by D. R. Rosier
I shook my head bemused, at least I knew why he’d smirked earlier now.
Lisa said, “Not a problem sir.”
“Are there any threats we know about?”
Brent shrugged, “He’s making enemies all over Texas with his new ward system. All I can tell you for sure is that I haven’t put out a hit on him. I know the guy doing wards, or the guy who used to be doing wards in Austin, I don’t think he’s the type but stay alert anyway. Others have tried to kill him, a bunch of times, which is why the government doesn’t want him leaving the house without bodyguards. Assume the worst, hope for the best.”
That made sense, words to live by too.
Brent blew out a breath, “Now, what the hell were you two doing at the vampire council’s building?”
Okay, now I understood his tenseness. I was also pissed off, had he pulled that information off the company car’s GPS? More spying, no doubt for my father. A part of me was grateful for the protection, but there were lines, and privacy, and I was no longer a sixteen-year-old girl headed for a sentence of twenty to life. I’d like to think I had my shit together, and my father didn’t need to know about every time I took a shit.
Lisa shrugged, “Personal business.”
Brent blew out a breath, “Personal? You both walked into a place full of people wanting to kill you.”
Lisa said, “We were attacked again the night before. I had to make an effort to stop it from happening again. We weren’t in any danger, and no one got hurt.”
Brent sighed, “And do you think it was effective?”
Lisa shrugged, “It was about doing the right thing. Now, if more… shall we say, strident measures are required, I won’t feel guilty about it. I couldn’t allow it to go unanswered, that would be suicide. It also has nothing to do with my job, so yes, personal. You did lend us the vehicle to keep us safe right, not to spy on us?”
Brent turned red and looked pissed.
I said, “She has a point boss. We were off the clock, not on a mission, and she’s a vampire. She has every right to visit the city’s council. It’s not your business.”
Except, I was. His business that is, which ate at me. He’d been keeping tabs on me, and no doubt Theo had burned his ears off about his daughter entering the lion’s den so to speak. And in that moment, I hated him more than a little bit, which was sad. I was surer than ever that not telling him about my dragon awakening was the right thing to do.
Brent said, “Perhaps, but it was a foolish stunt.”
Lisa shook her head, “They’re cowards trying to hold onto their power, influence, and lives. They want me at the end of an assassin’s sword or bullet, they are far too young and weak to face me in a challenge. The council didn’t even speak. They’ll either back off, or send more assassins, in which case my response will be appropriate.”
Brent sighed and rubbed his eyes with his hands. I could see he was stressed, but it was his own fault for making oaths on his magic with a dragon.
“Just go, and be careful. Take a VIP vehicle, and pick him up Monday morning at seven A.M.”
We exchanged looks, and got up and walked out. I sighed, it would be easier if I didn’t care, and didn’t feel sorry for his position, even if it was his own damned fault. I did owe him a lot, despite the how and why of his guardianship over me. One more reason it would be a good idea to leave and start fresh, it would take a burden off his shoulders.
We took one of the luxury cars, and then headed home.
Saturday evening, we wound up going out to a club and dancing, while Sunday we stayed home and relaxed. We didn’t have any uninvited guests, but we took that with a grain of salt. We hoped the vampires had backed off, but we didn’t dare depend on it. It was more than possible they were planning our deaths and waiting for the right moment. They couldn’t afford another half-assed assassin attack, not when they knew the results of failure would be us seeking their deaths. Luckily, I didn’t sleep anymore…
Chapter Fifteen
The road trip from Dallas to Austin wasn’t that bad, just three hours down I-35. It was still a long drive, but nothing compared to the road trip all the way down to Corpus Christie. We were up before dawn, showered, dressed for the job, and out the door in time to get to Harold’s by seven.
When I met Harold at the door, I wasn’t all that surprised he was in those silly looking mage robes that made him look like a geek. I was also sure no one was near to us with my siren magic, and my developing shifter senses.
“Good morning.”
He smiled, “Melody.”
I walked him to the car, where he did a walk around while muttering under his breath, obviously checking the wards. I suppressed a snicker, as I remembered the first time we met, and he’d done that to me and Lisa as well.
“They’ll do,” he said absently.
I smirked, and opened the back door to let him inside, and then closed the door and went around to the other side. Lisa took off as soon as my ass was in the seat.
“What’s the itinerary?”
Harold looked over at me, “I’ll set the ward boundaries as soon as we get there, after lunch the mansion should be emptied out, so I can take down the old wards and put up new ones, the governor is already out of town. Then we’ll check into a hotel, and maybe get dinner somewhere? Tomorrow during the day I’ll set the ward boundaries on city hall, and then we’ll have to wait for them to clear the building later that evening. I’ll take down the old, put up my wards between six and seven, and then we’ll head straight home from there.”
He shrugged, “It would make more sense to do it the other way around, so we aren’t stuck driving home late at night, but the governor is due back Tuesday morning and his security doesn’t want him waiting outside on the lawn while we work.”
I grinned, “Understandable.”
