A Defender Rises (Magic City Chronicles Book 1)

by TR Cameron

  The next question was how to deal with the situation at the Ebon Dragon. They couldn’t lurk around the place, even with a veil. The establishment was sure to have magical security in addition to the mundane kind, as her family did. However, a train of thought had kicked off with the mask’s discovery and a remembrance of how Five pushed Selina Kyle out the window of a tall building. Height was the key. If they could get to the top of the hotel part of the casino unseen, they could look out for trouble from up there. If she were lucky, they’d have a way to watch from the inside, as well.

  She grabbed the snoring Idryll and created a portal to the garage near the house she shared with her roommates. She rushed in, dumped the cat on the bed, then texted Demetrius to see if he was free. He told her he’d be good in an hour, so she used the time to make some food for herself and Idryll, who took it as a peace offering while refusing to talk to her. Ruby observed, “You know, silence is nice. I could get used to this.” The cat glared at her but didn’t rise to the bait.

  At the appointed time, she went down to the dining room and found him waiting. She asked, “Do I correctly remember you saying you’d done a job for the folks at the Ebon Dragon?”

  He nodded. “Lots of them. I worked there before I went out on my own. Why?” Suspicion colored his question.

  “I need a favor, and I need you to trust me on this.”

  “Is it going to get me into trouble?”

  She sighed. “I wish I could say absolutely not, but I guess there’s always a possibility. Depends on how good you are and on how bad things go.”

  He grinned. “Oh, I’m very good. What bad things are you thinking of?”

  Ruby drummed her fingers on the table. “I think you’d be better off not knowing. In case of the bad things.”

  Demetrius shook his head. “No way. One thing you learn right off the bat in the infomancy business is that you don’t do blind jobs. Tell me what’s up, or no dice. Not even for a roommate.”

  Damn and double damn. She was deliberately trying to limit the risk to others, but here she was about to put her roommate directly into the middle of her plans. Yet, there’s no way around it if I’m going to have eyes inside and outside. “Okay. I’m only telling you the minor details.”

  He shrugged. “Tell me what you can, and we’ll see if it’s enough.” She sensed a slight distance that hadn’t been there before. It caused a twinge somewhere near her heart, but she pressed on.

  “Okay. Here’s the thing. I got a tip that something bad is going down at the Ebon Dragon tonight. I don’t want to share the source,” since it involves criminal activity, she tacked on mentally, “but I have great faith in this information’s reliability.”

  “Continue.” He’d closed his eyes and seemed to be concentrating all his attention on listening.

  “I can only keep watch on the outside or the inside. I figure security’s going to be lighter on the outside, so I’ll put my focus there. I still need a way to be sure that nothing weird is going on inside. The best way I know to do that would be access to the cameras.”

  He sighed. “That’s so illegal.”

  Ruby spread her hands wide on the table. “Yeah, I know. I don’t have anything else I can do.”

  “Maybe warn the casino? Warn the police?”

  She scratched the back of her neck, which itched like someone was using it as a target. “Yeah, about that. I was in there today trying to be sure that no one had planted explosives, and I got what you might call a frosty welcome.”

  “Casino security?”

  “The manager. Plus some dude from the Reno PDA.”

  Demetrius sat straighter at that revelation. “Shit. Really?”

  Ruby nodded. “Really, really. That’s why if something happens there tonight, I’m screwed whether I’m there or not. They’ll try to blame me no matter what the truth is. On Caruthers’ part, causing chaos for the owners of another casino is a win in itself.”

  He shook his head. “Okay. I get it. What do you plan to do if you see something?”

  “Depends on what it is. If it’s small enough, I’ll stop it. If it’s not, I’ll call in a tip and be sure to show up somewhere so I can have an alibi.”

  “This is stupid.”

  She laughed darkly. “I know. I don’t have a better idea. Do you?”

  He paused for almost a full minute, and she could tell that he was thinking furiously about the problem. Finally, he sighed and confirmed, “No, I don’t. Here’s what I’ll do. I can probably get into the system and see the cameras with a reasonable deniability level by putting a work order into their lower-security billing system. There’s no way I’ll be able to do more than view it, and I certainly don’t want to be seen sending it anywhere.”

  “So, what does that mean?”

  He grinned. “It means I’m your guy in the chair.”

  Ruby frowned. “What?”

  Demetrius rolled his eyes. “Are you telling me that you didn’t see Spider-Man: Homecoming? I’m losing a hell of a lot of respect for you right now, Ruby. The guy in the chair, who helps out the person in the field.”

  “Ahh, gotcha. Yes, good. How will we communicate?”

  “Burner phones. If you tell me that you don’t know what they are, I’m done with you.”

  She laughed. “I’ve seen all the Jason Bourne movies. I know what you mean.”

  “Good. Then go get some, and I’ll see about organizing this.”

  She returned to her room and told Idryll, “Going out. Back soon. Buying phones.”

