Resistant Magic (Relic Hunter Book 5)

by R. Leonia Shea

  “Is that the stuff Paolina gave me?” I asked.

  Kai snorted. “As if I’d let her poison you before you finished your job. This is the stuff I made, specifically for my little witch because I know how delicate she is under all that toughness.” He smiled. The burning of the water faded, leaving a pleasant tingle that soothed my abrasions.

  “Do you think she’d try to poison me?”

  “Most poisonings are committed by family members.” He said, raising those dark amber eyes to mine and smiling. “But I don’t think cousin Paolina has it in her. Still, I’m not taking any chances.” He lifted his hand and looked at the perfectly straight bruise on my forehead. He didn’t need to say a word as he stroked the cream across the mark, trying not to smile.

  “It wasn’t funny,” I whispered.

  “Since I wasn’t there, I can only imagine it, and so far, I haven’t been able to imagine it without it being funny.” His hands slid to my shoulders, and he stroked some of the healing balm where the straps to my backpack would have been. “How much did that thing weigh?”

  “Maybe twenty-five pounds.”

  “Are you going to tell me what was in there, or should I guess?”

  “Guess,” I said.

  Kai handed me the jar and wrapped my legs around his waist before scooping me up and carrying me out of the bathroom.

  “Was it the grudge your Uncle Matteo has against the Chairman of the Guild?”

  “Nope. It was way too light to have been that.”

  “Was it Sidaffri’s wardrobe?”

  I laughed. Kai peeled off my towel and massaged the cream into the horizontal bruise across my stomach.

  His voice was thoughtful as he ventured his next guess. “Was it your ego since I keep telling you how good you are at your job?”

  “Surprisingly, you’re only off by one letter,” I replied, straightening my towel.

  Kai tilted his head and narrowed one eye. “An egg?”

  “In a pretty enameled reliquary.”

  “Twenty-five pounds is a big egg.”

  “Griffins are huge,” My shoulders and arms and head felt better, and I smiled at Kai. “I’m happy you’re here with me.”

  “You can add personal healer to my titles when you draft the new by-laws of the C.C.O., but you might also want to come up with a job description if the griffin is going to be the new security guard. Where will he be living, by the way? And please tell me he’s not going to hatch that egg at our place. I don’t want to housebreak a griffin because we just did the floors.”

  “We could get a huge shed for Idral, and I’m not sure that egg can be hatched after more than 500 years.” I ventured.

  “We’re going to need to put up a highrise apartment complex if you keep accumulating magical creatures. You might want to put a size limit on them, like nothing bigger than a badger.”

  “If I’m not mistaken, the last badger came with a battalion of gnomes, and you were responsible for that one.”

  “True. If you’re not careful, you’ll need to buy a cargo plane to get your employees to the job site. You might want to add a few human ones or at least a few that can pass for humans, just in case business picks up.”

  I took the not-so-subtle hint and sighed. “We’ll work on that.” Something had been troubling me, and I decided the quiet moment while he was focused on tending the abrasions on my knees might be the best time. “Do you think I did the right thing by suggesting they contact the Alliance?”

  He looked serious as he moved back to massaging my raw knuckles, paying particular attention to the hand I’d injured when I’d put out the fire under the basilica. Kai’s voice was soft, “I think you acted to give them the best chance of defending themselves against the bigger threat. By making both parties see it as a negotiation, the Guild can try to bargain for a little independence. The lesser of two evils is still evil, though.”

  I didn’t miss the subtle hint about what he thought of the Alliance. At one time, I’d shared that opinion. “You want all of those artifacts returned to the ancient ones to restore their power. I’m probably going to mess that up this time.” I said it as a quiet statement, but it was a bit of a question.

  Kai leaned his forehead against mine. “I don’t want that at all right now. You are not strong enough. Right now, you need to ensure the balance, Ari, and sometimes that will mean working with the enemy. Even though you have leanings in one direction, you need to maintain your autonomy because there will come a time when Kingston or Evan will call on you, and you will have to say no. Before that day comes, you need to focus on cultivating a few relationships so that when you say no, and if they don’t take it well, you can withstand the onslaught.”

