by TR Cameron
She strode forward to meet him, increasing her transformation to strengthen her muscles further. She loved fighting the giant creatures and considered them a worthy rival in a way that most other magicals and humans weren’t.
The Kilomea recognized her as a threat. His approach turned cautious, and he was careful not to overreach as he sliced at her with the axes. She batted the first blows aside contemptuously, her speed now near its maximum potential. The blocks left an opening, and she slid in and slammed his chest with her shoulder, knocking him back a couple of steps. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug, with her body still perpendicular to his.
He smashed his forehead in at her ear, and she jerked her head away in time to take the brunt of the impact on her collarbone. It withstood the blow without cracking, something she was sure it wouldn’t have done in her normal humanoid form. She couldn’t move a lot, but he’d foolishly left a vulnerable spot unprotected.
She whipped a quick hammer fist into his groin, then snarled in frustration as it impacted some sort of metal armor. The Kilomea laughed and squeezed harder. Idryll found his grin entirely annoying. “As much as I’d like to play with you, I don’t have the time right now.”
She transformed into a tiger, jumped up, and turned in the small amount of free space the shape change provided. All four sets of claws raked her foe. He fell back with a harsh bellow of pain, and she twisted to land on her feet.
The mask on its elastic strap was still in place, and her equipment belt had released when she transformed. She leapt at him, and he dropped onto his back to allow her to pass overhead, lifting both axes so she’d slice herself on them as she crossed.
A quick change into her house cat form carried her up and over the weapons, the momentum of her bigger body easily sending her smaller one higher and farther. She was back in tiger form by the time she landed and spun to charge him. He tried to scramble to his feet, but she caught him in the middle of his rise and slammed bodily into him.
He crashed against the wall with the sound of at least one breaking bone, and she raced forward to bite the forearm of the hand that still held a weapon. She savaged the limb, wrenching it back and forth, cutting muscles and tendons. When she finished, he was clearly out of the fight.
Idryll transformed back into her humanoid form, secured her fallen mask and equipment belt, and threw the medical pouch from her belt down to the wounded Kilomea. “Better stop the bleeding, or you won’t be around to see how your gang crumbles.”
Ruby focused on fighting with her sword, using her off-hand alternately to shield and cast offensive magic. She was careful to strike with the flat of the blade and to cut in nonfatal areas. It was a difficult line to walk, given how many enemies were present. Some of those who’d gone down in the initial barrage were climbing back to their feet, and she hoped they’d have the good sense to run rather than continue to fight.
That thought led to another. “We need to keep a few of these jerks around for questioning. I haven’t seen the leader, have you?” The others replied in the negative, and Ruby shook her head. “Maybe one of these chuckleheads knows where he is. We have to finish them fast.”
Morrigan replied, “On it.”
Idryll said, “Less talking, more fighting, fearless leader.”
Ruby snorted and took down a dwarf with a blast of force magic that smashed him into the gnome next to him. While they were both dazed, she tapped them with the stun knuckles, knocking them out. She’d already expended three darts and fired two more in rapid succession at an approaching Kilomea. He managed to deflect the first with his giant club—is that a cricket bat?—but the second lodged in his cheek. He looked annoyed, then confused, and fell.
She cast a veil and ran for cover, then hit the slide to pop up her reloads. She inserted them into the dart gun’s chambers through the cleverly hinged back that allowed the dart to slide through in one direction but prevented it from slipping back out afterward. Margrave, you’re a genius.
A body bumped into her back, and she spun to exchange blows with an angry-faced female elf. She looks like a true believer to me, unlike a lot of these folks. Ruby hit her in the face with a back fist, then kicked her legs out from underneath her, causing her to drop the large knife she’d gripped. A dart into her bare arm sent the elf off to dreamland.
A blast of fire washed over her, and she turned toward the source. Her shields held against the magic, and when it stopped, she was entirely shocked to see her roommate, Shiannor, standing in front of her.
