Worth Your While

by Connie Suttle

  "I say we go ahead, and tell Parke later," Cassie nodded. She fully expected one of us to argue the point with her. Instead, we agreed.

  "I'll call the sprites in here," Rob said. "If we're not gone long, nobody will ever know we left."

  Cassie

  Yosuke transported us; it was just as well, because we all felt the wrongness the moment we were set down amid trees behind the truck stop. On the highway that ran past, trucks and passenger vehicles swept past, disturbing the air and the unnatural quiet permeating the now-closed truck stop.

  Can you feel them? Rob's feet were bare, his toes digging into the soil beneath a pine tree.

  Zephyr looked as angry as I could imagine was possible. They are here, her voice hissed in my mind.

  The moisture in the air reeks of their poison, Ebb agreed.

  I feel the heat of their breaths, although they are well-hidden, Blaze reported.

  I feel their presence, but not specific locations, I admitted.

  I can give you locations, Rob sniffed. I stared at his bare feet; they were half-buried in Alabama loam.

  I can verify the Earth sprite's information, Zephyr said. There are nine surrounding the area.

  Touch both Air and Earth, Yosuke suggested. They will show you where each black cloak is hiding. Zedarius and I will continue to hold the invisibility spell around us. Create a fireball and send it in nine directions. I think you can do this, Cassie.

  Parke

  Cliff read what I'd written for the website, announcing the new Princess of Alabama, Beatrice Chaumont of the North Canadian Mountain Clan. I'd also made note of the newest addition to my staff—fire demon Verity Beaufort, a distant grandson of the famed Honoré Beaufort, who'd once saved a walled city in Europe from a siege by setting the nearby river water afire and driving back attackers.

  It didn't hurt that the city emptied its sewers into the river, and dumped oil into the water before Honoré set it on fire.

  The result was the stuff of legends, since the sewage also burned. Human records only reported that the sewer gases were lit and the fire poured out of the depths of the castle, igniting the oil poured on the water. Only the demons, sprites and other supernaturals knew the real history.

  Honoré did have two sons, but eventually his line faded into history. I doubted Shakkor Agdah would be able to trace any part of that bloodline or be inclined to do so.

  "I figure they'll be out for blood the minute Dalton and Morton pass on this fire demon information," Cliff said. "If they haven't done so already. Are you prepared for that?"

  "I have to be," I said. "Don't I?"

  "I reckon you do."

  "Then I'll hit send." I tapped the key on my laptop. The message was distributed in two blinks.

  "If they find out where you are, they'll hit this place like a hurricane," Cliff's dark eyes locked on my face.

  "Are you saying I shouldn't be here?"

  "I think I'm saying you may not be safe anywhere—right along with the rest of us."

  Cassie

  I didn't have fancy electronics like they did in movies to lock onto my targets. What I had were two sprites, who had vague images of feet and bodies for me to aim at.

  Then, I had to hold all the images in my mind at once and pray that none of my targets decided to move or chase a squirrel. Build your fireball, Cassie, Yosuke's silent word carried calm reassurance. I see it, he went on. A little hotter—that's it.

  Now!

  Parke

  "What the holy hell?" I stared at the live news video on my laptop shortly after Cliff got a call from his investigator in Georgia.

  Nobody was allowed close enough to the inferno that once was a truck stop outside Birmingham to show more than the massive, uncontrolled firestorm—the same truck stop where the enemy infected several truck drivers with their plague days earlier.

  "No word on how it happened," Cliff said, watching the image over my shoulder. "Security cameras from a restaurant down the street just show it blowing up—like something triggered a bomb," he added.

  "Is it just the building?"

  "And the gas pumps," Cliff replied. "Maybe I'm wrong, but this looks like a trap to me. One that didn't go as planned."

  "How so?"

  "Chancellor, it may be a good thing that it didn't go as planned. I have the feeling that trap was set for us."

  "In what way? Who'd know we'd show up? Is there a leak in our ranks?"

