by T. G. Ayer
I stood right outside Ash’s lab. Dr Archana Gupta was Head of Forensics for the Elite HQ. Rumor had it that she was poached off an international organization more powerful than the Elite, but it had sounded too far-fetched.
When I entered, she flashed a pleasant smile as she threw her black hair over her shoulder. She was holding what looked like a gas mask in her hand, and from the imprints on her cheeks appeared to have only just removed it.
She waved me inside. “Hey. Been a while?” she said, her tone implying she’d expected me to be around sooner.
I shrugged. “Things to do. People to see.”
“I’ve heard. How’s Steph doing after the whole Saracen thing?” she asked as she stowed the mask and opened her palm.
“Still quite annoyed, I think. He definitely rubbed her the wrong way.”
Ash took the packet I offered and signed the slip to confirm receipt. She ripped off my portion and handed it over, and like a good agent, I folded it and slipped it into my back pocket.
Then she eyed my shirt. “You going to sort that out sometime soon?”
I glanced down. The front of my jacket had parted to reveal the bloodstained fabric of my blouse.
“Ugh. I’d forgotten about that. I was hoping to go straight back to NOLA, but now I have to go home.”
Ash pursed her lips. “Give you a chance to relax?” she arched an eyebrow, her cat-like eyes gleaming with amusement.
“Nope. It’ll have to be a change-and-run. I’ve just done way too many jumps to do another one.” I was going to be in so much trouble after this. Especially if I ended up passing out.
Ash frowned. “I’d suggest you pay attention to your body.”
I nodded, giving my shirt one last glare before turning to leave.
“Hey, where you going?”
I glanced over my shoulder. “I have a thing,” I said smirking.
She laughed and shook her head, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. “Back room, locker with my name on it. There’s a blouse in there you can use.”
I stared shocked. “You’re giving me clothes now?” I placed my palm over my heart and fluttered my eyelashes.
“Oh shut up and take the shirt before I let you walk around looking like you just got stabbed in the gut.” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said following her directions into the small storage room off the back of her lab. A deep magenta bat-wing blouse sat on a hanger on the end of her locker, and I grabbed it, quickly changing into it. It fit a little too perfectly, and I rolled up my own shirt, disappointed that I’d have to throw it out. My phone buzzed with an incoming text, and I read Kai’s message to confirm she was ready. I texted back that I’d be there in fifteen and hurried back into the lab.
I was about to toss the blouse into the trash when Ash said, “Don’t you dare.”
I looked over at Ash. “Why? It’s ruined. I don’t think even magic can save this thing.”
Ash opened her palm and wiggled her fingers at me. “I know a guy.”
Pursing my lips, I placed the garment on her hand and stared at it sadly. “Take good care of it.” It was one of my most favorite shirts.
“You do the same for mine,” she said with a wink.
I smiled and pulled my jacket on and was heading out the door when Ash called me again. “Oh, have you picked up your results?”
I frowned. “Which results?” I wasn’t sure that any were outstanding.
Ash dug inside her tray and retrieved a file. “It was blood, and DNA testing on a variety of hair samples ordered a couple weeks back.”
“Oh, those? I hadn’t realized they were being processed here.”
Ash nodded. “Carter had them couriered over to me. They were popped into your mailbox, I think.”
I thanked Ash and headed across the hall to the rec room. At the back were the secure mailboxes for agents who didn’t have offices. I pressed my thumb and then my forefinger onto the touchpad for the dual fingerprint scan, waiting until it clicked open. Inside was a small envelope which I folded and stuffed into the inner pocket of my jacket.
Done, I glanced over my shoulder, checking if anyone was watching. Then I laughed. This was the Elite HQ. Teleporters jumped in and out of here all the time.
I jumped back to the alley near the Ash Tree. This time I didn’t experience the sudden rush of energy as I had before. I felt a little disappointed but had to admit that whatever it was, it had made me feel better all round. Even my wounds were no longer throbbing.
Kai and Tara were both waiting for me when I materialized. Both the women seemed slightly upset, as if some news had saddened the two. I made a note of inquiring after them at a later time. Now, I jumped Tara back to Boston leaving Kai to find her own way back from the Tree, a part of me tensing for the drain on my energy as I jumped a whole other person along with me.
But again, I felt that energy fluctuation within me, as if I’d been plugged into a magical power source. We materialized inside Tara’s Boston apartment, and the moment I solidified I began to sink to the floor, almost passing out—likely a combination of exhaustion as well as the strange power boost. Hopefully I wouldn’t spontaneously combust.
Tara grabbed me and eased me to the floor. “What in the name of all the goddesses is wrong with you?” she asked, her tone low and angry.
“What?” I asked, still a little woozy as I sat up.
“I can tell from your aura that you are weak. And yet you are still jumping?”
“Had to. You needed me.”
Tara tsked and helped me to my feet. “If I hadn’t sent you energy there wouldn't have been any way you could have done all these jumps and survive the stress on your body.”
I frowned. “So that’s what it was. I had wondered how come I was suddenly strong enough to jump two people without horrible side effects like bleeding and death.”
