Federal Agents of Magic Boxed Set

by T. R. Cameron

  Once, there was color in my life, but neither power nor responsibility. Now, I possess those things but have abandoned visual variety for trustworthy darkness.

  He laughed at himself again.

  Subtle metaphor, man. Real deep.

  He stood, walked to the safe, and spun the lock open on the first try. He had changed the combination the day before. Concerns over security even there in his stronghold had grown with the passage of time. Marcus’s absence was a persistent hindrance that required him to interact with the man’s followers far more than he preferred to. Still, every soldier was necessary, now more than ever. He merely wished they could free their imprisoned people, one and all. It irked him that they were so physically near, yet he could do nothing for them. There was an edge of loyalty to the feeling but statistics won over. This was a numbers game, after all. Marcus was worth any five of his disciples, and the gang was ultimately weaker without him.

  He opened the door to call for Sarah, but she was already standing on the landing outside. He blinked in surprise but managed not to flinch. The paleness that had marked her return into the world had not changed. Her eyes were still a vivid blue and looked shocking in the colorlessness that surrounded them. Three scars ran diagonally across each cheek, white on white. A healing potion had closed the wounds but failed to remove the reminders. They were lightly touched with scarlet makeup, and a faint red on her lips captured the same hue. He’d begun to think of the whole look as her war paint.

  Before the incident, she had possessed a wardrobe of varying colors and styles. Now, she wore only tight black dresses with flowing skirts that reached to her ankles and black boots beneath. Long sleeves covered her arms and looped around her thumbs to keep the fabric taut. She had never been fleshy but had become almost cadaverously thin. Her sharp cheekbones and spindly fingers caused something inside him to recoil defensively. Her grim and knowing smile made it that much worse.

  “Sarah. Do come in.”

  She swept past him and sat upright in the chair in front of his desk. She stared hungrily at the fabric-wrapped object that rested upon it. A change thrummed in the air as the two came together, including the sensation of a palpable increase in danger. Vincente swallowed hard against the desire to give in to the internal voices that told him unequivocally not to do this thing. He crossed deliberately behind the desk and sat in his chair to lean forward with his elbows on the flat surface.

  “My superiors agreed to my request to grant you an artifact.”

  That’s mostly true, I suppose.

  He had been the one to mention the idea long before. Had it been solely his decision, though, recent events might have swayed him to delay the gift indefinitely. “This is a great honor for you but comes with a commensurate burden.”

  Sarah nodded. “I understand. I will use this power—and all my power—in the service of the goals of the Remembrance.”

  He wasn’t fooled by her phrasing.

  Not for me, and not for those above, but for the “goals” as you perceive them. Truth, but not truth, all at once.

  It didn’t matter. No one expected her to act differently, and the artifacts demanded their own loyalty, even before the Remembrance added the not-so-subtle magics to keep their followers in line.

  He pushed the fabric bundle across to her without a word. Her hand trembled as she unwrapped the heavy scarlet cover fold by fold. Her breath came faster with each layer removed. She gasped when the full relic was revealed. A spiral snake coiled in upon itself, seemingly asleep. Its scales were jeweled, the body beneath a deep green that made him think of poison. Unlike his own artifact, which had been neutral or even positive toward him before the bonding, this one was unsettling.

  Maybe that’s how you feel about all other artifacts once you have one. Who the hell knows? It fits her, though.

  She stared at the item before her without blinking, like she somehow communed with it. She reached out tentatively, still shaking, and touched her finger to the mouth of the serpent. The artifact moved as if it had been alive the whole time and merely bided its time. It flowed over her hand to twine around her arm under her sleeve. The traveling bulge was disconcerting. More uncomfortable was the witch’s moan as it climbed and the look of ecstasy the bonding inspired on her pale features. Her expression transformed suddenly to reflect shock and brutal pain, but it subsided in an instant as the artifact sank into her flesh and the bulge vanished.