  "The enemy hasn't survived this long by being stupid."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "It means we don't know what they're capable of—not really. Maybe the sprites have an idea—maybe the wizards do, too. None of the rest of us have been alive that long or have much in the way of records on the subject. If I were in their place, I'd figure we'd show up sometime to look into the matter."

  "Why didn't you say that before?"

  "Because I didn't have Zach's help coming to that conclusion before."

  "Your PI?"

  "Yep." Cliff rapped his knuckles on my desk, as if that put a period at the end of this twist of fate. "He used to work in the intelligence field—for a government agency to be named later. He pointed out that they could have been watching the place for us to show up. No idea what set it off early like this, but that could be a good thing."

  "Where's Cassie?" I turned my head to blink at Cliff.

  "Don't you have the mind thing? Ask her yourself," Cliff tapped the side of his head.

  Cassie? I called out to her. Where the hell are you, and did you have anything to do with the explosion at that truck stop?

  BlackWing X

  Zarigar

  "That's—it takes my breath away," Denevik Lith, the only High Demon aboard ship breathed his admiration as we watched images of how the fire demon had sprung a trap meant for others and not only rendered it useless, but caught the Shakkor Agdah guarding it unaware. They were now dead, whereas the fire demon and her companions were still very much alive and unharmed.

  "I feel the same," I told Denevik. "Nine directions at once—on the first try. I feel—pleased."

  "I feel proud," Denevik shook his head. "I would love to meet this woman."

  "I would also welcome the opportunity," I agreed with him.

  Chapter 10

  Parke

  "Start talking."

  Cassie refused to sit, choosing to stand instead, her arms crossed tightly around herself in a defensive stance. Rob and her sprite assistants stood with her, as did Will and Yosuke.

  "It was a trap," Cassie snapped.

  "How do you know?"

  "I knew the second I killed nine Shakkor Agdah surrounding the place. They were watching for you, Parke. You, Cliff and your new fire demon, whoever that may be."

  "Since when do you know so much about any of this?" I flung at her. "No demon would understand any part of this."

  "A wizard would, and did," Will intervened. "Yosuke and I knew it the moment those black cloaks died. The spell set by Shakkor Agdah was designed to detonate the moment a fire demon released his—or her—power. This would serve two purposes, Chancellor. First, it would kill or seriously injure anyone inside the building, including you and the Grand Master. Two, it would immediately reveal the presence of the fire demon they want revenge against. We left the area before more Shakkor Agdah arrived. The authorities can't get close enough to the building while there is fuel burning. Neither can Shakkor Agdah, but they didn't understand that part of their plan until now."

  "You're saying they can't get close to it, either?"

  "Exactly. They outsmarted themselves, and almost outsmarted us, too."

  "And now all the evidence is gone," I complained. I wanted to yell at Cassie, the sprites and the wizards.

  Which would be a dumb thing to do. They may have saved many lives by doing what they'd done. "Tell me," I said, still feeling angry, "What sent you on this mission in the first place?"

  "A bad feeling," Yosuke said. "The later it got, the stronger
it felt. We've relied on these subliminal messages for millennia. They tend to keep us alive."

  "So you decided to take Cassie and the sprites with you?" I turned my wrath on the wizards.

  "No, I asked them to come with me," Cassie glared in my direction.

  "Because you had a bad feeling, too?"

  "I did. There. Let your truth demon sort that out. We're tired and thirsty." She stalked out of my office, the sprites and wizards right behind her.

  "You have a strange way of saying thank you, Chancellor." Cliff strode toward the door and shut it behind him.

  "Damn," I muttered and dropped my head in my hands. My truth demon had sorted it out. Cassie wasn't lying about any of this.

  Cassie

  "Cable's getting hooked up tomorrow," Beverly set a glass of wine in front of me before pouring for the others.

  "So Parke can get his bad news the old-fashioned way, from any room in this house. I adore you, by the way," I lifted the wineglass in a toast to her before gulping the liquid.

