by TR Cameron
“How long have you been here?” she asked as they left the abbey and entered the other building.
“About a year ago, I was thinking about joining the military or going to college, but I decided I needed some time to think about my future before deciding. I’d heard about the abbey from friends who had volunteered their efforts much like Daphne and figured I’d take a look. I’ve been here ever since.” He stopped talking as they reached an older man in a more threadbare robe with snowy hair that fell past his shoulders and a matching close-trimmed beard and mustache. “This is Abbot Thomas.”
Ruby introduced herself and her partner and observed, “Pretty impressive place. Are you the brewmaster?”
The older man laughed, and the joy that spilled out of him immediately made all her worries seem lighter. “Well, I’m in charge of the abbey, but when it comes to brewing, I like to think of myself as ‘first-taster’ rather than brewmaster. I don’t know how to do all the things, but I’m pretty clear on what tastes good and what doesn’t.”
Daniel offered, “They delivered a package from Daphne.”
Thomas nodded. “Ah, that woman is a treasure. She’s helped us with our efforts to serve the community since she was a little girl. We’re very lucky to know her.”
Ruby asked, “What sort of efforts?”
He smiled at Daniel. “Thank you. I’ll take them from here.” The other man took the dismissal with perfect grace and faded back the way they came. “Daniel is particularly busy today since he’s part of the cooking team for the evening meal. To answer your question, we help people in need, any need they may have. Sometimes it’s monetary. Sometimes it’s food, and sometimes it’s a place to stay until they sort something out with their families. Whatever needs doing, we do.”
Idryll asked, “So, you’re a sanctuary?”
He spread his hands to the sides. “We’re a little of everything. Yes, in the classic sense, we would shelter those who are in danger.”
Ruby felt the rightness of the place down to her bones and wondered if some magic might be bound up in their commitment to goodwill. Who knows, maybe the local magical community has added its efforts, with permission or not, to help the abbey along. She clapped her hands together. “Well, Abbot Thomas, we don’t have time to stay right now. I guarantee you’ll see more of us in the future. We believe in helping others, too.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The towering hotel attached to the Ebon Dragon rose in the background of the casino itself, which was several stories high and wrapped in the clutches of its namesake lizard, the chin resting on the roof and the eyes closed as if sleeping. Those eyes opened and looked around at various times of the day, part of a show for the tourists. It was technology, not magic, but worth seeing at least once.
Ruby and Idryll wandered a slow path around the exterior, acquainting themselves with the space while also looking for potential vulnerabilities. They quietly chatted as they did so, but they hadn’t come up with anything interesting when they finished the walk. They’d attracted their share of stares, whether because of the tiger-woman’s orange, gold, and black mane or because of her white-blond hair, she couldn’t tell. Those were the most likely things to draw attention since their clothes were basic and the pair weren’t directly interacting with anyone.
Ruby asked, “Seen enough of the outside?”
Idryll nodded. “No clear vulnerabilities out here. I don’t sense any hostile magic in use.”
She put asking about the extent of that ability on her to-do list and opened the door, waving the other woman inside. Ruby followed her across the threshold and into the interior. The casino had redone it since her last visit. Before, it was meant to look like the dragon’s hoard, with gold, silver, and gems on all the surfaces. She’d thought it appropriate but tacky. Of course, sometimes the line between the two was so thin as to be imaginary in casinos. Now, it was all done up in dragon’s scales, far more elegant. Some were black, others deep red, and many had a beautiful iridescent sheen. She whistled softly. “Damn, they’ve made some upgrades. I wonder what my parents think of this.” Spirit had long been one of the most fashionable spots on the Magic City Strip, but this would challenge that crown.
They made a slow transit of the interior, Ruby leading the way and running interference as the tiger-woman did whatever it was she did to sense magic. When they’d finished their circuit, they stopped in a small Starbucks café in the casino’s restaurant area. She luxuriated in a flat white with a shot of vanilla. Idryll sniffed it, pronounced it “improved but still repulsive,” and refused to try it.
