by TR Cameron
The sheriff straightened slightly and nodded. “I’m glad to hear you still have a line.”
Ruby laughed. “Not going to lie, it’s a little hard to see sometimes, but it’s there. No bodies, minimal property damage where we can, and focus on keeping innocent people safe.”
The other woman grinned. “Sounds reasonable to me.” She gestured with her empty bottle. “Another drink, and maybe some talk about something other than work?”
Ruby laughed. “Sure. Be careful, though. You might be risking the development of a potential friendship.”
Chapter Twenty
The atmosphere in the small palace at the center of the kemana felt dour to Ruby. Her father escorted her through the main doors, and guards stood at posts where there had been none during her last visit, a testament to the increased strain caused underneath Magic City by the events above. That demeanor continued in the Council chamber itself, where those seated around the round table wore expressions signaling stress and in some cases, outright displeasure. The Drow looks like she’s ready to stab someone. The only exception was the dwarf, Grentham, whose neutral expression nonetheless managed to come off somehow smug. There’s something off about that dude. He bears looking into. I need to talk to Alejo about him.
The leader of the group, Lord Maldren, rapped his knuckles on the table for attention. Side conversation stopped, and he announced, “Our first order of business is the events surrounding Worldspan Security.”
Elnyier replied, “I have spoken with them since the unfortunate incident at their building. They say it was nothing, a gas leak, and that they lost no personnel. Some injuries, as you’d expect.”
Ruby stilled the impulse to shake her head. In their conversation, Alejo had mentioned the explosion, and the information she provided didn’t quite match up with the Drow’s story. Or, more specifically, I guess the security company’s story. I suppose that if someone did take action against them, they’d want to keep that quiet. The sheriff didn’t have confirmation of anything, only suspicions, so it wasn’t worth bringing up.
In a neutral tone, Grentham said, “My company still stands ready to handle your needs. Just let us know. Councilmember discount.”
Maldren replied, “Thank you, Grentham, as always. Now, our second item on the agenda is the Paranormal Defense Agency.” Subtle displeasure turned into outright hostility on several faces. I guess it’s not only me who thinks Andrews is a scumbag. Andirelle, the witch, said, “Their drones are everywhere. I’m starting to feel downright hunted. Or haunted, maybe.”
Bartrak, the Kilomea, replied, “We have tracked their patterns and made a thorough accounting of all the aerial vehicles in the area. There is a surveillance net stretching from the mountains to the north to the city's edges to the south. The actual devices differ in size, but when you plot them all, the pattern is clear.”
The gnome Challen, one of the people Ruby liked best in the Kemana, remarked, “Good work, my friend. That is useful information to have.” The Kilomea nodded, and the dichotomy of the smallest sized person in the room and the largest one being friendly struck Ruby. Or maybe friends for real. Who knows? No weirder than Alejo and me chatting over beers.
Grentham grunted. “One of my people up above has a strong suspicion that the PDA is using autonomous vehicles for surveillance as well. Perhaps you should add that to the next version of your plot, Bartrak.”
The Kilomea looked thoughtful. “That might explain some gaps that seemed like they shouldn’t be there. Thank you for the information.”
Ruby couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from turning down. That had to come from Prex. Why would he do that? A moment later, logic kicked in to combat the emotional response. Of course, he would do that. News has to flow up to the Council, and as far as he knows, I’m not a member. Just probie twenty-three. He’s doing his best to protect the people in Magic City, as we all are.
Maldren asked, “Any other thoughts on the Paranormal Defense Agency?” A growl or two sounded in response, but nothing substantive. The weary-looking Mist Elf nodded. “Very well. Our third order of business is the unexpected increase in the number of fires and property crimes in the city. Doubtless you’ve noticed that Rayar's daughter is with us. She has some information to share on that topic.”
Ruby, who had been standing behind her father’s chair, stepped slightly away so she would be clearly in everyone’s view. “I struck up a friendly connection with Sheriff Alejo a while back. One of those random things. Anyway, sometimes she talks about work, and when she mentioned something about the fires, I asked if I could share the information.” Nods encouraged her to continue. “The chiefs at the fire departments who responded to the scenes, most specifically the plastics factory but also several others, believe someone set them intentionally.”
A ripple of anger flowed through the Council. Elnyier snapped, “Evidence?”
How about an anti-human Drow, for starters? For the moment, Ruby figured that the Drow male behind the antihuman efforts was working alone, but she had a suspicion he’d find a sympathetic ear in his species representative on the Council. Since she didn’t know that particular event was his doing with a hundred percent certainty, she wasn’t going to bring him up. “The fires burned hotter than they should have, and they didn’t find any accelerants.”
Grentham snorted. “Which means that perhaps they’re not doing a good job of finding it. I get it. Magic is the simplest solution, Occam’s Razor, and all that. It’s far from being proof.”
Ruby shrugged. “Sheriff Alejo feels the same way, that more investigation is required. Nonetheless, the fact that they were most likely arson and that property crimes against human-owned businesses have kicked up a notable amount seemed relevant to bring to the Council’s attention. Thank you for your time.” She delivered the last with a bit of a growl and bowed her head respectfully to cover it. Down, Ruby. No one likes having their beliefs challenged, no matter what planet they’re from.
