Federal Agents of Magic Boxed Set

by T. R. Cameron

  The AI’s voice sounded satisfied. “Two minutes to police and ambulance.” Kayleigh had told them the systems might become more personalized and if this was the form it took, Rath was all for it. He drew his batons and flicked to extend them fully, then charged at the nearest enemy, who still reeled from the grenades’ detonation. A pair of quick strikes at his knees toppled him effectively and he howled in pain. The troll moved on to the next target. He leapt and stabbed the batons into the man’s back. The snapping discharge of the built-in stunners was deeply satisfying and the ruffian arched his spine and collapsed. Rath landed on top of him—maybe a little harder than needed—and gave him a modest kick to the temple to keep him down. The troll had neither sympathy nor patience to spare for those who attacked innocents.

  Especially those who gang up on them. He rose and faced the remaining pair, who had gathered at least some of their senses. The troll smiled at them, and they scowled in response. The one on the right had a long dirty beard and pulled something that looked like a short leather club from a pocket. His companion was clean shaven and bald and drew a knife from behind his back. It was smaller than the ones the ARES members carried but still a respectable weapon. Rath nodded at the choice, and the enemy frowned uncertainly.

  The one on the left spoke. “Big mistake, messing with us, little bastard.”

  He shook his head. “Mistake is yours. Every action causes an equal and opposing reaction.” Of course, he growled the last statement to imitate the movie character in the Guy Fawkes mask.

  The one on the right laughed. “And what’ll that reaction be? Us beating you down, that’s what.”

  The sobbing man with the damaged knees choked out, “Hit him once in the face for me.”

  The man with the knife twitched the weapon in invitation. Rath grinned. This would be much more fun if Max was here. He barreled at his adversary and jumped to block the knife strike with his left baton. The man’s eyes widened as the troll’s feet struck his chest less powerfully than he probably expected, but Rath had never intended the kick to do any real damage. It was the other man who was his target.

  He pushed off, launched himself at the thug with the tiny club, and aimed a right hook at his face with all his momentum and strength behind it. Cartilage crunched as the man’s nose broke, and the troll delivered another one-two punch as they fell. He flung himself aside before his adversary made impact and landed on his feet beside the one he’d wounded in the legs. He stabbed him nonchalantly with the stun batons and the man stiffened before he passed out.

  Rath’s weapons vibrated to indicated that he’d drained them by half and they were now drawing from the supply in his vest to charge. He frowned. Need better batteries. Must have more hits. Kayleigh had increased the power, which he loved, but at a cost. He twitched one of them at the remaining opponent, who turned and bolted out of the alley. Rath sighed. Boring. He raised the barrel of the grapnel and fired it with a press of the stud on his glove. The arrow struck the man in the back of the head and shoved him onto his face before he reached the street. The line retracted, and he reloaded the device as sirens sounded.

  By the time the police officers arrived, the troll had already made his hasty retreat to the rooftops and scanned for the quarry he’d originally been following. “Gwen, the drone?”

  “Lost him in a tunnel. It’s headed back to base for recharge.”

  He shrugged. “We’ll get him next time. For now, must finish patrol.” The troll smiled again as he leapt from the building in a long glide to resume protecting the city.

  Chapter Two

  Diana’s days now started earlier than ever after the whirlwind house purchase. Even though the actual closing was still several weeks in the future, they’d moved in on a rental basis immediately since hotel living wasn’t all that comfortable with a troll and a dog in tow. All three were excited about their new home. So was their newly added roommate, who had claimed the finished basement as her own.

  Kayleigh was far too awake for six in the morning. The tech virtually glowed as she led a still waking up Diana on a walk around the perimeter of the property and pointed out the positions she’d chosen. She gestured toward tall trees near the front corners of the yard. “Camera locations there and there, high up, wireless, and solar powered.”

  Diana took a sip of her coffee and burned her tongue. “Bloody damn. Ow.” She waved at the sky. “You’re aware we’re in Pittsburgh, right? It’s the third cloudiest city in the country behind Buffalo and Seattle.”