“Heathen,” Ruby countered and took a deep drink, burning her tongue in the effort to show up her partner. “Damn it to hell.” Again, the expression on Idryll’s face conveyed the sort of humor that a predator might have watching its prey struggle. “Okay. So, it doesn’t look like there’s any danger at hand to me. Do you agree?”
The other woman nodded. “Not in this area, anyway.”
She was about to ask if they should stay and keep an eye on the place until the time marked on the sheet when a shadow fell across the table. She looked up to find two members of casino security staring down at her. They appeared to be human and wore matching dark suits with dragon pins on the lapels. The jewelry had red eyes, signifying their role at the establishment. Blue was customer assistance, green for dealers and pit bosses, and yellow for management. Every casino had a similar system, and her brain always catalogued it automatically when she encountered it. “Something we can do for you, gentlemen?” Their suits weren’t cut well enough to hide the holsters under the jackets. Probably tasers, but given what happened at the Mist, maybe not.
They both looked alike, musclebound with short hair and hard eyes. The one on the right, who was notable only because his hair was darker than the other’s, nodded. “The casino manager would like a word, Miss Achera.”
Outwardly, she nodded and rose. “Lead the way.” Inwardly, she cursed her luck. What the hell am I going to say? “Hey, someone’s planning to attack your place, but it’s not me, and no, I can’t tell you how I know.” Why does trying to be helpful have to be so damn difficult?
She hadn’t met the casino manager before, but she knew the type. Rosalind Caruthers was undoubtedly a witch, despite appearing utterly human in her navy business suit and black blouse. The skirt was cut above the knees to reveal strong legs and expensive shoes. Her dragon pin had diamond eyes and was likely unique, given her position. She’d risen from behind the desk in her luxurious office, exchanged handshakes with each of them, and gestured them to a couch that sat across the room by the windows. They were high up in the hotel tower, a corner suite a few floors down from the top.
Caruthers took her seat in a chair at a ninety-degree angle to the couch and accepted a glass of seltzer and ice from an assistant. The assistant then set coasters and additional glasses of the same on the wooden table in front of the seats. “So,” the executive asked, “to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the Achera family?”
Ruby leaned forward and sipped the drink, which was as delicious and refreshing as one would expect. “I’m not here on behalf of my family or anything. A friend came to town unexpectedly, and I’m showing her around. Of course, I had to bring her to the Ebon Dragon.”
“Of course,” the witch agreed with a smile that looked the tiniest bit fake on her lips. “Naturally, our security is a little touchy right now, and on the lookout for people who appear to be doing more looking around than gaming.”
“Surely you’re not suggesting I had something to do with the events at the Mist?”
The fake part of the smile vanished, leaving a real one. “Oh, I’m aware that you had something to do with it, Miss Achera. I’ve seen the video.”
Ruby cringed, waiting for her to reveal something more, but nothing came. “Well then, you certainly can’t believe I had anything to do with the bastards who tried to rob the place.”
“Nor those who tried to blow
it up, I would imagine. Yet here you are, checking out my casino only a couple of days later.”
Idryll interjected, “It’s quite beautiful. I was glad to have a tour of it.”
Caruthers’s gaze swiveled toward the other woman, and she offered thanks for the compliment. Then she asked, “Where are you from?”
The tiger-woman laughed. “Somewhere far from here. New York.” It’s what Ruby had told her to answer if the question ever came up, and she was pleased to see her advice followed.
The executive’s eyes shifted back to Ruby, then to her assistant as the door to the suite opened. She nodded. “I’m only the appetizer for this meeting, so I’ll take my leave. It was wonderful to meet both of you. If you decide to visit the Ebon Dragon again, please make yourselves known to any of the staff, and I’ll stake you at the tables.”
She rose and left without waiting for their answer, exchanging nods with a man in a grey suit, white shirt, and dark blue tie. He took the chair she’d vacated but didn’t relax into it. He sat on the edge with a rigid spine and a serious expression. “Miss Ruby Achera. Who’s your friend?”
