by TR Cameron
The first summoned his backup shield, which would protect him against anything physical and most things magical for a shorter time than the other. The second was a healing charm, which flooded his body with the magical equivalent of painkillers and kicked his systems into overdrive. He hadn’t had the opportunity to secure an energy charm, so he felt depleted once the healing had done its work but was undamaged. Kienka had told him the magic could rescue him from death’s door, but he’d hoped to never have to test her word.
He lunged and timed his punch to land at the same moment that his shield dropped. The studs on his gloves struck the mage’s cheek, and the shock knocked his target back. He cursed and raised his wand, but Bryant didn’t hesitate. The next blow struck the man in the stomach and he folded. The final delivery crashed into his temple to sweep the last semblances of consciousness away.
Bryant straightened to go to Tony’s aid, but the man already had his opponent well in hand. The wizard threw shadow magic at the detective, and his suit shrugged it off. Tony responded with his gunslinger routine. He held his Glock and Ruger at the same time and fired each calmly at the mage. Then the enemy did something truly unexpected. He summoned a portal and sidestepped into it to avoid the attacks, then immediately emerged again to launch his own assault.
I have to remember that one, Bryant thought.
The distraction allowed the wizard to send in a shadow bolt that dislodged the Glock and shoved Tony’s arm back. He turned the involuntary move into a quick draw and hurled the Bowie knife he snatched from the small of his back at his adversary. The wizard reacted in what seemed like slow motion and a curl of his wand summoned an oval of darkness to deflect the blade. The shield wasn’t positioned right to do anything about the anti-magic rounds that pierced his thigh, chest, and shoulder, though. He collapsed to his knees, and Tony stepped forward to kick the wand out of his hand.
Rath had waited near the ceiling, crouched like Spiderman atop one of the cameras that jutted from the wall at intervals throughout the room. When the witch was hurled back, he dropped to the attack. He missed her shoulders as she toppled and growled in frustration. The troll landed cleanly and spun, drew his weapons, and swept them in an X before him. They crackled as they scraped across her chest and she shouted in pain and anger.
He brought them back and stabbed forward. The witch responded by whipping her head to the side to avoid the batons. She kicked out at him, and he swiveled so her heel caught his thigh, rather than his knee. He turned the motion into a spinning hook kick but was intercepted by a blade of ice that extended from the top of his adversary’s wand. Fortunately, the sharp edge faced away from his skin, but the impact still hurt. He rolled into a backward somersault as she swiped the magical weapon at waist level. She used the delay in his attacks to scramble to her feet.
Rath sensed the enemy leader behind him and circled toward the inside of the room to avoid any surprise attacks. The witch fired a cloud of icy needles at him, and he fled, using his acrobatic tricks to spin, tumble, and otherwise evade them.
He considered growing bigger, but the moment seemed to call for agility over power. At the thought of power, he pushed the button to retract his left baton and slid it into his right holster before he retrieved, primed, and threw a pepper grenade in a continuous swing. The woman waited until it landed at her feet, then created a canopy of ice over it with a wave of her wand. It exploded, but a second gesture sealed the cracks in the cover and no damage was done.
He changed direction to careen toward her and hurled the flash-bang. He’d hoped that it would at least give him time to get close, but his canny opponent intercepted it with a ball of ice and it ricocheted to where Cara knelt by the windows. Rath sighed in relief as Tony smacked it with the butt of his pistol and forwarded it to Bryant. It detonated, but the troll looked away and his headphones protected him. The woman gestured with her wand again, and the floor became slick with a coat of ice. By now, his momentum had become too great to halt. He slipped and slid inevitably toward the witch.
Uh-oh.
Diana narrowed her focus on the enemy leader. Her fingers flexed with the desire to punch his arrogant expression down his throat. She advanced cautiously, as he seemed content to wait until the last possible second before engaging. No words were exchanged, but his eyes conveyed his lack of respect for her in particular, and for all humans in general.
I fucking hate bullies.
She threw both her fists forward and used her telekinesis to deliver a blow to his left leg and her force blast to his left shoulder. He absorbed the strikes, then twitched his wand and a nearby table hurtled at her head. She slashed with her right hand, and the projectile split down the middle as if chopped by an ax.
I’m getting better at this force thing.
He gestured to launch more items in her direction. She picked them off smoothly—redirected some, blocked others, and destroyed the rest. Her anger surged again when she reminded herself that he was toying with her. A ball of shadow formed in her hand, and she lobbed it at his face. He looked shocked for a moment, then slipped to the side and used yet another table to deflect the attack.
This stupid room has way too much furniture in it.
She used the distraction to dart in, only to circle out again as he raised his hand and eight wickedly barbed tentacles spiraled to swipe at her from all directions. Her survival reflex kicked in and she threw herself prone and summoned her force shield to hold them at bay as her mind spun through the appropriate denials.
He’s a wizard. He can’t do that! What the hell? That didn’t come out of his wand.
Diana indulged the protest for only an instant before she resumed the battle. She waved her arm in a circle and imagined a line following it, then yanked hard. A rope of force materialized around the tentacles and drew them together.