Bartrak nodded slowly. “I will ask my people to keep an eye out. Humans make up a significant portion of our customers, and this is bad for business, if true.” The others made noises to do the same, but for a few, it seemed to be only lip service. Yeah, Elnyier, Grentham, Rosalind, I’m watching you.
Andrielle, the Atlantean representative, said, “It might be worth seeing if similar things are happening in other cities that house a kemana. I will reach out to my people across the country.”
Maldren thanked her, then asked, “Any other discussion of this topic?”
None arrived, and he started to move on to the next item. Elnyier interrupted him, rising suddenly from her seat and causing everyone at the table to look at her. She intoned, “Lord Maldren. Over the last many years, you have led us capably through the growth of Magic City, delivering prosperity and maintaining a comfortable balance among our different groups. We applaud you for that.” What seemed like a compliment was colored by the sense that something with an edge was coming. “However, your style is inadequate to the present time. We need a leader with more vision, one who is more action-oriented, let’s say. You are clearly not that person. I nominate myself to take the leadership in your place.”
The room was dead silent, and Maldren was still for several seconds. Ruby recognized the blank look on his face, similar to the one she used when she didn’t want to express her emotions to others. He finally replied, “Very well. We have rules for this, and such a challenge is in keeping with them. I do not voluntarily resign from the position so we will vote. Are there any other nominations?”
Anders, the wizard, said, “I nominate my wife, Rosalind.” The woman in question smiled broadly and nodded to accept.
Maldren said, “Very well. Any others?”
Ruby leaned into her father’s ear and whispered, “You should volunteer,” but he shook his head and remained silent.
Maldren said, “Challen, please distribute the stones.” Ruby deduced that the gnome held some official position that
required him to bring said stones because he produced a brown suede pouch that held polished rocks in ten different colors, each about the size of the top section of her thumb. Maldren was assigned yellow, Elnyier black, and Rosalind blue. Each member of the Council received one of each color. They passed the bag around the room, once emptied of the other rocks, and when it made its way back to Challen, he pulled the stones out one by one to count votes.
Elnyier won and accepted congratulations from the others. Ruby bent to ask her father a question, but he shushed her. They said their goodbyes and exited the palace, which would soon become the Drow woman’s home. When they were far enough away that no one would overhear, Rayar explained, “Elnyier wouldn’t have pushed the issue unless she already had the votes. Rosalind throwing her name in might’ve been random, not part of the plan, or it might have been intentional misdirection. In either case, she would’ve been a worse choice than Elnyier.”
Ruby, thinking about the Drow connection to the anti-human efforts in Ely, shook her head. “I hope you’re right.” I really don’t think you are.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ruby arrived at Margrave’s door twenty minutes before their scheduled meeting time, knowing both that he’d be ready for her and that Daphne would show up ten minutes early because that’s how she was. He opened it with a smile, and she said, “I wanted to discuss a couple of things before our friendly neighborhood potion maker arrives.”
He laughed. “Perfect. Tea is still brewing, but the cookies just came out of the oven.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand how you find time to bake.”
“Everyone needs a hobby. Besides, I come up with some of my most creative ideas while my conscious brain focuses on baking.”
Ruby helped him carry the tray full of baked goods down to the workshop and sat at a diagonal from him in her usual spot. “First, I wondered if you could build a container for my belt to hold reloads for the dart gun.”
He frowned. “Are you really in situations where you need more than five doses?”
She made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a groan. Yeah, this gig is more challenging than anyone thought it could be. “I didn’t think I would be back when we talked about it at first, but it turns out more would be better.”
He shook his head. “I won’t ask because I don’t want to be any more frightened for you than I already am. I can work on that. It’ll take a few days.” He slid a set of five darts over to her. “I figured you might need more after I heard about something involving a religious commune that was illegally selling magic items.”
Ruby accepted them and nodded. “Ran into a weird thing during that particular adventure. The folks I was with have really good tech, like, top of the line, and yet somehow their comms were jammed during it. I wondered if it could have been magical rather than technological.”
Margrave tapped a fingernail on his teeth as he thought. After several seconds, he shrugged. “Sure, probably. I have to look into it, but offhand I can imagine some possibilities. Interfering with the electromagnetic makeup of the area might work, for instance.”
Ruby raised a hand. “Now you’re way over my head. Think about it and let me know what you find out.”
He laughed. “Will do. Any other interesting news to share?”
She drew a deep breath since it was still weird to talk about. “Remember that time I almost passed out, and you got to see Idryll's true nature?”
He nodded. “Vividly.”
“I finished that process. The venamisha. Three rounds.”
“And?”
She didn’t for a moment think that he hadn’t already done research into the topic, so the question made her grin. “When I’m in charge, things are going to be different.”
He laughed. “I’ll believe it when I see it, sunshine. In the meantime, go let Daphne in.”
The doorbell rang an instant later, and Ruby shook her head. “Between tech and talent, you have it all, my friend.”