  Kayleigh frowned and shook her head. “Don’t be a Luddite. There’s enough sun to power the cameras. And the sensor grid.”

  Her next sip went down better, and she sighed appreciatively. “The what now?”

  The blonde grinned. Wench. It’s not fair for her to look so put together this early. She even has makeup on, for…goodness’ sake. Diana was working on censoring her language, as Rath was all too interested in picking up new words and using them at inappropriate times. Kayleigh gestured again and drew imaginary lines around the property. “Motion, thermal, and sound sensors on every side. Wireless again.”

  “What about jamming?”

  “If someone jams them, we’ll know to be worried, won’t we?”

  Diana held in her exasperated sigh. Overly perky people need a good slap from time to time to keep them centered, don’t they? I think I read that somewhere once. It’d be for her own benefit. “Excellent point. Are you sure a line of marching sentry robots around the perimeter wouldn’t be a better choice?”

  Kayleigh flipped her off, and Diana laughed. The tech pointed again, this time toward the end of the street that led to the main road. The other direction stopped abruptly as the hill they were on ended in a sheer drop. “Cameras at the intersections. There’s a version of Alfred running in the house, and he can easily track which cars should be here and which don’t belong.”

  Diana pushed her hair behind an ear as the wind tried to deposit it in her coffee mug. “You have Tony Stark envy.”

  “Please. I’m way smarter. And I could do so much more if my boss would free up the cash.”

  She shook her head. “The mobile armory is the first priority. If we don’t get that figured out, Cara will kick both our asses.”

  “I’ll hide behind you.”

  “I’ll dodge. Then where will you be?”

  Kayleigh gave a theatrical sigh. “Why did I agree to stay in Pittsburgh again?”

  “You love us. Don’t deny it.”

  “Oh, I’m denying it.”

  Their discussion was interrupted by a faint buzzing. They both snapped their heads up to search the sky, and Diana moved the mug from her right hand to her left in case a blast of force was called for. The sound intensified before an Andercarr delivery drone swooped around the house across the street and moved toward its drop zone. The quad propellers lowered it to ground level, and the clamps released to deposit one of the three boxes it carried gently on the sidewalk, about halfway to the front door. They watched together as it rose, reoriented, and flew off swiftly.

  Diana shook her head. “It would be a perfect way to deliver explosives.”

  The tech shrugged. “Drones are here to stay. Andercarr’s security is solid, and we have a line into their transponders and flight information. Alfred would have alerted us if it wasn’t an authorized delivery. We should get more sensors into the neighborhood so we have more warning.”

  She nodded. “No argument there.”

  “And we need deterrents that Alfred can operate.”

  “We’ve talked about that.”

  “Yes, and you’re wrong, so we’ll keep talking about it until you realize that.”

  Diana looked at the roof of the two-story yellow brick house where Kayleigh wanted to mount a disguised turret atop the chimney. “I’m not giving your pet AI access to a rocket launcher. That’s a hard no.”

  The tech turned in a circle with her arms extended. “Look around you, boss. There are so many angles of at
tack here in suburbia. If your hope is secrecy, well, that’s maybe not entirely rational given recent events.”

  Ouch. Way to throw my last house getting burned down in my face. Too early for such cruelty. Not cool, blondie. “No on the rocket launcher.”

  “Rail gun.”

  “Are you insane?”

  The tech laughed. “More than one boyfriend has suggested that might be the case. How about a focused EMP?”

  “That’s a real thing?”

  “Well, perhaps focused is the wrong word. Directional. It would probably mess up the houses along the path but not in a permanent way. We’d rely on the fall to kill an inbound attacker, rather than the actual pulse.”

  Diana frowned. “Could the AI manage not to drop it into a house?”

  “Of course. And his name is Alfred. You should get used to it. Say it with me. Al-fred.”

  “Oh, my God, why did I agree to let you move in with us?”

  Kayleigh’s laugh was one of the best things about her, guileless and enthusiastic. “Because it’s your fault I had to come here. So, guilt. Plus the fact that you know life will be more fun with me around.”