  The cat looked at her like she was crazy. Yeah, kitty, you could be right. Except if I’m crazy, why do I feel so good about doing this?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The burner phone rested in Ruby’s pocket, its twin safely back at the house with Demetrius. She wouldn’t connect to him until she was in position. Her plan to accomplish that had seemed reasonable when she’d come up with it earlier, but now, standing on the roof of the hotel that served Spirit’s casino, she thought maybe she’d been a little optimistic.

  Or, as Idryll had observed, “Incredibly stupid.” She’d followed that observation up with an equally judgmental question. “Do you have a death wish?”

  Ruby had snapped, “Only if it involves yours,” and stomped off. They’d portaled to the office, then made their way into the hotel area. She had access to anywhere in the facility by virtue of the Owner’s Key, a credit card-sized credential that would unlock any door and control any elevator. In this case it was the freight lift, which had carried them up to the top of the tall structure. Her partner had hidden in her backpack in a kitten version of the Bengal, seemingly thoroughly disgruntled about doing so.

  The first order of business now that Idryll had dashed around to confirm they were alone was to change into her costume. The wind at this elevation blew a chill night breeze, and she shivered as she slipped on the leather pants and the boots, then tucked in the tunic, making sure to pull it down over her wrists. If I replace this sometime, I’ll need to add something to keep it in position, like a finger loop, maybe. The chain belt went next, then the red leather jacket. The final clothing item had a few pockets. She stuffed several potentially useful toys into them before pushing the backpack into a corner beside some equipment, where it should be safe until she could retrieve it.

  She tugged on her mask and made sure to properly tuck any loose strands of her hair underneath so they couldn’t give her away. Then she tossed one of the other Halloween costumes she’d brought to Idryll, who hissed at it and let it drop to the roof. The tiger-woman said, “I will not.”

  Ruby shrugged. “If you’re coming with me, you have to. We can’t risk anyone seeing you. Besides, it’s a catsuit. Cat suit. Get it? It’s perfect.” It was Emma Peel’s version from the non-Marvel Avengers, with the black mask of one of her brother’s superhero costumes from long before.

  “Anyone who sees me, I’ll simply kill. Problem solved.”

  She snorted. “In an age of ce
ll phones, drones, surveillance, and who knows what else, we can’t rely on that. Plus, you know, they put people in jail forever for that sort of thing.” In a more serious tone, she coaxed, “Idryll, please. We’ll find a better way later. It’s twenty minutes until the time they set. We can’t delay.”

  The tiger woman growled as she bent to pick up the outfit. “You owe me for this. Big.”

  “Biggest ball of yarn ever. Promise.” The look she received in return for that comment convinced her it was time to stop needling the shapeshifter. Instead, she walked to the edge of the roof and looked down at the top of the Ebon Dragon’s hotel, about three hundred feet away and fifteen stories down, and the wizards’ and witches’ casino many stories below that. This would be so much easier if I didn’t suck at portals. Ruby wasn’t particularly afraid of heights, but she couldn’t claim to be comfortable looking at the potential drop if she screwed up.

  So don’t screw up. She built up the picture in her mind, saw the object materialize, and imagined them using it to cross the intervening space to the other building. Once they got there, they’d connect with Demetrius, who was hopefully watching the interior by now.

  Her partner stepped beside her and looked down, then shook her head. “Are you sure you want to do this? Is it so important to you?”

  Ruby had asked herself that a dozen times already in the last hour, and the answer always came up the same. “It’s important for everyone. The bad people can’t hurt innocents and get away with it. If the good people of the city don’t stand against it, who will? If no one does, what then? Law of the Jungle? Hell no, not in my town.”

  Idryll shrugged. “Well, I’m in your stupid costume. Let’s do it then.”

  A glance over showed her that the tiger-woman was indeed dressed and looked way better in the catsuit than Ruby had when she’d worn it. Jerk. “Okay. Here goes.” She summoned her magic, let it build inside her until she had enough of it to extend the bridge at least halfway across, then released it. A semicircular tube of force reached out, angling down toward the roof of the Ebon Dragon’s hotel. Unlike blasts of magic or simple spells, she would have to hold this one and add to it, which required her to keep it fixed in her mind.

  Before she could think about it too much, she jumped in and started to slide. She kept her eyes on the end of it, adding more length to the tube as they slid, increasing the pace as their speed built. Behind her, Idryll shouted with excitement, something between a roar and a “whee!” This would be fun if not for the need to keep it from vanishing underneath us. The idea made their support wobble a little, and she quickly snapped her brain back to proper focus.

  They rocketed forward faster than she’d anticipated, but she didn’t have the bandwidth to do anything except add a gentle curve into the route. Not enough to throw them off the edge but enough to induce some drag on their momentum. It wasn’t until they were only forty feet away that she saw the figures on the roof. They were dressed in black and numbered at least a dozen. The first ones went over the edge while she watched, apparently on ropes by the way they moved.

  She turned her head to warn her partner, but the tiger-woman said, “I see them. Get us to the roof. We can deal with them after.” Ruby whispered a small prayer to the universe that no one would look in their direction and see her bright red coat sliding through the air toward them. She’d aimed the slide at the point where they’d have the greatest distance to stop before smashing into anything, which lay on the opposite side of the surface from where the black-suited figures dropped over the edge.