“Consider yourself lucky, then.”
I nodded, my face serious. “I do.”
Chapter 34
I materialized back in the loft, earning myself a strange grunt-shriek from Drake.
“Sorry, I didn’t think to project first,” I said from beside Drake.
I’d materialized on the mattress on Drake’s right-hand side—no surprise why I’d given him the shock of his life.
Drake glared at me with one dark eye, barely taking his attention from the book which sat in the very same place it had been when I’d left.
“Give you any trouble?” I asked, hiding a smile.
“Nope.”
“What the hell is that?” I asked, getting to my knees and crawling over to where Natasha had placed the blood.
The small cup of blood now sat in the middle of a bowl of steaming water. I glanced over at Drake who was giving me what could only be described as a defensive glare.
“The blood was getting cold.”
“Huh? I thought Natasha said I could get away with being gone for a few hours longer?”
“Apparently not.” Drake grimaced, then got to his feet. I couldn’t help noticing the stubble on his chin and darkness beneath his eyes.
“Are you all right?” I asked, also rising. My wounds twinged, but the pain was nowhere near enough to affect me other than to make me aware of them. I closed in on Drake’s contraption and hid a grin. He’d constructed a warm bath for the blood, ensuring it remained warm.
“So that did the trick?”
He grunted. “Yeah. Took a couple seconds. Damned book was getting jittery, shaking and moving around like it was about to go poof.”
“Or make you go poof?”
Drake gave me a withering glare. “I was more afraid of what was going to happen to you wherever you were. Nobody really knows how this freak thing works. It could have landed on someone’s head and killed them, for all we know. Or it could have killed you.”
“Nope. I think it needs me.”
“Let’s hope so.” Drake glanced at my abdomen, then jerked his chin at it. “How’re the
wounds.”
“They’re fine,” I said, hesitating a little.
“What’s wrong?” He took a step toward me.
I held up a hand. “I’m fine. It got infected, and I went to Chloe. She got a healer to look at it, and she thinks the blade may have been laced with some sort of poison.” A little bending of the nature of our conversation, but if it got Drake off my case I’d be happy.
Drake didn’t say a word, his expression crestfallen. “I’m sorry. I should have known.”
“Pray tell how you would have possibly known this?” I asked, my voice rising a tad.
“I’m supposed to know what I’m doing. I should have cleaned the wound—”
“With what? Magic salve? Nobody could have known. We had Natasha right here. Don’t you think that if anyone would have suspected such a thing, it would have been Natasha?”
Drake stiffened
“What is it with the two of you anyway?” I snapped. I hadn’t meant to question him about his relationship with Natasha, but both of them were my friends, and I didn’t want to see either of them hurting. “You’re back, but neither of you seem to be happy about it. And you’re walking around her all glum?”
“I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Don’t pull that on me, Drake. I’ve supported you one hundred percent on going back home and facing your demons. I’d have gone with you if you’d have given me a chance. So spare me the evasion tactics and tell me what’s wrong so I can help you.”
“You can’t. Not with this. And it’s probably better if we keep a distance from each other at least in public. Where people can see us.”
I frowned. “Is that the reason you didn’t want to come with me to see Samuel? Because you don’t want to be seen with me in public?” I asked, my tone dropping to an icy level.
“It’s not how it sounds, okay?”
I stared at him, wondering how else it was supposed to be. I couldn’t deny that I was angry with him. His words hurt, but I had to give some thought to what he had said. Anger as a knee-jerk reaction was trouble that I created on my own.
“How is it then?” I asked, giving him a chance to explain.
Shaking his head, he spun on his heel and headed for the door. “I’m not going to do this. I should never have come back here.”
And then he was gone. Out the door and down the stairwell.
I could hear him from where I stood in the middle of the apartment. And I did the one thing I said I would never do without a friend’s permission.
I tracked him.
I projected and followed Drake as he hit the street at a hard stride, crossed the thoroughfare and made a left. I was a few steps behind him, and as I dogged his steps, I realized I had a shadow.
I shifted my field of vision and turned just as someone came at me. Only they didn’t see me. They were after Drake.
Giving his stalker a wide berth—because I always felt that having someone walk through me felt like a violation of my body and soul—I followed the two of them, ready to jump in if he needed the help.
Drake walked ahead, head down, appearing despondent. I wanted to shout at him to tell him to pay attention. But I didn’t want to alert his stalker that I was onto him.
Drake’s stalker was tall, about the same height as Drake, with broad shoulders. He wore a long black coat that swayed as he walked. The fitted coat didn’t appear to hide any weapons.
He had a hood up over his head, and I couldn’t see his face from where I was. I’d remained behind the both of them, easier to see which way either of them was going.
Drake made a left down a narrow alley, not even slowing as he disappeared into the gathering shadows cast by the tall buildings. Drake’s stalker followed him closely, but I had a feeling that something was wrong. Maybe it was Drake’s gait, that somewhere during his walking he’d ceased to be dejected and had turned into surefooted and dangerous.
