by B N Miles
“I need to tell you something about Cassie.”
He frowned, a little spike of surprise running through him. “Okay,” he said.
“You remember that my family was angry with you. Still is very angry with you, as far as I know.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
“Why do you think they were pissed?”
He hesitated. “I assume because…” He trailed off, frowning. “Well, I helped take care of their Ferric problem. I got the artifact back for them. I assume they didn’t like my methods or the amount of attention it drew. But mostly, I think they’re angry that I’m working with Jessalene to undermine their land deal.”
“They don’t really care about Jessalene’s clan,” Lumi said. “They really don’t care about the land, either.”
He leaned back, a little surprised. “Okay,” he said. “So then why go to so much trouble?”
“They’re not,” she said. “Once you began to push back against it, they halted all their purchases. When you get the deals revoked, they’ll drop the whole thing and move on. Jessalene’s land is just one tiny parcel among many, many others spread all throughout the world. This whole thing is like an ant trying to attack a giant.”
Jared took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He could feel his anger beginning to rise, his anger at the Medlar, his anger at the world. The nine Magi families thought they could do whatever they wanted without any consequences, thought they could use whoever they wanted, break whatever they felt needed breaking. Regardless of who it hurt.
“Then why do they care about any of this?” he asked. “Why pay attention to me at all then?”
“Because you took Cassie away from them.”
He stared at her in surprise. “What?”
“Cassie was theirs,” she said. “Think back to where you first met her.”
He frowned, casting his mind back. He first met Cassie in a prisoner transport that had been attacked by Jessalene’s people. She was being transported to Meta Max Prison… alongside Ferric.
“They were both going to Max together,” Jared said, his voice low.
“She was theirs, just as much as Ferric was.”
“I don’t understand. I thought she was arrested because she’s a Worldhopper. They were taking her back to Max to be deported back to her own world, right?”
Lumi shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not sure what they want with her, if I’m honest. But they want her badly, Jared. When you took her away from them and protected her, they were angry. When I was sent to watch over you, I was specifically told to keep an eye on Cassie and to report back on her movements. They wanted me to track her, and I suspect they were going to assign me to take her away when the opportunity presented itself. Since I was no longer able to do that job, I think they were keeping Hank around in order to take Cassie at some point.”
Rage flared through him as his fingers dug into the counter tops. “What the fuck is wrong with them?” he growled. “They can’t just… take her. She’s not a god damn toy.”
“I know,” Lumi said. “It’s part of why I left. I just couldn’t…” She trailed off. “Jared, you need to be careful. We all do. The Medlar want Cassie, and they want her very, very badly. They’re pissed that she’s considered a protected asset by the Marshals, which will make their life harder, but it’s only going to delay them.”
“Why?” he growled. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either. It has something to do with her being a Worldhopper, though. I can say that much. But how or why…”
Jared watched her for a moment before turning away. Rage rolled down his body as he picked up his beer and took a long drink. He slammed it back down and had to restrain himself from crushing the mostly empty can.
“I just needed you to know that,” Lumi said, her voice soft. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. I came here to help watch over her… and now I want to stay for other reasons.”
She walked across the space to him and pressed herself against his side. He closed his eyes and put an arm around her, pulling her tight against his body. He was angry, but he couldn’t take it out on Lumi. He knew she wasn’t her family, and if anything, she’d gone far out of her away to try and help protect Cassie.
Still, the anger flowed. He hated the Medlar, hated that they were playing some game. The land deals were linked with Cassie somehow, but he didn’t know how exactly.
He needed to find out. This just lit a fire under his ass, hot and burning bright. The Medlar should never have fucked with Cassie, never have fucked with him.
“Come on,” he said, just as the water started to boil. “Let’s go back to bed.”
“You go,” she said, smiling up at him. “Go keep the girls warm. I’m going to drink some tea and think about what we should do next.”
He nodded once and kissed her. He let that kiss linger. “Thanks for telling me,” he said.
“Should we keep it from them?”
He shook his head. “No. They need to know.”
“Okay. Yeah, you’re right.”
“We’ll tell them together.” He kissed her again. “Oh, and I have my own news.”
“Yeah?”
“Nikita fed off me.”
She tensed. “She did what?”
“Fed off me. That was her price for some information we need.” He sighed. “It wasn’t so bad, actually.”
Lumi shook her head. “Shit. That could be bad. You know it leaves a connection.”
“I know. Like when we slept together… but only one way.” He hugged her then let her go. “I’ll tell the others about that, too. I don’t think Nikita is our enemy at least, although I don’t know what her game is.”
“I don’t either, and that worries me.”
“We’ll handle it.” He yawned and shook his head. “Shit. I don’t know how I’ll sleep now.”
“Try to, anyway,” Lumi said. “We’re going to need you, Jared.”
He nodded and moved away. He lingered for a moment, looking at beautiful Lumi, and wondering how she managed to tear herself from that horrible family.
“Night,” he said, then left her there to think.