She let the witch in and shared hugs with her, then rushed to catch up as Daphne bounded down the staircase into the workshop. As soon as her roommate reached Margrave, she blurted, “I think I’ve nailed it. The distribution system.”
He grinned. “Well, sit, and tell me all about it.” While they conferred, Ruby unpacked her backpack, which contained one of the large model drones she was using to watch over the house. She had three of them in rotation, and Demetrius had refined the artificial intelligence that monitored them to the point that they could now differentiate between humanoids and everything else. It was a significant step forward since the night they’d been shaken out of bed because an enormous raccoon had stood on its hind legs and set off a full-scale alert.
She opened a canister filled with jacks, children’s toys serving as a substitute for caltrops to experiment with release mechanisms. Rath had been right, it was a good idea, and she was starting to get a handle on how she had to do it. She’d initially tried a single hinged compartment, but the panel didn’t fall away fast enough to avoid impacting the dispersal of the individual pieces. So now she was testing a pair of hinged covers that fell open simultaneously. She had a hunch it would work but might require positioning the caltrops differently within, maybe with some sort of spacers.
Her first idea of jamming them all in and letting gravity sort them out proved unworkable when the whole bunch fell out in a couple of large clumps. If it wouldn’t work any other way, she’d accept that and hope they dispersed upon impact, but it wasn’t what she wanted. She envisioned a smooth stream of spiked objects flying out behind a drone. If she had any real free time, she’d devise a mechanism to eject them from the rear one by one, but she’d put that on the innovation list rather than the initial design plan.
After an hour, Margrave and Daphne had their project figured out. It was a patch with a potion capsule embedded in it. Smashing the capsule spread the liquid through the patch, which leeched into the skin over a wide area, ensuring fast absorption. The whole thing was about the size of her palm and looked incredibly simple, now that it was right there on the table. She had no doubt it had taken a great deal of effort to get that far, no matter how obvious it seemed upon completion. She said, “You know, that’s going to have a real market among the wealthy. Emergency healing only a hand slap away? They’ll be all over it. How long does it last?”
Daphne’s grin covered her entire face. “The adhesive works for a couple of days, so it depends on whether you wanted to change it every day or let it rest until it starts to wear off. Your average person probably wouldn’t want to pay for a daily replacement. If you’re right, and it has a market among the wealthy, I bet they could.”
Margrave said, “This calls for a drink. Daphne, go get the decanter and the glasses that are in that cabinet on the far end of the room.”
While the witch was gone, he slipped Ruby another EMP and whispered, “These things are expensive. Don’t use them willy-nilly.” When Daphne returned, and they all had a partially filled glass, they raised a toast to her success.
Ruby said, “Okay, total change of subject. At the Council meeting, one member mentioned that the Paranormal Defense Agency could be using autonomous vehicles as surveillance devices. Using the cameras, maybe, collecting data on the occupants and where they go, that sort of thing. A friend of mine said they might even have the legal right to do it, depending on the policies around self-driving vehicles. I’m going to be honest. I’m really uncomfortable with the whole idea. Anything you two can think of to mess with it?”
Daphne laughed. “Ruby the Crusader.”
She nodded. “Truth, justice, and the right to gamble. I’m all about it.”
Her roommate said, “They must be collecting the information wirelessly, right? I’m sure they’re not sending agents to download data from the cars.”
Ruby replied, “Fair guess.”
Daphne shrugged. “Then some sort of jammer on the car to prevent the collection would likely work.�
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“Getting them onto all the cars would take a lot of effort. I’m probably not that much of a crusader.” Maybe Morrigan and Idryll could do it during their patrols, or perhaps I can get the Desert Ghosts to help out. I bet they’d be into that.
Margrave said, “You know, the magical signature that those vehicles emit is unique. I read something about it the other day. It might be possible to create tiny pods that would home in on them. We’d miss the older ones that were technology only, but at this point, there’s likely not too many of them still rolling.”
Ruby nodded. “You’re thinking drone release?”
“Exactly, probably from pretty high up. In order to make them small enough, we wouldn’t want them to have engines, only steering. They’d be just jamming, flight, and detection.” His face brightened. “Heck, we could discard the detection and flight pieces after the thing made contact so they’d be even less likely to be noticed.”
Ruby grinned at his enthusiasm. “Uh-oh. I think you have a new obsession.”
Margrave laughed. “Could be. That’ll be my next project. A little nonviolent resistance sounds like fun.” He sobered suddenly. “Wait, no, dammit. The jamming might mess with the actual driving, which probably uses a wireless component as well.”
She frowned, unwilling to let the idea go. “What if I got you one of the communication devices they’re using to transmit? Do you think you could customize it?”
Daphne interrupted, “Where would you get one of those?”
Ruby scowled at her playfully. “I have friends.”
The witch shook her head with a smile. “You do not. You’re too busy for friends.”
She countered, “You’re my friends. The best friendships are both work and pleasure, right?” Daphne opened her mouth to reply, and Ruby said, “Shut up. So, Margrave, what do you think?”