I did my best to watch for any problems, or indications of threats, but the rush hour traffic made it almost impossible to pick out a true risk. Once we were clear of the city, and traffic loosened up, it became a little easier.
Harold seemed lost in his notes, so I didn’t bug him with conversation. It was seriously boring, and I gave some thoughts to trying to scry something, but I really couldn’t afford the distraction while on duty. I’d already figured out how to create water over the weekend, that was kind of easy, I just willed it to happen. Healing was something I couldn’t really attempt, since there was no one to heal, and self-healing for a shifter was automatic.
We were about an hour out of the city, a third of the way there, when I looked sadly at my empty travel mug of coffee, and then put it in the cup holder. Just for a distraction I used my enhanced vision and looked down the highway, a dragon’s eyesight was very sharp, for a very long way. I supposed it needed to be, since I was an airborne predator, that would probably never get to fly.
It wasn’t as strong in human form, but with the help of magic it was close.
Lisa and I spoke at the same time.
I said, “There’s a white van on the side of the road a half mile up,” while she said, “There’s also a white van behind us coming up fast.”
Ambush tactics were clear, push through as hard and fast as possible. Ambushes always favored the enemy, by a lot. Maybe the two vans were just a coincidence, but I doubted it, and so did Lisa.
“RPG,” I said in a low calm voice, maybe I was crazy, because all I felt was excitement. It helped though, that the wards on the car could take a RPG or two before failing.
In theory.
I was pushed back into the seat, as the car went from seventy to over a hundred in just a few seconds as she weaved through traffic and onto the left shoulder, then she really poured on the speed.
The guy on the right fired, but the angle was bad and the timing impossible as we passed them almost perpendicularly at a hundred and thirty miles an hour, and the rocket passed behind us. They should have fired sooner, when the angle was more head on. The van chasing us however was right on our tail, and t
heir rocket slammed into trunk and exploded.
Our back wheels came up as we were shoved forward by the explosion, and the car bounced and swerved wildly for a moment, but Lisa regained control. It didn’t look like the car took any damage back there, but the force of the explosion still had an effect. The van on the side of the road was too far behind at that point to be effective, they’d probably expected us to get caught between them.
I imagined being hit from the front and back simultaneously, would have severely strained the wards, if not cracked them open like an egg.
I turned around and looked out the back window, and despite our speed the van was just a couple of hundred feet behind us. One of the men leaned out the side door, it looked like he was strapped in so that he wouldn’t fall out. He also held a new RPG. If I had anything to say about it, he wouldn’t be firing the thing.
I closed my eyes and concentrated hard, and then opened them. The van following us lost all four of its tires in explosive blowouts, and ran off the road. The van spun out in the rough grass, and then tipped over and slid into the large gully between the north and south facing roads.
I snickered, and felt a bit giddy. Maybe I was crazy, but I did enjoy my job.
Harold asked, “What did you do?”
I said, “Nothing, you on the other hand used a spell to create a spiked road strip made of magical ice.”
Harold shook his head, “I see. I’ll keep your secret.”
“Clear, I think. For now.”
Lisa replied, “Agreed, and good thinking. Harold, can you check the integrity of the wards?”
Lisa slowed the car, and pulled back out into traffic, while I called Brent. He could deal with the cops and law enforcement on this one. I hoped the assassins were caught, but I kind of doubted they would be. The second van was fine, and they’d be able to pick up any survivors in the other van long before the cops showed up. Which… probably meant we’d see them again, either later today, or tomorrow.
Harold replied, “Not until we stop and I can circle them from outside. I feel them, and they still feel strong, but that could be a false indicator.”
Lisa shook her head, “We’ll have to wait then, that other van is still behind us, and I don’t want to take chances. We can wait until were in downtown Austin and in front of the governor’s mansion.”
“Agreed.”
To make things even more interesting, were those people there to kill Harold? Or were they there to kill us?
Chapter Sixteen
The governor’s mansion was white, two stories, with six large colonial style columns out front, two of which held flags. One for Texas, the other for the United States. The mansion was twice as deep as it was wide, and looked pristine. There was a very green lawn around it, and several trees.
After listening to the nearby songs of life, I slipped out first and checked the area. I didn’t detect anything with my siren or shifter abilities, which wasn’t really a surprise. If we were to be hit again, I didn’t think it would happen here at the governor’s mansion. Still, it was a good idea to be vigilant, always when on the job.
Lisa got out and made her own assessment, and only when she nodded did I let Harold out of the car. He did a walk around again and grunted.
“The wards are fine, not as strong, but there’s no fraying in the spells. We should be able to take another two or three similar attacks before it becomes a problem.”
I bit my lip to stop a smile. He sounded grudging about it, as if loathe to say anything good about Brent’s wards. We walked over to the door, which was answered by a couple of government agents. They must have been expecting us, because they limited their response to Lisa’s and my weapons, to simply giving us stink eye.
“I’m Agent Brandt, this is Agent Silverton. We’ll be escorting you to the ward points, and later this afternoon to the center of the building. You will not leave our sight at any time, understood?”