He knew he wasn’t going to get much sleep, but Lumi wanted to be alone. And besides, he needed to work some of this out on his own.
Things were more dangerous than he realized. When they first caught Hank and found out for sure that Wen Bet was dead, Jared thought things were finally going to wind down. But clearly this wasn’t even close to over.
The Medlar were coming for Cassie. And Jared was going to be prepared.
47
The deep yellow excavator reached out its trunk-like digger and bit into the earth. The man operating it wore a bright green vest and a white hard hat, his heavy-set jowls shaking with every jerk of the machine. Its engine roared, and Jared didn’t try to speak over it as the digger continued to tear into the dirt.
Wyatt stood nearby along with several other uniformed MetaDept officers. The owner of the land, an older man with graying hair, leaned against a shovel and frowned as the excavator did its work, ripping into the black soil and letting it cascade down like a waterfall.
Cassie leaned up against Jared’s shoulder and caught his eye before looking at Jessalene. He followed her gaze and saw Jessa crouching a few feet away, wearing tight black jeans and a loose navy-blue sweatshirt, her hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her heavy brown boots were caked with mud from pacing around the area, her face tight with anxiety.
Jared nodded at the look in Cassie’s eye and went over to her. He crouched down beside her but she didn’t look at him. He stayed there before putting a hand on her knee. She frowned at it, frowned at him, but let him guide her up. She leaned against his side.
Lumi lingered back by the car, a speck across the field.
The excavator continued to dig, careful of the large oak tree with its thick, gnarled, central trunk and its multitude of sprouting branches. The gro
up watched in silence until the operator gave a shout and killed the engine. “Hit something!” he called out.
Jessalene was the first to move, followed by a few uniformed officers. Wyatt gave Jared a look and walked over to join him. “You shouldn’t have brought them here,” he said, his voice low. “This is a crime scene.”
“I know,” Jared said. “But there was no way Jessa would’ve stayed behind, and the other two—”
“I get it,” Wyatt said, shaking his head. “I let them back here. Even still.”
“I know.”
They watched as Jessa peered into the hole, followed by the other officers. She turned and there was a tight look on her face, an expression that was hard to read. But she began to walk away, her head hanging down. One of the young officers, a baby-faced guy in his early twenties with a buzzed head, turned away and waved over at the group of squad cars. “Bring the kit!” he shouted.
Jared looked at Wyatt. “Got him,” he said.
“Looks like it.”
They stood side by side as Jessalene joined up with Cassie. The two of them spoke quietly then began to walk back to the car where Lumi was waiting. Jared watched them go for a moment then turned his attention back to the hole as the officers began to dig with shovels. The coroner was already on hand, and he came over with a body bag and a crime scene kit. They got to work, dusting off the corpse and sweeping the area for any evidence.
“Won’t find anything,” Jared remarked.
“Probably not,” Wyatt agreed.
“Has he talked yet?”
“Beyond telling us where to find the body? No, hasn’t said a single word.”
“Maybe I could give it a try.”
“Maybe, but I think it would be a waste of your time.”
Jared shrugged and fell silent. They watched as several of the officers gathered around the hole and lifted something out. It took Jared a second to realize that it was a body, more or less a skeleton at this point. They shifted it into the body bag, being as careful as they could. The coroner, a thin, pale man with a black mustache, black button-down shirt, and black slacks, came walking over to Wyatt.
“What’s the word, Thomas?”
“Looks like a Meta,” the coroner said with a shrug. “But hard to say until I take a look.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“If you had to guess,” Jared cut in, “how long has that body been in there?”
“Three months,” the coroner said. “Four months, maybe. Possibly longer. Again, hard to say until I’ve had a look, but I’d guess at least over two months now.”
Jared nodded. “Thank you.”
“Thanks, Thomas.” Wyatt shook the man’s hand and he nodded at Jared before heading back to his van.
“That makes sense,” Jared said. “Medlar started buying up the land about two months ago.”
“Hard to believe how far we’ve come.” Wyatt turned to Jared. “Listen, we need to talk. Take a walk with me.”
Jared tensed at the expression on his Captain’s face but followed as the older man began to walk slowly back toward the cars. He wore black boots, navy slacks, and a white button-down with a navy jacket over top. He was an office man, through and through, but Jared knew Wyatt had served just as much time in the field as anyone else.
“You’ve done a lot lately,” Wyatt said.
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“I just need you to know that I tried.” Wyatt stared ahead of him, hands clasped behind his back. “I kept you shielded the best I could. But you did something to royally piss off the Medlar family.”
“I know,” Jared said. “Took one of their best Fists. Ruined their land deal.”
Wyatt snorted. “Enough to get most people killed, but not you.”
“Still a Magi myself.”
“True enough.” He sighed. “I’ll be honest. I stopped hearing complaints about you around the time Hank got taken. Which leads me to suspect that they’re not going through official channels anymore. Can’t imagine they’re just letting it go.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“You need to be careful, Jared. If this is the end for you, tell me now. I can get you back on a desk, back to doing paperwork. We can put all this behind us.” There was a strange, pleading note to his voice that put a lump in Jared’s throat.