Drake walked further into the shadows, avoiding a pile of rubbish bags that residents had thrown out the back door of their building. As the stalker skirted the rubbish and closed in on Drake, my smartass gargoyle partner stormed from the darkness, his skin gleaming a steely gray, dark tattoos swirling on his skin. In his hand, he held a sword, four-foot-long with a blade wider than my thigh, which I couldn’t fathom where he’d hidden all along.
The swipe of the blade almost caught Drake’s attacker in the neck, but he swung away, bending over so far backward that it seemed certain he would fall flat on the ground. Instead, he maintained that position and I marveled at the strength of his thigh muscles.
The movement caused his hood to fall off and reveal his face, and I was faced with two surprising things. One, Drake’s attacker was a stunningly beautiful silver gargoyle. And two, Drake’s attacker was a woman.
Shocked I hovered there, waiting to see what would happen. Would Drake fight her even though she was a girl? But he paused, staring at her, anger filling his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” He spat the words at her.
“You are summoned home. I came to ensure that you obeyed.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I swore to not return without you.”
“How is that supposed to be my problem?” Drake asked, fury dripping from his voice. “You always had the tendency to foist the responsibility of your actions onto others.”
I started. Drake knew this woman?
She grunted. “Why don’t you just come back with me and make this easier on the both of us?”
Drake snorted. “As if I’d give you the satisfaction.”
She let out a laugh. “At some point, you will, Drake. Your destiny and mine are entwined.”
“Not if I can help it.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of this weird conversation. But as I hesitated, the woman took the opportunity to rush Drake. For someone who was claiming that she wasn’t going to go home without him, she sure as hell looked like she wanted him dead.
A sword flashed, hers a black version of Drake’s and she swung it hard at him. And he raised his. But I could see that something was off. She was too fast, and I suspected she was using some type of magic to help speed up her movements.
This was not an even playing field.
And I wasn’t about to let Drake be killed because he had no idea that the fight was rigged.
I jumped behind Drake, grabbed onto his wrist and jumped him straight to the loft. Drake landed with a crash, his sword singing as it hit the wood floor.
“Mel!” he yelled as soon as he looked up and realized where he was and who his savior was.
“Looked like you needed a little help there,” I said, moving to sit on the mattress. It wasn’t so much jump fatigue than general fatigue over the last few days.
Drake laughed. “I didn’t need any help. I could have had her head in five seconds flat.”
“Then why didn’t you? And what is wrong with that sixth sense of yours. Why did you not sense her when she came for you?” I asked, still unable to understand how it was that a strong, dangerous gargoyle almost got beat by a girl. Then I snorted, angry now. “Sure you could have had her beat. You also sporting speed magic like hers?”
“What?” Drake looked confused as he turned to face me. “Speed magic?”
I nodded and described the magic I’d seen the female gargoyle use on him. “Now that’s low, even for Elesir.”
“What’s a girl like her doing with a nice name like that?” I asked. I really did not like this silver gargoyle assassin.
“It’s technically not that nice of a name,” Drake said with a grin. “It means The Black Death.”
“I see.” I pursed my lips. “Doesn’t fit. She’s sporting the silver look. Is it a new paint job?”
Drake snorted. “Bet she’d love to hear that.”
I frowned. He sounded a little too familiar with this silver-black death female. “You know her?”
Drake paused as if considering lying to me and I narrowe
d my eyes, glaring at him, just daring him to lie.
He sighed. “Look. It’s complicated. Yes, I know her. And yes, she was here to kill me.” Drake shrugged and walked over to the window that looked out on the street.
I shook my head. “Why does she want you dead? What exactly happened when you went back to Gargoyle country?”
Drake sighed and was about to answer when the entire building began to vibrate. Lightning flashed, and the whole loft brightened even though it was still daylight out.
Drake and I dropped to the ground just as pipes began to fall from the open ceiling. I rolled over onto my back, the better to keep an eye on falling pipes. Just in time, too, as a narrow black pipe landed right where I’d been lying. It hit the floor with a clang, and I glanced over at Drake whose eyes went wide.
I reached out for his hand and considered jumping us to safety. But first I needed to know if the danger was real. If the lightning was just a way for the warlock to frighten us.
I crawled to the window and got up on my knees to peer outside. My eyes widened to find the narrow street filled with people and passersby, all going about their normal business, unaware as lightning flashed so bright that should it hit one of them they would surely burn to a crisp.
“What is going on?” I whispered.
Chapter 35
Drake and I sat inside the loft, staring at the damage.
“We need to find another place to hide out.” Drake got to his feet to move one of the pipes out of the way.
I shook my head. “Makes no difference. If he’s linked to the book, he’ll find me wherever we go.”
Drake paused and glared at me, as if that particular fact was my fault. I was about to defend my honor when I recalled the lightning.
My face must have reflected my shocked puzzlement because Drake asked, “What?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure. The lightning made me think. I’ve been seeing lightning all around me. Back home after my last case, and when I went to see Natasha. Also when I first got to NOLA.” I paused, feeling my stomach muscles tighten. “I also saw it when I saw the warlock on the street.”