  “I was kinda hoping you’d just give me a general yes or no about restoring power to the old gods,” I replied, dread sliding up and down my spine like a piston. “I don’t want to think about terrible consequences where my supposed friends are concerned.”

  He shook his head as if to dispel the seriousness of the moment. “Fix the current problem, then move on to the next one.”

  “Out of curiosity, what do you think the next problem is?” I asked, suspecting I already knew the answer.

  “Your new position.” Coyote grinned. “Right now, Kingston is orchestrating things as if you are a solo relic hunter and not the head of the C.C.O. As soon as you morph into that publicly, the whole thing will change. Someday you’re going to need to throw a little power around like everyone else, preferably without bringing every homeless magical creature to your doorstep.” He added the last part to soften his words.

  I snorted, choosing to ignore the fear and caution. “In Italy, throwing my power around would be less than spectacular.”

  Kai smiled. “And again, you underestimate yourself. Does that feel better?” He asked, looking at my wounds.

  “Amazingly so. What’s in that stuff?” I flexed my hands, and they didn’t hurt.

  “It’s a secret.”

  Of course, it was.

  Dressed in my last pair of clean cargo pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt, I loaded my pockets with spells and water pistols before I hung Kai’s medicine bag around my neck. I had a fifteen-minute reconnaissance briefing with my team, and Ka’Tehm scrambled into my backpack while Basir flew out the window. Kai had his helmet under his arm, and I felt like we had somewhat of a solid plan, even though I had less than complete research to guide my actions. Dealing with Idral was going to be Kai’s job because if there was anyone who could charm and reassure a vain griffin, it was Kai. Before we did that, I needed to swing by Peter Picenzia’s apartment and have a little heart to heart.

  The door to Peter’s apartment was plain, and I could imagine the cramped quarters inside. Peter didn’t live in the best building or even in a nice neighborhood. I wondered why he chose to remain with Chairman Mariani and feed information back to the Alliance since it obviously wasn’t a very lucrative position.

  I pressed the button for the bell, and Peter answered the door in an oversized grey t-shirt and jeans. He looked beaten down, and he was unusually quiet as he motioned Kai and me over the threshold.

  “I was wondering how long it would take you.” He said, meeting my gaze and inviting us to sit at the small table inside the tiny kitchen.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked without preamble.

  Peter smiled and shook his head. “I was going to, once everything was over. I didn’t expect you to meet her.”

  “What’s your relationship with Sidaffri?” I pressed.

  Peter hid a surprised smile. “There isn’t one. She has served Mariani’s family for as long as they have held the Chairman’s seat. I only found out he had a jinn two years ago, and then it took about four months for me to meet her. He’s cautious about sharing that information.”

  “And with good reason. You should have told me, Peter. If I didn’t meet her, you would have what? Sprung it on me before I got on the plane?”

  He wiped his hand d
own his face. “I thought I could find her lamp and free her, but I’ve been looking for it since I met her. When I heard that you were coming, it occurred to me that you could help. I overheard Paolina talking to the crisis manager, and she said we needed someone good at finding ancient relics. I thought there would never be a better time to try and free her, so I acted impulsively.”

  “Does Mariani know what you did?” Kai asked, sounding suspicious. I had an entirely different set of questions once I heard that Paolina had requested Majeedah send someone with those skills. I held up my hand.

  “Wait. You heard her say ‘good at finding ancient relics,’?”

  Peter nodded, and Kai slid his glance to me as if to say: told you so.

  I sniffed and felt the familiar stab of betrayal. “I don’t suppose you told Kingston Pon about the jinn before Paolina called Majeedah?”

  Peter nodded.

  Yup, Kingston had known about the jinn the whole time. I was going to cut the strings he was pulling into tiny little pieces to avoid that situation ever happening again in the future. Right after I reminded him that I was the temporary head of the C.C.O. and not just an independent relic-hunter for hire.

