by Martha Carr
Corian chuckled and bent to pick up the edge of the war machine again. “Always have.”
“Uh-huh. I think living as long as you guys have makes you crazy.” The halfling shoved her hands into the pockets of her trench coat and turned toward the lawn on the other side of the Computer Sciences building. “Shit. They’re here.”
“Hmm?” Maleshi walked toward her and leaned sideways until her hair brushed the silvery dome hiding them to peer around the corner. “Do your FRoE friends usually move this quickly?”
“They do when they think it’s important.”
Corian barked out a laugh. “Sounds like they learned their lesson after ignoring you about those kidnapped kids.”
“Smartest move they’ve made so far.” Cheyenne nodded at Maleshi. “I should at least make an appearance and remind them not to screw this one up.”
“Cheyenne and her mastery over the subtle art of negotiation.” The general elbowed Cheyenne gently in the side and snorted. “That’s bound to be a fruitful conversation.”
The half-drow ignored the jest and glanced sidelong at Corian. “This won’t take long, so don’t disappear on me. We’re not finished.”
“No, we aren’t.”
Cheyenne checked for passersby outside the silver dome of Maleshi’s illusion, and when the coast was clear, she stepped through it and headed toward the scar of the portal ridge she’d managed to keep from opening. After this, Matthew Thomas and I need to have another serious conversation. Attacking me is one thing. Showing up at a school crosses a whole new line.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
The team of FRoE agents swarming around the thwarted Border portal on the VCU campus looked like any other natural disaster emergency response unit. Except for Sir. He might as well have a giant target painted on him.
When the FRoE official caught sight of Cheyenne Summerlin in full human form and her new black trench coat, he muttered something to one of his operatives, then stormed toward her. “At the very least, I will give you credit for not running away with your tail between your legs, halfling.”
“No, that would make me look guilty, wouldn’t it?” She stopped and folded her arms to let him come to her.
The man’s thick salt-and-pepper mustache twitched when he realized that, and he grimaced as he closed the distance between them. “I’m still not convinced you didn’t have everything to do with this shitshow on a college campus, and I sure as hell don’t need you hanging around trying to make sure we know what we’re doing. We do.”
“I wouldn’t have told you about this if I didn’t think you’d be able to handle it. And there are plenty of other people I could’ve called.”
He snorted. “Tell me what else you know about this.”
“Nothing.” Cheyenne shook her head and studied the FRoE agents moving gingerly around the giant holes in the ground and inspecting the upturned ridge of earth where she’d closed the portal. “It showed up, and I stopped it before it could get any worse. They put on a pretty good show for anyone else who’s watching.”
“Well, don’t expect a goddam song and dance, halfling. They’re doing their jobs, and right now, that means keeping any curious know-it-alls from thinking this was anything more than an isolated earthquake. Not magic.” Sir looked over his shoulder at the two massive holes in the ground. “What the hell made those things?”
Can’t tell him about the machines, not if the guy who hooked Matthew up with O’gúl loyalists is investing in the FRoE. Cheyenne shrugged. “I don’t know. Those were there when I got out here.”
He gave her a sharp look and raised an eyebrow. “Bullshit. You have eyes, halfling. No way you didn’t see something that big popping up out of the ground.”
“You know what? I was a little busy trying to keep a whole line of jagged black rock with a portal inside it from sprouting up out of the ground.”
“Yeah, yeah. Pat yourself on the back and go get a cookie.”
Cheyenne folded her arms. “So, how are you gonna keep the magic part of this under wraps?”
“That’s none of your goddamn business.”
“It is if you don’t want to look like a complete idiot when the person who handled it can’t back up your story.”
Sir sniffed and wrinkled his nose, his mustache brushing the top of his lip. “We’re calling it an earthquake.”
“Oh, wow. How inventive.”
“Yeah, we’ll figure out how to work around the kinks. For all intents and purposes, my guys over there are studying some other phenomena with isolated earthquakes. If any more of those damn portals pop up, people are gonna get suspicious about the ground shaking for no scientifically plausible reason. I put a media person on this to stick a lid on it before it gets screwed up any worse.”
“I hope that’s good enough.”
“Of course it’s good enough.” Sir pointed at her. “As long as you don’t try to step into the middle of it after this.”
“Hey, I’m leaving it in your hands. The rest is up to you, ‘cause it’s your job to keep these things under control.”
The man blustered, his face turning an alarming shade of red as his dark, beady eyes blazed. “You tryin’ to come down on me about how I do my job, halfling?”
Cheyenne stared blankly at him. “Anybody ever say you have serious anger issues?”
“I don’t give a damn about my anger or your feelings. Twenty-one years I’ve been doing this, and not once did any of it blow up on me like this until you wiggled your way into my organization and started fucking shit up like a goddamn tapeworm. And you still won’t give me all the pieces.”
She gestured at the closed ridge and his men squatting around it and poking at the grass. “I gave you another portal, and I kept it from opening in one of the worst places to have an active portal.”
“And I’m this close to making you rip it the hell back open so I can push you through it.”
