Nine by Night: A Multi-Author Urban Fantasy Bundle of Kickass Heroines, Adventure, & Magic

by SM Reine

  Revik cleared his throat. “Are you finished?”

  “I think so.”

  Spitting to get the excess saliva out of my mouth, I plugged my nose with my knuckles when the stench of stomach acid and coffee reached it.

  “You need the restroom,” he said. It wasn’t a question. He exhaled. “I’ll wait. But not for long, Allie.”

  “I had to call her.”

  His voice became a snarl. “So you pick the stupidest way imaginable? You could have asked me!”

  “I did ask you! You said no!”

  “That was weeks ago! Why here, Allie? Why now?”

  “My fucking dad died today, okay?”

  He opened his mouth to answer...then his face went blank.

  I turned away, pausing on a couple staring at us from where they’d just been about to enter the restaurant. Meeting my gaze, the woman hesitated, clutching her jacket to her throat. Great. Revik and I had just become drunk-domestic-violence couple. I let out a short laugh, still looking into the woman’s wide, concerned eyes.

  When I turned, Revik stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

  “Allie, you realize that anyone could have picked up?”

  “I wasn’t in...” I remembered we were in public. “I wasn’t in that other place—”

  “It doesn’t matter! You could lead them straight to her...if they weren’t there already!”

  “With my mom?” I shrieked. “That’s great, Revik! You told me you could keep her safe!”

  “You think you are helping her?” He stepped closer, dropping his voice to a rough whisper. “I listened to you, Allie...you might as well have told them to use her to get to you.”

  He seemed about to say more, then bit it back, adding,

  “...And you let your voice be recorded. Do you have any idea what that is, to have a recent recording on a target? For an infiltrator this is like...a present! At the very least, they could trace the call. Every branch of law enforcement has Rooks in it, SCARB more than any other...”

  “I wasn’t on long enough for that.”

  He stared at me, openly disbelieving, then averted his eyes, forcing his gaze back to the diner. His jaw hardened.

  “Should I go in with you?” he said.

  I shook my head. “No. I’ll come back. Then you can yell at me all you want.”

  He released my arm so suddenly that I lost my balance.

  Without looking at him, I pushed my way back through the double glass doors.

  Our performance hadn’t gone unnoticed inside the diner either; staff and customers gave me a wide berth as I staggered past the cashier’s desk. I retreated into the restroom. My fingers grasped for the bumpy silver handles and twisted the cold water on full. Because of the prosthetics, I couldn’t stick my face in the sink like I wanted.

  I cupped water to my lips instead, washing out my mouth, then dabbing my forehead.

  I checked my face in the mirror. It looked the same. It still wasn’t mine.

  Revik was waiting when I came out, but on the other side of the door, away from my puke.

  “Ready?” His voice remained cold.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

  “You heard me. I said I was alive, and with a friend. Nothing they didn’t already know.”

  He stared at the cement, hands on his hips.

  When I didn’t go on, he turned, walking in the direction of the harbor, passing the parked motorcycle without breaking stride. I followed him at a distance. Straight ahead, glass buildings blocked my view of the water, but I glimpsed a white complex adorned with sail-like tents.

  At the next stoplight, I approached his side warily.

  “Aren’t we going to the airport?” I said.

  “No,” he said. “We’re not taking a plane anymore.” He looked at me. His voice leaked frustration. “Will you tell me? You say no one picked up. You weren’t in the Barrier. So what is this?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “But you felt something?”

  I hesitated, then nodded.

  “What?” he said.

  I started to answer, but the cold feeling rose, forcing me to take another breath.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I really don’t.”

  When I didn’t say anything more, he shoved his hands into his pockets, walking as soon as the light changed. I followed after he’d gone a few steps. Then the feeling surged back for real, and I knew suddenly...I knew.

  She was dead. My mom was dead.

  Halfway across the street, everything around me grayed. I collapsed before I realized that the problem wasn’t a sudden attack of freak weather.

  It was me.

  When I opened my eyes, cars honked loudly, like alarm clocks going off around my head. I didn’t know where I was. Shadowy people stared down at me with blank faces. I didn’t know any of them.

  I heard a voice I knew—

  “Allie! ALLIE!”

  Revik’s face appeared. His eyes, wide with panic, startled me.

  He tried pulling me to my feet, then slid his arms under my knees and shoulders. He held me against his chest, murmured in my ear.

  “Stay awake...please, baby. Please. Don’t fall asleep...”

  I thought I had to be hallucinating. My voice seemed to come from far away.

  “I’m here,” I said. “I’m still here.”

  I burst into a sob.

  He stared down at me, then around at the gathering crowd.

  I still lay in the middle of the street, so he tightened his hold on me and stood up. Pausing to adjust his grip, he began to walk, fast, with long strides. He had me across the street and halfway down the block before he spoke again.

  “Can you walk?” he said. “We’re conspicuous.”

  I nodded. He stopped to set me on my feet, reaching back to unlock my fingers from his neck. Standing there, I wiped my face, wobbling on my legs.

  “We have to go under the complex,” he said, his voice nearly a mutter. “...Look for ‘Llysa’s people.”

