Judged

by Liz de Jager

  ‘Okay,’ I say, interrupting Hawke telling me about a job he’d been on with Jamie and Connor in the jungles of Peru. ‘I think I’m done.’

  ‘Now what do we do?’ he asks me as I wipe my hands to get rid of the chalk and sweat.

  ‘Now, you step aside. If this backfires on me, you blow this shed up and get the wolves home.’ I glance at him. ‘Promise you’ll get the Garrett boys to safety?’

  ‘You have my word.’ Hawke’s hand rests on my shoulder for a moment and then it’s gone.

  ‘Dante, I need your help,’ I say but he’s already there, anticipating me in a way that makes me proud.

  ‘What do you need me to do?’

  ‘I’m going to push and I need you to do the same.’

  ‘Kit, my magic is unstable. I’m not sure …’

  ‘Listen, we need to get them out of there and I’d rather risk blowing them up with magic, than blowing them up with whatever Emily’s got aimed at this shed.’

  He grins then. ‘Okay. Since you put it that way.’

  ‘Here we go.’

  I close my eyes and concentrate on my magic. I pull a strand of it out and cup it in my hands. The light is bright and small, but as I stare at it, I will it larger, into a ball the size of a football. There’s no heat there, just the crackle of barely contained energy. By my side, Dante’s worked his way through the opening moves of a martial arts kata that looks similar to tai chi and his breathing is deep and even, his expression serene. When he catches my eye, he gives me a nod, moving his hands so that it looks as if he’s holding onto his own ball of energy – his being invisible – between his hands.

  ‘On three,’ I say, and it’s a testament to how we’ve grown to know one another over the past few weeks that he doesn’t quibble about which part of on three we’re going to go on. ‘One.’ I inhale and anchor myself. ‘Two.’ I extend my arms towards the doorway. ‘Three.’ As I exhale, I will my ball of curling energy at the door I’ve spelled. And by my side, Dante does the same. Our magic hits the barrier at exactly the same time in an arc of light. It flattens out and there’s that weird sub-audible whump I’ve grown accustomed to when magic does what it’s supposed to do. I crouch low, turning my back and pulling Dante down to my level, in case there’s a larger flash of light or, the gods forbid, an explosion.

  ‘We’re still standing,’ Hawke mutters in my ear and I stand upright. The shed looks no different to before and I glance at the sorcerer sitting disconsolately in the middle of the circle I’d cast earlier. He’s glaring at me and I can’t help but feel a thrill creep down my spine at the intense look of dislike on his face.

  Dante is at the door to the shed without hesitation and I step into the room with my scarf over my face and speak into my comms.

  ‘We need to get them out. They’ve got a nebulizer in here polluting the air with aconite and something else. The wolves are down.’

  There’s a flurry of movement and I step out of the way as Hawke, Johann and Jane come in. Between us we get Connor and Shaun out and I try not to see how they’ve been torn up. Aiden staggers to his feet to crouch beside his oldest brother, touching Connor’s face with trembling fingers.

  ‘They’re gonna be okay,’ I tell him. ‘They’ve been poisoned. Come on, you need to help. Aide, hey.’ I snap my fingers in front of his face. ‘Connor is too big for us to carry. Can you help? Can you do that?’

  ‘What? Yes, of course.’ He picks his brother up in a fireman’s lift and blinks heavily at me. ‘What now?’

  ‘I’ve got your brother,’ Hawke says, slinging Shaun over his own shoulder. ‘Let’s go.’

  ‘What about this guy?’ Johann asks motioning to the sorcerer in my magic circle. ‘Do we take him out?’

  ‘No.’ I scowl at the Fae. ‘No, he comes with me.’

  ‘Kit, no.’

  I shake off Dante’s grip. ‘Listen, he’ll know stuff.’

  ‘We won’t have room on the heli,’ Johann says mildly. ‘And we’ve gotta go now. Someone’s going to notice guards have gone missing. And I’d like to be away by then.’

  ‘I’ll drive back with him. In the Audi. We shove him in the boot.’

  ‘You have got to be kidding me,’ Dante mutters. ‘Kit, we don’t have time for this. Leave the guy.’

  ‘He’ll have information about Merrick, Dante.’

  That brings him up short and he scowls at me. ‘Dammit.’ He glances at the sorcerer. ‘Get the circle down, he’s coming with us.’