The imperious attitude coming off the man set her immediately at odds with him. “Her name’s Idryll. Who the hell are you?”
He offered a thin smile and dipped his hand into an inside pocket, and pulled out an identification card that read “Paul Andrews, Paranormal Defense Agency.” She handed it back. “Reno or Vegas?”
“Reno.”
“Ah. I’m sorry. Must be a pain being the little office all the time.”
He chuckled without mirth. “You’d be surprised. A lot of scumbags think the rest of Nevada is a safe place to operate.” His eyes didn’t leave hers.
She sipped her seltzer, delaying long enough to be sure he knew that she was doing it to be annoying, then set it down. “Are you suggesting I’m one of those scumbags, Agent Andrews? You’re aware of who I am, which should make such a thing obviously ludicrous.”
He shrugged. “It’s astonishing what some people will do for money, right up to and including trying to take out the competition with more direct means than simple business tactics.”
Ruby chuckled. “All’s fair in love, war, and business, is that what you think? Sorry to disappoint you, but the family’s doing fine, Spirit is doing fine, and we had neither motive nor opportunity to pull off the action at the Mist.”
“But you most certainly had the means. You have a degree in magical engineering, correct?”
“I do. I heard a rumor the explosive devices were partially magical. However, I assure you that even if I wanted to do such a thing, which I don’t, I have zero experience with that sort of combination. You can feel free to check with my professors on that score.”
He nodded. “We already did. Still, who knows? You might have been freelancing on the side, building up your skills.”
Ruby sighed. “Now you’re fishing. While this conversation has been nothing short of delightful, Agent, unless you have a piece of paper to show that gives you the right to detain us, my friend and I have other casinos to visit.”
“To scout out, you mean.”
She stood, and he did too, a little too fast for comfort. Probably a physical intimidation trick he picked up somewhere. Wonder how he’d react to a kick in the crotch. She stared into his eyes, making sure he saw that she wasn’t impressed. “You can use whatever words you like. It doesn’t change the fact that we’ve done nothing against the law and aren’t going to do anything against the law. Perhaps you should spend your time looking for the real culprits.”
“I have plenty of time Miss Achera, to be sure I take a good long look at anyone who might be involved.”
She walked toward the door while pulling Idryll along with her by the arm. “Enjoy your time in Magic City, Agent.”
The encounter had left Ruby shaky, and she found a seat out in the sun where she and Idryll could talk. The number of tourists wandering the Strip wasn’t near Vegas numbers, but there were a lot of them, mostly magical. She wished for some sort of James Bond communication earpiece so they could chat without being seen talking and made a mental note to discuss it with Margrave. She ventured, “I’m concerned.”
Idryll nodded. “If I were you, I would be about a great many things. To which do you refer?”
“Being noticed. I don’t like the idea that my actions could blow back on my family.”
“Or your roommates.”
A trill of fear rippled through her. “Yeah, them too. Or you, although you can take care of yourself against most threats.”
She nodded and hissed softly at a dog being walked along the opposite side of the large thoroughfare. “What is this Paranormal Defense Agency?” She said the words as though they were quite foreign to her.
“A government department that watches out for magical threats.”
“He thinks you’re one? And didn’t notice that I am one? That one is not very good at his job.”
Ruby couldn’t help but laugh. “They’re thinking of threats on a larger scale. What happened at the Mist wouldn’t normally be big enough to draw their attention.” She paused as the pieces fell into place. “Which means they think it’s part of something bigger, too. Something magical. That kind of argues against the security companies, since the ones here are all run by humans, as far as I know.”
Idryll shrugged. “It seems as if the only way to figure it out is to be here tonight at two-two-zero-zero.”