  Kai looked at me and turned his gaze back to Peter. “So, does Mariani know?” He asked again.

  Peter shook his head. “No. When I took the iron pin out of her dress, she replaced it with one made of silver so he wouldn’t know. She has continued to obey his calls and do his bidding since then, so he still believes he controls her.”

  “I’m sure he’s not going to be happy when we find her lamp and free her.” I said, realizing my statement was perhaps a bit overly optimistic.

  Peter didn’t miss my wording, and his eyes lit with excitement. “You know where it is?”

  It was my turn to shake my head. “I thought you’d have some idea.”

  Peter looked crestfallen. “Not at all.”

  “Is she the only jinn?”

  Peter’s expression was perplexed. “For Mariani?”

  “For the Guild. Are there others who also have jinn?”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’m not sure, but if I had to guess, I’d say there are others.”

  “What can you tell me about the fallow witch inside the Vatican?”

  “Father Giordano. He is from the Lombardy region, the older brother of Mariella. She leads the family for the obvious reason.”

  Mariella-the-Inconvenienced was the woman who’d been annoyed that she’d had to return to Rome when I was hired. That could be a family looking for a jinn, or a fallow witch looking for a way to take his rightful place.

  I sighed. “We’ll do our best, but once Sidaffri’s free, can you get away from Mariani? I don’t want him to know he lost his jinn because of you.”

  Peter nodded. “There’s nothing here I can’t leave behind, but once that happens, the Alliance won’t have anyone on the inside anymore.” He looked unsure.

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. We’ll figure something out.” I stood, and Kai followed me.

  “We’ll be in touch,” I said, walking out of Peter’s apartment and heading back to the scooter.

  Chapter 26

  We motored back to the gate where Ka’Tehm and I had exited the catacombs.

  Kai stood next to the scooter as I tucked my helmet under my arm. He was trying so hard not to look at me, and I was trying equally as hard not to laugh because I knew he wasn’t ever going to be just the field support. I backed up a few steps toward the gate and waited.

  His eyes were on the ground, but I could see the corner of his mouth twitch. I backed up another two steps, leaning my shoulders back and ducking my head to try and catch his gaze.

  A grin spread across his face. “Are you waiting for something?” He asked, finally raising those whisky-colored eyes to mine.

  “Yup.” I backed up another step. “My amazingly charming and gorgeous partner who decided to leave his expensive Italian shoes back at the hotel so he could crawl through tunnels with me.”

  Kai scanned the street and shielded his eyes with a hand. I knew he was checking with Basir to make sure we weren’t being followed. I saw Basir give the all-clear signal, and I turned toward the gate.

  I pulled a rubber ear bulb syringe out of my pocket and blew the powdered spell into the lock. With a whispered word, I sparked the spell and heard the click of the lock disengaging. The gate swung out, and I stepped into the darkness with Kai right behind me. Once I’d relocked the gate, Kai loosened the string on my nylon backpack. Ka’Tehm floated out and shot down the tunnel like a bullet. Kai and I ran behind, and I wasn’t sure which one of us was happier.

  The magical beaver stopped at a junction and floated in the air, bobbing up and down a little. He looked totally relaxed. He pointed to the left, and I heard the click of Idral’s talons on the stone floors.

  “Idral?” I whispered.

  “Thief?” He whispered back, making the darkness all around me vibrate with the sound.

  I sighed. “I didn’t steal it. It’s waiting for you someplace safe like you asked.”

  I heard a sigh of relief.

  “Are you alone, Idral?”

  He sniffed the air. “Not anymore. Who did you bring with you?”

  I rolled my eyes. Even the griffin was a wise guy. “My partner, Kai. The Director of Personnel.”

  “Give me a moment,” Idral said it so low that it was hard to hear.

  “Why are we whispering?” Kai whispered behind me.

  I shrugged. The darkness seemed to shrug as well because it grew and faded just a little bit.