  His eyes tracked faces.

  Some paused to stare at me curiously until they saw Revik and blanched at whatever expression they saw in his face.

  “I wish you weren’t so damned conspicuous to humans,” he said, still muttering. “It’s not just...” He glanced at me, coloring. “...Us.” I flinched at the intensity in his voice. He was thinking aloud, filling space, but the emotion felt real. “...Like blood on a white sheet. They notice you...then make up a reason why. Even that fucking customs officer. You didn’t just flirt with him. You let him see you...”

  He looked at me, his eyes hard.

  “You have to stay out of sight on the ship! I mean it, Allie...please. Please do as I say in this. I’m begging you...”

  I stared back at him, hearing his accent come out stronger, confused at the expression I saw on his face. Then his actual words reached me.

  “Ship,” I repeated dully. “You said ship?”

  “Yes.” He watched me wipe my eyes, his accent still stronger than usual. “We need the construct now that you have blown our cover. A plane is not big enough...you need mass for a construct, weight. They take time to set up. Ullysa’s people prepped one as backup.”

  I nodded.

  He stood there a few seconds more, as if unsure what to do with me. Then he clasped my hand, half-dragging me down the sidewalk that led under the tented complex.

  When we stopped at the end of the line for customs, his arm wound around my waist. I didn’t feel any affection in the gesture, though, not even when he held me tightly against him.

  Once more, Revik found himself at a loss.

  They stood at the end of the security line that led into the customs kiosks, and he still didn’t see any sign of Ullysa’s people.

  But that wasn’t what threw him...not really.

  His senses remained on high alert, his fingers conscious of the gun nestled in a side holster under his jacket. It was a Gloc
k 18, illegal for civilian use even in the United States; just carrying it risked jail time here, but he needed a full automatic for seers. Her hand clutching his was in the way of him reaching it quickly, but for reasons even he didn’t understand, he didn’t let go of her.

  Seeing the row of metal detectors, he resigned himself to the fact that he might have to dump the gun, or risk pushing security to get them past. He spotted a trash can in one elbow of the zig-zagging line and decided the former was safer; he was just reluctant to do so until they’d ID’d the security team and he knew for sure he wouldn’t have to make a run for it with her.

  The crowd picked up, thickening as they crushed into the main line leading to security and then customs. He glanced down at the Bridge, saw her staring up at the advertisement screens hung over the zig-zagging lines of people. There was a sort of dim confusion in her eyes as she gazed at a row of pictures of wildlife in Alaska. Grief still wavered below that, and it occurred to him again that he had to get her on board, find those guards before she recovered from her shock and lost control of her light for real.

  He needed her inside a construct before that happened.

  As he thought it, five beings emerged around him on the causeway.

  In different ways they each made him aware of their presence...and despite their casual stances, each in some way blocked him from the ropes leading into security. Revik felt their movements occur as one, a near-perfect synchronization that was not human.

  He reached for the Glock, using his other hand, but the female closest to him shook her head minutely, and he found he knew her.

  Relaxing his fingers, he opened his palm to sign his question.

  Are we inside the construct?

  She answered him with her mind.

  Yes, brother. We have arranged for you to board another way.

  She nodded towards his fingers, indicating his gun.

  Revik found himself relieved they were letting him keep it. As he began to follow her away from the security line and down a side passage, he realized two of the Seven’s guard wore United States Homeland Security uniforms.

  When Revik next turned to look at the female hunter, Chandre, he caught her studying Allie’s light, a thinly veiled curiosity shining from her own structures. He felt his jaw harden, but knew it was natural...they would be interested in her. Still, he would rather have a few minutes’ breathing space before he had to handle more reactions to her light, whether human or seer. He continued to watch Chandre warily when the infiltrator visibly startled.

  She looked between the two of them, her dark eyes widening as she confirmed what she’d seen above each of their heads.

  Revik sent a ripple of irritation until the woman’s red-tinted eyes shifted to his.

  Manners, Chandre.

  Sorry, brother...er, sir. They did not tell us.

  Some discretion would be appreciated.

  The woman bowed. Of course, sir. And congratulations.

  Revik nodded, once. He glanced around at her unit.

  Won’t seven be conspicuous? He had expected five. How big is your whole contingent?

  Chandre quirked an eyebrow.

  It’s a large ship, sir. You won’t even know we’re here.

  Hearing the subtext in her deliberate misunderstanding, he gave her a look that made it clear he wasn’t amused.

  He brought the Bridge with him as he walked past Chandre and another smiling seer, then glanced back to see if Allie had noticed the exchange. Her gaze took in the other guards before coming to rest on the dark-skinned Chandre. Allie stepped closer to him as she stared, her eyes faintly glazed, still almost not-there as she crushed into his side as they walked.

  From her face and light, he knew she was in shock. It made sense that her light would draw to his, as the safest option there...but the ease with which his own light responded made him tense all over again.

  In a way, he even understood her reaction to Chandre. The East Indian Sark looked exactly like what she was, a highly paid infiltrator. Despite their reddish tint, her eyes had a hint of cold to them, as if she assessed all objects from a distance; she looked at Allie that way, too.