The enemy nodded as if to congratulate her on her innovation. He banished the appendages only to call them again immediately. She deflected or avoided seven, but the eighth caught her calf and hauled her to the floor. His superior grin became more smug and she fumbled for her final grenade and threw it at him. He circled the wand to create a portal unlike any she’d ever seen. The gateway opened to a barren world and tortured screams and cries emanated from within. He flicked it into the grenade's path, and the explosive detonated in whatever world or place lay beyond the rift in reality.
He barked a command to his left, and Diana turned her head quickly. Rath slid along a sheet of ice toward the witch they’d faced before. An identical swath appeared beneath her as the tentacle yanked her harder toward the portal. Her mind gabbled briefly to remind her she did not want to go to wherever that was. She drew her Ruger with an awkward twist and aimed it at the leader, but he twitched the tentacles and one grasped her hand to make all but the last round miss. That scraped his leg and dropped him to a knee, but his magic did not fail.
Diana had nothing left and no way to eliminate him before he pushed her into the rift. She did the only thing she could think of, which was to roll and fire a blast of force in front of Rath. He made it look like that had been his plan all along when he used the barrier to stop his slide and hurl himself upward to twist in midair, strike the wall with both feet, and launch himself at the witch.
The troll grew as he powered downward and collided with her halfway to his largest size. She stumbled toward Diana. It was like watching Bryant’s game of pool with Gillians. She saw the opportunity and threw all her remaining power into a force bolt directed at the woman’s chest. Physics took its course, and she screamed as she was thrust into the rift. She conjured a frost rope in a last frantic attempt to save herself and tried to lasso the nearest object. The rope missed its target and glanced off her leader, instead. This distracted him enough that the tentacles vanished and the portal collapsed.
Diana slid on until she careened hard into Rath, who had met the wall and sank to the floor an instant before. The wizard turned in a fury, but at that moment, the steel barriers ov
er the windows opened.
Kayleigh shouted, “Everyone down!” over the comm. Tony was the only one still standing, but he dropped prone as minigun rounds from the weapon mounted on the side of the Air Force chopper chattered and swept over the area as the airman sought her target.
The wizard reacted swiftly, created a different portal, and stepped through it to evade the bullets.
“Ceasefire,” Diana yelled and lurched to her feet. She hobbled toward the window, followed by a somewhat dazed Rath. Black knotted lines unspooled from the chopper as Kayleigh reported, “Two minutes on the timers. Areas are clear. The warden assures me they’ll be fine.”
Diana grabbed Cara, helped her to the line, and threaded it around her thighs and waist in a hasty tie. “Use another one to climb up. This is your backup. Maybe you could consider not getting hit in the arm every time we go into the field.”
The ex-marshal raised a single finger in salute and swung out to follow the directions. Diana helped Tony next, and he began his climb. Then, she stared at the prisoner. For a moment, she considered throwing him out the window, since it would offer a better chance at survival than remaining in an exploding building, but Rath solved her problem. He lifted the enemy onto his giant shoulder and gave her a serious nod before he broke into a huge grin.
“Get to the Choppa.”
She groaned at the joke. “I’ll be up right after you, big guy. Good work.” He nodded and climbed easily. The additional weight was no concern at all in that form. She turned to locate Bryant, who examined one of the bombs on the far wall. “Bryant, get over here. We’ve gotta go.”
He nodded and began to cross the room toward her when the bomb nearest the stairwell detonated. Later, they would sift through the evidence and conclude that the battle had shorted something inside it, which caused it to detonate ahead of time. Her eyes widened in horror as the next one closer to Bryant exploded. He was out of range of the initial blast, but not far enough away to escape the debris and shrapnel launched by the massive force. She was powerless to help, and he screamed, “Go!” as his side of the building began to collapse.
Bryant gestured with his arms to create a portal as the floor buckled. She leapt out the window and summoned her telekinesis to bring two lines toward her. Once she’d seized them, the helicopter veered away from the building. The shockwave from the explosion rocked her. She held tightly to the lines, closed her eyes, and hoped they had gained enough distance that the debris wouldn’t catch her.
Chapter Thirty
It had been a week since the protest at the Cube and the ensuing destruction of the office building above it. The lawyer blamed it on the police, the police blamed it on terrorism, and no one had the real story—except for ARES and the PDA, who both received missives from the Remembrance claiming responsibility and a promise that it had only begun.
Bryant, miraculously, sported only severe bruising and minor injuries from shrapnel that had reached him before he managed to seal his escape portal. He left town less than twelve hours after the event to assess the other startups. Cara spent a day in the hospital for treatment for her injured arms. Even with a healing potion, it would take a little time. Tony held down the fort in Pittsburgh, and Diana and Rath split their time between their home base and DC. She’d met with Senator Finley to brief him personally with SAC Carson Taggart at her side. If either had noticed her stiff movements, they had not remarked upon them.
She felt battered and bruised in body and spirit for several days, then finally rallied. Setbacks happened, but there was no need to let them define her. By the end of the week, she was back to normal, ready to take on the next challenge. It came in the form of another anonymous text from a familiar number that simply read:
Two hours.