  Her head lolled back in the chair, and her exposed neck caused his artifact to twist again and whisper in his mind.

  Kill her. Do it now.

  He pushed the impulse aside.

  The witch soon recovered her senses and raised her head with a soft smile as she stretched her arms high. “The power…” She breathed a slow, heady breath. “It’s delicious.”

  Vincente nodded. “Remember the responsibility that accompanies it, Sarah.”

  Her grin slowly stretched wider. “The artifact has told me of the attempts to layer persuasion and obedience upon its magic. Perhaps you were aware of this?” He stilled his expression, and she waved airily. “No matter. Rest assured that I possess the strength to resist them. Before my sojourn in the World in Between, I might have been swayed. Now, it is but a minor whisper, easily ignored.”

  She stood and suddenly leaned toward him. He slid his chair back several inches but otherwise, did not react. She grinned, and the expression was entirely wrong on her gaunt and scarred face. “We will achieve our goals. Have no doubt. I look forward to our next task.”

  She walked from the room with a confidence she had lacked when she entered and closed the door lightly behind her. He crossed and clicked the lock, then cast a barrier to secure it and leaned against the frame.

  Somehow, when she says, “our goals,” I don’t think she’s referring to the operation Dreven has tasked us with.

  He sighed.

  As if things weren’t messed up enough already.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Things had been quiet enough that the team was well-rested, for once. They had deliberately chosen not to take any bounty gigs while they got their figurative feet back under them. However, it was time for more action lest they lose their edge. Diana had pushed the randomize button on the training ground in the rear of the Two Worlds Security office the night before and looked forward to practicing with her team.

  She arrived before the others and put the coffee on, then went into the back. The computer system and autonomous forklifts had done their work, and there was now a trio of hallways rather than the single one that had been there when she left. It would be the first time using the space for Kayleigh, Sloan, and Anik, and she was excited to see what they’d bring to the table. Those three would play the opposing force for the initial round, and Kayleigh had already promised unexpected surprises. After the laser grenade that Bryant had snuck in on a previous run, she had no doubt the tech had something evil up her sleeve.

  The others arrived shortly after—Kayleigh and Cara together, and the men singly. The early arrivals traded jokes while they waited for the full complement to arrive. Anik was the last one in, still several minutes ahead of the announced meeting time. Each took a long look at the entrances to the course upon entering, no doubt seeking any advantage, however small, exactly as she had. Sadly, the hallways turned almost immediately and so preserved their secrets.

  They geared up quickly, strapped the detectors on, and ensured that their batteries were properly charged. Taunts were exchanged, and the trio of defenders melted away into the labyrinth, one departing down each hallway. Diana watched until they made the turns that hid them from view, then drew her team together with a wave. “I have only two things to say before we go in. First, keep your eyes peeled. Kayleigh brings a new dimension to the game. Second, since we’re likely to face challenges that could cost us a victory, Tony’s lead on the initial run. I certainly don’t want the blame if we lose.”

  Cara laughed and he shook his head. The detective c
lapped his hands briskly. “All right, then. It’s up to me to maintain the honor of BAM Pittsburgh against these heathen rebels.” He checked his watch. “Another three minutes before we can go in. Any useful ideas, troops?”

  Diana rolled her eyes. “Shoot them before they shoot us.”

  “Look out for tripwires,” Cara countered.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Try not to break any ribs.”

  The other woman laughed. “Avoid patches of ice.”

  Tony intervened. “Okay, people, behave. Honestly, I don’t know why a leader of my vision and talent would have hired either of you.” They chuckled. “But we’ll have to make do. Diana, you’re lead. Cara, middle. I’ll bring up the rear. At any intersections, it’s straight, left, right. The same rules apply for entering a room.”

  It was a standard deployment, one that played to their strengths. Cara was every bit as good at taking point as she was, but Diana’s ability to detect magical threats made her the better choice. Tony had the least combat experience among them, so it was logical for him to trail the others. He finished the impromptu briefing by asking, “Questions?”

