She knew she was practically beaming, and was about to reply when her com chimed. “Star-Two,” she said.
“Sorry to cut your date short, beloved, but…I’ve got something.”
Miranda and Deven’s eyes locked. “We’re on our way.”
*****
“I do not take orders from you,” Nico ground out, poison in every syllable. He started to get back to his feet.
A boot came down solidly on his neck.
“Yes. You. Do.”
“…didn’t work, but I’m starting to think we’re trying the spell too soon. We have to narrow the field—even assuming they’re in Texas that’s a huge area to search. It’s…Nico?”
The pressure on his neck turned out to be the gentleness of a hand, not the definitive statement of a boot, and he lifted his head to see David regarding him with concern. “Are you still with me?”
He nodded, shaking the images away. “A memory…it will pass.”
They both knew that was a lie. In the last few days, Nico had stayed as busy as he could, refusing to give up the search for Kai, but his motives were as selfish as they were motivated by fear for his brother. Every time he was still, in every silence, more of the recent days returned. He’d hoped they would wait until Kai was found and he could breathe again, but he was not given to good fortune these days.
At David’s raised eyebrow Nico said wearily, “The gods are infinitely imaginative in their cruelty. Each time I think things cannot get any worse…somehow they do.”
“Careful,” David responded. “You’re starting to sound like Deven.”
“Perhaps his fatalism is not so extreme after all.”
Nico could tell that David resisted pointing out that Deven had been much less fatalistic since they’d gotten Nico back; but Nico lowered his eyes, sighing, and went back to toying with the stone in his hand.
Apparently curious, the Prime put a hand over his and turned Nico’s palm over so he could see it: a flat oval-shaped stone, transparent but for pale bands of blue, purple, and green. “Fluorite, yes?” David asked.
He nodded. “My people have been known to employ it for help in emotional healing.”
“Where did you get it? Oh…I see. Deven gave it to you.”
Nico smiled a little in spite of himself. “Yes. He said there is a shop in town that sells all sorts of stones with mystical properties.” He had no idea if it was actually working or not, but he had to admit having it in his hands made him feel better, if only because of where it came from. “He is giving me a wide berth…but whenever I go to bed I find gifts like this in my room, everything very deliberately chosen. Distractions, I suppose, to make me smile in the midst of all of this pain.”
Now David smiled. “He’s courting you.”
“So it would seem.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“I don’t know.” Nico sighed and pocketed the fluorite. “Our timing is apparently doomed no matter what. Even two weeks ago, I would have been overjoyed…now, I…I can hardly feel anything but fear for Kai. He might have been dead for days…and that might be better than the suffering they will bring him. Kai has hurt no one…he is not part of this war…he only wanted to take care of his broken brother. I cannot turn my heart anywhere right now but to finding him.”
“You shouldn’t blame yourself, Nico.”
“Perhaps not…but I do, all the same.”
The Prime pulled him close for a moment. They had something far more profound now than a magical connection — that was a capillary compared to this artery. Nico didn’t want to rely on the others…he had been weak long enough. But at the moment he was flat-out exhausted from lack of sleep and too many attempts at the seeking spell; there was no way he could keep going without help.
After half a dozen tries Stella had finally run out of energy and fallen over sideways, the Prime’s lightning reflexes the only thing that kept her from cracking her skull on what was no doubt a very expensive piece of computer equipment. David had ordered the Witch to bed for at least a few hours. He’d known better than to try and do the same to Nico.
“You know you can lean on us,” David murmured, the low vibration of his voice soothing against Nico’s ear. “We’re here to take care of each other.”
“You’ve given me so much already.”
“And do you see me regretting it? Or my strength flagging? No, and you won’t. We’re here to care for each other—and I’m here to care for all of you. I will be the fixed point in our turning world no matter how fast it spins. Maybe you’re not ready to trust Deven, and maybe you don’t know Miranda well enough yet to trust her…but you can trust me.”
Nico leaned back to look at him, hearing something odd in his tone, and…
“What?” David frowned…and as soon as he blinked, his eyes were blue again.
“Nothing,” Nico half-whispered. “I’m just tired.”
“Understatement, love. If I thought we had time I’d send you to bed like Stella.”
He started to ask David why he’d stopped working, but remembered that the Prime had sent for the others and was no doubt waiting until they arrived to move forward. David was cautiously optimistic about his discoveries but needed their input to draw any conclusions.
Nico watched him return to his seat behind the big desk, heard the system beep and chirp in happy acknowledgment of his presence, and tried not to look as shaken as he felt.
“Does the name Elendala Seara mean anything to you?” David asked suddenly.
Nico started, blinked. “Elendala Seara? It’s Elvish, but…I know no one by that name. Why do you ask?”
“It’s Deven’s mother’s name. There’s been…a suggestion…that she’s still alive. I don’t know how that would be possible—she’d be seven centuries old by now and she was only half Elf.”
Nico shrugged. “Half is enough. In the human world, she would most likely age and die. If she went to live in Avilon or one of the other Sanctuaries the magic there would prevail over her human half and she would, after a while, be almost indistinguishable from the rest of us.”