  It occurred to him in the same breath that Chandre had already been briefed on the contingency.

  Then it clicked. They would no longer trust him to perform it himself.

  He had been effectively removed from duty.

  Staring around, another piece fell into place. Having such a large Guard presence was a part of that message; they needed enough seers to take him down if he got in the way.

  Meeting Chandre’s gaze, he realized that she was putting the same thoughts together behind her dark red eyes.

  His fingers tightened around Allie’s as they reached a small desk, where a lone customs official examined their documentation before waving them through. Revik could tell from the man’s eyes that he was human, and had been heavily pushed into believing some lie. So had the woman who smilingly directed them around the obligatory photo backdrop that the rest of the ship’s passengers were being escorted through in an assembly line, getting their pictures snapped while two photographers danced around, trying to get smiles from the humans and pump up the cruise-goers for their vacations.

  “Come on!” he heard one of the photographers half-shriek. “Let’s see some party faces, y’all! There now! That’s better!”

  “If either of you need anything, sir,” Chandre said politely, in English, as they neared the gangplank and the line of people boarding. “You need only say the word. We will of course expect you to restrict your movements around the ship...”

  Revik glanced at Allie, saw her listening to the infiltrator intently.

  He hoped like hell Chandre wouldn’t make some crack about...

  “...We have purchased an entire corridor,” she continued, her voice still smoothly polite. “And made some modifications for your comfort. You will be briefed on the rules once we are underway. Clothing and food have already been sent to your cabin, as well as training materials for Alyson. You will not be expected to adhere to ship’s routines...”

  “You mean I can’t leave the room,” Allie muttered.

  Revik glanced at her again.

  Chandre smiled at her faintly, quirking an eyebrow.

  “That is correct, Esteemed Bridge...for you, anyway. Dehgoies may leave, provided he follows the rules of the construct, and checks in and out with one of our team.” She smiled. “Vash seemed to feel he might be tempted to break rules if we restricted him too much...but perhaps he can smuggle in anything you need, Esteemed Bridge? Anything you do not wish to ask us for...?”

  Revik gave Allie another brief look.

  She was studying the infiltrator, her eyes faintly wary.

  He saw a faint glimmer of that older look in them, and felt himself reacting to her again. Realizing he was still crushing her fingers, he loosened his hold, gesturing to Chandre that they understood.

  He moved them away a beat later, aiming his feet up the ramp to the gangplank, where the velvet-roped corridor joined the line for the other passengers. He entered the crowd thickening before the portal to the ship before looking at Allie again.

  Leaning down so he wouldn’t be overheard, he squeezed her hand.

  “Are you all right?” he said.

  “Who are they?” Her eyes continued to follow the seers who fanned out behind them. Each of the infiltrators let themselves be absorbed into the crowd, but Allie’s eyes found Chandre among the faces. She tracked the hunter’s movements through the crowd with an ease that surprised him a little.

  “Friends,” he said. “Ullsya’s people.”

  She looked up. Her eyes still shone with that faint light, greener even with the contacts, and a whisper of pain went through his chest.

  “You aren’t acting like they’re friends,” she said.

  He shrugged. “They are curious about you.” He hesitated. “Do not talk to them, Allie. Stay out of their way.”

  “You just s
aid they were friends.”

  “I just meant...do not distract them from their job.”

  “Did she call you ‘sir’?”

  His face grew warm. Her attention to detail was starting to unnerve him a little. “Yes.”

  “So we’re in the military now?”

  “No.” He stared down at her face, at a loss. “We’ll talk about it later. After we sleep, Allie.”

  She nodded absently, clearly hearing the “sleep” part and not much else.

  He hesitated, glancing back over his shoulder at Chandre. He needed to get them in contact with the team in San Francisco, as soon as possible. When he looked at the hunter, he saw her nod, just before she signed that they had someone on it already.

  Apparently Chandre had done more than look at the structure in Allie’s light that connected her to him.

  ...We’ll have news in under an hour, sir.

  Revik gestured for her to give it to him alone.

  He waited until Chandre gestured in assent, but he didn’t miss the appraising look she gave him at the request.

  He glanced at Allie again. He suspected she already knew what had happened in San Francisco. Even so, he knew from experience that knowing and knowing were two different things. He didn’t want her receiving verification of some loved one’s death as an emotionless report from an infiltrator who viewed her family as nothing but human collaterals.

  He continued to study the Bridge’s face as she gazed up at the ship’s high walls, trying not to care that the guards were watching him look at her, or that her proximity was having an effect on him again...an effect they could probably see in his light.

  He had to remind himself that she’d only been awake a few weeks, that she still didn’t understand how she was different.

  He had to remind himself also that she really had no idea what was going on with the two of them.

  Perhaps it had been a mistake to not let Ullysa and the others explain it to her in Seattle.

  He was still watching her face when she leaned on his arm, merging her light overtly into his. Sucking in a breath, he closed his light, glancing reflexively at the seers watching. He saw more than one of them smiling and turned his gaze up the white face of the ship, shuffling his feet forward with the motion of the crowd, willing the line to go faster.