  Cara raised her hand. He groaned. “Yes, you, the annoying one in the front row.”

  “Mister Ryan, sir, what if we encounter scary strangers along the way?”

  Tony grinned. “Like the boss said, shoot them before they shoot you.”

  The head-start time expired, and they lined up at the right entrance farthest from where Kayleigh had disappeared into the stacked crates. Sloan and Anik were also unknown quantities, but the tech was Diana’s biggest concern. The way her eyes had lit up when she learned she’d train with them was downright alarming, in retrospect.

  She definitely has some clever tricks waiting for us.

  Diana crept forward and scanned in a zig-zag pattern from floor to ceiling and back again. She paused at every corner as they moved deeper. After several turns, a short hallway expanded into a room beyond. No egress was visible from where she stopped the team. “What do you think, Tony?”

  “Standard entrance. Since we can’t see another exit, we’ll commit to clearing the room before we move on.”

  “Affirmative. On zero.” She tapped her glasses to initiate a ten-second countdown. They weren’t using any AR functionality other than the timer. Diana worried about becoming overdependent on any tech and tried to balance things whenever it was practical to do so. The lack of them almost proved to be the team’s undoing.

  She had barely shifted her weight to break into a run when a strange glint made her stumble and hiss, “Hold.” Instinctively, she fell to one knee to kill her momentum. She’d already scanned the doorway for traps and found it clear, but her lean forward had given her the necessary angle to see the tiny device. Most laser tripwires would have been set into the walls of the hallway. These were cleverly positioned inside the room and had a ninety-degree bend to send the beam across the entrance.

  Oh, clever girl. Wench.

  Diana searched carefully around the opening and discovered another pair that sliced through the space at a diagonal. She shook her head.

  “Kayleigh’s damn good, y’all. We have a small area to crawl through here.” She pointed at the lower left corner. “We’ll be seriously exposed when we do it. It doesn’t seem like our normal beam blockers will reach far enough to beat these things, so we don’t have much choice.”

  Tony laughed. “We could go for coffee. They’ll come out eventually, right?”

  “We could send Tony in first,” Cara suggested. “Use him as a shield.”

  “I think we’ll stick with crawling through. Those were good ideas, though, really.” Diana lowered herself onto her stomach and crawled forward. She risked a look into the room and found it both small and empty. “No enemies visible. I’m going in.” She wriggled through the opening and grunted as she rolled away. Immediately, she scrambled to her feet and traversed her rifle in a circle in case any unexpected opponents appeared. None did. “Come on in.”

  Cara was next while Diana watched the room’s forward exit, which was offset from their entrance point by several crate-widths. Tony joined them last. His bigger frame presented a challenge, but he contorted himself surprisingly well and made it through. He was breathing hard when he stood. “Tricky.”

  Diana looked up and saw the laser grenade fastened above the doorway with a wireless receiver attached to accept a signal from the tripwires and shook her head. “She’s good at everything she does, apparently.”

  Cara grinned cheekily. “Thanks. That means a lot coming from you.” Her boss rolled her eyes and she chuckled. “Oh—you didn’t mean me? I’m wounded.”

  Diana was already looking down the exit hall but spared a moment to raise a finger at her second in command. “There’s a dogleg ahead. It could be a wonderful place for an ambush. Grenades would be useful.”

  Tony tutted and shook his head with a smirk. “You can’t blow every problem up, boss.”

  “Name one that you can’t.”

  He didn’t reply, and she paced carefully down the passage. When she reached the dogleg, she pushed out with her rifle ready. Again, no one laid in wait. She paused to let the adrenaline settle before she continued. After another set of turns, the hall took on a configuration she hadn’t seen before that was half as high as usual.

  “This is ugly, y’all.” The others advanced into the corridor behind her and groaned in agreement.

  Tony urged her on. “You’re the shortest, so this is all you.”