She redirected her reflexive sword slash so it would miss him, then nailed him with a dart as well. She didn’t have time to wonder at his presence there, other than to think that maybe the elf chick she’d dropped just before had been the mysterious girlfriend Liam had mentioned. I can’t imagine another explanation for his being here unless he’s been completely dishonest about who he is.
She and her team fought for several more minutes, making sure they had subdued everyone who wasn’t smart enough to run away. Finally, about a dozen of the Drow’s minions were seated or lying in a circle, back to back, and Morrigan was above on overwatch with an arrow nocked. Ruby explained that anyone who even thought about standing would wind up dead from the sudden manifestation of an arrowhead in a vital location, and the fight went out of their opponents.
She kicked a dwarf in the foot. “Hey, where’s your boss?” He swore at her, and Ruby sighed. Idryll tried another with no more success. Then Ruby had a thought. “Kitty cat, drag one over to that corner and see if you can persuade him to talk. I’ll take this one and do the same.” She grabbed Shiannor by his shirt, dragged him to his feet, and threw him toward the opposite side of the warehouse.
He took a clumsy swing at her as they neared their destination. She ducked it and pushed him hard enough that he slammed back against the wall with a groan. Sorry, Shia, but you put yourself into this situation voluntarily.
She got right up in his face and growled hoarsely, “I recognize you. You’re the one I’ve seen at the Grinding Axes with the dwarf and the witch. I wonder if your friends over there on the ground know you hang out with a human voluntarily. I wonder what they’d do to you and your bar friends if they found out.”
He paled, and his eyes shifted to the group Morrigan was guarding. Ruby wondered if he was looking at his girlfriend but didn’t glance over to check. “You have two options. Option one, you go to jail, where the dwarf, the witch, the human, and the other guy that hangs out with you will join you. Accomplices, people of interest, whatever. Their lives will never be the same, and it will be all your fault.”
His cringe was satisfying. She continued, “Or, you tell me where your boss is, and you maybe manage to escape from here before the sheriff arrives to arrest you and your friends. Your choice, make it right now.”
Shiannor’s face crumpled as she watched. “He left just before you got here. Headed for Darkest Night.”
She patted him on the shoulder. “Good choice. Don’t let me find you hanging with this crowd again, or it’ll be option one.”
Morrigan, who’d been listening in over the comm, said, “Well, now we’re screwed. We can’t barrel into a casino like this.”
Ruby ran over, launched Idryll up when the tiger-woman joined her, then force-boosted herself up through the skylight to land cleanly on the roof. “Believe it or not, I have a plan.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
It felt weird walking into the Darkest Night casino wearing her natural Mist Elf features. She’d returned to the bunker to quick-change, throwing on the jeans and t-shirt she’d worn earlier in the day, and carried only her purse, which held nothing suspicious. Her sole magic item was the illusion pendant she’d always worn to help with her human disguise, which had proven to be virtually undetectable. The others had argued against the plan, but they couldn’t enter in costume, and her sister was immediately recognizable.
She had little doubt that the magic sensors at the casino entranc
e would be able to detect a complex disguise since security had been upgraded yet again in most of the casinos. So, the least detectable option was Ruby in her true form. She detoured into the restroom and emerged in the Mist Elf persona she used with the biker gang in place of her natural features.
No one outside the Desert Ghosts and the abbey knew that person, and she didn’t imagine those folks would overlap much with the casino crowd. A couple of Drow were part of the group, but she couldn’t worry about every possible problem, or she’d be unable to act at all.
She walked the floor with a purpose, looking for her target’s telltale hat, the only thing that would allow her to spot him from a distance in the sea of Dark Elves that filled the casino. Other magicals were present, naturally, and even some humans milled about, but probably half were of the species that owned the casino.