  Ruby called, “They’re probably going down for the casino roof from there. Weird as it is, it might be easier to stay hidden that way than if they’d tried to go up from the ground.” She estimated they faced mainly or entirely non-magicals since a magical could probably veil and make it up to the casino roof from ground level with ease. Well, that’s one advantage, I guess. Her boots failed to find purchase as she hit the gravel-and-tar surface, and she let herself fall into a slide. Idryll, on the other hand, found her balance immediately and moved to attack.

  The trip down the magical slide had been exhilarating for multiple reasons. First, obviously, because it was fast and fun and a little dangerous. Second, and more importantly, because it showed that her new Mist Elf partner had power. It wasn’t a novice trick to accomplish something on that scale, and even less so to do it while using it. She’d seen a glimmer of that talent in the security company break-in, but this was far more.

  Of course, she’d had enough faith to trust her life to that talent, so survival alone might be part of what made her feel so great at the moment. She had enemies to deal with in any case and didn’t intend to be as gentle with them as she had the others. She had no doubt that these people were up to no good and hoped Ruby saw it, too.

  Seven individuals stood on the roof. Two were separated from the rest, off by a piece of metallic equipment that dwarfed them both. She’d leave them to her partner. The rest appeared to be preparing to descend or helping others to do so, or whatever. Her first leap had given her a good view of the situation before another giant hunk of metal that did who-knew-what interposed itself in her vision. She hit the roof and leapt again, this time at a slightly changed angle. It would throw off their aim if she’d been spotted and also land her behind the ones farther from the edge.

  They saw her as she cleared the obstacle, and shots rang out. She twisted in mid-air to avoid the attacks and landed perfectly balanced behind one of the men, who was only halfway through his turn toward where he’d anticipated she’d land. She lashed out in a kick that propelled him forward, smashing him into one nearer to the edge and sending them both over, locked in one another’s arms. A scream abruptly cut off as she went after the other three.

  She slithered in, staying low and shifting from side to side to hinder their aim. Bullets slapped off the surrounding surface, and one grazed her arm, ripping through the thin costume and drawing blood. Idryll snarled as she lashed out at the one who had shot her, retracting the claws that had reflexively extended before her hand impacted his face. The punch was strong enough to flip him around as he fell, twining him in the line that she now saw ran through some sort of attachment on a harness he wore. The two that remained shot at her a few more times, but she was already diving away into a handspring that would bring her to the one on the right. She’d intended to kick him, but instead of taking the blow, he simply jumped backward off the roof.

  The other man lifted his gun with a confident smile full of malice, and she knew she had no chance of reaching him before he shot her. So, she did the only thing she could, and leapt off the roof as well.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ruby closed the distance to her duo at a fast shuffle. They hadn’t seen her and appeared to be intent on whatever task they had in mind. A clank accompanied the removal of a large grate, and the opening beyond was clearly part of the building’s HVAC system. She’d had to learn how facilities operated for the family business and recognized the unit as identical to the ones on Spirit’s roof.

  She wondered if they’d be stupid enough to crawl into the ductwork, like in the movies, but instead they threaded a hose down into it, and fear shot through her. Some kind of poison gas into the hotel? Or maybe explosives? That’s…insane. Ruby had wrapped her mind around the idea that, for business reasons, a little collateral damage like the lives lost at the Mist might make sense in someone’s demented imagination. But she couldn’t, just couldn’t, imagine what would make whatever this pair might be up to okay.

  Her instinct was to blast them with force or fire, but both of those were pretty high on the lethal scale. She grabbed one of the globes Margrave had created for her, which had sound, light, and smoke all contained within a glass shell and hurled it at their feet. It went off, causing them both to shout, flinch away, and most importantly, drop what they were doing. She channeled her rush forward into a stiff arm that slammed into the back of the first one’s head, ramming him face-fi
rst into the aluminum side of the HVAC vent. It buckled, which probably saved the man from having all the bones in his skull broken.

  The second one was quick, going for a gun in a shoulder holster at her appearance. He managed to free it before her crescent kick smashed it out of his hand and down the HVAC shaft. The move left him wide open, a veritable buffet of attack points, but she was in a hurry. She snapped a foot up into his groin and rammed an uprising knee into his face as he buckled from the first strike. He went down, moaning. Ruby caught motion in her peripheral vision and suppressed a scream as Idryll dropped over the edge. She did it on purpose. I’m sure she has a reason. She’s a cat. She can probably magically fall from whatever height and still land on her feet.

  She bent to the metal canisters lying on the rooftop with hoses attached, both of which had several hazard stickers on them. Damn it. What the hell am I supposed to do with these? She couldn’t leave them and the two men up here for fear of what they might do but also wanted to be sure the evidence remained with them. Damn, damn, damn. She stalked the roof, looking for options. Ultimately, the best she could come up with was to take off her chain belt and use it to bind the men’s hands behind them and to one another, then loop it around one of the many pipes that stuck out of the roof. A focused application of fire magic melted it into place. Hopefully, that’ll hold. She flipped open the burner phone and dialed.