  I walk widdershins around the circle and ignore Hawke’s voice in my headpiece as I mutter the reverse form of the spell. It goes faster than I would have liked, and as soon as the final ward disappears, the sorcerer lunges for me. But Johann is there with the muzzle of his gun and he presses it hard into the guy’s throat. I can smell flesh singeing.

  ‘Don’t make me shoot you, mate.’

  ‘You won’t get away with this,’ the sorcerer grates. ‘They’ll know who’s taken the wolves.’

  ‘Good,’ I say. ‘Let them come. We’re ready. But in the meantime, you’re coming with us.’

  I prod him with my sword and he flinches. ‘You can’t make me.’

  ‘Oh for heaven’s sake.’ Dante steps up and punches the guy in the side of throat. He drops like a tonne of bricks. ‘Just stop arguing with idiots, Kit.’

  ‘Good job,’ Johann mutters and gestures with his gun. ‘After you.’

  Dante and I get the sorcerer lifted and carried between us. If he manages to fall a few times it’s no real big deal. We rendezvous back at the cars and Hawke’s face looks as pleased as a pit bull that’s swallowed a wasp.

  ‘What?’

  ‘We’re going to question him,’ I say, swiping the beanie off my head and wiping my face. Carrying an unconscious guy was hot and hard work.

  ‘No place in the heli,’ Hawke says evenly.

  ‘I know. I’m driving back.’

  ‘I’m going with her,’ Dante offers, nudging the unconscious Fae on the ground with his toe. ‘Someone has to keep an eye on this guy.’

  ‘I’ll play escort,’ Johann says. ‘I’ve got nothing better to do with the rest of my night.’

  Hawke’s glare is ominous but then he’s shaking his head. He mutters something about Blackharts and Garretts and I’m sure it’s not flattering, but it makes me grin anyway.

  ‘There are manacles in the van,’ he eventually says. ‘That should keep him quiet.’

  Emily and Rick materialize from the darkness and climb into the van with their rifles, just as I’ve finished tying up the sorcerer. Johann hands me a wadded-up piece of fabric and a roll of gaffer tape that he digs out of his Kevlar jacket. ‘Never leave home without it,’ he intones sagely. I’m not comfortable tying the Fae up this way but, as a sorcerer, he’s more dangerous than most. Not only can he speak spells (making it necessary to keep his mouth shut), but his hands and feet have to be secured too, because he could cast spells by movement alone.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Hawke instructs. Dante and Johann heft the Fae into the back of the Audi after I opt not to throw him in the boot after all. I take the passenger seat and Johann slides in behind the wheel. Dante arranges himself next to the Fae and keeps as far away from his steel chains as he can.

  Everyone else piles into the van and Aiden blows us a kiss from the passenger seat as we leave the compound behind. We’ve been driving for about five minutes when the sky behind us lights up in a massive explosion. I twist around to see what’s going on.

  In the direction we’ve just come from, flames lick at the night sky.

  ‘What?’ I glance at Dante and find him watching Johann. ‘What was that?’

  ‘Probably Emily. She really doesn’t like arms-dealers. Or gangs.’

  ‘So she blew up the Jericho Gang’s compound?’

  Johann shrugs as he sinks lower into the Audi’s seat. ‘It’s going to keep them off our backs.’

  ‘It will also bring the police.’ Dante nods. ‘Clever. They’ll find the w
eapons. Possibly drugs.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Johann smiles and I sit back in my seat. ‘And everyone will forget about us being there. For a little while at least.’

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  My great-aunt’s man Isak is waiting for us in the middle of a field, the Blackhart helicopter crouched low against a row of trees. To my surprise, Dr Forster is there too, to take over Connor and Shaun’s care. He puts Aiden on oxygen immediately, as he’s still woozy, and goes about treating the other two wolves. Isak meets my gaze briefly before he turns to talk to Hawke. The way the two men interact makes me think they’ve met before. In fact, Johann greets Isak like a good friend, and both Emily and Jane get hugs. Isak’s always been friendly towards me, but I realize I know nothing about him at all.

  ‘So. Your family has their own helicopter,’ Dante says from my side. ‘With a crest and everything. I don’t think I knew that.’

  I bump my shoulder against his. ‘What of it?’

  ‘Are you telling me you’re rich?’