  “You can bite my—” She left the line unfinished as she contemplated the chokepoint and smiled when she remembered her first exercise in the field. It had been paintballs back then. This was the perfect place for another laser grenade.

  Good thinking, people.

  However, it was possible that they hadn’t considered all the ramifications of that choice, and she was ready to help them do so. She turned to Cara and handed off her rifle. “Hold this for me.”

  The other woman grinned. “My pleasure.”

  Diana crawled into the low space. The passage was five crates long—or about ten feet—before it appeared to return to normal height. She was halfway in when the anticipated projectile bounced into her line of sight from the corner ahead and skipped along the floor toward her. Her right hand happened to be the one in front, so she raised it and flicked her fingers to boomerang the device back. It reversed course and banked off the wall in the direction from which it had come. It seemed her grenade-billiards skills proved adequate to the occasion. The grenade detonated with an odd electronic shriek, followed by the buzz of a fatal hit and a deep, “Dammit,” yelled from down the hall. Diana grinned and continued her advance, then stood and stuck her head around the corner for a quick look.

  Anik sat on the floor with a stormy scowl on his face. All his sensors lit up to show that he was well and truly “dead.” He looked at her smile and shook his head. “Not cool, boss.”

  She shrugged and tried to make her tone instructive rather than of celebratory. “It’s a brave new world, Anik. You gotta keep magic in mind.” He sighed and nodded.

  Cara joined them and shot the downed man with her laser rifle. He gazed at her with a question on his face. “You could have been faking,” she said cheerfully. “It’s always best to be sure.”

  Tony fired immediately, and when they turned to stare at him, said, “What? She’s right.”

  The team reassembled and moved forward. They advanced through the labyrinth—which was far more twisted than previous designs had been—and finally reached a place where the hallway forked. Diana looked cautiously down each path, but neither seemed immediately preferable. She growled softly and selected the one on the left. Her mental prediction had been that the two courses would intersect again, but an opening appeared ahead instead. The doorway was half-blocked by a lowered crate.

  Damn, this is a wicked map.

  “So, this is ugly, part two.”

  The others stepped up behind her a
nd agreed. Tony quipped “Very dangerous. You go first.”

  “Thanks bunches, tough guy.” Diana decided that boldness would be her best option and hurtled forward to slide at the last instant to pass under the barrier and careen into the chamber. She pushed onto her feet and dodged to the side the instant she was past the obstacle. Her eyes scanned the room and found it mostly empty—except for a bulwark in the corner made of stacked crates, a rifle barrel that protruded over it, and an odd glitter on the ceiling. The barrel of the weapon aimed at a shiny object mounted above, and it took her a moment to realize it was a prism.

  There was no time to react as the enemy fired and the laser beam refracted in all directions. Diana’s arm was hit first and then her leg as she scrambled away. The next shot led to a kill, and she groaned. A ruckus ensued from the hallway as more fire was exchanged, rapidly followed by the sound of another pair of deaths. Cara slipped under the obstruction with her weapon already searching for a target but met the same fate as Diana.

  Kayleigh emerged from her small fortress, her grin wide and triumphant. She peered smugly at the fallen agents. “What’s it like being dead?”

  Cara rolled onto her back and stared at her foe. “Boss, I think we need a set of shock gear for this one.”

  The tech looked confused, and Diana laughed. “For sure. Snipers and techs receive the special treatment from here on out.”

  Tony called from the hallway, “I’m dead again. Does anyone care?”

  Diana rose with a laugh. “Maybe you should be more careful, Tony. You seem to get killed a lot.” She turned to Kayleigh with a grin of her own. “The best part about training? There’s always a round two where you seek revenge on those who have wronged you.” She flicked the fingers of her left hand, and a small telekinetic yank tweaked Kayleigh’s ponytail. The tech’s eyes widened, and Diana laughed again. “You’re not the only one with tricks.”

  My pretty, this little party’s only beginning.

  Chapter Twenty-Four