.
He left them and walked to a nearby diner. He put in an order and sat down on an old, patched bench seat and stretched his legs as people came in for the dinner rush. Most of the tables were full, and the waitresses hurried between them in their simple white shirts and black pants.
Sometimes it was strange, the way the world just continued on. Humans had no clue about the real world just beyond their simple existence. Without the Accords, Metas and Humans would be at each other’s throats all the time. Jared doubted they’d have half of what they have now if it weren’t for the magic keeping Metas separate. Internet, TV, antibiotics, advanced surgery techniques, it all happened because Humans had the time, space, and energy to devote to things like science and engineering. But if they were in a constant war with god-like demon creatures, the dark ages might never have ended.
The door opened and Jared turned his head to see Lumi step into the diner. She spotted him and walked over, taking a seat on the bench to his right. She sat close, her legs nearly touching his. He frowned and tilted his head, but she spoke first.
“I was rash back there,” she said.
“Are you here to apologize?”
“Something like that.” She frowned at the people and shook her head. “I’m not used to waiting. And I’m not used to following directions.”
“I guess the Medlar gave you tasks and let you complete them on your own.”
“More or less. They pointed, and I destroyed.” She didn’t smile at that. “We had a good relationship for a while.”
“How are you related to them?” he asked, his voice low.
“My mother is the Head’s cousin,” she said. “I’m not a central family member. But my abilities made me important to them regardless.”
He nodded slowly. “That must have been hard.”
“When I was young, yes,” she said. “Back then, it didn’t matter if I had a good grasp of the priori. I was just some second-blood brat. But as soon as I blossomed and my abilities became clear, they began to treat me better.”
“The Bechtel family isn’t large enough for that sort of thing to happen,” he said. “Everyone was a central family member.”
“The Medlar family is big. All nine leading families are big. We’re taught from a young age, even those of us that aren’t central members, that we need to marry another Magi and interbreed as soon as physically possible to keep the family strong.”
“I take it you didn’t follow that directive.”
“No.” She smiled. “I did not.”
He smiled back as the waitress came out with their food. He stood, took it, and tipped her. He turned and Lumi joined him as they walked back out into the night. They had a couple of blocks to go before the hotel, and Jared took them slowly.
“Look, I know you’re doing this as a favor,” he said. “But I know you know more than you’re letting on.”
She glanced at him and didn’t answer.
“It’s fine,” he said. “You don’t need to tell me everything. I just want you to know that we’re only doing this to save Jessalene’s land. Anything beyond that is your family’s business.”
“I understand.”
“Good.”
They walked a bit longer in silence. He glanced at her and tried to read her expression, but found it difficult. Lumi could be frustratingly flat, and he couldn’t tell when she was joking or when she was serious.
But as they approached the cars, her hand came out and took his. It surprised him, but her palm felt good in his. Her hand was small, almost dainty, which surprised him all over again. She was a small girl, beautiful and petite. The power she could wield was so at odds with her physique that it was almost comical, if it weren’t so terrifying.
“Thank you for taking me in,” she said.
“Of course. I couldn’t let you go through this alone.”
“I don’t think there are many Magi out there who would’ve taken in a stray Medlar.” She looked up at him. “You know that, right?”
&nbs
p; “I know,” he said and shrugged. “If the Medlar want to kill me, they could do it.”
“Maybe, but maybe not.” She squeezed his hand. “You give my family too much credit.”
“Problem is, I don’t know much about them, or what they want.”
She bit her lip and stopped. She turned to face him, head tilted in the night, their eyes meeting. “I can help you with that,” she said.
He frowned. “Lumi—”
“Jessalene’s land. It’s just one of the hundreds, or even thousands of properties my family’s been buying up all over the world.”
Jared leaned back in surprise. “Really?”
“They all have one thing in common. They were all built along ley lines.”
“Ley lines,” Jared said, his voice soft. “Interesting.”
“The power in these places is strong, just like the power Meta Max draws from the lakes. Ley lines are inherently powerful spots on earth, especially the places where the lines intersect. Jessalene’s clan exists on one such spot, and it’s why they’ve always been a strong clan. My family is buying up thousands of places just like theirs all over the globe, places where the lines intersect, places of power.”
“Why?” Jared asked, his heart beating faster, a cold sweat breaking out along his neck.
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “I wasn’t supposed to know that much even, but I stole a file.”
He laughed. “You stole a stile?”
She grinned and shrugged. “I’ve always been very rebellious.”
He laughed again and held her hand tight. He wanted to reach out and touch her hair, kiss her lips, whisper in her ear. But he knew he couldn’t. Not yet, at any rate. If something like that were to develop between them, he had to make sure that it was okay with Cassie and Jessalene first.
“Thanks for telling me that,” he said. “It helps.”
“Good. I suspect my family will give up on Jessalene’s clan sooner or later, if you keep making trouble for them. I doubt they really need it, any more than they need any number of places they’re trying to purchase.”
“Then we’ll keep going.”
She nodded and dropped his hand. “Come on. I’m hungry.” She walked back over to the cars. Jared lingered for a moment, watching her, not sure what to make of what she just told him.