“Good luck.” Cheyenne turned and headed back toward the side of the Computer Sciences building. Well, I tried.
“Uh-uh. You don’t get to just walk away from me like that, halfling. We’re not done here.”
She kept walking and didn’t say a thing.
Sir stormed after her. “You think you run the show, huh? Let me tell you something, halfling. The only reason you’re still on this side of the Border is that I let you stay. I could snap my fingers and have you sent right back to that magical fucking fairyland, and then you’d be in deep shit. Hey, I’m talking to you.”
The second he brought a hand down on Cheyenne’s shoulder, she spun away and clamped her hand around his wrist. Sir’s eyes widened at the strength of her grip before she tossed his hand away. “Is that a threat?”
“Not if I’m goddamn serious about it. I’ve done it before when I had to, halfling, and I’ve had it up to here with your bullshit, tossing us what you think we should know and saving the rest for yourself. I know you’re not telling us everything.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“And I don’t have to keep putting up with this. You know how many halflings make it back across the Border once they get tossed over? Zero. It doesn’t happen.”
“Then I guess I must be the first, so good fucking luck trying to hold that one over my head, Sir. I’ve already made the crossing. Twice. You don’t have a single thing to dangle in front of me anymore.”
The man blinked at her, rage and surprise numbing him into silence.
Cheyenne glanced across the lawn. “Look, we both know I don’t owe you anything anymore. I’ve more than covered that debt for your guys not killing me the first time we met, and I could walk away at any second. But I’m not, because you people have the resources to handle this kind of problem, and new Border portals aren’t good for anyone on this side, especially if they’re unregulated. That’s open season for a way bigger mess. And maybe I’m the asshole for assuming this, but I’m fairly sure you don’t want this to boil over and blow the lid on your oper
ations and your entire organization. Right?”
Sir growled at her and finally took a step back. “I don’t need to answer that stupid question.”
“Yeah, because we both know the answer. Maybe try some meditation or something, huh? Your decision-making isn’t all that great when you get this pissed off.”
He snorted. “Says the halfling who storms into secret ops without a goddamn clue about what’s going on.”
Cheyenne shrugged and stuck her hands in her pockets. “Hasn’t happened again, has it? Something I’m workin’ on too.”
She turned away from him and headed back behind the buildings.
Sir scratched his head and spun to watch his guys taking stock of the closed crack in the earth and the giant holes. “Meditating,” he muttered. “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. Wonder if that’d do anything for my shit blood pressure?”
Cheyenne shook her head as she left the high-ranking FRoE officer to do what he was there to do.
When she rounded the corner of the Computer Sciences building, Maleshi and Corian turned away from each other and nodded at her in greeting. The general clasped her hands behind her back and cleared her throat. Corian stared at the sky, then looked down at his shoes in the grass.
“Okay, obviously I interrupted something.”
“It can wait.” Maleshi gave her a thin, unconvincing smile.
“Yeah, I know.” Cheyenne glanced from one nightstalker to the other. Barged in on their private moment. Not weird at all. “So, I’m doing this your way now and telling you that I need to go have another chat with Matthew Thomas.”
“Who?” Corian finally met her gaze.
“The owner of Combined Reality, Inc.” The halfling shrugged. “Sure, the name he gave me was good, but obviously it wasn’t good enough. Syno or someone like him is still sending those machines after me. To the school.”
“Well, they do know exactly where to find you now, don’t they?”
Maleshi shot Corian a scathing glance, and he shrugged.
“I get it. All on me because I started firing magic at the first one and it locked onto my signature. Thanks for the reminder. Now I’m trying to fix it. If the Crown’s asshole loyalists don’t give a shit about keeping these attacks in magicals-only areas, we need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
A slow smile spread across Corian’s face. “You’re starting to sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh, shut up.” Maleshi rolled her eyes. “We’re already behind you on that one, kid. You don’t have to convince us of anything, but it’s good to hear you’re ready to go all-in and give this another shot.”
“To be clear, ‘all-in’ for me means going to his apartment and talking. Got it? Seeing a couple of nightstalkers in his living room might paint a different picture for the guy, but I’m serious about giving him another chance to fix his own mistake. You don’t have to be best friends with the guy, but let’s at least try to play nice until we know for sure he’s not jerking us around.”
Corian spread his arms and dipped his head. “I have no problem with that plan.”
“Good.” Cheyenne pointed at Maleshi. “I’m talkin’ to you too, General. No slitting throats.”
Maleshi said, “I’m happy to let you call the shots, kid. Mind telling us why this human writing O’gúl-tech programs is worth the trouble of playing nice?”
“I don’t need a reason, and he technically hasn’t done anything wrong, not as far as I can tell.”
The nightstalkers glanced at each other in surprise, then Corian stepped aside to conjure a portal.
“What’s that about?”
Maleshi grinned at the halfling. “What?”
Cheyenne wagged her finger between the general and L’zar’s righthand magical. “That secret little look.”
“Like I said, Cheyenne. It’s good to see you taking a stand and leading with what you think is the right decision to make.”
“It is the right decision.”
“No one’s arguing with you there.”