“What about one-quarter Elf?”
He smiled. “That, I could not say. I’ve never heard of it happening, but in theory at least it could if the person was strong enough.”
Nico didn’t ask where David had heard of Elendala; he was pretty sure he knew, and didn’t want to think about it…not yet. Keep that memory at bay a while longer…please. I cannot fall apart now.
“Then again,” Nico went on, crossing his arms over his chest against sudden cold that didn’t come from outside, “if she crossed into Avilon that long ago and took a new name, I might know her and not realize it. Are you planning to look for her?”
“Not without Deven’s permission. I was just curious. I suppose it would be a ridiculous coincidence for you to know her.”
“Do we even have coincidences anymore?” Nico asked.
“Good point.”
Before Nico could say anything else, the office door opened; Miranda and Deven had arrived, looking purposeful and grave.
Nico tried not to appear as relieved as he felt upon seeing the Prime. It was like looking back to that brief time before Nico had left California, when Deven had recovered from his breakdown and was himself for a while. Odd how black leather, metal studs, and edged weapons could be so comforting.
Deven caught his eye and offered a small smile. Nico felt himself flushing and looked down, unable to hide a smile of his own.
David cleared his throat, and when Nico looked up, he was watching the Weaver with amusement in his eyes. “I’ve had an insight, but I need all brains on deck.”
Miranda took position next to Nico and Deven took the other chair. Nico had seen what happened when someone besides David sat down behind the desk—Stella had forgotten she wasn’t logged in, and the computer system had, in David’s words, freaked the fuck out.
“We’ve trie
d the spell six times, and gotten nothing,” David said. “We even managed to amplify the spell throughout the sensor network—that’s all over the country. But all the power in the world isn’t going to help if we don’t know what direction to look in. Right now we’re blindfolded and swinging at a piñata the size of a honeybee.”
“How do we narrow it down, then?” Miranda asked. “Is there another spell? Something in the Codex?”
Nico shook his head. “The Codex isn’t a book of practical magic. There might be more in it, but there’s no way to know until it’s decoded.”
“The answer might not be magic at all,” David told them. “At least not yet. What did we do before we had Elves and Witches around?”
Deven’s eyes were on the sensor map of Austin, projected up onto the wall. “Follow the money trail.”
“When we destroyed Morningstar’s base last year I had the Elite bag and tag every receipt and piece of paperwork they found. I had it all scanned, and the data filed away in case I ever needed it. Well, if we operate on the assumption—admittedly a problematic one—that their current operation is at least the size of the old one, we can run all of that data against businesses and utilities and look for a location that is using approximately the same amount of electricity, food, uniforms, et cetera.”
Deven gave him a dubious look. “That’s kind of a long shot.”
“That’s the only kind of shot we have at this point. That’s why I called you back—I need more parameters. Something to narrow it down further. Right now there are over a hundred possible locations just statewide. There’s no way we can raid them all. Give me more to go on.”
“Weapons,” Deven suggested immediately. “They’ve all got standard-issue swords; upper mid-range quality, mass-produced. Not disposable but not our caliber.”
“I don’t suppose you noticed—”
“Koneko, model 42.”
Nico watched as the map on the wall expanded to show the entire state, with dozens of red lights representing the possible loci. After a moment over half of them vanished.
“Wait,” Miranda said, “that many places ordered that exact sword?”
“No—that many places put in orders to weapons dealers in the price range of at least twenty of that sword. Getting actual shipping manifests from Koneko is going to take time. Any more suggestions?”
“Magic.”
They all looked at Nico, no doubt wondering what he was on about considering they’d been using magic in the search all week.
“Your network records magical energy. It is likely, given their track record of doing blood magic to take power from Signets and brainwash their soldiers, that they intend something arcane for Kai. Looking for magic alone wouldn’t necessarily help, since in any given human settlement there are spells going on every night. But we know that in addition to their base out in the middle of nowhere they also commandeer abandoned buildings—see how many of your loci are supposedly empty but still drawing electricity, and cross reference them with large spikes in magical usage in the last week.”
They were all still looking at him, but now with appreciation. “Have I told you lately that you’re brilliant?” David asked.
Nico smiled. “It does sometimes bear repeating.”
David returned his attention to the computer, and the screen split into several windows, each with its own activity. Nico had learned a good deal about how computers worked, and David had shown him different types of technical languages, but what the Prime was doing now was a little more complicated than Nico could grasp without serious study.
“How are you feeling, Nico?”
He looked over at Deven. “I do not think that is a fair question, my Lord.”
Miranda reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. “Is there anything we can do?”
Nico put his head in his hands for a moment, saying quietly, “Only one thing, and you are already doing all you can.”
He heard the chair creak, and then felt hands on his, drawing them away from his face so dark violet eyes could meet lavender.
“We’re going to find him,” Deven said. “I give you my word.”
“Clever of you not to specify ‘alive,’” Nico muttered, looking away. “Or ‘sane.’”