  “That was pretty cool.” Kai laughed. “I’ll have to remember that.”

  I took out my flashlight and flicked it on, watching the beam get absorbed by the darkness. I trailed the beam slowly from left to right, and when I hit the densest patch of darkness, the beam sank in before cutting through the black smoke like a knife.

  Idral stood in the spotlight in all his furred and feathered glory. The crest of feathers on his head was scrunched against the ceiling, and his behind was stuck out at an exaggerated angle. Idral was standing in an approximation of the traditional rampant pose. He was balanced on one hind leg with his front talons clawing at the air and his wings slightly raised.

  It wasn’t completely successful. His face was in profile, but his visible eye was looking back at us so he could bask in our admiration.

  “As far as poses go, I’d give that a 5,” Kai said.

  “Five out of five.” Idral purred, raising his front foot a little higher.

  “No. Five out of ten.” Kai corrected. I tried to elbow him in the ribs, and he dodged sideways.

  “Only five?” Idral sounded horrified and tried to reposition, but the ceiling wasn’t high enough for the full rampant pose immortalized on shields and family crests.

  “It’s not working for you. Try sitting down and looking regal. You know, face forward and raise your beak with a hint of disdain. Play hard to get. Women love that.” Kai winked at me and stepped closer to the griffin. He crossed one arm over his chest and cupped the opposite elbow in his palm. His index finger was against his lips, and his head was tilted to the side in a thoughtful pose of his own as Idral scrambled to rearrange himself.

  Idral did as Kai had instructed, twitching his tasseled tail behind him at the last moment. The griffin’s feathered eyebrows were drawn together, and he turned his beak to the right to give Kai a moment to admire his profile. Kai made a thoughtful sound and rocked back as if trying to view a slightly different angle.

  Idral expanded his spotted chest and lifted his wings away from his shoulders, but there wasn’t enough room to fully unfurl them, so one was crunched against the back wall at an awkward angle.

  “It’s an improvement,” Kai said, holding his hand out flat and tilting it from side to side. “Seven point five.”

  “That’s absurd,” Idral complained.

  “So is a posing griffin, but I wasn’t going to mention that,” Kai replied
, walking toward Idral to get a closer look. Kai reached out and plucked a cobweb off the top of the griffin’s wing. He made a pitying sound, and Idral’s furry shoulders slumped.

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake, Kai.” I groaned. “Don’t tease the griffin.”

  Idral looked at me and puffed out his cheeks, clearly pleased that I had defended him.

  Kai circled behind Idral and stepped gingerly over the still twitching tail. “You are a rather impressive griffin. The tunnel and the lighting don’t do you justice.”

  Idral regarded Kai with suspicion. “Do you mean that?”

  Kai smiled and placed his hand over his chest. “With my whole heart.”

  Idral sniffed at Kai. “You’re human.”

  Kai shrugged.

  “Yet you work for The Organization?” Idral asked. He said it as if it were the most important employer in the entire universe. Idral was going to be disappointed when he figured out the reality of the C.C.O.

  Kai nodded, “As Ari said, I am in charge of recruitment, as well as other things.” He replied, folding his arms in front of him.

  Idral looked at me, and I nodded confirmation.

  “So you will be in charge of my relocation?” Idral seemed to appraise Kai, and I saw the naked hope in his bright eyes.

  “We will have to negotiate that, naturally. International relocations require some planning and preparation on both sides.”

  “International?” Idral’s eyes widened, and he flinched back.

  Kai leaned in and put his hand on the griffin’s shoulder. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have time before you need to decide if you even want the position. Right now, I’m hoping you can help find a nice secluded spot so my partner can talk to Sidaffri while I conduct your interview. Can you do that, Idral?”

  The griffin took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he nodded. “This way.” He turned and headed down a smaller tunnel, ducking his head and folding his wings in tight. Kai and I followed him.

  The alcove that Idral brought us to had a narrow opening and a dirt floor.