  I frown. ‘I … I suppose so. I mean, I’m not rich. But the family? Andrew runs the family businesses so I assume there’s money.’

  ‘You know none of this is in the Spooks files about your family?’

  ‘No?’

  ‘And I won’t be putting any of it in there, before you ask,’ he supplies.

  ‘I didn’t think you would.’ We share a smile before Johann comes walking back to us. ‘We’ve gotta go. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us. Em is driving the van back to base, and the others are choppering out.’

  ‘Okay, just give me a minute.’ I move past him, towards where Aiden’s sitting in the open door of the helicopter. He pulls the oxygen mask off his face and smiles wearily up at me.

  ‘We got them back.’

  ‘We did. Well done, wolf boy.’ I lean over and ruffle his hair before kissing his cheek. ‘Get some rest. I’ll see you at home soon.’

  I’m a few paces away when he calls out to me and when I turn he looks tired and vulnerable. ‘Thank you. For saving them.’

  ‘That’s what family’s for, Aide.’ I bite my lip and shove my hands into my pockets as I walk towards the car. I pass Dante, who looks undecidedly between the car and Aiden.

  ‘Go to him,’ I say as I walk past. ‘You’ll regret it if you don’t.’

  Without a word he jogs towards Aiden. I slide behind the Audi’s wheel, and when I look back, Dante’s hugging Aiden hard. I grin and strap myself in. Johann gets in next to me, adjusting his weapon so it won’t get tangled with the seatbelt if needed.

  ‘Are you old enough to drive, Blackhart?’ he asks me and I look at him incredulously.

  ‘It’s as if you don’t know my family,’ I point out. I start the car just as Dante flings himself into the back seat. He checks over his fellow passenger and gives me the thumbs up.

  ‘Let’s roll.’

  I spin away from Hawke and his team and head back towards the rutted side road. We drive in silence until we hit the tarmac. Johann finds a music station and settles himself into his seat with a contented sigh. The familiar whap-whap of helicopter blades draws my attention and I lean forward a little just as Isak pilots the helicopter above us, keeping low over the fields before climbing away.

  ‘I never knew quite how many empty warehouses there were in London,’ Dante says as he crosses to stand next to me. We’re on the roof, another one, overlooking a large lot of seven warehouses. ‘I feel that we need to blow them all up as a matter of health and safety.’

  I lift my eyebrows and grin at him. ‘Really? You feel that?’

  ‘This is where bad things happen. They’re cooking Glow in there.’ He points at the middle warehouse. ‘This is the base for their operation.’

  ‘Until they decide to move.’ I stare out at the warehouses. ‘Our good friend Obreht was very forthcoming yesterday, almost too forthcoming.’ I let my doubt shine through. Obreht, the Fae sorcerer, quickly opted to talk once Hawke took over his questioning. I was assured by Johann that Hawke wouldn’t use violence on him. When I asked how Hawke managed to interrogate people without hurting them, Johann had merely shrugged and said something about him being the scariest person in the room. After two hours we had a lot of information about Merrick and Glow distribution in both London and the Midlands. We weren’t sure how they ran things in the States but, right now, dealing with things on our home-turf was most important.

  ‘Yes. So we should blow them up.’

  ‘I feel that you and Emily have maybe bonded too much over things exploding,’ I tell him and he grins.

  ‘She’s cool. I like her. I like all of Hawke’s people.’

  There’s no denying that Hawke and his crew are good people. They made themselves useful and slotted themselves in with us without any effort. I fully expected them to drop the wolves at home and then go on their merry way, but instead they’d stayed, made sure both Connor and Shaun were okay and fussed over Connor until he threatened to punch Rocco in the face.

  The two wolves were in a bad state. Dr Forster set them up with oxygen in their rooms and instructed all of us how to bathe their wounds with cleansed spring water, blessed under the full moon. For humans who’d had little enough exposure to the weirdness of our lives, Hawke and his team took their instructions without question and set about helping in any way they could.

  ‘They’re planning on moving out,’ Rocco says in my ear. ‘They’re talking about it now. They’ve heard about the attack on the compound and they’re unsure if their location is safe here.’

  He’s stationed on the warehouse opposite ours, with listening devices set up all over the main warehouse we’re watching.

  ‘Merrick is arguing with Jericho himself on the phone, telling him that they can’t just leave everything behind; it’s a mobile set-up so things can be packed up fast and moved, but Jericho wants everything left and his people gone.’