  "I'll make sure the installer has our best interests at heart," Will said.

  "And if he doesn't?"

  "We'll detain him until Trey or Grim wake."

  "When is he supposed to be here?" I turned back to Beverly.

  "Appointment is at three. You know what that means."

  "He'll be here at six, maybe," I nodded.

  "If we're lucky. I'm putting another grocery list together; with this many people, we're running out of everything fast. Might ought to consider getting another fridge and a freezer for the pantry."

  "I can place an order for those things online," Rob offered. "They can be delivered pretty quick."

  "I'll look for a grocery delivery, if you want," Zephyr said.

  "Do we want somebody coming to the house?" I asked, leaning in so I could see her where she sat beside Rob.

  "It may be safer than going out to get it ourselves—we have no idea what sort of network the enemy has built to hunt for us," Blaze said.

  "True," I agreed. "After what we found at that truck stop, I'm suspicious of everything, now."

  "They wanted us dead—there's no doubt about that," Rob sipped more of his wine.

  "I triggered their spell, just by using my fire," I said. "This doesn't bode well for the future, does it?"

  "Princess," Ebb spoke for the first time since we'd taken seats at the kitchen island. "If there are enemy to kill, you are the one capable of doing that easily. The rest of us have to come much closer to be effective. Now that we are warned of what the dangers are, we can get out of the way while you take them down."

  "It wouldn't hurt to practice evacuations," Blaze observed.

  "Blaze is correct," Zephyr said. "Any of us could be harmed if we fail to evacuate quickly." I watched as she and Blaze fist-bumped. Somehow, such a human action displayed by immortal sprite warriors made me smile.

  The wine may have helped a little with that, so I lifted my glass and emptied it.

  Sallisaw, Oklahoma

  Dalton King

  The plan was to get off I-40 in Sallisaw, then take Highway 59 South until it became Highway 259, which would take us into Idabel. That's where the hunting cabin was located, according to Gorham.

  I'd already done some research on my own—there was a casino in Idabel. That meant plenty of cash on the premises. A plan was forming for an ice demon heist, and nobody would be the wiser if Morton and I played our cards right.

  "Pull over at that truck stop." Franks, who rode shotgun while I drove, directed me to an exit on the outskirts of Sallisaw. "We can stretch our legs and get something to eat."

  "You sure that's safe?" I asked.

  "Safe enough. Besides, I'm hungry, and we're leaving I-40 here anyway."

  "Suit yourself." I signaled to get off; now wasn't the time to disobey traffic laws. "How long is the drive to Idabel?"

  "It'll take about three hours."

  "Mind if I let Morton drive?"

  "If he wakes up."

  Morton and Gorham were asleep in the back seat of the truck cab. Both snored, too. Gorham woke the moment I pulled into a parking space and shut off the engine. Morton kept sleeping until I reached over the seat and backhanded him awake.

  "Fuck you," he growled, his skin turning to frost. I'd pissed him off, all right.

  "You're driving the next leg," I informed him. Gorham and Franks paid no attention to our familial spat—they wanted food and were used to getting regular meals. Maybe they should have considered that before sending all of us to bum-fuck nowhere.

  Besides, if we got into the sandwich restaurant fast enough, maybe Franks would pay for our food. "Come on, lout. Sandwiches are waiting," I said, opening the door to let myself out. Morton grumbled the whole time, but he got out with me. Empty stomachs were always good motivators.

  Birmingham, Alabama

  Werlekk

  Even if the fire demon managed to escape somehow, those with him should have died in the detonation spell.

  "There's nothing there," a third psychic body-scenter informed me.

  "Not even a rat carcass?"

  "No, Commander. Not even that much. We do not search for insect bodies, as that can take too much time."

  "I'm not interested in the human-befouling, fucking descendants of crustaceans," I cursed at the body-scenter before me. "Vaalenn doesn't give a fornicating fuck about them, either. Somebody set off that pox-spreading spell. Don't try to tell me he came alone and then disappeared before you could tap his essence. Something—residue or whatever—has to be there."