One hand took gentle hold of his chin and brought their gazes back in line. “I can’t promise the latter for certain, given what we know they might do. We didn’t bring you back sane, after all—but alive, I can promise.” His thumb brushed lightly, so very lightly, over Nico’s lower lip, and Nico couldn’t help it—he shivered. “I’ve failed you too many times. Not this time. If I have to decapitate every last one of those bastards, I’ll bring your brother home.”
They stared at each other until Nico offered a slight nod, closed his eyes, and, taking a risk, leaned his head against Deven’s shoulder. He heard a quickly indrawn breath and, after a few second’s astonished pause, felt arms slide around him.
Miranda had been pretending not to watch them, but David had been absorbed in his work and spoke again without looking up.
“All right…I’ve got it narrowed down to five likely locations.”
Deven stepped back away from the desk to turn toward the screen again. Nico fought a surprisingly forceful urge to drag him back and then wrap himself around the Prime and not let go until the world stopped running out from under him.
David went on, highlighting the places he’d found. “One in Fort Worth, one about ten miles from McAllen, another in an abandoned warehouse in Beaumont, and two here in Austin. I’ve got satellite footage of the first two—one’s a slaughterhouse, hence the large order of what turns out to be various sharp devices for hacking animals into chunks. The other is an old scout camp, which was apparently abandoned because of flooding, making the roads impassible for all practical purposes. Thermal shows twenty humans at the former, none at the latter.”
“Who the hell is doing magic at a slaughterhouse?” Miranda asked.
“I have no idea. But that cuts the list to three. Beaumont’s a good candidate—looks like it’s between owners but the lights are still on. I’m sending Lieutenant Sadh and a team from the Houston garrison to check it out. I just dispatched teams to the two Austin locations as well.” Seeing the alarm on Miranda’s face he added, “Strictly recon. No engagement. We should know something within the hour.”
Nico sat staring up at the map, listening with half attention to the others—David commanded the entire Elite to be on high alert, Miranda made sure they had a driver on standby and contacted the Hausmann to inform them there might be an emergency patient tonight.
“I can probably heal him,” he heard Deven say. “But we have no idea what to expect, and I’ve never tried it on an Elf before. And even if I can, a night of monitoring and fluids would be helpful. The less I have to do, the better I can do it.”
Nico kept his eyes on those three red dots. Kai might be in one of them. He could be there right now, suffering, wondering why Nico and the others hadn’t come to save him. So alone…he must be so afraid…even with all his bravado he had no more idea how to deal with torture and terror than Nico had. He might have already lost his mind…might be dead…might wish he were dead.
All those possibilities made Nico’s head swim, and he put his face in his hands again, holding back premature tears of grief. Whatever they had done to Kai, his life before this place would be over, and everything from now on would be the “after.” Nico knew how it felt to have life split in two like that. He’d had it happen half a dozen times in the last two years.
“Star-One,” came a male voice. “This is Lieutenant Sadh reporting.”
David hit some sort of directive on the computer that routed the voice out where they could all hear it. “Go ahead, Lieutenant.”
“I’m afraid this location is a bust, Sire. The warehouse is populated by squatters, not soldiers—some of them managed to patch into the city electrical grid. I had my people interview
some of the locals and got confirmation. Suspicious activity for the metro PD, but not for us.”
“Well done, Lieutenant. Call back your team and return to your protocol.”
“Yes, Sire.”
David sighed, disappointed. “I suppose it’s just as well—Beaumont’s hours away.”
“Star-One, this is Second Lieutenant Mendez reporting. I think we may have something.”
They all leaned closer, though no one had any problem hearing. “Go ahead.”
Mendez sounded faintly out of breath as she said, “At first everything seemed innocuous. There’s nothing in the building itself, just a big empty space. It’s one of the smaller warehouses in the area, and we’re in a sketchy neighborhood where people tend to look the other way. I was about to call them back when Elite 71 saw several humans clad in BDUs leaving the building.”
“Are you sure it’s not a drug cartel?” Miranda asked, leaning in farther. “The Quintana-Rios clan has been busy this year and APD busted one of their smaller operations in that neighborhood.”
“Positive, my Lady. They were wearing swords. I suspect thermal imaging will show a pretty decent-sized group underground.”
“Stand by, Second Lieutenant.” David made the map shrink to one corner of the screen and pulled up another that looked like just that individual building. “Switching to thermal scan…now.”
Suddenly dozens of lights appeared inside the building, moving around what appeared to be multiple rooms.
“Two days ago the sensor network registered a significant spike in magical energy at this address.” David’s expression became grimly determined. “I think we have a winner.”
“What do we do, then?” Miranda asked. “Attack in force? Send a stealth team?”
Deven, however, was frowning.
“What is it?” David asked.
“This isn’t right.”
“How so?”
Deven shook his head. “We already broke into an underground base of theirs once. Doesn’t it seem convenient that they’d do exactly the same thing again? If Kai is important to them, and they know we’ve found them once, wouldn’t they have taken him out of the city, or even out of Texas? These are people who’ve managed to take down half a dozen Signets — Signets. They’re clearly not stupid.”
Shadowstorm (The Shadow World Book 6) Page 33