It was easy to understand the appeal of the place. The false night sky was gorgeous, and the images set into it invoked fear at a visceral level. She found it enthralling and was sure everyone else did, too. Darkest Night had been one of her favorite casinos before the leader of the anti-human movement and the new head of the Council had soured her on Dark Elves. She tried not to judge the many by the few, but it was difficult when the few were so problematic.
She carefully avoided the tables with anti-magic emitters as she circulated, afraid of revealing her disguise. It took fifteen minutes of searching, but finally, she found him headed toward the casino's second floor. She made a beeline to his location and “accidentally” bumped into him, sliding a locator she’d hidden under her purse strap beneath the lapel of his jacket. She apologized in a tumble of words. “Sorry, totally my fault. I’m a little tipsy.”
He stared down at her and growled, “Clumsy. Be better.”
She apologized again and turned, orienting herself on the exit doors and weaving in that direction. She made it about ten steps before a trio of security guards blocked her path. The meanest-looking one directed, “Come with us, please, ma’am.”
Ruby considered fighting her way out, but the odds against her were too great. Unless it was life or death, she had to continue pretending to be an average everyday Mist Elf without much going on inside her head. No problem, I’ll just try to be like Morrigan.
They escorted her to a small room in the backstage portion of the casino. She noted cameras along the way and further noted that the room they’d entered didn’t seem to have one. It was a featureless chamber, with white walls, magical lighting in the corners, and a single metal chair in the center. “Sit,” the guard ordered, and she complied without argument.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and a severe-looking Drow in a perfectly tailored suit walked in. The woman had long white hair bound into a ponytail and secured with a series of jeweled bands. It came down over her shoulder and lay on her chest until she tossed it back out of the way and stepped forward toward Ruby.
She made a show of slipping on a leather glove and unceremoniously slapped Ruby across the face with it. “Who are you, and why were you following that person?”
Ruby worked her jaw. Wench hits hard. Her lip felt like it was swelling already. “I wasn’t.” The lie earned her a backhand blow, snapping her head in the opposite direction. “Ouch. Cut it out.”
The Drow chuckled. “You’re a very poor liar. Why were you following him?”
She looked up at the woman, restraining herself from counterattacking. Taking her assailant would be easy. Managing to get all three of the other guards holding positions on different walls before they could call for assistance would be less so. This explains the lack of cameras in the room. She replied, “Seriously. It’s only a coincidence.”
The Drow muttered and waved her hand, and Ruby suddenly felt like small creatures were chewing on every inch of her skin. She stiffened in the chair and forced herself to remain immobile as the pain increased. The torment lasted for ten seconds, at the end of which she was about ready to scream.
It vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Her tormentor said, “Last chance. Lie to me again, and you’ll get more of what you just had, say, an hour or so. You’ll be a babbling idiot by the time it’s over.”
Ruby sighed and tried to look both guilty and superficial. “Okay. Fine. This is really embarrassing. You’re right. I was following him. I saw him and thought he was super sexy, especially with the hat. I only wanted to make a connection. But when I bumped into him, he looked at me like I was dirt. So, I needed to get out of there before I said something stupid.”
The Drow slapped her across the face again, the leather glove raising a welt. “Moron. He’s out of your league. Plus, he’s taken.” The woman looked at the guards. “I think we’ve got the truth now. Find anything in her bag?”
The guard holding it shook his head. “Only the normal stuff.” Thank goodness I left everything except my illusion pendant at home.
Her tormentor nodded. “Okay. Throw her out.”
They did so, quite literally, and she received a solid scrape on one hand from the pavement. She kept up the disguise until she was out of sight of the casino, then portaled to the bunker. She stomped into the arming room and started putting on her fighting gear. When she slipped on her comm and reported she was back, Morrigan asked, “Are you okay?”
Ruby growled, “Fine. Do we have him?”
Demetrius replied, “Yep. He’s left the casino and is walking back toward the warehouse. By now, he has to know you all were there messing up his gang.”