I replied, “That won’t be a problem, as long as Mr. Moffett doesn’t leave our sight.”
Silverton replied, “That won’t be an issue, follow me please.”
Silverton led the way, and Brandt waited for us to pass and then followed. It made me itch between my shoulder blades, but I wasn’t going to argue with the governor’s security agents. Nothing happened though, and it took about two and a half hours to complete. With eight ward points at fifteen minutes each, plus walking.
The first four wards went on the roof, in the corners of the stone overhang. The latter four went underground, in the bomb shelter. It was almost one in the afternoon when we finished, so we grabbed a quick lunch, and went right back to the site.
Harold handed us those magical objects that made us a part of the ward, and when everyone else was confirmed to be out of the building he got started. I could only assume the man who built these wards wasn’t as good as Brent, because it took him almost fifty minutes to disassemble the old wards, where Brent’s had only taken thirty.
Harold was sweaty, and he’d obviously ran into quite a few snags.
We took a five-minute break, or at least, Harold did. We were still watching for trouble, but none materialized at the governor’s mansion. Fifteen minutes after that, Harold’s wards were up and running. I admit, his sonorous and confident voice when casting still got me wet, but we were on business, which meant no fucking our charge, or each other for that matter, it would be too hard to protect him that way.
Still, I never imagined it would be harder to resist, now that we had been physical in the past.
After Harold finished up the wards, we went to the Radisson and got a two-bedroom suite instead of two rooms, it would make it easier to guard him that way. I could sit on the couch and read, while Lisa got some time to sleep, and Harold as well. I couldn’t sleep anyway, so it made no sense to make Lisa take a night shift, she’d just give me a half hour break before bed, and another after wakeup so I could shower before we went in to city hall.
Harold sat near the window at the small table in the room, and he furrowed his brow at his notes. We’d be leaving for dinner soon, but Lisa and I were taking showers and changing clothes, not only because of feeling grimy from the drive and the constant tenseness of guarding, but also to give us a little downtime.
“Is there a problem?”
Harold looked up at me, “Austin City hall is a nightmare. The architect went for fancy and pretty, which is nice and all, except when it comes to placing wards. I’m going to have to place at least sixteen ward points to define the barrier, instead of eight. Which means we’ll be in there for at least five, maybe six hours, instead of two and a half. I was expecting that, and they’re paying for the difference, but I’ve been trying to figure out a better way to do it. So far it’s eluding me.”
“So, it’s an all-day job?”
He nodded, “Well knock out half, get lunch, finish up the barrier, then get dinner, then come back and finish up.”
Right, then drive home for three hours, it was going to be a hell of a day. Fourteen hours of vigilance would take a lot out of me. I didn’t need sleep, but I’d need to relax mentally at some point.
Lisa came out, and I took my quick break and took a shower. I tried to let it all go, as the hot water pounded down on my tense shoulders. It wasn’t that bad, I liked my job, but it was important to feel fresh and let things go, or I’d get sloppy later.
I pulled on a clean skin-tight suit of armor, and another woman’s suit. This one a dark red blazer and pants, along with a black blouse. I slipped two-inch black heels on, and then went back out into the room feeling better and far more alert. I’d needed the break, and I wondered if it wouldn’t be a better idea to spend tomorrow night as well, and travel a little fresher.
Probably, but I doubted it would happen. There was some reason he needed to be back in town for early the next morning, although he hadn’t shared what it was.
“Dinner?”
Harold replied, “Steak?”
I nodded, that soun
ded really good actually.
We left the hotel and got into the car.
Lisa said, “Vince Young’s?”
Harold shrugged, “Sure.”
We hit the road and headed in that direction. I kept my eye out, but it was almost a futile kind of thing in a city. Except… if I was always aware of my surroundings, I’d know how to react if something started to go down.
We pulled into the restaurant parking lot, and into a space, and I listened to all the songs around me. I heard something remarkable, it was primal, and sounded mountainous, or like the earth itself. Like a stilled earthquake, which made no sense but was what I felt. It took me a minute to figure out exactly what kind of being I was feeling. In my defense, my own dragon song sounded like the oceans, and it was still in its infancy. I’d also never felt or heard Theo’s, since his fire magic could somehow mask his song from me.
When it finally hit me, what I was hearing, my eyes widened.
“Lisa, get us out of here, now.”
She didn’t ask questions, at least not at first, she pulled out and got on the road and gunned it like the hordes of hell were on our tail.
“What happened?”
I frowned, “Apparently, there’s a dragon with earth magic, that really likes Vince Young’s steak house. Her song sounded ancient, and powerful.”
The last thing I needed was to test the idea that a dragon wouldn’t be able to pick out a half-breed scent. We were in Austin after all, there was more than one high quality steakhouse in town. I might have to risk it someday, but the reason would have to be far more important than surf and turf.
Harold asked, “Do you think she noticed you?”
I shrugged, “No idea. I doubt she’d pick up my scent from a closed car outside a restaurant, but her earth magic…”