She called her team and arranged to meet at the exit of their tunnel to the Kemana. The three agents made their way to the palace without incident and were ushered into the presence of the lady at the appointed time. Diana detected a warmth in the emissary's tone and expression that reassured her about the meeting to come.
Lady Alayne was in her customary place on the dais in the throne room. She inquired about their health and about the events of the week before. Diana, Cara, and Tony related them as well as they could. When all had been recounted, the leader of the Kemana said, “We have heard from our sources that the Remembrance has emerged from the shadows.”
Diana nodded. “They took responsibility for the attack. It’s merely a matter of time before the press hears about them. That should be a mess.”
The elf laughed. “What is it the computer people say? Information wants to be free?” She shook her head. “They have one thing right, though. It is difficult to keep secrets these days.”
“Very true. Have you had any problems with them down here?”
The emissary leaned over to whisper in her ear, and Lady Alayne nodded. “No events, but a definite increase in conversation. We are always watching and listening to what goes on in Stonesreach, and their message does resonate with some of our citizens.”
“Many?”
The elf shrugged. “More, perhaps, than any of us would like. Of course, talk is fine. Only actions are an issue.”
Cara spoke up. “But the one often leads to the other, does it not?”
“It does, indeed, Cara Binot.” Alayne nodded. “We will remain vigilant.”
Diana hesitated, then ventured, “Lady Alayne, should something occur here, would you be comfortable calling upon us for aid? Because we most certainly offer it.”
Again, the emissary leaned in to speak into her ear. She frowned but the expression seemed a little regretful. “At this time, we prefer to handle our own affairs. Rest assured, though. Should that change, we will let you know.”
She nodded outwardly but sighed internally.
Dammit. There goes asking them for help with our problems. Still, it was worth a try. “May we be of assistance in any other way?”
The elf shrugged. “No, but thank you. We merely wished to meet to ensure that we share what knowledge we could with one another. As always, please do not feel the need to await an invitation. If you are in the city, you may contact my emissary, and he will arrange a meeting if the matter requires it.”
Diana thanked her, and the older elf escorted them from the throne room. Before she let him push them out the doors, however, she stopped and turned to him. “One of my colleagues told me I needed to get in touch with Nylotte. Could you tell me where to find him?”
The emissary tilted his head. “Interesting.” He didn’t explain what he meant, only provided them directions, and they left the palace.
His instructions led them onto the side street they had found during their previous visit, and a creeping dread began to build in her stomach. It grew as they counted the number of shops, then fully materialized as they stopped outside the one owned by the Drow who had intercepted them the previous time. Diana groaned.
“You should probably stay out here.” They didn’t argue, only took up positions to watch in both directions. She shook her head and muttered, “Bryant, you’re a dead man,” as she swung the door open and stepped inside.
The shop was filled with surfaces made of polished wood that reflected the lights above. The items on them seemed to glow from an inner source that wasn’t quite obvious. She had been in the room for less than ten seconds when Nylotte—very definitely a her rather than a him—swept in from the back. Her voice was syrupy. “Diana, so nice to see you again.”
She pushed down the flippant reply the woman’s words summoned. “You as well. You were recommended by Kienka, through an intermediary, as a source of equipment for my team.”
The elf smiled and gestured for her to sit across a low table, then took the other seat. “Yes, Kienka. We were close once and came to Earth at the same time. She has chosen to be a greater part of your world. I have no interest in that and prefer to live here among my own kind.”
There aren’t really many of your part
icular kind around, though, are there?
“Why did you leave Oriceran?”
Her laugh emerged from deep in her throat, and Diana imagined that it too, like her looks, would turn heads. “A brazen question. Let’s simply say it was an opportune time for a change, and leave it at that, shall we?”
Diana nodded, unfolded the paper she’d brought, and slid it across the table. The Drow reviewed it with an experienced eye. “Most of these items can be procured easily. Others, I already have. A few will be difficult, and thus expensive.” She looked up expectantly.
“Give me prices, and we’ll work from there.”
The woman smiled. “In some cases, I may request items in barter rather than currency. I believe that Kienka also operates in this way. Hopefully, that is acceptable.”
Diana had the distinct impression that if it wasn’t, they wouldn’t do any business at all, so she nodded.
I’ll figure that out when we get there.
The Drow leaned back, folded her arms, and gave her a knowing look. “But that is not the only reason you are here, is it? Even without this list, you would have found your way to my door.”
The agent sighed. It was true. She had discussed it with Bryant, and he had worked his contacts only to discover that she was the best option. “Yes, Nylotte. I would like you to train me in magic.”
The Dark Elf straightened with a nod. “Before I will even consider it, I must test you.”
She forced her voice to remain calm, even as her body tensed instinctively. “How?”
Nylotte waved an arm. “Simply a game we play with our children on Oriceran, Diana. I give you my word that you shall come to no permanent harm. If you will not take mine, remember that you are under the protection of the lady while inside Stonesreach.”
The woman had a point. Diana nodded, at least partially reassured. “Okay, what do you need me to do?”