He didn’t speak for a long moment. The girls were clustered by his black sedan, smiling at him. Cassie sat on the hood and Jessalene was leaning between her legs. Lumi had her arms crossed over her chest, giving that strange, flat, expressionless stare at the group of men working back at the tree.
“It’s not the end,” Jared said with a sigh. “I’m sorry. It can’t be. We learned something about what the Medlar are doing, and I just… even if I wanted it to be over, it won’t be.”
Wyatt nodded. “I won’t ask you to tell me what you’re doing moving forward. Probably better if you don’t. But you know the Marshal Service won’t be able to help you out.”
“I know that.”
“You’ll be on your own.”
“I know that, too.” Jared stopped walking and faced his boss. “Thank you,” he said. “You’ve done a lot for me over the years, and I think I might be dead if you hadn’t hired me.”
Wyatt laughed. “Oh, I doubt that, but you’re welcome.”
“I was thinking about taking a little… sabbatical,” he said. “You know. Use up some of that time off I’ve accrued over the years.”
Wyatt nodded slowly. “Might be a good idea.”
“Not just yet, though. Give me a few more weeks. We have to do a little more research, and I bet you have a mountain of paperwork waiting for me.”
“More like a whole mountain range. Harold will praise the lord when you return.”
“I’m sure he will.”
Wyatt hesitated then stuck out his hand. Jared shook it and looked his Captain in the eye. He knew that if he were going to pursue this angle with the Medlar, then he’d have to distance himself from the Marshal Service if he wanted to keep Wyatt safe. The idea broke his heart, but there was no better way.
“Good luck,” Wyatt said. “And I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Yes, sir.”
They released their handshake and Wyatt stalked off. He gave a nod to the girls and Cassie waved back with a cheerful smile. He got into a gray sedan and pulled out. Jared didn’t move, just watched him go.
He knew that was the last time they’d get to speak openly about what Jared was going to do.
He let out a breath and walked across the grassy field, stepping over a mud puddle, and onto the gravel driveway where they’d parked their cars. His boots crunched with each step, and Cassie hopped down off the car and came running to him. She jumped into his arms and he laughed as he caught her.
“Jessa okay?” he asked in her ear.
“Fine,” she said as he put her down. “You?”
“Fine.” He took her hand and they walked back to the others. “So, we found the body.”
Jessa nodded. “What’d the coroner say?”
“Estimated that the body’s been in the ground for around four months.”
“Works for the timeline,” Jessa said.
“Are you sure it’s the Elf?” Lumi asked.
“Not yet. But the coroner will do an autopsy and get some clarity for us.” Jared squeezed Cassie’s hand then let it go. “Jessa, I think you should call your council and tell them the news. They need to start preparing a countersuit to get their land back from the Medlar. We’ll provide the documentation as soon as it’s available, and once that’s in their hands, they should start moving.”
“Got it,” Jessa said. “I’ll call my mother when we get back home.”
“Good.” He looked at the group of them and couldn’t help the smile that passed over his face.
They found the Elf. Not the way they wanted, but at least they found him. Hank was in custody, and Jessalene’s clan was going to regain all their los
t land. It should’ve felt like a win for him, like he’d really accomplished something. He managed to spit in the eye of one of the most powerful entities in the world, and so far, he’d walked away unscathed.
But he knew it wasn’t going to stay like that forever.
And the details they’d dug up alongside that corpse…
“Come on,” he said, heading to the driver’s side. “Let’s go home. I’m cooking.”
“A man that cooks,” Lumi said wistfully. “I don’t know how I got so lucky.”
He gave her a look then laughed. The other two joined in and Lumi gave them an awkward smile.
“Was that the first joke I’ve heard from you?” Jessalene asked.
“I’m very funny,” Lumi said, her face flat again. “You just don’t get me.”
Jared laughed again, got into the car, and started the engine. Cassie sat up front and Jessalene joined Lumi in the back. He looked at his girls. “Ready?” he asked.
“I’m starving,” Cassie said. “You better cook fast.”
He grinned and pulled out, the car tires crunching over the gravel.
48
That night, they celebrated.
Jared opened a bottle of Prosecco. The girls drank and laughed, sitting around his long kitchen table, while Jared cooked a pasta with sautéed spinach and shrimp dish. He wore a white apron and drank an ice-cold beer while he slaved away, and when he was done, his girls tore into the meal like it was the first thing they’d eaten in years.
“This is incredible,” Jessalene said.
“Really, it’s very good,” Lumi agreed.
Jared watched them eat with a smile on his face. They drank and laughed, and he felt good. For a little while, he pushed the thought of the Medlar out of his mind. They were just a threat, just a storm cloud on the horizon. Cassie spilled her tall, thin champagne glass and the others all laughed at her. Lumi cleaned it up while Jessalene opened another bottle.
“To Wen Bet,” she said when she returned and had filled everyone’s glass.
They toasted and drank. Jared smiled and leaned back in his chair.