Cheyenne looked the woman over, then shrugged. “Okay, then.”
Corian’s portal opened in front of them, and the trio quickly stepped through it into the center of Cheyenne’s living room.
Ember yelped in surprise when she turned away from the kitchen island and saw them appear from thin air. “Stop doing that.”
“Sorry, Em. Kind of a time-sensitive thing.”
“No kidding.” Ember set her glass down on the island and wheeled toward them. “Are you okay? I heard about the earthquake on campus. It’s all over the news. They’re saying nobody got hurt, which is great, but the whole thing sounds weird, the way they’re talking about it. I didn’t wanna call you in case you were, you know, busy dealing with something other than an earthquake, which is a lot more likely, now that I think about it.”
The fae girl paused, rolling slowly to a stop on the hardwood floor and staring at the three magicals standing quietly in her living room.
“What? What happened?”
“It wasn’t an earthquake.”
Ember’s large violet eyes widened. “Then what was it?”
“New portal ridge popping up the same time as two digger machines came at me. Right there on the lawn for everyone to see.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Violet light flashed around Ember’s body, and she sucked a deep breath through her teeth. “That asshole gave us the wrong name just to save his stupid business, and those loyalist bastards got one more chance to do even more damage. That’s it. We need to go back over there right now.”
“Yeah, that was already the plan, Em.”
“I’m gonna rip him a new one. Let’s go.”
Maleshi pressed her lips together to hide a smile and Corian cleared his throat, sending Cheyenne a curious glance. “Honestly, I have to say I’m surprised the two of you don’t share the same elevated opinion of taking it easy on this Matthew Thomas person.”
“She’s a little upset.”
“I’m not upset, Cheyenne. I’m pissed.” Ember slapped the armrests of her chair. “And screw being polite this time. You guys can just port us into his living room, right?”
“His living room?” Maleshi propped one elbow on the opposite arm around her waist and tapped two fingers on her lips. “I feel like we’re missing something.”
“Yeah, that’s probably the part about Matthew being our neighbor across the hall.” Cheyenne glanced sidelong at Ember, who seethed in her chair, glaring at the couch. “And that he has a thing for Ember.”
“I don’t give a shit about whatever else he has except for the information we need to get rid of these damn machines digging tunnels under Richmond.” Ember’s gaze whisked toward the nightstalkers. “So let’s go. Open a portal. Then I’m gonna let him have it.”
Corian dipped his head and got to work conjuring their direct doorway into Matthew Thomas’ apartment.
Maleshi leaned toward Cheyenne. “When she says, ‘Let him have it?’”
“I have no idea what that means.” The halfling shook her head. “This is a first.”
“I like your fae friend, kid.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Stop complimenting me,” Ember muttered, shooting them both a brief glance before turning a fiery glare upon the dark light of the portal opening in front of them. “I’m trying to stay angry.”
“Oh.” Maleshi chuckled. “Well, if she has to try, I’m not worried about it.”
Cheyenne shrugged and stared at the portal. “She did close the portal straight from Ambar’ogúl.”
“Yes. There is that.”
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Ember wheeled into the portal with a quick, furious shove. The violet light illuminating her hands and the wheelchair gave her an added boost of speed before she navigated around Matthew Thomas’ loveseat with a drow-magic burn hole in the upholstery. “Matthew!”
A thump, the cl
atter of falling dishes, and the resulting shatter of glass across the floor came from the kitchen.
“What the hell?” He stormed around the wall from the rest of his apartment and stopped. “Ember. Jesus, what is that?” Matthew staggered back when he saw the dark oval portal hovering in midair inside his front door.
Corian and Maleshi walked through next, both having done away with their illusion charms to meet the owner of ThomasSafe in their true forms.
Matthew pointed at them and took another step back. “You’re cats.”
“Always the first observation,” Corian muttered.
“At least he can see.”
Cheyenne emerged from the portal behind them and folded her arms. “We need to talk.”
“You know what? Take a seat.” Ember pointed at the high-top dining table around the corner and the matching set of chairs that looked more like bar stools. “Sounds like you need a minute to find your voice, so go ahead and get comfortable. I’ll talk.”
“Ember.” Matthew spread his arms and gazed at her with terrified eyes. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Now!”
“Shit. Yeah, yeah.” He spun first one way then the other before remembering his dining table was six feet behind him. Stumbling toward it, Matthew tried to look back over his shoulder and watch where he was going at the same time. The urge to keep an eye on the strange magicals in his home won, and he staggered back, both hands lifted in surrender. “I don’t know why you people just showed up like this.”
He yelped when he backed into the closest chair and struggled to keep from knocking it over as he hastily pulled it away from the table.
Cheyenne raised an eyebrow while playing with the silver activator coil in her jacket pocket. If that’s an act, it’s way better than last time.
Ember cocked her head and stared at their neighbor. “I’m only gonna wait so long for you to sit.”
Stammering wordlessly, Matthew scrambled onto the high dining chair. Twice, he almost slipped off, but he clutched the sides of the gray-painted wooden seat and gulped. “What is this?”