  She shook her head with a chuckle. “You call this fun, do you?”

  Her response was preempted by the appearance of a gleeful dog and bouncy troll. Max started his day the same way he had every one since they’d moved in—he dashed across the entire property and barked at any birds, squirrels, or errant twigs or leaves that dared trespass in his domain. Rath rode on his back, his purple hair bobbing, and the tinkling sound of his laughter filled the gaps between the Borzoi’s outbursts.

  The tech laughed again. “Everyone except you seems to be having a great time, boss. There might be a lesson in that to consider.”

  She’s not wrong. “Fine. EMP sounds agreeable.”

  “And gas grenade launcher.”

  Diana sighed. She didn’t have a good argument against that one, other than the shattering of her dreams of a normal home life. Normal. Hah. Rath and Max killed that long ago. “FFS, yes, a gas grenade launcher.” She crossed to the Andercarr box, which was shrink-wrapped against any unexpected weather. Still a little cautious, she peeled the film back and opened it to find a small black jewelry container covered in cheap felt.

  Kayleigh stepped beside her and looked over her shoulder. “Engagement ring? Do you have something to tell us?”

  She barked a single laugh. “I need to have time to date to become engaged unless it’s a psycho stalker of some kind.”

  The tech chuckled. “So, Bryant then.”

  Diana groaned. “Maybe you’d better get those defenses up sooner rather than later.” She opened the box. It was a cheap-looking necklace with half a heart pendant at the bottom. A small note read “Congrats on the new place. Miss you. Also, my landlord’s a jerk.” It was signed with a stylized L. She pulled the chain out and held it up to dangle in the light. The letters “Be” and “Fri” were etched to the left of the jagged break in the half-heart.

  “Good advice. Be Fri. It’s like a sign from above that we should be able to fry any enemies. Let’s put a lightning gun up there.”

  Diana slipped the necklace over her head. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s what it means. And you’re merely upset that no one sends you Best Friend jewelry.”

  “Yeah, not since grade school, anyway.”

  She shook her head sadly. “Jealousy is not a good look on you, Kayleigh.”

  The tech laughed as she turned to wander back into the house. “Everything is a good look on me, boss, especially in comparison to some people who shall not be named but who should really think about dealing with their bedhead before making an appearance in public in the morning.”

  Max arrived and jumped on Diana before she could come up with a fittingly scathing reply, and she knelt to pet him. Rath took the opportunity to run up to her shoulder when the Borzoi rolled over on his back for belly rubs. “Did you sleep well, Rath?”

  “Yep, did.”

  “Anything exciting on patrol?” She’d mostly given up on worrying about the troll since he’d proven time and again that he was fully capable of taking care of himself. Mostly. She laughed to herself. He’s probably safer than I am at any given moment.

  He nodded. “Stupid pirate henchman. Followed but lost him.”

  “Even the drone?”

  “Tunnel.”

  “Drat.” He grinned in reply. “We need some sort of invisible launchable tracer. Maybe you should suggest that to Kayleigh.”

  “Will. Flying is awesome.”

  She laughed. Rath knew she’d been against the wings at first and still worried about them in unguarded moments. He’s getting better at working me. Now he only needs to add a little more subtlety, and he’ll be able to fool me. Mental note: keep him away from Sloan. “I’m glad. And the grapnel works fine?”

  An oddly satisfied expression slid onto his face before he responded. “Is excellent.”

  “Good.” Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out. A sigh followed, accompanied by a frown. “Hey, look, just when I thought I might have some time to work on the house, Nylotte has decided it’s a training day.”

  Rath grinned. “Fighting mode. Must train. I could help.”

  She laughed at the idea of the Drow contending with a wound-up troll. “The timing is probably not right for that quite yet, my friend. I need to make sure I can defend you if she decides to be a b…witch about it.”