  ‘We should just blow it all up,’ Dante mutters again and I have to stop myself from laughing.

  ‘Stop it.’ I nudge him and he pouts.

  ‘They’re arguing. Lots of swearing.’ Rocco groans. ‘I’m too young for this. Hawke, if you wanna go in, now’s a good time to do it. They’re distracted.’

  ‘Agreed.’ Hawke’s voice is a low rumble. ‘Are we ready?’

  His team calls in, then he addresses me and Dante. ‘You come in afterwards, once we’re clear.’

  ‘Don’t forget your masks,’ I say. ‘Don’t touch anything. That stuff will have you high in seconds.’

  ‘Roger that. We go in in three.’

  The sword in my hand feels heavy. I slide it home into the scabbard on my back and shrug my shoulders to settle the weight. ‘Come on.’

  Dante drops halfway down the building, finds purchase for his toes and fingers, kicks off and lands silently on the concrete. I brace myself, call my magic and drop silently to his side, crouching low.

  It sounds like all hell breaks loose in the warehouse. There’s shouting. Also muffled gunshots and the whump of magic – followed by silence before a loud, wild scream.

  ‘What’s going on?’ I ask into my mouthpiece but there’s no answer. I shoot a look at Dante and we run for the doorway, only to find Emily slumped against the side of the warehouse holding her bleeding arm. Her mask’s been ripped off and her eyes are wide and staring but she waves me off when I lean over her.

  ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, it’s just a scratch, get in there.’

  I shove my own mask onto my face and wait till Dante’s done the same before we duck into the warehouse.

  There are long tables that run the whole length of the floor. Piled onto these tables are glass tubes, flasks and filters. I have a flashback to Istvan’s lab, with its dried blood on the knives and scalpels amidst the scientific equipment. This place seems cleaner, but one of the tables has been overturned in the struggle and there’s powdered Glow everywhere. Three Fae and two humans are lined up against the wall, guarded by Rick and Jane. Hawke’
s staring at the mess with an expression of distaste visible above his mask.

  ‘Not quite what I expected,’ he said. ‘Cleaner, less chaos. No guards. Stupidly arrogant. And we got your boy Merrick, right here.’ He points to one of the Fae and gets a snarl in response. Rick taps the muzzle of his gun against the man’s face and he subsides. But if looks could kill, both Hawke and I would be melted skeletons.

  ‘It seems small,’ I say, looking around, but when I pay attention to the open shelving units against the far wall, my jaw drops. ‘Actually, I take that back.’

  There are bags upon bags containing hundreds of thousands of baggies stacked on the shelves. Jane straightens from where she’d been crouching to examine them.

  ‘I reckon we’re looking at just under a tonne of this stuff, boss,’ she says to Hawke. ‘I can’t even begin to put a street value to it. But it’s a lot. Like, a lot a lot. There’s enough stuff here to get the whole of the British Isles addicted and keep everyone that way for a good few years.’

  The Fae, Merrick, snorts and I look down at him. ‘You have something to add?’ I ask him. ‘Alchemist?’

  His gaze widens for a second and then he grimaces. ‘An actual gods-cursed Blackhart – I should have known.’ His gaze travels to Dante, who’s standing a little behind me. ‘Humans, and a kami. Where’s your pet dog, Blackhart? You seem to have a whole menagerie of unpleasant creatures with you today.’

  Aiden strolls in from the open doorway with an exhausted-looking Fae gripped by the arm, dumping him unceremoniously on the ground beside Merrick.

  ‘I was just running down your cowardly little assistant. But now I’m right here,’ Aiden says, and gives Merrick a grin that shows too many teeth. ‘My brothers tell me you helped concoct the drug that took them down. Is that true?’

  ‘Vermin need to be exterminated.’

  I grab Aiden’s hand as it flashes past me; I shake my head.

  ‘No. He’s doing this on purpose.’

  ‘I know. I want to smack him on purpose too,’ he mutters and twists his wrist out of my grasp. ‘What now? What do we do with all this?’

  ‘You guys talk to your friend Merrick and we make a call to some friends in the SOCA. They’re going to have a field day with this haul.’ Hawke pats my shoulder. ‘Get a move on. I’m tired and hungry and need sleep sometime this century.’