  "If it's there, it's cloaked so heavily we can't get past the shield, and that's impossible," the chief body-scenter pushed his underling aside and leveled his gaze directly upon me. "We have destroyed two pyramids; our power has increased sufficiently that we should certainly scent it."

  "Then send the lore-bearer to me. Someone has to explain this debacle, and it's obviously not you."

  He bridled at my intended insult, then turned, his cloak whirling dramatically about him. I watched in satisfaction as the fool stalked away. Vaalenn demanded answers, and I'd find them if it killed me.

  Cassie

  "The groceries can be delivered to the guest house; I don't want them coming all the way to the main house," Parke insisted when he was presented with the option of a delivery service.

  "That sounds reasonable and won't raise as many suspicions as meeting them at the front gate," Cliff said.

  "Just remember that you'll need a pickup or something to bring them on to the main house," I said.

  "We have enough people here to handle that," Parke frowned at me.

  "Not if you lay in enough supplies for a siege," I said.

  "We need to plan for a siege?"

  "What will it hurt?"

  "I guess it wouldn't," Cliff drawled. "Besides, Beverly says we're out of milk and the way we're going through food, we probably ought to buy six gallons and ten loaves of bread. Gina's writing out the list while Beverly dictates."

  "Gina and your mother are helping with the cooking, but you're sending Kate and Destiny back to Seattle," I told Parke. "That leaves us short on help. Gemma may not be able to keep up with the laundry and cleaning by herself in this behemoth. Destiny's been helping her with laundry and stuff."

  "Do you want Mom and Destiny to stay?" Parke's shoulders sagged.

  "I can protect them here. Not so easy to do in Seattle."

  "Then they can stay as long as there's no real danger," Parke sounded defeated. "What about Jon?"

  "Let me talk to him first. I'll let you know."

  "We'll talk after you let me know."

  Parke hadn't forgotten about my leaving without telling him; he'd only tabled the conversation. I wasn't looking forward to anything he had to say.

  "Jon, what does your husband do?" I asked him. I found him downstairs, standing on the wide, covered back patio. The sun would be setting soon on the gulf coast, but there was still enough light to see Sandpiper Lagoon.
We didn't have patio furniture yet—I considered asking Rob to order that for us, too.

  "He's an administrator for a nursing facility," Jon answered my question. "The company he works for sold the facility three weeks ago, and the new owners may be bringing in replacements for the management staff." Jon turned toward me, looking as vulnerable as I'd ever seen him.

  "Administrator, huh?"

  "A good one. His previous employers never had a problem with his work."

  "You're saying he could run a good-sized place, then?"

  "And make arrangements for everything, including medical staff, down to food service and linens."

  "How much does he make at his job?"

  "Around one-fifty, plus benefits and a bonus if everything runs smoothly and the place passes inspections."

  "What's his temperament? Does he get rattled easily?"

  "Are you kidding? If a hurricane blew in, it would avoid Richard Lester because he would tell it to clean up after itself."

  "You're saying the breakroom fridge is kept tidy?"

  "He sneaks in at night sometimes to do spot checks," Jon laughed for the first time in days. "Keeps the staff on their toes every day."

  "You like the benefits you get working for Parke?"

  "Rich is jealous of my insurance," Jon said. "And he works in the medical field."

  "I have sprites who are refusing a paycheck, which means I have money in the Princess budget to hire an experienced administrator. We've got a bunch of people here, Jon, and they all need to be fed, have schedules, get their personal supplies ordered, food delivered, bills paid and the Chancellor kept happy. Do you think he'd be interested?"

  "If he took the job, he'd know the same things I do, now?"

  "Yes—it would be helpful if he did."

  "I'll ask. Who should he interview with?"

  "Let me ask you something, first," I said. "Are you afraid to be here?"

  "Well, ah," Jon studied his shoes, which were sturdy flip-flops, I noticed.