  His fangy grin showed that he’d caught the unfinished word. Dammit. I mean, darn it. Diana threw up her hands in defeat and headed back into the house, patting the pendant where it lay beneath her t-shirt. At least I’m able to safely portal down there now. That’s a plus, anyway. As she walked through the door, the tech’s mocking voice sounded from the basement. “Hey, keep it down up there, you sound like an elephant. Did you gain weight out in the yard or something?”

  Even though ninety-nine percent of her wanted to throw a force bolt down the stairs to gently adjust Kayleigh’s attitude, she headed for the coffeepot instead. We did agree that we were equals at home, so I can’t nail her for insubordination. Besides, I’ll need every ounce of magic power I have to deal with my caring and supportive mentor. She grinned, already thinking about her revenge. You got lucky this time, blondie. But of course, you realize this means war.

  Chapter Three

  Nylotte had warned Diana against attempting to portal into her shop at any time other than when the Drow expected her, so she waited impatiently for seven-thirty to arrive. She’d spent the previous hour plus getting ready, fueling with coffee, and avoiding food. She tried not to eat before her practice sessions for fear of the ways her teacher might attack her body and mind. Throwing up in the training space was doubtless frowned upon. To say the least.

  As their lessons had progressed, Diana’s wardrobe had changed in self-defense. Gone were the more comfortable clothes she’d started with, replaced by black tactical boots and pants and a close-fitting leather jacket that would help absorb the scrapes when the woman’s magic blasted her to the hard basement floor. Her only nod to fashion was the concert t-shirts she always wore underneath. Today, it was the Cure, from the Disintegration tour. Maybe that’s not the best choice, actually. It might give her ideas if she saw it.

  But the time to change had passed. The clock ticked over, and she harnessed her will and sent it into her hands, then circled them to create the outline of the portal she wanted to bring into being. It wavered into reality, and she probed it carefully to ensure the correct barriers were in place. A trip to the World in Between was not on her agenda. The Drow hadn’t warned her that others could mess with her portals, but she also hadn’t told her they couldn’t. Paranoia was rapidly becoming Diana’s default state.

  She stepped through and the sense of dislocation that always accompanied portal travel unsettled her. Thankfully, she managed not to stumble and turned in a slow circle, looking for her teacher. The basement appeared to be empty. She frowne
d, then smiled as her metal bracelet grew cold on her wrist to signal the presence of illusion. On instinct, she summoned a force shield as the first ice blast materialized from a corner of the room. It struck her defense and wound around where it met the floor as the Drow tried and failed to knock her feet from beneath her. It may take a while, but I learn.

  She hadn’t made ice magic her own yet and had managed little more than a snowball when she attempted it. Instead, she reached for lightning, which she had shown some improvement with. Nylotte had described it as strengthening the paths—a useful way to think about the different magics as power flowing down different channels. She spread her fingers wide and discharged a low-powered wave that radiated out in a flat arc. It revealed a body-sized oval slightly offset from the source of the ice blast, and she summoned and hurled a ball of force at it with a quick snap of her arm.

  Her teacher wavered into visibility and intercepted the sphere with one of ice, then flicked her fingers to send frozen darts hurtling at Diana’s face. She summoned her shield again and envisioned it as a curved buckler instead of a wall. The magic rebounded as it struck and bounced the shards back toward the Drow. Nylotte stepped aside contemptuously, smiled, and fired cones of confined lightning at the trainee’s head and feet.

  She had time to swear before the blast at her legs slammed into her and knocked her down. The wicked energy licked at her body, put holes in her trousers, and scarred the leather of her boots and jacket. She growled and rolled back to vertical, relegated the pain to the background of her brain, and gathered the remaining lightning that sparked around her. Quickly, she added her own and returned the blow with attacks aimed at her teacher’s feet, stomach, and head.

  The Drow summoned a curved shield, and Diana marshaled her will and kept the magic flowing toward her. She increased the energy feeding the top stream, and the barrage forced Nylotte to one knee as she battled the power that pushed into her. Hope grew, and she pushed more of her energy into the attack. The Dark Elf dove to the side and sent a low wall of force at Diana. She leapt over it, but as soon as she left the security of the floor, her teacher created tentacles to capture her.