“Twenty-two-hundred,” she corrected automatically. “We’re missing something here. I can feel it. Let’s go back to my parents’ place, have a nap, and think it over. I agree. Tonight we have to be here, and between now and then we also have to figure out how to make sure that Agent Andrews doesn’t know we’ve returned.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
They’d dropped through the shaft in the back of the nearest casino, which Idryll had loved. Ruby had used her magic to cushion the other’s descent, but the tiger-woman assured her that now that she knew how it worked, she’d be able to handle it on her own from then on. She shrank to her Bengal form, and Ruby rigged a sling with the clothes she’d worn to keep her hands free. No way would a self-respecting cat walk through the kemana like some common creature.
Matthias greeted them and delivered a bowl of chicken and another of water to her room shortly after they got up there. The cat dove greedily into the food while Ruby snuggled under the covers, sternly promising her brain that if it didn’t figure some stuff out while she was asleep, there would be trouble between them.
Miracle of miracles, she had identified some paths forward when she woke up a couple of hours later. She slapped the off button on the old-school windup alarm clock, which she depended on because only magically assisted technology would function in the kemana, and that not completely reliably. She resisted petting Idryll, who slept on the bed in cat form, then went and took a decadent shower, washing and conditioning her hair twice before turning the showerhead to massage and standing under the pounding flow of water for as long as she could stand it.
Ruby came out, dressed quickly, and pointed at the cat. “I have to go through some boxes. Staying here or coming with?” Idryll yawned, stretched, and rolled over to face the wall, providing her answer quite clearly. “Fine. Be that way.” I’ll go into the spooky attic by myself. Thanks for nothing, “partner.”
In truth, the attic was entirely unexciting. It was clean and well-organized and only a little colder than the rest of the house. Staying warm was sometimes a challenge in the underground city since many people used individual magic to keep themselves toasty, and she generally couldn’t. Here, with no one to see her, she let her disguise fade and wrapped herself in a force shield filled with air warmed by a very gentle application of fire magic.
She walked through the stacked plastic crates until she spotted the one she sought. One of her favorite holidays, and one of the most popular in the kemana, was Halloween. Since she was allegedly human, physical costumes had b
een required, rather than illusion. At the time it had been annoying, but she’d gotten good at doing makeup, both subtle and dramatic, which had made her a hit during Halloween parties at the university. It has to be here somewhere. She dug through costumes until she found what she was looking for, part of an outfit she’d worn as a teenager. It was a Catwoman mask from the Michelle Pfeiffer movie, black with white stitching. It covered more of the face than the film version but left the eyes, mouth, and chin free. Most importantly, it covered her hair and ears, which would permit her to use magic without giving away her secret.
She took her treasure back to the bedroom and showed it to Idryll. The cat yawned, rolled over, and went to sleep, clearly unimpressed. “Yeah, whatever, you suck. Now, let’s see what else I can come up with so no one recognizes me tonight.”
She would have to be satisfied with what was readily available, knowing that if tonight didn’t give her the answers she needed, she’d have to figure out something better. There wasn’t time to do it now. All that mattered was that if anyone saw her, no one connected the woman in the mask to Ruby Achera. She picked up the black tactical pants she’d worn at the security company and set them aside. No, they might make that connection. So, no tactical pants and no hooded sweatshirt. What, then? She strode into the walk-in closet that held clothes she hadn’t taken to school with her the past year. She spotted a good option immediately, an outfit she’d bought for a club night party. Black leather pants, a thick-link silver chain belt, and the tight long-sleeved tunic would hide her tattoos. She took the items back into the bedroom and shoved them in a bag so no one would see her with them in the house.
Needs one more thing, though. I can’t wear mine, because people have seen me in it. She crept down the hall to her sister’s room and put her ear to the door. Hearing nothing, she snuck inside and invaded her closet. She remembered a particular jacket that she’d loved and pawed through Morrigan’s clothes until she found it. It was bright red leather, thigh-length, with an offset zipper that went all the way up to the standing collar. It wouldn’t be subtle, but it was also something that Ruby would never think of wearing, normally. Since her sister would have an alibi, no one could accuse her if someone recognized it. Win-win-win. Jackpot.