Ruby said, “Okay. Idryll, stay with him. Morrigan, come get me.” Ruby’s portaling had improved drastically of late, but she didn’t reliably have her sister’s pinpoint accuracy. This was one time where she couldn’t afford to be off. A few minutes later, the trio was together again, paralleling the Drow’s path on the rooftops.
He headed into a convenience store. Her sister asked, “Wait for him?”
Ruby shook her head and leapt from the building to the ground. “No. For all we know, he’ll portal out of there, and we’ll lose him again. He probably has more than one coat, so we can’t trust the tracker to be able to pick him up later. Let’s go nail him now.”
They adopted their usual normal person disguises and entered the store. Their target was standing near the register, chatting with the cashier. A fancy cold coffee drink sat before him on the counter. The three of them separated to examine the shelves and position themselves to act. Ruby whispered, “Morrigan, get a portal to the receiving room ready. I’ll tackle him through it, and we’ll deal with him there.”
“On it.”
It took them a few seconds to get properly positioned. Ruby said, “Do it,” and rushed toward him. When she reached the point where her body should’ve contacted his, she realized he wasn’t really there. It was only a very convincing illusion. Morrigan dispelled the portal before Ruby stumbled through it, and they looked around in surprise.
The Drow reappeared in the corner behind the cashier, laughing. “So nice of you to come. I figured at least one of you would be watching for me at Darkest Night after my gang told you I was there. Sorry your little game didn’t work.” He shook his head sadly. “Pity for you, really. Especially since my plan worked perfectly.”
With the ripple of magic, Dante’s Angels appeared, one near each of them, and attacked.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The reversal was one step too far for Ruby. Anger burst out of her in a scream as she sent a force blast at the Drow to distract him. She grabbed the shelving unit nearest the blonde Angel and yanked, smashing it into her and sending her rifle shots into the ceiling.
Morrigan had raced for cover ahead of the line of bullets that sought her. Idryll had simply performed a somersault over the nearest set of shelves to break the line of sight with her attacker. So everyone’s okay, for the moment.
The collapsed shelf flew to the side to reveal the bounty hunter. Ruby reached out with her force magic, grabbed the rifle, and yanked. Her opponent jerked forward before th
e strap broke, and Ruby hurled the weapon through the glass window at the front of the store, shattering it. Her mind had entered an unfamiliar space where the consequences of her actions, normally in the center of her thoughts, were muffled and distant.
The Drow drew his swords, and Ruby growled, “No way.” She spun to face the opposite direction, drawing her sword in her right hand and angling it toward him. She extended her left at the blonde Angel with the intent of shooting her with the dart gun. Instead, shadow tentacles erupted from the artifact and reached out to cover the woman. Her foe screamed as the magic burned into the exposed flesh of her face.
Ruby grinned coldly. “Serves you right, wench.” She turned her attention to the Drow, who was advancing far more cautiously now. She quipped, “Are you afraid, little elf? Come a bit closer, and I’ll drive all worries out of your mind.” By stabbing them with a foot of magical steel.
Morrigan's initial reaction had been to go for her bow, but the confined space argued against it. Instead, she drew her daggers and faced off against the redhead Angel. A crescent kick knocked the rifle out of her foe’s hands, and rather than trying to regain it, her opponent went for her pistols. Morrigan tossed her left-hand dagger in the air and blasted the other woman with lightning.
The bounty hunter flew into the glass door of a soda cooler, shattering it. Morrigan caught her dagger as the Angel rebounded fighting, summoning a protective force shield over each fist and throwing a punch at her face. She yanked her head backward to avoid it and backpedaled as the other woman threw more kicks and blows at her.
Morrigan had a good sense of her location in the place, and before reaching the point where a wall at her back would force her to counter, she stepped into the woman’s attack. Her daggers stabbed into her foe’s biceps, lacking power but still penetrating. Morrigan released them and punched the Angel’s throat, meeting a protective armor collar. Her jab at the woman’s ribs hit her vest, rendering it ineffective as well.